A Chinese illegal immigrant appeared in court on Saturday after police found 9,000 hidden under a cauliflower in a bag.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard that 35-year-old Qi Hao Guo was waking along the Lisburn Road when police officers searched the bag he was carrying.

A detective told the court that hidden under a cauliflower, officers discovered 9,000 in cash along with a small amount of herbal cannabis and an RoI identity card and a further 1,850 in his wallet.

Guo claimed he had borrowed the money from friends and eventually admitted that he had found the ID card on a Dublin bus and had assumed that mans identity.

When Guo was fingerprinted, his true identity became known and police enquiries revealed that he was in breach of a deportation order while follow up searches at a flat in the Titanic Quarter uncovered more cannabis, mobiles phones and scales.

Guo, of no fixed abode, appeared in court, alongside an interpreter, via videolink from police custody where he was charged with three counts of possessing criminal property, three of possessing class B cannabis, entering the UK in breach of a deportation order, possessing a false ID document and with obstructing police, all alleged to have been committed on 18 June this year.

The officer said police were objecting to bail as Guo was a flight risk given he has strong ties to the Republic and has no status in the UK.

Under cross examination from defence counsel Declan Quinn, the officer agreed that members of the Chinese community often borrow large sums of money from each other and applying for bail, he urged District Judge George Conner to look at the case globally as there is absolutely no evidence the money was linked to criminality.

Refusing to free Guo however, District Judge Conner said he felt there is a risk of flight or of Guo simply disappearing into the community under a different name.

Remanded into custody, Guos case was adjourned to 17 July.




Basecamp CEO Jason Fried has written an open letter explaining what his real problem is with Apples App Store payment policies. He said its not just about the money  though he admits that its a large part of the story  but about the absence of choice and how Apple forcibly inserts themselves between [the] company and [its] customer.

Heres a little background on what prompted his open letter: Basecamp recently released a multi-platform email service called Hey, which costs at least $99 a year. To be able to use it, youll have to pay for subscription on the web. That didnt sit well with the tech giant, which rejected a bug fix the company tried to roll out shortly after Heys launch. In a letter Apple sent to Basecamp after rejecting an appeal to its decision, it said developers must offer in-app purchasing as a way for customers to unlock features and functionality.

As you may know, Apple takes a 30 percent commission on paid apps and any in-app purchase. Its no secret that a lot of developers arent happy with the term  the European Commission is even opening dual investigations into the App Store and Apple Pay due to complaints filed by Spotify and, based on reports, Rakuten-owned e-reader app Kobo. Spotify chief Daniel Ek revealed long ago that the company cant afford Apples fees. And after the EC announced its probe, Tinders parent company Match Group and Fortnite owner Epic Games also criticized the tech giant for collecting a portion of their earnings.

Apple said it will only roll out the bug fix Basecamp tried to submit if it revises the Hey email app. In an interview with TechCrunch, the tech giants Senior Vice President Phil Schiller said the company has no plans to change its policies to accommodate the developer. In fact, Schiller said the Hey iOS app was approved in error. He also said that Basecamp could have made the Hey app acceptable under current rules through different ways, such as charging different prices in the app and on the web. Fried called that statement antitrust gold in his letter, since that presumably suggests that Basecamp should charge its iOS customers more.

The CEO also expounded on what he meant by absence of choice. He said that if Heys customers sign up through the App Store, Basecamp will no longer be able to offer refunds, credit card changes, discounts, trial extensions, hardship exceptions, comps, partial payments, non-profit discounts, educational discounts, downtime credits, tax exceptions, etc. It cant extend trials or payment terms for those who need it like it does for its project management software customers, for instance. Or offer free versions to people like first responders.

Further, it wont be able to transfer payment information from one platform to another. If a customer suddenly has to switch platforms from iOS to Android, then they may end up losing access to their email address and everything in their inbox. This is why we have a universal, non-platform-specific centralized billing system, he wrote. Fried ended his letter with this:
Systemic injustice is ingrained in police departments through policies that have long terrorized the Black community, Irvin said. He reflected on the discrimination he faced growing up in Aurora as a Black man and said in his 20s he was stopped and harassed by Aurora police because he was in a neighborhood Blacks and Latinos were not expected to be.
Celebrations for the 4th of July at the White House will go ahead this year, despite concerns from US lawmakers about the large number of people who may gather at the event amid the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host the event from the White Houses South Lawn and the Ellipse. The celebration usually features a parade along Constitution Avenue, a concert on the Capitol lawn and fireworks near the Washington Monument.

Last year, Mr Trump altered the event agenda by adding a speech, moving the fireworks closer to the Lincoln Memorial and bringing in a show of military tanks and warplanes.

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere announced: As President Trump has said, there will be an Independence Day celebration this year and it will have a different look than 2019 to ensure the health and safety of those attending.

The American people have shown tremendous courage and spirit in the fight against this global pandemic just as our forefathers did in the fight to secure our independence, and both deserve celebration on Americas birthday this year.

But Democratic lawmakers are fearful the event may attract thousands of people, increasing the spread of Covid-19. Crowds this year are expected to be smaller as the annual parade, one of the biggest draws of the day, has been cancelled.

In a letter to the defense secretary, Mark Esper, and interior secretary David Bernhardt in May, the lawmakers stated their strong opposition to the event.

Given the current Covid-19 crisis, we believe such an event would needlessly risk the health and safety of thousands of Americans. Further, this event would come at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars while we are facing an unprecedented economic downturn due to the pandemic, they said.

One of the lawmakers who signed the letter, Rep. Don Beyer, responded to the White House announcement on Twitter and said: No mention here whatsoever of public health or any steps they will take to keep people safe.

This remains a very bad idea. As with the Tulsa rally, Trump has no problem putting other peoples lives at risk if it will prop up his fragile ego.

The president is due to hold a large rally in Tulsa on Saturday, which is expected to be one of the biggest indoor events in the US since mass gatherings were shut down in March because of the ongoing pandemic.
How true tales do become truth tales By Adilah Ismail View(s): View(s):

On May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, USA, as a police officer knelt on George Floyds neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, Floyd repeatedly cried out that he couldnt breathe. In footage shot by witnesses at the scene, we hear him calling out for his mother while struggling for his life. As protests triggered by Floyds death ripple across the US and the world, we learn that George Floyds mother died two years ago.

For the dying always cried mother when about to be released, as if in sudden anticipation of the life yet to come. They never cried out for god, for water or help, for things that might offer a return to the world, but for mother, the first refuge and the last, writes Minoli Salgado in a short story in her latest book Broken Jaw. The story, The Breach, is set in the backdrop of Sri Lankas civil war but these lines especially now are a heavy reminder that some things are universal.

Published in 2019, Broken Jaw features a collection of 18 short stories set largely in Sri Lanka. The book is divided into two parts. In Rumours, we are introduced to a constellation of characters and a few stories drawing from real events  some immediately recognizable. There is an artist who is punished for a cartoon of a political leader. His captors redesigned him so he would never walk again or stand upright, sit, blink or defecate without carrying the knowledge of their power inside him. They force him to draw a magnificent penance portrait of the leader he had caricatured. In another, maps, memory and trauma violently coalesce in a brief scene where an injured solider is pressed to pinpoint the details of an attack. The second part, Ventriloquy and other acts, takes us through the memoried landscapes of the three countries that shaped the author.

The worlds built in Broken Jaw are tantalizingly brief as we tumble into lit festivals, renegade writers, UN officials, schoolgirls and more. The writing is vivid and the reader isnt fully allowed to get comfortable with each story for too long, making it a slightly peripatetic reading experience which mirrors the very dislocation and fissures the stories deal with.Salgados prose is elegant and controlled. What marks the book is its quietude and capacity to compress large truths into taut sentences which make you pause.Sometimes less is more.

Born in Kuala Lumpur and growing up in Sri Lanka, South East Asia and England, Salgado has previously taught postcolonial literature at the University of Sussex and is a Professor of International Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has published in the field of postcolonial studies and her fiction and poetry have been published internationally. Salgado is the Chair of the judging panel for the 2019 Gratiaen Prize.

In this email interview, she spoke to the Sunday Times about Broken Jaw and her writing.

It seems strange to launch into a conversation on books and writing without acknowledging the moment we are suspended in. How are you, where are you, and what have you been thinking about lately?

Well, Im now in lockdown in Sussex though I was due back in Sri Lanka this month. Im writing an academic book on global testimony and planning my teaching for next year.

As for what I have been thinking about  well, like everyone else the response to this pandemic gives pause for thought. Ive been mulling over the state of emergency that all countries are in and am struck by the fact that, though this particular emergency is caused by a health crisis, we have been launched into a state of exception similar to a war.

It may sound a bit melodramatic but the correspondences are clear. As with a war, this is a time when normal laws are suspended in the name of security, when structural changes are made without the normal checks, balances and oversight, a time when its important to stay alert to what is happening as so much is being brought in  new modes of surveillance, vast shifts in capital and so on  under the guise of protecting the public and securing the future.

And Im thinking of the global protests that have been taking place  Black Lives Matter, climate change, the democracy movement in Hong Kong  and how amazing it is to be living at a time when theres this cataclysmic clash between the forces of securitization and liberty.

There are certain ideas which intersect your work as an academic and work as a writer (eg: nationalism). How do you take themes you engage with and research academically, and render them for a reader of fiction or poetry?

Yes, theres definitely an overlap. Both my academic and literary writing engages with issues of civil liberty and see literature as a way of making cultural interventions of different kinds.

As for the process of transference, my academic research, even at its most theoretical, has always looked to explore the human dimension of a subject. My current academic research is in trauma and testimony studies and Ive been working on various trauma stories, including those from Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

Research like this of course has an emotional impact and Im haunted by what I read and hear. The shift from research to literary writing comes when the experience embeds itself in some way so it becomes part of you and gains expression in fictionalised form.

Ive found writing fiction is a completely different experience from doing academic writing. You find yourself not only connecting emotionally with things but also rationalising them emotionally. No amount of academic knowledge or critical reasoning will take you into that kind of understanding.

Is there a process of detachment that is required between being an academic and a writer of fiction and poetry? I was wondering how you toggle between both these roles.

The two kinds of writing use different parts of the brain. I find that when the critical, academic side is in gear I cannot write creatively, and vice versa. As a result, I focus on one piece of writing at a time. Im also quite strict about how I divide my time and, whatever Im working on, I always read some fiction or poetry in the evenings and avoid social media and all the hubbub that comes with digital technology.

The books foreword mentions that the stories were written between the early 1990s and 2011. You write that you were trying to find a form to give language to loss, to find a home in a story while trying to find my voice as a writer as well and that some of the stories are in a voice you no longer have. How did this 20-year gestation affect your writing, voice, and the themes you explore?

Broken Jaw had many incarnations and the collection really charts my development as a writer. It was not a steady evolution  and it is far from complete!  but the broad shift is towards an increasingly political voice as the war carried on.

The first version of the book was completed in the early 2000s and I just kept writing more stories, adding them to the collection and dropping some of the earlier ones. In the final phase, I dropped several stories that duplicated themes or shared the tone of A Little Dust on the Eyes, to ensure Broken Jaw had its own distinct identity. The book contains some ironic and satiric stories and a focus on the male perspective that you will not find in A Little Dust. So the shape of Broken Jaw changed over the years, though the overarching theme stayed the same, as did the title.

The book is a work of fiction but is tinged with elements of autobiography. Kethumathie, for instance, is set in your ancestral home which is now a maternity hospital in Panadura. The three stories in Ventriloquy and Other Acts take us through memories of the three countries that youve lived in and also reference you by name. I was curious about the insertion of the self in some of the stories and what the process of blurring fact and fiction was like.

One of the things that really interests me is how true tales become truth tales, how real events turn into stories that generate moral meaning. I am also interested in the relationship between non-fiction and fiction, the techniques used and the ethics of writing about true events.

Many of the stories in Broken Jaw are works of fiction that spin off real events so the boundary between fact and fiction is constantly tested throughout the book. In writing these stories I was acutely conscious of writing others trauma and of imposing my own frame of thinking on to this world. This tussle is evident in the The Waves, which draws on the voices of tsunami survivors and ends with the image on a video camera, bringing into visibility the whole process of mediation and bearing witness.

By coming out, as it were, in the final stories based on my childhood, I went further and brought the author into the light. This felt necessary in the context of making clear that there is no such thing as an objective take on historical events. Its also the first time Ive published anything that was really personal and it was a relief to find expression to some difficult events. Those final stories use fictionalising modes to explore memoir as a truth tale  another instance of true tales becoming truth tales.

You are currently the Chair of the judging panel for the Gratiaen Prize 2019. What advice do you have for Sri Lankan writers writing in English?

Read widely and closely from the very best literature in the genre you are writing in.

Learn from this.

Get feedback on your work from literary friends.

Join or form a writers group  I never have but I know many writers who recommend it.

Edit, edit, edit.

Research publishers  The Writers and Artists Yearbook is comprehensive  and test the international market.

Journals like Wasafiri, Postcolonial Text and Asia Literary Review are looking to publish good work by South Asian writers.

Whats next on the cards?

I am working on several projects, academic and literary. These overlap and Im thinking transnationally, connecting histories and cultures. Sri Lanka is central to them all and I cant wait to get back!

Special offer for ST readers Order Broken Jaw direct from the publishers website and avail yourself of a 40% discount offered especially for the Sunday Times readers; Voucher code: SalgadoTimes2020 Website: https://www.the87press.com/product-page/minoli-salgado-broken-jaw
A stone-cold killer who murdered his ex-wife, shot another woman in the head and attempted to murder three others will walk free after serving a 22-year sentence in prison.

William Kelvin Fox was once described by a prison psychologist as a 'remorseless psychopathic killer' but the Queensland Parole Board have decided to release the now 68-year-old on parole on June 29.

Barbara Hellwich, who has a bullet lodged in her head from when Fox shot her, says he is a 'dangerous, violent, conniving and manipulative' predator who still poses a danger to the community.

This image of William Fox was used by police as a wanted poster when he was on the run

Barbara Hellwich (pictured), who was shot three times by Fox is 'crushed' that he is being released on parole

'I felt a gut-wrenching rush of emotions,' Hellwich told the Courier Mail when she heard he was going to be quietly released from Maryborough Correctional Centre into the Caboolture community.

Fox stormed into Ms Hellwich's Gold Coast caravan In 1992, searching for his ex-de facto partner.

When he couldn't find her, he shot Ms Hellwich three times at close range with a .22 calibre rifle while she was holding her two-year-old son, Bodein.

'I started to get up and he shot me in the face, it went into the side of my nose,' she said.

'My son Bodein woke up and ran down to me and I ended up with him in my lap when Fox put the gun to the back of my head and my armpit and shot me.

'He had a gun pointed at my son's head. I was begging 'Please, don't shoot him.

She said she tried to protect her son by wrapping herself around him.

When she eventually looked up Fox was gone. She said he must have thought she was dead.

Ms Hellwich (pictured left) was shot three times at close range with a .22 calibre rifle while she was holding her two-year-old son, Bodein (pictured right)

Fox is pictured (centre) in 1997 after he was arrested in bushland near Mt Glorious home, north-west of Brisbane

But Ms Hellwich miraculously survived the shooting.

One of the bullets was able to be removed from her head but a second bullet is still lodged a millimetre away from her brain stem.

Fox remained on the run for three and a half years before he was eventually taken into custody near Maryborough.

In a stunning legal decision, Fox was granted bail and would later go murder his ex-wife Patricia Atkinson in August, 1996.

After shooting her in the head, he then shot his son and his son's girlfriend, but the pair survived the frenzied attack.

Upon leaving the scene of the crime, Fox also shot a 60-year-old man at a farmhouse. He also survived.

Fox went back on the run and hid in bushland until he was eventually re-arrested in shortly after near Mt Glorious home, north-west of Brisbane.

'He had a gun pointed at my son's head. I was begging 'Please, don't shoot him,' Ms Hellwich said

Ms Hellwich (pictured) believes Fox is a 'dangerous, violent, conniving and manipulative' predator who still poses a danger to the community

In 1998, he was found guilty of murder and four counts of attempted murder, including Ms Hellwich's.

The trial judge gave Fox multiple life sentences and said he should not be released until authorities were 'as confident as humanly possible' he did not pose any further threat to the community.

This statement was later overturned by an appeals court who ordered the phrase to be wiped from the judgement.

'Fox does not follow rules, he has no respect for the law or justice system, or for those he has victimised, Ms Hellwich said.

'Why are they taking a risk with a highly dangerous person?'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Queensland Parole Board for comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 11:26:54|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of 30 million U.S. dollars to build Mongolia's Zamiin-Uud free zone, local media said Saturday.

The Zamiin-Uud free zone, a proposed Mongolia-China economic cooperation zone, situates near the busiest international border port between Mongolia and China in a district where the local economy and population rely heavily on border traffic and trade activities.

"The project will serve as a catalyst for diversifying Mongolia's economy, integrating it into regional and global value chains and increasing job opportunities for the country's people," said Dorothea Lazaro, the ADB's regional cooperation specialist.

"By addressing infrastructure gaps within the zone and improving connectivity, the ADB will also help Mongolia reduce trade costs," she said.

The project is part of a wider network of the ADB trade-related projects in Mongolia along the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program's corridor 4b, according to the ADB.

The CAREC corridors link Central Asia's key economic hubs and connect landlocked CAREC countries such as Mongolia with markets in Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world. Enditem
Africa Education Watch has led a group of CSOs comprising ActionAid, World Vision, SDG Platform on Education, the G-TVET Coalition etc to discuss and present the Civil Society Education Manifesto 2020 to the NDC.

The Chair of the NDC Manifesto Committee, Prof. Danso Boafo expressed their commitment to consider the policy proposals in the Civil Society Education Manifesto 2020 in the interest of Ghana.

The Civil Society Education Manifesto was developed by 30 CSOs working in the education sector.

The group earlier in the month submitted same to the Chairman of the NPP.
When the camera starts whirring, I forget who the other actors are, who the director is. I talk only to the camera. I love the camera, says 88-year-old actor Farrukh Jaffar who thoroughly enjoyed watching herself in Gulabo Sitabo, Shoojit Sircars latest film premiered online last week.

Watching the film at home with the octogenarian actress was a treat. Farrukh lit up every time her character, Fatima Begum, appeared on screen and she did not think twice about stealing a wink or two during scenes that may have crawled a bit.

Her response to the media comments the morning after the release of the film was no less entertaining. She feels that before its release, there was a plan to trick the audience into believing that the film was an Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer. The promos showed the two stars of Indian cinema squabbling on screen like the famous string puppets, Gulabo Sitabo, the competitive sisters-in-law of the popular traditional puppet shows performed on the streets of Lucknow.

Now Farrukh is amused that by singling out her performance and praising it sky high, the media has made her the proverbial kebab mein haddi in the performances of Bachchan and Khurrana.

Cinemas pukar

At no point in her life has Farrukh Jaffar not had fun. At some stage, she realised that looking the camera in the eye was the most fun thing to do in life. So, she went for it and has not looked back since. At first, the thrill was just in watching films. Then when she was offered a role in a film without looking for one, she decided not to turn down that offer just because nobody from her conservative family had ever dared to be so bold.

Her affair with films started in 1939 when she saw her first movie, Pukar. She was about seven years old and had travelled with the family elders from her village in Jaunpur district to visit relatives in Lucknow.

She watched Pukar with the entire family at a local cinema hall. The silver screen took her breath away. She could not stop dreaming of Naseem Bano who had played the lead in Pukar. Back home, she waited impatiently to get out of the village and visit the cinema halls of Lucknow again.

By praising her to the skies, Farrukh Jaffar feels the media made her the proverbial kebab mein haddi between the performances of Bachchan and Khurrana

Farrukh did not have to wait too long. At 16 years, she was married. She had no idea what her responsibilities would be as a wife, but she looked forward to living in Lucknow so she could go to the cinema.

Every time she heard music playing on the main road, she would abandon her household duties to hurry to the terrace. From there she would look down on the street below, where a loudspeaker fitted to an open jeep announced the release of the latest film. In those days, the film often starred Nargis and Raj Kapoor.

Her journalist husband spent most of his time at the newspaper office or at the Coffee House in the company of poets, politicians and writers. He had no time to watch films with her. So she used his indifference as a good excuse to watch even more cinema, and to continue to dream of Dilip Kumar. She was clearly waiting for her time to come.

Farrukh with Shoojit Sircar, the director of Gulabo Sitabo

The fun one

To have shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in Gulabo Sitabo now is a matter of having arrived. Farrukh feels this is the culmination of her career. She has been working in films for over half a century, in the company of some of the best names in Indian cinema from Rekha to Shah Rukh Khan to Aamir Khan to Salman Khan to Nawazuddin Siddiqui. She did all this without leaving Lucknow for Mumbai and without the promotion of a manager or agent.

Just imagine! Once upon a time I was a fan of Amitabh Bachchan and today I have shared screen space with the actor, Farrukh says wonderingly.

The secret of her routine success on the silver screen is simple. She has so much fun once the lights and camera are focused on her, that action is seldom far behind.

Mehru Jaffer is an accomplished author and Farrukh Jaffars daughter

From HT Brunch, June 21, 2020

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Lanka Tiles to commission newly installed mosaic tile plant By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

Tile manufacturer and exporter Lanka Tiles PLC will commission its newly installed mosaic tile production facility on Tuesday.

A 100 per cent export oriented venture, the production facility was set up as a tri-partite joint venture between Lanka Tiles PLC, Foshan Shiwan Yulong Ceramic Co Ltd (China) and Benjamin Melloy of the US. It will produce and export 60,000 square metres of mosaic tiles a month.

This project is unique and very special to Lanka Tiles PLC. After the US imposed anti-dumping duties on over 2,000 Chinese products in August 2019, Lanka Tiles PLC was looking for opportunities to manufacture in Sri Lanka and export to the US products affected by this decision. By December 2019, we had identified the product, found parties to collaborate with, and formed a joint venture. It was a fast decision and we moved very swiftly, Mahendra Jayasekera, Managing Director Lanka Tiles PLC told the Business Times. The company hopes to dispatch the first shipment of containers in July and will employ a workforce of over 150 people predominantly females for this venture.

This is something Sri Lanka should do as a country. Over 2,000 Chinese products cannot enter the US market of which we should identify the products we can manufacture here in Sri Lanka. Right now Sri Lanka is in an ideal position to embark on this exercise as people are looking for new opportunities due to job loss, companies are looking for secure markets and most importantly, the government is willing to go the extra mile to promote exports due to the impact of COVID-19.

If we can re-focus on what ails the manufacturing sector and take corrective action, it will be a winning formula, said Mr. Jayasekera.

Lanka Tiles PLC is also the only manufacturer in Asia selling tiles in the US on Amazon. Nobody believed that tiles could be sold online. But we have been able to make that breakthrough and find ways to expand our global footprint, said Mr. Jayasekera.

Lanka Tiles PLC also invested Rs. 2.5 billion last year to expand its local production capacity in order to meet the growing demand both locally and overseas especially for large format tiles and Lanka Tiles is one of the few Sri Lankan brands that carries the countrys name to the world.
Donald Trump has posted a video with what journalists are reporting as doctored footage.

A video of a white baby chasing a black baby, with the caption: "Terrified toddler runs from racist baby", was posted on Donald Trump's official Twitter account. The caption appears beside a CNN logo, and is followed by a clip of what actually happened; the two toddlers hugged before playfully chasing each other.

The clip then shows a title reading "America is not the problem, fake news is". The original CNN video package has since been shared widely, proving that the original story did not suggest racism between the two toddlers, but in fact centered around the toddlers' affection for each other.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 504 new coronavirus cases Saturday, raising the statewide total to 81,266.

Across Pennsylvania, 6,419 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including 20 new fatalities reported Saturday, according to the health department. More than two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

The health department released new data Saturday; the numbers reflect coronavirus cases and deaths reported as of midnight. There are 556,461 people who have tested negative.

The number of new cases has dropped in recent weeks and fewer people are being treated for the virus in hospitals, according to the health department.

This marks the second consecutive day the state reported more than 500 new cases, although that is still well below the peak days when new daily cases regularly exceeded 1,000. Its been more than a month since Pennsylvania reported more than 1,000 new cases in a single day.

Going green

Gov. Tom Wolf has been lifting restrictions designed to stem the spread of the virus.

The Wolf administration said Friday 12 more counties will move next week to the green phase, the least restrictive in the governors color-coded plan to reopen Pennsylvania. These counties will move to the green phase on June 26: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Susquehanna. Philadelphia will maintain some restrictions until July 3.

By June 26, only one Pennsylvania county - Lebanon County - will remain in the yellow phase.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Lebanon County is seeing an uptick in coronavirus cases. Levine also pointedly criticized Lebanon County elected officials for defying the Wolf administrations recommendations in reopening businesses.

Lebanon County lawmakers and businesses sharply criticized the Wolf administration for not moving the county to the green phase.

On Friday, eight new counties moved to the green phase. These newly green counties are: Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Perry, Pike, and Schuylkill.

Republican lawmakers have clashed with the Democratic governor and contend Wolf is opening the state too slowly.

Last week, the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed a resolution directing Wolf to end the state of emergency, which he extended earlier this month. Wolf has said he would veto it. The matter is headed for the state Supreme Court, which agreed this week to take up the case.

With the green phase, schools can open and restaurants can once again offer indoor dining, with limits on occupancy. Other businesses, such as casinos, hair salons and gyms, can open their doors again, albeit with some restrictions.

Nursing homes and hospitals

Statewide, 4,381 deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and personal care homes.

There are 17,000 residents in long-term care facilities who have tested positive for the virus, along with 3,034 employees, for a total of 20,034 cases.

Cases have been found at 658 facilities in 47 counties.

Statewide, 721 coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals, which is about a quarter of the peak number weeks ago. The health department said 6,180 health care workers have been infected.

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20.06.2020 LISTEN

"Here, my friend!" passed Heim Ashkelon a cup of freshly brewed coffee to George Fahnrich having added enough condensed milk and few spoons of sugar. "Enjoy!"

Sitting around the long stretched table in the breakfast room side by side with metal boxes, grease cans, metal dressing wardrobes, a sink full of unwashed dishes, bottles of soft-drinks all over the place, sugar stored away in glasses away from aunts, smell of oil and sweat in the air; the morning shift enjoyed its half hour time out. Keith Stammer asked his colleagues which of them had wanted a fried egg with ham as he was about to prepare English breakfast for himself with baked beans on hand and sausages out from the fridge. Only Ted Mc O`Connor raised his hands and voice giving his friend from Cambridge a clear sign of his empty stomach.

Enjoying his tea with milk, Petro Gonzales mentioned: "The situation in the north is getting soon out of hand. We must be on our feet and always be alerted."

Ted Mc O`Connor agreed while cutting his deep toasted bread covered with margarine and orange marmalade: "I am only relieved that all our Kibbutz in the country have defense systems underground and weapons ready to defend themselves from these people that never want us to live life in peace."

Heim Ashkelon looked up from his paper work planning the shifts for the coming week to give later to the Professor and tried to be balanced: "I mean, we must find a way to live in this region with our neighbors in a good way. I mean, we have a troubled history in our place on all sides. For sure I agree with you guys that we have a right by the Almighty to see this place of Israel as our promised land. But in real terms we must also acknowledge that this word is not only about us and turning around our problems and hopes, rather a situation in which we must understand we are part of a bigger problem that has lasted for generations with no end and outside forces not helping us really to find peace lasting for good."

"For me the situation is very simple," added Petro Gonzalez his voice wiping off bread crumbs from his mouth with a swipe of his overall, "when someone like the PLO members want to kill you as Jews and push us into the sea, we have a moral and legal right to defend ourselves. How can you allow them to kill our innocent wives and children, blow them up with bombs and shoot them with riffles? No way!"

"It is not like that...not what I mean!" defended Heim Ashkelon his position seeing Keith Stammer serving English breakfast full of calories for a busy day. "But what we seriously cannot allow to happen is an escalation of violence. I mean we are supposed to be a generation of people that should find a way to make peace and not war, to understand the demand of others around us and see how best we can deal with them by considering always our own interest."

"It is not about an escalation as no one here seriously wants this to happen," clarified Petro Gonzalez his point of view drinking a second cup of tea with milk, "but we must make clear that killing is never the solution to any problem and that what these people do to us has to stop once and for all. Me being from Argentina you will understand that I know what violence means knowing it so well from a dictatorship in my own country. I came here as a Jew to live finally in peace and not oppression and under pressure from anyone...that is not my wife!" He was not able to resist this joke he had cracked always knowing in his head what his wife would have wanted him to share with his buddies in such moments. The other colleagues laughed the usual polite laugh having heard his noise making too often and his wife too well. "One thing is clear, no one can ever be that stupid not to defend his own interest...and when it comes to the point someone wants to take your freedom away from you by force, of course, you have to protect your own interest. I am a free person and I want to be a free person always. Not the slave to anyone, not the object of evil-minded people...no way. As I am a free man, I am free also to defend myself and my life whenever and wherever other people want to take it away from me. Of course, I have it!" He got up ready to go back to his workplace.

George Fahnrich listed very intense and careful to what he was hearing trying to choose his words right, not fearful, not aggressive, self-confident and interested to learn and understand: "What we Germans once did to you was gruesome to say the least. Now I wonder...but understand your position...that the hate in some of your Jewish neighbors towards other people that want to live their life in this region as they see it to be their territory is so great and trying to understand these people in not many people...I mean to try to sit down with them and come to agree on a plan that is not perfect but okay for most of you and have lasting peace in this part of the world. What lesson have you learnt from what had been done to you...that is what I want to find out."

"I think it is time we all go back to our work," got Heim Ashkelon up, taking his paper work, seeing everyone put his dirty dishes unwashed into the sink, asked George Fahnrich to stay behind for a word of advice. "I understand what you want to find out, trust me. And your question is very well and good. But you must understand one lesson in life, young friend. What you think can and should be asking is not always what other people want to hear and find an answer for. Truth spoken from an innocent heart, a heart that does not know anything that has been done to others in their own personal life, is best advised to stay silence, keep watching, observe and when the time comes, speak."

"I thought...the time," stumbled George Fahnrich over his conflicting thoughts running before his inner eye, "the time is right."

"I get you perfectly well and appreciate your interest, that many of your volunteers do not show to us. Most of you guys come here, have a good life, the best of your life possibly, and leave again back home. Only few...and trust me...I appreciate it...come here with an open mind wanting to understand and learn. That is so great and dear to my heart. But...," opened Heim Ashkelon the blue door to the factory pushing George Fanrich out, "maybe you will hear more people talking about their life and what they think about the situation here. And maybe one day you will understand more what this place is all about...and maybe you will appreciate my words of caution...my little advice I must give. But now," lifted Heim Ashkelon his voice and pointed to the work place at the paper rolls, "it is time for you to go back to your place and ensure we get many more meters of roofing sheets while I have to rush to the Professor and hand him the paper work for next week."

"Tell me, why did you decide to live in a Kibbutz? I mean you could also live outside in your own house away from other people?" asked Heinz Wohlfarth knowing thirty minutes later the work would end. The morning had not been as busy as the day before time when they had huge orders on their hand.

Moshe Shalom sat relaxed on his broken chair, hands behind his head eyes, into the skies, thinking about the plans for the weekend with his wife and three children and answered: "Good question, my friend." He put down his hands, leaning forward looking the German straight into the eyes. "Basically, I am a lazy person, that is the truth of the matter."

"Lazy?" did Heinz Wohlfarth not quite understand. "What do you mean by that?"

"As I said," repeated Moshe shalom with a mysterious smile on his face, "I am a lazy person. Work was never made for me, definitely not, I swear." He was laughing. "Work helps me to get up in the morning and... make a bit of money for my family as well. Beach, sand, fresh fish from the sea, mangos from the trees straight into my stomach...honey and milk."

"Bible is talking!" commented Heinz Wohlfarth while laughing his head off.

"Bible talking...that is for sure!" laughed Moshe Shalom his head off as well. "After all, this is the promised land...the land of milk and honey...isn`t it?"

"For sure...it is," agreed Heinz Wohlfarth giving Moshe Shalom a very painful High Five.

"In countries like yours, where the cold catches you and makes your life difficult...even in Scandinavia...oh, my God...not for me...but their people work very hard and disciplined...my observation."

Heinz Wohlfarth mentioned to clarify what he had heart: "You mean, in hot countries like here people go about their daily work a bit more relaxed?"

"For sure!" answered Moshe Shalom. "Otherwise the sun can easily kill you!"

"So, why is it," was Heinz Wohlfarth getting back to his main point, "that you really came about to stay in a Kibbutz?"

Moshe Shalom rapped his tools together, cleared up the place before sitting next to his German friend for the last time of the day: "In a Kibbutz I have everything that I need. There is a shop, a medical ward, food prepared for us all the time, we can of course cook in our own homes, there is work in different places, so never boring, the community promotes you to higher level of education if you can demonstrate your talent to them, there is peace at most times among the Kibbutznicks and being together can help you in times of outside attack. Theft and arm robbers in a Kibbutz? No, they do not dare to do that when so many people are around watching over and taking care of each other. On the other hand, that the power of the community can decide about your own future...that is true...is a price you must be willing to pay for the comfort of such a home."

"If I understand you right," wanted Heinz Wohlfarth no to know exactly, you are willing to give up your freedom in exchange for easier life...at least as you see it?"

"Correct!" was Moshe Shaloms short answer.

"But I do not get it somehow!"

"What?"

"That someone like you, or for that matter anyone that has reached the age of maturity able to think for himself, can be convinced, or can convince himself, to allow other people to determine its own fate to a large extend. To me, maturity simply means to have access to larger freedom, to get away from the influence of the parents that form us to large extend and make matured, well balanced decisions which open up the path for someones own glory," was Heinz Wohlfarth in great doubts. He got up and walked side by side with Moshe Shalom down the alley way leading back to the living quarters of the Kibbutz.

"I can see...my young friend," was Moshe Shalom putting his right arm onto his German friends shoulder holding him tied by his side, you still have to learn the issues of life. Life is not what you see and think to know. Look around you!" He stopped for a while, turned around himself and pointed with his right arm into the distance. "Look...and what do you see?"

Heinz Wohlfarth was puzzled, tried to make sense of Moshe Shaloms words answering in a whispering tone: "Nature up to the horizon, as far as I can see!"

"All that you see here and think you can fly over it like an eagle depending only on the winds that carry it with food underneath him in endless supply...no, that is not how it is!" Moshe Shalom stopped his spinning around and around, looked Heinz Wohlfarth straight into the eyes and said: "This world is not endless, not in a physical, not in a spiritual sense. When you start running from here today, tomorrow you reach again this very place while having passed continents. Look into the skies! You think, there is endless heaven around us? No, what seems to be endless, far for our eyes to see and our minds to understand, subsequently has a limitation. Like a hamster in a wheel we always are limited and end up at the place we started to think of greater thinks. Nothing on earth is new, it always comes in a new dress, and the dress comes back generations later the same style. Thinking is development but limited by us...being human beings."

Heinz Wohlfarth admitted not to understand his words: What you say is very confusing. I guess I need more time to think about the meaning of it all. But I get the feeling, there is great wisdom in what you say...only that my mind right now has problems to make sense of the words that you have spoken."

"Good friend," laid Moshe Shalom his right arm again on his friends shoulder, do not rush...but take your time of silence away from people, hear the many voices in your head, push them aside to unravel your own inner truth, the core of being you as an individual person, not a community boy, and come to conclusions only you will be able to come to." He pushed Heinz Wohlfarth forward knowing his wife was waiting for him, time about to see the dentist that he had resisted for long to pay a much-needed visit. "But now it is time to enjoy life as always thinking deep thoughts can make a man easily...very easily depressed while others around have a good laugh!"

"I hear you!" promised Heinz Wohlfarth to consider his words and remember him always.

"Isnt is genius, just to come here, sit down and having a good meal? No cooking, only opening your mouth and enjoy the goodness of a great kitchen team?" laughed George Fahnrich still smelling the work in his overall, grease, oil and dust. No time to change cloths, did he make his way from the factory right into the canteen, sat at the table of the volunteers, poured red soft-drink into his glass and got involved in small talk with an English Lady blond, elegant facial features, tall, able to speak few German sentences. She told him at school that is where she had learnt German, but as no in use forgot most of the words, she once was so proud of to know. Linda Evans was her name living with her boyfriend in one of the houses up the hill close to the fence that marked the grounds of the Kibbutz. Fred Walter was sitting opposite her deeply involved in a conversation. He did not see the surprised face of George Fahnrich when he compared Linda Evans to the rough man always drunken after work. There was no doubt Fred Walter was a hard worker, not shying away from dirty manual labour, on the contrary rather engaging and looking for it. Anything that would push him to his physical limits was something for him to look out for. While Linda Evens preferred to do anything small and fragile, preferable ironing of cloths in a laundry department of Kibbutz Ginegar, was well mannered, a kind of elegant personality. Being girlfriend and boyfriend seemed odd to George Fahnrich, but necked reality. Linda Evens disclosed to George Fahnrich the fact as teenager she had visited Hamburg once with her parents at the time Hamburg and Harwich were served by a Ferry taking less than twenty four hours on water to reach the other side of the North Sea; precious time to contemplate on life`s issues, did she mention in flawless German. She was surprised about herself laughing right into George Fahnrich` s smiling face. She saw the question in his eyes he had about her relationship to a rough man like Fred Walter.

"I need it rough," said Linda Evans, got up, followed Fred Walter, and left the small group of volunteers behind. Heat was entering the canteen as all doors and windows were opened to let fresh air pass the room form end to end.

Heinz Wohlfarth and George Fahnrich agreed to meet later at the swimming pool after each had taken a power nap in their own rooms. As the heart of the day was about to end and volunteers alongside Kibbutznicks laid alongside the swimming pool with drinks by their side, both Germans jumped into the warm, yet refreshing blue water that was constantly monitored of its purity with color ready to be added in case of trouble. Mostly in small groups selected by Nationality did the volunteers enjoy a relaxed and tranquil afternoon by the pool side. Kibbutznicks with their toddlers kept by themselves. Parents ensured a safe swimming experience for their children supervised by a lifeguard well-tanned and masculine in all its structure that Adonis could not have won a beauty competition against him.
One study from 2014 found that a group of mostly white, female college students overestimated the age of black boys by an average of four and a half years. A co-author of the study, Matthew Christian Jackson, said that for black children, this can mean they lose the protection afforded by assumed childhood innocence well before they become adults.

Without the protective shield of whiteness, our children are forced to grow up faster. When childhood pastimes like playing with toy guns or adolescent follies like jumping a subway turnstile or mouthing off to a police officer can turn deadly in an instant, we cant afford to encourage our children to stay children a little longer.

For many black parents the transition from childhood to adolescence is marked by the Talk, when we explain to our children how to stay safe, especially when confronted by the police. I didnt expected to have it for another couple of years.

One of black parents most difficult balancing acts is protecting our children while empowering them to protest. It requires an incredible amount of maturity from our children, too.

My son experienced his first instance of racism in first grade at his public school in a leafy part of Boston. As the taunts continued, he only became more politicized. Halfway through third grade, his teacher told me that he was taking a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance. Fortunately, she defended him when a classmate harassed him for protesting. But by the end of the school year, I decided it was time to move back to upstate New York where my son had spent his early years. He needed to be surrounded by a loving community he could also turn to for support. For young black children in America, community is more than comfort  its a lifeline.

What my son has gone through in the past couple of weeks feels different than the everyday racism that is built into the fabric of black childrens lives. Rather than being a part of his childhood, the killing of George Floyd brought it to an abrupt end. I am left mourning the loss of his childhood, even as I swell with pride at his growing conscience.

As he stared down at the fist, I could tell he was frustrated that he couldnt find more last words. He decided instead to write the names of the slain on the left side. And on the right side, different protest signs he liked best.
Anusha Ravi By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Karnatakas technology-based approach in managing the Covid-19 crisis has earned it recognition from the Union Government. Living up to its reputation of being the IT capital of the country, Karnatakas use of web-based applications, distant monitoring mechanisms, tech-savvy contact tracing and citizen survey initiatives have caught the Centres attention so much so that the Union Health Ministry has asked other states to emulate such best practices.

The Centre on Friday appreciated Karnataka for its Whole of Government approach and use of technology in Covid-19 management. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting put out a statement asking other states to adopt such measures to their local context and replicate them for better management of the pandemic.

The appreciation comes barely days after BJP national president J P Nadda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in succession lauded the states use of technology in tracing, monitoring and assisting citizens as part of Covid-19 containment measures.Karnatakas management of #COVID19 is lauded by Union Govt as a role model. At the core of our success is Good Governance with well-crafted policies & meticulous implementation using technology. Congrats to our Corona Warriors & Team Karnataka! (sic) tweeted Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

Widened definition of Contact gets praise

KARNATAKA has widened the definition of Contact to include both high-risk as well as low-risk contacts as defined by the Government of India. The number of primary and secondary contacts in Karnataka were meticulously traced and put under strict quarantine. More than 10,000 well-trained field staff carry out specific responsibilities for contact tracing as per the detailed SOP designed by the state which prescribes step-by-step actions to be performed by each designated person. The Contact Tracing Mobile App and Web Application are being used to overcome the huge quantum of work, genuine forgetfulness of the positive persons and attempts to hide facts due to various reasons, the Union Health Ministry statement said.

Technological interventions like the Seva Sindhu portal, Quarantine Watch and Apthamitra apps were hailed by the Centre as much as physical initiatives like physical and phone-based household survey which has covered more than 1.5 crore households, mobile squads for enforcement of home quarantine through community participation and field visits by ASHA workers. Because of the huge numbers and the need for diligent monitoring of quarantined persons, use of technology was necessary.

Doing it manually was impossible. The system was overwhelmed and, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention and we adapted. From the very beginning, we worked together with technocrats for development of apps, with doctors for clinical management, with epidemiologists to understand epidemiological aspects of the disease, etc. This experience has been quite fulfilling, said Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Services. He also expressed happiness over the teams work receiving due recognition.
Protesters display placards urging citizens to boycott Chinese goods during a demonstration in New Delhi, India, on June 18, 2020. (Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images)

IndiaChina Decoupling Accelerates After Border Dispute, CCP Virus

Smartphone market a key battleground for India

News Analysis

The recent IndiaChina border dispute and violence has accelerated calls within India to decouple economically from China, especially on the technology front.

For the uninitiated, bilateral IndiaChina trade stood at around $93 billion at 2019, as India imports a significant amount of high technology, automotive supplies, pharmaceuticals, and industrial products from China.

Even prior to the Galwan Valley border dispute escalation earlier this month, the two major powers within Asia were already on a collision course. The outbreak of the CCP virus and the chain disruptions during the early stages of the pandemic exposed risks in Indias manufacturing and technology supply chains.

CCP virus-related lockdowns had a significant impact on Indias pharmaceutical and electronics supply chains, according to a recent report by the London-based India Inc. About 65 to 70 percent of Indias imported active pharmaceutical ingredients are imported from China, and for some key active ingredients, China was the sole supplier, the report found.

There also have been increasing calls to boycott Chinese goods and services, arising from both the CCP virus pandemic and the recent border clash.

On June 17, Indias intelligence agencies asked the Modi government to block or advise against the usage of 53 smartphone apps that are made by Chinese companies or linked to China.

The list of apps is exhaustive and includes popular platforms such as Zoom, TikTok, SHAREit, and apps made by smartphone maker Xiaomi. The intelligence authorities voiced concerns that these werent safe and ended up extracting a large amount of data outside India, according to Hindustan Times, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Some imports, such as pharmaceutical ingredients, will be very difficult to source from suppliers outside of China, especially given the required price points. But other areas, such as manufacturing and smartphone supply chains, may be lower-hanging fruit. Its something Indian authorities have vowed to tackle with increased urgency.

Focus on Smartphones

A major battleground on this effort for India will be smartphones.

Currently, the smartphone market in India is dominated by China, with Chinese brands occupying four of the top five spots in the first quarter of 2020, according to research by Counterpoint. Xiaomi leads the market, with a 30 percent market share and 6 percent growth year-over-year, followed by Vivo, Samsung, Realme, and Oppo. Samsung is the only non-Chinese brand among the five.

While most of such smartphones sold in India are made in and imported from China, the Indian government is looking to change that dynamic. In early June, India announced a 500 billion rupee ($6.6 billion) program to incentivize manufacturers to set up facilities in India.

India announced it would offer qualified entities subsidies of up to 6 percent of the sales they manufacture within the country over five years, while offering rebates of up to 25 percent on capital expenditures that companies make in India, related to semiconductors and electronic components. The announcement is part of the Modi governments effort to court international companies to set up a manufacturing base away from China.

One company looking to take advantage of the program is Indian phone manufacturer Micromax. The firm was the No. 1 smartphone brand in India about five years ago, before Chinese brands entered the Indian market by offering cheap phones and elbowed local brands from the top spots.

The deflationary effects of cheap phones made by Chinese manufacturers with scale had a devastating impact on domestic smartphone makers. Intex pivoted away from making phones and now focuses on other electronics, while another former top phone maker, Lava, still exists but is now focused on sales in smaller towns that the Chinese brands have overlooked.

Even Micromax today assembles most of its phones in China to save costs.

Micromax used its Twitter account to tell its followers on June 18 that the company is working on new smartphone devices to be assembled in India, with hashtags #MadeByIndian and #MadeForIndian. Micromax reportedly has seven new devices in the pipeline, a retail industry source told the Indian news site Indian Express.

Despite the anti-China sentiment in India, it will be difficult for consumers to pivot away from Chinese smartphones. Chinese brands comprise 75 percent of the market in India and dominate the important sub-$200 price segment.

We dont have anything, Navkendar Singh, research director with IDC India, told Indian Express. I dont expect Micromax, Intex, and Lava to suddenly start making great devices and giving value across ecosystem products.
Though many independent publishers interviewed by PW last week reported a drop in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, several said sales aresurprisinglyup for the year, buoyed by strong interest in backlist titles, direct sales to consumers, and enhanced digital initiatives. Most also said their staffs are working remotely and will continue to do so until at least the end of August. Some are allowing limited staff to go to their offices irregularly to fulfill orders and do necessary administrative tasks.

The staff of New Directions, which is based in New York City, has scattered to various locales, said Mieke Chew, codirector of publicity, who temporarily relocated to New England. April was a really hard month, but since then it is getting better, she noted. We are at two-thirds of our usual sales. A lot is coming from Amazonunfortunately, as what wed most like to see is a strong comeback from the indiesand we are working with Ingram more closely than ever. B&N is down substantially for us.

Chew said core backlist titles are driving sales. New Directions has also seen a big hike in e-book sales, which were up 10%25% through May, and the company has recently started offering audiobooks. A new subscription service focused on new paperback releases dubbednew classics has attracted almost 100 customers, she added.

Chew said New Directions is also cognizant of the need to keep working closely with bookstores to ensure that they stay in business and has been providing authors for virtual events. One such event, for Mexican novelist Fernanda Melchors novel Hurricane Season, was hosted by Brookline Booksmith in Boston and drew 380 viewers.

Europa Editions also highlighted the importance of independent bookstores to its vitality. We rely on independent bookstores to market and merchandise our books to readers, said Michael Reynolds, Europas editor-in-chief. They count, over time, much more than their sales numbers on any given title might suggest. They are book discovery engines. He added that Europa keenly felt the effects of their closures or partial closures in April and May.

In response, Europa placed a renewed emphasis on marketing and announced #OurBrilliantFriends, an online event to discuss the work of Elena Ferrante. Set for June 23, the event is meant to build anticipation for the publication of the English translation of Ferrantes Lying Life of Adults, Europas lead title for the year, whose original publication date of June 9 was moved to September 1. Reynolds explained that the pub date change was made so that bricks-and-mortar stores, especially independent bookstores, wouldnt be cut out of the equation by online retailers.

One positive change Reynolds cited was booksellers newfound willingness to accept digital galleys in lieu of print copies, which can be excessively expensive for independent publishers to produce and ship.

Reynolds also said that Europa has decided not to renew its New York City office lease when it expires in August, nor will it look for other permanent space anytime soon. While we can get away with a more flexible, geographically diverse working space, virtual or otherwise, I think we should do so, he added. I dont see any reason to put my teams health at risk right now. We work well remotely; in fact, as a publisher with half of its staff in Europe, we are well accustomed to working remotely. Not having to pay rent on a New York office space over the next few months will put us in good stead during what will certainly be a hard period as the book retail crisis of the past couple of months filters through to book publishers. Its not idealI am a great believer in the need for colleagues, friends, family, human beings to share physical space with one another in order to really understand one another and their common endeavorsbut the largely officeless routine is working pretty smoothly for us right now.

Other Press, which also has offices in New York City, hopes to have its staff all back in place on September 1. No one is in the office now, said Bill Foo, chief financial officer for the publisher. For the most part, everyones been able to work remotely via Zoom meetings.

Foo noted that, going into the pandemic, the company was having a stellar year, with net sales through March up more than 26% from the same period in 2019, and with business at independent bookstores up 62%. But as the nation went on lockdown and Amazon deprioritized books, sales dropped. April sales were down 33.7% from the previous year, and May sales were down 62%.

Only 200 of our usual 600-plus indie customers managed to place very modest orders, Foo said. He added that the presss focus has been on shipping books, and that year-to-date returns are much lower than usual. He is expecting returns to jump as bookstores start pulling titles.

The office of Brooklyns Akashic Books is open on an extremely limited basis to fulfill orders or other urgent mailings, and its staffed by employees who live within walking or biking distance. No one else is going in, and at the moment it still feels premature to set a schedule for reopening the office, said editorial director Ibrahim Ahmad. Despite the pervasive uncertainty hanging over every aspect of the business, in terms of actual dollars and cents, were feeling cautiously optimistic that well be able to weather the storm.

Ahmad said Akashic has a number of perennial top sellers that continue to pull their weight. In addition, it will soon launch its LyricPop series of childrens picture books, based on the lyrics of popular songs, such as the Beach BoysGood Vibrations and Otis Reddings Respect. We hope [the series] will become a cornerstone of our list over the years ahead, he added.

Daniel Slager, CEO and publisher of Milkweed Editions in Minneapolis, reported that sales of Braiding Sweetgrass, a seven-year-old title by Robin Kimmerer, are lifting revenues this year, noting that the book, which calls for a return to a simpler life, has been on the New York Times bestseller list for trade paper for more than 16 consecutive weeks. Sales in all formats are 400,000 copies.

Overall, April saw a dramatic slowdown for Milkweed, Slager said, describing it as a disappointment but not devastating. May sales soared, he noted, and June is robust. He added that he was moved by how committed [distributor] PGW and Ingram have been, right through the darkest days of the pandemic.

The staff of Coffee House Press, another Minneapolis house, has been working from home since March. However, one person is allowed to go into the office at a time to pick up mail, do bookkeeping, arrange deposits, and replenish supplies of books that people are sending out from their homes to reviewers, booksellers, and those who have purchased them directly. I have no idea when we will be going back to the office, said publisher Chris Fischbach. Could be September, could be much later. Were preparing for both possibilities. We can afford to be cautious, so we will be.

Coffee Houses sales (print and e-book) are up 21% so far this year over the same period in 2019. I cant discern any particular reason why, other than randomness and our teams hard work, combined with the books being great and some authors contributing with publicity, Fischbach said about the nonprofits sales gain. Noting that Coffee Houses fiscal year starts in July, he added that he expects a challenging year, particularly regarding financial donations from institutions and individuals.

Graywolf Press, also based in Minneapolis, is also continuing to work remotely, and will do so through August. It took some time to adjust our systems to working remotely, as Im sure is the case for every organization, but the staff has adapted beautifully, said senior publicity manager Caroline Nitz. Though of course we miss working in the office together. Weve even found this to be a generative time for new ideas and new initiatives, especially around Graywolf-hosted virtual events, which were excited to move forward with in the coming weeks and months.

Nitz said the press has seen a surge in sales of Claudia Rankines 2014 book-length poem Citizen in the weeks since the killing of George Floyd in the publishers hometown. A 22nd printing is now underway and will include additional names to the In Memory Of section of the book, including those of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, she explained. Because sales of Citizen have spiked in recent weeks, Graywolf is donating a portion of that net revenue$5,000 eachto five Twin Cities organizations that are doing essential work in our community.

Editors note: Interviews with eight more independent publishers will appear in the June 29 issue.
Hyderabad

India is not expecting a war with China on the border issue, but it is fully prepared to meet any contingency arising out of the conflict on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief said India will always be prepared to defend its territories. His remarks came against the backdrop of the biggest confrontation with China in over five decades in which 20 soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the Galwan valley on June 15.

It should be very clear that we are well-prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain, he said, addressing 123 newly graduated IAF cadets, including 19 women cadets, at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

He also interacted with reporters after reviewing the combined graduation parade. Bhadauria said the air force, for tactical reasons, cannot disclose where and how the deployments will be made. We shall do and we are doing it as per the requirements, he said. We know what their (Chinese) fields are. We know what their air fields are, where they are deployed, what are the operational bases, he added.

Replying to a query on his assessment of the LAC situation in the wake of his visit to the airbases in Leh and Srinagar over the last two days, the Air Chief Marshal said the army was in full control of the situation at Galwan valley. We are aware of the full situation. Be at LAC (Line of Actual Control), be it deployments beyond LAC, Bhadauria said.

When asked if India is at war with China, Bhadauria said: You are aware of the talks that are happening at the military level...but we are prepared for any contingency.

Answering another question, Bhadauria admitted that the air force was yet to acquire full capacity in indigenous production of fighter aircraft. However, we are developing the ecosystem for indigenous manufacturing. We hope to produce 300 plus aircraft in the next 15 years, he said.

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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Warnography: Frenzy Media, Frantic World | Navneet Sharma and Khem Raj (...)

by Navneet Sharma and Khem Raj Sharma

The surest way to become a pacifist is to join the infantry.William H. Mauldin



War is an extreme aggression and destruction leading to mortality. It is only a masculine response to economic, political, geographical, religious and cultural conflicts. No war is fought for the sake of war but for peace or for the control over the ability to disturb peace. War is an economic enterprise. It benefits an ideology to be in perpetual state of war. The arms industry and profit mongering survive on the spate of fear and insecurity among people. The political compulsions of the governments at helm also contribute to the idea that war is at door or we are at war. In an era, when mass media rules our lives; and decision or choice making ability 24X7 being in tizzy favours commerce and commercialization.

In a war carpe diem (seize the day) is the aim. This is to support quick and random (and heroic/adventurous!) decision to sweep all enemies in a day. Similarly, in creating a war-like situation, veer-ras is eulogised to glorify the edifice of courage, bravery and nationalism, ethnicity or a particular religion. The usage of this emotion in mass media or popular culture is what that leads us to warnographysemantically equivalent to pornographyintended to stimulate our fear, insecurity, and simultaneously our heroic nationalistic sentiment. The media and medium for expressing this emotion has been there in different forms in high culture like paintings and poetry, but in popular culture it takes a subversive form to titillate the viewer and create the fuzzy excitement. We are not concerned about the literary, cinematic or fictional piece of works about war but the area of concern is the content and depiction on news channels. Amongst hundreds of channels looming into our most private recesses of drawing rooms and bedrooms, news channels have a distinct reputation wherein we consider the content shown and depiction as authentic and truthful.

In context of recent surgical strikes and muscular government at the centre, many news channels have gone overboard in talking about war. The Indian TV scenario is no different from other nations. The media coverage of invasion of Iraq and Syrian war has already generated lots of controversies around pro-war barons like Rupert Murdoch and WikiLeaks. The Gulf War in the early 1990s got the world the first glimpse of war and future warfare. It was akin to video-game war but the real people died. Similarly, the Kargil War became the first live war in South Asia. Media coverage of the Kargil asaction pack weeks generated its own share of empathy for military and disgust for faceless anonymous enemy as the other side kept denying that they are at war.

For news channels when they cannot cover the news they create news. From bijli baba (the saint who gives electric shock) to Prince in a pit, media definitely walks theextra mile. We are not in the frame and mood of making a commentary like Peepli Live. But post surgical strike and Doklam standoff many news channels have made it a point to raise the question: When is the war? Some news channels have gone from this question to another: What if there is a war? Pakistan bashing became the favourite news item. Border disputes with China and Nepal amidst Covid-19 pandemic has turned many anchors out in their army fatigues. One of the news channel reporter started giving news from a bunkerthe one in the studio itself. Anchors of news channels turned up in army dresses and studio was also camouflaged to give a border area depiction. One of the channels went on to compare the arsenal stock-pile of all these nations, and declared boisterously that Pakistan can be swiped off from the earth by India in minutes. How and when both countries would rush to use their nuclear weapons was also forecast. However, the tone of such anchors for China seems like an aggressive lambs, where no such grandiose claims are made. Ultimately, many anchors thought and acted in such manner that they declared themselves fitter and better for the role of being DGMO (Director General Military Operations). When and how of a complete win over of Pakistan and China was strategized in minutes while sitting in a studio. One of the channels went on (with the graphics of Chess game) to fore view that who and which leader / nation would cobble behind India, Pakistan and China and how this will lead to World War III.

The frenzy media creates a frantic world where mindfulness, rationality and voice for peace all drown in the din of cacophony for war. As a metaphor, frenzy media refers to a strategy to create such an apocalyptic situation, where everything is derailed, degenerated and disintegrated, and the world is indubitably going to collapse. It is the ploy of the negative press that just wants to create sensation which may be short lived, but creates an aura of a virtual world, which suits to some of their allies. They just open a can of worms so that people/ public get worried, thereby creating havoc in public life. They un/knowingly generate a frantic world by giving a chill to the emotions of the people. In this assortment, however, the common man bears the brunt and find themselves certainly in the postmodernist wasteland. The aestheticization of violence by news channels creates a different symbol/ signifier and different set of semiotic rules than jingoist cinema (Gadar-Ek Prem Katha) or poetry wherein veer-ras sounds differently than offing news of war in near future.

The media coverage on any social issues, viz. Elections, militarisation, de/secularisation, religiosity, wedding ceremonies, rapes etc. attempt to organise their reporting in such a manner that creates interest/curiosity amongst the viewers. It suits them that their viewer is always on a verge or edgy  on an extreme limit beyond which something specified will happen. These commercial media houses rely heavily on the advertisers business. So, to keep customers, the media tries to disseminate deleterious information. At times, they report a particular incident to the extent that the news is perceived to be excessive or out of proportion. Such a sensationalistic coverage projects media like a circus that relies profoundly on creating illusions rather than projecting a greater reality. This is done to keep eyeballs glued to the channel even during the break between news broadcast.

Various media outlets are cutting a sorry figure in presenting the truthful stories. Sometimes the gossip(masala!)spread on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or twitter becomes a news item for them. The potency of fabricated news came into focus after the 2016 US presidential elections. In the run-up to the ballot, fake news on the elections drew more engagement on Facebook than top-performing stories from major news outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, or The Wall Street Journal, this was found. Other countries also witnessed the rise of fake news too rendering it a global phenomenon in 2016.

In the post-truth world, this attitude of the media threatens the broadcasting of truth. By presenting the fake and fabricated news in contemporary world, they appeal to the emotions of the people and impose personal views; they hide the truth and convince people of what is untrue. These media channels use falsity of the past as well as of the present as a raw material to weave their stories. So, the question that arises is: Where do mainstream media organisations stand in the post-truth era? How do they maintain peoples trust, identity, credibility and originality? In the times when "post-truth" is hailed as the word of the year by lexicographers  a word which "relates to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief", objectivity/objective knowledge/perception must not be sacrificed on the altar of individual radical mis-understanding of religion, nationalism and cultural conflict.

In contemporary world, when the values of liberalism, objectivity, integrity, human solidarity and globalisation should have been the order of the day, the media houses have resorted to populism. This is the post-truth era! It is when lies replace the truth, emotions replace honesty, personal analysis replaces verified information and one opinion replaces multiple opinions. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, Mark Twain said. Hence, in the post-truth era, some of the Indian news channels have taken this advice literally in their hurry to fetch a better TRP and also to project the extremist situation prevailing in the world. They are presenting fabricated news items and resorting to show the alternative facts. Like the politicians, they are relying on suppressing the truth and suggesting the falsehood as the ultimate strategy for their survival. They demonstrate hyperreal temporality by working through certain factuality and fictionality to thrill or scare the present thereby enrapturing our gaze. In their freedom to speech and expression, they are what George Orwells core principle says, telling the people what they do not want to hear. So, facing this juggernaut of misinformation, the world has been left hapless and frantic. However, it may be a strategy to keep the wheels of progress turning, though negatively. Or maybe another section of people likes all this, because democratic government is an edifice of false promises and unreliable dreams. But when the evidence of the fake news breaks over, then clarifications / cross-clarifications follow.

It is important to do an introspection of all these hateful discourses. The media especially TV channels must formulate a clear vision based on their experience and expertise, away from amateur experimenting and imitation. They must maintain the context of their core and original content, to get at the peoples trust. Liberal democracy could be facing an existential threat, for its not clear that it can endure if its public sphere becomes completely polluted by falsehoods, misapprehensions, ignorance, prejudice, conspiracy theories and hatred. Today media risks more than just credibility in their hysterical rush for creating sensation. For this, they firstly form a hypothesis, and then look for evidence to substantiate it. Ironically, they begin to twist the facts to suit to their theory, instead of theories to suit the facts. They manufacture such irrefutable evidence that the actuality and the factuality of the incident/ news seemrevolving around it. These media channels do not adhere to the basic rule of journalism, where facts are considered sacred and comment free. But, they are hurting and dividing the people. In such circumstance, they cannot be let free of the guilt of peddling fiction, behaving like irresponsible trolls who compete with each other for spreading canards, distorting facts, inciting mob frenzy, ruining reputations and destroying lives.

Winston Churchill once quipped: a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Now, only a few wars later, warnography will catch more than the truth with its pants down. In the times when people are running skelter, naked and amok, media should not only cater to what they wish to see and hear or perceived negotiations of commercial pursuits but it should create and contribute to saner voices and sanity. Meanwhile, media may go back to either bijlibabas or its social movements of justice for Jessica but it should not succumb to warnographys visceral allure. Warnography  with all its profitability must be thrown out with the bath water of cannibalistic war mongering. In this post-truth era, truth must not be exchanged as commodity for higher TRPs.

Endnote:

William Henry Mauldin (29 October 1921  22 January 2003) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States, who became famous for his "Willie and Joe" cartoons during World War II.

References:

Cep, Casey N. (2005): Warnographys Visceral Allure, viewed on 25 February 2017,http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2005/10/13/warnographys-visceral-allure-winston-churchill-once/ p 1

First Post (2016): #JNURow: Caught in media frenzy, TV channels dump journalistic norms to pin Kanhaiya Kumar viewed on 27 February 2017, http://www.firstpost.com/india/jnu-row-caught-in-media-frenzy-tv-channels-dump-journalistic-norms-to-pin-kanhaiya-kumar-2632490.html, p1.

Jenkins, Simon (2017): Post-truth politics will be debunked by online facts, viewed on 26February 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/26/post-truth-politics-online-facts-donald-trump, p 1.

Naughton, John (2017): Is technology smart enough to fix the fake news frenzy?, viewed on 26February 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/04/technology-fake-news-frenzy-google-facebook-donald-trump, p 1.

Warren, Beatrice (1990): The importance of combining forms, in Contemporary Morphology, Wolfgang U. Dressler (ed), Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp 117-118.

Authors:

Navneet Sharma PhD is Assistant Professor, Department of Education, School of Education, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala. (navneetsharma29[at]gmail.com)

Khem Raj Sharma PhD is Assistant Professor, Department of English, School of Languages, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala.(drrajksharma162[at]gmail.com)

Corresponding Author:

Navneet Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, School of Education, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh  176215. Email: navneetsharma29[at]gmail.com
Manitoba health officials reported that no new cases of COVID-19 had been reported as of Sunday morning, keeping the number of cases in Manitoba at 313.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba health officials reported that no new cases of COVID-19 had been reported as of Sunday morning, keeping the number of cases in Manitoba at 313.

As of Sunday, pandemic restrictions have eased. Restaurants and bars no longer having to operate at half-capacity, however, tables will have to be two metres apart or have a physical barrier in between them. Non-smoking bingo halls and video lottery terminal lounges can also open for the first time in months, at 50 per cent capacity.

Daycare centres and retail stores can return to normal capacity, and people arriving in Manitoba from the other western provinces, northern territories and northwestern Ontario no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Larger public gatherings are also allowed. Instead of a cap of 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, people can fill up to 30 per cent of the capacity of any venue as long as they can be split into groups of 50 indoors or 100 outdoors. Each group must be able to enter and exit separately.

Last week, 10 cases of COVID-19 were detected in Manitoba.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

The DeWine administration this week asked hundreds of state vendors, suppliers and landlords to voluntarily take a 15% cut effective July 1 in what they are charging the state.

In a four-paragraph letter to our valued suppliers, Department of Administrative Services Director Matt Damschroeder said the unusual request stems from the states need to reduce spending due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The requested reduction would cover all supplies and services procured through DAS contracts as well as any supplies and services awarded by an individual agency, Damschroeder wrote.

William Teets, the agencys director of communications, said the request went to about 1,400 vendors with contracts for information technology, general goods and services, and printing and print-related services. The state also is also reaching out to about 180 companies from which the state leases space.

The department has no estimate on potential cost-savings of the move.

I can say that this is just one solution we felt we could explore to help the states efforts, Teets said. As many state contracts are already awarded to the lowest cost or best value offer, we dont intend for this effort to result in large-scale savings, rather provide an opportunity for smaller savings that can have a positive impact with individual state agencies.

There is a bit of a veiled hammer in Damschroeders letter: The vendors response will be taken into consideration as we make decisions whether to renew or rebid contracts approaching their end date. If you are in current negotiations regarding a contract or an extension, please keep this request in mind, as well.

Roger Geiger, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses for Ohio, said he expects most small businesses that contract with the state will agree to the voluntary cut.

If any small businesses want to preserve their status as a state contracted vendor they will likely have to take this very seriously, Geiger said.

Story continues

He said state contracts represent a big revenue stream for small businesses and they may feel pressured to act in good faith so that the state continues to renew their contracts going forward.

Geiger said many that take the reduction will have to make cuts to their own expenditures to make up for the 15% loss. This could mean layoffs and other budget constraints on small businesses.

Because much of Ohio shut down during the pandemic, state tax revenue dropped off a cliff this spring. DeWine announced in early May cuts totaling $775 million for the current state fiscal year, when ends June 30.

Several groups have called on the state to use its rainy day fund. That account currently has $2.7 billion, compared to the projected budget shortfall of $2.4 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

But the DeWine administration doesnt want to draw down that fund too fast.

The pandemic is expected to continue to impact the global, national, and Ohio economies well into the next biennium, so it is critically important to not expend our entire budget stabilization fund all in the current biennium, said Pete LuPida, communications director for the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.

LuPida said it is important the state addresses revenue shortfalls carefully to ensure future stability.

gshillcock@dispatch.com

@ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Coronavirus in Ohio: State wants vendors to take voluntary 15% cut on contracts, services
A new survey reveals almost three-quarters of Washington, D.C. cops are ready to quit the force, while violent crime is surging in New York City amid growing anti-police sentiment.

Protesters across the country are calling for police departments to be abolished or defunded following the death of George Floyd, sparking violent clashes between cops and demonstrators.

Floyd's death has prompted politicians to pledge that they'll make radical changes to their police departments - a move which has angered many officers.

The Washington, D.C. Council passed an emergency police reform bill last week which expands the training requirements for officers and orders the public naming of cops involved in shootings.

The bill also adds legal protections for people who are searched by police, among a whole host of other changes.

Many D.C. police officers have been left disillusioned by the bill's passing, and feel as if they've been thrown under the bus by lawmakers.

A D.C. police union survey of 600 cops shows that a staggering 71 percent of them are now considering leaving the force, according to The Washington Examiner.

A D.C. police union survey of 600 cops shows that a staggering 71 percent of them are now considering leaving the force, according to The Washington Examiner. Cops from the department are seen patrolling a protest in the city earlier this month

Protesters across the country are calling for police departments to be abolished or defunded following the death of George Floyd, sparking violent clashes between cops and demonstrators. Pictured: a protest in D.C. on Friday

39 percent of those surveyed say they are considering leaving law enforcement altogether.

The poll also reveals widespread anger at lawmakers, with 98.7 percent of those polled saying they feel 'completely abandoned' by the D.C. Council.

Similarly, 96 percent of the surveyed officers believe crime rates will rise in D.C. due to the reforms.

Meanwhile, violent crime is on the rise in New York City, according to new statistics released by the NYPD on Thursday.

In May, overall crime was down when compared with the same month last year, but the number of murders, shootings and robberies have soared.

Robberies were up 34 percent in May 2020, while murders increased an astronomical 79 percent.

Meanwhile, shootings soared 64 percent in May - and it doesn't appear to be a brief spike sparked by a brief period of unrest.

A protester is pictured dressed up as a pig to mock NYPD officers during a protest in the Big Apple on Friday

A protester calls on lawmakers to abolish the police at a demonstration in New York City on Friday

A report in The New York Post shows shootings are still surging into June.

This week, there have been 28 reported shootings in New York City - up from 12 shootings recorded across the exact same period last year.

It comes after the NYPD plainclothes anti-crime unit was disbanded, and those specialists were reassigned to 'uniform patrol duties'.

As in D.C., New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is promising a suite of reforms for the nation's larges police department, including a shifting of funding from the NYPD to youth and social services.

'This is what the politicians wanted  no bail, nobody in Rikers, cops not arresting anyone. All those things equal people walking around on the street with guns, shooting each other,' one irate officer anonymously told The Post on Friday.

A report in The New York Post shows shootings are still surging into June. Police are gathered at the scene of shooting in Brooklyn on June 3, in which two officers were hit by gunfire

It comes after news NYPD cops may go on strike on July 4 so the city can have its 'independence' from them as tension continues to build between law enforcement and politicians.

Messages have been circulating among law enforcement officers in New York encouraging them to call out sick en masse on Independence Day.

'NYPD cops will strike on July 4th to let the city have their independence without cops,' reads one of the text messages sent among cops, according to the NY Post.

Multiple cops said they have been sent messages urging them to call out sick July 4, in retaliation for New Yorkers not 'honor[ing] us', the Post reported

'Cops that say we can't strike because of the Taylor Law,' reads one of the messages, which called for the strike to start at 3pm that day.

'The people and this city doesn't [sic] honor us why honor them [sic].'

The message references the Taylor Law - a New York State act which makes work stoppages punishable with jail time and fines.

A different message also calls for an Independence Day strike and talks about the #Bluflu - the slang name for a large sickout by cops.

'Police officers like you and me took an oath to protect strangers regardless of race, class or gender,' the message reads.

'Today we are vilified and must stand as one.'

The message goes on to give instructions to officers for calling in sick, the Post reported.

It tells them to first call their precinct and log a sick day.

The next step if this is denied is to call the main NYPD sick desk.

Finally, if that is also turned down, cops should show up for work and ask for an ambulance to take them home sick, the Post reported.

'If you are held because of the #Bluflu, request a bus and go sick from command,' the message adds.

It is not clear if the messages of encouragement have been written by other NYPD cops but Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch told the Post that New York cops 'have reached the breaking point.'

'Over the past few weeks, we have been attacked in the streets, demonized in the media and denigrated by practically every politician in this city,' Lynch said.

'Now we are facing the possibility of being arrested any time we go out to do our job.'

The NYPD is facing scrutiny after footage of protests over Floyd's death has shown multiple incidents of them violently responding to demonstrators.

Cop Vincent D'Andraia was charged with assault after he threw a female protester to the ground in an unprovoked attack in Brooklyn at the end of May.

In another incident in Brooklyn, an NYPD cruiser was seen deliberately plowing into protesters, ramming them out the way.

The potential walkout comes as the NYPD has come under fire after some officers have been caught on camera violently attacking protesters demanding an end to police brutality. Pictured above an NYPD cruiser deliberately plows into protesters

A burning NYPD van during protests in the city. Calls for the NYPD to be reformed or defunded altogether have been mounting

More than 350 officers have also been injured in recent weeks, as some protests have descended into rioting and violence.

Calls for police reform are sweeping the country and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a package of new bills for the state and an executive order mandating all local governments and police agencies develop and adopt plans to reform local police departments.

On Wednesday, De Blasio introduced new plans for the city's disciplinary database which by July will list out all 1,100 pending internal cases within the force, which are prosecuted by the departments oversight agency the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

DCPI Spokesperson Sergeant Mary Frances ODonnell told DailyMail.com officers will be protecting New Yorkers on July 4 as normal.

'New York City Police Officers will be here today, tomorrow, and on the 4th of July to protect all New Yorkers. To suggest otherwise is false,' O'Donnell said.
Sisterhood opens up discussions on unchartered topics By Meleeza Rathnayake View(s): View(s):

Patriarchy in the Muslim community is a topic that should be given more opportunity for discussion, believes Nabeela Iqbal, founder of the Sisterhood Initiative that is lobbying for change for women in the Muslim community and all women in general who do not get equal opportunities due to religious practices and longstanding cultural rituals.

I was 18 when I got a chance to tour the island with a diverse team from the organisation Sri Lanka Unites, to build peace and reconciliation. One of my mentors taught me that, communities in general are not homogeneous; within each community all of them are different. It is really important to have intra-faith community discussions so that people within the community speak to each other. This was the idea that motivated me to go ahead with my initiative, says Nabeela.

An undergraduate at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and past pupil of Methodist College Colombo 3, Nabeela has been volunteering in many peace building and advocacy platforms. An advocate champion with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), she is currently leading the revision of the Senior Girl Guides Association handbook curriculum- the Rangers toolkit, to make it more progressive and proactive by including modules in civic engagement, reproductive health and empathetic leadership etc., she says.

Founded in January 2020, the Sisterhood Initiative works towards creating spaces for Muslim women in Sri Lanka to come together and share their experiences, engage in curated discussions and to find a sense of community among each other. The topics range from personal issues to community level issues that women dont get a chance to talk about.

To engage in discussions is the main objective here at Sisterhood  by doing this at a community level we are immediately raising awareness on cases of injustice that Muslim women who have different realities around the island face. Further to this, as a community when other people recognize us, it breaks this stereotype of what a Muslim woman is. We are engaging, we participate, we are willing to learn and do more in society, said Nabeela.

Importantly, they have non-Muslim members who work with them. They really support our work and are very vital to the work that we do. When they participate with us, it is motivating and makes us stronger. They teach us their practices and their cultures, said Nabeela. On Poson poya, for instance, they had a virtual learning experience  an educational interfaith discussion.

Sisterhood Initiative had planned to have the Colombo discussion every month but with the pandemic they were only able to have an event in January and a regional workshop in Kandy in February. Meanwhile they have been having virtual conversations through webinars and ongoing discussions through social media with their members. It is not my favourite as not everyone can be part of the discussions due to limited resources and so on, but surprisingly there was a massive outcome, says Nabeela.

Virtual sessions conducted during the lockdown included Understanding Hate Speech, A conversation between a Catholic and a Muslim (post-Easter attacks), Womens Political Participation and Learning about the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Law (MMDA), followed by a different series under the theme Online Conversations and Learning. This included Learning about Fasting during Ramadan and Eid Festival, Menstrual Hygiene and a special fundraiser for World Menstrual Hygiene Day with the Jasmine Foundation (Trincomalee) to donate sanitary hygiene products to local women.

In my opinion, the conversation between a Catholic and a Muslim with regard to post-Easter attacks was very important because a country needs to heal after a conflict. This conversation included a Catholic who had lost a friend and through this persons grief we were able to communicate the feelings that were involved, which included racism,  explained Nabeela.

All sessions were mentored and conducted by professionals, Hyshyama Hamin and Maryam Azwer from the Muslim Personal Law Reforms Action Group (MPLRAG) and Nethmini Mediwala for the Womens Political Participation Conversation among them.

Sisterhood Initiative plans to continue their work in Akurana, Puttalam, Sainthamaruthu, Matale, Trincomalee, Gampola and engage with men too.

There have been several people who have given massive feedback about how secure they feel being in this community to the confidence they are gaining. Many non-Muslims who have been a part of the discussions say that they are getting to know a lot of things that they didnt know exist in society. This is really important for us. Especially referring to the MMDA conversation, many including married women had no idea about the general legal aspects in a Muslim marriage, said Nabeela.

Women started to stand against violence and abuse at home after we taught them about the law, she adds.

The Sisterhood Initiative would like to acknowledge the support of Thevuni Kotigala, Sithy Thahera Salam and Shaheela Mohideen.

Their Sisterhood, now counting 196, is growing and those interested could get in touch with the team through sisterhoodinitiativelk@gmail.com and follow them on their Instagram handle @sisterhood.initiative for more updates.
Being mindful of our mental health By Joshua Surendraraj View(s): View(s):

As life begins to resume around the country, the new normal might seem to be a frightening, if not a stressful affair to many. Whilst some find it difficult to get back to work after being at home for two months, there are others who do not have a job to return to. In these instances, ones mental wellbeing plays a key role.

This week we spoke to Chalana Wijesuriya, a Psychologist and Anissa Sameer, the founder of Choose to thrive, a health and wellness-oriented organization. They gave us an insight on how to stay positive as life post Covid-19 begins.

Chalana works at the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and is also a partner at The Ohana Project, a community mental health initiative. He like many of us, remembers reading an article about Covid-19. But did not think it would impact the entire world in the way it did.

When it comes to resuming normalcy, Chalana believes the life we should go back to, should not be the same as before. Rather, it should be centred around awareness, an understanding of our surroundings and our impact towards the environment.

One must also be more cautious and understand that COVID-19 is still present, and we move onto a time where we must live with it.

Chalana feels the first few days of resuming work might be challenging, since it may bring new changes. But he believes this will be less challenging than the time we spent in quarantine.

The shutdowns also meant people losing their jobs, which makes it an exceedingly difficult time for them. But we are entering a new age where business environments have also gone through a change. And Chalana verily believes that it would be beneficial to not simply go back to what you used to do.

But, understanding the market and tapping into what the people want might be more lucrative than before.

From a psychological perspective, Chalana believes that staying positive, is not something anyone can tell you to do. Because what one person would find positive, might not be so to someone else.

On the contrary though, it is important to understand what aspects of your life make you happy, the work that you are motivated to do and focus on them.

But you should also be cautious not to resort to unhealthy behaviours in a bid to be happy. Because this may have an impact on your mental and physical health.

What is important is to understand that it is ok for you to feel negative or positive emotions in times like this, he says.

How a person can take care of their emotional wellbeing, is by first understanding that this situation is a novel one. And as such it can trigger certain emotions. But, its important to realize youre not alone in worrying about this.

And as he puts it, focusing on what you have a control of will be more beneficial than something that you have no control of. For example, relying on accurate news sources, practicing the social guidelines, physical distancing and personal hygiene are things that you CAN do.

Next up was Anissa Sameer, who is a writer and a creative consultant. Her organization Choose to Thrive aims at hosting several events and webinars to help people better themselves.

Anissas personal experience with depression inspired her to want to make a difference and speak out to help dismantle the stigma, particularly in the context of work and relationships.

We live in world where people prioritize physical wellbeing over mental wellbeing, not realizing that the two need to work together in order for someone to be a healthy functioning individual, she explains.

Her hope is that by sharing her story, she could help those in her position realise they are not alone.

As we adjust to the new normal, Anissa feels its pivotal for employers to be cognizant of their employees mental health and wellbeing. Companies need to do their best to help their staff, especially during a time like this because a person could be dealing with a lot.

Anissa herself went into a state of anxiety and fear that the curfew situation could affect her health and also work. The manner in which businesses were to function had changed. I myself lost work and I wasnt prepared for that at all, she recalls. Her existing clients were also in a state of panic with the fear of salary cuts etc.

Her experience made her realise its important for people to take care of their mental well-being now more than ever. We are each fighting our own battles, she explains, adding that if someone you know is struggling mentally and opens up to you, its best to let empathy guide your response to them.

Depression does not have a face.

Anissa is also a huge advocate of therapy and believes that if you know someone who is in a perilous state, they should be encouraged to seek professional help. Theres a trend of people offering unscientific, alternative solutions to serious mental health issues. Since its such a misunderstood topic, its important we are aware of who to take advice from, she says.

Personally, Anissa is not someone who believes in forcing people to be positive. She feels its important to come to a realisation that whatever negative emotions you are feeling right now are valid.

Stressful situations and events such as the ongoing global pandemic and the ensuing uncertainty have left a lot of us anxious and in fear. But this is a normal response to a stressful situation.

It is however important that we learn to cope with these feelings while not forcing ourselves to be positive if we are genuinely not in that place.

These days Anissa finds herself writing in her journal. She would spend a lot of time with her thoughts- listening to each of them- the good, the bad, the ugly.

I validate what I am feeling and while I am not in a place at the moment that is all sunshine and rainbows, being real and patient with myself is helping me progress a little more day by day, she says.

Its important to realize that at the end of the day, we are all facing this together. And if things do become overwhelming one could also seek help from Organizations such as, Sumithrayo, Shanthi Margam etc.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Gurugram might be heading for a complete lockdown as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Haryana.

On Friday, 525 new cases were reported in the state taking the total number of cases to 9,743. Gurugram is the most affected district in the state with 4,136 cases and 55 deaths.

District authorities have proposed a plan to completely lock down the millennium city for at least ten days to curb the growth of the disease, sources said.

Meanwhile, the government has capped the rate of Covid-19 testing at `2,400. The new revised rate will come into force with immediate effect.

As per the medical bulletin issued by the state government, there are 6,693 male, 3,049 female and one transgender positive cases in the state with 144 deaths reported so far.

On Friday, Faridabad reported 161 new cases and five deaths taking the total number of cases and deaths in the district to 2003 and 51, respectively.

There were then 145 new cases reported in Gurugram with three deaths. Sonipat reported 36 new cases and one death with the total number of cases and deaths at 755 and 10, respectively. Jhajjar has 174 cases, Nuh 129 and Palwal has 249 cases.

According to sources, authorities in Gurugram including the health department, Municipal Corporation, police, and the elected representatives have recently urged the Haryana CM Khattar to lock down the city for ten days.

It will give them enough time to implement and execute plans to control the transmission of the virus. The state government might also decide to completely lockdown Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar districts, sources said.

Deputy Commissioners have been asked to meet Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), traders and industrialists to take their feedback and discuss integrities to implement the lockdown.
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WASHINGTON - The Trump administration announced Friday night that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who has handled a number of investigations involving the president or his campaign, will be leaving that job, though Berman fired back that he hadn't resigned and would stay on to ensure his office's cases proceed unimpeded.

The surreal Friday night standoff marks the latest battle over the Trump administration's management of the Justice Department. Democrats have decried what they charge has been the politicization of the department under President Trump and his attorney general, William Barr.

Barr announced the personnel change in a statement, saying the president plans to nominate the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, for the job.

Berman's office has been conducting a criminal investigation of President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a campaign finance case that has already led to charges against two of Giuliani's associates.

One Justice Department official said the change arose because Clayton was preparing to leave the SEC later this year, but had also expressed interest in the New York prosecutor job. Barr liked Clayton and liked the idea, the official said. The attorney general offered Berman the chance to become the head of the Justice Department's Civil Division but Berman declined, the official said.

Berman fired back with a blistering public statement.

"I learned in a news release from the Attorney General tonight that I was 'stepping down' as United States Attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York," Berman said.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption. I cherish every day that I work with the men and women of this Office to pursue justice without fear or favor - and intend to ensure that this Office's important cases continue unimpeded."

Barr said in his statement that while the Senate considers Clayton's nomination, the job will be filled by Craig Carpenito, who is the U.S. attorney in New Jersey. Carpenito will take over the job on July 3, Barr said.

"Geoff has done an excellent job leading one of our nation's most significant U.S. Attorney's Offices, achieving many successes on consequential civil and criminal matters," Barr said.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan handle some of the most sensitive financial, political and national security cases in the Justice Department, and Berman's office has a long tradition of charting its own course on high-profile cases.

The office has filed campaign finance charges against two Giuliani associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, accusing them of conspiracy and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

People familiar with the case have said investigators are scrutinizing Giuliani's consulting business and eyeing donations made to America First Action, the main pro-Trump super PAC set up by his advisers and allies after his election, as well as a nonprofit affiliated with the super PAC.
Shiv Sena MP slams UGC for asking varsities to put up banners thanking PM for free vaccination drive

Centre should respond to Chinas claim on Galwan Valley: Sena

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, June 20: Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday said the Centre must respond to China's claim that the sovereignty over the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh belonged to it.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in the clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night. It was the biggest military confrontation between India and China in over five decades.

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

China gives step by step account of what happened at Galwan Valley on June 15

After India trashed the Chinese Army's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the LAC, China's foreign ministry on Friday claimed that the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday asserted that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured.

Taking to Twitter, Chaturvedi said, "Yesterday PM Modi assured the nation that no posts/territory have been ceded to China, but here China claims Galwan Valley as theirs."

China claims whole of Galwan Valley, hopes India will work with it

"This is unacceptable and the government needs to clarify or respond to this. Have we ceded our Galwan valley or ousted the PLA from there? Nation wants to know," the recently elected Rajya Sabha member said in the tweet.
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Boris Johnson insisted coronavirus is 'increasingly under control' today as he prepares to unveil a new 'one metre plus' rule within days and give Britons the green light for holidays and haircuts.

The PM said there is 'not long to wait now' for movement on lockdown as he looks certain to halve the social distance in a crunch speech on Tuesday - with the caveat that other precautions such as face masks must play a bigger role.

He stressed he is 'sticking like glue' to the roadmap that from July 4 will permit hairdressers to roll up the shutters in a boost for thousands of barbers and millions of shaggy-haired Britons in need of a trim.

The UK holiday season is also expected to start within a fortnight when Mr Johnson gives permission for hotels and vacation parks to reopen.

Although Downing Street insisted no final decision has yet been taken on restarting the 130billion-a-year domestic tourism industry, The Mail on Sunday has been told an announcement could come along with the other changes.

New advice is then likely to be sent to British tourism chiefs by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing another huge package of tax cuts and spending to revive UK plc after lockdown. VAT is set to be slashed as part of efforts to prop up struggling businesses and stave off mass unemployment.

Speaking in No10 this afternoon, Mr Johnson said: 'The disease is increasingly under control and I just want people to reflect on that important fact.

'It's going down, we are getting it down. 'So, of course, as we make that progress it will be possible to open up more and you will be hearing more about what we want to do with not just non-essential retail but with the hospitality sector from July 4 and we're sticking absolutely like glue to the road map to the plan that I set out on May 10.

'But it's very important we don't lose our vice-like grip on the disease; we've got to keep it on the floor where we've got it.

'On the progress on social distancing, watch this space and you won't have much more to wait now. You'll certainly be hearing more this week.'

In other coronavirus developments today:

Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested that drinkers will need to register to go to pubs and order using an app when they reopen from July 4;

Mr Hancock has renewed his attack on Apple for blocking the failed NHS version of the contact tracing app, and refused to give a date for when the new 'hybrid' software will be up and running;

Unions have warned the employment market is on 'red alert' and the UK could be facing a 1930s-style wave of joblessness;

The Government is planning new laws to protect British companies hit by the pandemic from takeovers by foreign companies;

A Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered the chaos within the Government's 'test and trace' programme;

It has emerged that two rival vaccines being developed by British universities could be used together to provide lasting immunity to coronavirus.

People meet up in King's Cross, London, yesterday, where a number of bars have already opened offering continental-style outdoor seating

Notting Hill in London was crowded with people enjoying the sunshine and clutching drinks yesterday as pubs and bars served beverages to go

It is hoped hotels and B&Bs reopening would give the economy the kick-start it needs as it slowly emerges from lockdown. Pictured: Brighton beach yesterday

This next phase of lockdown loosening will also permit hairdressers to roll up the shutters on July 4  subject to the wearing of face masks - in a boost for thousands of barbers and millions of shaggy-haired Britons in need of a trim. Pictured: Gatsby and Miller salon in Amersham demonstrates how it will operates when clear to reopen

Boris Johnson practices COVID-19 social distancing with schoolchildren on a visit to Bovingdon Primary Academy in Hemel Hempstead, on Friday

The reproduction rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is still between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK, meaning the virus is firmly in retreat. Separate data released for the first time also claimed the UK's current growth rate - how the number of new daily cases is changing day-by-day - could be as low as minus 4 per cent. If the rate becomes greater than zero, the disease could once again spiral out of control

How could the 'one metre plus' rule work? An announcement of the two-metre social distancing rule is expected to be relaxed this week. UK Hospitality has suggested that halving the minimum gap could double the capacity of businesses to operate, while a loosening will also be welcomed by aviation and the tourism industry. But the government has made clear that other precautions will be needed, with inside spaces required to be well ventilated and thoroughly cleaned. Although few hard details are known, here is how the new arrangements could work in difference settings. PUBS Drinkers would be expected to give their contact details in a register, so that they can be traced if it emerges later that someone infected was in the venue. Customers could be advised to order using an app, stand as far apart as possible, face away from each other where they can, and prefer outside spaces. RESTAURANTS Tables could be closer together than two metres as long as people can face away from each other, and there may be advice for 'side-sitting' when people are dining together. Rules could be slacker for those who dine outside. Disposable cutlery might be needed in many restaurants, and there will be thorough cleaning in between guests. Booking is likely to be compulsory in formal settings. TRAINS AND PLANES Face coverings have already been made compulsory on public transport, with passengers who break the rules risking fines. Reducing the minimum distance will increase the potential for trains, Tube and buses to run at higher capacity - allowing more people to go back to work. Airlines will also benefit from lowering the spacing requirement, which they had warned could make it economically impossible to run flights. Face coverings will again be relied on to help reduce the risk of transmission, along with temperature checks. There is the possibility that some seating could be reconfigured to limit how many people face each other, and screens could also be deployed. SHOPS Perspex screens, face coverings and 'quarantine' for goods handled by customers are already being used to reduce the potential for spread. But cutting the social distancing will benefit smaller shops in particular, and help boost footfall. More people will be allowed in shops at once. It is also possible that browsing could be time limited to curb the length of exposure - which along with distance is a key component in spreading the virus. Advertisement

As the rate of infection continues to wane, scientists have rubber-stamped the reopening salons as safe, in a change of tack cheered by the nation's 30,000 hairdressers.

'There'll be a big rush to get an appointment when this is formally announced,' a Whitehall source told the Sun, while cautioning that it will not herald a return to 'normal' as face coverings will be mandatory.

The move comes after Britain yesterday reported 128 new coronavirus deaths, the lowest Saturday figure since lockdown was imposed in March, bringing the total to 42,589.

The UK's threat level was downgraded on Friday after scientists confirmed that the epidemic is shrinking by four per cent every day, and the reproduction R rate remained below one. Britain can also now test everyone showing symptoms.

As ministers' attention turns from wrestling down the virus to rescuing the economy, they are poised to revise the two-metre rule down to 'one-metre-plus'.

The halving permits people to keep just one metre apart as long as they take precautions such as meeting outside and with a face covering, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Mr Johnson's relaxation of the draconian restrictions will provide a lifeline to the beleaguered holiday industry, which will open for business also on July 4 - America's Independence Day.

But it is understood that while hotels and bed and breakfasts will be allowed to open then, tourist sites with shared facilities, such as campsites, will have to wait longer before being given the green light.

The encouraging signs have fed a growing clamour from the tourism industry for a clear date from which it can start accepting bookings again  and clear guidance about how it will have to operate.

Millions of families are desperately waiting to find out whether they will be able to enjoy a summer holiday after spending three months in lockdown, while holiday bosses say that the limbo has cost them billions of pounds in lost revenue.

Ministers are also negotiating 'air bridges' with up ten countries, including France and Spain, to allow Britons to go abroad without being subject to the Government's controversial 14-day quarantine when they return.

A scheme to test arrivals at airports for the virus is also being piloted, which could also help end blanket restrictions.

Mr Hancock insisted that the government is 'on plan' to get more sectors of the economy up and running on July 4.

But he made clear that there is little chance of bars and restaurants getting back to business as usual any time soon.

Asked on Sky News' Sophy Ridge programme whether drinkers will need to register before going to the pub, and order using an app, Mr Hancock said: 'That is the sort of thing that we are looking at for how do you make it safe to open things... I wouldn't rule it out.'

The step - previously taken in countries such as New Zealand - would allow for easier tracing of customers if someone who went to the venue is found to have been infected.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said Labour would support the end of the two-metre rule if other safety measures are put in place.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'Yes, under certain circumstances.

'But we also need to see a greater use of face masks, I would've thought.

'As I've said, certain staff, workers who are very public-facing in their day-to-day action, perhaps greater use of face shielding, let's get testing and tracing up and running.'

Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, warned the UK could be facing a situation 'as bad as the 1930s if we don't get our act together' over the continuing coronavirus threat.

She told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: 'This is not the time to take the foot off the pedal... What we've got to do is make sure that we avoid the cost of long- term unemployment.

'Perhaps we shouldn't just be looking at the 1980s as a situation that we want to avoid, and need to invest in to avoid, but this could be as bad as the 1930s if we don't get our act together and come together.

'We want to see the Government setting up national councils. This should be a national effort for recovery and reconstruction of this country to build back better, fairer, greener economy that delivers good jobs for people.'

Too many firms, 'big high-profile names', have not published their risk assessments she said, adding: 'That test, trace, isolate scheme where is it? We need it up and running, that's absolutely critical to the infrastructure to ensure that people are safe.'

She said teaching and education unions had been arguing for catch-up schemes over the summer, adding: 'It would be great to see the Government pay attention to some of those practical ideas... It's common sense that we should be putting kids first and I know that education unions are committed to that.'

Crowds of people drank outside a bar in Battersea, London, as pubs and bars across the country served takeaway pints to eager revellers

Pubs and bars can sell takeaway booze but are not yet allowed to host customers in beer gardens. One way around the rule is offering outdoor seating. Pictured: Drinkers outside the Wolf and Badger bar in Kings Cross yesterday

Government plans could see visitors taking staycations to places like Bournemouth beach, pictured

VAT 'set to be slashed' to kickstart the economy Rishi Sunak looks increasingly certain today to slash VAT in a bid to kickstart the economy amid coronavirus meltdown. Amid fears many businesses face going bust due to the fallout from lockdown, the Chancellor has ordered officials to draw up options for cutting the sales tax in the coming months. The move could be a boost to shops, which were forced to close for months as part of the draconian restrictions to combat the pandemic. Although there was a surge when non-essential retailers were allowed to reopen last Monday, trade is still running at just 40 per cent of normal levels, according to the Sunday Times. The country is facing the worst recession for 300 years with 1980s levels of unemployment. VAT was reduced in the aftermath of the Credit Crunch, and there are growing signs that the headline rate could be lowered from the current 20 per cent to 17 per cent or even 15 per cent. That would cost the Treasury billions and drive up public debt even further, but give businesses more headroom to offer discounts and shore up their finances. Advertisement

The move towards opening up tourism comes as Mr Sunak draws up a package of measures to boost the wider economy, potentially including a cut to VAT, changes to National Insurance and tax perks for developers to encourage a house-building boom.

He said yesterday that Ministers would announce within days the results of a review into the two-metre rule, which would 'make an enormous difference' to businesses 'keen to see a change'.

Many Tory backbenchers are urging Downing Street to move swiftly to open up the British tourist industry.

Former Environment Minister Owen Paterson told this newspaper: 'To have any hope of saving this summer season for our tourist industry, the Government must announce this week what the arrangements will be for reopening on July 4.

'The tourism industry makes its money in the summer to get through the winter and we're nearly halfway through that summer season already.

'Ministers can't leave our holiday parks, hotels and pubs in the dark any longer.

'The Government must say this week that there will be a reduction in the social distancing guidance to one metre. Everything depends on that.

People might need to register for pubs People might need to register before going to the pub and order drinks using an app, Matt Hancock said today. The Health Secretary confirmed the options are being considered as ways to make it 'safe' to reopen the hospitality industry. Mr Hancock insisted that the government is 'on plan' to get more sectors of the economy up and running on July 4. Boris Johnson is expected to announce this week that the two-metre social distancing rule is being halved. But he made clear that there is little chance of bars and restaurants getting back to business as usual any time soon. Asked on Sky News' Sophy Ridge programme whether drinkers will need to register before going to the pub, and order using an app, Mr Hancock said: 'That is the sort of thing that we are looking at for how do you make it safe to open things... I wouldn't rule it out.' The step - previously taken in countries such as New Zealand - would allow for easier tracing of customers if someone who went to the venue is found to have been infected. Advertisement

'People are not going to go to restaurants, pubs and holiday parks in our beautiful tourist areas unless we cut the rule to one metre.

'If we don't, large numbers of hospitality businesses just will not survive. The Government must also say that the quarantine arrangements will end on July 4, too.'

Cornish MP Scott Mann, vice-chairman of Westminster's all-party group on hospitality and tourism, said: 'It is vital that we give tourism-based businesses as much time as possible to plan for reopening. I want to give those businesses the best possible opportunity to get some revenue in.'

Patricia Yates, chief executive of Visit Britain, said: 'We need to know what the plan is. The lack of Government guidelines and that uncertainty around the date is causing a great deal of consternation within the industry.'

She said that reopening in July was 'crucial' but warned businesses in some of Britain's best-loved tourism destinations will still struggle even then.

Visit Britain estimates that the tourism industry, which supports three-million jobs, will suffer a 42 billion loss of income this year because of the pandemic.

British holidaymakers spent 8.3 billion on overnight stays in the UK between July and September last year.

A Downing Street spokesman said that a final decision on restarting domestic tourism had not yet been made.

Holiday resorts on a knife edge: UK tourist bosses say government 'dithering' over social distancing rules has left staycations in limbo and left them racing to prepare for reopening in two weeks

Furious holiday industry bosses are warning that they may not be ready to reopen on July 4 because of the Government's 'dithering' about what safety measures they will have to put in place.

Millions of families are waiting desperately to find out whether they will be able to head to holiday parks, B&Bs and hotels this summer.

But Ministers were coming under fire last night for failing to tell tourism businesses what rules they will have to follow if lockdown rules are relaxed in 13 days' time, such as whether they will have to maintain two-metre distancing.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said: 'The Government could by now have issued guidelines. We're frustrated at being treated like children. It's like we can't be trusted.'

The confusion comes as the head of Britain's 130 billion-a-year tourism industry warned that the pandemic had left seaside resorts 'on a knife edge', and one of Britain's largest holiday park operators said it was now 'make or break' time for the sector.

FAMILY FUN: Visitors splash around at Center Parcs' resort in Normandy, which has been open for weeks and operates under distancing guidelines

But firms are still in the dark over crucial considerations, such as whether guests who fall ill will have to be quarantined for 14 days in their holiday properties, or whether hotel rooms would have to be kept unoccupied for 72 hours between bookings to prevent spreading the disease between guests. Patricia Yates, chief executive of Visit Britain, told The Mail on Sunday that the lack of Government guidelines was causing 'consternation within the industry.'

'Businesses take four weeks to open up and many are gearing up and hoping they are doing the right thing,' she said. 'The industry is hoping they see the guidance this week  businesses need some time to understand it and implement it.'

The UK tourism sector, which supports three million jobs, made 90 million a day from staycations last summer.

Ms Yates said that it was 'crucial' for the holiday firms to reopen next month but warned businesses may struggle after a survey found that 28 per cent of Britons are not confident that they will take a holiday this summer.

She said: 'There is a lot of enthusiasm to open but it's going to be challenging to make a success of it. It's going to be tough. Seaside resorts are on a knife edge.'

Unlike their parks in the UK, Center Parcs has been able to welcome visitors back to its resort in Normandy

DESERTED: Traffic cones block the entrance to the Center Parcs holiday site in Thetford, Norfolk, which will not open to guests for at least three more weeks

The Prime Minister is reportedly set to halve the two-metre distancing rule next week, which would be good news for the hospitality industry because they will be able to serve more customers. However, a No 10 spokesman insisted that no decisions had been finalised.

Ros Pritchard of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, said: 'I don't know what is going on in Westminster. They have had months to get this in place. The Government has got to publish the guidance now to give people reassurance about how they can reopen, and restore consumer confidence which has taken a huge knock. I don't know what's delaying them.'

Visit Britain estimates that the tourism industry, which supports three million jobs, will suffer a 42 billion loss of income this year because of the pandemic.

Parkdean Resorts, which runs 67 holiday parks, said: 'We urgently need clarity from the Government to confirm that the hospitality sector can open on July 4, what facilities we can offer, and what the social distancing requirements will be. This is make or break time for our sector.'

Becki Osborne, who runs the Polmanter campsite in St Ives, Cornwall, said: 'We are trying to blindly prepare for reopening. It was months ago that July 4 was mentioned as a possible date. That's now just two weeks away and we still don't know what we are supposed to be doing.

'We're fully booked. What if we're suddenly told only 70 per cent of pitches can be used? How and who do we cancel? Guests are asking us if they're having a holiday this summer and we can't tell them.'

Alistair Handyside, chair of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said it was 'ludicrous' that people 'can crowd into Primark, and flock to busy beaches' but not stay in caravans or holiday homes.

In Northern Ireland, self-catering accommodation, including caravans, will be allowed to reopen from Friday. Hotels are due to reopen on July 3 but spas and leisure facilities will remain closed.

The Welsh Assembly said holidays in 'self-contained' properties will be allowed from July 13 unless there is a spike in cases. The Scottish Government, which has released detailed guidance, said it hopes to welcome tourists from July 15.

However, not everyone is keen to resume tourism. Authorities in Cornwall fear an influx of visitors may overwhelm the local NHS as the population of 560,000 doubles each summer because of tourists.
Mumbai: The COVID-19 infection claimed life of another policeman in Mumbai, taking the total number of police personnel dying due to the infection across Maharashtra to 46, informed Mumbai police PRO Pranay Ashok on Saturday.

The deceased was admitted at King Edward Memorial Hospital of the city was receiving treatment from the past 10 days.

Out of the total 2,349 Mumbai policemen found coronavirus positive in the city, 31 have died due to lethal infection so far.
Bostons city council sent a letter to Mayor Marty Walsh calling for a 10% reduction in the police departments budget, as well as the overtime budget, following a nationwide movement to enact police reforms.

The group of city officials want to move as much as $300 million to a variety of social programs, the Boston Herald reported. The five-page letter also calls for, among other things, the creation of a Civilian Review Board with subpoena power to investigate allegations of police misconduct and for all officers to wear body cameras, including those working overtime.

The letter comes amid several weeks of protests and calls to overhaul police departments following the officer-involved death of George Floyd, who died after a former Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The letter also comes on Juneteenth, which marks the day enslaved Blacks in Texas received word of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865, roughly two years after President Abraham Lincoln made the address.

The holiday has been celebrated for the past 154 years, yet it is largely absent from public school history curriculums in Massachusetts.

On Thursday Massachusetts Rep. Bud Williams, a Springfield Democrat, filed legislation that would make Juneteenth a state holiday. The Boston City Council is honoring the holiday this week while continuing to push to make it an official citywide holiday in future years.

Separately, three city councilors also proposed an ordinance on Friday that would establish an unarmed community safety response system that would work to divert non-violent emergency calls away from the police department to a network of non-law enforcement agencies and professionals better suited to address those calls.

Today we signed onto an ordinance with @wutrain & @LydiaMEdwards to establish an unarmed community safety response system for nonviolent community calls.



We must implement a more holistic public safety infrastructure integrated with public health! #AllMeansAll #bospoli pic.twitter.com/fOJZpaSSeM  Julia Mejia (@juliaforboston) June 19, 2020

They include mental health professionals, health care workers, outreach workers trained in responding to homelessness and other unarmed professionals with specialized training.

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A number of MCU villains have died over the last 12 years of movies, with some leaving a potential door open to returning. Fans continue to argue over which ones should return after remarks of a few being wasted potential. On places like Reddit, one can see wishes for Ultron returning, if not names like Klaue, or Killmonger. None of those are likely to come back. One villain, though, seems like he could have had his own standalone movie.

Anyone who remembers Whiplash will remember Mickey Rourke attempting to create a memorably revengeful character. The man behind Whiplash was Ivan Antonovich Vanko, the son of Anton Vanko who was fired and disgraced by Tony Starks father, Howard Stark. Whiplashs only appearance in a movie was in Iron Man 2.

Mickey Rourke | Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images

Whiplash gave Tony Stark a challenging villain

The Starks were not a perfect family having as much technological power that they did. They made some enemies along the way, especially from those disgraced by them due to wrongdoing.

Anton Vanko was vanquished from Stark Industries because the former wanted to profit off the Arc Reactor, something he and Howard Stark created together. When Howard Stark found out about this, he had Vanko deported back to Russia. In turn, Russia sent Vanko to Siberia where he spent the rest of his life penniless with his son.

Ivan Vanko vowed revenge on the Starks for what they did to his father. Hence, Whiplash was born, somewhat of an ironic name since he was similar to Iron Man. In fact, Whiplash used the same technologies to construct his suit by recreating the Arc Reactor.

Considering Ivan Vanko was also a scientist, he could have had his own solo movie to show how someone opposed to the Stark values can turn so villainous.

One fan thinks Whiplash should return

After repeated quarantine viewings, "Iron Man 2" remains my favorite Iron Man movie for many reasons:



1. Sam Rockwell makes everything better

2. Young Natasha Romanoff

3. First Don Cheadle as Rhodey!!

4. Mickey Rourke = underrated villain

5. Grand Prix scene still rocks pic.twitter.com/QJbli6p0tq  Red (@SurvivingGrady) May 2, 2020

RELATED: The Time Mickey Rourke Said He Took Robert De Niro to School on a Film Set

One fan on Reddit recently said this in reply to a thread about bringing back MCU villains: Oddly enough Whiplash. He had so much potential. With such a great actor playing him, he could have been great. Just Iron Man 2 did not really work for him.

A good argument can be made there that Whiplashs appearance in Iron Man 2 seemed a little too contrived. It was already amazing enough Marvel managed to land Mickey Rourke, an actor known for being extra picky in the roles he takes.

How he felt about the character is another thing. Rourke went on the record back in 2011 as saying he hated what Marvel did with Whiplash. Said Rourke to MTV then: If they let you play the bad guy with other dimensions other than one dimensional. You have to fight for that though, to bring layers to the character. Otherwise, if youre working for the wrong studio, or lets say a director that doesnt have any balls, then theyre just gonna want it to be the evil bad guy.

He claimed the real meat of Whiplash was cut out of the film, leaving a truly wasted effort in his mind. Based on all evidence, director Jon Favreau let Rourke have creative freedom, yet it was Marvel itself wanting a more one-dimensional portrayal.

Chances are small Whiplash would ever be revived

Because of Rourkes dislike for the MCU since his experience there, Whiplash would likely never come back. His death by self-destruction seemed inevitable anyway after Iron Man and War Machine beat him at his own game. Then again, with Vanko having the same technical knowledge as Stark, who is to say he might not have an AI version of himself out there somewhere?

Rumors keep percolating about Iron Man coming back in that AI version of himself utilized in the comics, according to Inverse. Having an AI Stark and an AI Whiplash going at it would be one surreal moment. Then again, when Agents of SHIELD briefly brought in the comic book edition of Whiplash (named Marcus Scarlotti), it opened the door to an alternative version of the villain. Since the final season of that show has no appearance of the character, it leaves the door open to the Marvel multiverse perhaps taking care of a future revival.
Swimmers, surfers, fishermen and beach users are advised to be careful following an increased number of reports of weever fish on beaches.

This little sand-coloured fish lives on beaches and can cause reactions ranging from painful swelling to anaphylactic shock for anybody unfortunate enough to stand on one.

The weever fish grows to around 15 centimetres and spends most of the time buried under the sand with just its venomous black dorsal fin showing. The mouth is in an unusual position on its head, oblique and almost vertical and contains sharp teeth.

Roger Sweeney of Water Safety Ireland said: They are found all around the Irish coast but only in sandy areas where the water is warm and shallow close to the mean low water tide line.

A typical scenario that brings them to attention is when there is a new moon which gives us higher and lower spring tides which means that swimmers and surfers have to venture further out on the beach into the area where the weever fish live.

We advise the public to avoid swimming approximately one hour either side of low water to reduce the risk of stepping on them.

People can also wear flip flops or sandals when walking on the beach close to low water.

Should a bather step on a weever fish then the result can be painful as the spines embed into the skin and discharge their poison.

The pain is at its most intense for the first two hours at which point the foot normally goes red and swells up. It may feel numb until the following day with irritation and pain that can last for up to two weeks. Sometimes the spine breaks off in the foot and it will cause discomfort until it is removed.

Mr Sweeney said: You won't see a Weever fish easily but you will know it's there if you are unfortunate enough to stand on one since its back has this defensive sting mechanism. Although the sting can be very painful, it will not cause permanent damage.

However, some people can suffer more severe reactions.

One danger is that it can cause anaphylactic shock or allergic reaction to those who are very vulnerable in this respect, said Mr Sweeney.

People who have been stung could take painkillers and if they develop an allergic reaction to the sting, a course of antihistamines is recommended.

People can also seek assistance from a lifeguard who are all qualified first aiders. If you are away from a beach with lifeguard support, as soon as possible get the area which has been stung, invariably the foot, into hot water. This increases the blood flow which assists natural cleaning and healing and the heat also helps to break down the poison. The water needs to be over 40C to be of any benefit in breaking down the poison.

Most reports of weever fish stings occur during the month of August although this does not mean that this fish is particularly prevalent during this month. It merely reflects the greater numbers of bathers as the sea temperature reaches the highest of the year.

The only death on record after someone was stung by a Weever occurred back in 1927 when an angler suffered multiple stings whilst fishing off Dungeness in the UK.
KEARNEY  A felony sexual assault charge against a Kearney man has been dismissed.

The 31-year-old man had been charged in Buffalo County Court with felony first-degree sexual assault of a child between Feb. 6, 2017, and Feb. 6, 2018. The charge alleged sexual penetration of a child younger than 12 years old.

According to court records at the time of the alleged offense the alleged victim would have been 2 years old.

The mans case was bound over to district court for trial in January, Deputy Buffalo County Attorney Melanie Young said, however, the case later was dismissed.

Young said there was not enough evidence to go forward with prosecution. The case with dismissed without prejudice, which means Young may refile charges.
ADDIS ABABA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gedu Andargachew on Friday called for boosting China-Africa solidarity in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press statement, Andargachew said solidarity between Africa and China can overcome the socio-economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and chart out a better way forward.

Andargachew made the remarks during the High-Level Video Conference on Belt and Road (B&R) International Cooperation held on Thursday. "Ethiopia appreciates China for successfully curbing the spread of the COVID-19 disease and for its unyielding support to Ethiopia's fight against the scourge," he said.

"Ethiopia hopes the B&R conference would create opportunities for concerted efforts in containing, mitigating and defeating the global threat from the pandemic that has severely affected developing countries," said the statement.

Andargachew also called on the Chinese government to continue with support to Ethiopia to help the east African country withstand the economic shock associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 3,954 after 195 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

The ministry also disclosed that two COVID-19 patients succumbed to the disease on Thursday, eventually bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the east African country to 65.

The conference was held with the aim of bolstering multilateralism and international cooperation against COVID-19.

The conference also aimed to advance high quality B&R cooperation between China and African countries.
Jesus began his ministry preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Repentance was foundational for a life committed to ushering in Gods realm, where oppression and injustice are no more, where marginalized voices are brought to the center of public attention, and where every piece of Gods creation that has been broken apart and beaten down by sin, including the sins of racism and white supremacy, are reconciled to the heart of our creator. Repentance means to turn around, take a new direction. When ashes are imposed on Christians foreheads on Ash Wednesday, ministers might say, Turn away from sin and believe the good news. To repent is to recognize evil for what it is, leave it in the rearview mirror, and return to God like a toddler running back into their parents loving arms.
Srinagar/UNI: Two people were injured when Pakistani troops again violated ceasefire and resorted to unprovoked shelling and firing, targeting civilian areas and forward army posts in the Uri sector in north Kashmir district of Baramulla, official sources said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said Pakistani troops are violating ceasefire to help militants, waiting at launch pads near the Line of Control (LoC), to infiltrate into this side from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Sources said Pakistani troops fired mortar shells and resorted to firing with automatic weapons, targeting forward posts at the LoC and civilian areas in Hajipeer area in Uri sector Saturday. A shell fell in village Nambla causing injuries to two civilians. The injured were shifted to Sub District hospital Uri, they added.

The Indian troops also retaliated to target Pakistan army posts, they said, adding damage suffered across the LoC was not immediately known.

Over 50 families living in about eight to ten villages near the LoC in Uri sector have already migrated to safer places due to shelling by the neighbouring country 's troops last and early this week. A woman was killed and several others were injured besides about a dozen structures were damaged in Pakistan shelling.

DGP Singh and senior Army officers of 15 Corps have said a large number of trained militants are waiting at launch pads in PoK to sneak into this side before the infiltration routes are closed due to snowfall in November. However, they said, security forces deployed along the LoC are already on high alert to foil any infiltration attempt by militants.

Majority infiltration bids from PoK were foiled by security forces on the LoC, DGP said adding a large number of militants were killed immediately after they sneaked into this side under the cover of Pak Army firing and shelling in north Kashmir. However, he admitted that some militants had managed to enter the valley.

Singh said Pakistan is now trying to send militants through the International Border (IB) in Jammu. However, he said Jammu is almost militancy free. However, one militant identified as Maqsood in Doda and three in Kishtwar are active.
MILWAUKEE  Stephanie Rapkin, a 64-year-old Wisconsin lawyer seen spitting on a young African-American protester in a video shared on social media, has been charged with a hate crime and a felony.

Rapkin was captured on video confronting protesters June 6 who were urging her to move her car, which was parked and blocked the progress of a march.

She is seen spitting directly into the face of 17-year-old Eric Lucas. She was arrested twice  for that incident, and again the next day while confronting people who were writing messages in chalk on the sidewalk outside her house. While being arrested the second time, police say, she kneed an officer in the groin.

Eric Patrick Lucas, III, 17, gets a hug from Harmonee Goston, 9, whose sister is friends with Eric as Eric's friend, Kayla Mcpike, looks on after a news conference at Shorewood High School on Monday. Lucas discussed being spat on by 64-year-old Stephanie Rapkin during a Black Lives Matter march in Shorewood on Saturday.

That incident is charged as battery to a law enforcement officer, a felony. The spitting is charged as disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor, but with a hate crime enhancer that raises the maximum penalty to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine  if prosecutors prove the action was racially motivated.

Previously: Wisconsin attorney filmed spitting on protester arrested again after altercation in front of home

The battery on a law enforcement officer charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, plus three years of extended supervision.

Rapkin, who has been free on bail, is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on the charges July 24. It is unclear whether she has hired an attorney, and she could not be reached by phone Friday. Her practice focuses on estate planning and probate law.

Stephanie Rapkin is accused of kneeing a police officer in the groin.

Lucas' attorney, Matthew Pinix, released a statement from Lucas' family. It reads in part, "That disgusting mistreatment of our son is an egregious insult not only to him, but also to all that he is doing to change the inequity in our society.

"An example must be set by our justice system to ensure that acts like this never occur again. If we are to heal as a society, we must start by showing all those who are watching that this injustice cannot stand.

"Erics voice, and the voice of all those who have marched with him all over the community, will not be silenced."

Story continues

Pinix said that while his clients are happy about the hate crime enhancer, they're disappointed that prosecutors didn't make the underlying offense something greater than disorderly conduct.

Video of the June 6 spitting incident was already spreading on social media when Rapkin was recorded the next day confronting Joe Friedman, who had been writing messages chalk on the sidewalk outside her home.

Rapkin tells Friedman, a college student home for the summer who was recording their conversation, that she spat at Lucas the day before in response to a physical attack and then demonstrated the supposed attack by appearing to shove Friedman in the chest.

"You just put your hands on me," Friedman says in response. "That is assault right there. Wow, I just got that on video, ma'am."

Friedman is represented by attorney Michael Maistelman.

Given the horrific actions of Stephanie Rapkin at a time when COVID-19 is ravaging our country, we demand her immediate testing for both current and past infection and to publicly release the results, Maistelman said.

The novel coronavirus is highly contagious through saliva, especially larger droplets of spit, Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, told USA TODAY earlier this year.

More than 110,000 people have died of the virus in the United States in recent months, according to a Johns Hopkins University Dashboard, as the nation reels from the health and financial impacts of the ongoing global pandemic.

Contributing: Jordan Culver. Follow Chris Bruce Vielmetti on Twitter: @ProofHearsay

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: George Floyd protest: Hate crime charge for woman who spat on teen
New York, June 20 : The US Army will soon be able to deploy autonomous aerial vehicles, or drones, that can change shape during flight, thanks to a new research that led to the development of a key tool.

The capability to change shape during flight will help optimise performance of the vehicle through different phases of flight.

"Consider an [Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] mission where the vehicle needs to get quickly to station, or dash, and then attempt to stay on station for as long as possible, or loiter," said Francis Phillips, an aerospace engineer at the US Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory.

"During dash segments, short wings are desirable in order to go fast and be more maneuverable, but for loiter segments, long wings are desirable in order to enable low power, high endurance flight." The new tool will enable the structural optimisation of a vehicle capable of such morphing while accounting for the deformation of the wings due to the fluid-structure interaction, he said.

The findings of the study by researchers with the US Army Research Laboratory and Texas A&M University were presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aviation Forum and Exposition's virtual event this week.

Their research led to a tool, which will be able to rapidly optimise the structural configuration for "Future Vertical Lift" vehicles while properly accounting for the interaction between air and the structure.

Within the next year, this tool will be used to develop and rapidly optimise Future Vertical Lift vehicles capable of changing shape during flight, the US Army Research Laboratory said.

For the past 20 years, there have been advances in research in morphing aerial vehicles but what makes the Army's studies different is its look at the fluid-structure interaction during vehicle design and structural optimisation instead of designing a vehicle first and then seeing what the fluid-structure interaction behavior will be.

"This research will have a direct impact on the ability to generate vehicles for the future warfighter," Phillips said.

"By reducing the computational cost for fluid-structure interaction analysis, structural optimisation of future vertical lift vehicles can be accomplished in a much shorter time-frame."
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 20, 2020 15:55 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066050e5a 1 Politics rahayu-saraswati,Gerindra-Party,Prabowo,Prabowo-Subianto,regional-elections,2020-regional-elections,South-Tangerang Free

Gerindra party politician Rahayu Sara Saraswati has secured support from the partys executive board to run in the upcoming South Tangerang regional elections, pending official endorsement from her uncle, party chairman Prabowo Subianto.

Gerindras South Tangerang branch executive board (DPC) has supported Sara as the partys candidate for the 2020 regional elections, which has also been approved by the partys executive board (DPD). Her official candidacy would need the stamp of approval from Prabowo who, as the partys chairman, would have the final say on the partys candidates competing in regional elections.

Gerindra South Tangerang DPC secretary-general Yudi Budi Wibodo said the party was intensively communicating with other political parties.

Geridra has eight seats on the South Tangerang Legislative Council (DPRD), so it will need to forge a coalition with other parties to endorse a candidate. It takes at least 10 seats, or 20 percent of the total 50 seats on the council for a party to endorse its own candidate.

Read also: Hopefuls set sights on leadership posts in hip South Tangerang

Yudi refused to further comment on possible coalition partners.

All parties are the same to us. Each party has potential, especially those that have not declared their possible candidates, he said on Saturday as reported by kompas.com.

Sara is the daughter of businessman Hashim Djojojadikusumo, Prabowos youngest brother. She previously served as a House of Representatives lawmaker for the 2014-2019 period. She ran for reelection in the 2019 legislative elections but failed to secure a seat.

South Tangerang in Banten is among 270 regions slated to elect their new leaders in concurrent regional elections in December this year. The region, considered a growing and hip satellite city to capital Jakarta, has attracted a number of hopefuls that have declared their plans to run in the elections, including current Deputy Mayor Benyamin Davnie and daughter of Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, Siti Nur Azizah.

Sara said she was not afraid to compete against other possible candidates in the elections.

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses," she told kompas.com on Friday. (rin)
By Associated Press

KABUL: The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital and the staff who are affected include diplomats, contractors, and locally employed staff.

The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul, who could not be identified because of not being authorized to talk to the media, said as many as 20 people were infected, the majority of whom are Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.

The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. State Department said.

The infected staff are in isolation in the embassy while the remainder on the compound are being tested, said the embassy official, who also said the embassy staff has been told they can expect tighter isolation orders.

Afghanistan has 28,424 confirmed coronavirus cases. International aid organizations monitoring the pandemic's spread in the country say the numbers are much higher because of a lack of testing capabilities as well as access to testing. They also fear the highly contagious disease has spread throughout the country with the return of nearly 300,000 Afghans from Iran, the hardest-hit country in the region. Iran has recorded more than 200,000 cases and 9,392 deaths.

Few of the Afghans who returned from Iran were tested before they fanned out across the country to their homes.

Earlier this month the International Rescue Committee warned Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster mostly because the government does not have the capacity to even test 80% of coronavirus cases.

Until now a handful of NATO troops have also tested positive for the infection.

At the U.S. Embassy, the State Department said a sanitization of the premises was being carried out to prevent further outbreak."
In its newest draw, Manitoba has invited immigration candidates currently overseas, as well as candidates inside of Canada.

Manitoba invites 181 PNP candidates in June 19 draw In its newest draw, Manitoba has invited immigration candidates currently overseas, as well as candidates inside of Canada.

Manitoba invites 181 PNP candidates in June 19 draw In its newest draw, Manitoba has invited immigration candidates currently overseas, as well as candidates inside of Canada.

Manitoba invites 181 PNP candidates in June 19 draw In its newest draw, Manitoba has invited immigration candidates currently overseas, as well as candidates inside of Canada. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Manitoba held its 92nd PNP draw on June 19, 2020.

It issued a total of 181 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) to immigration candidates.

The LAAs invite immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for a Canadian permanent resident visa.

The LAAs were made out to candidates who are eligible under the following Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) streams:

Ten of the 181 invited candidates had profiles in the Express Entry system.

So far this year, Manitoba has issued LAAs to 2,335 immigration candidates.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Manitobas EOI system

Immigration candidates need to register an Expression of Interest (EOI) with the MPNP in order to receive an LAA through the Skilled Workers in Manitoba and Skilled Workers Overseas categories.

Under Manitobas system, such candidates are ranked out of 1,000 points for human capital characteristics such as their English or French language skills, education, work experience, Manitoba connections, and other factors.

In todays draw, successful candidates needed a score of at least 504 points to obtain an LAA under the Skilled Workers in Manitoba stream.

Skilled Workers Overseas candidates needed a minimum score of 686 points.

About the Streams

The Skilled Workers Overseas Category and Skilled Workers in Manitoba categories allow the province to nominate skilled workers who can support Manitobas labour market needs.

Those overseas need to have an established connection to Manitoba. This can be demonstrated through close family ties or friends in Manitoba, previous experience in the province, or an invitation under one of the MPNPs Strategic Recruitment Initiatives.

They do not need to be physically present in Manitoba at the time of the application to be eligible.

Successful candidates in the Skilled Workers in Manitoba category must meet certain criteria, such as having a full-time permanent job offer from an employer in Manitoba.

Finally, international students that graduated from an educational institution in Manitoba may receive an LAA under the International Education Stream if they have in-demand skills.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

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He was one of Australia's first openly gay Big Brother contestants, appearing on the show back in 2006.

And as a new season of the reality series hits television, Dave Graham, also known as 'farmer Dave', has revealed what his life is like now.

The 39-year-old told Mamamia this week that he now leads a very different life as an international dog trainer.

These days: Former Big Brother contestant Dave Graham (pictured), also known as 'farmer Dave' has revealed what his life is like now. The 39-year-old told Mamamia this week that he now lives the glamourous life of an international dog trainer

In fact, he was touring the USA doing live dog training gigs when COVID-19 broke out.

'They shut down New Orleans the second day I was there. The day after that we got on a plane and got the hell home,' he told the website.

Dave is father to three donor children - the mothers of Dave's children are all friends of the former reality star, and include two straight women and one lesbian.

Back then: He was one of Australia's first openly gay Big Brother contestants, appearing on the show in 2006 (pictured)

Dog whisperer: Dave was touring the USA doing live dog training gigs when COVID-19 broke out. 'They shut down New Orleans the second day I was there,' he told the website

He says his international dog training career has kept him from spending as much time with his three daughters as he'd like.

Dave told the website that he is 'pretty much living out of a suitcase' and 'very rarely' sees his kids.

'Their mums will bring them to where I'm doing a show and I get to see them during the break,' he said.

Daddy distance: He says his international dog training career has kept him from spending as much time with his three daughters as he'd like. Pictured with one of his children

Kids are alight: Dave is father to three donor children - the mothers of Dave's children are all friends of the former reality star, and include two straight women and a lesbian. Pictured with one of his children

'That's not connecting with your kids and I realise that now. I need to take time out and go and spend weekends and actually hang out with them and just do whatever it is that they want to do.

'They've got super-loving families around them and all that sort of stuff, and I'm a donor dad so it's a little bit different to a full-time role of a father, but a dad's a dad.'

Last year, Dave said that fatherhood and his busy life negated the need for a husband.

Difficult: Dave told the website that he is 'pretty much living out of a suitcase' and 'very rarely' sees his kids. Pictured with one of his children

He admitted: 'That's not connecting with your kids and I realise that now. I need to take time out and go and spend weekends and actually hang out with them and just do whatever it is that they want to do'. Pictured with one of his children

'We have this amazing family where I'm an integral part of their lives and it negates the need for chasing a husband,' he explained to The Daily Telegraph.

'But you never know, I'm still one of those blokes who's looking and hoping and waiting (for the one).'

The handsome farmer came third on Big Brother in 2006.

He came out as gay during a live episode of the show, but told Mamamia this week that he does not remember any of the details now because of the heightened emotion of the moment.
Supporters wait outside the venue for US President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Amid a still-strong pandemic and after weeks of protests about racial inequality, President Donald Trump will hold a rally with thousands of supporters in Oklahoma on Saturday in an effort to reinvigorate his re-election campaign.

Trump has come under fire for his responses to the coronavirus and to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

He drew more criticism for his decision to hold his first rally since schools and businesses were shut in March to stop the spread of coronavirus in Tulsa, the site of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against black Americans some 100 years ago.

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Oklahoma has reported a surge in new Covid-19 infections in recent days, and the state's department of health has warned that attendees at the 19,000-seat BOK Center venue face an increased risk of catching the virus.

Hours before the rally, Trump's campaign announced six members of its advance team had tested positive for Covid-19.

"Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented," Tim Murtaugh, campaign communications director, said in a statement. "No Covid-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today's rally or near attendees and elected officials."

The Republican president is trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, in polls ahead of the November election.

Expand Close An Oklahoma National Guard soldier stands outside the venue for U.S. President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton / Facebook

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Supporters are delighted to see Trump back on the campaign trail, and those wanting to attend far outstripped the number of seats available, Trump campaign officials said.

Mike Boatman, 52, said he arrived in Tulsa from southern Indiana on Monday to ensure he secured his spot.

"Over one million tickets being requested for this, so I wanted to be here early," Boatman said. "This ain't nothing. I mean, what our president does for us every day, he sacrifices for us, every one of us, no matter who we are, whether we are Black, white, Asian, yellow. He don't care."

The country's racial divide remains a political vulnerability. Trump's "law and order" reaction to the protests triggered by Floyd's death has put him at odds with the views of most Americans.

After intense criticism, Trump postponed the rally by a day so that it did not coincide with the anniversary of the June 19 commemoration of the end of Black slavery in the United States.

On Friday, he threatened unspecified action against any "protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes" who travelled to Oklahoma, a warning that his campaign said was not aimed at peaceful demonstrators. Critics accused Trump of trying to provoke conflict.

White House and Trump campaign officials have largely dismissed concerns about the rally's safety, saying masks and hand sanitiser will be available. However, participants are required to waive their right sue if they contract the coronavirus at the event.

Outside the venue, Michigan resident Saundra Kiczenski, 40, said this would be her 36th Trump rally and her 19th state. She wondered how public health concerns would change things.

"Are they going to have, like chairs on the floor, like spread out like that? Are they going to have everybody together like we were?" Kiczenski asked. "It's kind of a different thing for everybody - come to this one and then see how things are going to change going to November."

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told Fox News on Friday that he would probably wear a mask to the rally, while White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters she would not. Trump has eschewed wearing a mask in public.

Strategists and former administrations officials say Trump must convince voters that his policies will pull the United States out of the recession sparked by the economic shutdown amid the outbreak.
China's top legislative body released new details of national security legislation to be imposed on Hong Kong, shedding light on a measure that pro-democracy groups warn could undermine the city's appeal as a financial center.

The draft bill calls for Hong Kong to establish a new committee headed by the city's chief executive to protect national security, which will be supervised and accountable to Beijing. China will also establish a new bureau in Hong Kong to analyze the security situation, collect intelligence and "lawfully handle national security cases," according to draft language released on Saturday by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The law said the central government will have jurisdiction over an "extremely small" number of national security cases under "specific circumstances," Xinhua said. The police and judiciary will need to establish new departments to handle cases under the law, it said.

Details of the measures to punish acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces in the former British colony had been secret since the broader National People's Congress approved their drafting on May 28. The NPC Standing Committee began deliberations on the legislation Thursday, after a last-minute announcement that it had been added to the agenda.

The laws will shape the future of Hong Kong, raising questions about the autonomy of a city whose global status is a underpinned by its legal distinction from the mainland. President Xi Jinping's government decided to bypass the elected local legislature and impose the security laws after a wave of historically large and sometimes violent protests gripped the city last year.

The laws have fueled resurgent pro-democracy protests and led the U.S. to threaten to revoke Hong Kong's special trade status, which has helped maintain the city's role as a vital financial crossroads between China and the West. Opposition politicians have said China's move would mark the end of the "one country, two systems" principle that has governed the city since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

Other key details of the law include:

- The chief executive will appoint judges to handle criminal cases endangering national security.

- The draft also asks the Hong Kong government to strengthen its work to safeguard national security and prevent terrorism.

- Hong Kong must "adopt special measures strengthening oversight and management" of schools and social organizations.

- The national security commission will also set up a position of special adviser, who will be designated by the central government, and providing consultation to the special commission.

- Hong Kong should "respect and protect human rights" while ensuring national security, and anyone accused has the right to defend themselves.

- The NPC Standing Committee has the power to interpret the law, which would override any local laws that are inconsistent with its provisions.

The fresh details generated alarm among some pro-democracy politicians. Lawmaker Fernando Cheung said the details made clear the Communist Party "has the power to pick whoever they want" and bring them to the mainland to face criminal charges.

"No doubt, this law has immediately turned Hong Kong into a mainland city," he said. "I don't see how the international community would feel secure under this law. And I'm sure that there will be an exodus of young professionals in the near future."

Hong Kong's future has become a proxy fight in the battle for dominance between the U.S. and a rising China, with local protesters waving American flags and Beijing officials accusing Washington of acting as a "black hand" behind the unrest. China agreed to preserve the city's liberal political structure and capitalist economy for at least 50 years in a treaty with the U.K.

Beijing has pressed ahead despite a statement by the Group of Seven foreign ministers Wednesday warning the legislation "would jeopardize the system which has allowed Hong Kong to flourish and made it a success over many years." Scores of civil society organizations, included Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, urged NPC Chairman Li Zhanshu, the ruling Communist Party's No. 3 leader, to abandon what they said was a "devastating assault on human rights."

"China is firmly determined to advance this national security legislation in Hong Kong," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters Thursday, saying foreign governments should "stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs."

The move means more disruption for a city already facing its deepest recession on record after protests and coronavirus lockdowns kept people in their homes and scared tourists away. Unemployment has risen to a 15-year high, while investors are putting money elsewhere and some expatriates and Hong Kong residents are considering leaving the city.

China's surprise decision to impose the legislation has left Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp reeling, with little power to stop its enactment by a local government loyal to Beijing. Opposition lawmakers have expressed concern that the law will be used to bar China's critics from seeking office, after the city's only representative to the NPC Standing Committee saying candidates who oppose its passage should be disqualified.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who was chosen by a selection committee of 1,200 political insiders and appointed by Beijing, has endorsed the legislation, despite acknowledging she didn't know what was in it. A poll released by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Program on May 29 showed a majority of residents and 96% of democracy supporters opposed the measure.
A man, who visited Beijing recently, is tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on June 15, 2020. - China's capital city raced on June 15 to control a fresh coronavirus outbreak, with 75 cases linked to a single wholesale food market in Beijing where authorities have locked down neighbourhoods and launched a massive test and trace programme. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

A man is tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on June 15, 2020.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11  100 days ago.

As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, has devastated populations, as medical professionals, government officials, and scientists and researchers alike rush to understand it.

Here's how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it in a matter of 100 days.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic 100 days ago on March 11. In a little more than three months, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000.

The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, spread to nearly every continent, as doctors and nurses treat hundreds of patients per shift. Government officials scrambled to not only support their constituents, but also to implement ways to stem the rapidly spreading virus.

Related: How Long Will Social Distancing Last? Its Complicated.

Parts of the world plunged into unprecedented lockdowns, shuttering businesses and keeping people physically distant from one another, leading to economic decline.

In the last few weeks, some restrictions have been lifted in a bid to restore normalcy in a pandemic-ridden world. But in light of reopening efforts, experts are concerned that the world could once again face the dark reality it faced at the early beginnings of the pandemic.

In a matter of 100 days, the coronavirus has devastated populations around the world, and there doesn't yet seem to be an end in sight as scientists rush to develop a vaccine.

Here's how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it:

Story continues

World Health Organisation

The World Health Organisation (WHO) assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2008.

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The WHO was first aware of the novel coronavirus that was sweeping across regions of China in early January and declared it an emergency at the end of January.

According to a timeline from WHO, by March 11 the organization was "Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction," which led it to declare COVID-19 a pandemic.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America's small businesses, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump.

Associated Press

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A Chinese police officer in front of the portrait of Nationalist founder Sun Yat-sen at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China

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China was the original epicenter of the novel coronavirus, and parts of the country were under lockdown for more than 70 days.

While some cities and states had implemented some form of restrictions to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, California became the first state to implement a statewide "stay-at-home" order.

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coronavirus new york





AP Photo/Kathy Willens

While the first case in the US may date back to December 2019, and cases were first reported in Washington state, by March New York state was the epicenter in the US.

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New York coronavirus

Healthcare workers walk outside NYU Langone Medical Center on 1st Avenue in Manhattan after people came to cheer and thank them, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, April 20, 2020.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

China, followed by Italy were the two countries initially hit hardest by the novel coronavirus.

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President Donald Trump after signing the CARES Act in the Oval Office of the White House.

Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

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italy coronavirus

The Colosseum, that will be closed following the government's new prevention measures on public gatherings, is reflected in a puddle where a face mask was left, in Rome, Sunday, March 8, 2020. Italy announced a sweeping quarantine early Sunday for its northern regions, igniting travel chaos as it restricted the movements of a quarter of its population in a bid to halt the new coronavirus' relentless march across Europe.

Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP

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Wuhan testing coronavirus

A medical worker takes a swab from a resident for the novel coronavirus test during community on May 15, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei, China.

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Boris Johnson





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Chicago bean coronavirus

The Chicago Cloud Gate sculpture (a.k.a. The Bean) in Millennium Park is closed to visitors on March 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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empty streets new york coronavirus





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coronavirus vaccine Oxford

Screen grab taken from video issued by Britain's Oxford University, showing a person being injected as part of the first human trials in the UK to test a potential coronavirus vaccine, taken by Oxford University in England, Thursday April 23, 2020

Oxford University Pool via AP

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converted homeless shelter coronavirus anchorage alaska

The floor of George M. Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska on March 21. It has been converted to shelters for Anchorage's homeless population.

Matt Waliszek of Orzel Photography/Reuters

Other states began lifting their orders in the weeks and months after. By Friday, June 19, all 50 states were in some stage of reopening.

Beirut lebanon restaurant lockdown coronavirus

A waiter takes an order at an outdoor terrace of a restaurant in Beirut, Lebanon on May 11, 2020. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

Source: BBC

sweden coronavirus

A big sticker of the healthcare services of Sweden is placed on a pavement in the heart of Stockholm to instruct people to follow the 2 meters rule to reduce the risk of getting sick on May 4, 2020 during the new coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

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coronavirus death veteran nursing home covid-19 ppe america

Michael Neel, funeral director of of All Veterans Funeral and Cremation, wearing full PPE, looks at the U.S. flag on the casket of George Trefren, a 90 year old Korean War veteran who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a nursing home, in Denver, Colorado, April 23, 2020.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

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iran coronavirus

An Iranian woman wears a protective mask in the capital Tehran on March 4, 2020.

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new zealand coronavirus checkpoint

Police stop vehicles to heading north on state highway one at Warkworth on April 09, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. With New Zealand in lockdown due to COVID-19, police are setting up checkpoints across the country to ensure people on the roads are travelling for essential purposes only. The Easter long weekend is a popular time for New Zealanders to go on holiday, however current Level 4 restrictions in place due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic requires everyone to remain at the place of residence they were in as of midnight 25 March when New Zealand went into lockdown.

Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

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Brazil coronavirus

Aerial view of coffins being buried at an area where new graves have been dug at the Parque Taruma cemetery, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on April 21, 2020.

MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images

As of Friday, June 19, the country had over 1 million cases and over 48,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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social distancing US Washington

Staff of "Food and Friends," a food distribution service for people with life-challenging illnesses, practice social distancing by standing a clear distance apart as they listen to District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speak about the city's response to the coronavirus, Monday, March 16, 2020, during a news conference in Washington.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

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Coronavirus beijing





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In the wake of the conflagration at the border, Ramdas Athawale, union minister, has decided that the patriotic Indian must launch a boycott of Chinese food. What he does not realise that Chinese food in India has as much to do with China as a Japanese curry has to do with our korma and qalia.

China might be a foreign power, and these days a hostile one, but theres nothing foreign about Chinese food in India anymore. Chinese food has long become atmanirbhar in India. It needs no parts from China, unlike our mobile phones and laptops.

In the wake of the conflagration at the border, Ramdas Athawale, union minister, has decided that the patriotic Indian must launch a boycott of Chinese food. My suggestion is that restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food should shut down.

What Athawale does not realise that Chinese food in India has as much to do with China as a Japanese curry has to do with our korma and qalia. For goodness sake, we sell Manchurian gobi, crispy chilli baby corn and chilli paneer. When I visited the temple town of Badami in Karnataka it turned out Manchurian gobi (spelled in many creative ways) was quite the iconic dish of the area. There was not a Chinese person to be seen but Kannadiga-run Manchurian gobi stalls and carts were everywhere. In Kolkata, long before there were Bengali restaurants, the standard eating-out options were Punjabi, Continental and Chinese. Chinese restaurants like How Hua, Eau Chew, Waldorf, Bar-b-Q, Jimmys Kitchen were legendary and a New Years Day ritual for generations of middle-class Bengalis. Since then chow joints have become the easy go-to meal for the busy commuter alongside Kathi rolls and momos. Chinese food now is as much comfort food for many Indians as dal chawal.

Years later as a student in the United States, I encountered American Chinese. In a small university town in the American midwest, one with no Indian restaurant, a little mom-and-pop Chinese eatery was the closest thing to comfort food and a taste of home. But I was aghast that they had nothing called American Chopsuey, bathed in tomato ketchup with a fried egg on top of the crispy noodles. Where was the simple soy sauce green chilli studded chilli chicken I was accustomed to? Where were the spicy garlicky flavours? Where was the darsaan, crispy fried, honey-sweetened with vanilla ice cream for dessert? And what were these Crab Rangoons and fortune cookies?

Thats when I realised our Indian Chinese was a beast unto itself. At that time I didnt know my pak choi from my bok choy. Now there are restaurants in the US and Canada with names like China Mirch that specialise in what they call Indian Chinese. The secret to its success was the use of a holy trinity of ingredients - tomatoes, soy sauce and chilli - that offered Indian customers a taste of something they couldnt often find in local food, writes Maria Thomas in Quartz.

Kolkata has the countrys oldest Chinatown, a shadow of its old self but still around. Nanking was the first Chinese restaurant in town dating back to 1924. Thomas writes the credit for Chinese Manchurian goes back to Nelson Wang, the son of Chinese immigrants who working as an assistant chef at a Taj restaurant was experimenting by mixing ginger, garlic, chillis and soy sauce and cornstarch to thicken the gravy and hit upon a winning combination albeit one that has more to do with a kofta than Manchu food. Its only now that some higher-end Chinese restaurants in India have started recreating the many kinds of Chinese cuisine that exist in China  Sichuan, Cantonese, Hakka etc. Indian novelist Chandrahas Choudhury even set a book in a local Chinese restaurant. Days of My China Dragon is based on a restaurant he knew in Mumbai owned by one Rupesh Pai but in the fictional version, its an Udupi restaurant which gets reincarnated as a Chinese restaurant by Mumbaikar Jigar Pala, a 100 percent Indian story despite the dragon.

At a time of hostility, restaurants are the easy targets, the low-hanging fruit. During the 1962 India-China war, hundreds of Chinese residents were rounded up and shipped across the country to an internment camp in Deoli in Rajasthan under the Defence of India Act of 1962. The war lasted barely one month. Some of the internees languished at the camp for three-five years. No-one was ever charged with espionage but there were no apologies or reparations. One of the internees Yin Marsh remembers the food they had there  watery dal, rice with stone chips.

Once they were excited because they got meat. There were things floating around  little tubes and bits of intestine, she said. It was camel! Monica Liu who now owns several restaurants in Kolkata including Beijing, an eatery famous for its golden fried prawns, cannot stand potatoes and lauki or bottle gourd to this day. For five and a half years I ate that only, she says. I dont want to smell that even. When they returned from camp, the Chinese found their businesses gone, their neighbours ostracised them, school mates greeted them with racist abuse. Many started from scratch selling dumplings, working in tanneries. In the book Deoliwallahs: The True Story of the 1962 Chinese-Indian Internment, Dilip DSouza and Joy Ma tell the story of a John Wong whose family had a flourishing timber business in Tinsukia in Assam. He lost his five-year-old sister to chickenpox in Deoli. He went back to Tinsukia to find their trucks had been stolen and the elephants they used had disappeared. Eventually he and his father gave up the idea of trying to resume their timber business and he started a restaurant in Tinsukia which still exists. Its called Hong Kong Restaurant and its in a part of Tinsukia thats called to this day China-patti, says DSouza. But the Chinese of China-patti are gone. Many emigrated at the first chance they got embittered by what happened to them post-1962.

We obviously did not learn the lessons of 1962. It's this whole exercise to identify and throw out people you think are foreigners. The reason it gets recycled again and again is because it's such a politically expedient thing to do it. It fires up your base, says DSouza. At that time we made scapegoats of ordinary people of Chinese origin living in India, some for several generations. Now a union minister is hitting even further below the belt  at Chinese food. As Prithvish Chakravarti, owner of the popular Tak Heng restaurant, says We might sell Kolkata Chinese, but we are as Indian as you are. We pay our taxes to the Government of India, not China. Targeting Chinese food just hurts other Indians (that too in the middle of the economic doldrums of a lockdown) and does nothing to Beijing.

An army might march on its stomach but its a foolhardy task to get into the tricky business of labelling food as foreign. Once he goes down that slippery slope Athawale might one day find himself needing to boycott no end of things he takes for granted on his plate today. Chakravarti has a few suggestions. The plump juicy litchi, the pride of Muzaffarpur, is believed to have originated in China and come to India via Burma. Would Athawale want to take on the litchi next? Or perhaps ask Indians to stop drinking chai, another Indian favourite with Chinese roots?

If the honourable minister wants to really get into this boycott business he should perhaps look closer to his own home. Boycotts, like charity, should start at home. For example, with his mobile phone. Its more likely that was truly made-in-China unlike the chilli roasted pork (dry) with egg fried rice at the local Chinese restaurant.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who has been acclaimed as the Parliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party(NPP) in the Ablekuma West Constituency, expressed optimism of her chances of retaining the parliamentary seat in the coming elections.



She has, therefore, charged constituency members to double their efforts to ensure victory was granted in the 2020 December elections.



Addressing delegates and executives on Saturday after being affirmed as the party's Parliamentary Candidate ahead of the December polls, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, said members could not afford to be complacent if the party was to retain the seat in the coming elections.



She said since the party took office in 2016, the constituency had seen some development, adding that such achievements gave her better chances of retaining the seat for the party.



"Since the constituency was established in 2012, Ablekuma West constituency has been the seat of the NPP. We have held the seat when we were in opposition and we have retained it in power. Whilst in opposition we all know how much we struggled here and we have witnessed the development since we came into power three and a half years now.



"Our roads, our children who have benefited from the Free Senior High School programme, Nationa Builders' Corp (NaBCo), forestry, Ghana Post as well as other social intervention programmes and we have seen improvements in several areas, whether social interventions, health and education, among others," she said.



She added that the party remains committed to delivering on its promises to better the lives of all in the constituency in the coming years.



The Ablekuma West Constituency has been in the grip of the NPP, winning the previous two elections since it was carved out of the then Ablekuma South Constituency in 2012.



Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who doubles as the Minister of Communications, would be hoping to retain the seat for the NPP for a third successive term, having won the two previous elections in 2012 and 2016.



She, however, has to beat competition from Reverend Kweku Addo, the parliamentary candidate for the NDC come December 7 if she is to return to the August house in 2021.



She is one of Sixty-seven candidates nationwide who are contesting the parliamentary primaries unopposed, and one of just seven in the Greater Accra Region.



Mrs Owusu-Ekuful further urged party faithful to unite to brighten the party's chances in the elections saying; "I am prepared to work with any person willing and committed to working on behalf of the party."



She entreated all party members to ensure that they registered in the upcoming new voter registration exercise to enable them to vote in the December 7 general elections.



Mr Daniel Parker France, the Greater Accra Regional Secretary reiterated the need for unity to prevail in the party, specifically in the Ablekuma West Constituency, to ensure victory in the 2020 elections.

Source: GNA









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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 23:38:16|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 286,141 as of Saturday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose from 275,323 on Friday afternoon to 286,141 as of Saturday afternoon.

- - - -

HANOI -- Vietnam reported no new cases of COVID-19 infection on Saturday, with its total confirmed cases remaining at 349 with zero deaths so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, one more patient was announced clear of the disease, bringing the total cured case in the country to 327, Vietnam News Agency reported.

- - - -

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported an imported case of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong to 1,128.

The newly confirmed case involves a 40-year-old woman who returned to Hong Kong from the Philippines.

- - - -

MANILA -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 29,400 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 943 more infections on Saturday.

The DOH said in its bulletin that the number of recoveries rose to 7,650 after 272 more patients recovered.

- - - -

LONDON -- Another 128 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 42,589, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

As of Saturday morning, 303,110 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,295, according to the department.

- - - -

BEIJING -- An inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Institute of Medical Biology under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has entered phase-2 clinical trials in China, the Science and Technology Daily reported Saturday.

The phase-2 trials, which further evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in humans, are conducted in the southwestern province of Yunnan. Enditem
Presidential hopeful, Robert Kyagulanyi, a.k.a. Bobi Wine, has condemned Uganda's dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni and his handpicked election commission for this week's announcement that next year's presidential vote will be conducted electronically.

Recently the dictator who seized power in 1986 said it would be "madness" to hold elections amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Now apparently after a secret meeting with the dictator the election commission released a so-called roadmap for a "scientific" election that bars physical campaigning. It also states that the presidential and parliamentary vote will be held before the end of February 2021.

Political opposition parties have merely weeks to conduct their primaries and announce who their candidate is. Even by the standard of a corrupt dictator like Museveni who has rigged multiple elections during his 34 yesrs in power, the blatant display by the militaristic regime is breathtaking.

The regime depends solely on Western support for its survival and the EU has already indicated that it won't be a part of the sham. The head of the EU delegation to Uganda Ambassador Attilio Pacifici said it would be "difficult to organize" elections under the circumstances and that the EU won't deploy observers.

Meanwhile, Bobi Wine, who is the leader of the People Power Movement (PPM), the organization representing the aspirations of the country's youth --about 80% of the population-- sharply denounced Museveni's bid to yet again rig the vote. "If anyone still had any doubt that Ugandas Electoral Commission works for and on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni and his regime of blood and shame, today the Commission exposed itself for the whole world to see," he said. (See statement).

"The most outstanding mockery in the released roadmap is the notion that campaigns and elections shall be held digitally- following Musevenis directive that they hold what he termed a scientific election' he said, "Other stakeholders including political formations, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organizations, etc. have not been consulted!"

To lend legalese to Museveni's devious scheme, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, the Chair of Museveni's hand picked election commission wrote, "The Commission is further mindful of the need to ensure a healthy and safe environment for all stakeholders during the electoral process, and added: "Accordingly, after consultations with, and expert guidance from the Ministry of Health, the Commission has considered and approved a revised Roadmap for the 2020/2021 General Elections..."

These diabolical schemes orchestrated by the shameless 75 year old military dictator are always presented as being in the interest of the welfare of the citizens by crafty sycophants and wordsmiths like Byabakama, even while robbing people of the right to elect government.

The only person the Commission consulted was its paymaster Gen. Museveni, this reporter has learned. Museveni has clear incentive to want to avoid a credible election in 2021, which can still be held if the time period is extended and plans put in place to ensure public safety.

Museveni knows that a combined opposition that includes Bobi Wine's supporters and those of Dr. Kizza Besigye, the past flagbearer of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) --combined with supporters of Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) and Norbert Mao's Democratic Party-- would sweep him out of office.

This week Bobi Wine and Dr. Besigye held a joint press conference to announce their opposition to the sham proposed "scientific" election and Museveni's attempt to use the Covid-19 lockdown to his political advantage. Earlier the pair revealed plans to work together to unseat the tyrant.

"The Commission is essentially communicating a decree from President Museveni, who as all Ugandans know is very afraid of competition and has used the COVID19 pandemic to further tighten the noose on opposition political activities," Bobi Wine said. "Every Ugandan knows that Museveni has since grown old and tired," Bobi Wine said.

"He has previously stated that a person after clocking 75 years of age, lacks the vigor and stamina to run for office let alone run a country. As always he reneged on this promise. He now sees an opportunity in COVID19 to avoid the embarrassment of probably collapsing at a campaign rally."

He was referring to an interview given by the dictator on NTV where he clearly stated that he wouldn't remove the 75 years age limit from Uganda's constitution or seek the presidency once he'd exceeded that age.

These are two of the countless documented lies Museveni has made, in addition to removing Presidential age limits from the constitution.
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US Uygur bill can't disrupt Xinjiang's stability: regional spokesperson

Global Times

By Liu Xin Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 22:18:26

The government of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and people of all ethnic groups denounce and oppose the US Uygur bill, and by no means can it disrupt Xinjiang's prosperity and stability, Xinjiang regional government spokesperson told a press conference on Friday.

US President Donald Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 on Wednesday, which wrongly accuses China of "oppressing" ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and imposes sanctions on Chinese companies and officials for "human rights violations."

The US move grossly violates international law and norms, interferes in China's internal affairs, and hurts the feelings of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The Xinjiang government and people of all ethnic groups strongly denounce and oppose it, Eljan Anayt, a spokesperson of the Xinjiang regional government, told a press conference on Friday.

The act exposes the US using human rights as a disguise to implement hegemonic policies, bully others by imposing sanctions, and attempts to destroy the Xinjiang region's stability and contain China, Eljan said.

The Uygur bill "is just a worthless piece of paper, which by no means can disrupt Xinjiang's prosperity and stability, stop people of all ethnicities from pursuing a better future in solidarity, and obliterate the region's development and progress in human rights. In the Xinjiang people's pursuit of a better life, any attempt to contain China by playing the Xinjiang card is bound to inflict harm on itself, the spokesperson said.

Some media alleged that Xinjiang has deprived local residents of traveling overseas or having communications with their overseas relatives.

Yalkun Yakuf, deputy director of the department of public security, said at the press conference that Xinjiang has never limited people of all ethnic groups including Uygurs from traveling, nor has it restricted their communication with relatives in foreign countries.

There are a few hundred thousand people native to Xinjiang living around the world. People of all ethnicities in Xinjiang are free to contact their relatives in foreign countries, either by phone or audio/video link on instant messaging apps like Wechat and QQ, the official said.

"I reiterate that any individual in Xinjiang, regardless of his or her ethnicity, is free to travel abroad unless he or she is banned from doing so on suspicion of committing crimes," Yalkun said.

According to the Constitution, no one can infringe citizens' freedom of communication except in cases involving national security or investigating criminal cases.

Senior officials of Xinjiang also debunked rumors spread by anti-China forces at Friday's conference.

Some media reported recently that Xinjiang is undergoing a "forced demolition of mosques." However, Mehmut Wusman, the director of the Xinjiang Regional Ethnic Affairs Commission, said that it is complete "nonsense."

Mehmut said Xinjiang guarantees the legal religious needs of believers, attaching great importance to preservation and renovation of mosques.

Quite a large number of mosques in Xinjiang were built in the 1980s and 1990s or even earlier. With the growth of urbanization and new countryside construction, local governments have adjusted the arrangements of some old, shabby, run-down mosques with new buildings, relocating and enlarging them in accordance with the needs of religious believers, which has provided convenience to believers when praying, and is welcomed by religious personnel and believers, the official said.

Recently, some foreign media claimed Xinjiang had demolished the Jami Mosque in Yecheng county of Kashgar prefecture, and Id Kah Mosque in Yutian county of Hotan prefecture.

"But the reality is totally opposite. Both of the over 100-year-old mosques were not demolished; instead, they are being preserved and in good shape," Mehmut said.

"I want to ask these rumormongers - You are making up stories, acting like a clown. Don't you think it is absurd?" Mehmut asked.

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Boris Johnson and David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator, during video talks with the EU's three presidents. - Andrew Parsons/10 Downing St /Reuters

UK and EU negotiators are edging closer to a Brexit breakthrough that will make it easier to extradite criminals and catch terrorists after the transition period, the Telegraph has learnt.

Britain has rejected EU demands that it commits to remaining part of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which has blocked progress in reaching agreements on intelligence sharing and a new treaty to replace the European Arrest Warrant system.

Brussels argues that the commitment is legally necessary before EU countries can surrender wanted criminals or share data from criminal databases.

The ECHR is an international agreement drafted by the Council of Europe and enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Council of Europe, which includes countries such as Russia and Turkey, is not an EU institution and the UK did not leave it when Brexit happened on January 31.

UK officials told their EU counterparts they would not accept any deal that controlled the implementation of the ECHR in British law, which would be unprecedented and one-sided. They insisted the Government had no plans to ditch the human rights law.

The British team offered a termination clause on future police cooperation, which would allow either side to suspend or cancel any agreement if either party had fears over human rights protection, during the last round of Brexit talks.

Negotiators also briefed the EU on British human rights law, during detailed technical talks on extradition, the Europol police agency and the Passenger Name Record directive, which is legislation to help trace travelling terrorists and criminals. They said it was in both sides' interest to strike a deal that protects UK and EU citizens.

Boris Johnsons meeting with the three presidents of the major EU institutions on Monday brought more optimism. The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to the ECHR in talks with the leaders of the European Council, Commission and Parliament.

Story continues

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. - Reuters

Senior EU officials now see "no reason" why a compromise cannot be found. They do not doubt that human rights will be protected in the UK after the Brexit transition period and are bullish that a breakthrough can be found in the intensified talks that start in July or before October.

No one can say with certainty where these negotiations will be at the end of this year, but I know for sure that we will have done everything to reach an agreement, said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, on Friday after debriefing EU leaders on her Brexit talks with Mr Johnson.

A UK source close to the negotiations said, We simply had a more constructive discussion of the reality of our commitment to human rights law.

We come from different positions on this but behind it is a bit of a question of good faith. We are a good faith member of the ECHR and we tend to be so. And we think that should be good enough.

The source added, Clearly there's still a big, big difference on this question of our domestic legislation. And our right to evolve it.

Progress risks being derailed over the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The UK wants no role at all for the EUs top court in the new agreements.

Brussels, which prides itself on its legal order, is adamant that the ECJ, the supreme arbiter of the blocs rules and regulations, must have a role whenever there is a need to interpret EU law.

Failure to reach agreement on police cooperation before January 1 will not mean the end of all collaboration between UK and EU police forces. But that cooperation will be based on older, pre-EU agreements or Brussels rules for intelligence sharing with non-EU countries, which are less efficient and more cumbersome.

ECHR rules are incorporated into national law in the Human Rights Act 1998. When she was Home Secretary, Theresa May said the UK should quit the ECHR because it made it harder to deport some criminals such as radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada.

Dominic Cummings, the Prime Ministers senior advisor, has called for a referendum on the ECHR but that is not the Government's stated policy.
Jay Leno may have stepped down as the long-time celebrity host of the Tonight Show years ago, but he still has a prominent television gig on CNBC called Lenos garage.

Always a car fan, the show lets Leno talk about his favorite hobby while also showing off an incredible automobile collection. In a recent episode, he used this platform and hobby for good, giving a dying fan the ride of his dream.

Jay Lenos career

Jay Leno | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Leno grew up in Massachusetts and went to Emerson College in Boston to major in speech therapy. However, at college, he fell in love with stand-up comedy and began to perform at the local comedy scene.

He made waves, and as his star began to rise in Hollywood, he moved to Los Angeles to further his potential opportunities. In 1977, Leno made his first guest appearance on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show.

Alongside his contemporary, David Letterman, Leno became a staple of Carsons show. However, as Carson got older, rumors of his impending retirement took over the Hollywood scene. While many believed that Letterman was Carsons choice to take over the seat, the final decision was made by the network. In the early nineties, Leno got his dream gig, and his feud with Letterman reached its peak.

For the next 15 years, Leno was the host of the most popular late-night talk show in America. However, after new host Conan OBrien failed to bring the right ratings, Leno took the show back after an ugly stand-off with his replacement. He stepped down for good in 2014 and gave the show to Jimmy Fallon, who still hosts it today.

Since then, Leno has been all about cars.

Lenos car collection

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If somebody heard that Leno was worth $50-$100 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, they would likely believe it. After all, he was one of the faces of late-night television for nearly two decades. This valuation, however, only affects Lenos car collection. Always a gearhead, Leno parlayed his earnings from late night into one of the most fabled car collections on the planet.

Leno owns and operates a 122,000 square-foot garage in Burbank, where he houses all of his cars. Now, hundreds of vehicles take up the large garage, but they arent all for show.

Leno has always loved to show off his cars to the public, but his car collection also serves a financial purpose. While some people look at artwork and stocks for investment, Leno looks at cars.

Cars can be worth millions of dollars, so when Leno gets a deal, theres a good chance that it will pay off in the long run. One particular car in his collection got the interest of one fan. Leno appeased this by taking this fan on a ride.

Leno gives a fan a wish

In 2019, Larry Webb was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, and his prognosis was not looking good. A lifelong fan of Corvettes, Webb wanted to get behind the wheel of the upcoming model before he died.

He loved Corvettes and regularly filled his familys ears with stories about them. Colby spoke about this obsession and how excited his father was to see the next one.

He goes, When is this Corvette going to come out?' Colby said (per My Sun Coast). And my wife goes, January of 2020. And the look in my dads face when it clicked and realized (he) probably is not going to see this release just floored us. It broke my heart.

The family got Larry access to the car, but after making his day by bringing it to him, the surprise got bigger. The Webb family got a call from Leno asking if they wanted to visit his garage in Burbank.

The family jumped at the opportunity to tour the renowned car collection and visited in October. Larry even got to ride with Leno in one of the most expensive cars in his group. A tearful Larry thanked Leno for the opportunity.

According to Colby, the trip was everything his father wanted as he went into his final days. Leno has always connected with his fans, and incidents such as this help highlight that. Regardless of what one thinks of Leno, seeing him do this type of good for someone can pull at even the sharpest cynics heartstrings.
Court papers claim cell phone data indicates that Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother, was at the same location where the children were buried near the time they were reported missing

'Cult mom' Lori Vallow's children were taken to be buried on Chad Daybell's property by her now deceased brother, newly public documents reveal.

According to a probable cause affidavit, unsealed by Idaho Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins on Friday, investigators used cell phone pings from Lori's now deceased brother, Alex Cox, on two key days in September, which lead them to Daybell's backyard.

There they discovered the children's charred and decomposing remains.

JJ Vallow, 7, had been wrapped in plastic and bound by duct tape, while Tylee Ryan, 17, was dismembered and burned. Police are still investigating how Tylee died.

Cops believe that Cox had transported the bodies to Daybell's Salem, Idaho, property to bury them.

Daybell was arrested on June 9 for two felony counts of concealment or destruction of evidence, shortly after the remains were discovered.

Lori Vallow, who had married Daybell in November, mere weeks after his previous wife had died, was arrested for child desertion in February.

Her brother, 51, has since died from an apparent blood clot but appears to have been a crucial figure in working out who is responsible for the kids' deaths.

Cox killed Lori's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, on July 11 of last year. He claimed he intervened in a domestic dispute between his sister and Charles, before he shot his brother-in-law in self-defense.

He then joined Lori and her kids on a trip to Yellowstone National Park on September 8. It was the last time Tylee was seen alive.

Information in the probable cause affidavit - unsealed Friday - reveals Alex's cell phone pinged at Chad Daybell's property the following day, September 9.

His phone was purportedly in the exact spot where investigators eventually unearthed the child's remains.

Lori's children, JJ, seven, and Tylee, 17, vanished last September. They were both in the company of their uncle, Alex Cox, on the separate occasions they were last seen

Lori Vallow's deceased brother, Alex Cox, is shaping up to be a key figure in the mystery. Alex had killed Lori's previous husband during a dispute in Arizona last July. Lori is pictured in court in March

Phone data indicates that Cox spent more than two hours at Daybell's property that morning before leaving just before noon.

According to the affidavit, the FBI found a text conversation between Chad and his wife, Tamara Daybell, which took place just minutes later, in which Chad stated that he had 'just buried a raccoon' in the 'pet cemetery' on their property.

'Well, I've had an interesting morning!' he texted Lori on September 9, according to Knewz. 'I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming rains.

'While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!'

The remains of one of the children were uncovered near the pet cemetery last week.

Both Tylee and JJ's remains were uncovered on the property belonging Lori Vallow's new husband Chad Daybell. Human remains were discovered near both the pet cemetery and the pond. Alex Cox's cell phone had pinged at both of those locations

Tylee was last seen on September 8, while JJ was last seen with his uncle Alex Cox on September 22

Meanwhile, seven-year-old JJ was last seen on September 22.

Two of Lori's friends told police that they saw JJ at Lori's apartment while he was with Alex.

JJ was said to have been 'acting up,' prompting Alex to take the boy back to his own apartment, which was located in the same complex where his sister lived.

The next morning, Lori told a friend, Melanie, that JJ 'had been acting like a zombie' and crawling above cabinets.

Melanie later told authorities she felt Lori slipping away as Daybell indoctrinated her into his Mormon splinter cult, Avow. He believed that he and Lori were gods destined to lead true believers into the approaching Armageddon. Daybell also led Lori to believe her ex-husband and her children were possesed by zombies.

Daybell also taught her that someone possessed by a zombie was in limbo until their body dies as such the 'death of the physical body is seen as the mechanism by which the body's original spirit can be released.'

'They also stated their mission was to rid the world of zombies,' she said, according to the affidavit.

Melanie had visited Lori in Rexburg in late September and says Tylee was not there. Lori had told her that the teen was studying at a branch of Brigham Young University.

On September 22, Melanie's final night with Lori, the 'cult mom' told her that JJ had been acting like a zombie so she'd sent him to her brother's home. She never saw JJ again.

Melanie later reported them to authorities.

According to cell phone data, Alex was on Chad Daybell's property that same morning - September 23.

The cell phone was traced to a spot near a pond, which is the same location where investigators dug up a set of human remains wrapped in black plastic and duct tape. The remains belonged to someone who had light brown hair, according to the affidavit.

Daybell, who was watching investigators closely, had attempted to flee in his SUV after JJ's body was found but was stopped and arrested just a mile away.

In December, Alex himself died of an apparent blood clot in his lung - just three months after Tylee and JJ disappeared

Chad and Lori are both being held on $1 million bond in relation to the disappearances of JJ and Tylee. Both are scheduled for preliminary hearings next month.

Lori has been in jail since February on child desertion charges. Her attorney has indicated she intends to defend herself against the charges.

Meanwhile, Daybell has also been accused of sexually assaulting a woman author during a private meeting in December 2018.

In December, Alex himself died of an apparent blood clot in his lung - just three months after Tylee and JJ disappeared.

Cox was pronounced dead at a home in Gilbert, Arizona on December 12 after a man called 911 and said he'd found the 51-year-old passed out in his own feces in the bathroom.

It's unclear whether investigators are now taking another look at his death.

This file booking photo provided by the Rexburg (Idaho) Police Department shows Chad Daybell, who was arrested June 9, 2020.
WEST MICHIGAN -- Area Agencies on Aging is urging the public to advocate for seniors Wednesday during Senior Action Day in Michigan.

Sponsored by the Area Agencies on Aging Association and Michigan's 16 Area Agencies on Aging, Senior Action Day calls upon Michigan's leaders to maintain a strong aging network in the midst of the pandemic and state budget crisis.

"It is more important than ever that Michigan seniors have continued access to effective in-home and community-based services to remain independent in their homes," Area Agencies on Aging Association President Laura Sutter said.

"Senior Action Day is an opportunity for seniors and advocates to speak to the governor and legislators with one voice about the needs of older adults and people with disabilities."

"We are urging the governor and legislature to maintain essential aging network services and to provide direct care workers with a premium pay increase to recognize their essential contribution to the health and safety of Michigan seniors," said David LaLumia, the executive director of the Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan. "Part of our strategy to re-engage the economy and transition beyond lockdowns must include adequate protections and care for vulnerable populations."

While persons 60 and older are 24% of the total Michigan population, they make up 34% of the MDHHS reported COVID-19 cases. Most tragically, persons 60 plus represent 84% of the pandemic deaths reported.

Michigan seniors remain at high risk of infection and death and are facing a much longer period of social isolation, difficulty in securing food and access to in-home and community-based care than the rest of the population

The aging network consists of 16 area agencies on aging and more than 1,300 service providers that directly deliver an array of supports and services to more than 250,000 seniors and persons with disabilities annually.

The Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan serves nine counties in the West Michigan area including Allegan, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo and Osceola.

For additional information on advocacy efforts in our region, contact Lacey Charboneau at LaceyC@aaawm.org or 616-222-7015.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mailing address: P.O. Box 30014, Lansing, MI 48909

 Rep. Michele Hoitenga (Mecosta and parts of Osceola counties): 517-373-1747; MicheleHoitenga@house.mi.gov

 Rep. Jason Wentworth (parts of Osceola County): 517-373-8962; JasonWentworth@house.mi.gov

 Rep. Scott VanSingel (Lake County): 517-373-7317; ScottVanSingel@house.mi.gov

SENATE

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 30036, Lansing, MI 48909-7536

 Sen. Rick Outman (Mecosta County): 517-373-3760, SenROutman@senate.michigan.gov

 Sen. Curt VanderWall (Osceola, Lake counties): 517-373-1725, SenCVanderWall@Senate.Michigan.gov.
SEATTLE, WA Friday, state health officials confirmed ten new deaths linked to COVID-19 in Washington and 409 new confirmed cases of the disease.

Deaths Thursday were reported in Clark, Franklin, King, Snohomish, Thurston and Yakima counties. Yakima County also continues to bear most of the new cases, with 138 lab-confirmed infections.

The new numbers mean a total of 27,601 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the state since the outbreak began, and 1,255 people have died.

A total of 455,941 Washingtonians have been tested for the coronavirus, meaning roughly 6.1 percent of tests come back positive.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Washington. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.



Catch up on the latest developments:

Yakima County out of hospital beds for patients

Yakima County has led Washington state in new coronavirus cases for weeks, and now the county is running out of places to put new patients.

Virginia Mason Memorial hospital in Yakima has reported that all of their beds are filled, and not many other options exist in the tri-cities area.

According to The Seattle Times, at least 17 patients have already been transferred out of the county because of bed shortages. A total of 61 beds within the county are filled with coronavirus patients, so 17 patients marks a significant surplus.

Despite being significantly less populous than counties like King, Pierce, and Snohomish, Yakima now accounts for 22 percent of all hospitalized coronavirus patients. Yakima also has more patients in the hospital than King County, which has 10 times the population.

Earlier in the week Gov. Jay Inslee visited Yakima to discuss solutions to the massive caseload there, and local health officials have been trying to encourage more residents to use masks or facial coverings to prevent continued transmissions of the virus.

King County enters Phase 2



Story continues

Meanwhile, Washington's most populous county has finally qualified and been approved to enter Phase 2 of the governor's tiered Safe Start plan to reopen businesses.

An application to move forward in the Safe Start plan requires the unanimous support of a state's health officials, local lawmakers and executive. On Monday, the King County Board of Health voted 10 - 0 to advance the application, and King County Executive Dow Constantine signed and delivered it to state Secretary of Health John Wiesman, who makes the ultimate call if a county can progress. Wiesman eventually made the call to allow King to move forward early Friday.

As the county enters the second phase, a number of prohibitions have been lifted, and more businesses will be allowed to reopen than were able to under the modified Phase 1. The county will have to remain in Phase 2 for at least three weeks before it is eligible to enter Phase 3, which loosens restrictions even further and allows for gatherings of up to 50 people.

Read more: King County Approved To Enter Phase 2 Of Reopening Plan

County Confirmed Cases Hospitalizations Deaths Adams 102 (+1) 8 (+1) 0 Asotin 20 1 2 Benton 1,313 (+45) 180 (+2) 75 Chelan 278 19 6 Clallam 33 (+1) 3 0 Clark 635 98 29 (+1) Columbia 2 (+1) 0 0 Cowlitz 130 (+6) 19 0 Douglas 186 12 3 Ferry 1 0 0 Franklin 1,113 (+32) 117 (+2) 29 (+1) Garfield 0 0 0 Grant 348 (+20) 34 (+4) 4 Grays Harbor 22 (+1) 7 0 Island 186 (+2) 34 (+2) 12 Jefferson 33 (+1) 7 (+1) 0 King 9,061 (+98) 1,720 (+8) 600 (+3) Kitsap 185 (+3) 28 (+1) 2 Kittitas 94 (+2) 2 (+1) 0 Klickitat 51 8 3 Lewis 47 (+4) 13 (+1) 3 Lincoln 2 0 0 Mason 41 5 1 Okanogan 63 (+1) 5 2 Pacific 12 2 1 Pend Orielle 3 0 0 Pierce 2,230 (+31) 391 (+2) 89 San Juan 16 1 0 Skagit 479 (+5) 56 (+1) 15 Skamania 5 (+2) 1 0 Snohomish 3,208 (+8) 594 (+1) 162 (+2) Spokane 902 (+22) 103 (+3) 37 Stevens 16 4 1 Thurston 208 (+8) 32 (+2) 6 (+1) Wahkiakum 4 0 0 Walla Walla 129 (+2) 8 3 Whatcom 474 (+7) 53 39 Whitman 28 0 0 Yakima 5,915 (+138) 436 (+12) 131 (+3) Unassigned 25 (-22) 3 (+2) 0 Total 27,601

4,003

1,255

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.

[NORECIRC]

This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
This Juneteenth was supposed to be the opening of the highly anticipated Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May. The coronavirus postponed the opening to later this year, but people were still out at the Rotary Park Friday -- to celebrate the holiday commemorating the end of slavery, and the abolitionists role in that movement.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when Union troops went to Galveston, Texas to announce the end slavery. Texas was the last state to have the slaves freed.

Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison stands in the Grand Gallery of the museum after the virtual opening, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The buzz around the museum has been massive, especially since Smithsonian Magazine named it one of the ten most anticipated museums in the world -- a long way for a building that was listed by Preservation New Jersey as one of Ten most endangered historic properties list in 2012.

Lynda Towns, a trustee of the museum and Macedonia Baptist Church liaison, said the decision to initially open on Juneteenth was set two years ago.

People gather at Rotary Park in Cape May for the virtual opening of the Harriet Tubman Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"We wanted the opening of the museum to be meaningful and purposeful, so we chose Juneteenth," Towns said. "We just did not realize that it would be in the midst of a pandemic. Our celebration today shows what I'm sure Harriet experienced. It is a challenge, but that is okay. The challenge is worth the journey."

Towns added that the collaboration, help, and input from the community, city, county, and state has been tremendous.

People gather at Rotary Park in Cape May for the virtual opening of the Harriet Tubman Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Many great and good-hearted people have just shown their heart and soul in this project. It is inspiring to see how many people in Cape May and Cape May County have just looked at this whole national crisis that we are in to say that we can make a difference, she said. We are going to be a part of the Museum, and it really does make you believe in everything that Cape May is about which is collaboration, creativity, but more than that, compassion and understanding your brother and sister and getting along with them, accepting them, and one step beyond, loving them.

The name of the museum may also change to have a more statewide feel to it. Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, who spoke at Fridays event, said that a bill had been introduced in the Assembly, A4044, that would designate the site as the Harriet Tubman Museum in New Jersey. A companion bill is in the Senate.

Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison speaks during the virtual opening of the museum at Rotary Park, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Bob Mullock, Chairman of the museums board of directors, said the museum, along with the nearby Stephen Smith House, Franklin Street School, and the Allen A.M.E. Church, creates a Black historical section that rivals most cities in the country.

We have found that the history of that half-block is one of the most important Black histories anywhere in the United States, Mullock said. We know now about slaves coming across the bay. We also know that just two miles from here in the bed as slaves ships sat there waiting for the tide to change to get to Cape May.

Inside the Grand Gallery of the Harriet Tubman Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Other speakers at Fridays event included historians, a virtual segment from New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way, a presentation on behalf of the Cape May County Freeholders, and others including Cape May Mayor Clarence Chuck Lear, who said the museum stands for something more significant with what is currently transpiring across the country.

It is not enough for us to encounter the instability and predict discord, Lear said. We have too many predictors of discord, and too few reach builders. It is not enough for us to see injustice and predict violence. We have too many predictors of violence and too few peacemakers. In this time of the coronavirus, when were discouraged from shaking hands or hugging each other. Let us resolve to be the ark builders, and bridge builders are the peacemakers.

Outside the Harriet Tubman Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The museum was created honor Tubman, the abolitionist and Civil War figure who spent time in Cape May in the early 1850s to raise funds for her efforts to transfer slaves from the south to the north above the Mason-Dixon line.

It will house several pieces that will reflect on the time Tubman spent in Cape May, as well as other notable Black figures and events in the history of the city, including visits by Martin Luther King Jr. and Paul Robeson.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.

Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com.
The owners of gym that made national headlines after it opened in defiance of Gov. Phil Murphy COVID-19 lockdown were dealt a blow in their legal fight to convince the courts that shuttering their place of business was unconstitutional.

In a decision reached during a hearing held over Zoom Friday, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler denied the request of the owners of Atilis Gym of Bellmawr to open via a temporary restraining order as they continued litigation with the state.

In a federal lawsuit filed last month, attorneys for the gym claimed Gov. Phil Murphy arbitrarily deemed some businesses essential while declaring others  like gyms  non-essential.

The suit accused Murphy, along with Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and other New Jersey officials of violating the owners constitutional rights by forcing them out of business indefinitely with no timeline for when they could reopen.

While gyms and fitness centers are among the businesses expected to reopen in Stage 2 of the states reopening plan, Murphy has not made an announcement on dates or restrictions.

The gyms fight spurred a GoFundMe page that raised more than $70,000 in donations to pay for legal fees as the owners said the lockdown strangled their business.

If I do not open immediately, I will LOSE my business, gym co-owner Frank Trumbetti wrote in a brief. My landlord is not giving us any relief on the rent which is $8,100 per month and we have not received financial help from the government.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a civil complaint on May 23 and an order to show cause against the Bellmawr gym after authorities spent the week before grappling with the business to abide by restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

In his brief filed with the state, Grewal argued against the temporary restraining order.

This court should deny plaintiffs motion for a temporary restraining order, Grewal wrote. Instead, plaintiff can raise these issues in its ongoing criminal and civil enforcement proceedings, where they properly belong.

Judge Kugler agreed with Grewals argument that the federal lawsuit is precluded by a doctrine barring federal courts from hearing civil claims arising from state court prosecutions, according to an article published by Law360.

After the hearing Friday, the gym owners attorney Christopher Arzberger told Law360 that he was disappointed in the ruling but planned on pursuing an appeal in the state Appellate Division.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
A security guard near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, where the traditional equinox celebrations inside the stones were cancelled (Adam Davy/PA)

Summer solstice at Stonehenge will take place online with a virtual live stream after the annual gathering had to be cancelled due to coronavirus.

The sunset will be streamed on Saturday night at 9.26pm and Sundays sunrise will be streamed at 4.52am via the English Heritage Facebook page.

Both streams will begin at least 30 minutes before the sun sets and rises.

 Stonehenge is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and so there's no access for this year's summer solstice. Instead, watch our livestream here from this evening: https://eht.social/3hIPDh7  Posted by Stonehenge on Saturday, June 20, 2020

English Heritage, which has provided access to the event since 2000, has warned visitors not to travel to the 3,000BC Neolithic monument for the summer solstice this year.

No-one is able to enter the site due to the ban on mass gatherings and security guards will surround the site to prevent anyone from getting in.

The online gathering means people from across the world will be able to join in celebrating the summer solstice.

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The live streams are an alternative for the annual gathering on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, where traditionally thousands of druids and spectators flock to the landmark to celebrate the summer solstice.

However, not all druids are happy with the alternative.

Senior druid King Arthur Pendragon told The Guardian: I intend, as is my right, to be as close as is legally possible in order to observe the sunrise on solstice dawn.

However, he said he was not encouraging people to visit the monument.

Expand Close The gathering is normally attended by thousands of people (PA) / Facebook

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Stonehenge has been closed to visitors since mid-March.

Speaking last month, Stonehenge director Nichola Tasker said: We hope that our live stream offers an alternative opportunity for people near and far to connect with this spiritual place at such a special time of year and we look forward to welcoming everyone back next year.

We know how strong the draw to come is for some people, but I would take this opportunity to say please do not travel to Stonehenge this summer solstice, but watch it online instead.
Modi hailing the Bihar Regiment came just hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked him for allegedly surrendering Indian territory

Amid the ongoing standoff with China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again on Saturday paid homage to the 20 fallen soldiers who lost their lives in Galwan Valley skirmish with the Chinese army on June 15.

While launching the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan via video conference, Modi also hailed the valour of Bihar Regiment, which lost many of its men, including Col. Santosh Babu, during the skirmish.

"Today, I am talking to people of Bihar, I will say that every Bihari is proud of it ( their valour). I pay rich tributes to the jawans who laid down their lives," he said.

Modi hailing the Bihar Regiment came just hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked him for allegedly "surrendering" Indian territory to China.

Gandhi's statement was in reaction to Modi's clarification at the all-party meeting on Friday that Chinese troops had never intruded into India or held any posts.

Meanwhile, the prime minister launched the programme, via video conference in Katihar village in Bihar, to help provide employment to migrant workers who returned to their states in the lockdown period.

The chief ministers of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and a minister of Odisha aslo attended the launch ceremony.

It is our endeavour that workers get jobs near home; till now you were developing cities, now you will help your village, Modi said.

Modi also praised villages for their role in combating coronavirus and said that they have taught a big lesson to cities.

"Whether someone acknowledges your work or not, I hail your contribution in fighting coronavirus," he said.

Modi reiterated his government's commitment towards efficient last mile delivery of services, adding that money used to be given in the name of a beneficiary in the past but it never reached him or her. Now, things are changing for the good, he said.
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A newly updated sustainability checklist that aims to help developers make new developments as green as possible has been approved by Richmond Council.

The Sustainable Construction Checklist Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) is an update to the existing SPD, which was last revised in 2016. It gives housebuilders and those developing non-residential spaces a clear steer on what is expected of them to reduce the environmental impact of their developments, regardless of whether their projects are new builds, conversions or extensions.

At last weeks Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sport Committee, Members agreed the SPD and checklist which aims to ensure that new developments contribute to meeting the challenges posed by the growing climate emergency. The goal of all future development is that they produce zero carbon emissions.

However, where it is demonstrated that the zero carbon target cannot be fully met on site, the Council has a Carbon Offset Fund in place for cash in lieu contributions from developers. This money is spent on carbon offsetting projects around the borough to achieve carbon dioxide emission reduction savings. Previously, the local cost for developers was 60 per tonne of carbon. However, the Council has now agreed to increase the price of carbon to 95 per tonne.

The new Sustainable Construction Checklist SPD also sets out the need to minimise flood risks, pollution and pressure on water sources, and helps protect and enhance biodiversity. This is all aimed at helping to ensure any development meets the highest standards of design and construction to improve the environmental performance of developments.

The update reflects the changes to the policy requirements set out in the adopted Local Plan and the London Plan, including energy and water efficiency standards.

The strategy includes the information that should be submitted with planning applications to demonstrate how schemes meet the Councils requirements. It includes information on:

Energy Performance and Assessments

Water use / Flooding and Drainage

Environmental Rating: BREEAM

Energy use and pollution

Transport

Biodiversity

Design standards and Accessibility

Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sport Committee, said:

Last year we declared a Climate Emergency and have a strategy in place for dealing with the local response to this. However, one thing is clear - climate change is everyones problem. We need to make sure that all future development in the borough meets our planning requirements for sustainable design and construction. This updated checklist setting out the requirements for applicants will be a material consideration in deciding future planning applications.

See the SPD details
Study links opposition to 'LGBT rights' to desire for Christian dominance; FRC responds

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A study led by a University of Illinois professor suggests that Americans who oppose same-sex marriage or adding LGBT classifications to discrimination laws want to maintain a sense of "Christian privilege and hegemony."

The study, published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, surveyed over 1,015 heterosexual college undergraduates who self-identified as either Christian (68%) or nonreligious.

The respondents were asked a series of questions to determine their "thoughts and attitudes about Christian privilege and power in American society" as well as whether they support or oppose discrimination protections being extended to people who identify as LGBT.

The study was led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign psychology professor Nathan Todd, whose research interests include "how religion and Whiteness shape individual and group engagement with social justice."

The study was released ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court's Monday ruling extending federal civil rights laws to include protections for gay, lesbian and transgender workers from discrimination. The decision came nearly five years after the court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

"Although same-sex marriage is now the law of the land in the U.S., there continue to be problems with employment discrimination, housing discrimination and other types of discrimination against sexual and gender minorities," Todd said in a statement published by the university last Thursday.

"One of the key barriers to those rights has been opposition from some Christian and political conservatives. We wanted to know whether people's ideas about political power explain some of this opposition."

In the study, respondents were asked to rank how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements, such as whether they believed "to be Christian is to have a religious advantage in this country," and if "Christianity is valued more in this society than other religions."

The participants were also asked whether they think Christians "should have" a "religious advantage in this country" or if Christianity "should be valued more in this society than other religions."

According to Todd, these questions differentiated participants' awareness of advantages conferred to Christians in the U.S. from the belief that such advantages are right and should exist.

Todd further argues that since Christian practices and traditions are historically embedded in American society, being Christian confers many privileges. Some of those privileges, he says, are institutional in the fact that government and school calendars in the U.S. revolve around the Christian day of sabbath and Christian holidays.

"People who are Christian are not singled out or asked to speak for their religion on a regular basis, as members of other religions often are," Todd added. "Christians in the U.S. do not face systemic bias or violence based on their religion and they do not live in fear of this type of experience."

Survey respondents were also asked to rate their support or opposition to same-sex marriage, LGBT adults adopting children, and whether men who identify as female should be allowed to enter women's bathrooms.

Christian students were also asked to rate how strongly their religious beliefs aligned with conservative Christian views.

"Our analyses revealed that opposition to sexual- and gender-minority rights was correlated with Christian and political conservatism, and with the belief that Christians should be the dominant group in society," Todd contends.

Todd added that the data suggests that greater support for Christians being the most dominant group in the U.S. partially explains why Christian conservatives and political conservatives oppose such things as same-sex marriage and men going into women's bathrooms. He stressed that the findings were consistent across Christian and nonreligious students.

Todd said the goal of the study was not to "antagonize or demonize" political or Christian conservatives, but rather to "learn more about what drives them to support or oppose sexual- and gender-minority rights."

"I also think it's a mistake to characterize all Christians as thinking or acting the same way, especially as some Christians do support rights for sexual and gender minorities," he said.

Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, told The Christian Post that Todd's study seems to have been done "through a neo-Marxist analysis focused on power, 'privilege,' and oppression"

"[It] is pounding a square peg into a round hole," Sprigg said. "The authors seek evidence that 'opposition to sexual and gender minority (SGM) rights' by Christian conservatives is rooted in a desire to maintain 'Christian privilege and hegemony.'"

Sprigg warned that while self-identified Christians in the U.S. remain a majority in the U.S., their "privilege" is "only numerical."

"To publicly assert a vibrant faith in Christ and seek to live by it in all areas of life is increasingly to invite responses ranging from ridicule to persecution," Sprigg explained. "If 'Christian hegemony' means a desire that all may come to know Christ, then we must plead guilty. The motive, however, is not a desire for Christian political or social power in this life, but a desire that all may know the blessings of eternal life."

Sprigg added that the "implication that we seek a theocracy" is false.

"Christians are at the forefront of the struggle for religious liberty for all faiths, at home and abroad, because only a faith that is adopted freely and without coercion is a meaningful and effective faith," he said.

"As for 'sexual and gender minority rights,' the presumption seems to be that unless government actively coerces private businesses and organizations to adopt the ideologies of the sexual revolution, sexual minorities lack 'rights.' The truth is that the presence of non-discrimination laws based on 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' (such as that fabricated by the U.S. Supreme Court this week) imposes government power upon the exercise of private liberty."

Sprigg noted that the absence of such laws "imposes nothing on anyone" because "employers remain completely free to hire homosexual or transgender employees if they choose."

Sprigg explained that missing from both Supreme Court opinions (this week and in 2015) as well as in the journal article is "any recognition of the real reason Christians (and others) disapprove of homosexuality or transgenderism."

"It has nothing to do with a struggle for power between different groups of people, but involves concern about the consequences (both spiritual and material) of certain chosen behaviors  sexual relations between people of the same sex, and public rejection of one's biological sex."

Sprigg went on to argue that both the Old and New Testaments "clearly prohibit homosexual conduct."

"Since God created humans' male and female' (Genesis 1:27), humans have no right to re-create ourselves otherwise," he said.

"These commands are merciful, not oppressive. Obedience to them would have spared over 300,000 American men who had sex with men from death as a result of AIDS. And it quite possibly would have spared transgender people the 19-fold higher rate of completed suicide  even after gender reassignment surgery."

Sprigg concluded by saying that liberal academics who are hostile to Christian conservative views should "check the 'privilege' they enjoy on most college campuses today."
The Former President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice 'Obour' Osei Kuffour, has been floored in the parliamentary primary of the New Patriotic Party in the Asante Akyem South constituency of the Asanti Region.

With a total tally of 296 votes, he lost to the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Kwaku Asante-Boateng, who polled a total of 360 votes.

The other aspirants who contested for the seat are Edmond Oppong-Peprah, William Yamoah and Eric Amofa.

In February 2020, when Obour picked up his nomination forms to contest for the slot, he said, this marks the birth of a new dawn in my young but eventful life progressing from a very successful career as a musician into multi-party politics.

I served MUSIGA to the best of my abilities and learnt a lot of critical lessons which I carry along into mainstream politics, he said.

In another statement, he also promised to introduce a new kind of leadership, hard work, dedication, commitment, perseverance and excellence in a bottom-up approach when given the nod.

I wish all aspirants the very best as we keenly contest each other in a healthy manner which will inure to our collective benefit, he noted.

However, it appears Obour will have to wait for at least four more years in order to realise that ambition.

Kwaku Asante-Boateng will now look to retain his seat in Decembers general elections following his victory in Saturdays polls.

He was elected Asante Akyem South MP in 2012 before retaining his seat in 2016.

---citinewsroom
London: Three people are feared dead and three others critically wounded in a mass stabbing in Britain that police say is "not currently being treated as a terrorist incident".

The incident occurred at 7pm on Saturday at Forbury Gardens in Reading, a city about 70 kilometres to the west of London.

Armed police officers investigate at a block of flats off the Basingstoke Road in Reading after an incident at Forbury Gardens park in the town centre of Reading, England. Credit:PA

Thames Valley Police force said officers arrested a 25-year-old local man at the scene and they were not looking for anyone else.

"There is no intelligence to suggest that there is any further danger to the public," said Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 09:53:31|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, June 20 (Xinhua) -- About 100 endangered Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle hatchlings were released into their natural habitat along the Mekong River in eastern Cambodia's Kratie province on Friday, a conservationist said on Saturday.

The hatchlings are part of a community protection program designed to increase the wild population of the species, and had been collected from nests that were guarded by local communities, said Som Sitha, project manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)'s Mekong Conservation Project.

Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

He said the species was thought to be extinct in the Cambodian portion of the Mekong River until its re-discovery in 2007 in a 48-km stretch of the river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.

"The purpose of this release is to conserve and increase the wild population of the Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtles," he told Xinhua.

The release is part of a project that has been ongoing since 2007, formerly run by Conservation International (CI), and now by WCS in collaboration with the Cambodia's Fisheries Administration and the Turtle Survival Alliance.

The community-based protection program encourages the participation of local communities living in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces by hiring former nest collectors to search for and protect nests, instead of harvesting the eggs, Sitha said, adding that since 2007, nearly 500 nests have been protected and more than 13,000 hatchlings released. Enditem
STAMFORD  Victoria Iparraguirre, a Stamford resident and junior at the Manhattan School of Music, told the crowd gathered on the sun-splashed lawn of Mill River Park Friday that the day they were there to mark is an extremely important holiday for the entire American community.

In poems, songs and speeches participants commemorated Juneteenth  the oldest observance of the ending of slavery in the United States.

I am so happy that the Stamford community is willing to come out and support the people of Stamford, said Iparraguirre, who helped organize Fridays Juneteenth event with her activist group, Speak Your Peace. I am really humbled by all the support people have shown.

Social distancing was followed throughout the three-hour event. People attended during three one-hour time slots, with no more than 100 attendees allowed during each hour.

Our organization, Speak Your Peace, gives a voice for the unheard, Iparraguirre said. By putting them onstage, it sheds light on some of the experiences theyve had as people of color and what has been on their minds lately, with the recent uprising that has occurred.

Also helping to organize Fridays event were the groups Black Votes Matter and Hearts for Floyd  named for George Floyd, the man whose death after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes set off worldwide protests and calls for an end to police violence against Black people.

The commemoration began with a proclamation by Stamford Mayor David Martin, who named June 19, 2020, Juneteenth Day in Stamford.

Stamford resident Zara Williamson followed by singing Lift Every Voice and Sing, known as the Black National Anthem.

It was on June 19, 1865 that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the enslaved people in the state were free. They were the final group to be liberated  two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation was enacted.

Juneteenth has been celebrated around the country, but it should be discussed more widely in schools, Iparraguirre said.

Where I went to school Juneteenth was never talked about, she said. It was a monumental day in history and as a person of color, it is so important that we learn about this day. It is so important that we know our history.

After Williamson sang, Iparraguirre sang a rendition of Cyndi Laupers 1986 hit True Colors.

Olivia Wenke, a Stamford resident, shared a poem about racism in America.

My mind is mine and I am no longer living in a world built for my destruction, she recited. I was drowning in your deadly ocean, but the God in me swam to shore and made it whole. Ive come to know that your program only controls those who dont know the power of their minds.

Norwalk resident Sahmra Sawyer also read a poem, about white privilege in society, as did Stamfords Paris Vines, whose piece was inspired by the fact that in spite of what people of color have gone through, we have strength, resilience and beauty.

George Barbier Jr. spoke about the importance of the African-American community putting their words into action.

We need to look out for each other in order to see progress, Barbier said.

Jere Eaton, an organizer of Stamfords Black Votes Matter group, emphasized to the crowd the importance of voting.

We have to select our leaders for our own communities, Eaton said. If you are upset with the leadership you are seeing, become leaders. Do something about it and get involved in the process. Its important that our black leaders reach out to kids.

dfierro@greenwichtime.com
Chinas insects and other invertebrates are spoilt for choice with the countrys array of deserts, rainforests, mountains and tropical coastlines. The winning photographs of the Wild China Biodiversity Photography Contest hosted by Wild China Film present the countrys sweeping lands and rare plants from unexpected perspectives. Here is a pick of the crop

Jan 21, 2022 06:20 PM








[ object lessons ] 06.20.20 transience // permanence

a collection of real and imagined keepsakes

a preface

Theres a box of objects in my closet with no clear purpose. Seven objects, to be exact. And theres maybe one other person in this world who could draw a connection between these seven seemingly worthless keepsakes. I call this person Z. She's a librarian, born on Bastille Day, a pinball enthusiast, and she was my first love in the most starry-eyed sense of the word. The objects in the box are what remain after everything thats happened since we met. Ive known Z over a timeline marked by changing lexiconsfirst as a partner, then as a friend, then as a friend in gender transition. But Z has always been exactly who she always was, which sounds obvious, but it didnt used to feel that way. My memory weaves together a conflicting duality with an identity of its own, like multiple songs being played on top of the other. With both faders up, one truth invariably drowns out another. The wave forms eventually level out, and Im left with this story. Im a cisgender person, and I dont intend to tell Zs story. This is not a eulogy to a lost love, and its not a celebration of a partners journey, though I celebrate the person she is today in small ways every day. Its squarely the nowhere place in between.





the dobie sponge

It was during the summer before I turned twenty-one that I first felt happy in that all-consuming, technicolor kind of way that was bound to end with a fall. I was living in a new city, in a house with friends, a mile from my partner. And I had just gotten my first restaurant job. I was a server, but thats all I would tell my friends at first. The name of the restaurant was, quite frankly, too embarrassing to reveal to anyone. Of course, I couldnt keep the secret for long. Z and I used to have a game where we would tell each other secrets. Driving through the mountains in Wyoming, my 97 Tercel gasping through the elevation climb, we would bait each other into sharing our most private, cringe-worthy stories. I was reticent, feeling like I had nothing compelling enough to offer. I also knew that twenty years on this earth hadnt afforded me enough time to identify where my public self ended and my private self began.

Zs secrets were an entirely different story. She had three or four gems that came to her mind without pause. None of the secrets, at least to my mind, revealed that she was a woman. When Zs turn came around, she would protest over and over again in playful ways that let me know I would earn the secret if I kept baiting her a few more times. It honestly didnt take much. When the time came for the revelation, I was shocked at how not cringe-worthy it really was. Today I wonder whether her cringing was linked to the proximity of those secrets to the big secret, the one I wouldnt find out for another three years. These smaller secrets revealed an emotive, feminine quality that neither of us named. As those shades of femininity came out more vibrantly, so did my feelings towards this person. But as youll notice, Im still sidestepping my end of this story about secrets. Of course, this secret is rendered infinitesimal compared to her big one. Turns out, it might also overshadow any hint of femme embedded in her small secrets, just by virtue of its punchline. Because the restaurant where I was working was called Lady Elegants Tea Room. As I disclosed the entirely lame identity of my employer, Z giggled at the time, a laugh that contained no malice but still brought a blush to my cheeks. So I began to reveal the ridiculous daily happenings at Lady Elsthe exploitative lack of tips, my coworkers obsession with Kraftwerk, the sad truth that they masked their Trader Joes cookies in a spread of lacy white doilies. But then, as always, I made things kind of weird. Or, I guess I should say, Z and I found our playful and bizarre sweet spot with this particular subject. And it began with a Scotch Brite Dobie sponge. I came home one day raving, to a point of hyperbole, about how much I loved this pale yellow scouring pad. How it brought rare joy to the long hours of washing Lady Elegants collection of tea cups and saucers, which, on certain days, were truly begging to be thrown against the wall. Im nothing if not obsessive, and Dobie was the object of my fixation. I promptly stole one of the sponges from my bosss kitchenimmaculately unused and still in its boxand hid it in the Tercel. Z caught on to my obsession and started a running joke about the sponge, suggesting that I was cheating on her with Dobie. For a brief time, this sponge was a central character in our lives. I would open my phone to text messages that read, If youre with Dobie right now, dont come home. It felt silly and exhilarating to have this private joke. It also felt as though our very status as a couple was being fortified by this cleaning product, even while the sponge was being framed as a homewrecker. But I also felt a tension in these jokes, a sense of make-believe, as if we were playing the role of a heteronormative couple, rife with conventional power dynamics. We didnt know it at the timeor, I should say, I couldnt conceive of it yetbut the heterosexual relationship didnt fit us. For me, the sponge was also an affectation of domesticity. It was true before then, and has become even more magnified since, but domestic life does not sit right with me. The summer of 2011 was my first shot at occupying the roleI had someone to don an apron for. I suppose as we get older some of us absorb more pressure to take on that role, but I still dont yearn for domesticityI avoid it. Or more accurately, I avoid demonstrating to myself and others all the ways that I fail at it. Domesticity strikes me as just another hoop to jump through to gain respectability from others. Ive learned that avoiding this convention can be just as harmful, recalling the time I quit buying groceries entirely to evade the contested space of our communal kitchen, a punk setting with its own set of rules. I struggle to inherit domesticity and other definitives, gravitating instead towards the transient, liminal spaces on the outer edges. Transience carries with it a potential to transgress, to disrupt the social impulse that keeps things in neat and tidy boxes. Embracing things as and/both feels like a radical decision when youre constantly being faced with either/or. I ask myself now, why didnt I ever open the box that contained the sponge, or use it? I suppose it became so imbued with meaning that I started to believe that if I treated it as a time capsule, that meaning would remain absorbed within it long after those moments were gone. Maybe that was one of the secret thoughts I couldnt offer to our game. We tried out secrets both trivial and crucial on each other that summer. Larger secrets surfaced much later. And eventually the Dobie joke was played out. I stashed the sponge in the harrowing vortex of my cluttered car, thinking that, every once in a while, we would encounter it and be reminded of our private joke. But the sponge was entombed under layers of maps, spare T-shirts, and cassette tapes, until it became a lost relic of our real-life mythology.





the tape

Music is the most connective thing I know of, but it can also isolate the listener within a single breath. Favorite songs are held and shared but somewhere down the line, through repetition of the ritual, the music becomes shrouded in performance, effort, make-believe. I hold onto the sounds as best as I can while witnessing their gestures unravel. Truly miserable songs are the ones I know best, the ones I play most often on the radiomurder ballads and stark laments set against pitch-black soundscapes that still manage to be self-deprecating about their own pretense. The lyrics ruminate on lonesomeness, loss, and the bittersweet desire of Eros. These songs take on masks, creating beauty out of the never-ending uncertainty that identity poses. Music was a prized possession that Z and I borrowed from one another. I gave her the circuitous ramblings of Paul Simons Graceland and she reciprocated over and over with the underground/folk/punk of bands like the Replacements, the Gaslight Anthem, and Minutemen. These bands turned their emotions inside out with over-the-top masculine ardor. I would add these songs to playlists and begin to filter my gaze on Z through the characters imagined in the lyrics. She made an effort to return that gaze in kind and we were playing with imaginary truths again. The music carries on a fiction I still cant entirely shake. Graceland was far more restful, a relic from high school that found its way into heavy rotation in the Tercel. On the desert roads of Nevada and in the Black Hills of South Dakota, it became a codified soundtrack, each listen adding a new layer of texture to the landscape of this inner world. I figured this album belonged to the road, so I was surprised when Z continued to pop the tape in the deck long after we resumed life in the Twin Cities. Side A made its flip to B during lost afternoons at the lakes and over tense silences on newly plowed roads. We crossed the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to Saint Paul the same way every time. One moment tempers the fleeting and permanent with heightened specificity. The rising snow banks always made my spineless California self nervous, while Z had a bit more grit in the tundra, having grown up in New England. On this day, she was in the drivers seat, carefully making the turnoff as Paul Simon sang about diamond-soled shoes, and the familiarity of the ritual sheltered our cold hands against each other. I became attuned to each crinkle around her eye or squeeze of her hand when the tape would cycle back around to a line that had sparked a laugh or question when we first heard the album together on those days in the mountains. Pauls verses circled around like semiotics, markers of each moment, here and gone in a measure but seemingly eternal. Black tape wound itself around white plastic, an analog document with an ephemeral effect. The sound quiets but its meaning endures.





the red fox

It strikes me how getting lost can mean wildly different things depending on who youre with and what your destination is. Theres a sea change that hovers somewhere between the year 2011, when time was for wasting, to now, when it seems like most things are a slight waste of time. Im wary of rose-tinted idealization of time with Z, but I do remember that before the onset of our cluttered anxieties and string of breakups, we would get lost in places near and far. The Minnesota-Wisconsin border is a car campers dreamland. You cross the border and are immediately bathed in the impossible green of expansive state parks and quiet county roads. Looking back, there was probably nothing extraordinary about those placid corners of western Wisconsin but, if only for a brief time, it was a space free of lifes confines. In those days, Z had high highs and low lows, a pattern for which we would have a name six months later. Now, eighty-seven months later, I wonder whether that diagnosis was a red herring. But on the best days, a heightened sense of possibility would wind through her thoughts, making itself known through talk of long backpacking trips and train rides through the north. Each camping trip would raise the stakes and she would get excited at the prospect of our shared escape, of elliptical exploration. As we hauled the Tercel up a forested road near the Saint Croix River, Z and I spotted a red fox at the same instant. We only caught a glimpse before its flash of red disappeared back into the green, but that moment was a certainty. Then, like most certainties Ive known, it retreated into a darker hollow.





the t-shirt

The first time we broke up, I did what I was told by the teen dramas and young adult novels I had pored over in high school: I put some objects in a box. Mix CDs, origami, and a T-shirt displaying the yellow banana of the Velvet Underground & Nicos self-titled album cover. Faded black and worn, it still smelled of Z. I gathered these objects into a cardboard box and stuffed it in the back of my closet. I still have this box, several breakups with others and one cross-country move later. I think I knew from the boxs inception that those objects would travel from closet to closet with me, never experiencing the purge they deserved. And every time I moveI think its been 6 or 7 times since thenI perform a ritual reopening, which, fortunately for my slow-moving psyche, becomes more and more banal each time I do it. Today the ephemera in the box feels almost neutral, all except for the T-shirt. When I first placed that shirt into the box, I really leaned into the sentimental cliche: the ex-boyfriends black T-shirt. Since Z came out, that symbolism is far more complicated, though. I touch a swath of soft cotton and wonder what it was like for her to go through her closet item by item and discard most, if not all, boy-coded clothing, almost like a reverse thrift shop treasure hunt. While Z is open about her past in a way that weaves together a continuum of experience, that process, I imagine, marked a rupture. Nowadays androgyny is something she and I talk about playfully as something compelling and malleable in its ability to blur gender boundaries. The first time we crossed that imaginary boundary after her transition, I teased Z about a photo she had posted that showed her wearing an orphaned scarf of mine, a soft green knit with delicate shirring. My guess is that it had been trapped under the futon in her Minneapolis apartment in the winter before I drove away for the last time. I believe it was during the second conversation that we exchanged thoughts about feeling femme one day and more fluid the next. And in that initial year of cross-country phone calls, it struck me that perhaps we had both idolized Patti Smith for the same gender-bending reason when we were datingeven if I hadnt realized itpledging to name our husky puppy Patti on one bleary-eyed morning. I relish in these conversations to an embarrassing degree because they seem to encompass a liberating fluidity, both in terms of our friendship and in sharing a sense of embodied gender with each other. This may sound twisted and wrong and privileged, but sometimes I envy her ability to inhabit her gender, whether during moments of femme power, or the comfortable queer in-between. I imagine possibility in her reality while staring down my privilege to do so. I cant claim a significant feeling of alienation with my assigned gender, but sometimes shallow breaths and a tightened chest reveal feelings of inadequacy that are wholly gendered. After all, who among us doesnt feel staggered when faced with the kaleidoscope of forces that keeps women quieted or belittled? Its in those moments that I feel like throwing out the entire binary playbook as I stand surrounded by evidence of its warped hierarchy on all sides. Of course, I dont get there intellectually every time I feel small and silent and connected to my gender in the lowest way. Nor at moments when I feel Ill never be femme enough in the sense that femmes are apparently supposed to have their shit together with preternatural easethose moments when inadequacy walks the line with disembodiment. Im a small person, have worn a size zerp since I finally made it to the womens section of the store at a humiliatingly mature age. But sometimes I wonder whether the body-shaming symbology of the holy size zero is a two-trick monster. It teaches people assigned female at birth to strive for a cruel ideal, asking us to get as close as possible to disappearing. I cant claim any of these oppressions in a significant way, and yet intersectionality maps out a geography of oppressions that reminds us where we stand within the status quo. And the T-shirt remains in the back of my closet as yet another complicated signifier.





the train ticket

Its like one of those familiar dreams you wish someone else was in on. Impressionistic moments feel at once simplistic and impossible to convey, but I found a common language for voicing the inexpressible in talking to Z about riding trains. Theres a complicated fluidity to riding a train by yourself, a confined limitlessness, the scene outside your window refusing to remain constant while all the while staying remarkably consistent, especially in the agricultural expanse of the American Midwest. Z and I have exchanged thoughts about this feeling a lot over the years, and every time we do, I see a constellation of experiences becoming connected by light and time and movement. Her days riding high-speed trains through Japan, my tense posture against the cramped train cars in Morocco, tracing common routes back and forth on BART, the T, Amtrak, all bisecting and diverging to form that constellation of lived experience. Riding a train alone, the movement of the train set against ones own fixity, it makes me think about embodied transformation. It vacillates, as our behaviors do, between fluidity and rigidity. You watch the light flicker across the window as you move through groves, tunnels, and crowded city blocks and observe as those flickers give way to flashes of exposed daylight, no matter how fleeting. Movement makes transformation into an inevitability, leaving open the question; what will we become?





the fake flower

In Maggie Nelsons exquisite work of autotheory, The Argonauts, she spends a few pages considering her own reaction to her partners decision to go on testosterone. Her knee-jerk response was one of worry and panic over the physiological side effects they might face. Later into her partners transition, Nelson expresses outrage at someone elses mournful reaction to their family member coming out as transframed as a loss juxtaposed against their loved ones liberation. Her partner, Harry, points out that she once voiced her own iteration of that fear, an insight that makes it easier for Nelson to make a compassionate shift in her mindset. Still, when I first read her observations, I felt entirely culpable. Months before picking up the book at a shop in San Francisco, I found myself in a waiting room one county over, anticipating an appointment that wasnt mine. It was the longest amount of time I had ever taken off from my job at the radio station, eleven days to offer to Zs recovery from gender-affirming surgery. Those days wound around a messy clump of feelings rendered static by the banality of the tasks involved in helping her get to a point where she could safely board a plane back to Michigan. The job was pretty food-centric, necessitating trips to Trader Joes, burrito runs, and one ill-fated attempt to make a Blue Apron recipe. But there was also the first post-op doctors appointment. Im ashamed to admit that occupying a seat in that waiting room felt redemptive. The reason I later implicated myself in Maggie Nelsons critique is the blunt knowledge that I was not always a picture of support and patience before that day in the waiting room. When I first received Zs letter a year earlierhell, for weeks to followI felt that same ugly sense of loss, a specific strain of heartbreak that I now know is wrapped up in egotistical fragility, a superimposition of my identity over anothers. I was not always the crazy supportive ex-girlfriend, and it took a while to get there. The waiting room signified an arrival point, placating me as I contemplated the unnatural sea green of the offices fake flowers and marked time among spouses, significant others, and parents. I wondered if I was the only ex-lover in the room but ultimately refused to pat myself on the back for a milestone that didnt belong to me. Yes, the legitimacy of that gesture nearly dissolved as I reached page fifty-two in Maggie Nelsons book later that year. The narrative I had constructed had to go, had to be exiled in service of actual humility, or at least an attempt at it. Sure, our connection to each other has transformed in a singular way, and the time shared during Zs recovery did play a part in that. But something cant be everything, and this particular transformation only reveals itself when free of coercion. What I mean to say is, I still have moments of culpability, but I no longer stuff them down by cueing up the perfect sad song to envelop them. Evidently not, as the existence of this writing suggests. It preserves those moments in amber, all flaws left unobscured.





the pine needle

When I was a kid, maybe ten or eleven, my mom planted two redwood trees in our backyard. Though able to project into the future, I still couldnt believe that those trees would reach the towering heights of the redwoods that shaded my favorite camping spots. Perhaps its because standing under those giants provided a calm that was inaccessible in any other setting. I believed that equilibrium could never be anything but solitary, what with the anxiety that always descended in the company of others. That was until I brought Z to Muir Woods. As she would tell me in different ways, she had found a calm under the redwoods that met my own with careful curiosity. It was at once serene and vital, a texture of duality I hadnt identified before. She and I are both moved by quiet revelations in a similarly earnest way. In other words, all the feelings. So it resonated with me when she continued to invoke the forest as an image we associated with each other long after periods of silence, distance, emotional ellipses. Against the odds, it was at those points that we would come back into contact. I saw her for the first time after she came out in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In my excessively demonstrative style, I timed a visit just as she was getting settled in to start grad school there. I remember nervously driving up in my rental car to a pub in the middle of town and watching her walk down the hilly sidewalk in motorcycle boots, hair dyed aquamarine to her shoulders. That weekend, we decided to cross the palm of Michigan's mitten in a day trip punctuated by fits of laughter, a riot grrrl soundtrack, and of course, all the feelings. At last light, I soared back into the eastern time zone, glancing over to find Z asleep in the passenger seat, and that same calm resurfaced, taking me back to mirror image drives we had taken through the western states all those years ago. I had heard from Z and others that this transition stuff sometimes clicks when you see your person face to face for the first time. As we supplanted three years of geographic separation with three days of sharing space, I recognized the truth underlying the generalization and resented how neatly its prophecy came true. I wanted to be the exception to the rule, to intuit the change by sheer force of my nuanced understanding of this person. Now with a lot less hubris and a bit more humility about it all, I see that this set of moments had to unfold independently within the forest. With its chilling shade, bed of pine needles, and wavering catches of light, the forest contains a moment free of temporality while it spans all moments, all gestures, all transitions and signals of growth within its borders. Tree rings mark the passage of time with each circular revolution. The forest invokes possibility, creating a fleeting constant for two people whose connection to each other has transformed more than anyone would have expected. On the surface, growth might appear teleological, a straight line of progress. Ours is far more crooked and fallible.





an afterword

It still surprises me how effortlessly the mind allows one thing to obscure another. These symbolic half-truths begin to feel so relevant, so immediate, that its easy to miss the underlying truth when its nearly eclipsed by a stand-in. Why else would someone close their closet door on some worthless objects in a box without a second thought, year after year? There are two double doors to my present-day closet. They open up to a row of belongings built up in chaotic stacks, reflecting the late phase of a failed organization system. Every time I move into a new place, I resolve to be better about keeping a neat closet, but apathy inevitably breeds entropy. In the dead middle between the two doors sits the box of ordinary objects, making it the most difficult item to access in the closet. I wish I could tell you all of this thinking and writing and combing through worthless objects as some kind of synecdoche for lived experience have brought me to a great revelation, but that wouldnt be true. Plus, it would probably be a bit obnoxious. But I do see gender and other uncertain constructs dialectically now. Through this lens, and/both always overthrows either/or, each step an effort to dismantle lifes binaries. I still resist speaking to anyone elses experience of witnessing a loved ones transition, so Ill say only this of mine: it takes a while to muddle through the thought that the person you knew, and the revelation of their true identity, transforms the way you see so many thingsgender, love, memoryto name only a few. Especially when that person was your first love. You also become aware that this person is exactly thatthe same amazing person you always knew. Ive also come to realize that those evolving ideas can be as valuable as they are complicated. As for the objects in the box, I like to think that they serve as some kind of heavy-handed reminder of the fallibility of memory and its shape-shifting layers of meaning. The Dobie sponge is still just an unused scouring pad, but what used to be an inside joke is now a reinterpretation of the past. These days, I take out another box from my closet each Sunday morning, this one occupied mostly by music ephemera, before heading over to the radio station. Sitting in an exhausted office chair in the studio, I dont get the same feeling I once did as I cue up the next track, that sense of conflicting duality. As I bring one fader down and the other up, listening for the final drum fill to make space for a new set of opening chords, one feeling no longer precludes the possibility of another. One song gives over to the next, sending out a signal that connects the distance.
A Greystones councillor has raised concerns about the visual impact of proposals to locate offshore windfarms off the coast of the county.

Seven offshore windfarm projects were selected by the Government to be fast-tracked to the next stage of the process under new marine planning rules. These included an offshore wind farm proposed at the Bray and Kish banks and the two phases of the Codling wind farm off the coast between Greystones and Wicklow town.

Councillor Derek Mitchell said he welcomed the announcement that the seven projects would be fast-tracked, but was concerned about their potential visual impact. In October Innology Renewables applied for a foreshore licence in October to conduct site investigations for a proposed windfarm on the Bray and Kish banks, on a site that extends from Booterstown to Greystones.

'The development of a large windfarm with a smaller visual effect, well out to sea, should take priority over a small one with a larger visual effect. There should be a limit to the visual effect permitted in towns.

'In 2005 the Codling windfarm obtained a windfarm licence for 220 turbines which are 15km from the coast at the nearest point, Greystones and Kilcoole. The plan had a 25 degree angle of view from Greystones and generated 1,100 MW, possibly the largest of any proposed in Ireland. There is talk of an extension to this which may produce a combined total of 2GW, over 50 per cent of the national target of 3.5GW.

'The Kish/Bray bank application, not yet consented, was for 145 turbines the nearest within 9 Km of the coast producing about 600MW. The displayed visual impact documents said it would have an angle of view of 62 degrees from Greystones, and probably about 90 degrees from Bray. They describe the impact as 'adverse moderate' on Greystones and 'adverse major' on the view from the Cliff Walk.' Cllr Mitchell said.

He added that he would be objecting to the proposed offshore wind farm on the Bray bank.

'These projects will apply under a new Marine Planning Bill and I will be objecting to the visual impact of the Bray Bank one. It is also necessary for the nearest coastal areas to benefit and the new process must include that,' Cllr Mitchell added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20)  The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency now has a Facebook page dedicated to gathering information on drug suspects and their illegal activities.

The page "Isumbong mo kay Wilkins" encourages tipsters to file their reports online or through the provided mobile numbers. Created early this month, the public page so far has over 3,000 followers.

In a statement on Saturday, detained Senator Leila de Lima criticized the "dangerous" move made by recently appointed PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva.

"We can imagine a corresponding spike in the surreptitious and malicious tagging of just any person as a drug personality, whether real or fake, and for whatever reason," De Lima said. She noted the recent surge of bogus Facebook accounts, which is now being investigated by the National Privacy Commission and the Department of Justice.

De Lima questioned why PDEA would resort to such program when the government has billions of pesos in confidential and intelligence funds.

"Cases such as minecompletely fabricated and bogusare sure to multiply with such an ill-conceived program," De Lima added.

De Lima, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, has been detained since 2017 over drug charges that she calls trumped-up.
A former Nigerian Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, is battling for his life due to coronavirus.



Earlier reports had indicated that he had died.



But his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, has dismissed the claims, saying they are untrue.



In a post on his social media handles, he urged Nigerians to pray for the recovery of the APC chieftain who is battling with COVID-19.



The former Governor is the Acting Chairman of President Buharis APC party a position he has not assumed since it was conferred on him few days ago after the substantive chairman was thrown away.

Mr Ajimobi is 70years.





Source: daily guide









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The United States on Friday criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and described the ruling Chinese Communist Party as a "rogue actor."

Launching a scathing attack on the Chinese government, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese Communist Party wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world's most populous democracy. It's militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes," Pompeo said, a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh early in the week.

In his virtual address on "Europe and the China Challenge" during the 2020 Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday, the top American diplomat said that for many years, the West, in an era of hope, believed they could change the Chinese Communist Party and improve the lives of the Chinese people along the way.

"Along the way, the CCP took advantage of our goodwill while assuring us they wanted a cooperative relationship. As (former Chinese politician) Deng Xiaoping said 'Hide your strength, bide your time.' I've talked in other venues about why this happened. It's a complicated story. It's no one's fault," Pompeo said.

Over decades, European and American companies have invested in China with great optimism. It outsourced supply chains to places like Shenzhen, opened education institutions for PLA-affiliated students and welcomed Chinese state-backed investment in their countries, he said.

But the CPC decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, violating an UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens. This is one of many international treaties the party has violated, the secretary said.

"General Secretary Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we haven't seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India," he said.

The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Galwan.

"The CCP isn't just a rogue actor in its own neighbourhood. It lied about the coronavirus and let it spread to the rest of the world, while pressuring the WHO to assist its cover-up campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and the global economy has been decimated, Pompeo said.

Even now, months into the pandemic, China has not provided access to live virus samples, facilities, or information about patients in December in Wuhan, he said.

China is pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns to undermine governments and to drive a wedge between the US and Europe, Pompeo alleged.

"It's saddling developing nations with debt and dependency. It's strong-arming nations to do business with Huawei, an arm of the CCP's surveillance state. It's flagrantly attacking European sovereignty by buying up ports and critical infrastructure from Piraeus to Valencia," said the top American diplomat.

"We must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn't just at the gates; it's in every capital. Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion," he said.

"Europe faces a China challenge, just as the United States does, and just as our South American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian friends do. As I said earlier this week to my EU counterparts, I know there's fear in Europe that the United States wants you to choose between us and China," he said.

"It's the Chinese Communist Party that's forcing the choice. The party wants you to throw away the progress we in the free world have made, through NATO and other institutions  formal and informal  and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing," Pompeo said.
Author Catherine Noske. Credit:JJ Gately Chesil is downtrodden but familiar to Hannah. Its small-town ennui and isolation seem normal enough. Until strange events begin to unfold. A teenage girl, once ordinary, disappears from class. Then women in the community begin to act strangely. And then... the miracles begin. But events that are miracles to some feel very wrong to Hannah and some of the more sensible townsfolk. A sinister undertow eventually builds to a crisis, and a community transforms into a terrifying mob. This debut from Noske, a writer and academic at the University of Western Australia and editor of Westerly literary magazine, is original, inventive and ambitious in scope. There is beautiful use of symbolism and imagery; Chesils river, blocked at the mouth and rotting; its crumbling, defunct bridge to the mainland (and reality); its churchs almost-animate stained glass windows.

Noske achieves a detailed, convincing sense of place and atmosphere for wind-whipped, beautiful yet dying Chesil. It comes complete with problematic colonial past, a rural economy gasping for breath and bitter family feuds stretching back decades. She also draws well the scenes of rural domesticity. Hannahs caring for her mothers two lonely old horses is relatively peripheral to the main action, yet their scenes are among the most real, properly awakening the readers senses. But many of the characters feel somewhat opaque, their dialogue stilted. The priest, for example, interacts with teenager Mary and her mother Ellen more than almost anyone else, yet continually refers to them as the mother and the girl instead of just saying their names. On the one hand, I see how this underlines the priests detachment from his community, but on the other hand, I cant help thinking it lacks naturalism. Even Hannah, the principal character, seems hard to relate to on an emotional level, despite her retrospective emphasis on her feelings of guilt.

Hannah is re-telling the story of the events on Chesil two decades on, impelled by this unrelieved shame about her role in them, or more accurately her passivity. She tells it sometimes from her own point of view in the first person, sometimes from that of numerous other characters in the third person. She justifies this omniscience by frequently repeating that this is all half-remembered and half-imagined, pieced together. But the sheer number of perspectives stops me getting to know anyone well enough to root for them. And while all the switching, and Hannahs emphasis on her own unreliability and subjectivity as narrator, works nicely from a thematic and atmospheric perspective, it probably contributes to my sense of alienation from these characters. It is, however, convenient for the narrative, as not really revealing anyones thoughts or motivations means no stretch to explain actions that drive a plot that relies on people behaving irrationally.

Even the way Hannah starts this narrative method in the opening pages, beginning the story in one way then backtracking and telling the reader shell use this multi-perspective fashion instead, means my initial response to the opening pages is slight confusion, rather than immediate immersion. By halfway through I have a reasonable grip on whats happening, and the narrative technique does build the drive through the second half. Noske slowly but surely pays out the mystery to the reader like a fish on the line, building her sense of menace in controlled, teasing doses. But for all its cleverness this detachment from the characters has perhaps stopped me caring as much as I might otherwise have done about the final outcome. This novel took Noske 10 years to write, and I find myself thinking that if she had had a bit less time to play with these structural elements the book might have been more accessible, its undeniably brilliant ideas able to shine even more strongly.
A suspect attempting to escape from police in south Alabama on Friday night died after colliding head-on with another vehicle, leaving a young teacher and her mother dead.

Alabama state troopers said the collision occurred just before 10 p.m. when Christopher Ryan Pritchett, 36, of Thomasville in Clarke County was fleeing from Thomasville police southbound on U.S. 43. Pritchetts 2009 Cadillac CTS crossed the median and collided with 2016 Nissan Rogue, which was traveling northbound.

Megan Brunson, 23, and Wanda D. Brunson, 52, were killed in the Nissan, troopers said. Two juvenile passengers in the Nissan were critically injured and transported to University Hospital in Mobile.

It is with great sadness that the Thomasville City Schools District announces the passing of teacher Megan Brunson. She,... Posted by Thomasville High on Saturday, June 20, 2020

In a Facebook post Saturday, Thomasville City Schools said that Megan Brunson was a teacher in the system and that Wanda Brunson was her mother. The school system said Megan Brunsons daughter and sister were the juveniles who were injured.

Megan Brunson was in her second year in the school system and was set to teach sixth grade language arts in the upcoming school year.

Words cannot express how devastating this news has been for me, Kyle Ferguson, principal of Thomasville High School, said in the Facebook post, and my heart breaks to know how we will all be impacted by Megans loss. She was a shining star that had so much incredible potential. Please keep her daughter and sister in your prayers.

The wreck occurred near mile marker 83 just south of Thomasville in the Fulton Community, about 95 miles north of Mobile, troopers said. WKRG in Mobile reported that Thomasville police would not comment on the reason for the pursuit.

According to court records, Pritchett was arrested by Thomasville police on Monday and charged with felony breaking and entering of a vehicle. He was released on bond the next day, court records said.

We have lost a valuable member of our Thomasville family Garth Moss, Thomasville school superintendent, said in the Facebook post. She was a wonderful young lady who in a short time had made an impact on the lives of her students. We ask that you keep her family and the Thomasville family in your prayers.

Updated today, June 20, 2020, at 3:18 p.m. with Pritchett being arrested on Monday.
Amid calls of Boycott China after the killing of 20 Indian Army soldiers in Galwan Valley near Line of Actual Control (LAC) on June 15, price of raw material for the pharmaceutical industry has increased by upto 30% in the last four days, which could eventually result in costlier medicines, claimed pharmaceutical sector industry owners in Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have hundreds of pharmaceutical companies and the two states account for almost half of the total medicines produced in India, which, in turn, accounts for 20% of the worlds pharma supplies by volume. According to Central government estimate, the pharma business in India is expected to grow to $ 0 billion by 2022 from about $22 billion in 2019.

But, that can happen only if cheaper raw material from China comes without any hindrance, say industry leaders. Most of the raw material for the pharmaceutical industry is imported from China because of the lower cost than locally available salts, they said

There are over 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers in Uttarakhand with majority of them operating from State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) units of Haridwar and Rudrapur, US Naga district. Himachal has about 300 pharmaceutical factories, mostly situated in the Baddi Industrial town, close to Punjab-Haryana border.

A leading pharmaceutical industrialists from Haridwar, on the condition of anonymity, said, Since the episode in Galwan Valley in Ladakh and ensuing China boycott, the handful of big suppliers of the raw material, imported from China, have now increased its price by upto 30%. They are citing the ongoing situation behind it. But, it seems they are just trying to exploit the situation to earn undue profit.

These suppliers are a group of 10-12 major players in the country who import the essential raw material and salts for the essential drugs from China and then supply to manufacturers across the country. They have total control over the supply and we are helpless before them. We have to buy the raw material at increased prices, no option. This will ultimately increase the prices for medicines for common man in market, he said.

The industrialist quoted above also said that the suppliers were seeking advance payment for supply the raw material. Many of them are hoarding it and now asking for advanced payment. It is possible that they will come up with any other condition in next few days to benefit from the situation.

Another industrialist hailing from the sector in Haridwar, corroborated the claim, and said, Right now we dont have any other source (for raw material) other than China.

About 80% of the raw material is imported from China which makes this boycott call totally impractical for us. We cant import the material from Europe or US which is almost double the price of that from China, he said.

He said that even a basic drug like Paracetamol is based on raw materials from China.

Not only Paracetamol, raw material for all major antibiotics like Augmentin and vitamins come from China at lower prices which enables us to manufacture the drugs at economical prices. We have no option but to continue to import them from China as we have very few Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) units in India, which can supply the raw material at comparable rates with China, he said.

Another pharmaceutical industrialist from Rudrapur in Uttarakhand said, The ground reality is totally different than what people think while giving such (boycott China) calls.

I have received the quotation of Paracetamols raw material at 395/kg now which was 200/kg two years ago. Everything needed for manufacturing Paracetamol from salt to wrapping sheets comes from China, he said, claiming that if boycott China is implemented the country would face severe shortage of drugs, including live saving ones. Our pharmaceutical industry is still about 10 years behind Chinas.

Confirming the higher prices of material citing the tension between India and China, Anil Sharma, president of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association said, There is some disruption in supply of raw material along with a rise in its price over last few days.

On the call to boycott Chinese products, Sharma said, We are fully with the countrys sentiments but the ground reality is totally different. Doing so will affect us badly. The government should help in developing the APIs and alternative source of raw material to prevent us from relying on China.

Sunil Kumar, owner of Gujarat based Gaurang International, a major suppliers of raw material for pharma industries, confirmed that the prices of raw material has increased in the past few days because of the boycott call. It is because we have now reduced the import from there in support of the countrys sentiments to boycott China. It is not that China has increased the prices but we have decreased the import resulting in its hike, he said.

Kumar, however, said that right now there is no alternative source country for raw material. At present there is no other source of the raw material. But, its not like we cant survive without it. We can put a stop to the import from China by developing APIs in India but that would take time. It cant be done immediately, he said.

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Motorola is getting ready to hit the market with the Motorola One Fusion. The phone looks like it comes with an HD+ resolution of 1600720 pixels. It also comes with a water-drop notch.

After the launch of the Motorola One Fusion in India earlier this month. The company is getting ready to hit the market with the Motorola One Fusion. Spotted on Google Play Console, it appeared on the Google Play Consoles Device Catalog. It also showed up on the Android Enterprise Recommended Catalog. It is codenamed Astro but does possess the label of the Motorola One fusion.

The phone looks like it comes with an HD+ resolution of 1600720 pixels, while leaked info has the screen size at 6.5 inches. It also comes with a waterdrop notch. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM, the Motorola One Fusion will also run Android 10 OS.

In other Motorola news, the Motorola One Fusion+ launched in India earlier in June and is a mid-range offering from Motorola. The phone brings 64MP quad cameras to the table along with a high-resolution display, pop-up selfie camera and powerful chipset under the hood.

The One Fusion+ was announced on June 8 for the European market and now has arrived in India to take on the likes of the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Realme 6 Pro and Poco X2.

The Motorola Edge Lite has allegedly leaked as an affordable mid-range smartphone in the companys flagship Edge series. The Motorola Edge Plus was announced in India last month on May 19 at Rs 74,999, going up against the likes of the Apple iPhone 11, Xiaomi Mi 10 and Samsung Galaxy S20+.
SHELTON  Police headquarters is once again open for employees and the public  except for the recently controversial lower-level bathrooms.

A Shelton Police Department special order, effective Thursday, says the lobby is again open and all law enforcement personnel have access to the interior, but locker rooms and the department gym will remain closed so renovations can take place in the lower level. The department has instituted personal protection guidelines as well.

We are reopening (headquarters) with safety measures in place, Chief Shawn Sequeira said.

Sequeira said the first floor is open, so roll call can be conducted, although with no more than 25 people at one time. All in attendance are required to wear masks and gloves and maintain social distancing of 6 feet. The order states that officers can continue to change in the single-occupancy bathrooms on the main floor.

As for general bathroom use, officers unless summoned to headquarters by a supervisor or dispatch  shall continue to request permission to return to enter headquarters which can be granted by a supervisor.

This will ensure supervisors know where officers are in relation to area coverage, the order further states.

Sequeira said the lower level, which houses the locker rooms and gym, will remain closed for some two weeks as work is completed on replacing flooring and ceiling tiles and areas are repainted. Once complete, the lower-level areas will be opened and main floor renovations will take place.

Were trying to get this work done while use of the building is still not that great, Sequeira said.

Use of the interior locker room and bathrooms has been the focus of a disagreement between the police union and chief.

Last month the union filed a grievance alleging their three female patrol officers were denied use of their headquarters restrooms while the 49 men had access. The police chief then limited use of headquarters locker rooms and bathrooms for both men and women and set up portable toilets for patrol officers in the parking lot.

READ MORE: After complaint female officers couldnt use restrooms, Shelton Police set up portables

Union attorney Barbara Resnick said there is no legitimate reason why the locker rooms could not have been painted during the more than two months that police headquarters have already been closed.

The decision to continue to deny our officers access to the locker rooms, based on the alleged need for painting, is just another disingenuous excuse to cover the continued punitive behavior of this chief, Resnick said.

In addition, in the past 20 years, the locker rooms have been painted on two occasions and both times were closed for a single day to complete this task, she said. Suddenly two weeks is required for simple painting of approximately 500 square feet.

Sequeira denied any punitive actions on his part. He said the reason for closing the area is because, besides painting, workers will be replacing flooring and ceiling tiles throughout those areas and the main corridor.

There are portable toilets in the department parking lot, and Sequeira said officers can still use the bathrooms at the farmers market building or use their residence, if granted permission.

More Information If you need to visit The Shelton Police Department headquarters lobby will be open, but with specific safety measures in place. Individuals must maintain a 6-foot distance inside. All people must contact dispatch through the intercom system upon arrival to explain their reason for being on site. Dispatchers will ask screening questions before authorizing entry into the lobby. A sign is posted in the lobby entrance advising people they must wear masks when entering. Anyone currently sick or experiencing symptoms associated with the coronavirus are asked not to enter the building. Officers will continue to take all complaints outside the building when possible. The determination will be made by the officer after considering the nature of the complaint. The department is again offering fingerprinting and pistol permit processing, both by appointment only. People can also purchase police report in person, but Chief Shawn Sequeira encourages individuals to continue to request reports online. See More Collapse

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com




THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has launched a new operation code-named Wakazvitenga Sei? that is set to see individuals who fail to account for their wealth forfeiting it to the State.





ZACC chair Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo said the anti-graft body was empowered by the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act to seize assets bought through proceeds of crime.





Even if the suspected corrupt person is acquitted by the courts, the unexplained wealth orders give the commission and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) power to forfeit the properties.





The law demands that anyone suspected of corruption explain his or her source of wealth, failure of which they will lose the properties.





It is understood that some persons of interest, including high-profile individuals, are already being investigated by ZACC.





Justice Matanda-Moyo told The Sunday Mail that those that would be under investigation are expected to produce verifiable and auditable data to support their wealth.





This is an intensive lifestyle audit on some of the rich people. They have to produce their invoices on what goods or services they rendered and this has to match the value of the acquired properties, she said.

We will also be checking if these people or their businesses were paying taxes. This means that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is also on board as we seek to ensure compliance to all laws.





However, before the properties or wealth is seized, an application would be made through the NPA.





Those who are under investigation will then be afforded an opportunity at the High Court to account for their wealth.





Failure to do so will automatically result in seizure and forfeiture.





former chief executive officer Mr Frank Chitukutukus properties have been frozen while investigations into his case continue. Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara)sformer chief executive officer Mr Frank Chitukutukus properties have been frozen while investigations into his case continue.





A former Zimra revenue official Mr Kennedy Nyatoti recently lost a US$150 000 mansion and a vehicle after the taxman conducted a lifestyle audit which exposed that his earnings did not match his possessions.





ZACC spokesperson Commissioner John Makamure said the country now has robust legal instruments to fight corruption such as the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act and Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.





Writing in his bi-weekly column, Corruption Watch, which is published by The Sunday Mail, Commissioner Makamure said the unexplained wealth orders were recently enacted into law and gave impetus to assets forfeiture of properties reasonably suspected to have been acquired through corruption.





The unexplained wealth orders are a profound development in the quest for zero tolerance to corruption. This is because someone can be acquitted in a criminal trial but still have assets forfeited as long as on the balance of probabilities there is reasonable suspicion that they were acquired from corrupt activities.





Commissioner Makamure said they were closely working with the NPA, which makes applications at the courts to seize targeted properties under the operation.





We are confident that the improved legal framework on asset recovery should enable the commission to surpass its target of recovering assets worth $300 million by the end of this year.





Legal expert Mr Oliver Marwa said while the current statutes were adequate to combat corruption, there is need to double down on efforts to fight the scourge considering its prevalence.





There was need for ZACC to hire competent chartered accountants and lawyers who should be well paid to avoid bribery from suspects, he said.





Corruption in Zimbabwe is more pronounced in the public sector where politicians have more assets compared to their counterparts in the developed world. They acquire houses and cars, hence it is not difficult to seize and forfeit properties acquired from proceeds of crime, said Mr Marwa.





He recommended that asset seizure should be done expeditiously as properties could be easily transferred or sold to third parties and render the whole exercise futile.





Corruption is very complicated. So let us be serious because it sustains itself in that if someone is arrested he/she can easily pay a bribe and be released. In some cases, one may never get evidence of corruption, said Mr Marwa.





In Zimbabwe, we have the slowest action in dealing with corruption but this must change if we want to win this war.





President Mnangagwas administration has declared war against corruption and has been propping up institutions that fight graft to be able to deliver on their mandate. Sunday Mail
















EDMONTON, AlbertaSex workers have been perhaps the hardest hit of all workers by the economic shutdowns caused by the coronavirus crisis. With a profession that remains criminalized in many countries, including in 49 of the 50 United States, sex workers have been unable to receive financial aid as part of government relief packages, even as their customer base has largely evaporated due to fear of contracting the virus.

But in one Canadian city, a quirk in local laws has provided sex workers with a badly-needed lifeline, according to a report by Vice.com. In Canada, to be eligible for payments under the countrys Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program, workers must show that they earned at least $5,000 in taxable income (about $3,600 in U.S. cash) over the last 12 months.

That prerequisite counts out most sex workers, who are generally forced to work in the underground economy, and could not pay taxes without risking arrest even if they chose to do so. Though selling sexual services is decriminalized in Canada, most other activities associated with sex workincluding paying to receive sexremain illegal, effectively keeping sex work as a criminalized profession.

In Edmonton, Alberta, however, the city issues licenses to escort services as massage parlors. The licenses allow sex workers to operate as legitimate businesses, and to report their taxable income to the government. As a result, at least some sex workers in Edmonton have been able to access CERB payments of $2,000 ($1,400 U.S.) per month. Not a lot, but enough to stay afloat.

I was going back and forth with my landlord, getting eviction notices, one Edmonton sex worker told Vice.com. As soon as I told them Im getting CERB, they got off my back.

In the rest of the country, and the world, the economic situation for sex workers remains dire. Only Switzerland has yet allowed sex work to resume, giving the green light to red light districts on June 6. Many other countries, such as the Netherlandswhere sex work has long been legalhave pushed sex workers to the back of the line, keeping them idle at least until September even as other businesses involving close personal contact have been allowed to resume operations.

Even in the U.S. state of Nevada, the only state where sex work in legal, though heavily regulated, the states government-sanctioned brothels have been forced to stay shuttered even as gambling casinos where people gather indoors in large numbers and in close proximityideal conditions for spreading the coronavirushave reopened.

Though Edmontons licensing laws have allowed sex workers to receive financial relief during the crisis, sex worker advocates told Vice.com that the system allows police to more easily keep sex workers under surveillance. Only full decriminalization will solve the problem of discrimination against sex workers, they say.

In addition, Edmontons city council is now considering a five-year plan to phase out the licensing program and close down massage parlors there.

Photo By 272447 / Pixabay
A baby born just seven inches long is winning his battle for life despite experts giving him a mere three per cent chance of survival.

Tiny Oliver-Cash Lowther-Ryan, born at 23 weeks in lockdown, has been dubbed 'Rocky' after surviving two operations, and will soon be ready to go home with his parents, according to The Sun.

The tot, believed to be one of the UK's most prematurely born survivors, arrived weighing just 1lb 3oz on March 26, when he was barely the size of a TV remote.

Tiny Oliver-Cash Lowther-Ryan, pictured, born at 23 weeks in lockdown, has been dubbed 'Rocky' after surviving two operations, and is now ready to go home with his parents

Parents Ethan Ryan, 29, and partner Frances, 24, from Walderslade, Kent, were told three times to expect the worst by doctors but Oliver-Cash has continued to defy the odds.

The father told the newspaper: 'We always knew it would be tricky when he arrived so early. But just after he was born he let out a little cry and the nurse said, 'We've got a fighter on our hands'.'

The coronavirus pandemic, and the fact their baby was so delicate, meant the parents had to wait some nine weeks before they were allowed to hold their child, an ordeal they described as 'torture'.

Oliver-Cash - named after the musician Johnny Cash - was born breech a week before the abortion limit of 24 weeks in the UK.

Still only three months old, he has endured surgery to remove an inch of his bowel and has fought off abdominal sepsis and a need for a third operation on a heart valve after it healed on its own.

Parents Ethan Ryan, pictured, and partner Frances, from Walderslade, Kent, were told three times to expect the worst by doctors but Oliver-Cash has continued to defy the odds

In a particularly difficult stage of his battle for survival, the baby was on three types of ventilator and even a cannula inserted into his forehead because his size meant there was no other room on his body.

During his recovery, strict Covid-19 rules at Medway Maritime Hospital meant the couple weren't able to see Oliver-Cash together, but were instead restricted to just a few hours each at his bedside.

Frances, a coffee shop barista, said: 'Knowing he was mine and we had got him to that stage with all the incredible doctors and nurses  it makes him a very real miracle to us.

'It was beyond words, to finally be able to bond as mum and baby. The wave of love I felt was just incredible.'

Doctors have now said Oliver-Cash could be taken home on July 23, but only if his progress continues and further medical procedures take place.
New Delhi,Jun 19 (UNI) Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Friday called the Chinese intrusion in Indian territory and violent clash between the two nations a consequence of "intelligence failure".

Speaking at the all party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the border standoff between the two countries, Ms Gandhi alleged that failure of NDA government at all avenues led to death of Indian soldiers.

Heads of 20 parties, including the Congress, participated in the virtual meeting, which has been called in wake of the India-China border clash.

Twenty Army personnel, including a colonel, died in the violent clash with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in Ladakh.

Speaking at the all party meeting, which was attended by presidents of various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, TMC, AIADMK, DMK, TRS, JD(U), BJD, LJP, BSP, SP, Shiv Sena and NCP among others, Ms Gandhi said that the opposition continues to remain in the dark about many aspects of the border situation.

'Even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis. We have some specific questions, for the Government: On which date did the Chinese troops intrude into our territory in Ladakh? When did the government find out about the Chinese transgressions into our territory? Was it on May 5th, as reported, or earlier?

Does the government not receive, on a regular basis, satellite pictures of the borders of our country? Did our external intelligence agencies not report any unusual activity along the LAC? Did the military intelligence not alerted the government about the intrusion and the build-up of massive forces along the LAC, whether on the Chinese side or on the Indian side? In the governments considered view, was there a failure of intelligence?,' Ms Gandhi asked.

'We in the Congress Party believe that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6, the date on which the Corps Commanders meeting took place. Even after the June 6 meeting, efforts should have been made to talk directly, at the political and diplomatic levels, to the leadership of China. We failed to use all avenues, and the result is the loss of 20 lives as well as dozens injured,' the Congress president said and urged the Prime Minister to share with the Opposition all the facts and the sequence of events beginning April this year till date.

'The entire country would like an assurance that status quo ante would be restored and China will revert back to the original position on Line of Actual Control,'Ms Gandhi said.

'We would also like to be briefed on the preparedness of our defence forces to meet any threat. In particular, I would like to ask what is the current status of the Mountain Strike Corps, with two mountain infantry divisions, that was sanctioned in 2013? Should the Government not treat it with utmost priority?,'she said.

Ms Gandhi said that the Congress and the entire Opposition unitedly stand by defence forces and are prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle ready

'We in the Indian National Congress and the entire opposition unitedly stand by our defence forces and are prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle ready. The Entire nation expects that Government will take all Opposition Parties and the country into confidence and brief us regularly so that we may present to the world a picture of unity and solidarity,'she said.

The meeting was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs minister S Jaishankar.

At the start of the meeting, all those present paid tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in Galwan Valley clash.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have asked the government to be transparent about the situation on the border .

The Congress has been attacking the NDA government over the last few days over its handling of the issue.

In his first comments on the issue on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the sacrifice of Indian soldiers will not go in vain.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said that Indian soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

UNI AR PS 2019
OKLAHOMA - With an estimated distance of a mile away from the location of the Saturday rally of United States President Donald Trump, Reverend Al Sharpton also spoke to a mammoth crowd on the Oklahoma State University's campus in Tulsa.

The location picked by Sharpton is near to the city's infamous race massacre which took place in 1921.

Sharpton is among the several speakers invited for the Juneteenth celebration in Tulsa this year, wherein he emphasized that it is not Lincoln who freed the slaves but it is the slaves who freed Lincoln.

He also pointed out that the 'Black Lives Matter's movement protesters were not as violent as described by others.

Sharpton shared with the crowd that they are not violent and they are just fighting violence.

He also mentioned that the Juneteenth event needs to be a federal holiday as it is the first date that the United States stepped forward as a model that all men were created equal.

Moreover, USA Today reported that several lawmakers also suggested and introduced legislation to make the said day to be included in the holidays.

Despite the rain, the audience watching Sharpton responded boos after he mentioned that the president is coming on June 19, as they are disappointed after Trump admitted that he did not know anything about Juneteenth.

Sharpton also pointed out that the admission of Trump only shows that he is not qualified as ahead of the state and to represent the country.

He also stated that the US President is insensitive and isolated especially that he was born and raised in New York, wherein two-thirds of New York's population is Latino and black.

Read also: Trump Faces Health Concerns After West Point Ramp Walk, Denies Having Parkinson's Disease

Trump claimed earlier this week that nobody had ever heard of the event on June 19 before the controversy that surrounded his rally, which he originally set on the calendar to be on Juneteenth.

Meanwhile, PBS reported that many officials expressed concern about the possible spike of coronavirus cases due to the Tulsa rally.

Pence refused to say 'Black lives matter'

When pressed on the issue on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence refused to say 'Black lives matter' but instead he answered 'all lives matter' to the question.

In an interview in Philadelphia, Pence was asked if he would say that Black lives matter, Pence responded that what happened to George Floyd was a tragedy and he sighted that in the US, specifically on Juneteenth, the celebration should focus on the fact that from founding this nation the country cherished the ideal that all of us are created equal therefore all lives matter in a very real sense.

He also added that he does not accept the fact that there is a segment of American society that disagrees, in the preciousness and importance of every life of humans.

Pence also sighted that it one of the reasons why the advancement of law enforcement is very important as they always look for ways in strengthening and improving the inner cities and he mentioned that it will not stop there.

The 'All lives matter' is a saying linked to criticize the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and is viewed as a movement that dismisses and detracts from the racial injustice concerns.



Related article: Trump Claims He Deserves Credit for Making Juneteenth "Very Famous"

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: For the sake of grabbing territory, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China appears to have instigated the most violent clash between the two Asian giants, a top American Senator said on Thursday.

"On land, for the sake of grabbing territory, the PLA appears to have instigated the most violent clash between China and India since those nations went to war in 1962," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a major foreign policy speech on the floor of the House.

In his speech, China topped the list of countries, threatening the interest of the US and its allies.

"Needless to say, the rest of the world has watched with grave concern this violent exchange between two nuclear states. We are encouraging de-escalation and hoping for peace," McConnell said.

"But the world could not have received a clearer reminder that the PRC is dead-set on brutalizing people within their own borders, challenging and remaking the international order anew in their image to include literally redrawing the world map," he said.

He said the Chinese Communist Party has used the pandemic they helped worsen as a smokescreen for ratcheting up their oppression of Hong Kong and advancing their control and influence throughout the region.

"At sea, they have stepped up their menacing of Japan near the Senkaku Islands," he said.

"In the skies, Chinese jets have intruded into Taiwanese airspace four separate times in a matter of days," the top GOP Senator said in his speech.

Meanwhile, Congressman Jim Banks welcomed India's decision to ban Huawei and ZTE from its telecom network.

"Always best to push back against Chinese Communist Party thugs. India will not be intimidated. A strong, wise decision!" Banks said.
Business Roundup Irrawaddy Business Roundup

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YANGONMyanmars businesses have returned to operation as the country has reported no local transmissions of COVID-19 in major cities for several weeks. This week, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held talks about the governments COVID-19 economic recovery plan with the heads of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER), the Ministry of Planning and Finance (MOPFI) and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

During the talk, the head of MIFER said he is confident that foreign direct investment (FDI) will reach the government target for this fiscal year (2019-2020) despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) also said it will allow foreign investors to own more than a 35 percent stake in local private banks, as many of Asias economic giants have their eyes on Myanmars banking sector.

The Ministry of Information also said that the construction of the Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex will commerce before the end of this year despite the challenge of COVID-19. Furthermore, the government said it will spend 92.62 billion kyats (US$66.1 million) to support businesses in the agriculture and livestock sector hit the hardest by COVID-19.

Myanmar will meet foreign investment target

Myanmars minister of investment and foreign economic relations said the country will meet its FDI target for this fiscal year despite the hits COVID-19 has dealt to countries that are Myanmars biggest investors.

U Thaung Tun, head of MIFER, said Myanmar received US$4.15 billion in FDI during 2018-19 and the country has so far approved $4.39 billion in FDI in the first eight months of this fiscal year, which began in October. Based on investment data, U Thaung Tun said he believes the country will meet its FDI target of US$5.8 billion for this year.

The Myanmar Invest Commission (MIC) recently approved industrial projects proposed by investors from Thailand and South Korea that will reportedly mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and create jobs for those who have been laid off because of the coronavirus, according to MIFER.

According to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), as of May 31, Singapore is currently Myanmars largest investor, driving 27 percent of total investments. China came in second, followed by Thailand and Hong Kong.

Construction of Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex to begin

The Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex, the first of its kind in the economic cooperation between the Korean and Myanmar governments, is expected to get off the ground before the end of this year in Hlegu Township, Yangon Region, according to the Ministry of Information.

The industrial zone was originally to be implemented in two phases, with the first running from 2019 to 2021 and the second from 2022 to 2024.

Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex Development Co, a joint venture between Myanmars Ministry of Construction, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and Global Sae-A Co Ltd, will implement the project.

The total estimated cost is US$110 million, with the first phase alone worth $48.5 million, according to a proposal submitted to the MIC.

During Korean President Moon Jae-ins visit to Myanmar in 2019, he said the industrial complex will include garment, textile, construction, telecommunications and other manufacturing factories. Aside from local companies, around 200 Korean companies are expected to invest in the complex, which will focus on the production of export goods.

Myanmar allows foreign banks to own more than a 35 percent stake in local banks

The CBM said it will allow foreign banks to own more than a 35 percent stake in local private banks, as some of Asias economic powerhouses eye investments in the countrys banking sector.

CBM Deputy Chair U Soe Win said CBM has instructed local private banks that they can accept investments from foreign banks in more than 35 percent of total shares.

In January, CBM allowed foreign banks to buy up to 35 percent of shares from local private banks. In April, it approved a bid by Thailands Kasikorn Bank for a 35 percent stake in Myanmars Ayeyarwaddy Farmers Development Bank (A Bank). It also approved licenses for a total of seven foreign banks to open branches in Myanmar: the Hong Kong-listed Bank of China; Cathay United Bank and Mega International Commercial Bank from Taiwan; Industrial Bank of Korea, KB Bank and Korea Development Bank from South Korea; and SIAM Bank from Thailand.

Government announces support program for farmers

The head of Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) said they plan to use 92.61 billion kyats (US$66.1 million) to support the recovery of the agriculture and livestock sectors from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agriculture sectors sales have been badly hit by COVID-19, especially due to travel restrictions, the significant slowdown of trade flows, lack of demand from regular buyers and policy changes in Myanmars largest trade partner countries.

MOALI said it will spend 14.91 billion kyats (US$10.6 million) to support 100,000 acres of paddy seed production under a contract farming system in 287 townships. It will also provide 42 billion kyats for village-level funding, 25.5 billion kyats for the distribution of agricultural machinery in 11 states and regions and 6 billion kyats for fish breeding programs.

Recently, MOPFI also announced a special loan program for farmers to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Confident About Reaching Investment Target, Despite COVID-19

Myanmar Govt to Probe Contentious Chinese Development on Thai Border

Myanmar Independence Hero to Appear on All Banknotes
Robertss cool, detached and technical opinion said the Trump administrations haste to undo the program implemented eight years ago by the Obama administration got the better of the Department of Homeland Securitys obligation to weigh its impact: on the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who had identified themselves, on their families, on their 200,000 U.S. citizen children and on their contributions to the countrys economy and tax base.
Now

What do you think of mail-in voting?

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday requiring that a mail-in ballot be sent to every registered voter in the state for the presidential election in November. Newsom in May ordered that county elections officials send every voter a mail-in ballot for the November election, citing the health threats of voting in person during the coronavirus pandemic, but that order was met with legal challenges from the California Republican Party and others. Critics argued that the Democratic governors order would send ballots to voters listed as inactive and that Newsom had exceeded his authority in not consulting the legislature. Thursdays bill, Assembly Bill 860, which was approved earlier in the day by the state Assembly in a 63-to-3 vote, establishes Newsoms order as law. Only six members, all Republicans, opposed the bill. Republicans who voted for the bill noted that it would not require sending ballots to inactive voters. No one should have to risk their health and possibly their life to exercise their constitutional right to vote, said Assemblyman Marc Berman, a Menlo Park Democrat and one of the bills sponsors. In the midst of a deadly health pandemic, giving all California voters the opportunity to vote from the safety of their own home is the responsible thing to do. State law requires that in-person voting remain available. The bill also extends the window for mail ballots arriving after Election Day to be counted from three days after the election to 17 days, a change that Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon criticized as bizarre. There is a lot of opportunity for mischief, Dhillon said of the extended 17-day period. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty. Democrats have pushed for voting by mail to protect voters from having to leave their homes to vote, possibly exposing themselves to the coronavirus. More than a dozen states either delayed their primary elections or expanded voting by mail as the pandemic continued. Mail ballots have resulted in several recent instances of fraud, including the coercion of elderly voters in Texas and a ballot-harvesting scheme in North Carolina during the 2018 midterms that caused GOP congressional candidate Mark Harriss victory to be voided. In California, cases have cropped up in which dozens of ballots were sent to the same person, or a ballot was sent to an undocumented immigrant who had never registered to vote. President Trump has opposed the widespread use of mail-in ballots, saying it is a breeding ground for voter fraud and puts the election at risk.

Please follow Aimee Byrd at her new nest:

It does make me go back to those first questions I had when going more public in writing a blog and my first book. Do I still want to do this? And who in the world am I to be writing and speaking anyway? The opportunities I've been given in speaking, podcasting, and writing in different venues as I explore what it means to be a disciple of Christ in his church have expanded my insight into the blessings of Christ and the challenges his people face. This matters to me. So, for now I continue to write. But in the back of my mind Im wondering if opening that modern day speakeasy Ive been talking about may be easier. In the meantime, I am going back to my independent blogging days over at aimeebyrd.com.

Interview question with Aimee at CT:

Your skeptics will cry foul and say, Isnt this just a complementarian problem, or at least a problem thats exacerbated by complementarian thinking? Im critiquing a complementarian movement, so there is some weight to that argument. But this is a problem for all of us. We dont fully grasp the beauty of our creation as men and women. Do we view one another as brothers and sisters who are called to promote one anothers holiness? Do we see the spirit of reciprocity that comes across in Scripture? Do we see that beautiful picture that Paul gives us in Romans 16, with all its exhortations to greet friends and co-laborers in the gospel? Hes giving a beautiful picture of the theology he teaches, where both men and women serve under the ministry. We are all responsible for communicating Gods Word to each other as disciples. In Romans 16, we see Paul passing the baton to Phoebe; he authorizes her to deliver his letter to the Romans. He relies on her to communicate the meaning of that letter, which he knew would generate many questions. We have the baton in our hands, as well, to share Gods Word with one another. Thats a great and beautiful responsibility.

Pastors  hows it going during the pandemic  and heres Jay Kim:

Jay Kim, oversees teaching and leadership at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California: Like most churches in America, and so many around the world, our leadership team has been in constant conversation these past couple of weeks, as information and mandated protocols have changed with increasing speed. Much of our discussion has focused on shifting the way we gather (or, currently, do not gather)both the church at large and our team of staff and volunteers. While being physically separated is a tremendous loss, adhering to government directives and, more crucially, serving the common good out of love for neighbor makes this the wise and responsible choice. So online we go, for now. While it is the right decision, it comes at a series of great costs. The most important is the loss of embodied presence, but there is another pragmatic cost that we, like so many church leaders today, are navigating: the expected decline in financial giving. Our leadership team is attempting to address the possibility head on, transparently and unapologetically. Were leaning into it as a chance to exemplify the sort of courage and faith we long to see in the everyday lives of our people and ourselves. Along these lines, weve delivered distinct invitations to two types of people in our church. First, were inviting those whose financial situations are not being adversely affected to continue giving faithfully and generously in the coming weeks and months. Were asking those with financial means to prayerfully consider giving above and beyond in this next season. Doing so will be vital to moving the mission of our church forward, now and in the future. We know it will be an act of courage and faith in a time like this. Second, were asking those who are experiencing (or will soon experience) severe financial hardshiphourly wage workers who are losing income, those living paycheck to paycheck, single parents dealing with the challenges of childcare, and othersto share specific needs with us via a simple online form so we can rally around them. We are committing to financially support those in need during a time of fiscal uncertainty as a church. This, too, is a significant risk requiring courage and faith. More than ingenuity, creativity, or technological prowess, I hope and pray the story people tell of the church during this strange time will be the story of courage and faith.

Prayer, by Blake Adams:

Howdoes one pray, exactly? I recall Sunday school lessons on what to pray (e.g., the ACTS model: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) but nothing on how. The method passed down to me is best expressed by paraphrasing Ernest Hemingways method for writing novels: There is nothing to prayer. All you do is sit down in a closet and bleed. Prayer was just talking to God. You had concerns, worries, sins, whatever, and you brought them forward. Nothing to it. How this was done was of no consequence. This did not prevent us from following certain conventionseyes closed, hands clasped, head bowedbut nobody seemed to know why we prayed this way instead of some other way. From the books leering in columns in my closet-room, I plucked out St. Benedicts Rule and began to read. An impulsive starter of books, I managed to finish this one. I immediately read it a second time, a third, a fourtheach time with greater appetite. The subject of ancient Christian prayer receives so little attention in both academy and seminary that I was forced to go directly to the primary sources to learn about it. (The notable exception is Gabriel Bunges Earthen Vessels: The Practice of Personal Prayer According to the Patristic Tradition, a work to which this essay can add nothing.) I devoured the writings of Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, and Gregory of Nyssa. I was in an ideal state to receive instruction. The church fathers taught me how to pray all over again, but I do not pray now as I did beforenor would I want to. The life of prayer, as it has been described by the unknown writer of The Way of the Pilgrim, is like a wheel of a machine that has been given a push and then the machine works by itself; then the wheel needs only to be oiled and nudged for the machine to keep working. The injunction is to begin, and then we will learn to pray by praying. The Spirit will teach us. But the question remains: In our frail condition, how to begin?

Florida is spiking:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Florida reported another 3,822 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, breaking the one-day record of 3,207 set just 24 hours earlier. Florida is now up to 89,748 total confirmed cases and 3,104 deaths associated with COVID-19, according to the latest data released by the health department. There were 43 new coronavirus-related deaths reported Friday morning across the state, including five in Miami-Dade County, two in Broward and 14 in Palm Beach County. The 3,822 new cases in one day is a 19% jump from what had been the record a day earlier, and its more than double what had been the record for single-day cases just a week ago (1,902). In the past day, Miami-Dade Countys confirmed cases increased by 522 to 24,376. The county now has 864 deaths, the highest total in the state. Browards cases increased by 337 to 10,448. The countys death toll is now at 367. Palm Beach Countys cases increased by 262 to 10,116, with the death toll at 464. Monroe County now has 150 cases (an increase of four overnight) and four confirmed deaths. Florida has confirmed at least 12,774 coronavirus-related hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak.

Juneteenth:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A traditional day of celebration turned into one of protest Friday, as Americans marked Juneteenth, a holiday that long commemorated the emancipation of enslaved African Americans but that burst into the national conversation this year after widespread demonstrations against police brutality and racism. In addition to the traditional cookouts and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation  the Civil War-era order that declared all slaves free in Confederate territory  Americans were marching, holding sit-ins or car caravan protests. In Nashville, Tennessee, about two dozen Black men, most wearing suits, quietly stood arm in arm Friday morning in front of the citys criminal courts. Behind them was a statue of Justice Adolpho Birch, the first African American to serve as chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. If you were uncomfortable standing out here in a suit, imagine how you would feel with a knee to your neck, said Phillip McGee, one of the demonstrators, referring to George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes. The killing has sparked weeks of sustained, nationwide protest. Former President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, and it became effective the following Jan. 1. But it wasnt enforced in many places until after the Civil War ended in April 1865. Word didnt reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19 of that year, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. Most states and the District of Columbia now recognize Juneteenth, which is a blend of the words June and 19th, as a state holiday or day of recognition, like Flag Day. But in the wake of protests of Floyds killing this year and against a backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic that has disproportionately harmed Black communities, more Americans  especially white Americans  are becoming familiar with the holiday and commemorating it.

Summer heat and COVID-19:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint briefing about an executive order from President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court at the State Department in Washington on June 11, 2020. Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Confronts China Diplomat for Coercion of Australia

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he raised Chinas coercion of Australia during a frank, six-hour meeting with Chinas top diplomat in Hawaii.

Pompeo said he confronted Yang Jiechi with a list of Chinas actions around the globe, including hitting Australia with steep barley tariffs and banning beef exports from four abattoirs after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had the audacity to lead global calls for a probe into the origins of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

Pompeo said he made the point to Yang in Honolulu on Wednesday that the United States was no longer just listening to what China was saying, but was watching its actions.

We can see their actions, Pompeo, speaking at the virtual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, said on Friday.

I ticked through a few of them: Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, what theyre doing in India, what theyve done in the economic zones along the Philippines and Malaysia and Indonesia and Vietnam, the coercion on Australiawhen they had the audacity to demand that there would be an investigation of how this virus got from Wuhan to Milan, how this virus got from Wuhan to Tehran, how this virus got from Wuhan to Oklahoma City, and to Belgium and to Spain, and decimating the global economy, said Pompeo.

My G7 counterparts and I have expressed our grave concern over Chinas decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong. The proposal would jeopardize the system that has allowed Hong Kong to flourish and made it a success over many years. We urge the CCP to re-consider.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 18, 2020

Pompeo said China lied about the CCP virus, let it spread to the rest of the world, and pressured the World Health Organisation to assist in a cover-up campaign.

Even now, months into the pandemic, we dont have access to a live virus, we dont have access to facilities, and information about patients in December in Wuhan remains unavailable, he said.

Pompeo also accused China of saddling developing nations with debt and dependency and pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe.

Everyone in this room knows that the Chinese Communist Party strong-arms nations to do business with Huawei, an arm of the CCPs surveillance state and its flagrantly attacking European sovereignty by buying up ports and critical infrastructure, Pompeo told the summit.
C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: If home quarantined or living in close contact with coronavirus-patients, your movements will now be watched as Chennai Corporation will be appointing 6720 volunteers in the city.

The need for 6720 volunteers a day to monitor 67,200 houses belonging to COVID-patients or those living in close contact has been worked out considering there will be at least three houses which will be in close contact with the house of a positive patient.

Working out a case of 1,200 patients per day, a total of 3600 houses will need to be quarantined and monitored per day for 14 days in addition to 1200 houses of positive patients. In total, 4,800 houses have to be monitored every day and a total of 67,200 houses for 30 days, according to a Government Order.

Sanctioning a sum of Rs 40.32 crore based on one volunteer for 10 houses in Chennai, the commissioner of revenue administration has stated that each volunteer will be paid an honorarium Rs 500 per day for four months to monitor the houses under state disaster response funds. This comes as Commissioner of Greater Chennai corporation has requested the Chief Secretary to appoint volunteers (on payment basis) in the ration of one volunteer for 10 houses to monitor home quarantined people and home treated positive patients and also to take care of their basic needs by arranging essential services at their doorstep.

Similarly, a sum of Rs six crore has been sanctioned as relief fund to approximately 60,000 people living in the slum areas after Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami announced a relief fund for people living in slum areas under institutional quarantine. Working on estimates that around 2,000 persons are quarantined per day in Chennai which works out to 60,000 people per month, the sum of Rs six crore (Rs 1000 per person) was worked out and was sanctioned by the government.

Similarly, Rs 1.17 crore has been sanctioned for 680 self-help group members assigned to primary health centres. It is learnt that 10 SHG are assigned to each primary health centres functioning in Thiruvallur district.
Lankan sentenced to prison in Singapore for overstaying visa tests positive for COVID-19 View(s):

A 21 year old Sri Lankan who recently visited Singapore and was sentenced for overstaying his visa has tested positive for COVID -19 while in prison, a foreign media reported.

The youth who had arrived on January 10 had been found guilty for overstaying his visa on June 12 and was sentenced to prison for four weeks and is to be caned three times for the offence of overstaying.

He was tested positive for COVID-19 on June 18 while in segregation.

The Sri Lankan was first tested negative at the point of admission, showed no symptoms; therefore he does not require medical treatment the Singaporean prison service was quoted as saying.

However the Sri Lankan was detected to have COVID  19 on June 18 while undergoing group isolation. There were two other inmates admitted with him.

The prison authority noted that the Sri Lankan inmate would be subjected to a medical review to assess his medical situation.
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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Saudi Arabia Diabetic Food Market By Product Type (Baked Products For Diabetics, Beverages For Diabetics, Confectionery For Diabetics, Ice Cream For Diabetics, Dairy Products For Diabetics and Breakfast Cereals For Diabetics), By Distribution Channel (Grocery Stores, Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Online, Drug Stores/Pharmacies and Others), By End Users (Adults v/s Children), By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025under Healthcare Category. The report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, competitive intelligence and Market reports.

As on date of publishing, this report will capture the impact assessment of COVID-19 on this market and the same will be considered in our market forecast model. Clients purchasing this report between April and June 2020 will be getting a free updated market data excel sheet between July and September 2020 accounting for the impact of COVID-19 on the market in the current year 2020 and forecast.

Saudi Arabia Diabetic Food Market is expected to grow at a steady rate of during the forecast period. The Saudi Arabia diabetic food market is driven by the increasing awareness about the health issues, rising concerns over diabetes, increasing obesity, among others. Additionally, growing awareness regarding the diabetic food products and the rising consumption of sugar substitutes is further expected to propel the market during forecast years.

Request a free sample copy Saudi Arabia Diabetic Food Market Report @

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The Saudi Arabia diabetic food market is segmented based on product type, distribution channel, end user, company and region. Based on product type, the market can be fragmented into baked products for diabetics, beverages for diabetics, confectionery for diabetics, ice cream for diabetics, dairy products for diabetics and breakfast cereals for diabetics. The beverages for diabetics segment is expected to dominate the market during the next five years. This can be ascribed to the increasing demand for nutritive, low-calorie, and sugar-free beverages amongst the masses.

Major players operating in the Saudi Arabia diabetic food market include Nestle Saudi Arabia L.L.C., Unilever PLC, Kellogg Company, MARS Saudi Arabia, Al Safi Danone Co. Ltd., Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company, PepsiCo, Inc, Mondelez Arabia for Trading LLC and others. The companies are developing advanced technologies and launching new services in order to stay competitive in the market. Other competitive strategies include mergers & acquisitions and new service developments.

Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: 2015-2018

Base Year: 2019

Estimated Year: 2020

Forecast Period: 20212025

Objective of the Study:

 To analyze and forecast the market size of Saudi Arabia diabetic food market.

 To classify and forecast Saudi Arabia diabetic food market based on product type, distribution channel, end user, company and regional distribution.

 To identify drivers and challenges for Saudi Arabia diabetic food market.

 To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in Saudi Arabia diabetic food market.

 To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in Saudi Arabia diabetic food market.

Our Research performed both primary as well as exhaustive secondary research for this study. Initially, Our Research sourced a list of manufacturers across the region. Subsequently, Our Research conducted primary research surveys with the identified companies. While interviewing, the respondents were also enquired about their competitors. Through this technique, Our Research could include the manufacturers which could not be identified due to the limitations of secondary research. Our Research analyzed the manufacturers, distribution channels and presence of all major players across the region.

Our Research calculated the market size of Saudi Arabia diabetic food market using a bottom-up approach, wherein data for various end-user segments was recorded and forecast for the future years. Our Research sourced these values from the industry experts and company representatives and externally validated through analyzing historical data of these product types and applications for getting an appropriate, overall market size. Various secondary sources such as company websites, news articles, press releases, company annual reports, investor presentations and financial reports were also studied by Our Research.

Key Target Audience:

 Diabetic food manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and other stakeholders

 Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers

 Organizations, forums and alliances related to diabetic food

 Market research and consulting firms

The study is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as manufacturers, suppliers and partners, end users, etc., besides allowing them in strategizing investments and capitalizing on market opportunities.

Browse our full report with Table of Content : http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/saudi-arabia-diabetic-food-market-by-product-type-baked-products-for-diabetics-beverages-for-diabetics-confectionery-/2088717

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Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has now rolled back on his previous order; the patients that cannot practice home quarantine are supposed to undergo institutional isolation. Moreover, the daily rates for Coronavirus treatment have been reduced in Delhi.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday rolled back his order on mandatory five-day institutional quarantine period for COVID-19 positive patients stating that only those patients need to undergo institutional quarantine who do not require hospitalisation and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation, Baijal said in a tweet. Baijal had on Friday issued an order that every COVID-19 positive person in Delhi will have to stay in five-day institutional quarantine.

Every corona positive person will have to stay in quarantine centre for five days. Only then a person will be sent to home isolation. But if there are symptoms then they will be sent to the quarantine centre or hospital, accordingly, the order had said.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation.  LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) June 20, 2020

To provide relief to the common man in Delhi, HM @AmitShah constituted a committee under Member of @NITIAayog to fix rates charged by Pvt hospitals in Delhi for isolation beds, ICUs without ventilator support & ICUs with ventilator support.  Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) June 19, 2020

Anil Baijal also said on Saturday that treatment of COVID-19 patients have been made affordable in the national capital with the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

With the guidance of Honble Home Minister @HMOIndia, Covid treatment made affordable in Delhi. #IndiaFightsCorona #HealthForAll, Baijal tweeted quoting tweets of the spokesperson of Ministry of Home Affairs. In a series of tweets, Spokesperson of Ministry of Home Affairs informed about the charges being fixed for treatment of COVID-19 in Delhi. The cost of treatment at the coronavirus-designated private hospitals for isolation beds has been fixed at Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per day.

To provide relief to the common man in Delhi, HM @AmitShah constituted a committee under Member of @NITIAayog to fix rates charged by Pvt hospitals in Delhi for isolation beds, ICUs without ventilator support & ICUs with ventilator support, it tweeted.

Committee has recommended Rs 8000-10000, 13000-15000 & 15000-18000 including PPE costs for isolation bed, ICUs without & with ventilator respectively to all hospitals as compared to the current charges of Rs 24000-25000, 34000-43000 & 44000-54000 (excluding PPE cost) @HMOIndia, it said in another tweet of the thread.

As per the Union Health Ministry, there are 53,116 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Delhi including 27,512 active, 23,569 Cured/Discharged/Migrated and 2035 deaths.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Dublin's Temple Bar, which is famous worldwide for its pubs, will see the majority of its bars stay shut at the end of the month.

Those serving food can reopen on June 29 but the majority of publicans in the area have decided to wait a little longer.
Amaravati, June 20 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday came out in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the controversy over some remarks made by the latter at the all-party meeting on India-China standoff held on Friday.

"Concerned by the manufactured controversy surrounding the All Party Meet yesterday. This is the time to showcase our unity and solidarity with our armed forces and not the time to point fingers or find faults," tweeted Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The YSR Congress Party President, who had attended the all-party meet through video conference, said the Prime Minister and other ministers gave very convincing answers.

"Nation is and should be united on this subject. Unity brings strength and division exhibits weakness," said the Chief Minister.

A row erupted over Modi's reported remarks that there was no Chinese presence on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The opposition slammed the Prime Minister for the statement and wondered how 20 Indian soldiers were killed if there was no transgression by China.

The government issued a statement on Saturday saying controversy was being created. It alleged attempts were being made to give mischievous interpretations to comments made by the Prime Minister at the all-party meeting.

The government said the "Prime Minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces".
TULSA, Oklahoma - Under gazebo tents and propped in lawn chairs, hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters filled downtown streets here Saturday, anticipating an evening rally that will be the president's first since the novel coronavirus brought much of public life to a standstill in March.

Some smoked pipes while others led chants of "four more years," as Trump's past speeches resounded from a speaker system set up by James Turney, 51, who had camped out overnight with his wife and friends, even though he lives in town.

Margene Dunivant and her son, Christian Lynch, both of Tulsa, sat on the edge of the crowd, taking in the scene.

"Everybody here is just full-on American and American dream and hardworking, and just believes in everything America," said Dunivant, 52. "Nowadays, it's like you put on a Trump shirt and you're considered racist and it's just wrong. We're good people, and we love everybody."

Susan Schoonover and her husband Brian said they woke up at 3 a.m. to drive the 15 miles from their home in Glenpool, Okla. Standing in line, Schoonover sparkled in a tutu, tube socks and a red, white and blue head piece, clad for her first Trump rally. The pair purchased a cardboard cutout of Trump from Amazon to display in line, and they said it has been a hit with other attendees.

The parents of four left their children at home "just in case," they said, citing recent unrest in cities across the country. As for the pandemic, they did not discount the threat of the coronavirus and planned to take some precautions. If they were to contract the virus, however, "it's not a death sentence," they said, because both are in their early 30s. Older people with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable, but young adults have also been badly sickened, including by an inflammatory syndrome linked to covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Robin Wilson, 64, said she was not concerned about contracting the virus inside the stadium despite a heart condition that put her in a wheelchair two years ago.

"I'm here because I love my president," said Wilson, who used to work in insurance, "and I feel that he's misrepresented by the mainstream media. And I believe that this is history in the making today and I wanted to be a part of it."

By early Saturday, lines had formed around three major entrances to the 19,000-seat arena, and state troopers and tactical teams in military-style fatigues were massing at the conference center across the street on the southwest side of the downtown stadium.

Temperature checks and metal detection were to begin mid-morning, according to a police spokeswoman, Jeanne Pierce. Police were also preparing to hand out masks, though some officers at entrances to the arena were not wearing face coverings.

Nearby, demonstrations were planned for later in the day, as plans to reignite the president's reelection campaign collided both with persistent protests against racial injustice and with the unremitting pandemic, which has intensified in recent days in Tulsa.

The event was able to proceed after the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid to require the venue, the BOK Center, to enforce social distancing guidelines spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and endorsed by members of the president's own coronavirus task force. His campaign said it would take the temperatures of attendees and hand out masks but not require them.

The rally was set to unfold as the city's coronavirus cases topped 2,000 and as protests continued here - and across the country - triggered by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. It was scheduled for the day after Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the final achievement of slave emancipation in Texas.

The commemoration held added significance in Tulsa, a city scarred by racist violence, where a 1921 white mob killed an estimated 300 black residents and devastated an area of the city known at the time as "Black Wall Street." The Tulsa Massacre unfolded in the Greenwood neighborhood, where the words "Black Lives Matter" were painted in bright yellow paint as part of this year's Juneteenth observances, which brought the Rev. Al Sharpton to town.

Trump's rally, initially planned for June 19, was postponed by a day following an outcry. Trump, after admitting not to have known about the day many African Americans celebrate, claimed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal to have made it "famous."

Still, some feared the one-day delay would not prevent conflict.

"My fear is the we will see Charlottesville 2.0 in Tulsa," said Karlos K. Hill, chair of the African and African American studies department at the University of Oklahoma, referring to the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in 2017.

Never in living memory, Hill said, had Tulsa attracted this much attention. The president could have come to the city to "designate Juneteenth as a national holiday and engaged the community a meaningful conversation," he said. "Instead we're left to wonder if he's going to talk about police brutality in the way he's talked about it on Twitter. That's why the emotions are so raw."

While he would ordinarily would have participated in Juneteenth celebrations in Greenwood, Hill said he did not feel safe because of the possible spread of the virus, including from people pouring in from out of state.

Trump on Friday threatened protesters preparing to greet him in Tulsa, warning on Twitter: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma, please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

The Trump campaign has repeatedly touted figures suggesting as many as 1 million people have signed up for the event, vastly outstripping the arena's capacity. Protests were also scheduled for Saturday, though some activists said their guidance for opponents of the president was to stay away from his rally.

"Stay focused on what Juneteenth represents," said Mareo Johnson, a pastor and the founder of Black Lives Matter Tulsa. His group, he said, was involved in organizing a Saturday demonstration at John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, less than a mile from the rally.

A curfew that had been in place Thursday was rescinded for Friday night after discussions between Trump and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, who has called the president's decision to hold the event in his city a "tremendous honor" while declining to attend it. The state's Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, has embraced the president's move, saying of concerns about the coronavirus, "We've got to learn to deal with this," while his health commissioner warned in a statement this week "individuals looking to attend Saturday's event, or any other large-scale gathering, will face an increased risk of becoming infected with covid-19 and becoming a transmitter of this novel virus."

Though there was no curfew in place Friday, a small "secure zone" was established around the site of the rally to "keep the area clear of individuals that are only present to break the law and disrupt the rights of people assembling peacefully," according to the Tulsa Police Department. The zone was secured by the U.S. Secret Service in collaboration with city police. About 250 National Guard soldiers were on hand to supplement local authorities.

Andrea Anderson, an FBI spokeswoman in Oklahoma City, said the Bureau was supplying investigative resources to state and local partners to "ensure public safety and security."

Tensions were already flaring on the eve of the rally.

As pro-Trump crowds camped out near the arena, jeers came from passing cars. Deron Slater, 37, caught the eye of a driver who stopped traffic and rolled down his window to call Slater a racial slur. Both men were black.

Slater wore a hat with the president's name on it. After a brief back and forth, police ordered the driver to move on, and Slater addressed the small crowd of Trump supporters around him.

"When you think about Donald Trump's policies and how he has benefited us as patriots," Slater said, "that race card crap is coming to an end. When I see that, that hurts. Your race is irrelevant. Don't back down to a person like that."

Others said the president had picked the wrong city for his return to the campaign trail.

"Black people in Tulsa have so much pride of place, and a deep sense and respect for history," said Hill, the African American studies professor. "Picking a fight with black folks in Tulsa is the wrong thing to do."

- - -

Stanley-Becker reported from Washington.
Unichem Laboratories reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 17.19 crore in Q4 March 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 37.99 crore in Q4 March 2019.

Net sales fell 14.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 320.23 crore during the quarter. Profit before tax stood at Rs 0.44 crore in Q4 FY20, down 98.5% from Rs 28.98 crore in Q4 FY19. Current tax expense slumped 59.10% to Rs 2.92 crore during the period under review. Total R&D expenditure fell 11.3% to Rs 31.27 crore during the quarter compared with Rs 35.24 crore in the same period last year.

With respect to the impact of COVID-19 on its business operations, the company said, "The actual impact of the global health pandemic may be different from that which has been estimated, as the COVID-19 situation evolves in India and globally. The Company will continue to closely monitor any material changes to future economic conditions."

Unichem Laboratories is an international, integrated, specialty pharmaceutical company. It manufactures and markets a large basket of pharmaceutical formulations as branded generics as well as generics in several markets across the world.

Shares of the drug maker fell 4.62% to Rs 158.80 on Friday.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington (AFP) - Protesters in Washington toppled a statue of a Confederate general late Friday, after nationwide rallies to demand racial justice on a day heavy with symbolism -- the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Demonstrations were held in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington against a backdrop of weeks of protests fueled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.

In a stark illustration of the tensions roiling the nation, President Donald Trump issued a solemn White House statement commemorating Juneteenth, while also threatening protesters on Twitter ahead of his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Juneteenth marks the day -- June 19, 1865 -- when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves that they were free -- two months after the Civil War had ended and two-and-a-half years after president Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The date is generally celebrated with prayer services and family gatherings, but comes this year amid a national soul-searching over America's legacy of racial injustice.

The United States has been gripped by daily "Black Lives Matter" protests since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Late on Friday a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike was torn down by demonstrators in the capital and set on fire, in an act labeled a "disgrace" by Trump.

"The D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested," Trump tweeted.

Earlier, several thousand demonstrators marched across New York's Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, chanting the names of black men and women killed by police in recent years.

"This year the entire country has had a reckoning," said protester Tabatha Bernard, 38, voicing support for growing calls for Juneteenth to be declared a national holiday.

Story continues

"It's up to us to keep this going until we have change."

Protesters in Atlanta, where a police officer was charged with murder this week for shooting a black man in the back, marched on the Georgia State Capitol.

More gathered in Washington outside the Lincoln Memorial and near the White House, while thousands marched in Chicago and danced at festive rallies in South Los Angeles.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has a solid lead over Trump in the latest polls, said Juneteenth reminded Americans "that our country is capable of the worst violence and injustice but it also has an incredible capacity to be reborn anew."

- 'More unity' -

In Tulsa -- where Trump on Saturday is set to hold his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic began -- a Juneteenth celebration was attended by several thousand protesters.

"We've seen more unity and more blacks and whites together in the last three weeks than we've ever seen in a Trump rally," civil rights activist Al Sharpton told a press conference.

Trump had originally scheduled his Tulsa appearance for Juneteenth, but was forced to change it amid a public outcry over his provocative choice of date and location.

The city's Greenwood district was the site of one of the country's worst racist massacres, in 1921, when as many as 300 black Americans were killed.

"We just want the world to know what happened here," said Greenwood store owner Tony Williams, labelling Trump's arrival "disrespectful."

About a mile away, dozens of Trump followers have camped out for several nights ahead of the rally in order to get the best seats.

"This is a super important moment for all of us... we're out here supporting Trump," said Stephen Corley, 19.

- 'A much different scene!' -

Trump, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November and has adopted a hardline "law and order" stance towards protestors, and First Lady Melania Trump issued a joint statement to mark Juneteenth.

"Juneteenth reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation," it said.

At the same time, Trump issued a blunt warning to counter-protesters headed to Tulsa.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis," he said. "It will be a much different scene!"

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum declared a curfew in the city amid fears of violence but Trump later announced it had been lifted for "our many supporters" attending the rally.
Six Trump saffers tested positive for coronavirus as crowds ignored health warnings and gathered to hear the US president speak Saturday at his first rally since March, while cases and deaths rose in several Latin American countries. The figures were particularly alarming in Chile, where the death toll nearly doubled to more than 7,000 under a revised tallying method, and passed 20,000 in Mexico. Europe meanwhile chalked up more than 2.5 million cases. Although the spread has slowed, Europe is still the worst-affected continent. Almost half of its cases have been registered in Russia, Britain, Spain and Italy, according to an AFP tally on Saturday. The continent is easing its way out of strict lockdowns that have caused crippling economic damage, even as the WHO warns against giving in to isolation fatigue. The virus has now killed more than 461,000 people and infected 8.7 million worldwide. A vaccine remains months off at best despite several trials, and scientists are still learning more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified. - 'Still spreading fast' - As people gathered at an arena in the US city of Tulsa for the Trump rally, it emerged that six of the Tulsa advance team there had tested positive for coronavirus and been quarantined. Critics, including Tulsa city officials, had already expressed concern that the event -- at a venue with a capacity of 20,000 -- violated guidelines issued by the US health authorities. However, Trump has been consistently critical of lockdown measures. Those attending Saturday's event will have to sign a disclaimer to ensure the president will not be held liable if they contract the virus. One supporter, who gave her name as Jody while waiting in line with her five-year-old son dressed as a mini-Trump, said she would be wearing a mask but expected that many others would not. "I wish people would wear them, but you can't force people to do something they don't want to do," she said. The United States remains the country worst hit by the pandemic, having recorded 119,460 deaths from more than 240,000 registered cases. The world's largest economy is taking a beating in a year when Trump seeks re-election. - Latin American numbers rise - Chile nearly doubled its coronavirus death toll Saturday to more than 7,144 under a new tallying method that includes probable fatalities from COVID-19, the health ministry announced. The announcement of the new counting system was meant to end weeks of controversy over the death toll numbers being released by the government. After investigative news organisation CIPER revealed that Chile was supplying the higher figures to the World Health Organization, health minister Jaime Manalich resigned last week. The new health minister, Enrique Paris, insisted that the government never meant to deceive. "No data has ever been hidden," he said. Chile's latest figures came a day after Brazil followed the United States past the one-million cases marker; and Mexico announced it was delaying plans to reopen the economy until the number of infections had dropped further. "The world is in a new and dangerous phase," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Friday. "Many people are understandably fed up with being at home... but the virus is still spreading fast." - 'I cried with joy' - The Palestinian Authority announced Saturday it was temporarily closing the cities of Hebron and Nablus in the occupied West Bank for after a sharp rise in infections. Only goods will be allowed in, Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told journalists. Authorities have reported a total of 687 cases in the West Bank, including two deaths so far. In Europe, researchers in Italy said they had found evidence the virus was present in December -- about the same time the disease was first reported in China. They discovered genetic traces in samples of waste water collected in several cities, the ISS institute said. Italy only confirmed its first cases in February, imposing a strict lockdown in March. Much of the continent followed Italy into lockdown and shops, restaurants and other businesses have only slowly reopened. Millions more children in France are preparing to return to school on Monday after three months away. "I cried with joy when I got the confirmation from the teacher that my two children would be going back to school full time," said Noemie from Nice. France is also reopening cinemas from Monday and stadiums for team sports, and in another sign of returning normality, actors have also started kissing again on film shoots. Spain meanwhile, announced it would let British nationals in without a two-week quarantine -- despite Britain enforcing those measures on foreign nationals there. Spain opens its borders from midnight to EU states, in a bid to get its tourism industry back up and running. burs-jj/ach
Editors note: The Journal-Courier has been working with a group of business and community leaders to shine a light on the importance of the sometimes behind-the-scenes work taking place to improve the present and build for the future of our hometown.



There are three legs required to build a strong foundational stool of sustained community transformation: the local media company, local chambers of commerce and Main Street organizations and, of course, community government or leadership.

While a three-legged stool can stand just fine, nothing beats a stable four-legged stool.

When it comes to building a four-legged stool of sustained and powerful community transformation, we must consider adding local civic clubs or groups to the other legs.

Local civic clubs such as the Rotary, Optimist, Shriners, Exchange, Young Professionals, Kiwanis, American Legion, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and religious groups are loaded with talented and visionary members. Imagine a community harnessing the power and abilities of the majority of their local civic organizations to assist in community transformation. Put another way, a community that can synergize with each of the four legs of their community transformation stool will succeed in ways they would never have imagined.

While each of these mentioned clubs and others can provide great leadership in the transformation building planning, they are also capable of tackling various projects that might become a part of the final plan. Once again, imagine if each of the above listed and other civic groups were all tasked with a small portion of the communitys final plan. The most successful community action plans will involve as many groups and individuals as possible.

Successful community transformation never occurs in a small vacuum. The local media company and chamber or Main Street organizations cant make it happen alone. The local community government entity cant by themselves make it happen. Your local economic development group, while having the mission of economic development cant make it happen alone. To assure long-term and sustained community transformation, the community must find ways to ensure they enlist the aid of many. While the local media company, chamber, Main Streets and city leaders can certainly lead the charge; it is the army of volunteers and members that the local civic clubs bring to the table that allows community projects to flourish. They then become communitywide projects, not projects pieced together by a select few.

Remember, many hands make light work.

It isnt always just the army of volunteers that come with the civic clubs and organizations, many of them bring dollars to the project they rally around. I am reminded of the Rotary club in Muskogee, Oklahoma, stepping forward with a substantial donation to help provide a proposed gathering space band shell. I also read recently of the Rotary club in Warren, Ohio, doing the same thing. No extensive community revitalization plan should ever proceed without conversations with the local civic clubs. They are always willing to listen, and in most cases, will jump at the opportunity to be a part of improving their local community.

As a community begins or continues their quest into the transformation process, they will do well to consider the four legs of the revitalization stool. Leaving even one leg off the stool will lead to an unbalanced community approach. The local media brings the ability to connect the community in so many ways. The chambers and Main Streets bring the business side of the equation to bear. The city government and leadership bring the public funds and expertise to the mix. And lastly, the civic organizations bring the community connection that leads to an army of community members needed to infiltrate the communitys well-being at all levels through the masses.

Small- and mid-sized cities are in the fight of their economic lives. Many arent aware of the magnitude of the struggle or the size of the mountain they must climb to find success or respite from the economic storm, if respite even exists. These arent the days where a slow meandering approach is prudent; these are the days where the slow and meandering are left as a carcass on the economic road.

Cities need to bring all their resources to bear in order to succeed. Involving the local civic organizations is a critical step in this process.

.

John A. Newby can be reached at john@360MediaAlliance.net.
He comes out of the blue, he decides hes going to run for Congress, and thats his right, Engel said in Mamaroneck. But nobody knows him, and nobody has seen him. When Amadou Diallo was shot, I was arrested, protesting what the police had done. When Ramarley Graham, a young man in my district, was shot by the police, his family asked me to speak at his funeral. So, Im no Johnny-come-lately on issues of social justice.
New Delhi: Actor Jitendra Kumar is a familiar face on digital space. From his sketches on TVF to popular web-series Kota Factory, Panchayat amongst others - Jitu, as he is fondly called, has featured in all. The actor's latest release 'Chaman Bahar' has opened in Netflix recently and once again he plays a character not seen before on-reel.

'Chaman Bahar' is directed by debutant filmmaker Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann and Ritika Badiani plays the female lead in this entertainer.

While talking to Zee News Digital, the filmmaker revealed that he has made this story from his own experiences. He said: "I am from Chhattisgarh and my father worked in a forest department, so I grew up in smaller places. The story of the movie is a sum total of my experiences. It is an entertaining film but at the same time also has an underlining message which I am sure the audience will get."

Jitendra, who plays Billu in the movie said, "It is a very colourful character. It is a one-sided love story as he falls for the girl. He is a passionate person, wants to open a pan-shop and become popular in this own area. That's how the story grows. His lover side is very pure and interesting."

"Till now, in all the love stories we have seen so far, at least there is an interaction between the lovers but here it is not the case. But Billu can't express his feelings and without any interaction, the character comes across as larger-than-life, " he added.

The actress, Ritika Badiana is seen playing Rinku in 'Chaman Bahar', sharing her experience she said, "Rinku is a school-going girl, sweet and nice. Once people watch the movie, they will like what they are watching unfold."

Watch 'Chaman Bahar' teaser:

The movie was set for a theatrical release but owing to shut down, it released on Netflix on June 19, 2020.

Meanwhile, the movie industry is currently braving the storm of nepotism after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death by suicide. He was found hanging at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. He was 34.

His death sent shockwaves across the nation leaving his fans, friends, family and film fraternity grieving.

When the 'Chaman Bahar' cast was quizzed over the same, here's what they said:

Talking about getting work in the movie business, the filmmaker maintained, "In the creative field, rejection is a part of it and we have signed for it. Of course, there are times when even I have faced it in terms of my stories not clicking all times. But I wouldn't say I felt like an outsider as you have your own circle of friends."

Ritika maintained, "Rejection is part of any industry and not just this industry. And definitely initially we all have faced it. But I have been doing ads all through so I never felt like an 'outsider'."

Jitu added, "Rejections are there and it a part of it. But then you get good opportunities too. Whenever I have been rejected I felt the role went to a better actor."

Jitu will soon be working on season 2 of Panchayat and new projects while Ritika has two music videos and a short film in her kitty.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the biggest single-day spike, 118 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in the state on Friday. As many as 96 people who were under treatment recovered from the viral infection on the day. Of the 118 new cases, 67 were people who returned from abroad (Kuwait-35, UAE-14, Saudi Arabia-10, Oman-3, Russia-2, Qatar-1, Tajikistan-1 and Kazhakhstan-1) while 45 were other-state returnees (Maharashtra-16, Delhi-9, Tamil Nadu-8, Karnataka-5, Assam-2, Haryana-2, Andhra Pradesh-2 and Telangana-1).

Among the newly infected, six were cases of local transmission. This includes three from Thiruvananthapuram and one person each from Kannur, Kottayam and Wayanad.The district-wise breakup of the fresh cases is as follows: Malappuram-18, Kollam-17, Alappuzha-13, Ernakulam-11, Palakkad-10, Pathanamthitta-9, Thiruvananthapuram-8, Kannur-8, Kottayam-7, Kozhikode-6, Wayanad-4, Kasaragod-4, Idukki-2 and Thrissur-1. Of the 96 people who tested negative, 21 were from Kannur, 15 from Malapuram, 14 each from Kollam and Palakkad, 12 from Thirssur, seven from Kottayam, four from Alappauzha, three each were from Thiruvannathapuram, Kozhikode and Kasaragod.

A total of 1,380 people are under treatment for Covid-19 while 1,509 people have recovered so far.

A total of 1.32 lakh people are under observation across the state, of which 1.30 lakh are either in home or institutional quarantine while 1,914 people are under hospital surveillance. On Friday, 197 people were admitted to various hospitals with Covid-19 symptoms.

Seven new hostpsots were added to list, taking the total number to 112. The new hotspots are: Chapparakadavu, Irikkur, Kankol-Alappadambu, Keezhallur, Madayi, Ramanthali and Padiyur (all in Kannur district). As many as 13 local bodies were removed from the list of hotspots on Friday.As many as 4,889 samples were tested over the last 24 hours, of which the results of 3,186 samples are awaited. Another 36,051 samples were collected as part of sentinel surveillance. Of these, 34,416 samples tested negative.
National flags of Russia and U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea will travel to Austria on Monday and Tuesday to discuss "mutually agreed topics related to the future of arms control" with Russian Deputy Foreign Sergei Ryabkov, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.

"The United States has extended an open invitation to the People's Republic of China to join these discussions, and has made clear the need for all three countries to pursue arms control negotiations in good faith," the State Department said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for China to join the United States and Russia in talks on a nuclear arms control agreement to replace the 2010 New START accord.

New START, which imposes the last remaining limits on U.S. and Russian deployments of strategic nuclear arms to no more than 1,550 each, expires in February.

China, estimated to have about 300 nuclear weapons, has repeatedly rejected Trump's proposal.

Billingslea had said last week that he had agreed with Ryabkov on a time and place for the negotiations in June.

(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The European Parliament voted Friday to declare that Black Lives Matter and to denounce racism and white supremacism in all its forms.

The resolution has no legal consequences but sends a signal of support to anti-racism protesters, and it follows a UN call for a probe into police brutality and systemic racism.

And, one day before President Donald Trump is to hold a rally in Tulsa, a city that saw one of the worst racist massacres in US history, the lawmakers condemned American police brutality.

Point number one of the text of the resolution takes up the slogan US campaigners painted on the street leading to the White House, when it Affirms that Black Lives Matter.

The resolution, passed by 493 votes to 104, strongly condemns the appalling death of George Floyd, an unarmed suspect killed by US police in May.

It rebukes Trump for his inflammatory rhetoric and for threatening to deploy the army against protesters.

And EU member states themselves, many of which have seen protests in recent days about modern racism and previous colonial crimes, are not spared in the motion.

EU capitals are urged to denounce the disproportionate use of force and racist tendencies in law enforcement.

The EU institutions and the member states should officially acknowledge past injustices and crimes against humanity committed against black people, people of colour and Roma.

And the resolution declares the slave trade a crime against humanity.

Earlier Friday, the UN Human Rights Council demanded a report on systemic racism, but left out any direct mention of the United States in the resolution.
India on Saturday again rejected Chinas claim on Galwan Valley in Ladakh and reiterated that the violent clash of June 15 was triggered by Chinese efforts to build structures on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The external affairs ministry dismissed claims made by Chinas foreign ministry in a statement issued late on Friday night regarding both sovereignty over Galwan Valley and the genesis of the clash on Monday night that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the position with regard to Galwan Valley was historically clear. He added, Attempts by the Chinese side to now advance exaggerated and untenable claims with regard to Line of Actual Control (LAC) there are not acceptable. They are not in accordance with Chinas own position in the past.

Srivastava further said the brawl of June 15 was the result of violent actions by Chinese troops after they were prevented by Indian soldiers from building structures on the Indian side of the LAC. He noted senior military commanders of the two sides had agreed during a meeting on June 6 on a process for de-escalation and disengagement along the LAC that involved reciprocal actions.

Both sides had agreed to respect and abide by the LAC and not undertake any activity to alter the status quo. However, the Chinese side departed from these understandings in respect of the LAC in the Galwan Valley area and sought to erect structures just across the LAC. When this attempt was foiled, Chinese troops took violent actions on June 15, 2020 that directly resulted in casualties, he said.

People familiar with developments said the term just across the LAC meant an intrusion into the Indian side of the disputed border but not at great depth.

During his phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on June 17, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had conveyed Indias strong protest on the events leading up to and on the violent face-off on June 15. He firmly rejected the unfounded allegations made by the Chinese side and the misrepresentation of the understandings reached between the senior [military] commanders. [Jaishankar] also underlined that it was for China to reassess its actions and take corrective steps, Srivastava said.

The two ministers agreed the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner and both sides would sincerely implement the disengagement understanding of June 6.

Srivastava said the two sides are in regular touch and early meetings of military and diplomatic mechanisms are currently being discussed. We expect that the Chinese side will sincerely follow the understanding reached between the foreign ministers to ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas, which is so essential for the overall development of our bilateral relations, he added.

The spokesperson reiterated that Indian troops scrupulously abide by the alignment of the LAC in all sectors, including in Galwan Valley, and the Indian side has never undertaken any actions across the LAC. He added Indian troops have been patrolling Galwan Valley for a long time without any incident and all infrastructure built by the Indian side is on its side of the LAC.

However, Srivastava said that since early May, the Chinese side had hindered Indias normal and traditional patrolling pattern in Galwan Valley and this resulted in a face-off that was addressed by ground commanders in line with bilateral agreements and protocols. We do not accept the contention that India was unilaterally changing the status quo. On the contrary, we were maintaining it, he said.

In mid-May, the Chinese side attempted to transgress the LAC in other areas of the Western Sector of border areas and these attempts were invariably met with an appropriate response from the Indian side. The two sides then engaged in discussions through diplomatic and military channels to address the situation.

Late on Friday, China claimed Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the LAC and had been patrolled by its troops for many years. The claim was made in what was described as a step by step account of the Galwan clash by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) western command had in a statement issued on Tuesday initially claimed the region, saying: The sovereignty of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours.

On Thursday, Srivastava had dismissed the PLAs claim as exaggerated and untenable.

The so-called step by step account by Zhao had further claimed that since April, Indian troops had unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. He added that India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations.

Zhao claimed that on June 15, Indian troops once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocationand even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.

Air Vice Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur, additional director general of the Centre for Air Power Studies and a helicopter pilot with extensive experience of operations along the LAC, said: When I first flew in that area in 1978, the maps clearly showed the Galwan Valley as Indian territory. The LAC was well east of the confluence of the Shyok and Galwan rivers.

There was never any question about the Galwan Valley and Chinas claim on this region is untenable. There was no Chinese activity in the area, or we would have been briefed accordingly. It was well inside our side of the LAC.

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We cannot wait longer now: SC to hear Vijay Mallyas contempt case in January for final disposal

Why was Vijay Mallya's plea not listed for 3 years: Top Court to registry

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, June 20: The Supreme Court has directed its registry to explain why the petition filed by businessman Vijay Mallya, who has sought review of its 2017 order holding him guilty of contempt of court for transferring USD 40 million to his children, was not listed before the concerned court for last three years.

A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ashok Bhushan, which took up Vijay Mallya's review petition in-chamber on June 16, directed the top court registry to furnish all the details including names of officials who had dealt with the file concerning the review petition for last three years.

"According to the record, placed before us, the review petition was not listed before the court for last three years. Before we deal with the submissions raised in the review petition, we direct the registry to explain why the review petition was not listed before the concerned court for last three years," the bench said in its June 16 order which was uploaded on the Supreme Court website on Friday.

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

Taking strong note of the undue delay in listing of the review petition, the bench asked the registry to furnish explanation within two weeks.

"The review petition shall, thereafter, be considered on merits," the bench said in its order, adding, "As per office report on limitation the review petition was filed in time."

Vijay Mallya had filed the petition seeking review of the top court's May 9, 2017 order by which he was held guilty of contempt of court for transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of the court's order.

Vijay Mallya, who is an accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is presently in the United Kingdom.

The Supreme Court's 2017 order had come on a plea by consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI), which had said that Vijay Mallya had allegedly transferred USD 40 million received from British firm Diageo, to his children in "flagrant violation" of various judicial orders.

India asks UK not to consider any request for asylum by Vijay Mallya

The top court had earlier asked Vijay Mallya about the "truthfulness" of his disclosure of assets and the transfer of money to his children.

It was dealing with pleas of lending banks seeking contempt action and a direction to Vijay Mallya to deposit USD 40 million received from offshore firm Diageo respectively.

The banks had then alleged that Vijay Mallya concealed the facts and diverted the money to his son Siddharth Mallya and daughters Leanna Mallya and Tanya Mallya in "flagrant violation" of the orders passed by the Karnataka High Court.

Prior to that, the Supreme Court had pulled up Vijay Mallya for not making full disclosure of his overseas properties and had asked him to do so within a month.

Vijay Mallya had last month lost his application seeking leave to appeal his extradition to India in the UK Supreme Court, setting a 28-day clock on his removal from the UK.

The UK top court's decision marks a big legal setback to the 64-year-old businessman, who had earlier lost his high court appeal against an extradition order to India on charges of alleged fraud and money laundering related to unrecovered loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Vijay Mallya has been based in the UK since March 2016 and remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.

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Story first published: Saturday, June 20, 2020, 16:47 [IST]
FILE PHOTO: Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's former president, leaves after the enthronement ceremony of Japan's Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's powerful former president Nursultan Nazarbayev is feeling well and showing no symptoms associated with coronavirus despite a positive test, his spokesman told local news website Tengrinews on Saturday.

Nazarbayev, 79, who resigned last year, remains an influential figure in the oil-rich nation of 19 million where he is seen as a guarantor of stability. His spokesman Aidos Ukibay said there was no reason for concern about his health at the moment.

"The disease is asymptomatic," Ukibay told Tengrinews.

Nazarbayev's office said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he thanked for a message of support and wishes of swift recovery.

The veteran politician, who had run the former Soviet republic for almost three decades, retains the posts of the ruling party leader and security council chair and holds the official title of Yelbasy, or national leader.

Kazakhstan, which borders China and Russia, has reported about 25,000 cases of coronavirus, with 113 deaths.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Mike Harrison)
Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.



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Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

Rahul and Modi The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.
Ambassador Tran Ngoc An (R) hands over anti-bacterial face masks to a representative of the Vietnamese Community in the UK (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony, Ambassador Tran Ngoc An said the embassy will continue to provide support for and serve as a bridge to help the Vietnamese community in the country overcome the difficult time.

He also shared the experience that helped Vietnam successfully control the pandemic, noting that the country with a population of over 90 million has so far recorded only 342 cases of COVID-19 and no fatality.

The diplomat also highlighted the fact that Vietnam has also been able to minimise the diseases impacts on the economy, with a 4.8 percent growth rate forecasted for 2020.

Ho Vu Phong Truong, a representative of the Vietnamese community in Birmingham city thanked the Government and relevant agencies for the assistance, and pledged to quickly hand over the face masks to Vietnamese expats living in the city.

The UK is one of the hardest hit countries by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 18, the European country reported 300,469 COVID-19 cases, including 42,288 deaths.
Hundreds of demonstrators gather at rallies across the UK despite a ban on large gatherings amid coronavirus pandemic.

Anti-racism demonstrators are holding a fourth weekend of protests across the United Kingdom, despite a ban on large gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Demonstrations were taking place on Saturday in cities including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Hundreds assembled for a socially distanced Say No to Racism rally in Glasgows George Square, where earlier this week members of the far right attacked a refugee-rights gathering.

In Edinburgh, protesters including Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh called for the removal of a statue of Henry Dundas from its column in the citys St Andrew Square.

The late 18th-century Scottish politician was responsible for delaying Britains abolition of the slave trade by 15 years until 1807. During that time, more than half a million enslaved Africans were trafficked across the Atlantic.

Metropolitan Police Commander Alex Murray urged activists in London to comply with Britains coronavirus social distancing rules, which limit groups to a maximum of six people.

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We remain in a health pandemic, Murray said. We value democracy and the right for people to have a voice, but would ask people to do so in another way, and not come to London to demonstrate.

Murray said the police had been working hard with community leaders to prevent violence, after officers arrested dozens of anti-racism protesters and right-wing counter-protesters last weekend.

The metropolitan police said on Saturday 24 people were charged with offences including assault, criminal damage and breaching social distancing rules during the recent protests.

Black Lives Matter London rejected calls by the police and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to end the largely peaceful protests, which Johnson claimed had been hijacked by extremists intent on violence.

The UK is far from innocent [in racism], and therefore we must persist by reminding this country and government that Black Lives Matter, the group said on Saturday.

Black Lives Matter London rejected calls by the police and Prime Minister Boris Johnson to end the largely peaceful protests [Henry Nicholls/Reuters]

Al Jazeeras Nadim Baba, reporting from London, said hundreds of people gathered on Saturday in Londons Parliaments Square near wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchills statue.

Theres a larger group gathered in Hyde Park in London. Theyre stressing the need for ideas to keep the momentum behind the movement, Baba said.

He added that some of the issues raised among demonstrators include the fact the British government is providing things such as tear gas to security forces in the US, which in the their opinion, is being used against peaceful protesters.

They were also talking about the need to challenge racist behaviour and language within the family setting.

While there was a sense of optimism among protestors, many are demanding that the support for the movement be translated into real political action, Baba said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have held mostly peaceful anti-racism protests across Britain since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, urging the UK to confront its own history of imperialism and racial inequality.

After some protesters scuffled with police and defaced Churchills statue in London, and demonstrators in Bristol toppled a statue of slave trader Edward Colston, counter-protesters rallied last week with the stated aim of protecting monuments.

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Hundreds of far-right activists clashed on June 13 with police near the Churchill statue in London, which had been boarded up for protection.

Johnson has announced he is setting up a commission to look at what more can be done to eliminate racial injustice, but opponents accuse the Conservative government of opting for talk rather than action.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has anyone captured its posts, with Rahul Gandhi accusing Modi of having "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

"PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: Why were our soldiers killed? Where were they killed," he asked on Twitter, tagging the prime minister's remark.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

A host of senior Congress leaders have hit out at the prime minister, asking if there is no intrusion what is the fuss about and why flag meetings for de-escalation of borders are being held.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a conversation with his China counterpart conveyed that the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan Valley on "our side of the LAC".

"While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo," the External Affairs Ministry statement had said.

Former union minister P Chidambaram said, "PM said there is no foreigner (meaning Chinese) in Indian territory.

If this is true, what was the fuss about May 5-6? Why was there a fight between troops on June 16-17? Why did India lose 20 lives?".

"If there was no intrusion or violation of LAC, why was there so much talk about 'disengagement' of troops by both sides? "Has PM given a clean chit to China? If so, what is there to negotiate with China? Why are the Major Generals negotiating and about what," he asked on Twitter.

Terming the PM's statement last night as "baffling, shocking and devastating", senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said, "It has infuriated the armed forces an every Indian."

"If there was no incursion then what was it - an excursion? Geography and history seem to have been changed with these too-clever-by-half lines. Indians deserve the truth," he said in a tweet.

Party spokesperson Manish Tewari also posed a set of questions after the PM's statement.

"Does LAC run at Finger 8 or Finger 4 in Pangsang Sang Tso Lake? Is Galwan Valley Located on Indian or Chinese side of LAC? Have Chinese not transgressed 02 KM across IB in Naku-La? Were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 100 wounded - Indian or Chinese side."

Tewari also asked whether BJP MP Tapir Gao is lying when he says Chinese have occupied vast tracts of land in Arunachal Pradesh.

"If there are no Chinese in Indian Territory or our perception of LAC why flag meetings between two Armies? Indian Soldiers were captured in Indian or Chinese Territory," he asked.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha said he found the PM's statement "quiet strange".

"If nobody entered our border and none of our posts were occupied then what was the fight for. So many precious lives lost and so many injured. Am both perplexed and concerned. Take parliament into confidence," he tweeted.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region..
By Andrei Makhovsky

MINSK (Reuters) - Police in Belarus arrested demonstrators and journalists on Friday evening to break up new protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, hours after he blamed foreign plotters for fomenting unrest.

For the second evening in a row, protesters had formed a long line through the centre of the capital Minsk in solidarity after the jailing of Viktor Babariko, Lukashenko's main rival in August's presidential election.

Protests also broke out in several other towns across the eastern European country.

Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist for 26 years, but faces his biggest challenge in years as frustration over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic has combined with grievances over the economy and human rights.

Relations with traditional ally Russia have been strained in recent months as Moscow reduced subsidies that have propped up Lukashenko. But his crackdown on opponents will likely hobble his efforts to mend fences with the West.

The European Union called for the release of Babariko, widely seen as the most potent challenger to Lukashenko.

As criticism of Babariko's arrest grew, Lukashenko said his government had foiled a plot to foment a revolution akin to the street protests in Ukraine in 2014.

He said political forces from "both from the West and from the East" had concentrated their interests in Belarus, and that "certain forces" had intensified their efforts. He did not give details or say which foreign country was involved.

"That was the goal. The masks were torn not only from certain puppets we had here, but also from puppeteers who sit outside Belarus," he said.

Babariko was head Belgazprombank, of the local unit of Russia's Gazprombank, before running for president. A top security official said Babariko was controlled by Russian "puppeteers" and Lukashenko said the bank's money was being used to finance Babariko's campaign. Babariko's campaign team called the allegations against him "an absurdity".

Story continues

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no plans to intervene. Separately President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko spoke by phone but the Kremlin readout did not mention Babariko's arrest.

Lukashenko's allegations of a foreign plot came after authorities opened a criminal case against Belgazprombank.

On Friday, Lukashenko said the International Monetary Fund was demanding Belarus impose lockdown measures as a condition for loans, but Minsk would not cave in to the demand.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk; Andrey Kuzmin and Tom Balmforth in Moscow; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry, Giles Elgood and Alex Richardson)
James Cameron had a big impact on the superhero genre (Image by Columbia Pictures)

Throughout the 1990s, James Cameron fought long and hard to make his very own Spider-Man film.

Unfortunately for Cameron, and cinema fans, even though he was attached to write and direct a Spider-Man film for Carolco Pictures, the Oscar winner ultimately left the project after years of legal battles over the rights.

Read More: Sony vetoed live-action 'Spider-Man' cameos in 'Into the Spider-Verse'

Ultimately, Columbia Pictures won this fight, which resulted in Sam Raimis 2002 Spider-Man blockbuster. However, screenwriter David Koepp has revealed that he was still heavily inspired by Camerons work, especially when it came to Hollywood taking Peter Parker, and the superhero genre in general, seriously.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 06: Director James Cameron attends Red Carpet Green Dress at the Private Residence of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx on February 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx)

"I had a lot of my own specific thoughts about what the movie ought to be, because I had been a Spider-Man fan as a kid and young adult. But his treatment, it just took it seriously, Koepp told IGN.

It took Peter seriously as a character and it took a superhero movie seriously as a genre. And you hadn't seen that before. This was 2000 and 2001 when I was writing (Spider-Man) and there hadn't been a good superhero movie since probably the second Batman. X-Men was still yet to come. That came out, I think, while we were shooting."

Read More: James Cameron doesnt know if the world wants his 'Avatar' sequels

"The fact that he had written this 85 or whatever it was pages treatment, that in itself was really meaningful and said, no, no, take this seriously. This is a real movie with real people in it."

Koepp also made sure to include some of Camerons ideas for the superhero in the adaptation, admitting that Peter Parkers organic web-shooters came from the mind of the Titanic, Terminator, and True Lies filmmaker, and he was happy to use it.
Kenya was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council by the General Assembly for a two-year term on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 with four other countries to join the 15-member Security Council of the United Nations in 2021.

Fifteen countries sit on the Security Council, the UNs most powerful organ.

Five are permanent members, who have the right to veto resolutions: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Ten are non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms at each, five of which occur in alternative year.

Kenya joins in January 2021 with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway. They will replace Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa. Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam will remain in the Council till the end of 2021.

The UN Security Council is the organ of the global body charged with maintaining global peace and security.

Its decisions, by law, must be obeyed by all UN member states, giving its prestige and power.

Kenyas membership of the Security Council, however, like the other ten non-permanent members, is meaningless without the necessary and long overdue reform of the UN.

Kenya is now among the 10 non-permanent members, that often worked alongside the permanent five (Russia, China, UK, US, France) to pass resolutions touching on global peace and security.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who led the campaign to have Kenya elected to the Council, said his country would advance the pan-Africanist agenda of global peace, solidarity and multilateralism. Citing Kenyas long history of contributing troops to peacekeeping interventions, the President said Kenya had the right credentials to represent the African continent in the UNSC.

President Kenyatta spoke in the night of Tuesday June 16 during a virtual campaign meeting with permanent representatives of various countries to the UN hosted by Kenya ahead of the Security Councils elections on Wednesday June 17, 2020.

NON-PERMANENT SEATS IN THE UNSC ARE MEANINGLESS WITHOUT REFORM IN THE UN

The UN needs urgent reform. Without reforms in the General Assembly and in the Security Council, the UN will continue to serve the interests of only few people in the world. This reform needs to come within the framework of two key bodies: The General Assembly and the Security Council.

The Security Council requires expansion to cater for Africa, Latin America and Oceania. These are three regions of the world that were ignored when the Security Council was created on 24 October 1945. Latin America was perceived to be within the sphere of influence of the United States. From the historical precedent of the Monroe Doctrine, it was assumed that Latin Americas interests would be handled by the United States in the UN.

Africa, on its part, was assumed to have its interests covered mainly by the United Kingdom and France. These were the two major powers with vast control over the continent in 1945. The contemporary global order in 2020 has changed.

China was seen as a representative for the interests of Asia and Oceania in the 1945s. With these notions and assumptions now changed, there is the need also to reallocate seats in the Security Council and the power to be heard by majority vote without any veto by any single member.

There is a pressing need to have at least two permanent seats on the Security Council for Africa, two permanent seats for Latin America and two for Oceania region. Or the permanent members can remain the five, with ten members joining to serve two-year term as it is at the moment, but without veto rights from the permanent members. All draft resolutions should have equal rights and should be adopted by majority vote.

The veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council enables them to individually cripple the ability of the UN to enforce its Charter. Specifically, Chapter 7 of the UN Charter to tackle threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression. A veto from any permanent member of Security Council, will block the adoption of a draft resolution.

The number of the permanent members or the current rotation of non-permanent members and a simple majority vote without veto from the permanent members are required to make the UNSC more effective, representative and meaningful body of the world.

Expansion of the number of permanent seats on the Security Council or hold on to the current structure, coupled with a simple majority vote of the council on a draft resolution, without any veto power, will make the organization effective and allow it to have the bite required to handle the plethora of global issues facing the international community.

Currently, the population of all five permanent members on the Security Council is just over 2 billion. One country, China, makes up almost 70% of the 2 billion population of all five permanent members. Two billion represents less than 30% of the global population of 7 billion. Yet this minority of 2 billion uses the UN to dictate international policy to 70% of the rest of the world. This is undemocratic and against the tenets of fairness and international justice.

Africa has a population of 1.3 billion as at May 2020 or 16.72% of the total world population with no permanent membership or veto power in the UNSC; Latin America and the Caribbean is 654 million or 8.42% of the total world population with no membership or power. Oceania is only 42 million or 0.54% of the total world population.

Europe is 748 million or 9.78% of the total world population, and with two members and two veto powers; Asia is 4.6 billion or 59.76% of the total world population, but with one member and veto power; Russia is a country of its own with a population of 146 million or 1.87% of the total world population, a permanent member with veto power.

United States of America does not represent the interest of all the Americas. Currently, the USA has become more nationalistic, fighting for its own interests on global scale and representative for the gulf states and middle-eastern countries than global. The USA does not care for the interests of Middle and South Americas, rather it seeks to elect a wall to confine itself.

UK and France cannot represent Africa, they can represent Europe, but not Africa. Africa has long gained independence from these two colonial masters. For UN to maintain the idea of UK and France representing Africa is an insult to the continent and its people.

1945 is long ago. The 21st Century Africa is not colonial slaves of UK and France, unless the UN wants to remain in its resolution that Africa is still colonized by UK and France.

The UN General Assembly should make all the papers read year by year by all the member nations resolutions that require further and urgent consideration by a working committee of the UN for action and implementation. Until now the messages read by the member states are only ceremonial, decorative and a waste of time.

As at now, the UN General Assembly can only make recommendations to the Security Council, which can easily be vetoed or disregarded by any permanent member of the Security Council; United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom or France.

United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France are not good representation of the globe whose votes and vetos should determine the fate of the rest of all the people in the world. The Security Council needs to be democratised to accommodate a majority of the world that is still peripheralised in the decision making of the Council.

The UN must be modernized. The world in 1945 was quiet different from the world in 2020. In 1945, United States, Europe and the two Communist Blocks of Russia and China were the world. In 2020, there are six main blocks forming the globe; these are North America Block, South America Block, Europe Block, Asia Block, Africa Block and the Oceania Block. Each should be represented permanently in the Security Council.

Lastly, in relation to the General Assembly, the resolutions passed by this arm, which includes a majority of the worlds nations, need to be binding. Currently, General Assembly resolutions are considered recommendations. In contrast, resolutions adopted by the Security Council under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, are binding.

The General Assembly not only represents the majority of the worlds population, but also represents majority world opinion on major international issues.

Currently, non-permanent rotating membership seats on the Security Council are provided to developing nations like Kenya, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. This comes across as contemptuous tokenism. It does not afford the weaker nations of the world an avenue to advance their interests.

Developing nations are played off against each other by major powers based on the allure of an ineffective non-permanent seat. There is nothing to celebrate over a non-permanent seat on the Security Council under the current UN structure.

Member states elected to be non-permanent members of UNSC only have a moment and national pride to celebrate, but nothing to offer to bring a change of global policies concerning peace and stability. For the vast majority of the world, especially in the developing world, the UN will remain a forum for empty speeches by heads of state that are turgid and needlessly self-congratulatory. The time for UN reform is now.
A Longford mother of two has spoken of how she feels carers were effectively forgotten by the State during the recent coronavirus outbreak after it emerged vital PPE equipment had to be provided by a nationally based non-profit charity.

Dympna Tully heaped praise on Family Carers Ireland, a body which represents over 350,000 carers nationwide in the midst of a global pandemic which has already claimed more than 1,500 lives across Ireland.

The 36-year-old, who is a full time carer to her 83-year-old Dad, Patrick following the passing of her mother Rose in January 2011, told of how she would eventually go on to assume the mantle of family carer from her later mother and rock of our family, Rose.

Mummy was always Daddys carer for as long as I can remember for 20 or 30 years, she recalled.

Growing up I can always remember Daddy being sick and being in hospital with doctors being in and around the house but I never really understood.

In May 2010, Dympna's mum was diagnosed with cancer and went quickly downhill before sadly passing away barely eight months later.

In December and just before Mum went into a coma, she held my hand and asked would I take on the role and of course without hesitation I said I would, said the Killashee woman.

But then Mum died on January 9 2011 that was when it all kicked in.

I was 26 at the time and I had a five month old baby and a three year-old so I didnt really have a chance to ponder or sit, it was straight in caring for Daddy.

It meant I didnt really get a chance to bond with my new baby or grieve for Mum.

Dympna spoke to the Leader in the wake of Family Carers Week in a bid to highlight the unstinting efforts of the role in scores of communities up and down the country.

Given her Dads condition, C.O.P.D. or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease to give it its full title, Dympna said but for the diligence of Family Carers Ireland and staff at Longford Community Mental Health Centre, her task in tending to her father would be considerably more arduous.

There are around 390,000 family carers in Ireland and save the State 10bn a year and its a job that is very unseen especially through Covid-19, she said.

I dont think we were supported enough especially as it was Family Carers Ireland who sent out PPE equipment we needed.

It's something that's not lost on the man Dympna now cares for on a daily basis.

Patrick said the loss of his life partner and mother to his seven children was a cross he still struggles to carry even the best part of a decade on.

I was lucky though with Rose, he said.

I met Rose at a dance in the Annaly Hotel and we had been pen pals before we met up.

Rose was from Armagh and nursing in England but she had relations in Roscommon and used to visit Longford for dances, he said, while joking about the tough time he had beating off all the other men who caught their eye.

I never looked back after meeting my beautiful Rose, long blond hair like my daughter Dympna.

We got married in Liverpool in 1974 and she was a topping worker.

Poor Rose looked after me for 20 years.

She cared for others too, but God rest her, she got the dreaded cancer. It was a huge hardship losing her and I miss her every day.

Having battled skin cancer while attempting to manage his everyday battle with C.O.P.D. Patrickhas likewise faced the hardships that come with tackling anxiety and depression.

I've been attending the Mental Health Clinic in Longford for almost 40 years, he added, stating how his own faith and belief in God helped carry him through.

Prayer has helped me and I went to Pat Clarke, a faith healer, a religious man who lives in Collinstown near Mullingar.

I got a huge relief from visiting him before the lockdown, huge relief, he explained.

Those aids were vital supports Dympna was only too keen to espouse as she acknowledged the part played by Longford Community Mental Health Centre.

Obviously with Covid-19, mental health will be huge now and with Daddy and as part of his condition, he suffers from depression and anxiety and all the way through Covid-19 and despite the restrictions in place a lady came out to visit him to make sure he was okay. They were just fantastic and could not do enough for you.
Prince said he is looking to the new interim chief and deputy chief to take the Gary Police Department in a new direction, including developing a stronger focus on community-police relations. Evans has 26 years with the Gary Police and Jackson has 29 years of service. A search process for a permanent police chief will begin shortly.
Rescue Organisation Ireland (ROI) are behind a charity walk taking place later this month which aims to raise funds for Alone and Pieta House.

ROI was formed in 2008 as an Emergency Services based national charity focused on providing an additional training outlet and platform for Road Traffic Collision and Trauma based incidents for Irish emergency service personnel, both voluntary and professional.

The ROI Irish National Road Traffic Collision and Trauma Challenge was due to take place at Newbridge Fire Station on April 18, but has now been postponed until 2021, along with a number of our other events for the remainder of the year.

ROI have developed a relay walk titled 'Frontline to Finishline' where emergency service volunteers, including ones from Wicklow County Fire and Rescue Service, will walk in pairs, in single file, wearing their uniform or turn-out kit while holding a social distancing 2m sign.

Michael Gahan, Director of Operations, ROI and Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Wicklow Fire Services said: 'The COVID restrictions has meant that ROI needs to be very mindful of how we interact with the public during the 'Frontline to Finishline' event. We would like to promote the social distancing message and that is why all our participants will be walking with the two metre distance board between them for the full duration of the event.'

The event takes place over six days from June 22 to June 27, starting from Dublin and ending in Bray.

All volunteers involved in the walk will be local and will pass the two metre baton along the route. No bucket collections or exchange of cash will take place to avoid any cross contamination and counting of monies by our volunteers.

Anthony Byrne, Vice Chair of ROI said: 'As an Irish registered charity, Rescue Organisation Ireland realises the impact Covid-19 is having on many other charities and has decided to partner with its network of voluntary and emergency service personnel to help raise much needed funds and awareness for Pieta and ALONE, both of which are doing lifesaving work and require support for the people they help through this challenging time.'

An iDonate Page has been setup and will be used as well as text donations to the individual charity as the public decide. Visit www.idonate.ie/ROIFrontlineToFinishline.
Margot Sage-El had been in business for two weeks at a new location near a train depot in a suburb of New York when the World Trade Center towers collapsed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On the day of 9/11, people were walking off the train, stunned and covered in dust, and into my bookstore, she recalls. Some of them were people I knew, so there was a friendship. But I also think people came into the store because they were dazed and they were seeking other people out. It was beautiful to watch people connecting.

It was unbelievable, she adds, letting the memory linger. Thats the first time the world changed.

Her world changed a second time earlier this year, when Covid-19 tightened its grip on the New York metropolitan area.

On March 13, Sage-Els local school district in Montclair, New Jersey, locked down. She and her store, Watchung Booksellers, limped along the following week until March 21, when the state ordered all non-essential retailers to close their doors indefinitely. She never really closed, though, jumping on a surge in online orders from her website to essentially turn her operation into a small fulfillment warehouse. But she hasnt fully reopened either. She recently began accepting visitors to her store by appointment, and handles sales through deliveries and back-door pickups. Although New Jersey has begun to ease retail restrictions, Sage-El remains awash in uncertainty.

We never closed because I thought wed never open again if I did, she says, ticking off everything shes overcome since becoming a bookseller in 1996, including the economic fallout from 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, overwhelming competition from Amazon.com and the advent of e-books. I feel like Ive spent 24 years waiting for the shoe to drop. But in the last five years I really started to feel like OK, as long as people want us well be here for them and we can make it. And then the coronavirus happened.

Sage-El isnt alone. The pandemic has crushed independent booksellers across the country so ferociously, their futures are as precarious as theyve ever been. There were about 1,887 independent book-selling companies running 2,524 stores nationwide in 2019, up from 1,401 booksellers running 1,651 stores a decade earlier, according to the American Booksellers Association. Its hard to see how this growth spurt wont be reversed now, given how many booksellers say theyre struggling to remain afloat. During the first few weeks of the corona-crisis alone, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit that supports indies, received applications for emergency financial support from more than 670 booksellers.

Indies were fighting for their lives well before the coronavirus landed, of course. Big chains like Crown Books, Borders and Barnes & Noble dealt a first blow as they expanded in the 1980s and 1990s. Amazon, which opened its doors in 1995, ravaged the chains and independents alike. Today about two-thirds of all U.S. book sales occur online, almost entirely through Amazon. In addition to the convenience and speed that made Amazon formidable when it launched, the website had additional tools at its disposal that indies lacked. It could sell books at a loss to increase market share. It formed sales partnerships with other websites, sharing its wealth in a way that encouraged huge sections of the internet to steer book buyers toward its digital shelves. It created an e-book platform and reader, the Kindle, that made old-fashioned books with paper pages appear anachronistic. It also set up its own publishing arm. All this left indies seemingly overmatched.

And yet, and yet. Bookstores are cultural hubs in any community, central to the fabric of shared values and interests that make towns and cities vital. They lend character to a place and give residents and book lovers a sense of belonging. They often are as central to some peoples private lives as local houses of worship or their homes.

Indies also continue to play a crucial role in the book-selling business. While they dont drive overall sales volume, they are pivotal in developing grassroots support for books that turn into bestsellers. The Harry Potter series, for example, didnt take off until the fourth installment was published; prior to that, indies helped foster a cult following that turned the books into blockbusters.

Despite rumors of their demise in the Amazon era, indies have recently thrived. When a push to patronize local vendors emerged in recent years, small bookstores benefited. Guess what else happened? People wound up continuing to favor printed books over e-books. Sales of e-books actually fell about 37% from 2014 to 2018. There also is a large contingent of readers who dont want cookie-cutter approaches to finding books; they often want choices tailored to the needs and interests of their communities. They rely on people like Sage-El.

Sage-El moved to Montclair from New York City, where she had been working in educational publishing, in 1990. Her husband is African-American, and when they began looking for books for children of color in 1994, they couldnt find catalogs for them  one of her most memorable clues about systemic racism in the book industry. When she complained about this to a prominent catalog company, she was told that if she cared that much about it, she should start her own. So she did.

Two years later, she bought Watchung Booksellers. I was so naive and I had no idea what I was doing, she says, noting that she had two partners when she started. I thought this would be so nice. We would share everything, and each of us would work 20 hours a week. It quickly turned into 120 hours a week.

Battling past Amazon was hard but she did it, nurturing a deep and eclectic inventory of books, holding events for children and featuring readings from authors. (I have read two of my books at Sage-Els store.)

When people came in we would talk to them. They came in not knowing what they wanted, so we would have a conversation and make a connection, she says, explaining how she kept moving forward. It was about buying a book, but it was also about much more than buying a book.

Sage-El is inspired by what she sees happen in her bookstore during crises. After 9/11, she sold more atlases and books about the history of the Arab world. These days, amid the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter marches, shes selling more books about racism and slavery.

Readers who walk in here want to be informed and they want to be challenged. I think theyve realized, Oh, Ive been skipping through things that matter, and I need to learn more. Thats whats beautiful about books. Its always a great privilege to meet readers needs and interests, especially in this town, and weve done well at that.

When the pandemic hit, Sage-El was surprised to discover that local readers swarmed to her website to buy online from her directly. Some of that was loyalty, and some of it was due to Amazon pulling away from book sales. Amazon had a slowdown on non-essential items and I think they thought books were non-essential, she says. Thats not who we are. Weve always thought books were essential.

Yet even with decades of success, Sage-El occupies a low-margin business worn to the bone by the pandemic. She said her revenue dropped 30-40% in April and May and expects it to plunge 50% in June. Online orders have helped offset the drop, but dont make up for what shes lost in in-store sales and her events business.

Other hurdles lie ahead. Companies like Bookshop.org have done extremely well during the pandemic by helping small bookstores with no online presence ramp up their sales, but Amazon will remain a daunting competitor. And bookstores tend to be small and often cramped, a potential deterrent for shoppers who will remain wary of infection even as lockdowns ease.

Sage-El said shes still emerging from the stunned phase of the pandemic and hasnt been able to figure out what, exactly, her store and her business will be on the other side of the crisis.

People are asking themselves what they want to be when this is all over. What do we value? This community has said they want a bookstore to be here. And weve kept putting books in their hands, she says. For you to select a book, you need to know something about yourself or the person youre buying it for. Its an important, thoughtful, personal decision. And it cant happen online in the way it happens in a bookstore. The magic of the bookstore is discovery.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)

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The year 2020 is of particular significance to the Connaught Rangers Association. It is, of course, the centenary of the infamous mutiny in India when members of the regiment, outraged at the news of Black and Tan atrocities at home, grounded their arms and refused to continue to serve until all British troops were withdrawn from Ireland.

Sligo Library are planning to acknowledge the Commemoration of the Connaught Rangers Mutiny on the 28th of June. They plan to host an online conversation with a number of contributors.

Pre-Covid-19, a monument to the Connaught Rangers Mutiny was to be erected in Tubbercurry.

This is in association with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Connaught Rangers Memorial group (Sligo) and Creative Ireland. An Official commemoration was due to take place on that date with President Michael D. Higgins in attendance. This has now been postponed until a later date, likely in November.

However, Sligo Library, who assisted in the official Launch of the Commemoration at Tubbercurry Community Library, in November 2019, would like to facilitate an Acknowledgement, in some format.

Having discussed this with The Connaught Rangers Memorial Group (Sligo) representatives - Mary and Brendan Henry, it has been determined, to hold a Conversation Online between a number of contributors, including those with a personal involvement with the Mutineers. It will provide an opportunity to hear personal accounts of the effects of the Mutiny on those involved and their families for generations.

The conversation will be recorded by http://studiorove.ie/ and delivered on the Sligo Library Facebook page on the evening of the 27th of June and will be available to view from their website and YouTube channel. The conversation itself will be recorded on Tuesday, June 23rd. Studio Rove will be able to Live Feed you to the conversation, along with other contributors.

The contributors who are taking part include Mary Henry; The Connaught Rangers Memorial group (Sligo), Oliver Hawes; Descendant of Joseph Hawes, Danny Tiernan; founder of the Connaught Rangers Association out of King House in Boyle and Ronan McCreevy from The Irish Times.

The narrative surrounding this seminal event that is the Connaught Rangers Mutiny is familiar to all who share an interest in the Rangers.

The spread of the protest from Jullundur to Solon. The soldiers' attempts to retrieve the weapons they had so willingly surrendered earlier that day.

The tragic loss of two of their comrades when challenged by the camp guard in the process of doing so.

And the subsequent arrests and Courts Martial which resulted in the summary execution of Pte James Daly and the incarceration of so many others.

The historiography surrounding the mutiny and the prevailing tendency to view it as an act of political redemption, demands reflection during the current Decade of Centenary Commemorations.

And here, in this reflection, we engage in our greatest challenge to situate the event in Ireland's historic struggle for independence.

Witness statements in the Bureau of Military History, the repatriation of the mutineers bodies to Ireland, a stirring memorial erected at Glasnevin cemetery, and the presence of IRA firing parties at their subsequent re-interment, tends to portray these particular Rangers as modern-day republican icons.

And for many their actions in the Punjab qualify them as such.

Enough evidence is available, however, to challenge this perception.

Avoiding worn-out charges of revisionism, it is incumbent upon the present committee to at least consider this evidence when attempting to commemorate the centenary with due diligence.

A public talk by Dr Tony King, Liaison Officer with the Connaught Rangers Association Committee, originally scheduled for April, will now be delivered once Covid-19 restrictions enable larger public gatherings.

Details will be published when a venue and date have been decided on.

In the interim, the committee would like to publicly acknowledge the selfless sacrifice of the mutineers in question on the centenary (28 June 2020) of their heroic stand.

The Connaught Rangers Association is under new administration and the Committee extend an open invitation to any member of the public who would like to join with them in keeping the memory of this famous regiment alive.

Interested parties should contact P.J. Maloney, Chairman of the C.R.A. at chairman@connaughtrangersassoc.com

Further information on the Connaught Rangers is available to view on the association website www.connaughtrangersassoc.com
John Boltons upcoming tell-all-style book, The Room Where It Happened, can still be published, a federal judge ruled on Saturday, but the former national security adviser was rebuked for having gambled with the security of the country.

In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm. But in the Internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality, Judge Royce Lamberth wrote. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe  many in newsrooms  the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo.

Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States, Lamberth continued. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the court. The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm.

Also Read: John Bolton Says Trump 'Not Fit for Office,' Lacks Competence to Perform Job (Video)

Excerpts of the book, which is scheduled for a June 23 release, have already been published and its contents reported upon.

We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication. We are very pleased that the public will now have the opportunity to read Ambassador Boltons account of his time as National Security Advisor, Adam Rothberg, a spokesperson for Simon & Schuster, told TheWrap.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, sought to frame the judges ruling as a big court win against Bolton.

Obviously, with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping it, Trump tweeted. Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!

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.Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!

 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2020

Read original story John Boltons The Room Where It Happened Can Be Published, Judge Rules At TheWrap
All 450 Delegates across 25 electoral areas in the Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency of the NPP, have on Saturday 20th June 2020 acclaimed incumbent MP and Minister for Information Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah as candidate for the 2020 elections.



The early morning acclamation comes weeks after nominations closed in the constituency and saw the first-term MP as the only candidate to have picked forms in the constituency.



The NPP is holding primaries in constituencies with sitting MPs for the party on Saturday 20th June 2020.



Constituency chairman Emmanuel Obeng told newsmen that the constituency is most pleased with the hard work of the MP.



His humility and willingness to help has earned him a place in our hearts. For a young man to rise so fast to becoming Minister, he has brought honour to our constituency he said.



Mr. Nkrumah thanked the delegates and promised to keep working hard for the NPP in the constituency.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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America's top law enforcement official told a federal prosecutor known for probing allies of President Donald Trump that he was fired Saturday -- sparking uproar and triggering an inquiry by Democratic lawmakers. Geoffrey Berman, head of the Southern District of New York attorney's office since 2018, discovered his job was in jeopardy via a press release late Friday from Attorney General Bill Barr saying the prosecutor was stepping down. Berman responded that he had "no intention" of quitting, and that his office's "investigations will move forward without interruption." But Barr sent him a letter Saturday saying Trump had agreed to fire the official "as of today." The fast-intensifying crisis has pitted the government against much of Washington's legal community -- and has apparently set Barr against Trump, who denied any involvement in the case. In his letter, circulated widely by US media, Barr accused Berman of having "chosen public spectacle over public service" through his defiance. Berman -- who later confirmed in a statement he would be leaving "immediately" -- finds himself at the center of the latest controversy in what Democrats have characterized as the politicization of the Justice Department under Barr. The veteran prosecutor had overseen the prosecution of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and probed advisor Rudy Giuliani's efforts to discredit the president's political opponents. But Trump, speaking to reporters ahead of a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, denied sacking Berman -- further adding to the confused messaging coming from the administration. "That's all up to the attorney general... He's working on that, that's his department, not my department," Trump said. "I'm not involved." Berman, a Republican who held a position in Trump's transition team and was once a law partner of Giuliani, has pursued cases against tycoon sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell last year. He has also investigated two associates of Giuliani accused of campaign finance violations and helping dig up dirt on Trump's election challenger Joe Biden as part of the Ukraine scandal over which Trump was impeached. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Justice Department's inspector general to launch an investigation into "blatantly corrupt DOJ interference." Meanwhile Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Barr of repeatedly interfering in "criminal investigations on Trump's behalf." The committee said in a statement it would "immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr's unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice." Two whistleblowers are scheduled to testify Wednesday on "why Barr's attempt to fire Mr Berman is part of a larger, ongoing, and wholly unacceptable pattern of conduct," the statement added. - Berman testimony 'welcome' - The Trump administration has in recent months fired or demoted inspectors general for the Pentagon, the intelligence community and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a senior health official who questioned Trump's promotion of unproven drug therapies for COVID-19. State Department inspector general Steve Linick was removed last month after running a misconduct probe into Washington's top diplomat and steadfast Trump ally Mike Pompeo. Meanwhile Barr has been accused of repeatedly acting as Trump's personal lawyer instead of in the interests of the public following the Justice Department's intervention in several cases involving Trump allies. More than 1,000 former department officials signed a statement calling for Barr's resignation over his interference to get a lighter sentence for longtime Trump friend Roger Stone. Since then Barr has been berated for his department's decision to drop the case against Trump's first national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying about his Russia contacts to the FBI. Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, argued however that Barr's move may have had nothing to do with investigations of Trump allies. "Barr needs to be clear as to why he wanted to remove Berman and, most importantly, to guarantee that the underlying investigations will not be impacted by this change in leadership," Turley told AFP. Powerful New York Southern District attorney Geoffrey Berman, who prosecuted Trump's former lawyer, has been sacked
Police, community members and others meet near the Columbia Heights Metro Station to discuss recent shootings and other crime in the area on Jan. 20. (Matt McClain/The Post)

Residents, who on Thursday toured the area with D.C. police and city leaders, say shootings have made them feel unsafe in their neighborhood.
A man and a woman have been arrested after three people were stabbed in a knife attack in Liverpool.

The pair, 27 and 22, both from the city, were nicked on suspicion of section 18 assault in the Kensington area this morning.

A man suffered a serious stab wound to his stomach and a man and a woman sustained head injuries.

One of the men suffered a serious stab wound to his stomach in the Kensington area of the city

Witnesses said a woman's screams were heard in Mirfield Street at the time of the attack

Witnesses said a woman was heard screaming in Mirfield Street at the time of the attack.

Two men were reportedly fighting in the street at round 8am today before two ambulance turned up. Police put up a cordon at the road and some surrounding streets.

Chief Inspector Derek Riley said: 'We are in the very early stages of an investigation and I would ask anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information to please get in touch.

'To use a weapon of any kind is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Merseyside Police. We are working to establish the exact circumstances and so if you saw or heard anything suspicious in Mirfield Street or the surrounding area this morning, or have and CCTV or dashcam footage, please let us know.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 13:24:25|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- India's federal health ministry said Saturday morning that 375 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 14,516 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country.

It took the number of deaths to 12,948 and total cases to 395,048.

This is the highest single day spike in terms of number of new COVID-19 cases in the country so far.

On Friday morning the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 380,532, and the death toll 12,573.

According to ministry officials, so far 213,831 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

The number of active cases in the country right now is 168,269. Enditem
Editors Note: The New Normal is an occasional column to help businesses navigate the COVID-19 environment.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editors Note: The New Normal is an occasional column to help businesses navigate the COVID-19 environment.

COVID-19 is intensely personal. To tap into the moment, companies need to show they have a human side.

A few Sundays ago our family ordered takeout from Earls, the popular restaurant chain. It seems many others did too: the food took a bit longer than expected.

Two days later there was a personal note of apology and a digital gift card in my inbox. We hadnt requested this. In fact, we hadnt even complained. If anything, we understand that a few bumps are inevitable as organizations adapt to new ways of doing business.

The companys gesture wasnt lavish but it was genuine, and the significance of even small acts is amplified against the backdrop of COVID-19.

Such is the nature of the crisis. COVID-19 is intensely, immeasurably personal. It threatens our health. Its taken us away from people we care about. Its left us anxious about the future and the well-being of those around us.

To tap into this uniquely human moment, companies need to show they have a human side.

For some organizations, however, coming off as empathic and human isnt a natural posture. Too often the default setting when it comes to corporate communication is a show of strength, stability and control, at the expense of meaningful connection.

Confident leadership remains essential in any crisis, including this one, but an unwillingness to prioritize connection on an emotional plane is to misread the public mood. This holds true for both internal and external communication.

Some companies, especially those in traditional industries, fear that going "too human" will be conflated with fragility. But acknowledging that things are hard, talking openly about challenges and pulling back the curtain on mistakes doesnt project corporate weakness; it shows humility and humanity. It shows youre connected to the moment.

During the pandemic, goodwill and trust are the currencies that matter. Here are three ways companies and organizations can get it right:

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Share your organizations adaptation story, and dont gloss over the rough spots

COVID-19 is a story of human experience and resilience. Unless your organization is fully staffed by robots, the past three months have likely yielded moments of inspiration, struggle, triumph, challenge and connection as youve found new ways to meet the needs of employees, customers and partners. Forge deeper relationships with these important audiences by sharing your companys adaptation story. Focus on impact, not length, by weaving anecdotes or short highlights into your usual communication channels. Profile and celebrate employees contributions, accommodation, determination and sacrifice. If your organization is navigating a specific hardship, such as workplace reductions, speak candidly and truthfully with the employees who remain. If ever there was a moment for honesty and candour, this is it.

Skip the polish

You may have the budget for slick production and a scripted, note-perfect message, but overly polished communication is a liability right now. Too shiny and you risk signalling that you cant read the room. Aim instead for messages that are simple, authentic and direct. If employees are working from home, short smartphone videos from leaders are uniquely suited to the moment. When writing to customers speak directly to your recipient. Use pronouns like "you," "I" and "we." Issue nothing that doesnt carry a name and a signature. Good corporate communication is always personal. Its doubly true now.

Ask people what they need

The best communicators listen more than they speak. Building trust in a crisis demands an understanding of the needs and expectations of the people youre engaging, but the simple act of asking is itself a potent means to convey empathy, compassion and concern. Ask customers if there are ways you can serve them better as the pandemic continues to evolve. Ask employees for input on how the company can best support them.

Its the willingness to ask that matters. Weave your ask into your existing communication channels: Ask during Zoom meetings; ask via your customer email list; ask employees through an online survey. One caveat, of course, is to avoid asking about anything youre not prepared to try and deliver, but organizations who truly understand what their stakeholders want and need right now will be far better positioned to navigate the choppy waters ahead.

For better or worse, COVID-19 has pushed organizations in every sector to show they understand the moment. Fortunately, to be empathic and human you dont need to be perfect. You just need to show how youre trying to get it right.

David Leibl is founder of the Winnipeg-based communications and executive advisory firm www.oncallcomms.com. He can be reached at david@oncallcomms.com
Late in life  he was in his 80s, in fact  Sigmund Freud got religion. No, Freud didnt begin showing up at temple every Saturday, wrapping himself in a prayer shawl and reading from the Torah. To the end of his life, he maintained his stance as an uncompromising atheist, the stance he is best known for down to the present. In The Future of an Illusion, he described belief in God as a collective neurosis: he called it longing for a father. But in his last completed book, Moses and Monotheism, something new emerges. There Freud, without abandoning his atheism, begins to see the Jewish faith that he was born into as a source of cultural progress in the past and of personal inspiration in the present. Close to his own death, Freud starts to recognize the poetry and promise in religion.

A good deal of the antireligious polemic that has recently been abroad in our culture proceeds in the spirit of Freuds earlier work. In his defense of atheism, God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens cites Freud as an ally who, he believes, exposed the weak-minded childishness of religion. Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins come out of the same Enlightenment spirit of hostile skepticism to faith that infuses The Future of an Illusion. All three contemporary writers want to get rid of religion immediately and with no remainder.

But theres more to Freuds take on religion than that. In his last book, written when he was old and ill, suffering badly from cancer of the jaw, Freud offers another perspective on faith. He argues that Judaism helped free humanity from bondage to the immediate empirical world, opening up fresh possibilities for human thought and action. He also suggests that faith in God facilitated a turn toward the life within, helping to make a rich life of introspection possible.

Moses and Monotheism was not an easy book for Freud to write or to publish. He began it in the 1930s while he was living in Vienna, and he was well aware that when and if he brought the book out he could expect trouble from the Austrian Catholic Church. The book, after all, insisted on some strange and disturbing things. Most startling, it argued that Moses himself was not a Jew. How did Freud know? First of all, he claimed that Moses is not a Jewish name but an Egyptian one; second, Freuds study of dreams and fairy tales convinced him that the Bible had inverted things. In the Exodus story, Moses mother, fearing Pharaohs order to kill all Jewish boys, leaves the infant Moses in a basket on the rivers edge, where he is discovered by Pharaohs daughter. But Freud maintained that the Jews were the ones who had found him by the river. (In fairy tales and dreams, the child always begins with rich parents and is adopted by poor ones, yet his noble nature wins out  or so Freud insisted.) Freud also said that monotheism was not a Jewish but an Egyptian invention, descending from the cult of the Egyptian sun god Aton.
By Roxanne Liu and Stephanie Nebehay BEIJING/GENEVA (Reuters) - China said on Friday it had identified a European strain of coronavirus as having sparked the recent Beijing outbreak, while the World Health Organization said only that it had been imported from outside the city and needed further investigation.

By Roxanne Liu and Stephanie Nebehay

BEIJING/GENEVA (Reuters) - China said on Friday it had identified a European strain of coronavirus as having sparked the recent Beijing outbreak, while the World Health Organization said only that it had been imported from outside the city and needed further investigation.

China has released genome sequencing data from samples taken in Beijing, which officials there said identified a European strain based on preliminary studies.

Some 183 people have been infected in the resurgence that began eight days ago linked to Beijing's sprawling wholesale food centre of Xinfadi.

"Strains and viruses move around the world", WHO's top emergencies expert Mike Ryan told a Geneva news conference.

"So I think it's not indicating that Europe is the origin of the disease at all. What it is saying most likely is the disease was most probably imported from outside Beijing at some point."

It was critical to establish when the virus arrived in Beijing, how many people were infected along the way, and what factors amplified its spread, Ryan said. But it was "reassuring" that the virus appeared to be of human origin and had not jumped the species barrier again, he added.

China had come under pressure to make the data public sooner rather than later as COVID-19 cases mount in the capital.

The U.S. administration has blamed the Chinese government for moving too slowly to contain the initial outbreak.

China says it wasted no time in releasing information including the genome sequence of the first outbreak in Wuhan.

The latest genome sequencing was published late on Thursday, and had also been shared with the WHO and the Global Influenza Data Initiative (GISAID), said the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Virus genome sequencing is a vital and rapidly-developing tool in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and in understanding the spread and control of the new coronavirus.

THREE SAMPLES

Details published on China's National Microbiology Data Center website revealed the Beijing genome data was based on three samples - two human and one environmental - collected on June 11. That was the same day the Chinese capital reported its first new local COVID-19 infection in months.

"According to preliminary genomic and epidemiological study results, the virus is from Europe, but it is different from the virus currently spreading in Europe," CDC official Zhang Yong was cited as saying in an article published on Friday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on its website.

"It's older than the virus currently spreading in Europe."

Wu Zunyou, the CDC's chief epidemiology expert, had told state media this week the Beijing strain was similar to Europe's, although not necessarily directly transmitted from European countries. Wu did not elaborate on those comments made before the genome data release.

The strains found in the United States and Russia were mostly from Europe, he added.

The first cluster of coronavirus infections was traced to the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan in December. It has since infected almost 8.5 million people globally.

On the origins of the strain that hit Beijing, Wu said it did not originate from the Chinese capital.

"It must be some people or goods outside of the city that carried it into the (Xinfadi) market," Wu said in a state television interview aired on Friday.

"It's unclear who, or what kind of goods, had brought the virus into Beijing."

(Reporting by Ryan Woo, Roxanne Liu, Lusha Zhang, Se Young Lee and Guijuan Qu in Beijing and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Jane Wardell and Michael Perry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Robert Pattinson has been discussing his Batman prep (Image by Warner Bros)

Over the last decade, Robert Pattinson has established himself as one of the most intriguing actors in cinema.

After shooting to fame in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire and the Twilight series, Pattinson starred in David Cronenbergs Cosmopolis, James Grays The Lost City Of Z, The Safdie Brothers Good Time, Claire Denis High Life, and Robert Eggers The Lighthouse.

Read More: Zoe Kravitz felt silly auditioning for 'The Batman'

Thats exactly what makes his casting as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves The Batman so exciting.

Pattinson has been taking about his preparation to play the icon, revealing that he watched the work of the true warriors of the superhero genre in order to get into the right mindset for the DC character.

Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America stand strong in The Avengers, which Pattinson probably watched over and over again (Image by Warner Bros)

This clearly included watching various installments from DC rivals Marvel, as Pattinson specifically named Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Robert Downey Jr as inspirations.

Pattinson made this admission during a recent conversation with For Men Healthy, via Screen Rant, explaining, "In every project I've ever taken on, I've come into it wanting to learn and achieve new things.

Read More: DC FanDome: 'The Batman', 'Justice League: The Snyder Cut', 'The Suicide Squad' lined up for free online fan event

That's usually in the embodiment of a character, and someone who has a different personality to me; but taking on a full physical transformation as well feels even more exciting. Any actor will go through periods where they'll hesitate and question whether they can live up to a character in a script, or the expectations that go with it

You look at the true warriors of the superhero genre -- Hemsworth, The Rock, Downey Jr, Evans -- and wonder if you're putting yourself in the wrong place. And yet, having spoken to a few, I know everyone is nervous when the opportunity comes about."
Courtroom artist's drawing of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana - AP

A former Chicago businessman imprisoned for aiding terrorist groups has been arrested in Los Angeles to face murder charges in India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than 160 people, US prosecutors said on Friday.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, has been charged in India with conspiring to plot and carry out the deadly attacks that are sometimes referred to as India's 9/11.

Rana, 59, was convicted of a terrorist charge connected to the group behind the Mumbai slayings, though US prosecutors failed to prove he directly supported the four-day rampage.

Rana was serving a 14-year sentence when he was granted early release from a Los Angeles federal prison last week because of poor health and a bout of coronavirus. But he never got out of prison before being arrested to face extradition to India, prosecutors said.

He has been charged with murder and murder conspiracy in India, according to court documents. A request for comment from Rana's public defender was not immediately returned.

An Indian soldier takes cover as the Taj Mahal hotel burns in the 2008 attacks - AP

Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the India attack, and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The cartoons angered many Muslims because pictures of the prophet are prohibited in Islam.

Jurors cleared Rana of a more serious charge of providing support for the attacks in Mumbai, India's largest city, that killed 166, injured nearly 240 and caused $1.5 billion in damage.

Rana's lawyer said at trial that he had been duped by his high school buddy, David Coleman Headley, an admitted terrorist who plotted the Mumbai attacks. The defense called Headley, the government's chief witness who testified to avoid the death penalty, a habitual liar and manipulator.

Rana was accused of allowing Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.

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Prosecutors said Rana knew Headley had trained as a terrorist. Headley shared information of the scouting missions he conducted in Mumbai and of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where gunmen later slaughtered dozens of people.

Headley, who was born in the US to a Pakistani father and American mother, said his hatred of India dated to his childhood when his school in Pakistan was bombed by Indian military planes during a war between the countries in 1971.

Months after the Mumbai attacks, Headley, who did not take part in the attacks, told Rana he was "even with the Indians now", according to a court document. Rana said they deserved it.

Headley, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. As part of his plea deal, he can't be extradited to India.

Only one of the 10 Mumbai terrorists survived the attack and went on trial. He was convicted, sentenced to death in India and hanged.
Melania Trump has posted a video of her reading an anti-slavery story to mark Juneteenth  which celebrates the liberation of slaves in the US  only hours before the president wrote a tweet threatening civil protesters at his upcoming presidential rally.

The first lady posted the three minute reading on her Twitter account of All Different Now by Angela Johnson, which tells the story of a little girl who was freed from slavery in Texas alongside her family.

As our country works through the racial issues that we still face today it is important to remember we are one global community, the first lady says in the opening of the video.

My hope for everyone today is that by understanding and reflecting even upon the worst part of our countrys past we can commit to lifting each other up and celebrating the freedom we all deserve.

The message came only hours before President Donald Trump tweeted a warning to civil rights protesters with a very different tone, seemingly threatening them with harsh law enforcement if they turn up to his presidential rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene! the president tweeted.

The tweet is one of a number of clashes between the president and civil rights protesters, who have demonstrated across all 50 states in the past three weeks over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by his neck for almost nine minutes.

Mr Trump previously labelled himself "your law-and-order president" while he announced he would be willing to deploy heavily armed US military troops to cities to quell the unrest.

The latest tweet also came less than 24 hours after Oklahoma's governor sat near the president at the White House and declared the Tulsa event will be safe amid fears over the spread of the coronavirus.

The campaign rally, which will be the president's first in three months, has already been surrounded in controversy after Mr Trump faced a backlash for initially intending to hold the event on the same day as Juneteenth, sparking outcry from both officials and residents.

African-American leaders told the president it was insensitive to coincide the rally with the date, especially amidst continued protests against systemic racism and police brutality against black Americans in the US.

The holiday, also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, marks the date in 1865 that news finally reached African Americans in Texas that US President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves living in Confederate states two years earlier.

After facing continued criticism, Mr Trump eventually pushed the rally back a day to 20 June, retaining the 19,000 seat indoor venue at the BOK Centre in Tulsa despite many expressing fears over the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Trumps militant treatment of protesters over the last three weeks has reportedly impacted his standing in the polls, in particular for the violent clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square in DC for a trip to a nearby church for a brief photo opportunity on 1 June.

A new Fox poll showed just over 60 per cent of those surveyed disapprove of the president's handling of race relations.

Ms Trump apparently remained determined to convey a positive message despite the backlash, insisting in her video that we should all agree that any differences we have should be celebrated and learned from.

However, Ms Trump has also faced criticism for her intervention following her prior support of the birther conspiracy theory promoted by Mr Trump, alleging that the then-president Barack Obama was not born in the United States and therefore constitutionally ineligible to be president.

"Its not only Donald who wants to see [Obama's birth certificate], its American people who voted for him and who didnt vote for him. They want to see that," Ms Trump said in an interview in 2011 about the theory, which is widely seen as a racist attack on Mr Obama.
Woman in home office during Covid-19 lockdown

Banks, insurers and credit card firms are having to hire thousands of new work from home support staff to deal with the deluge of coronavirus-related money queries from customers, according to a recruitment firm.

The Momenta Group said that queries for mortgage negotiators and staff advising on affordability were highest in demand.

An estimated 30,000 additional contingent resource staff might be needed in total.

One bank had requested up to 750 extra staff, the recruiter told the Press Association.

Momenta founder Richard Stevens said: Automation right now isnt a viable option when whats needed is calls handled by relatable, empathetic and skilled negotiators.

He said the knock on effect of this was that companies are requesting more UK-based call operators, rather than outsourcing the work offshore.

READ MORE: 'Bias in recruitment is not just about out-and-out racism or misogyny'

Mr Stevens added: The reason is clear: there are high numbers of individuals facing difficulties who are not calling their financial institutions to discuss their concerns.

We estimate that, to date, only one in three individuals in financial trouble is calling their providers to discuss a plan  this will create a huge influx of call handling in the months to come.

The economic downturn has hit peoples wallets hard. This week it was revealed that job centre claimants had risen 126% since the start of lockdown.

The need for increased financial support goes hand in hand with this.

Figures also showed that 600,000 had dropped of UK payrolls since the pandemic took hold.
The Adamawa Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Anthony Elishama, has been suspended for three months over alleged mismanagement of N1.350 million.

The association also directed the suspended scribe to refund the amount within the period of his suspension.

Mr Elishama was further asked to return all official properties, including vehicle and documents, to the secretatiat.

This is contained in a statement issued by Stephen Mamza, a bishop and the state Chairman of the association, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Yola.

Mr Mamza said that Mr Elishamas suspension followed the unanimous decision adopted during the state executive meeting of the association held on Thursday.

Mr Anthony Elishama suspension is as a result of mismanaging of funds belonging to the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to the tune of N1.350 million (one million three hundred and fifty thousand naira).

The state executive of Christians Association of Nigeria expressed disappointment by the secretarys action, Mr Mamza explained.

The Bishop noted that the present leadership of CAN in the state had zero tolerance to any type of financial indiscipline.

He said that the secretarys suspension would take effect from June 20, 2020, pending the state executive committee final decision on the issue.

READ ALSO: Adamawa Govt accesses N10bn UBEC funds

The suspended Secretary must refund the money to CAN within the period of his suspension.

He should also immediately summit all the Associations documents and properties, including the official car at his possession, to CAN Secretariat administration, the statement read in part. (NAN)
Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee claimed victory in May's fundraising battle raking in $80 million to Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee's $74 million, but the Republican's $800 million war chest continues to tower over the Democrat's $100 million.

The combined Biden campaign and DNC campaign brought in $80.8 million in fundraising last month, surpassing Trump and the RNC who insisted to Fox News that their May figures were a success.

The Democrats' triumph came ahead of the sweeping civil unrest across America and before Trump amassed widespread criticism for the now infamous photo op at the Washington DC church where peaceful protesters were tear gassed out of the way so he could pose with a Bible.

But Republicans have downplayed the signs of his waning popularity, pointing to both a record fundraising day on Trump's birthday and to the party's total war chest that dwarfs that of the Democrat's.

Joe Biden (left) and the Democratic National Committee claimed victory in May's fundraising battle raking in $80 million to Donald Trump (right) and the Republican National Committee's $74 million, but the Republican's $800 million war chest continues to tower over the Democrat's $100 million

The Democrats are gearing up for the White House battle, netting an extra $20 million in May compared to the $60.5 million they raised in April and around half its May donors were new.

The campaign has also seen three times the number of online donors since February.

'Just a few months ago, people were ready to write this campaign off. Now, we are making huge dents in Donald Trump's war chest. Every single dollar is going to make sure he is only a one-term president,' Biden said in a statement.

But GOP officials have brushed it off, with the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and their joint fundraising committee celebrating their single largest online fundraising day ever the same day Trump celebrated his 74th birthday last Sunday - raking in $14 million online in just 24 hours.

This came after the campaigns pocketed an extra $12 million in May than April taking its total fundraising to more than $817 million, GOP officials told Fox News.

The joint entities now have $265 million cash-on-hand - a figure they said the Democrats could not event 'make a dent in'.

'President Trump's consistent leadership and unprecedented actions during this challenging time has undoubtedly resonated with the American people,' RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News.

The Democrats are gearing up for the White House battle, netting an extra $20 million in May compared to the $60.5 million they raised in April and around half its May donors were new

But GOP officials have brushed it off, celebrating their single largest online fundraising day ever the same day Trump celebrated his 74th birthday last Sunday - raking in $14 million online in just 24 hours

'Support across the country continues to pour in, helping us to build an unparalleled operation that will deliver victories up and down the ballot in November.'

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale claimed the 'massive fundraising haul,' makes it 'clear that the enthusiasm behind President Trump's re-election campaign goes unmatched.'

'While Sleepy Joe Biden lobs ineffective partisan attacks from the shadows of his basement, President Trump is leading The Great American Comeback and he is drawing support from every corner of this country,' Parscale told Fox News.

The latest war chest totals for Biden and the DNC are not available but they stood significantly lower at around $100 million in May.

As the fundraising battle hots up so too does the campaign trail, with Trump plowing ahead with his Tulsa rally Saturday despite concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

As the fundraising battle hots up so too does the campaign trail, with Trump plowing ahead with his Tulsa rally Saturday despite concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Trump supporters gather to attend his campaign rally Saturday

A Trump supporter poses next to a cardboard cutout of the president ahead of Saturday's rally. Concerns have been building over the safety of Trump's Tulsa rally, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republicans and dismissed a legal challenge brought by locals trying to stop it going ahead, amid fears it could worsen the spread of the virus

This marks his first campaign rally since the coronavirus lockdowns and comes a week after the RNC resumed in-person campaign activities in some states, knocking on more than 260,000 doors.

Biden has taken a different approach to his campaign, committing to social distancing measures and coronavirus precautions as cases continue to mount across America.

He has held only a small number of in-person campaign events in the past few weeks as his campaign says he is trying to follow the advice from public health experts.

The Trump camp, however, has said Biden is using it as an excuse to avoid making public appearances that could damage his campaign with any missteps.

Biden has held a limited amount of in-person events in the past few weeks because of the coronavirus. Events he has attended have enforced social distancing such as the one pictured above in Pennsylvania on Wednesday where attendees were separated

On Friday, Trump took a swipe at his opponent's social distanced event in Pennsylvania Wednesday posting a picture of a nearly empty hall on Twitter and stating that the former Vice Presidents rally had zero enthusiasm.

Biden responded criticizing the president for his response to the coronavirus and calling on him to spend less time on Twitter.

Concerns have been building over the safety of Trump's Tulsa rally, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republicans and dismissed a legal challenge brought by locals trying to stop it going ahead, amid fears it could worsen the spread of the virus.

The court ruled that masks and social distancing are not required as Oklahoma's June 1 reopening plan allowed business owners to use discretion on those matters.

Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum also rescinded his curfew order so supporters could camp out Friday night ahead of the big event.

Trump's campaign said they expect the 19,000-plus seat BOK Center to be filled.
China submits latest genome sequence to WHO at record speed

Global Times

By Zhao Yusha and Zhang Hui Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 22:38:40

From Beijing's Xinfadi market, where the capital's outbreak flared up, virologists from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took substantial coronavirus-positive samples three times and published a groundbreaking discovery that the virus causing Beijing's latest outbreak came from Europe, yet it has existed longer than the coronavirus strain in Europe, or may be more contagious.

Chinese scientists spent only a week to work out the genome sequence data of the coronavirus that caused Beijing's outbreak and shared it with the international community, a development that experts said could assist virus tracing and finding patient zero in the capital to stem the spread.

Experts suspect that a super spreader may be lurking in the capital, as the market was severely contaminated by the virus and a large number of patients, all linked to Xinfadi, have been found in Beijing. But it raised the question of whether the outbreak had been brought under control in the capital.

From Europe, but older

The finding that the coronavirus strain detected at Xinfadi in Beijing came from Europe was included in a detailed epidemiological survey published on the website of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Friday, yet the virus found in Xinfadi has existed longer than the coronavirus strain circulating in Europe, CDC virologists said.

Since the outbreak at Xinfadi, virologists from China's CDC have visited the now closed market three times - on June 14, 15 and 17 - and announced a groundbreaking discovery.

Zhang Yong, an assistant director of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the CDC, said in the CCDI article that "the large amounts of samples found in the Xinfadi wholesale market indicate that the virus has been around for some time. If it had just arrived in the city, there may not have been so many positive samples found. However, we need more data before making an informed decision about its origin," Zhang said.

The coronavirus is particularly cold-resistant and can survive for months at -4 C and 20 years at -20 C, which explains why the virus has been found several times in seafood markets, and can be transported across borders, Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan said on Friday.

Experts said it is possible that the virus did not mutate during transport as it has been sealed in frozen food, and stored in cold and damp conditions.

Based on the known facts, we can speculate that the virus that caused Beijing's latest outbreak existed as early as January, Yang Zhanqiu, the deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told the Global Times, noting that almost 200 people got infected within a week, meaning the virus is more contagious than its Chinese peer.

The virus may be a subtype of the coronavirus in Europe, and no matter when it came to China, it only caused the outbreak now because different races have different immunities to the virus, Yang said. He explained it is possible the virus from Europe's subtype may not easily infect Asians, or take longer for Asians to contract the virus.

The wastewaters of Milan and Turin already had traces of the coronavirus in December 2019. A study will soon be published by the Istituto Superiore di Sanita on the analysis of wastewater collected before the onset of the COVID-19 in Italy.

The CDC published on Thursday night the genome sequence data of the coronavirus that caused the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing. The data has also been submitted to the World Health Organization and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).

This time, it took a week for China's CDC to share the coronavirus genome sequence with WHO and publish it on GISAID after Beijing's outbreak flared up on June 11. It took Wuhan 16 days to do the same during the first outbreak in January.

Jin Dongyan, a professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Friday that the coronavirus genome sequencing data, together with epidemiologic investigations, could help scientists better analyze the source of the virus - whether it's more like the virus in Europe.

It could also help scientists find out who the first Beijing patient was, for us to know the transmission route of the virus, Jin said.

Looming 'super spreader'

More than 200 samples from the seafood market were initially collected, including a salmon throat swab, and many of the samples tested positive for the virus. The second investigation saw virologists collect samples 2 kilometers away from the market, with many results also coming back positive. The third investigation targeted the water system, including water in which fish was kept. Those samples are currently undergoing testing.

"Many positive samples show this place is severely contaminated by the virus," said Wu Guizhen, Party secretary of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention at the CDC.

Beijing reported around 200 infections within a week, and all were linked to the Xinfadi market - a sign of a possible super spreader in the market, said Yang.

If a super spreader does exist, local authorities have to do enough nucleic acid tests, Jin told the Global Times.

Experts said the spreader may be around those confirmed cases, or still at large. "Either way, nucleic acid tests can help identify virus concentration," Yang said.

Liu Jun, a researcher at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, who also participated in virus sourcing work in Wuhan, told the CCDI website there are theories as to how the virus arrived in Beijing.

Seafood products may have caused the latest outbreak after they were transported to the market via a cold chain. Another possibility is that an infected individual entered the market and spread the virus to others, Liu said.

Beijing's outbreak under control?

Despite a mystery over Beijing's latest coronavirus outbreak and the possibility of a super spreader, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the CDC, said Thursday the capital's coronavirus outbreak has been brought under control.

The expert added at a press briefing that there may be new virus cases in the coming days, but they would likely be discovered during the testing process, not new transmissions.

Wu told the Global Times that his conclusion was based on science, instead of a wild guess. But prevention measures cannot be relaxed.

"Beijing's tough measures have stemmed transmission routes of the virus It is difficult for the virus to spread further under such air-tight prevention measures," Wu noted, saying the measures will be relaxed once no new infections are reported for two weeks.

Jin believes it's too early to conclude that Beijing's recent outbreak has been brought under control, as there are still many unsolved problems.

One was whether the virus has circulated for a long time before being noticed. We need to conduct antibody tests on people involved in the Xinfadi market infections to see how long the virus had been existing, Jin said.

Gao Fu, director of China's CDC, said on Tuesday that Beijing's recent outbreak probably started a month earlier.

"In this specific outbreak, many asymptomatic or mild cases were detected, and that is why the environment has such a large number of recorded samples," Gao said.

"We need to be highly vigilant if the results show that the virus has actually been circulating in Beijing since April or May, as similar situations may be happening in other provinces and cities," Jin said.

Zeng Guang, an expert at the National Health Commission, told the Global Times that we should be both optimistic and circumspect, and only claim victory when the last outbreak spot is placed under control.

"We've had two outbreaks in half a year, so it is highly possible that the outbreak will make a comeback in the near future. Virus prevention will be normalized, and we should not let our guard down and be too optimistic," Zeng said.

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Business has remained steady at Mo Fish during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council Bluffs restaurant shifted to carryout orders-only and altered its hours as the state put in restrictions to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Mo Fish remains carryout-only as Iowa lifts restrictions and reopens the economy.

On Friday, Pottawattamie County Public Health staff members stopped by for a walk-through, taking a look at safety protocols the restaurant has in place, and dropping off personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer as part of the local Back2Biz program.

Back2Biz offers Pottawattamie County small businesses  whether theyre looking to reopen or remain open  tools and guidance to provide customers reassurance about their safety when stopping by.

I thought it was a good deal, said Troy Mulvania, who owns the restaurant with his family.

Funders for the program include the Iowa West Foundation, Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and Southwest Iowa Foundation. Partners in the initiative include the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce, Pottawattamie County Public Health, the City of Council Bluffs, the Small Business Development Center, Advance Southwest Iowa and the Western Iowa Development Association.

At Mo Fish, Matt Wyant with Pottawattamie County Public Health explained that in addition to dropping off supplies, staff took a look at seating arrangements, discussed high-touch areas  and the need for frequent cleaning  and generally spoke with restaurant staff about how theyve handled the pandemic.

Were hoping people see it as a benefit to their business, Wyant said. Were just here to help support and lift up that consumer confidence to be able to get people back in to the restaurants. And reassure the staff here and the owners that theyre doing all the right things they can do to protect customers and staff. Help get things somewhat back to normal.

Mulvania said with the current guidance of 6-foot social distancing would only allow the restaurant to have four to five tables open, so theyve kept the dining area closed.

Were ready to get back open, but were going by the restrictions, he said.

His mom and fellow owner in the business, Roberta Mulvania, chimed in, Hes ready, hes in the kitchen, were out here, in the dining area. Im not ready.

The Mulvanias said carryout business has been good, thanks in part to Mo Fish regulars.

Our customers are real supportive, Roberta Mulvania said. Theyve told us theyre not ready. For the most part, theyre not ready, theyre still scared.

The Back2Biz-PPE Initiative offers the face masks and SIREtizer  hand sanitizer created by the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy ethanol plant  at no cost. Additionally, the program offers in-person consultations with Pottawattamie County Public Health and a Consumer Confidence recognition decal to display at a business. Theres also business assistance from the local Small Business Development Center at Iowa Western Community College on business model pivots, financial organization, bookkeeping, e-commerce, marketing, social media, content creation and more.

The program is open to any business in Pottawattamie County with 25 or fewer employees.

Back2Biz also sent out a five-question survey to local businesses to assess their needs. According to Lori Shields with the Chamber of Commerce, as of Friday, 13 out of 146 businesses answered responded yes to the question, Would you like a representative from Pottawattamie County Public Health Department to come meet with you to discuss how your business can re-open safely and to learn proper disinfecting procedures? Eleven selected unsure.

The health department contacts businesses that selected yes.

Mo Fish is joined by Bloom Works and Petersen Law in Council Bluffs and others in taking advantage of consultations with county public health officials.

We dont quite understand why businesses arent taking advantage of this, Shields said. Wed love businesses to use this as an opportunity to create some consumer confidence.

Were not really hearing anything from those that dont want assistance, Wyant said.

Shields said Back2Biz will continue to send out the survey and raise awareness of the program.

Wyant said as awareness of the program grows, the partners will be able to get more PPE and sanitizer to businesses.

What wed really like to see is a bottle of hand sanitizer on every desk, Wyant said. The more its available, the more likely people are to use it.
Pensioners of Nepal, who have retired from the Indian Army are facing financial crises these days. They are not being able to draw pensions form banks on the Indian side in Uttarakhand since March due to the sealing of the border between the two countries, said an ex-serviceman.

Several veteran ex-servicemen of Nepal who worked in the Indian Army, are living in the border areas of western Nepal. They draw their pension from Indian banks situated in Banbasa area of Champawat, Jhulaghat and Dharchula areas of Pithoragarh and Khatima area of US Nagar district in Uttarakhand.

These are the Nepalese citizens who joined the Indian Army previously through a certain quota for the Nepalese and are now living in border areas of Nepal. They still draw a pension from different Indian banks situated on this side of the border, said Capt Bhani Chand (Retd), president, Gaurav Sainani Kalyan Samiti, Banbasa, Champawat.

Also read: No intrusion in our territory, army has free hand, says PM

The Nepalese used to be recruited in the army under the Indo-Nepal treaty. They worked in the Indian Army and later returned to their native places after retirement. Several of them have been settled in Dehradun, Almora, Pithoragarh and different parts of Uttarakhand also.

Nepalese ex-servicemen are facing this problem along the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar border also. Nepalese ex-servicemen requested us to raise their problem so we are sending a memorandum to defence ministry of India, said Capt Chand.

Around 700 Nepalese pensioners draw pension every month from our branch. Their pension is pending due to the sealing of India-Nepal border, said Kamlesh Joshi, branch manager, state bank of India, Jhulaghat.

The Nepalese are recruited in the army as per the Indo-Nepal treaty-1950. According to its provisions, the Nepal government allows its citizens to serve Indian Armed Forces and in return, India allows Nepalese to work anywhere in India in the private sector or government services (except for Indian administrative services).

Pramod Bhatt, a businessman from Jhulaghat, said, I have been watching Nepalese pensioners coming for their pension and purchasing household materials since childhood. They are not coming for the last three months due to the sealing of the international border.

Notably, international border is sealed since March due to Covid-19 outbreak. Entry points along the border were opened but only for migrants of both sides. No other person was allowed to cross the border during the lockdown, said officials.
LUANSHYA, Zambia, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The youth skills training programs in Luanshya district in Zambia, supported by the China Nonferrous metal mining Luanshya Copper Mine (CLM), will help to create jobs for the stakeholders in the mining district, a government official has said.

The Luanshya District Commissioner Patrict Maipambe said CLM is financing some programs at Luanshya skills training centre, which will enable the district to have a skilled labour that can be hired by other stakeholders across the country.

Luanshya Skills Training Center is being managed by CLM and it is offering various training in mining and other industries.

Speaking in an interview, Maipambe called on the youths to take the training seriously if they are to acquire knowledge and become a skilled labour force in the country and the Southern African region as a whole.

"The Chinese training is of high quality in terms of technology and other skills," he said.

Maipambe also said that the Chinese-owned mine has been very active in fighting the spread of COVID-19 through the donation of assorted items to fight the pandemic.

"The company has donated assorted items to the district administration, among the items donated are hand sanitizers, face masks, non-contact thermometers and other materials," Maipambe said.

He said apart from making such donations, the mine has been involved in carrying out various developmental projects in the district.

Maipambe said CLM is one of the companies in the district which was doing very well in terms of corporate social responsibility support to communities.

And employees at CLM has hailed the Chinese firm for its improved working conditions.

"Our working conditions are not bad, our salaries are always paid on time. Further, we are happy with the measures that the company has taken in preventing the spread of coronavirus disease that has claimed so many lives across the globe," one of the workers John Phiri said.

Phiri said that the company has attached great importance in providing education assistance to vulnerable but viable students in the community of Luanshya.

He urged the management at the company to continue helping the community of Luanshya through the social corporate responsibility programs.

"It is our prayer that the Chinese-owned mine would continue partnering with government and helping people bettering their lives," he added.
"First and foremost, I would like to extend an apology on behalf of the District and the Board of School Directors to the student who was involved and to his family. They did not ask for this incident to occur, nor do they deserve the negative attention that it has brought." - school board President Tina Stoll
In much of Beijing, life had returned to something like normal weeks ago. Restaurants welcomed diners, people went back to work, schools reopened. The pandemic seemed like something that was happening to the rest of the world, not China.

Then Beijing announced Thursday its first domestically transmitted coronavirus case in 55 days - a 52-year-old man surnamed Tang. Tang told officials that he had not left the city in more than two weeks and had not been in contact with anyone outside the city.

Authorities soon discovered dozens more cases, mostly linked to a sprawling market in Beijing's southeast. On Saturday, it reimposed strict "wartime" measures to prevent a second wave of infections. Residents, taken aback by a partial lockdown in the city, described something akin to deja vu.

"Two months of things loosening up, and life feeling like it's going to be normal, and all of a sudden we're back to where we were in February," Nelson Quan, restricted to a compound in the Yuquan district, told Al Jazeera.

The number of cases remains small for a city of 22 million. But authorities are taking few chances: 1,200 flights in and out of Beijing's two airports were canceled on Wednesday. Schools closed just a month after reopening. Since Tang's case was announced, the city claims to have tested more than 3.5 million people.

In the weeks before this outbreak, Chinese officials had spoken proudly of their success in containing the coronavirus, suggesting China could be a model for others to follow. But the new cases show that model may be much more fragile than it first appeared.

The new cases in Beijing raise worrying questions - not only about how the virus could have gotten to Xinfadi market, which is the obvious concern, but also about whether livestock or even fish carry the virus. Chinese officials said the virus could have been circulating near the market since April.

One thing is painfully clear: This pandemic is far from over.

Beijing is battling a second wave, but other nations are not yet over their first. And as China takes its wartime approach to fighting the coronavirus, some nations are retreating. Amid fatigue, uncertainty and economic pain, they have fallen back, choosing to surrender rather than sacrifice.

In the United States, Vice President Mike Pence wrote in the Wall Street Journal's opinion section this week that the media got it wrong: The United States was not facing a second wave of infections, it was "winning the fight against the invisible enemy."

Numerous experts, including Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious-disease official, contradict that assessment. "I don't like to talk about a second wave right now, because we haven't gotten out of our first wave," Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Daily Beast.

As businesses across the country reopen, numerous states are seeing new peaks in their outbreaks, along with daily totals that dwarf the cases found in Beijing's outbreak. None, however, are restricting travel or locking down neighborhoods in the same way.

Globally, the numbers show that the pandemic is surging even as the world tries to move on. The United States is one hot spot, as are other big nations such as Russia and India. In Brazil, which has had the world's highest number of daily confirmed cases since late May, President Jair Bolsonaro and other officials ignored lockdown warnings.

"We are doing something that no one else has done," Pedro Hallal, an epidemiologist at the Federal University of Pelotas, told The Washington Post. "We're getting near the curve's peak, and it's like we are almost challenging the virus. 'Let's see how many people you can infect. We want to see how strong you are.'"

Other countries that were initially more confident are now watching their good fortune turn. Even as Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi touted his country's success and condemned critics of his coronavirus strategy, doctors are warning that a surge in cases is overwhelming the system.

"Even the smallest pressure can make the Egyptian health system collapse," a doctor in her 20s who works at one of Cairo's premier educational hospitals said in an interview with The Post.

Beijing's outbreak shows that even when the virus recedes, there can be no return to normality. The speed at which the coronavirus can spread - as well as the lingering uncertainties about how it spreads, who it kills and why - means heightened vigilance will remain a necessity.

There have been other worrying signs from other nations. Singapore and South Korea, which both appeared to have battered back the first wave of the outbreak, have had worrying flare-ups that led them to reimpose some restrictions. New Zealand, which announced it was coronavirus-free on June 8, saw the virus return via travelers from Britain.

Some officials openly admit that we will be playing a game of cat and mouse with coronavirus clusters for months, if not years.

"I personally believe that over the next year or several years, this virus will take root in our society," Hitoshi Oshitani, a Japanese virologist and government adviser, said in a recent interview, adding that he doubted a vaccine would be effective and that a strategy of waiting for herd immunity was "nonsense."

Any new outbreak - especially a new outbreak where the chain of transmission cannot be ascertained - is particularly worrying in China, a high-tech, authoritarian state that had staked so much on fighting back the first wave of infections in spring.

Indeed, the market cluster was discovered not because of government surveillance, but because of personal vigilance. Tang, the patient announced last week, had only mild symptoms but biked to a testing center anyway. He apparently understood that we are not back to normal yet.
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Mrs Ruth Anyuabaga, abducted wife of the National President of Eggon Youth Movement (EYM) Nasarawa State, Daniel Anyuabuga, has narrated her ordeal in the hands of her kidnappers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Anyuabaga was kidnapped from the family residence in Lafia on Monday, June 15, and later released on Thursday, June 18.

While narrating her ordeal to newsmen on Friday in Lafia, Anyuabaga said her kidnappers took her to unknown destinations while she trekked in the bush for three days.

She explained that although her abductors did not torture or abuse her in anyway, she could not sleep all through the period as a result of the trauma and fear of what may happen to her.

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Anyuabuga said that there was no shelter as she had to sleep in the open, in the rain, as they moved her from one location to another until she regained her freedom on Thursday.

I prayed all through the three days for safe return to my family and for them not to kill me in that forest, she said.

Meanwhile, Daniel Anyuabuga, the victims husband thanked God for the safe release of his wife from captivity.

He also expressed gratitude to the security agencies for their efforts as well as family and friends who stood for them in prayer during the period.

Anyuabuga, however, said that he had to pay an undisclosed amount as ransom to the kidnapper without the knowledge of the Police.

According to him, the ransom was paid at Agyaragu in Obi Local Government Area and his wife was released at Alogani village in Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Area, all in Nasarawa state.

He appealed to the Federal Governent to assist the Police with modern gadgets to help tackle the menace of Kidnapping in the country.

He noted that the use of technology was critical to fight crime and criminality in the country, hence the need for the government to invest in it to protect the people.

When contacted, Nansel Ramhan, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state confirmed the release.

The PPRO said that the police was on the trail of the abductors and their collaborators.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 18:19:43|Editor: huaxia

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HERAT, Afghanistan, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Three police were killed and three others sustained injury as a roadside bomb struck a police vehicle in the western Herat province on Saturday, provincial government spokesman Jilani Farhad said.

A mine planted by militants struck a police van outside Herat city on Saturday afternoon, killing three police and wounding three others, Farhad has confirmed.

The official put the attack on the Taliban, saying the Taliban insurgents are behind subversive activities to terrorize the people.

Taliban militants have yet to claim responsibility. Enditem
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday tweeted a video of the father of an Indian Army soldier, who was injured in the violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakhs Galwan Valley, to criticise Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against the government.

Amit Shahs tweet came after the former Congress president posted a video on Friday of the father talking about the attack on Indian soldiers along the contested areas of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Twenty soldiers, including a commanding officer of the 16th Bihar Regiment, were killed in Galwan valley on Monday night after the skirmish with Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Many others were injured as well.

After that Rahul Gandhi again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday over his remark that neither has anyone entered Indian territory, nor is anyone present in Indian territory currently, and nor is any Indian post captured, alleging that the PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Shah tweeted.

At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest, he said.

Its sad to see senior GOI ministers reduced to lying in order to protect the PM.



Dont insult our martyrs with your lies.#BJPBetraysOurJawans pic.twitter.com/uwrmj1oxq1  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 19, 2020

The father of the injured soldier, who fought in Galwan Valley scrap, also asked the Congress leader to not to indulge in politics.

The Indian Army is a strong army and can defeat China. Rahul Gandhi dont indulge in politics in this My son fought in the army and will continue fighting in the army, he said, in a video tweeted by news agency ANI.

Rahul Gandhi has been attacking the government over the face-off between the Indian and Chinese soldiers in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Its now crystal clear that: 1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned; 2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem; 3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans, Gandhi said on Twitter on Friday.

The Congress leader also attached a news report about Union minister Shripad Naik saying that the June 15 attack was pre-planned by China.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi had also asked if there was an intelligence failure on the build-up along the line of actual control (LAC) and sought an assurance from the government that status quo ante will be restored at LAC and China will revert to its original position.

She also raised several questions about the situation along the LAC at an all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister to discuss the border stand-off with China.

Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in their first deadly conflict in at least 45 years at Patrol Point 14 in Galwan Valley, resulting in 20 deaths on the Indian side, including that of a commanding officer during the nearly seven-hour clash that also involved hand-to-hand fighting.
Heres a reminder for all the politicians at the federal-provincial negotiating table these days: the recovery of our economy depends on immediate changes to child care.

Every day of delay in figuring out how to look after the children of workers in the pandemic economy is a loss for a safe reboot, a drain on productivity, and a setback for women in the workforce. And every decision-maker in Canada is well aware of this.

So wheres the political will to put the fix into place?

The money is there.

A new blueprint from a network of policy experts shows it would take about $2 billion to fix the child-care system right away and give parents safe, affordable options to allow them to go back to work.

And that money is already on the table, embedded in a $14-billion offer from the federal government to the provinces to help them with a safe restart over the next six to eight months.

But in frequent federal-provincial meetings since the beginning of the month about how to spend that $14 billion, officials and their bosses have not been able to agree on how to divvy it up.

The federal government has listed eight areas of urgent need where it wants to put the funding over the next six to eight months to help the provinces open up their economies: testing, contact tracing, health-care capacity, vulnerable populations (such as seniors), personal protective equipment, child care and municipalities.

But its not a given that each of those items would get the same share of the $14 billion. Personal protective equipment, for example, is very expensive and requires more funding than other priorities. Some areas  such as municipalities  could draw on funding from the provinces. And then theres the politics. The provinces are arguing for maximum flexibility in spending the money, while the federal government has its list of priorities.

We still have our work cut out for us, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday.

Same as it ever was in the history of the confederation, but thats an urgent problem in the pandemic economy.

Business closures have pounded women across the country, hitting service-oriented sectors that tend to be female-dominated harder than others. Parents who were able to arrange to work from home quickly realized that caring for young children at the same time is unsustainable. And now that some parts of the economy are gradually reopening, parents who have nowhere to place their children are stuck on the sidelines, at risk of being squeezed out of the workplace.

Theres no way our economy can reopen, reboot and recover if 40 per cent of its labour market cannot engage the way it did before, says Brock Universitys Kate Bezanson, who wrote the blueprint with former Ontario Liberal adviser Andrew Bevan and Sheridan Colleges Monica Lysack for First Policy Response, a network of public policy experts with ideas on how to deal with the pandemic.

The Ontario governments schooling announcement on Friday opens up a range of possibilities for September, including alternate days in class and online learning, and that underscores the need to quickly figure out a rescue plan for child care, Bezanson says.

She and her co-authors want government money to help re-establish existing, regulated child-care spaces, but with COVID-19 provisions: lower child-to-staff ratios to limit contagion, access to more space to allow for physical distancing, programming in the summer for school-age children to make up for the lack of summer camps, and lots more cleaning.

All that requires extra money and planning, which is proving next to impossible for child-care centres that were already operating on razor-thin margins before the pandemic hit.

There is a pressing need for comprehensive guidelines for safety practices, and national near-term funding for adequate staffing and cleaning, enhanced wages that attract and retain workers, and additional spaces, they write.

The federal government already has $683 million flowing to the provinces for child care this year, matched by provincial funding. Also in play is a Liberal promise during the last election campaign to fund new child-care spots for before and after school. That money should be rerouted right away to summer programming, Bezanson says.

And when all thats done, federal and provincial leaders need to take a deep breath and realize how important to the economy it is to have a reliable and accessible child-care system, she adds.

The decisions that governments make in the coming months about child-care system-building will be era-defining, and will have ripple effects, the authors write.

By all accounts, the federal and provincial governments are progressing toward solutions on the $14 billion  faster than talks might have gone before COVID-19 times, but slowly by pandemic standards.

If they take stock of whats at stake for the parents stuck at home, pulling their hair out under growing stress and fraying job prospects, theyll figure out a way to get child care back on track right away. The economy will thank them  now and in the future.

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The National Identification Authority (NIA) has announced the extension of the Ghana card issuance exercise across the country.



It was first scheduled to end on Thursday, 18 June 2020 but has been extended to Tuesday, 23 June 2020.



In a statement issued by the Authority on Friday, 19 June 2020 and signed by its Head of Corporate Affairs, Francis Palmdeti, the NIA stated: The card issuance exercise in the Eastern, Upper East and Upper West Regions will continue at registration centres during the mop-up exercise.



The Authority added: Applicants who are yet to collect their Ghana cards are entreated to do so during this extended period.



The National Identification Authority (NIA) had earlier said it will resume its registration in the Eastern Region from 18  27 June 2020.



At the same time, its card distribution exercise started on Wednesday, 10 June 2020 at 5,635 registration centres across the country.



The exercise will enable approximately 3,934,073 Ghanaians who could not receive their cards during the mass registration exercise to do so, the NIA said in a statement.



The cards are being issued to Ghanaians at the same centres where they registered during the mass registration exercise.



Nearly 800,000 Ghanaians have received the Ghana card since the exercise began last Wednesday, 10 June 2020, it noted.



The NIA said: All persons who registered but have not received their Ghana cards are requested to go to the registration centre where they registered to pick up their card.



To receive the card, a Ghanaian must present the registration application form, the printout or receipt given at the time of registration, or provide other relevant information to be cross-checked against his/her photograph and personal details contained in a registration centre album.



By the end of the exercise, the NIA said more than eleven million Ghanaians will possess the Ghana card.



Out of that number, a total of 10,295,578 Ghanaians will be aged 18 years and over, the statement added.

Source: GNA









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Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 28, 2019. Reuters



By Emanuel Pastreich




C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: As Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is likely to fund $800 million for the fourth corridor of second phase of Chennai Metro Rail, officials are urging that the government should include the 'Make in India' clause in the tender document.

This comes as Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd. (STEC) emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction of the 5.6-km underground section between New Ashok Nagar and Sahibabad of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor. Sources say it is a wake-up call to understand the 'Make in India' if included in the tender document will impose restrictions on Chinese bidders.

Since AIIB is a multilateral development bank, officials feel that the clause would benefit Indian companies and help in creating jobs for Indians and also adhere to Prime Minister's call of 'Go Vocal, make Local'. 'Make in India' clause will promote and encourage Indian partners and Indian investors and help Indians attain self-sufficiency and will be easier for managing the Indian bidders, said sources in DPIIT.

Official sources said that the clause should be included while taking loans from all the multilateral development banks and also in the tender document.

This comes as after 20 Indian soldiers were killed by Chinese troops during the conflict at Ladakh border. Interestingly, a review meeting is scheduled undersecretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on June 23.

Sources said that under the 'Make in India' clause equipment and manpower can be sourced locally providing opportunities to Indian companies. This would also fill in shortage of key personel in metro industry.

It is learnt that the June 23 meeting will discuss Action Taken Report pertaining too "Atmanirbhar Bharat". Since Finance Minister has also announced that global bids shall not be invited in government tenders up to Rs.200 crore, the meeting would focus on various requirements of Central Government entities which should be sourced from local or domestic suppliers only. These include metro companies and smart cities.

DPIIT sources said that in order to promote local industry and generate employment to local people, it is important items, which are available locally, should be sourced "exclusively" from local firms. "The item which is not available locally, local suppliers should be encouraged to develop or manufacture in technical collaboration with the foreign manufacturers, if required," sources added.

According to sources, Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has agreed to provide loan worth $438.75 million to Chennai Metro

Rail for the civil construction of Chennai Metro's 47 km Line-5's 26 km section connecting CMBT with Sholinganallur and $356.65 million to finance

the 26.1 km Line-4 connecting Lighthouse - Poonamallee Bypass. A portion of corridor 4 funded.

Interestingly, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) wanted the government to cancel the New Ashok Nagar and Sahibabad of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor tender bagged by SETC in the light of the aggression at Galwan, but officials say the contract cannot be cancelled as it is an ADB-funded one and their rules don't allow for this.

Officials quoted the reason and stressed the need of inclusion of 'Make in India' clause in the tender document for Corridor 4 of Chennai Metro rail so that local industry and local manpower could benefit.
If you really want to honour him, implement his inclusive ideology: SC Bose's grandnephew

At DMs meets, PM calls for direct, emotional connect between administration and public for good governance

PM Modi launches massive Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a massive employment -cum- rural public works Campaign named 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan' to empower and provide livelihood opportunities in areas/ villages witnessing large number of returnee migrant workers affected by the devastating COVID-19.

The Abhiyaan was flagged off from village Telihar, Block Beldaur, district Khagaria, Bihar on June 20 (Saturday) through Video-Conference attended by the CMs and Representatives of the 6 Participating States, Various Union Ministers and others.

Modis Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan to help poor beat jobs crisis: Nirmala Sitharaman

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

Prime Minister interacted through remote video conferencing with the villagers of Telihar in the Khagaria District of Bihar from where the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan was formally launched.

The Prime Minister inquired from some of the migrants their current state of employment and also whether the various welfare schemes launched during the Lockdown period were available to them.

Modi expressed satisfaction after his interaction and pointed out how rural India stood its ground in the fight against COVID-19 and how it is providing an inspiration to the whole country and the world in this moment of crisis.

PM said that both the Center and the State Governments were concerned about the welfare of the poor and the migrants.

The Prime Minister said the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Campaign itself was launched with a 1.75 Lakh Crore package under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana.

He said the Central and State Government also ran special Shramik Express Trains for the migrant labour who wished to return homes.

PM termed this day as a historic day as a massive campaign kickstarted for the welfare of the poor, for their employment.

Fake news: Govt is not taking back money transferred under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana

This campaign is dedicated for our labor brothers and sisters, for the youth, sisters and daughters living in our villages. It is our endeavor that through this campaign workers and workers are given work near home, he said

The Prime Minister announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 Crores would be spent for building durable rural infrastructure under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.

He said 25 work areas have been identified for employment in villages, for development of various works. These 25 works or projects are related to meet the needs of the villages like rural housing for the poor, Plantations, provision of drinking water through Jal Jeevan mission, Panchayat Bhavans, community toilets, rural mandis, rural roads, other infrastructure like Cattle Sheds, Anganwadi Bhavans etc.

The Prime Minister said that Abhiyan shall also provide modern facilities in rural areas. He said it is of great necessity that high speed and cheap internet be provided in every rural household to help the youth and children. The Prime Minister said it is the first time that the rural areas are using more internet than the urban areas. Hence the laying of fibre cable and provision of internet are also made a part of the Abhiyan.

These works will be done while staying in his own village, while staying with his family.

The Prime Minister said that Self-Reliant (AatmaNirbhar) farmers are equally essential for a Self-Reliant India (AatmaNirbhar) Bharat. He said the Government took a major step by removing various shackles of unwanted rules and regulations so that the farmer can freely sell his produce anywhere in the country and connect directly with traders who offer a better price for his produce.

Modi said the farmers are being directly linked to the market and that the Government has provided an investment of Rs 1,00,000 Crore for linkages like cold storage etc.

This Abhiyaan of 125 days, will work in mission mode, will involve focused implementation of 25 categories of works/ activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee migrant workers in 6 states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. Public works to be undertaken during this campaign will have a resource envelope of Rs. 50,000 crores.

The Abhiyaan will be a convergent effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments, namely; Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport & Highways, Mines, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture, to expedite implementation of 25 public infrastructure works and works relating to augmentation of livelihood opportunities.

The major objectives of the initiative include:

Provide livelihood opportunity to returning migrants and similarly affected rural citizens.



Saturate villages with public infrastructure and create livelihood opportunities viz. Roads, Housing, Anganwadis, Panchayat Bhavans, various livelihood assets and Community Complexes among others.



The basket of a wide variety of works will ensure that each migrant worker is able to get an opportunity of employment according to his skill, in the coming 125 days. The Program will also prepare for expansion and development of livelihoods over a longer term.

The Ministry of Rural Development is the nodal Ministry for this campaign and the campaign will be implemented in close coordination with the State Governments. Central Nodal Officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above will be appointed to oversee the effective and timely implementation of various schemes in the identified districts.

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Story first published: Saturday, June 20, 2020, 14:58 [IST]
As Fathers Day approaches this weekend, Cheng Wan remembers his father who never had the opportunity to celebrate this special day together with him and his kids in America.

Chengs father, Shanhua Wan, passed away in May 2009 after suffering years of persecution for his belief in truth, compassion, and forbearance. Shanhua practiced Falun Dafa, a Chinese spiritual practice that is heavily persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Cheng said he only spent three days with his parents in Beijing before boarding a plane to study abroad in the United States in 1998. I never imagined that it would be my last time to see my dad, Cheng told The Epoch Times.

A year after he left China, the CCP began its crackdown on Falun Dafa adherents, arresting, detaining, torturing, and even harvesting their organs for sale to those who didnt want to wait for a donated organ in their country.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, prisoners of conscience, mostly Falun Dafa practitioners are examined for organ compatibility and their organs systematically removed to supply transplants for a booming organ transplantation industry.

Cheng says his father, a high school art teacher, was a quiet and patient man, who has greatly influenced how he raises his two daughters. He was a person whod do some example for you in a quiet way, Cheng said. When I was a little kid, we had a lot of books, traditional Chinese books, [and] my dad would always retell the stories in his way to let kids get interested and explore.

Chengs mother, Jingjiang Chen, always thinks of her husband. Many times when we talk, my mom or me, somehow we will mention my dad, Cheng says. Especially for my mom, sometimes, she tries to memorize something, show some examples, and she would always try to quote, thats what your dad said.

Jingjiang, a small-framed, thoughtful 72-year-old woman escaped China in 2009 to avoid further persecution several months after her husband passed away. She too practices Falun Dafa, which she claims relieved her of the chronic pain.

In China, Jingjiang was arrested five times, detained in forced labor camps, imprisoned, tortured, forced to attend brainwashing sessions, and had her blood forcibly drawn only because she refused to renounce her faith.

While in Thailand, she was given asylum and came to the United States in 2013, where she finally reunited with Cheng after 15 years of separation.

Cheng laughingly says, My mom always say, Youre just like your dad.'

He was a great dad for sure.
A day heavy with symbolism in the current atmosphere, the Juneteenth holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States

People participate in a march in Brooklyn for both Black Lives Matter and to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth on June 19, 2020 in New York City. (AFP)

Washington: Americans took to the streets of cities around the country on Friday to demand racial justice on a day heavy with symbolism -- the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Marches and rallies were being held in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington against a backdrop of weeks of protests fueled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.

In a stark illustration of the tensions roiling the nation, President Donald Trump issued a solemn White House statement commemorating Juneteenth, while also threatening protesters on Twitter ahead of his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Juneteenth marks the day -- June 19, 1865 -- when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves that they were free -- two months after the Civil War had ended and two-and-a-half years after president Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The date is generally celebrated with prayer services and family gatherings, but comes this year amid a national soul-searching over America's legacy of racial injustice.

The United States has been gripped by daily "Black Lives Matter" protests since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Several thousand demonstrators marched across New York's Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan on Friday, chanting the names of black men and women killed by police in recent years.

"This year the entire country has had a reckoning," said protester Tabatha Bernard, 38, voicing support for growing calls for Juneteenth to be declared a national holiday.

"It's up to us to keep this going until we have change."

Protesters in Atlanta, where a police officer was charged with murder this week for shooting a black man in the back, marched on the Georgia State Capitol.

More gathered in Washington outside the Lincoln Memorial and near the White House, while thousands marched in Chicago and danced at festive rallies in South Los Angeles.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has a solid lead over Trump in the latest polls, said Juneteenth reminded Americans "that our country is capable of the worst violence and injustice but it also has an incredible capacity to be reborn anew."

'More unity'

In Tulsa -- where Trump on Saturday is set to hold his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic began -- a Juneteenth celebration was attended by several thousand protesters.

"We've seen more unity and more blacks and whites together in the last three weeks than we've ever seen in a Trump rally," civil rights activist Al Sharpton told a press conference.

Trump had originally scheduled his Tulsa appearance for Juneteenth but was forced to change it amid a public outcry over his provocative choice of date and location.

The city's Greenwood district was the site of one of the country's worst racist massacres, in 1921, when as many as 300 black Americans were killed.

"We just want the world to know what happened here," said Greenwood store owner Tony Williams, labelling Trump's arrival "disrespectful."

Meanwhile, about a mile away, dozens of Trump followers have camped out for several nights ahead of the rally in order to get the best seats.

"This is a super important moment for all of us... we're out here supporting Trump," said Stephen Corley, 19.

'A much different scene!'

Trump, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November and has adopted a hardline "law and order" stance towards protestors, and First Lady Melania Trump issued a joint statement to mark Juneteenth.

"Juneteenth reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation," it said.

"This Juneteenth, we commit, as one Nation, to live true to our highest ideals and to build always toward a freer, stronger country that values the dignity and boundless potential of all Americans."

At the same time, Trump issued a blunt warning to counter-protesters headed to Tulsa.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis," he said. "It will be a much different scene!"

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum declared a curfew in the city amid fears of violence but Trump later announced it had been lifted for "our many supporters" attending the rally.

'National anguish'

Pressure has mounted in Congress for Juneteenth to be declared a national holiday and Virginia, home to the former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, is among the US states moving to make it an official holiday.

Several major US companies have announced they were making Juneteenth a paid holiday and Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX did so on Friday.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said Juneteenth was being marked "during a moment of extraordinary national anguish, as we grieve for the hundreds of Black Americans killed by racial injustice and police brutality."

"This Juneteenth must be a day of reflection that moves our nation to finally confront and combat its long and shameful history of systemic racial injustice targeted at communities of colour."
From guiding tiny, fumbling steps to fulfilling their kids every demand to lending a sense of security, fathers have always held a special place in childrens lives. This Fathers Day, Wakefit.co, Indias largest sleep and home solutions company, invites you to reminisce about the wonderful experiences shared with your dads in a campaign titled, Papa toh Papa hote hai.

The company launched its Fathers Day video as part of the campaign, sharing slices of life from the most intimate moments of fathers and their children. Fathers trying to put their infants to sleep but dozing off themselves, fathers trying to sneak a chocolate to their kids without the mom noticing are all the vivid imagery used in the heart-warming and humorous film. It endeavours to bring out the adorable side of the doting father. The video takes us through some of the most evocative moments, shot virtually, where real families were directed to record these memories right at their homes.

The video will be complemented by the launch of Wakefit.cos podcast series, which kicks off with popular mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik, who will share bedtime stories about princesses and their fathers. Stories such as princess and the pea will regale listeners and share how the fathers went out of their way to get nothing but the best for their princesses. The podcast will be available on Wakefit.cos YouTube and social media channels as well as on Spotify.

Most kids have fun, quirky, feel good memories with their fathers in their childhood. Remember those times when your Dads spoilt you silly with toys and treats? Or when he saved you from a sticky situation with your mom? Or when you won his appreciation for a task or exam well done? The campaign aims at reliving some of those invaluable memories and reminding us of the unconditional love and affection which drives fathers to leave no stone unturned for their kids happiness.

While the pandemic has led us through bleak gloomy months of stress and sleepless nights, it has also brought us closer to our families and friends. At Wakefit.co, we have always believed that empathy and togetherness paired with immunity-boosting routines of sleep and exercise will be instrumental in maintaining overall well-being. With our Fathers Day campaign, we aim to evoke nostalgia and affection among kids of all ages, for one of the most important people in their lives. said, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-Founder and Director of Wakefit.co.

The love and happiness shared with people close to us allows us to have physical and emotional well-being and our occasion-based campaigns are an attempt to acknowledge these intangible but truly monumental aspects of our life. he added.

In addition to the video and podcast, Wakefit.co will also launch a social media initiative as part of its campaign, where it will pay a tribute to both Fathers Day as well as International Yoga Day. The company will be putting up a series of yoga posts, renamed to include dad in it and will represent the poses that bring out characteristic features of strong, supportive dads. For instance, the Virabhadrasana, renamed as Virabhadadasana, depicts the warrior he inspires us to be; the Vriksasana, renamed as Vriksdadasana, represents his insistence of finding balance in life; the Padmasana, renamed

as Padmdadasana, is his way of teaching us to be grounded and humble in life.
A new study finds that online misinformation, known as fake news, lowers peoples trust in the mainstream media.

This holds true across all party lines, according to the study.

Led by researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the study defined fake news as fabricated information that looks like a news story, but lacks the editorial standards and practices of legitimate journalism.

In contrast to the negative relationship between fake news and a trust in media, the study alsofound that consuming fake news increased political trust, especially in Congress and the justice system.

Fake news consumption was associated with a 4 percent increase in overall political trust and an 8 percent increase for trust in Congress, according to the studys findings.

While the overall association between fake news and political trust was positive, there are differences among political parties, the researchers point out.

Strong liberals trusted the government less after reading or watching fake news, while moderates and conservatives trusted it more, the study found.

Strong liberals exposed to right-leaning misinformation may be most likely to reject its claims and mistrust the current Republican government, said lead author Dr. Katherine Ognyanova, an assistant professor of communication at Rutgers University-New Brunswicks School of Communication and Information. In contrast, moderate or conservative respondents may take that misinformation at face value and increase their confidence in the current political institutions.

Attitudes towards the media and the federal government affect how people find and evaluate information, who they believe, how they act during demanding circumstances, and how they participate in the political process, the researchers said.

Researchers add the findings emphasize the critical importance of technological, social, and regulatory efforts to curb the spread of fake news.

It has become clear that none of the stakeholders  audience members, technological companies, media, fact-checking organizations, or regulators  can tackle this problem on their own, said Ognyanova. Platforms should work hand in hand with media and users to implement solutions that increase the social costs of spreading false stories. Regulators can help increase the transparency that is required in the process.

For the study, the researchers collected data from 3,000 Americans who participated in two survey waves in October and November of 2018, shortly before and after the U.S. midterm elections.

The researchers also used new methodology that involved having people install a browser add-on that tracks what they read on the Internet between the surveys. About 8 percent (227) of the respondents agreed to install the browser. That browsing history was used to evaluate their exposure to fake news sources and assess whether consuming misinformation was linked to changes in trust, the researchers explained.

The time period we collected the digital data was characterized by considerable public attention to political news and events in the United States, said Ognyanova. On Nov. 6, 2018, many states had their first major election since Donald Trump was voted into office. In the weeks following the election, both the public and the media were focused on the results and their implications for American political life. The increased attention to political events at that time would likely strengthen the effects of exposure to mainstream and fake news content.

The study, published in Misinformation Review, was co-authored by Drs. David Lazer and Christo Wilson, and doctoral student Ronald E. Roberston, all of Northeastern University in Boston.

Source: Rutgers University
160 foreign experts test covid-negative in Quang Ngai

160 foreign experts who arrived to work in Quang Ngai Province have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 after the quarantine period.







Hotel staff take lessons about preventive measures





On June 19, Pham Minh Duc, deputy head of Quang Ngai Department of Health said they had been working with Binh Son Oil Refinery Company and Hoa Phat Steel Company to quarantine and test their foreign experts.



"160 experts arrived in Vietnam to work at Binh Son Company with the remainder working at Hoa Phat Steel Company. They were already quarantined for 12-16 days and their first tests were negative. 15 other experts tested negative twice," Duc said.



On June 20, Quang Ngai will continue to receive 47 Malaysian experts who come to work at Binh Son Company. They are the first out of 1,000 experts that will come to work in Quang Ngai from May to August. 350 of them will go to work at Binh Son Company and 711 work at Hoa Phat Steel Company.



The experts are quarantined at Harmonia Hoa Phat Hotel, the auxiliary area and a local dormitory. They will be tested twice during this time. Any positive case will be treated at Binh Son District Medical Centre 2.
A man charged with the murder of an unarmed policeman that shocked New Zealand made a brief court appearance in Auckland on Saturday. Constable Matthew Hunt, 28, was gunned down during a routine traffic stop on Friday and the killing has stunned the normally peaceful country where police do not routinely carry firearms. He is the 23rd officer to be shot dead in the line of duty in New Zealand since 1890, with the last fatal shooting more than 10 years ago. All details surrounding the identity of the 24-year-old arrested man were suppressed. He spoke briefly to confirm his name but otherwise remained silent and did not enter a plea during the brief hearing in which he was remanded in custody to reappear early next month. The man appeared via video link from another part of the courthouse due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. A 30-year-old woman has also been taken into custody and will appear in court on Monday. Police said she was wanted as an accessory after the fact to the murder and was arrested without incident on Saturday afternoon. Hunt, who joined the police three years ago and only recently transferred to the traffic enforcement division, was approaching a crashed car when the gunman opened fire. Another officer was wounded and a bystander seriously injured when the attacker drove off in another vehicle. Crown prosecutor David Johnstone told the court the case was of high public interest and sought "somewhat extensive suppression orders" -- including the names of the accused, the injured police officer and the member of the public injured in the incident. He said the suppression was to "protect the integrity of the investigation", and the police had a "significant amount of work to do" on the inquiry.
I think a lot of people across the country are getting inspired to know that even if you come from the poorest Zip code in one of the poorest states  and, you know, Im not blind to the fact that Im a young black man running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky that has never elected someone that looks like me to federal office  that even me, even us, even regular folks, can stand up and lead, and I think thats the powerful part about all this, Booker said.
Petoskey High School band directors, assistant principal remain on administrative leave

Superintendent Chris Parker addressed the situation regarding three band instructors and an assistant principal who are all currently on paid leave during Thursday's board of education meeting.
A popular Chinese social media app, WeChat, has removed updates by the Embassy of India (EoI) on the current border conflict including Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement on the clash that left 20 Indian Army soldiers dead.

The reasons given for the removal of the posts include divulging state secrets and endangering national security.

The updates published on WeChat, a popular social media app, included Modis remarks on the India-China border situation, the phone call between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers held on Thursday and a statement by the external affairs ministrys (MEA) spokesperson.

A day earlier, the EoI had to issue a clarification on its Chinese Twitter-like Weibo account after the same statement by the MEA spokesperson was deleted.

Embassy officials had to then clarify to its readers that the post wasnt removed by them, and re-published a screen-shot of the statement in Chinese.

While the statements put on WeChat were in English, the EoIs Weibo account was carrying a Chinese version of the Indian ministrys version of the events at the border in eastern Ladakh.

The sudden removal of the Indian governments posts from its official accounts on Chinese social media comes in the backdrop of the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakhs Galwan Valley region earlier this week.

While 20 Indian Army soldiers died, the Chinese government has so far not revealed the casualties suffered by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) though official Chinese media have admitted that there were casualties on both sides.

Followers of the EoIs official account on WeChat first noticed the discrepancy on Saturday morning.

On clicking two of the statements on WeChat, the message that pops-up says the posts were deleted by the author.

It was learnt that the EoI did not remove any of the posts.

For the third post on WeChat, the MEA spokespersons statement, the message says: Unable to view this content because it violates regulations.

It then gets serious because of the nature of the regulations the statement is said to have violated  endangering national security.

The message continues: This content was reported and confirmed by the platform of the following: before it says in Mandarin: Suspected of violating relevant laws, regulations and policies.

As it then turns out, according to WeChat, the spokespersons statement was removed because it carried contents prohibited by laws and regulations of the state.

The long list of regulations include: endangers national security, divulges state secrets, subverts state power, or undermines national unity, inciting hatred, disseminating false information, inciting illegal assembly, demonstration or gathering of people to disturb public order.

Prime Minister Modi also has a Weibo account, which was opened when he came to China in May, 2015.

The Hindustan Times has reached out to WeChat for a comment on its decision to take down the EoI official posts.

WeChat is among the most popular social media apps in China, and claims to have more than 1 billion users.
Amid already tense relations between North and South Korea, Pyongyang is now planning to send similar propaganda leaflets across the border that were previously sent by activists in Seoul. In the latest development by North Korea to retaliate over South sending anti-Pyongyang messages in balloons or leaflets, the local media reported that angered people in North Korea are actively pushing forward the preparations required for the launch of leaflets in a large-scale manner.

While Seoul recently said that there we no suspicious activity from across the border, the North Korean media reported that each action should be addressed with proper reaction. Reflecting Pyongyangs stance, the media reports stated that only when one experiences it oneself, one can feel how offending it is. North Korea has blamed the defectors for the act that has deteriorated the relationship between both the countries. Just earlier this week, Pyongyang had destroyed an empty inter-Korean liaison office in its territory.

Read - South Korea Says No Suspicious Activities By North Korea Yet

Read - South Korea's Nuclear Envoy To Hold Talks With US Amid Rising Tensions With North Korea

S Korea severely criticised by Human Rights Watch

Just last week, Human Rights Watch had lashed out on South Korean President Moon Jae-in for announcing press charges on the two activist groups that directed anti-North Korea leaflets near the de-militarised zone. Deputy Asia Director of HRW Phil Robertson said on June 11 that instead of proposing a blanket ban on sending the messages in balloons, Moon should publicly urge North Korea to respect freedom of expression and not censor what North Koreans should see. He further added that revoking of licenses of the groups is a blatant violation of freedom of association that cannot be justified with vague appeals to border security and relations with the North.

Sharing as a note for Moon, Robertson said, "Desperation is never a good negotiating tactic. South Korea should uphold commitment to protect human rights on both sides of 38th parallel, stop violating freedom of association of NGOs, support UN efforts for accountability on rights in the DPRK."

Read - Defectors To Send More Packages To North Korea Amid Rising Tensions With South

Read - North Korea Statement Attacks South Korea President
Tomballs new police chief will step in at the end of June, at a tumultuous time when many are calling for police reform.

Jeffrey Bert, who was hired following city council approval at the beginning of the month, has more than 20 years of experience with the Los Angeles Police Department, leaving the department as a commander with their risk management legal affairs group. But his background isnt what many would expect, having studied literature in college and earning a masters degree in Dramatic Literature from Kings College in London, England.

JOBS: PPE company planning 300 jobs in Tomball cant execute lease on 100K square-foot facility

As I told my own kids, study what you want to study and do what you want to do and youll find your path, Bert said. It was ironic trying to get on the LAPD 25 years ago and the first question the sergeant asked me was why would an MA in English want to be a cop?

Bert said he had wanted to be a police officer since he was a child and said some of the authors he read and studied have been some of his greatest influences as a member of law enforcement.

Winston Churchill, as a young member of parliament, said the treatment of crime and criminals is the most unfailing task of the civilization of any nation, and that has stuck with me as a young sergeant and somebody having to talk to officers, Bert said. When we put handcuffs on somebody you immediately stop, theres no force.

When it comes to policing, Bert said he thought both community policing and broken windows theory were necessary. Broken windows theory refers to the theory that visible signs of crime can encourage further crime, and suggests police target minor crimes such as vandalism and public drinking to create a safer atmosphere.

I think theres been a lot of criticism, saying broken windows theory doesnt reduce crime and I would challenge that, Bert said. I would say that broken windows, like community policing, is not just about reducing crime, its about reducing fear of crime and giving people confidence in policing.

Bert said he thinks the broken windows theory is an extremely effective and necessary strategy to make people safe in their neighborhoods, but also said he thinks community policing is important. That is, policing that connects police officers to the community they serve and building the relationship between the two.

We make peace, but our job really, and today more than ever, is to seek peace, Bert said. In Tomball, weve got amazing youth programs, weve got a citizens police academy  those are all efforts to draw in people who may not have an understanding of what we do but also work in partnership with them to make them fully understand we are here to serve you.

One of the more popular calls people are making at protests today is to defund local police departments. Bert said he thought the term was politically charged and not very well-defined, and that it seems like a kneejerk reaction.

If we mean we can be more efficient and work in partnerships, Im all for that, he said. If that means a city council and as a family, we work to identify clinicians who can team up with us, that to me is the partnerships we see in community policing. I would love to have that conversation.

Other calls have been made, including an executive order banning chokeholds by police and legislation that would create a national police misconduct registry.

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I would say that we need to continually evaluate with science and statistics of things like chokeholds, Bert said. I dont think theres a department in the country that teaches standing on somebodys neck with their foot as a chokehold.

Bert said he thinks carotid restraint techniques can safely deescalate a situation when applied appropriately.

Nobody hates a bad cop or a dirty cop more than a good cop and if we have people in our ranks who wear the uniform that should not be a police officer in Harris County or Tomball or the county of Los Angeles, I dont mind the public knowing that, Bert said. I am supportive of making sure we hire and retain the most professional police officers there are because thats what Americans deserve.

Bert said he also stressed that due process is critical for police officers accused of misconduct.

There have been scenes of police using force against protesters at rallies across the nation, and Bert himself has investigated a rally like these in the past. MacArthur Park rallies were held in Los Angeles in 2007, where LAPD officers used rubber bullets and batons against protesters, which courts and the LAPD themselves later determined to be excessive. Bert was tasked with writing the internal police report on the incident.

The incident itself was clearly a significant mess-up by law enforcement leaders and some rank-and-file, he said.

Bert himself wasnt at that rally the day it happened, but said he was working as an undercover vice cop at a rally at another location looking for bad actors among the demonstrators.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Hong Kong Protest Leaders to Run in September's General Election

2020-06-19 -- Former 2014 protest leader Joshua Wong announced he will run in forthcoming elections for Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo), in spite of concerns that he could be targeted for political reprisals by Beijing.

Wong announced he would run in primary elections run by pan-democratic parties in the city, which are hoping to sweep the board in LegCo in forthcoming elections this September.

The election comes as the ruling Chinese Communist Party prepares to impose a draconian subversion and sedition law on the city, bypassing LegCo, that will see China's feared state security police allowed to operate in the city, in spite of promises Hong Kong would retain its traditional freedoms and status as a separate jurisdiction.

Wong said he hopes to win "the endorsement of the people of Hong Kong" for his approach to the protest movement, which has been to use his international profile to build overseas alliances and support for the pro-democracy movement.

"Since the passing of the U.S. Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act [last November], we have seen increased support from international allies and successfully forced the government to withdraw [legal changes allowing extradition to mainland China]," Wong said.

"This is the outcome of our local resistance [to China] and highlights the importance of our international connections," said Wong, who has already been publicly denounced by Chinese officials for being a "black hand" corrupting the youth of Hong Kong.

The draft national security law currently being discussed by the National People's Congress (NPC) standing committee in Beijing criminalizes "acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security."

State media have said that the law targets activities and actions that currently occur in Hong Kong, and that must be "prevented, stopped and punished." Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly claimed that front-line protesters have engaged in "terrorism" and have been incited to do so by "foreign forces."

Law widely criticized

The law has been widely criticized by foreign governments and rights organizations as being in breach of China's obligations under the 1984 treaty governing the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, and as paving the way for further political prosecutions of peaceful critics of the government, democracy campaigners, and rights activists.

Wong said he hopes that a landslide victory in LegCo elections could make it clearer to Beijing and the rest of the world just how much Hong Kong's voters oppose the national security law and support the move to boost overseas support for the protest movement.

"The more people vote for candidates active in the international campaign, the more opposition Beijing will face in its campaign to wipe out our international support," Wong said.

"The Hong Kong people's opposition to the national security law and support for our international and online campaign and links with our allies, will be quantified at the ballot box," Wong said.

Pan-democrats are aiming to win more than 35 of LegCo's 70 seats in the Sept. 6 general election. Primaries for the pro-democracy camp will take place on July 11 and 12.

Nathan Law, who co-founded the political campaign group Demosisto with Wong and Agnes Chow in the wake of the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement, also said he would run in the primaries.

"The fact that I am doing this doesn't mean I'm not afraid," Law said, announcing his candidacy on Friday. "Nobody would be so naive as to think that Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, and Demosisto aren't on the list [of targets under the national security law]."

"But it's important to make sure that if they do go after us and try to suppress us in future, that it's going to cost them more [politically] to do that, because the rest of the world will notice," Law said.

Developments closely watched

United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said her office is closely following events in Hong Kong.

She said the implementation of the law, regardless of its final wording, "must fully comply with China's human rights obligations and respect the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong."

The UN Human Rights Office and independent UN human rights experts have previously said that a similar law adopted in mainland China doesn't comply with international human rights standards.

"Such laws can never be used to criminalize conduct and expression that is protected under international human rights law," Bachelet said in a statement on the agency's website.

Reported by Lau Siu-fung for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright  1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content June not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Fiery clashes convulsed Yemens remote Socotra archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Friday as an armed unit funded by the United Arab Emirates battled government security forces for control of the islands capital, the Yemeni government and witnesses said.

The UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council seized several state buildings, including the governors headquarters, as it pushed into the provincial capital of Hadebo, according to security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.

The Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, accused the separatist group of bombing civilian targets in a brutal attack on the scenic island, normally far removed from the troubles of war-torn Yemen. Witnesses reported hearing explosions and seeing shells crash into the city center, although there were no immediate reports of casualties.

This armed attack and brutal assault on citizens represents the aggressive and reckless response of the so-called transitional council, the government of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said in a statement.

The violence in Socotra erupted months after the separatists declared self-rule in Yemen's south and seized control of the city of Aden, a bid that sparked fears of fresh chaos in a country already embroiled in five years of conflict.

More broadly, the standoff between the Emirati-funded separatists and Hadis Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government has threatened to unravel the partnership between the powerful regional allies, which are trying to oust the Iran-backed Houthi rebels from the countrys capital, Sanaa, and much of the north.

As tensions between the separatists and government security units escalated in Socotra in recent weeks, Saudi forces worked as intermediaries to restore calm to the island, which is home to many rare plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. But on Friday, military officials in Socotra said, Saudi forces let the separatists go ahead with their incursion, stirring speculation about a new attempt at a deal between the Saudis and Emiriatis after months of infighting.

We are seeing some sort of compromise between the Saudis and Emiratis that works against the local authorities, said Ahmed Nagi, a nonresident Yemen expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

Nagi said the cooperation could be a sign pointing to the governments imminent dissolution. Hadis government is weaker than ever before ... and the Saudis are losing faith, questioning why they are still investing so heavily in it, he said.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, beset with their own problems, have recently sought to inch away from their costly war with the Houthi rebels, which has killed over 112,000 people since 2015. In April, Saudi Arabia declared a unilateral cease-fire, which was swiftly dismissed by the Houthis. Last summer, the UAE announced it was ending its role in the conflict, although it continues to wield influence through its proxies, such as the separatist group.

The secessionist council, which is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias propped up by the UAE since 2015, hopes to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed in 1967-1990.
Sophie Wessex has made an impassioned speech via video link at a United Nations (UN) event to highlight that sexual violence in the home or during conflicts is likely to have 'risen substantially' since lockdown began.

Speaking in an address to a UN forum on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Sophie called on the world to listen to the needs of survivors.

In her address, the 55-year-old royal said: 'Since the pandemic began, the number of cases of sexual violence across conflict settings and in domestic settings are very likely to have risen substantially.

Addressing the UN via video link, the 55-year-old royal said sexual violence in domestic settings and conflict zones were likely to have 'risen substantially' since lockdown began

The Countess, pictured at the Childline and NSPCC headquarters in London earlier this week, told the UN 'I hope I may speak for all Survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence when I say: we must listen to the needs and wishes of all Survivors and we must act accordingly.'

'Women and girls once again are being affected disproportionately, with increased difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, higher numbers of maternal deaths and teenage pregnancies, closures of domestic violence shelters, closure of schools, reduction in aid work and funds for charities, delays in relief packages.'

Sophie told the virtual UN event for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: 'Covid-19 has amplified suffering with the restrictions imposed on survivors.'

On International Women's Day last year, the countess announced her commitment to champion the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the UK's Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI).

Sophie went on to speak at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York, and attended a Foreign Office conference on PSVI with survivors, government and NGO representatives.

SOPHIE WESSEX'S ADDRESS TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN FULL 'Despite the world having shrunk through the power of digital platforms like this one, we know that there are an extraordinary number of people who are more and more disconnected and vulnerable and that COVID-19 has compounded the issue. Since the pandemic began the number of cases of sexual violence across conflict settings and in domestic settings are very likely to have risen substantially. Women and girls once again are being affected disproportionately, with increased difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, higher numbers of maternal deaths and teenage pregnancies, closures of domestic violence shelters, closure of schools, reduction in aid work and funds for charities, delays in relief packages. COVID19 has amplified suffering with the restrictions imposed on Survivors. Time is against the victims and therefore it is imperative that National Action Plans are implemented or where possible even accelerated. But importantly in the course of our action we must ensure all responses are best geared to them. The royal told the delegates attending the virtual event that women and girls 'once again are being affected disproportionately' by sexual violence My message therefore today is simple, and I hope I may speak for all Survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence when I say: we must listen to the needs and wishes of all Survivors and we must act accordingly. Humanitarian Programmes and funding structures must be able to nimbly adapt in line with the thoughts and needs of all survivors amid this pandemic. I believe Civil Society is central to enabling real and meaningful global action. Local communities are able to share local knowledge and understanding. Let local realities guide global responses. So while we mark today as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict and acknowledge the consequences of COVID-19, let us all respond by listening to the needs of Survivors and with the urgency that they deserve. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you all today.' Advertisement

In her virtual address to the UN, the countess went on to say: 'Time is against the victims and therefore it is imperative that national action plans are implemented or where possible even accelerated.

But importantly in the course of our action, we must ensure all responses are best geared to them.

'My message therefore today is simple, and I hope I may speak for all survivors of conflict-related sexual violence when I say: we must listen to the needs and wishes of all survivors and we must act accordingly.'

The Countess of Wessex, 55, was pictured listening to staff as she met with the team at the Childline and NSPCC headquarters in London earlier this week

Earlier this week Sophie joined a counselling shift at a call centre offering support for vulnerable children as she continued her volunteering amid the pandemic.

She was pictured chatting to staff as she met with the team at the Childline and NSPCC headquarters in London, which is a confidential service for under-19s to seek help and support.

Sophie, who has been principal patron of the NSPCC since taking over from the Queen in 2016, appeared eager to get stuck in, and was seen typing at a desk in the office before thanking volunteers for their work during the lockdown.
Like many contemporary social movements#metoo, Black Lives Matter, the Womens Marchthe environmental lobby has tended to create an atmosphere of unanimity. In its struggle to win public and elite opinion, it has frequently evoked science as something settled and immutable, warning that those who dissent are either self-serving or seriously deranged.

Yet in recent months, there has been growing criticism about the current green orthodoxy, including from people long associated with environmental causes. This has been most widely seen in the strange case of the Michael Mooreproduced Planet of Humans, which exposes the rapacious profit-seeking and gratuitous environmental damage caused by the renewable energy industry.

Critics have attempted to get Moores film de-platformed, and the green establishment has pressured distributors not to take the film. Such censorious behavior is increasingly common among the greens. Some veteran climate scientistssuch as Roger Pielke and Judith Curry, Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore, and former members of the UN International Panel on Climate Changehave been demonized and marginalized for deviating from what Curry has described as an overly monolithic approach to the issue of climate change. Some political leaders even seem ready to take dissenters to court in an effort to ban their ideas by legal means. Not only energy companies but think tanks and dissident scientists have been targeted for criminal prosecution. These tactics are all too reminiscent of the medieval Inquisition.

The Green War on the Working Class

Moores apostasy may be better known but lacks the breadth of Michael Shellenbergers new book, Apocalypse Never. A green zealot from his high school years, the Berkeley-based Shellenberger has worked on protecting habitats for endangered species and has battled climate change. His book, like Moores movie, exposes the hypocrisy of the green elite but, importantly, offers a more hopeful approach than Moores Malthusian worldview.

Like Moore, Shellenberger has become utterly disillusioned with the self-serving and often counterproductive policies pushed by the green lobby. He demonstrates how green policies backed by oligarch-funded nonprofits have often worked against the economic interests of people in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, often leaving them with little recourse but to pillage their own natural environments.

Shellenberger blasts green nonprofits for blocking new energy developmentdams, gas plants, pipelinesin these countries. Such actions may seem noble enough to the rich of the West, but it slows the manufacturing growth that could allow these countries to become rich enough to accommodate such things as habitat preservation. People working in textile or garment plants need not rely on the jungle for their survival, reducing the need to consume its bounty.

Rainforests in the Amazon and elsewhere in the world can only be saved if the need for economic development is accepted, respected, and embraced, Shellenberger states. By opposing many forms of economic development in the Amazon, particularly the most productive forms, many environmental NGOs, European governments, and philanthropies have made the situation worse.

Green plans to raise energy prices, eliminate cars, and ban fossil fuel development also have stirred fierce opposition from the working class, whether in pro-Trump middle America, or among Frances gilets jaune. But its not just the proverbial angry white men. In California, some 200 local civil rights leaders have filed lawsuits against the states regulators, arguing that the states climate policies are essentially discriminatory toward poor people and minorities.

Challenging Religious Orthodoxy

Even before Black Lives Matter, mainstream American journalism was being transformed into an extended-stay resort for the woke. Shellenberger calls out stealth environmental activists working as journalists who report the most drastic environmental projections while ignoring any contrary perspectives. Much of what people are being told about the environment, including the climate, is wrong, and we desperately need to get it right, he insists, suggesting that he is fed up with the exaggeration, alarmism, and extremism that are the enemy of a positive, humanistic, and rational environmentalism.

Shellenberger places his hopes on competition from outside traditional news media institutions, having seen the gullibility of most reporters. For decades, they have embraced notions, first seen in Paul Ehrlichs 1968 book, The Population Bomb, that humanity would breed ourselves to extinction if birthrates were not severely curtailed. Reporters also widely hailed the Club of Rome report in 1972, which took a similar apocalyptic approach, predicting massive shortages of natural resources unless there was a shift to lower birthrates, slower economic growth, less material consumption, and, ultimately, less social mobility.

Many of these apocalyptic predictions, like those in the Middle Ages, proved exaggerated or even plain wrong. Contrary to environmentalist dogma from the 1970s, natural resources, including energy and food, did not run out but became more available than anyone expected. So why the constant hyping and hysteria? Because what Shellenberger calls the apocalyptic environmental tradition demands it.

In a way that perhaps only someone bitten by the green bug could understand, Shellenberger labels environmentalism as the dominant secular religion of the educated, upper-middle-class elite in most developed and many developing nations. This applies, he reports, not only to seemingly deranged cults like Britains Extinction Rebellion but also to august environmental groups like the Sierra Club or Friends of the Earth. Christianity offered guidance for how one should live and conduct ones personal affairs in a manner pleasing to God, but the green movement seeks to steer people toward a life in better harmony with nature.

Like medieval Catholicism, the green faith foresees impending doom caused by human activity; human sin was the primary reason for the worlds problems in medieval times, and has been rediscovered by environmentalists. Apocalyptic environmentalism gives people a purpose: to save the world from climate change, or some other environmental disaster, Shellenberger writes. It provides people with a story that casts them as heroes.

Needed: A New Human-Centered Approach to the Environment

Perhaps what is most revolutionary about Shellenbergers book is his call for a new, more human-centered, environmentalism. In contrast to the green movements jihad against material progress, he suggests that only by making people more affluent will they be able to afford the environmental redress that the planet, in fact, needs.

Rather than battle industrialism, greens need to appreciate what technological progress has done for the environment. The development of plastics helped reduce demand for ivory, hawksbill turtles, whale oil, and the despoiling of old forests. Dealing pragmatically, as opposed to religiously, with environmental concerns, means accepting the reality that some forms of efficient energy production, such as natural gas or nuclear, need to be part of a cleaner future. It is only by embracing the artificial that we can save whats natural, he states.

The key to environmental success lies in affluence. Richer countries are more resilient, he says, quoting MIT climate scientist Kerry Emanuel, so let us focus on making people richer and more resilient. Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and particularly Scandinavia become cleaner, in large part, because they can afford to do so and also must respond to popular pressures. Poor autocratic and officially socialist states, like those of the former Soviet bloc and China, did not face the same pressures for a cleaner environment.

In the future, to succeed, environmental policy has to consider human concerns, particularly those of the working and middle classes. It needs not only to protect the natural environment but also to achieve the goal of universal prosperity. Thus Shellenberger speaks of a positive, humanistic, and rational environmentalism. Like any movement in a still-democratic society, he suggests, environmentalists can win over the population not by terrorizing them but by showing that we can protect nature without stomping out all natural human aspirations.

Joel Kotkin is the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute. His new book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism, is now out from Encounter. You can follow him on Twitter @joelkotkin.
A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Faisal Farooq, principal of Rajdhani Public School, who was earlier charged with hatching a conspiracy to precipitate and aggravate riots in and around his school. The court observed that the CCTV footage did not show Farooqs presence at the place where the riots had broken out.

Duty Judge Vinod Yadav said that the statement of one of the witnesses, Roop Singh, on March 8 had claimed that he had seen Farooq on the spot . He had also claimed to have heard Farooq asking the school guard to permit some people inside the school.

However, later in his statement recorded before the magistrate on March 11, he did not say a word about having seen the accused at the scene or having heard him saying anything to the school guard.

The court, while granting bail, said that to cover up the deficiency in statement of the witness, the Investigating Officer (IO) recorded a supplementary statement of Singh claiming that he had got scared before magistrate which is why he could not state the correct facts. The IO had moved an application before the court for getting this new fact added to his statement. However, it was dismissed by the judge, the court noted in its order.

It is clearly apparent that there are contradictions in the various statements of this witness about applicant, the court said. It also noted that Farooq kept calling the police to report the damage to his school (Rajdhani Public School) from February 24, but FIR in his case was not recorded and it was ultimately recorded on March 5.

The court also said that another witness, Geeta, who was Roop Singhs wife, also did not say a word about having seen the accused on the spot on the date of the incident. It said that another witness Manoj, who was admittedly the guard at the Rajdhani school, has merely stated that Farooq had come to the main gate and had spoken to some people outside.

From the aforesaid statements, it is prima-facie not established that the applicant was present at the spot at the time of incident. It is an admitted position that several CCTV cameras were lying installed at Rajdhani Public School at various places, the footages whereof have been thoroughly scrutinized by the Investigating Agency but the presence of the applicant therein is not there. If the applicant (Farooq) was not present at the scene of occurrence then his involvement in the offences cannot be made out, the judge in his order.

The court also noted that except bald allegation, there is no material to substantiate that Farooq had spoken to several people related to communal riots.

When the IO was confronted in this regard then he stated that further investigation on the aspect of terror funding is under way....., the court said.

The court, while stating that the accused had made a good case for bail, also noted, It is made clear that nothing in this order shall be construed an expression on the merits of evidence to be adduced in the matter.

The police also charge sheeted 18 people in connection with the riots that broke out at Rajdhani Public School, while naming its principal, Farooq ,for hatching a conspiracy to precipitate and aggravate riots, in and around the school. According to the police, it was on Farooqs directions that the adjacent and rival convent school, two parking lots run by the other party and the building of one Anil Sweets were systematically destroyed by the mob.

Police said in the charge sheet that the call detail analysis of Farooqs phone suggested that the he had links with prominent members of Popular Front of India, Pinjra Tod group, Jamia Coordination Committee, Hazrat Nizamuddin Markaz and some other fundamental muslim clerics, including Deoband, which indicated the depth of the conspiracy.

Police in a charge sheet have said that the rioters had camped inside and fired bullets from the terrace of Rajdhani School. They also threw petrol bombs, acid, bricks, stones and other missiles using an improvised large iron catapult, specially installed for the purpose, from the terrace of the school.

HT contacted police crime branch chief Praveer Ranjan and police spokesperson Mandeep Randhawa but despite many calls and text message, there was no response.

Confirming the order, Farooqs lawyer Gaurav Kochar said he had contended that there was no material on record about the physical presence of the applicant at the spot at the time of riots.

He also told the court that there was a delay of 11 days in the registration of FIR in the matter which was unexplained and pointed towards concoction of the false implication in the matter.

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Actor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja on Saturday urged people to join the initiative of helping Mumbai Police by donating for masks for them. The Delhi 6 actor took to Twitter to share a poster that urged people to donate for the cops.

Hi guys! a team of people have come up with and excellent initiative of collecting funds to give @mumbaipolice the most effective masks (n-95) at the best available price, she tweeted along with the poster. By donating Rs 300 you can protect an officer for 3 months! Pls contribute, her tweet further read.

Hi guys! a team of people have come up with and excellent intitiative of collecting funds to give @mumbaipolice the most effective masks(n-95) at the best available price. By donating Rs 300 you can protect an officer for 3 months! Pls contribute. https://t.co/sgYjnhRqzs pic.twitter.com/bea9yCED78  Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) June 20, 2020

Sonam is one of the many celebrities who have been spreading awareness about coronavirus and urging people to help frontline workers.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was troubled while shooting Kedarnath, felt all the love was going to Sara Ali Khan, says Abhishek Kapoor

Through the entire lockdown period, Sonam was at her in-laws place in Delhi and later in Mumbai. With governments granting limited permission to resume work, looks like Sonam is keen to get back to the sets. On Wednesday, she shared a still from her film Khoobsurat and wrote: Cant wait to be rehearsing lines, acting and being on set again.. miss it so damn much. This still is from khoobsurat . Ive never felt as joyful playing a character. Mili I love you. @ghoshshashanka @rheakapoor @juhic3 @fawadkhan81 @disneyfilmsindia.

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In the days leading up to the most violent border clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest

In the days leading up to the most violent border clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest.

The fighting was triggered by a row over two Chinese tents and observation towers that India said had been built on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian government sources in New Delhi and on the Indian side of the border in the Ladakh region said.

The clash was the most serious since 1967. Since early May, soldiers have faced off on the border where India says Chinese troops had intruded and set up temporary structures. The confrontation turned into a deadly brawl on Monday.

China had sought to erect a structure in the Galwan Valley on Indias side of the LAC even after military officials had reached an agreement on 6 June to de-escalate, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told Chinas senior diplomat, Wang Yi, in a phone call on Wednesday, the Indian Foreign Ministry said. It was not immediately clear to what structure he was referring.

The problem arose when an Indian patrol visited the area near a ridge to verify a Chinese assertion that its troops had moved back from the LAC, the two government sources aware of the military situation said.

The Chinese troops had thinned out and left behind the two tents and small observation posts. The Indian party demolished the towers and burnt the tents, the sources said.

The satellite image (above) shows possible debris from the observation posts on Tuesday morning on a ridge on Indias side of the LAC. There was no such structure in the image taken a week earlier.

But the Indian response prompted a backlash. A large group of Chinese soldiers arrived and confronted the Indian troops, led by Colonel Santosh Babu. They were lightly armed in line with the rules of engagement at the LAC, one of the sources said.

The path to confrontation

The images, shot on Tuesday, a day after soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the freezing Galwan Valley, show an increase in activity from a week earlier.

The satellite pictures, taken by Earth-imaging company Planet Labs and obtained by Reuters, show signs of altering the landscape of the valley through widening tracks, moving earth and making river crossings, one expert said.

The images shows machinery along the bald mountains and in the Galwan River.

Looking at it in Planet, it looks like China is constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river, Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at Californias Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

There are a ton of vehicles on both sides (of the LAC) - although there appear to be vastly more on the Chinese side. I count 30-40 Indian vehicles and well over 100 vehicles on the Chinese side.

Reuters counted and marked all of the structures, vehicles and equipment that were visible in the image from 16 June.

The crop below shows the build-up of trucks along the banks of the river further away from the LAC. However, it also looks like some tents have been removed since the 9 June image.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was unaware of the specifics on the ground but reiterated that the Indian army had crossed into Chinas territory in several places in recent days and that they should withdraw.

The 4,056-km (2,520-mile) border between India and China runs through glaciers, snow deserts and rivers in the west to thickly forested mountains in the east.

The Galwan Valley is an arid, inhospitable area, where some soldiers are deployed on steep ridges. It is considered important because it leads to the Aksai Chin, a disputed plateau claimed by India but controlled by China.

India and China have not exchanged gunfire at the border since 1967, despite occasional flare-ups. Soldiers are under instructions to keep their rifles slung at their backs.

It was not clear what happened after the Chinese soldiers arrived , but the two sides soon clashed, with the Chinese using iron rods and batons with spikes, one of the sources said.

Colonel Babu was one of the 20 victims, they said. More Indian troops were rushed in and the confrontation turned into an hours-long brawl eventually involving up to 900 soldiers, the source said. Still no shots were fired on either side.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao rejected the Indian version of the events. The rights and wrongs of this incident are very clear. The responsibility does not lie with China.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York City could be headed for another downward spiral, when our status as a true world city will be challenged.

Weve been through these periods before, times when people thought New York was unlivable and ungovernable. Too unsafe and too expensive. A place where you couldnt raise a family, where the various tradeoffs we had to make in order to live in the city that never sleeps just werent worth it.

Coronavirus could be the thing that pushes us over that edge again.

Those who could afford to leave the city fled early in the pandemic, heading to upstate towns where COVID-19 didnt hit as hard, or to their summer homes in the Hamptons or the Poconos. Some of them may never come back.

You know who else may never return? Business owners and workers whove grown accustomed to working from home.

Business owners can see how much money they can save if they downsize or do away with physical offices. Add to that the hassles of ensuring that workplaces are set up for social distancing, as well as having to do regular temperature checks or other screenings of employees. Who needs the added headaches and expenses?

Meanwhile, some workers have discovered they actually like working from home, and they may be more productive when the elimination of commute times and the myriad time-wasting distractions of office life are factored in.

On top of that, how many people are going to want to crowd onto packed buses and trains in order to get to work, especially once flu season kicks in in a couple of months? The first person who coughs or sneezes is going to find themselves tossed to the side of the road.

Uncertainty is everywhere you look. How will the city and state fill multibillion-dollar budget gaps? Homeowners and business owners can already feel the tax target on their backs. Another incentive to leave the big, bad city behind.

And lets face it: Mayor Bill de Blasio had already been dropping in stature before the pandemic started. New Yorkers had wearied of his do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do style, his frequent trips out of town, his detachment from the day-to-day city grind, and the delusion of grandeur that led to his pathetic run for the presidency.

His act has only grown worse during coronavirus, with de Blasio constantly big-footed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on big decisions and this week fumbling over when the city will go into Phase 2 of re-opening.

The massive George Floyd protests weve seen here, some of which turned violent, have also rattled New Yorkers. Increasing calls to defund and curb the enforcement duties of the NYPD strike many as the worst way to maintain New Yorks status as the safest big city in America.

The slope we started down when we stopped enforcing quality-of-life crimes and started turning criminals back out onto the streets without bail is getting more slippery by the day.

And violent crime is indeed rearing its ugly head. Murders and shootings are up over the last month compared to last year, as are burglary and automobile grand larceny. Other crime categories are down, but its a spike that bears watching.

Theres an upside to all this. Rents are already dropping, and the more people and businesses leave, the lower rents will go. The city could become a little more affordable.

And, yes, there will always be people willing to take a risk. In every crisis there are opportunities. Remember how people said nobody would ever want to live or work in Lower Manhattan after 9/11? They couldnt have been more wrong.

We could be coming to that point again. But low will New York City have to sink before it bounces back again?
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Export of grain and legumes from Turkey to Uzbekistan grew by 19.9 percent from January through May 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, having made up $5.5 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend.

In May 2020, Turkeys export of grain and legumes to Uzbekistan spiked by 48.3 percent compared to the same month of 2019 and amounted to $1 million.

Turkeys export of grains and legumes to international markets from January through May 2020 increased by 0.1 percent compared to the same period of 2019, having made up $2.9 billion.

This amount accounted for 4.7 percent of the countrys total export for the reporting period.

In May this year, Turkey exported grains and legumes worth $500.2 million to world markets, which is 15.3 percent less compared to the same month of 2019 (5 percent of the country's total export).

During the last 12 months (from May 2019 through May 2020), Turkey exported grain and legumes in the amount of nearly $6.8 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
DARLINGTON, S.C.  A passenger in a pickup truck was killed Friday night in a two-vehicle collision in Darlington County.

The wreck happened at approximately 8 p.m. on South Center Road, between Darlington and Lamar.

The 2001 Chevy pickup truck was headed west on South Center Road. A 2019 Toyota SUV that was stopped at a stop sign pulled in front of the truck, which struck the SUV in the side, according to David Jones, a trooper with the S.C. highway Patrol.

The driver of the truck was wearing a seatbelt and was taken to a hospital with injuries.

The passenger was in the back seat and was not wearing a seatbelt, Jones said.

The driver of the SUV was wearing a seatbelt and was taken to a hospital with injuries, according to Jones.

The collision remains under investigation by the SCHP.
A worker administers a test to a passenger at a drive-through site to collect samples for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic testing in Leesburg, Virginia, May 20, 2020.

"People like to think in terms of light switches of on and off, risk or no risk, but the truth is it's a dimmer switch," said Dr. Greg Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "The more people you come into contact with, the higher the probability of coming in contact with someone who's infected."

Family members under the same roof or close acquaintances usually fit the bill, public health and infectious disease experts say. However, coming into contact with the coronavirus can be much more nuanced, especially as large gatherings have resumed in cities across the nation where people from different regions might assemble in close proximity, increasing the risk of transmission.

In terms of Covid-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a close contact as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting two days before the onset of symptoms until the time the patient is isolated. For asymptomatic patients, or those who don't show symptoms, it would be anyone in contact with them two days before a positive specimen was collected, the CDC advises.

One of the components of contact tracing programs public health experts deem critical to controlling the Covid-19 outbreak includes finding and testing close contacts of known positive cases.

Someone who attended a large gathering doesn't necessarily meet the general definition of a close contact, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, said during a press conference at the agency's Geneva headquarters on June 8.

However, there may be situations where public health officials, out of an abundance of caution, could advise people to either quarantine or get tested, he said.

"There are any number of actions that could be taken, but by the strict definition of what risk is in the context of Covid-19, the riskiest situation to be in is to be in close proximity to a case, particularly a symptomatic case of Covid-19," Ryan said.

There are a number of high-risk situations that could increase your likelihood of Covid-19 transmission, experts say. Attending a large gathering for a prolonged period of time where people may not be wearing face coverings and are in close proximity would be considered higher risk.

Indoor gatherings with less air circulation are also considered higher risk than outdoor, experts say.

Context also has to be considered when attending mass gatherings, such as the nationwide protests for the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, where people could be chanting while not wearing masks, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

Scientists know the coronavirus can spread through respiratory droplets that pass when an infected person coughs, sneezes or even breathes. The droplets of infected fluid can land on nearby surfaces like desks, tables or telephones and infect anyone who touches them.

"These are not just people sitting quietly outdoors listening to a Mozart concert. There is screaming, chanting, yelling. They're being sprayed with pepper spray and tear gas, all of which increase the transmission risk," Adalja said.

Adalja also said the 15 minute mark outlined by the CDC isn't necessarily a magic number and transmission can be possible in a shorter time frame, but the figure is typically used to determine where the most value would be derived during a contact tracing investigation, he said.

Where you live in the U.S. could also increase your risk as some states, like those in the West and South, report record-breaking daily new cases figures.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get tested if you attended an event where Covid-19 cases were increasing, especially if tests are easily accessible, said Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer and professor of medicine and infectious disease at the University of Michigan.

Malani added that testing people at gatherings could also help public health experts determine what local transmission is like in the area. You should absolutely be tested if you went somewhere and begin developing common symptoms, like a cough, fever or shortness or breath, she said.
A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the "Loonie", is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors worried about rising coronavirus cases and domestic data showed a record plunge in wholesale trade, but the currency stuck to its recent trading range.

The Canadian dollar <CAD=> was trading 0.3% lower at 1.3608 to the greenback, or 73.49 U.S. cents, but was among the better-performing G10 currencies.

The loonie "hasn't faded as much as commodity cousins AUD and NZD," said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York. "Flows have been light and this is just a listless in-range move."

The currency, which on Monday hit a two-week low at 1.3685, traded in a range of 1.3521 to 1.3616.

Canadian wholesale trade fell 21.6% in April from March, weighed by shutdowns related to the coronavirus outbreak, Statistics Canada said.

Separate data, from payroll services provider ADP, showed that Canada added 208,400 jobs in May, when lockdowns to help contain the pandemic began to ease. Still, there was a downward revision to April data to show 2,361,714 jobs were lost.

The Bank of Canada sees the Canadian economy facing a prolonged and uneven recuperation period with households remaining cautious with their spending until there is a coronavirus vaccine, Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri said.

Global stocks fell as an increase in new coronavirus cases in some U.S. states and China crushed hopes of a swift world economic comeback from the pandemic.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose as a panel of OPEC and its allies met to review record oil supply cuts. U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> settled 2.3% higher at $38.84 a barrel.

Canadian government bond yields were lower across a flatter curve, with the 10-year yield <CA10YT=RR> down 1.8 basis points at 0.523%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Nick Zieminski; Editing by Peter Cooney)
California Highway Patrol officers blocked the eastbound Treasure Island I-80 off-ramp on Saturday afternoon as firefighters battled a blaze in the area.

The department tweeted that the two-acre blaze had been contained shortly after 4 p.m. The San Francisco Police Department, U.S. Park Police, and Golden Gate National Parks Service all assisted battling the fire with fire extinguishers, the fire department said.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

The SFFD previously said on twitter it was a two alarm wildland fire with no injuries reported or damage to structures.

The tweet said a departments fireboat is responding to the incident and said the second alarm was triggered at 4:06 p.m.

A video on Twitter showed a fireboat on the scene shooting jets of water onto flames and smoke that appear to have sprung up on a low cliffside visible from the San Francisco waterfront.

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney represents District 6 which includes the area and described it as a brush fire.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Speaking shortly after 4 p.m., Haney said the fire started within the previous 30 minutes or so and that it was not immediately clear how it had been started.

The firefighters union, San Francisco Firefighters Local 798, tweeted that there were water supply issues for land crews battling the fire and access issues for the fireboat on the scene.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
A doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago, Ill. on Aug. 7, 2018. (Teresa Crawford, AP Photo)

Tennessee Passes Bill Banning Abortion Once Fetal Heartbeat Detected

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that will ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected around six weeks of pregnancy.

The bill passed the Senate 23-5 around 12:30 a.m. on Friday on a party-line vote following last-minute budget negotiations between the House and Senate on Thursday.

The bill prohibits performing or inducing, or attempting to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman whose unborn child has a fetal heartbeat, typically detected around six weeks. The act constitutes a class C felony, which is punishable by 3 to 15 years in jail and fines of up to $10,000.

The bill makes an exception for if a womans life is in danger, but does not exempt cases of rape or incest.

In addition to banning the procedure if a fetal heartbeat is detected, the bill also makes it a class C felony for those who carry out the procedure knowing that the woman is seeking the abortion due to the childs sex or race, or due to a diagnosis or test indicating Down syndrome or the potential for Down syndrome.

The bill also bans abortions for minors in custody of the Department of Childrens Services, including removing a current option to petition a judge for permission to have an abortion.

Doctors who perform the abortion are mandated under the bill to determine the gestational age of the unborn child and inform the pregnant woman of the gestational age and perform, or have performed  an obstetric ultrasound and display the images so that the pregnant woman may view them.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee applauded the passage of the bill and called it the strongest pro-life law in the states history.

One of the most important things we can do to be pro-family is to protect the rights of the most vulnerable in our state, and there is none more vulnerable than the unborn, he said in a Twitter announcement of the bill.

We have passed the strongest pro-life law in our states history and I am grateful to @ltgovmcnally, @CSexton25, @SenJohnson, @WilliamLamberth and members of our General Assembly for making the heartbeat bill law.  Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) June 19, 2020

The governor must sign the legislation for it to take effect.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Reproductive Rights, and womens health provider Planned Parenthood filed a joint lawsuit in federal court on Friday challenging the bill.

The Tennessee General Assemblys passage of this dangerous, flatly unconstitutional bill is unacceptable, Hedy Weinberg, executive director of ACLU-Tennessee, said in a statement. Politicians should not be deciding what is best for women and certainly not making reproductive health care decisions for them.

The Susan B. Anthony List, one of the United States largest pro-life groups, praised the bill.

Tennessees landmark new law includes some of the strongest protections in the nation for unborn children and their mothers, Marjorie Dannenfelser, the groups president, said in a statement.

This law recognizes the humanity of the unborn child by stopping abortion as soon as a heartbeat can be detected, protecting them from lethal discrimination in the womb, and ending late-term abortions after five months, when unborn babies can feel excruciating pain, Dannenfelser added.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Perhaps one of the most missed Linux desktop environments is Ubuntu Unity Desktop, developed by Ubuntus parent company, Canonical. It was either loved or hated by users otherwise endeared to the vastly popular Ubuntu Linux OS.

But now that it has been replaced by GNOME 3 as Ubuntus default desktop environment. An infant cottage industry of sorts has made a smattering of appearances and disappearances with replacement Unity integrations.

The Unity desktop was a radical change from more traditional desktop offerings. Its vertical panel was anchored to the left screen edge. It introduced a totally different graphical user interface at a time when the more standard GNOME 3 desktop was undergoing its own set of design changes.

Canonical introduced Unity some 10 years ago. After Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was released in early 2018, the developer abandoned Unity 7 in favor of the GNOME 3 desktop. That was mostly due to unsolved technical issues in getting the planned Unity 8 to run with the Mir display server with the planned replacement of the X Window System with Wayland for Ubuntu.

Unity 8 was next on Canonicals development board for use in its planned unifying mobile phone and tablet projects. Those plans went away as well. But the Unity 7 desktop did not fully go away.

That brings us to this weeks Linux distro review of Ubuntu Unity Distro 20.04, developed by Rudra Saraswat.

A New Direction

The current Unity 8 Project by the independent UBPorts community has continued to develop the technology, giving the discarded desktop new life. Unity 8 also lives on in Ubuntu Touch for mobile devices by another developer, like the PinePhone.

The Unity desktop also lives on as a standalone desktop you can install from repositories. But you will not find other Linux OSes using the Unity desktop, at least by mainstream communities.

Until now, that is. Unity Desktop lovers have a few options to once again relish the Unity experience on a reliable and stable Ubuntu Linux base.

A New Bright Spot

Over the last year or so, a few independent software developers cobbled together Ubuntu remix-style releases running Unity 7. You can find traces of these in search results. But mostly what you find are shuttered websites or abandoned releases.

I spent several hours combing through Internet searches for a worthy candidate. The few with potential that I found were difficult to install or were not yet out of alpha or beta development.

Why did I bother looking? It was mostly curiosity. I also received numerous reader requests for Unity desktop options and a few notices about new Unity-based distros being released.

Most of these options are not yet ready for prime time. Others come with bothersome baggage.

Several Unity Remix downloads required fees in order to download. One or two led me to a download site that asked for a premium upgrade to download the multiple files being offered for installation.

After all of my research, I found a potentially good option, Ubuntu Unity Desktop, with the latest version released on May 28, 2020.

If you miss the Unity desktop or are curious about why it was so loved, read on to learn how well this Unity-driven Linux distro performs.

Unifying the Unity Maze

I was not an avid fan of Ubuntus Unity desktop when it first arrived. That was one of the main points driving me to another option. But Ubuntu Unity Distro offers a dynamic and productive desktop that is a lot more suitable to my current UI preferences.

Keep in mind that despite its name, developer Saraswats creation is not officially part of the Ubuntu family of Linux distributions. At least not yet, anyway.

GNOME 3 has come a long way towards making an acceptable desktop environment. It is considered by many users to be one of the best desktops available.

As Ubuntus default desktop, the appearance is tweaked greatly to give it much of the flavor of what was Ubuntus Unity 7.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

That look and feel you get with Ubuntus default desktop carries over to the Unity 7 experience Saraswats Ubuntu Unity Distro provides.

Using Unity Again

One of the best attributes of Unity 7 is its keyboard shortcut strategy. You can navigate through just about every conceivable action without taking your hands off the keyboard.

Say goodbye to the mouse. For keyboard jockeys, the mouse pointer is strictly optional.

The opening screen of this Unity distro is not a welcome display typical of many other distros. Instead, you see a large window that lists the keyboard shortcuts. Print it out and keep it at eye level for handy reference.

The Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa base is solid. The Unity 7 tailored to this Ubuntu Unity distro is a refreshing approach. It does not matter if you preferred Unity over GNOME 3. This distro just works out of the box.

Go to Settings / Appearance to enable the virtual workspaces feature. That adds a switcher applet to the vertical panel on the left edge of the screen.  click image to enlarge 

Unity 7 here is convenient and efficient. And it will no doubt be even better soon.

An Alpha 1 build of Ubuntu Unity 20.10, aka Groovy Gorilla, is now available for download here. Or, you can download MEGA for Business here.

Whats Inside

What you get is not a carbon copy of Unity 7 as it was in Ubuntu. This developer has made some very effective improvements.

For instance, the Plymouth Boot Screen has the new Ubuntu Unity branding displayed. LightDM replaced GDM3. Another change is swapping Nemo as the default File Manager to replace Nautilus.

Plus, the Global Menu with the combination of the Head-Up Display (HUD) replaced the standard application menu system with a searchable interface. You also have new default wallpaper and many new wallpaper options  and so much more good stuff to check out.

The Global Menu with the combination of the Head-Up Display is one of the most popular features in the Unity 7 desktop.  click image to enlarge 

The included software is no slouch either. This distro comes stuffed with the usual top-notch application inventory.

Here is a sampling:

LibreOffice, Firefox, Geary and Thunderbird email clients, Cheese, Remmina Remote Desktop Client, Rhythmbox Music Player, Shotwell Photo Manager, Synaptic Package Manager, and Transmission BitTorrent client.

Add to this list the Unity Tweak Tool and Linux kernel 5.4.0-37.

Bottom Line

I have been tempted to call this release a remix. That is, after all, what it basically is. But the developer with this V4 release changed the distros name from Unubuntu to Ubuntu Unity in the ISO.

So if you search for Unity 7-based distros and come upon an Unubuntu title for download, you have the earlier release without the changes now available in V4.

The Ubuntu Unity Distro is an impressive operating system. It blends new stuff with old. It has a modern yet still familiar flavor to it.

Want to Suggest a Review?

Is there a Linux software application or distro youd like to suggest for review? Something you love or would like to get to know?

Pleaseemail your ideas to me, and Ill consider them for a future Linux Picks and Pans column.

And use the Reader Comments feature below to provide your input!
WASHINGTON>> President Donald Trump is exaggerating his accomplishments for the military and veterans.

With his relationship with Pentagon leaders under strain, the president bragged to West Point cadets over the weekend that his administration wholly destroyed the Islamic State group. He also asserted in a televised interview that he completely rebuilt a depleted U.S. military.

Neither claim is true. The militant IS group in fact is still a threat, launching attacks in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks as it seeks to take advantage of governments absorbed in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. And a number of new Pentagon weapons programs began years before Trump became president.

His statements came in a week of law-and-order rhetoric mixed with heavy doses of misinformation as he stretched to blame unrest on radical leftists and to put three loaded words  defund the police  in the mouth of a Democratic rival who doesnt support them.

Both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have sought to distance themselves from the president following his warning that he could use active-duty military forces to clamp down on protests spurred by George Floyds death in police custody.

A look at recent claims and the facts:

MILITARY

TRUMP: The savage ISIS caliphate has been 100% destroyed under the Trump administration.  remarks Saturday at West Point graduation ceremony.

THE FACTS: His claim of a 100% defeat is misleading as the Islamic State group still poses a threat.

IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, then lost the last of its land holdings in Syria in March 2019, marking the end of the extremists self-declared caliphate. Still, extremist sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks and are believed to be responsible for targeted killings against local officials and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The recent resurgence of attacks is a sign that the militant group is taking advantage of governments otherwise focused on the pandemic and the ensuing slide into economic chaos. The virus is compounding longtime concerns among security and U.N. experts that the group will stage a comeback.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the U.S. fight against the group was continuing.

___

TRUMP: I have rebuilt our military.  interview aired Friday on Fox News.

THE FACTS: Thats an exaggeration.

Its true that his administration has accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, including a respite from what the U.S. military considered to be crippling spending limits under budget sequestration.

But a number of new Pentagon weapons programs, such as the F-35 fighter jet, were started years before the Trump administration. And it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use.

The Air Forces Minuteman 3 missiles, a key part of the U.S. nuclear force, for instance, have been operating since the early 1970s and the modernization was begun under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade.

___

TRUMP: When we took it over from President Obama and Biden the military was a joke. The military was depleted.  We had no ammunition.  Fox interview.

THE FACTS: The U.S. doesnt go to war without sufficient ammunition. Trump often repeats this claim, typically attributing it to unidentified generals. But its not true no matter how it is said.

At most, budget constraints may have restricted ammunition for certain training exercises at times and held back the development of new forms of firepower. But the military doesnt just run out of bullets.

___

FLOYD PROTESTS

TRUMP: Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?  tweet Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Theres no evidence that Gugino was an ANTIFA provocateur or that he was trying to black out police equipment. And Trump doesnt explain the physics behind his theory that Gugino fell harder than he was pushed.

Trump referred to a report from the One America News Network, which cited an uninformed blog arguing that Gugino was using antifa-like tactics, such as a method of police tracking used by Antifa to monitor the location of police.

Top tech experts called that claim confounding.

It is possible to disrupt police radio  an illegal action often called jamming  but hackers do that by attacking receiving stations, not with handheld devices that target an individual police officers radio, Matt Blaze, a professor of computer science and law at Georgetown University, told The Associated Press.

Any radio system is subject to interference, but it doesnt work by pointing some sort of ray gun and interfering, Blaze said. That just doesnt make any sense.

Gugino was hospitalized in the intensive care unit last weekend after being pushed by police. He was seen bleeding from his head as officers walked away. Friends say hes a retiree and a veteran peace activist  not an antifa provocateur.

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been charged with second-degree assault. The officers, who could face prison sentences of up to seven years if convicted, pleaded not guilty.

Many Republican lawmakers averted their eyes, as is typical with Trumps rawest provocations. But for the wavering Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, it was another thing to consider as she mulls over whether she will support him in the election. Oh lord, she said when shown the tweet. Ugh. She added: Again, why would you fan the flames? Thats all Im going to say.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had more to say: How reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how crude. He implored Trump to show some decency. Show some humanity. Show some fairness. Like Murkowski, he spoke of flames being fueled.

___

TRUMP: Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle.  tweet Wednesday.

THE FACTS: No they havent.

After days of violent confrontations with protesters, Seattle police largely and temporarily withdrew from several city blocks and boarded up a precinct station, leaving protesters to set up a festive scene with speeches, activism, art and music. This was far from taking over a city, and authorities do not consider the protesters to be terrorists.

Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said Thursday that the zone was largely peaceful and peaceful protests are fundamentally American.

As Trump has branded protesters radical-left, bad people engaging in domestic terrorism, he has frequently invoked antifa, an umbrella term for leftist militants bound more by belief than organizational structure. Federal officials have presented scant evidence that such radicals were involved.

Some Democrats initially tried to blame out-of-state far-right infiltrators for unrest before backing down on that claim.

The AP found that the great majority of people arrested in Minneapolis and the District of Columbia in one weekend of protests were local residents and few were affiliated with organized groups.

___

TRUMP: Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to DEFUND THE POLICE.  tweet June 7.

THE FACTS: No, Biden does not join the call of protesters who demanded defund the police after Floyds killing.

I dont support defunding the police, Biden said in a CBS interview last week. But he said he would support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether they meet certain basic standards of decency, honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community, everybody in the community.

Bidens criminal justice agenda, released long before he became the Democrats presumptive presidential nominee, proposes more federal money for training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths and hiring more officers to ensure that departments are racially and ethnically reflective of the populations they serve.

Specifically, he calls for a $300 million infusion into existing federal community policing grant programs.

That adds up to more money for police, not defunding law enforcement.

Biden also wants the federal government to spend more on education, social services and struggling areas of cities and rural America, to address root causes of crime.

___

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR, citing escalating protests outside the White House following George Floyds May 25 death in Minneapolis: The things were so bad the Secret Service recommended the president go down to the bunker.  Fox News on June 8.

THE FACTS: Here Barr is fact checking the president, who claimed a week earlier that he only visited the White House bunker to inspect it, not out of concern for his safety.

I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny little short period of time, and it was much more for an inspection, Trump told Fox News on June 3. They said it would be a good time to go down  take a look because maybe sometime youre going to need it.

News organizations, including the AP, had reported that Secret Service agents rushed Trump on May 29 to a White House bunker, where he spent nearly an hour  not just a tiny little short period of time  as demonstrations outside the executive mansion intensified. The bunker is designed for use in emergencies such as terrorist attacks.

Trump had been unhappy with news coverage revealing that he had been spirited to the bunker, believing that it made him appear weak.

___

VETERANS

TRUMP, on veterans health care: Before I came here, the vets would wait on line.  And for years and years, theyve been trying to get Veterans Choice.  Now, most importantly, we take care of our vets.  Meeting with pastors, law enforcement officers and others in Dallas on Thursday.

THE FACTS: That is the latest iteration of his frequently told false claim to have achieved Veterans Choice when other presidents couldnt. President Barack Obama achieved it. Trump expanded it. The program lets veterans, under certain conditions, get private health care at public expense. It has not eliminated waits for care.

___

CRIME

TRUMP: This year has seen the lowest crime numbers in our Countrys recorded history.  tweet on June 8.

THE FACTS: Not so. First, this years numbers are not compiled. Also, FBI statistics show the violent crime rate was lower in 2014 than in 2018, the most recent year recorded. Also, crime overall was substantially lower in the 1950s and 1960s, grew after that and has been on a downward trend since the 1990s, with variations along the way.

Police departments reported 368.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2018, compared with 361.6 four years earlier.

The murder rate was 5 people per 100,000 in 2018. That rate was lower every year from 2010 to 2015.
Brussels, June 20 : European leaders met at a video conference, discussing an ambitious fund to help the European economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But no consensus was reached.

The heads of state and government of the European Union's member states hopefully will meet again physically in July to address their differences, President of the European Council Charles Michel told media following the video conference on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It was the first occasion to discuss, at the level of the leaders, the proposals" put on the table by the European Commission, said Michel, referring to the Recovery Fund, which is combined with the EU's long-term budget for the next seven years.

"There is an emerging consensus, which is very positive, but at the same time, we don't underestimate the difficulties. And on different topics we observe that it is necessary to continue to discuss," Michel added.

"Now we shift to another phase, we will negotiate. I welcome the readiness to engage. I am totally committed to starting immediately real negotiations with the Member States," Michel said.

For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged all member states to make quick decisions on the proposal prepared by her workmates.

"Just as we are six months away from the end of the transition period, we are now also six months away from the end of the current MFF (multiannual financial framework, the EU's long-term budget) -- and in the midst of the deepest economic crisis provoked by COVID-19. It is therefore essential that we lose no time in setting our economic and social recovery on a firm footing," she said.

Echoing von der Leyen, the President of European Parliament David Sassoli said "our citizens expect bold action. Now it is time for us to deliver." But Sassoli underlined the importance to revise the recovery plan in some ways. "Parliament is keen to stress that any common debt issued must be repaid fairly, without burdening future generations," he said.

On May 27, the European Commission proposed borrowing 750 billion euros (US $838 billion) in its name from the financial market to help the world's largest trading bloc recover from a recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.

To pay for the recovery proposal, Brussels anticipates creating new own resources from taxes on large businesses, technology companies and carbon emissions, which could also be politically difficult.
The Brazilian government on Friday published new guidelines for meatpackers after a spike of COVID-19 cases at food plants, including keeping workers at least one meter apart, but labor prosecutors criticized the steps as inadequate.

No testing is required under the ministry of agriculture's new rules, which were issued after consultations with the labor prosecutor's office.

A prosecutors' representative said the guidelines ignored key recommendations made by the office that specified minimum distancing of 1.5 meters between workers in common areas of the plant, as well as mass testing.

The prosecutors' recommendations also addressed the quality of face masks required for use, physical distancing and testing protocols.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that meatpacking workers be spaced at least six feet (two meters) apart.

In addition to distancing employees, Brazil's ministry of agriculture said companies should also monitor those with coronavirus symptoms and immediately remove for 14 days anyone suspected of having been infected. They should also track any workers who came in contact with affected employees, it said.

The ministry said if the one-meter distance cannot be implemented, workers at the plants must wear surgical masks in addition to personal protective equipment, and impermeable partitions must be installed between employees.

The ministry said it incorporated certain of the labor prosecutor's recommendations, made in a document dated June 2 and seen by Reuters.

As for the CDC's 2-meter distancing, the ministry said the CDC's guidelines are "compatible with the reality of U.S. meatplants."

Many meatpacking plants in Brazil and the United States have had to close due to coronavirus outbreaks.

As of Friday, almost 24% of all COVID-19 cases in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state were workers in the local meat industry, according to labor prosecutors and state health data.

Brazil is on track to surpass 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, with total deaths fast approaching 50,000.
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The story of two Hanoian teenagers who recently discovered they had been friends as toddlers, 11 years before the start of their romance, has gone viral among Vietnamese netizens.

Teenage sweethearts Dong Hang and Viet Khoa, both aged 17, thought their romance began with a simple flirt sent through social media, that is, until they discovered a group photo featuring their four-year-old selves standing next to each other.

As fate would have it, Hang and Khoa were preschool pals in the same class. A photo of the couple and their classmates as since gone viral on Vietnamese social media.

I was browsing Khoas collection of old photos and realized that we had actually met when we were little. Its crazy that we both still had a copy of that same picture, Hang said.

According to Hang, they began looking through the photos when Khoa admitted that he once had a little crush on a girl who joined him in a preschool performance.

The story sounded familiar to Hang and she was instantly reminded of the photo. After putting two and two together, they began looking through the photos and discovered that Hang was in fact that apple of four-year-old Khoas eye.

I dont remember much from preschool but I do recall doing a school performance and taking a picture with another classmate. After preschool we went to different primary schools and lost contact, Hang said.

Now, the photo that had been just one of many in his collection has taken on a whole new meaning as a symbol of his romantic destiny.

Dong Hang (left) and Khoa pose as lovers in this present-day photo supplied by the couple.

Khoa and Hang were able to rekindle their friendship through a series of social interactions, beginning with a simple comment Khoa left on one of Hangs status update.

Khoa always protects and takes care of me. When Im sick he shows up at my house to give me food and medicine. Sometimes we fight, but we always try and find a mutual understanding, Hang said.

The two are now busy prepping each other for the pivotal 2020 National High School Exam, which will take place in August whose results are considered for both high school graduation and university entrance.

Dong Hang is currently studying at Phu Xuyen A High School in Hanoi, while Viet Khoa attends the Hanoi-based College of Television.

Their childhood photo has so far garnered 6,300 likes from netizens, the majority of whom showered the couple with compliments and nostalgic stories from their own childhoods.

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Linkedin (Reuters) Madrid  Sat, June 20, 2020 11:39 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406604080f 2 Books author,Spain,Carlos-Ruiz-Zafon,obituary,Book Free

Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon, whose book "The Shadow of the Wind" sold more than 15 million copies, has died of cancer aged 55 in Los Angeles, his publishing house said on Friday.

Zafon began his career in juvenile literature before publishing the work, which became the most read Spanish novel after Miguel de Cervantes' classic "Don Quixote", Editorial Planeta said.

The novel - the first of a four-part series, which was translated into over 40 languages worldwide - was in 2014 selected by British publisher Penguin Classics as one of 26 "classics of universal literature".

Read also: Acclaimed Swedish author Per Olov Enquist dies aged 85

Zafon's editors paid homage to the author by quoting from one of its passages: "Every book, every volume you see, has a soul. The soul of the one who wrote it, and the soul of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it," Editorial Planeta posted on Twitter.

Barcelona-born but living in Los Angeles, California, Zafon was one of the Spanish language's most successful writers, with critics often comparing him to Charles Dickens for his dense, Gothic style, fast-paced intrigue and colourful characters.

Zafon's enduring fascination with his native city was evident in his works, where the mysteries of a bygone Barcelona loom as significantly as any human character.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted: "One of the most read and admired Spanish authors worldwide has left us. Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a contemporary novelist of reference, leaves an important mark in modern literature. Thank you for letting us travel through your stories."

A message on Zafon's own Twitter account confirming his death said: "We'll continue dreaming with every word he wrote."
New Delhi, June 20 : Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain's health condition has improved after receiving the plasma therapy, doctors treating him in the city's Max hospital said on Saturday.

On Friday, the 55-year-old leader's health deteriorated after he developed pneumonia during the ongoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital.

He was then shifted to the Max hospital and administered plasma therapy. He is, however, still on oxygen support in an ICU ward.

A close friend of Jain said, "Satyendra Jain has been given plasma therapy, after which his fever has come down." He added, "Apart from this, he has no problem in breathing. On the advice of doctors, he will be kept in ICU for another 24 hours." Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Somnath Bharti also tweeted that Jain's health condition is stable.

"Just spoke to the hospital and was relieved to know that Delhi Health Minister and my close colleague Satyendar Jain ji is stable now. Wish him quick recovery." Jain was tested twice this week after he developed symptoms of coronavirus, including high fever and breathing difficulty. He tested positive the second time on Wednesday.

On Sunday, he was present at a meeting between the Union Home Ministry and Delhi government. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, LG Anil Baijal and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

AAP leader Atishi Marlena, Delhi government advisor Abhinandita Mathur and AAP media panelist Akshay Marathe have also tested positive for COVID-19 and are currently in quarantine.

On June 9, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tested for the novel coronavirus after he complained of mild fever and sore throat. His test report, however, came out to be negative.

This came amid sudden spurt in cases in the national capital. In Delhi, the cases have crossed the 50,000 mark and over 2,000 people have succumbed to the disease.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The hotly contested South Shore Assembly primary race between Marko Kepi and Michael Tannousis became contentious on Friday when the Tannousis called his challenger a liar and alleged hes trying to dupe voters.

A flier with an image Kepi, a U.S. Marine, has been sent out to East Shore homes that depicts a medal being placed around Kepis neck next to a photo of President Donald Trump.
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
The New Patriotic Party primaries in the Sunyani East constituency nearly turned bloody, when some irate supporters of the party allegedly assaulted Mr. Musah Damtarrh, the constituency Chairman in the early hours of Saturday.



Mr. Damtarrh and two other Party supporters were returning from the Sunyani residency, when the three attackers assaulted them on their way at gunpoint.



The Ghana News Agency (GNA) learnt the assailants who were wielding other offensive instruments believed Mr. Damtarrh was supporting one of the parliamentary aspirants vying for the primaries, but the timely intervention of bystanders saved the situation.



Confirming the incident to the GNA, Mr. Damtarrh said one Asoma Salia, popularly known as Tupac and Asare Atua held pistols, trailed and attacked them.



When contacted, Chief Inspector Augustine Kingsley Oppong, the Bono Regional Police Public Relations Officer said the command had not received any official report.



Meanwhile, voting was progressing in many of the polling stations in the Sunyani East constituency during visits by the GNA.



Mr. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Chairman of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and a former Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary of the NPP is challenging Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) since January 2009.



Voting however, started earnestly without hitches in most of the polling stations in an atmosphere of peace.



The Electoral Commission (EC) is conducting and supervising the primaries, expected to end by 1300 hours amidst security presence.



Delegates were waiting patiently at the Ebenezer Presbyterian and Wesley Cathedral Methodist basic schools as well as the Sunyani Victoria Park where there were clusters of polling stations.

Source: GNA









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By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: Facebook has removed a campaign ad by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that featured an upside-down red triangle, a symbol once used by Nazis to designate political prisoners, communists and others in concentration camps.

The company said in a statement Thursday that the ads violated "our policy against organised hate."

A Facebook executive who testified at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday said the company does not permit symbols of hateful ideology "unless they're put up with context or condemnation."

In a situation where we don't see either of those, we don't allow it on the platform and we remove it.

That's what we saw in this case with this ad, and anywhere that that symbol is used, we would take the same action," said Nathaniel Gleicher, the company's head of security policy.

The Trump campaign spent more than $10,000 on the ads, which began running on Wednesday and targeted men and women of all ages across the US, though primarily in Texas, California and Florida.

ALSO READ | Twitter flags Trump's tweet of doctored 'racist baby' video

In a statement, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the inverted red triangle was a symbol used by antifa so it was included in an ad about antifa.

He said the symbol is not in the Anti-Defamation League's database of symbols of hate.

The Trump campaign also argued that the symbol is an emoji.

"But it is ironic that it took a Trump ad to force the media to implicitly concede that Antifa is a hate group," he added.

Antifa is an umbrella term for leftist militants bound more by belief than organizational structure.

Trump has blamed antifa for the violence that erupted during some of the recent protests, but federal law enforcement officials have offered little evidence of this.

The ADL disputed that the red triangle was commonly used as an antifa symbol.

The organization said the triangle was not in its database because it is a historical symbol and the database includes only those symbols used by modern-day extremists and white supremacists.

"Whether aware of the history or meaning, for the Trump campaign to use a symbol, one which is practically identical to that used by the Nazi regime to classify political prisoners in concentration camps, to attack his opponents is offensive and deeply troubling," ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

The action comes as Facebook and other technology companies face persistent criticism, particularly from Democrats, about whether they are doing enough to police the spread of disinformation and tweets and posts from Trump perceived as inflammatory.

Those questions arose during Thursday's hearing when a Twitter representative was asked why the company flagged but did not remove tweets from the president, including one that raised the prospect of shooting looters during the recent unrest in American cities.

Facebook, too, was asked why it did not remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, last year that appeared to show her slurring her words.

"If we simply take a piece of content like this down, it doesn't go away," Gleicher said.

"It will exist elsewhere on the internet. People who are looking for it will still find it."

With Thursday's hearing focused on the spread of disinformation tied to the 2020 election, the companies said they had not yet seen the same sort of concerted foreign influence campaigns like the one four years ago, when a Russian troll farm sowed discord online by playing up divisive social issues.

But that suggests the threat has evolved rather than diminished, said the executives, who pointed out that media companies controlled by the state were directly and openly engaging online on American social issues to affect public opinion.

China, for instance, has likened allegations of police brutality in the US to the criticism it faced for its aggressive treatment of protesters in Hong Kong last year.

Preventing disinformation ahead of the election is a significant challenge in a country facing potentially dramatic changes in how people vote, with expected widespread use of mail-in ballots creating openings to cast doubt on the results and even spread false information.

Facebook said Thursday that it is working to help Americans vote by mail, including by notifying users about how to request ballots and whether the date of their state's election has changed.

The Vote By Mail notification connects Facebook users to information about how to request a ballot.

It is targeted to voters in states where no excuse is needed to vote by mail or where fears of the coronavirus are accepted as a universal excuse.

"Providing that accurate information is one of the best ways to mitigate those kinds of threats," Gleicher said.
The current situation is extremely stressful, with everybody stuck at home, unable to meet their friends or family who live miles away. Millions of citizens in the United States are also currently unemployed, adding to the stress and worry due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, one study from London suggests that people with higher levels of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone, have an increased risk of death due to COVID-19.

Stress Levels Could Indicate Severity of COVID-19

In a report by Metro, the study is done by the researchers from Imperial College London.

The team found out that people who are COVID-19 positive have a higher level of cortisol than those who are not infected.

For those who don't know, cortisol levels are higher when you experience stress due to environmental factors and other stressful situations.

It is released by the adrenal glands and spurs changes in the body, including our heart function, metabolism, and, most of all, our immune system--and if our immune system weakens, we are more likely to catch severe cases of various diseases, including coronavirus.

Read Also: Experts Predict Coronavirus Will Persist Until 2021, Bringing a Million Deaths Due to COVID-19

Another Benchmark of the Virus

According to the report, this is the first time cortisol is being used as a benchmark for the virus.

Nevertheless, the researchers believe their study could help doctors identify who needs to be admitted as soon as possible and provide immediate care.

"We potentially have another simple marker to use alongside oxygen saturation levels to help us identify which patients need to be admitted immediately, and which may not," said Professor Waljit Dhillo, the head of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism from Imperial College London.

"Having an early indicator of which patients may deteriorate more quickly will help us with providing the best level of care as quickly as possible, as well as helping manage the pressure on the NHS," the professor further added.

Observing Patients Within London

To acquire the results, the researchers studied a total of 535 patients in three hospitals around London, including St. Mary's, Charing Cross, and Hammersmith, with 403 positive for COVID-19 among the group.

They acquired the cortisol levels of all the patients and found that those with COVID-19 had cortisol levels that went up to 3,241--something that scientists can only describe as "worryingly high."

"From an endocrinologist's perspective, it makes sense that those COVID-19 patients who are the sickest will have higher levels of cortisol, but these levels are worryingly high," Dhillo added.

In context, the normal cortisol level should only be around 100 to 200 nm/L and should reach zero when we are sleeping, while a level of 1,000 nm/L or more is already considered considerably high.

These levels are mostly only seen with people who have trauma or are severely unwell.

In the study, which is published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, coronavirus patients with a baseline cortisol level of 744 or less survived on average 36 days, while those with levels over 744 had an average survival of only 15 days.

This concludes that people with a higher level of cortisol or stress hormone have an increased chance of dying from the infection due to its complications.

Now, the team hopes to expand their study to a larger scale for further research.

Read Also: COVID-19 NEW Update: Virus Started Spreading Earlier Than We Think in Italy

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
She previously said her incredible figure is down to having to care and ride her nine horses.

And Summer Monteys-Fullam was showcasing the fruits of her riding labour on Friday as she was looking tanned and toned while filling up her car at a petrol station in her native Canterbury, Kent

The stunning redhead, 25, showed off her signature sexy style in a white bardot style polka dot top that accentuated her trim waist line and tiny denim shorts.

Wow! Summer Monteys-Fullam looked tanned and toned as stopped to fill her up car with petrol when out in Canterbury, Kent on Friday

Summer looked incredible as she teamed the pretty top with denim shorts and a cream Gucci belt for an ultra glam feel. Despite driving, Summer wore grey suede caged heels that elongated her lithe limbs.

The Kent-born beauty wore her strawberry-tinted locks loose and perched a pair of sunglasses on her head.

Summer has been staying at her family home during lockdown after moving back in following her break-up with Paul Hollywood last year.

Gorgeous: The stunning redhead, 25, showed off her signature sense of style in a white bardot style polka dot top that accentuated her trim waist line

During lockdown the redhead focused on caring for her horses, which helped cure her heartache after her bitter split with Paul, 54.

Last month, Summer welcomed two foals; Rainbow and Storm, with the delighted star littering her Instagram with updates on her latest additions to the family.

Summer made a thinly-veiled dig at her Bake Off judge ex after it was reported he has already moved his new lover into the house they shared in Kent.

Petrol stop: She teamed the look with denim shorts and a cream Gucci belt for an ultra glam feel

Summer took to Instagram stories to share a snap of the view, which she accompanied with the track Savage by Megan Thee Stallion.

The lyrics appeared to be quite pointed: 'B***h, that's my trash, you the maid, so you bagged him, ah I'm a savage (yeah), Classy, bougie, ratchet (yeah); Sassy, moody, nasty (hey, hey, yeah)!

'Acting stupid, what's happening? B***h (whoa, whoa) What's happening? B***h (whoa, whoa). I'm a savage, yeah! Classy, bougie, ratchet, yeah!'

Hunkering down: Summer has been staying at her family home during lockdown after moving back in following her break-up with Paul Hollywood last year

Shock: She suffered an acrimonious split from Paul (pictured in November 2017)

The post comes after friends of Paul's revealed his new girlfriend - pub landlady Melissa Spalding, 36 - is self-isolating with him in his 1 million farmhouse, just eight months after splitting from Summer.

Friends say she immediately accepted his invitation to relocate from the nearby Chequers pub in the village of Smarden where she lived, amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

Paul bought the Grade II-listed house last year for him and Summer to live in.

A friend told The Mail on Sunday: 'Paul and Melissa got together soon after his split from Summer and they are really happy together. Actually its looking like this one could very well last for Paul.'
A federal judge has denied an attempt by the Trump administration to block the publication of a tell-all book by former national security advisor John Bolton.

The justice department had sought an emergency order to block the release of Mr Boltons forthcoming memoir, which includes startling revelations about the inner-workings of Donald Trumps White House.

In his ruling, Judge Royce C. Lamberth said while Mr Bolton "gambled with the national security of the United States", but said that he would not block publication.

"While Boltons unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy, he added.

Mr Bolton's troubles may not be over yet, however. The ruling also said that he may be forced to forfeit his $2 million advance for the book and is still at risk of prosecution.

Mr Trump launched into a tirade about Mr Bolton on Twitter shortly after the ruling was announced, saying that his former top advisor "was all washed up until I brought him back and gave him a chance."

"BIG COURT WIN against Bolton. Obviously, with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping it...BUT, strong & powerful statements & rulings on MONEY & on BREAKING CLASSIFICATION were made," he wrote.

"Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!" he added.

Much of the most controversial content contained in the book has already been made public through advance copies given to the media.

The claims include recollection that Mr Trump pleaded with Chinese president Xi Jinping to help him win re-election in 2020 by purchasing more US farming productsm and that the president telling his Chinese counterpart that building concentration camps to re-educate Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang was the right thing to do.

The justice department filed its suit a Washington, DC, federal court, alleging that Mr Bolton and publisher Simon & Schuster did not complete a routine vetting process used by all administrations to ensure a book by a former aide does not reveal classified information or give away national secrets.

Recommended What people who know John Bolton told me about the claims in his book

"(Bolton) struck a bargain with the United States as a condition of his employment in one of the most sensitive and important national security positions in the United States Government and now wants to renege on that bargain by unilaterally deciding that the prepublication review process is complete and deciding for himself whether classified information should be made public," the Trump administration wrote to the court.

But while the denying the attempt to halt the book's release, judge Lamberth suggested that a separate application to have Mr Bolton forfeit the $2 million advance he received for the book may yet succeed. And that he may yet face prosecution for publishing the book before receiving the official review process to ensure it had no classified information was complete.

"For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir," judge Lamberth said in his ruling Friday.

Former national security adviser John Bolton looks on as Donald Trump speaks at the White House. AFP via Getty Images (AFP via Getty Images)

"In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm. But in the Internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality."

He said he was persuaded that defendant Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations," and that by publishing his book before waiting for the final approval he had gambled and lost.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The Republican Party of New Mexico condemns acts of violence, such as those that took place at the protest in front of the Albuquerque Museum on Monday, but retracted its statement about the incident because video evidence showed the shooting may have been in self-defense, Party Chairman Steve Pearce said.

It was not condoning the shooting, Pearce said at a political rally Wednesday at Pajarito Mesa. It was, wait, there was more here than we initially understood.

Party Executive Director Anissa Tinnin released the initial statement following the shooting, which occurred as protesters attempted to remove the Juan de Onate statue in front of the museum in Old Town.

While the Republican Party supports peaceful protests and encourages people to exercise their freedoms, this kind of violence cannot be tolerated. This senseless shooting must be condemned, and we must adhere to law and order in our communities, Tinnins statement read.

But the statement was retracted shortly thereafter when the party received a video showing the shooting may have been in self-defense, Pearce said.

We just wanted to say, OK, lets not rush to judgment, he said.

Pearce said the partys decision to retract the statement was backed up by the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Offices decision to drop the shooting charge against the suspect, Steven Ray Baca, although other charges were added.

District Attorney Raul Torrez said shooting charges could still be added depending on the outcome of the investigation.

The state Democratic Party criticized the Republican Partys decision to retract its statement following the shooting. It accused its rival of putting politics above lives.

The GOP made a clear choice to prioritize political considerations over the health and safety of our community, and they should be ashamed, state Democratic Party Chairwoman Marg Elliston said in a statement.

Chairman Pearce must immediately issue a statement condemning this shooting, and apologizing to the victim and his family.
As Texas grapples with a spike in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus  the state now has more than 100,000 and climbing  dozens of Houston-area restaurants have temporarily closed after employees tested positive for the illness.

The statistics remain a harsh reality for local restaurants that continue to struggle even as Texas allowed for an increase in dining to 75 percent capacity on June 12. That same weekend saw Taste of Texas, Relish, Pappys Cafe in Houston and Yagas Cafe in Galveston temporarily close after staff tested positive for COVID-19. The list is growing, too  Daddys Burgers, Rosie Cannonball, Pluckers Wing Bar on Shepherd and MAD at River Oaks District are a few of the latest to clock out  underscoring concerns about the safety of dining and how operators are dealing with confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The waters are murky: What are the responsibilities for restaurant operators to inform the public if staffers contract the coronavirus? Must a restaurant shut down  and who regulates that? And, most importantly, should the dining public be concerned?

Our entire business is built around trust, said Paul Miller, who owns seven locations of the Union Kitchen and three Jax Grill restaurants in Houston. If you get caught with your pants down, the guest will never come back. You dont forget things like that.

Restaurants that are slow to acknowledge COVID-19 in their operations and fail to protect their staff and the dining public erode trust, he added.

Were hanging on by a string as it is, Miller said. It hurts everyone.

So far, three months into the most serious public health emergency in over a century, Houstonians have no way to make a timely risk assessment when choosing a restaurant or bar.

The public is learning of positive cases and shutdowns primarily through rumor, social media or tips to news organizations  not through any state, county or city agency with responsibilities for public health. None of those agencies has stepped forward to address the information gap.

The state, under the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott, has established reopening dates and occupancy levels for restaurants and bars, and suggested guidelines on proper health procedures. But there are no guidelines about reporting positives to local health agencies.

Harris County Public Health typically regulates restaurants through permitting of food establishments, periodic renewal of permits and requiring managers to take the departments training in food handling. Its an internal process, with no public interface other than the training certificates and permits posted on the walls at restaurants and bars. The pandemic has not changed this.

The Houston Health Department inspects restaurants for health and sanitation violations, reporting results to the public. There is no similar system of reporting to alert the public to the risk of contagious disease, whether it be hepatitis or COVID-19.

Even in a pandemic situation, the public is left in the dark because of federal privacy law. The HIPAA Act of 1996 prohibits health departments from disclosing the name of someone who tests positive. During the contact tracing process for the case, health departments cant alert the public, or the employer, and they are allowed to alert close-contact coworkers only to the fact of the positive test.

But to some degree it almost doesnt matter, said Dr. David Persse, Houstons health authority. People who get sick and are having symptoms are infected with something, whether its COVID or not, and they shouldnt be at work in a public-facing position. But with this virus the biggest challenge is that some who are infected show no symptoms. They tend not to get tested, and those are the people who are spreading it, to an extent.

Even if HIPAA were changed by Congress tomorrow, Persse added, and if we relied on saying X restaurant has three employees who are COVID positive, it still wouldnt address any infected but asymptomatic coworkers.

The two most likely sources of infection are family members and co-workers, he said.

Lacking state guidelines, the Texas Restaurant Association has responded by issuing steps on implementing safety practices for restaurants that have confirmed COVID-19 exposures. Those guidelines follow protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for dealing with workers and the workspace. But they do not address if restaurants should be shutting down or informing the public.

Dr. Amy McGuire, professor and director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine, said its important for any businesses, including restaurants and bars, to participate in contact tracing within their workplaces.

If somebody is infected, you should try to identify where theyve been and whos been around them and who might have been exposed, McGuire said. I would think that restaurants should inform other employees who were potentially exposed by that particular employee, and customers who had frequented their establishment during the exposure time.

She adds that slowing the spread of the virus will require a lot of community cooperation, and that theres a social imperative to inform people of what they know.

Last Monday, McIntyres in the Heights posted to its Facebook page, saying they were closing that day to perform a durable electrostatic sanitation service throughout the bar. When reached for comment, owner Kyle Berg said, In accordance with both federal and local privacy laws, we cannot comment on the personal health of our staff.

Some restaurant operators told the Chronicle that they cannot disclose positive COVID-19 cases among their employees because of privacy laws. McGuire said its possible for business owners to disclose that there has been an infected individual at a location without naming the person in question or divulging the employees identity in any way. Many restaurants have done so, as has H-E-B, which posts a notice on each store locations page when an employee at that location has tested positive, along with the last day they showed up to work.

After a follow-up, Berg admitted McIntyres did indeed have some employees test positive for COVID-19.

While we did answer direct inquiries from our customers regarding this matter, in hindsight we understand it wouldve been better to make a public statement about our employees positive tests, Berg said. Going forward, we will do just that. There is no handbook for how to operate during a health pandemic, and we are doing the best we can to provide a safe, sanitary and enjoyable place for all Houstonians.

When Aaron Lyons learned that three employees at his Dish Society restaurant at Memorial Green tested positive for COVID-19, he immediately closed the restaurant, cleaned it, instructed employees to be tested and posted on social media to alert the public.

Sales fell at all his five Dish Society locations last week even after Memorial Green reopened. But Lyons said that being transparent is the best business practice.

I know restaurant owners that have had people test positive who said straight up theyre not going to close down and issue a statement, Lyons said. Restaurants are obligated to do the right thing, but that means different things to different people. Without guidance, it becomes extremely subjective.

That subjectivity could be ruinous for restaurants. Whether its workers not telling employers they are sick or employers not disclosing a positive case to staff or customers, the result could be many more temporary closures. And more infections.

Mary Leigh Clarkson, the owner of Avondale Food & Wine and a hospitality attorney, said some workers fear calling out their employers. Because of the pandemic, many are the beneficiaries of unemployment or paid time off. For those who are now back at work, speaking out is especially risky, given the current economy.

If they get fired from this job, they may not be able to get another job as easily as they would be able to pre-COVID, Clarkson said.

As for a restaurants responsibility to disclose cases, Clarkson said restaurateurs are in uncharted territory with the coronavirus and that there are no clear answers as of yet from a legal standpoint. It is her personal opinion that anything short of full disclosure of what you knew and when you knew it, without identifying individuals and violating HIPAA privacy laws, is breaching (the restaurants duty to the customer), she said.

That duty prompted the owners of Coltivare in the Heights to close Thursday after an employees partner tested positive. Agricole Hospitality, the restaurant group that owns Coltivare, paid out of pocket to have the entire staff of about 40 tested at an expense of $175 per exam, co-owner Morgan Weber said.

We paid for a one-hour turnaround on the tests and have had zero positive test results come back, Weber said. It gives me heartburn to think about how many times we are going to need to do this, but it is the responsible thing to do. I am hoping it doesnt become necessary every two weeks for the next year.

The restaurant is being deep cleaned, but no reopening date has been set.

We are navigating this day by day. We dont have any experience with this, Weber said. It is our responsibility to keep guests informed on what they are walking into. We cant hide it. We want to do everything in our realm to keep people safe.

Marcy de Luna contributed to this report.

food@chron.com
Colgate has been slammed for an insensitive social media campaign called 'White Night In' amidst the Black Lives Matter movement.

The toothpaste company hosted the 'White Night In' campaign on Thursday night where New Zealand social media influencers dressed in white to promote Colgate's toothpaste.

The campaign included influencers Matilda Green, Hannah Barrett and Simone Anderson.

A photo of the influencers in a Zoom chat also showed that the campaign was not racially diverse.

Matilda Green has apologised for taking part in the 'tone deaf' campaign for Colgate

Simone Anderson has since deleted her photo for the White Night In Event

As the event circulated online, social media users called out Colgate for their 'tone deaf' campaign in the midst of events being undertaken across the globe relating to the Black Lives Matter protests.

'F*****g tone deaf campaign and anyone who doesn't agree a) hasn't read the article or b) doesn't understand the issues of racism being discussed - especially in the current climate,' one person wrote.

'So let me get this right - Colgate NZ - thought it would be cool to have a bunch of influencers have a 'White Night' together in a hotel? WTF! #saynotoracism,' another commented.

'It just felt really tone deaf and insensitive for an Australian PR company to go ahead with that concept. Think an influencer who wasn't part of the event called them out and they kinda just dismissed it and passed it off like it was a great idea,' someone else wrote.

Ms Anderson shared a photo of herself in the white pyjamas in bed, with food, wine, her computer and pet dog as she showed off Colgate's teeth-whitening product.

The post has since been deleted.

Simone Anderson shared a photo of herself in the white pyjamas provided by Colgate for their White Night In event

A photo of the influencers in a Zoom chat also showed that the campaign was not racially diverse

Ms Green has also deleted her post and issued an apology describing the event as 'definitely tone deaf and insensitive'.

'It definitely shouldn't have happened,' she said.

'I got the full list ahead of the event. I assumed it would be diverse, I didn't even think about it,' she said.

'I have definitely learnt from that.

'I need to take responsibility and use my influence to make sure that these guests lists of PR events are diverse because it's important,' she wrote.

Fellow influencer Ms Carr condemned the event and asked how it was signed off without further questioning if it was appropriate.

'It tarnishes the work of those who have been in the PR world for a long time and do a bloody good job,' she said.

'Everything that's happened has made me realise that staying quiet about things isn't right.'

Ms Carr congratulated mummy blogger Maria Foy for also calling out the event to her large following.

Social media users called out the campaign for being 'tone deaf' amid the Black Lives Matter movement

She added that Ms Foy is a 'white woman with something to lose' stating that it would make a difference with her speaking up.

'It's time for a change. The world is screaming for a change.'

Ms Foy believes with better understanding of the world's current situations and a rename of the event, it could have done better.

She suggested calling it 'Bright Night' and that 'White Night just doesn't make sense given everything going on at the moment.

'Just because you don't think it's an issue, doesn't mean it's not an issue.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Colgate for comment.
Large Christian churches and other major religions have applied for the JobKeeper scheme to fund clergy salaries, after the government belatedly opened it up to religious practitioners.

The Catholic, Anglican and Uniting churches, as well as the Great Synagogue in Sydney, have confirmed hundreds of religious ministers across NSW are receiving the JobKeeper Payment of $1500 a fortnight, to plug a "dramatic" shortfall in income caused by the pandemic lockdown.

With pews empty across the country, hundreds of priests have been put on the JobKeeper payment. Credit:Jacky Ghossein

The suspension of religious services meant no collection plates or other donations connected to a service, while public health orders also shut down community hire of church property for events.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in Sydney, Lakemba Mosque, and two pentecostal churches Hillsong in Baulkham Hills and Horizon in Sutherland Shire either declined to answer questions or did not respond.
Chinese Communist Party is pushing malicious cyber campaigns, creating difficulties for itself, asserts the US Secretary of State.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday (local time) criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for not only displaying its rogue attitude in its neighbourhood, particularly the recent escalation of border tension with India, but also for pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns so as to drive a wedge between the US and Europe.

Its the Chinese Communist Party thats forcing the choice, Pompeo said during an online conference on democracy held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Pompeo who earlier this week met a senior Chinese official in Hawaii where he held closed-door talks at a time when relations between the two nations have plummeted over numerous disputes, said Europe faces a China challenge as does the rest of the world.

Launching a scathing attack on the Chinese government, the State Secretary further said that the CCP wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

Also read: Policy option to completely decouple from China open: Donald Trump

Also read: Australian govt, private sector hit by major cyberattack, PM speculates state-based actor

The PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the worlds most populous democracy. Its militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes, Pompeo said, a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.

The top American diplomat said that for many years, the West, in an era of hope, believed they could change the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and improve the lives of the Chinese people along the way.

Along the way, the CCP took advantage of our goodwill while assuring us they wanted a cooperative relationship. As (former Chinese politician) Deng Xiaoping said Hide your strength, bide your time. Ive talked in other venues about why this happened. Its a complicated story. Its no ones fault, Pompeo said.

Over decades, European and American companies have invested in China with great optimism. It outsourced supply chains to places like Shenzhen, opened education institutions for PLA-affiliated students and welcomed Chinese state-backed investment in their countries, he said.

But the CPC decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, violating an UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens. This is one of many international treaties the party has violated, the secretary said.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we havent seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India, he said.

The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Galwan.

It lied about the coronavirus and let it spread to the rest of the world, while pressuring the WHO to assist its cover-up campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and the global economy has been decimated, Pompeo said.

Washington and Beijing are at odds over trade, Chinas handling of the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, the status of Hong Kong and increasing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

On the other hand, China has also become a key issue in the 2020 presidential campaign.

Also read: Chinese Foreign Ministry denies capturing Indian soldiers during Galwan face-off

For all the latest World News, download NewsX App
Britain could soon be set to follow the lead of Sweden in taking precautionary steps to protect access to cash for the elderly.

New laws could be designed for British banks to replicate the Swedish model to make sure the elderly and vulnerable are not cut out of payments, as report the Times.

A demise of the UK cash system has been frequently warned by campaigners, with its acceleration due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic brought to the Government's attention.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak made a promise in his budget on March 11 to pass laws so that everyone who needed cash could get it.

Britain could soon be set to follow the lead of Sweden in precautionary steps to protect access to cash for the elderly

The Treasury has since reportedly drafted legislation mimicking a Swedish law that came into force on January 1, according to an adviser to the Treasury.

Since the start of the year, Swedish banks with more than 5.8 billion in deposits have been required to provide access to cash for customers nationwide.

British banks could now be made to follow suit, in order to avoid a mounting crisis.

Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Services Regulator are now said to be analysing logistical safety measures, regarding how far consumers should be expected to travel to obtain free cash.

Britain's slow transition into a cashless society has previously been criticised, whereas the likes of Sweden have moved much more rapidly.

Yet this has raised fears regarding the sections of society who do not digital banking or debit cards.

In the ongoing transition, more than two thirds of Swedish citizen now use a free application called Swish to make payments to friends and businesses.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak made a promise in his budget on March 11 to pass laws so that everyone who needed cash could get it

Throughout the pandemic the number of free-to-use cash machines across Britain have reduced in numbers, due to rapid lack of usage.

More than 3,500 bank branches have closed since 2015, with more now expected to follow in the coming months as the UK plans for a return to normality after months of lockdown.

This week the Bank of England also confirmed it will remove the portraits of 11 former governors from its walls who profited from what it labelled the 'inexcusable' slave trade and owned a total of nearly 5,000 slaves.

The former chiefs at the central bank in London range from Daniel Giles in 1795 who was the co-mortgagee of estates in Grenada to Benjamin Buck Greene in 1873 who was a plantation manager in St Kitts.

Others were Jeremiah Harman in 1816 who had 409 slaves and three estates in St Kitts; John Palmer in 1830 with 238 slaves and two estates in Grenada; and Timothy Curtis in 1837 who had 206 slaves and an estate in St Vincent.

Economic experts believe the Bank of England's money-printing programme could reach 1trillion during the coronavirus pandemic

John Reid in 1839 had 3,112 slaves and 17 estates in Jamaica, the Virgin Islands and other areas; Thomson Hankey Jnr in 1851 who owned 534 slaves and four estates in Grenada; and West Indian merchant Sheffield Neave in 1857.

The final two former governors were Alfred Latham in 1861 who owned 402 slaves, three estates in Jamaica, Nevis and Tobago; while Bonamy Dobree in 1859 had 19 slaves and two estates in British Guiana.

In a landmark move, the Bank acknowledged its role in the kidnapping and transportation of thousands of people for the first time, lamenting the 'unacceptable part of English history' and saying it will act swiftly to remove images.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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It wasnt part of the plan, but National Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 landed exactly where it first began years ago  in the parking lot of the Friendship Centre at Ninth Street and Lorne Avenue.

For me, every day is Indigenous day.  Nikki Beaupre

Jason Gobeil, part of the organizing committee and vice president of the Brandon Friendship Centre, appeared joyful Friday afternoon, despite the fact COVID-19 severely ramped down plans to grow the annual event even more than it has these past few years.

As the drums beat in the background, Gobeil spoke of the pipe ceremony held earlier to open the event.

"The sun was shining," he said. "It was great."

Its a celebration of the wonderful contributions Indigenous peoples have made to our great country  First Nations, Inuit and Metis.  James Montgomery

People were gathered in small groups, abiding by COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions. By all accounts, hotdogs were running out, which means the stop-and-go free barbecue event was well-attended.

Elder Kathy Oman felt inclined to share her experience as an Indigenous person in Canada, as she sat off to the side, observing.

At first, Oman said Indigenous Day meant "we have freedom of choice, we can celebrate it and be proud of who we are."

Its about bringing our people together.  Mya Shorting

Oman, who volunteers at Samaritan House, loves attending public events, such as powwows, and seeing dancers in their regalia.

"Theyre so beautiful, and you think, Im one of those people. I never used to think like that," she said. "Im 74 years old. When I was much younger, I never gave it one thought. I used to say, Im an Indian, so what."

As Oman considered past days as compared to today, she became more subdued in her speech.

Its an awakening, with recent events. Ive always had respect, but recent events show we need to be more proactive.  Fabrice Hart

"Today, we celebrate, and its so different," she said. "Even people from different countries come out and celebrate."

Tears came to her eyes.

"I didnt want to be an Indian back then. People used to make fun of me. I was in school and I can remember my teacher calling me dirty Indian. This is in Grade 1. I remember that. As old as I am I still remember those days. Ill never forget how I was treated," she said.

It means we can celebrate who we are as Indigenous people.  Kathy Oman

"I quit school at a very early age. I couldnt handle being picked on and being called names, like squaw and dirty Indian. Its hard to forget stuff like that, when youre young and trying to do something.  And a teacher doing that to you, thats not right."

Oman said she never really talks about such matters.

"Its probably why I got so emotional," she said.

It means representing who you are as a person.  Sam Jackson

"It was hard to live like that, back then. I guess I never really let it go. I always think I should get some counselling, to get rid of that, that stuff I have in me."

She added: "Now its different, right?"

But Oman sais she is proud of who she is today.

"Some people are still  assholes. I have a lot of friends that are white people. Ive travelled to many places. In many places, people accepted me for who I was, and in other places they didnt like Indian people. They thought we were bad people," she said.

"It always takes one bad Indian to make us all look bad. I always get upset about that."

But, Friday afternoon, Oman enjoyed the music as she observed the festivities around her. Physical distancing is not great and she doesnt like the restrictions COVID-19 has brought. Despite all that, she smiled.

"I feel good to be here today," she said.

 mletourneau@brandonsun.com

 Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.
60 Minutes correspondent and Slate Political Gabfest co-host John Dickerson has written a new book thats out this week, in the middle of a volatile and unpredictable presidential election year. In The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency, Dickerson analyzes what the job requires of its occupant and how its purview has metastasized since the nations founding into a sprawling, untenable collection of demands and responsibilities.

On Wednesday, Dickerson joined Mike Pesca on The Gist to discuss what makes a successful president, how the positions job description can help readers think about voting for one, and what presidential history might tell us about the office-holders role amid major crises such as, say, a pandemic and mass protests against racism and police violence. A certain unconventional Oval Office inhabitant came up as well. A portion of the conversation is transcribed below. It has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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Mike Pesca: Generally, your critique of presidential campaigns and campaign coverage is that we act as if this is an exercise in selecting for a certain skillset. The problem is the job requires a totally different, and sometimes opposite, skillset.

John Dickerson: Youve got it exactly right. The only thing I would add is, it requires an opposite skillset, and sometimes our campaigns sort of train us and the candidates to elevate skills that dont matter so much. The communication skill would be one of them. I mean, if you think about what happens in campaigns, [its practicing] the ability to make small differences seem catastrophic and a key to the heart of the republic, right? Thats a skill you learn in campaigns, but it isnt what you need to do as a person who governs. Attack is what campaigns are all about. Governing is more about building consensus and conciliation, and [having] the restraint of not going for the throat when the moment presents itself.

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The original blueprint [of the presidency] was a nice little colonial, with a single room and a big fireplace, and then over time weve added all kinds of wings. And theres all this stuff thats been bolted onto the structure. Some of its useful, some of it isnt, some of its misshapen, and the communications piece has changed dramatically. Before television, communication was just so much different. And before radio, and so on.

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But if indeed the presidency is impossibleas you point out, every 10 or 20 years someone writes a book literally with that title, The Impossible Presidencyif its so impossible, then is it really important to reconstruct our conception of campaigns to best select the person whos not going to be able to do the job anyway? I guess you could argue, Maybe its a Sisyphean task, but at least Sisyphus is more up to it than Don Knotts would be.

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Thats exactly right. By the way, anybody who makes a Don Knotts reference is just automatically elevated to the upper echelons. Anybody who doesnt know who Don Knotts is should go look him up and then rest in the beauty of that analogy.

In the presidency, you dont really know how to run the place until youve run the place.  John Dickerson

There are two approaches. One is, you need Sisyphus, at least, to keep pushing that boulder back up the hill, because if you dont well all get flattened by it. If that indeed is the way the boulder worked. The second is, OK, while youre electing good people to do the job as its conceived now, lets focus on doing other things, like pushing Congress to do more, thinking more about governors and mayors and their role in the system, and also readjusting our expectations and our view of the complexity of the world.

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Not only do we have to elect somebody who understands how to build teams, understands how to prioritize, has a sense of character that matches the kind of character the job requires, but then just simply by shifting ourselves into that mindset  at least if you change your mindset on what youre looking for, that might change the way we have certain conversations. And that might lead to just a different way of assessing the job, which might say, You know what? This is not the presidents job. Somebody else should be handling this.

Let me ask you about going back to the original blueprint. Im glad you did. But as you note in the book, even the Founding Fathers didnt concentrate too much on the executive, because they knew it would be George Washington, so he pretty much defined it. But what is the value of that [blueprint]? How is that so much different than, say, a jurist who is a constitutional originalist? I dont want us not to consider history, but times were so different, really, how valuable is the original blueprint?

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Well, it should be a place of stability. It should be a cornerstone. But obviously [the Constitution] only goes so far, because it had a huge internal contradiction in that it was a liberty document that was founded on, and in fact could only be ratified, by the agreement that a certain portion of the country would be enslaved. So it had a whopping huge error right at its center. But Frederick Douglass, in arguing his case for ending slavery, uses the ideas that are part of that document. So it has value even in undoing its greatest flaw. For me, what is important about both the document and also the four months that they sweated it out in Philadelphia, is the thinking that was at the center of it. Both about the shared powers system, and also about the baleful effect of ambition, and the reason you needed both personal checks against ambition, which we can call character, but then also systemic structural checks against that system.

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When you hear [the Founders] talking about the flaws at the center of human naturewhich is either the ambition that runs away, that leaders ambition is unstoppable. And theres a kind of madness that comes when your ambition is coupled with power. And then [the Founders] also think about the mob, which they were just as fearful as they werein fact, [they were] more fearful [of the mob] than the monarch. They were dealing with exactly the basic stuff that were dealing with today. So they wrestled in a very concentrated way. These were smart people; the only problem is they were not diverse at all. But they were quite smart, and they spent a great deal of time trying to think through these problems that are still clanging around in our system today.

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The presidency is hardof course its hard, but is it less hard for a president whose agenda is more along the lines of, lets cut regulation, lets have small government, lets be isolationist, a president who doesnt like treaties? This is not side-eye at the current president. In general Im asking: If your ambitions are more of a remaking of society versus a retrenchment, isnt it harder for the remaker than the retrencher?

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You can talk about the way in which [Trump] doesnt fit the mold, but he also shows you those empty spaces in the mold.  John Dickerson

I think so, yes. Because implicit in the remaking is that youre going to have your hands on everything. So it increases your to-do list, and that implicitly increases to anything that happens, because you cant say, Look, thats just not in my purview. Thats not a part of the job. Its amazing, by the way, when you go back and look at Eisenhower or Grover Cleveland, or any of the presidents who, faced with a national disaster or a problem, basically said, Its not the presidents job. Not the executive branchs role. I mean, clearly President Trump has said that explicitly, and certainly behaved that way implicitly with respect to the COVID response from governors.

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The problem is that there have been all of these practice tests, where the federal government and the executive branch have sat down and done tabletop exercises about what to do in a pandemic, and tabletop exercises about what to do in a pandemic that starts in China. So if the executive branch has been preparing for something to happen, you cant then, when it happens, say, Oh, this is somebody elses job to do. Any president that seeks to pare down the office has to worry. This is why its such a hard job. You go in there, and theres no blueprint for the organizational chart. Everybody has to kind of make it up as they go along.

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Right. Sometimes theres not even a blueprint. The last guy gives you a weird bicycle with twisted spokes mounted on a plank.

Exactly. Youre referring there to the present that [outgoing Gerald Ford chief of staff] Dick Cheney left for Hamilton Jordan, who was not [President Jimmy] Carters chief of staff until later, telling him basically the reason that they gave him a bicycle wheel is that Gerald Ford, coming in after Nixon said, I want to be accessible to everybody. And the idea was that he was the hub of the bicycle wheel, and the spokes represented all the different people that could come in and see President Ford. That of course was a collapsing failure, because theres just too much to do, and you cant always be tending to the needs of each person.

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And often, you need a chief of staff to basically be, as [H.R.] Haldeman was described by Nixon, your chief son-of-a-bitchto be the person who says no, so that you can retain your good graces with your staff. What happened was, basically, Cheneys staff gave him the wheel at the end of the administration, [but they] broke all of the spokes and had just one, which represented the relationship between staffers, Cheney, and Ford. If you wanted to get to the president, you had to go through Cheney. He was arguing thats what Carter should do. Carter didnt listen, and it was a disaster.

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But I think that if you want to pare back, you have to first figure out, what is the smartest organizational chart?

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I feel about the presidency what they say about writing a book. Which is, when youre done writing it, youve taught yourself how to write it, and youre ready to write it. The problem is its done and its been published. So, in the presidency, you dont really know how to run the place until youve run the place. The problem is the minute you get in there, your inbox starts filling with snakes, and you cant reorganize it while youre doing it. Thats what makes it so hard. So if youre paring down, the challenge is, Am I cutting in the right place? Because boy, if I cut the pandemic response, a part of the national security team, Im going to be in big trouble when we get hit by a pandemic.

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Theres a lot of Trump in this book. But what I had to do was, I changed the way I approached the book as I was reading it. I kept falling into a comparison with the current moment. The way Trump does the presidency is in no way aligned with best practices or even sane practices. How did you either compartmentalize or strategize or think about how you would approach the Trump presidency, and how and when you would slot it into the rest of this long exercise and the scholarship that the book represents?

It was a big, big challenge. It was a challenge for the book, and it was a challenge for the piece, the cover story in the Atlantic that I wrote a couple of years ago that was a kind of first swing at this. But it was a constant challenge. Because heres the other complexity with Donald Trump, is not only do you have the necessary and reasonable urge to measure him by the standards of the office and whether he meets them or breaks them, but hes also a fascinating tool that helps you understand the office.

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He is clearly the president who does not fit the mold. So you can talk about the way in which he doesnt fit the mold, but he also shows you those empty spaces in the mold. Then you think, Well, is the mold built the right way? A good president has both the creative, new way of looking at something, but then also has a dedication to execution. So that theyre not just saying, Well, this is wrong and this is wrong and this is wrong, but offering no new pathway. You have to do both.

I just tried basically to use the president the way I used any other president, which was to illuminate an aspect of the office that I thought was interesting and that I was trying to explore. If the office was broken before Donald Trump got into it, regardless of what you may think about him, there are still those underlying problems that exist, and you shouldnt let the individual obscure those problems.

Listen to the full conversation between Mike Pesca and John Dickerson below, and subscribe to the Gist on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus, and enjoy ad-free episodes of the show.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Friday signed into law a bill to remove the shield of legal immunity that has long protected police officers from civil suits for on-the-job misconduct, a measure civil libertarians hailed as landmark legislation.

The Colorado state legislature passed the sweeping police accountability bill last week in the wake of nationwide protests over unfair treatment of racial minorities by law enforcement, sparked by the death of an unarmed Black man under the knee of a white Minneapolis policeman last month.

Polis, a first-term Democrat, took the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, celebrating the abolition of slavery in the United States, to formally enact the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union hailed enactment of the measure, saying Colorado became one of the first states in the nation to strip police officers of a legal defense known as qualified immunity. The ACLU called the police accountability law as a whole historic.

The statute additionally requires police agencies statewide to adopt the use of body-worn cameras by their officers within three years, and bans choke holds by officers in restraining individuals.

Carotid-pressure holds, similar to the technique that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin used when he knelt on the neck of George Floyd in a fatal encounter on March 25, is also outlawed.

The legislation won the support from the states police chiefs and county sheriffs organizations, which said in a joint written statement that many of the policies contained in the new law are already in place at the local level.

The U.S. Supreme Court recognized qualified immunity 50 years ago to protect government officials from frivolous lawsuits. Attorneys representing police have said the doctrine ensures officers can make split-second decisions in dangerous situations without worrying about being sued later.

Critics have said the doctrine too often lets police brutality go unpunished. The high court this week declined to hear several cases challenging qualified immunity assertions on behalf of police.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) will get 200 intensive care units (ICU) beds as well as 200 oxygen beds in the coming days to tackle the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the city, Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday.

There is a need to increase beds in Kalyan and Dombivli. Also, I directed the civic body to emphasise on contact tracing and conduct mass screenings at homes, Shinde said at Acharya Atre auditorium in Kalyan (West) during a review meeting of the preparations taken to tackle the outbreak in the city. The civic body plans to set up more quarantine centres and hospitals in the coming days.

Shinde directed the civic body to finalise a location for these beds at the earliest and also appealed to the elected representatives to work as a team.

City corporators also asked Shinde to impose a 15-day lockdown akin to Bhiwandi to reduce the number of cases in Thane. KDMC commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi said, We are contemplating on the idea of a complete lockdown. The decision is yet to be made by the general body.

On Saturday, 243 new Covid cases were recorded in KDMCs jurisdiction, taking the total count to 3,257. With two more deaths in the twin cities, the toll rose to 71.

In neighbouring Thane, the case count crossed the 6,000-mark on Saturday, after 176 new cases took the total number of Covid-19 cases to 6,132. Thane recorded six new deaths, owing to which the toll now stands at 198. The city also recorded 51% recovery rate.

On Saturday alone, 114 people recovered and were discharged home, a health officer from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said.
Joshua Jackson sported a tightly-fitted black cloth mask, as he stocked up on the essentials during a grocery run in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 42-year-old Canadian actor, who welcomed a daughter with wife Jodie Turner-Smith in late April, stepped out wearing a black hoodie and a pair of bright red sneakers.

As he safely kept his nose and mouth covered under a CDC-recommended facial covering, the Dawson's Creek alum looked at ease.

Staying safe: Joshua Jackson sported a tightly-fitted black cloth mask, as he stocked up on the essentials during a grocery run in Los Angeles on Thursday

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Jackson dutifully stuck to his grocery list, as he left with only one shopping bag from Whole Foods.

He also showed off his buzzed haircut, which he's been rocking for at least a month.

The Little Fires Everywhere star's outing comes days before he will celebrate his first Father's Day as a dad.

After the birth of his daughter, he shared an adoring Instagram tribute to his wife on Mother's Day.

Casual: The 42-year-old Canadian actor, who welcomed a daughter with wife Jodie Turner-Smith in late April, stepped out wearing a black hoodie and bright red trainers

'I want to thank you for the being the light that you are,' he captioned a photo of her cradling their daughter while wearing a colorful head wrap.

'For the the passion with which you threw yourself into nurturing and protecting our child when she was in your womb. For the dedication and will you showed bringing her into the world,' he continued.

'I have never witnessed a more powerful being than you through those moments. Thank you for the depth of grace you have found since our daughter has arrived. The commitment that you make look so effortless but I know is anything but.'

The Mighty Ducks actor also thanked Jodie for making him a father and trusting him on their journey together.

Essentials only: Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Jackson dutifully stuck to his grocery list, as he left with only one Whole Foods bag

'I am humbled more and more every day by that. I love you. I love seeing you enter the pantheon of mothers. And I look forward to walking this path by your side as we nurture this little engine of joy you have blessed the world with,' he concluded.

Joshua and Jodie welcomed their first child two months ago, their representatives confirmed to People.

'Both mother and baby are happy and healthy,' the reps told the publication.

The lovebirds were seen picking up a marriage license in August, with the duo stepping out with rings in November, but the marriage wasn't confirmed until December.

Loving display: Joshua celebrated Jodie earlier this month in a loving Mother's Day post as she cradled their newborn

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson revealed that his Little Fires Everywhere co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington offered him plenty of support during his wife's pregnancy.

'I was going through a pretty significant change during the show: I found out my wife was pregnant,' admitted Jackson.

'So having a collection of supermoms around me helped with everything from finding doctors to baby clothes to "what to expect" advice.'
Even amid uncertain times, one small business owner in Los Angeles is still making his dreams come true.

Lemeir Mitchell, owner of popular dessert food truck Happy Ice, will have a grand opening for his brand-new brick-and-mortar store on Saturday. The Los Angelesbased business puts a spin on a Philadelphia recipe and doles out colorful water ice and slushie/sorbet-like treats.

PHOTO: Lemeir Mitchell, owner of Los Angeles-based food truck Happy Ice, is set to host a grand opening for his brick-and-mortar shop on June 20, 2020. (Courtesy Lemeir Mitchell)

The move comes after the 28-year-old temporarily closed his businesses for about a month in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic before preparing to reopen the food truck with new precautions. The physical store, located on Melrose Avenue, will prioritize safety with a mandatory face-covering policy along with social distancing markers.

MORE: Small businesses rethink their approach amid the pandemic to serve their customers

A few weeks ago, Mitchell shared a moment with Black Lives Matter protesters by springing into action and showing his support by offering free treats to those marching in the streets in wake of George Floyd's death.

Then, after peaceful protests turned violent, Mitchell came face-to-face with looters and delivered a heartfelt message by pleading with them, "Just spare me today." His message, combined with the fliers he put up that read "black-owned" on the windows, ultimately left his building unharmed.

PHOTO: Lemeir Mitchell, owner of Los Angeles-based food truck Happy Ice, puts up 'black-owned' fliers on his windows in wake of anti-racism protests. (Courtesy Lemeir Mitchell)

"They looked at me and said, 'I respect it bro, you good  [and] they just started shouting, 'Happy Ice is good,''" Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who has 13 siblings, said that he comes from "humble beginnings" after being marked with tragedy. This includes moving to California from Philadelphia after his father was sentenced to life in prison and his brother, Kevin, passed away in a motorcycle accident just days before he was set to graduate college in 2015. Then, when Mitchell first moved to Los Angeles as a tattoo artist, he often slept inside shops in an effort to save money.

Story continues

PHOTO: Lemeir Mitchell, owner of Los Angeles-based food truck Happy Ice, alongside his late brother, Kevin, who died from a motorcycle accident in 2015. (Courtesy Lemeir Mitchell)

Mitchell credits his mother, who helped him launch the business, as one of his biggest supporters. Now, he said his mother helps in any way possible, whether it's providing customer service to guests or washing the dishes.

MORE: Food bloggers, writers and chefs share black-owned restaurant lists in major cities

"My mom has literally dedicated her time to the business. She's like a partner to me," Mitchell said.

The Philadelphia native, who first opened his food truck in September 2017, later partnered with investor Ted Foxman, who invested nearly $1 million into Happy Ice and helped kick-start the opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar location.

Since then, the business has garnered mass support from various celebrities such as Teyana Taylor, Christina Milan, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, Post Malone and the late Nipsey Hussle.

"It means so much to me because I'm a super-passionate entrepreneur. So when all the celebrities support and firefighters come out, it literally gives me tears of joy at times," Mitchell said.

MORE: Small businesses rethink their approach amid the pandemic to serve their customers

"They are not just supporting Happy Ice, but they are helping my dreams come true," he said.

Popular black food truck owner in LA has grand opening of new store originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: In December 2018 Morrison engineered a higher threshold for a coup by proposing that two-thirds of the federal Liberal party room must ask for a spill motion against a sitting Liberal prime minister. The rule was modelled on one that Rudd introduced in Labor five years earlier, during his brief return to the Lodge after staging a successful counter-coup against Gillard. But a changed rule can always be changed back, of course. Rudd does have thoughts on how to fix that to better protect a leader, Labor or Liberal, against plotters. We'll get to his reform proposals shortly. Though Rudd, with his wife Therese Rein, has been based in the US for the last six years, where he's the founding director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, he's spent a lot of time thinking about the Australian political system and its flaws and foibles. And, he says, "the real cancer has not been removed  because factions still exist and branch stacking still exists, and branch stacking builds factional power, so the incentive to do it still exists".

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit: This burst into public view spectacularly this week in Labor's Victorian branch. Factional plotting is fevered in the Liberal Party too, especially its NSW branch, but is largely subterranean at the moment. "So I think the jury is still out on whether the national happy family event of the last three months becomes sustainable for the long term," says Rudd. "You can have a feelgood moment of questionable duration around a crisis or you can turn the federation into the workhorse of the nation around a bold policy agenda." This is Morrison's moment of decision, says the former Labor leader. "If he's going to be Scotty from Marketing Volume II, that will become clear pretty soon from the actual dynamic of the national cabinet process  is it real or fake? It will require a policy vision." "Scott Morrison can bring the country together," he argues, "but it has to be an enduring long-term agenda. He can learn the lessons from the lost decade of policy, the lost decade of vision, or he can default to the easy corner  retail politics, continued marketing and attempt to turn the next election into a referendum on the Labor Party." But you'd have to admit that the Labor Party is making itself a tempting option for a de facto referendum. This week's exposure of rampant factionalism and rule-breaking in Labor's Victorian branch has dominated political news and claimed the scalps of three ministers in the state Labor government of Daniel Andrews.

This masthead's investigative reporter Nick McKenzie revealed how Adem Somyurek, a factional operative and also Victorian minister for local government, stacked branches to win preselection for his favoured candidates. Somyurek boasted of controlling almost two-thirds of Victorian Labor. "F--- the premier," he was recorded as saying on secret tapes. He was in charge and he would choose the premier, he claimed. This affair also spilled over into the federal sphere, putting Anthony Albanese on the defensive. Reflects Rudd: "These are echoes of the same problem that reared its ugly head in 2010, exactly the sort of threats against me." Rudd also finds it jarring that senior Labor figures are about to hold a celebration on the 10th anniversary of the coup against him. It's billed as "10 Year Celebration  Julia Gillard Prime Minister", feting the advent of Australia's first female prime minister. The online event is to be addressed by Wayne Swan, Labor's national president, and a man Rudd blames for treachery in the coup against him. The host is Tanya Plibersek on behalf of Emily's List, a group dedicated to electing more Labor women to Parliament. Rudd thinks it shows a lack of self-awareness by the party and the persistence of the problem. "They've decided to get up and dance on Kevin's grave," is how he puts it. He claims that they're rewriting the narrative "as if the whole thing was an exercise in nobility, when it was a naked grab for power, assisted by Julia Gillard".

Gillard's version is that Rudd was unstable, running a chaotic government, and she had a duty to replace him. Rudd's is that he'd emasculated the "faceless men", a group of factional bosses, by taking away their power to nominate ministers. Rudd took that power for himself. And the faction chiefs wanted it back. So they struck. And Gillard was their candidate. Loading To keep factionalism in check, and protect leaders against coups, Rudd proposes three further reforms. For Labor and Liberal. First, so that the anti-spill rules can't easily be reversed, he suggests that they should be enshrined in the party constitutions. Second, the party constitutions should ban factions. Of course, you can never stop cliques and groups forming. But the traditional Labor conferences where the "Sydney Town Hall is divided down the middle with delegates, Left and Right, to do pitched war between them, mega groups organised with their own national executives" should be forbidden, he argues. Finally, he says that the ballots to choose party candidates for Parliament  preselections  shouldn't be conducted by the parties themselves because they're too rotten. The parties should ask the Australian Electoral Commission to run the preselection ballots, he says. Just as the unions long ago asked the AEC to run union ballots for them.
Alabama Democrats have called for the resignation of state Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville, over his public support of the lost Confederate cause, the party said in a press release Friday.

Dismukes, who said he wont resign, has recently spoken in support of continuing state funding for the Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury, about 28 miles north of Montgomery.

RELATED: Alabama House minority leader wants to end tax support for Confederate park

Dismukes' support for the Confederate park comes at a time when Confederate monuments are targets of protesters across the nation in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, who was in custody of Minneapolis police when an officer pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck. Floyd told officers he couldn't breathe.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder and three other officers at the scene have also been charged in the case.

The Democratic Party, in its statement, took issue with a social media post by Dismukes  wearing a Boy Scout-type shirt  celebrating Confederate Flag Day.

We need elected officials who work for a better tomorrow for all Alabamians, said Wade Perry, executive director of Alabama Democratic Party. That should go without saying. If little Will wants to play dress-up and pretend to fight for the lost cause, he should resign. His job is to pass laws that help Alabamians, not honor folks who fought to preserve the institution of slavery.

A statement regarding Republican Rep. Will Dismukes, an officer of the Prattville Dragoons, a divisive group that idolizes the lost cause of the Confederacy. pic.twitter.com/JMkcCiu4Yh  Alabama Democrats (@aldemocrats) June 19, 2020

Dismukes, who is chaplain of the Prattville Dragoons  a chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said in a Facebook post on Friday night that he will not be resigning.

No worries Im not resigning because the Democratic Chairman requested my resignation, Dismukes said in the Facebook post. I also will not be apologizing over a picture in front of the flags nor being chaplain of my local SCV camp which is listed as a heritage group by the SPLC.

We have enough people caving to the communist left. For the love of life its time for people to stop being so sensitive and apologetic and take a stand before our country is Gone with the Wind. This is way bigger than history and monuments.

Dismukes is in his first term in the state Legislature. He ran for the Republican nomination for the seat in Alabamas 2nd Congressional District last year before dropping out of the race in October.
Several hundred people crowded the parking lot of the Chicopee Police headquarters Friday evening to say a final goodbye to Officer Angela Santiago.

Santiago, 33, Chicopee High Scholl Resource Office, was killed Tuesday as she rode her motorcycle on I-91 in East Windsor, CT.

Mayor John L. Vieau told the crowd that Chicopee is a city in mourning.

When I was elected I was told there would be good days and bad. High and lows, he said Today is a low. I saw what Angelas mentorship meant to the students at Chicopee High School. And now shes gone.

Police Chief William Jebb said he remembered interviewing Angela five and a half years ago.

I just knew we had to hire her, he said after 20 minutes of interviewing her.

When the school resource position opened up, Jebb said he knew without a doubt who to offer it to.

She was such a great fit. She brought sunshine to everyones life, he said. She leaves a serious void in the Police Department.

Santiago was killed Tuesday as she and her identical twin sister rode separate motorcycles on I-91 in East Windsor, CT.

Connecticut State Police said Santiago was exiting the highway at Exit 44 when she lost control of the bike and crashed into a concrete jersey barrier in the median. The crash remains under investigation.
The Summit shall lay emphasis on geopolitics in the post-Covid world, business opportunities, digitization and equitable growth, says US Chamber of Commerce

The US Chamber of Commerce on Friday (local time) said that India Ideas Summit 2020 will be held virtually on July 21-22 with focus on geopolitics in the post-COVID world, shifting supply chains, digitization and technology trends, the future of healthcare and equitable growth.

With so much in flux for the business community, were excited to announce that our 2020 India Ideas Summit will be held virtually this year, making our conversations with senior business and government leaders more accessible than ever. We hope youll join us on July 21-22 for sessions on geopolitics in the post-COVID world, shifting supply chains, digitization and technology trends, the future of healthcare, equitable growth and more!, the department said in a statement.

The Chamber said that the United States and India are grappling with rising COVID-19 case counts in cities across both countries and with reopening underway, governments are also closely tracking what the new developments will mean for both individuals and the business community.

Also read: Reliance raises over Rs 168,818 crore in 58 days, becomes debt-free

Also read: India, Myanmar aim to deepen and expand trade post Covid-19

Renewed restrictions may also challenge economic recovery efforts, as India seeks to jump-start growth  much needed after pandemic-related shutdowns brought factory activity and economic growth to a crawl, it added.

Focusing on the recent escalation in Galwan area along the Line of Actual Control on June 15, the US Chamber of Commerce said it is very much focused this week on grave developments on the China-India border.

While strong behind-the-scenes diplomacy seems poised to resolve and deescalate tensions, we are saddened by the loss of life resulting from the conflict, it said.

The clashes have pushed bilateral relations to a new low, and prompted pledges from New Delhi to pare back economic ties with China and strengthen strategic relationships with the U.S. and other partners, it added.

US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo had last year addressed the India Ideas Summit in Washington at the US Chamber of Commerce on June 12.

Organised by US India Business Council (USIBC), the India Ideas Summit is a platform to convene scholars, practitioners, diplomats, and think tanks for high-level dialogue on key issues related to India.

The India Ideas Summit will be marking its 45th annual meeting next month.

Also read: Telangana CM KCR announces 5 crore ex-gratia for Galwan martyr Santosh babus family

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Ashley Roberts has been forced to close her fashion brand Allyn Collections amid claims the brand was 'haemorrhaging cash.'

The Pussycat Dolls star, 38, opened the site in 2017 selling 400 pairs of boots and 200 sandals, however the brand is said to have faced poor sales.

On Companies House, it can be seen that Allyn Collections Ltd, where Ashley was listed as director, was dissolved on 7 January and struck from the register after failing to send in documents stating it wished to continue trading.

The end: Ashley Roberts has been forced to close her fashion brand Allyn Collections amid claims the brand was 'haemorrhaging cash' (pictured on Friday)

On the government website, Ashley is listed as being a Shoe Designer by occupation, while the site showed she was appointed co-director on 1 May 2017 and has US as her country of residence.

Sources told The Sun: 'She launched Allyn Collections with really good intentions but it didn't take off at all. The company had been kept open because Ashley hoped there would be something that could be done to revive it.'

Speaking at its launch in October 2017, the American-born star said: 'I was sitting in my flat in Notting Hill and thinking about how I wanted something that was mine, my own little business.

'I have a total shoe addiction and my wardrobes in both LA and London are stacked with boxes and boxes of shoes, it's ridiculous.

No more: The Pussycat Dolls star, 38, opened the site in 2017 selling 400 pairs of boots and 200 sandals, however the brand is said to have faced poor sales (pictured at the launch in 2017)

'So I reached out to a few people I knew who designed shoes and it just started organically unfolding.'

MailOnline reached out to Ashley's representatives for comment.

The news comes after her ex Giovanni Pernice discussed their split, after they parted ways in January after two years together. As he weighed in on their break-up, he described himself as 'single and ready to mingle'.

Of how he plans to date, he claimed he wouldn't use apps as he said: 'I want to meet the person and see if there is a connection. Obviously you have to fancy the person.'

And when asked about his famous exes Georgia May Foote and TOWIE's Jessica Wright, he added: 'I think I just had girlfriends...

Sad: Allyn Collections Ltd has now been dissolved and struck from the register at Companies House after failing to send in documents stating it wished to continue trading (pictured in 2017)

'I didn't think that they were famous. When you're in love or when you're in a relationship, you don't think about the fact they are famous.

'You can fall in love with the person who works in Tesco. It just happens. You can't choose who, you just fall in love.'

Ashley meanwhile has reportedly been playing the field herself, as reports have alleged that David Walliams has set his sights on a romance with the star.

A source said: 'She launched Allyn Collections with really good intentions but it didn't take off at all' (pictured in 2017)

According to The Sun, the Britain's Got Talent star, 48, is believed to have split from celebrity make-up artist, Lou Teasdale, earlier this year following a brief romance.

A source has claimed the comedian has since reached out to the presenter and hopes to date her once the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.

An insider told the publication: 'David was really knocked after his painful split from Lara [Stone], but is very much looking for love now.'
Moscow's Approval Necessary For Any Deal Between Serbia, Kosovo, Lavrov Says

By RFE/RL June 19, 2020

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia's approval would be required for any solution reached in peace talks between Kosovo and Serbia, whose leaders are scheduled to meet in the White House next week.

Speaking in Belgrade on June 18, Lavrov said the Kremlin would only support solutions to the Kosovo question acceptable to Belgrade and approved by the UN Security Council.

Richard Grenell, the U.S. special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo negotiations, last week said he had received commitments from both countries to meet in Washington on June 27 for talks aimed at leading to a normalization of relations.

Grenell said Serbia had committed to "temporarily pause the de-recognition campaign" and Kosovo agreed to pause its efforts to win more international memberships in order to meet at the White House to try to resume talks that have been on hold for more than a year.

Lavrov said that the European Union had a mandate from the UN General Assembly to negotiate in the dispute and it should be the entity that carries out those duties.

Grenell said the White House meeting "opens the door to new economic development and investment.'' In a statement to the Associated Press on June 18, he said the United States "hopes leaders in Kosovo and Serbia will seize this chance to return to dialogue and begin a new era of stability and prosperity. The people of this region deserve nothing less."

The EU mediator in the talks, Miroslav Lajcak, said an EU role was necessary for any future deal and said Washington hadn't contacted Brussels on its latest summit initiative.

"We communicate with our partner the U.S. on our initiatives and we expect them to do the same," Lajcak said. "A good agreement would bring Kosovo and Serbia closer to the EU and I don't believe that such an agreement can be reached without the EU presence there."

Lajcak said that the Brussels-facilitated dialogue would resume soon and the date would be set after his visit to Belgrade next week.

Kosovo was part of Serbia until an armed uprising by the ethnic Albanian majority population in 1998-99 triggered a Serbian crackdown. This in turn prompted a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia to force its troops out of Kosovo. Belgrade and Moscow both refuse to recognize Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

Lavrov's visit comes three days ahead of elections in Serbia and is widely seen as a sign of support for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic said no resolution of Serbia's future relationship with its former province would be possible without Moscow's consent and said he would reject European Union membership if Belgrade did not receive concessions in return for recognizing Kosovo and dropping attempts to stop it joining the United Nations.

"In reply to a possible offer [to Serbia] to recognize Kosovo and that Kosovo enters the UN, and we receive nothing in return, except EU membership, our answer would be 'no,'" Vucic said after meeting Lavrov.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-serbia- kosovo-lavrov-grenell/30679106.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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After granting Ukraine the status of an Enhanced Opportunities Partner, NATO should involve Ukraine in the process of developing the strategy of the Black Sea basin, the former NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has stated.

"NATO should now move to fully integrate Ukraine in its development of a comprehensive Black Sea strategy to counter Russia's military build-up in occupied Crimea and its interference with freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov," he said during an online discussion at the Kyiv Security Forum.

"NATO members have already benefited significantly from training and exercising with battle-tested Ukrainian forces, and have learned a lot from Ukraine's experience as a target of Russian cyber-attacks, information operations, and other forms of hybrid warfare," he said.

In addition, the ambassador noted that the partnership could enhance Ukraine's ability to gain NATO membership in the next few years, although it does not in itself replace NATO membership and does not guarantee anything new in the future, besides what NATO has already stated.

Vershbow also drew attention to the fact that, in his opinion, the alliance should have granted Ukraine the status of a NATO partner with advanced capabilities earlier.
Doctors, lawyers, and campaigners for older peoples welfare have launched a High Court legal action against the Johnson government. It challenges the refusal to hold an urgent inquiry into its failures to get adequate PPE [personal protective equipment] to NHS staff and care workers, to protect the lives of health and social care workers from COVID-19.

At least 181 health workers and 131 social care workers have died while working on the frontline.

The action was launched by the Doctors Association UK (DAUK)a campaign group of doctors and medical studentsthe Good Law Project, a pressure group on legal matters, and the charity Hourglass, which campaigns against neglect and abuse of older people.

Clinical staff care for a patient with coronavirus in the intensive care unit at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, May 5, 2020 [Credit: Neil Hall Pool via AP]

Crowdfunding for the legal challenge has already raised more than 62,000 out of a 75,000 target and a petition calling for a public inquiry has attracted more than 120,000 signatures.

In May, the groups legal team wrote to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, demanding an investigation into failings in procurement, stockpiling, distribution, and provision of PPE.

A pre-action Protocol Letter, dated May 9, stated, Those failures have contributed to the death and serious illnesses of healthcare and other care workers, as well as patients and others for whom they care.

The letter insisted that an inquiry was necessary, as a matter of law, under the Human Rights Act 1998 and Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

An independent inquiry, according to the campaigners, is necessary to learn lessons as speedily as reasonably practicable from the current crisis in order to enable adequate provision of PPE to be made during the current crisis and, in any event, in time for any second or third wave of COVID-19 or similar pathogen.

Hourglass Chief Executive Richard Robinson said, As lockdown restrictions ease, it is vital that lessons are learned from our response to the pandemic before we encounter a second wave. He warned, There can be no excuse for a repeat of the carnage weve seen in our care homes over the last few months.

In response to the pre-action letter, Conservative government lawyers claimed there was no arguable case that the health secretary had breached Article 2 of the ECHR. They argued that deaths from COVID-19 were already being investigated through existing mechanisms, such as medical examinations and inquests.

The governments claim regarding examinations and inquests is preposterous. Guidance from the chief coroner issued in April excludes investigation of the PPE issue from the scope of coroners inquests into the deaths of health care workers.

On this question, the crowdfunding appeal states, This is also about getting answers for the families of the individual NHS and social care workers who have lost their lives. Each death will be investigated by a coroner, but without an independent inquiry, it is likely different coroners courts will reach inconsistent or conflicting views on the role PPE played in their deaths. The families deserve better.

The government lawyers letter stated, In the context of a national emergency and pandemic of this kind, there are many ways in which the government is properly held to account, including in Parliament.

The government can state this safe in the knowledge they can rely on Her Majestys Most Loyal Opposition to prop them up and collaborate in a state cover-up. Sir Keir Starmer, as soon as he became Labour Party leader in April and as the pandemic death toll was rising exponentially, offered to work constructively with the government. He has been true to his word.

The government is seeking to conceal its failures regardless of all the evidence, proof and facts arrayed against them. Any objective examination of events and how they unfolded during the pandemic exposes its criminal actions. The pre-action letter draws attention to these issues, although it does not call for any prosecutions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) was first informed by the Chinese government in December that people were suffering from pneumonia caused by a possible unknown virus in central China. On January 9, WHO identified and announced the virus affecting people in Wuhan, China, as Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, 2019 (COVID-19). On January 30, the WHO emergency committee alerted the world of a possible global pandemic of COVID-19.

The government had enough time to prepare but ignored all the warnings from scientists and experts. Instead, it based all calculations on a herd immunity strategycentred on allowing tens of millions among the population to contract the disease, with the real possibility that up to 500,000 could die as a result. Those who would face the full brutal impact of such a policy would be the elderly and infirm and those caring for and treating the sick.

By early March, there were more than 100 confirmed COVID-19 patients, but the government went on with business as usual, in the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, knowing the tragedy already unfolding in Italy was soon to follow in Britain.

According to experts, consistent use of full-body PPEalong with other infection-control measurescan diminish the risk of infection for health care workers. But the Tories ignored this advice and WHO guidelines.

When the pandemic began to tear through the population, there was a severe shortage of the required PPE. This was a result of years of underfunding the National Health Service (NHS) and social care. Between 2013 and 2016, the national stockpile of PPE was slashed by 40 percent as a part of 20 billion in NHS efficiency savings.

Regardless of the lack of general availability of PPE, the government refused to join a joint procurement scheme with the European Union in March, although it attended the European Health Security Committee.

Instead of fulfilling demands for PPE, the Tories and Public Health Englandalong with the Health and Safety Executivechanged the guidelines amid the outbreak. The government downgraded COVID-19 to a non-High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) from March 19, 2020reducing the level of what constitutes safe PPE required for staff in treating it. A month later, on April 17, the government amended guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to cut down on the use of filtering face masks (FFP3, FFP2)again in breach of WHO recommendations.

None of the health unions, including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and British Medical Association (BMA), whose members have been the victims of the lack of PPE and the governments criminal negligence, raised a finger against the Johnson administration. They made a few token criticisms to appease the growing anger of their members but have organised next to nothing to protect them from the dangerous conditions they face. The RCN and BMA have 450,000 and 88,000 (including 19,000 medical students) members, respectively. Unison, Unite and GMB also have tens of thousands of members working in the health and social care sectors. Their recent surveys reveal a significant section of their membership are working without adequate protection from COVID-19.

The RCN found that more than a third of nursing staff (34 percent) say theyre still under pressure to care for patients with possible or confirmed COVID-19 without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

A recent BMA article, PPE: a problem yet to be fixed, reported findings from a survey to which 8,455 doctors responded. It stated that a significant proportion of doctors still report struggling to access basics: masks, gowns, and protective glasses. The supply problem now seems chronic and months of struggle are now hitting staff mental health.

No faith whatsoever can be placed in the unions, which function as an extended arm of the government and the employers.

The refusal by the government to sanction even a toothless inquiryin which the British ruling elite are past mastersis the clearest indication of their aims. The representatives of the ruling elite intend to get away with social murder on a scale far greater than that of the Grenfell Tower inferno in 2017, which killed 72 people. It has been three years since the fire, but none of those responsibleincluding Johnson, who slashed the fire service as London mayorhas been arrested, let alone prosecuted, even as a whitewash inquiry has dragged on over months.

Any genuine exposure of the crimes committed by the government, and the bringing of those responsible to justice, requires a unified struggle of the working class based on a socialist strategy. Last month, the Socialist Equality Party issued a call for health workers to take matters in their own hands through the building of Rank-and-file safety committees, to demand and implement measures to protect workers lives.
VICTORIAThe British Columbia government is extending its temporary rental supplement program to support renters and landlords through the pandemic, while it ends its border screening measures.

The government announced Friday it will also maintain a moratorium on rent increases and evictions for nonpayment of rent, but a ban on evictions for reasons will be lifted later this month.

The rental supplement supports those temporarily laid off during the pandemic, providing $500 per month for eligible households with dependants and $300 per month for renters without dependants.

The province announced seven new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed on Friday for a total of 2,790, while 2,444 people who tested positive have recovered.

There were no deaths reported Friday. One person has died in the last 13 days, for a total of 168 deaths.

In another move away from pandemic-related restrictions, B.C. says it will end its border screening measures, designed to help residents facing a 14-day isolation period after returning from international travel.

A statement from the province says federal screening measures will continue and Service BC will also conduct wellness checks to ensure travellers are maintaining their self-isolation.

B.C.s screening measures served as a blueprint for similar federal and provincial programs and the statement says those enhanced federal strategies mean the province can focus on other aspects of infection control.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the hundreds of public servants and B.C. residents who worked at airports and land borders to screen incoming travellers should be proud.

The evolution of federally led border measures has allowed the B.C. public service to step back from border screenings and redeploy our resources to best limit the spread of COVID-19 in British Columbia, Farnworth says in the statement.

The government says staff processed more than 72,400 people arriving either at the Vancouver airport or 17 land border crossings between April 10 and June 15, with more than 26,100 followup calls to ensure people were self-isolating.

Of those, 142 travellers didnt have an adequate self-isolation plan and the province says they were kept in mandatory quarantine for two weeks or until their isolation plan was considered acceptable.

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The government is confident about Air Indias divestment plans, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Answering a question at the end of a press conference to update on the ministrys Vande Bharat mission, Puri said: I have never been as hopeful and confident on Air India divestment, as I am now.

Listing out all that he considers the airliner attributes, Puri stated: I think the true worth of Air IndiaI have always said it is a first rate asset, excellent engineers, excellent pilots, it has routes, it has wide bodied aircraft, it flies to 40-50 destinations outside (international destinations), and now during Vande Bharat it has flown to even more destinations outside  Air India has added 20 destinations  for evacuation, not civil aviation. Whether evacuating from Wuhan or other things, Air India has been at the heart of this.

He added that the coronavirus pandemic has given them time to plan. We will need to take some decisions on rationalisation, etc., but time is a great teacher. So, we may have lost two or three months because of the pandemic, but we have gained a lot of experience in terms of the value and how to take this forward.

Also Read | Air traffic in India will return to pre-COVID-19 levels by year end: Civil Aviation Minister

The Government of India (GoI) had on January 27 announced that it will completely exit Air India, including in units Air India Express (AIXL) and Air India SATS (AISATS), in what was seen a major step to ensure success in its second attempt at divesting the national carrier.

"The GoI has given an in-principle approval for the strategic disinvestment of Air India by way of transfer of management control and sale of 100 percent equity share capital of AI held by GoI, which will include AIs shareholding interest of 100 percent in AIXL and 50 percent in AISATS," the expression of interest (EoI) document released on January 27 stated.

The government has appointed EY to advise and manage the proposed transaction. The last date to submit the EoI was March 17, and the government will intimate the qualified bidders by March 31.

A successful sale of Air India is imperative for the government to meet its disinvestment target. Moreover, the airline, which is dependent on government largesse to run its operations, needs a new owner to keep flying. Its earlier attempt in 2018, when the government had offered to sell 76 percent stake, had come a cropper.

Suitors

The Tata Group has a natural interest in Air India, which started off as Tata Air Services in 1932. In recent interviews, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has not ruled out of the option of the group considering a possible bid for Air India.

The Group already has interests in aviation through two joint ventures in Vistara and AirAsia India.

Other names that have come up include IndiGo, the Hinduja Group - which made a brief appearance in the Jet Airways insolvency, and SpiceJet.

While some of these airlines may look too small to bid, they could form a consortium with PE investors or sovereign funds.

Air India may see suitors from overseas too, though some of them, including Qatar Airways, have ruled out that option.
Who will take care of the caretakers? This question has continued to stare at major hospitals in the national capital as it sees a surge in Covid-19 cases. Nine major Covid-designated hospitals, both under the Centre and the state government, have seen 1,207 healthcare workers (nurses and doctors) test positive for the infection in Delhi since March.

This data was gathered following conversations with representatives of nurses unions in different hospitals and top authorities of six hospitals. This number includes data from private hospitals as well, based on information collated by the United Nurses Association, one of the largest unions of healthcare workers (HCWs) engaged in the private sector, and Sir Gangaram Hospital, whose authorities confirmed that 313 HCWs had tested positive at the institute.

The actual number of HCWs who have tested positive is likely to be much higher as there is no separate centralised data on them from either public or private hospitals and no data from smaller nursing homes and clinics either.

Despite several queries made during press briefings, the union health ministry has till date not revealed how many healthcare workers have tested positive across major cities or hotspots.

If other staffers, such as lab technicians, nursing orderlies and sanitation workers are taken into account from some of these hospitals, then this number balloons over 2,000, unions and hospital authorities said. Many nurses and doctors have recovered and even resumed duty but HCWs testing positive has forced hospitals to rationalise staff duties, leading to added hours in both Covid and non-Covid wards, and fatigue. The nurses assigned to Covid-ward duties also have to undergo mandatory quarantine and thus a rotational duty system has to be put in place.

On Friday, the health ministry issued a new advisory for HCWs and said, For doctors, nursing officers and other health workers with high risk exposure, the quarantine period shall be initially for one week only. Earlier, the quarantine period was of two weeks.

The data gathered by News18 underscores the strain on hospitals as they cope with the pandemic. As on Friday night, Delhi had recorded 53,116 Covid-19 cases and 3,137 new cases were added since Thursday. Out of the total, 27,512 were active cases, 23,569 persons had recovered and 2,035 had died. Delhi is the third most affected state in the country in terms of cumulative cases and has reported the second highest number of mortalities after Maharashtra.

The 1,207 HCWs who have tested positive for Covid-19 belong to Delhi government-controlled institutes such as Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB). No data was available from Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital at the time of publishing this story.

Among centrally funded hospitals, HCWs who tested positive were from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College. A hospital-wise break-up of Covid-positive HCWs in private hospitals could not be obtained from the United Nurses Association (UNA).

Here are the details on the number of healthcare workers who have tested positive in top hospitals of the Delhi government and central government. This also includes consolidated data of Covid-positive HCWs from private hospitals.

Long Hours, Dehydration and Fear of Infecting Family Members

For nurses and doctors on the front line, the pandemic has been relentless. It has led to anxiety and fear as the risk of exposure is double-edged, at the workplace as well as outside the hospital premises. The issue of sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) remains a sore point whereas long working hours wearing suffocating PPE and uneven duty rotation have led to growing frustration and fatigue. Just last week, the AIIMS nurses union ended its relay protest over issues of long duty hours and establishment of proper PPE donning and doffing area. Similarly, on Thursday, nurses in a few private hospitals threatened to go on strike and some have already resigned on grounds of PPE shortage.

Our usual duty is of six hours and if you take into account time taken to wear and take off PPE, it takes more time. The duty should be of four hours. Dehydration and fatigue are some of the major issues and it is leading to a drop in our efficiency, said a member of the AIIMS nurses union on the condition of anonymity.

In AIIMS, a total of 645 staff members have tested positive. This includes 141 nurses and doctors and the rest are nursing orderlies, lab assistants, lab technicians, sanitation workers, security guards, drivers and other non-medical staff, said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent, AIIMS.

It is difficult to say where the healthcare workers have picked up the infection. On any given day, the number of staffers who are in quarantine or under treatment is not more than 30, so we are able to manage with available resources thus far. We have also provided our staff with the option of using our hospital accommodation, especially for those who are working late hours and for those who may not want go back to their families, said Dr Sharma.

The duty hours are longer and more hectic at LNJP hospital, which has been under fire after videos of corpses lying in its corridors came to light. The Supreme Court took suo moto cognisance of the matter and, on Wednesday, pulled up the Delhi government for taking action against doctors who documented the poor conditions at the institute.

"The donning and doffing area is a high-risk area for the nurses. We have trained nurses to be extra-cautious while going through this process, especially during doffing, meaning while taking off the PPE. PPE should be taken off at the exit point of ICU or ward and the mask only after exiting the patient care area," said a senior nursing officer at Safdarjung hospital who did not want to be named. The institute's medical superintendent did not respond to queries mailed to him.

At LNJP, nurses had to protest in April to get accommodation during their quarantine period, to protect their families from infection. The hospital had made arrangements for doctors at the hotel The Lalit whereas nurses were put up at the dental college in the hospital premises. After many protests, they were given accommodation in a Gujarat state guesthouse near Kashmere Gate and arrangements were also made in hotels in Karol Bagh and Daryaganj.

Similarly, the nursing staff at RML has been provided accommodation in hotels across Karol Bagh; some are even put up as far as Mahipalpur and Nawada. The food provided in these hotels is just about average. It comes pre-packed. Sometimes we really crave for some fresh and piping hot home food but that is not available, said a senior nurse from RML Hospital on the condition of anonymity.

Trying to Manage With Available Resources

Hospital authorities said that HCWs testing positive is certainly posing a challenge to manage the resources at hand. The problem, authorities said, is compounded by the possibility of HCWs getting infected outside the hospital too, while commuting or around their homes. They have been trained, re-trained on PPE, infection control and relevant protocols. We are providing accommodation to those who are working in red and orange zones, said Dr NN Mathur, director, Lady Hardinge Medical College & Smt Sucheta Kriplani and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of LNJP Hospital, said, We have made a separate ward in our hospital for our staff who have tested positive. In the ICUs there is risk of exposure to aerosols and secretions and staffers working there are in danger. One of our doctors is in the ICU on ventilator support. There is also risk of exposure in medical wards where patients of multi-organ failure are admitted. Besides, sanitary workers are also at high risk.
In Scripture, fatherhood is worthy of tremendous respect. Looking at the Ten Commandments the first three deal with honoring God, but the next seven Commandments deal with human relations. The very first one tells us to honor our father and mother.

This connection between parents and children form the foundation of all human relationships, just as families are the basic unit of society. However, Jesus goes even further than the Decalogue. He states that human fathers not only deserve our love and esteem, but he insists that fatherhood is at the very heart of our existence and who we are as persons. He reveals Gods fatherhood, calling him Father, and even Abba (Daddy) at times, instructing us to do the same. This intimacy in calling God the Father Abba helps define us as Christians with a very intimate and personal relationship with God.

St. Paul makes the connection between Gods fatherhood and humans as fathers when he preaches, I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every fatherhood, in heaven and on earth, takes its name (Eph 3:14-15).

So, we can not understand human fatherhood without knowing about God the Father. God the Father, the Creator, has generated fathers, human creatures who have been elevated to take the name of father. So, we can obviously see how fatherhood emanates from Gods fatherhood. God the Father is the Creator and therefore, as a result human beingsfather and mothergenerate on both the physical and spiritual levels, a body and an immortal soul which make up a human person. In this way man and woman enter into a creative moment where God produces something that was not there before, ex nihilo from nothing, and generates an immortal soul. However, procreation goes beyond just biological fatherhood. Many of us, both biological parents and adopted parents, try to improve the new person through education and by example.

Pope Francis in his inaugural homily in 2013 called St. Joseph the perfect example of fatherhood. This special fatherhood was not biological, but on a supernatural order. This is not abstract, but real fatherhood. St. Joseph was a just man who taught his son a trade, but more importantly belief in God by his words and more importantly by his example. Therefore, fatherhood is not defined merely biologically, but rather by one who acts like a father to his children. Thus, on this level of fatherhood  biological, spiritual or by adoption  a man has to be a provider by giving his offspring a home, food and an education. He is a guide and teacher instructing his children about their physical and spiritual lives and the mission awaiting them. A father is also a protector providing a steady emotional influence, a rock for the objective good and a source of good morals and beliefs for his children.

One of the great joys of the priesthood is my fatherhood. We priests are called Father because this role is ordered more toward this supernatural fatherhood in the order of grace from God. In Matthews Gospel this apostle teaches us a very unique but important lesson: Call no man on earth your father, for you have one Father who is in heaven (Matt 23:9). However, Jesus in the Bible refers to many men as fathers. The point here is that Jesus is saying that for a man to be truly a father on earth, he must be grounded in the fatherhood of God. Each man has to have a strong bond and relationship with God the Father. This call is for both married men, single men and of course, priests.

Vatican II in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church describes the family as the domestic church. So, the father is the head of that domestic church. He serves his family as a type of priest within the common priesthood in his own family.

St. Augustine said to fathers, Fulfill my office in your homes. St. Augustine was a bishop at that time and therefore, a teacher of the ways people believe much like a father ought to do with his family. The saint, in fact, called fathers my fellow bishops.

Fathers should exercise their authority over their children with humility, grace and especially joy. The whole idea of paternity is to bring all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, to eternal life. Adam was the first father of humanity, but Jesus, according to St. Paul, is the second Adam. However, Jesus was not a father in the worldly sense of the word, but he was first a son. This is true of all of us. We cannot be a father unless we are first a son. So, we cannot be a supernatural father unless we are first sons of God the Father, that is committed disciples of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

A father who loves his wife, also loves his Church. For me as a priest I am married to the Church. My spouse is the Roman Catholic Church of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin Mary is my mother who gives me strength, wisdom and courage  virtues to make me a good father. Through her prayers, Mary shows us how to become supernatural fathers. With her maternal help, when the Lord calls me home, I will rejoice to be reunited in heaven with all of my children as we all take that pilgrimage to the Father of us all. It was Padre Pio who said, I will not enter into the gates of heaven until all of my spiritual children have passed before me and entered heaven. A true father in the full sense of the word.

Prayer to God the Father

Almighty God, my Eternal Father,

from the fullness of my soul I adore You.

I am deeply grateful that You have made me

in Your image and likeness,

and that You ever hold me in Your loving embrace.

Direct me to love You with all my heart,

with all my soul,

and with my whole mind.

Direct me to love all Your children as I love myself.

O, my Father, my soul longs to be united to You,

and to rest in You forever.

Have the Holy Spirit touch my soul

so that I may love You as He does,

and as Your Beloved Son Jesus does.

Amen.

Happy Fathers Day to all the various different types of fathers  single, married, priests, living and deceased. May the Blessed Mother watch over all of her children, but especially all of the Fathers in the real sense of the word. It is a great day to be a Father!
A dramatic arrest on a West End street, that involved a police cruiser being used to take down a suspect who was fleeing on foot, raises new concerns about the Winnipeg Police Services use-of-force protocols.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dramatic arrest on a West End street, that involved a police cruiser being used to take down a suspect who was fleeing on foot, raises new concerns about the Winnipeg Police Services use-of-force protocols.

The incident has been kept from public view for three weeks, amid mounting calls to defund police departments and waves of Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the continent.

The police service has not publicly disclosed the May 27 arrest  now under investigation by Manitobas police watchdog  in which a cruiser car struck a suspect as he fled on foot down the 700 block of Sargent Avenue.

Police have refused to release the mans name, citing the fact the initial report that sent officers to the scene was a domestic dispute.

But the Free Press has obtained police video of the incident.

After receiving a report that a man and woman were fighting around 9:15 p.m., the police service dispatched multiple officers to the area.

Footage taken by the police helicopter shows a man walking westbound down Sargent Avenue with a woman. Police radio transmissions quickly identify the man as the suspect in the domestic dispute.

Seconds later, multiple cruiser cars arrive on scene, and the man takes off running. Two officers get out of their vehicle and chase the man.

"He might have been trying to bear-spray officers here," a WPS member says over the police radio system. The man can be seen spraying an unknown substance in an apparent attempt to ward off officers.

As the man flees on foot, a police officer driving a cruiser car accelerates up the street against oncoming traffic and turns left toward the sidewalk. The suspect is struck by the cruiser car, which mounts the curb and drives him onto the pavement.

Police move in to arrest the suspect. He was taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was diagnosed with a fractured elbow. Since this constitutes a "serious injury" under the Police Services Act, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba launched a probe.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver says the force has provided full disclosure to the IIU. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

The WPS informed the IIU of the incident May 28. When the IIU announced its investigation into the matter June 1, it made no mention of a police cruiser striking the suspect, and only identified him as a 23-year-old man.

"The male was unco-operative and force was used to arrest him," reads the IIU news release.

A review of the agencys news releases indicates its common practice to explicitly note when its investigating a motor-vehicle collision. The agency also often provides information on the manner in which a suspect is alleged to have been injured by police.

The Free Press repeatedly contacted the IIU to ask if the footage was in its possession, and, if so, when it was obtained. The IIU would neither confirm nor deny it had the footage, citing its ongoing investigation.

On Friday, WPS spokesman Const. Rob Carver said the force had provided "full disclosure" to the IIU.

The suspect is charged with 15 criminal offences in connection with the incident, including four counts of assaulting a police officer.

On several occasions since the beginning of the year, the police service proactively disclosed cases in which its officers were allegedly assaulted. No news release was issued for this case.

"I have difficulty imagining a situation where ramming your car into a person as theyre running away could be justified. The police car is not a weapon, and the police are dealing with real human beings, not playing a video game."  Human rights attorney Corey Shefman

When shown the video by the Free Press, two criminologists and one lawyer characterized the incident as excessive force. A second lawyer interviewed said he could see both arguments for, and against, the incident constituting excessive force.

"When police use force, it must be proportional to the threat, and it should be the minimum amount of force needed to protect and preserve life. Ramming a fleeing suspect with your car is not proportional and seems incredibly excessive," said Corey Shefman, a human rights attorney.

"I have difficulty imagining a situation where ramming your car into a person as theyre running away could be justified. The police car is not a weapon, and the police are dealing with real human beings, not playing a video game."

Ian Scott, a lawyer and former head of the Special Investigations Unit of Ontario (the regional counterpart to the IIU), said the video can be interpreted multiple ways.

If the officer claims they didnt intend to hit the suspect with the cruiser car, but merely cut him off, Scott said the incident could be interpreted as an accident, rather than a use-of-force situation.

However, if it is proven the officer intended to hit the suspect with the vehicle, then the question of whether a criminal charge should be laid hinges on whether the officers actions were likely to cause "grievous bodily harm."

Only if the officer intended to ram the suspect with the car, and if that decision were likely to seriously injure him, would a criminal charge against the officer be justified, Scott said.

Carver provided basic details about the case when contacted by the Free Press, but  citing the IIU probe  would not comment on how the suspect was injured or the fact he was hit by a police vehicle.

Carver said multiple officers were treated by paramedics at the scene, but none required hospitalization.

Kevin Walby, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Winnipeg, said the video shows the WPS violate the "1+1 rule," which states police can only escalate the use-of-force continuum in proportion to the level of threat they face.

While bear spray  if its proven in court thats what the suspect had on him  constitutes a threat to officers, Walby said its not a lethal threat, and its possible the suspect could have been killed when hit by the car.

"In terms of the bigger picture, is this how we want to respond to transgression in our society? A group of folks with cars running people down. Or can we do better? Can we devise different kinds of teams that can respond without running people down or shooting them?" Walby said.

The video has come to light at a time when calls to reform police departments ring loud in the ears of politicians and law enforcement officials across the continent.

It also comes on the heels of the controversial arrest of Flinn Nolan Dorian, a 33-year-old Indigenous man, last week. Footage of the arrest was posted to social media, sparking outrage from some Winnipeggers and support from others.

Winnipeg officers kicked Dorian twice, repeatedly kneed him, and punched him seven times during a scuffle in the Exchange District on June 11. Police had been called to the scene regarding a man breaking into a commercial building, destroying property, and brandishing a handgun.

The handgun was later determined to be a replica airsoft pistol. Police said he was also armed with a knife and metal bar, which justified the officers response.

Dorian has been charged with multiple criminal offences in connection with the incident. The allegations against him have not been proven in court.

Video of the arrest sparked condemnation from Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation.

On Tuesday, Winnipeg Liberal MP Dan Vandal told a federal committee that racism and police bias in Winnipeg have hardly changed since the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (1989-1991), which was held in response to the fatal shooting of J.J. Harper.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Free Press that provincial governments must play a role in stamping out police brutality. He said he plans to raise the issue of systemic racism in policing during his weekly phone call with premiers.

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Police use-of-force protocols, and the broader role law enforcement officers play in communities, has come under fire in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by Minneapolis police on May 25.

Floyds death resulted in Black Lives Matter protests across North America, including a June 5 rally in Winnipeg in which 15,000 people took part.

A second demonstration, in honour of Eishia Hudson, a 16-year-old Indigenous female shot to death by police in April after allegedly robbing a liquor store and fleeing in a stolen vehicle, was scheduled for Friday evening. Hudson was one of three Indigenous people fatally shot by Winnipeg police officers within a 10-day period that month.

The question of whether the officer in the May 27 case will be cleared of wrongdoing by the IIU will likely not be known for some time. It can take more than a year for IIU investigations to be closed.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that the Egyptian army is one of the strongest armies in the region. It is a wise army that protects and does not threaten, he added.

El-Sisi's statement came during his inspection tour of Egypt's Western Military Zones personnel, a presidency statement said.

"This comes within our strategy and expresses our doctrine and principles that have not been changed," El-Sisi said during his tour.

"Our army is able to protect Egypt's national security," the president said, "inside and outside the borders of the homeland."

The Egyptian army is the ninth most powerful army in the world, according to the website Global Firepower Index's 2020 military strength ranking.

Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said the tour took place in the presence of the Minister of Defence and General Commander of the Armed Forces Mohamed Zaki, the Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid, and leaders of the main branches of the Armed Forces.

"I'm glad to meet you today and be reassured by you of the efficiency, high technical and combat status of the Armed Forces," El-Sisi said, addressing the Western Military Zones personnel.

In a video aired on state TV, the president instructed the Western Military Zone forces to be ready "to carry out any mission here within our borders or, if necessary, beyond them."

El-Sisi added that along "our borders with the sister country Libya, which is more than 1,200 kilometres long and has been secured for over seven years, many sacrifices are being made in many military activities, about which little is known, by the Air Forces, the Special Forces, and Border Guards."

El-Sisi is scheduled later in the day to open the Gargoub Naval Base, west of Marsa Matrouh, which is part of the northern fleet region of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Gargoub base is due to be in charge of securing the western part of the Egyptian northern coast on the Mediterranean, which includes the Dabaa nuclear station, the new city of Alamein, in addition to the economic zone that will be established.

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A grandfather has opened up about the horrifying moment he and his grandson almost died when their plane went into engine failure over Victorian Bushland.

Ken Bathurst, 74, and pilot Andrew Ottrey, 17, were on a scenic flight over the Gippsland Valley last Saturday when disaster struck.

Coolant began streaming out of the Zennith Zodiac plane and the pair knew a complete engine failure was imminent.

The pair were miraculously saved by several large gum trees which stopped the light aircraft from crashing into the ground.

Ken Bathurst (pictured) has opened up about the horrifying moment he and his grandson almost died when their plane went into engine failure over Victorian Bushland

The Zennith Zodiac aircraft became stuck in gum nut trees and was lodged upside down

While speaking to the Herald Sun, Mr Bathurst detailed how the pair began desperately searching the rugged terrain below for a place to land, knowing they couldn't make it back to Yarram Airfield.

'Things started to get worse - the cockpit was filling up with smoke, we couldn't see out,' Mr Bathurst said.

'The engine conked out and we hit the trees. It was terrible, very noisy, it all happened too quickly.'

Mr Bathurst said what happened next was a matter of 'divine intervention'.

The aircraft was saved from hitting the ground by gum nut trees.

The downed aircraft is pictured dandling about 7 meters off the ground below

The aircraft was saved from hitting the ground by gum nut trees, Mr Bathurst said

Lodged seven meters off the ground and dangling upside down, Mr Bathurst said 'we escaped a certain death, by rights we should've been killed, no doubts about it. I call it a miracle.'

A man who was the first person to arrive at the scene of the crash told the ABC he was 'gobsmacked' the two had survived.

Local resident Ryan Collins said he heard a loud 'bang' from kilometres away.

'I was just out cutting a bit of wood, looked up and saw this plane with a bit of smoke coming out of it and slowly going down,' he said.

Mr Collins then rushed to the scene in his ute to find the pair on the ground below the cabin.

Grandfather Ken Bathurst, 74, and his grandson, pilot Andrew Ottrey, 17, (pictured) were on a scenic flight over the Gippsland Valley last Saturday when there plane crashed

An aerial photograph shows the thick bushland area where the aircraft crashed

'The old bloke was trying to find his glasses and I think the young kid was trying to find his phone,' he said.

'I said, you've just survived a plane crash, you don't want to drop dead from having a plane fall on your head.'

Mr Bathurst suffered a broken rib as a result of the crash, while his grandson walked away with only minor cuts and bruises.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, the pair say they are both looking forward to flying together again.

The cockpit of Mr Bathurst and Mr Ottrey's (pictured) light aircraft filled up with smoke before it went down
The call to defund the police has reached BART, where leaders pledged Friday to shift $2 million from sworn officers and fare inspectors, and instead spend it on unarmed ambassadors.

This call for defunding and abolishing  it really means defund and abolish the way we did things before, said BART Board President Lateefah Simon, a longtime social justice advocate. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently appointed her to lead a statewide working group on police reform.

The transit agency would take the money from funds earmarked for costs related to COVID-19. Originally, BART officials had set it aside to hire five officers and four fare inspectors, but at a recent board meeting, Director Rebecca Saltzman had an alternate suggestion: beef up BARTs ambassador program, in which uniformed staff patrol the trains and make riders feel more welcome.

Simon also wants to add at least one staff member to BARTs Office of the Independent Police Auditor, which investigates complaints of police misconduct. Funding for that position would come from the general managers discretionary budget. Its not clear at this point how much it would cost.

Additionally, BART Police Chief Ed Alvarez pledged to start training his force to follow AB392, a state law that took effect Jan. 1 that states police can use deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life and should use de-escalation techniques prior to firing their guns.

These changes, which still require approval next week when the board passes its new budget, come amid a national reckoning over race and police violence. BART began grappling with these issues 11 years ago after then-BART police officer Johannes Mehserle fatally shot an unarmed man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant, on the platform of Fruitvale Station.

Grant became an enduring symbol for BART, a catalyst for reforms and a subject of ongoing, painful conversations. Critics of the transit agencys police department invoked him last week, angered after Board Director Debora Allen defended the department by saying that BART police dont murder people.

Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff charged Mehserle with murder, but he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years behind bars.

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Simon hopes to start working with Grants mother, Wanda Johnson, and other mothers affected by police violence to develop anti-racism training for police officers.

Grants uncle, Cephus Johnson, was pleased with the measures, some of which hed pitched during a news conference earlier in the week to call for Allens resignation.

This is good news, he said. Maybe they heard me.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Tehran, June 21 : Iran reported 2,322 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed novel coronavirus cases to 202,584, according to official IRNA news agency.

Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during his daily update on Saturday that 115 people died overnight, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 9,507, Xinhua news agency reported.

So far, 161,384 have recovered and 2,842 remain in critical condition, said Lari.

According to the health spokeswoman, 1,395,675 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran as of Saturday.

The Iranian health official said that seven provinces are still in high-risk condition.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on February 19.

Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China.

In return, China has delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On February 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Joel Ramirez and his 9-year-old son, Wilder, live in a small room in a shared apartment on Third Street in Bayview-Hunters Point. Its one of San Franciscos last low-income neighborhoods, home mostly to immigrants and people of color. Normally during the school year, Wilder attends Bret Harte Elementary School while his dad works a job in construction. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, Bret Harte, like almost every school in California, shifted to distance learning.

Students in kindergarten through second grade were taught through work packets they picked up at the school, while students in grades 3 and up were asked to meet with teachers over Google Classroom, a free service that allows online collaboration. Classes met for between two and four hours a day, with the curriculum up to the teachers.

This is all new, Denise Kleckner, Wilders third-grade teacher, said before instruction ended last month. Were trying to figure out what to do.

Kleckner, 30, a teacher at Bret Harte for five years, developed a routine early on. She began class at noon each day. She spent the first two hours on language learning, with virtual read-alouds and collaborative writing assignments via a chat feature. The next two hours focused on math. Students watched YouTube videos about arithmetic and worked out problem sets.

Or at least some did. But Wilder and many others in his class werent able to participate. Despite living in tech-savvy San Francisco, the Ramirez family had no internet service in their apartment. Neither did most kids in his class.

The teacher is teaching online, but he is not receiving any of it, Ramirez, 26, said of his sons dilemma.

After the San Francisco Unified School District transitioned to online stay at home learning, it distributed more than 12,000 Chromebook laptops to students in need. But by late April, an estimated 5,000 students still could not attend class virtually because they didnt have adequate internet service at home. Chromebooks, unlike more common desktop and laptop computers, are built to work online, with limited offline capacity.

The computer is kind of a paperweight if you cant connect to the internet, Kleckner said.

Weak or nonexistent internet connection is not a new problem in Bayview-Hunters Point, nor is it unique in many areas of the state. In California, 43% of rural residents did not have access to reliable broadband in 2017, according to research by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley.

And only a third of Californians had more than one choice of high-speed internet provider, the Haas study found.

Another study, by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, which advocates for online access, found that in San Francisco almost 11% of residents lacked internet access at home in 2018, while 20% relied on low-speed dial-up access.

Vinhcent Le, technology equity legal counsel at the Greenlining Institute, a nonprofit group that advocates for economic and racial justice, says a lack of competition and low-quality internet infrastructure means some rural and low-income communities pay high prices for slow service, or cant afford the available service at all.

While access to Wi-Fi might seem essential, the Ramirez family had more urgent concerns before the pandemic. We dont even have enough money for rent, Ramirez said. His job in construction pays him barely enough to make ends meet, he said.

Since the pandemic began, though, some of the consequences of having to rely on slower or unavailable internet have become clear.

Your kids dont have the same access to education as other kids, said Ernesto Falcon, senior legislative counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that works on digital rights issues.

Kleckner is acutely aware of the inequities among the kids in her class. Twenty out of her 23 students are English Language Learners, meaning they often speak another language with their families. All lacked internet connections at home when classes moved online. So over the past few months, in addition to teaching, Kleckner has had to serve as an ad hoc IT consultant and translator for her students and their families.

I have spent hours and hours on the phone to help them get connected to technology, she said.

From the start, Kleckner tried to help families like the Ramirezes arrange temporary high-speed access through Comcast. The cable company made 60 days of high-speed internet free to new customers through a program called Internet Essentials. But for many Bret Harte families, Kleckner said, the program fell short.

I had families who were waiting on the phone for three hours and their phone died before they even got through, Kleckner said.

Comcast also partnered with SFUSD in mid-April. The district agreed to cover initial costs of the Internet Essentials program for certain families. But Kleckner said she was unaware of this agreement.

The shift to online learning has also put additional pressure on the school district. SFUSD says it faces a $130 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year  double what had been projected. Officials are planning on $56 million in cuts to services, but expect that number to grow.

The district spent more than $7 million trying to equip students and staff with adequate technology, a big hit on its already stressed budget. Private donations alleviated some of the burden, but the district hopes to see further relief from public funding at the state and federal level.

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It is absolutely criminal that in one of the wealthiest, tech-savvy cities ever, families are unable to access Wi-Fi, said Bita Nazarian, director of 826 Valencia, a San Francisco education nonprofit that serves 9,000 low-income students annually. Programming the nonprofit ordinarily offers has been disrupted by the pandemic, too, Nazarian says, and many of the students she works with are struggling to get online.

Shamann Walton, who represents Bayview-Hunters Point on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said hes struggled to get his constituents the internet access they need.

Its been slow to develop, he said.

Comcast says it provides coverage to 98% of San Francisco. But nearly 15% of public school students lacked internet access as of 2018, according to the mayors office, including 30% of African American and Latino students.

SFUSD also tried to solve the connectivity problem by sending families hotspot devices, which allow them to get online via cellular data networks. But deployment was slow.

It wasnt until May 16 that a district-provided hotspot arrived on the Ramirezes doorstop. The final day of instruction at elementary schools like Bret Harte was May 22. So Wilder Ramirez was able to attend the last few days of third grade.

Kleckner is glad that families like Wilders ultimately got online, but with the summer months arriving, she fears the rapid switch to online instruction and district-wide scramble to provide technology might have been too little, too late.

I just worry that my students are going to end up falling further behind, she said.

Wilder will be able to keep his Chromebook and have internet access during the summer, and Kleckner is urging his father to sign him up for classes through 826 Valencia. But his teacher worries that families like Wilders may not have the digital literacy or tools to access other services they may need, such as counseling and other support programs.

At the beginning of the school year, a third of Kleckners third-graders, including Wilder, tested at a kindergarten or first-grade reading level. Kleckner hoped to see them progress more than a grade level in reading by the school years end. The disruption her kids have endured means that hope will almost certainly go unfulfilled.

The learning loss is going to be tremendous, Walton said.

Miki Katoni and Nina Sparling are freelance reporters. Jennifer Cortez contributed reporting.
Breonna Taylor was killed by police at her home in Louisville - GETTY IMAGES

A US police officer involved in the fatal shooting of African-American Breonna Taylor as she slept at home is to be fired, Louisville's mayor announced Friday in a significant step in a case that has caused outrage across the United States.

Louisville's police chief is "initiating termination procedures against Louisville Metro Police Officer Brett Hankison," Mayor Greg Fischer's office said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, due to a provision in state law that I very much would like to see changed, both the chief and I are precluded from talking about what brought us to this moment, or even the timing of this decision," the mayor said.

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency health worker, died March 13 when police officers operating under a no-knock warrant burst into her apartment, firing at least eight bullets at Taylor as she and her boyfriend were in bed.

Taylor's boyfriend took out his licensed gun and fired it when he heard the plainclothes police attempting to break down the door, investigators reportedly said.

Brett Hankison will be fired, Louisville's mayor said - AP

Officers had the wrong address and used a battering ram to enter the Louisville apartment without warning. They were searching for a suspect who was already in custody, Taylor's family's lawyer Benjamin Crump has said.

The case helped trigger fresh waves of anger in the United States over racial injustice and police brutality.

Those protests expanded dramatically after the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white police officer pinned his knee to Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes.

Senator Kamala Harris said the announcement was "a start, but not good enough."

The killings of Taylor and George Floyd provoked protests across the US - GETTY IMAGES

"We cannot rest until all the officers involved in Breonna Taylor's murder are charged," she tweeted.

Louisville police chief Robert Schroeder reportedly wrote a letter to Hankinson accusing the officer of "blindly" firing into Taylor's apartment.

"I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion," Schroeder wrote in the letter, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

"Your conduct demands your termination," the chief added.
RTHK: Top US prosecutor rejects move to sack him

A top US federal prosecutor whose office has been investigating President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, has refused to step down after the administration abruptly said it was replacing him.

The dramatic standoff marks the latest in series of unusual actions by Attorney General William Barr that critics say are meant to benefit Trump politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.

It also comes as Trump seeks to purge officials perceived as not fully supporting him. In recent weeks he has fired a series of agency watchdogs, including one who played a key role in Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

Barr, in a surprise late-night announcement, said the US Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, was stepping down and that he would nominate Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton to take Berman's spot.

Berman, who leads a powerful office known for prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases, Wall Street financial crimes and government corruption, said he first learned of the move from Barr's press release and would not go quietly.

"I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning my position," Berman said in a statement. "I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

A Justice Department official, asked about Berman's refusal to leave the post until a successor is confirmed, said the timeline remains the same as Barr laid out in announcing the replacement.

Since being appointed in January 2018, Berman has not shied from taking on figures in Trump's orbit. His office oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, indicted two Giuliani associates and launched a probe into Giuliani in connection with his efforts to dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries in Ukraine.

Prosecutors have not accused Giuliani of wrongdoing.

Berman replaced Preet Bharara, who was himself fired as US Attorney in early 2017 soon after Trump became president. Bharara, an outspoken critic of the president, said the timing of the push to replace his successor was strange. (Reuters)

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Chhattisgarh government has launched the Roka-Chheka Abhiyan in all villages in the state, which seeks to revive traditional agricultural methods and to save Kharif crops from open grazing by stray cattle.

Roka-Chheka is one of the popular traditional agricultural methods of Chhattisgarh, which the state government has decided to make more organised and effective from this year. The programme aims to ban the open grazing of stray cattle after the sowing season is over, said an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official.

A press release, issued on Friday, stated that the state government is aware that many villages in the state do not have cowsheds and cattle owners are likely to face major difficulties because of the ban on grazing to save Kharif crops.

The government has come to the cattle owners rescue and is building 5,000 cowsheds across the state under the Suraaji Gaon Yojana. While 2,200 cowsheds have already been constructed, the work is in progress for another 2,800.

The government has appealed to all sarpanches to ensure cattle remain in cowsheds when the ban on open grazing is in force, the release added.

An order has been issued, which states that if any cattle are found to be loitering in any civic area, then the municipal commissioner/chief municipal officer will be held responsible, said a state government official.

Roka-Chheka also aims to use organic manure by collecting cow dung from cowsheds.

The state government is creating new employment opportunities by building these cowsheds. Women self-help groups (SHGs) have been included in this programme. Members of SHGs will make goods and artifacts using cow dung, which can fetch them an additional profit. Diyas, or lamps, incense sticks made by women SHGs using cow dung were well received and did brisk business during the Diwali season in Delhi last year, the release stated.

The government also said that it has generated employment for around 25 lakh villagers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Rural Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-induced nationwide lockdown restrictions.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritesh Mishra State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years. ...view detail
Warakurna, about 330 kilometres west of Uluru, is best known for the paintings produced at its Aboriginal-owned art centre. But its art industry is not the only aspect of this 200-strong community that is under Aboriginal control. Here, Noongar man Senior Sergeant Revis Ryder and Noongar woman Sergeant Wendy Kelly operate Australias only Indigenous-run police station. Their story is the subject of Our Law, part of a collection of documentaries chosen by Living Black host Karla Grant. Originally slated to premiere in cinemas at the Sydney Film Festival, which went online due to COVID-19, it is an insightful and inspiring response to the issues driving the Black Lives Matter movement.

"The killing of George Floyd by police officers in the US has drawn more attention to what is happening to our First Nations people, and its very important and timely to be showing this documentary," says Grant.

Written and directed by Cornel Ozies, who grew up in the Kimberley and whose short film Jarlmadangah: Our Dream Our Reality won Best Documentary at the 2008 Cherokee Film Festival, Our Law was made with the co-operation of the Warakurna community. Prior to filming, Ozies spent two weeks getting to know the locals, with the help of Yarnangu elders Daisy Ward and Bernard Newberry.

Because Warakurna is well known for its art, the [locals] are a bit reserved because people come in, document their stories and leave, Ozies explains. Theyre wary of media. So we had to make sure they felt part of the process. Also, this film is about the community and their engagement with Wendy and Revis. We respected that relationship and made sure that nothing would jeopardise it. We basically gave editorial control to the Indigenous mob.

Despite the project coinciding with initiation time, and a tragic death, events that would normally close the community to outsiders, the crew was permitted to keep filming.

That they were still open to having us out there during that time shows you how much they value Wendy and Revis and the story that they wanted to tell, says Ozies.
FILE - In this May 2, 2020, file photo, people, including those with the boogaloo movement, demonstrate against business closures due to concern about COVID-19, at the State House in Concord, N.H. It's a fringe movement with roots in a online meme culture steeped in irony and dark humor. But experts warn that the anti-government boogaloo movement has attracted a dangerous element of far-right extremists. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Associated Press

Two new intelligence assessments warned that far-right individuals associated with the 'boogaloo' movement may soon target Washington, DC, Politico reported.

One note, from the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC), said that "the District is likely a target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology due to the significant presence of US law enforcement entities, and the wide range of First Amendment-Protected events hosted there."

The Department of Homeland Security published its own assessment on Friday with a similar conclusion.

The DHS note said that "domestic terrorists advocating for the boogaloo very likely will take advantage of any regional or national situation involving heightened fear and tensions to promote their violent extremist ideology and call supporters to action."

These findings come amid multiple instances of far-right individuals being arrested for allegedly stoking violence connected to nationwide demonstrations against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.

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An intelligence assessment from the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC) warned that far-right extremists may soon target Washington, DC, Politico reported.

The note, dated June 15, said that "the District is likely a target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology due to the significant presence of US law enforcement entities, and the wide range of First Amendment-Protected events hosted there."

The NTIC is a fusion center in DC that works with the US Department of Homeland Security and other federal authorities to conduct "regional analysis and share information on terrorism, crime, and natural hazards."

"Recent events indicate violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology likely reside in the National Capital Region, and others may be willing to travel far distances to incite civil unrest of conduct violence encouraged in online forums associated with the movement," the NTIC's assessment said, according to Politico.

Story continues

On Friday, the outlet reported, the DHS published its own intelligence note with a similar conclusion.

The note said that "domestic terrorists advocating for the boogaloo very likely will take advantage of any regional or national situation involving heightened fear and tensions to promote their violent extremist ideology and call supporters to action."

The primary goal of the DHS note is to provide information "regarding some domestic terrorists' exploitation of heightened tensions during First Amendment-protected activities in order to threaten or incite violence to start the 'boogaloo'  a colloquial term referring to a coming civil war or the fall of civilization."

These intelligence assessments come amid multiple instances of individuals associated with the far-right being arrested in connection with stoking violence and riots connected to nationwide demonstrations against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.

Floyd was a 46-year-old Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd said he couldn't breathe and begged for air.

Earlier this week, federal authorities said that a man charged with killing two officers in recent, separate attacks in California has ties to the "boogaloo" movement.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo was charged Tuesday with killing a federal service officer, 53-year-old David Patrick Underwood at an Oakland courthouse in a drive-by attack on May 29, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Carrillo also faces state charges in the killing of Santa Cruz County Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller on June 6.

Law enforcement officials said Carrillo and his accomplice, Robert Justus, Jr., went to Oakland to kill police officers and believed that the protests would facilitate their motives.

Earlier this month, three men who were self-proclaimed members of the "boogaloo" movement were arrested on domestic terrorism charges and accused of carrying unregistered firearms and trying to spark riots during the demonstrations.

Last Monday, CNN reported that a man accused of driving his car through a crowd of protesters in Virginia during the previous weekend was an "admitted leader" of the Ku Klux Klan and a "propagandist for Confederate ideology," according to the county attorney.

The man, Harry Rogers, was charged with attempted malicious wounding, felony vandalism and assault, and battery.

The arrests come as President Donald Trump and his allies urge law enforcement officials to crack down on the protests and accuse "antifa"  a loosely organized far-left group of anti-fascism activists  of sparking violence during the demonstrations.

But a closer examination of court records, media reports, and social media posts shows little evidence of a widespread or organized antifa-led effort to infiltrate the protests.

In early June, The Nation reported that the FBI had "no intelligence indicating Antifa involvement/presence" in violence that took place on May 31 as protests following Floyd's death reached a climax. The report cited an internal situation report from the FBI's Washington, DC, field office.

But the situation report did warn that people associated with a right-wing social media group had "called for far-right provocateurs to attack federal agents" and "use automatic weapons against protesters."

Politico also reported this month that a DHS intelligence note warned law-enforcement officials that a white supremacist channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram encouraged its followers to incite violence to start a race war during the protests.

Citing the FBI, it said that two days after Floyd's death, the channel "incited followers to engage in violence and start the 'boogaloo.'"

One of the messages in the channel called for potential shooters to "frame the crowd around you" for the violence, the note said, according to Politico.

And NBC News reported that Twitter identified a group this month posing as an "antifa" organization calling for violence in the protests as actually being linked to the white supremacist group Identity Evropa.

Twitter suspended the account, @ANTIFA_US, after it posted a tweet that incited violence. A company spokesperson also told NBC News that the account violated Twitter's rules against platform manipulation and spam.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Heres a look at this weeks top criminal-justice-related headlines from around the borough:

DRIVER, 21, ARRESTED IN CRASH WITH PREGNANT WOMAN

A crash Saturday on a wooded stretch of Hylan Boulevard in Prince's Bay injured a pregnant woman and took the life of her child, according to a law enforcement source. (Google Maps)

A 21-year-old Staten Island man was arrested in connection with a violent crash last Saturday in Princes Bay that police say injured a pregnant woman and cost the life of the baby.

Alexander Iacone, of Cypress Loop in Rossville, faces charges that include multiple counts of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and driving without a license, an NYPD spokesman said Sunday.

Click here for the story.

D.A.: A RIFLE, A TARGET, A BULLET INTO NEIGHBORS WALL

Guns and ammunition were confiscated in the 121st Precinct. (Courtesy of NYPD)

This is one bullseye that a senior gun owner in Graniteville probably wishes had missed its mark.

Authorities allege that Victor Stepanov, 64, was performing target practice in his own home when he sent a bullet flying through his wall and into a neighbors unit.

Fortunately, no one was injured during the gunplay on Regal Walk near South Avenue last Saturday at about 6:30 p.m., according to the police and the criminal complaint.

Click here for more details.

KIDNAP CHARGE IN ALLEGED 2-DAY HORROR IN TOTTENVILLE

The NYPD is responding to a call of a barricaded person on Loretto Street in Tottenville on Monday morning. (Staten Island Advance/Maura Grunlund)

A man assaulted and held a woman captive for days in a house in Tottenville in a series of incidents that led to a standoff with police, authorities allege.

Richard Costa, 61, of Loretto Street, is charged with kidnapping and other offenses in the ordeal that ran from Saturday through his arrest around 8 a.m. Monday after he barricaded himself inside his home, according to police and the criminal complaint.

The complaint alleges that the suspect refused to allow the victim to leave the home from Saturday through Monday morning.

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DRIVER CHARGED AFTER VAN CRASH IN TOMPKINSVILLE

The NYPD said nine people were injured after a Ram minivan crashed into a dead-end near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Minthorne Street in Tompkinsville. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

The NYPD said the man operating the Ram minivan which crashed into a dead end in Tompkinsville Sunday night after a possible mechanical failure was driving the vehicle without a valid license.

Nicky Fleming, 36, a resident of Warren Street in Stapleton, faces a charge of aggravated unlicensed operation  a third-degree misdemeanor  in connection with the incident near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Minthorne Street just after 8:30 p.m.

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HE FACES DRUG CHARGE AFTER RAID IN GREAT KILLS

A 56-year-old man stored meth in his Great Kills home and also sold drugs to an undercover officer, authorities allege.

Police armed with a search warrant raided the residence of Kenneth Griffin, on the 500 block of Miles Avenue, on May 22 at about 4:10 p.m. and arrested the suspect, according to the criminal complaint.

Click here for the full story.

DRUNK DRIVER WAS 3X THE LIMIT WITH KID IN CAR, COPS SAY

A 33-year-old man drove drunk with a young child inside his car in Mariners Harbor, authorities allege.

An officer spotted Hugo Uguna driving a 2009 Ford E350 on the street where he lives on the 200 block of Simonson Avenue on June 5 at about 10:54 p.m., according to the criminal complaint and police.

The criminal complaint alleges that Uguna had a blood-alcohol level of .240 on a test administered by police; the legal limit is .08. The suspect also allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred his speech and his eyes were watery and bloodshot.

Click here for the story.

MAN ACCUSED OF MUGGING 78-YEAR-OLD UNFIT FOR TRIAL

A New Brighton man accused of mugging two senior citizens in separate incidents last year has been found mentally unfit for trial.

A recent court-ordered exam determined Anthony Charles, 19, of Kingsley Place, doesnt understand the charges against him and cant aid in his defense.

The finding was revealed during a remote conference Wednesday in state Supreme Court, St. George.

Click here for more details.
She's one of the most loved actresses in film and television today.

So it was no surprise that Nicole Kidman was inundated with love from fans, family and friends for her birthday on Saturday.

The 53-year-old also took to social media to thank her fans for all their well wishes.

Birthday girl! Nicole Kidman was inundated with love from fans, family and friends for her birthday on Saturday

'Thanks for all the birthday love,' she said in a sweet video while holding onto a very large bouquet of flowers.

And even though it was her birthday, Nicole opted to give back.

She took to her Stories to share that in honor of her mom, Janelle, 80, she was donating some money to UN Women.

Time to celebrate! Nicole was seen standing by their window while holding up a bunch of pastel colored balloons that perfectly matched their decor

The true MVPs! Keith gave a tribute to Nicole's parents, Anthony and Janelle, for having Nicole (pictured 2003)

Husband Keith Urban also took to social media to wish his wife on her special day - while sending most of this thanks to her parents.

'WHAT A GIFT JANELLE AND ANTONY KIDMAN BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD ON THIS DAY !!! Happy Birthday Babygirl  Xxx,' he captioned.

Nicole was seen standing by their window while holding up a bunch of pastel colored balloons that perfectly matched their decor.

The Australian beauty's Big Little Lies co-star and co-executive producer, Reese Witherspoon, also took to Instagram to commemorate June 20.

'Happy Birthday to my dear friend, my fierce creative partner, my Australian sister!! @nicolekidman,' she began.

Friends and work buddies! Reese accompanied the post with a variety of photos including one where they were on set of the HBO show and dressed as their characters Madeline and Celeste

Birthday love: 'Im so lucky to have you in my life...learning and laughing with you! Im celebrating YOU today!! .'

'Im so lucky to have you in my life...learning and laughing with you! Im celebrating YOU today!! .'

Reese accompanied the post with a variety of photos including one where they were on set of the HBO show and dressed as their characters Madeline and Celeste.

Nicole has been spending her time in lockdown with Keith Urban and their daughters, Sunday Rose, 11, and Faith Margaret, nine, in Nashville.

She's also the mom to Isabella, 27, and Connor, 25, who she adopted during her former marriage to Tom Cruise.

Music city! Nicole has been spending her time in lockdown with Keith Urban and their daughters, Sunday Rose, 11, and Faith Margaret, nine, in Nashville

It was recently revealed that Nicole had broken her ankle while in lockdown while trying to keep fit and active.

'She broke her ankle so theres not been a whole lot of dancing in the house,' the country star revealed on The Project last month.

'About five weeks ago, she was running around the neighborhood as she does and just didnt see a pothole and rolled her ankle and got a small break in her ankle.'

'She's been relegated to the boot for the last handful of weeks and is still getting through it.

He added: 'But her spirits have been amazing, I gotta say. Shes been handling it way better than I wouldve.'
Dumplings in Chinatown. Pizza in Preston. Wine in Windsor. Noodles in Box Hill. Coffee everywhere. Melbournes dining scene has been one of the reasons its so good to live here, and a compelling drawcard for visitors. But that was pre-pandemic, before restaurants pulled down the shades and started clicking lids onto takeaway containers. As most reopen the doors and welcome diners again, theres optimism tempered by caution and underpinned by innovation. What will eating in Melbourne be like now and into the future?

Rabih Yanni, who owns the Botanical Hotel in South Yarra, reopened early in lockdown to serve coffee from the front window to loyal locals striding a socially distanced Tan. I have remained focused and positive throughout, he says. Weve managed coronavirus as well as anywhere in the world. Were in the best part of the world and in one of the worlds greatest cities.

Publican Rabih Yanni, owner of the Botanical Hotel in South Yarra. Credit:Simon Schluter

He acknowledges the pandemic has revealed cracks in the food scene and that many businesses will close. Industry pundits predict between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of restaurants wont be able to weather the post-JobKeeper environment when wage subsidies disappear and rent relief ends. Its a brutal control-alt-delete that none of us wished for but that the industry probably needs, says Yanni. It will be a clean-up of those places that have opened due to low barriers of entry, all those me-too cafes serving third-wave blond-roasted acidic coffee under every new apartment block.

For those who remain, the pickings will be rich  or so the publican hopes. Good businesses are going to skyrocket, he says. Diners will return to restaurants doing it right time and time again. Doing it right means being realistic about consumer sentiment. The value has to be there, says Yanni. Maybe its more about a $40 dinner twice a week now, rather than $70 once a week. And whatever it is, make it good. If its a $5 coffee, it needs to be a great coffee in a warm, intimate, welcoming environment. If its a $47 Scotch fillet, make it export-grade, perfectly charred and seasoned, served at the right temperature with a well-made sauce and crunchy greens. Every single element has to deliver.
Mumbai 26/11 attacks were bad, but the lack of will to hit Pakistan hurt the nation

Mumbai 26/11 plotter Rana arrested, NIA set to overcome double jeopardy clause

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Tawwahur Rana, a Pakistani born Canadian national who was convicted of offences relating to the Mumbai 26/11 attack has been arrested in Los Angeles.

Sources tell OneIndia that India has completed the documentation formalities with the US authorities for his smooth extradition. Evidence relating to Rana has been shared with the authorities, the source also said.

The matter was discussed during a visit by a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to the US on December 13, 2018. Rana has been charged for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The extradition request made by India says that he is a terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and was part of the terror plot to attack the National Defence College, Delhi and Chabad Houses.

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

India has sought his extradition on charges of forgery and criminal breach of trust. This was done because a double jeopardy clause in the US prevents Rana from being tired twice for the same offence.

During the discussion, the NIA quoted that there is nothing that prevents Rana from being sent to India unlike Headley who has a plea bargain deal with the US. The NIA officials said that according to the chargesheet filed by them Rana had forged documents along with Headley as per the instructions of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and this was a punishable offence.

However, since Rana is sentenced to a 14-year jail term in the US, the Department of Justice raised the question of double jeopardy. They sought to know from the NIA whether sentencing Rana twice would not lead to double jeopardy.

No Indian agency has questioned Rana so far. There have been legal complications due to which the questioning has not taken place. I n the case of Headley, the NIA cannot seek his extradition due to a plea bargain agreement which he entered into following his arrest.

As per the deal, Headley cannot be extradited to India or Denmark and neither can be awarded a death sentence.
(Natural News) Many people do not want to admit that there are FEMA camps which are awaiting the right dictator to incarcerate dissidents and so-called deplorables. If people admitted what was really happening in America, they would be forced to abandon their normalcy bias and take sides. It is so much easier to stay uninformed. Over the next several articles, I am going to make it difficult to stay uninvolved.

(Article by Dave Hodges republished from TheCommonSenseShow.com)

If Trump is removed from office, we will likely see a major purge in this country in as little as 12 months from now.

The Purpose of a Political Detention Camp (ie FEMA Camp)

Hitler, Mao, et al., used concentration camps to dispose or re-educate citizens who might not be on board with the totalitarian regime change in their country. An examination of this topic should begin with a simple question: Will American soldiers fire upon American citizens upon a martial law roundup of millions of Americans? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is a moot point. It is clear from analyzing data from Army concentration camp materials, that American soldiers will be used to round up political detainees. However, the camps in which people will be deported to will ultimately be staffed and run by foreign troops and these troops will be under UN control. This document will make this point abundantly clear. The evidence comes from government files.

There are three major elements, related to traditional concentration camps, which is what I allege will occur if the Democrats take over the government:

FEMA Camps are slave labor camps FEMA Camps are intended death camps FEMA Camps will eventually be run for foreign troops under UN control who will be willing to do to Americans, what American soldiers might not be willing to do.

Point #1: FEMA Camps Are Slave Labor Camps

As was the case with the NAZIS, slave labor will be a part of the landscape as evidenced by the following Army document.

Appendix J

J-20 FM 3-39.40 12 February 2010

J-67.

Commanders must organize and manage detainees in such a manner as to permit the proper and ready employment of each detainee. Establish and maintain a current occupational skill record for each detainee. Include new skills as they are acquired.

Assigning individual detainees to a work detail or job on a regular or permanent basis.

Establishing vocational training projects and encouraging detainees to study and develop needed skills to the maximum extent possible.

LABOR CONSIDERATIONS J-68.

Detainee labor may be used to perform the following:

Camp administration and installation maintenance.

Agricultural work.

Public works, public utilities, and building operations that have no military character or purpose.

Transportation and handling of stores that are not military in nature or purpose.

Domestic service

I apologize and I do not wish to call anyone ignorant and uninformed, who rejects the notion of FEMA Camps, but they are indeed woefully ignorant usually by choice. The above material can also be found in Obamas Executive Order 13603. Both Obamas Executive Order and FM 39.4 are public record and as such, are irrefutable in these claims.

The fact that Obamas 13603 EO is almost identical to this part of FM 39.4 demonstrates the resolve of the globalists to carry out this plot.

From Executive Order 13603

Article I, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States. The key phrase here is: herein granted. Those powers granted to Congress by the States and the People are delineated in Article I, and primarily in Section 8 of the same. Nowhere does the Constitution say that federal agencies can allocate all food, energy, water, food and all labor. However, this is precisely what EO 13603 calls for. This EO would be concerning enough. However, this EO turns every American into a slave through the stroke of Obamas pen, or whatever liberal would follow Obama into the White House. I am of the opinion that Obama was to be followed by Clinton and she would have executed this EO.

Loving Your Enslavement

According to EO 13603, the President, or the head of any federal agency that he shall designate, can conscript persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation, in both peacetime and times of national emergency. I can hear the Leftist supporters now as they will write to me and say, No Democrat would never do that, you are drinking from the Kool-Aid. Well, here it is, you can read it for yourself.

Sec. 502. Consultants. The head of each agency otherwise delegated functions under this order is delegated the authority of the President under sections 710(b) and (c) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2160(b), (c), to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation and to employ experts, consultants, or organizations. The authority delegated by this section may not be redelegated.

This means that Obama made it possible for his fellow communist successors to seize any resource, property, or person at any time for any reason, including being able to force that person to perform assigned labor without being paid. There is only ONE word for forced, uncompensated employment. That would is slavery. Where is Antifa when you really need them?

Congratulations to President Obama, he effectively repealed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Section 601 of the act specifies, in part, how far the government can go in terms of making you their slave.

Sec. 601. Secretary of Labor. (a) The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of other agencies, as deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Labor, shall: (1) collect and maintain data necessary to make a continuing appraisal of the Nations workforce needs for purposes of national defense; (2) upon request by the Director of Selective Service, and in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, assist the Director of Selective Service in development of policies regulating the induction and deferment of persons for duty in the armed services; (3) upon request from the head of an agency with authority under this order, consult with that agency with respect to: (i) the effect of contemplated actions on labor demand and utilization; (ii) the relation of labor demand to materials and facilities requirements; and (iii) such other matters as will assist in making the exercise of priority and allocations functions consistent with effective utilization and distribution of labor; (4) upon request from the head of an agency with authority under this order: (i) formulate plans, programs, and policies for meeting the labor requirements of actions to be taken for national defense purposes; and (ii) estimate training needs to help address national defense requirements and promote necessary and appropriate training programs

If the above section was merely going to be a military draft, then the Secretary of Labor would not have to be involved. However, as you will note the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and heads of other agencies, as deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Labor, shall: assist in the development of policies regulating the induction and deferment of persons for duty in the armed services; formulate plans, programs, and policies for meeting the labor requirements of actions to be taken for national defense purposes; and (ii) estimate training needs to help address national defense requirements and promote necessary and appropriate training programs. Refer back to section 502 of sections 710(b) and (c) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2160(b), (c); these are the people that the Secretary of the Labor will conscript in order to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation and to employ experts, consultants, or organizations. This, my fellow Americans, is a civilian conscription and this is why the Secretary of Labor is in charge instead of the head of the Selective Service! Under these provisions, the government believes that they can send you anywhere, to work on anything of their choosing and without pay.

From the perspective of history, concentration camps are notoriously known for being institutions of murder. Based on this notion, I scoured the Army concentration camp manual entitled FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations (PDF), and found only scant reference to the subject of deaths in the concentration camps. Now wait a minute, this document painstakingly describes interrogation processes, food preparation, the transport and care of detainees, but they barely mention how they are going to deal with dead bodies? Arent people going to die in captivity? In a facility filled with a divergent population with regard to age, health status and physical conditioning, should the authorities be concerned with what happens when an inmate dies from an unexpected heart attack or stroke? What would they do with the dead bodies? If proper preparations are not taken for the proper care and disposal of dead bodies, wouldnt that imperil the health of fellow inmates, not to mention the guards and other military personnel? This should be a primary concern for any facility. However, this is the one area where the FEMA camp Army manual is relatively silent and suspiciously so.

Point #2: FEMA Camps Are Death Camps

From the aforementioned references, the following passages speaks to how the Army deals with the subject of death as it is related to the concentration camps:

5-69. When a detainee in U.S. custody dies, the attending medical officer will immediately furnish the detention facility commander or hospital commander (or the commander of the unit that exercised custody over the detainee if the death did not occur in a facility) with the -Detainees full name. -Detainees ISN/capture tag (mandatory). -Date, place, and circumstances of the detainees death. -Initial assessment as to whether the detainees death was, or was not, the result of the deceaseds own misconduct. -The initial assessment as to the cause of death.

What is interesting about 5-69 is the cause of death is not categorized in any meaningful manner except to say that there is a conscious effort to determine if the death of the inmate was due to their own actions.

5-72. the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner is responsible for completing a final DD Form 2064 that will include a statement that death was (or was not) the result of the deceaseds own misconduct in the block labeled Circumstances Surrounding Death Due to External Causes.

Notice in the above (5-72) that only meaningful categories of inmate death are (1) the detainees own misconduct and (2) death due to external causes. What about natural causes?

5-73. The NRDC will notify the ICRC of all detainee deaths. The NDRC will maintain detainee DD Forms 2064 for the period of hostilities or occupation, for the duration of any other military operation, or as otherwise directed. When authorized, the NDRC will archive detainee DD Forms 2064.

There is a key phrase that goes unnoticed. the phrase is The NDRC will maintain detainee DD Forms 2064 for the period of the hostilities or occupation

In other words, there will be no Nuremberg trials for genocide because the records will be not be permanently maintained (i.e. destroyed).

Again, it is stunning that for a manual which spells out, in detail, every possible consideration of how detainees will be handled, they omit the disposal of dead bodies. Will there be a military regulation that nobody can drop dead in the camp of a heart attack? Or, is this because except for the occasional spontaneous death, the Army seems very unconcerned about disposing of dead bodies at a facility of mass detention? I can only come to one conclusion, most of the deaths associated with the detainees, will not occur at the facility itself and this explains why the Army is seemingly unconcerned with this issue. In other words, people will be taken for extermination to a secondary site. Is that why the 2015 converted Walmarts are located near railroad tracks? As just mentioned, these facts opens a whole host of possibilities. Are the unhealthy going to be transported to a tertiary facility to be humanely treated while their medical conditions will be treated? I think it is fairly easy to see where I am going with this. Former FEMA official, Celeste Solum, has stated that this is unquestionably true. Can we really expect the authorities who have committed an inhumane act by incarcerating people for no legitimate reason to suddenly discover their conscience and treat the infirm with compassion and dignity? Death camp deniers have to go to extraordinary lengths to defend their hear no evil, see no evil opinion related to this topic.

The Land of Chaz Seems to Indicate What Is Coming

Recent statements coming out of the George Soros sponsored Antifa terrorists, occupying the former American city of Seattle now called Chaz, have recently had some very disturbing comments recently coming out of the occupied, so-called autonomous zone. I have recently covered the statements of Chaz occupiers with regard to comments about (1) rounding up all white people in the occupation zone; and, (2) strongly implied that all non-compliant people, with regard to Antifa policies, will be beheaded.

Rounding Up White People In the Land of Chaz

It is my contention and I think recent current events bear out this possibility that if Trump is defeated in November, or is forcibly removed from office before the election, that we will see a ticket of Biden/Clinton. Biden is clearly in severe cognitive decline will not make it past a few months in the White House. I believe his recent comments reflect the fact that he knows this is true. He recently stated that he wanted a woman Vice President who was ready to become President on day one. I think Biden was unintentionally signaling plan that he will take the oath of office and quickly resign. Many of us in the Independent Media think that person will be Hillary.

Do you remember, when 4 years ago, Hillary referred to conservatives as deplorables and that we all needed to go to a Fun (ie FEMA) camp?

Conclusion

The documentation for recognizing the clear path that we are on runs deep. The alarm has clearly sounded for some as they read this article. Many more will require more proof which is coming in the next article in this series.

Read more at: TheCommonSenseShow.com
During widespread violence in the aftermath of the unwarranted police killing of George Floyd, more than 800 police officers tasked with maintaining order in America's cities were shot, stabbed, spit on, hit by cars, cursed, called Nazis, smeared as racists, viciously beaten, and seriously injured by bricks and bottles of frozen water hurled at them. Deliberately shot in the head by a cop-hating protester in Nevada, Las Vegas police officer Shay Mikalonis, pictured below, remains paralyzed from the neck down and will likely be on a ventilator for the rest of his life, according to his family.



Image: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Outrage over George Floyd's inexcusable killing is understandable, but much of black America has been led to incorrectly believe that unjustified police killings of black suspects are an out-of-control epidemic. Reams of data, including the two examples below, conclusively show that the epidemic narrative is a myth.

 During an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, former NYPD chief Bernard Kerick quoted statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and the Washington Post. In 2019, there were 10 million arrests in the U.S. Of that number, police officers were involved in 1,004 fatal shootings, with 41 of the suspects killed having been unarmed. Of the 41 unarmed people shot and killed by police last year, 19 were white; nine were black. That only nine unarmed black people were killed in a 12-month period is light-years away from being anywhere even remotely close to an epidemic. Because of breathless news coverage given to killings of unarmed black suspects by white officers, many African-Americans assume that unarmed white suspects are never killed by white police, an entirely inaccurate assumption that roils our society by creating unfounded hatred of the police.

 In 2019, NPR cited a peer-reviewed study of police killings of U.S. citizens. Published in a prestigious journal, the study found that white officers were no more likely to kill unarmed black suspects than were black officers. Cases where unarmed black suspects are killed by black officers lack an exploitable political angle, therefore they never receive sensationalized press coverage, as happens with every such killing where the officer is white.

Considering that policing is one of the most difficult jobs in America; that cops often have to make life-and-death decisions in the blink of an eye; and that cops, like the rest of us, are human beings who occasionally make mistakes that end up being unlawful, the small number of wrongful police killings of unarmed black people is a testament to the restraint and professionalism of the 800,000 men and women who wear blue.

According to this FBI report, 17 law enforcement officers were victims in 2016 of ambush assassinations, presumably by African-American men who'd been led to believe the "epidemic" myth. That police officers are murdered because of racial anger over an epidemic that doesn't exist is every bit as tragic as instances where white police unlawfully kill black people.

Even though white cops are no more likely than black cops to kill unarmed black suspects, the media have misled many African-Americans to believe that white cops should be feared. Such fear is irrational. Every day and every night, white cops put their lives on the line in crime-ridden urban neighborhoods protecting law-abiding black citizens against rape, robbery, murder, assault, drug-dealing, domestic violence, child-trafficking, carjacking and drive-by shootings. When innocent black citizens are set upon by violent criminals, their most fervent hope is that a car with flashing blue lights is on the way.

The angry, disrespectful way police were treated during the recent race riots shows that cop-hating has become an unfortunate part of our modern culture. Those who have been conditioned to hate the police lack a basic understanding of the indispensable service cops render to urban communities and of the constant physical danger that comes with being a police officer. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 58,865 law enforcement officers were assaulted in 2018, and over the last decade, an average of 163 officers per year were killed in the line of duty.
There was a sense of urgency surrounding Juneteenth this year, said Nasir McDaniels, as neighbors gathered at an afternoon celebration that was blossoming around him.

After tireless weeks of fighting for systemic change and grieving for Black people killed by police, the community needed relief, said the director of leadership for Jersey Citys Black Men United.

So it gathered to dance, create, eat and commune in the street Friday afternoon, celebrating Blackness and the history of a 400-year struggle in America by uniting in joy.

The event on Martin Luther King Drive and Grant Avenue was one of several throughout the county that celebrated the day the final enslaved Americans learned they were emancipated with a renewed awareness. At City Hall Downtown, Black business owners spoke to their neighbors about their journeys through entrepreneurship. And in Bayonne, the community raised the Pan-African flag at City Hall.

People wanted something to look forward to, said Erroll Worrell, one of the two organizers of the celebration on MLK Drive.

An ice cream cart parked on the corner offered frozen treats on a hot afternoon. Music blasted and neighbors line danced. Children played with boldly colored slime at a table manned by Quas Creative Art Center.

We got mad Black joy on Juneteenth, right? an emcee asked the crowd.

Worrell said he put together the event in just 11 days. He had been attending all of the local protests against police brutality and felt the community needed an event to unite it in joy as well.

By the end of those 11 days, he had shirts that read #JoyAsResistance that his volunteers wore, a handful of organizations supporting him and DJs ready to start a party.

At City Hall, four black business owners gathered with their peers for another new event they decided to hold to show Jersey City the faces behind their businesses, said Shakera Rosa, the owner of Dessert Pixie Treats and Parties.

This is our freedom day, Rosa said. We wanted to celebrate our culture.

Tee Hundley, who owns Suite Tee, a beauty and wax studio, told the crowd how it took her 10 years to bring the idea for her business to fruition.

Its hard when you dont have role models, she said. Its hard when you dont see yourself in these positions.

The newly formed organization Black in Bayonne raised the Pan-African flag in collaboration with the municipal government at City Hall, a first for the city on Juneteenth.

Today we are rejoicing, said Camille High. Today we are saying we are free. We are here. Change is coming to Bayonne.

Black in Bayonne held a police brutality protest June 7 and is working to bridge a gap between Bayonne residents, especially Black residents and City Hall, Highs sister Clarice High explained.

Juneteenth fell less than a month after George Floyd died when then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pinned his neck to the ground.

Many companies across the country newly decided to recognize it as an official holiday this year, giving employees the day off, and Jersey City did the same.

The sudden attention is a sign of the times, but largely symbolic, said George Fontenette, who attended the MLK Drive event.

As a member of American Descendants of Slavery New Jersey, he said he passionately believes that reparations for Black Americans are long overdue and that it should be a centerpiece in the fight toward equity. Non-Black Americas sudden recognition of Juneteenth is the type of gesture that could lull people to sleep, he said.

Ty Harper, who belongs to the same organization, said he has been surrounded by the remnants of slavery his entire life.

He knew his great grandparents, who were born into slavery; and his grandparents lived through the Red Summer of 1919, in which dozens of Black people were lynched and the KKK resurged. Harper was born at the end of the Jim Crow era is now living in an era of mass incarceration and police killings, he said.

The system is not broken, Fontenette said. Its doing exactly what it was intended to do.
The United Nations children's agency UNICEF flew more than 90 tonnes of aid into Venezuela on Friday in a move to help the country fight the coronavirus crisis.

The plane, loaded with medicine, sanitation and water supplies landed in the capital Caracas.

It was the third such shipment of humanitarian aid since the coronavirus outbreak started, bringing the total to around 200 tonnes.

"We hope that this will help the Venezuelan people in their fight against the coronavirus and in general to support them with their most urgent needs," said Peter Grohmann, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Venezuela.

Venezuela's health system has been struggling to cope with the pandemic, as the country's economy buckles under the weight of US sanctions.

The consignment includes supplies to improve access to safe water for people in Venezuela.

The country has reported just under 3,600 confirmed cases of the virus, and 30 deaths.
A federal judge on Saturday rejected the Department of Justice's motion for a temporary restraining order blocking publication of former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir The Room Where It Happened, paving the way for the book's publication next week. But in his decision, judge Royce Lamberth suggested that Bolton still faces stiff penaltiesincluding the loss of his royalties and potential criminal prosecutionfor his "unilateral" decision to push ahead with publication without a formal release from government reviewers.

In his 10-page opinion, the judge swiftly dispatched with the government's effort to block publication without having to reach the clear First Amendment concerns embodied by such prior restraint. "For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir," Lamberth wrote. "With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globemany in newsroomsthe damage is done," he observed.

"Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the Court," the judge concluded. "The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm. Its motion is accordingly denied."

In a rebuke, Lamberth devoted the majority of his opinion to Bolton's decision to push ahead with publication without proper clearance.

"Bolton could have sued the government and sought relief in court. Instead, he opted out of the review process before its conclusion. Unilateral fast-tracking carried the benefit of publicity and sales, and the cost of substantial risk exposure. This was Boltons bet: If he is right and the book does not contain classified information, he keeps the upside mentioned above; but if he is wrong, he stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security. Bolton was wrong," Lamberth held. "Upon reviewing the classified materials, as well as the declarations filed on the public docket, the Court is persuaded that Defendant Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations."

The decision means that the book will be published as scheduled on Tuesday, June 23, and in a statement, Bolton's publisher Simon & Schuster praised the court's ruling. "We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication," the statement reads. "We are very pleased that the public will have the opportunity to read Ambassador Boltons account of his time as National Security Advisor."

But with the question of publication now resolved, a fascinating civil case still remains against Bolton. In his opinion, Lambert suggested that the government was acting well within its authority with its review.

"Many Americans are unable to renew their passports within four months, but Bolton complains that reviewing hundreds of pages of a National Security Advisors tell-all deserves a swifter timetable," Lamberth wrote, adding that it is "well-settled that a mandated prepublication review process is not an unconstitutional prior restraint."

 "The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm." 

Bolton, meanwhile, counters that after several revisions, the book contains no properly classified material that could harm U.S. national security in any waya fact he claims was confirmed by Ellen Knight, the National Security Council official who handled the review process before it was taken over by the White House. Rather, Bolton claims that the Trump Administration is abusing the government review process to suppress a book that threatens to embarrass the president.

In his declaration in support of Bolton, S&S CEO Jonathan Karp backed Bolton's view that the Trump administration was seeking to suppress the book for personal reasons. "The many public statements President Trump has made about the book further reinforce my belief that the Trump Administrations actual objective is to shield the President from an unflattering portrait of his leadership and not to protect the national security interests of the United States," Karp told the court. "I cannot help but conclude that President Trump has politicized the prepublication review process, including through this lawsuit, and that he is using it as a pretext to prevent the release of information of immense interest to the public that he fears could be damaging to his prospects for reelection."

In a statement, Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said Saturday's ruling highlights the need for more transparency in the government's prepublication review process.

The court was of course right to reject the governments request for a prior restraint, Jaffer said. In other respects, though, the ruling is a troubling reaffirmation of broad government power to censor in the name of national security. The prepublication review system puts far too much power in the hands of government censors, and reform of this dysfunctional system is long overdue."
Yes. Many counties allow early in-person voting up until Sunday, June 21. Check your county board of elections for details. You can find your board here: County Boards | New York State Board of Elections.

Can I submit an absentee ballot?

Monday, June 22, is the last day to apply in person for an absentee ballot at the board of elections. Here is the application form.

Many county election boards are holding weekend hours to handle applications and provide absentee ballots. Absentee ballots must be mailed and postmarked by Tuesday, June 23, or dropped off at the board of election by Tuesday, June 23.

Where do I vote on primary day?

Use the New York State Department of Elections lookup tool to find out where to vote: NYS VoterLookUp.

Who is on the ballot?

Albany County: Type in your address and see a sample ballot for your district at Albany County voter information: Where to vote, sample ballots, and more.

Rensselaer County: Upcoming election sample ballots.

Schenectady County: Board of Elections website.

Will voting be any different because of the coronavirus?

Yes. When voting at a polling location, you must wear a face mask and will likely see limits on how close you can stand to other voters.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Am I registered to vote?

You can find out find out if you are registered to vote using the NYS VoterLookUp.

Can I change the party I am enrolled in?

It's too late. The deadline for changing party enrollment was Feb. 14.

Where is my county board of election?

Use this map from the NYS Board of Elections to find your local board: County Boards | New York State Board of Elections.
The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 460,000, with more than 8.6 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.

Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.

Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan has announced it is tightening coronavirus restrictions after an increase in new cases.



Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on June 20 that public transport in the capital, Bishkek, and routes between all of its provinces were being shut down until June 22.



The move came as the number of new coronavirus cases in the Central Asian nation rose by 192.



"We must ensure the country's full readiness for a worsening of the epidemiological situation," Boronov said. "We see daily growth in new COVID-19 cases."



The former Soviet republic of 6.5 million people, which now has 2,981 reported cases of the virus, ended a state of emergency accompanied by curfews and lockdowns in May.



Neighboring Kazakhstan, which has 25,000 confirmed cases, has also introduced new weekend restrictions.

It has closed all shopping malls, markets, and parks in major cities as it fights a second wave of the outbreak.

Afghanistan

The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital.



The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul told the AP news agency that as many as 20 people were infected, the majority of whom are Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.



"The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," the U.S. State Department said on June 20.

Afghanistan has 28,424 confirmed coronavirus cases. Lack of testing and access to it may mean the numbers are much higher, international aid organizations monitoring the pandemic's spread in the country say.



They also fear the contagious disease has spread widely throughout the country with the return of nearly 300,000 Afghans from Iran, the hardest-hit country in the region. Iran has recorded more than 200,000 cases and 9,392 deaths.



Few of the Afghans who returned from Iran were tested before they fanned out across the country to their homes.



Earlier this month the International Rescue Committee warned Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster mostly because the government does not have the capacity to even test 80 percent of coronavirus cases.



Until now a handful of NATO troops have also tested positive for the infection.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
The Black Lives Matter protests in the US sparked by the death of George Floyd spread worldwide and have produced an offshoot of post-colonial soul-searching in our neighbouring island. This was most clearly articulated by the pitching of slave trader Edward Colston's statue into the Bristol harbour. It has often been said the British educational system doesn't teach much about colonialism, but this is not entirely true. Brian Friel's great play on the subject, Translations, has been on the A-Level syllabus for many years, providing an effective history lesson of its own, albeit in an English literature class.

There have consequently been major productions of Translations in recent times in the UK. A long-running one starring Ciaran Hinds at the National Theatre played in 2018 and 2019 and was recently made available during the lockdown as part of National Theatre at Home. It is one of the most widely seen and read of contemporary Irish plays in Britain.

Friel's play, first produced in 1980 by Field Day Theatre Company at the Guildhall in Derry, is about a Latin scholar who runs a hedge-school in fictional Ballybeg in the 1830s while that area of Donegal is subject to an Ordinance Survey mapping exercise by the British army. Translations is also a love story, with Maire, a local girl falling for one of the soldiers, Lieutenant Yolland.

There is much restive rebellion among the local people and Yolland goes missing. Reprisals ensue. The play is about the impact of colonialism on the populace, including the profound effect it has on language and location. In representing contentious subjects, the theatre treatment has an endless capacity for nuance. While there will frequently be villains on the stage, there will also always be humanity.

Colston's dunking has been followed by calls to remove statues of King Leopold II of Belgium. There is a general public knowledge of the savagery of the colonial regime in the Congo, although it has rarely been to the fore of popular debate.

But in 2018, the Irish-British playwright Martin McDonagh's new play A Very Very Dark Matter was the autumn season and Christmas show at the 900-seater Bridge Theatre in London. It featured Jim Broadbent as the fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, who has a captive Congolese woman (Johnetta Eula'Mae Ackles) in his attic writing his stories. The play is an excoriation of the brutality of the Belgian Congo regime under Leopold II and a broad attack on how Europe has enriched itself and its culture at the expense of colonised countries. The play was certainly consciousness-raising, as well as being somewhat hair-raising in its violence. Two blood-spattered dead Belgian soldiers haunt the scenes. The Congolese woman has had her foot removed as a punishment. In one of the last lines of the play, the narrator (voiced by Tom Waits in the premiere) says: "It is a sad and sorry truth, that to this very day, all over Belgium - statues still stand to King Leopold the Second always with a beard often with a sword in his hands  never with blood on them."

Because Ireland was a colonised country, Irish writers have a habit of engaging with colonialism as a way of interrogating the present. With the resurgence of nationalism in the UK surrounding the Brexit debate, and the harking back to a time when Britannia ruled the waves, the whole idea of Britishness is currently up for grabs - and Britain is certainly divided. High-profile productions of these colonial-themed plays have formed part of the social mulch that have proved fertile for the emergence of this post-empire soul-searching.

The theatre is a perfect forum for political debate; its wordiness and its capacity for complexity provide much illumination, while the audience sits quietly in the dark.
The head of Englands largest hospital trust has said it is disgraceful that Apple and Google will not share platforms with the Government on a contact-tracing app.

Dr David Rosser, the chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust suggested the Government should not be blamed for the U-turn and said the tech giants should be ashamed of themselves.

On Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government was abandoning plans to develop its own NHSX app and would instead look to software created by Apple and Google to build it.

The UK had been an outlier in not using the Apple/Google model, with a number of other nations, including Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland, all using the software built by the tech giants.

Mr Hancock said developers had been working on both the NHSX app and the design offered by Apple and Google since May, but the NHSX app had hit a technical barrier during testing on the Isle of Wight.

He said the NHSX app could not be used effectively for contact tracing on an iPhone without using Apples technology.

(PA Graphics)

The move to use Apple and Googles software to build the app was welcomed by groups such as Amnesty International and cybersecurity experts, who said it would improve user privacy.

But when asked about the Governments decision, Dr Rosser said: My understanding, and I deal quite a lot in the digital health space, my understanding of the fundamental reason the app wont work is the big tech companies wont share platforms.

I think thats a pretty disgraceful position to be honest.

My understanding is you can get it (the NHS app) to work on an Apple platform or an Android platform.

But because those two big companies wont work together, you cant look at anything that will work across those platforms.

Frankly I find it slightly difficult to blame the Government for that.

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He added: I think the tech companies should be pretty profoundly ashamed of themselves, is my personal view on that.

Apple and Googles software, which and was made publicly available last month, allows apps created by public health authorities to work more accurately across both Android phones and iPhone handsets.

The companies said at the time they had come together to build their software in order to respond to challenges around interoperability, battery life and privacy in contact-tracing apps.

It is built on what is known as a decentralised model, where contact matching is done on a users smartphone rather than on a central server.

In contrast, the Governments NHSX app was built on a centralised principle, with contact-matching data leaving user devices to be processed on a server run by the NHS, which raised privacy concerns.

The Governments initial approach also did not have the guarantee of success across different devices, with compatibility issues with some phones and concerns over the accuracy of Bluetooth as a measuring reported throughout testing.

When acknowledging the technical issues in the Isle of Wight trial, the Government revealed their app was highly inaccurate when used on iPhones, only identifying around 4% of contacts.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the defection of Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki to Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as insignificant.

Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, while speaking with newsmen shortly after Obaseki announced his defection said the embattled governor ceased to be a member of APC long ago because he already resigned his membership.

The Federal Government says Nigerians should prepare for difficult days ahead as cases of coronavirus infections continue in the country continue to rise. According to government, 80 percent of infected persons were not in isolation centres, saying the effect of increased transmission would be seen in three weeks through increased death.

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The Federal Government says Nigerians should prepare for difficult days ahead as cases of coronavirus infections continue in the country continue to rise.

Ebonyi Governor, David Umahi has ordered that all Courts in the state be immediately shut down following the states first COVID-19 death .

Governor Umahi gave the directive in a broadcast to residents on Friday as he made the announcement, which he described as regrettable and saddening.

Oba of Benin, Omo NOba NEdo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, on Thursday said godfatherism and consensus candidate must be wiped out from the politics of Edo state.

The monarch made this known in a statement, saying these two political vices are antithetical to the fundamental basis of democracy.

Daughter-in-law of former Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, Fatima Ganduje says her father-in-law is still alive.

Fatima, who is the daughter of Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was responding to condolence messages which her family has been receiving via social media.

Former vice-President Atiku Abubakar

A former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the now trending news that the Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) by sending him a congratulatory message via his official Twitter handle.

Atiku in his message bragged that the embattled governor is joining a repositioned PDP that promotes good governance for the benefit of Nigerians
A Canadian man was able to return home with his two foster daughters from Haiti on Friday night after the federal government issued the girls temporary residence permits to come here during the pandemic.

Sebastien De Marre, 69, an international aid volunteer, had been staying in the Caribbean island despite the threats of the coronavirus, refusing to leave without Amaika, 8, and Rosena, 12, who have been in the care of De Marre and his wife for years.

The couple from Nelson, B.C., said they have made numerous attempts to adopt the girls and spent a fortune on lawyers and immigration papers, but never got far. As a result, immigration officials would not let the children into Canada, until now.

The three arrived in Montreal on Friday night.

We are moved that thousands of people who dont know Sebastien or the girls wrote letters and made calls (on their behalf), said family friend David Putt, who spearheaded a petition to bring the man and the girls home.

De Marre and his wife, Marie Paule Brisson, 71, have been caring for the girls, while volunteering after the 2010 Haitian earthquake, since the children were orphaned babies.

Brisson, a retired teacher, left Haiti in February to visit the couples adult son, but was then banned from going back due to COVID-19.

The Caribbean country, with a population of 11 million, has about 5,000 confirmed cases and 86 deaths, but the numbers are believed to be underreported due to its limited health-care capacity.

De Marre had remained with the girls, who were not allowed to board the Canadian governments repatriation flights, despite the fact that temporary residency permits have been granted for children in similar circumstances in Haiti without the elusive adoption documentation.

De Marre, a retired camera technician, was vulnerable to coronavirus not only because of his age but also due to a long list of health problems: osteoporosis, parasites and a history of respiratory infections.

Sebastien is thrilled to be home in Canada with his daughters, Putt told the Star, speaking on behalf of the family.

We had no idea how hard its to reunite a family thats been together for 10 years but separated by COVID.

Like any travellers admitted into Canada, De Marre and the girls had to undergo health screening upon entering Canada and will self-quarantine for 14 days.
So emerging markets are about four or five billion people, depending on which markets you look at, and the way that we're really thinking about it is, right now with health care inclusion, the regulators and governments are so focused on just giving primary health care access to people that they're willing to work with the younger companies that can do that for them at a very affordable rate. And again, it's very similar to when governments looked at financial inclusion, which it is not feasible from a pure economic perspective to cater to the middle in a lot of markets using traditional infrastructure.
Seattle police have launched a murder investigation after one person was shot dead and another critically injured inside the city's self-declared autonomous protest zone.

The shooting occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, Seattle police said in a statement. They added that a 19-year-old man died from his injuries and another male remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

"Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims," the statement said. "The suspect or suspect(s) fled and are still at large. There is no description at this time."

Police sergeant Lauren Truscott told the local Seattle Times that police were reviewing video footage taken at the scene but had no immediate details about how the shooting unfolded.

Harbourview Medical Centre spokeswoman Susan Gregg said two males with gunshot wounds arrived in a private vehicle at the hospital at about 3am local time. One died and the other was in a critical condition.

The Capitol Hill protest zone (CHOP), originally called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) has become a focal point of demonstrations against racial justice in the city following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The protesters currently occupy the Seattle police departments East Precinct building, which was abandoned by police after days of clashes. They have largely stayed away from the area since, while local officials have been in regular contact with demonstrators.

The protest zone drew national attention after Donald Trump warned that he would forcibly "take back" the area from what he described as "ugly anarchists". The president has directed similar threats of force at Democratic-run states that are witnessing large-scale demonstrations calling for racial justice.

Seattle's mayor Jenny Durkan hit back at the president at a news conference earlier this month.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, Trend reports on June 20 referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Shilajit Mitra By

Express News Service

An engaging plot, with an imperilled Sushmita Sen at its centre. Its a concoction many of us know too well. More than her billowing red saree in Main Hoon Na, I remember her frantic dash in Aankhen, the clock ticking as she comes to grips with a truly desperate situation. She fended off a stalker in Dastak, a serial killer in Samay, and half a dozen ghosts in Vaastu Shastra. Often, the stakes in these films concerned the safety and security of a child. Its at this juncture that we meet her again, ten years after she took a break from Hindi screens.

Neerja director Ram Madhvanis maiden web series, Aarya, is about a mother wildly and recklessly looking out for her own. Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, the 9-part series  adapted from the Dutch drama Penoza  starts out slow, with little narrative momentum to justify its crime-and-drugs setup. Madhvani is clearly interested in La Famiglia, blithely baring his Godfather fixations with swish mob weddings, reluctant successors and severed animals on beds.

The focus on relationships isnt always captivating  some conflicts and arcs flit in and out at will. Yet, with its fair mix of solid performances, perceptive character psychology and some cleverly peppered reveals, the show largely works.

WATCH TRAILER:

Creator: Ram Madhvani

Cast: Sushmita Sen, Chandrachur Singh,

Namit Das, Sikandar Kher

Streaming on: Hotstar

Aarya (Sushmita Sen) is the eldest heir of a big pharmaceutical company in Rajasthan. The familys real business is opium, jointly overseen by her husband Tej (Chandrachur Singh), younger brother Sangram (Ankur Bhatia) and their business partner Jawahar (Namit Das). Aarya and Tej have three children, and despite the latters plans to build their lives elsewhere, have stuck it out with the syndicate so far. Its not a brooding life exactly: Aarya is close to her family and Tej, despite keeping a loaded gun in his car, is too mild-mannered for a drug lord (his love for old Hindi film songs becomes a leitmotif).

A consignment belonging to a rival group is stolen, and Tej gets shot. A pack of ravenous characters close in: among them, the sly and prying ACP Khan (Vikas Kumar), whos after a missing flash drive, and Shekawat (Manish Choudhary), a gangster looking for his stock. Over these parallel hunts, we see Aaryas life come undone. Its the most thrilling of transformations: from watchful mother to ruthless mafia queen. The show, though, limits her decadence within a rigid moral framework. Initially, Aarya is driven by vengeance and the need to shield her family from further harm. Even as the stakes rise and she enters the drug trade, her motivations remain squarely justified, virtuous even. She pays a terrible price near the end, but that too is subsumed in the larger quest for revenge and survival.

The unflagging nobility of her character does not stop Susmita from turning in a compelling performance. Shes warm and magisterial in the opening episodes, jamming wonderfully with Chandrachur Singhs soft-voiced sulk. Flickers of that warmth are retained as Aarya emerges from grief and finds her feet in an increasingly precarious world. Namit Das, playing the inept and unreliable Jawahar, is one of the more compelling characters in the supporting cast; the brilliant Maya Sarao is largely wasted in a superfluous role.

The show is racked with parental guilt. Reeling from loss, the three kids develop addictions and dependencies (a tenuous mirroring of the narcotics trade their family runs). The past is not important, Aarya confesses to a friend. The future of my children is. Even minor characters bring up their kids when faced with life-threatening danger. For all the thrills, this is a story about protection and care, and the brief oasis we regard as home. Madhvani turns up the violence, then defuses it with a smitten soundtrack. The humour is spare but enjoyable. Theres a lot of killing and double-crossing, but also birthday parties, jam sessions, and dips in the pool. Its a suggestion that love and loss must co-exist, each reinforcing and lending meaning to the other.


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President Donald Trump boasted of his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic and again blamed China for spreading the virus.

Trump wrapped up his rally in Tulsa after a speech of 1 hour and 41 minutes in which he boasted of his administration's response to the coronavirus and said he wanted to slow down testing for the disease.

Turnout at the rally was far less than expected.

The president's campaign had said it expected to fill the 19,000 BOK Center and have an overflow crowd of thousands more. Instead, there were rows of empty seats on the upper levels of the arena and the Trump campaign ended up canceling plans for a speech to the overflow crowd, blaming the decision on protesters.

The decision to hold the rally had been highly controversial. Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in Oklahoma and public health experts said they worried the rally could become a "super spreader." Most of the attendees at the rally were not wearing masks, nor were social distancing guidelines observed.

At a time when nationwide protests have erupted over police brutality,

Trump was criticized for initially scheduling the event for Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

The campaign moved the rally to one day later. Trump has also faced a backlash for holding the rally in a city that was by many accounts home to one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.

 Courtney Subramanian, Nicholas Wu and John Fritze

Trump praises Supreme Court appointees, says Court is almost like 'a minority court'

Addressing recent Supreme Court decisions on the DACA and LGBTQ rights that brought criticism from conservatives, Trump said it felt like the Supreme Court was almost like "a minority court."

Touting his judicial appointees, a common campaign theme, Trump said if former Vice President Joe Biden were elected, "he will stack the court with extremists."

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Earlier in his rally, Trump praised his two Supreme Court appointees, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

"We have two justices of the Supreme Court - Justice Gorsuch Justice Kavanaugh - they're great...we have two and we could get a few more."

Some conservative justices had sided with the court's liberal wing in the decisions this week. Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, which ruled that federal civil rights law allowed protections for LGBTQ workers.

 Nicholas Wu

Trump says calls to remove Confederate statues is attempt to 'vandalize our history'

TULSA, Okla.  President Donald Trump addressed recent demonstrations that have led to the removal of several Confederate statues around the country amid a national conversation on the country's troubled history with race.

"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrating our monuments, our beautiful monuments, tear down our statues and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control, we're not conforming," he told the crowd.

Trump said there had been a new outbreak of protests in Washington, D.C. last night, denouncing the pulling down of a Confederate statue, which he called the destruction of a "beautiful piece of art." The statue of General Albert Pike was pulled down by demonstrators and then lit on fire.

He added that part of the reason he held the rally in Oklahoma was to combat the "cruel campaign of censorship and exclusion."

"They want to demolish our heritage so they can impose their new oppressive regime in its place. They want to defund and dissolve our police departments. Think of that," he added.

Protests over the death of George Floyd and police brutality have gripped the country, prompting calls to "defund the police." Some protesters say the slogan means re-allocating police funding to other community resources, but Trump's campaign has seized on the phrase as a threat to disband police forces by the radical left, including his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The former vice president, however, has said he does not support the movement.

Addressing the nationwide protests where some demonstrators had burned the American flag, Trump said, "We ought to come up with legislation, that if you burn the American flag, you go to jail for one year."

The 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson classified flag-burning as protected speech under the First Amendment.

 Courtney Subramanian and Nicholas Wu

Democrats slam Trump for using slur to describe coronavirus

Democrats and other critics on social media slammed President Donald Trump for using the term "kung flu" to describe coronaviurs during his rally on Saturday.

"Trump just completed the racism trifecta in a three-minute span," the Democratic National Committee posted on Twitter, noting the use of the term alongside his use of the term "tough hombres" and his discussion of Confederate heritage

Administration officials had previously pushed back on reports that the term, which some find offensive, was being used at the White House. White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway described the term as "highly offense" this year.

In a riff on how many names he claimed the coronavirus has, Trump joked that one of the names is Kung flu.

Its a disease without question, Trump told the audience. I can name 19 different versions of names. Many call it a virus, which it is. Many call it a flu. Whats the difference?

Public health officials have discouraged terms that associate a pandemic with a place. Trump frequently used "Chinese virus" in the early weeks of the pandemic but stopped using it as frequently.

"A lot of people suspect Trump is a racist. Today Trump used the term 'kung flu' to describe coronavirus to remove any doubt on the matter," posted Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and frequent Trump critic.

George Takei, the actor who played Sulu on the original Star Trek television series, also criticized Trump for making jokes about a deadly disease.

"Trump is cracking jokes in Tulsa about Covid-19, calling it kung flu which is not only racist but belittles the deaths of 122K Americans and the horrific loss for their families," Takei, a frequent Trump critic, tweeted in response.

 John Fritze and David Jackson

Trump says ramp at West Point was 'like an ice skating rink'

Addressing the attention on his descent down a ramp at West Point, Trump told the rally the ramp was "like an ice skating rink."

Trump said he told a general he was wearing "leather bottom shoes," which were "not good for ramps."

No way I can make it down that ramp without falling on my ass, Trump said he told the general. The stage was "higher than this one" in Oklahoma, he said.

Anti-Trump groups seized on the moment and released ads insinuating the president's health was in decline.

 Nicholas Wu

Trump said he wanted to 'slow the testing down'

President Donald Trump boasted of his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic and again blamed China for spreading the virus.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in several states around the country, including in Oklahoma, the site of the rally. Local health officials had called for the rally to be postponed out of concern about the spread of the virus.

"COVID. To be specific, COVID-19. That name gets further and further away from China, as opposed to calling it the Chinese virus," he said. "We - I - did a phenomenal job with it."

Trump said he told his administration, "slow the testing down, please" reiterating his argument that higher test numbers led to higher case counts.

He imitated a doctor talking about a 10-year-old with sniffles who would conclude thats a case!

The president said the governor of New Jersey told him only one person under the age of 18 died, which the president said shows that young people have a great immune system

Lets open the schools please!" he said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a member of the president's coronaivrus task force, said earlier this week while more testing does result in more cases, the recent surge in some states "cannot be explained by increased testing."

Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University, said delaying widespread testing resulted "in the needless deaths of thousands of Americans."

"It took 51 days from the 1st positive US COVID patient to test the next 20,000. Ive always suspected that the president slow-walked testing in the US. Now we know he did just that," he tweeted. "The result is the needless deaths of thousands of Americans. He should resign."

- Nicholas Wu and Courtney Subramanian

Trump addresses crowd size as he takes stage

TULSA, Okla.  President Donald Trump, who often kicks off his campaign rallies by crowing about the size of the crowd, was forced to use his high stakes rally in Tulsa on Saturday to explain why turnout was less than expected.

Echoing a line from his campaign manager, Trump blamed the smaller than expected crowds at the BOK Center on media coverage leading up to the event. He blamed protesters for his decision to not deliver expected remarks at a scheduled outdoor overflow event.

You are warriors, Trump told the crowd, suggesting that they had turned out despite the coverage leading up to the rally. Ive been watching the fake news for weeks now. And everything is negative. Today it was like, Ive never seen anything like it.

In explaining the decision to cancel the outdoor event, Trump said that we had some very bad people outside they were doing bad things.

Photos from the expected outdoor event showed that there was far small crowd sizes that had been expected. Trump said that more than a million people had expressed interest in the rally.

"We expect to have a...record setting crowd," Trump said on Thursday during a meeting at the White House with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. "We've never had an empty seat. And we certainly won't in Oklahoma."

The campaign fell far short of selling out the 19,000-seat arena were empty.

Trump abandoned his usual early rally talking points about the crowd, ditching a favorite line in which he urges the television cameras set up in the center for the floor to show the crowd.

Pence takes the stage with hall-full arena

Vice President Mike Pence took the stage at the BOK Center just after doors closed at 6:30 p.m. local time. The arena, which holds an estimated 19,000 people, appeared roughly half full with several sections in the upper part of the arena left empty. Supporters in the bottom section packed in, standing shoulder to shoulder and cheering as Pence spoke.

"Four years ago a movement was born, and it looks like it's doing just fine tonight." Pence told the crowd as supporters erupted in cheers.

Campaign officials said earlier this week they received one million requests for tickets and constructed an overflow stage outside the arena to accommodate the anticipated crowds of hundreds of thousands.

But estimates instead appeared to be in the thousands as the outside portion began to empty as more rally-goers trickled into the stadium.

Three sections directly behind Pence were a little more than half full, the rest of the sections on the upper deck had no more than a few rows full per section.

President Donald Trump's planned remarks on the outdoor stage were canceled after a campaign official said protesters blocked access to one of the security entrances. Footage shared online showed workers removing the outdoor stage as supporters inside awaited the president's arrival.

 Courtney Subramanian and Nicholas Wu

Secret Service agents among six who tested positive for COVID-19

At least two of the six people involved with planning President Donald Trumps high-stakes campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday who tested positive for coronavirus are members of the U.S. Secret Service, USA TODAY has learned.

Trump officials initially said six campaign staff tested positive for the virus but an official with knowledge of the matter speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed at least two of the six were Secret Service employees.

The revelation of the positive tests came hours before Trump was set to take the stage at the BOK Center for his first rally since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic in March. Public health officials have warned against the rally, which has brought thousands of people into the indoor arena.

Secret Service, White House and campaign staff often work closely together on presidential trips. The Trump campaign initially said those who tested positive were part of the advance team.

The Secret Service is not reimbursed by the campaign for presidential travel to political events.

Trumps campaign said Saturday that quarantine procedures were implemented for those who tested positive and that neither those people nor anyone they came into contact with would take part in the event.

Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for COVID-19 before events. Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented, Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trumps campaign, said in a statement.

 Kevin Johnson, Nicholas Wu, John Fritze

Trump campaign cancels outdoor rally speeches in Tulsa

President Donald Trump's campaign canceled planned outdoor speeches before his rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said the cancellation was because of protests outside.

"Protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally. Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the Presidents supporters," Murtaugh said in a statement.

There had been some scuffles outside one of the entrances into the arena between a group of protesters and rally-goers. Law enforcement officers at the entrance escorted members of the press and rally-goers to the security checkpoint.

The campaign had set up an outdoor stage for supporters to hear from the president and prominent supporters. Earlier this week, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale boasted on Twitter about the overflow stage organizers constructed to accommodate the expected crowds. The campaign said it received one million requests for tickets.

"If you come to the rally and dont get into the BOK Center before its full, you can still see the President in person!" he wrote.

- Nicholas Wu and Courtney Subramanian

Pence speaks with black pastors amid criticism

As the Trump campaign has faced criticism for the scheduling of its Tulsa rally  and the presidents response to Black Lives Matter protests  Vice President Mike Pence told a group of Black pastors Saturday that there is "no excuse" for the death of George Floyd.

Pence, who will attend the rally at the BOK Center, took part in a meeting with Black pastors shortly after touching down in the city. Pence said he was there to listen to concerns following the death of Floyd, a Black man whose neck was pinned under the knee of a white police officer for nearly nine minutes.

"There is no excuse for what happened to George Floyd. There is no excuse to the rioting and looting and violence that ensued," Pence told the group.

Trump's rally was originally scheduled for Friday, or Juneteenth, the holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The president said he moved the event after hearing from Black "friends and supporters."

He later told the Wall Street Journal that "nobody had ever heard" of the Juneteenth holiday before the controversy.

Pence is facing his own blowback for declining to say the words "Black lives matter" during an interview with an ABC affiliate in Philadelphia on Friday. After Pence asserted that "all lives matter," the interviewer pressed Pence on why he wouldnt utter the words.

"Well, I don't accept the fact, Brian, that there's a segment of American society that disagrees in the preciousness and importance of every human life," Pence said.

 John Fritze

Trump departs White House for Tulsa

President Donald Trump called the crowds gathering for his high stakes rally in Tulsa "unbelievable" as he departed the White House on Saturday, but didnt respond to shouted questions about the six staffers on his campaign who have tested positive for coronavirus.

"The event in Oklahoma is unbelievable. The crowds are unbelievable," Trump said, umbrella in hand, before boarding Marine One to begin his journey to Tulsa. "We're going to see a lot of great people...and pretty much that's it."

People wait for the arrival of President Donald Trump during a rally at the BOK in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, June 20, 2020.

Supporters have been gathering for days outside the 19,000-seat BOK Center for the rally, which marks Trumps return to the campaign trail after a three-month hiatus because of the pandemic. Public health officials have raised concerns about the event, perhaps the largest indoor gathering in the U.S. since the virus hit.

Trump did not address reports that six staffers working to organize the rally had tested positive for the virus and are now in quarantine. The campaign has said those staffers will not attend the event.

"See you in Oklahoma," he said.

 John Fritze

Six Trump advance staff test positive for coronavirus

Six staffers working to organize President Donald Trumps campaign rally here have tested positive for the coronavirus, a development that is likely to increase concerns about the safety of the massive and high-profile indoor event.

Trumps campaign said Saturday that quarantine procedures were implemented for the staffers and that neither the aides nor anyone they came into contact with will take part in the event.

Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for COVID-19 before events. Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented, Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trumps campaign, said in a statement.

No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at todays rally or near attendees and elected officials, the statement read. As previously announced, all rally attendees are given temperature checks before going through security, at which point they are given wristbands, face masks and hand sanitizer.

Public health officials have raised concerns for several days that the rally could become a super spreader event because it will involve thousands of people standing shoulder to shoulder inside an area, the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Trump campaign officials and the White House have dismissed those concerns, noting that masks would be distributed.

 Courtney Subramanian

More reading: Health experts fear Trump rally in Tulsa could be a coronavirus 'super spreader'

Tulsa police say Trump campaign requested removal of protester

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the Tulsa Police Department said it removed a protester from the area outside the BOK Center after the Trump campaign requested her removal from a secure area set up in the blocks around the arena.

The department said they tried to convince the protester to leave before being escorted away and arrested for obstruction.

The protester told reporters at the time she had a valid ticket for the event. The department said her ticket holder status was not a contributing factor in her arrest.

- Nicholas Wu

Crowds lining up hours in advance

Hours before President Donald Trump's much-anticipated rally here, supporters began trickling into line outside the BOK Center to join those who had camped overnight for a chance to get a choice spot inside the 19,000-seat arena.

The atmosphere was celebratory as some supporters  many of whom wore no mask  brandished American and Trump campaign flags.

"We've never been to a rally before and we heard that the president is speaking inside and outside," said Katie Williams, noting that Trump is expected to address an overflow crowd near the arena before hosting the rally. "That's exciting."

Trump is set to touch down Saturday evening for his first campaign rally since early March, before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. The rally, which Trump has said marks a restart of his struggling reelection effort, has drawn criticism from health officials who warn that gathering thousands of people indoors could spread the virus.

The rally is set to begin at 8 p.m. EDT.

Tulsa: A massive risk? Trump gambles with a rally that could shape his campaign

Tensions between rally attendees and protesters that caused Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum to declare a curfew earlier in the week had not materialized as of Friday afternoon. Bynum rescinded the curfew on Friday after speaking with Trump.

Trump is returning to the campaign trail as his support has slid in national and battleground polls amid the coronavirus, the economic impact of shutdown orders and racial divisions that have resurfaced following the death of George Floyd, a Black man whose neck was pinned to the ground under the knee of a white police officer.

One protester was arrested Saturday morning outside the BOK Center. The protester had entered a "secure zone" surrounding the arena established by law enforcement. The woman told reporters she had a ticket for the event but was told by law enforcement that she was "trespassing and breaking the law."

Randal Thom waves a Trump flag in downtown Tulsa ahead of President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign rally, Friday, June 19, 2020.

After enduring deluges and a short-lived curfew, Trump supporters said Saturday they are ready for the main event.

"It's just fun. People from all different backgrounds are here and we've made so many friends," said Oklahoma resident Laura Ashford. "I wanted to be here for Juneteenth just as much as I wanted to see Trump."

About a mile and a half south of the rally, Tykebrean Cheshier, 21, was planning a "Rally Against Hate" at Veterans Park, an event she expects to attract up to 6,000 people including some who have indicated they will travel from St. Louis and Chicago.

Cheshier stressed that she did not consider the event a counter protest, though it is due to take place at the same time the president will deliver his remarks. She said it is deliberately being held in another part of the city.

"Our rally is to give people a way to still have a voice while he's here," she said. "People want a place where they can go safely."

 Courtney Subramanian, Nicholas Wu and The Oklahoman

Insensitive and isolated: Rev. Sharpton slams Trump at Tulsa Juneteenth celebration

President Donald Trump supporters wait to be let through a barricade before a rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, June 20, 2020.

Tulsa officials have no coronavirus plan from Trump campaign

President Donald Trump's campaign has not yet provided Tulsa health officials with a plan for social distancing or mitigating the risk of coronavirus hours before the president is set to hold a high profile rally in Oklahoma, a city official said.

Leanne Stephens, a spokeswoman for the Tulsa Health Department, told USA TODAY that the department "has not received any such plan."

Some local health officials have called for the rally to be canceled as coronavirus cases spike statewide, including in Tulsa. Officials with the BOK Center, which is hosting the event, sent a letter to the Trump campaign this week asking for a plan they could share with local health officials.

Were entering the BOK Center. There are markings on the ground for social distancing, surgical masks being distributed, and temperature checks. Not many other people going through our checkpoint seemed to take any of the masks or follow the guidelines. pic.twitter.com/hiaDsLvvfz  Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) June 20, 2020

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said during a Thursday press conference that the BOK Center is responsible for accepting the rally and coordinating with the Trump campaign.

The Trump campaign plans to administer temperature checks and distribute masks and hand sanitizer at the event, but will not mandate the wearing of masks.

Spokesman Guy Chipparoni said the BOK Center "did not hear back" from the Trump campaign about a plan for social distancing at the rally.

Chipparoni said Center employees would be instructing rally attendees to wear masks as they entered the building and for the duration of the event.

He said the Center would also encourage social distancing for the event with decals on the ground marking 6-foot distances in line for concessions and would put markings on the seats in the arena encouraging people to social distance as they sat down.

 Nicholas Wu

Contributing: The Oklahoman, David Jackson

President Donald Trump at his most recent campaign rally, March 2 in Charlotte, N.C.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump Tulsa rally: President wanted to 'slow the testing down'
The optimist sees the glass as half-full, focusing on what is actually there

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty person? Its a question used as a litmus test to determine a persons world view.

The optimist sees the glass as half-full, focusing on what is actually there. The pessimist sees the glass as half-empty, focusing on what is gone  and no doubt there are many former optimists who are feeling downright pessimistic right now as the country stumbles out of lockdown.

Now new research from University College London suggests a rather alarming consequence of those who hold downbeat views as a norm.

While severe depression can ruin lives, there are many people who, while not clinically depressed, endure an existence blighted by negative thinking.

Their mild symptoms mean they are unlikely ever to be referred to a psychiatrist or receive medication, but that shouldnt mean we dismiss the shadows that can permeate their every waking moment.

This state of being is known as dysthymia  persistent low mood, little interest in life, a sense of unfulfillment and lack of productivity.

It tends not to interfere with daily functioning in the way that clinical depression does, but it can drain energy and make an individual less focused on what matters.

Sufferers are often viewed as a bit grumpy or miserable  the Eeyores of life if you like  but its more serious than that.

A study published this week concluded that having constant negative thoughts over a prolonged period may increase the risk of developing dementia.

Further, the scientists, whose work was supported by the Alzheimers Society, found potential physical evidence for why this might be: deposits of a harmful protein in the brain that we know are associated with problems with memory and thinking.

A fascinating piece of work  but one that also demonstrates the importance of addressing a persistent low mood.

I believe the most effective approach is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which helps people challenge and change their negative thoughts and behaviours  and a form of therapy from which millions could benefit if only they had access.

All of us can feel down from time to time but if you find that your low mood has become the status quo and that you cant throw it off, then be reassured: you dont have to put up with it. Your GP can refer you for CBT but, in the meantime, here is my guide to challenging negative thoughts.

SEE The problem: Writing your worries down helps you understand whats on your mind and dragging you down.

Given that a hallmark of negative thinking is hopelessness, now draw up another column alongside your perceived problem in which you detail your ideas and actions to help address it.

I believe the most effective approach is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which helps people challenge and change their negative thoughts and behaviours

You might not be able to come up with a wholesale solution, but I guarantee it will make you feel more in control of the situation.

Challenge negativity: It grows, festers and can distort thoughts if left unchallenged. Write down three statements that help to counter your particular negative thoughts.

For example: I am blaming myself for factors beyond my control; I refuse to always assume the worst will happen; I know my mind can play tricks on me so I will analyse my thoughts.

Train yourself to think positively: This can take some practice so start small. As soon as you notice youre having a negative thought, pause and think of three positive things to counter it.

So, if youre served a meal you dont like, focus on whats good about it: having someone else cook for you, the pretty pattern on the plate and the delicious dessert youll have later.

Keep doing this and eventually the positive thoughts will come naturally  and drown out the negative ones.

End the day on an up: Each night, identify all the good things that happened. Over time, it will become a habit and your days will appear brighter and better.

Accept life is full of disappointments: We all face some hardships and setbacks. But whats important is how you deal with them  accepting them and learning from them will reframe something negative into a positive and boost mental resilience. Yes, there will be times we wish wed done things differently  but move on. As Doris Day once sang: Que sera, sera.

drmax@dailymail.co.uk

Courage that will conquer Covid-19

A few weeks ago I wrote about how scientists were planning to infect patients with the Covid-19 virus, in so called challenge trials to accelerate the search for a vaccine.

Such trials are usually banned for ethical reasons but the World Health Organisation gave them the go-ahead because of this pandemic.

This week we met some of the brave volunteers in the Mail, including Oscar Tarpey, a 21-year-old insurance worker from Cheltenham and Jason Crowell, a 42-year-old lawyer from London.

What incredible courage they are displaying for the greater good.

How accurate are the Covid-19 death statistics? The belief that Britain has one of the worst death rates in Europe (42,288) is taken as fact. But the truth is we simply dont know how many people have really died of coronavirus.

The UKs method of recording such deaths is different to many other countries where only confirmed Covid-19 deaths are collated.

Indeed, Professor Karol Sikora, a leading oncologist, said this week that our figures might be a gross overestimate  by as much as 50 per cent.

He argues that British doctors have been overly keen to put coronavirus on the death certificate when it might only be suspected as a cause.

Many medics are angry about Prof Sikoras claim  and it is clear to me that politics is at play here. Some NHS staff want the statistics to appear as bad as possible in order to damage the Government. Such politics has no place in medicine.

Why our memory never wobbles riding a bike

Were being urged to stay off public transport (to avoid coronavirus) and discouraged us from driving (polluting) cars, so like millions of others in lockdown, I decided to get on my bike  literally.

I havent ridden for about 25 years, but its true what they say: you never forget how to do it.

It got me thinking: why do I remember how to do this but have forgotten so many other things over the years  the languages I once studied or historical facts I memorised?

How certain memories stick in the brain and others disappear baffled neurologists for years. Then in 1953, a 27-year-old American called Henry Gustav Molaison offered some insight into what constitutes memory.

I havent ridden for about 25 years, but its true what they say: you never forget how to do it (file photo)

He had surgery to try to cure his epilepsy and it went badly wrong, damaging part of the brain where new memories form.

For the next 55 years, until his death in 2008, he lived in the permanent present. Each time he met a friend or ate a meal, it was as if for the first time. He had no ability to build memories and store them.

Its been suggested that because procedural memory  such as learning to ride a bike  involves the basal ganglia, cells deep within the brain, they are possibly more protected from day-to-day damage. Other types of memory involve multiple parts of the brain that might be more vulnerable.

One of my dementia patients didnt know what day of the week it was or, recognise her husband. And yet she could play Beethoven on the piano flawlessly. The human brain is truly remarkable.

Dr Max prescribes... an app to plant trees

If youre concerned about the effects of deforestation around the globe, this is the app for you. Launched by London Business School students last year, Treeapp aims to plant (a very ambitious) one million trees every single day by 2022, by working with NGO partners in regions that are hardest hit. The idea is that sustainable businesses pay for the tree planting, and in exchange the app allows them to promote their products. It takes a few seconds each day and doesnt cost you a penny. Available free to download on Google Play or Apple App store.
After the massive Corona outbreak in a slaughterhouse in the district of Gutersloh, Federal Minister of labour, Hubertus Heil (SPD) is pushing for quick steps for the protection of workers in the meat industry. "We want to tighten controls further, even before the new law on work safety in the meat industry is there," said hail to the "editorial network Germany" (Saturday). In this case, he was "in very productive discussions with the countries".

The Minister of labour reiterated: "the prohibition of contracts for work and services in the core area of the meat industry on every case seriously, no matter what efforts lead billion-dollar companies in the way to torpedo this project." Several ministries worked to make the prohibition law, sure. "In the summer, I will submit the draft law", promised salvation.

the Federal Minister of economic Affairs, Peter Altmaier (CDU) called for consistent Action. The food supply is a high Good, said Altmaier, in the "Interview of the week" of the German radio station Deutschlandfunk. "And I want the confidence of food and meat 'made in Germany' remains."

This means, "that we also ensure that Responsible parties are held accountable and that the grievances be turned off by hitting the appropriate changes," said the Minister of economy. This applies not only to the contracts with Eastern European workers, but also for the accommodation and the working conditions in the field.

More than 800 workers

After several slaughterhouse establishments to Corona had developed Hotspots, had been decided by the Federal Cabinet in may on the key elements for tightening of the requirements for the meat industry. infected Provided, among other things, more frequent inspections of labor protection, higher fines, and conditions for the accommodation of foreign workers. Core a ban on contracts, so that firms cannot pass on the responsibility for the conditions of work and accommodation of workers no longer on subcontractors.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 09:19
Amid the growing anti-China sentiment triggered by the Galwan valley incident, the Finance Ministry has proposed restriction on foreign investments in pension funds from China. "A government approval would be required for the investing entity or individual from any of the bordering countries including China. The relevant provisions of FDI policy issued from time to time would apply in all such cases," a draft notification, which has been accessed by news agency PTI, states.

This implies that foreign investment of any nature from these countries would be subject to approval from the government and these restrictions shall be applicable from the date of notification by the Government of India. These changes have been proposed in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in April. At present, government approval is mandatory only for investments coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

This decision comes at a time when the Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in a bitter standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) located in eastern Ladakh. The India-China standoff in Ladakh's Galwan Valley claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and has led to a strong-anti China sentiment, prompting traders' bodies as well as protestors to boycott Chinese products. China reportedly suffered around 45 casualties in the clashes.

Restriction on foreign investments is one of the several steps taken by the Government of India in order to tame the Chinese dragon as the government urged telcos like BSNL, MTNL and their subsidiaries across the country to avoid using Chinese equipment on Thursday. The DoT had mandated the entities that are under its purview to buy 'Made in India' manufactured goods as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat clarion call. Telecom department is also mulling measures to urge private telcos to bring down their dependence on Chinese equipment.

(Edited with PTI inputs)

Also read: Don't boycott China, say MSMEs! Input cost will shoot 40%

Also read: India-China face-off: Stop using Chinese equipment, Govt tells telcos
For years now, Aurora Cannabis (ACB) and Canopy Growth (CGC) have traded in near lockstep based on the global growth potential of cannabis. The latest quarterly results set Aurora Cannabis a step ahead of their prime competitor in Canada.

Aurora Cannabis reported an exceptional turnaround quarter for March, but the stock has taken a hit following the weak Canopy Growth results at the end of May. Oddly, Aurora Cannabis now appears better positioned to thrive having already had to tighten their financial purse strings due to cash concerns.

Value Brand Shift

Canopy Growth called out a prime reason for their failure to hit revenue targets in the March quarter due to the market shift to value brands. Aurora Cannabis made this move to shift production towards the value brand Daily Special in early Q1.

For this reason, Aurora Cannabis saw recreational cannabis sales grow sequentially by C$8 million to C$42 million. Canopy Growth saw recreational cannabis slip by C$20 million to C$49 million. Canopy Growth was too busy focused on the struggling cannabis beverages startup and missed the recreational cannabis shift to more affordable products to compete against illegal weed.

Aurora Cannabis has already shown an ability to shift quicker than Canopy Growth. The latter is still going through a complete leadership change with executives from the liquor sector possibly not as familiar with cannabis.

Focus, Focus, Focus

One of my biggest complaints about the Canadian cannabis LPs was the focus on global operations. The companies were going after massive markets in Canada, the U.S. and in Europe, Latin America, Australia and even Africa. The vast operations made little sense for companies trying to build new markets. Building market share in recreational cannabis in Canada and CBD in the U.S. was more than complicated enough for executive leaders to not need further operations in Germany, Columbia or Australia.

Aurora Cannabis made the decision in February to reduce operating costs by over 50% to below C$45 million per quarter. The company shifted out of most international locations with a focused shifted to Canada, U.S. and Germany.

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The Canadian company has a singular focus on profitable growth now while Canopy Growth still appears to be investing in money losing businesses for a payoff in out years. Aurora Cannabis now has the upper hand here with a path to EBITDA profits in the September quarter while Canopy Growth pulled guidance for the rest of the year while generating substantial EBITDA losses in the March quarter.

C$27 Price Target

What would you tell someone if they were to ask you, Should I buy Aurora Cannabis stock right now? For Cantor analyst Pablo Zuanic the answer is quite clear  the analyst sees the stock as a plant that keeps blossoming.

"ACB is a company with a credible turnaround plan, not going bust, and with little further dilution risk. ACB is a close #2 in Canada rec to Canopy Growth; it is #1 in Canada med with share north of 40%; and it has reconfigured its international business, but its opportunities are not less than those of peers," Zuanic noted.

Wieser rates ACB a Buy along with a C$27 price target, which implies nearly 50% upside from current levels.

Takeaway

The key investor takeaway is that the valuation equation for Aurora Cannabis is far more compelling here as the market has pushed the stock back down below $14. The stock has a far better valuation at $1.5 billion with FY21 sales estimates near $300 million while Canopy Growth trades at $6.3 billion with sales estimates near $400 million.

Aurora Cannabis is a far better deal, if an investor can purchase the stock closer to my $10 target. Regardless, the company has leap frogged Canopy Growth as the better investment due to their improved financials.

To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclosure: No position.
The drug hydroxychloroquine, pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump and others in recent months as a possible treatment to people infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is displayed at the Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 27, 2020.

The National Institutes of Health has halted its clinical trial of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine after finding that the treatment provides no benefit to COVID-19 patients.

The decision to end the trial comes after the Food and Drug Administration revoked emergency use of the drug on Monday and the World Health Organization dropped the drug from its global study on Wednesday.

"A data and safety monitoring board met late Friday and determined that while there was no harm, the study drug was very unlikely to be beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19," the NIH said in a statement on Saturday.

The FDA has also determined the drug is "unlikely to be effective in treating COVID-19" and warned of side effects including serious heart rhythm problems.

Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and rheumatoid conditions like arthritis. The drug generated excitement earlier in the year after a few small studies suggested it could be beneficial for treating coronavirus.

However, larger studies showed the drug was not helpful and caused heart issues in some patients, and a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found hydroxychloroquine didn't work any better than a placebo in preventing coronavirus infections.

President Donald Trump repeatedly touted the drug's potential to combat the virus and completed a two week regimen last month. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said that after discussing evidence for and against hydroxychloroquine with the president, they concluded "the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks."

There are no FDA-approved drugs to treat the coronavirus, which has infected more than 8.6 million people worldwide and killed at least 460,594, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The Pune district administration, on Friday, filed a police case against a resident of the city who returned from London, UK, and did not go into quarantine  institutional, or private, as mandate by the central and state government.

Deputy collector Sarang Kodalkar said, Ashwin Kumar Singh returned from London on June 16. He landed in Mumbai and directly went to his residence at Handewadi in Pune district. Pune Municipal Corporations (PMC) nodal officer Ajit Sanas went to his home and tried to convince him to move into quarantine, but he refused. Considering this, the district administration filed a police case.

The PMC has tied up with private hotels, where a foreign returnee can stay individually in quarantine, or s/he can then stay at the common quarantine facilities erected by the civic body in the city.

Kodalkar, in a public statement issued on Friday, said, As per the Government of Indias guideline, it is mandatory for all foreign-returned persons to stay in an institutional quarantine for a week. Despite informing Singh, he did not follow it.

API Swapnil Lokhande, investigation officer in the case, said, A case has been registered on Thursday under IPC 188 ( Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant ) and 270 ( Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and Maharashtra Covid-19 Act 2020 Section 11. Currently, the said person is home quarantined , he said.

The case has been lodged at Loni Kalbhor police station.

A press statement issued by the district administration said: Considering this background, Pune Zilla Parishads Block Development officer (BDO) has been instructed to file the a police case as per Indian Penal Code 1860, Article 188. The case had been filed under the Epidemic Act. A police case has been registered at Loni Kalbhor police station.
By Trend

The tenth session of the sixth convocation of Turkmen Parliament that was to be held on June 20, 2020, were postponed indefinitely, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistan Today State News Agency.



The meeting is postponed due to the large number of draft laws that have been prepared, the proposals received on them, as well as the need to continue working in this direction.



President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov instructed Head of the Parliament Gulshat Mammadova to work out all the documents put on the agenda of the next session of the national Parliament.



Earlier, it was said that Human Rights Ombudswoman in Turkmenistan Yazdursun Gurbannazarova had to address the representatives of the Parliament at the meeting.



A number of draft laws, amendments to certain codes and laws of the country, as well as the ratification of certain international instruments had to be submitted for consideration. The issues of Turkmenistan's accession to a number of international agreements also had to be reviewed.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Video grab of the all-party meeting called by prime minister Narendra Modi to discuss the border skirmish with China. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was critical of the government for not calling the meeting earlier. (PTI)

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government came in for sharp criticism by the Congress at an all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister on Friday to discuss the border skirmish with China four days ago in which 20 Indian soldiers died. While most of the opposition leaders expressed solidarity with the government, the Congress said the central government was keeping everybody in the dark.

The prime minister for his part clarified that there were no Chinese in Indian territory nor were any Indian posts captured. He said 20 brave soldiers sacrificed their lives which "the nation will forever remember their valour."

Modi said the entire country was hurt and angry at the steps taken by China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He assured the leaders that the Indian armed forces are leaving no stone unturned to protect the country.

"Be it deployment, action or counter action, through land, sea or air, our forces are taking the necessary steps to protect the country," Modi said.

He emphasised that the country today has capabilities to repulse any encroachment on Indian land. Indian forces are capable of moving together across sectors, he added.

The army has been given freedom to take necessary steps, but India has also conveyed its position clearly to China through diplomatic means, he said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the first opposition leader to speak during the video conference, delivered a sharp critique of the government's handling of the crisis. Most other leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Uddhav Thackeray, expressed solidarity with the Centre.

"This meeting, in my view, should have come sooner and immediately after the government had been reportedly informed about the Chinese intrusion on May 5 into several places in Ladakh and elsewhere," Gandhi said.

"As always, the entire nation would have stood together like a rock and fully supported the government of the day in the steps required to defend the territorial integrity of the country. Alas, that was not to be. In fact, even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis," she remarked, raising a series of questions.

The Congress president closed her statement with the assertion that her party and the entire opposition "unitedly stand by our defence forces" and added that the entire country would like an assurance that China will revert back to the original position on the LAC.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee chose to make a strong statement of support. The all-party meeting, she said, was a good message for the nation and showed that "we are united behind our jawans".

NCP leader Sharad Pawar stressed that issues like whether Indian soldiers should have carried arms or not are decided by international agreements. "We need to respect such sensitive matters," Pawar said, appearing to make a point about Rahul Gandhi attacking the government in daily tweets.

BSP chief Mayawati said this was not the time for politics and stressed that she firmly stood by Modi's decisions. Several opposition parties like the RJD, AAP and AIMIM reacted angrily over not being invited to the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister, and raised questions over the criteria for the invitation.
Sources say former Justice Minister Kawai Katsuyuki was found to have given money to local politicians in Hiroshima on multiple occasions to secure votes for his wife Kawai Anri, who won a seat in last July's Upper House election.

Both were formerly with the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. They are suspected of giving a total of 25 million 700,000 yen or about 240,000 dollars to 94 local politicians and executives of their supporters' groups.

About 40 of the local politicians were found to have received money from Kawai Katsuyuki around the time of local elections in April last year.

Sources say some of them received money multiple times leading up to the Upper House election.

One of the local politicians admitted to receiving the money to NHK.

Prosecutors are working to uncover details of the large-scale vote-buying scandal.

Sources say the couple are denying the allegations.
Sevnica, Slovenia, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protect Pharmaceutical Corp. OTC:(PRTT) Protect Pharmaceutical Corp is pleased to announce successful use of its Agropharm A biologically clean fertilizer on the fields of Slovenia. Among other uses, the product was used by Green Drop D.O.O. Slovenia on its Spelt production. Spelt is one of the ingredients that Green Drop D.O.O. uses in its biologically clean creams and various kinds of food supplement products. Agropharm A was applied on the seedlings of Spelt and later on the fields. One control field was planted without Agropharm A use. The crop of Spelt was collected this week. The results show tremendous advantages of using Agropharm A. Spelt crop showed a 28% weight increase compared to the control field. Also, when producing the juice needed for the products of Green Drop D.O.O., the crop produced with Agropharm A showed 33% more yield in the juice compared to the crop collected from the control field.



Agropharm A and other Company products were also used in this 2020 season on various agricultures, including wine grapes, cannabis & wheat. All of the cultures already show the incredible advantages Agropharmacy products. The Company shall inform its shareholders on the more precise results of use of its products in 2020 season as soon as it receives the statistics from its customers.

Further, the Company is pleased to announce that it has obtained DTC eligibility with The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") for its shares listed on OTC Markets. The DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation ("DTCC"), a U.S. company that manages the electronic clearing and settlement of publicly traded companies. Securities that are eligible to be electronically cleared and settled through the DTC are considered "DTC eligible." This electronic method of clearing securities accelerates the settlement process for investors, enabling the stock to be traded over a wider network of brokerage firms, achieved by adhering to compliance standards.

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The Company wants to thank V Stock Global for their assistance in obtaining DTC eligibility.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as may, will, to, plan, expect, believe, anticipate, intend, could, would, estimate, or continue, or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risk, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our managements beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with OTC Markets. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
Residents pleading for a crackdown on house parties in rented property around Corks university precinct have taken their campaign directly to the door of a landlord.

Members of the Magazine Road and Surrounding Areas residents association staged a silent and peaceful protest yesterday outside the home of Fachtna OReilly who rents out a number of properties close to University College Cork (UCC).

They said another house party kicked off in one of his properties on Highfield Ave, off College Rd, on Thursday night, continuing into the early morning.

Mr OReilly arrived at the property with a van yesterday to collect several bags of empty cans and bottles, and several wheelie bins.

Residents spokesperson, Catherine Clancy, a former Lord Mayor of Cork, said their patience has run out: This was the fourth in that property since May 25. On another occasion, we counted up to 100 people coming out of a party in another one of his properties. We have contacted him on numerous occasions but nothing has changed. We've spoken to him, weve had meetings with him, we have tried everything  but despite all that, and the joint letter last week from the HSE, Cork City Council and the gardai to landlords, we have another Covid-19 house party and rubbish building up.

Mr OReilly said he wasnt too bothered by the protest outside his house and he defended his record as a landlord, saying he has behaved responsibly for years. He said a Highfield Ave resident made a civilised phone call to him to complain about the latest house party and he assured her he would clear the rubbish and speak to the tenants.

I met the students. They told me the reason for the party was that they got their exam results, and they were very satisfactory. I warned them about the noise, and told them I would be calling to the house at midnight the next day but after the protest outside my house, I wont be doing that now. If I get a foul-mouthed phone call, I wont be responding."

He said he has called to properties at 3am and has mounted patrols with other landlords in and around College Rd during Rag Week  an event he said local residents support.

But he said: A large percentage of the population in this area are students. There is a natural conflict between older and younger people and trying to manage that is the problem.

He also pointed out that tenants enjoy legal protection: I can tell them [the students] that this kind of behaviour must stop and that there must be no noise after midnight. I get cross and they react to that. Most of them are from decent homes and families and they do respond if the request is done properly.
Nepal on Saturday said it is confident that India and China will resolve the border issues at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) through peaceful means keeping in mind bilateral ties and stability.

"Nepal is confident that our friendly neighbours India and China will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional and world peace and stability," Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Tensions between India and China have rapidly mounted after 20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

While India has activated all its airbases in the northern border all the way from Leh to Hashimara, they are also keeping an eye on eight Chinese airbases and airfields in Tibet.

India has also witnessed a recent border dispute with Nepal after the country's Parliament cleared a bill redrawing its political map to incorporate Indian territories.

India has termed as "untenable" the "artificial enlargement" of Nepal's territorial claims to Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas, which India maintains belong to it.

The India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.

Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.

India has sternly asked Nepal not to resort to any "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims.

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India.
The coronavirus panic has emboldened the far Left. Bernie Sanders recently said that if there is a silver lining to the pandemic, it is that we start rethinking some fundamental tenets about the way our government and society works. Sanders is a self-proclaimed socialist of course, so this was his way of saying that we should rethink the free market system.

Two high-profile members of The Squad have been even more direct. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has complained that Americas systemic priorities are all wrong and demanded that we strip profit motive out of our decisions and reprioritize for the public good and the health of everyday people. Ilhan Omar has advocated that we nationalize the supply chain.

The siren call of socialism -- the economic system that never quite works, but like a vampire, can never quite be killed -- beckons yet again. Two recent books help to explain the enduring appeal of socialism and expose it for the destructive threat that it is: The Case Against Socialism (2019) by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and The United States of Socialism (2020) by bestselling author and filmmaker Dinesh DSouza.

The Case Against Socialism

Sen. Pauls book is a straightforward expose of the fallacies of socialism. He lays out both the moral and practical case for capitalism. Capitalism, Paul argues persuasively, benefits the middle class and poor, while socialism encourages corruption. He demonstrates how socialism destroyed the once-vibrant economy of Venezuela.

Paul notes that violence and authoritarianism are not an aberration under socialism but a necessary tool if you want to make society equal. The most prescient part of Pauls book is last part where he directly ties alarmism to the rise of socialist sentiment. Paul was referring largely to the climate change crisis, but he could have easily been talking about coronavirus, where socialists have used public alarm to agitate for bigger and more authoritarian government.

Paul spends a great deal of the book discussing so-called Nordic socialism, touted by the likes of Sanders. Places like Sweden and Denmark are actually free-market countries with a large expensive social safety net paid for by high taxes (welfarism, not socialism). Policies like socialized medicine and free tuition, in other words, are socialist aspects of an otherwise market economy. However, advocates of the big government Nordic model argue that you can have socialistic policies without sacrificing economic growth.

To that argument, Paul offers this rebuttal. First, he notes that Sweden grew wealthy when it was a capitalist mecca, between 1870 and 1936, when the social democrats came to power. Basically, Paul notes, the capital formed in this era allowed Sweden to afford the ensuing welfare state. Quoting Swedish policy analyst Nima Sanandaji, During this time the economic policies of the country were characterized by minimal government involvement, and the Swedish economy grew more rapidly than any other Western European country. Second, Paul points to Scandinavian culture, rather than socialism as the source of their success. The American Left cites the long lifespans and low infant mortality among Scandinavians, but as Sanandaji notes, the admirable social outcomes pre-date the welfare state. Indeed, writes Paul, Scandinavians in America are very successful, with lower poverty and better educational outcomes than the U.S. average. Moreover, he notes, descendants of Scandinavian immigrants fare better than their counterparts in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Culture -- strong institutions, the Lutheran work ethic, and high levels of trust and participation -- accounts for the Scandinavian success story. We can learn from Scandinavian success, Paul concludes. It just doesnt appear to have anything to do with socialism or the welfare state.

To his credit, Paul distinguishes free market capitalism from crony capitalism, such as the bank bailouts of 2008. The bailouts, writes Paul, were the very definition of crony capitalism. But, he notes, crony capitalism is more akin to socialism than to real free enterprise. Rewarding some businesses and not others with tax breaks or subsidies is a socialistic practice.

The United States of Socialism

Dinesh DSouzas book, released this month, takes a somewhat different tack than Senator Paul. DSouza essentially exposes socialism as a racket -- a self-aggrandizing scheme to empower wise and enlightened administrators to take over private resources in the name of the people.

Eugene Debs, the founder of American socialism, proposed transferring the title deeds of the railroads, mines, mills and great industries to the people in their collective capacity. We shall take possession of all these social utilities in the name of the people, Debs said.

Notice who takes possession: not the people but Debs and his buddies, DSouza observes. Compare Debs statement to the one made recently by Progressive New York mayor Bill DeBlasio, Theres plenty of money in the world its just in the wrong hands. Of course: it should be in his hands!

The socialists, DSouza notes, insist that society is in need of a neutral administrative class. Someone to run things fairly, to iron out the inequities, to take care of the needy, to check and penalize the bad guys, to regulate hate and intolerance, to always keep the public good in mind. Then they anoint themselves to carry out this necessary task.

Todays socialists have abandoned the working class and have created what DSouza calls identity socialism. Drawing on the writings of philosopher Herbert Marcuse, the New Left in the 1960s replaced the working class with a new proletariat consisting of blacks, feminists and gays. The campuses became the main target. According to DSouza,

Over time, Marcuse believed, the university could produce a new type of culture, and that culture would then metastasize into the larger society to infect the media, the movies, even the titans of the capitalist class itself.

Marcuse in short accurately foresaw an America in which campus culture would replace bourgeois culture and the part that would be played by Woke Capital.

DSouza concludes that the goal goes beyond economic confiscation:

I believe it is nothing less than to make traditional Americans feel like foreigners in their own country. The identity socialists seek an overturning of norms -- a redefinition of the American dream -- that would convert foreigners into natives, and natives into foreigners. An old Marxist concept, alienation, is quite appropriate here. They seek to create a new form of belonging and, in the process, a way to alienate us from our own society.

Like it or not, socialism has been dusted off, given a paint job, and is being sold as something new, especially at the universities. These two books offer good summer reading for a bright student about to go off to college. Think of them as vaccines against bad thinking.

You can follow Nicholas J. Kaster on Twitter.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2020) Another tanker sent by Tehran to Venezuela, this time with food cargo to supply for the first ever Iranian supermarket in the Latin American country, is soon to approach its destination, the Iranian embassy in Caracas said on Saturday.

"Tomorrow [Sunday, June 21], the Golsan vessel will arrive with food cargo for the opening of the first Iranian supermarket in Venezuela. Another successful stage in the friendly and brotherly relations between our two countries," the embassy said on Twitter.

Over the past several weeks, Iran has sent five tankers to Venezuela loaded by fuel and equipment for oil refineries, much needed by Venezuela's crumbling oil infrastructure. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Tehran was prepared to send more energy resources if Caracas asks.
Itanagar:

Security forces have done a commendable job by arresting two cadres of NSCN (IM) from Miao in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, a police official said on Saturday.

Two NSCN (IM) cadres were arrested in a joint operation by police and Assam Rifles at Miao on Thursday, SDPO John Pada said. In the joint operation, two hardcore rebels of the outfit namely, self-styled Pvt Lungseng Jugli and Khumvi Mossang, were arrested, police said, adding both the cadres are from New Plone village in the area.

Suspected brown sugar packets weighing 7gms along with some cash, three mobile phones, five sim cards and extortion notebook were recovered from their possession. The area has been in news recently due to rampant extortion and threats to businessmen, government servants and villagers by various insurgent groups. A case has been registered against the accused, police said, adding that operation is on to arrest other members of the outfit.

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Most Chattanoogans remember Harry Porter as one of the pioneers in aviation in the Chattanooga area. In that capacity he achieved a lifetime of recognition as the principal supporter of Chattanooga aviation beginning in the 1920s. However, less is known of his daredevil feats as a motorcycle racer and stock car driver.

In 1921-1922, he raced at the Chattanooga Interstate Fair at the old horse racing track at Warner Park in his No. 7 Dodge automobile. He completed the Five Mile Elimination Race in five minutes and forty-nine and a half seconds. In the 25-mile feature race he finished second to future Lake Winnepesaukah developer and owner Carl Dixon with a time of 34 minutes and 32 seconds.

Porter had also previously raced motorcycles in the Chattanooga area during this period on his 1912 Indian model. He was a true daredevil and enjoyed the excitement of speed in any category.

Harry first flew a plane from Marr Field in East Chattanooga in 1923. Marr Field was located on the west side of Missionary Ridge and was susceptible to violent crosswinds that resulted in many aviation accidents. As a result, Lovell Field on the eastern side of the ridge was constructed at its present location in 1930. During this early stage of his aviation career Harry participated in barnstorming and flying shows across the South.

He also performed air shows every Sunday and gave plane rides. Soon people began asking for flying lessons that turned into Porter Flight Service in 1931. In 1938 the Tennessee Bureau of Aeronautics started a free flight instruction program with Harry as the instructor. Said program was a boost to aviation in every major Tennessee city. Also in 1938 the first Chattanooga Flyers Club was established with several private pilots holding ownership rights to a few planes that would be available for use on an hourly rate. By pooling their efforts more pilots could fly at a lower individual cost.

The state's Civilian Pilot Trainee Program was started in 1942 and changed the name to War Training Service. Porters Flight Service was employed to train pilots for military service. Student pilots would attend classes in the morning at the University of Chattanooga and take flight instruction at Lovell Field in the afternoon under Porter's supervision.

The program continued until 1944 and over 800 pilots obtained the primary training that would qualify them for the Army Air Corps flight program.

On March 26, 2003, 82-year-old Soddy native James Thomas McClure gave an interview in the Veterans History Project that vividly described his aviation training with Harry Porter.

He would later convert that training into a career as an Army Air Corps instructor and Trans World Airways (TWA) pilot for 28 years and was highly complementary of the flight instruction that he received from Harry Porter and Buck Frame at Lovell Field.

In a 1987 interview, Harry Porter recalled the two times he met famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. He first met the Lone Eagle in Americus, Georgia, at a government flight school in the early 1920s and described him as just an average guy. Porters second meeting with Lindbergh was on his 1927 stop in Chattanooga following his celebration tour after his historic New York to Paris flight.

Porter had a 64-year career in all aspects of aviation. In 1967 he sold his business to another fixed base operation, Hangar One, but remained a full-time consultant until his death in 1988. In 1974 he was given the Amelia Earhart Award by the 99s, an international womens flying organization, in recognition of his 80th birthday. When he flew a plane at the age of 90 he was considered the oldest active pilot in the country. In the 80s, the new air traffic control tower was named the Harry Porter Tower in his honor.

He served as a sergeant in World War I in France and is accordingly buried in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga when he died in 1988 at the age of 94.

In March 2003, the Chattanooga Regional History Museum opened an exhibit in the metropolitan airport at Lovell Field to honor Harry Porter and to display some of the memorabilia that he had acquired during his lengthy aviation career. Originally located in the Baggage Claim area of the airport as a tribute to Porter it was later donated to the Chattanooga Regional History Museum. On June 12, 2017, the successor to the Regional History Museum, the Chattanooga History Museum, transferred legal title and all literary property rights of Porter to the Chattanooga Public Library and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Hopefully the community will recognize the importance of preserving this important part of aviation history and the memories of the contributions of Harry Porter.

* * *



Jerry Summers

(If you have additional information about one of Mr. Summers' articles or have suggestions or ideas about a future Chattanooga area historical piece, please contact Mr. Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 02:27:29|Editor: huaxia

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A seagull stands in front of the Colosseo in Rome, Italy, on April 21, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

"I think Italy realizes that China is its economic future," she said. "This is about building that relationship as much as it is about selling some rice."

ROME, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A deal for Italy to export two kinds of specialty rice to China is seen as a sign of the continued strengthening of ties between the two countries, as it does about the popularity of Italian rice-based cuisine.

Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced recently that the two countries finalized a deal that will allow Italy to export Arborio and Carnaroli rice to China. The agreement is one of the latest commercial deals between the two countries.

The agreement was based on the protocol of China's General Administration of Customs and Italy's Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies "on the inspection and quarantine requirements of Italian rice exported to China," which stated that Italian rice "meets the inspection and quarantine requirements" for import. That cleared the way for the export of Italian rice to China.

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(191106) -- BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Nov. 5, 2019 shows the night view of the Bund in Shanghai, east China. (Photo by Wang Xiang/Xinhua)

"It may sound counter-intuitive that Italy will export rice to China just because China already produces so much rice already," Silvana Ballotta, head of Business Strategies, an advisory firm, said in an interview.

Rice has been part of Italian cuisine since the 15th century, but the Arborio and Carnaroli varieties only date back around 100 years. They are used to make risotto, a traditional dish in which the rice is cooked in meat, fish, or vegetable broth until it becomes creamy.

The Chinese embassy in Italy has confirmed the deal, saying it might satisfy the needs of Italian restaurants in China as risotto is an important part of the Italian cuisine.

Additionally, while Italy is Europe's leading producer of rice, the country has only around 230,000 hectares (570,000 acres) of land under cultivation for rice, all of it in northern Italy, according to data from the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies for 2018.

"Arborio and Carnaroli rice will only be part of a niche market in China," Ballotta said. "But this is more about developing the wider market for Italian food products and about the ties between the countries."

Chinese medical team experts and Italian doctors pose for a photo in Padua, Italy, March 18, 2020. (Chinese Medical Team/Handout via Xinhua)

According to Francesca Filippone, founder and managing director of L3, a business development consultancy specializing in the food and wine sectors, this deal is "a further sign of strong relations between two countries that already have many ties."

"I think Italy realizes that China is its economic future," she said. "This is about building that relationship as much as it is about selling some rice."

Ballotta said that for the Italian rice varieties to claim a market in China, distributors will have to explain how the rice should be prepared according to Italian traditions.

When it made the announcement about the deal, Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation cast it as a piece of positive economic news, especially for rice growers in the northern part of the country hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Italian economy is expected to contract by around 10 percent this year, in part because of weaker exports as the world recovers from the pandemic.

Medical experts to Italy tidy up each other's clothes before departure in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)
That is how Mr. Berman became U.S. attorney. He was initially appointed by the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, and federal judges in Manhattan reappointed him after the 120-day period expired. In his statement Friday night, Mr. Berman indicated that Mr. Barr could not fire him because he had been appointed by the court, and declared he intended to remain in office until the Senate confirms a successor.

However, another federal law says that U.S. attorneys may be removed by the president. On its face, it makes no exception for those appointed by courts. That raises the question of whether Congress has established that presidents may remove prosecutors appointed by courts.

In 1979, during the Carter administration, the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel, which analyzes legal issues for the executive branch, looked at this question. It concluded that the president  but not the attorney general  could fire such an official.

In a memorandum opinion, John M. Harmon, the head of the office at the time, cited the law that says presidents may fire U.S. attorneys. The laws broad wording makes sense, he wrote, only if it is applied not just to presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys but also is to be read as extending to each U.S. attorney, including the court-appointed ones whom the president could not remove without congressional leave.

Mr. Barr, in his letter on Saturday, cited that law, saying it is well-established that a court-appointed U.S. attorney is subject to removal by the president.

Mr. Harmon also pointed to constitutional arguments to back his conclusion: U.S. attorneys exercise executive power, making the president responsible for the conduct of their offices, so the president must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him, he wrote.

In addition, Mr. Harmon wrote in 1979, it might violate constitutional protections for due process of law if judges overseeing cases as neutral arbiters had the power to fire prosecutors if the judges did not like how they handled their responsibilities.
A former San Antonio police officer accused of giving a feces sandwich to a homeless man lost his second bid to get his job back, the city announced Friday.

An independent arbitrator upheld Matthew Luckhursts dismissal given the egregious nature of the former bike patrol officers conduct, the city said.

The decision comes nearly four years after San Antonio Police Chief William McManus issued two separate dismissals to Luckhurst, a five-year veteran of the force.

In the first incident, officials say Luckhurst gave a homeless man a sandwich containing dog feces. Luckhurst admitted that he handed the man a discarded tray of bread and feces. However, he said he did that so the man could throw it away, not eat it.

Last year, an arbitrator overturned that dismissal because it was not issued within 180 days of the incident, as required under a provision of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

In the second incident, Luckhurst was accused of defecating in a womens bathroom stall at SAPDs Bike Patrol Office and spreading a brown substance with the consistency of tapioca on the toilet seat, giving the appearance that there was feces on the seat.

Luckhurst appealed both firings, seeking to be reinstated with benefits and back pay.

Under the citys contract with the police union, Luckhurst can still appeal the arbitrators decision to a state district judge.

Luckhursts attorney, Ben Sifuentes Jr., did not respond to a text message seeking comment Friday night.

This individual clearly has no business wearing an SAPD uniform, and it should never have been this hard to fire him, City Manager Erik Walsh said in a statement Friday.

I am pleased that this is behind us, but the contract provision that gave him more chances than he deserved remains an obstacle to the Chiefs ability to discipline officers who fail to live up to SAPDs standards.

Lt. Jesse Salame, a spokesman for the department, said the agency could not provide a copy of the arbitrator's decision Friday evening, as it first needed to be reviewed for any possible redactions.

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton
A 63 year old man who smashed his neighbour's front door with a hatchet did so out of frustration, Sligo District Court has heard.

Brendan Costello of 21 St Joseph's Terrace appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to criminal damage, intoxication and threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour.

The court was told on May 9th last gardai received a report that Siveene Conway of 20, St Joseph's Terrace saw Costello smash her front door with a hatchet. On arrival to St Joseph's Terrace gardai saw Costello exit his house and shout at his neighbour's house next door. He was agitated and shouted abuse including 'drug dealers' towards his neighbour's house. He was directed to leave the area but refused and was then arrested.

Representing Costello, Mr Tom MacSharry, solicitor, said his client had apologised for his actions. Mr MacSharry said the house next door was 'known for anti social behaviour'. He said Costello fully regretted what happened and it was out of character. The court was told the damage to the door amounted to 370 and had been paid by Costello since the incident and Costello had previous issues with alcohol and during the current situation this had been exacerbated.

Judge Kevin Kilrane acknowledged that Costello became frustrated, given the current climate and issues with the neighbouring house, and considering these circumstances he took the public order matters into consideration.

Costello was fined 200 for criminal damage.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's campaign manager acknowledged Friday that he did not vote for his boss in the 2016 election  or vote at all  citing problems receiving his absentee ballot while working on the campaign in New York.

Brad Parscale, then a Texas resident, oversaw Trump's digital operation in 2016 and became the reelection campaign manager in 2018. Election documents in Texas reviewed by CBS News showed that Parscale voted in the 2016 primary but not in the November election.

"In 2016, I was in New York working to elect Donald Trump and encountered a series of problems receiving my absentee ballot from Texas and missed the deadline," Parscale said in a statement, arguing that the issues underscored problems with mail-in voting.

Trump has complained about Democratic proposals to increase the availability of mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing it is more susceptible to fraud.

Brad Parscale

"Theres a vast difference between voting absentee by mail when you cant get to the polls on election day versus mailing every registered voter a ballot, even those who didnt request one," Parscale said. "The media thinks theyre playing gotcha by purposefully ignoring that difference."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale acknowledges he didn't vote in 2016
20.06.2020 LISTEN

Captain Tanvi Shukla of India is our peacekeeper of the day. She is the commander of an all-female team of the Indian contingent in the DRC.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am Captain Tanvi Shukla, Indian Female Engagement Team (FET) Commander, Indian contingent with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Growing up, influenced by my mother, I developed the habit of reading, and a love for music.

After high school, I opted for Geography, Political Science and Public Administration for my graduate degree. I eventually joined the Armed Forces in 2014 and got married to a batchmate, a year later.

What are your responsibilities in this mission and what is your typical day like?

I and my team of 22 women have been deployed as part of the Rapidly Deployable Battalion. As leader of the FET, my responsibility is to ensure we are physically and mentally ready for deployment in all the operational activities and carry out as much meaningful engagement with the local people as possible.

A typical day for the team starts early morning with physical training together with the soldiers of the contingent, followed by deployment and movement of sub teams for different operational tasks. Afternoons consist of Swahili classes for the team so that they have an advantage while interacting with the local people.

How long have you been a UN peacekeeper and how did you become one?

I have been in the mission for over nine months now. I was selected as the leader of the FET as part of the Indian Infantry Battalion. The selection process was based on merit and had various stages, starting with a physical efficiency test, followed by a written exam and finally an interview.

What did your family and friends back home think about your decision to leave your country and work for a UN peacekeeping mission?

I am the first in my family to join the armed forces and the first to leave the country to serve in a UN peacekeeping mission. Though a little apprehensive, especially my mother, my family and most importantly my husband are very proud and supportive of my decision.

What are three things you like most about the mission and the country?

The three things I like best are that I get to meet so many people from diverse backgrounds and learn from them, and that I developed strong friendships.

I like the beautiful weather and country that has suited me so well that I feel I belong to Africa.

I also like the challenges of the work I must put in to getting accepted by the local people, to win their confidence and find happiness in it when it happens.

What part of your job do you find most challenging and why?

Though technology has made it very easy to stay in touch, I miss my family. Our fellow contingent members have been very supportive and helpful whenever we move out for operations, but language has been a barrier while trying to win the confidence of local people. We could have had more training in that.

Do you think female peacekeepers serve as role models for the local population?

I strongly believe in this. Not only for the women. We also serve as role models for the young male population, in the way they see women and the roles they associate with them.

What would you say to female soldiers considering a career in peacekeeping?

I will tell them to work hard, to work on their strong points because that is what makes us such an important component of peacekeeping missions. And I will tell them to be the change they want to see.
The Marvelwood School in Kent recently awarded diplomas to 32 students at its 62nd commencement exercises.

The June 6 event was held virtually, with students and families tuning in from at least six countries, 11 states and one territory.

Stephen Byron Smith 58 and his wife Mary Smith addressed the graduates.

The schools highest award, the Wittenberg Cup, was given to Oliver Sanchez 20 of Amenia, N.Y.

David Ma 20 of Kent is valedictorian, and Jack Gerston 20 of Woodbury and Amelia Marshall 20 of Lakeville are salutatorians.

Head of School Blythe Everett P14, 16 closed the ceremony.

Today, you are making history, while at the same time, you are witness to history repeating itself, Everett said. Like generations of Marvelwood graduates who have come before you, you have completed your high school studies and following the traditional ringing of the Piper Bell, you will be transformed into alumni.

However, because the COVID pandemic has precluded our opportunity to gather on campus to celebrate your accomplishments with you in person, youre making history by being the first class to graduate virtually, Everett said. Meanwhile, the tragic events in Minneapolis, Louisville, and Brunswick, Georgia are horrific reminders that we seem to have learned little from the lessons of history. The mistakes of Americas past continue to reverberate, and there are no words to sufficiently capture the pain and fear so many people are feeling right now.

At Prize Day on June 5, 58 students were awarded a total of 70 awards and recognitions in a virtual ceremony.

Five seniors and six juniors who were inducted into the Marvelwood Royal Club, which recognizes academic achievement as well as leadership, service, and character.

The Robert and Cornelia Bodkin Memorial Scholarship, which provides full financial assistance for one year, was awarded to Olivia Pignataro 21 of Carmel, N.Y.

The Class of 2020 was accepted to a total of 112 colleges and universities and was awarded over $1 million in merit scholarships.

They will be matriculating to a wide variety of schools, including Bowdoin College, Boston University, Lake Forest University, SUNY Binghamton, University of San Diego, University of California, Davis, and University of Connecticut.
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday condemned discriminatory and violent policing after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month and ordered a report on systemic racism against people of African descent.

The 47-member-state forum unanimously adopted a resolution brought by African countries. The mandate also asks U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to examine government responses to peaceful protests, including alleged use of excessive force, and deliver findings in a years time.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of the Black man whose death under the knee of a white officer roused world protests against racial injustice, urged the forum on Wednesday to investigate U.S. police brutality and racial discrimination.

Burkina Fasos Ambassador Dieudonne W. Desire Sougouri presented the African resolution on Friday, urging its adoption by consensus.

It is important to show Africa...the Human Rights Council has heard the plight of African and people of African descent calling for equal treatment and application of equal rights for all, he said.

The Africa group had made numerous concessions in the negotiations with other countries, he added.

Senegals envoy Coly Seck, a former council president, welcomed the consensus, telling the talks: Black Lives Matter.

The text was watered down during closed-door negotiations from an initial draft explicitly calling for a U.N. commission of inquiry on racism in the United States and elsewhere.

It is absurd that the final resolution passed by the United Nations strips mention of the United States, where police kill people, particularly Black people, at alarmingly higher rates compared to other developed countries, said Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which led 600 activist groups in calling for the urgent debate.

The United Nations needs to do its job  not get bullied out of doing it  and hold the United States accountable, he said in a statement.

The Trump administration, which quit the forum two years ago alleging bias against its ally Israel, made no immediate comment. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva Andrew Bremberg said on Wednesday that his country was not above scrutiny as it grappled with racial discrimination but was implementing police reforms after Floyds killing.

During the debate, Western delegations including Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and the European Union said that the United States should not be singled out.

This problem does not belong to any one country, it is a problem around the world, said Australian ambassador Sally Mansfield.

Activists said that Australia had been particularly active in negotiations to take the spotlight off the United States.

Germanys ambassador Michael Ungern-Sternberg said: We are convinced a report with a broader approach and less focus on one specific case would have been more appropriate.
The rollout of restaurant re-openings across the country has been greeted with considerable enthusiasm by owners and restaurant patrons alike.

Consumer polling done during the various lockdowns and stay-at-home orders has consistently identified going to restaurants as one of the activities that people were most eager to resume. Thus, not surprisingly, as states and jurisdictions have permitted the resumption of on-site restaurant operations, the public has shown a marked willingness to dine out once again.

COVID-19, however, has not gone away, and in order to prevent a resurgence of infections, public health officials have had to impose a consider number of operational mandates on restaurant owners. These include capacity limits, social distancing, extra sanitation measures, and contact tracing.

Anyone familiar with how the industry operates knows that these mandates aren't going to be easy to comply with, especially given the financial and operational disruption the typical restaurant has experienced over the last three months.

Preliminary indications from those areas of the country opened first are that compliance with pandemic "best practices" has been far from universal.

Over the weekend of June 13 and 14, Los Angeles County public health officials visited over 2000 restaurant and found that half of them were not following County rules for table spacing, serving, and sanitation.

In New York City, where restaurants are still restricted to providing takeout and delivery only, a considerable number of establishments have been jumping the gun, setting up ad hoc outdoor dining spaces before authorized to so.

A similar scofflaw situation has been observed in the Hamptons on Long Island.

It's easy to understand why struggling restaurateurs are eager to fill as many seats as they can as reopening progresses, but everyone - owners and customers alike - need to remember that ignoring social distance guidance puts us all at risk.

Side dishes

In full compliance with Gov. Charlie Bakers Phase Two orders, the Irish Cultural Center in West Springfield will be offering outdoor dining on its patio on Wednesday through Sunday evenings.

Two seatings are available, one at 5 p.m. and a second at 7:30 p.m., with beverage service as well as a limited menu of hot meals and sandwiches. Advance reservations are required.

Contact the Irish Cultural Center at (413) 342-4358 for more details.

The region's best known, railroad-themed dining establishment is celebrating the reopening of its patio.

The Steaming Tender Restaurant in Palmer is now offering outdoor dining on a first-come, first-served basis; hours are Thursday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Guests are expected to practice proper social distancing and wear a face covering as necessary. Twenty-five tables are available and parties of up to six can be accommodated.

Steaming Tender is also continuing its promotion for take-out customers. Each to-go order is entered into a weekly drawing, with the winner of a $50 gift certificate selected every Sunday evening.

For more details on Steaming Tender's current offerings, call (413) 283-2744.

The Burgundy Brook Cafe in Three Rivers is offering a weekly dinner specials menu on Thursday through Saturday evenings, with to-go main dish selections that include chicken teriyaki alfredo, lobster & crab ravioli, and teriyaki salmon as well as burgers, wings, pizza, and hot grinders.

Hours of service are 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; orders can be called in to (413). 289-6359.

Now offering outdoor dining, Partners Restaurant in Feeding Hills is serving dinner from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

The current menu features lobster, presented in single, double, baked-stuffed, or "lazy man's" form; a lobster roll plate is also available. Other seafood specialties include baked sea scallops, baked stuffed, cod and various fried seafood baskets.

Homemade strawberry shortcake made with native berries will also be available for dessert this month.

Take out and curbside pickup also continue to be offered.

Call the restaurant at (413) 786-0975 or order online at partnersrestaurant.com/order.

The Table 3 Restaurant Group has begun outdoor dining at its three Sturbridge locations.

The Cedar Street Grille has temporarily been relocated to Table 3's function venue, The Barn at Wight Farm, which is just across from Cedar Street Grille's permanent home. Due to seating constraints, dinner is by reservation only; tables can be booked by calling (508) 347-5800.

Avellino and The Duck are also offering an al fresco experience from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with dinner by reservation only. Take out service with online ordering will continue to be available at both establishments. Call (508) 347-2321 for additional details.

Earlier this month the Delaney House in Holyoke announced that it was making a full menu available for takeout and delivery

The service will be available Wednesday through Sunday evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and online ordering will be an option.

"Heat & Serve" individual dinners such as garlic chicken, a traditional turkey dinner, and shepherd's pie are among the menu listings. Many of the same items are available as family style meal packages sized for two, four, or six.

Steakhouse style entrees include rack of lamb, grilled pork chops, a New York sirloin steak, Boston baked scrod, and seared scallops.

Beer and wine selections are on offer as well.

The menu and online ordering link can be found at delaneyhouse.com, and the Delaney House picks up at (413) 532-1800.

Chez Josef in Agawam has brought its special event expertise to this summer's "social distancing" environment and created Chez Micro Parties.

Designed for small outdoor gatherings of 20 people or less, a Chez Micro Party package includes two choices from a listing of five food station options, delivery, setup, disposables, and a fully-certified Chez Josef staff member to facilitate service.

Among the food station options are gourmet wraps and salad, a taco fiesta bar, and a decadent dessert bar.

In addition to the micro party options, Chez Josef has created several "pick up" packages for summer get-togethers. The establishment's sales office is also willing to customize a party package to meet an individual client's needs.

For more details go to chezjosef.com or call (413) 786-0257.

Effective June 17, Bistro Les Gras in Northampton has discontinued meal package pre-orders as it resumes outdoor dining on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, weather permitting.

Tables must be reserved in advance, and each party is allotted two hours per visit. A link to Resy.com, which handles Bistro Les Gras reservations, is available at the restaurant's web site, bistrolesgras.com.

With takeout and delivery at the heart of the restaurant's pandemic-driven survival strategy, most operators have relegated concerns about the environment to the back burner.

Dunkin', the coffee-and-donut chain, has announced, however, that as of May 2020 it was no longer stocking Styrofoam cups in its distribution centers. The chain is instead transitioning to double-walled paper cups, the design of which eliminates the need for a separate sleeve to keep hands cool while holding the cup.

The chain is also on track to have fully-recyclable plastic lids in all its location by later this summer. This new lid, along with the new double-walled hot drink cup, has the potential to remove an estimate 19 million pounds of plastic from the waste stream annually.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached on-line at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
SPCA is launching a brand-new series of Learn-to-Read Storybooks to help Kiwi children learn vital lessons about wildlife and animal welfare.

Over the past four years, 156,000 copies of SPCAs Learn-to-Read Storybooks have been enjoyed in over 2,000 primary schools nationwide.

After the success of the first two collections, SPCAs new series focuses on the care and wellbeing of wildlife in New Zealand.

SPCA CEO Andrea Midgen says the books further extend SPCAs New Zealand curriculum-aligned education programme and are written specifically for New Zealand primary school classrooms.

This third series of storybooks builds on the overwhelming success of our education programme and introduces young learners to the concept of protecting wildlife, says Andrea.

SPCA continues to care for 40,000 animals that have been neglected, abandoned, or abused each year and we must do better as a nation. Teaching animal care and nurturing empathy at a young age is vital to turning this around. When children care about animals, they are more likely to want to protect them and the planet we all share.

In the last two weeks, 78,000 copies of these books have been sent to every primary school in New Zealand  free of charge.

Each school will receive 36 copies of the new series; six sets each, which are funded by donations and community grants.

SPCAs evidence-based education programme is innovatively designed and aims to break the cycle of animal cruelty in our communities.

The first collection of SPCA storybooks was released in August 2016 and featured six real-life SPCA companion animals rescue stories. The second collection, which featured six farm animal rescue stories, launched in October 2017. In 2018, both collections were translated into Te Reo Maori, gagana Samoa, lea faka-Tonga and Mandarin Chinese.

The third series of storybooks have been carefully produced to align with the New Zealand curriculum and support the development of childrens reading and language skills.

The aim of the stories is to nurture and encourage childrens compassion for all animals  not just the ones we keep as companion animals. For this series, children are featured as the heroes of the stories, rather than SPCA staff, says Andrea.

Having children read stories about young people who are similar to them will hopefully engage and empower them to take action and to make a positive difference to the lives of animals in the wild, as well as those in their communities."

Free teaching notes for all 18 books are available to teachers through the SPCA Teachers Portal. Suggested follow-up activities that help to extend and consolidate childrens understanding of animal care concepts and increase their empathy for the animal characters within the stories are also available.

The new books include:

The Lizard Lounge

Marine Life Matters

Gannets and Grommets

Batman and Robyn

CD and the Window Pain

The Kaka Cafe

Children and their families can access information to support the books at the SPCA Kids Portal: www.kids.spcaeducation.org.nz

Teachers can register for free, curriculum-aligned resources at the SPCA Teachers Portal: www.teachers.spcaeducation.org.nz
By Trend

Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov expressed protest of the Azerbaijani public in connection with the film "Should the Wind Fall" (Si le vent tombe) by Nora Martirosyan shot in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and presented for a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mammadov made the statement during the meeting of the extraordinary session of the Azerbaijani parliament, Trend reports.

The film shot in the occupied Azerbaijani lands serves one single purpose which is to distort the history, causes and essence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani MP said. With particular feeling of regret, I would like to stress the participation of a French company in the creation of this film and its submission for the screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Azerbaijani MP said that these and similar initiatives do not correspond to the current spirit of rapidly developing Azerbaijan-France relations, friendly relations between the two peoples, as well as Frances mediation goal as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

In particular, both countries attach great importance to the development of mutually beneficial relations in the economic, political, humanitarian and cultural spheres, Mammadov said. "I would like to inform you that the Azerbaijani embassy in France also expressed the protest to the French authorities in connection with this issue, Mammadov added.

I would like to stress that two regions of France rendered financial and logistical assistance in the creation of the film. Sponsor partner of the Cannes Film Festival - the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region - also supported the film production, the Azerbaijani MP said. I would like to emphasize that this activity is contrary to the principles defined by the legal framework regulated by the French law on the rules of conduct and control of territorial units in the international cooperation.

As the head of the Azerbaijan-France inter-parliamentary working group, I appeal to the French embassy in Azerbaijan and invite them to express their position on this issue, Mammadov added.

I expect that the embassy will share our views on the fact that such steps contradict to the spirit of friendly relations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and France, do not serve to strengthening mutual trust between the parties to the conflict and misrepresent the historical reality, the Azerbaijani MP said. Im sure that the authorities will understand the voiced opinions.

While using this opportunity, I would like to appeal to the MPs, film industry workers, figures of art and culture and representatives of the Azerbaijani media to express their protest in similar cases, the Azerbaijani MP said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the country is proud of the Indian Armys Bihar Regiment as he paid homage to the 20 soldiers who were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in Ladakhs Galwan Valley on Monday.

The country is proud of the sacrifice made by our braves in Ladakh. Today when I am speaking to people of Bihar, I will say the valour was of Bihar Regiment, every Bihari is proud of it. I pay tributes to the braves who laid down their lives for the nation, PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister was speaking during the launch of the Rs 50,000 crore Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, a dedicated programme to create jobs for migrant workers who returned home during the coronavirus-induced lockdown across the country.

Twenty Indian Army soldier, including the commanding officer of the 16th Bihar Regiment, were killed by Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

On Friday, PM Modi had categorically said: either has anyone entered our territory, nor is anyone still there, nor is any of our posts under anyones capture.

In Ladakh, our 20 jawans got martyred. But they taught a lesson to those who were eyeing Indian territory, he said at an all-party meeting called to discuss the India-China border situation.

The PM said the soldiers taught a lesson to those who were eyeing Indian territory as he praised their valour.
Indian Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria today said India is "well prepared and suitably deployed" to respond to any emergency in the current situation following the violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley.

While speaking at the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, Air Force chief Bhadauria said, "It should be very clear that we are well-prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of the braves of Galwan go in vain."

The Indian Air Force has deployed AH-64E Apache 'tank-buster' attack helicopters to provide air support to the Indian Army troops in Ladakh. Photos depicting MiG-29 jets flying combat air patrol have also emerged from the region. The IAF chief also pointed out the importance of being prepared and vigilant at all times as the incident at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh is a "small snapshot of what we are required to handle at short notice."

On June 15, as many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed and 76 others got injured after a violent clash with the Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in Ladakh on June 15-16. At least 10 more Indian soldiers were taken as captives by the Chinese military, though they were released three days later.

He added that efforts were underway to resolve the current situation at LAC through peace despite "unacceptable Chinese action after agreements reached during military talks and the resulting loss of lives".

Also read: PM Modi has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression, says Rahul Gandhi
Bigg Boss 13 contestant, Paras Chhabra had got Akanksha Puri's name tattooed when he was dating the actress. But after entering the Bigg Boss 13 house, the actor broke up with Akanksha. While the actress had modified the tattoo, Paras couldn't as he was busy with work. Finally, Paras had recently gotten the tattoo altered/replaced with Bigg Boss eye. Regarding the same, his ex-Bigg Boss inmate, Mahira Sharma has reacted.

Regarding the tattoo, Mahira Sharma revealed that in the Bigg Boss house, they used to ask him to replace the tattoo with Bigg Boss eye. She was quoted by Spotboye as saying, "When we were locked inside Bigg Boss house, we used to say that he should replace it with Bigg Boss eye. And I think he took that conversation too seriously and actually replaced the tattoo with the eye. And he says ki Bigg Boss ne meri aankh khol di. He sent me the pictures as soon as he changed it and I really liked it. It's a beautiful eye."



On the other hand, Paras said that since Bigg Boss opened his eye to reality and gave him all the positivity, he got it tattooed. He also said that it took two long hours to modify the tattoo.

Meanwhile, Paras and Mahira, who did a music video 'Baarish' together, are all set to release their new music video, 'Love Soniyea', which is produced under the banner of Meet Brothers. The song is crooned by Piyush Mehroliyaa, Jassi/Priya Mallik, rapped by MellowD, penned by Sanjeev Anand and composed by Sakaar and Jasraj.

The actress is excited about the song and revealed that she and Paras shot for the song at their respective houses during the lockdown. She also revealed that the song will be released within 10 days and is sure that their fans will love to watch it.

Also Read: Paras Chhabra Erases Tattoo Of Ex-GF Akanksha Puri's Name, Gets It Replaced With Bigg Boss Eye!

Also Read: Naagin 5: Paras Chhabra Confirms Getting Call From Makers; Mouni Roy & Surbhi Jyoti To Appear!
After the General Assembly returned in late May from its coronavirus-induced hiatus, two Democratic senators spoke to Sen. Julie Gonzales about the bill she was sponsoring to give sex abuse survivors unlimited time to sue their perpetrators or the institutions that harbored them.
Shanghai is moving to become a world hub for asset management while regulators make continued efforts to improve the business environment. The moves come amid growing interest by industry leaders in expanding business in the city.

Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said at the two-day Lujiazui Forum that continued efforts should be made so that Shanghai will grow into a hub for world-leading asset management firms. Shanghai already accommodates the world's top 10 asset management institutions. The forum ended on Friday.

The central bank and State Administration of Foreign Exchange will study the possibilities of expanding the scale of qualified domestic and qualified foreign limited partners. Regulators will also explore management modes for cross-border investment and financing of private equities. With those moves, Shanghai could become a major international market for asset management, Pan said.

According to a State Council plan announced in 2009, Shanghai would grow into a world financial center in line with China's economic power and the renminbi's international status by the end of 2020. The Shanghai financial regulator said in early 2019 that the introduction of world leading asset management firms will serve that end.

According to the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau, the world's top 10 asset management companies have all started operations in Shanghai. Among the 25 wholly owned foreign private equity firms registered with the Asset Management Association of China, 24 have set up offices in Shanghai.

The 81-year-old asset management firm Neuberger Berman set up an investment company in Shanghai in 2016. It was one of the first two companies to apply for mutual fund qualification in China on April 1the first day foreign ownership limits for mutual funds were eliminated in the country.

During a plenary discussion at the Lujiazui Forum on Friday, Andrew Komaroff, chief operating officer of Neuberger Berman, said that more than 25 percent of the company's annual income over the past five years came from China.

He said the company's clients worldwide have shown greater interest in fixed asset and equity investment in China. In this regard, the stock exchange and derivative market in Shanghai should be better integrated into the world capital market so that investors worldwide can have access to the increasingly opened Chinese market, he suggested.

Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, suggested deeper cooperation between Chinese and overseas institutions to come up with more qualified domestic limited partner projects and funds, which in the long term will reduce market volatility, optimize asset allocation and facilitate capital flow.

Investment adviser Vanguard's president, Mortimer Buckley, said he expects more competition and more participants as the Chinese financial market further opens up. While Shanghai aspires to become one of the hubs of leading global asset management firms, a regulation environment centered on client demand should be set up in the first place, he said. Above all, a pool of top talent is essential for Shanghai to reach its goals, Buckley added.

The Shanghai government has worked to facilitate business operations for foreign companies, officials said. In March, it released a bilingual guide for overseas asset management institutions planning to invest in Shanghai. It helped lower their operational costs by removing the requirement in late 2018 for foreign asset management firms to set up a new entity for each new business.
How does China think? Its a question that has bedevilled historians and policy-makers for a long time. It wouldnt be too far off the mark to apply Churchills words about Russia in 1939 to the actions of the contemporary Middle Kingdom: It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Many contemporary Chinese writers have offered us a window into the countrys lived reality. Among them is novelist Yu Hua whose work, from early avantgarde to grotesque realism, critiques Chinas development from the Cultural Revolution to its modern-day variety of hyper-capitalism. Pankaj Mishra once described it as a vision of China lurching between political authoritarianism, extreme poverty, consumerist excess and moral depravity.

The writers essay collection, China in Ten Words, published almost ten years ago, offers an insiders take from that time. Hua selects words that have both a personal resonance as well as a larger public role, and uses them as ten pairs of eyes with which to scan the contemporary Chinese scene from different vantage points. The frankness of his observations led to the book being banned in China when it first appeared.

The words, in an English translation by Allan H. Barr, are: people, leader, reading, writing, the writer Lu Xun, revolution, disparity, grassroots, copycat, and bamboozle. An interesting matrix to analyse any society, not just China.

To be clear, Huas scrutiny is not data-based or research-oriented. Instead, he offers observation, analysis, and personal anecdotes that range over the years to bring out complexities and contrasts. When in this book I write of Chinas pain, he reveals, I am registering my pain too, because Chinas pain is mine.

Somewhat sardonically, he writes that in China today, its only officials who frequently use the words the people. The people themselves seldom use it, perhaps they hardly recall its existence. He cuts deeper: after Tiananmen, the people have become nothing more than a shell company, utilized by different eras to position different products in the marketplace.

He goes on to recall the many legends surrounding Mao and the ubiquitous Little Red Book. Nowadays, though, I have a sense that in todays China we no longer have a leaderall we have is a leadership. Its not that hes a fan of the Cultural Revolution: it was a life made up of equal parts stifled instincts, dreary freedom, and hollow verbiage. Ironically enough, changes in moral outlook and the reallocation of wealth, he says, have only now created real classes and real class conflict.

Its clear from many of the parallels between past and present that Hua views history as a series of connected dots. He sees signs of 1958s notorious Great Leap Forward in the contemporary frenzy to construct airports, harbours, highways, and other large-scale public works. In another section, he finds the revolutionary violence that recalls the Cultural Revolution within Chinas success story. The economic leaps in which we so revel rely on the absolute authority of local governments.

What makes the picture more complex is that the fruits of such development have been decidedly uneven. The disparities remind Hua of walking down a street where on this side are gaudy pleasure palaces and, on that side, desolate ruins. Of course, China isnt the only country to which that can be applied.

Hua goes on to recollect a TV interviewer asking Chinese teenagers what gift they would most like to receive. A boy in Beijing wanted a Boeing jet of his own, while a girl in the northwest said bashfully, I want a pair of sneakers.

Perhaps the most interesting section is the one in which he dwells on the meaning and associations of the word copycat. Its not just counterfeiting and infringement, but also deviations from the standard, mischief, and caricature. It has, Hua feels, an anarchist spirit that has penetrated deep into the countrys culture. Thus, there arent merely copycat mobile phones and other product knock-offs but also copycat stars, TV programs, advertisements, pop songs, Spring Festival galas, Shenzhou 7 space capsules, and Birds Nest national stadiums.

This is a consequence of lopsided development, revealing both progress and regression.On the positive side, its also a challenge of the grassroots to the elite, of the popular to the official, of the weak to the strong.

He paints a similar picture for the word bamboozle, with shades of satire, hype, and deception. Bamboozling is everywhere, and so leverage is everywhere, tooit goes to show that we live in a frivolous society, one that doesnt set much store by matters of principle.

The country that Hua portrays is one where political reform has ground to a halt even as the economy accelerates. This explains the contradictions: conservative here, radical there; the concentration of political power on this side, the unfettering of economic interests on that; dogmatism on the one hand, anarchism on the other; toeing the line here, tossing away the rule book there.

His focus throughout is on Chinas relationship with itself and not with the world. As such, foreign policy and steps to prevail over the region  if not the world at large -- arent touched upon. Nevertheless, the internal and the external are closely linked, and its in this light that Huas depiction of a divided society coming to grips with a new reality is a worrying one.

Sanjay Sipahimalani is a Mumbai-based writer and reviewer.
Mumbai police are investigating the reasons for actor Sushant Singh Rajput decision to end his life on June 14. The police had asked the production giant, Yash Raj Films, for a copy of their contract with the late actor.

Yash Raj Films handed over the copy of the contract signed by Sushant for their upcoming collaborations, to the police on Saturday, June 20.

Abhishek Trimukhe, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-IX, was quoted as saying by Tribune India, "Accordingly, the Investigation Officer (IO) has received a contract copy from the YRF which was signed by Sushant Singh Rajput."

After starring in Yash Raj Films' productions such as Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015), Sushant was meant to star in Paani, a Shekar Kapur directorial. However, YRF pulled out of the project.

A while back, mourning Sushant's death in a series of Twitter posts, Shekar had alluded that the film being shelved abruptly, had affected Sushant a lot. He wrote that he knew the people who let Sushant down.

In an Instagram live with Manoj Bajpayee, Shekhar confirmed this by saying that Sushant was bursting with excitement about doing Paani, but cried a lot when the film got shelved.

He added that he regretted not taking action and doing something for Sushant and the film.

The Mumbai police have recorded the statements of 15 people so far, including his rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, and of casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who directed Sushant's last film, Dil Bechara.

ALSO READ: Shekhar Kapur Says He Knew The Story Of The People That Let Sushant Singh Rajput Down

ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput Paid Entire Year's Rent For His Lonavala Bungalow Ten Days Before Passing



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Washington County added to quarantine list for troublesome bug

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has added several areas, including Washington County, to its quarantine list regarding the spotted lanternfly.
Luc Ngan District in the northern province of Bac Giang is often thought of as a land of miracles as many types of fruits grow well on its soil.

Lychee is grown organically in Luc Ngan District, the northern province of Bac Giang.  Photo vietnamplus.vn

The district is famous for its orchards of orange, grapefruit, apple, custard apple and especially lychee.

Experienced lychee traders have said that Luc Ngan lychees were first exported to China in 1997, mostly dried lychee which Chinese people add to their tea.

It took 2000 with widely available freezing technology and better transportation for fresh lychee to enter the worlds biggest market with a population of more than 1 billion.

Now Global Good Agriculture Practices (GlobalGAP), lychees can approach demanding markets like Japan, Australia and the EU.

This year marks the first time Luc Ngans fresh lychees are exported to Japan while in the past, only processed lychee like dried lychee, soaked lychee or lychee juice could enter the country.

In Japan, a packet of 12 Vietnamese lychees can sell for VND200,000 (US$8.7) or nearly VND17,000 each  much more expensive than the lychees sold in the domestic market which are usually VND25,000  35,000 ($1.09- 1.52) per kilo.

Lychee is now a product that can help farmers become prosperous.

Known as a witch among lychee growers in Luc Ngan District, farmer Tran Van Hanh of Giap Son Commune was among the first to grow organic lychees in the locality.

Hanh said his family and about 20 other households last year joined a programme in which lychee was grown under strict criteria such as safe for growers, not harming the environment and no residue of plant protection products on the fruits, resulting in tastier fruits.

To meet such criteria, the lychee plants need to be nursed carefully with proper watering and irrigation, Hanh said, adding that he also installed cameras and used an e-diary to observe his orchards.

Growing organic lychees requires more investment in fertiliser, water and farming techniques than non-organic methods, so the former could be much more expensive than the latter, Hanh said.

In 2012, Hanh was well known for a new farming technique that helps improve the productivity and quality of Luc Ngan lychee after finding that if lychee plants were allowed to develop their height and foliage, the fruits would not receive enough sunlight, affecting the fruits sweetness.

Thus, Hanh cut small branches, said to be a bold move.

Surprisingly, buds arose from the plants stems, producing massive flowers which then developed fruits, Hanh said, adding that productivity increased and the fruits looked and tasted better than in previous years.

With the new technique, our productivity increased by 20 per cent. Moreover, when the fruits are developed along the plants stems at a lower height, we can harvest fruits more easily and thus, save labour, Hanh said.

Since then Hanhs family usually harvests about 30 tonnes of lychees from their 3ha orchard annually, with each kilo going for at least VND25,000, he said.

Hearing about lychees developing along plants stems, wholesalers visited and bought our lychee. My familys financial situation has improved a lot thanks to the lychee, Hanh said.

Cao Van Hoan, the vice secretariat of Luc Ngan Districts Party Committee, said that last year, organic lychee was grown in 20ha with the productivity of about 200 tonnes.

Organic lychee is 3-7 times more expensive than conventional lychee, Hoan said.

This year, the district maintained its organic lychee area and expanded the cultivation area that applied VietGap and GlobalGap, Hoan said.

He said 2019 also marked the first time lychee growers and companies worked together on organic lychee production and consumption.

Experienced farmers and high-quality orchards are selected to join the organic lychee programme. Harvested fruits are carefully selected, packed in paper boxes ordered and shipped to Japan. Twelve lychees placed inside a box costs VND200,000.

Hoan said QR codes were stuck outside, helping people trace the products origin and other information with smartphones.

Tran Thi Huong, of Nam Duong Commune, is among farmers whose lychees are eligible to enter Japan and said that her family had grown lychees on hilly soil for nearly 20 years. Her 3ha orchard with more than 1,000 lychee plants is located on the hill.

This year, for the first time, Huong family has grown lychee with GlobalGap.

Applying GlobalGap in cultivation is more complicated than traditional farming, Huongs husband Ly Van Bao said.

All farming activities had to be recorded, the orchards had to be kept clean and careful pruning was key. Packages of plant protection products must be placed in the right locations and only plant protection products recommended by Japan can be used.

Nursing the plants must strictly follow a fixed timetable, Bao said.

Sometimes we feel so worried to see pests appear and develop while plant protection products seemingly dont work, Huong said, adding that some farmers even thought about using the old products.

We told each other to keep patient as we had committed to strictly follow cultivation schemes, Huong said, happily adding that now, they could see the fruits of their labour.

Duong Van Thai, chairman of Bac Giang Province Peoples Committee said that last year, the province produced 150,000 tonnes of lychee which helped earn revenue of VND 6.3 trillion ($273.4 million) while in 2018, it produced 215,800 tonnes worth VND5.755 trillion ($250 million).

Companies and farmers have been more and more active in producing and meeting market demand, resulting in convenience in exporting the fruit, Thai said.

Besides China, Bac Giangs organic lychees are now eligible to enter Japan at high prices, Thai said.

This year, 15,000ha of lychee in the province was grown under VietGAP and 80ha under GlobalGAP, which provides lychee for export to the EU. Particularly, 103ha of lychee with the productivity of 600 tonnes is qualified for export to Japan.

Vice head of the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Ba Thanh said it was very important for the province to increase the quality of lychee.

Cultivation and production under a standard process and helping farmers follow the process are very necessary, Thanh said. VNS

Vietnam unique lychee market in full swing An annual lychee market held in Luc Ngan district of the northern province of Bac Giang is regularly bustling with trade each June, with the locality also serving to send shipments to provinces nationwide and several markets worldwide.
At a challenging time like the coronavirus pandemic, when a constant restricted human contact takes a toll on your mind and body, it's imperative to embrace the ancient, powerful and healing effects of yoga.

On the International Yoga Day, that calls for 'Yoga at home, Yoga with family', let's hear out the words of Monika Rai, a 33-year-old yoga teacher, who found her respite in asanas, pranayama and meditation as a child after suffering from depression and hormonal imbalance.

Going by the Instagram name, yogawithmonika, the Bangalore based tutor shares her journey as a yoga teacher and highlights the potential of yoga in managing stress and anxiety.

1) Why is yoga needed during a time like pandemic for the mind and body?

Yoga is always needed because it keeps the mind and body balanced as well as healthy. It becomes even more important during a pandemic, because this is a more challenging time. There is an increase in the level of stress & negative emotions like fear & uncertainty in the environment. It depletes our emotional & mental health even more, which affects the physical health too. During the pandemic we need strong physical health to support our immunity. Since physical health is impacted by mental & emotional health, we need to keep those in check too. Regular and mindful practice of yogic tools like asanas, pranayama & meditation helps improving our overall health. Although this pandemic will see an end someday, but with an improved physical immunity, we need to have strong emotional immunity too to be able to come out of the pandemic stronger.

2) When did you take up yoga and how has it helped you?

I was introduced to yoga as a child. I used to practice it off and on. But, a consistent regular practice started in 2016 when I was suffering from depression & hormonal imbalance. After having tried many different ways to overcome my health issues, I finally gave a try to yoga. It changed my life. It supported my healing from depression. It also helped in balancing my hormones. I am a much better and balanced person now in all areas of my life.

3) How did you rise up to became a yoga influencer?

After having experienced the life changing benefits of yoga, it became a natural desire to be able to share this ancient, powerful and healing practice with others too.

4) How effective is yoga in managing stress and anxiety?

If practiced regularly & mindfully, it can help in managing stress to a great extent. Breathing practices like Vashishtha pranayama, Samavritti pranayama are very helpful in activating the parasympathetic nervous system and this helps taking us out of the fight or flight mode and allows us to relax and release stress. Advanced practices like yoga nidra are really powerful in helping us manage stress as it works on a deeper level. Even a simple yogasana session can make you feel better. Practising of asanas not only helps at the physical level, but if practised with proper breathing, alignment and awareness, which it helps you beyond the physical level. Yoga helps in bringing us to the present moment. Yoga has the power to release our old limiting patterns.The key is to be regular and mindful.

5) What is that one message you have for people on the International Yoga Day?

Yoga is for everyone. You don't have to be flexible to practice yoga. You don't have to be able to do the advance poses to get the benefits. Yoga practice requires patience, dedication and mindfulness. Practice regularly and mindfully to experience the difference.

6) Tips for our readers who are new to yoga?

These tips are not only for beginners but for everyone: Always, always and always listen to your body. Never force or strain yourself.

It's always best to practice under the guidance of an experienced teacher, especially if you are new to yoga. If you are a beginner, always start with the basics. Be patient. In case of any medical conditions, always talk to your doctor first before starting any workout, including yoga.

This interview is part of our series #YogaTalks where yoga enthusiasts who have built a community, share with us their experiences with yoga during the pandemic.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has released a public apology, in the wake of its admission employees had for two years been directed to conduct tours for student groups that excluded LGBTTQ+ content.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has released a public apology, in the wake of its admission employees had for two years been directed to conduct tours for student groups that excluded LGBTTQ+ content.

Chief executive officer John Young said Thursday he took responsibility for the 2015-17 practice, in which the Winnipeg-based national museum would provide tours with content about LGBTTQ+ history hidden for schools that requested it. Young said he will not be seeking reappointment when his contract expires in August.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights CEO John Young took responsibility for providing tours with content about LGBTTQ+ history hidden for schools that requested it. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"This practice was wrong and was ended. This practice is contrary to the museum's mandate, and contrary to everything we stand for as a museum for human rights," the statement attributed to the CMHR executive team reads Friday.

"For breaking the trust that was extended to us by the (LGBTTQ+) community, our visitors, our staff and volunteers, our members and donors, and for the hurt and harm this betrayal has caused, we apologize. We failed in our responsibility as leaders.

"The (LGBTTQ+) community has a long and painful history of their stories and experiences being hidden, invalidated and marginalized. Many members of the community look to the museum to place these stories in their proper location  as a crucially important part of the struggle for human rights that continues today.

"For the museum to actively try to hide these stories and experiences which are displayed prominently in our galleries is not just a painful repetition of a pattern of oppression, it is a profound betrayal."

The statement says the museum will include these issues in the external review that has already been launched as a response to complaints of systemic racism and discrimination alleged by current and former staff.

The apology comes after former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray announced he would be resigning from the Friends of CMHR fundraising organization. Murray, who is gay, said the museum had become "complicit" in the very practices the institution should have sought to eradicate.

"Im out there supporting this museum, only to find out that, in fact, they were discriminating against people like me," he told the Free Press.

Murray said Friday his concern with management of the museum had been building prior to this week's public admission of censored tours, referring to what he called a "a buttoned-down, conservative, much more controlled organization, that has been prepared to throw its own mission under the bus for paying customers."

"This, on its own, is the reason I resigned, but I have had a high level of frustration  when the first senior management team was all white, conservative, political appointees," he said.

Murray said he was not aware if anyone else with the fundraising arm had plans to resign.

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"I was prepared to work in the context of the Friends (of CMHR) and the museum to try and move those changes forward, but its quite clear to me now that not only are those changes not moving forward, they have a lot more remedial work to do than I think most of us imagined," he said.

The productive next step, Murray said, goes beyond an apology and into a top-down restructuring of the museums governance  not just including members of marginalized communities, but those who have historically fought for social justice in Winnipeg.

"Im glad that theyre taking some steps, I hope theyll start talking to the people whove been most impacted by this before they make any more announcements," he said.

"Because they should really just quietly listen to the people whove theyve impacted from these decisions, and then build their plans on how theyre going to deal with this with the communities theyve impacted on, including their employees."

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_
The Sudanese foreign minister said that the dispute over the controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile is hung up on some fundamental legal issues, and reiterated her countrys rejection of the dams reservoir being filled before an agreement is reached.

Minister Asma Mohamed Abdalla said on Saturday that the recent rounds of negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) had made tangible progress with regards to technical issues, which reinforces the notion that negotiation is the best way to reach a satisfactory result.

"The dispute still exists on some fundamental legal issues, which necessitated referring the issue to the prime ministers of the three countries with the aim of reaching a political consensus that would in turn lead to the resumption and completion of negotiations as soon as possible, the Sudanese minister said.

The foreign minister also reiterated Sudan's categorical rejection of any unilateral move that would harm the country or negatively impact the safety and operation of its Roseires Dam.

The latest round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the giant $4.8 billion hydropower project stalled this week after Addis Ababa refused to enter into a binding agreement on the dams operation.

Amid the escalating tensions with Ethiopia, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed on the necessity of reaching a deal on the dam issue.

In a televised speech made during an inspection tour of Egypts Western Military Region on Saturday, El-Sisi stressed the need for a strong move to finalise talks and reach an agreement.

Egypt said on Friday that it had lodged a formal complaint with the UN Security Council after Ethiopias assertion that it would fill the dams reservoir regardless of whether a deal is reached.

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OTTAWAThe remains of four of the six Canadian Armed Forces members killed when a Cyclone helicopter crashed into the Ionian Sea off Greece in late April have been identified.

In a news release, the Department of National Defence (DND) says the remains were positively identified Thursday by the Chief Coroner for Ontario.

They include Capt. Kevin Hagen, a pilot originally from Nanaimo, B.C.; Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, an air combat systems officer originally from Becancour, Quebec; Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke, a naval warfare officer originally from Truro, N.S.; and Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, an airborne electronic sensor operator originally from Guelph.

The remains were found during a combined search and recovery operation with the United States navy conducted between May 25 and June 2.

The military says the families of all crew members lost in the accident have been notified and the remains will be released to the families over the coming days.

Ceremonial arrangements are also being planned by the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force in consultation with the families, and details will be released at a later date.

The remains of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a marine systems engineering officer originally from Toronto, were previously identified shortly after the accident. Partial remains of Captain Brenden MacDonald, a pilot originally from New Glasgow, N.S., were originally identified on May 9.

The commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the crash victims.

I hope todays news provides some comfort and closure to each of you, said McDonald. These have been dark days and these events have reminded us all of the perils of service at sea and in the skies above.

The commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger, also extended his sympathies.

Together, well honour and remember the legacies of our fallen, while also standing behind those who will pick up their torch and carry on with the mission, Meinzinger said.

A Royal Canadian Air Force flight safety investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing. The investigation is currently focused on aircraft systems and human factors as possible causes of the crash.

Earlier this month, the military said in a brief report on the probes preliminary findings that the helicopter did not respond to something the way the crew expected.

And in announcing a resumption of Cyclone flights earlier this week, Air Force officials said investigators have been able to recreate the circumstances surrounding the crash using information from the Cyclones flight-data recorders.

The problem occurred as the helicopter was coming around to land on HMCS Fredericton, officials said. The pilot attempted to make a number of manoeuvres while the Cyclones flight director, or autopilot, was still engaged.

Rather than turning off, the autopilot started to work against the human pilot before the helicopter crashed into the water at high speed.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris  Sat, June 20, 2020 18:38 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066056ce7 2 Science & Tech Google,privacy,search-engine,France Free

France's highest administrative authority on Friday dismissed a challenge by Google against a fine of 50 million euros ($56 million) for failing to provide adequate information on its data consent policies.

The fine was imposed in 2019 by France's data watchdog, the CNIL.

It found at the time that Google made it too difficult for users to understand and manage preferences on how their personal information is used, in particular with regards to targeted advertising.

Its ruling applied principles enshrined in the EU's strict new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Google then appealed.

But on Friday, the Council of State, a French government body that is also the court of last resort for matters of administrative justice, confirmed the CNIL ruling.

It agreed the information that Google provided to users "does not meet the requirements of clarity and accessibility required by the GDPR" even when the nature and volume of data collected was "particularly intrusive."

The council said the CNIL's record fine was not disproportionate "given the particular seriousness of the breaches committed, their continuous nature and duration, the ceilings provided for by the GDPR (up to four percent of turnover) and Google's financial situation."

In a statement sent to AFP, the American giant said it would "now examine the changes we need to make".

The matter was brought to the CNIL by two advocacy groups shortly after the landmark GDPR directive came into effect.

One was filed on behalf of some 10,000 signatories by France's Quadrature du Net group, and the other by None Of Your Business, created by the Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems.

Schrems had accused Google of securing "forced consent" via its Android mobile operating software through the use of pop-up boxes online or on its apps which imply that its services will not be available unless the conditions of use are accepted.

The CNIL noted in its ruling that details on how long a person's data can be kept and what it is used for were spread over several different web pages.

Modifying a user's data preferences required clicking through a variety of pages such as "More Options", and often the choices to accept Google's terms were pre-checked by default.

It was not the first time the regulator had taken Google to task.

In 2014 it fined the company 150,000 euros -- the maximum possible at the time -- for failing to comply with privacy guidelines.

And in 2016 it imposed a 100,000-euro penalty over non-compliance with the EU's "right to be forgotten" rule which allows people to request having references to them removed from search results.
TURKEYS

Take a moment to think where Pennsylvania might be today if state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe were governor. Without doubt, the state would have allowed businesses and schools to reopen earlier than Gov. Tom Wolf has, in his staggered red-yellow-green approach. Perhaps Gov. Metcalfe might not have ordered any kind of lockdown, allowing everyone to free-wheel their way to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its bad enough that a group of Senate Republicans dissatisfied with progress in restarting the economy have filed suit to overturn Wolfs emergency order. The state Supreme Court has decided to take on that question. Metcalfe, a Republican from Butler County, has taken it a step further. Last week he introduced five articles of impeachment, saying Wolf must be held accountable for his actions that have harmed so many of our citizens and violated so many of our rights. He accused Wolf of Orwellian overreach into our lives and the marketplace. The bill attracted 24 co-sponsors. Whats truly Orwellian is the shortsighted, partisan response of GOP elected officials to a deadly pandemic that is showing signs of resurgence elsewhere.

With public pools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where will people turn to cool off during the summer? We might have gotten a glimpse of that on Wednesday, when first responders were called to rescue four teens in a water-filled quarry in Alpha. Phillipsburg police Chief Robert Stettner said the teens needed help after their paddleboat capsized, and one had trouble swimming. Police officers and firefighters managed to get the inexperienced swimmer into a boat and towed the others to shore. The owner of the quarry, George Van Veldhuisen Jr., asked police to charge the four with trespassing, and wants to spread the word about the danger of quarries. The same holds true for unguarded sections of rivers and lakes. When in doubt, keep out.

TROPHIES

The Greater Valley YMCA partnered with several groups this week to distribute free produce and meals to Slate Belt residents at the Wind Gap Fire Co. Social Hall. Volunteers gave out more than 500 frozen meals provided by Operation BBQ Relief. A pallet of fresh produce was made available by the Farmers to Families program. The food distribution is meant to supplement the entire family so they can stretch their food budget, said Greater Valley YMCA Director of Pathway Development Maribel Tandazo. The Common Market also took part in the distribution. Operation BBQ Relief is a nonprofit organization that provides meals in emergency situations. Last month it gave out meals to more than 500 people in Easton.TURKEYS
A grand Sydney terrace featuring a fallen-in ceiling, collapsed balcony, rotting floorboards and extensive water damage has sold for a staggering $4.6million at auction.

The four-level, six-bedroom home in Darlinghurst is so dilapidated that much of the house has been cordoned off with danger tape.

But that didn't stop more than 100 bargain-hunters turning up in the midst of a recession to see the property go under the hammer.

Pictured from outside, the inner Sydney terrace house appears to be in good shape

Pictured from inside the four-level, six-bedroom home in Darlinghurst, the extent of disrepair is revealed

The auctioneer opened the bidding at $3.2million for the former hoarder's home which has been kept in the same family for decades.

Shannan Whitney, the director of BresicWhitney real estate said, there were 18 registered bidders on hand to duke it out but the early stages of the auction were somewhat 'sluggish'.

'It limped its way to $3.6 million and then it really went quite strongly and quickly from $3.6 million to about $4.3 million,' Mr Whitney told real estate site Domain.

With three buyers remaining when the price reached $4.6 million, the unlivable 112 Surrey Street home eventually sold $621,000 above its reserve for $4,621,000.

'To see three bidders at that $4.6 million mark demonstrates that it was tightly contested to the end,' Mr Whitney said.

At the beginning of June, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced Australia had fallen into a recession for the first time in three decades, with official figures showing the nation's economy shrunk by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter due to the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

The extensive damage to the roof of the inner Sydney home is pictured. Elsewhere, the balcony has collapsed and the floorboards are rotting

Much of the house is so dilapidated it had to be cordoned off with danger tape

One month earlier, Westpac property analysts forecast that Australia's real estate sector was expected to plummet by 20 percent this year.

'We're in a somewhat uncertain environment,' Mr Whitney said.

'The marketplace is still unpredictable and I don't think today's result is a good guide on conditions.

'Today's result is indicative of the rarity and value of good real estate. Even in uncertain conditions, the cream rises to the top.'

Based on neighbouring properties, Mr Whitney believes the house could be worth about $8million once the home is restored and refurbished to its former glory.

The unlivable 112 Surrey Street home sold $621,000 above its reserve for $4,621,000
S hoppers have been left furious after delivery firm Hermes reportedly lost 30,000 parcels when a scanning machine misread postcodes.

Customers were in limbo after thousands of items failed to arrive, having been directed to the wrong addresses, the Sun reported on Saturday.

The paper claimed it then took more than two days for Hermes to pinpoint the problem, fix it and recall all the parcels.

Hermes said the error affected labels printed between May 29 and June 1, the Sun reported.

A spokesperson for the firm told the Standard: "We can confirm that the technical issue that caused some problems with labelling has now been rectified. We apologise to anyone affected."

But thousands of eBay traders - and users of Hermes services - were facing demands for refunds from customers over the issue, according to the Sun.

Roger Brown, 50, said he sold a 70 watch online and paid 4 for Hermes delivery, but the item failed to arrive after two weeks.

Mr Brown, a retired council worker from Truro, Cornwall, told the Sun: A lady at customer services told me the central hub misdirected parcels because it misread postcodes.

She said it happened around May 28 and theyre hoping the parcels might come back. To me, this isnt a satisfactory answer.

Mr Brown also said the employee admitted she had 34 calls about missing parcels in the space of an hour.

He added: They told me even though it was lost they wont pay for the full amount of the item lost. This is a mass failure of duty of care.
Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that domestic airlines could be launched at full capacity by the end of the year. At the same time, he said it was upto other countries to decide when international flights would start.

Hardeep PuriThe Aviation Minister said that only when other countries accept flights, international flights can start at the same time, people can be brought in the country only under Vande Bharat Mission.

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Hardeep Singh Puri said, "We will increase the service of domestic flights. At present we only allow 33% of the aircraft. Flights are not being operated at full capacity.

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We will increase flights on routes where there is more demand. We are ready to start 40-45 per cent service if the demand is high. The Aviation Minister said that domestic private airlines have been offered to operate 750 flights in the third and fourth phases of the Vande Bharat Mission.

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"If international operations have to start, both ends have to be ready and there has to be traffic. There is a significant amount of traffic between India and North American continent. We may think of opening flights on a case-to-case basis," said Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.
President Trump is scheduled to attend two events in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday: at 7 p.m. Eastern time, he will deliver brief remarks at what the White House called a Great American Comeback Celebration event, and then he will attend a rally inside the BOK Center scheduled for 8 p.m.

This is Mr. Trumps first rally since March 2. Joining him will be Vice President Mike Pence, Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma and almost a dozen House members, among others.

Tulsa health officials have expressed concerns about conducting the rally in a large, indoor arena while coronavirus cases in Oklahoma are on the rise. The citys top health official recommended postponing the rally.

The rally was originally scheduled for Friday, June 19, the Juneteenth holiday. Mr. Trump moved it a day after public pressure and quiet lobbying from some West Wing officials and outside allies.

Times reporters are in Tulsa and will provide coverage of the rally and events in the city at nytimes.com.

Trump is walking on the edge

TULSA, Okla.  President Trump is determined to try to have a political comeback rally in spite of the devastating health and economic crises that have unfolded on his watch, as well as the nationwide protests against racism that have left him on the defensive.

But he is walking on the edge in several ways.

He hopes to pack the 19,000-seat BOK Center and show that America is reopening, but he doesnt want to bear responsibility for creating a super spreader event that sickens his most die-hard supporters. (See: waivers the campaign is requiring from attendees so it cant be blamed if people catch the coronavirus.)

The health guidance for rallygoers reflects those contradictory ambitions. Brad Parscale, Mr. Trumps campaign manager, said he would distribute masks outside the arena and wear one himself, but wouldnt require people to wear them inside. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said Friday she did not plan to cover her face.

Then there is the timing: Mr. Trump will arrive in Tulsa a day after Juneteenth, and at a time when many Americans are grappling with the countrys racist history. His campaign is trying to spin the visit as an effort to shed light on African-American history, rather than to be insensitive to it.
Kai Marcus Schroter, CEO of Hospitality Tourism Management

Should Vietnam permit foreigners to buy holiday property and why?

In my opinion, this is not only feasible but a necessary move for Vietnam to stay attractive as a hot destination for foreign investment. There are many foreign investors living and working in Vietnam who wish to secure their future in the country by buying a second home, landed property or an apartment.

However, even with the new Law on Land having come into force in 2016, ostentatiously permitting foreigners to acquire property, there have in fact been various restrictions and obstacles to do so, for various reasons, but mainly security concerns.

When amending the Law on Land, Vietnam opted for an open and wide base to legitimise foreigners, basically allowing anybody with a visa to buy.

The actual acquisition of ownership titles is, however, very narrow and heavily restricted. This means that the governments initiative did not bring the expected interest from foreign buyers or the desired effects to the real estate market.

I very much understand the Vietnams inherited security concerns. I never understood, however, why Vietnam government did not opt for narrow legitimacy  for example granting the right to acquire property only to foreigners who hold a minimum of five years temporary or permanent residence in the country.

This would immediately eliminate any security concerns, but allow a much wider discretion in the actual acquisition of property ownership.

Since 2006 the Thai government has offered retirement visas for foreigners to buy second homes. The result is that many such properties in hotspots of Phuket, Hua Hin, and Pattaya were sold to foreigners. What lessons should Vietnam take from this?

I am not very familiar with the Thai property market but I know that many foreigners have chosen Thailand as their place to retire. And they have been very welcome by the Thai government, through various preferential policies.

Retirees do not only contribute to the market by investing in second homes, but also through consumption and spending in the local economy. In addition, many bring extensive work experience and knowledge to the country.

Unfortunately, Vietnam has so far largely overlooked this potential, for one reason or another. More and more foreigners live and work in Vietnam, many of them stay for many years and with local families. They will plan to retire here. So again, I believe it is time for Vietnam to consider a relaxation in this regard.

But again, I think Vietnam should choose a narrow entry base and a wide discretion of acquiring ownership. Vietnam should firstly reward, and benefit from, those foreigners who have lived and contributed to the country for some time.

They are deeply integrated into society and there will be no clusters of foreigners. Vietnam government should this time go for a narrower entry base which does not require much control or restrictions on ownership.

If foreigners are permitted to buy second homes and condotels in Vietnam, what benefits could investors earn from the market?

For most retirees, the appreciation of value of their investment is secondary to the benefits of lifestyle, safety, and comfort. So retirees are not typical investors who speculate on the return on their investment. They rather look for peace of mind.

Regarding the challenges outlined previously, I believe it is time for Vietnam to take a more relaxed approach to allowing foreigners to acquire property as a second home.

Foreigners do not pose any greater threat than Vietnamese people. Security concerns can be addressed by a narrower entry base but wider approach to the actual acquisition of property and ownership.

How do you evaluate the potentiality of the Vietnamese second home and condotel market to foreign developers and buyers?

Given the above suggestion of a narrower entry base but a wider choice of opportunities and less restrictions, the potential is considerable.

Vietnam has gained much in attractiveness in recent years; the lifestyle is desirable and comfortable, and living costs are reasonable. Under the right circumstances, this will be a win-win for both sides. We should avoid or define the term second home. Foreigners do not like to be restricted on choice of location or type of property so second home should be defined as any kind of property, may it be landed property, villa, houses, apartments, or condotel units.
Because of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, each of the big three credit reporting agencies is giving consumers a free credit report once each week, instead of once each year, from AnnualCreditReport.com, through April.

People should take advantage of this offer from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, especially if they are not making regular payments on their mortgage, student loan, credit cards or other debt under some sort of forbearance plan.

The Cares Act changed the way companies must provide information to consumer reporting agencies if they agree to suspend payments or make other accommodations during the pandemic period.

If you have a credit card or mortgage in some kind of forbearance and are living up to the terms of that plan, you are reported as current or paid as agreed, as long as you were not delinquent before you entered the plan, said Francis Creighton, CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the consumer reporting industry.

The Cares Act also suspended  or made it easier to suspend  payments on some government-backed loans, so there are many more people in forbearance plans. There was some concern that companies might not be following the new reporting rules, said Chi Chi Wu, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

One very large student-loan servicer is being sued for allegedly misreporting suspended student loan payments, causing some borrowers credit scores to drop.

Technically, Section 4021 of the Cares Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the reporting of accommodations made during the pandemic period, which runs from Jan. 1 until either July 25 or 120 days after the national emergency declaration concerning coronavirus is terminated, whichever is later.

An accommodation includes an agreement to defer one or more payments, make a partial payment, forbear any delinquent amounts, modify a loan or contract, or any other assistance or relief granted to a consumer who is affected by the coronavirus during the pandemic period.

If a company agrees to an accommodation, and the borrower makes a payment or is not required to, it must report the account as current, unless the payment was delinquent before the accommodation was made. In the latter case, it must continue reporting the account the way it was before the accommodation was made, unless the consumer brings the account current. For example, if you were 30 days late when you went into forbearance, you would remain 30 days late until you bring the account current or the forbearance ends. (This does not apply if the account has already been charged off.)

The new rules apply to any type of payment accommodations, not just the new forbearance programs for government-backed mortgage and student loans established elsewhere in the Cares Act.

Homeowners with a government-backed mortgage who suffer a hardship because of the coronavirus can ask their servicer to suspend payments for up to 180 days, followed by another 180 days upon request.

The Cares Act automatically suspended payment requirements and waived interest charges from March 13 through Sept. 30 on federally backed student and parent loans owned by the U.S. Department of Education.

A lawsuit alleges that Great Lakes Education Loan Services reported suspended payments as deferred instead of current for millions of federal student loan borrowers. The mistake immediately lowered their credit scores provided by VantageScore Solutions and jeopardized their access to credit, said the lawsuit, filed last month in federal court in San Francisco, where the lead plaintiff, Katherine Sass, lives.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this situation and have been committed to resolving the issue quickly, Great Lakes spokesman Ben Kiser said in an email. He explained that instead of reporting borrowers in forbearance as current with monthly payments of $0, as other servicers did, Great Lakes initially reported them as current with deferred monthly payments of $0. After hearing from third parties about credit scores dropping, Great Lakes adjusted the inconsistent coding, but believes the scores at the agencies were not impacted.

In addition to Great Lakes, the lawsuit also names VantageScore, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. VantageScore calls itself an independently managed company whose members include those three credit bureaus.

In a May 15 statement, VantageScore said, Some consumers have seen their VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 scores change as a result of the widespread use of forbearance and deferment codes for consumer loans on which lenders have given payment relief. It decided to make adjustments to those scoring models to minimize the negative impact associated uniquely with the usage of these codes.

In response to the suit, Creighton said in an email that the three credit bureaus continue to work with servicers to ensure that student loan and other accommodations are being appropriately reflected on consumer credit reports and can be updated if necessary.

Everyone should periodically check their credit reports for mistakes, but if you have an accommodation, check your report once a month to make sure its being reported correctly, Wu said. If you see a mistake, its pretty easy to click on a tab and file a dispute. The credit bureau has 30 days to investigate. If it cannot confirm its a mistake within 30 days, the negative information comes off the report, Wu said.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

If you disagree with the bureaus decision, you can file an appeal. If you lose the appeal, you can put a statement in your file disputing the information, but automated underwriting systems generally wont pick up this statement, Wu said.

Congress in 2003 required the three bureaus to set up AnnualCreditReport.com and provide free credit reports once a year. Its a good place to check because it does not require you to buy other services or submit to marketing pitches, although you may see ads for credit monitoring and other products. The free report does not come with a credit score.

Checking your credit report is also a good way to see if identity thieves have opened accounts in your name. But its even better to prevent this type of financial identity fraud by freezing your credit report, said Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Its now free and pretty easy to freeze your credit at each of the three bureaus, unfreeze it when youre applying for credit, then refreeze it.

Very few landlords report rent payments to credit bureaus. Many cities and states have temporarily halted, or effectively halted, evictions. These moratoriums do not relieve tenants of making rent payments. After the moratorium expires, a landlord could take a tenant to court to attempt to evict them or collect missed payments.

Court judgments and liens no longer show up on credit reports, except for bankruptcies, Wu said. However, if any landlord turned unpaid rent over to a collection agency, that agency might report the account to a credit bureau and it would show up on your credit report and could hurt your credit score.

Some landlords report payment histories and evictions to specialty consumer reporting agencies that landlords use to screen prospective tenants.

If a landlord agreed to suspend or reduce rent during the pandemic period, it would be covered by the same rules that apply to reporting accommodations under the Cares Act, Wu said.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives people the right to a free copy of specialty consumer reports once every 12 months. To find a list of consumer reporting agencies, go to https://bit.ly/consumerreportagencies.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
What had been a day of generally peaceful Portland-area protests honoring Juneteenth ended before midnight Friday with Portland police again declaring a demonstration around downtown Portlands Justice Center an unlawful assembly.

Social media reports, including photographs, and law enforcement dispatch recordings indicated that one apparent demonstrator was left with a bloody head wound after officers fired some types of munitions into the crowd.

The person who was injured indicated to supporters and to law enforcement officials that a foam-tipped projectile caused his head injury. Portland police officials said Saturday evening that no Portland Police Bureau officers fired foam tips Friday evening, nor were Portland officers stationed outside the west side of the Justice Center where confrontations between officers and protesters took place.

The Multnomah County Sheriffs Office said Saturday that its deputies deployed less-than-lethal projectiles on that side of the building late Friday and early Saturday. It did so after some of the protesters threw plastic and glass bottles, steel ball bearings, eggs and baseball sized rocks toward deputies, a spokesperson said.

Communications officer Chris Liedle said Sunday that sheriffs deputies have at times fired foam-tipped projectiles during the more than three weeks of protests outside the Justice Center. He said all the agencys use-of-force incidents related to the protest are under review and therefore I cant go into specifics. Saturday evening he said sheriffs officials encourage the person who was injured Friday night to file a report with their office to obtain clarity on the alleged incident.

The demonstrations that began Friday and continued into early Saturday happened on June 19, the date that commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States. Earlier in the day, protests against police brutality and racial injustice -- which have been happening nationwide following the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to Floyds neck for nearly eight minutes -- included a march that temporarily closed the southbound portion of the Interstate Bridge.

Late Friday, hundreds of protesters again gathered around the Justice Center, which has become a nightly location for some of the most contentious conflicts between demonstrators and police.

That conflict continued late Friday and early Saturday, according to police and to some people who attended the demonstration and posted video and photos on social media.

On Twitter, some who attended the protest shared concerns about officers firing foam-tipped projectiles into the crowd. At some points during the evening, officers could be heard advising the crowd to leave the downtown vicinity immediately and warning that they risked being hit with munitions if they did not comply.

Several people posted photos of a person, as yet unidentified, who appeared to have a bloody wound at the back of the head, which the person said happened when a officers fired foam-tipped projectiles and one hit them.

This guy was shot by a foam bullet. He let me take a picture. Medics are finally able to treat him @tedwheeler pic.twitter.com/dRzayMSSIR  45th d spnsq pbq (@45thabsurdist) June 20, 2020

A Twitter account called @SafePDX protest posted that at 11:30 someone was shot in the head by police and they are badly hurt and bleeding on the corner of Southwest Third Avenue and Salmon Street. Medics are tending to them now.

Others who have been covering the downtown protests also shared photos of the person, showing what appears to be a bloody wound at the back of the head, or images of the persons face, with the head wrapped in a bloodied bandages.

One livestream of the events in downtown Portland Friday night included audio of law enforcement personnel talking over dispatch.

One asks about the mechanism of injury and where you guys are going to be transporting?

He says mechanism was one of the foam bullets, another official answers over dispatch, before saying theres talk of transporting the person to either OHSU or Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Damon Simmons said Saturday that his agencys emergency medical technicians came the injured person and offered care but the individual declined and rode in a private company ambulance to a hospital for treatment.

In a Saturday news release about the demonstrations, Multnomah County sheriffs officers and Portland police said a man and a woman were arrested and each charged with one felony, criminal mischief, and 10 misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment after allegedly using a long-range slingshot to launch metal ball bearings at law enforcement personnel standing behind windows at the Justice Center.

The officials said that the man and woman shattered multiple windows at the Justice Center with the metal ball bearings, putting deputies in danger.

The release does not mention any injuries to protesters.

Portland police said a man and a woman were arrested Friday after allegedly shattering windows at the Justice Center by using a long-range slingshot to launch metal ball bearings. (Photo courtesy of Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office)

By 11 pm., police declared an unlawful assembly and, according to a Multnomah County sheriffs statement, a sound truck issued warnings to those in the crowd that they must disperse, and if they didnt do so, force may be used. Deputies deployed smoke and crowd control munitions to deter protesters from continuing to throw items, it said. Most of the demonstrators left by 3 a.m.

Note: This story has been updated to add more information from the Portland Police Bureau and to clarify different law enforcement agencies roles.

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Saturday alleged that some people were deliberately trying to turn Thiruvananthpuram city into a covid containment zones like Chennai and Delhi.

He added that the protests and strikes organised in Thiruvananthapuram are causing concerns and anxiety.

Pointing that nobody is questioning the right of political parties to organise protests and rallies in the city, the minister said that they should reconsider such decision in the middle of a pandemic.

Even thought the situation is under control in the state capital, its not an excuse to act carelessly during such a time, Kadakampally added.
A 34th District judge has been suspended with pay following a domestic violence assault and battery charge.

The Michigan Supreme Court suspended Judge David Parrott in connection with an incident involving his 55-year-old live-in-partner.

The suspension took place June 17.

The alleged assault occurred on Feb. 8, in Van Buren Township, where the two share a house.

Parrott was ordered not to have any contact with the woman.

Upon the arrival of police, the woman was upset and alleged that Parrott had assaulted her, causing a bump on her head, a laceration on her right hand and pain to her tailbone.

Parrott also was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated on Dec. 25, 2018, in Manistee County. It is a misdemeanor charge.

Parrott voluntarily decided to step away from his duties on the bench shortly after the alleged assault incident.

In a letter he wrote announcing he would be stepping away for some time, Parrott said regardless of the merits of both charges, he needed to evaluate his relationships, as well as physical, emotional and mental state.

He said he was deeply disappointed in himself.

I have always strived to hold myself to the highest standards my position demands. Because we as judges are held to a higher standard, my ability to fairly and impartially adjudicate their cases may be called into question.

Parrott is up for reelection this year and has filed paperwork to run for another six-year term. Four others also have filed to run. The race will be narrowed to two candidates during the Aug. 4 primary election.
To the Editor:

Re Trump Says U.S. Is Leaving W.H.O., but Experts Arent So Sure (news article, May 30):

The United States has been the largest funder of the World Health Organization because it has recognized that partnership with this respected international organization is critical to successful global public health programs.

Withdrawal means closing off opportunities for U.S. leadership in global diseases of interest, which protects us by controlling disease outbreaks before they reach our borders, as was done with SARS, MERS, Ebola and avian influenza.

Withdrawal means ending a nearly 70-year-old partnership with W.H.O.s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, which provides data for selecting candidates for the yearly composition of lifesaving influenza vaccines.

Abandoning the W.H.O. during the worst pandemic in modern history will be seen historically as both self-defeating and as one of the greatest failures of U.S. public health and foreign policy.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
The Power of Symbols

What makes the unspoken words of symbolism so powerful? To answer this question, you must first understand why we use them, and the important role symbols play. As a people, we tend to prefer shortcuts and symbolism allows us to indulge in this preference without sacrificing any meaning. The use of symbolism can, if used correctly, dramatically increase the meaning, impact, and potentially give us a deeper understanding of different concepts. A symbol can be used to tell a story or represent something completely different in which it has a relationship with. One example of an object being used to tell a story and representing something different is a train. Trains have long been used to tell stories of freedom like the Underground Railroad and its Conductor Harriet Tubman. Because they are used as such a strong focal point in those stories, their presence has evolved to represent deliverance. A symbol can also describe something invisible like a ring to symbolize love. But what happens when we move from the symbolization of things to the symbolization of highly complex and flawed individuals. No one is perfect, and context is key.

Last week, the House debated several bills on removing and replacing the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Each bill regrettably and unsurprisingly failed in committee. During the committee debate, every argument against the bills included that of erasing history and that he should be praised for renouncing his past sins. As a devout Christian, this fills me with conflicting emotions. I firmly believe that anyone who genuinely opens their heart to God and unequivocally renounces their past sins should receive praise and forgiveness. However, every time I walk by and see his face, I do not see a man changed by God's power and grace. What I see are the all too painful memories of growing up during segregation and Jim Crow laws. Every time I walk the Capitol halls, I am reminded that I was once considered subhuman because of my skin color. That my social studies textbook as a child only devoted a single paragraph to my people, stating that we were slaves and a workforce. That is not the only memory his bust evokes. I am also forced to recall that when I was thirteen, my friend and I's life was almost cut short by several individuals who tried to run us over because of the color of our skin.

Context matters, and so does preserving our history. However, many Confederate statues around the country, including the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, provide little or no context except that they were part of the Confederacy. If the end goal of these confederate monuments is to educate, why not relegate these statues to a museum where instructors can properly inform citizens? Removing a statue is not erasing history. As I sat watching the debate, I realized that the end goal of these monuments is not to preserve history and to honor a repentant man. The goal is to sanitize an uncomfortable truth.

The truth is that the Confederacy and the people that supported it fought for their state's right to continue the use of a slave economy. The Constitution of the Confederate States of America enshrines slavery as a cornerstone of their secession by stating, "No bill... or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed." To give further context, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Stephens laid out the basic fundamental principles for the Confederacy in his Cornerstone speech, "its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests on the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man. That slavery, subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition." There is no denying this fact. Simply put, the Confederacy and its supporters fought for racism and to continue a slave economy.

The refusal to accept these uncomfortable truths has led to romanticizing an alternate history of men like Nathan Bedford Forrest. Proper context and education around the Confederacy and the time period in which these Confederate Statues were erected is critical. It is undeniable that these monuments were installed to send a direct message to African Americans under the guise that they were great men. Many of the Confederate statues were erected between the 1890s and 1920s during the height of Jim Crow and state-sponsored segregation. The bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest was installed in the Tennessee State Capitol in 1978 following the civil rights movement. We, as a country, need to reckon with our heritage and what it means appropriately. We can no longer ignore it or say it's something other than what it is. Racism.

There is a difference between honoring and memorializing. The question remains, should we honor a man who massacred hundreds of African Americans, traded slaves, and became the first Grand Wizard of the KKK, all because he repented for his sines? While my faith tells me that if God forgave his sins, I should too, but I do not believe that he should be honored. His bust at the State Capitol like many other Confederate statues are symbols of systemic racism and oppression in our country. Their purpose singular, to send a message to all African Americans, know your place. The bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest must be removed.

Legislation to Watch

Criminal Justice Reform

As the 111th General Assembly came to a close late this morning, I want to share my disappointment with the lack of willingness to advance a number of real and meaningful criminal justice reform bills. While attempts have been made to reform the state's archaic criminal justice system, the vast majority of the legislation did not pass both legislative chambers. Only the only bills that have passed both chambers and will become law are HB1611 and HB2517. I renew my call for the 112th General Assembly and Governor Lee to pass meaningful and substantial changes to a system that targets and oppresses so many African Americans. Criminal justice reform is not something we can kick down the road every year. People are hurting, and there needs to be a change.

HB1611, by Rep. Staples, authorizes the issuance of electronic citations, and not just written citations on paper, for certain misdemeanor criminal offenses in lieu of arrest.



HB2517, by Chairman Curcio, removes the requirement that a person convicted of a drug offense in a drug-free school zone must serve the entire minimum sentence imposed before being eligible for release on parole; decreases the drug-free school zone from 1,000 feet to 500 feet; makes various changes to sentencing requirements for certain controlled substance violations.

Absentee Ballots

In a major win for voting rights in the State of Tennessee, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the state's limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitutes "an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution." Her ruling mandates that the State of Tennessee must give all eligible voters the option to vote by mail in the upcoming 2020 elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the following day the State of Tennessee filed a motion to stay the Chancellor's order along with a motion for interlocutory appeal, which would allow a direct appeal to the Court of Appeals before the Chancery Court makes its final ruling on the injunction. Following the State's motion to stay, Chancellor Ellen Lyle ruled that the State of Tennessee must comply with the court's order and instructed the state to fix its absentee voting request forms. Anyone who deems COVID-19 a risk to their health or others will be able to request an absentee ballot.

First Time Voters: It is unclear at this monument whether first time voters will be able to vote absentee. In the Chancellor mandate, she states that "any eligible Tennessee voter". However, in her order, she does not specifically state first time voters.

This is an evolving situation. Be sure to check back next week for more information.

On election day, if there is a dispute on your ability to vote you can request and cast a Provisional Ballot.

Copy and paste the link for voter registration information and registration process. https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/

Copy and paste the link for absentee ballot information and application. https://sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting

New COVID-19 Testing Sites in Chattanooga

On May 21, the Hamilton County Health Department announced the opening up four new COVID-19 testing sites located at Brainerd High School, East Lake Academy, Hardy Elementary, and Orchard Knob Elementary. The announcement comes after the Health Department's decision to no longer continue COVID-19 testing at that Bonnyshire Emissions Testing Center due to vehicle emission testing returning in certain parts of the state. It is important to note that testing will not occur inside the school building. These testing centers were strategically placed within the most populated areas of the county to ensure easy accessibility by everyone and maximum testing. All testing at these locations will be performed in a drive-through and walk-in tents around the school's parking lots. Testing at all four sites will take place between 7-11 a.m. Physician referrals, appointments, and present symptoms are not required to get tested. All COVID-19 testing is free. The new COVID-19 testing sites will operate through July 2020.

For questions about COVID-19 testing and information, call the COVID-19 hotline at 209-8383.

Testing Dates Monday-Sunday

Hardy Elementary School - 2100 Glass St., Chattanooga, TN 37406

June 22-28

July 6-12

July 20-26

East Lake Academy of Fine Arts - 2700 E 34th St., Chattanooga, TN 37407

June 22-26

July 6-10

July 20-24

Brainerd High School - 1020 N Moore Road, Chattanooga, TN 37411

June 15-21

June 29-July 5

July 13-19

July 27-Aug. 2

Orchard Knob Elementary School - 2000 E 3rd St., Chattanooga, TN 37404

June 29-July 3

July 13-17

July 27-31
Chattanooga businessman, Jack Frost, 90, passed into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 19, 2020.

His life was a testament to hard work, determination, and steadfast commitment to moving forward, especially in the midst of challenging times. Jack was truly an entrepreneur and held the position of chairman of the board of several of the companies that he founded or acquired, including Tuftco Corp., Trade-Finance International, Inc., Mitchell Industrial Tire Co., Inc., Professional Industrial Tire Co., Inc., and Management Strategies, Inc. In 2006, he was inducted into the University of Chattanooga College of Business Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

Jack began his career with the American National Bank and Trust Company and as an accounting instructor in the Evening College of the University of Chattanooga. He later was treasurer of Tennessee Paper Mills. He has been a CPA since 1955 and with his brother, Jim, founded the firm of Frost and Frost in 1963. He left the firm in 1969 to start Tuftco Corp.

Jack graduated from the University of Chattanooga in 1952 with a BS degree in Business and continued his education with graduate work at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Red Bank Baptist Church was Jacks church home for more than 80 years. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior there in 1940, at the age of 10, when evangelist, Arthur Fox, came to RBBC. As an adult, he served as a Deacon and Sunday School teacher.

He had a desire to help children who found themselves in challenging circumstances, and was a strong supporter of organizations that worked to help those children, including Bethel Bible Village, Bible in the Schools, and the Orphanage Emmanuel located in Guaimaca, Honduras.

Jack was preceded in death by his devoted loving wife of 62 years, Charlotte, his parents Mildred Sally Frost and Chester Frost, former Hamilton County Judge, and son-in- law, Mike Bishop.

He is survived by son, Steve (Lisa) Frost, daughter, Susan Bishop and brother Jim (Lavone) Frost. He is also survived by grandchildren Amy (John) Haddock, Jonathan (Lindsey) Frost, David (Maggie) Bishop, Will (Megan) Bishop, and Ben Bishop; and great-grandchildren, Charlotte Ann, Eli, and Grace Haddock and Laney, Sally, and Molly Frost.



The family will receive friends on Tuesday, June 23, from 12-2 p.m. at Red Bank Baptist Church. The funeral will be at the church Tuesday at 2 p.m. with Reverend Bill Harvey officiating. Private family Interment will follow in Chattanooga Memorial Park (Duck Pond). We respectfully request that social distancing and all CDC Covid-19 measures be adhered to. Masks will be optional.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Red Bank Baptist Church,4000 Dayton Blvd., Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, Orphanage Emmanuel, 715 Moores Mill Dr., Auburn, Al. 36830 or Hospice of Chattanooga, 4411 Oakwood Dr., Chattanooga, Tn. 37416.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com.
High up in the Himalayas, Indian and Chinese armed forces warily eye each other across a disputed border region that has become the scene of a tense standoff between the two nuclear powers.

The conflict in the remote Galwan Valley that spans their shared border sparked into life Monday with the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, the first reported deaths in 45 years. China has not disclosed whether its forces suffered any casualties, according to a report in its state-run newspaper, the Global Times.

The deaths have drawn the worlds gaze to a region that the two most populous countries have been contesting for decades. The implications go far beyond the lonely snowcapped mountains of this geopolitically complex region.

Image: Burning posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping (Diptendu Dutta / AFP - Getty Images)

Chinese and Indian forces clashed along the 2,100-mile-long Line of Actual Control, a demarcation line established after a war between the two nations in 1962 that resulted in an uneasy truce.

No shots are reported to have been fired since 1975, according to the Indian press, but troops occasionally engage in hand-to-hand scuffles and throwing rocks.

So what happened this week?

The details of exactly what happened Monday remain in short supply.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Wednesday that Indian troops had crossed the line of control to deliberately provoke and even violently attack Chinese officers and soldiers, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Meanwhile, on the same call Jaishankar accused China of seeking to erect a structure in the Galwan Valley on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border.

The Chinese side took premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties, Indias Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo.

Why is this happening now?

Story continues

Thousands of troops have been camped either side of the Galwan Valley, in the mountainous region of Ladakh, for weeks.

The tense standoff started in early May, when Indian officials said Chinese soldiers crossed the boundary in Ladakh at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts and ignoring verbal warnings to leave, according to The Associated Press. That triggered shouting matches, stone-throwing and even fistfights between the two sides, much of it replayed on television news channels and social media, the news agency reported.

What are the possible motivations behind the clashes?

Under Indias Hindu-nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, the country wants to be seen as strong, according to Gareth Price, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank in London.

The one country that doesnt respect India to the degree India would like is China, he said. India wants to be seen as an equal to China and talks about a multipolar Asia, but then it sees China as wanting dominance in Asia.

However, Price said he thought it was unlikely that India would want to provoke China potentially to war particularly in the midst of a pandemic.

It also knows China is bigger, he said.

China on the other hand may have possible reasons to provoke a confrontation with India, Price said, although he cautioned that an overriding motivation there also remained unclear.

Among the reasons raised by analysts include Chinas objection to Indias construction of a road through the Galwan Valley connecting the region to an airstrip, New Delhis increasing close alliance with Washington, and Beijings support for Pakistan in its dispute with India over the Kashmir region.

Image: An Indian army convoy (Mukhtar Khan / AP)

Others also pointed to Chinas increasing assertiveness in the region as a potential broader explanation.

Walter Ladwig III, a senior lecturer in international relations at Kings College London, pointed to its more forceful conduct in the South China Sea and Hong Kong in recent months.

There definitely is a clear sense that China is much more forceful at the moment than it has been in the past, he said.

Theyre throwing their weight around a lot more in all theaters, both domestically and in terms of their foreign relations, said Nick Reynolds, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London.

How dangerous is the clash?

India has said both sides had agreed not to escalate matters and instead, ensure peace and tranquility.

Modi echoed this but also underlined that India would give a befitting reply to any provocation. India will firmly protect every inch of the country's land and its self-respect, he said.

The Chinese foreign ministry also said both sides agreed after Mondays clash to cool the current situation as soon as possible and safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas.

The stakes are high. In the past year, China has increased its nuclear arsenal from 290 to 320 warheads, and India from 130-140 to 150 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI.

Experts say the broader dispute itself is not going away any time soon and Price points out that an agreement between New Delhi and Beijing after clashes in 2017 did nothing to stop this weeks deaths.

No troops have died on this border since 1975, so this is kind of new territory, he said.

Both Price and Reynolds said it would be difficult for either government to be seen to back down, considering their domestic politics. But Reynolds said international pressure may help and Price said there may be a way for both countries to claim victory but at the same time mutually back away.

The elevation and terrain of this area means its highly unlikely this could escalate large scale, Ladwig said. But theres plenty of opportunity for small-scale mistakes, skirmishes, accidents.
Donald Trump's campaign canceled his scheduled speech to the outdoor overflow crowd at his Tulsa rally after the supporters failed to materialize and 'radical protesters' were blamed for their absence.

The president and his campaign blamed media reports on the increasing number of coronavirus cases in Oklahoma as the state moved through the reopening process for scaring people away and claimed protesters outside the arena wouldn't let the president's fan through the security lines.

An outdoor stage had been set up to accommodate the thousands who would not be able to fit inside the BOK Center, the 19,000 seat arena where the president will speak.

But the crowds did not show up as expected. The Trump campaign said they had a million requests for tickets. Any one from anywhere can request a ticket online.

Before President Trump took the stage, the campaign was asking supporters to show up.

'There's still space,' the campaign texted to supporters who signed up for the rally.

Empty seats are visible in the BOK Center as President Trump waves to the crowd at his rally

Empty seats are seen behind President Trump as he speaks at his Tulsa rally

The area outside the arena - six blocks were blocked off by police for the expected crowds - was devoid of people. Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence's speeches scheduled for that outdoor stage were canceled by the campaign.

Trump blamed the media and the 'very bad people outside' for his lack of a crowd.

'I have been watching the fake news for weeks now. And everything is negative,' Trump said in his 1 hour and 41 minute speech.

He blamed the protesters outside.

'We had some very bad people outside. They were doing bad things. But I really do appreciate it,' he told those who showed up.

'You saw these thugs that came along,' Trump complained of the peaceful demonstrators outside the BOK Center, many of whom wore 'Black Lives Matters' t-shirts.

There were no reports of violence outside the arena. There was a heavy presence by law enforcement outside - members of the Oklahoma National Guard and police - to handle any problems.

The Trump campaign blamed the protesters for the lack of a crowd and the 'apocalyptic media.'

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, who was in charge of planning and implementing the rally, took to Twitter to blame both groups.

'Radical protestors, fueled by a week of apocalyptic media coverage, interfered with @realDonaldTrump supporters at the rally. They even blocked access to the metal detectors, preventing people from entering. Thanks to the 1,000s who made it anyway!,' he wrote.

The campaign targeted the protesters.

'Sadly, protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally. Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the President's supporters. We are proud of the thousands who stuck it out,' Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

After the rally was over, the campaign, touted its large online audience.

'President Trumps rally in Tulsa attracted over 4 million unique viewers across all of the campaigns digital media channels. The live-streamed pre-rally shows drew an audience of more than 2.5 million unique viewers by themselves. These numbers dont even include television viewers. The news media, which encouraged protesters and bombarded Americans for more than a week with dire warnings against attending a Trump rally, are still unable to prevent President Trump from reaching the people. These numbers represent unmatched enthusiasm behind the Presidents re-election and a massive audience that Joe Biden can only dream of,' Murtaugh said.

Empty seats were seen inside the BOK Center too as the rally began with an opening round of speakers, including Eric and Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Diamond and Silk.

It was unclear what kept supporters away. Venues at Trump rally are typically filled to the rafters.

Trump, before he left for the state, promised a great night.

'The event in Oklahoma is unbelievable. The crowds are unbelievable. They haven't seen anything like it. We will go there now. We'll give a hopefully good speech, see a lot of great people, a lot of great friends,' he told reporters at the White House before he left for the event.

A supporter of President Trump's stands up to cheer inside the BOK Center in Tulsa

Workers dismantle the outdoor stage where President Trump was supposed to speak but it was canceled when a crowd failed to materialize

The Trump campaign texted people who signed up for the Tulsa rally, saying 'there's still space'

The Trump campaign said a million people requested tickets for the Tulsa rally

Empty seats were seen in the BOK Center, which holds 19,000 people; although the campaign handed out face masks, few people were seen wearing them

The outside overflow area for Trump's rally was empty, resulting in his speech out there being canceled

The floor area surrounding the stage where Trump will speak was only half filled - it is usually packed at Trump rallies - and empty seats were in the stands

President Donald Trump promised a 'wild evening' for his campaign rally in Tulsa - his first since March and a chance to reset his re-election campaign

Trump's son Eric Trump checked out the BOK Center, where the president will speak

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, wearing a face mask watches as people enter the BOK Center for the rally

The rally was designed by the campaign to reboot the president's re-election effort, which was side lined by the coronavirus. Trump's approval rating tanked based on his handling of the pandemic and of race relations in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Polls showed Democratic rival Joe Biden winning in November.

'Today is the start of a new chapter and a brand new campaign for President Trump,' Guilfoyle said in her opening remarks.

But it was plagued by problems and criticism before it started.

Six members of the advance team - the staff that arrive on the ground weeks ahead of time to set up the arena and take care of logistics - tested positive for COVID-19.

'No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today's rally or near attendees and elected officials,' said Murtaugh.

Two of the six were reportedly Secret Service agents.

Trump was incensed that the news of the positive tests were made public, The New York Times reported, citing two sources familiar with his reaction.

Oklahoma has seen a spike in coronavirus cases as the state moved through the re-opening process. It is one of the state's furthest along - in stage three - which is one of the reasons it was picked for Trump's comeback event. On Saturday, 331 new cases were recorded. Oklahoma set a new state record for COVID-19 increases in a single day on Thursday, confirming 450 new infections. The state has more than 10,000 cases.

Protesters mingled with Trump supporters outside the BOK Center but there were no reports of violence. Trump issued a veiled threat via Twitter on Friday, warning protesters they would be dealt with in a harsh matter.

Many of the demonstrators wore t-shirts or carried signs expressing their support for the Black Lives Matters movement, the protests that sprung up around the country after Floyd died.

The majority of Trump supporters at the event are white.

Members of the Oklahoma National Guard and law enforcement officers were in the secure area around the center - an area that stretched six city blocks. Inside, Trump supporters sold campaign merchandise. Some supporters had camped out overnight to make sure they got inside to hear the president.

Trump was ready to get back out on the trail.

'We have to get back to living our lives' Trump told Axios on Friday, adding 'we're going to have a wild evening tomorrow night at Oklahoma.'

Attendees had their temperature checked before they went inside as they went through the security line. The campaign handed out face masks but few people inside the BOK Center appeared to be wearing one.

Most donned red 'Make America Great Again' caps or 'Keep America Great' caps and t-shirts expressing their support for the president.

A peaceful protester is removed by Tulsa Police ahead of Trump's Tulsa Rally

Air Force One with flies over the Tulsa arena where President Trump will speak

The Trump campaign emphasized the safety measures put in place for the rally, including having temperature checks done before people were let inside

Two children have their temperature checked before entering the BOK Center

Trump supporters lined up outside the BOK Center, waiting to get inside

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was spotted in the stands wearing one. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who's traveling to the event, said at her briefing on Friday she would not be wearing one, pointing out she is tested for the coronavirus regularly and that it's a personal choice for those attending.

Asked about whether people attending the rally should wear face coverings, as is now recommended by the CDC, Trump told Axios: 'I recommend people do what they want.'

Trump, who has been loath to appear publicly in a mask, said he has no intention of wearing a mask at the rally.

'I don't feel that I'm in danger,' he said. 'I've met a lot, a lot of people, and so far here I sit.'

'You know, there was a time when people thought it was worse wearing a mask,' he said, referring to earlier guidance from the CDC saying that the general public should not wear masks. 'I let people make up their own decision.'

Trump's last rally was March 2 and the country looked vastly different. The economy was strong with the unemployment rate at about 3.5 per cent. The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. was estimated at 91.

Now, the unemployment rate stands at 13.3 per cent and the number of coronavirus cases stands at about 2.2 million. More than 119,000 people have died.

Trump's rally has been deeply problematic ever since it was announced on June 10.

It survived a lawsuit by local residents and businesses which tried to get it shut down, citing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Local health officials also recommended it be postponed, to no avail.

The original date of Friday, June 19, was switched to Saturday after an uproar about the clash with Juneteenth - the annual celebration marking the end of slavery.

The anger at the date - which takes place on the holiday celebrating the end of slavery - meant that the rally got off to a bad start. Critics pointed to the Trump's administration handling of protests that sprung up around the country in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Tulsa was the site of one of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence in 1921. Called the Tulsa Race Massacre, as many as 300 people were killed, more than 10,000 remained homeless, and, according to the Tulsa Race Riot Report of 2001, an estimated $1,470,711 was incurred in damage - equal to about $20 million today.

Trump has show some insensitivity on race relations. He also bragged he made 'Juneteenth very famous' in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He also admitted he learned about it from a black Secret Service agent and was surprised to hear the White House had put out a statement on the holiday last year.

'I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous,' he told the newspaper. 'It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it. Actually, a young African-American Secret Service agent knew what it was. I had political people who had no idea.'

The Baby Trump blimp, a symbol used by Trump protesters, was sighted

Scott Hilliard, left, argues with Black Lives Matter protester Eugene Smith ahead of President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa

Black Lives Matter protesters are stopped by police at the entrance to the

A trooper stands outside the BOK Center

Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, chose the site and the date, The New York Times reported.

Oklahoma also was chosen for its Republican support - Trump carried the state by 36 points in the 2016 election. Additionally Tulsa has a Republican mayor. Most cities in the country are run by Democrats.
The Delhi government also said the Centre should reconsider the decision that is expected to put severe pressure on the existing health infrastructure in view of the shortage of doctors and nurses to treat serious coronavirus patients.

New Delhi: Five-day institutional quarantine has been made mandatory for every COVID-19 patient under home quarantine in Delhi, Lt Governor Anil Baijal ordered on Friday, a decision the AAP government termed "arbitrary" and claimed would "seriously harm" the National Capital.

The Delhi government also said the Centre should reconsider the decision that is expected to put severe pressure on the existing health infrastructure in view of the shortage of doctors and nurses to treat serious coronavirus patients.

As of Friday, Delhi had 53,116 coronavirus cases of which 27,512 were active. The number of those under home isolation stood at 10,490. Of the 10,961 beds, only 5,078 were vacant.

Baijal further said in his order that "mandatory physical verification of each case under home quarantine is to be carried out by the surveillance teams of district surveillance officers under the overall supervision of the district magistrate" in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in view of the surge in cases.

He also ordered discontinuation "with immediate effect" of the services of a private agency which was making telephonic contact with home quarantined individuals to guide them.

At least four district magistrates said there is no clarity yet on whether the order on institutional quarantine also covers existing home quarantined patients.

They said a clarity might come on Saturday during a high-level meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, to be chaired by the LG.

"Five days institutional quarantine of each case under home quarantine is to be made mandatory and, thereafter, (they) will be sent for home-isolation, except in cases where symptoms require further hospitalisation," Baijal said in his order.

The order implies that every coronavirus patient has to necessarily spend five days in institutional quarantine, a government-run facility dedicated for coronavirus patients.

The Delhi government, however, is not happy with what it called an "arbitrary" decision, and demanded that it be reconsidered by the Centre. Also, a senior official said the decision will only serve to scare away people from getting tested.

In a statement, the Delhi government said the home isolation programme has been one of the most successful initiatives in the battle against COVID-19.

The Delhi government has treated thousands of mild and asymptomatic cases at home so far through daily monitoring and counselling, it said, adding home isolation protocol is being carried out strictly as per ICMR guidelines and those of the Centre.

"We have been completely supportive of the Central government in our collective fight against coronavirus, but this arbitrary decision will seriously harm Delhi. They should reconsider this decision," the statement said.

Home isolation encouraged a lot of people with minor symptoms to come out and get tested as they knew that they will not be taken to a hospital or quarantine centre forcibly, it stated.

"Today's order of the Central government stopping home isolation will discourage people from testing and will further spread coronavirus as asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms will resist testing and will not be quarantined," the Delhi government said.

The entire manpower of Delhi government is already stretched, it said.

"Now, large quarantine centres would need to be made to house thousands of asymptomatic people. Thousands of patients are being treated at home at the moment. After this order, we would immediately need thousands of beds in quarantine centres," it added
June 19, 2020

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper's Phone Call With Thailand Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Prayut Chan-o-cha

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke with his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Prayut Chan-o-cha, on the phone today to discuss key bilateral issues within the Alliance. Secretary Esper thanked Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government for their leadership in responding to COVID-19 and offered continued assistance from the United States. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha conveyed his government's gratitude to the United States for its support, which has been led by the United States Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Response, and the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Science.

Secretary Esper and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha discussed bilateral defense efforts to implement the U.S.-Thailand Joint Vision Statement 2020, which the two leaders signed during a bilateral meeting in Bangkok in November. They agreed to focus implementation on military force modernization, professional military education enhancement, and promoting interoperability between the U.S. and Thai militaries.

Secretary Esper and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed that the two countries will remain "shoulder-to-shoulder" and will look for ways to continue building our defense relationship, and the strong partnership between our two countries, in the coming year.

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2226098/

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: After resigning in December 2018, nine months ahead of his tenure, former RBI governor Urjit Patel has decided to join as chairman National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Finance. Patel will start his four-year term beginning June 22, succeeding Vijay Kelkar.

NIPFPs governing body includes three representatives of the finance ministry, one each from the Planning Commission and the Reserve Bank of India and three representatives of sponsoring state governments.

Patel was handpicked by the Modi government in September 2016 to replace Raghuram Rajan as the RBI governor but his differences with finance ministry increased over sharing of revenue surplus with the government.

The spat became public and ugly, forcing Patels deputy Viral Acharya opening up with governments intervention in the central banks autonomy which ultimately led to the exit of both Patel and Acharya.

Against this backdrop, the development is interesting as rumours are rife in the finance ministry that Patel has finally mend his fences with the government and is ready to take up other roles in the government.
The Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine has been extended until the end of 2022.

"The Council of Europe Rapporteur Group on Democracy endorsed a decision to approve a report on the medium-term progress in implementing the CoE Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018-2021, as well as to extend its duration until the end of 2022," the Permanent Representation of Ukraine to the Council of Europe posted on Facebook.

The parties recognized the implementation of the document's goals as successful and noted the importance of the effectiveness of its further implementation, despite the problems associated with the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The implementation of the Plan is coordinated by the Directorate General of Programmes of the Council of Europe with the assistance of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. The action plan is funded by donors.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Borys Tarasyuk thanked the representatives of the international organization for supporting Ukraine, as well as donors, the largest of which are the European Union, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Poland, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, the Human Rights Trust Fund (the UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Finland, Switzerland).

The Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018-2021 is a strategic policy document that aims to promote, through cooperation, the country's efforts to align its legislation, institutions and practices with the European standards in the field of human rights, the rule of law and democracy, and thus to support the country in fulfilling its obligations as the Council of Europe member state.

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Beijing

A Covid-19 superspreader could have contributed in the rapid spread of more than 200 infections linked to a food market in Beijing, experts have said, as the Chinese capital scrambles to contain a fresh outbreak that has raised fears of a second wave of infections in the country, which has largely managed to control the contagion.

New infections linked to the Xinfadi food market in Fengtai district of Beijing indicate the sign of a superspreader, Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at the Wuhan University, told the state media on Friday.

Speculation about the presence of a superspreader  or a Covid-19 patient who has infected several others  comes in the backdrop of 22 new cases being reported in Beijing on Friday. The city has recorded 205 new cases since June 11. A new case related to the outbreak in neighbouring province Hebei was also reported on Friday.

Michael Ryan, the World Health Organizations (WHO) emergencies chief, said a superspreading event could have amplified the spread of the fresh outbreak in Beijing. You get a few cases occurring and it then is a superspreading event or something happening where theres a large amplification of the disease. And when that happens, you want to avoid that first amplification turning back into community transmission, he said in London on Friday.

In line with Chinese researchers claims, Ryan confirmed that China has shared the genome sequence of the virus strain from its latest outbreak with the global community and said that it appears the virus was imported to Beijing from strains circulating in Europe.

He noted that strains and viruses have moved around the world throughout the pandemic. Ryan said a detailed investigation into the recent Beijing outbreak was needed to find out how the imported cases sparked such a large cluster.

The WHO official added that Beijing has done well to control the new outbreak from spreading.

Authorities have scaled up efforts to stem the transmission of the disease in the capital, testing more than 2 million in the city of 20 million since June 13. Thousands of courier and food delivery personnel, and taxi drivers are also being tested in an effort to rein in the new outbreak.

Currently, the city has the ability to sample an average of 500,000 people per day. As of 6am on Saturday, a total of 2,297,000 people have finished sampling, Zhang Qiang, a member of Beijings epidemic control office said at a press conference on Saturday.
Taylor police officers headed to a neighborhood late Thursday night after getting a call from a concerned resident.

However, it wasnt the type of call police officers usually get, especially just before midnight.

On this particular summer evening, the officers came out to help save several ducklings that had fallen through a sewer grate on Meadow Woods Circle.

The officers immediately jumped into action and helped nearby residents get the baby ducks out safely.

Using a pool skimmer, each of the ducklings was taken safely. Overall, there were a total of 11 baby ducks saved.

Unfortunately, the mother duck was nowhere to be found after her babies had been rescued. Officers took the ducklings to Heritage Park, where they were able to join a new family.

Priscilla Albano, a resident of Meadow Woods Circle, said her 19-year-old son Zander initially helped the mother duck get her ducklings from the street, to the grass, by walking behind them.

After coming in the house, Zander looked back out again and noticed that the mother duck was freaking out and he then realized the babies had fallen through a sewer grate.

Along with the police, Priscilla, Zander and her other three kids Meya, Delanie and Teygan helped get the ducklings out, along with neighbor Mike Jones.
A 43-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan.

Stephen Silver, from Aughaward, Foxford in Co Mayo, appeared before a special sitting at Castlerea District Court on Friday night wearing a black T-shirt and jogging bottoms.

Following the brief appearance, Judge Alan Mitchell remanded him into custody and he will appear in court next week via videolink.

Mr Horkan, nicknamed 'The Bear', was shot dead in Castlerea - a small town north west of Dublin - on Wednesday night, leading to the opening of a murder investigation.

Stephen Sliver, from Aughaward, Foxford in Co Mayo, was arrested on Friday and appeared in court charged with the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan

Handcuffed, Silver was led by officers to and from the courtroom, during which Judge Alan Mitchell remanded him into custody

Silver, a mechanic, will now appear in court next week via videolink

Mr Horkan, 49, was murdered in the sleepy town just before midnight.

On Friday, hundreds of people gathered in Mayo and Roscommon to pay their respects to Mr Horkan.

There were emotional scenes in Ballaghaderreen as the hearse carrying the remains of Mr Horkan made its way through the town towards his home in Charlestown.

Tributes from devastated colleagues and politicians poured in as Ireland grieved the loss of Detective Colm Horkan, above, the 89th member Garda force member killed in the line of duty

The cortege was flanked by gardai on motorcycles, while people lined the streets where Mr Horkan had worked for several years.

Floral tributes were left outside Ballaghaderreen garda station. In Castlerea, where the garda was shot dead, many people queued to sign a book of condolence.

Mr Horkan's funeral will take place at St James's Church in Charlestown on Sunday.

Gardai believe Mr Horkan's gun was taken from him after he became involved an altercation while he was on patrol.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described the killing as a 'random act'.

Hundreds of local people gathered in Castlerea on Thursday evening for a vigil paying tribute.

Gardai are examining how a State funeral will be held for Detective Horkan given the Covid-19 restrictions as members of the public will also want to pay their respects.

Books of condolence have opened at garda stations around the country, while Dublin City Council has opened an online book of condolence, with all messages to be presented to Detective Horkan's family.

Meanwhile, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran said the death of Detective Garda Horkan has caused outrage in the area and appealed for calm.

Bishop Doran said the community in Co Roscommon is still trying to come to terms with Detective Horkan's death.

People lined streets of Ballaghaderreen as the hearse carrying Mr Horkan travelled through

'There is an actual feeling of revulsion in people about what happened... it is important we don't allow what has happened to bring our society down to that level. What has happened and the cruel way in which it happened, does not and cannot define the kind of society that we are,' he told Shannonside FM.

Politicians were among those signing books of condolence, among them Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and Labour TD Brendan Howlin paid their respects.

A heavy police presence remained at the scene on Friday as officers closed the centre of Castlerea to traffic while investigations are conducted.

President of the Garda Representative Association Jim Mulligan said 'brave' Mr Colm 'died as result of injuries sustained' in the incident.

Tributes from devastated colleagues and politicians poured in as Ireland grieved the loss of the 89th member Garda force member killed in the line of duty.

The main street close to the scene of the murder was promptly sealed off by Garda

A Garda vehicle was seen stationed behind tape and barriers as investigations remain underway to establish details of the incident

Mr Colm joined An Garda Siochana in 1995 and was described as an experienced detective who was greatly respected by colleagues.

He was heavily involved in the local Charlestown Sarsfields GAA club, and was affectionately known on the pitch as 'The Bear', The Independent said.

He lived on the outskirts of the town with his father and was considered a pillar of the community, home to around 2,000 people.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he was 'deeply saddened' at the news of Colm's death, and said he 'served the communities he worked in with distinction and pride.

'Today is a terrible reminder of the significant sacrifices, including the ultimate sacrifice, that Gardai make to keep people safe.'

Irish President Michael D Higgins said news of Colm's death had 'come as a shock to us all'.

'An Garda Siochana play a crucial role in our communities and this loss of life is traumatic for our society as a whole.'

A members of the fire service carries flowers to the scene as the local community reeled in shock at the killing of Colm Horkan

The scene in the aftermath in Castelere showed a Garda van blocking the road behind police tape along a street lined with local businesses and homes

Irish Premier Leo Varadkar said: 'Every day our gardai put themselves on the front line of crime prevention, on behalf of all of us'.

'This requires regular acts of bravery and courage. Sometimes the outcome is tragic and a garda makes the ultimate sacrifice in the course of their duties.'

Colm is survived by his father, sister and four brothers, and the shooting has been referred to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission because the incident involved a Garda firearm.

Ireland's justice minister, Charlie Flanagan, offered his condolences to the 'brave' detective and described his death as a 'loss to wider Irish society. His heroism and the debt of gratitude which we owe to him and his family will never be forgotten.'

A Garda vain remained at the scene on Friday behind tape cordoning off a road

The Policing Authority, the Garda's oversight body, said the killing of a garda is 'an attack on the essence and the foundations of our democracy

Flanagan added that people have been particularly dependent on the gardai during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said they 'have been selflessly working to protect our health and wellbeing, in the best tradition of the service'.

Antoinette Cunningham, general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, said it was a 'sad, sad day' for the Garda.

'Devastated to hear this Garda Colleague has passed away,' she tweeted.

The Policing Authority, the Garda's oversight body, said the killing of a garda is 'an attack on the essence and the foundations of our democracy.

'It is a fundamental assault on the principle of equality.'

Politician Denis Naughten who represents Roscommon-Galway, said the community was in shock.

'We are absolutely devastated, shocked and saddened by what we heard overnight.

Mr Naughten said the killing evoked memories of the shooting of the two gardai in 1980.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he was 'deeply saddened' at the news of Colm's death, and said he 'served the communities he worked in with distinction and pride'. Harris is pictured above centre arriving at the scene today

Detective Garda John Morley and Garda Henry Byrne were shot dead by armed bank robbers near Castlerea in the village of Loughglynn.

'It's just coming up on their 40th anniversary so that will add to the sense of loss within the community over the coming days,' he said.

North of the border, Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne offered his condolences.

'Awful news this morning coming from @GardaTraffic with the death of a Garda colleague in Castlerea,' he tweeted.

'Thoughts from all @PoliceServiceNI with his family, friends and colleagues at such a difficult time.'
Protesters in Washington toppled a statue of a Confederate general late Friday, after nationwide rallies to demand racial justice on a day heavy with symbolism -- the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Demonstrations were held in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington against a backdrop of weeks of protests fueled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.

In a stark illustration of the tensions roiling the nation, President Donald Trump issued a solemn White House statement commemorating Juneteenth, while also threatening protesters on Twitter ahead of his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Juneteenth marks the day -- June 19, 1865 -- when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves that they were free -- two months after the Civil War had ended and two-and-a-half years after president Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The date is generally celebrated with prayer services and family gatherings, but comes this year amid a national soul-searching over America's legacy of racial injustice.

The United States has been gripped by daily "Black Lives Matter" protests since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Late on Friday a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike was torn down by demonstrators in the capital and set on fire, in an act labeled a "disgrace" by Trump.

"The D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested," Trump tweeted.

Earlier, several thousand demonstrators marched across New York's Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, chanting the names of black men and women killed by police in recent years.

"This year the entire country has had a reckoning," said protester Tabatha Bernard, 38, voicing support for growing calls for Juneteenth to be declared a national holiday.

"It's up to us to keep this going until we have change."

Protesters in Atlanta, where a police officer was charged with murder this week for shooting a black man in the back, marched on the Georgia State Capitol.

More gathered in Washington outside the Lincoln Memorial and near the White House, while thousands marched in Chicago and danced at festive rallies in South Los Angeles.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has a solid lead over Trump in the latest polls, said Juneteenth reminded Americans "that our country is capable of the worst violence and injustice but it also has an incredible capacity to be reborn anew."

In Tulsa -- where Trump on Saturday is set to hold his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic began -- a Juneteenth celebration was attended by several thousand protesters.

"We've seen more unity and more blacks and whites together in the last three weeks than we've ever seen in a Trump rally," civil rights activist Al Sharpton told a press conference.

Trump had originally scheduled his Tulsa appearance for Juneteenth, but was forced to change it amid a public outcry over his provocative choice of date and location.

The city's Greenwood district was the site of one of the country's worst racist massacres, in 1921, when as many as 300 black Americans were killed.

"We just want the world to know what happened here," said Greenwood store owner Tony Williams, labelling Trump's arrival "disrespectful."

About a mile away, dozens of Trump followers have camped out for several nights ahead of the rally in order to get the best seats.

"This is a super important moment for all of us... we're out here supporting Trump," said Stephen Corley, 19.

Trump, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November and has adopted a hardline "law and order" stance towards protestors, and First Lady Melania Trump issued a joint statement to mark Juneteenth.

"Juneteenth reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation," it said.

At the same time, Trump issued a blunt warning to counter-protesters headed to Tulsa.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis," he said. "It will be a much different scene!"

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum declared a curfew in the city amid fears of violence but Trump later announced it had been lifted for "our many supporters" attending the rally.
Black trans lives matter! Black trans lives matter! Black trans lives matter! So let me tell you something: Voguing has always been a protest. The dance itself, in all of its campy glory, has always been about, Look at me. Im here. I matter, and look what I can do. So doing it on the streets, doing it, you know, in front of a cop car is letting you know, Im here. I matter.  The ballroom is not just voguing. The ballroom is art. The ballroom is fashion. Its theater. Its political. Remember, you have all these houses. You have the House of Mugler, you have the House of Mizrahi, and we call ourselves the House of Xtravaganza, the most fabulous of all time! [laughing] The ballroom scene has made it through past pandemics and past protests, from police brutality to the AIDS crisis, to losing a lot of the elders of the scene, to finding spaces. For a lot of people, ballroom is life, voguing is life. And so, when these things are kind of shut down, youre basically kind of shutting down the lifeline of the community. I had balls in North Carolina that was canceled. I had balls in Florida that was canceled due to quarantine and corona, and its  what do we do now? First, we were seeing the at-home challenges happen.  I dont want the corone-rone. Just FaceTime me on the phone, phone. You got to get up out my home cause I dont want corone.  Wash your hands, hands, hands, hands, hands, hands, hands. Then we saw the rise of the Bigo balls  Ready?  a virtual ballroom   Ah, giving me hands. Giving me hands. Serve your hands like this, yes. Giving me hands. Giving me hands. Serve your hands like this. Im stuck in the room. I cant get out. This coronas taking me out. I remember, my friends, well I had close to like 3,000 people watching. It was like people were thirsty. They were yearning for a ball. They were just like, Oh my God, yes.  And there was almost like a resurgence of ballroom in a new format. And just like in [snaps] the whole world has just stopped. Layleen Polanco! Say her name! Layleen Polanco! Say her name! Tony McDade! Say it like you mean it! Tony McDade! Nina Pop! Nina Pop! Say her name! Nina Pop! Say her name! Nina Pop! When black trans lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back! Especially because black trans women, Afro-Latina trans women, are being murdered in the streets, were here to stand up. Were the House of Xtravaganza. Weve always been standing up against injustice and speaking out to make equality and justice for everybody. With Layleen, I was the mother of her house. She was one of my kids. Our house has always been a very trans-friendly house. Even if I did not know her personally, as a trans man, for me, she was my sister. Its obviously hard losing a sister. Its amazing just seeing her name everywhere, her pictures everywhere, and her story just reaching so many lives and so many souls and so many people. She had her chosen family and her biological family by her! [cheering and applause] Yes! The House of Xtravaganza! Yes! I love you guys! Yes! I love all of you! Yes! Thank you so much! [cheering and applause] Yes! I was wearing a mask, and I was scared. But I wasnt thinking about that. Theres an abuse of power, and people are fed up. What do want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! I mean, L.G.B.T. culture is rooted in the battle against police brutality from Stonewall. No justice! No peace! No justice! No peace! And I think in the last couple of months, the last couple of weeks especially, we are waking up people faster. And its kind of using what we do to just voice our outrage and kind of honor our L.G.B.T. ancestors, with voguing being the resistance dance.  We have $160 for whoever wins the ball today. I thought it was  It was more, but I decided to put the rest of that money that was more  into Black Trans Lives collectives. [cheering] And yes I am [expletive] hype because this is my [expletive] community. What?  All these people that were voguing during the protests, it made me feel like, we have to fight for something. And what were fighting for is rights, and even in the time that were fighting for Black Lives Matter, you have to remember. Were black and were queer, too. Were black and were gay. Were black and were trans. So, us going out there and voguing and being unapologetically us while protesting told them that, Hey, dont forget us either.  Period. Thats it.
Owens grew up in northern Georgia, where he says he was drawn to studying anger in part because of the charged and ambivalent relationship that many African Americans have with that emotion. On the one hand, he writes, to belong to the Black community was to be angry  for reasons including what he describes as a social system that has used black bodies for production and now regards them as expendable. Yet Owens had also learned that expressing his anger was dangerous, something that could get him punished or killed.
As President Donald Trump prepares to host a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, residents there are filled with anger and grief that's simmered for nearly a century.

On Black Wall Street, an area burned to ashes by white mobs during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, the wounds are still fresh.

Discussing what happened here 99 years ago brings many to tears. For decades, their stories weren't shared, but it's a history ingrained in their everyday life.

MORE: Tulsa marks grim anniversary of 1921 'race massacre' as protests sweep the nation

Tiffany Crutcher's twin brother was killed at the hands of police in 2016, sparking national outrage. But 95 years earlier, his great-grandmother was forced to flee the race riots.

"We're suffering the residual effects of what happened back in 1921," Crutcher said. "The same culture, the same policing culture, the same anti-Black, white supremacist culture that burned down my [great] grandmother's community is the same culture that killed Terence."

PHOTO: Supporters of President Donald Trump line up to attend the Trump's campaign rally near the BOK Center, site of tomorrow's rally, June 19, 2020 in Tulsa, Okla. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

"The fear that they instilled in the community after the massacre was massive," she continued. "They told them if they ever talked about what happened, that they would be killed. They would be hung. And so they were afraid. And that's a white supremacist tactic right there."

(MORE: What We Know About the Terence Crutcher Police Shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma)

Those tactics worked on some residents, including 85-year-old Bobby Eaton's father, who survived the riots but rarely mentioned them.

"They were afraid the same kind of inhumane, savage massacre would take place again! They were afraid," Eaton said.

PHOTO: People carry an empty casket draped with an American flag to symbolize the destruction of Tulsa's Black Wall Street in 1921 during a Juneteenth march and celebration in the Greenwood District of the city, June 19, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

It wasn't until this year that state lawmakers announced plans to formally introduce the Tulsa Race Massacre in all state school curriculums.

The conversation about the Juneteenth holiday has reached a national level, unlike years past. Corporations including Nike, Best Buy and Twitter are recognizing Juneteenth this year and said they'll make it an annual holiday moving forward.

Story continues

MORE: Juneteenth recognized by more states, companies as a holiday

Trump claimed credit for Juneteenth's increasing popularity, after moving his rally a day later so as to not clash with the holiday, telling The Wall Street Journal: "I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous."

Juneteenth is recognized as a ceremonial day or holiday in 47 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Edward Markey, D-Mass., Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Friday announced they will introduce the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act to create a federal holiday.

PHOTO: Demonstrators hold signs as they take part in a Juneteenth march and rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, June 19, 2020. (Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

"On Juneteenth, we remember the millions who suffered, died and survived the crushing reality of slavery in America, and recommit ourselves to continuing in the fight for equal justice for all. Without question, it should be recognized with the respect of a federal holiday," Harris said.

Back in Tulsa, where the pain is deeply embedded in the community, only a few visible reminders from that time remain. Historic Vernon AME Church was burned to the ground, but Black residents still gathered days after the riots to worship.

Pastor Robert Turner told ABC News that some of the bricks still present tell the story of "state-sponsored terrorism."

"You can still see the charred parts of the bricks," he added. "These bricks heard the screams, heard the cries. And to this day, these bricks cry out with the blood of our ancestors."

Like many places around the county, Black Americans, like their ancestors, are crying out for freedom.

"We talk about commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation, when we got word from Texas that the slaves were free," Crutcher said, "but in reality, we're still not free in 2020. And we're still crying for freedom, we're crying out for justice."

Black Tulsa residents call Juneteenth a day of celebration, grief, anger originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Negotiations: Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan arrive at Government Buildings to finalise formal agreement on a draft programme for government. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Three parties negotiated a programme for government in an effort to form a coalition.

They have agreed to a programme which does not reflect any of the policies put forward by these parties in their election manifestos that the electorate voted for 133 days ago.

Agreement was reached while excluding input from the other elected TDs or the electorate, and they will now try to sell the new programme for government to their respective parliamentary parties, which consist of 84 TDs out of 160 elected TDs.

Assuming the parliamentary parties support the programme for government, it will be put to the respective three party memberships, representing 0.9pc of the population, for approval. This to the exclusion of the other parties or groupings. Now the programme for government is created to ensure the stability of a new government, secure the positions in that government and to continue the dominance of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

The government formed in this manner will fail to create a just society and keep the majority of the population dependent. Is this democracy?

Hugh McDermott

Dromahair, Co, Leitrim

Fitness is not a matter of fanaticism, but of health

Yet again I read an article in the Irish Independent describing people who take exercise on a regular basis as "fitness fanatics". ('Exercise classes take to the great outdoors as fitness fanatics can finally work out again' - June 15).

A fanatic is described in the dictionary as a person obsessively devoted to a belief or activity.

It is about time that this term was consigned to the wastepaper basket. The benefits of regular exercise for physical and mental wellbeing are well documented, even more so during the Covid-19 crisis.

Anyone taking regular exercise, in whatever form, is not a fanatic and should not be described as such.

TJ Beatty

Loughrea, Co Galway

Foreign affairs role can use Varadkar's standing

As speculation mounts regarding the new Cabinet composition, a question arises over the possible portfolio to be held by incumbent Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

There would be a significant diplomatic advantage for Ireland in having a recent prime minister fulfil the role of minister for foreign affairs.

There are precedents of other former prime ministers making this step (consequently resulting in a palpably stronger diplomatic presence outcome) in other countries including Carl Bildt (Sweden), Shimon Peres (Israel) and Alec Douglas-Home (UK).

The context of the inevitable return of Mr Varadkar to his current role in 2022 under the programme for government would further serve to enhance Ireland's international goals and objectives while he was serving as foreign minister, representing without question the best possible utilisation of his global standing to the country's benefit.

The leadership shown by the Taoiseach in seeking to form the programme for government with Fianna Fail and the Green Party is reflected in the record polling levels for Fine Gael as the Irish people want reliability and stable government at this time.

If the hurdle of the Green Party's two-thirds membership approval threshold cannot be overcome - despite the robustly 'green' flavour of the programme - then they can expect a backlash, particularly from middle-class voters, who would not take kindly to a small party holding up the country in forming a government as the Covid-19 fallout crisis is set to be combined with the British pursuit of Brexit in more real terms from January 2021.

Cllr John Kennedy

c/o Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

We must act on expert warnings to save planet

John Downing's precise explanation of Irish party politics ('Green members have most say of any party', Irish Independent, June 19) should not only be an eye-opener for the electorate, but a swift kick in the pants for TDs and senators.

I recently read a two-page piece in a local Irish newspaper about a retired TD who was lauding and praising himself to the heavens for his Trojan work as a TD.

If any political party wants to survive in this constantly changing world, then all legislation must be discussed in the party room.

After all, this is what the Oireachtas is for.

Since 1922, far too many Oireachtas members have spent their time annoying public service staff on matters of minutiae that the citizenry could have done on their own, rather than studying legislation.

Legislation affects the entire nation.

The Greens may be seen as a threat by some, but they are not as great a threat to democracy per se, as is a rubber-stamp TD or senator.

Leading scientists have regularly issued warnings of the dangers which humanity is currently facing.

Selfish people will ignore such warnings.

A democratic people would ask: "What can we do to avert this?'

As with the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire globe is in environmental danger together. Gaia may have just about had too much selfishness.

Declan Foley

Berwick, Australia

Hard-won vote silenced future generations

The showing on RTE One of 'Hawks and Doves' with Michael Portillo brought to mind what many Irish people lived through in the early 1900s.

It wasn't pleasant.

At a price, this small nation was the first such nation to achieve independence from a still mighty British Empire.

A later constitution asserted that the people, not the Government, were the bosses.

It is something of an irony then, that, at a later stage, the descendants of largely the same (1920s) people, should have handed control over marriage, and the deliberate taking of unborn human life, to politicians of the day.

Thus, the same hard-earned vote has been used to ensure that our legacy to future generations is that they will have no choice in a vital matter.

The third episode of the film will be on Wednesday.

Donal O'Driscoll

Blackrock, Co Dublin

Don't fear FF, we will see prosperity again soon

I am just responding to Seamus O Mathuna's letter in which he states that Fianna Fail misogynists are back in power to cause ruin.

He could only reference the era of Eamon de Valera - and De Valera died in 1975.

He states Fianna Fail has only five female TDs despite talk of equality.

In the last general election, Fine Gael lost five female TDs, leaving it with six women TDs.

Leo Varadkar only had two senior female ministers and three junior ministers in the last Cabinet.

Micheal Martin supported the equality referendum and, along with five other Fianna Fail TDs, supported Repeal the Eighth, swinging hundreds of thousands of moderates to its victory.

Fianna Fail delivered our first economic boom of the 1960s and free education. It created 800,000 jobs between 1997 and 2008. Ireland would become home to 500,000 migrant workers in this time.

Yes, the Celtic Tiger ended in tears in a global crash with banks and people's greed to blame.

The good thing about coalition is that the prudent Fine Gael will keep Fianna Fail in check. Seamus has nothing to fear - we will witness prosperity in the near future.

Thomas Glancy

Carrick-on Shannon, Co Leitrim
Eight Terrorists Killed in Two Encounters in Kashmir Valley

Sputnik News

04:50 GMT 19.06.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have neutralised more than 110 terrorists in 2020 due to the rise in terror activities over the last three months. The data reveals that most of the terrorists were locals, while around 10 were foreigners and some unidentified.

Indian security forces in Kashmir have killed eight terrorists in two separate encounters in the Kashmir Valley.

Two terrorists holed-up inside a mosque in the Meej Pampore area of Awantipora in Kashmir were killed in the early hours of Friday morning, Jammu and Kashmir police said. Another terrorist, who hasn't been identified, was killed on Thursday when the encounter started.

In order to maintain the sanctity of the mosque, police said they did not fire or use explosives but only tear gas to neutralise the terrorists.

In the second encounter that ended in the Shopian district, five terrorists were neutralised. A police official said the encounter marked the century of anti-terror operations for "Team Kashmir" this year.

The security forces have killed more than 110 terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaaz Naikoo, since January 2020. Many of these individuals were killed during infiltration attempts near the Line of Control.

Jammu and Kashmir traditionally sees the highest number of terror activities around this time of the year due to the weather, which makes movement easier.

 Sputnik

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The Balearic government calculates that the tourism pilot plan for the Balearics has been worth the equivalent of 35 million euros in terms of publicity in the islands' two principal tourism markets - Germany and the UK.

The ministry for the presidency said on Saturday that the plan has provided a showcase for tourism promotion "without precedent". This is because of the high level of media interest in the Balearics being the first destination in Spain to receive foreign tourists.

Account has been taken of the amount of space devoted to the Balearics and the pilot plan on front and inside pages of newspapers and specialist tourism/travel publications. There have also been the images of German tourists arriving in Majorca which have been shown on main television channels across Europe.

On the day when the pilot plan was presented in Palma, fifty media outlets from seven countries were accredited. These were from Germany, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland and Spain. The following day, video clips began to be disseminated widely.

The government calculates that there has been a print media reach of 58 million people in Germany and the UK. Only three million of these were in the UK, with the 55 million a reflection of a much greater intensity of media coverage in Germany, which was the focus for the plan. This reach is significantly greater when television and other media are considered, and not just in Germany and the UK.

As far as the national tourism market is concerned, the government says that coverage of the pilot plan has provided an "incalculable" promotion.

President Armengol, tourism minister Iago Negueruela, and the tourism director-general, Rosana Morillo, have all been available for interviews, with the BBC, channels in Germany, CNN and others having carried interviews.
Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland was last night accused of 'scandalous' behaviour after the High Court decided it was involved in a 45million VAT fraud.

The bank will now have to pay out tens of millions of pounds after a judge found it guilty of offering fraudsters 'dishonest assistance' in cheating the taxman. It is appealing the ruling, made last month.

The ruling that RBS traders turned a blind eye to the fraud  only months after the taxpayer had rescued the bank in the financial crisis  will infuriate politicians and the public.

Siobhain McDonagh, a member of the Treasury Select Committee of MPs, said: 'It is scandalous. The last thing you would think is that a bank funded by the taxpayer would defraud the taxpayer.'

Justice Snowden found two RBS traders had lied over the carbon credits fraud in 2009

Justice Snowden found two RBS traders had lied over the carbon credits fraud in 2009. The credits allow companies to buy the right to emit greenhouse gases from other firms.

Andrew Gygax and Jonathan Shain, who worked for RBS subsidiary RBS Sempra Energy Europe Ltd, were found to have given 'untrue' evidence designed to 'conceal' the fact they did not want to 'risk...the extraordinary levels of very profitable trading'.

The Court was also told by a key witness that trades facilitated by RBS and RBS Sempra over a matter of weeks saw Revenue & Customs defrauded. It lost out on an estimated 45million.

Justice Snowden said: 'I find both RBS and RBS SEEL liable for dishonest assistance and knowingly being a party to fraudulent trading by the Claimant companies by reason of RBS's trading with CarbonDesk from 26 June 2009 to 6 July 2009.'

The credits were bought in France then imported into Britain through a series of allegedly sham or fraudulent companies.

Gygax and Shain bought millions of credits from these firms and sold them abroad.

RBS is being pursued by accountancy firm Grant Thornton, acting for the Revenue, which complained it did not receive the VAT that was due from the carbon trading, and other creditors left out of pocket.

RBS Sempra was sold off and is now called Mercuria Energy.

It is being sued alongside NatWest Markets, part of RBS. Shain and Gygax no longer work for RBS or Mercuria.

Shain said: 'I am disappointed with the judge's decision.' Gygax could not be reached for comment.

NatWest Markets said: 'This claim concerned trading undertaken over a short period in 2009 by former employees of a legacy joint venture company that was sold in 2010. We are very disappointed with the decision and are appealing it.'
Wearing sunglasses and a mask, Conroe resident LaDon Johnson looked around Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Conroe on Friday as a few dozen people came together to eat, play and commemorate the end of slavery.

Its love, its something the community has been missing, Johnson said. I just see love around the community.

Johnson, who organized a protest May 31 in Conroe against police violence, created the new nonprofit, Good Brothers & Sisters of Montgomery County, to encourage community action and involvement. After a friend reached out to inquire about Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, he learned there was not a public event planned.

The event serves as a reminder to the community that on June 19, 1865, the Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders to the last group of slaves in Galveston. Those orders informed the slaves that they were free as were all previously enslaved people in Texas. The news reached the slaves nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed The Emancipation Proclamation.

Now Johnson, who feels there is a responsibility to create moments and events for children today, plans to host an annual Juneteenth event.

His daughter, Anayla Johnson, 16, played on the court behind him.

I feel like having an event like this where you can invite kids and have them play, it keeps them from doing bad things, for one, and the fact that it is a Juneteenth event, they get to be more intact with history and know why we are here and just have fun with everybody together, Anayla Johnson said.

At the parks entrance, the Conroe Police Department visited with members of the community.

LaDon invited us to come out. We are grateful for the opportunity to come out and we are here to meet and greet. We are extremely pleased to be here, and we want to be more involved, Conroe PD Community Liaison Eddie Davis said.

Community gathering

The diverse community affair included at least 10 vendors, several activities and visits from a few candidates and elected officials.

Last Sunday, the organization registered 40 people to vote. Fridays event featured booths for people to sign up to vote and for the U.S. Census. Moving forward, Johnson wants to see the community move forward collectively as a group and get out and vote.

Thats Hispanic, black, white  it doesnt matter, you know we are a community. We need to come together more. Its important for us to vote now, its important for us to come together as a community and put the elected officials into office who we need to be put into office.

This whole push is about community, bringing everybody together and trying to put the power back into the peoples hands. Thats what my whole goal is.

Conroe resident Carl White, who has run for city council in Conroe multiple times, sat near the splash pad.

People are having a good time, having fun, children are playing, socializing, its what is needed  building relationships and things like that as we celebrate Juneteenth, White said. We have the police department out here lending a hand, its real good.

White believes Conroe needs to continue to build relationships and make them stronger.

Throughout the years, we as black folks we have suffered so much when it comes to injustice, White said. Coming together like this, I think it can lead to healing.

Cultural history

Behind him, Dafni Vrionis who brought her five children, pushed her smiling 5-year-old son Nathan, who has special needs, in his wheelchair through the splashpad. The family, which is biracial, celebrates Juneteenth every year to teach the children about their culture.

While Juneteenth events have previously been held in Conroe, this year the event has taken on an added meaning nationwide following the death of George Floyd, which sparked civil unrest and peaceful protests nationwide and locally..

I feel like Juneteenth should be an observed federal paid holiday, Vrionis said.

A banner with red high heels and a barbecue pit featured on the design promoted the Houston business of four sisters called Girlz on the Grill. The CEO Chandra Johnson, who works at a school district, shared the sisters started the growing family run enterprise at church events and festivals about two years.

Food and family

Since Juneteenth is not seen as a national holiday and the event fell on a Friday, Chandra Johnson shared that team members who normally work the smoker were not able to take off to participate in the event. Instead of barbecue items, the teams served a simplified menu with chicken tender baskets.

While she remained on the fence about the push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, she wanted to be a part of the special occasion, which she learned had free donations, including hot dogs for children.

Although I dont typically spend my Juneteenth like this, I just wanted to be a part of it with what is going on now in the world, Chandra Johnson said. I just wanted to be a part of something that is almost like history making.

A white trailer sat in the parking lot with DJs BBQ emblazoned on the side. Its owner, Conroe resident Deon Lyons, stepped out of the back.

I started barbecuing about five years ago, but I just fixed up this trailer last year  it took me a year to fix this up, Lyons said.

The event helps him get the word out about his business, which has more information available on Facebook.

People have been liking my barbecue and I just decided to do it, Lyons said. I didnt know anything about it (the event) until somebody told me about it and its doing real good right now.

During the week, Conroe High School class of 2006 graduate Apryl Lang, is a counselor in Harris County. On the weekends, she likes to cook. As the owner and operator of her business, Culinary Cognition, she offers catering.

Her uncle Mike Lang, who died from pancreatic cancer last year, was from Conroe and lived in Willis where he cooked for the community as a hobby. She debuted her Uncle Mikes Marinade at her booth Friday. Lang shared she did not expect to see the recent events in Conroe, including on Friday.

Its just difficult for us to come together out here for some reason, Lang said. Its a crab in the bucket type of mentality and it is hard to just come together and do something. Its really great with this new organization, its great with what they are doing.

Florida native Antunette Whitaker of North West Houston held Florida-style garlic crabs and shrimp made with her own secret recipe  that her business partner does not even know. She shared she does not have a physical location for her remote business.

Actually, the pandemic heightened my business, Whitaker said. I guess people couldnt get out and get this delicacy at restaurants like they usually would, so they call and its less expensive than in the restaurant.

She shared gratitude for the event and said delivery is available.

 Im happy to have the opportunity to give this product to the people of Conroe because I wouldnt typically be here, she added. Because of the invitation to the event, I have the exposure to Montgomery County now, which is a great thing because I can drive 30 minutes to deliver here.

LaDon Johnson hopes the event is the first of many to come.

My son, he paused to let a joyful chuckle thinking about 8-year-old Santana Johnson. He can have the 20th annual anniversary of the Good Brothers & Sisters Juneteenth event.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
By the end of 2020, Japan plans to transfer another batch of medical equipment to hospitals in Kharkiv, Lviv, and Irpin cities worth $1.4 million.

Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Takashi Kurai made a corresponding announcement during a meeting with Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran, the press service of the Defense Ministry reports.

"The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan assured that the people and Government of Japan would continue to provide support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular, by providing material and technical assistance: both high-tech medical equipment for military medical institutions of Ukraine and modern medicines to combat coronavirus and timely prepare for its possible second wave. Thus, it is planned to deliver another batch of medical equipment to hospitals in Kharkiv, Lviv, and Irpin cities worth $1.4 million and provide appropriate professional training of medical staff through the UN Office in Ukraine by the end of 2020," the statement reads.

In turn, Taran noted that Japans assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the medical field could reach a total of USD 4 million after the supply of this medical equipment.

"This is a significant contribution to ensuring Ukraine's defense capabilities by saving the lives and health of Ukrainian servicepersons. The Ministry of Defense greatly appreciates such a step of the Japanese Government," the minister said.

Ambassador Kurai also assured of unequivocal support for Ukraine's strategic path towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration and reaffirmed his country's principled position on condemning Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and not recognizing the annexation of Crimea.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan' on Saturday (June 20) to boost livelihood opportunities in rural India which saw millions of migrant workers returning home in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister flagged-off the rs 50,000 crore scheme from village Telihar in Bihar's Khagaria district via video-conferencing in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Chief Ministers of other five states and Union Ministers of concerned ministers also participated in the virtual launch from the Telihar village.

Here's all about the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan:

The campaign of 125 days across 116 districts in 6 states aims to work in mission mode to help migrant workers.

The programme will cover 116 districts across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. All these districts have received more than 25,000 migrant workers during the lockdown.

It will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide jobs and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore.

Provision of gas pipelines, skill development training, works under district mineral fund, waste management works and other activities important for livelihood comprise the 25 works which will be offered to migrant workers.

Anganwadi centres, Rural roads, rural housing, Railway works, RURBAN Mission in rural areas which are taking shape of urban areas, solar pumpset, laying of fibre optic cables, jal jeevan are other various works included in the 25 public works.

Around 39 crore people have received financial assistance of Rs 34,800 crore amid the COVID-19 lockdown under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) as on May 5.

The scheme will be a coordinated effort by 12 different ministries, including rural development, panchayati raj, road transport and highways, mines, drinking water and sanitation, environment, railways, petroleum and natural gas, new and renewable energy, border roads, telecom and agriculture.
Mariella Frostrup says she has been intellectually underestimated by men throughout her career.

The journalist, 57, said male executives would assume she would not attract female audiences due to her looks.

The broadcaster believes that now she is in middle age, she is suffering less jealousy in her career because she is no longer considered a threat.

Underestimated: Journalist and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup says she was intellectually dismissed by male TV executives

The Open Book presenter told The Times: 'All my life, there has been a loud chorus of voices saying, "Who does she think she is? How can she possibly do that?"

'I don't know why that image of me has persisted, but it has certainly been male-shaped. The great presumption through large parts of my career is that I would never attract a female audience, yet actually, that has proved to be completely untrue.

'I think the presumption that a particular type of woman [ie attractive] creates jealousy, resentment or ire in other women, that's all nonsense now.'

Younger days: The TV presenter, pictured in the 1990s, was known for her signature blonde tresses

Mariella was recently announced as the afternoon presenter on the new Times Radio.

Throughout her varied career, she has also been a Booker Prize judge, film reviewer and agony aunt.

She believes attitudes have changed since she was the target of criticism for fronting a Panorama investigation in 2000.

Some viewers saw it as evidence that the flagship current affairs programme was dumbing down.

Mariella described it as a 'misogynistic era' where younger women who took themselves seriously were often dismissed.

She is now a mother to two teenage daughters and married to human rights lawyer Jason McCue.
Funding for scores of life-saving overseas projects has been stopped ahead of the axing of the aid department, undermining attempts to prevent the coronavirus wreaking havoc in the worlds poorest countries.

The doomed Department for International Development (DfID) has paused grants as it prepares to slash billions from its budget  before it is abolished altogether in September, The Independent can reveal.

Worried aid leaders believe the move lays bare the real agenda behind Boris Johnsons announcement, which is to shift funds from fighting poverty to bolstering trade and foreign policy struggles such as resisting Russia.

And they are warning it will have devastating consequences in the developing world, where Covid-19 threatens a humanitarian disaster because of weak health systems and shoddy living conditions.

The head of one organisation, which faces losing 250,000 of funding destined for work in Malawi, said: People will die or be pushed further into extreme poverty because of this.

Jo Hook, the managing director of the group Temwa, added: If you stop funding to the worlds poorest countries in the middle of a global pandemic, there is no doubt that millions of people will be severely affected.

Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Show all 9 1 /9 Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Activists from the Brazilian NGO Rio de Paz (Peace Rio), dig 100 mock graves on Copacabana beach in Rio, Brazil, 11 June 2020, to symbolise deaths from the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis in protest against Brazil's "bad governance" of the pandemic. Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Leo Correa/AP Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Pilar Olivares/Reuters Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Buda Mendes/Getty Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Pilar Olivares/Reuters Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Pilar Olivares/Reuters Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Pilar Olivares/Reuters Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Pilar Olivares/Reuters Activists dig beach memorial for Brazil's 40,000 coronavirus victims Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty

Laurie Lee, chief executive of Care International, echoed the criticism. If we want to prioritise coronavirus and saving lives, DfID would be the last bit of money that would be cut. Instead, it looks like being the first, said Mr Lee.

And Simon OConnell, executive director for Mercy Corps, which is fighting the coronavirus in 40 countries, said: This is the worst possible time for critical, quick decision-making and vitally needed funding to be held back by bureaucracy and politics.

DfID faces huge cuts because the UK spends 0.7 per cent of national output on overseas aid, a 14bn pot that will shrink dramatically as the economy contracts by up to 15 per cent this year.

However, crucially, it is understood that only DfIDs funding  the part for the frontline against poverty  is currently being targeted, while the 27 per cent of the aid budget spent by other departments remains intact.

The split would fit with the prime ministers clear hints about his intentions, when he announced DfIDs merger with the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

We give as much aid to Zambia as we do to Ukraine, though the latter is vital for European security, Mr Johnson complained to MPs.

We give 10 times as much aid to Tanzania as we do to the six countries of the western Balkans, who are acutely vulnerable to Russian meddling.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary now in charge of allocations, echoed the shift. Aid is a part of foreign policy, he said, while another cabinet minister called for it to be spent on new royal yachts.

Temwa is among at least 30 smaller charities awarded grants from round four of UK aid direct community partnership funding, which has now been halted.

Recommended Development leaders call on the government to drop its DFID merger

A government consultants letter, seen by The Independent, states: DfID have issued guidance that requires us to temporarily pause signing any Accountable Grant Arrangements until further notice.

Even before the blow of pausing funding, aid groups had been fiercely critical of the UK for failing to rise to the huge challenge of Covid-19 arriving in the worlds poorest countries.

They say a puny sum is being spent on rapid response  just 18m, when very good bids for 200m-plus were received  while smaller groups with ready-to-go programmes were shut out of even those allocations.

Instead, money is being channelled through international donors, which are notoriously slow in delivery, the aid groups say  raising fears the cash will not arrive until the end of the year.

Mr Lee added: There is a concern that money is not getting to the grassroots and to the front line as quickly as it should, if we want to stop the spread of coronavirus.

And, on the future after DfID, he warned: Politically, looking at who is in the ascendency and who is in decline, the merger is going to be used as an opportunity to move money away from poverty reduction.

Stephanie Draper, the chief executive of Bond, which represents more than 400 overseas development organisations, said: With Covid-19 set to push millions of people back into poverty, we urgently need to address the funding shortfalls.

Bonds recent survey found that 83 per cent of the groups believed critical measures  such as providing clean water and basic sanitation, and tackling hunger  remain largely unfunded.

More than half of smaller charities were having to respond to the pandemic without any additional money.

A government spokesperson said: As the PM said, the work of UK aid to reduce poverty will remain central to the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Offices mission.

The government remains committed to the target of spending 0.7 per cent of our national income on aid, which is enshrined in law. Given the expected fall in GNI [gross national income] this year, new commitments of aid spending are being reviewed across all departments.
Seattle Police Department officers surrounding City Hall look toward demonstrators protesting over the death of George Floyd on June 3. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

Even before the killing of George Floyd last month and the current, ongoing protests against systemic racism and police brutality, our letter writers have been willing to criticize law enforcement in ways that mainstream politicians and commentators typically have not. Since Floyd's death and the killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta 18 days later, readers have increasingly taken a much more skeptical view of police work, and their questions have grown more pointed.

This reality was reflected in the reader replies to a letter published Tuesday by retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Cmdr. Charles Heal, who wrote of police feeling "not only hurt but also confused" over exactly what roles the public wants police officers to fulfill. Here are some of those letters.

Kerry Meade of Reseda asks for some empathy:

I agree with the retired L.A. County Sheriff's commander that lawmakers need to do a better job of handling homelessness and mental illness. This doesn't explain why police are killing unarmed black people. Nobody's quality of life improves when there is fear and mistrust of the police. Defunding the police doesn't mean disbanding them.

The commander takes a swipe at those of us demanding reforms, claiming we are emotional and ignorant, then says police always try to do their best, but now are hurt and confused.

He fails to empathize with the families of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Stephon Clark, Philando Castile and so many others.

Mike McNiff of Costa Mesa takes issue with the idea that police are "doing their best":

We all realize being a police officer is difficult and that cops did not sign up to deal with mental illness and homelessness.

I direct readers, though, though, to a video from 2019 that started circulating online in the last few days showing a group of officers in New Mexico opening fire with what appear to be assault rifles on a homeless man who had been resting at a bus stop.

Story continues

The man barely moved, and he certainly did not threaten them. It looked like murder, plain and simple.

So cry me a river about inheriting problems from politicians. Law enforcement is no longer about protecting and serving, as was clearly evident as we watched, over and over, heavily armed police officers brutalize people protesting, well, police brutality.

If that's officers doing their best, then we've failed as a society.

Mike Green of Portland, Ore., gives some advice:

To the retired sheriff's commander, it's not that hard, really: Stop shooting people in their own homes, stop shooting unarmed people in the back, stop attacking peaceful protesters, and stop shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at journalists trying to cover protests.

That would be a great start.

David Pohlod of Oak Park was the lone writer to express support for the letter:

Geez, Charles, you take away emotion and ignorance from the liberals, and you kick out the two main pillars of the Democratic Party. (Great letter.)
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If an election were held today, voters could be ushering in NDP Premier Wab Kinew.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If an election were held today, voters could be ushering in NDP Premier Wab Kinew.

That's the possible outcome, less than a year after the Tories were awarded a second majority government, according to the results of the latest Probe Research-Free Press poll, which was conducted after weeks of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In seat-rich Winnipeg, the poll shows huge support for the NDP amid a sharp decline in popularity for Premier Brian Pallister's government. Provincewide, the two parties have a statistical tie: the Tories have 38 per cent, the NDP has 36 per cent, the Liberals 18 per cent and the Green party has seven per cent.

Even more shocking is that in southwest Winnipeg, the Tories are in third place, with 22 per cent support; the NDP has 40 per cent and the Liberals have 30 per cent.

The poll has additional good news for the Liberal party: in Winnipeg, it is breathing down the neck of the Tory party, with 21 per cent support  only four percentage points behind the governing party.

Scott MacKay, president of Probe Research, said it is a good thing for the Tories that the next election is three years away.

"The trend is not going well for the Tory government this early in its term," MacKay said on Friday. "These numbers are not good."

The numbers show the NDP is very strong in Winnipeg. The party, at 44 per cent, has a commanding 19 per cent lead over the Progressive Conservatives. The Green party is at eight per cent.

The poll reveals the NDP is ahead in every part of the city, except the southeast, where it is still statistically tied with the Tories.

The Tories continued to be bolstered by the party's rural base, with almost six in 10, or 58 per cent, of rural Manitobans favouring the PC party, while 21 per cent support the NDP and 12 per cent the Liberals.

The Tories have more support from older voters, with 47 per cent of people 55 and older favouring them, compared with 28 per cent for the NDP and 20 per cent for the LIberals.

The NDP holds a slight lead over the Tories among younger and middle-aged voters, and a small lead (38 per cent versus 33 per cent) with women. Men support the Tories (42 per cent) over the NDP (33 per cent).

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said Pallister won his first election, in 2016, after a long period of NDP rule, which ended with a cabinet revolt against premier Greg Selinger. Now, after a second victory last fall, voters in Winnipeg have experienced his changes to the health care system and other cuts in his drive to reduce taxes.

"He won't even loosen the purse strings in a crisis," Thomas said.

"He's almost dogmatic in his belief of limited government... If the pandemic and recession have made us more receptive of a positive role of government, it may help the NDP. We see the need for government when we are in a crisis."

Thomas said the Liberals usually benefit from higher support between elections. He questioned whether the party would hold onto that support or increase it, if Pallister retires before the next election.

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, surveyed a random and representative sampling of 1,000 Manitoba adults from June 2 to 11.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Dozens of street artists in Toronto, Canada have blanketed the citys famous Graffiti Alley in shades of black and grey to show solidarity with anti-racism protesters. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 has triggered demonstrations and protests across the world. Floyd, an African American citizen lost his life after a Caucasian police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes, suffocating him to death.

'Paint the City Black'

The project aimed at raising awareness about racial discrimination also features names of Black men and women who lost their lives in 2020. According to reports, the initiative, dubbed as Paint the City Black, saw nearly 40 artists using mainly black and white paint to create murals of George Floyd, Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent Black figures. The event took place at the alleyway, locate between McDougall Lane and Augusta Avenue in the Major Canadian city.

Read: Black Lives Matter Spurs Scrutiny Of Dutch Colonial Past

One of the most prominent murals is that of Floyds face. The painting shows Floyds mouth covered with a blackish grey band on which his last words, I cant breathe are written. Showing his support for the late Floyd, the artist has written, "We can hear you in the backdrop of Floyd's face.

Read: Cornered China's Xi Takes Swipe Amid Black Lives Matter; Pleads Against Covid Politics

Read: 'Black Lives Matter' Painted In Yellow Across Washington Road Now Visible On Google Maps

This comes as the 'Black Lives Matter' street mural on the 16th Street NW can now be seen on Google maps. According to international media reports, the street was painted in huge yellow block letters on June 5 as the anti-racism protestors took to US streets.

George Floyd's tragic death has angered millions across the world. Several protestors also converged outside the White House in Washington shouting "Black Lives Matter" and "I can't breathe". The focus of the protests is the alleged institutional bigotry and consequent brutality in American police forces. Meanwhile, several police squads also joined the protestors in order to express their stand against police brutality and racism.

Read: Selena Gomez Lends Her Instagram To Ruby Bridges Amid Black Lives Matter Movement

Image credits: tom_ograph/instagram
June 20th is World Refugee Day. How do Indians perceive refugees? Who are welcome and who are not? Refugees in times of COVID 19 pandemic? What should be our stance?

The Ipsos global survey shows Indians continue to be benevolent towards those who are victims of war and persecution, with at least 61% Indians approving of such people taking refuge in India or other countries, though there is a 4% drop from 2019 (65%).

How about the regular influx of refugees?

We see hardening of stand with at least 68% of urban Indians polled believing that we should close our borders to refugees entirely as there is no scope for handling more. In fact, there is a 4% increase since 2019, of those endorsing this view.

Why are urban Indians averse to more refugees?

There is a dilemma  Indians empathize with victims of war and persecution but at the same time there is a strong view against influx of regular refugees, because 3 in 4 urban Indians (74%) are highly skeptical of the motives for seeking refuge  there is a feeling, most come for economic reasons or to avail the welfare schemes. This view has further increased since 2019 (70%), said Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India.

Malaysia too strongly (75%) holds this view and is wary of the real motives for seeking refuge. A 14% jump from 2019 (61%).

Russia (74%) and Turkey (72%) too are doubtful of the motives of refugees.

Canada on the contrary is polarized in its perception of refugees  44% are skeptical, while 45% view refugees on face value and are welcoming towards them.

Integration of Refugees

While most markets will view it as a positive trait of how quickly the refugees can integrate themselves with the local market; in India refugees tend to quickly blend themselves with the locals, it is difficult to tell them apart from locals and there is why India is grappling with the mass influx of refugees who have now Indian citizenship using fraudulent means. It is a nightmare for India.

Perceptions on Refugees Post COVID19

Globally, Indians continue to be some of most benevolent towards refugees, post COVID19. 17% want to be more open and accepting, 34% are the same as before and 41% are less open towards more refugees. If we compare it with the global trend, then India is 2nd most kind after Saudi Arabia. Russia is at the bottom of the heap with 2% more open, 18% staying the same and 66% less open. Global citizens too are 10% more open, 30% staying the same and 49% staying less open.

Divided views, but Indians continue to show their benevolent side  at least 1 in 3 Indians (33%) want the government to increase spends in supporting refugees during COVID19. While 32% feel we should continue to spend the same as last year. While 25% will like the govt to curtail the spends.

Notes to editors:

17,997 online adults were interviewed in total and fieldwork was conducted from 22 May - 5 June 2020

In the US, South Africa, Turkey and Canada adults aged 18-74 were interviewed and aged 16-64 in all other countries.

15 of the 26 countries surveyed online generate nationally representative samples in their countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and United States).

Brazil, China, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Serbia, South Africa and Turkey produce a national sample that is more urban & educated, and with higher incomes than their fellow citizens. We refer to these respondents as Upper Deck Consumer Citizens. They are not nationally representative of their country.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the difference appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.1 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 4.5 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

Data are weighted to match the profile of the population
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

Appointment of the Armenian war criminal Samvel Babayan as head of the so-called Security Council of the puppet regime created in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan once again confirms that Armenia is a terrorist state, Azerbaijani political analyst Jeyhun Ahmadli told Trend.

The heroization of war criminals and terrorists is one of the main components of the state policy of Armenia, said Ahmadli.

As for Samvel Babayan specifically, we know him from his war crimes committed during the Karabakh war. Samvel Babayan, who was born in Khankandi district, has been an active participant in the Miatsum separatist movement since 1988, demanding the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan, who spoke earlier with the notorious dictum of Karabakh is Armenia, is still guided by the ideology of the aggressor when choosing the personnel, the political analyst noted.

In the 1990s, Samvel Babayan actively participated in military operations against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He directly supervised the killings of the Azerbaijani civilian population, as well as the military personnel who defended the Azerbaijani land. The appointment of war criminal Samvel Babayan to the high post of the illegal regime once again confirms that Armenia is pursuing a destructive policy that isnt conducive to peace and security in the region, he said.

It once again becomes clear that Armenia has not changed its essence, and behind any step of this country in connection with Nagorno-Karabakh is the task to legitimize the fact of occupation. The aggressor country, which disgraced itself to the whole world with this disgusting intention, must understand that neither the so-called "elections" nor "political activity" in this direction will yield results. The conflict can be resolved only in accordance with international law within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The document adopted by the European Parliament on June 11, 2020, once again proved that the policy of aggression of Armenia is condemned by the entire international community, Ahmadli emphasized.

According to international law, Samvel Babayan must answer to Azerbaijani justice for war crimes committed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and must also appear before the international court, the political scientist said.

Ahmadli stressed that the appointment to a high position in the so-called "NKR" of a person who was involved in the killings of Azerbaijanis, once again shows that the Armenian side is interested in maintaining the status quo in the conflict.
Glenmark Becomes the First Pharmaceutical Company in India to Receive Regulatory Approval for Oral Antiviral Favipiravir, for the Treatment of Mild to Moderate COVID-19 USA - English USA - English

Manufacturing and marketing approval granted as part of accelerated approval process, considering the emergency situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in India

The approval's restricted use entails responsible medication use where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation

Favipiravir shows clinical improvements of up to 88% in COVID-19, with rapid reduction in viral load by 4 days

Clinical improvement noted across age groups 20 to >90 years, including in patients with co-morbid conditions like diabetes and heart disease suffering from mild to moderate COVID-19
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The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing the brutal reality of South African capitalism as thousands of workers become unemployed and the virus spreads rapidly in the townships.

Cyril Ramaphosa [Credit: Tasnim News Agency]

Coronavirus cases are beginning to soar two weeks after the African National Congress (ANC) government of President Cyril Ramaphosa eased its draconian lockdown and ordered a return to work for June 1. More than 84,000 people25 percent of Africas confirmed caseshave now been infected with the virus, which has claimed the lives of almost 1,800 people.

Around 60 percent of those infected are in Western Cape province, with 12 percent of those infected in Khayelitsha, the largest township in Cape Town, despite having just 6 percent of the provinces population. More prosperous neighbourhoods have largely escaped the virus, exposing the rampant inequality that pervades post-Apartheid South Africa.

According to the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis, cases are expected to rise, peaking between early July and August. Some 35,000 to 50,000 South Africans could die from the virus.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned health care workers that the pandemic had not reached its peak, acknowledging an increase since the lockdown was lifted and the need to take precautions to reduce the rate of spread and enable the hospitals to cope. Despite this, hospitals remain terribly ill-equipped as more and more health care workers are lost to quarantine and the virus itself. There have been numerous walkouts at hospitals and health care facilities over the lack of personal protective equipment.

While the two-month-long lockdown slowed the spread of the disease, it exacerbated the already desperate plight of millions of South African workers. South Africas GDP, the largest in Africa, is expected to contract by 7 percent, while government debt was reduced to junk status in April and the rand fell by at least 18 percent against the US dollar. As a result, unemployment could rise to a staggering 50 percent by the end of this year. Unemployment, according to official figures, already stands at 30 percent, under conditions where youth unemployment was already 55 percent before the pandemic.

The 3 million informal workers, including cleaners, street vendors and garbage recyclers, the majority of workers in the townships, villages and countryside, have been unable to stay at home because it would mean they would have no money. They are now facing destitution. Most were already paid no more than $63 a month. For this reason, the security forces were deployed to enforce lockdowns in the poor areas with high-density townships, where higher population numbers and overcrowding made it impossible to isolate.

The Ramaphosa government, like its counterparts around the world, provided little support for small businesses and the self-employed and did nothing to secure wages and the livelihoods of workers. The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) that was supposed to have provided R40 billion ($2.2 billion) in support to laid-off workers made hardly any payments. The governments refusal to deem the UIF an essential service during the lockdown made it impossible for most workers to walk into a UIF office to collect the loan, as it was closed. With many workers without access to the internet, symptomatic of the low-skilled nature of the economy, many were unable to access their loans online.

Agricultural workers are increasingly being threatened with unemployment due to the lockdown. The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa, which lends to both large commercial farmers and smallholders, is struggling to keep afloat after it failed to repay a key creditor. Increased borrowing from farmers as they switched to capital intensive horticulture destined for export markets, and a reduction in its access to funding after its credit score was downgraded to junk status, eroded the banks financial position, even as South Africas credit rating was cut to junk. To avoid a default, the South African Treasury provided $300 million worth of funding.

This comes after farm workers were forced to accept an abysmal 3.8 percent wage increase, raising the minimum wage from R17.97 to R18.68 per hour, instead of the 12.5 percent increase filed by the farm workers union, much lower than workers themselves were demanding. Transvaal Agricultural Union President Louis Meintjes was forced to admit that it was far below the amount requested.

The South African ruling elite is also choosing to sacrifice thousands of airline jobs to keep the profits and the bank accounts of corporations healthy. Funding of the national airline, South African Airways (SAA), has been cut amid increased discussions of privatisation that would mean slashing hundreds of jobs. The unions even made an offer for workers pay to be cut by 49 percent for two months to save the company.

An estimated 4,708 SAA workers did not receive their wages in May. Most staff were put on unpaid absence, as the Ramaphosa government, the unions and management worked together to restructure while seeking to stifle any significant pushback from workers. Pilots are still being forced to fly repatriation flights for South Africans stuck in other countries after restrictions on international travel to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

All this comes as the ANC government mounts a criminal back-to-work drive, a move that has been opposed by municipal workers, bus drivers, metal workers and miners in wildcat actions against unsafe working conditions. At the same time, there have been demonstrations outside US missions in South African cities, condemning the killing of George Floyd by the police.

Plans to reopen schools have met with fierce resistance from parents and teachers over health concerns for children and a lack of adequate protection, forcing the government to postpone several times the reopening from June 1. Despite the governments claim that it was providing 7,000 touchless thermometers, 2.4 million masks and thousands of litres of sanitizer, many schools have been left without protection. According to Times Live, parents and residents in Mpumalanga shut down Mbazima Primary School because it was unsafe, with the school lacking sanitizers, face masks or even soap and water for hand washing. Even after the schools closure, despite promising to clean the school and screen pupils, teachers and other staff members, the schools management failed to do so.

Several other schools have been forcibly shut down by parents because of dilapidated, unsafe, and unhygienic conditions. Many parents were forced to clean schools themselves as the government absolved itself of any responsibility to provide sanitary conditions.

In the Western Cape, 98 teachers have tested positive for the virus and 1,800 children have been infected, forcing 16 schools to close. In the Eastern Cape, 23 schools were forced to close amid reports of 48 suspected cases. Western Cape Minster of Education Debbie Schafer tried to downplay this, saying, 1,537 cases were reported before the schools were reopened, although all the teachers had contracted the disease on returning to the classrooms.

Despite the anger of their members, the education unions responded meekly to the governments request not to disrupt its plans for the reopening of schools. Instead of calling an all-out strike to prevent the schools reopening, they simply urged their members to defy the governments return-to-school order, saying schools did not yet have the PPE needed to keep educators and pupils safe.

Demonstrators gathered outside United States missions in South African cities on June 8 to condemn the killing of George Floyd, whose death in police custody has set off a wave of protests worldwide and ignited a debate about race and injustice.
A day after the All-Party Meeting, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there were no Chinese incursions into the Indian side of Line of Actual Control, the government of India on Saturday came out with a clarification over his statement, stating that it pertained to the situation as a consequence of the skirmish with the Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on June 15, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Read the full text of the clarification here:

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the All-Party Meeting (APM) yesterday.

Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In fact, he specifically emphasized that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC (unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain).

The APM was also informed that this time, Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate. As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions.

The focus of the PMs remarks in the APM discussions were the events of 15 June at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel. Prime Minister paid glowing tributes to the valour and patriotism of our armed forces who repulsed the designs of the Chinese there. The Prime Ministers observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.

The words of Prime Minister Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil, succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces. The Prime Minister further emphasised, I want to assure you, that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders.

What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This Government is strongly and resolutely committed to that. Insofar as there is some illegal occupation, the APM was briefed in great detail how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq.km has been yielded under circumstances with which this country is well aware. It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC.

At a time when our brave soldiers are defending our borders, it is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower their morale. However, the predominant sentiment at the All Party Meeting was of unequivocal support to the Government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.
- Lincoln Biwott moved to the Middle East at a tender age two years after finishing high school and landed a job in Dubai as a promoter

- That did not last long a the company he worked for closed business in Dubai and moved to London forcing him to return home

- He made a second attempt and landed himself another job in the hotel industry but after one year, he fell in with his manager prompting him to quit work

- He then moved to Bahrain where his life changed after landing a job with a telecommunication company in the country

- He started drinking and partying and one night after drinking, he was involved in a road accident

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He was granted a second chance to be a good father and now he oversees his family and also shepherds the church

Getting pregnant for Leenah was a huge crime and she knew she had one choice, to stick by the unborn child's father. Photo: Mercy Chebet.

Source: Original

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Reverend Lincoln Biwott, 37, in his early life, indulged in all manner of drugs and alcohol while abroad before making a turnaround and heading to the pulpit.

Biwott said his transformational moment was when he survived a car crash while in Bahrain where he worked with one of the biggest communication companies.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, the father of three said he lost everything he had earned while in the foreign country due to his previous lavishly life which entailed partying and merry-making.

Biwott who currently serves at ACK church in Eldoret as a priest first visit to Dubai was in 2005 barely two years after completing his secondary education.

While in Dubai, he landed a job as a promoter of pasta and tomato paste after being connected by a Kenyan friend but that did not last long.

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The company made an abrupt halt of its operations and relocated to London. I went to the Kenyan embassy in Dubai seeking their clearance to join the rest of the team in the UK but I did not get approval," said Biwott.

"I came back to Kenya and stayed for a few months before flying back in search of another job in Dubai, he added.

It then dawned on him that due to laws of the land, applying for another job would first require a release letter from the previous employer so that he could secure another job.

This saw him miss out on many chances but later secured an opportunity to move to Bahrain.

Biwott came back to Kenya with literally nothing apart from a few pairs of clothes he owned and had to begin life with Leena who had been blessed with a daughter. Photo: Mercy Chebet

Source: Original

A friend of mine challenged me to go to Bahrain where the initial rule did not apply and that is where I landed on my second job as a restaurant supervisor in a five-star hotel," he said.

"Sadly, differences with the hotel manager made me quit the job one year later, he added.

Two months later he landed on a promoter's job with a telecommunication company. His life changed for the best after proving to the company that he was a key component in their quest for increased sales.

One morning as we were gearing up for our daily promotions. The stage was set, music was playing in the background but I realised nobody was there to pull the crowd," he narrated.

"I picked the microphone and started hyping the crowd to the amazement of the managers who were watching closely, he added.

He was later given a contract deal, a brand new car and a furnished house as a reward for his stunt. This meant that he was to be the main man promoting the company's products.

To Biwott, his old persona changed, every event he made an appearance meant more money for him and that meant more alcohol and partying with his newfound friends.

In 2011, while on his way home driving at 3am after a night of heavy drinking and wild partying, he failed to spot a diversion and terribly crashed with the car getting completely written off.

Biwott said he did not know how he could have come out of that car and all he heard was a sound, he says is of God, telling him he had been granted a chance to make his ways right with the creator.

My life was never the same again. There was this calling to transform. Around this time I had made my girlfriend from Philippines Leena pregnant and she was afraid I would leave her, he narrated.

Getting pregnant for her was a huge crime and she knew her parents could not welcome her back home- she had one choice, to stick by the unborn child's father.

As Leena was pondering on the way forward, Biwott was thinking of escaping the country to return back home because his job contract was binding him from formally leaving.

READ ALSO: Struggling Nyeri couple willing to give away their children for free

Lincoln with Dennis Gicheru a youth leader at St Matthews ACK in Eldoret. Photo: Mercy Chebet

Source: Original

She suspected that I would dodge her and being sharp, she traced my family's contacts, secretly interacted with my sister," said Biwott.

"And when I thought she was flying back to the Philippines I heard she was in Mombasa Kenya. There was no way out, he added.

The departure of Leena, whom he had planned to escape from, not because he did not love her but because he knew he would be unable to provide for her and child back in Kenya made him choose to lose everything and come back to where God had called him to.

My performance began to deteriorate because I was fed up. The management was not happy and sent me to detention for three months with the initial charge of causing an accident,"

READ ALSO: Struggling Nyeri couple willing to give away their children for free

"They later came back with a new contract and pleaded with me to continue promoting their products but I had made up my mind, I wanted to go back to Kenya, Biwott disclosed.

After eight years in the foreign land, he came back to Kenya with literally nothing apart from few pairs of clothes he owned and had to begin life with Leena who had been blessed with a daughter and had put up with his sister in Mombasa.

It was time to pick up the pieces. No career, no money, no reputation and a wife and daughter to take care of, Biwott reminisced.

Hi parents back in their Cheptiret, Uasin Gishu rural home had little to help him.

READ ALSO: Martin Luther King Jr's family celebrates civil rights leader, wife's 67th wedding anniversary

Getting a job at the Coast was not easy. After months of agony I found an opening as a hotel supervisor in Kilifi area which was short-lived following incursions from al-Shabaab that led to the closure of business and dismissal of staff, Biwott added.

Life became unbearable and they moved to the Kisauni area where they were attacked and they lost everything they had saved as a family.

We were not able to raise money for rent. We resorted to cooking queen cakes and selling them at KSh 10, the amount was not enough to sustain us and the only solution was going back to my parents in Cheptiret and tried hands in farming, the preacher said.

His return home ignited mockery from neighbours who warned their children against being close to him and to learn to save and be responsible when going abroad so as not to return home broke like Biwott.

He graduated and was ordained as a priest in charge of young adults, teens and Sunday school at St Matthew's ACK Eldoret . Photo: Mercy Chebet.

Source: Original

We began toiling on the farm and selling vegetables. All this time Leena who was brought up in a richer background had to stay with me in a semi-permanent house," said Biwott.

"At some point, I bought rat poison to take away my life because of mockery, he added.

All along, he wanted to embark on his studies and attempts to apply for a teaching course in most institutions hit a brick wall.

After soul searching, he made up his mind to serve God and applied to join Kapsabet Bible School after consulting with his father and his application was accepted.

READ ALSO: Lord of the Rings veteran actor Sir Ian Holm passes away aged 88

He graduated and was ordained as a priest in charge of young adults, teens and Sunday school at St Matthews ACK Eldoret where he still serves to date.

Biwotts' goal is to continue with studies and focus more on counselling, a step which he says will assist many youths to make good decisions by learning from his experience.

I want to encourage people to continue the tree of their family life by being responsible. Currently cases of domestic violence have spiralled and there is a need for the church to step in and offer direction, he added.

READ ALSO: Lady who got herself 7-bedroom mansion for her 35th birthday gifted land

Besides being a priest, he holds his family to high esteem while educating his kids to pursue righteousness.

He said it was good for men and women to share responsibilities in building up families.

Women are currently empowered. When they encourage and support men to prosper it doesn't mean they are overstepping their mandate," Biwott said.

"My wife gave me another chance to be a good and responsible father and this shows why we need to co-exist so that our generation will have the best to follow from it, he added.

The pastor later lost his father few days to his birthday and eulogised him as a pillar in his life.

Story by Mercy Chebet, TUKO.co.ke correspondent, Uasin Gishu County.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly

Source: TUKO.co.ke
In a hard hitting speech, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday attacked China for its rogue attitude in its neighbourhood, specifically mentioning its recent border attacks against India. The PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the worlds most populous democracy. Its militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes, Pompeo said during an online conference on democracy in Copenhagen, Denmark. During questions he said democracies and freedom-loving peoples of the world needed to come together to tackle China.

Pompeo was careful to focus his criticism on the Chinese Communist Party but unusually cited Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, by name. General Secretary Xi Jinping has green-lighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we havent seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India, he said.

Pompeo spoke a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.

Pompeo said China was responsible for pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns so as to drive a wedge between the US and Europe. The Chinese Communist Party wants to undo the progress the free world has made and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

He claimed Beijing had lied about the coronavirus and let it spread to the rest of the world, while pressuring the WHO to assist its cover-up campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and the global economy has been decimated. China continues to refuse to provide medical information or allow outside scientists.

Pompeo, who recently met Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi in Hawaii, said much of his conversation was about the fundamental idea that were just watching [their] actions. Its no longer enough to listen to what the Chinese Communist Party is saying. We can see their actions. He ticked off a number of them, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, what theyre doing in India, what theyve done in the economic zones along the Philippines and Malaysia and Indonesia and Vietnam, the coercion on Australia.

The US minister warned that Chinas objective is in fact to single out and indeed to threaten to single out more directly individual countries. He called for a collective response from the worlds major countries to what Beijing was doing. America is engaging in a response to Chinese Communist Party and aggression in a way that America has not done for the past 20 years and said this was now a bipartisan position.
New Delhi, June 20 : The government has warned of a major upcoming phishing attack which promises free Covid-19 testing across India. A large-scale cyber attack has been planned by cyber crooks where they may use Covid-19 as bait to steal personal and financial information.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued an advisory warning that the potential phishing attacks could impersonate government agencies, departments and trade bodies. It stated, "Phishing campaign is expected to impersonate government agencies, departments and trade associations who have been tasked to oversee the disbursement of the government fiscal aid." It further said, "Spoofed email ID which could be used for the phishing email is expected to be ncov2019@gov.in." The CERT-In warning advisory added that there would be a phishing email subject line like free Covid-19 testing for all residents of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

"The malicious group claims to have 2 million individual email addresses and the attack campaign is expected to start on June 21," the Indian government stated.

"Such emails are designed to drive recipients towards fake websites where they are deceived into downloading malicious les or entering personal and nancial information," CERT-In said in the latest advisory dated June 19.

"It has been reported that these malicious actors are planning to spoof or create fake email Ids impersonating various authorities," it cautioned.

CERT-In, in its advisory, outlined a list of steps for users to protect themselves, including not opening attachments in unsolicited emails even if it comes from people who are in the contact list.

It has asked users to encrypt and protect their sensitive document to avoid potential leakage. It also urged people to use anti-virus tools, rewalls and filtering services and asked them to report any unusual activity or attack immediately to CERT-In.

The government also issued preventive measures where it stated that not to open or click on attachment in un-solicited email, sms or messages through social media. It further directed to exercise caution in opening attachments, even if the sender appears to be known.

"Beware of email addresses, spelling errors in emails, websites and unfamiliar email senders," stated the advisory, warning every citizen not to submit personal financial details on unfamiliar or unknown websites or links.

"Beware of emails, links providing special offers like Covid-19 testing, aid, winning prize, rewards, cashback offers," the government advisory stated.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

Georgia exported 14,620 tons of wine of fresh grapes to Russia in a total amount of $43.4 million from January through May 2020, which is 2,028 tons less compared to January-May 2019, Trend reports referring to Georgian National Statistics Office (Geostat).

In the reporting period, Georgia exported 45,422 tons of ferroalloys worth $45.3 million to Russia, having decreased the export of ferroalloys by 10,587 tons. Over the same period last year, 56,009 tons of ferroalloy totaling $61.6 million were exported from Georgia to Russia.

Meanwhile, 31,082 tons of natural, mineral and aerated waters not containing added sugar, worth $17.7 million were exported from Georgia to Russia. This is 7,895 tons less compared to the same period of 2019.

During the reporting period, Georgia exported 2,555 tons of spirituous beverages in the amount of $12.2 million to Russia. During January-May 2019, export of spirituous beverages from Georgia to Russia amounted to 2,552 tons totaling $12.2 million.

Russia ranked second in Georgias commodity circulation during the reporting period.

From January through May 2020, the foreign trade turnover between Georgia and Russia exceeded $493.9 million, which comprises 11.7 percent of the total trade turnover of Georgia.

During the reporting period, Georgia exported products worth $157.10 million to the Russian market, which is 12.7 percent of total exports.

Meanwhile, Russian exported products worth $336.88 million to the Georgian market, which is 11.3 percent of total imports to Georgia.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
Ever heard of "shoes are boring, wear sneakers"? Definitely, Kim Go Eun made it possible. As a cop in the well-loved "The King: Eternal Monarch," with a loose style in fashion, she looked attractively cool and snazzy.

Everyone is bound to be fascinated by how the talented Kim Go Eun carries her style whatever role she portrays. In "The King: Eternal Monarch," Lee Min Ho's charm and elegance matched Kim Go Eun's simplicity.

The characters' fashion sense is also an eye-candy throughout the drama, apart from the scenic places and the actors' respective amazing performances. For instance, our pretty Jung Tae Eul captured our attention because of her style!

And admit it, you've certainly noticed way too many times the different, covet-worthy sneakers that she wore in the drama. Let's take a look at Jung Tae Eul's kicks that truly accented her outfits.

Mustard Converse Chuck 70

In a scene in episode 2, Kim Go Eun works hard to find the evidence on a case she handles. While rummaging through the trash, she's spotted sporting a mustard Converse Chuck 70 high-top sneakers. What a delight to our eyes!

Converse Chuck 70

In the latter part of episode 2, Kim Go Eun casually plans to meet her friends, while Lee Min Ho patiently waits for her outside her house. Kim Go Eun donned in chic Converse Chuck 70 Sneakers.

Converse Chuck Taylor Classic

In most of the first set episodes of "The King: Eternal Monarch," the actress shows her work as a detective. She loves to wear Converse with her loose denim jeans to match her high-top blue Chuck Taylor Classic sneakers, completing her street style 'fit.

Classic Vans

The King is ready to show Kim Go Eun his Kingdom Corea and proves to her that a parallel universe exists. He helps her settle on the saddle of Maximus as they are set to travel together. But as we pan our vision to his footwear, she's wearing the classic Vans silhouette!

New Balance

Simple yet elegant, Kim Go Eun dresses in a neutral color trench coat from the Korean brand Recto, while pairing it to a grey scarf and her New Balance sneaks.

Converse One Star

Amid the evocative, tearjerking scene in episode 10, where Kim Go Eun got emotional as Lee Min Ho appears to say how much he loves her before bidding farewell, we noticed that the actress is wearing shoes from the Converse One Star suede collection. The pair has a signature arrow with a star motive, which gives a versatile, stylish look and yet affordable.

Adidas Ozeweego

Also, in episode 10, the part where King Gon shouted, "Protect the future queen of Corea," and rescued Kim, our eyes shifted to Kim Go Eun's Adidas Ozeweego sneaker.

Which of these sneakers is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Spain expects an imminent decision in its talks with the UK on whether to establish a travel corridor to facilitate tourism and avoid imposing a quarantine on travellers, according to a report.

A Spanish foreign ministry source told Reuters on Friday that the two countries are in talks over the prospect of implementing an air bridge.

Amid repeated changes over the past weeks on when and how to open its borders to much-needed foreign tourists, Spain said on Tuesday that it was considering imposing a quarantine on British travellers in response to a similar policy announced by Britain.

Britons account for more than a fifth of the roughly 80 million tourists Spain receives every year, and Madrid had said it would talk with London to try to avoid such a quarantine at both ends.

Spain is willing to be open to the United Kingdom, we are in talks with them about their quarantine. We are in a position to open (our borders to UK tourists) without a quarantine, the foreign ministry source said, adding that he expected a decision before Spain opens its borders to tourists from most European countries, including Britain, on Sunday.

Recommended Everything you need to know about visiting Spain this summer

Britain, with more than 42,000 documented coronavirus-linked deaths, and Spain, with more than 28,000, have been among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Both are easing lockdown restrictions, including border closures.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce on 29 June that agreements have been reached for air bridges with a small number countries with low levels of coronavirus infections, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Countries such as Portugal, Greece and France are all being considered for bilateral agreements which would allow British holidaymakers to fly from July 4 without facing a 14-day quarantine on their arrival or return.

Reuters
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 00:19:45|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Rasuwagadhi-Kerung (Geelong) border point between Nepal and China is likely to reopen within a week after the closure for about five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepali officials said.

It is one of the two main border points for international trade between the two countries. The Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point has remained closed since January. The Tatopani-Zhangmu border point was reopened in late March.

"We have reached an understanding with the Chinese side to reopen the Rasuwagadhi-Geelong border point in the next few days," Navaraj Dhakal, joint secretary at Nepal's Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, told Xinhua on Saturday. "On Thursday, we received a letter from the Chinese side, agreeing to reopen this border point for the movement of goods."

According to the official, once the local authorities of the two countries at the bordering area reach a conclusion on the operational procedure of cross border movement of goods, the border will come into formal operation. "I think the border point will formally be opened within a week."

Nepali officials said the local authorities of both sides will prepare an operational procedure defining how the movement of goods should proceed with minimal human contacts.

"We are in contact with Chinese bordering customs officials," Punya Bikram Khadka, chief customs officer at Rasuwagadhi customs told Xinhua on Saturday. "We hope to hold a meeting with the Chinese side to conclude the procedure of cargo movement across the border in the next one or two days."

Right after the reopening of the border point, Nepal plans to bring back the goods stranded in warehouses in Geelong and other locations of China.

Khadka said the Nepali side has already submitted a list of stranded goods to China, including electronics, machineries, equipment related to solar plants, equipment related to hydropower projects, electrical goods and garments. Enditem
Bengaluru, June 20 : For the first time in six years since the International Day of Yoga began on June 21, 2015, India's tech city is readying to celebrate it on Sunday at home with family, thanks to the Covid-induced ban on public gatherings, an official said on Saturday.

"Unlike in the past five years, when the main event was held at the Kantirava sport stadium opposite the famous Cubbon Park in the city centre, we have advised the people to celebrate the global event at home with family due to the ban on conducting it outdoors," a state health official told IANS here.

The state-run Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences will also celebrate the annual event in the virtual world, with special address by Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Art of Living founder Sri Ravi Shankar, Adichunchana Math guru Nirmalanandanatha and Veerashaiva Lingayatha Panchamasali guru Vachananda.

"State Medical Education Minister S. Sudhakar will inaugurate the event and the university's Vice-Chancellor S. Sachidananda will deliver the welcome speech, which will be streamed live on social media platforms Facebook and Youtube," said the official.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also perform 'asanas' from his official residence in New Delhi, thousands of people from all walks of life across the country will join him with their family in the virtual world as it will be streamed live through all digital platforms and television channels.

"Yoga is good for community, immunity and unity. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, yoga has assumed even greater importance as it helps strengthen the respiratory system," said Modi in a message to mark the occasion.

Ahead of the Yoga Day, the Jindal Naturecure Institute on the city's northern outskirts conducted a 30-minute virtual yoga event for children.

"The event was held in inculcate the holistic way of living in the people during the corona virus pandemic, which has disrupted the outdoor fitness regime," said the Institute's chief yoga officer Rajeev Rajesh in a statement.
Whitey Bulger apparently had huge issues with Jack Nicholson's performance in The Departed (Image by Warner Bros)

A new book on infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger has revealed that the criminal went to see The Departed as a fugitive, and critiqued Jack Nicholsons performance throughout.

Authors Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge told this story to The Hollywood Reporter to mark the release of Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture & Killing of Americas Most Wanted Crime Boss.

Read More: Jack Nicholson has 'basically retired', says his chum Peter Fonda

Bulger was particularly interested in Martin Scorseses Oscar winning gangster film as Nicholsons portrayal of Frank Costello was heavily inspired by his life.

According to Sherman, Bulger was spotted in the movie theater by a Sheriff's deputy who happened to be from Boston. He told us in an interview that Bulger shook his head in disgust many times while watching Jack Nicholson's fictional version of him on the big screen.

Former mob boss and fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger, who was arrested in Santa Monica, California on June 22, 2011 along with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig, is seen in a booking mug photo released to Reuters on August 1, 2011. Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 after receiving a tip from a corrupt FBI agent that federal charges were pending. Greig joined him a short time later and has been charged with harboring Bulger as a fugitive. REUTERS/U.S. Marshals Service/U.S. Department of Justice/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEADSHOT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Bulger was armed and the Sheriff's deputy was not. By the time the cop retrieved his service weapon, Whitey Bulger was gone.

Despite Bulgers criticisms, The Departed went on to be both a critical and financial success for Scorsese, winning four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing

Read More: How Hair and Makeup Artists Transformed Johnny Depp for Black Mass

Clearly Bulger was a hard man to be please, as he was just as critical about Black Mass, the 2015 gangster film that was actually based on his life and criminal antics.

Sherman and Wedge read various letters where he voiced his anger for the filmmakers behind the Whitey biopic Black Mass.

Bulger, who was murdered in prison in 2018 while servicing two consecutive life sentences, had originally refused to cooperate with the production because Depps character ratted out both his friends and gangland rivals.
By PTI

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has set a price cap on coronavirus screening tests in private hospitals and laboratories in the state at Rs 2,200, an order issued on Saturday stated.

Additional Chief Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said the state government has set the maximum rate of RT-PCR screening of infections at Rs 2,200 (inclusive of GST and all other taxes) in NABL recognised and ICMR approved coronavirus infection testing centres in private screening laboratories.

Instructions have been given to ensure that all the necessary protocols are checked by accredited and approved private laboratories from ICMR for coronavirus testing.

Singh said coronavirus screening is being done free of cost in 20 government medical institutions in the state and coronavirus infection is being tested in four private laboratories, NABL accredited and ICMR approved labs.

The additional chief secretary said that upon the instructions of ICMR, the ceiling for screening of COVID-19 in private testing laboratories was fixed at Rs 4,500 per test.

But, the state government has set this rate at Rs 2,200 through the powers vested under Section 4 of the Rajasthan Pandemic Ordinance, 2020, with a view to providing easy and accessible screening facility to the public at low prices.
New Delhi: 26/11 conspirator Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, has been rearrested in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed.

Rana, 59, was serving a 14-year-sentence when he was granted early release from a Los Angeles federal prison on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for the COVID-19. He, however, never made it out of prison.

He was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 following an extradition request by India, where he is a declared fugitive, according to the US prosecutors.

According to PTI, Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian told the court that the Indian government, as per the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 1997, has requested the arrest and detention of Rana with a view towards his extradition.

Lulejian said India has informed the United States that Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to commit murder, in violation of Sections 120B and 302, and murder in violation of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Charges:

According to the federal prosecutors, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, also known as 'Daood Gilani', and others located in Pakistan to assist Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

He is also accused of supporting a plot to carry out an attack on a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons on Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The plot could never be carried out.

Rana was first arrested in Chicago on October 18, 2009. Thereafter he went to trial in the US District court for the Northern District of Illinois where Headley testified for the prosecution.

The jury convicted him of one count of Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to LeT.

The jury, however, acquitted Rana of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India. Harry D Leinenweber, US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Rana to a 168-month prison term.

Rana has also been charged with conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating and conspiracy to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record. He made an initial court appearance on June 11.

On Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the US District Court, Central District of California, scheduled his bond hearing for June 30. His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the federal government's response is due by June 26.
At the Innocence Project of Texas, our mission is to identify and seek exoneration for innocent men and women who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in Texas. We provide first-class legal defense at no cost to our clients, with 27 exonerations so far.

Not surprisingly, most of our clients have been Black men who have often served 20 or more years in prison for a crime they did not commit.

As of April 2020, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees the Texas prison system, held 42,103 Black men in prison. Though Black people represent only 12 percent of the states total population, they account for 34 percent of our states prison population.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department as of May 2020 reports that 40 percent of the children at their detention facilities (including those as young as 13 years old) are Black. Our organization obtained the figures for adults and juveniles through open records requests.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, almost 50 percent of exonerations are of innocent Black men.

While the institutional and systemic racism baked into the criminal justice system starts with the police, it does not end there. Sadly, the prosecutors and the judiciary are all too quick to pick up where the police leave off.

In 1997, Duane Buck was convicted of capital murder in Texas and sentenced to death, as opposed to life in prison. The trial prosecutors literal reasoning to the jury was that Buck, as a Black man, posed a greater threat of future dangerousness than a white man and therefore was more deserving of the death penalty. Sixteen years later, an all-white majority of our Texas Court of Criminal Appeals re-approved the death sentence. The federal district court that reviewed the case also approved it as did the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

It took the United States Supreme Court until 2017 to take exception to the obvious racism invoked by the trial prosecutor and remand Buck for a new sentencing hearing.

While Bucks case was not one of actual innocence, it features many larger lessons about the discriminatory justice system that can be applied to our clients today. In one of our current cases, our client Lydell Grant has been waiting for his exoneration since December of 2019. In a clear-cut case of actual innocence, Grant, a Black man, was misidentified by multiple witnesses with no physical evidence and sent to prison for life. Our organization took his case in 2018 and, through state-of-the-art probabilistic genotyping, proved that he was not the perpetrator. Then, through the national CODIS database, we found the actual perpetrator with a direct DNA match, who confessed to the crime.

In light of this, and with the actual perpetrator now charged, Grants new life should have begun six months ago. The reality, however, is that Grant has not been formally exonerated and remains on a $100,000 bond, because his case is still pending the appellate court final decision. Unfortunately, this sort of unexplained and unjustified delay in exonerating an obviously innocent man is not unusual.

Systemic racism pervades the entire criminal judicial system from the street cop to the judiciary; during the 2021 Texas legislative session, we will keep up the fight on behalf of the wrongfully convicted. In this challenge, we need your help. Our advocacy committee is ready to train anyone who is ready be a part of the needed change and help us take on the police unions, prosecutors and more than a handful of state legislators who oppose needed reforms. Join us and take needed action on behalf of all Texans for true equity and justice.

Ware is the Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Texas. He is an adjunct law professor and was Special Fields Bureau Chief and head of the Conviction Integrity Unit in the Dallas County District Attorney office.
Political parties on Friday backed the government in its efforts to deal with the situation arising out of the killing of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley on June 15, but Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked if there was an intelligence failure on the build-up along the line of actual control (LAC) and sought an assurance from the government that status quo ante will be restored at LAC and China will revert to its original position.

In his closing remarks at an all-party meeting called to discuss the border stand-off with China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that neither has anyone intruded into Indian territory nor anyone taken over any post. However, he said the country is hurt and angry by what Chinese forces have done.

Before Modi's remarks, Gandhi raised several questions about the situation along the LAC. In fact, even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis, she said.

The meeting was attended by leaders of 20 political parties. Apart from Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar; Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee; Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhar Rao; Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin;YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray were among those who attended the meeting.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were also present.

While the Congress has repeatedly urged the government to be transparent about the border situation, Modi had earlier asserted that the sacrifice of Indian soldiers will not go in vain.

Its now crystal clear that -- the Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned, the Government of India was fast asleep and denied the problem and the price was paid by our martyred Jawans (soldiers), former Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted earlier in the day.

He also tagged a report quoting minister of state for defence Shripad Naik, saying the attack was pre-planned by China and Indian forces will give a befitting reply.

We have some specific questions, for the government. On which date did the Chinese troops intrude into our territory in Ladakh? When did the government find out about the Chinese transgressions into our territory? Was it on May 5th, as reported, or earlier? said Sonia Gandhi at the all-party meeting.

Does the government not receive, on a regular basis, satellite pictures of the borders of our country? Did our external intelligence agencies not report any unusual activity along the LAC? Did the military intelligence not alert the government about the intrusion and build-up of forces along the LAC, whether on the Chinese side or on the Indian side? In the governments considered view, was there a failure of intelligence, she further asked.

It was for the first time since 1975 that India suffered combat fatalities in an incident involving Chinese troops during Monday nights seven-hour clash in Galwan Valley. Also, 10 Indian soldiers detained by the Chinese were released after intense negotiations through diplomatic and military channels. China has so far not acknowledged any casualties among its troops.

The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The country would like an assurance that status quo ante would be restored and China will revert back to the original position on LAC, the Congress chief said.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) reacted strongly for not being invited to the meeting.

According to a government functionary, the criteria followed for sending invites to parties was -- all recognised national parties, those with over five MPs in the Lok Sabha, leading parties from the Northeast and parties with Union cabinet ministers.

The Congress president said the all-party meeting should have come sooner and immediately after the government was reportedly informed about the Chinese intrusion on May 5, 2020 into several places in Ladakh .
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A court has shut down live footage of the tense case between Amanda Staveley and Barclays bank that was broadcast for almost two weeks.

A judge has decided that anyone wishing to watch the case must now attend the court in person, prompting appeals from the media.

It is understood that media organisations have contacted the court to raise concerns that cutting the live stream limits the transparency of court proceedings.

Battle: Amanda Staveley is suing Barclays, saying she was denied millions in fees

However, courts are not obliged to live stream cases and journalists can still watch in a separate room at the courthouse.

Financier Staveley is suing Barclays for 1.6billion over claims that she was denied hundreds of millions in fees paid to other investors when she helped to broker a rescue of the bank in the financial crisis.

The footage of the case has led to several dramas. A BBC journalist was criticised for posting screenshots of the case on Twitter, which is against the law.

Barclays' lawyers also had to apologise after they were overheard saying Staveley was 'obviously lying' during evidence.

In the latest twists of the case, the court heard last week that Staveley's investor, Sheikh Mansour, feared he looked 'greedy' if he did not hand over key concessions to Barclays in talks over the 7billion rescue.

Staveley told the court: 'The focus was: do we look like we are being greedy?

'And I said no, I promise you, you will look stupid later on if we agree these concessions. And they were fine about it.'

The case continues.
The Spanish government has unveiled a 4.2bn (3.8bn) aid package that will help the countrys tourism sector recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Spain aims to reopen its borders next week to visitors from the EU, including the UK, after three months of restrictions and closures that have paralysed the industry, leading to an estimated 80bn (72bn) in losses.

The package comes at a crucial time for a sector that accounts for 12 per cent of Spains gross domestic product (GDP).

The initiative, dubbed the Tourism Sector Promotion Plan, will provide airlines with incentives to travel to Spain in an effort to attract the greatest number of international visitors.

Announcing the plan, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said: This is an imperative aid plan for tourism.

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It is of great importance to the image and reputation of our country.

We are a world leader and each step we take will be safe.

Most of the package, about 2.25 billion, is made up of credit guarantees offered by the government for tourism operators.

The plan will be focus on five key areas: consolidating Spain as a safe destination; supporting companies in the sector; improving the competitiveness of the tourism industry; using marketing tools to promote international and domestic tourism; and building tourism intelligence.

The aid package will also include cash transfers to state-controlled airport operator Aena to cut landing fees and other charges. We hope this is going to help bring about the fastest possible recovery of air traffic to our country, Mr Sanchez said.

Recommended Everything you need to know about visiting Spain this summer

Spains tourism industry is heavily reliant on air arrivals, with more than 80 per cent of travellers to the country arriving by plane.

The government will help companies by suspending mortgage payments for up to 12 months and grant aid for health and safety measures and training for workers.

The World Tourism Organisation has welcomed Spains readiness to lead the way in restarting tourism.

Zurab Pololikashvili, the head of the United Nations specialised agency, said: By restarting tourism, and doing so in a responsible manner that protects the most vulnerable while safeguarding jobs and economic growth, Spain can send a strong signal to the rest of the world.

The country has long been a global tourism leader, and I thank President Sanchez for again stepping up and setting an example for other countries to follow.
A day after the all-party meeting in which all national political parties extended their support to the government on the India-China standoff, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday urged the Centre to change its policy to allow soldiers at the borders to open fire in their own defence and for protecting the nation's territorial integrity.

Making it clear that he did not support sending soldiers to the LAC without weapons, Singh said in the seventh edition of his Facebook Live #AskCaptain, that the government's policy should be that "if they kill one of ours, we should kill five of theirs".

It was absolutely wrong to send soldiers unarmed or not to allow them to defend themselves, he said, adding that when he and his Army colleagues used to do patrolling during his posting along the LAC for two years, they carried all kinds of weapons.

"We are in the nuclear era and we are carrying and being beaten by dandas," said Singh, expressing shock at the fact that 20 Indian soldiers, including four from Punjab, had lost their lives in an attack by stick-wielding and stone-pelting Chinese troops who, he asserted, simply could not be trusted.

Lamenting the demise of four Punjabi soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash, Singh said it was extremely unfortunate even though "as army men, we are always prepared to take the bullet".

Besides increasing the compensation for their next of kin from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, his government has decided to name schools after the martyrs, said Singh, adding he had spoken to two of the families so far.

On the issue of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu extending support to China, Singh said he was not only propagating, but was actively involved in promoting separatism and terrorism in India.

Asserting that he would not allow Pannu to succeed in his divisive agenda and disturb the state's peace at any cost, Singh dared the pro-Khalistani propagandist to come to Punjab instead of hiding out in other countries to spread his vicious campaign.
On Friday, June 19, experts found out that there was already a coronavirus spread in Italy, earlier than its first reported case. Two months before Italy's first case in February, the country's health institute studied that there were already virus traces in two of its cities' sewage system. Is this proof that China did not start the virus spread?

Where did Coronavirus started? Italy finds early traces of virus in December

Italy's National Institute of Health (ISS) said this Friday, June 19, that they had found Coronavirus traces in two cities located in Italy, in mid-December.

This was contrary to the date of the first reported positive case in the country. According to the report, Italy's first case was reported in mid-February, two months ago, when the virus traces were found.

"Traces of SARS-Cov-2 have been found in samples of wastewater taken in Milan and Turin on Dec. 18 and in Bologna on Jan. 29," said Giuseppina La Rosa, who led the research for a coming study from the country's ISS National Health Institute. "More traces were detected in other test samples through January and February."

How did they come up with this study?

As explained by the agency, 40 sewage samples were collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between October and February, last year.

Samples that came from October and November came back negative with the virus. Wastewater from Bologna, however, began showing traces of the virus in January.

What does this mean?

If the virus started in Italy in December, does this mean that it originally started in this country? To clarify, it is not.

The Italian government said that the research does not "automatically imply that the main transmission chains that led to the development of the epidemic in our country originated from these very first cases."

However, it mainly explains how the country gets the infectious disease.

This also proves that the collection of waste from the sewage system may bring info to all countries of the exact date of their infections.

Paris recorded positive coronavirus case on December 27, 2019

Since ISS already found out that virus may have been circulating in Italy in mid- December, this supports the idea of Paris discovering a man with pneumonia in late Dec, had coronavirus disease actually.

If Italy records this momentous change, can it mean that other countries may record different Coronavirus findings too?

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Florida Has The Markings Of The Next Coronavirus Epicenter, Expert Says

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
There are fears that crews from foreign ships mingling with Kiwis could be a major weakness in the strategy to keep Covid-19 out of NZ.

Health authorities in Tauranga have moved to plug a "weakness" in the country's maritime border protections which they fear could let Covid-19 slip through.

Crews on foreign ships are allowed to take shore leave - without being tested for Covid-19 - as long as they have served a period of 14 days' isolation. That can include time spent at sea.

Crew from countries such as China and the Philippines have been seen at shops in Mount Maunganui, causing concern for some locals.

They often frequent an Asian food store, where a worker said she was "curious" as to why the crew members were allowed off their boats without tests. She said they mostly wore masks, but it was concerning.

"I keep up the social distancing."

Dr Neil de Wet, a public officer of health with Toi Te Ora, the Bay of Plenty's public health body, said officials had been discussing the potential weakness in the system for the past couple of days and had decided to take action before the Ministry of Health issued further advice.

From Friday, crews on foreign ships would need to return a negative test before they were allowed shore leave.

Because results could take up to 48 hours, many would not be able to disembark before their ship left port.

"We realise it might inconvenience some, but we see this as an issue of national importance ... protecting the health of the public and what New Zealanders have achieved so far is more important."

De Wet said he was not sure what other ports were doing.

"We know the ministry is currently reviewing this and we are really hoping and expecting there will be some advice coming out very soon.

"But we wanted to go on and make sure we are being consistent across the maritime border."

Michael Baker, a professor of public health at the University of Otago, said policy around ships' crews was a "major gap" and a "real weakness".

"Time at sea isn't going to protect [crews] or New Zealand. If they arrive in New Zealand and then are able to leave that ship and mix with local people that is a definite area of weakness.

"It should be obvious to anyone who has the most basic understanding of infectious disease transmission.

"Isolation and quarantine for 14 days on board is fine, but the people have to be separate, they can't be in a large bubble of people.

"If you've got multiple people on a ship, if one of them was incubating the disease, they can infect another person and you can have silent transmission on board the ship ... for many weeks."

Even a Covid test in itself was not sufficient, he said.

"It won't necessarily pick up all infections. Someone coming ashore might be incubating disease and they wouldn't be positive at all, but they could become infectious.

"You have to look at ships in the same way you look at all the other points of entry into New Zealand and apply basic public health principles.

"The authorities who are reviewing their protocols must know this and act accordingly - this is not obscure science here, this is very obvious disease management and risk management."

Ships at the Port of Tauranga. File photo

Sir David Skegg, another Otago University professor, said crew from ships were coming ashore in many cities around New Zealand.

"As with air travel, it is not possible to completely exclude every risk  but I am not convinced that the current protocol is adequate," he said.

"I believe there should be an independent review of all the arrangements for ensuring that COVID-19 is not introduced to New Zealand by marine crew."

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said on Friday afternoon that Covid protocols for marine crew were "under review".

Tony Wall/Stuff
Piramal Enterprises Ltd's pharma solutions business has entered a pact with G&W Laboratories to acquire its solid oral dosage product manufacturing facility in US' Sellersville for over Rs 130 crore. "According to the terms of the agreement, Piramal Enterprises, through one of its affiliates, would acquire... 100 per cent stake in the entity that operates the facility and owns the related real estate," Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS) stated.

This site has received valid certifications from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The latest Sellersville acquisition widens the offering of Piramal Pharma solutions in North America by adding solid oral dosage form capabilities.

Before this acquisition, its capabilities in solid oral dosage forms were located in the UK and India. The PPS statement further reads that the Sellersville plant is also capable of producing liquids, creams and ointments, thus, further expanding the PPS portfolio. Piramal Pharma Solutions CEO Peter DeYoung said, "Many of our customers are looking for US-based manufacturing plants to expand and support their pipeline. This acquisition strengthens our ability to partner with them on best-in-class drug products."

He added that Piramal Pharma solutions now offers solid oral drug product development and commercial manufacturing in all its major markets, thereby, addressing an unmet customer need and emboldening its ability to work with customers on a global scale to reduce the burden of disease on patients.

The company statement also mentioned how the company looks forward to further increasing the site's current strength for support development services and any COVID-19 management drug opportunities.

(With inputs from PTI)

Also read: Glenmark's FabiFlu approved for COVID-19 treatment in India; priced at Rs 103 a tablet
Photo credit: Raydene Salinas Hansen | Getty

From Cosmopolitan

When I first moved to America, June 19 was just, well, June 19. I was 7 years old, and my family had left behind our hometown of Benin City, Nigeria, for the Bronx in New York City.

We have a home video of the very day we landed at John F. Kennedy Airport. It was April 11, 1995my mothers birthday. I was holding my mothers friends hand, my tiny face squeezed from the sun glaring in my eyes. Now and then, she would stop to turn back to see the progress of my other family members; we had two carts full of mixed colored suitcases. And every time she did that, Id stop, too, and look at her. I didnt know anything about this new place, and at that moment, she became my first guide in this foreign land.

Two years later, one Sunday at church, I heard the phrase Freedom Day. I thought it was a religious saying, like something to do with God or people being born again into the faith. For me, as a Nigerian, the holiday of emancipation was October 1the day Nigeria became independent of England.

I asked my Sunday school teacher what those two words meant. Its the day African-Americans were finally free from slavery, he explained.

Juneteenth (a combination of June and nineteenth) is the day that recognizes and celebrates the end of slavery. Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but it took another two years for all enslaved people to be free. The day is celebrated with jubilant cookouts and parades across the country.



Now, on this 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, Ive been in the U.S. for 25 years, and I find myself thinking about some of the Black women in history who helped guide and form my Black identity in America.



The first time I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, I was 13, about to begin my freshman year in high school. For the first time since immigrating to America, I felt American: I had picked up on what I thought were words that made me sound like everyone else. My favorite was punctuating every sentence with Yo! (My brothers, BTW, never let me forget this.) Id also become engrossed with popular cultures ideals of beauty (skinny and white), starving and squeezing my developing body into the latest skintight jeans.



Story continues

All of thisdepriving myself of food, like my moms jollof rice (a popular Nigerian cuisine), learning the latest slanghelped me feel part of the Black culture I was trying to assume while also adjusting to a sea of white.



There are so many memorable parts of that book, but when Angelou wrote:

The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate, and Black lack of power

thats when it began to dawn on me what I was up against in this country.

That as a Black woman, it would be that much harder to be seen and understood. Through her words, I would learn to embrace my Blackness, especially as a woman, and to resist racial inferiority complexes and to adopt resilience in a country where I was now the other.



My mother raised me to see America as the land of opportunity, where if I worked diligently and behaved impeccably, success would follow. I quickly realized, with the stares Id get as the only person who looked like me in college classrooms and later in office conference rooms, that this intentional approach to attaining my piece of America made me no more immune from discrimination.

It was in my junior year of high school that I discovered activist and journalist Ida B. Wells unremitting campaign to end lynching at the risk of her own life, during an assignment for my AP history class. The way she amplified the voices of Black men and women through her words became critical in crafting my understanding of the Black American plight in this country. And today, the parallels between police brutality and the lynching mentality Wells articulated remains resonate.

For some time, I was afraid of being the other, having never been that before. Wells boldness pushed me to be unrelenting in finding and using my voice as a Black woman in white America. When I finally made it to the corporate world, people (some who looked like me, but mostly those who didnt) would pull me aside to tell me to take it down a few notches in meetings. Or tell me I shouldnt disagree with the (white) boss. But I always stayed the course remembering the words of Wells:

The way to right wrongs is to run the light of truth upon them.

When I was doing a six-month internship with General Electric as part of my undergraduate business degree, I had to live in Cleveland. I was given a car and lived in the nice part of town. One day, I was pulled over by a white police officer because I was going three miles over the speed limit in a residential area. After the encounter, I called my mom crying. I was so angry and frustrated because this was not the first time I was pulled over for something so trivial. She told me, I cant wait for you to leave that place! Neither could I.

It was around this time, out of pain and frustration, that I discovered political activist and scholar Angela Daviss anti-racist concept that solidified my grasp of racial tensions in America. Its Daviss most piercing words that many keep reciting in the wake of senseless police brutality and modern-day lynchings:

In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.

Ive seen that powerful call vibrate in todays drumming fight for equality. In her 2016 reprinted book Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement, Davis writes:

Progressive struggleswhether they are focused on racism, repression, poverty, or other issuesare doomed to fail if they do not also attempt to develop a consciousness of the insidious promotion of capitalist individualism.

To illustrate this point, she uses Darren Wilson, the white police officer who murdered Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as an examplesaying even if he were convicted, that alone wouldnt end the systemic racist violence against Black people.

That helps me reconcile the anger and urgency I feel. As I revisit their words, I find myself becoming more intentional about journaling and putting self-care at the top of all that I do because as Angelou says:

Nothing will work unless you do.

I went for my first run in months this week, instead of lying in bed rummaging through my thoughts. As I continue to growor try to, anywayin the face of pain, sadness, and mourning centuries of senseless mistreatments and brutal deaths, Im reminded of these brave women.

They taught me that Black Americans have long engaged with America as a land of oppression, a result of multigenerational white dominance in a society that made non-whites second-class citizens. That white is synonymous to power, as Black is to poverty. And although America may mean different things to the Black immigrant and the Black American and we are taught to engage with it differently, we all wear the same skin. Were all just Black. And in America, to be Black is to suffer.

In 2020, the suffering continues. Since the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many others and the uproar that has followed, I cant help but wonder where well go from here. But Ive seen a glimpse of what real change looks like: Police officers are beginning to slowly, finally, be held accountable. Theres a call to redirect police departments swollen budgets to bolster social programs in underserved communities. Newsrooms are amplifying Black voices. Black-owned businesses are drawing more support. This is only the beginning.



Women responding to racism means women responding to anger, writes poet Audre Lorde. Anger of exclusion, of unquestioned privilege, of racial distortions, of silence, ill-use, stereotyping, defensiveness, misnaming, betrayal, and co-optation.

I feel those words more now than I ever understood before, because thats where I find myself.

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Planned Parenthood endorses Joe Biden, plans to triple spending for Democrats in 2020

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The political fundraising arm of Americas largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president as the organization and its partner groups have vowed to triple their spending in the 2020 election cycle.

This election is a fight for our countrys very survival, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Acting President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

We have seen the Trump administration dehumanize us, and disregard our health, our rights, and our lives. Trump has attacked access to abortion and reproductive health care, and he has attacked the people that Planned Parenthood health centers serve: women, black people, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and more, she claimed.

According to Johnson, Biden is the only candidate left in the race who will stand up for abortion at a time when the Trump administration has enacted policies that limit government funding for organizations that provide abortions domestically and overseas.

Last year, various state governments enacted pro-life laws designed to restrict abortion past certain points of pregnancy. As many as 58 life-affirming laws were passed and signed into law across 22 states.

A pro-life law in Louisiana requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals is being considered by the Supreme Court this year. It's the first abortion-related case to be argued before the Supreme Court since the confirmations of Trump appointees Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

[Biden] was instrumental in the creation of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded birth control with no co-pay to 63 million women, and in helping to ensure that sexual and reproductive health care was accessible across the country, Johnson said. Biden has committed to champion access to sexual and reproductive health care  including access to abortion  and to fight for our communities.

Biden had a 100% voting record from Planned Parenthood before he left the Senate in 2009 to become vice president under President Barack Obama.

As a candidate, Biden has vowed to expand access to contraception and protect abortion rights, including with his judicial nominations.

According to Planned Parenthood, Biden has also vowed to reverse policies enacted by the Trump administration and some states relating to abortion.

Such policies include Trumps Title X rule that prevents clinics that receive Title X family planning funding from referring patients for abortion. The rule led to Planned Parenthoods decision to leave the Title X program, which provides funding for contraceptives, cancer screenings, STD testing and other health care services for low-income patients.

Planned Parenthood has labeled the policy a gag rule.

Planned Parenthood is also opposed to a policy enacted by Trump in 2017  what it calls a "global gag rule"  prohibiting taxpayer funding from going to organizations that perform abortions overseas.

Donald Trump is dangerous. We must do everything we can to get him out of office this November, Johnson argued. "This election we have a choice  between Donald Trump, whose incompetence and disregard for the law are a danger to us all, and Joe Biden, who is committed to fighting for reproductive health and rights for all.

In 2016, Planned Parenthood Action made its first-ever presidential endorsement when it endorsed Democrat nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Some believe that Clintons support for late-term abortion up to birth hurt her in the election. Trumps pro-life supporters say that a defining moment of the election came in October 2016 when Trump and Clinton debated late-term abortion and the Republican nominee went on to describe what a late-term abortion entails. Meanwhile, Clinton defended her position that the government should allow abortion during the last days of pregnancy just before birth.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden has shifted his views on abortion, as he no longer supports the Hyde Amendment, a law that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to support abortion.

In the past, Biden, a Catholic, has said he believes that life begins at conception but doesnt want to impose his view on others who might not feel the same way. Last October, Biden was denied communion at a South Carolina church over his stance on abortion.

The denial of communion came after Biden publicly opposed a proposal to outlaw abortions in South Carolina after six weeks of pregnancy, including in cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood's endorsement of Biden comes as its advocacy and political organizations announced they will spend $45 million in key battleground states during the 2020 election.

In January, Planned Parenthood Votes launched its We Decide 2020 campaign, a people-powered electoral program to elect champions for reproductive rights up and down the ballot in 2020.

Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations around the country will be mobilizing 15 million Planned Parenthood supporters to help people get involved and build on their power for the upcoming election, a statement from Planned Parenthood Action reads. Planned Parenthood Action Fund also plans to mobilize over half a million Action Fund members this election to volunteer for and elect our endorsed candidates including Vice President Joe Biden.

In the 2016 election, Planned Parenthoods affiliated political groups spent just under $15 million on federal elections.

Susan B. Anthony List, an influential advocacy group that opposes abortion, and its political action committee, Women Speak Out PAC, have budgeted over $52 million toward a grassroots campaign to inspire Americans to vote based on pro-life values in 2020.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, SBA List pledged to make 4 million visits to voters in battleground states. But since the pandemic has limited the ability for canvassers to have face-to-face interactions, SBA List workers have reached out to voters by phone.

SBA List Vice President of Communications Mallory Quigley told The Christian Post in a recent interview that the SBA List is optimistic it will hit its fundraising goal for 2020. She said SBA List has not seen a drop in donations even though the pandemic has pushed many people out of work.

When the coronavirus hit and the states started closing down, out of concern for not only our canvassers, we suspended door-to-door canvassing and immediately switched everyone over to the phone calls, Quigley said. We have been making direct voter phone calls for [about three] months. We wanted to keep the canvassers active during this time so that we can immediately relaunch as it is safe to do so.

She said that SBA List workers have spoken with hundreds of thousands of people in six states over the phone. While the organization has field offices set up in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina, Quigley said the organization is hiring for field directors and canvassers in Michigan, Montana, and Pennsylvania.

Canvassers, she said, visited over 800,000 voters before suspending field operations.

In 2016, SBA List canvassers canvassed 1.1 million homes and 2.7 million in 2018. Compared to past election cycles, Quigley said voters have been more eager to talk over the phone.

Nothing compares to a face-to-face conversation. This is a difficult issue and a very personal issue, she said. Since 2014, I have gone canvassing with the team. Because our field team is passionate about the pro-life issue, it is more than just a political conversation happening at the door.
Then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a news conference in 2015. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

To the editor: Almost anyone would be better as president than Donald Trump, whose inept management has led to our current public health crisis and economic recession. But as a nurse practitioner, I question columnist Jonah Goldberg's belief that Vice President Mike Pence would have handled the pandemic better if Trump had been removed from office.

As governor of Indiana, Pence's handling of an HIV outbreak in 2015 caused the small city of Austin to have a higher incidence of infection than any country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Pence has falsely said that coronavirus spikes are due solely to a rise in testing. He has also denied there will be a "second wave" of COVID-19 infections. We are not even out of the first wave, and in August the number of cases will likely increase.

Who should be handling the pandemic? Public health officials in the federal government. Neither Trump nor Pence have shown any ability to handle this pandemic since they were warned about it  urgently and repeatedly  in January.

Jacqueline Ficht, South Pasadena

..

To the editor: During all this turmoil it would seem like anyone would be a better president than Trump. While this pandemic rages on, it is clear that the citizens of the country desire and require a calm, compassionate leader.

What Goldberg seems to forget while considering Pence for his "quiet, assured and reassuring, professionalism" is his horrendous handling of the HIV outbreak in Indiana during his time as governor. He compounded the problem with his denial and disregard, something Pence seems to be good at.

While Trump is a walking disaster, it says a lot about where we currently stand that a reasonable person would consider such an awful and ineffective elected official like Pence to be "better." Death by fire and death by drowning are both still death.

Kyle Thomas, Hollywood




 Flash

The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the fired commander of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will not be reinstated.

"I will not re-assign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command," Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday told reporters at the Pentagon.

Crozier was removed from his post in early April after an internal letter he wrote pleading for help with the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the media.

DECISION NOT TO REINSTATE

A preliminary probe by the Navy recommended that Crozier be reinstated but Gilday said he has changed his mind after what he called a "much broader, deeper investigation."

"Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made the recommendation to re-instate Captain Crozier," Gilday said. "Moreover, if Captain Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him."

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair," and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweeted.

Crozier, in his letter, warned at that time of dire consequences if the outbreak on the ship was not handled quickly.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors."

Crozier was swiftly fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who himself resigned later after his remarks lashing out at the captain backfired.

Hundreds of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew gathered to applaud and cheer Crozier's name when he left the ship, video on social media showed.

The aircraft carrier had been docked in Guam for two months and more than 1,000 sailors were reported to have infected with the novel coronavirus. One sailor died from it.

The report of the Navy's wider investigation claimed Crozier did not quickly or forcefully enough "execute the best possible and available plan," to protect sailors from the illness.

"When faced with barriers ... Capt. Crozier waited for others to act rather than doing what we expect of our commanding officers -- to take immediate and appropriate action and to drive outcomes," the report stated.

MORE PROBES

The Democrat-led House Armed Services Committee will conduct its own investigation into the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, its chairman announced on Friday.

"The severity of the COVID-19 spread on the Roosevelt, coupled with the fact that it was the first major outbreak DoD (Department of Defense) faced, warranted thorough investigation. The findings in the Navy's extended investigation make it clear that the Navy did not respond the way they should have, or as quickly as they should have, to adequately address the outbreak," Chairman Adam Smith said in a statement.

"The Department's civilian leadership portrayed Captain Crozier's decision-making aboard the Roosevelt as the critical weakness in the Navy's response, but the truth is that civilian leadership was also to blame," Smith said.

"In order to better understand the full range of mistakes that were made throughout the entire chain of command, the House Armed Services Committee has launched an investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Roosevelt," he added.

Mac Thornberry, the Republican ranking member of the House panel, said in a statement that it "is clear that there are lessons to be learned and improvements that must be made."

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, tweeted that he will "carefully review the Navy's report, but their verdict now seems to apply a retroactive standard & after-the-fact procedures to justify CAPT Crozier's firing."

"Barring any new evidence, it still seems that CAPT Crozier's removal was retaliation for rightly raising concerns about the safety of his sailors," Blumenthal added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 00:16:11|Editor: huaxia

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SINGAPORE, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will remain committed to the free flow of goods, services, capital, data, ideas and talent, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat Saturday evening.

He made the remarks while outlining three ways that the government will help businesses and workers thrive in the post-COVID world.

"In a more fractious post-COVID world, whatever the rest of the world does, we will persist to finding new links to enable these flows, especially in connecting critical supply lines around the world.

Singapore must always remain an open, trading nation, he said, adding that "we are finished if we close up."

Second, Singapore must continue to invest in its infrastructure even if it means delaying some projects, he said.

It is important because "such projects keep us connected to the world, makes travelling within Singapore faster and more pleasant, and gives us all beautiful homes", he noted.

Thirdly, Singapore must continue to invest in research and innovation to sharpen its competitiveness.

Heng announced that as Singapore finalizes its R&D plan for the next five years, 20 billion Singapore dollars (about 14 billion U.S. dollars ) will be set aside to support basic and applied research in high impact areas, such as health and biomedical sciences, climate change, and artificial intelligence.

Heng is the last speaker in the six national broadcasts on Singapore's future after COVID-19.

According to him, the most urgent task now is jobs, and the government is trying hard to preserve current jobs and creating as many new jobs as possible.

The National Jobs Council has started work to oversee the creation of 100,000 jobs and training opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, he said.

He said that Singapore will not only overcome this crisis, but will emerge from it stronger as an economy, as a society and as a people. Enditem
After the Corona onset at the meat producer toennies must Wiedenbruck, all of the employees at the location in Rheda-in quarantine. The concern of the administration, the Management and the top management of the group, informed the district of Gutersloh.

Some employees can quarantine the information, but in so-called Work. This means that you may only move between work and place of residence. This is also true for Clemens Tonnies, Director of Germany's largest Slaughterhouse Tonnies, as a group, the spokesman of the German press Agency said. Thus, the 64-Year-old on the penultimate round of the Bundesliga is not allowed into the stadium. Tonnies is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at FC Schalke 04. The Gelsenkirchen to play on Saturday against VfL Wolfsburg.

Also on Saturday, the district of Gutersloh wants to inform in a press conference about the help of the armed forces, the series of testing the employees of Tonnies on Corona. Meanwhile, the crisis staff requested further support on how to the circle had on Friday night informed. 20 experts of the Bundeswehr is to support the district in the area of contact management. Here are the contacts of Infected to be tracked.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 10:19
Washington, June 20 (IANS) Involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Canadian businessman and former Pakistan army doctor, Tahawwur Hussain Rana has been re-arrested by the US in Los Angeles on request of the Indian authorities. Rana(59) linked to Pakistan's spy agency ISI, was recently released from jail when he was found suffering from COVID-19 infection. On June 10, Rana, a co-accused with another ISI operative David Coleman Headley, was picked up by the police in LA, re-arrested and sent to jail.

Assistant US Attorney John J. Lulejian revealed to the court that the Indian government, as per the Extradition Treaty signed between the US and India in 1997, requested for the re-arrest of Tahawwur Rana, involved in the Mumbai attacks in 2008, in which more than 166 people were killed by a Pakistan based terror outfit. The Assistant US Attorney also said that India has informed that Tahawwur Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to execute a sensational murder.

Earlier in 2018, a National Investigation Agency(NIA) team from India was in the US to seek the extradition of Rana, who co-conspired with Headley to help in the execution of the Mumbai attacks a decade ago, in which 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba held the city hostage for three days as they killed more than 166 people and seriously injured 100 others.

Rana was convicted in the US in 2013 and ordered to serve a 14-year prison term. According to his record in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, the terrorist was serving his sentence at San Pedro, California. Tahawwur Rana was due for his release in 2021, after serving nine years in prison.

Meanwhile on Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the District Court, California, scheduled his hearing for June 30. His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the US government's response is due by June 26. Assistant US Attorney Lulejian said that the offences for which Rana's arrest warrant was issued were covered by the Extradition Treaty.

As per dossier of the Indian agencies Tahawwur Rana was born in Chichawatni in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Rana attained his medical degree from the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, a military residential college in Pakistan. In this college, he met Headley, who became a major ISI operative. A physician by profession, Rana served as a captain general duty practitioner in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps. Rana and his wife, who is also a physician, immigrated to Canada in 1997, and obtained Canadian citizenship in June 2001. The couple lived primarily in Chicago and owns several businesses including an immigration service agency.

--IANS

ds/dpb
Ukrainian farmers to enjoy preferential terms for farmland acquisition

21:30, 20.06.20 1058

On the occasion of Farmer's Day, President Zelensky emphasized that without land reform, Ukraine would have no chance to become Europe's breadbasket again.
Arbitrary and capricious  those were the words Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used Thursday to describe the Trump administrations reasoning to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Given the proclivity of the Supreme Court to support President Donald Trumps controversial policies, it comes as a major surprise  the second one in as many weeks  that the court decided against terminating DACA. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court eased the turmoil and uncertainty that 700,000 DACA recipients  the DACAmented  have endured since Trump decided three years ago to end the program. The Supreme Court ruling came three days after DACAs eighth anniversary.

In its decision, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration used arbitrary and capricious reasoning to defend its actions to terminate DACA. In particular, the court called attention to the Department of Homeland Security coming up with its reasoning nine months after Trump made the decision to do away with the program.

As such, there are similarities to the Trump administrations thinking when it tried, unsuccessfully, to prove to the Supreme Court that its decision to insert the citizenship question in the 2020 census was well-thought-out and reasonable. In both cases, shoddy after-the-fact rationale.

This is not only a major victory for the DACAmented, but also for the country. DACA recipients were brought to the United States as children  many of them dont even remember the lands from where they originated. While far from the ideal of creating a path to citizenship, DACA protected the DACAmented from deportation and authorized them to continue their studies and to work.

For many DACA recipients, this was the first time they could exist without fear of being apprehended and deported. It also allowed them to work overtly, rather than in the shadows of the economy. DACA opened slightly the door to the opportunity structure for youth who had graduated from high school and found themselves blocked from prosperity in the only country they recognized as home. Terminating the program would erase the security and possibilities that DACA provided.

Not only did DACA recipients benefit from the program, but so, too, did the country. Before the establishment of DACA, the nation was essentially jettisoning the energy, the human capital and the skills that Dreamers bring, not to mention the additional taxes that higher wages generate when people can work with proper authorization. Indeed, the nation has invested in the education of undocumented youth in its public schools yet erected major barriers to keep them unauthorized to work, thus limiting the benefits the country can reap from its investments.

Trump is a businessman, though, as some would argue, not a very successful one. He should know that with his decision to end DACA, he is throwing money away. As he has done with the border wall, his deportation machine, his separation of immigrant children from their parents, and related efforts, he used DACA to feed the anti-immigrant whims of his rabid supporters and its recipients as a bargaining chip to gain resources for his hideous wall.

The American public has been much more supportive of DACA recipients and, more widely, those who also arrived at a young age but did not meet the requirements of the DACA program. Just a day before the Supreme Court ruling, the Pew Research Center released a report showing three-fourths of adults in the country support a law that would grant legal status to people brought to the U.S. as unauthorized immigrants when they were young. While the support is highest among Democrats (91 percent) and Latinos (88 percent), a majority of Republicans (54 percent) and whites (69 percent) also favor this legislation.

Let us see what happens in November. Major Democrat victories over Trump and many of his allies who are up for re-election could alter the political landscape for passing immigration reform that includes the DACAmented but also wider segments of the undocumented community.

Rogelio Saenz is a professor in the Department of Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has charged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to set necessary guidelines to regulate the conduct of political rallies and elections in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaging the country, as political parties ready to hold primary elections in Edo State.

The governor made the submission when he received the Director General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, at Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Mr Obaseki urged the NCDC to support the state in developing a framework to check the spread of the virus as political parties hold their primary elections. Nigeria, since the index case in February, has recorded 19, 147 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 487 deaths in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Constitutionally, we need to have an election. Electioneering has always been done in a certain way over the years. How do we, in the light of COVID-19 as a state, control the spread of this virus? How do we balance the political exigencies with our public health reality? We expect to get guidance from you as we cannot be totally apolitical. We need third parties to be able to authenticate public health messages that need to be observed during this period, he said.

The governor expressed appreciation to the NCDC and other stakeholders for the support to the state in the wake of the pandemic, noting, We understand the pressures you are facing in terms of the national response and therefore, as much as possible, we try to play our own little part and not add to the pressures.

He said the state governments response is based on key strategic pillars, which include a strong governance framework. I want to thank you. You have been a resource pool in terms of our response. We have used your guidelines and models in establishing our governance framework with the various pillars. We have also integrated the incidence management framework which you have provided. We have developed the required human capital, facilities, and the logistics support to move people around the place. We couldnt have done these without the knowledge and support from you.

On his part, Mr Ihekweazu said the state government has performed creditably well in the management of the pandemic in the state, noting, There have been a number of infectious diseases challenges around here, but it is not the challenges that have brought me, but the response to it. Your Excellency, you have really worked with your team across the board to confront those challenges and work for our people.

I am really proud to be here and I have attended a number of online sessions with you. When you invited me to attend the last Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) meeting, I thought it was just to do a ceremonial five minutes appearance and leave, but when I saw you chairing the EOC for two hours, it became difficult for me to leave. It does show the level of personal involvement and time you have taken in your response and it shows the kind of leadership the new Nigeria requires to move forward especially when we have complex problems like this.

He added that the NCDC, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) is going round a few states for fact-finding and to understand the challenges and opportunities in checking the spread of the virus, so as to provide needed strategic support.

Elections are scheduled to take place in Edo State on September 19, while primaries of the varying parties would be held at earlier dates.
Public establishments should be responsible for observing anti-epidemic measures by visitors, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"If the institutions do not ensure that people are masked, that distance, security measures are maintained, they should take responsibility for this. Public places must meet epidemiological requirements during quarantine," Zelensky emphasized at a conference call to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov at the meeting emphasized that he plans to visit Lviv and Zakarpattia regions, which are the leaders in the number of infected people. He also specified that Zakarpattia region may have to return to more stringent restrictions. Stepanov plans to study the situation in the region and listen to proposals from local authorities.

Next week, intensified inspections of public food and transport institutions will begin to comply with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov reported that more than 2,500 inspections of public transport were completed. Some 703 violations were identified due to non-compliance with security measures, vehicle malfunctions and problems with licenses. Violators are fined nearly UAH 2 million.

Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna noted that next week, as the president insisted, insurance payments will begin for families of doctors who died due to COVID-19 coronavirus infection.
The scheme was launched weeks after lakhs of migrant workers returned to their home states following loss of employment in urban centres due to the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an employment scheme with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore for migrant workers who returned to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Launching the scheme, Modi said during the nationwide lockdown, the talent from cities returned to villages and it will now give a boost to development of rural areas.

The 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan' will be implemented on a mission mode in 125 days in 116 districts of six states  Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha  that received the maximum numbers of migrant workers back.

It will help expedite implementation of 25 public infrastructure works and those related to augmentation of livelihood opportunities. These 25 works are related to rural housing for the poor, plantations, provision of drinking water through Jal Jeevan Mission, and construction of panchayat bhavans, community toilets, rural mandis, rural roads, cattle sheds and anganwadi bhavans, according to the Ministry of Rural Development, which is the nodal ministry for the project.

The scheme was launched weeks after lakhs of migrant workers returned to their home states following loss of employment in urban centres due to the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Under the scheme, the basket of a wide variety of works will ensure that each migrant worker is able to get an opportunity of employment according to his skill in the coming 125 days, it said, adding that the programme will also prepare for expansion and development of livelihoods over a longer term.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said there are some people who may not appreciate efforts of villagers in the fight against the novel coronavirus but he applauds them for their efforts. The way villages have fought coronavirus has taught a big lesson to the cities, he added.

Talent has returned from cities during the lockdown, those whose labour and skills were behind the rapid growth of cities will now boost development of villages with the help of this scheme, he said.

Underlining that migrant workers were always in the Centre's thoughts during the lockdown, the prime minister said it is an endeavour of his government that workers get jobs near their home and help in development of villages.

Talking about infrastructure development of villages with the help of this scheme, Modi said that for the first time the Internet was being used more in villages than in cities and now work to increase the speed of the Internet was being undertaken. This scheme will focus on durable rural infrastructure and providing modern facilities like Internet in the villages, he said.

The Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan was launched by Modi via video conference in a village in Khagaria district of Bihar in the presence of the chief ministers of five states  Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand  and a minister from Odisha.

The mission will be a convergent effort between 12 different ministries/ departments such as Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport and Highways, Mines, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom, and Agriculture.

The prime minister said he got the idea for the scheme from a group of migrant workers, trained in white washing, who repaired and painted a government school in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh as a thank you gesture. The school was their quarantine centre.

Before launching the scheme, Modi spoke to several migrants and enquired their current state of employment and also whether the various welfare schemes launched during the lockdown period were available to them. Modi said that earlier money used to be given in the name of beneficiaries but it never reached them. Now things have changed, he said.

In the beginning of his speech, Modi paid homage to the soldiers of the Bihar Regiment who lost their lives in a violent clash with Chinese troops at LAC in eastern Ladakh. A total of 25,000 "returnee" migrant workers across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have been chosen for the campaign.

Officials said the Garib Kalyan Rozgyar Abhiyan is separate from the MGNREGS. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) ensures 100 days of employment per household in a year.

MGNREGS is applicable across the country and a large number of works are allowed under the scheme even working on own farms by small Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe farmers is allowed and government pay wages to them.

Whereas the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana is a one-time scheme for providing employment to migrant workers who returned during the lockdown near their villages. This scheme is only applicable to 116 districts with a selected list of works initially for 125 days. Later it could be extended, the officials said.

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said he has convened an all-party meeting on June 24 to evolve a consensus on the central government's agriculture-related ordinances.

Singh said they were "totally unacceptable" to the state as they were "against the farmers' interests" and could spell the end of the minimum support price (MSP) regime.

Describing the ordinances as a "precursor to the end of the MSP regime", which the government of India was "clearly aiming to do", the chief minister said that based on the meeting consensus, a letter would be sent to the central government demanding immediate rollback of the ordinances.

During his 'AskCaptain' Facebook Live programme, the chief minister called for an urgent review of the "anti-farmer" ordinances issued by the central government.

He expressed the confidence that all parties of Punjab were one in the rejection of these ordinances, which could not only "pave the way for ending the MSP support to farmers but also render the Mandi Boards ineffective".

The chief minister said the union government's move to end the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) monopoly through an ordinance, will result in huge losses to the Mandi Board, which currently earns Rs 3,500 crore to 3,600 crore annually in the form of market fee and rural development fund (RDF).

He said, "Any decline in these collections would adversely affect development in rural areas as this money is spent by the board for improvement of roads, link roads and other infrastructure projects, aimed at improving the lives of Punjab's farmers."

Informing about the all-party meeting, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar earlier said, "Views of all the parties will be taken to arrive at the consensus that these ordinances were against the interest of the farming community and we should approach the Centre and the prime minister over this issue".

He said farming communities were up against this 'Kala Kanoon' (black law) and they have vehemently opposed these ordinances.

"Under these laws, the efforts are being made to hand over the rights of farmers to the multinationals and big corporates," he alleged and expressed fear that the Narendra Modi government had decided to "disband" the MSP mechanism with these ordinances under a "planned move."

The Centre recently passed three ordinances -- the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance.

The Centre had said these would transform the farm sector and help raise farmers' income.

However, the Congress government in Punjab had said these ordinances were completely against farmers and would badly hit the agrarian state.

The chief minister has already appealed to Prime Minister Modi to review three ordinances and also warned that it could pave the way for "disbanding the MSP regime" as well as the foodgrain procurement regime, "triggering unrest among the state's farmers".

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 allows barrier-free trade in agriculture produce outside the notified APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees) mandis.

Whereas, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 empowers farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters through advanced agreements on pre-agreed prices.

The amendment to the Essential Commodities Act was meant to deregulate food items, including cereals, pulses and onion.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 05:36:13|Editor: huaxia

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People wearing face masks walk across a street in Tonekabon city, northern Iran, on June 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

--Iran's COVID-19 cases rise to 200,262 with 9,392 deaths;

--Turkey's tally hits 185,245 with 4,905 deaths;

--Iraq reports highest daily new cases and fatalities;

--Egypt, Israel, Morocco register record single-day increase.

CAIRO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to more than 200,000 on Friday. Meanwhile, Turkey witnessed again a decline in daily new coronavirus infections even as more countries in the Middle East region reported a record single-day increase and fatalities.

Iran, which has re-emerged as the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East region, reported 2,615 new cases, brining the total number of infections to 200,262.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 9,392 Iranians, up by 120 in the past 24 hours, while a total of 159,192 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 2,833 still in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the daily new COVID-19 cases in Turkey declined to 1,214 after a week of a slight increase, taking the tally of infections in the country to 185,245, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

People wearing masks walk in a street in Ankara, Turkey on June 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose to 4,905 after 23 more fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said, adding 1,494 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 157,516.

On the same day, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a two-day program to introduce the country's "safe tourism" concept to ambassadors to Turkey in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

Saudi Arabia's cases continued the surging trend to 150,292 after 4,301 new infections were added.

The kingdom also reported 45 new deaths and 1,849 more recoveries, taking the death toll to 1,184 and the total recoveries to 95,764.

In Qatar, 1,021 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, bringing the total number to 85,462, of whom 93 have died and 65,409 recovered.

Egypt's coronavirus cases soared to 52,211 after a record 1,774 daily infections were added.

The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 79 more deaths and 400 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 2,017 and the total recoveries to 13,928.

A worker sprays disinfectant at Hurghada Airport in Hurghada, Egypt, on June 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 393 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 44,145 and the death toll to 300.

The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 30,996 after 755 more fully recovered.

Kuwait's total number of infections surged to 38,678 after 604 new cases were confirmed, of whom 313 have died and 30,190 recovered.

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 852 new cases of infections, increasing the tally in the country to 27,670, including 125 deaths and 13,974 recoveries.

Iraq confirmed 1,635 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total number of infections to 27,352, of whom 12,205 have recovered.

The country also reported 69 deaths during the day, the highest single-day rise so far, bringing the death toll in Iraq to 925.

A hairdresser wearing a face mask serves a customer at a salon in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

In the meantime, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said in a statement that the ministry's experts decided to use a drug from Russia to treat COVID-19.

In Israel, 303 new COVID-19 cases were registered, the highest daily rise since April 23, raising the tally of coronavirus infections to 20,339.

The deaths from the virus in Israel increased by one to 304, while the recoveries rose to 15,586.

It is worth noting that the number of active cases in Israel reached 4,449, the highest since May 10.

Algeria's confirmed infections reached 11,504 after 119 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, while the death toll hit 811 and the recoveries reached 8,196.

Morocco also witnessed the biggest single-day increase with 539 new cases, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 9,613, which included 213 fatalities and 8,117 recoveries.

A mounted soldier asks local people to go home in Sale, Morocco, on June 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Chadi)

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 15 to 1,510, while the death toll remained unchanged at 32.

Lebanese Finance Ministry allocated on the day 12 billion Lebanese pounds (8 million U.S. dollars) for equipping seven public hospitals in Lebanon and training their staff.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 919, after 10 new cases were added.

The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 288 and the death toll climbed to 251.

Palestine on Friday recorded 81 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number in the Palestinian territories to 870, including five deaths and 592 recoveries. 
Forming a stable government after the elections and reviving the economy will get top priority

SLPP and main opposition parties begin their campaigns in a small way; pledges to follow health guidelines; manifestoes being prepared

Central Bank acts fast after Governor and top officials get a public blast from President

Thanks to President Gotabaya Rajapaksas initiatives, the coronavirus pandemic in Sri Lanka is lower down the list of affected countries in the world.

By next week, the number of infected cases is expected to reach the 2,000 mark. However, that is not to say that all is well and good for Sri Lanka. If the fight against the horrendous scourge has led to no clusters remaining, returnees from abroad are adding to the total. The accompanying challenges in different spheres are mounting. Some are turning out to be toxic pin pricks which could rise to newer heights in the weeks and months to come. For the common people, it simply means more precautionary measures and belt tightening even further as the economy takes a hard beating.

This week, 8.3 million people worldwide were affected by the deadly virus. India registered 12,281 cases in just one day, its highest so far. Its southern state of Tamil Nadu is on a lockdown again as the number of cases rose to more than 55,000. That such a development would impact on Sri Lanka in many ways is to say it mildly. Tourist arrivals will dwindle and curbs in trade could follow.

And now, both Indian and Chinese troops have clashed high up in the Galwan Valley beyond Ladakh in the Himalayas. India said 20 soldiers including an officer were killed. A further ten who were captured were later returned. This major incident, the worst since 1967, sparked outrage in India. Premier Narendra Modi came under pressure to retaliate. He consulted leaders of political parties to reach consensus on a response to the alleged incursion by Chinese troops. Exacerbating feelings was live coverage of the military funerals on television. A new campaign to boycott Chinese made goods to India is under way whilst the Indian Railways cancelled a large contract for rolling stock. Military top brass from both sides are locked in discussion to de-escalate the crisis. China, on the other hand, has accused Indian troops of aggression  a charge which New Delhi denies and blames Beijings troops.

The growing tensions between the two nuclear neighbours would impact Sri Lanka. Soon after his election at the presidential polls in November, last year, the first to speak to President Rajapaksa was Premier Modi. This was even before he took his oaths. Rajapaksas first official visit was to India, just two weeks after his election. Modi was to become the first foreign head of state to visit Sri Lanka, but Covid-19 put paid to it.

Then followed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksas visit to New Delhi in February this year. Significantly, he urged Premier Modi to extend a moratorium on loans to Sri Lanka. Even before the advent of Covid-19, it was clear an economic crisis was looming large. Five years of Yahapalana (good governance) rule and the fallout from the Easter Sunday bombings were causes, Premier Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times in an interview. See box story for interview.

In May, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa telephoned Premier Modi in New Delhi. In that conversation he urged the Indian Premier to provide US$ 1.1 billion SWAP facility by increasing the current US$ 400 million limit. Though the limits are placed in US dollars, the arrangement covers amounts equivalent to both Indian and Sri Lankan currencies. Ties between Colombo and New Delhi turned out to be just as good as the previous Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government if not much better.

This week, Sri Lanka voted at the United Nations in New York for India to become a temporary member of the Security Council. This is despite lobbying from Canada and Norway. India received 184 votes from 192 countries that voted. In a surprising development, Colombo-based diplomatic sources said, Sri Lanka refrained from voting when three WEOG (West European and Other Groups) vied for two seats in the Security Council. The contenders were Canada, Ireland, and Norway. This did raise some eyebrows among some western diplomats in Colombo.

On the other hand, China, which has helped with military hardware throughout the separatist war, has maintained close ties with the Rajapaksas. It funded the Hambantota Port project and the Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport project among others during the previous Rajapaksa regime. A planned visit to Beijing by President Rajapaksa in April was called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Aid for more projects and loans is on the pipeline. Amidst these are fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus as sections of Beijing remain under a lockdown. If the previous outbreak was reportedly from a wet market in Wuhan, this time, reports say, it had been at the meat and seafood sections of the Xinfadi food centre, Beijings largest wholesale food market. Needless to say, that Colombos diplomatic balancing act both with New Delhi and Beijing now becomes more delicate.

In this scenario, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is confronted with multi-faceted issues. His immediate twin priorities are the successful conduct of parliamentary elections on August 5 and the immediate resuscitation of the economy. The two issues figured prominently in his actions this week.

He agreed to a meeting with the Election Commissions three members  Mahinda Deshapriya (Chairman), Dr Ratnajeevan Hoole and Nalin Abeysekera, both members. Assisting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa were Dr P.B. Jayasundera (Presidential Secretary), S.R. Attygalle (Treasury Secretary), J. Ratnasiri, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, and Dr Major General Sanjeeva Munasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Health.

The main concern of the EC delegation related to matters arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. They want to convert to law the guidelines given to them by Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe. This is through a Gazette notification so those violating the provisions could be prosecuted. This, the Commissioners believe, will be a strong deterrent to the poll being disrupted by those defying the guidelines and thus creating fear among other voters.

Another cause for concern was for the EC to make it compulsory for state officers to engage in election duties. A gazette or an official announcement drawing attention to creating provisions under the Establishment Code is to be made. Those violating it could be punished. At present there is no such provision. President Rajapaksa has agreed that the government will meet additional expenses necessitated by the introduction of health guidelines. EC Chairman Deshapriya explained that the election would cost around Rs 7.5 billion, but the additional burden of health measures would raise it to around Rs 10 billion. Among other matters discussed:

= Make it mandatory for those returning to Sri Lanka from abroad to undergo 21 days of quarantine.

= Opening airports for tourists to be carried out after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections.

= Release of state vehicles for use by state officials.

= To ensure that state run media (they were identified) adheres to balanced reporting.

= Secure additional stocks of Face Masks and hand sanitizers (Isopropyl alcohol) for use at polling booths.

The EC has already embarked on training programmes with the help of District Secretaries and its own officers in principal towns. However, the campaigns by different political parties are yet to get into high gear. Most candidates are only circulating their messages, symbols, and photographs on the social media so far.

We are looking forward to forming a government, declared Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa. He told the Sunday Times, We also need to provide the best legislative support to the President to take forward the proposals contained in his presidential election manifesto Vistas of Prosperity which has received an overwhelming mandate. Everyone who has any understanding of economics knows that what President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inherited from the Yahapalana government in November last year was an economy that was in shambles. We had to provide life support to many struggling businesses by reducing taxes. If a business house was worth one billion US dollars in 2014, its value had gone down by about 40% by 2019. You would have seen on television a leading business magnate openly describing the Yahapalana government as a plague (wasangathaya). So, our top priority right now is to put the economy right. This year marks his fiftieth year as a parliamentarian.

SJB, UNP, TNA, JVP campaigns

Meanwhile, Samagi Jana Balavegaya General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said, We are still in the process of making the manifesto. Our leader Sajith Premadasa has planned to hold more than 1000 meetings at electoral level.

He said that the SJB has started meetings in parts of Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha. Our plan is to complete all the electoral level meetings by the end of this month. Our campaign is mostly based on social media platforms, digital and electronic media.

According to him, the SJB Election Committee comprises Sajith Premadasa, Harin Fernando, Imitiaz Bakeer Markar, Tissa Attanayake, Kabir Hashim and himself. Asked why former Minister Mangala Samaraweera had chosen not to contest the Matara District on the SJB ticket, he said, That was his personal decision. He believed that he should resign from parliamentary politics and remain in social politics. He took this move because he could not give his personal and free opinion when he was contesting under the Samagi Jana Balavegaya.

Samaraweeras decision is good for him and for the party. His parting from the parliamentary election is an advantage for him and for us, said Madduma Bandara.

United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times; We are not yet ready with our manifesto. There are several election campaign related committees appointed. Most of them are media related. The main election campaign committee comprises Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Assistant Leader Ravi Karunanayake, Navin Dissanayake and himself, he said. We are carrying out our campaign in keeping with health guidelines. We will go from house to house and conduct small meetings. We have not finalised a place to have our first meeting. There will be no large rallies. We are still discussing our election promises to the people. We will not heavily depend on electronic media as that would be a costly move.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stalwart Abraham Sumanthiran told the Sunday Times, We have already begun our Election Campaign after the date was fixed for the election. Our campaign will be carried out according to state health authority guidelines. We will have more house to house visits. We will make sure that health guidelines are followed. The TNA has planned to have meetings at large open places where people would be able to keep their distance from each other. We are still drawing up the manifesto.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) spokesperson Vijitha Herath told the Sunday Times, We have launched our campaign with small meetings in electorates. These meetings are held at houses of party supporters. We have limited each meeting to 30 to 40 people. We also held a special educational workshop for active members advising them to carry out campaign according to the advice of health authorities. We will use the manifesto released for the 2019 Presidential election with some amendments.

President slams CBSL

officials

Last Tuesday saw President Rajapaksa in one of his angriest moments since he became President eight months ago. Showing him livid, recorded video footage went viral on the internet when he reprimanded top officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (CBSL). That won him plaudits from government circles as well as the private sector which was awaiting its relief package to recover from the debilitating economic damage it had suffered. Yet, there were antagonists who claimed that the Central Bank could not be blamed since it was the duty of the Government to formulate plans. You cannot blame your accountant if your business is going wrong, claimed a UNP stalwart who did not wish to be named. However, it turned out that the Presidents admonishment had pushed the CBSL into turbo speed to produce results. A video did the rounds of Central Bank lights on in the upper floors on Tuesday night. They were burning the midnight oil formulating urgent measures. First to edited excerpts of the Presidents speech last Tuesday:

The Health crisis cannot be turned into an economic crisis. The Central Banks of both big (powerful) and small countries have taken measures regarding this. The United States Federal Reserve has contributed US$ 600 billion to a programme. Today Australia and Japan would be announcing their donations. Even the small countries near Sri Lanka are also joining in. The US Federal Reserve has committed to use a full range of tools to help the economy through this unprecedented time. What are the tools that we have used? Nothing, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has not done anything regarding this.

This should have been done by the Central Bank and the Treasury; they are the ones responsible for monetary and fiscal policy. That should be done according to the economic policies set out by the president. You have many tools for this. However, our Central Bank does not use any tool but stays idle and asleep. We told you to give Rs 150 billion to the local banks. This is not a problem for businesses. A huge amount of money is needed as a result of past mistakes. Why cannot they keep that money as a security and allow those people to get a loan. Then they can contribute to revive the economy.

This is about money circulation. It is a simple matter. This is the basics of economics. What are you doing? Your mistakes affect governments. You have not looked into this. Look what had happened to finance companies. It is your responsibility to regulate and manage finance companies. You are not even doing that. You are not even regulating leasing companies. Look at the Edirisinghe Trust and Investments (ETI) issue; You have done it wrongly. Now, they are unable to pay depositors. We even did not know that The Finance (a finance company) is closed and we have to pay for that. You are not managing those matters.

The ones at the CBSL are economists who get high salaries. What are you doing? You have a responsibility during the crisis, you should not idly sleep. You have to formulate strategies and resuscitate the economy. I have given you a strategy. If you cannot do that you should give me a strategy that you can work out by tomorrow morning.

Look at the other countries and what they are doing to save small and medium scale businesses. Why cant our people do it? Either some people are trying to put me in trouble or cause issues to the government. I do not need to talk to you like this if you do your duty properly.

Eight months have passed after I was elected president. From the day I took office we are saying that we will resuscitate the fallen economy. I do not want to talk about the wrongdoings of previous governments. You all know the situation when the Central Bank was robbed. You were the people there. If you could have supported them why dont you support me and work? People of the country know how we can work with such officials. The people have granted me a mandate to build the country. I only ask you to allow me to do this.

The whole world is facing the COVID-19pandemic. It had created economic issues for the whole world; we were able to get the country back to normalcy before other countries due to the sacrifices made by the health authorities, the military, intelligence and the police. Now we need to save the country before it faces an economic crisis. Dont you think it is your responsibility to submit economic strategies during such a situation? This is a place where all the economists are. What have you done, what advice have you given me? You have done nothing.

When I devise a plan, you do not allow me to act on it. You block it. I only need to tell this. You give me a plan by tomorrow morning and show how we should overcome this economic situation. Tell me about your tools. Tell me ways on how to energise the economy. How should we help banks and help small and middle scale businesses? If I am wrong, please speak out. Tell me.

President Rajapaksas tough talk to the Central Bank top brass had worked. Within 24 hours, the Presidents Office announced, that the Central Bank has introduced new remedial actions to support the Governments initiatives in reviving the economy. It is clear this reflects divergent positions between the Government and the CBSL.

Here are highlights of a statement the CBSL issued: The Central Bank has introduced several new remedial actions to support the governments efforts in reviving the economy, following the advice given by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to high-ranking official of the Central Bank including its Governor, yesterday (June 16). Disbursement of Rs. 150 billion under the refinance scheme for the benefit of businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is among some of the facilities to be provided by the Central Bank.

Accordingly, the Central Bank will provide funding to Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) at the concessionary rate of 1% against the pledge of a broad spectrum of collateral, on the condition that LCBs, in turn, will lend to domestic businesses at the rate of 4%, while ensuring the best possible distribution of this facility. During yesterdays meeting held with the Central Bank officials President Rajapaksa has directed them to provide loan facilities to collapsed enterprises under the existing refinance scheme using guarantees issued by the government equivalent to the amount due on account of contracts carried out in the past.

Accordingly, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank, at its meeting held yesterday, decided to provide funds at concessionary rates using the guarantees. In addition, it has decided to introduce a new credit scheme exclusively for construction sector enterprises. The objective of this initiative is to provide loan facilities at the concessionary rate using the guarantees issued by the government equivalent to the amount due on account of contracts carried out in the past.

Apart from these measures the Monetary Board of the Central Bank in support of the governments efforts in reviving the economy, at its meeting held on 16 June 2020, decided to reduce the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) applicable on all rupee deposit liabilities of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) by 200 basis points to 2.00 percent, with effect from the reserve maintenance period that commenced on 16 June 2020

Greater awareness of malpractices by some finance and leasing companies surfaced after seizers from one firm in Mirihana beat to death the head of the Professional Three-Wheeler Drivers Association. It is not only such companies that hire seizers. There are also reputed banks which use them to recover dues including non-payment of credit card fees by using illegal methods. Not only those defaulters who are harassed by these goons but also their relatives and friends.

It is time that the government warns banks that such acts under their supervision is both illegal and not in the public interest. Such seizers are usually those from the armed forces, the police who have been sacked for misconduct or known thugs with bad records. There are instances of midnight calls and even assaults to recover money. The banks hire companies that provide such services. There are instances when pressure is used on the Police by these banks when complaints are made. Banks on the other hand say they have no other legal hold since recoveries are often difficult and after litigation, they receive only small amounts. Only a probe will reveal the degree of the malaise that has taken root.

The challenges before President Gotabaya Rajapaksas government are manifold compared with the corruption ridden Yahapalana regime. Not that corruption has vanished altogether. A lot more needs to be done. This is why the August 5 parliamentary elections are more important than previous ones.

MR campaigning to form strong and stable Govt. Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has reached an important milestone  half a century in parliament  where he met with both successes and failures.Easily one of the more popular politicians in Sri Lanka, he was twice President. With his current term, he is also Prime Minister for the second time. I took to politics in the 1960s and entered Parliament in 1970. Sam Wijesinha, the then Secretary General of Parliament and my uncle and kinsman from Giruwapattuwa convinced me to pursue a legal career, Premier Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times in an interview. Encouraging me in no small measure was one of the countrys then foremost lawyers, Dr Colvin R. de Silva. He was then a minister in our government. My peers told me that being a lawyer was a useful tool for a parliamentarian. Looking back, I realise that was valuable advice. I made many friends who were to later become politicians, He said he was an MP in a government that had won two thirds majority in Parliament. Ragging at that time, he noted, was not what it has become today. I was asked to make a speech and what I learnt there held me in good stead, he added. Here are edited excerpts of the interview: MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES IN HIS POLITICAL CAREER: I think my most significant achievement was in providing the political leadership to win the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). My predecessors were afraid to make bold decisions and act on them. They tended to buckle under foreign pressure. I take pride in the fact that I was able to assert the political will to resolve an intractable problem that had affected this country for over three decades. I also count as my most significant achievements the building of several important infrastructure projects such as the Norochcholai power plant, the Upper-Kotmale project, the Southern highway, the Hambantota harbour etc which had been on the drawing boards for decades, but no government was able to implement. Many people do not seem to realise that the per capita income of Sri Lanka in US collar terms increased threefold during my nine years as President. The biggest disappointment that I had to face during my political career was the defeat of January 2015. I was betrayed by people I trusted, and thought were my friends. That was a defeat engineered through conspiracies and subterfuge. The entire campaign against me was based on lies. I acknowledge that that defeat came about due to our own weaknesses and shortcomings in certain areas. That defeat has hurt not only me and my followers, but the whole of Sri Lanka. ON BEING A POPULAR POLITICIAN IN SRI LANKA: I like working with people. The people know that, and they respond accordingly. I also have a policy of delivering what I have pledged to the people. I think my popularity among the people is based on these two factors. Even after the defeat of January 2015, the people did not want me to retire from politics. Politics is not just about working with people. One has to choose a good team of administrators, entrust them with responsibilities and get things going. My advice to all young aspirants to political office, will be that success in politics does not come easily. It is full time work. It is also pretty hard work. ON LEADING THE AUGUST 5 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION CAMPAIGN: We are looking forward to forming a strong SLPP government. We also need to provide the best legislative support to the President to take forward the proposals contained in his presidential election manifesto Vistas of Prosperity which has received an overwhelming mandate. Everyone who has any understanding of economics knows that what President Gotabaya inherited from the Yahapalana government in November last year was an economy that was in shambles. We had to provide life support to many struggling businesses by reducing taxes. If a business house was worth one billion USD in 2014, its value had gone down by about 40% by 2019. You would have seen a leading business magnate on TV openly describing the yahapalana government as a plague (wasangathaya). So our top priority right now is to put the economy right. ON THE DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: We were in a tough position even before the Covid-19 outbreak due to five years of Yahapalana misrule and the economic fallout resulting from the Easter Sunday bombings. Now the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation beyond measure. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Donald Trump of the USA have both gone on record saying that their countries were in a better position to deal with the economic fallout resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic because their economies were doing well when the pandemic hit their countries. The same can be said by our neighbours India and Bangladesh as well. Sri Lankas position, however, was quite different, and the reason why this country is still functioning is because we have the best possible team in charge from the President downwards. A resounding victory at the parliamentary elections will help in the economic recovery efforts by helping build stability and confidence. ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND NON-FUNCTIONING PROVINCIAL COUNCILS: We will need a two thirds majority in Parliament even to revive the provincial councils system. The Yahapalana government made a complete mess of the local government and provincial councils elections systems. The Constitution will also have to be amended. Today, there does not seem to be anything wrong with the Constitution because Gotabaya is the President and I am the Prime Minister. If any political party other than the SLPP had been in power, the President and the Prime Minister would be at war with one another from day one. Constitutional reform is a must and we need a two-thirds majority for that. ON GOVERNANCE AFTER A POLLS VICTORY: This is a country that has been affected by three major calamities one after another. First came the five-year Yahapalana calamity, then the Easter Sunday calamity, and now the Covid-19 calamity. What this country needs above everything else at this moment is a stable government. The Cabinet will be as large or as small as is necessary to form a strong and stable government to take the country forward.
First it was the planets future, then it was our health and now it's jobs. Never before have Australians biggest anxieties shifted so quickly or peaked at such highs as in 2020.

Back in January, as bushfires raged and smoke enveloped cities and towns, the environment surged up the worry list. The Ipsos Issues Monitor, which asks a representative sample of Australians each month to select the three top issues facing the nation, showed it had leapfrogged traditional bugbears like the cost of living to become our No.1 concern.

The environment was our biggest worry at the start of the year as bushfires raged, but that changed quickly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The combination of fire, drought and global clamour for climate action was cutting through. It was the first time in the decade-long history of the survey that the environment had been ranked the most important issue facing Australia. It was top again in February by a healthy margin.

But that was four months ago.








17 Jackson's YMCA makes changes to prepare for reopening

JACKSON, MI  Workout equipment is 6 feet apart, sneeze guards are in place and there are new check-in procedures  all signs that Jacksons YMCA is ready to open.

The downtown YMCA, 127 W. Wesley St., has safety procedures in place to help protect people from the novel coronavirus. Now all they need to the OK to open from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Gyms were closed mid-March with the stay home order. While the order was lifted June 1, gyms in most of Michigan are not yet allowed to reopen.

Were really excited, Senior Facilities Director Steven Depew said. We miss our Y family.

Whitmer hopes to reopen gyms, salons and more by 4th of July weekend

Door handles, countertops, exercise equipment and other high touch areas will be cleaned every two hours, Director of Marketing and Member Services Bonnie Gretzner said.

The building will close from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. every weekday so everything can be disinfected, she said.

Everything is sprayed down with the disinfectant, Depew said. We let it sit and it dries overnight. We do it all again the next day.

There are new hand sanitizing stations throughout the building.

When the YMCA is allowed to reopen, only members will be allowed inside during the first phase, Gretzner said. This is to ensure they have access because capacity limits will be in place.

Everyone must sign a waiver before entering the building for the first time, Gretzner said. It can be done online or in person.

From the sidewalk, into the building and up the front desk, there are spots every 6 feet. This is to keep people distanced as the check-in, and it will slow down entry, Gretzner said.

Patience is very important, Depew said. Its about protecting you.

After checking in, there are new traffic patterns one the first floor, to minimum contact and crowding. People will not exit through the front door, Gretzner said. Instead, there is a new exit to keep people spaced out.

When leaving, people will be checked out, to count how many people are in the building, Gretzner said.

Group exercise classes have started because they are held outside, Gretzner said. The Summit Branch will not open when the downtown branch does because its mainly used for group exercise, which the YMCA will not hold indoors, she said.

Summer day camps for kids start Monday, June 22, and will run for eight weeks, Executive Program Director Megan Hunt said. Each camp allows 56 kids. Typically 250 kids are allowed, she said.

Summer day camps returning to Jackson YMCA

Masks will be worn by staff and should be worn by members in all common areas, Gretzner said. Masks can be taken off while working out, she said.

Were asking them to wear them as much as possible when its safe to do so, Gretzner said.

Both the large and small pool will reopen when the YMCA does. The small pool will be limited to five people, Gretzner said.

Three lanes in the large pool will be available for open laps. The other three lanes can be reserved up in 30-minute slots, for people to ensure theres space, Gretzner said. Reservations can be made up to a week in advance, by calling or emailing aquatics@jacksonymca.org.

The cardio machines were moved into the small gym to space them 6 feet apart, while the weight machines were spaced out in the fitness center. The indoor track will reopen with limited capacity as well, Gretzner said.

The YMCA is cut membership prices in half while the building is closed and about 95 percent of members stayed, Gretzner said.

Now all thats left is to wait for the state.

Were ready, Gretzner said.

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Saudi Arabia has announced plans to lift a nationwide curfew and resume all economic and commercial activities starting from tomorrow (June 21).

However, the ban on Umrah, international flights and entry into the kingdom across land borders besides restriction on social gatherings with more than 50 people remains in place, reported Saudi Press Agency, citing an official source at Ministry of Interior.

The curfew will be lifted as of 6am tomorrow in all regions and cities of the kingdom, it stated.

The decision comes following a report submitted by the pertinent health authorities over the precautionary measures taken by the kingdom to combat the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and the possibility of returning to normal on the following conditions.

*Emphasizing the full commitment to apply all accredited preventive protocols by all activities.

*Committing to social distancing and putting on the mask or covering the nose and mouth, by all.

*Human gatherings not to exceed 50 persons

*These procedures shall be subject to regularly periodic review by the Ministry of Health.

According to Interior Ministry officials, the Umrah situation is being regularly reviewed as per the health data (information).

They also pointed out that international flights will remain suspended while ban on the entry and exit through land and maritime borders will continue until further notice.

Imposing penalties as set forth on individuals and establishments violating decisions and instructions relating to procedures to combat spread of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19)..
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Puri Jagannadh's highly-anticipated movie Fighter will have Vijay Deverakonda essaying the role of a boxer. The pan-India project has been recently in the news for its title and the storyline. Earlier, one of the producers of the film and actress Charmee Kaur revealed that the title of the film, Fighter was tentative and the team has zeroed in on the final one, which has also been registered. Well now, there is a new update about the film, which has a lot to do with its title.

Apparently, a fan on Twitter asked for clarification about the rumours regarding the script change of the movie. To this Charmee replied that nothing has been changed and the Fighter script is a blockbuster. She also revealed that the original title announcement will happen soon. "Nothing has been changed n nothing will be changed !! Fighter script is a blockbuster.. shoot will begin only after corona crisis settles down.. we are super confident about FIGHTER.. original title announcement soon. Stay tuned", said the iSmart Shankar producer.



Earlier, there were reports suggesting that the film unit has been working with the tentative title and called it Fighter throughout. There are also rumours stating that the movie has been titled Liger. However, only an official confirmation about the title will let us all know if the rumour has anything to do with reality.

Fighter kicked off in Mumbai with a formal pooja ceremony in January. The shoot of the intense action drama was halted owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown. The movie marks the maiden collaboration of Vijay Deverakonda with Puri Jagannadh, who is known for Mahesh Babu-starrer Pokiri.

Promising high-octane sequences, the film will also star Bollywood actress Ananya Panday. Karan Johar's Dharma Productions is one of the co-producers of the movie, which will simultaneously release in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. The movie will mark Ananya's Telugu debut and Vijay's Hindi debut.

Vijay Deverakonda-Puri Jagannadh's Fighter Gets A New Title! Read Deets Inside!

Salman Khan & Fighter Director Puri Jagannadh To Team Up For A Pan India Film?
Tulsa Police take protester Sheila Buck into custody near an entrance to a security checkpoint for a rally with President Donald Trump at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Tulsa Woman Arrested Protesting Outside Trump Rally

Tulsa Police Department officers arrested a woman wearing an I Cant Breathe T-shirt outside the Trump rally in Oklahoma on charges of trespassing.

Local news outlet Tulsa World reported that the woman was taken into custody outside the safety barricade in front of the arena in Tulsa, where President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at a rally later Saturday.

Tulsa World reporter Mike Simons posted a video of the arrest, which shows the woman telling someone off camera: Theyre arresting me for this, theyre saying I trespassed.

The protester, who in a separate tweet was identified by Simons as Sheila Buck, was locked in a standoff with officers for over five minutes before police took her away in handcuffs, TMZ reported.

A video posted by the Twitter account @kucukmoskovali showed the woman prior to her arrest walking along a column of people lining up outside the BOK Center, where the rally will take place.

Supporters of the president were filling streets Saturday around the stadium where Trump will hold his first rally in months, ready to welcome him back to the campaign trail.

Trump is also expected to speak at an outdoor event to be held inside a perimeter of tall metal barriers that were put up around the BOK Center. Some of the attendees have been camped near the venue since early in the week.

Protests were planned for Saturday and some community leaders in Tulsa have expressed concern about violence.

Trump officials have alleged a double standard from critics in the media and elsewhere, pointing to celebrations of mass protests in the wake of the police-custody death of George Floyd as the same critics denounce Trump rallies or anti-lockdown protests by typically conservative activists.

While we appreciate the great concern for our rally goers, you should exhibit that same concern for the protesters who are out there not socially distancing in many cases, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at the White House on Friday.
Plans for the transformation of Edenderry into a Smart Town through the provision of free Wi-FI, CCTV installation and provision of state of the art solar bins, have been warmly welcomed by Fine Gael councillor, Noel Cribbin.

A new initiative by Offaly County Council, led by Ray Bell, will see the installation of Wi-Fi transmitters which will enable free, on the street, internet connectivity from the Corner House to the School of Music at the corner of Francis Street, including the Harbour area.

Commenting on the plans, Cllr. Cribbin said: "Following my discussions with business owners in the town, they have all now kindly given their permission to allow transmitters to be installed on their premises allowing the transfer of Wi-Fi out onto the street, making it free and usable for all."

Cllr. Cribbin went on to say: "To drive Edenderrys positioning as a Smart Town I am working closely with the Gardai in Tullamore and Edenderry and Ray Bell in Offaly County Council in bringing the long-awaited CCTV to the town. In the last week, both Ray and I have drawn up locations for the cameras which would start at the Tesco roundabout on the Dublin Road up to the junction at Francis Street.

"We have identified locations for 15 cameras which will pick up every vehicle and action in those areas. The Gardai now have to approve the locations and then all thats left is the paperwork and application to Garda HQ. Funding is available and we have a pot of 15,000 provided by the last Town Council members in 2014," Cllr Cribbin explained.

"I gave an undertaking at that time that I would continue the campaign to have CCTV installed in Edenderry. We are now on the cusp of that commitment being honoured. I look forward to Edenderry being one of only four locations in Offaly included in this CCTV installation project and to seeing the cameras in place in the coming months," Cllr. Cribbin said.

Other plans included in the bid by Offaly County Council to see Edenderrys transformation to a Smart Town include the provision of solar compacting litter bins which hold up to ten times more litter than the average bin and send out alerts when full. The technology associated with the bins prevent overflows and save on collections and costs.

Cllr Cribbin said: "Bins in busy areas can be very unsightly and cause litter problems when full or overflowing. The bins also look modern and will add to the visual appeal of our streets. I am hopeful of acquiring the funding from various streams and complementing the new bins with modern street furniture for the main street.

"I am delighted to continue to assist Offaly County Council in the progression of these exciting plans. New bins will make the town cleaner and CCTV cameras will make it safer. The provision of free Wi-Fi will do much to increase the towns appeal as a business hub. I am very much looking forward to providing my ongoing support in the delivery of these projects in the coming months," Cllr Cribbin concluded.
The Conservatives have suspended an activist after she tweeted that a Muslim MP born in Bradford should go back to Pakistan.

The party said Theodora Dickinson was being investigated on Friday after targeting Labour shadow minister Naz Shah.

Ms Dickinson responded to a post showing the Bradford West MP discussing her experience of poverty, saying if Naz Shah hates this country so much why doesnt she go back to Pakistan?!

The Muslim Council of Britain, which has long-criticised the Tories handling of Islamophobia, described the tweet as blatant racism.

Ms Shah said: Over the last few weeks BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities have been coming to terms with the racism they have faced over the years.

In 2020 to be told to go back to Pakistan, highlights the level of racism that still exists in some quarters of society.

Ms Dickinson, who describes herself as a political communications and social media consultant, later apologised.

I fully recognise how offensive it was, which is why I deleted the tweet almost immediately, though of course this does not excuse posting it in the first place, she added.

I have written to Ms Shah offering an unreserved apology.

The Tories, which have launched an independent inquiry into all forms of prejudice within the party, said Ms Dickinson had been suspended.

Theodora Dickinson has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation, a party spokeswoman said.

Muslim Council of Britain secretary general Harun Khan accused Ms Dickinson of having previously shared an Islamophobic conspiracy theory after the Christchurch terrorist attack.

Now Ms Dickinson tells a Muslim MP why doesnt she go back to Pakistan. Will this latest blatant racism elicit action? he said.

The party must reflect and consider why it chooses to ignore widespread concerns about its institutional Islamophobia  if a truly independent inquiry is not enacted with its recommendations implemented, there will be a drip-feed of these stories for a long time to come.

PA
DUBLIN, June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "The Mining Sector in Botswana 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report focuses on the Mining Sector in Botswana and includes information on the state and size of the sector, trade statistics, corporate actions and expansion and investment developments.



There are profiles of 26 companies including the country's largest diamond producer and largest private sector employer Debswana, and Botswana Ash, the only producer of soda ash and salt. Other profiles include Khoemacau Copper Mines, which is building a copper and silver mine, Lucara, which is expanding its Karowe mine, and prospectors such as Kukama and Efora Energy.



The Mining Sector in Botswana: Mining is significant contributor to Botswana's GDP, and minerals comprise almost 80% of export earnings. In 2018, Botswana was the world's second largest diamond producer by value and volume, after Russia, according to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The country has large soda ash, coal and diamond reserves. Botswana's mining sector is dominated by diamond mining, with Debswana Diamond Company being the largest producer by far. Other minerals produced are aggregate, brickmaking clay, coal, dimension stone, gemstones, gold, salt and soda ash.



New Opportunities: Several exploration companies are working in the Kalahari copperbelt, while others have coal, coal bed methane, diamond and uranium projects. Botswana continues to be ranked highly in Africa on policy, investment attractiveness and its tax regime. In 2019, the second largest diamond ever found was discovered in Botswana. A number of companies are investing in expansion and development of diamond, coal, copper and silver mines.



Variety: While diamonds remain the largest and most important mineral for Botswana, small amounts of coal are produced, largely for domestic consumption, with the majority used for power generation. The majority of Botswana Ash's soda ash production is sold to glass manufacturers who use the mineral to reduce the melting temperature of silica, which decreases their energy requirements.



Key Topics Covered



1. INTRODUCTION



2. COUNTRY INFORMATION

2.1. Geographic Position



3. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY

3.1. Industry Value Chain



4. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY



5. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

5.1. Local

5.1.1. Trade

5.1.2. Corporate Actions

5.1.3. Regulations

5.2. Continental

5.3. International



6. INFLUENCING FACTORS

6.1. Economic Environment

6.2. Environmental Concerns

6.3. Labour

6.4. Technology, Research & Development (R&D) and Innovation



7. COMPETITION

7.1. Barriers to Entry



8. SWOT ANALYSIS



9. OUTLOOK



10. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS



11. REFERENCES

11.1. Publications

11.2. Websites



Compan Profiles



African Energy Resources Botswana (Pty) Ltd

Mmamantswe Coal (Pty) Ltd

Shumba Energy Ltd

Minergy Ltd

Walkabout Resources Ltd

Maatla Resources (Pty) Ltd

Morupule Coal Mine (Pty) Ltd

Myna Projects (Pty) Ltd

Tlou Energy Botswana (Pty) Ltd

A-Cap Resources Botswana (Pty) Ltd

Mupane Gold Mining (Pty) Ltd

Efora Energy Ltd

Khoemacau Copper Mining (Pty) Ltd

Tshukudu Metals Botswana (Pty) Ltd

Menzi Battery Metals (Pty) Ltd

B & E ( Botswana ) (Pty) Ltd

) (Pty) Ltd PPC Aggregate Quarries Botswana (Pty) Ltd

Makoro Brick & Tile (Pty) Ltd

Firestone Diamonds PLC

Lucara Botswana (Pty) Ltd

Botswana Diamonds PLC

Kukama Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd

Bosoto (Pty) Ltd

Majwe Mining Joint Venture (Pty) Ltd

Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd

Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/erum0k

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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Tibetan Community members staged a protest against China at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland. They demanded the immediate release of Panchen Lama, who was kidnapped by China in 1996. (Image: Special Arrangement)
The case has triggered division between Gilespie's family and his public supporters, who started a Facebook campaign and a petition this week to push for his sentence to be reduced. Gilespie's family issued a statement urging them to refrain from speculating on his current circumstances, which they did not believe assists his case. The differing approaches are not unusual in high-stakes international cases involving the death penalty. Diplomats, wary of provoking the host government further, have historically counselled quiet behind-the-scenes diplomacy. That was made more difficult last week when the Chinese court published Gilespie's name and nationality, provoking a public outcry before diplomatic back channels could be used. Families and friends of the condemned are driven more by emotion to establish campaigns, which can complicate the matter for legal teams by questioning the judicial system in which they are operating. "It is heartbreaking to think that for the last six-and-a-half years Karm has been in prison without any of us knowing or having any way to support him," Gilespie's former teacher Roger Hamilton, a futurist who met the former actor on an entrepreneurs' course in Bali in 2013, said on his Facebook campaign page.

"The least we can do is to publicise his case and hope for the Chinese government's compassion and the Australian government's diplomatic actions." Author and Guardian journalist Brigid Delaney, who co-founded the Mercy Campaign for Australian drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan after they were sentenced to death in Indonesia, said a similar push would be particularly challenging in China. The Mercy Campaign hinged on drawing high-profile support and establishing empathy between the public and Chan and Sukumaran through interviews with the prisoners themselves, charting their journey from convicted smugglers to becoming a religious leader and an artist respectively. "By the time they were executed I felt like Australians thought they had a real connection to their stories and that added weight to the opposition to kill them," said Delaney. "If you feel like you know someone, you'll fight for them." The campaign ultimately failed but Delaney maintains it "solidified Australia's repugnance of the death penalty".

China, where more than 1000 people are executed a year according to Amnesty International, is regarded as the "black hole" of death sentences. Little to no public communication is allowed and Australia's own diplomats face challenges accessing prisoners. Australian consular officials had a video call with Gilespie this week. "In China it's difficult if not impossible to build the relationship between the public and the person on death row," said Delaney, a former lawyer who now believes the government will have to become more assertive to help Gilespie. "If the Australian government is really serious about human rights they should be able to use a stick to show some moral leadership in the region and have some firepower on the issue." The Australian government largely takes the opposite view, believing Gilespie's best chance lies in keeping the case under the radar until relations between Australia and China start to recover.

Years of tension over foreign interference, military expansion in the South China Sea and trade disputes culminated in Australia's push for a global inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 in April. Two trade strikes on $1 billion worth of beef and barley would follow, along with travel warnings urging tourists and students not to travel to Australia over racist attacks on Chinese migrants. Despite multiple approaches by Canberra, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham have not spoken to their Beijing counterparts since January. "The fact that this decision was handed down by the Chinese court last week in the midst of this current tension in the Australian-China bilateral relationship, I just do not think is coincidental," says Australian National University international law expert Don Rothwell. "[Australia] needs to not engage in megaphone diplomacy, especially when we've got a very sensitive matter now, where the life of an Australian citizen could be in peril." The timing is likely to raise concerns for the dozens of other Australians detained in China. Australian academic Yang Hengjun was formally indicted on espionage charges in March, claims he and the Australian government denies.

Bannister received a suspended death sentence in 2015 and remains in detention for smuggling three kilograms of methamphetamines out of China. His compatriots Bengali Sherrif and Ibrahim Jalloh received the same sentence. NSW man Peter Gardner has yet to be sentenced after allegedly attempting to export 30 kilograms of ice out of Guangzhou in 2015. All four were caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of the same airport as Gilespie. Loading These cases only scratch the surface of those alleged to be involved in drug crimes between Australia and China. Many more people have attempted to export narcotics through the post by concealing them in bed sheets, microwaves, tea sets, thermos cups, miniature wooden boats, mobile power banks, car mirrors and soap. At least 30 have been detained since 2014. Their fate is largely unknown.
In the great cathedral at Como, Italy, there are two large statues: one of Pliny the Elder and the other of his nephew, Pliny the Younger. Despite calls from some in the church to remove them, the images of these two pagan writers have stood in Como Cathedral for 500 years.

When told that neither man had been a Christian and that the nephew had been a persecutor of Christians in the province of Bithynia, the citizens of Como fought to preserve the statues of these two favorite sons. Both Plinys were an important part of their history. Pliny the Elder was one of the most prolific Latin writers on history and science, and Pliny the Younger was an important historian, the only person to leave a firsthand account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The real heresy was the attempt to rewrite history by removing all references to anyone who was "pagan."

Pliny the Elder at the Cathedralof Como (Photo credit: Wolfgang Sauber)

It seems that Italians have more common sense than some Americans. The removal of hundreds of Civil War monuments, including the recent removal of a statue of Jefferson Davis and an attempt to remove the imposing image of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, are part of a similar attempt to suppress an aspect of our history that some now see as offensive.

It does little good to note that many southern leaders before and at the time of the war, including Jefferson; Madison; Clay; and Robert E. Lee himself, who assisted slaves moving to the free colony in Liberia and provided emancipation for his slaves in his will, had serious moral qualms about the institution of slavery and hoped it would eventually be eliminated, regardless of the outcome of the war. Although they owned slaves, Jefferson and Madison both spoke of slavery as an evil that must be abolished. Henry Clay, who authored the Great Compromise of 1820, sought to preserve the union by maintaining a balance of slave and free slaves. In his funeral oration for Clay, Abraham Lincoln said, "Such a man the times have demanded, and such, in the providence of God was given us."

Even those like Jefferson Davis, a strong defender of states' rights, should be seen as an important figure in American history. The removal of his image, along with those of all who owned slaves or fought for the Confederacy, is an attempt to rewrite history in a way that is extremely unhealthy. It would erase much of our national history and, for that matter, world history. But it is dangerous to avert one's gaze from whatever is troubling or unpleasant. It creates the false impression that evil does not exist. Those who are not willing to live with their past are likely to repeat its errors.

No one today would defend the idea of slavery, but slavery was once universally practiced. Before and even after the Civil War, slavery existed in one form or another in most parts of the world: throughout Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Russia (via serfdom), in parts of Europe, and even in the northern colonies and states of America. The Plinys, whose images still stand in Como cathedral, were the owners of dozens of slaves. Benjamin Franklin once owned slaves, as did the family of America's first female poet, Anne Bradstreet, along with Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Marshall, and Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln. Nearly every important figure in early American history can be tied to slavery either directly or through the actions of his ancestors. As an attorney, Alexander Hamilton negotiated the sale of slaves, while Lewis and Clark were accompanied by Clark's slave York on their western expedition.

Are we to destroy all references, documents, and images relating to the early history of our country on the grounds that mentioning their names or viewing their images makes us uncomfortable? That would be akin to a Christian society suppressing all mention of those who are not Christian, or whose ancestors were not (that would include everyone). Are we to remove all references to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, to Egypt and the Middle East, and to India, China, and Japan on the basis that they were pagan?

Slavery was legal in all of the early colonies and states, just as it was throughout most of the world (it was not abolished in Brazil until 1888). The fact that it was almost universal does not make it right, but it does require us to judge our ancestors in the context of their times. Robert E. Lee was not a "bad" man: he fought to defend states' rights and out of loyalty to his home state of Virginia. Before the Civil War, he earned distinction in the Mexican-American War and served as superintendent of the United States military.

This is not to say slavery was right or that the southern states were right in defending it. What that statue of Lee will do is to remind us that the past was different and that things have changed. Slavery was cruel, and many in the South and the North realized that even before Emancipation.

Other sorts of cruelty exist today, such as the billion people still living under communist rule. Many of those calling for the removal of the Lee statue are silent about that form of cruelty. Should we remove all reference to Marx and Marxists, including left-leaning presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama, from our national history? There is a good case for doing so if one believes in suppressing whatever makes one uncomfortable.

Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama make me uncomfortable, but I accept that they were part of our history. I've never suggested they be removed from the public discourse or that those who admire them be silenced. I believe that by losing China to communism, FDR was complicit in the murders of 70 million people, but for me his image is a reminder of that evil, not something to be erased from history. Likewise, LBJ was the architect of a deadly welfare state, Carter the instigator of economic collapse, and Obama the organizer of a push toward socialism. It has taken a strong conservative to reverse the evils that each brought about.

Still, history books will continue to write of Wilson, Roosevelt, Johnson, Carter, and Obama, and it is proper to do so. The Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., is one of two memorials dedicated to FDR's memory. I do not support any attempt to deface, damage, or remove this or other memorials. Nor can I support the removal of Civil War statues such as those dedicated to Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.

The suppression of history is always dangerous. By hiding the truth about the past, we make it all the more likely that we will repeat similar errors. Only by coming face to face with our mistakes, even a mistake as terrible as slavery, can we hope to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).
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India mobilised fighter jets on Saturday after tensions with China cranked up regarding the ongoing bitter dispute over the Galwan Valley on the Himalayan border.

Videos circulating across the internet show footage of Indian fighter gets taking to the skies, in the aftermath of China laying claim to the entire valley area into which the country has now moved bulldozers.

Bloody violence erupted earlier in the week as troops from both nations fought in a deadly midnight battle in a display of Medieval-style brutality by using spiked clubs and rocks as weapons.

The midnight brawl in part of the disputed Ladakh region along the Himalayan frontier was the deadliest in 45 years. Some 63 soldiers are thought to have been killed.

Both sides claim ownership of the region and have troops stations on either side of the so-called Line of Actual Control (LAC), the defacto border between the two nations.

The latest action comes after it was revealed China appears to have sent bulldozers to divert the course of a river near the disputed border where soldiers fought at 14,000 feet on Monday, satellite images suggest.

India blamed China for instigating the fight by developing infrastructure in the valley, which it said was a breach of the agreement regarding the disputed land.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement that 'the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary'.

He blamed incursions by Indian troops in the area from early May for a midnight clash on Monday that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. China has not said whether its side suffered any casualties, but reports have suggested the number of casualties could be as high as 43.

Indian fighter jets have been recorded taking to the skies after tensions with China reached dangerous levels on Saturday

This is the Galwan valley where the brawl between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place. The unofficial border between the two countries runs through the middle of the photo on the dotted red line. The Chinese bulldozers appear to have been diverting the river on the right of the photo, on their side of the border. The Indians have built a bridge over the river downstream on the left of the picture

Sandeep Kaur (center) and her brother Prabhjot Singh (second right) react after laying the wreaths of flowers on the coffin of their father and soldier Satnam Singh who was was killed in a recent clash with Chinese forces in the Galwan valley area, during the cremation ceremony at Bhojraj village near Gurdaspur on Thursday, June 19

Indian army convoy moves along the national Highway leading towards Ladakh. India and China held talks again on Thursday, 18 June to cool down the situation in the area where violent clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place on Monday night

Sticks with nails embedded on them were used to attack the Indian soldiers in LadakhIn the worst clash between Indian and Chinese troops in over five decades. The 16 Bihar Regiment, led by Col Santosh Babu, that took on the Chinese army on the narrow ridge in Galwan Valley were pelted with stones and beat up with clubs covered in nails

A panoramic view of Pangong Lake in Ladakh Valley on September 13, 2018. The valley falls within a remote stretch of the 2,100-mile Line of Actual Control - the border established following a war between India and China in 1962 that resulted in an uneasy truce

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (pictured) said in a statement that 'the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary'. He blamed incursions by Indian troops in the area from early May for a midnight clash on Monday that left 20 Indian soldiers dead

The midnight brawl in part of the disputed Ladakh region along the Himalayan frontier was the deadliest in 45 years as 63 soldiers are thought to have been killed. Pictured, Indian border security forced keeping vigil from a military bunker along the Srinagar-Leh National highway on Wednesday, June 17

Soldiers brawled with clubs, rocks and their fists in the thin air at 14,000 feet above sea level but no shots were fired, Indian officials have said. The soldiers carry firearms but are not allowed to use them under a previous agreement in the border dispute.

Indian security officials have said the deaths were caused by severe injuries and exposure to sub-freezing temperatures.

The valley falls within a remote stretch of the 2,100-mile Line of Actual Control - the border established following a war between India and China in 1962 that resulted in an uneasy truce.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava declined to comment on China's claim to the valley. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a meeting with political opposition leaders on Friday that 'neither anyone has intruded into our territory, nor took over any post'.

Mr Modi said India was 'hurt and angry' about the deaths of its troops. He said India wanted peace and friendship, but had the 'capability that no one can even dare look towards an inch of our land'.

It comes after it was revealed China has sent bulldozers to divert the course of a river near the disputed border where soldiers fought at 14,000 feet on Monday, satellite images suggest. India blamed China for instigating the fight by developing infrastructure in the valley, which it said was a breach of the agreement regarding the disputed land. Pictured, Chinese paramilitary police officers march at an embassies area in Beijing, China on Thursday

On Monday soldiers brawled with clubs, rocks and their fists in the thin air at 14,000 feet above sea level but no shots were fired, Indian officials have said. The soldiers carry firearms but are not allowed to use them under a previous agreement in the border dispute. Pictured, India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint along a highway leading to Ladakh, at Gagangeer in Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Wednesday, June 17

At least 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed and at least 43 Chinese men were wounded or killed on Monday night along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a disputed border in the Himlayas (the red territory is controlled by India, and the beige and grey stripes, Aksai Chin, is Chinese but claimed by India, the white line which surrounds is what Indian believes its border should be, whereas the black line was agreed after then 1962 Sino-Indian War - a heavy defeat for India)

Also on Friday, Mr Zhao said that China was not holding any Indian soldiers, without addressing media reports that China released 10 of them late on Thursday.

'My information is that at present there are no Indian personnel detained on the Chinese side,' Zhao said, according to an English version of his daily briefing posted on the ministry website.

Indian officials have denied that any soldiers were in Chinese custody.

Meanwhile satellite images appear to show China deploying new machinery and damming a river in the Himalayan mountainside where tensions boiled over into the worst violence on the border since 1967.

The machinery was sighted on Tuesday, having not been there a week before - and Indian media suggests the Chinese troops involved in Monday's clash might have 'surged' from these positions.

One US-based expert said China appeared to be blocking the river which crosses the Line of Actual Control, a move which would frustrate Indian troops who have just built a new 200ft bridge on their side.

India says 20 soldiers were killed in what it claimed was a pre-meditated attack near the line which separates the world's two most populous countries.

China blames Indian soldiers for provoking the conflict, which is thought to have left around 45 Chinese soldiers dead or injured. But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took India's side last night, offering his 'deepest condolences to the people of India for the lives lost'.

This satellite image shows 'bulldozers' blocking the flow of a river in the Galwan Valley close to where Indian and Chinese soldiers had a deadly clash on Monday night

The images appear to show China bringing in pieces of machinery and cutting a trail in the Himalayan mountainside in the last 10 days

Indian media described this as a Chinese 'motorcade' and one expert said China appeared to be 'constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river' for unknown purposes

A satellite image from Google Earth of the Galwan Valley. No military forces are visible in this earlier image

The satellite pictures, taken by Earth-imaging company Planet Labs, show signs of altering the landscape of the valley through widening tracks, moving earth and making river crossings, one expert said.

'Looking at it in Planet, it looks like China is constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river,' Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California's Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

'There are a ton of vehicles on both sides - although there appear to be vastly more on the Chinese side. I count 30-40 Indian vehicles and well over 100 vehicles on the Chinese side.'

The images also show machinery along the mountains and in the Galwan River.

According to the Hindustan Times, India has just finished building a 200ft strategic bridge over the river which allows for 'rapid military mobilisation' - but rerouting the river could make the bridge pointless.

'We did not pause work on this bridge through the stand-off and kept working despite the violent face-off on June 15,' a senior army officer was quoted as saying.

Indian broadcaster NDTV said the Chinese build-up also included 'pre-fabricated huts for accommodation' and a Chinese 'motorcade' near the site of the clash.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was unaware of the specifics on the ground but claimed that the Indian army had crossed into Chinese territory in several places in recent days.

Soldiers have been facing off on the border in the barren, uninhabited mountains since early May amid claims of intrusion on either side.

Under an old agreement between the two nuclear-armed powers, no shots are fired at the border, but there have been sporadic fisticuffs in recent years.

An Indian army convoy driving on a highway leading towards the Chinese border yesterday, four days after the deadly clash in the Himalayas which saw the worst violence on the border since 1967

An Indian army soldier looks towards an Indian fighter plane from a convoy of trucks making their way towards Leh, a town in the Indian-controlled area of Ladakh

Members of Narendra Modi's BJP party burn images of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and throw away Chinese products during a demonstration in Mumbai yesterday

People carry the coffin of Satnam Singh, an Indian soldier killed in the border clash, during his funeral in Gurdaspur on Thursday

On Thursday Beijing released 10 Indian soldiers who were seized in Monday's clash, ahead of fresh talks to ease tensions. India's army said there were no remaining soldiers 'missing in action' after the troops were freed.

India says the dispute was triggered by a row over two Chinese tents and observation towers allegedly built on the wrong side of the line.

China had sought to erect a 'structure' on India's side even after military officials had reached an agreement on June 6 to de-escalate, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar claimed on Wednesday.

Indian colonel Santosh Babu was one of those killed in the hours-long brawl, which is thought to have involved up to 900 soldiers.

Emotions were high in the southern city of Hyderabad, where thousands watched the colonel's funeral procession on Thursday.

Post-mortems showed that the 'primary reason for death is drowning and it looks like they fell from a height into the water because of head injuries,' one Indian official said.

The clash has fanned growing anti-Chinese sentiments in India, which were already high because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian PM Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that 'there should be no doubt that India wants peace, but if provoked, India will provide an appropriate response'.

An Indian fighter plane flew on the Indian side of the border yesterday - with India's prime minister Narendra Modi facing demands for tough action from the opposition and media

Indian military vehicles drove towards Leh yesterday following an outbreak of violence on the border and signs that China has been literally altering the landscape of the region

An Indian convoy drove on the mountainside yesterday following the violence which broke out in the disputed area this week

Nationalist Modi was elected to a second term following a campaign focused on national security after spiraling tensions with old enemy Pakistan.

Tension with China, whose economy is five times bigger than India's and which spends three times as much on its military, has become Modi's most serious foreign policy challenge since he took power in 2014.

He is now facing pressure to respond aggressively with the opposition and media demanding that India 'push back' against China.

'There is a lot of pressure on the Indian side, the emotions are high among the public,' defence analyst Rahul Bedi said.

'It remains to be seen whether India will sit down at the negotiating table with China and say it will like to change these agreements to make them a little more aggressive or offensive in nature,' he said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao rejected the Indian version of the events leading up to the clash. 'The rights and wrongs of this incident are very clear. The responsibility does not lie with China,' he said.

China rejects the allegation of intrusion and has asked India not to build roads in the area, claiming it to be its territory.

Unlike in India, the incident did not receive wall-to-wall coverage in China, where official media reported a statement on the incident from the Chinese army's Western Command.

Indian activists burn an effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a protest in war memorial near Dharamsala on Friday

Tibetan and Indian activists hold a banner declaring 'Boycott China' at McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on Friday
SOUTH HAVEN, MI  A 19-year-old woman who was hospitalized after being pulled from Lake Michigan earlier this week has died, police say.

The woman was identified as Jazmyn Patterson, of South Haven, according to a news release issued by South Haven Area Emergency Services Friday, June 19.

Patterson was pulled from the water at South Havens South Beach by passersby in a small watercraft Tuesday, June 16, police said.

RELATED: 19-year-old hospitalized after being pulled from Lake Michigan

South Haven Area Emergency Services responded to a report of a possible drowning at 6:14 p.m. and paramedics administered life saving efforts on the woman, according to the release.

Paramedics reportedly transported the woman to Bronson South Haven Hospital to be treated for her injuries. Patterson was later transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo via AirCare, according to a release issued at later that evening.

Patterson died from her injuries at a Kalamazoo-area area hospital, according to the June 19 news release. Authorities did not specify when she was pronounced dead.

Authorities said green flags were flying at South Haven beaches at the time of the water rescue. The surface water temperature was reported at 62 degrees.

South Haven Area Emergency Services authorities were assisted at the water rescue by South Haven Police Department.

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Craig Messmer is plenty familiar with long commutes. The principal at Leonard V. Moore Middle School in Roselle lives in Pennsylvania, and he drives about 60 miles each way while traveling to and from the school.

I have probably the longest commute in the entire district, Messmer laughed.

Saturday will feature another day of travel, but it will all be confined to Roselle.

Messmer will walk the streets of the Union County town in an effort to honor students and sixth-grade graduates from his school, while also raising money to support them.

The journey will start at 5 a.m., and Messmer plans to walk for 19 hours until midnight. The trek is expected to cover nearly 59 miles.

Along with schools around New Jersey, Leonard V. Moore Middle School was forced into remote learning at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, and sixth graders didnt get the chance to finish out their final months before moving on to junior high.

Messmer wanted to make the walk to honor those students that have been confined to their homes for months.

I wanted do something for the sixth graders that werent getting any of their end-of-the-year activities  all the graduation stuff, year-book signing and pizza day that we normally do, Messmer said. So I came up with this idea. COVID-19, 19-hour walk. Im just gonna try to go up and down every street in the town.

Messmer launched a GoFundMe with a goal of raising $1,900 to help some Roselle families that have been affected during the pandemic. As of Friday night, nearly $3,000 had been donated.

The walk has a theme of Challenge yourself during challenging times, and Messmer said he hoped to show his students that extraordinary things can be done under trying circumstances.

Principal Messmer is the perfect example of the type of dedication and commitment that Roselle Public Schools educators have to their students, Interim Schools Superintendent Dr. James Baker said. We have high hopes that this fundraiser will be able to provide some relief to those in need within our Roselle community.

Due to continued social distancing guidelines, students wont be walking with Messmer on his journey, but hes encouraged them to step outside to give a wave as he passes.

But walking by and giving a small token of appreciation is enough for Messmer, and hes happy to be raising money for the families of students.

The support has come from teachers, come from people in the community, from family, Messmer said. A lot of it has come from outside of Roselle, so people that maybe have a little bit more and are able to bring it to people that need a little bit more, has felt really good. Its been a real team effort. ... I think weve got a shot at doubling the original goal, which would be great.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
BRIDGEPORT  A motorcyclist suffered a broken leg in a crash on city streets Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Bridgeport Fire Department units responded to the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Baldwin Street around 3 p.m. for a report of a crash, according to initial dispatch reports.

Scott Appleby, the citys director of emergency communications and emergency management, said the crash involved a Jeep and a motorcycle.

The motorcyclist received a broken leg and lacerations and (was) transported to the hospital, Appleby said.

Contributed Photo / Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo

Police continue to investigate the crash.
Turkey on Saturday said Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya need to withdraw from the strategic city of Sirte for a ceasefire agreement to be reached and accused France of "jeopardising" NATO security by backing him. Ankara's support for the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has turned the tide in the conflict in Libya which has been mired in fighting between rival groups since a 2011 uprising toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Haftar, a former Kadhafi army commander who is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, has been battling to take the capital Tripoli since last year. Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidential spokesman, said that Turkey supports the GNA position that Sirte and Al-Jufra should be evacuated by Haftar's LNA forces for a "sustainable ceasefire." "It should be a sustainable ceasefire, meaning that the other side, the LNA (Libyan National Army), should not be in a position to launch another attack on the legitimate Libyan government any time it wants," Kalin told AFP in an interview in Istanbul. Kalin said a ceasefire in Libya would be possible if everybody went back to their positions in 2015, referring to a political agreement reached that year in Morocco. That would mean Haftar withdrawing from Sirte and Al-Jufra. "This is the position of the GNA and we support it because right now the Haftar forces are using these strategic locations as their launching pad," he said. Turkish-backed GNA forces, which regained control of the whole of northwest Libya early this month, remain hampered in their advance toward Sirte, a coastal city and a gateway to major oil fields in the east. The hometown of Kadhafi, Sirte, located 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, was a stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) group, before being taken over in 2016 by the GNA. It fell last January into the hands of Haftar's camp. Turkey has forged strong ties with GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, sending drones and air defence systems that helped him repel Haftar's recent offensive. A high-level Turkish delegation including Kalin, the foreign minister and intelligence chief visited Tripoli on Wednesday. - 'Jeopardising NATO security'- Kalin also accused France of "jeopardising" NATO's security by supporting Haftar. "In Libya we are supporting the legitimate government and the French government is supporting an illegitimate warlord and jeopardising NATO security, Mediterranean security, North African security and Libya's political stability," Kalin said. "Given all this they still blame us, they still criticise us ... We are working with the legitimate actors here. It is France that is intervening in all of those areas, working with the wrong actors, supporting illegitimate players and then turning and accusing us." Tensions have increased between Turkey and France, which has long been suspected of favouring Haftar until his recent battlefield setbacks. NATO has launched an official investigation into a naval incident in the Mediterranean between the alliance members after France denounced an "extremely aggressive" act by Turkish frigates against a French navy vessel. Paris has complained that one of its ships was subjected to radar targeting by Turkish frigates while trying to inspect a cargo vessel believed to be carrying arms to Libya. But Ankara dismissed the allegations as "groundless". "France for us is an important NATO ally. It is an important country in Europe. We don't want to have any tensions with France or any other country," Kalin said. - 'Unreliable'- Eastern based Haftar -- a 76-year-old former Kadhafi loyalist turned defector who spent years living in the United States -- has been backed by powers including Russia, the UAE and Egypt with aircraft, weapons and mercenaries. Turkey sees no role for Haftar in Libya's future. "He has been unreliable from the very beginning. He has spoiled every single ceasefire agreement, every attempt at de-escalation and the GNA will not support any talks that will involve Haftar. This is what we are gathering from their analysis and we support that," Kalin said. Kalin accused the UAE of "financing this war" in Libya and called "foolish" its attempts to attack Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their role in the Arab-Muslim world. On Egypt, Kalin said Ankara understands Cairo's "legitimate" security concerns over the Egyptian-Libyan border but supporting Haftar is a "wrong policy". "They should support the GNA, they should support a Libyan-led political process." Asked about Turkey's future in Libya, Kalin said: "We will be there as long as we are requested by the Libyan government to be there." Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) had been battling to take the capital since last year Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson ?brahim Kal?n, seen here last year, says Haftar's forces need to pull back from Sirte Map showing the positions of forces fighting in Libya, as of June 3
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After his Covid Rani and Nipah Rajkumari remarks against state health minister K K Shailaja triggered a controversy, Kerala Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran on Saturday said his words were twisted by a section of the media. He also said there was no need for him to apologise over the issue.

Ramachandran said he used these epithets with a good intention to expose the states failure on Covid-19 battlefront. I stick to what I said. Queen and Rajkumari are not derogatory terms. I always hold women in high esteem.

He went on to justify his remarks, saying, Recently a UK paper (The Guardian) had called the minister a rock star..

The PCC president had made the controversial remarks against the health minister on Friday while inaugurating the one-day sit in protest of opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala demanding withdrawal of a government circular making Covid-19 free certificates mandatory for expatriates returning from the Gulf countries.

The minister is trying to get the label of Covid Rani and earlier she was fighting for the title of Nipah Rajkumari, he had said adding she was after records and laurels and not interested expatriates dying steadily in Gulf countries.

He also reiterated his charge that the health minister was only a guest artist during the 2018 Nipah outbreak in north Kerala. Nipah outbreak happened in my constituency while I was Vadakara MP. The minister was camping at the guest house. Her role was only limited at that time and rest was publicity, he said.

As the PCC chief, also a former minister, stuck to his position, many senior leaders and others criticised him. They included Sajeesh, the husband of Lini Puthserry, a nurse who was at the forefront of helping Nipah victims at Kozhikode in 2018, but died, succumbing to the disease. Sajeesh said he was pained over the Congress leaders comments. He said when his wife died Ramachandran, then MP, even failed to make a call to him.

But Ramachandran denied the allegations and released some photos and a letter to cite that he was active in his constituency during the niaph outbreak. He said health workers and doctors fought nipah valiantly and credit should go to them.

The Congress, however, has not reacted to Ramachandrans remarks so far. When asked about this AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said he was not aware of what exactly the PCC president had said and will find out details from him.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) women and youth wings took out protest rallies against the Congress leader at many places in the state, saying he insulted the minister.

The first state to report Covid-19 cases in the country, Kerala had reported 2,912 infections till Saturday morning, as per the Union health ministry dashboard. These include 1,380 active cases and 21 deaths from the disease.
Robert Cross only got to Washington Park after the Drive to Justice motorcade had left, wrapping up the local Newark celebration of Juneteenth on Friday.

And although the Black Marine Corps veteran and retired Coast Guard pipe fitter had heard of Juneteenth, Cross said he had no idea what the holiday was for.

Im 68 years old and I dont know nothing about it, said Cross, a Virginia native who has lived in Newark since 1968.

A lot of people dont.

The non-federal holiday commemorates the landing of Union Army Major General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, notifying officials of the Confederate state that the Civil War had been won by the North and that slavery was over. The holiday, also known as Freedom Day, is officially embraced by most states, including New Jersey.

Friday June 19, 2020 - Service Employees International Union member Louis Nicastro waves a flag from his car stopped on Washington Street, in Newark, at the end of a Drive to Justice Motorcade and March, part of a 33-city National Day of Action by the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

To raise awareness of the holiday during a particularly relevant time in Americas history of racial justice, the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition was formed by the civil rights groups Until Freedom, The Gathering For Justice, and the Indigenous Peoples Movement, along with Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, whose 13,000 members in New Jersey are about 35% Black. Newark was one of 30 cities across the country where a caravan was run.

The coalitions formation and its first-ever Juneteenth motorcade this year is directly related to the continuing nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last month and fueled by similar cases.

Thats why were doing it, 32BJs New Jersey state director, Kevin Brown, said in the parking lot of a Shoprite supermarket on Springfield Avenue, the epicenter of Newarks deadly rioting in 1967, five days of fiery unrest also sparked by police brutality.

Friday June 19, 2020 - A tree in Washington Park in Newark has become a canvas for artwork representing a human face. Outside the park was the last stop for a In Newark, a Drive to Justice Motorcade and March by Service Employees International Union, is part of a 33-city National Day of Action by the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Several dozen cars had gathered in the Springfield Avenue parking lot and, with Newark Police cruisers escorting them, pulled out of the lot and drove past Newark City Hall, Newark Penn Station and other high-profile locations, before arriving and dispersing at Washington Park.

Along the way, some 40 sedans, minivans and SUVs festooned with Black Lives Matter posters and hand-scrawled messages hailing Freedom Day! drew the attention of pedestrians and other motorists. Caravan drivers honked their horns while their protesting passengers waved or leaned out windows and sun roofs.

The caravan was not Newarks only Juneteenth celebration.

A few blocks from Washington Park, in Newarks redeveloping downtown section, civil rights and community activists from the Maroon Project and Young, Black & Gifted groups, held a rally at Military Park along Broad Street near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Friday June 19, 2020 - A car in a motorcarde crosses Springfield Avenue in Newark at the start of a a Drive to Justice Motorcade and March by Service Employees International Union, is part of a 33-city National Day of Action by the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Yall dont do that chant in Newark? asked one of the speakers, Derecka Purnell, a Harvard Law School-trained human rights lawyer, trying to teach and lead about 300 attendees in a chant they do in Baltimore, where she is based. Indict! Convict! And send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as Hell!

One of the organizers, Newark-born Nyle Fort, a PhD candidate at Princeton University, told the crowd not to ignore the everyday oppression that saps time, money and vitality out of Black lives in forms as banal yet deflating as parking tickets.

Spectacular violence of police killing Black boys and girls and spilling their blood into the streets is only the tip of the iceberg, said Fort, whose doctoral theses examines the largely mourning-based nature of Black activism. If you go underneath the water, you see the fines and fees that they put on our cars every single day that de-fund our community.

Reflecting on Juneteenth in 2020, Robert Cross of Newark, a 68-year-old Marine Corps combat veteran, said police brutality and racial discrimination is not what he fought for.Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com

City officials, meanwhile, were working to ensure that Juneteenth remains a big celebration in the Brick City for years to come.

Mayor Ras Baraka signed an executive order Thursday that required lessons to be taught to city employees about the emancipation of slaves every Juneteenth. He hosted a virtual teach-in with artists, Rutgers University professors and the citys official historian to explain not only the past, but the fight for equality moving forward.

Back at Washington Park, Robert Cross said he had never been the victim of racial discrimination, not that he was aware of, anyway. But that didnt mean he wasnt bothered by the injustice he had seen and heard of throughout his life, and the brutality that has dominated the news and public dialogue in recent months.

Discrimination and brutality are not what he fought for, what many died for, Cross said. Many of my friends were cut down in the line of duty, said Cross. This should be known and should be recognized as the home of the brave and the land of the free.

How Black people are held differently from white people, it should not be that way, Cross said. Were better than that.

Staff reporter Rebecca Panico contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Les analystes de la Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd ont publie la nouvelle edition du MCB Focus qui a principal sujet Post-Budget Outlook.

Gilbert Gnany, Chief Strategy Officer de la MCB indique:-

Concerning the key export markets of Mauritius, the economic fallout of the pandemic is already being witnessed in first quarter readings.

Il ajoute plus loin:-

The authorities have, notably, introduced a Wage Support Scheme to assist private sector businesses in paying wages and a Self-Employed Assistance Scheme, with further measures unveiled to support SMEs and MMEs through the Investment Support Programme Ltd, the State Investment Corporation and Development Bank of Mauritius.

Sur linclusion de Maurice sur le High-Risk Third Countries de la Commission Europeenne le Chief Strategy Officer de la MCB avance:-

Overall, the inclusion of Mauritius on the EC list calls for attention to the extent that this can have a detrimental impact on the long-term attractiveness and competitiveness of the Mauritian International Financial Centre. Encouragingly, the national authorities expressed their high-level political commitment to accelerate efforts towards promptly removing Mauritius from the list. While reinforcing communication and strategic dialogue with the European Union, the Government recently announced that it intends to address the five remaining recommendations under the FATF Action Plan for Mauritius by September 2020 (i.e. one year ahead of the scheduled timeframe which was initially agreed with the FATF). In the Budget Speech, key initiatives towards these ends have been announced, including the (i) introduction of a new AML/CFT (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to complement the existing legislative framework; and (ii) setting up of a dedicated and specialised Financial Offences Court.

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Sonia Gandhi asks question on intelligence failure, accuses the government of keeping the opposition in dark in the all-party meeting on Friday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that there was no intelligence failure in the violent face-off in Ladakhs Galwan Valley, which claimed the lives of 20 Indian Army soldiers.

There was no intelligence failure, Singh said in the all-party meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on India-China border issue, as per sources.

In the meeting, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi asked if there was an intelligence failure.

Gandhi targetted the government over its handling of intrusions by China in Eastern Ladakh, saying it lost time, failed to use all avenues which resulted in the loss of lives of 20 soldiers in the violent face-off in Galwan Valley and asked if there was an intelligence failure.

Also read: Armed forces have full freedom to take appropriate action: PM Modi on India China border issue

Also read: China blames India for Galwan valley face-off

Gandhi said that the opposition parties and people were still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis.

The leaders who took part in the meeting include Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP chief JP Nadda.

The Prime Minister and leaders also paid tributes to soldiers who lost their lives in the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

The face-off happened on June 15 as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash.

Also read: YSRCP stands by Centres decision on China: CM Jagan Mohan Reddy to PM Modi

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Apple Inc. is temporarily shutting some of its U.S. retail stores again after cases of Covid-19 spiked in some areas across the country.

The closures will impact 11 stores across Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas, an Apple spokesman said Friday in a statement after being contacted by Bloomberg News.

We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible. Apple shares slipped on the news.

The global coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, with a record 150,000 cases reported Thursday, said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Cases have recently spiked in some U.S. states, including Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, California, Texas and Arizona, prompting local governments to consider new measures.

Apple had reopened the majority of its U.S. locations, including many stores in major markets like New York City and Los Angeles.

The stores being closed are Waterside Shops and Coconut Point in Florida, Southpark and Northlake Mall in North Carolina, Haywood Mall in South Carolina, and Chandler Fashion Center, Scottsdale Fashion Square, Arrowhead, SanTan Village, Scottsdale Quarter and La Encantada in Arizona.

Apple said customers will be able to pick up device repairs at the stores over the weekend. Employees of the closed stores will continue be paid, the company said. Apple didnt provide a timeline for reopening.

Apple originally closed all its stores outside of China in March to help curb the spread of Covid-19. Its reopened stores were split into categories of in-store shopping, curbside service or shopping by appointment only. Apple has also required customers to follow a health checklist, conduct social distancing and wear masks while in the store.

Deirdre OBrien, the Cupertino, California-based technology giants retail chief, previously told employees that she would close reopened stores if necessary.
EDWARDSVILLE  A judge has denied a request from a local business group to temporarily stop Gov. J.B. Pritzker from enforcing state-mandated pandemic rules.

Circuit Judge Christopher Threlkeld has ruled the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce is unlikely to succeed in its ultimate goal of obtaining an injunction against Pritzkers order. To justify a temporary restraining order, the chamber had to demonstrate it was raising a fair question that may allow a final favorable ruling.

The court finds that the plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on its statutory interpretation, Threlkeld wrote.

The judge also ruled that the chamber has not identified any of its members who have a protectable right or interest at stake. The chambers pleadings makes only conclusions and no allegation of fact, he wrote in his order.

It is clear that the chamber has not plead any facts to identify a single member who is being irreparably harmed, Threlkeld wrote.

In May, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court claiming Pritzker does not have the authority to close down businesses because the governor issued the state order under a section of law that refers to a disaster.

The suit refers to orders Pritzker issued in response to the pandemic in an effort to prevent people from coming into close contact. Pritzker has referred to the pandemic as a public health emergency, the suit states.

The chamber argued the governors disaster declaration could only be in effect for 30 days and he did not have the power to extend the declaration by issuing subsequent declarations.

Threlkeld disagreed. He noted governors have often issued disaster orders for more than 30 days in cases in which the disaster continues. He cited flooding and the H1N1 virus as examples.

In public statements, the chamber has said the governor has seriously harmed local businesses, which make up its membership.

After more than two months of many businesses being shut down, a soaring unemployment rate, and economic devastation, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce decided to take this action on behalf of our small businesses, said Desiree Bennyhoff, president and CEO of the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce when the suit was filed by Thomas Devore of Greenville who has filed similar suits on behalf of other plaintiffs.

The court is aware of the economic devastation in Illinois and Madison County as a result of the governors executive orders and is not saying that the governors authority to exercise his emergency powers is without restraint, the judge wrote.

As the act outlines, he must identify an occurrence to support each proclamation, and if the occurrence is not-exeistent, then those affected can petition for redress, the judge concluded.

Elsewhere in his order, Threlkeld stated Pritzker has cited dozens of findings of fact in his orders.

The plaintiff here has not challenged the factual basis for the governors proclamations, wrote Threlkeld, a Republican who was appointed as resident circuit judge by Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier. Pritzker is a Democrat.
Air India

New Delhi: As the aviation industry is facing a major financial crunch amid the Coronavirus pandemic, Air India on Friday announced a 'shorter working week scheme' for its permanent employees.

Under this scheme the permanent employees, excluding the pilots and cabin crew members, can opt to work for three days a week at 60 per cent salary, senior airline officials informed.

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The officials further said that this measure has been introduced to improve the airline's cash flow position that has been adversely affected by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Employees opting for the 'shorter working week scheme' can avail it for a period of 1 year, however, these employees would not have the option to take any other employment during the remaining days of the week, the officials said.

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Air indiaAfter suspending domestic flight operations for about two months due to the nationwide lockdown induced to contain the spread of the lethal infection, India has resumed its domestic passenger flights from May 25 in a curtailed manner. However, International flights continue to remain suspended in the country.
Protesters in France have covered the country's health ministry with red paint to campaign against poor working conditions for healthcare staff.

A small group of activists sprayed the building on Saturday in an act meant to symbolise the blood of those who have died from coronavirus.

"For years, health workers have been alerting us to the fact they don't have enough resources with regards to staff, beds and equipment to be able to allow us to look after people decently," Aurelie Trouve, a spokeswoman for the Attac activist group behind the protest, said.

Staff are demanding higher pay and more hospital staff after France's once-renowned healthcare system struggled to cope with the virus crisis following years of cost cuts.

Protesters also placed a giant, medal-shaped banner dubbed 'Medal of Contempt' on the steps of the health ministry to highlight what they said was the government's failure to listen to the concerns of healthcare workers.

Videos of the demonstration shows people spraying red paint over the glass doors and the sign at the front of the building.

The government has decided to pay a 1,500 euros (1,360) bonus to public sector healthcare workers to honour their role in helping the country tackle its coronavirus outbreak.

Yet many in the sector feel the government should do more for them, and violence broke out this week at another protest held by healthcare workers in Paris.

France has seen thousands of coronavirus deaths, with the toll standing at 29,617 on Saturday afternoon.

More than 195,900 people have tested positive for the virus to date.

Additional reporting by Reuters
New Delhi, June 20 : A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that Chinese troops did not intrude into Indian territory, the Congress on Saturday once again slammed the government saying his remarks contradicts earlier statements made by Chief of Army Staff M.M. Narvane, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Addressing a press conference through video conferencing, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said, "I wish to begin by reiterating what the Congress President Sonia Gandhi said yesterday at the all party meeting. She said, that the Congress stand by our defence forces and are prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle ready." Chidambaram further said that at the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister made his concluding remarks.

"These remarks have left practically everyone baffled and bewildered. The Prime Minister said, that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh," the Congress leader said.

Lamenting the Prime Minister, Chidambaram said, "It is quite obvious that the Prime Minister's statement contradicts the earlier statements made by the Chief of Army Staff, the Defence Minister and the Foreign Minister." The Congress leader emphasised that if the Prime Minister's statement reflects the correct position, we would like to ask the government a few questions.

"If no Chinese troops had crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and are in Indian territory, what was the faceoff on May 5-6, 2020? Between May 5 and June 6, what was the issue on which local Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts? What was the subject matter of the negotiations between the Corps Commanders of the two countries on June 6?" he said firing salvos at Modi.

Referring to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan vallwey by the Chinese People Liberation's Army (PLA) troops in an unprecedented attack on Monday night, Chidambaram said, "We would also like to ask, if no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured?" His remarks came a day after Modi categorically stated in the all-party meeting on the Chinese intrusion in the Galwan Valley and the killing of Indian soldiers that "no Indian post or territory is occupied by anyone." The Prime Minister had emphasized that all necessary steps for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure will continue to be taken at a fast pace.

Modi had also reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend the borders and said that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.

Sharpening the attack on government, the Congress leader said, "If no Chinese troops are in Indian territory, why did Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar's statement and other statements of MEA demand the restoration of status quo ante? What was the meaning of status quo ante? What was the meaning of the disengagement that the government said was underway?" He also questioned that if no Chinese troops are inside Indian territory in Ladakh, why did 20 soldiers had to make the supreme sacrifice.

THe Congress leader said that even after the Modi's statement on Friday, China has blamed India for the clashes and has re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan valley.

"What is the government's answer to this claim? Will the government reject this claim?" he questioned.

Cornering the government, Chidambaram further said that when the Prime Minister said a few days ago that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain, what did he have in mind? "Why and where did the soldiers sacrifice their lives, and how will the government ensure that the sacrifice will not be in vain?" he questioned.

He said the defence of the nation and its territorial integrity are dear to the heart of every Indian. "We therefore seek answers to the questions with a view to re-double our commitment and present a picture of unity and solidarity," Chidambaram added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Sarita Metzger speaks outside of the shuttered Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, June 7, 2020. The group of over 70 doctors, medical workers and protesters marched from Hahnemann to City Hall. Read more

Nearly a year after Hahnemann University Hospital slid into bankruptcy, the imposing shell of the shuttered safety-net facility has become a symbol of inequity in health care amid a pandemic that has hit Philadelphias African American population especially hard.

On June 5, health-care workers and medical students protested police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by kneeling in front of the closed Center City hospital before marching north on Broad Street to Temple University.

Two days later, dozens of doctors and other health-care workers rallied in front of Hahnemann to decry what one of them called the medical systems alarming and unethical racial disparities.

I love Hahnemann, and I was here when the city turned its back on this place, said Sarita Metzger at the second rally. She was starting her third year of residency last summer when the perennially money-losing hospital closed.

Despite moving on to complete her psychiatry residency at another Philadelphia hospital, Metzger said, she has not stopped thinking about Hahnemann, what it meant to this community and how it provided care to people who would not have had access otherwise, and we just let it go.

 READ MORE: Why are so many black Americans dying of COVID-19?

The loss of Hahnemann resonates today, amid a societal reckoning with race, because the hospital served a predominantly black population that was mostly on government insurance. Three out of five Hahnemann inpatients were black in 2018, compared with two out of five for Philadelphia hospitals as a whole, according to state data.

And its not lost on Metzger and others that African Americans  44% of the citys population  have accounted for half the citys COVID-19 deaths.

Many former patients came from poor neighborhoods in lower North Philadelphia. Its impossible to know how many have gone without needed health care or struggled to line up new specialists since the hospital discharged its last inpatient on July 26 and closed its emergency department three weeks later.

Temple University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvanias Pennsylvania Hospital all reported increases in emergency room traffic after Hahnemann closed, but were able to absorb it. The four Philadelphia systems took on 249 of Hahnemanns orphaned doctors-in-training and hired hundreds of doctors, nurses and other employees from Hahnemann.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health doesnt have enough data to examine the short- or long-term impact of Hahnemanns closure on access to care, a spokesperson said. The coronavirus pandemic made it even harder to assess damage to patient care from the closure.

 READ MORE: Hahnemann University Hospital closed after many years of losses

But the grief caused by Hahnemanns closure is clear to Mary Thornton-Bowmer, a family nurse-practitioner at Stephen & Sandra Sheller 11th St. Family Health Services. The clinic, at 850 N. 11 St., just over a mile from Hahnemann by foot, is run by Drexel University in partnership with the Family Practice and Counseling Network. It offers primary care, dental services, mental-health care, and physical therapy.

Most of our patients lived in the community, and they depended on Hahnemann for various amounts of services, Thornton-Bowmer said. It wasnt just the emergency room, but also their specialists, their cardiologists, their rheumatologists, ophthalmologists, their GYNs for gynecological services, prenatal care, she said.

Thornton-Bowmer said her patients didnt always feel welcomed at other nearby providers. Temple University Hospital was better in that way, but also not in an area that is always accessible to our patients, she said.

Last June, after the closure was announced, a group of Philadelphia health-care executives started meeting to talk about ways to save a smaller version of Hahnemann  while keeping the hospitals allotment of doctor training positions paid by Medicare in the region.

The idea also was to maintain the busy emergency department with a small number of inpatient beds for patients who would quickly transfer to full-scale hospitals, if needed. That would have been coupled with emergency and longer-term behavioral health services, including substance abuse treatment.

I still believe the location is terrific, said Daniel J. Hilferty, who was involved in those talks as president and chief executive of Independence Health Group, the Philadelphia regions largest health insurer.

 READ MORE: Phillys tough hospital market - not greed - did in Hahnemann

The financial distress that health systems have come under because of COVID-19 and the difficulty of dealing with Hahnemanns mercurial owner, Joel Freedman, have made it unlikely that a local coalition would emerge to bring vital health-care services back to the Hahnemann site, Hilferty said. I may be dead wrong, and frankly, I hope Im wrong, he said.

Hahnemann and the affiliated medical school now part of Drexel occupied the city block between Broad Street and 15th Street on the east and west and Race and Vine Streets on the south and north. Other nearby properties are also part of the complex. Freedmans investment partner and lender Harrison Street Real Estate owns part of it.

Tenet Healthcare Corp., the previous owner, failed to maintain the properties, according to the local health-care executives. Theyve estimated that the 14-story main hospital building would have needed anywhere from $100 million to $200 million in work to bring it up to current hospital standards.

I dont know what the real estate is worth, especially in light of the virus, Freedman said last month.

Freedman, who has hired Newmark Knight Frank to manage the property, said he only hopes to cover his personal losses on his Philadelphia venture  which he estimated at more than $10 million  and would prefer to sell the Hahnemann property to a health-care buyer, someone who will do right by the city.

 READ MORE: The owner of Hahnemann hospital says hes not the coronavirus villain you think he is

But if not, I have an obligation to my creditors to sell it anyway, and well end up doing the best we can for our creditors, who are owed as much as $100 million, he said. St. Christophers Hospital for Children, which went into bankruptcy along with Hahnemann, has been sold to pay off some of Freedmans debts.

Roberta Waite, director of the Sheller clinic on North 11th Street, which sees about 6,000 patients annually, said the possibility of the Hahnemann property being developed into condominiums weighs on the community that the clinic serves.

That gets into the issue of power, capitalism, gentrification, and what all of that means when black and brown individuals are disrupted and relocated and pushed out of the community that was there for others to come in, Waite said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the citys push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.
Governor Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa on Saturday announced the immediate reopening of the state boundaries with others which were shut on March 24 because of coronavirus pandemic.

The governor, who made the announcement at a news conference in Dutse, also said that movement from other states to Jigawa would now be allowed under strict compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the reopening of the borders came a week after the state government reopened all weekly markets in the state which were shut nine weeks ago.

NAN reports that 307 of the 317 COVID-19 patients in the state, have been discharged while one is still being treated and nine have died.

We are full of prayers not to retreat back to those anxious and uncertain moments of the past.

We have only one coronavirus patient with active disease while the remaining in the isolation centre have recovered and been discharged.

We also thank God that in the last four days there has been no reported case of COVID-19 in the state. With ardent prayers and support of the Jigawa people, we are determined to sustain the tempo, Mr Badaru said.

The governor, however, said the state had closed the Fanisau Isolation Centre temporarily, pending when a new case of the disease was recorded.

He further announced that the Federal Government had donated N1billion COVID-19 grant to the state, in addition to 150 truck loads of grains as palliatives to cushion the effects of the lockdown in the state.

Mr Badaru said the grains were delivered to the state through the National Emergency and Management Agency (NEMA), adding that 11 of the 150 truck loads had already arrived in the state.

We will use the already established method of distribution through the polling units, to get to the less privileged, in order to lessen the hardship faced by these groups of individuals, he said.

The governor, however, said that schools would remain closed in the state, pending when the situation of coronavirus pandemic improved in the country. (NAN)
Rush Transcript: On 111th Day of COVID-19 Briefings, Governor Cuomo Delivers Address: "It's Clear That Over the Past Three Months, We Have Done the Impossible"

June 19, 2020

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Today is Friday, Juneteenth, and New York is declaring it a holiday in recognition of the ending of slavery. So, I gave everyone today off, and I can handle this last daily COVID briefing alone. After 111 days of hell, they all deserve a break. They all do. Today's facts are more good news, and I don't even need a PowerPoint to explain them. The hospitalization number's, 1,284, the lowest number we have seen. We conducted 79,000 tests yesterday, which is a record high for us. And we have the lowest weekly infection rate, less than 1 percent. And we have the lowest weekly average of lives lost, 25 souls each day, and we'll remember them in our thoughts and prayers. All regions of the state have lower infection rates, and the state experts have gone over all the data and they will allow New York City to begin Phase Two on Monday.

But, COVID isn't over. We still have much more to do. We have to monitor the local infection rate, local governments must ensure compliance and do tracing, we have to watch out for a second wave, we have to watch out for possible infections coming now from other states, and many people need help to get their lives back to normal. But with all of that, it's clear that over the past three months, we have done the impossible. In the beginning, this virus hit us hard because it actually came from Europe after we were told that it was coming from China. When this started, we had more cases per capita than any state in the country or any nation on the globe.

But today, we have done a full 180, from worst to first. We are controlling the virus better than any state in the country and any nation on the globe. Even more, by reducing the infection rate, we saved over 100,000 people from being hospitalized and possibly dying, just think about that. It is an unimaginable achievement. I'm so incredibly proud of what we all did together, and as a community. We reopened the economy and we saved lives. Because it was never a choice between one or the other, it was always right to do both. Today, we are seeing the virus spreading in many places. More people will die, and it doesn't have to be that way. Forget the politics. Be smart, open the economy intelligently, and save lives at the same time. That's what we showed works in New York.

We owe thanks to so many people, to our heroes, the healthcare and essential workers, to our legislature, our colleagues in New Jersey, Connecticut and neighboring states, local governments, the Army Corps of Engineers that did a great job, and most of all, to the great people of the state, who rose to the occasion, who joined hands and did what they had to do. I want to thank all the people that helped me personally, my team in state government, led by Melissa DeRosa, with Rob Mujica, Dr. Zucker, Jim Malatras, Stephanie Benton, Linda Lacewell, Gareth Rhodes, Jill DesRosiers, Larry Schwartz, and so many, many more. I want to thank my Cara, Mariah and Michaela for keeping me grounded and making me laugh at times that I thought I would cry. Thank you to all the people who send me letters and tweets, and wave on the street, or give a thumbs up. I can't express how much it means to me. Your energy keeps me going, and your smiles lighten my soul, and I thank you. To the 59 million viewers who shared in these daily briefings, thank you. Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, thank you for believing in me and giving me support.

Good Lord knows I needed it, and don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Someone said to me, they were concerned because she relied on me to know what was happening. I will still do what I do. We just don't have to do it every day. And that's a good thing, and let's hope it stays that way. I know this period has been incredibly hard on all of us. I thought about it every day as climbing a mountain, the Mount Everest of social challenges, 42 days up the mountain and 69 days down the other side. Every step, every day, hurt and was hard. It was frightening and sad. But I really believe we will be the better for it. I believe we are. I was talking to Michaela the other day. She was supposed to graduate from college this year and she was going to have a great ceremony and a big party. I said that I was sorry that she would miss that, but she said something interesting. She said she was disappointed about missing the ceremony, but that she had learned a lot over these past 3 months. She learned about herself, she learned about government, she learned about people. She had gotten an education just when she thought her education was over. She's right.

After 62 years. when I thought I had seen it all, I've had an education too. A few weeks ago, I had been thinking that I was disappointed that we didn't get to unveil our new State seal that our legislature just changed to add the words, "e pluribus unum" - out of many, one. We did it back in April because we thought the country needed to remember at this time of division that Americans are one, that we are united. To remember that our nation's founding premise and enduring promise is unity. Then I realized, in many ways we did something even better.

We didn't just put the words on our State seal, we made the words come true. We made the words come to life. In this crisis we were united, we were there one for another, we did act as one. It was extraordinary. I've never seen or felt anything like it. I ask myself and today I ask you: Why did it take a crisis to bring us together? Why does government usually appeal to the worst in us rather than the best? Why do our politics today play to our fears and weaknesses rather than appeal to our strengths? Why doesn't government challenge us to reach higher and speak to our better angels? Why can't it motivate us by love rather than hate? Why doesn't government urge us to realize we are members of the same community, the same family? That we all benefit when we work together. Isn't that what we really showed over the past 111 days? That working together works. That the only way forward is if I protect you and you protect me. I wear a mask for you and you wear a mask for me.

If you care for me and I care for you, we showed that in the end love does win. Love does conquer all. That no matter how dark the day, love brings the light. That is what I will take from the past 111 days. It inspires me and energizes me and excites me. If we could accomplish together what we did here, this impossible task, of beating back this deadly virus then there is nothing we can't do. We will be better and we will be stronger for what we have gone through. It shows us how capable we are when we are at our best. It shows us that we have great potential to do even more and we will.

Now New York must lead the nation on police reform and lead the way on building back better. We must lead the way on reenergizing our economy and protecting our environment and welcoming a new era of civil rights and social justice. I know that we can. We learned that our better angels are stronger than our demons and sometimes we just need to listen for them.

Over the past 111 days, we heard them and it was beautiful.

Let's keep listening together. Thank you for everything and God bless.

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The discovery of antibodies that block the most infectious elements of the coronavirus is helping Bay Area scientists unlock the many mysteries of human immunity, and could be crucial in the development of a vaccine.

Epidemiologists have found neutralizing antibodies in fewer than 5% of COVID-19 patients, but the ones they are now attempting to isolate are unique in their ability to prevent SARS-CoV-2  the specific coronavirus that causes the illness  from entering human cells.

It means anyone with these antibodies would almost certainly be immune to the disease and that their blood plasma could potentially be used to inoculate others, according to several studies published over the past month by research laboratories in the United States and China.

Dr. George Rutherford, a UCSF infectious disease specialist, said neutralizing antibodies attack the virus crown-like spikes, which are the genesis of the name corona, preventing them from poking into and hijacking human cells.

This particular antibody prevents the key from going into the lock, Rutherford said, referring to the spike proteins, which must latch onto a human cell before the parasitic virus can replicate itself. Thats what you want if you are going to have immunity.

The super-strength antibody is one of many discoveries over the past three months by scientists in laboratories, hospitals and universities searching for a way to neutralize COVID-19. One thing thats clear from the research is how inconsistent the human immune system is. Researchers say, for instance, that while some infected people develop killer antibodies, others have no antibodies at all.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2020

Between 10% and 20% of patients with COVID-19 show no antibodies in serological tests, Rutherford said. The remaining 75% or more of coronavirus patients develop antibodies, he said, but they arent the neutralizing kind, indicating immunity to the disease might not last long in most people.

The way I think about it, we have a certain amount of the population that, even if they have a history of infection, wont have any measurable antibodies and therefore wont have immunity, Rutherford said. Then there is a certain proportion who will have high levels of antibodies and some who have transient antibodies, where we dont know how long those antibodies will last.

Antibody tests, also called serological tests, can determine whether someone had the disease  even if the person never had symptoms. The antibodies researchers are looking for generally show up 11 or 12 days after infection and, although nobody knows exactly how long they remain in the body, they persist for quite awhile and are easily measured. Researchers have found that as people get better, their antibody levels rise. It is believed that repeated exposure to the virus may actually boost the antibody response.

The problem is, nobody knows yet whether someone with antibodies is protected from getting sick again. To date, there have been no verified cases of reinfection, so it appears there is some immunity in people who have gotten sick. But researchers want to know how long that resistance lasts.

When they are detected, neutralizing antibodies are generally found in low concentrations. So epidemiologists must figure out how to increase their numbers, create an effective serum and safely immunize people with it.

We are still trying to learn more about the nature of neutralizing antibodies, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, chief of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who is using blood plasma from infected individuals to see if she can artificially inactivate the virus. We still need to determine how much do you need, how long does it last (and) does it protect you from infection.

Her team of researchers is trying to identify the specific white blood cells, known as B cells, that secrete the neutralizing antibodies. The plan is to clone the B cells, mass produce the antibodies and give them to people in trials to see if they reduce infection.

Another unknown, Maldonado said, is whether people who are infected but have no symptoms can still infect other people.

We now know that between a third and four-fifths (of infected people) are asymptomatic entirely, meaning not only do they not get symptoms, but they dont even know they got infected, said Eran Bendavid, a Stanford population health and disease modeling expert who conducted a study indicating that as many as 50 times more people have been infected with the virus than the number of cases reported.

Josie Lepe / Special to the Chronicle

The use of serological tests to calculate the number of unreported infections has been controversial, in part because of a high percentage of inaccurate results, and Bendavids calculations were challenged by many infectious disease specialists. But tests in other regions have come up with a wide range of infection rates, including some much higher than his model.

And there have been troubling reports of delayed inflammatory immune responses even in asymptomatic individuals, including fevers and heart inflammation in children more than a month after apparent exposure to the virus.

Doctors at UCSFs Benioff Childrens Hospital recently saw dozens of children with reddish-purple lesions on the feet and hands known as acral perniosis that appeared weeks or months after exposure to adult relatives with flu-like symptoms, leading researchers to believe it is an inflammatory reaction to the coronavirus.

Studies of other viruses offer clues about the likelihood of developing immunity to COVID-19.

People who contract measles, for instance, develop lifelong immunity. But with other diseases, like mumps, immunity wears off over time. People can get influenza every year mainly because the virus mutates often, creating an infinite number of variations that can each cause a person to get sick.

Coronaviruses, which mutate only once or twice a month, are unpredictable in how they affect the human immune system. Studies of four seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold show that people develop antibodies, but the levels appear to decline slowly over time and people eventually become susceptible again.

The immune response may be stronger for lower respiratory viruses, like COVID-19. People sickened by the SARS coronavirus detected in China in 2002 developed immune responses that have lasted.

International researchers recently found that some rhesus macaques infected with the coronavirus developed neutralizing antibodies and could not be reinfected after they recovered.

Most virologists say it will be difficult to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine by January 2021, the date the Trump administration has laid out in what it calls Operation Warp Speed. It normally takes about a decade to develop vaccines. The fastest ever was four years for the mumps vaccine, which was licensed in 1967.

But physicians and immunologists working on the problem say they have the building block they need to move forward.

To make a vaccine you need to have neutralizing antibodies, Maldonado said. We dont know if it makes them immune for life, but we know people are capable of producing them. Thats good news, but now we need to understand what that means.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite
With the Covid-19 situation in Telangana turning from bad to worse, affecting state government employees, politicians and even bureaucrats, the state government on Saturday issued fresh guidelines, tightening restrictions in workplaces.

According to a circular issued by chief secretary Somesh Kumar, the state secretariat and all the other state-level government offices will function with reduced manpower, comprising those who would attend to their duties on a staggered basis.

While 50% of office subordinates, data entry operators and other Class-IV employees will come to work every alternate week, only 50% of the clerical staff and their superiors, including assistant section officers and section officers, will come to their respective offices on alternate days.

However, officers with separate chambers will continue to work regularly. All the employees, right from Class IV employees to section officers, who are not on duty on a particular day, must remain at the headquarters and should be available to return to the office on a short notice, the circular said.

Officers and staff members with vulnerabilities, such as pregnancy, or comorbidities have been advised to stay at home. They have to duly take the appropriate leave, including casual leave, earned leave or half-day leave, based on medical certification. They should remain available at the headquarters and attend to any urgent duties in case of an emergency.

Further, no visitor will be permitted into the government offices without the authorisation of the official concerned or appointment. The office premises and vehicles will be regularly disinfected.

All infection prevention protocols, including regular hand washing, sanitisation, wearing masks and other guidelines, should be strictly followed. Not more than three persons in addition to the lift operator should be allowed in the lift.

While all officers have been advised to refrain from using air conditioners and ensuring adequate ventilation in their respective rooms, drivers have been instructed not to gather in the parking and instead, sit in their respective offices.

The orders which will come into effect commencing from Monday, will remain in force up to July 4, the circular said.

Telangana reported 499 positive cases in 24 hours (ending Friday night), which is the single largest surge in cases in a day. The overall number of positive cases reportedly mounted to 6,526, of which 3,352 patients have recovered till date.

There were also three fatalities, taking the death toll in the state to 198.

The state capital of Hyderabad continues to witness an alarming rise in cases, with 329 positive cases in a single day on Friday. The neighbouring district of Rangareddy too saw an escalation in the number of cases with 129 samples testing positive for Covid-19.

On Friday, as many as three IPS officers in the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate tested positive for Covid-19. Besides, 18 police personnel in the special branch wing of the state police also tested positive.

An IAS officer from GHMC tested positive and is in isolation, a GHMC official said.

On Saturday, a security personnel attached to the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA T Raja Singh tested positive, forcing the lawmaker to go into self-quarantine. Similarly, the driver of TRS MLA Bajireddy Goverdhan also turned out to be positive, after the MLA and his wife also tested positive and got admitted to a private hospital.

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BEIJING - Authorities in China appeared to be winning their battle against an outbreak of coronavirus in Beijing on Saturday, but in parts of the Americas the pandemic raged unabated. Brazil surpassed 1 million confirmed infections, second only to the United States.

Europe, in contrast, continued to emerge warily from lockdown, with hard-hit Britain considering easing social distancing rules to make it easier for restaurants, pubs and schools to reopen. In Italy, once the pandemics European epicenter, Pope Francis told medics that their heroic efforts during the outbreak would help the country forge a future of hope and solidarity.

The head of the World Health Organization warned Friday that the pandemic is accelerating and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before  the highest single-day number so far.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.

The new coronavirus has infected more than 8.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 454,000, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual number is thought to be much higher because many cases are asymptomatic or go untested.

The global battle against COVID-19 is a patchwork of successes and setbacks at this point in the pandemic, quantified by the trajectory of the coronavirus in different countries.

In China, where the virus was first identified and where authorities hoped it had been vanquished, Beijing recorded a further drop in cases amid tightened containment measures. Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing along with five others elsewhere in China. There were no new deaths and 308 people remained hospitalized for treatment.

South Korea, which has won global praise for its handling of the coronavirus, recorded 67 new cases, the largest 24-hour increase in about three weeks. Most of them come from the densely populated Seoul area, where about half of the countrys 51 million people reside. Many cases have been linked to exposure in nightlife outlets.

Brazils Health Ministry said the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 from the previous day. President Jair Bolsonaro still downplays the risks of the virus after nearly 50,000 fatalities in three months, saying the impact of social isolation on Brazils economy could be more deadly.

South Africa continues to loosen lockdown measures under economic pressure, despite reporting nearly 4,000 more COVID-19 cases on Saturday. Casinos, beauty salons and sit-down restaurant service are among the latest permitted activities as the country eases one of the worlds strictest lockdowns. South Africa has about 30% of the virus cases on the African continent, or more than 87,000.

South Africa and Ethiopia both said they are recommending the limited use of the commonly available steroid dexamethasone for all COVID-19 patients on ventilators or supplementary oxygen. In a British trial, the drug was shown to significantly improve survival chances for the most seriously ill.

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said this breakthrough is excellent news for us and we are especially fortunate that it came as we are preparing for our upcoming surge in cases.

Britain lowered its coronavirus threat level one notch, becoming the latest country to claim its getting a national outbreak under control.

Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government said it would announce next week whether it will ease social distancing rules that say people should remain 2 metres (6 1/2 feet) apart. Business groups are lobbying for the distance to be cut to 1 metre (3 feet) to make it easier to restart the U.K.s economy.

While many stores in Britain have reopened, pubs, hotels and restaurants wont be allowed to resume serving customers until July 4 at the soonest. Proposals to allow them to reopen safely include pubs having people order pints using phone apps rather than going to the bar.

The U.K. has Europes highest and the worlds third-highest official death toll from the pandemic, with more than 42,500 virus-related fatalities reported as of Saturday.

Italy, which for a time this spring had the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, continued receiving confirmation that the worst had receded.

Pope Francis welcomed doctors and nurses from the Lombardy region, Italys financial and industrial capital and the centre of its outbreak, to the Vatican on Saturday to thank them for their work and sacrifice.

Francis said Lombardys medics gave witness to Gods proximity to those who suffer and became literal angels, helping the sick recover or accompanying them to their deaths when family members were prevented from visiting.

The northern region counted half of Italys 34,500 COVID-19 deaths.

Meanwhile, Germany reported the countrys highest daily increase in virus cases in a month after managing to contain its outbreak better than comparable large European nations.

Many areas of Europe are dealing with new localized outbreaks, with some of the largest centred around meat-processing plants. German officials said Saturday that the number of workers infected at a slaughterhouse in the northwest of the country had risen to 1,029 but there was no evidence of significant spread beyond the workforce into the community.

French authorities were keeping a close eye on signs of an accelerating spread of the coronavirus in Normandy, a region thats until now been spared the worst of the outbreak that has hit Paris and the east of France particularly hard.

___

Lawless reported from London. Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will mark his presence at the 75th anniversary of the Russia victory in the World War II Military Parade on June 24.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will depart on Monday for Moscow, Russia to take part in the 75th anniversary of the Russia victory in the World War II Military Parade on June 24. On Friday, a tri-service contingent of the Indian armed forces departed for Moscow to participate in the military parade at Red Square on June 24.The tri-service contingent will be led by a colonel-rank officer and will comprise 75 personnel of all ranks from the three services, the Army said.

Russia postponed its military parade traditionally held on Moscows Red Square on May 9 for a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Russias TASS news agency.

In a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on May 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the anticipated Victory Parade would be held on Moscows Red Square on June 24.

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The head of state explained he had chosen this date because June 24 was the day when in 1945 the legendary historic parade of victors took place, when soldiers, who fought for Moscow and defended Leningrad, who stood their ground for Stalingrad, liberated Europe and stormed Berlin, marched on Red Square.

Putin has also instructed the defence chief to make sure that there werent any risks to the health of the military parades participants.

Also Read: PM comes to migrants respite with Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan

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New Delhi: The Centre has lauded Karnataka for its COVID-19 management, which includes the comprehensive contact tracing of COVID-19 positive cases and physical/phone-based household survey that has covered more than 1.5 crore households. The health ministry said that Karnataka has widened the definition of Contact to include both high-risk and low-risk contacts and a number of primary and secondary contacts were meticulously traced and put under strict quarantine.

In order to identify, protect and treat high-risk population like the elderly, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and those with Influenza like Illness (ILI)/ Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) on priority, Karnataka conducted a physical/phone based household survey in May which covered 153 lakh households out of total 168 lakh total households.

The households reporting anyone with COVID-19 like symptoms are triaged by a telemedicine doctor and further advised. A field level health worker (ASHAs) also visits those households to ensure that the required healthcare service is provided.

Meanwhile, Indian government and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have signed an agreement worth $750 million for COVID-19. This is the first ever budgetary support programme from AIIB to India.

Meanwhile, as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Delhi, the Union Home Ministry has asked the state government to intensify testing. Already sample testing has been doubled. Officials said a total of 27,263 samples were collected for testing in Delhi from between June 15-17. This is a significant increase in daily collection, which earlier varied between 4,000-4,500. Besides, house to house health survey in 242 containment zones of Delhi covering 2.3 lakh people was completed on Thursday.

To increase testing capacity and quick delivery of results in Delhi, testing via Rapid Antigen methodology started yesterday. 7040 people have been tested in 193 testing centres. Testing will continue with increased numbers in coming days, officials said.
Sonam Wangchuk, the man who inspired Vidhu Vinod Chopras 3 Idiots spoke at Chitkara Universitys Explore series on Saturday.

Wangchuk, an academician, education reformist and founder and advisor for SECMOL (Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh ) spoke about the economics of giving in his live session with students at Chitkara University.

Wangchuk said that any education system must address to the real needs of time: If our country and planet is facing a challenge due to industrial production then we should change what we teach our children, he said.

Most of the innovation that we see around us these days does not take local factors and India-specific solutions into consideration, says Wangchuk. (HT PHOTO )

We need to start talking about healing the planet rather than fuelling its destruction and the need of the time must be incorporated in the education system, he said.

Asked about his take on innovation, Wangchuk said, Most of the innovation that we see around us these days does not take local factors and India-specific solutions into consideration. For instance, we see glass buildings in Delhi inspired by the architecture of western cities with sub-zero temperatures. This type of architecture helps keep those places warm but the same architecture in Indians cities like Delhi that are already hot leads to increased use of air conditioning causing increased electricity bills and health and environment issues.

On his recent views on the boycott China movement, Wangchuk said, More products should be manufactured locally, which will generate employment and gradually wean off Indians addiction and dependency on Chinese goods and products. The world is looking forward to exploring India for setting up big ventures. We must build our capacities.
A large mural painting in the UK parliament depicting a defining moment in early 17th century laying the foundation of British influence in India is being reviewed for its contemporary relevance in the context of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign.

The painting by noted artist William Rothenstein (1872-1945) unveiled in 1927 is one of eight depicting important historical events as part of The Building of Britain series in St Stephens Hall in the parliament complex, which has thousands of pieces of art, many with racist history.

The review follows demands as part of the BLM campaign to remove statues and symbols with links to racism and slavery from public places. Campaigners have identified several statues in London and elsewhere that they want removed, with local councils across the UK initiating similar reviews.

The Rothenstein painting depicts the first British diplomatic representative, Thomas Roe (1581-1644), in the court of Mughal emperor Jahangir in Ajmer in 1616. Roe was sent to India by King James I in 1614 to establish diplomatic relations with the Mughal empire.

By the time Roe reached India, the East India Company (formed in December 1600) had established its first presence with a factory at Surat. Roes main task was to seek Jahangirs support for this venture and negotiate a treaty enabling further trade.

By the end of his period as ambassador in 1618, Roe had secured commercial access to Jahangirs dominions, though a formal treaty was never signed. According to the British view, he succeeded by his courtesy and firmness at Jahangirs court to lay the foundation of British influence in India.

Senior Labour MP Virendra Sharma welcomed the paintings review as part of the wider examination of art in the parliament complex: Its relevance must be reviewed in the context of todays social, political and economic climate. But it should be done in a logical way, not driven by prejudice.

Confirming that the Rothenstein painting is part of the wider review of art, a UK parliament spokesperson said: The interpretation of the artworks is constantly under review and we will look at ways to contextualise the lives of those depicted.

The Speakers Advisory Committee on Works of Art and the Lord Speakers Advisory Panel on Works of Art are also actively working to improve the diversity of the art collection, both in terms of the people portrayed and in the artists commissioned to ensure that the collection reflects and celebrates the diversity of all who contribute to parliament.

The Speakers Advisory Committee met this week and reiterated its commitment to broaden the representation of women and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) groups. Officials said recently articulated concerns about works of art within the parliament complex are being taken very seriously.

They said they are also reviewing information the UK parliament provides online ensure its correct context, besides exploring other ways of disseminating information, such as through printed information given to visitors (leaflets) and via parliaments social media channels.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  A Virginia state senator is launching a bid to be the state's next governor, which if successful would make her the nation's first African American woman to lead a state.

Sen. Jennifer McClellan announced Thursday that she's running for governor in 2021, saying she has the right skill set and track record to rebuild the state's economy, safety nets and communities amid a coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest over police violence and systematic racism.

In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of her formal announcement, she said she's a proven problem solver and a compassionate listener who will work to build a more inclusive state.

I have the understanding of where we are in this moment in time, how we got here ... and the vision to take Virginia forward, McClellan said.

McClellan is one of several Democrats either officially running or eyeing a possible campaign for their party's nomination to succeed Gov. Ralph Northam, who is barred by law from seeking re-election. They include former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Attorney General Mark Herring and Del. Jennifer Carroll-Foy, who like McClellan is also a black woman.

If she were to win the 2021 contest, McClellan would be Virginias first woman governor, the first African American female governor in the United States and only the second woman ever elected to statewide office in Virginia.

McClellan said black women have been the backbone of this country while often being overlooked, but she's not interested in shattering glass ceilings for its own sake.

I'm not running to make history, I am running to set Virginia on the course I think we need to go," she said.

The 47-year-old has served in the state legislature for more than 14 years, first as a House delegate and more recently as a senator representing Richmond. A mother of two, she was the first delegate to serve while pregnant. She works as a corporate attorney for Verizon in her day job.

Story continues

At the legislature, McClellan is known as a soft-spoken pragmatist who often has a hand in high profile legislation and issues such as ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment and ethics reform.

She's been a strong advocate for abortion rights and was a lead sponsor on a sweeping energy overhaul this year that lays out a plan to get Virginia to 100% renewable generation. McClellan also leads the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission.

McClellan has long been active in the state Democratic party and is married to Democratic operative David Mills. They were married by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a mentor and adviser of McClellan.

Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University, said McClellan's personal background and long track record at the legislature give her broad appeal among both liberal and moderate Democrats.

Shes the Kamala Harris of Virginia politics," Kidd said, referring to the former presidential hopeful and senator from California who could be picked as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate.

The party primaries are not until 2021, but Virginia's off-year gubernatorial contests typically draw outsized national attention and interest because they serve as a stand-in for the national mood. Northam easily won in 2017, riding a wave of voter unhappiness with President Donald Trump.

On the Republican side, Sen. Amanda Chase, a populist who is outspoken on gun rights and often clashes with members of her own party, announced her candidacy in February, and businessman Pete Snyder has indicated an interest in running. No Republican has won a statewide race in Virginia in more than a decade.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 01:30:20|Editor: huaxia

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Children have fun in "Dove Lane" in the old town Tuancheng of Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Sadat)

While China is effectively fighting terrorism and extremism, the United States is trying to smear these anti-terrorism and preventive measures as massive violations of human rights, Manoilo said.



MOSCOW, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" is an attempt by the United States to infringe on China's sovereignty and cannot be considered otherwise than an unacceptable interference in China's internal affairs, a Russian scholar said Friday.

"The United States sees China as its main geopolitical competitor and has long and consistently pursued a policy of containing China," Andrei Manoilo, a professor of political science at Moscow State University, said in an interview with Xinhua.

Washington is exhausting every means, from economic restrictions and sanctions to outright interference in China's internal affairs, like what it has done in the violent events in Hong Kong and Tibet, as well as the signing of the so-called act, Manoilo said.

Terrorist organizations operating in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have links with international terrorist network structures, and sometimes are branches or cells of international terrorist organizations, representing a serious threat to the national security, Manoilo said.

In recent years, he recalled, China has made considerable progress in preventing terrorist and extremist crimes and stabilizing the situation, with terrorist attacks in Xinjiang virtually ceasing.

"But this does not suit certain forces in the United States, which are trying to reheat ethnic and religious conflicts and destabilize the situation under the pretext of protecting the rights of the Uygur ethnic group," Manoilo said.

While China is effectively fighting terrorism and extremism, the United States is trying to smear these anti-terrorism and preventive measures as massive violations of human rights, he concluded.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Chinese government and people express strong indignation at and firm opposition to the signing of the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" by the United States.

This so-called act deliberately denigrated the human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang, viciously attacked the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy, blatantly violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, the ministry said. 
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Linkedin (Reuters) Madrid, Spain  Sat, June 20, 2020 10:02 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406603c1fa 2 Art & Culture Spain,Madrid,puppet-master,Puppet,puppet-theater,coronavirus,COVID-19,lockdown Free

Madrid-based Colombian actress and puppeteer Yohana Yara has been using her time in lockdown filming puppet shows on her balcony and creating an online fan base for her characters.

Just two months after she moved to the Spanish capital the country went into lockdown, depriving her and thousands of others who work in the arts of a job and shattering her plans for 2020.

Confined to her flat and filled with disappointment and boredom, Yara, 39 decided to create a YouTube channel for her show "Leo the Lion and his Friends". She shot and uploaded videos with children's stories, poems and songs and captured an audience of youngsters. "It helped me, it was therapeutic and stopped me from feeling down and it gave me a creative outlet," Yara said.

Read also: In Syria, puppets show displaced children how to deal with coronavirus

"I think that in times of crisis creativity surges and you start working with what you have at home. As I'm a puppeteer, fortunately I have a lot of puppets I can work with."

She can't wait to start performing in front of children again, and experience the reaction of a live audience.

Spain has suffered one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks but has been gradually reopening since May. The lockdown will end on June 21 but certain restrictions will remain in place, such as social distancing and the use of masks.
Thousands of people gathered for rallies and marches around the Bay Area on Friday to demonstrate against racism and police brutality and participate in a nationwide day of action marking the end of slavery in the United States.

The biggest of the days events was in Oakland, where a peaceful protest along the waterfront closed the Port of Oakland for the day. A smaller but still spirited group in San Francisco urged city officials to defund the Police Department and redistribute the resources into community programs.

As afternoon turned to evening, Oakland youth gathered in DeFremery Park for a festive march timed to Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 that Texas became the last state to officially declare a halt to the slavery of African Americans by whites in the South.

Were here to bring life, to celebrate each other, said Lauryn Campbell, 18, one of the organizers of the march. Its to celebrate what blackness is.

Now Playing: Juneteenth demonstrators walk down Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place as they start to march from City Hall on Friday in San Francisco Video: San Francisco Chronicle

The march featured protesters marching up Adeline Street in West Oakland behind a flatbed truck as they chanted slogans including Aint no power like the power of the youth, cause the power of the youth dont stop. Beyond celebration, Campbell said the group hoped to bring awareness to police brutality, housing discrimination and other issues that face Black citizens.

After the march, protesters stayed to sit on the grass in the park and listen to speakers. Among them was Tricia Hutcherson, 48, of Alameda, who said her daughter had brought her out.

Youve got to give people a chance to express their dream, Hutcherson said. Maybe it doesnt change everything. But if one person hears something that pricks their heart, its not in vain.

This followed a morning rally where ship workers led by the African American Longshore Coalition stopped processing cargo and all economic activity came to a halt at the Port of Oakland. It was one of 29 demonstrations organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at seaports along the West Coast.

You represent the potential and the power of the labor movement, said Angela Davis, a professor, author and activist famous for her membership in the Black Panther Party. She told the large crowd that she hopes other labor unions will join in the effort of abolishing the police as we know them and reimagining public safety.

Other speakers included Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown Jr., the 18-year-old Black man who was killed in 2014 by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

The demonstrators went from the waterfront for a second rally, this one organized by the Committee to Stop Police Terror and End Systemic Racism. There were more speakers  including rapper and film director Boots Riley.

We dont want to just ask for things to get better, Riley told the crowd in front of City Hall. Were going to say, Its going to get better or else.

In San Francisco, the largest event was a march coordinated by Coleman Advocates to celebrate the Black Lives Matter movement. It began on the steps of City Hall and spilled into Civic Center Plaza.

As it began, three local youth artists performed for the cheering, dancing crowd, rapping, Tell me why they want to beat us black and blue and bloody red.

Speakers included the mother of Mario Woods, a 26-year-old who was shot by five officers in the Bayview in 2015 after he refused to drop a knife. She stood before the crowd wearing a shirt with her sons face and the words No justice, no peace.

Gwen Woods told some 500 spectators that the police are executing people of color, just as they did in the days of slavery.

They wouldve expected a better world than this, she told the crowd, referring to her son and all the other African American victims of racism and brutality. Dont let it be a moment, let it be a movement.

The group later marched to the San Francisco Unified School District offices and demanded officials there break their contract with police to provide security at the schools.

There, dozens of people sat or knelt as two dancers jumped and twirled to the beat of a drum during a blessing ceremony. After that, schoolchildren placed at the front door cardboard signs resembling dollar bills that read Defund police and Fund black youth, as the crowd chanted words of encouragement and support.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

When you see how much money is poured into the police, why cant we invest that money into schools? said Vina Naik, 32, a Sunnyvale attorney for a nonprofit, who took off work for Juneteenth. If we fix everything from a very early age, I think wed be in a very different country.

Mass protests and marches have been held across the country since May 25 when a white Minnesota police officer knelt for nearly nine minutes on the neck of George Floyd, an African American man who told the officers, I cant breathe, before he died.

If anything, the intensity of such events has picked up in recent days  spurred by Juneteenth as well as growing efforts nationwide by protesters to topple or remove statues that were erected to honor Confederate soldiers and leaders. Similar efforts are now being aimed at wider historic figures associated with the conquest and colonization of North America.

One such incident occurred in San Francisco on Friday evening, when a number of people gathered and used rope to pull down a 30-foot-tall statue of Junipero Serra that had been installed in 1907.

Other protests Friday including a gathering of three dozen nurses in front of Kaiser hospital on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco. More than 70 demonstrated at Kaisers Oakland Medical Center on Broadway.

The nurses were fighting racial disparities in health care, Oakland nurse Jewell Jordan said about the protests, organized by the California Nurses Association.

Now Playing: Demonstrators march north on Adeline Street in Oakland following a Juneteenth rally and march led by Black Youth for the Peoples Liberation at De Fremery Park on Friday. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Chronicle staff writers

Peter Fimrite and Roland Li contributed to this report.

Anna Bauman, Matt Kawahara and John King are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com, mkawahara@sfchronicle.com, jking@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @abauman, @matthewkawahara, @johnkingsfchron
The unprecedented situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic should be viewed as a blessing in disguise, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday.

Addressing virtual 'Jan Samwad' rally of BJP workers from Nagpur in Maharashtra, Gadkari said the challenge posed by COVID-19 is nothing compared to the challenges faced and overcame by India before and after Independence.

"It is not only India that is facing COVID-19 crisis but the whole world is impacted by it, but we should consider it as a blessing in disguise," the Nagpur BJP MP said.

He said people should rise above fear and don't get disappointed due to the situation.

"We had faced and fought back several challenges before and after Independence. Compared to them this (COVID-19) is not a big challenge. We should remain optimistic and not lose confidence. There should not be any scope for negativity," he said.

Gadkari exuded confidence that India will overcome the economic challenges and become super power.

He said scientists across the world have been trying to develop a vaccine against coronavirus, and they will succeed soon.

"We should fight COVID-19 by maintaining social distancing, wearing mask and sanitising our hands," he said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state BJP unit president Sadanand Shet Tanavade delivered their online speeches from the party's office in Panaji.
Natalie Gauci, aged 14. While taking her to stage and music productions, restaurants and bars, or driving her home from school, he also would allegedly touch her leg, hold her hand and kiss her. She was also allegedly assaulted at Mr Sokolowskis home in Carlton North. He basically built my trust and groomed me into trusting him  It got to that point where he'd built so much trust in me and my family and my parents, that I just let him do it, she said. "The thing I've realised now ... that was my first introduction to love. And thats the thing that stays with me now, while I still continue to heal.

Ms Gauci ended up telling her mother, who took the allegations to police. The claims proceeded to a criminal trial but Mr Sokolowski was not convicted. In 2008, Mr Sokolowski pleaded guilty to groping 10 teenage students from two Melbourne schools between 2003 and 2005. The indecent assaults included squeezing their breasts under the guise that he was checking their breathing or posture. He was sentenced to a corrections order and community service, banned from teaching, and placed on the sex offenders list for life. Then in 2014, he again pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching a further six students from Wesley College between 1987 and 2006 during private lessons or while he took girls to performances. In one case, he groped a year 10 student in his car and during a theatre production. Another victim was assaulted during private music lessons in his home and during a matinee performance.

He was given a two-year suspended sentence over those charges. Ms Gaucis lawyers allege the Catholic Archdiocese, as the employer of Mr Sokolowski, knew or ought to have known that he had sexually abused minors prior to 1994. They allege a student at a school run by the Catholic Archdiocese reported in about 1994 that Mr Sokolowski had touched her legs and breasts and that if complaints had been handled properly then Mr Sokolowski was more likely not to have abused the plaintiff. "The [Catholic Archdiocese] in allowing the abuse acted in a high handed and arrogant manner and in contumelious disregard for the welfare of the plaintiff," the writ reads. Ms Gauci said she suffered from an eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse as a result of the alleged abuse, which affected her education and led to a loss of income.

She told The Age she developed depression in the years after and it affected her love for music. "I was just lost and confused. And I wanted to run away from everything. I found it really hard to trust people, especially men. And even to this day, I'm still working on that." Natalie Gauci wins Australian Idol in 2007. Credit:Quentin Jones The mother of seven-month-old Jedidiah hopes coming forward may help others. Its closure for me, and it's also a relief as well, the fact I can speak about it honestly and openly to the public, after all these years," she says.

The more we talk about this, the more it won't happen. Because it's out in the open and its talked about." Her lawyer John Rule, from Maurice Blackburn, said it was admirable that Ms Gauci was speaking out. Like in so many of these cases, if the kids had been listened to at the time so much pain could have been prevented." "Theres been a trend since the royal commission where people who have been abused are more willing to discuss the abuse openly and, in some cases, explore their legal options ... Its great someone in Natalies position is willing to share her story and encourage others to come forward."
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Twenty-one policemen in Bihar were dismissed on Friday in connection with the hooch tragedy in Gopalganj four years ago, in which 16 people had died, officials said.

Three sub-inspectors, five assistant sub-inspectors and 13 constables were among those sacked.

The tragedy, which took place on August 15, 2016, was the first major incident reported in Bihar after the state government declared total prohibition in April that year.

Earlier, 15 policemen, including the SHO of Town police station under which the tragedy took place in Khajurbanni locality, were suspended on the charge of dereliction of duty.

The deaths were initially considered as mysterious as the autopsy reports did not highlight any trace of liquor in some of the bodies but the state government clarified that the 16 died after drinking poisonous liquor.

People in Khajurbani, a settlement of Mahadalit Pasis and some OBC groups, use a flower, Mahua, to brew illicit liquor. Most of the 16 people who died in the suspected hooch tragedy are said to have consumed liquor from this area on the night of August 15.

The entire police staff of Town police station was suspended hours after the incident and faced departmental enquiry, according to the police headquarters.

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As countries in Europe and North America emerge from lockdown and start trying to rebuild their devastated economies, the great concern is jobs.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

As countries in Europe and North America emerge from lockdown and start trying to rebuild their devastated economies, the great concern is jobs.

Unemployment in the U.S. and Canada is over 13 per cent, a post-Second World War high. If it werent for subsidies that keep up to one-fifth of the working population in paid "furloughs" from their jobs, jobless rates in Europe would be as high or higher. That cant go on forever, so there is a frantic search for job-saving strategies  and the "four-day workweek" keeps coming up.

Like that other proposed magic bullet, the guaranteed basic income, the notion of a four-day working week has been kicking around for a long time. The current emergency has given both ideas a second wind, and neither is nearly as radical or extreme as it sounds.

Less than a century ago, the whole industrialized world transitioned from the traditional six-day working week (Saturdays included) to a five-day workweek, for the same pay, with no political upheaval and no significant loss of production. So why dont we do that again, spread the work around, and save lots of jobs?

Because it doesnt work like that. The four-day week is not about spreading the load; it is about finding ways for people who already have jobs to squeeze the same work into four 10-hour working days instead of five eight-hour days, or to work "smarter" so they can get the same work done (or more) in only four eight-hour days.

The 40-hour week done in four days is the only available option for most process workers on assembly lines or other repetitive physical tasks. Ten-hour workdays are even harder than they sound, but the prize is a three-day weekend and some people are willing to pay the price.

If everybody buys into that, then management can shut the plant down one extra day and save on power. If only some do, then management has the headache of scheduling some 10-hour shifts and other eight-hour shifts, plus the cost of the mistakes that may accumulate when exhausted people are approaching the end of a 10-hour shift. And no saving on electricity costs.

Nevertheless, it does make for a happier workforce, by all accounts, and maybe therefore a more efficient and productive one. There are already a few examples of this kind of four-day week working in every industrial country, and now the prime ministers of Finland and New Zealand are both talking it up. Neither woman, however, is proposing to impose it nationally, and nobody is suggesting it will create more jobs.

The four-day week is an easier and more attractive package for people in administrative and sales jobs, because everybody knows that there is a lot of wasted time in office work: social media, pointless emails, long boring meetings, etc. You could get the job done a lot quicker if everybody was motivated to concentrate on the bits that are actually useful and skip the rest.

So, motivate them. Tell them that they can drop to four eight-hour days a week for the same pay as the old five days if they can still get the same work done  and leave it to them to figure out how. If they cant, then its back to the same old five-day grind.

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Miraculously, they almost always do manage to find the time. In many cases, indeed, productivity actually rises: happy workers do better work. The four-day week is an excellent idea whose time may finally have come, but it is not a magic bullet. Companies dont ever hire more people just to spread the work around.

So what might spread the available work around? The U.S. Congress had a brilliant idea in 1938, when it passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which required employers to pay overtime at 150 per cent of the normal hourly wage for anything over 40 hours of work per week.

The idea was to make employers hire more people. If they had 40 employees working 50 hours a week, they would have to pay each of them overtime for the last 10 hours. So why not just hire another 10 people and save all that overtime pay? It worked quite well at the time, but it would not work now. Dont hire more people; just put in more automation.

The coronavirus is just an accelerator. The real problem with employment ever since the 1990s has been automation, which has been eating up good jobs and excreting low-paid, insecure ones instead  or none at all. Six million good manufacturing jobs were automated out of existence in the U.S. in 2000-2010, which led fairly directly to the election of Donald Trump in 2016.

The current pandemic is speeding the process by driving more jobs online, especially in sales (a different kind of automation), and fiddling with working hours or minimum wages is not going to stop it. So whats left? Maybe a guaranteed basic income would help, but thats a discussion for another day.

Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work).
After nearly 20 years as a local news anchor, Gord Leclerc was a Winnipeg household name. When he was abruptly let go by the station in November, it was big news all over the city.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After nearly 20 years as a local news anchor, Gord Leclerc was a Winnipeg household name. When he was abruptly let go by the station in November, it was big news all over the city.

When he was hired as press secretary to Health Minister Cameron Friesen in February, LeClerc said in a brief interview that he was grateful for the opportunity and excited to begin a new chapter in his career.

That chapter is now over.

Gord Leclerc (right) was the press secretary for Health Minister Cameron Friesen for five months. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"He left to pursue other opportunities," a provincial government spokesman said in an email Friday.

"We wish him well."

Leclerc could not be reached for comment.

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His departure from the provincial cabinet's media relations department marked the second time in less than a year that he's experienced major employment upheaval.

Shortly after he was let go from anchoring CTV Winnipeg's flagship suppertime news, Bell Medias communications manager in Toronto said in a written statement that the move was brought about by "rapid industry change.... Were feeling the effects of rapid industry change in many parts of our business, including local TV.... To ensure we remain competitive, were managing the impact on our bottom line while also investing in content and platforms."

Gord Leclerc worked for CTV for almost 25 years beore being abruptly let go by the station in November.

Weeks after Leclerc started his job as press secretary to the health minister in February, the Manitoba government was confronted with an unprecedented health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. Provincial health officials were holding press conferences seven days a week to share information and prevent public panic.

Friesen's department was in the public eye and on the front line trying to procure personal protective equipment in short supply, as health systems around the world competed to access supplies.

Manitoba managed to limit the spread of the virus, flatten the curve and is entering a new chapter of its reopening with a new press secretary to the health minister, Brant Batters, who studied at the University of Manitoba and Red River College and has more than a decade of communications experience, according to his LinkedIn profile.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca




Bond coins and bond notes are still legal tender, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa reiterated yesterday and traders are legally obliged to accept them.





Government notes with concern that there are some sections of the market that are rejecting bond notes and coins. Notes inscribed bond notes are being rejected in preference for those inscribed dollars. Government through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development will be substituting bond notes with new notes through a gradual process, said Minister Mutsvangwa.





In the meantime Government advises the public that the $2 and $5 bond notes are still legal tender in this country and therefore calls upon the business sector not to reject them. As just been announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya, all business owners, shopkeepers, tuck shop owners and even individuals are free to exchange the bond notes with new notes through their banks. Under normal circumstances, when currency notes are deposited in banks fairly frequently, banks remove worn and soiled notes and send them to the Reserve Bank for destruction.





When notes or coins are demonitised, notice has to be given in the Government Gazette and a reasonable time is always given for holders to bank these while they are still valid, or even in a set time after demonitisation.




In a bid to woo Bangladesh, China has provided a huge trade boost to the country by announcing tariff exemption for 97% of Bangladeshi products effective from July 1.

The decision has come one month after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a discussion to upgrade their bilateral relations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh announced on Friday that 97% of items would be exempted of Chinese tariffs.

As part of the government's economic diplomacy and the outcome of exchange of letters between Bangladesh and China, Tariff Commission of the Chinese State Council issued a notice recently on granting zero treatment to 97% of tariff products of Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tribune reported, quoting the ministry's statement.

With this announcement, a total of 8,256 Bangladeshi products will come under the 97% of products that would be exempted from tariff.

Currently, 3095 Bangladeshi products enjoy duty-free access to Chinese market under Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). With the new announcement, 97% of Bangladeshi products will join this zero-tariff club from July 1 that raised the numbers of Bangladeshi products with zero duty access to Chinese market to 8,256, the report said.

During the Asian-African Conference which took place this week in Indonesia, Chinese president Xi announced that China will grant duty free market access for Least Developed Countries (LDC) 97% of the tariff lines within a year. This beneficial market access scheme will be applied only for imports from LDCs that have diplomatic relations with China.

China's tariff exemption is expected to help Bangladesh cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For 24-year-old Ishita Choudhary, persuading her parents to let her leave home was the most challenging task she faced. The rest of it, which included teaching a motley group of among 40 youngsters on the lawns of Panjab Universitys campus, was simpler, she said.

Choudhary is among a handful of centre for social work students, who have been teaching the children of migrant workers living in campus since May 24. The idea came from their teacher, Gaurav Gaur, and the initiative is called Kalam, Kitab aur Khwahishien (which translates to pen, book and dreams).

Over 280 workers, who hail from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others, have been living in makeshift accommodations inside the campus to construct a multi-purpose auditorium, a girls hostel and the second floor of the Centre for Public Health.

Unlike several migrants who returned home after the lockdown was imposed on March 25, this group stayed put.

ALSO WATCH | HT Salutes: Panjab University students who teach migrants kids amid lockdown

Many of their children, who are aged between 3 and 16 year, are school drop-outs; some attended classes at a government school in sector 25, which was shut down due to the lockdown. Though online classes were held for senior students of Chandigarhs government schools from April 21, the construction workers children had no access to internet, and thus, no school.

Besides Choudhury, Shubham Singh, Narendra Singh, Jaskirat Kaur Saini, Noyonika Roy and Kavneet Singh have been teaching the students in different parts of the campus, spread across sectors 14 and 25. Initially, the classes were for a couple of hours in the morning; now they hold four-hour long classes, from 8am to noon.

I had never thought that I could teach anyone but now my self-perception has changed, said Choudhury, who taught who taught English and Hindi.

The shade of an expansive banyan tree and empty cement bags make up for the absence of classrooms and chairs. All children have handkerchiefs tied over their faces.

At this time no one will allow us to use a classroom, said Choudhary, who favours the trees outside the legal studies institute in the main campus.

In the morning their parents wait for us to come and then leave for work. Even you cannot be late for class, otherwise the children demand an apology, Shubham Singh, 24, said.

The social work students are also trying to teach the youngsters about Covid-19; the children have a host of queries about the pandemic that has affected millions worldwide, starting with what the virus looks likeand why do they need to wash their hands repeatedly. Gaur, an assistant professor at the centre for social work, said that volunteer work is exactly what the course is about.

I hope they will bring a change in the future of all these children.

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Donald Trump has said John Bolton will have a 'really big price to pay' for releasing classified information in his tell-all White House book, after a judge allowed its release but warned the ex-national security adviser has 'gambled' with US security.

The president took to social media in outrage over Saturday's ruling by a federal judge denying the Trump administration's attempt to block the release of Bolton's memoir 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'.

Trump slammed the decision on Twitter branding Bolton 'despicable man' who broke the law and warned that he must pay a 'very big price'.

'Wow, I finally agree with failed political consultant Steve Schmidt, who called Wacko John Bolton a despicable man who failed in his duty to protect America.' he tweeted.

'Also stated that he should never be allowed to serve in government again. So true! Plain and simple, John Bolton, who was all washed up until I brought him back and gave him a chance, broke the law by releasing Classified Information (in massive amounts).'

Trump added that Bolton must pay a 'very big price': 'He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him. This should never to happen again!!!'

The Justice Department's attempt to block the release of John Bolton's (left) tell-all book has been denied. The book makes some explosive claims about President Trump (right)

Judge Royce Lamberth denied the request to block the sale of the former national security adviser's memoir in a ruling Saturday.

Lamberth ruled in favor of Bolton saying 'the damage is done' after 200,000 copies have already been circulated around the US but admitted the former aide's conduct 'raises national security concerns'.

The Trump administration sued John Bolton on Tuesday, trying to stop the release of his White House memoir, due out June 23

This came after the Trump administration sued Bolton on Tuesday in order to postpone the release of his book because of concerns that classified information could be exposed.

Copies of the book were then leaked to the media the next day.

The memoir from the president's top aide, who was controversially fired back in September, contains a number of explosive claims about Trump, including that he asked China for help with his re-election bid - a move similar to how Trump interacted with Ukraine, which led to him being impeached.

The federal judge ruled in favor of Bolton Saturday saying he can move forward in publishing his tell-all book despite efforts by the Trump administration to block it.

Lamberth said that with 200,000 copies already distributed to booksellers across the country, attempting to block its release would be futile.

'A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop,' Lamberth wrote.

'With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe - many in newsrooms - the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo.'

The decision marks a victory for Bolton in a court case that involved core First Amendment and national security concerns.

But the judge also blasted Bolton for the way he went about publishing the book saying he had taken it 'upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities' and that he could have caused irreparable harm to national security.

Lamberth said Bolton had 'gambled with the national security of the United States' by opting out of a prepublication review process meant to prevent government officials from spilling classified secrets in memoirs they publish.

The ruling clears the path for a broader election-year readership and distribution of a memoir, due out Tuesday, that paints an unflattering portrait of Trump's foreign policy decision-making during the turbulent year-and-a-half that Bolton spent in the White House.

Trump slammed the decision on Twitter branding Bolton a 'despicable man' and claimed he was 'all washed up' until he 'brought him back and gave him a chance'

EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS MADE IN THE BOOK:

Trump agreed to 'back off' criminal probes as 'personal favors' to dictators

Told Chinese President Xi Jinping he should go ahead with building camps the regime was constructing for Chinese Uighurs

Put Jared Kushner in charge of several foreign policy matters

Spent part of Osaka summit 'pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win' reelection by buying US crops'

Believed Finland was part of Russia

Said invading Venezuala was 'cool' and said the nation was 'really part of the United States'

Made it a 'high priority' to get Mike Pompeo to hand a copy of Elton John's 'Rocket Man' to North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un

Did not know Great Britain was a nuclear power

Defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi to distract attention from Ivanka Trump using her personal email

Postponed removing the US from the Iran deal so Melania Trump could announce her Be Best campaign

Claimed he was going to be nominated for a Noble Peace Prize for his North Korea summit

Said he always broke up with women he dated be cause he didn't like being dumped

Referred to his former UN.Ambassador Nikki Haley as a 'c***' while Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump wanted her to replace Mike Pence

Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, heard arguments Friday over Zoom from Bolton's lawyer Charles Cooper and Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Morrell, representing the government.

Cooper had argued that it was too late to ban its publication now that Bolton's book was in the hands of journalists and hundreds of thousands of copies had been sent to bookstores nationwide and abroad.

'It seems to me, as we used to say in Texas, that the horse is out of the barn,' Lamberth said. 'What am I supposed to do?'

Copies of the book ended up in the hands of reporters working for The New York Times and The Washington Post on Wednesday - one day after the Trump administration filed a lawsuit to block its publication.

DailyMail.com obtained a copy Wednesday evening.

'Indeed, the surreal nature of the Government's request to enjoin publication and distribution of the book was driven home earlier today when a CBS News reporter, holding a copy of the book in her hand, questioned the President's press secretary about passages in the book on the White House lawn,' Bolton's legal team said, referencing CBS' Paula Reid, who questioned press secretary Kayleigh McEnany over some of its contents in the White House driveway.

'For the Government is asking the Court to order Ambassador Bolton to do something he is powerless to do,' they said.

'The practical reality is that neither Ambassador Bolton nor his publisher, Simon & Schuster, has any ability to stop copies from being sold to the general public on June 23.'

The book contains a number of explosive claims about President Trump, including that he asked China for help with his re-election bid - a move similar to how Trump interacted with Ukraine, which led to him being impeached

During court Friday, Morrell suggested the judge could order digital and audio copies of Bolton's book not be sold.

'There is still an interest we have in limiting the further mass dissemination of this book,' he said.

Morrell argued that Bolton shouldn't have gone ahead with publication of the book because he never finished a review process, which would determine if the book contained classified information - something the president argues it does.

In court, Cooper suggested questions about whether the book contained classified information could be saved for a later date.

That being said, the lawyer also revealed what he called a 'troubling revelation,' that the Trump political appointee called in to take over the classification review of Bolton's book never got the proper training until June 10 - nine days ago.

Cooper argued that the administartion rushed Michael Ellis, the NSC's senior director for intelligence programs, onto the job to overrule Ellen Knight, the National Security Council's senior director for prepublication review, who's in charge of reviewing manuscripts so no classified information slips out.

She had informed Bolton on April 24 that after a nearly four-month back-and-forth over the manuscript's contents, 'that's the last edit I really have to provide for you.'

In the Thursday night filing from Bolton's legal team, the lawyers wrote, 'At that moment, Ambassador Bolton fulfilled any obligation he had under the express terms of his non-disclosure agreement with the government.'

'Nevertheless, the President, and those acting at his direction, have sought to delay publication of the book until after the election by withholding the customary pro-forma letter confirming that the book was cleared for publication,' the filing read.

Judge Lamberth asked Friday why Bolton didn't go to court to get its permission, instead of simply deciding to go ahead and publish the tome.

In the government's lawsuit, the Department of Justice blasts Bolton for 'unilaterally deciding that the prepublication review process is complete and deciding for himself whether classified information should be made public.'

Lamberth also asked Morrell if it was unusual that a senior official would intervene in the review process of a book after a career official had already deemed no classified information was present.

John Bolton's lawyers had argued that distribution of the book couldn't be stopped, using as an example the fact that CBS News reporter Paula Reid (right) brought a copy to the White House and held it in her hand as she questioned press secretary Kayleigh McEnany (left)

Morrell knew of no other example, but argued that Bolton was an extraordinary circumstance because of the role he held - that of national security adviser - and because he had very recently served the administration, leaving in September 2019.

Most of Friday's back-and-forth revolved around the book already being widely disseminated and if it contained classified information.

The legal document filed Thursday night by Bolton's team also argued he should be allowed to go ahead with his book release on First Amendment grounds.

'If the First Amendment stands for anything, it is that the Government does not have the power to clasp its hand over the mouth of a citizen attempting to speak on a matter of great public import,' Bolton's lawyers wrote.

They charged the US government with asking the court to stop the book's distribution 'for the transparent purpose of preventing Ambassador Bolton from revealing embarrassing facts about the Presidents conduct in office.'

'It is difficult to conceive of speech that is closer to the core of the First Amendment than speech concerning presidential actions in office, including actions at the heart of the Presidents impeachment, and it is difficult to conceive of a greater attack on the First Amendment than the suppression of that speech in the service of a reelection campaign,' the lawyers said.

Bolton's team argued that this was 'precisely' what was happening.

On Tuesday, the same day the White House sued the former Trump aide, Bolton was informed by the Trump administration of more changes that needed to be made to the book.

They included 'passages describing or recounting a significant majority of the President's conversations with his advisors and with foreign leaders.'

'The government also deleted numerous passages portraying President Trump in an unflattering light,' the lawyers said.

A day before, Trump told reporters, 'I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified.'

'So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out he's broken the law. I would think he would have criminal problems,' Trump said of Bolton.

Bolton's book portrays a White House filled with chaos - a president with no real understanding of world affairs, a son-in-law wielding powers in areas out of his depth, and in-fighting and backstabbing among different power centers.

The bombshell claims made include that Trump made 'personal favors' to dictators, bedded Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 presidential race and delayed pulling out of the Iran deal to let Melania launch her own initiative first.

Bolton became Trump's national security adviser in April 2018 and left in September 2019.

Trump claims he fired him but Bolton has said he left because he clashed with the president on several policy issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Ukraine.

The book, which marks the first memoir from a high-ranking official in the Trump administration, has been the subject of an ongoing legal battle.

The Justice Department sued him to stop its publication, claiming it contains classified information.

Trump's administration has also hit back at Bolton, with officials saying he was disliked by his White House staff and demanded his own Air Force jet to London for Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom.

'Bolton was just a mean, nasty human being,' a high-ranking administration official told DailyMail.com.

'He was broadly disliked in the building, including by many on his own staff.'

Donald Trump offered 'personal favors to dictators,' begged China's Xi to help him win in 2020 and gave him the go-ahead to build Muslim concentration camps, book claims

Bolton's memoir claims Trump agreed to back off criminal probes as 'personal favors' to certain dictators as part of a foreign policy characterized by 'chaos' and aimed at the president's personal benefit.

The book also contains a claim that Trump pleaded with Chinese President Xi Jinping to boost U.S. food purchases, describing it in terms of his own election. Trump regularly touts a deal to pause the China trade war as one of his chief accomplishments.

Bolton describes a 'pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency.'

Bolton writes that in cases involving China and Turkey, Trump was willing to 'in effect, give personal favors to dictators he liked.'

'The pattern looked like obstruction of justice as a way of life, which we couldn't accept,' Bolton writes.

In the case of China, Bolton describes Trump as begging the leader, with whom he regularly touts his good relationship. Trump was 'pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win. He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome,' according to the book.

Trump pleaded in Osaka with China's President Xi Jinping to buy U.S. agriculture products, describing the pitch in electoral terms, Bolton writes

Trump sought to give 'personal favors to dictators he liked,' according to Bolton, who recounts a story about Turkish president Recep Erdogan

China agreed to billions in purchases of U.S. agriculture product to end the trade war that began when Trump slapped on tariffs to protest China trade practices.

Trump implored Xi during a one-on-one meeting during their summit in Osaka, according to Bolton.

Xi complained about China critics in the U.S., and Trump immediately assumed he meant Democrats, according to another excerpt that appeared in the Washington Post.

'He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China's economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win,' according to Bolton.

'He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print Trump's exact words but the government's prepublication review process has decided otherwise.

Trump cast the deal as a breakthrough when he described it from Osaka.

'For the time being we won't be lifting tariffs on China,' Trump told reporters. 'We will work with China. They are going to negotiate and start spending money.'

'Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation,' said Xi, prompting Trump to say: 'It would be historic if we can do a fair trade deal.'

China had imposed retaliatory tariffs in a way that maximized pressure by focusing on key farm states including Iowa. When the 'Phase One' deal was finally inked in January of this year, China agreed to buy $12.5 billion in additional U.S. agriculture products.

Bolton describes a meeting in New Jersey in 2019 where Trump tears into journalists amid his ongoing consternation about leaks and says they should be forced to give up their sources. 'These people should be executed. They are scumbags,' Trump said, according to Bolton.

In another episode, Bolton writes, Russian President in May last year compared Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to Hillary Clinton in a gambit to win Trump over. The U.S. recognized Guaido as the legitimate leader amid protests to the rule of Nicolas Maduro.

Bolton called it a 'brilliant display of Soviet style proganda' to boost Maduro that 'largely persuaded Trump.'

'I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my White House tenure that wasn't driven by reelection calculations,' Bolton writes.

Trump didn't know that Finland is not part of Russia, according to the book.

Trump also told Xi: 'You're the greatest Chinese leader in 300 years.' Then later, in a nation that still reveres Mao Tse Tung, Trump called him 'the greatest leader in Chinese history.'

One passage depicts Trump showing contempt for a persecuted religious minority that U.S. policy seeks to protect by calling out repression of mostly Muslim Uighurs.'

'Trump asked me at the 2018 White House Christmas dinner why we were considering sanctioning China over its treatment of the Uighurs, a largely Muslim people who live primarily in China's northwest Xinjiang Province,' Bolton writes.

'At the opening dinner of the Osaka G-20 meeting in June 2019, with only interpreters present, Xi had explained to Trump why he was basically building concentration camps in Xinjiang,' he continued.

'According to our interpreter, Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought was exactly the right thing to do. The National Security Council's top Asia staffer, Matthew Pottinger, told me that Trump said something very similar during his November 2017 trip to China.'

Mike Pompeo mocked Donald Trump behind his back by slipping Bolton a note saying 'he is so full of s***' - and Bill Barr said he was 'worried' about his conduct, bombshell book claims

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mocked President Trump behind his back and Attorney General Bill Barr shared his concerns, according to the blockbuster book.

The book recalls the time Bolton was passed a note by Pompeo amid the June 2018 Singapore summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

'He is so full of s***,' the note read, Bolton wrote.

In public, Pompeo has portrayed himself as the loyal servant - as has Barr. In private, when Bolton approached Barr to discuss the president's behavior - especially toward autocratic rulers like China's President Xi Jinping and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan - the attorney general admitted he, too, was worried.

PASSING NOTES: John Bolton (left) recalled that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (second from left) slipped him a note during the June 2018 Singapore summit with the North Korea delegation that said President Trump (center left) was 'so full of s***'

'He second-guessed people's motives, saw conspiracies behind rocks and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government,' Bolton wrote.

Trump led using 'personal instinct,' Bolton went on, and looked for opportunities for 'reality TV showmanship.'

Bolton, the president's third national security adviser, pointed to the president's diplomacy with North Korea as a prime example.

Bolton, who had worked for President Reagan and in both Bush administrations, called Trump's first meeting with Kim in Singapore 'an exercise in publicity.'

'Trump told ... me he was prepared to sign a substance-free communique, have his press conference to declare victory and then get out of town,' Bolton wrote.

Behind-the-scenes, Bolton captures Pompeo being appalled.

He described a call between Trump and the president of South Korea as they prepared for the June 2018 summit.

Both Bolton and Pompeo, according to Bolton, were upset with how Trump handled the conversation.

Pompeo, Bolton described, said he was 'having a cardia in Saudi Arabia,' as he was listening to the call while traveling in the Middle East.

Bolton, likewise, said the call was a 'near death experience.'

After the summit, Bolton claimed Trump became transfixed with getting Kim a copy of Elton John's 'Rocket Man' CD, signed by the artist.

Prior to their first meeting, Trump had called Kim 'Little Rocket Man,' when the North Korean leader would conduct unsanctioned nuclear experiments.

Bolton criticized Trump for not being able to grasp that Pompeo wouldn't be meeting with Kim during every trip he made to North Korea.

After one Kim-less trip, Bolton recalled Trump asking Pompeo if he'd handed the North Korean leader the CD.

'Pompeo had not,' Bolton wrote. 'Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months.'

The book also contains revelations about Attorney General Bill Barr, saying he tried to block prosecution of a Turkish bank, in a move sought by President Recep Erdogan.

Bolton has also previously spoken out about Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ABC News.

'I think Putin thinks he can play him like a fiddle,' Bolton said of the world leader many policy experts consider the leading U.S. adversary. 'It's a very difficult position for America to be in,' he said,' Bolton said.

Donald Trump defended Saudi's Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to keep the spotlight off revelation Ivanka was using private email account, book claims

Donald Trump backed Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the aftermath of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder to distract reporters from covering Ivanka Trump's use of a private email server, the book claims.

Bolton recalls the November 2018 controversy over the death of Khashoggi - a Washington Post op-ed writer, US resident and a critic of the Saudi regime.

He went missing after walking into the Saudi consulate in Turkey on October 2.

A month later, the CIA determined that the Crown Prince, who has a close relationship with White House adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, had given the order for Khashoggi's assassination.

On November 20, 2018, Trump wrote that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) 'could very well ... had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!' referring to Jamal Khashoggi's (right) murder, which the CIA said the Crown Prince ordered

On November 20, the president read an exclamation-mark-filled statement essentially letting the Crown Prince off the hook.

'Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event  maybe he did and maybe he didn't!' Trump had said.

'That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,' Trump continued. 'In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.'

Behind-the-scenes, Bolton wrote, Trump decided to issue the statement because on November 19 the story broke that first daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails to government officials using a personal email account.

Government officials are supposed to use government email accounts for government business, so the messages can be archived and proper security measures are in place.

'This will divert from Ivanka,' Trump said of the statement, according to Bolton's book. 'If I read the statement in person, that will take over the Ivanka thing.'

Ivanka's use of a private email account looked hypocritical after Trump paid great attention to rival Hillary Clinton's use of her private email server during her tenure as President Obama's secretary of state.

Donald Trump said invading Venezuela would be 'cool' and it was 'really part of the U.S.,' thought Finland was in Russia and didn't know Britain had nuclear weapons, John Bolton's book reveals

Trump didn't know Britain - one of America's closest allies - was a nuclear power; thought it would be 'cool' to invade Venezuela, and thought Finland was in Russia, the book says.

Bolton's book contains numerous private conversations Trump had about other world leaders that showed his knowledge of them and foreign policy was limited.

Trump asked his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly if Finland was a part of Russia.

And in a meeting with then-British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018, a British official referred to the UK as a 'nuclear power,' and Trump interjected: 'Oh, are you a nuclear power?'

Britain has long been a nuclear power and Bolton writes he could tell the president's question 'was not intended as a joke.'

Trump also said invading Venezuela would be 'cool' and argued that the South American nation was 'really part of the United States.'

Bolton also reveals how Russian President Vladimir Putin manipulated Trump to his point of view.

He recalled a May 2019 phone call where Putin compared Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 rival.

Bolton called it a 'brilliant display of Soviet style proganda' to shore up support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Putin's claims, Bolton writes, 'largely persuaded Trump.'

While much of Bolton's book focuses on foreign policy, which is the aide's forte, he more broadly characterized the president has someone who didn't know a lot and wasn't learning.

'He second-guessed people's motives, saw conspiracies behind rocks and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government,' Bolton wrote about what he witnessed during his tenure, which was over in September 2019.

Trump, he said, led by 'personal instinct,' and went looking for opportunities to show off his 'reality TV showmanship.'

Donald Trump called Nikki Haley a 'c***' John Bolton's book reveals - even though Jared and Ivanka wanted president to dump Mike Pence and make Haley his 2020 running mate

President Donald Trump referred to his former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as a 'c***' even as Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump wanted her on the 2020 presidential ticket instead of Mike Pence, John Bolton's book claims.

Bolton recalled a time in the Oval Office with the president, who complained about how much he disliked his then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

During that conversation, Bolton claims Trump told him about a dinner the president had with Haley and Tillerson, where Trump alleged it was Tillerson that called her a 'c***.'

The president claimed Tillerson said to Haley: 'You're nothing but a c***, and don't ever forget it.'

Bolton admitted in his memoir that he wondered if Tillerson 'actually said it,' noting that in most administrations, such a remark would have gotten a person fired.

'And if he hadn't, why did Trump tell me he had?,' Bolton wrote.

Bolton details Nikki Haley's departure from the Trump administration - she's seen above in October 2018 where she announced she would step down as UN Ambassador by year's end

Bolton writes that President Trump claimed then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the one that actually called Nikki Haley a 'c***' but Bolton writes his doubts of that

Haley, who is Indian-American, became a rising star in the Republican Party when she was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010.

Trump named her as his pick to represent the US to the UN shortly after he won the 2016 election.

She was quickly and easily confirmed by the Senate, 96-4, but left the job on December 31, 2018. She outlasted Tillerson however, whom Trump fired in March 2018.

Haley announced - to much surprise and fanfare - in October 2018 she would leave her post at the end of the year, a pronouncement made in pomp in circumstance in an Oval Office meeting.

At that time, Haley lavished praise on Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, calling Kushner a 'hidden genius that no one understands' and Ivanka 'a great friend.'

She said the couple do more behind the scenes in the Trump administration than people realize although she did not offer specific examples.

Bolton claims Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump wanted Nikki Haley on the 2020 presidential ticket instead of Mike Pence

Bolton reveals in his book that Ivanka and Kushner wanted to jettison Vice President Mike Pence from the 2020 ticket and replace him with Haley.

He reveals Trump asked him about the idea around the holidays in 2018 - as Haley was wrapping up her tenure in New York at UN headquarters.

'Trump also raised the widespread political rumor he would dump Pence from the ticket in 2020 and run instead with Haley, asking what I thought,' Bolton wrote. 'White House gossip was common that Ivanka and Kushner favored this approach, which tied in with Haley's leaving her position as UN Ambassador in December 2018, thus allowing her to do some politicking around the country before being named to the ticket in 2020.'

The pros were seen as Haley would bring women to Trump's side. The cons were he could lose the party's evangelical base who supposed Pence.

Bolton writes he told Trump 'it was a bad idea to jettison someone loyal, and that doing so risked alienating people he needed (who could stay home, even if they didn't vote for Trump's opponent) without necessarily generating new support because of the replacement.'

He also said of Haley's departure from the administration: 'Few doubted the 2024 race for the Republican presidential nomination had now begun.'

Iran deal pull-out was put off to let Melania launch Be Best, while president boasted about his courage, claimed he was being nominated for a Nobel but HATED being dumped by women

President Donald Trump postponed removing the US from the Iran deal so Melania could announce her Be Best campaign, claimed he was going to be nominated for a Noble Peace Prize for his North Korea summit and said he always broke up with women he dated because he didn't like being dumped, the book reveals.

Bolton notes that Trump once told him he didn't like to be dumped, instead preferring to end any relationships with women, an observation then-chief of staff John Kelly found revealing.

Trump told Bolton 'how with the women he had dated, he never liked to have them break up with him; he always wanted to be the one doing the breaking up. ('Very revealing,' said Kelly when I told him later),' Bolton writes in his memoir.

The president, who had three marriages, was known for dating models before he settled down with first lady Melania Trump.

President Donald Trump postponed removing the United States from the Iran deal so Melania could announce her Be Best campaign

Bolton's book also reveals the president planned to announce he was pulling the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on May 7, 2018.

But then-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told Bolton that 'the first lady had an event scheduled that day so we moved the withdrawal to May 8,' he wrote.

That event was Melania's announcement of her Be Best campaign, her signature initiative that promotes kindness, well-being and combating online bullying.

The first lady announced it during an event in the White House Rose Garden shortly before she disappeared from public view for almost a month to have kidney surgery.

The president also told Bolton that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis praised his bravery for going to the October 2016 presidential debate after the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tape, where Trump talked about grabbing women by the p****, leaked.

Trump claimed that Mattis, who had combated a battalion during the Persian Gulf War, told him it 'the bravest thing he had ever seen anyone do.'

The president and Mattis later had a falling out over strategy in Afghanistan. Mattis left the administration and became one of Trump's biggest critics and Trump hit right back at him in return.

Trump put Jared Kushner in charge of a series of foreign policy areas including 'stopping Mexican caravans' but was furious when his son-in-law controlled which foreign leaders got put through to Oval Office

President Donald Trump put Jared Kushner in charge of a series of foreign policy areas - much to the frustration of other officials - but didn't realize his son-in-law was using the power to determine what information came his way, Bolton's book reveals.

Trump placed his son-in-law - Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump - in a position of power from the start of his administration, giving him a West Wing office just down the hall from the Oval Office and referring to him as 'my star'.

And while Kushner has worked on domestic policy issues in his capacity as senior adviser to the president Bolton's book details how Kushner was put in charge of several foreign policy areas too.

In the book, Bolton claims Trump consistently went to Kushner to fix things when he felt they weren't going right, showing a heavy dependence on the 39 year old.

President Donald Trump put Jared Kushner in charge of a series of foreign policy areas much to the frustration of other officials, Bolton's book claims

Bolton also claims Kushner used his influence to wield what got through to the president, including calls from world leaders.

In one incident he revealed Trump was on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 conference in Biarritz (which took place in August 2019) amid rumors France was going to invite Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the event.

Trump was also going to discuss with Macron complaints from the Secret Service and other top US officials about the lack of French cooperation on logistics for the event.

When Trump got Macron on the phone and started chewing him out over the French president's treatment of him, Macron responded it was 11 pm in France and he had asked for a call with Trump two days earlier.

'I wasn't told that,' Trump said and turned to Bolton. 'Goddamn it, Bolton, you should have told me. I hear that from everybody. Give me those f****** calls.'

Bolton claims Trump was sensitive about the issue because he though former NSA Michael Flynn had withheld a call from Russian president Vladimir Putin from him.

But Bolton claims the person withholding the calls was Kushner.

He claims while in Biarritz for the summit, he discovered Kushner on the phone with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, telling him he wasn't going to allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to Trump to go through.

'When he hung up, Kushner explained he had stopped this and an earlier effort by Netanyahu,' Bolton writes. 'Now we knew who was stopping all those calls to Trump!'

A White House senior administration official denied this as 'completely false.'

One of the issues at Biarritz was whether Trump should meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, an issue Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were weighing in on.

The book alleges Jared Kushner controlled what calls went through to President Trump; John Bolton recounts how he heard Kushner saying he wasn't going to allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to Trump to go through - Kushner and Netanyahu are seen together in Jerusalem in August 2017

Pompeo, who Bolton claims was frustrated with Kushner's role in matters of state, said to Bolton: 'So we have Mnuchin and Jared, two Democrats, running our foreign policy.'

That 'struck me as about right,' Bolton writes. He also claims Pompeo was 'livid' over Kushner's involvement in the matter.

But Kushner and Pompeo have a strong relationship, according to a senior administration official who is close to Kushner.

'Jared and the secretary are in constant dialogue have a really great relationship based on mutual trust and respect. Ambassador Bolton has on clue to their relationship,' the person said.

The memoir is full of other examples of Kushner's power and influence.

Bolton reveals that when chemical warfare attack was launched on the Syrian city of Douma on April 7, 2018, Kushner informed him that then-UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called him to offer support for a U.S.-led response.

'The prompt assurances of support were encouraging,' Bolton writes. 'Why a foreign minister was calling Kushner, however, as something to address in coming days.'

Additionally, Bolton notes before he joined the administration, he talked with Netanyahu, who questioned Kushner's role in developing a Middle East peace plan.

Netanyahu 'was dubious about assigning the task of bringing an end to the Israel-Palestinian conflict to Kushner, whose family Netanyahu had known for many years. He was enough of a politician not to oppose the idea publicly, but like much of the world, he wondered why Kushner thought he would succeed where the likes of Kissinger had failed,' Bolton writes.

And Kushner was also tasked by President Trump to help out with trade negotiations with China. Bolton recalls that, during the G20 summit in Argentina, Chinese officials 'perked up and smiled' when Trump said Kushner would be involved in talks.

Bolton also recalls how he learned Kushner was going to be calling the finance minister of Turkey because they were both son-in-laws to their country's respective leaders.

'I briefed Pompeo and Mnuchin on this new 'son-in-law channel' and they both exploded,' he wrote.

Mnuchin was angry because Kushner was reaching out to his Turkish counter part and Pompeo was 'because this was one more example of Kushner's doing international negotiations he shouldn't have been doing (along with the never quite ready Middle East peace plan.)'

He also recalled Kelly had his battles with Kushner.

When President Trump was furious how the numbers of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States hadn't gone down, he tasked Kushner with stopping the he caravans of immigrants making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border.

When Kelly learned Kushner called Mexican officials on the issue, he was furious.

'Why is Jared calling Mexicans?' Kelly asked Trump. 'Because I asked him to. How else are we going to stop the caravans?' the president responded.

Kelly pointed out then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was working on the issue.

'None of you other geniuses have been able to stop the caravans,' Trump complained. At which point Kelly walked out of the Oval Office.

Kelly later told Bolton he was going to quit but Bolton said he urged Kelly to wait until after the 2018 midterm election.

Kelly responded 'I'm going out to Arlington' to visit his son's grave. Robert Michael Kelly was killed while on patrol in Afghanistan in November 2010. Kelly went to visit his grave 'at series times. We knew this because it happened so often,' Bolton wrote.

Bolton also revealed how Trump protected his daughter when she came under fire for using her personal email for official business, which is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

He claims in his book that Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamaal Khashoggi to distract from the Ivanka Trump email story.

'This will divert from Ivanka,' Trump said of his statement. 'If I read the statement in person, that will take over the Ivanka thing.He also revealed the president wasn't happy with what his daughter did. 'Goddamn it why didn't she change her phone? What a mess we have because of that phone,' he recalls Trump saying.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 20, 2020 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 20, 2020 | 12:42 AM | PADUCAH

Three local seventh graders joined students from across the nation to ask questions of NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).



The Earth-to-space downlink was at 12:10 pm (CST) Friday, June 19th on NASA Television and the agency's website at nasa.gov/nasalive.



NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, Christopher Cassidy and Douglas Hurley answered questions recorded by K-12 students from the Challenger Center's national network of learning centers.



Aiden Ledbetter, who attends Massac Junior High and Paducah Middle School's Nathan Franklin and Brady Sanderson represented the Challenger Learning Center of Paducah. Each has attended missions with their schools and summer camps at the center.



Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).



"Our local Challenger Learning Center is honored to have three student videos chosen for this ISS downlink. This means the quality of the questions our local students sent in was top notch," said Melllisa Duncan, center director. "Our center is definitely meeting our mission of inspiring students to be interested in and take advantage of STEM learning opportunities."



The Challenger Center network provides more than 250,000 students annually with experiential STEM education programs. Challenger Center President and CEO Lance Bush will give opening remarks via a pre-recorded video. The student question-and-answer session will be the first of its kind with astronauts who arrived to the station on a commercially owned and operated spacecraft.



Cassidy launched to the space station April 9, 2020, and currently serves as the commander of Expedition 63. On May 30, Behnken and Hurley became the first NASA astronauts to launch to the station aboard a commercial spacecraft and rocket, lifting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Behnken and Hurley joined the Expedition 63 crew after their Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, arrived to the station May 31.



For nearly 20 years, astronauts have been continuously living and working on the space station, testing technologies, performing science and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth.



For more information about the Challenger Learning Center at Paducah, contact Mellisa Duncan at mellisa.duncan@kctcs.edu.
Unable to pay the exorbitant fees of private schools amid the lockdown-induced financial woes, more and more parents are looking to shift their wards to government schools.

Education department records show that 55% of the new enrollments in the districts government schools are of students shifting from private schools.

Faced with layoffs, loss in businesses, parents drifting towards government schools that charge no fee for students upto Class 8. The fee for students of Classes 9 to 12 is also minimal.

The private schools, on the other hand, are forcing parents to deposit three months tuition fee and pay other charges, unmindful of the financial constraints they may be facing.

ONLINE CLASSES AND OTHER PERKS

Besides, students and their parents also seem impressed by the online and televised classes started by the school education department.

District education officer (secondary) Swaranjit Kaur, says, Online classes through zoom app, recorded lectures on television and radio have also helped increase the enrolment in the government schools. Government schools are also providing free textbooks, uniform and better infrastructure to students, which is encouraging parents to consider shifting their wards here.

The school principals, meanwhile, have started making arrangements to accommodate the new students. Rajesh Kumar, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Basti Jodhewal, says, Our school earlier had a 1,239 student. Now, our strength has increased to 1,590. I have written to the district education department to allow us to hold classes for primary sections in the morning shift and senior classes 9 to 12 in the afternoon shift once the school reopens.

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You are here: China

Chinese lawmakers held group deliberations on Friday afternoon to review a draft law on support for veterans at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.



Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, attended the deliberations.

The veterans have made important contributions to the building of China's national defense and the military, and constitute an important force in the drive of socialist modernization, said the legislators, stressing the vital importance of the work on veterans affairs.

The draft law will provide a legal guarantee for the work, protect the veterans' legitimate rights and interests, and make military service an occupation that enjoys public respect, the legislators added.

During the group deliberations, the legislators also reviewed items proposed to be voted on at the session.
Instead, Mr. Moore said, the group planned to meet the Fire Department at a previously designated intersection outside of the zone. But after getting the person in a truck while continuing CPR, the group arrived at the intersection to find nobody waiting there. So they continued to a hospital.

Mr. Moore expressed frustration about the lack of aid, although he said it might not have made a difference given the victims dire condition. He said other medics treating the second victim nearby also reported difficulties with getting support.

The Fire Department said it had set up outside the zone but would not enter the area unless the police had secured the area. A spokeswoman said she did not immediately know the details about discussions with the medics inside the zone.

The Seattle police said in a statement that the suspect or suspects fled, and that the motive was unknown.

Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims, the police statement said.

Videos taken at the scene and posted on social media by Converge Media showed the volunteer medics racing through crowds of onlookers in the pre-dawn darkness. Tensions were high as some protesters appeared to object to the arrival of the police.

As armed officers in riot gear entered the zone, people screamed, The victim left the premises! At one point, protesters briefly surrounded a police car and then yelled, as the vehicle sped away, Whose streets? Our streets!
Tennessee legislators have passed a bill on Friday that would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Republican governor Bill Lee has expressed support for the measure, saying he will sign it.

According to Lee, the bill will ban abortions upon "detection of a heartbeat that is roughly six weeks into pregnancy."

The governor tweeted that among the essential things a government official can do was "to be pro-family to protect the rights of the most vulnerable in the state, and there is no more vulnerable than the unborn."

He said Tennesse legislators had just passed the strongest "pro-life law" in the history of the state, despite opposition from Democrats.

Ultrasound Required before an Abortion

The bill necessitates an ultrasound to be administered prior to an abortion.

It would also prevent doctors to perform abortion based on the unborn child's race or sex.

Under the bill, physicians are also prohibited to conduct abortion to women seeking the procedure due to a diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

More so, while there is an exemption to medical emergencies, there is no exemption in this law for women, who are incest or rape victims.

The measure also require clinics, who provide medical abortions, to post a sign in the waiting and in patient rooms to inform people that reversal to a chemical abortion may be possible.

Violators of the bill would be penalized with a maximum of 15 years imprisonment and would have to pay up to $10,000 fine.

Remarkable Bill Passed

The bill's passage came after weeks of Senate leadership releasing statements that they would not take it up.

For weeks, the bill was put on the shelf as it was not included in the list on the state legislature's calend

Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, a Democrat, said the "60-page bill" was the most remarkable measure they passed this year.

Republicans in the Senate hoped that this anti-abortion bill would make its way to the Supreme Court.

But with the state's approach that is similar to a law passed in Missouri, it did not receive support from the "National Right to Life" and other significant anti-abortion advocates.

The White House has maintained in recent weeks that they have a plan to move forward with the bill.

Some abortion rights group have previously vowed to challenge the legislation.

Similar fetal heartbeat bills have already been struck down in Mississippi, Ohio, and other states.

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The U.S reported more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday and Saturday, the highest daily totals since May 1, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

New cases are rising in states across the South, West and Midwest. Seven states hit record cases on Saturday, including Florida and South Carolina, which had their third consecutive day breaking single-day records.

Florida reported 4,049 new cases on Saturday and South Carolina reported 1,157 new cases. Missouri and Nevada also hit records, reporting 389 cases and 445 cases. Montana, Utah and Arizona also hit records.

Twenty-three states, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have seen an increase in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, according to NBC News. Six states have seen new cases plateau during that same period. Twenty states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have seen coronavirus cases decrease over the past 14 days.

Officials are warning that some clusters of infections are apparent among younger people who are crowding bars and parties.

The resurgence of the virus across the U.S. comes as states re-open economies after months of lockdowns and people return to normal activities, some of whom do not follow social distancing guidelines and do not wear masks to curb the spread of the virus.

New daily cases in the U.S. appeared to be going down throughout May into early June, but ticked up when states re-opened.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecasts between 129,000 and 145,000 total reported Covid-19 deaths by July 11. Since the start of the outbreak, more than 2.2 million people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 119,921 people have died.

The CDC also expanded its list of states where coronavirus related deaths are expected to accelerate over the next four weeks compared with the past four weeks, which includes Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, people gathered for President Donald Trump's rally Saturday evening, concerning health officials as the state experiences a continued increase in cases. Pictures show many attendees without face masks, which are not required at the rally. Attendance was lower than expected.

Six members of Trump's team who were working on the Tulsa rally tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the president's campaign.

There are no FDA-approved drugs to treat the coronavirus. The National Institutes of Health said on Saturday that it halted a clinical trial of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients, saying it had no benefits.
ALBANY - Ahead of next Tuesdays primary elections, voters in Democratic Assemblyman John McDonalds district have been receiving campaign mailers stating that the four-term incumbent is hard at work getting results for the Capital Region."

Those mailers are not coming from McDonalds campaign, however, but an outside spending group called New Yorkers for Independent Work, which is funded by a $1.1 million loan from Lyft, the California-based ride-sharing app.

While McDonalds campaign by law would not be allowed to have any role in Lyfts outside election spending, his Democratic primary opponent, Sam Fein, is suggesting that McDonald should still be held responsible.

Fein isnt the only one making that argument. In other Democratic primary races, such as the heated challenge to incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, political opponents are slamming outside election spending in which candidates can legally play no role. While the U.S. Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United decision has allowed outside spending groups significant leeway, both state and federal laws still prohibit candidates from coordinating their activities with so-called super PACs.

In state legislative races, among the biggest outside spenders so far has been New Yorkers for Independent Work, which through last Thursday had spent $213,000 supporting six incumbent Democrats in the state Assembly. That included $86,000 on digital ads supporting all six candidates, as well as about $21,000 on mailers specifically supporting McDonald.

Last week, Fein, an Albany County legislator, released a statement asking whether McDonald owed his allegiance to the corporations funding his campaign or the people he represents.

Fein, who took a pledge not to accept any money from corporations or corporate PACs, said that McDonald needed to take responsibility for materials being sent in support of his campaign by an anti-union, dark money organization.

New Yorkers for Independent Work is supporting candidates who want to "protect flexible work opportunities in New York" and "who recognize that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will continue to depend on these opportunities as our economy recovers from COVID-19, the group said in a statement to the Times Union.

McDonald, whose district includes all of Cohoes and Rensselaer and parts of Albany and Troy, was supportive of Lyft and Uber coming to upstate New York to bring competition to the areas maligned taxi industry. But McDonald told the Times Union that hes in fact opposed to key part of Lyfts current agenda, the alleged anti-union aspect.

Lyft fought against a law in California, which passed anyway, making it more difficult for Uber and Lyft to classify drivers as independent contractors.

In conjunction with the taxi industry, the Service Employees International Union 32BJ union is now pushing in New York for a similar law classifying these workers as employees, instead of independent contractors. Proposed legislation in New York would also allow such workers to unionize.

In his Assembly campaign, McDonald has the support of 32BJ and several other major New York unions.

Needless to say, if I did not support individuals' rights to organize, I would not have these endorsements, McDonald said. This issue is number one on their list.

The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, which supports Democratic Assembly incumbents in New York, seems to be taking Feins challenge to McDonald seriously. Through early June, DACC had spent $41,500 supporting McDonalds candidacy, the fourth highest amount of any Assembly incumbent in the state.

Engel, the Bronx congressman currently serving his 16th term in office, faces a strong primary challenge to his left from Jamaal Bowman, a middle school principal. The race has grown heated enough to attract national endorsements, with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren backing Bowman and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo backing Engel.

On Thursday, a supporter of Bowman, Bronx state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, posted a video slamming Engel for a campaign mailer, which pictured Engel walking in a march celebrating Israel in 2018. Engel in the photo was walking next to Andy King, a New York City councilman, who has since drawn controversy for alleged ethical lapses, discrimination, and sexual harassment of staff, and was suspended for a month last year in a vote by his City Council colleagues.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

But according to the mailer, it was sent out by a newly created group called Avacy Initiatives. Avacy, whose donors have not been publicly disclosed, has spent $520,000 so far boosting Engel. Biaggi dismissed the importance of Engels campaign not being responsible for the mailer.

In both congressional and legislative races, progressive insurgents such as Bowman have gained viability in no small part due to the support of the U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who rose to national fame after stunning powerful incumbent Joseph Crowley in a 2018 Democratic primary in Queens and the Bronx. She has now become a power broker in New York as new candidates tries to replicate her example.

Justice Democrats, a group that recruited Ocasio-Cortez to run against Crowley, has spent more than $900,000 backing Bowman and targeting Engel.

A political action committee formed by Ocasio-Cortez herself is playing a role in state legislative primaries. In recent days, Courage to Change has given maximum donations to six Democratic candidates, including to a challenger to Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, Marcela Mitaynes, as well as to several incumbents.

That included $7,500 to Queens state Sen. Mike Gianaris, a prolific campaign fundraiser, who after Ocasio-Cortezs election swore off taking real estate campaign donations and played a key role in spiking Amazons proposed second headquarters in Queens. Despite the leftward shift, Gianaris faces a Democratic primary challenge from a former sanitation worker, Iggy Terranova.

Overall, the outside election spending ahead of the 2020 primaries for the state Legislature is far less than it was two years ago.

In 2018, the state Senate was still in control of Republicans, who were propped up by a longstanding alliance with a group of eight Senate Democrats, known as the Independent Democratic Conference. In that years elections, six of the eight IDC members were defeated in Democratic primaries, with hundreds-of-thousands of dollars spent by unions seeking to displace IDC members, and similar amounts from charter school and real estate interests seeking to help them.

With the state Senate now firmly in control of Democrats and the IDC out of existence, primary fights this year have far fewer statewide implications, and spending by unions, real estate and charter school interests has been far less.
Beginning Monday, swimming will be permitted at six Toronto beaches as the city starts water quality testing and lifeguards on duty. But with only six beaches for millions of people, some think the city should open more areas to recreational swimming, so people can safely distance during the pandemic.

Daisy Jones is from Cape Croker, near Owen Sound on Georgian Bay. Now that she lives in Toronto, she's glad the city is testing the water.

"I grew up in the water," Jones said. "Hopefully their levels are back to normal and everyone can swim safely again."

While she is concerned about physical distancing when the beaches get crowded, she thinks most people get it.

"I think everyone is smart enough to maintain the distance, but it will get crowded," she said.

"It will get hot and crowded, so there should be more places to go," said her friend Brian Path.

Philip Lee-Shanok/CBC

The six beaches include Bluffer's Park Beach, Kew-Balmy Beach, Woodbine Beach and Cherry Beach in the east and Marie Curtis Park East Beach and Sunnyside Beach in the west.

Mark Mattson is the Lake Ontario waterkeeper and president of Swim Drink Fish Canada. The group does water quality sampling all over the city, including spots outside of where swimming is permitted.

He says people have been cooped up during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be flocking to the city's waterfront, which will make physical distancing difficult.

"I think when it gets really hot, which we will see that later in the summer, the beaches will never be in such demand as they will be this year."

The city doesn't recommend swimming outside of the designated swim areas, in water that's not tested or without lifeguard supervision.

Mattson says there are untapped areas of the city that testing shows are safe for swimming, but he cautions people against taking a chance with E. coli or other contaminants.

"You can be careful after it rains and always stay out of the water for 48 hours after a storm, but generally you don't have the data to understand whether that water is clean enough for recreation or whether you can send your kids swimming or whether you should be throwing sticks to your dog, so that information is really important," he said.

Story continues

Paul Smith/CBC

"Toronto doesn't have that many beaches for how much waterfront we have, so look for new places. Where else is there clean water? Where else can we give Torontonians access to the lake?"

Mattson says the cleanest water for swimming is just off Ontario Place where the water is deep and cold. It's also close to the densely populated downtown core and Liberty Village, which would allow tens of thousands of people access to the water with enough space to physically distance.

"We need to be imaginative and creative as we move forward and look for more places where people could connect with the lakes. I think this summer it's going to be particularly important because a lot of people are staying home."

Ontario's ministry of tourism did not provide a comment to CBC Toronto.
European governments are working with the United States on plans to overhaul the World Health Organization, a top health official for a European country said, signaling that Europe shares some of the concerns that led Washington to say it would quit.

The European health official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing initiatives that are not public, said Britain, France, Germany and Italy were discussing WHO reforms with the United States at the technical level.

The aim, the official said, was to ensure WHO's independence, an apparent reference to allegations that the body was too close to China during its initial response to the coronavirus crisis early this year.

"We are discussing ways to separate WHO's emergency management mechanism from any single country influence," said the official.

Reforms would involve changing the WHO's funding system to make it more long-term, the official said. The WHO now operates on a two-year budget, which "could hurt WHO's independence" if it has to raise funds from donor countries in the middle of an emergency, the official said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of being too close to China and announced plans to quit and withdraw funding.

European countries have occasionally called for reform of the WHO but have generally shielded the organization from the most intense criticism by Washington. In public the European position has usually been that any reform should come only after an evaluation of the response to the coronavirus crisis.
His comments came amid warnings that many businesses will not survive under the current guidance as the government prepares to ease more restrictions on July 4.

Dowden told the BBC that the government's review of the rule will be "concluding shortly, within the coming days".

London, June 20 (IANS) A review into the 2-metresocial distancing rule in England will conclude "within the coming days", according to the UK's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels were among those hoping to reopen.

Whitehall sources said the government would update the country on the social distancing rules next week.

It also comes as the coronavirus alert level was downgraded from four to three on Friday.

Under level three, the virus is considered to be "in general circulation" and there could be a "gradual relaxation of restrictions" - whereas in level four transmission was considered to be "high or rising exponentially", reports the BBC.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson commissioned the review on June 14, saying there was "margin for manoeuvre" in the 2-metre social distancing rule as the number of coronavirus cases falls.

But the government has been under pressure from industry leaders and its own MPs to relax the rule, with widespread concerns around the impact it would have on the UK economy.

The other nations of the UK have not announced any plans to change the 2-metre distance.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she is looking at the evidence, and Northern Ireland's Economy Minister Diane Dodds has said she is open to changing it.

A coronavirus adviser to the Welsh government said the risk in reducing the distance "isn't very big".

--IANS

ksk/
NEW HAVEN  The movement for Black liberation marched on the city with a beat.

Led by African drumming, people took to the streets Friday celebrating the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth as they continued calling out their demands for racial justice.

About 500 people gathered on the New Haven Green to march to East Rock Park, accompanied by African drums and chants including beautiful Black lives matter.

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Liberation Day, celebrates the anniversary of June 19, 1865. when the declaration abolishing slavery finally reached Gavelston, Texas, where slavery was still being upheld.

This is a day of legacy, social justice organizer Kerry Ellington said of what the holiday means for her. In 1865 we were fighting for abolishment and now today are fighting for abolishment, of the police and oppressive systems.

The first Juneteenth was the day federal troops entered Galveston to inform people there and enforce that all African Americans were officially legally released from chattel slavery, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Citywide Youth Coalition and Students for Educational Justice organized the demonstration and celebration Friday, with support from Black Lives Matter New Haven and People Against Police Brutality. The coalitions executive director, Addyss Castillo, helped lead the day.

Marchers went from the Green to East Rock Park, where tables for voter registration and census information had been set up, along with food, music and information on the youth agenda for the city, which includes defunding police to help pay for better community services.

Ellington said the gathering at the park was about re-imagining what the future of the community looks like, imagining one without police, but instead with strong education and safe housing. Ellington said over the next year, they want the mayor to develop a budget reflecting that vision.

Others who participated in the march and celebration echoed Ellingtons sentiment on legacy.

Michelle Smith was their with her two grown children because she said it was her duty to make them and others aware of the legacy of Juneteenth and Black people in the country.

Juneteenth is about true liberation, she said.

Smith said she celebrates with her family annually and tries to do something educational on the day. Its to instill in them the legacy.

Mayor Justin Elicker and Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers announced Friday that Juneteenth will become a city-observed holiday and that city employees would have June 19 as a day off should their duties not be needed on that day.

Petitions circulating call for Juneteenth to be recognized as a federal holiday instead of the Fourth of July, because it wasnt until 1865 that everyone in the country were free people.

Demetrius Smith, her son, said being among the crowd of not just Black people in New Haven felt good.

It makes me feel good more people are aware of it (Juneteenth) and that the Black lives do matter because we have a stake in the city, he said.

Another Black man attending the event, Sam Allen, said he has celebrated Juneteenth every year because it commemorates when all people in the country actually became free, but still the day recognizes theres more to go.

Even though were not in slavery anymore, it feels like we are enslaved by capitalism and police brutality, he said. When we feel we are safe and free thats when we can all truly celebrate.

Allen said Juneteenth should be a national holiday.

I have always had a negative view on July fourth because for the first 100 years it was celebrated, people were still slaves, he said. It should be a national holiday because this is the day we are all actually free.

Petitions circulating to make the day a federal holiday call for it to be a day with recognition like the Fourth of July. Many corporations also announced they gave employees the day off from work.

In 2003, the General Assembly approved a bill that was signed into law designating the Saturday closest to June 19 each year as Juneteenth Independence Day in recognition of the day. It requires the governor to plan exercises and observances at the State Capitol and other locations.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
Heroic policeman killed: Night operations to nab drunk drivers View(s):

Countrywide, Police have launched night operations to nab drunken drivers after reports that traffic accidents were on the rise.

They take place mostly on Friday evenings, long-weekends and Monday mornings, Motor Traffic Director Indika Hapugoda said yesterday.

We have arrested 45,750 drunk drivers from July 5, 2019 until June 15, 2020, Senior Superintendent Indika Hapugoda told the Sunday Times.

One of the worst accidents occurred in Colombo early this week. In this accident a policeman (promoted posthumously to Sergeant) was killed and his colleague was admitted to the intensive care unit of the National Hospital. The policeman who died had turned hero only days before his death when he chased after a doctor who used a toy pistol to rob money meant for overtime payments for National Hospital staff. Police said they suspect that the driver who caused the accident had driven a Defender Jeep allegedly under the influence of liquor.

The night-time operation from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day comes on a directive from acting Police Chief Chandana Wickremeratne, to senior DIGs in charge of divisions. It began on June 15.

In a directive he said, the operation should be held for more than two hours. All police stations should record the time and place where the operation was held and send daily reports to the IGP. During the operation officers should also detect other offences also.

During the past few days most accidents have involved jeeps, cabs and motor cars and therefore more attention must be given to them during the operation.

Meanwhile, the Senior DIGs have been given the responsibility to reduce the accidents in their provinces. The Senior DIGs are also responsible for overseeing the special operation until further notice.

A detailed divisional report on the operation should be obtained by the Senior DIG in charge of traffic. The report should include the number of arrested drunk drivers, the number of vehicles, type of vehicle and other traffic offences detected, the directive said.

CBK, Mangala meet for lunch at Horogolla: Photo widely circulated

Mangala Samaraweera, former Minister and SJB candidate who quit contesting from the Matara District at the August 5 parliamentary election, was a guest at a lunch hosted by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

It was held at a Horogolla Walauwa. Even before Mr Samaraweera could return to his lakefront home in Panadura, a photograph of the host and the guest was widely circulating in Colombo.

Mr. Samaraweera had included the photograph on his Facebook page and some local recipients, had it copied from London and other world capitals. As for what they talked one source said, it was on politics and why Mr Samaraweera chose to quit.

Wigneswaran seeks funds from voters and diaspora well-wishers

One of the major players when it comes to electioneering for the polls is campaign finance and funding sources for vibrant election propaganda.

The Northern Provinces one-time Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, who broke away from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to form his own party and now a candidate for the August 5 elections, requested voters and diaspora well-wishers to fund his partys election campaign.

In a public statement issued this week, the retired Supreme Court Justice assured voters that his party would work for the betterment of Tamil people with the aim of achieving a political solution to the ethnic problem and accountability for wartime abuses. He pledged every penny his party received as donation would be held accountable and later made public.

Another veteran Tamil politician V. Anandasangaree took notice of this request and said that rather than losing the respect as former Chief Minister by going before people requesting funds for election purposes Mr. Wigneswaran should be joining his party to lead as an alternative force to the TNA.

Sajith uses services of Champikas Media Director

The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Prermadasa addressed a string of small meetings in the Maharagama area early this week. After the first phase ended past noon, he was entertained to lunch by Dhanuskha Ramanayake at his home. He is the Media Director for former minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) stalwart Champika Ranawaka.

Mr Ramanayake has been assisting Sajith Premadasa in his election campaign propaganda, after he made a request to Mr Ranawaka to utilise his services.

Ranil invites Mangala to join UNP

When former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera declared in a June 9 statement that he would not be the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) candidate at the August 5 parliamentary elections, he sent copies not only to the alliance leader but also the United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Insiders say that soon after he read the contents, former Premier Wickremesinghe telephoned his erstwhile colleague Samaraweera.

Why dont you come back, asked Wickremesinghe.

Samaraweeras response: I cannot do that now. There was an exchange of niceties before the conversation ended, these insiders said. Mr Samaraweera has publicly declared that he was a UNPer at heart whether he was sacked from that party, or not.

PM discloses conspiracies against President

In a five-page statement he issued this week on the upcoming August 5 parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa gave an insight into events that occurred soon after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was voted to office.

This is what he said about one such instance: Within days of the President taking office, there was the well-publicised drama alleging that an employee of a Western embassy had been abducted, harassed and questioned. Reports about this first appeared in the foreign media. The Sri Lankan people got to know about it only later. All this was designed to create a certain impression about the new dispensation in the minds of Sri Lankans and foreigners. But the President adroitly defeated these conspiracies. Investigations showed the Sri Lankan people and the world that the story about the abduction of a Western embassy employee was a total fabrication.

Another instance, Premier Rajapaksa said was: Within the first two or three days after the new President took office, we noticed odd stories appearing in the media. One news story said that pedestrians crossing the road without using marked pedestrian crossings would be fined by the police. Another story said that Colombo beggars would be rounded up and sent off to camps and that those begging on trains would be arrested. These were false reports. The new dispensation that had just assumed power did not have the time to discuss such low-priority matters. What the conspirators expected from such propaganda was to put it into the minds of the people in a subtle way, that an authoritarian President had come into power and the people would have to obey the rules to the letter.
The planned demonstrations and shows of support took different shapes and sizes across the city and region. There was a bike ride for justice in Clarendon and an early-morning protest of victims of police shootings in front of the home of D.C. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7). A steady stream of people also made their way to Judiciary Square to look at the graffiti-covered base of the statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike that was ripped down by protesters Friday night.
A divisive new monument to Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was unveiled in Germany on Saturday, in the middle of a global row over the controversial background of historical figures immortalised as statues. More than 30 years after the post-World War II communist experiment on German soil ended, the tiny Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) installed Lenin's likeness in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. A few hundred gathered for the ceremony, marked by fluttering red flags and the smell of grilled sausages. "Criticism of capitalism and the search for social alternatives is everywhere. We're criticising that there's no public discussion of socialism as an alternative," MLPD chair Gabi Fechtner said. The MLPD says it is the first such statue ever to be erected on the territory of the former West Germany, decades after the eastern German Democratic Republic communist state collapsed along with its deadly Berlin Wall and Stasi secret police. "The time for monuments to racists, anti-Semites, fascists, anti-communists and other relics of the past has clearly passed," said Fechtner in an earlier statement. "Lenin was an ahead-of-his-time thinker of world-historical importance, an early fighter for freedom and democracy." Not everyone in Gelsenkirchen, a centre of the former industrial and mining powerhouse Ruhr region, has welcomed the over two-metre (6.5 feet) likeness, produced in former Czechoslovakia in 1957. "Lenin stands for violence, repression, terrorism and horrific human suffering," representatives from mainstream parties on the district council in Gelsenkirchen-West said in a resolution passed in early March. The council "will not tolerate such an anti-democratic symbol in its district," it added, urging "all legal means" be used to block its installation. But later in March the upper state court in Muenster rejected an attempt to stop the statue that it argued would impact a historic building on the same site. The MLPD trumpeted interest from as far away as Russia, but urged guests to maintain social distancing and wear nose and mouth coverings against coronavirus infection. - Paint-splattered Bismarck - The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25 has found some echo in Germany. Unknown people splattered red paint on a statue of Otto von Bismarck in Hamburg's Altona district this week. The "Iron Chancellor" behind Germany's unification in 1871 is also known for hosting the Berlin Conference of 1884, which became a byword for the carving up of Africa between European colonial powers. Berlin itself has been a hub of activism against commemorations in public space of colonialists, with much ire directed at street names honouring 19th-Century figures in the so-called "African Quarter". But political decisions to rename roads named after figures like Adolf Luederitz, a merchant who played a key role in colonising Namibia, or Carl Peters, a colonialist behind German expansion in eastern Africa, have met with resistance from locals. In decades of experience addressing the country's Nazi and communist pasts, "things have always been done properly, it all seems very German" with official applications to local authorities and orderly dismantling of monuments, said Urte Evert, head of Berlin's Spandau Citadel museum where many old statues are on display. "We haven't made so much progress with colonialism, something the USA, Britain and France too have been confronting for much longer," Evert added. While the United States, Britain and Belgium have seen statues of Christopher Columbus, slave trader Edward Colston and King Leopold II, brutal ruler of the Congo, attacked or removed, in Germany, only a handful of monuments have been splattered by paint.
Ahmednagar: In a joint operation, the Crime Branch of Ahmednagar Police and J&K unit of Military Intelligence have nabbed an imposter who posed himself as Indian an army officer.

He had forged several documents to ascertain his claim and get entry into military stations.

Several documents, including multiple fake army identity cards, CSD cards, dependent cards in the name of his mother and wife, Aadhar card and PAN card etc, were recovered from him.

The imposter, who has been identified as Prashant Patil alias Parashram Patil, was a defaulter during his entire service with Assam Rifles and later became a deserter since 2014 and got involved in multiple cases of stealing and forgery.

He was absconding and hiding from the police for a long time. The imposter was arrested by the Crime Branch around 1300 hrs.

Fake documents and an Indian Army unit round stamp was recovered from the individual along with five mobile phones and five SIM cards.

The man is being interrogated by the Military Intelligence in coordination with the Crime Branch of Ahmednagar Police.
Homeowners can take some of the same steps that are saving energy  and money  at the Empire State Building. Read more

In 2009, the owners of the Empire State Building made a bet that they could cut carbon emissions from the decades-old, 102-story behemoth and save money at the same time.

Their gamble paid off: Ten years later, the building's emissions are 40% lower, its annual electric bill is $4.4 million smaller, and the entire retrofit project is well on its way to paying for itself more than twice over.

And the owners want other buildings to do the same.

Your home is not the Empire State Building. You probably don't have 6,514 windows or a multibillion-dollar operating budget. (And if you do, can I move in?) But many of the same tools the Empire State used to cut carbon and save money can still work for you.

Heres how:

Step 1: Improve insulation

The easiest and most important thing you can do before making upgrades to your home is make sure that whatever energy you use actually stays inside it.

According to the Energy Department, an estimated 25% to 30% of household heating and cooling is lost through windows. That means a quarter of what you spend on heat and air conditioning is wasted.

You don't have to buy new windows to fight this. By refurbishing existing glass panes, the Empire State Building was able to make its windows several times more efficient.

Homeowners should check their windows for air leaks and plug them with caulk or weatherstripping. Cover the glass with a solar film or other treatments that can filter out certain wavelengths of light and prevent the transfer of heat. Install blinds or drapes; one Cornell University analysis found that a simple roller shade can reduce heat loss through a window by 24% to 31%.

Sealing off attics and garages, insulating air ducts, and other weatherization measures can also dramatically reduce energy use. One Energy Department study of New Jersey homes that overhauled their "envelopes" in this way found they saved 25% on their energy bill without replacing appliances.

Step 2: Increase indoor efficiency

When the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of most Empire State Building offices, its owners discovered a monster lurking in the empty edifice: vampire energy use. This is power that gets pulled from outlets by devices that are left plugged in when theyre not in use. Phone chargers, coffee pots, computer cords, and cable boxes are all culprits; the Energy Department says these vampires can account for as much as 10% of a homeowners monthly electric bill.

The Empire State Building combats vampire usage with artificial intelligence; computer programs can shut off outlets on nights and weekends. But the average homeowner doesnt need to go high-tech  just unplug your phone when its done charging, switch off power strips, and use energy-saving features that come with your devices. You can also buy advanced power strips, which will prevent electronics from drawing power when theyre not being used.

Efficient dishwashers and refrigerators are an obvious option for cutting energy use, but they can also be expensive. Yet there are plenty of measures that cost very little  or nothing  to implement. LED light bulbs last longer and use a quarter of the energy of ordinary incandescents. Routinely changing the filter on your air conditioner will reduce its energy use by about 10%. Lower the temperature of your water heater, wash your laundry in cold water, keep your home a few degrees warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter. Simply turning on a fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting four degrees in warm weather without affecting comfort, according to the Energy Department.

Step 3: Downsize

Once a building has been streamlined as much as possible, the equipment that heats, cools and powers it can be replaced with smaller, more efficient devices. For the Empire State Building, that meant refurbishing the chiller plant and ventilation systems. For an average homeowner, it might mean getting a smaller water heater or scaling down air-conditioning units.

These measures are meaningful. According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. electric grid emits about a pound of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of power produced. (Kilowatt hour, the standard unit for measuring power consumption, describes the amount of energy that can power 1,000 watts in one hour; one kilowatt hour will power a standard 60 watt incandescent light bulb for two-thirds of a day.)

According to a study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, highly insulated windows save about six kilowatt hours of energy a day. Over the course of a year, thats about 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide saved  equivalent to emissions from a cross-country road trip in an average car.

Dana Schneider, the Empire State Building's vice president for sustainability, pointed out that even renewable energy sources such as solar panels have an environmental footprint from construction and transmission processes.

But reducing the amount of energy thats needed in the first place  thats carbon free, Schneider said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A senior State Department official said Thursday that the United States was disappointed by Chinas attitude at a meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a top Chinese diplomat in Hawaii this week.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said the Chinese were not really forthcoming during Pompeo's closed-door talks on Wednesday with Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Party's top foreign affairs official. The meeting was held at Honolulu's Hickam Air Force Base and coverage of it other than from official statements was not possible.

Although he said the Chinese had made a very clear commitment to following through on the first phase of a trade agreement reached with the Trump administration last year, Stilwell said there was little sign of progress on other issues of dispute that have sent relations between Washington and Beijing to new lows.

China has become a key element in the 2020 presidential campaign with President Donald Trump and his supporters seeking to make the administrations tough stance with Beijing a main foreign policy selling point. Trump and his campaign have sought to portray eventual Democratic nominee Joe Biden as soft on China.

And, following revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton that Trump may have been less hard on China than he presents, the president tweeted on Thursday that the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China.

For his part, Pompeo said in a statement issued late Thursday that he had not read the book, but from the excerpts Ive seen published, John Bolton is spreading a number of lies, fully-spun half-truths, and outright falsehoods. He referred to Bolton as a traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with its people."

Stilwell would not be specific about the contentious issues discussed in Hawaii. He told reporters in a conference call that he wanted to leave the Chinese diplomatic space to change course on several matters. But he said they broadly revolve around long-standing U.S. complaints about Chinese behavior.

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Those include the Chinese response to the coronavirus outbreak, human rights, Chinas policies in Hong Kong, its increasing aggressiveness and most recently its actions along its borders with India, where there have been deadly clashes between the two militaries.

China could not be described as really forthcoming in all this," Stilwell said. He took issue with the Chinese foreign ministry's description of the meeting, calling it very one sided," and shrill and not realistic."

The ministry's statement included a litany of complaints about U.S. activities and attitudes, including Trump's signing of a bill authorizing sanctions to be imposed on Chinese officials for violating the human rights of minorities in western Xinjian province.

Stilwell said Pompeo had made very clear to the Chinese that the relationship must be more reciprocal and suggested that the world watch Beijing's actions over the next several weeks to see if they had understood the message.

He said the meeting was organized in part to help the Chinese get to understand that their actions are working against them. They need to reassess the direction they are going."

On the coronavirus pandemic, Stilwell said Pompeo stressed the importance the U.S. attaches to China opening up all its data and information about the outbreak that originated in the city of Wuhan. We insist on the Chinese disclosing all they know about how this pandemic began, Stilwell said.

Pompeo also reiterated to the Chinese that Trump is prepared to let a key nuclear arms control agreement with Russia expire unless it can be renegotiated to include China. China has thus far refused to take part.

We are looking for positive engagement in high-level arms talks, Stilwell said. We would encourage them. We would like them to participate in these talks to prevent an unfortunate outcome.

Wednesday's meeting in Hawaii got underway just as the revelations from Bolton's book were emerging. Neither the State Department nor Stilwell would comment specifically on Bolton's claims that Trump sought Chinas help in winning reelection in 2020 and that he encouraged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to build concentration camps for Uighur Muslims in western China.
Theres no moment where (black girls and women) will be centered, and so that kind of invisibility creates a different level of grief, she said. Our work is very much about making sure that black girls and black young women are at the center of their own lives, but also at the center of our social justice movements. We believe their freedom will necessitate the freedom of everyone else.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 23:18:19|Editor: huaxia

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Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam attends a press briefing in Hong Kong, south China, June 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

No countries in the world, including those in Europe, would allow for any legal gaps in terms of national security, nor would any country allow any acts that endanger national security on its own territory, said a spokesperson of the Chinese mission to the EU.



BRUSSELS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mission to the European Union (EU) on Friday said it is gravely concerned about and firmly opposed to a European Parliament resolution which makes unwarranted criticism against the formulation of the national security legislation in Hong Kong by China's National People's Congress (NPC).

The mission has lodged stern representations with the EU, a spokesperson of the Chinese mission said, adding that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and the legislation for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong is entirely China's internal affair.

The spokesperson said safeguarding national security is an essential prerequisite for a country's survival and development and it is the core element of national sovereignty.

Photo taken on Nov. 21, 2019 shows the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), as seen through the broken glass of a classroom, in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

No countries in the world, including those in Europe, would allow for any legal gaps in terms of national security, nor would any country allow any acts that endanger national security on its own territory, the spokesperson said.

The NPC decision is a necessary step taken to close the legal loopholes regarding national security in Hong Kong. It is fully constitutional, legal, justifiable and reasonable, the spokesperson stressed.

"The European Parliament is apparently applying double standards by adopting the resolution, which we would never accept," the spokesperson said.

Rioters attempt to break into the Legislative Council building in south China's Hong Kong, July 1, 2019. (Xinhua)

The national security legislation will not change Hong Kong's capitalist system, its high degree of autonomy under the Basic Law, or Hong Kong residents' lifestyle, the spokesperson said, adding the legislation will only improve Hong Kong's legal system, bring more social stability in the long run and contribute to the sound implementation of the "one country, two systems."

The spokesperson said the Sino-British Joint Declaration is essentially about the resumption of exercise of sovereignty by China over Hong Kong. With the return of Hong Kong in 1997, UK-related obligations under the declaration had all been fulfilled, while the legal basis for the governance of Hong Kong by the Chinese government is the Constitution of China and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the spokesperson said.

None of the paragraphs in the declaration give any country or organization any right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, the spokesperson said.

Photo taken on June 1, 2020 shows law books in the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in south China. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

The spokesperson said the legislation only targets acts of separatism, subversion, and terrorism that seriously undermine national security as well as foreign and external interference in Hong Kong affairs.

It will not impinge on and would rather better protect the legitimate rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, the spokesperson said. 
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that any direct Egyptian intervention in Libya would have international legitimacy at this point.

The president made the statement in a televised speech while inspecting Egypt's Western Military Zone accompanied by the heads and elders of Libyan tribes, Egyptian Minister of Defence and General Commander of the Armed Forces Mohamed Zaki, Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, as well as leaders of the main branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces.

El-Sisi explained that any intervention in Libya by Egyptian forces "would be led by the Libyan tribes," and stressed that "we only aspire for stability in Libya."

He emphasised that Egypt has no ambitions in Libya, and only wishes to restore security and stability in the country.

"We will not be invaders we only want a stable, safe and developed Libya."

"We call on the Libyan parties to respect the current lines and start negotiations," El-Sisi said, adding that "Libya's Sirte and Al-Jufra are considered the red line for Egyptian national security."

The president said that Egypt has called for a comprehensive settlement in Libya that involves the elimination of terrorist militias and has participated in Libya-related international conferences and supported crisis-resolution efforts.

El-Sisi pointed out that the Libyan-Libyan Cairo Declaration initiative came in line with international accords and efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis.

The Cairo Declaration is a new joint political initiative announced earlier this month by El-Sisi, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar, and Libya's parliament speaker Aguila Saleh to resolve the Libyan crisis and end the armed conflict in the Arab country.

The initiative, which has been welcomed by various foreign and Arab countries, mandates an intra-Libyan resolution as a basis for resolving the countrys conflict under resolutions by the UN and past efforts in Paris, Rome, Abu Dhabi, and most recently in Berlin.

During his speech on Saturday, El-Sisi warned against illegal foreign interference in Libya, which he said not only worsens the security situation in Libya, but also affects regional and international security.

"These external parties are working to violate the sovereignty of Arab countries, do not want stability in the region, and contribute to the movement of terrorists," the president said.

A representative of the Libyan tribes called upon President El-Sisi to protect Libya, saying, On behalf of the Libyan tribes, we strongly request that you protect Libya and preserve its sovereignty and wealth for the benefit of the Libyan people."

El-Sisi responded to the call and said that Egypt "is ready to support the Libyan brothers upon request," and expressed Egypt's readiness to train and arm the Libyan tribal youth under the supervision of leaders of the Libyan tribes.

Earlier in his speech, the president stressed that it has become imperative for the Egyptian Armed Forces to be ready in light of the instability that prevails in the region.

"I appreciate and value the efforts of the Armed Forces in protecting the western gate," he said.

During his inspection tour of Egypt's Western Military Zone, El-Sisi said that the Egyptian army is one of the strongest in the region, and that it is a wise army that protects, not threatens.

The Egyptian military is the ninth most powerful in the world, according to the Global Firepower Index's 2020 military strength ranking.

"Our army is able to protect Egypt's national security," the president said, "inside and outside the borders of the homeland."

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With states around the country reopening, shoppers are returning to malls and visiting stores again, prompting worried public health officials to point to rebounding cases of infections in some regions. Yet despite the continued risk of the coronavirus, there is no system in place for tracking whether these establishments have been involved in an outbreak, according to experts who follow worker safety and a survey done by Yahoo News.

While retail stores dont call for the same number of people per room as COVID-19 incubators like meatpacking plants, they do demand many hours of work in a single building, often with limited ventilation, sharing of common spaces and bathrooms and copious public interaction. Yet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the governmental body responsible for handling workplace-related injuries, including infectious diseases like COVID-19, has no system for keeping an up-to-date record of new cases.

I think that the general consensus among unions is that OSHA has been a huge disappointment during this pandemic in protecting workers, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

People at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

He criticized OSHA for failing to issue citations related to COVID-19 since the pandemic began despite the multitude of worker deaths. (OSHA has issued a single citation since the start of the outbreak, though not for a retailer. Winder Nursing in Georgia was cited on May 18 for failure to report under the agencys record-keeping requirements, according to a Department of Labor spokesperson.)

OSHA has come under criticism in the past for its failure to provide oversight, and critics say those problems have gotten worse under Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, who came into office under President Trump. Scalia has a history of voting against proposed worker assistance programs, and OSHA was criticized in May by AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka for being missing in action and failing to meet their obligation and duty to protect workers.

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Very little surprises me in the Trump era, but I am incredibly disappointed that OSHA has not had a more active role in protecting workers from the largest health and safety problem that our workforce has ever seen, Appelbaum said.

The administration said it is currently investigating more than 5,000 COVID-19-related complaints and is trying to speed up the process. OSHA is using the complaint investigation process to more rapidly address COVID-19 complaints, a Labor Department spokesperson told Yahoo News. OSHAs goal is to expeditiously remove workers from hazards, or eliminate hazards within the workplace.

Yet its not just OSHA that is failing to shed light on possible outbreaks. Yahoo News surveyed the top 20 U.S. retailers about their policies for informing employees  and the public  about coronavirus cases among employees at their facilities. Only five responded, and of those, only three companies  Amazon, Target and Home Depot  explicitly told Yahoo News that employees are informed if theres a known case in one of their facilities or stores.

None of those companies, including the three that said they informed employees, would say whether they made any effort to disclose the infections publicly, potentially leaving customers in the dark.

A cleaning crew member wipes down a kiosk at Westfield San Francisco Centre on Thursday. (Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Were informing team members who work at a location where a case of the coronavirus is confirmed, and well continue to be transparent in the process, said Jake Anderson, head of communications at Target. While being transparent, were also careful to keep team member privacy from being compromised with the information we share. There are some details we do not provide, as it increases the likelihood of a team members privacy being compromised.

Amazon operates only a very small number of retail stores, but its warehouses have become a crucial backbone for distribution of consumer products during the pandemic, and there have been a number of outbreaks at its warehouses. The company says it is informing employees at facilities where there has been an infection reported.

When a COVID-19 case is confirmed in one of our buildings, we communicate this news to all individuals who work at that site  not just to those whove come in close contact with the diagnosed individual, Amazon spokeswoman Deborah Bass told Yahoo News.

TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, did not respond to whether it informs employees about coronavirus cases in its stores, but it said it has established a process to support the health and wellness of its associates and customers and that it is cooperating with local health department guidelines.

Dollar General responded with a link to the companys media site, which did not provide information about any recording or reporting of COVID-19 cases.

How much of a threat the coronavirus poses to employees, or customers, at retail establishments is hard to say. Since reopening, numerous states have required stores to limit the number of customers allowed inside and mandated the use of face masks for both staff and customers.

What little data is available suggests there is a risk. In Colorado, for example, health care, food processing plants and correctional facilities still represent the largest share of COVID-19 cases, but retail establishments account for the majority of new outbreaks, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Even in stores that implemented strict social distancing measures, limited the number of people inside and required employees to wear masks, outbreaks still occurred.

Yet a lack of data collection makes it difficult to assess the risks for retailers.

A customer at an H&M clothing store at Westfield San Francisco Centre on Thursday. (Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Many employers are working to trace the virus to every potentially infected individual by asking the original infected person which department they work in, who they have come into contact with and where they have gone in the last several days. But OSHA does not have a system to record COVID-19 cases in real time, which means there is no way to get an idea of how much the virus is spreading through retail facilities  or if the safety precautions outlined by the CDC are working.

OSHA does require employers to record injuries and fatalities in the workplace, and those logs are also available to unions and workers and are intended to be made public on OSHAs website. But the logs dont provide real-time data collection because they are typically annual reports.

In response to questions from Yahoo News, OSHA highlighted its responsibility to judge whether employers have been negligent in their investigations of a COVID-19 case, but it said nothing about recording active cases despite being asked about that specifically.

OSHAs guidance emphasizes that employers must make reasonable efforts, based on the evidence available to the employer, to ascertain whether a particular case of coronavirus is work-related, a Labor Department spokesperson told Yahoo News. Recording a coronavirus illness does not mean that the employer has violated any OSHA standard.

The spokesperson added that employers with 10 or fewer employees have no recording obligations other than those that result in a fatality, or an employees inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye.

One of the primary difficulties in tracking cases is that it is nearly impossible to determine if someone contracted COVID-19 from work  and only work-related cases are required to be recorded by OSHA.

Given the nature of the disease and community spread, however, in many instances it remains difficult to determine whether a coronavirus illness is work-related, especially when an employee has experienced potential exposure both in and out of the workplace, the Labor Department spokesperson said.

OSHA has not developed a plan to exempt the virus from work-related requirements.

A bottle of hand sanitizer sits next to a credit card machine at the Kiehls store at Westfield San Francisco Centre. (Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

On April 10, soon after the virus first hit, OSHA put out interim guidance saying that most employers outside the health care industry didnt need to record COVID-19 cases due to the difficulty of making a determination about whether a worker had contracted the virus at work.

OSHA realized that for non-high-risk employers, it was going to be difficult to figure out if this was work-related. We still dont know how it travels, said Steve Parascandola, an OSHA and environment lawyer at Smith Anderson. So they recognized to the public that this is difficult to do and wanted people to focus on PPE instead.

But on May 26, as cities began to reopen, OSHA rescinded the memorandum and enforced a new one that is intended to specifically address COVID-19. This new guidance requires employers to carry out a full investigation into whether the virus qualified as work-related. Employers must ask how the employee contracted it, inquire about out-of-work activities and review the employees work environment.

These requirements encourage more effort to be put into investigating outbreaks, but they still limit recording to illnesses that were acquired at work.

Work-related determinations are fairly obvious in most situations, but causation for coronavirus, even beyond OSHA, is going to be an extremely difficult thing to prove, at least in the short term, said Parascandola.

Worker safety seems to be getting lost in OSHAs efforts to make regulations that are easy for employers to follow. But because COVID-19 spreads more rapidly indoors and people are most at risk when they are in close proximity for several hours, experts feel OSHA should be requiring more vigilance from retail employers.

I think we dont have enough information. We need more information, said Appelbaum, the union president. We need to know how well different employers are keeping the public safe, and I think just the fact of having a database would make employers much more careful.

In the absence of that sort of database, its up to employers to inform employees of infection, and bolstered privacy protections prevent them from sharing the name of the infected person, making it more difficult for co-workers to know if they have had contact.

I cant stress enough, privacy laws have greatly expanded to the point where now they are maybe butting up against these efforts, said Parascandola.

In general, the emphasis has not been on recording cases but rather on taking safety precautions to avoid them.

Now that states have reopened, cities and counties are issuing directives of whats needed: counseling nonessential employers, helping them to move from a shuttered business to opening that business safely, said Chuck Keller, a lawyer at Snell & Wilmer. I wouldnt say recording is necessarily part of the plan itself.

Karin Jones, a partner at the law firm Stoel Rives, says the employers shes worked with have been eager to identify and disclose sick employees. However, without data of who is contracting the virus, there is no way to know if the recommended standards are working.

The travesty is that you cant really evaluate whether the protections being employed are adequate or not, said Jonathan Rosen, an expert in industrial health and workplace safety and a consultant to the government and labor unions. There are big debates about cloth masks, surgical masks, N95 respirators, sneeze guards and plexiglass.



A security guard gives a shopper hand sanitizer at an American Eagle Outfitters store at Westfield San Francisco Centre. (Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Unions are also playing a role in advocating for workers. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is insisting that stores inform it if one of their employees gets sick, according to Appelbaum, who says over 42 people among its members have died.

The union has successfully made demands at stores like Macys to require that temperature checks be carried out by the store rather than having employees check their own temperature at home as initially requested. It has also reached an agreement that union members are not required to serve customers who are not wearing a mask.

I think OSHA needs to be aggressive in ensuring workplace safety is adequate, Appelbaum said. I have heard over and over again that people have stopped contacting OSHA because its a waste of time. That needs to change.

Rosen says that ultimately, OSHA is failing to perform its core oversight functions.

The whole concept of OSHA is to have uniform, national, federal-level standards for the whole industry so that we dont have 51 different standards, said Rosen.

Thats the whole failing, he said. OSHA isnt doing its job.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
EAST ALTON  AMC Theatres is planning to reopen its cinemas on July 15, but moviegoers will be required to wear masks.

Since Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home pandemic order issued in March, the two local AMC theaters  Eastgate Theater in East Alton and Edwardsville 12  have been closed. On Thursday, officials with the worlds largest cinema chain sparked an outcry on social media when they said they woud strongly encourage guests to wear masks at its theaters when they reopen in July.

The announcement, part of a reopening plan to get AMC back in business after four months of closures, was met with criticism on social media. AMC CEO Adam Aron said the mask policy was an effort to to keep the political controversy outside AMC, though he himself would be wearing a face covering.

On Friday, the company reversed course.

As we reopen theaters, we now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks as they enter and enjoy movies at our theaters, Aron said in a released statement.

Pritzker is expected to announce Friday if the state will move into Phase 4 of his Recover Illinois. The new phase would limit cinemas to 50 people reduce limits on public gatherings.

AMC said it will limit auditorium capacity to 30% at first, with the aim of gradually lifting restrictions to be back to normal by Thanksgiving. AMC also has laid out a long list of sanitation protocols, including upgraded ventilation equipment.

All of AMCs 630 U.S. theaters have been shuttered since mid-March. The company is hoping to open most of its locations July 15 in time for Warner Bros. re-release of Christopher Nolans Inception. The company aims for almost all of its cinemas to reopen in time for Walt Disney Co.s Mulan on July 24 and Nolans Tenet on July 31.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this story.
ARCHIVED - Spain for Sure hopes to bring foreign tourist revenue back to Spain



Unfortunately not a lot is sure here at the moment and the campaign runs the risk of falling foul of sharp witted social media users

On Thursday two major presentations took place which were designed to relaunch the Spanish tourism sector just three days before the county opens its borders for foreign tourism, but although a significant amount of money has been pledged by the Spanish Government (the Tourism Sector Promotion Plan, allocates 4,262 million euros to refloat the sector, although much of it focused on loaning money to business in the sector at advantageous rates), and the big guns were brought in to launch the campaign with the King of Spain spearheading the presentation in the prestigious Prado Museum in Madrid, the campaign runs the risk of missing the mark by more than a small margin.

Unfortunately Spain for Sure( ("Espana, seguro que si") is yet another example of an idea that may be a clever play on words in its Spanish original format, but doesnt translate particularly well and given the importance of the campaign, its a great shame that somebody in tourism didnt run it past a couple of native speakers beforehand to make sure that the message would have the desired effect in English, certainly given the size of the stake for which Spain is currently playing.

Tourism accounted for 12.3% of Spanish GDP last year, attracting 83.9 million foreign tourists, 29% of which came to Spain during the summer months alone.

The UK is the largest market for Spanish tourism and last year sent 18 million tourists to Spain, so its obviously important that the right message goes out to potential visitors.

In spite of the rhetoric however, the wrong message is going out right at this moment as the potential millions of British tourists who could be coming to Spain this summer and spending more than 1,000 euros each in mainly Spanish businesses, still dont know if they will have to face a 14 day quarantine when they A, reach Spain and B, return to the UK.

After weeks of dithering and conflicting messages about whether the UK had too high a rate of Covid-19 cases to be included in a potential list of countries to be welcomed in Spain once borders re-opened, the message came out from the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez on Sunday that foreign tourists from the EU and Schengen zones would be welcomed when the borders came down on the 21st June, and although the message was initially received in the UK with uncertainty due to the slightly confused situation of the UK regarding Brexit, it was confirmed within hours that yes, this did include the UK. By Monday this had all changed, and we were informed that Spain was considering the imposition of a 14 day quarantine on all arrivals from the UK as a reciprocal gesture for the quarantine imposed by the UK Government on arrivals from Spain.

All week no confirmation has been given as to whether there will be a quarantine or not (the British Government is not due to review this question itself for another week although discussions are reported to be taking place between the two parties), and confused potential holidaymakers still dont know whether this will be a problem in July or not even should the airline they have booked their flights with, actually decide to go ahead with the flight. All week social media has yet again been swamped with frustrated would-be travellers not sure about re-booking yet another flight following a succession of cancellations.

Can we be sure the flight will go ahead they ask.Sorry, were really not sure we have to reply if were to give them an honest response.

Is Spain safe they askagain were really not sure, because the Spanish government itself isnt sure about its own Covid figures; for the last two weeks we have faced the incomprehensible situation that in spite of modern technology and huge resources, the Spanish Ministry of Health has been unable to even issue a set of accurate data giving residents and potential visitors an accurate picture of the current Covid situation. Yes, they are now producing a data mountain on a daily basis, which is almost at the point of being data overload, so detailed is the information presented, but which lacks the most fundamental elements required to assess the risk of coming here; basic veracity!

The one thing we can be sure of is that travellers can be sure of the one thing that Spain does better than any other country in the world and has created a bureaucratic mountain of regulations and guidelines in exhaustive detail, so every hotel is in no doubt of the exact thickness of screen which must be installed between staff and customers, staff have an endless list of protocols to follow, public employees are suitably uniformed-up and brandishing abundant clutches of leaflets which explain the protocols in acute detail, signs have been installed, ticker-tape purchased in monumental quantities ready to parcel up beaches into 2 square metres sections, drones purchased and branded up ready to fly over beaches and ensure social distancing is being observed.Spain is safer than anywhere else in the world if you want to follow safety guidelines..

But is it all too late?

How many holidaymakers have already booked up for Greece, Portugal and Italy which have made up their minds and decided how they will re-open for business.Spain still isnt sure whether British travellers are even welcome here.hopefully a decision might be announced today BEFORE Spain opens its doors for travellers next week!!!!

Images: Show the King of Spain presenting the campaign and those attending the presentation, suitably observing social distancing
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday opposed Lieutenant governor Anil Baijals recent order on a mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for each case under home quarantine in the city, senior government officials said. Kejriwals comments came during a meeting with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Saturday noon.

Kejriwal also said that the move will shift the entire focus from moderate and serious patients of Covid-19 to those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

This is a time when our main focus should be on increasing the recovery rate and keep fatalities at a bare minimum. Should our primary focus be on the serious patients or the asymptomatic or mild persons who actually need no medical treatment as such? Kejriwal reportedly asked the L-G in the meeting.

An official, who was part of the meeting, confirmed that chief minister Kejriwal said that when the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is allowing home-isolation for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases across the country, why were different rules being implemented in Delhi?

The chief minister is learnt to have told the L-G that people would avoid getting tested for the disease fearing they would be sent off to an institutional quarantine facility for five days.

Also read: People wont get tested out of fear - AAP MLA Raghav Chadha on 5 day institutional Covid-19 quarantine order

The officials also said that Kejriwal mentioned the shortage of health care staff and the difficulties in getting doctors and nurses at such a short notice for thousands of patients at the quarantine centres.

The meeting between the Delhi administration and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on the 5-day mandatory quarantine order ended on Saturday without reaching any conclusion. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said they failed to reach an agreement and will meet again at 5 pm.

No consensus could be reached on the issue of Covid-19 treatment rates in private hospitals. Sisodia said that the Centre has recommended reduction of rates only for 24% of the beds in private hospitals whereas the Delhi government wants this to be 60%. This will also be discussed in the 5 pm meeting today.

.
Beijing: China's capital recorded a further drop in coronavirus cases amid tightened containment measures while Brazil surpassed more than 1 million confirmed infections, second only to the United States.

Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing on Saturday, along with five others elsewhere in China. There are no new deaths and 308 people remain hospitalised for treatment.

A woman has her temperature checked by thermal imaging at a local market in Beijing. Credit:Getty Images

South Korea recorded 67 new cases, the largest 24-hour increase in about three weeks. Most of them come from the densely populated Seoul area, where about half of the country's 51 million people reside. Many cases have been linked to exposure in nightlife outlets.

The head of the World Health Organisation said Friday the pandemic is "accelerating" and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before - the highest single-day number so far.
The initial health crisis seems to be under control in many countries. But this is not the end of pandemic and many epidemiologist warn against the second wave of injections. We invite you to read our todays article about the second wave of the new coronavirus and find out whether it will trigger rally in gold prices.

Will the Second Wave Trigger Rally in Gold?

The initial health crisis seems to be under control in many countries, including the US. The situation is stabilizing and the governments are easing quarantine restrictions. And, importantly, the number of daily confirmed deaths in the US has peaked in April and has been declining since then, as the chart below shows.

Chart 1: The number of daily confirmed cases in the United States (as a rolling 7-day average) from December 2019 to June 2020

However, this is not the end of the epidemic. Many epidemiologist warn now against the second wave of infections, especially if people stop distancing socially too quickly. For example, Dr. Zhong Nashan, a leading Chinese epidemiologist, has recently said that a lack of immunity among Chinese residents could be a cause for concern in spurring another wave of infections. Are these warnings sensible and what do they imply for the gold market?

Nobody knows for sure. On one hand, as people put themselves into quarantine long before the governments mandated them to do, they are likely to socially distance even after the Great Unlock. Thus, the second wave may never arrive. Instead, we will have one but prolonged wave with steady influx of new infections.

On the other hand, for the pandemic to disappear, we need herd immunity, so more than half of the population (at least half, as we could need even 70 percent) would have to be immune either from a prior infection of from a vaccine. And we have bad news here. The vaccine will not arrive in the very near future, while we are still a long way from developing the herd immunity. According to the recent Spanish study, only five per cent of Spains population has been infected, so far. In the US, even in the hardest-hit communities like the New York state, only 14 percent of residents have been infected at some point by the coronavirus. These results are really frightening, as they show that the disastrous outcomes in Spain or New York are not even close to the worst-case scenario.

Story continues

It means that either societies will distance socially until the vaccine arrives, which could be difficult due to the economical and psychological constraints, or the second wave is inevitable.

History also suggests that the second wave is possible. After all, historians have counted eighteen waves of the bubonic plague of Justinian, although over more than two hundred years, stretching from 541 to 750. More recently, the Spanish flu attacked in three waves (in some areas even in four waves), partially because the authorities eased the restrictions too early. Please remember that the second wave of the 1918 pandemic was much more deadly than the first one.

And, when it comes to the coronavirus, all countries that seemingly contained the virus  Germany, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea  were hit by the second wave, although a not very large one, as the chart below shows, but these countries were adequately prepared to combat COVID-19 from the very beginning.

Chart 2: Daily confirmed Covid-19 cases in Germany (purple line), Japan (blue line), Singapore (grey line) and South Korea (red line)

What would the second wave mean for the gold prices? Well, assuming a similar impact as in the first wave, the price of gold should go up, but not before plunging. Given that the yellow metal appreciated around 8 percent since the stock market crash on February 20, 2020, gold price could ultimately (after a not inevitable from the fundamental point of view, but certainly a possible  decline) reach almost $1,900, assuming another 8-percent upward move.

However, the second wave does not have to bring similar effects as the first wave. As people have become accustomed to the epidemic, its impact may be weaker. The second wave may be also partially already priced into gold. And just as the simple SIR models of the epidemic turned out to be too gloomy, the second wave may be less deadly than many epidemiologists fear. Such a scenario would be less favorable for gold and we could see some correction then, although the fundamental outlook should remain bullish.

On the other hand, given the level of complacency in the US stock market and still common hopes for the V-shaped recovery, the second wave of infections might be like a cold bucket of water poured onto heated investors heads. Such a scenario seems to be more positive for the gold market, although initially the price of gold could drop together with the stock market.

Which scenario is more probable? I wish I knew! But generally people react the most to new, unknown threats, so they should react less vividly in the future to coronavirus-related risks, especially that the authorities should be better prepared. Remember quantitative easing? The first round was very supportive for the gold prices, while the last one not so much. Similarly, the subsequent rounds of infections could have less and less impact on the financial markets. However, some people are already fed up with the epidemic and hope that life is getting back to normal. The second wave could crash these hopes, especially if it is worse than the first one, as was the case with the Spanish flu.

Anyway, one thing is certain, life is not likely to be completely normal for a significant time, perhaps until a vaccine is widely distributed. And gold prefers such abnormal, exceptional times more than boring business as usual!

If you enjoyed the above analysis and would you like to know more about the links between the coronavirus crisis and the gold market, we invite you to read the June Market Overview report. If youre interested in the detailed price analysis and price projections with targets, we invite you to sign up for our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. If youre not ready to subscribe yet and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. Its free and if you dont like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!

For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar.

Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD

Sunshine Profits  Effective Investments Through Diligence and Care

Disclaimer: Please note that the aim of the above analysis is to discuss the likely long-term impact of the featured phenomenon on the price of gold and this analysis does not indicate (nor does it aim to do so) whether gold is likely to move higher or lower in the short- or medium term. In order to determine the latter, many additional factors need to be considered (i.e. sentiment, chart patterns, cycles, indicators, ratios, self-similar patterns and more) and we are taking them into account (and discussing the short- and medium-term outlook) in our Trading Alerts.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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A controversial programme that grants residency to wealthy individuals in return for investment has brought more than 500m into Ireland over the past six years.

The Immigrant Investor Programme allows people with a net worth of more than 2m residence in Ireland for themselves and their family subject to conditions.

Almost a quarter of all the investment that came into the country through the scheme, a total of 124.3m, went into nursing home projects.

A further 117.7m went toward social housing development, according to detailed records provided by the Department of Justice covering 2014 to 2019.

Another 82m went into an "investment fund", while 70.5m was committed to hospitality or tourism projects.

Smaller amounts were also invested in healthcare, property and "specialist" investments. Environmental services yielded the lowest amount of investment at just 500,000.

The records show that applications involving 1.24bn worth of investment have been made through the scheme since 2014.

However, almost 40pc of applications have been rejected, with the value of granted applications currently 744.65m - not all of which has yet been invested.

The overwhelming majority of the investment has come from China according to the records, with almost 95pc of applications coming from that country.

The Department of Justice figures show that there have been 1,601 applications, of which 1,509 came from China.

A further 20 applications came from the US, with the remaining 72 classified as "rest of world".

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Of the 1,601 applications made, 984 have been granted, some 935 of them from China.

Success rates significantly varied according to the area of investment.

Of 419 applications made that involved putting money into social housing, only 254 - or 61pc - were successful.

However, of 280 investments proposed for nursing homes, 212 (76pc) were granted.

Among the least likely investments to get approved were those in the area of "sports and recreation/fitness", in which just two of 27 applications got the green light.

Under the scheme, successful applicants can get residence permission in Ireland, initially organised over a five-year period.

The residency can then be rolled over every five years provided the person has not become a "financial burden" on the State or been "investigated, indicted or convicted" of a criminal offence in any jurisdiction.

The success of the investment is irrelevant, according to guidelines for applicants, and as long as the funds promised are committed the residency permit is not affected.

Under the scheme, investors do not even have to be resident in Ireland. However, they must visit Ireland "at least once per calendar year".

A Department of Justice spokesman said: "This permission allows them to reside, study and work in Ireland should they choose to do so."

The spokesman said the fact that a majority of applicants were Chinese was an experience shared by other countries operating similar schemes.
The increasing irrelevance of a constitution for Sri Lanka View(s):

If President Gotabaya Rajapaksa can be so bold as to set up institutions running parallel to constitutional bodies situated in his Presidential Secretariat, the consequential question arises as to what need is there of a Constitution for Sri Lanka?

Duplication of constitutional institutions

This query becomes pertinent in regard to the recent appointment of an Ombudsman, a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to boot, tasked with inquiring into public grievances and complaints. That appointment was made despite a constitutional office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) being functional for decades, albeit historically critiqued in respect of the limitations of that office.

This is even more an insidious undermining of the constitutional process than the appointment of military-led Task Forces to take over manifold civil and policing functions, ranging from building a lawful, disciplined and virtuous nation to protection of archeological sites in the East. We would expect more Task Forces, stuffed with military and police appointees to be on the horizon with all the deadly inevitability of an incoming tidal wave. But even so, to duplicate constitutional institutions is quite another manifestation of the steady creation of an omnipotent centralisation of power in the Presidential Secretariat which has gone largely unremarked.

At one level, supporters of this no-nonsense Presidency and ardent fans of getting the job done, will argue that there is nothing wrong in this. Quibbling over parallel offices may seem to be a nonsensical if not abstract distraction. Even more so as critics of the constitutional office of the Ombudsman have long pointed to the fact that this is a creature with inadequate coercive power to enforce its recommendations. As the annual reports of the Ombudsman themselves disclose, state entities ignore its recommendations, sometimes with lame excuses. Certainly an Ombudsman with the awful power of the Presidential office behind his or her chair will not be ignored that easily.

Recognising the dangers of perilous precedents

But the dangers of replacing each and every weak institutional/public office with its presidential parallel is quite apparent. Quite apart from the public funds required for duplicate offices and Task Forces to operate in this economy on the edge of collapse (if not already so), the issue goes to the very core of institutional responsibility. Perilous precedents come into play. For there is a major elephant in the room here. What if the abuse of power, sought to be remedied, emanates from the Presidential office itself?

President Rajapaksa often remarks that he would not order a wrong thing to be done, most recently in the acerbic  and very public  tongue lashing that he gave officers of the Central Bank for not being pro-active enough in meeting the countrys economic debacle caused by covid-19. Yet even if that statement is given its due, that is not the point here. This President is a temporary occupant of his office. The precedents that he creates will live after him. And the risk in this approach is its lack of accountability. True, it may well be asked as to where accountability is in a Parliament with crooks of all dispensation on either side of the divide? And the difference between outright crooks and seemingly honest men who stay silent when crooked deals are struck is a distinction without a difference.

During the curates egg yahapalanaya experiment of 2015-2019, those who now cry that the Central Bank is being bullied and shouted at, were noticeably mum when the Bank was swindled in that infamous bond scam by merry men of the United National Party, now gathered for their political survival around its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is no excuse now to say that they had no voice in Wickremesinghes cabal, as it were. The mark of conscience is not to speak out in defence of what is right when everyone is doing so but exactly the opposite.

Civil accountability is of primary importance

That is also the role that should be played by civil society without taking cover behind one or the other political party when this affords them access to corridors of power. But that argument cannot be used to justify presidential parallels replacing institutional offices or the militarisation of the civil function. In fact, the best example of the menace posed by this process is the virtually wholesale covid-19 infection of the Sri Lanka Navy, easily amounting to almost one half of the total number of infected persons in the country.

This was prevented from expanding to a deadly superspreader among the general population, (far more than bothersome Muslims or infected returnees from overseas, I might add), only by quick thinking on the part of health officials leading Sri Lankas covid-19 prevention effort. As these officials admitted, the infection grew so rapidly within the Navys Welisara and Ranagala camps without check because these were precincts not easily susceptible to civilian scrutiny. The fact that this was due to cramped quarters in both camps and the lack of sufficient protective equipment being given to the Navys men and women is precisely the point.

Realising the enormous threat thereby, quick action was taken to prevent the spread of the virus but this should not have been allowed to happen at all. That is a fact conveniently bypassed by private electronic media stations unashamedly affiliated to the Government who are fond of repeating ad nauseam that a majority of those infected in the Navy have recovered. In other words, imagine the situation if another non-military institution had spouted such a large cluster of covid infected patients? Where would accountability lie? Would those officials have been called by the President and be subjected to a severe scolding in front of television cameras? Why is it that, in this case of the Navy infection clusters, accountability does not and will not lie?

A tide in the affairs of men

When this President assumed office in 2019, one warning that he gave was that, the Rajapaksa-led administration should remember the reasons why it was defeated in 2015. That is a reminder that is very relevant at this point. If the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led Government had remembered the reasons why it was thrown out of power in 2004, it may possibly have avoided the very same blindingly arrogant approach to decision making that resulted in a bitter defeat of the yahapalanaya regime in 2019. And so the cycle goes on, with Sri Lanka being depleted in its collective public intellect and institutional-building each and every time.

The difference this time around is, as repeatedly remarked in these column spaces with good if not alarming reason, is the precipitation of the country towards military rule cloaked in reassuring promises of getting the job done. Indeed, Brutuss urging to Cassius in Shakespeares inimitable Julius Caesar, there is a tide in the affairs of men / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune may best resonate for us in an ironic paraphrasing to say that, the political tide in Sri Lankas history invariably leads to the misery of the people, not fortune.

It did not need a global pandemic to tell us that.
The Delhi governments health department has directed all hospitals and medical institutions under it to recall all their employees on leave and ask them to report for duty immediately. The special secretary of the health department SM Ali issued the order on Friday. A senior health department official has said that leave of any kind would only be granted under the most compelling circumstances.

Issue directions to all staff who are on leave of any kind to immediately report for their duties in their concerned hospital or medical institution without fail, the order read.

The medical directors of bigger Delhi government hospitals reported the shortage of staff as one of the chief reasons for their inability to expand intensive care unit services for Covid patients.

We have asked everyone on leave to join back duty immediately and cancelled all leaves. With the rising number of Covid-19 cases, we will need more staff in the coming days, said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak hospital.

To combat the challenges in the hospitals, the government on Thursday ordered that the final-year student pursuing their MD/MS/ DNB (post-graduate medical training) and final-year students of undergraduate and post-graduate nursing will be hired for the next six months.

The students will help the doctors in various areas of the hospital. This will free up doctors for ICUs and other critical patients, said Dr Kumar.

Earlier this week, the health department had also issued another order that stated that action would be taken against health department staff not reporting to work. Only those who had tested positive for Covid-19 were allowed to remain in home isolation. This came at a time when the citys health minister tested positive for the infection. Prior to this order, the director general of health services also had to undergo quarantine for fever

As of Saturday, the national capital has recorded 56,746 Covid-19 cases, of whom 2,112 have died.

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Did you know that India is intrinsically linked to the history of gin, particularly the iconic drink Gin and Tonic?

In the 1700s, malaria was a raging disease that killed thousands of people in the country. The bitter quinine was the only medicine that could save the British soldiers posted in Indias marshy swamplands. To make it palatable, they sweetened the quinine with sugar, diluted it with water, and added gin they had brought from England. Thus was born the famous Gin and Tonic.

Monkey47 itself has a direct India connection: it was inspired by a secret gin recipe left behind by Madras-born Wing Commander Montgomery (Monty) Collins of the Royal Air Force, son of a British diplomat, who served time in Germany before retiring in the Black Forest region.

I was thinking about these fascinating pieces of disparate information while Zachary Connor de Git, brand ambassador of Monkey47, and the rest of the team steered us around the delightful distillery back in February before travel became an out-of-reach luxury due to the pandemic. But before the distillery itself, a few details about Indias market for Monkey47. A 500ml bottle of Monkey47 would cost Rs 5,000 in India, whereas any regular gin is not more than Rs 1400.

Indias burgeoning gin market

The country is the worlds fifth-largest gin market. After the British left the country, the spirit somewhat went into a tailspin and came to be identified as a ladies drink. But with the growing experimental bar culture and the exclusive gin bars that mushroomed before the lockdown, it saw some sort of renaissance. Hotels now boast exclusive gin barsJuniper in Andaz Delhi, Toast & Tonic in Bengaluru and Mumbai, Gin Bar by Jyran in Sofitel Mumbai, and Sky Granny in Bengaluru and Delhi.

Pernod Ricard (which owns Monkey47) India launched the eponymous Schwarzwald Dry Gin in 2018. In the past two years, it has captured an 18 percent market share in the country according to Canadean, who offer market research and consulting services to the global beverage industry.

Monkey47 comes wrapped in history, heritage, fine craftsmanship, and the aromas of 47 botanicals (that is where they get part of the name from) it is infused with. Its a batch-distilled, handcrafted spirit that fuses British traditions, the exoticism of Indian spices, aromas of the botanicals, and the genius of the Monkey47 founder, Alexander Stein, who continues to helm the brand.

So, a trip to this distillery was on my agenda while in Germany.

The boutique distillery

The drive to the distillery is on smooth roads that slice through the dense Black Forests  called Schwarzwald in German, which are home to lush green meadows, evergreen forests, cuckoo clock workshops and bakeries that sell their famous product, the decadent Black Forest cake. It is a world out of the pages of Grimms Fairy Tales, written by Grimm Brothers, who were born in the region.

For a spot of history: Monkey47 is named after a simian called Max, once a resident of Berlin Zoo, who ended up being a companion to Wing Commander Montgomery Collins. In 1945, when Collins retired and moved to the Black Forest region, he brought Max along with him. He spent his days using the forests as an inspiration and source to create his recipe of a rudimentary gin. In it went the pungent, peppery, pine-like juniper that grows wild and fresh spring water.

Much after his death, some people discovered an old box with a bottle of the gin and a letter, which talked about Max the Monkey  Schwarzwald Dry Gin. Eventually, the recipe reached Alexander Stein, who founded the boutique brand, Monkey47, in 2008. Max has been an emblem of the brand ever since.

Designed to reflect the forests and local architecture

The tasting room of Zum Wilden Affen (German for The Wild Monkey) holds an eerily life-sized sculpture of a monkey. Or so I thought till someone pointed out that it was taxidermy, though not of Max. Moving on then! Designed by architect Philipp Mainzer, co-founder of the furniture studio e15, this was not the brands first home. But when Stein chanced upon an old picturesque farm, he decided to move it from the nearby Stahlemuhle distillery. The forests-fringed complex houses spaces for maceration, storage and tasting.

The existing structures, such as an atmospheric stone building and a barn, were demolished and rebuilt as mirror images of the old, using traditional materials and craftsmanship. The distillery is picture-perfect: glass windows reflecting sprawling bristlecone pine-laden forests. Within is a gigantic, gleaming copper still created bespoke by Stein and Keller in collaboration with coppersmith and pot-still expert Arnold Holstein.

About those botanicals

Forty-seven botanicals go into making your gin, Zachary tells us as he takes us through the maceration, distillation and percolation processes. Maceration is a handcrafted process. The fruits we use are peeled by the local women instead of machines and then blended in drums, he says, as he hands over the fresh, plump mandarins for us to peel.

The range of botanicals that go into making a Monkey47 gin is staggering: foraged juniper, blossoms of acacias, jasmine, wild honeysuckle, bramble leaves, herbs such as chamomile and sage, hawthorn berries, lingonberries, and from India, coriander, musk seed, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Mandarin, lemon peels and grapefruit peels are added for the citrusy flavour.

The botanicals are steeped in warm ambient temperature of 20 degrees, in a mix of highly rectified ethyl alcohol and spring water, for at least 36 hours in art tight containers. While botanicals such as lingonberries, juniper, sloe berries and angelica seeds are ground up before macerating, peppercorns in a secrete ratio are added to each batch. After the steeping process, spring water and ethyl alcohol are blended with the macerate in drums, along with extracted oils, and hand-spun together.

There is a science behind the botanicals that are chosen to go into a Monkey47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin. All literature that the brand hands out mentions the role played by olfactory data that assail us every day, in our perception of things. And Monkey47 gins are aroma-rich.

We move from the maceration process to distillation in the copper stilt. As complex as the botanicals mix, it involves distilling the macerate and using steam extraction to channel alcoholic vapours through fresh botanicals. This way, the master distiller can coax out individual notes of the ingredients, each in perfect balance with the other.

Maturing the gin

Is gin matured? Many believe it isnt, but Monkey47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin is matured for 100 days in amphora-like earthenware vessels to achieve a soft, rounded and balanced taste. The bottle in which the gin is sold has been inspired by an old pharmacy decanter that Stein spotted in a Stuttgart flea market, says Zachary, turning around one in his hand to see the light from the expansive windows hit it and bounce off.

Some of these bottles have seen me through three months of lockdown. There is the classic SchwarzwaldDry Gin, The Experimentum Series, the smoky The Distillers Cut, the 10 Year anniversary Monkey47 editions, and my rank favourite, Schwazerwald Sloe Gin, infused with sloe berries or blackthorn. Foraged from the forests around, a process that leaves your hand stained a lovely purple, they are macerated in Monkey47 Schwazerwald Dry Gin.

The myth in these parts is that once blackthorn hedges were grown around farmsteads and other properties to protect them from the baleful gaze of witches. I would rather have the sloes in my gin.

If you ever find yourself in the Black Forest once travel restrictions lift:

The forests can be explored on foot. Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn is home to two Michelin-starred restaurants, Kohlerstube and Schwarzwaldstube, and hosts evening cooking classes. We learnt how to make the Swabian native dish, Spaetzle, a popular pasta-like dish made with eggs, flour and nutmeg, and the moist Black Forest cake that oozes with layers of cream.

The Black Forest region offers an interesting culinary journey. It took me for a sumptuous lunch at the distillery where we ate maultaschen, or pasta pockets stuffed with minced meat, in a delicious broth. It is a dish associated with Lent when meat-eaters hid the meat in the pockets.

Log cabin dining is a norm in the region: At the hotel, Blockhutte (log cabin) served an elaborate meal of local vegetables, meat, soups and salads. One day, we drove to another log cabin in the middle of the forest, which serves soups with little chicken pieces, spaetzle, and the native delicacies.

Recommended also is a walk around the Mummelsee Lake, the frozen surface of which hides mermaids with supernatural powers, as local legend states. It even has a bronze mermaid sculpture poised on a rock. And a walk in the forests through gnarled hazel and fir trees, one of them almost 200-years old, its intricate root network covering the forest floor.

Deepali Nandwani is a journalist who keeps a close watch on the world of luxury.
Screenwriter Kanika Dhillon has said that she had never seen an actor apply such dedication to their craft before she worked with Sushant Singh Rajput on Kedarnath. Sushant died by suicide on Sunday, at the age of 34. He had been suffering from depression.

In an Instagram post, Kanika remembered Sushant for his sheer hard work and relentless focus on his craft. She wrote, I noticed that my 100 page script of Kedarnath had swollen into a 300 page novel as I saw Sushant carrying it. I asked him What have you done? Added scenes to it? He smiled earnestly and simply said - I made my notes and attached them. I read scenes every day and find a new meaning - a new take and I add it to the page.

Kanika added, Id never seen such dedication or method applied to this craft before. All actors have their ways that work for them - but sheer hardwork and relentless focus was his. I felt acutely aware of every word I wrote in that script... cos I was aware Sushant would be reading it over and over and toiling over it to bring forth the best interpretation of the written words effortlessly.

She concluded her post by saying that she would remember Sushant as she does his character Mansoor in the film, Kedarnath. I make sense of you going away just like Mansoor did - Mansoor who left us all - too soon- with a disarming smile - with an unfinished love story that somehow was complete in his head... and so did you.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was troubled while shooting Kedarnath, felt all the love was going to Sara Ali Khan, says Abhishek Kapoor

Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor in an interview to Enquiry had said that the actor was very troubled while making the movie. He was very troubled while we were shooting for Kedarnath, Abhishek said. But when we shot, he was 100% there. He never threw tantrum, it was cold, he had to carry Sara on his back, and he never said no if I asked for retakes. I couldnt pay much attention to him during the shoot, but I knew we would reconnect if he wanted to.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Diego Carlos' tackle and Messi's push: Worthy of yellow or red cards? Barcelona Have your say

Towards the end of the first half of Sevilla and Barcelona's Friday night meeting, Lionel Messi had a clash with Diego Carlos.

After the Brazilian landed a poor tackle on the Argentine, they had an argument, which ended with Messi shoving his opponent.

Diego Carlos flung himself to the ground and this created a commotion, which ended with both Sergio Busquets and Fernando being shown yellow cards.

Refereeing expert Andujar Oliver had his say on the incident, dismissing the notion that Messi should have been sent off.

"A yellow card at most," was his verdict on Radio MARCA, when asked if Messi should have been punished.

"Messi should not have pushed Diego Carlos and he should not have exaggerated with his reaction."
A teachers' union has warned classes may need to be doubled to cope with 30-pupil class sizes.

General secretary of the National Education Union Kevin Courtney said class sizes would need to be cut from 30 to between 15 and 17 for pupils to obey the two metre social distancing rule.

This would still be the case even if the mandatory distance was cut to one metre.

He said proposals to have children 'in one week and off the next week' are 'not good enough' and the government should make provisions to provide double the amount of teachers and classrooms.

A teachers' union has warned classes may need to be doubled to cope with 30-pupil class sizes. Pictured: Boris Johnson at Bovingdon Primary Academy on Friday

Boris Johnson yesterday said he wanted every child back to school full-time by September and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested class 'bubbles' will be doubled to 30 children to get all schools fully up and running by then.

General secretary of the National Education Union Kevin Courtney (pictured) warned that two metre - or even one metre - social distancing rules mean that class sizes could need to be cut from 30 to between 15 and 17

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Courtney said: 'It's absolutely everybody's aspiration that every child should be back in school in September if that is safe according to the scientists.'

He added: 'But the question is what the scientists will say about the social distancing because even if you reduce the two-metre distance to one metre, head teachers tell me that you cannot possibly get a full class.

'And if that's the situation that we're in in September, then the choice is of classes of 15 with children in one week and off the next week. And that's not good enough.

'So what we would like to see is that doubling of the classrooms and the doubling of the teachers.

'If scientists say that you don't need that, if you can have classes of 30 [...] without it pushing the R up, that's one situation.

Mr Courtney said proposals to have children 'in one week and off the next week' are 'not good enough' and the government should make provisions to provide double the amount teachers and classrooms. Pictured: A socially-distanced reception class in Greenacres Primary Academy in Oldham

Pupils work on a task to produce artwork that depicts life during lockdown with social distancing practices in place at Greenacres Primary Academy in Oldham

Boris Johnson visited Bovingdon Primary Academy in Hemel Hempstead on Friday

'But if we're betting everything on that and scientists tell us in September: "You've done loads of good work, we've got the case rate down but if we go back to full classes the R will go above one" [...] then we need extra classrooms if children are going to be back in school.

'And we're calling for the government to invest in that now.'

In other developments to Britain's coronavirus crisis on Friday:

The Government was accused of underplaying the coronavirus death toll after it emerged more than 1,000 people died every day in the UK for 22 consecutive days;

Schools in England face waiting a fortnight to find out how the government expects to bring every child back to school in September;

This comes as plans in Northern Ireland suggest teachers will have to move between classrooms and school bags could be banned;

A Whitehall source said ministers were considering relaxing the rules even further by allowing two families to go into one another's' houses in 'support bubbles';

A 12-year-old child is among the youngest people in Britain to die from coronavirus, after passing away in hospital earlier this week.

Speaking at yesterday's daily coronavirus briefing, the Education Secretary hinted at a doubling of the current group size as he underlined the government's determination to have 'every child back in every year group in every school' after the summer holidays.

He said the 'bubbles' would in future be expanded to 'include the whole class' - which would be around 30 pupils.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson underlined the commitment at the Downing Street briefing this evening, saying the government was determined to bring 'every child back in every year group in every school'

Earlier, Boris Johnson solemnly promised that schools will return fully in September and hinted at an imminent shift on the two-metre rule - something that would delight business and Tory MPs. Pictured: Boris Johnson at Bovingdon Primary Academy on Friday

But he refused to give more details, saying full guidance for schools will be published over the next fortnight.

'There are still going to have to be protective measures put in place to make sure children are safe,' he said.

Earlier, Boris Johnson solemnly promised that schools will return fully in September and hinted at an imminent shift on the two-metre rule - something that would delight business and Tory MPs.

An ebullient PM hailed news that the coronavirus alert level has finally been reduced from four to three, meaning the Joint Biosecurity Centre has concluded there is no longer 'high transmission'.

Asked on a visit to a primary in Hemel Hempstead whether the restriction will be eased, Mr Johnson said: 'Watch this space.'
Thousands of young people and their families cried with joy Thursday when they learned the Supreme Court had ruled against President Donald Trump and will allow them to stay in this country  for now. But the long nightmare of the Dreamers, as they have come to be known, still may not be over.

President Trump is vowing to fight on to send these young people to a land many never knew, and to bar them from living in a country they consider home.

Ivania Castillo from Prince William County, Va., holds a banner to show her support for dreamer Miriam from California, as she joins Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients celebrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to end legal protections for young immigrants, Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP

Latino communities in Pennsylvanian and all over the United States cheered the Supreme Courts ruling on Thursday ruling illegal President Trumps efforts to end the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We all should have been cheering, as Gloria Merrick, president of the Latino Hispanic American Community Center, explained:

If DACA had been terminated, our communities would have realized an immediate void as this talented pool of ambitious young Americans were forced to leave our society.

She is right.

The DACA program has allowed many young Latinos born outside of this country to pursue higher education and to become professionals and business leaders in our communities. They have been allowed to work legally and contribute both their talents and tax dollars to fuel our economy.

DACA recipients and others leave the Supreme Court with their hands in the air after oral arguments were heard in the case of President Trump's decision to end the Obama-era, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, at the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP

Merrick says there are an estimated 650,000 people in the United States protected under DACA. An estimated 90 percent of them are working in healthcare and technology, with about 29,000 serving as doctors, nurses, technicians and health aides.

Theyre many of the people helping us battle COVID-19, taking care of the elderly in nursing homes and sticking swabs up our noses to find out if we have the virus. In this pandemic, we need all the medical help we can get.

These young Americans consider the United States home, Merrick said. We saw many crying from excitement that for now they can continue to remain in the only home many have ever known.

Had the Supreme Court ruled differently, at least 5,000 people in Pennsylvania would have been forced to leave, many of them ambitious, skilled professionals who were born in Latin American countries but brought to the United States as children, Merrick said.

Lets remember, it wasnt their choice to come here. They didnt break any laws. And they now consider themselves Americans.

In this image from video provided by My Brother's Keeper Alliance and The Obama Foundation, former President Barack Obama speaks Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during virtual town hall event with young people to discuss policing and the civil unrest that has followed the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. (My Brother's Keeper Alliance and The Obama Foundation via AP)AP

Dreamers can thank President Barack Obama for creating the DACA program in 2012. While DACA didnt provide a pathway to citizenship for these young people, it did at least allow them to live and work in the United States legally . . . until President Trump moved to revoke it.

Many Americans support allowing the Dreamers to remain in the United States, however. A recent Pew Research survey found that 74 percent of Americans favored granting permanent legal status to immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, with only 24 percent opposed.

For now, the Supreme Court has sided with the majority and blocked the presidents efforts to expel thousands of our friends and neighbors. But he hasnt given up, even though there may not be enough time in his administration to win another long battle through the courts.

But whether these young people have a future as Americans very much depends on who emerges triumphant on Nov. 3, and whether enough people in Congress share their dream.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

And please subscribe to Battleground PA to stay abreast of the issues in the 2020 elections!
Protesters hold signs during a demonstration against COVID-19-related restrictions in Huntington Beach on May 9. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: It's been very distressing to see the mask fiasco unfold here in Orange County. At Board of Supervisors meetings, people have complained that wearing a mask causes them to inhale too much of their exhaled carbon dioxide, which is utterly preposterous. Still, our supervisors have taken these complaints seriously, and our former health officer had to resign after receiving threats over her order for Orange County residents to wear masks in public.

This issue hits home. I would like to resume some semblance of a normal life (while wearing a mask, of course), but when I leave my home for a walk I must go to a relatively deserted neighborhood just so I feel safe.



It's not as if we seniors are a tiny fraction of the population, yet too many others are so eager to assert their absolute personal freedom that they condemn thousands of vulnerable residents to lives in the shadows.

The novel coronavirus was, in fact, brand new, and much about how it spreads was unknown. After a few months of intense study, it has become clear that wearing a mask when distancing is the most effective way to limit the spread. This is a no-brainer, folks.

Glenna Matthews, Laguna Beach

..

To the editor: I once had a lovely neighbor from England who, as a child, survived the Nazi bombing of Coventry. She told me stories of having to wear gas masks, spending nights in bomb shelters, curfews, blackouts and rationing.

That lasted for five years.

But now, after fewer than four months, people have lost their minds and are declaring that they are done with the fascists running their lives  because, you know, freedom.

Throughout the evolution of life on Earth there have been periodic die-offs of animal groups that could not adapt. Today we may be witnessing the first voluntary die-off in the Earth's history.

Mark Spiegel, Torrance

..

To the editor: I am a nurse at a large hospital and have cared for COVID-19 patients. I have seen how devastating this illness is.

Story continues

I wish all of those foolish people refusing to mask up could spend a few minutes on a COVID-19 unit  but wait, they'd have to wear a mask if they did, or maybe not if they truly believe this is all made up.

Here are some comparisons I came up with that reflect this crazy time: Staying completely isolated at home is like abstinence, wearing a mask while going out is like safe sex, and wearing no mask is like unprotected sex.

Me, I'm going to stick with wearing a mask.

Ann Brady, Pasadena

..

To the editor: Why are so many people not wearing their face coverings? Maybe some like me have fibrosis in their lungs and therefore have difficulty breathing through a mask.

Harvey Pearson, Los Feliz

..

To the editor: The question of why so many people are opposed to wearing masks has been troubling me for some time.

After reading the utter nonsense of the mask doubters and their sheer abandonment of common sense, I've come to the conclusion that as a country our most dangerous comorbidity is our stupidity. And right now, it seems that Orange County is the sickest place of all.

Cynthia Monahan, Encinitas

..

To the editor: I swear, if some YouTube wellness "influencer" declared that wearing masks meant you could eat anything you wanted and not gain weight, every person protesting them now would be hoarding them like toilet paper.

But listen to a qualified, experienced health expert? Nah.

Marijane Miller, West Hollywood
Cult dad Chad Daybell tried to flee in his car when police discovered the remains of his wifes two children on the grounds of his Idaho property, according to court papers unsealed on Friday.

On June 9, authorities ended a months-long search for Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and his sister, Tylee Ryan, 17, when they uncovered their remains at Daybells Salem, Idaho, home.

As authorities uncovered the children's remains, Chad Daybell, who was watching the investigators from his car across the street, pulled out of the driveway of his home.

But officers arrested him before he could get away.

This file booking photo provided by the Rexburg (Idaho) Police Department shows Chad Daybell, who was arrested June 9, 2020.

Daybell is the husband of Lori Vallow Daybell (seen in a Rexburg, Idaho, courtroom in March), whose two children were the subject of a months-long search that ended on June 9

Seven-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow (left) and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan (right) were reported missing last September

Investigators found the remains of JJ and Tylee after excavating the backyard of Chad Daybell's property on June 9 (pictured)

Daybell is married to the childrens mother, Lori Vallow, who was arrested earlier this year and charged with felony child abandonment.

Chad Daybell faces charges of destroying or concealing evidence.

Court papers claim cell phone data indicates that Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother, was at the same location where the children were buried near the time they were reported missing

According to probable cause affidavits that were unsealed on Friday, Chad Daybell told his wife Tamara Daybell that he had shot a raccoon and then buried it in their pet cemetery on the day after the last known sighting of Tylee Ryan in Yellowstone National Park.

Tylee was last seen during a family trip to Yellowstone on September 8.

According to the affidavit, the FBI found a text conversation between Chad and Tamara Daybell from the next day in which he said: 'Well, I've had an interesting morning!'

I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms, While I did so, spotted big raccoon along the fence, Chad Daybell texted to his wife.

I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick.

He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!

Tamara Daybell died in her sleep in October. Authorities exhumed her body and the results of an autopsy have not been released.

Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow two weeks after Tamara Daybells death.

The case spans several states and began when Lori Vallow Daybells brother shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in suburban Phoenix last summer in what he asserted was self-defense.

Charles was seeking a divorce, saying Lori believed she had become a god-like figure who was responsible for ushering in the biblical end times.

Her brother, Alex Cox, then died in December of an apparent blood clot in his lung.

Shortly after Charless death, Lori and the children moved to Idaho, where Chad Daybell lived.

He ran a small publishing company, putting out many fiction books he wrote about apocalyptic scenarios loosely based on the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Family members confirmed that the remains found buried outside Chad's home had been identified as seven-year-old JJ and 17-year-old Tylee, who disappeared in September

Cox claimed self-defense in the fatal shooting of Lori's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, near Phoenix last summer. Lori and Charles are pictured together in an undated photo

He also recorded podcasts about preparing for biblical end times, and friends said he claimed to be able to receive visions from 'beyond the veil.'

Lori Vallow met Chad Daybell after she was drawn to his apocalyptic writings.

According to the unsealed court papers, authorities traced Coxs cell phone to his sisters apartment just after midnight on September 9, the day after Tylee was last seen during the Yellowstone trip.

A few hours later, Coxs phone was in the same spot where investigators unearthed the two childrens remains.

Phone data indicates that Cox spent more than two hours at Chad Daybells property that morning before leaving just before noon, according to Deseret News.

One Foot In The Grave: Chad Daybell penned book about how 'rewarding' it was working as a grave digger but that it's 'sad to bury babies' Years before he was linked to the disappearance of Lori Vallow's missing children, Chad Daybell worked as a 'cemetery sexton' - or grave digger - while studying at Brigham Young University in Utah in the mid-1990s. Chad described the job in an interview with the Deseret News in 2001. 'Taking care of the graves is rewarding, as well as helping widows and grieving family members deal with the trauma,' he said. 'Sad times are always when you have to bury babies. That's always a poignant moment.' Chad published an entire nonfiction book about his experiences that same year, entitled: One Foot in the Grave: Secrets of a Cemetery Sexton. He left that job soon after the book was finished and went on to publish more than 25 other titles, many of them about near-death experiences and the end of the world. Chad briefly reprised his sexton role years later in 2008 by working part time at a cemetery in Springville. Advertisement

Four minutes after he left, Chad Daybell sent his wife the text about the raccoon that he shot and buried.

Investigators thought it was odd that Daybell claimed to have shot a raccoon in the morning since raccoons are nocturnal animals.

Chad Daybells son is said to have told neighbors in mid-July who asked about gunshots coming from the area that his father shot a raccoon out of a tree during the daytime.

Neighbors also told investigators that shortly after Tamara Daybell died, they noticed a fire pit being used on the Daybells property - a rare occurrence.

The unsealed court documents also claim that Lori Vallows friends said they last saw JJ on September 22.

JJ was said to have been acting up, prompting Cox to take him to his own apartment in the same complex where his sister lived.

Cox later returned with JJ appearing to be asleep as the boy placed his head on Coxs shoulder, according to documents.

The next morning, Lori Vallow told a friend that JJ had been acting like a zombie and crawling above cabinets.

She said JJ had knocked a picture of Jesus off the refrigerator.

Cox is then said to have taken the boy once again. According to cell phone data, Cox was on Chad Daybells property that same morning.

The cell phone was traced to a spot near a pond, which is the same location where investigators dug up a set of human remains wrapped in black plastic and duct tape.

The remains belonged to someone who had light brown hair, according to the affidavit.

Chad Daybell's attorney, John Prior, filed documents notifying the court of Daybell's not-guilty plea late last week.

He said Daybell requested a preliminary hearing and a jury trial.

Investigators said both Chad and Lori lied to them about the children's whereabouts.

Lori Vallow has been in jail since February. Her attorney has indicated she intends to defend herself against the charges.

Both are being held on $1million bond, and both are scheduled for preliminary hearings next month.

Police began searching for Tylee and JJ in November after relatives raised concerns.

Police say the Lori and Chad lied to investigators about the childrens whereabouts before quietly leaving Idaho. The couple were found in Hawaii months later.
Over the past seven years, Xi Jinping has repeatedly told Indian leaders he wants a different and better relationship with India. New Delhi was baffled that events on the ground seemed to belie the Chinese leaders pronouncements. It is assumed Galwan Valley marks the end of any belief Beijing genuinely seeks a new paradigm in the bilateral relationship.

Xi first signalled his interest in 2013 when he met then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the BRICS summit in South Africa. Next year, he told the incoming Indian ambassador Ashok Kantha, he saw improving ties as a historic mission and saw the two working together on global issues. Says Kantha, Unusually, Xi personally took charge of the India policy. When the foreign minister visited India he was given the additional title of Xis special emissary.

Also read: Trump says US trying to help India, China sort big problem

The Chinese leader asked to become the first foreign leader to meet the newly elected Narendra Modi. A military confrontation in Ladakh took place the day the visit began. Xi told Modi he had no knowledge of the event. Beijing, through various channels, later sent word rogue elements in the military were to blame. This was not impossible. Xi was in the midst of a brutal purge of the Peoples Liberation Army officer corps. The local commander in Ladakh was subsequently removed.

The honeymoon of possibility continued through 2015. Even though relations took a dip in 2016-17 says Kantha, Xi never changed his tune about the relationship. He spoke of changing relations in over a dozen meetings with Modi, ranging from the G-20 summit in Germany to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Kazakhstan. A message of a glorious future together was echoed at diplomatic levels and even at Sino-Indian track two events.

However, evidence of Xis rhetoric translating into action on the ground was scanty. China opened the door to SCO membership, but blocked India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The two sparred for influence in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Yet, Xi kept expressing a desire for what another ex-Indian ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale, called the new paradigm in relations. Whether relations were half full or half empty was not always easy to determine given the underlying rivalry between the two countries. The Doklam border crisis nearly shuttered the attempts at rapprochement. But there was room for interpretation. Chinas incursion was into Bhutanese territory and not covered by existing Sino-Indian border agreements. Had they miscalculated? After the incident, the local PLA commander simply disappeared.

Also read| No restrictions on using firearms: India gives soldiers freedom along LAC in extraordinary times

Why did India persist for so long? New Delhi wanted to build on the peace and tranquillity agreements that stretched back to 1993. We were hoping for a kind of calm in the relationship that would keep the border quiet and allow the rest of it, economics, tourism and so on, to flourish, says Bambawale. A stable China relationship would have been an enormous diplomatic gain for India, a prize well worth many efforts. False starts and dead ends are common in diplomacy. There was also a concern problems between the two countries were accumulating, says Kantha. Problems were building up, agrees Bambawale.

And then there was Xi and his repeated assurances. There were elements in the Chinese system, notably the military and intelligence services, known to be deeply hostile to India. Senior Indian officials say New Delhi hypothesized Xi was receiving negative inputs from them. After all, India had led the campaign against the Belt Road Initiative, the Quad had been revived and there was always Pakistan. Seeking an out-of-the-box solution, India came up with the idea of an informal summit. Dont seek quick fixes for the intractable, like the border and trade issues. Instead, let Modi and Xi meet for several hours and, importantly, without bureaucratic filters. There was no question of being friends, but at least an attempt could be made to build trust at the highest level. Bonhomie at the top sends signals down the system and things tend to go more smoothly down below, said Bambawale.

The blood shed in Galwan Valley has effectively ended this experiment in engagement. Multiple intrusions ranging across the entire Himalayan frontier would require the PLAs western theatre command to have been involved. Say Indian officials these are senior officers who would have not moved without Xis okay. It may never be known whether Xi was genuine about changing the relationship and changed tack later or whether he simply was spinning a web of illusion from the start. Either way, a new paradigm in Sino-Indian relations has begun but not of the variety New Delhi had hoped for.
By Trend

Iranian President Rouhani announced the decisions of the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus to approve having people to wear face masks in public as measure to protect against the COVID-19 spread, Trend reports via IRNA.

"Economic, educational and cultural activities will resume under the control of Ministry of Health," Rouhani said at the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus meeting.

"There's no need to close down everything, but all the health protocols must be implemented," he said.

Rouhani went on to point out the psychological pressure of the virus.

He said that coronavirus isn't vanishing any time soon, so people have to prepare themselves for the 'longer period'.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 202,500 people have been infected 9,507 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 161,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A person?s favorite book is often something that?s very vivid and real to them, making a trip to visit actual places with a connection to what they read about into something of a pilgrimage. Being able to feel that sort of connection to your favorite characters or figures from history can be powerful. That came into clear relief for some literature fans recently when the bus featured in the book and movie ?Into the Wild? ? in which Jon Krakauer details the failed attempt by an idealistic but naive young man to leave modern society ? was removed from near Alaska?s Stampede Trail by the state?s National Guard.

As such, if you had long dreamed of seeing Christopher McCandless? bus in its original location, your opportunity seems to have passed. Maybe for the better ? part of the reason for the removal had been fans trying to see it were putting themselves into danger. However, just because your window of opportunity to visit this landmark has closed, there?s a number other places featured in some of your favorite books or movies that you can still see ? and without the danger of getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness.

Before you book your next vacation, check out these cant-miss destinations for nerds, from castles to museums and even Middle-earth itself.

Last updated: Oct. 21, 2020

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Location: Orlando, Florida; Universal City, California

Spanning not one but two theme parks  Universal Studios Florida and Universals Islands of Adventure  the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando is a must-see for fans. The Hogwarts Express will shuttle you between the parks, where youll be enchanted by plenty of rides, including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the Dragon Challenge. Afterward, visit the Three Broomsticks restaurant for a quick bite.

Youll need a park-to-park ticket to visit both theme parks, which starts at $165 for a one-day pass. Although that cost ranks highly among the priciest theme parks around the world, the trip is certainly worth the visit.

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Plan to spend around $270 per plane ticket and roughly $70 per night on your hotel room. If you live nearer to Southern California, opt instead for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood, where a day pass will cost between $105 and $116.

Middle-Earth

Location: New Zealand

Ditch the beach and visit the fantasy realm of Tolkien: Middle-earth. Here, youll see the real-life backdrops to the beloved and high-earning book-to-film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.

Visit Fiordland National Park for sweeping views of lands shown in both movie trilogies. Spend $25 on a Weta Workshops Weta Cave Workshop Tour and embark on a Hobbiton Movie Set Tour for $79 to $195. If youre feeling adventurous, hike the challenging four-hour Earnslaw Burn Track, which starts in Glenorchy, near Queenstown.

Fly into Auckland for around $1,100 and shuttle around the North and South Islands on domestic flights. Hotel prices vary as you journey throughout the country, but expect to spend around $100 per night in both Auckland and Queenstown.

Gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe

Location: Baltimore, Md.

If youve read every Edgar Allan Poe work, from The Fall of the House of Usher to The Tell-Tale Heart, visit The Raven authors grave in West Baltimore.

Tours are available on the first and third Fridays of the month from April to November. Afterward, drive about a mile down the road to the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, where admission is $5 for adults.

Expect to spend around $275 on your flight. Accommodations can cost as much as $200 per night, so find ways to save on your hotel stay.

Living Computers: Museum + Labs

Location: Seattle

Living Computers: Museum + Labs is a geeks dream come true. Pay a $12 admission fee to enjoy a hands-on experience with computer equipment dating back to the 1960s. The museum is home to the largest collection of fully restored and usable supercomputers, mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers in the world, so prepare to spend hours exploring and learning.

Airfare should cost approximately $140. Budget around $200 per night for a hotel room in the city.

Alnwick Castle

Location: Alnwick, Northumberland, England

Known as the Hogwarts castle in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Alnwick Castle makes for a truly magical vacation destination. Adult admission costs around $17 and grants you unlimited visits for an entire year.

Located in the town of Alnwick in Northumberland, youll want to fly into Newcastle International Airport. You can get a flight for around $800 and a hotel room in Alnwick for roughly $75.

Related: 20 Life-Changing Trips That Are Worth the Cost

Bletchley Park

Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England

The home of British codebreaking and birthplace of modern information technology, Bletchley Park is a fascination destination for coders. You can visit the site of secret intelligence during World War II for about $21 per person or $56 for a family ticket.

Located in Milton Keynes, Londons Heathrow Airport is about an hour drive from Bletchley Park. Your flight will cost around $600 and accommodations can cost around $90 per night. If youre not sure whether you can afford the trip, try following these tips first.

Petra

Location: Petra, Jordan

Petra is one of the most famous archaeological sites on Earth. Explore the Lost City to discover world-renowned facades and Nabatean tombs. If youre an Indiana Jones fan, youll love these ancient sights. The fictional Canyon of the Crescent Moon  from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade  was modeled after the eastern entrance to Petra. Other scenes from that movie were filmed in Petra.

If you spend at least one night in Jordan, entrance fees to Petra start at around $70. Plan to spend around $40 per night on a hotel. Unfortunately, the most expensive part of your vacation will be your flight into Israels Eilat Airport, which is about two hours from Petra. Youll spend about $1,350 on a round-trip ticket.

Kennedy Space Center

Location: Titusville, Florida

Embark on an out-of-this-world vacation at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville. A $50 adult admission ticket grants you access to an exciting lineup of attractions, including the KSC Bus Tour, Shuttle Launch Experience, the Space Mirror Memorial and 3-D space films.

The closest major airport is in Orlando. Expect to spend around $270 on your flight and $130 per night on accommodations.

Also in Travel: Travel Experts Reveal the Best Ways To Save on Vacation

MIT Museum

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Located on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, the MIT Museum will blow your nerdy mind. Explore a variety of exhibits highlighting scientific, artistic and technological advances from MIT. These exhibits include Glass: Between Liquid and Solid, Large-Format Polaroid Camera and Herreshoff Collection Highlights.

Fly into Boston Logan International Airport  about a 20-minute drive to the museum  and plan to spend approximately $300 for your flight. Your hotel should cost around $200 per night.

The Burgess Shale

Location: Field, British Columbia, Canada

The Burgess Shale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most essential fossil sites on the planet. Two types of guided tours are available, and theyre both challenging. A tour of Walcott Quarry lasts 11 hours and costs $94.50 for adults, and the Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds tour spans seven hours and costs adults $70.10.

A hotel room in Field will cost approximately $140 per night. Fly into Calgary International Airport for around $270 and make the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Field.

Museum Fur Naturkunde

Location: Berlin, Germany

For a vacation you can take with the kids, try Berlins natural history museum. Flying into the famed city will cost you just over $600 on a plane ticket. Once at the museum, you can see permanent exhibits that explore the origins of the solar system, minerals, fossils and more. And dont miss Evolution in Action, which has the worlds largest dinosaur skeleton on display.

Admission costs about $8.50. A hotel room near the museum will cost around $90 per night.

Biosphere 2

Location: Oracle, Arizona

If youre a science buff, Biosphere 2 is your place to be. A facility committed to the study of global scientific issues, this unique spot serves as a laboratory and purveyor of public education. Adult general admission tickets cost $20 and tours are available daily.

Biosphere 2 is located at the University of Arizona, about an hour outside Tucson. Fly into Tucson for around $170 and stay at a hotel in the area for around $70 per night.

Highgate Cemetery

Location: London, England

Pay your respects to some of the most talented people in history at Londons Highgate Cemetery. Consisting of the East Cemetery and West Cemetery, the site serves as the final resting place for many accomplished minds, including Karl Marx, Patrick Caulfield and George Eliot.

The West Cemetery can only be accessed by guided tour, which costs around $14.50 for adults. Wander the East Cemetery alone or take a guided tour for about $10.

Fly into Londons Heathrow Airport and budget approximately $600 for your plane ticket. Expect to spend around $65 per night for your London hotel room.

CERN

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

If youve never been to Switzerland, it certainly ranks among the top destinations you need to visit before you retire. Once there, visit CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Explore the worlds largest physics laboratory with a free guided tour and access to exhibitions. See equipment used by CERN physicists, such as the Large Hadron Collider.

Budget around $700 for your flight to Geneva. You can get a hotel for roughly $150 per night.

See: How Much to Tip When Traveling to These 25 Countries

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Location: Washington, D.C.

If youve never seen the Hope Diamond, its time to change that. This exceptional gem, and loads of other must-see exhibits like coral reef and a mummified cat, are on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of National History. Admission is free.

Your flight into Reagan National Airport will cost roughly $350 and put you about four miles from the museum. Hotels in Washington, D.C. arent cheap, but you should be able to get a room for approximately $180 per night.

National Videogame Museum

Location: Frisco, Texas

You might not know this, but there is such thing as a video game museum. Buy a plane ticket to nearby Dallas for around $150 and immerse yourself in video game history for a day.

Learn about the origins of video games, check out old gaming pieces and, of course, play plenty of actual games. Book a hotel room in Frisco for around $130 per night.

Legoland Denmark

Location: Billund, Jutland, Denmark

Take your kids to the original Legoland theme park. Arrive early to enjoy more than 50 fun rides and events.

Buy your tickets at least seven days in advance to save 10 percent. At this discounted rate, kids tickets start at around $43 and $46 for adults. Travel into Billund Airport for around $600 per person and book a hotel room in the city for around $110 per night.

Related: Ultimate Guide to Spending Your Money Around the World

Hall of Heroes Museum

Location: Elkhart, Indiana

If youre a superhero aficionado, the Hall of Heroes Museum was made for you. At the only superhero and comic book museum, take a journey through the entire 75-year history of superheroes in comics, toys, film and animation.

The museum doesnt miss a detail either, as the building itself is housed in a two-story replica of the Hall of Justice from the Super Friends cartoon. Expect to spend around $120 per night on your hotel room. Fly into the nearby Kalamazoo, Michigan, airport for around $500 and drive about 60 miles into Elkhart.

Very Large Array Radio Telescope

Location: Socorro, New Mexico

If youve spent long nights looking up at the stars, New Mexicos Very Large Array Radio Telescope facility is the perfect destination to go stargazing. Adult admission is $6 and self-guided tours are available daily.

Book your flight into Albuquerque, New Mexico, for roughly $200 and drive just over an hour into Socorro. Your hotel room will cost around $150 per night and put you around 50 miles from the secluded VLA.

Museo Galileo

Location: Florence, Italy

Take a closer look at the incredible life and work of the late astronomer, mathematician and philosopher Galileo  and his peers  at the Museo Galileo. Adult admission is around $9.50, and the museum is open every day of the year, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Years Day.

Plane tickets to Florence cost approximately $1,100 each. Plan for your hotel room to cost roughly $90 per night.

More From GOBankingRates

Joel Anderson contributed to the reporting of this article.

Flight prices were based on a round-trip ticket from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in May 2017. Hotel costs were calculated for stays at three-star properties for the same time period. Admission pricing for attractions were converted to USD and accurate as of March 22, 2017.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 20 Cool Travel Spots for Bookworms To Visit After the Pandemic
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 11:19:25|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the fired commander of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will not be reinstated.

"I will not re-assign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command," Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday told reporters at the Pentagon.

Crozier was removed from his post in early April after an internal letter he wrote pleading for help with the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the media.

DECISION NOT TO REINSTATE

A preliminary probe by the Navy recommended that Crozier be reinstated but Gilday said he has changed his mind after what he called a "much broader, deeper investigation."

"Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made the recommendation to re-instate Captain Crozier," Gilday said. "Moreover, if Captain Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him."

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair," and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweeted.

Crozier, in his letter, warned at that time of dire consequences if the outbreak on the ship was not handled quickly.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors."

Crozier was swiftly fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who himself resigned later after his remarks lashing out at the captain backfired.

Hundreds of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew gathered to applaud and cheer Crozier's name when he left the ship, video on social media showed.

The aircraft carrier had been docked in Guam for two months and more than 1,000 sailors were reported to have infected with the novel coronavirus. One sailor died from it.

The report of the Navy's wider investigation claimed Crozier did not quickly or forcefully enough "execute the best possible and available plan," to protect sailors from the illness.

"When faced with barriers ... Capt. Crozier waited for others to act rather than doing what we expect of our commanding officers -- to take immediate and appropriate action and to drive outcomes," the report stated.

MORE PROBES

The Democrat-led House Armed Services Committee will conduct its own investigation into the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, its chairman announced on Friday.

"The severity of the COVID-19 spread on the Roosevelt, coupled with the fact that it was the first major outbreak DoD (Department of Defense) faced, warranted thorough investigation. The findings in the Navy's extended investigation make it clear that the Navy did not respond the way they should have, or as quickly as they should have, to adequately address the outbreak," Chairman Adam Smith said in a statement.

"The Department's civilian leadership portrayed Captain Crozier's decision-making aboard the Roosevelt as the critical weakness in the Navy's response, but the truth is that civilian leadership was also to blame," Smith said.

"In order to better understand the full range of mistakes that were made throughout the entire chain of command, the House Armed Services Committee has launched an investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Roosevelt," he added.

Mac Thornberry, the Republican ranking member of the House panel, said in a statement that it "is clear that there are lessons to be learned and improvements that must be made."

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, tweeted that he will "carefully review the Navy's report, but their verdict now seems to apply a retroactive standard & after-the-fact procedures to justify CAPT Crozier's firing."

"Barring any new evidence, it still seems that CAPT Crozier's removal was retaliation for rightly raising concerns about the safety of his sailors," Blumenthal added. Enditem
This is the official definition of capital punishment otherwise known as the death penalty. Used for centuries by nations, empires, and states capital punishment has been an extremely controversial topic for many years. Although the death penalty is the ultimate punishment -the death is, by all means, irretrievable- it is still practised and relatively prevalent in many parts of the world, including Middle East, Asia, North Africa, Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and the USA. In total there are 56 countries worldwide, actively involved in practising legal executions. According to global data platformStatistathe total number of death penalty cases in 2019 represents 1649 executed.Even the world's religious communities are divided when it comes to the vexed issue of the death penalty.Lex talionisor an eye for an eye- the law of retaliation which mentions The Old Testament, creates a strong contrast between The New Testament which encourages us to turn the other cheek.

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So is capital punishment morally justified?

Supporters of the lethal punishment believe that a person who has committed murder loses his right to live, because he has taken the life of another. They consider capital punishment to be a form of retribution representing moral satisfaction not only for the victim's family but also for the government as the representative of the law as well as for law-abiding citizens. Another argument in favour of the death penalty indicates that this type of punishment has a powerful deterrent effect on potential future criminals to whom the threat of imprisonment does not signify a sufficient penalty. Furthermore, many supporters refer to German philosopher Immanuel Kant. In his doctrine of transcendental idealism, he argued that capital punishment is an inevitable part of functioning society. According to Kant ,If an offender has committed murder, he must die. In this case, no possible substitute can satisfy justice. For there is no parallel between death and even the most miserable life, so that there is no equality of crime and retribution unless the perpetrator is judicially put to death.

No one can deny the fact that families of murder victims undergo severe trauma and loss which no one should minimize. However, executions do not help these people heal nor do they end their pain; the extended process prior to executions prolongs the agony of the family. Families of murder victims would benefit far more if the funds now being used for the costly process of executions were diverted to counseling and other assistance. The death penalty is also not a proven deterrent to future murders. According toDeath Penalty Information Center, a study by Professor Michael Radelet and Traci Lacock of the University of Colorado found that 88% of the USA's leading criminologists do not believe capital punishment is an effective deterrent to crime.

Retribution is another word for revenge. Although our first instinct may be to inflict immediate pain on someone who wrongs us, the standards of a mature society demand a more measured response. Laws and our criminal justice system should lead us to higher principles that would establish a respect for life, even the life of a murderer. Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that one out of every ten who has been executed in the United States since 1977 is mentally ill, according to Amnesty International and the National Association on Mental Illness. Is, in this case, capital punishment morally just?

My personal belief on this disputed problematic stems from the conviction that every human being should have the right to live. Even the one who has taken life.

A few days ago, I got the opportunity to see a film called A Short Film About Killing by the famous Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski. His raw, vehement, and violent portrayal of the process of taking humans life made me think even more about marks this brutal act leaves on people. Legal executions are as harsh, cruel and hyaenic as murdering someone. In both cases we are taking ones life involuntarily. And arent we also a bit hypocritical when we ask the government to take a persons life and break one of the rules based on the law we want to satisfy?

Retribution for a crime means the justice system is going to get even for the crime you committed. But that does not mean the justice system is really just. It isnt just to prolong the pain and agony of the grieving family. It certainly isn't just to execute mentally ill. Taking the life of the people who has killed, we are committing the same crime. We should not give into our first instincts and act impulsively (act like the murderers we want to execute) but instead, we need to act like civilised and mature society.

What should we think about the justice of governments who kill their citizens?




By PTI

SRINAGAR: Four civilians were on Saturday injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rampur sector of Jammu and Kashmir, according to an Army spokesperson.

"On 20 June 2020, in the morning hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in Rampur sector by firing mortars and other weapons," the spokesman said.

He said four civilians were injured in the Pakistani firing.

The Army has given a befitting response to the Pakistani aggression, he said.
Sligo TDs Marc MacSharry and Frank Feighan are singing from the same hymn sheet as a programme for Government with their parties and the Greens looks set to be rubber stamped this week.

After 128 days without a Government and intensive negotiations over the weekend between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party, a draft programme for government has been agreed.

Speaking to The Sligo Champion yesterday (Monday), Fine Gael Deputy Frank Feighan described the draft programme for government as 'historic'.

"Many of us come from mixed and shared backgrounds and I think in the interest of the country it's good to see three parties coming together for a draft programme with balanced regional development, a greener economy, a shared island, universal healthcare, housing, broadband and women's health."

Asked if it was significant that his party agreed to the Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin becoming the next taoiseach, Deputy Feighan said he and his party have to be prepared for change.

"I see no difficulty with Micheal being taoiseach first, this is about a political future of the country, not political parties. We should be willing to serve and provide stable government and I believe we are doing just that."

When asked if he had spoken with his constituency colleague, Deputy Marc MacSharry in relation to the historic formation, Deputy Feighan said, 'not really'.

"I have worked with Marc on numerous occasions and again this is not about personal opportunities, it is about delivering for the people. The more people we have in government the more leverage we can get for Sligo and the Northwest."

In relation to securing a ministerial role in the next government, Deputy Feighan remained hopeful. "I've been apart of a lot of alliances, I hope there will be an opportunity, but I don't know, the next few days and weeks will tell a bigger story."

Feighan said he was confident that the programme for government would ensure a stable one until 2025 and said aspects such as the N4 to Dublin, the East Link Bridge and the greenway to Enniskillen were a priority for him going forward.

The sentiment of working for the people of the northwest was one shared by Deputy MacSharry. Speaking to The Sligo Champion on his way to meet party colleagues on Monday, he said the most important thing was for this programme for government to be one which could 'rise up to the challenges' facing people right now, especially healthcare and housing.

Asked about his chances of securing a ministerial position, the Fianna Fail Deputy admitted that ministerial positions would be limited given the three party makeup.

"It's exclusively for the leaders of each party, I'm not in a position to say anything about that." Speaking about the historic nature of his party teaming up with Fine Gael for the first time, he said it was 'unprecedented'.

"There's probably no one from any of the parties who are where they want to be but the important thing is a programme has to rise to enormous challenges that are there."

The spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport said he was happy to promote the draft programme and speak to party members about any concerns they may have about it in the coming days.

"I feel there is enough in it to warrant my support. I was involved in negotiations and there are good things in it, plenty for the regions and rural Ireland, mentions of cross border greenways and broader commitment to tourism."

MacSharry said the needs of society trump political preference in terms of forming government and said though there would be difficult days ahead including issues surrounding Brexit and Covid-19, a government that can last the pace was needed.

"The country must come first. There's a lot in this programme for this region and to tackle many problems and on that basis I will be advocating support for it," he concluded.
Andrew Marr in during rehearsals in the BBC Election 2005 studio (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

BBC host Andrew Marr revealed last night (19 June) his dad Donald has died.

The 60-year-old took to social media to tell his followers the news and explained colleague Nick Robinson would be standing in to take his place on this Sundays edition of The Andrew Marr Show.

He tweeted: "Good luck and thanks Nick Robinson for taking over Sundays show.

Read more: Noel Edmonds launches New Zealand radio station dedicated to helping plants grow

"My lovely dad has just died and I am out of action."

The tweets saw a host of sympathy for the political journalist, including from stand in Robinson, who responded: Sad news. All my thoughts are with Andy and his family.

Sad news. All my thoughts are with Andy and his family. https://t.co/1QesxgRQ63  Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) June 19, 2020

Political journalist Pippa Crerar tweeted: Im so sorry to hear your sad news, Andrew. Thinking of you.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, who is set to appear, responded: Im so sorry for your loss Andrew. Sending all my condolences and thinking of you and your family.

Im so sorry for your loss Andrew. Sending all my condolences and thinking of you and your family.  Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) June 20, 2020

Deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner said: So sorry to hear the news about yr dad, sending my deepest condolences to you and the family.

BBC Breakfast host and Marrs colleague Naga Munchetty said: "Sending love and condolences."

Former Conservative minister Damian Green added: "So sad to hear. Condolences to your family."

Read more: Piers Morgan says Kate Garraway's situation is 'unbearably sad' as husband Derek remains in hospital

Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer added: "Im so sorry Andrew. My condolences."

Story continues

As well as Mr. Hancock, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, actress Kristin Scott Thomas, theatre director Sir Nicholas Hytner, ONS national statistician, Sir Ian Diamond and Professor Peter Piot will all also appear.

The Andrew Marr Show will air from 9am on Sunday on BBC One.
A top federal prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump's allies including Rudy Giuliani has been fired after a standoff with Attorney General Bill Barr.

Geoffrey S. Berman, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, was told in a letter from Barr Saturday that he was fired, after he had refused to step down on Friday night.

Attorney General Barr said on Saturday that Trump ordered the removal of Berman, who had taken on high-profile investigations, including charging Jeffrey Epstein with sex trafficking.

He also prosecuted Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen and charged two Rudy Giuliani associates during a campaign finance investigation.

Geoffrey S. Berman, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced he is stepping aside from his role on Saturday. It came after he initially refused to accept his dismissal from U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who attempted to fire him earlier in the day

In a letter to Berman, AG Bill Barr (above) said he had 'chosen public spectacle over public service' and that Trump had removed him as a result

On Saturday, Trump went against Barr's announcement and said he wasn't involved in Berman's firing, and shifted the responsibility back to the attorney general.

But Barr insisted in a letter to Berman on Saturday stating that the president had asked for his removal.

On Friday night, Berman had forcefully denied that he was resigning, after a late-night Justice Department press release announced his resignation and replacement.

However, Barr's letter told him he was fired because he had 'chosen public spectacle over public service'.

'Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so,' the letter read.

Berman eventually agreed to step aside in a statement Saturday evening.

'In light of Attorney General Barr's decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately,' the statement said.

Barr said Berman's top deputy, Audrey Strauss, would become the acting United States Attorney for the district.

'It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this districts U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, but I could leave the district in no better hands than Audreys,' Berman added in his statement.

'She is the smartest, most principled, and effective lawyer with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. And I know that under her leadership, this office's unparalleled (assistant prosecutors), investigators, paralegals, and staff will continue to safeguard the Southern Districts enduring tradition of integrity and independence.'

The Attorney General said he was 'surprised and quite disappointed' by Berman's late-night public statement Friday in which he refused to quit his job.

Geoffrey Berman said in a strongly worded statement that he will not be leaving his position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York but stepped aside later Saturday

Berman's termination marked another remarkable development in an escalating crisis at the Justice Department that started on Friday night, when Barr unexpectedly announced that Berman was stepping down and would be replaced by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton.

Berman, however, issued a statement of his own, saying he had no intention of stepping down until the Senate confirms his successor.

Berman's Friday statement had said: 'I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was 'stepping down' as United States Attorney.

'I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

'I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption,' he added.

Berman was planning to fight the decision even after Barr's letter, but that possibility was becoming less clear as the day wore on and he eventually stood aside.

The news comes just days after former national security adviser John Bolton claimed in his tell-all book that Trump promised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he'd interfere in Halkbank case that was being prosecuted in the Southern District.

The Southern District has prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen (left), who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes, and has also been investigating Rudy Giuliani (right) and his associates

The office has prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes, and has also been investigating Giuliani and his associates.

Berman's office also charged Jeffrey Epstein with child sex trafficking last year

Berman has also overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trumps reelection.

Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Giulianis business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the probe. The people were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Berman, a Republican who contributed to the presidents election campaign, worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was put in his job by the Trump administration. But as U.S. attorney, he won over some skeptics after he went after Trump allies.

He had recused himself from directly overseeing the Cohen investigation for reasons that were never disclosed.

Berman was appointed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, months after former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was fired after refusing to resign along with dozens of other federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama.

Three months later, FBI agents raided Cohen's offices, an act the president decried as a politically motivated witch hunt.

Berman has taken a direct hand in other investigations that have angered Trump.

His office subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee for a wide range of documents as part of an investigation into various potential crimes, including possible illegal contributions from foreigners to inaugural events.

And weeks before the 2018 midterm election, Berman announced insider trading charges against an ardent Trump supporter, Republican Rep. Chris Collins. Collins, who represented western New York, has since resigned.

Under Berman's tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump.

Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort sportswear giant Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nikes reputation and stock price unless the company paid him up to $25 million.

The Southern District of New York is one of the nation's premiere districts, trying major mob cases and terror cases over the years. If the mastermind of the September 11 attacks had been tried in a court of law, it would have been there.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> Newtown Township will be applying for federal funding to bolster its career firefighting force. And its crossing its fingers and hoping the third times a charm. At its Jan. 12 meeting, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to resubmit its SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to...
At least seven Bangladeshi nationals and two South Koreans have tested positive for the coronavirus after entering South Korea on the same flight from the South Asian country, authorities said Friday.

All of the confirmed cases, including three Bangladeshi students enrolled in a Jeju university, used Korean Air flight KE9656, which landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 5:32 a.m. Thursday after departing from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

They then traveled to their homes or other residences around the country before taking COVID-19 tests at screening centers in Jeju, Incheon, Paju, Namyangju and North Jeolla Province, authorities said, noting epidemic research has been launched for the airplane and all of its passengers.

The three students are part of a group of 18 Bangladeshis enrolled in Cheju Halla University who flew into Jeju International Airport on Thursday afternoon via the Incheon airport and Seoul's Gimpo airport to return to their campus on the southern resort island.

All of the 18 students took COVID-19 tests on landing at the Jeju airport and three of them tested positive, Jeju's provincial government said, noting that none of them showed symptoms of the virus at that time.

Another student's test was inconclusive, as it was difficult to judge his test result because it is located between positive and negative reference values, saying an additional test is due within several days. The remaining 14 students tested negative.

The Bangladeshi students are known to have used four different flights to travel from the Gimpo airport to Jeju after taking taxis from the Incheon airport to the Seoul airport. The three infected students arrived at the Jeju airport via T'Way flight TW713 at 12:52 p.m. and Jeju Air's flight 7C117 at 1:44 p.m.

In addition, four Bangladeshi migrant workers tested positive for the coronavirus in Incheon; Paju, just north of Seoul; and Namwon, North Jeolla Province, respectively, after arriving there via the same Korean Air flight Thursday. But four other Bangladeshis who traveled with the Paju worker tested negative.

According to authorities, a 13-year-old Korean boy, who boarded the same Korean Air flight to return home from Bangladesh, tested positive for the virus at a community health center near his home in Namyangju, a Gyeonggi city east of Seoul. The boy has reportedly attended school in Bangladesh since last August. Coronavirus tests are planned for his family members who were ordered to self-isolate at their home.












MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota legislative leaders traded barbs Saturday after a special session collapsed with no deal on revamping policing following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a session that one group called a train wreck.

The two sides may be back at it in another special session next month.

The Republican-controlled Senate adjourned just after 6 a.m. Saturday, after GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, repeatedly said that Friday was his deadline for adjournment, and that lawmakers should focus on proposals both parties would support.

Im frustrated this morning because I thought we were actually going to do some things together, Gazelka said before adjourning. He blamed behind the scenes arm-twisting from Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for ending any hope of working together right now.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman said majority Democrats in the Minnesota House are ready and willing to continue working to find agreement with Senate Republicans and Walz.

This moment in history calls upon us to deliver transformative policy to further racial justice. There is nothing more pressing than the need to change law and policy so that it values and protects the lives of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in Minnesota, Hortman said in a statement.

Walz said Saturday he was disappointed with the special sessions failure and that his administration is planning its next steps. He said he had just read a text from the family of a person who was killed in a police shooting and it was a primal scream for justice. Just do something. Just do the work.

To take your ball and go home in the middle of this. This is an embarrassment for Minnesota, too, Walz told reporters.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a founding member of the legislative People of Color and Indigenous caucus, which had developed the Democratic package, said members of Minnesotas Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities continually get the message that our lives are not valuable, they are not worth investing in.

Just being pushed aside, and saying that the issues that you are crying out for  the issues of justice  are just not important enough for us to stick around. And that is heartbreaking to me, and unacceptable, and is frankly just an insult, said Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.

The Democratic-controlled House early Friday passed an extensive package of police accountability measures wrapped into one bill. It included elements of more modest policing bills that the Republican-controlled Senate passed earlier in the week, but with some additions that Republicans did not like.

Early Saturday, Democratic leaders backed away from some of their demands that Republicans opposed, including having the state attorney general prosecute all police-involved deaths and restoring voting rights for felons. But they insisted that Republican senators needed to support other major pieces, including banning warrior-style training for police, allowing cities to impose residency requirements on officers and creating a state community-led public safety office, the Star Tribune reported.

The special session was necessary for Walz to extend emergency powers necessary to manage the coronavirus, but Floyds May 25 death after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyds neck for nearly eight minutes put the main focus on proposals to change policing in the state. But the two parties proved far apart on how wide-ranging those changes would be.

The two parties also remained divided on the main unfinished business of the 2020 regular session, a public construction borrowing package known as a bonding bill, which could have included money for rebuilding neighbourhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul where businesses were damaged and destroyed in the unrest that followed Floyds killing. Other unresolved issues included a potential tax break that could have benefited businesses seeking to rebuild, and how to allocate federal coronavirus relief money to local governments from the $2.1 billion that the state received.

The special session was a train wreck, said Audrey Nelsen, president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and a Willmar City Council member. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn and recent civil unrest, Minnesotans need strong state leadership at the Legislature now more than ever. Instead we got arbitrary deadlines, broken deals and partisan battles.

Nelsen added: There is plenty of blame to go around for this disastrous special session. The people of Minnesota deserve better.

Lawmakers may return in mid-July. If Walz seeks to extend his emergency powers an additional 30 days, hes required to call another special session for July 12 to let lawmakers object. House Democrats blocked a Senate GOP attempt last week to remove the governors emergency authority.

___

Associated Press reporter Steve Karnowski contributed.
Pottawattamie County Public Health reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tracked by the agency to 633.

The new cases include 20 Council Bluffs residents, three Carter Lake residents and two Underwood residents. One of the cases is epidemiologically-linked and the other individuals were tested between Monday and Wednesday, the department said. Four of the individuals are 17 or younger, 10 are 18 to 40, seven are 41 to 60 and four are 61 to 80.

The state COVID-19 website, coronavirus.iowa.gov, listed 578 positive cases in the county of out 7,273 tests on Friday, with the positive rate remaining at 7.9%.

The state does not include epidemiologically-linked cases. Pottawattamie County Public Health defines epi-linked cases as individuals whove had contact with a confirmed positive that are exhibiting symptoms of the disease. The department provides assistance for those individuals as they do individuals whove tested positive.

Of the current cases, 217 individuals are self-isolating at home, and five are hospitalized, Pottawattamie County Public Health said. To date, 374 individuals have recovered. Based on contact tracing investigations, 166 cases are the result of community spread.

Statewide, there are 25,273 positive cases in the state as of Friday afternoon, up 535 from Thursday. The state reported three new deaths, bringing the total to 681. There have 15,816 recoveries in the state.

Pottawattamie County Public Health said it continues to urge residents to continue to practice social distancing, wear a face covering in public, wash your hands often, use hand sanitizer, and disinfect surfaces regularly. If you are sick, stay home. Even those who are mildly ill spread the virus.

A Test Iowa site is located in Council Bluffs at the Western Historic Trails Center, 3434 Richard Downing Ave. To get tested for COVID-19, residents must complete the health assessment at TestIowa.com and receive a testing date and time. All Care Health Center offers drive-up COVID-19 testing and helps those without transportation and/ or health insurance. Call All Care at 712-325-1990 for an appointment.

COVID-19 cases in southwest Iowa

A new TestIowa clinic will open in Atlantic at Cass County Health System, 1500 E. 10th St. According to coronavirus.iowa.gov, the site will open on June 23.

Mills County Public Health reported three new cases on Thursday, all between 41 and 60 years old. The department said each was the result of community spread.

We want to remind all county residents that even though the governor has eased restrictions on businesses and social gatherings, COVID-19 continues to spread in our county, the department said in a release.

According to coronavirus.iowa.gov, Shelby County reported 10 new cases and saw its positive rate rise from 9.6% to 10.8%. Crawford County reported four new cases and Monona County reported one, with both seeing a slight decrease in positive rate. Montgomery and Fremont Counties reported one new case apiece.

Heres a look at numbers in southwest Iowa, based on data from the counties and coronavirus.iowa.gov:

Pottawattamie County  578 cases (Pottawattamie County Public Health is tracking 633, including epi-linked cases), 375 recoveries (per the state), 7,273 tests, 7.9% of those tested have come back positive, 11 deaths

Mills County  29 cases, 22 recoveries, 1,694 tests, 1.7%

Harrison County  41 cases, 29 recoveries, 823 tests, 5%

Cass County  16 cases, 15 recoveries, 637 tests, 2.5%

Shelby County  69 cases, 38 recoveries, 636, 10.8%

Montgomery County  10 cases, six recoveries, 594 tests, 1.7%, two deaths

Monona County  56 cases, 22 recoveries, 634 tests, 8.8%

Crawford County  635 cases, 364 recoveries, 2,563 tests, 24.8%, two deaths

Page County  18 cases, 15 recoveries, 985 tests, 1.8%

Fremont County  five cases, two recoveries, 308 tests, 1.6%

In Regional Medical Coordination Center region four  which includes Pottawattamie, Mills, Harrison, Cass, Crawford, Shelby, Fremont, Montgomery, Page, Adams, Audubon and Taylor Counties  there were seven patients hospitalized with four in intensive care, down two and one, respectively, from Thursday.

The region has 197 inpatient beds available, 23 intensive care beds available and 63 ventilators available, all up slightly from Thursday. One hospitalized COVID-19 patient is on a ventilator, down one.

Information about COVID-19

Symptoms in people who have been exposed to coronavirus can include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. Most people experience mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks.

Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the use of masks when out in public. Make sure it covers the mouth and nose. Face shields are an option as well, as they cover the eyes.

Public health officials recommend:

Stay home as much as possible.

Self-monitor for symptoms.

Call your physician if symptoms appear.

Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your upper arm/elbow.

Wash hands frequently with soap and water.

Clean and disinfect frequently-touched objects and surfaces.

For those struggling with mental health during the pandemic, yourlifeiowa.org has several resources, including a hotline at 855-581-8111 and a text-friendly line at 855-895-8398.

Also, the Hope 4 Iowa Crisis Hotline is available 24 hours a day. Call 84-HOPE-4-IOWA (844-673-4469).

The University of Nebraska Medical Center has a COVID-19 screening app  1-Check COVID, enables users to answer a series of questions and assess their likelihood of having COVID-19. Based on the users input, the screening app will issue a low-risk, urgent risk or emergent risk assessment and guide the individual toward possible next steps.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 16:13:11|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Australians could be incentivized to take domestic holidays under a government support package being designed for the tourism sector.

Simon Birmingham, minister for trade, tourism and investment, told The Guardian on Saturday that the assistance package would aim to offset the revenue loss from international tourists with Australia's border likely to remain closed until 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the devastating impact that the "Black Summer" bushfire crisis had on Australia's tourism industry.

According to Birmingham, Australians spent 65 billion Australian dollars (44.4 billion U.S. dollars) on international travel in 2019 while international visitors spent 45 billion Australian dollars (30.7 billion U.S. dollars) in Australia.

He said that if Australians could be incentivized to spend two thirds of what they did overseas in 2019 domestically then "you would have the same level of expenditure happening in Australian businesses."

"Now whether we can actually get people to do that, whether it is in the right places and the right regions and the same business is part of the challenge, and what we are working through right now," Birmingham said.

However, he said that in order for the tourism sector to be revived all domestic borders must be re-opened.

It comes as the Northern Territory (NT), which has announced a border re-opening date of July 17, launched a new national tourism campaign.

The NT has been the most successful Australian jurisdiction in preventing the spread of COVID-19 having eradicated the virus.

Andrew Hopper, acting chief executive of the NT Department of Tourism Sport and Culture, said that the campaign targets Australians "who have travel credits, cabin fever and the desire to escape the winter weather in the southern states."

"As an industry we have been waiting for this moment when our borders reopen," he told News Corp Australia.

"We are thrilled and absolutely ready to now answer the call of the many Australians, looking for an escape to the warmer climes of our regions."

"It will not be an easy road ahead for the sector, as we enter an extremely competitive market and continue to work closely with health officials to best manage the COVID situation." Enditem
Amid growing tensions between India and China, the finance ministry has proposed putting restrictions on pension fund investments from any of India's bordering countries.

Foreign investment in pension funds regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is capped at 49 percent under the automatic route.

According to a draft notification circulated for comments on Friday, "A government approval would be required for the investing entity or individual from any of the bordering countries including China. The relevant provisions of FDI policy issued from time to time would apply in all such cases."

India-China Border News LIVE

Any foreign investment from these countries will be subject to approval from the government.

The restriction would be applicable from the date of notification by the Government of India.

Stakeholders can submit their comments on the draft within 30 days, it added.

The changes have been proposed in accordance with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) guidelines issued in April.

Currently, government permission is mandatory only for investments coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The development comes at a time when Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in a standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation between the two sides in over five decades.

The situation has stirred anti-China sentiments in the country, with protestors and traders' bodies calling for boycott of Chinese products.
Amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, heres one good news that is sure to bring some much-needed respite. No we arent talking about the vaccine for COVID-19, just yet. What we are talking about is something else, something that would bring an instant smile on many people's faces - yes, alcohol!

Well, before you roll your eyes on me - let me get to the point straight away. In a progressive move, Amazon.com Inc has secured clearance to deliver alcohol in West Bengal, according to a document seen by Reuters, signalling its foray into Indias multi-billion-dollar sector.

People will now be able to get alcohol delivered at their doorsteps. Also, with people getting used to the new way of life by working or studying from home, and ordering everything, from food to groceries to even furniture, this surely is good news, isnt it?

 thehindu

As per the report, on Friday, West Bengal State Beverages Corp, the authorised agency to carry out online retail of liquor trade in the state, said Amazon was among the companies found to be eligible for registration with authorities.



Besides, Alibaba-backed Indian grocery venture BigBasket has also won approval to deliver alcohol in the state, the notice said.

With this venture, Amazon marks a bold move to make inroads into a market that is worth $27.2 billion, according to estimates by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

 BCCL

As you all know, liquor sales were banned in the country during nationwide lockdown in March. However, hundreds of people queued up at liquor stores last month when some restrictions were eased.



Each state sets its own alcohol sales policy. West Bengal, last month, invited companies to express interest in, "handling electronic ordering, purchase, sale and home delivery of alcoholic liquors from licensed retail outlets" to eligible legal-age consumers in the state.

Amazon's initiative of venturing into online liquor delivery in India will give it the first-mover's advantage in this sector and help the e-commerce giant to expand its empire in the world's second-most populous country.

(With inputs from Reuters)
(Natural News) A 33-year-old Philadelphia woman is facing up to 80 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for allegedly setting fire to two police cars during the George Floyd riots.

Elisabeth Blumenthal, a massage therapist, was caught in photos torching one of the city-owned vehicles before taking a fiery piece of debris and torching the other. Video footage also showed Blumenthal wearing protective goggles and gloves, suggesting that she had planned the destruction in advance.

According to the complaint, various videos taken at the scene captured the defendant wearing protective goggles and gloves, taking a flaming piece of wooden police barricade from the rear window of the PPD sedan that was already on fire, and then shoving the flaming wood into the PPD SUV that was not on fire, a Department of Justice (DOJ) report explains.

Within minutes, the PPD SUV was also completely engulfed in flames. As a result of the fires, both PPD vehicles were destroyed.

One of the FBI agents involved with the investigation said that Blumenthal was able to be tracked down thanks to photos that were publicly posted to Instagram. These included 500 images that an amateur photographer captured of the mayhem that took place in Philly that day.

From these photos, the FBI was able to identify the source of a t-shirt worn by Blumenthal during her crime spree that read KEEP THE IMMIGRANTS, DEPORT THE RACISTS. As it turns out, this shirt is custom-made and sold on Etsy, which is where law enforcement was able to attain the identity of Blumenthal through a subpoena.

The FBI agents saw that an Etsy user named Xx Mv, whose personal Etsy URL was alleycatlore, which described herself as living in Philadelphia, had posted a review after apparently purchasing the shirt, VICE reported.

The FBI then Googled alleycatlore and found a user named Lore-Elisabeth on the mobile fashion store Poshmark. Another search for Lore Elisabeth Philadelphia led the agents to a LinkedIn page for a woman who works as a massage therapist for a company in Philadelphia.

Be careful what you do in public when the cameras are watching

This website reportedly contains, or at least did contain, videos of massages that were uploaded to Vimeo. And sure enough, one of the videos featured Blumenthal, whose identifying arm tattoo was clearly visible in the footage, linking her to the Philadelphia George Floyd riots.

From all of this, the FBI was able to track down Blumenthals phone number, which led the agency to her home address via the Department of Homeland Security (DHC) Electronic System for Travel Authorization. After this, the FBI found Blumenthals DMV photo and the rest is history.

The FBI was also able to get Etsy to comply with verifying that Blumenthal had, in fact, purchased the aforementioned t-shirt. She actually bought two of them, reports indicate, one of which was an exact color match to the one seen in the incriminating photos.

Blumenthal has since been arrested and is now in jail awaiting trial. Meanwhile, her lawyer has indicated that the FBIs tactics in identifying and apprehending Blumenthal will be scrutinized as part his pre-trial investigation of the case.

As for the incriminating photos, supporters of Black Lives Matter (BLM) are encouraging non-black photographers to be extra careful not to take pictures or videos of protesters in such a way as to implicate them in criminal activity.

Before posting and sharing, have you properly protected the protestors identities by completely blocking out faces, tattoos, and easily identifiable clothing? a Dear Non-Black Photographers announcement reads. This applies to both pictures and video documentation.

For more related news about left-wing rioting and violence, be sure to check out CivilWar.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
The man accused of hitting and killing a police officer as he rode home from work on a motorcycle is a rapper who uses the stage name Tom-E-Gun.

Tommy Balla, 37, is accused of running a red light and killing NSW Police Constable Aaron Vidal in Rouse Hill, 43km north-west of Sydney, on Thursday night.

Balla wasn't injured in the crash and appeared in court on Friday charged with dangerous driving and negligent driving - both occasioning death.

Constable Aaron Vidal (pictured) was driving home from his shift as a police officer when he was allegedly hit and killed by Tommy Balla

Tommy Balla (pictured) insists he did not run a red light and it was in fact amber

However, the father-of-two insists the light was in fact amber when he turned the corner, according to Nine News.

Appearing at Parramatta Local Court via video link Balla broke down in tears when his driving record was read out to the court.

It includes six speeding offences and two instances of using his mobile phone while driving.

Police prosecutor Kay Ferguson told the court that 'this is not a man who understands the responsibility involved in having a driving licence.'

Balla's bail was granted by Magistrate Robyn Dees despite concern from prosecutors about his driving record, according to The Daily Telegraph.

He was not required to enter a plea during Friday's appearance and is set to appear in Blacktown Local Court on August 14.

Balla claims he is a songwriter and rapper that goes by the stage name Tom-E-Gun however his lawyer, David Mulligan, told the court his client had worked as a elevator technician for six years.

Several media outlets approached Balla as he exited a building and stepped into a car.

He insisted to Seven News it 'was an accident'.

Constable Vidal was driving home to his pregnant fiancee at the time of his death

Balla also told a Nine News reported that he wanted to tell the family he was 'so sorry. I'm sorry'.

Constable Vidal started his duties as a probationary officer at Sydney City after completing his training in December 2017.

He was later confirmed as a constable in December 2018 and worked alongside his father, Chief Inspector David Vidal.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has extended his condolences to the Vidal family on behalf of the NSW Police Force.

'My thoughts are with Aaron's family and fiancee, as well as his current and former colleagues at this difficult time,' Commissioner Fuller said.

Balla also told a Nine News reported that he wanted to tell the family he was 'so sorry. I'm sorry'

'Dave has always been incredibly proud of his son following in his footsteps and walking the beat side-by-side with him,' Commissioner Fuller said.

Constable Vidal worked at the Sydney City Police Area Command throughout his entire career and was part of the Proactive Crime Team since late 2019.

'On two occasions he had been formally recognised for good police work by members of the community, which shows that he was held in high regard by not only his peers, but the community he served,' Commissioner Fuller said.

'Prior to joining the police force, Aaron served in the Australian Army, which further demonstrates his commitment to serving and protecting the community.'

Const Vidal was confirmed as a constable in December 2018 and worked alongside his father, Chief Inspector David Vidal (right)

Constable Vidal worked at the Sydney City Police Area Command throughout his entire career and was part of the Proactive Crime Team since late 2019 (pictured: Constable Vidal working with his father, David)

Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy said the force was 'hurting' at the loss of one of their own.

'He was a man of service  he was a member of the armed forces before he joined the police force and really, a 28-year-old young man on the journey of life,' Deputy Commissioner Loy said on Friday, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'There's a lot of people around (Constable Vidal's fiancee) today, also his father, and he has five other siblings  so it's a big family.'
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has thrown his support behind compatriots involved in several nights of clashes in the eastern French city of Dijon, saying they had taken action to protect a member of their community because police failed to act.

Kadyrov's message came as French police carried out raids and made several arrests of Chechens after several nights of violence blamed on members of the Chechen community from last Friday to Monday, when the city was rocked by clashes and car burnings.

The unrest was sparked by an assault earlier this month on a 16-year-old Chechen boy in Dijon, which was followed by a call for reprisals and many Chechens travelling to the city.

Kadyrov, the strongman head of the North Caucasus region in Russia, said on his Telegram account that the unrest was triggered by violence from "drug dealers" and police inaction over the assault on the teenager.

"It was not inter-ethnic conflict. Local authorities could not deal with out-of-control drug dealers, so the younger generation took matters into their own hands," he said.

"Law enforcement did not react as they should have," he added. "I believe the actions of the Chechens were correct."

"They united together and came out to face death-sowing drug dealers."

The view is consistent with several Chechen commentators who claim the Chechens were doing the local neighbourhood -- the low-income district of Gresilles with a large community of people originally from North Africa -- a favour.

"I am sure the citizens of Dijon are quite tired of these lowlifes," Kadyrov said of the "drug dealers" who he said assaulted the Chechen boy.

Members of the Chechen community called for peaceful protests in Paris on Saturday to call for an end to drug trafficking and gang violence.

(AFP)
If the bribe-for-PPE-supply controversy in Himachal escalates, the BJP could have a lot to lose, reports Aditi Phadnis.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, right, with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, left. Photograph: PTI Photo

When Himachal Pradesh's Director of Health Services A K Gupta allegedly asked a Sirmaur-based supplier of PPE kits for a bribe for a state government purchase and allegedly informed somebody on his mobile phone -- many say Rajeev Bindal, erstwhile president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit -- that he was coming to meet him with the money, the officer could not have thought that he would be arrested.

He was, after all, in touch with the president of the ruling party's state unit.

So what happened?

Congress leader in the state Virbhadra Singh says the scam came to light only because there is a power struggle in the state BJP unit.

That is certainly true, though whether the bribe was taken or given and Bindal's alleged complicity in the matter (he has since resigned from his position) is still a matter of investigation.

The mobile phones involved have been seized and sent to a forensic lab.

Bindal's resignation was accepted by the BJP's national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, himself a Himachali, with amazing alacrity.

Behind the alacrity is the result of the 2017 Himachal assembly election.

Nine days before the polls, then BJP national president Amit Anilchandra Shah announced that Prem Kumar Dhumal would be the chief minister if (and not when) the party came to power.

Bindal, health minister in the last Dhumal government and considered his right-hand man, got ready for the oath-taking.

Dhumal has an excellent equation with Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi -- the two go back to the days in 1997-1998 when Modi was the party in-charge of Himachal Pradesh.

At his public meetings, Modi endorsed the choice and said Dhumal, 73, would make a 'wonderful' chief minister.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Dhumal lost the election.

Not only did Hamirpur -- Dhumal's constituency and area of influence -- show the lowest ever turnout (indicating low enthusiasm for the election), but also the Congress wrested several seats in the area earlier held by the BJP.

From the BJP's point of view, it was a bad show.

If Dhumal was out of the race, who was to become the chief minister? Two BJP leaders, Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Tomar, were dispatched as observers to sense the mind of the legislature party.

They could not have anticipated the scene: While Dhumal supporters shouted 'Himachal ka neta kaisa ho, Prem Kumar Dhumal jaisa ho'; and 'Sara Himachal dol raha hai, Dhumal Dhumal bol raha hai', Jai Ram Thakur supporters countered with 'Hamara neta kaisa ho? Jai Ram Thakur jaisa ho', and 'Jairam ji ko jai shri Ram'

The less original was: 'Narendra Modi zindabad, Jai Ram Thakur zindabad'/, bracketing Modi with Thakur.

After extended consultations, the party said the name would be announced in Delhi.

In the meantime, Amit Anilchandra Shah reportedly telephoned Dhumal and asked him to issue a press release declaring he was not in the race.

Dhumal had no choice in the matter.

But his influence could not be denied.

What followed was a protracted negotiation over the council of ministers. Rajeev Bindal was named assembly speaker.

At that time, Nadda was also a player, but he was marginalised in the clash of the titans.

When Nadda became the BJP's national president, Dhumal, presumably with his eye on the next assembly election, lobbied for Bindal to become the state party chief.

Nadda appointed Bindal, but the scam was just what he needed and now, could be replacing him with his own man, Randhir Sharma, who belongs to Nadda's district, Bilaspur.

Thakur has consolidated his position.

Dhumal's reach to the PMO might have become a bit shaky -- though he has a powerful advocate in his son Anurag Thakur, Union minister of state for finance and a highly visible face in the current pandemic.

The question is: Who told on Bindal?

A letter purportedly sent to the PMO complaining about the irregularities in the procurement of the PPE kits was what led to Bindal's sacking.

BJP veteran Shanta Kumar has made his anguish at the events very public.

As well he might -- he has nothing to lose.

But the BJP does.

If the controversy escalates, fanned helpfully by the chief Mminister and his supporters, the BJP could have a lot to lose.

Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Tasting rooms are open again in Napa and Sonoma counties, with fewer visitors and appointment-only policies. Restaurants are hosting diners indoors, and Sonoma County began allowing hotels and short-term rental facilities to open Friday to leisure travelers. Napa County hotels are open, too.

But as Wine Country limps back to life, concerns about a coronavirus resurgence remain strong. Over the seven-day period through Friday, Napa added more 48 cases  more than one-fifth of its total case count since the pandemic began  and Sonoma added 113 cases, or 13.5% of its total case count.

How could you not be nervous? said Renae Perry, co-owner of Papapietro Perry Winery in Healdsburg. We have a lot of staff thats older. Im worried about their safety.

She and her staff are doing everything they can to ensure safety, including keeping everyone outside, mandating masks and designating just one server per group. It feels like every day I have to reinvent the wine business, Perry said.

Napa and Sonoma counties, which are more rural than many other parts of the Bay Area, have been spared the worst effects of the coronavirus. Together, the counties have recorded a total of eight deaths. On both a per capita basis and an absolute basis, Napa and Sonoma have the lowest total case counts among the nine Bay Area counties.

But reopening has been accompanied by worrying statistics. Both counties recently recorded their largest single-day increases  15 new cases for Napa on June 13, and 30 for Sonoma on the same day.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred among workers at two unnamed Sonoma County wineries. One, which Sonoma County Public Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase announced in May, involved 14 employees; the Sonoma County Vintners said that the winery was not open to the public. In June, Mase confirmed that three workers had been diagnosed at a second winery, and said it was likewise not open to the public.

Wine Country is hardly the only place seeing an increase in cases, but it faces a unique set of problems.

The counties are already the go-to day trip destinations for many Bay Area residents, and even though the pandemic has decimated international and domestic air travel, visits by people from the surrounding areas on road trips are expected to swell this summer. That makes experts like Michael Visser, an economics professor at Sonoma State University, a little anxious.

While the gradual reopening of businesses is great for the economy, and there are ways people can engage in tourism and travel in a safe way, Visser said hes worried that visitors will become lax in following social distancing rules, wearing masks (despite state rules) and practicing good hygiene.

Im a little worried were going to have to pause on certain economic activities. Im especially conflicted about out-of-town visitors, Visser said.

Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle

With their reduced capacities, many wineries are unable to meet the high demand for visits right now. Natalie Owdom estimates that she turned away 100 people last weekend from Muscardini Cellars in Kenwood, where she is general manager. Many people are calling wineries trying to get same-day reservations, she said, and finding there are no openings. It pains her to say no, but I dont want the staff or our guests to feel uncomfortable.

Wine Countrys hotels have also been badly hurt by the shutdown.

The pandemic has dealt the local lodging industry its worst loss in the regions history, Steve Jung, general manager of the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Rohnert Park and chairman of the Sonoma County Tourism board of directors, said in a statement.

Thats saying something, because the earthquakes and wildfires of recent years had already hurt tourism to Wine Country. Tamara Mims, the president and CEO of Four Sisters Inns, which operates eight boutique hotels in Napa and Sonoma counties, said her company had expected 2020 to be its best year yet. Now, it will be lucky to achieve 60% occupancy by the end of the year.

Weve taken a big financial hit in the last three months because of the closures. Its been rough, Mims said. She was happy that Sonoma County was officially greenlighting leisure travel, but we really havent had that many room reservations, she said.

Rachel Bujalski / Special to The Chronicle

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Almost all employees at her inns have returned, except for spa workers, but guests should expect a different routine. Breakfast buffets are gone, for example, replaced with breakfasts left outside the room, limiting guests interaction with workers. Signs about social distancing methods can be seen all over the inns, and masks are required when guests interact with staff and in communal areas.

One of the biggest challenges is getting customers to follow the new procedures.

Theres a general fear that we could be exposed, said Ian Devereux White, co-founder of Smith Devereux Wines in Napa. Youre seeing tastings all day, people coming from all over the Bay Area, and theres nervousness.

White has found it difficult to keep people in line with social distancing while hosting vineyard tours. When people arrive, I tell them Ive got two young children, one of whom has asthma, and its important for me to keep my distance, he said.

Inevitably, though, as the guests walk through the Cabernet vines in the Oak Knoll District vineyard, they forget to stay 6 feet apart. Whites solution: He stands behind a patio chair, and rotates it as needed to keep a barrier between himself and his guests. It sounds silly, but its worked out pretty well, he laughed.

As a safety precaution, St. Helenas Spottswoode Winery  which has seen only a small number of visitors since reopening  has moved all its tastings to an outdoor area, rather than the usual space indoors. But a forecast of over 90 degrees for the coming days has president Beth Novak Milliken worried about how enjoyable the experience will be.

We have been relatively safe here in Napa County, said Milliken. She understands that an increase in the number of cases was inevitable upon reopening the local economy. But our whole goal, and the goal of the Napa Valley Vintners, is to make Napa Valley the safest place to visit.

And, she added, its just gonna take one outbreak at one winery to change that.

Shwanika Narayan and Esther Mobley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com, emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob
With customers shying away from venturing into markets amid the Covid-19 pandemic, cloth merchants in Ambala are now using technology to reach out their customers and are selling around 90% of their products through WhatsApp.

Customers have stayed away from the market even after Unlock 1 was initiated and restrictions were lifted. To revive sales, traders have started selling products to their loyal customer base in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh by sending their designs over WhatsApp.

Merchants affiliated with the Ambala Cloth Market Welfare Association that run around 1,000 shops spread across the Old Cloth Market, Maharaja Agrasen Chowk and Kalka Chowk in Ambala are doing 90% of their business using social media.

Association president Vishal Batra said nearly 50% of their dealings were with customers from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh who were unable to come to the market.

It was very difficult to sustain our business after the two-month lockdown but most of us have made WhatsApp broadcast lists and send customers the latest designs. Almost half of our revenue comes from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, said Batra.

The Ambala cloth market provides employment to nearly 11,000 people directly and indirectly. Their estimated turnover is around Rs 2,000 crore, which is said to be the largest in Asia.

CLOTHES NOW A LUXURY

A merchant, Harish Ahuja, said, In these difficult times, most of our products have become luxury items. In the absence of wedding functions in urban areas, sales have taken a plunge. Some customers from rural areas do come to us for wedding shopping but they hardly contribute to our profits.

Now, we reach out to customers over WhatsApp and send them their products through courier or transport as per their demand. Almost no locals are venturing out to shop.
President Trump declined on Friday to say he retains full confidence in Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and said Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley should have been "proud" to join him on the now-infamous walk across Lafayette Square.

Driving the news: "I personally think they should have done it differently," Trump told Axios in an interview Friday in the Oval Office. "I think they should be proud to walk alongside of their president for purposes of safety."

Why it matters: Despite initial indications that he accepted their pushback against him, Trump remains irked by his top military leaders' public statements. Esper told colleagues he felt deeply uncomfortable being drawn into the photo op at St. John's church, and Milley publicly apologized for his participation in the episode.

The big picture: Police used smoke canisters, pepper balls and rubber pellets to clear out the protesters, and Trump then walked from the White House to St. John's with senior White House aides and officials, including Milley and Esper.

Trump then held up a Bible in front of the church. Milley and Esper immediately fielded intense criticism for participating in the photo-op.

Trump's first defense secretary, James Mattis, was so appalled by the episode that he publicly denounced Trump as threat to the Constitution.

"I should not have been there," Milley later said, in pre-recorded remarks to a National Defense University audience. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."

In our interview Friday, Trump initially said of Esper and Milley, "I don't think they broke with me" and "I think they should do what they want to do."

But the president soon pivoted to say, "I would have handled it differently."

He said he understood that their responses appeared to be prompted by their desire to adhere to "exact, strict" regulations, but that "if I were in their position I would have done it somewhat differently."

"Under regulation, perhaps they're right," Trump said, but claimed, "I know the regulation even better than they do."

"But they also would have been right to say, 'We're proud to walk alongside our president and we want our president to be safe.'"

Between the lines: Asked if he could say with his hand on his heart that he retains full confidence in Esper, who is Trump's fourth defense secretary in three years, the president declined to express support. "Well, I don't have to go hand on heart. But...if and when I don't, you're going to hear that. You'll be hearing about it."

Asked whether he considered firing Esper  as Axios and others reported  Trump hesitated and chose not to directly deny it. "I really wasn't focused on it," he replied, "because I have many things that I do focus on very much."

What's next: Read more from our interview this weekend in our Axios AM and Sneak Peek newsletters.
Photo for illustration



According to Mr. Tan, the export was carried out after the product quality had been checked by Japanese experts.



Statistics from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development show that 103 hectares of litchi production have been granted certificates of meeting the standard for export to Japan by Japanese partners.

So far, nearly 5 tons of litchi have been processed in a foundation that has been recognized to be standard by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Japanese side. Apart from one ton exported to Japan on June 19th, the following 4 tons will be exported to Japan on June 20th, before 2 batches of exported litchi per week from next week. It is estimated that this year, some 200 tons of fresh litchi will be successfully exported to Japan, among the forecast productivity of 600 tons in areas cultivated exclusively for this selective market.

Nguyen Quang Hieu, Head of the International Cooperation Board under the Plant Protection Department, said the litchi processing system designed by Vietnamese experts and engineers has been appreciated by Japanese experts, thus facilitating the export of litchi.

Over the past days, litchi from Bac Giang province has been available at both domestic and foreign markets, at a price of VND40,000-45,000 per kilogram.

Earlier, the province successfully held online meetings promoting litchi consumption at 62 domestic points and 4 international points./.
A divisive new monument to Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was unveiled in Germany on Saturday, in the middle of a global row over the controversial background of historical figures immortalised as statues. More than 30 years after the post-World War II communist experiment on German soil ended, the tiny Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) installed Lenin's likeness in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. A few hundred gathered for the ceremony, marked by fluttering red flags and the smell of grilled sausages. "Criticism of capitalism and the search for social alternatives is everywhere. We're criticising that there's no public discussion of socialism as an alternative," MLPD chair Gabi Fechtner said. The MLPD says it is the first such statue ever to be erected on the territory of the former West Germany, decades after the eastern German Democratic Republic communist state collapsed along with its deadly Berlin Wall and Stasi secret police. "The time for monuments to racists, anti-Semites, fascists, anti-communists and other relics of the past has clearly passed," said Fechtner in an earlier statement. "Lenin was an ahead-of-his-time thinker of world-historical importance, an early fighter for freedom and democracy." Not everyone in Gelsenkirchen, a centre of the former industrial and mining powerhouse Ruhr region, has welcomed the over two-metre (6.5 feet) likeness, produced in former Czechoslovakia in 1957. "Lenin stands for violence, repression, terrorism and horrific human suffering," representatives from mainstream parties on the district council in Gelsenkirchen-West said in a resolution passed in early March. The council "will not tolerate such an anti-democratic symbol in its district," it added, urging "all legal means" be used to block its installation. But later in March the upper state court in Muenster rejected an attempt to stop the statue that it argued would impact a historic building on the same site. The MLPD trumpeted interest from as far away as Russia, but urged guests to maintain social distancing and wear nose and mouth coverings against coronavirus infection. - Paint-splattered Bismarck - The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25 has found some echo in Germany. Unknown people splattered red paint on a statue of Otto von Bismarck in Hamburg's Altona district this week. The "Iron Chancellor" behind Germany's unification in 1871 is also known for hosting the Berlin Conference of 1884, which became a byword for the carving up of Africa between European colonial powers. Berlin itself has been a hub of activism against commemorations in public space of colonialists, with much ire directed at street names honouring 19th-Century figures in the so-called "African Quarter". But political decisions to rename roads named after figures like Adolf Luederitz, a merchant who played a key role in colonising Namibia, or Carl Peters, a colonialist behind German expansion in eastern Africa, have met with resistance from locals. In decades of experience addressing the country's Nazi and communist pasts, "things have always been done properly, it all seems very German" with official applications to local authorities and orderly dismantling of monuments, said Urte Evert, head of Berlin's Spandau Citadel museum where many old statues are on display. "We haven't made so much progress with colonialism, something the USA, Britain and France too have been confronting for much longer," Evert added. While the United States, Britain and Belgium have seen statues of Christopher Columbus, slave trader Edward Colston and King Leopold II, brutal ruler of the Congo, attacked or removed, in Germany, only a handful of monuments have been splattered by paint. A statue of Vladimir Lenin (pictured addressing supporters in October 1918 in Moscow) is to be unveiled for the first time on territory of the former West Germany, decades after the Berlin Wall was torn down
UFC on ESPN 10 weigh-in face-offs

It was a rocky road, but the UFC on ESPN 10 weigh-ins took place at the Apex in Las Vegas on Friday, making the fight card official.

The UFC on ESPN 10 fighters squared off for the cameras after they weighed in.

Several fighters missed the mark, including headliner Jessica Eye and co-main event fighter Karl Roberson. Zarrukh Adashev also missed the mark for his last-minute bout with Tyson Nam. And Darrick Minner failed to make it to the weigh-in at all because of medical issues that forced the cancellation of his bout with Jordan Griffin.

TRENDING > UFC on ESPN 10 weigh-in results: Jessica Eye, Karl Roberson miss weight; one prelim canceled

Jessica Eye misses weight: 'I'm done. I don't think I can stand.'

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 10:10:19|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that there will be no curfew in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he's scheduled to hold a campaign rally Saturday evening.

In a tweet, Trump said he has spoken to Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum who told him that "there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow" for rally-goers.

Bynum announced the curfew in an executive order on Thursday and said that it would only affect the area near the BOK Center, where Trump is to speak.

The order said the mayor has received information from law enforcement agencies that showed "individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behavior in other States are planning to travel to the City of Tulsa for purpose of causing unrest in and around the rally."

The rally was previously scheduled to take place on Friday, the Juneteenth, a day that memorializes the end of slavery in the United States.

Trump rescheduled the event, the first of its kind for him in more than three months, for Saturday after strong pushback, as Tulsa was home to one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the nation's history, where dozens of African Americans were massacred 99 years ago.

Moreover, demonstrations continued across the United States against police brutality and racism in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody.

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, late last month after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Trump's Tulsa rally will be held amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 2.2 million people and taken nearly 120,000 lives in the Untied States.

Health experts have warned against large-scale gatherings, as some states, including Oklahoma, are seeing a surge in confirmed cases, while they are reopening.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, has said that he wouldn't personally attend rallies.

"I'm in a high risk category. Personally, I would not. Of course not," Fauci told an interview with Daily Beast earlier this week, adding that when it came to Trump's rallies "outside is better than inside, no crowd is better than crowd" and "crowd is better than big crowd."

Attendees of the Tulsa rally will receive temperature checks, hand sanitizer, and masks before entering the BOK Center, which can hold 19,000 people, according to Trump's re-election campaign. A campaign spokesman added that masks will be optional.

They have also been asked to sign a waiver releasing the Trump campaign from responsibility for possible exposure to the coronavirus.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Friday that she and some other White House officials will attend the rally but she won't wear a mask.

"It's a personal choice. I won't be wearing a mask. I can't speak for my colleagues," she told reporters during a press briefing. "I'm tested regularly. I feel that it's safe for me not to be wearing a mask."

The coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity -- for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing -- even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission," the agency said.

According to a new Fox News poll released on Friday, 59 percent of the respondents said it's a bad idea for presidential candidates to hold large political events and rallies, while 23 percent said doing so is a good idea. Another 16 percent said it depends.

Currently, 84 percent still said they are at least somewhat concerned about the spread of coronavirus in the United States. That includes 54 percent who said they feel very concerned. Enditem
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay a visit to Moscow to attend the Victory Parade on June 24, 2020, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War.

The Parade is organised to honour the heroism and sacrifices made by the Russian and other friendly people.

Defence Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu has invited Rajnath to the Victory Parade, which was originally scheduled on May 9, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Tri-Service 75- Member Indian Military Contingent has already reached Moscow to participate in the Victory Parade along with Russian contingent and other invited contingents.

The marching contingent taking part in the Victory Day Parade is led by a major rank officer of the gallant Sikh Light Infantry Regiment.

The Regiment had fought with valour in the World WarII and has the proud distinction of earning four BattleHonours and two Military Cross amongst other gallantry awards.

The Indian participation in the Victory Day parade will be a mark of tribute to the great sacrifices made by Russia and other nations in the Second World War in which Indian soldiers also participated and made supreme sacrifice.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also congratulated President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Rajnath congratulated his counterpart through special messages sent on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev has wished Rajnath a safe journey.

Kudashev tweeted, "I wish a safe journey to Defence Minister of strategic partner India Shri @rajnathsingh who is scheduled to depart to Moscow on Monday to witness the Great #VictoryDay Military Parade on June 24."

I wish a safe journey to Defence Minister of strategic partner India Shri @rajnathsingh who is scheduled to depart to Moscow on Monday to witness the Great #VictoryDay Military Parade on June 24#Victory75 #VDay pic.twitter.com/6KUg9FGKCD  Nikolay Kudashev (@NKudashev) June 20, 2020

Rajnath's visit will strengthen the longstanding special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.
By Trend

Turkmenistan will host World Health Organization (WHO) mission in early July, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov during a briefing, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.



The mentioned briefing was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and was dedicated to the review of the current situation on combating the coronavirus pandemic on June 19, 2020.



The briefing was attended by the heads and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Health and Medical Industry, and other relevant departments of Turkmenistan, as well as heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of international organizations accredited in the country, local and accredited in Turkmenistan journalists of foreign media outlets. Also, representatives of the media of a number of foreign countries took part in the event via videoconference.



During the briefing, Rashid Meredov also noted that country continues to have international cooperation in health industry. The UN and its specialized organizations, in particular WHO, play a special role in this cooperation. The minister also highlighted important political and diplomatic events of the country.



Also, Minister of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan Nurmuhammed Amannepesov said that the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of the country, as well as the sanitary and epidemiological service are taking the necessary measures to prevent the import of coronavirus into the country.

In this context, it was noted that the country interacts with the world's clinical centers and doctors to exchange experience in combating the spread of dangerous diseases.



Speaking about the fight against coronavirus, WHO Representative and Head of Country Office Paulina Karwowska, thanked Turkmenistan for its contribution to the common efforts to counter the spread of a new type of coronavirus infection.

She said that the country has made progress in promoting its health policy, and also noted the country's cooperation with WHO health in the framework of universal immunization programs and projects.



United Nations Secretary-General for Central Asia, the Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Natalia German, UN Resident Coordinator for Turkmenistan is Elena Panova, and Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat Natalya Drozd, highly appreciated Turkmenistan's readiness and desire to cooperate with all interested parties in the fight against the pandemic.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By PTI

CHENNAI: As lockdown without relaxations continued for day two here, Chief Minister K Palaniswami described it as a 'speed breaker', saying the curbs were being used to further augment detection of COVID-19 cases in Chennai by conducting more door to door surveys and fever camps.

All measures are in place for both early identification and treatment of people who test positive, he told reporters after inspecting quarantine amenities at Guru Nanak School in Velachery here.

The 12-day lockdown, which came into effect on Friday, is being implemented here and in parts of neighbouring Chengelpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.

Only essential services are allowed and vegetable shops and groceries can function only from 6 am to 2 pm.

Ahead of the curbs, relaxations were in place for most segments with the exception of only schools and other educational institutions.

While roads were deserted, corporation's health personnel could be seen going on with their routine exercise of finding out people with symptoms.

Police said action againstviolators of the lockdown continued and their vehicles were being seized.

Palaniswami said "The lockdown is like a speed breaker," adding the curbs were to ensure that people stayed indoors and supported efforts aimed at detecting symptoms and providing treatment, if needed.

The government was using the lockdown period to further augment testing and treatment, he said.

"This lockdown is not to trouble anyone, but to stop the spread of the virus. If those with symptoms step out, then it will spread to others as well. If people stay indoors during the lockdown, there wont be spread of the virus," he said.

The Chief Minister appealed to people to extend their full cooperation to the government's efforts in combating the virus by wearing masks and maintaining social distance.

He said the government has effectively utilised both the current and previous spells of lockdown to augment detection and treatment of positive virus cases.

The fever camps in Chennai have been increased to 527 on Friday from about 350 in the recent past and those having COVID-19 symptoms were being treated, the Chief Minister said.

"Only God knows when the COVID-19 pandemic will come to an end," he said when reporters sought to know when the spread would end.

"Neither I nor you know. I am not a doctor. Medical experts, even WHO and the union health ministry say the pandemic will gradually decline and cant be eradicated.

The only way out now for us is to exercise self discipline and take precautions," he said.

About 8.27 lakh samples for COVID-19 have been tested, which was the highest in India, Palaniswami said.

Also, Tamil Nadu has 83 testing centres, the highest in the country, with 45 in government and 38 in private sectors.

Asked whether higher education minister K P Anbazhagan was infected with the virus, he shot back asking, "has he not said in an interview that he does not have it? What more can I add to that?"
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy.

Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post/Getty Images

Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy urged white people to repent and take action against racism during a roundtable discussion Sunday at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cathy said a dozen Chick-fil-A restaurants had been vandalized in the last week.

"My plea would be for the white people, rather than point fingers at that kind of criminal effort, would be to see the level of frustration and exasperation and almost a sense of hopelessness that exists among some of those activists within the African American community," Cathy said in the discussion.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories

Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy urged white people to take action against racism amid a period of tension and protest in the US, following the death Rayshard Brooks,A a Black man who died after a white police officer shot him last week.

In a Sunday roundtable discussion at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia with Passion City founder Louie Giglio and Lecrae, a Christian rapper, the fast-food chain CEO spoke of repentance and understanding.

Video: Comparing fast-food chicken sandwiches

The CEO said that a dozen Chick-fil-A restaurants had been vandalized in the last week, but urged white people not to place blame on the vandals.

"My plea would be for the white people, rather than point fingers at that kind of criminal effort, would be to see the level of frustration and exasperation and almost a sense of hopelessness that exists among some of those activists within the African-American community that are so exasperated," Cathy said.

Read more: The exec behind the Nike and Petco apps reveals why Chick-fil-A's chicken sandwich giveaways are a brilliant strategy

The Cathy family, which owns Chick-fil-A, cites Christian values as part of their philosophy guiding their leadership of the company. Founder Truett Cathy, Dan Cathy's father, translated his faith into his business practices, which has helped contribute to the fast-food giant's success.

Story continues

During the roundtable, Cathy mentioned that "conscious and unconscious biases" at the workplace and in corporate offices are not entirely uncommon, mentioning a conversation he had with a Black Chick-fil-A employee who said she had experienced injustice in her job.

Dan Cathy previously outlined his thoughts on the current events in the US via a LinkedIn post, which was shared on the Chick-fil-A website. In the post, Cathy described the ways Chick-fil-A is helping to rebuild and donate resources to what he described as "the most distressed zip code in Georgia."

While discussing the topic of repentance, Cathy got up and shined Lecrae's shoes on stage and said that the world needs to have a sense of shame, embarrassment, and "an apologetic heart."

"Our silence is so huge in this time," Cathy said during the roundtable. "We cannot be silent. Somebody has to fight."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Trump has open contempt for the intelligence of his supporters, telling them he picked his National Security Advisor as if was a game show. This is what the American people get when they elect a Reality TV Host as President of the United States.

Martha Raddatz, the co-host of ABCs This Week, appeared on the networks midday talk show The View to discuss former National Security Advisor John Boltons new book and her upcoming interview with him.

Raddatz, who has read the book, described Boltons book to the ladies of the The View by saying page after page is just jaw-dropping, and amounts to just the facts and doesnt give a lot of Boltons opinions or feelings. More like he was reporting to a journal devoid of commentary.

Meanwhile, Trump is claiming he hired Bolton Because everyone thought he was crazy and I didnt realize Bolton supported the Iraq War until after I hired him. These and other statements made by President Trump shows he takes little care in who he hires.

CBS News reporter Paula Reid asked Trump why He Keeps Hiring Wackos and Liars his ignored the question and stared in silence.

Mr. President, why do you keep hiring people that you believe are wackos and liars?

Earlier that day, Trump tweeted that Wacko Boltons book is made up of lies & fake stories. The president has repeatedly accused Bolton of being a liar in recent days as explosive excerpts from his book get reported on in the press.





President Trump has made a steady habit of denouncing his former officials and aides as liars and dopes. Its become so common that rarely anyone who leaves in his opinion was competent. Among the people Trump has attempted to smear after leaving his administration includes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Chief of Staff John Kelly, and one-time Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Bolton responds to Trumps attacks on his book l GMA








Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the launch of 'Gareeb Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan' on Saturday, said the Rs 50,000 crore worth employment scheme will help boost livelihood opportunities in rural India. Out of an estimated 1 crore migrant workers who have returned to their villages in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, 67 lakh workers are expected to benefit from this scheme.

The PM said both the Centre and the state governments were deeply worried about the welfare of migrant workers since the pandemic started in India. He said at that time, the governments tried to help the poor by providing food, financial help, by running special Shramik Train, etc. "The whole world was shaken by the coronavirus crisis but you (migrant people and people in villages) stood firm. It's a big lesson for the entire country how villages have fought against the deadly virus," he said.

           ,      50       !

       ,       25      : PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 20, 2020

He said India's more than 6 lakh villages, where two-thirds of India's population (80-85 crore people) live, have effectively prevented the coronavirus infection in rural India. Even if we include all the countries of Europe, this population is much more than that. Merge entire America, Russia, Australia, our population is even more than that, he said.

READ: PM Modi launches auction of 41 coal mines, says India will turn COVID-19 crisis into opportunity

He said it's a great achievement that such a large population has fought the coronavirus crisis with courage. "Awareness of our rural India has worked behind this success," he said. PM Modi also thanked workers on the ground, including the village head, Anganwadi workers, Asha workers and Jeevika Didi. "All of them have done a very good job," he said.

They are all worthy of accolades and praise," the PM said. "You have saved thousands and millions of people from coronavirus," he said. Talking about the Gareeb Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, the PM said today was a historical day. "Today, a huge campaign has started for the welfare of the poor, for their employment. This campaign is dedicated for labour brothers and sisters, for youth, sisters and daughters living in our villages," he said.

He said most of them were workers who returned to their homes during the lockdown. "They want to do something for the development of their villages," he said, adding that this will provide workers with an opportunity to develop their villages.

Under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, Rs 50,000 crore will be spent on providing employment opportunities for people to develop villages. About 25 areas have been identified for development under the scheme. "These 25 works or projects are related to the basic amenities in villages, which are meant to improve the lives of the people in the village," he said. "Under the scheme, pucca houses will be built for the poor and sheds work will be undertaken to keep animals. Water life mission will also be taken forward in collaboration with Gram Sabhas," he said.

READ: One year of Modi 2.0: Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package big step in making India 'Atmanirbhar', says PM

PM Modi said it's happening for the first time in the history of the country that more internet was being used in villages than in cities. Work will also be done to enhance internet speed in villages and to carry out fibre cable work, he said.
No fewer than six members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State have shown interest in the governorship ticket of the party.

Before the end of June 3, the slated deadline for the submission of the partys forms, the six aspirants had filled and submitted their nominations and expressions of interest forms, both sold for N22.5 million to each aspirant.

This pegged the total money generated by the ruling party from its sale of form at N135 million.

The six aspirants that went through the party screening process include the incumbent governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki; former chief of staff and secretary to the Edo government, Osagie Ize-Iyamu; a former minister for works, Chris Ogiemwonyi; a former deputy governor, Pius Odubu; Matthew Iduoriyekemwe and Osaro Obazee.

However, at the end of the screening process chaired by Jonathan Ayuba, a professor, only three aspirants were declared eligible. The other three were disqualified based on anomalies observed in their credentials.

The qualified ones are Messrs Ize-Iyamu, Odubu and Obazee.

Axed

As envisaged by different analysts, Messrs Obaseki, Ogiemwonyi and Iduoriyekemwe were the three aspirants ineligible to partake in the Edo APC direct primary election slated for June 22 to determine the partys flag bearer in the September 19 governorship election.

They are believed not to enjoy any support from the partys national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, who is also a former governor of the state. Mr Oshimhole is currently on suspension and Mr Obaseki later defected to the opposition PDP.

In this analysis, PREMIUM TIMES essentially explores individual aspirants political history alongside the partys internal wrangle and other factors peculiar to them as they contend for the partys ultimate ticket.

Osagie Ize-Iyamu

Mr Ize-Iyamu, a former chief of staff and secretary to Edo government, is considered one of the founding fathers of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, a party that evolved to become the APC.

Mr Ize-Iyamu, from Orhionmwon Local Government Area, was the candidate of the PDP in the 2016 Edo state gubernatorial election, an election he lost to the incumbent governor.

Mr Ize-Iyamu garnered 41.28% (253,173) of the total votes cast against the 52.09% (319,483) the incumbent who contested under the platform of the ruling APC.

He is marked as Mr Oshiomholes preferred candidate for the partys ticket this time.

His defection back to the APC in November 2019 further exacerbated the wrangle in the state branch of the party, as it narrowed Mr Obasekis chances in his previous party.

In the wake of the jostle for the party nomination form, seven aspirants stepped down to endorse Mr Ize-Iyamu as the factions consensus candidate, an agreement that was terminated by three of the aspirants that later went ahead to purchase the party form.

We started with the consensus candidate because we believe, with unity, we can remove the current governor,  Mr Ogiemwonyi, told journalists as he picked up his forms.

However, there were some indications that the consensus aspirant was inviting another person to join and because I was number two, I told him that was unacceptable to me. If at all somebody will come, I should be the person because I was number two; that was why I said it was a moral issue.

Until the disqualification of some of the aspirants, there were speculations that the three candidates action in purchasing the forms was aimed at dividing Mr Ize-Iyamus votes in the primary.

Just like the three disqualified aspirants, Mr Ize-Iyamu had some glitches with his presented credentials but was cleared by the APC screening panel on the ground that the attestation issued by the National Population Commission (NPC) has killed the anomaly in the tendered documents which is why he cleared.

This decision, to a great extent, has enhanced the chances of Mr Ize-Iyamu, Mr Oshiomholes alleged preferred aspirant.

Pius Odubu

Arguably the most certified aspirant currently in the race, Mr Odubu served as the deputy governor of Edo State between 2012 and 2016 under the leadership of the former governor, Mr Oshiomhole.

He is a lawyer and a former lawmaker who represented the Uhunmwode/Orhionmwon Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Mr Odubu worked as the Director of Logistics of the Buhari Campaign Council ahead of the 2019 presidential election, a position many believe could muster some support for him in this contest.

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He was recently confirmed by the Senate as the chairman of the 16-man Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board reconstituted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

While serving as the incumbent deputy governor, he contested for the APC governorship ticket in 2016.

READ ALSO:

He came a distant second with 471 votes as against the 1,618 votes garnered by the Mr Obaseki, who the then governor, now estranged godfather, Mr Oshiomhole, picked as his preferred candidate.

Some days before the APC declared its sale of form, Mr Odubu alongside six aspirants declared Mr Ize-Iyamu as their consensus candidate, an agreement that crumbled.

The Jonathan Ayuba-led APC screening committee in its observations also noted that Mr Odubus credentials had an inconsistency but the anomaly was cured in the affidavit deposed to by his father and our recommendation is that Pius Odubu is eligible to participate in the election.

Osaro Obazee

Even though a staunch loyalist of Mr Ize-Iyamu, Mr Obazee is the incumbent governors kinsman, as they both hail from Oredo local government.

He is the youngest of all the aspirants as he was born on February 23, 1970.

Mr Obazee, a former chairman of Oredo Local Government Area, had declared his intention to run for the Oredo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, but was compelled by the partys leadership to step down for the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Osaigbovo Iyoha, and instead go for the House of Assembly, instead.

Having joined other six aspirants in endorsing Mr Ize-Iyamu as the factions consensus candidate, Mr Obazee breached the agreement when he opted for the form, a decision many believed was taken in due consultation with Mr Ize-Iyamu.

He was the first aspirant to be screened and cleared by the APC panel. There is a speculation that Mr Obazee would likely opt-out of the primary in favour of Mr Ize-Iyamu.

Threats, twists, turns

Just as the battle between Messrs Oshiomhole and Obaseki led factions in Edo continues to get messier, so is the partys chance at winning the September 19 governorship elections.

As it stands, the three aspirants cleared to contest for the APCs governorship ticket are arguably from the Oshiomhole-led faction while the Anselm Ojezua-led faction in the state has enjoined the embattled governor to join another party and contest which he has since done.

Many believe his supporters left in the APC may further polarise the party more so as Mr Oshiomhole is currently under suspension and the tussle for who leads the party intensifies at the national level.

Governors from the main opposition party, PDP, have already granted Mr Obaseki a waiver to contest for the partys ticket.

All things being equal, the three cleared aspirants of the ruling APC in Edo may lock horns in June 22 for the partys ticket. However, a source within the partys NWC, said there are ongoing plans to ensure that Mr Ize-Iyamu emerges as the lone aspirant.

Some analysts believe Mr Obaseki would eventually win the PDP ticket after the expected horse trading. That, by all indications, will likely leave the contest eventually between the two arch rivals, Messrs Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki, who ironically have now switched to the parties they individually contested against in 2016.
Princess Anne with Peter Phillips. The stalker claimed that the Princess was "controlling his mind by moving his satellites" - UK PRESS

A man who repeatedly threatened to stab the Princess Royal was found by royal protection officers entering the grounds of her home, a court heard.

James Ballinger, 35, made a series of 999 calls to police on Feb 27 stating he was going to Gatcombe Park in the Cotswolds to stab the Princess and "anybody else who was there", Cheltenham magistrates were told.

He told the call handler that the Princess was "controlling his mind by moving his satellites", said Cathy Thornton, prosecuting. Later that day, at 3.15pm, he was found at Gatcombe Park and detained by Royal Household protection officers, she said. He was unarmed.

Ballinger told officers he had mental health issues and he hoped his arrest would get him the help he needed.

He was on bail awaiting a court appearance when he offended again this week, said Ms Thornton. On Wednesday he again called 999, saying he was having thoughts about stabbing the Princess, the prosecutor said.

James Ballinger made a series of 999 calls to police stating he was going to stab the Princess

He again stated that the Princess was "moving his satellites, which was affecting his well-being".

He was arrested at his home half an hour later and yesterday appeared before the court by video link from the Gloucestershire Police custody unit.

Lee Mott, defending, said: "He does not remember making the original call to the police in February.

"When the 999 call was played back to him he agreed that the voice was his and that he had said some horrible things. He said he was sorry he had threatened Princess Anne."

Mr Mott said that Ballinger was on medication and had hoped the case could have been dealt with earlier so his mental health issues could be addressed.

Gatcombe Park, the Princess Royal's home - GETTY IMAGES

Ballinger admitted making a malicious communication on Feb 27 by making numerous phone calls to the police control room which "conveyed a threat and caused distress to the call handler".

He admitted a similar charge of making a malicious communication on June 17 that was "grossly offensive and menacing".

Story continues

Andrew Hill, chairman of the magistrates, sentenced Ballinger to a 12-month community order which includes attending a programme to address his alcohol and mental health problems as well as a six-day rehabilitation activity.

A six-month exclusion order banning Ballinger from entering Gatcombe Park was also imposed.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

In 1974, the Princess was the victim of a kidnap attempt in which Ian Ball forced her car to stop in the Mall, in London, before attempting to attack her.
I am a retired lawyer and a former trial attorney in the Civil Division of the Justice Department. After entering private practice in Virginia, I was required to take mandatory continuing legal education classes. Some years back I attended a program at Cambridge University in England sponsored by the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. In one of our classes, the subject of sovereign immunity was mentioned by one of the attendees. The professor suddenly stopped her presentation and asked if we had sovereign immunity in the United States. When the answer was affirmative, she said, Isnt that quaint. You have sovereign immunity but no sovereign. We have a sovereign but no sovereign immunity. The concept of sovereign immunity or qualified immunity, whatever you want to call it, has no place in our modern jurisprudence and should be repealed. The House bill on the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 proposes to do just that, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the president oppose that provision, and the Supreme Court has just refused to consider the matter.
Stephen Silver pictured at Castlerea District Court tonight, where he was charged with the murder of Det. Garda Colm Horkan Picture: Collins Dublin

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan.

Stephen Silver (43) of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo was brought before a special sitting of Castlerea District Court at 10.30pm last night.

Flanked by detectives, Silver was escorted into court via the front door of the courthouse on Main Street, Castlerea, Co Roscommon, just yards from the spot where Garda Horkan lost his life.

The Detective was on patrol shortly before midnight on Wednesday when he was shot and killed.

Dressed in a black t-shirt, black tracksuit bottoms and blue flipflops the accused repeatedly shook his head throughout the short hearing.

In evidence to Judge Alan Mitchell, Garda Helen Gillen, told the court that the accused made no reply when charged with the offence or when the charge of murder was read out to him.

During the short hearing, the accused had his head in his hands for periods. While shaking his head he said: Absolutely unreal. Unreal. I had no firearm on me.

Judge Mitchell advised Silver that his solicitor Gearoid Geraghty was there to speak on his behalf.

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You do not have to say anything. What you have to say you can say it through him.

Judge Alan Mitchell granted a defence application that Mr Silver be medically assessed and remanded him in custody to appear again in court next week.
[June 19, 2020] KLEVV is Launching the Latest SSD Lineup: NEO N610 2.5" SATA & CRAS C710 M.2 NVMe SSDs

HONG KONG, June 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KLEVV, an emerging memory brand introduced by Essencore, announced the launch of two new products, the NEO N610 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, and the CRAS C710 M.2 NVMe SSD. The next-generation solid-state drives are available in enhanced capacities of up to 1TB, offering accelerated system speeds while maintaining core stability. The introduction of these two new KLEVV SSDs is to provide an even more compelling SSD choice for users looking for rock-solid reliability and fast speeds for a wide range of uses. NEO N610 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD: A Perfect Combination of Performance, Reliability, and Stability The NEO N610 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD features latest 3D TLC NAND and a 4-channel controller IC, which increases the amount of data that can be transmitted at any given time. Different from other KLEVV 2.5" SSDs, NEO N610 provides an embedded DRAM buffer that enhances runtime performance while also extends the lifespan of the drive. It comes further equipped with a powerful LDPC ECC engine, an intelligent SLC caching algorithm, S.M.A.R.T. (self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology), over-provisioning, bad block management, and Global Wear Leveling technology. All of which combine to optimize performance, durability, reliability, and data integrity. The new NEO N610 SATA SSD comes in three capacities: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, while delivering sequential read/write speeds of up to 560/520 MB/s, catering to customers with varied efficiency needs. CRAS C710 M.2 NVMe SSD: Built for Gamers & Enthusiasts



Also offered in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB using 3D TLC NAND, the CRAS C710 M.2 NVMe SSD adopts PCIe Gen3 x4 interface supported by NVMe 1.3 technology. Which provides a sequential read speed of up to 2100 MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 1650 MB/s, while retaining legacy technology to ensure stable performance even at high processing speeds, making it ideal for gaming or image processing. Optimized technologies include a thermal throttling algorithm to protect SSD integrity, SRAM error detection and correction, and CRC parity for end-to-end data path protection. In addition, the CRAS C710 shares all the essential functions that make KLEVV drives reliable, such as LDPC ECC technology, SLC caching, S.M.A.R.T. and Global Wear Leveling. Responding to the Market with Additional Data Backup Software for Peace of Mind

By making customer service a top priority, Both CRAS C710 & NEO N610 have gone through KLEVV's rigorous in-house examination process, and come with a five-year limited warranty as standard. Further to that, KLEVV has improved user experience by providing complimentary Acronis True Image HD 2018 software activation key, which gives users full disk-image backup access and universal restore functions for a seamless data transfer experience. Additional Acronis Active Protection function against ransomware is also available to help protect valuable data from this nefarious & modern data threat. KLEVV products are distributed by PT CAHAYA DISTRIBUSI NUSANTARA in Indonesia. All lineups are also available at online channels including Enter Komputer, tokopedia, Bukalapak, and Shopee. Find out more about the full range of Essencore/KLEVV products at: http://www.essencore.com/ and http://www.klevv.com. About Essencore Established in 2014, Essencore Limited, a company founded by a group of key figures from the major memory IDMs, aims to become the world's top vendor of DRAM modules and NAND flash application products. The company started with one goal: to "Change the world and be a leader in semiconductor distribution". The business strategies of Essencore is to adopt the newest technologies to differentiate ourselves in front of customers from competitors, deliver dedicated Memory products, and offer various product portfolio for customer's competition readiness. For more information, please visit www.essencore.com. About KLEVV KLEVV, is a premium brand of Essencore, the major Module and NAND Flash application product vendor. The KLEVV range includes gaming memory modules, microSDs, USB flash drives, and solid state drives. KLEVV is committed to delivering world-class products with first-rate quality. All products are designed in South Korea, home of the world's top two largest memory IDMs. KLEVV memory has been recognized by Germany's Red Dot Design Award in 2015 and 2019. For more information, please visit www.klevv.com. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200407/2771158-5-a

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200407/2771158-5-b SOURCE Essencore

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday expressed concern over the "manufactured controversy" surrounding the virtual all-party meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the India-China border clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers died earlier this week.

"Concerned by the manufactured controversy surrounding the all-party meet yesterday. This is the time to showcase our unity and solidarity with our armed forces and not the time to point fingers or find faults," Reddy said in a tweet.

"PM and other ministers gave very convincing answers at the all-party meeting. Nation is and should be united on this subject. Unity brings strength and division exhibits weakness," he added.

Honble PM and other Ministers gave very convincing answers at the APM. Nation is and should be united on this subject. Unity brings strength and division exhibits weakness. (2/2) YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) June 20, 2020

The Telangana Chief Minister's Office, in a statement on Twitter, said, "We may have differences in our politics but we are united by patriotism."

Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao had also attended the all-party meet.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said Modi had spoken extensively on the India-China situation during the meeting. "His answers clearly reflected Indias strong stand when it comes to safeguarding our sovereignty. All other 'commentary' may be best ignored. Its not factual or desired," added Sangma.

During yesterdays All Party Meeting, PM @narendramodi spoke extensively on the India-China situation. His answers clearly reflected Indias strong stand when it comes to safeguarding our sovereignty. All other commentary may be best ignored. Its not factual or desired. Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) June 20, 2020

Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) put out a clarification and described as "mischievous interpretation" the criticism over Modi's remarks at the all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the Galwan Valley clash.

The PMO said the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.

The Congress as well as a number of strategic affairs experts raised questions over Modi's remarks asking where the Indian soldiers died if there was no transgression by the Chinese military in Galwan Valley. They also wondered whether Modi had effectively given China a clean chit over the standoff.

The Congress and the Left parties on Saturday asked the government to clarify its position on China's claim on the entire Galwan Valley. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Modi's remark had practically left everyone "baffled and bewildered".

Chidambaram said even after Modi's statement on Friday, China had blamed India for the clashes and had re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley.

BJP president JP Nadda criticised them for raising various questions on the India-China face-offs which, he said, would only "lower the morale of the Indian armed forces".

Nadda also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for using negative language about the issue -- Gandhi had raised questions about whether "unarmed soldiers" had to fight the Chinese Army and alleged that Modi had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

(With inputs from PTI)
Worlds First Affordable Lie-Flat Economy Seat May Be Airlines Next Marketing Feature

SANTA CLARA, Calif.Airlines may consider investing in comfortable, budget-friendly seats for their economy travelers. The wow factor: People can lie down to sleep.

With talk about airlines operating at two-thirds or 50 percent capacity due to COVID-19, people may find their flights emptier than before. The empty seats may seem like a waste of space, but one company has decided to improve that situation.

A San Francisco-based startup has come up with the worlds first lie-flat airline seat for premium economy class travelers. The unit can be stacked like a double-decker, with one person sitting above another. Since each seat is mostly enclosed, people can have their own personal space and not worry too much about social distancing.

Jeffrey ONeill, CEO of Zephyr Aerospace, said the inspiration to recreate a premium seat came during a long and sleepless flight. He thought the seats should be more comfortable while being affordable, so he came up with the double-decker concept.

You block the middle seat in economy class, youre losing 35 percent of your revenue on that flight.  It means the airfare is going to increase over time, ONeill told The Epoch Times. People want to be safe, but if they just cant afford it, then they are not going to fly.

The airlines are not making enough money to support that flight every single day. So when they do fly it, they have to increase the prices, he explained. Theyve got to monetize either quickly or they have to do it by actually selling more tickets, or theyll have to do it by increasing the fares. So either one of those, from a marketing standpoint, are not going to be appealing to a traveler in the middle of a recession, also pandemic.

His companys product is for travelers who want to pay extra for a better experience without jumping to business class.

We realize that the ability to sleep or lie flat, and to have personal space and privacy, those are the two most important things to a traveler who is flying a very long distance, ONeill said.

It would mean changing the layout of the existing premium class seats, but not the density and space. If the original arrangements are four rows with eight premium seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, the new layout will be 1-2-1 with two levels.

The unit will look like a bunk bed, with a pull-out ladder to access the top bunk.

When people want to lie down, they can pull down the cushion in front of them.

When you enter a seat, you and your feet are in an upright position. We dont need to use that space when were lying flat. So we decided to cover it with a mattress top pad. And that would enable you to have more personal real estate, more seat. Youre not forced to lie in a particular position, said ONeill.

He said the extra space can fit a small baby or a service pet while you are sleeping.

Instead of individual doors, the company is thinking of adding a sound-proof blackout curtain that covers the entry point of the seat.

The bunk will not affect the overhead luggage compartment, and there will be additional space inside the seat itself.

Each seating unit is expected to weigh 70 pounds. The seat is not mechanical or electrical, so it helps keep the weight low.

Theres no heavy metallic pulleys, levers, or anything that can break. So the direct maintenance cost for an airline is essentially 90 percent less than it would be to maintain a business class seat, said ONeill.

It is meant to be economical and cost effective for both passengers and airlines.

A normal premium seat would cost somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 for a round-trip flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. According to ONeill, their seats are expected to cost about $1,000 each way.

We think the value of this product is best on flights over 10 hours, he said.

This would include flights from California to Europe, Asia, and potentially Australia. He sees the demand for it since it is affordable and people want to sleep on the long flights.

On the airline side, the seat is expected to cost less than the business class seats with similar comfort features. He gave a price comparison example. A single business class seat can cost the airline between $50,000 and $75,000. His companys seats would cost between $15,000 and $30,000 each, depending on the features the airline wants. Normal economy and premium-economy seats cost anywhere between $3,000 and $15,000.

The product is not fully finalized yet. They are working with engineers on how it will be built and what materials it will use, in consideration of its weight and safety factors.

According to ONeill, they showed a mockup of the seats to 27 different airlines and had followup meetings with about half of them.

He said they had advanced conversations with two airlines last year, but it slowed down this year due to the pandemic.

In the future they will consider creating seats for other forms of long-distance transportation like Amtrak and Greyhound.
Ulster University is seeking a new vice-chancellor to steer it through one of its most challenging periods ever.

The new post-holder, who is expected to receive a salary of around 300,000, will take the helm as the university moves through the post-lockdown landscape.

They will also oversee the completion of the new Belfast campus, to which the majority of the Jordanstown provision will move, as well as driving operations through the process of Brexit. The successful candidate will also play an instrumental role in the proposed Graduate Entry Medical School at its Magee Campus.

The facility will attract graduates to study, work and live in the north west and will train new doctors and help to address the ongoing medical workforce shortages here.

In its advertisement, UU said: "We are seeking to appoint a vice-chancellor with the vision, commitment and credibility to lead the university through a period of significant opportunity and change.

"You will develop and embed improved ways of working and promote new behaviours linked to the university's values of integrity, collaboration, enhancing potential and inclusion."

It added: "This position will be challenging, empowering and fulfilling.

"It will offer an experienced and inspirational leader the opportunity to guide and direct the strategy to fulfil Ulster University's ambition and deliver an outstanding experience for our students, staff and partners."

In February the university's former vice-chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon left the role.

He took up the top position at Ulster University in the summer of 2015 and has now moved on to become vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra. He was replaced at UU on an interim basis by Professor Paul Bartholomew.

The BBC reported that in an email to staff in recent weeks Professor Bartholomew said the unprecedented financial demands from the Covid-19 pandemic would mean reducing staff numbers as part of a cost-cutting exercise at the university.

Ulster University has approximately 27,000 students and 2,700 staff across four campuses - Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee.

It is currently completing a new campus in Belfast City centre.
When old age catches up, even nuclear weapons go into retirement By Thalif Deen View(s): View(s):

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The worlds stockpile of nuclear weaponsestimated at over 13,400 at the beginning of 2020  have a least one thing in common with humans: they are retired once they reach old age.

The 2020 Yearbook, released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), says there was a decrease in the number of nuclear weapons worldwide in 2019.

And this was largely due to the dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons by Russia and the USwhich together possess over 90 percent of global nuclear weapons.

The worlds nine nuclear-armed statesthe US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea)together possessed an estimated 13,400 nuclear weapons at the beginning of 2020.

This is a decrease of about 465 nuclear weaponsmostly dismantled from the stockpile of 13,865 the nine states possessed at the beginning of 2019, according to the SIPRI Yearbook released June 15.

But what happens to these retired weapons?

Dr M. V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security and Director, Liu Institute for Global Issues at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at University of British Columbia, told IPS: We do know a fair amount about how the US deals with retired nuclear weapons, namely those weapons that are no longer part of the active operational arsenal, or the hedge (extra weapons, just in case), the strategic reserve, and so on.

They are sent to the Pantex plant in Texas where the fissile pits are removed from weapons, said Dr Ramana, author of The Power of Promise: Examining Nuclear Energy in India.

Robert Kelley, a Distinguished Associate Fellow at SIPRI and a veteran of over 35 years in the US Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex, told IPS You might try to make a distinction between retirement and dismantlement.

Weapons are really retired when there is no longer a military mission for them. That will happen when the delivery systems become obsolete, and are no longer available. Or the mission disappears, he said.

An easy one, he said, is nuclear artillery shells. The US gave up on those in about the 1980s. So, there are no more nuclear cannons.

But since the nuclear shell was fired from a conventional cannon that could fire either a conventional shell or a nuclear shell, it was the mission going away that led to retirement, he added.

Saner people started to realise that having a bunch of tactical nuclear shells that could be launched by low level military units was pretty stupid.

Many tactical weapons like that were retired but could conceivably come back. Once retired they would go into bunkers at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo Texas and await being dismantled  taken apart and pieces recycled, said Kelley, who managed the centrifuge and plutonium metallurgy programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In some cases, he pointed out, this is technically hard to do and the rate of dismantlement may only be a few weapons per year. The total backlog of all kinds is probably thousands in the US.

The Brits had only two systems left in the 1980s  one bomb and submarine launched nuclear warheads. They gave up the mission for the bombs so they were retired and it was a years-long process to take them apart at Burghfield near Reading, UK.

Dangerous work done very carefully, declared Kelley, a former Director of the Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory, the premier US nuclear emergency response organization.

Meanwhile, SIPRI points out that around 3,720 of the nuclear weapons are currently deployed with operational forces and nearly 1,800 of these are kept in a state of high operational alert

A key finding is that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2019, all nuclear weapon-possessing states continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals. And the outlook for arms control is bleak.

Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director at the Washington-based Arms Control Association (ACA), told IPS it is no surprise that SIPRI is reporting that the nuclear arms control outlook is bleak.

We have been warning of the dangers of an unconstrained global nuclear arms race for quite some time. As global leaders appropriately focus on the steps necessary to deal with the deadly effects of the coronavirus pandemic, they cannot afford to lose sight of the actions necessary to address the ongoing threat of nuclear proliferation and catastrophic nuclear warthe ultimate pandemic

He argued that tensions among the worlds nuclear-armed states are rising; the risk of nuclear use is growing; hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent to replace and upgrade the already bloated arsenals of the worlds nine possessors of nuclear weapons; and key agreements that have kept nuclear competition in check are in serious jeopardy.

We are on the verge of an unprecedented global nuclear arms race. The resurgence of the nuclear weapons threat is due, in large part, to the failure of national leaders to seize earlier opportunities to significantly reduce the nuclear threat and to pursue a more intensive dialogue on measures to move toward the common goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

Kimball said the failure of the United States just to agree to extend the only remaining treaty regulating the worlds two largest arsenals  the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty  before its 2021 expiration date is but one example.

This dire situation requires new and bolder leadership from responsible states. They must work together to build majority support for a plan of action that calls for specific, concrete steps that would fulfill their legal and political commitments on to end the arms race and pursue nuclear disarmament, beginning now, declared Kimball.

Kelley said modern strategic nuclear packages are highly integrated with the delivery system. The size, weight, shape and mounting bolts are designed at the same time as the military delivery system.

If an old ICBM, for example, is retired, the nuclear explosive becomes obsolete. So, it is retired, and there is very little one can do with it while it awaits dismantlement. The older systems are generally not interchangeable with something new so they really are obsolete.

Are you aware that thousands of warheads designed for US service missions are awaiting retirement because there is no mission?, asked Kelley.

(Thalif Deen is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services; Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/Africa at Janes Information Group.)
Northfield Mount Hermon School, a private Massachusetts boarding school now solely based in the Franklin County town of Gill, is being sued over the alleged sexual abuse of a female student by a female teacher over several years starting in 1999.

The lawsuit alleges that administrators and teachers knew about the alleged abuse but failed to notify the state child protective service agency or law enforcement officials.

Filed June 12 in Suffolk Superior Court by Boston attorney Carmen Durso, the suit names as defendants two deans, two teachers, an administrator, a mental health counselor and a psychiatrist associated with the school during the years the alleged abuse took place.

We take the trust families place in us very seriously, and student safety is our highest priority, said Sharon Lindale, director of the communications for the school, in a statement. Northfield Mount Hermon has zero-tolerance for any sexual misconduct by faculty and staff members against students. We have protocols for all employees at the school, conducting background checks on all who work at the school, providing regular employee training around issues of student safety, and adhering to all mandatory reporting guidelines. We cannot comment on pending legal matters.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for personal injuries and damages suffered by the plaintiff while at the school as a result of being sexually abused, assaulted and raped, as a child, by a teacher there. It says the alleged abuse occurred because of what it calls the negligent hiring, training, assignment, supervision and retention of the teacher by the school as well as the alleged negligent and intentional conduct of Northfield Mount Hermon, and its several employees, who jointly engaged in a conspiracy to cover up the teachers conduct.

The most important duty of people in charge of taking care of kids is to keep them safe, and if they are not safe their duty is to report it, Durso said. This is not what happened here. No one made a report to what is now the Department of Children and Families, no one reported it to law enforcement.

Durso said his client, Annie Clark, was a minor at the time the alleged sexual relationship began with a teacher, who is identified in the suit but is not named as a defendant.

One of the big problems in this case is that if the perpetrator was a 26-year-old man it would have turned out differently and those involved would not have lost their sense of what their reporting obligation was, Durso said.

Annie was a young lesbian woman at the time who thought of this as a coming-of-age thing, but 15 years old and having sexual contact with an adult was statutory rape. It has taken her a long time to get past this as a failed romance to where she feels strongly there is no difference in terms of statutory rape if it is an older woman with a teenage girl. She could have been Jane Doe in the suit, but she made the decision to use her name as she feels strongly she needs to be out there and say to people, this was not a romance, this was a crime.

The suit is specific in its details of the alleged sexual encounters on and off campus and who was allegedly aware, and documentation cited includes Clarke being described as profoundly depressed toward the end of the alleged relationship in 2001.

The school in rural Western Massachusetts was founded as Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879 and Mount Hermon School for Boys in 1881 by the evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody. It was consolidated on the Gill campus in 2005.

In 2016, the school fired a longtime teacher over allegations of sexual misconduct with a female student that dated back more than three decades and that the school said the teacher did not deny.

Earlier that year, the school hired the law firm Jackson Lewis to investigate alleged incidents of past sexual misconduct and how the school handled them. The investigation was said to have shown six credible allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers no longer at the school stemming from incidents between 1976 and 1991.
Rotimi Jolayemi, a journalist detained for broadcasting a poem deemed insulting to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has spoken about his experience while in police detention.

Mr Jolayemi told PREMIUM TIMES he did not regret his detention as it was ordained to happen.

Mr Jolayemi, who anchors a Yoruba radio programme, Bi aye se ri on Osun State Broadcasting Service and Radio Kwara, was arrested by the police on May 5.

According to a document obtained by our reporter, the police filed a one-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/104/2020 against the journalist on May 22, 16 days after he was detained.

However, on Friday, the Nigeria Police Force released him following the approval of his bail application by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Before Friday, several rights activists and groups had called for the release of the journalist, accusing Mr Mohammed of abuse of power.

Defiant

Speaking with this newspaper on Saturday, Mr Jolayemi confirmed that the police had earlier detained his wife, Dorcas Jolayemi, for eight days in a bid to get at him.

Also, he said two of his relatives, Joseph Jolayemi and John Jolayemi, were also detained for two days.

Commenting on his ordeal with the police in Abuja, he said he was treated nicely and that the cops handled him in a professional way.

When I was taken from Ilorin to Abuja, those people (the police) took care of me even on the way. They did everything nicely to me. When I got to Abuja. The AIG told them to take good care of me. I was not tortured. They did everything with professionalism, he said.

Editors Note: This post has been updated after Mr Jolayemi clarified his comment about not regretting the incident.
LifeStyle

The best Lifestyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel Lifestyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Shaynna Blaze and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend

The number of people who will receive 1,200 lari (about $394.9) worth state support due to income loss amid the coronavirus pandemic has increased, says the Revenue Service, Trend reports via Georgian media.

People who have been on unpaid leave after May 2020 will receive 1,200 lari (about $394.9) over the course of six months. Before that people could receive this support only if they had received salary in at least one of the first three months of 2020 and they did not receive a salary afterwards.

Moreover, people who were working for three months during the period from July through December 2019 and have not received salary until July 2020 will also benefit from state support.

Employers should provide information about employees by June 23. However, information about employees will be renewed automatically in the coming months.

The Georgian government presented a coronavirus anti-crisis plan on April 24 in which it announced support for people who lost their jobs amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Based on the plan, people who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis or are on unpaid leave will receive 1,200 lari (about $394.9) over the course of six months, which is 200 lari ($66.07) per month. This assistance will apply to 350,000 citizens of Georgia. A total of 460 million lari ($151.39 million) has been allocated from the budget.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
The Managing Director of GIHOC Distilleries Company Ltd, Mr. Maxwell Kofi Jumah, has hailed the NPP administration, led by HE. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for saving the company from total collapse.



GIHOC distilleries, established in the year 1958, operates under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The company, under the erstwhile John Mahama administration, hit the rocks, and was on the verge of collapse, until it was salvaged by the ruling NPP government after Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah was appointed boss.



Faced with staff demonstrating in red bands upon his arrival, Mr Jumah said the NPP administration had since restored hope to workers of the company, raising the bar in corporate resuscitation.



It all started with an increase in the basic salary of all workers; the lowest-paid from GH250 to GH1000. This helped relieve most of the employees from the numerous loans they were struggling to pay off.



Mr. Jumah proudly mentioned that an in-house canteen and clinic have since been established within the company, to meet the basic needs of workers while at work. He added that staff now entitled to some incentives, aside from their monthly salaries, ranging from free transportation to a refund of medical bills.



We rely on the extra talents of workers to fix issues at GIHOC, to reduce costs Mr. Jumah disclosed in a live, exclusive interview streamed on the social media handles of the NPP Loyal Ladies on Thursday, 18th June 2020.



In furtherance of the Presidents promise to create more jobs through enhanced industrialisation, Mr Jumah said the company had seen an increase in the number of employees, from 150 to 400.



GIHOC is partnering with the 1D1F Secretariat, to set up 10 factories to make the superior GIHOC brands more available to Ghanaians, in order to reduce foreign exchange leakages through the importation of goods, which could be produced locally.



I and the staff of GIHOC know that without the vision and support of HE. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP government, the story of GIHOC would have been nothing to write home about. Many individuals and families would have been struggling. But today, I Kofi Ghana, can say that Nana Akufo-Addo has saved GIHOC, and the lives of the companys staff.

Source: GIHOC









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Both men have been held for 18 months. They were detained shortly after the December 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei. The daughter of Huawei's founder was arrested at the request of U.S. authorities who want her on fraud charges related to trade with Iran.

"The facts are clear and the evidence solid and sufficient," Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. Zhao gave no details.

The charges were announced by China's highest prosecutor's office in brief social media posts. Asked what evidence China had against the two, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said only that each is charged with "secretly gathering state secrets for overseas forces with particularly serious consequences."

Michael Kovrig was charged by Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence. Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong, a city near the North Korean border, on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

Chinese prosecutors charged two detained Canadians with spying Friday in an apparent bid to step up pressure on Canada to drop a U.S. extradition request for a Huawei executive under house arrest in Vancouver.

A Canadian judge ruled this month that the U.S. extradition case against Meng could proceed to the next stage. China has denied any explicit link between her case and the lengthy detention of the two Canadian men, but outside experts see them as tied and Chinese diplomats have strongly implied a connection.

Meng has been released on bail while her extradition case proceeds in court and is residing in one of her two Vancouver mansions where she is reportedly working on a graduate degree. Kovrig and Spavor are being held at an undisclosed location and up to now, have been denied access to lawyers or family members.



China has also sentenced two other Canadians to death and suspended imports of Canadian canola, while saying those moves were also unrelated to Meng's case.

Relations between Canada and China are at their lowest point since the Chinese military's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The tensions appear to be causing further harm to Huawei's reputation in the Americas, with two of Canada's three major telecommunication companies announcing earlier this month that they've decided not to use the Chinese tech giant for their next-generation 5G wireless network. Bell Canada announced that Sweden-based Ericsson will be its supplier and Telus Corp. later announced that it had also selected Ericsson and Nokia.

Huawei is the world's biggest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, but has long been seen as a front for spying by China's military and its highly skilled security services.

The U.S. has urged Canada to exclude Huawei equipment from their next-generation wireless networks, saying Huawei is legally beholden to the Chinese regime. The United States and Australia have banned Huawei, citing concerns it is an organ of Chinese military intelligence -- a charge the company denies.

Canada's diplomats in China have been meeting regularly with their detained citizens but there was no immediate comments on the new indictments.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 19, 2020 - 03:40 | All, Japan

The United States is in talks with Japan to address its concerns over the U.S.-made Aegis Ashore missile defense system, Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said Thursday, after Tokyo suspended plans to deploy the defense technology earlier this week.

The United States is "working very closely" with Japan to "resolve concerns and issues," Hill said during a virtual defense conference.

David Helvey, acting assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, was quoted as telling Reuters that the current focus is "having the technical discussion with our Japanese allies to understand the nature of the concerns and to determine the right path forward for this type of cooperation."

The Japanese government decided in 2017 to deploy two land-based Aegis Ashore batteries to beef up the country's defenses against the rapidly advancing North Korean nuclear and missile program.

They were to supplement the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyers, but Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said Monday that the government will "halt the process," citing technical and cost issues as well as safety concerns.

Kono has explained that the Defense Ministry found through talks with the United States that hardware modifications, which will likely be costly and time consuming, would be required to ensure the safety of nearby residents during missile interception operations.

Since Japan has no plan to look for alternative sites that would not pose risks to residents, the announced suspension is believed to be the equivalent of scrapping the plan altogether.

According to Kono, Japan and the United States have signed a contract worth around 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the anti-missile system, of which 12 billion yen has already been paid by Japan. Future payments and penalty charges are likely to become an issue hereafter.

Aegis Ashore, a land-based version of the Aegis combat system developed for warships, is a collection of radars, computers and missiles. Japan was supposed to be the third country to introduce the system after Romania and Poland.
In 2018, China detained Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor amid the rising tensions between Canada and China. On Friday, Chinese officials announced they charged the two Canadians for espionage.

The move was made after Canada arrested a top Chinese executive of the tech giant Huawei, giving rise to Beijing's continuous punitive campaign, as reported by The New York Times.

Rising tensions

The two detainees, former diplomat Kovrig, and business consultant Spavor were taken into custody when Canada abided with the United States request of arresting Huawei's chief financial officer.

The prisoners have become the centre of attention at a time when relationships between the three countries have been at their lowest in the last several years.

Chinese court officials stated on Friday that they indicted Kovrig over charges of espionage for allegedly gathering secrets of the Chinese government and sharing them with foreign countries. Spavor, on the other hand, was detained for similar accusations in the northeastern city of Dandong.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had called China's action against the two detainees as a disappointing course of action. The two men have been held in the Asian country for 557 days before benign charged.

According to CBC, Trudeau announced the Canadian government would be working tirelessly and effortlessly to ensure the safe release of the two Canadian nationals.

The prime minister said in a press conference in Chelsea, Quebec, the government took the incident very seriously and that they have had experience in dealing with international detainees.

Also Read: Pentagon Sources Warn US May Lose War With China in the Pacific

Defending its own actions

On Friday, the Chinese government defended its actions during a news conference in Beijing, saying that the facts are clear and there is enough evidence to support the allegations against the two men, said Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Replying to a reporters question of China's perspective on hostage diplomacy, Zhao defensively stated that the question was malicious and turned the subject to Canada instead.

Reporters also asked a similar question to Prime Minister Trudeau at a news conference on Friday. The Canadian leader replied by saying Canada is doing everything in its power to ensure the release of the captives and end their unlawful detention.

Trudeau said, "We will continue to use all of our expertise to return these two Michaels to Canada."

The two Canadian nationals could face severe punishments if the Communist Party-led Chinese courts convict them of the crimes. Zhao, when asked on Friday if the two men would receive lengthy prison time or the death penalty, said the question was hypothetical.

Experts believe the move by China to charge the two nationals is a show of power and authority at a time when it is seen as being vulnerable. Recently, the Asian country had come face-to-face with international criticism over several issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and Hong Kong protests.

International governments and human rights activists have shared their criticism and outrage over the detention of the two men. Still, China is unlikely to be moved or affected by the statements.

A professor of political science, Jean-Pierre Cabestan, of the Hong Kong Baptist University, said the unjust detentions would have been unthinkable previously. He added the move is a clear indication of a seemingly new Cold War.

Cabestan noted that China's decision to detain the two Canadian nationals without due process of revealing details of the allegations worked against showing the impartiality of its judicial system.

Related Article: China Takes Advantage of US Protests to Move Closer in Seizing Hong Kong, Ignoring Its Own Issues

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Washington:

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has expressed concern over the possibility of emergence of nuclear suicide bombers from Pakistan if jihadists get access to the countrys atomic weapons, said a media report.

We live in fear that theyre going to have a coup, that jihadists are going to take over the government, they are going to get access to nuclear weapons, and you will have suicide nuclear bombers. So, this could not be a more threatening scenario, the New York Times said, quoting Clinton as saying in an audio being hacked from Democratic Partys computers.

Pakistan is running full speed to develop tactical nukes in their continuing hostility with India, the former secretary of state told a close door fundraiser in Virginia in February, the paper reported, citing 50-minute audio that appeared on the website of The Washington Free Beacon.

During the fund raiser, responding to a question on modernisation of nuclear weapons, the daily said, Clinton went beyond the question to warn of an emerging nuclear arms race, naming Russia and China as well as Pakistan and India.

This is one of the most dangerous developments imaginable, Clinton said.

Such remarks from the former secretary of state gains significance in view of an interview of Pakistani Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif to the local TV channel in which he threatened to unleash nukes against India.

If our safety is threatened, we will annihilate them (India), Asif had said.

The United States appears to have taken a strong note of Asifs recent statements on use of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear capable states have the responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, a state department official told PTI when asked about the statements being made by the Pakistani leader.

Earlier, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter had said while India has generally shown responsible behaviour with nuclear technology, China conducts itself professionally, nuclear weapons in Pakistan are entangled in history of tensions.

Meanwhile, in an opinion Consequences of Pakistani Terrorism: Raids signal that India wont tolerate more attacks in Kashmir, The Wall Street Journal warned that Pakistan increasingly risks becoming a pariah state if it continues with policies.

It said if Pakistan wants to prevent an escalation of violence it needs to shut down the terror groups it continues to support. That should start with Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, two major jihadist groups that operate openly in Pakistan and are prime suspects in these attacks, it said.

Both groups are supported by its military despite being on United Nations lists of terrorist organizations, the daily said in the hard-hitting opinion piece, a day after India carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir against terrorists planning to sneak into the country.

The Journal noted that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently offered closer economic and diplomatic ties to Pakistan as long as it stops supporting terrorism.

Pakistan, it argued, needs a new vision centered on improving the lives of its people.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Colombo:

In yet another setback to Pakistan, Sri Lanka on Friday pulled out of 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad joining India and three other nations who had expressed their inability to participate in the summit.

Sri Lanka condemned terrorism in the South Asian region on Friday while claiming that the environment was not conducive for conducting a SAARC summit in Islamabad. In an apparent reference to the attacks on Indian army at Uri, Sri Lanka came out strongly against terrorism. Sri Lanka's pulling out of the SAARC summit in Islamabad is being viewed as a diplomatic win for India in its quest of isolating Pakistan in South Asia.

Sri Lanka regrets that the prevailing environment in the region is not conducive for holding the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement here.

ALSO READ | SAARC summit in Pakistan called off as India, Bhutan, Bangaldesh and Afghanistan opt out

The General Provisions of the SAARC Charter require that decisions at all levels shall be taken on the basis of unanimity, and this applies to the convening of meetings of Heads of State or Government of SAARC Member States as well, it said in the brief statement.



The statement made no reference to the current tension between India and Pakistan, but it condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.



It stressed on the need to deal with the issue of terrorism in the region in a decisive manner.



Peace and security are essential elements for the success of meaningful regional cooperation for the benefit of the people of South Asia. As a founding member of SAARC, committed to regional cooperation, Sri Lanka hopes that the steps required to ensuring our regions peace and security will be taken to create an environment that is conducive for the pursuit of regional cooperation, the statement added.

ALSO READ | J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti justifies PM Narendra Modi's decision not to attend SAARC summit in Pakistan



Besides India, three other SAARC members - Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan - have pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet.



That development came after tensions ran high between India and Pakistan after militants stormed an Indian Army base in Uri on September 18, killing 18 soldiers. The militants belonged to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group.

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi to skip SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan calls it 'unfortunate'



Founded in 1985, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) currently has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as its Members.

(With PTI inputs)

Condemn terrorism in all forms and stress in this regard need to deal with issue of terrorism in region in decisive manner: Sri lanka MOFA  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

..and this applies to the convening of meetings of Heads of State or Government of SAARC Member States as well: Sri lanka MOFA 2/2  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

General Provisions of SAARC Charter require decisions at all levels shall be taken on the basis of unanimity: Sri lanka MOFA 1/2  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

Regret that prevailing environment in region is not conducive for holding 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad on 9th &10th Nov'16 :Sri Lanka MOFA

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Mayank Singh And Pushkar Banakar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and Apache attack helicopters of the Indian Air Force made an appearance over the Ladakh airspace a day after Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria ended his quiet visit to the airbases in Leh and Srinagar on June 17 and 18.

Air Chief Bhadauria was on a two-day visit to check the operational readiness of all the platforms that have been moved to the area in view of the Chinese aggression along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, where more than 10,000 PLA troops have been amassed by the neighbouring country.

The Chinese have reportedly moved in their artillery and armoured vehicles in support of the troops deployed in standoff position since the intervening night of May 5-6, when the soldiers of the two sides clashed between Finger 4 and Finger 5 along the northern flank of Pangong Lake.

Since then, more than 10,000 troops have been positioned at various locations in Galwan Valley, Hot Spring sector and Finger 4 and have done constructions in complete violation of the agreement to not change the status quo.

Apart from deploying forces to counter the Chinese military presence, sources said all the critical air bases have been activated.

Frontline fighters including the Sukhois, Mirages and Jaguars and Apache helicopters have been moved in such a way that minimum reaction time is needed to carry out operations, said a source.

China operates several air force bases in Tibet. Meanwhile, a discussion has begun to place the border guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) under the operational command of the Army till the tension continues.

The deployment and operations of the ITBP will be planned by the Army to conduct coordinated operations, said a source.

Further, lending more credence to reports that 10 Indian soldiers were held captive and subsequently released them on Thursday after talks, Chinese foreign ministry Zhao Lijian on Friday said the country presently has no Indian troops in its custody.

Earlier in the day, sources informed that 10 soldiers, including two officers, returned unharmed after the Division Commander level talks.

The Army had on Thursday evening clarified that there are no Indian Troops Missing in Action.

Fighter jets moved to Leh, Srinagar air bases

Air Chief RKS Bhadauria travelled to Leh on Wednesday after the Defence Minister reviewed the security scenario with him, CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and the other two service chiefs.

The IAF has moved Su-30MKI, Jaguar and Mirage jets and Apache helicopters to key air bases including Leh and Srinagar in last three days.

A massive shot in the arm for the Army deployed at the LAC is likely to come in the form of at least 3,000 personnel of the Indo Tibetan Border Police.

More ITBP troops to be sent to LAC

Highly placed sources in Union Home Ministry said a large number of ITBP personnel deployed in law and order duties across the country is likely to be moved to various points along the LAC in the Ladakh and J&K within a few days.

While 15 companies have already been moved from J&K to Ladakh, an additional 30 companies are likely to be sent to the LAC, a source said.

One company usually comprises 100-120 personnel. Around 7,000 troops remain deployed along the LAC in J&K and Ladakh at any given time.

Deployment of more forces is underway at various points along the LAC in view of the build-up of PLA troops by China.
The coronavirus lockdown has 'accelerated' the demise of high streets, as former Wickes and Iceland boss warns that almost half of retailers are in danger of 'going bust'.

Retail expert Bill Grimsey said nearly half of retailers were already in danger and increases in online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the process.

He said the 'old high street is finished' and town centres can only survive if the Government gives more powers to local authorities and people who have a 'vested interest in their communities'.

High street shops across the UK (Regent Street, pictured) were allowed to reopen from June 15 after the coronavirus lockdown with social distancing measures in place

Retail expert Bill Grimsey said nearly half of retailers were already in danger and online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the process (pictured, shoppers queuing on Regent Street)

Former Wickes and Iceland boss Mr Grimsey (pictured) said the 'old high street is finished' and can only survive if the Government gives more powers to local authorities

Mr Grimsey's comments followed the third Grimsey Review, which looked into the state of the UK high street, being published on Saturday.

Among its 27 recommendations are calls to replace 'outdated' business rates with a sales tax.

It also calls for unused properties to be forced back onto the market so they can be bought by community trusts to serve their neighbourhoods.

Mr Grimsey said: 'Before the pandemic, 50% of businesses were in danger of going bust. Covid has accelerated and exposed the process of people ditching bricks-and-mortar retail and shopping online instead.

'People are starting to think differently, when they come out of lockdown, their attitudes will change for the better, they will start to appreciate their local communities, breathing cleaner air and enjoying the wildlife.

'They have realised there is a better life out there, built around those who have a vested interest in their communities and not by big distant investors, and I believe this has been highlighted by the pandemic.'

The team behind the Grimsey Review argued 'only localism on steroids' could revive failing high streets.

The report also called on the Land Registry to open up its database to give transparency about who owns town centres.

Mr Grimsey said the Prime Minister needs to realise that urging 'everyone to hit the high street' will not rescue the economy (pictured, Foot Locker shoppers on Regent Street)

Customers are also subject to temperature checks at some department stores before they are allowed to enter as department stores reopen across Britain (pictured, Regent Street)

Mr Grimsey said the Prime Minister needs to realise that urging 'everyone to hit the high street' won't solve anything or rescue the economy.

He said: 'There needs to be a huge shift in power from Westminster to our local communities. Whitehall isn't able to deal with this, and as they continue trying to influence a revival, buildings continue to lay empty.'

This comes after high street shops across the UK were allowed to reopen from June 15 after the coronavirus lockdown, with social distancing measures in place.

Customers are also subject to temperature checks at some department stores before they are allowed to enter.

Marks & Spencer, TK Maxx and River Island are amongst stores that have started to reopen across Britain this week.

Hairdressers, nail bars and beauty salons, pubs and restaurants will stay closed until at least July, as the Government says the risk of transmission is higher due to prolonged contact.
Spirit offering Cancun flights from more than 30 major US cities

Cancun, Q.R.  U.S. carrier Spirit Airlines says that it will resume flights from the U.S. to Cancun at the end of the month. The reactivation of the flights are scheduled to begin June 26, however, the company says this is dependent on the continued lifting of travel restrictions.

Spirit says that they have 11 flights to Cancun scheduled during the last week of the month, and that in July, they will begin offering more than 30 flights from from U.S. cities including Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver, New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Austin, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale (to name a few) to Cancun starting as low as $52 USD each way.

They say that dependent on travel restrictions, they are hoping to resume flights into Los Cabos for July. In the meantime, the air carrier confirms that new safety measures for passengers, crew and staff have been implemented.

Everyone onboard will be required to wear face masks for the duration of the flight, adding that high-touch surfaces such as handles, seatbelts, tray tables and arm rests will be sanitized between flights.
No new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation were reported Friday afternoon by Peterborough Public Health.

There hasnt been a new case since last weekend. The number of cases remained at 93, with 88 resolved and two earlier deaths for three active cases.

The active cases are a man in his 60s, a woman in her 40s who contracted it through close contact and a man in his 40s who contracted it by travel, according to Ontario Public Health.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 14,200 people have now been tested, up 400 from Thursday.

New Ontario COVID-19 cases This interactive map shows confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths related to the virus as reported by public health units across Ontario. The map is updated hourly.

*****

Ontario schools likely to see mix of in-class, online learning in September

Allison Jones

The Canadian Press

TORONTO  Ontario students will likely return to school in September with a mix of in-class and remote learning, the government announced Friday, though boards will develop various scenarios, depending on how COVID-19 is spreading at that point.

Premier Doug Ford said there wont be a one-size-fits-all approach in schools, but parents provincewide will have the option of sending their children back to class or keeping them learning remotely.

This virus remains a threat and the health and safety of our children will always remain top of mind, Ford said.

If you dont feel comfortable, if youre worried about your child returning to school, well keep at-home learning available for your child.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said boards are being asked to prepare plans for three scenarios: regular in-class instruction with public health protocols, fully remote learning, and a plan that blends the two approaches. Boards may have to move between the three models throughout the year.

Lecce said he expects all students to start September with the blended model, which will see no more than 15 students in class, attending on alternating days or weeks. Public health units will be asked to give guidance in early August on what the appropriate model is for September.

Students in class will interact only with their classmates and a single teacher, which will keep close contact to a minimum while still allowing students to play with each other, Lecce said.

Ontarios school reopening document says changes would need to be made to how subjects with rotating teachers  such as French, art and music  are taught. If a class size is so large that it couldnt be split into alternate days with a maximum of 15 students, boards could form additional classes led by specialist teachers, the document says.

When not in class, students would be assigned work to do and could participate in virtual learning with classmates in school for one period, the document says. Students should eat lunch in their own classrooms, with desks spaced out.

That blended model will be evaluated after September, and if public health trends are heading in the right direction, boards could move closer to more conventional schooling.

Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario president Sam Hammond said the provinces approach, which will shrink class sizes, is certain to increase the need for more educators.

But the government has not promised enough funding to pay for that, he added.

If Im a teacher and I have 30 students and on those two alternating days only 20 are there, whos providing that online learning for the other 10 students? he said.

I hope its not going to be expected that our members will be providing that at any time, day or night.

NDP critic Marit Stiles said there are too few details and too many holes in the governments plan.

Many parents cant choose to stay home and teach their kids if they dont like the reopening plan, and its totally unrealistic to add zero new teachers and expect teachers to juggle students who are rotating between classrooms and emergency distance learning, she said in a statement.

Michele Costa, whose son will start Grade 2 this fall, said she worries that the provinces plan could create child care challenges.

Realistically, I think for me it would probably just mean staying home and I think thats probably how its going to be for a lot of parents, and probably mostly mothers, she said. Finding rotating child care is going to be difficult.

The president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation said the government announcement falls far short of a coherent strategy.

Its not a plan, it really doesnt lay any of the groundwork thats required, Harvey Bischof said. They cant simply abdicate their responsibility to school boards. There will be local adaptations that are required, but they need to provide some central direction about minimal expectations.

Schools across the province have been closed since March 13, when the government moved to shut down much of Ontario to slow the spread of COVID-19.

A report released this week by medical experts from Torontos SickKids Hospital said children are not the super-spreaders of COVID-19 that experts initially believed they would be.

Guidelines on reopening provided by those experts to the province include extra hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and ventilation, and taking classes outdoors when possible  but not requiring masks for kids or discouraging close play.

The governments guidance includes hand-washing upon entering the school and at regular intervals during the day, possibly with scheduled hand hygiene breaks.

The Ontario Public School Boards Association generally lauded the plan and the flexibility for local circumstances, but said it wants an ongoing dialogue with the government about additional funding that may be needed to adapt to the pandemic.

Lecce announced the annual school board funding amounts Friday, which include an overall increase of $250 per student  in contrast to a decline in per-pupil funding last year.

Meanwhile, Ontario reported 178 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, and 11 more deaths. That brought the province to a total of 33,095 cases.

More remaining regions of Ontario also moved into the second stage of the provinces reopening plan Friday, including parts of the Greater Toronto Area.

The second stage of reopening includes restaurant patios, hair salons and swimming pools.

 with files from Shawn Jeffords

*****

The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada

The Canadian Press

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 6:32 p.m. on June 19, 2020:

There are 100,627 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 54,550 confirmed (including 5,375 deaths, 22,972 resolved)

Ontario: 33,095 confirmed (including 2,564 deaths, 28,250 resolved)

Alberta: 7,625 confirmed (including 152 deaths, 6,961 resolved)

British Columbia: 2,790 confirmed (including 168 deaths, 2,444 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 998 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 716 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 636 resolved)

Manitoba: 298 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 293 resolved), 11 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 258 resolved)

New Brunswick: 164 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 135 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 100,627 (11 presumptive, 100,616 confirmed including 8,346 deaths, 63,003 resolved)
Chandigarh, June 20 : A day after the all-party meeting in which all national political parties extended their support to the government on the India-China standoff, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday urged the Centre to change its policy to allow soldiers at the borders to open fire in their own defence and for protecting the nation's territorial integrity.

Making it clear that he did not support sending soldiers to the LAC without weapons, the Chief Minister said in the seventh edition of his Facebook Live, #AskCaptain, that the government's policy should be that "if they kill one of ours, we should kill five of theirs." It was absolutely wrong to send soldiers unarmed or not to allow them to defend themselves, he said, adding that when he and his Army colleagues used to do patrolling during his posting along the LAC for two years, they carried all kinds of weapons.

"We are in the nuclear era and we are carrying and being beaten by dandas," quipped the Chief Minister, expressing shock at the fact that 20 Indian soldiers, including four from Punjab, had lost their lives in an attack by stick wielding and stone pelting Chinese troops, who he asserted simply could not be trusted.

Lamenting the demise of four Punjabi soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash, the Chief Minister said it was extremely unfortunate, even though "as army men, we are always prepared to take the bullet".

Besides increasing the compensation for their next of kin from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, his government has decided to name schools after the martyrs, said Amarinder Singh, adding that he had spoken to two of the families so far.

On the issue of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu extending support to China, the Chief Minister said he was not only propagating, but was actively involved in promoting separatism and terrorism in India.

Asserting that he would not allow Pannu to succeed in his divisive agenda and disturb the state's peace at any cost, Amarinder Singh dared the pro-Khalistani propagandist to come to Punjab instead of hiding out in other countries to spread his vicious campaign.

Declaring his commitment to sustaining Punjab's peace at all costs, the Chief Minister said that in the absence of peace, no industry will come to the state, and there will no jobs for the youth.

The state's economy will be in shambles if forces inimical to peace are allowed to spread their fangs, he added.
Photo credit: Justin Ervin

From Harper's BAZAAR

"Something interesting that I've learned about motherhood in relation to criticism is that, when you're pregnant, everyone's obsessed with you," Ashley Graham tells us from the set of her Harper's Bazaar cover shoot, which was shot entirely in isolation by her husband, Justin Ervin. "But what happens when the baby comes, is that everybody has an opinion about how you parent - even though they told you, 'Don't take advice from anybody'."

The model welcomed her first child, Isaac, in February, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic forced much of the world into social isolation. She's since been spending her first few months as a new mother in her childhood home of Lincoln, Nebraska, which is where her Bazaar cover shoot took place.

Photo credit: Justin Ervin

In our exclusive behind-the-scenes video, the 32-year-old explains that how she's learning to multitask, balancing work priorities with the demands of new motherhood.

"The biggest lesson that I've learned as a new mommy in quarantine is flexibility; how to roll with the punches and how to really find joy every single day," she tells us.

"When Isaac is hungry and I have a Zoom meeting at the exact same time, I just pop him on the boob and have the Zoom meeting. All you've got to do is tilt the camera up a bit and you can do anything from here [gestures to her neck] down."

Watch the full video above, in which Graham discusses everything she's learned in her first few months of motherhood - touching on everything from style, to confidence and self-care.

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As viewers are gearing up for the 22nd season of Big Brother, credible sources have claimed the series will be another all-stars. CBS has not confirmed or denied the rumor, but fans have still shared various fantasy cast lists, many of which include BB21 winner, Jackson Michie. The 25-year-old has addressed rumors of him competing in the upcoming season.

Jackson Michie on Big Brother 21 | Monty Brinton

Jackson Michie on Big Brother 21

Then 24-year-old Los Angeles-based server, Jackson Michie, showed up to a local open call and landed a spot as a houseguest on Big Brother 21. On the first day, his co-stars voted him Camp Director, giving him the power to banish four houseguests.

He then remained under the radar as a part of the biggest alliances in the house and formed a relationship with ally Holly Allen. In Week 5, he and Allen were isolated from their group after Jack Matthews exposed her pre-existing relationship with houseguest Kathryn Dunn.

RELATED: Big Brother 21 Winner Jackson Michie Addresses Rumors That His Mom Is Suing CBS

In the following week, he found himself on the block next to Matthews, his closest ally in the house. However, he survived because others perceived the fitness trainer as the ringleader. Michie then went on a challenge winning streak, which landed him in the Final Two alongside Allen.

Although he faced accusations of racism and misogyny, his houseguests felt he played the best game and awarded him the win a 6-3 vote.

Jackson Michie and Holly Allen split

After leaving the house, he and the wine safari guide continued dating. A few months after filming wrapped, the two moved into a LA apartment together, alongside Allens dog, coincidentally named Jackson, who she adopted in 2016. They also hung out with other co-stars and spent the holidays with each others families.

In March 2020, the couple quarantined together due to the strict shelter-at-home orders enforced in California because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Additionally, Allen is considered high risk because of her asthma. Therefore, the two rarely left the house.

RELATED: Big Brother Stars Jackson Michie and Holly Allen Adopt a Dog Amidst Coronavirus Panademic

A couple of months later, they decided to adopt a rescue dog, Sahara, and put their time and energy into training her. A few weeks later, Allen visited her family in Wyoming while Michie went back to his native Tennessee.

Although the couple denied breakup rumors at the time, the two announced they parted ways only a few days later. While they didnt go into details surrounding the breakup, both noted they still love and care for each other.

Jackson Michie addresses All-Stars 2 rumor

A week before the breakup, Michie posted a video acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement. He admitted hes made a lot of mistakes throughout his life as well as recently when he upset followers with a post stating all lives matter.

Michie apologized for not being educated and asserted that he stands with the Black community, although he wont understand the struggle. The 25-year-old ended the 39-second clip by apologizing again and noting that black lives matter.

Many fans felt that Michie only made the video to land a spot on the rumored All-Stars season or join the cast of MTV competition series, The Challenge.

RELATED: Big Brother: Jackson Michie Posts Apology Video, Says Black Lives Matter

Underneath his June 20 Instagram post, one follower commented, Please come back for 22 and be the first back to back [winner]. The 25-year-old responded, I wish! with a laughing emoji.

Its unclear if CBS contacted Michie but passed on him due to his all lives matter comment or if the network never considered him for the rumored All-Star season, and the 25-year-old wishes they did.

Regardless, viewers wont see the current record holder for the most competitions won by a male in BB22.
EU Leaders Support Extension Of Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine

By RFE/RL June 19, 2020

European Union leaders on June 19 have supported a six-month extension of economic sanctions imposed against Russia over its role in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefed other EU heads of state and government during a videoconference and said, according to RFE/RL sources familiar with the matter, that no progress had been made in implementing the Minsk agreement.

The sanctions were first adopted in July 2014 after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and starting providing military support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 13,000 people.

Since then, the sanctions have been extended every six months. A formal decision to prolong the sanctions beyond their current July 31 expiry date is to be taken by EU ambassadors in the coming weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year proposed a freeze on economic sanctions on "humanitarian" grounds to allow countries to better combat the coronavirus pandemic.

But EU officials have rejected Putin's call, with both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel insisting the measures "do not impede Russia's capacity" to combat the epidemic.

The sanctions mainly target Russia's financial, energy, and defense industries.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-leaders- support-extension-of-sanctions-against- russia-over-ukraine/30680004.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ankara, June 20 : The daily new COVID-19 cases in Turkey started again to decline after a week of a slight increase, said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Turkey reported 1,214 new COVID-19 cases and 23 more deaths, taking the tally of infections in the country to 185,245 and the death toll to 4,905, the minister tweeted on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Istanbul and Ankara have reported the lowest numbers of cases in the past week. New cases continue to decrease across the country," Koca said.

A total of 1,494 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of recoveries to 157,516.

The minister said 41,316 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, raising the overall number of tests to 2,863,632.

Turkey is currently treating 769 patients in intensive care units, while 310 are intubated.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case in the country on March 11 and stepped up the normalization process since June 1.

In the past week, daily new cases had exceeded 1,500, causing the Turkish authorities to warn citizens to obey individual precautions.

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19.

The leaders of the two countries held a phone conversation on April 8, pledging to cooperate on combating the pandemic and deepen the bilateral ties.

China has facilitated the procurement of medical supplies by Turkey. On April 10, Chinese doctors and medical experts held a video conference with Turkish counterparts to share China's experience in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov expressed protest of the Azerbaijani public in connection with the film "Should the Wind Fall" (Si le vent tombe) by Nora Martirosyan shot in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and presented for a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mammadov made the statement during the meeting of the extraordinary session of the Azerbaijani parliament, Trend reports.

The film shot in the occupied Azerbaijani lands serves one single purpose which is to distort the history, causes and essence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani MP said. With particular feeling of regret, I would like to stress the participation of a French company in the creation of this film and its submission for the screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Azerbaijani MP said that these and similar initiatives do not correspond to the current spirit of rapidly developing Azerbaijan-France relations, friendly relations between the two peoples, as well as Frances mediation goal as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

In particular, both countries attach great importance to the development of mutually beneficial relations in the economic, political, humanitarian and cultural spheres, Mammadov said. "I would like to inform you that the Azerbaijani embassy in France also expressed the protest to the French authorities in connection with this issue, Mammadov added.

I would like to stress that two regions of France rendered financial and logistical assistance in the creation of the film. Sponsor partner of the Cannes Film Festival - the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region - also supported the film production, the Azerbaijani MP said. I would like to emphasize that this activity is contrary to the principles defined by the legal framework regulated by the French law on the rules of conduct and control of territorial units in the international cooperation.

As the head of the Azerbaijan-France inter-parliamentary working group, I appeal to the French embassy in Azerbaijan and invite them to express their position on this issue, Mammadov added.

I expect that the embassy will share our views on the fact that such steps contradict to the spirit of friendly relations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and France, do not serve to strengthening mutual trust between the parties to the conflict and misrepresent the historical reality, the Azerbaijani MP said. Im sure that the authorities will understand the voiced opinions.

While using this opportunity, I would like to appeal to the MPs, film industry workers, figures of art and culture and representatives of the Azerbaijani media to express their protest in similar cases, the Azerbaijani MP said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Saturday said they have arrested three conmen who duped people, especially elderly persons or women, of their cash, jewellery and other valuables after entering their homes, either impersonating as police officers or their well-wishers.

The alleged conmen would convince the victims that being their well-wishers they had come to alert them about raids at their house by different law enforcement agencies and help them shift the unaccounted money, jewellery, and costly valuables to a safer place from their houses, to avoid getting them seized by the raiding teams. They used to collect information about the names of the members of the family they planned to target from their neighbours, said senior police officers associated with the operation to arrest the suspects.

In less than two months, the gang targeted more than two dozen families across the city and made away with cash, jewellery and valuables worth several lakhs of rupees. The gangs kingpin, Lakhvinder Singh,25, has been previously involved in 17 similar fraud, robbery, burglary and other crimes, 16 of which were reported in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh and another in west Delhis Naraina, said deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur.

While Lakhvinder operated on a white Apache motorcycle, which is commonly used by Delhi Police personnel, his two arrested accomplices  Sonu Kumar,38, and Sunny,38  used to give him security cover in a Fortuner SUV or other cars. The Fortuner, a Honda Civic and Ertiga cars were seized along with the motorcycle, a fake police ID card, and stolen jewellery and R30,000 in cash were seized from them, DCP Thakur said.

DCP Thakur said that the on May 27, Lakhvinder duped a 70-year-old woman of cash and jewellery worth R5 lakh by entering her Chhattarpur Enclave home impersonating as a police officer and friend of her son. Lakhvinder entered the house calling out the name of the womans son and daughter-in-law who had stepped out some minutes ago. He tricked the elderly woman into believing that a police team was coming to raid the house. He convinced her to put all the cash and jewellery in a bag and then fled with it, said Thakur.

Police had then registered a case. The DCP said that multiple investigating teams were formed to trace the suspects. The teams scanned CCTV footage and established the routes the suspects frequently used.

We found that the suspects used to park the motorcycle in the parking lot of Arjan Garh metro station after committing the crime. They further travelled toward Gurugram in the cars. We also installed a tracker device in the parked bike to trace its movements in case the suspects managed to slip, said a police officer, associated with the probe.

On Friday, Lakhvinder was caught when he came to the parking lot to get the bike for another crime. His interrogation led police to his two aides who were staying in a luxury hotel in Gurugram, the officer said.
Argentina extended a deadline for bondholders to accept a debt restructuring proposal for a fifth time as creditors blamed the government for walking away from talks.

Bondholders now have until 5 pm New York time on July 24 to accept Argentinas debt proposal, according to a government statement. It said officials plan to use the extension to keep talking with investors.

Successive deadline delays since the nations May 22 default hold little significance to the talks themselves, as investors have said they wouldnt immediately take legal action while negotiations are under way. Yet after talks hit a roadblock this week, the creditors said theyre mulling all available rights and remedies available to them.

Argentinas Ad Hoc and Exchange Bondholder groups said in a joint statement Friday after the extension was announced that theyre united in disappointment about the decision to terminate dialogue with creditors at a critical juncture. The groups said the two sides had been close to agreement before talks stalled.

Argentina has created obstacles to a negotiated outcome and has attempted to provoke division -- ending what had been a productive negotiation process, they said in the statement. Argentinas decision two days ago to walk away from the negotiating table is even more unfortunate given how close we are to a resolution.

Argentina and its creditors submitted revised debt proposals earlier in the week that significantly narrowed the gap between the two sides. But the government said on Wednesday that the negotiating process had shown divergences between the main bondholder groups that couldnt be reconciled, and that its exploring all options to restore economic stability.

The Ad Hoc group, which includes BlackRock Inc. and Ashmore Group Plc, said Wednesday that its latest proposal would have provided Argentina with ample fiscal room to handle economic challenges, including $38 billion of cash flow relief over nine years.

The government and its creditors werent able to come to terms over the final value of the restructured bonds, and failed to agree on how accrued interest would be paid to investors, as well as how to structure a value recovery instrument, or sweetener, according to creditors with direct knowledge of the talks. An Economy Ministry official declined to comment.

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Russian Air Force Scrambles Fighters to Intercept US B-52H Bombers Over Sea of Okhotsk

Sputnik News

07:12 GMT 19.06.2020(updated 07:45 GMT 19.06.2020)

The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces previously stated that the Defence Ministry had registered intensified military activity by the US and its NATO allies near the Russian border.

The Russian Air Force has scrambled fighters to intercept US B-52N bombers over the Sea of Okhotsk, the Russian National Defence Management Centre said in a statement on Friday. The centre added that the US jets had not violated Russia's borders.

"The US Air Force aircraft were continuously escorted by Russian control means at a significant distance from the Russian state border", the Management Centre said in a press release.

The centre added that Su-30, Su-35, and MiG-31 were deployed to intercept the US warplanes.

Over the past week and a half, the US has twice scrambled fighters to escort Russia's Tu-95MS strategic fighters in the same area, in the vicinity of the Russian-US border.

Earlier this week, the Russian military spotted US B-52H bombers and surveillance planes over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea and scrambled fighter jets to escort them.

A Sputnik

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Fresh chargesheets against Tahir Hussain, who instigated killing of IB staffer

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: The Delhi Police has filed two more chargesheets against former AAP councillor, Tahir Hussain in connection with the northeast Delhi riots.

The two chargesheets were filed in connection with two separate incidents of violence. The first related to arson and rioting at a parking lot in Chand Bagh, while the second related to arson and robbery at godown in Karawal Nagar. Along with his Hussain, his brother, Shah Alam and 10 others have been charged.

Earlier the police had said that Hussain instigated the mob into killing IB staffer, Ankit Sharma as he was trying to pacify the mobs of both sides.

Tahir Hussain instigated mob based on religious sentiments, urged rioters to kill IB staffer Sharma

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

It may be recalled that during the riots, Sharma had gone missing on February 25. His body was recovered from a drain in the Chand Bagh the next day.

The chargesheet described the killing as cold-blooded. It said that there were 51 injuries on Sharma's body and he was brutally killed. Hussain had gathered a mob based on religious sentiments and had also provided to logistic support to the rioters, whom he knew before-hand.

Citing witnesses, the chargesheet said that Hussain led the mob at Chand Bagh. The witnesses also told the police Hussain was very much present at his house, from where the mob was pelting stones. Hussain also provoked the mob based on religious sentiments and he was urging the mob against the Hindus/Kafirs to kill them, the chargesheet also said.

Sharma, on the other hand, was trying to pacify both sides. However, a mob of 25 equipped with rods, knives and stones attacked him.

He was attacked after being instigated by Hussain. Sharma was dragged to the Chand Bagh areas and was beaten to death. The mob also inflicted injuries with knives, thus causing his death in a brutal fashion, the chargesheet further said.

The chargesheet also said that Hussain had said a month before the riots that something big would happen.

Be prepared for something big when Donald Trump visits India, suspended AAP councillor, Tahir Hussain had said at a January meeting, a good one month before the northeast Delhi riots.

The chargesheet against Hussain says that on January 8, a month before the riots, the suspended councillor had met with former JNU student, Umar Khalid at Shaheen Bagh, where the anti citizenship law protests were being held.

Delhi riots: Police files two chargesheets, names suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain

Hussain also met with Khalid Saifi of the United Against Hate at Shaheen Bagh and said that be prepared for something big or riots at the time of Trump's visit to India. During hiss questioning, Hussain said that Saifi had given him money for the preparations. This was given from the account of the companies that he owned and an amount of Rs 1.10 crore was transferred to fake companies in the second week of January.

The amount was later received by him in cash, following a chain of transactions, after which the preparations began, the chargesheet, while citing Hussain's questioning and call records also stated.

Hussain is then alleged to have distributed cash among the protestors and he further told his supporters to prepare for the big action. It was during this time that Hussain got wind of the pro-citizenship law protests. He went to the Khajuri Khas police station and got his licensed pistol released. He is alleged to have said that this he did to teach them a lesson.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 16:50:29|Editor: huaxia

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SHARANA, Afghanistan, June 20 (Xinhua) -- At total of 17 insurgents were killed and 12 others wounded as a clash erupted in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on Friday, a statement of Interior Ministry said Saturday.

The clash erupted late on Friday night after tens of Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints in Sar Rawza area and police retaliated forcing the militants to flee after leaving 17 bodies behind and 12 others injured, the statement said.

An amount of arms and ammunition as well as 22 motorcycles were seized from the insurgents during the hour-long clash, said the statement.

The statement also confirmed the death of one police and injury of two others, following the overnight fighting.

Taliban militants have not commented. Enditem
Confused over Canada-U.S. border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Perhaps you're wondering why you see U.S. licence plates in a local parking lot when the Canada-U.S. land border is closed to tourists.

Or you're stumped why your neighbour was able to fly to New York last week, but you can't make the five-minute drive across the Windsor-Detroit border to visit family.

Here's what you need to know about current Canada-U.S. border restrictions and how they may impact you.

Canada-U.S. land border rules

To help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, Canada and the U.S. agreed to close their shared land border to non-essential traffic starting on March 21. The agreement is reviewed every 30 days. So far, the border closure has been extended four times.

The current end date is July 21, and that date could be extended once again, particularly if the number of COVID-19 cases in some U.S. states continues to spike.

"I honestly don't think the border will open until the end of the year," said U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders. "Especially when you hear about more [COVID-19] cases in Arizona and Texas and all these southern states."

The Canada-U.S. land border remains open to people making trips for essential reasons, such as for work or school.

On June 9, the Canadian government loosened its border restrictions to allow American visitors with immediate family in Canada to enter the country. Note that a boyfriend or girlfriend doesn't qualify as family and a common-law partner only qualifies if that person has lived with their significant other for at least a year.

Visiting family members must stay in Canada for at least 15 days and self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Submitted by Ian Geddes

The land border closure continues to frustrate many cross-border couples who can't meet Canada's requirements for reuniting with family.

Last year, Ian Geddes of Blaine, Wash., married Birgit Heinbach of Surrey, B.C. Until Heinbach gets her U.S. immigrant visa, the two are separated by the border.

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Geddes said he can't get enough time off work right now to complete a 14-day quarantine in Canada  before he can hang out with his wife and her son.

"It's just a really tough situation," said Geddes, who wishes the Canadian government would waive the self-quarantine requirement for immediate family.

"You should be allowed to cross into a country and see your wife," he said. "Give us some kind of a concession."

Canada's 14-day quarantine requirement applies to all international travellers entering Canada  including Canadians. The federal government has given no indication when the rule will be lifted.

You can fly to the U.S.

Some Canadians may be surprised to learn they can still fly to the U.S. during the pandemic, even though the same rule doesn't apply on the other side of the border.

With the exception of immediate family, Canada currently restricts all foreigners  including Americans  from visiting the country for non-essential travel via any mode of transportation.

The U.S., however, only prohibits visitors from entering its country if they've been in Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, the U.K. or 26 European countries in the Schengen Area 14 days prior.

Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Because of the bilateral agreement to close the Canada-U.S. land border, the only way Canadians can currently travel to the U.S. is by air. Saunders said dozens of his Canadian clients have flown to the U.S. with no complications during the land border closure.

"There's a back door wide open," said Saunders, whose office sits close to the Canadian border in Blaine, Wash. "They can just go in through the airport, and so that's what people are doing in droves."

Canadian air passengers also likely won't have to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in the U.S. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that international travellers do so, but it's not a requirement unless specified by a particular region or state.

WATCH | What adjusted border rules mean for families eager to reunite:

Heinbach plans to fly to the U.S. in August to visit Geddes in Blaine. It's a frustrating solution for the couple because, even though they live in different countries, their homes are only eight kilometres apart  typically a 10-minute drive, depending on border traffic.

But now Heinbach must fly from Vancouver to Seattle to visit Geddes in Blaine  a journey of more than three hours by plane and car.

"It just doesn't make sense," said Geddes.

U.S. licence plates in Canada

Some Banff, Alta., residents have complained that they've recently spotted American tourists and U.S. licence plates in the resort town.

"Two days ago, I saw four people get out of a car, out of a Texas vehicle," Banff resident Nina Stewart told CBC News on June 12. "They were laughing and joking about how easy it was to get into Banff."

Canada allows Americans to drive through the country to Alaska for essential reasons, such as for work or returning to their home. However, they're not to make unnecessary stops along the way.

RCMP said officers fined seven Americans this week who were supposed to be driving straight to Alaska, but instead were caught taking in the sights at Banff National Park. The fines, issued under the Alberta Health Act, were for $1,200 each.

"As much as you'd want to stop and see the sights ... that's just inappropriate," said Fraser Logan, spokesperson for the RCMP in Alberta.
New Delhi: Russia has invited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to attend a grand military parade in Moscow on June 24 marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the second World War, diplomatic sources said. The Union Minister will, however, skip meeting top Chinese leaders during his visit to Moscow, sources said.

It is learnt that notwithstanding the escalating tension between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, the defence minister's office is positively considering the invitation due to India's decades-old military ties with Russia.

Rajnath was scheduled to leave on June 22 but will now be leaving a day earlier tha anticipated.

Reports said India is sending a tri-services contingent to participate in the military parade at Red Square in Moscow. The Indian parade will be led by a colonel rank officer.

The 75-member Indian team will participate in the parade alongside armed forces personnel from at least 11 countries including China.
HBO's "Watchmen" brought the 1921 massacre of Black residents by a white mob in Tulsa, Okla., to wider prominence. (Mark Hill/HBO)

HBO's "Watchmen" begins with a wide-eyed Black boy in a silent movie theater. "There will be no mob justice today  trust in the law," he says, in full agreement with the words onscreen. What follows is a rude awakening for both the boy and the viewers watching him: a meticulous, minutes-long depiction of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, in which mobs of white people brutally murdered hundreds of Black residents in broad daylight. The thriving district of Greenwood, then referred to as Black Wall Street, was decimated in the span of two days.

When the pilot aired in October, this sequence  filmed in Georgia two years ago on May 31 and June 1, the same dates when the violence took place in 1921  brought the oft-erased event into wider consciousness. Since then, the Peabody Award-winning series' focus on race, policing and vigilantism in America has retained its acute relevance, particularly amid the protests against police brutality that have followed the death of George Floyd. In honor of Juneteenth, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States, HBO has made all nine episodes available to stream for free through Sunday on HBO.com and Free On Demand.

Now, as Donald Trump prepares to hold his first presidential campaign rally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tulsa on Saturday, "Watchmen" executive producer and pilot episode director Nicole Kassell tells The Times that the timing of the event made her "nauseous." (The rally was initially set to take place on Juneteenth proper, but was moved to Saturday after public outcry.)

Kassell spoke about staging the tragedy with emotion and accuracy and grappling with the reenactment's newfound resonance  including the decision by Oklahomas Education Department to add the massacre to its curriculum for the first time.

You filmed the "Watchmen" pilot two years ago. What continues to haunt you about this depiction?

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I rewatched the sequence just last week, and I think in light of everything going on and having had some distance from actually directing it, it reduced me to tears. Just imagining you're living in a country that's at peace, and your very own neighbors and often employers attack you for no reason. People murdered and homes burned and robbed.

And then was systematically also erased  it's like a crime upon a crime. It's just so truly incomprehensible from my point of view, and that it is not shocking or incomprehensible to [the] entire [Black] community is what you know is really coming to light right now and is so disturbing.

How did you feel when you heard that Trump's rally will take place in Tulsa?

Honestly, I felt nauseous. I just really wanted to vomit. That quote from Kamala Harris articulated it best for me: "This isn't just a wink to white supremacists  he's throwing them a welcome home party."

The level of insult  I keep hoping he's reached the nadir of his evilness, but he hasn't. It's just cruel. To know it's so calculated and deliberate, that's what's very disturbing and scary. I don't want him getting credit for changing the date [from Juneteenth] by one day. You want to do the right thing, you want to show respect? You don't hold a rally in that location.

Had you heard about this event before reading the script?

No. Neither had my assistant and I'd say 90% of people who read the script. So many of us were learning about it through the script. We went to the real Greenwood District for research, and it was chilling to go to the blocks where the original stores were that had been burned down.

There were very clear efforts in place to remember and immortalize  little placards in the cement on the sidewalk, a mural  but the most stark thing to see was the plaque for the Dreamland movie theater was right next to an overpass. They did rebuild and become successful again, but it's like this effort to destroy it never stopped. They literally built a highway through the neighborhood afterward, and that sealed its fate.

The massacre is seen through the eyes of one family. How important was that to get right?

This sequence sets up the whole journey of the show, which is entirely about that little boy's journey and many generations forward, and how trauma potentially gets passed down from generation to generation.

People say [the depiction] is so surreal or harrowing, and the reason it feels that way is because you're put so firmly in this innocent point of view. You're seeing these events through this little boy's eyes, and it's that feeling of knowing he can't unsee these traumatic images. Through him, we are seeing these things that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Director Nicole Kassell and the "Watchmen" cast and crew went to painstaking lengths to depict the Tulsa race massacre accurately. (Mark Hill/HBO)

The sequence also has very little dialogue.

Yes. After one take, I realized the range of emotions I needed from the man and the woman was between fear versus determination and strength to complete this journey. Because while they're terrified and it is a horrific event, there was the Red Summer in 1919 , and all these other places where these massacres had happened. So it may have been their first experience of this, but they had heard of this happening elsewhere, which is even more tragic.

Why was it important for you to have the set blessed by a priest?

Full transparency: I'd heard that Ava DuVernay did that when filming the bridge sequence in "Selma." I did not want to take this responsibility lightly in any way, and it felt like a way to show the utmost respect to both the victims and everyone in the cast and crew who [were] about to go through this reenactment. There was one person in the crew who had an ancestor who had survived the massacre, and that was just chilling.

This was also the first thing we shot of the pilot. I had Damon [Lindelof, the showrunner] write a letter to the cast and crew to give our thanks for what we're going to do. Just transmitting gratitude and appreciation for everybody the whole way through.

This scene involves 200 actors performing some seriously traumatic stuff.

The degree to which every background actor committed to their performances, and the depth of chaos and horror in each frame, was unbelievable. One of the unusual things we got to do in pre-production is we brought in 50 background actors and stunt actors to rehearse. You almost never get to do that. We taped out the street on a long stretch of Metro Studios outside Atlanta, and they roughed in what the different groups and events and little stories would be.

Those 50 people then became like team leaders for their units of background groups, and they'd work with their department heads. So we had this pyramid structure to make sure everyone was OK throughout the entire process. There were lots of different points of check-in, and nobody was ever alone.

I recently found some photographs of background actors resting between takes, and they're laughing and smiling. And when we wrapped on the second day, it was the longest goodbye of my life, in a good way, shaking so many hands of so many people. Often, people are just rushing to get home, but everybody took their time to say a real, personal goodbye.

With so many components, how did you capture everything in a tight two-day shoot?

I didn't want to ask these actors to do these takes too many times. So when we started hard prep in mid-March, we storyboarded the whole thing to figure out just the amount of horror you needed to land the impact and so that it would resonate throughout the whole season, but also making sure never to stay in it longer than needed, otherwise it would tip into gratuitous. It was essential that this never be indulgent or heroic, we just needed to get into the brutal and ugly and get out.

On the day, we ran it almost like a play, and put cameras where we could get the most coverage. Then we did playback and I'd give notes for the next take. We were very prepared, but one improvised decision we made on the spot was having the husband hand the rifle to the wife, and for her to be tempted to use it. He stops her, but I wanted to, just in that body language, tell the story that women were taught how to shoot. She wasn't afraid of the gun. She's as much the protector in that situation as he is.

Nicole Kassell on the set of "Watchmen." (Mark Hill/HBO)

What was the technically trickiest component to capture?

The airplane itself is CGI, and without a drone, figuring out how to indicate to 100 people where to look at the same moment is a little tricky. We honestly just winged it. [First assistant director Keri] Bruno had a loudspeaker and verbally simulated the airplane, and we just had to kind of pray that it'd work. I think there was so much chaos in the sequence that it ultimately was OK if some people are looking at one way and others other ways.

Oklahoma is now adding this massacre to its curriculum for the first time. Did you ever anticipate that this depiction would help influence that?

I definitely didn't think that far ahead. It's tremendous to hear that. The ripple effect has been so profound  after the pilot aired, there was something like 500,000 searches for it. At that moment, I felt like whatever came up for the series as a whole, if that's the only thing we achieve, then it's been worth every minute. I'm thrilled that so much more has come of it.

For me, it's important to tell stories that leave people thinking, and hopefully changing. I did have the privilege of shouldering the burden of putting that scene on screen, and while I feel very proud of what we did, there's that full awareness also that it's not my story to tell. It's my story to tell as best I can or to do justice to. So many people have been wanting to tell this story for so long, and I'm grateful that we got to do it as well as we did.

But Greenwood is just one of many, many, many towns that had massacres. There's so much we need to learn about and commemorate and make reparations for.
A number of new Indian titles to look forward to this week. We have Sushmita Sen returning to acting after a decade and making her digital debut with Aarya, Jitendra Kumar playing a lovestruck paan-seller in Chaman Bahaar, and Jimmy Shergill playing a not-so-honourable judge in Your Honor.

In the Tamil film Penguin, National Award winning actress Keerthy Suresh stars in a new spine-chilling adventure, as a pregnant woman looking to unravel the mystery of her first child's disappearance. Cop drama Lalbazaar focuses on a series of murders and Kolkata polices attempts to find the criminals.

Read on for more details on these titles.

Chaman Bahaar (Netflix)

The film about an ambitious pan-seller, Billu (Jitendra Kumar) who finds out that the paan shop he started with very high expectations now falls in a redundant area of town. A wealthy family moves in the house opposite his shop, and the daughter, Rinku catches his eye, as well as that of all the young men in the town. These men now begin getting their nicotine fix from Billu, and his business booms. Director Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann has also written the screenplay of the film.

Aarya (Disney+Hotstar)

Aarya starts with a loving wife & doting mother (Sushmita Sen), reluctant to be involved in the illegal narcotics family business. Her life is suddenly turned upside down, her family is threatened and, in the quest to protect them, she is forced to become the very person she always avoided. She realizes that to protect her family from criminals, she herself needs to become one. Chandrachur Singh also returns to the screen in this thriller. The show also features actors Namit Das, Sikandar Kher, Jayant Kripalani, Sohaila Kapoor, Sugandha Garg, Maya Sareen, Vishwajeet Pradhan and Manish Chaudhary in pivotal roles.

Penguin (Amazon Prime Video)

Rhythm, leading a happy life and about to have her second child, is traumatized by the nightmares in which she sees an umbrella man harming her lost son. She sets off on a dangerous journey, along with her trained dog, to unravel the secrets behind the nightmares and to protect her loved ones. Directed by debutant Eashvar Karthic, the film stars Keerthy Suresh in the lead role of the pregnant mother looking for answers to the mysterious disappearance of her firstborn.

Your Honor (SonyLIV)

Your Honor is a 12-episode SonyLIV original, adapted from an Israeli series. Writer Ishan Trivedi and director E. Niwas have transported the story to Ludhiana. The protagonist is a respected judge (Jimmy Sheirgill) who wades into a quagmire in an attempt to save his only son from the law - and the underworld - after a hit-and-run case sends a dreaded criminal to hospital with life-threatening head wounds. The incident sparks fears of a gang war and puts the city cops on high alert.

Lalbazaar (ZEE5)

Lalbazaar, a series set in the dark underbelly of Kolkata. He has lent his voice to the trailer, that shows us glimpses of the policemen in Kolkata fighting against the criminal forces. The trailer shows cops in Lalbazaar, Kolkata police's headquarters, dealing with a case of murders in the red light area. The crime drama will not only focus on the gruesome crimes but also explore the human side of the lives of the police squad. The series stars veteran actor Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Kaushik Sen, and Sauraseni Maitra in lead roles.

Follow @News18Movies for more
Brazil has become the second country in the world to hit one million coronavirus cases after infections soared by 54,000 in one day.

The South American country recorded more than 1,200 deaths for the fourth consecutive day bringing the total to nearly 49,000 yesterday.

It comes two months after the US reached the one million mark and just days after the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne said Brazil was a major concern.

A lack of testing in the country with a population of 209 million has led experts to suggest the real figure could be much higher.

Hours before the latest figures were revealed the World Health Organisation's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned the coronavirus pandemic was entering a 'new and dangerous' stage.

Brazil has recorded more than 1,200 deaths for the fourth consecutive day. Pictured, gravediggers wearing protective suits bury the coffin of a man who died from the coronavirus disease in Sao Paulo yesterday

Hundreds of new graves were dug in the Vila Formosa cemetery, in Sao Paulo. The cemetery is the largest in Latin America and has been doing about 70 burials a day, due to the coronavirus pandemic

A skull is pictured during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, at Sao Francisco Xavier cemetery in Rio de Janeiro. This photograph was taken on April 11

He said cases were rising at the same time as people are growing weary of lockdowns and governments are seeking to restart their economies.

Walter Braga Netto, the head of the office of the Brazilian president's chief of staff, known as Casa Civil, and one of the top officials handling the crisis, has previously said it was under control in the country.

'There is a crisis, we sympathize with bereaved families, but it is managed,' said Braga Netto, who spoke during a webinar held by the Commercial Association of Rio de Janeiro.

A man reacts as the coffin of his father, who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is prepared to be buried at Vila Formosa cemetery, Brazil's biggest cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday

The man broke down as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Infections have soared in Brazil by more than 54,000 in a 24-hour period

The grieving man knelt down at the end of the coffin during the emotional burial in the largest cemetery in the country

Burials at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo. A lack of testing in the country with a population of 209 million has led experts to suggest the real number of cases could be much higher than official data

Hours before the latest figures were revealed the World Health Organisation's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned the coronavirus pandemic was entering a 'new and dangerous' stage. Pictured, burials at the Villa Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo

A daughter hugs his mother at Geriatric Clinic on June 16, 2020 in Gravatai, Brazil. The clinic created the Tunel do Abraco (hug tunnel) for elderly residents to be able to hug relatives after more than 70 days apart due to the coronavirus pandemic

A nurse cleans the hug tunnel, which has holes and plastic sleeves to all people to hug relatives while being protected from the coronavirus behind the plastic screen

Braga Netto said Brazil's deaths-per-million-people figure was better than that of Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and France. As such, the Army general said he 'was trying to convey a message of optimism in the management of the crisis.'

Latin America's largest country accounts for about a quarter of the roughly four million coronavirus cases in the Americas and nearly 25 per cent of the deaths, she said.

'We are not seeing transmission slowing down' in Brazil, Etienne said.

PAHO recommends that Brazil and other regional countries strengthen social distancing and urged that reopening of the economy be done slowly and carefully.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has long opposed social distancing measures, and many of the country's states are re-opening for business even though the outbreak remains severe.

Pictured: Gravediggers of the Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest in Latin America, exhume old graves to open new spaces for those deceased by COVID-19, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 15 June 2020

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (centre) leaves the Palacio do Alvorada, in Brasilia, Brazil, 16 June 2020. Bolsonaro has long opposed social distancing measures in the country

Some villagers in the eastern Amazon are spurning Brazilian government advice to take the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to keep the novel coronavirus at bay and are drinking tea of jambu, also known as the toothache plant.

Maria de Nazare Sajes, 65, tested positive for the coronavirus and believes she fought off the symptoms by drinking the infusion of bitter leaves.

'I made jambu tea and felt healthy again. People said: "Look at Maria, how she has recovered, she no fever or pains",' Maria said while she was boiling water on a gas stove in her wooden house.

Her village on the banks of a tributary of the Amazon was visited by public health workers to test inhabitants for the virus that is ravaging Brazil in the world's second worst outbreak after the United States.

US regulators withdrew approval this week for the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

It is still being prescribed in Brazil as scientists around the world are working to develop a vaccine and effective treatments.

Pictured: Maria de Nazare prepares a tea using a leaf from the Jambu, a typical herb from northern Brazil, in her home near of Portel, southwest of Marajo island in Para state, Brazil, June 13, 2020

Maria de Nazare Sajes, 65, tested positive for the coronavirus and believes she fought off the symptoms by drinking the infusion of bitter leaves

Jambu leaves (pictured) are used in local dishes, but said to work as an anesthetic that helps relieve pain, besides other properties fighting viruses and use as a laxative or aphrodisiac

In remote corners of the Amazon rainforest, where access to intensive care wards can require long boat rides to the nearest cities, prevention is paramount, and people place their faith in traditional herbal medicines.

Nurse Marilia Costa says there is resistance to taking hydroxychloroquine.

'We are seeing that most inhabitants here are taking home-made remedies that they believe have great curing qualities,' she said. 'They accept pills for fever, but they take it with their own local medicine.'

Jambu leaves are used in local dishes, but said to work as an anesthetic that helps relieve pain, besides other properties fighting viruses and use as a laxative or aphrodisiac.

'I'm afraid to go to hospital because there would be no natural medicine that we find here,' said a young woman called Maria Claudia. 'They wouldn't allow me to have jambu tea there.'

People take part in a protest against the death of teenager Guilherme Silva Guedes, 15 - on June 16, 2020 - who disappeared in Vila Clara, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday

Pictured: Guilherme's cousin Christofer Henrique Quadros, 17, leads chants as residents take part in a protest against the death of teenager Guilherme Silva Guedes, 15, who disappeared in Vila Clara, in Sao Paulo, Brazil - pictured June 16, 2020

Guilherme's grandmother Antonina arcanjo da Silva participates in a minute of silence during a protest against the death of her grandson

It comes after protests against police brutality broke out after the body of a 15-year-old boy was found.

Guilherme Silva Guedes went missing on June 14, and Residents of Sao Paulo took to the streets on Tuesday after his body was later found with two gunshots to the head and signs of aggression on his body.

His grandmother was among those marching.

'They took my grandson,' she said. 'I just went to see my grandson at the cemetery, with two gunshots to the head, a gunshot in the hand. He was injured, they hit my grandson a lot. He didn't deserve what they did. He was a very good person.'

People protest for the second consecutive day after police reportedly shot and killed a 15-year-old boy, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. Pictured 16 June 2020

People have taken to the streets and were seeing throwing rocks and other projectiles at police, who are believed to have killed 15-year-old Guilherme Silva Guedes on Sunday

According to Human Rights Watch, police killings are commonplace in Brazil and three-quarters of the nearly 9,000 people killed by Rio police in the past decade were black men. Pictured: A man fires a firework down the street in the protests

On Tuesday, Sao Paulo's Civil Police confirmed two officers from the military police have been named as suspects.

Tuesday's protests were peaceful after protesters burned buses on Monday.

According to Human Rights Watch, police killings are commonplace in Brazil and three-quarters of the nearly 9,000 people killed by Rio police in the past decade were black men.
RTHK: US judge refuses to block release of Bolton's book

A US judge on Saturday denied a request by the Trump administration for an injunction to block publication of a book by President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton that alleges the president sought China's help to win re-election.

"While Bolton's unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy," US District Judge Royce Lamberth said in his ruling.

The administration had sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the publication of "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir," saying it contained classified information and threatened national security.

The book, scheduled to hit store shelves on Tuesday, is already in the hands of media organisations.

"Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability," the judge wrote.

But he said an injunction would be too late to stem the harm. "With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe - many in newsrooms

- the damage is done," Lamberth said.

In a tweet shortly after the decision was released, Trump charged again that Bolton was releasing classified information. "He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him," Trump said. "This should never happen again!!!"

Bolton's book has drawn wide attention for its withering portrayal of Trump and how politics drove the president's foreign policy. Bolton describes Trump as imploring Chinese President Xi Jinping for help in winning his 2020 re-election bid, and he detailed alleged improprieties not addressed in Trump's impeachment trial.

Trump ousted Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, last September after 17 months as national security adviser. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Instrument Calibration Services Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period. The factors driving the market growth are rising protective maintenance and quality awareness. However, high competition among competitors is restraining the market.



Instrument calibration is a process used to maintain the accuracy of an instrument. The services through which one can minimize or eliminate the factors that cause inaccurate capacity are known as instrument calibration services.



By Service, electrical calibration service refers to the process of verifying the presentation of or adjusting, any tool that measures or tests electrical parameters. This regulation is usually referred to as DC and low frequency electrical metrology. Based on the geography, Europe is significantly growing owing to the rising use of instrument calibration services in the electronics manufacturing sector in this region.

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Some of the key players in the Instrument Calibration Services market are ABB Group, Consumers Energy, Endress+Hauser, ESSCO Calibration Laboratory, GE Kaye, General Electric, Keysight Technologies, Inc, Lockheed Martin, Micro Precision Calibration, Optical Test and Calibration Ltd, Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG, Siemens AG, Technical Maintenance Inc, Tektronix, Tradinco Instruments, Transcat, Inc and Trescal, Inc.



Services Covered:

 Electrical Calibration Services

 Mass Standards Calibration Services

 Temperature Calibration Services



End Users Covered:

 Pharmaceutical/Biomedical

 Industrial & automotive

 Electronics

 Communication

 Aerospace & Defense

 Other End users



Regions Covered:

 North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

 Europe

o Germany

o UK

o Italy

o France

o Spain

o Rest of Europe

 Asia Pacific

o Japan

o China

o India

o Australia

o New Zealand

o South Korea

o Rest of Asia Pacific

 South America

o Argentina

o Brazil

o Chile

o Rest of South America

 Middle East & Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE

o Qatar

o South Africa

o Rest of Middle East & Africa



What our report offers:

- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments

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FILE PHOTO: People hold signs calling for China to release Canadian detainees Spavor and Kovrig during an extradition hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver

By Cate Cadell and Tony Munroe

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese prosecutors said on Friday they have charged two detained Canadians for suspected espionage, indictments that could result in life imprisonment, in a case that has driven a diplomatic wedge between Ottawa and Beijing.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "very disappointed" and would keep pressing China to release the duo.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were arrested in late 2018 on state security charges, soon after Canadian police detained Huawei Technologies Co's [HWT.UL] chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on a U.S. warrant.

While China maintains the detentions are not linked to Meng, former diplomats and experts have said they are being used to pressure Canada.

China has repeatedly called for Meng's release, and has warned Canada it could face consequences for aiding the United States in her case.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular briefing on Friday that the indictments were "of particularly serious circumstances which violated Article 111 of the Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China," which pertains to espionage and state secrets.

Under that article, a conviction can carry a sentence of from 10 years to life imprisonment.

"The facts are clear and the evidence is solid and sufficient. He should be held accountable for criminal responsibility under the above mentioned charge," Zhao said of Kovrig, before making the same statement about Spavor.

The charges mean a formal trial can begin.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters in the Quebec town of Chelsea, said it was "a real shame" China did not appear to understand that governments in Canada could not interfere in the justice system.

"We will continue ... to put pressure on the Chinese government to cease the arbitrary detention of these two Canadian citizens who are being held for no other reason than the Chinese government is disappointed with the independent proceedings of the Canadian judiciary," he said.

Story continues

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday that consular visits to detainees had been suspended due to the coronavirus.

The Canadian foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" that the two Canadians hadn't been granted access to consular visits since mid-January and called for their immediate release.

The ruling Communist Party's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission said last year that Kovrig is accused of "stealing and spying on sensitive Chinese information and intelligence." It said Spavor provided Kovrig with intelligence.

Kovrig works for the International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organization that focuses on conflict resolution.

ICG CEO Rob Malley said in a statement that Kovrig was not endangering national security and that "he has become an unfortunate pawn in a larger struggle among the United States, Canada and China."

Spavor, 44, is a businessman with deep ties to North Korea.

Last month, Huawei's Meng lost a legal bid to avoid extradition to the United States to face bank fraud charges.

(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill and Jonathan Oatis)
There have been another 13 deaths associated with coronavirus in Connecticut, according to data released by the state on Saturday.

Those 13 additional deaths push the statewide total number of virus-linked deaths to 4,251 since the pandemic started in March.

But 22 more Connecticut residents have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus. That leaves 150 virus patients currently hospitalized in the state as of Saturday.

There have been 158 more confirmed cases of the virus out of 11,772 tests performed, the data showed.

Those increases mean 45,715 cases have been reported in the state, and there have been 389,703 tests performed.

Saturdays numbers continue a trend that the state has seen for weeks, with hospitalizations on the decline and percentage of tests performed coming back positive shrinking.

Despite this positive trend in numbers, there are still guidelines in place as the state reopens.

As Connecticut continues to see warm temperatures, residents are urged to not break social-distancing rules at places like state park beaches. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said, beyond reductions in parking capacity, it will also close beaches for the day  or longer, if needed  if visitors cant follow guidelines.

Phase 2 of Connecticuts reopening came on Wednesday, with the return of indoor dining, gyms and fitness centers, personal services such as nail salons and tattoo shops, formal events, outdoor amusement parks, libraries, pools and social clubs, hotels and motels, movie theaters, museums and aquariums.

On the eve of Wednesdays reopening, Gov. Ned Lamont expanded the size of gatherings allowed indoors and outdoors  from 10 indoors to 25, and from 25 outdoors to 100. By mid-July, the governor said, outdoor gatherings could expand to as many as 250 people.

Businesses and activities continue to have strict guidelines in terms of social distancing and mask-wearing.

This Monday, some summer camps in Connecticut will have opening day. Lamont has outlined a plan that limits group sizes and adds health procedure requirements. Resident camp operations, like sleep-away camps, have not been permitted to open this summer.

The state is still a few weeks away from the start of summer school classes, which have been scheduled to begin July 6.
Fresh threats from the North towards the South bereft of even elementary morality " and "a slap" against the Seoul authorities. The Unification Ministry asked for the "immediate" withdrawal of the project.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Koreans are "angry and are printing "large-scale" anti-Seoul leaflets to launch them on the heads of "those in South Korea who are bereft of even elementary morality, reports North Koreas official KCNA news agency.

The agency announced the leaflet invasion plan this morning, to respond with a similar measure to those - especially refugees from the North - who from Seoul drop leaflets against Pyongyang from balloons.

In particular, the leaflets of the North have the task of ""indiscriminately slapped on the south Korean authorities who have played on the hope and expectations of all the compatriots placed on the inter-Korean agreement with wicked puns over the past two years."

The Unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, has asked for the "immediate" withdrawal of the project, expressing its displeasure at Pyongyangs decision.

In a further expression of this anger KCNA published photos of North Korean workers intent on printing piles of flyers and some photos of President Moon Jae-in thrown into a plastic bag along with cigarette butts.

The threatened rain of leaflets is the latest move by the North against the campaign of leaflets launched from the territory of the South. These flyers have provoked the North to end all relations and dialogue with the South and on June 16 last it even bombed the office for inter-Korean relations in Kaesong, also threatening a military invasion.

In reality, Pyongyang is pressing on the South to express its dissatisfaction with the United States. In 2018 and 2019, Northern leader Kim Jong-un met with US President Donald Trump, but he failed to obtain the hoped for benefits, especially the lifting or suspension of international sanctions for the regimes nuclear and missile programs. As a precondition for this, Washington demands North Korean disarmament.

Pyongyang's threats weaken Moon Jae-in's position. He has aimed aims to establish "irreversible peace" on the Korean peninsula, a re-edition of the Sunshine Policy inaugurated 20 years ago by his liberal predecessors.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- To honor Juneteenth, law firm Barclay Damon will light up the B, L and M on its Syracuse building this weekend.

The firm also closed its 12 offices at 3 p.m. on Friday to give an employees opportunity to take action that supports the Black community, it said.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It marks the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, and formally ended slavery in Texas. .
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Wednesday, June 17

11:01 p.m.  Deputies responded to a car-deer accident on a Warren Township roadway.

10:18 p.m.  Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of west U.S.-10 and Eastman Avenue.

7:49 p.m.  A deputy assisted a Michigan State Police trooper on a complaint of a disorderly juvenile. The juvenile agreed to improve his behavior.

4:38 p.m.  A 18-year-old boy reported his juvenile brother sent threatening text messages to him in Greendale Township. Deputies made contact with the father, a 42-year-old man, who said he would tell his juvenile son not to have contact with his brother.

4:29 p.m.  A 64-year-old Edenville Township man found a boat on land after last month's flooding. The boat's 51-year-old Edenville Township owner was notified.

4:19 p.m.  Officers responded to a hit-and-run crash in the 4000 block of Wellness Drive.

1:21 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the 1800 block of South Saginaw Road.

10:05 a.m.  Officers responded to a crash in the area of West St. Andrews Road and Eastman Avenue.

6:58 a.m.  Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of East Wackerly Street and Whiffletree Lane.

2:46 a.m.  A 31-year-old Homer Township man was arrested for domestic assault against his 31-year-old wife.

Tuesday, June 16

11:25 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence in reference to a 16-year-old boy who was not listening to his parents. The 63-year-old mother reported the son left to calm down because his father was mad at him for violating his curfew that was set for him. The son returned home while the deputy was on-scene. The deputy reminded the juvenile about his position in the household and how behavior and consequences work. The deputy provided all parties with advice how to prevent future issues.

9:59 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property in the 3800 block of Salem Street.

9:46 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property in the 3400 block of Boston Street.

9:38 p.m.  Deputies responded to a vehicle crash in Lincoln Township.

9:25 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property in the 200 block of Vail Street.

8:17 p.m.  A deputy responded to a single-vehicle crash in Porter Township. The deputy made contact with the driver, a 18-year-old Lee Township male who had a suspended Michigan driver license.

8:12 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Homer Township residence in reference to an assault between a 31-year-old man and his 51-year-old neighbor. Both parties reported themselves as the victim. The report was forwarded to the prosecuting attorney's office.

8:07 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property in the 300 block of Harrison Street.

4:48 p.m.  Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Lincoln Township.

3:57 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the 400 block of Alpine Way.

3:21 p.m.  Deputies responded to a Midland Township location for a report of a possible domestic assault complaint. Contact was made with an 83-year-old man who said he was assaulted by his 44-year-old son. The suspect fled the scene prior to deputy arrival. A report will be forwarded to the prosecuting attorney's office.

2:26 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Ashman Street and Mertz Street.

9:56 a.m.  A 41-year-old Midland man lost his kayak while trying to navigate the rapids near the Sanford Dam. A message was sent to the county and city patrol units advising them of the lost kayak and a briefing notice was issued.

6:46 a.m.  Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Warren Township.
New Delhi:

India has "all legal and globally accepted right" to respond to any attack on her sovereignty and territory, Bangladesh said on Thursday, after Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terror bases across the LoC but called for "restraint" from all sides.

"India has got all legal, internationally accepted right to make a response to any attack on her sovereignty and her soil," Iqbal Chowdhury, Advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.

Commenting on the Kashmir issue, he said it is a "bilateral dispute" and there has been a "violation from the other side". "It (Kashmir issue) has been a long, continued dispute and there has been a... violation from the other side and

Bangladesh always believes that any aggression or attack on the sovereignty of the independence and legal right of a country is not acceptable and Bangladesh always feels that any country must honour and respect the sovereignty of a third country," he said.

Chowdhury said after Bangladesh premier Hasina came to power, she had asserted that Bangladeshi soil will not be allowed to house any terrorist group and to plan or organise any attack or activity on the Indian side, and has been "very committed on this point that (there is) zero tolerance to any (such) type of activity." "...I think that the Indian government and the people have all the right to rebuff and to combat any type of aggression from any quarter whether it is from a neighbouring country," he told an Indian TV channel over phone.

He, however, appealed for "restraint" from all sides for a peaceful neighbourhood. "Bangladesh always feels that in these type of things, there should be restraint from all sides because we believe that in the SAARC countries, we need to live in a peaceful environment, honouring the sovereign rights of each member country," he added.

His comments came after India carried out 'surgical strikes' on terror launch pads across the Line of Control(LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir last night, inflicting "significant casualties" on terrorists and those who are trying to support them.

Also Read: India's surgical strike in PoK: China in contact with India, Pakistan to bring down tensions



China said on Thursday that it is in contact with India and Pakistan through different channels to bring down tensions, asking them to properly deal with their differences and work jointly to maintain peace and security in the region.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
This is what Vogue could look like.

In the past few weeks, you might have noticed an influx of remixed Vogue covers popping up on social media from an array of creatives. The viral movement began on TikTok in mid-May but has since made its way across all areas of the Internet after Norway-based student and model Salma Noor tweeted a reimagined covershot by Angelique Culvinwith herself as the star.

After all, that's the whole concept. The #VogueChallenge invites diverse artists to put their own spin on what representation in Vogue can be. In the fashion bible's 125 years of existence, its only had one, yes one, Black photographer spearheading its shoots. Just 21 Black women have been featured on the covers, which also includes its sister publication Teen Vogue. And, in a June 4 statement to her staff, Anna Wintour acknowledged that the magazine has "not found enough ways" to support its Black employees.

Inspiring Moments from Black Lives Matter Protests

So, partially in response to Wintour's message regarding the racial disparities, several Black artists have highlighted their talents and bodies in conjunction with the iconic branding imagery.

Take London-based photographer and art director Lare A, for example. "As a Black woman," she told E! News, "this resurgence has not only made me confident in my own voice, it has also reinvigorated me to be transparent about my experiences with the people around me and most importantly, not brushing things under the rug in the attempt to come across as 'feisty,' 'angry,' or 'aggressive.'"

After seeing the movement go viral, she didn't think twice about posting her own cover. "I knew straight away this wasn't just a challenge," she added. "We are tired of our roles being taken from us because of our skin colour. It was a chance for us to show the world that we are more than our struggles. We are talented, gifted and definitely cut from an excellent cloth."

Story continues

Wisdom Kaye, Vogue Challenge

Rising TikTok star Wisdom Kaye has always been a fashionable presence on the internet, but when he saw the #VogueChallenge he knew it was time to showcase his art. "I don't often do too many trends and I almost didn't do this one because all the challenges I was seeing were so good!" he said. "But I finally told myself that I can do a good job too so then I went ahead and slapped Vogue on all my pictures and chose the best ones."

Hoping to be a professional model and be a part of the fashion industry he believes "there are times when knocking isn't going to get you in, sometimes you have to kick the door down."

While the hashtag's intent was to amplify Black creators, many other creatives from culturally rich backgrounds have also joined the challenge to highlight the beauty of who they are and where they come.

Vogue Challenge

After makeup artist and model Cas Jerome shared her portraits online, she told E!, "South Asian women make up a very small part of the mainstream media in America, but as people we are plenty. It is my role as a public figure in my community to call others to action to join the Black Lives Matter revolution."

"When I saw the Vogue challenge trending I was absolutely blown away," she continued. "The talent that is hidden in our black and non-black POC communities is just staggering."

Indeed, creatives hope this challenge is not seen as a trend, but the next step in the right direction towards representation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 13:18:18|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said at a press conference.

The patients are a couple in their 20s who returned from India on a direct repatriation flight and arrived on June 5. The couple was also travelling with an infant who has not been tested. It is still to be determined if the child is a probable case.

- - - -

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Federal Reserve is incorporating three different recovery scenarios related to COVID-19 into this year's stress tests for large banks amid "unprecedented uncertainty" about the virus and the economy, a senior Fed official said Friday.

"The larger issue is the unprecedented uncertainty about the course of the COVID event and the economy. The range of plausible forecasts is high and continues to shift," Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles said in a speech about how the pandemic would affect the central bank's periodic stress tests since the 2008 financial crisis.

- - - -

BEIJING -- Health authority said Saturday that it received reports of 27 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Friday, of whom 23 were domestically transmitted and four were imported.

Of the domestically transmitted cases, 22 cases were reported in Beijing and one in Hebei Province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

- - - -

LIMA -- The Peruvian Ministry of Health reported on Friday 3,537 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases to 247,925, with 7,660 deaths.

Of all the positive cases registered so far, 10,445 patients have been hospitalized, with 1,126 in intensive care units on ventilators, the ministry said.

- - - -

SANTIAGO -- The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Friday that a total of 231,393 people have been infected with COVID-19 and 4,093 people have died from the disease in the country.

According to the authorities, 6,290 new cases were reported and 252 more deaths registered in the last 24 hours.

- - - -

SEOUL -- South Korea reported 67 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday, raising the total number of infections to 12,373. The daily caseload logged the highest in 23 days since May 28. Of the new cases, 31 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 1,427.

- - - -

CAPE TOWN -- South Africa on Friday reported 94 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll, bringing the total nationwide deaths to 1,831.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 87,715, an increase of 3,825 from Thursday, and the total number of recoveries stood at 47,825, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update. Enditem
The coronavirus outbreak has hammered the U.S. economy, with the airline sector being one of the worst-hit spaces. The virus spread resulted in declining air travel with restrictions imposed by the government. Consequently, airlines top lines suffered a material impact as passenger revenues form the largest component of their total revenue base. However, it seems like the worst is over for the airline industry as the United States has started to reopen its economy with permission for inter-state travel.

In fact, airlines in many parts of the world are planning to resume flights starting this month as economies are reopening and new safety measures are being undertaken. Going by a Bloomberg article, around 314,000 people on average went through U.S. airport security checkpoints in the week ending May 29, per the Transportation Security Administration. The metric comes at around 13% of the equivalent week a year ago and only slightly above 12% witnessed in the week ending May 22. Notably, more than 1.5 million passengers passed through airport security checkpoints during the Memorial Day weekend. Going on, American Airlines AAL load factor or the average share of seats filled per plane surged to 55% in the week ending May 29 in comparison to 15% in April (per a Bloomberg article).

In fact, trading session on Jun 4 saw a massive rise in airline stocks as major companies like American Airlines surged 41.3%, Delta Air Lines DAL rose 13.7% and United Airlines UAL rallied 16.2%. Also, the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS rose 11.6% on the day. These major carriers are being observed to be adding hundreds of flights during the post-lockdown reopening of the U.S. economy. American Airlines saw a record surge following its announcement to increase schedule for flights in July by 74% in comparison with that in June.

Current Scenario in Airlines Industry

Globally, governments have started to lift travel restrictions, thereby reviving the domestic travel industry to say the least. The travel bookings are currently being processed for business as well as pleasure trips. Per a Bloomberg article, several corporations are easing travel restrictions in states like Texas and Florida that have relaxed quarantine measures. Moreover, with summer vacations approaching, flights are being booked to Floridas amusement parks, beaches along the Gulf Coast and mountain destinations in Montana, Utah and Colorado, according to a Bloomberg article.

Story continues

However, the airlines industry is still looking for opportunities to return to more lucrative travel routes. Moreover, the international schedule can take time to normalize given the continuous spread of coronavirus. Also, some market experts believe that it will be prudent to keep a tab on whether travelers will be returning to pre-pandemic levels in the near term as they might not want to take the chances of re-emergence of the coronavirus outbreak due to travelling. Furthermore, airlines may have to face the brunt of rising oil prices on their already stressed balance sheets.

Against this backdrop, investors can keep a tab at the following airline ETF:

U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS  up 27% since start of June

The fund provides investors access to the global airline industry, including airline operators and manufacturers from all over the world. With AUM of $1.41 billion, the fund holds a basket of 39 stocks. It trades in average volumes of about 2.1 million shares a day. It also has an expense ratio of 60 basis points (read: These ETF Areas Make Great Investment Choices in June).

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New Delhi:

A Home Ministry internal report says that terror training camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have been shifted deeper inside the Pakistani territory after the surgical strikes.

This comes in the aftermath of the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army on Thursday across the LoC in which seven terrorist launch pads were destroyed.

Central security agencies have informed the Home Ministry that at least 12 terror camps belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) have been shifted from Muzaffarabad in PoK to various areas like Mansehra (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naushehra and Jhelum (both in Pakistans Punjab). These camps house around 500 armed militants.

Also Read: (The unprecedented surgical strike by Indian Army was kept under high wraps but top brass was aware of it: Sources)

Sources say that many many terror camps have been vacated and shifted near crowded towns deep inside Pakistan. In these terror camps militants are trained to launch attacks against India with the help of Pakistan Army and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). This report was prepared using satellite images, ground reports and inputs from western intelligence agencies.

Also Read: (UN Chief Ban Ki Moon calls for urgent de-escalation of Pakistan-India tensions)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
With just hours to go before the Spanish government lifts the state of alarm  an emergency measure implemented on March 14 in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez made a televised address at lunchtime on Saturday to take stock of the current situation, thanking those who have been involved in battling the pandemic in Spain, and to remember the victims of Covid-19.

Sanchez, who said that todays would be the last of the weekly public addresses he has been making since the crisis began, began by pointing out that at the beginning of 2020, Spaniards were preparing for a year when events such as the Tokyo Olympics would be celebrated, plans that were interrupted by the arrival of the pandemic.

We will leave behind the state of alarm and we will enter the new normality, he said of the lifting of the emergency measures at midnight tonight. A virus entered our lives a long time ago now. It had crossed borders. No one knew that we were at the outset of the biggest health crisis in the last 100 years. More than 28,000 fellow citizens have lost their lives in our country. Ninety-nine days ago, the priority was to save lives, which is why on March 14 I announced the activation of the state of alarm and our country ground to a halt.

We were badly affected, but we resisted. We flattened the curve and we did it together Pedro Sanchez

The Spanish Health Ministry on Friday updated its official death toll from the coronavirus crisis, putting the number of victims who had tested positive for Covid-19 via a PCR test at 28,313. However, Fernando Simon, the head of the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, admitted yesterday that this figure is still far from the 43,000 excess deaths for the same period reported by Momo, a mortality monitoring system run by the Carlos III public health institute.

No one could have predicted when and how the nightmare would end, Sanchez continued on Saturday. We had to put our lives on hold to contain the virus. We had to offer protection to families, above all those in the most disadvantaged situations. We were badly affected, but we resisted. We flattened the curve and we did it together. First came the first measures to ease [the confinement] and then the deescalation [process] arrived.

Sanchez went on to say that he wanted to take stock of the situation, attributing the state of alarm  a measure he described as fully constitutional  to halting infections. We have benefitted all of the regions, he said, adding that by some estimations, as many 450,000 lives have been saved across the country thanks to the lockdown.

A new period is starting now, he continued. Our economy is starting to beat. We are in a situation where we can move forward. We cant drop our guard, not from an institutional point of view either. Each one of us can be a barrier against the virus or an infection. It depends on each of us. While Spain is keeping the virus at bay, the same thing is not happening in other countries in the world.

The virus could return and plunge us once more into a second wave, and we have to avoid that at all costs, he said. We have an individual and collective responsibility. The state is preparing strategic reserves of essential products. We will be vigilant, but we should also be proud of what we have achieved together.

Thanks to all of you for staying at home. It is an honor to be the prime minister of this great country Pedro Sanchez

The prime minister went on to thank health professionals, the state security forces, the workers who never stopped, agricultural workers, hauliers... He also thanked teachers, scientists working on a vaccine, children who had to cope with the lockdown and which sometimes they found difficult to understand, and seniors, who remained calm when they felt the threat very close.

Thanks to all citizens for the sacrifice and the morale of victory, he said. Thanks to all of you for staying at home. It is an honor to be the prime minister of this great country. The prime minister reminded citizens that a ceremony would be held to honor the victims of the pandemic on July 16, adding that he wanted there to be another tribute, one that lasts longer: rebuilding our country with unity, above all with the most vulnerable, and not leaving anyone behind in this crisis, as we have done with the approval of guaranteed minimum income. Sanchez was referring to a new benefits scheme that has been fast-tracked by the coalition government, given the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, and that is aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of families in a vulnerable situation.

Now is the time for recovery, which must happen as quickly as possible, he continued. We need sectors to recover as soon as they can, but they also need to be renewed. We need to recover our economy and regenerate it to make it even more inclusive and sustainable.

Sanchez also explained that a commission would begin to analyze Spains welfare state, with a view to overhauling it. In the crisis of 2008 we saw that selfishness and division among countries prolonged the ills, he said, in reference to the financial crisis and subsequent implementation of austerity measures across the European Union. Ahead of us lies a horizon of reactivating the economy both on a European and state level.

We spend too much time creating confrontations between ourselves, which are damaging when real problems emerge Pedro Sanchez

We need to do things differently compared to the past, he continued. Europe must save Europe. I have no doubt that this is what we are going to achieve. The European spirit will get a fresh start. The prime minister explained that in the coming days the government would share news of the ongoing negotiations with the European Commission about the planned funds that will be distributed to help countries rebuild.

Sanchez also repeated his calls for political unity. Europe should see us united, he said. We spend too much time creating confrontations between ourselves, which are damaging when real problems emerge. Joining forces and cooperating is what is useful. While the prime minister received the backing of most political parties at the outset of the crisis, when the state of alarm needed to be extended, his coalition government  led by his Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos  has become the target of increasingly aggressive and bitter attacks for its handling of the crisis from opposition groups such as the conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox. We cannot accept politics becoming a generator for hatred as something natural. It is not an arena for insults, he said. This is not about renouncing the defense of our ideas. the only thing we should renounce is a lack of respect.

For the first time in several months, the prime minister did not take questions from journalists once he had finished making his address.

English version by Simon Hunter.
A former Governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has said that the only way out of the numerous challenges confronting Nigeria wa...





A former Governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has said that the only way out of the numerous challenges confronting Nigeria was to divide the country into six regions.





Let us restructure the country and go back to the regional arrangement, and so, should abolish the states and go back to regions; instead of the 36 states, we should have six or seven regions, he said.





Musa said the call for restructuring was valid, but insisted that those agitating for it should be able to make it clear to Nigerians what restructuring constitutes.





He said those calling for restructuring must think of what will unite the country and make Nigerians proud of themselves and of their country.





As far as we are concerned, our restructuring idea is that, we have now seen the problem of weakening our regional government, Musa was quited by the Sun.





When we had regional government, we had more responsible leadership and we had more progress.





He said Nigeria must return to the regional arrangement, where we had Eastern Region, Northern Region, Western Region and later, Mid Western Region.





The former Governor pointed out that during this period, there was more sense of responsibility in the leadership and coordinated progress, so, let us go back to that arrangement.





He said with this each regional government would now decide how many states and local governments that befits it.





On insecurity, Musa said it was unfortunate that the situation is more alarming in the North; where the president of the country is from.





He described the President Muhammadu Buhari and his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, as incompetent, adding that both the ruling party and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP, must be stopped from ruling the country.





The state of insecurity is as a result of other aspects of the negative state of the nation. For instance, the level of poverty, unemployment, the level of corruption, stealing and waste of resources, which apply to the whole country, particularly in the North.





The president and his party are clearly incompetent, and the governors throughout the country, except very few of them are either ignorant or grossly irresponsible.





Both the APC, the PDP, and their governors are insisting on continuing in power, they should be stopped because the continuation of the two parties will lead to a worse situation.
It all begins and ends with this database, said Michelle Kenney, the mother of Antwon Rose II. Read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/Patriot-News and other Pennsylvania reporting organizations. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  It has been two years since a police officer outside Pittsburgh killed Antwon Rose II, a Black teenager who was unarmed at the time.

His mother, Michelle Kenney, is convinced: If a measure to create a database of police misconduct had been embraced by lawmakers when it was introduced shortly after her sons death, we could have saved a couple lives in Pennsylvania.

Now, the police killing of George Floyd has spurred the beginnings of long-awaited reform by the legislature, including a database to ensure that bad officers are unable to jump from job to job  which could be considered by the state House as early as next week.

Currently, there is no uniform way for local police departments in Pennsylvania to share instances of officer misconduct with other agencies, meaning that someone fired for an egregious reason could find a job with another department.

Under the proposal, approved this week by a House committee, police departments would be required to document why officers leave an agency and maintain disciplinary records showing complaints and criminal charges. This information would be included in a confidential database for police chiefs to check during the hiring process.

It all begins and ends with this database, Kenney said in an interview this week. I dont think the public really understands what happens when an officer applies to a jurisdiction that they may have either had friends in or know people in.

The proposal has the support of major police departments and unions as well as Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who said it was the culmination of months of work with Black lawmakers.

Though a positive step forward, the database does little to further public accountability and transparency, experts say.

Thats in contrast to New York and New Jersey, states that are beginning to make some officer misconduct information  long shielded as confidential personnel records  available to the public.

Elizabeth Randol, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, applauded the database proposal, but noted that 13 states make that information available to the public, which the current legislation would not do.

It is difficult to recommend solutions if these problems remain in a black box, Randol told lawmakers during hearings on police reform this week.

David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and law enforcement expert, agreed the public should know how well a police department is responding to misconduct complaints, and said other states have not had issues after disclosing the information.

There is no other way to say it: This lack of transparency to the public must change, Harris told lawmakers. All of this information is of real concern to members of the public, and the workings of the system that it illustrates are perhaps more important than what might be learned by records of any individual investigation. Yet, most of this information has remained unavailable to the public.

The bill does make available under the states open-records law hiring reports that must be compiled if a department chooses to hire an applicant with a criminal conviction or final or binding disciplinary action for wrongdoing, including excessive force, discrimination, and sexual abuse.

The Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission, which sets statewide training and certification standards, will determine how detailed those reports will be.

Those regulations will be strong and if not I am going to keep pushing them, said Rep. Chris Rabb (D., Philadelphia), whose own database legislation was amended into the current version. If this doesnt do what it is supposed to do, then it was just a big waste of time. It will only anger people more  and I will be among them. It will be a farce.

Timothy Uhrich  a lawyer for Michael Rosfeld, the officer who fatally shot Rose  said his client had only minor misconduct, including a traffic accident, to note when he was hired by the East Pittsburgh Police Department (he is no longer with the department). According to Uhrich, Rosfeld disclosed to East Pittsburgh how he left a previous job as an officer at the University of Pittsburgh: The school presented Rosfeld with a termination memorandum after he arrested three men outside a bar, including the son of a vice chancellor, Uhrich said, leading Rosfeld to resign.

Two of the men arrested sued, saying they were unjustly detained. That suit was later dismissed. Rosfeld is suing the University of Pittsburgh over his departure.

There is this prevailing notion that East Pittsburgh [Police Department] did not do a proper background check into Michael, which is the furthest thing from the truth, Uhrich said.

A jury acquitted Rosfeld of all charges in Roses death. The case was prosecuted by the Allegheny County District Attorneys Office, something Roses mother objected to.

Most victims in this situation are looking for an outside entity, with no allies, no communications, no friendships, Roses mother, Kenney, said.

She believes similar cases should be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice. In Pennsylvania, most officer-involved shootings are investigated by local police and prosecuted by the countys district attorneys office, Shapiro told lawmakers this week. Cases are referred to the attorney generals office when there is a conflict of interest or if the county does not have the resources to prosecute.

Sen. Art. Haywood (D., Philadelphia) is the sponsor of a bill that would direct these cases to a special prosecutor, instead, an idea he first put forth after the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two Black men who died at the hands of police.

Currently, the measure would direct the attorney general to appoint someone within his office to investigate police killings.

Local district attorneys every day work with police in order to prosecute criminals, Haywood said. So getting the separation, getting the distance, [and] eliminating bias are all part of the desire to have independence.

Because of objections from Shapiro about the possible cost, Haywood said hes exploring amendments including referring these types of cases to an adjacent county. Either way, prosecutors should not handle these cases in their own districts, said Harris, of the University of Pittsburgh.

Theres public support for independent investigations and prosecutions, but thats been a very hard sell to get through the legislature, not just here but in a lot of places, Harris said.

During his tenure, Shapiro said, only a handful of homicides by officers have been referred to his office. He said those kinds of incidents require personnel to be on the ground quickly to investigate, and it would be a costly endeavor for the attorney generals office to undertake.

That is really a question for the [district attorneys], as to why they havent referred more, Shapiro told Spotlight PA this week. Perhaps the answer is they have not had many come their way. I dont know. I cant speak for them.

100% ESSENTIAL: Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. If you value this reporting, please give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate.
A joint team of forest officials and wildlife organisation World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has claimed to have discovered fossil of a stegodon  a now-extinct elephant species known as Proboscideans  believed to be 5 to 8 million years old from Badshahi Bagh area of Shivalik range in Saharanpur district.

The team, led by chief conservator of Saharanpur division VK Jain, was busy doing a trap camera survey for the counting of animals in the region recently when it came across the fossil. The team consisted of Jain, landscape coordinator, WWF, Dr IP Bopanna and senior programme officer Devvrat Panwar.

Jain said after discovering a strange object that looked like fossil, the team brought it to the forest office and decided to seek help of fossil experts.

Dr RK Sehgal, a scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, and its retired scientist Dr AC Nanda, both fossil experts, first examined it and then compared it with the specimens of stegodon displayed at the museum of the institute. They declared that the fossil could be 5 to 8 million years old.

The presence of stegodons shows the existence of dense forests and lots of river channels in the area during that time. Other fossils which existed with stegodons were of those of giraffe, horses and hippopotamus.

The discovered fossil was a moderately preserved third lower molar with nine well-developed ridges on its surface. The length of the molar is nearly 24 centimetre and the enamel of the molar is very thick. The sandstone embedded on the fossil is medium grained, salt and pepper in nature. This type of lithology is the characteristic of Middle Shivalik.

Describing it as a great discovery, divisional commissioner, Saharanpur, Sanjay Kumar said, It would pave the way for further study of fossils in the country, especially in Shivalik range because for the first time such an old fossil has been found here.

It the past, fossils of Stegodon had also been discovered from other locations of Shivalik groups like Kala Amb, Saketi, in Himachal Pradesh; Jammu foothills and Chandigarh. The existence of stegodons was also found in the foothills of Nepal and Pakistan.

Stegodons existed 11.6 million years ago. There are unconfirmed records of their regional survival until 4,100 years ago. Fossils are found in Asian and African strata dating from the late Miocene. During the Pleistocene, they lived across large parts of Asia and Central Africa.

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Abraham Lincoln is an amazing guy. He died over 150 years ago yet seems more relevant today than any of our living leaders. For timid congressional Republicans, then and now, he has this message: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."

He even has a timely rejoinder in the kneeling controversy. The famous Freedman's Memorial depicts Lincoln welcoming a slave off his knees to stand erect with his fellow Americans. This is in reference to a true incident, when Lincoln walked into Richmond, Va. with but a few sailors to guard him the day after it fell.

The black people in the streets were so overcome with emotion, they began bowing down to him. But he insisted: "You must kneel to God only and thank Him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy."

If I go to a ball game this year, during the anthem, I will either do a George Foreman and wave my own little flag or hold up a poster of the Memorial with the caption, "Lincoln says- Free people only kneel to God."

BLM types are furious that Lincoln and his Republicans get any credit for ending slavery. Slavery was everywhere throughout history, the normal condition of mankind. Only with the rise of the Christian West was it ended. In Muslim Africa, it quietly endures in some places even today.

This brings us to the proposed Juneteenth holiday to commemorate emancipation.

The actual date is at first glance an odd one: Juneteenth, June 19, the day from 1865 when federal forces in Texas took the Confederate surrender and sent word to the black population that they had been legally free since January 1, 1863, under Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. June 19 had no actual legal meaning.

Since Lincoln respected the rule of law, even in a civil war, he didn't believe he had the power to free slaves in areas already under federal control. Thus, his famous proclamation did not free all slaves. He had to get the 13th Amendment passed, and then ratified on December 6, 1865, to take care of remaining slaves in places like Delaware. December 6, though, is a problematic place to put a new holiday. It's already the well loved feast of St. Nicholas and is right in the middle of the Christmas season. January 1 also has some stuff going on.

Juneteenth has grown organically in the black neighborhoods of the American Southwest for obvious reasons. It's at a time when other patriotic holidays occur  Loyalty Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day  when the weather is nice and outdoor gatherings and parades are easy to do. And it has a highly affirmative purpose, celebrating the full inclusion of people of all races into our American civilization.

This is similar to Mexico's Cinco de Mayo, which was a minor holiday but grew in the late 20th century for unanticipated reasons. Now Juneteenth seems to be another little holiday with a big future.

This is all in contrast to the absurd celebration of Kwanzaa  a holiday made from whole cloth in 1966 by a hateful, racist nut, who was also an FBI informant. Kwanzaa is specifically a non-religious event. Just as George Washington canceled one stupid, offensive holiday, Mr. Trump might perhaps end this one, too, by ordering any official executive department activity or mention of Kwanzaa to cease.

But I am also thinking President Trump ought to go ahead to get the Juneteenth ball rolling, to recognize an American Emancipation Day for every June 19. Congress can then debate who if anyone actually gets a day off for that. But whatever form it finally takes, conservatives ought rush to embrace it, to make it an educational and meaningful day, where our traditional American ideals and God-given rights are again vindicated. Make it known that all Americans are invited to claim their liberty and the responsibilities of living in a free society.

Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky.
As the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped the country, nursing homes and long-term care facilities have become hot spots. In Michigan, one-third of COVID-19 deaths  more than 1,900 people  were nursing home residents.

In an effort to better monitor the situation, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an emergency order on June 15, requiring nursing homes to conduct regular testing of staff and residents for COVID-19. Nursing homes in Midland are in the process of making slight adjustments to their testing practices.

The emergency order lists the following requirements for nursing homes:

 Initial testing of all residents and staff.

 Testing of all or returning residents during intake unless they were tested within 72 hours of intake.

 Testing of symptomatic residents and staff or who were expected of exposure to the virus.

 Weekly testing of staff and residents within facilities that have had positive cases among staff or residents, even if they were previously negative until 14 days after the last new positive result.

 Weekly testing of all staff in regions with medium to high risk based on the MI Safe Start Map; Midland County is currently at medium risk.

 Testing of all staff in regions 1-5 and 7 at least once between June 15 and July 3.

The emergency order also highlights MDHHS requirement for nursing homes to report how many suspected and confirmed cases of COVID there are among staff and residents, the number of recovered cases, any staff shortages, how many residents are in a facility, and the supply levels of personal protection equipment. This stipulation has been in effect since May 22.

Administrator sees action as necessary requirement

Kings Daughters Home Administrator Mike Kelly saw the order late Monday night and met with the management team on Tuesday to discuss a plan going forward. He described MDHHS directive as a necessary requirement for us to move towards normalcy where families and residents are able to see each other.

During the early days of the quarantine, it was difficult to obtain testing materials. Testing was performed in the building, but not on a regular basis. The staff made sure to maintain open and transparent communication with families as to what was going on at Kings Daughters Home. Efforts continue to regularly sanitize hands while staff members have their temperatures checked twice a day, masks are available at the front corner, and residents are required to wear masks when they leave their rooms.

Of the 59 residents and 93 staff members, none have tested positive for COVID-19 at Kings Daughters Home.

Our clinical staff have done a great job. Weve been very vigilant, Kelly said.

Following the emergency order from MDHHS, Kings Daughters Home expected to submit a plan within the next

We will test as soon as possible on a regular basis for staff and residents. I do believe the intention is to secure the safety of the residents.

Directive is in line with what Stafford Pines has been doing

As the staff of Stratford Pines has regularly administered weekly testing to all its staff and residents since April 30, the order will not change much of the nursing homes routine.

Its right in line with the testing plan weve been doing, said Administrator Kevin Isbister.

Stratford Pines has followed recommendations given by the Center for Disease Control as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to Isbister. Staff and residents are monitored daily, the facility has blocked entry to visitors, staff are required to remain in their own units, high touch surfaces are sanitized and PPE is readily available. Isbister reported no shortage of testing or PPE supplies. To date, none of Stratford Pines 75 residents and 140 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.

Were not naive to the fact we may get it, but were doing everything possible, Isbister said. We thank families and residents for their continued patience. Its hard for everybody, and were doing everything we can to get through it.

Brittany Manor in Midland has faced issues with COVID-19 in the past. According to the states website on Friday afternoon, the nursing home has seen four confirmed COVID-19 cases among the residents, including one death. Two employees were diagnosed with the virus as well. Staff did not respond to messages left by the Daily News seeking comment.

Medilodge of Midland also was unavailable for public comment. According to the state website, it has no reported cases of COVID-19 nor deaths among its residents or staff as of Friday afternoon.

Lawmakers concerned about placing COVID-19 patients in nursing homes

On Friday, Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, joined a bipartisan coalition in the state House of Representatives to approve a resolution urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reverse her controversial policy of placing senior citizens whove tested positive for COVID-19 into nursing homes, mixing them with the most vulnerable segment of Michigans population  other seniors  which endangers their lives. The resolution opposing the governors policy passed the House 71-32 with strong bipartisan support.

The governors nursing home policy defies reason and science, Glenn said. Despite opposition from Democrats and Republicans alike, the governor continues to needlessly put the lives of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents at risk. It is also alarming the governor not only placed sick patients into nursing homes, but the homes received $5,000 for accepting COVID-19 patients.

Under Whitmers policy, nursing homes without dedicated spaces to isolate and tend to COVID-19 patients are required to send them to regional hubs  separate nursing homes that have been approved by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

A June 15 executive order by Whitmer forces these nursing home hubs to accept COVID-19 positive patients, despite the obviously greater risk that doing so poses to healthy residents of those facilities, Glenn said.
The overall death toll stands at 985 as of Saturday.

Ukraine reports 841 new active COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours.

There were 35,825 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine as of 09:00 Kyiv time on June 20. Of them, 994 cases were lethal, while 16,406 patients recovered. Over the past day, 841 new cases were recorded, according to health officials.

A total of 553,737 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have already been run.

he total number of confirmed cases per region is the following: 1,627 cases in Vinnytsia region; 1,743 in Volyn region; 1,036 in Dnipropetrovsk region; 355 in Donetsk region; 1,229 in Zhytomyr region; 2,069 in Zakarpattia region; 551 in Zaporizhia region; 1,981 in Ivano-Frankivsk region; 612 in Kirovohrad region; 4,252 in the city of Kyiv; 2,174 in Kyiv region; 3,679 in Lviv region; 72 in Luhansk region; 349 in Mykolaiv region; 1,232 in Odesa region; 290 in Poltava region; 2,776 in Rivne region; 252 in Sumy region; 1,643 in Ternopil region; 1,779 in Kharkiv region; 185 in Kherson region; 612 in Khmelnytsky region; 4,268 in Chernivtsi region; 592 in Cherkasy region; and 467 in Chernihiv region.

Read alsoPM vows tougher measures to enforce quarantine bans

Data from Russia-occupied areas  the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions  is not available.

COVID-19 tests were conducted by the Public Health Center's virological reference laboratory and regional laboratories.

As of the morning of June 20, 2020, the Center had received 1,248 reports of suspected cases. In total, there have been 78,194 reports on suspected COVID-19 since the beginning of 2020.

The health ministry is urging Ukrainians to comply with safety recommendations to counter the epidemic, including wearing face masks, using hand sanitizers, and adhering to social distancing rules.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on June 17, the Ukrainian government extended the so-called adaptive quarantine until July 31 over a spike in the incidence in the past week.

The easing of the coronavirus-related lockdown started on May 22. The adaptive quarantine means that the respective restrictions will be lifted only in those regions where the epidemic situation allows. In other regions, the quarantine-related measures may be enhanced if the situation worsens.

As of 09:00 Kyiv time on June 19, a record daily rise of 921 new cases was reported in Ukraine.

Following the record spike, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal voewd tougher enforcement of quarantrine restrictions.
In a release issued on Saturday, June 20, the London Selected Yearling Sale announced that the 2020 edition of the sale would be conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For this year, the sale will be rebranded as the London Virtual Yearling Sale and will be conducted in concert with OnGait.

Sale manager Ann Straatman told Trot Insider on Saturday afternoon that the plan is currently for horses to sell every 10 minutes during the auction period. Forty horses will close each day, with those horses open for bidding for 48 hours, then start closing noon on the second day and close every 10 minutes after that. Horses will sell virtually from noon until 6:30 p.m. each afternoon.

Straatman is also extremely cognizant of the fact that the usual venue for the sale -- the Metroland Media Agriplex in London, Ont. -- is currently being used as a field hospital by the London Health Sciences Centre.

"Currently, it's a field hospital and they have asked to extend their lease until the end of September," said Straatman. "Again, preparing for if there is a surge or a second wave in cases. It was a big endeavour for them to turn it into a hospital. They're even using the stalls as dividers for each room."

As of right now there are 280 horses entered in the London sale but that number is subject to change if the consignors aren't comfortable with the new format. As the "first one to jump into the pool," Straatman knows the concept may take some people some time to accept.

"We have 280 horses entered in the sale. But of course, at the time when I received the applications, we were still hoping to go with Plan A which was a live auction at our facility. But, as I promised when I took the applications, I've had good communication will all the consignors...the future is unknown and certainly our hope and plan was to go with Plan A, but if we couldn't do that and there was a format change, all consignors and owners would have the opportunity to withdraw without penalty if they felt that the new virtual way was not for them.

"I have given consignors until June 30th to decide if they would like to stay or if they are going to withdraw, and I'll have a definite number by the end of the month. We're currently at 280 and I hope to keep them all."

Trying to keep some semblance of familiarity in this new normal, the sale will still have a traditional printed and mailed sale catalogue and that book will receive its usual distribution.

"We are still going to be offering a catalogue, which will be mailed to our currently 2,000 recipients, and we'll have that catalogue distributed around Ontario as we always do to the racetracks, tack shops, training centres, and still make that familiar part of selling yearlings available," stated Straatman. "The catalogue will be hip numbered and will indicate which day each horse will be opening and closing, and at what time their sales will be closing.

"All horse will be hip numbered, alphabetically by dam, starting with the letter N, but we still encourage people to inspect the horses, make appointments with the farms, and it will be up to the owners and consignors to set up appointments and physically distance and limit the number of people for their own facilities."

What the catalogue won't have is a stall reference. Instead, information will be added to denote the day and time for the horse's auction. The sale is also planning to embrace the virtual element of the auction by providing online maps and locations of the consigned yearlings.

"It's something that I use when I'm planning the inspections of the yearlings, and we of course couldn't do inspections this season because of the restrictions due to the pandemic."

Knowing how long some people might take to get accustomed to the new sale format and its associated differences, Straatman noted that the sale organizers felt it was important to make this decision in enough time to give people the time they need to adjust and plan for how this yearling season will likely be different in ways they might not have started to consider.

"This was the reason we wanted to do it right away, bring it out right away, so people would get used to the new way of doing things this year, and hopefully plan well in advance their inspections, and the time when owners and consignors do their video taping, also do photographs of their horses and even videos of the horses walking as they are often shown at the sale, so that people can have a greater online offering. And hopefully people will feel comfortable by viewing what's available even if they can't see the horse in person.

"We're going to try to all what we can to get as much information as we can to the buyers and I think this a greater opportunity than it is a risk. It really does open up our bidding to the onboarders, beyond a single location."

Given how much more commonly people are using apps like Skype, Zoom, Google Meet and FaceTime amid the coronavirus pandemic, Straatman is hopeful that consignors also see the opportunity in providing potential buyers with these virtual inspections.

"You could even communicate with the owner at that time and ask, 'can I see that hock a little more closely? can you pick up that left front? I'd like to see how that horse is shod'...all those things that you would normally do at the sale, we do have the technology now to do it virtually so I hope that people will take advantage of that opportunity.

"And there's lots of time for people to get signed up on OnGait, to plan their inspections, for consignors and owners to decide when they're going to bring their horses in, when they're going to have the horses available for viewing...there's a lot of things that knowing now how they're going to do it there's a big advantage for us, instead of waiting until the fall, finding out we really can't go with a live auction, and then changing the format suddenly for people."

The full release from the London Selected Yearling Sale follows:

The London Selected Yearling Sale has been tasked with an unprecedented enterprise in 2020: to sell yearlings safely and effectively, while the number of people allowed to gather at an indoor facility has been so severely restricted in Ontario. Without being able to predict how the novel coronavirus will alter our future, we believe it is important to make a plan now, which will not change should COVID-19 continue to change our ability to conduct business, in person, this fall. For this reason, and for the safety of all participants, London Selected Yearling Sale has decided to go totally virtual using the well-known online auction platform, OnGait.com.

London Selected Yearling Sale will continue to support consignors and buyers with a traditional yearling sale catalogue and offer enhanced features on our website. You can expect more videos and photos of each yearling both on the sale website and on ongait.com. We will also be providing a new application with Google Maps, which will help buyers find the yearlings they want to inspect prior to the sale. Every farm boarding yearlings in the sale will be marked with a pin on the sale websites Google Maps, allowing buyers to plan their inspections of yearlings in the most efficient way possible.

The decision to abandon our traditional live auction format at the Western Fair Agriplex in London, Ont. was a very difficult one; but we believe that this is the right thing to do for everyone involved, said Ann Straatman, sale manager. It is our hope that buyers and consignors will perceive this change to be an opportunity rather than a risk, which will expand our bidding audience without limitations.



Malboro Seelster sells at the 2019 London Selected Yearling Sale Malboro Seelster sells at the 2019 London Selected Yearling Sale

SARS-CoV-2 has changed the world we live in and no one is immune to its influence, both literally and figuratively. The London sale company will continue to help to bring to you, in the safest way possible, an outstanding group of mostly Ontario-eligible yearlings, from some of the best maternal families available in our sport. The Ontario racing program and product continues to be one of the best in North America and we eagerly look forward to your participation in the London Virtual Yearling Sale this October 18 until October 24 during our virtual auction on OnGait.com.

(LSYS)
South Korean army soldiers take a military vehicle at their military guard post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea. (AP)

Seoul: North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border, denouncing North Korean defectors and South Korea, its state media said on Saturday, the latest retaliation for leaflets from the South as bilateral tensions rise.

Enraged North Korean people across the country are actively pushing forward with the preparations for launching a large-scale distribution of leaflets, which are piled as high as a mountain, said state news agency KCNA.

Every action should be met with proper reaction and only when one experiences it oneself, one can feel how offending it is, KCNA said.

North Korea has blamed South Korean defectors for launching leaflets across the border and threatened military action. On Tuesday, Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office to show its displeasure against the defectors and South Korea for not stopping them launching leaflets.

A North Korean defector-led group said on Friday it had scrapped a plan to send hundreds of plastic bottles stuffed with rice, medicine and face masks to North Korea by throwing them into the sea near the border on Sunday.

The two Koreas, which are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty, have waged leaflet campaigns for decades.

South Koreas military used to launch anti-North flyers across the demilitarized zone, but the program ended in 2010.

Several defector-led groups have regularly sent back flyers, together with food, $1 bills, mini radios and USB sticks containing South Korean dramas and news, usually by balloon over the border or in bottles by river.

Pyongyang has used balloons to send its anti-South leaflets. South Koreans previously were rewarded with stationery if they reported leaflets from the North.
FLINT, MI  A Traditional Juneteenth Celebration was held Friday, June 19 in Max Brandon Park followed by a Road to Freedom Motorcade that ended in downtown Flint.

The Juneteenth celebration was organized by DeWaun E. Robinson, leader of Flints chapter of Black Lives Matter and featured speakers, activities and voter registration.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley also issued an open letter Friday announcing the city was adopting Juneteenth as an official holiday. Neeley attended different celebrations throughout the day, including the one in Max Brandon Park. Other celebrations included a Double Dutch contest and another celebration in Brush Alley.

People of all colors are going to be celebrating this holiday, Neeley said. Its a holiday to celebrate  the emancipation of America from the greatest ill of slavery. Today is a wonderful day in the Flint community and also American society.

Robinson led the motorcade that took place down Pasadena Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.

Juneteenth is a very important piece for Black people, its ... very important time, Robinson said. And if you understand the times right now, were at a pivotal moment, meaning that we have the opportunity to change history.

On June 19, 1865, the news of the abolition of slavery came to the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas almost three years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. June 19 has been a long-standing day of celebration.

A large crowd gathered at the park to listen to Robinson and other speakers, including champion boxer Claressa Shields and Royce Stephens of the NAACP.

Shields urged those in attendance to vote not only in the presidential election, but in the general election. She pointed people to the voter registration stand at the event.

When we come together, we can make so many different changes. And thats why Im here, to use my voice and use my platform. Shields said. Vote, do your research and lets all come together and make things right.

President of the Flint branch of the NAACP Frances L. Gilcreast said the problem isnt registering people to vote, its getting them to the polls. An information booth on the 2020 Census was also present, courtesy of the Neighborhood Engagement Hub.

We also are helping to get the word out about voting. If you dont vote, you dont count, said Holly Wilson said, census ambassador for the Neighborhood Engagement Hub. We are behind as far as turning in the census and its not too late, theyve extended that time.

Many candidates in Genesee Countys upcoming election also spoke at the Juneteenth celebration, including Trachelle C. Young running for prosecutor and Domonique Clemons for county commissioner.

Today is a very important day because in 2020, 150-something years later, were still fighting for that freedom, were still fighting for those equal rights, Clemons said. Its really great to see so many people here today. As someone thats running for local office, I think there couldnt be a more important place to be than Juneteenth events to celebrate and commemorate the work thats been done, but to also refocus on the work that needs to be done in the future.

Bishop Bernadale Jefferson gave an honorary tribute at the podium to Mrs. Kathryn Blake who lost her life to COVID-19 in April. Blake was a long-time parade chairwoman for the Flint Juneteenth committee, chairwoman of Women in NAACP and a member of Flint Womens Suffrage Club. Her family joined Jefferson during the tribute.

The program concluded with the motorcade, with many watching and cheering from the sidewalk. Baba Kevin Collins marched at the start of the motorcade while playing the drums, something hes done for years in Flints Juneteenth parade. Robinson marched alongside cars with a megaphone.

If you are part of the movement today, then youll be a part of the progress tomorrow, Robinson said. What were doing today, everything that were doing today, the building that were doing right now, the activity thats going on at this moment  is so that these young children, this next generation has a strong foundation to stand on, and theyre not just trying to pick up the pieces from the generation before.

Read more on MLive:

Flint Freedom Schools hosts Harambee in the Park to celebrate Juneteenth

Juneteenth celebrations planned for Friday in Flint
The government has extended the Rs 50 lakh insurance scheme for about 22 lakh healthcare providers for another three months till September as there is no respite from COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheme implemented by New India Assurance was to end on June 30, 2020 as per the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Rs 1.70 lakh Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package in March.

The insurance provides a comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to a total of around 22.12 lakh public healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of patients suffering from coronavirus infection and who may be at risk of being impacted by this.

Insurance Scheme for health workers in government hospitals and healthcare centres operationalised with effect from March 30, 2020, an official statement said, adding the scheme has been extended up to September.

The scheme is funded through the National Disaster Response Fund, operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitation workers and a few others working in hospitals under the central and state governments will be covered under the insurance scheme.

While announcing the scheme, the Finance Minister had said, safai karamcharis, ward-boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors and specialists and other health workers would be covered by the special insurance scheme.

"Any health professional, who while treating COVID-19 patients, meet with some accident, then he/she would be compensated with an amount of Rs 50 lakh under the scheme," she had said.

All government health centres, wellness centres and hospitals of the Centre as well as states would be covered under this scheme, she had said.
Update (11 a.m. Monday): Police provided further information after reviewing cellphone footage of the incident and witness statements.

According to Tulsa Police Officer Jeanne Pierce, the woman was surrounded by witnesses but would not respond to people's pleas. After she refused to drop the revolver when someone witnesses tried to intervene, she then shot herself. Officers and others attempted to render aid, but the woman died of the gunshot wound.

Pierce said the upcoming rally was not a factor in the incident and "absolutely had nothing to do with what was going on."

The story as it first published appears below:

A woman is dead after shooting herself Friday night in downtown Tulsa, according to Tulsa police.

The shooting occurred on Seventh Street between Boulder and Cheyenne avenues, roughly a block south of the area cordoned off around the BOK Center in advance of President Donald Trumps campaign rally on Saturday night.

A Tulsa police officer has confirmed that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, but police had provided no other information by deadline Friday night.
MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2020) Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia two days ago, is stable, according to one of his doctors, the presidential office said on Friday.

"The health of President, who was tested positive for #COVID19, has progressed in a satisfactory manner, he is stable and in a 'good overall state,' informed doctor Cesar Aaron Carrasco, one of the medical professionals who look after the leader in the military hospital," the office wrote on Twitter.

Honduras has confirmed a total of 10,739 cases, with the death toll of 343.
Chennai:

DMK President M Karunanidhi on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to put an end to rumours on the health of AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa by providing proper information. He also wished his arch rival a speedy recovery.



As I had already mentioned, though I differ with her ideologically, it is my desire that she recovers soon and take up official duties as usual, he said and wished her a speedy recovery.



Karunanidhi said although Apollo hospital, where the Chief Minister is recuperating from fever and dehydration, was issuing bulletins about her health, some unwanted rumours were deliberately being floated by some persons.



Some persons are spreading unwanted rumours about her health on the social media and to put an end to these, proper information about the Chief Ministers health must be made available to the people, he said in a statement.



Karunanidhi suggested that photographs of the Chief Minister be released through the media to quell any kind of rumours being circulated about her health.



Jayalalithaa (68) was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration. She has been advised to stay for a few days at the hospital.

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A father and son who died in a drowning tragedy in Co Donegal were renovating their holiday home.

The men perished at Lough Keel on the outskirts of Kilmacrennan on Thursday afternoon.

The father was aged in his early 50s while his son was aged 17.

They are understood to have been living in Douglas on the Isle of Man.

The victims, along with another 15-year-old son, had taken a break from renovations at the holiday home at Coolboy on the outskirts of Letterkenny to go fishing.

However, shortly before 3pm the 17-year-old fell into the lough by accident and his father jumped in to try and save him.

Both tragically drowned and the youngest boy survived.

Irish Water employees working nearby raised the alarm and a massive search and rescue operation involving the Rescue 118 helicopter, Mulroy Coastguard, gardai and ambulance personnel was then launched.

The body of the younger man was spotted by the Rescue 118 helicopter and recovered not long after the tragedy occurred.

Divers from the Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Unit recovered the remains of the second man after 6pm on Thursday.

It is understood that other members of the family, including the dead man's wife, were due to arrive in Donegal today.

The remains of both victims are still at Letterkenny University Hospital where post-mortems are due to be carried out.

Local county councillor Ian McGarvey said thoughts and prayers were with the young man who had survived the tragedy and the extended family of the men who had drowned.

"People are numb that two lives have been taken in this manner following such a simple thing like a fishing trip," he said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. Lough Keel is a beautiful part of our county and for this to happen in such a scenic and peaceful place just makes it so wrong on all fronts.

Local councillor Michael McBride said there is a "dark cloud" hanging over the area as the community reels from the tragedy.

"People are understandably saddened and shocked over what has happened," he said. "For a family day out to end up like this is just unthinkable.

"The family had only moved to the area in the past few weeks so it was an unfortunate beginning to their new life in Ireland.

"I understand they were fishing from the shore and got into difficulty.

"The coastguard and authorities were on the scene very quickly and managed to find the two bodies and pull the other son to safety.

"It is very traumatic for the son who survived the incident and the community wish him a speedy recovery.

"On behalf of Kilmacrennan I want to offer my condolences to the man's family and let them know we are united in our grief."

The Garda investigation into the tragedy is still ongoing.




Bhopal: Thanks to the Internet, a 94- year-old woman from Maharashtra who had gone missing four decades ago has been reunited with her family.

Unfortunately, when Panchubai, the woman, reached her grandson's house in Nagpur three days ago, she could not meet her son. He had died three years ago.

Sometime in 1979-80, a truck driver spotted a woman, clueless and in a pitiable condition, walking along a road in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district.

"She had been stung by honeybees and could not speak coherently," Israr Khan, the truck driver's son, told PTI.

Khan's father took the woman home and she began to live with his family. Israr himself was a baby then.

"We called her Achchhan Mausi. She was mentally unstable and used to mutter in Marathi which we could not understand," he said.

"I sometimes asked her about her family, but she could not tell anything," he said.

Khan also wrote about her on Facebook, but it did not lead to anywhere.

"She used to talk about a place called `Khanjma Nagar'. Google search of the name yielded no result. Then on May 4 this year, as we were at home amid lockdown, I again asked her about her hometown," he said.

"This time she spoke about a place called Parsapur. We googled it and found that there is one Paraspur in Maharashtra," Khan said.

On May 7, he contacted a man called Abhishek who runs a shop in Paraspur and told him about the woman.

Abhishek, who belongs to the Kirar community, told him that there is a village called Khanjma Nagar near the town.

"I sent him Mausi's video at 8:30 pm on May 7, which he shared on a WhatsApp group of the Kirar community. I received a phone call from Abhishek around midnight, saying the woman had been identified and her relatives traced," Khan said.

A video of the old woman was sent to Prithvi Bhaiyalal Shingane, Panchubais grandson who lives in Nagpur. The Shingane family was astounded. They were eager to bring her home, but the wait was not yet over as lockdown was in force.

Finally, on June 17, Shingane took his grandmother -- whose full name is Panchfulabai Tejpalsingh Shingane -- home.

"We are natives of Khanjma Nagar in Achalpur tehsil in Amravati district of Maharashtra, but the family shifted to Nagpur about five decades ago," he told PTI.

"In 1979, my father brought my grandmother to Nagpur for treatment of her mental ailment from Khanjma Nagar. The doctors were optimistic about curing her. But one day she left home in the evening, telling neighbours that she was going to her father's place, and disappeared for ever," he said.

"My father searched for her for years without success. He died in 2017. It would have been so much better if I had found her three years ago," Shingane added.

"At the age of 94, my grandmother is still in good health thanks to the Khan family who looked after her for such a long time," he added.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

A domestic violence case against a former Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office spokesman has been dismissed, according to court records.

Michael Patrick was charged with one count of battery on a household member for allegedly hitting and pushing his wife, KOAT-TV anchor Shelly Ribando, at their Albuquerque home in April. Patrick was initially placed on leave by the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office and later fired.

A notice of dismissal filed by special prosecutor David Foster on May 27 says the case was dismissed based on the fact that the victim in the matter does not wish for a criminal case to proceed, as well as the fact that the deficiencies in the police investigation caused there to be insufficient evidence for there to be a reasonable probability of establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The notice did not elaborate on what the deficiencies in the Albuquerque Police Department investigation may have been.

Unfortunately, it can be challenging to prosecute domestic dispute cases if family members decide not to press charges, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in an email. We encourage victims to reach out to our Family Advocacy Center if they would like to access services outside of the judicial system.

A criminal complaint said an agent from credit card company called police after Ribando told the agent while on the phone that her husband hit her.

Mr. Patricks case was dismissed because he did not commit domestic violence on his wife, Patricks attorney, Nicole Moss, said in an email. Ms. Ribando was fully cooperative with law enforcement during the investigation, but never self-identified as a victim. The entire incident was the result of a misunderstanding by a customer service representative and came to the appropriate resolution, dismissal.

Bernalillo County District Attorney spokesman Adolfo Mendez said the office recused itself from the case immediately.

Foster said he couldnt comment on the case.

The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.
Guwahati, June 20 : The Pollution Control Board (PCB) of Assam has directed the state-owned Oil India Limited (OIL) to close down all production as well as drilling operations in the Baghjan oil field at once and to take steps to put out the fire and cap gas leakage, an official said on Saturday.

The PCB in a closure notice to the OIL said that the regular annual report was not submitted seriously, violating the law, and it was liable to be punished under the law in force.

"The PCB refused the OIL's request for extension of time for reply to the show-cause notice issued to the company on June 10. The OIL nonchalantly violated the provisions of law in force, causing pollution to the environment," the official said quoting the PCB notice.

The PCB notice said that in exercising the powers conferred upon the board under the relevant provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the OIL was directed to close down all production as well as drilling operations of all installations in Baghjan oil field immediately.

The PCB notice, issued on Friday, asked the OIL to take all necessary measures for extinguishing the fire and control blow-out of the oil well No. BGN-5.

According to the OIL officials, the government-owned company has so far lost production of over 7,627 MT of crude oil from 33 wells and around 10 MMSCMD of natural gas from five gas wells due to blockades by protesters in two districts of Assam.

The officials said that as experts from the US and Canada associated with Singapore-based firefighters M/S ALERT, the NDRF and engineers intensified efforts to douse the oil well fire in eastern Assam's Tinsukia district for the 12th day on Saturday, local people and various students' organisations had forced OIL to stop its operations at many drilling locations and nine work-over locations in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.

The agitators are blocking roads and obstructing oil and gas production for the past many days to demand higher compensation for the affected and holding OIL responsible for the mishap. The OIL has so far provided Rs 30,000 to each of the affected families.

A tripartite meeting was held at the Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner's office on Saturday between Baghjan Gaon Milanjyoti Yuva Sangha, District Administration and OIL to resolve the blockade issue.

The Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia district, Bhaskar Pegu, and OIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Sushil Chandra Mishra, among others, were present in the meeting.

Locals said the fire had left a trail of devastation in the adjoining areas, including a famous lake. Farms with standing crops as well as ponds and wetlands in the adjoining villages have also been affected.

Meanwhile, the Assam government on Friday extended the enforcement of the Essential Services Maintenance (Assam) Act, 1980 for another six months to prohibit strikes and agitations by employees, workers and technical personnel in the oil and gas sectors.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20)  The City of Talisay in Cebu province has been granted a less-stringent risk classification status from modified enhanced community quarantine to general community quarantine.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia signed Executive Order No. 17-G, series of 2020, lifting the modified enhanced community quarantine status in the city effective Saturday.

Available data shows the city has recorded 50 recoveries from a total of 126 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The governor finds merit in the position of the City of Talisay and deems it appropriate to de-escalate the risk classification from MGCQ to GCQ, the E.O. read.

The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force concurred with the governors E.O. during a briefing on Friday night.

The IATF previously placed Cebu City on enhanced community quarantine, and Talisay City on MECQ on June 15 due to a surge of coronavirus cases.

The governor of a province has the authority to impose, lift, or extend the risk classification of their province according to IATF No. 29.
Former hotel employee dies after motorbike slams power pole at high speed

PHUKET: A 55-year-old man died after the motorbike he was riding struck a power pole at high speed on Thepkrasattri Rd in Thalang last night (June 19). The mans family told police that the man was likely riding his motorbike to relieve high stress he was suffering from unemployment. He was previously a hotel employee.

accidentsdeathpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 20 June 2020, 12:53PM

The remains of the motorbike found some distance down the road. Photo: Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation

Maj Wuttichai Kaewthong of the Thalang Police was informed of the accident, on Thepkrasattri Rd northbound, opposite the Krung Thai Bank branch in Moo 1, Thepkrasattri, at about 10pm.

Maj Wuttichai and fellow officers, along with a medical team from Thalang Hospital and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the body of Wirat Mahaaud, 55, some 20 metres from the impact point.

His motorbike, a Honda CBR 400RR, was an estimated 100m away.

A witness to the accident told police that Wirat was riding at high speed when he lost control of the motorbike and struck the power pole, located beside a 7-Eleven store.

Wirats body was some 20 metres from the point of impact. The motorbike, with very heavy damage, was much further down the road.

It is estimated that he was riding at about 140km/h when he struck the power pole, Maj Wuttichai said, noting that the accident occurred on a straight section of road.

No other people were injured in the accident, Maj Wuttichai confirmed.

But a stand set up at a fruit shop where the accident happened suffered some damage, he noted.

Relatives knew that Mr Wirat had previously worked as a hotel employee before losing his job, which caused him a lot of stress. They said that may have resulted in Mr Wirat wanting to release stress by driving at high speed, Maj Wuttichai said.

Mr Wirats body was taken to Thalang Hospital, and his relatives are now making funeral arrangements, Maj Wuttichai concluded.
- ICCMCC is an annual competition on international criminal law organised by the Grotius centre for international legal studies of Leiden University, The Hague campus

- The contest brought together law students from different backgrounds and was meant to help them sharpen their skills as future international lawyers

- Other teams who took part in the event were from Gambia, Ghana, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zambia while the rest came from Asia, Europe, and the Americas

A Kenyan university has beaten 71 teams from 50 countries from across the world to bag a law award at The Hague, Netherlands.

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) emerged best in the regional memorial for Africa award at the 2020 edition of the ICC Moot Court (ICCMC).

READ ALSO: Kipchumba Murkomen dismisses claims Ruto plans to launch new party: "Jubilee is our labour of love"

CUEA students in class. The university bagged an international law award at The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: CUEA.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Jubilee, ODM to field joint presidential candidate against William Ruto

The win was confirmed by CUEA on its Twitter page.

"We won - regional memorial for Africa - 2020 edition of the ICC Moot Court competition. 71 teams, 50 countries! No mean achievement. Congratulations to our faculty of law participating team - Wangui Njoroge, Julius Miiri Wamboi and Brenda Waweru,"CUEA tweeted.

ICCMCC is an annual competition on international criminal law organised by the Grotius centre for international legal studies of Leiden University, The Hague campus, with the institutional support of the International Criminal Court and International Bar Association.

The contest brought together law students from different backgrounds and was meant to help them sharpen their skills as future international lawyers.

It comprised an extensive educational and social programme and was based on memorials conducted virtually to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Other teams who took part in the event were from Gambia, Ghana, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zambia while the rest came from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

In 2019, CUEA's faculty of law was declared the winner and was ranked best overall anglophone team at the seventh edition of the Great Lakes Moot Court competition. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru aita mkutano wa wabunge wa Jubilee Jumatatu

In 2019, the higher learning institution's faculty of law was declared the winner and was ranked best overall anglophone team at the seventh edition of the Great Lakes Moot Court competition on international humanitarian law.

The competition was held in Kigali, Rwanda in December, 2019; with 30 universities from Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda taking part.

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Fighting spirit husbands, Spirit wives and breaking soul ties with Pastor T | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV

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The biggest deployment of the US Navy's three aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific has been touted as all for show, but in reality, China got spooked.

This is the assumption based on the reaction of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), as the US unleashed three carriers that are prowling the pacific, Reported by Global Times.

According to Zhang Junshe, an expert at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, the appearance of the carrier strike group will cause trouble in the South China Sea, said theChina Mil.

He also cited that it was the same action in 2017 when the US went on high alert during the North Korean threat.

The Chinese just dismisses the act of the three-carrier strike group as a repeat of 2017.

Adding that the US Navy does that for all parts of the world, it is not usual for US carrier deployments to get into the news unless it is informed in a big way!

Zhang said that the US wants the world to see its firepower as compared to the PLAN. BY sending the three carrier strike groups into the area of the West Pacific, to make up for the lost time which was key to the Chinese narrative that the US was hobbled by the virus. Now the US is back, causing all these insecure pronouncements from Beijing, as mentioned in San Francisco Chronicles.

Also read: China's Aircraft Carrier Under Construction Disappears From the Shipyard

The mentality of American sailors has been affected by the pandemic. It might be the US Navy protocols that have not fully eradicated the virus, and not all are fit enough.

Chinese sources are alleging the US Navy does not want the scope of the pandemic to get public.

More harping about the effects of the virus on the US Navy is prattled about. More is alleged by Zhang, who now attacks the US over the transparency of military affairs, as a double standard.

It may be that the US has the most lethal aircraft carriers that can deal with the Shandong and Liaoning, which is called insecurities by Zhang.

With Wei Dongxu said that the US Navy has three carrier strike groups in the Indo-Pacific, but not all can be seen near China as it might start hostilities in the surrounding seas.

The US Navy can poke China by sending one on rotation force the issue which will send two more to support the engaged carrier. These two other carriers will be ready to strike because they are close by, and one carrier might be sent close to China.

Carrier air wings of the US are potent defenders, but these aircraft are also suited for long-range or short-range airstrikes. As the most potent weapons to attack all enemies.

We added that the US carrier planes need to be detected and intercepted, especially the F-35 that is stealth capable or the defense of China will fall.

The common thought of these experts is the US Navy's three aircraft carriers show how deadly America can be, and they are not to be trifled with.

Related Article: Three US Navy Aircraft Carriers Dispatched in the Pacific Causing Chaos in Beijing

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
SAO PAULO - Brazils government confirmed on Friday that the country has risen above 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to the United States.

The countrys health ministry said that the total now stood at 1,032,913, up more than 50,000 from Thursday. The ministry said the sharp increase was due to corrections of previous days underreported numbers.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro still downplays the risks of the virus after nearly 50,000 deaths from COVID-19 in three months, saying the impact of social isolation measures on the economy could be worse than the disease itself.

Specialists believe the actual number of cases in Brazil could be up to seven times higher than the official statistic. Johns Hopkins University says Brazil is performing an average of 14 tests per 100,000 people each day, and health experts say that number is up to 20 times less than needed to track the virus.

Official data show a downward trend of the virus in Brazils north, including the hard-hit region of the Amazon, a plateau in cases and deaths in the countries biggest cities near the Atlantic coast, but a rising curve in the south.

In the Brazilian countryside, which is much less prepared to handle a crisis, the pandemic is clearly growing. Many smaller cities have weaker health care systems and basic sanitation thats insufficient to prevent contagion.

There is a lot of regional inequality in our public health system and a shortage of professionals in the interior, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazils Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials. That creates many health care deserts, with people going long distances to get attention. When they leave the hospital, the virus can go with them.

The cattle-producing state of Mato Grosso was barely touched by the virus when it hit the nations biggest cities in March. Sitting far from the coast, between the Bolivian border and Brazils capital of Brasilia, its 3.3 million residents led a mostly normal life until May. But now its people live under lockdown and meat producers have dozens of infected workers.

In Tangara da Serra, a city of 103,000 people in Mato Grosso, the mayor decided Friday to forbid the sale of alcoholic drinks for two weeks as an incentive for people to stay home. Fabio Junqueira said the measure was needed after a spike in COVID-19 cases that filled 80% of the citys 54 intensive care beds. The city has had nearly 300 cases of the disease, plus three fatalities.

In Rondonopolis, only 300 miles away from Tangara da Serra and home to a thriving economy, health authorities closed the local meatpacking industry after 92 cases were confirmed there. The city of 144,000 inhabitants counted 21 deaths from the virus and more than 600 cases. The mayor has also decided to limit sales of alcoholic beverages.

Even regions once considered examples of successful efforts against the virus are now struggling.

Porto Alegre, home to about 1.4 million people, had success in slowing the virus spread over the last three months. But now its mayor is considering increasing social isolation measures after ICU occupancy in the city jumped to 80% this month.

We were already making projections for schools to come back, Mayor Nelson Marchezan Jr. told The Associated Press. Now the trend is to impose more restrictions.

Outside Sao Paulo city, five regions of the states countryside will have to close shops starting Monday due to a rise in coronavirus cases. Gov. Joao Doria announced the decision Friday.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organizations executive director, said at a news conference that Brazil needs to increase its efforts to stop the spread of infections.

The epidemic is still quite severe in Brazil. I believe health workers are working extremely hard and under pressure to be able to deal with the number of cases that they see on a daily basis, Ryan said. Certainly the rise is not as exponential as it was previously, so there are some signs that the situation is stabilizing. But weve seen this before in other epidemics in other countries.

Margareth Dalcolmo, a clinical researcher and professor of respiratory medicine at the state-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, believes the reopening in major cities and the virus travelling by road into Brazils heartland will keep the pressure on the countrys health system.

The risk in the interior now is very big, she said. Our health system just cant solve the most serious cases of COVID in many places of the countryside.
Pharrell Williams and Kenya Barris are in talks to create a musical film inspired by Juneteenth for Netflix.

The 47-year-old musician and the 45-year-old Black-ish creator are in the early stages of planning out the feature-length project, according to Deadline.

The news was reported on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the freeing of slaves throughout the United States following the end of the Civil War.

Musical celebration: Pharrell Williams, 47, and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, 45, are in talks with Netflix to make a musical film about the Juneteenth holiday, according to Deadline

Williams and Barris have been working on a live Juneteenth musical since 2018, but their Netflix project is apparently separate.

News of the project comes only days after Williams joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to announce that Juneteenth would now be a paid state holiday moving forward.

Williams said the holiday deserves the same reverence as Independence Day, though it's not currently a federal holiday, and only 47 states observe it.

'Our country excels at celebrating Independence Day. Juneteenth deserves the same level of recognition. Here's our day, and if you love us, it'll be your day too,' Williams said.

'This is a very special moment. Very special. This is a big display of progress, and I'm grateful for Virginia and us leading the way,' he continued.

Just starting: Williams and Barris' talks are reportedly in the early stages, and the project is apparently separate from a live-action Juneteenth musical they've been working on since 2018; pictured Tuesday with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam

Progress: On Tuesday, Williams joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to announce that the state would be one of the first in the nation to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday

On Thursday, Williams made a video chat appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote a Juneteenth holiday.

'I just think it's high time that if we're gonna think about independence and what freedom really looks like, ours was never really acknowledged,' the Oscar winner said.

'I mean, yeah, there's 47 states that observe [Juneteenth] but man, it's not a paid holiday. We deserve a paid holiday.'

'So I called [Governor Northam] and I just said, "Man, I just feel like this is important for not only your own legacy but for the legacy of Virginia. And if you would be willing to officiate this and make this a paid holiday, I will travel for the first time out of my house,"' he continued.

'This is for not only me, but this is for my ancestors that absolutely came through on the hull of a ship in Virginia over 401 years ago. So for me, this was incredibly symbolic and it's necessary.'

Overdue: 'I just think it's high time that if we're gonna think about independence and what freedom really looks like, ours was never really acknowledged,' Williams told Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday; pictured in March 2018

At Tuesday's press conference, Northam said he thought Virginia would be only the second state to make Juneteenth a paid holiday.

'It's time we elevate this. We are changing what we honor in Virginia,' he said of the June 19 commemoration. 'Not just a celebration by and for some Virginians but one acknowledged and celebrated by all of us.'

'That's how important this event is. It finally shut the door on the enslavement of AfricanAmerican people. And while it did not end racism, black oppression or violence, it is an important symbol. By commemorating it, we push people to think about the significance of Juneteenth,' he said.

Juneteenth, a portmanteau of 'June' and 'nineteenth,' marks the date in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were read the Emancipation Proclamation and learned that they had been freed.

Despite President Abraham Lincoln signing the proclamation in 1863, slave owners throughout the south continued to enslave people until months after the war had ended.

Back for more: On Blackout Tuesday, ABC rebroadcast Barris' critically acclaimed Juneteenth episode of Black-ish; pictured Wednesday in Beverly Hills

Texas became the first state to officially celebrate Juneteenth in 1980, and for decades the holiday was primarily celebrated in Texas, before Black people throughout the US began to adopt it as a holiday to celebrate the end of all slavery in America.

Barris has previously used his television shows to advocate for making Juneteenth a national holiday.

Black-ish had its own Juneteenth episode, which ABC recently rebroadcast on Blackout Tuesday, when businesses were encouraged to halt normal operations to draw attention to systemic racism and police brutality.

Barris' new Netflix series BlackAF, which he stars in, also has an episode featuring a Juneteenth party.
Incumbent Member of Parliament for Oda constituency William Quaitoo has lost his seat to Alexander Ackum in Saturdays primary.

Quaitoo polled 169 while his main contender polled 215 votes. Quaitoo is the Chairman of the Education Committee of Parliament. The Education Minister Mathew Opoku Prempeh thronged the constituency to campaign for Mr. Quaitoo but failed to convince delegates to retain him.

Meanwhile, provisional results indicate that the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Jubilee House Asenso Boakye has won the Bantama seat in the Ashanti region.

He beat incumbent Okyem Aboagye with over 400 votes.

More details soon

----starrfmonline
Weighing into the violent faceoff between armies of India and China at Ladakh's Galwan, Nepal on Saturday said that it is confident the two countries will resolve their mutual differences through peaceful means "in the spirit of good neighbourliness". The country's Foreign Ministry said disputes between the two Asian giants should be resolved through peaceful means.

"Nepal has always stood firmly for regional and world peace. In the context of recent development in the Galwan Valley area between our friendly neighbours India and China, Nepal is confident that both the neighbouring countries will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional and world peace and stability," a Foreign Ministry press statement said.

Read | 'India Could Face Military Pressure From China, Pakistan & Nepal': Chinese Mouthpiece

This comes at a time when India and Nepal are themselves at odds with each other after the tiny Himalayan nation passed a constitutional amendment to revise its map that now includes certain areas which are part of the Indian territory. On Thursday, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari ratified the Constitutional Amendment Bill passed by the country's Parliament to alter its map, exactly a month after it received approval in a Cabinet meeting chaired by PM KP Sharma Oli. The Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura have been incorporated in the new map.

READ | Nepal President Ratifies Constitutional Amendment Bill; Map With Indian Areas A Reality

The Galwan Clash

20 Indian Army soldiers including Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on Monday night when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. As per US intelligence reports, the Chinese side has suffered 35 casualties including a Commanding officer, during the physical clash. Sources revealed that an Indian colonel was attacked by Chinese Army personnel with iron rods without any provocation leading to hand-to-hand combat.

While three soldiers were killed in action, 17 other succumbed to their injuries and hypothermia, four others are in critical but stable condition, while 72 others are recuperating from minor injuries at various hospitals. Currently, both countries have disengaged at LAC, while talks via diplomatic channels and Army-level.

Asserting that China is not on Indian soil, PM Narendra Modi, on Friday, said that none of India's border posts have been captured, nor had China breached the Indian borders, at the all-party meeting chaired by him to brief political parties on the LAC situation. He added that the 20 martyrs died fighting and saving the motherland from the enemy.

READ | Prashant Kishor Takes A Dig At Centre Over Handling Of The Galwan Clash & COVID-19 Crisis

READ | Galwan Valley Clash: Nadda Slams Cong For 'Demoralising Army With It's Limited Knowledge'
FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed Opec logo in this illustration picture

By Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar and Olesya Astakhova

LONDON/MOSCOW - An OPEC-led panel meeting to review the oil market next week will advise the wider OPEC+ group cooperating on a record supply cut, five OPEC+ sources said, meaning further talks would be needed on whether to extend the agreement further.

OPEC, Russia and allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to keep production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day, or 10% of pre-coronavirus world demand, until the end of July. The reduction has helped oil prices to more than double since April.

To step up consultations on the effectiveness of the agreement, OPEC+ also agreed that a panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee or JMMC, will meet monthly until the end of 2020. Its first such meeting is on Thursday next week.

While this is a more frequent cycle of meetings than in the past, the JMMC's remit is still to advise OPEC+, the OPEC+ sources said. This means any decision to extend the supply reduction agreement would not be immediate.

"It's an advisory committee that can make recommendations," one of the OPEC+ sources said of the JMMC's role, declining to be identified by name.

The JMMC is composed of OPEC members Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, plus non-OPEC countries Russia and Kazakhstan.

One of the issues the JMMC will look at is whether countries that have not delivered their share of the cutbacks could do more. OPEC+ on Saturday demanded countries such as Nigeria and Iraq compensate with extra cuts in July to September.

The day before the JMMC meets, a lower-level group called the Joint Technical Committee will gather. Both meetings, like the ministerial talks held on Saturday, will be virtual.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)
Drinkers and biscuit eaters may be the biggest winners of a free trade pact between Australia and the United Kingdom.

British-made cars, Scotch whisky and Marmite are set to fall in price for Australian consumers, while the British can drown their sorrows in even more Australian wine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hails Tim Tams in Australia-UK trade talks. Credit:Facebook

Bondi lifeguards may also have to keep an eye on more sunburnt British backpackers at the beach as restrictions on work and travel between the two countries are eased.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also held out the promise of cheaper chocolate biscuits to cheer up British consumers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
AN initial report on the police use of tear gas against a group of protesters on Sunday has been completed.

The report, compiled by officers involved, is expected to be reviewed and recommendations made on if any protocols were breached by the officers engaged in the activities at the Queens Park Savannah in Port of Spain.
By ANI

KATHMANDU: Nepal on Saturday said it is confident that India and China will resolve their mutual differences through peaceful means for bilateral, regional and world peace and stability.

In a statement, Nepal's foreign ministry referred to the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley and said disputes between the countries should be resolved through peaceful means.

"Nepal maintains that disputes between the countries should be resolved through peaceful means. Nepal has always stood firmly for regional and world peace," the statement said.

It referred to both India and China as friendly neighbours.

Nepal is confident that our friendly neighbours India & China will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional & world peace and stability: Govt of Nepal. #GalwanValleyClash pic.twitter.com/kYdHRza3Vy  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

"In the context of recent developments in the Galwan valley area between our friendly neighbours India and China, Nepal is confident that both the neighbouring countries will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional and world peace and stability," the statement added.

The violent face-off on June 15 happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

India has said that the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.

Twenty Indian soldiers lost their lives in violent face-off. Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured.
The set of rules includes mandatory 14-day quarantine prior to arrival.

The Victory Day parade in Russian capital Moscow, rescheduled from May 9 to June 24 over pandemic considerations, will see a number of foreign delegations attending the event.

According to a letter the Russian foreign ministry sent to the relevant counterparts, the copy of which was seen by Moldova's Deschide.md, all foreign guests were required to undergo a full-fledged 14-day observation period prior to their arrival in Moscow, the Apostrophe outlet reports.

MFA Russia has told foreign delegations in a letter published by Apostrophe their members are supposed to complete a 14-day quarantine ahead of arrival in Moscow and run at least three consecutive lab tests with 24-hour intervals, including a day prior to the visit.

Also, a nasal swab for a new PCR test will be taken from delegation members upon arrival  either on board the plane or at the airport.

Medical staff who are part of the relevant delegations are told to perform temperature screening three times a day and obliged to inform Russia authorities of any signs of disease in delegation members.

Face masks and gloves are mandated, the letter reads.

The report by Apostrophe notes that, apparently, Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid of contracting the coronavirus: 'Public events with his participation were almost completely canceled; he appeared in public only on May 9 and June 12. Disinfection tunnels were installed in the Kremlin and Novo-Ogaryovo, while all visitors are placed in preliminary multi-day quarantine."

As UNIAN reported earlier citing the IGDTS think tank, the Moscow parade is of great geopolitical importance to Russia. Firstly, this is an attempt to neutralize political consequences of sanctions imposed over the annexation of Crimea and the war Russia has been waging in eastern Ukraine, authors state. Secondly, this is "an attempt to legitimize representatives of the self-proclaimed puppet republics".
It is a good way to get to know your more boutique politicians. Thats one of the lovely things about stories on the venal, corruption-adjacent inner workings of political parties and the power lust of their apparatchiks. The faceless men are revealed to a grateful public, and we get to take a good long look at what we are paying for.

For a population that cannot recognise its own Deputy Prime Minister (a 2019 survey showed only one in three Australians knew who Michael McCormack was), this can only be a good, educational thing.

Factional disputes: Former powerbroker Adem Somyurek. Credit:AAP

This week, taxpayers beyond the Victorian border were introduced to a cast of The Swearing and the Strange. The central figure was (now former) Victorian cabinet minister and ALP national executive member Adem Somyurek, a man with a gift for accumulating branch members, a former taxi driver whose use of colourful language made Malcolm Tucker look like a sweetie.

Surrounding our protagonist was a cast of players who undoubtedly benefited from his power and reach, including Anthony Byrne, a hitherto-obscure federal MP from Victoria, who is deputy chairman of the joint committee on intelligence and security.
North Korea is flexing its military muscles in a bid to have biting sanctions eased.

Analysts believe Pyongyang is seeking to take advantage of the turmoil in the White House to extract concessions.

It has been dramatically ramping up tensions with South Korea in recent weeks, a policy that seems aimed at making a renewed push for relief by recapturing the attention of a US administration distracted by domestic issues.

North Korea blew up a joint liaison office on its side of the border last week, declared an end to dialogue with South Korea and threatened military action.

After Donald Trump's three meetings with Kim Jong-un failed to lead to a denuclearisation deal, the US president's attention has turned to other matters, including the coronavirus crisis, anti-racism protests and the coming election.

Mr Kim, meanwhile, is facing the consequences for the failed talks, with North Korea's sanctions-hit economy further strained by a border lockdown imposed to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, potentially threatening his support base among the elites and military.

Analysts say one of Mr Kim's goals in lashing out at US ally South Korea is to remind Washington of the unresolved issues and potentially forcing it to intervene.

"Trump could feel the need to talk to the North to manage the situation for now, and publicly claim he had warded off the possible military provocations that Mr Kim has threatened," said Chang Ho-jin, a former South Korean presidential foreign policy secretary.

"By raising inter-Korean tensions, North Korea could also be hoping South Korea will push harder to get sanctions exemptions for joint economic projects that have so far been elusive."

A diplomatic source in Seoul said US officials, including deputy secretary of state Stephen Biegun, who had led negotiations with North Korea, are willing to make "last-ditch efforts" before the election.

"There was anxiety among them that they couldn't just idle away the first half of this year," the source said, noting Washington would switch to full election mode soon. But a US source told Reuters that while Washington is willing to talk with Pyongyang at any time, there are unlikely to be any negotiations that lead to a significant breakthrough in the near future.

The source said that sanctions relief is likely far away, as North Korea has been unwilling to discuss abandoning enough of its nuclear programmes for the US to consider rolling back sanctions.

The coronavirus pandemic, anti-racism protests and the rise in the polls of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden may have changed Mr Kim's strategy for winning concessions, said Wi Sung-lac, a former South Korean chief nuclear negotiator.

In his New Year address, Mr Kim vowed to unveil a "new strategic weapon," after Washington ignored a year-end deadline he set for a restart of talks, but North Korea appears to have fallen off Mr Trump's agenda.

"North Korea had been expected to stage a serious provocation such as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, but Covid-19 and the ensuing US political situation seem to have provided Kim a new calculation," Mr Wi said.

"With Trump already in trouble, firing an ICBM would only benefit Biden, so he resorted to short-range missile testing as a stop-gap measure."
What does it mean to be responsible during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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As women physicians, especially physician-moms and women physicians of color, we have handled and achieved more than the vast majority of the population, in order to reach our current status of physician.

We do because we can.

We are Superwomen. Until were not.

Without thought, we take on others responsibilities, because we can.

In addition to our own personal responsibility to ourselves and to our loved ones, we take on the responsibilities of our patients well-being, the failures of dysfunctional medical and political systems, and even the disastrous effects of diseases, such as COVID-19.

Our patients hand over their poor health to us, and we accept it.

Our dysfunctional medical systems hand over their inadequacies to us, and we accept them.

Our white male department chief hands over an unpaid position created to right racial and gender inequities to a woman physician of color, and she accepts it, without pay.

Our unethical government hands over the lack of PPE and massive disinformation, and we accept the multiple adverse consequences of this, as if we are responsible.

Even when we are not at work, we are, as one of my physician-mom clients put it, momming the world. We walk into a small shop in which the employees are unmasked, and we cannot leave without giving them a mini info session (as quickly as possible because they are unmasked) about this virushow it spreads, asymptomatic carriers, its serious effects, the recent increase in cases in the area, the effectiveness of masking, the reasons for mitigation orders, the lack of an effective treatment or vaccine, the horrendous manifestations of this disease. Just today, I did it again. To no avail. My words fell on this twenty-something womans deaf ears.

Last week I called the owner of a small organic grocery store explaining for 40 minutes why his employees should be maskedthat his stores policy of universal customer masking, waiting outside at 6-feet distances, limiting total numbers within the store, having us wash our hands before touching anything, the pre-cleansing of shopping carts, was rendered ridiculous by the fact that not one single employee was wearing a mask. Nor were they practicing 6-foot distancing within the store itself. And when I heard his children playing in the background, I detailed the characteristics of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Deaf ears. Again.

We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Because we can.

Until we cannot.

Our extraordinary capabilities and past successes paradoxically lead us to taking on even more, rather than facing the guilt of not doing so, or the pain of labeling our own behavior as unethical.

Its one thing when we are caring for and protecting our own small children or those who are not able to hold the same degree of responsibility as we are. Its another if we willingly continue to hold others responsibilities for them.

This is a terrifying time for our lives and livelihoods to depend on self-centered, ignorant, sick, greedy, or irresponsible individuals. Our response? To take on even more.

I cant remember a more significant time in my life to recognize that responsibility is, in fact, the ability to respond.

I cant think of a more significant time to accept that instead of Superwomen, we may, in fact, be Wonder Women.

So, if you find yourself stuck in this Superwoman-super responsible dilemma, here are a few things to consider:

What is mine? What belongs to other? How able am I to respond? What is an effective response? Who and what am I truly responsible for? What outcome do I want? What actions will achieve this?

And, if you are feeling guilty, ask yourself if you, yourself, have knowingly done something to cause another pain or harm. If the answer is no, how willing are you to place the responsibility back with its appropriate owner?

As a good parent, we know that we cannot solve our older/adult childrens problems for them, that when we stop doing for them it allows them the opportunity to grow and the greatest chance of success.

And, yes, this pandemic makes this especially challenging.

But I cannot think of a more important time for us to respond effectively.

Rebecca Elia is an obstetrics-gynecology physician and physician coach. She can be reached at her self-titled site, Rebecca Elia, MD.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 22:06:20|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Troops of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Saturday tightened their grip on the strategic Yemeni island of Socotra after expelling loyalists of the Muslim Brotherhood group.

A security official based in Socotra confirmed that "the southern troops were largely deployed across Socotra and have completely gained total control over the strategic island."

"Officials of Socotra's local authority declared their outright support for the southern forces that began securing all the state facilities there," the source said on condition of anonymity.

He affirmed that all offices of the local authority have resumed work and begun offering services for the local residents in Socotra.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of Socotra's local residents staged a large demonstration in front of the local authority headquarters to show support for STC's troops.

Witnesses told Xinhua that "people went out to the streets in Hadibu, the capital of Socotra, waving flags of former South Yemen and happily welcoming the arrival of the southern troops."

A leading member of the Aden-based STC, a powerful ally of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, confirmed that STC has started implementing self-rule in Socotra and held a number of meetings to discuss the situation there.

"During the past period, some elements used Socotra as a hotbed for illegally smuggling weapons to abort the efforts of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen," the STC official said anonymously.

"From now on the southern troops will secure Socotra and closely cooperate with the Saudi-led Arab coalition to curb the activities serving other foreign agendas in the country," he added.

Local observers believe that a number of reasons enabled the STC in seizing the strategic island.

"Unlike the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party, the STC and its troops are widely welcomed by the people and also the local figures or tribesmen there," said Ali Bin Hadi, a military observer based in Aden.

"The STC's southern troops are strongly aligned with the Saudi-led Arab coalition in fighting some countries' influence in Yemen while the Muslim Brotherhood did the opposite things," he added.

On Friday, armed confrontations erupted between the STC's troops and forces loyal to the Islah party, part of Yemen's government, over the control of Socotra.

Yemen's government condemned the STC's escalation in Socotra and urged forces of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition stationed there to intervene or conduct a mediation to cease the conflict, but received no reply.

The Yemeni government based in Saudi Arabia demanded an immediate cessation of the STC's actions and insisted on unconditional withdrawal of the southern troops from the island.

Socotra is located in one of the busiest shipping routes in the world and Yemen's warring factions sporadically engage in armed confrontations over establishing military bases there for controlling the strategic island.

The Socotra archipelago is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, with rich and unique biodiversity. Enditem
Criticisms of President Donald Trumps response to the impact of COVID-19 and systemic racism could spoil his campaigns efforts to win over Black voters in Michigan.

The presidents re-election campaign is dedicating more resources to convert a fraction of traditionally Democratic-leaning Black voters, primarily by making the case that economic growth experienced during most of Trumps first term brought prosperity to neglected minority communities. But the coronavirus, which caused historic unemployment and higher rates of death and infection for Black Americans, and Trumps aggressive reaction to protests against police brutality could undermine the campaigns message in Michigan, a key 2020 electoral battleground.
New Delhi:

A resolution was passed in the Delhi Assembly on Friday that congratulated the Army and the political leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the LoC. However, the exercise too had its share of AAP-BJP tussle.



The Assembly, dominated by Aam Aadmi Party, has often seen sharp attacks by the ruling party on Modi, whose name was on Friday included in the resolution following a demand by Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader Vijender Gupta. BJP has just three MLAs in the 70-member House.



The resolution in its original form did not refer to any individual. We congratulate the Prime Minister, the Centre, the Union Home Minister, the Defence Minister and the chiefs of the armed forces. Let this line be added, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.



The resolution, introduced by Kejriwal and passed unanimously, also condemned the Uri attacks in which 19 soldiers were killed and warned Pakistan to desist from repeating such misadventures in the future.



It also extended wholehearted support to measures to be taken by the Union government for protecting the countrys territorial integrity and demanded that rogue elements responsible for causing hardship to the common people of the subcontinent be isolated.

Earlier, Gupta said the resolution had certain shortcomings and demanded that Modias name be inserted as even the Army Chief has apraised the political leadershipa.



Gupta also urged Kejriwal to delete his September 27 tweet that read aExcellent article. On Uri, rather than Pak, India seems to be getting isolated internationally.a The CM had shared an opinion piece on Indo-Pak tensions following the Uri attack.



aThe tweet was made when the forces were on their way to the mission. It will have a negative impression when the world has focused its attention towards India,a Gupta said. Ministers including Sisodia, Kapil Mishra and Gopal Rai participated in a brief discussion on the resolution.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Two Bay of Plenty surf life savers have been selected for a distinguished leadership development programme.

Maddie Scown from Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services and Fergus Rieger from Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service will be joining thirteen other Surf Life Saving New Zealands up and coming leaders to gear up and embark on a lifelong leadership journey.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is delighted to announce the nine women and six men, aged 20 to 27, who have been selected for the prestigious leadership development programme bp Leaders for Life.

Surf Life Saving NZ Education Development Lead Belinda Slement says the candidates for this years programme were all outstanding.

This year I really struggled selecting the participants  all the applicants could have gone on the programme.

bp Leaders for Life is designed to up-skill and retain people within the organisation, with the view that they can lead their clubs and the surf lifesaving movement into a sustainable and vibrant future.

Graduates have moved into a number of roles including board and committee members, instructors, examiners and patrol auditors, as well as returning to the programme as bp Leaders for Life facilitators.

Belinda says the 10-month programme is about creating people that can give back to their club and community, and have an impact.

Seeing the success people achieve post-programme, applying the leadership skills theyve learnt and seeing how supportive the clubs are is really rewarding.

They are developing themselves personally and it crosses over to their club and their life. The skills they are going to get are going to be with them for life.

They are doing it to better themselves, their club and their community.

The programme includes weekend workshops where the volunteer Surf Lifeguards hear from top leadership speakers. They learn about good communication, leadership skills, their own strengths and weaknesses, the organisation and its strengths and challenges, how things work at different clubs, and how to make positive change.

bp Leaders for Life 2019/20. Photo supplied.

Belinda says a highlight for her is seeing where previous participants are today, what they are doing and what they have achieved.

James Lloyd took part in bp Leaders for Life in 2014. He is now director of Lifeguarding at Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services and became a bp Leaders for Life facilitator in 2020.

Participating in bp Leaders for Life was an incredible opportunity for me and helped me develop my leadership skills immensely.

Ive been able to utilise these skills both within Surf Lifesaving and my professional career.

Volunteer Surf Lifeguard Emma Sutherland also took part in the 2014 bp Leaders for Life programme. She became a programme facilitator in 2016 and has gone on to become Club Chair at Pacific Surf Life Saving Club.

Club Chair is a challenging role in itself, and a huge opportunity for learning new skills, and practising some of the skills I learnt on bp Leaders for Life.

Belinda says it is incredible seeing what people go on to achieve.

bp is one of Surf Life Saving New Zealands major partners and Belinda says their support is vital  their generous contribution subsidises programme costs for all participants.

We couldnt do this without bp. The fact they are willing to invest so much in leadership development is crucial.

The Leaders for Life programme began in 2012, and bp came on board two years later. Since then 120 people have been through bp Leaders for Life and benefited from the companys investment in the programme.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand Chief Executive Paul Dalton says bp Leaders for Life is vital to developing the organisations future leaders.

Weve seen people come through the programme and go on to become great leaders within surf lifesaving, and in their own careers.

The skills they learn will cross over into many aspects of their life, says Paul.

Congratulations to the group that has been selected for the 2020/2021 programme. Im looking forward to seeing what you bring back to your clubs, as well as the wider organisation."

bp Managing Director Debi Boffa says the company is incredibly proud to support bp Leaders for Life.

Its awesome to see 15 talented young lifeguards participate in 2020/21 representing 14 clubs across the country," says Debi.

Its a fantastic initiative and we know that those participating will develop valuable skills and experience that they, their clubs, and the local communities will all benefit from.

The 2019/2020 bp Leaders for Life group wraps up, and the 2020/2021 group gets underway, in a combined weekend event at Mount Maunganui from July 24 to 26.

bp Leaders for Life 2018/19. Photo supplied.

The 2020/2021 bp Leaders For Life group are:

Laurice Sciarone - Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service

Jacob Rennie - Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club

Caity Alison - Pauanui Surf Life Saving Club

Maddie Scown - Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services

Adam Glenister - Wainui Surf Life Saving Club

Thomas Brown - Pauanui Surf Life Saving Club

Fergus Rieger - Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service

Brianna Norris - Paekakariki Surf Lifeguards

Hannah Pou - Riversdale Surf Life Saving Club

Cam Richardson - Lyall Bay Surf Life Saving Club

Callum McKenzie - Foxton Surf Life Saving Club

Charlotte Becconsall-Ryan - Warrington Surf Life Saving Club

Elsa-Marie Hegarty - South Brighton Surf Life Saving Club

Helena Cook - Waikuku Beach Surf Life Saving Club

Jody Mowat - St Kilda Surf Life Saving Club

About the 52-year bp and Surf Life Saving New Zealand partnership:

The 52-year partnership between bp and Surf Life Saving New Zealand -SLSNZ - began shortly after the 1968 Wahine disaster with the donation of a surf boat.

Prior to that, bp's predecessor, Europa, sponsored a surf boat at Worser Bay Surf Life Saving Club called 'Miss Europa'. This boat was used by brave clubbies in horrendous conditions to save some of the 683 passengers and crew that were rescued from the Wahine.

The Europa staff were so impressed by the actions of these clubbies that a nationwide sponsorship began evolving into the celebrated partnership it is today. bp purchased Europa and continued the partnership.

The partnership includes an annual donation, a new Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) donated to one club each year, and an annual contribution towards fuel costs for every Surf Life Saving club around the country.

bp supports the bp Leaders for Life programme which is designed to provide lifeguards with a variety of important skills including conflict resolution and leadership skills that can be applied to their communities and clubs. bp also recognises the skills of surf lifeguards in the bp Rescue of the Month and bp Rescue of the Year awards.
The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson penned a moving Facebook tribute to the late Ian Holm, who died Friday aged 88.

Ian played Bilbo Baggins in the iconic film trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's book and briefly reprised the role for the Hobbit prequel trilogy.

Peter recounted how Ian initially turned down the Hobbit job because of his decline from Parkinson's disease, but that arrangements were eventually made for him to be able to do it, resulting in 'a wonderful actor delivering his last performance. It was incredibly brave of him to do that, and very emotional for those who witnessed it.'

Throwback: The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson penned a moving Facebook tribute to the late Ian Holm, who died Friday aged 88

The Oscar-winning filmmaker remembered: 'Ian was such a delightful, generous man. Quiet, but cheeky, with a lovely twinkle in his eye.'

Peter remembered a sweet story from the set of the first Lord Of The Rings film in which Bilbo entertains a crowd of children at his 111th birthday party.

The child extras, playing 'spellbound three and four year olds,' included Peter's own children by his longtime love Fran Walsh who is also his co-writer and co-producer.

As they shot the scene they were aware that 'young kids get bored very quickly, and Ian and I quickly realized that they couldnt hear the same story over and over again, as we captured the various angles we needed.'

History: Ian played Bilbo Baggins in the iconic film trilogy; he is pictured with Elijah Wood in its 2001 first installment The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

Peter had Ian change up Bilbo's anecdote for the children each time 'so long as he gave us the essence of what was in the script. I told him not to worry and that Id figure it out in the cutting room.'

However the children also had to sit around for '15-20 minutes' at a time as cameras were shifted and Peter enlisted Ian to 'tell them other stories between shots.'

Peter recalled: 'As the kids were ushered off set, and the crew moved onto the next sequence, Ian said that hed never worked so hard in his life!'

Ian was also persuaded to return for The Hobbit films, which underwent principal photography from spring 2011 to summer 2012.

'Farewell, dear Bilbo': Ian was also persuaded to return for The Hobbit films, which underwent principal photography from spring 2011 to summer 2012

Although Martin Freeman plays a young Bilbo in the Hobbit trilogy, Ian plays the 111-year-old Bilbo in the framing device of the film - but initially declined the job offer.

'Fran and I had dinner with Ian and his wife Sophie in London, and he told us that he was very sorry, but he couldnt do it,' Peter remembered.

'Adding to our shock, he confided that hed been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, and could no longer remember lines. He had difficulty walking, and certainly couldnt travel to New Zealand. Always a private man, he told us that hed basically retired, but wasnt announcing it.'

Indeed Ian had not acted on film or TV since providing the voice of Skinner in the 2007 animated Pixar movie Ratatouille.

Helping hands: Both Ian's wife Sophie (right) and Elijah were on set daily with Ian, with Sophie 'helping both him and us' and his old co-star 'giving Ian additional support'

Making it work: As Ian was unable to travel because of Parkinson's, the filmmakers were able to accommodate him by shooting his scenes in London where he was joined by Elijah

However Ian 'liked' the framing idea and Peter 'also told him how my mother and an uncle had both endured Parkinsons for years, and I was very familiar with the effects of the disease.'

Their evening out 'suddenly turned into a think tank, with Ian, Sophie, Fran and I trying to figure out a process that would allow Ian to play Bilbo one last time.'

Peter wrote touchingly: 'By the end of the dinner he nodded slowly, and said: "Yes, I think I could do that." But I knew he was only doing it as a favor to me, and I held his hands and thanked him with tears in my eyes.'

The filmmakers were eventually able to accommodate Ian by shooting his scenes in London where he was joined by his old Lord Of The Rings co-star Elijah Wood.

'The sea calls us home': 'Ive always loved Ians performance in the final scenes of Return of the King,' wrote Peter, quoting: '"I think I'm quite ready for another adventure"'

Both Sophie and Elijah were on set daily with Ian, with his wife 'helping both him and us' and his old co-star 'giving Ian additional support.'

Lord Of The Rings star Christopher Lee, who died aged 93 in 2015, also reprised his role for the Hobbit and shot his scenes in London as he was too old to fly all the way to New Zealand where Peter generally films his movies.

Peter wrote: 'In the finished movie, I hope that audiences just see Ian Holm reprising Bilbo. But what I experienced on set was a wonderful actor delivering his last performance. It was incredibly brave of him to do that, and very emotional for those who witnessed it.'

So sweet: Peter remembered a sweet story from the set of the first Lord Of The Rings film in which Bilbo entertains a crowd of children at his 111th birthday party

He added: 'Ive always loved Ians performance in the final scenes of Return of the King. "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure."'

Bilbo says the line before the Last Riding Of The Keepers Of The Rings where he and other characters board a ship headed to an afterlife in the Undying Lands.

'Farewell, dear Bilbo,' wrote Peter, quoting a line said by Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. 'Safe travels, darling Ian.'
Tribes in Libya loyal to eastern forces have called upon Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday to defend Libya and preserve its sovereignty and resources, a tribal representative said on Saturday.

Mansour Basisi, a representative of the Libyan tribes, asked El-Sisi to strongly defend Libya and safeguard its sovereignty and resources.

His call came after El-Sisi said that any direct Egyptian intervention in Libya would have international legitimacy at this point.

The president made the statement in a televised speech while inspecting Egypt's Western Military Zone accompanied by the heads and elders of Libyan tribes, Egyptian Minister of Defence and General Commander of the Armed Forces Mohamed Zaki, Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, as well as leaders of the main branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces.

El-Sisi explained that any intervention in Libya by Egyptian forces "would be led by the Libyan tribes," and stressed that "we only aspire for stability in Libya."

Egyptian security and Libyan security are one and the same due to the blood ties between the two countries and their deep societal relations, Basisi said.

He also affirmed the tribes unlimited support of the Libyan leadership represented in the parliament led by speaker Aguila Saleh and commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar.

Basisi stressed the tribes rejection of any foreign interference in Libyas domestic affairs and any designs on its resources.

We have examples from the past and lessons from the reality and tragedies of foreign occupation, which has only resulted in ignorance that left us more than 300 years behind other nations, he said.

Basisi stressed the tribes appreciation for Egypts unlimited support and for standing behind the Libyan parliament and its armed forces in its war against terrorism and extremism.

He lauded Egypts support in preserving Libyan stability and security amid territorial ambitions by some states both regionally and internationally.

Libya is a sovereign state. No country is allowed to tamper with its lands or its sovereignty, borders and resources, he said, calling on the Arab League, the UN, the EU, the African Union and international human rights groups and NGOs to stand by the Libyan people against the aggressors.

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Iraq is finally moving ahead with plans to develop its associated and non-associated gas resources in the next two to three years, according to a statement last week from its Deputy Oil Minister, Hamed Younis. In total, he said, the Oil Ministry is looking at projects to develop 1.2 billion standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) of associated gas out of the 2.7 billion scf/d produced as an adjunct to oil excavation. It is also looking to develop a number of standalone gas fields, beginning with the combined estimated 700 million scf/d production of Akkas and Mansouriyah. There are three very good reasons why it should do so but, given its history on achieving objectives in this area, whether it will accomplish anything at all is a moot point. The first reason is political, in so far as it needs to have some evidence to show the U.S. that it is intending to reduce its dependence on Iran for electricity and gas imports at some point in the future. As highlighted by OilPrice.com, this long-running arrangement between the two countries has been an equally long-running source of intense irritation to the U.S. To reprise briefly, Washington made it very clear in April that unless Iraq showed the U.S. some compelling evidence that it was intending to reduce its imports of Iranian electricity and gas then there would be no more waivers for Iraq after the 30-day one made in April expired.

At the same time, more names in Iraq  connected to the perennial sanctions-busting activities that have marked the two countries relationship since the original sanctions were introduced  would be added to the relevant blacklists. Moreover, financing and security support would be cut and the prospects for the absolutely vital oil infrastructure project  the Common Seawater Supply Project  would be severely damaged, with no chance of ExxonMobil returning to it. This announcement of new gas projects from Iraq is part of the set of reassurances that Baghdad gave Washington in this regard.

The second reason that Iraq should implement these gas plans is financial, in that not developing its non-associated gas fields is akin to leaving money in the ground. Although Iraq does not have gas reserves on the same scale as neighboring Iran (with its supergiant non-associated South Pars resource) it does have nearly 135 trillion cubic feet of gas, the 12th largest in the world according to the EIA, with about three-quarters of this associated. Clearly, global gas prices are currently low but that will not always be the case and it will take at least as long to develop the gas fields as it takes for the world gas price to recover.

For the same reason, it makes good sense to stop flaring the gas associated with oil field development, as this is akin to burning money, which Iraq can ill-afford. Only last month, Iraqs economic parliamentary committee suggested that international oil companies (IOCs) be paid with crude oil rather than cash or cash-equivalents as a means to reduce near-term state expenditure. It also proposed delaying payments of foreign debt, introducing salary cuts of 60 percent for various state sector employees, and reducing all non-essential spending.

Despite pumping at least 4.65 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in February - above its OPEC+ quota of 4.46 million bpd  and exporting around 3.4 million bpd of crude that month, and almost the same in March, Iraqs oil-related revenues had fallen by nearly 50 percent at that point. This is in line with the collapse in oil prices and the fact that about 90 percent of Iraqs government revenues still come from oil, hence the requests to the IOCs. Worse still is that the perennial disagreements persist between Baghdad and Erbil over the deal struck in 2014 for Iraq to send budget disbursements to the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in exchange for oil supplies sent back from it to Iraqs State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

This financial straightening poses severe danger to Baghdad very shortly, with new Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, requiring IQD12 trillion (US$10 billion) just to pay the next two months salaries of more than four million employees, retirees, state beneficiaries, and the food relief for low-income families, which together constitutes the majority of households in Iraq. It is believed in Iraqi government circles that any failure to pay any of these obligations could result in the sort of widespread protests that occurred at the end of last year.

Related: Oilfield Services May Not Recover Until 2023 The third reason that Iraq should implement these gas plans is longer-term strategic in that flaring gas and not developing non-associated gas resources means that Iraqs precious oil reserves have to be used instead to generate domestic power. This means that the oil used for power generation cannot be monetized through export (even now at a much higher rate than the average US$1-2 per barrel lifting cost) to boost Iraqs near-empty state coffers nor can it be used to help Iraq reach its long-planned crude oil production target of 7 million barrels per day (it was to have been achieved by 2022).

As it stands, Iraq ranks as one of the worst three offenders for flaring associated gas in the world, after Russia, burning off around 16 billion cubic meters last year. Not only does this cost the economy billions of dollars in lost revenue and contribute to the frequent power outages in Iraq, particularly during the summer months, but it also is not in the spirit of the United Nations and World Bank Zero Routine Flaring initiative aimed at ending this type of routine flaring by 2030 that Iraq joined in 2017.

Aside from the gradual development of Iraqs non-associated gas fields of the 400 million scf/d Akkas and 300 million scf/d Mansouriyah in the first instance, covered in detail by OilPrice.com, Younis highlighted that the initial focus of the efforts to capture associated gas would fall on Nasiriyah (200 million scf/d), Halfaya (300 million scf/d), and Ratawi (400 million scf/d), with the remaining 300 million scf/d (of the total 1.2 billion scf/d) coming from other fields.

Although he provided no further salient details, this single announcement links back to a deal agreed in principle in 2018 between Baghdad and U.S. oil services provision giant Baker Hughes to harness 200 million scf/d from the Nassiriya and Gharraf oilfields (and other oil fields north of Basra), and adjunct deals made at around the same time. These, according to a senior oil and gas industry source who works closely with Iraqs Oil Ministry, are to be the broad template that the Oil Ministry will now attempt to follow.

Related: WTI Jumps To $40 On Demand Recovery

The first stage would involve the advanced modular gas processing solution being deployed at the Integrated Natural Gas Complex in Nassiriya to dehydrate and compress flare gas to generate over 100 million scf/d of gas. The second stage would involve the Nassiriya plant being expanded to become a complete natural gas liquid facility that would recover 200 million scf/d of dry gas, liquefied gas, and condensate. All of this output would go to the domestic power generation sector, with Baker Hughes at that time stating that addressing the flared gas from the two fields would allow for the provision of 400 megawatts of power to the Iraqi grid.

At around the same time as the Baker Hughes deal was announced in 2018, the then-Oil Minister, Jabbar Al-Luaibi, said that he was in the process of negotiating a similar gas capture deal for the state-run Nahr Bin Umar field with Houston-based Orion Gas Processors. Additionally, Iraqs South Oil Company stated that as part of the same plan it would begin the construction plans for gas-processing facilities in the Missan and Halfaya fields that would have a combined capacity of 600 million scf/d of gas when completed. The plan then was for this to be augmented with the construction of gas-processing facilities in the West Qurna, Majnoon, and Badra fields, with respective overall capacities 1,650 million scf/d, 725 million scf/d, and 85 million scf/d.

The plan at that stage, according to the Oil Ministry, was that Iraq would have ceased all gas flaring from its southern-producing oil fields by the end of 2021, and that by that time some of this gas capacity will also have been freed up for export. When oil production touches seven million barrels per day over the next few years, Iraq will have a surplus of around four billion cubic feet [of gas] to be freed up for exports, the Oil Ministry had specified.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads from Oilprice.com:
What about choking? Did she recall if she recently had a really bad choking episode  when her food had gone down the wrong pipe? She most certainly did. Maybe three months earlier, she was eating a salad and something hard dropped into her airway. She was home alone, and suddenly she couldnt breathe at all. She couldnt even cough, though she could feel herself trying to. She jumped up and ran out of the old farmhouse. She lived alone and the only other person she could think of on the property was her elderly landlord, and she couldnt see him anywhere. Dark spots appeared before her eyes, and she wondered if shed be found dead with a piece of her salad stuck in her throat. After what seemed like forever but was probably less than a minute, something shifted, and the airway popped open. Her heart raced. She was an Army veteran, but shed never felt closer to death than she had right then.

A New Understanding of an Old Event

Afterward, her chest was sore, but her breathing was back to normal. So she hadnt thought of it months later when the wheezing started. Even when the doctors at that first hospital told her she might have a mass, her thoughts went to cancer and not to that choking episode.

But after she was discharged that first time, she was still coughing up a storm. After one bad bout of hacking, she brought up something solid. When she fished it out of her mouth, she saw what looked like a piece of walnut and recalled those terrible moments when she thought the thing might kill her. She figured shed gotten rid of the problem. Perhaps shed been wrong.

On Day 5 of this second hospital stay, she was scheduled for the bronch. She was positioned in a chair that reminded her of the one in her dentists office. Once she was sedated, Rucci gently introduced the endoscope into her mouth, through her vocal cords and into her lungs. He directed the camera through the complex intersections of the large airways until he was all the way down to the lower lobe. And there it was  wedged in tight, blocking off the entire section. He could see a sliver of free space near the top of the object. He slid a tiny tool through the tubing past the camera, and then to the far side of the object. Once there he moved a switch and felt, rather than saw, a small net open behind the obstruction. He coaxed the net forward until he was certain hed captured the thing. It was too large to be pulled out through the scope, so he slowly withdrew the entire instrument, keeping an eye on the captured object. The retrieved item clattered into the specimen container. Rucci squinted at the object. It was beige and hard. It was the rest of the snorted walnut. Suddenly it made sense. The patient had inhaled the nut, which got stuck in the middle lobe. Her violent cough broke it in two, and one part came up and the other, now smaller, piece dropped farther down the progressively narrower airways.

Swallowed Foreign Objects

While food is whats usually aspirated, a surprisingly wide variety of items manage to make their way into the lungs. Chevalier Jackson, a physician during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, devoted his career to developing instruments and techniques to retrieve these misplaced items. During Jacksons 75-year career, he extracted 2,374 inhaled or swallowed foreign bodies from patients throats, esophagi and lungs, including safety pins, buttons, screws, dentures and lots and lots of toys. More than 80 percent of those objects were found in children. The entire collection, along with details of the patients from whom they were retrieved and the techniques used, is housed in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.

Like most patients, this one did well after the object was retrieved. Once the airway was opened, the pneumonia cleared up easily. She went home a couple of days later. The patient tells me that she still has trouble swallowing. She recently heard about a kind of physical therapy that might help, and plans to try that  once her doctors start seeing patients again.
New Delhi:

Controversial RJD leader Shahabuddin was back in prison 20 days after his release, as the Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Patna High Court order granting him bail in a murder case saying the discretion to release must be applied in judicious manner and not as a matter of course.



The order passed by the High Court granting bail to the respondent-accused (Shahabuddin) is set aside and the state is directed to take all consequential steps, inter alia, for taking him to custody forthwith, a bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said.



The bench, which clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case pending against the RJD leader, asked Bihar government and the concerned court to take all steps as contemplated in law to dispose of the case, as early as possible.

What Shahabuddin said after his bail cancellation

# I stand by what I said earlier (On Nitish Kumar), my supporters will show them in the upcoming elections.



# I don't care about what people say, I respect the judiciary system.

#WATCH: Mohd Shahabuddin says his supporters will reply to Nitish Kumar in the next elections. pic.twitter.com/F9PGYYs83s  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

I don't care about what people say, I respect the judiciary system: Mohd Shahabuddin pic.twitter.com/SjZ5ItJrtK  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

Mohd Shahabuddin surrenders before Siwan District Court in Bihar pic.twitter.com/Mndf3F91VA  ANI (@ANI_news) September 30, 2016

Referring to various judgements on bail, it said, Judged on entire conspectus of the attendant facts and circumstances, and considering the stage of the present case before the trial court where charge-sheet has already been submitted, together with pending proceedings against the respondent-accused as on date, and his recorded antecedents in the various decisions of this court, we are thus unable to sustain the impugned order of the High Court granting bail to him.



In its 10-page order, the apex court dealt with various aspects of the submissions and said, Although it has to be accepted that the respondent-accused has already been granted bail by the concerned courts in other cases, a duty is cast upon the court in addressing such a prayer in a case on its own merit, and while applying its discretion, it must be applied in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course.

The SC had directed Shahabuddin to surrender and asked Bihar Govt to take steps to take him into custody forthwith. The top court also asked trial court to expeditiously conclude Rajiv Roshan murder case allegedly involving Shahabuddin.

A bench comprising Justice P C Ghose and Amitava Roy directed the state government and the lower court to ensure that the trial in the Rajiv Roshan murder case is concluded "expeditiously as contemplated under the law".

Meanwhile, the court issued notice to Shahabuddin and Bihar government on another plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in a murder case of two brothers of Roshan.



Shahabuddin has been awarded life imprisonment in the twin murder case and the Patna High Court had granted him bail in this matter as well.

Read More | SC lashes out at Bihar govt, asks were you sleeping till Shahabuddin got bail?



Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on , was released from Bhagalpur jail on . He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.



On , the apex court had sought a response from Shahabuddin on a separate plea filed by Siwan resident Chandrakeshwar Prasad, challenging the bail granted to him by Patna High Court, in the murder case of his third son.



Kalawati Devi, wife of Chandrakeshwar Prasad and the mother of three youths who were brutally killed by henchmen of the controversial politician, had also moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to him in the case in which he has already been sentenced to life.

Read More | I am not worried about anything at all: Shahabuddin on Bihar Govt's appeal for bail cancellation in SC



On , the top court had also rebuked Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, which has RJD as its coalition partner, for its lax approach in opposing bail granted to the RJD strongman in various cases at different judicial forums including the High Court.



Bihar government, which drew flak from the court since the beginning of the hearing on appeals, was questioned during 's hearing for not providing a copy of the charge sheet to him for 17 months in the murder case of Rajiv Roshan.



Roshan, the eye witness to the gruesome killings of two of his younger siblings, was also killed few days before his proposed testimony in the murder case of his brothers.



A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy, which heard the parties for nearly three days, referred to the trial court records and said it cannot simply go by "inferences" drawn from various happenings in lower courts, as the order sheets revealed that police records were not provided to the accused.



Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Siwan-based Chandrakeshwar Prasad who lost his three sons in two separate crimes, had vehemently opposed the contention of Shahabuddin that he was not provided the case records including chargesheet for 17 months after it was filed in the trial court.



The apex court is also hearing a separate plea filed by the widow of journalist Rajdev Ranjan, who was murdered in Siwan allegedly at the instance of Shahabuddin, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi. (Read the story in Hindi Here)

Read More | Supreme Court notice to Lalu's son Tej Pratap, Shahabuddin in journalist Ranjans murder case



For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Egypt has requested the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in resolving the dispute over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River.

In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Egypt has submitted a request to the UNSC over the GERD, calling on the UN body to intervene to emphasise the importance for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to continue negotiations with good will.

The ministry added it has asked the council to push the three countries to adhere to their obligations in accordance with the rules of international law in order to reach a fair and balanced solution to the issue of the GERD, the statement said.

Any unilateral measure may harm the chances of reaching an agreement over the dam, according to the statement.

It added that Egypt made this decision after the negative position Ethiopia has adopted during the decade-long negotiations.

Egypt reaffirmed its keenness to reach an agreement that meets the interests of the three countries, the ministry said.

It noted that it has sought the UNSC intervention to avoid any tension and to maintain international peace and security.

Since June 9, the three countries have been holding regular video meetings to discuss issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD in the presence of three observers from the United States, the European Union Commission and South Africa.

Over the past few years, tripartite talks on the rules of filling and operating Ethiopias grand hydropower dam have been fruitless, including those hosted by Washington, amid Egyptian concerns that the GERD would affect Egypts annual share of Nile water.

Ethiopia has recently said that it would soon start filling the reservoir, while Egypt has repeatedly warned against any unilateral action without a prior tripartite agreement.

Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt, a downstream Nile Basin country that relies on the river for its freshwater, is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the water resources of the river.

(Xinhua/NAN)
(Natural News) Staunch conservatives have slammed yesterdays Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which redefined the term sex in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to mean not simply male and female as biological facts, but also sexual orientation and gender identity.

(Article by Martin Burger republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

Josh Hammer of First Liberty Institute called the decision by six justices, including Trump-nominee Neil Gorsuch, the Roe v. Wade of religious liberty.

Bostock is no joke, and it lays bare the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the conservative legal movement, he added.

Hammer demanded a more forceful conservative legal movement, just as willing as the left to make moral arguments in court, based on principles of justice, natural law (the rules embedded in our very nature as human beings), the common good and the religious and moral traditions underlying Anglo-American constitutional order.

Speaking of Gorsuchs majority opinion, he said it did not at all qualify as textualism, a legal philosophy according to which a law needs to be interpreted based on the ordinary meaning of the legal text.

Its ivory-tower liberalism, Hammer wrote. And its completely at odds with the Supreme Courts longstanding dictum that Congress, in drafting statutes, wont inscribe a hidden meaning in otherwise plain language: As Justice Samuel Alito sharply noted in dissent, sex, in 1964, meant biological sex  man and woman  not orientation and certainly not subjective gender identity.

Following Bostock v. Clayton, he asked, can a Catholic school deny employment to a teacher whose sexual lifestyle blatantly flouts millennia of Catholic moral teaching? Can an Orthodox Jewish day school refuse to hire a male teacher who self-identifies as a woman, contravening traditional teaching rooted in Genesis?

Princeton University legal scholar Robert P. George referred to the ruling as legislation, predicting it to have far-reaching consequences, including the eventual destruction of all-womens sports.

The Bostock ruling (further) politicizes the judiciary and undermines the very thing courts exist to uphold: the Rule of Law. It will destroy what faith remains in the moral and intellectual integrity of our courts, George was convinced.

It also vindicates Adrian Vermeules warning to conservatives that trying to combat the longstanding progressive strategy of imposing a substantive moral-political agenda through the courts by appointing originalist and textualist judges is hopeless, he emphasized.

Conservatives, Professor Vermeule famously argued, need to shift to their own version of liberal legal theorist Ronald Dworkins moral reading of the Constitution and laws to advance a socially conservative moral and political vision.

Author of The Benedict Option and conservative columnist Rod Dreher blamed President Trump for pushing Gorsuchs nomination through the Senate.

The last reason, though, why religious conservatives should grit their teeth and vote for Trump anyway has now been blasted to smithereens by this decision written by a Trump justice, Dreher commented.

And not just a Trump justice, but the paradigmatic Trump justice, the man whose place on the Supreme Court was meant to justify religious conservatives turning a blind eye to Trumps many other failures. This is what but Gorsuch means. Those words are like ashes in the mouth today.

Hans von Spakovsky and Ryan T. Anderson, who are both part of the Heritage Foundation, described the Supreme Court ruling as an act of judicial activism, with the majority having simply legislated from the bench and amended the statute itself.

Congress has not legislated such an outcome, and it was wrong for the court to usurp lawmakers authority by imposing such an extreme policy on our nation without the consent of the governed, they pointed out, echoing the dissent written by Justice Samuel Alito.

Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association, assured his readers that Bostock v. Clayton County does not decide issues of religious exemptions. The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which I helped write, is fully applicable to all federal claims arising under this decision. The Court also said that it was not deciding privacy matters such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and womens sports.

At the same time, Farris spoke of an enormous loss for people with a biblical worldview. People who legitimately believe that God created us male and female are going to face increased efforts to silence, marginalize, and penalize any dissent, he predicted.

John Bursch, Alliance Defending Freedoms Vice President of Appellate Advocacy, commented, Civil rights laws that use the word sex were put in place to protect equal opportunities for women. Allowing a court or government bureaucrats to redefine a term with such a clear and important meaning undermines those very opportunitiesthe ones the law was designed to protect.

Popular Protestant preacher Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, said this decision erodes religious freedoms across this country. People of sincere faith who stand on Gods Word as their foundation for life should never be forced by the government to compromise their religious beliefs.

He stressed that Christian organizations should never be forced to hire people who do not align with their biblical beliefs and should not be prevented from terminating a person whose lifestyle and beliefs undermine the ministrys purpose and goals.

As a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ, my rights should be protected, Graham continued. The Supreme Court does not override and will never overturn the Word of God. One day we will all have to stand before God, the Righteous Judge, whose decisions are not based on politics or the whims of culture. His laws are true and are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Similarly, Catholic Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, tweeted, Lord forgive our arrogance! The highest court of our land May be called Supreme but woe unto us if we ignore GODS SUPREME TRUTH. Every person is beloved of God & must be treated accordingly but giving sin a seal of approval is not charity or love!

https://twitter.com/Bishopoftyler/status/1272875104284925954

Catholic priest and canon lawyer Father Gerald Murray summarized on Twitter, We have entered the nightmare world in which each person can not only define for himself the meaning of life, but also deny the reality of his own body, now counting on the federal government to force the rest to buy into that delusion or face the coercive power of the state.

It appears Murray was referencing retired Justice Anthony Kennedys infamous treatise in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which said in part: At the heart of liberty is the right to define ones own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.

This is what happens when metaphysical realism is abandoned and the will to power takes over as the guiding principle of judicial analysis, Murray added in a brief philosophical analysis.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), meanwhile, issued only a very careful statement following Bostock v. Clayton County.

I am deeply concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively redefined the legal meaning of sex in our nations civil rights law. This is an injustice that will have implications in many areas of life, wrote USCCB president Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles.

Protecting our neighbors from unjust discrimination does not require redefining human nature, Gomez argued, without going into any detail.

Senate Republicans, who voted almost unanimously to confirm Gorsuch to the Supreme Court Justice in 2017, largely appeared to be fine with Gorsuchs opinion dealing a significant blow to social conservatives.

According to Politico, the Republican Party seemed generally supportive of both the substance and process by which the Supreme Court extended Civil Rights Act protections to gay, lesbian and transgender workers. President Donald Trump declined to trash the decision, calling it powerful  and his party largely agreed with the Supreme Courts surprising ruling.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley simply said, Its the law of the land. And it probably makes uniform what a lot of states have already done. And probably negates Congresss necessity for acting.

On the other hand, Texas Senator Ted Cruz criticized the process of bringing about the fundamental change to anti-discrimination legislation.

This judicial rewriting of our laws short-circuited the legislative process and the authority of the electorate. Six un-elected and unaccountable judges instead took it upon themselves to act as legislators, and that undermines our democratic process.

Cruz did not criticize the undermining of natural law and traditional biblical morality.

Already during his confirmation hearings in 2017, Gorsuch was attacked by some conservatives for his positions and legal philosophy that were seen as too weak.

LifeSiteNews Matthew Cullinan Hoffman stated in a lengthy February 2017 analysis, Neil Gorsuch is a complicated, nuanced, and philosophical thinker rather than a formulaic or ideological jurist who votes along party lines, and it is therefore difficult to reduce his views to a series of public policy stances.

On homosexual non-discrimination and other gay agenda issues: ambiguous, but likely weak, he concluded.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
Many on social media have been trending June 20th as West Bengal Day. Not many had heard of this day or the concept of having West Bengal Day for the better part of our informed lives. The state is an old one, not a newly formed that it will have a formation day, like Telengana, and celebrate the same. Then what is it that netizens are trending?

#WestBengalDay



The State of West Bengal has given us Gurus, Philosophers, Patriots, Poets, Reformers and more.



On #WestBengal formation day, I bow down to the soil which gave birth to such great people.



May we all rise once more at the feet of MAA and work towards greatness. pic.twitter.com/cHvSa7EEbF  Rati #ProtectWithPen (@ratihegde) June 20, 2020

What is West Bengal Day?

To understand this, we must revisit the pre-Independence times when proposals of the partition were tabled. It was on 20th June 1947, when the Bengal Legislative Assembly held a meeting to decide if the Bengal Presidency would stay united with Pakistan, or with India, or be divided and the Hindu majority districts would stay with India as West Bengal and the Muslim majority areas would form East Pakistan. After heated debates and hours of deliberation, the House proceedings concluded to bifurcate Bengal and set the foundation of West Bengal.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee: The unsung savior

Although it reads as an easy decision arrived at, there were months of relentless efforts and initiatives spearheaded by Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, joined by distinguished stalwarts like Dr Meghnad Saha, Dr Ramesh Chandra Mazumdar, Dr Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Dr Jadunath Sarkar. Always an ardent advocate of the integrity of India, Mukherjee was never one to speak in favour of its partition.

Story continues

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

But as the formation of Pakistan by dividing India became inevitable, he realized preserving homes of millions of Bengali Hindus (whose existence would be threatened if the entire Bengal merged to form East Pakistan under the Muslim League) was imperative. It has been over 70 years but thousands of Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh continue to knock on the doors of West Bengal seeking refuge after facing religious persecution in Bangladesh.

Turbulent political timeline

In these 70 years, West Bengal has been through a lot of highs and lows. Known for its high voltage political drama, the state has come under Presidents rule five times. But the most volatile years could inarguably be the 35-years-long rule of the CPI(M) party. Under the communists, people of West Bengal had seen it all: The Sain bari killings, where a mother was made to eat rice smeared with the blood of her murdered sons, the Ananda Margi saints massacre that killed 16 monks and a nun, the Marichjhapi massacre in which tens of thousands of refugees from Bangladesh were allegedly gunned down, the political rape of Anita Desai, Nonoor massacre and the Nandigram violence.

The eternal state of Joy

But residents of the state havent given up; known for their relaxed attitude, Bengalis have learned the craft of fishing happiness even in the face of adversaries. Turning back at Rabindranath Tagores portrait hanging on the old wall acts as a stimulant always.

Good music, literature, cinema keeps Bengalis motivated. No wonder the state has produced icons like Kishore Kumar, R D Burman, Rakhi, Sharmila Tagore, Basu Chatterjee, and the Oscar-winning, Satyajit Ray Bengalis cant pride themselves on enough.

Regardless of the gloom saturating the atmosphere, the City of Joy, and the state surrounding it is wrapped in elaborate decorations, gleaming in strings of colorful ornamental lightings invite tourists from all over the world, on Durga Pooja every year. You dont have to belong to any particular faith to revel in this grand celebration; you may frolic irrespective of and despite your background.

Bengal boasts some of the most delectable dishes in the world, and no cuisine can measure up to the fish preparations of an average Bengali kitchen made mostly from freshwater fish. The Bengali Doi-maachh, Fish Kobiraji, Sorshe-Hilsa, Rui-Kalia, Prawn malai curry - my mouth is watering already - make for the perfect luncheon you can think of. A generous serving with steamed rice is all you need to make a sumptuous meal. Round it up with Mishti-doi, Sandesh or Roshogolla.

Roshogolla, the sweetmeat that had sent the calm people of Bengal in a state of bitter wrestle with the good neighbor, Odisha. Yes, West Bengal is that possessive about its sweetmeat. Even during the lockdown, the state CM urged on keeping the sweet shops open. Knock on any Bengali door any time of the year; you will always be welcomed with a plate of mishti.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase employment limit under the MGNREGA from 100 to 200 days which would benefit 70 lakh families in rural areas of the state hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the Centre has started the 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan' to provide employment at the local level to migrant labourers who have returned home during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. Rajasthan also has a large number of migrant labourers returned home during the lockdown, Gehlot said.

"To provide employment to these migrant labourers, the Centre is requested to increase the employment limit provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) per family from 100 days to 200 days. Seventy lakh rural families of the state will get the benefit of creating an additional 100 man-days," the chief minister said in the letter.

The Rajasthan government has issued job cards under MGNREGA to the migrant labourers who returned home during the lockdown. More than 50 lakh workers are currently employed under the scheme in the state and most of these rural families will be eligible for 100 days of employment in the coming month, the chief minister said in a statement.

He requested that the entire amount, including state's share, be borne by the Centre in order to implement the 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan Abhiyan' on the ground.

In the letter, Gehlot also sought allocation of five kg of wheat per person and one kg of gram per family for three months to 3.57 lakh helpless families of the state.

The prime minister on Saturday launched an employment scheme, 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan', with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore for migrant workers who returned to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan' will be implemented on a mission mode in 125 days in 116 districts of six states -- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha -- that received the maximum numbers of migrant workers back.

Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot also participated in the inauguration programme through video conference.

Twenty-two districts of Rajasthan, Pali, Udaipur, Jalore, Sirohi, Dungarpur, Banswara, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Jodhpur, Barmer, Bikaner, Nagaur, Sikar, Alwar, Karauli, Bharatpur, Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu, Churu and Jaipur have been included in the scheme.
Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC) will release the admit card for physical efficiency test (PET) for Bihar Police Constable recruitment on June 21 at 12 noon on its official website at csbc.bih.nic. The physical efficiency test will be conducted on July 15 at Shaheed Rajendra Prasad Singh Rajkiya Uchha Vidyalaya, popularly known as Patna High School in Gardanibagh, Patna.

The recruitment drive is conducted under advertisement number 02/2019 to fill 11,880 vacancies. The written exam was conducted on January 12 and March 8. Candidates who have cleared the written test have to appear for the PET.

Direct link to download Bihar Police Constable PET Admit Card (To be activated on June 21)

Those who are finding difficulty in downloading the admit cards can visit the CSBC office (Harding Road, Patna) between July 13 and 14 and obtain a duplicate copy of admit card. The office will be open from 10 am to 5pm.The place, time and date of PET will be mentioned in the admit card.

Important Documents: Candidates will have to bring along a valid Photo ID proof with admit card, Intermediate passing certificate, birth certificate or matric certificate, caste certificate if required etc. at the time of PET. Click here for full list of documents that are required to bring along at the time of test.

CSBC Official website
The Ghana Blind Union (GBU) on Friday appealed to government to provide senior high second-year blind students in the Gold Track with personal protective equipment to curb the spread of COVID-19.



"GBU has noted with interest that all senior high second year blind students are in the Gold track. Consequently, they are to report to school on the 22nd June, 2020, it said.



Additionally, final year JHS blind students will report on June 29.



GBU wishes to highlight some concerns and appeal to the Government to ensure that blind students are provided with extra safety kits of face masks and hand sanitizers," a statement signed by Mr Peter Obeng Asamoa, GBU Executive Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday, said.



It said because blind students did a lot of touching for the sake of mobility and identification of objects the availability of the PPE was crucial.



"To navigate indoors, a blind person is likely to touch furniture and objects than his or her sighted counterpart, the statement said.



Again, when walking, blind persons who need guides are likely to hold on to their sighted guides.



"The implication here is, the blind person is to ensure sanitation of his hands as well as his or her guide. Both situations require more use of hand sanitizer."



With respect to E-Learning, the Union drew governments attention to the need to focus on upgrading blind persons in information and communication technology (ICT) skills so they were not left behind in the process.



It noted that most blind persons did not have adequate ICT equipment. It, therefore, tasked government to provide all blind students with personal laptops to enable them to take part in the entire educational process.



The GBU called on school authorities to provide conducive environment to aid the general mobility of blind students.



It said technically, each blind person should have a white cane, but not all could afford and appealed to government to provide white canes to all blind students.

Source: GNA









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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 19)  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is investigating reports involving two local banks said to be holding the missing $2.1 billion cash of Wirecard AG, a German payments firm.

In separate statements, BDO Unibank, Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands denied claims Wirecard is their client, adding that they are also doing their own investigations.

"The document claiming the existence of a Wirecard account with BDO is a falsified document and carries forged signatures of bank officers," BDO said Friday.

BPI also said Wirecard's external auditor presented a "spurious" document to them in claiming that they have a banking relationship with the Ayala-owned lender.

It is unclear if the forgery was committed by a local bank employee or a Wirecard staff.

RELATED: Local bank officer sacked for fake document on Wirecard deposits

Wirecard, which has been in hot water since 2019 for allegations of suspected fraud, is again under scrutiny for deciding to postpone the publication of its 2019 financial statements after trust accounts supposedly holding 1.9 billion euros (about 107 billion) in overseas accounts were not acknowledged by the two Asian lenders.

The amount is said to be worth one-fourth of the company's consolidated balance sheet. Failure to trace where the amounts are will allow about 2 billion euros worth of loans to Wirecard AG to be terminated. A member of the firm's management board responsible for compliance has been suspended, while Wirecard's long-time CEO Markus Braun resigned Friday amid the controversy, with Dr. James Freis, Jr. stepping in as interim CEO.

"It is currently unclear whether fraudulent transactions to the detriment of Wirecard AG have occurred. Wirecard AG will file a complaint against unknown persons," the German company said in a statement.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the regulator is looking into the matter, while Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier confirmed that they have received a formal report from BDO.

Wirecard maintains presence in the Philippines as an e-money issuer, having acquired the portfolio of Citibank for this segment. It is currently involved in the issuance of corporate cards, with no footprint in the retail market so far.

Wirecard's Manila headquarters is along Ayala Avenue in Makati City, where most local lenders are also stationed. Its official local partner is UnionBank, but its president and CEO Edwin Bautista said in a text message that they had no escrow agreements with the company.
By Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia views China as the chief suspect in a spate of cyber-attacks of increasing frequency in recent months, three sources familiar with the government's thinking told Reuters on Friday, a suggestion swiftly dismissed by Beijing.

The comments came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a "sophisticated state-based actor" had spent months trying to hack all levels of the government, political bodies, essential service providers and operators of critical infrastructure.

"We know it is a sophisticated state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting," Morrison told reporters but declined to say who Australia believed was responsible.

Three sources briefed on the matter said Australia believed China is responsible, however.

"There is a high degree of confidence that China is behind the attacks," one Australian government source told Reuters, seeking anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday denied Beijing was involved and said China "firmly opposed all forms of cyber attacks."

Australian intelligence has flagged similarities between the recent attacks and a cyber attack on parliament and the three largest political parties in March 2019. Last year, Reuters reported that Australia had quietly concluded China was responsible for that cyber-attack.

Australia has never publicly identified the source of that attack, however, and China denied it was responsible.

As with last year's attack, Australia's chief cyber intelligence agency said on Friday its investigation had found no evidence that the perpetrator sought to be "disruptive or destructive" once within the host network.

Morrison said he spoke about the issue with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, while other allies have also received briefings.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said advice showed no large-scale personal breaches of data resulting from the attack, but urged users to fully update web or email servers with the latest software and use multi-factor authentication.

Story continues

An Australian government source said Morrison's public declaration was a bid to flag the issue to potential targets.

A U.S. security ally, Australia strained ties with its largest trading partner, China, by pushing for an international inquiry into the source and spread of the coronavirus that first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

China recently imposed dumping tariffs on Australian barley, suspended some imports of beef and warned its students and tourists against travel to the country, citing racism accusations. Two-way trade stood at A$235 billion (130.5 billion pounds) last year.

(Reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney, Additional reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney and Cate Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Clarence Fernandez, William Maclean)
2 Canadians prosecuted in China for spying with 'abundant evidence'

Global Times

By Zhao Yusha and Liu Xin Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 12:57:57

On Friday, two Canadian nationals, former diplomat Michael John Kovrig, and his intelligence contact Michael Peter Todd Spavor, were prosecuted by the procuratorates in Beijing and Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, respectively, for spying on China's national secrets and collecting classified intelligence.

According to the press release from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Second People's Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality started the procuration of Kovrig for spying on national secrets and collecting classified intelligence, while Spavor was charged for spying and illegally offering secrets.

The two were investigated in December 2018 for activities undermining China's national security.

Chinese authorities said in March 2019 that Kovrig had frequently traveled to China since 2017 with a regular passport and business visa. However, they confirmed that Kovrig had spied on and stolen sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that prosecution against the two Canadians aligns with the country's legal procedure, as there is abundant evidence to prove their crime.

Li said that any move to politicize the two cases, or linking the cases with that of Meng Wanzhou, is confusing right with wrong, and is a baseless accusation, as the two foreign nationals are suspected of committing crimes that jeopardizes China's national security, whilst Meng is clean and a victim of other countries' conspiracy theories against China.

Canada should think twice about colluding with others to sabotage China's interest, said Li, warning that blindly following other countries damages Canada's own independence and interests.

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RACINE COUNTY  Racine County public schools, while making tentative plans for this fall, are awaiting guidelines to be released Monday by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Department of Public Health.

The focus of this guidance is to provide considerations for district and school leaders to plan and implement a safe, efficient, and equitable return to school, Deputy State Superintendent Mike Thompson told school administrators in a communication from the DPI sent June 12.

Even though the DPI expects schools to reopen in the fall, Thompson advised that some students will likely need continued access to remote learning options, even if most students return to in-person lessons.

Multiple options

Burlington Area School District Superintendent Steven Plank, Waterford Graded School District Superintendent Ed Brzinski and Waterford High School Superintendent Lucas Francois all said that while their respective districts are currently planning, nothing is official. Union Grove High School District Superintendent Al Mollerskov said he does not anticipate concrete plans for his district until mid-July.

All three superintendents mentioned planning for fully resuming face-to-face instruction, a hybrid model that could include a mixture of virtual learning or schedule switching and a completely virtual model of learning for this next school year.

Racine Unified School District also has discussed those three options.

What educational programming will look like exactly, were not sure yet, but were planning for everywhere between full face to face with students and a virtual environment, Brzinski said.

After ending the 2019-2020 school year in a rush to switch to a virtual education model, Brzinkski said his district is planning to avoid more crisis planning and that this fall would be a different environment.

While saying that the physical safety of students and staff is a priority, Plank noted that educators miss their kids being in the classroom and said BASD staff contends that there is no substitute for face to face instruction. BASD put together a survey to send out to families in hopes of gauging the view of how the school year concluded as well as their readiness for what might come in fall.

We definitely believe theres no substitute for face-to-face and in-person learning and that of course is our foremost desire to get back to that, Plank said. We believe pretty wholeheartedly that thats what our families also want and, on some level need, in terms of their own ability to get back to work and manage their families.

We definitely believe theres no substitute for face-to-face and in-person learning and that of course is our foremost desire to get back to that. We believe pretty wholeheartedly thats what our families also want and, on some level, need. Stephen Plank, Burlington Area School District superintendent

Caitlin Sievers contributed to this report.

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Lauren Henning Reporter Lauren focuses on education reporting, but isn't one to turn away stories. Born and raised in Racine County, she attended UW-Madison's School of Journalism and Mass Communication before returning to work with The Journal Times. Follow Lauren Henning Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
SN Farid, a restaurant owner from Guwahati has redesigned robots to serve food and medicine to Covid-19 patients and facilitate virtual meeting with doctors.

We were using robots for 1.5 years to serve drinks to customers. I redesigned them to assist health care professionals, Farid told ANI here.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday informed that as many as 102 new Covid-19 positive cases were reported in Assam, taking the total cases in the state to 5,006, including 1,928 active cases, 3,066 discharged and nine deaths.
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Trump renews threat to cut ties with China

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 12:59 AM

US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to sever relations with China, saying Washington could pursue a "complete decoupling from" Beijing.

His threat on Thursday came a day after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Congress that he did not think decoupling the US and Chinese economies was a viable option.

"Do I think that you can sit down and decouple the United States economy from the Chinese economy?" he said. "No, I think that was a policy option years ago. I don't think it's a ... reasonable policy option at this point."

Trump, whose former national security adviser John Bolton also alleged he had told Chinese counterparts to help him win re-election by buying more US farm products, said on Twitter that "decoupling" remains an option.

"It was not Ambassador Lighthizer's fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didn't make myself clear, but the US certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China," the Republican president said on Twitter.

His threat also came a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Chinese official Yang Jiechi, amid uncertainty over whether the nations' trade pact will remain intact.

Yang said China is committed to keeping agriculture purchases that were vital to the US president's support of the deal, Pompeo said.

Meanwhile, Trump, who refers to the coronavirus as the "plague from China," has also ramped up his rhetoric against Beijing as the pandemic continues to spread in the US.

"I think the trade deal is a great deal. But ever since we got hit with the Chinese plague, I feel different toward everything having to do with China. And I've always been hardline on China," he told the Wall Street Journal during an interview on Wednesday.

The world's two largest economies have been at odds over the handling of the pandemic.

The president has accused the Asian country of withholding important information in the early days of the outbreak

Last month, he signaled a further deterioration in the relationship, saying he was uninterested in speaking to President Xi Jinping right now.

He suggested that he could even cut ties with the world's second-largest economy.

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Children join other community members in a protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 16 calling for the defunding of the Los Angeles School Police Department. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Despite publishing multiple articles on calls to defund the Los Angeles School Police Department, the Los Angeles Times has failed to adequately convey the points of view of many in our school community, including our principals, school clerical staff, maintenance workers and other support staff. They are an important voice in this complex debate about how best to keep our schools safe.

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents our principals, have been openly critical of the call by the teachers union to defund the department that serves the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Similarly, the newspaper has failed to inform readers about the stance of other large urban districts, such as Atlanta and Chicago, that have determined that their school police departments are an essential part of maintaining a safe environment for students and staff in their schools. Instead, the paper mentioned a much smaller district  Oakland  that has decided to eliminate its police department.

It is deeply disappointing to see such unbalanced coverage on a story that is important to so many people.

Gil Gamez, Los Angeles

The writer is president of the Los Angeles School Police Officers Assn.

..

To the editor: Calls for the elimination of the Los Angeles School Police Department need to be heard if for no other reason than to eliminate the oppression Black students feel at school.

Instead of feeling safe as I did, they "expressed pain and fear and that school police officers make students feel "criminalized" during interactions, according to The Times. Maria Parra, though, a member of the parent group Padres Unidos, said at a recent school board meeting that she had seen campus police work as mentors to students.

Our precious young people need to know we value them. They and their teachers must feel safe at school. Discussions and actions need to happen so desired objectives are met. Maybe students, teachers, school police, and Black Lives Matter should be involved to find a solution.

Suzanne Brugman, La Habra Heights
New Delhi:

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai openly came out in support of India on Saturday regarding its successful surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

He stated that India had complete right to conduct anti-terror operations in order to defend its homeland.A Discussing the pain of Afghani people, Karzai claimed that his country had been a victim of fundamentalism and terrorism for years.

A

We repeatedly demanded US to conduct cross-border attacks against terrorist sanctuaries outside Afghanistan which didnat happen-Hamid Karzai a ANI (@ANI_news) October 1, 2016

Afghanistan has been a victim of terrorism and fundamentalism for yrs. We feel need of such military ops more than anyone else: Hamid Karzai a ANI (@ANI_news) October 1, 2016

Indian Army's #SurgicalStrikes on terrorist sanctuaries is a justified step in order to defend their land: Former Afghan Pres. Hamid Karzai a ANI (@ANI_news) October 1, 2016

Moreover, the statesman also said that his country had repeatedly asked US to conduct cross border attacks against terrorist hideouts; but to no avail.Karzaias statement seems another diplomatic victory for India as it pursues isolation of Pakistan on the global stage.A

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The US Navy has confirmed it will uphold the decision to fire the captain of the USS Roosevelt who warned officials about the increasing spread of a coronavirus infection on board the ship, according to a report.

Captain Brett Crozier was relieved of his duties in early April after his superiors said they had lost confidence in his ability to lead.

A US Navy official and a congressional aide briefed on the investigation told CNN that the recommendation for the captain to be reinstated had now been reversed.

The investigation concluded that Capt Crozier made other poor decisions in response to the outbreak, the sources told the broadcaster.

The findings, which have not yet been made public, reportedly said that Capt Crozier had been relieved of command of the ship but is expected to remain in the Navy.

Strike Group Commander Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, Capt Crozier's immediate superior, will also reportedly be held accountable for decision-making and his promotion is being put on hold, sources told CNN.

Before being relieved of his duty the captain had been urging commanders to take measures to stem the virus onboard and sent a letter to the navy that later reached the press stating that the ship did not have the facilities to cope with the outbreak.

We are not at war, Capt Crozier wrote in a four-page letter. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset  our sailors."

The Covid-19 outbreak eventually led to more than 1,000 sailors on the ship testing positive for the disease, forcing the vessel to dock in Guam and quarantine every single person on board in rotation.

The acting Secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, who later resigned, relieved Capt Crozier of his duties saying he had shown poor judgement by circulating the memo to up to 30 people.

According to CNN the investigation did not fault Crozier for sending the email and attached memo but for not having concrete facts, leaving off certain addressees and not warning Adm Baker in advance that he was sending It.

Several defence officials told CNN that the Navy initially recommended that Capt Crozier be restored to command of the carrier following a preliminary inquiry later that month.

The official looked set to return to command after sources told the broadcaster they were confident he would be reinstated, but it seems this is no longer the case.

Capt Crozier was given a standing ovation by members of the 5,000-strong crew as he left the vessel back in April.

This is a necessary risk. It will enable the carrier and air wing to get back underway as quickly as possible while ensuring the health and safety of our Sailors, Capt Crozier said in the memo at the time.

"Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care.
Iran to take appropriate action in response to resolution of IAEA BoG, envoy says

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 19, IRNA -- In response to the adoption of the proposed resolution of the three European countries in the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday, Iran Ambassador stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran completely rejects the resolution of the Board of Governors, adding that It will take appropriate and necessary reaction to it.

"Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations, nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions," Gharibabadi said addressing the IAEA Board of Governors on Resolution Proposed by E2+1 (France, Germany and the UK) on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Iran categorically deplores this resolution and will take appropriate action in response, the repercussions of which would be upon the sponsors of this resolution," he added.

The full text of Gharibabadi's statement is as follows:

Madam Chairperson,

I would like to put on record the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the resolution just adopted.

At the outset, I would like to sincerely appreciate Russia, China, Azerbaijan, India, Mongolia, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand for not supporting the Resolution, especially Russia and China for all their efforts in objecting this unconstructive path.

Considering the extensive level of constructive cooperation between Iran and the Agency and simply overlooking this level of cooperation, adoption of this resolution aimed at requesting Iran to cooperate with the Agency is deeply disappointing.



It is also a deep regret that this resolution was presented by the three European States which have not taken any concrete practical step in the implementation of their obligations under the JCPOA. These lacks of willingness or inability to take practical actions in this regard, along with the unilateral, illegal and destructive measures by the US caused the future of the JCPOA to remain gloomy.

Our advice to the E2+1 States is that if they cannot do something to save the deal, they can at least avoid making the situation more complicated and difficult! Paradoxically, your lack of action was needed here, which it seems that you couldn't even do this.

It is noteworthy that we consider the current state of affairs as a trap set by the US and Israeli regimes, who in the past two years, not only spared no efforts to destroy the JCPOA, but also used all tools of pressure on the Agency including through presentation of such baseless allegations, to deflect the ongoing appropriate course of cooperation and divert the attention from their non-compliance with their relevant international obligations, or being stayed out of the most important international instruments on disarmament and arms control.

Saying that this resolution is required for strengthening of the Agency's safeguards system proves how inconsistent are the behavior and actions of the Secretariat and the main sponsors of the resolution. If one really wants to maintain and strengthen the safeguards and verification regime, it is advised to take a professional and impartial approach.

The fact that on the one hand the Safeguards Implementation Report for 2019 and the DG's report on the status of implementation of safeguards during COVID-19 indicate that there are a number of safeguards related difficulties in several States, andon the other hand, the Secretariat and the PMOs, especially the Board, opted to keep their eyes closed over these difficulties especially the nuclear activities of Saudi Arabia and the regime of Israel, who are not even allowing the Agency to do the required inspection, should be considered as a concern.

Distinguished Colleagues,

I would also like to put on record that the Islamic Republic of Iran is applying the Additional Protocol voluntarily and provisionally due to its political commitment under the JCPOA, and since it is not yet adopted officially through its national legislative procedures, Iran does not consider it as a legal obligation.

Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations, nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions. Iran categorically deplores this resolution and will take appropriate action in response, the repercussions of which would be upon the sponsors of this resolution.

Finally, Iran does also have a solemn advice to the Secretariat of the Agency to: adhere to the limits of your authorities; acknowledge the cooperation between Iran and Agency; carry out your mandate in a professional, independent and impartial manner; do not pave the way for manipulation of issues for those with political agendas through taking positions and reporting hastily; behave in a way not to be blamed for the obliteration of the last bastion of multilateralism in Vienna and the destruction of the JCPOA.

I thank you Madam Chairperson.

9455**2050

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The Salisbury Poisonings

Sunday-Tuesday, BBC1

Rating:

My Brilliant Friend

Friday, Sky Atlantic

Rating:

The Salisbury Poisonings was way over the top, honestly. A Russian spy. A nerve agent so deadly that one spoonful could kill thousands. The local branch of Zizzi, now contaminated with more than just corporate, mediocre Italian food. The race to close everything down. The Whitehall spads bleating: But how will businesses survive? A police officer with pupils reduced to pin-pricks and who is woozy at the wheel of his car, with his kids in the back. A woman who is battling addiction and whose boyfriend gives her what he thinks is a vial of perfume. A swan on the river that was reported as wonky and had to be tested in case the watercourse had also been poisoned. (As it turned out, the swan was merely suffering from bumblefoot.)

Anne-Marie Duff as public health director Tracy Daszkiewicz. This was wonderfully performed by everyone, and told so cleverly it was always infused with tension

It was all extremely far-fetched and ridiculous and couldnt happen. Except, of course, that it did. Every bit of it. And this dramatised account of events was properly terrific. Three hours, and I was gripped throughout. And also, I have to ask: cant Tracy Daszkiewicz run everything now?

Written by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn, and directed by Saul Dibb, this opened with a father and daughter vomiting copiously (afraid so), then slipping into unconsciousness on a bench outside a shopping precinct. An overdose? They didnt seem the type. Police Google the fathers name as found in his wallet and discover he was part of a spy-swap deal between Russia and the UK eight years earlier. But this was not about Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who was visiting him. They barely even figured. (And now live under assumed names in New Zealand, apparently.) This was an ordinary-people-caught-in-the-most-extraordinary-circumstances scenario.

This was about Nick Bailey (Rafe Spall), the police officer who searched the Skripals home and became contaminated  so spooky, those pin-prick pupils  and Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring), whose boyfriend had not found a vial of perfume, as it was the poison discarded after the assassination attempt. (Oh, God, watching Dawn spray herself)

And it was about Daszkiewicz (Anne-Marie Duff), director of public health for Wiltshire, who single-handedly averted disaster, and saved so many lives, by quietly yet determinedly always doing what was right. And contact-tracing the hell out of everything. Cars. Ambulances. Swans. Anyone who might have brushed past the Skripals. Anyone who visited Zizzi that day. She had this part of town cordoned off, then that part. She slept in her office. She saw off the Whitehall bleaters. (But tourism is already down 80 per cent!) She did not buckle and did not, at any point, offer anything as stupid as herd immunity as an option. (Just saying!)

This was wonderfully performed by everyone, and told so cleverly it was always infused with tension. We knew it was Novichok  a synthetic toxin and one of the deadliest on Earth  before they did, because we know the story. But waiting for them to find out was still brilliantly nerve-racking, and the authorities reaction was brilliantly captured too. That? Here?

Plus, it was filled with compassion and humanity. There was Baileys paranoia that hed contaminated his wife and children, while the funeral for Dawn, who did not survive, was absolutely devastating, and how ones heart went out to her family, who loved her so. I dont know if we also needed Daszkiewicz having to juggle the needs of her job with the needs of her husband (What, youve only come home for a change of clothes?) and young son, as we see that trope rather too often, but if thats the way it was then thats the way it was. And also, I wont hear a word against Tracy. Who should be allowed to run everything.

On to the other five-star show of the week  I spoil you, I know  which is the second season of My Brilliant Friend, as set in Naples and based on the novels by Elena Ferrante.

We are still in the 1950s and even if there was no narrative whatsoever, Id go away happy, as I am always stunned just by the look of it. Each scene is like a ravishing painting with every inch of canvas used, right up to the corners. (Oh look, theres a baby bawling on its mothers knee, top left.) But there is narrative, of course, as we continue to chart the friendship between Lila (Gaia Girace), who is fierce and clever and magnetic and beautiful, and Elena (Margherita Mazzucco), who is diligently studious and more impressionable and also our narrator.

The two have been intertwined since childhood as they fight for their freedom  this is how I see it, anyhow  from fathers, brothers, and now husbands. Lila has married Stefano Carracci, who hasnt a hope of understanding his wife. And their wedding night? Gruesome. You will have to keep a Wikipedia tab open to remind yourself whos who  who is Alfonso again? Who is Carmela?  but so worth it. And anyway, you can just look at the cars. Gorgeous, too.
Giorgio Aliberti - Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam

These two agreements will undoubtedly help to deepen and strengthen the partnership between Vietnam and the EU, and serve as a platform for boosting trade and investment ties.

The EVFTA is expected to enter into force this summer. So what are the expectations on both sides? Vietnam has massive potential for EU exporters and investors to do business. It is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, with a vibrant market of more than 96 million consumers, an emerging middle class and a young, dynamic workforce.

The EU continues to be a very important destination for Vietnamese products, and in 2019 some 16 per cent of goods exported by Vietnam were destined to that market. With the rules-based, free-trade agreement, there will be an increase in exports both ways. For Vietnam, the trade agreement represents a step to consolidate its long process of integration into the global economy.

By promoting trade and investment links with the EU, the worlds largest trading bloc, Vietnam makes sure that openness continues to be at the centre of its development strategy to sustainably steer the country into a middle-income economy. Since day one of the entry into force of the EVFTA, businesses in both Vietnam and Europe will be immediate beneficiaries. The cut to tariffs  which can sometimes be very substantial, in the range of 25 per cent  will apply to 71 per cent to Vietnamese export to the EU and to 65 per cent of EU export to Vietnam. Gradually, practically all other tariffs will then be phased out over seven years for Vietnamese exports and 10 years for EU exported products.

Both the EVFTA and EVIPA can trigger a surge of new types of European investment never before seen in Vietnam, Photo: Le Toan

This may sound technical for the layman. For our businessmen and women, this means a substantial reduction of their costs and will result in more money in their pockets. As we all know, any tax and tariff reduction, as a relief in coping with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, is an important ingredient for relaunching our economies. The FTA is, therefore, an important element in nurturing the resilience of our economies. Not to forget that Vietnamese consumers will have a bigger choice and the opportunity to buy products of top quality with reasonable prices from the EU.

The dismissal of bilateral tariffs and export taxes, together with the reduction of non-tariff barriers affecting cross-border exchanges of goods and services, is expected to boost bilateral trade considerably. The export gains are estimated at 8 billion ($9.1 billion) by 2035 for EU firms, while Vietnamese exports to the EU are expected to grow by 15 billion ($17 billion). Vietnamese exports to the EU are estimated to grow by around 18 per cent according to an economic impact study from 2018. These figures fall short however to capture many of the dynamic gains that will result both for economies and societies.

With regard to services, there is significant untapped potential for greater commercial links in the future. Services activities make up the largest share of the EU economy and with the rapid urbanisation and growing middle class, the demand for services in Vietnam will only continue to rise.

It is likely and desirable that both agreements with the European Union will trigger a new wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU into Vietnam. Investments from the EU are of top quality. European companies bring high skills, best practices of organisation, and world-leading technologies to Vietnam.

European investment comes with high standards of corporate social responsibility for protecting and training workers and employees, as well as for respecting and protecting the environment. It allows Vietnam to promote economic growth and create better jobs while ensuring sustainable development. These spillover effects are essential for economies like Vietnam to avoid the middle-income trap.

Both agreements offer Vietnam a perfect platform for transforming its economy into a regional production hub. Compared with similar economies in the region, Vietnam has the first-mover advantage of 7-10 golden years of privileged access to the EUs market. Only Singapore, which has concluded and ratified the FTA before Vietnam, is in a similarly advantageous position but its economy is mostly based on services, not on production.

With the foundations of the new economic agreements with the European Union, and taking into account the lesson from the COVID-19 crisis on the need to diversify the sources of production, Vietnam has now a golden opportunity to establish itself as a production hub. Consequently, the trade agreement will also facilitate EU-Vietnam value chain integration. Through increased FDI and expanded bilateral trade in intermediate goods and services, Vietnam will benefit from a closer economic relationship with the EU.

These positive effects and expected gains will only materialise if the promises and obligations of the agreements are swiftly put into practice. The customs officials, the regulatory authorities, and the enforcement agencies will have to be aware of these new rules and follow them in their daily contacts with importers and distributors. This may imply changes to the current ways of dealing.

It needs to be noted however that the benefits of the agreements will directly depend on the level of transparency and predictability of government behaviour in contact with business. Business people and investors are quite sensitive and may easily relocate to other places if the overall business environment is not offering stable and favourable conditions for business operations.

The COVID-19 crisis showed some vulnerabilities in the process toward uncontrolled globalisation. We all have to learn our lesson and find the most appropriate remedies. But if we believe that the future is to close ourselves behind national barriers, we would risk missing the huge opportunities that come with economic interdependence. Reducing economic interdependence would make everybody poorer.

If you take a closer look into the features of complementarity of our two economies, greater interdependence is really a win-win situation. Actually, Vietnam would reduce its vulnerability by engaging more with Europe. This is the way ahead and this is the spirit of the two trade and investment agreements just approved by the National Assembly, which indeed will lay very solid foundations on which Europe and Vietnam can further strengthen their relations.
WASHINGTON  Bowing to political pressure, the Trump administration said on Friday evening that it would disclose borrower information for recipients of millions of small-business loans through the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program.

The decision is a reversal for the administration, which had closely guarded the information and argued that private businesses should not have their names or the amount of money that they took from the federal government disclosed. The move comes as Democrats had seized on the secrecy surrounding the program to suggest that the bailout was an example of the Trump administration engaging in corporate cronyism.

The new disclosures will apply to loans of more than $150,000. The information will be broken down into five loan ranges, topping out at the maximum amount of $10 million. The Small Business Administration will release business names, addresses, demographic data and jobs supported.

The Treasury Department, which jointly administers the loan program with the S.B.A., did not say when the new information would be made public; however, some of the demographic data will be included in loan forgiveness applications, which might not be submitted for months.
CBC

As promised by the Fredericton Police Force, work began Friday morning to dismantle and clear away a homeless tent camp in the city. With temperatures hovering around -20 C, an excavator and a backhoe were at work clearing the site, by the river near Government House on the city's south side. As the two machines dumped tents and other discarded material into the back of a waiting dump truck, other tents remained standing, with people moving in and out of them, packing belongings into boxes, and
Rapid City protests raising awareness about police violence across the country and asking for changes to local policing show no signs of stopping after more than two weeks of demonstrations.

The protest is very much to keep awareness up and keep feet to the fire in a sense in order to promote the change that we're asking for, 29-year-old Mary Haan said Wednesday afternoon before the city's 17th Black Lives Matter protest.

Haan said protesters and allied community members have been speaking during city meetings and with city leaders about increasing oversight and transparency of the police department while decreasing its budget in order to reinvest in social services.

But the things that we are emailing and calling and asking for and even sitting down in meetings and asking for, are not things that we've received yet, she said.

The first Rapid City protest in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd was held May 30. Hundreds attended, including Selwyn Jones, Floyds uncle and a former Rapid City resident who now lives in Gettysburg, South Dakota.

Smaller groups, including one from the Pine Ridge Reservation, have continued protesting since June 2nd. All protests have been peaceful, but five people were arrested June 2 for allegedly dangerously blocking traffic. Officials have not accused protesters of any violence or property destruction but a counter-protester told the Journal that protesters threw rocks at and stole a flag from cars.

The protesters  who are mostly older teens and young adults  have been pushed by at least one person, shouted at by random drivers and walkers, and yelled at by the counter protesters who drive by in trucks with Trump 2020, U.S., Confederate, and Thin Blue Line flags.

Although Im grateful for the lack of property damage or injury, Im also disappointed at the narrative and the methods that are being used to communicate it, he said.

Allender said protesters have asked if he will march with them or support the Black Lives Matter movement but thats a tough pill for me to swallow when the person standing holding a sign that says Black Lives Matter is standing next to a person advocating for the killing of police officers.

The sign Allender was referring to is the one violent sign the Journal has observed.

Allender said hes against racism and police brutality, and has worked to bring change on those issues as mayor and police chief.

Change can not happen simply by shouting, there needs to be collaboration and these groups do not really seem to want a dialogue but in contrast, theyre performing a monologue, he said.

Im going to remain on the sidelines as long as thats their method, Allender said, adding thats hes wiling to sit and visit and talk ideas and explain the difference between Rapid City and other cities across the country.

Police Chief Karl Jegeris asked the Legal and Finance Committee on June 10 to not get into the fray of the movement to defund police. His comment came after a protester asked the committee not to replace three police vehicles and instead use the money for bail reform and a civilian board that would review use-of-force incidents.

Jegeris said protesters who want more investment in social services need to secure those services before cutting the police budget.

Bring that on board first and then we can adapt our policing model, he said. But If you start cutting the policing model before you have the other resources in place, were going to have a situation like some of the cities that are facing those distrust issues.

He also invited the protesters to meet with him to learn about the extreme efforts the department has taken to improve the way it serves the community, especially the Native American population.

Protester demands

The protests have occurred at and between Main Street Square and the Pennington County Courthouse where demonstrators chant No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA, Take it to the streets, defund the police" and that Black and Native lives matter.

They hold signs reading I cant breathe, Stop killing us and Black lives over profits, property, police. Some signs honor George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police while others call for police departments to be defunded or abolished. A few included anti-police messages.

Wednesdays demonstration began with a group conversation at the bandshell at Memorial Park.

People said theyre demonstrating because theyve personally experienced or witnesses racism, want to harness their white privilege, read upsetting things about police violence and racism in the news, and want the local government to know their constituents arent giving up.

The protesters said they wanted to defund or abolish the police and use the money for health care and education. They want police and city leadership to respect and have good-faith conversations with them and other young people.

They also discussed long-term goals beyond policing. People spoke about wanting an end to all kinds of oppression while abolishing prisons, the military, pipelines, gender and borders. They want democratic workplaces, land returned to Indigenous people, local schools to teach more about Lakota history and culture, housing and better mental health services.

Most protesters did not want to speak on the record with the Journal.

Haan said that while she would like to see the police abolished, "I don't know that that dream for Rapid City is ready to be realized at this point.

Haan, who is white, said a diverse group of women have met with Allender, Councilwoman Laura Armstrong, the assistant police chief and the police departments community relations liaison to discuss more tangible goals. Haan said she shares feedback and ideas from the protesters with that group of women, who are also working with lawyers who are providing free research assistance and counsel to those arrested during protests.

Goals include cutting the $15.9 million police budget in half within three years and re-investing that money in proactive community programs, allowing the public to view police videos, and creating stricter qualifications for joining the police force.

She said the group also wants to create a diverse oversight council for the police department that would act as a check against any sort of injustice. Haan said the group would have a say in hiring staff and investigating police-use-of-force incidents.

Right now there's not a whole lot of accountability for this police force that supposedly works for us, Haan said.

Other cities have citizen review boards in place and have agreed to lower police budgets and reinvest the money in social services.

Police tactics

Police presence at earlier protests included dozens of officers, video surveillance and assistance from the Highway Patrols plane.

As with any large scale event, we increased our patrol staffing numbers, police spokesman Brendyn Medina said. The initial days of demonstrations resulted in overtime pay for some officers but such expenses are already built into the budget. The protests did not impact the RCPD's ability to provide public safety resources to the rest of the city, he added.

Police presence has decreased as the counter-protests ended and the demonstrations have shrunk.

Those who continue to demonstrate are doing so peacefully and do not require the same level of resources as the first several days of protests, Medina said.

One patrol car and one officer on a bicycle stopped by Wednesdays meeting at the bandshell. They were later joined by a second patrol car once the group moved to the corner of 6th and Main streets.

Officer Nick Strampe said he stopped by the bandshell in case anyone tried to harm the group.

There's some people obviously that might not agree with some of the messages (of the protesters) and part of my job obviously is to make sure people are safe, he said.

Hedrick, assistant chief of the Rapid City Police Department, echoed that comment during an interview in early June.

A lot of the reason that we're there is to ensure safety of the event itself and for the people attending the event, he said, adding that at first police were concerned protests may turn violent like they did in Sioux Falls.

Hedrick says officers call protest organizers to learn of their plans and ask if police can help in anyway. He said officers also let organizers know rules, such as that protesters are free to be on the sidewalks but they must allow room for others to walk by and stay off the road.

Spokesman Brendyn Medina said the plane wasnt used to track individual protesters but to monitor group movements. He said pilots radioed officers when they saw the counter-protesters moving in.

The Journal observed and was told about a plain-clothes officer filming earlier protests which Hedrick said is used for evidence if any arrests are made. The Journal has not seen or been told about an officer filming the gatherings of the counter-protesters.

During the days in which there was a counter-protest element, we had resources in place to maintain situational awareness on both groups, Medina said. While it may not have been obvious, we had eyes on both sides of the demonstrations.

The Journal also asked why 20 officers were needed for the 50 protesters from Rapid City and the Pine Ridge Reservation on June 3.

Were dealing with a lot of unknowns and erring on the side of caution, Hedrick said.

Medina said crowd size can quickly change, that one once quickly grew from 20 to 60 people. He said the department was glad to have so many officers during the June 2 protest because they were able to quickly position themselves between the protesters and the counter-protesters once the latter group arrived.

Doug Gattie, a 19-year-old protester from Rapid City, said officers have been helpful at times, like when one intervened after a private security guard pushed a protester's mother.

Counter-protesters

During the earlier days of the protests, about 20 to 30 counter protesters gathered in the afternoons at the Trump Store on Mountain View Road before heading out to demonstrate.

Medina said the group was at first antagonizing the protesters by demonstrating next to them or driving by and yelling at them instead of finding their own space to protest. He said officers later met with the counter-protesters to ask them to help with public safety by finding their own place to demonstrate, and they eventually began protesting elsewhere.

The Journal saw two officers check in with the group on June 4. Most of the counter-protesters appeared to be in their 20s and came from towns across the Black Hills. They set up near the Trump Store with lawn chairs and trucks decorated with Trump, police, All Lives Matter, military, Second Amendment and American flag decorations. There were no Confederate, white supremacy or militia symbols. Some drivers honked in support of the group while others yelled expletives about Trump.

The Journal spoke with two counter-protesters in order to learn what their message was and why they were flying the Confederate flags.

Kyra Anderson, an 18-year-old from Hermosa, and Tucker Berens, a 20-year-old from Sturgis, said the purpose was to show support for police, other first responders and the military  professions that many of the group's family members work in.

Both said they're against Floyd's killing and recognize there are bad officers, but feel the protesters are blaming all Rapid City and other officers.

Theyre blaming all cops, Anderson said. Theyre taking it out on our cops, Berens echoed.

We drove by the protests because we wanted the cops to know we were there to back them and we wanted the protesters to know that hey, youre picking on the wrong squad. Rapid City hasnt done anything wrong, Berens said.

Anderson said shes not against the Black Lives Matter movement but that all lives matter also.

Anderson and Berens have both flown the Confederate flag in the past and said no one put the flag on their car for the event itself. They said the flag doesnt mean people are racist or pro-slavery, that its just about history.

But Berens said he understands how protesters think the group is racist for flying the Confederate flag  the flag of the government that fought to enslave Black people  past a demonstration about police violence towards black people. He said the group decided to stop flying them on June 3 after reading criticism in the media.

Berens said the group isnt racist, that most of them have friends and family who are people of color. He said protesters have stolen their flags, thrown rocks at a car and tried to block his vehicle.

Anderson said not everyone in the group supports Trump and Berens said he doesnt use any Trump materials because it doesnt have anything to do with their message. Berens said some people have Trump flags because they like him and the group decided to meet at the Trump store because people were buying flags from it.

Gattie, who is Lakota and Mexican, said he feels the counter-protesters could have expressed their views in ways beyond driving by and yelling derogatory words at them. "The Confederate flag stands for racism," he added.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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A former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and a former senate president, Bukola Saraki, have commended Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, for joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Obaseki, on Friday, joined the PDP at an elaborate ceremony in Benin, the state capital.

He was disqualified by his former party, APC, from seeking re-election allegedly for submitting questionable certificates.

The Edo governor, who had been at loggerheads with the suspended chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, later announced his resignation from the APC.

Like other chieftains of the opposition party, Messrs Abubakar and Saraki welcomed Mr Obaseki into the PDP, congratulating him for taking a good step.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Mr Saraki noted that the bigger commendation and appreciation should go to the leaders of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the various levels for the sense of sacrifice, patriotism and devotion to the progress of the party demonstrated by them in the process of welcoming Mr Obaseki into its fold.

Commenting on the situation that led to Mr Obasekis resignation from APC, Mr Saraki said; While I have kept my cool and ignored all the verbal attacks directed at me by the suspended chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, I have always known that a day like this would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market.

What is happening to him now is a moment of truth. This same man who was garrulously proclaiming the end of the political career of some other people is now about to meet his Waterloo.

Mr Saraki further accused Mr Oshiomhole of continually using his mouth to divide his party.

In a separate release, Mr Abubakar expressed confidence that the people of Edo State will be the better for Mr Obasekis choice.

Mr Abubakar, on Friday, stated that Governor Obaseki was joining the PDP when the party is poised to deliver good governance to the people of Nigeria.

I am happy that you have finally exited the oppressive ruling party and joined the truly democratic party in Nigeria. I have no doubt that your coming into the PDP would further strengthen our party to mobilize the people behind the common cause of deepening democratic ethos in our country and restoring prosperity to our people.

The PDP that you have come to join today is a reformed and repositioned party  one that lives by its name of being a truly democratic party.

I have an unflinching conviction that your joining the party would be an asset to the PDP. Together, we can work to extinct every form of undemocratic tendencies in our body politic and realign the good people of Edo State to the moving train of democracy and restoration of good governance to the country, he said.
Washington: The Trump administration is in an embarrassing standoff with a senior US attorney, after Attorney General William Barr announced late Friday US time that Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman was stepping down from his position - only to be contradicted later the same night when Berman insisted he was staying on the job and his probes would continue.

The Justice Department abruptly announced late on Friday that Berman, who was overseeing an investigation into President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, was resigning as the US attorney for the Southern District of New York. The office is one of the nation's top districts, trying major mob cases and terror cases over the years.

US Attorney Geoffrey Berman arrives for a news conference in New York in October 2019. Credit:AP

But Berman said in a statement later that he'd learned he was stepping down from a press release.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption," he said.
Kendall and Kylie Jenner showed off their knockout legs in skimpy bodysuits as they plugged their new makeup line this Saturday.

The sister-act are releasing a collection called Kendall that is part of part of the international Kylie Cosmetics empire.

In their sizzling new ad, posted to Insta Stories, Kendall, 24, slid her supermodel figure into a skintight nude and black bodysuit.

Looking fab: Kendall and Kylie Jenner showed off their knockout legs in skimpy bodysuits as they plugged their new makeup line this Saturday

She crawled and rolled around on a white floor, shooting her best smoldering stare at the camera for the ad.

Kendall emphasized her knockout legs in black tights and added a glamorous touch to the look with opera gloves that matched her bodysuit.

In one especially sultry shot she could be seen lying back on the floor with her eyes closed and kicking her gams up.

Working together: The sister-act are releasing a collection called Kendall that is part of part of the international Kylie Cosmetics empire

Sensational: In their sizzling new ad, posted to Insta Stories, Kendall, 24, slid her supermodel figure into a skintight nude and black bodysuit

When you got it: In their sizzling new ad, posted to Insta Stories, Kendall, 24, slid her supermodel figure into a skintight nude and black bodysuit

Sizzling: She crawled and rolled around on a white floor, shooting her best smoldering stare at the camera for the ad

Posh: Kendall emphasized her knockout legs in black tights and added a glamorous touch to the look with opera gloves that matched her bodysuit

Kendall accentuated her screen siren features with makeup and threw in a splash of glitz with a pair of heart-shaped hoop earrings.

Eventually Kylie arrived in a black full-sleeved bodysuit and a pair of stilettos, crawling toward the camera just as Kendall had.

She and her big sister posed up a storm together for the camera, cuddling up to one another whilst promoting their brand.

Gorgeous: In one especially sultry shot she could be seen lying back on the floor with her eyes closed and kicking her gams up

Glowing: Kendall accentuated her screen siren features with makeup and threw in a splash of glitz with a pair of heart-shaped hoop earrings

Eventually: Kylie arrived in a black full-sleeved bodysuit and a pair of stilettos, crawling toward the camera just as Kendall had

Family business: She and her big sister posed up a storm together for the camera, cuddling up to one another whilst promoting their brand

Terrific: The bodysuit segments were stylishly intercut with black-and-white footage of the sisters being mobbed by fans and photographers

Old Hollywood vibes: Kendall and Kylie were all dressed up for a chic red carpet event and held their hands up as the shutterbugs snapped away at them

The bodysuit segments were stylishly intercut with black-and-white footage of the sisters being mobbed by fans and photographers.

Kendall and Kylie were all dressed up for a chic red carpet event and held their hands up as the shutterbugs snapped away at them.

Kylie was in a sparkling full-sleeved sequined frock, while Kendall slid into a gleaming bias-cut sleeveless number.

Fashionistas: Kylie was in a sparkling full-sleeved sequined frock, while Kendall slid into a gleaming bias-cut sleeveless number

An intertitle revealed that Kylie and Kendall's new collection is going to be released this coming Friday, June 26.

Kylie wrote on Instagram: 'we have been dreaming this up for quite some time so i hope you guys love it!' referring to Kendall as her 'SOULMATE.'

The two sisters have collaborated on products before, including the Kendall + Kylie clothing line and lifestyle brand, as well as apparel for Pac Sun.

No autographs, please: Kendall made sure to hold the photographers at bay

Togetherness: Kylie wrote on Instagram: 'we have been dreaming this up for quite some time so i hope you guys love it!' referring to Kendall as her 'SOULMATE'

Family business: The two sisters have collaborated on products before, including the Kendall + Kylie clothing line and lifestyle brand, as well as apparel for Pac Sun

Using what she's got: Kendall put her supermodel skills on display in the new ad
The resolution to a standoff between Geoffrey Berman, who has overseen investigations of President Donald Trump's allies, and Attorney General William Barr may be contained in an obscure 1979 memo by the Justice Department that Barr heads.

The controversy has created turmoil in what may be the most important federal prosecutor's office in the U.S., including the specter of two people simultaneously claiming to hold the top job while indicted defendants attempt to have charges against them thrown out as illegitimate.

Barr announced Friday night that Berman, the U.S. attorney based in Manhattan, was "stepping down" after 2 1/2 years on the job and would be replaced with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton. Berman hit back with a statement saying he hadn't resigned, had no intention of doing so, and intended to stay in office until the U.S. Senate confirms his replacement. That's a process that could take weeks or months and require contentious hearings before it's completed -- if it gets off the ground at all.

Barr said Berman will be replaced on July 3 by the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, who'll be in charge on an interim basis until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement. The White House announced Trump's nomination of Clayton late Friday.

"If the scandal is Trump and Barr trying to shut down investigations, then who replaces Berman is a huge story," said Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

The 1979 memo written by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel appears to answer the question of who can remove Berman. The president can fire a U.S. attorney in Berman's position, while the attorney general can't.

The confusion lies in the unusual circumstances of Berman's appointment. Trump's former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, tapped Berman in January 2018 to fill the post on an interim basis until a Senate-confirmed candidate could take his place. But Trump didn't forward a nominee for the post to the Senate.

And under federal law, Berman's appointment was for no more than 120 days. So the judges of the Manhattan-based federal court, acting under a federal law that gives them the power to fill the seat in such circumstances, appointed Berman to remain in his position.

The 1979 OLC memo directly addresses the question of whether a U.S. attorney appointed by local federal judges can be fired by the president, the attorney general, or the judges who appointed him. In the memo, former Assistant Attorney General John M. Harmon concluded that only the president has the power.

But the Justice Department's memo may not be the last word. A federal judge in New York last year rejected arguments that a different OLC memo shielded Trump's tax records from subpoena in a criminal investigation by a state prosecutor for Manhattan. That case is currently under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. And the federal law concerning U.S. attorney appointments has been amended in the years after the memo was written.

Vladeck, the University of Texas law professor, said in an interview that it's clear Barr can't legally fire Berman, though not clear whether Trump can. Even less obvious is whether Trump's has the power to put someone else in Berman's seat without Senate confirmation. Vladeck said he thinks the judges will have to name Berman's immediate successor.

A questionable appointment will be challenged in court, possibly by a criminal defendant seeking to have charges thrown out, said Vladeck. It's unlikely any of the judges in Manhattan -- who voted to have Berman continue in the job -- would be able to hear the case. It might have to be considered in another district, such as the one based in Brooklyn, he said.

Vladeck said the Manhattan prosecutor's office could soon have two people claiming to lead it, similar to a situation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which in 2017 had two officials claiming to be its legitimate leader.

"Nerds like me will fixate on the technical legal questions here -- can the president fire a judicially appointee U.S. Attorney; and, if so, can he also replace him," Vladeck said in a tweet on Saturday. "But don't lose sight of the bigger story here -- this stinks to high heaven. Finding out *why* this happened is the key."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

Trend:

Grain harvesting in Azerbaijan was carried out by 35.9 percent as of June 20, the country's Ministry of Agriculture told Trend.

In terms of volume, 1,126,943 tons of crops were harvested from 362,716.6 hectares of area.

At present, the average grain yield is 31.1 centners, including barley - 30.3 centners, wheat - 32.9 centners per hectare, said the ministry.

"Harvesting in two thirds of the sown area has been completed in the country. From 369,303.7 hectares sown with barley, crops were harvested on the area of 258,161.1 hectares. A total of 783,092.1 tons of crop were harvested," the ministry added.

In 2020, over 640,000 hectares of wheat were sown. Until June 20, wheat was harvested on the area of 104,555 hectares. A total of 343,850.9 tons of crop were harvested.

The harvesting process is continuing, noted the ministry.
Blind woman accuses RI library, park of banning her over handing out Christian literature

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A blind woman filed a complaint against a Rhode Island park and library nonprofit, accusing it of discrimination by banning her from its grounds because she handed out religious literature.

Gail Blair, a 63-year-old woman who has been blind since 1991, was reportedly banned last summer from Westerly Library and Wilcox Park by the Memorial and Library Association, which oversees the public property.

According to the suit, filed Tuesday before the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, Blair would hand out copies of the Gospel of John and engage in religious conversations with other visitors.

I do not follow people and harangue them. I do not argue with those who wish to end any conversation I might initiate. I do not carry around a can seeking donations for myself or for my church, said Blair, as recorded in the complaint.

From time to time I attempt to start a conversation with passersby, and if they are willing, I offer them a copy of the Gospel of John and explain my beliefs. I have had many positive interactions with men and women that Ive met in this way.

Blair argued in the complaint that she believed the Library Association discriminated against me on the basis of my disability, my religion, and my religious message.

The Association can only access the vast quantity of taxpayer money it receives because it has agreed to remain a space of free and open public discourse, she continued.

I respectfully request that the Commission intercede and require the Memorial and Library Association to make amends for their unlawful discrimination, and to permit me to return to the park and library to make full use of its accommodations and services, including through peaceful, civil, and non-confrontational conversations about Jesus.

Jeremy Dys of First Liberty Institute, which is helping to represent Blair, denounced the alleged actions of the Library Association as outrageous and discriminatory.

No government entity should ban anyone  let alone a gentle, blind woman  for simply carrying on conversations about her faith and giving them a copy of the Gospel of John in a public park, said Dys in a statement released Wednesday.

The Library Association has denied any wrongdoing in the matter, posting a statement to Facebook on Wednesday in which it labeled the claim one-sided and unsubstantiated.

We vehemently deny any claims of discrimination or wrongdoing. We do not engage in nor tolerate any forms of discrimination, it stated.

All proper procedures and policies are followed in regards to any and all incidents that take place on our property.

The association concluded that it remains "committed to serving all patrons and the surrounding communities with upmost honor and dignity.
The motion was approved by more than 91% of the members of parliament at a meeting on June 19 and will come into effect 45 days after the signing date.

The corporate income tax reduction is one of the various measures Vietnam is taking to boost economic recovery after the coronavirus has been essentially contained with no local transmission for over two months.

On the same day, the law-making body also agreed to change the form of investment for three sections of the north-south expressway from public-private partnership to public investment.

They are the Mai Son-National Highway 45, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay sections, which will receive nearly 23.5 trillion (US$1 billion) in additional funding for their construction.

The projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Passengers on the Columbus disembarked at Tilbury Docks on 14 April but some crew are still onboard

Five cruise ships in Essex and Bristol have been detained over "concerns" for the welfare of their crews.

Some of the crews had been on board for more than 12 months, payment of wages was late and "a number of expired and invalid Seafarers Employment Agreements" were found by surveyors acting for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

That means the ships are in contravention of the Maritime Labour Convention, the MCA said.

The Astoria, Astor, Columbus and Vasco de Gama, which are berthed at Tilbury Docks in Essex, have all been detained, while The Marco Polo at Avonmouth Docks, Bristol, has also been held.

All five belong to Global Cruise Lines Limited and employ hundreds of crew each. They were all in the middle of cruises when they had to sail back to the UK because of the coronavirus pandemic and many crew have been unable to fly home due to global travel restrictions.

A sixth ship, the Magellan, was inspected but no significant deficiencies were found so it was not detained.

The All India Seafarer and General Workers Union wrote to the Indian foreign office earlier this week saying 164 Indian crew members on the Astoria have been "stuck in foreign waters for the past 90 days and need help".

Many of the crew had begun a hunger strike onboard in protest and said they wanted the Indian government to help get them back to India, the letter said.

The ship's owner said 50 out of 262 Astoria crew members had "commenced a strike, including no longer performing routine maintenance work onboard", but said all were eating.

"Our crew have endured a prolonged period quarantined on board our ships during lockdown and are understandably anxious and distressed," chief executive Christian Verhounig said, adding that many were unable to fly home.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "The welfare of seafarers is of the utmost importance and we take any reports of safety concerns around crew incredibly seriously.

"Following today's investigation, five ships have been detained and we will not hesitate to continue to use every power within our control to safeguard the health and happiness of every seafarer currently working in the UK."

Story continues

The ships will be detained until the breaches of the labour convention are resolved.

Katy Ware, director of Maritime Safety and Standards, said: "This sends a very clear message that crew welfare remains a top priority for us both as a Flag and a Port State.

"We must care for the well-being and health of our seafarers who work so hard in the industry."

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Shipping records show the Astoria left Manzanillo, Mexico, in mid-February and arrived in Poole, Dorset, on 10 March before leaving there on 14 March and arriving in Tilbury the next day, where it has remained during lockdown.

Columbus sailed from Malta to Tilbury and the Magellan travelled to the Essex port from Reykjavik, Iceland.

Both have been there since April.

The Astor, which sailed from Bremen in Germany and the Vasco de Gama from Cape Town in South Africa, have both been at Tilbury since May.

The Vasco de Gama had dropped off Australian passengers at the end of March on Rottnest Island so they could quarantine for 14 days before being allowed on the mainland.

The Marco Polo arrived at Avonmouth Docks on 22 March from Aqaba in Jordan.

Global Cruise Lines, which has its head office in the Greek capital of Athens, is "designed to manage cruise ships around the world", its website said.
Jennifer Burns and Sean Asiala are engaged to be married Aug. 29, 2020.

Parents of the couple are Lynn and Tom Burns of Midland and Michele and Joe Asiala of Midland. The bride-to-be graduated from H. H. Dow High School in 2013, received her bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in human resource management from The Ohio State University. She works in recruiting operations for SalesForce in Bellevue, Washington. The groom-elect graduated from H. H. Dow High School in 2013, and earned his bachelor of science engineering in computer science from the University of Michigan. He is a software engineer for Universal Avionics in Kirkland, Washington.
Apple finds itself in the middle of two separate, yet related stories that highlight its long-standing (and controversial) approach to managing the iOS App Store. Both stories also highlight the impact that approach has on how we use our devices, and how it, in the long run, stifles innovation, running against the core promise of Apple's brand.

The first was that the European Union announced it was opening an investigation into Apple's businesses. Two investigations, actually, though we'll only focus on one here--the one that centers on the App Store, and whether Apple is engaged in anti-competitive behavior by charging a commission on in-app purchases for third-party apps when Apple offers its own option. Think: Spotify vs Apple Music.

Last year, Spotify filed a complaint with the EU claiming Apple was engaging in anti-competitive behavior by taking a cut of subscriptions within the app. As a result, Spotify says it has to charge customers more. Apple Music, however, doesn't have that same cost since it's made by Apple.

The second story to emerge was this incredible Twitter thread from Basecamp co-founder, David Heinemeier Hansson that highlights the effect Apple's strict control has on smaller developers who depend on access to more than a billion iOS users.

Wow. I'm literally stunned. Apple just doubled down on their rejection of HEY's ability to provide bug fixes and new features, unless we submit to their outrageous demand of 15-30% of our revenue. Even worse: We're told that unless we comply, they'll REMOVE THE APP. -- DHH (@dhh) June 16, 2020

Before we dive into that thread, let's be clear on why it matters.

Apple controls the entire App Store, including deciding which apps are available there. Apple would argue its insistence on such rigid control of the app review process is so it can guarantee the best experience for users, preventing malicious or objectionable apps. At the same time, it also imposes requirements on developers around how they monetize their apps or services.

Where that gets complicated is with apps that serve as a way to access a service you already use and have subscribed to. Think Netflix. People used Netflix before there was an iOS version. The app just makes it possible to use the service on your device. You can't, however, sign up for Netflix within the iOS app (though that hasn't always been the case).

In the case of a game or a productivity app, you might pay a fee when you download it, or if you choose to "upgrade" or subscribe to gain access to additional features. That's pretty cut and dry. So is the fact that Apple takes 30 percent of whatever you pay. (In the case of a subscription, that drops to 15 percent after the first year.)

If the developer offers a way to sign up in the app, Apple will take its cut. Many services, like Netflix, get around that by forcing you to sign up outside the app. You can understand why Apple isn't a particular fan of this approach since it misses out on a cut.

Which brings us back to that Twitter thread. In it, Basecamp's co-founder slams Apple for its review process that requires the company's new email service, Hey, to allow customers to sign up in the app. Of course, that would mean Apple would take 30 percent.

Mr. Heinemeier Hansson points out that Hey isn't any different from Basecamp itself, which has always required customers to sign up and subscribe directly. (Basecamp's CEO, Jason Fried, also responded with an open letter.)



Apple's position (though it hasn't been clearly articulated in its App Store Review Guidelines and is apparently subject to its own discretionary whims) is that the difference lies in the fact that Basecamp is a business service, while Hey is a consumer product.

Hey, a $99 per year email service, is not likely to be something the average "consumer" is going to flock to.

The distinction is pretty arbitrary considering the very blurry line that exists between the technologies we use personally and the ones we use for work. Is the iPhone itself a consumer or business device? The answer is both. There's also the fact that Apple seems to be making up the rules as it goes.

Apple's services business is its fastest-growing, and the largest contributor to that is the App Store. Apple has a vested interest in maintaining control over how developers collect payments from customers since it gets a cut. It also has a strong motivation to keep tight reins on the overall user experience since that has always been one of its core selling points.

The problem is that despite the fact that Apple is pretty good at creating great products, it doesn't have a monopoly on great stuff. Thousands of app developers are creating incredibly innovative apps, and I'm not sure Apple should be the final arbiter of the relationship between those developers and iPhone users.

In practice, it has a monopoly over what ends up on your iPhone. That puts it on the wrong side of both innovation and the customer experience--two things it has long said it stood for. As of now, Apple isn't backing down, which says a lot about whether it's actually true.
A Filipino fisherman is seen past the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD-20) during an amphibious landing exercise on a beach at San Antonio, Zambales Province, on April 21, 2015, as part of annual Philippine-U.S. joint maneuvers some 137 miles (220km) east of the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)

US Provided $396 Million to Build Maritime Capacity of Allies in Indo-Pacific

As part of the Indo-pacific strategy, the Department of Defense spent $396 million to build the maritime capacity of allies and partners in the region, said David F. Helvey, the acting assistant secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific on June 18.

Helvey defined this as part of the Department of Defenses priority to ensure free and open Indo-pacific by building partnershipsa key priority of the strategy and said it has built the maritime capacity of allies including the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and more recently Bangladesh.

In terms of our second priority, partnerships, you know, the United States Indo-Pacific allies and partners continue to be the bedrock of our strategy, said Halvey.

He said the National Defense Strategy rightly defines the Indo-Pacific region as a priority theatre for the Pentagon.

The Indo-Pacific region for us remains a very dynamic and diverse region thats rich both with opportunity and challenges, and the challenges that have grown, have both a greater regional and global impact, said Halvey.

Maritime Security Initiative

The Pentagon started implementing the Maritime Security Initiative (MSI) to build capacities of the South East Asian states near the South China Sea in 2016, a year after it was announced.

Where to date weve provided more than $396 million in assistance thats designed to strengthen the maritime capacity and maritime domain awareness capabilities of our allies and our partners, said Helvey while updating reporters on Thursday.

The goal of the MSI is to build capacities of the allies on addressing various maritime challenges including Chinas growing influence in the South China sea.

The department remains focused on adapting to the challenges of long-term competition and the return of strategic rivalry, including with China, said Helvey.

Under MSI, Washington is working with the South East Asian nations to improve their ability to detect, understand, respond to, and share information about air and maritime activity in the South China Sea.

MSI was expanded to include Bangladesh, Srilanka, and Burma (also known as Myanmar) in 2017 and involved building a $3.6 million multinational training facility at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training, reported Dhaka Tribune.

Helvey mentioned that as part of the third priority of the Pentagons Indo-Pacific strategy, which is promoting a networked region, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philipines have also built a joint initiative to conduct maritime and air surveillance in the Sulu and the Celebes Seas.

Thats another example of the type of networked operation that were talking about, said Helvey.
The Washington Post reported on April 18 that the test kits had generated false-positive results  caused by the CDCs contamination  at 24 of the first 26 public health labs that tried them out before analyzing samples from actual patients. The Post also reported that an examination by the Food and Drug Administration had concluded that the tests failed because of substandard manufacturing practices and that the CDC violated its own laboratory protocol in making the kits.
India lost 20 soldiers in Galwan Valley border clash with China on June 15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an all-party meet on Friday said that neither has anyone entered Indian territory, nor is anyone present in Indian territory currently, and nor is any Indian post captured.

But what lies ahead for India as its neighbours  Nepal and China  turn hostile? Shakti Sinha, former NMML director and current director of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, MS University, Vadodara, speaks to News 18 about the challenges ahead for India, Chinese Premiers foreign policy of China should not hide its strength and why it has decided to change the status quo.

India-China border dispute goes back to 1914 and there have been major military conflicts and incidents like Doklam 2017 since then. But it is for the first time that India lost 20 soldiers. How do you see the developments on the border with China?

China has, over the past decade, become more aggressive. It feels the time has come for it to assert its position in the world and emerge as the new hegemon. Xi Jinpings China Dream is clear: By 2049, when China celebrates the centenary of the Peoples Republic, China would fully developed, rich and powerful. It wants to become the greatest player in history. India represents an obstacle for various reasons. We were the first to sound the alarm on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI; a vast project aimed at creating a new Chinese world order) and refused to embrace this effort to create a Sinocentric world order.

Indias robust democracy, its relentless march forward, despite occasional hiccups, and our demography is a challenge to such dreams. Lastly, with our more vigorous defence of our borders, especially the development of infrastructure, meant that China felt that its ability to change the facts on the ground, was getting limited. Specifically, with the completion and the upgradation of the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) road, Indian army would be in a striking position vis-a-vis the Karakoram Pass, and to Chinas access to Occupied Ladakh and on to Pakistan. Hence, the aggressive action by China at this time and location.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is a de facto border, is not delineated. Both sides interpret the boundary as per their interpretation. Do you think the dispute threatens to recur because of it?

Both sides are clear where the LAC is; this defines their patrolling limits historically. There is a well-defined protocol in what you do when you run into the other side during your patrols. This is called the banner drill. However, China has refused to share its perception of the LAC because that would constrict its salami-slicing approach of grabbing territory to give itself control of strategic position, for example, Galwan Valley. If there was no understanding about the LAC, then how come such incursions were far less and far easier to resolve in the past? The ground reality is the same, it is just that China has decided to change the status quo.

China has claimed the Galwan Valley. How do you see the foreign policy of China under Xi Zinping? How is his approach different from the past premiers?

China is going wrong because it thinks its objectives of changing facts on the ground would go unchallenged, just the way that it was allowed to create islands in the South China seas and militarise them. There is no way India would not assert its right to defend its territory. Chinas strategy has been the same since 1950  keep India down and prevent its rise. The tactics have changed. Leave aside 1962, our army gave them a bloody nose in 1967. The PLA has been in no position to assert itself. Dengs dictum of lying low is misunderstood. His full position was that China should hide its strength and bide its time. Xi now feels that the time has come for China and that it should not hide its strength.

How should India respond to the dispute raging on the border right now?

By continuing the dialogue, briefing our partners, that is, those who see the Chinese game plan as dangerous to peace and stability, and be prepared to raise the temperature if the need arises. You must never decide your course of action in a hurry and you must never be predictable.

China claimed the Galwan Valley and there is denial by PM Modi on intrusion.

Let us wait for the official version of the discussion and what the PM said. As I said, we need to know the full sequence of events and facts before coming to conclusions. And yes, I cannot see India sit back and let China's attempt to change the status quo succeed. Doklam was proof of our resolve, patience and reliance on peaceful means to sort out aggressive intentions.

The upper reaches of the Galwan Valley were always with the Chinese. Their claim that all of Galwan is theirs is untenable. The LAC runs further east of PP 14 where the flag meetings of the two armies take place. These remain in Indian control. In sum, what I can conclude from the various statements, including that of PM Modi, is that we have retained control of the areas that are on our side of the LAC. The army has not allowed ingress by the PLA with our men laying down their lives defending the Indian territory. Their bravery should inspire us all.

The kind of nationalist narrative that dominates a skirmish with Pakistan is not present in India-China dispute. Do you think the central governments response to Abhinandan Varthamans release was very different from the alleged capture and release of Indian soldiers in dispute with China?

If you look at reactions across the country, the mood is one of anger and a desire for self-respect. The two countries and the challenges and threats they pose are different, so our approach must be different. Plus, we do not have full facts about what happened. Theres a lot of disinformation going on, including using persons unwittingly. This is especially so about Chinas intentions, its actions, etc. Best to wait before reacting.

What is the way forward for the Indian government in undertaking the strategic roads projects? Where do we see our development works and strategic concerns?

I mentioned the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road, over 255 km in length that suddenly exposes Chinas underbelly. There was the reactivation of the landing strip at DBO. In fact, from Ladakh all the way to Arunachal, we are strengthening our border infrastructure and army preparedness so that we can move our troops and equipment relatively quickly. This includes better roads, accommodation, landing strips, raising of Mountain division, acquisition of air assets etc. This is checkmating Chinas aggressive designs.

Nepals Parliament has approved three Indian territories. How did we come to this pass? Also, how do you see China roles in Indias friend turning hostile?

Nepal has declared the territories as theirs but the facts do not support their claims. Our Pithoragarh records show these areas are India. Our 1954 Panchseel Agreement with China mentions Lipu Lekh as point for border trade, Nepals 1961 Trade agreement with China does not mention Lipu Lekh but the next pass (Tinkar) in the east, our Mansarovar Yatra which resumed in 1981 has always used this route. It is Nepal which should tell us why it chose to take this controversial and yet meaningless step now. Do they really think first changing the Constitution is the best way to begin negotiations? Theres a legal dictum  men may lie but not circumstances.

In your last interview to News18 you had said economics and trade with China cannot be divorced from politics. After the current dispute, there are calls for boycotting Chinese products but is that the solution? How do we see future trade ties with China?

A blanket boycott may not be feasible or even required, but there are other ways to deal with it. In trade disputes, treat China as a non-market economy that so dumping can be determined more easily. Set your standards with adequate safeguards so that China would have to manufacture products for sale in India taking care to meet our sensitivities. Insist on data localisation with the proviso that only if Indias regulators are satisfied with other countries standards, these alone would get waivers. That the overwhelming number of cellphones sold in India has critical Chinese components is a cause of worry. Work with your industry  manufacturers of API, for example,  so that they can grow. There are a whole range of options out there.

With hostilities on three sides  Pakistan, Nepal and China  what kind of policy does India need to formulate with regards to its neighbours?

China is the only strategic challenger and the other two neighbours cannot be treated similarly. Pakistan has always been Chinas understudy, solely engaged with irritating India so that we get bogged down in regional issues. Nepal is a passing phenomenon. A few years ago people talked about Maldives similarly but that has changed.

In our fight with China, who are our true friends? How much can India rely on the USA?

We are not looking for fights or for building alliances. Having said that, India is not the only country that finds the rise of China to be anything but peaceful. The USA, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea and even Indonesia are uneasy, but we all want a peaceful way to sort out differences. Actually, even in Philippines, there is a massive resentment towards China. There are enough voices in Europe that are slowly expressing their unease.

Having said that, we do share a lot of common values and interests with the US and we have been moving towards greater sharing of assets etc with them, France and Singapore.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press conference at the State Department in Washington on May 20, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

US Official Says Chinese Not Forthcoming in Talks With Pompeo

The next couple weeks will show if talks were productive: official

A senior State Department official said that the Chinese side was not really forthcoming during the bilateral talks between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Partys top foreign affairs official, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said at a press briefing on June 18 that China had, however, committed to following through on phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal during the talks, adding that trade would be a good acid test as to whether Beijing was a cooperative partner.

Whether or not the talks were productive, look at what comes up in the next couple of weeks: Do we see a reduction in aggressive behavior or not? Stilwell said.

The relationships between U.S. and Chinese diplomats have developed, Stilwell said, but it is up to the Chinese side to decide how to act.

Stilwell would not be specific about the issues discussed in Hawaii, telling reporters at the briefing that he wanted to leave the Chinese diplomatic space to change course on several matters.

Trust is a function of words and deeds, Stilwell said. Interaction with the Chinese shows that often they do not follow through on their commitments, he said, which is not conducive to building trust.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He hold up signed agreements of phase one of a trade deal between the United States and China, in the East Room at the White House in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

He cited the Chinese regimes 2015 promise not to militarize the islands of South China Sea, which they later reneged on.

Stilwell also said that the relationship between the United States and China needs to be more reciprocal. Journalists cannot report freely in China but the regime complains about actions toward Chinese journalists in the United States.

In February, the United States started treating five major Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations as foreign missions and operatives of Beijings government, requiring them to register their employees and U.S. properties with the State Department.

We leave them the diplomatic space to make decisions that demonstrate that they understand the need for this relationship to be more reciprocal and win-win, to use their term, on both sides, Stilwell said.

Although opportunities for cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are shrinking, the situation in North Korea may be one where both the United States and China can work together to bring North Korea to the negotiating table on its nuclear program, Stilwell said.

Yang serves as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CCP and the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs. The Politburo controls the countrys government including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

US Expectations

The United States also expects the CCP to engage in trilateral nuclear arms control talks with Russia, to prevent unfortunate outcomes, Stilwell said.

Previously, China has declined to participate in nuclear disarmament talks with the United States and Russia that will be held on June 22 in Vienna.

The United States has insisted that China disclose and share with the international community all information it has about the outbreak of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, which could have prevented much of the virus spread, Stilwell said, adding that the CCP is bound to do so by its agreements with the World Health Organization and by international law.

This is not about saving face; its about saving lives, Stilwell said.

He also said that the United States made the Chinese side aware of what the expectations are in regards to access to information related to the CCP virus outbreak and spreading.

When answering a journalists question about Chinese activities in Hong Kong proximity, military activity around Taiwan, and the border clash on the Chinese-Indian border, Stilwell said that creating multiple fronts in a situation when the world is distracted and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic could possibly be seen as an opportunity for the Chinese to take advantage of distraction.

The State Department does not have much open dialogue with its Chinese counterpart but wishes to have more of it, Stilwell said.

The CCP needs to understand that theres got to be give and take in any relationship. It cant be all take, so to make a truly constructive and reciprocal relationship, the president and this administrations insisting that China live up to its commitments, Stilwell concluded.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Savannah Regional Minister Hon. Salifu Braimah has secured 100% confidence from delegates in the Salaga South Constituency to contest the December 2020 General election on the ticket of the NPP.

Hon Salifu Braimah was acclaimed at the Constituency headquarters in Salaga as he went unopposed following an earlier decision of Zakaria Ayawu to withdraw his nomination a few days to the deadline.

The Salaga Constituency which comprises of the Salaga, Mankago, and the Kulaw Traditional Area is the only seat occupied by the New Patriotic Party in Parliament and the only constituency in the newly created Savannah Region where the NPP was supposed to conduct its primaries today.

In an acceptance speech, Hon Salifu Braimah commended the delegates for the trust they have put in him.

I am very thankful for the confidence reposed in me once again. I am again excited because this gesture clearly indicates that my boss president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu Addo with me on the side has met your expectations halfway and I want to assure you that we will continue to work to the benefit of the citizenry .

He also urged the people to support the party to retain the Parliamentary seat come December 7:

It saddens my heart anytime I check the records and realise that we have never won for the presidential since 1992. Please lets pool resources in all facets of human endeavour to ensure the story changes now and forever  the member of parliament added.

The acclamation was attended by the Deputy Savannah Regional Minister Hon Samuel Yeyu Tika, NPP Savannah Regional Chairman Mr. Iddrisu Sulemana, CEO of Ghana Water Company Dr. Clifford Braimah.

Some government appointees Hon. Mohammed Tamimu (MCE East Gonja), Hon. Alhassan Abdallah Iddi (DCE North East Gonja), and all regional and Salaga South Constituency executives were at the acclamation.
A woman was killed and a man was injured in a Northeast Portland shooting Thursday night, Portland police said.

Evelin Navarro Barajas, 23, died at the scene of the shooting, according to police.

Police said they responded to Killingsworth Street and Cully Boulevard around 11:50 p.m. after receiving calls about shots fired. When officers arrived, they found Navarro Barajas and a man who was shot. Police said the man, who has not been identified, was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.

Police have not identified any suspects or disclosed any more details about the shooting.

Detectives asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 503-823-0781 or 503-823-0991.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

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WATERLOO REGION  The need to defund police and instead redirect that money toward programs and services that would help, and not harm, marginalized communities is a common call by activists in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Locally, the Waterloo Regional Police budget is overseen by the police board. The police budget then goes to regional council for approval as part of the larger budget, but councillors do not have input on the expenditures.

The Record polled all 16 regional councillors for their thoughts on police defunding. The three councillors who are on the police board  Karen Redman, Shandy Shantz and Karl Kiefer  were asked one question since they do directly control the budget, and the other 13 were asked a similar question.

The answers have been shortened for print, the full versions as submitted are posted on therecord.com.

Are you going to take action on police defunding and, if so, how will you go about it?

Karen Redman, Regional Chair

The Region of Waterloo believes that the specific demands referenced by the Black community provide an opportunity that needs to be followed by action. We realize that any action taken will not speak to all concerns, and that there are many issues and obstacles that reinforce systemic racism.

We agree that change is needed. But these are changes that affect the entire community and, if progressive change is to come, it will require the support of the entire community. This means we must engage in meaningful conversation with everyone. The region, along with the Waterloo Regional Police Service, looks forward to meeting, speaking and engaging in conversation with individuals and community groups to action such change.

Sandy Shantz, Mayor of Woolwich Township

I look forward to discussions with the African and Caribbean Canadian Community in Waterloo Region and also with other community groups to understand from them how to best provide the resources needed to protect and serve our residents. When we have had those discussions, we can make an informed decision on how we might better allocate the necessary finances.

Systemic racism is a complex issue that crosses cultural lines. It will not be resolved simply by how we fund our social services, but will require reflection by the entire Waterloo Region community on our personal and corporate biases.

Karl Kiefer, Cambridge

Regional Chair and WRPS Board Chair Redman and Police Chief Larkin released statements on the systematic racism which exists locally in our region, in Canada and around the world. I believe that regional council and the WRPS board are committed to taking action and making changes. The WRPS board has directed Chief Larkin to come back to the board with a report on actionable changes. This report will of course include possible reallocation and investment of funds. We must engage and listen to the people and organizations who are demanding change to happen.

As a Regional Councillor and a member of the WRPS board I am committed to listen, participate in active dialogue and bring forward change.

Will you advocate for police defunding?

Elizabeth Clarke, Kitchener

I believe that chronic underfunding of preventative and supportive services, including homelessness and mental health services, has resulted in police performing interventions that theyre not properly equipped or best suited to do. I believe that the money thats spent by police on doing this work would be better invested in programs that support vulnerable people, including Black and Indigenous individuals and communities.

Ill therefore advocate locally for a critical evaluation of all police activities, with the goal of ending those activities that police should not be performing, and shifting the spending to community-based organizations and groups that should. And Ill advocate Provincially for the adequate funding of a 24 hour per day, 365 day per year outreach program to respond to people in the community experiencing mental health crises.

Sue Foxton, Mayor of North Dumfries

It would be easy to support something that I have no power to change or make a difference. It would seem false, I could state that I support police defunding but that is a half truth which has little to no meaning. I will say what I have been saying for years, we need to change policing. We ask our police to do everything from noise complaints to dealing with murders, terrorists, etc. There has to be a better way and a few years back I was hopeful to see that change but it did not happen. My constituents want a greater police presence. No one wants police violence. We need to deal with the real issues and take those issues to the legislative body that has the power to make the changes.

It is time that we stop talking and listen to our community. After they have shared their thoughts, concerns and issues we as decision makers will have a greater appreciation of the depth and range of concerns. At that point we can then as a community embark upon meaningful and thoughtful dialogue working together in a collaborative fashion to bring about constructive change.

Helen Jowett, Cambridge

The Provincial Police Act prohibits council from operational interference. This being said, we do have 3 councillors representing us on the police board who I trust completely to represent council and our community. As accountable to our region, I am pleased to advise that I was appointed to the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council last term. This group consisted of many stakeholders. Many complex systemic social challenges were discussed and attempts at resolve continue. The evolution of our Wellness committee has also undertaken to move progressively for the betterment of all. Yes these are words and I know the time for action is now. The systemic racism has been around for generations however, I feel this council, this police and this community are listening with heavy hearts to the stories that make us feel shame for the abhorrent treatment endured by our friends, neighbours and fellow humans.

As a regional councillor, I will commit to listening with great empathy and understanding so that we may balance community safety and make real change that will help heal our entire community and rid us of systemic racism. I will commit to action wherever possible toward this need to be better. And I will commit to calling racism to the front of our agendas where it demonstrates the ugliness of exclusivity and ill tolerance toward people.

Joe Nowak, Mayor of Wellesley Township

I would not support reducing our budget for police services.

I am especially concerned about the suggestion to eliminate the police presence at our schools. I saw first-hand how appreciative and how well the students interacted with our rural officer. The officer attended a student dance last year on my request after some offensive and threatening graffiti was posted on our school walls. This officer, not only provided a sense of security for the students and organizers, he also demonstrated a positive role model for the students in the way he connected with the children. They obviously appreciated his presence.

Geoff Lorentz, Kitchener

I am not exactly sure what defunding means. I know I have received many emails on this issue and I wonder if the people realize that regional council does not have any oversight on how the Waterloo Regional Police Service operates. Only by provincial mandate are we required to fund it.

I have read the statements from our Chief Bryan Larkin and have spoken to him as well. I have known Bryan since he was a new recruit and have the utmost respect for him and his integrity. I also feel that our Police Services Board is made of good people from this community, who work hard to make good decision, some appointed by regional council and the majority by the Province of Ontario. I have known Regional Chair Redman for many years and I believe in her leadership abilities as chair of the Police Services Board.

This issue is one that needs to be resolved through mutual understanding and dialogue over the next few months. I believe regional council is prepared to do that.

Tom Galloway, Kitchener

I am willing to consider defunding police, not in a punitive sense but rather in a much need rationalization of services. Police are not the best primary response to many types of calls such as mental health, domestics, etc. By default police have become the 24-7 go to. But we need to go further to reallocate resources to needed social development programs that will actually reduce calls for service. The province needs to change legislation and collective agreements to allow for the stratification of duties similar to the RN/RNA/NA hospital model. Why do 1st Class Constables need to run radar, traffic enforcement, minor investigations etc.? Why cant Special Constable duties be expanded or a new category be created? Lots of reallocated dollars available there.

We need to move the needle from the ultra expensive and ineffective Tough on Crime agenda to the Smart on Crime agenda. At the same time the expensive and ineffective courts and corrections systems need the same review. The research is clear, reallocating (defunding) resources to social development programs will improve outcomes for racialized and other marginalized communities not just in criminal justice but in health and education as well. The BLM movement provides us with a unique opportunity to examine and reimagine these systems. Dealing with root causes and the social determinants of health benefits us all.

Sean Strickland, Waterloo

Do I think systematic racism exists in Canada? Yes. Do I think all of us have certain inherent bias about people who are a different colour, religion or ethnicity than ourselves? Yes. Solving this problem requires a concerted effort of all aspects of modern society and in my view is something all public institutions and private enterprises must address. I have long been an advocate for the greater use of non police trained employees on our local police service and in the past few years the Chief has responded and has publicly stated that it makes sense to hire civilians to do non essential police type work (administration, traffic, call centres) and free up officers to focus on preventing and solving crimes. Defunding the police requests are born out of frustration with societys overall inherent bias toward people who are different than ourselves and unjust, inexplicable and horrific instances of police brutality. This cannot continue, and must stop. I support the continued and accelerated redeployment of police funds to a service model where more professionals including counsellors, mental health workers and street workers deliver services to our community where there is little or no threat to public safety. I also support a comprehensive review of police training to include screening and training to eradicate racial bias. I also recognize that complex problems such as systematic racism and cultural bias requires complex solutions which is something much more than simply defunding the police or a couple of paragraphs in the local newspaper. We all must work together to change this.

Dave Jaworsky, Mayor of Waterloo

Over decades through policy, we have relied on police to be our prime 24x7 resource for most everything, except fire and paramedical response. We now have highly trained policing personnel on the front-lines for calls related to mental health, homelessness and addiction. These are societal issues, not crimes. These are national and provincial issues, not local anomalies. Yet today we are using local property taxes and local police to backfill for large-scale social issues.

At the same time, we cant overlook the 300,000 service calls to police per year. If they do not have the capacity to respond to our calls, then who will? We need to build the capacity of upstream organizations that are well-equipped to handle these societal challenges, to help our fellow citizen appropriately.

The Black Lives Matter rallying cry has hit home for all of us. Whether it be outright racism or unconscious bias based on our upbringing and privilege, we all need to recognize that it is tragically more prevalent than we wanted to believe in 2020. We need to look in the mirror and ask how we are helping eradicate hate and intolerance.

Michael Harris, Kitchener

Racism and discrimination exist in our region and must be addressed.

I am pleased to see Chief Larkins commitment to tackling this issue by first listening to and learning from our local Black and Indigenous communities.

We must also maintain a strong police service to respond to the threat of organized crime, human trafficking, drug dealing and violent crime.

Working together we can address racism and discrimination while keeping our region safe and prosperous.

Kathryn McGarry, Mayor of Cambridge

We recognize that racism and discrimination is an issue that exists in the Waterloo Region. We have heard the accounts of our Black, Indigenous, and others in our community, and are deeply concerned.

As a community, we have limited resources  financial and others. We agree it is time to take a critical look at how those resources are distributed overall. The police budget is one part of the equation  but we believe a much larger discussion is needed with our many community partners who are engaged with social development about how more funding can help advance this work. Increased public awareness about the need for more funding for social development will help open up meaningful community discussion and ultimately lead to action.

Certainly, we need greater support and funding for more preventative and upstream solutions and more focus on building an inclusive community foundation that supports equity, safety and well-being. At the same time, the community needs to feel safe and part of that is policing.

Both the Police Services Board and WRPS have said they are committed to change and demonstrable action. In March, WRPS launched its first ever equity and diversity plan.

In 2019, there were 300,000 calls to the police and they operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. Certainly, the complexity of crime has changed over the years  human trafficking, online predators, organized crime, more gun-related violence.

Our Cambridge community has been asking for increased police presence, continue to ask for more enforcement for traffic violations, response to the issues in our community due to the opioid crisis etc., and recognize that a balance should be sought.

We look forward to continuing these important conversations.

Jim Erb, Waterloo

Recent events have heighten anxiety around the world regarding the relationship between people of colour, members of our Indigenous community, other minorities and policing in our communities, and Waterloo Region is not immune. It is unfortunate that these events provide another wake up call for the need to build an inclusive community where all are treated equal and with respect. We have witnessed this too often!

Specifically in Waterloo Region, as you know our role as Regional councillors determining the day to day policies of Waterloo Regional Police Service is given to the Police Service Board under provincial legislation, and so while we provide the funding, our direct influence is limited.

The Police Service budget has been set for 2020, however given the reaction by the community to recent events, my expectation will be that when WRPS present their budget request to council for 2021 funding, we should expect to see changes as to how they allocate resources and opportunities to redirect some of their funding to other services in the community which are being identified. I will encourage my council colleagues on the Police Service board that as the 2021 budget is being drafted, we use the opportunity for WRPS, municipal leaders, and other community members to hopefully engage in a meaningful conversation that will begin to address some of the challenges we face.

Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener

I have always been a strong supporter, both in the council chamber and in my community work, of the need for additional upstream investment in all areas that would provide much needed supports in our community. I agree that policing is not best equipped to support individuals with issues such as mental health, tenuous housing, and a variety of other social issues. However, policing will still need to deal with criminal issues such as violent crime, organized crime, human trafficking and others. I fully support exploring alternative funding models, together with our federal and provincial partners, which would best serve our entire community.

Les Armstrong, Mayor of Wilmot Township

I would not support defunding the police. Having been a police officer, I understand the changes that have occurred since I left the service. The police have had a much larger and wider workload added to their portfolio. I had always said it was job that I welcome a lay off due to a lack of work. I know this will never happen. I wouldnt say it cant happen, its just very unlikely.

I would say there are things that need change to keep up with the times. But reducing the funding would only handcuff the police and endanger the public.

If it is decided to change some of the current responsibilities. It will allow them to concentrate on the fighting of crime.

The fact that officers are suspended with pay should be revisited. A tough conversation.
We recently sat down with accomplished Engineer and businessman Antony Nganga Mwaura.

He is the managing director of Toddy Civil Engineering Company Limited  a Kenyan engineering company that has been responsible for many great projects across the country.

In less than 2 decades, the company has grown into one of the biggest in the country in terms of project portfolio, most of them revolving around water and sewerage works.

It was great hearing from the mind of a Kenyan success story.

Introduce yourself

I am family man, a die-hard entrepreneur at heart, Managing Director at Toddy Civil Engineering Company Limited.

How did you get started as an engineer?

I ventured into engineering in 2002, when I first registered Toddy Civil Engineering as a sole proprietorship. The business had a small base of operations in Karatina, with only two employees.

The business grew exponentially, necessitating that it was changed to a company. It was later incorporated as a limited company under the Companies Act in the year 2008.

You seem to have a particular passion for education, why is that?

I strongly believe that education is key to transform the country into an industrialized, middle-income economy. The role of technical and vocational education is very significant to achieve the aspiration and hope of the nation.

Despite remarkable progress in education and economic development, most children from remote regions and disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to go to or complete school.

I believe that my intervention will go a long way in providing a quality education for all childrenand significantly so in gender equality.

What do you think should be done to have more women in technical careers?

As it has been undoubtedly said before, women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.

However, the STEM field has evidently been a predominantly male-dominated industry. In order to resolve the STEM gender imparity, the problem must be tackled from all fronts, and that includes schools, organizations, research institutions and the companies themselves.

Women must be advised to take up technical courses.

The imbalance in terms of the courses taken by female students further creates disparity in the types of jobs held by women.

What do you love most about your job?

Civil engineering involves coming up with simple solutions for complex societal problems and challenges in terms of infrastructure and amenities. It is very fulfilling when these solutions transform the community, and the country at large.

Working in the civil engineering field, I really enjoy the moments where I get a problem and have no clue what to do. I then have to spend the majority of my day problem solving from scratch, and coming up with a solid solution that I am comfortable having other engineers dissect.

As an entrepreneur, I can work my own hours, wherever I feel like working, and set my own goals and responsibilities.

What motivates you?

Personally, I am more driven to become successful in business because of the sense of personal achievement it provides.

The key to staying motivated as an entrepreneur is remembering why you embarked on your journey in the first place.

When I am certain that my effort to transform the society are not in futility, it really gives me the energy to keep pushing through the long days.

What are the main challenges of starting and running a business in Kenya today?

Small and Medium enterprises popularly known as SMEs are engines of growth, vital to most economies.

When I started Toddy Civil Engineering in 2002, I had a great financial challenge. Financial institutions dont always make it easy for small businesses to secure loans. As a matter of fact, most startups might not have security for the loans, making it difficult for money lenders to give them loans.

Lack of advanced technology in production methods has become a hindrance to high output levels and reduced production costs. This has made most businesses in Kenya not to flourish and participate in regional trading due to low quality output.

With only 10 years to 2030, do you think Kenya is on track to fulfill its Vision 2030, particularly infrastructure-wise?

Despite a number of hurdles that may interfere with some key pillars I believe that Kenya is still on track to achieve its long-term development objectives outlined in the development blueprint.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Many people dream of starting their own business and this should be encouraged because it can be a highly rewarding venture and a way to make a living.

Aspiring entrepreneurs must be willing to take risks, but these should always be researched and calculated risks. Be brave, believe in yourself and have a vision which has always been carefully designed to find success in business and all areas of your life.

What we should all be aware of is, entrepreneurship is extremely demanding, especially in the early stages of growth.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: An Indian national, linked to a group of Indians who had defrauded the Singapore taxman out of SGD 570,000 by making false Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund claims, has been jailed for 18 months by a court here.

Muthuvel Sankar, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption, three counts of GST fraud and one amalgamated charge of money laundering, The Straits Times reported.

He was jailed for 18 months and slapped with a SGD 66,891 tax penalty by the court on Thursday.

Six other charges were taken into consideration.

Sankar avoided arrest when the authorities here busted the Indian syndicate in 2014 as he was not in Singapore at the time.

In October last year, he tried to re-enter Singapore as a tourist but was nabbed and charged in the court.

For the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's (CPIB) director of operations, Chin Wee Liam, Sankar's prosecution has put to bed a case of some significance.

"Singapore is a tourist hub so if we don't put a stop to these kinds of practices, you can imagine the financial damage caused to public funds," he told The Straits Times.

It was the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) that discovered the fraud in 2013 after its data analytics tool flagged several suspicious GST refund claims made through the electronic tourist refund scheme (eTRS).

Singapore Customs and the CPIB were then alerted.

It emerged that a group of four Indian nationals had made false GST tourist refund claims of about SGD 570,000 between September 2012 and January 2014, according to the Straits Times report.

They gave bribes to Mohamed Yusof Abdul Rahman, then a Customs officer at Changi Airport's GST Refund Inspection Counter, as reward for approving the claims.

The Indian nationals bought jewellery receipts from bona fide shoppers, obtained eTRS tickets from the retailers, and presented the tickets to Yusof, who endorsed them without verifying the goods.

Collecting the refunds in cash, the Indian nationals would spend some of the money on duty-free items before leaving for India.

The court heard on Thursday that Sankar was introduced to this fraud scheme in 2013 by a friend.

Using a similar modus operandi, Sankar made at least six false claims between June and November 2013, fraudulently obtaining SGD 29,800.

He took some of the money out of Singapore on at least five occasions.

No restitution has been made.

Sankar also gave, or conspired with his friend to give, SGD 2,800 in bribes to Yusof on five occasions between 2013 and 2014.

Chin said Sankar had already been identified as a person of interest when they arrested his four accomplices in January 2014.

"Unfortunately, Sankar was not around when we moved in," he said.

After finally nabbing him last year, CPIB worked with Iras and the police's Commercial Affairs Department to investigate his offences.

In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eric Hu said that Sankar did not return after leaving Singapore on November 24, 2013, as he had heard many Indian nationals were arrested for defrauding Iras.

But he took a risk and returned because five years had passed and was immediately arrested.

While Chin did not rule out other accomplices who might still be at large, he said the key men have now been taken to task.
New Delhi, June 20 : The construction of a strategically important bridge over the Shyok river in eastern Ladakh was completed on Thursday amid the face-off with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley.

The 60-metre bridge is around four kilometres east of the confluence of the Shyok and Galwan rivers, and links the narrow mountainous region to the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road. The bridge is on the Shyok river very close to the Shyok-Galwan meeting point aligned North and South and will improve the movement of Indian troops in the region.

The Indian Army clarified that it is not on the track moving to Patrolling Point 14 at Galwan Valley where the clash took place.

The barbaric assault on June 15 on Indian soldiers at Patrolling Point 14 has left little scope to ease tensions between the two countries in the near future.

The tense situation at Galwan will be a prolonged one in all likelihood as India has lost 20 of its soldiers.

There is renewed anger in the Indian security establishment after it came to light that 10 Indian Army men, including two officers of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and Major, were in Chinese Army captivity for three days and were only released on Thursday evening.

Actually China has changed the status quo at four places in Eastern Ladakh to which India had objected. The four standoff points are Finger Four at North Bank of Pangong Lake, Patrolling Point 14 near Galwan Valley, Patrolling Point 15 and Patrolling Point 17.

At these four points troop concentration has increased manifold as China changed the status quo.

The Chinese move underlining its expansionist design kicked-off after India began building road infrastructure in its territory near the LAC for easy movement of its troops.

The Galwan Valley attack on June 15 on Indian soldiers was not an isolated one.

The unprovoked Chinese actions started on May 5 and continued leading to the attack in Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and 76 were injured.

These are the first casualties faced by the Indian Army in a clash with the Chinese People's Liberation Army since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Indian troops were outnumbered 1:5 when the Chinese PLA troops attacked them, sources said on Wednesday.

"The number of Indian Army troops compared to PLA troops were in the 1:5 ratio," said sources, adding that China used thermal imaging drones to trace the Indian soldiers before brutally attacking them.

"It was the deadliest attack carried upon Indian Army personnel," government sources said.
MADRID  Carlos Ruiz Zafon, whose mystery novel The Shadow of the Wind became one of the best-selling Spanish books of all time, died on Friday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 55.

His death was announced by his Spanish publishing house, Planeta. His literary agent, Antonia Kerrigan, said the cause was colon cancer, which he had been battling for two years.

Published in 2001, The Shadow of the Wind was translated into dozens of languages and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. It was the second-most-successful Spanish novel after Miguel de Cervantess masterpiece Don Quixote, according to Planeta.

A visit to a book warehouse in Los Angeles, where he moved in the 1990s, inspired Mr. Ruiz Zafon to write The Shadow of the Wind, but he set the action in his birthplace, Barcelona. Written as a story within a story, the novel crisscrosses the tumultuous decades before, during and after the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
Berlin: The United Nations' atomic watchdog agency has called on Iran to provide inspectors access to sites where the country is thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international organisations in Vienna, tweeted that his country and China had voted against the resolution that Germany, France and Britain proposed at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board.

"We believe that the resolution can be counterproductive," Ulyanov said, while also "stressing the need for Tehran and IAEA to settle this problem without delay."

Earlier this week, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated concerns that for more than four months Iran had denied his inspectors access to two locations "to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities".
About a year ago, I attended a hearing in Havertown about the firing of a volunteer firefighter (which essentially wasnt a firing in the truest sense since they werent paying the poor kid anything in the first place). There was a lot of sound and fury, due to the fact that the young man in question had made the mistake of going to a few Proud Boy meetings. I spoke out in defense of the firefighter, who I dont know personally but who I thought was being unfairly treated by an uber-progressive group of male and female Karens.

A lot of people, not just in Delco, think that anyone who would go to a Proud Boy meeting (even without joining) is a racist. Those same people think that a columnist (hint: this columnist) who would speak out in defense of the fired firefighter is a Neo Nazi Racist White Trash Right Wing Bigot.

After I wrote a column explaining how the volunteer firefighters rights had been violated, I became the target of a hate campaign. A local political activist who has her own legal problems started harassing me with social media posts. Others left messages at my place of business threatening to do things you usually see in the first five minutes of a Law and Order episode. Others created fake social media sites that had photoshops of me giving the Nazi salute. To this day, if you google my name, somewhere down there on the first page will be a reference to white supremacy.

Except for the negative impact on family and friends, I can deal with the blowback. It comes with the mine-filled territory of contemporary punditry. If you have strong opinions, expect to elicit the same in return.

But today, social media has given everyone with an opinion the power of both anonymity and number. Whereas before, you could clutch your pearls in one hand and write a scathingly brilliant Letter to the Editor in another, now you can join forces with like-minded people you never met, light your torches and set out to kill the monster in the castle.

Of course, you first have to create the monster.

Over Memorial Day weekend, one such monster was created and destroyed within a matter of hours. We all remember Amy Cooper, the New York City woman who, when confronted about letting her dog roam unleashed, called the police and made a false report about an African American man threatening her life. She was lying. We know she was lying because her alleged abuser, a mild-mannered bird watcher named Christopher Cooper, got her on film. Thank God he did. A few reasons: The Scottsboro Boys. Emmett Till. Susan Smith. This time, this particular white woman lied on tape. So, thank God.

There is very little to defend about Amy Cooper. She tried to use her privileged position in society to do real-time damage to an innocent man. The outrage was justified, and even seems quaint in those pre-George Floyd moments before the potential harm to a man in Central Park was violently displaced by the fatal harm to a man in Minneapolis. At the time, those weeks that feel like years ago, I said that Cooper should go to jail. She endangered the life of a man who posed no threat, because she could.

But: Amy Cooper did not deserve to be destroyed by the torch-bearing mobs. She is a human being who made a horrible mistake. Id even concede that mistake is too kind a description. She committed a crime.

This, however, did not make her a monster, despite the gleeful campaign of the social media mobs to twist her into that caricature. She did not deserve to have her name and private information doxxed, her livelihood stripped from her, strangers calling for her to be raped or killed, all sorts of vile things being said that will reverberate forever on the internet. If you think that this is okay, and that we can define a person by one vile act, one captured moment, one unjustified, nauseating, selfish and yes  racist  act, then please be prepared to live each moment of your own lives as if a film crew were following you around.

And thats not an idle threat, or empty suggestion. People are now walking around with their iPhones and other portable recording devices, playing gotcha with philosophical enemies. Im not talking about folks filming instances of criminal activity, or even trying to document what they think is a bad arrest or brutality on the part of the police (which, more times than not, is not).

Im talking about private citizens using their cameras to capture other private citizens at their worst moments, or doing things that the pseudo Steven Spielbergs think are wrong. And then, these photographic storm troopers, these paragons of civic virtue, post their recordings to the internet, and they go viral, and then people lose their jobs, their friends, their reputations and their privacy. It is a very effective, 21st century version of throwing suspected witches in the river, and hoping that they sink as proof of their innocence. Only with those viral gotchas, innocence is impossible to establish because the damage to reputation is already done.

This past week, a city worker was filmed removing Black Lives Matter posters from a playground, and lost his job because he was not deferential enough to the movement. A beloved police captain in South Philadelphia lost his job because some irate freelance journalist made a video complaint about how he was being mistreated by the so-called vigilantes at Marconi Plaza. Others have lost livelihoods, had to close their stores, been kicked out of schools, removed from faculty positions, and probably even had their engagement rings returned to them.

The electronic Stasi, the digital KGB, are roaming the streets, waiting to catch you at your weakest moments. The social justice warriors need nothing more than a fully charged battery to help destroy you, if you let them.

Dont let them.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and a resident of Delaware County. Her column usually appears Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com.
China is building infrastructure at a rapid speed and encouraging wealthier provinces to make critical investments along the border areas of Tibet with Arunachal Pradesh.

On Saturday, state-owned companies completed part of a key railway bridge on the Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows into India as Siang and then Brahmaputra river, barely 30 km from the border with Arunachal Pradesh.

It is part of the 435-km railway project linking Lhasa and Nyingchi, also known as Linzhi, in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

Experts say once completed, it will be a dual use  civil and military  bridge reaching until the terminus of the line is likely to be just across the border of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims is part of south Tibet.

The Zang Mu Yarlung Tsangpo river double-lane bridge is over 525 metres long and is a key bridge in the project.

It is located across the Yarlung between mountains on both sides.

On April 7, Chinas official media announced that construction work on the last two of the 47 tunnels on the 435-km railway was completed.

At least 75 percent of the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway comprises bridges and tunnels, and over 90 percent of the railway is on the Tibetan plateau at over 3,000 metres or more than 15000 feet above sea level.

As Tibets first electric railway, it has a designed speed of 160 km per hour.

Over 20,000 builders have been working on the railway since the end of 2014. It is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2021.

China has also built a network of highways across TAR with links to Nyingchi.

In 2018, it opened a 409-km new expressway costing about $5.8 billion linking Lhasa with Nyingchi.

The expressway cuts Lhasa-Nyingchi travel time from eight to five hours at a speed limit of 80 km per hour.

The TARs airport infrastructure has rapidly improved as well.

By the end of 2019, the region had five airports and 11 airlines operating a total of 101 routes, enabling convenient connections between Tibet and 51 cities.

As part of a broader policy, Beijing has also begun to encourage wealthier Chinese provinces to invest in TAR, especially in border areas like Nyingchi.

Less than two weeks ago, 26 construction projects in sectors like infrastructure, public services and tourism were officially launched in Nyingchi to be sponsored by southern Chinas industrial powerhouse, the province of Guangdong.

For 2020, Guangdong has planned 51 projects in Nyingchi with a total investment of 543 million yuan or around $78 million.

Poverty alleviation is part of President Xi Jinpings plan to encourage Tibetan herders to settle down in remote locations close to the Arunachal Pradesh border.

Xi had written a letter to a herding family in Lhunze County in southwest Chinas TAR to set down roots in the border area, safeguard the Chinese territory and develop their hometown in 2017.

In the letter, Xi thanked them for the loyalty and contributions they have made to safeguard the border area. Without the peace in the territory, there will be no peaceful lives for the millions of families, he wrote.
Over the past decades, China's Xinjiang has been targeted by extremist groups looking to create a "caliphate" in the region. To respond to the volatile security environment, the Hotan SWAT team has been holding live fire drills to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

This is one of many human stories in our exclusive documentary "Tianshan Still Standing: Memories of fighting terrorism in Xinjiang." You can watch the full documentary here.






Salaries of doctors working for the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) which were due for March and April have been released, in compliance with the Delhi High Court orders, officials said on Friday. Doctors of two major hospitals under the NDMC -- Hindu Rao Hospital and Kasturba Hospital -- had been demanding release of salaries due for the last three months.

"As per the orders of Delhi High Court dated June 12, the salaries of JRs, SRs, DNB, PG doctors for the month of March and April was released on June 17 and June 18 respectively," a senior civic official said.

The Delhi high court had on June 12 directed the NDMC to pay the salary for March to the resident doctors in its six hospitals, including Kasturba Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital by June 19.

An association of medics of civic hospitals in Delhi had earlier extended solidarity to the resident doctors of two municipal hospitals, and threatened to resort to mass resignation if the three-month salaries due to them were not paid within a week.

The Municipal Corporation Doctor's Association (MCDA), set up during the time of the erstwhile unified municipal corporation of Delhi, had also sent a letter to Lt Governor Anil Baijal seeking his intervention in the issue.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

A copy of the letter was marked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams top medical official in the fight against COVID-19 said Friday state officials are putting off for at least two weeks a plan for greater reopening of businesses and other activities.

In recent days, state officials have reevaluated whether to take the next step in the gradual relaxing of some business restrictions. But New Mexico had a major setback in a surge of new virus cases recently, and the states intensive care beds were more than 100% full, said Dr. David Scrase, cabinet secretary for the state Human Services Department.

On June 8, New Mexico had been among 14 states that recorded their highest ever seven-day average of new coronavirus cases. And the state per capita has the lowest number of ICU beds in the country, making it vulnerable if an increase in seriously ill COVID-19 patients occurs, Scrase said.

So we decided to go another two weeks, Scrase said during a webinar update in which he fielded questions from the news media.

The good news: in recent days, the state has seen a downward trend in new cases and the June 1 initial reopening of the economy doesnt appear to have overwhelmed our system, he said.

State officials on Friday announced 112 new cases and eight more deaths.

The new cases include 15 in Bernalillo County, 22 in McKinley County and 17 in San Juan County.

There have now been 10,260 confirmed cases of the virus in New Mexico and 464 deaths attributed to the disease caused by it. There are 4,512 people who have officially recovered from the disease.

What we are trying to do is gradually reopen on one hand and increase the number of countermeasures along the way so each step of the way people of New Mexico are doing more to prevent the spread of the virus as we have more contact with each other, Scrase said.

The most important countermeasure that we have in our pocket right here is getting everyone to wear masks and practice social distancing, Scrase said. If New Mexicans would like to see more things reopen, would like to see schools reopen, and more economic stimulus, I would encourage your non-wearing mask friends (to wear masks). Tell them this is about science.

Scrase said theres been some confusion about the governors public health order requiring masks.

You might think that if youre exercising  you dont have to wear a mask. But he said, thats not correct in all cases.

He said he recently took a hike in the Sandias and noticed that 90% of hikers he encountered on the trail werent wearing face coverings.

Theres this belief that if Im exercising, I dont need to. Just a reminder, even with exercise youre only free of that requirement if youre more than 6 feet away from people, Scrase said.

He also said that when talking about a pandemic, theres a widespread belief bolstered by expert opinion that (being) outside is probably better than the inside. But Scrase said the only relevant medical article relates to COVID-19 on a surface in the sunlight, after which the virus is inactivated in one minute.

Im not a believer that theres sufficient evidence that would be reassuring that outside is safer. We still dont really know for sure that outside infers more protection.

Among the deaths announced Friday was a man in his 60s at the Otero County Prison Facility.

The southern New Mexico compound has been hard hit by the virus. There have been 307 state inmates and 275 federal prisoners confirmed to have the virus at the facility. In addition, 146 cases have been confirmed at the nearby processing center.

The other deaths attributed to the virus include:

 A woman in her 80s from Cibola County with underlying conditions.

 A man in his 70s from Luna County who was hospitalized.

 A woman in her 40s from McKinley County who was hospitalized with underlying conditions.

 A woman in her 60s from McKinley County.

 A man in his 60s from McKinley County who was hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

 A woman in her 80s from McKinley County who had underlying conditions.

 A woman in her 60s from San Juan County.

Journal staff writer Ryan Boetel contributed to this report.
The Embassy of India has been supporting a series of events to take place in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen, and Thanh Hoa from 21 to 28 June 2020 to celebrate International Day of Yoga (June 21).

More and more Vietnamese people are keen to practise Yoga (Photo:cand)

The 6th International Day of Yoga is celebrated by the Embassy under the theme Yoga from Home. Accordingly, the Embassy has been promoting yoga through online mode. In run up to the event, Swami Vivekanand Cultural Centre has been organizing online yoga related activities, including webinars on yoga asanas and Ayurveda and best daily lifestyle practices.

The video blogging contest My Life My Yoga has also been launched. Participants from Vietnam performing yoga asanas from their respective places are required to upload their videos on the Embassys social media platforms.

The three best videos will receive attractive prizes given by the Embassy. These videos will also be considered for the global contest to be organized by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. The last date to send the entries is now extended up to June 21.

The Yoga event scheduled for June 21 at Quang Ninhs UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay will be live streamed on the Embassys social media platforms to virtually encourage thousands of yoga enthusiasts to join the celebrations remotely.

For more information on the livestreaming, kindly visit the Embassy website - http://indembassyhanoi.gov.in - and its Facebook pages - www.facebook.com/IndiaInVietnam and Swami Vivekanand Culture Centre - https://www.facebook.com/IndianCultureInVietnam/.

The United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga (IDY) in 2014. The declaration came after the call for the adoption of June 21 as International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014. VOV
Supporting Children, a new campaign encouraging everyone to be mindful of vulnerable children and young people in these challenging times, has been launched by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone.

The Supporting Children campaign includes the launch of a new gov.ie website, gov.ie/supportingchildren, which will be an information hub for children, young people and their families on how to access the many supports and services provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and their funded organisations.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla have an infrastructure of services providing assistance to children, young people and families throughout Ireland, involving over 800 funded organisations. This existing system of supports, with an effective coordinating structure, was mobilised during the Covid-19 crisis to ensure that vulnerable children and their families could still access the services they needed.

These supports include services designated as essential front-line services in the Covid-19 crisis (those addressing child protection; children in care; domestic, sexual and gender based violence; and certain youth work services), other key supports (youth, community, and family services) and coordinating structures (Children and Young Peoples Services Committees). These services responded and adapted in innovative ways to continue to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of children and young people.

These have been and remain challenging times for children, young people and their families. We encourage everyone to look out for those who are vulnerable and be aware of the supports and services that exist through my Department, Tusla and our many partner organisations in the community and voluntary sector, said Minister Zappone at the launch of the campaign.

During the COVID-19 pandemic we have worked on new and innovative ways to ensure the welfare of children and young people and we will continue to do so. My department continues to lead in harnessing the contribution from all stakeholders in improving outcomes for children and young people. The Supporting Children website will help to ensure that these services continue to be readily accessible to those who need them by providing information on services in one place.

The Supporting Children website provides information on Child Protection and Welfare, with guidance on how to report concerns about a child, as well as Parenting and Family Supports, Education Supports, Youth Services, services for Children in Care, and Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Services.

It shows the breadth of services and supports for children provided by the State and Community and Voluntary sectors and outlines the actions and innovations taken by services in responding to the challenges of Covid-19.

The website also includes links and contact details to organisations such as Parentline, Childline, Barnardos as well as how to find local Family Resource Centres (FRC) and Children and Young Peoples Services Committees (CYPSC).
A kangaroo and two wallaroos were attacked and killed by a predator in their enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, and keepers are trying to figure out whether a young mountain lion that had been seen around San Francisco in recent days before its capture on Thursday was responsible for the deaths.

Two wallaroos and a red kangaroo were found dead in their outdoor exhibit, zoo spokeswoman Nancy Chan said. Findings suggest that a local wild carnivore is responsible.

The bodies of the slain animals were discovered June 12. At that time, the zoo was unaware of the mountain lion sightings, which were first reported Tuesday.

The three marsupials were part of the zoos popular Australian WalkAbout exhibit, a large enclosure along the northern edge of the zoo immediately adjacent to Sloat Boulevard and to the perimeter fence separating the zoo grounds from the outside.

Zoo veterinarians performed necropsies on the three animals and confirmed that they were killed by a predator attack. Chan said they had been bitten. The zoo, Chan said,  took steps to prevent any further loss but she did not say what the steps were.

With the unusual sighting and capture of a young mountain lion in San Francisco this week, the zoo is investigating whether this could be the perpetrator, Chan said.

Early Tuesday, a young mountain lion was seen and photographed on Russian Hill, along the Embarcadero and near Salesforce Tower in the South of Market area. It was spotted again Wednesday near Rincon Hill.

Biologist Zara McDonald of the Bay Area Puma Project, who studied the pictures, said the animal appeared to be healthy, confused and trying to get back to its likely habitat in the hills of northern San Mateo County.

It doesnt want to be in San Francisco, thats for sure, McDonald said.

Early Thursday, the animal was spotted by police near Oracle Park and captured without incident by animal control officers.

The puma, a 15-month-old male, was taken to the Oakland Zoo where a veterinary team deemed him healthy for release back into the wild. The animal weighed in at 68 pounds, according to the zoo.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released the mountain lion in an open preserve Friday, zoo officials said.

In a video of the release posted by the Oakland Zoo, the lion scampers out of a cage, pauses and trots away on a dirt path leading into a forest.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Fish and Wildlife officials will conduct DNA analysis on animal scat found at the scene of the zoo killings, said Ken Paglia, a department public information officer.

The analysis will reveal whether the killer was in fact a mountain lion. Further, the scat could be compared with blood samples taken by Oakland Zoo veterinarians during the animals screening to confirm whether the attacker was the same cougar captured on the citys streets.

State wildlife officials put a tracking collar on the mountain lion that will provide data to assist with conservation efforts, Paglia said.

Zara McDonald, a biologist with the Bay Area Puma Project, said she thinks the potential unintended consequences of placing a collar on a young lion that is still growing are concerning.

This is a questionable action, and could have negative consequences because the cat is still growing, she said in an email.

Steve Rubenstein and Anna Bauman are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com; anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com
One man is dead and another is wounded after a shooting in Seattle's 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,' also known as CHAZ or CHOP.

The shooting occurred at around 2.20am on Saturday near a barricaded entrance to the protest camp, as the anti-police occupation entered its second week in downtown Seattle.

Police said in a statement that a 19-year-old male victim had died, and another of an unknown age had life-threatening injuries and was in unknown condition.

The shooter or shooters fled the area and are still at large, and police said they had no description of the suspect for the public at this time.

Police are seen responding after a shooting in the CHAZ early on Saturday. Cops say they were met by a large hostile group as they tried to collect evidence

CHAZ residents are seen gathering in Cal Anderson Park following the shooting

The shooting occurred near the intersection of 10th Street and Pine, where barricades block the street and near a large protest encampment.

Seattle Police said they encountered 'a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims' as they responded to the shooting.

The CHOP has declared itself to be a cop-free zone and protesters deny police access to the area.

'Homicide detectives responded and are conducting a thorough investigation, despite the challenges presented by the circumstances,' Seattle police said in a statement.

A 911 caller told police a man got out of a black SUV carrying a rifle before gunfire erupted, according to East Precinct radio updates reported by Capitol Hill Seattle.

Barricades erected by the city several days ago divide up the CHOP zone on Friday

The two shooting victims were transported by protesters in the camp to nearby Harborview Medical Center, where one male was pronounced dead.

Footage broadcast by livestreamer Joey Wieser from the camp in the wake of the shooting also showed organizers making an announcement of the mans death to other protesters.

The second victim was reported to have gunshot wounds to the arm and chest. That person's condition is currently unknown.

Police have publicly confirmed that a shooting occurred, but so far have not offered additional details. There has been no word of an arrest in the case.

Organizers who addressed the protest camp after the shooting claimed that the shooter was white and the dead victim was black.

People dressed in black line the perimeter at Cal Anderson Park to allow black demonstrators only on the field to celebrate Juneteenth in the CHOP zone on Friday in Seattle

The shooting marks the second major gun violence incident at the CHAZ, which is also known to some as CHOP.

Nikolas Fernandez was charged with one count of first degree assault after police say he drove into a crowd of protesters at 11th and Pine and shot a man attempting to disarm him on June 8.

Protesters have been occupying a six-block area around the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct since the facility was abandoned by cops last week after days of clashes with protesters.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has allowed the occupation to persist, insisting at one point that it could be a 'summer of love' in Seattle.

Anyone with information about the shooting, or who may have video, is urged to contact the Seattle Police Departments Violent Crime tip line at 206-233-5000.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 10:01:20|Editor: huaxia

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The man accused of murdering a New Zealand police officer appeared in the Waitakere District Court in West Auckland on Saturday morning.

The 24-year-old man was charged with multiple serious offences, including murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving causing injury.

The suspect appeared via audio visual link from another part of the courthouse, which is a process used after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The man has been granted interim name suppression in the court and cannot be named or identified due to the order.

He was remanded in custody and will appear in the High Court next month.

Meanwhile, New Zealand police are hunting 30-year-old Auckland woman Natalie Jane Bracken who they believe may have assisted the alleged killer in avoiding arrest.

Police officer Constable Matthew Hunt, 28, was killed by the accused man with a long barreled firearm on Friday morning during a routine-check-turned gun shooting.

Another police officer was seriously injured in the incident. A member of the public has also been hit by the vehicle that the man got into and used to flee the scene.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Police Stuart Nash have issued a statement on the shooting on Friday.

"This is devastating news. Our police officers work hard every day to keep us and our communities safe," said Jacinda Ardern.

In the history of New Zealand policing since 1890, 33 officers have been shot and killed on duty, most recently Senior Constable Len Snee in Napier in 2009. Since 2002, 15 officers have been wounded by firearms. Enditem
After months off the campaign trail, President Trump will re-launch his re-election bid Saturday night before a boisterous crowd. More than 800,000 supporters registered for tickets, according to his campaign manager. Many have been camped out outside the arena for days. Yet long before they arrived, the rally was enveloped in controversy because of the timing and location.

Its one thing to cram 19,000 people into an indoor arena in the midst of a pandemicwithout mandating the use of masks. Its another to schedule the event for June 19, a date used to commemorate the delayed emancipation of American slaves, and to pick a location seven blocks from the site of the infamous 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Okla., when white rioters, aided by Tulsa police and the Oklahoma National Guard, looted and burned more than 1,200 black homes and businesses, killing an estimated 300 people.

Volunteers from

In the midst of a national reckoning over systemic racism. Trumps campaign selected one of the most controversial locations and dates it could have chosen. At best, holding the rally in Tulsa once again revealed the massive blind spot Trump and his aides have when it comes to race in America. At worst, it was a deliberate provocation by a campaign and a candidate that seems determined to press on the nations raw nerves and deepen racial divisions as a matter of strategy.

Tulsa was chosen because it is in Americas Heartland and theres no better place to restart the rallies, said Michael Glassner, the Trump campaigns chief operating officer. Trump himself told the Wall Street Journal that the rally was pushed back a day after a Black Secret Service agent explained the meaning of the Juneteenth holiday to him. Trump told the Journal that he did something good and made Juneteenth very famous.

Nobody had ever heard of it, the President of the United States said of a holiday recognized in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

Story continues

As wide-spread protests against police brutality and systemic racism push into a fourth week around the country, Trumps response has laid bare the depth of the countrys racist legacy and added urgency to calls for a wider national reckoning. Sixty percent of white Americans and 82% of Black Americans think Trump has made the country more divided, according to a poll released Wednesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The percentage of white Americans who disagree with Trumps handling of race relations has increased from 55% in 2019 to 62% in 2020, the poll found. Optimism among Republicans is down. This month, the poll found 63% of Republicans thought the country was headed in the wrong direction, compared with 42% in May. And Trumps own poll numbers have sagged further.

Yet while many allies concede it is hurting his re-election prospects, the Presidents fomentation of racial division continues. In recent days, Trump has slapped down a push inside the Army to strip the names of Confederate officers from ten U.S. military bases, writing on Twitter that his Administration will not even consider renaming them. In a week when an Atlanta police officer was charged with shooting a Black man during an altercation and more localities moved to ban chokeholds and open up police disciplinary records to public scrutiny, Trump told Fox news host Sean Hannity that police officers are under siege and have not been treated fairly in our country.

Reverend Al Sharpton speaks to attendees at the Juneteenth celebration in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19, 2020. | Ruddy Roye for TIME

Trumps campaign defended his record on race, saying he was responsible for low unemployment among Black Americans before the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing funding for historically Black colleges and universities, and signing criminal justice reform measures into law. Trump has built a record of success for Black Americans, senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson said in a statement. As the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth, which is the anniversary of the last reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, Pierson added.

Many protesters who have taken to the streets in recent weeks say Trumps divisive instincts have exposed the racist currents still rife in America. Levi Berlin, 23, a lifestyle and fashion photographer, has attended multiple protests in Washington, D.C., handing out snacks and water. Trump made people like me and the millions of other people in other states that went out and protested have a reason to go out there and fight for change, because I see it now, Berlin says of systemic racism. Its not just a myth. Its not just, Oh, were just being paranoid. We know for a fact. Its there. Its in our office. Its running our country.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20)  Locally stranded individuals have been disallowed to go in or out of the cities of Cebu and Talisay in Cebu province that follow different community quarantine restrictions.

As per instruction of SILG (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government) Eduardo Ano, the movement of LSIs coming from or going to ECQ and MECQ areas will not be allowed temporarily, PLt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, commander of the Philippine National Police's Joint Task Force COVID Shield, said in a statement on Saturday.

All police commanders across the country have been ordered to temporarily suspend the issuance of travel authority passes for people wanting to go to Cebu City and Talisay City. Authorities in the two cities have also been told not to allow stranded travelers from leaving.

Eleazar said the move was made to give local officials ample time to contain the spread of the coronavirus in their areas.

Cebu City was placed under enhanced community quarantine while Talisay City was put under modified enhanced community quarantine by national health officials wary of the surge in coronavirus infections and community transmission in the two cities.

Local officials have appealed for a more relaxed classification, with Talisay Mayor Samsam Gullas saying the national government had incorrect data.

According to the Department of Health's tracker, Cebu City has a total of 3,317 confirmed COVID-19 cases while Talisay City has 147, with Mayor Gullas noting that only 70 are active cases since 53 have recovered and 24 had died.

In other places around the country, either a more relaxed general community quarantine or modified GCQ is in place.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online media briefing on Saturday that officials are working on a more concrete strategy and protocol for locally stranded individuals. He said they can all undergo RT-PCR testing once more test kits arrive.

Under the current rules, returning individuals are required to undergo RT-PCR testing upon arriving in their hometowns, Roque said. Those who test negative can immediately go home, while those diagnosed with the viral illness have to be isolated and treated.

When the local government unit has no testing capability, the traveler needs to undergo quarantine first, he said.

Roque said this strategy was discussed Friday in the inter-agency task force meeting and it was agreed that once the PCR testing kits arrive, locally stranded individuals can have PCR testing.

READ: Arriving COVID-19 test kits can test almost 10 million people  Galvez

Lawmakers from Eastern Visayas are seeking a review of the national government's "Hatid Probinsya" program, noting that the region had been coronavirus-free until a resident returned to Catarman, Northern Samar from San Juan City.

A number of locally stranded individuals tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning to their hometowns, with some even testing negative in tests they had before taking trips home.

READ: 13,000 locally-stranded individuals in Luzon await transport to Visayas, Mindanao
Washington, June 20 : Amid mounting pressure from lawmakers, the US Treasury Department and Small Business Administration said that they would disclose information about businesses that take Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or more.

Names, addresses, zip codes, demographic data and other details of the businesses will be disclosed in five loan amount ranges starting with $150,000 to $350,000, and going up to $5 million to $10 million,a joint statement from the agencies said on Friday.

Noting that these categories account for nearly 75 per cent of the loan dollars approved, the agencies said for loans below $150,000 dollars, totals will be released, aggregated by zip code, industry, business type, and various demographic categories, reports Xinhua news agency.

At a Congressional hearing last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to release data about the government aid program, saying that the names of companies that received forgivable loans and the amounts were proprietary or confidential.

The remarks, however, have drawn backlash from lawmakers and beyond.

"Given the many problems with the program, it is imperative American taxpayers know if the money is going where Congress intended -- to the truly small and unbanked small business," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.

"I am pleased that we have been able to reach a bipartisan agreement on disclosure which will strike the appropriate balance of providing public transparency, while protecting the payroll and personal income information of small businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors," Mnuchin said in a statement on Friday.

The program, intended to help small businesses retain their employees during the COVID-19 crisis, offers support for businesses with fewer than 500 employees and allows companies to have their loans forgiven if they spend the money on payroll, rent, mortgage interest and utilities.

However, as small businesses scramble to apply for loans under the program, a few not-so-small companies secured millions of dollars of aid, sparking public outrage and raising questions about the relief package.

In a $2.2 trillion relief package approved by Congress in March, $349 billion had been allocated to fund the PPP.

The program, however, ran out of money within two weeks due to high demand.

In April, Congress passed a $484 billion relief package, of which more than $310 billion went to the PPP as additional funding.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea reported 67 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, the largest daily jump in about three weeks amid an upward trend in new infections.

Health authorities said 31 of the new cases came from overseas while the rest were locally infected. It was the largest daily increase since 79 cases were reported on May 28.

The country has confirmed 12,373 cases, including 280 deaths

South Korea has been struggling to contain a spike in virus transmissions since early May, when it eased social distancing rules. Most of the new cases have been reported in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the countrys 51 million people live.

The new cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a big e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door salespeople.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

 Chinas capital has recorded a further drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases as tightened measures to contain the spread remain in place. Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing on Saturday, along with five others elsewhere in the country. No new deaths were reported and 308 people remain hospitalized. One of the Beijing cases is a nurse at a hospital in the suburban Changping district. The Peking University International Hospital where she worked is now under tightened restrictions, along with residential communities in the surrounding area. A total of 205 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Beijing since the outbreak began last week, with at least two of them critically ill and 11 others in serious condition.

 Australias Victoria state is set to reimpose household restrictions on Monday after recording double-digit increases in COVID-19 cases for a fourth consecutive day. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews says household gatherings will be restricted to five guests and outdoor gatherings to 10 people until midnight July 12. Victoria recorded 25 new cases on Saturday, the biggest daily increase in two months. The planned easing of restrictions for cafes, restaurants and pubs, from a maximum of 20 guests to a maximum of 50, will be deferred for three weeks. Businesses that are set to open for the first time Monday, including gyms and cinemas, will be allowed to do so but with a maximum of 20 people.

Story continues

 The coronavirus outbreak in China has seen as surge in online shopping, with nearly 4.7 billion packages delivered by postal and courier companies during a mid-year shopping spree, up more than 48% from last year, according to the post office. E-commerce companies such as Alibaba and JD.com have offered major promotions to turn June 1-18 into a shopping festival. Chinas highly developed online retail and delivery services have been major beneficiaries during the pandemic while brick-and-mortar stores have been largely shut or forced to limit the number of customers.

___

Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
THE Cebu Technological University (CTU) and other organizations donated more than 36,000 washable face masks and detergent soaps to inmates of the Cebu City Jail (CCJ) and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) through their Amping Cebuano Project.

The CTU Graduate School Student Organization together with the Philippine Red Cross, Department of Trade and Industry, Amro Philippines, Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers and Duros Construction made the initiative possible.

It was during the time that the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases in the jails were high. So we decided to donate washable masks and detergent soaps to wash it with to persons deprived of liberty to lessen the risk of transmission within the jail facility, Dr. Stanley Caminero, a volunteer, told SunStar Cebu.

The undertaking also provided livelihood to seamstresses in the southern town of Argao, Caminero said.

The group donated 13,400 washable masks and 13,422 detergent bars to the CCJ-Male Dormitory and 2,036 masks and 2,036 bars to the Female Dormitory.

The CPDRC, on the other hand, received 3,520 masks and 2,374 soap bars.

Caminero, former mayor of Argao, said it took them a month to come up with materials since they aimed to provide all inmates with masks and soap.

It will be two masks and two soaps per inmate. So it will protect them even if they are inside the facility, he said.

He said they wanted to help during the time the number of cases spiked inside the jail facilities. (JOB)
Sandip Ssingh is said to be one of the close friends of Sushant Singh Rajput. From accompanying the actor's sister to the hospital to last rites to supporting Ankita Lokhande, Ssingh has stood with the bereaved's family during the difficult time.

On Friday, Ssingh took to social media and shared a heartfelt note for Lokhande, who's reported to be devastated by Sushant's suicide. Listing down multiple memories with Sushant and Ankita, Ssingh wrote that only she could have saved him and he wishes how they both could have married. He mentioned that to date Ankita has not removed Sushant's name from the house nameplate and they both were made for each other.

"Dear Ankita, with each passing day, one thought keeps haunting me over and over again. Kaash... I wish... We could have tried even harder, we could've stopped him, we could've begged him!

Even when you both seperated, you only prayed for his happiness and success... Your love was pure. It was special. You still haven't removed his name from the nameplate of your house," he wrote.

"Even today, I believe that only you two were made for each other. You both are true love. These thoughts, these memories are hurting my heart...how do I get them back! I want them back! I want 'us three' back! Remember the Malpua!? And how he asked for my mother's Mutton curry like a little kid! I know that only you could've saved him. I wish you both got married as we dreamt. You could've saved him if he just let you be there...You were his girlfriend, his wife, his mother, his best friend forever. I love you Ankita. I hope I never lose a friend like you. I won't be able to take it," wrote Ssingh in his post.

You can read the full post here:

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead on June 14 at his Mumbai residence. The police didnt find any suicide note and are probing if Sushant was depressed due to any professional rivalry.

Anil Deshmukh, the Maharashtra Home Minister, had said investigators will look into the possible cause of his alleged clinical depression.

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REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - Any frequent visitor of the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk knows the beginning of June is marked by the buzz of families, fast-rolling Skee-Balls, coins falling into claw machines, and children squealing in delight on their favourite rides. Yet these landmark traits of Rehoboth Beach are not likely to be seen in the same magnitude in the immediate future.

Boardwalk crowds arent the same this year so far with the continued closure of Funland, and the limited business operations at Zelkys Beach Arcades and Donuts.

Ian Curry, general manager of Funland and a fourth-generation member of the Fasnachts, the family who owns the facility, said state officials have not given them a concrete date on when they will be permitted to open.

Its not going to be the summer that were used to, Mr. Curry said. The short of it is, its going to be hard. Its going to be different, but were going to adapt and change.

Many businesses have been permitted to open since Phase 1 of reopening began on June 1. As Delaware prepared to open businesses further in Phase Two on June 15, arcades, amusement parks, and water parks have been singled out yet again by the state guidelines, which prohibits their opening without submitting a detailed plan of opening to the state.

For Zelkys Beach Arcades and Donuts, they have been successful in submitting such a plan, which allowed them to open on June 1 under restrictions such as limiting how many people are in the arcades, how far games are spaced apart, placing distancing stickers on the ground, and setting up sanitation stations, among multiple other restrictions.

Matt Weiner, general manager of Zelkys, said he submitted his opening plans before June 1, along with his petition signed by approximately 1,000 people advocating for their opening.

After submitting the plan, we heard back a couple days later. We made a couple changes per the Division of Public Healths suggestion, Mr. Weiner said. At this point, weve been granted full approval to reopen the arcades on the boardwalk.

Zelkys opened their central arcade boardwalk location on June 1, and their south boardwalk arcade location opened on June 8. They are still struggling to open all three of their locations at once under the guidelines, and on some days they are unable to open more than one arcade at a time, according to Mr. Weiner.

Mr. Weiner said one of the more challenging aspects of opening since approval is finding enough employees. While the arcades typically employee 75 people in the summer, they have only been able to hire nine people this season, with employees reluctant to come off unemployment and lack of J-1 visa workers.

In the end, we are very happy to have been able to finally open our doors. Mr. Weiner said. At this point, our biggest issue is seeking to find additional help. It seems that a lot of people are not wanting to come off of unemployment. A majority of people that we are having applied were not able to qualify for unemployment, or were too young and are entering their first jobs.

Mr. Weiner emphasized that the arcades are doing everything in their power to make their locations a healthy environment.

We wouldnt have fought so hard to be able to reopen if we didnt think that we could provide a safe environment, Mr. Weiner said. We dont want to get anybody sick, nobody wants to get sick coming to our place, so weve done everything we were able to provide that kind of comfort.

FUNLAND DIFFICULTIES

While Zelkys had more luck with submitting an opening plan, the circumstances of opening for Funland are more difficult, mostly due to the sheer number of people it draws in such a small space.

In 1962, Allen and Don Fachnacht purchased what would later become Funland, now the only permanent amusement park in Delaware. Their first year owning the park was christened by the destruction of the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962, after which the family had to rebuild from the ground up.

Mr. Curry said he and the rest of the Funland team have been working closely with state and local officials who are helping them draft a suitable reopening plan.

Were all in this together, essentially, Mr. Curry said. Theres so much unknown out there. We see whats best is to follow all the guidance from the state and federal level, and also from the local level.

For Funland, opening would require them to follow much of the restrictions most stores have already put in place, such as limiting crowds, frequent sanitization, and mask-wearing requirements among other things, but executed on a much larger scale. Mr. Curry said Funlands priority is opening to as many customers as possible while keeping the environment safe.

The good and the bad of it all is when it gets busy, its crazy in there. Youre packed in like a sardine can, Mr. Curry said. Thats a great thing to be so popular. But that is one of our main concerns of how do we control that? So, were looking at a whole host of ideas about how that happens.

Mr. Curry said even if there were no state restrictions, his family would not feel comfortable opening until they knew they could do it safely.

This is the right decision for us. Yeah, we want people to have fun, but I would never want to put anybody, my family, employees, or someone thats paying money to come into our establishment, I would never would want to put them in jeopardy, Mr. Curry said.

A MISSING PIECE

With Funland closed until further notice, former Funland employee and author of the book about the venue, Land of Fun, Chris Lindsley said the boardwalk will be missing an important part of its local charms.

Funland is really the heart and soul of Rehoboth in the evenings for those people looking for kid activities and fun, Mr. Lindsley said.

Funland serves a crucial role for families visiting Rehoboth Beach because of its affordable pricing and nostalgic rides dating back to the 1950s and 60s that can be appreciated by all generations, he said. Without Funland, families have significantly fewer options after long days of sitting on the beach.

Mr. Lindsley said that while writing Land of Fun, he spoke with many families about how important their summer tradition of visiting Funland is.

I certainly do feel for those families because, again, I know many of them. Their kids, in particular, think about Funland pretty much all year. I mean Ive heard some pretty amazing stories, Mr. Lindsley said.

For the Gerber/Reid family, this is exactly what Funland means to them. Ilene Reid and Mitch Gerber who live in Rockville, Maryland, have brought their children Dana Gerber, 20, and Eli Gerber, 26, to Rehoboth Beach every summer since they were born.

Mitch Gerbers face lit up as he described his favourite Funland ride, the Skyfighters, which reminded him of rides he went on as a child.

At Funland we had some early rituals too, Mr. Gerber said. In the beginning, we limited ourselves to the kiddie rides, and I was particularly attached to that area because one of the kiddie rides with the snub-nosed rockets with the buzzers you could press, was the exact same ride at an amusement park in Buffalo, where I grew up in and where I went to as a kid.

Chris Lindsley wrote the book Land of Fun about Funland in Rehoboth Beach.

The Gerbers said they would often visited Funland every night during their weeklong visits.

The walk over there, in fact, was like the longest 15 minutes of me and my brothers lives because all we wanted to do was go to Funland, Dana said.

Ms. Reid reinforced that Funland, as its name would suggest, was always a fun place for her family to visit.

I just feel so positive about the place and the environment, Ms. Reid said. It just has this real feel to it, like, you feel welcome. Theyre not turning you upside down and emptying your pockets.

Dana said seeing Funland opened with strict health precautions could warp her fond memories of the park shes grown to love over the years.

I feel very restricted by, you know, these guidelines, and I dont really ever want to associate that with Funland. I dont ever want to, like, see a Funland where you have to wear masks and stuff like that. I dont want to see a Funland where they disinfect everything between every game, because I feel like that would sort of taint my memories of it. Dana said. Im really, really hoping that next summer is much better in every possible, knowable, respect.

Despite this, Dana said a younger child-version of herself visiting Rehoboth would see a closed Funland as a sign of the apocalypse.

If I was a kid I would think that, like, it was the apocalypse. I would think, how can Funland possibly be closed? Dana said. Now I mean, Im 20, so I can understand why it wouldnt open and why it wouldnt be safe. I think the core of Funland is fun. And, you know, an amusement park during a pandemic is not fun.

The question of how Funland could be closed for this long, is a question that the community has been asking itself for weeks now. It is likely Funland may not open until Phase 3, expected to begin in July at the earliest.

Mr. Lindsley said Funland being closed for this many weeks is far from normal for the park.

At the time I worked there, it was never closed. The only time they ever closed was if there was a hurricane or something. And then, once in 2013 when Als wife passed away, they closed for one day, Mr. Lindsley said.

This is a new experience for the family as well, I think, obviously, not being open this time of year. So, yeah, its weird for everyone in a whole bunch of ways.

For more information on the status of Funland, visit FunlandRehoboth.com. To learn more about the history of Funland and Mr. Lindsleys book, Land of Fun, visit land-of-fun.com.
China claims whole of Galwan Valley, hopes India will work with it

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Upping the ante, China has claimed the whole of Galwan Valley and also said that India had violated the June 6 understanding by crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and violently attacked the Chinese soldiers.

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

The statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said that the Indian side promised on June 6 that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities. The two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between the commanders on the ground, the foreign ministry also said.

Ladakh standoff: China says 'presently it hasnt detained any Indian soldiers

Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.

The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations, China also said.

They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been

forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas.

China releases 10 Indian soldiers

China hopes that India will work with us, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reach between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.
Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and militarizing the strategic South China Sea as he described the ruling Communist Party of China as a "rogue actor."

In a scathing attack on the Chinese government, the top American diplomat said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like the NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world's most populous democracy. It's militarizing the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes," Pompeo said, a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with the Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh early in the week.

China claims almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea and has also laid claims on the Senkaku islands under the control of Japan in the East China Sea.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the South China Sea.

The US periodically deploys its naval ships and fighter planes to assert freedom of navigation.

In his virtual address on "Europe and the China Challenge" during the 2020 Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday, Pompeo said that for many years, the West, in an era of hope, believed they could change the CPC and improve the lives of the Chinese people along the way.

The CPC took advantage of our goodwill while assuring us they wanted a cooperative relationship. As (former Chinese politician) Deng Xiaoping said 'Hide your strength, bide your time.' I've talked in other venues about why this happened. It's a complicated story. It's no one's fault," Pompeo said.

Over the decades, European and American companies have invested in China with great optimism.

It outsourced supply chains to places like Shenzhen, opened education institutions for PLA-affiliated students and welcomed Chinese state-backed investment in their countries, he said.

But the CPC decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, violating a UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens. This is one of many international treaties the party has violated, Pompeo said.

"General Secretary (Chinese President) Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we haven't seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India, he said.

The clash in the Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300.

"The CPC isn't just a rogue actor in its own neighbourhood, it lied about the coronavirus and let it spread to the rest of the world, while pressuring the WHO to assist in its cover-up campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people have died and the global economy has been decimated, Pompeo said.

Even now months into the pandemic, China has not provided access to live virus samples, facilities or information about patients in December in Wuhan, he said.

China is pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns to undermine governments and to drive a wedge between the US and Europe, Pompeo alleged.

"It's saddling developing nations with debt and dependency. It's strong-arming nations to do business with Huawei, an arm of the CPC's surveillance state. It's flagrantly attacking European sovereignty by buying up ports and critical infrastructure from Piraeus to Valencia," said the top American diplomat.

"We must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn't just at the gates; it's in every capital. Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion," he said.

"Europe faces a China challenge, just as the United States does, and just as our South American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian friends do. As I said earlier this week to my EU counterparts, I know there's fear in Europe that the United States wants you to choose between us and China.

"It's the Chinese Communist Party that's forcing the choice. The party wants you to throw away the progress we in the free world have made, through NATO and other institutions - formal and informal - and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing," Pompeo added.
LISBON, June 18 (Reuters) - Portugal's government approved on Thursday plans to create a state-owned development bank to channel funds into certain companies and sectors to bolster the economy.

The plan comes as the country hopes to receive 26.5 billion euros ($29.73 billion) from the European Union's 750 billion euro coronavirus recovery fund, due to be debated by the European Commission on Friday, to help it through the coronavirus pandemic.

The government requires approval from the Bank of Portugal and the European Commission to proceed with the development bank, which would be created by merging three existing investment and mutual guarantee funds.

The bank will perform the typical functions of a national promotional bank, "addressing market failures or situations in need of investment optimisation", Secretary of State of the council of ministers Andre Caldas said at a press conference.

Its functions will include providing bank guarantees and long-term financing to companies in high-risk sectors, supporting exports and taking equity and shares in companies requiring investment.

Portugal is due to receive 15.5 billion euros in non-repayable grants and 10.9 billion in loans from the European Commission, if the recovery fund is approved, and that would be channelled through the bank, the council of ministers, or cabinet, said in a statement.

Economy minister Pedro Siza Vieira has long called for the creation of such a bank and talks about its creation have been stepped up as the coronavirus damaged the economy. At the beginning of June Siza Vieira said a development bank was "indispensable to support not just this stabilisation phase but the restarting of the economy".

Prime minister Antonio Costa said on June 4 that talks with the European Commission were "very advanced" and the bank should be created within months. ($1 = 0.8914 euros) (By Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Victoria Waldersee and Susan Fenton)
China accuses Indian soldiers of instigating the fight in the disputed Ladakh region that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

China says the Galwan Valley where Chinese and Indian troops were engaged in a deadly clash falls entirely within its territory, as Beijing blamed New Delhi for the June 15 military clash at the border that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement on Friday that the Galwan Valley, which is part of the disputed Ladakh region, is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)  the de facto border between the two Asian rivals.

Zhao accused India of violating the agreement the two countries had reached on June 6 regarding the LAC, calling it a deliberate provocation on New Delhis part.

He said that the rights and wrongs  are very clear and the responsibility rests entirely with the Indian side.

In a series of tweets, Zhao said that Indians had since April unilaterally built roads, bridges and other facilities in the region.

The statement contradicts Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who had earlier said that the fighting erupted after the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC.

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese:

1. Why were our soldiers killed?

2. Where were they killed? pic.twitter.com/vZFVqtu3fD  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 20, 2020

Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball standoff at several points on their 3,500km (2,200-mile) border, most of which remains undemarcated, since early May.

On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in physical fights with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley close to the disputed Aksai Chin plateau claimed by India.

Soldiers brawled with clubs, rocks and their fists in the thin air at 4,270 metres (14,000 feet) above sea level, but no shots were fired, Indian officials have said. The soldiers carry firearms but are not allowed to use them under a previous agreement in the border dispute.





It was the deadliest clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades, although China has not said whether it suffered any casualties.

According to Zhao, the fight was instigated by Indian front-line soldiers, who violently attacked Chinese troops who were in the area for negotiation.

The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue and breached the basic norms governing international relations, Chinas embassy in India said in a statement on Saturday.

Also on Friday, Zhao said China was not holding any Indian soldiers in the Himalayan border standoff between the two countries, but has not directly addressed media reports that China released 10 of them late on Thursday.

My information is that at present there are no Indian personnel detained on the Chinese side, Zhao said, according to an English version of his daily briefing posted on the ministrys website.

Indian officials have denied that any soldiers were in Chinese custody.

A satellite image shows Galwan Valley in the disputed Ladakh region [Planet Labs Inc/Reuters]

Commenting on Chinas claim to the Galwan Valley, Indias foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Saturday attempts by the Chinese side to now advance exaggerated and untenable claims over the LAC are not acceptable.

They are not in accordance with Chinas own position in the past, he said in a statement, adding that Indian troops did not cross the LAC and had been patrolling the area for a long time.

Srivastava accused China of hindering Indias normal, traditional patrolling pattern in the area, which resulted in a face-off.

Army officers and diplomats have held a series of meetings to try to end the impasse, with no breakthrough.

In a conversation with his Indian counterpart earlier this week, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on India to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident and to severely punish those who should be held accountable. Yi also called for a cessation of all provocative actions.

For its part, India initially said the incident was triggered after Chinese soldiers crossed the boundary at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts and ignoring several warnings to leave  thus resulting in shouting matches, stone throwing and fist fights.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to downplay the incident, denying there had been any incursion into Indian territory.

Nobody has intruded into our border, neither is anybody there now, nor have our posts been captured, Modi said in a televised speech on Friday, after he spent the day meeting representatives of parties from across the political spectrum in a bid to build consensus to tackle the rising tensions with China.

Nirupama Menon Rao, Indias former foreign secretary, wrote in a post on Twitter that Modis statement was moulded by asymmetry of power with China.

Analyzing PMs statement of yesterday:

Government has taken realistic view of constraints emanating from asymmetry of power with China . It is also reading the Chinese reaction to J&K reorganization more seriously than before and trying to calm situation along LAC/staunch Galwan  Nirupama Menon Rao,  ,  (@NMenonRao) June 20, 2020

But the main opposition Congress partys P Chidambaram has raised questions about the tensions, pointing out that if there was no border intrusion, then the 20 Indian soldiers should not have died.

Indian opposition legislators have also raised the issue of whether intelligence failures had allowed China to build up forces in the area.

Does the government not receive, on a regular basis, satellite pictures of the borders of our country? Did our external intelligence agencies not report any unusual activity along the LAC? Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party president, asked on Friday.

Facing heat from the opposition, the Indian government on Saturday said attempts are being made to give a mischievous interpretation to Fridays comments by Modi.

As regards transgression of LAC (Line of Actual Control), it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions, the government said in a statement.
President el-Sisis remarks come as he toured an airbase amid tensions over Turkeys increasing army presence in Libya.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered his army to be ready to carry out missions inside or outside the country to protect its national security amid tensions over Turkeys intervention in neighbouring Libya.

He also warned forces loyal to the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli not to cross the current front line between them and renegade commander Khalifa Haftars eastern-based self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

The GNA, with Turkish support, has reversed a 14-month assault on the capital by the LNA.

The LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

El-Sisi on Saturday toured an airbase near Egypts 1,200km-long (746-mile) western border with Libya, where state television showed him watching fighter jets and helicopters taking off.

Be prepared to carry out any mission, here inside our borders  or if necessary, outside our borders, he told air force pilots and special forces personnel at the base.

He said the Egyptian army was one of the strongest in the region, adding: It is a rational army; an army that protects and does not threaten  this is our strategy, our beliefs and our principles that we will never change.

He also said Egypt did not want to intervene in Libya and generally favoured a political solution, but added that the situation now is different.

If some people think that they can cross the Sirte-Jufra front line, this is a red line for us, he said before an audience that included some Libyan tribal leaders.

If the Libyan people moved through you and asked us to intervene, this would be a signal to the world that Egypt and Libya are one country, one interest, he added.

Fighters loyal to the GNA have recently reversed Haftars advance on the capital, Tripoli [File: EPA]

Turkey urges Haftar withdrawal

Meanwhile, Turkey said on Saturday that Haftars forces in eastern Libya needed to withdraw from the strategic city of Sirte for a lasting ceasefire.

Ibrahim Kalin, the presidential spokesman, told AFP news agency that Haftars forces should leave Sirte and Jufra in order to have a sustainable ceasefire.

Kalin said a ceasefire in Libya would be possible if all parties returned to their 2015 positions, referring to an agreement reached that year.

He warned against a rushed truce, saying: A rushed, premature ceasefire will not lead to what we want to achieve for all Libyans there.

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Earlier this month, Egypt called for a ceasefire in Libya as part of an initiative which also proposed an elected leadership council for the country.

The United States, Russia and the UAE welcomed the plan. Germany said United Nations-backed talks were key to the peace process.

However, Turkey dismissed the proposal as an attempt to save Haftar following a string of losses on the battlefield.

Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed 2011 uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, with rival governments fighting for control of the countrys oil wealth.
Jeus Joaquin helped New Zealand beat back the coronavirus as the nation's confirmed cases gradually fell to zero in May. During New Zealand's 49-day lockdown, the 34-year-old emergency department nurse treated covid-19 patients at Thames Hospital, on the country's North Island. Essential workers like him were lauded as heroes as New Zealand's international prestige soared. (New Zealand has since seen three new cases).

But the win against the virus came at a cost, and Joaquin is among those paying it.

His wife and two toddlers are stuck in Philippines, where the family is from. They are among an estimated 10,000 foreign workers and family members of citizens and permanent residents who blocked from returning to New Zealand when country closed its border. It's now extremely difficult for anyone but a New Zealand citizen - and a few select foreigners - to get into the country despite the government's pledges to assist families locked out.

"[Jeus] has lost lots of milestones with his son," said 35-year-old Kristine Joaquin, who is a nurse like her husband, by phone from Manila. She has a visa, but said New Zealand immigration services have nine times denied her applications for a travel exemption.

The border isn't impassable for all. The government has provided special exemptions to the crew working on the sequel to the sci-fi film "Avatar," along with their families, classified as "high-value workers" for "projects of national or regional significance" in the tourism-reliant county. The American and British America's Cup sailing teams have also been allowed in, as have their families, and in one case, a nanny - some 300 people in total.

"I feel like New Zealand now has an iron curtain," said Wendy Harnett, 54, a New Zealand citizen whose husband is from Japan and has been trying to enter the country since March when offshore visa processing was suspended.

"We did the lockdown. And, yes, we eliminated the virus. But no one thought about what next," Harnett told The Washington Post by phone. "Well, you eliminate the virus and then you have a whole other set of problems."

New Zealand's Immigration Ministry estimated there were around 10,000 foreign workers - ranging from employees on farms to employers in big businesses - on temporary visas and locked out. In the meantime, the country of 5 million people noted Thursday its largest quarterly economic contraction in 29 years as it entered its first recession in nearly a decade. (The Ministry of Immigration did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.)

Immigration restrictions and a struggling economy are not unique to New Zealand amid the pandemic. But the plight of those stranded highlight an often hidden cost of the nation's efforts to banish the virus. These experiences, said New Zealand immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont, show the flip side of policies that squashed the country's outbreak and earned it the attention of the world.

"This government is not a very popular government with the migrant community at all and this is really exacerbated that," said McClymont, who has worked in the field for 25 years. "The migrant communities don't really see our prime minister and government in the same way as the rest of the world does."

Among those impacted are several thousand migrant workers from India who were back home on holiday when New Zealand suddenly shut, according to McClymont. Many of his clients are now without income as expenses accumulate.

For anyone who does cross the border, New Zealand has mandated a 14-day quarantine at isolation centers with a daily capacity of 250 people. Initially, as the lockdown eased, immigration services said that partners of New Zealand citizens or permanent residents with certain visas could enter - but only if they were traveling with a New Zealand citizen. The government amended the rule the second week of June, allowing partners with relationship-based visas to enter on their own.

This change, however, didn't help most of the people polled in a Facebook group of more than 700 members set up by separated families, according to Harnett. That's because after months of offshore visa services being shut, most partners still remain unable to acquire a visa. New Zealand is processing some visas again, but immigration authorities are first going through the large backlog of applications from inside the country, while those from abroad largely remain deferred.

As of June 16, there have been over 16,500 requests for exemptions for foreigners to enter New Zealand and 2,600 approvals, the majority for humanitarian reasons, according to immigration services cited by local media. (Overall, 64,000 people have entered New Zealand since the borders closed, the vast majority Kiwi citizens or permanent residents.)

New Zealand has had around 1,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 22 confirmed deaths related to covid-19. Experts say that's largely due to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's decisive and early action to eliminate, rather than simply contain, the virus. The country's had its blips: Earlier this week, two women recently arrived from the United Kingdom were allowed to leave quarantine and turned out to be infected with the virus, setting off a new round of infection worries.

Families interviewed said they understood the need for the border restrictions, but felt they had been unfairly applied.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway told New Zealand's Public Broadcaster RNZ earlier this month that the government was working to assist divided families and to set travel criteria for residents on temporary work visas locked out. But, he cautioned, given New Zealand's post-coronavirus economic tribulations, jobs and future visas may not be guaranteed.

"The immigration system, particularly the temporary visas, are there to fill gaps in the New Zealand labor market, and the unfortunate truth is that there will be fewer gaps," Lees-Galloway said. "Some of our migrant workforce are going to have to seriously weigh up what the future holds and think about their options."

In response to criticism, he told RNZ that Avatar's filming would create over 1,000 jobs. The film's director put that figure closer to 400 local jobs, in addition to predicting the crew would spend $70 million while filming, Reuters reported.

For photographer and New Zealand citizen Ruth McDowall, who freelanced in West Africa for a decade, including for The Post, the last few of months of navigating immigration services have been a "heartbreaking experience." Currently in Auckland, she is raising a son on her own after authorities denied her long-term partner, who is Ghanaian, permission to enter the country on humanitarian grounds. His case "did not meet the high threshold required," immigration services determined, according to a statement to RNZ.

Now her partner follows their son as he grows up via a camera on a selfie-stick.

"It seems like they've graded everyone on economic importance, even New Zealanders' families," she said by phone. "It feels like we've been put in this box of low-value families."

Before the pandemic, she said her partner was "already disadvantaged trying to get a visa" as a Ghanaian citizen and had previously been denied one. These days, McDowell said, it feels like they are an even lower priority.

"If they were not letting anybody in then you just have to deal with it," she said. "But it's the fact that they are picking and choosing who they think are valuable people for this country, I think that's what makes it really painful."
Figures obtained by The Age this week show more than 400 applications have been lodged by terminally ill Victorians since the state's landmark euthanasia laws came into effect a year ago this week. But a severe shortage of euthanasia-accredited neurologists across the state meant Allan and his family spent the final months of his life desperately trying to find doctors willing to approve his application for a voluntary assisted dying. Kristin Cornell and her sister Heather say those who want to use assisted dying laws have to jump through too many hurdles. Credit:Eddie Jim A kind-hearted, fiercely independent and stoic man, Allan was adamant after being diagnosed last November with MND, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, he wanted to use the state's voluntary assisted dying laws to end his own life before he became a burden. The laws allow access to a lethal substance for terminally ill adults who have only about six months to live  or no longer than 12 months for those with a neurodegenerative diagnosis  and who meet other strict eligibility criteria such as being able to give informed consent.

Under the laws, two doctors who have undertaken mandatory training  including one who is a specialist in the person's disease  must conduct favourable assessments of a person's eligibility. Allan Cornell with his daughter Kristin not long before his death. It allows me to be a better man to the end," Allan told his family. The disease stole control of his limbs one by one. First, it robbed him of his ability to walk. His son-in-law found him one day clutching the clothesline in the backyard, his legs buckled beneath him. Soon, he was unable to lift himself and, eventually, to get out of bed. Ms Cornell, an obstetrician familiar with the state's complex healthcare system, described the process of helping her wheelchair-bound father navigate the laws as "heart-achingly painful and near impossible".

She said while her father was immensely grateful for the compassion and support he received from his doctors and palliative care team, the difficulty in securing three specialists willing to approve his wish for peaceful, swift death had caused him unnecessary distress. Allan Cornell as a young man with his daughters Kristin and Heather. "We don't want another family to ever go through what we did," she said. "I am so encouraged by the existence of these laws, but we must do better. It shouldnt be so hard to find a doctor willing to help that you are tempted to give up." Fifty-two Victorians suffering a terminal illness died using the laws in their first six months alone, far surpassing preliminary estimates of 12 people in the first year. Melbourne oncologist Cameron McLaren, who sits of the board of Dying with Dignity, said he only knew of "one or two" neurologists who were accredited and able to do home visits.

Commonwealth laws prohibit tele-health being used to discuss euthanasia, which means immobile, bedridden terminally ill Victorians in intolerable pain are being forced to travel hours to be assessed by doctors, prompting Dr McLaren to call called for an immediate review of this legislation. Allan's GP determined in March that he would be dead in less than a year. The family contacted neurologists working in surrounding areas, but none were willing to help. Weeks later, a neurologist visiting the Geelong region was able to examine Allan, reaffirming his GPs diagnosis. "Sometimes there can be up to three neurologists involved in any one case making it near impossible for people with neurodegenerative diseases in rural areas," Dr McLaren said. "It can even very difficult if they are living in Melbourne." To date, 410 doctors have registered or completed the training. The government has so far refused to provide a breakdown of doctors by speciality and geographic location, citing privacy reasons, but insists the laws are working well and as intended.

Under the act, the laws will not be reviewed until the fifth year of the scheme's operation. "Thing that worries me is there won't be review for four years time," Ms Cornell said. COVID-19 has shown us we can change the healthcare system quickly. How many more people will go through the pain we did before something changes?" Those struggling to find a specialist are urged to contact the voluntary assisted dying care navigators. "Victorias voluntary assisted dying system is the safest and most conservative model in the world and was developed after lengthy consultation and consideration to give people suffering with an incurable illness at the end of their lives another compassionate choice," Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said. The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, which assesses every application, will release its next report in July, which will reveal the number of people who have taken their own life using the laws in the first year.
The panchayat of a village in Haryanas Fatehabad district has issued a diktat banning the entry of a widow into her in-laws village for the next 15 years.

Bala Devi said after her husbands death, the panchayat in Dhani Bhojaraj ordered her to not step foot in the village till her son turned 18.

Devi said a panchayat was called after her in-laws refused to give her husbands share of the land after his death. They then agreed to register it in her sons name but objected to her entry into their house.

However this week, the panchayat passed a diktat banning my entry into the village for the next 15 years. It has asked me to live at my parental home along with my son and daughter and allowed to rejoin my in-laws only after my son turns 18, she said.

Stating that the panchayat had done injustice with her, Devi added, It is very difficult for me to live at my parental home for so long.

Sarpanch Sadhu Ram, when contacted, said the panchayat did pass an order to such effect.

We had called a panchayat after Devi and her in-laws were constantly engaging in domestic fights. Initially, the in-laws were accusing Devi of her husbands death but later accepted their mistake. We have asked Devi to return to her in-laws house when her son attains the age of 18 years, Ram said.

Bhuna block development and panchayat officer Mahender Singh said the panchayat has done injustice to the widow and the sarpanch did not have any right to pass such a diktat.

We can take action only against the sarpanch. Rest of the investigation will be done by the police if the woman files an official complaint, Singh added.

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After the martyrdom of 20 soldiers in a violent clash with Chinese soldiers near Galwan valley, India is steadily ramping up its military strength in Ladakh.

ANI

According to an Economic Times report, the latest step taken by the Indian Air Force was to send in Apache attack choppers and upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets deployed at the Leh airbase.

The IAF operates several air force bases in Jammu and Kashmir - with Srinagar, Awantipora and Leh operating either fighter squadrons or fighter detachments.

The Air Force Chief visited Leh on June 17 and Srinagar Airbase on June 18. Both these airbases are near the eastern Ladakh region. Leh and Srinagar airbases will be used if any fighter aircraft operation is required in the higher areas.



Also Read: After Ladakh, Indian Army On War-Like Alert, Air Force Assets Reportedly Moved To Forward Positions

That apart, additional troops have been sent towards Eastern Ladakh and the Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria is currently in Leh, overlooking preparations.

Thousands of troops from locations all over the country are being moved into the Ladakh region as border tensions worsen after the Galwan Valley attack.



"The Air Force chief was on a two-day visit where he checked the operational readiness of all the platforms that have been moved to the area in view of the Chinese aggression along the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh where more than 10,000 troops have been amassed by China," ANI quoted government sources as saying.

Military chopper and fighter jet activity seen in Leh, Ladakh pic.twitter.com/1OoeEIPgrw  ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

China has reportedly deployed more than 10,000 troops near the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. In such a situation, the Air Force Chief reviewed the operational preparedness to deal with any situation.

The IAFs Sukhoi jets are carrying out regular sorties in the Ladakh region amid new border tensions with China, making sure that every Indian, as well as Chinese camp positions, are monitored frequently.

Apart from Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft fleet have also been stationed at advanced positions from where they can fly in at a very short notice to carry out operations.



ANI

According to Times Now, the IAF and is making sure that they are not without adequate rations, equipment and ammunition for which CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters have been deployed.

As stated by ET, Apache helicopters are designed to carry out offensive missions at high altitude locations and the Chinese have no match for them. The Apache, which is the first attack helicopter in Indias defence arsenal, can also be used as bunker busters in the mountainous areas. Apaches are closely monitoring the enemy position to ensure the PLA does not move from the position it is known to be and any movement is immediately reported back to the base.



All Inputs: ANI
CASS COUNTY, MI  A 50-year-old Millersburg, Indiana man was hospitalized after losing control of his motorcycle and crashing Saturday afternoon in Cass County.

Cass County sheriffs deputies responded to the motorcycle crash at 12:18 p.m. June 20, on M-62 near Beeson Street in LaGrange Township, according to a news release.

The motorcyclist was reportedly traveling north on M-62 when he drove too close to the edge of the roadway, hit a patch of gravel and lost control of his motorcycle, police said.

The man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to the release.

He was transported by MedFlight to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, to be treated for injuries sustained in the crash.

Police said alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor in the crash.

Sheriffs deputies were assisted on the scene by Pokagon Tribal Police Department, Central Cass Fire Department, Medflight and Pride Care Ambulance.

More on MLive:

Man shot in Kalamazoo Township

Berrien County man missing in St. Joseph River

Woman, 19, dies after being pulled from Lake Michigan
Throughout history, pandemics have led to radical innovation and change. From drone deliveries to augmented reality, retailers are becoming more innovative amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the latest edition of Inventing Tomorrow, CNNs Kristie Lu Stout explores the world of e-commerce and the disruptive technologies which are changing consumer habits amid social distancing measures.

As more countries begin to emerge from lockdown, the gap between our online and offline lives has never been closer. Lu Stout speaks to Chris Tung, the chief marketing officer at Alibaba, about the lessons in e-commerce from China, which includes utilising live streaming as a marketing tool and a new model of social shopping via platforms such as Pinduoduo.

Inventing Tomorrow sees how Israeli start-up Zeekit is utilising augmented reality to bring fitting rooms into our homes as CNNs Anna Stewart samples the technology herself, which is also being used by ASOS and Adidas.

Lu Stout also examines how e-commerce companies are changing the way products are delivered, as well as how theyre sold. CNN speaks to James Burgess, the CEO of Wing  a drone delivery system operated by Googles parent company, Alphabet. Burgess tells Lu Stout that the company has seen an expansion of 500% to its service since February as it delivers medicine, food and other essentials across three continents.

Safety for both consumers and employees has become even more of a priority in recent months, and CNN hears from Heather MacDougall, VP Workplace Health and Safety at Amazon, about how theyve adapted procedures to protect their workforce across the business.
- Bea Alonzo is one of the many local celebrities who provided assistance to our frontliners and countrymen during the lockdown

- In her latest online post, she donated relief bags and disinfectants to our frontliners, together with Team I AM HOPE

- The actress thanked Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Congressman Roman Romulo for assisting them

- However, netizens were quick to notice how the two of them look good together

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Bea Alonzo has been very active in helping the community since the lockdown started back in March of this year.

KAMI learned that together with Team I AM HOPE, the actress donated relief bags and disinfectants for our frontliners.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

In her latest relief operations, she thanked Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Congressman Roman Romulo for assisting her and her team.

Bea wrote in her caption, "Hi Mama! Nakilala ko na ang paborito mo! Joke!

"Team I AM HOPE went to Pasig this afternoon to turnover relief bags and disinfectants for the frontliners. Thank you, Mayor Vico Sotto and Cong. Roman Romulo, for your time. In line with Fathers Day, we intend to celebrate the fathers who choose to serve the community by cleaning the streets and picking up our garbage. MARAMING SALAMAT PO sa mga tatay na street sweepers at garbage collectors sa pagtulong sa ating kumunidad at sa pagttrabaho ng marangal para sa kanilang pamilya.

"From the I AM HOPE FAMILY,

"HAPPY FATHERS DAY!"

A lot of netizens were very happy to see Bea and Vico together. Here are some of the comments of netizens on Bea's post.

"Sana kayo nalang"

"Bagaaaay!!! Kinilig ako"

"Hindi ko kinaya. Grabeee oxygen please."

"Ito ata ang nakita ko na sobrang bet na bet ko. Super bagay talaga."

"Daig pa nito ang kahit na anong loveteam. Kilig overload!"

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As reported earlier by KAMI, Bea Alonzo shared on social media that she got tested for coronavirus disease 2019. The actress is currently very active in helping frontliners and communities in need amid the pandemic. She revealed the results on Instagram by posting a photo of the rapid antibody test kits she used.

Bea Alonzo is a famous actress and model in the Philippines. She became a superstar due to her beauty, acting talent, and her beloved love team with John Lloyd Cruz. The actress former celebrity boyfriends are Gerald Anderson and Zanjoe Marudo.

POPULAR: Read more news about Bea Alonzo

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Unlike many other U.S. attorneys, Berman is almost uniquely positioned to resist efforts to oust him, at least for a while. U.S. attorneys are typically nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but in Bermans case he was appointed to the job by the federal court in his district, and there is some legal precedent indicating that only the court, not the Justice Department, can remove him until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate.
Terrorist steals police rifle and uses it to murder other policemen

During a police raid in China's Xinjiang in 1988, a rifle belonging to policeman Long Fei was taken by a terrorist after the officer was shot dead. Two months later, the terrorist used the same rifle to kill policemen Kong Yongqiang and Nurtay Anwerbeg.

This is one of many human stories in our exclusive documentary 'Tianshan Still Standing: Memories of fighting terrorism in Xinjiang.' You can watch the full documentary here.












Jammu, June 20 : The Border security force (BSF) on Saturday shot down a Pakistani drone carrying weapons in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.

Police sources said at about 5.10 a.m. on Saturday morning, BSF troopers spotted a Pakistani drone over the Panesar outpost on the international border in Kathua district.

"On examination of the payload of the shot down drone, a US made M-4 rifle, two magazines, 60 rounds of ammunition and seven grenades were found.

"The consignment was for some 'Ali Baba' as the payload carried his name", police said.

The width of the drone from blade to blade was 8 feet.

"It seems the Pakistani outpost opposite our Panesar border outpost was controlling the drone", police said.

Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh told IANS that the consignment was meant for the JeM terrorists.

"Smuggling weapons on drones happened in Punjab, but this is the first time weapon consignment was sent by a drone into J&K," he said.

He said the M-4 US rifles are used by the JeM terrorists in the past.

"There have been instances in the past when Jaish terrorists with such rifles were killed during encounters in Kashmir," he said.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
A medical staff (R) wearing personal protective equipment collects a nasal swab with a rapid antigen test for the CCP virus at a testing center after the government eased a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against COVID-19, in New Delhi on June 19, 2020. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

India Reports Record Rise in CCP Virus Cases; Delhi Cancels All Medical Staff Leave

NEW DELHI/BENGALURUIndia reported a record jump in CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus infections on Saturday, a day after the government in the capital New Delhi ordered hospitals to cancel any leave and have workers return to duty immediately.

India saw an increase of 14,516 COVID-19 cases, the health ministry said, taking the total to 395,047 with 12,948 deaths.

In a memo to all government hospitals on Friday, the Delhi government ordered all leave canceled and said further leave would only be granted under the most compelling circumstances.

A number of countries continue to evacuate their citizens from India, amid concerns hospitals in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai may be overwhelmed.

Ireland became the latest country to warn its citizens that medical assistance may become difficult with Indias sharp spike in cases and urged them to consider making use of a series of evacuation flights in the next few weeks.

In an email seen by Reuters, the embassys second secretary, Mairtin Cronin, warned Irish citizens that access to medical care for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 treatment may become increasingly difficult in the coming period.

By Aftab Ahmed and Patrick Graham

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report
Samsungs cheapest 5G smartphone has arrived at the office and were gearing up to review the Samsung Galaxy A51 5G. We have the Exynos 980 variant, though there is a new Snapdragon 765G variant headed to the United States in the next month or so.

The Galaxy A51 5G is build around a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen, and powered by a 4,500 mAh battery. It supports 15W charging speeds and features a quad-camera setup. The latter consists of a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide snapper, 5MP macro, and a 5MP depth sensor. The display has a punch hole cut out, which contains a 32MP selfie camera.

The A51 5G comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of on-board storage. For reference, the non 5G version of the A51 just has 4GB of RAM. Other features include an in-display fingerprint scanner, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The phones physical design is nice. Despite its rounded corners, it looks a bit squarish and the lower bezel is a little larger than the others. The rear glass of the phone is curved on all edges for a comfortable curve that conforms to the hand. Then, theres the two-tone effect on the backs iridescent pattern, which gives the design another dimension.
Russia combines traditional military and special means with the activities of private military companies (PMCs), local collaborationist forces, and other paramilitary groups defined in modern Russian military theory as "integrated force grouping."

With the purpose to find the most effective combination of tools to achieve its aggressive goals, Russia tries to combine traditional military and special means with correlated activities of PMCs, mercenaries, local collaborationist forces and other paramilitary groups, such as kazaki [Cossacks]. All of these units are integrated in joint communication and intelligence space and operates under the straight direction of Russian military command under the general military concept. The modern Russian military theory defines such approach as the integrated force grouping, Vadym Skibitsky, the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said during a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation dedicated to the activities of private military companies, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Such kind of Russian activities have been witnessed in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

As the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence noted, combat experience of PMCs involvement in Ukraine and Syria gives the Kremlin ability to use this tool to project Russias influence in other regions.

Russia is able to use such integrated force grouping against other sovereign states, even European nations. The next practice of such combined forces approach we will see this September during the KAVKAZ-2020 strategic command and staff exercise, Skibitsky noted.

He also noted that the Russian PMCs evolved fast and nowadays they are almost the same as units of the armed forces. In fact, they are cheap regular forces that have no social protection of the state. There are indicators that Moscow is not going to decrease the usage of PMCs for the next several years, the representative of Ukraines Main Directorate of Intelligence stressed.

Nowadays the Russian PMCs are growing fast in numbers and capabilities; they are widening their footprint and increasing their influence.

As well as they are becoming more financially strong and get more and more funds from hidden governmental and non-governmental sources. In the future, the Kremlin will widen the usage of such proxy-forces for its interests implementation and undermining the international stability, Skibitsky said.

Read more in the article Wagner and others. Mercenaries of totalitarian regime

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The law firm representing the man who was shot during a protest against the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate in Old Town on Monday night has sent a letter to city and county agencies announcing its intention to file suit on his behalf and asking that evidence be preserved.

The tort claims notice was sent to the city and the Albuquerque Police Department and includes the possible claims of negligence resulting in battery; conspiracy to violate civil rights, violations of the rights to equal protection, substantive due process, and right to peacefully assemble; denial of access to the court; defamation and slander. The Bernalillo County Clerk and the Bernalillo County Risk Management also received the letter.

Spokespeople for APD and the city did not immediately respond to comment Friday evening.

Although the suspect in the shooting, 31-year-old Steven Ray Baca, was initially charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office has since said that holes in the investigation  as well as APD undercover officers involvement as witnesses  led him to drop the charge and request further investigation. The New Mexico State Police is now investigating and Baca is charged with aggravated battery, two counts of petty misdemeanor battery and carrying a gun without a concealed carry license.

In the letter, attorney Laura Schauer Ives recounted the events at the protest that led to her client, Scott Williams, being shot. She said Baca had careened into many protesters and inexplicably and distinctly battered three women, throwing one of them to the ground, leading the crowd to turn on him.

Two people chased after Baca and he pulled out a gun and pepper spray, according to the letter. Thats when Williams, 39, intervened and picked up a skateboard to hit the gun out of Bacas hands. Williams was shot multiple times.

Schauer Ives said her client was holding a vape pen, not a knife as some have alleged on social media.

According to the letter:

 After repeated calls for assistance, APD finally deployed the officers who had been behind the Albuquerque Museum as the events unfolded.

 APD officers didnt secure the scene of the crime, treated the attendees as suspects, failed to take statements, obscured their lapel videos, and piled all the weapons recovered from the New Mexico Civil Guard members together.

 APD crafted a biased and inaccurate criminal complaint charging Baca and has not produced an evidence inventory or Bacas cellphone to the District Attorneys Office.

 APD released Williamss name to national and local press and now he is getting death threats from domestic terrorists.

The letter also serves as a notice for the entities to preserve all records, including tactical plans, body-worn camera footage, cellphones used by officers at the scene and more.
Japan will continue to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular by providing material and technical assistance, both high-tech medical equipment for the needs of military medical institutions in Ukraine, and modern medicines to counter coronavirus and timely and high-quality preparation for its possible second wave, Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Takashi Kurai assured.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the ambassador said this at a meeting with Defense Minister of Ukraine Andriy Taran.

"So, through the UN office in Ukraine, by the end of 2020 it is planned to deliver another batch of medical equipment to the hospitals of Kharkiv, Lviv and Irpin in the amount of $1.4 million and provide appropriate professional training for medical personnel," the press service of the Ministry of Defense said.

The minister noted that with the supply of this equipment, assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Japan in the medical sector could reach $4 million.

"This is a significant contribution to ensuring the defense capability of Ukraine by preserving the lives and health of Ukrainian troops. The Ministry of Defense greatly appreciates such a move by the Japanese government," Taran said.
Dehradun:

In his first remarks after the cross LoC anti-terror strike, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday compared Pakistan's condition to an "anaesthetised patient" after a surgery and said like Hanuman Indian Army has recognised its prowess.

"Pakistan's condition after the surgical strikes is like that of an anaesthetised patient after a surgery who doesn't know that the surgery has already been performed on him. Even two days after the surgical strikes, Pakistan has no idea what has happened," Parrikar said.

India loves peace and does not believe in unprovoked aggression but it won't take terror lying down, he said, adding that the strikes were also meant to give a message to Pakistan that Indian troops knew how to retaliate.

Comparing the Army to Hanuman, he made a reference to the Ramayana in which the monkey god crossed an ocean in a single stride after he was reminded about his extraordinary powers by Jamwant.

Also read: If Pakistan continues with conspiracies, India will give them a befitting reply again, says Parrikar

"Indian troops were like Hanuman who did not quite know their prowess before the surgical strikes," Parrikar said.

Congratulating the troops for the precision and efficacy of the strikes, the Minister said he greeted all its members for their extraordinary feat. "The surgical strikes gave our forces an idea of what they were capable of doing. Pakistan is bewildered following the strikes, not quite knowing how to react," Parrikar said in his first public reaction after the strikes.

"Indian troops caught Pakistan unawares as our commandos did what they had to without Pakistani authorities getting a wind of it," he said addressing a gathering at Peethsain in Pauri district.

The Defence Minister was addressing the gathering after unveiling a statue of noted freedom fighter from Uttarakhand Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali in his ancestral village Peethsain.

India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, inflicting "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

Also read: Pakistani training camps shifted deeper into crowded areas post surgical strikes by Indian Army

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
3 more months of reduced wages By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The Labour Ministry on Friday reached agreement to extend the consensus between employers and workers to ensure that private sector staff continues to be paid half the basic or Rs.14, 500 for the next three months.

This extension of the agreement, initially reached in May, between the Employers Federation of Ceylon, the trade unions and the Labour Ministry came after much discussion since trade unions insisted that employers continue to layoff despite the agreement to retain this staff under the circumstances on the newly agreed payment structure.

FTZ Union leader Anton Marcus told the Business Times that they continued to support this payment structure since they want to ensure that workers jobs will be retained and they will continue to receive some source of income during this crisis.

In this respect, the agreement will be effective until August and in between there will be a monthly review as well.

The agreement places a distinction between the payment of wages in respect of employees who performed work and those who had to be benched (without any work) since companies are unable to bring the full workforce due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Following concerns by the unions of continued layoffs it was agreed that there should be an oversight committee to look into the implementation of the agreement and find solutions to disputes that arise during the COVID-19 crisis.

This came even as MAS Holdings informed its staff this week that its executive cadre will have to be reduced as it will take nearly two years for the company to recover from the current crisis.

Responding to queries from the Sunday Times, the company noted that the announcement of the Separation Scheme for the Executive cadre will be implemented over the next three months.

We have little option but to re-structuring and re-aligning our resources to service the significantly lower volumes of business.

There is no visibility of any orders for next year yet from key markets like the US and the UK, the statement said.

Currently they are experiencing an overall volume drop of around 30-35 per cent than originally planned for this year.

Last month another Hong Kong-based large apparel firm with factories in Sri Lanka had also introduced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme that sent about 1000 workers home.

More apparel firms are likely to follow suit but are still awaiting markets like the US to react before going ahead.
A white man has been banned from Lyft after launching into a racist rant when the Hispanic driver asked him if he could wear a face mask.

A dashboard camera in the car shows the passenger, who gave his name as Richard, threatening to crush the driver's skull.

He calls the driver, who gave his name as Edgar, as 'a f****** wet back' and refers to him repeatedly as 'boy'.

'I'm an American, mother f*****,' Richard tells the driver, who remains remarkably calm during the six-minute encounter.

Richard was picked up in Reno, Nevada by Lyft driver Edgar, who asked him to wear a mask

The incident began on May 28, when Edgar arrived at 6pm to collect Richard in Reno, Nevada, and take him home.

'By any chance do you have a mask?' asked Edgar, when Richard got in the car.

'No I don't,' replied Richard.

'Do you mind to put your shirt on top, here?' said Edgar, gesturing to show the covering of the nose and mouth with his t-shirt. 'I would really appreciate it.'

'No, I can't,' said Richard. 'Do you believe in that s***?'

Edgar said he knew that the threat from COVID-19 was real because a relative had fallen ill.

Richard remained unconvinced, telling Edgar: 'I don't believe in our government, so.... OK. I'm sorry I don't have a mask. I've never heard of being asked that.'

'Well, it's because we're really close right here in the car,' the driver replied.

When Edgar's GPS tells him to take the freeway, Richard announces: 'I don't like you. You ask me to wear a mask - I'm going to give you a s***** review.'

Edgar, having had enough, pulls over and tells Richard: 'You know what, you can get out right now.'

Richard refused.

Richard grew increasingly irate and began throwing racial slurs at Edgar, mocking his accent

'I'm not getting out right now,' he said. 'I have a contact with you, and a ride with you.

'The contact does not end. You can't do that.

'I told you I don't like your standards. I'm entitled to free speech. You cannot cancel the contract for that.'

Edgar replied that it was his car, and he wanted Richard to get out right now.

Richard, growing increasingly furious, called him 'a candy-assed f***** with white glasses.'

'I'm could f****** crush your skull right now,' Richard said, leaving Edgar to calmly remind him that he was being filmed by the dashboard camera.

'I'm not going to do that because I'm not an idiot,' Richard retorted.

The pair argued about whether the car ride is canceled, or finished, and how much Richard will be charged.

'Get out the car? How about a please, boy?' Richard says at one point.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of Friday at 5pm

After four and a half minutes, the driver said: 'Now, please get out, or else I'm going to have to call the police.'

Richard then mocks his accent, saying: 'You got "bideo"? You ever take English class?'

Edgar asks in return if the portly man 'takes model class'.

Richard asked the driver where he's from.

'I'm from here,' Edgar replied.

'No you're not,' said Richard. 'You're a f****** wet back.'

Edgar, remaining remarkably calm, insisted that Richard leave the car after becoming abusive

Lyft have described Richard's behavior as 'despicable' and banned him from their app

The driver, remaining remarkably calm, asks Richard: 'And you are?'

'I'm an American, mother f*****,' he replies. 'Fought for this country three times in the goddamned war.'

'I'm an American too,' Edgar points out.

'No you're not. You don't speak English,' said Richard.

Six minutes after getting into the car, Richard finally gets out, and the driver pulls away.

Lyft say that the rider has been banned and they are working with the driver to make sure he's alright.

A spokesman told TMZ: 'The behavior shown by the rider in this video is despicable and has no place on the Lyft platform.

'Lyft is committed to maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community, and discrimination is not tolerated.'
In a first-of-its-kind initiative by a metro rail system in northern India, the Noida-Greater Noida Metro has decided to convert the Sector 50 station into a She-Man station that will have special facilities and employment for the transgender community.

This step is being taken by the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) for the inclusion and meaningful participation of the members of the transgender community, NMRC Managing Director Ritu Maheshwari said.

Earlier in 2017, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited in Kerala had taken a similar step by employing 23 transgenders, breaking new ground in gender justice.

Maheshwari said as per Census 2011, there are 4.9 lakh transgenders in India, out of which 30,000 to 35,000 are staying in Delhi national capital region.

The She-Man station will be on the lines of the Pink stations, which were inaugurated on March 8 this year and provided special facilities for women passengers. The staff deployed at the Pink stations also consisted only of women except security personnel, she said.

The She-Man station will cater especially to the transgender community, though it will be open for all passengers, and will give facilities to facilitate the travel of the trans community in the metro system and also provide employment opportunities for them, the NMRC MD added.

She said structural changes in terms of change in restroom infrastructure and creation of a separate security check for the community are also being considered at sector 50 station.

In a statement, the NMRC said it will also be generating awareness about the community among its other commuters through signages at its stations and announcements inside the trains and stations.

The NMRC staff will also be sensitised and trained to communicate with the transgender community in a sensitive and cordial manner, it said.

The NMRC said it also plans to include members of the transgender community into its system by engaging their services in various aspects of the functioning of its system, like ticket counters and other areas through deployed contractors.

Transgenders will be provided proper training, like other NMRC employees, before being inducted into the NMRC system, it added.

The NMRC has also interacted with various NGOs who work closely with the community to understand their challenges and struggles and devise an effective method for an inclusive society, according to the statement.

The NMRC said it has always been sensitive towards the needs of all its commuters who come from various walks of life and has made constant endeavours to provide a safe and comfortable travelling experience to all its commuters.

Transgenders form a major chunk of the commuters that use the metro system to travel. This step by the NMRC will make the travelling experience for this community more enriching, it said.

Also known as the Aqua Line, the Noida-Greater Noida Metro, which started functioning in January 2019, runs between the eponymous twin-cities of Gautam Buddh Nagar covering nearly 30 km over 21 stations.
Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Saturday that Spain would open its doors to British tourists from Sunday without the need for them to spend two weeks in quarantine because of the coronavirus.

"We will allow British visitors to enter Spain just like the rest of the European Union or Schengen area from 21 June freely and without the need for the quarantine," she told BBC News.

Spain will end its state of emergency, called on March 14, on Sunday, and will open its borders to EU and Schengen area countries for a much-needed tourism boost.

Gonzalez Laya said British travellers would be subject to the same "triple check" as other European visitors, which consists of checking their origin, taking their temperature and providing contact details in case they need to be traced.

"We want to make sure we welcome visitors but do so in safety and security for them as well as for Spaniards," she said.

Spain is still in discussions over whether the UK will similarly lift quarantine measures for Spaniards, she said, but was opening its borders "out of respect for the 400,000 British citizens who have second residences in Spain" and who are "dying to benefit" from them.

Britons account for more than a fifth of the roughly 80 million tourists Spain receives every year.

Britain, with more than 42,500 documented coronavirus-linked deaths, and Spain, with over 28,300, are among the countries hardest hit by COVID-19.
Clusters of heavy to severe thunderstorms will sweep through the central United States into Monday, threatening to not only disrupt outdoor plans, but also inflict damage in some communities.

As AccuWeather predicted, the severe weather dangers began late this past week with violent storms erupting over the central Plains on Thursday and then the southern Plains on Friday. On Saturday, the violent weather continued with hail, damaging wind and even a few tornado reports stretching from West Texas to eastern North Dakota.

Sunday followed suit, with several reports of tornadoes in the evening in Kansas, and hail reports from Oklahoma all the way up to Wisconsin.

Rounds of stormy weather are expected to stream eastward across the country in the coming days.

Dads spending the Father's Day holiday golfing, fishing or biking will need to keep a close watch on the sky.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

"Thunderstorms are likely to be rather widespread across the center of the country on Sunday, bringing with them the risk for severe weather," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.

Severe weather began even in the early morning hours, as reports of funnel clouds came streaming in along the Red River, in addition to hail just west of Oklahoma City.

Over 10 million Americans spanning 10 states could face dangerous storms on Father's Day, with the threat zone stretching from portions of Texas to Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The most widespread severe weather risks will be "powerful winds and large hail" according to AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Geoff Cornish.

Wind gusts within the storms late Sunday can reach an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 80 mph, which can easily topple trees, power lines and 18-wheelers on an open highway. Hail, downpours and isolated tornadoes can also occur.

While portions of Kansas and Oklahoma will be most at risk, several communities should be prepared for severe weather. Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dodge City, Wichita and Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri; Omaha and Grand Island, Nebraska; Sioux City, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Minneapolis, all could be rocked by violent weather as the weekend comes to a close.

Story continues

"Whether storms become violent or not, all storms can pose lightning dangers for those with outdoor plans," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.

Those outdoors can utilize AccuWeather's exclusive MinuteCast for their location to determine exactly when stormy weather will arrive.

With the dangers continuing into the overnight hours, it will be important for residents to have a way to be notified that severe weather is on its way, such as by keeping a cellphone on with the volume turned up or having a weather radio handy.

Where exactly the clusters of thunderstorms track during Sunday night will have implications on Monday's severe weather risk area.

AccuWeather meteorologists anticipate another round of thunderstorms to threaten a corridor from the Great Lakes to the southern Plains on Monday, with pockets of severe weather in-between.

The best chance for severe weather lies in a corridor between Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the Red River of the south. It is in this region that more widespread wind gusts up to 70 mph as well as hail is expected.

There could be a pocket of stronger thunderstorms farther east on Monday as well, from western New York and Pennsylvania to the Chesapeake Bay.

Outside of lightning and downpours, severe weather in this zone is expected to be less widespread in coverage, but gusty winds and hail will be possible.

At this time, AccuWeather meteorologists continue to monitor for the threat of severe weather as this storm moves eastward throughout the week. Should the storm continue to remain potent, it may bring a swath of severe thunderstorms to the eastern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley by Tuesday.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Denavvia Mojet vividly remembers celebrating Juneteenth as a child in Detroit, where there were weeklong celebrations for Black communities to honor their culture, music and food.

But when Mojet, now 26, moved to Grand Rapids almost a decade ago, she was shocked at the lack of celebration of the June 19 holiday, a national day to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

It was like, why havent we treated this holiday the way it should be treated? Mojet asked. And not just because its a Black holiday, but because its American history.

Thats why Mojet took the lead this year to create Juneteenth GR, a local organization dedicated to celebrating the holiday in West Michigan.

Together, the group of predominantly Black mothers from Grand Rapids hosted Unapologetically Black, an event that assembled local artists and vendors to celebrate Black culture in the citys Southeast Side.

The event featured a parade through some of Grand Rapids predominantly Black neighborhoods, which ended with a festival at Martin Luther King Park, 900 Fuller Ave.

It really highlights whats most rich and exciting about Black culture, while we talk about our independence and our freedom, and what it means to be human and not be property, Mojet told MLive during the event.

Juneteenth is an annual holiday commemorating the official end of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in Confederate states. The state was the last in the Confederacy to receive word that the Civil War was over and that slavery had been abolished.

Miaca Sandiford, another of the events organizers, said Fridays event was a vital way for her to teach her kids about Black history. The subject has not been properly taught in American schools, Sandiford said.

As a Black woman, its important for me to set a tone for my children to learn our history, because its not taught in our history books, she said. So its up to us to do it.

The Juneteenth event was not the only celebration of Black unity in Grand Rapids Friday. There also was a protest held downtown later that evening  titled March for Black Lives! March for Unity!  where shouts of No justice, no peace and Black lives matter filled the streets surrounding Rosa Parks Circle.

Al Willis, co-host of the march, said Juneteenth was the perfect time to host the rally, allowing residents to learn more about Black history while also protesting police brutality.

Willis, 26, told MLive he was humbled as June 19 approached, as he realized he did not know as much about the historic day as he thought.

Im a biracial man  my mom is white and my dad is Black  and I never knew what this was about, he said. I actually had to go in preparation for this event and really understand what it was. Im glad though, because just like this event was meant to do, it created awareness within me and it made me fired up even more.

Protests have sprung up around the country in recent weeks following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

His death sparked nationwide protests and riots, including in Grand Rapids, over police brutality and systemic racism, and ignited a movement to change how Americas cities are policed.

RELATED: No justice, no peace: Thousands gather in Grand Rapids to protest police brutality

Willis said the protests, which have gained momentum nationally in the weeks since Floyds death, are just the starting point for Americans who are feeling fed up with systemic racism.

I dont see an end to this, he said. Honestly, I feel like a new generation has been awoken and were not the generation thats just going to walk away from things. Were the generation thats going to stay here, were going to see resolve. And I think were starting to get there.

Willis said community members are beginning to make headway with bridging the divide between Grand Rapids residents and police. In a meeting June 18 with Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne, Willis said Black community leaders were able to share their thoughts on community policing policies.

I remember growing up as a kid in Grand Rapids and Id see cops on bikes just coming to the neighborhood just to see whats up and we dont have that anymore, he said.

Protesters and activist groups have said theyre pleased GRPD, which has announced plans to ban chokeholds, for efforts to emphasize de-escalation techniques and strengthen community relations.

However, Payne said Friday he is concerned that budget cuts to his department being discussed by some residents and elected officials could hurt community safety.

More on MLive:

What protesters, community activists are saying about Grand Rapids police reforms

Grand Rapids police chiefs says significant cuts being discussed could impact community safety

Change is already here: Juneteenth protest in Muskegon draws calls for action
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 14:20:05|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday night named a replacement for Geoffrey Berman, attorney for the Southern District of New York who oversaw probes into his associates.

Trump intended to nominate Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to succeed Berman, according to the White House.

Berman ran the probe that sent Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to prison and is reportedly investigating his current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

"I appreciate his service to the Department of Justice and our nation, and I wish him well in the future," U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a press release.

In a stunning statement, Berman said he has not resigned and that he has "no intention of resigning."

"I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight I was 'stepping down' as United States Attorney," Berman said. "I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

Besides Cohen and Giuliani, Berman's office also subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee over an investigation into potential illegal contributions from foreigners and charged former Congressman Chris Collins, a Trump ally, with insider trading.

Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Barr of repeatedly interfering "in criminal investigations on Trump's behalf."

"We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday. We welcome Mr. Berman's testimony and will invite him to testify," Nadler, a Democrat, tweeted.

Clayton is a member of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Financial Stability Board. He also participates on the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

The Southern District of New York is among the most prominent districts in the United States. Enditem
 Flash

The so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" is an attempt by the United States to infringe on China's sovereignty and cannot be considered otherwise than an unacceptable interference in China's internal affairs, a Russian scholar said Friday.

"The United States sees China as its main geopolitical competitor and has long and consistently pursued a policy of containing China," Andrei Manoilo, a professor of political science at Moscow State University, said in an interview with Xinhua.

Washington is exhausting every means, from economic restrictions and sanctions to outright interference in China's internal affairs, like what it has done in the violent events in Hong Kong and Tibet, as well as the signing of the so-called act, Manoilo said.

Terrorist organizations operating in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have links with international terrorist network structures, and sometimes are branches or cells of international terrorist organizations, representing a serious threat to the national security, Manoilo said.

In recent years, he recalled, China has made considerable progress in preventing terrorist and extremist crimes and stabilizing the situation, with terrorist attacks in Xinjiang virtually ceasing.

"But this does not suit certain forces in the United States, which are trying to reheat ethnic and religious conflicts and destabilize the situation under the pretext of protecting the rights of the Uygur ethnic group," Manoilo said.

While China is effectively fighting terrorism and extremism, the United States is trying to smear these anti-terrorism and preventive measures as massive violations of human rights, he concluded.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Chinese government and people express strong indignation at and firm opposition to the signing of the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" by the United States.

This so-called act deliberately denigrated the human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang, viciously attacked the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy, blatantly violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, the ministry said.
New Delhi: The Air Force is determined to deliver and is well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency, IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Saturday (June 20).

The IAF chief was speaking at a Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at Air Force Academy (AFA) Dundigal in Hyderabad. He said the air force will never let the supreme sacrifice made by our brave soldiers at Galwan in Ladakh go in vain.

"It should be very clear that we are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain," he said.

His statement comes in the wake of 20 Indian soldiers losing their lives in a violent clash between the troops of India and China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday night.

"The security scenario in our region mandates that our armed forces remain prepared and vigilant at all times. The development at LAC Ladakh is a small snapshot of what we are required to handle at short notice. In spite of unacceptable Chinese actions after agreements reached during military talks and resultant loss of life all efforts are endeavoured to ensure that the current situation at the LAC is resolved peacefully," Bhadauria said.

"The gallant actions of our soldiers who lost their lives during the confrontation with the Chinese forces has demonstrated the resolve to protect the sovereignty of our country at any cost," he asserted.
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Linkedin Rollo Ross (Reuters) Los Angeles, United States  Sat, June 20, 2020 09:06 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066039122 2 Entertainment Ava-DuVernay,director,filmmaker,film,united-states,police-brutality,Racism Free

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is urging writers, dancers, poets and other artists to help make the names of abusive police officers as well known as their victims.

Media company ARRAY, founded by DuVernay, has launched the Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP) to support works of art that tell stories about police violence, an issue that gained renewed attention following the killing of African-American George Floyd while in U.S. police custody.

DuVernay, the filmmaker behind Selma and 13th, said the idea grew out of frustration.

"The stories around police abuse of black people who are unarmed and should not be killed is not being well told when officers are able to just disappear into the ether," DuVernay said in a recent interview with Reuters.

Read also: Oscars board elects 'Selma' director as diversity increases

"I can ... rattle off 30 names of black people who have been murdered by police on film over the last five years, but I cant tell you who killed them and I cant tell you where those people are," she said. "I think that's unacceptable."

The effort will commission projects from film, literature, poetry, theater, dance, fine art and music. The first piece will be released online in August, DuVernay said, followed by one each month for at least the next two years. Activists will be encouraged to circulate the work via social media to increase visibility.

"This is an active demonstration of resistance so it will be ongoing and it will be consistent," DuVernay said.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > China - India Clash in Ladakh - Communist Party of India (CPI) statement on (...)

DOCUMENT

Communist Party of India (CPI)

June 17, 2020

Press Release

CPI Salutes Martyred Indian Soldiers, Demands Resolution of Conflict Through Negotiations

The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India (CPI) issued the following statement today (June 17, 2020):

The Communist Party of India (CPI) expresses its deep condolences to the families of officer and jawans, who sacrificed their lives in protecting our borders on the night of 15th June. Their sacrifice will be remembered by our country forever and the best way to respect their martyrdom will be to end this stand-off through peaceful means.

Since yesterday many painful developments have taken place along the Line of Actual Control. India lost 20 soldiers and officers. It is not clear how many casualties are there on both the sides. When the negotiations between the two countries are on, yesterdays clash was unwarranted. The situation demands a mutually acceptable solution to the stand-off between both the countries. Efforts should be to overcome the present conflict through dialogue between the two countries at appropriate levels. The status quo must be maintained, which has been respected by both countries at Line of Actual Control for so long.

The CPI hopes that the leaderships of both the countries will take initiative to find a peaceful resolution of the problem at the earliest.

The CPI is of the view that the government must convene an all-Party meeting and explain the situation at this critical time so that the people remain united in defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The government should take the political parties and people into confidence.

(Roykutty)

Office Secretary
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 07:43:05|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. movie theater chain AMC Theaters will require all guests nationwide to wear masks after reopening theaters on July 15, the company confirmed in a statement on Friday.

It thus reversed a previous decision on optional mask-wearing, which prompted an intense and immediate outcry from customers.

"At AMC Theatres, we think it is absolutely crucial that we listen to our guests. Accordingly, and with the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing our guest mask policy," the statement said, adding that the speed with which AMC moved to revise its mask policies is a reflection of its commitment to the safety and health of guests.

AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron said one day earlier in an interview that theaters would not require guests to wear masks while reopening, noting that "it might be counterproductive if we forced mask-wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary."

The company plans to resume operations at about 450 U.S. locations on July 15 after the pandemic forced it to close its more than 600 theaters in the country for nearly four months. It also expects to be almost fully operational by the time that Disney's "Mulan," a movie about a Chinese legendary female warrior, debuts on July 24 and Warner Brothers' "Tenet" on July 31. Enditem
Restaurants have been clamoring for permission from the city to open outdoor spaces for dining, and on Monday they get their wish. As part of New Yorks phase 2 opening, dining establishments will be able to expand beyond takeout and delivery operations. But as is usually the case with the de Blasio administration, the roll out is already confusing and has been poorly communicated.

Heres how the mayors office explained the new system:

Open Restaurants gives dining establishments five new options. Beginning in Phase 2, restaurants can implement seating in curb lanes and sidewalks. Phase 2 allows reopening and use of as of right outdoor space in backyard and patios. Restaurants can also work with their local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to establish seating in plazas. Beginning in July, restaurants can offer seating on Open Streets on nights and weekends. Sidewalk seating will be in effect until the end of October. Curb lane seating will last through Labor Day. DOT will work with community groups and partner agencies to identify additional seating within full streets closures in July. Restaurants can work with their local BID and DOT to request additional seating in plazas by emailing Plazas@dot.nyc.gov. The Department of Small Business Services (SBS) will work to ensure that the most up-to-date guidance and materials needed by small business owners for a safe phased-in reopening are readily available. The information will be housed on a centralized resource page with guidance and best practices for the restaurant industry across all five boroughs. SBS will also launch a reopening supplies marketplace for easy access to wholesalers selling PPE, gloves, sneeze guards and other equipment. Business owners can call a hotline at 1-888-SBS-4NYC to ask questions about this process.

If a restaurant already has a sidewalk cafe permit, it will be pretty simple. Starting on Monday, outdoor service will be allowed, so long as tables are spaced six feet apart. Customers may remove their face masks while seated, while servers are supposed to keep them on. The reality, of course, is that most outdoor spaces on the Lower East Side are pretty small, so the seating options could be limited. Its unclear exactly how it will work.

According to an FAQ from the city, restaurants are not required to file an application for outdoor dining if theyre using privately owned space (like a backyard), a private parking lot or a balcony or rooftop. But operators seeking to use a public sidewalk or roadway space for outdoor dining operations must apply online.

Theres also the question of when and where liquor can be served. The FAQ states, if you are licensed by the State Liquor Authority and submit all appropriate documents, liquor may be served in outdoor spaces. In another section of the FAQ, theres vague language indicating that State Liquor Authority approval could be necessary in privately-owned spaces. But in his Thursday press conference, the mayor said, restaurants will not need to do a separate application to the State liquor authority. This is actually a big deal for restaurants  one application through the City of New York will cover your needs with the State Liquor Authority, as well. And I want to thank the State and the SLA for their cooperation on that, we want to make this simple.

There are still a range of unanswered questions, as Channel 4 reported:

The plan calls for overtaking a vast number of regular parking spaces. Most of those spaces are metered, but (Mayor) de Blasio said the city still has to figure out what to do in cases where there is alternate side parking. Alternate side has been suspended for all but two weeks since the city shut down in March. De Blasio said Thursday he planned to make a decision on that in the coming days. Also an obstacle: restaurants located in front of bus lanes, hydrants or near construction zones. Those businesses will not have outdoor seating made available to them. And even though the mayor says that outdoor dining could benefit about 5,000 of the citys 27,000 restaurants, some eateries wont be participating as they arent able to fit enough tables to justify re-hiring workers, and some arent able to re-staff.

Any restaurant looking to file an outdoor dining application should visit this webpage.
For decades, the standard story of how atherosclerotic plaque forms focused on the accumulation of cholesterol and inflammatory cells in arterial walls. Now, researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have identified another factor that initiates the formation of these plaques: inflamed smooth muscle cells in the linings of arterial walls that multiply in an unregulated way.

The culprit behind many heart attacks and strokes, atherosclerotic plaques are unhealthy masses of oxidized cholesterol, immune cells and dead tissue that form within arterial walls. When atherosclerotic plaques grow large or rupture they can impede blood supply to vital tissues and organs, making them a lethal threat.

Cardiovascular disease remains the worlds No. 1 killer, despite widespread use of cholesterol-lowering medicines, said Nicholas Leeper, MD, professor of surgery at Stanford. Recent studies have indicated that the standard dogma about how atherosclerosis happens wasnt really capturing the whole story.

In 1973, researchers proposed that a substantial portion of atherosclerotic plaques were made up of arterial blood vessel cells that had expanded over time, and that these abnormally growing cells could be driving the growth of the plaque. But for decades, that idea was sidelined in favor of findings pointing to the importance of cholesterol in plaque formation.

Renewed interest in old finding

Recently, Leeper and his colleagues renewed their interest in the old finding. They demonstrated that these abnormal blood vessel cells were protected from removal by the immune system, indicating that the cells could be part of the disease process underlying plaque formation.

To find out how these rapidly proliferating cells arise, sparking the chain of events that leads to plaque formation, Leeper and his colleagues looked at blood vessel muscle cells in a plaque using rainbow mice, which can be triggered so that every cell in their bodies expresses a particular color of a fluorescent protein. A single cell can be marked the color red, for instance. As it and its offspring divide, all the exact copies, or clones, that arise will colored red. The researchers showed that early in the formation of a plaque, a single cell in the smooth muscle cell layer of the artery starts to proliferate more than it should, leading to the growth of a lesion in the vessel wall that can constrict blood flow.

Normally, such poorly regulated cell growth can be controlled by immune cells that eat the outlaw cells. But in addition to losing regulatory features that control cell growth, the smooth muscle cells arm themselves with CD47, a cell marker that gives off a dont eat me signal to immune cells.
JERSEYVILLE  Jerseyville soon will welcome a new dance studio.

DK Dance will begin classes at 301 N. State St. in August, with an open house for interested students from 1 to 4 p.m. July 26.

DK Dance is owned by Darci Ward, who has been running dance studios for 15 years in the Greater St. Louis area. Registration for the Jerseyville location began Monday.

Reaction to the new studio was pretty wild and more than 60 applications have been received for classes there, Ward said.

It was like a tornado on top of a hurricane inside a monsoon, she said. We opened registration at 8 a.m. and it has literally not stopped.

Ward opened her first studio in 2006 in Florissant, Missouri. That studio now serves more than 400 students and offers three tracks for students, depending on their age and level of commitment. This includes a competitive dance team that consistently places at national competitions.

In 2017, she opened a studio in Alton that serves just under 200 students. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ward has hosted 127 online dance classes between the two locations.

Having been born and raised in Jerseyville, opening a studio in her hometown has always been in the back of her mind, she said.

This is where I live, where I went to school as a child, and where my family resides, she said. I am thrilled to bring our studio to Jerseyville. It feels great to be home.

Ward has been dancing since she was 3 and teaching for more than 20 years. She has a bachelors degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and dance. She also holds a master of business administration degree and is a speaker at national events within the dance industry.

To register for DK Dance in Jerseyville or for more information, visit dkdancepro.com.
Alexis Calla, global head of Investment Strategy and Advisory at Standard Chartered Bank

When markets are volatile do you stay on the sidelines or jump right in? Staying calm when markets are erratic is not easy but it is important to remain objective to avoid making bad decisions.

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused unprecedented volatility in asset prices and when a crisis hits, investors tend to do one of three things: panic and freeze, invest too fast, or want to act but struggle to do so  each of which has drawbacks that can lead to bad financial decision-making.

At Standard Chartered, our focus is on helping investors make better choices. That is why a key part of our approach to investment is recognising, and understanding, the various natural or cognitive biases that can influence the decisions we make every day.

Our recent Investor Personality Study collected the insights of 1,200 emerging affluent, affluent, and high net worth investors across Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Through our research, we identified three main types of investors - the Comfortable Investor, the Conservative Investor, and the Enthusiastic Investor  with each giving clues on their feelings about asset allocation, how they make decisions, and how they could potentially improve their investments.

Avoiding emotional pitfalls

This insight is important because understanding different financial personalities can help investors and wealth advisors avoid emotional traps, allowing investors to stick to their long-term plans. The market turmoil resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic brings these types of investor to the fore.

There are many ways wealth advisors can use this information to better support investors such as tailoring their communications to encourage the best outcome.

In this situation, a Comfortable Investor is likely to stay calm and make objective, unemotional decisions. This could be because they tend to have more investment experience and believe that success depends on ability rather than luck. They have a high desire to leave a legacy, but one potential weakness is a tendency to be overconfident. It is vital for this type of investor to try to find views from different perspectives. This could help the investor to remain diversified, while continuing to factor in alternative scenarios.

Naturally more cautious, a Conservative Investor is likely to avoid volatile markets and high-risk investment products. They are also less likely to seek advice when markets are in turmoil, preferring a clear investment plan and principles to follow. Conservative Investors should consider whether their investment allocations are too conservative and consistent with their long-term goals. Periods of market volatility, such as the current one, can be a good time to think about gradually adding risk to investment allocations.

By contrast, an Enthusiastic Investor is likely to be impulsive and will see volatility as a chance to speculate on market moves. Enthusiastic Investors may see losses in times of market turmoil, exacerbated by the fact they tend to have the least investment experience and would benefit from committing to a disciplined investment approach.

Send the right message

There are many ways wealth advisors can use this information to better support investors such as tailoring their communications to encourage the best outcome.

Comfortable Investors, who tend to have a high level of composure, respond best to messages that focus on using skill to deal with the situation and defer decision-making to an agreed process, while a Conservative Investor will want more guidance during periods of market turmoil. Meanwhile, Enthusiastic Investors, who tend to be more speculative and impulsive, will benefit from communication that places short-term volatility in the context of long-term planning.

What can investors do?

Regardless of an individuals financial personal traits, there are lessons for all investors which can help them navigate uncertain markets. Firstly, do not panic as panicking tends to lead to bad decision-making. Instead, investors should ensure their asset allocation still matches their risk tolerance. If changes need to be made, investors should create a plan with their advisor on how, and over what timeframe, to adjust their portfolio. Secondly, avoid timing the market. Time in the market is far more important than trying to call the bottom. In addition, as it is difficult to catch the absolute trough, investors should instead consider putting money to work in phases at cheaper prices.

By understanding the personality traits that drive financial decision-making, investors will be better equipped to make objective investment decisions even when markets are under stress. At the same time, wealth advisors can develop an investment approach that is consistent with investors behavioural profile and long-term investment objectives.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A media body on Saturday described as "an act of intimidation" the filing of an FIR in Uttar Pradesh against a journalist over a report on the impact of the lockdown on a village, saying it was part of an "established pattern" of harassment of independent scribes.

In a statement, the Media Foundation put on record its strong protest over the FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against Supriya Sharma, executive editor of news portal Scroll.in.

The case was filed against Sharma for allegedly misrepresenting facts in a report on the impact of the lockdown in a village adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, police sources had said on Thursday.

The FIR against Sharma and the Scroll editor-in-chief is an "an act of intimidation and a case of abuse of process", intended to discourage honest and critical reporting, the Media Foundation said.

The Media Foundation was started in 1979 with the aim of upholding freedom of speech, expression and information.

The FIR against Sharma is only the latest instance of similar coercive actions against professional journalists, part of "an established pattern of harassment and humiliation of independent journalists", it said, "It is an unacceptable encroachment on press freedom," said the foundation, whose chairperson is veteran journalist Harish Khare.

The Media Foundation called upon the judiciary, and central and state governments to uphold the spirit of freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed in the Constitution.
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Linkedin Nina A. Loasana and Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 20, 2020 07:32 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40660375af 1 Politics COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Netflix,Education-and-Culture-Ministry,TVRI,criticism,house-of-representatives,DPR,Lawmakers,belajar-dari-rumah,study-from-home,Marie-Kondo Free

A decision made by the Education and Culture Ministry to collaborate with streaming platform Netflix has been met with criticism.

A member of the House of Representatives, Willy Aditya of the NasDem Party, said the collaboration was unethical even though it did not violate any regulations.

"Although the collaboration did not violate any regulations, on an ethical level it's still questionable. Rather than Netflix, the Education and Culture Ministry should collaborate with other state-owned enterprises," Willy said on Thursday.

Starting on Saturday, the ministry is to broadcast several Netflix original documentaries as part of its Belajar dari Rumah (Study from Home) program.

Belajar dari Rumah is a full-day educational program that helps students who are required to study from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been airing daily on public television broadcaster TVRI since mid-April.

Among the documentaries that air every Saturday at 9:30 p.m. are Our Planet, Street Food: Asia, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, Spelling the Dream, Chasing Coral and Night on Earth. Reruns of the said shows, which feature Indonesian subtitles, will be available on Sundays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m.

House of Representatives Commission X chairman Syaiful Huda said the collaboration would limit room for creativity among the Indonesian youth.

"We think there are a lot of youths in the country that could create more creative documentaries, short movies or guidelines for students during this period of learning from home," Huda said in a statement on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.

"I wonder why the education ministry as the home for education [in the country] chose to collaborate with a foreign streaming platform just for its documentaries.

Huda challenged the ministry for not working with local production houses instead to create high-quality and entertaining content for students during remote studies.

"Why should they collaborate with a video streaming platform that has yet to show clear contributions to the country's income? We still have the National Movie Center [PFN] and college students [with expertise] in visual communication design. Why didn't [the ministry] give them the opportunity?" he said.

Netflix said that the companys partnership with the Education and Culture Ministry was based on a free-of-charge agreement in the hope its documentaries could reach a wider audience.

"Around the world, teachers and educational organizations have asked if we can make some of our documentaries available during the crisis and were happy to help without any cost," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"Our partnership with the Education and Culture Ministry helps reach more audiences in Indonesia given that TVRI has nationwide coverage, especially for students who might not have stable internet access while they learn from home.

We selected titles that are meant to help students learn and be inspired through diverse, enjoyable and informative stories, especially during these challenging times when schools are closed," it added.
New Delhi: The Border Security Force on Saturday (June 20) shot down a Pakistani drone along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, thus foiling another attempt of Pakistani agencies to drop weapons and arms across the border. According to a report, the drone was shot down in the forward post in Rathua village in Hiranagar taluka in the Kathua district.

The patrolling party of BSF from 19 Battalion spotted a Pakistani drone flying in the Rathua area of Hiranagar sector and fired eight rounds on it, thus shooting it down. The team recovered 1 M-4 US-made rifle, 2 magazines, 60 rounds of bullets and 7 grenades.

At about 5.10 am on Saturday, a Pakistani spy drone was noticed flying near Border Outpost Pansar of BSF. After the drone was tracked, sub-inspector Devender Singh fired 8 rounds of 9mm Barretta at it and shot it down.

The drone was shot down near Border Outpost Pansar.

Take a look at the pictures below:

The distance where the drone was shot down was approximately 250 metres on the Indian side from the International Border with Pakistan.

According to reports, the officials found the name of one Ali Bhai on the payload of the drone, assuming that the delivery was for him.



The officials believe that the drone, 8-feet wide, was controlled by Pakistan Picket opposite Panesar post of BSF this side in Kathua sector.

Notably, the forces had recovered similar weapons from Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, who were killed during an infiltration attempt from across the border along the Line of Control at toll plaza Nagrota, a few months back.

The arms smuggling by Pakistani agencies is aimed to boost the strength of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Kashmir to carry out terrorist acts of violence and disruption of peace and order.

Several similar attempts of Pakistani agencies to smuggle weapons from across the border have been foiled by forces in the past.
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I cant breathe!

The last words George Floyd said to his killers became the chant of nationwide protests. Sometime last week a new slogan emerged: Defund the police! even Abolish the police!

At face value, the new slogan sounds absurd. Because it is.

When a CNN news anchor asked the president of the Minneapolis City Council, What if in the middle of (the) night my home is broken into? Who do I call? The Councilwomans response, that the ability to call for help in the first place was a matter of white privilege, was, shall we say, less than enlightening.

Abolishing police is the stuff of utopian fantasies, only possible in worlds without evildoers. Because such worlds do not exist, law enforcement of some kind, at least here on Earth, will always be necessary. To think otherwise is to misunderstand the human condition.

The line separating good and evil, wrote Solzhenitsyn, passes not through states, nor classes, nor political parties. Neither does it pass through occupations, as if policemen are intrinsically evil, while social workers or teachers or protesters are intrinsically good.

The problem is in all of us, in every human heart.

Still, just because law enforcement will always be necessary this side of the New Earth, it does not mean reform of law enforcement is unnecessary. Indeed, this what many people mean, despite what they say.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, worries that calls to defund or abolish the police could hijack the momentum to make serious police reforms in the wake of George Floyds death. As he put it, if you mean reimagining policing, say that.

In fact, police departments across the nation have made reforms in recent years, attempting to root out corruption and improve community relations. An oft-cited example is Camden, New Jersey, one of the most violent cities in America until not that long ago.

In 2012, after concluding police corruption was contributing to the violence, the city dissolved the department and turned over law enforcement to the county. Twice the number of officers were put on the street, with a new emphasis known as community policing, while still spending less money.

Within five years, the number of homicides dropped by two-thirds. Among the goals, a former chief told NPR, was to change how the community viewed police officers . . . from warrior to guardian.

Behind Camdens reforms are a handful of principles worthy of consideration.

For example, ending qualified immunity, which shields government officials from being sued for discretionary actions performed within their official capacity. This practice shields wrongdoers from accountability and is a problem not just, but especially in, law enforcement.

The police officer who knelt on the neck of George Floyd until he died should have been held accountable for a number of previous complaints. The TSA officer in Denver who was caught in 2014 selecting which male passengers he wanted to pat down should have faced criminal charges instead of just the loss of his job. And, hospital officials who prevented my friend from seeing his wife for three weeks before she died last month should be held accountable for the failed policies they hid behind.

A second reform has to do with police unions. Among the reasons Camden dissolved its police force was because the union made it impossible to discipline bad and corrupt officers. Mayors across the country tell similar stories.

Again, this is not a problem unique to law enforcement. If we want to see an improvement in failing schools, teachers unions cannot be allowed to protect bad teachers. Of course, when it comes to police, corruption and incompetence can lead to someone being killed.

A final principle is that civil society must be strengthened. As New York Magazine put it:

In the U.S., the police are the answer for everything. To an overdose, a noisy party, a counterfeit bill in a shop. They are the first and often the last resort for any complaint, no matter how petty. Theres no end to the responsibilities with which we have charged them . . .

In other words, police officers are carrying the weight of failed families, broken communities, invisible churches, and human isolation.

As Chuck Colson used to say, the choice often boils down to the conscience or the constable. Only moral formation and mutual accountability can reduce our reliance on police.

In the late 18th and early 19th century, communities in both Britain and the United States saw a significant drop in crime and a significant increase in safety. Why? At least one reason seems to be Sunday School.

Of course, theres also much to be said about the increased militarization of the police. Thats not a solution for a broken community, as some often claim. Rather, its evidence of just how big the problem is.

So, defund? No. Abolish? No.

Reform? Yes.

But know this: it wont ultimately be a government job.

Originally posted at breakpoint.org
The leader of Ontarios NDP is calling on the province to take action to protect vulnerable seniors after an 87-year-old Hamilton grandmother died after being exposed to COVID-19 by a PSW in her home.

It could have been prevented, said Andrea Horwath, leader of the Ontario NDP and MPP for Hamilton Centre. (This family) should have never lost their mother.

Michela Caruso, 87, died in hospital on May 27. Her husband, Giacchino (Jack) Caruso, 88, remains in hospital in poor health. The couple tested positive for COVID mid-May after being exposed to the virus by a personal support worker (PSW) who worked in their home. Their daughter and her son also tested positive.

The family says they were told by the PSWs colleague and a health-care provider that he was also working at the Rosslyn Retirement Residence, home to Hamiltons worst outbreak. A total of 14 Rosslyn residents have died, while 64 residents and 22 staff tested positive.

Its heartbreaking, Horwath said of the Caruso familys ordeal.

Jack and Michela Caruso both caught COVID-19 after a PSW working in their home tested positive. Michela died and Jack remains in hospital. Courtesy the Caruso family

Horwath said she has pushed and pushed the Ford government to stop PSWs from working in more than one home. While the province took some steps  including restricting long-term care home and retirement home employees from working in multiple care settings  the measures didnt go far enough, she said.

They left a lot of loopholes, Horwath said, adding: They werent very diligent in terms of making sure people were following new guidelines.

Among the loopholes shes referring to is an exception allowing agency care workers, such as a PSW hired through a subcontractor  as was the case for the Caruso familys PSW  to continue working in more than one health-care setting.

In response, the province called Horwaths loophole reference misleading.

In order to ensure a steady supply of staff available to work on an emergency basis in long-term care homes (and retirement homes), the order for that sector does not apply to agency workers or other critical contract staff, said government spokesperson Gillian Sloggett.

Our government has taken decisive action to safeguard seniors from this global pandemic, including those requiring care in their homes, she added.

Horwath also slammed the province for allowing for-profit entities to continue to dominate the seniors care sector.

Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare, a union representing 60,000 Canadian front-line workers, also pointed to for-profit care providers as problematic for workers and clients alike. Too often, decisions are made with profit  not health or safety  in mind, she said.

Why, why, why arent these corporations and the government doing the right thing? Stewart said. Its all about the mighty dollar.

Agency workers are more susceptible to contracting  or spreading  COVID due to the precarious nature of their work, Stewart said. Without sick pay, many may feel financial pressure to work even if theyre not feeling well. And those forced to work multiple jobs in multiple settings may be inadvertently putting clients at risk, she said.

If those working are working in a nursing home in the morning and servicing four or five clients in the afternoon, well, there you go, Stewart said. The potential to spread the infection is just escalated because people are moving around.

Concepts of Care, the subcontractor which provided the PSW to CBI Home Health, which was contracted by the LHIN to arrange care for the Caruso family, has not responded to requests for comment. CBI has said they were incredibly saddened, to hear of Michela Carusos death and that it has repeatedly reinforced strict policies on self-screening and self-isolation with its subcontractors.

In Hamilton, nearly one-third of all health-care workers who tested positive for COVID are PSWs.

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The quarantine lift for some countries could be implemented in time for the summer holidays. Photo: Getty

Quarantine rules for visitors arriving to the UK will be relaxed for some countries in early July.

UK officials are currently in talks with Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Spain over the lifting of the 14-day quarantine rule.

The government is looking to make an announcement on 29 June confirming a number of "travel corridors," reports BBC News.

Currently anyone arriving in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could face a fine of 1,000 ($1234.88) if they fail to self-isolate for the full 14 days.

Anyone arriving from the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man does not have to complete a form or enter quarantine upon arrival in the UK. There are also exemptions for road haulage and medical professionals providing essential care.

But the government is reviewing this restriction every three weeks, with the first review due near the end of this month.

If travel corridors are agreed this would mean two people travelling in both directions between two countries would not have to self-isolate after they travel.

The first travel corridors could come into force on 4 July.

READ MORE: UK asks telecom providers to stockpile Huawei gear

While some routes may be exempt, the quarantine would still remain for people arriving from other destinations.

Portugal has already said it would welcome visitors from the UK this summer despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Airlines have heavily criticised the 14-day quarantine rule, claiming it is exacerbating pressure on the aviation industry, leading to greater job losses.

Yesterday Irish airline Aer Lingus (IAG.L) announced its plans to axe 500 jobs, citing the quarantine as a mitigating factor.

The current rules means people arriving into the UK cannot use public transport, go to work, school, or public areas, or have visitors - except for essential support. They are also not allowed to go out to buy food, or other essentials, where they can rely on others.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Aer Lingus to axe 500 jobs
Sophie addressed the UN virtually on Friday afternoon. (Royal Family)

The Countess of Wessex has said the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected women in conflict zones because they have been unable to access help for sexual violence.

Sophie spoke at a virtual UN event to mark the international day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

She called for a survivor-centred approach, asking that local realities shape global responses.

Beginning by acknowledging how the world has shrunk by the power of digital platforms, Sophie said many people were disconnected, adding: Since the pandemic began the number of cases of sexual violence across conflict settings and in domestic settings are very likely to have risen substantially.

Women and girls once again are being affected disproportionately, with increased difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, higher numbers of maternal deaths and teenage pregnancies, closures of domestic violence shelters, closure of schools, reduction in aid work and funds for charities, delays in relief packages.

COVID-19 has amplified suffering with the restrictions imposed on survivors.

Read more: President Macron breaks social distancing rules by touching Prince Charles on arm during London visit

She added that time is against the victims and said action plans to tackle sexual violence should be accelerated where possible.

Sophie, 55, said: My message therefore today is simple, and I hope I may speak for all survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence when I say: we must listen to the needs and wishes of all survivors and we must act accordingly.

The countess closed by saying: Let us all respond by listening to the needs of Survivors and with the urgency that they deserve.

Mother-of-two Sophie, who is married to Prince Edward, the Queens youngest son, has had a more visible royal role in recent weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

But she has been working on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the UKs Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) since the end of last year.

Story continues

In 2019 she visited Kosovo where she highlighted the trauma and stigma faced by sexual violence survivors of the Kosovo War, meeting survivors and charity workers to see the efforts being made to tackle it.

She also became the first royal to visit South Sudan, taking a trip earlier this year where she met survivors of gender-based violence.

Read more: How Sophie Wessex rose through the royal ranks

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex taking a picture of Ali (centre), a fellow volunteer organising food deliveries at the Shah Jahan Mosque, where she and Edward volunteered. (Buckingham Palace/PA Images)

Speaking at the time, she said: The women and girls that I have met this week fill me with confidence that South Sudan has the right women to work alongside their male counterparts to bring about a lasting peace for everyone and a more equal country.

So my message to the men is to encourage you all to listen to your women folk and to support them to take their place at your side. This is not a take-over, this is not a competition, this is about peace, it is about unity, it is about what is fair and right for the benefit of all. At the end of the day we are better together.

Sophie has been a working royal since 2002 when she and her husband Prince Edward gave up their paid work to support the Queen.

Through lockdown, she has been volunteering with groups near to their home in Bagshot Park, and returned to face-to-face duties earlier this week when she joined counsellors at Childline on a shift.
New Delhi, Jun 20 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, said migrant labourers, who were using their skills and hard work for the progress of the cities, will now help their villages develop.

Mr Modi made the observation while launching the Rs 50,000 crore 'Gareeb Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', a mega job scheme for migrant workers, through video conferencing from Khagaria district of Bihar.

He said the scheme is dedicated to the guest workers who returned to their villages due to the

lockdown imposed to fight Coronavirus.

'Workers who were contributing in the progress of the cities with their hard work will now develop their villages. This will provide them employment according to their skills near their villages.'

He said that the government's effort is to provide work to these migrant labourers near their home.

Mr Modi said that the scheme inspired by the quarantined labourers in a school in Uttar Pradesh, was started in a very short time.

The objective of this scheme, he said, is to ensure the development of villages by maintaining the self-esteem of the workers who have returned.

A total of 116 districts of six states have been covered in the plan. These include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.

Mr Modi said that under this scheme, 116 districts of six states have been identified where Rs 50,000 crore will be spent on 25 work areas, which will improve the lives of the people of the village.

Panchayat buildings, Anganwadi centers, community buildings, wells, pucca houses, animal sheds, roads, drinking water facilities etc will be constructed under this scheme.

Mr Modi also paid tributes to the Army personnel who died in a violent face-off with the Chinese

troops in the Galwan valley and said the martyrs of the Bihar regiment made the country proud.

While launching the project, Mr Modi said, 'Bihar is proud of the sacrifice made by the soldiers of Bihar Regiment. I pay tributes to those martyrs.'

'The nation is with the Army,' he added.

UNI NY SB 1544
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I remember when I first heard about Boko Haram activities in Northern Nigeria and the havoc the group wreaked. In the beginning, it seemed like Boko Haram only operated in the North in states like Borno until suddenly there were attacks in the South, in states like Lagos, where my mom, dad, and brothers lived. The president at the time, Goodluck Jonathan, did not declare the attacks terroristic until 2013 after thousands had been brutally killed. In 2018, the Buhari administration claimed that it had won the war against Boko Haram, but to date, the militant group carries on with its attacks in Nigeria.

The Muslim Fulani militants bear a striking resemblance to Boko Haram, and their attacks are a vivid reminder of the struggles Nigeria has had in the past and is still having with Boko Haram. In the past two years alone, over 4,000 people have been killed in the so-called herder-farmer clash, while everyone focused only on Boko Haram attacks, the Muslim Fulani militia became stronger and powerful. The Nigerian government and media repeatedly try to downplay the situation by calling the butchering of hundreds of babies, young girls and boys, unarmed men and women, the burning down of homes, churches, livelihoods, infrastructure a mere clash between farmers and herders.

The number of people who died from the COVID-19 pandemic (about 400 now) in Nigeria is nothing compared to the hundreds that have been murdered and maimed by Muslim Fulani militants in Nigeria this year alone. The Christians in the North do not have the level of safety and peace of mind to worry about washing their hands and keeping safe from the virus because they could be physically attacked at any moment and lose their lives. And those who miraculously survive the Fulani-herdsmen attacks, have lost their home, families, and belongings. They have nowhere to go and no hope for the future. Many are displaced and in constant danger of attacks because of their vulnerability.

There is always more to the story. If we are to trace the roots of the problem, one source would be the lack of conflict resolution mechanisms to hold people accountable for their actions immediately and justly. Before terroristic groups can have a hold on a nation, there has to be a breakdown of the governing system to find what caused the uprising. A fly does not just appear in ones house, it uses the breaks of open doors, windows, broken screens to enter the home. The governments failure to investigate and prosecute enables the continued violence and banditry that overflows from the collapse of Nigerias security. While most times, it is clear from the victims testimonies that Fulani militants raided their community, there are times when bandits attack instead and use the unstable situation to create fear and loot homes for their benefit.

Attacks on communities that resulted in burnt homes destroyed churches and infrastructure and the murder of hundreds of people has forced more than two million people in Nigeria to flee their home, creating an enormous population of internally displaced people (IDP) and counting. IDP camps are now overwhelmed, unsanitary, and lack adequate resources and health services to meet the needs of the families it holds. The children at IDP camps are not able to go to school, and their parents are not able to provide for them because there are no employment opportunities. Without a way to provide for their family, parents, and children alike, many settle for illegal ways of putting food on the table, which would only exacerbate the security problem in Nigeria.

On June 12, 2020, President Buhari gave a speech about the status of affairs in Nigeria. He only spoke about insurgents in three northern states (Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa) without addressing the issues in the middle belt region of the country or the situation with IDPs. Because the government is not addressing these issues, NGOs have been some of the most prominent players in raising awareness and humanitarian efforts to help the communities affected by Fulani militants, Boko Haram, and bandits.

Bottom Line: These attacks have strong religious undertones and are terroristic. The government needs to do something about it before it is too late. Unless the Nigerian government wants what ISIL did to Iraq and Syria to be our reality, the government needs to investigate, prosecute perpetrators, and root out evil now.

The recommendations provided by the U.K. All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief in its report can help solve some of the issues in Nigeria if they are adequately executed. We can also be part of the change by creating awareness to hold the Nigerian government accountable. We need to act, before it is too late.
The hapless Kashmiris who were forced into this proxy guerrilla war in the late 80s and early 90s, have to deal with either the mainstream 'narrative' terming them as secessionists or willy-nilly as terrorists, depending which side of the binary one is. Add to that the helplessness of having to prove your Kashmiri-ness time and again whether in public or private life.

A monolith is a large, impersonal, political, corporate or social structure regarded as indivisible and slow to change. Conflict entrepreneur "experts" on Kashmir who project Kashmiris as a monolith have been deviously disregarding the internal dissent and resistance to the regressive aspiration of "azaadi" by a few secessionists.

They make the existence of dissenters of "azaadi" seem inconceivable, their modus operandi being to label those who oppose as not Kashmiri enough or Muslim enough.

The hapless Kashmiris who were forced into this proxy guerrilla war in the late 80s and early 90s, have to deal with either the mainstream "narrative" terming them as secessionists or willy-nilly as terrorists, depending which side of the binary one is.

Add to that the helplessness of having to prove your Kashmiri-ness time and again whether in public or private life.

So if you condemn the Pakistan-sponsored terror, you are not Kashmiri enough, if you advocate democracy (elections/the ballot/sarpanches), dissent (pro-India), freedom of speech (right to music bands, critical works, liberal spaces), then you are not Muslim enough, and that can mean automatic target practice for the likes of the TRF (The Resistance Front, actually a front for the LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen) in the Valley.

For three decades, various types of Kashmiris have been reeling from this siege of the mind by Islamo-fascist forces from within, without documentation of their dead and disappeared.

It doesn't matter that you have eked a living there, that you are bringing up children there, that you belong to the place by birth, and that your ancestors are buried or burnt on a pyre there. You may be Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, or Pandit, if you do not agree to the regressive aspirations of the Intifada factory (a motley crew of overground workers, politicians, bureaucrats, journalists, civil society members,writers, talk show experts, etc), it is an unspoken law that you have no right to be in Kashmir.

Various tactics are then deployed to hound you out of the Valley or silence you. From 1989 autumn onwards, Kashmiri Pandits, seen as upholding the Indian nationalism in the Valley were targeted through high-profile assassinations, sending a clear cut message to everyone  to join, or get killed, or get lost  a popular Kashmiri slogan in coordinated marches, "raliv, chaliv ya galiv".

Amidst this, what is not being said openly is that Muslims who were secular, liberal, progressive, or high-profile Leftists affiliated to the various communist parties,and popular rationalists were also put on hit-lists circulated by the various "tanzeems" (terror organisations). The mass exodus of the Pandit minorities did not just comprise of KPs but Muslim dissenters of "azaadi" too, many living in horrendous conditions as the migrant camps.

When the Mirpur-London-Washington lobby of the Kashmir Intifada lobbies on platforms around the world in university campuses and UN councils, it conveniently forgets the human rights of those exiled by the Nizam-e-Mustafa ideology advocated by terror groups, legitimised by separatist politicians, and coddled by the Government of India.

This manufactured consent for "azaadi" is peddled by the likes of Sanjay Kak, long migrated, non-residents, and "conflict entrepreneurs'', having built a career as artists, film-makers, photographers.

When in his interview he says, "Kashmir lays India bare" and that "the old trusted cliches  largest democracy in the world, constitutional proprieties, free media  all these have started to look very shallow", one needs to understand why the blame is being shifted from Pakistan-sponsored proxy war against India via Kashmiri collaborators.

In this asymmetric war, the Indian State has to fight, keeping the above "cliches'' intact, often failing because the "enemy" has the deadliest terror tactic in the world: psychological warfare extorting clan loyalties, tribal ties, all in the name of religion.

It is an ever-losing PR nightmare. Every time there is a violation, and there will be countless times, the Intifada hounds pounce on it, denounce the Indian State, coordinate mass social media accounts, some originating from across the border, activate trolling, and ready-to-print Op-eds in Washington Post, The New York Times, etc.

Not to mention the various associate professors, in numerous "anthropology departments'' tweeting, publishing papers, churning podcasts, and holding "human rights"conferences. Amidst all this, the silent majority just becomes a statistic, a pawn, a passive observer.

This elected mutism by the silent majority, has several reasons, the primary one being a sense of self-preservation. Pulitzer winners only document the rage, the hatred, the frustration, the radicalisation, the high-handedness of the security forces and the aftermath.

What they will never do is refer to the underrepresented, the repressed, the hidden, the silent dissenters about secession.

Of course, due to the network of this manufactured consent, and the subsequent risk to life, limb, and property, the "silent" will never elect to come forward. But they exist and they resist in their own ways. Documentaries, movies, poetry, rap songs, cartoon strips, art works, lit-fests, photographs, seminars, conferences, talk shows will never take into account these "silent sentinels", who have to compromise on the quality of life, and the sanity of their minds, just to survive amidst the fascism of their own and the bravery of being out of range by the overseas Intifada lobbies.

What the citizens of India need to understand is that sometimes the flag is not upheld in plain sight, sometimes, patriots carry the flag in their hearts, in their minds. Sometimes nationalists have to worry about the fate of their families, in an "Orwellian" ecosystem which has been perfected by the Islamo-fascist forces since the mid-80s.

The government, by its appeasement policies of decades towards the separatist politicians, has not been able to manufacture trust in these nationalists. Hence the hesitation to come forward and fight. Like the overseas Intifada lobbies, they do not have the luxury of being brave out of range.

They are in the direct line of fire, as the convenient "mukhbir" and "kafir".

Kashmiris as a society, as a people are not a monolith. Not everyone hates India, not everyone wants a merger with Pakistan, not everyone is a terrorist. And those who don't walk with the herd are in no way any less Kashmiri or Muslim.

The author is a writer and an educationist from Srinagar, Kashmir


Indias Unlock 2.0 will begin from July 1. On Friday, there has been another record spike this time of 13,586 new coronavirus cases in a single day pushing the tally to 3,80,532.

The death toll is at 12,573, the eighth highest in the world. While the virus appears to have plateaued or declined in much of Europe, India and South America are currently experiencing surges.

In Delhi, the first set of rapid antigen detection tests for Covid-19 returned a 6.5 per cent positive rate. Given that this test throws up a large number of false negatives, this is a significant figure. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain and MLA Atishi have both been preyed upon by the coronavirus.

The recession-hit economy has left the Union government with no choice but to reopen for business, but instead of taking the graded approach, the Delhi government failed to exercise discretion on this account. It also, for a while, underreported its dead, as well as caseloads, as did Telangana and Maharashtra.

The only silver lining is that chief minister Kejriwal has now made the more definitive RT-PCR test cheaper, available at Rs 2,400 rather than Rs 4,500. The Haryana chief minister is pondering a fresh lockdown in Gurugram, apart from Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar.

Tamil Nadu, too, entered a new phase of lockdown. But a lockdown in itself is no solution, the only way to go forward, as Kerala has shown, is intensifying testing and contact tracing. India has now incrementally built its testing capacity to three lakhs daily, but worries remain as to its adequacy.

Health is a state subject, but Covid-19 has exposed our state governments lack of technical strength and their dependence for that purpose on the Centre.

In a nod to its principle of operating as a unit and the fact that its people do travel to and from Delhi for business and work, potentially carrying the virus, home minister Amit Shah has suggested adoption of a common anti-Covid strategy for the National Capital Region.

The Haryana and UP governments have been asked to provide details of beds, oxygen cylinders, ICUs and ambulances by July 15. One wonders if that is a date set too far.
Evening Standard

Brentford will be looking to get out of their recent slump as they take on Wolves in the Premier League this afternoon, coming off a midweek result that will be hard to take. Obviously, to expect a newly-promoted side to go out and match Manchester United with all of their resources would be ridiculous on first glance but the manner in which Thomas Franks side dominated in the first-half left the Dane ruining their second-half showing. Wolves, however, are unlikely to be anywhere near as bad as United were at times.
The Prime Minister was a guest on RTL Radio's "Background" segment on Saturday.

When it comes to the draft legislation of the so-called "Covid laws", which will be voted on by MPs on Monday, Bettel stated on RTL Radio that the proposed texts were "better, but not good yet".

On the subject of forced hospitalisations, Bettel said that at least the new text ensured a more extensive legal protection than the text from 1980. However, improvements still needed to be made after the state of emergency ends.

The Prime Minister stressed that based on the knowledge at the time the government's decisions during the crisis were correct and he would not do anything differently. The government decided on a cautious approach as it was also necessary to take political decisions.

According to Bettel, current designs of coronavirus alert apps are more acceptable compared to previous ones. However, the government is still not considering the creation of such an app for Luxembourg as analogue tracing is still working well. Bettel also stated that he would prefer a European solution.

The Prime Minister went on to say that while it was not necessary to revise the coalition programme, priorities should be set. Tax reform is still on the table  without reductions, but also without increases.

Bettel stated that the climate crisis would not be ignored. Stumbling from one crisis into the next had to be avoided. When asked about when the excise tax on petrol would be increased, the minister said that he could not answer this question right now.
Jaipur, June 20 : A meteorite-like object falling from the sky in Rajasthan's Sanchore town has left the locals bemused. Officials confirmed to IANS that an object weighing around 2.78 kg fell from the sky on Friday morning, resulting in a one-foot deep crater in the earth.

A huge explosion kind of sound created by its fall echoed in around two kilometre stretch. The locals rushed to the police station and the local administration to inform them of an explosive sound.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Bhupendra Yadav reached the spot and was stunned to see the piece which was very hot during that time. As the object was emitting heat, it was allowed to cool and then packed in a jar and taken to the police station.

"We have inspected the site where the object had fallen from the sky with a loud sound. Prime facie, it appears to be a piece of meteorite, which has been seized and kept safe as it shall be sent to the lab for further examination." The officials concerned also got it tested in a private lab located at the jeweller's shop in Sanchore who confirmed that the piece had metallic properties of Germanium, Platinium, Nickel and Iron (10.23 per cent of nickel, 85.86 per cent of iron, platinum 0.5 per cent, cobbit 0.78 per cent, geranium 0.02 per cent, antimony 0.01 per cent niobium 0.01 and other 3.02 per cent).

The teams of geologists in the Geographical Survey of India's Ahmedabad and Jaipur office have been contacted for its further examination. The object is currently at Sanchore police station, said Yadav adding that the place where it had fallen has been cordoned off.
Hoteliers in Goa are annoyed with the state government for not allowing businesses to restart almost a fortnight after the Central governments green light to resume operations under the Unlock 1 guidelines.

The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa has pointed out that despite applying for permission as sought by the state government, none have been permitted to resume business.

The 8th of June has been the date on which all the hotels and restaurants were required to open. Many hotels situated in bigger cities in India have already started to operate for business. It is almost 13 days and the industry is waiting for an OK from the Government to start operating all these units, Nilesh Shah, the president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said.

The Goa Tourism Department had called for hoteliers to submit applications to reopen as well as an undertaking that they will follow all the guidelines and standard operating procedures as mandated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Hoteliers had started submitting applications from June 8.

Earlier, Director of Tourism Menino DSouza had said that the Department would then inspect each hotel to ensure compliances before allowing them to restart.

All hotels which are willing to comply with the guidelines, have to apply to the department. We will verify whether they are in a position to comply with the guidelines, DSouza had said.

The TTAG has however, claimed that despite more than 200 hotels applying to reopen, none have been given the go ahead to do so.

Out of thousands of hotels waiting to reopen we have only about 200 who have applied for permission to reopen. Up to now there has been no go ahead given by our state Government to reopen, Shah added.

Tourism, which is a major revenue earner in Goa, has come to a complete standstill following the lockdown to control the Covid-19 pandemic. The TTAG has claimed that the direct and indirect economic impact of the tourism industry is estimated at 40% of the states GDP.

The industry has also sought that bars and restaurants also be allowed to reopen in the state as hotels cannot successfully (reopen) unless the bars and restaurants are given permissions to reopen as well.

Restaurants have been allowed to reopen in the state with only half the capacity but arent allowed to serve alcohol.
The mood has changed. You can feel a bustle in the streets. Yes, we are still cautious when we go into a shop. Yes, those of us who can are still working from home. And yes, things cant really be normal if we cant go out to the pub. But the turning point in the economic cycle has been passed. From now on the direction is up.

But that tells us nothing about the shape or pace of the recovery. Will it be a V, with the downswing matched by an equally fast climb out?

Or a W, with us coming up a bit then slipping back again? Or a U, with a long period bouncing along the bottom before recovery becomes secure?

My instinct now is that it will look more like a tick, with the very sharp fall that we have had followed by a sustained but somewhat slower pull back upwards. I can see four reasons to be positive about this, and one to be negative  if you like, Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Retail sales in May surprised on the upside, for though they were still down on February they were much better than in April

Wedding number one is that we are shopping again. Retail sales in May surprised on the upside, for though they were still down on February they were much better than in April. June will almost certainly be better still.

Wedding two is that the Bank of England seems more positive about the economy.

Though the Monetary Policy Committee voted last week to pump another 100billion into the economy, the planned pace of this programme was slower than in the past.

In addition, the Banks chief economist, Andy Haldane, voted against this  he clearly thinks the economy will grow faster than generally expected. The Banks forecasts were also upgraded slightly.

Wedding three is the Treasury is on the case. You could justifiably say that the surge in Government borrowing last month was a disastrous state of public finances.

The fall in GDP and the rise in borrowing means that for the first time since the 1960s the National Debt is above 100 per cent of GDP.

But equally you could note how this means that the Government is prepared to throw everything needed to get the economy moving again.

We must think long-term about what will make us prosperous

Borrowing costs are historically low and as growth resumes the numbers will begin to look more manageable.

As for Wedding four, remember we are not alone. The world is coming up too, with the US in particular staging a decent bounce, and the German economy now growing well again. Those are our two biggest export markets and will act as locomotives for the rest of us.

The funeral, or rather the potential funeral, would be if there were a second wave to the pandemic before a vaccine was available.

The world is throwing everything it has at developing one, and AstraZeneca is mass-manufacturing the vaccine pioneered by Oxford University.

'Banks chief economist, Andy Haldane, voted against more QE  he clearly thinks the economy will grow faster than generally expected', says McRae

Chief executive Pascal Soriot said last week that they thought it would protect people for about a year. Many other vaccines are being developed too.

But obviously quite aside from the human cost, a second wave would lead to another economic downturn. That would be grave indeed.

The best thing to do for those of us not in the front line surely is to remember this. At the bottom of a recession everything looks dreadful. At the top of a boom everything seems wonderful.

The hardest thing to do is to look through both the gloom and the euphoria  and think long-term about what really makes countries prosperous in a highly competitive world.

Thinking long-term is not a bad thing to do regarding that other economic issue that is back in the headlines: our trading relationship with the EU.

It is four years on Tuesday since the referendum, and a bumpy four years it has been. Just when we begin to think that things are being sorted, bang, all the unpleasantness comes back.

What should we make of the deal or no deal stories now coming out? First, this was always going to be ill-tempered because the objectives of the UK and Europe are different. If it wasnt ill-tempered there would be something going wrong.

Next, disruption is never good and Europe will remain an important market. But trade deals are not essential to economic success.

China became the worlds second largest economy (second to the US and larger than the EU now the UK has left) without any significant deals.

And third, the long game for the UK will be to maintain its exports to Europe as far as possible, but to focus on markets that are growing faster. That inevitably means the wider world beyond.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20)  Passengers will be asked to bring their own helmets as part of safety measures once motorcycle taxis receive the go signal to ply the roads again.

Since the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) is studying the resumption of motorcycle taxi operations through a technical working group, ride-hailing firms Angkas and JoyRide have been preparing for the new normal.

READ: Roque: Back-riding on motorcycles allowed 'in principle'

One of the safety measures to accompany the resumption of their services is requiring passengers to bring their own helmets, on top of other safety protocols like disinfection, and wearing of face masks.

Dapat po yong pasahero natin ay magdala ng sarili niyang helmet at sarili niyang face mask, George Royeca from Angkas told CNN Philippines on Saturday.

[Translation: Passengers should bring their own helmets and face masks.]

The chief transport advocate for the company added that they have already presented prototypes of a proposed barrier between the rider and passenger called Angkas shield to the IATF.

JoyRide Vice President for Corporate Affairs Noli Eala said that they also have a version of the divider made of ballistic nylon fiber.

Eala expressed hope that the government can soon allow motorcycle taxis to operate again.

Motorcycle taxi services were banned by the national government, as the Transport Department did not allow back-riding to prevent further spread of the coronavirus disease.
Everybody loves these statues By Claire Toureille for Mailonline View(s): View(s):

People have taken to social media to share images of the heartwarming statues that enhance their local area.

Historian and author James Barr, from London, encouraged Twitter users to share monuments they believe enhance their surroundings in a thread.

His plea came after a number of racist monuments were torn down in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests. Lsst week, statues in Parliament Square in London  including those of Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi  were boarded up to prevent them being targeted.

People from across the world shared images of their favourite statues in the thread. Some posted snaps of the stone tribute of Hachiko, a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Uenos death.

Others cited statues of Paddington Bear that can be found around London; one sees him seated on a bench eating a sandwich in Leicester Square while another shows the character at Paddington Station.

A monument to Chekhovs dogs in Moscow also received praise as people agreed that statues of animals were always pleasing.

(C) Daily Mail, London
Thousands of Christians killed in Nigeria: UK lawmakers call for investigation into reports of 'genocide'

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Violence against Christians in Nigeria can pave the way for genocide, a group of U.K. parliamentarians warned this week in a new report analyzing the impact of violence carried out by Boko Haram extremists and Fulani militias throughout the West African country.

The U.K. All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both houses of parliament, released its new report Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide? on Monday.

As Nigeria continues to struggle with the Boko Haram insurgency and the existence of its splinter group, Islamic State West African Province, APPG members are concerned about reports of escalating violence characterized as a farmer-herder conflict even though a disproportionate number of killings are being carried out by militant Fulani herdsmen against predominantly Christian farming communities in the country's fertile Middle Belt region.

International rights advocates have contended that the standard for genocide has been reached in Nigeria as estimates have suggested that thousands of Christians have been killed in the Middle Belt as a traditional arbitration process between farmers and herders over damaged crops has broken down in recent years.

Violence in both the Middle Belt and northeast Nigeria (where Boko Haram and ISWAP commit atrocities) has led to the mass displacement of millions as entire communities have been forced to flee in fear for their lives in the wake of massacres.

Among all the injustices for the U.K. to help correct in the near future, the widespread and growing persecution of Christians should be top of the list, Member of Parliament Jim Shannon said in a statement. Thus, as the U.K. faces the challenge of lockdown and mass quarantine for the first time in living memory, I ask you to please spare a thought for those Christians who face not only a pandemic but also threats of violence and persecution that we cant imagine.

The report urges the government of Nigeria and the international community to implement recommendations to help save the lives of Nigerian citizens, such as comprehensive investigations and prosecutions.

As Nigerian Government Ministers have publicly and rightly admitted, Christians are being ruthlessly targeted, specifically because of their Faith, the report states. Undoubtedly though, peaceable Muslims, through collateral violence, can also become victims of this cruel Islamist religious ideology. It is a destructive and divisive ideology which readily mutates into crimes against humanity and can pave the way for genocide.

We must not hesitate in saying so, the report adds. Unfortunately, Boko Haram are not the only threat that Nigerian Christians face. Attacks by armed groups of Fulani herdsmen have resulted in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands of Christians. It is difficult for us in the West to sometimes even imagine this kind of suffering, so it is important that we recognize the stories of survivors.

The report examines multiple drivers of increased violence carried out by Fulani militias against farming communities and the periodic retaliatory violence. Factors analyzed include resource competition, religious sectarianism [most Fulani herders are Muslim], poor land management by the Nigerian Government, population growth, climate change and insecurity.

Rapid population growth, climate change and desertification have decreased the water available for land and grazing and put pressure on resources, the report states, citing a United Nations estimate that about 80% of the Sahels farmland is degraded and the land available to pastoralists is shrinking.

This means that grain and food production is forcing pastoralists into a desperate search for fertile pasture.



As herders travel further distances in search of water and land for grazing, they come into conflict with local farmers, who accuse the herders of encroaching onto their land and damaging their crops, the report adds. The increased conflict has strained the capacity of traditional leaders to reduce tensions and resolve conflict amicably. This has contributed to the breakdown of historical dispute settlement mechanisms and conflict turning to violence.

While there are economic factors at play, the report also states that the escalation of violence must also be seen in the context of the growing power and influence of Islamist extremism across the Sahel.

Multiple groups, such as the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter of Boko Haram and an affiliate of the weakened Daesh caliphate in Iraq and Syria, continue to extend their networks in Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Burkina Faso, the report explains. While not necessarily sharing an identical vision, some Fulani herders have adopted a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrated a clear intent to target Christians and symbols of Christian identity such as churches.

The APPG received numerous reports about Christian pastors and community heads being targeted.

During many of the attacks, herders are reported by survivors to have shouted Allah u Akbar, destroy the infidels and wipe out the infidels, the report alleges.

Hundreds of churches have been destroyed, including over 500 churches in Benue State. As the Bishop of Truro concluded in his report for the U.K.s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the religious dimension is a significantly exacerbating factor in clashes between farmers and herders and targeted violence against Christian communities in the context of worship suggests that religion plays a key part.

While Christians appear to be the main victims of the violence in the Middle Belt, the report explains that attacks by Fulani herders have led to periodic retaliatory violence, as farming communities conclude that they can no longer rely on the authorities for protection or justice.

Some local vigilantes, led by youths, take matters into their own hands by going on violent reprisals against Muslims who they believe are backed by the Government, the report states. Such retaliatory violence cannot be condoned. However, their reprisals must be seen in the context of an urgent need for the authorities to enforce the rule of law to protect all its citizens.

In the report, Baroness Caroline Cox asserts that the asymmetry and escalation of attacks by well-armed Fulani militia upon these predominately Christian communities are stark and must be acknowledged.

Such atrocities cannot be attributed just to desertification, climate change or competition for resources, as [the U.K.] Government have claimed, Cox asserted.

Vice-Chair of the APPG Fiona Bruce added that the targeted attacks against churches and heightening religious tensions indicate that religious identity plays a role in the farmer-herder conflict.

Some local observers have gone so far as to describe the rising attacks as a campaign of ethno-religious cleansing, Lord David Alton of Liverpool said in the report.

Armed with sophisticated weaponry, including AK-47s and, in at least one case, a rocket launcher and rocket-propelled grenades, the Fulani militia have murdered more men, women and children in 2015, 2016 and 2017 than even Boko Haram, destroying, overrunning and seizing property and land, and displacing tens of thousands of people. This is organized and systematic.

The report notes that Fulani herders have also been victimized as criminality has played a role in some village raids, cattle rustling, and abductions. The increase in criminality and rural banditry has coincided with the rising prices of cattle.

The lawmakers warn that due to the rising criminality, people displaced from their communities and robbed of their livelihoods are more likely to become criminals themselves in order to survive.

Evidence received by the APPG suggests that the ready availability and low price of firearms in Nigeria has played a role in escalating violence, the report notes.

The ongoing instability in Libya has led to a huge increase in the number of firearms flowing into the country. Combined with the huge supply of weapons left over from civil wars in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, as well as the domestic Nigerian arms manufacturing industry, this means that firearms are readily available in Nigeria and have fallen dramatically in price in recent years.

The report was critical of the Nigerian government, calling out its inability to provide security or justice to farmer or herder communities.

Failure to prosecute past perpetrators of violence, or heed early warnings of impending attacks has facilitated the rise of armed militia which often form along ethno-religious lines to protect community interests, the report states.

The inability of the Nigerian Federal and State Governments to protect Christian farmers, and the lack of political will to respond adequately to warnings or to bring perpetrators of violence to justice, has fostered feelings of victimization and persecution.

The APPG agrees with Amnesty Internationals conclusion that failure to protect communities, as well as cases of direct military harassment or violence, combined with an unwillingness to instigate legitimate investigations into allegations of wrongdoing, demonstrate, at least, willful negligence; at worst, complicity on the behalf of some in the Nigerian security forces.

Last week, a spokesperson for the Nigerian presidency refuted claims that genocide is being committed against Christians in Nigeria, claiming the efforts by U.K. lawmakers and rights groups in the U.S. are part of a misleading campaign funded by a separatist group that wants to sew division and lack trust in the government.

Advocates in the U.S. who've raised concerns about the genocidal implications of violence in Nigeria denied the governments accusation that they are somehow affiliated with the Indigenous People of Biafra, an organization that Nigeria recognizes as a terrorist organization.

If the Nigerian Government is blind to the issue of religious persecution in the country, it is clear that the issue will not be addressed, wroteEwelina U. Ochab, co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response.

However, the international community cannot be blind to the reports of atrocities and must ask important questions. How will the Nigerian Government explain the mass killings in Nigeria as recorded by several international organizations? What is the Nigerian Government doing to ensure that the acts are investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted?

In 2018, the Nigerian House of Representatives declared killings in the Middle Belt state of Plateau to be a "genocide."

Last December, the U.S. government included Nigeria for the first time on its special watch list of countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom.
UN Security Council vote: Sri Lanka sends message to Western nations View(s):

In a hard-hitting message, Sri Lanka this week abstained from voting for any candidateCanada, Ireland or Norwayfrom the Western European and Other States Group (WEOG) in a contest for the UN Security Councils (UNSC) non-permanent seats.

The basis for the decision was conveyed to all three countries. They were made to understand that they also need to rethink the way they do business with us, an authoritative source said.

It was an important way to make our vote count, he asserted. There is a need for recalibration of our relationships, and a serious re-evaluation of how all three countries deal with us in the international arena.

The Government felt that, even if Sri Lanka had voted in favour of a WEOG candidate, the same country would have turned around and let us down at the next international forum with Ireland adopting European Union (EU) positions which are often unfavourable to the dispensation in Colombo, and both Canada and Norway easily influenced by the Tamil diaspora.

Sri Lankas decision was all the more significant because the race in the WEOG camp was hotly contested and closely-watched.

The election was held by secret ballot on Wednesday and Thursday during the 74th UN General Assembly in New York. The WEOG is one of five UN regional groups and comprises 28 member States, mainly from Western Europe, but also from Oceania, North America and West Asia.

Ambassadors in masks were permitted into the UNGA hall one-by-one. Sri Lanka voted for India and Kenya in the Asia Pacific and Africa Group respectively. Mexico was the only candidate in the Latin America and Caribbean Group and won the seat without a vote.

When it came to WEOG, Sri Lanka left a blank next to the names of Canada, Ireland and Norway. It was the only member State to abstain from voting for any candidate in that Group.

The non-permanent seats of the UNSC rotate among various regional blocs into which UN member States traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes.

There is one seat for Africa, one for the Asia-Pacific Group, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and two for the WEOG.

India, Mexico, Ireland, Norway and Kenya were elected this year.

On Thursday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa met EU ambassadors to discuss rebuilding Sri Lankas economy after the pandemic. He sought investments in domestic industries and projects such as renewable energy and IT-based education.
China has fired back over accusations they were the 'sophisticated state-based actor' who launched a massive cyber-attack on the Australian government and businesses.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings said the attack was '95 per cent or more' likely to have been launched from China.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian dismissed such allegations, and took particular aim at the institute.

'We've pointed out many times, this institute has long been receiving funding from US government and arms dealers,' Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing.

'It has been hyping up, or creating, all kinds of anti-China topics.

'It has no reputation at all. The attacks and blames coming from this institute against China is totally baseless and nonsense.'

Zhao said China is a 'staunch upholder of cyber security' and claimed they had been the biggest victim of cyber attacks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping drives in a Hong Qi car after inspecting the troops during a parade to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China

The decision by the Australian government to raise concerns over cyber security comes at a time of growing friction with China.

The the two countries have come head-to-head about the origin of the coronavirus, trade and most recently, the death sentence handed to an Australian drug smuggler.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday confirmed Australia has been the target of increased cyber attacks by a foreign entity.

'We know it is a sophisticated, state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting, and the tradecraft used,' Mr Morrison said.

He declined to put a name on which country is carrying out the attacks, nor would Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, who was briefed by Australia's security agencies.

But Mr Jennings said it was likely to be China due to the scale and intensity of the attack.

'A few others have the capacity but they don't have the scale to do it as broadly as this,' Mr Jennings said.

On Saturday, Mr Jennings said Zhao's claims about ASPI were 'laughable nonsense'.

'It really doesn't stand up to much in the way of serious scrutiny,' he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian dismissed allegations China was behind cyber-attack on Australia

Prime Minister Scott Morrison shakes hands with General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping

Sean Duca, a cyber security expert from Palo Alto Networks, said the attacks bore similarities to the February 2019 assault on the Parliament House system, also blamed on China.

'We found in analysing the code itself ... the attackers had reused a lot of the code that had been used by other people in the past,' Mr Duca said.

'And one particular tool that was used was a tool that was actually used in the February 2019 attack against Parliament House.'

He said it was important every Australian organisation step up their security, patching systems and using multifactor authentication and biometrics.

'Australia is definitely a leading country around driving a digital economy, but there's attackers out there looking to try and disrupt our economy, and also disrupt our livelihoods,' he said.

'We need to think about better, smarter ways of trying to do this.'

Zhao (pictured in February) said China is a 'staunch upholder of cyber security' and claimed they had been the biggest victim of cyber attacks

While critical infrastructure and information intelligence remains Australia's most heavily protected cyber assets, experts warn that trust in democratic institutions is our most vulnerable target.

They say authoritarian powers like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are trying to overwhelm the west with paranoia and distrust in governments, media, science and independent judiciary.

'While the nominal targets of this attack are unidentified, the deeper target is the institutional trust that enables Australia's open democratic system to function,' Flinders University national security analyst Dr Zac Rogers told news.com.

'The threat of an enemy at the gates can pale in comparison to the damage done by the monster under the bed.

The cyber attacks which involved various 'spearphishing' techniques such as sending links to credential harvesting websites, emails with links to malicious files, and emails with other 'click-through events'

'The irony of the age of information would be that it could herald the end of influence.'

China has denied any involvement in the cyber-attack and even said they are the victim.

'China is a staunch upholder of cyberspace security and we have been the biggest victim of cyber attacks,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

'We have been firmly opposing and combating all forms of cyber attacks. Our position is clear and consistent.'

China and Australia have shared an increasingly frosty relationship in recent months.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced Australia is under increasing cyber attack from a 'sophisticated state-based cyber actor'

Who was behind attack and why? Senior sources have said that government agencies believe China is behind the campaign. Cyber expert Nick Savvides, director of strategic business at Forcepoint, told Daily Mail Australia there are ten to 15 states that could be behind the attack including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. He said motivation for a state-sponsored cyber attack can be to gain a foothold in an enemy's systems to shut down schools, hospitals and key industries in the event of war. 'Attribution is really hard because you can be anyone you want to be in cyber space,' Mr Savvides said. 'Hackers can make operations look like they come from another state by mimicking another state actor. 'To some it may sound like Scott Morrison is trying to get out of naming a suspect but I sympathise with him. 'We're in a heightened geopolitical climate so you would want to be absolutely sure and have evidence you can publicly state before you name some-one.' Mr Savvides said the Prime Minister had used 'very powerful language' by declaring the attack was by a state. He said current trade tensions with China may lead people to believe the attack was ordered by Beijing - but another state could be capitalising on this to get away with it. Mr Savvides said he believed Mr Morrison gave the press conference today to tell the attackers 'we're on to you and we know what you're up to'. Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings said he is 95 per cent sure it was China. 'The Russians could do it. The North Koreans could do it, but neither of them have an interest on the scale of this. They have no interest in state and territory government or universities,' he told The Australian. 'The only country that has got the interest to go as broad and as deep as this and the only country with the sophistication and the size of the intelligence establishment to do it, is China.' Advertisement

Beijing and Canberra have been at loggerheads since Mr Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus and the role of the Communist Party in covering up the initial outbreak.

China retaliated by slapping an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley and telling students and tourists not to travel Down Under in an apparent attempt to damage the Australian economy.

Intelligence officials attributed a major cyber attack on the Australian parliament last year to China - and critics say intensifying attacks could be part of a Chinese campaign to intimidate or bully Australia as tensions over trade foment.

This time, all levels of the Australian Government are believed to have been targeted in the cyber attacks which involved various 'spearphishing' techniques such as sending links to credential harvesting websites, emails with links to malicious files, and emails with other 'click-through events', The Australian Cyber Security Centre said.

The education sector has been targeted by the cyber attacks which have been happening for months (stock image)

How are the attacks carried out? The Australian Cyber Security Centre has identified the actor utilising various spearphishing techniques. This spearphishing has taken the form of: Links to credential harvesting websites Emails with links to malicious files, or with the malicious file directly attached Links prompting users to grant Office 365 OAuth tokens to the actor Use of email tracking services to identify the email opening and lure click-through events Source: Australia Cyber Security Centre Advertisement

The New South Wales State Government was among the major targets of the cyber raids, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Australian Cyber Security Centre said 'advanced persistent threat actors' or APTs even went after Australian COVID-19 data.

'APT groups may be seeking information and intellectual property relating to vaccine development, treatments, research and responses to the outbreak as this information is now of higher value and priority globally,' the centre said.

'Accordingly, Australia's health or research sectors could be at greater threat of being targeted, and potentially compromised, by malicious APT groups.'

Chinese troops marching during a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China
It is possible that, by the time the President submitted his written answers two years after the relevant events had occurred, he no longer had clear recollections of his discussions with Stone or his knowledge of Stones asserted communications with WikiLeaks, unsealed portions of the report say. But the Presidents conduct could also be viewed as reflecting his awareness that Stone could provide evidence that would run counter to the Presidents denials and would link the President to Stones efforts to reach out to WikiLeaks.
On Thursday, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar announced she was removing herself from consideration to become the vice presidential running mate of Joseph Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee. Klobuchar mounted her own campaign for the presidency before dropping out in early March and backing Biden against Bernie Sanders. She has been on the short list of vice presidential candidates, along with almost a dozen other women, ever since.

Klobuchar told MSNBC that she had called Biden on Wednesday night to withdraw from the running. She said she told him he should choose a woman of color to be his running mate. The move, in Klobuchars words, would be a step toward healing the country.

Senator Amy Klobuchar endorses Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at a campaign rally, March 2, 2020 in Dallas [Credit: AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez]

Klobuchar had been considered one of the leading contenders for the vice-presidential pick. However, the eruption of mass protests over the police murder of George Floyd put an unwanted spotlight on her career as a local prosecutor in Minneapolis. Like virtually every other Democratic and Republican prosecutor, during her seven-year tenure Klobuchar declined to bring charges against officers who were involved in police murders in Minneapolis.

Even more damning, as documented by an Associated Press story earlier this year, Klobuchar used the railroading of a black teenager, Myon Burrell, to prison for life as a springboard for her political career.

The well worn narrative promoted by the promoters of identity politics, particularly in and around the Democratic Party, is that a woman of color, based on her gender and race, will represent all other women and people of color. This claim is based on the false notion that the fundamental divide in society is not that of class, but rather of race, gender or sexual identity.

The reality is that, like Klobuchar, none of the women of color being considered for vice president have anything to do with progressive politics, not because of their race or gender, but because they are Democratic Party politicians committed to defending the capitalist system. The selection of any one of them would do nothing to move Biden to the left or curb the frequency with which the police murder poor and working class people of all races.

Biden himself, it should be noted, has boasted of his good relations with Southern segregationist senators and was the author of the 1994 law-and-order Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which increased the mass incarceration of primarily African American men and expanded the death penalty. As Barack Obamas vice president for eight years, Biden was part of an administration that funneled billions of dollars worth of military equipment to the police and whitewashed one police killing after the next.

A brief review of the political record and background of the leading candidates to become Bidens running mate reveals that nearly every one of them is a law and order Democrat with a record of defending the police.

Senator Kamala Harris of California, who also ran against Biden in the primary, is the only black woman in the Senate. Harris was also the first African American and the first woman to serve as attorney general of the state of California.

During Harris political career, she has faithfully carried out the dictates of the ruling elite, sending working class people to jail, defending unconstitutional practices, preventing prosecution of the wealthy and defending the police. Her record includes campaigning as district attorney for criminal penalties for parents with truant elementary school children, up to a $2,000 fine and a year in jail.

In 2010, a Superior Court judge issued a scathing ruling charging that Harris office had failed in its constitutional duty to give defendants relevant information about the credibility of prosecution witnesses. And in 2014 she appealed the ruling of a federal judge in Orange County that the death penalty was unconstitutional, stating that the decision undermines important protections that our courts provide defendants.

On the issue of police violence, she has consistently sided with the police. She argued that the left needed to get over its bias against law enforcement. In 2015, she opposed a bill that would require her office to investigate police shootings. She further opposed calls for statewide standards on the use of body cameras by police. A full review of Harris political record can be found in the WSWS article, Who is Democratic Senator Kamala Harris?

Another prominent candidate who has emerged in recent weeks is Representative Val Demings of Florida, formerly the chief of police of Orlando. Demings began her law enforcement days in junior high, serving on the school patrol at Dupont Junior High School in her home town of Jacksonville.

When she was 26, Demings joined the Orlando Police Department. She became its first female police chief in 2007, serving until 2011. Her husband, Jerry Demings, who held the position before her, was elected sheriff of Orange County after leaving Orlando and in 2018 became the first black mayor of that county. There is no doubt that the get-out-the-vote machine of this couple is an attractive quality to the Biden campaign in the battleground state of Florida.

However, Demings record of overseeing a brutal police force during her tenure is well documented. A 2015 investigation into the citys police department by the Orlando Sentinel found that from 2010 to 2014 officers used force 3,100 times, including kicking, pepper-spraying and shocking suspects. Furthermore, the report found that the Orlando police used force more frequently on black suspects, with about 55 percent of use-of-force incidents involving African Americans though only 28 percent of the citys population is black. During this period, 10 people were killed by police officers.

While its investigation only partially overlapped with Demings tenure as police chief, the Sentinel found that in 2010, the last full year that Demings served as chief, the department used force 574 times, 20 percent more than officers in similarly sized cities with comparable demographics, such as Baton Rouge.

Another contender is Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, Georgia. Bottoms imposed a curfew, welcomed the deployment of the National Guard to her city and oversaw scores of arrests during the initial wave of protest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

At one point, Bottoms denounced the very diverse crowd of protesters in Atlanta and suggested that the many white people participating in the demonstrations were outsiders who were not welcome in the city. More recently, Bottoms has been working to contain a new upsurge of protests in Atlanta following the police murder of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man shot dead by Atlanta police outside of a Wendys last week.

Bottoms has a long record of supporting tough on crime policies. She often boasts of having authored the toughest panhandling legislation in the history of the city, under which the citys destitute and homeless can be thrown in prison for being out on the city streets.

In addition to her leading role in attacking the pensions of city employees, Bottoms has almost doubled the number of police officers in the Atlanta police department.

Next up is Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and leading Democratic Party proponent of racialist identity politics, considered for some time a front-runner in the vice presidential contest. While protesters are calling for an end to police killings and many support the call to defund the police, Abrams is pushing for diversifying law enforcement with more black officers and chiefs, and supports, along with Biden, an increase in funding for the armed enforcers of capitalist law and order.

Earlier this year, Abrams wrote an article for Foreign Affairs in which she asserted that blacks and whites have intrinsic racial differences. In the same article, she denounced politics based on the catchall category known as the working class.

During the Democratic primary race, Abrams defended the entry of presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire oligarch, saying it was a positive development since for once we actually know where the money is coming from.

Finally, there is Susan Rice, the former national security advisor to President Barack Obama. Rices response to the multi-racial and multi-ethnic protests was to denounce them as right out of the Russian playbook. She made the absurd claim that foreign governments were responsible for stoking domestic dissent.

Rices tenure under the Obama administration included countless crimes in the service of US imperialism, including fierce support for Obamas war for regime change in Libya, his wars in Iraq and Syria, and his drone assassination program.
(Natural News) Staff at a UK state-funded gender transition clinic for children raised concerns during a review that children were quickly being set on a gender transitioning pathway only after one or two visits. Staff also raised concerns about being discouraged from reporting about children they suspected of being sexually abused.

(Article by Paul Smeaton republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

Lets pray that I am wrong because if I am not wrong, very many vulnerable children have been very poorly treated and will be left with, potentially, a lifetime of damage here, said one staff member in transcripts of staff interviews that were part of a review into the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS). The transcripts were leaked to the BBCs Newsnight team who reported on the matter June 19.

The BBC reports that staff interviews from a 2019 review into GIDS, which operates from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, revealed a damning assessment of the service by a number of staff working at the clinic.

[T]he review heard from several staff that one member of the GIDS leadership, Sarah Davidson, would sometimes refer children for treatment after only one or two appointments, the BBC report states.

Absolutely it should never happen because this is a pathway that will lead to huge, huge changes for this young person, potentially, infertility, one GIDS clinician is reported to have said.

The BBC article notes that [s]uch a quick referral, staff claim, could risk putting young people on potentially life-changing medicines who may have been struggling with issues such as their mental health and sexuality.

Staff allege that they were discouraged from reporting concerns to safeguarding personnel, including in cases where they feared a child had suffered sexual abuse or trauma.

There was a very clear message from senior management about being really cautious about how we talk to the safeguarding team at the Tavi[stock], and specifically [the Trusts safeguarding lead], one staff member who left GIDS last year, told the BBC.

I would say that perhaps thats why more than 40 clinicians decided to leave the service within three years, they added.

According to the BBC report, transcripts from the review show staff saying some parents appeared to prefer their children to be transgender and straight, rather than gay.

One clinic staff member reported a child as having said My mum wants the hormone more than I do. Staff are reported to have said that one child who initially claimed to be a lesbian, suddenly changed their mind and began identifying as trans after experiencing homophobic bullying.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, told LIfeSiteNews that these findings are just the latest in a long list of disturbing revelations about how the Tavistock clinic and GIDS have functioned.

The unquestioning allegiance to the most extreme forms of transgender ideology, pushed by campaigners like Mermaids, silences all questioning voices and leads to irreparable harm to children, Williams said.

Academics like James Caspian have been unable to research the issue of gender de-transition, which will be increasingly common when children, rushed through transgender medical pathways, discover that the treatments arent helping.

But Williams said that she believes that we are beginning to see the tide turn as more prominent voices begin to publicly question radical trans-affirming ideas, particularly in the treatment of children.

May we continue to advocate for these vulnerable children and stop this long-term harm, before its too late, she said.

Earlier this year Sue Evans, a former Tavistock psychiatric nurse began legal action against the Tavistock and Portman NHS [National Health Service] Trust, after witnessing a colleague refer a child for hormone therapy after just 4 consultations.

Evans was joined in her suit by the mother of a 15-year-old gender-confused girl, and by Keira Bell, a young woman who has given up her attempts to become a man.

Bell said she became a claimant in the case because she didnt believe that children and young people can consent to the use of powerful and experimental hormone drugs as she had done.

I believe that the current affirmative system put in place by the Tavistock is inadequate as it does not allow for exploration of these gender dysphoric feelings, nor does it seek to find the underlying causes of this condition, Bell said.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
The new state policy will allow up to two visitors per resident, by appointment. All those participating will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. Everyone must wear masks and stay at least 6 feet apart, to be overseen by the facility staff. Visits must be outdoors, such as under a canopy or tent without walls, and visitors must be able to get there without going through the facilitys building.
The violent police beating and arrest of 50-year-old French nurse Farida, who was participating in national protests to call for increased hospital funding on Tuesday afternoon, have produced justified outrage around the world.

The main video of Faridas arrest and assault by multiple riot officers has been seen more than 2.5 million times. It took place at the Invalides, a popular tourist site in central Paris where a protest of thousands of health care workers had marched to demand increased wages, staffing and hospital funding in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 29,000 people in the country.

Farida C, a 50-year-old nurse, beaten and arrested by riot police on Tuesday

As the nurse is manhandled by police and pleads for her ventolin, the group of three heavily armed riot officers can be seen shoving her face into the ground before marching her away with her face bleeding. In a typical example of the standard modus operandi of police toward workers, the officers can be heard telling one another in the video, No violence, we are being filmed.

Later, another video shows Farida shouting out to witnesses as she is being taken away, when a police officer covers her mouth with his hand to stop her from speaking. A protester yells, They are stopping her from speaking! You are supposed to be police, not the [fascist] Militia!

In another video, a police officer is seen kneeing a protester in the face who is bent over and already restrained by two other officers.

Farida was held in detention on Tuesday evening, when a demonstration was called on social media outside the local police precinct where she was being held. The hashtag #LiberezFarida (Free Farida) is being widely shared on Twitter.

As the video spread within minutes online, various right-wing commentators attempted to claim that Farida had worn a white coat to the protest in order to impersonate a health worker. This lie was dispelled quickly. Her daughter, a journalist for France24 and BFM-TV, retweeted the video with the comment, This woman, she is my mother. Fifty years old, a nurse, she has worked for three months for between 12 and 14 hours a day. She caught coronavirus. Today, she protested so that her wages should be correctly re-valued. She is asthmatic. She was wearing her nurses coat. She is 1m 55cm [51] tall.

Noting the danger that her mother could be further assaulted in police custody, or worse, and citing the example of Adama Traorethe 24-year-old French youth killed by police in 2016, whose death has inspired mass protests in the past two weeksshe added, They dared to tell me over the phone that obviously, We dont know what happened before the videos, but trust us, if she has done nothing wrong, she will be released. Yes, like Adama Traore, for example? Of course, trust us. She is still under arrest. Nothing can justify in ANY WAY such an arrest. Not when one is not armed, wearing a hospital coat, when one is 1m55cm tall, and up against a robocop.

Farida was released that evening but has been charged with rebellion, insulting police and violence. She has admitted to throwing small projectiles at heavily-armored riot police prior to her arrest, stating that she was angered over the conduct of the government.

The police assault has served to underscore certain basic realities of political and social life in France and internationally.

In the first place, it shatters the Macron governments already discredited pretense that the pandemic united the entire country behind front-line workers, typified by the nauseating spectacle of officials whose parties have slashed health care funding for decades joining 8:00 p.m. nightly applause for the health care staff. In fact, behind this facade of national unity stand diametrically opposed class interests. At the very first sign of demands by the very same health care workers for increased resources for the hospitals to allow them to combat the pandemic and work in decent and safe conditions, the response of the ruling class and its political representatives is naked repression.

The Macron administrations policies have not been directed at combating the disease, but at protecting French corporate interests, including with an almost 400 billion guarantee of French corporate debts. The administration is now pursuing a back-to-work policy that will lead to a further spread of the deadly virus. It is making clear that it will not accept popular opposition to this policy. Its decision to send hundreds of heavily armed riot police to a national demonstration of nurses can be understood only in this context.

Despite mass support for pay increases for health care workers and increased hospital funding, the Macron administration has already announced that any wage rises for nurses will be more than compensated for by cuts across the health care sector. Health Minister Olivier Veran declared last month that the government would seek to end what he called straitjackets preventing health care employees working longer, meaning an end to the 35-hour work week. The slashing of health care spending is seen by the ruling class as necessary to fund a massive transfer of wealth from social programs to fund the bailouts of the rich.

The arrest of Farida also takes place in the context of a global movement of workers and young people against police violence that was triggered by the killing of George Floyd in the United States. The protests have triggered an international movement precisely because police violence is a global phenomenon. From Brazil to France to New Zealand, the police perform essentially the same social function in capitalist society. They are the frontline defenders of the interests of the ruling class against the working population.

The attack on Farida, a white worker of Arabic background, is another demonstration that the targets of police violence are workers of all ethnicities and skin colors. In France itself, the same police forces that have been targeted by demonstrations against the killing of Adama Traore have carried out mass repression against peaceful yellow vest protests and workers' strikes for the past two years, with dozens of workers hands blown off by stun grenades and eyes shot out by rubber bullets. In response to the growing movement of the working class for social equality internationally, the ruling class in every country is carrying out police violence and building up the forces of repression.
In the midst of this time of turmoil, former Midlander Zach Ribble has released his debut book, "Unchained" which highlights ways to combat stress and live a freer life.

"I just felt like I was getting a calling from the Lord to write my story. With the times we're in right now, I wanted to share biblical teachings I learned," Ribble said.

Ribble, who now lives in Galesburg, Michigan, grew up in Midland and graduated from Dow High School. Both of his parents were teachers with Midland Public Schools. While his parents were supportive, Ribble felt a significant amount of personal, internal pressure to perform well in school and soon developed a perfectionist attitude. This was not helped by growing up with obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression.

"I dug a hole so deep that even though I was happy, I could feel the effects of anxiety in my body," Ribble said.

The turning point came once Ribble was married. One night his wife, Jennifer, noticed how he was attempting to read the Bible every night before bed and pointed out he was doing it like a chore instead of building a relationship with God. Ribble decided to focus not on his pain and anxiety, but rather to focus on others.

"From that point every day going forward, my anxiety got better," he said.

Ribble loves to write and has started several stories - he was working on a thriller when he got the idea to write "Unchained" last December. He began putting together his life experiences and the lessons he learned along the way and pairing them with scripture passages. It was a humbling experience for him, exposing his vulnerabilities and providing insight to difficult topics.

The book was publicly launched in May, right as the country was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and protests against police brutality were beginning. Ribble understands how people are on edge at this point in time.

"I want people to live, find peace in these times. Any pain they're feeling is temporary," Ribble said.

Although Ribble incorporates passages from the Bible in the book, he says the messages are applicable to anyone, whether they're Christians, are of another religion, or have no religion.

"Unchained" is available as an ebook or paperback. The book can be ordered through Amazon or www.unchained-book.com.
Hope to start domestic flights at full capacity by year end, says minister

1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital to come up in Mumbai's Byculla

Lockdown on for day two, TN CM says it is a "speed breaker"

Over 3,000 active Covid cases in Karnataka, 416 new infections and 9 deaths

A health worker of Pune district council collects a swab sample from a man to test for Covid-19 infection at BJS hostel in Wagholi, Pune on Friday. (Pratham Gokhale / HT Photo)

The Covid-19 tally in India has crossed 3.95 lakh with maximum number of cases being reported from Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. According to the Union health ministrys dashboard on Saturday morning, the country witnessed a record spike of 14,516 fresh cases while the death toll mounted to 12,948.

Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asked states to scale up Covid-19 testing capacity to enable early detection and containment of the infection.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

On the global front, the number of people infected with coronavirus disease has gone up to 8,637,901, with the United States being the hardest hit with 2,219,119 cases, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys tally. The global death toll has climbed over 4.59 lakh.

Here are the latest updates on coronavirus
Syracuse, N.Y.  Activists are asking Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh to do more while the Syracuse Police union criticized Walsh for an executive order the mayor signed Friday to start a reform of the citys police department.

The reforms include passing a law called the Right to Know Act, installing dashboard cameras in every patrol car, fully equipping the department with body-worn cameras, reviewing the use of no-knock warrants and providing training for every officer about the history of racism in Syracuse and the United States. The order also called for a review of the current practice of having police in schools.

The reforms were unveiled in the mayors first executive order in his two-and-a-half years in office.

The order followed 20 days of protests in Syracuse that were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died after a police officer knelled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Last week, a coalition of 14 groups announced nine demands of city officials. The mayors executive order met a portion of at least least one of those demands, passing the Right to Know Act.

In a statement sent through the Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition, activists called for the mayors office to meet with the coalition and representatives from a number of other groups in the next two weeks. The group demanded the meeting be held in the Common Council chambers, live-streamed and allow for community participation.

While we believe the items outlined by the Mayor in his 6/19 address are initial steps, the group said in a statement, they are still not nearly enough to meet the moment we find ourselves in today.

On Friday night, the coalition reissued its demands.

Walsh was also criticized by Syracuse police union president Jeff Piedmonte. The union president was displeased with:

The mayors calls for another review of the departments use of force policy.

The mayors calls for reviewing the use of no-knock warrants.

The creation of a new plan for safety in Syracuse city schools.

Calls by Common Council President Helen Hudson for changes to state law to allow for residency requirements to require officers to live in the city. In November, Walsh and the police union agreed to a union contract that would have required officers to live in the city for five years. The council voted down the contract in late March, saying it was too costly.

Piedmonte said there is no need to review the use of force policy because he said it had recently been rewritten.

No-knock warrants have come under national scrutiny after a Louisville police officer shot and killed Breonna Taylor while executing a no-knock warrant. Officers found no drugs in her home and the warrant was related to a suspect who did not live at Taylors home.

Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner was chief of the Little Rock, Ark. police department in 2019 when the department was sued for allegedly misusing no-knock warrants.

Buckner said in an interview with the South Side Stand that we believe that we are on good legal ground and the City of Little Rock certainly looks forward to having their day in court to present all of the facts....

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
Egypt has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss recent developments in Libyas civil war. The meeting is expected to be held next week, the leagues assistant secretary-general, Hossam Zaki, said today.

The call comes as rogue Libyan general Khalifa Hifter  who is backed by Cairo, the United Arab Emirates and Russia  faces the worst setback yet in his campaign to take over the country.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi put forth a cease-fire proposal and called for intra-Libyan dialogue toward a political solution to the conflict earlier this month. The proposal came after Sisi met with Hifter and eastern Libyas parliament speaker, Aguila Saleh Issa.

That meeting followed a surprise breakout by Tripolis forces that forced Hifters militias out of the countrys west, ending his Libyan National Armys 14-month offensive. Hifter has expressed openness to a cease-fire, but the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord has so far shown little sign of willingness to negotiate, pressing its counteroffensive toward the strategic coastal city of Sirte.

The sudden reversal has led to concerns that Hifters foreign backers may escalate their military support in further violation of a UN arms embargo. Russia introduced fighter aircraft into the conflict in May, though it is yet unclear whether they have been used in battle. Cairo reportedly deployed armor on its western border earlier this month. Both Turkey and the UAE have introduced drones into the conflict, and Syrian mercenaries are now fighting on both sides.

Washingtons position in this decisive moment is not fully clear. President Donald Trump praised Sisis cease-fire proposal; David Schenker, the State Departments top official covering the Middle East, has said the United States backs the UN-backed peace process.

Turkey, which militarily backs the Government of National Accord, rejected Cairos plan, dubbing it a call to save Hifter. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he and Trump reached agreements during a phone call June 8 that could usher in a new era in Libya.
On the heels of back-to-back leadership debates, the campaign to succeed Andrew Scheer as federal Conservative leader is more than ever Peter MacKays to lose.

Going into the debates, the former minister was already the widely perceived front-runner in the race.

But it was a title he largely owed to his credentials as the Tory leader who, along with Stephen Harper, presided over the reunification of the Conservative party, and to the decision of a handful of high-profile contenders to take a pass on a leadership run.

MacKays mission on the debate podium this week was to live up to his front-runner status.

At a time when the Conservative party has been slipping in voting intentions, he could not afford to give members already rattled by some of his early campaign missteps reasons to flee to his main rival, MP Erin OToole.

Over the course of Thursday nights sedate English-language debate, neither of the two main contenders really laid a glove on the other.

Both offered performances solid enough to reassure party members as to their respective capacities to hold their own against the likes of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

But to emerge from the exercise with the wind in his back, OToole would have needed to eclipse MacKay.

That was even truer the night before, on the podium of the French-language debate.

That event  held in a second language that MacKay very publicly struggled with early on in his campaign  offered OToole his best and possibly last opportunity to move a crucial chunk of Quebec support over to his side.

The province holds the second-largest number of votes in play in the leadership election and, at the same time, the highest proportion of voters disengaged from the succession battle and the Conservative party itself.

In the lead-up to this weeks debates, many of the provinces Conservatives had yet to make a definitive leadership choice.

The fact that so many Quebec votes were still up for grabs probably goes some way to account for how much more acrimonious the French debate was in comparison to the one held in English the next night.

OToole needed to demonstrate that only he had the proficiency needed to survive on a French-language debate podium. And to do that, he had to get MacKay off his talking points in the hope of causing him to stumble.

Had he succeeded, there might have been a hemorrhage of Quebec support from MacKays camp to his own.

Instead the two pretty much fought each other to a draw.

MacKay still has quite a way to go to become as fluent in French as Harper or Andrew Scheer. But then, so does OToole. The net result of Wednesdays debate was to take the language card out of the leadership mix.

Overall, MacKay had as good a debate week as he could have hoped for. The cause of party renewal on the other hand did not fare as well.

The party may be about to change its head cook but, if the debates suggested anything, it is that it is not in the process of rewriting its last election menu.

Take climate change. In the last campaign, the Conservatives lost votes over the perception that they were not serious about the issue.

But if an election were held tomorrow, the plan the party would put forward would be built on the same premises as Scheers.

As prime minister, Erin OToole and Peter MacKay would similarly dismantle the climate-change framework put in place by the Liberals, including, of course, the carbon tax.

Both talk a bigger game on pipeline building than on transitioning to a carbon-free economy.

Some Conservatives believe the pandemic and its economic fallout will dispense their party from committing to more heavy lifting on climate change in the next federal election.

They expect/hope for a replay of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when the focus of the electorate shifted to the economy at the expense of climate change. That shift paved the way to the 2011 Conservative majority victory.

In whole or in part, the aspirants to lead the Conservative party seem to share that assessment.

In fact, with two social conservatives  Ontario MP Derek Sloan and Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis  rounding out the leadership lineup, this weeks debates featured more talk of turning back the clock on abortion and LGBTQ rights than of moving the country decisively forward on climate change.
Hamilton parents have mixed feelings about the provinces return-to-school plan.

Some say theyre glad to have a sense of what the 2020-2021 school year will hold, while others say its far too soon to think about what September might look like. Many say its vague  but thats not a bad thing.

It feels like the government is kind of throwing things at wall to see if they stick, said Jason Allen, a Hamilton parent to Grade 7 and Grade 10 boys. I appreciate the flexibility for the boards.

At a Friday provincial press briefing, Education Minister Stephen Lecce revealed Ontarios return-to-school plan. The plan will require all school boards to come up with three learning models  one for remote learning, one for in-class leaning and another being a mix of both approaches.

Across all boards, Septembers model is expected to be the latter, a blended model which would see classes capped at 15 students. Students would attend school on alternate days or weeks and only interact with their assigned 15 peers and their one teacher, if possible. Parents also have the opportunity to keep their children home and pursue online learning if they wish.

Kris Miha was glad to have the option to keep her Grade 5 son at home, where he has been thriving, she said.

If he were to go to school, she worries he might catch COVID. Her dad is in a retirement home.

Id have this terrible feeling in my stomach  am I putting my dad and his entire retirement home at risk? she said.

Ali Noble said she will likely send her Grade 1 daughter back to school.

Gwen goes to small school, shes healthy, Noble said. I would send her back (to school).

Still, shes skeptical these best-laid plans will come to fruition, especially considering September is still more than two months away.

The Hamilton public and Catholic school boards, meanwhile, had few details to share Friday about their efforts to comply with the provincial demands, the nitty-gritty of which they just learned that day.

Pat Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, said all boards have to submit their plans to the ministry by early August.
Washington:

Six scientists who were leaders in past international climate conferences joined with the Universal Ecological Fund in Argentina to release a brief report Thursday, saying that if even more cuts in heat-trapping gases aren't agreed upon soon, the world will warm by another 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) by around 2050.

A team of top scientists who were present informed the world not to celebrate the paris agreement to fight climate change because if more isn't done, global temperatures will likely hit dangerous warming levels in about 35 years.

That 1.8 degree mark is key because in 2009 world leaders agreed that they wanted to avoid warming of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Temperatures have already risen about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), so that 2 degree goal is really about preventing a rise of another degree going forward.

Examining the carbon pollution cuts and curbs promised by 190 nations in an agreement made in Paris last December, the scientists said it's simply not enough. "The pledges are not going to get even close," said report lead author Sir Robert Watson, a University of East Anglia professor and former World Bank chief scientist who used to be chairman of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"If you governments of the world are really serious, you're going to have to do way, way more." If carbon pollution continues with just the emission cuts pledged in Paris, Earth will likely hit the danger mark by 2050, Watson and colleagues calculated, echoing what other researchers have found.

They said with just a few more cuts, the danger level might be delayed by 20 years. In Paris, the countries also added a secondary tougher goal of limiting warming to just another 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (half a degree Celsius) as an aspiration. There "is no hope of us stabilizing" at that temperature because the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere already commits the world to hitting that mark, Watson said.

Watson said a few weeks ago he was in Washington at an event with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and former Vice President Al Gore celebrating the accord as a victory.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
An ICU at the Carlos Andrade Marin hospital in Quito (AFP or licensors)

Pope Francis donates two ventilators to hospitals in Ecuador where experts say the death toll from Covid-19 is one of the highest in the world.

By Vatican News

Pope Francis has donated two ventilators to hospitals in the Latin American nation of Ecuador as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Announcing the Pope's donation, the country's Catholic Bishops Conference revealed that Ecuadors Ambassador to the Holy See, Jose Luis Alvarez Palacio, has informed the Apostolic Nunciature that the devices have already left the Vatican and will be delivered in the coming days.

According to the latest statistics provided by Ecuadors Ministry of Health, the nation that counts a population of 17 million, has registered over 47,000 infections and nearly 4,000 deaths due to the new coronavirus.

Experts, however, indicate that the true number of fatalities is probably much higher.

Pope Francis's concrete gestures of closeness and concern

This donation to Ecuador is just one of many made by Pope Francis since the start of the pandemic.

Marking his feast day, Saint George, on 23 April, he gave two ventilators and boxes of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals in the Diocese of Lecce in southern Italy. On the same day, five respirators were sent, in his name, to the city of Suceava, in Romania, and another three to Madrid, adding to those he had gifted to Spanish health care structures in March.

On 18 April the Pope sent ten ventilators to medical centres in Syria and three to St Joseph's Hospital in Jerusalem, together with a supply of diagnostic kits for Gaza and the Hospital of the Holy Family in Bethlehem.



The Hospital of Bergamo, one of the Italian cities most affected by the pandemic, received a donation of 60 thousand Euros at the beginning of April. In mid-April medical equipment was donated to some old-age homes in the central Umbria region.

Pope Francis has also lent his support and contributed to the creation of an emergency fund established by the Pontifical Mission Societies aiming to assist those in need in mission countries. More recently on June 9, the Pope opened a fund called Jesus the Divine Worker, and make an initial donation of 1 million Euros.
Married At First Sight star Stacey Hampton has an extensive collection of tattoos on her body, including a large stomach marking that is a tribute to her late brother.

But on Friday, the 26-year-old revealed she's in the process of getting a smaller inking on her foot removed.

The reality TV star shared a video on her Instagram story showing a technician at a clinic using a laser device on her foot.

Tatt's got to hurt! Married At First Sight star Stacey Hampton visited a tattoo removal clinic on Friday to get one of her inkings removed and shared a video of the process on her Instagram story

'Ouch, but so worth it,' she said of the procedure on the post.

It is unclear what the tattoo was of as it already appeared faded, likely after undergoing several other laser treatments on the area.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Stacey Hampton for comment.

'Worth it': The reality TV star shared a video on her Instagram story showing a technician using a laser device on her foot. It is unclear what the tattoo was of as it appeared faded, likely after undergoing several other laser treatments on the area

Back in April, she revealed to her fans that she would be getting the smaller tattoos 'lasered off' in a Q&A video on her YouTube channel.

In that discussion she also talked about her very detailed stomach tattoo, which she got as a tribute to her late brother, who died on the day she was due to give birth to her first child.

The mother-of-two rarely shows off the large tattoo because it's 'very sentimental' to her and makes her feel a 'little self-conscious' in public.

Tattoo talk: Back in April, she revealed to her fans that she would be getting the smaller tattoos 'lasered off' in a Q&A video on her YouTube channel

'My stomach tattoo is very sentimental. When my brother died I was pregnant with my firstborn. So after he was born I got a tribute on my stomach.'

The black and white tattoo has her brother's name and the words 'forever young'.

She explained: 'I may or may not post a close-up one day, but it's very sentimental to me. Even with bikinis I'll wear a one-piece or put a sarong over it.'

Sentimental: In that discussion she also talked about her very detailed stomach tattoo, which she got as a tribute to her late brother, who died on the day she was due to give birth to her first child
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he is "disappointed" that China has formally charged two Canadians with spying, more than 18 months after their arrest amid a row between Beijing and Ottawa. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were detained in December 2018, nine days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US warrant, in what was seen as tit-for-tat retaliation. "We're of course disappointed with the decision taken by the Chinese in the case of the two Michaels," Trudeau said, renewing calls for their release. His deputy, Chrystia Freeland, said she was "heartbroken and really angry" and called on China to restore consular access for the pair. Canada's former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, urged Ottawa to take a more aggressive stance. "We need a strong reaction from the federal government, not just soft diplomatic talk anymore," he told public broadcaster CBC. The Supreme People's Procuratorate said earlier it has begun the prosecution of Kovrig and Spavor, suspected of "foreign espionage" and "providing state secrets." The move follows a key ruling allowing Meng to be extradited to the US, which wants to try her on fraud charges related to the Chinese telecom giant's alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran. Relations between Canada and China have hit rock bottom over the arrests. Beijing has blocked billions of dollars' worth of Canadian agricultural exports. Trudeau said Chinese authorities have "directly linked" the case "to the judicial proceedings against Miss Meng." He called this "extremely disappointing because, for us, there obviously are no links, except in politics." He vowed with allies to pressure Beijing to "cease the arbitrary detention of these two Canadian citizens who are being held for no other reason than (that) the Chinese government is disappointed with the independent proceedings of the Canadian judiciary." Meng, the eldest daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, has been out on bail and living in a mansion in Vancouver. The two Canadians remain in China's opaque penal system. Monthly consular visits for Kovrig and Spavor were suspended mid-January when the coronavirus outbreak hit China. Beijing confirmed Friday that they would not resume until the virus situation improved. China's foreign ministry has previously insisted the pair are in good health, held "in a region that is not particularly affected by COVID-19." However, people familiar with the matter have told AFP the two have endured hours of interrogation and during the first six months of detention were forced to sleep with the lights on. Chinese human rights lawyer Li Fangping told AFP their trials would likely be held in secret, with an official lawyer appointed. China's foreign ministry said on Friday the circumstances surrounding the case were "particularly serious... the facts of the crime are clear and the evidence sufficient." - 'Arbitrarily detained' - Trudeau's foreign minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, said after the May ruling over Meng that Canada would "continue to pursue principled engagement with China to address our bilateral differences." Champagne said Ottawa also would seek clemency for a third Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, who faces execution on drug charges. The International Crisis Group think tank, for which Kovrig worked as an advisor on Northeast Asian affairs, rejected the charges. "This is yet another arbitrary and baseless step in a case that has been arbitrary and baseless from day one. Michael was not endangering China's security: everything he was doing was in the open and well known to China's authorities," group president Robert Malley said in a statement. Meng is still challenging the lawfulness of her arrest. More hearings are expected in the months ahead and appeals could drag the case out for years. In contrast, Kovrig and Spavor's trials could wrap up within six months, Li said. Ryan Mitchell, a law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Beijing was probably hoping for "a 'voluntary' confession out of one or both of the two Canadians." "These trials are thus likely to be quite rapidly dealt with, and the verdict and sentence already determined by the (Communist) Party officials." burs-dma/qan
Uddalok Bhattacharya sums up What if China hits back, asks T N Ninan. Indias imports from China are equal to about a fifth of total Indian manufacturing Read here Narendra Modi, like his predecessors, tried to break out of India-Pak-China triangulation and failed, says Shekhar Gupta. Whatever he decides to do next will mean new compromises Read here If Chinese restaurants are banned in India, the real stuff will be flown from China, with Indians ...

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GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Stockton University students, faculty, alumni and community members rallied Friday to celebrate Juneteenth, promote equality and fight systemic racism.

Today, were going to march, were going to chant together to make sure our voices are heard, NAACP Stockton Chapter President Danielle Combs told the crowd of more than 300 gathered on the steps of the Campus Center for the March for Justice. It was one of many protest events happening in the region and nationally since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in police custody.

Combs said she wanted to hold the event on Juneteenth because it was such an important day in Americas history  the day the news of their freedom reached slaves in Texas in 1865, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Stockton professor Donnetrice Allison said it may seem strange to celebrate a day tied to slavery.

This is our freedom day, not the Fourth of July, she said. Its fitting that you, our students, chose this day to make your voices heard.
The number of serious offenders deported from Britain has dropped by almost 40 per cent in the past four years.

Now Home Secretary Priti Patel is to mount a crackdown on foreign criminals whose lawyers use loopholes in the legal system to block their removal.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by The Mail on Sunday show the number of deportation orders served has dropped by nearly 2,000  from 5,218 in 2015 to 3,225 last year.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has ordered a crackdown on foreign criminals avoiding deportation

The new crackdown comes in the wake of the notorious case of Yaqub Ahmed, a Somalian rapist whose deportation was blocked by a mutiny among plane passengers at Heathrow.

Ahmed was convicted with three other men and jailed for nine years for the sickening gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in 2007. But his lawyers blocked his removal by using human rights law, citing the state of his mental health and the alleged risk to his safety back in Somalia.

Tory MP Tom Hunt said: It is deeply concerning that there has been such a drastic fall in the number of criminals being deported from this country. Our legal system must work efficiently to stop British taxpayers money from being abused and the safety of our constituents put at risk.

Yaqub Ahmed, a Somalian rapist, had his deportation blocked by lawyers in 2018

Ms Patel has told officials to draw up reforms which will ensure the prompt removal of a foreign national offender who has committed a serious criminal offence.

She wants to deploy a system which deals with claims of vulnerability in a fair way but leads to the swift dismissal of bogus claims.

Deportation orders are issued in foreign national cases where the Home Secretary believes it to be conducive to the public good to place a bar on a return to the UK for a period of time. This varies according to the severity of the offence.

Since 2010, some 41,037 foreign national offenders have been served with a deportation order, including 11,851 for drugs offences and 6,692 for violent crimes such as assault and robbery.

Ahmed's flight was stopped from departing after a protest from passengers on board the plane

Last year, drug offences comprised nearly a third of all crimes for deportation with 985 cases. Papers were also served for 295 sex offences committed by foreign criminals in 2019.

Other crimes committed range from arson, kidnapping and attempted murder to perverting the course of justice, people trafficking and breaches of the peace.

Last year, for the first time since 2016, there were no deportations for terrorist offences.

The effectiveness of deportation orders has been undermined in recent years by a number of legal loopholes that have allowed offenders to stay in the UK.

A decade-long legal battle costing more than 1million was needed to deport Abu Qatada

Hate preacher Abu Qatada was eventually deported only after a decade-long legal battle which cost taxpayers more than 1 million in benefits and prison and legal fees between 2002 and 2013.

The market for challenging orders is dominated by four left-wing legal firms  Birnberg Peirce, Duncan Lewis Solicitors, Fountain Solicitors and Wilson Solicitors.

Birnberg was once described as the lawyer of choice for every accused jihadist and IRA suspect and its clients have included jihadi bride Shamima Begum and Wiki-Leaks founder Julian Assange.

A Whitehall source said: We need to restore trust in our immigration system and that means protecting our borders, reforming the asylum system and promptly returning those who have no right to be in the UK.

We wont allow our generous asylum system to be repeatedly abused by those who have no right to be here. Thats why we are introducing new measures to end the abuse of meritless asylum and protection claims, as well as ensuring that legal processes can no longer be open to unreasonable abuse and delay through repeat appeals and claims which costs the taxpayer millions each year.
Lee University president Paul Conn announced Thursday that the school is establishing an Office of Racial and Ethnic Relations with local educator Gloria Scott-Richmond as its first director.

Dr. Conn said the action was taken by the Lee Board of Directors in a meeting early this week. This is a step forward for us as we work toward becoming a campus which is known for our welcoming spirit to all students and staff of all backgrounds. We are eager to make Lee University a place where students and staff of color can thrive, more now than ever. I am confident Gloria can make a major contribution in this new initiative.

Im excited. I feel honored, and at the same time I feel the weight of the responsibility, said Ms. Scott-Richmond. What supersedes that weight is the peace in my soul of God telling me Gloria, this is the path I have for you.

Ms. Scott-Richmond is leaving a 30-year career in Cleveland City Schools to accept the Lee appointment. She is a Lee alum, graduating from Lee College in 1988 with a bachelors degree in music education. She returned to the university to receive a Master of Music Education in 2007. She came to Lee originally from New York, where she studied performing arts at City University of New York.

She began her career with Cleveland City Schools soon after finishing an undergraduate degree at Lee in 1989, spending most of those years at Blythe-Bower Elementary School. She also served at Cleveland High School and E. L. Ross Elementary during her 30 years with the city system.

Ms. Scott-Richmond continued, What can I say about it other than to say this is the hand of God. In this whirlwind process, God had the right people at the right places in the right offices for this appointment.

For the past 10 years, Ms. Scott-Richmond has also worked with Lee students as director of the popular choir EVS, which continues the legacy of the Black Gospel genre from spirituals to urban contemporary styles.

Gloria is equally a part of the Cleveland community and the Lee family, Dr. Conn said. She is so highly admired all across this town and campus. I am so grateful that she has decided to take the challenge of developing new programs and initiatives here at her alma mater.

She will join the Student Development administrative team, working with Dr. Mike Hayes, vice president for student development. According to Dr. Conns announcement, her full-time job will be to help us listen, learn, and make Lee a better place for people of color.



Ms. Scott-Richmond added, My family has been so supportive as Ive worked with Lee over the years. This is a big appointment for them, too. They might be more joyful than I am. My 91-year-old mom said, Praise God, when I told her the news. Praise God that Lee gets it, that they are making this courageous step.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: China on Friday again blamed India for the Galwan Valley. clash Regarding the serious situation in Galwan Valley, right and wrong is very clear and the responsibility entirely lies with the Indian side. India and China are in talks to ease the situation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.

India has already dismissed China's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, saying such "exaggerated" and "untenable" claims are contrary to the understanding reached during a high-level military dialogue on June 6.

During a media briefing here, Zhao Lijian again blamed India for the violent face-off in eastern Ladakh on the night of June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel, were killed, and issued a press note giving 'step-by-step account of the Galwan clash' as per China.

ALSO READ: Neither has anyone intruded into Indian territory nor has anyone taken over any post, says PM Modi

Zhao's reiteration of Beijing's claim over the Galwan Valley came a day after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said "given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). We expect the Chinese side to also confine it's activities to it's side of the LAC."

"The Galwan Valley lies on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the western section of the China-India border. For many years, Chinese border guards have been patrolling and performing their duties normally," he said.

In the press note on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website, Zhao also said "a second commander-level meeting should happen as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground".

The two sides are in communication on easing the situation through diplomatic and military channels.

China attaches importance to China-India relations and hopes that India will work with China to jointly maintain the larger picture of the long-term development of bilateral relations.

"The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far," he said.

"China hopes that India will work with us, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas," Zhao said.

Asked about growing calls in India to boycott Chinese goods, Lijian said the two countries can cooperate to maintain long term bilateral relationships.

Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, the Chinese government mouthpiece, blamed India for the death of its soldiers.

In fact, most of the Indian soldiers died due to the backward logistical support of the Indian army. China shouldnt be blamed, he tweeted.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a reaction to calls for boycott of Chinese goods in India, Beijing made 98 per cent of products coming in from Bangladesh duty-free from July 1.

Experts say this is a direct signal that China can look beyond India in the region to further its interests.

It should serve as a wake-up call for India. Cutting trade ties with Beijing will be more harmful for New Delhi. With China targeting Indias age-old allies like Bangladesh, it should be taken seriously. It is also interesting that countries like Bangladesh have not expressed support for India in the Galwan Valley incident, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies said.

Sinologist BR Deepak also urged India to strategically trade with China.

(With PTI Inputs)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Amid the Sino-India standoff in Ladakh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "rise above petty politics" and stand in solidarity with the national interest.

Shah's remarks came after Gandhi made comments over a video where the father of a jawan spoke about the violent faceoff with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Shah quote tweeted a video of a jawan's father, who purportedly asked Rahul Gandhi "not to indulge in politics" over the standoff with China.

"A brave armyman's father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr Rahul Gandhi.

"At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," Shah said in a tweet.

In the video, a injured jawan's father purportedly said the Indian Army is strong and can defeat China.

"Rahul Gandhi, don't indulge in politics on this. My son fought in the army and will continue fighting in the army," he is heard saying in the video.

Gandhi, while commenting on an earlier video of an injured jawan's father, had said: "It's sad to see senior Government of India ministers reduce to lying in order to protect the PM. Don't insult our martyrs with your lies".

Rahul made the comments after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the army personnel engaged in clashes with the PLA in Ladakh were carrying arms but did not use those due to an agreement between the two nations.

In his first video, the father of the jawan purportedly had said that his son telephoned him from a hospital bed in Ladakh and told him that the Indian army personnel were unarmed when they confronted the PLA at Galwan valley in Ladakh.
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa was a city on edge Friday night, as Donald Trump fans and counter protesters gathered in anticipation of the president's first campaign rally in months set for Saturday, raising fears of a violent confrontation and a worsening spread of the coronavirus as local cases spike.

Authorities set up perimeter around the 19,000-seat BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, where those eager to see Trump started lining up at midweek. Businesses around the area boarded up their windows, the mayor issued a state of emergency and set up a curfew out of concern that outside groups were headed to town to raise trouble.

But the city announced it was rescinding the safety measures after Trump tweeted:

"I just spoke to the highly respected Mayor of Tulsa, G.T. Bynum, who informed me there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow for our many supporters attending the #MAGA Rally," Trump said. "Enjoy yourselves - thank you to Mayor Bynum!"

The surprise decision threw another dose of chaos into the mix, as Trump moved forward to stage a rally that was controversial on two fronts. Not only did it come in a racially torn city at a fraught moment, but it flouted health guidelines that recommend against mass gatherings amid the coronavirus epidemic, with opponents of the rally on health grounds unsuccessfully pressing their objections at the state Supreme Court.

Outside the perimeter of the center Friday, Trump fans were already chanting "All lives matter" at one counter protester chanting and waving a "Black lives matter" sign.

About a mile from the arena, thousands more people gathered Friday for the emancipation celebration of Juneteeth in the historic black community of Greenwood, once known as Black Wall Street, where an estimated 300 black residents were killed by a white mob in 1921. Celebrants painted "Black Lives Matter" on the street in yellow paint, an echo of the District of Columbia's street mural in front of the White House. The Rev. Al Sharpton and other black leaders were scheduled to speak at the rally, set to stretch into the evening.

The looming sense of anticipation permeating the streets here transformed Tulsa, a still-divided oil town of 400,000 in the heart of Trump-friendly Oklahoma, into ground zero for a combustible mix of crises that have further polarized the nation along racial and partisan lines in the lead-up to the presidential election.

The president's decision to hold his first campaign-style rally since the pandemic began in Tulsa on the weekend of Juneteenth angered many across the county and comes as the country is in the midst of a historic reckoning on race after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Trump, who has used divisive language about race, originally planned the rally to be held on Juneteenth itself, but moved it a day after widespread outcry.

He told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week he had never heard of the celebration until one of his black Secret Service officers explained it to him. "I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump claimed, though observances happen annually across the country on June 19. "It's actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it."

Friday, the Rev. Robert R.A. Turner stood in front of the Historic Vernon A.M.E. Church - where the basement was one of the few structures that survived the devastation in 1921 - and watched as crowds streamed past one group selling Black Lives Matter clothing and another registering people to vote.

"We know that people came here nearly 100 years ago and sought to destroy black Wall Street," Turner said. "We don't want other individuals to come finish the job. I just hope and pray that the president keeps his people calm, but I have no faith in this president. He has shown a propensity to incite violence."

Earlier in the day, Trump on Twitter had warned that "any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma, please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

Although Oklahoma is a solidly Republican state, Trump campaign officials said they chose the city for Trump's first campaign rally in months because Oklahoma is already well into reopening after the coronavirus shut down and view it as a celebration of sorts that the worst of the crisis is over. Trump and others have said about 1 million people have requested tickets to the event.

The campaign intends to supply rallygoers with masks and hand sanitizer, but will not be keeping attendees six feet apart.

Oklahoma's new cases have spiked since the state moved into an aggressive reopening plan on June 1.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at Harvard University's Chan School of Public Health, said Oklahoma has the second-fastest-growing per capita rate of new coronavirus infections in the country, based on a seven-day average.

As of Thursday, infections were up 140 percent in the state, according to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists, a nonpartisan policy institute where Feigl-Ding is a senior fellow. As Friday, Tulsa County had 2,070 cases and 65 deaths, and Oklahoma had 9,706 cases and 367 deaths.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal of a lawsuit filed on behalf of local residents, business owners and a community center in Greenwood earlier this week that had demanded that the arena's manager adhere to social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or cancel the rally.

The city's top health official, Bruce Dart, has said he was worried the rally could become a "super spreader" event and said Wednesday that he had recommended the rally be postponed until it was safe.

"I know so many people are over covid," Dart said. "But covid is not over."

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, has said he will be welcoming the president with open arms Saturday.

"My question back to all the folks that say you shouldn't have a rally, when is the right time?" he said on Fox Friday. "Do we really think that in July or August or in November coronavirus is not going to be here? We've got to learn to deal with this. We've got to learn to be safe, take precautions, but we've got to learn to also live our lives."

Trump's supporters said that they were unconcerned about the perils of coronavirus or of protesters.

"I'm not going to let those people run me off," Terri Whisenhunt, 49, of Wagoner, Okla., vowed. "And covid-19 is not going to keep me locked in my house. I think it's all a bunch of B.S."

She said she would not be wearing a mask inside the rally, echoing the sentiments of many of Trump's top staffers, including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who said Friday no one in the administration has any reservations about going forward with the rally during the pandemic. Asked why Trump is taking the risk of spreading infection, she said, "Look, I think we're confident we can operate safely in Tulsa."

McEnany said she will be at the rally and will not wear a mask, which she said is a personal choice.

Around the BOK center Friday, vendors hawked T-shirts and face masks, and small clusters of people wearing MAGA hats and Trump T-shirts roamed the streets, taking photos.

Dozens of people clustered in soggy lawn chairs and huddled under umbrellas and tents in the rain after being moved from their spots in front of the arena Thursday night.

At one point in the afternoon, a young African American man clashed with a white Trump supporter who had parked his pink bicycle with a Confederate flag flying from a pole at the intersection of West 4th Street and Boulder Avenue.

After a scuffle over the flag, the owner of the Confederate flag pulled a knife, which he kept to his side, while the other man yelled, "Make my day."

The busy traffic was punctuated with frequent blasts from horns of Trump supporters and also pounding bass from vehicles rolling by playing a rap song at full blast with the lyrics, "Hey, hey f--- Donald Trump." A woman in a Trump 2020 hat approached one, a Chevrolet Tahoe with the passenger-side window partially rolled down, and handed the occupant a white carnation, which was received.

Standing on the corner nearby, Trump supporter Roberta Marracino shook her head and called the music "obnoxious."

Marracino, 54, traveled from Bloomingdale, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. She arrived late last night with her 15-year-old daughter for her fourth time seeing the president speak. "He needs our support now more than ever," Marracino said. "It's appalling the vile, nasty things they say about him and they get away with it. The more they throw at him, the more I support him."

Marracino said she thinks the president deserves more support from minorities because the economy had lowered the unemployment rate. "He loves the American people, of all races, all colors, all backgrounds." Another vehicle rolled by blasting rap music. She couldn't be sure if it was the same song. "Rap pretty much sounds the same to me," she said.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale disputed the idea that the president's supporters would cause unrest, telling "Fox and Friends" Friday morning, "You know, I've been here since day one, and I've found all Trump supporters to be really, you know, caring, loving people that care about this country."

"I think you see people coming in. They're trying to disrupt. They're trying to create scenes," he added.

The city released a statement Friday explaining why they had rescinded the earlier stricter curfew that had been put in place Friday morning. The city said officials were first contacted on Thursday by the Secret Service, which asked the City of Tulsa and Tulsa Police Department to put in place a curfew around the BOK Center.

Bynum, a Republican, said in the statement: "Last night, I enacted a curfew at the request of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, following consultation with the United States Secret Service based on intelligence they had received. Today, we were told the curfew is no longer necessary so I am rescinding it."

City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, a Democrat, who represents the Greenwood District, said she was left confused by the mayor's decision to rescind the curfew.

"I'm totally at a loss to be honest with you," Hall-Harper said. "I don't have words. The statement I saw didn't set out an explanation. They were doing it for security reasons, then the president calls, according to his tweet, and now they are not. I guess security isn't important anymore?"

- - -

The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz and Mark Berman in Washington and Ziva Branstetter in Tulsa contributed to this report.
The woman who is wanted for setting fire to a Wendy's in Atlanta after the fatal police shooting of Rayshard Brooks last week may be his girlfriend.

Investigators said Saturday they have issued an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Natalie White.

White is a suspect in the arson and investigators are asking for help finding her, Atlanta Fire and Rescue said in a Twitter post.

The post included surveillance pictures of White, 29, in a store, but no additional identifying information.

Several people are suspected of trying to set fires in the restaurant before the blaze finally spread, fire officials said.

Atlanta authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Natalie White, 29, who is alleged to have set fire to a Wendy's after the police fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta last week

On the night of the shooting, a woman who appears to match the description of White is seen trying to set the restaurant on fire

Moments before he is shot, Brooks (left) is heard telling police officers that he was meeting his girlfriend who goes by the name Natalie White

The above image from Wednesday shows an aerial shot of the Wendy's after it was destroyed

Video footage from that night showed a woman who bears a resemblance to White appearing to attempt to light the fast food restaurant on fire after it had been vandalized.

In body cam footage taken by police officers moments before the shooting of Brooks, he mentions meeting his girlfriend who goes by the name Natalie White.

Brooks told officers that he had just had drinks with White.

Police are investigating if there is a link between the alleged arsonist, White, and Brooks, according to CNN.

Brooks' widow, Tomika Miller, 26, has been giving interviews to national media in recent days after Fulton County prosecutors charged the two officers involved in the shooting.

Rayshard Brooks' widow Tomika Miller, 26, told NBC's Today on Thursday that while she was relieved that the officers involved in her husband's shooting had been charged, nothing would bring her husband back

Miller called for the officers to be charged and said on Monday that it would take a 'long time' for their family to heal. She spoke while holding one of his three daughters

Brooks is pictured with wife Tomika Miller and his three daughters. She said she now feels like a 'statistic' having been rendered a single black mother by the cops' killing her husband

Brooks is survived by Miller, three daughters, and a stepson.

Miller told NBC's Today on Thursday that while she was relieved that the officers had been charged, she was also upset that nothing would bring her husband back.

'I'm glad about the charges but I want to see them go through,' she said.

'No matter how many charges they face, it's not going to bring him back.

'It's very emotional. Father's Day is coming up and all I can keep thinking about is my husband won't be here.

'There's not gonna be a day where I see him walk through the door or laughing with his kids again.'

In the aftermath of Brooks' shooting, demonstrators threw bricks and rocks at firefighters as they tried to get to the restaurant, and they couldn't start fighting the blaze until it had destroyed the building, Atlanta Fire Chief Randall Slaughter has said.

Atlanta police officers were called to the Wendy's on June 12 over complaints of a car blocking the drive-thru lane.

Officers found Brooks asleep in the car.

The officers spoke to Brooks, who was Black, for more than 40 minutes, but things quickly turned violent when they tried to handcuff him, according to body camera video.

Brooks is survived by his wife, Miller; three daughters; and a stepson

An autopsy found Brooks was shot twice in the back.

Garrett Rolfe was fired from the police department immediately after the shooting and is charged with felony murder.

The 27-year-old Rolfe is white.

Rolfe was involved in another shooting five years ago that left a man with a punctured lung, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Saturday.

Citing court documents, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the older case was investigated by Atlanta police and turned over to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, who cleared the officers involved - including Rolfe - in February.

A judge on Friday denied bond for the 27-year-old Rolfe, who has been charged with felony murder and other crimes after fatally shooting Brooks in the back outside of a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta after Brooks fired a stun gun in his direction.

The 2015 shooting was not mentioned in the original incident report or in documents made available to the court-appointed attorney for the man who had been shot, Jackie Harris, the newspaper reported.

Harris, a 40-year-old black man, was fleeing from police after he was spotted driving a stolen truck, according to records.

He eventually crashed into a gas meter and twice ran into a parked police car.

Atlanta Police Capt. Michael OConnor was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time saying that Harris could have struck officers with the vehicle he was driving so they 'fired their weapons to stop what they viewed as the threat of the truck that was coming at them.'

Harris was unarmed but O'Connor said he had a weapon - 'a 3,000 pound pickup truck.'

In a letter to the court, Harris said he was shot at numerous times by the officers, and was hit once in the back.

Harris' attorney, Serena Nunn, said five shots were fired in all - three from Rolfes service weapon.

Harris' legal team argued he didn't drive into the other cars until after he had been shot and called into question OConnors claim in the newspaper that the officers shot in self-defense.

One year after Harris' shooting, Rolfe received a written reprimand for violating the department's use of firearm policy during a separate incident.

Atlanta police officer Garret Rolfe, 27, (left) was charged on Wednesday on 11 counts including felony murder over Rayshard's shooting death last week in a Wendy's parking lot. Devin Brosnan (right), the other officer on the scene, was charged with aggravated assault and violations of his oath of office

One year after Harris' shooting, Rolfe received a written reprimand for violating the department's use of firearm policy during a separate incident.

In the September 2016 incident, Rolfe told investigators he was in the passenger seat of a patrol car when it pulled up next to the suspects' vehicle during a chase.

He couldn't see into the windows and, based on their flight and his experience with similar cases, he was afraid the occupants might be armed.

He drew his gun to be prepared to conduct a stop and to protect himself if gunfire began, but he didnt have his finger on the trigger, he said.

The letter of reprimand says he violated a policy that says officers shouldn't point a gun at people unless firing the gun would be justifiable.

He was also cleared of a number of citizen complaints after the department investigated and had a number of minor car wrecks, some his fault, some the fault of the other drivers.

In connection with the shooting death of Brooks on June 12, Rolfe faces charges including felony murder.

A bond hearing in Fulton County Superior Court has been set for Tuesday afternoon.

Another officer has been charged in connection with Brooks' shooting.

Prosecutors say Officer Devin Brosnan stood on Brooks' shoulder as he struggled for his life. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violation of his oath.

Brosnan's attorney denied the allegation, saying Brosnan briefly pressed his foot on Brooks' arm to make sure he wouldn't reach for his weapon.

Brosnan, who was shot with his own Taser by Brooks, suffered a concussion and was disoriented at the time Brooks was shot, his lawyer said.

Lawyers for both men have said their clients' actions were justified.

Rolfe was fired and Brosnan, 26, is on desk duty. Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down less than 24 hours after Brooks died.

Police said Brosnan, who'd been an officer since February, had no prior discipline records.
The capacity of people allowed to join the Soddy Daisy Commission meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic was capped at 20 and most of those citizens were there on Thursday night to complain about multiple issues in the city. A continuation of homeowners asking for help with flooding issues dominated the discussions. This spring storms created problems with people who live in houses located in a flood plain surrounding Little Soddy and North Chickamauga Creeks. The deck is increasingly pulling away from one house, and the homeowner fears the house will follow and eventually fall into the creek behind the home.

The septic tank repeatedly is flooded at a house on Ducktown Street.

Getting a sewer line there is not totally out of the question, said Mayor Gene Shipley, but it will take time.

A resident living on Old Dayton Pike asked to have money put in the budget to buy her house that has been flooded twice in the last five years. And she complained that she is not getting notified in time to leave when there is a problem. The commissioners wondered why they did receive the notifications and she did not.

Attorney Sam Elliott responded that the city is not responsible for rising water, God is.

A man asked if the city could remove rocks, silt, debris and trees that have accumulated in the creek and are impeding the flow behind his mother-in-laws house on Willow Creek Drive. He said the house is not in immediate danger at this time but would be if there is another incident of rising water. Public Works Director Steve Grant said it will be difficult to get big equipment behind the house and, when it is there, only the trees that can be reached from the bank can be removed and no rock or silt is allowed to be disturbed. No equipment can be put in the creek unless the city gets three permits - one from Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and another from TVA, said City Manager Janice Cagle.

One of the speakers told the commissioners that 100 feet of property has eroded caused by the floods. Mayor Shipley told her he is working with the tax assessor to remove that land from her assessment.

City Manager Cagle told the homeowners that the Southeast Tennessee Development District (SETD), which assists cities, is applying for a mitigation grant to help Soddy Daisy. She said there was not enough damage from the flooding that occurred two years ago, but because of the tornadoes this year the city had enough damage to get federal help.

Consideration of an ordinance that would prevent people from living in recreational vehicles was moved until September. The practice has been allowed to house extra employees that come to work during power outages at TVA, said Attorney Elliott. He told the citizen who currently lives in a RV parked at a trailer park that he could apply for a variance to the board of appeals due to a hardship. That type of vehicle is meant for temporary use, he said, and it is not good policy to live in one. This family has lived in Soddy Daisy 19 years but had to sell their home due to disabilities and cannot keep moving it because of the need to be in close proximity to doctors. The speaker was assured he would not be asked to move before September when there could be a determination about issuing a variance.

In regular business, the city accepted the extension of Tobacco Road as a publicly dedicated street. An ordinance was passed to rezone a tract of land at 11141 Dayton Pike from R-2A, Rural Residential District to C-3 General Business.

The pay plan and an amendment to the personnel rules and regulations regarding benefits and annual leave and paid time off were adopted for the new fiscal year.

The $14 million budget for 2020-2021 was passed unanimously on final reading. The tax rate will remain the same at $1.3524. Some items have been carried over from the present year including $3.5 million to resurface all of Dayton Pike that lies within the city limits. A grant will pay 80 percent and Soddy Daisy will be responsible for the 20 percent match of $700,000 for that project. Because of the coronavirus, four SUVs that were in this years budget will not be delivered until September or October so will move into the new budget. Also moved to the new year is playground equipment in the amount of $365,000. The budget also includes the purchase of three new police cars and a truck for the public works department, depending on what happens with the economy, said Finance Director Burt Johnson.

The next commission meeting on July 2 has been cancelled. The next meeting will be July 16.
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Class Period: 11/4/2019 - 2/18/2020

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: June 29, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD

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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE)

Class Period: 1/5/2018 - 1/27/2020

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 13, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD

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Fewer than 1000 buyers of new residential lots in the Greater Sydney region are expected to benefit from the federal government's $25,000 HomeBuilder grants to stimulate the construction industry.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia, which represents developers, has told Treasurer Dominic Perrottet the scheme "largely fails Sydney and NSW", and is actually hampering NSW's recovery from the pandemic by creating uncertainty for home buyers.

The $25,000 HomeBuilder grant is designed to boost residential construction. Credit:Nick Moir

In a letter to Mr Perrottet, UDIA NSW chief executive Steve Mann said data from greenfield market analysts Research4 showed there were fewer than 1900 titled or soon-to-be titled lots in greater Sydney that would be eligible for the HomeBuilder scheme within the time frame.

After accounting for the scheme's $750,000 cap on house and land value, the number of eligible lots in greater Sydney fell even further to fewer than 1000, according to the research.
The decision of the Bureau of Governors of the African Development Bank Group to authorise an independent review of the allegations against the president of the bank, Akinwumi Adesina, is a violation of the banks rule, a PREMIUM TIMES analysis of the banks Ethics Committees report and its Code of Conduct for its executive directors, including its president, has revealed.

Responding to a complaint received from a Group of Concerned Staff Members who accused Mr Adesina of misconducts, the banks ethics committee, after a series of meetings between February 27 and April 9, released an eight-page report of its preliminary investigation. The April 26 report exonerated Mr Adesina of the alleged misconducts and breaches.

The committee described the allegations that Mr Adesina violated the code of conduct of the institution as spurious and unfounded. It also concluded that the complaint made up of 16 allegations, was not based on any objective and solid facts.

By AfDBs rule, the matter should have ended there.

However, under pressure from the United States, the banks Board of Governors approved an independent review of the Ethics Committees report.

The U.S. government representative on the board of the bank, Steven Dowd, has been accused of colluding with the whistle-blowers to discredit Mr Adesina,.

The Bureau reiterates that it agrees that the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors performed its role on this matter in accordance with the applicable rule under Resolution B/BG/2008/11 of the Board of Governors.

The Bureau also reiterates that the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors performed her role in accepting the findings of the Ethics Committee in accordance with the said Resolution.

However, based on the views of some Governors on the matter and the need to carry every Governor along in resolving it, the Bureau agrees to authorize an Independent Review of the Report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors relative to the allegations considered by the Ethics Committee and the submissions made by the President of the Bank Group thereto in the interest of due process., the board stated in a communique dated June 4, 2020.

A PREMIUM TIMES review of the resolution cited by the Board of Governors indicates that going by AfDB rules, the Ethics Committee should not have referred the matter to the board in the first place.

Our review also revealed that the Board of Governors should not have authorised an independent review of the report of the preliminary examination into the complaint as demanded by the U.S. government.

The secretary of the United States Department of Treasury, Steven Munchin, had in a May 24 letter to the Chairperson of the banks Board of Governors, Niala Kaba, disagreed with the findings of the Ethics Committee that exonerated Mr Adesina.

According to the letter, the U.S. government expressed deep reservations about the integrity of the committees process and called for a fresh in-depth investigation of the allegations using an independent investigator.

What the rule says

During its 43rd Annual Meeting of the bank on May 14, 2008, the AfDBs Board of Governors adopted Resolution B/BG/2008/11, which made the Code of Conduct for Executive Directors of the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund applicable to the President of the Bank Group.

Article 3 Section 1 of Resolution B/BG/2008/11 empowers the Ethics Committee to receive complaints and allegations relating to the violation of the provisions of the Code of Conduct by the President. The resolution also stipulates that on receipt of such complaints and allegation, the ethics committee should conduct preliminary examinations of such complaints.

In fact, the Ethics Committee in the third item of the report of its preliminary investigation into the complaint against Mr Adesina reiterated this:

Pursuant to Article 3 of Resolution No. B/BG/2008/11, the ECBD is empowered to conduct a preliminary examination of a complaint or allegation received by it to determine whether it is based on apparently solid justifications, with a view to submitting it to the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors under the following conditions:

If the preliminary examination of the complaint or allegation shows that it is frivolous or not based on any objective and solid facts the Committee is empowered to dismiss it.

If the preliminary examination of the complaint or allegations reveals facts that are capable of establishing violations of the Code of Conduct, the Committee is empowered to submit the complaint or allegation to the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors for further examination.

However, after exonerating Mr Adesina and describing each of the 16 allegations against him as either unsubstantiated, spurious or unfounded, the Ethics Committee proceeded to refer the matter to the banks Board of Governors.

That is a clear violation of the regulation upon which the Ethics Committee claimed it acted. By the rules, the Committee should have taken no further action on the matter after it determined that the allegations were baseless and unfounded.

Article 4 of the resolution stated that the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors, in consultation with other members of the Bureau, has the final say whether or not a complaint against the President submitted to the board requires investigation in relation to the violation by the president of any provision of the Code of Conduct.

It stated that in taking this decision, the chairperson may require the Ethics Committee and the person that made the complaint or allegation or any Department of the Bank, to provide additional information and clarifications, where necessary.

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The Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors may, in appropriate cases, require the Ethics Committee to conduct more in-depth investigations.

So, even if the Ethics Committee had determined after its preliminary investigation that Mr Adesina had questions to answer, what the chairperson of the board should have done was to return the allegations to the Ethics Committee for a more in-depth investigation and not to authorise an independent review.

Further, Article 5 of the resolution also stated that after the Ethics Committee concludes its investigation, it should submit a report of its findings to the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of Governors to deal further with the complaint or allegation in conformity with the provisions of the Agreement Establishing the Bank.

The report shall be accompanied by supporting documents, it stated.

By its decision to authorise an independent review of the Ethics Committees report, the AfDB Board of Governors also violated Article 7 of Resolution B/BG/2008/11 which deals with due process.

According to the article, no investigation about an alleged violation by the President of the banks Code of Conduct can be conducted without giving the President the chance to be heard or invited to present written evidence in defence of him/herself before the Bureau of the Board of Governors.

First, the Ethics Committee admitted receiving responses from Mr Adesinas lawyer and that the President himself later sent a response. But the committee however said neither of the correspondences was admitted.

On 10 February 2020 and again on 10 March 2020 the ECBD received two letters from a lawyer who indicated that he was representing the President in this matter, the Ethics Committee said in its report. The Chairperson of the ECBD acknowledged receipt of the letters but the Committee did not act on them given that the Committee had not been informed by the President that a lawyer was acting on his behalf.

On 8 April 2020, the President of the Bank Group transmitted his response to the complaint to the ECBD. Given that the Committees review was limited to conducting a preliminary examination, it did not deem it necessary to review the response from the President.

The Ethics Committee, however, stated that Mr Adesinas response was transmitted to the Bureau of the Board of Governors alongside other documents on the matter.

In its communique of June 4, the banks Board of Governors did not say if it reviewed the Ethics Committee report or if Mr Adesina was invited or his response considered before the decision to authorise an independent review of the Report of the Ethics Committee was taken.

According to the Board of Governors, the primary reason it authorised an independent review was to carry every Governor along in resolving it.

However, based on the views of some Governors on the matter and the need to carry every Governor along in resolving it, the Bureau agrees to authorize an Independent Review of the Report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors relative to the allegations considered by the Ethics Committee and the submissions made by the President of the Bank Group thereto in the interest of due process.

The Independent Review shall be conducted by a neutral high calibre individual with unquestionable experience, high international reputation and integrity within a short time period of not more than two to four weeks maximum, taking the Bank Groups electoral calendar into account, the communique read in part.

Terms of reference of the Ethics Committee

Not only did the AfDBs Bureau of Board of Governors flouted Resolution B/BG/2008/11, it, alongside the Ethics Committee, also disregarded the terms of reference of the Ethics Committee in dispensing with matters relating to the Code of Conduct for executive directors as well as the president of the bank.

Number 17 of Section 3, of the terms of reference which deals with Procedure, under the subhead Procedure for Allegations and Misconduct stated that the committee should first determine if allegations brought before it were credible and appropriate for review. If it found this to be the case, the Committee shall consider the allegation and conduct an investigation, as may be appropriate.

However, if the allegation is found to be frivolous, the Committee shall advise the concerned Board Official, accordingly, and shall cease to take any further action on the matter.

But the Ethics Committee instead of taking no further action on the matter as stipulated by its terms of reference proceeded to transmit the outcome of its preliminary report to the Board of Governors.

The appointment of independent investigators

After the preliminary investigation, the terms of reference stated that if the Ethics Committee concluded that a member of the Board of Director or the President, in the case Mr Adesina, may have committed some infringement of the code of conduct, it would proceed to conduct a full investigation and must inform the official being investigated.

The Board Official whose conduct is under review by the Committee shall, in all cases, be provided with timely notice of the allegations and shall have the opportunity to present his/her views to the Committee, the resolution stated.

It is at the point that the committee is expected to submit a report to the Board of Governors, stating whether the facts indicate that misconduct occurred, and the recommended measures to be taken by the Board.

The Board shall take a final decision based on the findings and recommendations of the Committee, it added.

PREMIUM TIMES review of the terms of reference of the Ethics Committee also revealed that the Board of Governors appointment of independent investigators to review the report of the preliminary investigation of said allegations is an aberration as it is not contained in any of the provisions of the said rules.

In fact, according to the terms of reference, only the Ethics Committee is permitted to use the services of an independent investigator when he or she is required to assist the committee with gathering facts and evidence on a matter before it.

It is no where in the rules of the bank for an independent reviewer to be hired to conduct an Independent Review of the Report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 10:53:34|Editor: huaxia

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SANTIAGO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Friday that a total of 231,393 people have been infected with COVID-19 and 4,093 people have died from the disease in the country.

According to the authorities, 6,290 new cases were reported and 252 more deaths registered in the last 24 hours.

To date, 1,645 patients are on ventilators and 395 of these patients are in critical condition, the ministry said.

It added that 131 sanitary residences have been established, with 9,424 rooms currently available. The residences aim to guarantee the isolation and care of patients suffering from COVID-19 while allowing for the monitoring of patients and their close contacts.

Chile saw an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases in May. The country is currently under a state of emergency. Borders have been closed, classes cancelled, and non-essential trade suspended.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Sunday unveiled an emergency fund of 12 billion U.S. dollars to finance the measures needed to tackle the virus over the next two years. Enditem
Italy may have discovered the legendary Santo Spirito ship.

The remains of a large Renaissance-era ship off the north Italian coast of Liguria could belong to the legendary Santo Spirito, one of Italy's largest galleons which was shipwrecked off Camogli on 29 October 1579.

The news, announced by Italy's superintendency on 19 June, follows the discovery of the shipwreck in February by two expert divers in the protected marine area of Porto Pidocchio, near Genoa, at a depth of 50 metres.

The find has been described as "important" as it is the first discovery of a shipwreck from that era, complete with intact timber elements, a rare occurrence.

Investigations are now being carried out by historians and specialist divers in an attempt to identify and date the wreck.

"We can expect ceramics and coins to emerge" - art historian and diving superintendent Alessandra Cabella told Italian news agency ANSA - "but also navigational instruments, such as sextants or armillary spheres, as well as artillery and anchors."
The US Navy has upheld the firing of the aircraft carrier captain who urged faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak, ending a months-long dramatic episode in the military branchs fight against the pandemic.

The fired captain, Brett Crozier, and the admiral leading the strike group both fell well short of expectations. I will not reassign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command, Admiral Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, told a Pentagon news conference on Friday, explaining his decision not to reinstate Crozier.

The spread of the coronavirus on board the carrier while on deployment in the Pacific in March exploded into one of the biggest military leadership crises of recent years.

More than 1,000 members of the crew eventually became infected, and one sailor died. The ship was sidelined for weeks at Guam but recently returned to duty.

Probes and investigations

Admiral Gildays decision to hold both Captain Brett Crozier and his boss, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, accountable is a confirmation of concerns expressed by top Pentagon officials who demanded a deeper investigation last month when the initial probe recommended Croziers reinstatement as the ships captain.

US Navy sailors participate in a small arms qualification on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea [US Navy Handout: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Conner D Blake/Reuters]

The investigation, done by Admiral Robert Burke and endorsed on Friday by Gilday, defends the abrupt turnaround on Crozier saying that the more detailed probe uncovered poor decisions he made that failed to stem the outbreak or properly communicate the escalating crisis to senior commanders.

Slow response

It also concludes that the ships slow response to the virus was not just his fault, and that Baker also failed to take decisive actions to address the problem.

Gildays recommendations cap a drama that has engulfed the navy for nearly three months, sidelining the carrier for 10 weeks in Guam, and setting off a dramatic series of events that led to Croziers dismissal, the abrupt resignation of the acting navy secretary who fired him, and the push for a broader review of the Pacific fleets top commanders and how they handled the virus outbreak.

Based on the findings, Crozier and Baker would be able to remain in the navy and move on to other jobs at their current rank, but the admonishments are likely career-enders for both men. Croziers firing upset the carriers crew, and he received an ovation as he walked off the ship.









The recommendations reflect concerns expressed by Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite who told a Senate committee in early May that the service was in rough waters and suffering from leadership failures.

Braithwaite, who the official said endorsed Gildays report, pledged to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing that he would restore a culture of good order and discipline to the service.

In late April, after a preliminary review, Gilday recommended that Crozier be returned to command the Roosevelt. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pressed for a delay and a wider investigation of the coronavirus crisis on the ship, suggesting the need for deeper scrutiny of actions and decisions by senior admirals in the Pacific, a region critical to US national security interests.

COVID-19 concerns

The COVID-19 outbreak on the Roosevelt was the most extensive and concentrated spread of the virus across the US military. It eventually sent all of the 4,800 crew members ashore for weeks of quarantine, in a systematic progression that kept enough sailors on the ship to keep it secure and running.

When the coronavirus outbreak was discovered on the Roosevelt, Crozier sent an email to several commanders pleading for more urgent navy action, including the removal of nearly all sailors from the ship to protect their health.

That email was leaked to media, and the acting navy secretary at the time, Thomas Modly, accused Crozier of bad judgement and directed that he be relieved of command on April 2.

Days later, amid an uproar of his handling of the matter, Modly resigned and was replaced by James McPherson. Braithwaites nomination to be secretary was still pending at the time. He took over earlier this month after he was confirmed by the Senate.

In the report on Friday, Gilday concluded that Crozier did not intentionally leak the email.









On Thursday, two of the ships aviators ejected from their F/A-18 fighter jet while conducting a training flight and were rescued in the Philippine Sea and found to be in good condition. The incident is under investigation and it is not clear whether the crews long layoff in Guam or rapid return to sea played any role in the crash.

The Roosevelts experience with the virus, however, spurred the development of widespread cleaning and health precautions across the military.

It also gave federal health authorities a population of sailors to test, providing greater insight into the science and the spread of the virus.
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HandoutRosie Diven, a mother of three in rural South Carolina, had no idea her 16-year-old son had COVID-19 until a fearsome syndrome nearly killed him.Branson Diven had been vomiting and suffering a loss of appetite when Rosie brought him to an urgent care center near their home in Hartsville on Dec. 10. He did not have classic COVID symptoms such as a sore throat or a cough, and after testing negative for COVID and positive for flu, he was sent home under the assumption he would soon be better
St Georges Market in Belfast was shut on March 16 as lockdown began

Market traders have reacted with fury after Belfast City Council (BCC) publicly rejected their request for a rent reprieve without telling them first.

At the first virtual meeting of the strategic policy and resources committee on Friday, council chief executive Suzanne Wylie announced the resumption of trade at Smithfield and St George's markets on June 22 and July 3 respectively.

The committee heard St George's Market traders had asked the council to waive their 25 stall fees - but members voted against the waiver.

Ms Wylie said fees normally covered the costs of St George's, but with the market already at a loss of 300,000 due to lockdown and a reduction of stalls, she argued a fees waiver would leave the council at a loss of over half a million pounds.

Cathy McLaverty, chair of the St George's Traders Committee, said she was "furious that we weren't informed of this decision beforehand".

"We wrote to the chief executive on June 3 asking for a rent holiday for market traders for six months to December," she said.

"Larger retailers and hospitality venues are getting a rates reprieve to March 2021, but sole traders can't avail of rate and rent holidays or the various grants of between 10,000 and 25,000.

"We were told we could apply for Universal Credit or self-employed income support - but the latter takes nine weeks to arrive and is for personal, not business, expenses." She added: "We also pointed out that in 2012 we got a rent reprieve for three months due to the flag protests and we strongly feel that a pandemic is a much bigger obstruction to our livelihoods."

Ms McLaverty, who runs a stall selling jewellery and ladies' accessories and represents 200 traders in St George's, said their letter "hadn't even been acknowledged".

"I'm very angry that nobody informed us of this decision before it became public knowledge," she said.

"We were delighted to learn that we could reopen on July 3 but this takes the topping off the cake.

"Other councils have helped their market traders but Belfast City Council has let us down," she added.

St George's shut on March 16 just as traders were preparing for increased traffic in the spring and summer and had spent money ahead of the expected boost.

Sean McCann, who has run his Sizzle & Roll stand in St George's Market for around 15 years, said that stall owners pay a substantial amount of money to Belfast City Council to operate their businesses.

"I'm absolutely disgusted and shocked; I just can't believe it," he said.

A BCC spokeswoman said: "Elected members of council's strategic policy and resources committee agreed that fees for stallholders at St George's Market would not be waived."

St George's Market will have a reduced capacity when it reopens, with only 80 to 100 stalls in operation, and each trader limited to one stall each.
With RILs market capitalisation crossing the Rs 11-trillion mark on Friday, Ambani is ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the 10th and 11th richest, respectively, and behind Zara founder Amancio Ortega on the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List.

IMAGE: RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani. Photograph: Sandip Mahankal / ANI Photo.

With the market capitalisation of Reliance Industries (RIL) crossing the Rs 11-trillion mark on Friday, its Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has become the ninth richest billionaire globally on the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List with a net worth of $64.6 billion.

Ambani is ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the 10th and 11th richest, respectively, and behind Zara founder Amancio Ortega.

In March 2020, Ambani was ranked 21st on Forbess annual billionaire list, with a net worth of $36.8 billion, while Page and Brin were 13th and 14th. Since then, Ambani has gone ahead of Walmarts Walton family members, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

RILs shares hit a new all-time high of Rs 1,788.60 on the BSE on Friday before ending at Rs 1,759.50 (up over 6 per cent) following Ambanis statement on Friday that the company had become net debt-free ahead of its March 2021 deadline.

As of March 2020, Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1.61 trillion. The company managed to turn itself net debt-free after raising Rs 1.68 trillion via a 24.7 per cent stake sale in Jio Platforms and the rights issue.

In the past two months, Jio Platforms, the companys digital services subsidiary, has raised Rs 1.15 trillion, offering a 24.7 per cent stake to a clutch of global investors, including Facebook, marquee private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The company has included the entire proceeds of the Rs 53,124-crore rights issue, the biggest share offer in the country, in its calculation. However, it has received only 25 per cent of the issue proceeds (Rs 13,281 crore) in the ongoing financial year; the remaining 75 per cent would come in FY22.

When asked about actual fund infusion, an RIL executive said the company had signed definitive agreements for stake sale in Jio Platforms and shareholders had committed to subscribe to the rights issue. The fund infusion would happen after required approvals and in accordance with the timelines, he added.

Along with the proposed stake sale in the petro-retail joint venture to BP, the funds raised would be in excess of Rs 1.75 trillion, the company said.

An IPO of the retail business and Jio is planned in five years, it added. As of March 2020, the company had a gross debt of Rs 3.36 trillion, and cash and cash equivalents of Rs 1.75 trillion.

Exceeding the expectations of our shareholders and all other stakeholders, again and yet again, is in the very DNA of Reliance. Therefore, on the proud occasion of becoming a net debt-free company, I wish to assure them that Reliance in its golden decade will set even more ambitious growth goals, and achieve them, Ambani said in a statement.

Reliance turning net-debt free ahead of schedule is a positive catalyst and will help sustain the valuation. The Rs 1.68 trillion fundraising gives the company ability to invest and experiment in new business categories. No other Indian corporate is so well placed to tap new opportunities, said Rajiv Sharma, head of research, SBICAP Securities.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 00:01:44|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on June 1, 2020 shows law books in the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in south China. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature reviewed a draft law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China.

The draft law was submitted for deliberation at the 19th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) from Thursday to Saturday.

Entrusted by the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, an official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee explained the draft law to the session Thursday.

With 66 articles, the draft law has six chapters, namely the general principles; the HKSAR's duties and institutions of safeguarding national security; crimes and penalties; jurisdiction over national security cases, application of laws and procedures; institutions of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR for safeguarding national security; and supplementary provisions.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, HKSAR

The Central People's Government shoulders the fundamental responsibility for national security affairs related to the HKSAR, while the HKSAR bears the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding national security and shall fulfill its obligations, according to the draft.

People view the scenery in Hong Kong, south China, June 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

The executive organs, legislature and judiciary of the HKSAR shall, in accordance with relevant laws, effectively prevent, stop and punish acts and activities that endanger national security, says the draft.

Safeguarding China's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity is the common obligation of all Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, it says.

Any institution, organization, or individual in the HKSAR shall abide by this law and other HKSAR laws on safeguarding national security, and shall not engage in any activity that jeopardizes national security, the draft reads.

Any HKSAR resident standing for election or taking up any position of public office shall sign documents to confirm or swear to uphold the HKSAR Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR, it says.

The HKSAR is required to step up efforts to safeguard national security and prevent terrorist activities.

In safeguarding national security, the HKSAR shall uphold the principle of the rule of law, according to which the HKSAR shall respect and protect human rights, and anyone shall be presumed innocent until convicted by the judicial organs, according to the draft law.

HKSAR TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION

The draft requires the HKSAR to establish a commission of safeguarding national security which shall be supervised by and accountable to the Central People's Government.

The HKSAR commission of safeguarding national security shall be chaired by the Chief Executive and establish the post of the national security adviser, who shall be appointed by the Central People's Government, it says.

The draft makes stipulations on what constitutes four categories of crimes that threaten national security and their corresponding penalties, including secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security.

Except in specific circumstances, the HKSAR shall exercise jurisdiction over criminal cases stipulated in this law, the draft says.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO SET UP NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICE IN HKSAR

The draft law provides that the Central People's Government shall establish an office of safeguarding national security in the HKSAR.

The office is obligated to analyze and appraise national security situation in the HKSAR, and provide comments and suggestions for major strategies and policies in this regard.

The office is required to supervise, guide, coordinate with and support the HKSAR in performing its duties on safeguarding national security.

It shall also collect and analyze intelligence information concerning national security, and deal with criminal cases concerning national security in accordance with the law.

The office and related organs of the central authorities may exercise jurisdiction over a tiny number of criminal cases that jeopardize national security under specific circumstances, which is an important manifestation of the central government's overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR, the official explained while briefing lawmakers.

The provisions of this law shall prevail when local laws of the HKSAR are inconsistent with this law, the draft says, adding the power of interpretation of this law shall be vested in the NPC Standing Committee. 
Thousands of terrorist attacks, including bombings, took place in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region between 1990 and 2016. According to local police, the methods used by extremists to make bombs improved over time, evolving from standard dynamite to improvised explosive devices and suicide bombings.

This is one of many human stories in our exclusive documentary 'Tianshan Still Standing: Memories of fighting terrorism in Xinjiang.' You can watch the full documentary here.

(EN035)
Springfield police arrested a Chicopee man in North Adams on homicide charges Thursday night and seized a number of firearms as the department battles an uptick in shootings and related deaths that authorities blame on gangs, guns and drugs.

Speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon at Springfield police headquarters, Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said officers are experiencing a rough week after three people were killed in shooting incidents, bringing the total to four homicides in the past month alone.

One of the four homicides has resulted in an arrest. Claprood said members of the Springfield Warrant Apprehension Unit, the Massachusetts State Police Violent Felon Apprehension Section, the U.S. Marshals Task Force, and North Adams police arrested 23-year-old Isaiah Calderon, of South Street in Chicopee, in a North Adams home Thursday night.

Claprood said Calderon was found hiding in a closet in a Blankington Street house at about 8:15 p.m. He is being charged in connection with the Tuesday night shooting death of Michael Paolercio near the intersection of Horace and Dickinson streets.

Calderon faces murder, armed robbery and firearms charges in connection with the homicide. He also is the subject of an active arrest warrant related to charges of home invasion, seven counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and larceny from a person.

The other three homicides in the past month remain under investigation. But Claprood said so far all of the shootings relate to gang disputes.

Gangs are on the move, she said. Its a Western Mass issue. Thats why we are getting help from other agencies. So far all the incidents have involved gang members over drugs and guns.

Officers were able not only to arrest Calderon but also clear a number of guns from the citys streets overnight.

Officers attached to the midnight to 8 a.m. shift confiscated eight illegal firearms in three separate incidents.

According to police reports, at about 2:40 a.m. officers found three firearms at the scene of a domestic disturbance. One of the weapons was a sawed-off shotgun. At about 1 a.m., officers responded to a call for a disturbance near Dickinson and Drexel streets to find a gathering of over a dozen people. Officer found four firearms, including one high-capacity firearm, among those gathered. Five people were arrested.

At about 6:15 a.m., a car was towed from White Street and officers found an illegal gun hidden inside.

Claprood said Springfield police officers have taken 38 illegal firearms off the streets since Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus three months ago. Fifteen of those firearms are considered large-capacity weapons.
Crimes Against Common Sense

Commentary

What is going on in this country? When did we, the majority, stop speaking up for ourselves? Crimes against common sense seem to happen every week, yet most of us stay silent.

Or is it that the media only highlights those who scream the loudest, leaving the impression that what they demand must be implemented?

The most vocal citizens today are the self-righteous members of the so-called woke pack. You know, those who see themselves as the arbiters of all social and racial justice, and if you dont believe as they do, youre the enemy.

The ideals of critical thinkers seem to go virtually unremarked upon.

So, I ask here, since when did it become acceptable for politicians to order police to abandon their station and allow demonstratorssome armed with gunsto occupy square blocks of an American city? Seattles mayor has explained away her occupying force as a summer of love protest group.

Does no one worry that this takeover of downtown Seattle might end badly or spread to other cities?

It is every citizens constitutional right to assemble and peacefully protest. But who in their right mind thought joining those recent, massive street demonstrations in the midst of a life-threatening pandemic was a wise idea? And now that we see a rise of COVID-19 cases in several states, many of the woke, bizarrely, point the finger of blame at opposition party politicians for not halting the spread of the disease.

Do we lack the common sense to see the coronavirus spike is our own doing?

The cancel culture that exists today pushes aside all clear thinkers who dare express an opinion or ask a clarifying question. All white people are racist.  The rich are criminals.  All police are bad, they say. Even television cops are to be condemned. TV producers of Live PD and Cops crumbled to demands and canceled their programs. The main police-dog character on the kids cartoon Paw Patrol was targeted for elimination.

Think of the negative effect all this anti-cop fervor will have on both children and future police recruiting.

But if you disagree with these new revolutionaries, who are determined to make the rest of us bend to their beliefs, you are bitterly attacked and ostracized.

Author J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame nearly fell victim to the cancel culture squad recently when she chided a headline that read, People Who Menstruate. She accurately pointed out that it is women who menstruate. Well, that brought howls of condemnation from the LGBTQ community and reminders that some people who have transitioned from female to male still have a monthly reminder of their assigned birth sex.

Since when does a tiny minority of a population get to decide how the rest of us think or express ourselves? Isnt their hyperbolic response to contrary views exactly like the bullying they so frequently rail against?

And, OK, I will ask: Why isnt it OK to stand up for all humanity and state the obvious that all lives matter? That statement doesnt denigrate black lives; rather, it places black lives on the same high platform as all others. I am weary of the wordplay and the twisted meanings given to innocent statements.

And, finally, lets consider the recent move to destroy our history, as if it, too, could or should be erased. Protestors have demanded countless statues of Civil War leadersincluding the emancipation president, Abraham Lincolnbe removed. Likewise for monuments depicting conquistadors who colonized the American West. Did some of those historical figures act in ways we consider abhorrent today? Absolutely, but pretending history didnt happen is to bury our heads.

If you follow their line of thinking, we should stop teaching students about World Wars I and II because atrocities took place. The horrors of Hitlers pogrom against Jews should never be mentioned. The Vietnam War, the civil rights struggle of the 60s, and the shooting at Kent State all had decidedly ugly aspects. Do we ignore those events because remembering might make someone uncomfortable?

Students of this countrys history know the shortcomings of our system. Nothing is perfect, and adjustments are underway. But considering radical ideas like disbanding law enforcement, criminal takeovers of inner cities, and controlling others conversations is just plain foolish.

Diane Dimond is an author and investigative journalist. Her latest book is Thinking Outside the Crime and Justice Box.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Border Security Force shot down a Pakistani drone along the International Border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, the officials said. The patrolling party of the BSF found the drone flying in the Rathua area of Hiranagar sector in Kathua, Jammu And Kashmir and shot it down. The drone fell into a field.

The Pakistani drone was flying inside Indian territory in Rathua area in Hiranagar sector around 5.10 am when a BSF patrol shot it down, said a police officer at Kathua police control room.

Inspector General, BSF Jammu Frontier NS Jamwal said, The BSF has shot down a drone from Pakistan near Kathua and recovered among others M-4 US-made semi-automatic rifle, 60 rounds in it, two magazines and seven M67 grenades.

Also read: Chinese action in Galwan Valley unacceptable: IAF chief Bhadauria

It is a big development because the Pakistanis have adopted similar modus operandi of what they have been doing in Punjab, he added.

The six copter drone itself weighed around 17.5 kilograms and the consignment weighed around five to six kilograms, said Jamwal.

Surely, it was an attempt to deliver the arms and ammunition to someone here on this side. Who was he, remains a matter of investigation, he said.

The BSF IGP informed that the drone had a winch mechanism with which entire consignment had to be dropped to this side and it had to fly back to Pakistan.

This delivery was for some Ali Bhai as the payload was carrying his name, he said.

Also read: No intrusion in our territory, army has free hand, says PM

A senior police official said that the drone was 8 feet in wide blade-to-blade and seems to have been controlled by Pak picket opposite Panesar Post of BSF in Hiranagar sector.

Same weapons were recovered from Jaish-e-Mohammad militants who were killed after infiltration from Pakistan in an encounter at Ban toll plaza Nagrota while they were travelling in a truck to Kashmir some months back, the official said.

Pak rangers and Pakistani Army use such drones to see deployment of Indian forces and gaps to push terrorists into India.

Hiranagar sector has always remained an infiltration route for Pakistani terrorists because of its terrain and three to four seasonal rivulets that flow into Pakistan.

The development comes close on the heels of the Galwan Valley intrusion by Chinese troops where India lost 20 of its soldiers on June 15 that included commanding officer of Bihar Regiment, Colonel Santosh Babu.
The media routinely misquote and misinterpret President Trump. The most harmful example of this occurred after the deadly Charlottesville riot in 2017, when Trump said there were "fine people" in Charlottesville  and then immediately and explicitly excluded the white supremacists. By leaving out the second half of his statement, the media successfully managed to paint him as a racist.

What many people forget is why Trump spoke of "fine people." He was commenting on the fact that many people at the protest wanted to preserve America's history. He went farther, predicting that, without such people as a bulwark, the mob would turn on America's founders. Recently, the mob did just that, tearing down statues of Jefferson and Washington.

For those who have forgotten, the leftist mob started closing in on Confederate statues in 2017. The Charlottesville City Council voted to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee dating back to the early 1920s. The KKK (which was created to be the paramilitary arm of the Democrat party) showed up to protest, as did other white supremacists. Democrats counter-protested. Lastly, people showed up who object to having America's history erased, believing it to be Orwellian and dangerous. On August 12, a white supremacist drove his car into the crowd, injuring several people and killing a woman who wanted the statue's removal.

During a contentious press conference a few days later, the media attacked Trump for his failure instantly to comment on the event. He explained that he had waited to comment until he had the facts before him. The media then tried to corner Trump by forcing him to say that if he opposes violent leftists, he must support Nazis. Trump refused to fall into that trap:

Those people  all of those people --excuse me, I've condemned neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee.

When asked if he thought Lee's statue should come down, Trump gave a remarkably prescient response about the inevitable result of tearing down Confederate statues (emphasis added):

If you take a look at some of the groups, and you see  and you'd know it if you were honest reporters, which in many cases you're not  but many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. So this week it's Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?

Despite his clear answer, the media again attacked Trump for supporting neo-Nazis. He again pointed to the continuum of leftist attacks on American history (emphasis added):

TRUMP: [Y]ou had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group. [snip] You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name. Q George Washington and Robert E. Lee are not the same. TRUMP: Well know, George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down  Excuse me, are we going to take down- are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? Q I do love Thomas Jefferson. TRUMP: Okay, good. Are we going to take down the statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue? So you know what, it's fine. You're changing history. You're changing culture. And you had people  and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists  because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.

The quoted language irrefutably proves that the leftists lied when they insisted that Trump called Nazis "fine people." But what's important here is that Trump, showing himself again to be a brilliant visionary, fully understood where the leftists were going with their attack on Lee. He knew that it was an opening salvo in a larger war. And so, last week, this happened:

Antifa rioters on Sandy Blvd. in Portland draped a US flag over a George Washington statue & set it on fire. They then toppled the statue. Genocidal colonist & f cops are sprayed on monument. Rioters have began to build another autonomous zone nearby. pic.twitter.com/TrZkhPK9zp  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 19, 2020

This is Antifa/BLM Maoists' Cultural Revolution inby tearing down Founding Father Thomas Jefferson statue in Portland Oregon. I survived Mao's Cultural Revolution/escaped #CCP tyranny/found freedoms in/don't want 2 see those RED fascists turn USA into a society I left behind. https://t.co/GWQU18xmow  Solomon Yue (@SolomonYue) June 16, 2020

Confirmed: Thomas Jefferson statue at Jefferson High School in Portland torn down. You can see the words Slave Owner painted where it once stood. #statue #LiveOnK2 #portlandprotest pic.twitter.com/bt5zdBgkQO  Genevieve Reaume (@GenevieveReaume) June 15, 2020

The leftist mob doesn't care that Jefferson wrote one of the most beautiful defenses of human equality and liberty ever. They neither know nor care that Washington, refusing a crown and refusing to become president for life, set a precedent for two-term leadership  the opposite of tyranny  that lasted until Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) tried to have permanent executive office control.

Leftists are driving America off the Orwellian cliff. Our history (both the good and the bad) will be erased, and everybody who doesn't get with the program will be destroyed. The mob will get them fired, destroy their families, ruin their reputations, and otherwise force them to conform. Re-electing Trump, the man who saw this coming, is the only bulwark against the madness.
Mr Menon lets now come to that critical question: why have the Chinese chosen to do this now in the middle of an international Covid crisis and an increasingly depressing economic crisis? Why now? Well it seems to me that this is not just signalling because if its signalling, its the most inefficient way of signalling, where were all guessing what the signal is.

Some people say its because of the change in the status in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, some people say its because of our relationship with the United States, other people have other ...
Denis O'Brien's Digicel has been awarded nearly 250m by a French court.

Rival telco Orange has been ordered to compensate Digicel for anti-competitive practices in the French Caribbean.

The Paris Appeals Court ruled this week that Orange must pay Digicel 181.5m in damages and 68m in interest.

Digicel said it will split the award equally with Bouygues Telecom, the company it bought the French Caribbean business from back in 2006.

"The award reflects the level and duration of anti- competitive practices engaged in by Orange in the French West Indies over many years, much of this pre-dating the sale by Bouygues Telecoms of its French West Indies business to Digicel in 2006," Digicel said.

Orange can still appeal in France's highest court but if the award stands it is the second financial boost for Digicel in days.

On Thursday, Digicel confirmed a scheme of arrangement securing agreement from bondholders to slash debt by $1.6bn (1.42bn) is now effective.

Digicel's debt interest costs will be cut by approximately $125m a year as a result of the deal struck with lenders.

The process will see lenders surrender billions of bonds back to the company and swap them for a smaller amount of new debt. That is likely to happen next week.

The company said the scheme of arrangement marks the conclusion of the last significant milestone in its debt reduction process, which is expected to be complete next week.

The O'Brien-owned telecoms group secured support from most of its lenders for the process, after arguing its debt pile of around $7bn was not sustainable.

In exchange for lenders' support, Mr O'Brien will contribute $50m of assets and retain control of his telecoms empire.

Holders of one class of $925m of bonds due in 2023 did not back the plan, and their bonds are not affected.

Digicel operates in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific.

The legal scheme was sanctioned by the Bermuda Supreme Court on June 8 and recognised in the United States through a court process on June 17.

Mr O'Brien said the agreement with bondholders will allow the group to further enhance services across its 32 markets, where it has invested $2.2bn over the past five years.

"Our journey and investment encompassed a wide range of emerging markets, some of which had little or no telecommunications infrastructure prior to Digicel commencing operations," he said.
Germany, France Trying to Prevent Israel's Annexation of Palestinian Territories, Maas Says

Sputnik News

14:16 GMT 19.06.2020

BERLIN (Sputnik) - Germany and France are worried about Israel's plan to take control of the Palestinian territories, they want to prevent this violation of international law, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Friday.

"Israel's plan to annex Palestinian territories cause us great concern in what regards the security of Israel and the entire region", Maas said after a meeting with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Maas added that he would soon speak to the French minister about this again.

"The goal is, like before, to prevent this escalating to an annexation that would violate the international law", Maas said.

The statement comes after EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that Israel's annexation of part of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank would violate international law.

Borrell expressed the belief that the annexation could cause "real damage" to the prospects of a two-state solution, and could also have a negative effect on regional stability, and Israel's relations with both Arab states and the European Union.

In late May, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas terminated all of its treaties with the US and Israel in response to the annexation announcement.

According to US President Donald Trump's so-called deal of the century unveiled in late January, Israel is to annex land in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. Trump's deal proposes a two-state solution in the region that would allow for the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unity government has supported the plan, while most Arab countries have totally rejected the proposal.

 Sputnik

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The statue of Francis Scott Key, who is known for writing "The Star-Spangled Banner" but was a slave owner, was toppled by protesters in San Francisco during demonstrations against racial injustice.

Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" after he saw an American flag flying at the Battle of Fort McHenry following a victory over the British in the War of 1812. The lines he wrote turned into the national anthem.

MORE: Here's where Confederate statues and memorials have been removed in the US

However, Key -- whose lyrics include "land of the free" -- was an owner of slaves and defended in court slaveholders' rights to own human property, according to The Smithsonian.

PHOTO: Protesters walk towards the statue of Francis Scott Key at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, June 19, 2020. (David Zandman via Reuters)

The toppling of the statue comes amid protests that erupted across the world after the death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody, against systemic racism and police brutality.

During some of those protests, monuments related to slave owners or the Confederacy have been toppled.

As of Friday afternoon, at least 22 cities had either removed or approved the removal of Confederate monuments. The most controversial of those memorials, the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, is caught up in a legal battle.

Protesters bring down statue of Francis Scott Key originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The White House has drafted an executive order (EO) to suspend certain work visas for overseas hires to protect American workers and job seekers.

The Trump administration is reportedly looking into suspending J-1 visas or other cultural or work exchange programs, according to CNBC News.

This move was to make sure that American citizens will be prioritized in getting jobs in the country as the number of unemployment rate rose to more than 13 percent following the nationwide lockdown.

In a report by The Guardian, it said that over 45 million workers have filed unemployment claims over the past three months as businesses across the country temporarily closed, while others decided to shut down their operations permanently due to the economic devastation brought by the global pandemic.

J-1 Visa or known as the exchange visitor visa falls under the non-immigrant visa category and is approved for individuals to participate in work-and study-based exchange visitor programs, according to the website of U.S. Exchange Visitor Program.

When Will The EO Be Implemented?

The NBC New York reported that the White House has yet to finalize its decision about the policy.

However, it said that the Trump administration will decide on the policy within the week or before the campaign rally of Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Stephen Miller, U.S. President Donald Trump's advisor, has repeatedly pushed for crackdowns on immigration together with Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli.

Once implemented, the EO will affect hundreds of thousands of people from travel and restaurant industries and other sectors relying on temporary work visas.

Other Visas Trump Considers to Suspend

Trump is also considering to suspend the H-1B high-skilled visa that is mostly applied by Indian IT professionals.

According to a report by the Economic Times, the proposed suspension could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from going to work in the U.S.

"The administration is currently evaluating a wide range of options, formulated by career experts, to protect American workers and job seekers especially disadvantaged and underserved citizens - but no decisions of any kind have been made," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said.

Aside from the H-1B, the H-2B visa for seasonal or short-term workers and L-1 visa for internal company transfers might also be suspended.

But in his letter to Trump, U.S. Chambers of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue said "American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs. To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world."




Haiti - FLASH : The country on the threshold of 5,000 cases





The Ministry of Public Health informs that 64 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Haiti (the day before : +228), for a total of 4,980 cases throughout the national territory (40.3% women and 59.7% men) since the first case (March 19, 2020 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html ).



Deaths : 3 new deaths were recorded 2 in the West and 1 in the Nippes bringing the national total to 87.



Healings: 24 people healed (information not updated by the Ministry since May 31, 2020)



Active cases : (less death and recovery): 4,869 (+61 in 24 hours), the day before: (+226).



Number of suspected cases investigated since March 19 : 10,146 cases (+333) within 24 hours the day before (+ 162).



All the details by departments and communes and more, in our daily report of 11:00 a.m.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31067-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-june-19-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31061-haiti-flash-625-increase-in-new-cases-in-24-hours.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio

Carrying a concealed weapon: Euclid Heights Boulevard

At 11:25 a.m. June 14, police were called to the scene of a two-car crash at Euclid Heights Boulevard and Superior Road. There, a man had driven his car through a red light without stopping, striking the car of another man.

When officers arrived, the car that caused the crash, driven by a 35-year-old, was on its side. As Cleveland Heights Fire Department firefighters were tending to the scene, one informed an officer that he had seen a gun and a large amount of cash inside the car.

The man who caused the crash told officers that he had a gun on his person. The gun was seized, as the man once had a permit for the weapon issued in Lake County, but had allowed that permit to expire in April 2019.

Inside the car, officers found another gun, loaded with 22 rounds of ammunition; $1,150 in cash; and containers -- some empty, some holding marijuana. Also found were a digital scale that had marijuana residue on it, and the mans cell phone.

The driver of the other car was taken to the hospital.

The suspect was cited for failing to stop at a red light, driving with a suspended license and driving without a license. More charges are pending, as the man is now the subject of a felony investigation.

Aggravated robbery: Euclid Heights Boulevard

At 5:50 a.m. June 11, a woman reported that, 10 minutes earlier, she had been robbed as she stood at the bus stop at Euclid Heights Boulevard and Lancashire Road. The woman, while at the bus stop, saw a black SUV drive by, then park nearby. Two male suspects got out of the vehicle and approached her from behind.

Both suspects brandished guns and demanded her cell phone and the phones pass code. After getting the phone and pass code, one of the suspects used his gun to strike the woman in the forehead.

The men headed back to the SUV, carrying the phone and the womans book bag. The woman ran after the men, pleading for them to give back the book bag, as it contained important school items. One of the suspects rummaged through the bag, removed the womans wallet, then threw the bag out of an SUV window. The bag contained the womans Massachusetts ID card and several credit cards.

The woman refused medical attention. She found shortly after that several Amazon purchases had been made on her account. The thieves asked to have the Amazon items delivered to an Eddy Road address in Cleveland that is unfamiliar to the woman. The suspects had apparently used the womans pass code to block her ability to locate her phone.

On June 11, University Circle police contacted Cleveland Heights police, stating that the suspects SUV had been found. It had been reported stolen, at gunpoint, minutes before the men used it while robbing the woman at the bus stop.

The suspects, upon carjacking the SUV, left behind another vehicle in University Circle that was also believed to have been taken at gunpoint.

Police are investigating the matter.

OVI: Noble Road

At 11:10 p.m. June 13, police were called to Mayfield and Maplegrove roads in South Euclid. A woman, 22, reported that as she drove south on Noble Road, a car that was weaving while heading in the same direction hit the side of her car, knocking off the side mirror.

The caller followed the suspects car to a bar on Mayfield Road in South Euclid. The driver got out, went into the bar, came out shortly after, and drove to Maplegrove.

Police met there with the caller. When an officer pulled up, he saw the female suspect, 38, crouching and urinating on the pavement. The suspects speech was slurred and she had glassy eyes.

The suspect said she was unaware that she had hit another car. When asked where she had been, the suspect said she had been at a friends graduation party and admitted to drinking alcohol while there.

In the suspects car, police found a half-empty bottle of an alcoholic beverage. The police report notes that the woman was erratic and emotional as she spoke with officers.

The suspect failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol content of .187. The state minimum for drunk driving is .08.

Police charged the woman with OVI, having a prohibited BAC, driving drunk with a previous OVI license suspension, operating a vehicle without reasonable control, and failure to control. She was additionally cited for having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Read more from the Sun Press.
In route and airport news, Qantas cancels all international flying through October; Delta moves to new digs at San Francisco International; JetBlue and Delta schedule new and/or revived service on a number of routes as the nations travel statistics continue to improve; Southwest extends its open-middle-seat policy into the fall; Hawaiian returns to Portland and Alaska Airlines will restart Costa Rica flights; at SFO, SAS brings back Copenhagen service next month and Korean increases frequencies to Seoul, but dont look for Qantas to return anytime soon; a South American airline shuts down; Southern Californias Ontario Airport could get a new underground link to Metrolink trains; and American Express plans a big expansion of its Centurion Lounge at Sea-Tac.

Qantas has canceled nearly all its international flights through the end of October on the expectation that the coronavirus pandemic will last through most of the year. 'With Australia's borders set to remain closed for some time, we have canceled most international flights until late October,' Qantas said in a statement on Thursday," according to CNN. Also this month Qantas will retire the last two of its fleet of 747s this month. "Qantas began the year with six Boeing 747s, all of which were to be put out to pasture as factory-fresh Boeing 787 Dreamliners arrived, but Covid-19 appears to have accelerated that timetable," according the Executive Traveler. From SFO, United still offers nonstop flights to Sydney, but only for cargo and essential travel as Australia's borders remain closed to outsiders and will likely stay closed until next year according to the country's tourism minister.

San Francisco flyers should be aware that on June 23, Delta will move its check-in counters from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, taking over the space recently vacated there by American; its T1 ticket counters will demolished to allow for more construction of the new Harvey Milk Terminal 1. Delta customers will depart from both C and D gates, accessible via the T2 security checkpoint and the airside corridor connecting the terminals. With the closure of Deltas current ticket counter location, passenger movement between Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 will be limited during construction activity, an SFO spokesperson said. Eventually, Delta's check in area will move back to Terminal 1.



American Airlines, which moved from SFOs Terminal 2 to Harvey Milk Terminal 1 last month, is due to reopen its Admirals Club there on June 22, but only as a service center, not a fully operating lounge. It means we will have a premium service representative present to offer front desk customer service. The rest of the club will remain closed for the time being, an AA spokesperson tells us.

JetBlue unveiled ambitious plans to phase in 30 new domestic routes starting next month and continuing through October, including a pair of new routes to San Francisco International and Los Angeles International from Newark starting July 23 (as we reported yesterday)  using A321s featuring the airlines premium Mint cabins with lie-flat seats. JetBlue will operate up to two daily flights between EWR-SFO and up to three a day from EWR to LAX.

Other JetBlue routes opening up on July 23 include Newark-Charleston (S.C.) and Newark-Jacksonville; and New York JFK to Dallas/Ft. Worth and Detroit. On August 6, JetBlue plans to begin service from Newark to Austin, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Sarasota. On the same date, it will add flights from JFK to Minneapolis-St. Paul, and from LaGuardia and Philadelphia to various points in Florida. Other new Florida service will kick in October 1, including San Francisco-Orlando, Portland-Ft. Lauderdale and Seattle-Ft. Lauderdale.

Deltas July plans for increased domestic service include more non-stop connectivity between top markets, with a focus on its hubs at Atlanta, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis. The airline said it will also expand capacity to leisure markets like Florida and throughout the West Coast, as well as more transcontinental flights for business travelers. The airlines Latin America/Caribbean schedule in July will add service to popular vacation spots close to the U.S. like Cancun, Los Cabos, Jamaica, Nassau, St. Thomas and Punta Cana, along with a revival of flights from Atlanta to Sao Paulo.

Chris McGinnis

Across the Atlantic, Delta expects to resume service from JFK to Lisbon and Athens next month, along with Boston-Amsterdam, Seattle-Amsterdam and Detroit-Paris. Pending government approvals, the airline said it will start flying in July from JFK to Accra, Ghana and from Atlanta to Lagos, Nigeria. Across the Pacific, look for Delta to bring back LAX-Sydney, Atlanta-Seoul, and weekly flights to Shanghai from Detroit and Seattle. And theres the usual disclaimer: Deltas schedule remains subject to change due to the evolving nature of COVID-19, customer demand, government travel regulations and federal health guidelines. Specific restart dates in July may vary for previously suspended routes due to travel restrictions and other operational requirements.

The latest route news from JetBlue and Delta is just another indicator that travel is picking up again after bottoming out in April. Consider these numbers: U.S. airlines have reactivated about 450 idled aircraft in the past several weeks, up from a low of 3,600 to more than 4,000 (but still down from 6,700 before all this started). The number of passenger screenings at TSA checkpoints was 544,046 on June 14, vs. a low of 87,534 on April 14 (but still well below the daily total of more than 2.5 million at this time a year ago). And the percentage of occupied hotel rooms in the U.S. last week was 41.7 percent, up from a low of 22.0 percent in mid-April, according to hotel data trackers at STR.

Southwest Airlines is the latest carrier to extend its policy of blocking out middle seats to provide more passenger distancing. The company said it will now keep middle seats open at least through September 30, although travelers can still choose their own seats as they board, and families and others who are traveling together can still sit together. Southwest is also the latest airline (along with United and Alaska) to require a Customer Health Declaration from passengers, with questions that can be answered during the online check-in process.

Although Hawaii has extended its mandatory 14-day quarantine for all visitors through the end of July, Hawaiian Airlines has filed plans to resume a daily Portland-Honolulu flight on July 1, using an A321neo. Otherwise, it continues to offer one daily Honolulu flight from SFO, LAX and Seattle. To another leisure destination, Alaska Airlines plans to bring back Costa Rica service July 4, with one weekly flight routed Los Angeles-Liberia-San Jose. Starting August 1, it will fly once a day to Liberia and twice a week to San Jose from LAX.

On the international side, Scandinavian Airlines latest route adjustment includes a resumption of service to San Francisco from Copenhagen on July 2, operating two flights a week. Korean Airs new July/August schedule includes daily San Francisco-Seoul Incheon service, up from the current two flights a week; and 11 flights a week to LAX, vs. the four a week currently on the schedule. Korean also plans to resume service next month to Seattle, JFK and Chicago.

Air France has changed its resumption of Paris-Tahiti service next month; instead of operating the twice-weekly flights via a stop in Los Angeles as previously planned, it will substitute a stop at Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. As we mentioned last week, Air New Zealand doesnt expect to resume any significant long-haul operations until next year, and now Qantas is saying something similar: It has canceled most international flights at least through late October, since it doesnt expect the closure of Australias border to foreigners to be lifted until 2021.

Another one bites the dust: South American carrier and Delta partner LATAM, which recently filed for bankruptcy for some of its operating units, has now shut down one of them altogether. LATAM Argentina stopped flying this week, and while other LATAM affiliates are likely to take over some of its international routes, its nonstop Miami-Buenos Aires service is unlikely to return. The route is also served by American and Aerolineas Argentinas.

Boring news: In southern California, San Bernardino County has approved a feasibility study of a proposal by Elon Musks Boring Company to dig a 2.8-mile tunnel connecting a local Metrolink rail station with Ontario International Airport. The county has been looking for new ways to get people to the airport, including a light rail extension of the Gold Line from Pomona. The advantage of Boring Companys proposed tunnel? It would only cost $60 million, vs. an estimated $1.5 billion price tag for the surface light rail line. Earlier, Musks company had a plan to whisk travelers through a tunnel in Chicago from downtown to OHare Airport in 12 minutes, but that was scrapped when a new administration took over City Hall. Boring Company is currently working on short tunnels linking parts of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

At Seattle-Tacoma International, airport officials have received a proposal from American Express to move its Centurion Lounge to a new location and to triple its size from the current 4,500 square feet to 13,700. AmEx wants to lease space on the upper level of SEAs Central Terminal for the lounge, which is expected to cost $16.5 million to build. Airport officials are due to take up the plan at a meeting next week. (Note: All Centurion Lounges have been temporarily closed since March.)

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

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An Easton woman was one of six smurfs who helped buy ingredients for a 70-year-old meth cook in Bucks County, prosecutors said.

Gary Lynn Moyer cooked and sold meth out of his home on Cherry Lane in Dublin borough, the Bucks County District Attorneys office said.

Six other people allegedly acted as a smurfs, buying the cold medicine and other ingredients used to manufacture meth.

The co-defendants charged are:

Donna Rapoli, 56, of Easton

Teresa Ann Truitt, 58, of Dublin

Christopher Clemmer, 38, of Dublin

Harold Bickley, 61, of Perkasie

Annette Bickley, 57, of Perkasie

Lisa Hilbert, 50, of Long Pond, Monroe County

Ephedrine is a main precursor chemical to make meth, prosecutors said.

Surveillance video from stores showed the smurfs buying cold medicine with ephedrine at pharmacy counters, and then delivering the supplies to Moyers home, prosecutors said.

Some acted as lookouts while Moyer cooked the meth, investigators said.

Moyer and the others purchased enough medication with ephedrine to make nearly 2,000 grams of meth, prosecutors said. Moyer allegedly paid the smurfs with the drug.

The coronavirus didnt stop them. Good law enforcement investigation and cooperation did. People in Bucks County are much safer as a result, District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said in a news release.

Moyer was arraigned Wednesday on seven charges, including operating a methamphetamine lab and possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine. He was sent to Bucks County Jail in lieu of 10% of $750,000 bail.

The six others face similar charges. Attorneys have not yet entered appearances on the behalf of the co-defendants.

Rapoli was released on $100,000 unsecured bail. Efforts to reach her Saturday were unsuccessful.

Harold Bickley, Hilbert, and Clemmer were each sent to county jail in lieu of 10% of $200,000 bail; Annette Bickley was sent to jail in lieu of 10% of $75,000 bail; and Truitt sent to jail in lieu of 10% of $50,000 bail.

The Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force, and the Dublin, Bedminster Township and Quakertown police departments all worked on the investigation.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Talk about the need for consolidation in the energy industry has abounded in recent years. One Midland-based company has taken that talk to heart and in the process has doubled its size.

Intrepid Directional Drilling Specialties has acquired the directional drilling business of Gyrodata, doubling its capabilities in North America and expanding its presence in some Latin American countries.

Asked why buy a business in the current economic climate, Clint Leazar, founder and president of Intrepid, answered, This economic climate is full of opportunity. Our segment of the oil field services industry is in need of consolidation. Its going to be important to have scale and critical mass. This acquisition was the first step in a broader and longer-term strategy.

Leazer said he and Robert Trainer, president and chief executive officer of Gyrodata, had been having discussions since last October when things were much better.

The two agreed that the industry needed to consolidate and reduce the number of companies in the directional drilling business  currently about 90  in order to survive. The two men knew they would gain from combining complementary assets, customers and personnel. And as it became clearer, they wanted out of the directional drilling business, we acquired their assets and personnel, Leazer said in a phone interview.

Leazer said he is in talks with three other companies about acquisition, merger or combination.

The industry can only sustain so many rigs being idled, he said.

The industry is starting to understand the need for critical mass, he said. A $100 million company is not critical mass.

Leazer started Intrepid in August 2001 and built it into a $100 million company. He said he is one of the only soup-to-nuts directional drilling CEOs, having worked in the industry from the shop up to the corner office.

The downturn has resulted in some compensation reductions and job losses at Intrepid, he said. But the team remains highly motived, loyal, hard-working and dedicated every day to the goal of being the best.

Demand has been dramatically reduced, but Intrepid has benefited from long-term relationships with its premier customers, Leazer said. He estimates the company is currently servicing roughly 10 percent of the active rigs.

Intrepid also is piggybacking on Gyrodatas international contacts, preparing projects in Ecuador and Colombia in the next 30 to 45 days, Leazer said.

While this downturn is the worst he has seen, he is confident the industry will come out the other side stronger and healthier. He also said the Permian Basin will remain the hot spot for oil and gas activity, even as activity grows in the Marcellus Shale, the Eagle Ford of South Texas and in the Rocky Mountains.

It may be three months, six months, end of this year or next year, the industry will come back, he said.

The theme of our 2020 business plan is a quote from Abraham Lincoln: The best way to predict the future ...is to create it, he said.
New Delhi:

Jama't ud Da'wah chief and Mumbai 26/11 attack master-mind Hafiz Saeed took to twitter to respond to India's surgical strike in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. He warned that Pakistan would reply to Indian aggression and would take revenge.

Read More: Indian Army's surgical strike detailed hour by hour

However he dismissed India's claims of surgical attack in PoK, calling it a drama enacted by India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Read More: Surgical Strike: What does this combat doctrine mean?

The Terror master mind also called upon Nawaz Sharif to fulfill the promises he made in United Nations General Assembly. Saeed requested politicians and religious groups to stand united.

Read More: Army on high alert along LoC in Poonch

Once again the terror chief raised the issue of liberation of Kashmir and Pak army to be given free hand.

Read More: India's triumphant surgical strikes across LOC: How World powers reacted

No #SurgicalStrikes took place in AJK, this is a psyop drama directed by Ajit Doval. @HafizSaeedNow #SurgicalStrikes  Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedNow) September 30, 2016

Indian Media, will also see how Pakistani Jawans conduct surgical strikes now. US will not be able to help@HafizSaeedNow #SurgicalStrikes

 Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (@HafizSaeedNow) September 30, 2016

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
UNHCR/Scott Nelson

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, celebrated every year on 20 June, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, partners with the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) to support distressed refugee families in Egypt amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The generous contribution from Sawiris Foundation will support 2,673 refugee households identified by UNHCR as highly vulnerable as a result of COVID-19. The partnership, launched this month and running through November 2020, secures monthly cash grants to refugees currently in dire need of support to make ends meet, having lost their livelihood due to the pandemic and have either been or are at risk of being evicted.

This is the first partnership between UNHCR and Sawiris Foundation, who normally fund economic empowerment and educational programs for the most marginalized Egyptians.

Sawiris Foundation has been actively empowering the most disenfranchised Egyptians for 19 years since its founding, through access to top notch education and job opportunities. We have been quick to respond during the COVID outbreak to support families most impacted in these difficult times. Our Board recognizes the importance of including refugees in Egypt in our plans as they are certainly amongst the most vulnerable populations. We are certain that through this collaboration we can give some hope and needed assistance to these families, said Eng. Samih Sawiris, SFSD Founding Member and member of its board of trustees.

UNHCRs multi-purpose cash assistance programme is a means of protection and livelihood support to refugees and asylum-seekers unable to meet their basic needs such as rent, hygiene, health, education, food and other household expenses. We are very grateful for the generosity of Sawiris Foundation and greatly appreciate that together we can provide lifeline support to these families, who otherwise may not be able to cope with their destitute situation, said Karim Atassi, UNHCR Egypt Representative.

Sawiris Foundations donation comes in response to an appeal for USD 10.2 million UNHCR Egypt has made to address the impact of COVID-19. With additional funding, UNHCR would be able to expand its cash programme to reach more refugees in need, support refugee access to primary and secondary healthcare, expand access of refugee children to distance learning and ensure protection services for marginalized groups are maintained.

While the wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers remains at the center of its prevention and response efforts, UNHCR also stands in solidarity with the Egyptian people and continues to coordinate with and support the ongoing efforts of the Egyptian Government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

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A police officer who died after being shot during a traffic stop in New Zealand has been remembered as a person of great integrity who fulfilled a life-long dream of becoming a cop.

Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt, 28, was killed by gunshot after performing a routine traffic stop on Friday morning in Massey, a suburb of New Zealands largest city, Auckland.

Police say a second officer was shot and seriously injured, while the offender also allegedly struck a member of the public in his vehicle, injuring them.

On Saturday, New Zealand Police released a statement on behalf of Constable Hunts family, who said it was his life-long dream to become a police officer.

Matthew was a person of great integrity. His closest friends were like his brothers and sisters and they, along with his family, are absolutely heartbroken by what has happened, his family said.

He was passionate about sport and his physical fitness and was thrilled to enjoy the recent Blues game at Eden Park with his mates.

New Zealand Police Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt, 28, died after he was shot during a traffic stop. Source: New Zealand Police

Commissioner Andrew Coster said Constable Hunt joined the police force in October 2017.

He spent the majority of his career working frontline at Orewa and Helensville Stations before recently moving to work in our Waitemata Road Policing Team based at Harbour Bridge Station, he said.

Our police family across New Zealand are mourning the tragic and senseless death of Constable Hunt and our priority remains on supporting his family at this tragic time.

Along with this, we are also ensuring the welfare of all other police staff who attended the incident as well as the other injured officer and injured member of the public.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said news of Constable Hunts death on Friday was devastating.

Police at the scene of the shooting. Source: AAP

Police searching for woman

A 24-year-old has been charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving causing injury.

He will appear before the Waitakere District Court on Saturday.

Police are unable to rule out the possibility of other people being charged.

Story continues

On Saturday, police said they were also seeking Natalie Bracken, 30, in relation to the shooting.

Natalie Bracken, 30, is being sought following the shooting. Source: NZ Police

The 30-year-old has a warrant to arrest on driving charges and is also wanted to arrest as an accessory after the fact to the murder of Constable Matthew Hunt, Detective Superintendent Dave Lynch said.

Police have no information to suggest that Ms Bracken is in possession of a firearm but she does have previous history for a possession of a knife.

Ms Bracken is known to associate with people that have affiliations to a number of gangs.

Anyone who sees her is being told not to approach her and call police.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Gov. Phil Murphy vowed Friday that while systemic racism is a crisis that has infected every aspect of American life, he will work tirelessly to address it and its cascading effects in New Jersey.

Black Lives Matter are not just words. It is a personal call to action, Murphy, a progressive Democrat who is white, said during a speech at a largely Black church in Trenton on Juneteenth, the date that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Our goal  not as an administration, but as a society  is this: That the pain of yesterday, and the pain of today, does not become the pain of tomorrow, the governor added.

Murphy didnt announce any new policy initiatives in his address. A few hours earlier, he announced hes throwing his support behind a long-stalled proposal to strengthen environmental protections for low-income communities with large minority populations in New Jersey.

Instead, Murphy used the speech to reiterate his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which has gained attention in the days since the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota last month sparked protests against police brutality and racial injustice across the country.

The 401-year history of slavery and racism in the nation is writ-large in the inequalities in wages and wealth, health care, in housing, in education, in economic opportunity, and on and on down the line, and, including in treatment by law enforcement, Murphy said.

Those of us who have been granted privilege because of the color of our skin must recognize the many generations of pain which have been visited upon those without that privilege, he added in his speech at Friendship Baptist Church. I also recognize and celebrate the new generation of Americans who refuse to inherit this legacy.

The reason that Black lives matter is because we are one state, one family, and we rise and fall  and we march and protest  as one, Murphy continued.

Murphy said he will work with his team and state lawmakers on policy that will highlight and work to root-out the disparities in housing, income, transportation, education, and other issue areas, that have a direct impact on Black and Brown people.

The governor noted how in his 2 1/2 years as governor, he signed laws that will gradually increase minimum wage to $15 an hour, guarantee paid sick leave, expand access to paid family leave, and reform criminal record expungement.

Murphy also noted how, in the wake of Floyds death, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal recently announced he will launch a statewide database of police use of force and create a licensing system for police officers in New Jersey.

We have put New Jersey squarely at the forefront of the national fight for justice, Murphy said. It is well past time for us to account for our past.

Still, Murphy has yet to achieve his campaign promise of legalizing marijuana in New Jersey  a move he said is aimed to end the disproportionate number of minority residents who are arrested for possessing the drug. The battle over the initiative has stalled in the state Legislature.

Murphy also invoked the name of Maurice Gordon, an unarmed Black man who was killed by a State Police trooper in South Jersey last month.

Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Gordon and every family who has shared this kind of tragic loss, the governor said.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought news of the Emancipation Proclamation to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, more than 900 days after President Abraham Lincoln signed it and more than two months after the end of the Civil War.

Murphys speech comes a say after state lawmakers announced they are introducing legislation to make Juneteeth a state holiday in New Jersey.

The bill would have to pass both houses of the Democratic-controlled Legislature before Murphy decides whether sign it into law.

Murphy said this week, I like the notion.

Several businesses  including Target, Twitter and Uber  have made Juneteenth company holidays.

Meanwhile, Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Ralph Northam of Virginia already have announced theyre making June 19 a paid holiday for state government employees and will propose legislation recognizing the day as a formal state holiday.

Juneteenth is not a federal holiday.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
I was fortunate to have benefited from the knowledge, wisdom, affection and love of B.P.R. Vithal garu. He enhanced my understanding of things, people, issues, institutions and ideas in a wholesome manner with a memorable built-in humour.

The range of subjects that we discussed over five decades have indeed been wide and continues to encompass society, politics, religion, history, economics and of course public finance. Most of the learning happened in a chatty manner, through examples and anecdotes rather than pontification or enunciation.

I had the privilege of listening to Vithal garu in 1961 when he presented a paper in a seminar on Applied Economics in Osmania University. At that time he was registrar of Osmania University and I was a full time research fellow.

His presentation combined a deep understanding of history, politics and economics, and I was very impressed with it because it went beyond the standard recourse to research methodologies or personal experiences.

That approach had an influence on my subsequent presentations in various seminars. I joined the IAS in 1964 and moved on to become deputy secretary, planning, in September 1969, which gave me a golden opportunity to work under Vithal garu.

I came to know later that he brought me into his fold to spare the chief secretary from the predicament that he was facing due to my difficult way of functioning in Guntur district as Collector in charge at that time. In a sense, therefore, Vithal garu virtually took me under his protection and chose me to be one of his shishyas.

I would like to recall a few memorable things that I learnt from Vithal garu during my days in planning department. He never disagreed with his deputies on the file without discussing the matter.

Early in my career, when he called me for discussion and expressed disagreement with what I proposed, I mentioned to him that he could overrule me on file and that I have no objection to his views at all. He clarified that in his view, all of us are endowed with similar intelligence and devotion to work.

Therefore, he would like to discuss so that we appreciate each others point of view. In his view, reasonable people should be able to come to an agreement once the facts and assumptions are clarified.

He explained that the issue of overruling will arise only when differences cannot be resolved through discussion. He added that even when a subordinate is overruled, it does not mean that the superior in the office is more intelligent but that is the only convenient way in which organisations are run. Vithal garu always used to call for discussion whenever he disagreed.

This has a lasting impact on me and I have internalised it, both in office and my home; even with my children and grandchildren. Whenever there are disagreements among my grandchildren they say like tattaya, let us discuss and decide.

Vithal garu was a very soft-spoken and pleasant, but he could be very assertive when warranted.

There was an occasion when a political leader complained about delays at my level when I was deputy secretary, planning. I was present and there was an accusation of some motives on my part for having delayed the papers. It is true that the papers were delayed and it was also true that it was deliberate.

But it was done in what we considered to be public interest. The moment the political leader mentioned about a deliberate delay on my part, Vithal garu promptly asserted that he takes personal responsibility for any delay in his department and that there should be no passing of responsibility on his deputies in such matters.

Yet, I was annoyed and decided to resign from the service as a protest. Vithal garu appreciated that my feelings were hurt and persuaded the political leader to apologise to me so that I withdrew my intention to resign from service. This episode shows Vithal garus generosity as well as commitment to ensure that public interest is served, while respecting the professional roles and dignities of all people concerned.

He could advise, assert and deliver, by virtue of the trust and confidence that he commanded from the political leadership and bureaucracy in equal measures. I tried to learn from him the art of expressing disagreement without being unpleasant.

When I started as deputy secretary, planning, I wanted to do significant analytical work on regional planning. At that time Vithal garu was not convinced that these were of any practical use.

True to his nature, he did not keep his reservation a secret but at the same time he explained that I was at liberty to pursue what I thought was right course of action as long as there was no harm done to the system. I was granted freedom to pursue analytical and theoretical interests as long as they were of relevance to my job. He adopted a similar benign approach to my completing the thesis For PhD during my stint in planning department,

Above all, he was very liberal in allowing me to participate in national or international seminars without demur, provided there was no financial burden on the State, He had trust and confidence in me that I would pursue academic interest in a way that does riot adversely affect performance of official duties,

There has been one area in which, despite my best efforts, I could not reach the standards set by Vithal garu and that relates to the quality of drafting.

From the time I started working with him in 1969, he was always urging me to improve my drafting, be it notes or papers. I think that have been improving, but I am acutely aware that I am still short of the high standards that he set.

I look up to him for guidance, wherever I happened to be Government of India, Reserve Bank of India, World Bank, International Monetary Fund or Finance Commission. Vithal garu bestowed on me the honour and privilege of being one of his shishyas.

B.P.R. Vithal, a veteran economist and 1950-batch IAS officer who was finance and planning secretary to the Andhra Pradesh government, and also served briefly with the IMF, died in Hyderabad on Friday, aged 93

Y. Venugopal Reddy is a former governor of the Reserve Bank of Indi
President Xi Jinping will meet with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission via a videoconference during the 22nd China-EU leaders' meeting to be held next week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday.

The leaders' meeting will be co-hosted by Premier Li Keqiang, council leader Charles Michel and commission leader Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.

It will be the first official meeting between the Chinese leadership and the new EU leaders, both of whom took office in December.

"China highly values this meeting and stands ready to work with the EU to push for positive results from it," Zhao said, adding that the meeting plays a significant guiding role in the China-EU relationship, established 45 years ago.

China will join hands with the EU to strengthen cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and reaching economic recovery, Zhao said. They also will deepen pragmatic cooperation in such areas as trade and investment, interconnectivity, climate change and scientific innovation, and enhance policy coordination on pressing regional and international issues.

China will also work with the EU to jointly uphold multilateralism, deal with global challenges, push forward the development of China-EU relations after the epidemic and make contributions to maintaining world peace and stability as well as promoting the global economic recovery, Zhao said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

As a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak, a series of political agendas between China and EU, including the leaders' meeting, which was scheduled in March, have been postponed.

In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this month, Xi said that a series of significant events in China-EU political exchanges were under discussion.

China is willing to keep close communication and coordination with Germanywhich holds the EU's rotating presidency for the year's second halfand with the EU to ensure the success of these events and lift China-Germany and China-EU relations to higher levels, Xi said.






Bodycam footage of a police-involved shooting in Oregon, Ohio, in which an unarmed black suspect was injured, was released by police on Thursday, June 18, and it shows officers firing on the suspect after he drives his car at one of them.

The suspect, 30-year-old Victor Dale Jr, was hit in the neck and shoulder, and has since been released from hospital, according to the Toledo Blade. The officers involved were named as Joel Turner and Logan Nitkiewicz.

Police were in the area responding to a 911 call that was discovered to be a prank when they received two reports of a man assaulting a woman nearby. In the bodycam footage, Turner approaches Dale Jr and a woman, and asks, "Are you the ones that are fighting? The woman says that everything is OK, and shortly afterwards Dale Jr begins to walk away, at which point Turner says, Mind just hanging tight for me?

Dale Jr enters his car and locks the door. Bodycam footage shows Turner drawing his gun as he stands in front of the car as Nitkiewicz approaches. The car then lurches forward, and the officers open fire, expending 21 rounds. According to NBC24, it was determined that Dale Jr was unarmed.

An investigation into the incident is continuing, with both officers placed on leave, according to Oregon Police Chief Mike Navarre as quoted in media reports. Credit: Oregon Police Department via Storyful
Tim Bradbury

In the wake of protests against deeply entrenched racism, statues of slave traders and Confederate leaders are being torn town and toppled both in the U.S. and abroad. The dismantling of Confederate statues in this particular moment are not spontaneous acts of destruction; they follow decades of debate and peaceful protest about the significance and messaging around the public display of symbols of the Confederacy. Some, however, worry that the removal of public monuments will equate to the erasure of our collective history.

None of this is anything new. As University of Iowa historian Sarah Bond has written, the practice goes all the way back to antiquityto the Romans, the ancient Egyptians, and the ancient Assyrians.

Moses was so angry about the Israelites building the idolatrous Golden Calf that he broke the two tablets of stone upon which the Ten Commandments were written by God. He then burned the calf to ashes, and made the Israelites drink them.

In the realm of politics, as early as 2700 B.C., statues of ancient Near Eastern Kings included inscriptions that cursed anyone who dared to desecrate their image. It was almost a rite of passage for conquering rulers or representatives of new dynasties to try to eliminate loyalty to their predecessors through the erasure of visual reminders of their reign. In the 15th century B.C. the architectural legacy of Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled as regent for her stepson Thutmose III, was systematically dismantled by their successors Thutmose and Amenhotep II. According to Kara Cooney, in her book The Woman who would be King, Thutmose IIIs craftsmen were instructed in how best to annihilate these statues so they could break the link between Hatshepsut and the kingship. This program of rewriting claims to power included removing images of Hatshepsut from monuments, reliefs, statues, and cartouches as well as omitting her name from the official list of Egyptian rulers (including, of course, the one produced by Thutmose III himself).

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Arguably the most well-known attempts to manipulate public memory are those of the ancient Romans. Government decrees known as damnatio memoriae would attempt to destroy visual depictions of emperors or public figures who were deemed unworthy of being part of the community: their names would be scratched out from inscriptions; their portraits reworked on frescos; and coins bearing their image would effaced.

For the Greeks and the Romans, being forgotten was a real risk. In Greek mythology, Achilles chooses between a long happy life of anonymity and a short glorious life that will lead to eternal renown. Being remembered was about immortality. As Harriet Flower has written, damnatio memoriae was the most severe punishment that the Roman legal system could impose upon a person, but it served a kind of positive role. It both eliminated the person from the Roman collective memory while simultaneously allowing that persons family and everyone else to continue life as normal.

Whats interesting about all of these examples of monumental effacement is just how ineffective they were. Those who were sentenced to historical anonymity were important: generals, senators, and monarchs. The attempted erasure of their memory just draws attention to the absencewe can still see the places where the Emperor Domitians name was removed. We know about the removal of statues of Pompey, Nero, and Caligula. We know about these ancient figures despite the other powerful individuals and groups that tried to erase them. As Bond puts it, destroying statues has always happened and we continue to know about these people in the historical record. Thus, it is not destroying history.

These efforts took place in a period in which it was possible to imagine erasing someones name. It took place in a world in which public memorialization was limited to expensive monuments, coins, statues, seals, and texts. It was plausible that an emperor or the senate could eliminate all evidence of a persons existence. If it proved difficult to erase history in the ancient world, then it is impossible to imagine that such things could happen in the present. On the contrary, the internet means that for most of us the far more pressing danger is that we will leave behind us a tangled, uncurated, and, frankly, embarrassing, mass of information that will speak volumes long after we die.

The impact and histories of Robert Lee and British slave trader Edward Colston will be preserved without symbolic statues that implicitly celebrate them for accomplishments that are, by definition, racist. The history of their actions will be retold not only because it is impossible to erase them, but also because it is imperative to remember them. It is trite to note the dangers of forgetting our histories, but absolutely no one is advocating for that. On the contrary, those removing their statues want us to improve our understand of the history of racism and scrutinize the conditions under which racism and slavery flourished. What is being negated is the prestige and honor that such statues bequeath on those who profited from and fought for the enslavement of others.

This is not to say that all public monuments that are deemed problematic by anyone at all should be destroyed. The destruction of sites of cultural heritage by ISIS is something that correctly shocked and horrified people. But, as Bond has noted, theres also something freeing about destroying statues that symbolize oppression. Few spilled tears when US forces in Baghdad toppled the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos square. When the removal of a statue comes at the behest of an oppressed community it can do important work. In the case of the 2010 removal of Josef Stalins statue from his childhood home in Gori, Georgia, there was something cathartic about the quiet dismantling of his legacy there. At the time, Georgias culture minister noted that Stalin had created problems in Georgia that continued into the present. The removal of the statue was about healing those wounds.

Many of the statues currently being torn down are not relics of the incredibly short-lived Confederacy at all. Many of these statues were mass produced around the turn of the 20th century, when racist nostalgia wistfully looked back to this period. Its worth asking if these are monuments to anything other than intractable racism. Do they celebrate a period in our history of which we should be ashamed or, even worse, have they always been symbols of the racist glorification of that period by white supremacists?

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gestures during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Friday said he had spoken to BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink at the request of the Argentine government to lobby the asset management firm to accept Argentina's offer during debt restructuring talks.

Argentina and its biggest bondholders are at loggerheads over plans to restructure $65 billion in foreign debt, with some of the world's biggest asset management companies negotiating with Buenos Aires.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has previously met with Fink, said Argentine President Alberto Fernandez had called him to ask him to speak to the BlackRock <BLK.N> boss and explain Argentina's restructuring proposal.

"He knew I had a good relationship with Larry Fink," Lopez Obrador told a news conference.

Argentina had been asking for a multi-year halt on bond payments, plus a large reduction in coupon payments.

Fernandez had an idea about how much of the debt Argentina could repay and told him the plan was "to pay 41% of the debt, a 59% reduction to reach an understanding", Lopez Obrador added.

The president, describing Fink as a "good person", said he spoke to the BlackRock chief to inquire if he was aware of the proposals. Fink responded it was not solely down to him and that he would propose to the board a reduction of 50-55%, he added.

BlackRock declined to comment.

Holders of Argentine debt include asset managers Amundi, Ashmore, BlueBay, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and several hedge funds.

Lopez Obrador said he advised Fernandez that the usual recommendation was to reach a deal that would be convenient for all parties.

The deadline set by the Argentine government to negotiate the debt restructuring is due to expire later on Friday, although this week Fernandez said the deadline for the negotiations would be extended by at least 10 days.

(Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Alistair Bell)
A broad array of business and local government groups is calling on Oregon lawmakers to grant them coronavirus-related liability protections in the special session scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Gov. Kate Brown called the special session to pass police accountability bills after nationwide demonstrations against law enforcement killing Black people.

Democratic leaders and the governor also want lawmakers to vote on coronavirus response policies and a grab bag of other legislation that appeals to rural Republicans or failed to pass in the short 2020 session when Republicans walked out of the Capitol. House Speaker Tina Kotek has said the session will likely take at least two days.

Oregons largest business lobbying group and associations that represent city and county governments and schools say they urgently need a new state law as well to shield them from lawsuits related to coronavirus. The only liability protection included in bill proposals released late Friday would apply narrowly to governments and businesses such as motels that provide isolation shelter to people during the public health emergency.

If an entity is acting under orders of the governor or if they are following the guidelines issued to safely guide their operations, then they should have certainty during the COVID-19 emergency situation that they will not be sued, the roughly four-dozen state and national associations and lobbying groups wrote in a letter to lawmakers. Entities need to know they have protection from lawsuits if they are following state mandated safety guidelines.

Specifically, the proposed bill would bar courts from awarding damages against businesses, governments and people who are complying with the states coronavirus emergency orders and regulations, unless the damages result from the person or entitys gross negligence or from the person or entitys reckless, wanton or intentional misconduct.

Liability protections during the pandemic have generated controversy nationally, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted they be part of the next federal stimulus and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused. Support or opposition to the legal shield policy does not always follow party lines. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo inserted liability protections for nursing homes into the states budget.

In Oregon, few lawsuits have been filed related to coronavirus. At least two were filed by relatives of residents of a now-closed Southeast Portland nursing home who died after contracting coronavirus. State inspectors found the facility was not following guidelines including infection control mandates.

A large portion of coronavirus-related deaths in Oregon have occurred among nursing home residents, following a national trend. The powerful long-term care facility lobbying group, the Oregon Health Care Association, was not among the groups that signed onto the letter seeking liability protections in the special session. But it has joined other health care groups in recent months to lobby for lawsuit protections.

Without action from Gov. Brown and the Oregon Legislature, these providers will almost certainly pay the price for carrying out the states executive orders, putting providers, facilities and the state at great risk once this crisis subsides, the groups wrote on a website dedicated to their cause. Join Oregonians across the state and urge Gov. Kate Brown and state lawmakers to take action now to Protect Oregon Providers!

Rosie Ward, a spokeswoman for the long-term care group, did not say specifically why it was not listed with other supporters on the recent letter to state leaders. We have one priority in any upcoming Oregon legislative session and that is making sure that frontline healthcare workers have the resources and supports they need to keep people healthy and safe and combat this horrible virus, Ward wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

House Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said she supports the liability protections businesses and local governments want.

For those that are following those rules and meeting those guidelines, there should be a safe harbor for them from frivolous lawsuits, Drazan said in an interview late Friday afternoon. I think that its possible to  also ensure that if there is a need for someone to sue, if someone has acted in bad faith, then thats also still available.

Drazan said theres still time for Democratic leaders to support the change. As to whether House Republicans will show up and provide the quorum Democrats need to conduct business on the House floor without a broad liability protection bill, Drazan said her caucus members need to review the bills Democrat leaders have selected. Im not really sure how this is gonna turn out, Drazan said.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | @hborrud

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211 new coronavirus cases reported

Michigan health officials on Friday announced 211 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the states total to 60,829 cases.

This is the third consecutive day the state has reported more than 200 new cases. New confirmed cases had remained below 200 from June 12 until Wednesday.

Five more people have died from the virus, pushing the states total COVID-19 death toll to 5,823 people. Kent County reported four of those deaths and Gratiot County reported one of those deaths. The statewide fatality rate for COVID-19 is about 10%.

File pboto, June 10, 2020, by Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com

Michigan gyms may reopen

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lost a court battle Friday when a U.S. District judge struck down Whitmers executive order banning gyms and fitness centers as unconstitutional.

The judge said the ban may remain in place until June 25, at which time, absent of an appeal or stay, the businesses may reopen.

With this ruling, the court is playing a dangerous role it should not play: second-guessing and upending the data-informed decisions that have saved thousands of lives in Michigan, Whitmers spokeswoman, Tiffany Brown, said. The idea that gyms  with their high levels of heavy respiratory activity, shared indoor spaces, and shared surfaces  might be one of the later businesses to come back online in the midst of this global pandemic is hardly surprising and highly sensible.

MLive photographer Nicole Hester was hit by rubber bullets fire by Detroit police during the Saturday, May 31, 2020 protest in the city. (Nicole Hester, MLive.com)

Detroit police officer suspended over injury to MLive photog

The Detroit Police Department suspended an officer accused of shooting non-lethal ammunition at and injuring an MLive photographer and two other photographers covering police brutality protests in downtown Detroit.

The officer was suspended with pay June 10, while the departments Professional Standards Division investigates the incident which occurred at about midnight, May 31, near Kennedy Square, Detroit Police Department Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood said.

MLive photojournalist Nicole Hester was hit by as many as a dozen pellets in her face and body, leaving welts and narrowly missing an eye.

Michigan State Police talk with a festival attendee inside Sherwood Forest during the first day of the Electric Forest Music Festival onThursday, June 27, 2019 at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Michigan. Joel Bissell | MLive.comJoel Bissell | MLive.com

Electric Forest Cancelled

ROTHBURY, MI - The host of the popular Electric Forest camping and music festival, canceled this year due to coronavirus, has announced plans for a knockoff event called Sherwood Forest.

With the cancellation of Electric Forest, Double JJ has announced it will hold its own Sherwood Forest Appreciation Weekend on June 26-28, the same weekend as Electric Forest would have been.

Organizers of Electric Forest distanced themselves from Sherwood Forest in a post on Twitter: Heads up, Forest Family - this event is not hosted by or affiliated with Electric Forest festival or Forest HQ,

Karl Manke, the Owosso-based barber who opened his barbershop despite the stay-at-home executive order, cuts a man's hair during "Operation Haircut" on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Michigan drops lawsuit against rogue barber

The state has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against Karl Manke, the 77-year old Owosso barber who has been locked in a legal battle over attempts to shut down his shop because of the coronavirus pandemic, his attorney says.

David A. Kallman, Mankes attorney, said in a news release that the Department of Attorney General agreed to a full and final dismissal of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services lawsuit against Manke, a suit that also sought an injunction against him to force the closure of his shop.

The Michigan Supreme Court recently vacated a Court of Appeals ruling that had granted the injunction.

City Hall in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.Joel Bissell

Kalamzoo low risk for coronavirus

Kalamazoo County has now moved into the low risk category for COVID-19, according to state data.

State data reports that 222 tests were administered and the positivity rate among patients was only 1.9% during the seven-day period ending June 16, according to a dashboard created by the University of Michigan and state officials.

The low risk category is defined as having a positive test threshold of 3% or less.

Central Michigan University sign. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.comKaytie Boomer | MLive.com

CMU commencement postponed, again

Coronavirus concerns are again postponing commencement for spring Central Michigan University graduates.

Recent graduates were originally scheduled to walk across the stage for graduation on May 9. Once CMU went online-only for the rest of the semester, that date was changed to Aug. 15. On Friday, June 19, CMU announced the rescheduled date in August has been postponed.

Commencement updates will be posted on CMUs website, and students can also fill out a commencement notification form to receive updates.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

Read more on MLive:

Michigan gyms to reopen

Mask rule places retailers in no-win situation

Whos wearing masks, results from 37 Michigan stores

Coronavirus in Michigan: Maps, charts and the latest reports

Whitmer to extend Michigans state of emergency
Brussels (AFP) - Belgium is due a reckoning with its colonial past, and things left unsaid must now be discussed, argues the Congolese-born 72-year-old who became the country's first black mayor.

Pierre Kompany's family has made a name for itself in Belgium. He is a former refugee turned pioneering politician, and his son Vincent Kompany is a star footballer in the national squad, the world's top-ranked team.

But, in an interview with AFP before the June 30 anniversary of the then Belgian Congo's independence, and against a backdrop of anti-racism protests, Kompany senior said it was time for some home truths.

While in the United States activists declaring "Black Lives Matter" have targeted the symbols of the slave-holding Confederacy, in Belgium the protests have focused around statues of Leopold II, "King Builder" of the Belgian nation.

Reigning between 1865 and 1909, Leopold held Belgium's central African territory -- now the Democratic Republic of Congo -- as a personal fiefdom, profiting directly from rubber plantations run with sadistic and murderous brutality.

Historians and writers have documented the crimes of the era, in which up to 10 million Congolese were killed or fell victim to disease and torture, but Leopold's statues still look down on parks and squares across modern Belgium.

For Kompany, the monuments should have been taken down and placed in museums years before they became the target of protests and night-raids by activists, as part of a broader reckoning with the past that could heal some modern wounds.

"No one would go into a museum to smash them," smiles Kompany, who was elected bourgmestre or mayor of the Brussels suburb of Ganshoren in 2018 and represents the centrist CDH party in the capital's regional parliament.

"There is a flagrant reality, it's not in doubt," he says of the crimes carried out in Leopold II's name.

For Kompany, Belgium missed an important opportunity to face up to its past in 2009, the centenary of the former king's death, which the Belgium state allowed to pass without fanfare, embarrassed to revive debate over his legacy.

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- 'Powerful moment' -

The facts should now be taught in Belgian schools, and the state and the crown -- today represented by Philippe, king of the Belgians -- should apologise, he argues.

"If the state makes an apology, that would already be a lot, but if the royal family were to do so as well, it would emerge all the greater for it," Kompany says.

Born in Bukavu in eastern Congo in 1947, Kompany fled his country in 1975 after taking part in a student uprising. With the help of a doctor he feigned a rare disease and set off to Belgium supposedly to seek treatment.

There he worked as a taxi driver to finance his civil engineering degree. He became a Belgian citizen in 1982 and married Jocelyne, with who he had three children and, now, seven grandchildren.

His family has always gravitated to the struggle for civil rights and social justice and he recalls them sharing the works of Aime Cesaire and Nelson Mandela as gifts.

Kompany did not return to Congo until 2010, when he accompanied his famous son Vincent and an NGO to open an orphanage.

"When I left Kinshasa there were fewer than a million inhabitants. When I came back it was more than 10 million. I was overwhelmed. It was a powerful moment," he recalls.

He has these people, so far away, in mind now as he presses the campaign for an official apology. "It would do them good. They would realise that unacceptable things happened," he says.
EWING  Public be aware, the municipal government wants to hide the truth.

As protesters demonstrate against police brutality and state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal compels law-enforcement agencies to identify officers who commit serious disciplinary violations, Ewing Township still refuses to release key documents concerning force used against a juvenile.

Ewing Police manhandled a juvenile into custody in January 2018, but the township is not disclosing any of its use of force reports or UFRs surrounding that incident.

Judge Carmen H. Alvarez of the state Superior Court Appellate Division issued a landmark opinion in February saying Ewing Township wrongly denied The Trentonians request for information in an arrest where township cops used force against a 16-year-old car thief suspect.

Instead of complying with Alvarezs opinion, Ewing Township is asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to intervene, arguing the UFRs in question must be strictly safeguarded from public release because Alvarezs decision is palpably unfair, wrong and unjust.

Alvarezs ruling reversed a prior decision by Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson, who dismissed The Trentonians complaint with prejudice in July 2018 upon determining the requested UFRs were exempt from New Jerseys Open Public Records Act because the subject had been charged as a juvenile delinquent.

The Trentonian filed its civil-action lawsuit against Ewing Township and Municipal Clerk Kim J. Macellaro in March 2018 after the township had refused to release any use of force reports detailing the physical and newsworthy encounter between the police and teenage subject.

Following Alvarezs ruling, lawyers for Ewing Township filed a petition May 5 formally asking the State Supreme Court to reverse the Appellate Divisions decision.

Alvarez said Ewing must release the UFRs with certain redactions under OPRA, concluding that when police employ force against a minor charged as a delinquent, redaction of his or her name on the UFR satisfies both the publics right to access important information regarding police conduct and a juveniles right to privacy, which is mandated by statute and court rule.

The Trentonian, satisfied with Alvarezs decision, filed a brief last month urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to deny Ewings Petition for Certification. The newspaper, however, is prepared to litigate this matter before the justices should they request additional briefs and oral arguments.

As people are rightfully taking to the streets to protest brutality, this moment demands as much transparency in policing as possible, CJ Griffin, the attorney who filed the OPRA lawsuit on behalf of The Trentonian, said in a statement. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will let the Appellate Divisions well-reasoned decision stand so that we can gain access to the use of force reports as soon as possible and learn more about what occurred.

AG Grewal agrees with The Trentonian that all use of force reports in New Jersey are public records subject to release under OPRA.

Withholding an entire UFR, when the privacy interests and confidential nature of a juveniles information can be sufficiently protected through redactions, is contrary to the Attorney Generals continued efforts to provide greater transparency related to police use of force, the Attorney Generals Office said in a court brief filed last September.

Grewal recently issued a statewide order requiring all state, county and local law enforcement agencies to release, on at least an annual basis, the identities of law enforcement officers who have been terminated, demoted, or suspended for more than five days. Law enforcement agencies will be required to publish their first annual list no later than Dec. 31.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated at Moody Park in Ewing last week to condemn racism and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. Similar protests have taken place throughout the United States in recent weeks.

A database on force.nj.com shows that Ewing cops have previously used force on juveniles, including compliance holds and discharges of chemical agent pepper spray.

We need access to all use of force reports so that we can ensure that use of force policies are followed, said Griffin of the Pashman Stein Walder Hayden media law group, and so that we can flag officers who use force too much and demand a response from the police department superiors, be it re-training or discipline.

The Supreme Court may grant or deny Ewings petition in the coming months.
Bengaluru: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd has received Indian regulatory approval to make and sell oral antiviral drug favipiravir for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections in the country, it said on Friday.

The Mumbai-based company said the approval was part of India`s accelerated approval process and the drug was meant for "restricted emergency use," meaning patients must sign their consent before being treated by the drug.

Favipiravir is also undergoing trials in other countries to test its efficacy as a COVID-19 treatment.

Japan`s Fujifilm Holdings Corp, which makes favipiravir under the brand name Avigan, said last week its research on the drug as a potential COVID-19 treatment may drag on until July.

Drugmakers across the world have been rushing to develop a treatment or vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has infected 8.5 million people globally, killing more than 453,000, according to a Reuters tally.

India, the fourth-worst hit country, reported a record daily jump in the number of coronavirus cases on Friday, and the death toll reached 12,573.

The approval for favipiravir in India, which Glenmark plans to sell as "FabiFlu", was granted based on "evaluation of data," the company said in a brief statement to stock exchanges. (https://bit.ly/310MByO)

The company plans to provide more details in a press briefing on Saturday, it added.

Glenmark began a late-stage trial of favipiravir on COVID-19 patients last month. It is also separately testing a combination of favipiravir and umifenovir, another anti-viral drug, as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
UN Calls on Iran for Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites

By VOA News June 19, 2020

The United Nations nuclear agency said it passed a resolution Friday urging Iran to allow inspectors access to two sites where undeclared nuclear material was believed to have been used or stored.

The resolution was adopted at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting at the United Nations.

Iran has not allowed access to the sites for months, leading to heightened diplomatic tensions.

Britain, France and Germany proposed the resolution, which is supported by the U.S.

U.S. State Department Secretary Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday, "Iran's denial of access to IAEA inspectors and refusal to cooperate with the IAEA's investigation is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about what Iran is trying to hide."

U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said during a call with reporters Friday, "If Iran really has nothing to hide," as it claims, "then it should have no problem granting full access to IAEA inspectors."

The IAEA resolution "calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the agency and satisfy the agency's requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the agency."

The resolution, which Russia and China opposed, puts more pressure on Tehran to stop blocking access to the sites.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, tweeted that the resolution is "counterproductive."

Iran's Foreign Ministry also criticized the resolution, saying the country has cooperated with the IAEA. Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement Friday the resolution is a "completely unconstructive and disappointing step."

Iran maintains the IAEA has no legal authority to inspect the sites, where activities are believed to have taken place earlier this century, before Iran agreed to the 2015 nuclear pact with global powers.

The U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018. The other signatories, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, have since tried to preserve the agreement.

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Five cruise ships have been detained in UK docks after trapped crew reportedly went on hunger strike over unpaid wages amid coronavirus.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency boarded six ships docked in Bristol and Essex on Friday amid reports of late pay and expired contracts.

Athens-based Global Cruise Lines limited own the five ships that were seized but they are operated by British firm Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

CMV's chief executive Christian Verhounig said many of the crew were 'understandably anxious and distressed'.

Coronavirus lockdown meant many crew members couldn't return home despite being on board for more than a year in some cases. Most European workers have been sent home.

A 'number of expired and invalid Seafarers Employment Agreements' have caused problems for the shipping company.

'Our crew have endured a prolonged period quarantined on board our ships during lockdown and are understandably anxious and distressed,' Mr Verhounig said, adding that many were unable to fly home.

The All India Seafarer and General Workers Union wrote to the Indian foreign office earlier this week. The letter said 164 Indian crew members on board Astoria have been 'stuck in foreign waters for the past 90 days and need help'. Pictured, trapped crew hold up signs

Astoria, Astor, Colombus, Vasco de Gama and Marco Polo are currently berthed at Tilbury Docks in Essex, with Marco Polo at Avonmouth Docks in Bristol.

A sixth ship, the Magellan, was inspected but not found to have any significant deficiencies.

After its inspection the MCA said: 'Surveyors found a number of expired and invalid seafarers employment agreements, late payment of wages and crews who had been on board for over 12 months. All these are in breach of the Maritime Labour Convention and the ships have been detained for that reason.'

The All India Seafarer and General Workers Union wrote to the Indian foreign office earlier this week. The letter said 164 Indian crew members on board Astoria have been 'stuck in foreign waters for the past 90 days and need help'.

Some workers have gone on hunger strike in an effort to force the Indian government to bring them home, it has been claimed.

The ship's owner said 50 out of 262 crew members had 'commenced a strike, including no longer performing routine maintenance work on board'. He denied the existence of a hunger strike.

One Astoria crew member has died from 'natural causes', believed to have been a heart attack.

It is believed there are also crew from Indonesia and Myanmar, some of whom will be flown home on Sunday.

Astoria had been due to set sail for Portugal, but will stay where it is until the problems have been resolved.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'The welfare of seafarers is of the utmost importance and we take any reports of safety concerns around crew incredibly seriously.

Athens-based Global Cruise Lines limited own all five ships being kept in Bristol and Essex docks over expired contracts. Pictured, the cruise ship Magellan at Tilbury Docks in Essex, which has not been detained as no significant deficiencies were found

'Following today's investigation, five ships have been detained and we will not hesitate to continue to use every power within our control to safeguard the health and happiness of every seafarer currently working in the UK.'

A spokesman for CMV told MailOnline their ships had never been detained before but confirmed some crew members had been on board for more than a year.

It said: 'The MCA has identified some issues relating to expired crew contracts and crew being onboard in excess of 12 months.

'Both issues occurred as a result of the enforced lockdown period and the Covid-19 travel restrictions for some countries.'

The spokesman confirmed wages were late being paid last week but it has 'already been corrected by CMV'.

'The inspection onboard Magellan identified the same issues, but the vessel was not detained and was given 14 days to rectify them,' it added.

MailOnline has contacted Global Cruise Lined Limited for comment.

Shipping records show the Astoria sailed from Manzanillo, Mexico, in mid-February and arrived in Poole, Dorset, on March 10. It left Dorset on March 14 and arrived in Tilbury the next day, where it remained during lockdown.

Columbus sailed from Malta to Tilbury. The Magellan arrived at the Essex port from Reykjavik, Iceland. Both have been there since April.

The Astor, which sailed from Bremen in Germany and the Vasco de Gama from Cape Town in South Africa, have both been at Tilbury since May.

The Vasco de Gama had dropped off Australian passengers at the end of March on Rottnest Island so they could quarantine for 14 days before being allowed on the mainland.

The Marco Polo arrived at Avonmouth Docks on 22 March from Aqaba in Jordan.

Director of Maritime Safety and Standards Katy Ware said, 'This sends a very clear message that crew welfare remains a top priority for us both as a Flag and a Port State.'

'We must care for the well-being and health of our seafarers who work so hard in the industry.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20)  The policy-making body in the government's COVID-19 response has approved the allotment of funds for the country's participation in the World Health Organization Solidarity Trial  aimed at developing a vaccine against the coronavirus disease.

"The allocation of the necessary funding for the participation in the said trials [will] be proposed in the 2021 budget of the DOST (Department of Science and Technology)," the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said in its Resolution No. 47, approved on Friday and released to the media on Saturday.

It adopted a recommendation by the sub-technical working group headed by the DOST. It also agreed to create a separate panel within the working group to provide technical support for local phramaceutical companies.

The task force stressed that the Philippines should have "an equitable access and a secured portion" of the global supply once the vaccine is available.

The Philippines will also collaborate with some Chinese and Taiwanese organizations for vaccine trials. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said the country is expected to participate in the clinical trials by the last quarter of the year.

The Duterte government is also counting on Beijing to develop the vaccine against the new coronavirus, which was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The Palace said Chinese leader Xi Jinping assured President Rodrigo Duterte that the Philippines would be prioritized once China develops a vaccine.

Worldwide, COVID-19 has infected more than 8.6 million people and killed over 460,000. The Philippine has confirmed more than 28,000 infections, with 1,130 deaths and 7,378 recoveries.
Video and audio of a fatal police-involved shooting in Paterson last month that left a 36-year-old resident dead were released Friday afternoon by the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office, which is investigating the incident.

The office also released the names of the Passaic County Sheriffs Officers who fatally shot Christopher Clark, 36, of Paterson on May 23.

They were identified as Sgt. Americo Escobar, Sgt. Helman Fava and Sgt. Jose Vargas, but the office did not say which of them actually fatally shot Clark.

The video and audio can be seen here.

The three officers were called to the area of Park Avenue after gunshots were detected by a ShotSpotter and saw Clark walking along Summer Street, the office said.

Clark can be seen walking in one of the videos as a patrol car notices him and pulls a U-turn.

As the officers approached Clark, he ran and they pursued him onto 16th Avenue where they fired at him around 1:16 a.m. and fatally wounded him, the office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another video taken from a surveillance camera on the street shows Clark run through the frame as he appears to be limping, followed several seconds later by one of the sheriffs officers. However, neither that footage, nor any of the four videos released by the office Friday actually shows Clark being shot.

The office did not say whether or not Clark fired at the officers or why they shot at him, but authorities did say a loaded .45-caliber pistol was recovered near his body.

The audio and video were released Friday after the offices initial investigation was completed and members of Clarks family and a representative saw them earlier this week.

Once the investigation is completed, the case will be presented to a grand jury, which typically consists of 16 to 23 people who will ultimately decide if any criminal charges will be filed against any of the three officers, officials said.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Administrative Office of the Courts has temporarily suspended the convening of grand juries, and it was still unclear this week when they would be allowed.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
A senior associate of the Kinahan cartel has been charged with 30 money laundering offences relating to bank accounts he held in his own name over a five-year period.

Jonathan Harding (48), who is currently serving a lengthy jail term over a major weapons seizure linked to the crime gang, appeared before the Special Criminal Court yesterday to face the new charges.

The senior mob associate and his partner Carol Davis (45) were charged at the non-jury court with a total of 50 money laundering offences following an investigation by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB).

Terrorist

Detective Garda Conor O'Sullivan gave evidence to the Special Criminal Court of charging the accused.

Harding, of Kerdiff Avenue, Naas, Co Kildare, faces 30 counts of converting, transferring or handling property, to wit money, between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016 at EBS, Bank of Ireland and AIB, the proceeds of criminal conduct.

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Mr Justice Alexander Owens, presiding at the non-jury court, heard from prosecuting solicitor Michael O'Donovan that the charges came under the Criminal Justice Act 2010 and related to money laundering and terrorist financing within the State.

All 30 charges were read out to Harding by the registrar, which took 10 minutes .

They relate to accounts allegedly held in both his name and that of his co-accused, Ms Davis, at EBS, AIB and Bank of Ireland.

Detective Garda Paul Kane gave evidence of arresting and charging Ms Davis, with an address at Clonmacnoise Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12.

She is accused of 20 offences, also under Section 7 of the act, between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, relating to accounts held in her own name, also at EBS, AIB and Bank of Ireland.

There was no objection to bail for Ms Davis, who had a warrant executed upon her by arrangement before the court hearing.

She was remanded in custody with consent to bail to July 31 for service of the book of evidence.

An independent surety of 5,000 was approved by the court.

Her co-accused Harding was remanded in custody without an application for bail to the same date, also for preparation of the book of evidence.

Harding was jailed in 2018 for nine years in relation to the seizure of a cache of weapons at a west Dublin business park.

At his sentencing hearing, the court heard he was "not a prime mover" in terms of the overall operation.

It heard he was "a willing participant, but would not have had the acumen to design such an operation".

Bakery

At the hearing in January 2018, the court was told that Harding, who had been in custody for a year at that stage, had enhanced prisoner status during his incarceration.

It was reported at that time that he was to be found work- ing in the prison bakery and was an on-call listener to provide help and support to other prisoners.

He previously escaped charges after he was arrested when officers seized two loaded rocket launchers in one of their first operations against the cartel in May 2010.

The disposable launchers, which were seized along with a cocaine shipment in a raid, can be fired from the shoulder and disposed of after being used only once.

The deadly weapons had been stored by the cartel in a rented shed at the rear of a block of five industrial units on Clane Road at Longtown, Straffan, Co Kildare.
President Trump defended his decision to move ahead with a controversial large-scale Tulsa rally this weekend amid the pandemic, saying in an interview Friday with Axios that "we have to get back to living our lives" and "we're going to have a wild evening tomorrow night at Oklahoma."

Pressed on why he wasn't using his presidential bully pulpit to encourage rally attendees to wear masks, Trump described masks as "a double-edged sword." When asked if he recommended people wear them, he added: "I recommend people do what they want."

Why it matters: Ahead of the rally expected to draw tens of thousands of supporters and protesters, the president's comments underscore his skepticism of the effectiveness of strict enforcement of masks and social distancing to combat the virus that has killed more than 118,000 Americans and devastated the U.S. economy.

And his advice flies in the face of warnings from Trump's own government's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Later in the interview, talking about China's renewed trouble with coronavirus, Trump said: "It's hard to stop it. It's the most contagious virus anyone's ever seen. I could look at you, and all of a sudden you have the virus. Or vice versa."

Driving the news: The president stood by his tweet earlier Friday warning protesters that law enforcement in Tulsa will not treat them "like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis." Trump said, "That's got to be the least controversial of my tweets."

"Oklahoma's much tougher on law and order" than some parts of the country, he said, and insisted that protests are packed with anarchists, agitators and looters. "They're all together."

He relished the lifting of a health and safety curfew in Tulsa for his supporters and said he has no intention of wearing a mask at the rally and that people should do what they want.

"I don't feel that I'm in danger," he said. "I've met a lot, a lot of people, and so far here I sit." (Everyone who meets with Trump, including this reporter, is tested beforehand.)

What's next: Trump says the rally in Oklahoma is part of a broader message that leaders have "got to open up our country" even as the pandemic continues.

"We have to get back to business. We have to get back to living our lives. Can't do this any longer," Trump said. "And I do believe it's safe. I do believe it's very safe."

He described seeing people handle masks unhygienically. "You know, there was a time when people thought it was worse wearing a mask," he said. "I let people make up their own decision."

Trump said they'll hand out masks at the rally.

Told that Fauci recommended people wear masks in these large gatherings, the president replied: "Fauci? I'm OK with that. If people want to wear masks I think that's great. I won't be. Not as a protest but I don't feel that I'm in danger."

Reality check from Axios health care editor Sam Baker: Although it's true that public health officials previously told the public not to wear masks, they never said masks made the virus worse. Their advice was motivated largely by a concern that there weren't enough masks at the time to protect health care workers, who could otherwise spread the infection widely.

That advice has changed as masks became more available and scientists learned more about how the virus spreads.

What's next: Read more from our interview this weekend in our Axios AM and Sneak Peek newsletters.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries in the hotly-contested Bantama Constituency in the Kumasi Metropolis, has taken off smoothly amidst tight security.

The Constituency considered as one of the flashpoints in the Ashanti Region, has more than 500 delegates voting in the 10 designated electoral areas under the supervision of the Electoral Commission (EC).

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited some of the electoral areas, the atmosphere was that of tranquility and orderliness as the delegates underwent the processes to cast their ballots.

They included; Bohyen One, Kokoso-Asubonteng, Abrepo-Junction, North Suntreso and Ahenbronum electoral areas.

In adherence to the COVID-19 preventive protocols, all the delegates were in nose masks, while observing social distancing and the requisite personal hygiene.

The incumbent Bantama Member of Parliamentary (MP), Mr. Daniel Okyem Aboagye, is competing with Mr. Francis Asenso Boakye, a Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, for the mandate of the delegates.

Tension built up prior to the primaries with accusations from the various contesting camps relating to the virtual 'hijacking' of some of the delegates and alleged attempts to tamper with the voters' album.

The heavily armed police personnel on duty were not taking chances, ensuring that the polls were conducted peacefully.

At the Oforikrom Constituency, all the 15 electoral areas had commenced voting as at 0800 hours with strict adherence to the COVID-19 preventive protocols.

Two candidates, Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, the incumbent MP, and Dr. Adu Amankwaa, are contesting for the mandate of the delegates.

When GNA visited the Nhyiaeso Constituency, voting had started smoothly in all the electoral areas, as the two contestants Mr. Kennedy Kankam, the incumbent MP, and Mr. Stephen Amoah, were going round to observe proceedings.

---GNA
JACKSON, MI  Early on Friday, June 19, Jackson artists and Juneteenth celebration organizers Lana Kane, Tricia Chamberlain, Devon Camel and others arrived on Washington Avenue in downtown Jackson to begin painting a second, Black Lives Matter, mural in the city.

It was one part of a celebration of Juneteenth, block party and what Jackson mayor Derek Dobies called, emphatically a message to Sheriff Rand, the Jackson County Sheriff.

Jackson mayor asks city to make Juneteenth official holiday

Juneteenth is an American holiday that recognizes June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army, reached Galveston, Texas, to inform the last remaining slaves that they were now free. The news had not made it to the enslaved people in Texas until almost three years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed Africans in Confederate states.

Now, the holiday is the oldest nationally celebrated observance of the end of slavery.

The mural is the second in the city. It joins a mural that was painted Sunday, June 14, on E. High Street between S. Milwaukee Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Were all in this fight together. It shows that were taking a stand, said Camel, one of the lead artists. Change needs to happen. This is one way of expressing that.

Camel said the artwork is part of that celebration of Juneteenth and an expression for change.

The organizers and several artists arrived around 9 a.m. Friday to begin laying the groundwork for volunteers to begin painting at 1 p.m. between Blackstone and S. Jackson Streets. The mural was completed around 4 p.m. with the help of volunteers and artists  young and old, but the block party went on until 8 p.m.

The mural painting on Washington Avenue was phase one of two, Kane said. The second phase is to have artists associated with the Brightwalls Festival paint the letters with diverse artwork, Kane said.

It says that the Jackson community can come together and be peaceful, said Jackson college student Akearah Anderson, 19. This being on Juneteenth is very important, because not many people know about Juneteenth. This is pushing the narrative that we need to celebrate this holiday and people need to know about it  just like the fourth (of July).

Laticia Holloway, an Air Force veteran and lifelong Jackson native, walked along the completed mural with her 5-year old son Jeremiah in her arms, she said the mural was a sign that her community was changing, too.

Seeing all this and exposing my son to it is important, Holloway said. The conversations we have to have him are very different then what a lot of homes have to have. Its kind of sad that we have to teach our son that.

Holloway said that, Today is such an important day in the black community. Its great to see it (the mural) in Jackson. The black community of Jackson has always been such a strong one.

A DJ, black-owned businesses as vendors and the mural were all part of a celebration, too, of Juneteenth.

Kane and Mayor Dobies want the mural as part of a celebration but also a message.

We have a racist sheriff in office right now who will pull past this every single day that he goes into work and read that Black Lives Matter. He will not be able to forget it, Kane said.

Sheriff Rand couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer denied a third request to remove Sheriff Rand from office in January. The removal request was sent to Whitmer on Sept. 9, 2019, by Pinckney-based attorney James Fett, who represents Jackson County Sheriffs Lt. Tommy Schuette in his ongoing civil rights and discrimination lawsuit against Rand and Jackson County.

All stories on investigation around Sheriff Rand

READ MORE ON JUNETEENTH IN MICHIGAN:

Artists create Black Lives Matter mural on downtown Kalamazoo street

Jackson mayor asks city to make Juneteenth official holiday

Flint Freedom Schools hosts Harambee in the Park to celebrate Juneteenth

Hundreds gather in Ann Arbor to celebrate Juneteenth, march against racism

Juneteenth block party brings celebration to Kalamazoo neighborhood

Change is already here: Juneteenth protest in Muskegon draws calls for action
Binita Jaiswal By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: As calls for boycotting Chinese products gains momentum, the apparel industry is bracing up to tackle the situation by searching for low-cost alternatives to source raw material.

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has been promoting local production of goods, that are normally imported from China.

Industry experts feel that the rising anti-China sentiments provide an opportunity for India to grow as an alternative to Chinese market.

Currently, the apparel industry is dependent on China for raw materials ranging from fabric to accessories, which includes needles and buttons.

According to data provided by AEPC, India in 2019 imported fabric worth U$ 907 million, accessories worth $ 418 million and apparel worth $ 316 million from China. The figure speaks volume about the dependency of the industry on the Chinese market. However, experts

believe that China is replaceable and now is the best time.

We import manmade fibre textiles from China because of its low cost. To counter that, we have already started talks with local manufacturers, who have potential and we are chalking out ways to boost them. With a little handholding from the government, I am hopeful that we can outdo China, said AEPC chairman A Sakthivel.

He added that the council has asked its members to diversify sources of raw materials for apparel manufacturing as the supply from China was already affected due to the coronavirus outbreak. We are closely studying the industry in countries like Japan, Indonesia which can be alternative fabric suppliers to our manufacturers, Sakthivel said.

The council has also taken up the task to identify product lines in the European Union, the US and South Korea which are showing decline in Chinese exports, which Indian manufacturers can tap.

The anti-China sentiments can work as new opportunities for local manufacturers. With little upgradation, we can fill the gap and India has the potential to produce raw materials for both exports and needs in India, said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India.

The cheap cost and fast delivery of China has affected the domestic supply base. If Indian garment manufacturers look at alternatives, including local sourcing, it may increase the finished goods cost by 3-5 per cent. Only if buyers are ready to pay a little more, things can work, said Raja Shanmugam, president of Tirupur Exporters Association, a major textile hub.
Tom Cummins has seen it all in his 30 years working in hospitals and nursing homes, including war zones, but nothing prepared him for the tsunami of death and anguish that arrived when Coronavirus got into his nursing home in early April.

Over the following two weeks he lost ten residents, both he his wife Siobhan and his mother contracted the illness, and his staff at Cherry Grove Nursing Home were fire-fighting a situation that was so fluid, so unpredictable, that it changed on an hourly basis.

In total around half of the nursing home's 50 plus residents contracted the virus, along with several staff members. Since May 23 Cherry Grove is Covid-free but its shadow still haunts the frontline staff who fought it over several long weeks in April and May.

Tom, said: 'At the beginning of April it hit like a tsunami. The strange thing about it is that it changed several times as it progressed. You would be given one instruction from public health and then that could change hour by hour. It was a matter of trying to contain it.'

Tom said it is impossible to say exactly where 'it' came from with 100 per cent certainty, (preferring to identify the illness which wreaked so much damage on him, his residents and business, in the abstract noun).

'I would have a degree of certainty that it came through an outside agency, like a hospital or a clinic associated with the hospital. Staff and patients contracted it. It was wildfire. They had it before we even knew they had it. I was confident we had this under control. We followed all of the guidelines and we had someone coming into the unit several times a week. We had two of them come in and had outside units, wash stations outside and the local postman will even say he loved coming here because he could use that safely.'

Hand sanitising stations were placed throughout the nursing home. 'We even had foot-baths for cleaning the soles of shoes. Every step was taken to ensure the protection of residents and staff. This was how seriously we were taking it, but a lot of people got it and sadly some people died.'

Ten residents at Cherry Grove Nursing Home died during April and early May and Tom said nobody who walked the corridors of the family-run nursing home in those weeks will ever be the same again. He said other nursing homes have not been transparent about what happened inside their doors, but he has. 'We are not the only nursing home in the county to have had Covid.'

He said residents are treated like family members at Cherry Grove and losing some of them was heartbreaking.

'I tell my staff to remember that when they come to work they are coming into someone's home when they enter a room. Me and Siobhan were left to do the pronouncements of deaths (having learned how through the HSE Land website forum) - because we were advised CareDoc couldn't come in to pronounce them dead.'

Describing the process as horrific, Tom said: 'I come from a farming background and I would go back from nothing. The images will stay with me forever. I can see it now as clearly as back then. I told Siobhan: "You are not doing any of these", no matter how bad it was for me and I was down with Covid myself.'

Tom and Siobhan were among the Cherry Grove staff to be tested for Covid on Good Friday.

'Siobhan was out for three and a half weeks with it and ended up in hospital. I wasn't too bad. It affected her a lot worse. I had a high temperature and awful pains in my legs. I would still be running on only 85 per cent, even six weeks on. Anything physical or any shape like strimming, I'm worn out much quicker. I have three girls all working here and they escaped it.'

Both Tom and Siobhan had been set up to work from home but when the pandemic hit, they ended up joining their staff on the frontlines.

'It was a nightmare. I've never seen anything like it. We were out in Saudi in an American air base working as nurses and we saw the casualties come in after bombs were dropped and that pales into insignificance compared to this. I remember one nurse said to me: "We can't do anything for them".'

He said the way the virus affected residents was so unpredictable.

'Some of them got it and you'd imagine they would have gone with it but they rallied through. The staff did an absolutely fantastic job.'

Staff have provided residents with outstanding care and have shown tremendous commitment to meeting the clinical, health, and social care needs of our residents during this most challenging time.

'Some residents should have gone with the Covid but they pulled through. There are a good few success stories, more than bad. Some of them you just looked at them and wondered how the hell they pulled through at all.'

He said the nursing home staff were fully supplied with PPE but the timing of the testing was the main issue.

'Good Friday was the worst time for testing. If you were planning to have a tsunami at the absolute wrong time it was a long bank holiday weekend when there were less staff around from the HSE. The HSE were in contact with us that weekend and the contact increased as the weekend went on.'

The nursing home's director of nursing staff was in regular contact with family members.

'That happened shortly after it started and he maintained contact throughout. We were very upfront with the families when anyone tested positive. If you are upfront with people and tell them how it is rather than hide behind something people appreciate it. Otherwise you'll get caught.'

Some family members called to the window of their parent, trying to see them. 'No one came in but they would have attempted to call to the windows of residents' rooms. We had to tell them to go. It was absolutely horrendous. It affected me personally. I had it, my wife had it, but what most people don't know, my mother Breda - who is 94 - had it, so I can fully empathise with everyone. My family are calling me all the time enquiring about her.

'Even still it's very difficult. I am getting emails on a daily basis and I deal with them every day; a lot of people requesting to come in. All I tell them is you don't want to get this and you don't want to be responsible for your mother, father, brother or sister getting it off of you. So many people are going around that are asymptomatic: you can't be certain you don't have it.'

He said: 'For our residents, we acknowledge and appreciate the loss of loved one's physical presence, personal touch and visits. Within our local community, county, and the country we owe a great debt of gratitude to the wonderful staff working in our nursing homes.'

He said some people were forceful and should have known better.

'One person told me: "At the end of the day it's your fault". There are people who have not idea what it was like; who'll never know. If they had some insight into the medical grounds [maybe they would have acted differently].'

People were allowed visit a loved one who was dying from Covid. 'If people had someone at the end of their life, that has to be respected by everyone. Some visitors dropping off items for loved ones in our drop off box, they'd see someone else coming in and ask the question so we'd have to take them to one side and say the person is actually dying.'

The cruelty of the strict rules around visiting seemed unfair to Tom during the crisis but in hindsight he believes they were right.

'Most definitely yes. In the heat of the moment I would have said no.'

Throughout the nightmare weeks of late April, early May. Tom's feet never touched the ground as he managed an emerging nightmarish reality, sometimes arriving at the Home at 4 a.m. to pronounce a resident deceased.

'You're feet were never on the ground. You didn't feel your feet at all; couldn't even find a footing. It was a whirlwind. It reminded me of the boy with his finger in the dam trying to keep the floodwaters out. It was fire-fighting all the time.'

He said there were staff who shone through. 'They were invaluable and outshone themselves. Without them we wouldn't have gotten through. There would have been staff who would have been in the shadows previously and they surprised everyone with their fortitude. They were heroes.'

As for criticism of so-called wealthy nursing home owners by some TDs, Tom said it was unbelievable how they reacted.

As for last week's lifting of restrictions prohibiting family members from visiting loved ones at nursing homes, Tom said that was welcome, cautioning, however, that Covid-19 remains a fact of life in Ireland for the coming days, weeks and months ahead.

'This is not going to go away. This is in the world now and it is a totally different world. I think Covid has just changed everyone's perception on social etiquette. Irish people are sociable by nature and very touchy feely. We love to shake hands and to hug and love the craic and being in close proximity of one another. Things will be vastly different because you still have a lot of people who are going to maintain social distancing as this has had a huge psychological impact on people.'

He said despite the tough measures adopted by the National Public Health Emergency Team the figures tell the story of their success.

'Today there were only nine confirmed cases and four people died. If the government hadn't done what they did at the time imagine the numbers. A lot of people are giving out: let them give out! We have survived and we're getting through it and we are almost there. The way I look at it is [that] one death is too many.'

Among the learnings Tom has taken from Covid-19 are warning signs: 'The number of residents that would have had unusual accidents and incidents 24 to 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms was a real indicator of Covid setting in, with its associated weakness coming on. How rigid one has to be with residents in protecting them from the transmission of Covid from one to another. The importance of social distancing and how it remains on surfaces. Cough etiquette and education surrounding hygiene.'

He said many people never realised the severity of the illness.

'We will never recover from this as a nursing home. On an emotional level we will never forget it. We grieve the loss of some of our residents to Covid-19. May we extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

'I am a nurse 32 years and have worked in hospitals in Waterford and abroad and this has been the worst I have ever seen. I still don't know everything there is to know about it and I am urging people not to give up on it. We have to protect ourselves; everyone has a responsibility.'

Tom praised the exceptional team in Cherry Grove who are focussed on enhancing the lives of residents by providing great care, comfort and support. 'This too has been a particularly difficult and traumatic time for our staff as they have a deep emotional connection with all residents. In truth, this experience will never be forgotten. Thank you also to the families of residents and the extended community for your continued support during these challenging times. We have had exceptional support throughout this time from the HSE, Public Health Department, local General Practitioners, and local representatives, support agencies, suppliers.'

Tom said the local community in Campile, Horeswood and surrounding areas were outstanding, offering collections and deliveries, housing accommodation, donations for residents and staff, letters of support and encouragement, including one from someone in Scotland with no connection to the area which was extremely uplifting to Tom, Siobhan and all the staff.

He praised the proactive deeds of the nursing homes representative organisation Nursing Homes Ireland who engaged with the health authorities with regard to easing of visitor restrictions, with the advice of government and NPHET (the National Public Health Emergency Team) being critical in this regard.

'We are turning towards slowly building up resources and resilience of residents and staff alike, our focus now is restoring health and wellness - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Various supports such as physiotherapy, nutritional therapy, occupational therapy, mental health supports, pastoral care, visiting, will be added and offered slowly in a consistent, considered and planned approach based on official guidelines and residents' needs. We look forward to your continued support in ensuring the continued safety and welfare of our residents and staff.'

June 8 marked a new beginning for Cherry Grove.

'As of May 23 the Home is Covid-free and our first new resident arrived here today (June 8). Covid-19 testing of residents and staff has confirmed such. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks to residents, relatives and staff,' Tom said.
After just a few years in business, LMBPN Publishing has more than 700 titles in its backlist and has expanded into new genres, formats, and languages. With offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Las Vegas, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the company focuses on urban fantasy and science fiction titles and has maintained an aggressive publishing model from its very inception.

LMBPN (which stands for London, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, New York) publishes e-books, paperbacks, and audiobooks, and the majority of its e-books are only available on Amazon and the Amazon Unlimited subscription service (where its digital books have more than one billion pages read, according to the company). The nonexclusive e-books are sold directly on Amazon and Kobo, as well as distributed to other retailers. LMBPN has also produced more than 200 audiobooks, some of which are exclusive to Amazons Audible.

When I started writing, the expectation was you would sign up for time with an editor and then you would have to wait, said Michael Anderle, who founded the press five years ago. I refused to go down that path, because if I had a book done on a Monday, I wanted it out on Friday. What that has evolved into at LMBPN is that we have a team of editors that processes anywhere from 1.5 to two million words a month. We dont wait. The publisher has accepted outside submissions but isnt currently open to them.

The business model at LMBPN depends on publishing books for whale readers, Anderles affectionate term for readers who consume e-books at a remarkable pace. The metaphor comes from Las Vegas whales, or high-rolling gamblers who get special treatment in casinos. A whale reader is any reader who will read at least a book a week, Anderle said, counting himself among them. When you start feeding whale readers really quickly, they like what they see and they will get it fast. We will read up to three to five books in a weekend.

Most recently, LMBPN has expanded into the literary role-playing game (LitRPG) genre, which is popular among e-book readers and injects fantasy and SF novels with role-playing game mechanics. The company acquired the German translation rights for books by Eric Ugland and Dakota Krout, two popular LitRPG writers.

Audio distribution also has been expanding at LMBPN. For the audiobooks produced in the past 18 months, the company has used audio distribution services Findaway and Zebralution to publish on major channels like Amazon Music, Google Play, Spotify, Tidal, and YouTube, expanding to new markets outside of the Audible ecosystem. In May, the publisher reached an exclusive agreement with Graphic Audio to create audio productions of 25 books from LMBPNs catalogue with a full cast of actors, along with music and sound effects.

The first book published by LMBPN was Anderles Death Becomes Her, book one of an urban fantasy trilogy set in his Kurtherian Gambit universe, with vampires and werewolves, which was released in November 2015. On the third day of book sales, Anderle said he only earned 97, but he saw his earnings increase from $380 at the end of the month to $3,000 in December, to more than $10,000 in January 2016. I was doing what we now call the rapid release methodology, he said. Each new book would cause book one to sell more.

LMBPNs site states that the current series in the companys portfolio have sold over 4,000,000 books, but the company declined to reveal more about its sales.

Shortly after LMBPN started, Anderle founded an open Facebook group called 20Booksto50K, whose members strive to reach Anderles goal of having twenty books earning $7.50 each per day onlineadding up to $50,000 in earnings per year. Within a few days of the group being launched, 80 people had signed up, and it has since grown to more than 40,000 members. As it grew, Anderle tapped author Craig Martelle to create a 20Booksto50K conference. These annual events have grown from 400 attendees in 2017 to 1,000 attendees in 2019. The next conference is still on the calendar for November 1012 in Las Vegas.

Through the Facebook group, Anderle found a number of authors who expanded the literary universes at LMBPN. One is Martha Carr, who has cowritten nearly 200 books for the publisher. Carr and Anderle worked on a series set in an urban fantasy universe where a homicide cop stumbles into an ancient battle between magical forces. That universe now has 150 books on the LMBPN list. We talk through an idea till were both excited about it, Carr said. Then I set to work writing more detailed outlines, checking back to make sure its staying on course and to get more ideas. She uses these detailed outlines to write the books, and LMBPNs team edits the manuscripts.

LMBPN also works with independent authors like Kevin McLaughlin, who mostly writes and produces his own books. He also collaborated with Anderle on the Steel Dragon series of urban fantasy novels about a SWAT team rookie in a world dominated by dragons. LMBPN is a name that I feel I can trust, with an excellent history of superb treatment of writers, McLaughlin said.
Anyone still had any doubt that Ugandas Electoral Commission works for and on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni and his regime of blood and shame, today the Commission exposed itself for the whole world to see.

In the most ridiculous fashion, the Commission has released a revised roadmap for the 2021 General Election; which roadmap violates every aspect of a free and fair election, envisaged under Article 1(4) of the Constitution of Uganda.

The media earlier reported that the roadmap was generated from a meeting between the Commission and President Museveni, who is a prospective candidate in the next election! The Commission is essentially communicating a decree from President Museveni, who as all Ugandans know is very afraid of competition and has used the COVID19 pandemic to further tighten the noose on opposition political activities.

The most outstanding mockery in the released roadmap is the notion that campaigns and elections shall be held digitally- following Musevenis directive that they hold what he termed a scientific election. Other stakeholders including political formations, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organizations, etc. have not been consulted! It defeats logic that Museveni, who has already declared intentions to run in the election, is the one giving orders to the Commission.

We therefore reject the concept of a scientific election with the contempt it deserves. What the Electoral Commission just declared is in fact not an election. It is a mockery. Section 20 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005 as well as Section 21 of the Presidential Elections Act, 2005 both envisage holding public campaign meetings across the country. President Museveni and the Electoral Commission do not have power to issue decrees to alter clear provisions of the law.

The true reasons why President Museveni is pushing for digital elections are clear;

(i) He is afraid of the masses of hopeful Ugandans who have always converged around us wherever we have gone. This is the same reason why he blocked our consultative meetings, in blatant violation of the law.

(ii) Museveni is aware that majority of the people of Uganda, who he has deliberately impoverished cannot afford TVs, Radios and smart phones to enable them access our message of change. He is therefore trying so hard to ensure that our message of truth does not reach the people of Uganda in Karamoja, Kisoro, Kaabong, Kaberamaido, etc. According to the Rural Electrification Agency, only 28% of Ugandas population have access to electricity. Museveni is deliberate about ensuring that the 72% of the people of Uganda who have no access to electricity are shut out of the election process.

(iii) Previous Supreme Court decisions have clearly highlighted widespread ballot stuffing at polling stations even in the presence of agents and other people at polling stations. Recently in Hoima, this was done in full view of cameras! What would happen if ordinary citizens and agents are kept away from polling stations? This is what the regime is desperate to achieve.

(iv) Every Ugandan knows that Museveni has since grown old and tired. He has previously stated that a person after clocking 75 years of age, lacks the vigor and stamina to run for office later on run a country. As always he reneged on this promise. He now sees an opportunity in COVID19 to avoid the embarrassment of probably collapsing at a campaign rally.

(v) As all Ugandans know, the Museveni regime has monopolised the media, barred opposition leaders from being hosted on many radio and TV stations, etc. In addition, most radio stations in up country locations are owned by regime functionaries and henchmen. Decent Ugandans who own radio stations have often been ordered by RDCs, DISOs etc not to host opposition leaders or risk losing licenses for their stations. With this state of affairs, Museveni will want to use his loot of national resources to book all these stations in advance and prevent any voices of dissent on these stations! In summary, Museveni is doing this to rig the election out rightly.

He is staging a coup - a kin to what happened in 1980 that led him into a bush war in which so many of our people died! The oppressed people of Uganda WILL NOT LET HIM DO THIS. We shall resist him and his thuggery!

We are mindful that the coronavirus pandemic is real and dangerous. However, dictatorial regimes such as Musevenis decadent regime must not use the virus as an excuse to trample on whatever is left of democratic rights.

Regarding holding elections in the midst of this pandemic, many Ugandans have put forward logical proposals which ensure that the public health of Ugandans is not compromised, while ensuring that their democratic rights are not taken away. For example, if the government provided masks to all Ugandans and ensured that campaign meetings take into account social distancing, this would be plausible.

Secondly, Article 77(4) of the Constitution provides that where circumstances exist which would prevent a normal general election from being held, Parliament may, by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of all members of Parliament, extend the life of Parliament for a period not exceeding six months at a time.

These are possible alternatives, and if all stakeholders were consulted, more alternatives would be brought forward. We would rather extend the election by a few months than have a joke in the name of holding an election!

Finally countrymen and women, we want to encourage you all not to lose heart! Whatever Museveni has been doing since the emergence of the People Power Movement is a clear indication that he is so scared of WE THE PEOPLE.

I promised the country when our consultations were blocked that before the 2021 election, the regime would even do more ridiculous things! Here we are!

On our part, we are getting ready to take on the despot come 2021. We shall lead Ugandans into a campaign that is provided by the law! Museveni may think he is organising a cosmetic election to just have his way, but he will be in for a big shock- LET EVERY UGANDAN DO HIS OR HER PART.

No amount of intimidation; no form of machinations; no level of trickery will save Museveni and his regime from the inevitable downfall that awaits them! Let us do what we have been doing and even do more. Let us rise up and defend the Constitution which is being toppled yet again! Freedom is in sight.

We have kick-started conversations with other comrades in the struggle and we shall communicate to the nation what comes next.

People Power  Our Power

Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert (MP). Leader of the People Power Movement.
12 suspended MPs not ready to apologise, what do we talk to opposition, Goyal in RS

BJP bags 11 of 24 in RS polls: NDA breaches 100 mark in Upper House

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: The BJP has gained ground in the Rajya Sabha after it won 8 of the 19 seats across 8 states. The party had earlier won three seats unopposed.

Some of the heavy-weights who won the Rajya Sabha elections were Jyotiraditya Scindia of the BJP, Digvijaya Singh of Congress and former Jharkhand Chief Minister, Shibu Soren.

The BJP's tally in the Rajya Sabha that stood at 90 now has gone up to 101 in the 245 member Upper House. The majority mark in the Upper House is 123.

Gujarat Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP bags 3 out of 4 seats

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

This is for the first time that the NDA's tally in the Rajya Sabha has breached 100. The BJP on its own will have 86 seats and the UPA will have 65.

With the backing of the BJD, AIADMK and YSR Congress Party, the NDA will have no problem in crossing the half-way mark.

Elections to 24 seats that were to be held on March 26 were deferred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Gujarat, the BJP won three seats, while the Congress bagged one. The resignation of 8 MLAs since March had denied the Congress a second seat. The declaration of the result was delayed after the Congress demanded that two votes of the BJP be invalidated.
The Ghana Blind Union (GBU) has noted the fact that the government has given directives that schools should open on the 22nd and 29th of June, 2020, respectively.

GBU has noted with interest that all senior high second year blind students are in the Gold track. Consequently, they are to report to school on the 22nd of June 2020. Additionally, final year JHS blind students will report on the 29th.

GBU wishes to highlight some concerns, and appeal to the government to ensure that blind students are provided with extra safety kits of face masks and hand sanitizers. This is because blind students do a lot of touching for the sake of mobility and identification of objects. For instance, to navigate indoors, a blind person is likely to touch furniture and objects than his/her sighted counterpart.

Again, when walking, blind persons who need guides are likely to hold on to their sighted guides. The implication here is, the blind person is to ensure sanitation of his hands as well as his/her guide. Both situations require more use of hand sanitizer.

In respect to the E-learning, we wish to draw the governments attention to the following unique situations of the blind learners:

Acquisition of adequate ICT skills to allow the blind individuals benefit from E-learning information. GBU believes that educational authorities must focus on upgrading blind persons in ICT skills so that they are not left behind.

Most blind persons do not have adequate ICT equipment. GBU wishes to request that the government should kindly provide all blind students with personal laptops so that they can take part in the entire educational process.

GBU also calls on school authorities to provide a conducive environment to aid movement and general mobility of the blind students

Technically, each blind person should have a white cane, but not all blind students can afford, so we call on the government to provide white canes for all blind students.

ISSUED BY:

Peter Obeng Asamoa (PhD)
Voting delays at the Kwashieman Electoral Area in the Ablekuma North constituency in the ongoing parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) due to dispute over the eligibility of the Electoral Album.



The Party announced that voting would start at 0700 hours and end at 1300 hours, but due to the misunderstanding, voting started at 0920 hours.



Mr Francis Opoku, the District Electoral Officer, told the Ghana News Agency at the Christ Mission polling station that the EC officials received the Electoral Album on Friday, June 19.



However, he said, when the EC officials were getting ready to start voting this morning, the Regional Directorate of the NPP informed him that there was a problem with the Kwashieman Electoral Register and asked him to withhold voting until it is resolved.



Mr Opoku said he received a new Electoral Album after 0800 hours and brought it to the polling station for the election to start, hence the delay.



Responding to a letter signed by Mr George Nkrumah, the Ablekuma North Chairman of the NPP, indicating the suspension of six polling station executives in the area, Mr Opoku said, the NPP Regional Directorate told him that the issue of their suspension is still pending, therefore the affected persons could still vote.



Mr Abdallah Sharif Larry, the Presiding Officer at Chris Mission polling station told the GNA that, there are 140 names on the electoral register.



He said only voters with Ghana card or Voter ID cards would be allowed to vote because the EC would not accept party accreditation.



Meanwhile, the NPP constituency officials provided Veronica Buckets with water, liquid soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizers for use in compliance with Covid-19 hygiene and safety protocols.



The EC officials and the police asked all delegates to wash their hands and wear nose masks before entering the precinct of the polling station.



Not more than 100 persons were allowed to the polling station.



Voters waiting to cast their ballots were provided with chairs under canopies.



The EC officials also wore gloves and facemasks.



Alhaji Abubakari Braimah, the Constituency Youth Organizer of the Party, said no delegate would be allowed to carry his/her mobile phone to the enclosed screen as instructed by John Boadu, the National General Secretary, to prevent any delegate from taking pictures of his or her ballot.



He added that polling agents without party accreditation would not be allowed to observe the election.



Four parliamentary candidates are contesting to win the sole ticket to represent the NPP in the December 7 Election.



Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh, the incumbent member of Parliament (MP) is being contested by three parliamentary aspirants, including John Kojo Agbotey, Kwadwo Poku Adjei Bawuah, and Shiela Bartels.



In all, 102,000 delegates are supposed to vote in 99 constituencies today nationwide, but the election is taking place in 168 constituencies with sitting members of Parliament since some MPs are being endorsed through acclamation.



Sixty-five MPs are going unopposed across the country.



The delegates eligible to vote in the primaries include Party Elders, Constituency Executives. Polling Station Executives, Party Coordinators, and Founding Members of the Party.

Source: GNA









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Mukesh Ambani

Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL) has entered into the list of world's top 10 richest, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire list.

Mukesh AmbaniAmbani's net worth rose to $64.6 billion on the back of RIL's stock price hitting an all-time high of Rs 1,738.95 a share on Friday, after he announced that RIL is now a net debt free company.

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At its Friday closing price, RIL has now become the first Indian company to be valued at $150 billion or Rs 11.52 lakh crore.

With this, RIL also joins the club of most valued energy companies in the world and has surpassed its strategic partner in terms of market capitalization.

Mukesh AmbaniForbes' Real-Time Billionaires rankings tracks the daily ups and downs of the worlds richest people.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops the list with a net worth of $160.4 billion followed by Bill Gates with $109.9 billion. Ambani is a notch below Google's co-founder Larry Page with his net worth at $64.8 billion.
New Delhi, June 20 : Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda lashed out at the Congress Party and its top leadership on Saturday targeting both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi for their stand on the India-China face off.

"When we are fighting in Galwan, a leader is damaging the morale of forces with his tweets. He is showing his limited intellect. (He is asking) why have our forces gone unarmed. Don't you know international treaties? And they didn't go unarmed. Why are you exposing your limited intellect?," asked Nadda while addressing a virtual rally.

He also hit out at the former Congress President objecting to his choice of words. Nadda said the language used by Rahul Gandhi doesn't show the "sankskar" (upbringing) of an Indian family, very subtly resurrecting his mother's origin.

"Let alone respecting PM Modi, you didn't even respect your own PM and tore a copy of his ordinance," remarked Nadda referring to an incident in 2013 when Rahul Gandhi branded the then ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification as "complete nonsense" and tore up its copy in public. The incident sparked a massive row after which then Congress PM Manmohan Singh reportedly wanted to resign.

Rahul Gandhi, in a strong statement after the India-China face-off in Ladakh alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

The stand taken by Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi at Friday's all party meet also drew flak from Nadda. He said, "Yesterday the Prime Minister held an all party meeting. With one voice, all leaders said that the whole country is standing with the Prime Minister. But the Congress was asking what happened, how it happened, where it happened." The grand old party was represented by Sonia Gandhi at the meeting. Questioning the Modi government about "intelligence failure", Sonia Gandhi remarked, "In fact, even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis." Nadda was addressing the BJP cadres of Rajasthan on Saturday after suspending all political activities of the party for two days owing to the death of Indian soldiers in Galwan valley in a bloody face-off with Chinese soldiers.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

Now pay GST on purchase of plots too

China's India investment shows energy, tech bias; $15 billion invested since 2007
The Yankees might try to outrun the coronavirus.

The team is considering hosting spring training in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium instead of at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, according to a report from the New York Posts George King. The Mets are considering leaving Port St. Lucie, Fla., to host spring training in Queens, according to MLB Networks Jon Heyman.

With COVID-19 positive tests spike in Florida, and particularly in the West Coast, New York City  formerly considered the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S.  might be the safer option.

The report said the team likely wouldnt finalize its decision until MLB and the MLB Players Association finally strike a deal to restart spring training and pick a new Opening Day date. Late Friday, MLB decided to shut down all training facilities for deep cleanings and so all players and staff can get tested, according to USA Todays Bob Nightengale.

On Friday, the Blue Jays and Phillies each closed their training facilities, as did the NHLs Tampa Bay Lightning. The Phillies facility is just 20 minutes from the Yankees in Clearwater, Fla., and Philadelphia had five players and three staff members test positive for COVID-19. The Blue Jays facility in Dunedin, Fla., is about 45 minutes from the Yankees spot in Tampa and Toronto had a player experiencing coronavirus symptoms.

The Lightnings facility is less than 10 minutes from the Yankees in Tampa.

Steinbrenner Field would be much better equipped to handle the Yankees spring training, with its extra bullpen space and three extra fields. Its also directly across the street from the teams player development facility, which boasts four more fields, more bullpens and indoor hitting.

Teams are expected to have 50 to 60 players ready each for when the regular season starts. It would be difficult for them all to work out at Yankee Stadium. The team would also need to find lodging for all the players who dont have homes in the area.

As of Friday night, MLB reportedly decided that it wouldnt send a counter offer to the players union after it asked for a 70-game regular season and full prorated salaries. Its possible MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will unilaterally impose a schedule of approximately 50 games if players dont take the 60-game offer it presented earlier in the week.

Tensions have run hot between the owners and the players, especially of late, with MLB PA Executive Director Tony Clark saying players were disgusted with Manfred for saying he was no longer confident a season would happen on Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Clark and Manfred met in person to hammer out agreement details in Arizona.

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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
According to reports, Mahesh Bhatts Sadak 2 will go on floors in the first week of July. While the song initially was supposed to be shot in Ooty, the makers are now planning to shoot the same in Mumbai. The song is said to feature all the four leads - Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. The makers are looking to shoot the song in Film City and are currently looking for a studio so that they can begin working on the set.

Sadak 2 is the sequel to the 1991 release Sadak which also featured Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt in lead.
The Ocean County Prosecutors Office is investigating the homicide of 23-year-old who was killed on Thursday in Jackson Township.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Jackson Township Police Chief Matthew Kunz announced Isaiah Renouf, 23, of Jackson Township, was the victim of the homicide that occurred overnight.

Billhimer and Kunz said there is no immediate danger to the public. The prosecutors office did not have any other information.

In a Facebook post, a woman who identified herself as Renoufs mother, Leila Renouf, said her son was stabbed. She wrote she woke up to her son tapping on her window, and she applied pressure to the wound after racing to him.

We brought our son home on May 27th. He got a job and was working 50 hours (sic) a week within a week, Leila Renouf wrote. We celebrated his 23rd birthday on Sunday. His last words to me last night were Goodnight mom, I love you. Thank you Im getting good at the job.

We brought our son home on May 27th. He got a job and was working 50hrs a week within a week. We celebrated his 23 rd... Posted by Leila Renouf on Friday, 19 June 2020

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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
A woman has pleaded not guilty to murdering her mother by cutting off her head with kitchen knives in their western Sydney home.

'Not guilty to murder, not guilty to murder,' Jessica Camilleri, 26, told the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

Camilleri was arrested in July 2019 after her mother Rita, 57, was found dead in their St Clair home.

Jessica Camilleri has pleaded not guilty to murdering her mother by cutting off her head with kitchen knives in their western Sydney home

Police at the time alleged the women had argued before the dispute turned violent and neighbours raised the alarm.

The matter is due to return to the same court on July 20 for a pre-trial hearing.

In January Magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt told the court if Camilleri pleads guilty she could receive a discounted sentence.

'The amount of discount depends on when you plead guilty,' he said.

These discussions were intended to take place in March.

Nathan Steel, Camilleri's defence lawyer, previously told the court she was fit to stand trial, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The issue was raised in local court, prompting the proceedings to move up to a higher court.
Think about how easy it is for you to read this sentence. You didnt think about it; you just read it. Even if English is your second language, the fact that youre reading an English version of this article suggests a level of proficiency thats capable of easily understanding everything thats said here. This article will attempt to get you to learn a new language, of sorts, in order to improve your life drastically.

Whether at work, or even at home or when having fun with a hobby, there is something to be said for being efficient. Unless youre sitting in a boat looking to spend a lazy day fishing, or sitting under a tree in a public park, reading a book and passing your time, pretty much every other task that has a goal can benefit from speeding things up. Whether its a shortcut you find, or a way to do a task faster, or even a new method that is more efficient, speed is desirable. And its not only about going faster... you might find that you can improve the quality of output by using little tricks, or find a new way to do something that takes much longer even, but results in a bump up of quality you can always improve in some way or the other.

Now, leisure is not something we often want to improve on, but we certainly do want to do that at work. The problem is, every one of us has such a different job description, and in so many different verticals, that it is impossible to nail this down to specifics. This is why all self-help books are vague and barely scratch the surface of any one job.

Besides, its not just jobs that are different, its people as well. No two people are the same, or do a job the exact same way, even if they hold the exact same position, in the same company, with the exact same tasks set out for them to accomplish. There will be noticeable differences in how they go about doing their work, and this depends on their personality, and their way of thinking. What works for you will not work for your colleague, and this is why its usually impossible for us to tell you how you can be better at a task.

Its your brain!

You, however, have the luxury of knowing yourself, and are even sometimes capable of accepting honest feedback from yourself about what it is you suck at. More often than not, unless youre deluded about your own abilities, you will know your own shortcomings, and even if you dont your bosses will be only too delighted to critique you. It is your brain, and youre the only one inside it (schizophrenic patients might disagree), which means it has to be you to fix it. How on earth can you fix something that you didnt think was broken to begin with? Most of us think theres nothing majorly wrong with us, and are quite content living with our flaws. Besides, even if youre aware of your flaws, that still doesnt mean you are aware of how to fix those flaws. This is where we come in, and try and get you to learn new ways of analysing your problems and to think out of the box (or rather out of your own brain).

Jugaad

Every Indian knows this word, and has indulged in some jugaad () of their own. Its almost a national obsession, to just find a way to get things to work with the resources at hand. The word has no simple translation to English, though winging it might be a close fit. All cultures and countries have their own versions of jugaad, and for good reason too. Turns out, it might just be the natural order to be that way...

If you look at how natural selection works, its small changes being made, which are then put to the survivability test, and if the changes are beneficial, the group survives, and if they are detrimental, the group perishes. Thus, good genes propagate and bad genes die out. Sometimes, the change has no real effect on the survivability of the group, and it just remains in some part of the population. If you replace genes with ideas, you get the basic workings of jugaad. We come up with small innovations that are more spur of the moment, rather than well-planned, and then those innovations are put to a test. Since most jugaad happens in colleges, lets take an example and break it down. Weve all seen the famous cooler and pants jugaad, where a pant is attached to the cooler and one leg each blows air into two different rooms. Perhaps not the most efficient way of doing things, but it certainly would have felt a little cooler to students in the different rooms. They would have looked around the hostel and tried various things, presumably, before settling on this idea that seemed to work, and once it did work, they stopped trying to perfect it. Just good enough to work is the aim, and the idea survives. Just as with nature, where our bodies have obvious flaws in them that make it impossible to believe that this was an intelligent design that was done from scratch, ideas like the cooler-pants solution are clearly not planned in advance. Natural selection works with what it has on hand already, without using anything external, as does jugaad.

In essence, jugaad is the way the world works naturally, and thats the reason why we Indians and other cultures as well, are so good at it. Jugaad also arises more in countries of larger populations and lower incomes, because it is more important in such places, as often, the survival of people is at stake. In China, they have the same way of thinking, and they have their own word for it. Its called chabuduo (), which roughly translates to almost, or close enough  as in, not perfect, but close enough.

Intelligent design

In order to get efficiency however, one has to use some form of planning and introduce something new to the equation. Buying materials to construct a new cooler to properly vent air in two different directions would have been an engineering solution. It would be carefully planned, and then implemented, and would fit the definition of intelligent design.

Jugaad can get stuff done, but engineering a solution is the right way to go about it. In professional settings across India and China, jugaad and chabuduo are considered negatives, and if you are accused of using those methods in your professional life, its usually an insult. Another way we talk about this attitude in India, in Hindi, is to have a chalta hai () attitude.

Globally too, when many Indians and Chinese (and other Asians as well) go abroad to work (in Europe and the Americas, especially), they find that this attitude can land them in trouble. This is because there are strict codes that have been established and need to be followed by workers in these countries, which may be unheard of in the native countries. This is especially the case for hygiene standards in food service, or for building standards, safety standards, etc. This is one of the reasons why these attitudes have been treated as negatives, instead of looking at it in a positive light, as getting things done.

Tinkering

Theres a big difference between chabuduo / jugaad and being a tinkerer. A tinkerer is essentially a person who loves to pull things apart, see how they work, and then tinker with them to improve them. To use the aforementioned cooler example above, a tinkerer would take apart the cooler and rework it. Unlike an engineer who would purpose build something to cool the two rooms, a tinkerer would add on to it, and make a contraption to enhance the cooling, instead of just attaching a pair of pants or building something new from scratch. Generally, a tinkerer has knowledge or gains knowledge about how something works, and then improves on it.

The reason were spending so much time writing about these differences, is because we want to precisely explain why we think its important for all of us to be tinkerers, and how we can all achieve that level of competence. If you want to be better at work, or your life in general, youre going to have to tinker, and do it all the time. Tinkerers get things done, and theyre achievers. Many entrepreneurs start off tinkering with things, and many of them are very successful because of this skill they have. And its not a skill that people have to be born with, its merely a mindset that you have to buy into.

Of course, most of us do not have the luxury of physically tinkering with things anymore. Tinkering has become more of a hobby, and we all usually have one unfinished project stored somewhere  this writer has several amps, speakers and various electronics he means to try and repair someday when he gets spare time. But thats not the tinkering that this story is about

Think right

What were talking about is the tinkering mindset, and applying that to your life in general. We dont want you to take apart an important machine at the office to try and figure out how it works that will probably get you fired, or even jailed, depending on how important and expensive the machine is Instead, what we want you to do is to learn to take apart your life, or your job, or todays task, and study it as a tinkerer would. Because we know our own lives, we have valuable insight into how it can be broken down.

A simple example is the life of a technology writer, who has to juggle many balls in the air at once. Theres planning of future articles, loads of reading to be done, research, speaking to people, meetings to attend, reviewing gadgets, discussions with peers, actually writing stuff, gaming, making videos, being on top of the latest news, even more reading, even more research, gaming, tinkering with our PCs, engaging on social media, watching cat videos, gaming, attending press conferences, interviewing people, going for junkets like CES Las Vegas, going out into the market and speaking to vendors, keeping an eye on sales and offers, gaming, voicing over videos, trying to find time to read a book or three, scouring the app stores for interesting stuff, trying to stay healthy and fit enough to survive a decade or two, listening to family members complain about you not spending time with them, and if we get any free time after all of that gaming.

There are a myriad of ways in which we can tinker and improve on how we do things, or even better, automate certain tasks. And this is the point in such discussions where it becomes mandatory to talk about AI.

Judgement day

All of us know that a general AI is coming, and we also know that it will cause jobs to change drastically. There are aspects of all of our jobs that AI, or a machine of some form, is just better suited to do. Anything repetitive or anything that can be templatized is just begging for machines to do it. And of course, machines will do it. Machines should be doing it. You can get machines to help you do all of that right now anyway, which will free up your time and allow you to do more of the stuff that machines cannot do.

As humans, our true worth is not to do what dumb machines already can, but to outthink machines, to do things better, to innovate, and of course, to tinker. Most jobs today already need us to use our brains, and if youre reading Digit, it means youre probably using your brains far more than the average Joe does. In such jobs, working with software is usually the norm, but its not like we can hack (tinker with) that software to work better for us. Instead, what we can do is look at everything else we work with in the office and try and break those down into simpler tasks, and then find ways in which AI can help us.

Of course, you need to know how to dabble in some code to achieve anything with AI, but thankfully, its getting a lot easier to do thanks to software packages and services that are available to us.

Hack your brain

And now we get to the part where you learn how to hack your life. You do this by engaging in whats called computational thinking (CT), which is a way to break down tasks and problems into smaller chunks, translate that into something a computer could understand, and then use a computer to help you solve aforementioned problems. In essence, it is what enables computers to help us do tasks that are usually specific to our jobs. Remember the introduction to this article? Where we talked about learning a new language? Think of CT as learning a new language, where you learn to talk and think like a computer would.

And its not just computers that can be helped by using CT, but us as well. When you break down a problem, organise data logically, and try and convert it into simple yes or no answers (binary) often, it helps you arrive at a solution all on your own.

CT can be achieved by breaking any problem you have into three main chunks. The first is called Abstraction, which is essentially you decomposing a problem into many different chunks that allow you to formulate the problem in computer speak. Then comes Automation, which is a way to express how you would arrive at a solution, again in the computer language of your choice  its like building a model by using data sets. Then comes Analyses (plural) which is the writing and testing of algorithms to arrive at a solution. To simplify and dejargonise the idea, lets look at a simple math example:

Lets say you have to find the sum of all numbers between 1 and 10,000 (dont Google it!). And of course, you cant just use a computer and find out, because youre trying to think of this problem like a computer.

If you were to manually add 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+10,000, it would take forever! Although a computer could do it this way in a heartbeat, what if we wanted to find the sum of all numbers between 1 and 6,516,516,546,516,546,519,654,872,346,987,287,364,598,712,634,578,926,347,856,243,578? A modern computer could still tell you the answer in a heartbeat, but not because it would do this manually, by adding all those numbers together Its been programmed instead to recognise patterns.

What youd need to do is to break the problem down into a simpler solution. Instead of using 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+10,000, you need to find a better way to do this. Since we have to add all numbers between 1 and 10,000, a simpler way to write this down would be:

1 + 10,000

2 + 9,999

3 + 9,998

Etc.

Here you can see that the answer for all of them is 10,001. Next, you need to know how many of these pairs of numbers you will have before you exhaust the numbers that need to be added. Since youre taking 2 numbers per equation, and there are 10,000 numbers, the answer is 10,000/2 or 5,000 pairs. Thus, 5,000 pairs of numbers that total 10,001 in a formula is:

10,001 x 5,000, or (10,000 + 1) x (10,000/2) or (n/2)*(n+1) = n^2/2 + n/2. The answer is 50,005,000, by the way.

And what about the ridiculously large number?

(6,516,516,546,516,546,519,654,872,346,987,287,364,598,712,634,578,926,347,856,243,578 + 1) x 6,516,516,546,516,546,519,654,872,346,987,287,364,598,712,634,578,926,347,856,243,578 / 2

Its too big for a standard calculator on your PC, but using an online large number precision calculator, you can find that the answer is:

21,232,493,950,511,969,000,243,100,012,144,292,075,004,317,854,393,293,183,111,910,806,178,703,480,438,260,397,827,087,431,343,781,778,350,404,940,909,789,272,361,242,831

Even a computer would struggle to do this in the 1+2+3+4+5+6 way, and yet here we were able to do it so easily, all because we broke things down into simple math problems that computers can understand.

If you were to calculate this for, say, the sum of numbers between 4 and 10, this would be (y^2/2 + y/2) - [(x-1)^2/2 + (x-1)/2], where x is the smaller number (4) and y is the larger number (10). This can be further simplified into: (y^2-x^2+x+y)/2

 since y^2 - x^2 = (y+x)*(y-x), we can further simplify the equation to:

(y-x+1)*(y+x)/2

And now you (and a computer) can find the sum of consecutive numbers between any two values of x and y!

Not every problem is easily translated to math though, but this is no problem for a computer, because you just need to use variables, or placeholders in order to get the machine to understand it. The great thing about computers is that theyre dumb, so they dont need to understand things in order to run simulations or process algorithms. Lets say youre building a game, and want to make a randomised face generator. Of course, you would have to deconstruct a face for a computer to understand. The more you deconstruct, the simpler you make it and the more variables you have (desirable in a random generator). In a very simplistic example, lets say you were building a game with cartoon cats (everyone loves cats in videos and games, not so much in real life). The first thing youd do to generate cartoon cat faces is to decide on how many different shapes of the head you want. Because theyre cartoons, you can be as creative as you want, and have, say, square, round, oval-wide and oval-tall as four simple shapes (you could add more), next you tell the computer that every cat has two ears, and you model different types of ears, and also show the computer where to place the ears for each head shape. This is just x-y location data, since this is not 3D. Next, a nose, then the same thing for whiskers, mouth-open and mouth closed features, etc.

Obviously, the more parameters you add the more variables you have and the more things you have to specify for each variable. Next, you give the computer individual images, and when it generates the image it puts it together and you have a randomly generated cat face. Sounds simple, but its a lot of hard work breaking down a cats face into elements and then trying to experiment with placement of the components until you get it right. An easy cheat would be to ensure that eyes and ears and mouth can all be placed in the same spot, regardless of head shape, which would make your life much easier. Of course, this is just an example of how you could break up something abstract like cat faces into simpler problems that can be solved. Your own use would require you to do that for a problem you have, and the more creative you are with the abstraction, the better the output, and its this abstraction that computers find it hard to do. Theyre getting better though. Head on over to thispersondoesnotexist.com and you will find a computer generated image of a person who, as the name suggests, does not exist. These faces are created by whats called a generative adversarial network (GAN). A GAN is essentially two algorithms competing to try and win a game, and that game is to please you and give you what you ask of it. Its like supercharged tinkering and natural selection all rolled into one. Both algorithms come up with an answer, and either you can choose who did better, or you can even automate that by creating a discriminative network that does that job for you! Of course were oversimplifying here, a lot, but the work has all been done for you already and open sourced, so your level of interaction need not be any more advanced than were suggesting... of course if you are a coding whiz, you will obviously do a better job at tweaking to suit your requirements and thus achieve better results.

At thispersondoesnotexist.com, computers are generating faces by studying a vast library of faces, and being very careful to never use all the features of anyones real face in a single image, and thus recreating a fake person. Some of the faces look strikingly real, while others just feel wrong somehow, but overall its an impressive job. You can even use the source code to build your own generator. All you really need is a large sample of images and youre good to go.

Go fish!

This months cover story is to get you thinking along the lines of a tinkerer about everything, and to get you to learn to achieve better results. No geek is ever happy with anything the way it is, so were sure there are a million things youd like to tweak. In the articles that follow you will find less abstract and more practical ways to tweak your browser, learn how to code, tweak Android to suit your needs, and even use voice assistants to achieve tasks. All of those will pale in comparison to the complexity of your life however, and it would take us a thousand articles to hack all aspects of one persons life using the tricks weve mentioned. Multiply that by a million readers, and wed have to write a billion articles just to cover the lives of our readers alone!

As the old saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime

Make sure to write in and tell us how you have used tinkering and computational thinking in your life, and wed love to share it with other readers, so that they get more ideas. And if you have created (or do create) any interesting generators with GAN, tell us and wed love to feature you in future articles.
" " Japan Airlines offers dogs and their owners a special charter flight to Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. People and pets stay together in a hotel and go sightseeing in rented cars. Richard Atrero de Guzman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In a long-awaited ruling, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Dec. 2, 2020, that "carriers are not required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals and may treat them as pets." The DOT also said that airline carriers could limit service animals to just dogs. This ruling came after a skyrocketing number of pets flying as service and "emotional support animals" (ESAs)  up 150 percent between 2015 and 2017, according to Delta  had prompted the airline and others to enact more stringent requirements for on-board animals.

ESAs occupy a different category from service animals who are highly trained to perform specific, potentially life-saving tasks for people living with a disability. "Emotional support animals are companion pets ("ordinary" house pets) that are recommended by an individual's mental health professional for the alleviation of symptoms of an emotional disability," emails Beth Zimmerman, founder of Pets For Patriots, an organization that matches shelter dogs and cats with veterans. "They do not have to be task-trained or have any unique training at all; their mere presence is assistive."

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ESAs don't even have to be dogs. Snakes, rats, even pigs can be used as ESAs  and passengers had brought them on-board, or at least tried to. But this new ruling says that airlines don't have to accommodate these more unusual pets, reported the Washington Post. This means that passengers will likely have to pay to bring them in the cabin. Airlines could also require that the animals be kept in carriers that can fit under the seat.

"The research on the positive impact that emotional support animals have on people who are struggling with mental illness is pretty plentiful," says psychologist Tanisha Ranger, who works mainly with veterans. "They have a calming effect, lowering stress levels in the owner. They offer companionship and help to lessen isolation. ... They offer a sense of security and protection for those who struggle with PTSD."

Ashley Jacobs, CEO of Sitting for a Cause and resident of Newport Beach, California suffers from hereditary hemochromatosis, which requires her to have regular phlebotomies. "Needles are my biggest fear in the world, so my ESA comes with me to all my phlebotomies. Having her with me keeps me from panicking during the procedure," she says of her golden retriever, Diamond.

Yet Jacobs wouldn't take Diamond with her on a plane. For one, she doesn't need her dog for traveling. Also, "while she is a very well-behaved dog ... it's hard to guarantee she wouldn't get a little antsy/anxious about the new sounds/smells/environment on a plane. She's also about 70 pounds and takes up a bit of space, so for the comfort of other passengers and to avoid giving ESAs a potentially bad rep, I figured it's best to leave her at home," she says in an email interview.

ESA Fraud

Unlike service dogs, who are allowed access pretty much everywhere by Federal law, the only legal rights ESAs had were reasonable accommodation in no-pet housing, and the right to accompany their owners in the cabin of a commercial aircraft without having to be kept in a container or to pay a pet transportation fee  typically at least $125 one way. Many passengers looking to avoid this fee had started to classify their pets as emotional support animals.

"There is a lot of fraud out there," says Ranger by email. "A cursory Google search will find you any number of websites where you can buy letters from clinicians, tags, and vests which may not be legitimate. And when untrained animals attack innocent bystanders, it further creates stigma for those who actually need service animals."

There have been such incidents on airplanes, including one in June 2017 when a 70-pound (32-kilogram) dog on board a Delta Airlines flight bit a passenger multiple times in the face, causing the passenger to be hospitalized.

"Individuals with disabilities often have additional stress as they do not know when they may encounter a non-trained ESA dog that may inflict harm on them and their trained assistance dog," adds Chris Diefenthaler, executive director of Assistance Dogs International. "The general public is also affected as they cannot determine which assistance dog team is trained or which ones are non-trained ESA dogs."

Some 23 states have laws prohibiting people from passing off their pets as service animals but they were hard to enforce due to Americans with Disabilities Act rules concerning what questions a business owner may ask about a service animal. For instance a business owner cannot ask for documentation or demonstration of a service dog's training. There's also no registry of service-trained animals.

"Unfortunately, the prevalence of ESA vest and registry scams ... desensitizes the public from understanding the impact and importance of ESAs to individuals who truly need them for therapeutic purposes," says health care attorney Erin Jackson, who has written about the hostility she encountered from airline employees and passengers when she traveled with her ESA, a terrier. "Instead of viewing the animal as a therapy tool, fellow travelers may resent other passengers who are allowed to bring their 'pet' on the plane. However, note that because ESAs don't wear identification, other travelers may not be able to distinguish between a pet and an ESA."

Airline industry groups applauded the new ruling, which goes into effect 30 days after it is published in the federal register. The ruling also allows the airlines to request paperwork on the animal's health, training and behavior. On the other hand, airlines can no longer refuse to transport a service animal strictly based on breed (a policy Delta had regarding pit bulls, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and passengers no longer need to check in physically at the airport with their service animal and can check in online.

Now That's Cool Therapy dogs are like a cross between ESAs and service dogs. Therapy dogs provide comfort to people in hospitals or schools, for instance. Although they must be well-trained and vetted, it's not nearly to the same level as service dogs. And unlike service dogs, they don't have a right to go anywhere  they have to be invited in.

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Originally Published: Jan 30, 2018
Baghdad, June 20 : The Iraqi health ministry recorded 1,635 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total nationwide infections to 27,352.

The new cases included 517 in the capital Baghdad, 173 in Sulaimaniyah, 154 in Babil, 110 in Maysan and 103 in Wasit, the ministry said in a statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement also reported 69 deaths during the day, the highest single-day rise so far, bringing the death toll in the country to 925, while 12,205 patients have recovered.

The new cases were recorded after 11,226 testing kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, and a total of 425,192 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said in a statement that the ministry's experts decided to use a drug from Russia to treat COVID-19.

"Iraq started manufacturing the Russian medicine and will be available in health institutions at the end of the coming week," al-Tamimi said.

As for the vaccine to treat COVID-19, al-Tamimi said the ministry experts and advisors are in connection with the international companies and the World Health Organization (WHO).

"If there is a vaccine to be produced in the world, Iraq will be the first to benefit from," he promised.

Al-Tamimi's comment came two days after a video conference meeting between the officials and experts of the Iraqi and Russian ministries to discuss the treatment protocols of COVID-19.

However, Adham Ismail, the WHO representative in Iraq, warned in a press release on Thursday that the Russian drug "is not yet licensed for global use, and it is only authorized by Russia." "Iraq can use this drug in clinical experiments, provided that the amount of import to be small, and for the purpose of the experiment, not to use it on all citizens," Ismail said.

China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.

Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
China will have overarching powers over the enforcement of a new national security law in Hong Kong, according to details released on Saturday that signalled the deepest change to the city's way of life since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The planned law has alarmed foreign governments as well as democracy activists in Hong Kong, who were already concerned that Beijing is eroding the high degree of autonomy granted to the territory when it was handed over from British rule.

According to details released by the official Xinhua news agency, Hong Kong will establish a committee to safeguard the legislation, headed by the city's leader Carrie Lam and supervised by the central government.

New police and prosecution units will be set up to investigate and enforce the law.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Demonstrators swarmed around the flagpoles on the Western Michigan University campus Saturday before marching to downtown Kalamazoo to speak out against inequality and encourage youth voting.

Since the death of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis on May 25, protests across Michigan and Kalamazoo have continued as activists call for justice for those affected by police violence. The June 20 protest was billed as a March for Justice & Voter Registration.

Helping set up the beginning of the event on campus was WMU student Maleke Dooley, one of the leaders of the march and a member of #TeamLitty, the group responsible for organizing the protest.

Were fighting for Black lives. We need them to hear us. Its more than just Black people out here, you see how everyone wants to show their support for Black lives because this issue is real, Dooley said. We have to keep coming because if we sit, they wont hear us, they wont listen to us and no justice will be served.

Kalamazoo resident Jakayla Lipsey, a representative from Black Youth Vote, was among those who marched from West Michigan Avenue on WMUs campus to Stadium Drive, through downtown and finally to Bronson Park. Lispey said shes been speaking out the last month so her son wont have to face the same situation that led to Floyds death.

I feel like my part is just to set that foundation so when he gets older, things like that dont happen and he wont have to keep protesting, she said.

At the area surrounding the flagpoles between WMUs Sangren Hall and Kanley Chapel, community members of all ages danced to a live set from DJ Chuck, who played party tunes like Cupids Cupid Shuffle and DJ Caspers Cha Cha Slide.

As the march began around 1 p.m., protestors chanted the names of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, 26, a Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13 by police officers executing a no-knock warrant and shooting Taylor, a emergency medical technician, at least eight times. The suspect they were looking for was already in custody.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley marched with protesters, not in uniform, wearing a black T-shirt that read, I Am a Man. He chanted with the crowd, encouraging the younger protesters to form a line to block traffic while crossing streets.

As protesters crossed Stadium Drive next to WMUs Waldo Stadium, a person driving a dark-colored SUV hit the curb while attempting to drive through the crowd of people. The driver laid on the vehicles horn as it rolled into the crowd. Some demonstrators, including Coakley attempted to block the vehicle before the driver sped off.

After the vehicle nearly struck several demonstrators crossing Stadium Drive, Coakley directed those with children in strollers to stand as close to the inside of the street as possible. Police were not called to the scene and no one appeared to be injured.

That was not love, that was not peace. That couldve caused someone to get hurt, Coakley said about the motorist.

At Bronson park, the protesters were met by organizers with megaphones, chanting Black Lives Matter.

One day after Juneteenth, the gathering at Bronson Park was celebratory. Speakers reminded the crowd of the holiday that recognizes the end of slavery in the U.S. City Commissioner Eric Cunningham, who attended Fridays Juneteenth celebration in Kalamazoos Vine Neighborhood, participated in Saturdays march as well, speaking to the crowd about the importance of voting.

In these coming days I encourage everyone to play a role. Black votes matter, Black children matter, Black mothers matter, Black fathers matter, Black elders matter, and everything in between, Cunningham said.

Also on Mlive:

Juneteenth block party brings celebration to Kalamazoo neighborhood

Artists create Black Lives Matter mural on downtown Kalamazoo street

You cant erase us: Watch the Black Lives Matter mural come together in Kalamazoo
We are about to witness one of the most shameful acts of cultural vandalism in the history of this country. On June 30, the NSW government will shut down to the public the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, where it has existed as both a landmark and an attraction for 134 years, and gradually demolish it to make way for sale of the site to a preferred developer. Thus, yet more of the Sydney we love is being eradicated.

The Powerhouse has earned world renown and respect. It has assembled, through acquisitions and donations, a unique, priceless and irreplaceable collection of objects relevant to the history of Australia in general and to NSW in particular. All aspects of human creativity  in science, technology, industry and the decorative arts  are represented in the collection which is now to be dispersed. Many items will never be seen again and a good deal of the collection will probably be sold off.

The $38 million Powerhouse Museum taking shape in 1986. Credit:Robert Pearce

This operation has, in my opinion, been deliberately and falsely described as a "relocation". It is no such thing. To me, it is the wholesale destruction of a much loved institution and its replacement with another entity that will bear as much relation to the current museum as a Picasso does to a postcard. Only a miserable group of objects will be displayed in a smaller, uglier building in distant Parramatta.

Greeted with almost universal incredulity when it was announced six years ago, this absurd plan continues to meet with unshakeable opposition from the public and from museum professionals.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 09:34:56|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Friday reported 94 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll, bringing the total nationwide deaths to 1,831.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 87,715, an increase of 3,825 from Thursday, and the total number of recoveries stood at 47,825, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.

The latest figures came two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the re-opening of restaurants, beauty salons, cinemas, casinos and non-contact sports, a move that has sparked concern about growing infections.

The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has lambasted the president for putting the economy above the lives of people, particularly the poor. The party threatened to sue Ramaphosa for the lives that were lost as a result of the easing of lockdown restrictions.

With spikes both in confirmed cases and related deaths, the country pins hope on dexamethasone, a steroid drug used since the 1960s.

According to British researchers, the drug cuts death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.

Mkhize said his ministry is in a position to immediately offer patients dexamethasone, adding South Africa has a good capacity of the medication which is manufactured locally.

Earlier, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 issued an advisory to recommend the drug, or a similar medication, to patients on ventilators.

Trial results showed that the benefit of dexamethasone was only seen in patients seriously ill with COVID-19 and was not observed in patients with milder conditions.

Dexamethasone, a well-known and widely used steroid which has potent anti-inflammatory properties, is used to treat allergic reactions, asthma and other conditions where the inflammatory component of the disease needs to be controlled for better outcomes.

But some doctors are cautious, citing possible side effects and asking to see more data. Enditem
The Congress on Saturday asked the government to clarify its position on China's claim on the entire Galwan Valley in Ladakh, urging for a response on Saturday itself.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh, had practically left everyone "baffled and bewildered".

Chidambaram said even after the PM's statement on Friday, China had blamed India for the clashes and had re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley.

"What is the government's answer to this claim? Now that China is claiming the entire Galwan Valley, will Government of India reject this claim," he asked.

"Let Government of India answer to China's claim today and not wait till tomorrow," he added.

On the BJP drawing a parallel between India's China policy in 1962 and now, the Congress leader said, "We must focus on the present and not talk about the past."

A day after India trashed the Chinese Army's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the LAC, China's foreign ministry on Friday claimed that the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.

India has already dismissed China's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, saying such "exaggerated" and "untenable" claims are contrary to the understanding reached during a high-level military dialogue on June 6.
Former home: a blue plaque to Thomas McCabe on the wall at St Malachys College in north Belfast

Many people from different political backgrounds will have been surprised to learn that the ardent 19th-century Irish nationalist John Mitchel, formerly of Newry, was a strong supporter of slavery and that he backed the Confederate States in the American Civil War, during which his two sons died fighting for the pro-slavery cause.

As a pupil of Newry Grammar School in the mid-1950s, I was aware that John Mitchel was buried in a Presbyterian church cemetery in the town. In my early teens, I watched each autumn as a massive Apprentice Boys' parade in Newry made its way to a Protestant church in a nationalist area, partly because I loved to follow one or other of the excellent brass bands on the march.

It was only years later that I realised this parade was apparently a quid pro quo for an annual republican visit to the grave of Mitchel, the son of a Presbyterian minister, in a Protestant graveyard in the unionist part of the town.

Mitchel made the news recently when there were calls for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to rename a street in Newry called John Mitchel Place. Currently, there is an online petition asking the council to remove Mitchel's statue to a place where his "history and context can be more carefully assessed" and to rename John Mitchel Place Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The statues and memorials of other well-known historic Ulstermen are also under threat. Amnesty International wants a name-change for Larne's McGarel Town Hall, which was funded by Charles McGarel (1788-1876), a slave-dealer and sugar plantation owner.

There are also calls to remove the statue of the Co Down polymath Sir Hans Sloane, a co-founder of the British Museum, because he married into a family which owned slaves.

Even King William of Orange has been dragged into the controversy, because he had shares in a company owned by the Bristol slaver Edward Colston, whose statue was dumped in the city's harbour by protesters recently. It was later retrieved from its watery grave and removed to a local museum.

However, Mitchel (1815-1875) was one of the most outspoken supporters of slavery. A member of the Young Ireland group and the Irish Confederation, he was convicted of treason in 1848 and sentenced to 14 years' penal servitude in Van Diemen's land (now Tasmania), from where he escaped to America in 1853.

Mitchel was, in his own right, a remarkable operator. In Ireland, he had already made his name as an activist, author and political journalist, so few people were surprised that, when he reached New York, he established a radical Irish nationalist newspaper, The Citizen, and became a leading apologist for slavery.

He wrote: "We deny that it is a crime, or a wrong, or even a peccadillo, to hold slaves, to buy slaves, or to keep slaves to their work by flogging, or other needful correction."

He also claimed that slavery was inherently moral and "good in itself". He further claimed that slaves in the southern states were better looked after than Irish cottiers and industrial workers in England.

In a blatantly racist remark, he claimed that slaves were "an innately inferior people" and that he promoted slavery "for its own sake".

His views were very unpopular among his colleagues in the Young Ireland movement back home and also among abolitionists everywhere, including those in burgeoning America.

Mitchel was born near Dungiven in 1815 and, when only 19, was awarded a degree from Trinity College Dublin.

He was obviously a bright man and he must have been aware that only a couple of decades before he was born, there had been a concerted and successful campaign to prevent slave ships docking in Belfast, which perhaps makes Mitchel's chilling views on slavery all the more extraordinary.

That Belfast anti-slavery campaign was led by Thomas McCabe, who helped to prevent the formation of a slave ship company proposed in 1786 by prosperous local merchants, including Waddell Cunningham and his business partner, Thomas Gregg.

Their plan was to ship goods to the Gold Coast in Africa and fill their vessels with captured slaves, who would then be transported to the West Indies and offloaded. The vessels would then be filled with sugar and brandy destined for Belfast.

Slaving was a murky business at that time for other ports, such as Bristol. However, Waddell Cunningham, a leading citizen of Belfast and a former chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and his backers had no scruples. Cunningham owned sugar estates in the West Indies and, in 1775, he established, along with Gregg, the largest shipping company in New York.

Back in Belfast, Waddell Cunningham was a formidable opponent of those who campaigned for the abolition of slavery. He was a successful entrepreneur and a merchant and banker.

He was also a member of the Ballast Board from its inception in 1785 until his death in 1797. The Ballast Board was the precursor of the Belfast Harbour Board, which continues to develop the port to the present day.

Cunningham was a leading member of the Volunteer movement and opposed the Society of United Irishmen.

After his death, he was buried in Newtownbreda with full military honours, supplied by the Belfast and Castlereagh Yeoman Cavalry and Infantry.

A local newspaper obituarist described him as having "a life of ardent and active exertions" and a man who used his fortune "in the most useful manner and to the most generous purposes". Obituaries in those days often omitted their subjects' failings.

In his prime, Cunningham had enormous influence in Belfast and the symmetry of his plan to form a shipping company to transport slaves was inescapable. But he had reckoned without the conscientious objections of other leading Belfast citizens who were vehemently opposed to slavery.

They included Thomas McCabe, whose home, The Vicinage, was then on the site where St Malachy's College now stands.

McCabe hosted meetings of the Belfast Charitable Society and the Society of United Irishmen there, as a member of both organisations.

McCabe was a goldsmith and watchmaker with a business in North Street. He was also a radical member of First Presbyterian Church in Rosemary Street at a time when the Presbyterian Church was in the vanguard of liberalism.

When Waddell Cunningham held a meeting in the Exchange and Assembly Rooms in Waring Street in 1786 to establish a Belfast slave ship company, Thomas McCabe walked the short distance from his shop in North Street to join the meeting.

He made an impassioned speech against the plan and uttered a warning which still echoes down Irish history today: "May God wither the hand and consign the name to eternal infamy of the man who will sign that document."

His speech caused a great stir and, in the prevailing climate of Protestant liberalism, it helped to carry the day and prevented the formation of a slave-trading company in Belfast. Later, McCabe wrote to Dr William Drennan, another prominent Belfast citizen, to tell him how that plan to establish a Belfast slave-ship company had been aborted.

Drennan was also a man of great ability who had many interests. One of his claims to fame was a masterly outline on how to deal with a pandemic - an achievement which has a remarkable resonance for our world today.

Some of the United Irishmen were so opposed to slavery that they refused to eat sugar or drink rum from the West Indies because of the association with the slave trade.

To underline the prevailing opposition to slavery in Belfast, in 1791, the famous freed slave Olaudah Equiano, who wrote a bestselling book about his experiences, was invited to Belfast by the United Irishmen and given a warm reception. He reputedly sold nearly 2,000 copies of his book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, during his stay, when he lodged with the draper, United Irishman and radical newspaper editor Samuel Neilson.

When Equiano left Belfast, Neilson's Northern Star newspaper (founded in 1792) continued to give wide coverage to anti-slavery propaganda.

Despite the best efforts of people like Thomas McCabe, Mary Ann McCracken (sister of the United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken) and many others, a large number of Belfast cobblers continued a brisk trade making broader-fitting shoes for slaves. Other traders supplied commodities for slave owners in the West Indies and elsewhere.

In 1807, the anti-slave campaigner William Wilberforce was successful in getting legislation passed in the House of Commons to abolish slavery.

In 2007, the great-great-great-great grandson of William Wilberforce, also called William, visited First Presbyterian Church on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.

He brought with him an iron casket presented to Wilberforce by former slaves in recognition of his dedication to the abolitionist cause. It was forged from the shackles that the slaves had worn on sugar plantations.

In the current debate about race and the Black Lives Matter movement, it is worth noting that because the efforts of Thomas McCabe and many other anti-slavery campaigners in the latter decades of the 18th century, Belfast retains the noble record of being one of the few major ports in the British Isles to have turned its face against the slave trade.

The story of Thomas McCabe, the radical Presbyterian from Belfast, and the challenges which he and his colleagues in the United Irishmen overcame to keep slave ships out of Belfast, shows how complex that struggle was.

Modern attitudes to difficult historical subjects need to take account of what actually took place during those days if people are to make informed judgments about the best way to handle the dark residue of the past.

Alf McCreary is the author of Titanic Port: An Illustrated History of Belfast Harbour
By Trend

The number of Turkish citizens looking for job in Georgia surged from January through April 2020, Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) told Trend.

In the reporting period, the number of Turkish citizens who visited Georgia to find work via ISKUR almost quadrupled compared to the same period of 2019.

As reported, from January through April 2020, 20 citizens of Turkey visited Georgia through ISKUR.

In general, over 4,000 Turkish citizens went abroad via ISKUR during the reporting period, which is 40.3 percent less compared to the same period in 2019.

In April 2020, 30,556 citizens were provided with jobs through this agency in Turkey.

Some 34.6 percent of the total number of employed citizens accounted for women and 65.4 percent for men.

In April 2020, 96.9 percent of the total number of citizens provided with jobs accounted for the private sector, ISKUR said.

The number of unemployed in Turkey in the reporting month amounted to over 3.6 million people, 48.4 percent of which are women, and 51.6 percent are men.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Connie Bernard is apologizing for recently saying those offended by the name of Lee High School in Baton Rouge should "learn a little bit more about" Confederate General Robert E. Lee, for whom the school is named.

My comments last week about the naming of Lee High School were insensitive, have caused pain for others, and have led people to believe I am an enemy of people of color, and I am deeply sorry, Bernard said in a written statement issued Friday afternoon. I condemn racial injustice in any form. I promise to be part of the solution and to listen to the concerns of all members of our community. I stand with you, in love and respect.

+18 Special committee to rename Lee High School OK'd by EBR school board; here are next steps Four years after balking at the change, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is poised to change the name of Lee High School, which has be

On Thursday, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted unanimously, after a lengthy debate, to form a special committee to come up with alternative names for the 61-year-old high school. It was a striking reversal for the School Board, which in 2016 voted to keep the school named Lee High, but excised the "Robert E" part of the name. Bernard is one of the five board members who voted then to keep Lee in the name, which she said she did because of the strong feelings of many school alumni and constituents.

Before the meeting, in a June 10th interview with WVLA-33, Bernard said that parents and students uncomfortable with a school named Lee High dont know their history.

I would hope that they would learn a little bit more about General Lee, because General Lee inherited a large plantation and he was tasked with the job of doing something with those people who lived in bondage to that plantation, the slaves, and he freed them, Bernard said.

A parade of speakers, including three of her fellow School Board members, strongly criticized Bernard at Thursday's meeting.

You should walk out of here and resign and never come back, said Gary Chambers, publisher of The Rouge Collection, because you are the example of racism in this community. You are horrible.

Just prior to taking the mike, Chambers posted a picture of Bernard on her laptop, apparently shopping online for dresses. As he started speaking, he held up his phone.

This is a picture of you shopping while were talking about the history of racism in this country, Chambers said. You dont give a damn.

On Friday, Bernard told The Advocate that what people saw on her laptop was an accident, a pop up ad that she failed to close. She said she was struggling with technology Thursday, going back and forth between a district-owned and a personal computer.

I wasnt shopping, she said. I was actually taking notes, paying attention, reading online comments.

Arthur Pania of Baton Rouge, who attended Thursday's School Board meeting, took to Facebook Saturday afternoon to rebut Bernard.

"I personally watched her for about eight minutes, attempting to decide between a beige and red dress," Pania wrote. "The only thing I had issue determining from my sight was if it was a short dress or nightware."

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After Chambers comment, Bernard left the room for a few minutes, apparently in response to the pointed criticism, but Bernard said she simply had to use the restroom.

Most striking Thursday was the criticism of her fellow African American board members.

It was disturbing that a fellow board member would be so insensitive and say some inaccurate things about history that would just fan a flame, said board member Evelyn Ware-Jackson.

The comments you made were extremely tone deaf to our collective community, extremely tone deaf to the students of our district, and I would be remiss if I did not stand up and stand against that, said Board Vice President Tramelle Howard. I understand where you were coming from in trying to recognize history but its just wrong, totally wrong. This man was a murderer, he was a racist and a bigot.

+6 Time to rename Lee High? Baton Rouge school's title not an 'acceptable reality,' official says The name of Lee High School in Baton Rouge is once again sparking controversy and an African American member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sc

Several speakers on Thursday offered Bernard a sharp-edged history lesson.

Robert E Lee was a brutal slavemaster, said Chambers. Not only would he whoop the slaves, he said, Lay it on em hard. After he said that, he said, Put brine on them."

Under the demands of his late fathers will, which demanded he free all slaves after five years, Lee tried multiple times to resist and keep the slaves under his control, yet his name hangs over our school, said board member Dadrius Lanus.

Pania told the board that Bernards description of Lee is similar to the erroneous picture painted of Lee by groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and that leaders like Bernard should not perpetuate such myths.

(Lee) stood up for the Confederacy, Pania said. No way you get around that.

In her statement, Bernard said it's "an exciting time" and that "our students are taking the lead in righting racial injustice and in changing major paradigms of social justice."

I agree with Drew Brees when he said, We have a long way to go. We can do better. We are all part of the solution. I promise I will be part of the solution.

This story has been updated.
This photo, captured from the website of North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 20, 2020, shows printed pictures of South Korean President Moon Jae-in with cigarette butts in a plastic bag, after the North has said it will send anti-Seoul propaganda leaflets from the North into the South. Yonhap



South Korea urged North Korea on Saturday to "immediately" withdraw its plan to send anti-Seoul leaflets across the border into the South, voicing regret over its decision to do so.

The unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs made the request after the North's state media said earlier in the day it was printing anti-Seoul propaganda materials in large numbers and preparing to send them across the border to the South.

The North's Korean Central News Agency website showed pictures of North Korean workers sorting printed propaganda flyers in piles. One of them showed pictures of President Moon Jae-in with dirty cigarette butts in a plastic bag.

"It is very regrettable that North Korea unveiled via a media outlet its plan to send massive anti-South Korea leaflets, and we demand its immediate halt," the ministry said in a statement.

"Such acts by North Korea are a clear violation of the inter-Korean agreement, a step that does not resolve wrong practices between the two Koreas but rather exacerbates them," it said, stressing that it does no good for inter-Korean relations or the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.












meat-entrepreneur Clemens Tonnies has rejected the allegations of the district of Gutersloh, in obtaining the residential addresses of employees, uncooperative have been. "We have data protection problems," said Tonnies on Saturday at a press conference in Rheda-Wiedenbruck. According to the contract law, the company should not store the addresses of the relevant workers.

company spokesman Andre a lot of cities stated that the company had been asked to report all the address data of the employees in the contract to the authorities. "This request was immediately passed on to all service providers." A part of the a lot of address data can be passed in this way, in the short term. Some of service privacy companies, however, concerns expressed and were not ready, without a written request to release the data. "After this written request, the authority existed, could be the outstanding addresses immediately to the authority."

resignation-speculation rejected Tonnies. "I'm going to lead this company out of this crisis," said the 64-Year-old and added: "And then we'll see. I'm not from the dust.

In the years since led to the dispute to Germany's largest Slaughterhouse, Robert Tonnies had before, his uncle Clemens in a letter of 19. June asked, to make the way free. His son, Max Tonnies to take over the work of the Board of management. In addition, Robert a called for the convening of extraordinary shareholders ' meeting.

More than 1000 Tonnies employees tested positive

meanwhile. "The confidence we have in the company, Tonnies, is equal to Zero. I have to say so clearly, said the head of the crisis staff, Thomas Kuhlbusch.

After the Corona onset at the meat producer toennies, meanwhile 1029 employees positive to the Virus tested. This is the district administrator of the Kreis Gutersloh, Sven-Georg Adenauer, informed, on Saturday afternoon. A total of 3127 findings of the fittings. More than 6500 people work at the location in Rheda-Wiedenbruck. District Adenauer stressed at the same time, there is yet "no significant entry" of the Virus in the General population. The meat operation Tonnies in Rheda - Wiedenbruck is closed for 14 days. The have has the circle, as the head of the crisis staff, Thomas Kuhlbusch, announced on Saturday in Gutersloh, Germany

.

Kuhlbusch also reported that Tonnies had delivered up to Friday, lists of employees, in which 30 percent of the addresses were missing. In the case of inquiries to the company have been always hesitant. Employees of the district administration and the working environment were, therefore, in the night to Saturday in the case of Tonnies and had gained access to the personal data reported to the district administrator Adenauer. The company had "managed to yesterday at midnight", the authorities in all of the residential addresses of the surrender in the case of Tonnies employees, he criticized. Since 01.30 p.m. this would be available now, finally.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 17:20
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a massive rural public works scheme, the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, on Saturday to create jobs for millions of migrant workers who returned home during the coronavirus pandemic.

PM Modi launched the scheme worth Rs 50,000 crore through video conference in presence of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Chief ministers of other five states and Union ministers of concerned ministries participated in the virtual launch from Telihar village in Khagaria district of Bihar.

Here is all about the Centres Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan:

* The campaign of 125 days across 116 districts in six states aims to work in mission mode to help migrant workers.

* The programme will cover 116 districts across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. All these districts have received more than 25,000 migrant workers during the lockdown.

* It will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide jobs and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore.

* The programme, aimed at boosting livelihood opportunities in rural India, will create durable infrastructure along with boosting employment opportunities, an official communique said.

* The scheme will be a coordinated effort between 12 different ministries or departmentsrural development, panchayati raj, road transport and highways, mines, drinking water and sanitation, environment, railways, petroleum and natural gas, new and renewable energy, border roads, telecom and agriculture.

* Rural development secretary NN Sinha said that the laying of fibre optics cable, railway works, rurban mission jobs, sanitation works, waste management, poultry, farm ponds and training through Krishi Vigyan Kendras will be given to the migrant workers under the programme.

* Sinha also said that there is no bar for other districts to join the programme if they also have more than 25,000 migrant workers.

* The Centres dependence on the construction to create jobs comes after skill mapping in districts where more than 25,000 migrant workers have returned, and run by the rural development ministry with monitoring by the PMO.

* The government communique said the 116 districts will also contain 27 aspirational districtsIndias poorest areas in socio-economic indicesand the government hopes to cover about two-thirds of migrant workers.
In September, the University of Wyoming investigated a top administrator who resigned weeks later, using a secretive process that mirrored the inquiry that led to the ouster of former president Laurie Nichols and brought scrutiny to how the institution is governed.

In late August, the universitys general counsel hired a Denver law firm to investigate Sean Blackburn, then the schools vice president for student affairs, according to documents obtained by the Star-Tribune and WyoFile. The university had used the law firm  Flynn Investigations Group  at least twice before, including during an investigation into whether Nichols had verbally abused her subordinates.

Last month, the university turned over more than 100 pages of documents to the Star-Tribune and WyoFile in response to a request for records and communications pertaining to an investigation into Blackburn. Its unclear from those documents what prompted the inquiry. But the records indicate an investigation took place, and they detail a swift and secretive process that concluded with Blackburns sudden departure from the university.

The VP for student affairs reports directly to the university president and manages many aspects of campus life  overseeing departments that range from campus recreation to residence life to the office of the dean of students.

Taken together, the two high-profile separations suggest a pattern of quietly investigating and pushing out top administrators. In both instances the processes were shielded almost entirely from public view, and appear to have been hidden from the subjects themselves. In neither case did the university follow its policy governing workplace investigations, which university officials argue wasnt necessary.

Since the March 2019 announcement that Nichols would no longer serve as president, the university has come under more intense scrutiny from the Legislature, which is preparing to study how the school is governed. Lawmakers have said that theyve heard complaints from the public about what in the world is going on at UW. Gov. Mark Gordon told the board in September  the same month Blackburn resigned  that hed fielded concerns that UW was adrift.

As with Nichols, there is no indication Blackburn was given a chance to respond to the law firms work or correct any behavior his colleagues or supervisors might have reported as problematic. In an email, Blackburn told reporters he was never contacted by the law firm or its representatives. He was reasonably informed, he wrote, that he was not investigated.

His sudden resignation came after a meeting with acting president Neil Theobold in mid-September, which followed the conclusion of the law firms work and partner Mark Flynns attendance at a closed-door meeting of the board of trustees. That, too, mirrored the Nichols scenario: Her departure came after Flynn met with the trustees, who in turn met with Nichols days later.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the university distanced the trustees from the Blackburn matter. Mr. Blackburns employment and departure were not matters for the Board of Trustees, spokesperson Chad Baldwin wrote. He was supervised directly by the University President.

Though there are similarities, Blackburns departure was shrouded in even more secrecy than Nichols. While the former presidents exit was announced in a press release three months before her contract expired, Blackburns resignation was not publicly acknowledged until the school released a statement about his replacement on Sept. 18, a day after Blackburn submitted his resignation, which took effect immediately. Even then, the news that he had resigned was confined to five words in the middle of that statement; the rest focused on his replacement and her qualifications. Nothing was released publicly or internally that gave any indication that he was investigated; internal messages from administrators to staff instead say that Blackburn was leaving to pursue new professional challenges and opportunities.

Like Nichols, Blackburn was popular with the student body. Shortly after his resignation was announced in September, the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming, the schools student government, wrote in a statement to the board that the news was incredibly surprising. ASUW asked the board of trustees for efforts of transparency and openness with the UW campus from all leadership and referred back to the Nichols decision and the many questions it had raised.

Jason Wilkins, who was president of the student government at the time of Blackburns resignation, told the Star-Tribune and WyoFile that Blackburn was a mentor who had worked super closely with students. As president of the student body, Wilkins served as a non-voting member of the board of trustees, and he was able to attend the bodys executive sessions. Those meetings take place behind closed doors, and the proceedings are confidential. But documents indicate that at the boards Sept. 11 board meeting, Flynn was present to report on Blackburn.

Wilkins said he couldnt speak to what happened with Blackburn or comment on executive session proceedings because of the confidential nature of the meetings.

In a statement responding to a list of questions, the university would not confirm or deny an investigation took place. Baldwin directed questions about what information Blackburn was given to the former UW official himself. Blackburn declined to answer several questions.

In September 2019, Vice President Blackburn indicated to President Theobald that one of his great professional joys was working for the University of Wyoming, Baldwin wrote Thursday, but that he was ready for new professional opportunities and challenges.

Investigation by another name

Records indicate the investigation began in late August, after Flynn and UWs general counsel, Tara Evans, exchanged emails and discussed retaining Flynn to conduct an unspecified inquiry. Flynn sent Evans a draft contract, and Evans returned it with a significant edit: She crossed out the word investigation from the document and replaced it with assessment.

This preliminary assessment was to be conducted in contemplation of a more formal investigation, the agreement states.

On Aug. 29, Flynn and acting UW president Theobald signed the contract.

The universitys careful characterization of Flynns work again mirrors the Nichols investigation. In that case, officials and then-board president Dave True described Flynns work as an informal investigation, once the details of it became public. Officials used that wording to explain why they didnt follow a policy that governs investigations into hostile work environments, sexual harassment claims and other problematic personnel behavior. That policy states that the subject of the investigation has a right to review the allegations and respond to them.

Baldwin told the Star-Tribune and WyoFile that the policy was not relevant to Vice President Blackburns departure. University officials declined to provide more information as to why the matter didnt fall under the employment policy.

Though they dont indicate why exactly Blackburn was investigated, the documents obtained by the Star-Tribune and WyoFile provide a day-by-day accounting of the inquiry.

On Sept. 3, five days after the contract was signed, Evans sent Flynn an email with a lengthy list of contacts and their phone numbers. On an invoice he later sent the university, Flynn charged UW $675 for list calls and four interviews that he conducted on Sept. 3. That email came days after Evans received a message from a redacted sender with the subject line Sean Blackburn. The email included a list of people who had interactions with Blackburn on various projects. The names on the list were also redacted.

On Sept. 4, Mark Bercheni, an official in UWs human resources division, emailed Evans to say he had been informed of the consultant that will be on campus doing an investigation. Evans replied that Bercheni should call her for an update, describing the situation as extremely sensitive.

The invoice from Flynn indicates the law firm conducted multiple interviews between Sept. 3 and Sept. 16. For his work, totaling more than 30 hours, Flynn charged the university $6,862.50.

On Sept. 10, Evans emailed Flynn call-in information for a board executive session to be held the next day. Such sessions are held in private and arent subject to rules governing normal public meetings. Flynns invoice, turned over as part of a request seeking documents related to Blackburns investigation, shows he billed the university for his participation in an executive session with the board. The trustees agenda for that Sept. 11 meeting indicates the board discussed personnel  employment matter, without further detail.

Later that evening, the boards deputy secretary emailed Evans a copy of the letter sent to Blackburn in May 2017 offering him the vice president job. The letter states that Blackburn would be an at-will employee, meaning that you and the university are entitled to terminate the employment relationship at any time and for any reason except an unlawful one.

On Sept. 13, two days after Flynn spoke with the board, acting president Theobald emailed Blackburn at 9:37 p.m. to tell him that he needed to speak with Blackburn first thing the next morning, a Saturday.

More emails detail university administrators drafting public and internal statements and giving Blackburn time to notify his staff. On Sept. 17, three days after Blackburn met with Theobald, six days after the board met with Flynn, and less than three weeks after Flynn was contracted to look into him, Blackburn left the university.

The only document included in the response to the records request that raises specific concerns about Blackburn was an email sent Sept. 23, after Blackburn resigned. The name of the person who sent the email is redacted, but the message was sent to Evans, UWs general counsel. The subject line is Sean Blackburn.

I found out this morning that one of my co-workers had recommended a Mark Flynn (who had called and talked to several of my co-workers) also contact me, the sender wrote. I had contacted a lawyer last year and was told to reach back out to HR regarding my issues.

The sender goes on to describe Blackburn delaying a raise for the employee for months, despite a recommendation that the sender be given a salary bump and a co-worker receive a raise. The sender also described a conversation where Blackburn was upset after he called the office and no one was available to talk to him. The sender described Blackburns reaction as disturbing.

Evans forwarded the email to Blackburns replacement, Kimberly Chestnut.

Its not clear if that employee or any other had filed formal complaints about Blackburn. A records request from WyoFile and the Star-Tribune for complaints made to UWs Office of Equity and Employment Practices did not turn up corresponding records, according to UW. The broader request for communications or documents relating to the investigation also turned up no other written complaints.

Reasonably informed

In written statements to the Star-Tribune and WyoFile, Blackburn said he was unaware of having ever been investigated.

I respectfully disagree with your conclusion that my departure from UW may have unfolded in a similar manner to that of President Nichols, Blackburn wrote to reporters. I am reasonably informed that I was not the subject of any investigation while employed at the University of Wyoming. In addition, I dont know Mark Flynn, and have never spoken or communicated with him or his colleagues.

The Star-Tribune and WyoFile provided Blackburn with the documents obtained in the records request, which indicate he was investigated and were turned over in response to a request for any records related to an investigation into him.

After reviewing the documents, Blackburn repeated his previous statement that he had been reasonably informed that he hadnt been investigated and that he never spoke to Flynn or anyone from his firm. Blackburn declined to answer further questions.

Scrutiny

In both the Nichols and Blackburn cases, little was publicly released about the circumstances that led to the administrators exits and the details only became public after records requests and reporting by the Star-Tribune and WyoFile. But the high-profile and mysterious departures sparked widespread consternation at the state university.

Though Blackburns abrupt departure generated less controversy than the former presidents, it still caused bewilderment on campus and fed into the perception of many faculty that school leaders werent acting transparently.

Nichols herself has been highly critical of the process that she says unfairly cost her a job she loved. Whether the Trustees call it informal or preliminary, doesnt diminish the fact that an investigation was done about me, but never once included me, she said in February.

A longtime university president turned consultant on university governance said the trustees didnt follow good governance, to the detriment of both UW and Nichols.

Employment matters always require the highest levels of integrity  too much is at stake for both the individual and the institution to treat them otherwise, Ellen Chaffee, a senior consultant with Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, wrote to reporters. The boards decision process regarding President Nichols termination was unusual at best, and it certainly did not conform to principles of good governance such as following existing policy, treating the president with respect and, apparently, thoroughly considering the effects on the institution.

The sudden departure of high-level officials without explanation can harm morale, Chaffee wrote.

Faculty, staff, students and other constituents can become anxious and distracted, with rumors and speculations eating into productive time, Chaffee wrote. Employees confidence in institutional systems goes down, and their concerns about what could happen to them goes up.

After the details of the Nichols investigation became public last year and media outlets won a lawsuit to access documents detailing the inquiry, the university came under closer scrutiny. In September, two days before Theobald met with Blackburn, Gordon wrote to the board about the black eye recent turnover had caused and concern by the public that the university was adrift.

During the 2020 Legislative session, lawmakers in the House and Senate both successfully pushed provisions to order a study into how the university governs itself.

You go to the coffee shop and hear, Boy, you seen what theyre doing? Kemmerer Republican Rep. Tom Crank, a sponsor of the measure, told a reporter following debate on the study earlier this year. Recent times have not been real tremendous for UW, with the Nichols thing and some others. Good, bad or indifferent, lets just see  were the poor optics right, or what?

The study is just getting started. A legislative committee meeting earlier this month was briefed on the exact details of how the university is governed.

At that meeting, Casper Republican Sen. Bill Landen said he had heard repeated concerns from constituents about what was happening at the university. He said there were whitecaps on the water over the past year. Cheyenne Republican Rep. Landon Brown added that he, too, had heard concerns. Brown asked legislative staff, who would be drafting the study, to consider comparing UWs governance structure to that of other universities, specifically the importance of, I think the key word is transparency.

Ive had a lot of constituents in my district whove been asking, What in the world is going on over there? Brown said. It really boils down to: I dont even know. I think the only people that know are the trustees that are sitting in that room.

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Paris, June 20 : Stadiums in France will re-open for fans from July 11 as the country continues to lift coronavirus restrictions, a BBC report said.

There will be up to 5,000 fans who will be allowed in arenas to watch live sport. The number could increase later in the summer, the report said.

"A further review of the national epidemiological situation will be carried out in mid-July to decide whether a loosening is possible for the second half of August," the French government said as quoted by BBC Sport.

Earlier in the month, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison announded that a 100-person limit on indoor gatherings will be scrapped under step three of the government's plan to further ease restrictions.

Stadiums with a capacity of up to 40,000 people will be allowed to have 10,000 people under step three while bigger venues will be required to apply for special exemptions, paving the way for crowds to return to sporting events in droves.

In the French Ligue 1, Paris St Germain have been declared as champions after the 2019/20 season was frozen.

This is PSG's seventh title in the last eight years and their ninth title overall, thus making them the joint second most successful club in the French league alongwith Olympique Marseille. Saint-Etienne are the most successful with 10 titles, the last of which they won in 1981.

Second-placed Marseille and third-place Stade Rennais finish in the Champions League positions while Lille, Stade de Reims and Nice qualify for the Europa League.
Three special schools in Melbourne will be investigated over a series of allegations of violence, abuse and serious neglect of students with disabilities over the past 10 years.

Victorias Department of Education and Training has launched an investigation into multiple claims of mistreatment of vulnerable children at Marnebek School in Cranbourne East, Jackson School in St Albans and Southern Autistic School in Bentleigh East.

Geoff Snell and his son Mathew, whom records show was isolated from his classmates at Jackson School about 80 times. Credit:Justin McManus

Among the allegations that have sparked the probe are claims that children were restrained in harnesses and had their hands bound; and that children with behavioural problems were routinely isolated in time-out spaces including outdoor courtyards, corridors and even a windowless storeroom.

The allegations include a claim that a child was dragged along the floor into a seclusion room.
Mr Alex Djonoboah Tetteh, the incumbent Member of Parliament in the Sefwi-Akontombra constituency of the Western North region has received an overwhelming endorsement to lead the party into the 2020 general elections.

The MP who is also the Western North Deputy Regional Minister was the only person to have picked forms at the close of nominations a few months ago.

The acclamation was supervised by Mr Tony Mensah Baine, Sefwi- Akontombra District officer for the Electoral Commission.

Speaking to delegates after his endorsement, the Deputy Regional Minister assured delegates of maintaining the seat he won in 2016 for the first time for the NPP and promised to widen the gap by over 10,000 votes.

He indicated that youth empowerment remained his topmost priority and would ensure the Akontombra Constituency gets its share of the national cake.

Mr Tetteh pointed out that he had performed creditably in all sectors, noting that he has been able to lobby for 1,218 Youth to be employed under the Youth in Afforestation Programme,36 to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture,64 into Ghana Cocobod, 677 as hand pollinators, as well as 215 into Ghana Education Service among others.

On educational infrastructure, he said the district has received a major boost as a six-unit classroom block has been constructed at Manukrom,three-unit classroom block at Abronehia, six-unit classroom block founded by the GNPC at Akontombra senior high school and three-unit classroom block at Nkwadum.

Mr Tetteh said 11 other six-unit and three-unit classroom blocks were at various stages of completion.

He also indicated that roads in the district have been upgraded and cited the construction of the Waiwso-Akontombra, Ackaakrom roads, the bridge at chorichori Congo-Tanogya road, Tawiaahkrom junction and Bopa junction to Akontombra roads have all received a major boost.

He said the achievement of the NPP in the last three years was unprecedented and asked delegates to tell the people what he and the NPP government have done in the Akontombra district.

He further asked the rank and file of the party to take the upcoming voters registration exercise seriously to secure a resounding victory for the NPP in the December polls.

Mr Samuel Kofi Abiaw, Regional Secretary tasked polling station executives to be vigilant and bring every party member everywhere to get registered in the coming voter registration exercise.

Mr Yawson Amoah, District Chief Executive for Akontombra urged the party members and supporters to intensify the party's campaigns by telling the electorates the numerous projects and employment opportunities that the Nana Akuffo Addo administration has brought to the district.

---GNA
The upper and lower limits on airfares are likely to be extended beyond August 24 depending on how the coronavirus situation evolves over the period, Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said on Saturday. In May, the government had placed upper and lower limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration. It had said on May 21 that these limits would be in place for a period of three months. The airlines had resumed operations for domestic travellers on May 25 after nearly two months of suspension due to coronavirus lockdown. "Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjust beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months," Kharola also told reporters.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that during phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic. Air India has planned 300 flights under phase-3, phase-4 of Vande Bharat Mission, he added. "Close to 2,75,000 Indians, who were stranded in foreign countries, have been brought back to the country in flights and ships during the lockdown," Puri said.

Meanwhile, around 0.03 per cent (341 passengers) of around 12.4 lakh domestic passengers who travelled between May 25 and June 15 were found to be positive for coronavirus. The government started flight services after May 25, after around two months of lockdown. Since then, as many as 13,554 flights have operated in the Indian airspace till June 15, a recent report said. Of all the airlines, around 186 IndiGo passengers tested positive during this period, of which 6 lakh passengers flew with the airline.

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Stopping traffic in short bursts and gathered in groups of no more than 20, the "socially distanced" climate change rally saw just a few of fines handed out to CBD demonstrators on Saturday.

With the number of coronavirus cases surging in Victoria, organisers kept their distance with police saying they were generally pleased with the behaviour of most of the attendees.

Protesters participate in an Extinction Rebellion rally in Melbourne on Saturday. Credit:Luis Ascui

Even before the latest figures showed another spike in coronavirus cases, experts were worried the state could be at the tipping point of a second wave of infections.

Saturday's protest, organised by climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, took place at multiple locations throughout the city including State Parliament, Flinders Street Station and the Queen Victoria Market.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Eldar Janashvili  Trend:

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has continued to negatively affect the domestic economic activity of Azerbaijan since May, Trend reports with reference to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

However, the statistics show that the government responds well to the external shocks, said the CBA.

Monitoring of real sector enterprises by the CBA shows that the index of business confidence in the non-oil industry, construction, trade and services was in the negative zone in May, the bank added.

From January through May 2020, the retail trade turnover of the country declined by 1.7 percent compared to the same period of 2020, the CBA said.

During five months of this year, the cost of chargeable services provided to the countrys population decreased by 14.9 percent. Meanwhile, investments in non-oil sector dropped 16.7 percent.

Nevertheless, economic growth in the basic sectors of the economy, that is, oil and gas industry and agriculture continued over the reporting period, said the official statistics.

Full implementation of the obligations by the government on social expenditures, additional support measures, as well as synchronized macroprudential measures, will prevent a further decline in economic activity and will partially compensate for the loss in income of economic entities.

Also, despite the decline in exports by 19 percent over the year, the foreign trade balance remained surplus. Downward import trends have a balancing effect on the external balance, and its possible that in the first half of 2020 account of payments balance will be in surplus.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on June 20)

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
Welcome relief: After 26 days in the intensive care unit with the Covid-19, little Heloisa Cristine Nunes dos Santos, only three months old, was discharged in Sao Goncalo, Brazil yesterday morning. PHOTO: GETTY

Brazil was on track to surpass one million confirmed coronavirus cases yesterday, second only to the United States, with total deaths fast approaching 50,000 as the country struggles with a tense political climate and worsening economic outlook.

Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on February 26. It has spread relentlessly across the continent-sized country, eroding support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and raising fears of economic collapse.

The true extent of the outbreak in Brazil far exceeds official figures being released, according to many experts, who cite a lack of widespread testing in the country as a factor adding to many uncertainties about the disease.

"That number of one million is much less than the real number of people who have been infected, because there is under-reporting of a magnitude of five to 10 times," said Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at the Sao Paulo State University.

"The true number is probably at least three million and could even be as high as 10 million people."

Brazil's health ministry reported 978,142 total confirmed cases and 47,748 related deaths on Thursday evening.

The count has risen by a daily average of 25,000 new cases and 1,000 fatalities for the past week.

But by yesterday afternoon, a consortium of Brazilian news outlets keeping an independent tally of Covid-19 statistics from state health officials reported the country had already passed the benchmark of one million confirmed cases.

Covid-19 arrived in Brazil via wealthy tourists returning from Europe to major southeastern cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but has spread deep into the interior, reaching 82pc of Brazil's municipalities, health ministry data shows.

Meanwhile, traces of coronavirus have shown up in Italy's water from December last year - suggesting the virus was circulating more than a month before the country reported its first cases.

Scientists discovered the presence of SARS-Cov-2 - the virus which causes Covid-19 - in wastewater collected from two northern cities towards the end of 2019. Italy reported its first known infection in late January.

Giuseppina La Rosa, an expert in environmental wastewater at the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) who co-led the research, said the findings "may help us understand the beginning of virus circulation" in the country.

The ISS looked at sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between October 2019 and February 2020.

Traces of coronavirus were discovered on December 18 - before the virus was known to have reached Italy - in samples from Milan and Turin, an analysis released yesterday said.
The coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown has hit the operation of the full-body truck scanner installed at the integrated checkpost (ICP) Attari, which facilitates Indias trade with Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border.

Officials of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), which manages the ICPs affairs, said they are waiting certification from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) as a team of experts could not visit the ICP for conducting the scanners trial due to lockdown.

The truck scanner project costing Rs 23 crore was announced in March 2017 by then Union minister of state for home affairs Kiran Rijiju. Of the five truck scanners imported from the US, the first one has been installed at the ICP, Attari, to scan concealed narcotics and weapons being smuggled from Pakistan.

The Centre had sanctioned five FBTS for AttariWagha in Punjab, PoonchChakkandabad and UriSalamabad in Jammu & Kashmir on the India-Pakistan border, Petrapole in Kolkata at IndiaBangladesh border and Raxaul in Bihar on IndiaNepal border.

Since the foundation stone of the ICP was laid in 2010, there has been a demand for a scanner as manual checking of vehicles by customs officials with the help of sniffer dogs is not 100% errorfree, and has sometimes led to clearing of the contraband.

The construction and installation works of the scanner have been completed. We are now waiting the AERB teams visit. The team couldnt reach here due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The scanner emits radiation. Once we get certification from the AERB, the scanner will be made operational. We have already put forward our request to the AERB to conduct the scanners trial, said the ICPs in-charge Sukhdev Singh.

In November last year, an AERB team had visited and during the trial of the scanner, a technical glitch was detected. The glitch was repaired by an US-based engineer. Now, the scanner is all set to be operational.

With the imposition of the nationwide lockdown, the movement of trade with Afghanistan thorough the ICP was also suspended for at least two months. The cross-border trade resumed from May 28, but only a few trucks have been importing goods from Afghanistan.

However, trade with Pakistan is at a standstill since the New Delhis action of revoking the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmirs special status. The project, which commenced in March 2018, has so far missed several deadlines.

In July last year, the special cell of Delhi Police seized 50kg heroin evaluated at 200 crore from a cold storage located in Haryanas Sonepat. The consignment had reportedly entered India through Attari ICP in a truck. In June, the customs department seized 532kg of heroin and 52kg of mixed narcotics concealed in the consignment of rock salt imported in a truck. The accused of the 532 kg heroin smuggling racket, as per the police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had already cleared five such consignments.
'As his party's Supreme Leader, Modi has led India down the wrong road by insisting on friendship with China even as its soldiers went about claiming territory,' argues Harishchandra Dighe.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi at the all-party meeting he convened on Friday, June 19, 2020, to discuss the China crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi is solely responsible for the surprise attack by China that claimed the lives of 20 soldiers and the current mess India finds itself in vis-a-vis China.

Modi has invested more in befriending China than any other leader of India.

And his attempts to woo China is not a post 2014 phenomenon, but began many years earlier when he first became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.

Following the Gujarat riots of 2002 and Modi being seen as a persona non grata in much of the Western world, he pursued economic relations with China, inviting investors and seeking to boost trade.

China built the Sardar Patel statue, which Modi loves to list as one of his key achievements.

Following his elevation to the prime ministership, Modi continued the same policy of wooing China, holding bilateral talks, seeking investment.

In this blinkered one-dimensional dealing with China, Modi forget the single most important difference between being the prime minister and being a chief minister.

The PM of India is responsible for the defence of India.

What has now emerged is that in his dealing with China, Modi behaved just like Jawaharlal Nehru; his and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party's arch nemesis.

Despite the signs and signals at every stage, be it Doklam earlier or their comments following the separation of Ladakh into a separate Union territory, Modi refused to heed the warnings and continued to pretend that everything was fine.

It has often been said that one should choose one's enemies carefully because we become like our enemies.

The BJP, its predecessor the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, despise Nehru and all that he stood for.

They dislike Mahatma Gandhi too, especially blaming him for Partition and the vivisection of India, but given the Mahatma's phenomenal stature not just in India but globally, his avowed Hindu-ness (though they conveniently miss his equally avowed secularism), and his care for the poor, make it very difficult to target the Mahatma.

With Nehru, though, the BJP has been more successful in blaming him for all of India's ills, real or imagined.

This ideological attack has over the years been boosted by Nehru's descendants, who also went on to rule India and head the Congress party without challenge.

As historian Ramachandra Guha pointed out, Nehru is the ironical case where the sins of his descendants have been visited upon him -- the mistakes of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi/Rahul Gandhi have all been blamed on Nehru's original sin of allowing his family to govern India.

Nehru's biggest mistake (one that has also harmed India immensely) is to have continued as prime minster for more than two terms.

Ideally, Nehru should have stepped aside in 1957 after completing 10 years, or certainly by 1962 (since India's first full elections were held in 1952).

No matter how good, quality of leadership declines, and Nehru was clearly in decline.

And we all know his single biggest blunder -- no, it wasn't taking Kashmir to the UN, but ignoring the threats of China even as he spoke of Hindi-Chini bhai bhai.

Over the last few decades, Indians have rightfully blamed Nehru for this single sin of commission and omission.

But to Nehru's credit, he was honestly seeking to befriend Beijing and China's attack in 1962 surprised everyone.

To Nehru's credit, he kept Parliament informed and faced the Opposition's barbs and vitriolic.

He agreed to his colleagues's demand to sack V K Krishna Menon.

But Nehru's China debacle gave the BJS/BJP a mantra -- everything wrong with India was Nehru's fault.

The 1962 defeat paved the way for every subsequent Indian victory in every war or border skirmish, be it 1965, 1967 (when the Chinese troops retreated), 1971, 1987, and finally 1999 (Kargil).

This has happened for two reasons.

First, post-1962, the Indian armed forces are now amongst the best in the world.

Second, our political leadership always put the national interest before politics and the ruling party's ideology which when it came to dealing with Pakistan and China.

And this has served India perfectly well till now.

Today, we are paying the price for Modi's intransigence when it comes to befriending China (even as it sought to keep a distance from Muslim Pakistan for ideological reasons and electoral benefits).

As his party's Supreme Leader, Modi has led India down the wrong road by insisting on friendship with China even as its soldiers went about claiming territory.

And now we have lost at least 20 soldiers.

Nehru at least heeded his colleagues's advice.

So while Nehru was hesitant to send troops in to force the Nizam of Hyderabad to accede to India, he allowed Sardar Patel to take the necessary steps.

Never did Nehru pull rank over Patel (and in 1961, followed Patel's tactics in dealing with Portuguese Goa).

Alas, in the current Cabinet, there is only one leader (and an acolyte); others's voices are never heard, let alone heeded.

When we have a leader who thinks he alone knows everything, who is blindsided by his ideology, then we are in trouble.

It still isn't too late for Modi.

But he needs to stop behaving like he has been doing so far.

Instead of making hollow announcements at 8 pm as has been his wont, he needs to summon Parliament and lay bare the facts, including owning up to his many mistakes so that the necessary amends may be made.

And most important, listen to his generals, especially those who don't agree with everything he says.

He still has time to salvage the situation.

Otherwise, Modi will be remembered as India's weakest PM!

Harishchandra Dighe is a political commentator.

Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Former national security adviser John Bolton will likely be forced to give all earnings from his controversial new book to the U.S. Treasury, if government lawyers succeed in convincing a federal judge that Bolton violated government rules by moving forward with publication without final sign-off by officials vetting the memoir for classified information, according to a top national security lawyer.

But  as predicted Friday by Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer with deep experience in national security and intelligence  the judge hearing the case declined to halt publication of Boltons memoir of his tenure in the Trump administration, The Room Where It Happened, paving the way for it to go on sale Tuesday.

Zaid told the Yahoo News Skullduggery podcast that a Friday federal court hearing to determine whether to stop Boltons book from being published was painful at times to listen to. He predicted that Bolton will forfeit his profits to the U.S. government, making the Treasury the likely biggest financial beneficiary from Boltons book.

But Zaid doubted that the government would succeed in stopping publication of the book, which is scheduled to go on sale Tuesday and is already a prepublication bestseller on Amazon.

Leaks from the book appearing in newspapers this week have led to an uproar over Boltons scathing portrait of a corrupt and ignorant president who went against his own administrations policies by, among other examples, telling Chinese President Xi Jinping he didnt object to constructing concentration camps for Chinas Uighur minority.

Trump didnt know that Britain had nuclear weapons, or that Finland was an independent nation, according to Bolton, a longtime Republican national security operative who was reportedly paid $2 million for the book.

Zaid predicted legal consequences for Bolton after Fridays pivotal hearing even while concluding the Justice Department would have no success in persuading Judge Royce Lamberth to order the former national security adviser to stop distribution of his book, hundreds of thousands of copies of which have already been shipped to bookstores around the world.

Story continues

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (2)

They got a lot of things wrong, Zaid said of Boltons legal team, which was led by Charles Cooper. There were a lot of things that were said that I think are going to be used later against Bolton in particular.

Lamberth, who presided over Fridays hearing to consider the administrations request to stop publication of the book, appeared skeptical that Bolton had met his contractual obligations to the U.S. government to review the book for classified material prior to publication. The Justice Department is attempting to block the book from being published, but with copies already having been shipped, Lamberth made clear it may be too late to do anything.

This motion will fail, Zaid predicted. Simon & Schuster, Boltons publisher, has indicated that 200,000 copies were already shipped overseas or were printed overseas. One of the requirements in a temporary restraining order has to do with the practicality of, Can the relief even really be granted? And theres no way it can be.

Zaid also pointed out that the publisher, not Bolton, owns the content, making it questionable that Bolton even has the authority to pull the book back.

But on the governments core claim  that Bolton violated a signed agreement not to disclose any classified information without prior approval  there are problems for Trumps former top national security aide. The government has made an extensive effort to document that although the manuscript received preliminary vetting and clearance, Bolton did not have final approval to move forward with publication. If the government can prove that some of the contents are legitimately classified, Bolton could even face criminal charges, Zaid said. However, the government will have to reveal how and why the information is considered classified in order to pursue criminal charges, which will be difficult to do without revealing additional national security secrets. Zaid said the governments decision to apply for a temporary restraining order was shortsighted.

If they ever want to pursue criminal charges against Bolton, they have to basically reveal what specific passages in the book fit those classification determinations and reveal the information, Zaid said. But doing so could prove difficult given what the government contends is the sensitivity of the information.

Asked about Boltons lawyers contention that the Trump administration is retroactively classifying information to stop the book, Zaid said it is too early to know whether that is the case  and it may be a moot point regardless. Bolton faces a legal problem, Zaid said, because although a career NSC official, Ellen Knight, vetted the manuscript and had the authority to approve it for publication, she never formally exercised that authority. The book then was subject to a second round of vetting by another White House official, Michael Ellis, who said it contained information that should not be made public.

She wasnt the final authority who was going to weigh in on it, Zaid said. And we have had this happen before. I have seen it happen countless times where one official says, I dont think theres anything classified in it. But then it goes to other people and they have a different view.

The bottom line, Zaid said, is that Bolton never received a final approval letter.

When Bolton was then told later on that there is classified information in the book, it was his obligation to either go sue the U.S. government about it or to comply and not move forward with the publication, Zaid said. He doesnt get the choice to say, Well, I disagree, so Im going to go forward.

Zaid represented the whistleblower whose disclosures about President Trumps efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden triggered the impeachment proceedings against Trump. He said given what he knows about whats in the book, he is incredibly disturbed by Boltons refusal to testify before Congress during impeachment  especially in light of one of the books central contentions, that Congress committed malpractice by focusing the impeachment inquiry only on the Ukraine.

The book contains numerous other allegations against Trump that, if brought before Congress and substantiated, could have formed the basis for additional charges.

He said that the Congress or at least the House committed malpractice by narrowing its allegations or claims against the president to just Ukraine, because he knows of so much more egregious activity that the president did, Zaid said. Are you kidding me? You knew that and you withheld it from the American public and the Congress?

Personally, Im pretty disturbed that Bolton didn't come forward, Zaid continued. I know there was nothing stopping him from testifying before Congress as a matter of law. ... He could have taken the meat of his book, drafted it into testimony, given it to White House for prepublication review. It would have had to be reviewed in time for him to testify and he wouldnt be going through what hes going through now.  I think Bolton should have spoken up back then, and that was his patriotic obligation.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Islamabad, June 20 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan witnessed the signing ceremony of $1.5 billion loan agreements with three international financial institutions for combating the COVID-19 crisis in the country, it was reported on Saturday.

According to the Prime Minister Office, the agreements were signed on Friday with the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB), reports Dawn news.

The ADB is extending $500 million under the COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme aimed at supporting the Pakistan government's efforts to strengthen the health system and mitigate socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic.

The AIIB is extending co-financing of $500 million under the same programme to augment the government's efforts to mitigate direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another agreement relates to the Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation worth $500 million.

It aims to strengthen the civil registration and vital statistics, health and education systems essential for human capital accumulation, recognise and support the contribution of women to economic productivity and improve efficiency of the national safety nets.

The $1,500 million loan amount will be disbursed to Pakistan in the next few days.

As of Saturday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan stood at 171,666, with 3,382 deaths.
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This market research report identifies Abbott Laboratories, Biotronik Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic plc, and MicroPort Scientific Corporation as the major vendors operating in the global pacemakers market. This report also provides a detailed analysis of the market by product type (Internal pacemakers and External pacemakers), technology (Single-chambered, Dual-chambered, and Biventricular pacemakers), end-users (Hospitals, ASC, and Cardiac clinics), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World).

Infoholics market research report predicts that the global pacemakers market will grow at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period 20182024. The major drivers of the market are the growing aging population, increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, and good reimbursement facilities are few of the factors driving the pacemaker market growth. Increase in healthcare spending, use of electronic health records for monitoring outcomes of pacemakers, and increase in the number of outpatient procedures are providing an opportunity for the growth of the market. However, side effects of pacemakers, alternatives for pacemakers, lack of skilled healthcare professionals, and stringent regulatory approval process will hamper the growth of the market.

Request For Report sample @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/9915

According to the pacemaker market analysis, in 2017, North America accounts for the largest share of the pacemaker market, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. More than 60% of the market is occupied by North America, with the US being the major contributor to the market growth.

Competitive Analysis and Key Vendors

New product development, geographical expansion, collaboration, mergers & acquisitions, and pricing strategies are vital for players in this space. For instance, in May 2018, MicroPort, a Chinese company acquired the cardiac rhythm management segment of the LivaNova company, which has made MicroPort a prominent player in the market. In January 2017, one of the major players in the market, St. Jude Medical was acquired by Abbott Laboratories for a total of $25 billion. This acquisition has strengthened the Abbotts position in the cardiovascular segment and increased its market share. The convenience of reimbursement for the pacemaker implantation treatment has lessened the monetary load on patients, thus prompting the procedure rate of such devices. For example, a single chamber pacemaker device costs nearly $10,000, and almost $7,500 is compensated under the US Medicare plan. Reimbursement settlement plans are available in most of the regions, particularly in developed nations such as the UK, the US, and Canada.

Request For Report Discounts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/9915

Some of the Pacemaker Market key vendors are:

Abbott Laboratories

Boston Scientific Corporation

Medtronic plc

MicroPort Scientific Corporation

Biotronik Inc.

Other vendors in the global pacemakers market are Lepu Medical Technology Co. Ltd., Medico, S.p.A, Osypka Medical GmbH, Sree Pacetronix Ltd., and SORIN Group are the other predominate players in the pacemakers market.

Pacemaker Market by product type

Internal pacemakers

External pacemakers

The usage of internal pacemakers is extensive when compared to the external pacemakers, which makes it the largest segment in the global pacemaker market.

Pacemaker Market by technology type

Single-chambered

Dual-chambered

Biventricular pacemakers

Cardiologists generally recommend the use of single chamber or dual chamber pacemakers bestowing to the medicinal requirement of the patient.

Pacemaker Market by end-users

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)

Cardiac Clinics

The hospitals dominated the market in 2017 due to the good reimbursement facilities and availability of skilled professionals and is expected to continue the same during the forecast period.

Benefits

The report provides detailed information about the usage and adoption of pacemakers in various regions. With that, key stakeholders can find out the major trends, drivers, investments, and vertical players initiatives toward the product adoption in the upcoming years, along with the details of commercial products available in the market. Moreover, the report provides details about the major challenges that are going to have an impact on market growth. Additionally, the report gives complete details about the business opportunities to key stakeholders to expand their business and capture the revenue in the specific verticals. The report will help companies interested or established in this market to analyze the various aspects of this domain before investing or expanding their business in the pacemakers market.

More Info of Impact Covid19 @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/9915
A female journalist of Kindom FM covering the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) primaries in Tema East was on Saturday harassed, threatened and arrested by police officers at one of the polling centres for taking pictures of events.



Miss Rebecca Asheley Armarh, the journalist, told the Ghana News Agency that she together with other colleagues were reporting from the Homowo electoral area in Tema Manhean when the incident happened.



Miss Armarh said she was taking some pictures with her phone when the police officers stationed at the centre confronted her and instructed her to stop taking the photos.



She indicated that even though she showed them her press card which was hanging on her chest, one of the police officers snatched her phone from her and handcuffed her at the back threatening to take her to the police station.



She said it took colleagues to intervene before she was released adding that the police insisted that reporters needed to be granted permission before taking pictures.



The Police harassment spree did not end with Miss Armarh as an Atinka FM reporter nearly lost his camera and dignity.



The overzealous policemen and women in Tema are targeting the media for no apparent reason,

the reporter, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.



Meanwhile, the election started at about 07:20 hours at the centre were 77 delegates were expected to vote out of which 74 had cast their votes as at 10:25 hours.



Delegates also observed the COVID-19 protocols of washing hands, and wearing of nose masks.



Two candidates are contesting to be the Parliamentary candidate for Tema East. They are the incumbent Mr Daniel Titus Glover and Mr Ben Ashitey.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Britain's 'air bridges' plan is set to involve less than ten countries, giving tourists the ability to travel between them and the UK this summer with no mandatory 14-day quarantine.

A total of 12 countries - including Greece, Spain, Portugal and France - are being considered with officials examining both the risk of travellers bringing Covid-19 back and the popularity of the destination.

At the moment, any traveller arriving in the UK - whether from Britain or a tourist - must quarantine for 14 days and provide their phone number and an address for self-isolation.

The 'air bridges' plan is set to involve less than ten countries, giving tourists the ability to travel between them and the UK this summer with no mandatory 14-day quarantine. Pictured: Gatwick Airport this week

London City Airport will reopen this weekend after being closed for nearly three months London City Airport reopens on Sunday after being closed to commercial flights for nearly three months. The airport has introduced a series of new safety and hygiene measures, including enhanced cleaning, limiting terminal access to those with a ticket and mandatory face coverings. Its first flight following the restart will be operated by Loganair on behalf of BA CityFlyer from the Isle of Man and is due to land shortly after 6pm. Initial routes will mainly be restricted to those within the UK and Ireland, with services to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin expected to return next month. New routes to Teesside and Dundee will be launched on July 6 while flights to sunshine destinations such as Ibiza, Florence, Malaga and Palma are likely to resume in the coming weeks. London City's runway was closed to commercial and private flights on March 25 due to the collapse in demand and travel restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The airport has been available to Government agencies and the military during the crisis. Advertisement

The 'air bridge' rules would come into play on July 4 and will likely be announced on June 29.

But it will only go ahead if the chief medical officer provides advice on each nation and the Foreign Office lifts its non-essential travel ban to the countries in question.

An aviation source told The Daily Telegraph: 'It is work in progress  risk first, and how you measure that risk, followed by the popularity of the destination.'

Travel company Tui has told its customers that it will only fly them to countries that have air bridges in place.

The company has pledged to provide 'quarantine-free holidays' to all its customers, meaning they don't have to isolate on landing or upon arriving back home in Britain.

But this could spell disaster for holidays that are already booked should the air bridge measures not be established in time, The Sun reports.

A second plan, which could reduce the need for quarantine and kick-start the travel sector post-lockdown, is the possibility of coronavirus tests for arrivals in UK airports, The Times reports.

A trial is set to take place at a UK airport next month and will be run by Swissport and Collinson.

Nurses will administer free and optional nose swabs on those willing to take part. Saliva tests will also be trialled at the airport - which has not yet been named.

Results will be provided between seven and 24 hours later.

Greece has already introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for arrivals from countries deemed high-risk, such as the UK.

Anyone landing from these countries must also quarantine on arrival.

However, these tough measures only apply to those arriving from 'higher risk' airports.

Those considered 'lower risk' include Bristol, Southend and Edinburgh and arrivals from these are only be subject to random testing.

Any plans depend on reducing the risk of a second wave meaning quarantine could stay in place for the next few months.

This hasn't stopped Britons eagerly looking into potential holidays, however, as searches for Spain and Greece doubled on Travelsupermarket after the nations declared they were open for business.

There has been an 18 per cent increase in people looking for Spain package holidays in just one week, the travel comparison website said.

On week beginning June 7 , there was a 34 per cent increase in people looking for return flights from Britain on Skyscanner compared to a month ago.

Greece has mandatory Covid-19 testing for arrivals from countries deemed high-risk, such as the UK. Pictured: Athens airport

Tui will ONLY fly to countries that have 'air bridges' with the UK Travel company Tui has told its customers that it will only fly them to countries that have 'air bridges' in place. 'Air bridges' give tourists the ability to travel between a foreign country and the UK with no mandatory 14-day quarantine upon landing back home - or arriving there. The company has pledged to provide 'quarantine-free holidays' to all its customers, meaning they won't face any coronavirus measures which could impede their trip. But this could spell disaster for holidays that are already booked should the 'air bridges' not be established in time, The Sun reports. Tui told its customers in an email: 'We promise we'll only take you on quarantine-free holidays. 'This means we won't travel to places where we know that you'll need to self-isolate when you arrive or when you return home.' Advertisement

In other developments to Britain's coronavirus crisis on Friday:

The Government was accused of underplaying the coronavirus death toll after it emerged more than 1,000 people died every day in the UK for 22 consecutive days;

Schools in England face waiting a fortnight to find out how the government expects to bring every child back to school in September;

This comes as plans in Northern Ireland suggest teachers will have to move between classrooms and school bags could be banned;

A Whitehall source said ministers were considering relaxing the rules even further by allowing two families to go into one another's' houses in 'support bubbles';

A 12-year-old child is among the youngest people in Britain to die from coronavirus, after passing away in hospital earlier this week.

Britons could be seeing a more 'normal' summer following the announcement that the UK's 'Covid-alert' level was downgraded from level four to level three following a dramatic reduction in new infections, hospital admissions and deaths.

Scientists confirmed that the epidemic is shrinking by 4 per cent every day and the crucial reproduction 'R' rate is still below the dreaded level of one.

The measures come after Britain's 'Covid-alert' level was downgraded from level four to level three following a dramatic reduction in new infections, hospital admissions and deaths

Ryanair and Wizz Air are slammed for ignoring measures to prevent coronavirus spreading Popular budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air have been slammed for ignoring government advice to control the spread of coronavirus on their flights. Airlines have been urged to cut down the amount of food and drink served onboard planes. Recommendations also include the reduction of duty-free shopping to limit potentially-harmful interaction between cabin crew and passengers. But research by consumer champion Which? found that Wizz Air is offering a complete trolley service and travellers can make purchases from the duty-free selection onboard. Everything is packaged up and passengers are advised to pay with contactless. Those travelling with Ryanair can also buy beverages and food on the plane - as long as the items are enclosed in packaging. It is also encouraging carry-on baggage - against government advice - because the bags 'pass through eight different sets of hands and significantly increase the risk of coronavirus'. A Ryanair spokesperson said: 'Ryanair will not follow the DfT Covid guidance which is rubbish. 'The DfT are still promoting their useless form filling at arrival airports, which delivers no quarantine benefit whatsoever. 'Thankfully our customers are also ignoring the DfTs useless guidance. 'We are encouraging extra cabin bags, because this reduces the risk of Covid-19 compared to the DfTs idiotic advice to maximise checked-in bags, which pass through 8 different sets of hands and significantly increase the risk of Covid-19. 'Which?s false claim that Ryanair is putting profits before safety is  as always  wrong because Ryanair charges more for checked-in bags (which we are actively discouraging) than we do for carry-on. 'We have reduced our inflight service, which will be confined to pre-packed products (bottled water, foil wrapped food, etc), which many of our customers correctly consider to be essential. Perhaps the DfT and Which? suggest we should starve or dehydrate our customers on 2 or 3 hour flights?' A Wizz Air spokesperson told The Sun: 'Wizz Air has been leading the industry re-start for almost two months with its stringent health and hygiene measures, ensuring that passengers and crew are protected, and that the airline fully meets all local and international health guidelines. 'Wizz Air's enhanced hygiene measures ensure the most sanitary conditions on board and reduce any non-essential physical contact.' Wizzair and Ryanair have been approached for comment. Advertisement

Number 10's scientific advisory panel SAGE revealed the R - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - has stayed between 0.7 and 0.9 for weeks, meaning the coronavirus is firmly on the fall after terrorizing Britain for months. It must stay below one or Britain will face another crisis.

Following the news, a raft of new lockdown-easing measures to be announced by Boris Johnson over the next fortnight were revealed.

Beer gardens will be patrolled by staff to enforce social distancing rules and pubs automatically entitled to serve alcohol for people to drink on the pavement in the street.

The Government's scientific advisers have also green-lit plans to ditch the two-metre social distancing rule so that pubs, restaurants and hotels can reopen early next month following a dramatic lowering of the coronavirus alert level.

Pubs will be asked to strictly monitor their beer gardens to ensure social distancing and customers will be encouraged to order their drinks via a phone app. In restaurants, staff will not be able to set tables in advance while hotel staff are being asked to place room service on door steps in a bid to minimise contact between staff and guests.

There will also be a ban on self-service buffets while napkins and cutlery must be brought out only with food, under the new guidelines seen by the Times. The guidance also states that all menus must be disposable and discarded after every use.

Any hotel guests who fall ill will be forced to self-isolate either at home or in their hotel rooms which will be cordoned off for 72 hours after they check out. Gyms will also be asked to enforce social distances between their machines - though they are not expected to reopen until later this year.

Clubbers may have to wait a while before they can hit the dancefloor however, as they pose difficulties for social distancing. Temperature checks and hand sanitiser at the door could become part of the British night out when clubs finally do reopen.

School 'bubbles' - which currently only allow 15 pupils in a classroom at once - will also be doubled to allow all children to return to school in September and get lessons back up and running.

And NHS bosses will write to more than 2 million vulnerable patients in England who have been shielding since March to assure them it's safe to go to the shops and get exercise outdoors.

Ministers will next week publish legislation to push an 'al fresco revolution' across the nation's hospitality industry.

Outdoor eating and drinking will be actively encouraged as customers are far less likely to contract coronavirus in the fresh air.

However there are concerns that long queues outside could be an attractive target for terror. The advice says queues should be directed around bollards and other barriers that protect pedestrians.

But some pubs have vowed to carry on regardless. Jack Stein, Chef Director at his father Rick Stein's restaurant chain, told the Telegraph: 'It is not just about business, we are British and everyone just wants to go to the pub.

When we can serve that first piece of turbot and first pint in our pub it will be fantastic and the whole industry will breathe a sigh of relief.'

A Government source last night revealed that scientific advisers were now 'totally comfortable' with reducing the restriction  provided other precautions are in place.

These could include making sure buildings are properly ventilated, greater use of masks or the installation of screens where people might be too close together.

The remarks by the senior source are the biggest indication so far that scientists will not resist if Boris Johnson chooses to relax the two-metre rule. Yesterday, the Prime Minister told the public to 'watch this space' when asked whether the rule would be eased in schools.

Number 10's scientific advisory panel SAGE revealed the reproduction rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - is still between 0.7 and 0.9, meaning the coronavirus is firmly in retreat after terrorizing Britain for months. It must stay below one or Britain will face another crisis

Mr Johnson has already announced a review into the controversial guidance in the face of mounting pressure from pub, hotel and restaurant chains and his own backbench MPs.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the shift in alert level as 'a big moment for the country'. Yesterday Mr Johnson urged the public to 'start thinking of a world where we are less apprehensive of this disease'.

He said the Government would switch from a 'one-size fits all' national lockdown to local restrictions to contain smaller outbreaks.

After weeks in which the alert was maintained despite Number 10 starting to ease lockdown, the Joint Biosecurity Centre concluded that transmission is no longer 'high or rising exponentially'.

The move was approved by the chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and it was hailed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock as a 'big moment' that showed the 'government's plan is working'.

Mr Johnson faced a backlash at the end of last month when he announced tweaks to lockdown, before it emerged that the alert had not been changed from level four - which according to the government's own definition requires 'current social distancing measures and restrictions' to stay in place.

England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, was rumoured to have stood in the way of the move, although there is also thought to have been resistance from his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It comes as Government scientists published growth rate data for the first time on Friday. Until now, SAGE had only provided details on the R rate - the average number of people an infected person is likely to pass the virus on to.
Political leaders often like to say the only poll they care about is the one on election day. Even so, Premier Brian Pallister and his Progressive Conservative party should care just a little bit about the latest Probe Research-Free Press poll.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Political leaders often like to say the only poll they care about is the one on election day. Even so, Premier Brian Pallister and his Progressive Conservative party should care just a little bit about the latest Probe Research-Free Press poll.

Results from two parallel poll questions  one that asks about the premier's response to the pandemic, the other that looks at voting intentions  show the Pallister government is losing public support. In some instances, the decline has been precipitous.

Support for the PCs has dropped provincewide by five points, giving the Tories a statistical tie with the NDP. In Winnipeg, the Tories have dropped eight points and now find themselves an astounding 19 points back of the NDP in the province's most important electoral battleground.

Why has support evaporated so much for the Pallister government in the last three months? The pandemic, and Pallister's response to the economic paralysis that has accompanied COVID-19, have dragged the premier and his party down.

Overall, poll respondents think the Pallister government is doing a decent job of managing public health, with a 77 per cent approval rating. However, when it comes to programs to help businesses and individuals hurt by the economic lockdown, support unravels.

Only 61 per cent of respondents found favour with Pallister's economic support programs. That's not surprising given that observers across a vast array of sources believe his economic programs have been over-hyped and under-delivered.

Pallister's programs have typically featured lofty goals and gaudy price tags. However, months after they were unveiled, only a fraction of businesses and individuals have taken advantage of the programs. In general, his gestures have been too small, too restrictive or have too much overlap with better, federal programs.

Along with middling economic support programs, Pallister served a healthy helping of fiscal austerity at a time when Manitobans least needed it.

Pallister has laid off more provincial civil servants than the gross majority of provinces. He also botched negotiations on wage concessions with public-sector unions, which might have mitigated the increased health care costs and decreased revenue that are ravaging the province's balance sheet.

He cut the operating budgets of post-secondary schools right at the time that many Manitobans who were out of work or afraid of losing their jobs were trying to further their education.

Pallister exacerbated his situation by boasting daily about the generosity of his economic support programs, even as uptake was extremely low. He seems oblivious to the fact that no amount of hyperbole trumps the experiences of Manitobans whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic.

Pallister likes to say he does not care about being popular, he only cares about "getting results." In this instance, however, his popularity is suffering largely because he is not producing results for Manitobans.

Is it fair that Pallister, as leader, bears the brunt of criticism for his party's drop in the polls? In this instance, yes. Pallister not only serves as the sole face of the province's pandemic response, but also has a stranglehold on policies and programs.

Along with middling economic support programs, Pallister served a healthy helping of fiscal austerity at a time when Manitobans least needed it.

Like most politicians dealing with the pandemic, Pallister has made almost daily appearances at video news conferences. Although he cannot be faulted for making himself available, Pallister rarely asks other members of cabinet to attend, even when he's introducing programs that fall within the purview of a specific minister.

Government insiders say Pallister rarely gives his senior staff warning about what he wants to talk about on any given day. As a result, there is little in the way of peer review at the senior levels of political staff. The announcements are all Pallister, all the time.

If Manitobans had responded positively to these programs, Pallister and his government would have earned a bump in popularity. But his vision for weathering the economic devastation brought on by the pandemic has been a failure. Thus, the downward trajectory.

As they digest these alarming poll numbers, Tories will try to find some comfort in three separate rationalizations.

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

First, we are still more than three years away from an election and a lot could, and will, happen before then.

Second, the NDP and its leader, Wab Kinew, have seen a surge in support while largely being invisible during the pandemic. That is mostly by design; when your main opponent is self-destructing, you don't do anything to draw eyes away from the smoking rubble. Tories will argue that Kinew and the NDP will lose support once the electorate gets a better look at them.

Finally, Tories will hope that rumours of Pallister's retirement before the next election are not greatly exaggerated.

There was already a growing sense of discontent in Tory ranks about the premier's performance during this pandemic. It's almost certain the hopeful whispers deep within the party about his retirement will become louder after these poll results.

Shakespeare famously wrote that "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." In the next few months, Pallister will learn just how uneasy things can get, particularly if he's not yet ready to relinquish that crown.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
A NSW mother who lost her son six months ago is calling for more to be done to warn young people about the dangers of chroming.

Bradley Mair was 16-years-old and at a sleepover with friends when the group engaged in a deadly game of Russian roulette, trying chroming for the first time.

Chroming is a form of substance abuse, which entails inhaling common household, industrial and medical products.

In addition to aerosol spray, like deodorant, other inhalants like chrome-based paint, glue and petrol can also be used and the Drug and Alcohol Foundation warns chroming can result in long-term effects or a sudden death.

Bradley Mair died after trying chroming with his friends  now his mother Corinne is calling for change. Source: A Current Affair

Mother Corinne Mair explained to A Current Affair the group was not aware of the dangers of chroming and says Bradley wound not have partaken in the act if he knew the consequences could be deadly.

"[He] and his mates made a silly decision and it cost him his life," Ms Mair told A Current Affair.

She said she had never heard of the practise, nor had any of her friends and family.

"Basically the boys were just playing Russian roulette, even though they didn't know about it," she said.

"They'd seen it on social media or had been exposed to it somewhere, so I think one of the kids had a can and they inhaled it and Bradley suffered a severe allergic reaction to the chemicals in Rexona and he had a fatal heart attack."

An online petition by Ms Mair has been set up calling for a formal inquest to investigate six deaths linked to Rexona.

My son was a fit and healthy young man and died after the toxic chemicals in Rexona caused his heart to stop. Bradley was the sixth Australian child to lose their life as a direct result from inhaling Rexona, the petition says.

Rexona have acknowledged that their product has been linked to these deaths yet no public education or correct labelling/branding and have decided to twist this into a social issue instead of a full issue of toxicity with their product.

Corinne Mair wants more education and for Rexona to take some responsibility. Source: A Current Affair

Bradleys older brother Koby told A Current Affair the friends who were with Bradley that night told him it was the first time any of them had tried chroming.

Story continues

Ms Mair says she blames Rexona for her sons death, although she acknowledges her son had a part to play, and she has met with executives from the brands parent company, Unilever.

She explained the Unilever product had been linked to six deaths including Bradleys, something the parent company acknowledged.

Ms Mair also alleged the company said the deaths were a social issue due to the children who had died came from bad backgrounds, instead of it being an issue relating to the toxicity of the product.

Unilever provided a statement to A Current Affair, confirming they had met with Ms Mair and said this was an issue facing the entire aerosol industry, saying 90 per cent of aerosol products available are being misused for the purpose of chroming.

The statement provided also says Unilever recognises the role the company has to play and it works with health authorities, police and retailers to find ways to minimise harm.

Rexona's parent company, Unilever, has been in talks with Corrine Mair following Bradley's death. Source: Getty Images

Ms Mair, along with Nattallee Allan, a family friend whose home was where the group of boys participated in chroming, says education is essential.

A product so toxic it can kill you instantly needs to be regulated, Ms Mair wrote on the petition.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do

Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there...
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A group of City Council members, including Island Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to remove the statue of Thomas Jefferson from the City Hall Council chambers.

The request comes on the heels of police accountability protests across the country, including in New York City, demanding justice for black lives, and follows the City Councils recent vote on a sweeping police reform legislative package.

In the last few weeks, New Yorkers have called on all of us in elected office to make bold change so that communities of color feel heard, protected and represented, said Democrats Speaker Corey Johnson, Councilwoman Rose, Councilwoman Inez Barron of Brooklyn, Councilwoman Adrienne Adams of Queens, and Councilman Daneek Miller of Queens.

The City Council is committed to creating true reforms to policies and policing that hurt Black New Yorkers. But that is not enough. There are disturbing images of divisiveness and racism in our city that need to be revisited immediately. That starts with City Hall, they said.

They called Jeffersons statue one that serves as a constant reminder of the injustices that have plagued communities of color since the inception of our country. It must be removed.

On Friday, the mayor announced the creation of a Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee, which will put together a record about the history of racial discrimination in New York City.

Though de Blasio did not say whether he would support taking down Jeffersons statue, he said the committee would look at the entirety of the citys history.

This is exactly the kind of thing that this new commission will examine. Weve gotta look at all our history, he said during a press conference with reporters Friday when asked about the letter from the City Council members.

To say the least, thats a huge undertaking and it will happen in stages, but I think it is a time to evaluate the entire look and feel of this city and a commission thats focused on justice and reconciliation can really think about a bigger approach to address our history in a constructive way and Im going to charge them with that task, de Blasio continued.

But Staten Island Republican Councilmen Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) and Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island) said they were both opposed to taking down the Jefferson statue.

Taking down the statue of Thomas Jefferson will not remove him from history -- neither the fact that he owned slaves, nor the vital contributions he made to the creation of our nation, Matteo said. Maybe we should use his statue, and all of our monuments, as an opportunity to confront these truths about our history rather than try to erase them.

Borelli said: Someone should explain to me which civilization that banned or destroyed art has ever been considered liberal and progressive. Isis? The Communists? The Jacobins? Henry VIII? Who, tell me?

The group of City Council members called Jefferson Americas most noted slave holder who owned more than 600 black women and men.

The City Council Chambers is a place where we vote on bills to improve the lives of all New Yorkers and build a more fair and just city, the lawmakers said. It is not a suitable place for a statue of Thomas Jefferson. Keeping it in City Hall sends a terrible message to the people who are counting on us to work towards a more equitable New York City. We urge you to support our efforts as we go to the design commission to expeditiously remove this statue.

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John Bolton fired back at Donald Trump on Thursday after the president unleashed a firestorm of critical tweets about his former national security adviser and his new book, "The Room Where it Happened."

"I think it's unbecoming of the Office of President," Bolton said Thursday. "I think it degrades the political civil discourse in our country and [I'm] just not going to respond to him."

MORE: Bolton: Trump's not 'fit for office,' doesn't have 'competence to carry out the job'

Trump called Bolton a "sick puppy" and a "wacko" on Twitter and said his new memoir -- set to be released next week -- is "a compilation of lies and made up stories."

Boltons book, which is getting terrible reviews, is a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad. Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction. Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020

The attacks from Trump come at the same time as his administration is fighting in court to halt the release of the book, claiming it contains classified information.

"The president isn't worried about foreign governments reading this book. He's worried about the American people reading this book," Bolton told ABC News about the book.

....He didnt want Bolton anywhere near him. Boltons dumbest of all statements set us back very badly with North Korea, even now. I asked him, what the hell were you thinking? He had no answer and just apologized. That was early on, I should have fired him right then & there!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020

Now the Department of Justice has been granted an emergency hearing Friday by a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., on their application for temporary restraining order blocking the book's scheduled release next Tuesday because of its alleged national security risk.

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"When I wrote the book, to begin with, I was very conscious to avoid putting in anything that I thought could be deemed classifiable, and I didn't think I had to put the book through the pre-publication clearance process for that reason," Bolton explained. "But we did out of an abundance of caution and then went through four arduous months of making sure there was nothing classified and I believe that strongly today."

PHOTO: ABC's Martha Raddatz will have the first exclusive interview with John Bolton, former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, on his new book, 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,' airing June 21, 2020 at 9pm ET on ABC. (ABC News)

Bolton added that months ago Trump "said he intended to make sure this book did not come out before the election, and he knows why."

"Because he knows it will be factual and he doesn't want the facts out on the record," Bolton said plainly.

Ex-national security adviser John Bolton responds to Trump's tweets about his memoir originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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Police have released a further 13 CCTV images of people they want to speak to in relation to violent clashes in London this month.

Violence broke out over recent weeks between Black Lives Matter protestors and people claiming to be protecting statues in the capital.

The latest pictures from the Metropolitan Police feature people who are believed to have engaged in racial abuse and serious violence against members of the public and police officers between June 3 and 13.

Commander Alex Murray described the behaviour of those in the images as 'abhorrent' and 'highly offensive'.

On Thursday detectives released images of 35 people they wanted to speak to in relation to the violent disorder, appealing to the public to help identify them.

Police have released a further 13 images people they want to speak to in connection with violence at protests in London this month

Detectives have been analysing hours of CCTV, body worn video from officers and footage which has been widely circulated on social media to ensure those who committed offences are identified and are brought to justice, the Met said.

Commander Murray has since confirmed members of the public had already helped to identify people from the images.

He said: 'The behaviour of the people whom we now wish to identify is abhorrent, including highly offensive racial abuse to other members of the public and officers.'

'The vast majority of people who have attended the recent protests made their voices heard, and then left.

Police fight to maintain control in Trafalgar Square amid both Black Lives Matter and pro-statue protests in London last weekend. There is no suggestion those pictured here and below are wanted by police

A man identified as a far-right protester was carried to safety from protestors as animosity was briefly set aside on a day of clashes in London between rival groups and police

Pictures also caught the moment another white counter-protestor was left with a bloodied face after being hit during a scuffle with protestors

'However, a minority have attended with the sole purpose of attacking, abusing or violently confronting fellow protesters, detracting from the cause of their protest.

'We saw violence against police officers including verbal and racial abuse which is absolutely appalling. They do not come to work to be subjected to this.

'They come to work to keep Londoners and their families safe. Similarly, those people who wanted to have their voices heard and protest should not be subject to violence from others.

'Whilst investigations are underway to identify those we suspect of being involved in these offences, we ask members of the public to make it clear that they also will not tolerate such behaviour by helping us to identify these individuals and report anyone they recognise in the pictures.'

Black Lives Matter protests erupted worldwide following the death of George Floyd, 46, who died after police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nine minutes.

Demonstrators flooded the streets across Britain in protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

While many protests remained peaceful, police and demonstrators were pictured suffering injuries during brawls at demonstrations.

Police armed with shields and riot gear reinforced the blockade on Whitehall as louts rushed up the police line

Ministers are believed to be considering sentences of up to 10 years for the worst offenders, after the Cenotaph and a statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill were targeted by Black Lives Matter protesters

Activists, some wearing face coverings or face masks as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, hold placards as they attend a Black Lives Matter protest march to Trafalgar Square in London on June 12.

Statues and monuments to controversial figures from Britain's imperial past have become the focal point of many demonstrations since a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol and dumped in the harbour.

Several hundred demonstrators, mostly white men, attended a protest organised by far-right groups, including Britain First, last weekend, claiming they wanted to protect statues such as Winston Churchill from vandalism.

But fights erupted in areas near the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square as demonstrators repeatedly hounded police officers with foul-mouthed chants and missiles, smoke grenades and flares.

Following the violent clashes, Black Lives Matter protestors and some counter protestors headed over the River Thames towards Waterloo Station.

Far right thugs have been accused of being the instigators of the violence by attacking police as well as BLM supporters, who then fought back as the scene descended into violence.

After the violent incidents, the Prime Minister said protesters desecrating war memorials will face tough new laws and warned that attacks on public property will be 'met with the full force of the law'.

Additionally, a far-right protester was jailed for 14 days for urinating next to a memorial to police officer Keith Palmer killed in a terror attack on Parliament, while at a demo ostensibly trying to protect statues.

A man was seen urinating next to a plaque honouring PC Keith Palmer who was stabbed to death during a terrorist attack in Westminster in 2017

Mr Johnson also insisted he is a 'huge admirer' of one of his aides who has previously questioned the existence of institutional racism and hit out at a 'culture of grievance' among anti-racism campaigners.

Anyone with information about the images can contact the investigation team on 020 8246 9386 or Tweet @MetCC on Twitter.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Those with footage of the violent clashes which could assist detectives in the police investigation are urged to send it to officers by visiting: ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.
Stockholm, June 20 : Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has said that the world needs to learn the lessons of coronavirus and treat climate change with similar urgency.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Thunberg said: "People are starting to realise that we cannot keep looking away from these things... We cannot keep sweeping these injustices under the carpet".

She said the lockdown has given her time to relax and reflect away from the public gaze.

Thunberg shared with the BBC the text of a deeply personal programme she has made for Swedish Radio.

In the radio programme, which went online on Saturday morning, the young activist looks back on the year in which she became one of the world's most high-profile celebrities.

The then 16-year-old took a sabbatical from school to spend a tumultuous year campaigning on the climate.

It was in the UN that she delivered her famous "how dare you" speech. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words", she told the world leaders gathered in the UN Assembly last Thunberg told the BBC that she knew it was a "lifetime moment" and decided not to hold anything back.

The activist said that the only positive that could come out of the coronavirus pandemic would be if it changes how we deal with global crises: "It shows that in a crisis, you act, and you act with necessary force." Thunberg said she was encouraged that politicians were now stressing the importance of listening to scientists and experts.

But she remains deeply pessimistic over keeping any temperature increases within safe boundaries.

Even if countries actually deliver the carbon reductions they've promised, we'll still be heading for a "catastrophic" global temperature rise of 3-4 degrees, she told the BBC.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jenny Bennett, a nurse at HCA Tomball, launched a chapter of Swim Safe Forever in northwest Houston following a life changing incident at her home. She has the intention of promoting water safety education and providing scholarships for families wanting survival type swim lessons.

In the summer of 2016, Bennett lost her toddler son Jackson to a home pool drowning accident. She urges those heading to open water or the beach to wear a life jacket because 80% of drowning victims on a boat werent wearing one.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: New Tomball Police Chief talks protests, police reform

To help raise awareness, Bennett is hosting a free community event BEAT THE HEAT dedicated to water safety education and drowning prevention scheduled for Saturday, July 25th, at Tomball Depot.

Im trying so hard for people to understand that this could happen to them, drowning does not discriminate, Bennett said. I feel like I am a great parent and it happened to us; I dont want it to happen to anybody else.

Bennett also started Parents Preventing Childhood Drowning and said being vigilant doesnt mean passive visualization but instead having both eyes on the water because drowning is fast and silent. She expressed how theres no splashing or no crying out for help because the childs often completely under water.

The designating of a water watcher is very important, especially if youre at a pool with several adults, Bennett said. Theres a misconception that when there are several adults present you feel like everybodys there to watch the kids but in reality nobodys paying 100% attention to the children.

Deonesia Grays started Brias House after her four-year-old daughter drowned in 2005 during Memorial Day weekend. She said her biggest takeaway for parents is supervision, whether its in the house taking a bath or inflatable pools.

Brias House is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness for pool safety, educating parents on pool supervision and accident prevention, supporting low-income families with the cost of swim lessons and aqua safety equipment, and providing CPR training and certification.

Contestant supervision is extremely important because a lot of time as parents we get distracted, even if we are sitting there, Grays said. Thirty seconds can change your whole life like it did to myself.

Grays said the water watcher tags do help because in intervals of 15 minutes parents get designated to do solely nothing but watch the kids. She said each parent switches out and wears the tag, which contains steps to be safe around the pool.

Even if youre giving your child a bath and you need to step out, you should be able to call someone, Grays said. But if youre alone let the phone ring, let the door knock, nothing else is important.

I just want parents to be vigilant at all times, its extremely important. Nothing is more important than your childs life.

Greatest threat

Bennett said theyve recently done research with the Medical Examiner Report on submersion and looked at children from zero to 17 years old and found that July has the most drownings out of any other month over the last five years.

July is the worst month of the summer so its very important that parents dont let down their guard when children are near the water, Bennett said.

Bennett said 69% of toddler drownings happen during a time they are not assumed to be near water and that its best to clean up toys and empty kiddie and inflatable pools. She added that its crucial to have secure doors with high locks or child proof handles and alarms can be put on doors that lead to the pool or outside.

Despite most residential pools having barriers in place to prevent unsupervised access to the pool, according to Bennett, she encourages people in those areas to learn skills like CPR.

Back yard pools are still the greatest threat to toddlers, Bennett said. Again, with toddlers its important to make sure that youre preventing them from getting to the water with layers of protection.

Bennett said the best thing people can do if they have a pool in the back yard is getting a pool fence that isolates the pool from the rest of the yard and the back door. She added that its best it fences are at least four-feet high, unclimbable and have a self-curving and self-latching gate.

That prevents statistically about 50% of drownings that could have been prevented with a pool fence, Bennett said.

She said another layer of protection is enrolling children in a high-quality swimming lesson that focuses on learning survival skills and self-rescue such as surfacing to the water and floating to breath then swimming to the edge to the pool.

These lessons are private lessons, theyre one-one-one and their tailored to the childs special needs, Bennett said. Because of COVID-19 you cant get children together but there are plenty of places that are offering private lessons. But you want to make sure that their main goal is to help the child learn how to survive in an aquatic emergency.

You want to avoid lessons that only focus on water acclamation because this may create a lack of respect for the water. If the childs comfortable in the water but they lack the skills on self-rescue, it could increase their chances of drowning.

Always a risk

Resources Bennett said can help develop those skills are Infant Swimming Resource and Infant Aquatics. She said they both teach children up to six years old and even older if they dont know how to do basic self-rescue stuff.

These are lessons that dont focus on strokes and technique, but they focus on survival, Bennett said. In my opinion these lessons should be completed before any traditional swimming lessons.

Bennett said their nonprofit Swim Safe Forever offers scholarships in the northwest Houston area with an approved instructor for these types of lessons because they can be expensive.

The Tomball Regional Health Foundation helps provide funding for the scholarships, but Bennett added that theyre other nonprofits that can help on a national level as well.

She said theres currently nine students in lessons for scholarships and helps coordinate them to find an instructor, pays their registration fee and also a portion of tuition.

Another recourse Bennett offers is Parents Preventing Childhood Drowning, which she began with several other people from across the country and now have over 60 ambassadors that help spread the educational material to prevent childhood drowning.

Bennett said shes met hundreds of families who have lost their children to drowning since they lost Jackson and have heard similar stories about how the child wondered off and found the pool. She said most of these drawings are ruled an accident from the Medical Examiners Report.

We thought they were safe and sound inside the house and it only took a few minutes for them to find the water and drown, Bennett said. In the cast of two-year-olds, 100% of the drownings were deemed accidental.

These accidents are not happening to bad neglectful parents; theyre happening to everyday parents. Drowning is always a risk that your child faces. ..Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children age 1-4 and the second leading cause of death for children aged 5-9.

alvaro.montano@chron.com
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged to consider a four-day working week as part of efforts to overhaul the economy after the coronavirus pandemic.

A letter signed by MPs including former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Green MP Caroline Lucas and Guardian columnist Owen Jones, argues for reducing working hours so that 'work is shared more equally'.

The letter, sent to the Treasury, adds that a four-day week would give more opportunities to people left unemployed as a result of the impact of coronavirus on the economy.

The calls come after figures revealed last week showed that the UK economy contracted by a record 20.4 per cent in April.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged to consider a four-day working week as part of efforts to overhaul the economy after the coronavirus pandemic

Boris Johnson also reportedly warned his cabinet that 4.5million people could be left without jobs as a result of the pandemic.

The latest figures show that unemployment climbed to 1.3million last month.

The concept of a four-day working week was also suggested by New Zealand's prime minister.

Labour also suggested in its election manifesto last December that people could work a 32-hour week, with no loss of pay.

But the campaigners who signed the letter, which was revealed by the Independent, believe 'shorter working time presents itself as one of the best options for fundamentally restructuring the economy so that work is shared more equally.'

A letter signed by MPs including former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Green MP Caroline Lucas and Guardian columnist Owen Jones, argues for reducing working hours so that 'work is shared more equally'

The letter, sent to the Treasury, adds that a four-day week would give more opportunities to people left unemployed as a result of the impact of coronavirus on the economy

They add: 'A four-day week would give many more opportunities to the growing list of unemployed people which already stands at 2.8 million people.'

The MPs and other public figures argue that shorter working time has previously been used to respond to economic crises.

They highlight how the Great Depression of the 1930s led to the 'normalisation' of the eight-hour day and the 40-hour week.

The letter also cites a recent comment by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said proposals like the four-day working week are 'no longer things we should just be talking about.'

The campaigners, who also include Labour MPs Ian Lavery and John Trickett and Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, argue that mental health and wellbeing would improve if the length of the working week was reduced.

It comes after a former boss of Wickes and Iceland warned that almost half of retailers are in danger of 'going bust'.

Retail expert Bill Grimsey said nearly half of retailers were already in danger and increases in online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the process.

He said the 'old high street is finished' and town centres can only survive if the Government gives more powers to local authorities and people who have a 'vested interest in their communities'.

It comes after a former boss of Wickes and Iceland warned that almost half of retailers are in danger of 'going bust'

Retail expert Bill Grimsey said nearly half of retailers were already in danger and increases in online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the process

Mr Grimsey's comments followed the third Grimsey Review, which looked into the state of the UK high street, being published on Saturday.

Among its 27 recommendations are calls to replace 'outdated' business rates with a sales tax.

It also calls for unused properties to be forced back onto the market so they can be bought by community trusts to serve their neighbourhoods.

Mr Grimsey said: 'Before the pandemic, 50 per cent of businesses were in danger of going bust. Covid has accelerated and exposed the process of people ditching bricks-and-mortar retail and shopping online instead.

'People are starting to think differently, when they come out of lockdown, their attitudes will change for the better, they will start to appreciate their local communities, breathing cleaner air and enjoying the wildlife.

'They have realised there is a better life out there, built around those who have a vested interest in their communities and not by big distant investors, and I believe this has been highlighted by the pandemic.'

The team behind the Grimsey Review argued 'only localism on steroids' could revive failing high streets.
Workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena staged a protest at a construction site in Thane city, over a signboard put up in Chinese.

The death of 20 Indian Army soldiers during a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this week has triggered demands for boycott of all things Chinese in the country.

Over 20 MNS workers gathered at a construction site in Balkum area in Thane city on Friday evening.

The protest was against a China-based company, which had put up a signboard in Chinese at the site, said Avinash Jadhav, president of MNS' Thane and Palghar district units.

Protesters were seen carrying flags and shouting anti-China slogans at the site.

Till the entire border issue is resolved, the Chinese company should not conduct any business here and the signboard should be removed at the earliest, Jadhav said.
The solar eclipse is coming.

On June 21st, Sunday, India will witness the Annular Solar Eclipse. This particular eclipse is said to be the 'deepest' annular solar eclipse in nearly a hundred years.

On Sunday, people from different parts of the world will be able to witness the beauty of what is commonly signified as the 'Ring of Fire'. The Annular Solar Eclipse June 2020 is likely to appear for around 30 seconds, similar to a necklace of pearls.

But Indians have only one question in their minds: Will the solar eclipse kill coronavirus?

In fact, this has become a popular query on Google search results, consistently spiking as the date of viewing draws nearer.

Here's what a solar eclipse is: A solar eclipse takes place when the moon moves between the sun and earth, obstructing the suns light. In an annular solar eclipse, the moon entirely or partially covers the sun from when seen from earth.

So why does this have anything to do with the coronavirus?

In a bizarre claim, a scientist based in Chennai has said that there are connections between the coronavirus outbreak and the solar eclipse which took place on December 26.

Dr. KL Sundar Krishna, a Nuclear and Earth scientist told ANI that the pandemic may have been a result of mutated particle interaction of the first neutron emitted after the solar eclipse owing to fission energy. He said that there is a "planetary configuration with new alignment in the solar system" which occurred after the solar eclipse. And that is even the coronavirus outbreak happened, according to Krishna.

Krishna has even deduced a possible theory of how the virus originated. He told ANI that the virus has come from the upper atmosphere where "inter-planetary force variation" took place. The said neutrons then began nucleating which further resulted in bio-nuclear interactions in the upper atmosphere. This bio-nuclear interaction, according to him, may be a source of the virus.

Read More: Chennai Scientist Believes There is a Link Between Solar Eclipse and Coronavirus Outbreak

However, this may not be actually based in science. In fact, the only connection between coronavirus and the solar eclipse is just, well, the sun.

The current new novel Covid-19 belongs to the group of viruses called coronavirus. 'Corona,' means crown.

The scientists who came up with the term 'coronavirus' in 1986 found that under a microscope, the virus they were looking at resembled a solar corona: the bright crown-like ring of gasses surrounding the sun that is visible during a solar eclipse, reports TIME.

NASA also describes it similarly : "The Suns corona is the outermost part of the Suns atmosphere. The corona is usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun's surface. That makes it difficult to see without using special instruments. However, the corona can be viewed during a total solar eclipse."

There has also been a myth about how hot weather can kill coronavirus. While it's a myth which has been debunked by the WHO, solar corona, could kill coronavirus - they're really hot, in fact, they're some hundred times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

But the only possible way for this solar corona to affect the coronavirus on earth, would be if they came in contact - which they won't, since the sun is over 152.02 million kilometres.

The only scientific ways to 'kill coronavirus' so far is washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water, using hand-sanitizers, disinfecting surfaces which may have come in contact with someone who could be a carrier of the disease.

Wearing masks, and practicing good personal hygiene, not touching your face often, as well as limiting contact with other people prevents transmission of the disease.

The solar eclipse won't kill coronavirus - that's entirely in your hands. Literally.
KANSAS CITY, Mo - Mayor Quinton Lucas proposed an ordinance during Thursday's City Council meeting that would take the crime of marijuana possession off the books in Kansas City. The mayor believes it's something the city can do to be more equitable and free up police to focus on other types of crimes.
In his letter Saturday, Barr appeared to change course from his original plan to bring in Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, to lead the New York office  a move that legal experts had said was on especially shaky ground. The shift allows for Bermans deputy to take over. Strauss is well respected in the office but, during a time when she was working in the private sector, made numerous campaign contributions to Democratic political candidates.
A Chicago teenager faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of a 37-year-old woman, whom he allegedly killed after learning she was transgender.

Orlando Perez, 18, was taken into custody by Chicago police after admitting to shooting Selena Reyes-Hernandez in the head and back on May 31. Perez allegedly was upset to discover Reyes-Hernandez was transgender after he went home with her, police said.

Orlando Perez (Chicago Police Dept.)

Once the offender realized that this victim was actually transgender, the offender became very upset, Brendan Deenihan, chief of detectives for Chicago police, said at a press conference Wednesday. He left the residence, became more upset, and thats when he came back to the residence.

Perez was charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Arthur Wesley Willis ordered that Perez be held without bail on Wednesday. The teenager's next court date is July 6.

The Cook County Public Defender's office, which is representing Perez, did not immediately respond to a call for comment on Saturday.

Deenihan said private video cameras near Reyes-Hernandez's home showed Perez returning to her place with a gun. He said the case against Perez grew when they found photo and video of the teen in Reyes-Hernandez's phone.

Perez told investigators that he grew more distraught after he left Reyes-Hernandez's home, and that he went back there and shot her in the head and back.

He thought that was enough so he ran out. But he kept seeing her face, so he went back there to do it again, Assistant States Attorney James Murphy said during Perezs bond hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Selena is the 17th transgender person to have been murdered, thus far, in 2020, that we know of," National Black Justice Coalition Executive Director David J. Johns said in a statement. "This tragic taking of life feels especially painful as many people around the world risk their lives during a global pandemic to insist that all Black Lives Matter, and activists are working for increased protection and respect for transgender lives."
Beijing, June 20 : Beijing is likely to unveil its draft of the controversial national security law tailor-made for Hong Kong on Saturday as the bi-monthly meeting of Chinas top legislative body wraps up, sources said.

A short public consultation period is expected to be announced after the three-day meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee ends on Saturday, the sources told the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The central government and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam were expected to issue a statement shortly after, they added.

The draft is expected to spell out in greater detail the four crimes of the law -- secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign and external forces to endanger national security, as well as set out the penalties.

Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate to China's top legislative body, told the South China Morning Post that Beijing would make "official announcements" on Saturday afternoon about the first round of deliberations for the law.

But he said the date of the next meeting had not yet been specified.

According to the decision Beijing approved last month, the Standing Committee is authorised to formulate the national law, which shall be promulgated and implemented in Hong Kong.

It remains unclear when the law will take effect in the city but sources had earlier indicated that it should be in place well before the Legislative Council elections are due to be held on September 6.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday endorsed Democrat Mike Siegel in the runoff for Texas 10th Congressional District, days after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders threw his support behind the Austin civil rights attorney.

Siegel finished first in the March primary election but failed to win a majority of votes, putting him in a runoff against Austin physician Pritesh Gandhi. They are each vying to become the Democratic nominee in a district that spans from Austin to the Houston suburbs.
City of Acapulco finds 117 in contempt of social distancing

Acapulco, Guerrero  Civil Protection of Acapulco says they have found 117 people in contempt of social distancing offenses during what are considered, non-essential activities. The 117 were found over the course of two days along beaches and in private swimming pool areas.

More than 2 dozen people were discovered failing to comply with the citys social distancing rules

In a press release, the city of Acapulco reported the findings after municipal officials began touring areas. During the tours, the city says that more than 30 of those found in contempt for social distancing were tourists at private condominium swimming pools.

Police and Civil Protection continue to find people on closed beaches

The balance were found distributed among other private and public areas of the city. The Government of Acapulco, headed by Mayor Adela Roman Ocampo, says the crackdown came after cases of infections continue to rise. Earlier this week, the governor of Guerrero announced that destinations such as Acapulco, Zihuatanejo will remain shut with no reactivation date in site due to the rising figures.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 22:22:51|Editor: huaxia

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Demonstrators participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in Budapest, Hungary, on June 20, 2020. A few hundred people staged another anti-racism protest in front of the U.S. embassy in Budapest here on Saturday. This came after the first Black Lives Matter demonstration on June 7, which had drawn over 1,000 people in the Hungarian capital protesting against the police killing of African American George Floyd in the U.S. city of Minneapolis. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A few hundred people staged another anti-racism protest in front of the U.S. embassy in Budapest here on Saturday.

This came after the first Black Lives Matter demonstration on June 7, which had drawn over 1,000 people in the Hungarian capital protesting against the police killing of African American George Floyd in the U.S. city of Minneapolis.

The protesters, most of whom wore masks, held banners conveying messages such as "Say no to racism every day," "Silence is compliance" and "Black Lives Matter."

Just as in the first demonstration, the police presence was strong, but they did not intervene. They helped keep the distance between the demonstrators and a small group of a few dozen of far-right protesters.

Floyd, 46, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed facing down and repeatedly said he couldn't breathe.

Floyd's death has sparked massive protests around the world against police brutality and racial discrimination in the United States.
The Indian Press Information Bureau's twitter account has posted about yet another fake news forward doing the rounds online. This time it seems to be a doctored government order instructing tech companies to restrict the functioning of a few China-made smarphone applications in India.

Under the header of the National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the image mimics a government order addressing the regional executives of tech companies Apple and Google. It directs them to restrict the functioning of 13 chinese-origin applications across the Android and iOS smartphones run in India. Towards the end, it justifies its directives by raising concerns of Indian sovereignty and the data privacy of Indian citizens.

The objectionable apps included LiveMe, Bigo Live, Vigo Video, Beauty Plus, CamScanner, Clash of Kings, Mobile Legends, Club Factory, Shein, Romwe, AppLock, Vmate, and Game of Sultan

Declaring the image as fake, the PIB tweet read, "Claim: A viral message of an order allegedly from NIC claims that @GoI_Meity has prohibited some apps from being made available on App Stores. #PIBFactCheck: The Order is #Fake. No such instruction has been given by @GoI_MeitY or NIC."

Of late, rising Anti-China sentiment as well as its manufacturing in general, Indians have been moving to boycott their hardware as well as software. Last month, Google took down 'Remove China App' from Android's playstore citing violations of its deceptive behaviour policy. The app, meanwhile had been made, as the name suggests to push out any china-made applications from the user's smartphone. Another India-made application 'Mitron' gained prominence banking on the Anti-China sentiment, as an alternative to TikTok.

Taking note of the same sentiment, even smartphone manufacturers like Oppo have decided to hold back on any live device launches for the near future.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal judge ruled Saturday that former national security adviser John Bolton can move forward in publishing his tell-all book despite efforts by the Trump administration to block the release because of concerns that classified information could be exposed.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth is a victory for Bolton in a court case that involved core First Amendment and national security concerns. But the judge also made clear his concerns that Bolton had "gambled with the national security of the United States" by taking it upon himself to publish his memoir without formal clearance from a White House that says it was still reviewing it for classified information.

"Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability," Lamberth wrote. "But these facts do not control the motion before the Court. The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm."

From a practical perspective, the ruling clears the path for a broader election-year readership and distribution of a memoir, due out Tuesday, that paints an unflattering portrait of President Donald Trump's foreign policy decision-making during the turbulent year-and-a-half that Bolton spent in the White House.

Soon after the ruling was released, Trump tweeted that Bolton "broke the law by releasing Classified Information (in massive amounts). He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him. This should never to happen again!!!"

Bolton's lawyer, Chuck Cooper, applauded Lamberth for denying the government's attempt to "suppress" Bolton's book. Publisher Simon & Schuster said the decision "vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication.''

Bolton's team insisted that Bolton had spent months addressing White House concerns about classified information and that Bolton had been assured in late April by the official he was working with that the manuscript no longer contained any such material. Bolton's lawyers said the Trump administration's efforts to block the book were a pretext to censor him for an account that the White House found unfavorable.

The Justice Department sued this past week to block the book's release and to demand that copies be retrieved. Officials said the book contained classified information and that Bolton had failed to complete a prepublication review process meant to ensure former government officials do not improperly disclose national security secrets in books they write. The administration submitted written statements from multiple officials attesting to the national security concerns of releasing the book.

The judge did not take issue with those concerns in his 10-page order. But with 200,000 copies of the book already distributed to booksellers across the country, attempting to block its release would be futile, the Lamberth wrote. Major media organizations also obtained the book and published comprehensive accounts about it.

"In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm. But in the Internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality," Lamberth wrote.

Just one individual with a book in hand could publish its contents from a local coffee shop, he said.

"With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe  many in newsrooms  the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo," the judge wrote.

Lamberth appeared divided during arguments on Friday. He observed that Bolton had not waited for official assurance from the White House that the book was free of classified information. But Lamberth also suggested that he was powerless to halt the book's release given that hundreds of thousands of copies had already been shipped.

"The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir" depicts a president whose foreign policy objectives were inexorably linked to his own political gain.

Bolton says Trump "pleaded" with China's Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help Trump's reelection prospects. Bolton writes that Trump linked the supply of military assistance to Ukraine to that country's willingness to conduct politically charged investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter  allegations that were at the heart of an impeachment trial that ended with Trump's acquittal by the Senate in February.

Bolton's lawyers argued that he had labored painstakingly for months with the White House to address concerns over classified information. In late April, the career official he worked most closely with and who had done a line-by-line edit notified him that she had completed her revisions and that the revised manuscript did not contain classified information. But another White House official soon after embarked on an additional review and identified material that he said was classified.

Bolton's lawyers say the White House assertions of classified material were an attempt to censor him over a book the administration simply finds unflattering.

"If the First Amendment stands for anything, it is that the Government does not have the power to clasp its hand over the mouth of a citizen attempting to speak on a matter of great public import," Bolton's attorneys wrote in a court filing.

Trump on Thursday called the book a "compilation of lies and made up stories" intended to make him look bad. He tweeted that Bolton was just trying to get even for being fired "like the sick puppy he is!" Other administration officials who figure prominently in the book, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, denied comments or actions that were attributed to them and joined the president in condemning the book.

Even Democrats who pounced on some of Bolton's anecdotes to condemn the president nonetheless expressed frustration that he had saved them for his book instead of participating in the impeachment case. Bolton refused to voluntarily testify in the impeachment inquiry, and the House ultimately moved forward with its case without subpoenaing him.

Amanda St. Amand  314-340-8201 @mandystlpd on Twitter astamand@post-dispatch.com
Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Friday, and called Turkey a "fundamental partner" for Italy.

Di Maio extensively talked about the situation in Libya and the need to work for an end to the conflict through a political solution.

He called for a "sustainable ceasefire and not a simple freezing of the conflict which would lead to the division of the country."

Italy and Turkey support the U.N.-backed government that is based in Tripoli against the rival forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter, who is supported by France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries.

At the same time as calling for negotiated peace, the two countries are slamming the European Unions naval operation in the Mediterranean that tries to enforce a U.N. arms embargo on the conflict-torn country.

Di Maio also said it was urgent to appoint a new UN Secretary General Special Representative for Libya "in order to support the political process", stressing underlying the importance of the Irini mission for Italy.

The current acting UN envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, took on the post after her predecessor Ghassan Salame resigned earlier this year.
Thousands of cancer patients are set to be spared from weeks of back-to-back hospital visits  after studies and trials have shown that five days of treatment, or even less, can be just as effective at blasting away tumours.

People having radiotherapy, which uses powerful radiation beams to kill cancer cells, would once have had their lives turned upside down.

Daily visits to hospital, often for up to six weeks, were the norm  with work and family life put on hold.

But now  thanks to advances in technology and precision techniques  this no longer has to be the case.

So much easier: Karen Davis, 52, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, whose breast cancer radiotherapy took five days, not three weeks. She has been free from cancer ever since

Over the past two decades, UK doctors have led efforts to show that delivering bigger doses of radiation over fewer sessions can be just as successful at treating some cancer types.

And trials are repeatedly showing it to be safe, without additional side effects, despite concerns that higher doses could cause greater damage to healthy tissue.

As NHS clinics looked for ways to make treatment for cancer patients more efficient during the pandemic, many have now adopted these methods.

As a result, a growing number of NHS patients with cancer in the breast, bowel, prostate and lung are now receiving shorter  and more convenient  courses of radiotherapy.

Patients want the best treatment, says Dr Jeanette Dickson, President of the Royal College of Radiologists and a consultant lung oncologist.

But they also want minimal disruption to their lives. If four weeks is as good as six weeks, or one week as good as three weeks, they prefer the shorter option.

In December, The Mail on Sunday reported on how specialists hoped that breast cancer could soon be beaten in a week.

And the findings of a new UK study, published this April in medical journal The Lancet, has now proved that to be the case.

Over two decades, UK doctors have led efforts to show delivering bigger doses of radiation over fewer sessions can be just as successful at treating some cancer types (file photo)

There are about 55,200 new cases of breast cancer in the UK every year  and 63 per cent of patients will go on to have radiotherapy as part of their initial treatment.

Normally, women with early-stage breast cancer receive 15 doses of radiation to their tumour after surgery, delivered over three weeks.

But the FAST-Forward trial, led by a team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, found that giving five larger daily doses over the course of one week is just as safe and effective.

It is hoped this will change standard practice in the UK  and make the treatment of breast cancer more convenient for women.

Karen Davis, 52, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2013, after discovering a tiny lump in her left breast.

I was 45 years old and I just thought I was going to die  it was horrible, she says. Karen, who runs a hairdressing and beauty business, as well as a wig studio for women who lose their hair through cancer, was offered the chance to take part in the trial.

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The lump, which measured 1.6cm, was surgically removed just a few weeks later.

In November 2013, she began radiotherapy and received five doses over the course of a week. I think it was easier for me mentally to know that it was only five days, she says. I used to get so nervous going into the cancer centre, my tummy would get churned up.

The week-long course also meant she could get back to running her business sooner.

I thought that after my radiotherapy treatment in the morning, Id be able to go to work, but it made me really, really tired, she says.

Karen has been free from cancer ever since. The only side effect she experienced was a slight numbness in parts of her breast, but this has eased over time.

After my radiotherapy finished I was a bit worried that I hadnt had the three-week course, she says.

But now, I feel so lucky.

Cancer care has been hit hard by Covid-19. According to Cancer Research UK, 12,750 people are waiting for cancer surgery, 6,000 fewer have received chemotherapy during lockdown and 2,800 fewer have had radiotherapy.

Some services were suspended as a result of staff shortages, but it was also feared treatments such as chemotherapy could make cancer patients more susceptible to the virus.

Regular hospital visits are also likely to increase the risk of exposure to it, so a shake-up of radiotherapy services could not have come at a better time.

Many NHS hospitals had already adapted so patients could continue receiving treatment in a less risky way.

Dr Dickson says: The fewer visits you have to make to the oncology centre, the less chance you have of catching an infection such as Covid-19  either from other patients, staff, or by just being out of your home.

Shorter treatments also reduce the burden on services, and not just for breast cancer.

There are about 55,200 new cases of breast cancer in the UK every year  and 63 per cent of patients will go on to have radiotherapy as part of their initial treatment (file photo)

During the coronavirus pandemic, an international panel of experts recommended that people with some forms of bowel cancer should also have shorter radiotherapy treatment.

It followed a major study led by David Sebag-Montefiore, professor of clinical oncology at the University of Leeds, into treatments for patients with tumours in their rectum, where most bowel cancers are found.

The research, published in The Lancet in 2009, found a one-week course of radiotherapy before surgery significantly reduced the risk of the disease coming back, compared to surgery alone.

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But before the pandemic patients had been given a choice between this approach, and a five-week course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy  involving up to 28 hospital trips.

There has not been a definitive steer in one direction or another, so both methods have been used, explains Prof Sebag-Montefiore.

But with Covid, we considered that the one-week course reduced the risks associated with travelling to hospital and being exposed to staff, and that additional chemotherapy could also potentially have a negative impact on a patients immune system.

Patients with lung cancer have also seen their radiotherapy treatment shortened  from six weeks to four weeks for bigger tumours.

Three to five sessions of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy  a new, more targeted treatment, also known as SABR  would have previously been recommended to treat lung tumours smaller than one centimetre. Now, its just one session. Prostate cancer treatment times using SABR have also been cut from 20-30 treatments to six.

Dr Dickson is keen to stress that changes in care have only been made where there is evidence to support them.

But she admits Covid has accelerated the adoption of these new, quicker approaches to treating cancer. And many experts hope they will be here to stay.

Regardless of Covid, one week of treatment versus three weeks is an advantage for the patient, she says.
India resuming international flights will depend on other countries being open to receive flights, Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday. At the same time, he was hopeful of resuming domestic flights to full capacity by year end.

Any suggestion that international air traffic has opened up and we are the only ones not to open up needs a reality check. The exact time when we will resume international flights depends on other countries to be open to receive flights, he said.

India has suspended international passenger flights since March 22, in a bid to contain the spread of Covid- 19.

The minister said that international flights operations depend on airspaces being open and a border acceptance from other countries. Many countries decided that they were not going to allow nationals from other countries except their own. We also went with the same position, Puri said.

Giving details the minister said, entry is conditional in the US, UK, France, China, UAE and Singapore. You cannot have normal civil aviation operations under such conditions, he added.

The minister added that in the absence of a decision on resumption of international flights, India is left with no option but to continue evacuation and repatriation flights under managed and controlled conditions.

He was referring to the governments initiative in bringing back Indians struck abroad due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Centre had launched the Vande Bharat Mission for this purpose on May 6.

The minister said that till date 275,000 Indians have been brought back to the country - 109,000 have returned via the Centres Vande Bharat Mission through the national carrier Air India while 143,000 expatriates have been brought back through private carriers.

The aviation minister said that during the phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The government was constantly trying to expand both domestic and Vande Bharat flights, the minister said, adding that the domestic flight ops would be ramped up.

At present we have allowed only 33% flights to operate and flights are not operating in full capacity even now. We will open more routes where there is more demand. We are ready to take it to up to even 40-45% capacity, Puri added.
Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC): Government

A day after the All-Party Meeting, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there were no Chinese incursions into the Indian side of Line of Actual Control, the government of India on Saturday came out with a clarification over his statement, stating that it pertained to the situation as a consequence of the skirmish with the Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on June 15, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Read the full text of the clarification here:

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the All-Party Meeting (APM) yesterday.

Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In fact, he specifically emphasized that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC (unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain).

The APM was also informed that this time, Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate. As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions.

The focus of the PMs remarks in the APM discussions were the events of 15 June at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel. Prime Minister paid glowing tributes to the valour and patriotism of our armed forces who repulsed the designs of the Chinese there. The Prime Ministers observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.

The words of Prime Minister Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil, succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces. The Prime Minister further emphasised, I want to assure you, that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders.

What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This Government is strongly and resolutely committed to that. Insofar as there is some illegal occupation, the APM was briefed in great detail how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq.km has been yielded under circumstances with which this country is well aware. It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC.

At a time when our brave soldiers are defending our borders, it is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower their morale. However, the predominant sentiment at the All Party Meeting was of unequivocal support to the Government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 18:52:58|Editor: huaxia

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by Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The recent U.S. bill on China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region violates the Charter of the United Nations and undermines China's sovereignty, an Egyptian official said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"This bill is illegal and illegitimate because it is issued by the U.S. Congress for another country. Neither the U.S. administration nor the U.S. Congress has the right to issue bills to be implemented in other countries," said Mohamed Noman Galal, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

The bill, labeled "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020," has been strongly opposed by the Chinese government and people.

It "deliberately slandered the human rights situation in Xinjiang, maliciously attacked the Chinese government's policy on governing Xinjiang and flagrantly trampled on the international law," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday, regarding it as blatant interference in China's internal affairs.

The Egyptian official described the U.S. bill on Xinjiang as "an act of transgression against another country's sovereignty and violation of the principles of human rights themselves."

Galal, a former Egyptian ambassador to China, said he had visited Xinjiang several times with the latest trip in 2014, during which clean streets, sweet fruits and peaceful life in Xinjiang impressed him.

"I visited several mosques in Xinjiang and saw the people there enjoy full freedom to practice their religious activities. But if any of them does anything unlawful or terrorist, they have to be punished like any other Chinese citizens," he said.

He said China has all the right to confront and stop acts of terrorism or secession, "which would not be allowed by any country, including the United States."

Stressing that such U.S. bills are inappropriate and impermissible as they violate the sovereignty of other countries, Galal recalled his article in Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper about 15 years ago when the U.S. Congress issued a human rights bill and sent committees to check human rights in some countries including Egypt.

"In my article, I criticized the U.S. Congress, saying that it doesn't have the right to legislate for Egypt, for it is not the Egyptian parliament," he said.

He argued that the U.S. bill on Xinjiang just reflects American arrogance. "The U.S. is arrogant not only with China, but with the Arab world as well."

As for the Western media that falsify and distort the situation in Xinjiang, Galal said it is "motivated by political agendas and international forces working for their own interests."

The non-objective and slanderous stories Western media reported regarding Xinjiang will not affect China's relations with Arab countries, because these countries are aware of "the colonial games" of the Western media, Galal said.

China is a country with a deep-rooted ancient civilization and a friendly country with friendly people, he said, emphasizing that the rights of the minorities like those in Xinjiang are protected in China. Enditem
Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms on Thursday announced an investment of Rs 11,367 crore by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. (PTI Photo)

Mumbai: Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms on Thursday announced an investment of Rs 11,367 crore by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

PIF's investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crore from leading global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton.

A RIL release said that with the addition of PIF's investment, Jio Platforms has established partnerships with a marquee set of global financial investors, who will contribute to establishing the digital society vision for India.

This is an unprecedented eleventh investment in Jio Platforms within nine weeks since April 22 this year. At Rs 115,693.95 crore, it is the largest continuous funds raised by a company anywhere in the world and was done amidst a global lock-down, "clearly signifying India's digital potential and Jio's business strategy".

PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and as part of its mandate to diversify its economy, has made its largest investment into the Indian economy to-date.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, welcomed PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms.

"We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades. From Oil Economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India's New Oil (Data-driven) Economy, as is evident from PIF's investment into Jio Platforms," he said.

"I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India's digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians," he added.

Governor of PIF Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting.

"We are delighted to be investing in an innovative business which is at the forefront of the transformation of the technology sector in India. We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth. This investment will also enable us to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia's economy and our country's citizens, in line with our mandate to safeguard and grow the national wealth of the Kingdom," he said.

The transaction is subject to Indian regulatory and other customary approvals.

Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is a next-generation technology company focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers.
(Newser)  Protesters tore down more statues across the US, expanding the razing in a San Francisco park to the writer of America's national anthem and the general who won the country's Civil War which ended widespread slavery, the AP reports. On the East Coast, more statues honoring Confederates who tried to break away from the United States more than 150 years ago were toppled. But several were removed at the order of North Carolina's Democratic governor, who said he was trying to avoid violent clashes from toppling the heavy monuments erected by white supremacists that he said do not belong in places like the state capitol grounds. The statues are falling amid continuing demonstrations following the May 25 police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd. The details:

In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park along the Pacific Ocean, protesters sprayed red paint and wrote "slave owner" on pedestals before using ropes to bring down the statues and drag them down grassy slopes amid cheers and applause. The statues targeted included a bust of Ulysses Grant, who was the US president after he was the general who finally beat the Confederates and ended the Civil War.

story continues below

Also torn down in the San Francisco park was a statue of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the US national anthem "Star Spangled Banner." Key owned slaves.

Protesters also pulled down the statue of Spanish missionary Junipero Serra, an 18th century Roman Catholic priest who founded nine of Californias 21 Spanish missions and is credited with bringing Roman Catholicism to the Western US. Serra forced Native Americans to stay at those missions after they were converted or face brutal punishment.

Police officers responded to the park but didnt intervene. The crowd threw objects at the officers, but no injuries or arrests were reported, San Francisco Police said.

In Washington, DC, and Raleigh, North Carolina, it was another night of tearing down Confederate statues. In the nation's capital, demonstrators toppled the 11-foot statue of Albert Pike, the only statue in the city of a Confederate general. Then they set a bonfire and stood around it in a circle as the statue burned, chanting, "No justice, no peace!" and "No racist police!"

Trump quickly tweeted about the toppling, calling out DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and writing: "The DC police are not doing their job as they watched a statue be ripped down and burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country!"

Saturday morning, official work crews came to the North Carolina capitol to remove two more Confederate statues. One statue was dedicated to the women of the Confederacy, and another was placed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy honoring Henry Wyatt, the first North Carolinian killed in battle in the Civil War, news outlets reported.

(Read more statues stories.)
Nepal confident India, China will resolve differences through peaceful means

International

pti-PTI

Kathmandu, June 20: Nepal on Saturday said it was confident that both its "friendly neighbours" India and China will resolve their border stand-off at the Line of Actual Control through peaceful means, keeping in mind the stability of the region and world peace.

The Himalayan nation, sandwiched between the two Asian giants, said it has always stood firmly for regional and world peace and expressed confidence that the differences between India and China will be resolved in the "spirit of good neighbourliness".

"Nepal maintains that disputes between the countries should be resolved through peaceful means," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement comes days after the Nepal government completed the process of redrawing the country's political map through a Constitutional amendment, incorporating three strategically important Indian areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in a move that could severely jolt bilateral relations with New Delhi.

"In the context of recent developments in the Galwan Valley area between our friendly neighbours India and China, Nepal is confident that both the neighbouring countries will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional and world peace and stability," it said.

Mischievous interpretation! Govt clarifies on PMs statement during all party meet on China

Nepal's statement comes in the backdrop of clashes that have taken place between the forces of two countries in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff between the two countries.
French electronics brand Thomson that operates in India through a license with Super Plastronics (SPPL) has entered the washing machine category in the country. The brand will begin selling semi-automatic washing machines from June 23 through Flipkart.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, SPPL (exclusive brand licensee of Thomson in India) said that the brand is entering the appliance market and will be making a Rs 1,000 crore investment in the next five years.

We have been successful in the smart television segment with over 5 percent market share and hence wanted to enter the affordable category of appliances. We will be starting with a price point of Rs 6,999 for 6.5 kg semi-automatic washing machine, he added.

Marwah also said that this will a completely made in India. Going forward, he said that the idea is to increase the portfolio by adding a new product category every year.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, customers arent still going out to buy appliances. Hence, our distribution partnership with Flipkart will be beneficial, he said.

The washing machine market size in India is estimated to be Rs 10,000 crore with 7 million units and less than 15 percent penetration in the market. Companies like LG, Samsung, Bosch, IFB, Godrej Appliances and Whirlpool operate in this segment.

For Thomson, the washing machines are being manufactured at a partner plant in Dehradun. Marwah said that a new manufacturing plant is coming up near their existing Uttar Pradesh facility and would be ready for operation in the next two years.

The pent-up demand for appliances during the lockdown as well as the renewed Make in India sentiment would work well for us, he added.

Consumer electronics brand Thomson had made a re-entry into the Indian market in FY19 through its television business and purely sells online.
When The Bachelor with Peter Weber ended, fans felt terrible for Hannah Ann Sluss. She won the show, and Webers final rose, but the pair broke up even before the finale aired. Looking back on things, fans recently discovered that Hannah Ann won the best of both worlds.

Chris Harrison, Hannah Ann Sluss and Peter Weber on The Bachelor | John Fleenor via Getty Images

Whats happened since The Bachelor finale with Hannah Ann and Peter Weber?

At the finale, Hannah Ann made her peace with Weber, telling him that I was completely blindsided. If you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man.

Since then, Weber and Madison Prewett broke up. Then the pilot was caught quarantining with Kelley Flanagan from his season. A few weeks later, the duo admitted they are an item, and since then, they often share their romantic photos. Recently, on The Bachelor: Greatest Seasons  Ever! Sluss discussed her attitude since leaving the show.

RELATED: The Bachelor: Fans Feel Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan Were Together Since the Hannah Ann Breakup But Producers Didnt Like That Storyline

I will say when I went on to After the Final Rose, I stand by everything I said, she told host Chris Harrison. That was my peace, and walking off that stage, I never looked back, and Im not going to let an unfortunate situation knock me down. I havent given much thought to it.

Sluss is now an Instagram influencer with 1.4 million followers. She recently had her first modeling shoot for the magazine Modeliste.

Fans believe that Hannah Ann Sluss got the best of both worlds

The Bachelor is a game show where thirty women compete for Instagram followers, and one unlucky lady has to get engaged, one Reddit user wrote.

In the past decade, the show grew and evolved. Now, fans believe that if a potential contestant doesnt have an Instagram following started, they wont be asked to go on the show. The viewers also think that many of the women are only going on the show to become influencers.

RELATED: The Bachelor: Will Hannah Ann Sluss Brother Ever Be On The Bachelorette

[Sluss] got the best of both worlds  won the show and didnt have to marry the lead, getting all the Insta-fame she went on for, another Redditor added.

The 24-year-old from Knoxville, Tennessee, went from 83,000 followers on Jan. 1, 2020, to an even one million on March 11, 2020, after the finale. She is still gaining followers since her time on the show. Those numbers make her a mega influencer on Instagram. She earns roughly $2,856.75 to $4,761.25 on every post, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub.

Which contestant from The Bachelor franchise has the most followers?

Hannah Brown is the most followed Bachelor contestant on Instagram with 2.8 million followers. She broke things off with Jed Wyatt after her season but developed a dedicated following. Her time on Dancing With the Stars only helped her garnish more fans.

RELATED: The Bachelor: Will Tyler Cameron Make An Appearance on Matt James Season?

Tyler Camerons following keeps climbing as well with 2.3. million followers. He recently surpassed JoJo Fletcher, who has 2.2 million followers. The antics of Brown, Cameron, and Matt James during quarantine proved to be something fans wanted to see.
After three decades of cutting and coloring hair, dispensing advice and helping his clients celebrate myriad events such as high school graduations and weddings, Byron Woods thought he was finished.

Forced in March to temporarily close his three hair salons in Columbus, Ohio, because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Woods didnt see how he could continue paying $5,000 in rent on his empty businesses each month and provide a place to work for 27 other barbers and beauticians.

He was unable to secure a government emergency loan to tide him over when he returned to his Oohs & Ahs barbershop in early May. Feeling defeated, he sat down to open the mail that had piled up during his absence.

I felt like I had no choice except to let it all go, said Woods, 55, who had given interviews a week earlier to a local television station and newspaper about the financial crisis faced by barbers.

In his mail, he found an electric bill, a water bill, and past-due rent notices. There were also several checks, including one from a woman who was a retired schoolteacher. Shed enclosed $1,200  the amount of her own stimulus payment  along with a message:

Dear Mr. Woods, today is a happy day for me, she wrote. It is a day I've been waiting for. You see, ever since I received my stimulus check from the federal government, I've wanted to give the money to someone who needed it more than I, someone who would use it wisely, someone who was worthy of some help."

I am so impressed with and thankful for your giving nature, for all you do for others, she wrote at the end. And for making ME happy."

Woods said he burst into tears.

She and the other people who sent donations gave me the inspiration to go forward, he said. More than anything, it left me with a feeling of You matter  youre essential and we need you.

And as it turned out, those donations (from people who asked to remain anonymous) were only the beginning.

At around the same time, Woods wife, Tenesia Woods, secretly started a GoFundMe for Oohs & Ahs that has now reached more than $21,000.

When I initially suggested it, Byron shot it down because he was waiting on the government to assist with funding, she said. Then we received news that the funding was depleted. I knew the blood, sweat, and tears that he had poured into his businesses  this is what he lives for, what makes him thrive.

His three shops are now reopened and slowly getting back to normal, he said, as his staff takes precautions such as extensive cleaning, hand sanitizing, and masks.

Steven McElroy is among those who were happy to give a donation to keep Oohs & Ahs in business, then book an appointment for a haircut.

Oohs & Ahs is a staple in the community, and Byron is an example to young black males on how to be successful in their personal and professional lives, said McElroy, 56, director of business and operations for Columbus City Schools.

Ruth McNeil, who has known Woods for 25 years, said that from the first time she sat in his barbers chair, hes been getting it right.

Byron has established Oohs and Ahs as a family gathering place, said McNeil, 56. Generations of families get their hair cut at Byrons shops. You can share your opinions, your values, and your challenges without judgment.

Woods never set out to make a living with a pair of scissors and a hair dryer, but in 1990, after a six-year stint in the Army, he decided to follow a friends advice and get a barbers license.

It was a return to his roots, he said.

My mom was a beautician who worked out of our home, and I was 12 when I started cutting my own hair and my friends hair, said Woods. I thought of it as a hobby  as something I just did.

Several years after opening his first barbershop in 1991, Woods said he began teaching inmates at the regional London Correctional Facility the secrets of his trade, encouraging them to become licensed through the prison barbershop while they were serving time.

He has since rented booth space in his shops to numerous people who spent time in prison, he said, hoping to give them a second chance to make something of their lives."

In 2005, he was shot in a home-invasion robbery in his apartment and nearly died, but he said he wasnt deterred from continuing what he calls his barbershop ministry.

When I not only came back, but was able to grow my business, I really felt it was a sign for me to help people who had committed crimes to better their lives, he said.

Today, the mixture of employees and clientele at Oohs and Ahs is a testament to the power of following a dream and not giving up, said Woods.

We have men and women in here from every walk of life, he said. We all appreciate each other and respect each other no matter where we come from. Thats what I like to instill in all of my workers  that the work we do is about love, compassion, and grace.
Several people were stabbed in the southern English town of Reading on Saturday, media reports said, and police said they were investigating reports of an incident.

Sky News said the stabbings took place at the site of Black Lives Matter protest in the town earlier in the day.

Video footage posted on Twitter showed paramedics rushing to help at least three people who were bleeding on the ground in a park. Reuters was unable to verify the footage independently.

Britain's interior minister Priti Patel said he was deeply concerned to hear reports of the incident.

The head of the local council authority in Reading, Jason Brock, said police were dealing with a "serious incident" and he urged people to stay away from the town centre.

The National Police Chiefs' Council, representing senior police officers, urged people on Twitter to avoid speculation or sharing of video or images of the incident.

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KABUL - The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital and affected staff include diplomats, contractors and locals.

The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said up to 20 people were infected, the majority of them Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.

The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the State Department said in a statement late Friday.

The infected staff are in isolation in the embassy while the remainder on the compound are being tested, said the embassy official. That official added that embassy staff were told they can expect tighter isolation orders.

The State Department said a sanitization of the premises was being carried out to prevent further outbreak.

Afghanistan has 28,424 confirmed coronavirus cases. International aid organizations monitoring the pandemics spread in the country say the numbers are much higher because of a lack of testing capabilities as well as access to testing.

Observers also fear the highly contagious coronavirus has spread throughout the country with the return of nearly 300,000 Afghans from Iran, the hardest hit country in the region. Iran has recorded more than 200,000 cases and 9,392 deaths.

Few of the Afghans who returned from Iran were tested before they fanned out across the country to their homes.

Earlier this month, the International Rescue Committee warned Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster mostly because the government does not have the capacity to even test 80% of coronavirus cases.

A handful of NATO troops have also tested positive for the infection. State

___

Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report
The global coronavirus lockdown may have helped blunt the Covid-19 pandemic but, across Southeast Asia, it appears to have spurred another deadly disease: dengue fever.

The mosquito-carried virus  which causes crushing joint pain  has skyrocketed in the continents tropical regions where it is most common.

Singapore has reported a record 165 cases a day in the second week of June, while, in Indonesia, there have been some 64,251 cases this year  a 60 per cent jump on the same time in 2019. Bali, the popular tourist destination, has almost 9,000 infections. Malaysia, too, is reported to be suffering.

Now experts have said the Aedes mosquito, which transmits the disease, may be thriving because coronavirus restrictions have prevented communities from cleaning up the stagnant water and detritus that acts as breeding grounds for the deadly insect.

Lockdowns are placing more people at home than they normally would, Cameron Simmons, director of the Institute of Vector-Borne Disease at Melbournes Monash University, told Bloomberg.

Recommended Record dengue epidemic hits Honduras amid climate change and apathy

And he added: While no evidence has emerged proving a direct link, lockdowns could potentially have created an environment where mosquitoes are interacting more with the population than they would otherwise.

The disease, which can lead to high temperatures, rashes, severe sickness and occasionally fatal shocks, is caused by one of four virus types.

The less-common type 3 has driven this particular outbreak  the first time it has been the dominant strain in Singapore in almost 30 years.

The low herd immunity to the strain has enabled it to flourish, the city-states environment agency confirmed, adding that the challenge now would be to deal with the disease while sticking to the social restrictions needed to combat Covid-19.
Mr Frank Fuseini Adongo, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister has beaten Dr John Kingsley Krugu, former National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to retain the Parliamentary candidate slot for the 2020 general elections.



Mr Adongo who is the incumbent Member of Parliament for the area secured 323 votes to emerge victorious, 43 more votes than Dr Krugu, the Public Health worker who had 280.



The Deputy Regional Minister, a nurse by profession, would be contesting the Parliamentary seat in Zebilla for the second time having won the seat in 2016.



Mr Adongo would now battle it out once again with Mr Cletus Avoka of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), whom he beat in the 2016 elections.



Out of the total number of 637 delegates expected to cast their votes in the 34 electoral areas, 603 turned up while two ballots were rejected.



Speaking to supporters after the victory, Mr Adongo expressed gratitude to the delegates of the party for the confidence reposed on him once again to lead the party towards the forthcoming election.



The MP said the victory was for the party in the constituency and therefore called on Dr Krugu, his contestant, and his supporters to bury their differences and team up towards retaining the seat in the area in the next election.



He said within the first tenure of office of President Akufo-Addos administration, numerous social intervention policies had been implemented and it was imperative to work together to ensure the party won both Parliamentary and Presidential elections, to ensure that more improved livelihood projects were initiated to improve the standard of living of the people.



Mr Patrick Ayaba, the Constituency Chairman of the party urged the party supporters to desist from using foul language against one another and rather help make the constituency a stronghold of the party.



We need one another, by tomorrow we must come together because our common enemy is our opponent, he added.

Source: GNA









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Phuket construction foreman, 50, investigated for rape of girl, 15, after grooming a romantic relationship

PHUKET: Police are investigating a rape complaint filed against a construction foreman who worked in Sakoo, the area just south of Phuket International Airport, for allegedly repeatedly raping a 15-year-old girl by deciving her that he had romantic feelings for the girl.

crimesexpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 20 June 2020, 02:41PM

The rape complaint was filed at Thalang Police Station on Wednesday (June 17). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Thalang Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Anukul Nuket confirmed that the mother brought her 15-year-old daughter to Thalang Police Station to file the complaint on Wednesday (June 17).

The mother explained that the man, 50 years old and originally from Chiang Mai, was a foreman at a construction site where the mother worked.

He had repeatedly raped her daughter at the office at the construction site, the mother told police.

The mother said she learned of her daughters ordeal only after seeing her crying uncontrollably on June 5, and asking what was wrong. The man had been raping her daughter since November last year, she explained.

The ongoing ordeal began when the man asked the daughter to come to the office, where he gave her B1,000, after which the girl went back home, the girl told police.

Two days later, the man called her back and said he would give her more money. When she arrived at the office, the man dragged her into the room and raped her, and gave her B200.

The same continued for months. Sometimes the man gave the girl some money, other times he did not, the girl explained.

Each time, the man used various tricks to convince the girl that he had romantic intentions, including telling her that he was going to divorce his wife. He even proposed to marry the girl, police were told.

The last time the man raped the girl was on April 19, the mans birthday, when he called the girl to come to the office, where he raped her in the bathroom.

That was the last time I saw him, the girl said.

The incident on June 5 that led to the mother learning of her daughters ordeal began with her daughter receiving a phone call from the man, who had returned to Chiang Mai, the mother told police on Wednesday.

The man told the girl that he was not going to divorce his wife. He also explained that his wife had discovered that he had transferred money to the girl many times, the mother said.

The mans wife also called the girl, telling her that she was going to report to the police that the girl was having an affair with her husband. That prompted the girl to tell her mother.

The girl told police that she never told her mother about the man because he forbade it and said he would explain it to my mother himself.

But after his wife found out, he was difficult to contact. He did not answer chat [messages], the girl said.

The issue came to a head on Tuesday (June 16), when the man called the girls father in order to clear the incident.

However, the man accused the girl of being in the same type of relationship with many other men, not only him.

The man offered to give B20,000, but the girls father refused and the mother brought her daughter to the police station to file the rape complaint the next day, Lt Col Anukul noted in his report.

Lt Col Anukul advised the mother to take her daughter to file a complaint at Sakhu Police Station, as the incident had occurred in their jurisdiction.

I have spoken to officers there, and had the mother and daughter give to the officers chat messages and audio recordings of conversations between the man and the girl as evidence, Lt Col Anukul said.
Students and teachers across South Carolina could start school in the fall a few days later than originally planned under a recommendation by the state's coronavirus education task force Friday.

The recommendation for a delayed start date is one of many suggestions made by the S.C. Department of Education's accelerateEd task force, a group of educators, administrators and state officials who've spent the past two months developing guidance of how schools across the Palmetto State should safely resume.

The group discussed revisions to a draft of fall reopening recommendations first presented last week, a 200-page document outlining key factors school districts should consider when forming their instruction plans before the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster outlined a plan to allocate $215 million in federal coronavirus aid to pay for five additional days of classroom instruction statewide to make up for time missed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

If the Legislature pays for the five extra days as expected, districts should strongly consider" delaying the first day of school so as not to conflict with summer plans teachers or students might have, said Patrick Kelly, who heads the task force's instruction subcommittee.

Task force members also announced plans to update the original recommendations to ask for additional state funding for school districts and receive waivers to suspend end-of-year standardized testing.

While state Superintendent Molly Spearman said she wasnt prepared to make any announcements regarding waivers Friday, she assured task force members it will be something she carefully considers once the final report is complete.

I hear you and I want to do anything that we can to make school a safe place and take away as much anxiety as we can as we go forward, she said.

It's unknown how much additional state funding task force members want districts to receive.

Another significant update from last week's recommendations included a provision for each school to staff one nurse for every 750 students; that's up from the original recommendation of at least one nurse per school.

The task force will hold a press conference Monday at 2:30 p.m. to present final suggestions for fall operations.

Some of the task force's draft recommendations called for school districts to consider include:

Social distancing in classrooms.

Widespread distribution of personal protective equipment.

Creating a distance learning contingency plan in the event of COVID-19 resurgence.

Changing the academic calendar.

Longer school days.

Staggered pickup/dropoff times.

Eating lunch in classrooms.

Shutting off water fountains.

Limiting capacity on school buses.

Hybrid models of in-person and online instruction.

It's not mandatory that school districts adhere to the task force's recommendations. Instead, they've been characterized as a list of "best practices" and suggestions. Officials emphasized that school districts' fall reopening plans will need to be tailored to local health conditions and the specific capabilities and resources available.

School districts across the state have been waiting for the task force to release their final guidance before any local-level decisions about fall reopening were made.

One notable change to the original draft was a call for the General Assembly to increase the amount of per pupil funding each school district receives.

With the undertaking of several new, necessary safety measurements by districts, the General Assembly will need to strongly consider the financial impacts districts will be facing and include this increased funding to the base student cost, Kelly said.

Spearman said she supported the task forces request for additional per pupil funding but pointed out that school districts across the state will likely receive some $227 million from the General Assembly.

The Legislature returns to Columbia next week to allocate part of the $1.9 billion sent to South Carolina to reimburse state and local governments' COVID-19-related expenses. Recommendations from both McMaster and the Senate Finance Committee call for funding a four-week summer camp for struggling kindergartners through third-graders, as well as bringing elementary and middle school students back a week early.

School districts are also receiving a share of $194 million in coronavirus aid the federal government sent directly to Spearman's agency, which can be used for expenses including teacher pay, sanitation and technology.

Im all for everything being funded, asking for more funding. I do it every year ... but I want this task force to recognize ... theres going to be several hundred million dollars funded for this cause, Spearman said.

The recommendations also include a measure to seek further guidance from the S.C. Department of Environmental Health and Control to provide thresholds for determining the level of COVID-19 community spread. Determining whether the spread in a particular area is classified as high, medium, or low directly relates to the way school districts will opt to provide instruction in the fall, Kelly said, whether it be entirely in-person, entirely online or a blend of the two.

When the final recommendations are published Monday, the document will include specific protocol from DHEC outlining what schools should do if a student or staff member tests positive within a school building.

These criteria are needed by districts quickly, so this action should be a top priority, Kelly said.

On Friday, Spearman repeatedly implored members of the public to wear masks or face coverings in public, citing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the Palmetto State.

If we want to keep schools open, if we want to get back to a more normal life, we have to maintain social distancing, and we have to wear a mask when were out in public, she said.

While masks wont be mandatory for all students, she said, the state education agency will set an expectation for mask wearing in school communities moving forward. It's recommended that all students and staff wear masks inside unless a medical condition or extenuating circumstance prevents it.

We certainly need to press on our facility and our parents that one way to hold down the spread is to wear masks," she said.

The drafted recommendations suggest districts communicate their plans for fall instruction clearly with the public at least 20 days before the first day of school.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has ordered a mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for all Covid-19 cases, including asymptomatic patients and those with mild signs of the infection. The move could strain the Capitals health infrastructure, which is already stretched; result in a shortage of health care workers; militate against people getting tested; hamper the detection rate; and throw Delhis long-term plan out of gear at a time when infections continue to rise. We look at five principal reasons why it may not be a good idea:

1) Overrun health care infrastructure

Adding thousands of people in institutional quarantine  10,490 people were in home quarantine as of Friday night  will require a sudden and steep ramping up of the Capitals health care infrastructure, increasing the risk of the system being overwhelmed by those being admitted. According to the governments June 19 bulletin, 5,078 of its 10,961 Covid-19 beds were vacant, and 5,036 beds were available (out of 6,318) in Covid care and health centres. A senior Delhi government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that this availability of resources was mainly because of the success of the home quarantine scheme.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

Experts feel that home isolation of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients is a crucial strategy in the fight against the highly infectious disease. Why unnecessarily burden the health infrastructure that anyway gets overwhelmed when there is surge in cases? Medical beds should be kept for serious patients needing specialised care, otherwise where will you keep your serious patients whose lives we have to save? Home can be the best isolation facility so long as all protocols are followed, said T Jacob John, the former head of virology at CMC, Vellore.

2) Spark a severe staff shortage

If all cases are to be admitted to institutional facilities in the Capital, the authorities will have to find additional doctors, nurses and health workers. HT reported on Wednesday that the plan to add 23,800 beds this month for Covid-19 patients will require roughly 2,000 doctors and 3,000 nursing staff  resources that it has not been able to secure so far. To add to the shortfall, several health care workers testing positive are going into quarantine on coming in direct contact with Covid-19 patients. The government will also find it difficult to draw doctors, nurses and staff from its smaller non-Covid-19 hospitals.

The challenge to secure more people has been intensified by the fact that some health workers fear getting infected. Most of our nurses put down their papers when we were asked to earmark beds for Covid-19. Several other demanded higher salaries, it is not possible to do so in this economy, said a doctor at a private hospital, asking not to be named. In a statement, the Delhi government said: Entire manpower of the Delhi government is already stretched. Now, large quarantine centres would need to be made to house thousands of asymptomatic people.

Also read: Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain administered plasma therapy, health condition stable

3) People may stop getting tested

The move is also likely to discourage asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people from undergoing tests. Some feel that moving to institutional quarantine amid a shortage of beds and support staff will mean that the facilities are not up to the mark; they fear this will prompt people to avoid getting tested. Atishi, a legislator from the Kalkaji constituency and a spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who tested positive for Covid-19 two days ago and is currently under home isolation, said it has emotional and psychological benefits. There is a lot of comfort attached to home isolation compared to institutional quarantine because you have your own room and most importantly, your own washrooms... In home isolation, you have your family to look after you. She added that if institutional quarantine is made mandatory, then fewer people will opt for testing of Covid-19. Police, along with medical staff, will come to pick even asymptomatic people up and take them to quarantine centres. People will be scared with all this and many will fear themselves from getting tested, she said.

4) Cases may go undetected

If fewer people are willing to get tested, the undetected spread from such patients is likely to grow in the Capital. With the detection rate dipping, more people are likely to reach hospitals after their infection has advanced, which could possibly also impact the recovery rate. Experts also point to the risks of infections from crowded quarantine facilities.

Home quarantine for patients has been approved by the Union government as an effective way to preserve health care infrastructure for future challenges, under certain guidelines. DDMA, however, said in its order on Friday that it fears home isolation without physical contact to monitor the patients may be a reason for the increase in the spread of Covid-19 infections in Delhi.

Also read: Kejriwal opposes L-Gs 5-day mandatory institutional quarantine order, says will lead to evasions

5) Long-term strategy takes a hit

To meet the need for around 150,000 beds by the end of July, the Delhi government has planned to use stadiums as makeshift hospitals. It has also identified neighbourhood facilities to meet the need for the beds, according to its prediction of the infections peak in the Capital. This strategy, however, was devised on the model which included mild cases being quarantined at home. With the latest guidelines, this plan stands compromised. A member of a committee created to look into the augmentation of Delhis health infrastructure previously told HT that the panels calculations, based on the Capitals population and the current model, may have to be reworked and a new strategy may have to be devised. Experts insist that if the guidelines are changed on a regular basis, the projections and modelling of the scenarios will repeatedly need to be revised, creating a challenge for the long-term strategy. They also say that most countries in the world recommend home isolation for mild cases and the latest move by DDMA should be rethought.
China in Focus (June 19): Dispute Over Beijings Virus Situation

Contradicting statements from top health experts in China about the virus situation in Beijing, is it really under control?

China is trying to lead the world in the virus vaccine race, announcing new developments. But its been plagued with faulty vaccine scandals for the past decade. One victims mom tells us why she doesnt trust vaccines coming from China.

In order to advertise that theres plenty of food in China, the state-run media claims a big harvest from a village in central Chinawhich locals from the area say they dont believe.

Russia weighs in on the conflict at the India-China border. Local Russian media reports Moscow has pledged support to India.

And U.S. federal prosecutors accuse a Chinese firm of selling thousands of defective masks to the United States, which could pose a threat to frontline healthcare workers.

Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
Those utilizing the Chama Water System in Rio Arriba County are no longer being asked to boil their drinking water, according to the New Mexico Environment Department.

NMED Spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said the advisory, put in place on April 22, was lifted Saturday after the issues with the water system were repaired.

Subsequent sampling data indicates that the treatment plant is producing water that meets turbidity requirements, she said.

Hayden said the advisory was issued to communities served by the Chama Water System after NMED discovered failures to report water quality data from their treatment system.

At that point, a precautionary boil advisory had already been put in place on April 10 due to water outages in the system.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:

The Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to take part in the European Chamber's project within Eastern Partnership (EaP), Azerbaijans chamber told Trend.

The organization is a member of the European Chamber, and the project to be implemented in 2021, is intended for representatives of small and medium business.

The project is aimed at strengthening trade, economic and investment cooperation between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries in the areas of tourism, food production, textile products, wine, as well as the creative industry, Azerbaijans chamber said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key aspects of the economy. In the EaP region, the share of SMEs ranges from 83 percent to 99 percent of the total number of enterprises and forms 50 percent of all jobs. However, these figures still lag behind those in the EU countries, where the SME segment covers more than two-thirds of the total employable population. The SMEs share in creating new jobs has amounted to 85 percent over the past five years, said the report.

SMEs have the potential to create additional jobs and ensure economic growth. For this purpose, the project will be aimed at eliminating limited access to finance, red tape and difficulties in entering new markets, the Chamber of Industry said.

The chamber noted that the total active portfolio of EU support under the EU4Business initiative is almost 320 million euros, which helped to attract over 1.9 billion euros in loans provided by partner banks for the SME segment in the region.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), Gilan Holding, GAZELLI GROUP, Unibank, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and other organizations, are our long-term partners, noted the chamber.

In the near future, were going to increase the number of partners of the chamber to increase both domestic and macroeconomic indicators of the country.

The Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit public organization, which was created in 1922.

The chamber's activities are carried out in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan, the current charter of the organization and decisions of a higher authority.

It carries out activities in collaboration with enterprises, associations, organizations, entrepreneurs and their associations, regardless of ownership, subordination and location in Azerbaijan, as well as with entrepreneurs of other countries and international organizations.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva
Gandhi has aggressively been questioning the government on Twitter on the ongoing LAC standoff.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an all-party meeting that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once attacked the Centre. This time, the former Congress president has hit back at the PM for allegedly "surrendering" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression." "If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.



If the land was Chinese:

1. Why were our soldiers killed?

2. Where were they killed? pic.twitter.com/vZFVqtu3fD  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 20, 2020

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Gandhi has aggressively been questioning the government on Twitter on the ongoing LAC standoff, ever since 20 jawans of the Indian Army were killed by the Chinese in the Galwan Valley.

On Friday, he accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

"It's now crystal clear that: The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans," he said on Twitter.

He tagged a report quoting minister of state for Defence Shripad Naik, saying the attack was pre-planned by China and the Indian forces will give a befitting reply.

Its now crystal clear that:



1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned.



2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem.



3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans.https://t.co/ZZdk19DHcG  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 19, 2020

In another tweet, the Congress leader tagged an video interview of a military analyst and questioned the government over the soldiers being sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He also took on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their long silence after the incident took place, and also questioned them for their delay in paying homage to the fallen soldiers.

If it was so painful:



1. Why insult Indian Army by not naming China in your tweet?

2. Why take 2 days to condole?

3. Why address rallies as soldiers were being martyred?

4. Why hide and get the Army blamed by the crony media?

5. Why make paid-media blame Army instead of GOI? https://t.co/mpLpMRxwS7  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 17, 2020

Why is the PM silent?

Why is he hiding?



Enough is enough. We need to know what has happened.



How dare China kill our soldiers?

How dare they take our land?  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 17, 2020

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Two Albuquerque police officers have been placed on administrative leave as the department looks into their social media posts.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said APD is investigating whether the officers violated the departments social media policy. Gallegos did not respond to further questions on what the posts were about or when they were made.

He said, in general, the Albuquerque Police Departments social media policy is intended to protect the department from content or speech that would impair its efficiency or damage the reputation and trust the Department has or is building with the community.

The revelations come at a time of immense friction between the public and police across the nation, including Albuquerque, as a movement to reform police departments takes hold. Most recently, local leaders, activists and community members criticized the Albuquerque Police Departments handling and response to a recent shooting during the protest of a statue near Old Town.

Shaun Willoughby, president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, said there has been an uptick of investigations regarding social media.

He said he hasnt personally seen anything egregious or out of bounds in posts. And he understands their urge to be heard.

Police officers are frustrated and they want to have a voice, they want to engage in this conversation, Willoughby said. They get sucked into this world of social media and they get complained on.

With the social media policy in place and more officers wanting to speak out, he said the union is rolling out a new program Saturday  posting a letter from an anonymous officer on Facebook.

Willoughby said they are asking officers who want to be a part of this conversation to send letters to the APOA and selected letters will be posted.

Your police departments frustrated, they feel a lack of support. They want to speak, they want to engage, they want to tell their truths, he said.  Were going to try to give these officers an avenue  without the fear of retaliation, online bullying and exposing themselves and getting in trouble with the administration.
Protesters gather around the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee near downtown in Richmond, Va. (Steve Helber/Associated Press)

In the wake of global protests and civil unrest after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the first time has expressed support for the removal of Confederate monuments from public spaces.

The 70-year-old preservation organization, a privately funded nonprofit dedicated to saving historic buildings and spaces, on Thursday backed the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledged Confederate monuments sometimes serve as rallying points for bigotry and hate today.

Recent protests have triggered a wave of Confederate monument take-downs in Alexandria, Va., and Birmingham, Ala. In at least six states, more than a dozen statues and symbols of the Confederacy reportedly have been damaged or defaced.

Although some longstanding Confederate monuments may be designated as historic, the statement continued, the National Trust supports their removal from our public spaces when they continue to serve the purposes for which many were built  to glorify, promote and reinforce white supremacy, overtly or implicitly.

The statement Thursday marked a change from the organizations previous stance on Confederate monuments.

After the violent 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.  sparked by a proposal to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee  the National Trust called for the monuments to be re-contextualized to provide information about the war and its causes  rather than silence the past no matter how difficult it may be.

To learn why the organization decided to shift its position, The Times spoke to National Trust President Paul Edmondson. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What went into the decision to release this statement in support of removing Confederate monuments?

The killing of George Floyd has caused every organization and institution to look at their own policies, practices and positions. The second thing is that the issue of monuments, particularly Confederate monuments, is at the top of the news. We thought it was about time given those two factors that we took a second look at the positions that we've taken in the past on Confederate monuments.

Story continues

What were those previous positions on Confederate monuments over the years?

We made a statement in 2015 after the murders at Emanuel AME church in Charleston which was very similar to the statement in 2017 after Charlottesville. And those statements basically say that communities will be looking at these issues and we encourage them to consider what's called recontextualizing them.

In other words, putting signs, plaques and exhibits and derivative materials that make clear what they are. But really we did not take a position on whether they should be removed. We thought long and hard about that and decided that it was really important for us to go ahead and make a firmer statement that when they're used for the purpose of which they were intended  to glorify, promote and reinforce white supremacy overtly or implicitly, we support their removal. So we wanted to go ahead and make an affirmative statement.

Given the National Trust's 70-year history, why is yesterday's statement significant, or maybe even controversial, for the organization?

The thrust of our history and what we do is to preserve historic places, so automatically the question has been raised: How can a preservation organization support the removal of something that might have been there 100 years or even longer?

Our response is that our goal is not to freeze places in time. We don't want things preserved in amber. They live in our current life and current existence. Our efforts over the years have really been to manage change, to respect history and to make sure that communities reflect the history that they have.

But when there's a particular aspect that is really a symbol of racial supremacy and has affected the African American population, I think as preservationists we can say that this is not necessarily something that needs to stay. In response to the issue about erasing history, also I think that removing these monuments does not really remove history. We certainly encourage their removal to museums or other locations where they can be properly interpreted as to exactly what they are, why they were put up.

There's plenty of documentation about our racial past and Jim Crow and these monuments. So we don't really think that we're erasing history.

Since the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement, there have been cycles of unrest after police brutality against Black people. What was it about George Floyds death in particular that caused this change?

Like many institutions in the United States, the really horrific death of George Floyd has been a wake-up call to institutions and organizations. It really has been to the National Trust to say that we have not valued African American history and then made that a part of our work. I want to be clear that we have through such programs as the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, which is one of our premier programs and has invested this significant amount of money and time and effort working with communities around the country to preserve places that are historic and of meaning to African American and other diverse communities.

It's not as if we were ignoring this part of our history. But in the last month or so since the George Floyd killing, I think it's true with us, but I think it's true with America generally, that there's a real reexamination, and a healthy reexamination, of the core issue of embedded white supremacy.

We and other organizations have a responsibility to take this opportunity  unfortunate as it was at its inception  to deal with these issues and deal with them forthrightly.

Was there an internal revolution within the organization to get to this point? Was there a lot of debate or discussion within the organization before the release of the statement?

I don't think I could describe it as a lot of debate and discussion. There was certainly a lot of attention put on this, but I think fairly quickly there was a consensus within the organization that this was an issue that we should tackle. It's a hard issue. But it was the right thing to do. There certainly was not within the organization any dissent, I would say.

The National Trust is a national organization; we have members across the country. I am sure that this will please many members and displease others, and we'll bear the consequences of that decision. But we do think this is the right decision.

According to an FAQ page, the National Trust doesn't support the spontaneous removal of Confederate monuments. What should that process look like and by when should the monuments be removed?

We don't support the spontaneous removal by violence. For one thing, its dangerous. There have been injuries and one very serious injury with these types of incidents. We're only talking about monuments in public places. These are monuments and courthouse squares in front of municipal buildings in public parks. We think that it's the responsibility of the governmental entities that are responsible for those statues and really have jurisdiction over them to make those decisions.

We would like them to be made with input from the public. This goes also with what to do with them and what to do with the space after they've been removed. As to the time it takes, I can't really say. Each statue, each monument is unique. They all have to be examined.

But I do understand the frustrations to cause some of these spontaneous actions to remove them. A frustration that has taken so long for communities to address this issue, and we really urge communities that it's time to take a close look into restitutions.

After removing the statues or the monuments, what comes next?

That is a decision that should be made at the community level and made in a way that embraces all voices within the community. Inclusive and hopefully with advice from design experts, landscape experts and possibly artists, because I think this creates an opportunity to replace these statues with something new and unique that really represents the community's values.




The campaign manager for one of the Democratic candidates in the recent primary election is complaining the states new system of Vote By Mail was problematic and changes need to improve it before the fall General Election.

Lani Frank, who worked for candidate Ginny Kerslake in her quest to win nomination to the partys ballot for the 167th Legislative District seat now held by state Rep. Kristine Howard, also expressed concerns that Chester Countys efforts to collect ballots from voters using the new system fell short of the goal of making voting accessible to as many people as possible.

Also, the countys tabulation of so-called provisional ballots left open the question as to whether all of the votes cast were counted, Frank said.

My concern is that uncertainty about the result of the campaign remains, Frank said in an e-mail after detailing her complaints. Having managed and won two prior elections for the (state House of Representatives) by less than 30 votes, I know the importance of every vote counting.

She was referring to contests for the 156th Legislative District in 2006 and 2016, in which Democrats won recounts that lasted for weeks in exceedingly close races.

Elections have consequences and voter intent is paramount for the process to work, said Frank, a longtime party activist who served as vice chairwoman of the Chester County Democratic Committee. Lack of transparency by those in a position to determine which votes will be counted is troublesome to me, and I believe we all should be confident in the outcome of our elections, with a trust-but-verify mindset. I hope we get it right for November.

Results of the 167th District Democratic primary show incumbent Howard, of Malvern, who first took office in 2019, ahead of Kerslake, a small business owner from West Whiteland and a fierce opponent of the Mariner East pipeline project, by 1,950 votes  6,286 votes, or 59 percent, to 4,336 votes, or 40 percent.

But Frank said that by her reckoning, 16,982 ballots were distributed in the 167th District and of those, 15,959 votes were cast.

The difference is 1,023, she said. While we understand that Ginny is currently (losing)  and the possibility of closing the gap is slim, we also joked in 2016 that (then-candidate) Carolyn Comitta had to win 80 percent of the Military/Overseas ballots (in the race for the 156th Legislative District, and that was slim to none. But she did!

So I ask why we dont err on the side of allowing every vote to be counted? Frank said in an e-mail outlining her concerns.

Her concerns have been dismissed by county officials, and by a spokesman for Howards campaign.

We are confident that the process undertaken by Chester County Voter Services for this primary election  tabulating all in-person, mail-in, absentee and provisional ballots  is accurate, the county said in a statement issued by Public Information Officer Rebecca Brain. Those disagreeing or wishing to challenge the validity of the election, or a particular race, have a five-day window (starting Wednesday) to make that challenge.

Rep. Howard applauds the Chester County Voter Services, in the grips of a global pandemic, for stepping up to meet challenges no election authority has ever had to meet before, said Howards campaign spokesman, Marty Marks, in an e-mail last week. In the 167th District Representative District, approximately 9000 Democrats voted by mail. From what we could see, the process was managed fairly and efficiently.

That is not to say there were not problems that need to be addressed going forward, and based on what we witnessed in the primary, we are confident Voter Services and the Chester County Commissioners are up to the task, Marks said.

She was supported, however, by Kerslake.

I am disappointed that the results for House District 167 were not more in my favor, she said in an e-mail. However, I am equally disappointed that a reported 1,600 mail-in ballots, postmarked by Election Day but received within one week after Election Day will not be counted. This is because Gov. Wolf did not grant Chester County a waiver for an extension as he did in neighboring Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

As a result, the voices of 1,600 Chester County voters wont be heard, she claimed. My hope is that before the General Election in November, improvements are made. At the end of the day, every voter must have the opportunity to vote and every vote must count.

In a lengthy recounting of the election process sent in an e-mail, Frank argued that the county should have been given the ability to accept ballots from voters who sent them to the Office of Voters Services ahead of the June 2 primary date, but which were not received by the day of the election. Six other counties, including neighboring Delaware and Montgomery, were allowed to extend their deadlines  cherry-picked by Wolf, in her words  until June 9 because of a surge in mail-in ballots, the COVID-19 public health emergency and civil disturbances.

Such an extension would have allowed those 1,600 or so late voters to have their ballots cast, she said.

In addition, Frank said the county should have reacted faster to make available more drop off boxes for mail-in voters, It was not until the day before the election that new locations besides one at the county Government Services Center were added, even though the surge in requests for mail-in ballots was known far in advance.

Finally, Frank questioned the way the Office of Voter Services allowed outside observers such as herself to watch the counting process of provisional and absentee ballots, and said that questions about unaccounted-for ballots could put the results of the election in the 167th contest in jeopardy.

Why are we making the process secretive? Why is there no accountability? There is plenty of human error in this process. I know we all do the best we can, but elections have consequences, and our system needs to be tightened up considerably before November, COVID or not!!

Marks, the spokesman for Howards campaign, maintained that whether late votes were counted or not, the outcome of the election  Howards renomination  would not have changed. He suggested Franks criticism of the election process was similar to Republicans who have cast doubt on the system.

Let me be clear, there is no reason to believe that ballots received too late to be counted would not have reflected the way the ballots received on time broke for the various candidates, Marks said. We have seen President Trump attempt to sow seeds of doubt about the credibility of voting by mail in a thinly veiled attempt at voter suppression. Voters should not be deceived by attempts to cast doubts about the vote-by-mail process or the results of this years Primary Election.

From what we can see, voters were very clear about their preferences and the election results accurately reflected their choices, he said.

Additionally, the county commissioners, through spokeswoman Brain, said they had no reason to ask Wolf to expand the Vote By Mail system for November.

There are a number of improvements  technological and logistical  that could be beneficial to the processing of mail-in ballots, some of which are within Chester Countys control, and some that are not within our control, Brain said in her statement. We are exploring all options available to us to improve the process for mail-in ballots, including working on a robust program to allow for the secure return of mail-in ballots via drop-off locations throughout the county for the November election.

The 167th House Dist. includes the townships of Charlestown, Easttown, East Whiteland, West Pikeland, West Whiteland and Willistown and the borough of Malvern.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
MOSCOW  When you enter a home in Moscow, you take off your shoes. When you go to a play, you have to check your coat. When you eat a burger, you often wear gloves.

Across hygiene-conscious Eastern Europe, many people consider it uncouth and unsanitary to eat a burger with their bare hands. The answer used to be a knife and fork. But the pandemic has accelerated a years-old trend: order a burger from Kyiv to Kamchatka  or in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn  and there is a fair chance it will come with a side of disposable gloves.

Most often, the gloves are made of a synthetic, latex-free rubber called nitrile. At Black Star Burger, which launched the phenomenon in Moscow in 2016, the gloves on offer are black, individually wrapped in plastic packets. At Star Burger in Kyiv, Ukraine, they are green (or pink on Valentines Day). At Butterbro, a gastro pub in Minsk, Belarus, they come wrapped discreetly inside a napkin next to a serving dish made of the trunk of an ash tree.

Gloves, I think, are an unspoken, required attribute of any burger restaurant, said Butterbros manager, Alina Volkolovskaya. Im surprised that establishments in every country dont offer them.
With the imposition of lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country have been transitioning to online learning. However, many students have been struggling to access the classes because of poor internet connectivity and lack of technological support. In a bid to help such kids, an 11-year-old boy from Kerala gave up his birthday gift, setting an example of compassion and generosity.

Image For Representation/reuters

According to The New Indian Express, the boy named Muhammad Ali, a student of The Delta Study in Fort Kochi, gave up his long-desired PlayStation birthday gift. Ali's father, Ansif Ashraf, had opened a children's bank account in his name and started setting aside money for his dream PlayStation. But Ali changed his mind after a talk with his father.

During Ramadan which fell in the middle of lockdown, Ansif Ashraf got involved in philanthropic activities to help the poor. A curious Ali asked his father the purpose behind his work.

Also Read: Is This The New Normal? Kids Sit In 'Boxes' To Maintain Social Distancing In School Playground

The New Indian Express

Ashraf, a businessman from Chullickal, Fort Kochi, told Ali about how some people have no money to buy food. The information shook him to the core and he decided to do something that could make a difference.

"One day, I came across MP Hibi Edens challenge on Facebook and suggested to Ali that we should use the money in his account to donate to the cause." Ali immediately obliged and decided to help those suffering without access to online learning.

The Tablet Challenge launched by him aimed to provide tablets to students who do not have gadgets/laptops or desktops.

Ali donated two TVs and one tablet to poor kids on his birthday on June 9. One more television set was handed over to N K M Shareef, secretary of Maulana Azad.

As per NSS 2017-18, only 10.7 percent of households in the country had computers, with a wide gap between the rural (4.4 percent) and urban areas (23.4 percent). The lockdown led to a significant loss of "learning time" for the lakhs of students.



Ali has shown us how small gestures like this make a big difference. For many of us, having Internet access or owning a few gadgets doesn't make much of a difference, but in testing times like the current COVID-19 pandemic, being empathetic is essential.

Also Read: Leading The Way, New Zealand Makes Sanitary Products Free For All School-Going Girls


Today is the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth, the day when, as retold on Juneteenth.com, "Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free."

For more than a century, the occasion has been acknowledged with local celebrations across the country. And in the wake of historic social unrest and calls to action following the killing of George Floyd, corporations and state governments are taking notice and making moves to acknowledge Juneteenth as a holiday and opportunity for reflection on par with July 4 or Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

That's made this year's sesquicentennial a particularly poignant moment for launching initiatives like the black-enterprise advocacy group U.S. Black Chambers' (USBC) new networking platform, byblack. In the website's own words, byblack is an attempt at "building the best tool to find and support Black entrepreneurs."

Image credit: U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.

USBC President Ron Busby is an Oakland, Calif., native, which explains why byblack's Juneteenth-pegged soft launch is currently homed in on connecting professionals throughout his home city. But the networking resource will be gradually widening its reach nationwide (with added support from Google Maps technology) because, in Busby's belief, "This information should be owned by a black platform."

Speaking by phone on the eve of Juneteenth's 150th and byblack's official unveiling, Busby elaborated on the timing of its rollout and the continuing need to collect data on and cultivate black-owned businesses.

Related: Black-Owned Restaurants and Businesses You Can Support Right Now

Was it always the plan to roll out byblack to coincide with Juneteenth?

It was always the plan. Understand this: I was born in Houston, Texas, so I've heard about Juneteenth all my life. I think white America is just hearing about Juneteenth. America is looking at all of the challenges we've had over the years and now trying to face the reality that Juneteenth happened and figure out how to have conversations about retributions and reparations. Some of it is about how to move forward, so you'll see people talking about giving paid leave on Juneteenth when last year they didn't even know what Juneteenth was. A lot of it is knee-jerk, but I am in favor of many of the actions as long as it is sustainable.

Is the right knee-jerk reaction, then, better than no reaction?

Each one of our protest movements has been built from the previous one, so I don't think anything has been unseen. I think America has now been forced to have the conversation because first was the pandemic of COVID-19, and we saw we were over indexed in deaths and obtaining the virus. Second was the stimulus package and the economic conversation that we felt. Black people saw America write a check for $2 trillion. Yet, we've had hundreds of thousands of people die that are black, and we're saying we've been facing a pandemic for hundreds of years, but yet we've never seen you have a conversation about writing a check to address the future of black people. When they first came out talking about $349 billion, we know that 50 publicly traded white firms got $250 billion of that and never had to answer any questions of where the money was going. And then they came back with, "Oh, if you got less than $2 million, don't even worry about it. Just keep it." What? You've got $130 billion sitting there that you didn't give out, and understand we lost 450,000 black-owned businesses. If they could have had their part of that, they'd still be in business.

Does this all speak to the ultimate imperative behind byblack?

One of the biggest challenges is data, specifically the number of black-owned businesses. All of that is extremely difficult to determine in America. It's not being captured by the SBA or Treasury or banks or even Facebook or Google. So we decided we were going to come out with this version of our platform so it could be more user-friendly and like other technologies, so it's not bad information in, bad information out. We created this technology ourselves. This is going to capture a lot of the data that has been missing.

So this could in fact be a useful tool for those other agencies and social media companies?

Right now, if you ask SBA or any of the agencies about real data, it's outdated, so we just said we were going to capture it ourselves. Many of the big tech firms, including Facebook, are now allowing you to self-identify as a black or Hispanic or Asian firm.

Is that a change that's only been happening very recently?

Very recently. We did a survey with Facebook last month concerning COVID and PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] challenges with 98,000 participants and never asked the question about race or nationality. It was a futile exercise for us. We wanted to know real data so we could have real conversations. Right now, a lot of the conversations are based upon emotion. It's ironic that we've been saying over the last few months that we were going to lose 35-40 percent of black-owned businesses, and no one really got it until Bloomberg stated we'd lost 41 percent of our black-owned businesses during February through April. And once that came out, everyone was like, "Woah." That's because it was real data. Part of the reason we're coming out with our new platform is we have to be able to capture timely, accurate information of where we are. There's also a huge contingency of people who want to support black-owned businesses but don't know how, so this is a tool for us to be able to address that.

Related: GM to Observe a Production Pause, 8:46 of Silence on Juneteenth

Is it fair to say that if something doesn't hit people where they live, data is all that resonates?

Exactly. It's like me telling you there's racism in the police department and you say, "Yeah, get over it," and then you see a video and you say, "Wow, it's real." And then you see multiple videos and you say, "OK, this is systemic." If I can tell you over and over again that there's systemic racism in lending practices and contractual practices, you can feel away that conversation, but when I can demonstrate it through data, that's a whole different conversation.... You've heard the old saying that the Asian dollar stays in their community 28 days, the Hispanic dollar stays in their community 21 days, the black dollar stays in our community less than six hours. If we don't change that, it doesn't matter what happens in reference to civil rights. If we don't have silver rights, we're always going to be in a condition of poverty. We have a trillion dollars of spend power. We hear that all the time. But that's not black people talking about that. That's white corporations saying, "Black consumers spend a trillion dollars every year. Let's make sure we market to them." But we have to change the conversation to, "Let's keep that trillion dollars in our community to make sure we have sustainable economic conditions that are positive for black people."

Do you view byblack as a way to incubate that?

Corporate America usually says, "Ron, we'd love to do more business with black America, but we can't find them." Most of the directories you see are business-to-consumer  "Hey, I have a black-owned restaurant." "Hey, I have a black-owned salon. Hey, I have a black-owned retail store." And we need those, but we also need B2B. We need to be the distributor to the black-owned restaurant, the manufacturer to the black-owned hair-care products. And thus, we will be able to deliver the products that corporate America is looking for. So the second phase of [byblack] is the business owner that's large enough to meet the needs of corporate America. There will be another portal in this designed just to help corporate America source black-owned businesses.

In the long run, what do you hope something like byblack becomes emblematic of?

I would like to remove unemployment for black people across the country. And it's simple. If we have 1.6 million black-owned businesses or whatever the number is, if each one of those firms could hire one black person, I don't have unemployment in my community, anywhere in America. And all we have to do is spend a little bit more of our money with our local black owners. We have enough economy within our own community to eliminate unemployment, which means there will be full unemployment for African Americans in America, which would change the conversation of our own economy, because we would be hiring one another and spending money within our own communities, celebrating our own accomplishments, putting money in our own black-owned banks. We have got to make sure our economy stays in our community.

Related:

GrabMart Expands Into 'Instant Retail'

The State of Logistics During Lockdown

Startup Panorama Edition 9.0: A Guide To Legalities For Startups In Dubai Amid COVID-19



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A 13-year-old Derry boy is raising money to help the fight against the coronavirus in Egypt.

Omar Hassan is a pupil at Foyle College.

His mother and father were born in the Egyptian town of Faiyum.

Egypt has been badly affected by the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Omar now wants to help raise money to help the fight against the disease.

On Thursday, he started a five-day fast.

Until Monday, June 22, he will fast for 19 hours every day, from dawn to dusk. He is hoping to raise at least 500.

Im stepping up to raise fund for a hospital in Egypt, said Omar.

Recently, the country has been badly hit by COVID-19, and the number of patients is climbing up a steep curve with many people having lost loved ones due to this virus.

My hometown, Faiyum, where my mother and father were born, is currently one of the worst hit places in the whole country.

My uncle works as a frontline doctor to save peoples lives during this pandemic.

He has told me how bad the situation is on the ground with unprecedented pressure on the hospital.

The local teenager said now was a time people should come together to help each other.

Yes, we may not be living on the same side of the world but at the end of the day we are all human beings no matter our background, race or religion.

We as humans are all in it together.

I am going to be fasting from dawn to dusk, 19 hours, for the longest five days of the year, from the 18th to the 22nd of June.

In addition, I will be active and run/walk at least 19km during this time. My magic number is 19.

Please help me to raise fund for this worthy cause. That little donation could be the difference between life and death.

Donations can be made to Omar at the gofundme.com website - https://bit.ly/3fHT5a1
Staff of the Pantang Hospital in the Greater Accra Region have downed their tools.

The strike is in connection with the lack of security and threats of harm posed to staff by encroachers of hospital lands and landguards.



The strike which started on Thursday, June 18, 2020 followed a threat by the workers last week to lay down their tools if the authorities failed to address their persistent calls to ward off the encroachers, including private developers who have forcibly taken over the hospital lands.



In an interview with the Spokesperson for the Joint Union Executives at the hospital, Mr. Elvis Akuamoah, he said they are maintaining only a skeletal staff to attend to patients at the wards.



We are totally withdrawing all services in Pantang Hospital. At the moment, not only have we been neglected by duty bearers but in addition, state security is visibly seen on site, providing security to encroachers. Mr. Akuamoah alleged.



He said the encroachers even taunt the hospital staff that their protestations will amount to nothing because they have the support of persons he described as 'big people".



He said management of the hospital was yet to respond to any of their concerns.



Background



The hospital staff and students of the two training schools, the Pantang Nurses Training College and the Pantang Nursing and Midwifery Training College, in 2017 began a similar action over the total takeover of the frontage of the Pantang Hospital by private developers.



According to the staff, they had engaged the hospital management and relevant agencies including the Ministry of Health, the Lands Commission, the National Security, the Municipal Directorate, the Adentan Police Station, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council as far back as 2015 to address the issue but to no avail.







Source: GNA









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Nepal is confident that the differences between India and China will be resolved through peaceful means.

This comes in the backdrop of clashes that have taken place between the forces of two countries which left 20 Indian soldiers and many others injured in the Galwan Valley.

Nepal maintains that disputes between the countries should be resolved through peaceful means. Nepal has always stood firmly for regional and world peace. In the context of recent developments in the Galwan valley area between our friendly neighbors India and China, Nepal is confident that both the neigboring countries, will resolve in the spirit of good neighborliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favor of bilateral, regional and world peace and stability, a press statement issued by Nepals ministry of foreign affairs said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called an all-party meet on Friday to discuss the issue of border tensions with China.

Ironically, India have had their issues with Nepal over the last couple of weeks as well and on Thursday Nepal's national assembly passed a controversial bill on it's political map which includes parts of Indian territory.

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TRAVERSE CITY, MI - A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew, local authorities and a Good Samaritan all helped rescue 10 people from a fast-sinking boat on Grand Traverse Bay earlier today.

The incident began about 2:30 p.m. when the Coast Guards Sector Sault Ste. Marie Command Center took a distress call via radio from a 30-foot boat that was reportedly taking on water in the bay near Traverse City.

The Coast Guard launched a 45-foot response boat ... and diverted an Air Station Traverse City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to the scene. The crew got on scene within 20 minutes and deployed their rescue swimmer to transfer everyone to a Good Samaritan vessel that had arrived to assist, Coast Guard officials said.

But as the people were being transferred off the sinking boat, the vessel began to go under the water rapidly. This forced everyone into the water. The Coast Guards rescue swimmer was able to help get everyone back to shore with the assistance of the Good Samaritan, authorities said.

The vessel sank in 250 feet of water.

The Coast Guard said there is no sign of pollution, though the boat that sank did have a potential 75 gallons of gas onboard.

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer assists 10 people from a sinking 30-foot vessel to a Good Samaritan's vessel in Grand Traverse Bay, Traverse City, Michigan, Jun. 19, 2020. The vessel completely sank in about 250-feet of water. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.

As the boating season begins, it is important to ensure your vessel is ready to safely get underway, said Commander Amy Florentino, deputy sector commander. Conduct a check of your boat, make sure you have the proper safety gear including life jackets, and ensure you have an operable VHF radio. In this case, the mariner was able to use a VHF radio to communicate to us that they needed help, which allowed the Coast Guard and other boaters to get on scene quickly.
New Delhi, June 20 : Advising against boycott of Chinese goods, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday stressed that India needs to become self-reliant as much as possible but without decoupling from the rest of the world.

"We should not bring up issues like boycott (of Chinese products0 when we are discussing very grave matters like the defence of India," the Congress leader told the media through videoconference here.

The Congress leader pointed out that boycott of Chinese goods by Indians will not hurt the communist country's economy. "What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction." Chidambaram said that India must continue to be part of the global supply chain.

The former Union Minister was responding to a question on the growing demand for boycott of Chinese products in the wake of the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan Valley by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday night.
Mark Piff who was assaulted by three men in Dungiven

A man has described his fear after being brutally beaten in what police described as a racially-motivated attack.

Mark Piff was asleep in bed at his flat in Dungiven, Co Londonderry, early yesterday morning when he was awoken by the noise of his front door being forced in.

He was then confronted in his bedroom by three masked men who beat him with hammers and with other heavy implements.

Mr Piff (46), who moved to Dungiven last January, said it was the third and most serious incident of racist abuse he has been subjected to in the town.

He said: "My great grandfather was Moroccan and I have his colouring in my genes.

"I was brought up in Bradford and moved to Derry in 1994 and in all my time in Derry, I never once experienced any sort of racist abuse. I'm not saying Dungiven is a racist town. Most of the people I know here are lovely, helpful people, but there seems to be a small core of racists here."

Mr Piff recalled other incidents of being verbally abused.

He added: "I was once confronted in a bar when I was there with my girlfriend and one of a group of youths said to me, 'What are you doing with a white girl'?

"I've also been called a P*** when walking on the street.

"It's obvious they were watching my flat because at other nights, I've had friends or family members staying overnight. This night, I was on my own. They beat me with hammers and but for the fact that I was able to use a quilt to absorb the blows, my injuries would have been a lot worse."

Mr Piff said he was hit on the collar bone, on the back, on the head and on the legs.

"I still have concussion, I have lots of bruises and because of ligament damage to my right leg I can only walk with the assistance of a crutch," he added.

"I work for a local utilities company in Dungiven and I've had to tell my boss that I'll be off work for some time.

"They're bullies, but now I'm too scared to return to my flat in Dungiven, so I'm back in Derry staying with friends."

The detective investigating the incident described it as a vicious attack on a defenceless man.

Detective Inspector Peter McKenna said Mr Piff sustained multiple injuries.

"It was reported that shortly before midnight on Thursday, three men armed with a hammer and with other weapons forced entry into an upstairs flat in Main Street, Dungiven and attacked the male occupant as he lay in bed.

"The attackers were described as white males aged in their mid twenties with local accents and all three had their faces covered.

"We are treating the incident at this time as a racially motivated hate crime."

Sinn Fein councillor Sean McGlinchey has said there can be no place for racism of any kind in society. "The local community has been stunned by reports of this attack. I would call on anyone with information on this incident to bring it forward to the PSNI."
I cant breathe: Rukshan gives voice to injustice By Meleeza Rathnayake View(s): View(s):

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed by the Police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.

I cant breathe, his final words have been echoing in our ears since then, fuelling tumultous anti-racism protests in the U.S, the #BlackLivesMatter a.k.a the B.L.M Movement (Black Lives Matter Movement) gathering a frenzied momentum in the weeks since then.

Moved by Floyds death and the protests not just in the US but across the world, popular musician Rukshan Perera and with his brother Melantha Perera have brought out Floyds heart-breaking last words in a heartfelt song.

Rukshan has released his originals and live DVDs, with thousands of subscribers and a million views on his YouTube channel. Most of Rukshans song lyrics cover important topics that promote social values  songs on clean environment, health, peace and unity, songs for Sri Lanka, religious/racial harmony, fighting for justice, songs for the poor, for the abused, sick, differently abled children, etc.

Having written the music and lyrics for I cant breathe, Rukshan reached out to his brother Melantha Perera, also a well-known musician, to arrange the song in an acapella format. He is very talented in arranging acapellas and can sing most of the parts himself. So the two of us together as Perera Brothers composed and arranged the song, Rukshan said when contacted by the ST Magazine.

A dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the US, Rukshan lived in the U.S for more than three decades, I consider myself lucky that I never experienced racism myself. However, the blacks continue to be discriminated against in the country and every year there are incidents of police brutality towards them. As a musician/composer I felt it was my duty to speak up through music, hence I decided to write this song to show my opposition to racism, inequality and injustice. Statistics show that blacks are harassed, beaten and killed by the police while the whites get away with similar crimes.

To understand why most blacks are unable to lift their lives with little opportunity, generation after generation, one has to understand their history how they were brought in as slaves in chains to develop the country, and even after slavery was abolished how they were forced to be second class citizens.

With the officers knees on his neck, the song portrays the last 10 minutes of George Floyds life and his possible thoughts realising his life may be ending.

I cant breathe, (please sir), I cant breathe,I cant breathe no more, I cant breathe; Help me stand to live the day, Give me one more chance to pray, Can anyone hear, oh I cant breathe, goes the song. Say no to racism, Fight for justice, Speak for equality, and also that not being a racist is not sufficient, we must actively resist racism are the powerful messages the song highlights.

There is no age group for racism. We must teach our children from their younger days that it is our obligation to respect people of other religions, races and colour that can unite our country and the world to be one. Politics have played a big role even in Sri Lanka dividing people on racial and religious lines, but we must learn to treat all people equally.

I am happy that I wrote this song to promote anti-racism, and happy that even our children who are living in the US, who are married to white spouses, also empathise with the black community and will do anything to support their cause, added Rukshan.

I Cant Breathe, can be viewed on YouTube through Rukshan Pereras channel and Facebook, and will be streaming soon on radio and TV.
The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital.



The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul told the AP news agency that as many as 20 people were infected, the majority of whom are Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.



"The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," the U.S. State Department said on June 20.

Afghanistan has 28,424 confirmed coronavirus cases. Lack of testing and access to it may mean the numbers are much higher, international aid organizations monitoring the pandemic's spread in the country say.



They also fear the contagious disease has spread widely throughout the country with the return of nearly 300,000 Afghans from Iran, the hardest-hit country in the region. Iran has recorded more than 200,000 cases and 9,392 deaths.



Few of the Afghans who returned from Iran were tested before they fanned out across the country to their homes.



Earlier this month the International Rescue Committee warned Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian disaster mostly because the government does not have the capacity to even test 80 percent of coronavirus cases.



Until now a handful of NATO troops have also tested positive for the infection.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
- Adds North American capability in product and process development, manufacturing and packaging of solid oral dosage forms, liquids, creams, and ointments

- Acquisition gives PPS solid oral dose capabilities on three continents; ability to handle potent formulations in North America

- Enhances integrated services offering

MUMBAI, India, June 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Piramal Enterprises Limited's (PEL) Pharma Solutions business, a leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with G&W Laboratories Inc. to acquire its solid oral dosage drug product manufacturing facility located in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. The transaction closure is subject to customary pre-closing conditions. According to the terms of the agreement, PEL, through one of its Affiliates, would acquire at closing a 100% stake in the entity that operates the facility and owns the related real estate.

This acquisition broadens the offering of Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS) by adding solid oral dosage form capabilities (tablets and capsules) in North America. Until now, PPS' capabilities in solid oral dosage forms were all located in the UK and India. The Sellersville site can also produce liquids, creams, and ointments, further expanding the PPS portfolio. The site also can support product and process development for solid oral dosage and oral liquids, including immediate release, modified release, chewable & sublingual solid oral dosage forms, solutions and suspensions in liquids. The site has received certifications from the FDA and EMA.

"Many of our customers are looking for US-based manufacturing partners to expand and support their pipeline. This acquisition strengthens our ability to partner with them on best-in-class drug products. It enhances our market-leading integrated services offering by adding a solid oral dosage capability in the US. We now offer solid oral drug product development and commercial manufacturing in all our major geographies, addressing a previously unmet customer need and strengthening our ability to work globally with customers to reduce the burden of disease on patients," said Peter DeYoung, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Pharma Solutions

The Sellersville site covers 31.5 acres of land with over 221,000 square feet of manufacturing space, including 195,000 square feet of GMP area. The site features dedicated manufacturing and packaging technologies for solid oral dosage forms, liquids, creams, and ointments; QC and microbiology labs; state-of-the-art preformulation and analytical development infrastructure coupled with a pilot lab for research and development; and a temperature-controlled warehouse. The site currently has the necessary controls to support manufacturing of potent solid oral dosage forms. PPS intends to offer high potency drug manufacturing capabilities at the site, complementing the Company's global strength in highly potent compounds. The site employs a highly knowledgeable and experienced workforce of ~100, with an average of 19 years of service with the site. PPS expects to further grow the site's current strength to support development services as well as any COVID-19 management drug opportunities.

Expanding the PPS service offerings directly supports the Company's philosophy of Patient Centricity. Understanding the needs of patients and building an organization that is dedicated to addressing those needs is the foundation of Patient Centricity. By putting patients first, PPS is aligning its mission with that of its customers, becoming better partners who share a common goal.

About Piramal Pharma Solutions:

Piramal Pharma Solutions is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), offering end-to-end development and manufacturing solutions across the drug life cycle. We serve our clients through a globally integrated network of facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. This enables us to offer a comprehensive range of services including Drug Discovery Solutions, Process & Pharmaceutical Development services, Clinical Trial Supplies, Commercial supply of APIs and Finished dosage forms. We also offer specialized services like development and manufacture of Highly Potent APIs and Antibody Drug Conjugation. Our capability as an integrated service provider & experience with various technologies enables us to serve Innovator and Generic companies worldwide. For more information and updates, please visit: www.piramalpharmasolutions.com | Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn

About Piramal Enterprises Limited:

Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) is one of India's large diversified companies, with presence in Financial Services and Pharmaceuticals. PEL's consolidated revenues were ~US$1.7 billion in FY2020, with ~34% of revenues generated from outside India.

In Financial Services, PEL offers a complete suite of financial products in both wholesale and retail financing across sectors. The Group has long-standing partnerships with leading institutional investors such as CPPIB, APG, Ivanhoe Cambridge (subsidiary of CDPQ) and Bain Capital Credit. PEL also has equity investments in the Shriram Group, a leading financial conglomerate in India.

In Pharma, through end-to-end manufacturing capabilities across 13 global facilities and a large global distribution network to over 100 countries, PEL sells a portfolio of niche differentiated pharma products and provides an entire pool of pharma services (including in the areas of injectable, HPAPI etc.). The Company is also strengthening its presence in the Consumer Product segment in India.

PEL is listed on the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited in India. For more information and updates, please visit: www.piramal.com | Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

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An Australian grandmother has been stranded in America with a $180,000 medical bill after her insurer refused to pay for her emergency surgery.

Jan Bell, 69, was supposed to return to Adelaide May 15 after spending three months visiting her son and grandchildren in Michigan.

But days before she was meant to fly out she was rushed to hospital with a brain lesion.

After undergoing emergency surgery, where she had had 37 staples inserted into her head, she was told it was too risky to fly back to Australia.

She has now been left stranded in the US, requiring further chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

'I just don't know where to turn to, to be quite honest,' she told 9NEWS.

Australian grandmother Jan Bell (pictured), 69, is stranded in Michigan in the United States with a $180,000 medical bill after undergoing emergency surgery on a brain lesion in May

Ms Bell (pictured) was told her medical history and COVID-19 made it too risky for her to fly

The grandmother discovered a lump on the side of her head and underwent emergency surgery on May 9.

Ms Bell, who survived breast cancer in 2015, was then told by her doctors that it was too risky to fly home due to her medical history and COVID-19.

She became stranded alongside her son Cameron and her medical costs are only continuing to skyrocket.

'I just want peace of mind, to know that I will be okay and that I can return to my family and friends at home as well,' Ms Bell said.

The 69-year-old has overstayed the period of her visa in the United States but has no idea when she will be able to fly home.

Ms Bell now needs to undergo further medical treatments despite her travel insurance company refusing to contribute towards the cost.

Her son said Ms Bell's insurer would not help cover the bill.

'Now that the rubber's hit the road, it feels like they've left us high and dry. They have pretty much flat out refused to cover anything at this stage,' Cameron said.

The insurer said in a statement that it was unable to share details of individual customer cases.

The company said any assertions it was refusing to cover Ms Bell's medical expenses were not accurate.
NAIROBI, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Sino-Africa cooperation, based on the pursuit of mutual interest, has been injected with fresh vitality as the two sides join hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Wu Peng, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, said on Friday.

China and African countries have demonstrated sincere friendship by joining hands to fight the pandemic, Wu said in a commentary published on The Standard newspaper.

"Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in China, many African countries including Kenya have provided material and spiritual support for China," he said. "All these fully demonstrate our brotherly friendship in times of adversity."

Both China and African partners share a similar vision of strengthening multilateralism and globalization as a prerequisite for overcoming challenges like climate change and infectious diseases, Wu said.

China is committed to supporting African countries overcome challenges linked to COVID-19, in line with the ethos of building a community of shared future for mankind, he said.

A white paper titled "Fighting COVID-19: China in Action," published recently by China's State Council Information Office, has become a clarion call for solidarity with African countries to revitalize the war against the disease, Wu said.

The envoy singled out Kenya as a case study of solidarity and reciprocity to overcome challenges presented by a global pandemic.

"In Kenya, Chinese nationals from all walks of life are also working with their Kenyan friends to overcome difficulties," he said.

Wu said donation of medical supplies and other basic necessities by the Chinese government, corporations and philanthropists has been timely as Kenya intensified efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resumption of direct cargo flights between China and Kenya has helped sustain bilateral trade during the pandemic, he said, adding that Beijing has supported Kenya's quest to establish a robust manufacturing industry for high-quality face masks.

"Facing the most serious global public health emergency since the past century, no one can survive alone. Only with joint efforts will we be able to clinch the final victory," Wu said.

He said the 73rd World Health Assembly, held virtually on May 18-19, set the stage for practical actions that China planned to undertake to help African countries overcome challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To help more people on the African continent, a cooperation mechanism will be established to pair up Chinese hospitals with their African counterparts, and the disease preparedness and control capacity of Africa CDC headquarters will be ramped up," Wu said.

He said the June 17th Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 marked a milestone in practical cooperation between long-standing bilateral allies to help contain the pandemic.

"In President Xi Jinping's keynote speech, he pledges that once the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccine is completed in China, African countries will be among the first to benefit," Wu noted.

The extraordinary summit, chaired by Xi, was held on Wednesday via video link.
A man has been jailed after goading police while throwing stones and beer bottles from his flat window.

James Burns was charged with two counts of assaulting police and one of being disorderly following incidents on Friday.

A police officer told Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday that at around 4.45am on Friday, officer were called to Glenkeen Drive in Greenisland, Co Antrim, following a report that Burns and a co-accused had assaulted a woman.

But the woman denied any such assault had happened before both men, who appeared to be drunk, started shouting abuse abuse at the officers and goading them.

They were given several warnings and told to calm down and they went back inside but came out again to continue to shout at the officers.

Burns, 28, then locked himself in his flat and began throwing stones, rocks and beer bottles from the window.

A female officer was hit by a stone while a male colleague was hit by a stone and a beer bottle.

Armed response officers were then called and Burns was arrested after they gained entry to his apartment.

His solicitor said Burns was very much the author of his own misfortune and that he has an ability to make things worse than they need to be.

He added that Burns suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had worked abroad where he had witnessed quite traumatic events.

District Judge George Conner said that given the seriousness of the offences custody was the only option.

Burns was sentenced to five months in jail for each charge of assault on police and four months for disorderly behaviour, to be served concurrently.
Dharamshala: Himachal Pradesh Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri on Saturday tested negative for Covid-19.

Una chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Raman Kumar said that 141 samples were sent for testing on Thursday, the reports of which were received on Friday night. All samples, including Agnihotris, had tested negative.

The leader of opposition in the state had gone into self-quarantine in Una district on June 16 after coming in contact with a Covid-positive Punjab Police assistant sub inspector (ASI).

I suspect having come in contact with a Covid positive person while discharging my duty as a public representative. Though social distancing was maintained and I feel healthy, I am self-quarantining at home till further notice, Agnihotri had written in a Facebook post.

He had visited the ASIs house in the Dulehar-Hiranagar area of his home constituency of Harloli to mourn the death of the policemans father.

KANGRA WORST-HIT, LAHAUL AND SPITI CORONA-FREE

Himachal Pradesh has recorded 627 Covid-19 cases so far.

Kangra is the worst-hit district with 166 cases followed by Hamirpur with 155 cases.

Una has reported 77 cases; Solan 71 cases, Chamba 43, Bilaspur 31, Sirmaur 28, Shimla 26, Mandi 23, Kullu four and Kinnaur three cases.

Eleven of the 12 districts of Himachal are affected by Covid-19.

Lahaul-Spiti is the only coronavirus-free district.

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Japan logged the first drop in land prices in any major city in 23 quarters in April due to the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, a land ministry survey showed Friday.

As of April 1, land prices were down from the previous quarter in four of the urban locations the ministry surveys nationwide as hotel-related demand sank amid the spread of COVID-19, according to the quarterly report.

The four included a location in front of Gifu Station in Gifu Prefecture and the Marugame district in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.

Areas with business that rely on tourism were heavily damaged by the coronavirus crisis, the report said.

Land prices also fell in Yokohamaas Motomachi district and the Fukuokaas Ohori district.
US reaches troops reduction target of 8,600 in Afghanistan: US general

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/6/19 20:22:28

The United States has reduced its troops level to 8,600 in Afghanistan, fulfilling its first phased pullout obligation under the US-Taliban deal, a US general said on Thursday.

Commander of US Central Command Kenneth McKenzie said at an event that the United States had met its part of the agreement. "We agreed to go to the mid-8,000 range within 135 days," McKenzie said. "We're at that number now."

According to the agreement signed late February between the United States and the Taliban, the United States would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 within 135 days, which is mid-July.

The agreement also called for the full withdrawal of the US military from the country by May 2021 if the Taliban meets the conditions of the deal, including severing ties with terrorist groups.

McKenzie called the full withdrawal an "aspirational" commitment, but also conditional. "Conditions would have to be met that satisfy us that attacks against our homeland are not going to be generated from Afghanistan," he said.

Reports are saying that the US administration is looking at a range of options to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan at an early date, with one possible option targeting this November, when the presidential election is scheduled.

While denying setting a target date, President Donald Trump said last month that he expected a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan "as soon as reasonable."

Trump reaffirmed this notion during his remarks to graduates of the United States Military Academy over the weekend. "We are ending the era of endless wars ... we are not the policemen of the world," he said.

The war in Afghanistan is the longest one in US history. The death toll of US service members has surpassed 2,400 since the country invaded Afghanistan in 2001.

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Crude prices continue to recover from their plunge into negative territory in April, supported by the strength in demand recovery and reassurance from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies of continued output cuts.

After declining last week, West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange posted a 9.6 percent increase for the week, the seventh out of eight, according to Bloomberg. Prices crossed the $40 barrier Friday morning before closing up 91 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $39.75 a barrel, the highest since March 6. Posted prices rose to $36.25 a barrel.

Reuters reported that crude futures have jumped 133 percent over the past eight weeks, though they remain about 35 percent below prices at the start of the year.

Natural gas on the NYMEX ended a stable week at $1.669 per Mcf, unchanged from Mondays close. Prices lost 5 cents Tuesday, gained 2 cents Wednesday and were unchanged Thursday

All companies need to be very prudent with these levels of spare capacity., Matt Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of Parsley Energy, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. We are clearly not out of the woods regarding COVID 19 and demand rebound. Having said that, we have re-established production from all of our curtailed wells from May as planned. But we have not initiated any growth capital to speak of.

Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by email, Oil prices are in line with growing global demand and the significant cuts weve seen to production. The more efficient and financially stable operators will begin to increase activity, but we wont likely see a rise in overall production until we reach a supply/demand equilibrium next year. The industry will also continue to suffer from capital constraints for some time, putting strain on many independent producers.

Bloomberg reported that oil traders Vitol Group and Trafigura Group -- which has an office in downtown Midland -- and exporter Saudi Aramco all talked up the strength of the demand recovery in recent days, and prices for some of the worlds major oil products have begun to roar higher. OPEC+ gave reassurance on output cuts during a meeting on Thursday.

Oil gained as stronger consumption continued to push physical markets higher, even as many countries struggle to bring the coronavirus under control.

Futures in New York rose above $40 a barrel on Friday.

Gasoline futures in the U.S. moved into backwardation for the first time in three months on Thursday, a bullish signal indicating supplies are tightening as the summer driving season gets under way, Bloomberg also reported. Meanwhile, swaps in the North Sea market that prices much of the worlds crude jumped as traders posted several bids for cargoes but only one willing seller emerged.

Bloomberg said that, though the outlook for crude has brightened in recent days, a potential resurgence of the virus is clouding the long-term outlook. Traffic in Beijing has plunged as authorities battle a fresh outbreak, while some U.S. states are still seeing cases surge. Still, OPEC+ gave reassurance on output cuts on Thursday, finalizing a deal with Iraq -- a habitual quota cheat -- to compensate for overshooting its production target in May.

OPEC+ has done a good job turning things around and stronger demand also helps, Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG, told Bloomberg.

Apart from the virus, the other major threat to oil prices comes from suppliers returning shuttered production too early. U.S. producer Continental Resources Inc. said Thursday it will start bringing back some of its idled oil output next month but will keep about 50 percent curtailed. WTI prices for 2021 have traded above $40 for much of this week, a level that could entice producers to hedge their output.
Ritwika Mitra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Communities struggled with hunger with loss of livelihood amid the lockdown with inter-state and intra-state migrant workers being the worst hit, according to a survey by Centre for Equity Studies in collaboration with Delhi Research Group and Karwan-E-Mohabbat.

Ninety two per cent of the respondents had lost their jobs, said the survey which covered both migrant and non-migrant workers. Among those interviewed, 24.5 per cent were women and 75.5 per cent men. Most of the respondents belong to Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, and Delhi.

Over 10.5 per cent of the over 1,400 interviewees said they were out of food for more than seven days facing an extreme hunger situation, according to the report Labouring Lives: Hunger, Precarity and Despair amid Lockdown.

Around 30 per cent of respondents said they occasionally went out of food -- for one-two days, and 20 per cent people said they frequently ran out of food for four-seven days during the period of lockdown.

Among those who reported they never ran out of food said they reduced their intake and often had one meal a day. At least 5 per cent were skipping meals to provide food for their children.

The respondents had no access to social security measures, the report pointed out. This would mean they did not lack access to institutional support amid the pandemic alone but even under normal circumstances.

Whlie around 25 per cent of the respondents in the survey had no sources of support for food during the lockdown, 43.3 per cent received support from civil society organisations and 38.7 per cent from the government. According to the analysis, one-fourth of the interviewees who did not receive any support comprised Muslims, women, non-migrant workers and those earning less than Rs 5,000 a month.

In the pre-COVD-19 phase, among those interviewed, women, Dalits, and Muslim earned lesser, it said.

The report covered casual labourers, self-employed persons, and monthly salary earners.

The government should have addressed food and livelihood concerns of workers from the day the lockdown came in to effect, the study observed.
Thummulla fatal accident: Law student granted bail By Kasun Warakapitiya View(s): View(s):

The law student remanded for Mondays Thummulla fatal accident in which a police officer was killed was granted bail on Friday and ordered to appear in court on June 29.

Tharinda Ratwatte (24) was released on two surety bails of Rs 500,000 each.

On Thursday, June 11, around 11 pm, he was driving a Defender jeep which collided head on with a motorcycle carrying two police constables attached to the State Intelligence Service (SIS). One of the injured constables, Sithum Dulitha Yohan Alahapperuma (22), died on Sunday at the Colombo National Hospital, days after he made headlines for busting the Rs. 7 million robbery at the National Hospital.

He was posthumously promoted as sergeant. The other officer, Pathrenehelage Akila Madusanka Samarasekara (22), is being treated for serious leg injuries at the National Hospital. On Friday he was transferred to the Police Hospital in Colombo.

The case was heard before Colombo Magistrate H. Prabakaran. The court was told Mr. Ratwattes family had agreed to pay Rs. 100,000 to the injured police officer.

The police objected to the bail and urged that the suspect be further remanded. The magistrate ordered the police to submit a detailed report on the investigations at the next hearing. Meanwhile, a National Hospital official said Constable Samarasekara underwent a series of tendon repair operations in addition to surgery to repair the damaged kneecap in one leg.

She expressed hope he could fully recover after six to seven weeks of bed rest.
The Police Command in Ebonyi said on Saturday that it had arrested two teenage boys aged 15 and 14 for allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old girl.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Loveth Odah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki that the suspects had confessed to the crime.

Mr Odah said the incident happened at Nkelegu Ishieke community in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

She said the police division at Ishieke arrested the suspects who allegedly defiled the victim in her fathers house as he was away for his daily business.

The police spokesperson disclosed that the suspects, though minors, would be remanded at the juvenile welfare home, if found guilty by the court.

The only thing that can make children of this age to indulge in such an act is cultism and drugs.

Fidelis Nwoye in the company of his daughter came to the station and reported that both suspects went to his house while he was at his shop, tore his daughters clothes and raped her.

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Though they are minors they will be charged to court as soon as we are done with the doctors report, Ms Odah said.

She noted that there had been an increase in cases of rape in the country in recent times which had led to mass protest and a call for seperate court to prosecute rape suspects. (NAN)
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a departure from convention, the newly commissioned officers of the Indian Air Force have been sent directly to their places of posting.

It is going to add to the working hands of the force which has been put on alert post the standoff created by the Chinese, said an officer. 20 Indian Army soldiers lost their lives in a preplanned attack by Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley on Monday.

123 flight cadets and 61 officers joined the flying branch, while 62 were inducted into ground duty branches of the IAF, including 19 women officers.

These officers are at the peak of their morale and fitness and thus would be ably supporting the situation," added the officer. As a normal practice, the officers get 21 days leave at home immediately after the passing out parade.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, reviewed the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) held at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal in Hyderabad. While addressing the parade, the CAS commenced by paying tribute to the brave men who made the supreme sacrifice while defending the LAC in the Galwan Valley. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said, The development on the LAC in Ladakh was a small snapshot of what the armed forces are required to handle at short notice.

The Chinese PLA has transgressed into the areas of undemarcated Line of Actual Control on Eastern Ladakh and deployed almost a Division strength (around 15,000) soldiers with an equal number of soldiers of the Indian Army taking position.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria did a ground assessment of the situation by paying a personal visit to the Air Force Station, Leh, on Wednesday and went to the Srinagar air base the next day. Also, the Air Force has moved ahead its assets like the Sukhoi, Mirages, MiG 29s and the Attack Helicopters Apache to the frontline bases for operations if the need arises, confirmed sources.

The Army also has sent its 333 newly commissioned officers from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, directly to their places of posting on June 13.
Justin Arthur Allen Couch in police custody: (Hernando County Sheriff's Office)

A Florida man with a machete face tattoo has been arrested for allegedly attacking someone with a machete.

Justin Arthur Allen Couch, 25, has been charged with aggravated battery after he attacked a man over the weekend, according to the Hernando County Sheriffs Office.

The victim arrived at a residence he was temporarily staying at, in Central Floridas Gulf Coast, at around 10pm on Saturday, and discovered a group of people he didnt know having a gathering.

Mr Couch, who was a part of the group in the house, started arguing with the victim and told him to leave.

They went outside, as the victim did not want to argue in front of the group, and Mr Couch brought a machete out with him.

After the argument continued, the victim agreed to leave, but told Mr Couch that he needed to go back inside to collect his wallet and phone.

Mr Couch reportedly refused to let him back in, and told the victim: Theres nothing here for you, leave, according to Fox 13.

When the victim reiterated that he needed to get inside, Mr Couch allegedly hit him on the arm and leg with the flat side of the machete.

He then swung the machete at the victims face, who put his arm in the way, and was struck by the blade of the weapon.

He then passed out, and was taken to a local healthcare facility, Bayfront Health Spring Hill, after Mr Couch drove him to a friends house, who then transported him to the hospital.

The authorities confirmed that the victim is unable to use or move his left hand due to the severity of the injury he sustained.

Mr Couch, who was arrested on Monday, remains in custody and has his bond set at $10,000 (8,097).

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17-foot python captured in Florida Everglades
Jammu:

The Pakistan armed forces don't seem to be ready for peace and security in the South Asian region. This was reaffirmed as their troops violated the ceasefire once again by opening fire from small arms along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Akhnoor district.

This is the fifth ceasefire violation in the month of September and the third in the past 36 hours. "There was small arms firing (from Pakistan on forward posts) along the LoC in Pallanwala, Chapriyal and Samnam areas of Jammu district during the night," Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said. He said the firing started at 0030 hours and ended at 0130 hours.

There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing, he said. Yesterday, Pakistani troops had resorted to firing in Balnoie area of Mendhar sector without any casualty. On September 28, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire by opening fire on Indian Army posts along the LoC in Sabzian area Poonch sector. Pakistani troops had fired on Army posts along LoC in Poonch sector on September 6. On September 2, Pakistan troops had violated the ceasefire by firing on forward Army posts along the LoC in Akhnoor sector. Last year, 16 civilians were killed and 71 others injured in 405 incidents of cross-border firing by Pakistan, the officer said.

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Head of the Monitoring Unit at the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu, has called on the New Patriotic Party not to encourage any form of vigilantism during the party's primaries tomorrow, June 20.



Over 100000 delegates are expected to decide the fate of 308 parliamentary aspirants in the primaries.



The aspirants are said to be pitching their campaign messages in order to emerge victor and compete in the main parliamentary elections on December 7th this year.



Speaking ahead of the primaries, Charles Owusu has cautioned that no acts of violence should characterize the NPP primaries stressing there will be dire consequences on perpetrators of crime.



He admonished to the party's leadership, members and supporters not to dent the image and reputation of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, particularly when he has banned vigilante groups and their operations.



"Crime is very, very expensive . . . We know the President says he has cancelled vigilantism. If he has cancelled, then the NPP as a party should give respect and honor to Mr. Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as President and hold elections devoid of violence and any kind of chaos. I believe they have nothing to honor the President, they should just do this for the country to have peace because we can't buy peace with money. It's priceless'," he stated on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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CSB Bank Limited announced today that the Board has appointed Mr. Pralay Mondal as the organizations President (Retail, SME, Operations and IT). Mr. Mondal is expected to join the Bank in September 2020.

Mr. Mondal has recently tendered his resignation from his current position as Executive Director & Head of Retail Banking in Axis Bank. He has around 30 years of banking experience across multiple business and functions including retail assets, retail liabilities, business banking, products and technology. Before joining Axis Bank, Mr. Mondal was the Senior Group President and Head of Retail and Business Banking at Yes Bank. He was instrumental in setting up the entire retail franchise in that bank in a short period of time. Prior to that he had a successful 12 years stint at HDFC Bank and was earlier associated with Standard Chartered Bank, Wipro InfoTech and Colgate Palmolive.

Commenting on the development, MD & CEO Mr. C. VR. Rajendran said "We are delighted and excited with the appointment of Mr. Mondal as President (Retail, SME, Operations and IT) and look forward to his playing a key leadership role at the Bank. Mr. Mondal is a proven trailblazer who brings strong commercial banking expertise and experience to CSB Bank. He has an excellent track record of having built retail and SME businesses, while maintaining healthy portfolio quality and service levels. I am confident that we have selected the choicest person for CSB Bank and that he will drive strong and healthy business growth in the years ahead.

Mr. Mondals achievements include pioneering efforts in doorstep banking and direct sales, creating deep geography distribution, and building and scaling up of retail businesses. He is also credited with building capital market, wealth management, private banking, NBFC, credit cards, payments and digital businesses, from scratch.

Mr. Mondal is an Engineer from IIT, Kharagpur and a Management graduate from IIM, Calcutta. The Banks Board was convinced that with his extensive banking background, leadership experience and track record, Mr. Mondal is the right person to help redefine customer experience and the brand promise at CSB, and to contribute significantly to the overall growth of the organization, especially in the retail and SME segments.
Co-operation Minister S T Somashekhar clarified that there is no chance of stepping back from the amendment made to the APMC Act, as it is intended at the welfare of farmers.

"There is no meaning in the allegation of privatisation of everything, and the amendment would not lead to monopoly also, but it just gives freedom to farmers. Considering the results of the implementation of the amendment, we will think about whether some changes have to be made in APMCs or not," he said.

Distributing incentive amount to Asha wrokers who have worked in Covid-19 situation, function for Asha workers, at Karnatak Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) hall at J C Nagar in Hubballi on Saturday, he stated that the change in the act would help farmers to choose between government and private APMCs, and get better price for their crops.

The co-operative societies under crisis would be visited, and steps would be planned for their revival, the minister assured.

Lauds Shettar

"Being Mysuru district in-charge minister, I requested Large & Medium Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar to visit Nanjanagud, where 84 Covid-19 cases were reported in a factory, and entire place was sealed down," Somashekhar recalled.

Due to the efforts of Shettar, 1,550 employees of Jubilant factory are now working in shifts, and all cases there have turned negative. Food kits were distributed to residents, and 10 surrounding villages were adopted, he added.

Somashekhar also distributed Rs 3,000 incentive cheque each to a few Asha workers symbolically.

MLA Prasad Abbayya, MLCs Basavaraj Horatti, S V Sankanur, Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan, KCC Bank chairman Bapugouda Patil, DMF president Basavaraj Arabagonda, and others were present.

APMC visit

Later, Somashekhar and Shettar visited Amargol APMC premises, and inspected vegetable vending at the Sunday market complex area there. APMC office-bearers and officials were present.

Somashekhar also assured to hold discussion about issuing final title-deeds for godowns and plots allotted to traders in APMCs, and to waive off pending property tax.

APMC Hamali Workers' Federation sought financial help for Hamalis who are troubled due to the lockdown.

The minister also visited RSS office 'Keshav Kunja' on Gokul Road.
Bucharest: A former Iranian judge facing corruption charges died Friday after a fall from a hotel in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

The confirmation of Gholamreza Mansouri's death came from Romanian police, said Iran's Interpol chief General Hadi Shirzad, who was quoted by Iran's semi-official INSA news agency.

Shirzad said Romanian authorities told Iran that the 66-year-old Mansouri "had thrown himself out of the window of his hotel in Bucharest". An investigation by Iran's international police was under way, he said.

Forensic workers carry the body of Gholamreza Mansouri from a hotel in Bucharest, Romania Credit:AP

Earlier, Romanian police had confirmed only that a man had fallen from a high floor at a Bucharest hotel and was found dead at 2.30 p.m. (9.30pm AEST). They didn't identify him.
Global customer intelligence platform zeotap today announces the launch of ID+, its universal identity initiative that aims to empower the marketing ecosystem to overcome challenges posed by the demise of third-party cookies and other platform identifiers, as well as a fast-changing regulatory landscape. The ID+ project is an open invitation to the entire industry to collaborate on a collective vision for the future. More than 20 global, regional and local organisations have confirmed their public support and adoption of ID+, including Accenture, Annalect, International Business Times (IBT), Imagen Digital, ItaliaOnline, Mediasmart, OMD EMEA, Prensa Iberica, PubMatic, S4M and Tabmo.

Identity resolution remains one of the fundamental needs of brand marketers. According to a report published by BCG in 2019, 83% of CMOs and advertisers are still not able to make connections across consumer touchpoints and devices. Separately, a report published by Google last year reveals publishers lose an average of 52% of revenue (62% in the news vertical) when third-party cookies are disabled. Keeping these and other challenges in mind, ID+ has been designed to endow the marketing ecosystem brands, publishers, agencies and technology platforms alike with a privacy-compliant mechanism to overcome identity resolution challenges arising from ID fragmentation, cookie restrictions and increasingly stringent regulation across the world.

The launch of ID+ is a major step for zeotap and an industry facing an uncertain future. For a universal ID to gain widespread adoption and claim true universality it needs a multilateral governance model. Nobody wants to see one duopoly give way to another, said Projjol Banerjea, founder & CPO at zeotap. We decided to take the initiative and were very encouraged by the resoundingly positive feedback we received from our partners. Its evident we all agree the best way to predict the future is to create it. Together.

ID+ has been conceived on four core tenets:

Independence: It does not rely on cookies, MAIDs or any platform identifiers. Instead, its based on deterministic offline identifiers and is valid across all platforms and Simplicity: It can be adopted easily and works as a standalone first-party identity layer as well as in conjunction with homegrown or other Interoperability: It is available to connect with all other (universal) ID Compliance: Every ID+ record has consent traceability baked into it, and data protection is ensured via

Annalect has built the Omni platform with identity and interoperability at its core and we have remained the industry leader in this approach. By combining interoperability with a hyper-focus on user consent and privacy, zeotaps ID+ seamlessly integrates with Omni, and enhances our ability to drive personalization at scale for our client brands across the globe, said Timothy Petrycki, Global VP of Data Strategy at Annalect in New York.

ID+ has been initially launched as an extension to zeotaps identity resolution solution that is built on the back of the worlds largest marketing identity graph, available across North America, Latin America, Europe, and India. However, in the spirit of collaboration, and in keeping with the founding

principles, zeotap encourages members of the industry to join the effort to grow the solution across platforms, channels and geographies.

As the importance of building a diversified approach to persistent identity in the open web increases, and clients look to shore up their approach to identity, were proud to be working with zeotap on its ID+ initiative, added Miles Pritchard, Managing Partner at OMD in London.

Theres a world of difference between good and bad marketing, and identity resolution is at the epicenter of it. Having built Hawk platform, mobile-first, omnichannel buy-side technology, ID+ will be instrumental in this endeavor of linking users across devices, said Renaud Biet, Co-Founder at Tabmo, a mobile and new screens ad tech specialist.

For brands, ID+ provides a solution to resolve identities accurately and at scale for effective omnichannel marketing. In addition to serving elemental marketing use cases such as onboarding and activation, as well as increasing adoption in analytics, it also sees embryonic application in critical areas such as multi-touch attribution (MTA).

We are proud to support our partner zeotap in an initiative that will drive the ecosystem forward in a way that respects customer privacy," echoed Noelia Amoedo, CEO at Mediasmart, a Spanish mobile programmatic platform and part of Affle, a publicly-traded Indian consumer intelligence company.

Being able to accurately track opted-in users across devices is a must-have for the advertising industry if we want to continue providing users with personalised, engaging and relevant advertising content. S4M is delighted to work with zeotap to implement ID+ in our drive-to-store platform, said Nicolas Saraiva, SVP Strategic Partnerships at S4M, a digital-to-physical advertising company headquartered in France.

For publishers, ID+ is not only a compelling solution to ensure their revenue models remain unaffected by upcoming changes, but an important step to leverage their first-party data to provide value-added options to discerning marketers.

The ID+ of zeotap couldnt have come at a better time. In a world where privacy is a prime concern, cookie-less user identity resolution, touch-point and device mapping in a privacy-regulation-friendly way is vital. We wish zeotap the best, said Chandra Mohan, Managing Director at IBT India.

"ID+ will bring a lot of value to an industry thats looking for ways to solve an identity challenge that affects every player in the advertising value chain. Were happy to partner with zeotap and become one of the first publishers to try out the user identification infrastructure they have put in place," added Alfredo Martell, Director General at Imagen Digital in Mexico.

Zeotap has also partnered with leading consent management Platforms (CMPs), including Usercentrics in Germany, to encourage the integration of different consent collection tools and methods into the ID+ solution.

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Both VR and AR have the ability to change healthcare sector for the better in the succeeding years. While VR technology is helpful not only for the doctors but for patients as well, it provides huge convenience to the patients by facilitating them to see doctors virtually. However, the AR technology is created as a visual world but does not aid in any communication with this world.

The worldwide market for healthcare AR VR is projected to capture a market estimation of more than US$ XX Million by the end of the year 2018 that might touch a market estimate of more than US$ XX Million towards the end of the year 2025. The global market is projected to expand at a remarkably high XX CAGR all through the assessment period of 2026.

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The worldwide market based on the technology type is segmented into (VR) virtual reality and (AR) augmented reality. The VT is in advance of AR owing to the superior offerings of VR technology. The VR technology is widely utilized by the healthcare industry, thus directing towards a remarkable expansion of the VR segment that is projected to account for a market estimation of more than US$ XX Million towards the end of the year 2026. However, the AR technology is likely to touch an estimate of about XX Million towards the end of 2026. On the basis of growth rate as well, VR is like to see a higher CAGR of more than XX over the calculated period 2018-2026.

On the basis of the component, the market is bifurcated into services, software and hardware. With the abilities of transformation in healthcare sector, the AR VR is majorly applicable into medical training, patient care management, rehabilitation, surgery planning and others. On the other hand, in terms of the end user the overall market includes diagnostic centers, medical research organizations, hospitals & clinics and others. Both the technologies are largely in demand in hospitals and clinics for research processes, medical trainings along with diagnostic centers.

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In terms of the region, the emerging regions, for example, MEA, APAC and Africa will be witnessing increased revenue contribution to the GDP. However, North America will be capturing maximum revenue share of above US$ XX Million by 2026 end in the global market. Moreover, SEA along with other APAC regions is as well likely to remain largely lucrative regions for market players seeking for developing opportunities in the market.

The major market players operating in the global market include Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, Microsoft Corporation, DAQRI LLC, Google Inc., Magic Leap, Inc., Medical Realities Ltd, Oculus VR, LLC, FIRSTHAND TECHNOLOGY INC., ImmersiveTouch, Inc., SURGICAL THEATER, LLC., HTC Corporation, EchoPixel, Inc., Psious, AppliedVR, Inc., Osso VR and others.

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Saturday issued an order fixing the cost of a COVID-19 isolation bed in any private hospital in Delhi in the range of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 and an ICU bed with ventilator at Rs 15,000-Rs 18,000 per day.

The order by the Delhi Health Department said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had accepted the recommendations of the high-powered committee, set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The committee, under the chairmanship of V K Paul, member, NITI Aayog, was constituted earlier to ensure the availability of 60 per cent beds at private hospitals for coronavirus patients at lower rates and fix the rate of COVID-19 testing and treatment.

The Delhi government on Thursday issued an order to fix the price of a COVID-19 test performed by laboratories at Rs 2,400.

The new rates are fixed at Rs 8,000-10,000; Rs 13,000-15,000 and Rs 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation bed, ICU without a ventilator and ICU with a ventilator respectively for all private hospitals, the order said.
China provides coronavirus sequence data from Beijing on new platform

Global Times

By Zhang Hui and Zhao Yusha Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 18:58:40

China published the genome sequencing data of Beijing's recent outbreak late Thursday on a national novel coronavirus information system, China's first coronavirus sequence information sharing platform built amid the Wuhan outbreak. Chinese health experts said it improved China's technology shortcomings in dealing with infectious diseases, and is also conducive to the open and transparent sharing of coronavirus information globally.

The Novel Coronavirus National Science and Technology Resource Service System, launched on January 24, was established by the National Microbiology Data Center, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The genome sequencing had also been shared with the WHO and the Global Influenza Data Initiative (GISAID), the China CDC said.

Eight samples related to the coronavirus found in Beijing have been published on the system--five human and three environmental--collected from June 10 to June 12. This includes samples from a chopping board and floor drain at the Xinfadi wholesale market.

On June 11, Beijing reported its first new local COVID-19 case in two months, and as of Friday, the capital has reported 183 cases, with a majority linked to the Xinfadi market.

The system has published virus strain information of coronavirus during the Wuhan outbreak and global coronavirus sequence information. It will be further improved to integrate more information of pathogens for early warning and prevention of infectious diseases, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times on Friday that due to China's technology shortcomings, Chinese scientists previously had to submit their virus sequencing information to foreign platforms such as the US' Genbank. But now China has its own platform for Chinese scientists and global research on coronavirus.

The system allows foreign scientists to compare the virus information they found with China's for them to know the virus' features and how the virus transmits in different countries, Wang said. He added that it also proves China's open and transparent attitude in the COVID-19 response.

"The system is more like a coronavirus monitoring system, which provides a platform for scientists to monitor the mutation of the virus to study changes to the virus' infectivity," Wang said.

Jin Dongyan, a professor at School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times that most international scientists either submit their virus sequence information to Genbank or WHO's database, and China needs to promote its system to win more international recognition so that it could become a real international database for coronavirus.

China built a direct reporting system on infectious diseases after the SARS outbreak in 2003, which was also supposed to provide early warning on infectious diseases. But it was widely believed to have failed to function properly during the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan.

Experts believe the two systems were different in their early warning functions.

Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the two are completely different, as the reporting system is used for reporting contagious diseases, including COVID-19 and other diseases, but the other is targeted at viruses and other microorganism, and also in virus tracing.

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SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- A Peaceful March for racial justice will be held in South Euclid Saturday (June 20) afternoon, beginning at Bexley Park, 1635 Wrenford Road, and heading south to Mayfield Road.

Councilman-at-large Justin Tisdale, along with residents Artoria Ambers, Mason Caminiti and Dr. Anne Soinski-Caminiti have been organizing the march for two weeks.

Speaking about the planning, Tisdale said, The committee (organizers) decided that if we had it too soon (after the May 25 killing of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police set off protests around the country) we wouldnt be able to put together anything properly, and if we waited too long, the message may have been lost.

So we just wanted to make sure that we had ample enough time to get the word out and make sure our community could get together and rally together.

The march will leave Bexley Parks Felton Road entrance between 2:15 and 2:20 p.m. and proceed north on Felton to Mayfield Road, where it will head west. At South Belvoir Boulevard, it will begin its return to the park at its Wrenford Road entrance.

The march is being held with the cooperation of Mayor Georgine Welo and the South Euclid Police Department.

Tisdale said that, as the march proceeds on Mayfield Road, eastbound traffic will be closed to motor vehicles, while westbound traffic will remain open.

Organizers ask that marchers make and bring signs. The first 100 marchers will get a poster board and marker to make a poster they can keep. In addition to the City of South Euclid, march donors include Office Depot/Office Max.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, all marchers are urged to wear face masks.

South Euclid Councilman-at-large Justin Tisdale. (Photo Courtesy of Joseph Pollack)

Speakers at the park will include the Rev. Courtney Clayton Jenkins, of South Euclid United Church of Christ, at 2 p.m.; Welo, at 3 p.m.; Ward One Councilwoman Ruth Gray, at 3:05 p.m.; South Euclid-Lyndhurst Schools Superintendent Linda N. Reid, at 3:15 p.m.; SE-L Schools Assistant Superintendent Melissa Thompson, at 3:18 p.m.; and resident and NAACP member Chanell Elston, at 3:24 p.m.

Also, Brush High School student Brandon McGhee will speak at 3:30 p.m.; Mercedes Davis, at 3:36 p.m.; and, tentatively, Ricky Smith, at 3:42 p.m.

Tisdale said he did not know how many people the march might attract, but added: I hope to get the community out, and if people from the outside come in, theyre more than welcome. We just want to make sure its peaceful and that we are using our voices in a positive way.

This is important to me, because I want to give our community a safe space to voice their opinions, he said. Im not saying that South Euclid has huge racial issues or huge racial problems with the police, I just feel people need a voice. Theyre frustrated, they want to come together, they want to hear one another.

My focus with this march and rally is that we start understanding, start listening to people instead of trying to over talk and prove that theyre wrong, because if we dont start understanding people and making sure that both sides are heard and understood -- you dont necessarily have to agree with them -- but if you understand them, you have a little bit more empathy for them, Tisdale said.

South Euclid Community Services Director Keith Benjamin said he plans to take part in the march.

Peaceful protest is embedded throughout our nations history, and we support and stand by those in our community seeking to engage and create positive change, Benjamin said.

This is a time to stand by each other, recognize and overcome injustices, especially systemic racism and discrimination in our society, and work to grow and evolve together.

Read more from the Sun Messenger.
- Health Director-General had acknowledged that the country was facing a shortage of the COVID-19 testing kits

- The shortage had caused a backlog in testing with over 5,000 samples waiting to be tested

- The shortage was further attributed to the stealing of donations sent by the Chinese government and Billionaire Jack Ma

- Authorities confirmed investigations had been launched to trace a consignment of donations that had been stolen from JKIA

Kenya continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic with cases steadily rising each day despite having in place measures to curb the spread of the virus.

However, the government is holding over 5,000 samples that are yet to be tested due to a shortage of testing kits occasioned by a mysterious disappearance due to corruption.

READ ALSO: Nairobi man vows never to leave his wife of 25 years despite her complicated health

Health Director-General Patrick Amoth acknowledged the country was experiencing a shortage of the testing kits. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nairobi: 3 police officers test positive for COVID-19

Acknowledging the country was experiencing a shortage of the kits, Health Director-General Patrick Amoth said on Friday, June 19, the ministry had received a batch that will last four weeks.

It is always dangerous to have a backlog because if a sample tests positive and the person was roaming for weeks without knowing their results, the risk of transmission is high, " said Amoth.

"Hence a tedious process in reaching all the contact persons, added Amoth .

READ ALSO: COVID-19 cases cross 1M mark in Brazil as country records 54,771 cases in a day

Mas care package had 100,000 face masks and 20,000 testing kits, which arrived at JKIA on March 24, 2020. Photo: Capital FM.

Source: UGC

The testing kits went missing in April 2020, when the donations from Alibaba founder Jack Ma and the Chinese government arrived in the country, Daily Nation reported.

Authorities confirmed on Tuesday, June 16, that a probe was underway and that it had been widened to include all donations and money given to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Aside from Jack Ma, the Kenyan government had also received donations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European countries.

READ ALSO: Washing babies with milk, other ways Maragolis used to nurse premature newborns

CS Mutahi Kagwe recently acknowledged publicly that greedy people had laid their hands on the consignment. Photo: MOH

Source: Facebook

Mas care package had 100,000 face masks and 20,000 testing kits, which arrived at JKIA on March 24, 2020, while the second donation, from the Chinese government, arrived on April 20.

The Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe recently acknowledged publicly that greedy people had laid their hands on the consignment.

Prior reports uncovered the disappearance of $2m (KSh 212.6 million) worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) donated by the Chinese government.

READ ALSO: Force, disciplined service or goons? Kenyans question increased police brutality case

President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed that all monies allocated to fighting the virus would be accounted for. Photo: State House

Source: Facebook

In May 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed that all monies allocated to fighting the virus would be accounted for.

According to him, people who were raising questions on the expenditure of the funds were only engaging in cheap politics.

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Second Fired Minneapolis Police Officer Charged in Floyds Death Released on Bail

A second former Minneapolis police officer who was arrested for the police custody death of George Floyd has been released from jail after posting bail, according to jail records.

J. Alexander Kueng was released Friday night. He made his first court appearance in Hennepin County District Court on June 4 and had his bail set at $750,000. He was held at the Hennepin County Jail before posting his bond.

Kueng left jail on a conditional release, which means he will appear at court hearings and avoid any further legal trouble, Fox News reported.

Last Wednesday, another fired Minneapolis officer, Thomas Lane, was released from jail. His bond was also set at $750,000 on June 4 and he had also been held at the Hennepin County Jail, a spokesperson from the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office said.

Lane and Kuengs defense attorneys previously asked the court for lower bail, saying their clients had been police officers for just four days when Floyd was killed.

Former Minnesota police officer Thomas Lane poses in a combination of booking photographs at Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 3, 2020. (Hennepin County Sheriffs Office/Handout via Reuters)

Police records indicate that while the men were rookies, they had more experience than a handful of days on the force. According to their records, they joined the department in February 2019 and became full officers in December. Minneapolis officers must serve a year on probation and spend time in field training with a more senior officer before they are fully qualified.

Both officers were involved with two others in arresting Floyd on Memorial Day. Floyd died after one of the officers knelt on his neck for almost 9 minutes. His death sparked global protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

Many of those joining the protests have been calling for a ban on chokeholds and the other methods of restraint used by police, as well as the defunding of police.

Floyds death was captured on video by bystanders. The footage showed then-Officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyds neck while he was on the ground outside a police vehicle. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder. The other three officers at the sceneLane, Kueng, and Tou Thaowere charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

From left, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. (Hennepin County Sheriffs Office via AP)

Both Thao and Chauvin are currently still behind bars. Thao, just like his other two former colleagues, had bail set at $750,000, while Chauvins was set at $1.25 million.

Kueng, Lane, and Thao were offered reduced bail if they agreed to certain conditions. Kuengs conditions include not working in security or law enforcement, not having contact with Floyds family, not leaving Minnesota, and surrendering all firearms and permits. If he posts bail, his release will be supervised.

Lane was released on bail after his family helped him. They set up a fundraising page for the former officer, asking the public for a donation for his defense fund.

On the fundraiser, the author of the page wrote the bail amount set is not reasonable and claims that Lane did everything he could to save George Floyds life.

The total amount the page generated in donations is unclear, but the goal was set at $1 million. The page is no longer accessible.

CNN Wire contributed to this report.
Im actually pretty busy at the moment, even though school is over for the summer, so Im having trouble keeping up with the tsunami of craziness washing over the land. But Ill try to continue this chronicle of the most egregious and significant events.

 Who would have thought that sense and resolve against statue-toppling repudiation would come from the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. The Daily Wire reports:

We will be inflexible when it comes to tackling racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, and new strong decisions will be made to reinforce the egality of chances, Macron said, according to a translation provided by TIME. But this noble fight is perverted when it turns into communitarianism, into a false rewriting of history. This is unacceptable when it is picked up by separatists. I tell you very clearly tonight my dear fellow citizens, the Republic will not erase any trace or name from its history, Macron continued. It will not forget any of its deeds or take down any statue. What we need to do is to look all together with lucidity on all of our history and all our memory. . .

Im not sure this translation from the French is a good as might be, but who in our country, aside from President Trump, is offering any serious public argument against the repudiators in our midst?

 Speaking of Trump, I wonder sometimes if he has a secret crystal ball allowing him to see the future of certain precincts of leftist madness. Roll the tape back to August 15, 2017, when he was pilloried for the remarks that there were fine people on both sides of the protests in Charlottesville that left one person dead, but which of course were misreported and taken willfully out of context (read the entire exchange here). Reminder: Trump said white nationalists should be condemned totally and that the driver of the car who killed someone was horrible.

But along the way, Trump raised a good question:

Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. So this week, its Robert E. Lee, I noticed that Stonewall Jacksons coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after. You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?

A reporter tried to interject with typical ignorance, and Trump handed his head to him:

REPORTER: George Washington and Robert E. Lee are not the same. TRUMP: Oh no, George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down  excuse me. Are we going to take down, are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? Okay, good. Are we going to take down his statue? He was a major slave owner. Are we going to take down his statue?

News item: George Washington Statue Toppled by Protestors in Portland, Oregon.

Some wrapped the statues head in an American flag and lit the flag on fire.

Seems like another layup for Trump.

 Apparently a real news story:

Former Swedish mayor calls to replace statue of King Charles XII with climate activist Greta Thunberg Jan Bjoringe, a former mayor in Sweden, is proposing the country tear down a statue of King Charles XII and replace it with a likeness of 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg. Remove the autocrat Karl XII and replace him with the climate activist Greta Thunberg, Bjoringe wrote in an opinion piece published by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. Bjoringe wrote that the statue represents evil deeds and outdated values and that a statue of Thunberg would be more in line with the countrys current ideals.

 My mentor M. Stanton Evans liked to say that liberals dont care what you do, so long as its mandatory. Actually, they care a lot about what you do, and want to mandate that you do the right things. And so the leftists in the California state legislature are considering a law to require that all students take ethnic studies courses at the California State University campuses:

Students at California State University, the nations largest four-year public university system, will need to take courses in ethnic studies under legislation advanced Thursday, a move by lawmakers to impose new graduation requirements that the colleges want to set themselves. For supporters, debate over the bill took on more urgency amid the uproar over racism after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, saying the new rules would ensure students learn the complete picture of American history and the experiences of marginalized communities.

Once again, Republicans apparently mustered feeble arguments against this Maoist coercion, at least if this single sentence in the news story is an accurate indication:

Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, said schools in the middle of tough economic times would have trouble setting new courses and hiring professors to teach them.

If this is the best Republicans can do in opposition, they deserve to lose.

 Some questions. Nancy Pelosi ostentatiously removed the portraits in the Capitol of southern Democrats. Fine. What about Fulbright Fellowships, named for the legendary senator from Arkansas? Who signed the segregationist Southern Manifesto. Who joined the filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Shouldnt those fellowships be canceled or renamed? Actually, shouldnt woke graduate students and faculty decline henceforth to apply for Fulbrights, and expunge their Fulbright Fellowships from their CVs? Justice demands no less.
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She and her husband Hugo Taylor welcomed their daughter to the world last month.

And Millie Mackintosh was in familial bliss on Saturday as she uploaded a stunning throwback wedding snap to Instagram to mark her two year anniversary.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, posted the picture for her 1.3million followers alongside the caption: 'Two years ago! Love you more each day.'

Official! Millie Mackintosh was in familial bliss on Saturday as she uploaded a stunning throwback wedding snap to Instagram to mark her two year anniversary since her official wedding ceremony at Chelsea Town Hall - having also enjoyed a later elaborate ceremony

While Millie and Hugo tied the knot in an elaborate ceremony at Whithurst Park in West Sussex they had their intimate official wedding service at Chelsea Town Hall.

Millie borrowed from Bianca Jagger in her elegant look for the day as she donned an incredible white trouser suit with a seventies-inspired hat.

She looked sensational in the white two-piece that paired together a chic wrap-over blazer jacket, that came complete with statement sleeves, and complementary ivory white flared trousers.

Her throwback picture showed Millie kissing her adoring husband Hugo, 34, on their big day while clutching a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Cute couple: Millie and Hugo tied the knot in an elaborate ceremony at Whithurst Park in West Sussex (pictured) but had their intimate official wedding service at Chelsea Town Hall

Look familiar? She revealed previously that her ensemble for the official service took inspiration from Mick Jagger's ex-wife Bianca on their wedding day in 1971

Millie appears to be taking to life as a new mum swimmingly as she posed for a stunning snap while taking baby Sienna for a walk on Thursday.

She looked sensational as she posed in the street while pushing SIenna's pram and sporting the stunning boho-inspired dress.

She added a celebrity touch with oversized sunglasses and wore her hair in perfectly coiffed waves to add to the chic style. Millie added a caption reading: 'After the rain comes a rainbow'.

Last week, Millie finally unveiled the name of her baby daughter, five weeks after welcoming her first child with her husband in Hello! magazine.

New parents: The loved-up couple recently welcomed their daughter Sienna to the world last month

Stunner: Millie recently appeared to be taking to life as a new mum swimmingly as she posed for a stunning snap while taking baby Sienna for a walk on Thursday

She introduced little Sienna Grace to the world as she cradled her adorable girl in a stunning cover shoot.

The blogger gushed she's 'on cloud nine' and praised sunglasses entrepreneur Hugo for being present during labour amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused most hospitals in the UK to allow only one birthing partner.

Revealing they settled on Sienna Grace's name 'months' before the birth, Millie added of their first weeks of parenthood: 'We're on cloud nine; it's gone so quickly.

Wow! On Monday, Millie switched her casual look for a pretty chic white dress as she showcased her collection with MILLIE X PITUSA

'We've been in our little love bubble at home, cherishing those newborn moments, whether that's her sleeping on me or just lapping up all the cuteness. Time has gone so quickly. She is so adorable, even down to the little noises she makes.'

Hugo added: 'Sienna has turned our world upside down. It's like first love all over again  that wondrous feeling of excitement, joy and endless possibility for the future. I can't wait to watch her grow.'

It's unclear whether Millie named her daughter after actress Sienna Miller, but she has made no secret of being a supporter of the thespian - having taken inspiration from her cropped haircut in 2013, getting the same star tattoo as her and fangirled over her wearing her Nouveau Lashes to the 2015 Golden Globes ceremony.
Earlier authorities arrested Lukashenko's main rival Viktor Babaryko on suspicion of financial crimes amid increased harassment of opposition figures.

Police in Belarus have detained demonstrators and journalists at a gathering of hundreds of people protesting President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election campaign.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, is seeking a sixth term in office in August, BBC reports.

Opposition candidates gathered supporters' signatures in the capital Minsk before riot police moved in.

A Radio Free Europe correspondent was detained while reporting live on-air.

On Saturday the rights group Vyasna said at least 120 people had been arrested across the country during protests. Some have now been released.

Read alsoBelarus president says country foiled foreign plot after arresting political rival  media

Earlier authorities arrested Lukashenko's main rival Viktor Babaryko on suspicion of financial crimes amid increased harassment of opposition figures.

Opposition activists, journalists and bloggers have also been arrested in recent weeks, according to website Belorusskiye Novosti.

Lukashenko alleged that his authorities had foiled a plot designed to destabilize the country, claiming that forces from "both from the West and from the East" were interfering in Belarus.

International election monitor the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, has not recognized any elections in Belarus as free and fair since 1995.
Ukraine's GDP in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 1.3% compared to the corresponding period last year.

"GDP in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 0.7% compared to the previous quarter (seasonally adjusted) and by 1.3% compared to the first quarter of 2019," the State Statistics Service of Ukraine informs.

At the same time, the nominal GDP totaled UAH 845.8 billion, and the GDP per capita was UAH 20,203.

GDP data for the first quarter of 2020 are preliminary, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said. Revised GDP data for the first quarter of 2020 will be published in March 2021, and the final data - in March 2022.

As reported, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine published in early May, the reduction in GDP in January-March 2020 was 1.2%.

In June, the International Monetary Fund downgraded the April forecast of Ukraine's GDP decline in 2020 from -7.7% to -8.2%.

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For more than 70 years, Kashmiris have lived with the dread of the Indian government changing the demography and special status of Indian-administered Kashmir, which was till recently Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state. Deemed preposterous and exaggerated at one time, these anxieties have now become completely justified and have even deepened.

On August 5, 2019, Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which gave the state its special status and excluded it from the application of various constitutional provisions, was abrogated, while Article 35A, which limited certain residency rights to the local population and granted them certain protections, was altogether scrapped.

These two articles had guaranteed that the right to buy and own land or apply for government jobs was the sole prerogative of those who had inherited permanent residency by descent. They also meant a bar on business investments by outsiders or attempts by big monopolistic companies to take control of J&Ks lands and economy. This protected Kashmiris rights and afforded them a certain level of political and economic autonomy.

In October 2019, J&K was dissolved as a state, which meant it no longer had a state assembly empowered to pass legislation, and was divided into two union territories  Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh  allowing New Delhi to bring them under its direct control. Until then, J&K was the only Muslim-majority state in India.

With the abrogation of Article 370 and the removal of its status as a state, the region was fully integrated and its population stripped of the special privileges and entitlements it had been enjoying in view of the peculiar nature of the states history and its accession to India.

The actual disempowerment, which will soon begin to be felt on the ground, is more than the loss of the special local identity. Brought by stealth and deceit, without fulfilling the constitutional requirement of participation of the state legislature, the abrogation of Article 370 and demotion of the erstwhile state has become fait accompli, as the hearings on a bunch of petitions challenging the move in the Supreme Court of India have been postponed multiple times.

If Article 370 was aimed to lay down the foundation of the Indian governments agenda in J&K, the actions that have followed are the building blocks to serve that design calculatedly.

Thus, in a late-night move on March 31, when the Indian government officially announced a new domicile rule for Jammu and Kashmir, more clarity was shed on what the future entails. The devil was in the detail.

According to the notification called Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020, anyone who has resided in J&K for 15 years or has studied in the territory for seven years, and appeared in either Class 10 or Class 12 examination, will get residency rights. They will then be eligible for various government jobs.

The notifications timing, one week after India announced a countrywide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, was odd. While a lockdown in the rest of the country became a safety measure in the fight against a virus, in Kashmir it assumed a different meaning. It was a lockdown within a lockdown that had been partially in place since August 5, 2019.

A stringent clampdown on J&K under military boots including an absolute communication blockade allowed the Indian government to surreptitiously scrap its special status and split it into more pliable units last year. The longest-ever lockdown in Kashmir served the purpose of scuttling any public outrage and also ensured that information slipped into a black hole, making an entire population invisible and their grievances inaudible.

The 2019 lockdown was unconstitutional, undemocratic and morally erroneous. But this has now become the foundational principle of Indias strategy in Kashmir with no punctuations of pretence. If the first lockdown was successful in preventing public outcry over the loss of special status and protections, the other provided a stepping stone for laying the blueprint of what the Indian government intends to do as part of its larger agenda.

The new domicile rule, and its timing, stirred up anxieties, particularly among the J&K youth, irrespective of their ethnic and communal identities or their political ideologies, as it meant they would be losing government jobs, they earlier had a monopoly over, to outsiders. The government is one of the biggest employers of fresh graduates in the region and in the spring a number of recruitment processes were stalled, prompting suspicions that this was done intentionally to allow outsiders who qualified for domicile under the new rule to apply as well.

On February 27, the authorities scrapped the recruitment process of J&K Bank for more than 1,450 posts, which had been going on since 2018, jeopardising the career prospects of thousands of aspirants who had been waiting after clearing their preliminary exams. On June 2, the bank advertised for 1,850 posts inviting applications for domiciles.

In the midst of the pandemic, as hospitals battled with a shortage of infrastructure and staff, the government showed the door to hundreds of healthcare employees on temporary contracts in Srinagar and Kathua district in Hindu-majority Jammu region. This, despite shortages of medical staff and the established practice of offering temporary workers permanent contracts.

The recruitment, appointment and promotion processes for various civil service positions in the administration, education and healthcare sectors have also been put on hold after the J&K Public Service Commission, which is responsible for civil service recruitment, was made defunct and the constitution of a new commission under the new status of the region as a union territory was delayed. A new chairman was finally appointed in May.

The threat of losing jobs to outsiders is coupled with the anxieties of the existing government employees with respect to service-related litigations related to pay, promotions, etc, of which there are currently more than 30,000 cases.

On April 29 this year, on grounds that J&K had lost its statehood, the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 was made applicable to J&K and Ladakh. In June, the creation of Jammu Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal was announced which will cover the union territories of J&K and Ladakh. But a single bench at the south end of the region will be insufficient, given the large size of the population and the difficult mountainous topography which renders the journey to Jammu too long.

These changes come as over the last couple of decades, locals in the administrative bureaucracy have been sidelined or sent out on deputations. This process has further picked up steam recently. After the abrogation of Article 370, the majority of top bureaucratic positions in the administration of Jammu and Kashmir are held by outsiders.

The immediate beneficiaries of the new domicile rule could go beyond the thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees, who have fled Pakistan since partition and have settled in the suburbs of Jammu city. The rules for getting a domicile certificate are now pretty relaxed, so there is no way to assess the exact number of people who are likely to benefit.

Thousands of bureaucrats from outside and those working in the private sector have spent more than the required 15 years in J&K in the last 70 years. A sizeable part of the Indian armed forces is concentrated in J&K and many have served several postings in the erstwhile state, easily making many eligible under the new criteria.

The numbers are likely to add up by each year and given the easily corruptible system and lack of accountability, there is no telling how the laws will be tweaked to further allow an influx of beneficiaries from outside.

And this is not just about jobs. There is also the question of land ownership and business investment over which the new domicile rule is silent, which means that unlike the past, any Indian may buy land, settle and start a business venture in J&K.

Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which came into effect in October, the legal provisions restricting ownership of private property to permanent residents were struck down. In the past, local land reform legislation empowered peasants including the socially oppressed classes, giving them a sense of dignity and making J&K one of the few states in the country where nobody died of starvation.

The amended land-related laws induce fears in the local population of not just losing their exclusive privileges but also of suffering under possible monopolistic economic hegemonies.

The state also had in place its reservation act that provided for quotas in educational institutions and jobs for people of disadvantaged backgrounds, including Dalits, members of various tribes, etc. Women enjoyed a 50 percent reservation in professional colleges. Since the 1950s, education at school and college level was free in government institutions. All of that now stands to be reversed.

For now, using the pandemic as an excuse, the government has also halted the 150-year-old annual practice of shifting the capital from Jammu to Srinagar in the summer. Though the practice of two capitals  in Hindu-majority Jammu and Muslim-majority Kashmir  was ideally inclusive, it was Srinagar that became the hub of political power after Kashmirs accession in 1947.

The government decision to begin the delimitation (redrawing of boundaries) of electoral constituencies, which is likely to give Hindu-majority Jammu more seats, will reshape the local political dynamics. Two ideas have been mooted by several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to that end  enumeration on the basis of area and not population, as is the countrywide norm, as well as adding the kitty of 24 seats of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir (PAK) and Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin that lay vacant for the last 70 years to Jammu region by fielding Hindu and Sikh refugees from PAK.

The Delimitation Commission was announced on March 6 and immediately the process of data collection was set in motion. It has been going on without any punctuation throughout the COVID-19 lockdown.

Structures of power are being dismantled bit by bit, particularly emaciating the political significance of Srinagar and turning Jammu into a symbolic site of victory while keeping its people disempowered.

Already, the political space in J&K has been completely decimated. While many top leaders continue to be in detention, including former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, others have been let off or placed under house arrest on conditions of maintaining silence.

A lobby of renegades from various parties recently floated a new political organisation called Apni Party. It is believed to enjoy the patronage of New Delhi and has failed to cut much ice.

Under the new arrangement, while the far-flung union territory of Ladakh would be robbed of a legislative assembly, J&K will get one with limited powers, turning the two entities virtually into two remote-controlled municipalities.

This puts a question mark over the practicability of managing the erstwhile state, with its huge area, its complexity, its socio-political diversity and its fragility, under this arrangement of one centralised authority. While a sense of political empowerment is diminished, the terms of engagement in local political narrative are decimated to municipal and administrative matters.

A sense of loss appears to be a strange leveller and may have somewhat bridged the traditionally divisive narratives in Muslim-dominated Kashmir and Hindu-dominated Jammu, the latter having seen a phenomenal rise in Hindu right-wing politics in recent decades.

But while in Jammu public discontent is linked to loss of jobs, land, monopoly over trade and higher education, in Kashmir, in addition to all these, the dilution of Article 370 and domicile law assumes a whole new meaning  the fear of a demographic change.

Shaped by Hindu right-wing groups openly calling for changing demography of Kashmir and integrationist politics, anxieties of demographic change have existed in Kashmir for decades. Today, a pathway is being paved for replicating the Israeli model of occupation and colonisation of the West Bank in Kashmir towards disempowerment and dispossession of the locals, particularly Kashmiri Muslims, to exercise hegemonic control through new settlers.

Sometime in late November last year, a serving Indian diplomat in the United States, while addressing a gathering of Kashmiri Hindus, averred that Kashmiri culture is Indian culture; it is Hindu culture and espoused the Israeli model of West Bank settlements as the way forward. Though the Indian government did not officially support this policy of apartheid, it also conveniently did not distance itself from the remarks made by its serving envoy in his official capacity.

If there were any doubts about the seriousness of these remarks, they can now be discarded. The recent moves indicate a more systemic pattern of making this model the centrepiece of Indias Kashmir policy. The present lockdown has been used to plot the points on the map while avoiding any public outcry. This arsenal of administrative changes in a fragile setting is like dumping fuel that could well trigger an inferno of unimaginable proportions.

The government is underestimating the patience and silence of the public and the international ramifications of riding roughshod over the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and pushing them to the margins as secondary citizens with an uptick in massive human rights abuse.

While this amounts to trampling of Indian democracy, it also makes peace in South Asia extremely vulnerable. In all probability, the transition to demographic change will not be as smooth. A desperate struggle for self-preservation within Kashmir and the heightened level of tensions between India and Pakistan  two nuclear powers  will throw up an explosive situation. The present standoff between India and China also has the potential to escalate and add fuel to the fire.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Joint teams of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the state police have seized 15kg of heroin in the last 24 hours from Ferozepur district and arrested four persons.

During a search operation along the India-Pakistan border area under the Abohar sector of the BSF, 8kg of contraband was recovered on Friday evening. No one held in the case.

Ferozepur SSP Bhupinder Singh said that a police party raided Khilchian Qadim village and recovered 150gram of heroin from an SUV.

The police arrested Gurmit Singh, Rukmandeep Singh, Rajinder Singh, and Arshdeep Singh of Muktsar district and 2.6 lakh were recovered their possession. A case under NDPS Act was registered against them.

Following the information provided the accused, the joint team searched an area across the barbed wire under Barre Kee border outpost and recovered 6.92 kg heroin smuggled from Pakistan
A suburban Kansas City couple left their 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy behind for weeks after they moved, returning only periodically to bring him food, according to court records. Janine Allen, 30, and Brendon Luke, 29, were each being held on $250,000 bond on charges of felony abuse or neglect of a child.

Police learned the boy was left by himself in a Blue Springs home while they monitored him with an in-home video system from their new home a couple of miles away, according to court records. The mother allegedly told witnesses she did not want him to damage the walls of the families new home. In a home-surveillance video later obtained by police, the boy says, I want out. I dont like this, mommy.

A Childrens Division worker involved with the family since October the child was increasingly violent toward the family and believed he needed residential placement, but his mother hadnt completed the required paperwork, according to court documents. The worker was unaware the child had been abandoned, The Kansas City Star reports. Allens attorney P.J. OConnor told McClatchy News there is more to the case than what is in the arrest affidavit.

Ive just entered my appearance on the case and there is a lot more to the story than whats been presented in the probable cause statement, OConnor said in an email. Until Ive viewed all the evidence I dont want to comment any further.

Luke does not have an attorney listed in court records. In early June, concerned residents told Blue Springs police the wheelchair-bound child had been left in the home for weeks, prompting the investigation. When a police officer went to the home, Allen told him through a doorbell camera that the boy was OK and she could see him on camera, according to court records. Later, Allen explained to investigators that she and her husband monitored the boy with a two-way radio and camera that provides alerts of movements and noises inside the house, police said. She told the officers her son knew how to call 911 and her phone number in an emergency.

A Childrens Mercy clinic told investigators the boy is medically complex and shouldnt be left unsupervised, police said. In September, the boy was at the clinic for a suspicious broken arm following an altercation with his mother, according to court documents. A school resource officer said the boy needs help using the bathroom and eating and also with mobility.

Inside the home, investigators reported finding feces and it smelled of urine. There was a telephone with no dial tone. The familys new home was extremely large in size with a basement large enough for the boy and other children to have their own rooms, police said. According to police, video shows the child attempting for more than 20 minutes to get out of his locked room with a small piece of wire. Another video shows Luke throwing food on the floor in the boys room before leaving the house within six minutes, police say.

On June 11, Allen told investigators the boy was left in the home since Mothers Day, which was May 10, according to court documents. She said leaving her son in the house was the best option to protect her family from violence, police say. Jackson County Family Court obtained emergency custody of the boy. Luke took him to a residential facility in southern Missouri a day later, despite the custody order, police say.

(Image Credits: Blue Springs Police Department)
Two teenagers have been jailed for a total of 25 years for stabbing a 'vulnerable' 15-year-old boy to death over rumours he had molested a girl.

Michael Irving was lured into a 'Trojan Horse' trap on the evening of September 3 last year by two boys he thought were his friends, the Old Bailey was told.

He was found with stab wounds after police officers were called to reports of a fight in Byford Close, West Ham, east London at 6.45pm.

Michael Irving (picturedwas lured into a 'Trojan Horse' trap on the evening of September 3 last year in West Ham, east London, by boys he thought were his friends

Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service attended however the teenager, from Woolwich, was pronounced dead at the scene an hour later, becoming the capital's 100th murder victim this year.

The defendants had arranged to meet Michael outside Westfield Stratford on 3 September last year. They then led him to a residential block 15 minutes away.

Appearing in court on Friday, the younger defendant, now aged 16, had admitted Michael's murder and was detained for a minimum of 10 years and six months.

The older boy, now aged 17, was found guilty of murder and was detained for at least 14 years and six months.

Prosecutor Hugh Davies QC said: 'The three boys had arranged to meet earlier that day outside Westfield Stratford.

'They walked to a residential block about 15 minutes away on foot. Unbeknown to Michael, the defendants, his friends, were responding to rumours that Michael had sexually assaulted (the older defendant's) sister.

'Michael always denied this and nothing was reported to the police. The defendants had clearly set Michael up on a friendly but false basis to meet them. It was a Trojan Horse meeting.'

Mr Davies said the defendants had armed themselves with knives, face masks and gloves for the 'pre-meditated assault' against 'someone who was both outnumbered and unarmed'.

Michael suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart and four other injuries.

Police at the scene in Byford Close, east London, on September 4, a day after the incident

After the defendants ran off, a passerby stopped and held Michael's hand as he died in the street.

Michael, who had learning difficulties, was described as a popular and well-liked boy who could be easily led.

In a victim impact statement, Michael's mother Leisa Irving said his murder had left a 'large void in all our lives'.

She said: 'My life and all the lives of my family have not been the same since. The constant feeling that something is missing  that something is Michael.'

Ms Irving said her son was vulnerable because of his learning difficulties, which meant that he thought everybody was his friend.

She said: 'The hardest part was that he believed these people were his friends and he was going to Stratford to be with his friends.'

Sentencing them on Friday, Judge Martin Edmunds QC said both defendants had 'murder in mind'.

The older defendant said he felt 'disrespected' by rumours that Michael had made a sexual approach to his sister.

But the judge said: 'No motive could justify such a cold-blooded plan.

'This was an attack on an unsuspecting 15-year-old you knew to be vulnerable. This was a sustained attack.'
By Online Desk

The number of COVID-19 cases in New Delhi are on a rise. The coronavirus tally in the capital touched 50,000 mark on Friday.

Registering over 3,000 cases in last 24 hours, for the first time, a big worry for the administration of New Delhi lies ahead.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal passed an order on Friday putting an end to Delhi government's home quarantine strategy. Baijal made five day institutional quarantine mandatory for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 in the capital.

What did Lt. Governor Anil Baijal's order say? Five days institutional quarantine in a government faciltiy of each case under home-quarantine is to be made mandatory

After the five-day institutional-quarantine, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients will be sent for home-isolation

Patients with consistent symptoms will require further hospitalization

The decsion was taken after suggestions were made by the Home Ministry, led by Union Minister Amit Shah, who has been conducting meetings with leaders of Delhi-NCR for the past few days to monitor the rising COVID-19 cases in the capital.

The MHA panel felt, given the current situation in Delhi home-quarantine might not be favourable. They also said that lack of professional check-ups my medical staff for home quarantined patients is not advisable right now.

What does the order mean? Anybody who is tested positive will be sent for five-day mandatory quarantine at a government centre

Patients asymptomatic or symptomctic will be institutionally quarantined

Strict monitoring will be done by the District Magistrate and his appointed officials

After five days, another set of tests will be done in which people without symptoms can return home

Delhi has a total of 53,116 coronavirus cases out of which 27,512 are active. With the addition of 66, the deaths count has reached 2,035.

Why is Kejriwal-led AAP criticising Anil Baijal's order? According to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the L-G passed the new order without consulting him

AAP claims medical infrastructure in the capital is not suited for mandatory institutional quarantine

AAP says availability of beds are limited in Delhi and should be kept for very serious case alone

Delhi government claims there is shortage of medical professionals and this move will overburden existing infrastructure

AAP leaders also claim this move will discourage people from getting tested

As a Covid-positive patient - who is recovering in Home Isolation - am appalled at the order issued by @LtGovDelhi at the behest of MHA that has ended Home Isolation in Delhi and made 5 days of institutional quarantine compulsory (1/n) pic.twitter.com/H07kewqAS2  Atishi (@AtishiAAP) June 19, 2020

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also appealed to NGOs and individuals to join the fight against COVID-19 in large numbers.
Hundreds of Indian crew aboard cruise ships docked on the UK coast have appealed for repatriation to India amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

UK port authorities boarded the Astoria cruise ship at Tilbury port in Essex near London along with five others earlier this week amid concerns for the welfare of crew members.

The All India Seafarer and General Workers Union claims that around 1,500 crew members from India have been stranded at UK ports across these ships.

This is regarding 164 crew members stranded Indian citizens on the vessel MV Astoria, which is (in) Tilbury Port in United Kingdom, notes a letter from the union addressed to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in reference to one of the vessels.

In this pandemic coronavirus outbreak, our Indian citizens stuck in foreign waters from past 90 days, and need help. The schedule flight was cancelled due to lack of documentation. Many of them start hunger strike on-board vessel, notes the letter dated June 16.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has since detained that particular cruise ship at the port of Tilbury pending an inspection. After boarding, the MCA issued detentions to the Astoria and four other vessels in the operator's fleet  the Astor, Colombus, Vasco da Gama and Marco Polo.

The detention is a preventative measure in line with UK regulations, in order that a full inspection of the ship related to the maritime labour convention can be carried out before its intended departure. It cannot leave the port until the inspection is completed, the MCA said in a statement.

Five other ships in the same [ship management] company  Global Cruise Lines Ltd  four others based at Tilbury and one at Bristol, are also being inspected. Acting as the port state control authority for the UK, the MCA has taken this action following a number of serious concerns which were raised about the welfare of the crew, the statement said.

According to reports, MCA surveyors found a number of expired and invalid Seafarers Employment Agreements, late payment of wages and seafarers who had been on board for over 12 months.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps issued a statement this week to say that the UK government would look into the welfare of seafarers.

The welfare of seafarers is of the utmost importance and we take any reports of safety concerns around crew incredibly seriously," he said.

We will not hesitate to continue to use every power within our control to safeguard the health and happiness of every seafarer currently working in the UK," he said.

The ships have been stranded since the start of the coronavirus outbreak and also involved crew from Europe, Indonesia and Myanmar, some of whom have been repatriated or are in the process of being repatriated to their countries.
He said that the statement of the Prime Minister contradicts earlier statements made by Chief of Army Staff General M.M. Naravane, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that Chinese troops did not intrude into Indian territory, Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday slammed the government saying his remarks have left everyone baffled and bewildered.

Addressing a press conference through video conferencing, Chidambaram said, "I wish to begin by reiterating what the Congress President Sonia Gandhi said yesterday at the all party meeting. She said that the Congress stands by our defence forces and are prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle ready."

Chidambaram said that at the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister made his concluding remarks.

"These remarks have left practically everyone baffled and bewildered. The Prime Minister said that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh," the Congress leader said.

Lambasting the Prime Minister, Chidambaram said, "It is quite obvious that the Prime Minister's statement contradicts the earlier statements made by the Chief of Army Staff, the Defence Minister and the Foreign Minister."

The Congress leader said that if the Prime Minister's statement reflects the correct position, we would like to ask the government a few questions.

"If no Chinese troops had crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and are in Indian territory, what was the face-off on May 5-6, 2020? Between May 5 and June 6, what was the issue on which local Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts? What was the subject matter of the negotiations between the Corps Commanders of the two countries on June 6?" he said firing salvos at Modi.

Referring to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan valley by the Chinese People Liberation's Army (PLA) troops in an unprecedented attack on Monday night, Chidambaram said, "We would also like to ask, if no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured?"

His remarks came a day after Modi categorically stated at the all-party meeting on the Chinese intrusion in the Galwan Valley and the killing of Indian soldiers that "no Indian post or territory is occupied by anyone."

The Prime Minister had emphasized that all necessary steps for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure will continue to be taken at a fast pace.

Modi had also reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend the borders and said that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.

Sharpening the attack on the government, the Congress leader said, "If no Chinese troops are in Indian territory, why did Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar's statement and other statements of MEA demand the restoration of status quo ante? What was the meaning of status quo ante? What was the meaning of the disengagement that the government said was underway?"

He also questioned that if no Chinese troops are inside Indian territory in Ladakh, why did 20 soldiers have to make the supreme sacrifice.

The Congress leader said that even after Modi's statement on Friday, China has blamed India for the clashes and has re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan valley.

"What is the government's answer to this claim? Will the government reject this claim?" he questioned.

Chidambaram questioned that when the Prime Minister said a few days ago that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain, what did he have in mind?

"Why and where did the soldiers sacrifice their lives, and how will the government ensure that the sacrifice will not be in vain?" he asked.

He said the defence of the nation and its territorial integrity are dear to the heart of every Indian. "We therefore seek answers to the questions with a view to re-double our commitment and present a picture of unity and solidarity," Chidambaram added.

--IANS

aks/rs/bg
(Newser)  A federal judge ruled Saturday that former national security adviser John Bolton can move forward in publishing his tell-all book despite efforts by the Trump administration to block the release because of concerns that classified information could be exposed, the AP reports. The decision from US District Judge Royce Lamberth is a victory for Bolton in a court case that involved core First Amendment and national security concerns. But the judge also made clear his concerns that Bolton had "gambled with the national security of the United States" by opting out of a prepublication review process meant to prevent government officials from spilling classified secrets in memoirs they publish. The ruling clears the path for a broader election-year readership of the memoir, due out Tuesday.

story continues below

The book paints an unflattering portrait of President Trump's foreign policy decision-making during the turbulent year-and-a-half that Bolton spent in the White House. Nonethless, Lamberth frowned upon the way Bolton went about publishing the book. Bolton took it "upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities" and perhaps caused irreparable harm to national security, Lamberth said. But with 200,000 copies already distributed to booksellers across the country, attempting to block its release would be futile, the judge wrote. "A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop," Lamberth wrote. "With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe ... the damage is done." (Prosecutors have considered pressing charges against Bolton.)
A COVID  19 response project was organized by Dr. Ayilola Babatunde (team lead and founder of Global Health Adolescent and Development Initiative) on 16th June, 2020 from 9am to 4pm, visiting three different health facilities in Osun State, southwestern area of Nigeria.

The main aim of the project was to reduce the local transmission and spread of COVID-19 in Osun state by protecting health care providers amidst the shortened supply of personal protective and WASH materials.

The team which comprised of himself and 6 other persons who volunteered willingly to join him in the project. These are : Dr. Atoyebi Temiloluwa, Dr. Awede Kehinde, Dr. Adedoyin Samson A, Dr. Salami Olatubosun, Gambo Emmanuel and Olaobaju Oluwatosin Isaac. The project was financed by a grant received from The Pollination Project.

Health facilities visited included:

The materials donated to these health facilities includes: facemasks, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, hand washes, face shields, 60 liters buckets with lids and taps. We designed, printed and pasted posters ( with necessary information about COVID-19 and preventing its spread in English and Yoruba languages). These posters were pasted at strategic locations around the hospitals entrance, the accident and emergency sections and other points of first contact within these Health care facilities.

At Aderemi Health centre, we met the administrative staffs, Mrs. Adefisoye Folasade, Mrs. Taiwo Bada, Mrs. Tijani Azizat, led by Mrs. Omole A.O who appreciated our kind gesture of reaching out and the supplies donated.

At the Enuwa Primary Health Care Centre, we were warmly received by the matron and other administrative heads. They took turns to express their heartfelt gratitude to the Global Adolescent Health and Development Initiative and the Pollination Project, USA.

Dr. Bello, the Consultant in Charge of Osun State Hospital Asubiaro, Osogbo, also had a lengthy discussion with us filled with much appreciation and encouragement giving accolades to the Osun State Government and soliciting more inputs from both the government and nonprofit organizations.

Many thanks to the Pollination Project, USA for their benevolence. We hope to receive more funding from other donors as we continue to implement this project.

Attached to this document are videos and images from the execution of the project.
New York, June 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Catalytic Converter Market Research Report by Type, by Vehicle Type, by Material, by Off-Highway Vehicle - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913764/?utm_source=GNW

On the basis of Type, the Catalytic Converter Market is studied across Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC), Four-Way Catalytic Converter (FWCC), Lean Nox Trap (LNT), Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), and Three-Way Catalytic Converter (TWCC).



On the basis of Vehicle Type, the Catalytic Converter Market is studied across Bus, Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV), Passenger Car, and Truck.



On the basis of Material, the Catalytic Converter Market is studied across Palladium, Platinum, and Rhodium.



On the basis of Off-Highway Vehicle, the Catalytic Converter Market is studied across Agriculture Tractors, Construction Equipment, and Mining Equipment.



On the basis of Geography, the Catalytic Converter Market is studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region is studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region is studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region is studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Catalytic Converter Market including Benteler, BSF, CDTI Materials, Continental, Eberspacher, Faurecia, Futaba, Johnson Matthey, Tenneco, and Umicore.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Catalytic Converter Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

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The report answers questions such as:

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4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Catalytic Converter Market?

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Police also had to disperse an unauthorised private party in Differdange on Friday evening.

Police report that up to 100 people were involved in a fight on Kinnekswiss in Luxembourg City's municipal park shortly after midnight. One person was injured.

Many of the involved individuals tried to escape by running towards Glacis. Police officers inspected everyone in the park as well as on Glacis. Some of the individuals threw bottles at the officers. While nobody was injured, a police car was damaged. Investigations are underway.

Police dispersed an unauthorised private party in Differdange on Friday evening before it even began.

30 people planned to party in the woods. Some of them tried to run away from police officers.

The individuals were fined for violating the nature protection law as well as regulations against the spread of Covid-19.

Everything was dismantled and no rubbish was left on site.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Saturday issued notices to 22 schools and 44 group housing societies to submit a structural audit report on seismic stability.

The move came after the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the government and the municipal corporations to file a status report on structures in their jurisdiction in terms of seismic stability.

The notices have been issued to housing societies in Shahdara (South Zone) including Patparganj and Mayur Vihar that came up after 2001. The structure audit report along with the existing building plan will have to be submitted within 30 days from the date of notice, said an EDMC spokesperson.

The buildings that came up after 2001 were built with sanctions under the new by-laws that require structural stability norms in compliance with the seismic zone.

The official added that after review by structural engineers listed with the corporation, if retrofitting is required, it must be done within six months under the supervision of a registered structural engineer. Action will be taken against those who do not comply with the norms, he added.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump plans to host an Independence Day celebration again this year, despite the coronavirus pandemic, with military demonstrations, fireworks, and a speech to "salute our amazing heritage," the White House announced Friday.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump, along with the Interior Department, will host the 2020 "Salute to America" on the South Lawn of the White House and the Ellipse on July 4, the White House announced Friday.

The president has drawn fire recently for planning large gatherings, such as a rally expected to take place in Tulsa on Saturday, in the midst of the coronavirus shutdown and social distancing restrictions.

This year's event will be a somewhat scaled-down version of Trump's first "Salute to America," last year, in which the president gave a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, flanked by armored vehicles and with military jets passing overhead.

Presidents typically have not participated in July Fourth celebrations on the Mall. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan took part in what was billed as a "Star Spangled Salute to America" at the Jefferson Memorial on July 3.

In prior years, Trump had tried to host patriotic events such as a military parade. His event last year was welcomed by some but derided by others, who said Trump was turning a beloved nonpartisan tradition of celebrating independence into something akin to a political rally. Two people were arrested for burning a flag in front of the White House.

The District of Columbia government cannot dictate what the federal government does on federal land, and the office of District Mayor Muriel Bowser did not immediately respond to questions on Friday about the White House's plan.

As for celebrations on local streets, Bowser, a Democrat, said in May that she would not issue any permits for local Fourth of July parades, such as the popular annual neighborhood parade in the Palisades, while the city remains under coronavirus guidance that prohibits large gatherings.

Since then, Bowser herself has attended some of the protests over George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, which were far larger than the current cap on 10 people per gathering or the new cap, starting Monday, of 50 people.

She has continued to urge Washingtonians to practice social distancing to contain the spread of the virus.

For decades, the National Park Service has set off fireworks on the National Mall on July Fourth, and musicians and the National Symphony Orchestra have performed free concerts on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

This year's event will include music, military demonstrations, and flyovers "to honor our nation's service members and veterans," according to the White House news release.

After Trump's speech about independence, fireworks will be ignited over the National Mall.
The book alleges improprieties far more extensive than those put forth in the presidents impeachment trial in February.

A federal judge has ruled that former national security adviser John Bolton can move forward in publishing his tell-all book despite efforts by the Trump administration to block the release because of concerns that classified information could be exposed.

The decision from US District Judge Royce Lamberth on Saturday is a victory for Bolton in a court case that involved core First Amendment and national security concerns.

The ruling means a broader election-year readership and distribution of a memoir that paints an unflattering portrait of President Donald Trumps foreign policy decision-making during the turbulent year-and-a-half that Bolton spent in the White House.

While Boltons unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy, US District Judge Royce Lamberth said in his ruling.

The administration had sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the publication of ther book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, saying it contained classified information and threatened national security.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denounces John Boltons The Room Where It Happened in Washington, DC [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

The book, scheduled to hit store shelves on Tuesday, is already in the hands of media organisations.

Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability, the judge wrote.

But he said an injunction would be too late to stem the harm. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe  many in newsrooms  the damage is done, Lamberth said.

In a tweet shortly after the decision was released, Trump charged again that Bolton was releasing classified information. He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him, Trump said. This should never to happen again!!!

BIG COURT WIN against Bolton. Obviously, with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping itBUT, strong & powerful statements & rulings on MONEY & on BREAKING CLASSIFICATION were made.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2020

Several excerpts have already been released from the book, which has drawn attention for its withering portrayal of Trump, including alleged improprieties far more extensive than the accusations underlying the presidents impeachment trial in February.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna said that the judge in his ruling pointed out Bolton had initially agreed to the government review process in writing the book but that he grew impatient and walked away from the review.

The judge implied that if the Justice Deparment had brought an injunction at that particular point, when Botlon walked away from the review of the book and before contents of the book had been made public, the outcome may well have been different, he said.

Bolton is a foreign policy hawk who left the administration last September after 17 months as NSA.

He accused Trump in the memoir of exhibiting fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the legitimacy of the presidency, and being driven by his own political interests.

Bolton said Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, once explicitly sought Chinese President Xi Jinpings help to win a second term.





The government supported its argument with filings from several senior intelligence officials who said publishing would damage national security.

Simon & Schuster, the publishers of Boltons memoir welcomed the ruling on Saturday.

We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication, they said in a statement.
By Tom Daly and Xiao Han

BEIJING (Reuters) - Officials in Beijing are carrying out tests to detect traces of coronavirus on all food and parcel delivery workers in an effort to rein in a new outbreak, state-backed media reported on Saturday.

Officials in the Chinese capital have been expanding nucleic acid testing across the city of 20 million since a cluster of infections linked to a food wholesale market erupted just over a week ago.

The outbreak, the first in Beijing in months, has now surpassed previous peak numbers in the city in early February.

A nucleic acid test involves a swab sample taken from the back of a person's throat or respiratory tract, and the sample is then tested for the presence of the coronavirus' genome.

Testing was initially focused on residential areas near the sprawling Xinfadi market and on people who worked or shopped there.

Officials are now targeting the tens of thousands of delivery personnel who regularly traverse the city, where fleets of motorised pedicabs and scooters ridden by couriers delivering parcels and food are a common sight.

Workers at SF Express, China's second biggest courier firm, arrived in batches at testing points in Beijing on Friday evening, Beijing News reported.

Food delivery firm Meituan Dianping confirmed that all of its riders in the city would be tested and those who had carried out deliveries in high-risk areas would be temporarily taken off duty, undergo nucleic acid tests and be quarantined at home for 14 days.

Customers will be able to view details on disinfection of the delivery package and their courier's body temperature online, Meituan said on its Wechat account.

Beijing News said that all couriers in the city would be tested by next week.

Officials have highlighted the risk of contamination through packaging in Beijing, which reported 22 new cases on Friday. The capital has now recorded more than 200 locally transmitted infections since June 11.

Story continues

Officials have been testing people working in catering, including restaurant staff, as well as imported food after the virus was found on chopping boards at Xinfadi used to handle salmon.

WHOLE COMMUNITIES TO BE TESTED

A total of 2.3 million nucleic acid tests had been carried out in Beijing as of 0600 local time on Saturday (2200 GMT on Friday), Zhang Qiang, an official from Beijing's municipal committee, said at a news conference.

Residents of 40 communities under lockdown in the capital are required to self-isolate at home to avoid possible further transmission of the virus, Zhang said.

Those that do not comply will be centrally quarantined for 14 days, after which they should take another nucleic acid test and are free to leave if the result is negative, he added.

In Dongcheng district in the eastern part of Beijing, two Reuters journalists received notice on Friday that everyone living in their communities would be tested, even though they were in low-risk areas.

Dongcheng currently has four neighbourhoods designated as medium-risk, while there are now 34 medium-risk neighbourhoods across the whole city.

Mainland China saw 27 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, with four imported and the other local transmission reported in the northern Hebei province that surrounds Beijing.

There were no new deaths recorded on Friday, leaving the death toll at 4,634.

(Reporting by Tom Daly and Xiao Han; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Jane Wardell and Mike Harrison)
Daycare centres in Peterborough could potentially reopen by July 13, said one official  but only if operators get reassurances that provincial funding will help keep them from a deficit position.

We need to have confirmation that money is coming to us, said Sheila Olan-MacLean. We really want to open  but we cant go into deficit.

Olan-MacLean is the CEO of Compass Early Learning Centre, one of 13 local daycare operations that declared they would remain closed  even though the provincial government allowed them to open last week  until their demands for funding from the provincial government are met.

Olan-MacLean said the 13 operators want to know that provincial funding can be applied to staff wages paid out during the closure period, and that additional funding is coming from the government for items such as personal protective equipment and extra staffing as they reopen.

All licensed Ontario daycare providers receive provincial funding to subsidize what parents pay.

The daycare operators continued to pay their staff 100 per cent of their wages after centres were ordered closed in March, basing this on assurances from the Ministry of Education in late March that the funding would continue.

But then 10 weeks into the closure, Olan-MacLean said, the provincial government retroactively prohibited any provincial funding from being applied to those wages, leaving daycare operators short of money.

The operators spoke up about it: they held a rally outside Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smiths office a week ago where they pointed out this issue and demanded extra funding for items such as PPE.

Now Olan-MacLean said shes heard the provincial government will allow that money to be used for wages paid during the closure period after all.

But she said she and the other operators are waiting to hear it from the city of Peterborough, since it provides provincial funding to daycare centres.

Smith wasnt available for comment on Friday, but last week wrote in a statement that the Ministry of Education is providing more financial support and guidance to child care operators to ensure a sustainable sector.

For its part, the city is seeking clarity from the province on the amount of funding and the supports the province will be providing for child care services, wrote city communications manager Brendan Wedley in a statement on Friday.

The citys also asking the province for clarity around the use of existing provincial funding and how it may be used given the current situation and needs, Wedley wrote.

Daycares that remain closed in Peterborough include:

All Seasons Learning Centre

Buckhorn Daycare

Centre Educatif Les Petits Curieux

Compass Early Learning and Care

Happy Times

Hucklebug Preschool Inc.

Northern Lights Childrens Daycare Centre

Northview Day Care and Nursery School

Nursery Two Child Care

St. Patrick/St. Catherine Day Care

Strath MacLean Child Care Centre

Sunshine Child Care

Trent Child Care

joelle.kovach@peterboroughdaily.com

Daycares that remain closed in Peterborough include:

All Seasons Learning Centre

Buckhorn Daycare

Centre Educatif Les Petits Curieux

Compass Early Learning and Care

Happy Times

Hucklebug Preschool Inc.

Northern Lights Childrens Daycare Centre

Northview Day Care and Nursery School

Nursery Two Child Care

St. Patrick/St. Catherine Day Care

Strath MacLean Child Care Centre

Sunshine Child Care
Monmouth Universitys Board of Trustees unanimously voted to remove the name of former president Woodrow Wilson from one of its campus buildings.

Woodrow Wilson Hall, a marquee and historic building located on the West Long Branch campus, will be renamed the Great Hall at Shadow Lawn, as the university aims to ensure a diverse and welcoming community.

Wilson, a Democrat from Virginia, was president of the United States from 1913 to 1921, after serving as governor of New Jersey and President of Princeton University. His legacy, which includes leading the country during World War I and instituting the Federal Reserve Bank system, also includes racist policies, like racially re-segregated parts of the U.S. government.

In a letter to the Monmouth University community, the Board of Trustees noted that Wilson never set foot in the current building, and it said Wilson was a controversial politician. It also said the University has not yet met its goals for diversity and inclusion.

Removing his name...eliminates a symbolic barrier to the important work of creating a truly welcoming and inclusive space in the Great Hall, the university said in a release. In support of that goal, we will accelerate our existing plans to reestablish the Great Hall as a true hub of activity for our students, outfitting the main areas with study tables and gathering spaces, opening a coffee bar on the main floor, and generally making it more inviting to students in an effort to build community in the heart of our campus.

Along with renaming the building, the Board of Trustees also called for the university to honor the contributions of Julian Abele, one of the first professionally trained African American architects and the lead designer of the building.

Monmouth will also dedicated $3 million to establish a permanent endowment to support the universitys diversity initiatives. In an effort to increase diversity and inclusion, the endowment will support diversity programming and educational initiatives, curricular and co-curricular integration, diverse faculty and staff recruitment.

Monmouth became the second school to remove Wilsons name this week. Camden school officials announced a plan to rename Woodrow Wilson High School, citing the former presidents racist values.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
(Photo : REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo) FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured on the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, November 22, 2017.

The COVID-19 pandemic is now in a "new and dangerous phase," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday, June 19, with the disease accelerating as countries lift restrictions and people tire of lockdowns.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference at their Geneva headquarters that the number of new cases registered this week "was the most in a single day so far" at 150,000.

WHO warns of new Coronavirus phase

The WHO Chief urged nations and citizens to remain vigilant. The number of cases reported to the United Nations Health Agency has reached a new high. Nearly half of the cases have been reported from the Americas, said Tedros, with a significant number coming from South Asia and the Middle East.

"The world is in a new and dangerous phase. Many people are understandably fed up with being at home. Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies," he said.

However, Tedros underscored that the coronavirus is still spreading fast. He added the virus is still deadly and most people remain susceptible.

Proceed with caution

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the coronavirus has affected at least 8.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 450,000.

The United States is experiencing the worst outbreak in the world. The virus has infected 2.1 million Americans, and at least 118,435 died, Hopkins data shows. As of Thursday, June 18, the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the nation increased by more than 15% compared to a week ago.

Tedros said world leaders and the public needed "exercising extreme vigilance" against the virus, urging them to "focus on the basics."

"Continue maintaining your distance from others. Stay home if you feel sick. Keep covering your nose and mouth when you cough. Wear a mask when appropriate. Keep cleaning your hands," Tedros added.

No turning back

The WHO has warned world leaders that after the COVID-19 outbreak, which has upended economies worldwide, there can be "no going back to business as usual."

The agency has told countries they will need to manage the coronavirus in the future as cases level off or decline in some countries. Tedros also said the world will surpass the pandemic and be better prepared for a future crisis. He continued that the WHO is worried about low- and middle-income cases.

The coronavirus has shown that "no one is safe," Tedros said. He added the world could "make a difference" only by "putting politics aside and working in true collaboration."

Meanwhile, scientists worldwide are fast-tracking to develop a virus vaccine. According to the WHO, there are at least 141 vaccines under production. There are at least 13 clinical trials already underway.

Also Read: [COVID-19 Update] Early Results of Sinovac's Coronavirus Vaccine Show 90% of Trial Volunteers Developed Antibodies

Tedros said it will be a challenging journey to find a safe and effective vaccine, noting scientists have never produced a successful coronavirus vaccine.

There is no known vaccine against any coronavirus yet, Tedros said. He said if a vaccine is discovered, this will be the first.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
So much for the idea that Confederate monuments are under attack. Last night in San Francisco, left-wingers pulled down a statue of Ulysses Grant, the man who did more than anyone except Lincoln to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Grant also, as President, did all he could to enforce Reconstruction and protect blacks in the South. He sent the military after the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina, worked to ensure passage of the 15th Amendment, and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Of course, the Left knows little and cares less about any of this. Leftists hate the Union and hate men like Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan for preserving it. Slavery is only a pretext. The United States and our constitutional democracy are the targets.

He was a slave owner in that he was gifted a slave, hated the idea, and freed him within a year. Then won the Civil War, prosecuted the KKK, and appointed African Americans to prominent roles in government. This might have gotten out of hand. https://t.co/5HdEDgodzm  Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 20, 2020



Every four years it is said that the current election is the most important one in our lifetimes. This time, it is actually true. Not a single Democratic Party official, to my knowledge, has condemned the anti-American madness that is sweeping across the nation. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are fully on board with the extremist elements in their partyI am starting to wonder whether there is any Democratic Party apart from the extremist elementsand the Democrats presidential nominee is a senile nonentity who, in office, would be controlled by the radicals. It is absolutely essential to our countrys future that Donald Trump be re-elected.

UDATE: Hans Bader has more, including this quote from Frederick Douglass about Grant:

To him, more than to any other man, the Negro owes his enfranchisement, Douglass said. Douglass eulogized Grant as a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.

But then, liberals hate Douglass, too.
Opportunity: Tommy Kelly, founder of eShopWorld, says firms that deliver quickly are seeing 300pc growth

Irish e-commerce company eShopWorld says it expects sales to reach 1bn this year on the back of a surge in online shopping during the Covid-19 lockdown.

eShopWorld's technology is used by businesses to manage online sales, and clients are understood to include big brands such as Victoria's Secret, luxury fashion group LK Bennett and Nike.

Its platform enables clients to localise their online offering in up to 200 markets.

Since March, sales have consistently exceeded 2019 Black Friday peak months, the company said in a trading update. Black Friday is the name given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the US, and is a traditionally busy shopping day.

If current volumes are maintained, eShopWorld expects 1bn of sales annually, or a doubling for the products sold by global brands using the platform.

Turnover at the Dublin-headquartered company jumped 34pc to 543.6m last year.

The performance was driven by sales in Europe, which are up 46pc. This market now accounts for two-thirds of transactions on the platform.

"Given its high disposable income and tech-savvy population, Europe is now seen as a major growth market by North American brands with universal appeal," the company said.

Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation more than doubled to 13.5m, in a year in which eShopWorld added 16 more brands.

The company said its data analytics is "a key differentiator" as companies seek to direct product to higher demand and higher margin markets.

CEO, founder and shareholder Tommy Kelly said: "In a pandemic world, there is incredible opportunity beyond domestic channels, particularly for apparel.

"As consumers around the globe turn to e-commerce our data shows brands that are able to move quickly to deliver a localised e-commerce experience are seeing 300pc to 400pc growth in sales."

Last year the company increased its headcount by 109 to 369, mainly working in technology, product, finance and operations roles.

The firm also has offices in the US, Singapore and the Netherlands.
The Andhra Art Renaissance, led by Damerla Rama Rao and taken forward by his wife Satyavani and sister Digumarthy Butchikrishnamma, was unusually bold for Rajahmundry, which was the centre of this movement

In this series, The Telugu Archive founder Sai Priya Kodidala traces Telugu socio-political history through literature and art. Read more from the series here.

***

In 1934, Oswald Couldrey, a cultured Englishman and former principal of Rajahmundry Arts College, wrote a scathing review of the Exhibition of Modern Indian Art at the Burlington Galleries in London. He was disappointed by the lack of representation of South Indian art, specifically Andhra art. The exhibition, which housed 150 paintings from Delhi, Punjab and Central India and another 100 paintings from Bengal, managed to secure only a mere 15 paintings from Madras Presidency. Couldrey, an artist and poet himself, justifiably expressed his annoyance at this:

 why in the name of all the gods of art was nothing shown of the work of the Andhra School, which Rama Rao founded in his native Rajahmundry, and which still holds annual exhibitions there? Why was there nothing of Varada Venkataratnams or Satyanarayana of Coconada or Y Subba Rao, or of the talented ladies of the Damerla family? And what again of the other group of Adivi Bapiraju and his fellows, who blossomed at Masulipatnam? I have seen photographs enough of the work of all these painters to be sure that twice as much wall as those 15 so-called pictures occupied could have easily filled with Andhra work alone, and well up to the standard of the rest of the room. And could not a loan have been obtained of Rama Raos own masterpieces from the Damerla House? At this distance I can only ask these questions and express a grieved astonishment.

The Andhra Art Renaissance movement emerged on the banks of the Godavari, with Rajahmundry at its centre. At around the same time, schools of art had already been established at Bombay and Madras, with the Bengal School of Art at the forefront. The Andhra Art movement, led by Damerla Rama Rao, a protege of Oswald Couldrey, nurtured indigenous art, giving rise to homegrown artists such as Varada Venkataratnam, C Bhashyakarla Rao and Chamakura Satyanarayana. The first women artists of modern Andhra emerged from his own family: Damerla Satyavani and Digumarthy Butchikrishnamma. However, the Damerlas remain virtually absent from public memory in present times.

The quest for a unique identity

At the turn of the 20th century, nationalism gained currency across the subcontinent. Closer home, the quest for and process of defining an Andhra cultural identity were in a state of churning. The urge to assert a unique identity drove cultural production, including literature and art  especially in the Northern Circars (then part of the Madras Presidency). It is well known that the Telugus later went on to carve a linguistic state of their own (to be further divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in recent times).

Even as part of the Madras Presidency, Rajahmundry  the birthplace of the first Telugu epic, Nannaya's Andhra Mahabharatamu  retained its importance as the religious and cultural capital of the Telugu regions. Around 1911, Oswald Couldrey discovered Damerla Rama Raos latent genius. Couldrey, who maintained an undiminishing love for Indian arts and culture, introduced him to the Western style of painting. He frequently took Rama Rao for live studies to the countryside. These included trips to the Ajanta and Ellora caves, to study the murals and sculptures, which left a lasting impact on Rama Rao.

Between 1916-1920, at the behest of Couldrey, Rama Rao received training at the prestigious JJ School of Art in Bombay. In this city, he was influenced by Gladstone Solomon, whose Western academic training was in direct conflict with the orientalism of the Bengal School of Art. In later years, he spent time teaching at the institute and travelling from the West to East, before he returned to Rajahmundry in 1922.

He envisioned a distinct Andhra style, emulating academic figure drawing while reinforcing the local talent for decorative murals, inspired by the frescoes of Ajanta and Lepakshi. For instance, his 'Siddhartha Ragodayam', inspired by the Ajanta murals, retains the prominence of academic figure drawing. Rama Raos live studies also followed a Late European Renaissance style of portrayal. Unusually bold for conservative Rajahmundry, he and his wife Satyavani painted frontal nudes, which often put them at the receiving end of social outrage.

With the help of his wife, sister and friends, Rama Rao started the Andhra Society for Indian Art at Rajahmundry in 1923, to produce and teach art which was both swadeshi and modern. In the following years, his work was exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley and the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto. Even as his art received acclaim, he passed away at 28, after contracting smallpox. This set back the Andhra art movement within three years of its conception.

The fleeting influence of the Damerla women

Rama Raos influence produced two prolific female artists: his partner, Damerla Satyavani, and sister Digumarthy Butchikrishnamma. His untimely death, however, did not stop the duo from pursuing art, despite not receiving formal art education.

After her husbands death, Satyavani, who was 17 at the time, devoted herself to art. She often travelled around Rajahmundry, studying nature and sketching. Her work is largely shadowed by her husbands influence and technique. However, it is noteworthy that she offered a rare portrayal of the contexts and private spaces inhabited by elite Brahmin women.

Determined to curate her husbands work which was stuck in legal cases, she struggled to bring it under a gallery. With Varada Venkataratnams help, she eventually established the Damerla Rama Rao Art Gallery in Rajahmundry. Upon the encouragement of a school inspector, she gained a diploma in drawing and started teaching art at the local government school until her retirement.

On the other hand, Rama Raos sister Digumarthy Butchikrishnamma actively participated in both the freedom movement and the Andhra art movement. She participated in the former with her husband Digumarthy Hanumantha Rao. Butchikrishnammas art was influenced by her patriotism. In 'Nooluthiyita' (Spinning of the Yarn), Butchikrishnamma portrays a household woman using the charkha, much like the women she mobilised for the charkha movement in Rajahmundry. Derived from her own life experiences as a freedom fighter, nationalism and mythology stand out as prominent themes in her art. Unfortunately, she gave it up after the death of her husband, a year after Rama Raos death. She dedicated herself to social work at the Kasturba Ashram in Rajahmundry.

The women's magazine Gruha Lakshmi, and monthly journals such as Bharathi and Andhra Bhoomi, featured the duo's works on their cover pages. Though both Satyavani and Butchikrishnamma largely derived their painting styles from Rama Rao, they still retained a uniqueness in their portrayal of women-oriented themes, full of nativity. Though they enjoyed popularity during their time, their work does not seem to have captured mainstream attention. It remains largely undocumented, due to the lack of interest and patronage.

The need for a self-perception of Andhra identity, both biographical and cultural, is still alive in the Telugu population. It is not difficult to share Couldreys disappointment at the lack of recognition suffered by the Damerlas. The Damerla Art Gallery in Rajahmundry, as it stands, is in need of some serious attention. The short-lived history of the Andhra Art Renaissance is, however, akin to a neglected rustic sword, when it should be seen as a crown jewel.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Mehr Petrochemical Company in the Pars Special Economic Zone of Asaluyeh County in Bushehr Province (southern Iran) has produced 190,000 tons of heavy polyethylene over the past six months, said Trend reports citing the companys website.

According to the report, this figure is considered a record production since the company began operations.

"For example, the company produced 161,000 tons of heavy polyethylene in the first six months of 2016, report said.

Over the past six months, Mehr Petrochemical Company's ethylene fuel intake has decreased to a minimum (1,022 tons), said the report.

However, it was planned to receive 1,025 tons of ethylene for each ton of polyethylene production in the company, according to the report.

Mehr Petrochemical Company has been manufacturing products domestically on its own, following the departure of foreign experts (Thailand, Japan) due to US sanctions being imposed on Iran.

Mehr Petrochemical Company was established in 2005 with the joint investment of the Iranian Investment Petrochemical Group and the Singapore Petrochemical Investment Ettehad Company for the production of heavy polyethylene.

In 2009, Mehr Petrochemical Company was put into operation with the potential to produce 300,000 tons of heavy polyethylene per year.

The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in November 2018. Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports, more than 700 banks, companies and individuals.
Wellington, 20 June 2020 (SPS) - The Polisario Front is determined to launch a court battle against two New Zealand firms which continue to invest illegally in the Sahrawi territories and to import phosphate ore of Western Sahara occupied by Morocco since 1975.



The Polisario Front lodged last March a formal complaint at the Supreme Court of New Zealand to prevent the pension fund of New Zealand from investing illegally in the occupied Sahrawi territories.



The Polisario Front and a New Zealand Association will go to the Supreme Court of New Zealand to advocate against the investments and importation of phosphate from these companies in the occupied territories said Tuesday New Zealands paper Stuuf.



The representation of the Polisario Front in Australia and New Zealand underlined that it brings the case of the New Zealands Pension Fund to the jurisdictions of New Zealand so as to stop importing Western Saharas phosphate, denouncing New Zealand and Australia which seek to grow rich from the natural resources of an occupied territory without its peoples consent.



New Zealands firms, namely Ravensdown and Balance Agri-Nutrients, import around USD30 million of Sahrawi phosphate every year for the needs of the farms in New Zealand.



The Polisario Front warned, in a note published recently, that these investments damage the reputation of New Zealand as a responsible country within the international community.



The Sahrawi people are committed to protecting their natural resources by all available means. This legal action is a clear message to all those who are involved in the exploitation of the Sahrawi natural resources, said Sahrawi representative in Australia and New Zealand Kamel Fadel. (SPS)



062/SPS/APS
SEQUIM, Wash. - One morning last year, Brent Simcosky stepped out of a pickup truck in the middle of a sprawling field off Highway 101, stood in grass that brushed his knees and imagined an oasis from the scourge of opioids.

The epidemic had struck particularly hard here in Clallam County, where generations of families from the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe live along the waterways of the Salish Sea. Simcosky, health director for the 537-member tribe, had too often seen the battered faces of neighbors and community members addicted to black tar heroin that sells for $5 a hit or to pain pills that for years saturated this remote corner of the Pacific Northwest.

Jamestown tribe leaders invested in schools, farming and aquaculture, spreading shells along the tidelands so oysters could grow. Simcosky had multimillion-dollar tribal and state commitments to finance a state-of-the art outpatient opioid treatment and healing center that would combine native practices with counseling, medical care and medications known to block the euphoric effects of opioids.

Standing in the 20-acre field, he pictured meeting rooms that faced the Olympic Mountains. A reflecting pool where patients could practice meditation. Activities that brought tribal traditions to the young.

In Washington state, with 29 federally recognized tribes, Native Americans have died of opioid overdoses at a rate nearly three times higher than that of nonnatives. For heroin alone, it was four times higher, federal data shows. The tribe planned to offer treatment to residents - native and nonnative - across two counties.

"Indians," tribe Chairman Ron Allen told Simcosky, "can be part of the solution."

In May 2019, the tribe bought the land. The purchase initially drew little attention in Sequim, population 7,000, a town of retirees, artisan shops and an annual lavender festival that brings flocks of tourists every summer.

But a group of local residents rallied to block the project, arguing that tiny Sequim was no place for a regional drug treatment center. When tribe leaders called a public meeting to present their plan, more than 1,000 people spilled into a steamy room at the civic center and onto hundreds of folding chairs set up outside.

Scores came from a newly formed group: Save Our Sequim, a name that became a rallying cry.

Jodi Wilke, one of the founders of SOS, said the issue has never been about need, the importance of helping to root out addiction in the community. The problem, she said, is location.

SOS members worry a treatment facility would draw too many outsiders struggling with addiction into a small community without adequate law enforcement and social services. Tourism could falter. Housing prices could drop. Schools could quickly become overwhelmed, SOS members have argued.

The site itself, Wilke said, is too close to a neighborhood and senior housing.

"The thing that bothers me is that they would use us as if we are bad people trying to keep folks from getting care, and it is absolutely not what we're about at all," she said. "But [we are] looking at the picture of a small town without the ability to provide for the influx."

A year later and now embroiled in a zoning challenge by SOS, Jamestown tribe leaders say they've run into a classic not-in-my-backyard fight, one that has divided the community and raised uncomfortable questions about racism, the nature of addiction treatment and the intentions of a tribe that traces its roots on the Olympic Peninsula for centuries.

"The Native Americans want to get all of America back," reads one comment on the SOS Facebook group page, which has about 2,500 members.

"They will buy the . . . town and turn it into [an] Indian Reservation!" reads another.

Jamestown tribe leaders have been careful to sidestep conversations about race even though supporters of the center point out that nearly all of their opponents appear to be nonnative.

Instead, tribe leaders have stressed that many communities have woefully inadequate resources for addiction treatment and that helping those with substance abuse disorder will ultimately strengthen Sequim and the surrounding region. Although the neighbor vs. neighbor fight has played out with mixed results in other places across the country, tribe leaders say they intend to prevail.

"We want to be sure that they understand," Allen, the tribe chairman, said of the center's opponents. "We were basically born here before you guys ever showed up."

- - -

Between 2006 and 2014, opioid distributors shipped 2.4 billion prescription pain pills to the state of Washington. Clallam County received nearly 49 million - an average of 76 pills per person per year, enough to rival some parts of hard-hit West Virginia, according to a Washington Post analysis of a once-confidential Drug Enforcement Administration database. The Post and the owner of the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia obtained the data after waging a year-long legal fight.

No other county in Washington saw more overdose deaths from pain pills per capita than Clallam. Black tar heroin also has hurt the region. In a restroom 50 feet from his office at the tribal medical center, Simcosky discovered a used needle still filled with the sticky, dark substance, which is primarily produced in Mexico.

Simcosky is not a tribe member, but after seven years as its health director and 20 before that working for other tribes in Washington and Alaska, he was emphatic.

"We needed to heal people," he said.

In spring 2018, a year before the controversy began in Sequim, Simcosky and a small group of Jamestown leaders traveled more than two hours northeast to the city of Anacortes on the Puget Sound. On land once used to harvest camas flowers, the Swinomish Tribe in 2017 invested $4 million in tribal money to launch a medication-assisted treatment and recovery center, and the group from Sequim wanted to learn more.

Like a growing number of tribes, Simcosky and the Jamestown leaders planned to pursue a more holistic approach to addiction, combining medication with primary and dental care, job training, counseling, family support services, and Native American customs and culture.

Many tribe members distrust nonnative medical standards, and programs integrated with local practices are critical, said Noa Krawczyk, a substance-use epidemiologist at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

"Every community wants to feel like they have ownership and they have a say in how they're treated, especially a community that has a lot of history in being taken advantage of and doesn't necessarily trust what outsiders come in and say," she said. "These efforts need to come from communities themselves, from the leaders themselves."

The group from Sequim spent a day and a half at the Swinomish recovery center, watching patients spill into a lobby with a carving of a hummingbird - which represents healing - fixed to the wall. About a half-dozen counselors offered behavioral therapy and support groups. Tribe members led talking circles. Signs above meeting and medical rooms were in English as well as the Swinomish native language.

Officials from the Jamestown tribe returned to the Swinomish recovery center three more times before announcing plans to open their own center in Sequim. The state provided $7.2 million, and the tribe put in $4 million, with an estimated $25 million more in tribe money committed over time to the development and operation of the center, as well as a broader campus of community health services.

"We will become the Northwest Mayo Clinic with respect to this opioid challenge," tribe leader Allen would say.

- - -

The opposition organized at the Big Elk Restaurant just after the Fourth of July last year.

Wilke said she recognized the looks of distress on the faces of the 75 people who gathered to fight the tribe's plans.

"They felt that typical powerlessness and despair when they find out they're going to have something done that they don't have any control over," said Wilke, a licensed practical nurse, single mother and onetime Republican candidate for a state House seat. "David and Goliath for sure."

Wilke, who recently announced a second bid for a state House seat, divided the group into committees to reach out to churches, homeowners and business leaders. Some members would visit and photograph the Swinomish recovery center, as well as other drug-treatment facilities in the region. Others would work to raise money so the group could hire a land-use attorney.

SOS signs appeared about town. One went up at a market near the center of town, with stacks of soda cans under a candy-red tractor, another on the fence of a nearby farm that sells organic eggs and kale.

SOS members say they believe the tribe is driven more by profit than the needs of the community, which Wilke said has more than enough drug treatment services. The proposed treatment center would receive as much as $455 per visit from Medicaid for some patients.

Simcosky said that by law, any excess revenue must be used for health-care-related services and that higher Medicaid reimbursement rates would go a long way toward covering costs for patients who may generate a lower rate.

At the Swinomish treatment center, officials noted, Medicaid money is used to pay for services that are not reimbursed by the federal government, including transportation, child care and case management.

"We're treating the whole person," said Dawn Lee, chief operating officer at the Swinomish center, which, with more than $10 million in new tribal money, is adding another 23,000 square feet. "We have so many extra services because that is the right thing to do."

Allen said the Jamestown tribe's proposed treatment center - like all health-care systems - must find ways to cover the costs of quality care.

"To accuse us of being business folks is a compliment," he said. "We can only secure the best health-care providers if we're able to generate the appropriate revenue to recruit them."

As the opposition group grew, and the division in the community deepened, Wilke said she struggled to control the message.

She said she has cringed at some of the public comments about Native Americans because they distract from the central SOS argument: Sequim does not have the capacity to support a regional drug treatment center. She and others have come to call the tribe "developers" instead of Native Americans to avoid accusations of racism.

"To me, it's not at all about race," she said. "It is about a developer and manager who wants to build this profit-making thing in our town without consideration of the impact."

Wilke, herself a recovering alcoholic, said SOS has spent about $100,000 on legal fees. The group is appealing the permitting process and site design application; a hearing examiner brought in by the city is expected to weigh in on the issue. In the meantime, the group has filed a lawsuit in Clallam County Superior Court, saying the city's permitting process denied SOS members their due process rights.

"We are for people getting treatment but appropriately sized to the community it serves," Wilke said. "Treating addicts should not result in the demise of your community."

NYU's Krawczyk and other health experts say the fears are common.

"We have a lot of work to do with destigmatizing substance-use disorders and their treatment," she said.

- - -

Three months after the Jamestown tribe announced plans to open the center, Wilke and members of SOS joined hundreds of others at a public meeting that tribe leaders had organized to discuss the development project. In a room at the civic center, the tribe put up a slide show titled, "Community Collaboration and Hope."

Allen stood before the crowd and talked about the health center the tribe already ran, treating 17,000 native and nonnative patients a year across two counties.

"We've always been here. We've always been part of the community," Allen began, according to a video recording of the meeting. "I just want to say that to you guys. All health care, whether you have cancer, whether you have pneumonia, whether you have the flu, whether you have a broken bone or if you have an addiction. We want to step up."

The tribe's public health officer pointed out that Clallam County had experienced a series of opioid overdoses and that, nationally, an average of 130 people die of opioid overdoses each day. "That's like a jetliner every two days of people that are dying," Thomas Locke told the crowd.

County Sheriff Bill Benedict explained that he had visited the Swinomish recovery center to get a better sense of the clients and security measures.

"I was impressed first of all at how clean the clinic was, how orderly it was and how absolutely professional," he said. "I did not see a criminal element in there."

From the front of the room, Simcosky listened closely. Dozens of local residents stood behind two microphones, waiting to be heard.

Some praised the tribe for its efforts and called on Sequim to show compassion toward those who need treatment. An SOS leader apologized for hurtful comments attributed to the group.

Others thanked the tribe for its work in the community before outlining a case for moving the center outside of Sequim. "There's probably not a single person in this room - if I'm wrong let me know - that's against treating addiction," one speaker said. "We're united in purpose here. The scope of the project is concerning for me and concerning for a lot of other people. We're talking about a huge facility."

Soon, however, the comments grew bolder and louder.

"This is going to be a big bonus for the tribe as far as bringing in a fair amount of money somewhere down the road," one speaker said to cheers and applause. "I think this is just a big smoke-and-mirrors thing."

"You guys are trying to pull a fast one on us," said another.

Questions flew. Will there be money to hire more sheriff's deputies? How will Sequim survive if home values drop? Will addicts park RVs along the highway? Surely, one man said, drug peddlers will come to town to supply pills to the center's clients.

"We know," he added, "that the next step is halfway houses."

One speaker challenged Allen to put the proposal on a ballot so voters could decide.

"If you win, you get your clinic and we go away," the speaker said. "However, if we win, you go away."

Another opponent pointed out that the tribe promotes gambling through its casino.

"You're out there selling addiction and now you're going to be in here profiting in a way that's very burdensome to the community," she said.

Later, Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias would remark, "We weren't really aware that this sort of underbelly of hatred was so close to the surface."

The meeting went on for four hours, and it was dark outside when Simcosky left. There was a building permit application to submit, design and architectural plans to finalize. With any luck, he figured, construction would start in a year.

Simcosky worried about the long-term impact of the dispute on the community, the tribe and the people most in need of help. But he was certain the plan needed to move forward.

He thought of the reflection pool the tribe wanted to put at the entrance of the new center, a place where those in recovery could sit and heal. A tribal elder had once told a story of how life could change like the flow of a stream.

All you have to do is pick up one rock.
Popular Senior actor Sreenivasan, known for his tongue in cheek remarks has now found himself in trouble post an interview. During an interaction with a popular television channel, the actor reportedly said that Anganwadi teachers were women deprived of education.

Well now, the Kerala State Women Commission has registered a case against him for his demeaning comments over the teachers. As per the petitioners, they were hurt by his comments which was gender insensitive and also misogynist. They also added that Sreenivasan's remark, which has now gone viral on social media might show the teachers of the rural child care centres in poor light.

Well now, clarifying about the same, the actor said that he didn't mean to be insensitive towards Anganwadi teachers or women. He added that the interaction was from a literary festival organised by a publishing company wherein he said that the Anganwadi (Kindergarten) teachers in advanced countries like Japan were among the most qualified educators. Whereas, in Kerala, especially in rural areas the children have no access to such mentoring. The actor also said that he has not yet seen the version of the video, which people are talking about. He added that anonymous persons might have distorted his words for reasons best known to them.

Talking about the case filed by the Kerala State Women Commission, Sreenivasan said that he is not aware of the case registered against him by the statutory body. He also said that he would defend himself against the accusations.

The actor has also been trolled on social media over the video, which is now going viral on various platforms. Kerala Anganwadi teachers were highly praised recently for their immense support for the economically backward students, who are deprived of sources to attend the virtual class.

FEFKA Demands Explanation From Neeraj Madhav, Asks To Disclose Names Of Wrongdoers

When Sachy Lost And Found The Script Of Anarkali That Changed His Film Career Forever!
NEW YORK, June 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (Hamilton or the Company) (NYSE: HBB) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and indexed under 20-cv-02323, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Hamilton securities between February 27, 2020, and May 8, 2020, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.



If you are a shareholder who purchased Hamilton securities during the class period, you have until July 21, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Hamilton was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, markets, and distributes small electric household and specialty housewares appliances. The Company sells its products through a network of mass merchandisers, e-commerce retailers, national department stores, variety and drug store chains, specialty home retailers, distributors, and other retail outlets.

As a holding company, Hamilton primarily operates through its subsidiaries, which are located throughout the U.S. and internationally, including Mexico. According to the Companys most recent annual report on Form 10-K, Hamilton has two Mexican subsidiariesGrupo HB/PS S.A. de C.V. and Hamilton Beach Brands de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about Hamiltons business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Hamilton had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, particularly with respect to one of its Mexican subsidiaries; (ii) consequently, the Companys accounting included certain irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at this Mexican subsidiary, as well as potential misconduct with respect to the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary; (iii) as a result of all the foregoing, Hamilton could not accurately attest to its financial results, particularly with respect to these metrics, and was consequently at an increased risk of delaying the filing of its periodic reports with the SEC; and (iv) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On May 11, 2020, during pre-market hours, Hamilton announced that it could not timely file its 1Q20 10-Q because of certain accounting irregularities with respect to the timing of recognition of selling and marketing expenses and the classification of certain expenditures within the statement of operations at its Mexican subsidiary. Hamilton further stated that its Audit Review Committee has commenced an internal investigation regarding the realizability of certain assets of the Mexican subsidiary.

Following these disclosures, Hamiltons stock price fell $1.03 per share, or 8.99%, to close at $10.43 per share on May 11, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
Many know the iconic voice of Elvis Duran from his award-winning radio shows such as Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. For decades, Durans helped millions of commuters get through their mornings with his no-holds-barred way of entertaining. Duran recently married his longtime partner, Alex Carr. How did this celebrity relationship begin and what is the age difference between the two?

Elvis Duran and Alex Carr lead a very normal life together

Elvis Duran and Alex Carr | Bobby Bank/Getty Images

RELATED: 50 Cents Girlfriend Cuban Link Sparks Breakup Rumors After Purging Him From Her Social Media

2015 National Radio Hall of Fame recipient, Elvis Duran, might be a married man now, but he and husband, Alex Carr, dated for eight years. The two became engaged in July 2018.

Duran speaks of their relationship often but their first meeting hasnt been disclosed. During downtime, theyre just like the rest of us.

We are extremely low-key, Duran told Us Weekly. We would prefer to stay home, watch TV, wear our stretchy shorts and T-shirts, and pet the dog.

He continued: We have lots of different ways that we balance each other. Im a city guy, hes a suburban guy. Im more of a white-collar guy, hes more of a blue-collar guy. He can fix things, I break things, he said.

Ive learned so much about animals, conservation, reproduction, and saving species. Weve been on safari together three times. I never would have done that until he came into my life. I try to think, What have I done for him? Not really anything as monumental.

Duran and Carrs New Mexico wedding

RELATED: Kim Kardashian West Actually Wasnt the First Woman Kanye West Proposed to

Carr is a beloved zookeeper at the Staten Island Zoo and the two now share a home in Manhatten and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Duran previously joked about the wedding planning process.

Its gonna be the worst day of my life, he said via Us Weekly. No, its gonna be a happy party. Thats what its gonna be. To be able to stand up there with Alex and just prove [to] the world. Heres proof. Youre seeing it. This is my guy. Im his guy. Were moving forward together, and were married. I said the word married. Thats gonna be a weird one to get used to.

In September 2019, Duran and Carr celebrated the nuptial exchange at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Some of the guests include Durans co-hosts Danielle Monaro, Matt Lanier, and Scott Froggy Langley.

Also in attendance, Dr. Oz and Fox 5 host, Rosanna Scotto, as well as fellow radio host, Charlamagne that God. The ceremonys theme, Dia de Los Muertos  Day of the Dead  matched with vibrant colors and flowers.

Carr took to Instagram about the big day saying, Ive always considered myself to be lucky and blessed, as I was when Elvis came into my life almost 8 years agofirst as my boyfriend and now fiance!!!! They say opening umbrellas in the house brings bad luck, but this time I dont believe it. I love you, Elvis Duran!

The age difference between the love birds

RELATED: Did Kelly Clarkson and American Idol Runner-Up Justin Guarini Ever Date in Real Life?

The age difference between Duran and Carr is somewhat significant. Duran turns 56 in August, and Carr just celebrated his 40th birthday. At the time of the wedding, Duran had just turned 55 and Carr was 39.

The 16-year age-gap doesnt seem to bother the newlyweds and thats all that really matters.
Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday claimed that the state has 83 testing centres in India and has tested 8.27 lakh samples so far, both the highest in India. "We tested 27,510 samples yesterday (June 19)," said the CM in a press conference. He added that the state has set up 300 medical camps and the state government is planning to scale it up to 450.

The CM said, "Only God knows when Covid-19 pandemic will end. This is a new disease. Globally there is no cure. We don't know about its real nature. We can only help people in recovery."

CM Palaniswami added that the efforts of medical professionals have helped the recovery rate to 54 per cent in the state.

He also said that the government is constantly creating awareness, adding that public cooperation is crucial to stop the spread of the infection. "Public must wear masks when stepping out and maintain physical distancing," he added.

The CM also said that the lockdown in Chennai and three other districts is like a speed breaker. A total of 17,500 beds have been readied in Chennai, he added. He said that his government is working on testing more samples.
All the 23 districts in the relatively prosperous western Uttar Pradesh (UP) have lost out on the Central governments ambitious Rs 50,000-crore Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning. The scheme is aimed at boosting employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers, who have returned to their native villages amid the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions that were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

The scheme, which will run for 125 days, is available for only those districts in the country that have received over 25,000 migrant workers.

The western UPs 23 districts have failed to make the grade for the Centres new job scheme because of the lack of the number of migrant workers required to qualify for the initiative.

The Central government has identified 116 districts across six states under this scheme, including UP, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Odisha, in a bid to create infrastructure through public works that support job creation in the migrant returnees villages.

In UP, 31 districts, mostly from the eastern part of the state, have made the cut for the scheme.

They are Siddharthnagar, Prayagraj, Gonda Maharajganj, Baharaich, Balrampur, Jaunpur, Hardoi, Azamgarh, Basti, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Banda, Ambedkarnagar, Sitapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Ayodhya, Deoria, Amethi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Unnao, Shrawasti, Fatehpur, Mirzapur, Jalaun, and Kaushambi districts.

Eastern UP has been traditionally known for migrant workers, unlike western UP, which is comparatively more prosperous and known for local job creation, said Suresh Chandra, additional chief secretary (labour).

A report, prepared by the office of the relief commissioner and seen by HT, showed that over 26 lakh migrant workers have returned to their respective districts between May 1 and June 11.

In some of the western UP districts, such as Ghaziabad, Shamli, Hapur and Meerut, around 1,000 migrants or less than that have returned since the easing of the lockdown restrictions.

Ghaziabad brought out the rear with only 289 returnees.

On the contrary, eastern UP districts such as Gorakhpur and Prayagraj received over one lakh migrant returnees each.

Siddharthnagar topped the state with 1,60,455 and Lucknow accounted for 3,449.

The state Panchayati Raj department had collected the data on the migrant returnees during lockdown 1:0 in end-March, when over 5.5 lakh returned home, largely from Delhi-national capital region (NCR).

Altogether over 31 lakh migrants have returned to the state to date, the officials added.

IN FIGURES

Total no of migrant workers returned to UP between May 1 and June 11: 26,014,49

Total no of migrants returned to UP during lockdown 1:0 in end-March: 5,525,64

Total no of migrants released from transit camps in UP after screening between May 1 and June 11: 2,578,397

Total no of migrants living in transit camps after screening as on June 11: 31,776

Total no of migrants sent to dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and care centres after screening till June 11: 20,245

Districts receiving most migrants (May 1 to June 11)

District Migrant Returnees

Siddharthnagar - 1,604,55

Prayagraj - 1,40,331

Gonda - 1,179,35

Gorakhpur - 1,057,71

Sant Kabir Nagar - 1,033,07

Districts receiving least/no of migrants

District Migrant Returnees

Ghaziabad - 289

Hapur - 535

Shamli - 847

Meerut - 1,001

Mathura - 1,844

(Source: UP Government)

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It doesnt take a scientist, if you Google or wiki trees, it is all over the net. We need trees.

Forests affect floods, mess with your forests and you mess with the flow, after a while, the forests cant do their job and we pay for it.

Here are 10 proven ways that trees make a big difference.

Trees improve air quality

Trees improve water quality, and reduce flooding and erosion

Trees temper climate

Trees conserve energy

Trees are good for the economy

Trees create habitat for plants and animals

Trees improve health

Trees reduce crime

Notice trees making good 2x4s, supplying pulp or pellets for your wood stove doesnt make the top 10, flood reduction is number 2. If you dont believe me, ask the Googles.

Today New Zealand has banned clear cutting of old growth.

China has a moratorium on cutting any natural forests, they only log from tree farms, they import all their raw log old growth fromwait for it BC!

Norway has become the first country to ban deforestation. In 2019 the Norwegian Parliament pledged that the governments public procurement policy will be deforestation-free.

Any product that contributes to deforestation will not be used in the Scandinavian country.

The Billion Tree Tsunami is a provincial government programme described as a 'true conservation success story'. In northwestern Pakistan, hundreds of millions of trees have been planted to fight deforestation and floods.

Ethiopia is in the middle of a campaign to plant four billion trees before the fall to combat deforestation and climate change.

BC has the science and ability to save our forests and plant new trees, it doesnt have the appetite.

Look out your window at the lake and watch it rise while we continue to fall trees in our watersheds, our parks and our back yards. Look at the costs related to this flooding and watch them rise.

Taryn Skalbania, Peachland
The weekend has arrived. Ill be using the time to catch up on a few PS5 and EA trailers I didnt catch the first time around, although you may have different plans in store. If youre running late on shopping for Fathers Day or a recent graduate, then we have some relevant gift suggestions; otherwise, well see everyone back here on Monday for Apples online-only WWDC 2020 keynote.

-- Richard

Denon rolls out the first 8K-ready receivers

Theyre also ready for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Engadget

While the debates rage on over whether or not anyone needs 8K, the new line of Denon receivers are ready for higher resolution video when and if you decide to make an upgrade. Perhaps more importantly, they also support HDMI 2.1, including features like auto low latency mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), passthrough of 4K video at up to 120 frames per second and quick frame transport (QFT) that reduces input lag.

The 11.2-channel AVR-X6700H ($2,499) and 9.2-channel AVR-4700H ($1,699) are available now via Amazon and other retailers, while the 7.2-channel AVR-X2700H ($849) is scheduled to go on sale August 15th.

Continue reading.

The Engadget Podcast: PS5 details and hesitation over facial recognition

Can anyone guess the price?

Engadget

Devindra and Cherlynn are joined by deputy managing editor Nathan Ingraham to discuss the PlayStation 5s eye-catching appearance, size and speculate how much it will cost. Nate also tells us why The Last Of Us II is a heartbreaking game worth the emotional investment. Then, our hosts take a look at the latest developments in major tech companies facial recognition systems, as well as Twitters new voice message format.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts or Stitcher.

Continue reading.

Sony's Aibo robot will now greet you at the front door

The $2,900 simulacrum keeps adding new features.

Sony

Thanks to a new software update, the android companion will now predict when you come home and sit patiently at the front door. Or thats the idea, anyway. According to Sonys website, youll first need to assign a meeting place  the front entrance to your home  by saying a phrase like this is where you should go. Aibo should then lower its head and sniff the ground to indicate that its storing the location. If the process is successful, a door icon should appear on the map located inside the companion app.

Continue reading.

This week's best deals: 10.2-inch iPad, Apple Watch Series 5 and more

Several Roku players are on sale too.

Engadget

As we enter the weekend and Fathers Day is approaching, there are still a bunch of sales you can snag for dad (or for yourself). Apples base iPad returns to its lowest price ever of $250, and you can get $100 off the Apple Watch Series 5 ($300) and $50 off the iPad mini ($350). Numerous headphones and earbuds from Bose, Sony and Beats are discounted, while Amazons regular Kindle is also on sale for $65.

Valentina Palladino has the full rundown for you here, and for more updates on Twitter, be sure to follow the @EngadgetDeals account.

Continue reading.

NBA restart plan includes using Oura rings to catch COVID-19 symptoms

The leagues bubble will be full of wearable devices.

Oura

As the NBA moves toward restarting its season with players and other personnel isolated at Walt Disney World in Orlando, details of how it hopes to manage the people on site are leaking out.

The part specifically interesting to us  other than players-only lounges with NBA 2K to play and bracelets that beep if people are within six feet of each other for too long  is its proposed use of Ouras smart rings. Earlier this month, a study suggested that physiological data from the rings, combined with information obtained from wearers via in-app surveys, can forecast and predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms three days in advance, with 90 percent accuracy.

According to The Athletic, use of the rings will be optional, and theres no word on what other data will help track possible symptoms. ESPN reporter Zach Lowe says that if players wear the rings, team personnel will not have access unless it detects an illness probability score that triggers a medical review.

Continue reading.

But wait, theres more...

Samsung reveals US pricing for its very curved gaming monitors

Apple releases Mac version of its developer app just before WWDC

SpaceX has a month to prove Starlink is worthy of rural broadband funding

Scientists locate the first fast radio burst in the Milky Way

T-Mobile offers an explanation for its twelve-hour outage on Monday

Comcasts public WiFi hotspots will remain free for the rest of 2020

If hindsight is 20/20, how would you rate the original Surface today?

DC fighting game 'Injustice: Gods Among Us' is free for PS, Xbox and PC

EA gives a quick peek at next-gen 'FIFA 21' and 'Madden 21'

What to expect from Apple's online-only WWDC 2020

K.K. Slider's fans span rock stars and remixers

Nintendo's 'Jump Rope Challenge' is a free workout game for your Switch

BMW and Mercedes call it quits on their self-driving car partnership

Tesla's solar panels are now more efficient and affordable
Waverley mayor Paula Masselos has rejected suggestions that Bondi residents are racist after a British student claimed he lost his job at a Hall Street cafe when the manager said locals wanted coffee made "by a white guy".

Ayokunle Oluwalana has since accepted an apology from the owner of the Bondi Beach outlet of XS Espresso, but he told The Sun-Herald he would rather not work in hospitality following the incident.

"I would prefer to give hospitality a break at this present moment," he said. "I'll take some time out to chill."

XS Espresso cafe in Bondi where a barista was allegedly let go because of his skin colour. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Oluwalana had earlier said on social media that he accepted an apology from the owner of the coffee franchise.
This newest member of the National Park system is packed with caves, rare bird habitat, and volcanic rock structures. Rock climbers can enjoy the volcanic rock structures. Pinnacles also have two talus caves: Bear Gulch and Balconies. You can also witness falcons and hawks nesting, as well as bat colonies in Pinnacles. (Photo : Wikimedia Commons)

This place is home to numerous endemic animal and plant species. It is situated off the coastline of Santa Barbara and Ventura, and is regarded as the Galapagos of North America. (Photo : Wikimedia Commons)

These Californian national parks, one of the coolest places in America, are a sight and experience to behold. Although they do not get as many visitors as Yosemite, and these are not the usual US national parks tourists from all over the world visit, these three are equally deserving of the world's attention.

1. Lassen Volcanic National Park

Bumpass Hell and Lassen Peak lie five hours north of the San Francisco Bay. Smoldering mud pots, bloody-looking hillsides, boiling springs, and belching sulfur vents come to view. However, close to every smoking vent is an ice-blue lake, waterfall, and alpine mountain peak like no other.

Bumpass Hell and Lassen Peak

The Bumpass Hell trail is perfect for hiking and nature trips. The path is a holistic experience for the senses - not just visual, but also for your auditory and olfactory senses. Hikers experience Lassen's hydrothermal space through the trail.

Lassen Peak is a 10,457-foot lava dome-one of the largest on Earth and a picturesque sight when you visit Lake Helen. Lake Helen is covered in ice from October to July, and it is considered the snowiest place in the state.

Kings Creek and Mill Creek Waterfalls

After a short hike from the main road, the path will lead you to Kings Creek Falls. If you follow the Mill Creek Trail close to the southern park, you will see some wildflower-covered hills, then towards the 70-foot Mill Creek Falls, which is the highest falls in Lassen.

Cinder Cone and Painted Dunes

To conclude your visit to Lassen Volcanic, go to the far side of the park. The Cinder Cone and Painted Dunes lie on the eastern side. The landscape is quite odd; this is a remnant of an eruption in the 18th century. A hike to the top is quite challenging, but you will see Lassen Peak up the trail.

2. Channel Islands National Park

This place is home to numerous endemic animal and plant species. It is situated off the coastline of Santa Barbara and Ventura, and is regarded as the 'Galapagos of North America.'

You may kayak into a vast sea cave, swim through lush kelp beds, and see sea creatures. Snorkeling, kayaking, and diving are popular activities to do on the islands.

Santa Cruz Island

The hike from Santa Cruz Island to Smuggler's Cove will reveal barren hillsides dotted with endangered plants. When you arrive at Smuggler's Cove, waves are pounding the beach, the bright blue waters, and the vistas make the island extremely interesting.

Towards another direction from the island is Cavern Point. The Pacific is a panoramic view that extends for miles. Small island foxes also thrive in this place.

3. Pinnacles National Park

This newest member of the National Park system is packed with caves, rare bird habitat, and volcanic rock structures. The park has no through road, but it has two entrances. For campers, the eastern entrance near Hollister must be used as the western entrance outside Soledad is for daytime use only.

Rock climbers can enjoy the volcanic rock structures. Pinnacles also have two talus caves: Bear Gulch and Balconies. You can also witness falcons and hawks nesting, as well as bat colonies in Pinnacles.

Chalone Peak and High Peaks

Hiking the Chalone Peak will give you a view of the Salinas Valley, the Gavilan Range, and the Santa Lucia Range. Hiking through High Peaks Trail will provide you with a better glimpse at the national park's volcanic history and perhaps a chance to spot the rare California condor.
While this column routinely reviews the internet's best offerings, sometimes a tentative preview is called for. Why tentative? Who doesn't want whatever Will Ferrell produces to be as magnificent as Blades of Glory, or Anchorman (the first one) - especially when tackling something sacred like Eurovision?

His latest brainchild sees singers Lars (Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) land the opportunity to represent their country at the song contest, despite a raging lack of enthusiasm from their fellow Icelanders. The first time Ferrell encountered/endured Eurovision was in 1999 when visiting his Swedish in-laws. The reasons the experience left its mark are twofold: (a) the Swedes won that year, and (b) Will couldn't believe America had given such a hard pass to something so gloriously ridiculous.

Ferrell's ode to Eurovision is 21 years in the making, but is it any good?

At the time of going to print, that remains to be seen. Fans of Graham Norton's chipper tones and quips about honing camel toes will be in heaven.

Other saving graces come via Pierce Brosnan's Erick - Lars' impossibly swarthy father - who brings levels of ruggedness only previously exhibited by Captain Birdseye's latest incarnation. Is Erick proud of Lars' achievements? No. He scorns them, mostly with his steely eyes.

Hopefully, viewers won't feel inclined to do the same come June 26.

Read More

Also streaming

Da 5 Bloods

Netflix, streaming now

In 2018, Oscar-winning director Spike Lee gave us an amazing autopsy of the conservative American psyche, thanks to his starkly hilarious BlacKkKlansman. Now, via Netflix, he regales us with the tale of four African-American vets (plus a panic-stricken son) returning to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader - with the added bonus of possible buried treasure. If you've not seen it as yet, consider it an education, peppered with japes and pertinant poignancy.

Dads

Apple TV+, streaming now

Bryce Dallas Howard dons her director hat for this new documentary showcasing an array of fathers and how they deal with being dads. Featuring personal accounts from such famous faces as Jimmy Kimmel, Hasan Minhaj, Jimmy Fallon, Kenan (& Kel) Thompson, Neil Patrick Harris and Will Smith (to name but a few) - it casts a light on not just how exhausted they all look, but also how shell-shocked they are. Even so, they're besotted.

Athlete A

Netflix, June 24

Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk's film follows reporters as they reveal the extensive cover-up and cruelty culture permitted to thrive within the world of elite gymnastics. Equal parts devastating and inspiring, this documentary observes the attorney fighting the institutions, and - most importantly - the whistle-blowers who refused to be silenced.

Rise Up

NOW TV, streaming now

This documentary, marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination, examines his extensive civil rights legacy. Catch it quick though; it's due to disappear from Sky's service for the commitment-phobic on June 30.

Toy Story That Time Forgot Disney+, streaming now A playdate goes awry when the gang find themselves in uncharted territory (again). Triceratops Trixie and Rex's Robo-arms are under pressure to corral everyone back to Bonnie's room when a gaggle of action figures turn out to be dangerously delusional! This 22 minutes of pure joy from 2014, plus some deleted scenes, is new to Disney+.
Lynn Gehl and other advocates for Indigenous rights gathered outside the offices of Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef on Friday morning to demand concrete action on the recommendations in the report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, released a year ago this month.

More than 40 people attended the rally at her Bethune Street constituency office.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this month in the House of Commons that the federal governments action plan on the report is coming but has been delayed because of the governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report had 231 calls to action documented throughout its more than 1,000 pages.

Monsef must immediately act for all Indigenous women and girls across Canada, with a focus on how a national plan will serve Indigenous women and girls and their families at the local level in communities such as in her Peterborough-Kawartha riding, states the release.

One such action must be guaranteed funding for womens organizations such as Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle, providing assistance to women and their descendants in gaining Indian status registration, and special measures for women and girls with disabilities who experience a higher rate of sexual violence. These suggestions can be further explored but Minister Monsef has ignored requests for a meeting, states a press release from the organizers.

The Peterborough-Kawartha MP was not in Peterborough on Friday: she was at a cabinet meeting in Ottawa.

Her staff in Peterborough wrote to The Examiner that organizers of the demonstration did not inform the office they were coming, and did not ask for their participation in any way, and therefore did not have a statement to offer on Friday.

 with files from Clifford Skarstedt, Examiner photographer
Wirecard's chief executive quit yesterday as the German payments firm's search for $2.1bn (1.87bn) of missing cash hit a dead end in the Philippines and it scrambled to secure a financial lifeline from its banks.

Markus Braun, who built Wirecard into one of the hottest financial technology investments in Europe before questions over accounting saw it crash in value, leaves the firm facing a looming cash crunch and mired in allegations of fraud.

Mr Braun resigned just hours after releasing a video blaming Wirecard's problems on fraud, saying he accepted that "responsibility for all business transactions lies with the CEO".

Wirecard, which has seen nearly 10bn wiped off its market value in just two days, had been a welcome technology success story in Germany, a country better known for its prowess in heavy industry.

But it has been under scrutiny since a whistleblower alleged that it owed its success in part to a web of sham transactions, a scandal that some fear will now damage Germany's reputation.

Wirecard said in a statement that James Freis, a former compliance officer at Germany's stock exchange, had been appointed as the firm's interim CEO.

It is holding emergency talks with banks to secure a financial lifeline, three people with knowledge of the matter said, after its auditor, EY, would not sign off on its accounts.

On Thursday, Wirecard warned that loans of roughly 2bn could be terminated if its annual report was not published on Friday and it had until evening to strike a deal with the banks, the sources told Reuters.

Wirecard's share price dropped by as much as 50pc yesterday in a continuation of Thursday's rout, with the stock hitting 20, a far cry from the 200 it was priced at when it joined Germany's prestigious blue-chip Dax index in late 2018.

"Wirecard is a company that has caused serious damage to the credibility and trust of the Dax with international investors. This will have significant consequences for the image of the German capital market," said Carola Rinker, a German economist specialising in accountancy fraud.

Wirecard's shares tanked again yesterday after two Philippine banks, BPI and BDO, said it was not a client of theirs and alleged that documents had been falsified.

Mr Braun, who has aggressively defended Wirecard against allegations of accounting fraud, had earlier said that the firm could itself have been the victim, without giving details.

"Attempts by Wirecard to appear as the victim in the missing 1.9bn have been undone within hours of Wirecard management's video yesterday evening," said Neil Campling at Mirabaud, the only analyst to have a price target of zero.

EY had regularly approved Wirecard's accounts in recent years, and its refusal to sign off for 2019 confirms failings found in an external probe by KPMG in April.

While Wirecard did not give any details of where the missing money is alleged to have gone, statements by the two Philippine banks denying any involvement spooked investors in the firm.

"The document claiming the existence of a Wirecard account with BDO is a falsified document and carries forged signatures of bank officers," BDO said, adding that it had reported the matter to the Philippines' central bank.

BPI also said Wirecard was not a client, adding: "Their external auditor presented to us a document that claimed that they are a client. We have determined that the document is spurious. We continue to investigate this matter," BPI said in a statement.

The Wirecard scandal, which has been the subject of several reports by so-called short sellers, has also damaged the standing of German financial regulator Bafin.

Reuters
While most police officers are good and decent people who do their jobs and do them well, police brutality is tearing our country apart, the statement says. People of color are the victims, but it is on all of us, especially white Americans to listen to their experiences in this country, speak up when we see bad behavior, act, and make this injustice stop. It is our patriotic, moral, and ethical duty as Americans.
Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam Mission to the United Nations (UN), has called on the international community to focus on people-centred solutions,

and share the burden and responsibility to ensure the success of the repatriation and reintegration process for refugees.

During an online meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to hear a report of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on June 18, the Vietnamese diplomat emphasised a holistic approach to the refugee issue, saying that preventing and settling conflicts, promoting economic development, and enhancing peace and security are sustainable solutions.

He urged parties involved to join efforts to achieve long-term ceasefires and create a favourable environment towards political solutions to conflicts.

Quy highlighted the humane significance of resolving the refugee problem, calling for promoting cooperation and dialogues among relevant countries to ensure the success of the process of repatriation and reintegration for refugees.

He applauded the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Refugee Forum with more than 800 commitments made.

He also affirmed Vietnam's commitment and efforts to join hands with the international community in supporting the settlement of the refugee situation in the world and in implementing the Global Compact on Refugees.

Speaking at the meeting, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in 2019, there were 79.5 million refugees in the world and those were forced to flee their homes  the highest level during the past decade.

He urged countries to join hands in seeking and implementing sustainable solutions to the issue, in which he particularly emphasised the importance of building and maintaining peace, upholding political determination and commitments to the effective implementation of the Global Refugee Agreement.

Representatives from UNSC member nations stressed the need to promote a mechanism on sharing burden and responsibility to support refugees and countries that accept them. They also called for international cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels, and comprehensive solutions to this problem./.VNA
Hundreds of thousands of employees face having to take unpaid leave or cancel holidays as a result of unprecedented travel restrictions this summer.

Key workers who have kept the nation moving in lockdown are among those at risk of losing money or even facing disciplinary action because of the Governments controversial quarantine laws.

A Mail on Sunday investigation has found that a host of firms, local authorities and NHS Trusts are telling staff they might not be paid during their two-week isolation if they cannot work from home and have no holiday allowance left. Some bosses are even asking employees where they plan to go, raising the possibility that if foreign travel is unauthorised, they face disciplinary proceedings if they jet off.

A Mail on Sunday investigation has found that a host of firms, local authorities and NHS Trusts are telling staff they might not be paid during their two-week isolation if they cannot work from home and have no holiday allowance left (stock photo)

It comes after the Government implemented laws forcing travellers returning from overseas to stay at home for 14 days or face a 1,000 fine. The rules mean that anyone taking a simple one-week trip abroad faces three weeks away from work if they cannot fulfil their role at home.

It is speculated that Boris Johnson will announce on June 29 that deals have been put in place for so-called air bridges with a small number of countries with low Covid-19 infection rates.

But even if that opens the way to holidays in popular destinations such as France, Spain and Greece, it still leaves travellers to other countries facing quarantine.

Bosses of the 1.3 million-strong NHS workforce were told last week: Overseas travel should not be booked before an employee has agreed the duration of the leave required with their employer to ensure that they can comply with the quarantine measures on their return to the UK.

Tesco will give sick pay to staff who booked foreign trips before the quarantine regime was announced on May 8

The Post Office said it would authorise leave for overseas trips, but if staff could not work from home, they could agree with their line manager to take the 14-day period as either annual leave, unpaid leave or a mixture of the two. High-street chain Boots said colleagues will need to use annual leave to cover any quarantine period.

Tesco will give sick pay to staff who booked foreign trips before the quarantine regime was announced on May 8. But anyone who asked for time off since then will have to take the quarantine fortnight as annual leave or unpaid.

Rehana Azam, of the GMB union, said: Whatever the circumstances, employees shouldnt be forced to take 14 days of annual leave.

From today, Britons will be able to visit Spain without quarantine, it was announced last night, although they will have to stay isolated for 14 days on their return.

But Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya called on the UK to reciprocate.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued his first significant COVID-19 shutdown order on March 16. The order was subsequently continued and extended on March 25 with the ensuing loss of some 795,000 jobs. I wondered if Walz took any account of the economic devastation he was causing before he promulgated his shutdown orders.

On April 23 I submitted a Minnesota Data Practices Act request to Governor Walz seeking all economic data and economic analysis submitted to you in connection with each of the executive orders you have promulgated in connection with COVID-19, specifically including analysis of anticipated job losses.

Working with Kevin Roche on a long-form article to a May 31 deadline for the Center of the American Experiments Thinking Minnesota magazine, I all but begged Walz Deputy General Counsel and Data Practices Compliance Official Emily Parks to respond to my request by May 15. She said they were busy but would try to accommodate me. Late yesterday afternoon Ms. Parks sent me the response to my request, more than a month after the deadline I had set so that Kevin and I might incorporate the response in our article.

Walzs response is stunning. Consisting of three documents produced by email as PDF attachments, its too small to call it a Friday afternoon document dump. Its a Friday afternoon document trickle. The documents are dated respectively April 3 (six pages), April 17 (six pages), and May 27 (a two-page memo To whom it may concern summarizing the April 3 and April 17 memos). Thats it.

You may wonder why the first two documents couldnt have been produced on the timeline I requested. By themselves they were entirely responsive to my request. You may wonder if Governor Walz might have been slow walking the production to miss our deadline. So do we.

Note that we were only asking for documents that already existed, not for the completion of a study in response to the request. Walz has expressed sympathy to those who have been hurt by the shutdown, but we wondered how he weighed the costs and benefits of his shutdown orders. We didnt think he had much in the way of economic analysis before him on March 16 or March 25. Until yesterday we didnt know how right we were.

Ms. Parkss email message to me yesterday afternoon states: Our office has elected not to charge for costs related to this request, but we reserve the right to charge for future requests. How much does it cost to convert three short documents to PDF and email them to your humble correspondent? Surely she jests.

Below is the the first of the three documents produced by Governor Walz in response to my request. Its not bad, and I am posting it here for all to see, but it seems a little late to us. We can say, on the other hand, that its lateness doesnt matter. Governor Walz would have done what he has done in any event.

UPDATE: Kevin Roche comments more pointedly in Dictator Walz Gave No Consideration to Any Harms Before Issuing Extreme Lockdown Orders.

Responsive Data 1 by Scott Johnson on Scribd
Father's Day in the United States is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year and that means that it will fall on 21 June this year, coinciding with Donald Trump's return to the presidential campaign trail in Oklahoma. The celebrations this year will also be underpinned by the ongoing protests over the death in police custody of George Floyd - a father of five - in Minneapolis on 25 May.

Fathers Day USA: stay at home dads

Father's day on 21 June, 2020, will also be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the country, and this will have a direct impact on the options available for celebrations this month with some travel restrictions still in place.

With fresh spikes occuring in over 20 US states in recent days as lockdown restrictions are gradually eased, it has been recommended that spoiling dads is an activity best undertaken at home, avoiding crowded places.

Father's Day in the United States a mother's initiative

A child sits on her father's shoulders as he carries a U.S. flag during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd. EDUARDO MUNOZ (REUTERS)

Although the celebration in many countries is born out of a Catholic tradition, in the United States it is different and dates back to 19 June 1910 in Spokane, Washington. It was at that time that the first Father's Day in the history of the USA was celebrated, the brainchild of Sonora Smart Dodd.

Dodd was a woman who, along with her five siblings, had been raised by her single father, a Civil War veteran. After witnessing a Mother's Day mass, she realised that there was no date to honour the father that she was so proud of and the following year she went on to inaugurate a new celebration.

It later became popular across the country and in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge announced he wanted to establish Father's Day as a national celebration. That idea, however, was rejected and it was not until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson confirmed Father's Day would be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. In 1972 President Richard Nixon signed a law to make Father's Day a national celebration in the United States.
When First National Bank of Omahas five-year community strategy, First in the Community, ended at the conclusion of 2019, it saw the bank reinvesting $85 million into its communities.

With the strategy over and the bank moving its branding to FNBO, Alec Gorynski, vice president of community development and corporate philanthropy, said they knew they needed to renew that commitment with Impact by FNBO.

It has a new name, its a refreshed name and image, but the focus of the strategy remains the same, and its as it was under the prior iteration, he said. Its having a vision of successful communities in all the places that we call home.

Impact by FNBO, announced on Wednesday, is the banks new social responsibility strategy with both the community and its corporate side. The strategy will impact the banks communities in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.

This, unlike the last strategy, which was five years in nature, this is evergreen, Gorynski said. This is our commitment to how we serve and support the social needs of our communities.

The strategy has four main goals: to improve the availability of affordable housing and the vitality of dis-invested neighborhoods, to help entrepreneurs build new businesses and create jobs, to create pathways to economic prosperity for individuals and to positively impact the environment.

With First in the Community, launched in 2016, the bank was able to reach 100,000 employee volunteer hours and reach goals with affordable housing and helping individuals reach self-sufficiency.

But with that strategy, Gorynski said it believed that those community outcomes came from philanthropy and community investment. In Impact by FNBO, he said those outcomes are also attributed to more aspects of the bank.

From a mortgage that helps a family buy their home to a small business loan that helps someone start and grow their small business, everything that we do all the time is producing community outcomes, Gorynski said. So the Impact by FNBO model still has the same visions, same goals and same community outcomes we want to see, but what were doing now is were incorporating and were recognizing all the ways in which we as a company contribute to those social and community outcomes.

With Impact by FNBO, the strategy will support community partners, provide grants for affordable housing, provide financing loans and investments to low-income individuals and businesses, engage employees in volunteer work and purchase goods and services from local businesses.

And then from an operation standpoint, we want to have a positive impact on the environment and reduce our carbon footprint, Gorynski said. So it moves from just a community investment strategy to an overall social responsibility model.

Although the strategy is made of so many different topics, Gorynski said they all achieve the same outcome.

We want people to be able to have affordable housing and we want to use housing as a means to develop entire neighborhoods and we want to see the creation of small businesses, and thereby the creation and the retention of jobs, he said. We recognize that we have all these tools that contribute to those outcomes, so thats kind of the thread that connects all of those things.

As the strategy continues, Gorynski said the bank will track the outcomes and the impacts of its activities, including its outputs, loans and dollars spent, before looking at what happened as a result.

For example, because of loans that weve made, how many people were able to buy homes in low-income neighborhoods? he said. Or how many individuals were able to buy a home for the first time?

The results of FNBOs work will then be shared annually with its stakeholders, communities, employers and customers.

Gorynski said he believes Impact by FNBO will be able to show people the good that banking can produce.

Thats what were trying to capture here, is that the spirit of banking has some really positive community outcomes, he said, and were really proud of that.

More information on the strategy can be found at fnbo.com/community.

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RTHK: US invites China to arms control talks

US Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea will travel to Austria on Monday and Tuesday to discuss "mutually agreed topics related to the future of arms control" with Russian Deputy Foreign Sergei Ryabkov, the US State Department said on Friday.

"The United States has extended an open invitation to the People's Republic of China to join these discussions, and has made clear the need for all three countries to pursue arms control negotiations in good faith," the State Department said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for China to join the United States and Russia in talks on a nuclear arms control agreement to replace the 2010 New Start accord.

New Start, which imposes the last remaining limits on US and Russian deployments of strategic nuclear arms to no more than 1,550 each, expires in February.

China, estimated to have about 300 nuclear weapons, has repeatedly rejected Trump's proposal.

Billingslea had said last week that he had agreed with Ryabkov on a time and place for the negotiations in June. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
An Iranian refugee who was moved to Australia to treat a botched penis enlargement has cost taxpayers $230,000.

The man, aged in this 30s, was moved to a Queensland detention centre from Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea, in mid-October under the now-repealed Medevac laws.

He reportedly injected himself with palm oil in an attempt to make his penis bigger but soon experienced discomfort, swelling and limited function.

Although the man has yet to receive treatment, accommodation and care expenses have cost the taxpayer about $230,000, sources told the Courier Mail.

An Iranian refugee who was transferred to Australia to undergo medical treatment for his botched penis enlargement attempt has cost taxpayers around $230,000

The estimate does not include the cost of transferring him to Australia and is expected to increase further as the man is not considered a priority for medical treatment.

Genital reconstructive surgery can cost up to $10,000.

Under Labor's Medevac laws, 184 refugees were transferred to Australia for medical treatment until they were repealed in December.

The legislation was designed to allow sick refugees to receive better health treatment in Australia.

The refugee reportedly injected himself with palm oil in an attempt to make his penis bigger but soon experienced discomfort, swelling and limited function

A spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs told the Courier Mail they would not comment any individual case.

'Transitory persons brought to Australia under the previous Medevac laws continue to be managed consistent with Australia's immigration detention policies and continue to have ongoing access to medical professionals and specialists,' they said.

The man's transfer to Australia last year was heavily criticised after it was revealed he had racked up 50 notable incidents since he was first detained in PNG in 2013.

According to The Australian the man was arrested for throwing boiling water on a security guard and punched another when the staff member confiscated his pornography.

Protesters are planning another rally at Kangaroo Point Detention Facility this weekend after up to 1,000 made an appearance outside the converted hotel last week

It comes as refugee advocates prepare another protest at the Kangaroo Point Detention Facility known as the 'asylum seeker hotel'.

Last week up to a 1,000 protesters gathered at the facility but Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge has slammed the planned second gathering.

'We've kept detainees safe from coronavirus, but now we have protesters jumping on vehicles, crowding around the facility, interfering with deliveries and encouraging detainees to breach social distancing. It's a recipe for disaster,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
We originally published this article to celebrate National Cake Day on Sunday 26th November 2017.

Revani is such a deliciously most light cake that we through wed share the recipe with you again in case youre planning a sweet treat for Fathers Day tomorrow (21 June 2020) and fancy something a bit different.

A bit about cake

Cake is arguably one of the most delicious things humans have ever made to eat, and its numerous varieties continue to astound every cake fan. For that reason, it is obvious that cake is more than deserving of its own little holiday.

The History of Cake Day

The history of cake dates back to ancient times, and the first cakes are thought to have been made in Ancient Greece and Egypt. These first cakes were rather heavy and flat and were eaten at the end of a meal with nuts and honey. Nowadays, this type of cake has evolved into baklava, a traditional Greek dessert and a must-try for any fan of sweet stickiness. In later years the ancient Romans also created their own version of this sweet treat, which was rather creamy and rich. However, like in many cultures around the world, this cake was often reserved for the gods and was offered to them at their temples as a sign of respect, love, and reverence. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word cake back to the 13th century.

How to Celebrate Cake Day

Of course, the best way to celebrate Cake Day is by eating cake with family and friends. You can buy a number of different types of cakes to celebrate the event, or have fun making your own cakes to mark the occasion. There are many different kinds of cake to choose from.

Celebrating Cake Day the Turkish way

If you feel like trying something a bit different on Cake Day, why not try this recipe for Revani from Ozlems Turkish Table.

Revani; a deliciously moist, semolina cake in syrup

This recipe is from Ozlems Turkish Table with kind permission from Ozlem Warren.

Revani has been a popular dessert with us Turks since the Ottoman Period; it is believed that the name Revani is given when the Ottomans conquered the city of Yerevan in todays Armenia. Revani has many versions and been enjoyed in various cuisines especially in the Eastern Mediterranean countries, as well as in Turkey. I have seen the addition of rose water, orange flower water and orange zest to revani, all sounds delicious.

My daughters revani cupcake; turned out wonderful!:)

Make sure to prepare the syrup ahead of time and that it is completely cool before pouring over the semolina cake, otherwise the cake gets soggy. Traditionally it is baked in a baking dish but my 6 year old daughter also wanted to make a few Revani cupcakes and they turned up rather wonderful!:) If you would like to bake revani as cupcakes, make sure to grease each cupcake shell with olive oil and not to overfill. If you are using paper cupcake shells, I suggest you to have 2 paper shells stacked together to provide a firm base, so that the batter wont spill.

In Turkey, we like to decorate Revani with ground pistachio and desiccated coconut. I hope you can give this delicious, moist revani a try, it makes any day special.

You can cook with me on my YouTube video or follow the recipe below.

Serves 6  8

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes for the cake and 15 minutes for the syrup

Ingredients

165 gr/ 6oz / 1 cup fine grain semolina

200gr/7oz/1 cup (not too full) sugar

45ml/3 tbsp. plain flour

5ml/1 tsp. baking powder

225gr/8oz/1 cup plain (whole milk) yoghurt

3 medium eggs

60ml/ 4 tbsp. olive oil (regular or light)

10ml/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon and Juice of  lemon

For the syrup:

300gr/10.5oz/1  cup sugar

375ml/12 fl. oz. / 1  cup water

Juice of  lemon

Ground pistachio nuts and desiccated coconut to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

Method

First make the syrup, as it needs to cool down. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan (at a medium heat). Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and let the syrup simmer for about 10 minutes, uncovered. Add the lemon juice, mix well and simmer for another 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the syrup cool down while you make the semolina cake.

Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well until you have a smooth batter.

Grease a square or rectangular baking dish (mine was 20 cm x 27 cm  about 8x 10) with 2 tbsp. olive oil. First beat the eggs and the sugar in a large mixing bowl briskly for a few minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Then add the remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil, yoghurt, semolina, flour, the baking powder and beat well. Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for about 25  30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown. To check; insert a toothpick to the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, that means the cake is cooked. If not, bake for another 3-5 minutes.

Let the cake absorb the syrup and cool down

Using a large spoon, drizzle the cooled syrup all over the semolina cake. Let the cake absorb the syrup and cool down. Once cool, cut the revani in square or diamond shapes; you can serve revani with ground pistachio and desiccated coconut over the top like we do in Turkey.

Revani; semolina sponge cake in syrup, delicious.

Revani gets even better the next day and keeps well, covered, for a good few days. In Turkey, we enjoy revani with Turkish coffee or Cay, Turkish tea by the side.

Ozlem

Afiyet Olsun

Ozlems Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland  order now

If you enjoy the wonderful food of Turkey and fancy trying your hand at home, you can order Ozlems award-winning book, Ozlems Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland via this link.

Alternatively, if you live in Turkey, you can order a signed copy of the book from Fethiye Times.

Please email us at fethiyetimes2017@gmail.com for further details.
President Donald Trump likes to refer to his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, as "Sleepy Joe." Trump's pattern of creating nicknames for his political opponents and penchant for name-calling appears to engage his base. When he lacks the political finesse to defend his administration and policies, he reverts to mocking others.

Trump obviously enjoys branding people with an easy to remember moniker. There are dozens of examples, including "Rocket Man" for North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, "Mini-Mike" for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, "Pocahontas" for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and "Crooked Hillary" for his 2016 presidential political opponent Hillary Clinton.

The 2016 campaign exemplifies the strength of name-calling, and the effects of linguistic power. Trump's constant use of describing Clinton as crooked, in part, resulted in a branding that affected many voters.

Through the jeers in Trump's tweets and his bravado performances at rallies, his name-calling has become the hallmark of his style that contributes to the ruin of our political landscape. During a time when Americans are crying for change on multiple levels, we need a president who can deliver messages of guidance without sounding like an elementary schoolboy who takes pleasure in bullying.

If a person has to self-promote by branding a political opponent to engage a base to support his re-election bid, it only tears at the fabric of a civil society and American decency. The president creates a false perception of his rivals with name-calling, which excites his fans and satisfies his excessive need for approval and admiration.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

There should be a ban on branding and name-calling during political campaigns and debates. We, as a nation, are headed in the right direction if we abolish negative and cruel labels and tags. It is also a bad example for young people to listen to anyone, especially a president, resort to name-calling. It promotes bullying.

The nasty monikers Trump creates are verbal bullets, designed to bring someone down.

This election, let us listen carefully and remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."

Deborah A. Miles is a freelance writer and a former reporter/writer for the Public Employees Federation.
(Update: As of Saturday, Washington County Sheriffs officials say the suspect in the case has been taken into custody. Authorities say they will not disclose the persons identity or other information until later today, or tomorrow.)

One person was killed, and another was injured in a shooting near Hillsboro Friday night, Washington County Sheriffs deputies said.

Deputy Shannon Wilde said at 7:17 p.m., deputies responded to Southwest Midway Road and Southwest Lepley Lane in unincorporated Washington County for a report of a shooting at a home. Deputies found one person dead at the scene. Wilde said the victim was an adult, but that she couldnt release the persons gender or name.

Officers gave medical attention to the other victim, a man, at the scene, before he was taken to a nearby hospital. Wilde said she did not immediately know the mans condition.

Wilde said they have an idea of who the suspect is, but the person has not been found or arrested yet. She said deputies are still investigating the connection between the three people, but they believe everyone involved knew each other, and deputies dont think there is a threat to the public.

Wilde said there were other people at the home when the shooting happened who were able to call for help.

This story will be updated.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

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India's crude oil imports in May fell 22.6% from a year earlier, it's biggest drop since at least 2005, as fuel demand and refinery production was hurt by a country-wide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. Crude oil imports fell to 14.61 million tonnes, it's lowest since 2015, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell data showed on Friday. Oil products imports eased 0.8% to 3.57 million tonnes year-on-year, while exports rose by 5.9 per cent to 5.75 million tonnes, gaining for a ninth straight month in May as slowing demand at home prompted companies to ship more ...
Chandigarh, June 20 : The Punjab government will cap Covid hospitalisation and treatment rates of private hospitals, and those not adhering to them will be shut down, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday.

The fee structure for private hospitals and clinics is expected to be finalised by Monday, the Chief Minister said during his #AskCaptain live session on Facebook.

Taking a strict view of the complaints of exorbitant fee being charged by private hospitals, the Chief Minister termed such actions as 'anti-people' and 'anti-national' and warned that the private institutions would not be allowed to indulge in such shameless profiteering at the cost of the lives of the people.

"If these hospitals do not agree to the government rates, we will close them down," he added.

Expressing concern over the spike in Covid cases in the state, which he attributed to the large number of people coming from other places, the Chief Minister said that he had sought from the Centre the permission to allow the state to make Covid test certificates mandatory for all those crossing the border.

Amarinder Singh said that he had raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's video conference with Chief Ministers to review the Covid situation.

With 87,000 cars entering Punjab from Delhi alone in recent days, the spike in cases in the past few days was only due to outsiders, and the threat of the pandemic spiralling was acute, said the Chief Minister.

He said he had requested the Prime Minister to allow entry of only those with valid Covid-free certificates.

In fact, those leaving Punjab should also carry similar certificates to check the spread of coronavirus in other states, he said.

Even as he reiterated the state's full preparedness for handling the Covid crisis, with no shortage of equipment and supplies, the Chief Minister said the battle had to be fought collectively by all, with every citizen taking the onus to check the spread of the disease by following all norms of social distancing, wearing of masks, etc.

While appealing to people to wear masks and maintain social distancing, the Chief Minister also urged them to go for early testing and treatment as that was the best way to ensure recovery.

For the first time, there had been an increase in the number of people on oxygen and ventilator support, he said, adding that the situation was explosive, with cases rising around the world.

With easing of restrictions and more testing, the numbers would continue to spike, he warned, adding that timely intervention and adherence to protocols was imperative to save lives.

On a question regarding some industrialists wanting to bring back labourers to the state at their own expense, the Chief Minister said they were most welcome to do so but would need to ensure strict home quarantine for the returnees for 14 days.

On the issue of Sikhs in Uttar Pradesh being relocated, Amarinder Singh said he had spoken to his UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath and was hopeful that the latter would stop the move.

If that does not happen, he will take up the matter with the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister added.
The full economic damage caused by COVID-19 and the lockdowns is uncertain. It will take several months, indeed years, to have a better understanding of where the damage has occurred and how severe it is. While the magnitudes are uncertain, it is already clear that we will see a sharp decline in incomes, rising unemployment, and widespread business closures.

South Africa, in particular, needs to keep a close eye on all aspects of the labour market so that policy responses can support those most in need. Recent work has highlighted the enormous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown on the lives of working people .

A focus on the labour market is particularly important given South Africa's already high unemployment, and the inequality which is generated by the labour market. We highlight four areas of the labour market which will require scrutiny in the coming months: the informal economy; turbulence and job churn; increasing capital intensity; and gender and work.

Informal sector as a shock absorber?

Before the pandemic, South Africa had about 5 million people working in the informal economy . The orthodox view in development economics on the effect of economic crises is that informal employment acts as a shock absorber for the formal economy. When someone loses a formal job, they take up informal work. The argument is that there are no barriers to entry to informal work, so workers will simply move into this part of the economy and undertake some informal activity.

In South Africa, the evidence is that this is largely not the case. This is due to the very low absorption rate of labour of both the formal and informal sectors. Different to other developing countries, South Africa has both very high unemployment and relatively low informal employment. About 34% of workers in South Africa are informally employed, while the global average is more than 60% .

There is good reason to believe that the informal economy, rather than being a shock absorber, could well have proportionately larger employment losses in South Africa. For example, following the 2008 crisis, Professor Mike Rogan from Rhodes University found that both the formal and informal sectors contracted  the formal sector by 4%, the informal by 7%. This suggests that the informal economy does not necessarily absorb those who lose their formal jobs.

In the current crisis, this is exacerbated by the design of the lockdown and physical distancing protocols. These have had a particularly severe impact on the informal economy. Any economic policy responses must therefore take the informal economy into account, and provide support where possible.

Churn and capital intensification

The second area South Africa needs to focus on is which kind of jobs will be lost, who will be most affected, and where opportunities exist to create new employment. This requires looking deeper than the headline unemployment figures and into the nature of job changes. The economic shock from the pandemic and the lockdown will cause a reconfiguration in the labour market. Many people will lose jobs, but many will find new ones, too. This has been a common dynamic in labour markets since the industrial revolution. But the new jobs might pay less, or be more precarious, or more dangerous.

Given the structural nature of the shock, the changes to the labour market will not be random, and may affect certain groups more than others. Low to medium skilled workers are more likely to be employed in lower paying, more precarious forms of work. And there's a concern that the sectors hardest hit will be those that employ a large proportion of women. Evidence from other countries suggests that, unlike in previous recessions where men lose proportionately more jobs, the current crisis is affecting women disproportionately.

The third important labour market issue to consider is capital intensity in the economy. In the production of goods and services, firms use a combination of labour, machinery and equipment (capital), land and entrepreneurship; the factors of production. The proportion of labour versus capital that firms in an economy use matters for job creation and unemployment. South Africa has seen a general trend toward capital intensive production . The country is likely to see an acceleration of this due to physical distancing requirements in offices and factories that will make automation more attractive for firms.

Physical capital, technology and labour can be combined in different proportions by a firm to increase or maintain the same amount of production. But in a country like South Africa, with very high unemployment, increasing capital intensity will further increase unemployment, and undermine the prospects of labour-intensive growth. This change will not be instantaneous. It's more likely to unfold over the next months and years.

An increasing capital-to-labour ratio in production is an important consideration for two reasons. The first is its effect on unemployment. Secondly, a shift towards capital intensity will increase existing inequalities. One way this will occur is through the rising portion of value that is generated by capital that will be claimed by the relatively small number of owners of capital. This is a common driver of long-term inequality that persists if it is not countered by redistributive policies.

The fourth aspect is gender and work. Women in the South African labour market continue to suffer higher unemployment, lower wages, and more precarious working conditions. Indeed, women earn less than men, in general, even when they do the same job. In addition to the fact that evidence is pointing to the crisis affecting women disproportionately in the labour market, there is also uncertainty about how the lockdown has affected the distribution of unpaid work in the household  a burden which falls disproportionately and unfairly on women. It is critical that the country's policy interventions are developed with these gender considerations in mind.

Need for new social compact

If the solidarity and social commitment to ending divisions in South African society is to be taken seriously beyond the pandemic, the manner in which these labour market trends will affect inequality must be considered. There is no natural mechanism or economic law that reduces inequality. Reducing it relies on policies of redistribution. This can happen either directly through structural changes leading to employment growth, higher wages or fiscally through taxation and expenditure. All of these require development policies that ensure the benefits of growth accrue disproportionately to low-income groups.

Given the conditions the world finds itself in, an increase in employment or wages is unlikely. In the case of South Africa, the country is also in a highly constrained fiscal position, which limits its ability to pursue redistributive policies.

In the medium to long term, South Africa will need a new social compact that ensures that the economic damage from COVID-19 is not borne disproportionately by the poor. Such a compact will have to address policies that raise the incomes of the poor  through the labour market and fiscal measures. South Africa needs to start an urgent conversation not only about the costs of COVID-19 but also about how the economy is likely to transform and who will benefit from that transformation.

David Francis works at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies which receives funding from international foundations that fund research.

Imraan Valodia receives funding from a number of national and international organisations that support research.

Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By David Francis, Deputy Director at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand And

Imraan Valodia, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, and Head of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
Its tempting to say that my top Fathers Day gift this year will be the long-awaited layer of black asphalt that crews put down on our street Friday.

Im not exaggerating the significance of the event when I proclaim: hallelujah!

The celebrated  by me and other neighbors, at least  laying of a beautiful bituminous band between newly poured concrete curbs and gutters brings to an end our multi-month dust-bowl experience with vehicles rumbling past on dry dirt and gravel. It also signals the final stages of the street-utilities project from, well, you know the place, that, despite the best efforts of a long-suffering construction crew, has dragged on now for more than a year.

But as delightful as the new hard surface is, it cant match FaceTime and how it keeps a grandpa in touch with his far-away grandkids. Thats the gift Ill celebrate most tomorrow, likely with FaceTime calls.

Mary and I have 18 grandchildren between us. (Again, hallelujah!) She shows off a bit in that area, since 14 of the 18 are hers. And 11 of those 14 live here in Rapid City, although one attends college  when there is college  in another state. The other three are just 90 minutes away in Chadron.

We see those grandkids a lot. Heck, one of them lived with us for 10 years. And we now have another  the one who earned a full academic ride to Bowdoin College out in Lancaster, Maine living with us, at least until the COVID thing settles down enough for school to resume.

So I am blessed to have these children of my stepchildren in my life on a daily basis. The benefits are many. Recently, for example, I got to guide 7-year-old Torin Duffy to his first bluegill and crappie and perch and largemouth bass. I also got to haul a piano from Highmore to Chadron, where I witnessed the face of 3-year-old Daniel Duffy light up at the arrival of what one of my piano-playing pals calls the magical music-making machine.

These are everyday gifts of extraordinary value. And I will stop and celebrate them officially tomorrow. I will also, very likely, check in on my four biological grandchildren  the far-away ones  by way of smart phones and their still-amazing-to-me technology.

These kids are not in Katmandu, of course. Two are in Sioux Falls, a half-days drive away. Two are in St. Paul, a painfully full days drive away. So I can get there, and they and their parents can get here. Still, weeks and sometimes months pass between in-person visits, especially since the coming of COVID.

And you miss things in weeks and months, things that matter. Thats especially true in the very early months and years of a childs life. Which is where the audio-video online services are more valuable than a day without rain on a street project.

I have watched by way of almost-daily cell-phone pictures and regular FaceTime video as my 3-month-old granddaughter, May Elizabeth Roche, found her smile and her laugh and her bright-eyed way of seeing the world.

I have seen her 4-year-old brother, Philip, tenderly share hugs and kisses with his sister before turning to more fully express his exuberance on a new set of drums or engage in super-hero battles on the living-room floor.

I have been there, in a way, as 7-year-old Emerson Marie Woster showed me a prized piece of her artwork or read from a favorite book. And I have become an audience of one as her younger brother, Bodhi, strummed a kids guitar and bellowed out a song with Springsteen-like zeal.

All of it makes a grandpa happy. And all of it keeps him closer to his grandkids, near and far.

Even a new street cant match that.

Kevin Woster writes a blog and offers radio commentary for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He can be reached by emailing kevinwoster@rushmore.com.
A second former police officer awaiting trial for his involvement in the death of George Floyd has been released on bail.

J Alexander Kueng, who has been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, was released on a $750,000 (just over 600,000) bond on Friday evening.

Kueng was one of four Minneapolis police officers who arrested Mr Floyd, a black man, on May 25 for allegedly using a counterfeit bank note. Mr Floyd died after Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder. Another officer, Thomas Lane, has already been released on a $750,000 bond. Chauvin and the fourth offier, Tou Thao, remain in jail.

A memorial to Mr Floyd in Minneapolis / Getty Images

Chauvin's bail was set at $1.25 million, which could be lowered to $1 million if he agreed to certain conditions - including not working in the police or security.

Kueng was arrested on June 3, along with Lane and Thao.

The death of Mr Floyd was filmed and uploaded to social media. In the video, Mr Floyd can be heard saying repeatedly that he cannot breathe, and begging the officers to stop kneeling on him.

The video sparked widespread protests against police brutality towards black people and other forms of racial injustice that have lasted several weeks.

People at the site of Mr Floyd's death / Getty Images

The protests began in US cities before spreading across the world, including to London.

The UN has voted to commission a report on systemic racism and discrimination against black people, in the wake of Mr Floyd's death.
Fifty years ago, a whale carcass washed ashore near Florence, Ore., and the authorities wrestled with how to get rid of it.

They couldnt bury it, fearing the eight tons of rotting flesh and its smell would quickly be exposed. Cutting and then burying it wasnt an option because no one wanted to take on that task.

So, state highway officials decided to use a half-ton of dynamite to blow up the 45-foot sperm whale, hoping its disintegrated matter would be whisked away by sea gulls.

The explosion instead spewed large chunks of decayed whale on curious bystanders, and even crushed a nearby parked car.
The authorities in Hanoi blocked a part of the Red River under Long Bien Bridge on June 19 to search for a suspected bomb dating back to the American War.

Searching for the bomb

Nguyen Quoc Van, chairman of Ngoc Thuy Ward, said on June 16, a fisherman on the Red River found the suspicious object and notified the authorities. The Northern Inland Waterway Department then inspected the scene.



The Hanoi Capital High Command and the military commands in Ngoc Thuy Ward and Long Bien District also arrived and confirmed that there is an object under the bridge.



"Plans are being made to salvage and deal with the object. Guards have been placed around the area," Van said.



The object is 2 metres deep and 30 metres away from one of two usual route under the bridge. The authorities have blocked the affected path to verify and deal with the object.



In November 2017, a bomb left from the American War was also discovered near Long Bien Bridge. It was over 2 metres long and had a diameter of 0.5 to 0.6 metres. Dtinews
Africas wild polio-free status is set to be determined in August by the Independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC), which is responsible for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus in the World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region, the UN health agency has said.

WHO in a statement released on Friday said the commission is set to make its final decision about the regions wild poliovirus status in August.

Africas wild polio-free status will be determined based on the field verification visits over the past year and on the critical analysis of the documentation of the polio surveillance, immunization and laboratory capacity presented by the governments of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan.

The commission had on Thursday validated the four countries documentation that indicate their wild polio-free status.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said that the achievement by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan is a major step towards the eradication of wild poliovirus in the African Region.

As the continent struggles with COVID-19, this milestone shows that when leaders, partners, health workers and communities come together we can triumph over the most difficult health challenges.

If the region is certified in August, it would be the fifth of the six WHO regions to be declared free of wild polio.

Polio certification

So far, WHO Africa region has not been declared polio free because of the last incident of wild polio detection in Nigeria in 2016.

The last wild poliovirus-caused paralysis was detected in August 2016 in Nigeria, while the last environment sample with traces of the wild poliovirus was detected in Kaduna State from a sewage sample collected in May 2014.

However, the African Region became eligible to be certified free of wild poliovirus, in August 2019, after Nigeria, recorded no new cases of wild poliovirus for three consecutive years.

This is the requisite period for any country to be certified polio free.

According to the UN agency, the commission had already accepted the documentation of the other 43 countries in the region.

The ARCC members are charged with reviewing certification documentation from all 47 countries in the WHO African Region and verifying the absence of poliovirus in the presence of certification-standard surveillance.

The Chairperson, ARCC, Rose Leke, said they are satisfied with the documentation that the four countries have presented.

We are reviewing updated reports from the other 43 countries in the WHO African Region and we anticipate that by August 2020, we will deliver our final decision on the regions certification status of wild poliovirus eradication, she added.

Nigeria milestone

Meanwhile, Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in a tweet at @drfaisalshuaib described the documentation as historical.

Amazing moment in history to have had our polio-eradication documentation accepted by (ARCC); the Nigeria team led by NPHCDA and partners demonstrated evidence of our polio-free status.

Nigeria achieving a Wild Polio Virus-free status today, is significant on multiple fronts.

I look back at the incredible leadership that has brought us here.

Apart from President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the two most important people who have made it possible due to their financial and technological contributions have been Mr Aliko Dangote and Mr Bill Gates.

Thanks for this unquantifiable gift to Nigeria, he said.

The spokesperson of WHO in Nigeria, Charity Warigon, in response to an email from PREMIUM TIMES on Friday said the official declaration of Nigeria as a polio free country is yet to be made by the global health agency.

She said the completion of the documentation exercise implies that Nigeria has successfully stopped the circulation of wild poliovirus within the country.

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Ms Warigon said the official declaration should be made during the WHO regional committee for Africa meeting in August.

Yesterday, Nigerias documentation for wild polio virus free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC), she said.

This implies that there is no indigenous circulation of the wild poliovirus in Nigeria. Put differently, Nigeria has successfully stopped the circulation of wild poliovirus within the country.

However, we expect a formal announcement of the certification of eradication of wild polioviruses in the African region to be made later in 2020, possibly, during the WHO regional committee for Africa meeting in August, to be attended by all 47 ministers of health.

Polio

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children.

The virus is transmitted from person-to-person, spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, through contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.

While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through administration of a simple and effective vaccine.

This is why WHO and other international partners have intensified efforts across every country to rapidly boost immunity levels in children and protect them from polio paralysis.

Not yet over

Although Nigeria has successfully interrupted the wild poliovirus, a new cause for concern, is a new form of polio known as Circulating Vaccine- derived poliovirus circulating in some countries in Africa.

Currently, 12 African countries in the WHO African Region, namely: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Zambia are experiencing the outbreak.

WHO Africa said the scale of ongoing circulating vaccine-derived polio outbreaks is a battle the region is striving to win.

Vaccine-derived polioviruses are rare, but these viruses are sometimes found in severely under-immunised populations living in areas with inadequate sanitation.

Ms Moeti said efforts are underway to urgently address the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks, also within the context of polio eradication being a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Ms Moeti said WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will continue to support governments in their efforts to stop the ongoing circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks, including by implementing a new response strategy.

She said the aim is to ensure that no child anywhere in Africa will ever again be paralysed by any poliovirus  wild or vaccine-derived.

Even though they are not wild polioviruses, such rare strains  which can emerge in areas of low population immunity  also paralyse children, it stated.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, mass immunizations across the region have been postponed until further notice, which hinders outbreak response activities.

The polio eradication programme in the African Region, in addition to its support to the COVID-19 response, is working with countries to ensure the continuity of essential disease surveillance activities as well as planning the resumption of immunisation and outbreak response in compliance with the guidance to stop COVID-19 transmission.

Also, Ms Warigon said the key message is that, despite the historic acceptance of Nigerias complete documentation, this is not the time to take the foot off the pedal, with regards to polio eradication initiative.

In order to sustain the gains, a lot more needs to be done to increase and sustain routine immunization coverage with adequate structure for continued vigilance (surveillance), she added.
German car manufacturer Volkswagen is joining hands with other car brands in order to develop its own car of the future.

According to Christian Senger, the board member responsible for digital services and software explained to Reuters that there is a competition to create automative operating systems and noted the growing presence of non-automative industries in the field as noted by The Economic Times.

Carmakers have been forced to link up radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors and connect them to braking and steering components, something which requires thousands of lines of software code as driving becomes more and more automatic.

Another board member of Volkswagen who goes by Thomas Ulbrich said that the company is 10 years behind Tesla in terms of electric vehicles and the vehicle operating systems.

Senger mentioned the possibility of "fewer automotive operating systems than carmakers".

In a slideshow presentation, he began to emphasize the need to transform the way the company used to do things; from just writing specifications to an industry with skills, employees and talents who would wish to develop more software programs on their own that tailors to the requirements of innovative software development as noted by Electrek.

Read Also: Volkswagen's 'Racist' Ad Adds to Their Bad Reputation as Ending Spells German "N" Word

Joining Hands to Build the O.S.

At the start of the year, the German car manufacturer launched Car.Software, an independent unit responsible for developing lines of code.

Although it has 3,000 digital experts onboard with the project, the company wants that number to increase threefold in the next five years as building this came at a whopping expense of almost $8 billion.

In a joint effort to develop its own software instead of basing it on a rival's software to test other carmakers on their willingness to go onboard with the project, there have been multiple inquiries from carmaking companies.

"The operating system is not something that we will control on our own. We will define its core and then quickly include open-source components, to create standards. This will create opportunities for partnerships," Senger added as noted by Channel News Asia.

In the Q&A, Senger highlighted that the cars too will always be updated thanks to the automative cloud which Volkswagen will be bringing online within the year.

"We have successfully developed the technological base for the MEB and the end-to-end connection for data exchange between vehicle and cloud. Right now, we are developing additional customer-centered functions. The start is pure tactical data exchange." said Senger.

Read Also: Volkswagen's Diesel Emission Pollution: Thousands of People Could Die Prematurely in Europe
The Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, has been confirmed as the Parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party Essikado Ketan Constituency in the Western Region ahead of the December 7 elections.

Mr Ghartey, the driving force behind Ghana's railways infrastructural development, was confirmed on Saturday by regional executives and delegates as the party's candidate for the December parliamentary election.

The acclamation followed an overwhelming decision by delegates to let Mr. Ghartey contest for the party's internal primaries alone.

The short ceremony was held at the constituency to publicly outdoor the MP who doubles as Minister for Railway Development.

Speaking at the ceremony, he has promised to give the NDCs parliamentary candidate, Dr. Grace Ayensu Dankwa a voting difference in the December polls.

---Daily Guide
Sodus, N.Y.  A New York state trooper shot and killed a man in Sodus Friday night after the man fired a shotgun at police officers, state police reported today.

The dead man is Cody W. Cook, 24, of Sodus, police said.

State troopers and Wayne County deputies were called to 6022 Boyd Road in the town of Sodus at about 11 p.m. Friday for a domestic disturbance. The caller told police that his son was breaking objects inside the residence and was armed with a shotgun, police said.

Troopers and deputies tried to make contact with the armed man, police said. Shortly after police arrived, the man pointed the shotgun at officers and fired, police said. A trooper returned fire that hit the man.

For several hours afterward, police tried unsuccessfully to make contact with the man. At about 4:20 a.m., state police entered the house and found the man dead, police said.

State police will hold a news conference to discuss the shooting at 1 p.m. Monday at Troop E headquarters in Canandaigua.
A mental health expert has said the latest easing of lockdown measures announced by the Executive this week are a welcome boost in terms of psychological wellbeing.

Siobhan O'Neill, Professor of Mental Health Sciences at Ulster University's Psychology Research Institute, said the relaxation of social distancing measures, which provided good news for churches, hairdressers, schools and childcare providers, marks a positive step forward both mentally and economically.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph she said: "Being able to do things like making hair and nail appointments may seem small but they do make a difference as they boost our mood, help us feel good about ourselves and like we're contributing to the economy again.

"That's the big worry coming out of this pandemic, that the economic impact means people might lose their jobs.

"There's a lot of fear around that, so being able to go out and contribute by supporting local businesses is something that we can all do."

Professor O'Neill says while there is still anxiety around the potential for a second wave of Covid-19, it's a matter of striking a balance between the physical health risk of the virus and the mental health consequences of the lockdown.

"We've got to trust that the epidemiologists and scientists who have been studying the virus are giving us guidance that's designed to keep us safe and that we follow the official advice around physical distancing," she said.

"People will be anxious at the prospect of everyone going back out into society again and we need to recognise that.

"It's important that we continue to have accurate information about the level of risk and how to reduce it by modifying our behaviour."

She praised Stormont's First Ministers Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill for conveying clear messages to the public over recent weeks around staying safe.

But Professor O'Neill acknowledged that there is still a level of ambiguity around one aspect of the restrictions. She said: "While it is great that we can go to see our hairdresser, it's also important to know when we can see our families again and what kind of interactions we can have with them.

"For many people that's much more important than things like getting back to the pubs.

"We need more clarity around the reasons for this and so we can trust that the guidance we are being given is really for our own benefit and to protect vulnerable people from getting this virus.

"I was concerned about the fact that the schools and childminders weren't opening and that was causing significant mental health problems, particularly for our young people.

"These are all really difficult issues and it was getting to the stage where some people were really starting to suffer.

"Most people have adapted okay to all of this and the data shows while there was anxiety, they got used to it very quickly.

"But there were some others who were vulnerable and we now need to look at what the effect of that lockdown has had on them and get the interventions in place to support them."

She added: "That's going to be really important moving forward."
Precious Paraison was breastfeeding her one-year-old daughter, Kiki, in her grandmothers home in Little Haiti when she received a call and left in a hurry around 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Three hours later, the 20-year-old single mother was found dead inside a car in Miami Shores. She was killed with a 60-shot fusillade, according to Miami-Dade police.

That she died like this, its a painful tragedy, said Paraisons uncle, Robison Pierre, 45, from Homestead, while holding Paraisons crying baby Friday.

A salvo of 60 gunshots killed a 20-year-old woman found inside a car in Miami Shores

Kimanie Alicia Paraison, Precious grandmother, stared at the pavement on her doorstep shaking her head when Pierre added, We are surprised that that happened to her, but now we need justice.

Kimanie Paraison, who lived with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter and was the last person to see the victim before she was killed, remembered speaking to Precious briefly before heading to the bathroom to prepare for her nightly prayers.

Then she heard her granddaughter answering a call on the phone, picking up her keys and shutting the door behind her.

Pierre said that, as a young mother, Precious had never stayed out late at night or slept anywhere but her grandmothers home.

So in the early hours of Thursday, June 18, Kimanie became suspicious that something had happened and alerted her sons, Pierre and the victims father, Dimy Paraison.

Pierre Robinson, 45, the uncle of Precious Paraison, who was killed by a 60-shot fusillade in Miami Shores early Thursday morning, June 18, 2020, holds her one-year-old daughter, Kiki Paraison.

The family members tried calling Precious multiple times over the night, Pierre said. But the victim had two phones and the one they were trying to reach had by then been thrown into the water near South Beach, Pierre said.

Precious second cellphone is currently in the custody of Miami-Dade police, which is handling the homicide investigation.

They knew what they were doing, Pierre said, referring to his nieces killers, who have not been identified by police. The family believes the homicide was premeditated, Pierre added.

Story continues

At 2 a.m., Miami Shores residents heard shots being fired near Northwest 104th Street just west of Miami Avenue, where Miami-Dade police found the body inside a white Nissan Altima shortly after, the Herald reported on Thursday. The cars right-side window appeared smashed by a stray bullet.

Miami Shores police officers watch as a car that was struck by a stray bullet, near the scene of an early morning shooting near Northwest 104th Street, just west of Miami Avenue, is towed away early Thursday morning, June 18, 2020. A person in another vehicle was killed during the shooting.

Precious Paraisons family said she was a peaceful young woman.

She was a very lovely niece and she never disrespected nobody, Pierre said. Thats made us more devastated because we dont know what to say. We dont know what to think.

Pierre and Kimani Paraison said they will take care of Precious daughter Kiki, but they will never be able to fill the gap left by her mothers death.

After Florida shut down in response to the global pandemic, Precious was laid off from her job at the Haagen-Dazs booth in Miami International Airport. But Pierre said, she sacrificed so much to buy her [daughter] everything she needed.

She was a good mother, Kimanie said under her breath with tears welling up in her eyes Friday.

Pierre and Kimanie said they plan to tell Kiki about her mothers killing when she turns 5. By then, they hope Kiki and her family members will get the justice they deserve.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported a net loss of Rs 697.20 crore in Q4 March 2020, lower than net loss of Rs 4749.64 crore in Q4 March 2019.

Total income rose 11.3% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 16,388.32 crore in Q4 FY20. Pre-tax loss in Q4 FY20 stood at Rs 969.03 crore, lower than pre-tax loss of Rs 7209.93 crore in Q4 FY19. The result was announced after trading hours on Friday (19 June 2020).

Provisions and contingencies fell 51.3% to Rs 4,901.31 crore in Q4 March 2020 from Rs 10,071.11 crore in Q4 March 2019. The bank has made a total provision of Rs 383.19 crore in 9 accounts during the quarter. The provision coverage ratio stood at 77.79% as on 31 March 2020.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 73,478.76 crore as on 31 March 2020 as against Rs 76,809.20 crore as on 31 December 2019 and Rs 78,472.70 crore as on 31 March 2019.

The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 14.21% as on 31 March 2020 as against 16.30% as on 31 December 2019 and 15.50% as on 31 March 2019. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 5.78% as on 31 March 2020 as against 7.18% as on 31 December 2019 and 6.56% as on 31 March 2019.

The bank reported net profit of Rs 336.20 crore the year ended March 2020 (FY20) compared with net loss of Rs 9,975.49 crore the year ended March 2019 (FY19). Total income rose 7.5% to Rs 63,074.14 crore in FY20 over FY19.

Deposits increased by 4.1% to Rs 7,03,846.32 crore in FY20 from Rs 6,76,030.13 crore in FY19. Advances grew by 3% to Rs 4,71,827.72 crore as on 31 March 2020 from Rs 4,58,249.20 crore as on 31 March 2019.

With respect to the impact of COVID-19 on its business operations, the bank said that the situation continues to be uncertain and it is evaluating the situation on ongoing basis. It added that the major identified challenges for the bank would arise from eroding cash flows and extended working capital cycles.

"The management believes that no adjustments are required in the financial results as it (pandemic) does not significantly impact the current financial year. Despite these events and conditions, there would not be any significant impact on bank's result in future and going concerns, assumptions as at presently made," PNB said.

Punjab National Bank is a public sector bank. Government of India held 83.19% stake in the bank as on 31 March 2020.

Shares of the government-owned bank rose 1.77% to end at Rs 34.50 on Friday. It had traded in the range of Rs 33.90 and Rs 34.65 during the day.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Korean Unification Minister Resigns

By VOA News June 19, 2020

South Korea's unification minister resigned Friday over heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, days after the North destroyed its liaison office with the South.

President Moon Jae-in "accepted Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul's offer to resign," the presidency said in a statement, without offering further details.

Kim, the key official for relations with the North since April of last year, offered to quit the post on Wednesday, taking responsibility for the worsening of inter-Korean relations.

On Tuesday, North Korea used explosives to destroy the building on its side, angered by South Korean propaganda leaflets and aid supplies crossing the border into the North.

Inter-Korean relations had frozen for months after the collapse of a Hanoi, Vietnam, summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Floridas chapter of the nations largest Muslim civil rights organization is calling for the firing of correctional staff who removed the hijab of an 18-year-old after she was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest.

According to a Change.org petition, Alaa Massri, a young Muslim woman, was arrested June 10 at a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Miami. When taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade, Massri had her hijab removed for her mugshot. The hijab was not returned to her for seven hours, according to the petition, which has nearly 70,000 signatures.

Alaa Massri, far left, was arrested June 10 at a Black Lives Matter rally that turned chaotic when demonstrators vandalized a statue of Christopher Columbus. Massris hijab was removed for a mugshot, says a petition filed for her on Change.org.

The actions of ... police were absolutely atrocious and inexcusable and repulsive, said Hassan Shibly, chief executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Its an assault on her dignity and the boundaries that she set for herself and its inexcusable.

The chapter released a statement Friday condemning the removal of Massris hijab at the county jail.

According to the arrest report by Miami police, Massri was arrested on charges of battery against a police officer, resisting officer with violence and disorderly conduct. As reported by NBC News on Friday, Massri was one of seven arrested when protesters vandalized the Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon statues in Bayfront Park, according to a statement from the Miami Police Department.

People gather in downtown Miami before the start of an anti-racism protest on Saturday, June 13, 2020, near the Torch of Friendship and the Juan Ponce de Leon statue that was vandalized during a Black Lives Matter protest on Wednesday June 10.

The petition states Massri saw a police car approaching a small group of protesters and went over to help anyone who may have been hurt. The petition says Massri was arrested after asking officers not to touch her. Massri was not available for comment.

The arrest report says Massri refused to move out of the street at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast Third Street after multiple commands. The report says after Massri was grabbed by an officer forcibly removing her from the area, Massri punched the officer in the right bicep with a closed fist.

Story continues

Shibly, who said hes been practicing civil rights law for nearly a decade, said case law shows that officers do not have the right to remove the hijab of a woman.

The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department said in an emailed statement that policies in place accommodate inmates who wear head coverings for religious reasons. The statement also said that the department is reviewing the incident to ensure compliance with our policies.

Arrestees, who claim or appear to be of a particular faith, are allowed to keep their head-covering once it has been searched for contraband and the booking photograph has been taken, the statement reads.

But Shibly said anything beyond removing a Muslim womans head scarf in front of only female police officers for a search is a violation of her religious freedom. He compared the removal of Massris hijab for her mugshot to the removal of a womans shirt or pants for a photo.

For far too long some law enforcement officers [have been] the subject of many civil rights violations and civil rights complaints with their rights being protected, Shibly said. And thats exactly what led to the death of George Floyd and other good people whose rights were taken away.

Floyd died on Memorial Day after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death has sparked anti-racism protests in large cities within and beyond the country.

Shibly started a fundraiser for Massri through LaunchGood to raise money for her legal defense and to cover costs of a civil suit against the Miami Police Department, according to the fundraiser. The fundraiser is also raising money to support a campaign to change all police department policies in Florida to protect the hijab of Muslim women arrested.

The fundraiser asserts Massri was unlawfully arrested. Shibly told the Miami Herald both officers who arrested Massri and correctional staff who removed her hijab should be fired.

Shabbir Motorwala, a founding member of the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations, said the hijab removal was clearly a violation of [Massris] human rights if done on purpose.

They are not covering their face. They are just covering their hair, Motorwala said of hijabs. How would somebody in the Christian community feel if ... a police officer pulled off the head covering of a nun?
Richard Bacon attends the Build Series to Discuss "Explorer" at AOL HQ on November 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/WireImage)

The Amazon Echo can be a handy gadget for helping you find out general information - but presenter Richard Bacon has told how he had to act quickly when Alexa tried to tell his kids about some skeletons in his closet.

The TV star was a well-known face on BBC flag ship show Blue Peter, but he was sacked in the late 1990s after it was revealed he had took cocaine - something Alexa tried to share when Bacons children asked the device about their dad.

The 44-year-old, who now lives stateside with his wife and their two children, was appearing on Andy Coulson's Crisis What Crisis? podcast when he told of the incident.

Read more: Richard Bacon put in induced-coma and fighting for life following pneumonia

He said: I am sitting in a room in my house in Los Angeles and there is one of those Amazon Alexas next to me and my kids said, Oh Alexa, who is Richard Bacon?.

And it comes up straight away, Richard Bacon is an English television presenter. He was fired from Blue Peter in 1998 for taking.

I jumped in and said, Alexa stop. Stop.

They said, What are you saying stop for? Why did you get fired?. And then they asked again.

The BBC Children's flagship porgramme "Blue Peter" today (Friday) introduced it's newest cast member, 21-year-old Richard Bacon (front centre) to the media at the TV Centre in London, Richard was welcomed by Blue Peter regulars, Romania D'Annunzio (left) Stuart Miles (rear) and Katy Hill. See PA Story SHOWBIZ Blue Peter. Photo by David Cheskin/PA. (Photo by David Cheskin - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

And so it is right there at the surface even though it was 21 years ago.

Good luck getting out of that one, Richard!

Bacon had been on Blue Peter for less than two years when the now defunct News of the World reported he had taken cocaine.

The scandal led to his sacking, the first time ever time a presenters contract was terminated mid-season.

Read more: Richard Bacon admits ongoing alcohol addiction puts him in 'danger'

H was even forced to give back the much-coveted Blue Peter badge.

Despite the scandal, he went on to enjoy a career in TV and radio, with stints on Channel 4s The Big Breakfast and Top of the Pops.

He know works behind the scenes in American TV.
US calls China rogue actor, blames it for escalating tension with India

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked China for 'escalating' border tension with India. He described the ruling Chinese Communist Party as a 'rogue actor'. Pompeo was addressing an online conference on democracy in Copenhagen, Denmark. He spoke a day after he condoled the death of Indian 20 soldiers in Ladakh. ...read more
By Express News Service

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh government on Saturday transferred the principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF-wildlife) and reshuffled the posts of eight other Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers following the death of six wild elephants in the state during the span of 10 days.

The government shifted Atul Kumar Shukla PCCF (wildlife) to state research, training, and climate change. A 1987-batch IFS officer PV Narsingh Rao replaced him. Two divisional forest officers (DFOs) of Dharamjaigarh and Balrampur were among the other officials transferred.

The death of six jumbos in just 10 days led the wildlife activists began raising questions over the alleged negligence shown by the state forest department.

Last Tuesday, a male elephant got electrocuted at Girisha village of Dharamjaigarh division in Raigarh after coming in contact with a live wire used for an illegal power connection at a farmland.

Ealier, an elephant calf died after it got stuck in a marshland at Mongri in Dhamtari district.

Previous week, the carcasses of two elephants were recovered in the forest range of Surajpur district. In the adjoining district of Balrampur, another tusker was found dead on June 11.

Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe into the deaths of three female pachyderms in north Chhattisgarhs Sarguja forest range. The state government then suspended four officials of the forest department for their apparent dereliction of duty leading to the death of the wild elephants.
David Berke, former Marine Corps aviator and Director of Leadership Development and Alignment Programs for Echelon Front left his military life behind in 2017. He didnt have to. He had a great position at the Pentagon and was selected for promotion to Colonel.

And he had plenty notable military experiences that shaped his perspective and vision of leadership. The longtime Marine first joined in 1994, served as a U.S. Navy Top Gun instructor, flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and even deployed on the ground as a forward air controller. He was the first operational F-35 squadron commander in the Marine Corps. He's also the only Marine to ever get behind the stick of the vaunted F-22 Raptor.

After climbing into the cockpit of an F-22 Raptor to perform a systems check, Lt. Col. David R. Berke, the Marine Corps F-22 exchange pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., glances over to his air traffic controller for further instructions. (U.S. Marine Corps/Staff Sgt. Christine Polvorosa)

But he wanted to see what challenges awaited him in civilian life -- and how he would meet those challenges.

Eventually, he would join Echelon Front, the executive leadership consultancy firm founded by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. The two former Navy SEALs rose to prominence with their 2015 book "Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win." The leadership lessons espoused in the book became the foundation of Echelon Front's training regimen.

His first challenge was transitioning from the military, which can be a daunting task for even the most prepared. Now, looking back, Berke says those principles of extreme ownership can help anyone as they move into the civilian world.

Heres how.

1. Find a Mentor -- Anyone Who Can Help Guide You

In 2017, then-Lt. Col. Berke retired from the Corps after 23 years, eventually joining Echelon Front with Willink and Babin. The Marine Corps leader found himself looking to his new veteran colleagues for guidance.

"The team that I joined at Echelon Front were former military guys that had already gone through the transition," Berke recalls. Its really helpful to get different perspectives from people you trust. Theyve been down that path and can help you identify and address risks, challenges and pitfalls. People who have endured what youre going through can be extremely helpful.

That mentorship from proven leaders made the difference to Berke, who calls his transition "seamless." He recommends everyone have a mentor or mentors to help guide them.

2. Know and Understand Your Next Mission

Military transition is a critical moment in the life of any veteran, and the consequences of decisions made in this period can affect people for decades. It's a lot of trust to put into one place. Berke didn't go right into his current role at Echelon Front, but once he had the opportunity, he seized it.

"Probably the most important thing you can do when you're leaving the military and going to the private sector is to make sure you can understand what your next mission is going to be. It's not going to be a military mission of course, but it still needs to be a mission that you can understand, get a sense of what it is you're going to be doing, how you're going to contribute and what is in store for you next."

What made David Berke trust the leadership training consultancy firm as his new home is that he understood the mission, he believed in it and it was a place where he could apply his life experiences while imparting that knowledge to others.

3. Realize You Have More Control Than You Think

An important way for a separating veteran to own their transition is to remember they have a degree of control almost any situation.

They have an opportunity to look at, score and find any number of ways to continue a new mission for their lives, he says. No matter what it is that they're doing, no matter how they want to do it.

Berke believes veterans can own at least a small part of any of the hundreds of details that go into making decisions that will shape their new lives. The more they recognize their control, the more successful they can be.

"They know themselves, what it is they like to do, what their interests are and what their passions are." he says. "They want to contribute what their next mission is. They have an opportunity to find any number of ways to continue a new mission for their lives. They can take over a part of every aspect of their transition, from the research to determine what they want, to figuring out what's best for their families, to the type of job, the geography and anything else that goes into it."

4. Give Yourself Credit When and Where Its Due

According to Berke, one of the most important things about owning your transition is giving yourself credit when it's due. Veterans can be confident that no matter what job theyre getting into, they can count on being productive, valuable contributing members of that team.

"Most of your military members are highly credible, highly sought-after, effective leaders that can contribute in almost any possible place," he says. "Extreme Ownership tells them it's really up to them to determine what's the ideal fit to them, to be aggressive in figuring what that is and take ownership of every aspect of that to find the right place for them so they can contribute in a way that they want."

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Switzerland's Attorney General's Office (OAG) has opened a criminal probe into commodity miner and trader Glencore over allegations it failed to have measures in place to prevent corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Swiss-based, London-listed multinational, which is subject to various international inquiries, said it would cooperate with the probe, but declined to comment further.

In a statement on Friday, the OAG said it opened the criminal proceedings against Glencore this month, but it was not possible to predict the timeframe or course of the case.

Prosecutors began investigations against "unknown perpetrators" after receiving a complaint in 2017 on suspicion of bribery of foreign public officials, the OAG said.

Glencore also faces corruption and bribery investigations by several other entities including the US Department of Justice and Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

It has said it was cooperating with all proceedings.

Canada's regulatory authorities fined a Glencore-controlled subsidiary in 2018 after allegations of inadequate financial disclosures in the DRC.

Questions over former Israeli partner

The numerous probes and exposure to coal have seen Glencore's shares underperform peers.

Glencore mines copper and cobalt from Congo, where its links to former partner and Israeli billionaire businessman Dan Gertler have been the subject of scrutiny.

Gertler was sanctioned by the United States in 2017 over allegations he used his friendship with former DRC President Joseph Kabila to secure sweetheart mining deals.

He denied all allegations of impropriety at the time.

Congo Mines Minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni and a spokesman for the presidency were not immediately available to comment.

Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, used in batteries for electric vehicles, and Africa's biggest miner of copper.

The top brass at Glencore is expected to step down this year after years of leadership under South African CEO Ivan Glasenberg.

Glencore's founder Marc Rich was indicted in 1983 for exploiting the US embargo against Iran, tax evasion, fraud and racketeering. He fled to Switzerland, where he remained a fugitive pursued by the Justice Department until he was pardoned by then President Bill Clinton in 2001.

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President Trump's 2016 voters enthusiastically stand with him  and against the Black Lives Matter movement, redirecting police funds and protests of police brutality and racism  in a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.

Why it matters: As the president slips behind Joe Biden in national polls, the survey found that Trump voters view the national uprising against George Floyd's killing in a substantially different way than a majority of Americans.

Biden has opened up a wide lead over Trump nationally  45% to 37%  while people still on Trump's side are far more enthusiastic than Biden's supporters.

Driving the news: The protests already have led to some police reforms, a debate in Congress about others and a newly urgent national conversation about racism. But Trump supporters aren't seeing the protests as a positive.

Just 26% of 2016 Trump voters say they support the demonstrations versus 62% of Americans overall.

Of the 73% of Trump supporters opposing demonstrations, half are "strongly" opposed. Overall, just 36% of Americans oppose them.

Trump supporters' views of Black Lives Matter are the reverse of the overall sentiment. While 62% of Americans (and 91% of Biden supporters) hold a favorable view of the movement, 63% of those who voted for Trump in 2016 hold an unfavorable view.

Trump supporters' views of the police response are more hard-line than the rest of the country, though their anger is more focused on the looting and vandalizing that has been shown on TV than the protests themselves.

77% of Trump supporters say the police haven't used enough force in responding to looting and vandalism, compared to 46% of Americans overall.

Just 29% of Trump supporters believe the police haven't used enough force against the demonstrations (a view shared by 13% of all Americans)  but 57% said the police have used "about the right amount of force," compared to 36% of all Americans.

Biden supporters are far more likely than the rest of the country to say the police used too much force against the demonstrations  78% of Biden supporters vs. 48% of Americans overall (and just 12% of Trump supporters).

The "defund the police" movement is more popular with Biden supporters than with the rest of the country.

53% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the movement to shift funds away from the police and toward social services  while 58% of Biden supporters have a favorable view. (Biden's campaign has said he doesn't support it.)

Trump supporters are strongly against it: 87% view it unfavorably (81% "very unfavorably).

The unpopularity of "defund the police" may be partly a branding problem. Asked whether they support reducing police funding to increase support for services like housing and mental health  without using the term "defund the police"  Americans oppose it more narrowly, 51% to 47%.

Trump supporters still overwhelmingly oppose the idea, 87% to 13%, while Biden supporters favor it by an even wider margin: 73% to 26%.

Between the lines: That Biden now leads by 8 percentage points even though most of Trump's initial voters are still with him suggests Biden may find less luck converting disaffected Republicans than in turning out voters who stayed home or went with third-party candidates in 2016.

By the numbers: The survey finds that 91% of Trump's 2016 voters plan to stick with him, 4% plan to vote for Biden and 4% say they won't vote at all.

Similarly, 91% who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 say they'll go with Biden, while 2% say they'll switch to Trump and 6% say they won't vote.

Seven in 10 Americans who plan to vote for Trump in November say they're excited, with 53% saying they're "extremely" excited. Just 46% of Biden supporters say they'll be excited to vote for him in November, and only 28% are "extremely" excited.

The potential for movement sits mostly with the 28% of Americans surveyed who say they didn't vote for Trump or Clinton in 2016. Among them, 37% say they plan to vote for Biden, 22% plan to vote for Trump and 40% say they don't plan to vote for either.

The greatest opportunity for Biden is with African Americans who didnt vote for either Clinton or Trump in 2016. They break for Biden 55% to 4%, with 39% saying they won't vote. Whites who didnt vote for Clinton or Trump four years ago favor Biden 36% to 28%, with the other third saying they won't vote.

Methodology: This SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted June 12-16 among a national sample of 6,275 adults in the U.S. Respondents for this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day.

The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points for the full sample and 3.0 percentage points for the 2,121 Trump voters from 2016. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureaus American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Compared to this time last year, the NYPDs 120th Precinct is seeing a 133% increase in shooting incidents, and a 23% hike in robberies.

Officers with the St. George-based precinct, which stretches south to Rosebank and west to West Brighton, responded to seven reports of people being shot as of June 14, according to the NYPDs CompStat data.
Boys Basketball: Watertown wins over Rapid City Stevens

Reese Stark and Drew Norberg combined for 41 points to propel Watertown to a 61-51 high school boys basketball win over Rapid City Stevens.
The owners of a controversially named ice cream have pledged to change its name, joining a list of other companies that have vowed to rebrand and retire racist stereotypes.

Eskimo Pie, a chocolate-covered ice cream sold in the US and invented 99 years ago, has vowed to change its name and branding, while the parent company, Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, has pledged to be part of the solution in striving for racial equality.

Nestle, the worlds biggest packaged food maker, agreed to sell its US ice cream business, which included Eskimo Pie, to Dreyers Grand in December 2019.

Eskimo Pie will be rebranded, omitting the name and character seen on the packaging. Source: Twitter

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing at Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, said the business had been reviewing the brand for some time.

We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognise the term is derogatory, Ms Marquez told Rolling Stone.

This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values.

Dreyers Grand Ice Cream will reportedly discontinue using the character seen on the ice creams packaging and the dessert will have a new name by the end of the year.

Although the name Eskimo is commonly used in Alaska to refer to all Inuit and Yupik people of the world, this name is considered derogatory in many other places because it was given by non-Inuit people and was said to mean eater of raw meat, the Alaskan Native Language Centre says on their website.

On Wednesday, Quaker Oats announced that it will retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognises the characters origins are based on a racial stereotype.

Indeed, the logo was inspired by 19th century minstrel celebrating the mammy, a black woman content to serve her white masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of the pancake product in 1890.

An ice cream company has said they will retire the 'racist' branding of one of their products. Source: Getty Images

Aunt Jemimas downfall is the latest signal of the powerful cultural moment unleashed by the Black Lives Matter protests, which have spread around the world and prompted companies to rethink their policies, from hiring practices to giving employees time off for Juneteenth, the anniversary of the end of the slavery in the US.

Story continues

Other companies said they are reconsidering racial imagery in their branding, including Uncle Bens rice.

The owner of the Uncle Bens rice says the brand will evolve in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.

Caroline Sherman, a spokeswoman for parent company Mars, said the company is listening to the voices of consumers, especially in the black community.

With AP and Reuters

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Tulsa, Okla

The Oklahoma Supreme Court Friday rejected a request to require everyone attending President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa this weekend to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing inside the arena to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

The court ruled that the two local residents who asked that the thousands expected at Saturday night's rally be required to take the precautions couldn't establish that they had a clear legal right to the relief they sought. Oklahoma has had a recent spike in coronavirus cases, but in a concurring opinion, two justices noted that the state's plan to reopen its economy is "permissive, suggestive and discretionary."

"Therefore, for lack of any mandatory language in the (plan), we are compelled to deny the relief requested."

The request was made by John Hope Franklin for Reconciliation, a nonprofit that promotes racial equality, and the Greenwood Centre, Ltd., which owns commercial real estate, on behalf of the two locals described as having compromised immune systems and being particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Tulsa's Republican mayor, G.T. Bynum, rescinded a day-old curfew he had imposed for the area around the BOK Center ahead of the rally.

Bynum said he got rid of the curfew at the request of the U.S. Secret Service. In his executive order establishing the curfew, Bynum said he was doing so at the request of law enforcement who had intelligence that that "individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behavior in other States are planning to travel to the City of Tulsa for purposes of causing unrest in and around the rally."

Bynum didn't elaborate as to which groups he meant and police Capt. Richard Meulenberg declined to identify any.

Trump on Friday morning tweeted: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany clarified later that Trump's tweet did not refer to all protesters, rather only to those who are "violent."

Bynum's order said crowds of 100,000 or more were expected in the area around the rally.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

The Trump campaign said it takes "safety seriously," noting that organizers are providing masks, hand sanitizers and doing temperature checks for all attendees.

McEnany said she and many other White House staffers would be traveling with Trump to Tulsa and that she wouldn't wear a mask at the rally, calling it a personal decision and noting that she is regularly tested for COVID-19 because she works in close proximity to Trump. She declined to say whether Trump was taking any additional personal precautions ahead of the rally. The nation's top public health professionals strongly recommend wearing a mask when social distancing can't be maintained, as will be the case Saturday.

Marc Lotter, the Trump campaign's strategic communications director, told MSNBC on Friday that the rally "is really a celebration of an America that's reopening."

He said the campaign asks that supporters stay away from the rally if they or a family member are in a high-risk category for serious complications from the coronavirus.

Oklahoma has seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases, setting a daily high on Thursday of 450.
A new study appearing in the journal CHEST, published by Elsevier, documents an increased incidence of silicosis, which progressed rapidly to massive pulmonary fibrosis in a significant proportion of patients who had previously worked artificial stone (AS), also called artificial quartz agglomerate or conglomerate, a popular new countertop material, despite cessation of exposure after diagnosis.

AS is composed of finely crushed stone mixed with synthetic resins and has a high silica content. It emits respirable crystalline dust (RCS) while it is being fabricated and in cutting, shaping, and finishing in small industries, which can cause permanent and severe lung damage if it is inhaled.

The study reports on the results of follow-up exams of 106 AS workers in southern Spain who were diagnosed with silicosis or severe pulmonary fibrosis between 2009 and 2018. The investigators first reported the link between their illnesses and AS RCS in a study published in 2014.

"While 6.6 percent of the AS workers were initially diagnosed with massive pulmonary fibrosis, 37.7 percent had more advanced disease at the follow-up exam, even though they had left their jobs and were no longer exposed to the harmful dust. In a quarter of the patients, the rate of decline in lung capacity progressed very rapidly," explained lead investigator, Antonio Leon-Jimenez, PhD, Pulmonology, Allergy and Thoracic Surgery Department, Puerta del Mar University Hospital; and Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cadiz (INiBICA), Cadiz, Spain. On a positive note, four years after exposure ended, the annual decrease of lung capacity appeared to slow down.

Silicosis, probably the most ancient occupational disease, has been traditionally related to mining or quarry work. It is caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust that produces permanent lung scarring (pulmonary fibrosis). Its incidence had decreased in high income countries following the reduction of mining activities and implementation of better protective measures for workers and dust control.

However, over the past decade, the increasing popularity of AS for use in kitchen and bathroom countertops because of its design and attractive colors has supplanted traditional materials like granite and marble. Unfortunately, working with AS has resulted in a resurgence of cases of silicosis identified among fabricators. Despite following protective measures used for handling natural stone, these workers were nonetheless injured by the higher level of crystallized silica contained in AS (93 percent) than in natural stone (five percent-30 percent).

Measures adopted to reduce the concentration of respirable dust, such as the use of water suppression and exhaust ventilation techniques, have been implemented, but harmful levels of RCS are still documented in workplaces, generally in small factories.

The investigators call for more aggressive engineering controls and new treatments to be developed and tested, "Avoiding the continued inhalation of silica is essential but is not enough. The majority of patients are young people and the progression of the disease, in a significant number of them, foreshadows an uncertain future. Our findings emphasize the need to maximize protective measures in active patients and to find new treatments that may delay or curb the progression of the disease," cautioned Dr. Leon-Jimenez.

The worldwide demand for engineered quartz countertops continues to soar (estimates project the 2013 levels will triple by 2024). Although the first patients were described ten years ago in Spain and Israel, the number of cases has been increasing throughout the world. In Australia, the situation was considered an occupational epidemic in 2019, and the emergence of new cases in the United States and China warns that it is a global problem that likely has only just begun.

In an accompanying editorial, Robert A. Cohen, MD, and Leonard H.T. Go, MD, both affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Chicago, IL, USA, add an even stronger cautionary note, "Given the toxicity of this material and the rising human cost of its use, if engineering controls cannot limit worker exposure to hazardous concentrations of RCS, a ban on AS needs to be considered. Colorful countertops are not worth the price paid by these workers."
Piramal Enterprises' Pharma Solutions business announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with G&W Laboratories Inc. to acquire its solid oral dosage drug product manufacturing facility located in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

The transaction closure is subject to customary pre-closing conditions. According to the terms of the agreement, PEL, through one of its Affiliates, would acquire at closing a 100% stake in the entity that operates the facility and owns the related real estate.

This acquisition broadens the offering of Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS) by adding solid oral dosage form capabilities (tablets and capsules) in North America. Until now, PPS' capabilities in solid oral dosage forms were all located in the UK and India. The Sellersville site can also produce liquids, creams, and ointments, further expanding the PPS portfolio. The site also can support product and process development for solid oral dosage and oral liquids, including immediate release, modified release, chewable & sublingual solid oral dosage forms, solutions and suspensions in liquids.

The site has received certifications from the FDA and EMA.

The Sellersville site covers 31.5 acres of land with over 221,000 square feet of manufacturing space, including 195,000 square feet of GMP area. The site features dedicated manufacturing and packaging technologies for solid oral dosage forms, liquids, creams, and ointments; QC and microbiology labs; state-of-the-art preformulation and analytical development infrastructure coupled with a pilot lab for research and development; and a temperature-controlled warehouse. The site currently has the necessary controls to support manufacturing of potent solid oral dosage forms. PPS intends to offer high potency drug manufacturing capabilities at the site, complementing the Company's global strength in highly potent compounds. The site employs a highly knowledgeable and experienced workforce of ~100, with an average of 19 years of service with the site. PPS expects to further grow the site's current strength to support development services as well as any COVID-19 management drug opportunities.

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Donald Trump made his return to the campaign trail in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night after the coronavirus sent the country into shutdown but faced an audience of reportedly just 6,200 people after his campaign had bragged they had received 1m registrations for tickets.

Rally attendance was a huge topic of debate following the event, with the Trump campaign telling The Independent it registered 12,000 people walking through metal detectors in response to reports indicating only 6,200 attended.

Also a report surfaced that a TikTok campaign lead by teenagers potentially impacted the numbers the campaign expected on Saturday, Viral videos encouraged people to request a seat at the rally but then not attend, influencing how many the campaign would expect.

Campaign manager Brad Parscale released a statement slamming the report and accusing journalists of "gleefully" covering this trolling activity.

On stage at the BOK Center, the president mocked the dangerous respiratory disease that has killed some 121,000 Americans as the kung flu, likened it to the sniffles and admitted he had ordered his team to slow the testing for Covid-19 because the infection statistics were so unfavourable to him in an election year.

He also sneered at peaceful left-wing protesters in Seattle, continued to obsess over negative media coverage of his recent West Point graduation speech at which he was laughed at for walking unsteadily down a ramp and struggling to hold a glass of water and made the shocking and baseless allegation that Democrats want to legalise after birth execution.

Mr Trump's statement that he suggested officials to "slow down testing" made the most waves following the rally, with health officials accusing the president of having "blood on his hands" by denying testing to citizens.

The White House later walked back the president's statement by stating he was joking.

For Father's Day, the president celebrated by visiting his golf club in Virginia. He remained silent on Twitter, his medium-of-choice, through out the day amid coverage over his campaign rally. But reportedly the president was "furious" over his "underwhelming" rally turnout.
The Defence Headquarters says the troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), on Friday, neutralised three kidnappers during a commando operation at Quaan Pan Local Government Area of Plateau state.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

Mr Enenche, a major-general, said the operation was in continuation of intensive clearance operations under Operation Accord aimed at curtailing the activities of bandits and other criminals in the North West and North Central region.

He said the raid was sequel to technical and human intelligence on the activities of a notorious kidnap kingpin at Pialat Hotel in Kwa.

According to him, troops overwhelmed the suspects who opened fire on them, with superior fire power, killing three of them while others escaped with gun shot wounds.

Mr Enenche added that the troops recovered one Barreta pistol, one single barrel gun, two fabricated pistols, four rounds of 9mm ammunition, three rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, four cartridges, one motorcycle and one techno phone.

He further disclosed that the same troops in collaboration with local vigilante rescued one Salisu Abdullahi, a herder, who went missing while grazing around Bakin Rafi at Gidan Ado general area in Riyom Local Government Area.

According to him, troops arrested a suspected kidnapper, one Alhaji Idris around Hawan-Kibo general area also in Riyom Local Government Area.

He added that four other suspected kidnappers were apprehended in connection with the kidnap of one Abdullahi Abdullahi at Kwahas-Lahir area in Mangu Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, all the suspects have been handed over to relevant civil authorities for further investigation and prosecution.

Additionally, as part of Operation Accord Civil-Military cooperation activities, Headquaters Operation Safe Haven distributed relief materials to residents of Daffo district and Kuba village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

This was aimed at cushioning the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Military High Command congratulates Operation Safe Haven for their commitment.

While the general public is requested to continue to provide timely and credible information to the Armed Forces of Nigeria, he said. (NAN)
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Journalists networks condemned registration of FIR against Supriya Sharma of the news website Scroll.in over a report from Domari village in PM Narendra Modis constituency Varanasi.

The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), the Editors Guild of India and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the Uttar Pradesh Polices FIR.

The stringent lockdown ordered to check the spread of the novel coronavirus has led to deep distress and uncertainty for contractual and daily wage workers... Yet, the government and police departments across India, and Uttar Pradesh in particular, have targeted journalists doing essential work, the NWMI said.

Such cases drain a journalist and small media organisations, the network noted. Sharmas reports were well-researched and detailed, it added.

While the CPJ said the Uttar Pradesh Police should drop the criminal investigation and stop legally harassing journalists, the Guild said various Sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act were an overreaction to the article titled In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown.

The investigation was initiated after the article published about residents of the Varanasi village going hungry amid the lockdown.

The use of criminal provisions of the law against journalists has now become an unhealthy and despicable trend that has no place in any vibrant democracy, the Guild said. Scroll.in in a statement has said that the investigation was an attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism, reporting on conditions of vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 lockdown.

At least 55 journalists faced arrest, registration of FIRs, summons or showcauses notices, physical assaults, destruction of properties and threats for reportage on Covid-19 or exercising freedom of opinion and expression during the lockdown from March 25 to May 31, according to a report India: Medias Lockdown during COVID-19 lockdown by Rights and Risks Analysis Group.

The Scroll.in statement also clarified that it had interviewed Mala Devi in Domari village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on June 5, 2020 and that her statements had been reported accurately in the article titled, "In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown", it said.

In view of the categorical statement from Scroll.in, the Guild said it is of the view that the use of various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act are an "overreaction" and will seriously undermine freedom of the media.

The Guild said it respects all laws of the land as also the right of Mala Devi to defend herself against any acts of injustice.

"But it also finds the flagrant misuse of such laws unjustifiable and reprehensible. Worse, the increasing frequency of such misuse of laws by the authorities is tantamount to shooting the messenger and destroying a key pillar of India's democracy," it said.

The Indian Women's Press Corps also expressed deep concern at the registering of the FIR against Sharma for carrying out her professional duty.

In a statement, the IWPC said it views the FIR as another attempt to intimidate journalists and prevent them from highlighting news that is uncomfortable to the powers that be.

The IWPC reiterates that it is the job of journalists to show truth to power so that the government can take remedial action and redress all wrongs.

"Instead, many governments are increasingly using state machinery to shoot the messenger with intimidation and harassment," the statement said.

A recent FIR against veteran journalist Vinod Dua exposes the trend adopted by authorities to silence journalists, it alleged.

The IWPC said it has full faith in the judicial system and hopes the FIR against Supriya Sharma will not be entertained by the relevant courts and journalists will continue to have the freedom to expose the suffering of people and irregularities in the system.

The highest number of attacks in the media persons was reported from UP, followed by J&K.

(With PTI Inputs)
Chennai, June 20 : As many as 2,396 people tested Covid-19 positive in Tamil Nadu in the past 24 hours, taking the state's tally to 56,845. The Health Department said, here on Saturday, 38 Covid-19 patients died taking the toll to 704.

With 31,316 patients cured, the number of active cases in the state stands at 24,822.

The Health Department said 33,231 samples were tested during the day, taking the total to 8.61 lakh. The number of infected children in the 0-12 age group went up to 2,804.

The state capital Chennai continued to head the Covid-19 infection table with 1,254 people testing positive and the total reaching 39,641.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami denied any possibility of extending the lockdown after June 30. Likening the lockdown to a road speed-breaker, he said, "They prevent accidents and the lockdown prevents spread of coronavirus." He said 694 people tested positive for coronavirus at the 527 fever camps, organised by the government. 33,839 people were tested for coronavirus infection at these camps.

The Chief Minister said 80 per cent of the people who tested positive were asymptomatic. They would get well within a week. Only 20 per cent showed coronavirus symptoms and only 7-8 per cent were severely affected and were admitted to hospitals, the Chief Minister said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Robert Kocharians office said on Friday that wealthy supporters of Armenias jailed former president are ready to help him post a $4.2 million bail needed for his release.

The Court of Appeals set the unprecedented bail amount on Thursday when it partly overturned a lower courts refusal to free Kocharian pending the outcome of his ongoing trial. He has to pay the hefty sum by Saturday or remain under arrest.

The head of Kocharians office, Victor Soghomonian, hailed the ruling as a first step towards restoring justice while criticizing the highest ever bail set in the countrys history.

In a statement, Soghomonian said hundreds of individuals have expressed readiness to bail Kocharian out. They include several wealthy entrepreneurs and philanthropists, he said, adding that he will reveal their names soon.

Kocharians younger son Levon said, meanwhile, that the ex-presidents family cannot afford to make the required payment on its own.

Kocharians assets were frozen by law-enforcement authorities after he was first arrested in July 2018 on charges stemming from the 2008 post-election crackdown on opposition protesters in Yerevan. The ex-president noted this fact during a Court of Appeals hearing on Wednesday. He said he can only use Levons and his daughter Gayanes properties worth 700 million drams ($1.5 million) as bail collateral.

One of Kocharians lawyers, Hayk Alumian, told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Friday that he is still not sure his client can pay up. Alumian said the defense lawyers may therefore challenge the bail amount in the higher Court of Cassation.

Prosecutors have already decided to appeal against bail granted to the man who ruled Armenia from 1998-2008.

Also planning to appeal to the Court of Cassation are relatives of nine people killed in the March 2008 unrest in Yerevan. One of their lawyers, Tigran Yegorian, added his voice to prosecutors claims that Kocharian could obstruct justice and exert substantial influence on witnesses if set free.

Kocharian, his former chief of staff and two retired army generals went on trial more than a year ago, accused of overthrowing the constitutional order. The ex-president also stands accused of bribery. He rejects all accusations leveled against him as politically motivated.
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday (June 20) decided not to conduct the Secondary School Certificate (class 10th exams) and Intermediate-Advanced Supplementary exams amid the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

"We have tried our best to conduct the SSC examinations from July 10 and also made changes to the exam pattern to reduce the exposure for the students. However, with the increase of COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed to cancel the examinations," said the State Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh.

"Even the neighbouring states of Telangana and Tamil Nadu have cancelled the board examinations due to the pandemic," added the minister.

He further said that the Class X students will be graded based on their merit and the guidelines related to it will be announced soon.

The Minister also announced that all the students who failed in Intermediate first and second years will be promoted without any examinations.

According to the Health Ministry at 8 AM on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a total of 7,961 coronavirus confirmed cases, out of which 3,948 are still active.

There have been 96 COVID-19 deaths in the State so far.
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Though the penetration of Chinese companies in the car, SUV and two-wheeler space may be low the bus segment has been witness to unprecedented levels of involvement.

Indian companies such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are facing the toughest competition from Chinese companies or China-backed India companies in the bus segment. More on this later in the copy but here is what made headlines in the automotive space this week.

Bajaj goes past Hero in revenues

Bajaj Auto clocked revenues of nearly Rs 30,000 crore during FY20 to become the highest income generator in the two- and three-wheeler categories sailing past Hero MotoCorp.

Bajajs fall of 1.4 percent in the revenue from operations to Rs 29,919 crore during FY20, as compared to FY19, was lower than Heros which reported a drop of 14 percent in revenue from operations to Rs 28,836 crore in FY20 compared to FY19.

Tata Motors stops sharing wholesale numbers

Vehicle sales data should be based on registration and not on those bought by dealers, the countrys fourth largest carmaker Tata Motors has maintained despite concerns by proxy advisory firms that this could possibly lead to insider trading.

The Mumbai-based manufacturer of cars, trucks and buses has declined to share vehicle sales information for every month unlike many of its peers who do so on the very first day of every month. While April was a washout month with zero sales Tata Motors did not share sales data for May.

Maruti Swift completes 15 years

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said its premium hatchback Swift has completed 15 years in the market with sales of over 22 lakh units till date.

Launched in 2005, Swift heralded the start of the premium hatchback segment in India and has created a glorious legacy, MSI said in a statement.

Tata Motors to abort projects to save costs

Weighed down by the massive loss at home, Tata Motors has decided to abort projects midway which it thinks could become a drag due to the disruption caused by COVID-19.

The Mumbai-based company is looking at savings of Rs 6,000 crore in the standalone entity which looks after the truck, bus, car and SUV business, along with some international businesses.

A scooter that runs at 15 paise per km

With fuel prices hitting new highs, Greaves Cotton-promoted Ampere Vehicles has launched an electric scooter Magnus Pro at Rs 73,990 (ex-showroom) that will run at 15 paise per km.

The scooter will be available across 200 dedicated showrooms of Ampere across 200 cities and towns starting with Bengaluru. The scooter can run for a maximum of 100 kms in the eco mode and 80 kms in the cruise mode at a maximum speed of 55 km per hour.

Chinese bus makers gained a foothold in India

Last year Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland, Indias third largest commercial vehicle maker lost an order for supply of electric buses worth Rs 48 crore to an Indo-Chinese joint venture company.

BYD in partnership with Goldstone Infratech (since renamed Olectra Greentech) bagged the order for supplying 25 electric buses to Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and six other buses to Mumbais Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). Six of the seven companies who had shown interest in the HRTC order for the bus supply along with chargers and annual maintenance contract were Indian companies.

The then managing director of Ashok Leyland Vinod Dasari (now CEO of Royal Enfield) said in an interview to Moneycontrol that prices quoted by Chinese bus makers were half compared to Indian rivals.

BYD has become one of the top three names in the electric bus segment in India which also features Tata Motors. The Tata Group company was one of the earliest among India companies to start work on battery electric buses.

But due to absence of a battery cell producing facility in India companies are forced to import them from China. China had a near monopoly in large scale battery manufacturing for electric vehicles. More than 90 percent of all electric buses made in the world come from China.

It is impossible for Indian companies to match the prices we provide. This is very simply because we have mastered the pricing game due to several years of experience. Also the fact that most of the components come from China Indian companies are left with very little to play with, said a sales head of one of the companies who have a tie-up with a Chinese manufacturer.

Since then several electric bus orders floated by a variety of states have been bagged by Chinese companies or Indian companies backed by China.

Haryana-based PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, for instance has bagged a supply contract for 1,000 electric buses, as per a release. PMI has a technical tie-up with Beiqi Foton, one of worlds largest manufacturer of electric buses based in China.

Gurugram based Mozev, an electro mobility solutions provider, imports bus chassis and electric powertrain from a company in China. In addition to other orders the company is to supply 50 electric buses to the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. Mozev also became the first company to supply an intercity luxury electric bus that ran between Mumbai and Pune.
People complete administrative procedures at the Hanoi Center for Employment Services in Cau Giay District, Hanoi in June 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

Vietnamese lawmakers have postponed the 7.4 percent wage hike for civil servants scheduled for July over Covid-19 pressures on the budget.

They have also asked the government to fix another date for the hike depending on the socio-economic situation.

Under the approved hike, monthly base wages of civil servants and public employees would go up from VND1.49 million ($64) to VND1.6 million ($69).

Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung had said earlier that the raise would only benefit people in the public sector and those receiving retirement pensions, while other sections of the society like farmers and the self-employed face not just reduced incomes but loss of jobs and livelihood as a result of the pandemic.

Lawmakers also tasked the government with reducing by a minimum of 70 percent the money spent on organizing most events and conferences as well as business trips for state officials this year.

Other regular expenses need to be cut by 10 percent, the parliament directed.
A woman protesting inside the barricaded BOK Center area in Tulsa ahead of President Donald Trumps rally was arrested by police despite saying she had a ticket to the event.

According to a report from TMZ, Sheila Buck, who was wearing an I Cant Breathe shirt was arrested for trespassing. Buck reportedly had a ticket to Trumps rally.

She had been in a standoff with police for eight minutes before she was dragged away in handcuffs, according to TMZs report.

Videos of her walking through the rally and her subsequent arrest were shared on Twitter by several at the scene. Buck had been sitting on the ground when police lifted her up and pulled her away before eventually putting handcuffs on her.

Hanmefendi tek basna

trump taraftarlarna ayar veriyor sansasyonel bir eylem :)#Tulsa pic.twitter.com/098402OBsg  Kucuk Moskovali  (@kucukmoskovali) June 20, 2020

Sheila Buck who is a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma was arrested for "trespassing" on live TV. Her true crime was wearing an "I Can't Breathe" shirt, she also had a ticket to Trumps rally.

Hope the city is prepared to pay lots of cash for the coming lawsuit.pic.twitter.com/hXQ8xc5ErB  Ati A. (@Atiprince_A) June 20, 2020

In preparation for the rally, Tulsa police put up black fencing and barricades to keep out the protests that were likely to come before the presidents first rally since March, according to a report from the Washington Post. The report said that about 250 additional National Guard soldiers were on the scene to assist with protection alongside the Tulsa police.

On Friday, Trump tweeted that protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes at the Oklahoma rally would not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis.
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Saturday rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to block publication of John Bolton's White House memoir but said the former Trump national security adviser "likely jeopardized national security" and exposed himself to criminal prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of the District of Columbia denied the Trump administration's request for a restraining order on the book, set for publication Tuesday, citing his publisher's declaration that more than 200,000 copies have already shipped for sale.

But Lamberth noted that it appeared Bolton failed to complete a pre-publication government review and get written authority that his manuscript contained no classified information before publishing.

"While Bolton's unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy," Lamberth wrote. "For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir."

However, Lamberth said a private review of passages the government alleged contain classified information persuaded him that Bolton "has gambled with the national security of the United States... [and] has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability."

"The Room Where It Happened" recounts Bolton's 17 months as Trump's top national security official and offers a withering portrait of the president as an "erratic" and "stunningly uninformed" leader. Bolton called Trump incompetent and "unfit for office" in promotional interviews.

Bolton, a veteran diplomat and security expert, denied the book contained any classified information. He asserted that after a painstaking, months-long review, a career White House official, Ellen Knight, effectively cleared his manuscript in April before Trump political appointees undertook to stall it through November's election.

Bolton in that case could have sued the government, Lamberth said, instead of"unilaterally" opting out of the review process.

"This was Bolton's bet: If he is right and the book does not contain classified information, he keeps the upside [of publicity and sales]; but if he is wrong, he stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security," the judge said.

"Bolton was wrong," Lamberth concluded.

On Saturday, reaction from Trump was swift. The president - who previously said he thought and hoped Bolton would have "criminal problems" - wrote in a tweet: "Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!"

The judge's ruling came after the government sued Bolton on Tuesday, seven days before the book's planned June 23 publication, which has been excerpted and widely covered in the media. The court's denial applied only to the government's follow-up request Wednesday for an emergency injunction blocking publication, based on declarations by four of the government's highest-ranking national security officials that the manuscript contained classified information. The government's request included a sealed submission of what they said were six examples.

Legal experts said the ruling in some ways marked a "symbolic" victory for the government as far as stopping Bolton's book. The government waited to the 11th hour to file suit, and Bolton's attorney argued Friday it was political "theater" intended to placate the president.

But Lamberth's decision also dealt a personal and professional blow to Bolton, while the government continues to litigate to clawback any of his book profits, including a reported $2 million advance, by alleging he violated government nondisclosure agreements.

Mark S. Zaid, a lawyer who has represented more than two dozen current and former government employees who have sought to publish books, said the likelihood of the government being able to show "irreparable harm" now that an injunction was denied is "literally impossible."

"But absent some cataclysmic event occurring, Bolton is facing loss of millions of dollars," he said.

The Justice Department also could seek to prosecute Bolton for publishing the book without authorization.

The government did not name publisher Simon & Schuster as a defendant but asked the court to enjoin it along with Bolton. In a statement, company spokesman Adam Rothberg said, "We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication. We are very pleased that the public will now have the opportunity to read Ambassador Bolton's account of his time as National Security Advisor."

Bolton attorney Charles J. Cooper said, "We welcome today's decision by the Court denying the Government's attempt to suppress Ambassador Bolton's book."

Cooper added, "We respectfully take issue, however, with the Court's preliminary conclusion at this early stage of the case that Ambassador Bolton did not comply fully with his contractual prepublication obligation to the Government, and the case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue. The full story of these events has yet to be told - but it will be."

At a hearing conducted by videoconference Friday, Deputy Assistant Attorney General David M. Morrell said he did not know whether the president was involved in the process of clearing the book for publication and acknowledged he knew of no precedent in which high-level officials intervened in classification reviews.

The government acknowledged that after Knight on April 27 said Bolton had completed required edits, Trump appointees began another review.

That process was led by Michael Ellis - a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and the National Security Council's new senior director for intelligence - who received his classification authority March 1 and was not trained on it before he completed the Bolton manuscript review.

Morrell acknowledged the government could confirm that only three of the six samples it gave the court were classified before Ellis's re-review.

One of those included a matter described in a government declaration Wednesday, in which Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, said a limited portion of the draft manuscript "implicates" TS/SCI. He said "compromise of this information could result in the permanent loss of a valuable [signal intelligence] source and cause irreparable damage to the U.S. [signal intelligence] system."

Bolton in a court filing Thursday argued that "sweeping" changes demanded just two days earlier by the White House after Ellis's re-review apparently would eliminate passages describing most of Trump's conversations with advisers, foreign leaders and numerous others portraying him in an unflattering light, Bolton said in a court filing.

Among its disclosures already reported, the book states Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 U.S. election, confirms Trump attempted to use military aid to pressure Ukraine on political investigations, and says Trump expressed willingness to halt or obstruct criminal investigations as personal favors to authoritarian foreign leaders.

Trump has previously responded on Twitter by calling Bolton a "Wacko" and claimed that the former close aide's account is "a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad."
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Galwan: Culmination of Years of Wrong China Policy | Barun Das (...)

What happened in the night of June 14-15 in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in which twenty Indian soldiers, including the commanding officer of the patrol party, a colonel, were killed, was the culmination of decades of the wrong China policy pursued by India since the first Chinese aggression of 1962. India-China relations have come to a flashpoint like it never did before Let us take a quick look at the sequence of events since 1962.

India and China attained independence almost simultaneously: India in 1947 and China in 1949. The new leader of Communist China, Mao Zedong was a totally unknown figure in the comity of nations. It was the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who introduced Mao to the world leaders. Again, it was Nehru who declined the offer of Indias permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, in favour of China. The first thing that the Communist China did was to occupy and annexe Tibet the very next year (1950). India saw the subjugation of an independent country by China helplessly, because, as Nehru later explained, India did not have the strength to prevent the Chinese from overrunning Tibet. The Dalai Lama fled to India with his close associates and was given asylum by Nehru. China resented it greatly.

Chinas imperial ambitions became evident almost on the morrow of the Communist victory. An eminent and erudite journalist, very close to the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited China in 1949, came back to report to Nehru the impression about Maos China he had come back with. Panditji, China is emerging as another Germany in the heart of Asia, he told Nehru. Nehru differed strongly from this view and made his displeasure known to the journalist in no uncertain terms. Years later, after the Chinese aggression of 1962, Nehru told that journalist that he (the journalist) had been right and he (Nehru) had been wrong. Unlike some of his later-day successors, Nehru had the humility and the grace to admit his mistakes.

The first indication of Chinas intention toward India became evident in 1959, much before the 1962 aggression. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) entered Longju in the then North-Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh, on August 25, 1959. They clashed with the 19 Assam Rifles which then used to guard the borders. Next came Aksai Chin in Ladakh.

But before going into Aksai Chin it is worth recalling that immediately after the Communists consolidated their rule in China, they started building a 1200 km road connecting the Xinjiang Province of China with Western Tibet. Of this, 180 kms ran south of the Johnson Line through Aksai Chin which is in Ladakh. The Chinese army entered Ladakh, occupied it and, as is their wont, claimed it to be their territory. India did not offer military resistance (those were the days of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai) but on July 1, 1954, Jawaharlal Nehru categorically stated that Aksai Chin had been part of Ladakh (India) for centuries and that the border, as defined by the Johnson Line, is non-negotiable. PLA pinpricks throughout the Sino-Indian border have continued. Most of these were considered insignificant and many incidents of Chinese incursion into Indian territory went unreported.

Then came the Great Betrayal by China. On October 20, 1962, the Chinese army made a massive invasion in Arunachal. The feeble military resistance by India collapsed like a house of cards. Through Arunachal, the Chinese army entered Assam and came right up to Tezpur on the north bank of the Brahmaputra. Then suddenly they declared a unilateral ceasefire and went back.

What was the atmosphere prevailing in the Indian Army Headquarters then? Brigadier J. P. Dalvi, who commanded the 7 Infantry Brigade, fought the Chinese in Arunachal and was himself taken prisoner by the Chinese, writes in his book Himalayan Blunder that in January, 1962, he was formally posted as commander of 7 Infantry. Brigadier (later Major-General) D. K. Palit, was then the Director of Military Operations (DMO). Before taking up charge, Dalvi decided to consult Palit who had once commanded 7 Infantry himself and knew the area thoroughly well. Writes Dalvi:

The DMO was very kind and briefed me personally. He was calm and assured. There was no apprehension of any hot war in the immediate future . . . He raised the question of the induction of 9 Punjab of 7 Brigade into Tawang, during the height of winter in December, 1961. He was puzzled by this move which had stretched the slender airlift resources without achieving any operational purpose. He recommended that I send them back to the plains . . .  (Italics mine, BDG.)

So it was not just the political leadership of the Government (meaning Nehru) but the military leadership also, which had no inkling of what was coming soon.

But even the 1962 war failed to make us aware of the Chinese intentions and prepare ourselves accordingly. After 1962, the Chinese started quickly building roads along their side of the border. We did nothing. They built one airport or airstrip after another in Tibet for handling different kinds of aircraft. We did nothing for decades. It is only during the UPA-II regime that border road construction in Arunachal was taken up in right earnest, several HALS (high-altitude landing strips) were built in Arunachal Pradesh. A couple of them can even handle huge transport aircraft like the US-made C-17 Globemaster.

The UPA-II under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took another momentous decision for defending the mountainous terrain of our northern borders. It decided to raise a new corps of the army, to be called the 17 Mountain Strike Corps. The new corps was to be raised at a cost of Rs. 64,000 crore. It would have consisted of two Infantry Divisions, three Independent Armoured Brigades, three Artillery Brigades, one Engineering Brigade, one Air Defence Brigade and one Aviation Brigade. The corps was to be specially trained for high altitude warfare and would be ready to cross into Tibet to fight the Chinese at a short notice.

For that they had to be, apart from being given training in mountain warfare, acclimatized thoroughly. Soldiers sent to fight at an altitude of fourteen, fifteen or sixteen thousand feet without acclimatization are likely to die without firing a single bullet due to high altitude cerebral oedema, high altitude pulmonary oedema or lose their eyesight due to high altitude retinopathy.

The UPA Government also took the decision to base two squadrons of deep penetration strike aircraft (the Russian made Sukhoi 30 MKI) in Assam, one squadron at Tezpur and another at Chabua. The Sukhoi 30 has a range of 3000 miles and can strike deep inside China.

One of the first things that the NDA Government did on coming to power in 2014 was to send the proposal for raising the 17 Mountain Corps to the cold storage on the plea that it was too costly. It is useless to argue with people who consider any expenditure for national defence to be too costly.

On their part, the Chinese have built five regularly functioning airports in Tibet. Now they are building a railway line to link Kathmandu with Shigatse in Tibet. The 628 km long railway will cross into Nepal at Gyirong-Shigatse point. It will run 555 kms in Tibet and 72 kms in Nepal. Have we constructed a single km of roads along our northern border in Arunachal which was once promised? Or border roads along the entire stretch of the China-Arunachal border? What happened to the once much-talked about India-Myanmar-Thailand Trialteral Highway?

And what happened to the strategically important Kaladan road project which would have linked Myanmars Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State to Kolkata port through Mizoram? At what stage of construction is this $484 million project now? How many times has the date for the completion of the project been deferred?

Now, coming to the other aspect of Chinese jingoism and Indias meek surrender to it. It has become the standard practice of China to nibble away Indian territory. The PLA troops would surreptitiously enter into an Indian territory close to the border, claim it to be historically and traditionally belonging to China and, like a magician producing rabbits out of his hat, would produce a map in support of their claim. Immediately a decidedly Indian territory becomes Chinese territory or, at best, a disputed territory.

It is quite well known that there are disputes about Sino-Indian border. Both India and China claim certain areas as theirs because there is a difference in perception between the two countries about where exactly the Line of Actual Control (LAC) lies. Quite often, it has led to a paradox. India will accuse China of border violation and of Chinese troops crossing into India and obstructing border patrolling by India. Each time there is a hubbub after a case of border violation by China, the Indian side would rush to deny there was any violation.at all. The response of the Government and the Army has been, from the Congress days to the Modi dispensation, a meek, tongue-in-the-cheek, apologetic one. We accepted every forcible occupation of Indian land by China as a fait accompli. It only encouraged the Chinese.

Both the Government and the Army rush to deny any incursion by the Chinese. They say: No, no, it is nothing serious. This is because of our difference in perception about the location of the LAC. It only implies that India has accepted the right of the Chinese side to act according to their perception of the location of the LAC but India on its part cannot do the same. Such submissive behaviour of India has only emboldened the Chinese to take more liberties with our territorial integrity and sovereignty. This kowtowing to the Chinese was quite unnecessary and uncalled for. Past experience has shown that whenever we stood firm or retaliated, the Chinese withdrew. The latest example is the Doklam stand-off of 2017. For 73 days, the troops of the two sides were facing each other in an eyeball-to-eyeball contact. But the intimidation did not work The Chinese had to blink first and pull back.

The cold-blooded killing of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley, north of the Pangong lake, is the result of Indias appeasement policy. There are several mountain spurs called fingers here. The Indian army used to patrol from Finger one to Finger 8. Suddenly, the PLA troops blocked the Indian patrol party from proceeding beyond Finger 4. Indians resisted and stood their ground. A fresh controversy erupted and tension escalated in the border.

Then border talks for resolution of the dispute began. Here also, the Chinese scored over us. It was decided that talks would be held at the Lieutenant-General level. But on the day of the talks, it was found that while India was represented by a Lieutenant-General, the Chinese side had sent a Major-General who is one rank below an L-G. We should have walked out of the meeting. But we chose to pocket the affront and engage in talks. While talks were going on at various levels, the Chinese troops sneaked into our territory in the dead of the night and butchered twenty of our brave sons.

But this time there was a clear departure from the past. India forcefully declared that it is not going to budge an inch from where it is  come what may. Troops and heavy artillery have been reinforced all along the Sino-Indian border, from Arunachal to Manipur. They are ready to go to war, if necessary. Appeasing China to buy peace is no solution. Appeasement does not satisfy the aggressor. It only whets his appetite for more. The classic example of this is the infamous Munich Pact of 1938. Britain and France meekly accepted Hitlers annexation of Sudetenland in Western Czechoslovakia.

The surrender failed to buy peace from Hitler. It only paved the way for the Second World War next year (1939). England and France had to pay an immensely heavier price than they would have had to if they had stood up against Hitler. Now, there must be no humouring of Xi Jinping and his cohorts, quand meme.

. It should be made plain to that gang that India wants peace but would not hesitate to hit back at the enemy to uphold its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Simultaneously, India will have to make a major diplomatic offensive against China and expose its expansionist policy and practice of plain and simple usury in the name of helping infrastructural development of under-developed countries of Asia and Africa.

Chinas aim is to emerge as the world hegemon, replacing the United States. But before that, China will have to weaken and emasculate India which alone can stand against China in Asia. It is also the only country to which other countries of Asia and Africa turn with the expectation that India will foil all attempts by China to lord it over Asia. We have to understand not only our national but also our international responsibility and frustrate Chinese designs.
The city of Lancaster is shutting down streets to drum up business at city bars and restaurants.

Lancaster is the latest central Pennsylvania municipality to introduce outdoor dining space to help businesses that have struggled in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first streets to be impacted by the measure are North Market Street between West Grant and West Orange streets, as well as East Grant Street between North Queen and North Christian streets, city officials said Thursday in a news release.

These streets will be open for dining Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The street closures began Friday, June 19.

Tables and chairs will be provided in the public right-of-way for residents to enjoy take-out food and alcoholic beverages, the release said.

Lancaster has also created an interactive map to show residents what restaurants are open and where they can find seating.

However, there are specific safety precautions city officials are asking residents to follow to make the outdoor dining experience work.

These include:

-No moving or combining tables and chairs.

-Visits should be limited to 60 minutes or less.

-No other tables or chairs are allowed to be brought into the outdoor dining space.

-Food and alcohol can only be consumed at the tables. Walking around with alcohol is prohibited.

-Social distancing should be followed and masks should be worn when not at a table.

-Remove of all waste when youre finished.

The city is providing hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes at the outdoor dining areas.

At the beginning of June, Harrisburg introduced a similar measure called Saturday Night in the City, at tables along North Second Street between Market and Pine streets, as well as portions of State and North streets. These will be held from 6-9 p.m. each Saturday in June.

Mechanicsburg also shut down a section of North Railroad Avenue to create space for outdoor dining.

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Malin Andersson led tributes to her late Love Island co-star Sophie Gradon on Saturday, two years after her death by suicide aged 32.

Taking to Instagram to share a throwback snap from their stint on the show in 2016, the mental health campaigner, 27, added a caption reading: 'Always right beside me. Then, now. Forever. I know youre dancing with my girls. Love you Soph.'

On June 20 2018, Sophie hanged herself following a cocaine and alcohol binge hours after revealing she was 'struggling with the world'.

Heartached: Malin Andersson led tributes to her late Love Island co-star Sophie Gradon on Saturday, two years after her death by suicide aged 32 (pictured: Zara Holland, Olivia Buckland, Malin, Sophie, Cara De La Hoyde, Kady McDermott - left-right)

Malin's reference to 'her girls' in the post is a nod to her late mother and daughter - after her mum passed away in November 2017 following her third struggle with breast cancer and her premature daughter Consy died in January last year.

Sophie and Malin's co-stars Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott paid tribute to the star, as they posted hearts beneath Malin's post.

Their co-star Rykard Jenkins also paid tribute to the star, as he shared a stunning shot and added a caption reading: 'Sophie its been a mad couple of years!...

'You havent missed much apart from the world going in absolute melt down over a pandemic caused by a bat in Asia lol...

Touching: Taking to Instagram to share a throwback snap from their stint on the show in 2016, the mental health campaigner, 27, added a caption reading: 'Always right beside me. Then, now. Forever. I know youre dancing with my girls. Love you Soph'

The former Miss Great Britain shot to fame after she became one half of the first bisexual couple on the ITV2 dating show and had sex with a male co-star in a wardrobe

'I miss your humour, happiness & positive outlook on life. Youre a great person & everyone still loves & misses you down here! Ill always hold you close my friend, Rest in Paradise.

Malin has been candid about Sophie's death and has criticised ITV for their handling of the situation and the struggles contestants go through.

Last month, she claimed that reality TV causes mental health problems as she discussed being trolled online. She said that she is now vehemently against reality shows as they pose a danger to young people across the country.

Sophie's death came before Love Island star Mike Thalassitis and host Caroline Flack both died from suicide - leading to enquiries into the aftercare procedures on the show and an overhaul in the duty of care.

Mike, 26, passed away in March last year, when he was found hanged in a woodland near his home, while Caroline, 40, died on February 15 this year. She was found dead in her north London home by her father.

An inquest in April last year revealed Sophie hanged herself following a cocaine and alcohol binge hours after revealing she was 'struggling with the world'.

Grief: Malin's reference to 'her girls' in the post is a nod to her late mother and daughter - after her mum passed away in November 2017 following her third struggle with breast cancer and her premature daughter Consy died in January last year

Heartache: Sophie's death came before Love Island star Mike Thalassitis and host Caroline Flack both died from suicide (pictured after the series wrapped in 2017)

The former beauty queen sent haunting messages to a friend on the day of her death revealing she had been 'devastated' by the death of close friend Paul Burns, who had 'previously saved her from suicide'.

She was found by her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong and his brother Ryan at her home in Ponteland, Northumberland, after they forced their way through the front door. Aaron, 25, was found dead at his home just 20 days later in the same circumstances.

Despite the outcome of the inquest, Sophie's devastated parents, Deborah and Colin, disagreed and said their daughter had an undiagnosed brain injury called Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), that can affect a person's reasoning abilities.

Missed: Mike killed himself age 26 last March following a battle with depression (Mike pictured in November 2018)

They told The Sun: 'We needed more time to research and talked to a leading psychiatrist and neuroscientist...

'They both unanimously agreed that Sophie's cerebral and cognitive reasoning would have been influenced by the presence of the AVM in her brain.

'We believe Sophie started to become symptomatic in December 2017. We noted an acute change in her personality and behaviour. Sophie was convinced she had ADHD and would often complain 'that her brain wasn't working right'.'

Adoring: She was found by her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong and his brother Ryan at her home in Ponteland, Northumberland, after they forced their way through the front door. Aaron, 25, was found dead at his home just 20 days later in the same circumstances

The inquest heard the last person she spoke to on the day of her death was friend Sondeep Gill, whom she told she was having 'suicidal thoughts' since Paul's death.
TULSA, Okla.  President Donald Trump drew lower-than-expected turnout at his first rally in months on Saturday in Tulsa amid a tense political backdrop, nationwide anti-racism protests, and warnings from health officials about the coronavirus.

Trump began the rally, his first since early March, by thanking the crowd of supporters indoors for coming, despite efforts from "some very bad people outside," alluding to the campaign's unfounded claim that protesters were responsible for the many empty seats inside Tulsa's 19,000-seat Bank of Oklahoma Center by blocking rally-goers from entering.

"We begin! We begin! We begin our campaign," Trump said to applause. "I stand before you today to declare the Silent Majority is stronger than ever before!"

Image: A supporter sits in the stands at a campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20, 2020. (Evan Vucci / AP)

Trump's return to the campaign trail, however, comes as the country has a national reckoning over race in a city where one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history occurred. White residents went on a horrific spree of murder, arson, and looting, known as the Tulsa Race Massacre, in a wealthy Black community in 1921.

The Trump campaign had initially scheduled the campaign for June 19, which is known as Juneteenth a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S  but postponed it after criticism.

Trump made no mention of the historical tragedy as he gave his typical freewheeling campaign speech, ranging from calling news media fake news to his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump peppered his speech with various criticisms of former Vice President Joe Biden, his presumed Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election, including on race.

Virtually every policy that has hurt Black Americans for half a century, Joe Biden has supported or enacted, Trump said. I have done more for the Black community in four years then Joe Biden has done in 47 years."

Hours before the rally kicked off, the campaign said six staff members involved in organizing it had tested positive for coronavirus, including two Secret Service members. The campaign said it will conduct contact tracing and those officials would not attend Saturday's rally.

Story continues

At Saturday's rally, Trump again blamed testing as the reason for spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases despite the fact that both data and public health experts connect the surge to the easing of lockdown restrictions in various states.

"Testing is a double-edged sword," Trump told the crowd. "Here's the bad part: when you do testing to that extent, you will find more cases."

Trump said he has tried to tell his officials to slow down testing, even as states such as Texas, Nevada, and Florida have seen recent upticks in cases. His campaign issued a statement after the rally saying the president's remarks were in jest.

However, the campaign refused to cancel or significantly scale down the event despite warnings from health officials and a last-ditch legal challenge about the fear of spreading COVID-19 at one of the largest public gatherings since the outbreak began.

After the rally ended, Trumps campaign tried to downplay the low turnout by citing the statement on Tulsa rally viewership on social media, calling it unmatched enthusiasm behind the Presidents re-election.

The president also spent a great deal of time recounting the media and pundit reaction to his now-viral and noticeably cautious walk down a conventional-looking ramp after a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point last week.

The president also went after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a familiar target, for apologizing this month for opposing players kneeling to protest police brutality during the national anthem.

We will never kneel to our national anthem or our great American flag, Trump said.

Trump, who has referred to COVID-19 at the Chinese virus, at one point referred to the coronavirus as the Kung Flu, a racist term his White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters in March was highly offensive after reports of aides using the term.

Trump boasted days before the event, telling reporters, We've never had an empty seat, and we certainly won't in Oklahoma." Trumps campaign claimed that nearly 1 million people had requested tickets to the event.

Although a large crowd of his supporters - many sporting 'Make America Great Again' hats, shirts, and signs - gathered inside the arena, many of whom were not wearings masks, the campaign's crowd expectations were not met as many seats were empty. An outdoor stage set up for an overflow crowd was dismantled when no overflow occurred.

Image: Supporters cheer for Eric Trump before the start of a rally in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20, 2020. (Sue Ogrocki / AP)

Some supporters near the podium appeared to be wearing face coverings. Republican lawmakers, many of whom were not wearing face coverings, were also in attendance. Campaign officials said masks were offered, and temperatures of rally-goers and reporters were checked on the way into the arena.

A tense and chaotic scene erupted outside the arena, mostly between Trump supporters and anti-racism protesters, many of whom were peaceful and support the Black Lives Matter movement. Police and members of the Oklahoma National Guard were also on-scene near the arena ahead of the rally to create a buffer zone between protesters and rally-goers.

MSNBC aired live footage of an anti-racism protester, who had a ticket to the rally, being physically moved by police for refusing to move out of a street near the rally. The unnamed woman was wearing an "I can't breathe" T-shirt memorializing the words heard by George Floyd before his death in police custody. Other protesters had "8:46" signs, the amount of time the Minnesota officer kneeled on Floyd's neck.

The Trump campaign criticized protesters in a statement.

President Trump is rallying in Tulsa with thousands of energetic supporters, a stark contrast to the sleepy campaign being run by Joe Biden from his basement in Delaware," campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said. "Radical protestors, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the Presidents supporters. We are proud of the thousands who stuck it out.

Image: Police form a line outside of the BOK Center before a rally hosted by President Donald Trump in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20, 2020. (Lauren Egan / NBC News)

Trump, who emphasized that the rally he is the "Law and Order" president, Trump criticized the media's coverage of the protest sparked by Floyd's death versus his rally related to COVID-19.

"They don't talk about, when you see 25,000 people walking down Fifth Avenue, or walking down a street of a Democrat-run city, you never hear them saying they are not wearing their masks," Trump said.

Many protesters around the country, including those demonstrating outside the Tulsa arena, have worn masks.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 331 new COVID-19 cases across the state on Saturday, bringing the total number of the states number of cases to more than 10,000. Those attending the rally must sign a waiver protecting the campaign from responsibility. On Friday, Oklahoma's Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit to delay the rally because of coronavirus fears.

Many states around the country, including Oklahoma, have begun reopening despite the U.S. recently topping more than 2.2 million coronavirus cases as of Saturday, according to an NBC News tally.

Trump was originally slated to speak to overflow crowds outside of Saturday's rally, but his campaign told NBC News moments before the rally began that the president would not make that appearance. The campaign said in a statement protestors had been interfering with people attending the rally, however, MSNBC reported that was not the case. There were also very few supporters gathered in the overflow area outside the event. Campaign workers were seen dismantling outdoor stages shortly before Trump arrived at the arena.

Vice President Mike Pence, who held a roundtable with Black faith and community leaders in Tulsa several miles away from the rally, also declined to speak to crowds outside.

Trump's rally also comes as he faces another political maelstrom in Washington. A judge ruled on Saturday that Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton can publish his tell-book about his time in the White House, which paints a damning portrait of the president.

Trump also faces scrutiny over his firing of Geoffrey Berman, the Manhattan U.S. attorney in New York, who was investigating members of the president's inner circle. Trump told reporters on Saturday he was "not involved" in the firing, telling reporters before heading to Tulsa, "That's all up to the attorney general."

Attorney General William Barr had initially announced Berman was resigning. However, Berman issued a statement contradicting Barr and said he would only leave if the Senate confirms his replacement. Berman left his position after deputy U.S. attorney Audrey Strauss was named acting U.S. attorney.

Susan Kroll reported from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Monica Alba from Washington, and Dartunorro Clark from New York.
NEW HAVEN  Dozens of New Haven firefighters filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in New Haven Friday, alleging that the citys Civil Service Board illegally extended the life of promotional lists for the positions of lieutenant and deputy chief.

All of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit served enough time to be eligible for promotion, in particular, for the positions of Lieutenant and Deputy Chief, Attorney Patricia Cofrancesco said in the complaint.

However, on May 27, the Civil Service Board extended the duration of the two promotional lists to allow for city Personnel Director Noelia Marcano to provide a report concerning the citys ability to safely gather groups of individuals in order to conduct Civil Service testing, before the November, 2020 regular meeting date, according to the complaint.

The lists were set to expire June 20, which would have triggered further testing for the positions and afforded the plaintiffs with the opportunity to participate in said testing. Without the further testing the plaintiffs opportunity for advancement was curtailed, the suit claims.

By extending them past that date, the plaintiffs allege the board violated its own rules, which stipulate that a promotional list cannot remain valid for more than two years.

The board has the capacity to amend its rules, but did not engage in the proper procedure to do so in this instance, the complaint alleges.

There is an actual bona fide and substantial question or substantial uncertainty concerning the legality of the defendant city, acting by and through its Civil Service Board, in suspending its own rules in light of the clear directive in said Rule lV, Section 3 (b) concerning the length of a Promotional List, and, by extension, the legality of any promotions made after the List has expired, Cofrancesco wrote in the complaint.

While the City of New Havens Civil Service Board may have the discretion to create, amend or abolish certain Civil Service Rules, within prescribed procedures, the City of New Havens Civil Service Board does not have the authority or discretion to arbitrarily suspend its own rules  nor does the City of New Haven have the authority to administer Civil Service Rules in an unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious manners, the lawsuit claims.

Cofrancesco said Friday that she did not agree with the citys stated reason for extending the list, as other municipalities are conducting civil service testing during the coronavirus pandemic.

The firefighters are seeking a declaratory judgment that the Civil Service Board exceeded its authority in extending the list and orders to invalidate any promotions based off the two lists that occur after June 20.

City spokesman Gage Frank did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit Friday.

The plaintiffs in the suit are: Samod Rankins, George Chin, William McMillian, Jordan White, Wayne Ricks, Miguel Rosado, Keith McMillan, Taurese Washington, Troy Ross, Richella Rondon-Smith, Terence Boyle, Neftali Ortiz, and Matthew Watkins

Also, Shytanya Floyd, Patrick Davidson, Alexander Gonzalez, Jesse Wollenzack, Darryr Arnold, Joshua Antrum, OJay Lewis, Lawrence Levine, Mark Bascetta, Lisette Nieves, Keith Kerr, Johnathan Clarke, Ernest Jones, Harry Bosley, lan Cordero, Christian Cordero and Josue Vega Jr.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Bestselling author Peter May

This week bestselling author Peter May checks in to our travel Q&A.

He talks about his favourite foreign countries - France and California - reveals why Ernest Hemingway is his dream travel partner - and more...

POST-LOCKDOWN TRAVEL PLANS?

I had to cancel a trip to Svalbard in May, so I want to go there. The hotel refused to give me a refund, so I only got a voucher. Im 3,500 out of pocket!

EARLIEST HOLIDAY MEMORY?

In Glasgow they used to talk about going doon the watter, which meant the Clyde estuary. When I was four I went to Millport, an island there. Its famous for its crocodile-shaped rock with painted teeth.

FIRST TRIP ABROAD?

In 1961, aged nine, my dad drove us to Italy in his old Austin 8. It took us five days. Our car overheated when we crossed the Great St Bernard Pass  we had to stuff snow in the radiator. On the Riviera I got awful sunburn and spent three days in bed.

FAVOURITE FOREIGN COUNTRY?

Either France, where Ive lived for the past 20 years, or the U.S. I love Newport Beach in California.

Peter said one of his favourite places in the world is Newport Beach in California

ARE YOU MISSING SCOTLAND?

Yes, particularly the Hebrides. It has some of the bleakest but most beautiful scenery in Britain. Its like the Caribbean without palm trees and heat!

FANTASY TRAVEL COMPANION?

If my wife couldnt join me, Id love to get drunk in France and Spain with Ernest Hemingway.
>>> Seven more imported COVID-19 cases reported on June 18

The committee members gathered at a meeting in Hanoi on June 18 to assess the disease situation in the country, the region and around the world in order to map out measures to cope with the pandemic.

The participants assessed that Vietnam has basically controlled the epidemic, but the disease developments around the world remain complicated. The country has entered a new normal state in realising the dual goal of fighting against the epidemic while recovering socio-economic development. However, the risk of an outbreak is still high as external sources of infection could be transmitted into the country at any time.

The Steering Committee asked its all members to review all assigned tasks, urging the disease prevention and control forces not be subjective and ready to cope with new developments that may occur.

The concerned authorities were asked to continue tightening management over border gates as well as people entering the country so as to prevent community transmissions.

As there are still COVID-19 patients currently undergoing treatment, while Vietnam has been repatriating its citizens as well as welcoming back foreign experts and hi-tech workers, the announcement of the end of the epidemic should be carefully considered, the committee recommended.

The Steering Committee assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the relevant units to review and formulate regulations to organise separate areas with ensured epidemiological safety to serve diplomats, investors and businesspeople coming to Vietnam.

At the meeting, participants agreed to recommend that the Government consider the restoration of a number of international flights to several countries and territories that have basically controlled the pandemic and have multi-faceted cooperation with Vietnam.

They stressed the importance of improving the quality of quick testing and assigned the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) and the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) to take measures to trace people with possible contact with coronavirus-positive people.

64 days pass without new locally-infected cases of COVID-19

The number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam stands at 342 on June 19 morning as no new infections were recorded overnight, according to the Steering Committee.

This also marks the 64th straight day without community transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the country.

Of the total, 202 are imported cases and put in quarantine upon their arrival.

Meanwhile, 325 patients, or 95% of all cases, have recovered from COVID-19, including 49 of the 50 foreign patients.

After leaving hospitals, they continued to be quarantined for an additional 14 days and undergo more testing before returning to the community.

Only 17 patients are still under treatment at eight heath facilities nationwide, and most of them are in stable condition. Among them, four have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 at least twice.

At present, 6,176 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or returned from overseas are kept in quarantine, including 89 in hospitals, 5,734 in other quarantine facilities, and 353 at homes.

* Hai Phong Department of Health has announced that a 1994-born local who has been re-tested as positive for COVID-19 eight days after his discharge, has no possibility of infecting the community. On the morning of June 18, four people in close contact with him were tested and all showed negative results for SARS-CoV-2.

Known as Patient 300, the 1994-born local returned from Russia on May 13 and was then confirmed as infected with COVID-19. He was discharged from hospital June 8 following his full recovery and returned to Hai Phong.
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Breaking Bad was never meant to be a comedy, but even the most serious topics need a little comedic relief occasionally. The dramatic scenes during Breaking Bad may be the most memorable. However, there are plenty of humorous times that made fans laugh out loud, too.

Not all of the funny scenes on Breaking Bad were meant to be funny. But that doesnt change the fact that they were.

Jesse has an awkward dinner with Walter White and Skyler

Jesse having dinner at Walt and Skylers house | Ursula Coyote/AMC

RELATED: 10 Most Iconic Breaking Bad Quotes Every Fan Should Know

Walt invites Jesse to dinner as a form of revenge both for him and for Skyler. As expected, the dinner is super awkward, which also makes it funny.

Walt and Skyler silently seethe at each other across the table while Jesse attempts to make conversation. Its painful to watch Jesse saying, These are great green beans, Mrs. White, but, simultaneously, a moment worth laughing at.

Walter White throws a pizza on the roof

Breaking Bad pizza | AMC

The episode Caballo Sin Nombre includes one of the most memorable moments from the series. The scene where Walt throws an entire pizza onto the roof of his house in frustration was not meant to be funny. But his anger directed at the dinner he brought home for his family is inadvertently hysterical.

Pizza throwing also inspired hundreds of pranks over the years at the real house in Arizona where Breaking Bad was filmed. Showrunner Vince Gilligan urged fans to stop throwing pizzas and bothering the homeowners, who might have found it slightly amusing the first time but eventually stopped seeing the humor.

There is nothing original or funny or cool about throwing a pizza on this ladys roof, Gilligan said, referring to the homeowner. Its been done before. Youre not the first.

Jesse uses his catchphrase to talk about magnets

The Albuquerque Police Department confiscates the laptop that includes footage of Jesse and Walt cooking meth, so they understandably want to retrieve it. But since they cant get into the evidence room, they devise a plan to destroy the laptop using a giant magnet.

After testing their plan at a junkyard, Jesse exclaims, Yeah, b*tch! Magnets! while jumping in the air. Its not the first time Jesse utters his signature phrase but its one of the funniest by far, Goliath reported.

Walt quits the car wash

Walter White doesnt always mean to be funny. But even he must have seen the humor when he quit the car wash.

When Walt says to his former boss, F*ck you and your eyebrows! plus grabs his crotch, its one of the funniest moments of the entire show.

Jesse messes around in the meth lab

Jessie Pinkman | Ursula Coyote/AMC

The character Jesse is the source of comedic relief throughout Breaking Bad. One of the funniest clips is when hes bored in Gus Frings meth lab and starts screwing around, conducting his own chair races, using a high-pressure hose to blow up his suit, and putting his head in a giant vacuum.

The scene wasnt necessary for the storyline. But it did provide a lot of insight into Jesses character, reiterating how young he really was.
Iran Unveils Video Of Naval Missile System On Anniversary Of Downing US Drone

Radio Farda June 19, 2020

The Revolutionary Guard on Friday unveiled a new video of a naval missile defense system that downed an American military drone in southern Iranian airspace a year ago amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The five-minute-long video was released by Fars and Tasnim news agencies affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). It shows research laboratories where apparently the missile system was developed as well as what appears to be a production line and images of the system's installation on the deck of a Revolutionary Guard logistics vessel, Shahid Siavoshi.

The video is an attempt to show Iran's missile developments as an advanced scientific program. In the second half of the video the authors make allusions to the June 2019 incident when Iran shot down a U.S. drone in the Persian Gulf. Footage taken from U.S. military videos shows the preparation and take off of a U.S. drone. The video also includes a random animation of a drone circling Australia.

The missile system, according to Fars News Agency, has the capability of simultaneous engagement with four different targets. The primary missile operated by the homegrown system  dubbed as Khordad 3 -- is Taer-2 surface to air missile but the system can also launch Sayyad 2C missiles.

The IRGC on June 20, 2019 shot down the surveillance drone over the strait of Hormuz for alleged violation of Iranian airspace and published a video of the attack a day later on a Twitter account attributed to the Armed Forces. The United States, however, maintains that the drone was in international airspace.

President Donald Trump called the downing a "very big mistake," fueling fears that simmering tensions between the two countries may boil over into a military conflict. However, the U.S. response changed to cyber-attacks authorized by Trump on the Guard's missile control systems and new sanctions against several individuals including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and IRGC's top brass.

Iran retrieved parts of the drone in the Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and put them on display at a press conference on June 21.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-unveils-video-of -naval-missile-system-on-anniversary-of- dawning-us-drone-/30679398.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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PHILADELPHIA  A city woman who worked at a Havertown daycare for autistic children until last week has been federally charged with distribution of child pornography.

Tayanna Bowman, 23, of the 200 block of North Simpson Street, had been employed as a behavioral health technician at ChanceLight Autism Services in Havertown until June 12, according to a release from U.S. Attorney William McSwain, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She had also previously worked as a teaching assistant at Cynthias Little Treasures Day Care on North 63rd Street in West Philadelphia, a residential business run by her grandparents, according to a criminal complaint.

The allegations in this case are disturbing, said McSwain. Any child exploitation case is a very serious matter, but here, the defendant was working with vulnerable, autistic children while she was engaged with an online community of individuals interested in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children  and illegally distributing child pornography to that community.

An undercover federal agent was using the online social media application Kik on Jan. 27 to investigate individuals trading child pornography through a known group called teeny tiny tots, according to the complaint.

The agent saw someone identified as elena_mone distributing five files of child pornography in the group, according to the complaint. The agent video-captured the distribution, then downloaded the files to review, the complaint says.

After confirming the images in the files were child pornography, investigators determined the Kik accounts Internet Protocol addresses used to log in were serviced by Comcast and Verizon.

Comcast provided agents with the Simpson Street address, according to the complaint, while Verizon showed the Kik subscriber had logged in from Cynthias Little Treasures during the time the child pornography was distributed. The agent was also able to match the elena_mone Kik handle to other accounts associated with Bowman, the complaint says.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Simpson Street address June 11, but Bowman was not at home, according to the complaint. Investigators then visited Cynthias Little Treasures, where they met with Bowman, the complaint says.

Bowman allegedly admitted to using the elena_mone Kik account to communicate with others online and distribute child pornography. She also agreed to allow agents to search her cell phone and laptop computer, the complaint says.

Bowman estimated that she had distributed child pornography 50 times over Kik and would provide other users with hyperlinks to the files in their communications. She denied being sexually attracted to children, but said she was sexually gratified by the other users being aroused by the material she sent them, the complaint says.

Bowman also denied ever videotaping or distributing images of the children in her care, according to the complaint.

If convicted, Bowman faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Harrell is prosecuting. Bowman is represented by attorney Kathleen M. Gaughan. Magistrate Judge Marilyn Heffley has granted Harrells motion for pretrial detention.
The Jharkhand government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Central governments decision to unveil the process for the virtual auction of coal blocks for commercial mining.

Jharkhand Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan said that the state government moved a writ petition in the apex court on Friday contending that the decision to auction the coal blocks, some of which are in Jharkhand, will not benefit the state in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

The state will incur a loss as it would not fetch the market price, says the plea, according to Ranjan. He said that a proper assessment related to the adverse impact on a huge tribal population and forests has not been done and added that a detailed study covering all aspects of the decision is required.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Modi had launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining and reiterated his call for India to become self-reliant in energy by reducing imports.

Also read: Telangana CM KCR announces 5 crore ex-gratia for Galwan martyr Santosh babus family

Also read: Rajya Sabha elections 2020: Congress wins two seats in Rajasthan, BJP gets two in Madhya Pradesh

This comes as despite having the worlds fourth-largest coal reserves and being the second-largest producer, the country is the second-largest importer of coal.

The rollout of commercial coal mining is part of the series of announcements made by the Centre under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It is expected to boost private sector participation which will, in turn, lead to higher production and enhance competition.

Also read: Solar eclipse 2020: Chardham temples to remain closed from 10 pm tonight till Sunday afternoon

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Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana has been rearrested in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed, according to the United States prosecutors.

Rana, 59, a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for the COVID-19.

Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian told the court that the Indian government, as per the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 1997, has requested the arrest and detention of Rana with a view towards his extradition.

He was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 following the extradition request by India, where he is a declared fugitive.

Lulejian said India has informed the United States that Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to commit murder, in violation of Sections 120B and 302, and murder in violation of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He has also been charged with conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating and conspiracy to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record. He made an initial court appearance on June 11.

On Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the US District Court, Central District of California, scheduled his bond hearing for June 30.

His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the federal government's response is due by June 26.

Lulejian said that the offences for which Rana's arrest warrant was issued are covered by Article 2 of the India-US Extradition Treaty.

He tested positive for the COVID-19 upon his arrival to the Metropolitan Detention Center. He is currently in quarantine.

He will be available to appear by video or telephone for a bond hearing on June 30.

An arrest warrant was issued against Rana in India by Poonam A Bamba, District and Sessions Judge, Special Court of India's premier investigation agency National Investigation Agency (NIA), on August 28, 2018.

According to the federal prosecutors, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with his childhood friend Headley, also known as

'Daood Gilani', and others located in Pakistan to assist Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Pakistani-American LeT terrorist Headley was involved in plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.

Headley, who has been made an approver in the case, is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the attack.

According to the US prosecutors, Rana was first arrested in Chicago on October 18, 2009. Thereafter he went to trial in the US District court for the Northern District of Illinois where Headley testified for prosecution.

The jury convicted him of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to LeT.

The jury, however, acquitted Rana of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India.

Harry D Leinenweber, US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Rana to a 168-month prison term.

On May 7 this year, Rana filed a motion for compassionate release in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In his motion, Rana claimed that he has tested positive for the COVID-19, and his precarious medical conditions put him at the extreme risk of life-threatening complications.

Rana also asked the court to reduce his sentence and allow him to return to Canada.

Rana is a Canadian citizen, but he was a resident of Chicago and running a business in the city at the time of his arrest.

His petition was rejected by Rebecca R Pallmeyer, Chief US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on May 18.

He filed a second petition -- Renewed Motion for Compassionate Release -- on June 4.

Five days later on June 9, Judge Leinenweber granted Rana's motion, reduced his sentence to time served and ordered his immediate release, while leaving intact all other aspects of his criminal conviction.

Rana was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in San Pedro, California.

Given that he is a Canadian citizen, the Department of Homeland Security has filed an immigration detainer for him with the Bureau of Prisons.

He was formally rearrested the very next day on June 10. The Bureau of Prisons is currently holding Rana at that facility pursuant to the immigration detainer.

Luiejian told the court in his submission dated June 10 that a formal request for extradition from the Indian government, supported by the documents specified in the Treaty, will be presented and finalised within the time required under the Treaty.

The 2008 Mumbai attack was one of India's most horrific terrorist attacks in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem.

Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive, was hanged to death on November 21, 2012.
Signs are ominous. Nepal is certainly going the Tibet way, but with a fundamental difference. Tibet was militarily annexed in 1950 and close to one million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese to suppress their demand for freedom. In the case of Nepal, self-serving politicians are handing over the country to China on a platter. Nepal is being economically, politically and culturally colonised.

If the current trend continues, Nepal will soon follow Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to appear in the maps as Nepal Autonomous Region (NAR) of China. Slavery has many connotations. A proud Hindu nation will become a communist colony due to the mechanisations of unscrupulous and power hungry politicians.

As per the press reports, China is already calling the shots. It is deciding which politician should rule the country. In other words, the present ruling dispensation owes its existence to the Chinese ambassador in Kathmandu. She is the real ruler and all politicians look up to her for favours and directions. The boundary dispute with India has been raked-up only to curry Chinese favour.

With the signing of agreements worth USD 2.4 billion for various projects, Nepal is getting into a deadly debt trap like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and many African countries. Eventually, the Chinese financial stranglehold will jeopardise its existence as an independent nation.

Concurrently, China is pursuing cultural invasion as well. It has offered financial assistance to those schools that teach Mandarin. Needless to say, the bait has been swallowed hook, line and sinker. Several schools have already taken the decision to make Mandarin a compulsory subject.

Nepals future appears bleak. It is just a matter of a decade or two and Nepal will cease to exist as an independent nation. It will be an autonomous region of China, i.e. NAR. The saga of Tibets subjugation helps us make objective forecasts. Here are a few key parallels.

TAR Today

Tibet is autonomous only in name; the Chinese government exercises total and unbridled control. The locals have no say. Even though TAR has an ethnic Tibetan as the Chairman, he is only a titular figure. He is subordinate to the Branch Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the real power wielder, who is always from the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese government considers demographic swamping to be the ultimate solution. The Han population is likely to overwhelm the locals in the next two decades. Tibetans are not issued passports and hence cannot visit other countries. Even for visiting mainland China, they need special permit.

Every street and building in Tibet is embellished with innumerable Chinese flags, as if to constantly remind the locals that Tibet is under the Chinese rule. Similarly, billboards read Welcome to Chinas Tibet.

Chinese Flag over Potala Palace, Lhasa

Every house is mandated to fly the Chinese flag on the roof top; and its height must be more than that of the Tibetan prayer flags that traditionally adorn all houses. Non-compliance is construed as an act of defiance of the state authority and is dealt with harshly. Punishment may include imprisonment for anti-national proclivity.

Lhasa-Shigatse Highway Lined with Chinese Flags

China has been systematically annihilating Tibetan culture and religion. Their places of worship and learning have been methodically targeted. Over 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed or ransacked. Damage done to Tibets relics, heritage and architecture has been truly horrendous; and beyond redemption.

Buddhists need police clearance to congregate to celebrate their festivals. Local authorities regulate the number of monks that a monastery can accommodate. Monks need official permission to visit other monasteries in large numbers. Armed soldiers invariably accompany them to monitor their activities.

Under the garb of decongesting, demolitions have recently been carried out at Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist institute (academy and monastery) in the world.

Monastery with Chinese Flag

As the Chinese consider the knowledge of Mandarin to be essential for building national cohesion, the Tibetans are compelled to learn Mandarin. As a result, the local Tibetan language is being allowed to die. Most signboards are in Mandarin.

The Chinese behave like the rulers and treat the locals with disdain. The Hans from the mainland China occupy all senior government posts and are running prosperous businesses. On the other hand, the Tibetans have been condemned to menial jobs. All janitors, sweepers, load carriers and labourers are Tibetans. It is sad to see a once-proud community degraded to the status of bonded labour. Poverty continues to afflict most.

NAR of Tomorrow

No crystal gazing is required to visualise the future of Nepal.

The elected representative of the people of Nepal will only be figure-head/puppet. The Branch Secretary of the Communist Party of China from the Chinese mainland will call the shots.

Visitors at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu will be greeted with a billboard reading Welcome to Chinas Nepal. A Chinese flag will fly over the Singha Durbar in Kathmandu, as it flies on Potala Palace in Lhasa. Even the hallowed Pashupatinath Temple may be forced to fly the Chinese flag, as all monasteries are mandated to do in Tibet. All main roads of Kathmandu will be duly decorated with the Chinese flags.

All signboards will be in bold Mandarin, with Nepalese in small font. Over a period of time, Nepalese will be replaced by Mandarin as the main language. All religious places will come under the Chinese scanner. Hindu practices and customs will be discouraged. Religion is an anathema to the communists. As has been done with the selection of Panchen Lama in Tibet, China may select the Royal Kumari Devi of Kathmandu.

The Hans from mainland China will swamp Nepal to change demography. They will hold all positions of importance and thrive economically whereas the local Nepali population will be forced to undertake low-paid manual work like sweeping roads. As is their wont, the Chinese will behave like the rulers and treat the Nepalese as pitiable subjects.

NAR will certainly benefit in terms of infra-structural development. Kathmandu, which is perhaps the most underdeveloped and filthiest capital city in the world, will undergo a drastic transformation. In addition, huge concrete structures will come up to house the Chinese soldiers.

Some sceptics may consider the above prognosis to be speculative, improbable and far-fetched. They should see the accompanying pictures, taken by me in September 2016. The sight of the Chinese flag lording over the Potala Palace, the hallowed seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal head of the Buddhists, was heart-wrenching.

The narrative of Tibets tragedy is a saga of brutal decimation of an ancient, rich and peace-loving culture by vicious China. Tibet is a state under foreign siege. Similar fate awaits Nepal.

Finally

Ties between Nepal and India are age-old, deep and intense. They encompass religious, cultural, social and spiritual planes. Every Indian wishes Nepal and the Nepalese people well. That is why Nepals rapid drift towards the Chinese quagmire is viewed with great concern in India. It is a trap that can only lead Nepal to its doom. A land of proud people with ancient civilisation certainly deserves to thrive as an independent nation.

History is most unforgiving. The die once cast cannot be undone. Similarly, freedom once lost is extremely difficult to regain, especially from a ruthless tyrant like China. It may be the last opportunity for the people of Nepal to pull their country back from the abyss.

Read More By The Author:

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Supreme Court declines to unshackle the security forces

Major General Mrinal Suman, AVSM, VSM, PhD, commanded an Engineer Regiment on the Siachen Glacier, the most hostile battlefield in the world. A highly qualified officer (B Tech, MA (Public Administration), MSc (Defence Studies) and a Doctorate in Public Administration) he was also the Task Force Commander at Pokhran and was responsible for designing and sinking shafts for the nuclear tests of May 1998.

Note: The views expressed in the article are of the author's and not of Sify.com.
Thousands of protesters gathered peacefully on June 20 in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-Russia demonstrations that were violently put down by the government.

The protest was the first mass event in Georgia since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

To encourage social distancing, organizers placed stickers with the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin spaced apart on the ground and encouraging protesters to step on his face.

Most protesters wore masks and organizers provided disinfectant hand gel.

Public anger boiled over on June 20, 2019, when Russian lawmaker Sergei Gavrilov addressed parliament, in Russian, from the speakers chair during a meeting of lawmakers from Orthodox countries.

The incident touched a nerve with many in Georgia, which fought a brief war with Russia in 2008. Russia still occupies the two breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Led by the opposition, the protest in front of parliament a year ago descended into violence when riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons.

More than 240 people were injured, including more than 30 journalists and 80 policemen. Several protesters were injured in the eye.

The protests continued for days as demonstrators demanded the resignation of the government and those responsible for ordering the police response.

The government justified the use of force because protesters had tried to storm the parliament building.

With reporting by Reuters and RFE/RL's Georgian Service




The worship spaces may be familiar, but the people returning to them are different before the global pandemic, cautions a United Church minister who specializes in trauma counselling.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The worship spaces may be familiar, but the people returning to them are different before the global pandemic, cautions a United Church minister who specializes in trauma counselling.

"The problem is not the worship service or the experience is no longer the same," says Rev. Diane Strickland from her summer home near Brockville, Ont.

"The people are no longer the same."

Thats because the trauma of shutdowns because of COVID-19 has impacted people personally through job losses, isolation, and lack of routine, and also through collective trauma as they monitor the status of the virus within their family and friendship circles, cities, provinces, and the entire country, says Strickland, who was ordained 32 years ago.

"Not only do we have the trauma, we have the regular (stuff) going on," explains the community and workplace traumatologist and compassion fatigue specialist.

"And the support system wasnt there."

So as restrictions around public gatherings loosen, people heading back to services in synagogues, mosques, temples or churches may react negatively to the changes, she says.

First of all everyone has to realize worship wont be the same when people sit two metres apart and cant sing together because of the increased risk of spreading COVID-19 through airborne droplets, says Strickland, a former minister at Winnipegs First Presbyterian Church who now leads trauma workshops and consults during crises and disasters.

Trauma from all the changes caused by the pandemic can also cause past hurts and injustices to surface, says Strickland, who released a series of YouTube videos under the heading pandemic practicums (http://wfp.to/3GC).

"We get people whose resilience is worn down and whose need is great, and we bring them back to a place they dont recognize, Im afraid that the first few times people will say I cant do it again, Im afraid they will detach."

That detachment and other losses of familiar rituals and practices will lead to what is called the "second disaster" in disaster management, which generally hits a year after the initial issue, says Strickland, who consulted after floods in High River, Alta., and the Fort McMurray fires.

"The second disaster is the moment you realize some of the changes are going to be permanent and you will not recover the past," says Strickland, who splits her time between Calgary and a summer home near Brockville, Ont.

"Thats a pretty sobering moment when people understand it."

Although the size of indoor groups may increase to 50, Rev. Shannon McCarthy urges United Churches under her care not to rush to reopen. Instead, she says, continue with the online or virtual services, plan for September and enjoy the summer at the cottage or campground.

"The urgency to restart is we want everything to be back to normal," says McCarthy, executive minister for three Western Canada regions, including Prairie to Pine, which includes Manitoba.

"Were going to be retraumatizing people. What they expect is not what its going to be."

Thats been the experience of Winnipegger Luchie Sanchez, who has attended a few masses at St. Peters Roman Catholic Church, which pre-pandemic had more than 10,000 parishioners attending seven weekend masses. Instead of filling the church to capacity, parishioners must sign up and wait their turn to attend one of four Sunday masses, answer screening questions, and only sit in designated areas. After the service, each worshiper sanitizes the pew they had just occupied with wipes and spray and is urged not to linger in the foyer.

"Our church is (usually) so full and overflowing," says the member of the parish council.

"And then you come in and it feels like youre alone."

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.

Now writing a primer on trauma, Strickland says people of faith can seek inspiration from stories of huge disasters such as floods, fires, exiles and deaths of great leaders found in sacred texts. She suggests Christians look to the New Testament accounts of Jesus Christs death and resurrection, where Jesuss followers taking a long time to accept the resurrection and recover from the news of his death.

"Nobody was happy immediately, nobody forgot," she says.

Thats also the message for dealing with the multiple effects of the coronavirus pandemic, suggests Strickland. Remember the pain, recognize life has changed and carry on.

"Thats what life is. We can recover," she says.

"We are diminished by this, but we can also become more."

brenda@suderman.com
A $100 million lawsuit against Houston Community College alleges racial discrimination and misuse of grant money, according to court records.

The suit, filed Friday by plaintiff Zelia Brown on behalf of hundreds of current and former African American employees at the college, is against HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado, human resources director Janet May and board of trustees member Adriana Tamez.

Brown, 55, a former HCC employee who served as HCCs manager of grants performance and compliance, alleges in the suit that she was retaliated against for pointing out mismanagement of grant funds and that others have shared her experience. She is asking the court to approve a class-action suit against the college.

HCC has and is engaging in a type of modern-day Jim Crow policy, practice and custom to get rid of black employees, Browns attorney Ben Hall wrote in the lawsuit.

(Brown) is the victim of a well-developed, systematic, entrenched and wildly successful campaign of race and sex discrimination against top-level black employees at HCC, Hall wrote. This dreadful campaign has resulted in the dismissal, demotion and/or termination of blacks at alarming and disproportionate rates.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Rice pays $3.7M in science foundation fraud case

HCC officials were unable to be reached for comment late Friday.

It all started with Maldonado, according to the suit.

Maldonado, who accepted his position in 2014, came to HCC with the expectation of Hispanic people getting preferential treatment, the lawsuit alleges.

In an email chain between Maldonado and former HCC director Ricardo Solis that was provided as evidence in the case, Solis said he would put in a good word for Maldonado, stating that now we are going to receive preferential treatment. Browns attorney said Solis was referring to Hispanic people, and that this sentiment has come true.

The lawsuit alleges that 90 percent of the longtime black professionals at the community college have either been terminated or demoted since Maldonado arrived, compared with 10 percent of white employees who have been displaced. Hispanic hires and promotions, however, have increased by 50 percent, according to court documents.

Browns attorneys also claim that Maldonado used a list of tactics to undermine and get rid of black employees, including padding their personnel files with false complaints to be used as reasons to fire them, using the word transformation as a code word for getting rid of black employees, placing doubt on black employees claims, and forcing black employees to take leaves of absence without cause in order to use those as grounds for termination.

According to the lawsuit, Maldonado and May have worked together to keep this system going, with Maldonado relying on May to handle displacements, which has required her to make false claims against black employees.

In Browns case, she alleges that she was retaliated against, excluded from her job duties and placed on administrative leave by college officials for reporting to them the alleged mismanagement of grant money, including a $500,000 federal grant, according to court documents and a complaint obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Brown submitted a complaint to the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Commerce in late January, according to court documents. In a February email submitted as court evidence, the office responded to Brown, stating it would review the matter.

Browns attorney said that once HCC officials learned that the Commerce Department launched an investigation into Browns claim later that month, HCC officials told her not to return to work until further notice and claimed that she withheld information from her supervisor.

Alleged fraud at HCC

In Browns complaint, the grant she refers to was a $500,000 Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Grant from the Commerce Department allocated to the HCC System to assist minority business owners who were impacted by the 2017 hurricane. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, HCCs Associate Vice Chancellor Maya Durnovo waited until a month before the grant expired and used the funds for workshops that did not adhere to the purpose of the grant.

Durnovo declined to comment and referred the Houston Chronicle to HCC.

An HCC spokeswoman declined to comment, saying it is the colleges practice not to comment on personnel matters.

Records requests have been put on hold until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to HCCs legal counsel.

On HoustonChronicle.com: TSU admitted 4,000 students over 3 years who were not qualified

In an April 29 letter to attorney Hall, Paul Lamp, an attorney for HCC, denied the allegations of HCC retaliating against Brown.

Lamp said Brown voluntarily resigned from her employment March 9, the same day she was scheduled to return to work after being placed on paid leave. Lamp added that this does not constitute a constructive discharge as a matter of law.

Brown also alleged in the court documents that HCC trustee Tamez stockpiled* grants on the eve of their expiration. Once she pointed out Tamezs questionable use of grant dollars, Brown claims in the lawsuit that Tamez never justified why she violated grant guidelines and began to retaliate against her, with aims to get rid of her.

Brown is not the only one to have expressed concerns about the colleges use of grant money.

HCC board of trustees member Pretta VanDible Stallworth requested a forensic accounting of the school systems grant programs by an independent law firm in May, stating that grant funding has decreased significantly at the college system over the past several years.

In May, Stallworth raised the college systems grant compliance issues at a board meeting and requested outside counsel to conduct forensic accounting of the grant program, according to the meeting agenda. Trustees discussed the matter in closed session but ultimately voted 7-2 against an independent audit.

Brown later met with the board of trustees in early June, requesting that trustees hire an independent investigator to review her case, to reinstate her employment once the investigation is complete and to remove wrongdoers who participated in the scheme to silence her, according to court documents.

Attorneys said in the lawsuit that Brown has suffered from lost wages past and future, lost benefits including health insurance and retirement benefits, emotional suffering, stigma and mental anguish.

Editor's note: This report has been updated to include accurate information from court documents that list allegations against HCC board of trustee Adriana Tamez and her use of grant dollars. Court documents state that Tamez "stockpiled" grants, but did not indicate how many grants were stockpiled. The Chronicle regrets the error.

brittany.britto@chron.com
Dino Hunting Season Begins | Dino Hunters Between the spring rains and the winter freeze, theres a short window to extract fragile Dinosaur fossils from the high planes of Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Will these ranchers hit jackpot this season? Catch the series premiere of #DinoHunters on Discovery this Friday at 9p. Posted by Discovery on Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Discoverys new series Dino Hunters heads west to witness a modern-day gold rush: The high-stakes hunt for dinosaur bones across the badlands of Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. The series premieres tonight, June 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel. You can also live stream it on FuboTV.

Prehistoric fossils can fetch millions of dollars, so for cowboys and cattle ranchers, unearthing bones on their land sometimes means hitting pay dirt  and saving their livelihoods. Join a cast of memorable characters who use their deep knowledge of the land in a quest to find the remains of T-Rexes, Triceratops and even a rare, disputed dinosaur called a Nanotyrannosaur that just might shake up the scientific world.

In addition to taking exciting field trips to the digs, Dino Hunters brings long-dead giants to life through a combination of 3D modeling and Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). The result: X-ray visualizations of both the fossils and the animals that give viewers a glimpse of how these prehistoric monsters looked, moved and more.

What channel is Discovery on?

You can find which channel Discovery is on by using the channel finders here: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.

Where can I watch Dino Hunters if I dont have cable?

Fans can live stream it on fuboTV (7-day free trial, then $54.99/month). FuboTV is a streaming service that offers access to your favorite TV shows, live sports events and much more.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 pandemic has said that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, remains one of the hotspots where community spread of the virus is prevalent.

The Chairman of PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made this known on Friday, while receiving a donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth N10 million from Rotary District 9125.

Mr Mustapha was represented by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Olusegun Adekunle.

He said that 20 local government areas currently contributed 60 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the country.

The PTF chairman listed the affected areas to include: Mainland, Abuja Municipal, Mushin, Eti-Osa, Tarauni, Katsina, Alimosho, Maiduguri, Kosofe and Dutse.

Others were Ikeja, Nassarawa, Oshodi/Isolo, Apapa, Amuwo Odofin, Oredo, Bauchi, Lagos Island, Surulere and Ado Odo/Ota.

Mr Mustapha blamed the rising community spread of the pandemic to poor level of compliance with the precautionary measures at the community level.

He, therefore, appealed to the group, led by its Governor, Victor Onukhugwa, to take the COVID-19 pandemic awareness campaign to the communities.

We want to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers of this development, he said. We urge Rotary to help us take the awareness further. The risk management team is available to share strategy with the organisation.

The SGF further warned that the ravaging effect of COVID-19 pandemic was there for everyone to see, including the impact on both governance and the economy.

It is for us to strategise for a new way of life. A good number of staff have not been at work for the past four months. The impact of this on the economy is glaring.

The fatality rate is quite high. We keep telling Nigerians that please these are not just numbers, but brothers, sisters and colleagues that have passed on.

Some groups and clubs have been trying hard for us to control this. The resources needed to fight the virus are enormous, Mr Mustapha said.

He lauded the group for the donation, saying that some of the items had become scarce commodity due to a global demand.

We acknowledge that the donations are useful. The items are being chased globally, even, if you have resources you might not get them.

The donation is gratifying because hundreds of medical personnel have been infected, perhaps due to lack of the kits.

They will be used judiciously and it will be accounted for. We received this items with gratitude.
Press Release

June 19, 2020 Dispatch from Crame No. 825:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the PDEA Facebook Page for Reporting Illegal Drug Activities 6/19/20 While the rest of the country is busy dealing with the pandemic, the infamous Drug War hardly missed a beat as at least 50 drug-related killings have been recorded since March 15. To compound the problem, PDEA Director Wilkins Villanueva recently announced that they had now created a Facebook page named "Isumbong mo kay Wilkins" aimed at providing a more accessible venue for informants to report alleged illegal drug activities. In an obvious bid to recycle the failed Masa Masid program of the DILG, PDEA this time encourages tipsters to report suspicious drug personalities via their newly-minted Facebook page or through dedicated 24/7 hotline numbers. On its face, PDEA's initiative is even more dangerous than its predecessor precisely because the main mechanism for reporting has been moved online. In the wake of a massive surge of fake accounts on Facebook coupled with the lack of regulations on account creation and verification, we can imagine a corresponding spike in the surreptitious and malicious tagging of just any person as a drug personality, whether real or fake, and for whatever reason. Simply put, it's a license to destroy one's reputation and personal security, and it makes the task much easier now because the informants are afforded with a veil of protection--sponsored by the government no less. Cases such as mine--completely fabricated and bogus--are sure to multiply with such an ill-conceived program. Let me remind the public that Mr. Duterte was granted a whopping 4.5 Billion in confidential and intelligence funds for 2020, while the PDEA was given 500 Million in confidential funds; billions more were allocated to the DILG and PNP. Why then should the government resort once again to this sort of inanity and tomfoolery that can most definitely endanger thousands of Filipinos. Is this the extent of the PDEA's imagination? Gasgas na 'yan! Wala na ba kayong maisip na ibang paraan? Bilyong-bilyong pera ng bayan ang iginugugol para matugunan ang problema ng droga pero ganito kababaw ang inyong programa? Pakiayos naman. Kaawa-awa na ang taumbayan. (Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 825, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._825)
A vast cloud of Saharan dust now crossing the Atlantic Ocean will arrive in south Louisiana by Wednesday, bringing with it the potential to dampen hurricane threats, create spectacular sunsets and exacerbate respiratory problems for people with health conditions, including children.

The dust, which consists of tiny mineral rock sand particles from desert areas in Africa, is a frequent summer visitor to North America. Though it's nearly invisible, it makes its presence felt in a variety of ways.

"We can definitely expect an uptick in asthma and allergy conditions, especially in children," said Dr. James Diaz, director of the environmental and occupational health sciences program at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

Asthma is a risk factor for COVID-19, and the increased risk from the dust could include increases in cases of the Kawasaki-like inflammatory syndrome that COVID-19 has caused in a small number of children, Diaz said.

Scientists group the dust into two size groups: PM 2.5, for particles measuring 2.5 microns or smaller, and PM 10, for particles 10 microns or smaller.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a 24-hour standard of 65 microns per cubic meter for PM 2.5 and 150 microns per cubic meter for PM 10, and it's likely that the Saharan dust, combined with particulate matter already in the air from chemical pollution, will require the state Department of Environmental Quality to issue air quality alerts for some state locations next week.

"Desert sand is microscopic quartz, compared to beach sand, which is microscopic seashell," Diaz said. "The particles are charged and can carry pathogens into the lungs, like viruses, bacteria and fungi. Therefore, respiratory infections will increase as well."

He said the particles also are likely to increase problems with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related to bronchitis, and could also cause heart attacks among those with coronary artery disease.

The health issues associated with Saharan dust have been documented in recent years in studies conducted among residents in the Caribbean and in Houston, according to Joseph Prospero, emeritus professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Miami, who has been studying the dust outbreaks for 60 years.

Saharan sand outbreaks are common in the early summer months, Prospero said, typically forming over broad areas of the southern Saharan desert in Algeria, Libya and northern Niger. Intense heating of the Earth's surface, combined with windy conditions, causes the particles to be lifted into the upper levels of the atmosphere, to heights of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 miles. There, they can be blown west as part of a layer of hot, dry air atop easterly tropical waves crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The present dust outbreak is streaming west from an 850-mile-wide stretch of the African coast, and its outer edge was already raining particles as small as 70 microns on Barbados and French Guiana, he said.

The most visible effect of the Saharan dust is likely to be more colorful sunrises and sunsets in southeastern Louisiana, said Kevin Gilmore, a meteorologist with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

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"As the sun starts filtering through the haze caused by the particles, it can cause really brilliant sunrises and sunsets, with dark orange to pink colors," he said.

Another positive effect stems from the warm, dry air carrying the Saharan dust and the high-wind layer in which it is contained. The winds can chop apart clouds trying to form thunderstorms, and the dry air can reduce the ability of the atmosphere to support thunderstorm creation, necessary to form tropical storms and hurricanes.

"The Saharan Atmospheric Layer is a bit like Big Ben," said Jason Dunion, a research scientist with NOAA's Hurricane Research Center in Miami, who tracks the dust to study how it reduces the ability of hurricanes to form in the Atlantic. "It's actually quite amazing how, like clockwork, SAL activity  larger outbreaks that reach farther west  ramps up in June and keeps at a fast and furious pace from late June until early August."

Data collected from satellites and instruments dropped from research airplanes into the dust layer can be uploaded into hurricane forecast models to help predict the layer's effects. He said data collection efforts off the coast of Africa by NASA and around Barbados by NOAA have been rescheduled from this summer to next year because of pandemic issues.

"We'll be bringing new instruments to look at the winds, moisture and dust in the SAL, and will also have our trusty dropsondes (instrument packages released from planes) to sample the full depth of SAL outbreaks," Dunion said.

"Our plan is to transmit all of our dropsonde data in real time during the campaign so that modeling centers can ingest the data and so that it will be available to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center," he said.

Other researchers have been studying the effects of the dust as it falls into the ocean. Recent studies have linked iron contained in the sand to blooms of trichodesmium, a one-celled cyanobacteria also known as sea sawdust, in waters off southwest Florida. The bacteria blooms die and sink to the bottom of the Gulf, where they decompose and release dissolved organic nitrogen.

The nitrogen, in turn, stimulates blooms of Karenia brevis, a type of toxic algae that causes red tides.

The freshwater of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers help keep local salinity levels low enough for red-tide events from spreading west of the Mississippi border, said Nancy Rabalais, a marine biologist with LSU. A different cyanobacteria that is found in deeper waters off the Louisiana Gulf Coast might be affected by the dust, but has not been seen as a problem, she said.

The dust also stimulates growth of many groups of marine plankton, which can have both positive and negative effects, said Elizabeth Ottesen, a microbiologist at the University of Georgia.

"This can be both good and bad from our perspective," she said. "It can increase productivity and feed the marine food web, but it can also stimulate the growth of harmful algae and bacteria."

In a recent study, she and her team of researchers observed a series of blooms where most of the organisms were harmless to humans. But she said the blooms did include species of vibrio, which can cause disease.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 14:54:16|Editor: Lu Hui

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Workers from China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2) fix the welded seamless rails of the China-Laos railway in the northern suburb of Vientiane, Laos, on June 18, 2020. The CREC-2 has welded the first seamless rails for the China-Laos railway in the northern suburb of Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday morning. The seamless rail, also known as continuous welded rail (CWR) which eliminates rail joints, can improve the duration of steel rails, reduce the maintenance costs of locomotives and tracks, improve the stability and speed of trains, and enhance travel comfort. The China-Laos Railway is a project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, with a joint effort, aiming to convert Laos from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
Ghana's High Commissioner to India, Lawyer Mike Ocquaye Jnr has once again lost the Dome-Kwabenya constituency seat to incumbent Lawyer Sarah Adwoa Safo who is also a deputy Majority Leader in Parliament.



The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya had a total votes of 496 with lawyer Mike Ocquaye Jnr closing in with 488 votes after 5 votes were rejected.



Mike Oquaye's Son Is After My Life - Adwoa Safo



Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya had issued a public plea to the New Patriotic Party(NPP) national executive to step into an ongoing fracas that has engulfed the Constituency ahead of the parliamentary primary.



The national party, the MP warned, need to call for an order before the chaos that has erupted in the constituency lead to fatalities.



Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, who is facing stiff competition from Ghanas Ambassador to India lamented that her life is in danger.



The MP, who is also Deputy majority leader in Parliament, stated that the situation has come to a head because her opponents have only one motive in the contest, and that is to get her out by any means necessary.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ryan Murphy is arguably the king of streaming television, and he can afford to be creative with his strategy of when to release new content.

And now that the second season of his Netflix show The Politician has dropped, the writer-producer-director, 54, is coy about when exactly a third go-round for Payton Hobart and company might be.

In late April, the American Horror Story creator discussed his plans for the show with Collider, acknowledging that he had always envisioned a three-season arc  but not necessarily in quick succession.

All in due time: Now that the second season of his show The Politician has dropped, Ryan Murphy is coy about when exactly a third go-round for Payton Hobart and company might be; Murphy seen here in August 2018

'I think for me, for that show, I would like to do, and I think all of us involved in it, would probably like to do three seasons total,' Murphy said.

'And I think where season two ends, what I would love to do is take a couple of years off and have Ben Platt get a little bit older for his final race,' he continued. 'That would obviously be a presidential race, right?'

The show has followed Platt's character Payton's political aspirations from the relatively humble beginnings of his Santa Barbara high school all the way to loftier arenas by the end of season two, so it would make sense that the third season would see him taking a shot at becoming POTUS.

Still young: 'I think where season two ends, what I would love to do is take a couple of years off and have Ben Platt get a little bit older for his final race,' Murphy said of his protagonist

'Thats always what we had designed, and I think thats what our plan is. Im going to wait,' Ryan added. 'Ben is young [he's 26], so I want to wait a couple of years to figure out how we age him up a little bit. But thats always been my plan.'

Season two of The Politician, which dropped Friday, sees larger roles from celebrated actresses Judith Light and Bette Midler, as Peyton's eventual political nemesis and her top advisor, respectively.

The series, which is responsible for coaxing Oscar winner and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow back to the craft of acting, is part of Murphy's illustrious and high-priced Netflix deal, which has also thus far produced his period series Hollywood.

Welcome talent: Season two of The Politician, which dropped Friday, sees larger roles from celebrated actresses Judith Light and Bette Midler

Getting Political: The series, which is responsible for coaxing Oscar winner and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow back to the craft of acting, is part of Murphy's high-priced Netflix deal

Murphy co-created The Politician with his Scream Queens and Glee co-creators, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk, the latter of whom is married to Paltrow.

A six-time Primetime Emmy winner, Ryan is also responsible for some of the most buzz worthy network television content of late as well, including the first two seasons of American Crime Story (the first revolving around the trial of O.J. Simpson, and the second focusing on the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace).

Two of the most anticipated projects soon to come from the illustrious Murphy are a third season of Crime Story focusing on the Monica Lewinsky Scandal, and a new series titled Ratched, about the evil nurse Mildred Ratched first immortalized by actress Louise Fletcher in 1975's Academy Award-winning One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

High profile group: Murphy co-created The Politician with his Scream Queens and Glee co-creators, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk
By PTI

JAMMU: Pakistani troops on Saturday shelled mortars along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing a strong retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.

There was no immediate report of any casualty, he said.

"At about 6.45 PM, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling mortars along LoC in Nowshera sector. The Army is retaliating befittingly," the spokesperson said.

The cross-border shelling was going on when last reports were received, he added.
Daniel Bockwoldt/Getty Images

NEW YORK  The New York police commissioner announced on Monday that he was disbanding the Police Departments anti-crime unit, a plainclothes team of hundreds of officers who targeted violent crime and have been involved in some of the citys most notorious police shootings.

This is 21st-century policing, the commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. We must do it in a manner that builds trust between the officers and the community they serve.
Family and friends converged to pay tributes to former beauty queen and business woman, late Ibidunni Ajayi-Ighodalo on Friday.

A Night of tributes was held in honor of the late event planner, who passed away on Sunday in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Ibidunni was known for having a big heart as her family members, in-laws, workers, and church members testified about how she managed to touch their lives during the time she spent with them.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was virtually present, said he and his wife, Dolapo, were shocked when they received the news of her demise.

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Osibanjo remembered the late event planner for her kindness, love, generosity, and commitment to family, friends, and the Christian faith.

Babatunde Fashola, Nigerias Minister of Works and Housing, described Ibidun as a butterfly that brought color to the life of everyone that came in contact with her.

Late Ibiduns daughter, Keke, also got to pay tribute to her late mother and she had beautiful things to say.

Keke described her mother as a Beautiful woman, very strong and someone who felt everyones pain.

The young girl said said her mum can tell when someone is not happy and she finds a way to help them.

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, Mrs. Titi Adenuga, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, amongst others also spoke at the event.

Ibidunnis funeral service is scheduled for Saturday at 2pm.

Read Also: Pastor Ituah Ighodalo Reveals Plans To Fulfill His Late Wifes Birthday Wish (Video)

See photos and video below:
China on Saturday unveiled details of the controversial new security law for Hong Kong amid international criticism that it will corrode the wide-ranging freedoms enjoyed by residents of the global financial hub.

Details of the new law as listed by official news agency, Xinhua, includes setting up of a national security office for Hong Kong to handle crimes against national security.

The local government must establish new institutions to protect national security and allow mainland agencies to operate in the city when needed.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kongs chief executive, will have the power to appoint judges to hear cases related to national security. The bottom line is clear, however.

According to Xinhua: For Hong Kong laws that are not in line with this [impending national security] law, this laws requirements will apply, and the right to interpret this law lies with the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee.

National security activities would protect human rights and freedom of speech and assembly, it added, without providing details.

The Xinhuas statement said that the legislation would make it clear that the Hong Kong government would need to respect and protect human rights as it safeguarded national security.

It must protect the freedoms of expression, the press, publication, association, assembly  that Hong Kong people enjoy under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it said.

Under Beijings plan, the Standing Committee will create a law for Hong Kong to prohibit acts of succession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign and external influences to threaten national security, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said in a report on Saturday.

Critics of the new law say it essentially ends the unique system of governance under the one country, two systems mechanism which has governed Hong Kong since the British handed it over to China in 1997.

This is the death knell for Hong Kong, make no mistake of it, this is the end of one country, two systems, the Hong Kong that we loved, a free Hong Kong, pro-democracy lawmaker from Hong Kong Dennis Kwok was quoted by agencies as telling reporters on May 28 when the NPC had passed the security legislation.
U K citizens can travel to Spain from Sunday without facing Covid-19 quarantine, Spain's foreign minister has announced.

Spain had threatened to impose a quarantine on UK visitors if the UK imposed a quarantine on Spanish citizens travelling to the UK.

However, the Spanish government appears to have rowed back, now inviting UK citizens to visit.

Those travelling from the UK will need to register to allow the Spanish government to trace them.

Spains Foreign Minister, Arancha Gonzalez said: "We will allow British visitors just like the rest of the EU to come to Spain freely and without the need for quarantine. There will be a triple-check for their origin, temperature and well ask everyone to register so we can trace them.

Were discussing with the UK authorities to see if they would do the same on their side, we nevertheless are doing this out of respect for the 400,000 British citizens that have a second residence in Spain and are dying to benefit from their homes in our country.

We do hope they (the UK Government) will be sensitive to the 250,000 Spaniards that are also living in the UK and would like to enter the UK without a quarantine.

But without the Government setting up a so-called air corridor with Spain, anyone returning from a trip there would still have to quarantine for 14 days.

Tourism supports 2.6 million jobs in Spain / AFP via Getty Images

The UK and Spain are still in talks as to whether Spanish visitors to the UK will need to quarantine.

Tourism generates 12% of Spains GDP and supports 2.6 million jobs.

In Spains Balearic and Canary Islands, however, the dependence on tourism jumps to over 30% of their economies.

Competing with other European countries that are similarly desperate to fill their hotels, museums and tourist sites, Spains government announced a 4.2 billion euro aid package for its tourism industry on Thursday.
Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, who worked with actor Sushant Singh Rajput on the films Kai Po Che and Kedarnath, has said that he was a troubled man, whose mind was systematically dismantled by the industry. Abhishek was speaking to Enquiry, on YouTube.

Its a systematic dismantling of a fragile mind, he said. Sushant was brilliant, he was an engineer, he was into astrophysics and quantum physics. But because we couldnt box him into stereotypes we called him off. He was off, just off your radar. Theres this thing that if youre not like us then you cant be with us. There are so many camps that if youre not part of a camp, even if youre in the middle of a room, you will be ignored. It is true, especially for actors. I, as a filmmaker, can isolate myself. I can warn a young actor but he cannot see it at the time because the lights are so bright. You lose yourself.

The actor was found dead at his Mumbai home on Sunday, at the age of 34. The police has said that he died by suicide and was depressed.

Also Watch | Its a wake up call: Bollywood actor on Sushant Singh Rajputs death



He was very troubled while we were shooting for Kedarnath, Abhishek continued. But when we shot, he was 100% there. He never threw tantrum, it was cold, he had to carry Sara on his back, and he never said no if I asked for retakes. I couldnt pay much attention to him during the shoot, but I knew we would reconnect if he wanted to.

Kedarnath served as the film debut of Sara Ali Khan, and Abhishek said that Sushant felt that all the media attention had diverted towards her. He became reclusive.

I had not spoken to him for about a year and a half, Abhishek said. There were times, you talk and then youd go away to do a film. He must have changed his number 50 times and I remember when Kedarnath was coming out, the media had just slammed it. I dont know what happened, he could see that he was not getting the kind of love because everything was centered around Sara that time. He was just kind of lost. When the film released and it did really well, I sent him a message.

Abhishek added, The message said, Bro I have been trying to reach you, Im not sure if you are upset, or just busy, but call me so we can chat. We made a super film together, again. If we are not going to celebrate it then what the hell are we going to celebrate in life? So please call me, I love you. He didnt respond. He didnt respond on his birthday. I said to myself just let it be. I could see he was not in a good place but you cannot cross a line. You have to meet someone halfway. You can reach out to someone but only to an extent. If you give unsolicited advice, it is never appreciated and it loses its value. Sometimes I used to think I should call him but then I used to think when he calls me, Ill get a hold of him. He never called.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajputs first Bollywood director Abhishek Kapoor, wife Pragya to honour him by feeding 3400 families

Abhishek was one of the few industry personalities present at Sushants funeral. He was cremated at Mumbais Vile Parle crematorium on Monday. The actor was known for his acclaimed performances in films such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya, Kai Po Che, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! among others.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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SpaceCast Weekly is a NASA Television broadcast from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

It features stories about NASA's work in human spaceflight, including the International Space Station and its crews and scientific research activities, and the development of Orion and the Space Launch System, the next generation American spacecraft being built to take humans farther into space than they've ever gone before.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Working mother Stephenie Summerhill believed she had it all  until COVID-19.

And now, like millions of Canadian women who have been locked down at home with children for the past three months  and counting  she wonders if she will ever get her life back.

I was born in 1977, the first generation of women who were raised for careers, she says. I prefer to work.

But when her boss phones as her three-year-old is calling for help in the bathroom, who do you choose? asks Summerhill, 42, who suddenly found herself juggling her high-powered job in the non-profit sector with two sons under age six.

I was trying to do a good job at work and trying to do a good job at home. And I was not doing a good job at either, she says.

On April 24, she threw in the towel and took an unpaid leave.

She and her husband, a lawyer for a construction company, agreed she would be the one to step back from her career because he is the higher income earner.

Unfortunately, it really comes down to who makes more money, says Summerhill. And its usually the men.

As Canadian employment figures have confirmed, women were the first to lose their jobs when the country shut down in mid-March, accounting for almost 62 per cent of the newly unemployed. In May, as many provinces began to reopen, men were the first to return to work, gaining back jobs at roughly twice the rate of women, according to Statistics Canada.

The unprecedented fallout  a recession led by womens job losses when tourism, restaurants and shops were shuttered to prevent the spread of COVID-19  threatens to wipe out a generation of womens economic and social gains.

Policy-makers of all political stripes, from Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Ontario Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford, have acknowledged the need to support women and womens employment as the country slowly reopens.

Many economists say that means turning womens marginal employment in the so-called caring economy into good jobs with higher wages and better working conditions. It also means getting serious about creating a pan-Canadian system of high-quality, universally accessible, affordable child care, a long-standing barrier to womens employment and economic equity.

As economist Armine Yalnizyan has been saying for more than a month: No recovery without a she-covery. And no she-covery without child care.

But academics and womens advocates say it will take more than catchy phrases to ensure patriarchy  the male-dominated status quo  and outright misogyny  hatred or prejudice against women and girls  dont thwart the she-covery in the wake of COVID-19.

Its important for us to recognize that the concepts of patriarchy and misogyny that play out on a day-to-day basis, are not particularly visible or dramatic, says Andrea Gunraj, vice-president of public engagement with the Canadian Womens Foundation, the countrys only public foundation dedicated to women and girls.

Rather, these concepts are embedded in the way our societies are structured and in how we value and fund things, she says.

Many people are challenging us to look at racism in the same systemic way, she notes.

Along with housework, the caring work women do in the home for children and elders is largely unpaid, Gunraj says. The undervaluing of this work continues outside the home in child care, personal support and seniors care.

The goal of the foundation and womens advocates is to eliminate patriarchy and misogyny by using a gender-based analysis of policy and funding decisions that also includes intersectionality, or the interplay of race, culture, age, education, disability and other identities, Gunraj says.

What we have seen is that the pandemic has deepened inequalities that were already there, she says. The same folks that were already on the margins are being pushed over the line.

Trudeau, the first prime minister to ensure women MPs make up 50 per cent of his cabinet, has made so-called Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) a signature policy of his government.

COVID-19 is a crisis unlike any other, says a spokesperson for Maryam Monsef, federal minister for women and gender equality.

It has hit women hardest with jobs lost and women taking on more unpaid work than they already were for their kids as well as their elders, says Marie-Pier Baril.

Women are the majority of those on the front lines of the fight against COVID. That includes nurses, of course, but also personal support workers, other health-care workers, child-care workers, food-sector workers and social workers.

Ottawa is committed to applying a GBA+ lens to its COVID-19 emergency response measures and recovery efforts, she says in an email.

Data and evidence will be crucial, advocates say.

The discussions I have had with parents is that because the female parent earns less, she is the one who has quit her job or is staying home now because there is no child care or it is unaffordable, says Julia Smith, a research associate in the health sciences faculty at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

Smith has just received a $500,000 Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant to co-lead an international study on the gender impact of COVID-19. The study is the first of its kind to look at the impact of pandemics on women and will include case studies in Canada, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China.

Women have told me quite candidly that when it comes to making these decisions, its just assumed by their partners, by their families, by the people they work with, that they will be the ones who give up work, adds Smith, whose team has identified child care as an early ask.

Another area Smith would target for more public support is the non-profit sector, which is not only dominated by female workers, but provides important social services that support them.

Although it is a two-year research project, Smith and her team are posting their preliminary findings on a website in an attempt to impact decision-making now.

I am quite encouraged by the response at the federal, provincial and municipal level here in Canada, she says. People want to know what the impacts are for various groups and really want to tailor their response accordingly.

But too often, cost becomes a major stumbling block to advancing womens equality.

For example, after Kathleen Wynnes Liberal government in 2018 committed to build a universal child-care system in Ontario by introducing free daycare for two- and three-year-olds, Doug Fords Progressive Conservatives axed the $2.2 billion program as part of his plan to slay the provincial deficit once they took power.

With Ottawas pandemic deficit expected to crest $250 billion, there will be calls to rein in spending, says economist Lindsay Tedds, an associate professor at the University of Calgarys School of Public Policy.

But fighting deficits through austerity is just the patriarchy being the patriarchy, she says. Austerity constricts and constrains economic growth.

Targeted government spending is a much better way to grow the economy out of deficit, she argues. And instead of viewing spending as a cost, governments need to see the benefits.

Twenty years of research in Quebec shows spending on child care is especially beneficial, returning $5 to the provinces economic bottom line for every $1 invested through the ripple effect of more women earning, spending and paying taxes, Tedds says. And that doesnt include the positive impact on child development and poverty reduction.

If people say we cant afford to pay for (child care), Im saying, we cant afford not to. It almost costs less  if you do it right, she adds.

Child care is also essential to addressing the gender-pay gap, says Tedds, who notes European research shows men and women earn essentially the same until women begin taking time off work to have children. And they never recover, she says.

In 2018, Canadian women earned an average of 87 cents for every dollar earned by men.

But as Tedds and other academics argue, Canada also needs to improve the wages and poor working conditions of women in the caring economy.

If we get more child care only to enable women to go back to jobs where they earn considerably less than men, then thats inadequate, says University of Manitoba sociology professor Susan Prentice.

I am very heartened by the degree to which the gendered aspect of this economic crisis is being addressed, says Prentice, who wrote her PhD thesis on womens fight to keep wartime daycares open after the Second World War.

But its got to tip into action.

Toronto Coun. Joe Cressy, whose baby Jude was born just four months before the city went into lockdown, was instrumental in arranging free emergency child care for essential workers at the end of March. He says the model is one the province should emulate for all Ontario families.

Here you have a singular moment where the provision of free child care for front-line workers  which has enabled us to withstand this pandemic  showed us a better path forward, he says.

And yet with the provinces announcement earlier this month that child care would reopen with regular parent fees we are immediately going back to what existed before, but worse.

While there is a lot of excitement about the possibility of building a new and better normal, with each passing day in this province, it feels like we are going back to the status quo, he says. There is no better example of that than child care.

One of the problems with child care is that no one level of government is responsible, Cressy says.

Why is it so complicated to explain funding related to child care? Why is it so complicated to explain service agreements and the role of the province and the cities and the feds?

Everybody can always point their fingers at someone else. Its failure by design, he adds.

To end the finger-pointing, Cressy thinks Ottawa needs to create a Canada Child Care Act, similar to the Canada Health Act that sets out a funding framework with principles to guide the provision of universal health care. If Ottawa funds it properly, provinces wont be able to afford to say no, he adds.

Lawyer Kathleen Lahey, a gender equity scholar and Queens University Law School professor, says she hopes more men emerge from the pandemic with a clearer understanding of what raising children involves and get behind the push for more child care.

But child care would be just a start, she argues, noting more women in gender-neutral Norway work part-time than anywhere else in Europe, despite the countrys highly regarded universal child-care system.

Why? Patriarchy raises its head. Because the norm is that women take care of kids. Its these really deep structural things that have to change, she says.

But they can change. People are working on it all around the world, adds Lahey, who is involved in several international research projects on womens equality.

Some advocates are focused on addressing the unequal sharing of housework and child rearing in the home and starting to empower women there, she says.

Some people are saying, lets rip the lid off ... income inequality. Others are looking at gender equality from an (environmental) perspective. And some are tackling it as part of the anti-poverty movement, she says.

Increasingly, these large groups are converging.

Womens equality is increasingly understood to be ... an intersectional movement where if you dont bring in everyone who needs a better life, then you arent going to make it.

Its going to be all groups together seeing what patriarchy and concentration of wealth has done to governments and to more vulnerable groups, she adds.

Since leaving her job, Summerhill has poured herself into making life livable. She has set up Lego tables and crafts in the living room for her sons and has created a kids paradise in the backyard with a sandbox, water table and slide off the deck.

Her fear, however, is that she doesnt know how long the lockdown will go on, if her daycare and school will reopen, if her job will still be there and if she will be able to go back to work under whatever the new normal looks like.

At what point do I get to think about me again? At 50? Im really struggling, she says, her voice catching with emotion.

My husband is trying to be supportive. But Im just angry.
NEW YORK, June 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of Wirecard AG ("Wirecard" or the "Company") (OTC: WRCDF).

If you are a Wirecard shareholder and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website:

http://www.weisslawllp.com/wirecard-ag/

Or please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

WeissLaw LLP

1500 Broadway, 16th Floor

New York, NY 10036

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]

The investigation focuses on possible breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of federal securities laws by the Wirecard Board of Directors for the alleged dissemination of materially false and/or misleading information in connection with the Company's operations. Specifically, that 1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) of the Company's money went missing. This money was supposed to be held in trust accounts on behalf of Wirecard and its payment-processing partners. Instead, the Company's auditor found "no sufficient audit evidence" that the money was in these trust accounts.

As a result of these issues, the Company allegedly made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) up 2 billion euros in loans could be terminated if it delayed filing its 2019 financial results for a fourth time; (ii) false balance sheet information had been recorded; and (iii) as a result of 18 months of allegations of fraud and questionable accounting practices, the Company's stock lost as much as 75% of its value in two trading days.

On June 18th, Wirecard's CEO Jan Marsalek was suspended. The Company's CEO Markus Braun announced his resignation the very next day. Wirecard has also come under investigation from German and U.S. regulators over its accounting practices, disclosures to investors and insider trading. The Financial Times has reported problems at Wirecard's Singapore offices, including false accounting and fraud.

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

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Next year, state lawmakers will redraw the congressional district maps based on the 2020 census, a process mandated by the Constitution. In anticipation of this new redistricting cycle, Slate is revamping our gerrymander puzzle game from 2013 as part of our Who Counts? initiative. Well be releasing new puzzles over the upcoming weeks, highlighting the worst and weirdest gerrymanders in the country. Find out how quickly you can put these states back together and learn everything thats at stake in the next round of redistricting.

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Missouris congressional gerrymander represents a fraught compromise. After the 2010 election, Republicans gained control of the state legislatureand with it, the authority to draw new maps. But Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, had the power to veto those maps. Republicans needed at least three Democrats to join them to override Nixons veto.

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To nab those three votes, Republicans struck a deal with a handful of Black legislators. The state lost one congressional seat after the 2010 census, and GOP lawmakers intended to eliminate a Democrat-held district. At the time, Missouri had three Democratic congressmen, two Black, one white. Republicans effectively drew the white congressman out of his seat. That move left just two Democratic districts, both represented by Black congressmen, both containing a significant number of racial minorities.

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The gambit worked. As predicted, the legislature drew a map that gave Republicans six of Missouris eight congressional districts. Nixon vetoed it. Republicans then overrode his veto with the help of four Black legislators, three of whom supported the GOPs plan from the start. As one crossover Democrat put it, Im Black before Im a Democrat.

In 2018, Missourians decided to limit gerrymandering via constitutional amendment. A supermajority of voters approved Amendment 1, which took redistricting power from the legislature and handed it to a nonpartisan state demographer. Republican lawmakers are currently scheming to gut this reform and make it much harder to sue against gerrymanders or win a fairer, court-drawn map. They are also considering a seismic shift after the 2020 census: Many Missouri Republicans want to count only U.S. citizens, not overall population, when redistricting next year. This approach would shift power away from diverse, urban communities toward white, rural ones. If the legislature takes that leap, the impending battle over district lines may make the 2010 showdown look like childs play.
Los Angeles, June 20 : "The Fault In Our Stars" actor Ansel Elgort has been accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl.

Elgort, who is set to appear in Disney's "West Side Story" remake, has been accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2014, reports mirror.co.uk.

A young woman named Gabby took to Twitter to claim that she first began messaging the 26-year-old actor shortly before her 17th birthday, and he responded to her on the social media platform Snapchat.

Gabby, who refrained from revealing her last name, posted a lengthy post, alleging that she was "sobbing and in pain" during the alleged assault episode involving the Hollywood star.

"I was sexually assaulted a couple days after I just turned 17. I was only f**king 17. And he was in his 20s. He knew what he was doing. I'm not posting this to 'clout chase' because I simply don't care for that. I'm posting this so I can finally heal and I know I'm not alone and he's done this to other girls," she began.

"Ansel Elgort sexually assaulted me when I was 17. I had dmed him on when it was two days before my 17th birthday and I got his private Snapchat. I didn't think he would ever see my dm I was just a kid and was a fan of him. So when it happened instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn't want to do it the only words that came out of his mouth were 'we need to break you in' I WASNT there in that moment mentally," she added.

She continued: "I disassociated myself and felt like my mind was gone I was in shock I couldn't leave I was only 5'2 and 98 pounds. He made me think this was how sex was supposed to be. I WAS SO YOUNG AND HE KNEW THAT. He as well said stuff like 'you're going to be such a beautiful young lady when you're older'. I was f**king 17. He not only did that but asked me for nudes. I was only 17. As well as asked to have a threesome with me and one of my 'dance friends' they were as well underage and I didn't tell anyone because he said it could 'ruin his career' i sat there for months wondering what I did wrong.

"Wondering why I felt so used. Years later I have ptsd, I have panic attacks I go to therapy. Finally I'm ready to talk about it and finally heal. I just want to heal and I want to tell other girls who have been through the same s**t as me, you're not alone. It's a lot for me to even come on here and tell my story but I know it's needed. There so much more to my story I simply don't want to post it all. I will tweet screenshots and pictures of me and him down below," she added.

Gabby also shared pictures as proof. In one image, a girl is seen covering her face with her hand as she poses with a man who appears to be Elgort. Another shows a direct message exchange, which she claims was between herself and Elgort.

She claimed Elgort invited her to his "personal snapchat" after she messaged him the day before her birthday.

In a separate tweet, Gabby wrote: "It's a lot for me to post this but I think it's time I finally talk about my story of me being sexually assaulted. I need to heal and I want others to know they're not alone." A different account, which seems to belong to someone called Esther, tweeted in April earlier this year, claiming she connected with Elgort through Snapchat. She claims she was 15 at the time of the digital exchange, and Elgort was 21.

The account, which she claims is of Elgort, wrote: "If you tell on me or tell your parents and they get mad. I want you to come to my hotel room when I'm in London next...I want to kiss you, you're pretty. But u can't tell a soul otherwise I could be in sooooo much trouble." Elgort or his representatives are yet to respond.
Democrats and legal experts decried a Friday night massacre and naked abuse of power after Donald Trumps attorney general attempted to remove the man leading investigations into the presidents inner circle at the powerful US attorneys office in Manhattan.

The explosive standoff took place on Friday as Attorney General William Barr said Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was leaving his top position at the office.

Mr Berman spearheaded probes into the presidents former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and was investigating Mr Trumps current legal counsel, Rudy Giuliani. The SDNY investigations have led to several indictments surrounding Mr Trump, including Cohen, who was charged with campaign finance violations, as well as two associates to Mr Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.

In a statement shortly after Mr Barr announced the sudden shakeup, Mr Berman effectively refused to step down, saying: I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate.

He added: Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to Barack Obama, called for the attorney generals impeachment on Twitter, writing in one post: We are so many miles further down to road to authoritarianism than our political and media culture can process.

The former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, alleged Mr Barr was going to need to be the subject of a criminal investigation after attempting to oust Mr Berman.

But first Congress needs to impeach him, he added. The inquiry should begin Monday. There is no excuse for not doing it.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill also resurfaced their calls for Mr Barrs impeachment and demanded he resign amid the latest controversy.

Elizabeth Warren (DMa) wrote in a tweet: This is a naked abuse of power. Ive already called for AG William Barr to resign & for Congress to impeach him.

The Massachusetts senator also urged Congress to pass legislation she introduced that would defund Barrs authority to interfere with matters related to Trump, his family and his re-election campaign.

Democrats accused Mr Barr of interfering in the attorneys office in an attempt to defend the president and his inner circle from ongoing probes Mr Berman was leading, several of those reportedly surrounding potential campaign finance violations.

Make no mistake, Kamala Harris (DCa) wrote in a tweet. Bill Barr will go down in history as having aided and abetted the most corrupt president this country has ever seen.

Preet Bharara, who previously served in the same post as Mr Berman and described the ousting as a Friday night massacre in an interview with CNN, wrote in a tweet: Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?

Jerrold Nadler (DNy), head of the House Judiciary, has meanwhile announced he will invite Mr Berman to deliver testimony before Congress after the standoff took place.

America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on Trumps behalf, Mr Nadler tweeted. We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday. We welcome Mr. Bermans testimony and will invite him to testify.
Maha Jabur says she still suffers depression stemming from an eviction letter she received two years ago, telling her she only had a few months to vacate the three-bedroom unit where her family lived in Ottawa.

We didnt really have a choice. We lived there for a long time, then all of a sudden theyre telling us to leave. I got really upset and depressed. They put me under pressure and I didnt know what to do, says Jabur, 42.

Originally from Iraq, Jabur came to Canada in 2010 as a refugee from Syria. She was one of as many as 550 people  most of them people of colour  who were forced out of their homes in 2018, following a decision by Timbercreek, a $10-billion asset management firm, to demolish an aging townhouse development in south Ottawa called Heron Gate Village.

The firm wants to construct nearly 60 new buildings and about 5,500 residential units.

An Ontario Human Rights complaint was filed last year against Timbercreek, by lawyers and members of the Herongate Tenant Coalition on behalf of 37 people forced to leave the community in 2018, over 90 per cent of whom are non-white, including Jabur.

The complaint asks the human rights tribunal to determine whether a landlord has the right to displace a large group of tenants in a low-income, family-oriented, racialized and immigrant community to create a predominantly affluent, adult-oriented, white community in its stead.

Landlords do not have this right in Ontario, the complaint goes on to say, adding that such a move violates sections of the provinces Human Rights Code.

The complaint demands $50,000 in damages for each of the applicants who say they were discriminated against when they were moved.

Meanwhile, tenants who still live in the older buildings on site  2,000 to 3,000 people  are facing the prospect of moving.

The human rights complaint goes on to say that residents in the primarily white neighbouring community are the ones being lured by Timbercreek to the new development.

(Theyre) trying to attract residents from Alta Vista. We know Alta Vista, from government statistics and common knowledge, is overwhelmingly white, lawyer Daniel Tucker-Simmons said in an interview.

Youre trying to displace a community of colour, and attract and build a community of retiring, overwhelmingly white residents.

Timbercreek, the same company that recently acquired the low-income West Lodge towers in Torontos Parkdale neighbourhood, denies its discriminating against anyone.

Stating that some of the applicants are of Somali or Haitian origin, and that some are ethnically Arab, does not infuse the applications with a basis for allegations of discrimination on grounds protected by the (Ontario Human Rights) Code, Timbercreek says in its reply to the complaint.

There must be facts pleaded which show some nexus between the ethnicity of the applicants and the actions of Timbercreek, the company says, adding no such facts exist.

Timbercreek has promised that 20 per cent of units in the new 40-acre redevelopment will be affordable housing. The company says the development is likely 15 to 25 years away from completion and will cost about $1 billion.

Also, the company has promised no further eviction notices will be issued unless affected tenants can relocate to newly constructed equivalent units at the same rent.

The secondary plan for the project is being reviewed by the city of Ottawa. A hearing for the human rights complaint, if held, likely wont be until next year.

Disclosure documents are still being exchanged between the parties. A hearing would be scheduled once that process ends and theyre ready to proceed, or if the Human Rights Tribunal decides that all relevant documents have been exchanged.

A very large and complex case such as this would be expected to move slowly, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tucker-Simmons said.

As far as I can tell, this case is a first of its kind in Canada. We undertook a pretty exhaustive search of case law and couldnt find anything like it.

The case is being closely watched by tenants at West Lodge in Toronto and their advocates.

Residents of the towers, near Jameson Avenue and Queen Street West, fear the 150 or so vacant units in the buildings indicate that Timbercreek plans to turn them into luxury rentals.

Timbercreek denies that, saying it plans to rent the vacant units at market rates and is committed to a long-term investment in West Lodge for all our residents.

Heron Gate Village, a community of mainly townhouses and some highrises, was built in the 1960s by Minto Communities Canada. Timbercreek obtained the properties around 2013. The community, known for affordable rents, became a magnet for minority and low-income tenants, many of Somali and Middle Eastern origin.

You could get a four-bedroom for about $1,400 a month including utilities, so it was a very good place for a family, very spacious, says Tucker-Simmons. Youd be lucky to find a four-bedroom anywhere centrally for under $2,000 a month, maybe $1,800 if you were lucky.

Timbercreek began developing part of the property in 2015. The company decided that many of the wood-framed townhomes had declined badly and needed to be knocked down for the comfort, dignity and safety of residents. Eighty homes were demolished that year, of which about 50 were occupied, Timbercreek says.

In another section of Heron Gate, 150 homes  of which 105 were occupied, according to Timbercreek  were demolished in 2018.

It was a very difficult decision, not a decision made in haste, to relocate those residents, said Colleen Krempulec, a senior spokesperson for Timbercreek, in an interview this past week. But the fact of the matter is a good portion of those homes  reached the end of their viable life cycle.

The Heron Gate community has evolved in a manner that isnt dissimilar from communities across the province and Canada, Timbercreek says in its reply to the human rights complaint.

Individual residences and rental accommodations are renovated or demolished to be replaced by new construction. Such redevelopments are fundamental to the rejuvenation of urban environments which would otherwise deteriorate, it says.

It is not denied that one of the underlying motivations of Timbercreek in its decisions to redevelop properties such as Heron Gate is the making of profit.

It adds that the redevelopment of Heron Gate Village increases the availability of housing in a central urban area. In combination with the inclusion in the redevelopment plan of affordable housing units suitable for families, the result will be a mixed-income community which offers significantly more affordable housing options than currently or previously available.

Timbercreek says a relocation team was established to help residents find new homes after they were given five months notice of the moves. Many residents were relocated close to Heron Gate, it says, or came back to live in new buildings in a Heron Gate development called Vista Local.

It offers bachelor units starting at $1,395 and one-bedrooms at $1,635, the website for the units indicates.

But opponents say many of those forced out had to relocate outside of the community, and that rents at Vista Local are too pricey for most of them.

That includes former resident Jabur, who now lives close to Heron Gate but cant afford the new units.

They are too expensive for me. I have three children, says Jabur, who receives government assistance.

Martine August, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloos School of Planning who is to provide expert evidence for the complainants, calls the displacement of low-income residents and people of colour clearly unjust.

To argue that we should have this system because (city) planning allows them to redevelop those homes  planning allows them to not replace the units for the same people at the same (rent), doesnt mean that its right from the perspective of social justice and morality, August says.

The human rights complaint argues that Timbercreeks Heron Gate plan is consistent with a broader model of real estate development in Ontario that disproportionately affects people of colour, immigrants, people receiving public assistance and families.

According to the complaint, this model involves identifying real estate that is undervalued, displacing the existing low-income occupants, renovating or building higher-end rentals or condos, then marketing to a more affluent demographic.

Timbercreek is not rebuilding same size/same rent for tenants, says Josh Hawley, a member of the Herongate Tenant Coalition who lives close to the neighbourhood. They are strategically reshaping the constitution of the neighbourhood in the interest of investment and profit.

The only effective way to prevent Timbercreek from continuing with their plans is for tenants to refuse to move and stay in their homes, Hawley added.

Only then will we be able to effectively prevent displacement, and a deepening housing and homelessness crisis.

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The Splash Montana water park will reopen its kiddie pool, lazy river and water slides to the public Monday, June 22, with some restrictions due to the coronavirus.

The water park had a soft opening of the lap pool, with some modifications, June 10. Instead of the usual 50-meter lanes, Splash management restructured their pool lanes, so that they run across the pool rather than lengthwise. Swimmers were limited to one person per lane and a one-hour time limit.

Now, recreational swimming will be permitted at both pools on a reservation-only basis. The pools will be open for 90-minute sessions of 50 people or fewer, in accordance with Gov. Steve Bullocks directive and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services order. Locker room use will also be limited. Public health officials announced earlier this week that splash decks and spray pools fall under the states more stringent swimming pool reopening regulations. Swim lessons will begin again at Splash July 6. The lap pool will remain structured as 25-yard lanes.

Shannon Therriault, Missoula's director of environmental health, said public health officials have been in close contact with the Parks and Recreation Department to ensure every precaution was being taken. She said Splash Montana is working with various offices to follow every health order.

The plans the pool has are trying to take in all those different rules within all the different contexts," Therriault said. They are working hard to comply with the governors directive and health officer order.

These changes are vital for protecting against transmission of COVID-19, Therriault said.

Eric Seagrave, aquatics manager at Splash Montana, said he was happy to finally be opening up, even if the process entailed some tricky maneuvering.

Really every minute that somebody is at Splash, you have to, kind of, put your brain into that person, Seagrave said. He said management has to think about all the possible movements a single water park attendee might take, in order to ensure proper sanitation.

He mentioned the varying interpretations of rules, as they are passed down from the governor to the health department to individual businesses. Each business must tailor these general rules to fit with its specific practices. This process has to be repeated every time a new rule is put in place. And the final interpretations can vary between counties and even between similar businesses, Seagrave said. Its been a confusing, and at times frustrating, process.

Seagrave spoke about weighing the likely financial losses from opening the water park  the revenue from park-goers wont exceed the costs of running the park itself, because of the 50-swimmer limit  against the need for children to have a safe, supervised place to play.

To get the kids in, and hear the sounds of the kids riding the slides, floating the river, having a blast, and knowing that they're here and we can keep an eye on them, Im excited, Seagrave said.

Dan Heil, 54, has made use of the temporary lap pool since Splash Mountain opened it. The biggest difference has been swimming the shorter distance, but he said that was far from a deal breaker.

Having to do 25 (yards) is no big deal, Heil said. I miss the 50 meters, but Id rather have the pool and be outdoors than not have the pool.

Heil, who has an 18-month-old son, is very anxious for the kiddie pool to open.

Adina Rutherford, 21, has been a lifeguard at Splash Montana for three years. She said while it hasnt been the ideal start to summer season, it has been easier to keep watch of empty  or nearly empty  pools.

This has been nice. Its been unfortunate, but its been nice, Rutherford said. We normally have seven to 10 guards here at a time, and youll have sometimes, two- to four-hour rotations that youre on. And right now we only have to be up for half an hour.

That said, the novelty of Splash Montana without the swimmers has started to wear off.

It will be exciting to have the flutter, you know? When everyones excited to be here and you can hear the kids laughing and playing, Rutherford said. That is always fun. Having that energy back.

Those who want to reserve space at Splash Montana can do so through the Parks and Recreation website, missoulaparks.org, or call 721-PARK (7275) beginning Saturday, June 20.
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA  Canada's chief public health officer says there are positive signs the Omicron wave is peaking in this country, but no one should start choreographing a COVID-19 victory dance. "There is no doubt that nobody wants to have all these restrictive measures anymore, and Omicron may or may not have put us one step toward that new reality," Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday during a COVID-19 briefing in Ottawa. "We need to plan for the different scenarios and just be ready for a time of emergence of
Mrs Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture has retained her seat as the New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for the Krowor constituency.



Mrs Quaye polled 362 votes, while Mr Emmanuel Laryea Odai had 359 votes and Eric Aryekwei Okine got one vote, one rejected ballot out of a total of 723 delegates.



Mrs Quaye in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the victory thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in her and pledged to respond to the needs of the constituency.



She called for unity irrespective of the factions, saying the victory was not only for her but for the party in general.



"There is more ahead of us. Unity is key in the build-up to the December elections, we need to come together and strategise for the general elections," she said.



She was optimistic about winning the general election and retain the seat as the Member of Parliament for Krowor constituency.



"We need to galvanise our effort and fight hard to win the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections to continue with our developmental agenda".

Source: Peacefmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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At age seven, American Julia Young saw a picture of the black nationalist leader Malcolm X in a food store. She thought he was somehow related to her father since his name is also Malcolm, even though they their skin and ages were different.

Later, Julia Young would learn that the two men did have something in common: Both fought for civil and human rights.

Julias childhood set her on a path to activism that continues to this day with her father, now age 73, at her side.

House full of children, pets

When Julia was growing up, the Young familys house was a noisy, busy place. She had four brothers and sisters and several pets, including dogs, cats, birds and fish. The Youngs also kept an animal not often seen in the Washington, D.C. area: a small goat.



Julia remembers that her parents were very open to having different kinds of animals around.



Future career seedlings

Her father Malcolm was a lawyer who made social justice his lifes work. When Julia was a youngster, he would take her on trips that let her see court cases and legal processes. One of those trips was to a juvenile detention center in the western state of Oregon, far from her home.



My specialty was sentencing. Julia came to Oregon with me somewhere around 1988 or 89 when I was consulting with juvenile defenders on a project, Malcolm Young told VOA.

He said he thinks she saw the inside of the juvenile detention center. One day, Julia made a picture of a sad boy in prison, looking out of the window on the prison door, Malcom remembered.

The Youngs also took part in protest marches in Washington, D.C. Before becoming a father, Malcolm protested the Vietnam War. Years later, the whole family marched against the first Iraq War.

It was just a natural part of our family culture, Julia remembered. She noted that her parents treated her and her brothers and sisters with respect. Her parents also expected their children to show maturity. These formative activities became the basis for what would happen next.



Dad, daughter worlds combine

Julia is now an associate professor of history at The Catholic University of America. And she has written a book on Mexican immigration to the United States in the 1920s.

So, it was no surprise to Malcolm Young when she offered to fly to Texas last year to serve as a Spanish language interpreter. She wanted to help immigrant women who are asking U.S. officials for political asylum.

Malcolm was pleasantly surprised when she asked him to join her on the trip for his legal expertise. And so began their father-daughter teamwork at the South Texas Family Residential Center. There, they began helping new arrivals to the U.S. understand the countrys complex immigration system.



At first, the team had difficulty working together. Julia thought she knew better questions to ask immigrants than her dad. But she soon came to respect him for [his] 40-plus years of interviewing experience. Malcoms difficult questions led asylum seekers to give information that helped the Youngs build their legal cases for asylum.

Even with this, Julia would warn her father when she sensed a client was getting uneasy.

Dad, daughter arrested

Now a parent herself, Julia takes her children to marches and demonstrations just as her parents took her years ago. But for one recent protest, she left her kids at home. That was a 2019 demonstration at the U.S. Capitol over immigrant children. Part of the protest included a planned act of civil disobedience.

Julia emailed her dad and asked, Do you want to go do this and do you want to maybe get arrested?

Malcolm answered, The family that gets arrested together stays together.

He was using wordplay on a common American expression that says, The family that prays together stays together.

At the protest, Malcolm and Julia joined a crowd of 200, singing and praying outside the Russell Senate office building. Then the father and daughter entered the Capitol building with a small group. They formed a circle around other demonstrators who lay on the floor in the shape of a human cross while holding pictures of immigrant children. When the group ignored police orders to leave, Malcolm and Julia were arrested with the others.

Julia described it as a strange experience and much more unsettling to see her father being arrested since he is an older man.



At the same time, Malcolm worried about Julia. In the middle of it all, they looked at each and shared a minute of loving care.

Malcolm remembered thinking his daughter wanted to put him at ease and make sure he was fine. So what father is not going to cherish that kind of a memory? he asked.



Im Alice Bryant.

Carolyn Presutti reported this story for VOA. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pet - n. an animal that people keep mainly for pleasure

juvenile - adj. of or relating to young people who have committed crimes

consulting - n. The act of giving professional advice to a person, organization or company for a fee

maturity - n. the state of being fully developed in the mind

interpreter - n. a person who translates the words that someone is speaking into a different language

interviewing - n. The act of meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

client - n. a person who pays a professional person or organization for services

cross - n. a long piece of wood with a shorter piece across it near the top and that is used as a symbol of Christianity

cherish - v. to feel or show great love for someone or something
Royal Navy Speedboats Repulse Spanish Warship Sailing in British Gibraltar Waters

Sputnik News

04:09 GMT 19.06.2020

The incident was said to have taken place as two British Royal Navy minehunters along with three Gibraltar-based squadron ships were participating in a routine naval exercise near Europa Point, Gibraltar's southern-most point on Thursday.

A group of four Royal Navy speedboats was seen a video repulsing Spanish warship Rayo P-42 after the 300-foot long vessel entered territorial waters of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar on Thursday.

The Rayo entered the waters as the UK Royal Navy HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Penzance, along with three Royal Navy Gibraltar squadron ships, were conducting a routine training in the area near Europa Point, Gibraltar's southern-most point, according to the Daily Mail.

The Spanish warship reportedly did not interfere with the exercise of the Royal Navy vessels.

The Sun reported that the four speedboats escorted the warship for over an hour as it left Gibraltar's territorial waters.

"It was like David and Goliath, but the little boats weren't afraid. They stayed with the Spanish ship until she turned tail and scarpered," a witness told the outlet.

According to the Daily Mail, the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation has warned mariners in Gibraltar there would be a "surface exercise with high speed maneuvering and blank firing" prior to the training.

Hours following the warship's incursion, the Royal Navy HMS Sabre had to accompany another a Spanish police boat out of the British waters.

"Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. We have no doubt about our sovereignty over Gibraltar. The Royal Navy challenges all incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, and did so on this occasion," the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement, cited by the Mail.

Over the last five years, more than 3000 Spanish incursions took place on British Gibraltar's territorial waters, roughly 12 a week, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information act.

 Sputnik

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VERNON, B.C.A British Columbia man convicted of running into a sex-trade worker with an all-terrain vehicle will serve one day in jail and probation after his time already served in custody has been considered.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge handed 40-year-old Curtis Sagmoen a five-month jail sentence on Friday along with a three-year term of probation for assault causing bodily harm.

Justice Gary Weatherill also imposed more than a dozen conditions on Sagmoens probation including a 10-year firearm ban and that he have no contact with sex-trade workers, while limits were placed on his use of communication devices and the internet.

Sagmoen was convicted of assault causing bodily harm in February during a two-day trial in Vernon.

The court heard he ran into a woman while driving an ATV on Aug. 10, 2017, flipping her into the air.

The woman, whose name is under a publication ban, broke her tail bone, suffered a concussion and had several other injuries.

Weatherill said the pain from the womans injuries continues to this day.

She struggles with anxiety and fear. She has difficulty trusting people. She constantly looks over her shoulder, the judge said.

The woman testified at the trial that she was going to Sagmoens property on Salmon River Road that day on a quote of services.

She said Sagmoen met her on the property and asked that she follow him. Her vehicle got stuck in some sand and he took her on the ATV.

But when he didnt pay her and they werent at the mans home, she began walking and heard the ATV coming from behind her at a fast speed, court heard.

I thought he was just going to be a jerk and kick up some dust and I had moved to the edge to let him get by. Instead of going by me he hit me square from behind trying to hit me off the mountain. He hit me so hard I flipped over and luckily I didnt lose consciousness, she testified.

In a victim impact statement read to the court on Friday, the woman said the assault causes her ongoing physical and emotional trauma.

Sagmoens lawyer, Lisa Helps, told the court her client had a long-standing drug problem at the time and that he had another confrontation involving a different sex-trade worker 17 days prior at the same site.

He was someone who was not acting in their right head, said Helps.

The court heard he was addicted to methamphetamine.

He is drug free after completing a program while in custody, Helps told the court.

The judge noted Sagmoen has expressed remorse for the crime.

He acknowledges through his counsel that his actions were at the very least reckless with a disregard for (the womans) safety. He feels terrible about her injuries and has expressed his understanding that it could have been a great deal more serious, said Weatherill.

A search of Sagmoens familys Shuswap-area farm in 2017 uncovered the remains of 18-year-old Traci Genereaux. Police have said her death was suspicious but the cause of death hasnt been released.

No charges have been laid in the Genereaux case and police havent named a suspect.

A spokesman for the BC Prosecution Service says there are no outstanding cases against Sagmoen.

In a separate trial last year, Sagmoen was found guilty of three charges in offences involving a sex worker.

He was sentenced to time served and three years probation for disguising his face with intent to commit an offence, using a firearm while committing an indictable offence and possession of methamphetamine.

The judge in that case ordered Sagmoen take anger management programs.

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Vinod Nair

Global markets have done well in the past week understanding the fact that the world is not under a serious second wave attack from virus. At the same time, Indian markets were very volatile with a mixed bias due to FII selling & border issues.

A mild improvement was seen by the end of the week, trying to catch-up with the world equity after positive Supreme Court (SC) ruling for telecom sector on AGR that helped banks, and minor de-escalation in Indo-China bilateral issue.

The launch of privatisation of coal mining is a very big reform in India's mining sector. It is expected to be very positive for power, metal, fertiliser industries and add sufficiency in country's energy resources.

To make it successful the implementation, financial and operational system has to be very effective and feasible for all. For Coal India, it is unlikely to have benefit or losses in the short-term.

But it will gain in the long-term, in-terms of savings from the huge responsibility it is bearing as the largest source & producer in India (more than 80 percent of total production).

It will get ease from planning, production & capital expenditure while bearing high competition, cope up with technology & quality of product impacting its performance in the long term.

The SC regulatory relaxation for telecom is positive in the short to medium term giving time to plan its cash flow. The outlook for long term is positive with visibility over revenue growth and demand increasing ARPUs and consolidate the sector.

COVID-19 has brought boom to the telecom sector. Work from home and social distancing have paved way for remote working, video conferencing and telecommunication technology as a key growth driver for the sector.

Overhang of AGR dues might force telecoms to bring tariff hikes and funds, which could be inevitable in FY21 & FY22. We have a constructive view in the long term due to trio monopoly and better outlook in demand while cautious in the short to mediumterm due to valuations being on the higher side, concerns over capital expenditure, pressure on cash-flow and heavy debt.

In the last few years, Indian chemical sector is benefitted hugely from high sourcing from India by shifting from China due to pollution regulatory restrictions, cost optimisation and diversification.

In India manufacturing of chemical is of good standard, quality, compliance, process and R&D. Domestic industry was attractive for sourcing of raw material and intermediates for global giants. Chinese are still the largest suppliers in the world including some key raw material & intermediaries for API, pharma and speciality chemical.

Moreover, post COVID-19, the speed of diversification & enquiries has accelerated. The domestic industry's acceptance has matured in terms of technology, skills and players are investing in R&D for new products. Some global players are investing in some companies and for long term contracts.

Reduction of oil prices & related chemicals is helping the industry through a decrease in cost of production and expansion in margin.

COVID-19 has forced a complete makeover of IT business model in India. Work from home has become a new norm and major companies in India are planning to make 75 percent of its workforce working remotely by 2025.

These shift in models could bring savings for IT companies going ahead as there will be reduction in travel, admin and real estate cost. IT spending is estimated to decline by 8 percent in 2020 versus 5.8 percent growth forecasted earlier by Gartner as focus is turning to cost reduction.

A broad-based recovery is expected in the later half of FY21 powered by spending in healthcare, insurance and education segments. Given its prospects & stability in business we remain positive for the sector in the long term.

Segments like telecom, chemical, IT, FMCG and pharma are likely to do well and safer to invest. Given the weak economic outlook for the coming quarters only stable & attractive valuation stocks and sector will do well.

Largecaps are better placed to overcome this situation with strong balance sheet and operational strength to grow & maintain business risk & growth. Indian market has done well in the bear rally which can consolidate in the short-term.

The author is Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
By IANS

PATNA: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met the family of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput at their residence here and offered his condolences. Parsad arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit for the first time after the lockdown.

On reaching Patna, he went to the late film actor's residence in Rajiv Nagar and paid floral tribute to Sushant's picture. Prasad recalled his meeting with the late actor at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi and told his father that he was very proud of him.

He said, "Dear Sushant! Why did you leave early with so much potential, ability and intention to touch the sky, I told your father and your sister that Shahrukh Khan of the future was visible in you. The whole country is sad and my heart goes out."

Visited Patna home of #SushantSinghRajput. Met his family members. Paid my condolences.

A super talented actor with great promise had to meet such an unfortunate end.Creative acting in films is left poorer with his sad demise.He had to achieve great heights.He deserved more. pic.twitter.com/JoZnFJ0sTN  Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) June 19, 2020

Prasad also tweeted: "Visited Patna home of #SushantSinghRajput. Met his family members. Paid my condolences. A super talented actor with great promise had to meet such an unfortunate end. Creative acting in films is left poorer with his sad demise. He had to achieve great heights. He deserved more."

Pataliputra MP Ramkripal Yadav and Digha Vidhan Sabha MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia were also present during the meeting.
The Black Lives Matter movement is spreading rapidly across the U.S., and celebrities are using their platforms to promote awareness and education to white allies. We know Jacob Roloff, the most controversial member of the Roloff family from Little People, Big World, has been sharing fantastic resources with his followers. And Amy Roloff has also joined in with her own post in support of Black communities and against police brutality.

Now, it seems Matt Roloff is finally chiming in. After weeks of silence, Matt posted a generic post to social media thats getting mixed reviews from fans. And he just clapped back at a follower who called him privileged.

Matt Roloff remained silent through a lot of the Black Lives Matter social media movements

RELATED: LPBW: Matt Roloff Remains Silent on Instagram as Caryn Chandler Keeps Fans Informed of Their Whereabouts

Matt posted a photo of himself wearing a mask and a face shield on May 26, as he was heading off of Roloff Farms and down to Arizona with girlfriend Caryn Chandler. And that was Matts last post for nearly a month. In that timeframe, the Black Lives Matter movement picked up serious steam after the death of George Floyd. And even his girlfriend, Caryn Chandler, posted a black square to Instagram in solidarity for Blackout Tuesday.

While Chandler got some flack from fans for showing support to the movement, it still showed exactly where she stood. And while Amy also remained quiet for awhile, she posted a heartfelt message in solidarity with Black lives condemning police brutality.

Yet, as I try to take time to listen, to read and be more informed and understand all this I realized this has been happening to the Black community for decades facing the injustice, the inequality, racist biases, everyday fear, Amy captioned her Instagram post. I wont try to fully understand but I knew I had to check within my own self and heart. Can I make a difference? I dont know how but I can try, even if it is in a small way.

He added a vague Instagram post to show support

Now that the Roloffs and Chandler are all chiming in to support Black Lives Matter, it looks like Matt is attempting to do the same in his own way. On June 16, he posted a message to his Instagram that reads, Practice gentleness, seek truth, give up anger, do not slander, and have compassion for all beings. Be gentle, modest, and useful to others.

We live in times of opportunity to do better, he captioned the post. Im in!

Matts post didnt have a strict Black Lives Matter message to it, though. While it drew positive remarks from some fans, others didnt think it was enough. And many remarked on Matts past treatment of Amy on the show.

So, you would be a better person and instead of talking & laughing about Amy you will appreciate everything she did for many years and stop talking and criticizing how she is, a fan commented.

Maybe Amy couldve used some of newfound theory when you treated her so badly, talked about her on the show, another wrote.

Matt called a fan cruel for saying hes privileged

Matt and Amy Roloff from Little People, Big World | Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Discovery

Matts no stranger to clapping back at critics and shutting down hurtful comments. And it looks like one comment from a fan really got to him. The follower wrote, Careful Matt, your white privileged is showing. And Matt told the follower living life as a little person wasnt privileged at all.

Thats probably the most uninformed thing you can say to another human of profound short stature. Little people are not privileged (as in born privileged) regardless of their skin color, Matt combated. He then noted that little people have to fight for every inch they get.

What a cruel thing to say to someone who has fought hard to overcome all the adversity life has to offer, Matt continued. Shame on you!

Those not privileged in some ways can certainly be privileged in others. But Matt is adamantly advocating for his stance against this follower  and fans are in support of his message.

Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook!
On Thursday, the Socialist Equality Party presidential election campaign filed a lawsuit in Michigan challenging the states ballot access requirements for independent candidates. The lawsuit, Kishore v. Whitmer (Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan), challenges the ballot requirements on the grounds that these requirements are literally impossible to fulfill during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

For the past three months, the lawsuit states, anyone attempting to collect such signatures in Michigan would have risked infection and death from the coronavirus, which continues to spread in the community, and also would have faced possible criminal prosecution. Not only would campaigners be at risk, the lawsuit states, the process of collecting signatures would threaten the health of the community at large.

As a result, the attempt to enforce these requirements is a violation of the constitutional rights of the SEP candidates as well as the constitutional rights of workers and youth in Michigan to vote for the candidate of their choice.

Joseph Kishore and Eric Lee speak at the federal courthouse in Detroit

No ruling class is more frightened than the American ruling class of the expression of political opposition outside of the control of the established capitalist parties. Depending on the state, candidates must gather tens of thousands or even more than one hundred thousand signatures just to have their names appear on the ballot.

In Michigan, 30,000 signatures are required to get on the ballot. Due to the inevitable challenges to the validity of individual signatures, the actual number one must gather is twice this amount.

The ballot access laws are part of a broader electoral systemdominated by massive sums of money and manipulated by the corporate mediadesigned to exclude any challenge to the two capitalist parties, the Democrats and the Republicans.

In the 2020 presidential elections, the Socialist Equality Party campaign is the only campaign advancing a socialist program that addresses the life-and-death issues confronting the working class, the vast majority of the population.

The campaign between Trump and Biden is a campaign between two reactionary representatives of the ruling class. On the one hand, Trump is the personification of oligarchic rule in America, dedicated to the destruction of democratic rights. Terrified of the growth of opposition in the working class, the Trump administration is continuing its conspiracies to dismantle what remains of bourgeois democracy and implement a military dictatorship, backed by far-right and fascistic elements, including within the police.

The Democrats differences with Trump are not over social policy at home or the basic international strategic imperatives of the ruling class. From the beginning of the Trump government, the Democrats have sought to channel mass social discontent behind the demands of the military and intelligence agencies for a more aggressive foreign policy against Russia.

As for Bernie Sanders, who pitched his appeal to anger over social inequality, he has packed in his political revolution, endorsed Biden and largely disappeared from the political scene.

The 2020 election is being held under extraordinary political conditions, dominated by the expanding coronavirus pandemic. After handing trillions of dollars to itself in late Marchauthorized by the so-called CARES Act, passed unanimously in the Senate and with only token opposition in the Housethe ruling class, spearheaded by the Trump administration and implemented by governors of both parties, launched its back-to-work campaign. Restraints on economic activity and social gatherings have been systematically dismantled throughout the country.

The consequences are now evident. The number of new cases of the coronavirus is spiking sharply in states throughout the country. It is spreading rapidly in factories and workplaces that have opened up, including in Michigan auto plants that have resumed production under Whitmer.

Nearly 1,000 people are dying every day in the United States, and the official death toll is now over 120,000. Conservative estimates project that the number of deaths by October will surpass 200,000, but the actual figure will be far higher.

The physical impact of the coronavirus pandemic is combined with a massive social catastrophe for millions of workers. Joblessness in the United States surpasses anything seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This week, more than 1.5 million more people filed for unemployment benefits, the 13th straight week that filings topped one million. The previous record for one week was 695,000. More than 40 million people have filed claims since the pandemic began.

The ruling class has made clear that there will be neither a return of economic restraints and social distancing measures to save lives nor any relief to address the social crisis. Rather, the crisis will be used to massively restructure class relations, increase exploitation, enforce evictions and impose austerity measures, including slashing education and other social services.

The pandemic is igniting a new stage of the class struggle. The wellspring of social anger in the United States and throughout the world has erupted in the mass demonstrations over the police murder of George Floyd. However, the protests over police violence, politically dominated by sections of the upper-middle class, are only an initial expression of the social convulsions to come.

Workers and young people, in the United States and throughout the world, are moving to the left. There is growing interest and support for socialism and hostility to capitalism. The efforts of the ruling class to enforce its policies will encounter mass opposition and revolutionary convulsions.

This objective movement of the working class must be armed with a socialist program and leadership.

We intend to use the election campaign to raise the political consciousness of the working class and rally support, in the United States and internationally, for the development of a revolutionary socialist movement to fight for political power. The devastation wrought by the pandemic and the response of the financial oligarchs to it underscore how urgent this political task is. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake.

This lawsuit in Michigan is a critical initiative in this campaign. We call on all workers to rally behind it and demand that the SEP be placed on the ballot. The SEP is also taking measures to get on the ballot in other states. In Illinois, courts have already ruled that candidates can collect signatures electronically, and supporters are circulating an online petition. Further actions will be announced in the coming days and weeks.

We call on all workers, young people and those committed to the fight for socialism: Support the SEP election campaign! Sign up today at socialism2020.org! If you are a US citizen or permanent resident, make a donation to the campaign to help finance the legal battle in Michigan. If you do not live in the US, join or build a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International in your country.
Additional clips and more behind the cutJuneteenth honors the end of slavery in the US. You can read more about Juneteenth at this link Hayden and Mickey Stevensons songis performed by Deitrick Haddon.Nikole Hannah Jones joins, she won a Pulitzer for 1619 Project. She talks about the history of Juneteenth, businesses honoring it with a paid holiday for employees, Governors making it a state holiday, legislation submitted to make it a federal holiday. NASCAR banning flag, military bases wanting to change names, confederate flags being banned throughout the military, statues coming down. Systemic racism, claims from GOP that it doesnt exist, despite US intelligence agencies saying the KKK has infiltrated law enforcement.DC Mayor Muriel Bowser talks about T45, federal troops and police, peaceful protestors attacked. Says DC is our home, not T45. DC statehood vote in House next week but expects Senate to prevent passing. 700K live in DC, taxation without representation. Expects Dem Potus and Dem Senate to make DC a state. Talks about the BLM mural on Pennsylvania Ave.Discusses budget for law enforcement, how that was allocated, thoughts on defunding or reforming police. More talk about Juneteenth and DC Emancipation Day.Jenny and Chris Marr recently became one of only 72 couples in recorded history to become parents of identical quadruplets.They get a surprise from Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. I dont like them so I didnt listen. I find them irrationally annoying.So, my dad is gone and Ill be sad and miss him this weekend. Do you have big plans with your dad for Fathers Day?Source links are below each video or section
New Delhi, June 20 : With declining infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir due to changed security apparatus after the revocation of Article 370 of Constitution, Pakistans ISI along with Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and other terrorist groups has adopted a new modus operandi to fuel terror strikes in India.

Reports from security agencies revealed that the spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence is now using drones to deliver arms and ammunition from across the International Border (IB) into the Indian territory.

A change in ISI's tactics were noted within a month after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 5 last year revoked the special status, or limited autonomy, granted under Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir.

Nearly a dozen Chinese commercial drone sorties, carrying almost 100 kg of arms and ammunition, were sent from across the border into Punjab by the Pakistan-based Khalistani terror group in close coordination with the ISI between September 9 and 16 last year, said officials the Border Security Force (BSF).

Those drones with 10 kg payloads flew for almost seven km from their launch pads at a height of 2,000 feet to deliver the deadly payload.

The latest such instance was noticed on Saturday morning when BSF troops shot down a Pakistani HexaCopter drone carrying one M4 carbine machine (US-made), two loaded magazines (60 rounds), and seven Chinese grenades near the IB in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.

The drone was spotted hovering in the vicinity of Border Out Post Pansar around 5.10 am by a BSF patrol party which then shot it down 250 metres inside Indian territory.

Investigations by multiple agencies - Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Punjab Police, central security agencies, BSF, Indian Air Force - and prima facie evidences have revealed that these weapon drop-offs by drones had been taken up to fuel terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was learnt that the whole plot was orchestrated through Germany and Lahore in Pakistan and such attempts, along with infiltration of terrorists, aimed to give an impetus to violence in the Kashmir valley and elsewhere amid the ongoing stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh.

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh on Thursday had warned that Pakistan will try to infiltrate more terrorists in the Kashmir Valley.

A source in one of the Indian security establishment wings said that these drone-dropped weapons were to be used by terrorist outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and others as they are joining hands to create mischief in Jammu and Kashmir.

As per the source, over 300 terrorists are present at the launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), waiting to infiltrate into India. They, along with ISI and Khalistan groups, have been involved in pushing arms and ammunition in the Valley.

The Indian Army, meanwhile, is taking steps to 'recalibrate' its counter-infiltration grid and counterinsurgency strategies to check intrusion by ultras.

In connection with smuggling of arms from Punjab to Jammu and Kashmir through terror groups linked to their Pakistan- based handlers, more than six people have so far been arrested by Punjab Police in Tarn Taran district, near a border drain that is merely 2 km from the fence on the international border with Pakistan.

The interrogation of the arrested revealed that KZF's Germany-based operative Gurmeet Singh Bagga in coordination with his Pakistan-based chief Ranjeet Singh aka Neeta had done deliveries of at least four weapons, grenades, electronics, and fake currency through drones.

The entire operation came to light after the discovery of a burnt drone in Punjab in September.

The intelligence agencies have already submitted a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs on the misuse of drones, citing incidents across the country. The National Investigation Agency has been investigating drone cases and the role of 'state actors' in the whole matter.

The fresh drone movement observed on the IB by the BSF on Saturday is significant in the backdrop of the Galwan Valley face-off reported on June 15 night where India lost 20 of its soldiers, including Commanding Officer of the Bihar Regiment, Colonel Santosh Babu.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
Dr. Angela Davis received the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Fred L. Shuttlesworth Award during a virtual event Friday night.

The virtual event included biographical information on Davis, an interview, comments from luminaries including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, and more. She talked about growing up in Birmingham. (See the full video below). Birmingham will live on forever as a worldwide symbol of Black liberation, Davis said.

Davis is an author and academic known for a life of activism that included memberships in the Black Panther Party and the Communist Party USA. She was born in Birmingham in 1944 and experienced segregation as a child.

The Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award is the highest award given by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, that honors outstanding individuals for their significant contributions to civil and human rights. Through her activism and scholarship over many decades, Dr. Angela Y. Davis has been deeply involved in movements for social justice around the world. Her work as an educator  both at the university level and in the larger public sphere  has always emphasized the importance of building communities united in the struggle for economic, racial and gender justice, the BCRI said in a statement.

During the Juneteenth event, Professor D. Wendy Greene interviewed Davis. Greene is the daughter of American civil rights activists and a history-making legal scholar and advocate who specializes in anti-discrimination law as well as comparative slavery and race relations law in the Americas and Caribbean. She was the first African American woman to be a tenured law professor at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia.

A Washington Post profile of Davis from 2019: At age 75, Angela Davis refuses to back down

Earlier on AL.com: Resistance can be fun: Angela Davis speaks in Alabama after award snub

From AL.coms Roy Johnson: Made for the moment: Wendy Greene, daughter of anti-discrimination pioneers, to present Angela Davis with Shuttlesworth award
MyGov, the citizen engagement platform of the Government of India joins www.Roposo.com, in support of Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi's #AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyaan campaign. Roposo is India's leading video-sharing platform, which currently has five crore users and serves more than five billion video views a month, across English and 10 Indian regional languages.

"It has been the endeavor of MyGov India to act as a bridge between citizens and the Government and enable citizen participation and information dissemination on all platforms, including the immensely popular Indian platforms like Roposo. MyGov India's presence on Roposo has greatly helped expand our outreach and engagement related to Covid19, especially with regional audiences," said Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGov. "It has been the endeavor of MyGov to help support and achieve Hon'ble PMs #AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyaan, and we are happy to be on Roposo, a Made In India social media platform. #TogetherWeCan

"Roposo enables Indian users to access communities that they can identify and interact with, in their mother tongue. MyGov joining Roposo is a testament to the power and reach of our platform in India, said Glance VP and Founder of Roposo, Mayank Bhangadia. "We are ecstatic that the wheels of #AatmanirbharBharatAbhiyaan are now in motion, and we feel extremely privileged to be part of this movement. I am certain that MyGov will lead the way for other government organizations to support Vocal for Local by embracing Indian platforms."

Roposo has witnessed a massive increase in user adoption and engagement on its platform. Users are spending more than 30 minutes per day on the app, with more than 1.5 lac users creating 5 lac videos daily. With a 4.6 rating on the official Google Play Store, Roposo has also been trending at No. 1 on Google Play Store in the social category.
Dozens of groups helping asylum seekers in Greece risk being edged out in a government move to tighten what it calls "opaque" rules overseeing charities, sparking concern that crucial support will be cut. Critics warn that the new registration regulations will downgrade services to thousands of vulnerable and traumatised people that were, in many cases, already barely adequate. "We seek as much transparency as possible in the operation of NGOs, and of people working for, or cooperating, with them," Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said in April. Greece's conservative government, which was voted in nearly a year ago and whose policy is to make the country a "less attractive" destination to migrants, says that new NGO registration rules are needed because the groups have run projects in the last four years "in their own way" under an "opaque" framework. But Minos Mouzourakis, legal officer for Refugee Support Aegean, is worried that the change could hamper the independent oversight role often played by NGOs. - NGOs highlight abuses - It is often support groups that highlight alleged abuses by coastguards or police and take legal action against the Greek state on behalf of asylum seekers, he noted. "The ministry evaluates independent organisations that often criticise it... it should not have such (powers)... it's a question of impartiality," he said. Mitarachi has complained that out of 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in EU support funds for Greek migration projects between 2015 and 2019, the Greek state managed just 1.9 percent. "Do you want to hand over the keys to NGOs? I don't want that," he told parliament this month. The new registration process includes budget scrutiny and criminal background checks for workers and volunteers. Each group's field performance in the last two years is also probed. "This essentially helps NGOs themselves to know who is working for them," the ministry's asylum secretary Manos Logothetis told AFP. "Shouldn't they know if, for instance, there is a paedophile working with minors?" he said. On Wednesday, 22 out of 40 groups active in Greek camps were eliminated from a first approval phase. Elected officials acknowledge that support groups were key at the height of Europe's migrant crisis, especially after other EU states shut their borders in 2016 and tens of thousands of asylum seekers were trapped in Greek camps. More than a million migrants and refugees arrived in Greece in 2015 and 2016, according to the UN refugee agency. There are now around 120,000 in the country. Yiorgos Kaminis, Athens mayor in 2011-2019, has noted that "without (NGO) contribution, the incompetent Greek state would have been overwhelmed". But, insiders have noted, there was also significant overlap. "Early on, you might have had five different groups running education programmes," one organisation member said. According to an internal document seen by AFP, earlier this year there were more than 20 support groups in the largest Greek camp of Moria on Lesbos island. Beyond medical and legal assistance, the help offered included laundry services, self-defence and yoga, classes in Greek, English, music and IT, and pregnancy healthcare. One group handled plumbing for the heavily overcrowded camp of more than 16,000 people. It was not immediately clear how many of these organisations have been allowed to stay on. "The Greek government leads the refugee response, and the expertise and strengths of civil society and NGOs is still crucial," the UN refugee agency's spokesman in Greece Boris Cheshirkov said in a statement to AFP. In frontline Greek areas bearing the brunt of migration management, some locals claim that NGOs have a vested interest in seeing the migration crisis drag on. - NGOs attacked on Lesbos - In March, refugee support groups on Lesbos were targeted in the worst surge of violence since mass arrivals began in 2015. Angry mobs attacked cars with NGO markings after a new wave of migration encouraged by Turkey saw hundreds of asylum seekers arrive on Lesbos. "We can understand that the new government wants to establish a register for NGOs, if this is to gain greater control over who is actually working with these vulnerable people," said Caroline Hervik, of Reaching, a small volunteer group of mainly Norwegian students working on the island of Chios. But because the registration process is "complex" and requires a Greek representative, Reaching's work is currently on hold, she said. Greece's government is tightening what it calls "opaque" rules overseeing charities helping asylum seekers Critics worry that new registration rules for NGOs will downgrade services to thousands of vulnerable and traumatised people Over a million migrants and refugees arrived in Greece in 2015 and 2016, according to the UN. Around 120,000 remain Greece's conservative government says that migrant support groups have run projects in the last four years "in their own way" under an "opaque" framework
Silicon Valley is bracing for a long-expected breakup of Apple and Intel, signaling both the end of one of the tech industrys most influential partnerships and Apples determination to take more control of how its products are built. Apple has been working for years on designing chips to replace the Intel microprocessors used in Mac computers, according to five people with knowledge of the effort, who werent authorized to speak about it. They say Apple could announce its plans as soon as a company conference for developers on Monday, with computers based on the new ...
At 95, Bexar Countys longest-serving election presiding judge was born five years after the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.

But on July 14, Velia Salinas wont be on the front lines during the primary. Thats not because shes stepping away from the job after 72 years of service. Shell tell you she feels great.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted plans on many fronts this election cycle  including for those who staff election sites.

Instead of greeting voters at her post at Igo Library on Kyle Seale Parkway, Salinas will be assisting with the election from the Bexar County Elections Office main building on South Frio.

She did not ask for the reassignment. The change was made by the countys election staff. COVID-19 has been particularly dangerous for the elderly. They want to minimize her exposure to others who might be carrying the virus.

Salinas is disappointed she wont be helping with curbside voting. She was ready to report for duty when she was notified of the change in plans. She had already consulted with two doctors  her sons  who advised her that with proper distancing and face coverings, including protective covering over her eyes, she would be OK.

She understands the concerns of the election office staff and is willing to relinquish her usual duty station  temporarily.

Salinas has been working elections since 1948. Her first presidential election was the one between incumbent President Harry S. Truman and New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey.

She has no plans to retire from her election job any time soon. Her mom lived to celebrate her 98th birthday, she said, and her grandfather made it to 104. Her health is great, and she intends to return to her usual poll site as soon as the pandemic is under control.

I may only weigh 108 pounds, but I have a lot of energy, she said.

She strongly advises against sitting around and doing nothing.

Once you stop working you are gone. Dont stop working, she admonished me during one of our conversations.

At 95, Salinas may be the oldest election worker on the countys payroll, but she is not the only nonagenarian who regularly works the polls. About 65 percent of the men and women who handle the voting at Bexar Countys poll sites are 72 or older, Bexar County Election Administrator Jacque Callanen said.

Roughly 20 percent of the countys older election-site workers, who are in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the high-risk pool for the novel coronavirus, have opted to sit out this election. Those 160 workers have been reassured by Callanen they will get their old posts back when this unusual time is over.

Salinas said she will miss connecting with the many friends she has made working at the Igo Library election site. Many of the voters and the election staff are like family to her, she said.

Working county elections has been a third career for Salinas. She retired from Kelly AFB after 35 years, and then jumped at the chance to get back into the workforce when a friend offered her a job at Dillards. She spent another 20 years in the couture department selling wedding dresses.

Before the pandemic, she volunteered with Meals on Wheels San Antonio and is eager to get back to that, too. Salinas still drives and was told she had 20/20 eyesight when she last renewed her license. Because of her age, she can no longer renew her license online. The man behind the counter asked if she had memorized the eye chart after she read all the letters correctly. He even summoned a supervisor before approving her renewal.

For now, Salinas keeps busy sewing face masks and delivering meals to her granddaughter, a nurse at a hospital near her home, and other staff there. Sometimes she delivers pizza to the hardworking security officers at the hospital, too.

And even though shes disappointed she wont be at her old post, she looks forward to working the election in her new role.

If only all voters were as excited about participating in the election process as Salinas. Voter apathy is a big problem locally and across the state. When most people skip the polls, it leaves the most passionate voters  often at the extreme ends of the political spectrum  to choose our elected officials.

Historically, primary runoff elections in Bexar County draw only 2 percent to 5 percent of eligible voters. And there is concern the pandemic may push those embarrassingly low numbers even lower during the rescheduled runoff.

The primary runoff election is July 14. The county will have 32 early voting sites open starting June 29. Dont sit out this election.

gpadilla@express-news.net
Gandhi on Saturday tweeted that the PM had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression"

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened an all party meeting over the India-China face-off issue, BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday slammed the Congress, in particular its former president Rahul Gandhi, for damaging the morale of Armed forces with his tweets and limited intellect.

Gandhi, who has been critical of Modi governments handling on Galwan Valley skirmish, on Saturday tweeted that the PM had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression" by his statement at the all-party meet on Friday.

Slamming the Congress leader, without naming him, Nadda, who was addressing the party leaders and workers in Rajasthan through a virtual rally, said the type of language he uses shows the sanskaar(upbringing) of a family, which definitely are not of bhartiya parivesh(Indian environment), apparently hinting at Congress interim president Sonia Gandhis origin.

Nadda also criticised the Congress stand at the all-party meeting, claiming that when all other political parties in one voice backed the Prime Minister, the Congress was asking what happened, how it happened, where it happened.

Former BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah also asked the Congress leader to rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest. He tweeted a video clip of the father of an Indian Army soldier, who was injured during the violent face-off with the Chinese Army at the Galwan Valley, in which 20 Army personnel were martyred.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," he tweeted.

Addressing the BJP workers in Rajasthan through the virtual rally, Nadda said "When we are fighting in Galwan, a leader is damaging the morale of forces with his tweets. He is showing his limited intellect. (He is asking) why have our forces gone unarmed. Don''t you know international treaties? And they didn''t go unarmed. Why are you exposing your limited intellect."

Objecting to Gandhis choice of words, including against the PM, Nadda said, "Let alone respecting PM Modi, you didnt even respect your own PM and tore a copy of his ordinance," referring to an incident in 2013 when Gandhi labelled the then ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification as "complete nonsense" and tore up its copy in public.

Later, addressing a similar rally in Telangana, Nadda said that history shows that whenever the country faced difficult times, the BJP stood by the then governments but now the opposition party is raising questions on everything and trying to damage the morale of the country and the Armed forces.
A medic works with a machine during the process of testing samples for Covid-19 at a laboratory of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, April 10, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The Health Ministry announced Saturday that Patient 333 is Covid-19 free after nine days of treatment at the Ba Ria-Vung Tau General Hospital.

The sailor, a resident of the southern beach town of Vung Tau, returned May 30 from Malaysia aboard the Pacific Vung Tau, and was quarantined on arrival. He was confirmed Covid-19 positive on June 11.

He tested negative for the novel coronavirus several times during the treatment and his health condition remained stable without fever, coughing or difficulty in breathing. He will be quarantined and closely monitored for the next 14 days.

Saturday marked a day no new coronavirus infections, keeping the countrys tally at 349. Of these, 327 have recovered and 22 are being treated at various hospitals. Most of the patients are in stable health. Two patients have tested negative once and four have done so twice.

Nearly 10,000 people entering the country from pandemic areas are in quarantine - 162 in hospitals, 9,000 at centralized quarantine centers and the rest at home.

Vietnam has gone over two months without community transmission of the virus, prompting the government to discuss gradually easing of the entry ban for visitors from China, Japan and South Korea.

The nation continues to repatriate citizens stuck abroad amid travel restrictions and border closures at home. On Friday, 309 Vietnamese citizens from Angola flew home on a Vietnam Airlines flight and were quarantined in the northern province of Quang Ninh on arrival.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected 213 countries and territories around the world, with more than 462,500 deaths reported so far.
Hyderabad, June 20 : Indian Air Force chief R.K.S Bhadauria on Saturday said that India is not at war with China but the forces are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency.

He was speaking at the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy, Dundigal here and later interacted with the media persons.

He said the developments at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh are a small snapshot of what "we are required to handle at short notice".

"In spite of unacceptable Chinese action after agreements reached after military talks and resultant loss of lives, all efforts are underway to ensure that the current situation at the LAC is resolved peacefully but it should be very clear that we are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency," he said.

"I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of braves of Galwan go in vain," the Air Chief Marshal added.

He confirmed that the IAF has made some deployments at Leh and other places and has taken necessary actions for any contingency.

"We fly whatever is required. It has happened whenever it was required. If we find unusual activity we check it out. We have air defence aircraft deployed but there has been no incursion from fighters," he said when asked if IAF is flying combat air patrols at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

He said the IAF was well aware of the situation and the deployment at the LAC and beyond and had taken all necessary actions.

"We are aware of the full situation, be it at LAC, be at deployments beyond LAC, be it all the air deployments, the posture and kind of deployments. We have done full analysis and have taken necessary actions that we need to take to handle any contingency that may come up with this kind of deployment," said Bhadauria, who had the forward location bases in Leh and Srinagar after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with the Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.

"All actions have been taken. We have various options, various contingencies that can arise," he added Asked about the deployments by IAF at Leh, the Air Force chief said necessary deployments were made at Leh and other places.

"We have air bases all over. It is not that we will deploy only at Leh and activity at Leh is indicative of our capability or our overall posture and deployment. I will not go into what we have deployed. Be rest assured, we know the situation and we have taken the necessary actions that are required to be taken to handle the situation." "I don't have to give any message to the adversary. He knows our capability and he will factor and he will take due cognizance of our capabilities. You will see it in due course," he said when asked what would be his message to the adversary.

To another query, he said it would be a good thing for India if the Chinese air bases are at higher altitude. "This is in general but I will not go into the tactical aspects of what is advantageous to them or us. Suffice is to say that we know where their airfields are, where they are deployed, what are their operational basis and whatever has been deployed, we need to factor in and we have done it".

Bhadauria said every year Chinese troops used to deploy and exercise in the area but this time there was an increase in the activity. This activity at LAC started in May and the armed forced monitored the changes and acted accordingly.

"Where is the doubt? Don't have any doubt. Have faith in your services. We will handle any contingency, all three services," he quipped when asked if India is capable of putting up a fight against China.

The Air Chief said the number of aircrafts at Combined Graduation Parade was less this time due to COVID related precautions and clarified that it has nothing to do with the situation at LAC. "If the current situation is that difficult I would not have come here." He also did not agree that the newly commissioned officers will be proceeding straight to their units because of the current situation at LAC. "No, this is not an emergency situation. These are not the officers who get into cockpits to fight at the frontline. Obviously 100 number is a good number to have in the field also in terms of current situation. We are taking all our officers from our training institutes to the field to expedite their training on the next system they planned to be deployed so that they can become operational at the earliest." Earlier, during his address at the parade, he said the security scenario in the region mandates that "our armed forces remain prepared and vigilant all the time".

He paid tributes to Colonel Santosh Babu and his brave men who made supreme sacrifice while defending the LAC at the Galway Valley. "The gallant actions in highly challenging situation have demonstrated our resolve to protect the sovereignty of our country at any cost." Congratulating the 123 graduating officers on successful completion of their training, he said the newly commissioned IAF officers, instead of going home for a break, will be proceeding straight to their next units to shoulder their responsibilities for the task at hand.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
WASHINGTON  President Trumps former national security adviser John R. Bolton can go forward with the publication of his memoir, a federal judge ruled on Saturday, rejecting the administrations request for an order that he try to pull the book back and saying it was too late for such an order to succeed.

With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe  many in newsrooms  the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo, wrote Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia.

But in a 10-page opinion, Judge Lamberth also suggested that Mr. Bolton may be in jeopardy of forfeiting his $2 million advance, as the Justice Department has separately requested  and that he could be prosecuted for allowing the book to be published before receiving final notice that a prepublication review to scrub out classified information was complete.

Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States, Judge Lamberth wrote. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the court. The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been slammed for blaming families for a spike in COVID-19 cases, which saw the state return to strict lockdown measures.

The Premier announced the lifting of restrictions would be halted until July 12 after Victoria recorded 25 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.

Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said Mr Andrews had reached a 'new political low'.

'Under Daniel Andrews, Victoria is the COVID capital of the country. For Daniel Andrews to blame that on Victorian families  rather than his own incompetence  is an absolute disgrace,' he said on Saturday.

Opposition leader Michael O'Brien slammed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) for blaming families over the state's recent spike in coronavirus cases

Mr Andrews said families gathering (file image pictured) were mainly responsible for the spike which caused him to halt the lifting of coronavirus restrictions on Saturday

'Victorians believed Daniel Andrews when he promised them his harsh lockdown restrictions would ease on Monday. Now Daniel Andrews has broken that promise and he has betrayed Victorians.'

'To blame Victorian families for his betrayal of them shows that Daniel Andrews is simply not fit to lead Victoria,' Mr O'Brien said.

Mr Andrews on Saturday said Victorian families were mainly responsible for the coronavirus spike.

'The experts tell us that, largely, the numbers are being driven by families - families having big get-togethers and not following the advice around distancing and hygiene.'

Mr Andrews said about half of the state's cases since the end of April have come from transmission inside someone's home.

'You can see how this could happen. People feeling relaxed at home. Letting their guard down. Letting old habits creep back,' he said.

Mr O'Brien also criticised Mr Andrews for failing to name the recent Black Lives Matter protest as a cause of the spike.

Mr O'Brien (pictured) also attacked Mr Andrews for failing to name the recent Black Lives Matter protests as a cause of the spike in Victoria's coronavirus cases

'Daniel Andrews encouraged 10,000 Victorians to protest two weeks ago by promising that they would not be fined for attending.

'For Andrews to fail to mention the impact of his 10,000 people protest on the spike in COVID-19 cases demonstrates his culpability,' Mr O'Brien said.

He called for coronavirus restrictions to be eased in rural parts of the state.

'Regional Victoria, where there are hardly any COVID-19 cases, is being unfairly punished by Labor's Melbourne-centric focus.

'There is again a strong case for an easing of restrictions in country Victoria that enables people to safely get back to work,' Mr O'Brien explained.

Mr Andrews on Saturday stalled the easing of lockdown restrictions and rolled back the number of guests allowed to gather at houses to five.

The Premier also said he had spoken to Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the possibility of reintroducing a stay at home order to ensure Victorians follow the rules.

'As we've seen across the world, this virus has the ability to turn a few cases into hundreds in a matter of days,' Mr Andrews said.

'That's why we need to delay an increase to gathering limits in businesses and community facilities.'

Restaurants, pubs, auction halls, community halls, libraries, museums and places of worship in Victoria will stay at a maximum of 20 people in one space until July 12. They were scheduled to increase capacity from 20 people to 50 on Monday. Pictured: Cafes in Melbourne's Centre Place open for dine in customers on June 1

The planned reopening of gyms, cinemas, theatres and TABs on Monday will still go ahead, capped to a maximum of 20 people

Restaurants, pubs, auction halls, community halls, libraries, museums and places of worship will stay at a maximum of 20 people in one space until July 12.

They were scheduled to increase capacity from 20 people to 50 on Monday.

The planned reopening of gyms, cinemas, theatres and TABs on Monday will still go ahead, capped to a maximum of 20 people.

From midnight on Sunday, the number of visitors in a house will be reduced from 20 to five. Outside, people will only be allowed to gather in groups of 10 - a decrease from 20.

Outside of the house, Victorians will only be allowed to gather in groups of 10. Pictured: Beachgoers are seen at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne

Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday announced the lifting of restrictions would be halted until July 12, while some would be tightened

A NEW 'HARDSHIP' PAYMENT Premier Daniel Andrews announced Victorians who contract COVID-19 and/or their close contacts will receive a $1,500 payment if they cannot afford to take sick leave. 'This is about making sure there's no financial reason for these people not to isolate and to go to work instead,' he said. Advertisement

Mr Andrews warned geographical restrictions could be introduced to make sure Victorians abide by the rules.

'The first and obvious thing that we could do, not to speculate too much, but just to make the point, quite obviously we could return to a stay at home order with a number of reasons that allow you to leave your home,' he said.

'And if you didn't comply with those, say it was four reasons, for a long time, what seemed an even longer time, then you would be committing an offence under the public health and wellbeing act.

'That is not a decision that we would take lightly. I have discussed that with the prime minister today.'

Mr Andrews also threatened authorities would go door-to-door to make sure Victorians took the latest message seriously.

'We will go door-to-door, getting the message out there to communities across the state that these restrictions are there for everyone,' he said.

'We'll go door to if we have to make sure people are doing the right thing.'

The Victorian premier will also be speaking to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklan on potentially limiting people to travel from Victorian hotspots.

A $1,500 payment for those who contract COVID-19 and their close contacts has also been announced.

The cash would go to people who can't afford to take sick leave.

'This is about making sure there's no financial reason for these people not to isolate and to go to work instead,' Mr Andrews said.

Those who are currently working from home are required to continue to do so until July 31.

A cap of 20 patrons is set on cafes, restaurants and pubs at the moment in Victoria. It will remain the same. Pictured: A bartender is seen pouring a beer at the Glenferrie Pub in Melbourne on June 1

From midnight on Sunday, the number of visitors in a house will be reduced from 20 to five (stock image)

The state's Chief Health Officer said Victoria is 'absolutely at risk of a second peak' of COVID-19.

'We are at a point where we have to turn it around or the numbers get beyond us,' Professor Brett Sutton said on Saturday.

'We are indeed at a crossroads.'

Gideon Rozner, Director of Policy at free market think thank the Institute of Public Affairs, said the delay in easing restrictions is a 'betrayal of mainstream Victorians'.

'Now, Daniel Andrews is inflicting even more punishment on law-abiding Victorians workers and struggling small businesses, while left-wing political protesters were allowed to attend a 'mass gathering' just weeks ago,' he said.

'It is one rule for Andrews' support base, and another for mainstream Victorians.

'Victoria has had by far the most stringent and inflexible lockdown restrictions in the country, yet it still has the highest rate of infections.

'Clearly, the sacrifice of thousands of Victorian livelihoods has not been worth it.'

A total of 25 new cases have been recorded in the state on Saturday, up from 13 on Friday, 18 on Thursday and 21 on Wednesday. Pictured: Cafes open in Melbourne's CBD on June 1

Mr Andrews' announcement came as planned climate change protests went ahead in Melbourne on Saturday.

The demonstrators had planned to ride bikes around the city, block intersections and keep their marching groups to 20 protesters from 2pm.

'The community response to COVID has shown that when Australians understand there is a crisis they will pull together to look after each other,' spokeswoman Catherine Strong told news.com.

'Extinction Rebellion is getting back on the streets to remind people that what we've seen with COVID is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the problems unchecked climate change will bring, and we need to act now.'

Mr Andrews said demonstrators who continued to go against the health advice to attend rallies during a protest should go home.

'I think that we could not have been clearer and I have a message for the people out there protesting today,' he said.

'Go home! Go home! You're not doing your cause any good. And you're potentially putting other people at risk.'

It comes after thousands of protesters gathered for a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne's CBD on June 6.

A third protester was on Thursday confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after attending the mass gathering.

It comes after thousands of protesters gathered for a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne's CBD on June 6. A third protester was on Thursday confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after attending the mass gathering

Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen could not confirm if the man became infected while protesting.

'Again, it's not possible to say for certain whether this person acquired their illness at the protest,' she said on Thursday.

'They were wearing a mask, it's possible but it's not certain.'

Dr van Diemen remains hopeful that potential cases of COVID-19 infection from the Black Lives Matter protest had already come forward.

'Given the time frame since the protest, it's now been almost two weeks,' she said.

'We're getting to the end of the incubation period so assuming that people do get tested as soon as they become symptomatic, we would hope there wouldn't be any or many more cases linked to the protest.'

Mr Sutton explained the rest of Australia seems to have gone down to zero levels of infections, so there is no need to lift restrictions elsewhere.

Canberrans, for example, are now able to join together in larger groups, with restrictions lifted to allow cinemas and indoor play centres to reopen and gatherings of up to 100 people.

In NSW, a returned traveller in hotel quarantine was the only new case of COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours.

There were no new cases in Western Australia, although health authorities recorded one historical case - a woman aged in her 60s, who was a returned overseas traveller and former cruise ship passenger on the Costa Luminosa.

Nearly 7,440 virus cases have now been confirmed across Australia since the initial outbreak. The death toll remains at 102, relatively low by international standards.

In contrast, there have been 8.5 million infections around the world with a combined death toll of 450,000.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes the world is in a 'new and dangerous place'.

'Many people are understandably fed up being at home, but the virus is still spreading fast,' he warned on Friday, a day after 150,000 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed globally - a record daily tally.
Da 5 Bloods star Delroy Lindo has praised the Thai film crew Spike Lee used on his new film, praising them as the real heroes of the film.

Releasing on Netflix today, Da 5 Bloods tells the story of four Black US army veterans who return to Vietnam to find the body of their friend who died in the war. The film shot on location in Vietnam and Thailand, and in 2019 actor Jean Reno revealed it had been a gruelling shoot with people fainting on the set.

Spike Lee admitted to Yahoo it was hard work shooting in Southeast Asia. It was 100 degrees every day, and insects, Lee tells us. Thats 37.7c for us Brits.

The first day of every semester, I tell my students at NYU Grad Film: nothing is easy. This film would not be the same film if wed shot it on a Hollywood backlot.

DA 5 BLOODS (L to R) ISIAH WHITLOCK JR. as MELVIN, NORM LEWIS as EDDIE, CLARKE PETERS as OTIS, DELROY LINDO as PAUL, JONATHAN MAJORS as DAVID in DA 5 BLOODS. Cr. DAVID LEE/NETFLIX  2020

Lee was committed to hiring local talent for all aspects of the production. You just cant come with that American imperialism thing, he explains in press notes for the film. I had never been to Thailand before. I had never been to Vietnam before. This is their land. This is their history. I welcomed their participation.

We were shooting in 104 degrees (40c) on some days, adds Clarke Peters, who plays former medic Otis in the film.

Read more: Da 5 Bloods star on playing a Trump supporter

And it shows. The actors not only play their present day characters, they also play their younger selves at the height of the combat, taking part in exhausting action scenes.

DA 5 BLOODS (L to R) Director SPIKE LEE, ISIAH WHITLOCK JR. as MELVIN, DELROY LINDO as PAUL, JONATHAN MAJORS as DAVID, CLARKE PETERS as OTIS and NORM LEWIS as EDDIE of DA 5 BLOODS Cr. DAVID LEE/NETFLIX  2020

You can see the sweat pouring off the actors but Delroy Lindo, who plays the Trump-supporting Paul, says it was easy work compared to the work of the crew.

We were doing the heavy lifting, emotionally and psychologically, and somewhat physically, but the Thai crew that we were working with were one of the most extraordinary crews ive ever worked with. In. My. Life.

DA 5 BLOODS (L to R) ISIAH WHITLOCK JR. as MELVIN, NORM LEWIS as EDDIE, DELROY LINDO as PAUL, CLARKE PETERS as OTIS and JONATHAN MAJORS as DAVID in DA 5 BLOODS Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX  2020

And they were doing literal heavy lifting, lugging hundreds of pounds of equipment up and down those hills. They did it every single day for the entirety of the shoot. And my thing is, if they can lug the hundreds and hundreds of pounds of equipment up and down that terrain, Im fine to do the heavy lifting I need to do psychologically and emotionally on this film. They were extraordinary.

Da 5 Bloods releases globally on Netflix on 12 June. Watch a clip below.
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Cesc Gays The People Upstairs, David Victoris Cross the Line, Kike Maillos A Perfect Enemy and David Matamoros and Angeles Hernandezs Isaac are among a robust 11-feature pack offered by Upcoming Catalan Films at Cannes online Marche du Film.

An acclaimed Catalan director of dramedy focused on middle-aged, urban, often lost characters, in The People Upstairs Gay (Truman) depicts an ordinary situation a couple having dinner with neighbors  in which a friendly time together gradually slips towards emotional upheaval.

More from Variety

Mario Casas-starrer Cross the Line is director David Victoris (The Pact) second feature. A one-night thriller, it follows a more or less good guy dedicated to taking care of his sick father who, after his dad passes, decides to get his life back on track. In the process, he asks questions of himself he never imagined he would, Victori explains.

A Perfect Enemy is the newest thriller from Kike Maillo (Eva, Toro). Based on Belgian Amelie Nothombs bestselling novel The Enemys Cosmetique, the feature is co-produced by Spains Sabado Peliculas, Frances The Project Film Club and Germanys Barry Films. Starring Tomasz Kot (Cold War) and Athena Strates (The Good Liar), the filmmaker describes it as the story of two strangers meeting in an airport waiting room who start a non-coincidental conversation.

Formerly producers at Zentropa Spain, David Matamoros and Angeles Hernandez now have their own company, Mr. Miyagi Films, where their directorial debut Isaac is produced. The film turns on two friends who meet up after sixteen years apart, but as different people from who they once were. Isaac explores the idea that the concept of family is defined by its members, not society, says Matamoros.

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The assemblage of teasers samples the multi-colored palette of Catalan cinema, highlighting one of its best-known traits, diversity. The showcase includes four thrillers, three dramas, one animated feature, a comedy, a dramedy and one creative documentary.

In Courage Ruben Rojo offers a cinematic family catharsis, in his own words, as the two lead characters are his own mother and brother. An intense drama, it follows an actress in her 70s, going blind, who is concerned about her position at the theatre company where she works, and her 50-year son who has just returned home.

Produced by Matriuska and Avalon in co-production with Isabel Coixet at Miss Wasabi, What Have We Done Wrong  is the sophomore feature from Liliana Torres (Family Tour). An unprejudiced dramedy on the commitment and durability of couples, Family Tour was a revelation for me, Coixet said at the time.

Catalan auteur Ventura Durall says of his The Offering : Its a sentimental, psychological thriller in which violence rips from the inner ghosts of each character. Produced by Moonrise Pictures and Nanouk Films, the films narrative follows a mysterious character with deep-seated guilt who tries to win back a former partner thirty years after their separation.

Selected for the finally canceled SXSW, Javier Polos The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo plumbs his characters pursuit of happiness through a offbeat examination of the pink flamingo as an icon of kitsch culture. Its a U.S. road trip towards self-discovery through music, cinema, art and interviews with figures like John Waters among others, Japonica Films producer Gerard Rodriguez explains.

The Barcelona Vampiress, a long in the works project from director Lluis Danes (Laia) and producers Brutal Media and Filmax, has finally been finished. A period drama with hints of genre, Vampiress explores a historical episode from last century Barcelonas when the city boasted a bourgeois, modernist facade and an underbelly of poverty and squalor.

More vampires in the lineup, Igor Legarretas All the Moons is set during the Carlist Wars of 19th century Spain. An orphan girl is rescued by a possible angel who gives the gift of immortality in the form of vampirism. Its produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures, Kowalski Films, Pris & Batty and Frances Noodles Production.

An official entry into the animation section at Cannes, Josep is the much-awaited feature debut of French cartoonist Aurelien Froment. Produced by French Les Film dIci and Catalonias Imagic Telecom, Josep follows the eventful life of Josep Bartoli, a Catalan illustrator and former soldier who escaped a French internment camp after the Spanish Civil War, was a lover of Frida Kahlo and eventually a Hollywood blacklist victim.

Nine projects already have sales agents attached with the others currently looking for them. Backed by Catalan promotion board Catalan Films, the session will run June 23-25.

Upcoming Catalan Films at the Marche

All the Moons, (Igor Legarreta, Filmax, Arcadia Motion Pictures) Sales: Filmax

A Perfect Enemy, (Kike Maillo, Sabado Peliculas) Sales: Pulsar Content

Courage, (Ruben Rojo, Mago Production, Apapacho Films)

Cross the Line, (David Victori, Filmax) Sales: Filmax

Isaac, (Angeles Hernandez & David Matamoros, Mr. Miyagi) Sales: Alief

Josep,Aurel (The Party, Imagic) Sales: The Party Film Sales

The Barcelona Vampiress, (Lluis Danes, Filmax, Brutal Media) Sales: Filmax

The Mystery Of the Pink Flamingo, (Javier Polo, The Party, Japonica Films) Sales: The Party Film Sales

The Offering, (Ventura Durall, Moonrise Pictures, Nanouk Films) Sales: Moonrise Pictures

The People Upstairs, (Cesc Gay, Filmax, Imposible Films) Sales: Filmax

What Have We Done Wrong, (Liliana Torres, Miss Wasabi, Avalon, Matriuska Films)

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Jammu and Kashmir: Pakistan on Saturday (June 20, 2020) once again violated ceasefire in North Kashmir's Rampur URI sector targeting Indian posts and civilian areas. The Indian Army quickly retaliated, however, two civilians were injured during the violation attempt by Pakistan.

This is the sixth ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the last 10 days. The Pakistan army fired mortar shells and used light arms. They targeted Nambla and Rustum post of in Hajipeer Rampur sector.

Villagers living in Nambla and Hajipeer Sector got affected to the ceasefire as panic gripped in these village. In order to save themselves, people were seen running for cover said a local resident of the area.

An official said, ''This morning Pakistani rangers resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation which was retaliated to by the Indian army.'' He said Pakistani rangers violated the ceasefire and targeted the forward post of the Indian army along the line of control (LoC).''

Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Baramulla Abdul Qayoom said ''Pakistan violated ceasefire in Nambla in URIs sector. Two civilians injured in mortar shelling by Pakistan. He further said, ''The violation attempt started at 9:30 am when Pakistan started shelling mortar light arms ammunition towards Indian side and intermediate firing is still on.''

Earlier their Indian posts and civilian area in Churunda, Kamalkot , Hajipeer in URI and Tangdaar, Keran, and Machaail area of Kupwara in all areas got a strong retaliation by Indian army and several posts were destroyed.


The governor of Nebraska has threatened to withhold millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds from counties that require people to wear masks. The order contradicts advice from the state's health officials and even the governor himself, who has publicly implored the public to wear masks when they go to stores.

"If they don't want to follow the guidelines, they won't be eligible for the CARES Act money," Governor Pete Ricketts, a Republican, said at a press conference about the pandemic response. "But that's certainly their prerogative to do that."

A spokesman for Ricketts told the Omaha World-Herald that counties requiring masks risk losing the funds provided for them in the federal government's CARES Act. The legislation gave Nebraska about $1 billion in relief funds, including $100 million for counties, cities and utilities. Ricketts is in charge of distributing that money.

"Counties are not prohibited from requiring masks, but if they want CARES Act money, they have to be fully open, and that means they cannot deny service for not wearing a mask," Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage told the newspaper.

CBS News has reached out to Gage for comment.

Ricketts has regularly urged Nebraskans to wear masks in public during his coronavirus press conferences. At the same time, he has said businesses can only encourage customers to wear face coverings, and are not allowed to deny services to people who don't.

Meanwhile, physicians and health officials advising Ricketts on the state's coronavirus response say Nebraskans should be wearing masks in public to contain the spread of the virus.

Some county officials also lamented losing control over how they handle the pandemic.

"We know best what is happening in our counties," Deb Schoor, a district commissioner in Lancaster County  which includes the capital and second-largest city, Lincoln  told CBS Lincoln affiliate 1011 Now. "We're working with our health directors, our health officials. But yet realizing our governor is in control of these funds, and we will make sure we will do everything that we can."

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Nebraska has confirmed more than 17,400 coronavirus cases, and 240 deaths, as of Friday, according to the state health department. Its daily confirmed cases peaked in late April and early May, with some days seeing more than 500 new cases. Several days this past week, the state saw nearly 200 new cases confirmed.

Ricketts is the one of few governors who held off on issuing a statewide stay-at-home order when the pandemic hit, even as the virus spread to nearly every county. Ricketts said that other governors had urged him to put out a statewide order, but he believed a county-by-country approach was better.

Ricketts appeared at the White House Thursday for a governors roundtable, where he praised President Trump's handling of the pandemic. "We really appreciate your efforts, your leadership and that of your team to be able to help us through this pandemic and give us the tools to be able to manage it," he told the president.

Virus Outbreak Trump

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, left, talks with President Donald Trump during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America's small businesses, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Washington. Alex Brandon / AP

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Greece announced on Saturday another extension of the coronavirus lockdown on its teeming migrant camps, hours after some 2,000 people protested in central Athens to mark World Refugee Day and denounce the government?s treatment of migrants. The migration ministry said confinement for residents of reception and identification centres across the country would be extended to July 5. It was due to have ended on Monday. Greece was quick to introduce strict confinement measures on migrant camps on March 21 and imposed a more general lockdown on March 23. While no known coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the camps so far and only a few dozen infections have surfaced, the measures have since been extended a number of times. Rights groups have expressed concern that migrants' rights have been eroded by the restrictions. Earlier on Saturday, members of anti-racist groups, joined by refugees from migrant camps, marched in central Athens, holding banners proclaiming "No refugee homeless, persecuted, jailed" and chanting slogans against evictions of refugees from temporary accommodation in apartments. Thousands face homelessness as Greek authorities plan to move more than 11,000 people to make room for other asylum seekers currently living in dismal island camps. Refugees used to be able to keep their accommodation for up to six months after receiving protected status. The new conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reduced this to just a month. The government insists that it is doing everything necessary "to assure a smooth transition for those who leave their lodgings". The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has voiced concern, stressing that many of the refugees do not have effective access to social benefits and support. - 'Disproportionate burden' - In a message for World Refugee Day, the Ministry for Migration and Asylum said Greece has found itself "at the centre of the migration crisis bearing a disproportionate burden". "The country is safeguarding the rights of those who are really persecuted and operates as a shield of solidarity in the eastern Mediterranean," it added. Government officials have repeatedly said Greece must become a less attractive destination for asylum seekers. The continued presence of more than 32,000 asylum seekers on the islands -- over five times the intended capacity of shelters there -- has caused major friction with local communities who are demanding their immediate removal. An operation in February to build new camps on the islands of Lesbos and Chios had to be abandoned due to violent protests. Rights groups have repeatedly criticised unhygienic and unsafe living conditions in existing camps. Greece is also accused of illegal pushbacks by its forces at its sea and land borders, which according to reports had increased since March. Athens has repeatedly denied using illegal tactics to guard its borders, and has in turn accused Turkey of sending patrol boats to escort migrant boats into its waters. UNHCR said that although around 3,000 asylum seekers arrived in Greece by land and sea since the start or March, the figure was much lower than over previous months. Greek officials say housing must be secured on the mainland for vulnerable asylum seekers, some shown here arriving in Piraeus from the islands About 2,000 people took part in the protest in central Athens The presence of more than 32,000 asylum seekers on the islands has caused friction
YAKIMA, Wash.  Yakima County residents will have to wear masks if they go out in public, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Saturday.

Inslee is preparing a proclamation that will make mask use mandatory to avert what he described as an imminent explosion of coronavirus in the county. It is expected to be ready on Monday or Tuesday, said Inslee spokeswoman Tara Lee.

It is a legal requirement; it is not just a suggestion, Inslee told reporters during a Saturday news conference. It is required if we are going to prevent this disaster from overtaking this beautiful valley.

Under the order, businesses will have to adopt a No mask, no service policy, he said.

He also said the state has trained 1,000 contact tracers and is providing the Yakima Health District with $6.5 million in funding to help with efforts to rein in the countys growing number of coronavirus cases.

Inslees announcement comes after a meeting Tuesday with community leaders and business representatives, as well as the continuing rise in coronavirus cases in the county. Inslee said the countys per-capita rate of new cases was the highest in the western United States.

As of Thursday, the rate was almost 700 per 100,000 people in the past two weeks, according to the state Department of Health. That is about 28 times more than is allowed to move to the next phase of the Safe Start program.

By comparison, 55.4 people per 100,000 tested positive statewide in the same time period.

Friday also saw Yakima County reach its second-highest daily number of coronavirus cases, with 208 new cases reported, according to the Yakima Health District.

The Yakima Health District said Friday that the county's three hospitals had exceeded staffing capacity. Virginia Mason Memorial had no intensive care or non-intensive care beds available Thursday night.

Dr. Tanny Davenport, head of quality and safety at Memorial, said 22 people were transferred from the hospital in the last two days, both people with COVID-19 and those without.

One thing we thought early on (in the pandemic) was that it would be space or equipment issues, Davenport said, adding that staffing is a bigger issue. Those patients require more workforce, and we simply dont have the workforce.

Earlier, plans were made to reopen the shuttered Astria Regional Medical Center to provide hospital space for non-COVID-19 patients and free up beds at Memorial. Vice Adm. Dr. Raquel Bono, director of the states COVID-19 response, said Astria likely would not be reopened because there was adequate bed space statewide.

When her team visited Yakima earlier this year, they found in order to have Astria facility stood up wed need additional personnel we did not have  and our better opportunity in supporting any kind of surge was optimizing the capacity across the state, she said.

Inslee said he fully understands the effect stay-home orders are having on businesses, but "the best thing we can do to strengthen this economy so we can reopen fully is to stop the spread of this disease.

He noted the efforts by the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce to increase mask use before his announcement.

And it is not just Yakima County that could be affected if the virus spread is not contained. If Yakima County cannot contain the virus, it will spread to other parts of the state, Inslee warned.

As Yakima County goes, so does the rest of the state, Inslee said.

Lilian Bravo, director of public partnerships for the health district, said the governors order is in line with the health districts campaign for people to mask up when they go out in public.

While she does not yet know what role the health district would play in the execution of Inslees order, Bravo said the district will likely maintain its policy of educating the public as to why they should use masks.

As for the funding, Bravo said those details are being worked out, but said it would likely be used to enhance the disease outbreak team by providing for more people, as well as improving communication and coordinating help for people to stay isolated if they test positive.

Secretary of Health John Wiseman said it was incredibly important that people stay at home as much as possible, and limit contact with others. He strongly encouraged people not to have gatherings for Fathers Day and July 4.

These are times when we want to be spending time with family and friends and it simply too dangerous to be doing that, he said.

Inslee said the situation in Yakima is personal for him, as his three sons were born at Memorial. He said transmission of COVID-19 is occurring everywhere in the community, not just in one sector. And he had strong words for people who downplayed the virus.

These cases are not just numbers, they represent people. And the virus that afflicts them poses a cascade of threats, economic and personal, he said. We cant just put our heads in the sand and let this roll over us.
HOLLAND, MI  Two teenage bicyclists sustained minor injuries Friday evening after they were struck by a car while crossing the road in the dark.

Ottawa County Sheriffs Department responded to the crash at 11:13 p.m. Friday, June 19, on Butternut Drive near Woodland Drive in Holland, according to a news release issued by the sheriffs office.

Police said the two bicyclists, ages 14 and 18, were riding in the travel lanes of Butternut Drive. The bicyclists were attempting to cross five lanes of traffic on Butternut Drive when they ran into the side of a northbound car, according to the release.

The bicyclists, both Holland residents, did not have lights on their bicycles and were riding in the dark, according to the release.

One bicyclist, 14, was taken to Holland Hospital to be treated for minor injuries sustained in the crash. The other bicyclist, 18, was treated by paramedics on the scene and released, police said.

The driver of the car, a 29-year-old Holland woman, was not injured in the crash, according to the release.

This crash remains under investigation by the sheriffs office.

Sheriffs deputies were assisted on the scene by AMR Ambulance.

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The search for a person who fell overboard from a commercial vessel in English Bay on Friday morning is now considered a missing persons case, according the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said in a written statement that the search and rescue operation has been suspended after an all-day search on Friday morning.

"Every reasonable effort has been expended and all leads have been exhausted," the statement said, adding that the case has been handed over to RCMP and Vancouver Police Department.

The coast guard received the report Friday morning around 9:15 a.m. A helicopter and three Coast Guard vessels, including a hovercraft, were dispatched to the area according to Michelle Imbeau of the Canadian Coast Guard.

A search plane from Transport Canada and the Vancouver Police Marine Unit were also involved.

Vancouver Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It's one of the deals James Packer is most proud of: selling his family's vast media interests for $5 billion in 2006.

The sale, just over a year after his father Kerry died, caused a fundamental shift in how the Packers slotted into Australian society, removing their once gilded throne from within the "Tower of Power" at 54 Park Street Sydney.

Kerry Packer and son James at a Publishing & Broadcasting Limited AGM in October 2004. Credit:AP

Overlooking Hyde Park, the top floor private dining room with its full time chef and waiters was where the Packers presided over the politics, fashion, commerce and popular culture of Australia for more than half a century.

"Oh god, all I can think of was how lavish it all was, the parties, the money, it was an incredibly intoxicating environment to work in, and we certainly did work, very hard too," former Packer magazine maven Pat Ingram (now editor of Sunday Life) recalled.
Four Australians will be mentored by leading Hollywood screen professionals after being selected to participate in Mentor LA, a mentorship program that gives Australians a foot in the door of the highly competitive U.S. film industry.

Australians in Film (AiF), supported by Screen Australia, will provide mentees with 12-months of meetings, workshops and networking opportunities, before jetting them off to Los Angeles to meet their mentor in person at the end of the program.

The Aussies will be mentored by writer, director, and producer Alethea Jones who has worked with the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ray Romano; Columbia Pictures director of creative development Jiao Chen, who is working on some of the studios biggest titles including the upcoming Ghostbusters; internationally renowned, award-winning screenwriter and novelist Luke Davis; and one of the most respected artistic and technical professionals in the industry, Zareh Nalbandian.

The mentors (clockwise from top left): Alethea Jones, Jiao Chen, Luke Davis, and Zareh Nalbandian (Supplied)

They will be mentoring writer/director Nora Niasari who was nominated for an Australian Directors Guild Award; award-winning writer/director Larissa Behrendt, Mitchell Stanley who wrote and produced the critically acclaimed documentary Servant or Slave, and award-winning film and television producer Lucy Hayes.

Established in 2017, the inaugural program selects the top screen professionals who show exceptional potential in the areas of producing, directing, and screenwriting.

The mentors, who are some of the most experienced and successful Australians in the industry, provide access to personalised, first-hand knowledge of the challenges they have learned from working in the Hollywood system, and connect local talents with the international market.

Related Coverage PM Scott Morrison Meets Struggling Entertainment Industry

Mentor LA was established to create new and exciting pathways to help grow the careers of four young screen professionals and as a by-product, the Australian industry as a whole,  President of AiF Kate Marks told Screen Australia.

The recent hiring of Que Minh Luu, a participant in last years MentorLA program, by Netflix is a hint of the future success of the participants of the initiative. On June 19, Inside Film announced that she will join Netflix in mid-July, working across drama, comedy, and digital content.

Im very excited. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of stories that have not been told yet, Luu said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 14:53:16|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Cities in the U.S. state of Arizona, including its capital city Phoenix, approved face mask orders in public Friday, when the western state reported a record of 3,246 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours.

As of Friday evening, 46,698 COVID-19 cases with 1,312 deaths have been reported in the state, and Arizona ranked No. 20 among U.S. states with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the latest data from the state's Department of Health Service.

Amid rising COVID-19 infections, the Phoenix City Council on Friday approved a mandatory mask ordinance which goes into effect at 6:00 a.m. local time Saturday (1300 GMT).

"All persons six years old or older who are present in the City of Phoenix shall have possession of a face covering described in Arizona Department of Public Health Face Covering Guidance ... when they leave their home or place of residence and shall wear the face-covering whenever they are within six feet of another person who is not a member of their family or household," the mandate read.

The decision came just two days after the state's Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order allowing Arizona cities to adopt their own measures on face coverings.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors also passed a proclamation Friday night, making it a requirement to wear face coverings in public across the entire county, where Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale and other cities are located. Enditem
Lai Mohammed

The Nigeria Police Force has released Rotimi Jolayemi, the broadcaster who insulted the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a song that went viral on social media.

His wife, Dorcas, told The PUNCH that he was released on Friday evening after spending 45 days in police custody.

She said, I am very thankful to The PUNCH for putting the authorities under pressure to release my husband who was illegally detained. He was finally released this afternoon by the police. He was, however, asked to return on Monday to sign some papers.



Rights group, Amnesty International, had called on the police to release Jolayemi, who had spent more than five weeks in custody before he was finally arraigned in court on June 11, 2020

Jolayemi, who anchors a Yoruba radio programme, Bi aye se ri on Osun State Broadcasting Service and Radio Kwara, was on May 5, 2020 arrested by the police.

Earlier, his wife, Dorcas, and his two brothers were arrested and spent over a week in police custody when they could not produce him. However, after the journalist had turned himself in, they were released.

Jolayemi, who is the Vice-Chairman, Freelance and Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, Osun State chapter, was subsequently brought to Abuja where he remained since May 7.

On June 11, 2020, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his remand in police custody.

At the trial, Jolayemi pleaded not guilty after he was arraigned on six-counts bordering on the alleged distribution of an audio file said to have caused annoyance, ill will, hatred, and insults towards the minister.

According to the police, the offence contravenes section 24(1)(b) of the cybercrimes act 2015.
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that India will work with China to jointly uphold peace and stability in their border areas, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said here on Friday.

"China hopes that India will work with us, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels," Zhao said.

He made the remarks when elaborating China's position on settling the incident of the Galwan clash.

The Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region, Zhao said.

Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations, he said.

By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops.

"They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management," Zhao said, adding that the Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas.

In order to ease the situation, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels. In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did.

On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation.

"The Indian side promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground.

"Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the LAC for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.

"The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations. China has lodged solemn representations and strong protests to the Indian side," Zhao said.

During a phone conversation with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated China's stern position, demanding India to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident, severely punish those who should be held accountable, strictly discipline Indian frontline troops, and immediately stop all provocative actions so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

A second commander-level meeting should happen as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground, according to the spokesperson.

The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far, Zhao said.
The government has extended adaptive quarantine until July 31, the Verkhovna Rada once refused to support the revised Cabinet program, depriving ministers of a year-long immunity from sacking, while Ukrainians are finally allowed to fly abroad  these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

The Cabinet of Ministers has further extended the adaptive quarantine, this time until July 31. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the move was due to a steady growth in daily COVID-19 incidence.

On June 19, the country set another anti-record with 921 new confirmed cases reported within 24 hours. Since the quarantine weakened, the daily incidence rate in Ukraine has doubled!

The government believes the reason for such a sharp hike is that many Ukrainians perceived the recent relaxation of restrictions as quarantine lift as many returned to pre-corona lifestyle, gathering in large groups, ignoring social distancing and failing to wear face masks in public.

In this regard, the Cabinet vowed an updated approach to adaptive quarantine, which provides for tougher restrictions in certain regions.

Deputy Minister of Health Viktor Liashko has stated that in some regions, strict quarantine could be re-introduced from June 22. At the same time, he called on businesses not to neglect the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Health, and warned of harsher enforcement measures.

"Unfortunately, according to the State Food and Beverage Agency, every sixth business entity today is a violator. Without creating conditions for compliance with quarantine measures, their enforcement is impossible. The dynamics of the incidence directly depends on compliance with quarantine measures," he stressed, noting that prior to quarantine easing, businesses had promised to adhere to safety rules.

Lyashko added that businesses were invited to change their employees' work hours in order to reduce the load on metro and commute transport during rush hours to reduce crowding.

It seems that both businesses and citizens are yet to adapt to the new reality. Kyiv medical commission chief Oleh Helevey suggests quarantine could last at least until the end of the year.

At the same time, he recalled the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919, where the second wave was much more dangerous than the first one.

Government without resignation immunity

The Verkhovna Rada has rejected the Government's updated action program, thus leaving ministers without a 12-month immunity from dismissal.

In early June, parliamentarians had already returned the initial program for revision, comparing it with a "school essay." The government was therefore forced to finalize the document. The new version was "more serious", according to Parliament Chairman Dmytro Razumkov.

Among other things, the government declared plans to introduce a funded pension system from 2021, as well as stimulate the development of non-state pension funding. Also, the Cabinet intends to adapt Ukrainian legislation on private pension funds to that of the European Union.

In addition, the Cabinet announced plans to set a living wage at 40% of the average wage starting 2021. Also, the revised program provides for the development of international customs cooperation, including the development of electronic technologies and services for international trade.

Another item of the program was about cooperating with the supervisory boards of state banks to address the issue of non-performing loans.

However, none of these plans convinced Parliament to endorse the plan. On Thursday, deputies rejected the program as such.

At the same time, the prime minister says neither he nor the government as a whole "pursue immunity," and the updated program, even if it's not approved by MPs, will become a guide in government's work.

"We will keep fulfilling our goals. This is about support for Ukrainian manufacturers, support for small and medium-sized businesses, support for power engineers and farmers, as well as and many other steps that the public awaits. I have repeatedly said that our government is not interested in immunity  we are interested in the well-being of the country," PM said.

Shmyhal added that he saw no reason for the government to step down. He believes that the Rada's decision not to support the program was "political".

Ex-PM Oleksiy Honcharuk, who was dismissed in March, voiced a more critical assessment of the lack of support in the Rada for the incumbent Cabinet. He stated that the failure of the government program in parliament indicates that the Cabinet cannot keep working in its current form.

"This was obvious earlier, because personnel reshuffles in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, numerous dubious appointments and chaotic attacks on ProZorro, school tests, the National Bank, the failure for the fourth month to appoint ministers in key sectors (energy and education) is too much, even in conditions of personnel hunger," Honcharuk said.

Relaunch of international flights

On Monday, June 15, travelers rejoiced as an official ban on regular international flights was lifted.

The first such flight was performed by Belarusian Belavia. Their plane brought passengers from Minsk to Boryspil Airport. Kyiv Airport also opened its gates for other countries, having also accepted a Belavia liner.

However, it's too early to talk about full restoration of international air traffic, since there are significant restrictions related to the coronavirus.

According to the decision of the government, to cross the Ukrainian, foreigners must have an insurance policy that covers the coronavirus treatment and observation.

In addition, persons arriving from coronavirus hotbed destinations (countries where the incidence rate is over 40 per 100,000 population) are required to undergo a 14-day observation.

Similar rules await the Ukrainians set to fly abroad. According to Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, from June 15, to travel to the UK, citizens will need to remain in quarantine for 14 days. Also from June 27 it will be possible to visit Tunisia, having passed testing upon arrival. At the same time, Ukrainians are allowed to travel to Albania and the USA without restrictions on border and also with no testing required. Turkey will also open up for Ukrainians from July 1 with no restrictions imposed.

More destinations for foreign travel could open by mid-summer. If the epidemic situation in Ukraine remains stable, air travel with Montenegro and Georgia could launch on July 1.

From July 1, the European Union could lift travel restrictions  but only for citizens of countries where the epidemic situation is similar or better than that in the EU. According to the Viktor Lyashko, the EU is considering the rate of 40 active cases per 100,000 population. Thus, Ukrainians should not rely on being able to travel to Europe anytime soon. The sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine in recent days has moved the country from the "green" to the "red" zone with over 40 cases per 100,000 population.

Next week, forecasters promise warm weather along with rains and thunderstorms throughout Ukraine. But this should not interfere with the economic life. Thus, the World Bank's Executive Board plans to consider a new loan for Ukraine aimed at restoring economic growth during the crisis. Meanwhile, the stats agency will unveil industrial output figures for the first five months of 2020.

Oleksandr Kunytsky
School principals have said they will spend the coming days digesting the content of guidelines published by the Education Minister.

But already different interpretations are emerging of the New School Days document from the Department of Education.

One primary school principal urged the department to consider lifting all restrictions for the benefit of children's education.

The views of Keith Wysner, principal at Whiteabbey Primary, are tempered by Christos Gaitatzis, principal at Omagh High School, who said that all parents must be on board ahead of the new school term in August.

"These guidelines have not really come as a surprise as all the elements have been talked about before," said Mr Wysner.

"But the truth is that I can't bring all the children back in together with even a one-metre social distancing guideline in place.

"We'll be looking at two days in and three out for pupils during the course of a natural week. That means there'll still be a big emphasis on blended learning.

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"There's already talk about the restrictions around schools being lifted in their entirety in England in time for September and that's something we in Northern Ireland need to be considering now if we're serious about getting schools back up and running effectively.

"They've taken that route in Holland and we should look at how that has worked." Mr Wysner said he will prepare for the worst case - for now.

He added: "Hopefully, come August, I'll never have to take those plans off the shelf because it's a far from ideal situation for the children and the parents with school attendance one day and not the next."

Omagh High School principal Mr Gaitatzis said that although the guidelines are welcome, the fact remains it will be a "logistical nightmare".

"We're going to meet as a staff next week and try to work it all out," he said. "But we operate in a very old building and as things stand it's very likely we will not be able to accommodate every pupil, every day.

"We'll concentrate on making sure the exam year students are accommodated, but that will likely mean instead of having three classes, we'll have to have six. That's when you run into further problems with staffing levels. I'll need six teachers instead of three, but finance is an issue.

"The idea of a staggered arrival of pupils might work better in Belfast, where there is a greater availability of transport, but we have a lot of pupils coming in from rural areas. They all get the same bus and unless there are extra buses put on the options are extremely limited.

"And if pupils are arriving at various stages of the day putting a timetable together, considering the staffing levels, will be another nightmare to overcome."

While the idea of restarting school without restrictions would be the ideal solution, Mr Gaitatzis said the most important thing is to make sure parents are conformable that their children will be safe.

He added: "We would all love to say to the pupils you're all welcome back. But we have spent three months moving along a route. The guidance would have to be crystal clear that pupils are safe, there is no danger. We need all the parents on board. The public need to be convinced before we can drop all restrictions."

The Northern Ireland Head Teachers' Association said it would take time to consider the contents of the guidelines.

Before the guidelines were published Graham Gault, who is principal of Maghaberry Primary School and vice-president of the NHTA, said he had measured his own classrooms and could manage 15 pupils rather than the usual 30.

"At the moment it looks likely, if nothing changes, that I'll be able to welcome back half of my school cohort," he said.

"Schools want our children to be back full-time, it's what we crave, but that's not going to happen unless something very drastic changes."
Two alleged gun suppliers arrested in a counter-terrorism investigation will bide their time in custody before applying for bail in two weeks' time.

The pair and a third man, arrested on Friday in co-ordinated raids across Sydney, were not required when their cases were briefly mentioned in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

Two of the men in police custody. Credit:NSW Police

East Hills man Hassan Darwiche and Condell Park man Nassreldine Cheikh will seek bail on July 6 and 7, lawyer Ahmed Dib told the court.

"Our system is built on the presumption of innocence - you're innocent until guilty," Mr Dib said outside court.
Wine professionals are speaking out against the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, the organization headquartered in Napa that administers the notoriously difficult Master Sommelier Examination. Among the charges: that the court failed to be equitable and inclusive for people of color.

First, Atlanta wine professional Tahiirah Habibi addressed her experience taking the courts introductory exam in New York in 2011. In a June 16 video post on Instagram, Habibi recalled how the exam proctors instructed her and other candidates to address them as master, an honorific that recalled for her the power dynamics of slavery.

I just kind of sank, Habibi said later in an interview. She passed that introductory exam, but chose not to pursue further courses or exams with the court. Subsequent levels would have required her to simulate wine service in a restaurant, and I just couldnt imagine having to pour a glass of wine for someone while calling them master, said Habibi, who is the founder of the Hue Society, an organization that supports Black wine professionals.

There was no point in attempting to go forward in the court, she continued. I couldnt deal with people who couldnt see that that language was a problem.

Master sommelier Devon Broglie, chair of the board of directors of the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, spoke with Habibi this week about the incident.

I expressed deep regret for the unwelcoming experience and the racism perpetrated then, he said in an email to The Chronicle. The board will move to officially end any use of Master + Last name only. Any references to master sommelier must use the full term now.

Then Richard Betts, a prominent master sommelier, sent waves through the wine world when he announced on June 17 that he was resigning from the court and abdicating his title. Its the first time a master sommelier has resigned from the organization.

I threw out my pin and my tie tonight, Betts said on Wednesday evening, referring to the red and gold pin that master sommeliers affix to their lapels to signify their status. Betts, who passed the exam in 2003, currently runs the Australian wine label An Approach to Relaxation with his wife, sommelier Carla Rza Betts.

Why resign? He cited his perception that the court has not taken a sufficiently strong stance on racial justice, as well as his disapproval over how the court handled a 2018 cheating scandal, among his reasons.

On Monday, another master sommelier joined Betts in resigning. Brian McClintic, one of the stars of the movie Somm and the owner of Viticole Wine Club in Napa, explained in a Medium post that his decision to resign came down to the simple affirmation of three words: Black Lives Matter.

On June 7, the court sent a statement to members expressing its condemnation of racism, prejudice and racially motivated violence in all its forms, Broglie said, and posted the statement on its website the next day. It did not post any related messages to its social media channel until June 17, the day after Habibi published her Instagram video and the same day that Betts announced his resignation in a Medium post.

We recognize the social media broadcast did not happen on as swift a timeline as it should have, said Broglie. Nevertheless, we are proud of the decisions we have made and the initial actions we are taking for the growth of the organization and the betterment of the hospitality industry.

The Court of Master Sommeliers has always been shrouded in an aura of glamorous exclusivity, with films like Netflixs Somm trilogy and the recent Uncorked celebrating the rigor of its culminating examination, which requires candidates to identify wines with no information other than what they can taste, see and smell. Since the organizations founding in the U.K. in 1977, only 269 people have ever passed that grueling final test and gained the title  and pin  of master sommelier.

Part of the shock of Betts resignation is rooted in how difficult it is to gain entry to that uppermost echelon. Who would give that up?

But the court has come under scrutiny in recent years. In 2018, it announced that it would invalidate the results of that years Master Sommelier Examination, rendering 23 new titles illegitimate, because it had learned that an existing master sommelier had leaked information about what would be on the test. Many sommeliers criticized the courts handling of it, especially those who had passed and felt theyd been unfairly punished for someone elses mistakes.

The following summer, the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas filed a lawsuit against Daniel Pilkey, one of the candidates whose title had been rescinded, because Pilkey continued to wear his pin and identify himself as a master sommelier. A U.S. District Court judge ultimately dismissed the complaint.

Although Betts had been feeling a sense of unease with the sommeliers court for years, he said, the cheating scandal was a turning point.

It is so irresponsible on the part of this body to handle it the way it was handled, Betts said. The fact that non-cheaters were being penalized as if theyd cheated, without any way to defend themselves, was so disturbing to me.

Broglie said that the court encourages disagreement from its members.

It is unfortunate that (Betts) is using current events to publicly rehash his disagreement over the difficult decisions the board made in 2018.

The developments of the past month were the final catalyst for his departure, Betts said. While protesters around the world have spoken out against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and systemic racism, he didnt think that the court was doing enough to speak out, despite its June 7 statement to members.

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America is having this reckoning now, and this organization does nothing, he said. Its not to say the (court) has to be the NAACP. But stand for something. Say what matters.

Betts said he feels that the court, a very white, very privileged wine program, should become more inclusive. It can do a lot better in terms of reaching a more diverse community, and I mean diverse in terms of race, economic background, privilege.

Thats something that Habibi knows all too well. When she embarked on her wine career, I didnt know any black people who were into wine, she said. In fact, that was the whole reason why I wanted to do it  to become the first black woman master sommelier.

Shes never spoken publicly about her 2011 experience before. But when Broglie published a letter that mentioned her organization, the Hue Society, she decided it was time. Habibi said that the court had not contacted her prior to writing the letter, and she felt it implied that they had a partnership, which they did not. (The court has since removed a letter and published a new one, acknowledging the mistake.)

The reason I spoke about it now is we are at a turning point in this country, and everybody is waiting to see who is going to be a real ally, Habibi said. Theres no middle ground. The wine world has been disgustingly silent, and we all know the wine world is a very, very white space.

Both Habibi and Betts raised the question: How important are the courts credentials, anyway?

The things that first drew Betts to the court, he said, no longer feel true.

There was some subtle shift, he said. It used to be about lets get people excited about wine. Now were an accrediting body. Its just become a badge. To him, it has become a cynical job credential, a pass to guarantee a high-paying job at a restaurant group, winery, wholesaler or casino.

As for Habibi, the fact that she passed the courts introductory exam in 2011 hardly ever comes up. Her career didnt need it.

I never talk about credentials, she said. Especially as a black person, I think its more important to validate yourself through your work. You shouldnt need a credential in order for people to respect you.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob
Finding the right mix of investments is something that concerns both novice and seasoned investors alike. Balancing both income and growth investments can be daunting at times. Fortunately, there is a way to balance your portfolio while still keeping on track. Heres a three-stock portfolio that can provide income and growth prospects for under $500 per month.

Stay the course

Adding one or more defensive investments to your portfolio is always a good tactic. This is one of the lessons learned from the unprecedented and highly volatile market weve seen in 2020.

One defensive investment to counter that volatility is Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B). Couche-Tard owns and operates nearly 15,000 convenience stores and gas stations around the world. These are interesting businesses that are often overlooked yet very necessary (and defensive) options to consider.

To be clear, Couche-Tard is not an income investment. The paltry dividend on offer amounts to just a 0.65% yield. Instead, investors should be looking toward long-term growth. By way of example, so far in 2020, Couche-Tard is up over 4% to date, while the market continues to struggle to break even. Over a longer two-year term, Couche-Tard is up over 45%.

Additionally, Couche-Tard is well known for taking an aggressive stance on expansion. The company has an established record of ever-larger acquisitions and integrating those acquisitions into its global network.

For under $180 each month, determined investors could purchase four shares of Couche Tard for your three-stock portfolio. After a year, that investment would be well over $2,000, without factoring growth.

This big bank will provide you with big income

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS)(NYSE:BNS) is not the largest or most well known of Canadas big banks. What Bank of Nova Scotia can offer you, however, is handsome growth and long-term income-earning prospects.

Specifically, Scotiabanks move into the Pacific Alliance nations of Columbia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico has provided the bank with a growing and diversified revenue stream. Furthermore, expanding into Latin America has tamed pundits concerns about the bank needing to diversify more.

Story continues

In terms of a dividend, Bank of Nova Scotias quarterly payout currently works out to an appetizing 6.16%. This puts Scotiabanks dividend on the upper side of Canadas big banks and makes it an appealing option to consider.

At the time of writing, Bank of Nova Scotia trades at just shy of $58, which is still off from the 52-week high set earlier this year. As for your three-stock portfolio, for well under $180, you could easily buy three shares of Scotiabank. Investing this amount on a monthly basis would provide over $125 in dividends after the first year outside of growth.

Your three-stock portfolio needs this stock

When a stock slashes its dividend, often what follows is a mass exodus of income-seeking investors. When it comes to Inter Pipeline (TSX:IPL), however, it might be a better strategy to hold onto the stock for now.

Back in March, Inter Pipeline slashed its once attractive monthly dividend by over 70%. This means Inter Pipeline is no longer a Canadain Dividend Aristocrat boasting over a decade of growth. To be fair, Inter Pipelines new yield is still a respectable 3.86%.

But why should investors hold out? The answer to that is Inter Pipelines Heartland Petrochemical complex. The multi-billion-dollar facility that will convert propane to the in-demand plastic known as polypropylene. The complex will be the first of its kind in Canada when it opens in 2021, and is expected to generate $400 million in EBITDA for the company.

Until the complex opens and ushers in that expected growth, investing just over $160 each month will buy 13 shares of Inter Pipeline. After one year, that investment will be close to $2,000, without factoring in dividend reinvestments. Thats a solid option for any three-stock portfolio.

Final thoughts

The need to diversify your portfolio with a variety of investments is well known. The same could be said about the need to build a sizable portfolio for retirement. What this well-known theory only infers, however, is that doing this takes time.

This is where consistently investing in a three-stock portfolio could help. For under $500 per month, Scotiabank, Couche-Tard, and Inter Pipeline provide a well-diversified portfolio that caters to both growth and income-earning investors.

Buy them, hold them, and let your three-stock portfolio make you rich.

The post Introducing the 3-Stock Portfolio for $500 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou owns shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool recommends ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC and BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020
Local food producers have received a boost following the announcement that Taste Wexford is to receive 12,987 in funding from the 2020 Rural Innovation and Development Fund.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed announced County Wexford as one of 11 projects that will receive funding to promote and develop agri-food tourism in rural areas.

The Taste Wexford Agri-Food Tourism project will build on work funded by the Department and Wexford County Council over the last three years. It will focus on working with accommodation providers and food producers, creating new events for the national Failte Ireland 'Taste the Island' campaign.

Through its new self-guided map, this campaign will aim to help Ireland rediscover why Wexford is one of the best spots to holiday in the country. Taste Wexford will also work on building contacts with the international market and tour operators for 2021/2022.

On the announcement of the funding, Minister Creed said, 'During these unprecedented times I am pleased to support these initiatives in the agri-food tourism sector and build on progress already made.

He said that Food Wise 2025, the 10-year plan for the agri-food sector, highlights the natural synergy between agri-food and local tourism.

'Agri-tourism is of great importance for rural areas in order to showcase their people, landscape, history and culture through agricultural produce, food and drink and local cuisine.'

In addition, Minister Creed said agri-tourism provides opportunities for rural businesses, including farmers, producers and artisans, to 'develop their products and services and connect with the community'.

Anthony O'Toole, co-founder of Taste Wexford and an international food and tourism advisor, said, 'Before Covid-19 restrictions came into force on March 12, Wexford County Council, alongside Visit Wexford, was preparing to further develop and improve Wexford's agri-tourism offering this year.

'It is now more important for producers, craft makers, restaurants, retailers, accommodation providers, networks and communities - based locally, regionally and nationally - to work together and support each other.

With the help of funding and support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and state agencies such as Failte Ireland, he said it is becoming 'easier' for people across the island to enjoy Ireland's food and drink 'experiences'.

The County Wexford Food Tourism plan will be led by Jean O'Connell and Anthony O'Toole with support from the Taste Wexford Steering Group: Liz Hore, head of Enterprise at Wexford County Council; Billy Byrne, Visit Wexford's tourism officer; Tom Bermingham, Wexford Local Development; Lorraine O'Dwyer, Gallivanting Tours; Maura Bell, manager of Irish National Heritage Park; Paula Asple, owner of The Wilds in Enniscorthy; and Andrea Molloy, chair of Wexford Food Family and co-owner of Drew Fox Brewing.

In total, funding of 197,500 has been made available to projects across the country, with Carlow County Council (Ireland South East Agri Food Tourism Cluster) receiving 12,987 and Waterford County Festival of Food receiving 24,802.75.
The investigation into a coronavirus outbreak on the Navy carrier Theodore Roosevelt didn't only lead the service to backtrack on a previous recommendation to reinstate the ship's former commanding officer -- but also on how the virus ended up on the ship in the first place.

The Navy's top admiral said on Friday that they now believe the COVID-19 outbreak on the Roosevelt originated with a March port call in Vietnam, not flight crews bringing supplies to the ship. Officials in April said the timing of the first outbreaks had them eyeing carrier onboard deliveries, known as CODs, as the likely culprit.

But after a wider investigation they no longer believe that to be the case, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told reporters. Gilday and Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite briefed reporters Friday afternoon on the outcome of a months-long investigation into the Roosevelt's outbreak and the subsequent firing of the ship's commanding officer.

Read Next: Navy Won't Reinstate Crozier, Holds 1-Star's Promotion Over Poor Decision Making

"We think that likely it happened during the port visit to Vietnam," Gilday said. "... But we don't have a clear understanding of Patient Zero."

Thirty-nine members of the Roosevelt's crew were quarantined after the port call in Vietnam over fears they'd been exposed to the virus, the investigation states. After two weeks though, all 39 showed no signs of having the illness and tested negative for COVID-19.

Around the same time, two air-wing sailors on the ship began showing symptoms. That was after seven COD flights from the Philippines brought passengers and detachment personnel out to the Roosevelt. Four of those personnel later tested positive for the virus, the investigation states.

"However analysis of the time of their positive results indicates that they were likely not the source of the introduction of the virus," it adds.

That raised questions about why a captain was held responsible for a situation that arose after someone higher up the chain of command made a decision that ultimately led to a health crisis on the ship. Gilday said the investigation took an "extensive look" into the decision-making before the Roosevelt stopped in Vietnam.

The port call, approved by Adm. Phil Davidson -- head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command -- was made a week before the World Health Organization had declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, Gilday said, and there were no State Department warnings for Vietnam and no recorded COVID-19 cases in Da Nang, where the ship was headed.

In looking at Davidson's call to send the ship to Vietnam, Gilday said "we found that decision was sound."

"We found no fault with the rationale to make the decision to go into port," Gilday said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Navy Believes Delivery Flights, Not Vietnam Port Stop, Brought Virus to Carrier
With the growth rate of Covid-19 cases rising in the citys suburbs, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to revise its strategies regarding containment and tracing, to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In the case of redeveloped high-rises under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), the civic body has decided to revert to sealing entire buildings instead of the single floor on which a resident may have tested positive for Covid-19. This, civic officials explained, is because of the high density in SRA buildings as compared to other high-rises.

Starting Sunday, BMC will also conduct door-to-door surveys in high-rises of north Mumbai to detect symptomatic patients, as officials believe that contact tracing has not been foolproof. BMC will also restrict the movement of those residing in containment zones and sealed buildings by sealing buffer zones.

We had a meeting with the Mumbai Police on Friday, after which we have taken several decisions to control the increasing cases. These include door-to-door surveys in high-rises to find new cases and sealing the entire building instead of only the floor in SRA buildings where residents test positive. We have also decided to extend the lockdown in all market areas and buffer zones if large crowds are observed in these places, said Vishwas Shankarwar, deputy municipal commissioner of zone 7.

Meanwhile, 1,190 new cases were recorded on Saturday, taking the citys case count to 65,329. Mumbai reported its highest single-day death count of 136, taking the overall toll to 3,561 deaths. The total number of discharged patients was 32,867, with a recovery rate of 50%. Active cases in the city stood at 28,893.

The fatality rate in the city as of Saturday was 5.45%, and the doubling rate has reached 34 days.

The change in strategy comes as the city prepares to reach the 80,000-case mark by June-end if the current pace of growth continues. BMCs focus will now be on five wards in the suburbs, covering areas of Dahisar, Borivli, Kandivli, Malad, Mulund, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, etc. The daily growth rate in the above-mentioned areas is between 3-4.5% against the average daily growth rate of 2.05% in the city. H East ward, which covers Bandra (East) and Santacruz, has the lowest growth rate in the city (1%), followed by E ward (Byculla, Mazagaon, Mumbai Central) and FN ward (Wadala, Dadar, Matunga, and Sion), both having a growth rate of 1.1%.

In both R North ward (Dahisar and parts of Borivli) and PN ward covering Malad, BMC has widened the scope of containment areas by clubbing the buffer zone in the containment zone.

We have decreased the number of containment zones but clubbed the buffer zones in them. The concentration is majorly in slums when it comes to Dahisar (East), high-rises in Dahisar (West), and parts of Borivli. We are restricting the movement of those in containment zones to ensure the cases come down. Currently, there are many hidden cases and we are expecting to bring the number under control in the coming days due to better detection of these hidden cases, said Sandhya Nandekar, assistant municipal commissioner, R North ward.

In R Central ward covering Borivli, BMC claims 70% of the cases are in high-rises, owing to which their focus is to ensure minimal movement of those residing in sealed buildings.

Around 60% of Malad, which has major slum areas, has been declared as a containment zone and is under lockdown, where only essential shops can remain open.

Bhagyashree Kapse, assistant municipal commissioner of R Central ward, said, Police had said that we should have a complete lockdown owing to rise in cases but that is not feasible. In my ward, 70% of the cases are in high-rises, and only 30% are from slums that are declared as containment zones. We are releasing those areas where no cases were reported for the last 20 days.

Meanwhile, Dharavi, one of the critical hotspots in Mumbai, reported its lowest number of cases since the first week of April. On Saturday, only seven cases were recorded, taking the total case count of the area to 2,158 with 80 deaths so far.

A makeshift 1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital has been set up in the premises of engineering company Richardson and Cruddas in Byculla, according to BMC.

In a statement on Saturday, the civic body informed that of the 1,000 beds, 300 are ICU beds with oxygen supply and other facilities. The hospital will be ready to use by the end of June.
How we navigate a crisis or traumatic event (and the coronavirus has many characteristics of trauma because it is unpredictable and uncontrollable) depends, in large part, on how resilient we are. Resilience is the ability to recover from difficult experiences and setbacks, to adapt, move forward and sometimes even experience growth. (Monika Aichele/The New York Times)

Eilene Zimmerman

(At Home: Resilience)

A few years ago, an unimaginable thing happened in my life. I wanted to help someone I cared about, someone who was sick with an illness he was hiding. I went to his house, intent on a rescue operation that would end, I thought, with a trip to the emergency room. Instead, it ended with a trip to the morgue. What I found when I arrived was my ex-husband, dead on his bathroom floor. The hidden illness? An intravenous drug addiction.

It was, without question, the most traumatic event of my life, but not only mine. I had two teenage children at the time, who had unknowingly been given a front-row seat to their fathers slow suicide. It took two years for me to settle my ex-husbands estate, which was thrown into probate, and meant a kind of suspended traumatic animation for me, as I continued to live in what felt like a constant state of emergency.

Back then, I thought we would never really recover, that our lives would always be stained with this terrible sadness. But now, nearly five years later, were doing well  really well. Or we were, until recently, when along with the rest of the world we began living through the current convergence of crises.

It turns out that awful time in my life was good training for a pandemic, for political and social upheaval, for economic and financial uncertainty. The experience taught me that I never really know whats going to happen next. I plan as best I can, but now Im far more able to pivot my thinking. I have the capacity to cope with more of lifes unexpected slings and arrows, to accept the difficulties I face and keep going, even though it can be hard.

How we navigate a crisis or traumatic event (and the coronavirus has many characteristics of trauma because it is unpredictable and uncontrollable) depends, in large part, on how resilient we are. Resilience is the ability to recover from difficult experiences and setbacks, to adapt, move forward and sometimes even experience growth.

An individuals resilience is dictated by a combination of genetics, personal history, environment and situational context. So far, research has found the genetic part to be relatively small.

The way I think about it is that there are temperamental or personality characteristics that are genetically influenced, like risk-taking, or whether youre an introvert or extrovert, said Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvards T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Koenen studies how genes shape our risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. We all know people that are just very even-tempered, she said. Some of that is simply how were built physiologically. Yet it isnt true that some people are born more resilient than others, said Koenen, Thats because almost any trait can be a positive or negative, depending on the situation.

Far more important, it seems, is an individuals history.

The most significant determinant of resilience  noted in nearly every review or study of resilience in the last 50 years  is the quality of our close personal relationships, especially with parents and primary caregivers. Early attachments to parents play a crucial, lifelong role in human adaptation.

How loved you felt as a child is a great predictor of how you manage all kinds of difficult situations later in life, said Bessel van der Kolk, a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine who has been researching post-traumatic stress since the 1970s. He is the founder of the Trauma Research Foundation in Boston.

Van der Kolk said long-term studies showed that the first 20 years of life were especially critical. Different traumas at different ages have their own impacts on our perceptions, interpretations and expectations; these early experiences sculpt the brain, because it is a use-dependent organ, he said.

You can think of resilience as a set of skills that can be, and often is, learned. Part of the skill-building comes from exposure to very difficult  but manageable  experiences, like the one my children and I had.

Stress isnt all bad, said Steven Southwick, professor emeritus of psychiatry, PTSD and Resilience at Yale University School of Medicine and co-author of the book Resilience: The Science of Mastering Lifes Greatest Challenges. If you can cope today with all thats happening in the world around you, Southwick said, then when you are on the other side of it, youll be stronger.

How we cope depends on what is in our resilience toolbox. For some people, like my ex-husband, the toolbox is filled with drugs. For others it can be drinking, overeating, gambling, shopping. But these dont promote resilience.

Instead, the tools common to resilient people are optimism (that is also realistic), a moral compass, religious or spiritual beliefs, cognitive and emotional flexibility, and social connectedness. The most resilient among us are people who generally dont dwell on the negative, who look for opportunities that might exist even in the darkest times. During a quarantine, for example, a resilient person might decide it is a good time to start a meditation practice, take an online course or learn to play guitar.

In my fieldwork now as a social work student, I provide support for people who have cancer  also a traumatic experience  and I often counsel them to stay grounded in the present moment and focus on their strengths, because imagining every worst-case scenario is pointless and only increases anxiety.

Each of us has to figure out what our particular challenges are and then determine how to get through them, at the current moment in time, advised George Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology and director of the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab at Columbia University Teachers College. The good news, he said, is that most of us will. Bonannos lab reviewed 67 studies of people who experienced all kinds of traumatic events. Im talking mass shootings, hurricanes, spinal cord injuries, things like that, he said. And two-thirds were found to be resilient. Two-thirds were able to function very well in a short period of time.

How to Build Resilience

Interviews with large numbers of highly resilient individuals  those who have experienced a great deal of adversity and have come through it successfully  show they share the following characteristics.

 They have a positive, realistic outlook. They dont dwell on negative information and instead look for opportunities in bleak situations, striving to find the positive within the negative.

 They have a moral compass. Highly resilient people have a solid sense of what they consider right and wrong, and it tends to guide their decisions.

 They have a belief in something greater than themselves. This is often found through religious or spiritual practices. The community support that comes from being part of a religion also enhances resilience.

 They are altruistic; they have a concern for others and a degree of selflessness. They are often dedicated to causes they find meaningful and that give them a sense of purpose.

 They accept what they cannot change and focus energy on what they can change. Southwick says resilient people reappraise a difficult situation and look for meaningful opportunities within it.

 They have a mission, a meaning, a purpose. Feeling committed to a meaningful mission in life gives them courage and strength.

 They have a social support system, and they support others. Very few resilient people, said Southwick, go it alone.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an employment scheme with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore for migrant workers who returned to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: Press Information Bureau of India

Launching the scheme, Modi said during the nationwide lockdown, the talent from cities returned to villages and it will now give a boost to development of rural areas.

The 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan' will be implemented on a mission mode in 125 days in 116 districts of six states -- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha -- that received the maximum numbers of migrant workers back.

It will help expedite implementation of 25 public infrastructure works and those related to augmentation of livelihood opportunities.

These 25 works are related to rural housing for the poor, plantations, provision of drinking water through Jal Jeevan Mission, and construction of panchayat bhavans, community toilets, rural mandis, rural roads, cattle sheds and anganwadi bhavans, according to the ministry of rural development, which is the nodal ministry for the project.

The scheme was launched weeks after lakhs of migrant workers returned to their home states following loss of employment in urban centres due to the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Under the scheme, the basket of a wide variety of works will ensure that each migrant worker is able to get an opportunity of employment according to his skill in the coming 125 days, it said, adding that the programme will also prepare for expansion and development of livelihoods over a longer term.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said there are some people who may not appreciate efforts of villagers in the fight against the novel coronavirus but he applauds them for their efforts.

The way villages have fought coronavirus has taught a big lesson to the cities, he added.

Talent has returned from cities during the lockdown, those whose labour and skills were behind the rapid growth of cities will now boost development of villages with the help of this scheme, he said.

Underlining that migrant workers were always in the Centre's thoughts during the lockdown, the prime minister said it is an endeavour of his government that workers get jobs near their home and help in development of villages.

Talking about infrastructure development of villages with the help of this scheme, Modi said that for the first time the Internet was being used more in villages than in cities and now work to increase the speed of the Internet was being undertaken.

This scheme will focus on durable rural infrastructure and providing modern facilities like Internet in the villages, he said.

The Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan was launched by Modi via video conference in a village in Khagaria district of Bihar in the presence of the chief ministers of five states -- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand -- and a minister from Odisha.

The mission will be a convergent effort between 12 different ministries/ departments such as Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport and Highways, Mines, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom, and Agriculture.

The prime minister said he got the idea for the scheme from a group of migrant workers, trained in white washing, who repaired and painted a government school in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh as a thank you gesture.

The school was their quarantine centre.

Before launching the scheme, Modi spoke to several migrants and enquired their current state of employment and also whether the various welfare schemes launched during the lockdown period were available to them.

Modi said that earlier money used to be given in the name of beneficiaries but it never reached them. Now things have changed, he said.

In the beginning of his speech, Modi paid homage to the soldiers of the Bihar Regiment who lost their lives in a violent clash with Chinese troops at LAC in eastern Ladakh.

A total of 25,000 'returnee' migrant workers across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have been chosen for the campaign.

Officials said the Garib Kalyan Rozgyar Abhiyan is separate from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The MGNREGS ensures 100 days of employment per household in a year.

MGNREGS is applicable across the country and a large number of works are allowed under the scheme even working on own farms by small Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe farmers is allowed and government pay wages to them.

Whereas the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana is a one-time scheme for providing employment to migrant workers who returned during the lockdown near their villages.

This scheme is only applicable to 116 districts with a selected list of works initially for 125 days. Later it could be extended, the officials said.
OTTAWA, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On National Indigenous Peoples Day, the stories of 12 Indigenous professionals across the country are celebrated in Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada)s A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals.



PLT Canadas guide highlights Indigenous professionals from across Canada  role models who have found success in in green careers in forests and parks that align with their traditional values and love for the environment.

Indigenous Peoples are Canada's original forest and conservation professionals. Today, they shape every facet of the sector, creating even more opportunity for their communities and for the next generation of young leaders in the process, said Paul Robitaille, Senior Manager, Indigenous and Youth Relations, Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Their work inspires us. By sharing their stories, we hope to inspire even more young Indigenous people to find a place for themselves in the forest.

Lennard Joe grew up on a British Columbia ranch. He is a member of the Shackan Indian Band.

I was in the bush all the time, he said. My love for nature grew from there.

One day, Joe, a registered professional forester, noticed that none of the logging trucks going through the community belonged to them. From that realization, his community built Stuwix Resources Joint Venture, an SFI-certified company jointly owned by eight First Nations in British Columbia. Companies that are certified to SFI are committed to responsible forestry practices, respecting Indigenous rights, protecting water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and species at risk.

Now, First Nations individuals, companies and communities are participating in and helping care for all that the forest has to offer, he said. First Nations are no longer just a stakeholder. Now we have opportunities to start influencing change at the larger level and creating an environment in which others can grow and succeed.

Story continues

In addition to being a general manager at the SFI-certified Stuwix Resources, Joe sits on PLT Canadas and SFIs Board of Directors as a representative of the Scwexmx Tribal Council.

Michelle Botham also works in the forest sector. But she got her first green job at 42. Shes been working full-time at Hme Entreprises in Thunder Bay since her Silviculture Summer Student job in 2015.

Sometimes life takes you down a path you never expected. Take the knowledge and experience you gain along the way with you into your future roles, she said.

Be it supervising tree planting, collecting field data or managing summer students, every day as a forestry technician is different, she said.

Botham is a member of the Lac Seul First Nation. She said she sees a lot more involvement of First Nations in sustainable forestry and thinks it will only become more attractive.

I think its important for First Nations people to get involved in forestry for our children and for our future, she said. In my compliance role, I help guarantee our traditional values are being considered in forest management. As First Nations, we can take a leadership role and help make a positive change.

Hme Entreprises is a PLT Canada Green Jobs employer, and they work in partnership with Ondaadiziwin Forest Management, an SFI-certified organization, owned by the Lac Seul First Nation.

Since 2018, PLT Canada has placed over 300 Indigenous youth from over 80 different Nations in green jobs in the forest and parks sector and has helped contribute to the growth of the Outland Youth Employment Program which provides meaningful and rewarding experiences for Indigenous youth interested in building skills and a support network while preparing for a job in natural resources.

One of our greatest priorities is supporting opportunities for Indigenous youth and their communities, said Kathy Abusow, CEO and President of PLT Canada. There are so many paths and so many amazing destinations to discover in the forest and conservation sector. I hope this guide inspires Indigenous youth to pursue a career that they love that is meaningful to them and their communities.

A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals will soon also be available in French, Plains Cree and Anishinaabemowin. The 60-page booklet reads at a high school level and was designed for PLT Canada by Design de Plume, an Indigenous-owned agency in Sudbury specializing in Indigenous communications. The booklet was also designed with accessibility in mind, and adheres to recognized standards, such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

To download A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals visit: www.PLTCanada.org/indigenous-voices .

About Project Learning Tree Canada

An initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Project Learning Tree Canada believes in a society that values and benefits from sustainably managed forests and the great outdoors. PLT Canada is committed to using the outdoors to engage youth in learning about the world around themin rural, Indigenous and urban communitiesand using trees and forests as windows on the world to inspire action and grow the next generation of future forest and conservation leaders.

For more information

Communications:

David Folkerson

Director, Communications

David.Folkerson@pltcanada.org

613-558-0083



Indigenous programming:



Paul Robitaille

Senior Manager, Indigenous and Youth Relations

Paul.Robitaille@pltcanada.org

613-288-5856
Nguyen Manh Phuong, director of the Hanoi Department of Plant Production and Protection talks on the citys plan to curtail the use of pesticides in agricultural production.

Officials of the Hanoi Department of Plant Production and Protection check on the use of pesticides in Trang Viet Commune, Me Linh District in Hanoi.  Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

What success has Hanoi had in reducing the use of pesticides in agriculture?

The success in cutting down the use of pesticide in the agriculture practice should be attributed to the timely instruction and transfer of science and technology to Hanoi's farmers.

In the past three years, Hanoi's agriculture sector has issued hundreds of documents on how to use pesticides during crop cultivation.

We  the Hanoi Department of Plant Cultivation and Protection, have issued quite a few sets of documents on how best to use pesticides during crop cultivation to farmers. We have also worked closely with all district and commune Peoples Committees in Hanoi to launch campaigns on how to use pesticides properly to Hanoi farmers and shops selling pesticides. Adding to that, we have also worked with all communal Peoples Committees in Hanoi to publish guiding books on how to use fertiliser and pesticide for farmers.

In the past three years, the Hanoi Department of Plant Cultivation and Protection has organised 63 workshops to train almost 6,000 shop-owners and farmers on how to properly manage and use pesticides.

What other factors have helped cut the use of pesticides in Hanoi's agriculture?

Legal documents on the use of pesticides issued by Hanoi authorities have also played a positive role in reducing the use of pesticides.

Adding to that, regular inspections on sales and use of plant pesticides by public agencies have also helped to reduce illegal sales of pesticides.

The total area under the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Hanoi is about 60 per cent. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 ha of vegetable has been certified as organic.

Does Hanoi face any challenges in managing the use of pesticides?

At present Hanoi has 116 enterprises engaged in the manufacturing and selling and buying of pesticides, plus 1,158 shops buying and selling pesticides. We face quite a big challenge in the management of the sale of pesticides in the city, particularly in areas between Hanoi and neighbouring provinces.

More than 1,700 chemical agents have been used in the pesticides  this is a big challenge for the farmers to remembers the name of chemicals and toxic degrees of each chemical. It is also a big challenge for authorities in controlling the buying and selling of these pesticides in the free market.

What should authorities do to have good management of pesticides in the free market?

We should launch regular campaigns on integrated pest management to raise farmers awareness on safe use of pesticides. We should also launch campaigns to raise the awareness of pesticide manufactures as well as authorities both at the grassroots level and government agencies. Besides, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should tighten registration of pesticides and eliminate any pesticides that may have harmed farmers or consumers health. Thats why the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should work with concerned agencies to issue a legal document on the use of prohibited pesticides which may harm peoples health.

The Hanoi Municipal Peoples Committee should ask the Peoples Committees, at both the district and communal levels, to play their roles in monitoring the quality of the agriculture materials and food safety together with concerned agencies, including the police and market management forces. VNS

Vietnam to adopt pesticide-free agricultural model: experts Vietnam needs to shift from the use of conventional pesticides to biopesticides to better manage weed growth, maintain a high agricultural yield, avoid resistant species, protect soil biodiversity and erosion, and reduce green-house emissions,
Graphic Online's Chris Nunoo reports that two agents who are to monitor the elections at the Joy Academy School polling station at the Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro Constituency in Greater Accra engaged in fisticuffs over the removal of a banner and posters of one of the five aspiring candidates from the precinct of the polling station.



The misunderstanding which was further marred by the insistence of Mr Hopeson Adorye that removal of the banner and posters was an electoral offence delayed the commencement of the elections for about 15 minutes.



The Presiding Officer, Mr Abraham Essiem, together with a member of the NPP constituency elections committee and police officers on duty engaged the agents and other members of the party to remove the banner and posters which according to the electoral officer must be about 100 meters away from the polling station.



Mr Adorye who was in the company of Mr Sylvester Tetteh, one of the aspiring parliamentary candidates disagreed with the directive insisting that the removal of the banner and posters was an electoral offence.



The back and forth continued until security personnel and the electoral officers managed to calm tempers for the posters and banner to be removed for the process to proceed at about 7:15 am



As of 8:05 am, 21 out of a total of 75 delegates had cast their ballot without any further incident.



Mr Essiem said out of the 75 two were votes by proxy.



At the Mary Star of the Sea International School polling station at Ngleshi Amanfro, the Presiding Officer, Mr Samuel Mingle said 31 delegates out of the expected 171 had cast their ballot as at 8:30am.



Graphic Online observed that the process was smooth with all the stakeholders strictly observing the social distancing and the hygiene protocols.



There was an instance when a delegate was turned away by one of the electoral officers at Joy Academy polling station for not wearing a nose mask.



The police were also at hand to provide security and to safeguard the process.



The Bortianor-Ngleshi Amanfro Constituency NPP Parliamentary elections is taking place in all six electoral areas in the constituency.



They are, Galilea, Akwaasa, Kokrobite, Gedan Tuba, Bortianor and Ngleshi Amanfro electoral areas.



Five candidates including the incumbent Alhaji Habib Saad are contesting the elections.



Alhaji Saad is being challenged by Mr Sylvester Tetteh, who is the head of the National Youth Authority (NYA) and a former NPP parliamentary candidate for Prampram, Mr George Osei Wadee, Mr Frederick Abban who is said to be with the Yourh Employment Agency and Gifty Mensah, a teacher and former polling station executive of the party.





Source: Daily Graphic









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In the words of the immortal Malcom X, "The day that the black man takes an uncompromising step and realises that he's within his rights, when his own freedom is jeopardised, to use any means necessary to bring about his freedom or put a halt to that injustice, I don't think he will be by himself". Malcolm X's words perfectly encapsulate the state of Africans in America today.

Strolling through my Twitter feed this past week, I happened to chance upon GEORGE FLOYD, a name that kept appearing on my Twitter feed. The information about it was not clear, they say curiosity kills the cat, but curiosity rewarded the proverbial cat with a big meat, that is information about George Floyd's not so surprising murder. It was not surprising to me because from the very onset of the white man in Africa, my people have been killed beyond count and have gone unscathed, and this continues to happen to this day. And as usual there is riot, demonstration which fizzles out and things return to normal; Police brutality against blacks.

From Antwon Rose, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott to Erica Garner who uttered the now famous words as George Floyd, 'I CAN'T BREATH', there have been numerous riots against the killings but it still persists.

In the quietness of my room, I asked myself, What is the solution to this problem of my people being constantly killed in another man's land?

Marcus Garvey's plan of Africans in the diaspora came to mind, but I thought of what if the Africans on the African continent unite and become a powerful continent, one that would stand up for the rights of it's citizens everywhere, as Chinese became respected by whites when they became powerful.

I have always wondered why Africans would not focus on developing Africa and finally realize that the white man never has our interest at heart over theirs, and this is evident throughout African history. The assassination of Patrice Lumumba by the Belgians in Congo, assassination of Gaddafi, the so-called abolishment of slavery in America, colonisation of African countries, IMF and World Bank loan conditionalities, the list can go on and on.

To cut the chase and be specific, it is only Africans who can make their life better. Demonstrating against the white man in his own country and yet no real changes are seen should be an eye opener for us but we shouldn't put our hopes that a change will occur because no matter the burning we do oppression will still continue.

Let's not forget the contribution of blacks to the civil war in America and after it were still oppressed, let's not forget Martin Luther Kings civil rights movement, yet Africans are still killed and no real change takes place. Sometimes these police officers go unscathed.

All I want is for my African brothers and sisters to realise that is time we awaken as a people, it's time we unite, it's time we made Africa for Africans, for we can never be truly free in our oppressors land, and we can never be free when those home also yield to the same oppressor.

George Floyd's murder is the white man telling us to get off his land.

It should be a point for us to rise a a people.

AFRICA MUST UNITE

#AFRICA MUST AWAKEN.
Simon Cawkwell has taken out a 'substantial' short position on online retailer Boohoo

The investor known in the City as 'Evil Knievil' has taken out a bet against stock market darling Boohoo.

Simon Cawkwell, who gained the nickname for placing risky bets on falling share prices, has taken out a 'substantial' short position on the online retailer.

Short-sellers borrow stocks, sell them and then hope to buy them back for less, returning them to the original investor at a profit.

The move on Boohoo comes after ShadowFall  run by an analyst dubbed the 'Dark Destroyer'  argued in late May that Boohoo had misled investors about its cashflow.

Cawkwell, who recently made money from shorting shares in German payments firm Wirecard, said: 'I'm surprised people have not criticised [Boohoo's management] more but they will in due course. They will come unstuck.'

However, he added: 'I'm not sure on timing. The market seems minded to ignore the ShadowFall report.'

Boohoo was founded in 2006 by Mahmud Kamani, 55, and Carol Kane, 53. It has a market capitalisation of 5.2billion.

It recently acquired Oasis and Warehouse for 5.25million and it spent 330million to take control of PrettyLittleThing from Kamani's son, Umar.

It owns other brands including Karen Millen. Its shares closed at 4.13 on Friday.

A Boohoo spokesman said: 'We strongly refute the allegations.'
She recently celebrated three years of sobriety as she admitted her life has improved dramatically after going alcohol free.

And Melanie Sykes appeared in very high spirits as she was spotted arriving at BBC radio studios in London on Saturday.

The presenter, 49, looked effortlessly chic in a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue denim jacket that she wore over a slogan t-shirt which read: 'I love social distancing'.

Happy: Melanie Sykes appeared in very high spirits as she was spotted arriving at BBC radio studios in London on Saturday

Melanie teamed her casual and comfortable look with a pair of bright white trainers and a black bandana around her neck.

The brunette beauty wore her luscious locks loose in waves and added a pop of colour to her look with a slick of red nail polish.

Melanie beamed from ear to ear as she arrived at work and seemed as though she didn't have a care in the world.

She posted a picture to her Instagram showing her in the recording studio smiling while showing off her t-shirt. She captioned the snap: 'Ont radio at 10am - 1pm with Alan Carr in a socially distant way at Wogan house.'

Casual cool: The presenter, 49, looked effortlessly chic in a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue denim jacket that she wore over a slogan t-shirt which read: 'I love social distancing'

Last month, Mel celebrated three years of sobriety after admitting her life has improved dramatically as a direct consequence of being alcohol free.

The presenter, who found fame in a series of light-hearted ads for Boddingtons Brewery, kicked off her weekend by celebrating the milestone with her Instagram followers.

Taking to the social media platform, Melanie revealed the date was also significant because it marked the two-year anniversary of a life-changing trip to India with her close friend, Adam Phillips.

Sharing a fresh-faced selfie with her 240,000 followers, she wrote: 'Yo yo yo good morning lovelies hope you are all well.

New top? She posted a picture to her Instagram showing her in the recording studio smiling while showing off her t-shirt

'I gave up alcohol completely 3 years ago today whoop whoop and today also marks the 2 year anniversary of my life changing holiday to India with @adamskionline (how amazing was that trip babes?).

'Anyway blah di blah I'm doing a little dance and you can't stop me! have a good and positive day y'all. ps and for those asking, no I don't miss it because it's toxic bulls**t!'

Melanie has been focusing on self-improvement after she was left 'gutted' when her relationship with Steve Coogan, 54, came to an end last year.

It's said she began to grow increasingly concerned the Alan Partridge star didn't want to settle down with her amid their largely low-key romance.

A source told The Sun: 'Mel is gutted it didn't work out - but although she is disappointed, she is not that surprised.

'She was worried that he wasn't committing and wasn't keen on family stuff or getting too involved with her two teenage sons.

They went on to say that the pair were together 'properly' for six months, but their romance 'never got too serious.'

The publication concluded it was Mel's decisions to call it quits, but there's 'no hard feelings' between the two.

MailOnline contacted Mel's representatives for comment at the time.
China Interfered In US Elections, Yet Contradicted Boltons Claims; Beijing Enters Wartime State

Former national security adviser John Bolton is claiming in an upcoming book that President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for help winning the 2020 election, and Boltons account is now being disputed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer who was at the meeting.

Boltons characterization of the meeting is unlikely, however, even based on public reporting. At the time, in 2018 and 2019, China was accused of trying to interfere in the 2020 elections by placing sanctions on US farmers to turn the American heartland against Trumps harsh trade policies with China. We explain, based on public reporting and direct statements from the CCP, the full context of what took place.

And in China, heavy flooding in the South is raising concerns over the integrity of the Three Gorges Dam. It was widely reported in 2019 that the Three Gorges Dam appeared distorted, and in an elastic state. Satellite images appeared to show the dam bending. The CCP excused the rumors, and said the dam had moved a few millimeters from changes in temperature and water level.

Well be discussing these stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.

Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.

Join Patreon to Support Crossroads: https://www.patreon.com/Crossroads_Joshua
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Here is our weekly roundup of coronavirus facts, figures and numbers regarding Cleveland, Ohio, the United States and the world June 13-19:

June 13: Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci (bottom right photo, above) says he supports the NBAs re-start plan, which involves isolating players to compete in one city. President Donald Trump addresses West Points graduating class, calling coronavirus an invisible enemy and saying We will vanquish the virus, we will extinguish this plague, CNN reports. Officials in El Salvador announce the economy will begin reopening stages on Tuesday, June 16.

June 14: Ohio Department of Health reports that 41,148 Ohioans have been infected by coronavirus, and 2,557 have died. Highest rates of Cuyahoga County virus cases continue to be found in the eastern suburbs, though the number of new suburban cases continues to decline from a record high in May. Cumulatively, 3,694 suburban residents have had coronavirus. Total number of cases among Cleveland residents reaches 1,817, with 74 deaths.

June 15: In March, the transmission rate - called R naught - was 2. The state is now below 1. Northeast Ohio stands at about .88, meaning each person with the virus infects fewer than one person. The Goodyear Blimp begins a four-day stint to show appreciation for hospital workers and essential employees. At least 2,573 Ohioans have died with confirmed or probable cases. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum reopens after restrictions are lifted. Akron officials say the city will hold smaller July 4th firework shows instead of its huge annual downtown display. Ohio counties with the most deaths: Franklin (332), Cuyahoga (315), Lucas (282), Mahoning (216), Summit (194) and Hamilton (179). Summit County has reported a total of 1,675 cases.

June 16: Startling numbers: Over the two years that the United States fought in World War I, the nation suffered about 116,500 military deaths. Coronavirus has eclipsed that toll in four months, hitting 116,963 deaths nationwide. About 26% of the worlds deaths from coronavirus have occurred in the United States. Almost 2,600 Ohioans have died from confirmed or probable cases. So far, 42,010 cases have been identified across Ohio. Clevelands death tally stands at 75. Several states are seeing surges of cases. A Washington Post analysis says nine states - Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas - reported single-day highs or set a record for seven-day new-case averages.

June 17: At least 1,860 patients of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Ohio have died infected with coronavirus , accounting for 71% of all known Covid-19 related deaths in the state. In Cleveland, 21 cases are confirmed by health officials. That pushes the total confirmed cases in the city to 1,860. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo reopens. Tucson.com says Tucson Mayor Regina Romero (top left photo, above) announces via Twitter that she will amend her emergency proclamation to make wearing masks in public mandatory. The Guardian reports a new outbreak is spreading through Beijing, which has a population of more than 20 million.

June 18: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls a coronavirus hotspot in five counties around Cincinnati and Dayton "worrisome." The counties are Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Warren and Hamilton counties.

June 19: Ohio has at least 43,122 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, up 700 from Wednesday. At least 2,633 Ohioans have died with confirmed or probable coronavirus. Cleveland officials say 29 more residents have been confirmed as testing positive. The city's total of confirmed cases is 1,889. While several states across the country this week have reported record numbers of new cases, the rolling seven-day average for new cases in the Cleveland and Akron area is at its lowest point since March 28.

Previous coverage

Coronavirus timeline: Restrictions mount throughout Northeast Ohio

Coronavirus timeline March 21-27

Coronavirus timeline March 28-April 3

Coronavirus timeline April 4-10

Coronavirus timeline April 11-17

Coronavirus timeline April 18-24

Coronavirus timeline April 25-May 1

Coronavirus timeline May 2-8

Coronavirus timeline May 9-15

Coronavirus timeline: May 16-22

Coronavirus timeline: May 23-29

Coronavirus timeline: May 30-June 5

Coronavirus timeline: June 6-12
New Delhi:

BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday congratulated the Indian Army for successfully carrying out the surgical strikes across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29. She also hailed the Narendra Modi government for fulfilling its promises made to the people of the country.

However, she said that the Centres decision was delayed and that action should have been taken after the Uri attacks.

Congratulations to Indian Army for carrying out successful surgical strike. The central government fulfilled its promise but the decision was delayed. The action should have been taken after the Pathankot terror attacks, said Mayawati.

Had the surgical strikes been carried out after the Pathankot attacks, the Uri attacks wouldnt have happened, she said.

India launched surgical strikes across the LoC, 11 days after a terrorist attack in army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri. At least 18 soldiers were martyred in the attack.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Internal affairs reports about former Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgrove - who resigned last year after using racist and sexist slurs - will remain shielded from public view, a state Appellate Court ruled Friday.

Richard Rivera, a former West New York cop who became a whistleblower, filed a request under the states Open Public Records Act (OPRA) for all internal affairs reports about Cosgrove and sued the prosecutors office after its denial. Rivera filed his OPRA request after NJ Advance Media first reported on the complaints against Cosgrove, which were later sustained by the prosecutors office.

CJ Griffin, an attorney who represented Rivera, said the only reason the public knows what Cosgrove did was because at least one person who lodged a complaint against him ultimately went to the press. However, the public does not know how long it went on or whether city officials or police superiors knew about it.

The (internal affairs) records could have shed light on that and led to further accountability, Griffin told NJ Advance Media. We simply cannot shield information about racism and sexism from the public - Black lives are in danger because we do.

The Union County Prosecutors Office declined to comment on the state Appellate Courts ruling.

The City of Elizabeth was allowed to join the case and helped appeal to shield the records. An Elizabeth spokeswoman and an attorney who represented the city did not respond to a request for comment.

Fridays decision reverses a Superior Court judges ruling. The lower court ordered the Union County Prosecutors Office to submit internal affairs files on Cosgrove for an in-camera review, a private viewing done by a judge so they could determine what to release publicly.

The lower court ruled that it would redact any names and circumstances to protect the identity of the complainants or witnesses. But the higher court on Friday questioned whether that process would be enough.

The identity of those persons can often be readily determined from context or information that a judge conducting an in camera review may deem innocuous, the appellate panel wrote. The ability to identify the complainants and witnesses may well impair their safety and otherwise put them at risk of retribution or intimidation.

Internal affairs reports are rarely publicly released.

NJ Advance Media was able to report on the internal investigation because a private attorney, Josh McMahon, notified the prosecutors office that police department employees heard Cosgrove using the n-word and c-word to refer to staff. McMahon later forwarded a letter written by the prosecutors office that showed the results of its investigation to reporters.

The revelation about Cosgrove led to a major shakeup in law enforcement throughout the county. The state Attorney General appointed a new acting prosecutor in Union County in the wake of the scandal, the mayor also selected a new police director and Elizabeths police chief has since retired.

The prosecutors office, in its denial to Rivera, said internal affairs records are personnel records exempt under OPRA and state Attorney General guidelines make the files confidential. Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay Ruotolo later released a report that gave an overview of internal affairs complaints lodged against the police over a ten-month period in 2019, but none specifically mentioned Cosgrove.

State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal this week, in the wake of George Floyds death, ordered all law enforcement agencies to annually publish a list of law enforcement officers who were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days due to a disciplinary violation.

But Griffin, the attorney who argued for public records in this case, said the new policy wouldnt have applied to Cosgrove because he resigned and was never terminated or suspended. She called on state lawmakers to legislatively make full internal affairs files public instead.

We will file a petition for certification with the Supreme Court, but are also pressing for legislative changes, Griffin said. We believe the Legislature must act quickly. This moment demands transparency.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
Mumbai, June 20 : Maharashtra on Saturday notched single-day high of 3,874 coronavirus cases -- up from peak 3,827 a day earlier -- even as state capital Mumbai recorded its new high of 136 deaths in a day out of total 160 fatalities in the state.

The state's death toll shot up from 142 a day earlier to 160 -- down by 18 from the previous peak of 178 recorded on June 15, health officials said here.

With this, the state's death toll climbed to 5,984 and total corona cases shot up to 128,205, with a recovery rate of 50.04 per cent, the highest in the country.

For most days in June, the state has recorded three-digit deaths and 3K plus in new patients daily.

This comes to roughly one death every 9 minutes, and a whopping 161 new cases notched every hour in the state, with a mortality (death) rate of 4.67 per cent, causing big worries.

The Health Department said a positive sign was that 58,054 'active cases' were lower than patients cured. As many as 1,380 patients were cured and sent back home on Saturday, taking the total such cases to 64,153 -- higher than the 58,054 'active cases'.

The city's death toll is now up from Friday's 3,425 to 3,561, while the positive cases have gone up by 1,190 to 65,329 now.

Ten more deaths were reported in Nashik, 6 in Aurangabad, 5 in Pune, and one each in Beed, Jalna and Solapur.

There was a surprise from Dharavi - Asia's biggest slum - which recorded only 7 new cases, taking the total cases to 2,158. The fatalities total 79.

The MMR (Thane division) remains an issue of concern with 4,413 Covid-19 deaths, and positive cases totalling 94,165.

Thane - with 23,212 cases and 675 fatalities - has emerged as the second worst-hit district after Mumbai in the state, but did not record any fatality for the second consecutive day.

Pune district has dropped to the third position with 15,286 patients and 615 deaths till now. Yet, Pune division ranks second (after MMR) with 18,287 patients and 834 deaths.

However, the Pune district on Saturday recorded lower death toll of 587 compared with 610 on June 19, with Pune division's fatalities 797 compared with 829 on Friday.

There has been similar inexplicable drop in death toll figures for other divisions, but officials were not available for comments on the matter.

Meanwhile, the number of people sent in home-quarantine increased to 594,719 from from 591,049 on Friday, while those in institutional quarantine decreased from 25,697 to 25,099.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton is a ''very credible witness'' and his allegations about the Trump administration should be believed, a former British ambassador to Washington said Friday.

Bolton's book about Trump's behaviour in the White House has caused a storm, with administration officials seeking to ban it claiming that publication could harm America's national security.

But the former ambassador, Nigel Sheinwald, said Bolton was a very credible figure.

The book would contribute to the view that Trump lacked a grasp of key issues, Sheinwald said.

"He subjugates everything to his own personal and ultimately electoral interest," he added. "He's not interested in policy."

Sheinwald, who served as ambassador to the US between October 2007 and January 2012, said there was widespread concern over Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the anti-racism protests sweeping the United States.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Washington  Sat, June 20, 2020 09:51 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406603bffc 2 News united-states,Airlines,China,travel Free

The United States on Friday rejected a request by Chinese airlines for additional weekly flights between the two countries, but said the decision was not meant to escalate tensions over travel restrictions.

In a statement, the US Department of Transportation said the decision was made to "maintain the parity" in scheduled passenger services between the two countries, adding it was willing to review the decision if Chinese aviation authorities adjusted their policies affecting US carriers.

"The Department has conveyed to our Chinese counterparts that this order is a procedural matter only and that it should not be viewed as an escalation on our part," the Transportation Department statement said.

Earlier this week, the United States and China said they would each allow four weekly flights between the two countries.

The Transportation Department said on Monday in its revised order on China flights that the US government still hoped China will agree to restore full US flight rights under their bilateral aviation agreement.

The United States had threatened to bar Chinese passenger flights on June 16 due to Beijing's curbs on US airlines amid simmering tensions between the world's two largest economies, and has raised concerns about the number of charter flights Chinese carriers want to fly.

Among US airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had each sought to restart daily passenger flights to China in June but changed their plans in the absence of government approval.
Iran confirms death of fugitive judge, urges Romania to explain details

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 4:58 PM

Iran's Foreign Ministry has confirmed reports about the death of a fugitive Iranian judge in a fall from a hotel window in Romania's capital.

"We call on Romania's officials and police to fulfill their legal duties and present an official report to us about the exact reason of this incident," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday.

Judge Gholamreza Mansouri, he said, had been to Iran's Embassy in Bucharest to discuss possible ways to return to the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman added that the dead judge had been arrested by the International Criminal Police Organization, known as the Interpol, as a prosecution had been brought against him by Iran's Judiciary.

According to preliminary reports, Mansouri apparently fell out of a window in the Duke Hotel at 2:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) Friday. It is not clear whether he jumped out or was pushed out into his death.

Iranian Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaeili announced on Saturday that the judge, accused of receiving 500,000 in bribes, had been arrested in Romania.

"This person is in the custody of Interpol in Romania and necessary arrangements have been made to extradite him; but given that the country does not have foreign flights at all due to the coronavirus, the extradition will be done with a delay," Esmaeili said.

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The Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) on Wednesday urged the pan-Europe body not to create new trade barriers under the pretext of subsidies.

"It is hoped that the relevant EU measures will comply with the basic principles of the WTO (World Trade Organization), keep clear of protectionist moves, and refrain from creating new trade barriers under the pretext of subsidies," said a spokesperson for the mission, calling on the EU to foster "a good business environment for the operation and development of foreign-invested enterprises."

The EU on Wednesday released a white paper on foreign subsidies, which is open for public consultation. According to the paper, measures will be taken to "address the distortive effects of foreign subsidies on the EU single market."

The EU needs to avoid "sending negative signals" to the outside world, especially at the moment when countries are joining their hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the spokesperson said.

"Subsidy is a commonly used policy instrument," the spokesperson said, noting that developed countries are the primary users of subsidy policies.

China is following the WTO rules and its commitments made on its accession to the organization, the spokesperson said, noting that "China's subsidy measures are primarily designed to encourage environmental protection and energy conservation, support R&D activities and innovation, and promote optimization of corporate structure."

"China strictly observes the WTO transparency principle on subsidies by making regular notification of the revision, adjustment and implementation of the relevant laws, regulations and measures," the spokesperson added.
Hanoi police caught 38-year-old Nguyen Manh Hung red-handed Wednesday when he was hosting two kidney sellers in a hotel in Phuc La Ward, Ha Dong District.

Since last June, Hung had been working at a construction site inside the Military Hospital 103 in the district. The job allowed him to meet patients who needed kidney transplants. Hung, aware there were people willing to sell their kidneys, decided to become an organ broker.

He rented hotels in Phuc La Ward where he looked after and fed kidney sellers, promising them VND250-300 million ($10,750-12,900) per kidney once the transplant was successful.

Vietnams gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2019 was almost $2,800.

Preliminary investigations show that since last November Hung had successfully brokered kidneys for many people, but the police have only been able to get details of two cases so far.

In one case, Hung arranged for a 27-year-old man from the northern province of Thai Binh to sell his kidney to a 41-year-old female patient in the central province of Nghe An, charging her VND350 million ($15,000) late last year.

Hung kept VND100 million for himself and gave the rest to the organ donor.

In another case in March this year, he hosted a 32-year-old man from Hanoi in a hotel and sold his kidney to a 27-year-old male patient from Ha Tinh Province in central Vietnam.

On April 8, when the transplant was conducted successfully at Military Hospital 103, Hung was paid VND480 million and gave the donor VND280 million.

Hung is being investigated for "trading human body parts," an offense that can be punished with life imprisonment.

Organ trafficking schemes in Vietnam are fueled by a shortage of donations, as many people in the country believe they need all their body parts for the afterlife. This belief potentially deprives thousands of patients, suffering from heart, kidney, liver and lung diseases as also visual impairments, of timely, life-saving solutions.
Statistics on immigration into Canada reflects the number of people migrating into the country with the intent of residing in Canada. In most cases, the end result is Canadian Citizenship. Over the past several decades, domestic immigration policy has undergone dramatic changes. In 2002, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was formed. This act reflects the primary laws surrounding immigration in Canada today.

Immigration Trends In Canada

Since its colonization in the 1500s, immigration into Canada has seen a steady increase. The demographic of immigrants has evolved. Up until the mid-1900s, the majority of immigrants into the country primarily came from Europe. Since that time, Canada has seen the demographics shift to an influx of immigrants from Asian nations.

The primary categories of immigrants can be broken down into three groups:

Family Class - permits citizens or permanent residents to sponsor family members to be allowed into Canada.

Economic Class - provides admission into Canada to applicants and family members who have a proven ability to contribute to the economy of the nation. Economic Class is the group with the highest number of acceptances according to data from 2017.

Refugee Class - allows admission into Canada for refugees and others who require humanitarian protection.

Data suggests the majority of immigrants into Canada are well-educated. Most immigrants have earned a degree from a university or post-secondary certificate. Even though most immigrates are educated, over the last several years their average unemployment rate of immigrants is 0.4% higher than that of natural-born Canadians. Studies have shown that the longer immigrants remain in the country, the more likely they are to find employment.

Why Some Provinces see Higher Immigration Rates Than Others

Sign at the entrance of Immigrants Service Canadian Welcome Center in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Image credit: Ivaivar/Shutterstock.com

In 2019, Ontario welcomed 139,071 immigrants into its province, making it the province with the most immigrants according to Statista. Many factors draw newcomers to this large, diverse province. Ontario is home to Canadas capital city of Ottawa and the nations largest city, Toronto. Nearly half of Torontos population are immigrants. Some of Canadas most prestigious universities are located in Ontario, another major draw to the province.

Many people migrate to Ontario for business opportunities. Many well-known corporations are headquartered within the province, and many multinational corporations conduct business in Ontario.

Those new to Ontario will find plenty of activities to enjoy from professional sporting events, national parks, historical sites to the world-famous, Niagara Falls.

While each Canadian province provides opportunities for success, most immigrants to Canada are drawn to provinces with the strongest economy and most economic advantages. Provinces like Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia top the list of provinces with the most immigration. Provinces offering limited economic advantages are relatively poorer provinces and lack a major city within their province. These experience a lower inflow of immigrants. While many of these provinces offer other favorable factors such as low crime rates and great places to raise a family, securing employment can be challenging.

What The Future Holds

People with colorful posters gathered at Yonge & Dundas to support the incoming Syrian refugees into Canada during a solidarity rally on November 22, 2015 in Toronto,Canada. Image credit: Arindambanerjee/Shutterstock.com

While Ontario offers many attractive amenities to immigrants, there has been a focus in recent years by many of the other Canadian provinces to encourage immigration. As these regions work to mirror the amenities found in Ontario, the future trend may be a shift in migration to provinces outside of Ontario. Polling results from 2014 indicate that the majority of Canadian citizens feel immigration is valuable to the nations economic future.
WINSTED  When Superintendent Anthony Serio and Principal Sue Sojka retire from the Gilbert School in 2021, a change in the schools leadership will likely begin.

The Gilbert School Corp. board is pursuing the idea of hiring a headmaster, whose sole responsibility would be overseeing the students in grades 7-12.

Earlier this year, the Gilbert board authorized an ad hoc committee to study the merits of having a shared superintendent  Serios position  or a headmaster. The committee sent the board its completed report this month, and members discussed it this week during a regular meeting.

The committee, made up of community members, a student representative and school administrators, recommended that Gilbert hire a headmaster for the 2021-22 school year.

Sojka explained that because she and Serio are leaving at the same time, the school corporation decided to establish the ad hoc committee to review their positions and look at other options. Sojka is principal for grades 7-12, while Serio is a half-time superintendent for the Gilbert School. Among his other duties, such as working with the school boards at Gilbert and Winchester Public Schools, he is also a half-time head of school for Gilberts international student program.

When Tony and I leave at the end of next year, the ad hoc committee is recommending (Gilbert hires) a headmaster, instead of hiring a principal and filling the half-superintendent position, Sojka said.

If the Gilbert board were to hire a headmaster, the Gilbert Trust would choose its own replacement to oversee the international program. The trust will have to hire its own person to oversee areas of the trust, including the international program, Serio said.

Serio sees having a headmaster lead the Gilbert School as a positive step.

I think its great that there will be a separation from the trust and the school, he said. Now, the trust will have a person, and the school will have its own person. Were not going to hire a new superintendent.

The ad hoc committee, as part of its study on hiring options, investigated the sharing of a superintendent Region 6 and the Litchfield Public Schools do, and arrangement that has been in place for more than a year with Chris Leone.

File photo /

During this weeks meeting, the Gilbert board discussed that portion of the committees report.

Regarding the (ad hoc committees) conversation with Chris Leone about the success of the merger of Region 6 and Litchfield, its generally felt that its worked out very well,Serio said. Thats a specific situation and shows that a shared model could work. But the ad hoc committee didnt think it would work for Gilbert; that the headmaster model is whats preferred at this time.

The ad hoc committee also advised instituting the headmaster position while evaluating other administrative jobs at Gilbert, including the director of student services, special education and guidance, and the assistant principal positions.

Board members Nora Mocarski and Kristin Petersen, who are also members of the Winchester school board, asked about teacher evaluations and discussing expanding Winchester Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanleys role.

During budget discussions and contract negotiations in April and May, the WPS school board indicated that they wanted Brady-Shanley to be superintendent of the Gilbert School as well as Winchester Public Schools. That was not considered in the ad hoc committees report.

What was considered was the opinions of students, members of the staff and the Gilbert community.

Based on meetings with the Administrative Team, the Gilbert Education Association (of parents), students and the International Team, the overwhelming consensus was to pursue the hiring of a Headmaster for the 2021-22 school year ... It was also recommended that the two Associate Principal positions and the Director of Student Services position not change until the Headmaster was hired, the committee wrote.

The committee felt it was important to have input from the Headmaster before changing those positions.

Student Evan Blass, who will be a senior in September and participated in the ad hoc committees study, said the students he surveyed agreed.

(They) felt deeply that it was imperative to have one person in the school that was just dedicated to Gilbert School, and had the best interests of the school in mind, Blass said. I absolutely did try my best to get a wide variety of voices .. (and) different grade levels. Their voices should be heard.

The next step for the Gilbert School board is to come up with a job description, which will be handled by the boards personnel subcommittee.

As far as the WPS school boards desire to keep a superintendent's position at Gilbert, and considering Brady-Shanley is concerned, Serio said Gilbert and WPS have not discussed it again.

The original proposal at the start of the year was that Melony be the superintendent for both schools, but we said we were going to do this ad hoc study, Serio said. Thats separate from (contract) negotiations.

At this point, its just a matter of going back and seeing if theyll sit down and negotiate, and come up with a contract for the Gilbert School and the WPS Board of Education to educate their students on the secondary level, Serio said.
UN investigators say tens of thousands of people have disappeared and they may be dead.

Rights groups are calling for political prisoners in Syria to be released, as the number of COVID-19 cases rises.

UN officials say the potential spread of the virus in prisons is extremely high.

A former detainee has appealed for help from the president of Russia, an ally of Syria.

Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr reports.
A civil court jury last November awarded $295 million in punitive damages each to Monson and to the families of Renschler and Goven. Jurors also awarded compensatory damages totaling $170 million to Monson and $36 million each to the families of the two women who died. Punitive damages are awarded as punishment; compensatory damages are meant to cover losses.

Morsette made several arguments in a motion for a new trial, including that evidence about his intoxication should not have been allowed during the damages phase of the trial because it was irrelevant and prejudicial.

Borgen acknowledged the evidence was prejudicial but said it did not outweigh the fact that the jury should be "provided the full picture of the true facts in this case." He called Morsette's intoxication "the salt in the wound" for the plaintiffs.

Borgen also rejected Morsette's claim of an excessive award and his technical arguments that errors were made at trial.

Attorney Tom Dickson, who represented Renschler's family, praised the ruling, saying what happened in June 2015 was "beyond senseless."
LOS ANGELES - A former Chicago businessman imprisoned for aiding terrorist groups has been arrested in Los Angeles to face murder charges in India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than 160 people, U.S. prosecutors said Friday.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, has been charged in India with conspiring to plot and carry out the deadly attacks that are sometimes referred to as Indias 9-11.

Rana, 59, was convicted of a terrorist charge connected to the group behind the Mumbai slayings, though U.S. prosecutors failed to prove he directly supported the four-day rampage.

Rana was serving a 14-year sentence when he was granted early release from a Los Angeles federal prison last week because of poor health and a bout of coronavirus. But he never got out of prison before being arrested to face extradition to India, prosecutors said.

He has been charged with murder and murder conspiracy in India, according to court documents. A request for comment from Ranas public defender was not immediately returned.

Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the India attack, and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The cartoons angered many Muslims because pictures of the prophet are prohibited in Islam.

Jurors cleared Rana of a more serious charge of providing support for the attacks in Mumbai, Indias largest city, that killed 166, injured nearly 240 and caused $1.5 billion in damage.

Ranas lawyer said at trial that he had been duped by his high school buddy, David Coleman Headley, an admitted terrorist who plotted the Mumbai attacks. The defence called Headley, the governments chief witness who testified to avoid the death penalty, a habitual liar and manipulator.

Rana was accused of allowing Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.

Prosecutors said Rana knew Headley had trained as a terrorist. Headley shared information of the scouting missions he conducted in Mumbai and of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where gunmen later slaughtered dozens of people.

Headley, who was born in the U.S. to a Pakistani father and American mother, said his hatred of India dated to his childhood when his school in Pakistan was bombed by Indian military planes during a war between the countries in 1971.

Months after the Mumbai attacks, Headley, who did not take part in the attacks, told Rana he was even with the Indians now, according to a court document. Rana said they deserved it.

Headley, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. As part of his plea deal, he cant be extradited to India.

Only one of the 10 Mumbai terrorists survived the attack and went on trial. He was convicted, sentenced to death in India and hanged.

___

Associated Press journalist Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C. contributed.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the terror attacks were over four days, not three.
ShivrajG BHPian



Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Pune/Bengaluru Posts: 154 Thanked: 694 Times

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re: Vibrant Pune to Enchanting Sikkim! The Fascinating Journey Day 6 contd...



Once we had our full share of Zero we bid adieu to the place and headed towards our hotel to complete the checkout formalities.



We asked if we could get some lunch to which they denied as Lunch hours start from 01:00 PM and we were ready to leave by 12:00 PM. Very strange behavior I have seen in Sikkim from the hotel management & staff.



I would not give them any points for hospitality.



We started for Gangtok at the same time and stopped for a quick Maggie and omlette lunch at the same cafe we stopped while on our way to Lachung.



There we met Tenzing,







he was the owners son and cute like a teddy bear. He was so adorable and cute that wifey could not help but held him in her arms. He started crying and as soon as she left him, he was all happy and excited to run around.







We forgot everything and played with him for next 15-20 mins.



Finally, it was time to leave and he was happily waving at us with both hands.

Taking these memories we started our return journey to Gangtok, on my way I called up Suraj to arrange a cab by 6 PM for Siliguri. He confirmed that there was ride coming in from Siliguri and he can take us to Siliguri however since its an Innova he will charge 3k instead of 2500 as promised earlier.



We were impressed with the driving skills of Prem with innova and happily agreed with Suraj. It started raining shortly and weather was all foggy. We reached Gangtok around 6:30 PM and called the driver to inquire on his location. We reached the location confirmed by him and boarded our ride to Siliguri.



The weather was cold and it was raining we started from Gangtok around 6:30 PM and asked the Driver Sanjay to take a quick coffee stop but he never listened.

This guy was scaring us. He was driving very fast and talking on his phone. He did that in the entire stretch of Gangtok city and once we were on highway he started a video call to someone and showing them how it was raining and all.



At one point of time I was about to shout at him, but wifey stopped me. She had a feeling that something bad is going to happen.



Finally after Rangpo this guy decided to stop at Oasis cafe. We had very nice coffee and cookies to eat.



This place in Rangpo is a must visit. Oasis Cafe-



We wrapped up quickly and moved on. Few minutes later we saw a Jam on the right side of the road although Left was free and we were cruising along.



Then comes an Sikkim registered alto trying to jump the line and get in the middle somewhere, Innova was very fast, We were already terrified of his driving and wide awake, we could see both cars trying to brake and almost ready for the head on collision. We held onto the passenger seats (we were not wearing seat belts too) but to no avail. Baaam! My shoulder almost dislocated, wifey hit her legs on the driver seat and driver hit the steering. For the next 5 mins we were in shock.



Nobody said anything except wailing in Pain.



Driver checked upon us and then got out, it was raining heavily and all we could see was the commotion.



I got out and saw two young people from Alto bleeding from the head and talking to driver. The damage was heavy on both sides. The Alto was gone for good. Innova was also looking pretty bad.













Apparently they were high on some kind of Drug and were going to Rangpo (My Guess).

Soon enough few people came in including some tourism officer and diffused the situation. I double-checked Wifeys condition and she was good apart from the jerk she had on her neck and legs.



After almost an hour of heated debate and police complaints, our driver was allowed to leave as he was in the correct lane.



Driver tried to start the innova, which obliged in one go, amazingly no major part was damaged and car was in running condition. Alto had to be towed away and was going nowhere. I was happy with Sikkim police politeness with Tourists.



After this we were worried about reaching Siliguri as the distance was still much to go. Driver called in for back up from Siliguri and around midway we were shifted in a Dzire and ferried away while Driver and his car owner looked at the damages.



We arrived at our pre-booked accommodation for the night and asked if we could get some food as we got into accident.

The hotel guy tried to get some food but to no avail it was around 11:30 PM and almost all hotels were closed.

We gave in to our fate and ate few cookies we carried from Cafe Oasis, we were very tired with todays journey and slept as soon as we hit the bed.



The next morning Journey from Siliguri-Bagdogra Airport to Ahmadabad was uneventful. Wait! We were travelling to Pune right? yes we had a layover of 7 hrs at Ahmadabad.



We have never been to Ahmadabad and didnt even know what to do. We were famished and craving for food so we searched for few good restaurant serving good Gujrati food. We stumbled upon Gwalbhog which was near the Airport.

We took an autorickshaw to the location and enjoyed the food to the core. I am a die hard Non veggie however the food at gwalbhog was exceptionally tasty and sumptuous.



After the Lunch we went to shopping in nearby mall. Once done with all of this time pass activities we went to Airport and waited for our flight back to Pune which was again uneventful.



In the end, I am grateful to all the people from Team BHP and blog posts who put lots of information about Sikkim and made this travel easy for us. Sikkim is still uncharted in my mind and it will be off the list only when I drive Brute to this heavenly place.



Adios Amigos till the time we meet again. Once we had our full share of Zero we bid adieu to the place and headed towards our hotel to complete the checkout formalities.We asked if we could get some lunch to which they denied as Lunch hours start from 01:00 PM and we were ready to leave by 12:00 PM. Very strange behavior I have seen in Sikkim from the hotel management & staff.I would not give them any points for hospitality.We started for Gangtok at the same time and stopped for a quick Maggie and omlette lunch at the same cafe we stopped while on our way to Lachung.There we met Tenzing,he was the owners son and cute like a teddy bear. He was so adorable and cute that wifey could not help but held him in her arms. He started crying and as soon as she left him, he was all happy and excited to run around.We forgot everything and played with him for next 15-20 mins.Finally, it was time to leave and he was happily waving at us with both hands.Taking these memories we started our return journey to Gangtok, on my way I called up Suraj to arrange a cab by 6 PM for Siliguri. He confirmed that there was ride coming in from Siliguri and he can take us to Siliguri however since its an Innova he will charge 3k instead of 2500 as promised earlier.We were impressed with the driving skills of Prem with innova and happily agreed with Suraj. It started raining shortly and weather was all foggy. We reached Gangtok around 6:30 PM and called the driver to inquire on his location. We reached the location confirmed by him and boarded our ride to Siliguri.The weather was cold and it was raining we started from Gangtok around 6:30 PM and asked the Driver Sanjay to take a quick coffee stop but he never listened.This guy was scaring us. He was driving very fast and talking on his phone. He did that in the entire stretch of Gangtok city and once we were on highway he started a video call to someone and showing them how it was raining and all.At one point of time I was about to shout at him, but wifey stopped me. She had a feeling that something bad is going to happen.Finally after Rangpo this guy decided to stop at Oasis cafe. We had very nice coffee and cookies to eat.This place in Rangpo is a must visit. Oasis Cafe- https://goo.gl/maps/VFxXhTVR6GPc3agG8 We wrapped up quickly and moved on. Few minutes later we saw a Jam on the right side of the road although Left was free and we were cruising along.Then comes an Sikkim registered alto trying to jump the line and get in the middle somewhere, Innova was very fast, We were already terrified of his driving and wide awake, we could see both cars trying to brake and almost ready for the head on collision. We held onto the passenger seats (we were not wearing seat belts too) but to no avail.My shoulder almost dislocated, wifey hit her legs on the driver seat and driver hit the steering. For the next 5 mins we were in shock.Nobody said anything except wailing in Pain.Driver checked upon us and then got out, it was raining heavily and all we could see was the commotion.I got out and saw two young people from Alto bleeding from the head and talking to driver. The damage was heavy on both sides. The Alto was gone for good. Innova was also looking pretty bad.Apparently they were high on some kind of Drug and were going to Rangpo (My Guess).Soon enough few people came in including some tourism officer and diffused the situation. I double-checked Wifeys condition and she was good apart from the jerk she had on her neck and legs.After almost an hour of heated debate and police complaints, our driver was allowed to leave as he was in the correct lane.Driver tried to start the innova, which obliged in one go, amazingly no major part was damaged and car was in running condition. Alto had to be towed away and was going nowhere. I was happy with Sikkim police politeness with Tourists.After this we were worried about reaching Siliguri as the distance was still much to go. Driver called in for back up from Siliguri and around midway we were shifted in a Dzire and ferried away while Driver and his car owner looked at the damages.We arrived at our pre-booked accommodation for the night and asked if we could get some food as we got into accident.The hotel guy tried to get some food but to no avail it was around 11:30 PM and almost all hotels were closed.We gave in to our fate and ate few cookies we carried from Cafe Oasis, we were very tired with todays journey and slept as soon as we hit the bed.The next morning Journey from Siliguri-Bagdogra Airport to Ahmadabad was uneventful. Wait! We were travelling to Pune right?yes we had a layover of 7 hrsat Ahmadabad.We have never been to Ahmadabad and didnt even know what to do. We were famished and craving for food so we searched for few good restaurant serving good Gujrati food. We stumbled upon Gwalbhog which was near the Airport.We took an autorickshaw to the location and enjoyed the food to the core. I am a die hard Non veggie however the food at gwalbhog was exceptionally tasty and sumptuous.After the Lunch we went to shopping in nearby mall. Once done with all of this time pass activities we went to Airport and waited for our flight back to Pune which was again uneventful.In the end, I am grateful to all the people from Team BHP and blog posts who put lots of information about Sikkim and made this travel easy for us. Sikkim is still uncharted in my mind and it will be off the list only when I drive Brute to this heavenly place. Last edited by ShivrajG : 19th June 2020 at 16:23 .
SAN FRANCISCO - A mountain lion that was captured roaming the streets of San Francisco this week may have killed three animals at the city zoo, authorities said.

Two wallaroos and a red kangaroo were found dead in their outdoor exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and it appears that a local wild carnivore was responsible, the zoo said in a statement, adding that it was investigating whether the cougar was responsible.

A 50-pound male cougar, believed to be under 2 years old, was spotted roaming downtown over several days this week. He was seen sleeping in a planter box and looking at his reflection in the glass of an office tower before being captured Thursday, officials said.

The animal appeared disoriented and may have gotten lost after travelling from hills south of the city, authorities said. He was checked out at the Oakland Zoo and released Thursday into a wilderness preserve.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Two Democracys | Badri Raina

Borrowing from the first famous sentence of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, it is a fact universally acknowledged that most aspiring young Indians love and wish to be in America for the following clutch of reasons: the economic opportunities it offers; the strength of its Institutions that respect merit; its adherence to law and order; the cleanness of its habitats; its military might, and its innovative technological predilections. Never mind that most of these attributes remain largely limited to white Americans.

But, here is a question: how many love America for making it possible for a local police chief to say in an open interaction with the media that if the President has no worthwhile ideas, he should shut his mouth (https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/donald-trump-houston-police-chief-george-floyd-us-protest-6438746/).

Or, for the fact that, during the course of the current protests against the brutal killing in broad daylight of a black man, and for peace , justice, and equality, not one but many police personnel should be forthrightly endorsing the protests, parading with the protestors, kneeling and praying with them, condemning police brutali y, even as they make the point that violent agitators with ulterior motives should not be allowed to hijack the just cause of the protests,all that without being slapped with charges of sedition? How many Indian police counterparts might be expected to do the same were peaceful demonstrations against excesses committed on Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims underway in India?

Or how many of these aspiring young Indians who love America might raise a voice for the incorporation of a First Amendment Right (to absolute freedom of expression so long as violence is not incited or committed) into the Constitution of the worlds largest democracya Right that makes possible what the Houston police chief has said?

Alas, the answer to that may not be encouraging.

Think back to the attitudes we witnessed among Indias America-loving elite during the course of the peaceful and popular protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the projected National Register of Citizens. The response from the elite was largely Trumpian, demanding dismantling of the protests, and the use of no-nonsense police actions against them. All that consistent with Trumpian calls to shoot the protestors raised by no less than elected scions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, How many elite voices were raised against the slapping of draconian charges against our protestors, or against the summary arrests and incarceration of conscientious and democratic voices among our civil rights activists? Rather few.

Indeed, if tomorrow the Shaheen Bagh phenomenon were to reappear in India, protesting the discriminatory treatment meted out to Indian Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, is it to be thought that the current experience in America and world-wide would have made a palpable dent in the middle classes who may make an occasional snide against Trump but remain devoted to the governing dispensation at home?

That then is the great difference that even law agencies in America recognize the right to peaceful protest against social evils like racism which they openly acknowledge to be a systemic feature of American life, and Indian state-apparatus that remains, with few exceptions, loyal to the ruling political voice. How many senior Indian police officers have we heard to acknowledge that caste discrimination is as systemic a feature of Indian life as racism is in America?

There has also been public recognition that racial discrimination did not end in the 1960s with path-breaking civil rights legislations but continues to be a fact of everyday life in America. Contrarily, one would be hard put to find a enior police officer in India who might publicly accept that law enforcement here is more often than not distorted by innate biases.

More crucially, what percentage of Indias America-loving elite might concede the view that endemic caste oppression in India requires both drastic institutional reform and sustained public outcry? Same about the barely concealed targeting of other minorities, both by social forces and official agencies? Not too many.

America was founded on the issue of religious freedom and individual libertycodified in the American Constitution, however those principles may have been dealt with by various American regimes, the worst being the Trump Presidency.

It is important to recall that the roots of the American revolt against the British colonisers lay as much in material causes as they did in the radical philosophical challenges to ancient regimes mounted by the work of the French Enlightenment thinkers. And, at the heart of that composite revolt resided a new commitment to dissent, both in mattters of faith and in all other aspects of cognitive life. Indeed the first settlers in the new world wre called Dissenters. The First Amendment Right of the American constitution derived directly from that commitment to dissent, recalling Volltaire: I may disagree with you, but I shall defend to the death your right to disagree with me.

Nor is it widely known that the right under the Second Amendment of the American constitution to bear arms had its philosophical roots in the right of citizens to defend themselves against tyrannical governmentssince then reduced to the notion of the right to defend personal property. One may quickly add the caveat that democratic states are best off without such a provision. One of the most derelict features of American social life continues to be the use of such private arms to often mow down innocent citizens in episodes of mass shootings.

In contrast, the Indian anti-colonial movement , although studded with individuals and organized social groups whose emancipatory ideals were neither in doubt nor dormant, ended up as a stifled compromise with retrograde archives of thought that looked upon the right to individual freedom and the right to dissent with given authority, both in the political and social spheres, as inimical to social unity, stability, and, at bottom, to the hegemony of feudal forms of dominance. The questioning of authority remained in the ruling Indian mind a potentially dangerous freedom, and one that needed to be curbed by contrary stipulations such as exist in Article 19(2) of the Indian constitution (see https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/Isnt-dissent-the-essence-of-democracy/article15598124.ece).

It would be a silly argument that the Americans have sorted out their racial bugbear whereas we are still saddled with our casteism an communalism. But it would not be a silly argument that whereas dissent as a deep-rooted principle continues to flourish there as an absolute value, our democracy, fundamental rights notwithstanding, makes it easy for a dispensation so inclined (like the present one) to obliterate dissent out of existence.

Thus, the police chief of Houston is not an exception. Imagine that the on-job Secretary of Defense in Trumps Executive Branch should organize a press briefing to express his dissent with the President on the latters intention to call out the army on active duty within American cities by invoking the Insurrection Act. Not to speak of the previous incumbent, General James Matttis, who has lambasted the President for asking the army to do the unthinkable, namely violate their oath to uphold the American constitution by being potentially asked to deny American citizens their constitutional right to peaceful protest. Or former army Generals like George Allen and Colin Powell who have openly expressed the apprehension that the Trump Presidency may be veering towards a dictatorship.

If such forthright critiques by Indian police or rmilitary personnel are unthinkable, it is not because such feelings do not exist among some, but that the lack of a First Amendment Right and a stern separation of powers and instruments of constitutionally mandated checks and balances do not feature in Indian political- constitutional life.

Speaking of upholding constitutional rights in India, enshrined for example not only in the Preamble but in several emancipatory legislations bearing on caste discrimination, here is a vignette from an authority most charged with upholding constitutional rights:

Only two decades ago a judge of a high court had the entire court premises purified with Ganga Jal (waters from the holy Ganges river) because the previous occupant had been a Dalit (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dalit-judge-moves-SC-over-courtroom-purification/articleshow/1637926210.cms#:~:text=new%20delhi%3A%20a%20scheduled%20caste,his%20%60upper%20caste%20successor.). Isnt it unlikely that such a thing would have been tolerated in the oldest democracy, even if some racist red-necks felt that black Americans should not be elevated to high offices?

Is it conceivable that the example of the protests in America and of their many police chiefs, like the one in Houston, will bring a new inspiration to both our elites and to our institutions in the event that peaceful mass protests are mounted for advancing the ideals of our constitution? If the experience of our migrant labour is anything to go by, the worlds largest democracy is aeons away from such an eventuality. It is noticeable that whereas protests in support of the rights of black Americans, and against racial discrimination in their own countries , have been mounted in many world Capitals, the virus notwithstanding, the Indian psyche remains unperturbed by what is happening to America, and unwilling to connect all that to the facts of life in India. Indeed, were civil rights activists here to attempt any such supportive demonstrations, the powers-that-be would quickly stamp out any such presumption. Think that the head of Amnesty International here, Aakar Patel, has already had a case filed against him for merely speculationg the desirability of such protests in India. Besides, who knows that such demonstration might someday encourage some Americans to demonstrate against the stifling of democratic rights in India.

Nor is it to be thought that our law enforcement agencies and their employers would take any lessons from the fact that not one live bullet has been fired during the course of the on-going protests in America, notwithstanding Trumps historically charged threat that if there is looting there will be shooting.

Think also that many members of Trumps party have expressed open disfavour of Trumps declaration that he is the President of law and order, in so far as that reveals a response to citizens rightful protests wholly contrary to constitutional stipulations and traditions of dissent. Contrast that with what we are told everyday by scions of the ruling establishmentthat every social or political issue in India is a law and order problem, requiring a law and order rectification, Kashmir being the prime example.

And, yet, Trumps handling of the protests has led to a more than significant drop in his ratings, even among his devoted Evangelical base, and yielded the electoral defeat of a certified bigot, Steve King, after nine terms in the American Congress.

Although, therefore, the two democracies , in terms of economic realities, remain anything but democracies, the one percent owning more than seventy percent of national wealth in each country, (as hunger mounts in America, food stamps become a hotly sought recourse https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/us/politics/coronavirus-hunger-food-stamps.html)--- politically and ideologically democracy has roots there that it still does not have in India, elections notwithstanding . Whereas the most bigoted American would not in principle contest the right of all Americans to freedom and equality, our endowed classes, at bottom, have still not imbibed those constructs as fundamental to democracy. Indeed, in many elite Indian minds, the fallout of karm supercedes the constitutional right to equality, the indifference to the travails of the migrant labour being a prime instance.

The protests in America have obliged the police chief in Minneapolis to say to the media that in his view all four police officers who were involved in the George Floyd killing, although only one sat on his neck, are complicit. News now comes that not only have the charges against the murderer of George Floyd been elevated to second degree murder, but the three others have also been charged for aiding and abetting the murder, and arrested. And several Mayors of cities there have said that the people have the right to continue their peaceful protests even after such actions have been taken, given that the issue of systemic racism is deserving of continued protest. We may well wonder how many civic or police authorities here would opine similarly

Meanwhile, we salute the Houston police chief for speaking truth to the highest power in his land. And we salute the American Secretary of Defense for his principled and open refusal of the Presidents agenda. And we salute the army Generals for sounding open warning about where the Presidency is going. They make the all-important point that the military is answerable to their constitution, not to the Presidency.

And we hope that Muslim, Dalit, Adivasi lives who encompass the large bulk of oppressed classes, will come to matter here as black lives strive to matter in America.
Weekend, June 20, 2020

Access to God Almighty

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11 nkjv).

When I first was getting to know Billy Graham, he invited me to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, outside of Asheville.

Going to the home of Billy Graham was better, in my estimation, than going to the Oval Office because, to me, he was the greatest evangelist who ever lived. As a young evangelist back then, I was so impressed by everything, and I took it all in.

When Id talk with him, I would address him as Dr. Graham. But hed say, Dont call me Dr. Graham. Call me Billy. It was hard for me to call him Billy. I had too much respect for him, and it felt too personal. But I finally got around to calling him that.

His children, however, called him by an even more intimate name: Daddy. In the South, parents are Daddy and Mama, not Mother and Father or even Mom and Dad. Billys grandkids called him Daddy Bill, much like I called my grandfather Daddy Charles because he and Mama Stella were from Arkansas.

Now, I didnt have the right to call him Daddy Bill, but I did have his permission to call him Billy. That was because of the relationship.

In the same way, we have a relationship with God and access to Him. Remember, Jesus said, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name (Luke 11:2 nkjv).

This is God Almighty, yet we have Him on speed dial. We have His private number. And we can access Him anytime we want to.

Were His children. He loves us. And He wants to hear from us as well as talk to us. He wants to spend time with us. Its never drudgery. Its always a delight. And we should feel the same way about Him.

Copyright  2020 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org

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C limate change may have triggered a mass extinction event that wiped out around 85 per cent of all marine species on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago, according to academics.

Researchers have discovered that global warming caused by volcanic eruptions may have led to the Late Ordovician extinction, which happened nearly 450 million years ago.

Scientists have previously linked the extinction event to toxic metals and radiation released from a distant galaxy and global cooling.

But Professor David Bond from the University of Hull and Dr Stephen Grasby from the Geological Survey of Canada now believe global warming - which has been linked to many of historys other mass extinctions - is a more likely explanation.

Their research, which has formed a publication in the journal Geology, found that when Ordovician rocks collected from a small stream in southern Scotland were heated, they released large amounts of mercury - a sign volcanic eruptions took place during that period.

The rocks also emitted molybdenum and uranium, suggesting the oceans were starved of oxygen at the same time.

Professor Bond and Dr Grasby have suggested the widespread eruptions released enough carbon dioxide to heat up the planet and deoxygenate the oceans, resulting in the asphyxiation of the species that lived there.

Professor Bond told the New York Times: Think of a bottle of Cola. If its been in the fridge, it stays nice and fizzy because the gas in that carbon dioxide stays in the liquid.

But if you leave it on a sunny table outside and it gets really warm, then that gas quickly dissociates out of that liquid and you end up with a flat Coke.

Previous theories about the Late Ordovician extinction have focused on widespread glaciation towards the end of the period, which experts have said could have caused shallow seas to disappear, impacting on the species that lived there and disrupting the food chain.

But some scientists have discounted this explanation due to evidence showing the extinction was an abrupt event, while glacial events often span millions of years.

The new research does not discount glaciation at the time but suggests the cooler climate was then impacted by global warming events triggered by volcanic eruptions.

Dr Grasby said: The Ordovician one has always been a little bit of an oddball.
The Delhi governments health department has directed all hospitals and medical institutions under it to recall their employees, who are currently on leave, and report for duty immediately.

The order was issued by the special secretary of the health department, SM Ali on Friday. The official in his order said that leave of any kind would only be granted under most compelling circumstances.

A shortage of staff in the hospitals was reported as one of the main reasons by the medical directors of bigger Delhi government hospitals for their inability to expand intensive care unit services for Covid-19 patients. To combat the challenges in the hospitals, the government on Thursday ordered that the final year student pursuing their MD/MS/ DNB (post graduate medical training) and final year students of undergraduate and post graduate nursing would be hired for the next six months.

The shortage of staff is likely to be more acute if the five-day institutional isolation is mandated for everybody who tests positive, including those with mild or no symptoms of the infection.

Currently, at least 10,000 patients are under home isolation in the city.

Earlier this week, the health department had also issued another order, which stated that action would be taken against health department staff not reporting to work. Only those who had tested positive for Covid-19 were allowed to remain in home isolation. This came at a time when the citys health minister tested positive for the infection. Prior to this order, the director general of health services also had to undergo quarantine for fever.

Until Thursday night, Delhi recorded 53116 Covid-19 cases. At least 2035 have died of the coronavirus disease.
The Indian market ended the week on a positive note as the equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rose almost 3 percent week-on-week.

The bulls continued to dominate and helped the index to gain significantly. The surge was led by index heavyweight, Reliance Industries, which announced that it has become net debt-free.

Besides, the prevailing buoyancy in the banking and financial combined with up move in auto, realty and infra stocks further added to the positivity.

In the coming week, the market may continue to trade on an upward trajectory, with some intermittent volatility.

Let's take a look at what the veterans of Dalal Street expect about the course of the market.

Analyst: Siddharth Khemka, Head  Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

The analyst expects the market momentum to continue in the near-term on the back of changed sentiments and improved liquidity.

"Technically, Nifty can extend its move towards 10,350-10,500, if it manages to sustain above 10,000 mark. Apart from global cues and development around geopolitical tensions, the monthly F&O expiry would be some of the key monitorable. Traders can continue with positive bias while investors may wait for declines for long term buying opportunities," said the analyst.

Analyst: Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities

The markets began the week on a negative note as fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections sent jitters across global markets. Geopolitical tension between India and China also kept the markets in check.

However, the US Federal Reserve's plans to purchase corporate bonds boosted investor sentiment across the globe. The Nifty ended the week 2.8 percent higher, almost completely recovering the previous weeks losses.

Nifty has picked upward momentum over the past two days. 10,329-10,458 is the next resistance band for the Nifty, while 10,149 is the support.

Analyst: Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President - Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities

On Friday, Nifty closed above the crucial resistance of 10,200 and Bank Nifty above the level of 21,300.

For the last three weeks, both the indices have been holding well above the bullish price gap.

"For stock market traders, I would like to give message over here that in bullish markets, never ignore bearish price gaps and in a bearish market, never ignore bullish price gaps. These price gaps are as important as the level of 7,500," said the analyst.

With fresh higher and concrete support, Nifty would try to move beyond the level of 10,350. Above the level of 10,350, Nifty would retest the level of 10,550-10,600, which is coincidently earlier major support for the market in the year 2019 and 61.80 retracement level of the entire fall between 12,430 and 7,500.

"Our advice is to trade long above 10,350 for the limited upside up to 10,550-10,600. Review portfolio around 10,600 again and reduce weak long positions. On an immediate basis, 10,000 would act as a major support for the market and a close below the same would be negative for the market. Financials and technology stocks should be on the watch list along with telecom stocks, said the analyst.

Dharmesh Shah, Head  Technical, ICICI direct

In the coming week, a decisive close above last two weeks high of 10,328 would trigger extended pullback towards 10,600 as it is confluence on 61.8 percent retracement of the entire decline of the year 2020 (12,430-7,511), 10,550.

As per the change of polarity concept, early March breakdown with a negative gap area near the year 2019 low of 10,585 would now act as key resistance. The 52 weeks EMA is placed at 10,635.

"India VIX failed to sustain at higher levels, indicating subdued volatility and continuation of risk-on sentiment. VIX has an inverse correlation with the Nifty. Thus we believe cool off in India VIX would act as a tailwind for directional move in the market," said the analyst.

Both, Nifty midcap and small-cap indices resolved above last weeks high, indicating relative outperformance. This has resulted in an improvement in broader market participation which augurs well for extension of ongoing pullback.

Structurally, over the past two decades, it has been observed that post major correction of more than 40 percent (seen in 2000-01 and 2008) the index enters a volatile phase.

In both historical instances, after a first sharp pullback, (in CY01-02 it rallied 42 percent and in CY08-09 it rallied 44 percent) from major low, the index witnessed corrective phase.

"In the current scenario, the index would complete its 40 percent pullback in the vicinity of 10,500-10,600. We expect the index to maintain the same rhythm as observed in historical instances and enter the corrective phase in the coming weeks," said the analyst.

Analyst: Arun Kumar, Market Strategist at Reliance Securities

The medium-term indicators are signalling positive trend. The option buildup is biased in favour of the bulls. The market internals of both the Nifty50 index and the broad NSE 500 Index are strong on the medium-term timeframe and slightly overbought on a near-term basis.

The long-term market internals of these indices bounced from the oversold zone and are attempting to move up towards the equilibrium zone. This implies that there is scope for the market to strengthen further. Combining all these factors, the market could extend its ongoing rally on a near-term basis.

The index may face some headwinds around the zone of 10,330  10,360. On clearing this hurdle decisively, the next zone to watch out will be in the region of 10,500  10,650.

"We are shifting the supports up close to 9,900  10,000. The private banks, commodity, NBFCs, media, metals and auto sectors display positive interest and may continue to be in the limelight, while FMCG, consumption and information technology stocks are out of favour amongst the long traders," said the analyst.

Analyst: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

From a technical viewpoint, the momentum in the Nifty is likely to continue, considering the close above its 100-DMA, but external factors can impact this momentum heavily.

Any increase in tensions and indication of drying up of liquidity can have an immediate impact on the markets. Considering the volatility and the unknowns, this seems to be a sell-on-rise market and investors would do well to keep booking their profits.

Analyst: Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist, Angel Broking

"We believe that with no major events globally sentiments should be positive for Indian equities in the first half of the week and we expect Indian equities to continue outperforming US markets," said the analyst.

Any breakthrough in the India China standoff would be a big positive for Indian equities. However volatility cannot be ruled out in the second half of the week as we head into expiry especially if there is an escalation to the India China standoff or a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases either in India or the US, the analyst said.

Analyst: Aditya Agarwala, Senior Technical Analyst - Institutional Equities, YES Securities

Nifty is approaching its previous pivot high of 10,330 which is also close to the 200-weekly moving average at 10,370.

A successful trade and close beyond this cluster of resistances between 10,330-10,360 will extend the upward journey taking the Nifty higher to levels of 10,550 which again will act as a stiff resistance zone being multiple Fibonacci retracement levels.

Moreover, if bulls manage to push the Index beyond 10,550 uptrends can stretch to levels of 10,730-10,810. On the flip side if bears protect this crucial resistance zone of 10,550 then selling pressure will be triggered dragging it to levels of 10,350-10,000; below 10,000 it can slide to 9,800 as well.

Technical indicator RSI has also been making higher lows and recently it turned north from the neutral level of 54-55 suggesting a range shift in favor of the bulls.

Analyst: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

The recent up move indicates participations are hopeful of de-escalation of tension between India and China. Besides, the recent data of loan moratorium and gradual reopening of the economy have eased their concerns over the NPA crisis in the banking system.

"Going forward, in absence of any major event except the earnings season, the markets would continue to take cues from global markets. Further, developments on India-China feud at LAC would remain a key monitorable. Amid all, indications are in favour of further surge in the index so we advise aligning the positions accordingly," said the analyst.

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
When the Alternative Investment Market was launched on June 19, 1995, there were just ten companies, worth 82million.

Today, 25 years later, more than 800 firms are listed on the junior market, with a collective value of more than 100billion.

There have been some spectacular successes along the way but also some notable failures, which have left investors nursing heavy losses.

In the money: Concurrent Technologies has thrived as its computer skills are used in machines that print banknotes

Siphoning out potential winners can be even more difficult on AIM than on the main market, as regulation is lighter and companies tend to be less mature.

But dividends can be a helpful guide, indicating that firms make money and that management recognise the importance of rewarding their shareholders.

Concurrent Technologies is one such business. The group makes high-performance computer hardware, used when durability, security and reliability are paramount.

The shares are 1.08, dividends have risen consistently over many years and chief executive Jane Annear said last week that trading remains robust and she is confident about the future.

Concurrent derives around 60 per cent of its sales from the defence industry. The firm's kit can be found in tanks and fighter planes, surveillance and cyber security equipment, drones and radar stations.

Telecoms is another big market for the business, including testing apparatus for 5G, and Concurrent is also involved in other areas of industry, such as precision machines for printing money.

Proudly British, the company designs and manufactures most of its kit in Colchester, although customers come from all over the world, particularly America.

Concurrent also prides itself on the loyalty and commitment of staff. Annear, 66, was the group's second employee back in 1985 and became chief executive last year.

Many others have been with the business for years, creating a firm with a distinctive culture and a reputation for top quality goods and service.

Annear took the helm following the sad passing of previous incumbent Glen Fawcett, who led Concurrent for more than three decades.

She did not expect the job but she is ideally suited for it, knowing the company inside-out and keen to retain the best from the past while also creating new areas of growth for the future.

She is accompanied by a new chairman, Mark Cubitt, who took the reins last week, when outgoing chairman Michael Collins retired after 31 years in the job.

Many of Concurrent's customers are longstanding too. The group's hardware is embedded into their systems and tends to stay there, with new bits added on or replacements made over the years.

Cubitt and Annear are focused on retaining those customers but gradually doing more for them, while moving into other areas, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Concurrent aims always to be one step ahead of the pack so innovation is key and the group invests heavily in research and in recruiting talented engineers.

These efforts are paying off. Concurrent's order book is strong and, even if Covid-19 affects some sales, there are plenty of long-term opportunities for growth. Brokers expect dividends to carry on rising, from 2.5p for 2019 to 2.55p this year.

Midas verdict: Concurrent has traditionally kept a low stock market profile, not least because many of its customers are in security and defence. But Annear has a clear strategy for growth and several loyal big shareholders. At 1.08, the shares are a buy.
However, Toledo said, only 85 people have been tested out of 700 employees at the site.

The company has done a better job cleaning and providing personal protection equipment. And they are finally getting strict about enforcing the mask policy, said Toledo.

He said employees now are also undergoing temperature checks  a safety measure Toledo called for nearly two months ago.

1:40 Watch now: University of Arizona weather cam catches Bighorn Fire The University of Arizona Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences weather cam catches more than the weather. This daily video begins at midnight an

Toledo said the union is not demanding at this time that the facility be closed.

However, with the reopening of the state, he said there is a worry that an employee can bring in the disease and infect others with the coronavirus.

Karla Schumann, Teamster Local 104 secretary-treasurer, said workers are going through a difficult time with Amaros death and in order to prevent a further spread of the disease UPS needs to do more than the bare minimum CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.

They have to actively pursue contact tracing, which the union is pursuing, Schumann said.

We are still fighting about it. We are not close to reaching a consensus, she said.
Furious holiday industry bosses are warning that they may not be ready to reopen on July 4 because of the Governments dithering about what safety measures they will have to put in place.

Millions of families are waiting desperately to find out whether they will be able to head to holiday parks, B&Bs and hotels this summer. But Ministers were coming under fire last night for failing to tell tourism businesses what rules they will have to follow if lockdown rules are relaxed in 13 days time, such as whether they will have to maintain two-metre distancing.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said: The Government could by now have issued guidelines. Were frustrated at being treated like children. Its like we cant be trusted.

The confusion comes as the head of Britains 130 billion-a-year tourism industry warned that the pandemic had left seaside resorts on a knife edge, and one of Britains largest holiday park operators said it was now make or break time for the sector.

FAMILY FUN: Visitors splash around at Center Parcs' resort in Normandy, which has been open for weeks and operates under distancing guidelines

But firms are still in the dark over crucial considerations, such as whether guests who fall ill will have to be quarantined for 14 days in their holiday properties, or whether hotel rooms would have to be kept unoccupied for 72 hours between bookings to prevent spreading the disease between guests. Patricia Yates, chief executive of Visit Britain, told The Mail on Sunday that the lack of Government guidelines was causing consternation within the industry.

Businesses take four weeks to open up and many are gearing up and hoping they are doing the right thing, she said. The industry is hoping they see the guidance this week  businesses need some time to understand it and implement it.

The UK tourism sector, which supports three million jobs, made 90 million a day from staycations last summer.

Ms Yates said that it was crucial for the holiday firms to reopen next month but warned businesses may struggle after a survey found that 28 per cent of Britons are not confident that they will take a holiday this summer.

She said: There is a lot of enthusiasm to open but its going to be challenging to make a success of it. Its going to be tough. Seaside resorts are on a knife edge.

Unlike their parks in the UK, Center Parcs has been able to welcome visitors back to its resort in Normandy

The Prime Minister is reportedly set to halve the two-metre distancing rule next week, which would be good news for the hospitality industry because they will be able to serve more customers. However, a No 10 spokesman insisted that no decisions had been finalised.

Ros Pritchard of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, said: I dont know what is going on in Westminster. They have had months to get this in place. The Government has got to publish the guidance now to give people reassurance about how they can reopen, and restore consumer confidence which has taken a huge knock. I dont know whats delaying them.

Visit Britain estimates that the tourism industry, which supports three million jobs, will suffer a 42 billion loss of income this year because of the pandemic.

Parkdean Resorts, which runs 67 holiday parks, said: We urgently need clarity from the Government to confirm that the hospitality sector can open on July 4, what facilities we can offer, and what the social distancing requirements will be. This is make or break time for our sector.

DESERTED: Traffic cones block the entrance to the Center Parcs holiday site in Thetford, Norfolk, which will not open to guests for at least three more weeks

Becki Osborne, who runs the Polmanter campsite in St Ives, Cornwall, said: We are trying to blindly prepare for reopening. It was months ago that July 4 was mentioned as a possible date. Thats now just two weeks away and we still dont know what we are supposed to be doing.

Were fully booked. What if were suddenly told only 70 per cent of pitches can be used? How and who do we cancel? Guests are asking us if theyre having a holiday this summer and we cant tell them.

Alistair Handyside, chair of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said it was ludicrous that people can crowd into Primark, and flock to busy beaches but not stay in caravans or holiday homes.

In Northern Ireland, self-catering accommodation, including caravans, will be allowed to reopen from Friday. Hotels are due to reopen on July 3 but spas and leisure facilities will remain closed.

The Welsh Assembly said holidays in self-contained properties will be allowed from July 13 unless there is a spike in cases. The Scottish Government, which has released detailed guidance, said it hopes to welcome tourists from July 15.

However, not everyone is keen to resume tourism. Authorities in Cornwall fear an influx of visitors may overwhelm the local NHS as the population of 560,000 doubles each summer because of tourists.
The National Democratic Alliance is now comfortably placed in the Rajya Sabha after the biennial election as the Bharatiya Janata Party's strong numbers in the assemblies and defection from the Opposition resulted in the saffron party having 86 seats in the House and the Congress merely 41.

The BJP-led NDA now has nearly 100 members in the 245-member House.

If the support of friendly parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (9), Biju Janata Dal (9), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (6), and several allied nominated members and smaller parties is counted, then the Modi government is unlikely to face any serious numerical challenge there.

The BJP has relied on its strength in the assemblies coupled with defection from other parties, especially the Congress, to boost its strength in the House, where its numerical disadvantage often hindered the Modi government's legislative agenda in its first term.

The Election Commission had announced biennial polls to 61 seats, including 55 in March, but the process was delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

With 42 members elected unopposed earlier, the BJP won eight, Congress and the YSR Congress four each and others three of the 19 seats that went to polls on Friday.

The BJP won a couple of more seats than it could have on the strength of its numbers because of defection from several Congress legislators in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

In total, the BJP won 17, Congress nine, BJP ally Janata Dal-United three, BJD and the Trinamool Congress four each, AIADMK and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam three each, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti two each, and others rest, official sources said.

The crumbling strength of the Opposition, whose key pillars include the Congress, TMC and the Left, has been evident since last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to its biggest ever victory as it bagged 303 seats in Lok Sabha election.

It prompted a host of defections from the Opposition, including Rajya Sabha members of the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Samajwadi Party, to the BJP, and many non-NDA regional parties chose to back the government in Parliament on crucial issues.

The Congress has accused the BJP of horse-trading, alleging that it had engineered defections from its ranks for political gains.

The government managed big support in Parliament to its resolution to nullify Article 370 and key bills like the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories and criminal prosecution for instant divorce by Muslim men.

The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was also passed in both the Houses.

Out of the 61 new members, 43 are first-timers, which include BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress.

Both have been members of Lok Sabha, but lost in elections in 2019.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and former Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambi Durai have also been elected to Rajya Sabha.

The legislative agenda of the Modi government in its first term was often hampered in Parliament due to the Opposition's numerical superiority in the Upper House, and the Congress had more numbers than the BJP in first few years.

However, the BJP's impressive gains in the assembly elections, coupled with the Congress losing power in several states, resulted in slow but steady rise in the government's numbers in the House.

Though the below-par show of the BJP in state selections since 2018 has also meant that its goal of gaining a majority on its own in the Rajya Sabha remains far from being achieved.
China released a sweeping blueprint on Saturday to tighten its control over Hong Kong, revealing plans to establish a security agency in the territory to help Beijing extinguish challenges to its power after months of unrest.

The planned national security law for Hong Kong also gives the territorys chief official, who must answer to Beijing, the power to appoint which judges will hear such security cases, eroding the autonomy of the citys independent judiciary.

The announcement drew immediate protests from opposition leaders who warned that it would imperil the rule of law in Hong Kong, a global financial center with greater freedoms than in mainland China.

The proposed law is a pillar of President Xi Jinpings push to subdue political strife in Hong Kong, the sole part of China that has loudly defied his drive to entrench authoritarian control. Opposition from the United States, Britain and other Western countries appears unlikely to derail that effort.
MAMORONECK, N.Y. - Standing outside a firehouse here, as 10,000 donated face masks were delivered, Rep. Eliot Engel confronted the questions that had put his 31-year congressional career in jeopardy.

How did the longest serving New York congressman suddenly face complaints of ignoring his district? How did Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal who has never run for office, turn Tuesday's Democratic primary into a pitched battle over who cared more about the north Bronx and southern swath of Westchester County?

"It's a farce," Engel said. "People know I bring millions of dollars home from Washington. I know virtually everybody in the district. If there are three people in a room and I'm invited, I'm there."

Two years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stunned the political establishment and unseated Joseph Crowley, then the fourth-ranked House Democrat, Engel is trying to fend off the same insurgency from the left. The House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman knew it was coming and has welcomed the help, from the endorsements of Hillary Clinton, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top congressional Democrats to Republican donors funding a super PAC that backs him.

"I'm grateful to anyone who supports me," said the 73-year-old Engel.

A victory for Engel would humble his party's growing left wing after its favored candidates came up short in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. A defeat would reveal the limits of a party establishment that, just a few years ago, could keep its incumbents safe with a simple premise: You know them, so why not keep them?

"It's like B.C. and A.D. - before AOC and after AOC," said Ritchie Torres, a liberal state legislator running in the 15th District, which neighbors Engel's. "In the post-AOC world, incumbency is no longer an entitlement, no longer a guarantee of elected office."

The primary race between Engel and Bowman, who is African American, comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting recession and civic unrest over police brutality - the latter triggering a moment of national reckoning about racial injustice that is forcing voters to take a hard look at candidates.

"We would be remiss not to have leadership of the future to represent this district," said Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a rising party star whose grandfather once held Engel's seat, when she unendorsed the congressman to support Bowman. "When the world changes, you have to be able to update your thinking."

In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez was one of dozens of first-time candidates recruited by Justice Democrats, a group that grew out of the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Most of those candidates lost, but Ocasio-Cortez won and, overnight, became one of the best-known figures in the party.

She had won a low-turnout race with a powerful formula: She was a Latina in an increasingly Latino district and a democratic socialist in a place where white voters leaned far to the left. Crowley had been a good fit for the seat in 1998, and an awkward fit two decades later. A combination of organization, demographics, and a compelling personal story pushed Ocasio-Cortez over the top.

"It's time to more seriously contest safe blue Democratic primaries," wrote Sean McElwee, the founder of the liberal think tank Data for Progress, after the midterms were over. "Incumbents like Eliot Engel who represent increasingly diverse districts but hold centrist views on key issues should face real electoral competition."

That became the model, shared by many left-wing groups, to move the Democratic Party in their direction. Engel's district, which starts at the edge of the Bronx and covers much of suburban Westchester County, does not look exactly like the incumbent; less than half of its residents are white, and one in three are black.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in November in a district Clinton won with 75% of the vote in 2016.

"We knew a year ago that most voters didn't have strong views one way or another about Eliot Engel and many also felt that he was pretty absent," said Justice Democrats spokesman Waleed Shahid. "We knew we could put together a majority 'Obama coalition' of people of color, young people, and older white liberals in this district to win."

That led activists to Bowman, the 44-year-old founder of a middle school that served disadvantaged students. He had not registered as a Democrat until 2018 - a fact that Engel would find and use against him - but until the pandemic hit, he campaigned vigorously, combining a Sanders-style agenda of Medicare-for-all and green infrastructure spending with the argument that the district needed fresh leadership.

"The thing about being an educator is that you've got to be a great learner," Bowman said in an interview this week, after greeting voters in Co-Op City, one of the district's most racially diverse neighborhoods. "You've got to hit the ground and listen to people, and that's the way I want to govern."

Engel has a national profile from his chairmanship and a reputation as someone focused on his district. In 2018, when he faced three challengers - one a deep-pocketed local business leader - Engel emptied his campaign funds and won more than 70% of the vote.

"Not once have we called his office and not gotten assistance," said Jamaal Bailey, a state senator who first met Engel after attending kindergarten with his daughter. "Every time I open my office, I hold a barbecue, and he's there. So the notion that he's not been visible is very odd to me."

Bowman found an opening anyway, pounding Engel over votes that were now toxic for Democrats - against the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, for the war in Iraq. But his breakthrough came last month, deep into the pandemic, when the Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere found Engel in his Washington D.C.-area residence and flustered him by asking why he wasn't in New York.

"I'm in both places," Engel explained.

Two weeks later he made a worse gaffe when he was caught on a hot microphone urging the organizer of a news conference in his district to let him speak.

"If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care," Engel said.

Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Bowman a day later; Biaggi did too.

"Support throughout the district and across the country has grown exponentially since that moment," Bowman said. "The fundraising numbers are astounding."

In debates and in an interview this week, Engel criticized the rush of support for Bowman and the idea that the challenger was more closely tied to the district. He challenged "people on high" for trying to skew the race, and compared the attacks against him to McCarthyism, unanswerable smears.

"He comes out of the blue, he decides he's going to run for Congress, and that's his right," Engel said in Mamaroneck. "But nobody knows him, and nobody has seen him. When Amadou Diallo was shot, I was arrested, protesting what the police had done. When Remarley Graham, a young man in my district, was shot by the police, his family asked me to speak at his funeral. So, I'm no Johnny-come-lately on issues of social justice."

Diallo was an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot and killed by four New York City police officers in 1999.

Two years ago, encouraged by Crowley's strong internal polling, national Democrats largely stayed out of his race. That's not the case for Engel. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and top committee chairmen have endorsed Engel. So has Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who initially told Capitol Hill reporters that he was neutral in the race.

Engel also has gotten a boost from Democratic Majority for Israel, seeing a defeat for the reliably pro-Israel congressman as a grave threat, and potential victory for the country's critics. The group's advertising does not mention Israel, focusing instead on an old tax debt that Bowman has since paid off. Other pro-Israel groups are more explicit, warning Jewish voters that they could lose a powerful ally to someone whose views on the American-Israel relationship are less well-known.

"Why are they targeting him?" Jack Rosen, the president of the American Jewish Congress, asked Jewish Insider this week. "The only differentiator is Israel."

On the very limited, covid-19 compliant campaign trail, Israel doesn't often come up. On Tuesday morning, as Bowman talked to voters in Co-Op City, one supporter of Engel challenged him to debunk the unpaid taxes story, but the rest said they were happy to see him. Augusta Terzol, 61, said she had always voted for Engel but would happily vote to give the district a new voice in Congress.

"Eliot Engel is responsive, but he usually sends representatives," Terzol said. "We don't see him much in Co-Op City.

Two days later, the congressman joined Bailey for an important local campaign stop: Co-Op City.
Hannah Montana may be soon speaking a 'cupla focal' Gaeilge as talented Gougane Barra teacher Jane Lucey is off to the mid-western US state to teach Irish there on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship.

Jane, the daughter of Neil and Katie Lucey, proprietors of the Gougane Barra Hotel, had been teaching in the Gaelscoil in Bandon until the COVID-19 outbreak in March.

Since then she's been keeping busy helping her students keep up with school-work, and also she's been working with her mother and sister to launch a book of recipes, which raised almost 10,000 for charity and produced a series of online baking videos which have attracted thousands of views.

"It's great to get a bit of good news," Jane told The Corkman. A Bachelor of Education graduate from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Jane explained that she applied for the award back in October and had to submit a number of essays before doing an interview in January.

She's following in the footsteps of two others from the Muscrai Gaeltacht who had both won Fulbright scholarships in recent years.

"I got a great deal of advice from Siobhan Ni Mhuimhneachain and Cecily Ni Loingsigh," she said. "I'm really grateful as they shared their experiences about applying for the scholarship with me"

She'll be heading to the University of Montana in Missoula in September.

The Fulbright programme has served to strengthen international relations throughout turbulent times for over 70 years. Founded in 1946, it has enabled academic and cultural exchanges between more than 2,500 Irish and American citizens since 1957.

With an emphasis on cultural immersion and building long-term academic and professional connections, the Fulbright programme selects excellent candidates from all over Ireland to work with top US institutions across all disciplines ranging from science, technology and business, to the arts and culture.

This year's awards ceremony had to be held online due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Speaking at the ceremony which was held last Thursday, Minister Ciaran Cannon said: "The role of Fulbright Awardees in driving international research and keeping global channels of communications open is more important than ever," he said."Fulbright has always propelled collaboration between the brightest minds."
Food and packaging can be contaminated with coronavirus, expert warns

Global Times

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 21:42:55

Food and packaging can be contaminated with coronavirus if the nearby environment has been polluted, a food safety expert warned at the regular news briefing in Beijing on Friday, adding that virus pollution could occur in wholesale markets and supermarkets.

The authorities noted that the majority of the samples collected from the aquatic and soybean product areas at Xinfadi market have tested positive for COVID-19.

An expert suggested that people should not eat and should properly dispose of frozen seafood, soy products or other food purchased at the market to avoid coronavirus infection.

The authorities also released results of the epidemiological investigation into 21 of the 25 new confirmed cases that were reported Thursday. It was confirmed that all the 21 cases were related to the Xinfadi market, with eight being employees from a restaurant near the market called Mianmian Judao. Two of the employees regularly purchased products from the market.

Two members of staff at a barbecue restaurant in Daxing district, who went to the market regularly, were also confirmed to have coronavirus infection.

A nurse from Peking University International Hospital, who was confirmed to be infected on Thursday, had been in close contact with a confirmed case from Beijing's Haidian district on June 14. She had been working before he was identified as a close contact. Beijing then sealed off the hospital soon after the nurse was confirmed as being infected.

Ten epidemiological investigation staff from China's CDC and disease control centers of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan and Shandong provinces have arrived in Beijing to support the epidemiological investigation, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the municipal center for disease prevention and control, said at the press conference.

To support the COVID-19 treatment in the designated Ditan Hospital, the city has deployed 102 medical staff from 18 municipal hospitals, among whom 16 nurses have extensive experience in critical care.

The hospital has expanded its treatment capacity and the number of beds has reached 1,070, according to reports, the authorities announced.

Beijing's commerce authority also revised the guidelines for industries like restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets, commodity distribution centers, hairdressing and beauty salons, as a further effort to curb the coronavirus, the authority said.

The city holds a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal behavior regarding spreading coronavirus-related rumors. As of Friday, 10 people have been detained for fabricating facts and spreading rumors and 60 related cases have been investigated.

A total of 183 confirmed new cases have been reported in Beijing since June 11. Two patients are critically ill and 11 are severely ill, the authorities said on Friday. Three are children aged less than 13 years old.

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Odishas coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases may have gone up by around 80% between May 19 and June 19, and the contagion has spread across all 30 districts in the state, but the daily test count has gone down significantly in the interim. The low test count is being attributed to a host of factors such as the malfunctioning of machines and skewed demand and supply ratio among laboratory technicians and frontline workers combating the pandemic.

Consider this: Odisha had reported 1,052 Covid-19 positive cases and 22 of the 30 districts in the state were in the pandemics clutches on May 19, including 74 cases in a single day and 4,536 tests were conducted on that day alone.

A month on, Odishas Covid-19 tally stood at 4,836 and the contagion has spread across all the 30 districts. On June 19, 17 laboratories in the state conducted 3,167 tests and the days count was 179 fresh Covid-19 positive cases.

The state has added over 3,700 or 80% of its total Covid-19 positive cases in exactly a months time, triggering panic among the worried state government officials.

On June 18, they drew the Supreme Courts (SC) attention that they anticipate a further spread in the viral outbreak, and pleaded a stay against organising the annual Rath Yatra festival in Puri next week -- a major draw for tourists and pilgrims -- while raising concerns over the maintaining of social distancing norms. The apex court has acceded to the state governments plea.

The state government has also resorted to mandatory weekend shutdowns in 11 worst-hit districts, including Bhubaneswar, in a bid to contain the spread of the viral outbreak.

There has also been a growing concern over the mismatch between the daily spike in Covid-19 positive cases and the number of tests being conducted.

The laboratories across the state tested 63,709 samples between May 1 and 19 and 868 tested Covid-19 positive, while the corresponding figure between June 1 and 19 was 57,040 and 2,432 positive.

The average daily tests between May 1 and 18 stood at 3,540, but came down to 3,169 between June 1 and 18, despite the growing number of Covid-19 positive cases.

In May, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that the daily test count would go up to 15,000 from June following the influx of migrant workers from other states amid the nationwide easing of lockdown restrictions, which were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of the pathogen.

Though the daily test count crossed 5,000 for a few days following the CMs announcement, including 5,612 on May 16, the figure has since then gone down significantly, as the laboratories are conducting tests anywhere between 2,500 and 3,800 on any given day.

Last week, Shalini Pandit, director, National Health Mission (NHM), Odisha, defended the low daily test count while citing revised guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which stated that only symptomatic and high-risk contacts need to undergo tests.

Weve conducted over two lakh tests so far. Besides, the tests per million population in the state is higher than the national average. Positivity rate per lakh population in the state is 9.3%, as compared to Maharashtra (88%), Delhi (205%) and the national average of 25%, she said.

Epidemiologists, however, refused to buy into her arguments and warned against a spike in the viral outbreak, which is likely to have been precipitated by the rising graph of Covid-19 positive cases and an inversely proportionate daily test count.

Odisha had reported one Covid-19 positive case in every 250 people tested until end-April. While currently, the corresponding figure stands at 1:26.

This indicated that there is a viral outbreak, which calls for more testing. As per the health protocol, usually about 1% of the population suffers from influenza-type illnesses. At least 4.2 lakh people in Odisha must be in that bracket, who are in dire need of undergoing tests, along with the migrant returnees, who are symptomatic. Aggressive testing, tracing and treating is the only mantra to effectively contain the Covid-19 pandemic, said an epidemiologist of a government-run hospital, requesting anonymity.

Virologist Jacob John, a former principal of Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, said aggressive tests could only help ascertain the spread of the contagion.

People living outside the quarantine centres need to be tested in a bid to come to the conclusion that theres no community transmission. While this has been the emerging trend in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi, how does one know thats not the case with Odisha? he asked.

State officials  albeit off the record -- attributed the low test count to malfunctioning machines and the lack of an adequate number of laboratory technicians because of a high daily volume of swab samples.

Odisha, however, has failed to overcome this endemic problem, unlike Assam, which is conducting 10,000 Covid-19 tests daily.

In June, the Cobas 6800 machine at Regional Medical Research Laboratory in Bhubaneswar malfunctioned for over 10 days, which led to a major disruption in conducting tests. Similarly, the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) machine at Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar could not function for a few days due to non-technical issues. The laboratory technicians, too, are overworked because of an exponential rise in the volume of swab samples. Each sample takes up to 10 hours to test and a technician can only do that much. The state health authorities have been instructing the district collectors to send samples in lesser quantity because of these infrastructural constraints, said a health official, requesting anonymity.

However, the turnaround time for the availability of a test result has come down from five days in mid-May to 48 hours.

But slip-ups are being routinely reported such as a government driver in Puri district had to wait for five days in June until his report showed that he has tested Covid-19 negative. You could well imagine my mental condition. I was worried for all those days, as I was constantly thinking who all I might have infected, said the driver.

Many people, who run the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, are also complaining about the state governments laxity in denying them the opportunity to undergo tests.

For instance, over 80 migrant returnees had staged a sit-in at a high school in Gajapati district  the worst-hit in Odisha  in May as they were not allowed to undergo tests.

They claimed that though they were made to spend a fortnight at a quarantine centre, their swab samples were not collected.

Similar complaints have come from other quarantine centres in Balasore, Ganjam and Bhadrak districts.

A few of us had been running a fever and were symptomatic. But our swab samples were still not collected, said a migrant worker at a quarantine centre in Balasore districts Bahanaga block.

Accredited social health activist (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers, who are at the frontline of combating the pandemic such as the collection of swab samples, are finding themselves in a bind because of the growing workload and the skewed demand and supply ratio.

In early June, an ASHA worker, Savitri Swain, was assaulted by a group of fishermen from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in Paradip because they did not want to be quarantined.

While in May, ASHA and Anganwadi workers had faced the ire of people at a containment zone in Rourkela town, when they had gone to collect their swab samples.

It a real challenge. Many of us dont have proper personal protective equipment (PPE) units unlike the doctors at dedicated Covid-19 hospitals. Weve only face masks and hand gloves to protect us from the pathogen. I start my days work, dreading when Id get infected. Ive no option, but to carry on, said a health worker, who did not wish to be named.

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Sir Chris Hohn's fund is likely to have made about 100million from Wirecard's share price collapse

Chancellor's Rishi Sunak's former boss has made more than 100million from the collapse of German digital payments firm Wirecard.

Sir Chris Hohn's firm The Children's Investment Fund placed a huge bet on Wirecard's shares falling earlier this year and called for the removal of the firm's chief executive Markus Braun amid allegations of accounting irregularities.

Last week, Wirecard's shares crashed by more than 80 per cent after EY, the company's auditor, refused to sign off its accounts and said it could not find 1.9billion of cash that was supposed to be in the business.

Braun was forced to resign.

TCI  which employed Sunak as an analyst before he became an MP  short-sold 1.53 per cent of Wirecard's shares, according to Bloomberg data.

Hohn's fund is likely to have made about 100million from Wirecard's share price collapse.

Marshall Wace, which is run by Brexit donor Sir Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, also made about 100million from shorting Wirecard after accumulating a 1.36 per cent short position.

Meanwhile, other British investors lost a fortune. Alexander Darwall, manager of the European Opportunities Trust, dumped his entire Wirecard holding, said to be worth around 80 million.

TCI and Marshall Wace both declined to comment.
OKLAHOMA CITY  For decades, when it was discussed at all, the killing of hundreds of people in a prosperous black business district nearly a century ago was referred to as the Tulsa race riot.

Under new standards developed by teachers, Oklahoma students are urged to consider the differences between labeling it a massacre or a riot, which is how its still described in state laws. Typically in ninth and 11th grades, students also are encouraged to research survivors and learn their firsthand accounts of the 1921 violence.

If thats taught correctly, then any freshman has a context for how and why this kind of thing can happen in the United States of America, said Aaron Baker, a history teacher in the Putnam City school district in Oklahoma City.

The states new standards are going out to schools as a national conversation on racial injustice brings new scrutiny to how African American history is taught nationwide. Recent demonstrations over police brutality also are bringing awareness to an important holiday that isnt widely taught  Juneteenth. Celebrated June 19, it honors the day in 1865 that the last enslaved black people learned they had been freed.

There is no national curriculum or set of standards for teaching black history in America. Only a small number of states, including Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi and New York, have laws requiring that it be taught in public schools. States set their own standards, and history survey courses often touch on slavery, Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement.

Some experts and educators say black history lessons focus too much on violence and suffering, instead of the systemic aspects of racism and white supremacy, while others say the past has been sanitized.

In Texas, the Board of Education recently approved a course on African American studies that will be an elective for high school students. A University of Texas professor involved in developing the curriculum, Kevin Cokley, said his college students say they are taught a sanitized version of black history in high school.

When I am teaching about slavery and how brutal it was, and sharing specific details, most of my students  natives of Texas  indicate they did not learn the specifics of slavery that I provide them in my course, said Cokley, a professor of educational psychology and African and African diaspora studies. Oftentimes they are shocked and angered to find they were not taught the information I am sharing with them.

The massacre in Tulsa happened over the course of 16 hours, from May 31 to June 1, 1921, when white mobs attacked black residents and businesses. As many as 300 people were killed, hundreds more injured and thousands were left homeless. Tulsas black business district, known as Black Wall Street, was destroyed.

Oklahoma schools have been required to teach the massacre since 2002, although some people believed it wasnt being taught everywhere. Tulsa schools instituted new standards two years ago, which the state Education Department used as a guide.

The massacre largely wasnt discussed in Oklahoma until a commission was formed in 1997 to investigate the violence. The commission is led by state Sen. Kevin Matthews, a Tulsa Democrat who said the new teaching standards havent faced opposition but that some people would have preferred to leave the massacre in the past.

Older people called me and said, Why do you want to bring this back up, this dirty secret? he said.

Matthews said his grandmother was a young girl in Tulsa during the massacre but never told him about the violence. He learned about it as an adult from his grandmothers brother.

It was like a movie, I couldnt believe it happened here, Matthews said.

LaGarrett King, director of the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education at the University of Missouri, said he believes there is too much emphasis in the instruction of black history on violence, which is often centered on racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan in a way that doesnt explore nuances or apathy toward black deaths.

King provided training last year for 300 educators around the country who are interested in teaching black history. He expects a virtual session this summer to have more participants than usual. He said that the growing interest makes him optimistic but that history needs to be framed differently. The push for diversity in education so far has led to mostly cosmetic changes, he said, without enough emphasis on the entry points and perspective of black history.

White people dont acknowledge Juneteenth, but yet were supposed to be a country that believes in freedom. We have been taught July 4, 1776, is the real Independence Day, but its not, King said. The vast majority of black people were still enslaved.

Lawrence Paska, executive director of the National Council for the Social Studies, said schools should be preparing to help walk students through questions about discrimination, protests and racial violence when they return in the fall.

The notion of Do we have a curriculum that is responsive to the needs and experiences of the students we have now? That is an important question schools need to be asking, Paska said.
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi reiterated China's position on the Korean Peninsula issue that the Chinese side always stands for denuclearization of the peninsula and solving problems through dialogue and consultation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian cited Yang's remarks at a press conference while responding to media queries about the meeting between Yang and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that advancing political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue conforms with interests of all parties.

Yang said the Chinese side has always insisted on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, realising denuclearization of the peninsula, and solving problems through dialogue and consultation. China advocates advancing political settlement of the issue in according with the dual-track approach in a phased and synchronized manner.

The Chinese side hopes the DPRK and the U.S. could meet each other halfway, accommodate each other's legitimate concerns and make concrete efforts to advance political settlement, Yang said.
20.06.2020 LISTEN

Ace broadcast journalist Nana Kwabena Bobie Ansah of Accra FM has revealed that President Akufo-Addos machinations against Hon Addai Nimoh, former flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party who is now contesting to become the Parliamentary Candidate of the party in the Asante Mampong Constituency is very strong.

In a post sighted on Kwabena Bobie Ansahs Facebook wall, he explains that Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addos dealings against Hon Addai Nimo are borne out of sheer hatred of the Asante Mampong roots since time immemorial.

He further revealed that Asante Mampong played a very crucial role in the formation of the UP tradition which is always touted as the very foundation of todays ruling New Patriotic Party but surprisingly the leader has shown continuous displeasure towards its politicians after the death of General Afrifa, R.R Amponsah and Agyenim Boateng.

According to him, he told Hon. Addai Nimoh from the onset when he conceived the idea of contesting and informed him that it will not be an easy battle.

In the latest development, it has emerged that the government has sent a lot of agents there purposely to work against Hon Addai Nimoh and make sure he loses the primaries.

The NPP is electing parliamentary candidates today June 20 in constituencies with siting MPs.
In America, woe betide anyone who dares to say that "all lives" rather than just "black lives" matter. There is an ash heap behind Black Lives Matter headquarters on which lie the rotting carcasses of those foolish enough to say that "all lives matter."

A viral video, however, shows that the contention that, for Democrats, the mantra that "black lives matter" is a slogan without substance. The video (scroll down to view) shows white health care workers massed in front of an unnamed medical center. Many of them hold signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. This is a woke white crowd that's signaling its virtue.

In the video, an unseen man with a stentorian bass voice  a man who is almost certainly black himself  asks the healthcare workers, "Do all black lives matter or just some black lives?"

The health care workers, like the well trained useful idiots they are, enthusiastically repeat back to him, "All black lives matter."

He has another question for them. "The black lives killed by black men matter, right?"

There's a moment of stunned silence, and then some scattered voices say, "Yes."

The unseen questioner reiterates, "Yes?"

The assembled white workers, more sure of themselves now, answer, "Yes."

As the health care workers grapple with the question of black-on-black crime, which accounts for 93% of all black homicide victims, one woman positions herself at the front of the group. She kneels, carefully holding a sign that, while difficult to read, seems to say something about "white" people supporting black lives. Then, the unseen man springs the 15.5-million baby question:

"The black babies killed in the abortion clinics matter, right?"

The response is dead silence.

The man intones, "Thought so."

The kneeling woman looks back at her colleagues for support, and then awkwardly stands up and sidles her way back to them.

But the interlocutor is not done.

"The black officers killed by that bastard in Minnesota, that matters too, right?"

The assembled workers have their rhythm back. "Yeah." "Yes." They're no longer a tight chorus, but they know their answer. So the man rocks them off balance again.

"But the black babies that are killed in the abortion clinics don't matter, do they, medical people?"

A lone female says, "Their moms matter."

The man is having none of it. "Do their lives matter?"

The health care workers mumble inaudibly.

"Does the future of our black babies matter?"

Again, a woman says, "Their moms matter."

"Huh? What's up? What's up? Awful quiet now, aren't they? Uh-huh. It's okay if we kill them in the womb, right? But you have a problem when we  but you don't really seem to have a problem when we kill them on the streets."

"It's a separate issue," says a man.

The interlocutor overrides that idea. "Yes, but we know that they're the same issue. If we don't respect the lives of our unborn children enough to save them and fight for them, our lives mean nothing once we're born."

And that's the bottom line, isn't it? For white Democrats, as the nominally Catholic Nancy Pelosi put it, abortion is "sacred ground." All those white indoctrinated college grads have been taught that their "white man's burden" is to encourage black people to dispose of their inconvenient futures. Doing so will raise up blacks, especially women. Except that's not what's happened since abortion became legal. Too many black communities are economically stagnant, despite all the abortions. And sadly, blacks are disposing of that future by the millions. Here are the data just for Georgia:

According to recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics, while African-Americans constitute 32.2 percent of Georgia's population, 62.4 percent of abortions in Georgia are performed on African-American women. By contrast, whites constitute 60.8 percent of the Georgia population, but only 24.7 percent of abortions were performed on white women. Even pro-abortion groups like the Guttmacher Institute admit that "black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion."

How can young black people feel that their lives have value if women in the community dispose of their pregnancies as casually as old shoes? And do all those virtue-signaling white leftists who are single-issue voters  with abortion being the issue  genuinely believe that black lives matter, or is that just a cynical ploy to ensure an endless supply of compliant Democrat voters?

At day's end, even as Democrats are parroting that "black lives matter," the reality is that they're making it clear that, while blacks may matter at the polls, otherwise, they mostly don't matter at all.
Australia Says it Has Been Target of 'State-Based' Cyberattacks

By Phil Mercer June 19, 2020

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that a major cyberattack by a "sophisticated state-based actor" has hit the nation.

Morrison said the cyberattack on Australia has been sustained and widespread, affecting all levels of government, political parties, essential services and businesses. He said it had been going on for months and had become more frequent.

Asked if China might be responsible because of worsening bilateral relations, he would not say who was to blame.

"What I can confirm, with confidence, based on the advice, the technical advice that we have received, is that this is the action of a state-based actor with significant capabilities, and there aren't too many state-based actors who have those capabilities," he said. This is part of the new world we live in. Regrettably, this is not peculiar."

Morrison said there have, so far, been no large-scale breaches of personal or official data.

Businesses and government agencies are being urged to upgrade their online defenses. Technical advice on how to "detect and mitigate" threats is also being provided.

Australia's Parliament was hit last year by a "malicious intrusion" on its computer networks. Reports said that Australian intelligence agencies suspected China's Ministry of State Security. The government in Canberra refused to comment.

Australia's relationship with China, its biggest trading partner, is lucrative, but complex. Ties have been strained by allegations of Chinese interference in Australia's domestic affairs. Canberra's vocal push for a global investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which first emerged in Wuhan, infuriated Beijing.

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A disabled woman who was neglected before her death had her large inheritance eroded from her bank account, police say.

Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy, died in the Royal Hospital, Adelaide, on April 6 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment.

The 54-year-old lived alone in her Adelaide home and relied on carers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Major Crime detectives inspecting Ms Smith's finances to assess how she spent her money have found a number of irregularities.

Ms Smith was left an inheritance by her dead parents in 2009.

Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy, died in the Royal Hospital, Adelaide, on April 6 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment

The 54-year-old lived alone in her Adelaide home and relied on carers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Police said two loans from small lending companies were taken out in Ms Smith's name over the past six years, which were supposedly obtained for the purpose of travel and to buy a new car totalling $70,000.

But the funds were not used for either of those purposes.

Major Crime investigating officer, Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Neagle, said it was 'most unlikely' Ms Smith would have obtained the loans without assistance from another person due to her physical disability.

'They were significant loans. We know she did not travel or buy a new car after they were taken out, but the money is now gone,' he said.

Police believe the amount of money taken from the inheritance is disproportionate to Ms Smith's lifestyle.

'It is a large amount, a lot of money. That line of inquiry is in its infancy, but an excessive amount of money seems to have been withdrawn in recent years,' Senior Sergeant Neagle said.

'Ann may well have spent some of the money herself, but we are now trying to ascertain how much and if any has been removed unlawfully from her account and where it went.'

There is a possibility that Ms Smith was exploited by unknown individuals who knew her for her generosity.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said Major Crime Investigators are seeking information on the use of her 1998 Silver Honda Accord Sedan WDR-166

Some of Ms Smith's jewellery (pictured) were reported as missing following her tragic death

The exploitation comes just a days after police raised more concerns about Ms Smith's missing jewellery and the use of her car which racked up $2,000 in fines.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said Major Crime Investigators are seeking information on the use of her 1998 Silver Honda Accord Sedan WDR-166.

'We believe Ms Smith's car was used multiple times from 2015 and her death,' Detective Bray said.

Ms Smith did not have a drivers licence and the car was not modified to cater to her needs.

However, the vehicle was registered in her name and was used by an unknown person between 2015 and 2018.

In that period, Ms Smith received a total of four fines in excess of $2,000.

The car was slapped with speeding and traffic fines in August 2015, January 2017 and February 2018.

The fines were paid with funds from Ms Smith's bank account and resulted in her being disqualified for holding or obtaining a driver's licence.

Police believe Ms Smith was exploited by unknown individuals who knew her for her generosity

Police are also looking for a man who they believe left his car in Ms Smith's carport and used her vehicle for an undisclosed period of time.

They are also seeking further information about a man and woman who visited Ms Smith regularly at her home between in October and November 2018.

'We'd like to know anybody who saw the people attending. Police want to know why they were there. Were they providing care to her?' Detective Bray said.

A total 45 calls have been made to Crime Stoppers from members of the public which have been 'extremely helpful'.

'We thank the community for their interest in this case, the 45 calls so far have been extremely helpful and have opened up further lines of enquiry,' Detective Bray said.

'There's lots of things that have come out in this investigation that I wouldn't think would ever happen you should be treating Annie just like you treat your mum.

'You wouldn't expect any person in 2020 to be neglected in such a way, and secondly you wouldn't expect somebody that requires others for care in their life to be exploited by anybody.'

Police have launched an investigation into Ms Smith's appalling death and her carer, who now faces criminal charges has been sacked

Police have launched an investigation into Ms Smith's appalling death and her carer, who now faces criminal charges has been sacked.

'The matters referred to by Ms Sharkie are similar to matters that the NDIS Commission either has under active investigation, or has taken enforcement or compliance action on,' an NDIS spokesperson said.

'Some of the matters referred to by Ms Sharkie are criminal matters and should be investigated by the appropriate authorities.

'All alleged criminal conduct matters that the NDIS Commission are made aware of are referred to the Police and other appropriate authorities as relevant. The NDIS Commission cannot undertake criminal investigations.'
Sushmita Sens boyfriend Rohman Shawl has shared a behind the scenes video from the sets of her web show, Aarya, along with a note for the amazing woman. He can be seen singing a song while playing the guitar on the sets.

He posted it on Instagram and wrote, I have wanted to share this Video for months!! Finally the time has come!! Let me give you the back story of this video !! Its from the first time that i went to the set of AARYA (they were shooting in Madh island on this particular day)!! I have known Sush to be a certain way & i had no doubt that she will Own the character of Aarya !

So the first time i saw her perform, i realised how unaware i was of her true potential as an Actor !! @sushmitasen i have seen you mould into Aarya, i have seen you grow as Aarya, i have seen you give your soul to Aarya & now i can finally say, i have seen you Rule the world as AARYA!! Take a bow you Amazing woman !! Thank you everyone for all the positive feed back on AARYA. P.s. Hats off to team Aarya @officialrmfilms @sandeipm @vinraw @madhvaniram Thank you so much.

Reposting the video on her Instagram page, Sushmita wrote, You have a way with me @rohmanshawl My Rock, my love & my best friend..Thank you for holding my hand through it all...couldnt have done it without you!! I love you ya!!! #memories #whatavoice #whataheart.

Sushmita plays the role of Aarya Sareen, a happily married woman whose world turns upside down when her husband (Chandrachur Singh) is shot. She gets to know that he may have been involved in an illegal drug racket which now threatens her family. The web series, which is based on the Dutch series Penoza, is co-directed by Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi and Vinod Rawat.The show is streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

Also read: Only you could have saved Sushant Singh Rajput: Actors friend Sandip Ssingh tells Ankita Lokhande in heartfelt note

Talking about her choice of roles now, Sushmita had told PTI in an interview, I dont think women today in India are bechari. If you want a show in the present time, you cant make something regressive and I, for one, will not work in that scenario. I cant work in something that is regressive, I never will. It doesnt always has to be mind-blowing as central characters are but I cant do something that is uninspired and give six months of my life to it unless it has substance in it to inspire people.

(With PTI inputs)

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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A significant change in Rules of Engagement (ROE) by the Indian Army following the Galwan Valley skirmish that left 20 Indian soldiers dead gives complete freedom of action to commanders deployed along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) to handle situations at the tactical level, two senior officers said on Saturday on condition of anonymity.

The commanders will no longer be bound by restrictions on the use of firearms and will have full authority to respond to extraordinary situations using all resources at their disposal, said one of the officers cited above.

The amendment in ROE comes after Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in their first deadly conflict in 45 years in Galwan Valley on June 15, resulting in death of 20 Indian army troops and several Chinese casualties.

Also read: Released after 60 hours by China, 10 Indian soldiers undergo debriefing

In his remarks during an all-party meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the army had been given the freedom to take necessary steps along the border and India had conveyed its position (to China) through diplomatic means.

With the changes in the ROE, theres nothing that limits the ability of Indian commanders to take whatever action they deem necessary on the LAC. ROE have been amended to address the brutal tactics being employed by Chinese troops, said the second officer cited above.

The seven-hour Galwan Valley clash marked the first time India suffered combat fatalities in an incident involving Chinese troops since 1975. Changes in ROE were imminent after a series of violent clashes along the border, with the army finally deciding not to restrict the scope of response of its soldiers after the June 15 clash, the second officer said.

Two violent clashes took place in Pangong Tso (May 5-6) and Galwan Valley (around mid-May) before the June 15 skirmish in eastern Ladakh. On all occasions, they came in huge numbers and assaulted our troops with iron roads and nail-studded clubs. Our troops fought back fearlessly but the ROE had to be revisited, he said.

Also read: India tells China to stick to its side, says no soldier missing

Forward troops keep their guns slung on their backs with the magazines in pouches and not clipped on.

Since soldiers are allowed to carry weapons while patrolling the LAC, it is inherent that they can use the firearms in unprecedented situations like the attack in Galwan Valley, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd).

The government said on Thursday that soldiers involved in the June 15 clash with Chinese troops were carrying weapons and ammunition but did not open fire as they were following border agreements between the two countries -- a remark that came in response to a question from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on whether the Indian soldiers were sent in unarmed.

Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs, external affairs minister S Jaishankar tweeted, responding to a post by Gandhi earlier this week.

Border agreements from 1996 and 2005 between India and China disallow the use of firearms during face-offs. Article 6 of the agreement on confidence-building measures in the military field along the LAC, signed by India and China in November 1996, states that both sides will not open fire or conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometers from the Line of Actual Control.

Top retired commanders and China watchers, however, said that Galwan clash and last months Pangong Tso brawl were not classical face-offs between rival troops but were extremely violent attacks on Indian soldiers.

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International Yoga Day to be marked on digital platforms amid COVID-19 pandemic

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 20: With the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic looming large, International Day of Yoga on Sunday will be celebrated on digital media platforms sans mass gatherings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message would be the highlight of the occasion.

Yoga Day will go digital for the first time since June 21, 2015, when it began to be celebrated annually across the world, coinciding with the Summer Solstice each year. This year's theme is 'Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family' and people will be able to join the celebrations virtually at 7 am on June 21.

The Indian missions abroad are trying to reach out to the people through digital media as well as through the network of institutions which support yoga, officials said.

The Ministry of AYUSH had planned to hold a grand event in Leh, but cancelled it due to the pandemic. On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga', months after Modi had proposed the idea.

A message from Prime Minister Modi will be the highlight of the International Day of Yoga which will be observed on electronic and digital platforms on June 21, the AYUSH ministry said on Thursday.

73% of COVID-19 deaths in India are people with co-morbidities: Govt

"Due to the current global health emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the focus this year is less on such celebrations and more on people performing Yoga at their respective homes with participation of the entire family," the ministry said.

The prime minister's remarks will be televised at 6.30 am, a statement by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) said. As has been the practice in International Day of Yoga (IDY) observation, the PM's message will be followed by a live demonstration of a 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) by a team from Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga. The CYP drill has been designed keeping in mind people of different age groups and of varied walks of life, the ministry had said in its statement.

"Yoga is found to be especially relevant in the pandemic situation, since its practice leads to both physical and mental wellbeing, and increases the individual's ability to fight diseases," it said.

Modi on Thursday had urged people, in a video message, to observe the day from the confines of their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This year, the event will highlight the utility of yoga for individuals, to develop immunity to combat the global pandemic and strengthen the community in managing some of the significant aspects of this crisis," Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, president, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) had said earlier this month.

The ministry and ICCR, through the 'My Life - My Yoga' video blogging competition which was launched by the prime minister on May 31, has sought to raise awareness about yoga and inspire people to prepare for and become active participants in the observation of IDY 2020. The contest has two legs -- the first one consisting of an international video blogging contest wherein the winners will be picked within a country.

This will be followed by global prize winners who will be selected from different countries.

To enter the contest, participants were required to upload a three-minute video of three yogic practices (kriya', asana', pranayama', bandha' or mudra'), including a short video message/description on how the said yogic practices influenced their lives.

The videos could be uploaded on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the contest hashtag #MyLifeMyYogaINDIA and appropriate category hashtag. Entries could be submitted by participants under three categories-- youth (male and female aged under 18), adults (male and female above 18 years) and yoga professionals (male and female), Kotecha said. This made it a total of six categories in all.

For India contestants, prizes worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 will be given for first, second and third positions within each of the categories. The Indian missions abroad will give away prizes in each country.

At the global level, cash prizes worth USD 2,500, USD 1,500 and USD 1,000 along with a trophy and certificate will be given to those ranking first, second and third, respectively.

The blogging contest which has started on various digital platforms such as MyGov.gov.in will end on Sunday. The jury will then later collectively decide and announce the names of the winners.

The International Day of Yoga will be celebrated at AIIMS, New Delhi with an online live yoga session that shall be telecast on AIIMS Telemedicine YouTube channel at 07:00 AM on Sunday under the aegis of Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research (CIMR).

The mandate of the CIMR is to conduct transformational research to understand the feasibility and applicability of yoga and integrative medicine in prevention and management of diseases. Yoga programmes are organised across the globe by Indian missions every year, but this year will be different.

Several missions are organizing digital events to mark the occasion. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts in Texas and adjoining US states are all set to roll out their mats to bend and twist their bodies in complex postures from the safety of their homes with acclaimed yoga guru Baba Ramdev on livestream to mark the International Day of Yoga on Sunday.
China says potential US decision to end ties 'will only hurt Americans'

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 2:11 PM

China has responded to President Donald Trump's recent threat to cut ties with Beijing, warning that the move "will only hurt American citizens."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily press briefing in Beijing on Friday that a decision to arbitrarily decouple from China would not be realistic or wise, after Trump renewed his threat to sever relations with China.

On Thursday, Trump said Washington could pursue a "complete decoupling from" Beijing.

Trump's threat came a day after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Congress that he did not think severing bilateral trade ties was a viable option. His threat also came a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, amid uncertainty over whether a trade pact between the two nations will remain intact.

The world's two largest economies have been at odds over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the past months. The new coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, first erupted in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year before growing into a global pandemic.

Trump, under whose watch the United States became the epicenter of the outbreak in a matter of weeks, accused China of withholding important information in the early days of the outbreak, as he came under intense domestic criticism over his slow and inadequate response to the American outbreak.

China has fiercely defended its handling of the new coronavirus, saying it has been open in informing the World Health Organization (WHO) and affected countries about the virus.

Trump first ratcheted up tensions with China over trade, when in 2018, he introduced unusually high tariffs on imports of Chinese goods. China reciprocated, but eventually, trade frictions seemed to have eased when the US president and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a preliminary deal in January this year.

That gave rise to hopes that relations were on the mend, but last month, Trump abruptly said he was uninterested in speaking to President Xi Jinping and suggested he might sever ties with China altogether.

More recently, tensions have also mounted between the two countries over China's move to introduce a national security law for Hong Kong.

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Laws to protect struggling British firms from takeovers by foreign companies are to be introduced by Ministers following a series of political rows over the expansionist ambitions of Chinese business.

The legislation will give Business Secretary Alok Sharma extra powers to impose conditions on deals to protect key UK firms that have been left vulnerable by the Covid-19 economic crash.

The move is initially designed to protect businesses which are on the front line in the battle against the virus, but will be expanded to protect all companies deemed important to national security.

The legislation will give Business Secretary Alok Sharma extra powers to impose conditions on deals to protect key UK firms that have been left vulnerable by the Covid-19 economic crash

It follows an outcry over an attempted coup by a China-backed company at Imagination Technologies  a UK firm that designs graphic chips for Apple  with Tory MPs protesting that if it had succeeded, it would have effectively handed a strategically important business into the hands of Beijing.

Writing in todays Mail on Sunday, Mr Sharma says that we must not be blind to the risks hostile actors could pose, adding: The UK is open for investment, but not for exploitation. I am changing the law to protect those important businesses from being taken over by opportunistic investors.

I am expanding the Governments powers to intervene in mergers and acquisitions some potential takeovers or mergers in these areas currently fall outside of the Governments powers for intervention, because the companies are often new, and relatively small. This is not acceptable.

It follows an outcry over an attempted coup by a China-backed company at Imagination Technologies  a UK firm that designs graphic chips for Apple  with Tory MPs protesting that if it had succeeded, it would have effectively handed a strategically important business into the hands of Beijing

That is why I am introducing a new law to lower the threshold for intervention on turnover and share of supply for these three areas, to give the Government the oversight it needs. These measures will address national security risks in the short-term, before I set out further plans in the forthcoming National Security and Investment Bill. This Bill will ensure parties cannot avoid the scrutiny of the law by acquiring an asset that could have national security implications.

Currently, the Business Secretary can intervene only if the targeted business has a UK turnover of more than 1 million. That figure was cut in 2018 from 70 million.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is drawing up a package of measures to boost the economy.

Among the options are a cut to VAT, changes to National Insurance and tax perks for developers to encourage a house-building boom. The Treasury has also been urged to cut stamp duty to incentivise people to buy a home.

Business lobby groups believe cutting National Insurance would help employers keep staff in work as the Governments furlough scheme is withdrawn later this year.

Last weekend, business tycoon Richard Caring  who owns a string of restaurants including the Ivy chain and Scotts in London as well as the famous Annabels private members club  warned in The Mail on Sunday that two million employees could be made redundant across the sector in a volcano of job losses

It is thought any intervention could be reversed when companies have recovered.

The Treasury is understood to be particularly concerned about workers in the hospitality sector, where businesses face a challenge to reopen under social distancing.

Last weekend, business tycoon Richard Caring  who owns a string of restaurants including the Ivy chain and Scotts in London as well as the famous Annabels private members club  warned in The Mail on Sunday that two million employees could be made redundant across the sector in a volcano of job losses.

The Chancellor is also expected to kickstart shovel-ready projects  such as HS2 and pothole repairs  that could give an instant boost to employment and activity.

Lobby groups including the Institute of Directors (IoD), CBI and Federation of Small Businesses want the Government to speed up the rollout of superfast broadband, which is seen as a key area for investment with many businesses now operating remotely.

The IoD has also asked the Government to introduce incentives for companies looking to invest in growing their businesses.

The Treasury has also been urged to change planning restrictions so that empty high-street stores can be more easily converted into residential homes.

Business Secretary ALOK SHARMA says Britain is open for investment, not exploitation as he announces new laws to protect UK companies from 'opportunistic' foreign takeovers

Throughout this crisis, I have been struck by the fortitude shown by the brilliant British businesses at the heart of our Covid-19 response.

They have shown great agility by switching their manufacturing lines to make PPE, and our pharmaceutical industry is making good progress in finding a vaccine and tests for the virus.

They have stood by this country during our time of greatest need, and, as Business Secretary, I am determined to do everything I can to repay their dedication and protect them from possible risks.

In my role as Business Secretary, I can also act on any takeover risks by imposing conditions on a deal to better protect the UK, writes Alok Sharma, pictured above

Overseas investment has the potential to provide a much-needed boost to companies right across Britain. But we must not be blind to the risks hostile actors could pose to businesses that are on the front line in our battle against the virus.

Key firms such as those involved in keeping the food supply chain going and PPE manufacturers are not immune to the economic disruption caused by Covid-19 and could be an attractive prospect for investors looking to capitalise on firms temporary financial vulnerability.

And it is absolutely essential that now and in the future, we maintain our capacity to respond to public health emergencies such as Covid-19.

The Government wants to ensure these kinds of critical businesses, which may have become more susceptible to takeovers  either from hostile approaches or through owners feeling they have little choice but to sell to foreign investors because of short-term financial distress  have the necessary protections in place.

I am changing the law to protect those important businesses from being taken over by opportunistic investors. I am expanding the Governments powers to intervene in mergers and acquisitions.

The change will mean that if an investor targets a firm critical to fighting Covid-19 or a future pandemic, I will be able to intervene. A London factory is pictured above making NHS gowns

The law already allows interventions if the transaction raises concerns in the UK about media plurality, financial stability and national security. This will be expanded to encompass the need to maintain the capability to combat, and mitigate the effects of, public health emergencies.

The change will mean that if an investor targets a firm critical to fighting Covid-19 or a future pandemic, I will be able to intervene.

In my role as Business Secretary, I can also act on any takeover risks by imposing conditions on a deal to better protect the UK.

This legislation is not anti-investment, but a sensible and proportionate response to the heightened risks posed by the pandemic.

It is about ensuring the Government has the necessary powers to safeguard the welfare of British businesses and people in these unprecedented circumstances.

The UK is not alone in making these changes. Germany, the Netherlands and Australia have recognised the likelihood of raids in the wake of the pandemic, and responded accordingly.

Of course, we want to remain open to inward investment. Indeed, the UK is the top destination in Europe for foreign investment  and third in the world. International investment created about 58,000 new jobs in the UK in 2018-19.

But, at the same time, we must preserve our precious national resilience and make sure the rules in place for scrutinising mergers and acquisitions allows us to be the best place in the world to do business.

Some of our pioneering and innovating new industries also need our support. In recent years, the UK has made big leaps in three emerging areas critical to our national security: artificial intelligence, cryptographic authentication technology and advanced materials.

This legislation is not anti-investment, but a sensible and proportionate response to the heightened risks posed by the pandemic. Shoppers are pictured lining up outside retail businesses in Bournemouth this week

Some potential takeovers or mergers in these areas currently fall outside of the Governments powers for intervention, because the companies are often new, and relatively small. This is not acceptable.

That is why I am introducing a new law to lower the threshold for intervention on turnover and share of supply for these three areas, to give Government the oversight it needs.

These measures will address national security risks in the short-term, before I set out further plans in the forthcoming National Security and Investment Bill.

This Bill will ensure parties cannot avoid the scrutiny of the law by acquiring an asset that could have national security implications, such as intellectual property, rather than the business itself.

Covid-19 has shaken this country, but our foundations are strong. We must not allow them to be weakened at this critical juncture. My message is clear: the UK is open for investment, but not for exploitation.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said on Friday he would not be resigning, after Attorney General Bill Barr announced his replacement late Friday night.

Why it matters: Berman oversaw one of the highest profile districts in the country and many politically charged prosecutions, including those over President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen and investigations into hush money payments during the 2016 election.

What's next: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton was nominated to replace Berman, according to Barr's Friday evening press release. Craig Carpenito, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, is to serve in Berman's role starting July 3 as the Senate considers Clayton's nomination.

What they're saying: For the past three years, Jay has been an extraordinarily successful SEC Chairman, overseeing efforts to modernize regulation of the capital markets, protect Main Street investors, enhance American competitiveness, and address challenges ranging from cybersecurity issues to the COVID-19 pandemic," Barr said in Friday's announcement.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Berman's response that he does not plan to step down.
A young woman has been arrested in connection to the killing of a police officer during a shooting rampage.

Constable Matthew Hunt, 28, was gunned down during a routine traffic stop in Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday morning.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with murder.

Police have now arrested Natalie Bracken, 30, who they allege was an accessory after the fact to the murder.

She was taken into police custody on Saturday afternoon and is expected to appear in Waitakere District Court on Monday morning.

Police allege Natalie Bracken (pictured), 30, was an accessory after the fact in the fatal shooting of Auckland Constable Matthew Hunt

Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Massey, west Auckland, on Friday morning

The incident occurred in the Auckland suburb of Massey, 17km west of the city's CBD, on Friday morning

Constable Hunt was killed and another was shot in the leg after they tried to pull over a vehicle for routine traffic in the Massey area.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the two officers initially lost sight of the vehicle but later found it had crashed.

When they approached the scene, a man with a 'long-barrelled firearm' began shooting at the unarmed officers.

The shooter and the female accomplice, who police believe is Bracken, then fled the area in another vehicle.

As the pair allegedly made their getaway, the vehicle then struck an innocent bystander who is now recovering in hospital.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Constable Hunt and appeared via video-link at the Waitakere District Court on Saturday.

The alleged killer was granted an interim name suppression and cannot be identified under New Zealand law.

Armed police are seen on Friday morning in Massey (pictured), west of Auckland, where one officer was shot dead and another seriously injured during a traffic stop

Armed police are seen standing guard on Friday morning (pictured)

Bracken was taken into custody 'without incident' after she was found at a West Auckland address at about 3pm.

She is scheduled to go before court on Monday.

'Our police officers work hard every day to keep us and our communities safe,' Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

'To lose a police officer is to lose someone working for all of us, but also a family member, someone's loved one and friend.

'My condolences go to them and to their police whanau,' she added using the Maori word for family.

Following the shocking incident, all police officers across Auckland were given orders to remain armed.

But with both suspects now in custody, the temporary carrying of firearms is no longer in place.

Pictured: Flowers are placed outside Henderson Police Station in Auckland on Saturday

Mourners leave floral tributes for Constable Hunt in Auckland on Saturday morning
HONG KONG - The man nicknamed Hong Kongs Father of Democracy said that Beijing is trying to take control of the semi-autonomous city with an impending national security law, but that violent protest is not the answer.

This is clearly a pretext for Beijing to assert comprehensive control over Hong Kong, as they said they would six years ago, longtime activist and former lawmaker Martin Lee said in an interview on Friday.

The national security law, which could be approved in Beijing this weekend, is aimed at curbing secessionist, subversive, terrorist and foreign interference that Beijing says fueled the monthslong anti-government protests in Hong Kong. The law would be enacted by the central government, bypassing the citys legislature.

The end of Hong Kong as we know it, as an international city, as a free port and with all our freedoms protected by our independent court  this could well disappear, Lee said.

He said he hoped that Beijing will keep to its promise and abide by the so-called one country, two systems framework, where Hong Kong people will rule Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was assured that it would be allowed to maintain its freedoms, many not found on the mainland, when it was handed over to China in 1997. Last years protests were sparked by opposition to a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be sent for trial on the mainland, something many saw as a violation of that commitment.

The 82-year-old Lee was arrested for the first time in April together with 14 other pro-democracy figures. They were charged with participating in and organizing several of last years protests.

Its selective prosecution, he said, calling the charges politically motivated. But if they want to charge 15 of us over this series of demonstrations, then so be it.

He said they had a strong defence and expressed confidence they would be acquitted.

Lee urged Hong Kongers to protest peacefully against the national security law, even after it is enacted. The protests last year were the most violent Hong Kong has seen since the handover to China.

I hope theres no violence in these public demonstrations because you cannot win. Once you use weapons, how can you defeat the Hong Kong policemen, who are so well-armed? he asked.

The controversial national security law has drawn sharp rebuke from the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, with activists like Lee and others saying that it erodes the one country, two systems framework.

The Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress is deliberating the law during a three-day meeting that ends Saturday. It is not clear if it will approve the law at this session.

Yue Zhongming, a spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee, said Tuesday that the committee planned to speed up the formulation of the law.

Lee was part of the committee that helped draft the Basic Law, Hong Kongs constitution, although he later resigned in protest over Beijings bloody crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

In 1990, he founded Hong Kongs first pro-democracy party, and has been a champion of democracy and human rights for the past four decades.
Eighty-eight past students of the School of Social Work, Osu, have petitioned the Head of the Local Government Service and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection for jobs.



The petitioners say after a decade of completing school, they have been rendered redundant despite the knowledge they have received from the institution.



According to them, in spite of the professional knowledge they have acquired, other professionals were rather being given the job.



We have realised that graduates of other institutions without the required knowledge and skills are rather being engaged to provide social welfare services.



Social work is a demanding profession and requires the practitioner to be well versatile with a set of basic social work skills which will enable the worker to function well and resolve the problem of his/her client.



Provision of social welfare services, therefore, requires professionally trained and competent social workers with a certain peculiar skills for efficient and effective social work that leads to client satisfaction, the petition jointly signed by National president and General Secretary, Garglo Rita Esionam Stella and Klutse Norvi, said.



It continued: Every institution has its own staffing norms and manpower needs. The Social Welfare Unit, among others, require staff in multi-skills which needs working with families and individuals in crisis, encountering psychosocial and interpersonal problems, knowledge skills in handling domestic violence, child abuse and sexual violence cases. We have been imbibed with these qualities to serve the needs of the society.



The role of trained social workers cannot be played by any mere person, except people who have been trained by the School of Social Work hence the establishment of the school to feed the Department of Social Welfare.



The petition comes days after the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, in an answer to a Parliamentary question on June 11, 2020, said her outfit has data on over 4,800 street children in Accra.



In order to help government find solutions to some cankers, such as child trafficking, teenage pregnancy, child prostitution, streetism, amongst others, we the unemployed graduates want to be employed to help nip these challenges in the bud, the petition added.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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United Nations has called for peace and dialogue in Mali as security forces battle violent protests. On June 20, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called upon Malian political leaders to refrain from actions likely to trigger demonstrations. This comes as thousands of civilians, on June 19, took to streets demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's resignation for the second time in the month.

Read: Extremist Group Al-Shabab Sets Up COVID-19 Center In Somalia

''The Secretary-General calls on all political leaders to send clear messages to their supporters to exercise utmost restraint and to refrain from any action likely to fuel tensions," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

During massive demonstrations, protesters criticized the April legislative election and called for the National Assembly and constitutional court to be dissolved. According to reports, they also put up roadblocks to prevent police from advancing after the latter started firing tear gas to disperse the crowds in Bamako's Independence Square. Mahmoud Dicko, an imam who has helped lead the movement against the 75-year-old president, then asked demonstrators to go home and said he would get back to them on what comes next.

Read: 24 Malian Soldiers Killed In Ambush Near Mauritania Border

Mali's political crisis

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is due to step down in 2023, became president the year after Mali's president of a decade was overthrown in a coup, creating a power vacuum that allowed the Islamic insurgency to take hold. Seven years after the French-led military intervention, insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group continue to launch frequent attacks. Over the last five years, they also have expanded their reach into central Mali, stoking animosity and deadly violence between ethnic groups in the region.

Read: Police Fire Tear Gas At Protest Against Mali's President

Read: Shoaib Malik To Skip Initial Weeks Of England Tour, Will Join Pakistan Team In July

Image credits: AP
Area animal shelters showered with funds in memory of Betty White

The online fundraiser challenged fans of actress Betty White to donate to a local animal rescue or shelter in honor of her Jan. 17 birthday.
She recently returned to her job as a pharmacist amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, just months after rising to reality TV fame on Love Island.

And Anna Vakili, 29, was seen reporting for duty on Friday, as she arrived for work at a pharmacy in Twickenham, west London.

The reality star cut a stylish figure in a black-and-white plaid trouser suit, which she teamed with an all-important face mask as she arrived at her place of work.

Reporting for duty: Anna Vakili, 29, was seen reporting for duty, as she arrived for work at a pharmacy in Twickenham, west London, on Friday

Teaming her ensemble with a white figure-hugging top, Anna complemented her look with a pair of cream plimsolls and a matching handbag.

Wearing her chestnut brown locks in a sleek ponytail, she wore a palette of impeccable-applied makeup as she settled into her day's work.

Anna rose to fame on Love Island in the summer of 2019, embarking on a relationship with Jordan Hames, before ditching him for Ovie Soko during Casa Amor week.

Protected: The reality star cut a stylish figure in a black-and-white plaid trouser suit, which she teamed with an all-important face mask as she arrived at her place of work

On realising that she still had feelings for Jordan, she soon recoupled with him, only for her love interest to reveal he had his eye on Ovie's new girl India Reynolds.

The fallout resulted in both Anna and Jordan leaving the villa single, just ahead of the final, which saw Amber Gill and Gregg O'Shea emerge as the victors.

Earlier this month, Anna shared an emotional plea to the government requesting more funding and PPE to help pharmacists on the front line.

She filmed the video at the upmarket west London pharmacy where she works as a locum.

Emotional: Earlier this month, the star shared an emotional plea to the government requesting more funding and PPE to help pharmacists on the front line

Anna shared: 'Since I've been back I've just been amazed by the heroic work that pharmacy staff are doing all across the UK during this outbreak...

'They're putting themselves at risk by physically seeing patients and dispensing and delivering millions of prescriptions to the most vulnerable people.'

The reality star continued: 'Local pharmacies have had to spend thousands to stay open and I know the government has given them a loan...

'It might seem like a lot, but that loan has to be paid back, and when that time comes so many of them will be forced to shut down because they can't afford to pay it back.

'There are 11,500 local pharmacies so imagine how many jobs will be lost. I'm calling on the government to please back our pharmacy heroes with more support.

'I know the Chancellor grew up working in his mum's pharmacy and I know he values the work that they do.

'Our local pharmacies have been there for us in this crisis so let's be there for them now. Please can you all share this and help me get the word out.'

She went on: 'Last week I worked in a pharmacy that had no protective equipment and I'm just shocked that several months in, so many pharmacies still don't have the protective equipment they need to stay safe.

Place of work: She filmed the video at the west London pharmacy where she works as a locum

'So many of them have only received a third to a quarter of what they were promised and they're having to rely on customer donations and eBay.

'This is really bad because local pharmacies are small enough as it is and it's difficult to maintain social distancing.

'So far five UK pharmacists have died on the front line and there's a risk that number could increase.'

The reality star ended her plea: '1.6 million people on average visit a pharmacy every day and I'm sure they would agree that these amazing NHS workers deserve more recognition and support from the government.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a Rs 50,000 crore mega job scheme for migrant workers who returned to their home states during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The mega employment scheme, to be launched from Bihar's Khagaria district, will be rolled out in 116 districts which have received the largest numbers of workers from urban centres.

I am glad that I have been able to interact with so many who have been affected by COVID-19. I am glad that we were able to help the migrants by providing them trains to go home. COVID-19 has affected the whole world...but you have shown courage...our villages have shown cities how to fight the virus, he said at the launch.

Lately, a considerable number of migrant workers have returned back to their states from urban and industrial centres due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Modi said the scheme would help migrant workers find employment close to their homes. Today is a historic day...today we are beginning a big new scheme for the poor...this will benefit the migrant labourers and our brothers and sisters in villages. This scheme will ensure that all migrant labourers will get a jobs close to their homes.

I was inspired to launch this scheme because of migrant labourers This scheme will be given 50,000cr for the development of villages and labourers in those villages, he added.

At a curtain raiser press meet on the launch of the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 25 existing schemes have been brought together to provide jobs to migrant workers.

She said that districts have been chosen on the basis on having received at least 25,000 migrant workers.

Besides, the minister said that Rs 50,000 crore will be front loaded for the mega job scheme and that skill mapping of these workers have been conducted.

She said that scheme will result in livelihood for migrant workers for 125 days and create assets for these districts.

Geographical-spread wise, Bihar has the highest number of such districts numbering 32, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 31, Madhya Pradesh at 24 and Rajasthan at 22.
A university in central China has banned one of its professors from teaching after she expressed sympathies online for Hong Kongs anti-government protesters and the countrys official position on Japans wartime activities.

Hubei Universitys Communist Party committee announced on Saturday that Liang Yanping, a professor of literary criticism at the universitys school of Chinese language and literature, had been expelled from the party for publishing wrong remarks concerning Hong Kong and Japan.

Liang would be banned from teaching and supervising graduate students, according to the university.

The university began investigating Liang, 59, in April after she wrote an article online in support of novelist Wang Fang, known as Fang Fang, who documented her daily life under strict lockdown in Wuhan, where the pandemic coronavirus first erupted.

Fang Fangs Wuhan Diary criticised the local governments handling of the crisis and she was labelled as a traitor after news emerged that the posts would be published overseas in English and German.

Liang voiced her support for Fang Fang and praised her work as human-centred.

Fang Fang asked these questions out of her sense of responsibility and her conscience. They were questions from a critic. A normal society without a voice of criticism would be horrifying, Liang wrote.

Liang herself became under attack after Fang Fang shared Liangs comments in her microblog.

Internet users dug up her old posts, including one expressing sympathy for Hong Kong university student Chow Tsz-lok, who died from head injuries from a fall near a site of protest and police clearance operation last year. She also posted a photo of herself in a black mask, which many Hong Kong protesters wore.

In addition, in a post dated 2013, Liang forwarded posts on Weibo that suggested that Japan was justified in invading China and that comfort women were volunteers who deserved a place in the Yasukuni Shrine. Another post questioned the casualty of the Nanking massacre by the Japanese troops in 1937.

Story continues

The university announced at the end of April that it would investigate Liang following complaints by internet users over her social media postings concerning protests in Hong Kong last year and the Yasukuni Shrine.

In guidelines released in 2018, the Ministry of Education said that university teachers who did not uphold certain morals would be warned, punished, sacked from their posts or face a criminal investigation.

Sign up now for a 50% early bird discount on the 100+ page China Internet Report 2020 Pro Edition, which includes deep-dive analysis, trends, and case studies on the 10 most important internet sectors. Now in its 3rd year, this go-to source for understanding China tech also comes with exclusive access to 6 webinars with C-level executives. Offer valid until 30 June 2020.

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1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

Vote

View Results
WEST CHESTER  An Immaculata University student who adopted beliefs popular among the Moorish American anti-court movement was sent to Chester County Prison after a judge criticized her for putting a Malvern police officers life in jeopardy during a routine traffic stop.

Luckily, he didnt die, Common Pleas Court Judge Jacqueline Carroll Cody said of Officer Patrick Dougherty, who was dragged several feet by the car Janay Rebecca Smith was driving the night he pulled her over for running several stop signs in the borough. But you didnt care what was going to happen to him.

What you did that night almost killed somebody, Cody said as Smith looked on from the courtroom podium.

Cody sentenced Smith, who was commuting to Immaculata from her home in Philadelphia at the time of the incident, to serve nine to 23 months in the county prison, plus an additional four years of probation. She must undergo anger management courses, and work 25 hours in community service as part of her overall sentence.

Cody, who had presided over Smiths trial in January as well as a number of contentious court appearances at which Smith seemed to assert that the court held no jurisdiction over her, a frequent contention of the Moorish American movement, noted that she could have sent Smith to a state prison to serve a longer sentence. Her lack of a criminal record, however, spared her that fate, the judge said.

In January following a three-day-long trial, a jury found Smith guilty on one felony count of aggravated assault, fleeing or eluding police, recklessly endangering another person and related charges.

Smith, 29, who now lives with her new husband in Las Vegas, represented herself in the trial.

Although she had previously questioned the legitimacy of courts in Pennsylvania and has contended that since she is a Moorish American, she cannot be judged by current legal authorities, during the trial she refrained from outbursts or sideshows and appeared polite and reserved.

Smith contended during the trial that she had panicked during her encounter with the Malvern police and had not meant to harm either Dougherty or his colleague, Officer Tyler Bury, that night.

That excuse was disputed by the lead prosecutor in the case, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei, as well as Dougherty, who wrote a victim impact statement for Cody in which he detailed the emotional impact experience had had on him and his family.

She had no respect for my life or my partners life, Dougherty wrote in the statement that was read in court by Malvern Chief Louis Marcelli because the officer was unavailable last week. I was lucky to receive only bumps and bruises. I was one of the lucky ones. I still think about that night and how it could have ended differently.

Frei reminded Cody that the video recorded of the traffic stop on King Street in the borough showed the two officers treating Smith professionally, not inflaming the situation or acting aggressively, in contrast to social media videos of hostile interactions between police and black motorists in recent months.

Nobody yelled at her, Frei said, in asking Cody to sentence Smith to a long stay in county prison. They were polite. They were respectful. They treated her with nothing but kindness and respect. They went out of their way to be kind to her

Nevertheless, Smith decided to run from the scene in her car while Dougherty was trying to get her to step outside her car for identification. Officer Dougherty didnt know if he was going to go home that night when she took off.

For her part, Smith continued to insist that she had felt trapped in a box during the encounter and that her decision to flee the scene was misinterpreted as an attempt to harm the officers. We both were out of line, she said. You put out what you want to receive.

I didnt want things to escalate like this, Smith said. This will never happen again, ever.

According to testimony at her trial, Smith was pulled over around 9:10 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2018, while driving a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo which Bury had seen fail to stop at several stop signs along the King Street corridor running eastbound into the borough. The car kept going even after Bury activated his lights and siren, and eventually pulled into the Malvern Shopping Center in the middle of town.

When Bury asked Smith for her license and registration, she first hesitated and then began questioning him about the stop. What had she done wrong? What authority did he have to stop her? All are the sort of questions that persons who identify with the Moorish American or Sovereign Citizen movements pose because they question whether police have the Constitutional right to stop them for such things as traffic infractions without presenting a warrant.

At some point, Dougherty arrived, first as backup at the scene and later, as Smiths refusal to comply with providing identification became more pronounced, side by side with Bury at the passenger door. Smith eventually produced two ID cards, which proved to be self-produced Aboriginal American Native ID cards that many in the Moorish movement use. Her Pennsylvania drivers license was under suspension at the time.

Bury and Dougherty said that they were not able to match the name on the cards, Janay Rebecca Bey, with any valid drivers license, and told Smith she would be taken into custody so they could ascertain her name and address. When she refused to get out of the car, they began trying to pull her front the drivers seat and she fought back.

With Bury to the rear and Dougherty closest to the door and holding onto her arm, Smith put the car in gear and hit the accelerator. Bury testified he saw Dougherty dragged between 10 and 20 feet before falling to the ground and rolling over.

Dougherty was only moderately injured and missed two days at work as he underwent occupational therapy.

I definitely needed to go to the hospital, that night, he told Frei in his testimony in January. But I would rather have caught the person who did this. Asked his reaction to what happened to him, Dougherty answered, I felt like Id been hit by a bus.

Were you afraid? asked Frei. Yes, the officer answered.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
The monk has been identified as Monk Um Deeruenram, 57, who out of rage and jealousy took this drastic step. The incident took place, as he was driving around Thailand in his van, when he passed his ex-girlfriend Lampai Bualoi's house. While passing by, he suddenly spotted her sitting in a car with her new boyfriend.

Looking at this, the monk allegedly rammed his van into the couple's vehicle outside the house. As soon as the monk got out of the van, Lampai's new boyfriend is believed to have absconded from the scene. The monk in rage then grabbed a machete from his van and hacked the woman to death. She was pregnant with his ( monk's) unborn baby.

Feeling guilty of what he did, the monk then allegedly approached Lampai's home where he confessed to the crime. Few police officers, who arrived at the scene arrested the monk and took him into custody.

When the media contacted the monk's brother, he told officers that his sibling had repeatedly spoken of a desire to kill Lampai after they had separated. "They were in a relationship for a couple of years before breaking up and then the woman started seeing her new boyfriend. My brother used to tell me about how she kept coming back to him and asking for money, which made him angry because he had given her so much money already. The last time she came she threatened to spread the news about him being the father of her child, which could have destroyed his Buddhist career," the monk's brother said.

When local media tried to speak to Lampai's cousin, Walai Bualoi; he said: "They did have a relationship but that was before he entered the monkhood and after that they had not contacted each other. I believe that the monk was jealous after he saw Lampai in a car with her new boyfriend and could not stand the sight of it."

Meanwhile, the monk has confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend. Also, the injuries on the woman's body were so severe that she could not be saved.
You may recognize Jamal Trulove from his breakout role in The Last Black Man in San Francisco." On Friday night, the actor, who grew up in the Sunnydale projects of San Francisco, is speaking at a Juneteenth protest and celebration at Lake Merritt in Oakland.

Truloves connection to the widespread movement against police brutality toward Black people is extremely personal: In 2007, Trulove was wrongfully convicted for murder by the San Francisco police and spent six years in prison, until he was granted a retrial in 2015. Police officers were found to have deliberately fabricated evidence and framed Trulove. He was acquitted, and eventually received a $13.1 million settlement.

With the death of George Floyd, deep-rooted feelings resurface, Trulove told Deadline earlier this month. I can address this on a deeply personal, immersive level. I have experienced real trauma from these systematic racial injustices, some of it exposed in public record, much of it not. And, even given this, from Ahmaud Arbery to George Floyd, I feel an even deeper hurt within my soul.

Before the Lake Merritt event, Trulove shared his perspective on why it's so important to protest  and celebrate  on Juneteenth in particular.

I think the importance of being out and celebrating Juneteenth is solidarity, even just between Black people, Trulove told SFGATE. We all know this is an issue out there, but even within our own community, we have to show Black people united from all different walks of life.

When you have a system in place where the police are protected so heavily by city officials and so forth, the right type of justice isnt passed down, said Trulove. That shows right now with all the African Americans being killed by these police officers who are not being charged.

RELATED: Here's how Bay Area restaurants, organizations will celebrate Juneteenth

He says he recognizes the power of his own voice during this time, which is why he chooses to speak out.

Celebrities speaking out and talking about whats going on in this world is very important, because they have influence on a lot of people in higher places that can make things move, said Trulove.

As far as change he wants to see result from these protests, he mentioned defunding police by at least 75%, as well as reforms to the education and health care systems.

We hope to see something definitive that means reparations, said Trulove. Black culture and Black people built this country in general. We need something.

And that change will come as a result of the protests happening right now, he emphasized.

I want people to know that change can come through protest, said Trulove. With the people coming together, we have more power than any system that's set in place. I dont see the protesting stopping until we get something definitive put in place for our people to thrive.

Madeline Wells is an SFGATE reporter. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22
In Robinsons case, the officer justified the shooting first by saying he thought he heard Robinson attacking a young woman. There was no woman. He then justified the shooting by saying Robinson was a threat to him, claiming they were in a physical altercation. The forensic evidence showed that was a lie.

But the officers latter defense is worth considering. Purportedly, the threat that justified the shooting was the threat to the officer. This is overwhelmingly the justification for police shootings  the officers life (not a civilians) was in danger, so he had to shoot. The officers intervention and escalation created the circumstances that allegedly justified the shooting. It is simple logic, then, that if you remove the officer, you remove the justification for force.

Indeed, we need to drastically reduce police interactions. The statistics in Madison are shocking: Blacks are 7% of the population, but in 2018 they made up 43% of arrests. Systemic racism is built into who we patrol, stop, arrest and charge.
To the editor:

A number of Episcopal bishops and priests in the Dioceses of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan issued a manifesto on the racial situation in this country which the Midland Daily News published on July 11. While some statements were accurate concerning past racial injustice and the church leaders did decry resorting to violence, they did not present a sufficiently accurate analysis of the recent violence nor did they set forth measures to correct social problems while preserving order, justice and freedom.

The clergy who signed this statement failed to note that criminal charges have been brought against the police officers responsible for the death of George Floyd. They furthermore alleged that police brutality had been used against those peacefully calling for change. They proceeded to state that racism is woven into the systems, institutions, history and psyche of our nation, including our communities of faith.

Certainly all institutions must examine themselves to ensure that people are judged by their accomplishments, not by their race; the struggle for justice and freedom within an orderly society goes on. The United States continues to be characterized by progress overall. Police brutality is rare and should be punished when it happens. Far more significant, though, is the good done by the police in preserving order and justice so that freedom may flourish. The police are dealing every day throughout our country with criminals who prey like savage beasts on hardworking, law-abiding Americans. All of us, including these Episcopal clergy, should spend far more time and energy thanking and praising police personnel for the good they do.

JOHN PAFFORD

Midland
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris  Sat, June 20, 2020 12:09 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066041aa1 2 Entertainment kissing,France,Movie,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Actors have started kissing again on French film shoots, the country's culture minister said Friday.

Franck Riester said "kissing has started again on sets" where the "actors have been tested" for the coronavirus.

And he insisted that l'amour is not completely dead despite the pandemic.

Read also: Sex scenes in Hollywood movies to be done with CGI to avoid coronavirus spread

The ministers told French radio that while shooting in Europe's biggest film industry was allowed to restart earlier this month, "they waited a bit before doing that kiss that is so important in cinema".

Reister did not say which film or which actors were the first to get back to on-screen smooching.

"No, the kiss is not over with," the politician declared when asked if social distancing was in danger of killing off love scenes altogether.

French cinemas are to reopen after a three-month coronavirus closure on Monday but with drastic distancing measures that mean they can never be more than half full.
The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said Saturday that he will leave office hours after Attorney General William Barr said President Trump had fired him.

Berman's announcement that he would leave his job "effective immediately" capped a dramatic 24 hours that began when Barr announced late Friday that Berman would be "stepping down." Shortly afterward, Berman responded with a statement saying "I have not resigned."

On Saturday, Berman said he would leave after Barr's decision to "respect the normal operation of law" by making his deputy, Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney. Barr had initially said Mr. Trump had appointed Craig Carpenito, currently the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, to fill in, and that he planned to nominate Securities and Exchange Commissioner Jay Clayton for the role.

In a letter to Berman earlier Saturday, Barr wrote that he was "surprised and quite disappointed" after seeing Berman's comments. "Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so," Barr wrote.

Jeffrey Epstein Appears In Manhattan Federal Court On Sex Trafficking Charges

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffery Epstein on July 8, 2019, in New York City. Stephanie Keith / Getty Images

Shortly before departing for a rally in Tulsa, Mr. Trump told reporters he was "not involved" in the situation.

"Well that's all up to the attorney general," Mr. Trump said. "Attorney General Barr is working on that. That's his department, not my department. But we have a very capable attorney general, so that's really up to him, I'm not involved."

Berman's office investigated Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump's longtime personal lawyer who pleaded guilty in November 2018 to charges of lying to Congress, and Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani, another personal attorney for Mr. Trump, was the attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 until 1989.

Story continues

Berman also oversaw the investigation into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in an apparent suicide in jail while facing federal sex trafficking charges.

Berman was appointed to be the interim United States attorney in Manhattan by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, although Mr. Trump never sent Berman's nomination to the Senate. After 120 days, he was nominated by U.S. District judges.

Berman's predecessor Preet Bharara, who held the position through the Obama administration, was fired when he refused to resign. "I did not resign," Bharara said on Twitter in March 2017. "Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life."Pat Milton and Andy Triay contributed to this report.

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Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Ms J.C. writes: I have been informed by Barclays that I am liable for an overdraft charge on a joint account I hold with my estranged husband, who entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) with his creditors in March.

We have been separated for eight years and none of the debt is actually mine. I do realise that legally, as joint account holder, I am responsible for his debt, and I will reluctantly pay the bank.

However, I was very distressed to be told by Barclays that my own credit record will be affected for the next six years.

Liability: Barclays could see from its records that Ms J.C. was unaware of the account's debt

It is not very often that I can congratulate a bank for behaving humanely and sensitively, rather than insisting on applying the letter of law, particularly when the law is on its side.

You have made clear that you do understand that having a joint account with someone makes you responsible for the whole of any debt or overdraft if things go wrong.

The bank is legally entitled to pursue either of the account holders, even if they were not the individual who put the account into debt.

You and your husband separated eight years ago, and you have not used the joint account since then. The debit card you held expired in 2014 and it was not renewed.

You opened your own account with Barclays, which you have used ever since and which you still have today.

It was only recently, when your former partner ran up an overdraft of almost 1,000, that the bank contacted you, wanting to close the account and claim its money from you.

When you asked Barclays to reconsider, it was sympathetic enough to deduct 180 in charges, but that still left nearly 800 to pay.

And the bank explained: 'The account closure will also lead to a default reporting on your credit file, which will remain for six years.'

The reason for this is that all banks and credit providers that make use of credit agency records are obliged to report problem debts, even if they are later repaid. This is how the system works.

In a nutshell, you did not run up the overdraft, you offered to repay it, but if a problem overdraft exists with your name on it, then Barclays must report it.

This is the legal background, but the unfairness was clear as well, so I asked officials at the bank's head office to look into what you told me. Their solution is remarkable.

The only way they can avoid having to report the debt in your name is to remove you from the account, and so from the debt itself. And this is what Barclays is doing.

You no longer owe a penny to the bank, so the bank has nothing to report about you to credit agencies.

A Barclays spokesperson told me: 'Now that we are aware that our customer has not accessed the account for a number of years, and was unaware of the growing debt, we have taken action to remove her from the account and also the liability for the debt.'

So, well done Barclays. But your circumstances are unusual. Because you opened your own account with Barclays, the bank has evidence in its own files that you gave a new address, that you stopped using the joint account debit card, and that you received no statements on the joint account so had no idea the overdraft existed.

Nobody else should rely on this as setting a precedent. The golden rule is still that if you split up with your partner and have a joint account, tell the bank at once.

Do not risk being chased years later for someone else's debts.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk.

Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.


Gregory Minott came to the United States from his native Jamaica over 20 years ago on a student visa. He was able to make a career in architecture in America thanks to temporary work visas.

The 43-year-old is now a U.S. citizen and co-creator of a property development business in Boston, Massachusetts. But he worries that new proposed restrictions on student and work visas will prevent others from following a similar path to the American dream.

Minott told the Associated Press that society improves when there are lots of different kinds of people living and working together.

To not have peers from other countries collaborating side by side with Americans is going to be a setback for the country. We learned from Americans, but Americans also learn from us, he said.

Minott is among the business and academic leaders asking U.S. President Donald Trump not to expand the temporary visa restriction established in April.

They argue that barring skilled foreign workers will hurt the economy and limit innovation at a time when it is needed most. But others say the visa restriction did not go far enough and have been calling for stronger action.

As COVID-19 spread across the U.S., the president established a 60-day halt on visas for foreigners seeking permanent residency. But his April 22 order included a long list of exceptions. It also did not cover the hundreds of thousands of guest worker and student visas issued each year.

Republican senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas, argue all new guest worker visas should be suspended for at least 60 days. That, or until unemployment has returned to normal levels.

In a letter to Trump last month, they wrote, Given the extreme lack of available jobs  it defies common sense to admit additional foreign guest workers to compete for such limited employment.

Trump administration officials have been debating how long any new order should remain in place and which industries should be excluded, like health care and food production.

But officials have made it clear they are considering suspending H-1B visas for high-skilled workers. The same goes for H-2B visas for seasonal workers and L-1 visas for employees leaving their old job for position with a company in the U.S.



Little-known OPT program

In recent weeks, businesses and academic groups have also been voicing concern about possible changes to the Optional Practical Training, or OPT program. OPT is a relatively little-known program that permits some 200,000 foreign students  mostly from China and India  to work in the country each year.

Created in the 1940s, OPT permits international students to work for up to one year during college or after they complete their studies. Over the last ten years, the program has been extended for those studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They can now work for up to three years.

Republican lawmakers have been some of the strongest critics of the program. But some argued that OPT is necessary for the country to remain a welcome place for international students. They wrote to the Trump administration that the students and their families add more than $40 billion yearly into the economy. That is despite the fact that they represent just 5.5 percent of the U.S. college student population.

Companies and academic organizations also warn of a reverse brain drain. That is a situation in which foreign students just take their American education to help another nations economy.

Some critics say OPT gives companies a financial reason to employ foreigners over Americans because they do not have to pay some federal taxes.

The program also lacks oversight and has become a popular path for foreigners seeking legal permission to stay, said Jessica Vaughan. She is policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington group that fights for strong immigration limits.

The government does not require that there be actual training, and no one checks on the employer or terms of employment, she said. Some  are career students, going back and forth between brief  degree programs and employment, just so they can stay here.

Andrew Tarsy says, in Massachusetts, removing OPT would put a major part of the states economy at risk. He is the co-creator of the Massachusetts Business Immigration Coalition.

Earlier this month the group of nearly 50 businesses and colleges, including TripAdvisor and the University of Massachusetts, sent a letter to Trump asking him not to cut the program.

We attract the brightest people in the world to study here, Tarsy said. Its led to the founding of many, many companies and the creation of new products and services. Its the bridge for international students.

I'm Pete Musto.

Philip Marcelo reported on this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

Quiz - Colleges, Business Ask Trump Not to Cut Visa Programs Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

peer(s)  n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else

collaborating  v. working with another person or group in order to achieve or do something

academic  adj. of or relating to schools and education

innovation  n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods

defies  v. goes against something

oversight  n. the act or job of directing work that is being done

attract  v. to cause someone to choose to do or be involved in something

founding  v. beginning or creating something that is meant to last for a long time
I did some research on the mans identity, genealogy, and property records, with assistance from a librarian friend. Hes 77, and originally from Texas. Without being able to talk with him, I have no idea what kind of help to offer. Or if hes interested in public assistance. His neighbor said she saw him recently, providing him with water, groceries and concern. I asked a local church pastor, Ryan Flemming, to pay a visit. He dropped off the box of food on his porch.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Four judicial districts in New Mexico have been given the green light to start holding jury trials again, but there are already concerns about the constitutionality of those trials in the age of COVID-19.

The state Supreme Court gave the OK for the 6th, 9th, 12th and 13th judicial districts to hold jury trials, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts spokesman Barry Massey. Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque also got the OK and plans to start holding trials again on July 6, a court spokeswoman said.

The high court temporarily put trials on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

District courts in New Mexicos most populous cities have not yet been approved to resume jury trials.

The 12th Judicial District Court in Alamogordo held the states first COVID-19-era jury trial on Monday. Johnny Gutierrez, 47, was facing one count each of trafficking a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. The proceedings were broadcast on YouTube.

The jury convicted Gutierrez of the misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge, but couldnt come to a unanimous decision on the felony trafficking charge, causing Judge Angie Schneider to declare a mistrial. Carolyn Glover, a spokeswoman for the 12th Judicial District Attorneys Office, said the office plans to retry the charge.

But before the trial started Monday, Gutierrezs attorney, Roberta Yurcic, filed a motion for a mistrial. She argued that the courts plan for jury trials was not made available to her before the trial, that Gutierrez would not be able to effectively communicate with her during trial due to social distancing protocol, and that Gutierrez was not being afforded his constitutional right to a public trial because members of the public were being directed to watch the YouTube stream.

Yurcic also argued that Gutierrez wouldnt be afforded his right to confront his accusers due to the requirement that everyone in the courthouse wear a mask.

If witnesses are permitted to testify while wearing a mask, the integrity of the trial will be compromised as the trier of fact will be unable to assess the credibility of each witness, the motion states.

Schneider denied the motion on Monday and the trial continued.

According to the 12th Judicial District Courts plans for resuming jury trials, jurors will be provided face masks and gloves, and potential jurors who are considered vulnerable to COVID-19 can be excused on request.

Three jurors will be seated in the jury box, with the remaining jurors seated in the court gallery. The jury will then deliberate in the jury assembly room.

For bench conferences, the judge and attorneys will leave the courtroom and go to a secure area near the judges chambers.

Defendants will be able to communicate with their attorney by passing notes through a Plexiglas window. Yurcics motion said this rule violates Gutierrezs right to assistance of counsel because he cant read or spell.

According to Metro Court plans released Wednesday, jurors temperatures will be taken before they enter the courthouse and they will be provided a mask, a personal bottle of hand sanitizer and a pen. Anyone wishing to observe a trial will be given information on how to view it remotely.

Sidney Hill, a 2nd Judicial District Court spokesman, said the court submitted its plan to the Supreme Court and cant hold trials until it is approved. He said he couldnt share a copy of that plan with the Journal until such time.
Noida: Greater Noida police said they have arrested two drug traffickers with 200 kg cannabis that was procured from Andhra Pradesh and was primarily intended to be sold to college students in the National Capital Region.

It is estimated to be worth Rs 25 lakh and was procured from Visakhapatnam.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday the accused Praveen Kumar and Sateesh Kumar were intercepted in Dadri during a police checking.

"As much as 200 kg of cannabis packed in sacks were seized from their vehicle. The consignment is worth Rs 25 lakh. Both the accused have been arrested," Singh said.

He said the accused told investigators they have earlier too smuggled cannabis from Andhra Pradesh to Delhi through the railway parcel service.

Singh said the 200-kg consignment first arrived at a dhaba in Etawah district in Uttar Pradesh on a truck and from there it was brought to Gautam Buddh Nagar, where police seized it before it could be distributed locally.

The traffickers intended to sell the cannabis in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad and primarily to college students, police said.

They have revealed the names of their accomplices after their arrest and action would soon be taken against them, DCP Singh said.

An FIR has been lodged at Dadri police station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the car has been impounded, police added.
Rod Owens woke up furious on the day after the 2016 presidential elections.

On Facebook, he warned any friends who had supported Donald Trump that "I'm not in the mood for your [expletive] right now."

It wasn't a rare reaction for a liberal voter that day. But it was surprising, coming from a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Owens, who trained at the Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery in Upstate New York, believes he is the world's only "openly queer Black Tibetan monk."

The tension he feels between Buddhist teachings of emotional peace and the many reasons to be ticked off as never before informs his new book, "Love and Rage: The Path to Liberation through Anger."

"I feel angry every day," Owens said in a telephone interview from his home in Boston. "And I'm hearing from so many others who are also hurting, in anger and despair. The difference is that I have a practice that helps me."

It's an angry time, all right, with political polarization at record levels, cable news and social media monetizing outrage, and the pandemic, unemployment and fury over racial injustice heating the toxic emotional stew. Mental health experts worry about rising domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, warning that Americans urgently need better tools to calm emotional storms.

Abundant research supports the adage that holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. Study after study links simmering aggression with heart disease - the No. 1 killer of Americans before the pandemic. One found a tripled risk of a stroke during the two hours following an angry outburst.

Chronic anger may also weaken the immune system, while repeated and lengthy bouts of anger or sadness can increase inflammation, raising risks of illnesses such as arthritis. In one finding, Harvard scientists found that men with the highest hostility levels had worse lung capacity, with more chance of respiratory disease.

The uptick in outrage is bipartisan - as is its potential for harm: the looting, vandalism and assaults on police, and the tear-gassing and pepper-spraying of peaceful protesters.

In Brentwood, Tennessee, chaplain and former police detective Robert Michaels hopes police can find better tools to deal with the trauma, frustration and anger that often come with the job.

As chief executive of the nonprofit "Serve & Protect," he's calling on departments to offer more in-house support to help officers heal the emotional wounds that can undermine their training in conflict de-escalation.

"We need to pay more attention to officers' emotional wellness, and the shame and stigma that get in the way of their getting the help they need," Michaels says.

Emotions are rarely simple and neither are their effects, says Stanford University psychologist James Gross, a leading authority in the relatively young science of emotional regulation.

He and other mental health experts stressed that much of today's angry zeitgeist isn't irrational. Anger can also be energizing - author Toni Morrison called it "a lovely surging." That's one reason it's so important in mobilizing for social justice. "It would be a shame to try to make that kind of anger go away," Gross said.

At the Harvard Kennedy School, psychologist Jennifer Lerner has found that anger can be a healthier response to unfairness than fear or despair. By studying people's facial expressions at times of high stress over perceived injustice, Lerner showed that people who got indignant instead of afraid were less likely to suffer high levels of blood pressure and stress hormones.

In the hierarchy of harmful emotions, seething anger is worse than occasional outrage, while a general sense of powerlessness may be the worst of the three. Amid worries that people are feeling more angry and helpless than ever during the pandemic lockdowns, Gross and Lerner recently joined several colleagues in an extraordinary new study, supported by the Psychological Science Accelerator, which fast-tracks high-quality and helpful behavioral research. The effort began last month with a survey of the state of the emotional health of more than 25,000 people in 55 countries.

After analyzing the results, researchers plan to test two leading strategies to cope with potentially harmful emotions, going beyond "the homegrown remedies like telling people to count to ten or go for a walk," Gross says. Both involve the strategy of "reappraisal" - rethinking the thoughts that rile us up.

One group of participants will be asked to try to change their perspective on pandemic-related restrictions, perhaps replacing a thought like "This will never end!" with something like "I know from world history that keeping calm and carrying on gets us through tough times."

The second group will be prompted to reimagine their goals. Someone upset about being unemployed, for instance, might try to focus on new opportunities to strengthen ties with family members.

These two groups will be compared to a third, in which members will do no such reflecting, to determine how much the tactics might help. The researchers hope as soon as possible to get out the message that easy, evidence-based techniques can stem the suffering from negative emotions and help people to have clearer heads as they cope with today's enormous challenges.

The idea that we can change the way we feel by changing the way we think has ancient roots, extending back to the ancient Greeks and Stoic philosophers, according to Gross. "If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not the thing that disturbs thee, but thine own judgment about it," Marcus Aurelius, the 2nd century Roman emperor, famously said.

It's also a tenet of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in which therapists prompt patients to question their angry or pessimistic thoughts, exploring more benign alternatives. Hundreds of studies have found CBT to help patients struggling with mental problems including anxiety, depression and alcoholism.

Still, the obvious caveat to these coolheaded strategies is that hotheads often find them impossible. That's when you most need a mindfulness practice, says Owens, the lama.

Owens grew up in northern Georgia, where he says he was drawn to studying anger in part because of the charged and ambivalent relationship that many African Americans have with that emotion. On the one hand, he writes, "to belong to the Black community was to be angry" - for reasons including what he describes as a social system that has used black bodies for production and now regards them as expendable. Yet Owens had also learned that expressing his anger was dangerous, something that could get him punished or killed.

No wonder, perhaps, that when Owens first joined meditation groups, his teachers would note that he seemed angry, and Owens would retort "[expletive] you, I'm not!"

Later he felt that his teachers were trying to get him to suppress his rage. That made him work all the harder to acknowledge, first, his anger and then the grief and fear he discovered behind it. Without fully feeling those emotions - including disappointment in a world that didn't seem to want him in it - Owens couldn't have moved on, he says. His anger would have continued to cloud his mind and make him react blindly, as if jumping out of a burning building without knowing where he might land.

What does this mean for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who've taken to the streets to insist that black lives matter?

"I'm not telling them to stop marching," says Owens, "but I am saying that at some point we're going to have to take some time to mourn, to take care of the suffering. Only then can we channel the energy of anger into benefiting others. Anger is helpful in the short term, but we're playing the long game now."

- - -

Serve & Protect provides a 24/7 crisis hotline for police, fire and correctional officers at 615-373-8000. The nonprofit Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment provides a free Roadmap to Resilience at roadmaptoresilience.wordpress.com with advice on how to manage difficult emotions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20



By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:



President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov approved the proposal to nominate the country for election to the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) from 2021 through 2022, Trend reports with reference to Zolotoy Vek (Golden Age) newspaper.



The head of the state also highlighted that the introduction of innovative, environmentally friendly technologies in the field of practical use of natural sources-solar, wind, water and others - is a significant vector for the development of the green economy and can be effectively applied in various sectors of the economy



During the meeting of the government it was also proposed to appoint the country's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates as the permanent representative of Turkmenistan to IRENA.



The main governing body of the organization is the Assembly of member countries, and the Agency Council is a body that reports to the Assembly.

The Council's tasks include facilitating interaction between the Agency's member countries, preparing draft programs, the organization's budget and annual report, concluding contracts on behalf of the organization, creating subsidiary bodies, and others.



---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
Baltic States Protest Russia's Historical Revisionism On Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

By RFE/RL June 19, 2020

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have protested moves in Russia they say are a whitewashing of historical facts about the 1939 nonagression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany that led to their annexation by Moscow.

Known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the accord and its secret protocols divided Central and Eastern Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence.

The foreign ministries of the three Baltic states on June 18 summoned Russian ambassadors and representatives to express concerns about historical revisionism in a recent legislative initiative by lawmakers in Russia's State Duma.

If approved, the legislation would revoke a December 24, 1989, resolution by the Soviet Union's Supreme Council that condemned the nonagression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was jointly invaded and then divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

The pact also led in 1940 to the Soviet occupation and annexation of the three Baltic states -- which did not regain their independence until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In a lengthy essay published on June 18 in the U.S.-based journal National Interest, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected criticism of Soviet cooperation with Nazi Germany at the start of World War II.

"The blame for the tragedy that Poland then suffered lies entirely with the Polish leadership, which had impeded the formation of a military alliance between Britain, France, and the Soviet Union and relied on the help from its Western partners, throwing its own people under the steamroller of Hitler's machine of destruction," Putin wrote.

Putin reiterated Moscow's contention that the Soviet Union was forced into signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact after Western powers rejected the creation of a military alliance against Nazi Germany.

"The Soviet Union did its utmost to use every chance of creating an anti-Hitler coalition. Despite -- I will say it again -- the double dealing on the part of the Western countries," Putin wrote.

Putin also took issue with a European Union resolution adopted in September 2019 as the world marked the 80th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

The EU resolution states that 1939 pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany "paved the way for the outbreak of World War II."

Putin said the EU resolution failed to mention an agreement reached with Nazi Germany in Munich in 1938 by Britain, France, and Italy that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in what was then western Czechoslovakia.

Referring to the agreement as the "Munich Betrayal," Putin said it "destroyed even the formal, fragile guarantees that remained on the continent" and showed that "mutual agreements were worthless."

"It was the Munich Betrayal that served as a 'trigger' and made the great war in Europe inevitable," Putin said, accusing European politicians, and Polish leaders in particular, of wanting to sweep the Munich deal under the carpet.

Draft legislation to revoke the Soviet Union's 1989 condemnation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was submitted in the State Duma on May 27.

The State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously backed the bill on June 9 and submitted it for further consideration.

The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states agreed in Vilnius on June 15 to simultaneously summon Russian ambassadors to discuss their concerns about historical revisionism by authorities in Russia.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/baltic-states-protest -russia-historical-revisionism-on-molotov -ribbentrop-pact/30679562.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Richard Hanks, left, and the facility he broke into, right. (King County Sheriff's Office)

Man Arrested for Break-In Near Seattle Autonomous Zone After Allegedly Committing Another Burglary

A man accused of breaking into a car repair store near Seattles so-called autonomous zone was arrested after allegedly committing another burglary.

Seattle police officers refused to respond directly to the alleged break-in on June 14 at Car Tender, the business, despite being called multiple times.

Out of recognition of the ongoing demonstrations in the area, officers did not enter the CHOP zone, the Seattle Police Department said in a statement.

But the suspect was arrested by King County Sheriffs deputies after being accused of a separate burglary at Erics Import and Domestic Auto Services a day after the apparent break-in near the autonomous zone.

Richard Hanks, 21, was taken into custody after climbing over a 10-foot, barbed wire-topped fence into a car lot, the sheriffs office said.

After the arrest, Deputies realized the man in their custody was the same man seen on surveillance video breaking in to a business just outside the CHAZ/CHOP on Seattles Capital Hill in the early morning hours of  the same day! the office said in a statement.

Hanks was also detained hours before for prowling vehicles at the same dealership, according to the complaint. After the alleged Car Tender break-in, he was arrested for trying to steal a Mercedes at Erics Import and Domestic Auto Services, where he claimed that he hopped the fence to try to get his car back that had been impounded.

The so-called Seattle autonomous zone is seen in an aerial picture, in Seattle, Wash., on June 11, 2020. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

The autonomous zone was initially called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) but occupiers changed the name to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).

An Epoch Times reporter who spent nearly a week inside the zone found a lawless area patrolled by self-styled police as legitimate officers stay away. The zone includes a police precinct, which was abandoned earlier this month.

Police officers are only entering the zone for significant life-safety calls, Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, said this week.

Matt McDermott, the son of Car Tenders owner, told The Epoch Times what transpired early Monday was really disheartening. Video footage showed a group of occupiers rushing to the shop after learning an autonomous zone resident was being held inside by workers. They threatened to kill employees if the man wasnt released. Workers eventually let the manlater identified as Hanksgo, after he refused to be searched.

A group of occupiers chased the suspect down inside the zone and a search there uncovered a jacket that belonged to the shop.

Hanks slipped away after an argument erupted among the occupiers.

This still image from video shows Matt McDermott, the son of the owner of Car Tender, in an interview with The Epoch Times in Seattle, Wash., on June 15, 2020. (Bowen Xiao/The Epoch Times)

According to court documents (pdf, pdf, pdf) obtained by The Epoch Times, Hanks attacked McDermott with a box knife after being found inside Car Tender.

It slashed through his pants and into his boxers, any deeper and it could have caused major injury or worse due to the defendants slashing the victim near his groin, Aubony Burns, a deputy prosecuting attorney, wrote in the documents.

He was also charged with burglary and theft for another incident at a Mercedes Benz dealership on June 11.

Deputies found Hanks sitting in a stolen vehicle in the dealership, according to a criminal complaint.

When the responding officer approached, Hanks accelerated at the officer before slamming on the brakes. He then reversed, crashing into three parked vehicles and totaling the stolen car.

Officers found four iPads and 30 key fobs in a backpack inside the vehicle.

His behavior demonstrates a complete disregard for the safety of others and willingness to engage in inherently destructive and dangerous behavior, both for himself and responding law enforcement, Stephen Anderson, deputy prosecuting attorney, wrote in court papers.

Hanks criminal past includes a conviction this year in Washington state for attempted robbery and a conviction in Hawaii in 2018 for theft. Hanks was booked into King County Jail.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




Pink eye

Toronto: While coughing, fever and difficulty in breathing are common symptoms of Covid-19, a new case study has found that pink eye is also a reason to be tested for the disease. The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, determined that conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis can also be primary symptoms of Covid-19.

Pink eyeThe researchers noted that in March, a 29-year-old woman arrived at the Royal Alexandra Hospitals Eye Institute of Alberta with a severe case of conjunctivitis and minimal respiratory symptoms.

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After the patient had undergone several days of treatment with little improvement and after it had been determined that the woman had recently returned home from Asia a resident ordered a Covid-19 test.

The test came back positive, according to the researchers.

Pink eyeWhat is interesting in this case, and perhaps very different to how it had been recognised at that specific time, was that the main presentation of the illness was not a respiratory symptom. It was the eye, said Carlos Solarte, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta in Canada.

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There was no fever and no cough, so we werent led to suspect Covid-19 at the beginning. We didnt know it could present primarily with the eye and not with the lungs, Solarte said.

The patient in this case eventually recovered well without any issues. But several of the residents and staff who were in close contact with the patient had to be under quarantine, said Solarte.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 14:50:44|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A group of protesters toppled down a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike in Washington, D.C. on Friday night.

The protesters gathered in Judiciary Square around the statue of Pike reportedly at around 11 p.m. (0400 GMT Saturday) and tore down the 120-year-old artwork 15 minutes later.

The city's only outdoor Confederate statue, after falling to the ground, was lit on fire before police officers arrived and extinguished the flames.

The episode came on Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

President Donald Trump lashed out at the Washington, D.C. police for allowing the incident to happen.

"The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country!" he tweeted, tagging the city's Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser.

U.S. states and cities have begun removing statues of Confederate figures amid a national reckoning over police brutality and racism sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25 after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Floyd's death has sparked weeks-long demonstrations across the country, as well as renewed calls from lawmakers and activists for the removal of monuments in memory of figures believed to be symbols of racism.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday requested the removal of portraits of previous House speakers who served in the Confederacy from display in the U.S. Capitol.

Jeff Duncan, a Republican Congressman, on Friday urged Pelosi to reverse her order.

"Every leader in our country's history has flaws and imperfections. Every single portrait or statue in the U.S. Capitol depicts individuals who have made mistakes or questionable statements by modern day standards," Duncan wrote in a letter.

"I'm very concerned at the precedent Speaker Pelosi's action sets, and that it will ultimately end with removing history," he wrote. Enditem
Sometimes, you get lucky.

That was the theme of a toast I gave two years ago at my Moms 100th birthday.

Good luck can happen in a lot of ways.

Wanting to do something different for Moms birthday (what do you get a 100-year-old, anyway?), I sent emails to the elementary, middle and high school she attended growing up in New London, asking for any information they might still have about her. Even if some records had been lost or destroyed, I figured it was worth a try.

Stephen Tracy, then serving as interim superintendent of schools for New London, received one of my emails. Ever the educator, Steve saw an opportunity for a teachable moment.

Steve gathered a dozen eighth-grade volunteers for an after-school project. His students became detectives, historians and scholars, carefully combing through dozens of dusty bound volumes from the 1920s and 1930s that hadnt been cracked open in decades, searching for information about Mom. Steves students learned that history isnt a litany of dates and dry facts; it begins and ends with individual lives, personal stories, stories of ordinary men and women.

A week before Moms birthday, a large gift box with a red bow unexpectedly arrived from New London. Inside, there were pictures of the students, tomes stacked high in front of them, as they worked on the assignment, birthday cards, a CD of the kids singing Happy Birthday, a resolution from the New London Board of Education congratulating Mom on her 100th, and a framed resolution signed by the Mayor of New London declaring Feb. 10, 2018 as Selle B. Shifreen Day.

I was astonished. I knew nothing about what Steve had done.

My little search revealed that Mom had, among other things, been voted most humorous in high school (seriously?), took college courses in physics and Latin (who knew?) and had a nickname, Moonglow Selle. A popular jazz song in the 1930s, Moonglow has an upbeat tempo thats evocative of romance and hot jazz in the swing era. My imagination could conjure up exactly how she would have looked as a beautiful 17-year-old girl, slender with dark brown hair, dancing to a Big Bands version of Moonglow and dreaming about love.

Mom grew up in the small seaside town of New London, home of the Navys first submarine base. She was 8 months old in September 1918, when the first outbreak of the Spanish flu pandemic in Connecticut was reported to have occurred in New London. A month later, the entire state was under siege, with 180,000 reported cases. By the end of the lethal pandemic in 1919, the death toll in the United States was estimated to have reached 675,000.

For the second time in her life, a deadly pandemic is now raging all around her. A centurys worth of experience doesnt immunize anyone from the ravages of COVID-19. At age 102, all thats left is hope.

Sometimes, you get lucky.

Consider yourself lucky if you ever meet someone like Steve Tracy, who taught his students (and me) volumes about what generosity really means.

Consider yourself lucky if you have the privilege of bestowing a random act of kindness on a stranger, as Steve did for me. Whether youre on the giving or receiving end, its something that you will never forget.

Consider yourself lucky, above all, if one or both of your elderly parents are still alive. If weve learned anything during the past several challenging months, its that we cant take anything or anyone for granted anymore.

Two years ago, my mother donned a plastic rhinestone birthday girl tiara as family and friends came together to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Confined to a wheelchair by a broken hip, she heard unbidden those familiar melodic riffs of Moonglow that the passage of time had not diminished.

In her minds eye, with legs straight and slender, she once again floated over the dance floor as the music played:

It must have been moonglow / That led me straight to you

Richard Kolodny lives in Los Angeles.
More than two years worth of intensive research, analysis and decisions on the potential incorporation of The Woodlands were compressed into a 319-page presentation and delivered to the township board Thursday in a brief discussion about one of the most controversial issues of the past four years.

Representatives from the Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio, outlined briefly several key elements of the study, which was requested in March when the Board of Directors decided to not vote on possibly placing the issue on the November 2020 ballot for voters in the township to decide.

The financial unknowns from the COVID-19 novel coronavirus closures and reduced capacity orders has yet to be determined and board members did not feel it was best to proceed this year.

Related: Coronavirus scuttles incorporation plans for The Woodlands

Julia Novak, the main consultant on the more than two-year project, answered questions with an associate, Jonathan Ingram. After their short presentation, board Chairman Gordy Bunch asked Novak and her team to add in some extra data points, especially related to the COVOD-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and revenue sources the township could utilize for relief costs.

Were hoping (the report) hit the mark and it is that living document you wanted, Novak said.

The issue of possible incorporation seemed destined for inclusion on the November 2020 ballot as the studies progressed through 2019 and came to a close in February 2020 after the board approved several key aspects of the process including the choosing of a future policing model and also a financial model to be followed if the township did become a city.

If the township board had voted to put the issue to voters in November, township residents would then have voted on the question of whether or not to incorporate and if so, what the maximum possible property tax rate would be.

But, the years of studies done by a combination of three different consulting firms that began in January 2018 came to a halt in late March after the novel coronavirus caused a near-immediate cessation of many aspects of life in the community. With no businesses open, officials immediately feared budgetary impacts from loss of sales tax and hotel occupancy tax revenue would pose unknown challenges. Faced with an Aug. 17 deadline to vote to place the issue on the ballot or not, the board unanimously decided to put the process on indefinite hold.

Related: Woodlands opts for hybrid policing model if township incorporates

The 319-page Consolidated Final Report included updated financial model statistics and analysis and also a guide on how future township boards could restart the incorporation process. Because of the havoc wreaked on both sales tax revenue and hotel occupancy tax revenue, determining a future possible maximum property tax rate was not feasible and could be outdated pending future revenue disruptions from the coronavirus.

Director Ann Snyder pressed Novak for clarification on the report, noting that in her view it was not the final report and was merely a to-date update that would continue to be refined, tweaked and added to between June and November. The consultants from Novak are being paid through November 2020 as part of an extension of the service agreement between the township and the consulting firm that was approved in November 2019.

To me, this report is not final. It is more of an interim update, Snyder said. We all wanted community input and feedback. The report really doesnt (include that).

Novak told Snyder that consultants would remove any usage of the word final from future drafts of the document. The report is expected to be supplemented with additional data and other information based on requests from each of the seven board members. Novak officials will return to a future board meeting before November to issue the last iteration of the document.

jeff.forward@chron.com
UPDATE: Body found in St. Joseph River believed to be of missing Michigan man

BERRIEN COUNTY, MI  Authorities are searching for a Berrien County man who went missing in the St. Joseph River on Friday night.

According to the Berrien County Sheriffs Office, the incident happened around 7:15 p.m. Friday in Royalton Township, about a mile from the Jasper Dairy boat launch near Berrien Springs.

A 45-year-old man, along with another adult and three children, were spending a day on the river in a pontoon boat and swimming, according to a release from the sheriffs office. One child started to struggle, and the 45-year-old rescued the child but did not resurface after going underwater, the statement said

Rescue crews were continuing to search for the man.

The Berrien County Sheriffs Office Marine Unit, the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Royalton Township Fire Department and the Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Fire Department sent personnel and boats to search the river for the man.
Melbourne has been blessed by almost three decades of record economic growth. High levels of immigration and an international student boom has delivered rivers of gold for the city.

Melbourne institution Pelligrini's reopened its doors on Bourke Street. Credit:Chris Hopkins

But the coronavirus health crisis has become an economic crisis and Melbourne has likely been plunged into a severe recession for the first time since 1990.

Whether office workers, students, tourists and immigrants come back to Melbourne in exactly the same way is unlikely.

What we do know is that economic crises reshape cities and societies. The economic recession of the 1990s changed Melbourne in profound ways that are still evident to this day.
New Delhi: The special day marked to celebrate fatherhood is knocking at the door! Father's Day is dedicated to all the proud daddies, father figures and whoever influenced your life like a father. This day honours and respects such figures.

The dates of celebration may differ across the globe as in Catholic countries of Europe, it is marked on March 19 coinciding with Saint Joseph's Day. However, many others follow the more common date which the US celebrates i.e. the third Sunday of June.

ALSO READ: Fathers Day 2020: Wish your dad with these lovely messages and make him feel special

Much like other special days where we express our love and care for family members like Mother's Day, Grandparents Day and Siblings Day, Father's Day too is celebrated to make your father feel special. Although it should not be limited to just a day yet marking a day essentially and celebrating it with your family makes it special.

This year, Father's Day will be celebrated on June 21. It was founded by of American Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart Sonora Smart Dodd.

Usually, kids plan a surprise for their daddies on this day by showering them with gifts, favourite food or a house party.

ALSO READ: Fathers Day 2020: Here are the best gift ideas for your dad!

Even if you are at home amid this lockdown time, you can still make your daddy feel special in umpteen ways.

Here' wishing all the readers a very happy Father's Day!
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department moved abruptly Friday night to oust Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan overseeing key prosecutions of President Donald Trumps allies and an investigation of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. But Berman said he was refusing to leave his post and his ongoing investigations would continue.

I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, Berman said. His statement came hours after Attorney General William Barr said Berman was stepping down from his position.

The standoff set off an extraordinary clash between the Justice Department and one of the nations top districts, which has tried major mob and terror cases over the years. It is also likely to deepen tensions between the Justice Department and congressional Democrats who have pointedly accused Barr of politicizing the agency and acting more like Trumps personal lawyer than the nations chief law enforcement officer.

The move to oust Berman also comes days after allegations surfaced from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the president sought to interfere in an Southern District of New York investigation into the state-owned Turkish bank in an effort to cut deals with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Barr offered no explanation for why he was pushing out Berman in the statement he issued late Friday. The White House quickly announced that Trump was nominating the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to the job, a lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor.

Hours later, Berman issued his own statement saying he had learned that he was being pushed out through a press release. He vowed to stay on the job until a Trump nominee is confirmed by the Senate, challenging Barrs power to remove him from office because he was appointed to the job by federal judges, not by the president. Under federal law, a U.S. attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve until the vacancy is filled.

A senior Justice Department official said the department was pressing forward with its plans and will have Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, take over the office temporarily, starting on July 3. The official wasnt authorized to speak publicly about the issue and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Democrats have repeatedly accused Trumps Justice Department of political interference, and those concerns have also been pervasive among some rank and file officials in the agency. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said his committee was inviting Berman to testify next week.

Federal prosecutors in New York have overseen numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Trump in recent years. That includes an ongoing investigation into Giulianis business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the probe. The people were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes.

Berman has also overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trumps reelection.

Attention refocused on the Southern District this week after news organizations, including The Associated Press, obtained copies of Boltons tell-all book. Bolton alleges in the book that Trump sought to cut a deal to stop federal prosecutors in New York from investigating whether Halkbank violated U.S. sanctions against Iran in order to free an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey.

Six weeks after the pastors release, Bolton writes that on a call with the Turkish president,Trump then told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.

The White House is seeking to block the public release of Boltons book, saying it is being published without formal authorization that the manuscript was free of classified information.

The episode Bolton describes occurred months after Berman assumed the role of U.S. attorney.

A Republican who contributed to the presidents election campaign, Berman worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was put in his job by the Trump administration. But as U.S. attorney, he won over some skeptics after he went after Trump allies, and had a direct hand in other investigations that have angered the president.

Berman was appointed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, after Preet Bharara, then US attorney in New York, was fired. Bharara had refused to resign along with dozens of other federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama.

Months later, FBI agents raided Cohens offices, an act the president decried as a politically motivated witch hunt. Berman recused himself from Cohens prosecution though it was never explained why.

The following April, in the absence of a formal nomination by Trump, the judges in Manhattan federal court voted to appoint Berman to the position permanently. The White House never said why Trump didnt formally nominate Berman.

Yet the links between the White House and some of Bermans investigations were clear. His office subpoenaed Trumps inaugural committee for a wide range of documents as part of an investigation into various potential crimes, including possible illegal contributions from foreigners to inaugural events.

And weeks before the 2018 midterm election, Berman announced insider trading charges against an ardent Trump supporter, Republican Rep. Chris Collins. Collins, who represented western New York, has since resigned.

Under Bermans tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump. Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nikes reputation and stock price unless the sportswear giant paid him up to $25 million.

The White House said in a statement Friday that Trump is nominating SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to the post. Before taking the reins at the SEC, Clayton was a well-connected Wall Street lawyer who represented and advised a number of major companies, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and UBS.

--By Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long
Chennai: In a sudden development, the Tamil Nadu government government withdrew its recent order changing the English spellings of 1,018 place names so as to follow the Tamil pronounciation.

The government order changing place names drew flak from several quarters for its lack of consistency and clarity and for its timing amidst the COVID-19 crisis. However, Tamil writers welcomed the move.

Tamil culture minister Ma.Foi. K Pandiyarajan said in a tweet Thursday: "We are working on alignment of views on transliteration standards from Tamil to English. Hopefully, we should get this released in two/three days. The G.O. on the change of English names...has been withdrawn. Will absorb all feedback and reissue shortly."

Earlier, industrialist Gopal Sreenivasan had tweeted on the issue, quoting Dravidian ideologue Suba Veerapandian that if the government really wanted to help restore the authenticity (of place names in Tamil) it should first provide a standard for English spellings. "It is not too late for a transliteration standard!"
Jill Stein still haunts Hillary Clintons campaign team.

Oh woof. I cant bear to talk about that, said former communications director Jennifer Palmieri.

For good reason: Had voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin cast their ballots for Clinton rather than the Green Partys Stein, Clinton would be president.

Now, with the Green Party set to elevate its presumptive nominee  Howie Hawkins, a longtime labor activist keen on attracting disillusioned Bernie Sanders voters and calling for a #DemExit  many Democrats are unfazed. Not to worry, they say: Trump will be a sufficiently mobilizing force for Democrats this time around.

I think theres less of a concern than there was in 2016, said Jeff Weaver, Sanders longtime aide who is also heading a Super PAC dedicated to mobilizing Sanders voters for Biden. Even those of us who thought Trump could win thought Hillary Clinton would win, and I think that gave people a license to go vote for third-party candidates. But thats not the case now. We know Trump can win.

He added: I think the Biden campaign has done a much better job of reaching out to the progressive wing of the party and to progressives outside the party in order to bring them in.

Many party operatives, including aides to Joe Biden, didnt know at first who Hawkins or his Wisconsin-native running mate Angela Walker were when asked this week.

Democrats could come to regret their lack of concern. In an interview this week, Hawkins said, Weve got Bernie Sanders refugees coming in bursts ever since Super Tuesday.

A self-identified democratic socialist who's been campaigning on a Green New Deal since 2010, Hawkins believes hes ideally suited to pick up Sanders voters. The main message is: If you were with Bernie for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, then were the ticket for those things, he said. Dont waste your vote on what you dont want.

As Clinton  and Al Gore before her  learned, even seemingly minor factors can sway a close election. Trump faces his own third-party challenge from the Libertarian Party, but may have dodged a more formidable threat when Rep. Justin Amash decided against pursuing that partys nomination.

Story continues

Some Democrats think they've also caught a break with Hawkins. Their sense is that even voters on the far left recognize that anti-Trump forces can't afford to splinter, and so the era of Green Party spoilers may be coming to an end. The Green Party is on the ballot in swing states like Florida, but it has struggled to gather the required number of signatures in a few other battlegrounds, such as Arizona .

A perennial candidate in New York state whose high water mark was about 5 percent of the vote in the 2014 gubernatorial race, Hawkins is running a barebones campaign with minimal staff. When POLITICO reached out for an interview, a press aide immediately provided the candidate's cellphone number, and Hawkins personally emailed follow-up information.

One Hawkins aide said Stein has zero involvement in the campaign. Even after criticism of Stein for dining with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015 and evidence that Russians ran a Facebook ad promoting her candidacy, Hawkins occasionally appears on the Kremlin-backed network RT.

They asked me, he said. Beggars cant be choosers. He added that he's selective about which of the networks commentators he'll appear with.

There are rumblings within the Green Party of a potential swap of Hawkins for former Minnesota Gpv. and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura at the partys nominating convention in July. But Hawkins campaign is confident he'll have the nomination effectively clinched as soon as Saturday, after Michigans state nominating convention.

Critics from the left wing of the Democratic Party note that while Hawkins is set to be the nominee of both the Green and Socialist parties, the more vibrant Democratic Socialists of America declined to endorse him. After Sanders defeat, the DSA  which does not have a presidential ballot line  said it would not endorse Biden, either.

His inability to get taken seriously by the DSA is a reflection on him, said David Duhalde, a longtime member of DSA who was political director at the Sanders-aligned group Our Revolution. I think people are fed up at these quixotic candidacies and that overall speaks to the Green Party project has sort of stalled.

Weaver was more withering. The problem with the Greens is it's like a political mirage, he said. You come over to the sand dune hungry for progressive change, you look off into the distance and you see Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, and when you get there, it's just sand." He cautioned, however, that the Green Party or other third parties can matter at the margins in critical states.

Some veterans of Clintons campaign urged Biden not to prematurely dismiss Hawkins and to keep up the effort to unite the party.

Biden is not over 50% in the battleground states and often his lead is in the margin of error. Anything could happen in the next five months, Clintons 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook, wrote in a text message. What matters most is reminding people that Trump could win.

The Hawkins campaign could also affect Bidens vice presidential search. If the campaign is worried about disaffected, left-wing millennials who supported Sanders sitting out the election or voting for Hawkins, then a more progressive candidate, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, might have an edge.

But pollsters are divided on the question of how much more work Biden has to do to court the left.

Longtime Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg recently conducted battleground surveys in late April and early May and concluded that Biden is underperforming Clinton among Sanders voters. Biden is being held back by underwhelming support with millennials, according to a presentation deck he gave to Bidens team in May. Other polls have shown similar apathy, though Bidens numbers have improved in recent weeks.

NextGen America recently conducted its own survey of young people through Global Strategy Group and came to the opposite conclusion of Greenberg. Joe Biden is in a much better place at the end of the Democratic primary than Hillary Clinton was in 2016, with third party candidates a much less dangerous obstacle and the nominee boasting stronger personal ratings, the group wrote in a presentation released this week.

A GSG/NextGen poll conducted in July 2016 found 22 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds in battleground states backing a third party candidate. That compares to just 7 percent nationwide now.

Were not in 2016 anymore," the group concluded.
A fossil of an elephant was discovered from the Siwalik sediments exposed in the vicinity of Badshahi Bagh area in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur

Saharanpur: A fossil of an elephant was discovered from the Siwalik sediments exposed in the vicinity of Badshahi Bagh area in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur.

The fossil is said to be between five to eight million years old and is from the Dhok Pathan formation of Siwalik range. "We have found a fossil of a Stegodon, a variety of the elephant which used to be found at an early age. The fossil is from Dhok Pathan formation of Siwalik. The estimated age of the specimen may range from five to eight million years," VK Jain, Chief Conservator of Forest, Saharanpur told ANI.

Jain said that the fossil was found a week ago but it was only after the verification from the Wadia Institute that they were able to declare the found specimen a relic.

"We have consulted the Wadia institute and a scientist told us that this fossil is a middle-age deposition. This is the first fossil of its kind and we would like to preserve the fossil and increase our research because if we were able to find the fossil, there is a possibility that we would be able to find more," he said.

"It is a huge achievement for us and we would like to increase the number of scientists in the study to discover more fossils," Jain further said.
New York, US (PANA) - UNs top rights official, Michelle Bachelet, is to spearhead efforts to address systemic racism against people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, the Human Rights Council decided on Friday
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump asked his Twitter followers: "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?"

A definitive answer might be difficult without doses of truth serum. But it should be clear by now that at least five of the nine justices have trust issues with the president and his administration.

Trump on Friday went from lambasting the "horrible & politically charged" Supreme Court setback he suffered the day before to labeling it a no-big-deal "request" for "enhanced papers." His goal remains dismantling the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

But what was unmistakable was that the president who has no patience for legal niceties has run into a Supreme Court that is all about them. For the second straight year, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. has shown who gets the last word on that subject.

Advocate and critic alike note the similarities in Thursday's DACA decision and last term's ruling that stopped the administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

Both said the judiciary had the obligation to make sure the administration abided by the law in making important and controversial change. Both were written by Roberts and joined by the court's liberal justices. Both found Trump officials deficient.

In his DACA decision, Roberts quoted the famous words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. a century ago: "Men must turn square corners when they deal with the government."

Then Roberts added Justice Hugo Black's more contemporary addendum: "The government should turn square corners in dealing with the people."

Roberts's cool, detached and technical opinion said the Trump administration's haste to undo the program implemented eight years ago by the Obama administration got the better of the Department of Homeland Security's obligation to weigh its impact: on the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who had identified themselves, on their families, on their 200,000 U.S. citizen children and on their contributions to the country's economy and tax base.

"That failure was arbitrary and capricious in violation" of the Administrative Procedures Act, Roberts wrote.

Trump's reaction was expected. But Roberts drew withering fire from his conservative colleagues on the court, and his (former?) conservative allies in the political world. They described his opinion as niggling at best and, at worst, disingenuous.

"Today's decision must be recognized for what it is: an effort to avoid a politically controversial but legally correct decision," wrote Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by two other conservative justices.

He said the opinion's "timidity forsakes the court's duty to apply the law according to neutral principles, and the ripple effects of the majority's error will be felt throughout our system of self-government."

Thomas would have found that DACA was "unlawful from its inception."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ignored the other four justices in the majority - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan - and more or less accused Roberts of betraying his oath of impartiality.

"Sadly, over recent years, more and more Chief Justice Roberts has been playing games with the court to achieve the policy outcomes he desires," Cruz said, adding, "Chief Justice Roberts knows exactly what he is doing."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined in. "John Roberts again postures as a Solomon who will save our institutions from political controversy and accountability," the senator said in a statement. "If the chief justice believes his political judgment is so exquisite, I invite him to resign, travel to Iowa, and get elected."

It fell to such unusual suspects as former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano to defend the court. She was involved in establishing DACA and has led an effort, now as president of the University of California system, to fight Trump's efforts to dismantle it.

"Justice and the rule of law won the day," she said.

There's no denying that Roberts, 65, has played the pivotal role in rescuing two of former president Barack Obama's proudest achievements: the Affordable Care Act and DACA.

And the past week at the Supreme Court left some on the political right wondering what they had achieved with a majority of Republican-appointed, ideologically conservative justices.

Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the liberals in reading Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as protecting LGBTQ workers from being fired solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It passed up another immigration case, regarding California's so-called sanctuary laws.

And without explanation, the court disappointed gun rights groups by refusing to take up a host of challenges to gun-control laws across the country.

But the most recent Supreme Court action tends to obscure what has come before.

Roberts, for instance, also played the pivotal role in Trump's biggest triumph at the Supreme Court. It found that he had the authority to impose a travel ban on those from mostly Muslim countries.

And those who praise Roberts for joining the majority opinion finding federal protection for workers look past the fact that he does not believe the Constitution provides gay couples with a right to marry.

He was on the losing side of Obergefell v. Hodges, and felt so strongly that the court was making the wrong decision that he read part of his dissent from the bench, the only time he has done so since he joined the court in 2005.

Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas who watches the court closely, noted in a New York Times opinion piece this week that the court "quietly" enables the Trump administration.

The president's lawyers have sought 29 emergency stays from the Supreme Court - including 11 during the current term alone - far more than previous administrations. Most of the time, the court grants relief.

In that way, the court allowed the administration to put much of its travel ban in place before determining its legality, allowed the president to divert military funds to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and implemented several controversial changes in refugee and immigration law while lower courts were hearing legal challenges.

After the DACA decision, Vladeck tweeted: "It's not that Chief Justice Roberts is a closet progressive. He's not. It's that the Trump administration is *really bad* at administrative law."

Moreover, some Republicans are happy to leave DACA in the administration's hands. A decision that threw into peril the lives and livelihoods of nearly 650,000 would likely have required congressional action during a campaign season already tough for the GOP.

"We don't have the time, nor the bandwidth, to do any of that," said a senior congressional GOP aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the ruling's political ramifications. "In a way, this is like the best option."

The differing views on the ruling among Republicans was exemplified by the contrasting reactions between Cruz - who blasted Roberts as an "elite" who didn't understand the dangers of illegal immigration - and his fellow Republican and Texan, Sen. John Cornyn, who is up for reelection this fall.

"I believe the Supreme Court has thrust upon us a unique moment and an opportunity," Cornyn said during floor remarks. "We need to take action and pass legislation that will unequivocally allow these young men and women to stay in the only home, in the only country, they've known."

Roberts's pivotal role on the court will likely be highlighted in its closing weeks, as the court considers important cases involving the separation of church and state, and abortion.

And as for Trump and the Supreme Court, wait for the end of the term. That is probably when the justices will decide his long-running battle to shield his personal financial records from Congress and a New York prosecutor.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 15:09:03|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Ilaria Cappuccioni was so enthusiastic about marrying her boyfriend, Sonny Casimirri, that she was the one to pop the question. The couple was originally scheduled to be married next week, but as Italy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic they decided to delay the ceremony until next year.

"We are excited to get married but it just seemed to make the most sense to wait, both in terms of the event itself and for the health and safety of our friends and family members," the 32-year-old Cappuccioni told Xinhua.

Casimirri, 33, agreed: "We held out hope and waited as long as we could to make a decision but we felt we didn't have a choice," he said in an interview.

The decision from Cappuccioni and Casimirri, who live in Val d'Arno, just outside the central Italian city of Florence, is being repeated all over Italy, and it's understandable. There are no real-time national statistics on weddings, but all indications are that they have slowed to a trickle.

Until recently, rules prohibited travel between Italian regions or from outside Italy. Even now, wedding guests would be required to wear masks and stay at least two meters (6.6 feet) from each other. Food buffets, a mainstay at Italian weddings, are still outlawed.

But the trend is also putting the 10-billion-euro (11-billion-U.S. dollar) wedding industry and all the smaller busunesses that depend on it -- caterers, planners, restaurants, flower sellers -- in a crisis.

"Even as some restrictions related to the coronavirus are being lifted, weeks of lockdown and all the news from the outbreak have left a psychological mark," Alice Figaroli from ProntoPro, an entity that monitors trends in the services industry in Italy, told Xinhua. "It's hard for many couples to plan what should be one of the happiest days of their lives during such a challenging period."

The government has included some incentives for marriages in its recovery plans. The biggest one will provide tax credits covering a quarter of the expenses of a marriage ceremony, with a cap of 25,000 euros. But the incentive only kicks in for marriages that take place after Jan. 1, 2021, sparking complaints that it is creating yet another reason for couples to put off their plans.

Illaria Messa and Mattia Biffi, from Milan, said the tax incentives did not play a part in their decision to delay their marriage, which had been scheduled for September. But the fact that their city was hit hard by the coronavirus was a significant factor.

"Things might look better in terms of the outbreak by the time September comes around, but we didn't want to feel anxiety about the marriage," Messa, 36, said in an interview. "We wanted to avoid putting wedding guests in difficult situations."

Biff, 34, said that the idea of a marriage ceremony under the current situation was uninteresting. "We didn't want to think back on our wedding and remember gloves and masks and plexiglass," he said.

Anna Maria Pirozzi, 40, and Antonio Costa, 39, are among just a handful of couples who still plan to get married this year. Based in the Castelli Romani, just outside Rome, they said familial circumstances were behind their decision to stick with their September wedding date.

"We have been together for more than ten years and we have two kids, but our parents have always said they wanted us to be married, and now my mother and Antonio's father are both in poor health, we decided the time was right," Pirozzi told Xinhua. "We are looking forward to the wedding date as a reason to celebrate. Everyone involved is excited."

But Costa, a medical worker who had worked on 28 days in a 30-day period during the coronavirus crisis, said that the couple has downsized their plans a little.

"Our financial situation is more fragile now and so our plans are a little more low-key," Costa said in an interview. "We're just inviting family and close friends. The circumstances aren't perfect but I always try to be optimistic and so I tell people we will be among a minority of Italians who will remember 2020 for something besides the coronavirus pandemic." (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars)
WASHINGTON  The test kits for detecting the nation's earliest cases of the novel coronavirus failed because of "likely" contamination at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose scientists did not thoroughly check the kits despite "anomalies" during manufacturing, according to a new federal review.

The review, conducted by two Department of Health and Human Services lawyers, also said there was "time pressure'' at the CDC to launch testing, and "lab practices that may have been insufficient to prevent the risk of contamination.'' The lawyers, from the department's general counsel's office, were not named.

Neither the review, released late Friday, nor an accompanying statement from President Donald Trump's chief spokesman at HHS assigned blame to any CDC scientist or official by name.

The review is the first confirmation by the Trump administration that the original test kits were likely contaminated, and that the problem appeared to have occurred in late January within the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta. In general, HHS has defended the administration's efforts to counter the pandemic.

The three-page review also acknowledged that, after weeks of delay, the likely contamination ultimately prompted the CDC to jettison a problematic component of the test kit. The component was intended to detect coronavirus strains other than the one that causes covid-19, the disease that has killed more than 117,000 Americans.

The Washington Post reported on April 18 that the test kits had generated false-positive results  caused by the CDC's contamination  at 24 of the first 26 public health labs that tried them out before analyzing samples from actual patients. The Post also reported that an examination by the Food and Drug Administration had concluded that the tests failed because of substandard manufacturing practices and that the CDC violated its own laboratory protocol in making the kits.

The false positives arose during testing of "negative control'' samples that contained highly purified water and no genetic material. That aspect of testing was essential to confirm that results would be reliable and not skewed by contamination.

A spokesman for the CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the HHS review. The review was first reported Friday by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

The CDC's failure with the test added many weeks of delays to the rollout of widespread testing and hampered efforts by state and local public health labs to minimize harm before the coronavirus became widely established in the United States.

The review was based on the HHS lawyers' interviews "with nine CDC employees and contractors who were involved in the production of the test kits.'' The lawyers also spoke with Timothy Stenzel, a top FDA official regulating diagnostic devices used for medical treatment, and "one other FDA scientist in a consulting capacity,'' according to the review.

The review identified several CDC labs involved with making the test kits. It said it was "possible'' that contamination occurred during production of materials for the kits performed by the Biotechnology Core Facility Branch, known as the core lab.

But the review noted that the core lab "took extreme precautionary measures . . . to minimize any risk of contamination.'' The contamination "most likely'' occurred in CDC's Respiratory Virus Diagnostic Lab, during its processing and testing of the materials produced by the core lab,the review said.

"It was at this stage of the manufacture, when the bulk reagent materials for the test kits were processed and tested at [the respiratory virus lab], that they were most likely exposed to positive control material,'' the review said.

According to the review, the respiratory lab "had already made multiple uses of positive control material at the time bulk test kit reagents were being handled, increasing the opportunities for contamination.''

The review also said that "a number of CDC interviewees and Dr. Stenzel of FDA described lab practices that may have been insufficient to prevent the risk of contamination, though it is likely that time pressure also contributed.''

There were signs of trouble before the tests were sent to the public health labs, the review found.

Before they were shipped out, the test kits "began showing issues with negative controls showing positive results,"the review said. However, the kits were not vetted in advance with standard quality control and quality assurance, or "QC/QA,'' procedures, according to the review.

It appears that time pressure to ship test kits out quickly  and before QC had been conducted on them  might have compromised sufficient QC/QA to identify certain anomalies in data and realize the possibility of contamination before shipment,' the review said.

Asked by email if disciplinary action has been taken or is contemplated against any CDC employee involved with the test kits, an HHS spokeswoman declined to comment.

Present and former federal scientists experienced with infectious-disease testing and a congressman who has sought answers about what went wrong at the CDC said in interviews that sending out the test kits without adequate quality control was indefensible.

"They should have waited,'' said Stephen Morse, a retired senior CDC microbiologist.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who has praised coronavirus testing efforts in South Korea, Taiwan and other countries, said, "We have to look back at those weeks in February as having been the critical period in which the [U.S.] government's response totally failed.''

The top HHS spokesman, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo, said in his statement that "we never had a backlog of tests in this country.'' In subsequent responses to The Post on Saturday, HHS touted "the Trump Administration's historic coronavirus response.''

A separate audit of the CDCs handling of the test kits remains underway by the HHS Office of Inspector General and is not expected to be completed until 2021.
By Andrei Makhovsky MINSK (Reuters) - Police in Belarus arrested demonstrators and journalists on Friday evening to break up new protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, hours after he blamed foreign plotters for fomenting unrest. For the second evening in a row, protesters had formed a long line through the centre of the capital Minsk in solidarity after the jailing of Viktor Babariko, Lukashenko's main rival in August's presidential election. Protests also broke out in several other towns across the eastern European country.

By Andrei Makhovsky

MINSK (Reuters) - Police in Belarus arrested demonstrators and journalists on Friday evening to break up new protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, hours after he blamed foreign plotters for fomenting unrest.

For the second evening in a row, protesters had formed a long line through the centre of the capital Minsk in solidarity after the jailing of Viktor Babariko, Lukashenko's main rival in August's presidential election.

Protests also broke out in several other towns across the eastern European country.

Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist for 26 years, but faces his biggest challenge in years as frustration over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic has combined with grievances over the economy and human rights.

Relations with traditional ally Russia have been strained in recent months as Moscow reduced subsidies that have propped up Lukashenko. But his crackdown on opponents will likely hobble his efforts to mend fences with the West.

The European Union called for the release of Babariko, widely seen as the most potent challenger to Lukashenko.

As criticism of Babariko's arrest grew, Lukashenko said his government had foiled a plot to foment a revolution akin to the street protests in Ukraine in 2014.

He said political forces from "both from the West and from the East" had concentrated their interests in Belarus, and that "certain forces" had intensified their efforts. He did not give details or say which foreign country was involved.

"That was the goal. The masks were torn not only from certain puppets we had here, but also from puppeteers who sit outside Belarus," he said.

Babariko was head Belgazprombank, of the local unit of Russia's Gazprombank , before running for president. A top security official said Babariko was controlled by Russian "puppeteers" and Lukashenko said the bank's money was being used to finance Babariko's campaign. Babariko's campaign team called the allegations against him "an absurdity".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no plans to intervene. Separately President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko spoke by phone but the Kremlin readout did not mention Babariko's arrest.

Lukashenko's allegations of a foreign plot came after authorities opened a criminal case against Belgazprombank.

On Friday, Lukashenko said the International Monetary Fund was demanding Belarus impose lockdown measures as a condition for loans, but Minsk would not cave in to the demand.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk; Andrey Kuzmin and Tom Balmforth in Moscow; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Frances Kerry, Giles Elgood and Alex Richardson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring TD, has today announced the third call for proposals under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

The Fund is part of the Department of Rural and Community Developments Rural Development Investment Programme which is funded under Project Ireland 2040. The Fund is providing 1 billion in investment over 10 years to support the regeneration and development of rural towns, villages and outlying areas. Initial funding of 315 million was allocated on a phased basis over the period 2019 to 2022.

The first call for applications to the Fund closed in September 2018. Arising from the first call, 38 successful Category 1 projects and 46 Category 2 projects were announced, with funding of 86m provided from the Fund to support projects worth 117m. The second call for Category 1 applications for the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund closed in August 2019. Arising from the second call, 26 projects were approved for funding of 62 million to support projects costing 95 million.

To date, the Fund has now provided 148 million for 110 projects across Ireland, worth a total of 212 million.

I am pleased to announce the launch of the third call for proposals under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. The impact of the funding allocated under previous call to the Fund has been transformative for rural communities, said Minister Ring.

Since the conclusion of the first call in late 2018, this Fund has provided 148 million in support for over 100 projects, located all across the country, worth a combined total of 212 million. The funding of these projects was very well timed, as they are right now delivering an immediate and much needed economic stimulus in rural Ireland. The assistance provided by this Fund has meant that businesses and communities have benefitted from the activity and jobs provided in delivering these projects, at precisely the time they have been most needed.

This call under the Fund is for Category 1 applications, which relate to capital projects that have planning in place and are ready to commence at the date of application. It is expected that a funding announcement relating to the second call for Category 2 applications  for projects which require assistance for project development work in order to reach full delivery readiness  will be made shortly.

This call for applications to the Fund seeks to provide assistance in supporting economic recovery in rural areas in light of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and to assist in delivering sustainable regeneration in rural towns and villages, driving greater economic activity and helping to address challenges such as dereliction and vacancy. Applications to the Fund which support in the decarbonisation of the economy and environmental sustainability are particularly welcome.

The level of investment provided by the Fund is more important than ever to address the challenges arising from the COVID-19 crisis and to drive the economic recovery and sustainable development of rural areas. The focus of this third call will be to support large-scale strategic projects that will significantly assist our rural towns and villages to bounce back from the crisis in the months ahead, the Minister continued.

It is vitally important that the project proposals for the Fund seek to make a tangible and sustainable contribution to economic recovery, the continued development of rural towns, villages and their communities and help support the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy.

In order to make certain that we receive the very best applications possible and that the requirement for communities, agencies and Local Authorities to source the necessary match funding is kept to a minimum, I have increased the funding rate that will apply to projects approved under the third call under the Fund to a maximum of 90%, he concluded.

The Fund is seeking to support large-scale, ambitious projects which deliver on the objectives set out above. In that regard, applications of scale are sought, with a minimum funding request of 500,000. Applications to the Fund must be led by a State-funded body - Local Authorities, Local Development Companies, State agencies, commercial State bodies etc. - but collaboration between parties, including with communities, is strongly encouraged.

The closing date for the receipt of proposals is 12 noon, on Tuesday 1st December 2020.

Full details of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website at https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/c77144-rural-regeneration-and-development-fund/
Washington, June 20 : A group of protesters toppled down a 120-year-old statue of Confederate General Albert Pike in Washington D.C.

The protesters gathered in Judiciary Square around the statue of Pike reportedly at around 11 p.m. on Friday and tore it down 15 minutes later, reports Xinhua news agency.

The city's only outdoor Confederate statue, after falling to the ground, was lit on fire before police officers arrived and extinguished the flames.

The incident took place came on Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the US.

President Donald Trump lashed out at the Washington D.C. police for allowing the incident to happen.

"The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down and burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our cCountry," he tweeted, tagging the city's Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser.

US states and cities have begun removing statues of Confederate figures amid a national reckoning over police brutality and racism sparked by the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Floyd's death has sparked weeks-long demonstrations across the country, as well as renewed calls from lawmakers and activists for the removal of monuments in memory of figures believed to be symbols of racism.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday requested the removal of portraits of previous House speakers who served in the Confederacy from display in the US Capitol.

Jeff Duncan, a Republican Congressman, on Friday urged Pelosi to reverse her order.

"Every leader in our country's history has flaws and imperfections. Every single portrait or statue in the U.S. Capitol depicts individuals who have made mistakes or questionable statements by modern day standards," Duncan wrote in a letter.

"I'm very concerned at the precedent Speaker Pelosi's action sets, and that it will ultimately end with removing history."
Farmers under the auspices of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) say they are uncomfortable with the plan by the federal government to spend N13.9 billion on pest control in the country.

The government had on June 12 approved a N13.9 billion intervention fund for pest control in Nigeria.

Announcing the development in a statement, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture said the fund was introduced to ensure agricultural activities are not interrupted during the 2020 farming season.

It is also aimed at controlling transboundary pests and minimising the impact of COVID-19 and guaranteeing both nutritional and national food security.

Providing additional information on it in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, the director, Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services in the ministry, Alabi Olaniran, said the Pest Control Fund was approved not only to address pest control but for two other critical areas.

Mr Olaniran said the fund was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on March 11 to address the control of migratory pests, control of animal and zoonotic or trans-boundary animal diseases and upgrade of abattoirs.

Mr Olaniran explained that of the N13.9 billion announced by the minister, N2.8billion is for migratory pest control, N9.6 billion for control of animal and zoonotic diseases, and N1.4billion for rehabilitation and upgrade of abattoirs.

READ ALSO:

He explained that the N2.8billion for control of migratory pests would be disbursed to 12 front line states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Zamfara.

Shocking development

The President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said farmers received the news of the approval of the fund with shock.

Mr Ibrahim said the information has exposed farmers to risk especially in the peak of insecurity in Nigeria.

For the farmers who are not sure of even being able to produce anything to wake up to the realisation that the government was planning to spend this kind of money on a perceived problem even before it rears its head is nebulous, he said

The question we are asking is how the government came to the decision to expend this colossal sum to protect farm produce whose quantum is indeterminate because its cultivation has not even commenced and there is no veritable data to rely on in forecasting what it will actually amount to.

At the end of the hearing, the government should be advised to reappraise the performance of the drivers of agriculture in Nigeria, he said.

Mr Ibrahim said although AFAN welcomes the concern of President Muhammadu Buhari for the promotion of agriculture for food security and national development, it will be unpatriotic to keep quiet in the face of this obtuse and reductive appraisal of an integral component of the national food system.

The association called on the government to set up a directorate to coordinate activities for the pursuit of food security in Nigeria.

The ministrys spokesperson, Theodore Ogaziechi, refused to speak on the concerns raised by AFAN.

I have no business with AFAN, I am a civil servant and not a politician, he said.
(Representative Image: PTI)

The calls for the boycott of Chinese goods, which started surfacing close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, only intensified after the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese armed forces at the Galwan valley in Ladakh.

The latest clash has dented the relations between the two countries, with the anti-China sentiment amongst Indians on the rise.

The latest standoff between the two countries, in which 20 Indian troops were killed in action, is also expected to have a negative effect on the country's future engagements with China in the fields of trade, commerce, arts and culture.

In a new poll conducted by News18 to gauge Indians' sentiment on China, it was revealed that 70 percent of people are willing to boycott Chinese goods, even if that means incurring an additional cost. Meanwhile, 91 percent of Indians say they will stop using Chinese apps and also encourage others to do the same.

This was the second poll conducted across the Network18's websites and social media accounts and was up and running for a 24-hour duration, from 12 noon on June 19 to June 20. The results of News18's first poll on the matter were published on June 5.

To understand the public sentiment in India with respect to China, respondents were asked a set of nine questions, and around 6,000 responses were received.

The poll revealed that 92 percent Indians do not trust China, and an overwhelming majority, almost 97 percent, want Indian celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese products.

However, many seem confused on the subject of Chinese food, as 43 percent say they would not consume Chinese food while another 31 percent say food has nothing to do with it.

As many as 92 percent of respondents believe China poses a bigger threat to India than Pakistan, with 52 percent saying India has no allies and has to fend for itself. More people (19.32 percent) see Russian President Vladimir Putin as a closer ally of India than US President Donald Trump (18.12 percent).
First Minister could revisit 2 metre law for business when we know more about the circumstances in Llangefni and in Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jun 20th, 2020

The First Minister is awaiting further details of outbreaks in North Wales before possibly reassessing the 2 metre rule that is in force for businesses in Wales.

On Thursday, across in Anglesey 51 workers at the 2 Sisters plant in Llangefni are understood to have contracted COVID-19, with more than 200 people said to be self-isolating, in what the Health Minister called an outbreak.

Locally in Wrexham the Rowan Foods factory on Wrexham Industrial Estate was also confirmed as connected to a cluster, or as the First Minister described it a flare up. Previously staff at the factory had walked out in protest over concerns about coronavirus working conditions.

Yesterday Oscar Mayer the owners of Rowan Foods said in a statement, The safety of our colleagues remains our priority and our focus is remaining COVID-19 secure as a site; we must do all we can to take individual responsibility and follow government guidelines at all times for our own safety and the safety of our colleagues. We have encouraged all staff to stay home if they have any potential COVID 19 symptoms, however mild these symptoms may be.

As you would expect we have made significant operational changes at the site to maintain social distancing wherever practically possible, including various mitigations such as screens and visors where this is not always possible. All these changes have been made in conjunction with advice by the regional Environmental Health Officer. These measures have limited the impact on our teams.

We are aware through discussions with Public Health Wales that the Wrexham area is seeing significantly high numbers of positive cases, it is concerning but not surprising that we are seeing a number of our staff affected by this local trend.

We asked the First Minister Mark Drakeford if he was aware of the previous concerns at the Wrexham location, and if the two cases in North Wales were investigated by officials.

We also asked if the regulations, that sees a 2 metre rule in law but backed up with a 60 fine, would be reviewed or any proactive monitoring would take place of factories around Wales. The rules in Wales require businesses take all reasonable measures to ensure that a distance of 2 metres is maintained between any persons on the business premises, however the definition of reasonable is highly flexible, with Welsh Government themselves stating There is no hard and fast rule of what constitutes a reasonable measure.

The First Minister said, Yes, of course, we are aware of the incidents back in April, when staff members drew attention to issues at the factory. I know that the police attended at the time and were satisfied with what they saw at the time and that the Health and Safety Executive has been involved in the meantime, I spoke myself yesterday with Unite the Union, about their view of the position in North Wales.

Of course, we will now have people more directly involved in the outbreak at Rowan Foods in Wrexham and we will learn more as a result of the investigations that will be taken forward.

Whether we need to do more to toughen or enforce the two meter rule which is in our regulations here in Wales, and weve worked very hard with employers who want to make that work and work properly. Ill come to conclusions on that when we know more about the circumstances in Llangefni and in Wrexham

On Anglesey schools will not reopen on June 29 due to concerns over 2 Sisters coronavirus outbreak  more here on www.North.Wales .

Public Health Wales did not respond to our request for comment.
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday clarified that Chinas untenable claims regarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are unacceptable to India and contradicts its earlier stand on the issue.

Responding to media queries about the India-China face-off and Chinese Foreign Ministrys statement, the MEA issued a statement saying, The position with regard to GalwanValley area has been historically clear. Attempts by Chinese side to now advance exaggerated and untenable claims with regard to the LAC there aren't acceptable. They aren't in accordance with Chinas own past position.

The Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava, also categorically rejected Chinas claim that India was unilaterally changing the status quo. It may be recalled that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had earlier in the day claimed that Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is located on the Chinese side of the border, which was rejected by the MEA.

Since early May 2020, Chinese have been hindering India's normal patrolling pattern in the area. This resulted in face-off which was addressed by ground commanders. We don't accept the contention that India was unilaterally changing status quo, we were maintaining it, the MEA spokesperson said.

He also added that the Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the LAC in all sectors of India-China border areas, including the GalwanValley. They abide by it scrupulously here, as they do elsewhere.

Srivastava went on to say that the Indian side has never undertaken any actions across the LAC.

In fact, they have been patrolling this area for a long time without any incident. All infrastructure built by the Indian side is naturally on its own side of the LAC, the MEA official said.

Replying to a question on what led to clashes between the Indian and Chinese troops, he said, Attempts of transgression by Chinese side were invariably met with appropriate response from us.

He further said that India expects China to sincerely follow the agreement between Foreign Ministers of both countries to maintain peace in the region for the overall development of bilateral ties.

We expect that the Chinese side will sincerely follow the understanding reached between the Foreign Ministers to ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas, which is so essential for the overall development of our bilateral relations, the MEA said.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in the clashes with the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

While China has acknowledged casualties on their side, it has not specified the numbers. Beijing has not made any official statement on the casualties suffered by the People's Liberation Army during the face-off with the Indian Army.
Womens lib, as feminism of that time was known to its detractors, was just one thing on which my father and I disagreed. He was a Republican and a conservative Catholic, and by the time I was out of college I was far from either. Until his dying day, at the age of 60, he held fast to the beliefs inculcated in him as a boy in the small German-Irish town of Carroll, Iowa.
An arrest warrant was issued on Saturday by Atlanta fire officials for a 29-year-old woman accused of setting fire to a Wendy's restaurant hours after Rayshard Brooks was seen on surveillance video fatally shot by a police officer.

Natalie White was charged with first-degree arson by Atlanta Fire Rescue Department Fire Investigators for torching the Wendy's on University Avenue on June 13.

The fast-food restaurant was set on fire after 27-year-old Brooks was shot in the back by former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe. The shooting was captured on cameras from the police dash camera, body cameras, bystanders and the restaurant's surveillance camera.

PHOTO: Flames engulf a Wendy's restaurant during protests in Atlanta, June 13, 2020. The restaurant was where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police the previous evening. (Brynn Anderson/AP)

A 911 call was made by a Wendy's employee after Brooks fell asleep behind the wheel while in the drive-thru line.

The first responding officer Devin Brosnan woke Brooks up and had him drive the car out of the line.

MORE: Ex-officer faces felony murder charge in shooting death of Rayshard Brooks: DA

Brosnan suspected Brooks was intoxicated and called for a field sobriety test, shortly after Rolfe arrived on the scene.

The situation escalated as Brooks resisted arrest, grabbed Brosnan's stun gun during the scuffle and ran away, the video shows.

Brooks' Breathalyzer test registered a blood-alcohol level of .108%, above the legal limit of .08%.

PHOTO: Rayshard Brooks, a father of three daughters and a stepson, was shot and killed by police in Atlanta, June 12, 2020. (Stewart Trial Attorneys)

Brooks then allegedly pointed the stun gun at Rolfe who, in turn, unholstered his stun gun and service weapon, the video shows. Rolfe opened fired and hit Brooks twice in the back, the video shows.

Protests erupted at the Wendy's and at some point White allegedly set fire to the building.

PHOTO: An arrest warrant has been issued by Atlanta Fire Investigators for Natalie White, identified as a suspect in the arson fire that burned down the Wendys Restaurant (125 University Ave), on June 13, 2020. (Atlanta Fire & Rescue via Twitter)

The inside of the brick property was destroyed. "This is an ongoing investigation and additional arrests are possible," fire officials said.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of White or anyone who has information related to this crime is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS or the Arson Tip Line at 1-800-282-5804.

Story continues

MORE: Both Atlanta police officers surrender in Rayshard Brooks shooting death

Both Brosnan and Rolfe were fired from the Atlanta Police Department and criminally charged by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

PHOTO: In these mugshots released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan are shown. (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)

Rolfe was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. If convicted of felony murder, Rolfe could face the death penalty, prosecutors said.

Brosnan is facing two charges of violations of oath and a charge of aggravated assault for allegedly standing on Brooks' shoulder after he was shot by Rolfe, prosecutors said.

Arrest warrant issued for woman who allegedly set Wendy's in Atlanta on fire originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Asda social distancing signs. Photo: Getty

Meat factory Kober Ltd, owned by supermarket giant Asda, was shut down in Yorkshire after a coronavirus outbreak was confirmed.

We have existing strict safety measures in place on the site, however as a precautionary measure we have voluntarily closed the site to protect colleagues and prevent any further transmission, the company said in an emailed statement to Yahoo Finance.

As soon as we became aware that some colleagues at our Kober site may have Covid-19, we responded swiftly and worked collaboratively with the local authority and Public Health England to test all colleagues, it added.

The company said colleagues who need to self-isolate will receive full pay and it aims to reopen the facility early next week.

The news was confirmed by Asda after Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Downing Street press briefing there had been a localised outbreak in the West Yorkshire area.

The factory was the third food plant in two days in the UK to confirm an outbreak, the other cases being in Wales.

READ MORE: John Lewis latest UK store to reward staff for pandemic work

Production was halted at a chicken processing plant in North Wales, owned by 2 Sisters Food Group and employing 560 people, after an outbreak was declared.

2 Sisters Food Group is one of the largest food producers in the UK, with brands including Foxs Biscuits and Hollands Pies, and customers such as supermarkets, KFC and Marks & Spencer.

And in the town of Wrexham, 38 staff tested positive at Rowan Foods. A spokesman for Oscar Mayer, which runs the plant, said a track and trace process had been implemented at the factory, which prepares foods for supermarkets and chains including Greggs and Subway.
Tea-for-oil deal with Iran to be sealed View(s):

Sri Lanka will be going ahead with the tea-for-oil deal with Iran and is currently preparing to sign the agreements required between the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) in this regard.

The CPC is due to sign the agreement with the SLTB to ensure that payments for oil from Iran will be made through sales of tea, although no date has been fixed as yet (to sign the agreement), Tea Board Chairman Jayampathy Molligoda said on Tuesday. Iranian authorities were in discussion with the Sri Lankan government recently in this regard.

The agreement would ensure that Sri Lanka would be allowed to settle its oil payments in turn for tea exports for a maximum of US$5 million per month.

Talks had been held to carry out tea-for-oil trade with Iran over the past few years following the US sanctions but signing of this agreement was delayed due to the CPC dragging its feet on the matter, it is learnt.

Sri Lanka was even in 2019 working out the draft agreement to be signed with Iran that would enable the country to trade tea for oil as this is one of the key markets for Ceylon Tea.

The draft agreement had been already worked out and approved by the Foreign Ministry and Attorney Generals Department.

Meanwhile, tea prices are likely to continue to go down further since last week following the price correction on the recent quick surge in prices.

In the meantime, tea production is said to have increased and as the summer season is here the demand is likely to drop and so will the prices, Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Chairman Sanjaya Herath told the Business Times on Tuesday.

He noted that this trend is likely to continue for the next few weeks and as a result the prices will drop as well.

Brokers note that the erratic weather pattern and the depreciation of currencies in crucial markets like Russia and Iran have given rise to a volatile situation. (SD)

Tea promo levy suspended The promotional levy charged by the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) from tea exporters will be suspended from July 1 for a period of six months. Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Chairman Sanjaya Herath said they had proposed the promotional levy of Rs.3.50 per kilo to be removed for a period of six months. He explained that under the circumstances with the COVID-19 crisis they have decided not to proceed with promotional campaigns and only carry out a digital campaign and temporarily curtail promotions for the next six months. The monies from this levy have recently been used to provide assistance to other stakeholders in the sector like the smallholders and the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) as well in a bid to overcome certain crisis situations.
Due to the ways Covid-19 is spread, the charity further recommends not kissing and wearing a face covering during intercourse. Stock image

L'Amour is in the air and on camera again as France has given its film stars the green light to kiss, provided they have been tested for coronavirus.

"No, the kiss is not dead," Franck Riester, the culture minister, said yesterday when asked if social distancing had put an end to the love scenes that are so crucial in French films.

Film shoots resumed earlier this month in France, to the relief of actors and directors, but "they waited a bit before kissing", Mr Riester said.

French cinemas are to reopen on Monday after a three-month closure because of the pandemic, but risk remaining half empty because audience members must remain at least a metre apart, unless they can prove they live at the same address.

Until this week, actors had to observe guidelines that made it impossible to shoot intimate scenes, and filmmakers were urged to rewrite screenplays, change shots or use digital subterfuge to avoid spreading Covid-19.

Mr Riester said the government has set up a 50m emergency fund to compensate French filmmakers for the prolonged shutdown and cover costs from halts if an actor or member of the film crew is found to have the virus. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
The White House is expected to hold high-level meetings this week to discuss whether to give the Israeli government a green light on annexing parts of the West Bank, American and Israeli sources tell me.

Why it matters: Israel won't move forward on annexation without the approval of the White House, and there are disagreements on the issue inside both the Israeli government and the Trump administration. Security and intelligence officials from both countries fear annexation would lead to violent escalation in the region.

The meetings are expected to take place Monday or Tuesday and include Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is expected to travel to Washington to attend.

White House envoy Avi Berkowitz had been expected to travel to Israel but stayed in Washington to attend the meetings.

President Trump is expected to join the discussion at a certain stage, and will make the final call on any decision.

Behind the scenes: Friedman supports giving the Israeli government a green light for annexation now but others in the administration are more cautious.

Pompeo returned from his trip to Israel last month with many reservations about annexation, due to concerns about regional stability and internal disagreements inside to Israeli government. Pompeo has appeared to shift since then and move closer to Friedmans position, sources say.

Kushner's position is unclear. He is not ideologically opposed to annexation but is deeply invested in the Trump peace plan and wants to make sure Israel's steps don't undermine it.

One of the main points of discussion will be the disagreements on the issue between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

U.S. officials have said they want to see broad consensus among Israel's leaders on any annexation steps.

The big picture: Any unilateral Israeli annexations would be widely considered a violation of international law and fiercely opposed by the Palestinians, countries in the region including Jordan, as well as the European Union.

Netanyahu has vowed to move forward with the annexation of at least some territory in the West Bank as soon as July 1 .

America's Arab allies, mainly Jordan and the UAE, have been warning the

Trump administration and Israel both privately and publicly against

annexation.

Trump administration and Israel both privately and publicly against annexation. The foreign ministers of many EU member states raised their concerns in a video conference call with Pompeo last week.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Go deeper: Netanyahu privately presents 4 plans for annexation
Trial of Alleged Sudan War Criminal Sends Strong Signal, Prosecutor says

By Salem Solomon June 19, 2020

After more than a decade on the run, alleged Sudanese war criminal Ali Kushayb sat in a courtroom in the Netherlands this week, accused of commanding Janjaweed fighters who raped, tortured and killed civilians in Darfur.

Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), said Kushayb's surrender earlier this month in the Central African Republic and his transfer to face charges in the Hague are signals to war criminals around the world that they cannot hide forever.

"I believe that his transfer is a very clear and unequivocal message that no matter how long it takes, we will not stop, my office will not stop our work, until these alleged perpetrators of the Rome Statute crimes have been brought to justice," Bensouda told VOA via Skype.

Between 2003 and 2004, Kushayb, whose given name is Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, allegedly led thousands of Janjaweed militia members. These fighters conducted what has been called a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the people of the Darfur region. They burned villages, killed thousands and played a role in displacing more than a million people, often with the backing of aerial bombardment by Sudanese government forces.

"They were called the devils on horseback. He led those troops into destroying villages in close coordination with military bombers. This went on for many years," said Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Africa Center. "And he is just one of the most notorious, grievous representations of that very, very sad period of time."

In 2007, the ICC indicted Kushayb on 22 counts of crimes against humanity and 28 war crimes. But for years, he received protection from former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. That ended last year when Bashir was ousted during a popular uprising. In February 2020, Sudan's transitional government announced it would cooperate with the ICC.

"They said no one was above the law," Bensouda said. "The news that impunity would no longer be tolerated was met, as you saw, with widespread support by the Sudanese people, and I believe that accountability for crimes committed in Darfur is now a widely supported proposition in Sudan, that justice and accountability for atrocity crimes is an essential element in building lasting stability."

Kushayb is the first person to see the inside of an ICC courtroom in connection to crimes committed in Darfur. It is unclear what will happen to Bashir, who is in custody in Khartoum and faces domestic charges relating to the killing of demonstrators during the protests. The former Sudanese president is also wanted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He was the first head of state to face such charges.

"The pending arrest warrants, including for Mr. al-Bashir, remain in effect and they have yet to be executed," Bensouda said. "I have urged the national authorities to honor their commitments to deliver justice for the victims in Darfur and to do so, as I said earlier on, without delay."

'Cycle of violence'

Hudson said the arrest and trial of Kushayb and other alleged war criminals mark an important milestone for the ICC and could have real impacts in Sudan, even among those who are not on trial.

"I think it's a really important opportunity for the ICC to demonstrate not just its efficacy in trying Ali Kushayb, but also one of the things that it touts as a benefit of international justice, which is the healing effect and the deterrent effect of international justice," Hudson said.

"So the idea [is] that trying Kushayb and bringing to light his crimes and delivering justice for his crimes will both help the Darfuris heal and feel some sense of justice being served, but also act as a very powerful potential deterrent to those who hold office in Sudan now specifically in the military and in the rapid support forces, many of whom participated in some of the crimes of Darfur," he said.

As Sudan prepares for elections in 2022, some have feared that the ICC proceedings could reopen old wounds and have a destabilizing effect. Bensouda believes, when victims see justice in a court of law and perpetrators are held accountable, it decreases the likelihood for further violence.

"I believe that peace and justice in Sudan are not incompatible," she said. "The victims in Darfur have waited long enough for accountability and our objective is to play our role within our mandates and means to combat impunity in Sudan. Investigating and prosecuting these crimes can help to deter the commission of future crimes, and in doing so, it can help to break the cycle of violence."

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The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest coverage. Web links to longer stories if available.

10 p.m.: President Donald Trump suggested to supporters that he has told members of his administration to slow the rate of coronavirus testing in the United States.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Oklahoma, Trump said the U.S. had tested 25 million people, and far more than any other country. He also told the crowd that more testing leads to finding more cases of people who test positive.

So I said to my people: Slow the testing down, please, Trump said at the 19,000-seat BOK Center, which appeared to be roughly half full.

9 p.m.: Ontarios public health units are reporting a total of 35,188 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,640 deaths, up a total of 180 new cases since Friday evening, according to the Stars latest count.

In Toronto, the daily total of new cases fell again to just 53 as the rate of reported infections continues to fall sharply. For the last seven days, the city has seen an average of 76 cases reported each day; that average peaked less than a month ago at 230 cases daily for the seven days ending May 25.

Meanwhile, the city also reported a large uptick in reported deaths Saturday, mostly stemming from newly completed investigations into older cases. Of 25 fatal cases reported Saturday, 24 were from outbreaks that occurred between mid-April and mid-June, Toronto Public Health said.

Earlier Saturday, the province reported that 333 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 80 in intensive care of whom 63 are on a ventilator. All three totals are near the lowest the province has reported in data that goes back to early April.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths  2,595  may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.

The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

8:50 p.m.: Donald Trump pressed ahead Saturday night with a comeback rally amid a pandemic by declaring the silent majority is stronger than ever before, but what was meant to be a show of political force was instead met with thousands of empty seats and six new coronavirus cases on his campaign staff.

Ignoring health warnings, Trump scheduled the rally in Tulsa, Okla. It was intended to be the largest indoor gathering in the world during the outbreak that has killed more than 120,000 Americans, put 40 million more out of work and upended Trumps re-election bid. But in the hours before the event at the 19,000-seat BOK Center, crowds seemed significantly lighter than expected. Campaign officials scrapped plans for Trump to speak at an overflow space.

Trump tried to explain away the crowd size, blaming it on the media.

Read the full story here

8:40 p.m.: Los Angeles County public health officials reported 2,055 new cases of COVID-19 and 48 related deaths Saturday, marking the third-highest daily case count since the pandemic began. Officials attributed the high number in part to delays in lab reporting.

Long Beach, which has its own public health department, reported an additional 48 cases and two deaths, bringing the countys total to more than 81,000 cases and more than 3,100 deaths.

7:30 p.m.: The number of Quebecers in hospital due to COVID-19 continues to drop as 33 new deaths were added to the toll in the province.

Authorities say 15 of the 33 deaths recorded Saturday occurred before June 12. The provinces death toll is now 5,408. Quebec health authorities also report 124 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total infected in the province to 54,674.

The province reports that 23,201 have recovered from the virus.

6:25 p.m.: The U.S. National Institutes of Health stopped two clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that President Donald Trump promoted to treat and prevent the coronavirus, one because the drug was unlikely to be effective and the other because not enough patients signed up to participate.

The agency halted a trial that had aimed to enroll more than 500 patients after an independent oversight board determined that the drug did not appear to benefit hospitalized patients. The same day, the NIH said it had closed another trial  of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin  because only about 20 patients had enrolled in the planned study of 2,000 people.

4:50 p.m.: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said she wasnt too worried about the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created for the climate change protests she began.

A crisis is a crisis  and in a crisis, everyone needs to take a few steps back and act in the best interest of society and our fellow human beings, the 17-year-old told Swedish radios P1.

People started acting as they should during the pandemic, she added.

Supporters of Thunbergs Fridays for Future protest movement, which calls for action against climate change, have been unable to gather for months because of the pandemic and related measures to stop its spread.

10:56 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 10:56 a.m. on June 20, 2020:

There are 100,833 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 54,550 confirmed (including 5,375 deaths, 22,972 resolved)

Ontario: 33,301 confirmed (including 2,595 deaths, 28,468 resolved)

Alberta: 7,625 confirmed (including 152 deaths, 6,961 resolved)

British Columbia: 2,790 confirmed (including 168 deaths, 2,444 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 998 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 716 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 636 resolved)

Manitoba: 298 confirmed (including seven deaths, 293 resolved), 11 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including three deaths, 258 resolved)

New Brunswick: 164 confirmed (including two deaths, 135 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

Northwest Territories: Five confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 100,833 (11 presumptive, 100,822 confirmed including 8,377 deaths, 63,221 resolved)

9:19 a.m.: Zimbabwes health minister on Saturday was charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer, accused of illegally awarding a multimillion-dollar contract for COVID-19 testing kits, drugs and personal protective equipment to a shadowy company.

The countrys anti-corruption agency arrested Obadiah Moyo on Friday as the scandal roiled the country and played out on social media, where some local journalists exposed how Moyo allegedly chose the company to sell medical supplies to the government at inflated prices that included face masks for $28 each. The government cancelled the contracts following public uproar.

7:49 a.m.: The Cruise Lines International Association announced Friday that ships will not be sailing from U.S. ports throughout the summer, extending a pause put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The current no-sail order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on March 14 is set to expire July 24. The association says cruise lines have decided to voluntarily prolong this pause until Sept. 15 because they need time to resolve barriers with U.S. authorities to restart sailing.

7:47 a.m.: The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital and the staff who are affected include diplomats, contractors and locally employed staff.

The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul, who could not be identified because of not being authorized to talk to the media, said as many as 20 people were infected, the majority of whom are Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.

7:45 a.m.: Chinas capital recorded a further drop in coronavirus cases amid tightened containment measures, while Brazil surpassed 1 million confirmed infections, second only to the United States.

Europe, in contrast, continues to emerge warily from lockdown, with hard-hit Britain considering easing social distancing rules to make it easier for restaurants, pubs and schools to reopen.

Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing on Saturday, along with five others elsewhere in China. There were no new deaths and 308 people remained hospitalized for treatment.

South Korea recorded 67 new cases, the largest 24-hour increase in about three weeks. Most of them come from the densely populated Seoul area, where about half of the countrys 51 million people reside. Many cases have been linked to exposure in nightlife outlets.

The head of the World Health Organization said Friday that the pandemic is accelerating and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before  the highest single-day number so far.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.

7:37 a.m.: Pope Francis welcomed doctors and nurses from the coronavirus-ravaged region of Lombardy to the Vatican on Saturday to thank them for their selfless work and heroic sacrifice.

Francis dedicated one of his first post-lockdown audiences to Italys front-line medical and civil protection personnel, telling the delegation that their example of professional competence and compassion would help Italy forge a new future of hope and solidarity.

The northern region of Lombardy, Italys financial and industrial capital, was the hardest-hit region in the one-time European epicentre of the pandemic. Lombardy has counted more than 92,000 of Italys 232,000 official infections and half of the countrys 34,500 dead.

7:30 a.m.: Federal Conservatives have crusaded for a return to parliamentary business as usual but theyre opposed to the one thing Liberals and New Democrats insist is necessary to do that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: electronic voting.

Conservative House leader Candice Bergen says her party is suspicious of anything promoted by the Liberals that would keep most MPs out of the House of Commons and, in her view, help the government avoid accountability.

Besides, she says there are other options that would allow all 338 MPs to vote in person in the chamber while maintaining physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In a letter to Commons Speaker Anthony Rota earlier this month, Bergen suggested six different options, including having MPs line up in yea and nay queues in the courtyard space surrounding the chamber from where they could individually enter the Commons to have their votes recorded.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. on June 20, 2020:

There are 100,627 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 54,550 confirmed (including 5,375 deaths, 22,972 resolved)

Ontario: 33,095 confirmed (including 2,564 deaths, 28,250 resolved)

Alberta: 7,625 confirmed (including 152 deaths, 6,961 resolved)

British Columbia: 2,790 confirmed (including 168 deaths, 2,444 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 998 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 716 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 636 resolved)

Manitoba: 298 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 293 resolved), 11 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 258 resolved)

New Brunswick: 164 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 135 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 100,627 (11 presumptive, 100,616 confirmed including 8,346 deaths, 63,003 resolved)

Friday 5 p.m.: After three consecutive days with fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases, Ontarios regional health units reported a slight increase in the number Friday, according to the Stars latest count.

The health units reported a total of 35,008 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,613 deaths, a rise of 206 new cases in 24 hours.

Despite the slight province-wide increase in the daily report, Toronto reported another day of falling cases, down again to just 54, the lowest total in a string of falling daily reports this month.

The citys seven-day average for new cases, 81 per day, is now lower than at any time since April 4.

The city accounted for seven of the nine new fatal cases reported in the province Friday.

The province-wide rate of new deaths has been falling steadily since hitting a peak of 90 in a single day, in early May.

Earlier Friday, the province reported that 331 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 82 in intensive care, of whom 62 are on a ventilator. All three totals are now near the lowest the province has reported in data that goes back to early April.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. It cautions its latest count of total deaths, 2,564, may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system. In the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.

The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases. This means they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

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Police in Takoradi in the Western Region have arrested a delegate who took a photograph of his ballot after thumb printing at the Azaria polling station in the Effia constituency.

The delegate, Eric Agyapong Aboagye was arrested and immediately sent to the Takoradi Central Police Station.

Member of Parliament for Effia Constituency, Joseph Cudjoe who had come to the station to bail the delegate described the arrest as unnecessary aggression.

So far as the processes are concerned, everything is in order. The EC has done well so far except elements of aggressiveness which shouldnt characterize an internal election like this. NPP doesnt have that face. The election has even be devolved to the electoral area level. It is not even concentrated so if a large number of [olice officers to just arrest someone who voted and took a picture of his own ballot and didnt show it to anybody, and put him at the back of the counter, then I am afraid; this is an aggression that has been planed.

The MP who is the Deputy Energy Minister and contesting the Effia seat for the third term told Citi News' that the aggression going on with the heavy Police presence is all geared at kicking him out of the seat for his competitor, Dr. Adwoa Kwagyiriba who was initially disqualified.

A total of 374 aspirants are contesting in 168 constituencies in todays [June 20, 2020] phase two of the parliamentary primaries of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

325 men and 51 women are contesting to represent the party as the parliamentary candidates for the 2020 general elections.

The elections are being held within the electoral areas to ensure social distancing and COVID-19 safety protocols.

Sixty-seven constituencies will have candidates going unopposed with 101 constituencies having open contests.

Delegates are generally made up of the various constituency and electoral area level executives who will be voting at the 2,407 voting centres from 7 am to 1 pm.

However, constituency executives, Members of Parliament, patrons of the party and foundational members will be voting at their constituency secretariats.

---citinewsroom
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression: Rahul Gandhi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

China gives step by step account of what happened at Galwan Valley on June 15

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

The Prime Minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

China claims whole of Galwan Valley, hopes India will work with it

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
Update on June 20 at 9:30 p.m.: The standoff between the Justice Department and Manhattans chief prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman, ended Saturday as the U.S. attorney said he would step down. In a statement Saturday evening, Berman said that he would step down immediately after Barr respected the normal operation of law by naming his deputy, Audrey Strauss, to lead the office in an acting capacity until President Donald Trumps appointee is confirmed. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this Districts U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, Berman said.

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Update on June 20 at 4:45 p.m.: Attorney General William Barr told Manhattans chief federal prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman, that President Donald Trump had fired him after he refused to resign. Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so, Barr said in a letter to the prosecutor. In the terse letter, Barr said that with his refusal to reign, Berman had chosen public spectacle over public service and said it was false to claim that he needed to stay on the job to make sure the ongoing investigations continue.

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Even though the letter Barr sent Berman specifically said Trump fired him, the president doesnt seem to think he had anything to do with it. Im not involved, Trump told reporters Saturday afternoon, claiming the decision was up to Barr.

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Trump on firing of Geoffrey Berman: "I'm not involved." (AG Barr says Trump gave the order to fire Berman.) pic.twitter.com/EVv6k5g9Zv  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 20, 2020

Even though Barr doesnt come out and say it, in his letter he seems to make a change in his plans of who would take over Bermans role. On Friday, Barr had said Craig Carpenito, the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, would take over the office in an acting role until Trumps nominee, Jay Clayton, was confirmed. On Saturday, Barr said Bermans No. 2, Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District on New York, will become the acting head of the office until there is a permanent replacement.

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It wasnt clear whether Barrs letter would be the final word on the matter of Bermans future. Im just here to do my job, Berman told reporters when he showed up for work Saturday.

Original post: Attorney General William Barr surprisingly moved on Friday night to fire the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, who has overseen several prosecutions of top allies of President Donald Trump and whose office has been investigating his personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani. But Berman refused to step down, launching a dramatically public standoff that raises fresh questions about Barrs willingness to put the Justice Departments historic independence from politics on the line in order to benefit the president. The attempted ouster also appears to fall in line with recent moves by Trump to get rid of officials (usually late on Friday) who are not seen as fully loyal, such as when he fired a number of agency watchdogs over the past couple of weeks.

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Around an hour after Barr said Berman was going to be leaving his post, Berman issued a defiant statement saying he learned of the news that he was stepping down via a press release, making clear he had no plans to go anywhere right away. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate, Berman said. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.

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Berman has led the office that has been at the center of several key investigations related to Trump associates. His office was the one that led the prosecution of Trumps former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Berman also oversaw the prosecution of Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who have been charged with federal campaign finance violations. And Berman was fired shortly after word that former National Security adviser John Bolton wrote in his book that Trump tried to get involved in an investigation overseen by Bermans office into a Turkish bank.

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In his press release, Barr had said that Trump would nominate Jay Clayton, the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to take over the position held by Berman. While the Senate considers the nomination, Barr said, Craig Carpenito, who is the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, will serve as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York starting on July 3. It is unclear whether that can actually happen. Berman was not confirmed by the Senate. He was appointed interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan in 2018 and Trump never formally sent his nomination to the Senate. The formal appointment was later made by the judges of the district court and the law that allows that to happen states that he can remain in the position until it is filled.

Clayton has never served as a prosecutor and is not a litigator, two key characteristics that are usually seen as requirements to hold such a prominent U.S. attorney position. In fact, if he is confirmed, Clayton would be the first non-prosecutor to lead the Southern District of New York. It seems personal friendships played a role in the appointment. Barr and Clayton have reportedly known each other for years and Clayton was planning to leave his current role to go back to New York. Clayton reportedly told Barr about his interest in the job and Barr agreed.
Chandrachur Singh in an interview opened up about being approached by Karan Johar for his directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). He was offered to portray the role of Aman, a character which was played by Salman Khan. However, Chandrachur had rejected the role.

Talking about rejecting the role, the actor told DNA, "It was my loss that's all I can say. It is a very nice and cult film and the fact is that, what was meant to be, was meant to be. It's one of those decisions you make and learn from that."

The actor recently also opened up about facing "disillusionment" after his films were shelved. His film Dariya opposite Tabu was shelved soon after it was announced. He was also dropped from Deepa Mehta's Earth, a role which went to Rahul Khanna.

Read: Chandrachur Singh Says He Went Through 'Phase of Disillusionment' After Films Got Shelved

Now, he's making his digital debut opposite Sushmita Sen in Amazon Prime Video's Aarya. The story revolves around Aarya Sareen, a happily married woman whose world turns upside down when her husband is shot. She gets to know that he may have been involved in an illegal drug racket which now threatens her family.

Follow @News18Movies for more
A man in his 40s remained in custody in Co Roscommon last night after the killing of a Garda detective.

Colm Horkan was shot dead while on duty in Castlerea in Co Roscommon on Wednesday night.

A man was arrested on Thursday and remained in custody at Castlerea Garda Station for a second day in a row yesterday.

He can be questioned for up to 72 hours from the time of his arrest.

Mr Horkan was shot dead while on duty in Castlerea in Co Roscommon on Wednesday night. Gardai believe Detective Horkan's gun was taken from him after he became involved an altercation while he was on patrol in the town.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has described the killing as a "random act".

Hundreds of local people gathered in Castlerea on Thursday evening for a vigil paying tribute to Detective Garda Horkan.

The post-mortem into his death has been completed and his body was expected to be released to his family in Charlestown, Co Mayo last night for burial in the next few days.

Gardai are examining how a State funeral will be held for Detective Horkan given the Covid-19 restrictions as members of the public will also want to pay their respects.

Books of condolence have opened at garda stations around the Republic. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and Labour TD Brendan Howlin were among those to pay their respects.

Dublin City Council has opened an online book of condolence, with all messages to be presented to the garda's family.

Meanwhile, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran says the death of Det Gda Colm Horkan has caused outrage in the area and has appealed for calm.

"What has happened and the cruel way in which it happened, does not and cannot define the kind of society that we are," he said.
NATO seeks to strengthen partnership with the countries that have been part of the Alliances missions and operations for years.

Barbora Maronkova, Director of NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Kyiv made a corresponding statement on the air of the DOM Ukrainian TV channel, commenting on granting Enhanced Opportunity Partner status to Ukraine.

She noted that the North Atlantic Council, which is the highest decision making body of NATO, had reached an agreement to recognize Ukraine as a so-called Enhanced Opportunity Partner on June 12. What it means is that Ukraine has access to a tailor-made cooperation program with NATO. This is a program which is pretty much focused on the military technical side of cooperation. It is part of a wider initiative, which is called interoperability platform which we created already in 2014. We created this platform to be able to continue military cooperation with many partners around the world, Maronkova stressed.

According to the Director of NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Kyiv, we were looking for something which we can offer to our partners, who have been with us in our military operations, who were fighting with us shoulder to shoulder all those years. So not to lose this special cooperation, this special partnership that bonded our military. Currently, this wide type of program includes Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Georgia, Australia and Jordan.

We are looking to enhance our partnership with countries that have for years being with us NATO in our missions and operations. Partner countries which have worked with us in different situations, different conflicts and who do a lot of training exercise with us. What it means in practice is if you imagine for example Ukrainian soldiers and you join our NATO troops in Afghanistan or you serve with us in Kosovo you work together. In order to be able to work together, you need to be able to have the so-called interoperability of your forces, equipment, of how you take commands. You need to understand each other, to be able to work together. This is why it is important both for the member states and the partner countries to have this ability to continue to work together. Because as our Secretary General says  we are talking about cooperative security. That means, NATO cannot face the security challenges of today alone. We need partners. If we have partners we can be stronger together, Maronkova said.

As reported, the Enhanced Opportunity Partnership is part of the NATO initiative to strengthen the operational compatibility of the troops of its member states with the forces of the Alliance. NATO launched this program in 2014. Ukraine was granted EOP status on June 12.

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Realme seems to have already started working on its new budget smartphone which will debut in the "C" series. The upcoming device is being called as the Realme C11. It has been certified a bunch of mobile authentication websites which suggests an upcoming launch as well as reveals some of the features. The handset has once again been spotted online where its design and hardware have been tipped.

Photo Credit:

Realme C11 Leaked Specifications And Design:

The Realme C1 leaked image showcases the rear panel with a gradient design. The Realme badge is inscribed on a horizontal stripe at the bottom. The leaked image cleverly hides the camera setup with a golden leaf.

Realme is said to have shared a press note in Malaysia where it has confirmed that the MediaTek Helio G35 processor will be powering the unit. This makes the Realme C11 the first handset to launch with this chipset. For reference, this is an entry-level gaming processor by MediaTek.

It is worth mentioning that this processor hasn't been made official yet. It is expected to be announced right before the arrival of the Realme C11. The details are yet to be confirmed, but we will keep you updated with the same.

Besides, we might see some change finally in the camera layout with the Realme C11's launch. The company is expected to introduce a different camera module than the vertical setup which Realme smartphones are offering for long. It would be hard to guess how many camera sensors this model will offer. We might see a triple or quad-camera module but will have to wait for more leaks or official teasers.

Also, the Realme C11 could be launched as a successor to the Realme C3. The latter has been a popular device in the sub Rs. 10,000 price buckets in India. In fact, the entire Realme C series has been performing well in its segment. And the company seems to be taking a step ahead in launching the Realme C11 and we could see some noticeable upgrades over its predecessor.

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Tara Kaushals first book, Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation (HarperCollins, Rs 399), is being called the most awaited book of 2020. The Mumbai-based writer and media consultant with a passion for social justice has written on gender, sexuality, equal rights and socio-cultural issues for publications across the world.

She was awarded the Laadli Media Award for gender-sensitive writing in 2013-14. In 2018, she was also awarded a Femina Women Super Achiever Award. We talk to her about her experience interviewing nine rapists for her book, and what she learnt during the course of her research.

What inspired you to write this book and how did the project take shape?

The idea for this book came to me in 2013. For me, getting molested daily on the DTC buses that took me from Noida to college in Chanakyapuri severely impacted my attendance  though I loved my course and topped throughout, and though I carried a knife.

And this is why I was deeply shaken in the aftermath of the Delhi gang-rape. Jyoti Singh Pandey could have been me from 10 years before. And so the idea for this project appeared in 2013, though I began working on it full-time four years later.

But I think it was much before that. My family moved from naval colonies across the country to civilian housing in Noida when I was 12. I was stalked, molested, flashed at and propositioned fairly regularly on my way to school. Once, walking my dog early one evening, I narrowly avoided being abducted by a gang of men in a Maruti van.

Suddenly, my well-intentioned parents curtailed my access to the outdoors, policed my clothing and hemlines, and imposed curfews. I was miserable. And maybe, just maybe, the questions I had started asking as a 12-year-old baby feminist newly in Noida  why should the actions of men impact my life, the lives of women; why do they do it; why cant they stop  sowed the seed for this book that I wrote almost a quarter of a century later.

What were some of the findings of your research that surprised or disturbed you?

A few months into my research, my spouse and I were reading our respective books against an ancient wall of the Hatgadh Fort, somewhere in rural Maharashtra. So engrossed was I in my compulsive note-making that I didnt notice the gaggle of five college-age boys until their shadows loomed above me, peering at my studying.

Whatchu doing, bahina? they asked in Marathi, with the typical curiosity and reverence village folks have for city ones. Writing a book about what? Sensing an opportunity to educate and be educated, I invited them to stay for a chat.

Problem kya hai ki kisiko pata hi nahi rape kya hai [the problem is that no one knows what rape is]. Theyd all heard of it on the news, but didnt know what it really meant. This was the start of the realisation that there is NO understanding of rape and consent across the country. I had expected a slight variation in ideas, a difference of nuance, not such disparate views.

One of my subjects, a serial gang-rapist, said he didnt know that rape even existed. If I see a girl in a room and have sex with her, in this day and age she wont even go tell anyone. What has happened has happened, move on. Just no one should find out. It becomes rape only when someone finds out.

From writing on sexuality to now sexual violence, what has your research taught you about men-women relations in India?

The gender dynamic in India is very complex at the moment. The pluralities of global culture laden with ideas of womens liberation and modernity (among other things) gallop across India on the wings of the internet on smartphones. These ideas interact with regional and local societies and cultures, and have a trickle-down effect, percolating even the remotest villages Ive visited  whether or not cultural custodians like it.

But while weve begun to raise our daughters to be more empowered, few are raising their sons to deal with the empowered women that are emerging. A dear friend is a highly educated and successful professional, who, in her 30s, married another professional she met online. They moved abroad, but the marriage collapsed shortly after.

He wanted me to make him a tiffin everyday, babe, she said to me, and he didnt want me to travel for work Why didnt he just marry some village girl if thats the kind of marriage he wanted? Men and women are trying to negotiate these new realities, and fumbling.

I was quite amused when the RSS chief blamed education for the rise in divorce. He is right. But, while he meant it as criticism, I see it as positive. Women just dont take this shit anymore. Across countries, across cultures, wives, sisters, mothers, daughters are increasingly aware of ourselves as somebodies, not somebodys, with human rights of our own. We are standing up for ourselves, demanding and resisting on the back of familial support and/or economic independence.

Divorce is only one example of how the gender dynamic is playing out on the ground in India today.

You interviewed several rapists for this book. Please share your experience of meeting these men. What struck you most about your conversations with them?

I met nine men who have raped, across classes  there was a doctor, a journalist, a political henchman and a farmer. What struck me was that most of these men, when you meet them, seem so normal.

I agree with the feminist philosopher Kate Manne when she writes that calling men who rape monsters has damaging results. Monsters are unintelligible, uncanny, and they are outwardly frightening. What is frightening about rapists is partly the lack of identifying marks and features, beyond the fact that they are by far most likely to be men. Rapists are human, all too human, and they are very much among us. The idea of rapists as monsters exonerates by caricature.

When we call these men evil, crazy and mad, we situate them as abnormal and irredeemable. This absolves society of any responsibility for their creation, thus allowing us to remain blinkered to the need for social introspection and systemic change.

[I]t leads one to view sexual violence as a special type of crime in which the motivations are subconscious and uncontrollable rather than overt and deliberate as with other criminal behaviour, write eminent sociologists Diana Scully and Joseph Marolla in their study of convicted rapists.

How do you feel parents should bring up their boys and girls differently than what they are now, so that the rape culture in India changes in future?

The bottom line is that boys and girls should not be brought up differently. Currently, girls are thought of as different and certainly not equal to boys  from birth to food to education to marriage to leisure and death. And there is serious sex segregation, so boys grow up with no healthy associations with girls other than in their families, and vice versa. All this has got to change.

You have spoken about your own #MeToo moments with Gautam Adhikari and Navroze Dhondy. Did you have to file any legal case, and what was the outcome of speaking up for you and them?

By the time #MeTooIndia arrived in September 2018, I had not an iota of an illusion that Indian law enforcement works. I had seen it personally, with an FIR I had filed against online harassers in 2016; studied seven of my nine subjects; and spoken to many survivors.

So, while I was glad for the opportunity to name Gautam Adhikari and Navroze Dhondy as My #MeToo Media Men, are you surprised that when there was all that talk about translating the allegations of #MeTooIndia into IRL FIRs and due process, I didnt proceed? I filed a case against Navroze with the National Commission of Women; Gautam lived in the US and so I didnt bother doing even that against him. I heard recently that he passed away late last year, and that was an ignominious end to a stellar career.

But this is not okay. The court of the media, social media and public opinion cannot replace a countrys justice system. The battle cannot rely solely on the pens of some empowered survivors (because not all survivors, even thrivers, want to talk about it) and feminists. The punishment cannot be some nebulous social censure. But even this  access to redress on social media, #MeTooIndia  is a privilege, not available to a Dalit village woman.

How far do you think the #MeToo movement has helped the cause of working women in India?

Looking back, Id call it a mixed success.

Some of the accused have faced legal, social and/or economic consequences, some more severe than others; others have not. Some have taken the offence is the best form of defence route. Others have gotten themselves exonerated by their own companies sham internal complaints committees, serving as their own judge and jury  like Vikas Bahl, the co-owner of the now-defunct Phantom Films; and Mukesh Chhabra of Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company. The backlash has heightened the paranoia and polarization around the false rape complaint, and #NotAllMen and #MenToo trend intermittently on Twitter.

Is the movement welcome, necessary? Oh, absolutely. It is a long-overdue correction against an unfair system; it made survivors and our physical, psychological, economic and professional damages visible. But #MeToo is not enough. What social, monetary price did these men pay, and how late in their lives?

Worldwide, the movement could not touch predators who are currently powerful. The reigning Indian megastar who raped his then-fifteen-year-old co-star over a month during the filming of a movie when he was in his forties will never be named because his survivor fears she will never work again.

Then theres the predatory half of an Indian literary power couple whose wife is an enabler, sure to unleash a war on anyone who even tries to out him. This is triply unfortunate as the most powerful men can make the most dangerous and prolific predators. Theyll be further emboldened having escaped this day of reckoning. And they have time and testosterone left in them.

Whats worse in India is that #MeToo did not lead to the formation of Times Up, a movement which seeks to effect concrete change.

Whats your take on the Bois Locker Room incident?

Im not surprised at all. In addition to the historic reasons for our unhealthy gender dynamic, we have the influx of porn and the rapid sexualisation of society, particularly since 2016, when Jio brought free internet to every phone. Rape is discussed in the mainstream now. So what do you think will happen when these factors converge in the minds of teenage boys?

These influences are not being combated by healthy, comprehensive sexuality education. We need CSE  call it moral science if that makes it easier for people to palate, because respecting and understanding others and our bodies is moral and science.

Are things getting better or worse in this matter with the younger generations?

Whether talking about the gender dynamic in general or gender violence in particular, things are going to get worse before they get better.

Violence is indicative of conflict in society  complete peace can be indicative of a highly oppressive status quo. The power differential isnt static today because women arent accepting their realities anymore, and few men are willing to make peace with this fact, says the famous criminologist Dr Vijay Raghavan of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The truth is women are much more powerful than us. So, these rules are just to subdue them, is something I heard from jail. It follows that women not colouring inside the lines, not following the rules, must be overpowered and punished.

Violence is a symptom of the transition to an egalitarian society and, Dr Raghavan believes, the backlash will continue until a new equilibrium is finally achieved. I believe this dawn will come.
Scientists in Italy have found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected from Milan and Turin in December 2019, suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in northern Italy before China reported the first cases

London: Scientists in Italy have found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected from Milan and Turin in December 2019, suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in northern Italy before China reported the first cases.

The Italian National Institute of Health looked at 40 sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between October 2019 and February 2020. An analysis released on Thursday said samples taken in Milan and Turin on 18 December showed the presence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus.

This research may help us understand the beginning of virus circulation in Italy, said Giuseppina La Rosa, an expert in environmental wastewater at the Italian National Institute of Health who co-led the research.

A spokeswoman for the institute said the full data and study would be published next week.

Research in the Netherlands, France, Australia and elsewhere has found signs that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be detected in sewage, and many countries are beginning to sample wastewater to track the disease.

Scientists said the detection of traces of the virus before the end of 2019 was consistent with evidence in other countries that COVID-19 may have been circulating before China reported the first cases on 31 December.

Noel McCarthy, an expert in population evidence and technologies at Britains Warwick Medical School, said the detection of SARS-Cov-2 genetic material in Italian wastewater in December was reliable evidence of cases of COVID-19 being present there at that time.

Rowland Kao, an epidemiology and data professor at Scotlands Edinburgh University, agreed it was plausible the disease could have circulating then, but added, (This finding) does not on its own, however, tell us if that early detection was the source of the very large epidemic in Italy, or if that was due to a later introduction into the country.

A study in May by French scientists found that a man was infected with COVID-19 as early as 27 December, nearly a month before France confirmed its first cases.

La Rosa said the presence of the virus in the Italian waste samples did not automatically imply that the main transmission chains that led to the development of the epidemic in our country originated from these very first cases.

Samples positive for traces of the virus that causes COVID-19 were also found in sewage from Bologna, Milan and Turin in January and February 2020. Samples taken in October and November 2019 tested negative.

The institute said it plans to launch a pilot study in July to monitor wastewater in tourist resorts.
Ecommerce websites and mobile commerce, or m-commerce, options arent an either/or situation. Both play different roles in the customer journey and cater to different audiences. What is essential is that you dont overlook mobile experiences while designing the ecommerce strategy for your business.

According to Pew research, 8 out of 10 Americans are online shoppers, and 51 percent of them use mobile devices for shopping. If you arent leveraging mobile traffic, your business is likely missing out vital conversions even as you are reading this.

While a responsive website is an excellent starting point in your m-commerce journey, having a mobile app has distinct advantages over mobile websites. Here is a list of compelling reasons why your ecommerce business needs to go for mobile-app development in addition to having a mobile-responsive website.

Related: Here's What You Need to Do to Launch a Mobile App

1. Ease of use and better user experience

Even if you have a responsive website, every time the user logs onto it, the browser would prompt the user to sign into the account to continue with the shopping. In the case of mobile apps, the user details are stored in the app and the users only have to sign in once, when they download the app.

Since the users dont need to sign in every time they shop, the ease of use is higher and the resultant user satisfaction is also high. Mobile applications also allow the users to switch between the different tabs, making navigation and overall user experience simpler as compared to that of the website.

2. Access to phone-native features

The phones native capabilities can be leveraged using mobile apps, which isnt a possibility in the case of mobile websites. The integration of built-in smartphone components like GPS and cameras provides the user with enhanced user experience. Interactive shopping using augmented and virtual reality is an app-only feature.

Another advantage is the fact that native apps are available for offline use. While the apps do take up space on the users device, they can be used even when the phone is not connected to the internet, resulting in an on-the-go shopping experience for the users.

3. Using mobile apps as a marketing channel

Mobile apps give you a chance to deliver a unified omnichannel experience to the customers. Apps can allow social media integration that combines the different channels of customer engagement. The customer preferences are saved within the app, leading to tailored content being displayed to the relevant customers.

Using geofencing and push notifications sent out to the users device when they are in proximity of the physical stores or in case of any special offer can also result in a more engaged customer base.

Related: Why Your Small Business Needs a Mobile App

4. Seamless checkout with multiple payment options

Shopping-cart abandonment is the biggest issue that retail businesses face. Whether in-store or on an ecommerce platform, customers are more likely to give up on completing shopping if the checkout process seems cumbersome.

Mobile apps remove friction from the checkout process by making it interactive. The widespread popularity of mobile wallets exists only because they allow fast processing of transactions. Features such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition help remove friction from the checkout and payment process by enabling faster authentication.

5. Incorporation of advanced tech for interactive customer experience

Mobile apps and technology go hand-in-hand. Incorporation of augmented reality in smartphone apps is already taking place, with brands such as IKEA and Sephora spearheading the transformation. The incorporation of AR/VR in apps makes them more interactive and results in engaging customer experiences.

Apps also allow for the integration of artificial intelligence in the form of chatbots in order to facilitate the customer in searching for their preferred items and getting them through the checkout. Personalized shopping assistants that are powered by machine-learning algorithms would soon become the norm, making shopping easy and fun  as it should be.

Related:

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Atlanta's interim police chief revealed some in the department 'feel abandoned' as they continue a 'sick-out' protest after one officer faces a murder charge and a possible death sentence over the killing of Rayshard Brooks.

Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press in an interview that the sick calls began Wednesday night and continued Thursday, but said the department has sufficient staff to protect the city.

It's not clear how many of the more than 2,000 officers have called out.

'Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel abandoned,' Bryant said of the officers.

'But we are there to assure them that we will continue to move forward and get through this.'

Atlanta Police Department Interim Chief Rodney Bryant (pictured) admitted on Friday that some officers 'may feel abandoned' as tensions flare and one of their own faces murder charges

Officers with the Atlanta Police Department have called out sick in protest over one of their colleagues facing murder charges

Audio obtained by 11 Alive shows there were long pauses of dead silence on the Atlanta police radio on Wednesday night.

At one point, officers did not respond to a operator's request dispatch to 'Code 69', or a call about an armed citizen.

Eventually, an officer responded that they were driving back to the department's main office because of 'personnel issue.'

'We're having our unit(s) come back to the main. We are not answering 911 calls right now due to personnel issues. If you can reach out to other zones, or I will to have them assist with our pending,' the officer said.

Just one day later, all department officers were given a $500 'thank you' bonus.

Rayshard Brooks (pictured) of Atlanta, Georgia, was shot dead on June 12 by Officer Garrett Rolfe and his death was ruled a homicide in an autopsy

APD Officers Garrett Rolfe (left) and Devin Brosnan (right) were both turned themselves into local authorities after Brooks' death. They both face criminal charges.

Tensions among the Atlanta Police Department skyrocketed after it was revealed an African-American man named Rayshard Brooks, 27, was killed last Friday after he fell asleep in his vehicle at a Wendy's drive-thru.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that Officer Garrett Rolfe, 27, and Officer Devin Brosnan, 26, dispatched to a local Wendy's over reports that a man was asleep in his car.

A standard dispatch turned fatal when Brooks was shot dead by Rolfe after allegedly taking his Taser and attempting to flee to the scene.

Brooks died of his injuries. An autopsy ruled Brooks death a homicide and confirmed that he was shot in the back twice.

Authorities said officers were dispatched to an Atlanta-area Wendy's over calls reporting a man, identified as Rayshard Brooks (pictured), fell asleep inside his car

His death resulted in the resignation of former APD Chief Erika Shields. Bryant is serving in the position until a permanent replacement can be named.

But the transition between leadership and the heightened scrutiny placed on law enforcement has made the move difficult.

'The officers I've spoken to say they have no direction from the new leadership and that's a concern because they need to know who's got their back,' retired DeKalb County Police Major K.D. Johnson told Fox 5 Atlanta.

He said officers are conflicted over whether they should call out from their job.

'They took an oath, so when you call out sick, your fellow officer is possibly put in danger because he or she will not have the proper backup,' said Johnson.

'So, you're going to have some officers that are going to go to work, but are they going to be proactive? When the police officers don't know what to do, they are just going to sit and do nothing and the public is going to be at risk.'

CCTV footage from the Wendy's captured the moment Rolfe pulled out his weapon when Brooks allegedly ran away with a Taser

Days after the incident , Rolfe (left) called Brooks 'respectful and friendly' during their exchange before his death

Last Friday, Rolfe (pictured in a mugshot) arrived to the scene after Brosnan and determined that Brooks had too much to drink before attempting to arrest him

Bryant wore a navy blue shirt Thursday, rather than the white shirt typically worn by command staff, to show solidarity with the officers.

'At some point, people get tired, I recognize that, and physically exhausted,' said Bryant.

'We will definitely get beyond it, and I'm certain that we will see our sick-outs drop back to normal, average.'

Prosecutors brought felony murder and other charges against Rolfe, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said.

Howard said Brooks was not a deadly threat at the time and that the officer kicked the wounded man and offered no medical treatment for over two minutes as he lay dying.

Brosnan, who the district attorney said stood on Brooks shoulder as he struggled for his life, was charged with aggravated assault and violation of his oath.

Rolfe and Brosnan both contend their actions were justified and turned themselves in Thursday.

Jail records show Brosnan was released on a signature bond, meaning he only has to pay if he fails to show up for court, while Rolfe was being held without bond. Rolfe has been fired and Brosnan placed on desk duty.

Rolfe has been charged with 11 counts, including felony murder, which carries a potential sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.

Rayshard Brooks' death comes amid protests over George Floyd, an African-American man who died in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis, Minnesota

A few hours after reporting to the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Rolfe was moved to the jail in neighboring Gwinnett County, according to online records.

The decision to prosecute the officers came less than five days after the killing rocked a city - and a nation - still reeling after George Floyds death at the hands of police in Minneapolis set off nationwide protests that have urged an extensive rethink of policing and an examination of racism in the United States.

Cell phone footage showed Derek Chauvin, a white officer, kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while he pleaded 'I can't breathe!'

L. Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Tomika Miller, Brooks' widow, told reporters the charging of the officers brought the family no joy.

'Some people thought that we'd be happy and be celebrating and have a fist in the air, but its more a disappointment that this is the state of policing and this is where were at,' he said.

Pictured:T omika Miller (center), widow of Rayshard Brooks cries as she leaves a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday

Hundreds of protests have sparked across the United States to fight systematic racism and police brutality

An official talks with protesters on Saturday , near the Atlanta Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police Friday evening

In the roughly three weeks since protests of Floyd's killing first broke out in Georgia's capital, officers have worked shifts of 12 or more hours and have been yelled at, spit on and had things thrown at them, Bryant said.

The weeks since Floyd's killing have seen lawmakers pass police reforms, Americans reconsider statues commemorating controversial figures, and ideas like defunding police become part of the national conversation.

The largest labor group in the Seattle area voted to expel the citys police union Wednesday, saying the guild representing officers failed to address racism in its ranks, and Californias police chiefs on Thursday endorsed a plan to more aggressively weed out cops who break the law or have a history of complaints.

But the drive for change has also drawn pushback, and divisions over the role police should play are becoming a major political flashpoint.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, issued a strong message of support for police on Thursday.

'We remember those who died in the line of duty and their families, who still mourn their passing,' he said in a video his office posted to social media.

While some have hailed the prosecutor's office for moving quickly in the Brooks killing, Bryant said he was surprised at the speed, noting that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation hadn't yet finished looking into it.

Brooks' funeral, which was financed by actor Tyler Perry, is set for Tuesday at Atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist Church

He would not say how many officers called out. But just one officer showed up for work Thursday morning in one zone, which several dozen are assigned to patrol, according to Vince Champion, southeast regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

Atlanta officers are walking off their shifts or not responding to calls because they feel 'abandoned, betrayed, used in a political game,' Champion told the AP.

Champion said hes heard from several officers that they fear using force to protect themselves will get them fired or arrested.

Brooks' funeral is set for Tuesday at Atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s congregation, the Rev. Raphael Warnock announced.

Tyler Perry, the actor and filmmaker, has offered financial help for the services, officials said.

Warnock urged people to remember all the lives lost in recent weeks in interactions with police.

'Tragically and involuntarily they all have become visible victims in an urgent public conversation about justice and fairness in our nation,' said Warnock.

Police in Atlanta were called to a Wendy's last week over complaints of a car blocking the drive-thru lane and found Brooks asleep behind the wheel.

Pictured: Nikita Gleen, raises his hand towards the sky near a Wendy's restaurant on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia

A breath test showed he was intoxicated. Officers had a relatively calm conversation with Brooks before things rapidly turned violent when officers tried to handcuff him.

Rolfe shot Brooks after he grabbed a Taser, fired it and ran, Howard, the prosecutor, said.

But when the officer fired, Brooks was too far from him for the Taser to be a danger, and it had already been fired twice, so it was empty, Howard said.

Rolfes lawyers said he feared for his and others' safety. Rolfe opened fire after hearing a sound 'like a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him,' apparently from the Taser.

The district attorney said Brosnan, is cooperating with prosecutors and will testify. But his attorneys said he hasn't agreed to be a witness for prosecutors.

One of this lawyers, Don Samuel, said Thursday that Brosnan suffered a concussion during the struggle with Brooks and put his foot on Brooks only briefly when he heard gunshots because he didn't know where they were coming from.

'Hes worried that he may have access to a weapon,' Samuel said.
The federal government is right to tackle the jobs crisis in the recession with increased university funding for courses that will yield strong job prospects.

As the intense coronavirus health crisis fades, the reality of the jobs cliff that looms in September, when much of the government's jobs support spending begins to end, requires a strong policy response.

Big changes are afoot at universities. Credit:Louie Douvis

And the skills of young people are a priority: they ensure an opportunity to find sustainable, gainful employment over the recovery years and beyond.

Creating new university places and providing extra funds, making those courses cheaper for those who want to study them (particularly when the option of a gap year or casual employment is low), is a sound policy choice.
Military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies have been holding several rounds of talks to resolve the impasse at the four stand-off points in eastern Ladakh as the soldiers. The meetings at Galwan regions Patrolling Point 14 - the site of a bloody clash on Monday evening that killed 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number from the Chinese side - have helped lower the tension at the border but from all available indicators, the two sides are far from a resolution. Patrolling Point 14 is in control of the Indian army but the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army soldiers - which now claims Galwan valley as Chinese territory - are standing close by maintaining the face-off.

Indias border dispute with China that blew up this week takes the shine off the many agreements between the two sides not to let differences turn into disputes. At Galwan, President Xi Jingpings PLA is trying to create a new one.

Also Read: Ladakh isnt South China Sea, will not allow status quo to change: Official

And it isnt only on its border with India that President Xis China has manufactured a problem. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking during an online conference on democracy, attacked China for its rogue attitude in its entire neighbourhood. The US Navy has deployed its 300,000 tonne aircraft carriers to the Pacific Ocean on June 15. This is the first biggest deployment of US super-carriers - USS Ronald Reagan, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz - since 2017. While the US has not attributed any security motives to the deployment, it is quite evident that the move is to counter Chinese aggressive posture over Taiwan.

Bhutan

The last stand-off between India and China was over Beijings encroachment and construction activities at Doklam, at the India-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction, that continued for 73 days. China had backed out as part of the peace deal between India and China but according to multiple reports, was back at its game. There have been similar such encroachments, construction activities and cases where Chinese patrols have intimidated Bhutanese graziers from accessing pasture lands within Bhutan territory in other sectors of Bhutan-China borders.

South China Sea

China has been flexing its muscles for complete control over the resource-rich South China Sea. Chinas claim to the waters based on historic rights was turned down by a 2016 arbitration ruling but that hasnt stopped China from amping up efforts to militarise the zone.

That South China sea is one of the worlds busiest maritime trade routes that serves as a passage for annual trade worth $ 3.5 trillion implies that this territorial claim impacts not just its smaller neighbours, but a larger number of countries.

To be sure, China has island and maritime border disputes with Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea and its extension. The disputes include islands, reefs, banks and other features in the South China Sea including Spratly Islands (with Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan), Paracel Islands (Vietnam), Scarborough Shoal (Philippines), and Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam).

In addition, China claims the entire Taiwan and its controlled islands as its own.

Eastern China Sea

China has Exclusive Economic Zone disputes with North Korea, South Korea and Japan in the Yellow Sea (North Koren/South Korea) and East China Sea (South Korea/Japan). In addition, China claims Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands of Japan. The area again sees a huge intra-region and global trade and Chinese claim would spill over the region and affect many more countries beyond the immediate region.

Nepal

Around the same time that Kathmandu had objected to a fresh map issued by India last year, Nepals Survey Department had accused China of having encroached Nepali land in northern districts of Humla, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk and Sankhuwasabha. There were protests against China in Nepal after this survey report was leaked but Nepals communist party didnt escalate the border dispute with China that has been pouring billions of rupees in investments into the country and kept the spotlight firmly on Indias map instead. China has also initiated an exercise to measure the height of Mount Everest and installed telecommunication equipment to provide 5G services on it. In May, the state-run China Global Television Network claimed Mount Everest as part of China in a tweet but deleted the post after outrage.

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A vandal sprays paint on the toppled statue of Albert Pike in Washington on June 19, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Trump Says DC Police Not Doing Their Job as Vandals Rip Down Statue

President Donald Trump called on police in the nations capital to protect statues as vandals toppled a memorial to Albert Pike, a former Confederate soldier.

Using multiple sets of ropes, vandals pulled down the 11-foot statue of Pike in Washington late Friday just before midnight.

They then set the statue on fire, chanting No justice, no peace! and No racist police!

The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn, Trump, a Republican, wrote in a statement on Twitter.

These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country! he added.

People stand around the statue of Confederate general Albert Pike after it was toppled by vandals in Washington on June 19, 2020. (Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)

Alaina Gertz, a Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times that Pikes statue sits in a federal park and therefore is within the jurisdiction of National Park Service and the United States Park Police.

No arrests were made, she added in the brief emailed statement.

The office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, didnt respond to a request for comment. The Park Police didnt return a phone call.

In video footage showing the statue being toppled, officers are not near the statue.

One video captured later showed police dousing the flames.

A Black Lives Matter activist told a local reporter that the message sent by removing the statue was the uprising is still here.

Like, slavery was not ended by just, like, calm conversations. Like you had slave revolts, you had people organizing, you had uprisings, the woman said.

A man lights a cigarette from the flames on the toppled statue of Albert Pike in Washington on June 19, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

There are folks that wont even recognize that slavery even happened. We have a long way to go, and the fact is that you need to trust the social movements, you need to trust the people who are trying to push us forward instead of telling everybody what you cant do, she added later. And so right now were saying that we need to defund the police, we need to abolish the police and prisons. Because those are a part of the white supremacist system.

Pikes statue, the only outdoor sculpture in the District of Columbia showing a Confederate officer, was located at 3rd Avenue and D Street. It was near a police department building.

Pike, born in Massachusetts, settled in Arkansas and became known for representing Native Americans in disputes with the federal government.

He opposed secession but sided with the Confederacy and became a brigadier general, according to a virtual museum. He enlisted more than 2,000 Native Americans to fight for the Confederate Army. He later resigned from his position.

The only statue of a Confederate general, Albert Pike, in the nations capital, lies on the ground after it was toppled by vandals in Washington on June 19, 2020. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo)

The memorial to Pike said he was an author, poet, scholar, soldier, jurist, orator, philanthropist, and philosopher.

After the statue was removed, the D.C. Council said its been calling for the federal government to remove Pikes statue since 1992.

Pike was described in a council proposal as the chief founder of the post-Civil War Ku Klux Klan.

According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Pike may have been involved with the Klan, but no definitive proof shows that he was. Pike was a longtime member of the Masonic Lodge and rose to a high-level position in the group.

He died in Washington in 1891. The statue was erected in 1901.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
The Intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian Commission on Economic Cooperation held an online meeting with participation of representatives of the governments and departments of the two countries.

The sides discussed the pace of development of bilateral cooperation in the spheres of trade and economy, finance and oil and gas, as well as in power engineering, chemical industry, transport and communications and agriculture. The main topics of discussion included issues relating to increasing trade turnover and expansion of the range of traded goods, stimulation of investment activities and strengthening contacts between businesses.

The meeting participants spoke in favor of cooperation in the humanitarian and scientific-technological sphere. In this regard, the sides noted the positive experience of interaction in healthcare, including prevention and response to infectious diseases, timeliness and effectiveness of measures taken in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
India on Saturday saw another record spike of 14,516 new COVID-19 cases in a single-day, pushing the tally to 3,95,048, while the death toll rose to 12,948 with 375 new fatalities, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The number of recoveries continued to surge with 2,13,830 patients cured so far, while there were 1,68,269 active cases, according to the updated official figures at 8 am. One patient has migrated.

"Thus, around 54.12 per cent of the patients have recovered so far," an official said. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.

India registered over 10,000 cases for the ninth day in a row.

The country has witnessed a surge of over two lakh infections from June 1 till 20 with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh among the top five states that have seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Of the 375 new deaths reported till Friday morning, 142 were from Maharashtra, 66 from Delhi, 41 from Tamil Nadu, 27 from Gujarat, 23 from Uttar Pradesh, 11 from West Bengal, 10 each from Rajasthan, Karnataka and Haryana, nine each from Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, six from Bihar, four each from Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and three from Telangana.

India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US, Brazil and Russia. According to the Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, India is at the eighth position in terms of the death toll.

Of the total 12,948 deaths, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 5,893 fatalities followed by Delhi with 2,035 deaths, Gujarat with 1,618, Tamil Nadu with 666, West Bengal with 529, Madhya Pradesh with 495, Uttar Pradesh with 488, Rajasthan with 333 and Telangana with 198 deaths.

The COVID-19 death toll reached 144 in Haryana, 124 in Karnataka, 96 in Andhra Pradesh, 92 in Punjab, 75 in Jammu and Kashmir, 50 in Bihar, 26 in Uttarakhand, 21 in Kerala and 11 in Odisha.

Jharkhand has also registered 11 deaths, Chhattisgarh 10, Assam 9, Himachal Pradesh 8, Puducherry 7, Chandigarh 6 while Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported 1 fatality each, according to the Health Ministry.

More than 70 per cent deaths took place due to comorbidities, the ministry said.

Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of cases at 1,24,331 followed by Tamil Nadu at 54,449, Delhi at 53,116, Gujarat at 26,141, Uttar Pradesh at 15,785, Rajasthan at 14,156 and West Bengal at 13,090, according to the Health Ministry's data.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 11,582 in Madhya Pradesh, 9,743 in Haryana, 8,281 in Karnataka, 7,961 in Andhra Pradesh and 7,181 in Bihar.

It has risen to 6,526 in Telangana, 5,680 in Jammu and Kashmir, 4,904 in Assam and 4,677 in Odisha.

Punjab has reported 3,832 novel coronavirus cases so far, while Kerala has 2,912 cases.

A total of 2,177 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 2,028 in Chhattisgarh, 1,965 in Jharkhand, 1,178 in Tripura, 725 in Goa, 744 in Ladakh, 681 in Manipur and 619 in Himachal Pradesh.

Chandigarh has registered 381 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry has 286 cases, Nagaland has 198, Mizoram has 130, Arunachal Pradesh has 103 and Sikkim has 70.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 62 COVID-19 cases.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 45 infections each so far while Meghalaya has recorded 44 cases.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding 9,265 cases are being reassigned to states.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
More domestic flights likely soon: Hardeep Singh Puri

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, June 20: The government-imposed upper and lower limits on airfares may be extended beyond August 24 depending upon how the situation turns out, Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference along with Kharola, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government will start thinking on resumption of international passenger flights in mid-July when it expects the domestic air traffic to reach 50-55 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

The minister also said that all 650 commercial aircraft that are in India will start flying and operating flights by the end of the year. The government resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration.

It had said on May 21 that these limits would be in place for a period of three months. "Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjusted beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months," Kharola said at the press conference here.

Coronavirus: India records 14,000 COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours; Death toll nears 13,000

On May 21, the aviation regulator DGCA issued the government-decided fare limits for these bands -- domestic flights with less than 40-minute duration to have lower and upper limits of Rs 2,000 and Rs 6,000, for 40-60 minutes Rs 2,500 and Rs 7,500, for 60-90 minutes Rs 3,000 and Rs 9,000, for 90-120 minutes Rs 3,500 and Rs 10,000, for 120-150 minutes Rs 4,500 and Rs 13,000, and for 150-180 minutes Rs 5,500 and Rs 15,700.

International passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country. However, the government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations through special flights.

Puri said at the conference that during phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the government has resumed domestic flight operations in the country from May 25, it has allowed only 33 per cent of the total pre-COVID flights.

"For the next week or so, we can increase the frequencies (on existing routes) and increase the number of places within the 33 per cent," said the minister. During the last few days, while some states have written to the aviation ministry asking for reduction in number of approved flights at their airports as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, others have asked to increase the number of flights, he said.

"Once you reach 50 per cent of domestic capacity, that is when one can say that we can start normal international civil aviation operations," he added. The minister said 50-55 per cent of the domestic civil aviation capacity will be attained slightly earlier than July 15. Puri noted the domestic traffic will reach the pre-COVID level of 2019 by the end of this year. "It is the most optimistic projection for any country," he mentioned.

He reiterated that resumption of international passenger flights would depend on when other countries will open up their borders for travellers.

"Once our domestic traffic reaches roughly 50-55 per cent, which means 1.5 lakh-1.6 lakh passengers per day, we can then start thinking on this (resuming international flights)," he said. Airlines' revenues have been hit hard due to travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman for the Southern District of New York at a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 26, 2018. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

US Attorney Replaced by Trump Says He Wont Step Down

Update: Berman was fired by Trump, Barr confirmed.

Original story below.

A U.S. attorney being replaced by the Trump administration is refusing to step down, in possible defiance of the law.

I learned in a press release from the attorney general tonight that I was stepping down as United States attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement late Friday.

I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate, he added.

President Donald Trump is planning to nominate Jay Clayton, who currently chairs the Securities and Exchange Commission, to serve as Bermans replacement, Attorney General William Barr said hours earlier in a press release.

Trump also appointed Craig Carpenito, currently the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, to serve temporarily in the position Berman held while the Senate considers Claytons nomination.

The appointment will be effective July 3, Barr said. He also said that Berman was stepping down.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable at the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on June 18, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

According to U.S. law, each U.S. attorney is subject to removal by the president.

Trump, but not Barr, can remove Berman, Marty Lederman, a Georgetown University law professor, said in a social media statement.

Berman was appointed by judges in the Southern District of New York in April 2018 to remain as U.S. attorney. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier that year nominated Berman as interim U.S. attorney for the district.

Some legal experts alleged that, because of the way Berman was placed in his position, he might be able to continue serving in the post.

Referencing a separate portion of U.S. code, University of Texas at Austin law professor Stephen Vladeck said on social media, Theres a pretty good argument that Berman gets to keep serving in that post until the *vacancy* is filled (through Senate confirmation of a permanent successor).

Many experts pointed to a 1979 memo (pdf) from the Office of Legal Counsel, which produces opinions about what the White House can legally do. The memo says the president can remove U.S. attorneys, regardless of how the attorneys gain their positions.

Queries sent to the Department of Justice, the White House, and Bermans office werent immediately returned.

Attorney General William Barr at the Justice Department in Washington on Jan. 13, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

During his time in office, Berman led the prosecution against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, before Epstein committed suicide in jail. He has not brought charges against any of Epsteins associates despite widespread calls to do so.

Berman has also probed several people who were once close to Trump, including Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer, and Rudy Giuliani, the presidents current lawyer.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in a statement accused Barr of wrongdoing on Trumps behalf.

Berman, he said, is welcome to testify at a committee hearing on the topic on Wednesday.
3 1 of 3 Gary Hahn / Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 3 David Lombardo / The Capitol Pressroom Show More Show Less 3 of 3





ALBANY The city unveiled street closures and lane reductions beginning Friday, June 19, an effort to help area restaurants by allowing for expanded outdoor dining opportunities.

The following street closures will be in effect through at least July 31 (subject to change):



 Sheridan Avenue between Chapel and North Pearl streets. This closure will begin at 6 p.m. Fridays and end at 11 p.m. Sundays. On Sunday mornings, the street will be temporarily opened to allow congregants of First Reformed Church to enter or exit the parking lot via Sheridan Avenue. While this closure was initially announced Friday afternoon, the city later said it would not tale effect until a week later, June 26.
The management of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Rivers State, has directed compulsory use of face masks on its campuses to curtail spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Regina Ogali, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), made this known in a statement by the institutions Deputy Registrar (Information), Williams Wodi, in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

Mrs Ogali was quoted as having issued the directive during a meeting between principal officers and members of COVID-19 Steering Committee in the university.

Mr Ogali, who currently oversees the affairs of UNIPORT in the absence of a substantive Vice Chancellor, said the decision was in-line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) COVID-19 protocol.

Henceforth, all staff, students and visitors to UNIPORT must fully observe the COVID-19 protocol as approved by NCDC and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

We called this meeting with the COVID-19 Steering Committee, especially now that the number of confirmed cases in Rivers State is becoming scary by the day.

To this end, we need to take proactive steps to safeguard the health status of staff, residents and visitors to the university.

Also, we need to plan ahead of possible resumption of academic activities, if and when we are so directed by the Federal Government, Ogali told the committee members.

She said that the university had started taking delivery of equipment and kits for its COVID-19 test centre and expressed optimism that the centre would become fully operational in July.

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The deputy vice chancellor added that management would soon instal infrared thermometers, hand sanitisers and running water at strategic locations, including offices and faculty buildings.

She directed the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the university to start production of hand sanitisers in commercial quantity for distribution to the public.

Also, we should begin to think seriously about encouraging our Information and Communication Technology Centre and ODel, a virtual centre, to work out modalities to enable UNIPORT to begin online learning, she noted.

The Chairman of the committee, Iyeopu Siminialayi, attributed the rising number of confirmed coronavirus cases to increase of testing in the state.

Siminialayi, Provost of the College of Health Sciences at the University, said that work was ongoing to convert the International Students Centre to a temporary quarantine and isolation centre.

On his part, Datonye Alasia, another member of the committee and an infectious disease expert, said that about 40 per cent to 50 per cent of people tested for COVID-19 turned out positive.

(NAN)
Plans for a ceremonial space for the SFU community to celebrate Indigenous knowledge and culture are underway. SFUs First Peoples Gathering House will open on SFUs Burnaby campus in 2023.

"I'm very excited this project is moving forward; the Indigenous People's Gathering House will be our home away from home and the heart and soul of Indigeneity at SFU, says Ron Johnston, director of SFUs Office for Aboriginal Peoples. Johnston is an SFU alumnus, and a member of SFUs Aboriginal Reconciliation Council (SFU-ARC).

Longhouses are sacred places in our communities where teaching, learning, ceremony, and protocols are upheld and practiced and are at the centre of our Indigenous cultures, now we will have such a place at SFU," says Johnston.

SFUs 2017 Walk this Path with Us report outlines 34 calls to action to create and support an improved environment for SFUs Indigenous community members.

Designed in the Coast Salish traditions and iconic typologies, the Gathering House represents a step toward lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and SFUs continued reconciliation efforts.

Marcia Guno, director of the Indigenous Student Centre, says that the Gathering House will play a significant role in the university community. As an important campus space that recognizes and honours Indigenous peoples, it will enrich our campus, it will enrich our community, and it will enrich awareness about Indigenous peoples and history in Canada."
PHOENIX  Arizonans wont be able to wait until the last minute to drop their early ballots in the mail.

In a deal reached Thursday, two groups that challenged the law will not pursue their claim that it is unconstitutional to refuse to count ballots that have not arrived in the mail by 7 p.m. on Election Day. They had asked a federal judge to say that its the postmark that counts.

In exchange, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has agreed to do more voter education to help ensure the ballots either get mailed in time to meet the deadline or that they are dropped off at polling places.

And Hobbs also is required, under the terms of the deal, to specifically look for ways to expand early voting opportunities in Hispanic and Latino, Native American and rural communities. But some of that is contingent on Hobbs, a Democrat, getting the Republican-controlled Legislature to provide the funding  or at least authorization to use federal grant money  specifically to reach out to those communities.

Central to the litigation is the wide use of mail ballots, with about 1.9 million votes cast that way in the 2018 election out of about 2.4 million ballots cast.
People kept on coming, looked at her and went away. Eventually, Rachungailiu Gonmei, a student, gave up in getting someone ready to share a rickshaw with her in New Delhi. She decided to travel by herself.

Like many who hail from Northeast India - a huge area bordering China, Gonmei has realised the change as she has seen a sharp spike in racial discrimination and abuse ever since coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019.



Reuters

Being a target for their East Asian looks, northeasterners have been spat at, called coronavirus and told to go back to China, according to a Reuters report.

Racially attacked in one's own country

I suddenly thought Oh, so this is how its going to be, said Gonmei, 23, who comes from the northeastern state of Manipur and studies at Delhi University.



But I also realised its not surprising. It was disappointing and hurtful, but it wasnt something new, she said.



Northeast Indians have faced hate crimes, discrimination and racial slurs like Chinky and chow mein in other parts of the country for decades, but such abuse has become far more common during the pandemic.



Bordered by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the Northeast region is a cluster of eight states connected to the rest of the country by a narrow strip of land, and is home to numerous ethnic groups.



Many people, especially the young, leave the remote area and head to the big cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in search of better jobs and education.



But they face many challenges adapting to new languages and different cultures and endure frequent racial discrimination. Harassment from landlords and employers and attacks in the street are common, campaigners say.



Reuters

As Indian celebrities and politicians voice support for the global Black Lives Matter movement, northeast Indians say they should seek to tackle racism at home first.



When people are suffering here, you dont even raise your voice? Its only when its an American issue that you speak out? said Alana Golmei, a lawyer and activist who runs the Delhi-based Northeast Support Centre and Helpline.



Its a total double standard.



Not the whole picture

Golmei, who herself was called coronavirus in the street earlier this year, said calls to the helpline had more than doubled to about 200 a day since late January, around the time that Indias first coronavirus infections were reported.

But she said that was likely the the tip of the iceberg because most victims of racial harassment or abuse choose not to go to the police, who routinely refuse to register or follow up on such complaints.



We face a lot of challenges in trying to help these victims of abuse and discrimination because the police are so insensitive. They mock us and laugh at our Hindi, she said, calling for strict enforcement of laws to punish racial abuse.



Under Indian law, the use of derogatory racist terms is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, but punishment is rare.



Women from Northeast India face a double discrimination, Golmei said. Neighbours and landlords often harass them for coming back late at night, assuming they are sex workers.



Reuters

Still, the situation has improved in recent years due to increased awareness.



The murder of 20-year-old Nido Taniam, who was from the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, at a New Delhi market in 2014 sparked protests and soul-searching in India, leading to anti-racism campaigns and police-training programmes.



It also spurred the creation of a panel to look into the concerns of northeast Indians, which made a series of recommendations on police reform, fast-track court procedures and greater representation of northeasterners in state roles.



Six years on, however, Golmei - who was part of the panel - said the home ministry had implemented few of the recommendations.



Reuters

The ministrys Northeast division did not reply to requests for comment.



Impact of trauma

In March, concerned about the upswing in racism, the ministry issued an advisory to all states to take action to tackle abuse against northeast Indians over the coronavirus.



Over the last few years, the government has launched scores of initiatives to better connect the Northeast to the rest of the country by promoting tourism and infrastructure projects.



But in the absence of a law specifically targeting racial discrimination, many northeast Indians try to prepare themselves for entrenched racism by learning the dominant Hindi language or contacting support groups before heading south.



Thotmahai Raingam, a tech consultant and member of a Mumbai-based charity that helps northeast Indians in the city, said he had a list of dos and donts to help new arrivals cope.



There are certain things we can control to make life safer for us, said Raingam from the Tangkhul Welfare Society Mumbai.



He urges northeasterners to try to avoid getting into fights if they face abuse or do anything to attract unnecessary attention that could invite trouble.



They should try to get evidence of any harassment or assaults - either visual or audio recordings - otherwise police will likely refuse to take action.



Raingam said that while awareness campaigns were important, they should not just say racism is wrong, and instead emphasise the impact of racial abuse on victims.



The sad reality is that this is happening around India. Before we start saying Black Lives Matter and protest racism in the US, it is time to first cleanse the dirt in our own minds.
Washington

Attorney General William Barr on Saturday told the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan that President Donald Trump had removed him from the job, deepening tensions between the country's chief law enforcement officer and a high-profile U.S. attorney who had been overseeing investigations of Trump's allies.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman intends to continue to fight his removal.

The whirlwind chain of events began Friday night, when Barr announced that Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, had resigned. Hours later, the prosecutor issued a statement denying that he had resigned and saying that his office's "investigations would move forward without delay or interruption."

On Saturday morning, he showed to work, telling reporters, "I'm just here to do my job."

In a letter made public by the Justice Department later Saturday, Barr said he expected to continue speaking with Berman about other possible positions within the department and was surprised by the statement he released.

"Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service," Barr wrote, adding that the idea that Berman had to continue on the job to safeguard investigations was "false."

"Your statement also wrongly implies that your continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately," he wrote. "This is obviously false."

The administration's push to cast aside Berman set up an extraordinary political and constitutional clash between the Justice Department and one of the nation's top districts, which has tried major mob and terrorism cases over the years and is investigating Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

It also deepened tensions between the department and congressional Democrats, who have accused Barr of politicizing the agency and acting more like Trump's personal lawyer than the country's chief law enforcement officer.

Barr offered no explanation for his action. The White House announced that Trump was nominating Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, for the job.

People familiar with the matter in the Southern District could point to no clear reason for Berman's removal, though they noted his job had always seemed in jeopardy and Berman was never given the sense that it was secure.

Berman's office also took actions on some important cases without first informing Washington. But the various investigations are still ongoing and no charges seem imminent, said the people familiar with the matter, who weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A senior department official said Clayton was planning to leave the administration, wanted to move back to New York and expressed interest in the Southern District position, and Barr thought he would be a good fit. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss internal department matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Only days ago, allegations surfaced from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the president sought to interfere in an investigation by Berman's office into the state-owned Turkish bank in an effort to cut deals with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he was unlikely to proceed with Clayton's nomination unless New York's senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, gave their consent to the pick. Schumer said the bid to oust Berman "reeks of potential corruption of the legal process" and Gillibrand said she would "not be complicit" in helping to fire a prosecutor investigating corruption. Both lawmakers called for Clayton to withdraw from consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said his committee was inviting Berman to testify this coming week. Schumer also called for the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate.

Berman's statement Friday night said he would stay on the job until a nominee was confirmed by the Senate. He challenged Barr's power to remove, given that Berman was appointed by federal judges, not by the president. Under federal law, a U.S. attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve "until the vacancy is filled."

But the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel argued in a 1979 opinion that the "power to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney rests with the president." It says "the president is responsible for the conduct of a U.S. Attorney's office and therefore must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him."

Barr said in his letter that the deputy U.S. attorney, Audrey Strauss, would take over the top job until a permanent successor is in place.

Federal prosecutors in New York have overseen numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Trump in recent years. That includes an ongoing investigation into Giuliani's business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes. Cohen was recently released from a federal prison in New York to continue serving his sentence on home confinement over coronavirus concerns.

Berman has overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump's reelection.
Representative image

As the lockdown was eased and workplaces opened up with new protocols of seating, interaction and cleanliness, smaller teams across Mumbais many offices got down to a task critical to the bottom-line in these times  rationalisation of office space and renegotiation of rents. Its the same in other cities across India where demand for office space was booming till COVID-19 struck earlier this year.

Opening up offices in times of the virus has meant pandemic-proofing of these spaces. However, the most fundamental COVID-19-driven change in the long term will not only be in the design of the office but the idea and scope of the office itself, as planners and architects aver.

With work-from-home during the lockdown revealing that many job functions can be carried out from outside-the-office without greatly hampering output, and employees rooting for remote work to avoid crush load commuting to work and back, companies are re-examining and rationalising their need for office space at high rents in business districts across cities.

McKinsey research in the United States through the COVID-19 months revealed that 80 percent of people questioned reported that they enjoy working from home, 41 percent said they are more productive than they had been before, and 28 percent that they were as productive. Reliable parallel studies in India are hard to come by, but anecdotal evidence shows a similar trend. Companies wonder whether large office spaces with attendant liabilities must be maintained, especially during the pandemic-related restrictions and downturn in business. Many are re-assessing their real estate strategies.

As a consequence, rental value of office spaces has begun to take a hit. Across Mumbais business districts, realtors speak of a decline in rents negotiated last year; the only exceptions being high-end or ultra-luxe commercial places whose supply is restricted. Its reasonable to expect a nominal five percent to a real 20 percent decline in rents, realtors said. Reports from other cities are no different. Net office space leasing across seven major cities declined 30 percent during January-March, said property consultant JLL India in a report. It must have worsened since.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

This puts the office leasing sector, booming till January, into a quandary. Property consultants such as CBRE, Knight Frank and JLL India had shown a happy spike of 25 percent to 40 percent in office space leasing last year with a gross 60 million sq-ft across nine cities including Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The buoyancy in the sector was expected to hold through 2020  till the virus struck. The downturn started in January-March could get worse before it gets better as companies review the idea of an office itself.

Does this mean the death of the office? Thats a fantasy. Remote work and work-from-home are not suitable for all job functions in an organisation. Besides, even if they do not adversely impact productivity, employees have felt disconnected and isolated working from home during lockdown.

Also, as behavioural experts have pointed out, people adapted to remote work  and quickly too  because they had social capital carried over from the workplace; they knew one another. As months roll by and new people join or new activities commence, employees could more acutely feel the downside of remote work.

The office, as we know through the last two centuries, is not going anywhere because theres value to people coming together in a physical space for a common purpose, theres human interaction beyond the demands of the workplace, theres an office culture and camaraderie even if it sometimes gets vicious. Few would be willing to trade all these away and settle down long-term remote work from their kitchen tables, beds, and window sills.

However, the office as we have known it in the last few decades, could well change. The post-pandemic office, at least till vaccine is widely available, may not be a gargantuan space with hundreds clocking in and out a day. A post-pandemic design will evolve but it would have to incorporate certain changes  from re-evaluating and re-modelling the open office to placing health and hygiene at the centre of workplace design which had not happened so far.

Urban planners and architects have begun weighing in on these, but they lie some distance away in the future. The immediate and urgent issue remains its cost to the company. This means that office rentals are likely to be volatile for a while.

(This is the second of a two-part series on office and work during COVID-19)
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Growing safety concern regarding electrical equipment in the residential segment is expected to drive the global arc fault current interrupter market. Arc fault are some time may result in house fire incidents, leading to property damage and also injuries caused by fire. The increasing number of these kinds of incidents has led to the passing of mandatory requirements for the installation of AFC Fault Current Interrupter s that will likely effectively reduce such incidents.It is anticipated that demand from the ARC Fault Current Interrupter market will increase in the forecast period as a result of rising concern for the safety of commercial buildings and houses. In some countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Germany, mandatory regulations have been passed to implement arc fault circuit interrupters in upcoming and ongoing construction projects, ensuring steady growth of the arc fault circuit interrupters market in the coming years.

Get More Information: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/9532

The global arc fault circuit interrupter market has been segmented on the basis of type and application. On the basis of type the ARC Fault Current Interrupter market is segmented into branch/feeder, outlet, and combination. The branch/feeder segment holds the largest share in the global arc fault circuit interrupter market and is expected to grow at a fast rate over the forecast period. Combination type arc fault circuit interrupters are anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period, following the branch/feeder type segment. On the basis of application, the market has been divided into residential and commercial/industrial. The residential segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to the increasing requirement for arc fault circuit interrupters in this application and regulatory compliances made by governments and forums to implement it.

The global arc fault circuit interrupter market is estimated to be driven by the North America region. And it is also anticipated that North America will lead the global ARC Fault Current Interrupter market over the forecast period. Europe is estimated to contribute a major share in the overall ARC Fault Current Interrupter market over the 2017-2025 forecast period, closely followed by Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, South America and the Middle East and Africa are anticipated to grow at a relatively sluggish rate during the forecast period.

Key players profiled in the global arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) market include Eaton Corporation, General Electric, Siemens Industry, Inc., Legrand SA, Schneider Electric SE, and Leviton Manufacturing Co.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/9532

The global ARC Fault Current Interrupter market has been segmented as follows:

Global ARC Fault Current Interrupter Market, by Type

 Branch/Feeder

 Outlet

 Combination

Global ARC Fault Current Interrupter Market, by Application

 Residential

 Commercial/Industrial

Global ARC Fault Current Interrupter Market, by Geography

 North America

o U.S.

o Canada

o Rest of North America

 Europe

o U.K.

o Germany

o France

o Rest of Europe

 Asia Pacific

o India

o China

o Japan

o Rest of Asia Pacific

 ROW
Coutinho 'offered' to Everton on loan

| Saturday, 20 June 2020



Barcelona are apparently willing to let the former Liverpool player leave on a temporary basis next season and, according to journalist Duncan Castles, Goodison Park is a possible destination.

Barca are supposedly prepared to pay around a third of Coutinho's wages to make the deal "more affordable" to Everton.

It's not the first time Coutinho has been linked with the Blues in recent weeks. The player's agent, Kia Joorabchian, is close friends with Farhad Moshiri and that could be fuelling the speculation.

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

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Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters marched on UK cities for the fourth consecutive weekend, with hundreds of demonstrators assembling in Hyde Park before gathering in Parliament Square.

Activists assembled at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park to listen to activists call for the removal of Munira Mirza, Boris Johnson's policy chief, as head of the new race inequality commission.

The crowd marched through London city centre before protesting outside Parliament, including by surrounding the statue of Winston Churchill opposite.

Later in the afternoon in the capital, large crowds gathered at Trafalgar Square, with protesters wielding banners and posters and some making speeches from the foot of Nelson's Column.

In Scotland, hundreds of people flocked to an anti-racism rally in George Square in Glasgow this morning, despite police telling locals to stay away from mass gatherings in public spaces.

Scuffles broke out between football-hooligan troublemakers and police in the Scottish city, before over 100 police officers in attendance at the square 'kettled' anti-racism demonstrators.

Twenty-four people have so far been charged with offences in connection with the BLM protests and far-Right counter-demonstrations across the UK over the past three weekends.

Ten people have been charged in relation to those protests and counter-protests in the UK capital alone.

One man, Andrew Banks, has already been jailed for urinating next to the memorial of PC Keith Palmer, the police officer who died in the Westminster Bridge terror attack of 2017.

Protests first erupted in the UK after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for just under nine minutes, in the US.

People march to Parliament in central London during a protest organised by Black Lives Matter. The group had started off in Hyde Park

Black Lives Matter protesters at the Churchill statue in Parliament Square, London today. There were demonstrations all over the country

Activists, some wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 and keeping a social distance from others, hold placards, including one activist taking a knee, as they attend a BLM protest in Hyde Park, central London today

Demonstrators have also been assembling at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and in Vauxhall. There is a heavy police presence at Hyde Park, with 14 police vans lined up along the road by Marble Arch

BLM protesters and counter-protesters gathering in front of Sir Winston Churchill's statue in Parliament Square today

A man holds an effigy depicting the severed head of US president Donald Trump during a Black Lives Matter protest in London

Motorcyclists in London raise their fists in support of a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody

A group are escorted by police as they leave after attending a BLM demonstration in George Square, Glasgow today

People congregate in Times Square, Newcastle, in support of the BLM movement today. The crowd heard from various speakers and danced to drummers during the peaceful gathering

At Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park today, organiser Imarn Ayton called for the removal of Ms Mirza from her position as head of the Government's race inequality commission in a rousing speech.

Standing before a crowd of around 600, she thundered: 'We are all here today because we know that black lives matter, we are all here today because we know that black is beautiful.

'And we are all here today because we know that it is time to burn down institutional racism.'

She continued: 'Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission. We appreciate a response, we like a response but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made.

'Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to head up our race inequality commission. This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism - she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.'

Ayton said: '(Munira Mirza) does not believe in what we believe in, she's not in line with what we believe in. So let me tell you right now, so here to make sure that everyone knows this today.'

She led the crowd in chanting 'Munira Mirza must go' and 'institutional racism is a reality not a perception'.

Ayton also called for the implementation of the recommendations made by David Lammy's review into outcomes for black and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system.

She interrupted the crowd when they broke into chants of 'Boris Johnson is a racist'.

'You cannot cuss a man who is listening - it's a waste of your voice to say 'f*** Boris', find another way to inspire,' she said, adding: 'You cannot cuss a man when you are asking him to help you.'

People march in central London after attending a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London. There were also demonstrations in Glasgow

Activists, some wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 and keeping a social distance from others, hold placards, including one activist taking a knee, as they attend a BLM protest in Hyde Park, central London today

Demonstrators raise their fists as they attend a Black Lives Matter protest among hundreds in Hyde Park, London today

A man, wearing a protective mask against the spread of coronavirus, holds a placard during a protest organised by Black Lives Matter in Hyde Park, London

People, wearing protective masks, take part in a protest organised by Black Lives Matter, in Hyde Park, London today

People at a BLM rally in Hyde Park, London today. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis

Protesters attend a Black Lives Matters protest in Hyde Park, London before marching through town to Parliament today

People at a BLM rally in Hyde Park, London today. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis

A group are escorted by police as they leave after attending a BLM demonstration in George Square, Glasgow today

One demonstrator said: 'Before coming to the protests I was seeing everything online - all these videos of police brutality and it makes you so angry and makes you consider your own feelings about racism.'

She said: 'When I come to these protests it is such a release, it almost feels like peace - you have family, you have people who want to understand and it's like a community.'

The 23-year-old added that said racist comments were just a fact of life and that just before shutdown a man in a club had asked her if she was 'from the ghetto'.

Tash, 23, joined the BLM protests for the first time today. She said:'This protest makes me feel hopeful but it also concerns me.We're in a pandemic and I don't want it to just be a hashtag and a trend.

'It is hopeful because people are finally listening but are they just listening because they have the time and they are bored? I want to see change, I want this to be followed through.'

A demonstrator holds a placard as he attends a BLM protest at Hyde Park, following the death of George Floyd in the US

Activists, some wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 and keeping a social distance from others, hold placards, including one activist taking a knee, as they attend a BLM protest in Hyde Park, central London today

Protesters are escorted by police from George Square in Glasgow city centre after a Glasgow Says No to Racism event aimed at 'sending a positive anti-racist message from Glasgow's George Square to the world on World Refugee Day'

People during a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London today. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis

Demonstrators hold placards and a banner as they march during a Black Lives Matter protest, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in London today

Demonstrators hold placards in front of the Buckingham Palace during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd

Activists, some wearing face coverings or face masks as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, beat drums as they march to Parliament Square during a Black Lives Matter protest which began in Hyde Park, central London

Home Secretary Priti Patel urged to ban all protests amid coronavirus threat The organisation that represents rank-and-file police officers in England and Wales has called on the Home Secretary to ban all protests while the threat of Covid-19 remains. Police Federation chairman John Apter said Priti Patel must be 'unequivocal' in stating that large gatherings are not allowed. But Downing Street said any ban is an 'operational matter' for senior officers to apply to the Home Secretary for. A total of 10 people have now been charged with offences in connection with the BLM protests and far-right counter demonstrations in London over the past three weekends, Scotland Yard said. The Met has released images of a further 35 suspects they want to speak to in connection with violence at the protests, with police pelted with missiles, smoke grenades, glass bottles and flares. Metropolitan Police Commander Alex Murray said: 'Whilst the vast majority of people who have attended demonstrations over the past few weeks were not violent, there have a small minority intent on violence against our officers and others, and this is completely unacceptable and we are working hard to bring offenders to justice. 'Officers will be making arrests if there is violence. 'We would encourage those planning to attend to use your influence and spread the message that criminal activity and violence will undermine the messages you are wanting people to hear and must be avoided. 'We have a post-investigation team who will gather all the available evidence and bring those identified to justice.' Advertisement

Describing her own experience of racism growing up in London, she said: 'I've been asked what slave country I come from - in all seriousness - and I just think 'how do I respond to that?''

Jeremy Mukel, 33, is from New York but has spent the last 10 years in the UK. He said his experience of racism in London was different from growing up in the US.

'It is different because you are not being killed for (being black) here, while in the US you could literally be pulled over by the police and lose your life,' he said.

'That said, here it is a lot more subtle - in the US people are more open about things. I grew up in New York, that's a liberal city, it makes you dread to think what's going on in Texas and other places.'

Metropolitan Police Commander Alex Murray said: 'Whilst the vast majority of people who have attended demonstrations over the past few weeks were not violent, there have a small minority intent on violence against our officers and others, and this is completely unacceptable and we are working hard to bring offenders to justice.

'Officers will be making arrests if there is violence.

'We would encourage those planning to attend to use your influence and spread the message that criminal activity and violence will undermine the messages you are wanting people to hear and must be avoided.

'We have a post-investigation team who will gather all the available evidence and bring those identified to justice.'

In Glasgow today, over 100 police officers - including riot and mounted officers - were in attendance. Scenes this morning showed pro-statue demonstrators scuffling with police wearing face masks.

Organisers said the Say No to Racism event is aimed at 'sending a positive anti-racist message from Glasgow's George Square to the world on World Refugee Day'.

Supporters include Stand Up To Racism, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Positive Action in Housing, Afghan Human Rights Foundation and unions.

Arrivals included members of the Green Brigade, linked to Celtic ultras. Attendees were asked to wear masks, adhere to two-metre distancing rules and not to travel farther than public health advice allows.

Police horses and riot officers were used to control their arrival in the square. Loyalists and members of a far-Right group announced online last night that they plan to head to the square to 'protect statues'.

At the start of the rally, the crowd took a knee in support of the BLM movement. Later, names of people who died in police custody were read out and attendees chanted 'no justice, no peace, no racist police'.

Speakers said they 'didn't come here for a fight' and spoke of securing greater rights for refugees and asylum seekers. They added 'no-one welcomes' the far-Right group and called on police to 'do their job'.

Chief Superintendent Alan Murray said: 'Significant police resources were deployed at George Square to prevent the disgraceful scenes of violence and disorder witnessed in recent days.

'Those who turned up to protest were facilitated with an appropriate policing response and I would like to thank all officers involved for their professionalism in preventing trouble and maintaining public safety.

'Acting on information, at the end of protest around midday, officers contained a large group of people, including individuals identified as football risk supporters, who we believed posed a threat to public safety both within George Square and at other locations.

A man, wearing a protective mask against the spread of coronavirus, holds a banner during a march, organised by Black Lives Matter, to Britain's Parliament in central London

People march in central London after attending a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London. It is the fourth weekend of demonstrations

The Met have released images of 35 suspects they want to speak to in connection with violence at last weekend's protests, which turned violent. Pictured: demonstrators in central London today

'We engaged with this group and, at their request, escorted them to the Gallowgate area of the city where they dispersed.

'As part of our response, Police Scotland also imposed an Order under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

'This allows police to search any individual or vehicle within the Greater Glasgow area and covers the city to help maintain public safety in all areas.

'Our robust response will continue across the country and anyone intent on causing violence and disorder should expect arrest.'

A group are escorted by police as they leave after attending a BLM demonstration in George Square, Glasgow today

A group are escorted by police as they leave after attending a BLM demonstration in George Square, Glasgow today

Supporters include Stand Up To Racism, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Positive Action in Housing, Afghan Human Rights Foundation and unions (Twitter grabs)

There were some minor scuffles as police controlled people arriving and leaving but the rally was peaceful.

Protesters being kettled and moved on questioned officers over why similar had not happened to a far-right group involved in violent scenes at the square on Wednesday.

Police Scotland imposed an Order under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, allowing police to search any individual or vehicle within the Greater Glasgow area until 11.59pm tonight.

Chief Superintendent Alan Murray of Greater Glasgow Police tweeted: 'We identified a group as football risk supporters, who we believed posed a threat to public safety. We spoke with this group and, at their request, escorted them to the Gallowgate area of the city where they dispersed.'

Yesterday, Chief Superintendent Hazel Hendren of Greater Glasgow said: 'The disgraceful scenes we have witnessed in George Square are completely unacceptable and a robust policing response is in place for anyone intent on causing violent disruption. Please do not come to George Square tomorrow.'

Six people were arrested on Wednesday following scenes labelled 'disgraceful' by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Far-Right loyalists targeted a rally calling for improved living conditions for refugees.

It comes as Met Police Commander for Specialist Crime, Alex Murray, revealed that over 100 officers have been assaulted since nation-wide BLM protests first broke out at the end of May.

Monuments including Winston Churchill's statue were boarded up after his plinth was defaced. The covers have been removed, though police do not plans to position large numbers of officers around them to protect them.

People congregate in Times Square, Newcastle, in support of the BLM movement today. The crowd heard from various speakers and danced to drummers during the peaceful gathering

People congregate in Times Square, Newcastle, in support of the BLM movement today. The crowd heard from various speakers and danced to drummers during the peaceful gathering

Meanwhile, protesters have gathered outside Tottenham Police Station, London to end 'stop and search' and ban tasers

A man addresses the protest with a megaphone as activists from North London BLM and Stand Up To Racism gather at Tottenham Police Station to demand an end to custody deaths and the use of tasers by police today

Protestors arrive with placards as activists from North London BLM and Stand Up To Racism gather at Tottenham Police Station to demand an end to custody deaths and the use of tasers by police today

Meanwhile, protesters have gathered outside Tottenham Police Station, London to end 'stop and search' and ban tasers

Commander Murray added: 'We won't have pre-prepared cordons around statues, but we will act on intelligence and information and if we hear something like that is planned then we would act as the public would expect us to.

'The police have never asked for those statues to be protected.

'That's a matter for the local authority. Our focus is on reducing violence and protecting the public, protecting citizens. But we will also investigate if criminal damage takes place.

'So we will prevent violence and we'll also try to prevent criminal damage.'

The Met have released images of 35 suspects they want to speak to in connection with violence at last weekend's protests, which turned violent.

Banks, 28, was handed a 14-day immediate jail term on Monday after admitting one count of outraging public decency after coming to London to 'defend' statues.

On the same day two other protesters were remanded into custody after admitting assaults on police officers. Daniel Allan, from Sunderland, admitted one count of violent disorder for kicking a police officer in the back.

The court heard Allan, 36, had travelled from his home as groups of right-wing protesters sought to protect statues around Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.

Andrew Banks was seen urinating next to a plaque honouring PC Keith Palmer who was stabbed to death during a terrorist attack in Westminster in 2017

Banks (right), has already been jailed for urinating next to the memorial of PC Keith Palmer who died in the Westminster Bridge terror attack. Left: Banks in court

The words 'Black Lives Matter' painted in yellow, covering the length of the walkway from Thomas Street to General Gordon Place in the centre of Woolwich, south London

Previously, James Meikle, 38, admitted two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker for charging at police lines separating protesters in Soho.

Meikle had decided to spend his last day in London marching in support of the BLM movement, but found himself remanded into custody until his sentencing on July 14.

Two people have been charged for their role in the BLM protests of June 6.

Christopher Scott, 28, denied two counts of assaulting an emergency worker after allegedly stubbing a cigarette out on the body-worn camera of one police officer, and kicking out at another.

Orson Shandilya, 23, has been charged with harassment and possession of a class A drug and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 3.

Brendon Cummins, 18, will appear at the same court on June 30 charged with assaulting an emergency service worker in relation to a protest on June 1.

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters staged a four-hour BLM rally and marched through Birmingham. Three officers 'took the knee' during the peaceful protests.

Last weekend, hundreds of mainly white men - extremist and non-extremist - joined in a counter-protest to the BLM demonstration in central London. A mob of Right-wing goons pelted police with bottles, barriers and fireworks in Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square last Saturday.

About 1,000 protesters ignored a 5pm curfew and stayed by Nelson's Column where troublemakers on both sides sparked skirmishes with police.

BLM protesters gathered in Hyde Park, before 300 headed to Waterloo station after 5pm and chased men they said were members of the English Defence League (EDL).

There, at least 15 people were injured, including six officers, and six people were taken to hospital.
Im a member of what is likely a reasonably sizable informal group of people who trained to be a CEO but declined the job  in my case, several times. So I dont envy the position that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is in as he tries to figure out a way to do the right thing concerning the spread of false information and defend his company against an attack by the designated leader of the free world.

Ive been receiving email and social media queries asking me to use my influence to get Jack to do the right thing. There are two issues with this: 1) I dont know Dorsey personally, and 2) I understand and appreciate that the guy is between a rock and a hard place concerning doing what is right and ensuring the survival of Twitter.

Ill delve into some of the challenges he faces and then close with my product of the week  AMD and Dells fascinating joint effort that resulted in one of the best values in gaming notebooks, the Dell G5.

The Duties of a CEO

Most people who never have studied to be or served as a CEO think it is a dream job. You can do what you want, you dont have any bosses to keep happy, and you can just sit around and give orders. Ive seen new CEOs try to operate with this theory, and Ive never seen that end well.

As the CEO of a public company, you dont have one boss  you have a lot of them. You report to a board that represents your investors, and on that board are people who hold or control a lot of the firms stock. These people often dont have the same agendas, but they collectively have the power to fire you.

Also, you have to contend with the actual stockholders. If they dont like you they will sell their stock, driving down the value of the company and prompting those who are on your board to fire you. You have your large customers and pools of smaller customers who control your income, and if enough of them dont like what you are doing, they can stop buying so your firms revenue dries up  and yes, once again, you get fired.

You have the SEC. If the commissioners dont like what you say, or they think you are misbehaving, they can have you removed from office and incarcerated. You have your CFO who reports to you and the board. A CFO who doesnt like you can move behind your back to get you removed from office (Im running out of creative ways to say fired).

Yes, the job pays well, and those who fail generally get a golden parachute that makes anyone elses severance package look incredibly anemic. Still, once youve served as a CEO, you are usually thought to be overly qualified for any other job, and failed CEOs who then succeed as advisors, board members, or consultants are rare. You are pretty much done, and since most CEOs value status highly, the massive loss of status can be personally catastrophic.

As CEO of a large public firm, thousands are dependent on your doing the job well. If you dont, you could face strikes  or in extreme situations, attacks. When at NCR, Mark Hurd had his tires slashed. When one of the CEOs I worked for was burned over most of his body in a plane crash, there was speculation that the collision wasnt accidental (though that was never proven).

You are the face of the company, so if people get pissed off at your firm, they may take their anger out on you. Further, given your income, you and your family could be targeted by blackmailers or kidnappers.

Finally, you tend to be a minor celebrity, so if you decide to have dinner with a subordinate, customer or stockholder of the opposite sex, there is a high probability youll be accused of having an affair. Should you actually have an affair, it may cost you your job and make you unemployable.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Far from enjoying the ultimate freedom, CEOs generally find themselves bound by rules they dont understand full. Their responsibilities may far exceed their capabilities, and they might face internal and external threats that arent associated with any other job in the private sector. Oh, and I should point out that when done right, the job requires a level of commitment that has a history of destroying families. At the end, CEOs may have a ton of money and a lot of personal regrets.

Twitter Chief Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey is CEO of not one company but two. In addition to Twitter, he runs Square, the leading mobile payments company. If you are buying services, you probably are paying for them over Square (it probably should merge with PayPal). Currently, one of the most powerful investors in Twitter is moving to have Dorsey fired, so he is also at personal risk.

With Twitters ad revenue falling broadly, thanks to the pandemic, the firm is at financial risk. In short, Dorsey isnt Steve Jobs at Apple. (And though it seemed Jobs could do most anything, even he got fired once.)

Dorseys exposure means he cant afford a war with anyone, let alone the president of the United States, given that Twitter is an unlimited company. In terms of power, even the most powerful company tends to be overmatched when fighting a government. Even Google was forced out of China, and Google is nearly as powerful as a small country. It now is at risk of being broken up by the U.S. or the EU.

So if Twitter goes to war with the U.S. government, it will be overmatched, and Dorsey currently is at risk as to its CEO.

Dorsey could cut President Trump from Twitter, as some have suggested. However, its likely he wouldnt survive as CEO, and his successors first act of self-preservation likely would be to reverse that decision  assuming Twitter survived as a company.

As a result, there is little Dorsey can do that wont result in his termination and the likely reversal of anything he might do that would materially impact the presidents ability to post falsehoods on the site.

The Recommended Fix

This problem  the inability to ensure the validity of content from the very powerful  is something that surrounds all of the social media players. If it doesnt get addressed, there is a high likelihood that one or more of them will get nationalized, broken up, over-regulated or shut down.

The firms most at risk are Facebook, Google and Twitter. Now Im an analyst, and my job isnt to complain about things but to analyze the problem and suggest a fix that will stand in the face of the threat.

I think the closest model is Underwriters Laboratories, which is a third-party industry-funded quality assurance organization. The organization is one of the strongest providers of proactive protection against liability for unsafe products.

It isnt perfect, and there have been products that passed UL tests but performed poorly. Still, it has been far more successful over time than internal quality control when it comes to protecting companies from liability. UL does have a positive impact on overall quality.

It is a science-based organization focused on quality, suggesting its mission might be broad enough to assume responsibility for ensuring the quality of social media posts. It would be a considerable stretch, though, and staffing would be more connected with fact-checkers than systematic hardware and software testing. So you might start with them for the general model but then move to create another fact organization mainly focused on the veracity of information.

Funded by social media companies, the organizations goal would be to provide a remedy to the spread of false information and protect the firms supporting it from excessive government interference, liability and extreme penalties.

It would need not only fact-checking elements but defensive litigation elements, so that it could both ensure and protect the decisions it makes concerning content and banning users. Bans could cross all social media platforms. Its efforts could include identity solutions that would monitor behavior to identify banned users who tried to reenter using new IDs.

Instead of going after the social media companies individually, governments would be forced to challenge an organization explicitly designed to weather these kinds of attacks. For example, if the president were banned, he likely would be banned on all major platforms.

His recourse would be to attack the regulatory body that already would be ramped for defense. Further, it would have access to both the major news organizations and social media platforms, along with the courts, for to mount itd defense.

If set up properly, it could call on the resources of the combined social media companies to defend their decision and protect their mission.

This group could be focused on addressing other problems, like illegal or illicit behavior on the platforms, with a high probability of mitigating or preventing that behavior before traditional law enforcement got involved, avoiding damage to the related brand image and significantly reducing harmful behavior.

Wrapping Up

We have a plague of false information, and it costs lives. There is little doubt that once this pandemic settles down, the amount of civil litigation that will result will be unprecedented, and networks that have been promoting false information, as well as the social media networks that have spread it, may face unprecedented liability.

News organizations do have protections that social media companies dont. Still, I doubt theyll hold given the massive number of deaths. At an estimated liability of $10M per case, there arent a lot of countries  let alone companies  that could bear the economic burden. Creating a collective firewall against that eventuality now could reduce liability significantly. More importantly, by ensuring that information provided is accurate, a significant number of lives could be saved.

What Im suggesting is adoption of the Underwriters Labs model for information accuracy, with enhanced enforcement and the ability to requisition resources from participating companies to form a defense against powerful politicians who compromise the platforms and put them at risk. The organizations mission would include the identification and elimination of illegal activity on the platforms as well.

We refer to the Internet as the Wild West. To address crimes in that era, marshals were established as a locally funded law enforcement agency that reduced the need for government-funded law enforcement.

Jack Dorsey and Twitter cant fight off the president alone, but the technology industry collectively could. It is past time for it to step up to this responsibility, because this pandemic has showcased that the effective use of fake news has put the industry and the nation at mortal risk.

Currently, AMD is unique in the market. Like Qualcomm does for smartphones, AMD provides both high-performance CPU and GPU technology to the platform. As a result, it can create synergy between core elements to provide extra performance. However, this advantage works only if the total solution is implemented. Sadly, that is rarely the case.

Im into cars, and I just received a reminder of why it is essential to have a single entity undertake the solution. In my case, instead of using an engine builder to create a high-performance engine, I had my mechanic slap together a bunch of high-performance parts, and the result is that Im around 125 HP off from where I should have been.

Now, this isnt a typical mistake for me, but it resulted from finding out too late that my existing engine was crap, and I didnt want to toss out the work wed done and start over, even though in hindsight, that is what should have happened. In my defense, Id wanted to do that, but my mechanic convinced me it would be a waste of money. I now have a new mechanic.

The Dell G5 15E is one of the rare exceptions in which the performance components were specified mainly by AMD against a Dell requirement. The result is a gaming laptop that performs in line with other gaming laptops, costing half-again as much.

Dell G5 15 Special Edition Gaming Laptop

Should you ever make it back into an office, this laptop looks like a business machine, so it doesnt carry the stigma that bringing a more traditional gaming laptop into the office might create. What also makes this laptop unique is that Frank Azor, known for Dells highly successful Alienware and XPS efforts, left Dell and joined AMD during the development of this product and formed a powerful bridge between the firms.

I think efforts like this are critical to returning excitement to this segment. Much like the Corvette C8 is making supercars affordable, for example, it will help make PCs exciting again. Oh, and it is a bargain, so it is a natural candidate for my product of the week.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.
Vigilance key to recovery, says new Phuket Governor

PHUKET: On his first day as Governor of Phuket, Narong Woonchiew called on all people on the island, but especially business operators, to be vigilant against the spread of COVID-19 so the island can recover as quickly as possible from the economic impact of the restrictions introduced to contain the disease.

COVID-19economicshealth

By The Phuket News

Saturday 20 June 2020, 05:12PM

The online survey asks people whether they are willing to travfel within Thailand right now. Image: via PPHO

Governor Narong made his plea yesterday (Jun 19) at the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO), where he was briefed on the COVID-19 situation on the island and told that there had not been a confirmed case on Phuket for 26 days, said a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).

Today, the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee extended that to 27 days.

Governor Narong yesterday thanked Phukets health officials for the work they have done to counter the spread of COVID-19, and said that he appreciated their efforts.

That includes every village health volunteer, he said.

However, Governor Narong still called on all people to do their part to keep the island COVID-free.

The situation still cannot be trusted. I would like to ask for cooperation from people to take care and protect yourselves [from infection] and cooperate with government agencies. Business operators, service locations and service recipients must follow disease control measures under the regulations of the Ministry of Public Health, he said.

Governor Narong also received a policy proposal from the PPHO to set up a working group with a deputy governor as the head.

The working group, to meet every Tuesday, to discuss issues and come up with solutions to problems with the top priority of improving peoples quality of life under COVID-19.

Of note, the PPHO today called on people to take part in an online survey asking people if they are willing to travel considering the current situation in the country with COVID-19, and considering the prospect of a second wave of the disease.

The survey will remain open through to next Thursday (June 25). The PPHO noted that apparently this is the sixth time the survey has been run. The Phuket News has been unable to identify the previous five times it has been announced.

To take part in the survey, which is in Thai language only, click here.

Dont forget to share when you are done. Tell friends and family to help our country fight through the Covid-19 crisis together, the PPHO urged.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Some of West Michigans youngest activists took to the streets of Grand Rapids Saturday morning to share their pleas for racial equality and police reform.

The Justice for Black Lives: Kids March led families through downtown Grand Rapids and was followed by snacks, face painting and a dance party on Saturday, June 20.

The protest was an opportunity for kids in Grand Rapids to take part in the nationwide protests against police brutality  but in a safe and friendly way.

Weve had a lot of protests and rallies that are more adult focused, but theyre not always the best place to bring their kiddos, especially 12 and under, said Rori Harris, co-leader for the event. We felt it was important for them to be able to raise their voices and be apart of this history.

For many families, the rally was an opportunity to teach their young children about systemic inequality in a kid-friendly way.

Grand Rapids resident Susan Karanja said she marched Saturday to create a better world for her young son.

My husband moved here when he was 12 and I witness the racism he faces everyday and I dont want my 10-month-old son, Malachi, to grow up in that world, Karanja said.

Siblings Hayilee and Tarinady Lewis shared their views on racial equality simply as, Be kind.

Color doesnt matter at all, you should just be kind to everyone, said Tarinady Lewis, 7.

We want to inspire people to know that it doesnt matter what race or color you are, it matters what personality you have, said Hayilee Lewis, 9.

The Saturday morning protest was a family-friendly extension of a march the evening before in Grand Rapids, titled March for Black Lives! March for Unity!

Shouts of No justice, no peace and Black lives matter filled the streets surrounding Rosa Parks Circle Friday, June 19, as attendees protested police brutality on the same day as Juneteenth, a national day to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

Protests have sprung up around the country in recent weeks after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

His death sparked nationwide protests and riots, including in Grand Rapids, over police brutality and systemic racism, and ignited a movement to change how Americas cities are policed.

RELATED: No justice, no peace: Thousands gather in Grand Rapids to protest police brutality

Protesters and activist groups have said theyve been pleased with Grand Rapids Police Department, which has announced plans to ban chokeholds, increasing efforts to emphasize de-escalation techniques and strengthening community relations.

However, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne said Friday he is concerned that budget cuts to his department being discussed by some residents and elected officials could hurt community safety.

More on MLive:

Bridging the divide: Juneteenth celebrations, rallies fill Grand Rapids with Black Unity

What protesters, community activists are saying about Grand Rapids police reforms

Grand Rapids police chiefs says significant cuts being discussed could impact community safety
After 38 years of surveying Houstonians  47,400 randomly selected adults  I finally sat down and wrote a book to tell the story. I decided to do more than look back at the surveys. I also bring in voices from intensive interviews with more than 50 area residents.

The book captures systematically the changes in attitudes and beliefs as Houston emerged from recession in the 1980s into the major changes that are redefining the 21st century  the growing inequalities in a global, high-tech economy, the epic demographic transformations, and the new importance of quality of place in determining the fates of cities.

Houston is where, for better or worse, we can see the American future emerging.

In almost every conversation for this book, we have asked civic and spiritual leaders as well as the general public to tell us about their hopes and dreams, their concerns and conclusions regarding Houstons future.

Because of the surveys, we know what Houston thinks and what it wants. We know who Houstonians are. Nobody has to come in and do a focus group to find out, said Tom Bacon, an award-winning architect and advisory board member of Kinder Institute for Urban Research. We know they want good schools, walkability, and public transportation. But the biggest risk to Houstons future is that we will just keep muddling along. Instead of being strategic, we will spend randomly on inadequate solutions, trying to solve a bigger problem with insufficient funds and leadership. The biggest threat to our future is that we will lower our aspirations, based on the false belief that our dreams for building a great city arent possible. They are possible. We can have great education, strategic urbanization, and an inclusive city.

Bacon, with his companys powerful data visualizers, has tracked the accelerating growth of cities. People are increasingly looking for access to better education, health care, jobs, opportunities, the amenities of a city and the opportunity not to spend all day in a car getting from home to work and back again. Though nobody has quite gotten it right, he argues that cities need to form partnerships with their city accelerators, organizations with the cutting-edge knowledge and critical resources that come out of the nations most prestigious universities, think tanks and philanthropic organizations.

On his list are MIT, UC Berkeley, George Washington University, and JPMorgan. All of these organizations have partnered with local governments and businesses to accelerate responsible urban densification. The same is happening in Houston with the committed philanthropy of Houston Endowment, the Kinder Foundation and the Brown Foundation, among others.

The iconic 1939 Sears flagship department store in Houstons Midtown was closed in 2018. The building was acquired through a public/private partnership to become part of Houstons new Innovation Corridor, spearheaded by Rice University in partnership with other universities and foundations.

The impetus for building the new $100 million startup hub that will anchor the planned innovation district came from a 2017 study by Accenture indicating that while Houston has a strong economy overall, it has little in the way of an incubation ecosphere or a venture-capital culture prepared to invest in the engines of a post-petrochem-based economy  such as new energy systems, the life sciences and new digital technologies. Ion, the newly named headquarters for the 16-acre South Main Innovation Corridor, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2021.

The question is whether all these efforts are going to be a story of too little, too late.

The education gap is here now and its implications are disconcerting, to say the least. Every year, tens of thousands of young people leave Houston high schools unprepared for the available jobs. What happens to a city when a growing number of its citizens are unable to participate meaningfully in the economy, becoming increasingly impoverished and desperate? The social system will surely collapse at some point.

It is as yet not at all clear whether we Americans will be able to rise to the occasion, meeting the challenges and needs of our fellow citizens, committed to building a truly sustainable, inclusive economy. Will we come to understand that these are all our children? If todays young people, who are disproportionately Hispanic and African American, are unprepared to succeed in the new economy, our city and yours will not have much of a future. And neither will America.

It is easy to get discouraged if all we pay attention to are the loudest voices in the media. What the Houston surveys have shown, over and over again, is that Houstonians who care about education and celebrate the coming together of all the worlds peoples are not only not alone, they are in the majority. And their numbers are growing. The systematic surveys that have been tracking responses over 38 years are clear in this regard.

Still, I worry about the citys mounting problems, especially the burgeoning gap in access to quality education; the growing pockets of concentrated poverty, homelessness and despair; the persistence of environmental racism; the regions increasing vulnerability to flooding; its position as a hub for human trafficking. And I wonder how it will all play out in an age when the norms of inclusion and social justice seem to be flaunted on a daily basis both in Austin and in Washington.

Scott McClelland, president of H-E-B Houston, is convinced that Houstons business community is ready to pitch in. We do a better job at embracing diversity and welcoming new people. Texans are friendly, and Houstonians are friendlier. And now we are looking hard at how to address the citys socioeconomic inequalities. Thats why Im so focused on education.

We can build a truly successful universal city and nation, the first of its kind in human history. We can position Houston and America for continued prosperity as the 21st century unfolds, and we are doing many of the right things. Where we are failing most spectacularly is in making the critical sustained investments that will broaden access to quality education and lifelong learning so that all area residents are enabled to compete and thrive in todays high-tech, knowledge-based, global economy.

In The New Localism, Brookings Institution fellows Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak posit that the best opportunities for shaping the future of America will come from its major cities. The nations metropolitan regions are the new centers of industry and innovation. They have the potential to draw on local power to finance the future through transformative investments in innovation, infrastructure, and inclusion.

Today more than ever, cities need to become the real problem-solvers. Houston has turned out to be at the forefront of the ongoing economic, technological and demographic transformations, so this city has a special responsibility to help point the way toward a thriving America, one that is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Katz and Nowak are looking toward a worldwide urban revolution. Houstons economic future will depend on its ability to harness the new energy technologies, to become the third coast (along with Boston and San Francisco) for the life sciences, supported by the worlds largest conglomeration of medical institutions, and to develop a full-fledged entrepreneurial ecosystem. The city needs to become an urban destination of choice, building communities that are more beautiful, healthier, greener, safer and more walkable, even as it accommodates the 1 million additional people who are expected to be moving into Harris County during the next 20 years.

A critical question has to do with how the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans (the privileged, well-educated fortunate fifth) will ultimately respond to the new imperatives. Predominantly composed of aging non-Hispanic whites, they are the ones with the concentrated resources today who are in a position to fund the new initiatives through their taxes and philanthropy. Will they recognize a responsibility not only to ensure the success of their own children and grandchildren, but to invest significantly in all the children in the community?

One of the compelling negative scenarios for the future of America has been called the secession of the fortunate fifth. It asserts that the wealthiest Americans have essentially seceded from the rest of the country, and are saying to the city, state and nation, Dont raise my taxes, and build more prisons.

The Houston surveys do not support that negative assessment. When we separate out the Anglo respondents who report both household incomes greater than $150,000 and a postgraduate education, and we compare their views with all the other non-Hispanic whites who participated in the surveys in the years from 2010 to 2019, we find no evidence for the secession argument.

The wealthiest and most highly educated non-Hispanic whites are, if anything, more inclined than the other Anglo respondents, by 46 percent to 39 percent, to agree that government has a responsibility to help reduce the inequalities between rich and poor in America. By 50 percent to 44 percent, they are more adamant in asserting that the public schools in Houston will need significantly more money to provide a quality education. By 46 percent to 36 percent, they are more likely to believe that welfare benefits generally give poor people a chance to get started again, rather than encouraging them to stay poor and dependent.

Almost four decades of systematic surveys have documented remarkable change in the attitudes and beliefs of Houston-area residents, and the national polls indicate that similar changes hold true for the American public as a whole. Across the traditional divides, respondents in the more recent surveys have been expressing significantly more support than in earlier years for policies to reduce the inequalities and address the needs of the poor; they have been calling for more spending on public education and for more stringent controls on development to reduce the regions vulnerability to future flooding and enhance its quality-of-life attributes.

The surveys also show ever more clearly that area residents are embracing Houstons diversity and feeling more comfortable in a world of thriving friendships across the various ethnic communities, religious beliefs and sexual orientations. It remains to be seen whether the business and civic leaders of Houston can build on these attitude changes and undertake the critical investments that will be needed to position the region for sustained prosperity in this new era of economic, demographic and technological transformation.

These are the challenges facing all of America. The jury is out, not only for Houston, but for the rest of the country as well.

Klineberg is the founding director of Kinder Institute for Urban Research and professor emeritus of sociology, Rice University. This essay is adapted from the final chapter of his new book, Prophetic City.
PM Narendra Modi will address the nation on Sunday on the occasion of International Yoga Day. The prime minister will give a live address at 6.30 am from New Delhi on June 21.

As yearly ritual practice in International Day of Yoga observation, the PM Modis message will be followed by a live demonstration of a 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) by a team from Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga.

The Ministry of AYUSH had planned to hold a grand event in Leh and PM Modi was supposed to attend the event but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis in the country.

PM Modis address will be the highlight of the International Day of Yoga which will be observed on electronic and digital platforms, the AYUSH ministry had said on Thursday.

Due to the current global health emergency due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the focus this year is less on such celebrations and more on people performing Yoga at their respective homes with participation of the entire family, the ministry said.

For the first time since June 21, 2015, Yoga Day will be celebrated digitally. This years theme is Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family.

On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga, months after PM Modi had proposed the idea.

PM Modi had urged people, in a video message on Thursday, to observe the day from the confines of their homes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

(with agency inputs)
GRAND FORKS, N.D.  The Department of Homeland Security deployed helicopters, airplanes and drones over 15 cities where demonstrators gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, logging at least 270 hours of surveillance, far more than previously revealed, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

The departments dispatching of unmanned aircraft over protests in Minneapolis last month sparked a congressional inquiry and widespread accusations that the federal agency had infringed on the privacy rights of demonstrators.

But that was just one piece of a nationwide operation that deployed resources usually used to patrol the U.S. border for smugglers and illegal crossings. Aircraft filmed demonstrations in Dayton, Ohio; New York City; Buffalo, New York; and Philadelphia, among other cities, sending video footage in real time to control centers managed by Air and Marine Operations, a branch of Customs and Border Protection.

The footage was then fed into a digital network managed by the Homeland Security Department, called Big Pipe, which can be accessed by other federal agencies and local police departments for use in future investigations, according to senior officials with air and marine operations.

The revelations come amid a fierce national debate over police tactics and the role that federal law enforcement should play in controlling or monitoring demonstrations. The clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Park in Washington for a presidential photo op is still under scrutiny. The Air Force inspector general is investigating whether the military improperly used a reconnaissance plane to monitor peaceful protesters in Washington and Minneapolis this month.

And the National Guard in the District of Columbia has already reached a preliminary conclusion that a lack of clarity in commands led to one of its medical evacuation helicopters swooping low on protesters in the nations capital. Renewed calls to demilitarize police work have come not only from criminal justice advocates but also from former Republican Homeland Security officials such as Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge, the first two leaders of the Homeland Security Department, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Officials at the Customs and Border Protection base here rejected any notion that their fleet of aircraft had been misused, either to violate privacy rights or intimidate protesters.

The worst part for me is when were made out to be storm troopers, said David Fulcher, the deputy director for air operations at the National Air Security Operations Center in Grand Forks. We believe in peaceful protests.

The aircraft, they said, were used to provide an eagle-eyed view of violent acts and arson. The Predator drone deployed to Minneapolis, like eight other unmanned aircraft owned by air and marine operations, was neither armed nor equipped with facial recognition technology and flew at a height that made it impossible to identify individuals or license plates, according to senior officials here.

The legend of the Predator  the all-seeing, all-knowing, hover-outside-your-window Predator  its just not accurate, Fulcher said. The technology is not there.

But House Democrats and privacy advocates still worry over the potential dissemination of the footage and the chilling effect that militarized aircrafts could have on peaceful protests.

Earlier this month, Democrats with the House Oversight Committee, including Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Stephen F. Lynch and Ayanna Pressley, both of Massachusetts, protested to Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security.

This administration has undermined the First Amendment freedoms of Americans of all races who are rightfully protesting George Floyds killing, the Democrats said in a letter to Wolf. The deployment of drones and officers to surveil protests is a gross abuse of authority and is particularly chilling when used against Americans who are protesting law enforcement brutality.

But Democrats apparently were unaware of the breadth of the agencys actions. Most of surveillance was done with planes and helicopters. Air and marine operations did dispatch drones to two demonstrations  in Minneapolis and in Del Rio, Texas.

The agencys AS350 helicopters conducted more than 168 hours of surveillance of protests in 13 cities, the longest stretch being 58 hours over Detroit, according to data provided by Air and Marine Operations. The agency also deployed a Black Hawk helicopter for nearly 13 hours, assisting other federal agencies with surveillance in Washington, D.C. Kris Grogan, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said the agencys Black Hawk was not one of the helicopters that flew low over the demonstrators and caused panic.

A Cessna single-engine plane conducted nearly 58 hours of surveillance, more than 38 of them over Buffalo. Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said in a tweet this month that the officers manning that plane helped track down suspects who used an SUV to hit local police on the ground.

Most of the requests did not come from local police departments. In Minneapolis, the call came from an agent in Homeland Security Investigations, the branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that conducts longer-term investigations into terrorists, weapons trafficking and drug smuggling.

The agent, who was on the ground in Minneapolis and works with air and marine operations regularly, requested the help on May 28 after reports of arson and violence in the area. Air and Marine Operations, which also dispatches drones from Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Corpus Christi, Texas, was not able to send the aircraft until the next day. After about two hours of surveilling, the agent and other law enforcement agencies said it was no longer needed.

Its discretionary, but theres a huge degree of accountability as far as who can say yes or no to deploying these assets, said Jonathan Miller, the executive director of the National Air Security Operations at Customs and Border Protection.

Air and marine operations officials said agency protocol prevents infringement on the right to protest. The drones, which can stay in the air from 12 to roughly 24 hours depending on how much radar equipment is attached, are directed to fly no lower than 19,000 feet. From that height, the electrical optical-infrared ball on the drones wouldnt allow the operators to see faces, eyes or hair color, according to the Department of Homeland Securitys privacy impact assessment for the aircrafts.

But operators can track movements of protesters or looters, direct law enforcement on the ground and see if someone is wearing a backpack or rifle. And stored footage could be accessed later to corroborate investigative findings, such as a witness account that a fire was set at a given time by a small group or the escape route of a suspect.

A live feed of the footage is sent to a mobile operations center, where a group of agents monitor television screens while moving the drone with joysticks. Other federal agents that request a view from the sky can also see the footage on their phones, Fulcher said.

Fulcher said the surveillance footage, stored on the aircraft and in control rooms, is overwritten after an average of 30 days by new feeds. But video feeds and radar images sent to Big Pipe can also be analyzed by Homeland Security Department intelligence officers. That data may be stored for up to five years, according to Homeland Securitys Privacy Impact Assessment. If federal agencies or police departments can prove they need the footage for a criminal investigation, the video can be provided, according to the document and Fulcher.

The Department of Homeland Security did not say whether any law enforcement agencies had requested footage of the demonstrations.

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the aircraft could discourage people from protesting. The concern is not only what the border agency is doing with the aircraft and footage but how future operations could adapt to quickly advancing technology.

You see an aircraft, you have no idea currently what technologies that aircraft is carrying, Stanley said. There is something militaristic and dominating about a militarized police aircraft hovering over you when youre out there protesting police abuse.

Air and marine operations recorded more than 92,800 hours of flight time in the fiscal year that ended in September, most of that spent patrolling the border. But the helicopters, planes and drones spent more than 8,000 hours helping law enforcement agencies with search and rescue missions and other criminal investigations.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 13

By Nargiz Ismayilova  Trend:

One of the main goals is to provide energy, in particular renewable energy, to remote Azerbaijani settlements, gas supply to where is impossible, Director of the Energy Efficiency and Ecology Department of Azerbaijans Energy Ministry Alasgar Hasanov told Trend.

According to him, the provision of remote settlements with renewable energy sources was envisioned in the strategic roadmap of the country.

"In this direction, as you know, a project is being implemented to develop proposals related to remote settlements, where gas supply is not practical and to provide them with renewable energy sources," he said. "A consulting company was involved as well. Currently, the project is under development, then there will be proposals have been prepared and pilot projects selected to be submitted to the government. This is not only about renewable energy sources, but also electricity and liquid gas, as well as other alternative energy sources."

Hasanov noted that all alternative energy sources are in the spotlight, and proposals will be prepared in accordance with this.

"In general, providing remote settlements with renewable energy sources must be considered given the most cost-effective aspects of the application of new technologies. You know that in Azerbaijan almost all territories are provided with electricity," the director said.

"The issue of developing renewable energy sources in certain territories is considered on the basis of personal initiative of consumers. The role of the state here comes down to the formation of the regulatory environment and the mechanism of legislative regulation," he added.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis
Florida, once positioned to be an exemplar among states preparing to relax lockdowns, has now become a cautionary tale  joining California, Arizona and Texas in a string of areas experiencing a resurgence in coronavirus cases.

Nevertheless, a volatile Wall Street, while still prone to retrenchment, remains firmly entrenched in a bull market bolstered by aggressive stimulus from the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve. The markets helter-skelter tone is largely reflective of the competing impulses of a nationwide rise in COVID-19 diagnoses, and expectations for an economic revival.

For weeks, analysts have lamented the dichotomy between Wall Street and a real economy. Yet Paul Schatz, Heritage Capitals president, told Yahoo Finance this week that current prices arent actually disconnected from economic reality at all.

The market action is discounting economic activity 3-6 months down the road, he said. Although short term sentiment is frothy...long term investors...are still hunkered down with cash in their bunkers with bottled water and spam, Schatz joked.

And a closer analysis suggests that investors are less overly-optimistic about a V-shaped recovery than they are taking a pragmatic view about political and epidemiological realities as COVID-19 extends its grip on the global economy. At the nexus of new outbreak worries and the markets head-scratching rally in the face of chaos, markets are betting on two precarious assumptions.

They believe that rising coronavirus cases wont overwhelm hospitals that are now better prepared than during the first wave, and that virtually no political will exists for the return to restrictive lockdowns that characterized March and April.

Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs chief economist, said on Friday that theres probably a high hurdle for states to reinstate lockdowns. Hospital capacity, not case growth, is likely the factor that could force state and local officials to pause or reverse reopening plans.

Story continues

He added: Although the share of hospital inpatients receiving treatment for COVID-19 remains low, we think these and related data are among the most important to monitor in assessing whether a state might pause, alter, or reverse its reopening plans.

Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer of global wealth management at UBS, wrote in a research note that rising COVID-19 outbreaks are still small in relation to the capacity of health systems. Meanwhile local, state and federal officials have broadly rejected a return to restrictive lockdowns, he added.

Given resilient consumers and progress on the development of a vaccine, the recovery will gather strength over the coming year, Haefele added  even if second wave fears ramp up market volatility.

Cases are rising outside of New York. (Graphic: David Foster/Yahoo Finance)

The jagged swoosh

The downside risks associated with growing COVID-19 fears were laid bare on Friday, when Apple (AAPL) announced it was closing stores in some markets again out of an abundance of caution  which sent stocks reeling.

The dynamic reflects the markets new phase, according to John Hancock Investment Co-Chief Investment Strategist Matt Miskin. He told Yahoo Finance this week that asset prices were likely to trade like a biotech stock whose fortunes rest on a promising drug.

Its a behavioral finance study. Really what happens is when youre investing in a pharmaceutical usually they start out by saying theres a lot of promise around a drug and the stock goes up a ton, only to reverse when reality undermines the optimism.

Meanwhile, it's become clear that the happy medium between a still-raging outbreak and a nascent rebound is what analysts at Eurasia Group recently called a jagged swoosh recovery.

The interaction of the pandemic and the public policy decisions[create] a jagged swoosh recovery more protracted than the U or V-shaped recovery that characterize more benign scenarios, and likely to be stop-start reflecting the differential pace or recovery across states and sectors, wrote Robert Kahn, the firms global strategy and macro director.

Continuing headwinds to demand and supply, and the resultant financial distress, contribute to sustained shortfalls in activity, he added. Unemployment remains elevated and it takes 2-3 years for activity to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Addressing the prospect of a new round of shutdowns, Eurasia echoed a growing number of economists who suggest that scenario will be harder to implement than we thought, because political support for reopening is surprisingly strong, and unlike in the early days of the pandemic the necessity for state-wide shutdowns...is seen as limited if viral outbreaks remain concentrated in small pockets.

That assumption is a gamble for both Wall Street and the economy. Because COVID-19 isnt going anywhere until a vaccine is found, the outlook will be captive to flare-ups in certain states, and the ability of public officials to contain the disease.

Jesse Edgerton, economist at JPMorgan Chase, wrote on Friday that COVID-19 and its effects on behavior remain the most important factors likely to drive the economy in the remainder of 2020, in our view.

With record hospitalizations and infections now dogging the Sunbelt States and California, even as former epicenters in New York and New Jersey decline, the bank envisions that a patchwork of policy responses across states will be inadequate to eliminate the virus, leaving the fear of COVID-19 as a significant drag on activity in certain sectors, Edgerton said, adding that recent data on the interplay between COVID-19 and activity are consistent with our forecast for only a partial recovery.
Washington, June 21 : A US judge has rejected a request by President Donald Trump to stop the publication of a memoir by his former National Security Adviser, John Bolton.

The justice department argued that the book had not been properly vetted.

Washington DC District Court Judge Royce Lamberth said the government had "failed to establish that an injunction would prevent irreparable harm", the BBC reported.

Bolton had "gambled" with US national security and already "exposed his country to harm", the judge said.

Hundreds of thousands of copies of the book - The Room Where It Happened - have been printed and distributed, and are due to go on sale on Tuesday.

In the memoir Mr Bolton paints an unflattering picture of a president whose decision-making was dominated by a desire to be re-elected in November.

Trump has said the book is "made up of lies and fake stories".

The justice department's lawyers argued that Bolton had breached an obligation to complete a pre-publication review of his manuscript to ensure that it contained no classified information.

Bolton's lawyers dismissed the claim. They insisted that the manuscript was thoroughly examined and that Mr Trump simply did not like the contents.

In his 10-page ruling, Judge Lamberth wrote that Mr Bolton had opted out of the pre-publication review process before its conclusion and that he "likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his non-disclosure agreement obligations".

He nevertheless denied the government's injunction request.

"In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities, Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm," he wrote.

"But in the internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality. A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe - many in newsrooms - the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo." Shortly after the decision, Trump alleged on Twitter that Bolton "broke the law by releasing Classified Information (in massive amounts)".

"He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him. This should never to happen again!!!" the president added.

Later, the president called the ruling a "BIG COURT WIN against Bolton".

A lawyer for Bolton, Charles Cooper, welcomed the judge's decision to deny the injunction request.

However, he took issue with the conclusion that his client did not comply fully with his contractual pre-publication obligation to the government.

"The full story of these events has yet to be told - but it will be," he added.

Bolton's publisher, Simon & Schuster, said: "We are grateful that the Court has vindicated the strong First Amendment protections against censorship and prior restraint of publication."
Students call for boycott of professor who criticized Black Lives Matter

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A student organization at Cornell Law School has encouraged their peers to not take courses from a professor who has garnered controversy for his criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Cornell Black Law Students Association posted a letter to the Law School community on Facebook on Monday calling on students to not take courses by Professor William A. Jacobson. According to the letter, Jacobson has engaged in anti-Black rhetoric by claiming that the movement was Marxist in nature and wanted to tear down our society.

This is a clear attempt to red-bait Black activists with McCarthyist rhetoric while refusing to acknowledge the tangible harm caused by structural racism and oppression, stated the BLSA in the letter.

Jacobson reinforces the construct of otherness in many of his posts when he suggests that some ill-defined we needs protecting from them. If it is anti-American to demand more of the officials who are sworn to protect and serve their citizens, then whose America are we really protecting?

The student group went on to say that their executive board will refrain from participating in the Securities Law clinic that Professor Jacobson supervises and tell students to reconsider studying under an individual whose views perpetuate hatred towards their fellow students.

Jacobson responded to the BLSA letter in a blog post on Wednesday, labeling their claims false and misleading and explaining that the boycott call came after he offered to debate them.

Open debate, having your views challenged in an environment that allows a give-and-take, and taking courses from professors with whom you might disagree politically, apparently is the latest thought crime, wrote Jacobson.

Ive offered to debate people on the history and trajectory of the Black Lives Matters Movement, and how much of what takes place under that banner has other goals. That offer of debate has been rejected. What are they afraid of from an open exchange of ideas?"

"With the slogan 'Silence is Violence' being used at the law school, there will be enormous pressure for student groups to go along. Not to do so would be deemed an act of 'violence.'

"This is an attempt not just to scare students away from my course, but to scare students away from speaking their minds, and to create a faculty and student purity test."

He argued, "This isnt activism, its anti-intellectualism."

Cornell Law School Dean Eduardo M. Penalver recently addressed the controversy over the posts of Jacobson, as some have called for disciplinary action against him.

Penalver said that he finds Jacobsons views on the BLM movement offensive and poorly reasoned, but he will not pursue disciplinary action against Jacobson.

We can simultaneously affirm our commitment to diversity and inclusion and equal justice while employing someone who has written the sorts of things about the protests that Professor Jacobson has, because, as an institution of higher learning, we also value academic freedom, stated Penalver.

 to take disciplinary action against him for the views he has expressed would fatally pit our values against one another in ways that would corrode our ability to operate as an academic institution.

Following the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer, many have taken to supporting the phrase and movement Black Lives Matter through demonstrations and social media posts.

A notable proponent is Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear, who expressed his support for the sentiment behind "black lives matter," but not the organization.

I realize that the movement and the website have been hijacked by some political operatives whose worldview and policy prescriptions would be deeply at odds with my own, but that doesnt mean that the sentiment behind it is untrue, stated Greear.

I know that we need to take a deep look at our police systems and structures and ask what were missing. Where are we missing the mark? And Ill say that we do that because black lives matter.

Ryan Bomberger, chief creative officer and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation, argued that the movement is too corrupted by radical agendas.

Yes, #BlackLivesMatter. But Truth matters. As a Christian, the Church should be leading on these issues instead of sheepishly following a movement hostile to the Gospel, wrote Bomberger.

The founders of the movement, the #BlackLivesMatter Foundation (BLMF), created it to radically shift culture  MFBL released a shocking manifesto of policy positions that are deeply political and deeply disturbing.
THE ORIGINS OF RACE IN LA

The conversation started around a table in summer 2019. It resumed two days after a mass shooter in El Paso went gunning for Latinos at the local Walmart. And it's more relevant now than ever.

On Aug. 5, 2019, KPCC and LAist staffers gathered around the big newsroom table where we usually talk about stories, to vent, grieve, and try to wrap our heads around what had just happened.

As we talked, and some of us cried, many of us began sharing personal stories about how our skin, face, surname, perceived national origin  any and all of these  have factored into our lived experience.

A Latina producer with dark skin talked about the time a store employee treated her like she could not afford to pay her bill; a Latina reporter with light skin talked about the anti-Latino slurs she has heard when people are unaware of her ethnicity.

It was an emotional conversation  and now, we're having it again as we once more try to wrap our heads around the senseless death of a black man at the hands of police. Another. Again.

So we are grieving again as our community, and the nation as a whole, faces a reckoning. It's a reckoning sparked not just by the shocking killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, but by an ongoing catalog of abuses suffered by people of color in this country. The protests are fueled by centuries of racism and institutional violence that is disproportionately directed at black Americans.

We know that racism is pervasive. We also know that even in L.A.  diverse on the whole, but still very segregated in reality  it happens every day, casually and overtly. And we know the media bears responsibility for failing to speak more forcefully about this injustice.

This is how Austin Cross explained it in an essay he wrote about coming to the realization that as a black man he had no way to escape racism:

"For so long, I wanted, needed, to think that there was something I could do to be safe in the world. There wasn't. There never was, really."

In hearing the raw emotion of colleagues willing to share stories about being profiled; about being put in a racial or ethnic box; about feeling unsafe, daily; about never being "enough" of an American; about privilege and discomfort, we realized there was more we could do to make sure those voices are heard. Our job is not to lose focus on this. We are asking for your help, both in joining the conversation and holding us accountable to keep it going.


By Seng Li Peng and Wilda Asmarini

SINGAPORE/JAKARTA, June 19 (Reuters) - A second and final trio of ships used as floating storage tanks for gasoline is en route to unload cargoes in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, according to industry sources and shipping data, showing fuel demand is growing across Asia.

More than 280,000 tonnes (about 2.4 million barrels) of gasoline were stored onboard six ships floating off Singapore and Malaysia last month after demand slumped as countries imposed lockdown measures on business and travel to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Half of those volumes, contained in a first trio of vessels, were discharged between late May and early June.

Refinitiv Eikon data showed Indonesia's Pertamina is now set to discharge gasoline from the BW Zambesi now at Merak, its third such delivery this month. The largest gasoline importer in Asia had previously stocked up on the fuel to cash in on low oil prices.

Two other ships - Georg Jacob and Energy Centurion - chartered by trader Trafigura are currently at Tanjung Langsat, Malaysia, and Galle, Sri Lanka, respectively, the data showed. All three ships are Panamax vessels - named after their suitability for transiting the Panama canal - capable of transporting about 50,000 tonnes of fuel each.

"As compared to the storage volumes seen in mid-May, the current offshore storage for gasoline around Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia has fallen significantly," said Sandy Kwa of energy consultancy FGE. "This is reflective of the region's resurgence in driving demand."

Pertamina was not immediately available for comment, while Trafigura declined to comment.

Gasoline prices and refiners' margins have rebounded from lows in April and May amid rising fuel demand.

Asia's benchmark 92-octane gasoline prices have averaged at $41 a barrel between June 1 and June 18, up 33% and 111% from the full-month averages in May and April, respectively. <GL92-SIN>

Similarly, Asia's gasoline refining margin was at a premium of $1.57 a barrel to Brent crude on average so far in June, a sharp improvement from monthly average discounts of $7 in April and $1.57 for May. <GL92-SIN-CRK> (Reporting by Seng Li Peng in Singapore and Wilda Asmarini in Jakarta; Editing by Florence Tan and Kenneth Maxwell)
How To Feed A Dictator

Witold Szablowski

Penguin 14.99

Rating:

Heres a dish you wont find on daytime telly: Whole Roasted Goat.

Ill let the chef himself tell you the recipe: Wed remove its innards, cut off its beard, stuff it with rice, potatoes, carrots, parsley, peas and some herbs and spices  naturally, all mixed with goat meat cut into small pieces. Wed roast it in the oven and colour it a bit, and as a finishing touch wed stick its beard back on. It would be brought to the table in a standing position, as if it were alive. Everyone was surprised to see a goat looking as if it had come straight from the pasture but which was ready to eat in minutes.

A bullet-riddled portrait of Saddam Hussein offering up a bowl of food, Baghdad, 2003

The chef in question is called Otonde Odera, and he cooked for President Idi Amin of Uganda, or, to give him his full title, His Excellency, President For Life, Field Marshal, Lord Of All The Beasts Of The Earth And Fishes Of The Seas, VC, DSO, MC, Last King Of Scotland and Conqueror Of The British Empire.

Like most dictators, Idi Amin had his little whims. He insisted, for instance, that everyone involved in preparing his food must be circumcised. Mr Odera was happy to comply. The procedure took less than a minute.

If the president particularly enjoyed a dish, he would reward his chef with an envelope full of money, or a new car. Sometimes he would even present him with a woman. Thanks to the president, Mr Odera had three extra wives. But, without warning, Amins mood could swiftly change for the worse. We palace staff knew we were working for a madman who might get up in the morning and have us killed. One day, Amins greedy 13-year-old son Moses ate too much rice pudding, too quickly, and started having a terrible stomach ache. Amin immediately concluded that Moses had been poisoned and ran around the palace screaming: If something happens to him, Ill kill you all!

Mr Odera nipped out the back door with Moses and drove him to the hospital. While the presidents doctor was examining the greedy boy, Mr Odera phoned the palace. Everyone was convinced I really had poisoned Moses Amin and then run away, and they were all going to die because of me. So when the chief of administration heard my voice, he immediately handed the receiver to the president. Later I found out that Amin had been holding the phone in his left hand while putting a pistol to the head of one of the cooks with his right.

Meanwhile, the doctor was still pressing the boys belly, until finally the boy let out a tremendous fart. I feel much better, he said.

IT'S A FACT Idi Amin was himself a cook once, a job he held while serving in the British colonial regiment, the Kings African Rifles. Advertisement

The doctor told Amin that his son had simply eaten too much, and would probably continue to break wind for a while. Amin thought it all wonderfully funny, and loved reminding Mr Odera about it. But Mr Odera never found it quite as amusing. If I hadnt kept my cool and taken Moses to the hospital, I could have lost my life, he says.

For some years, Mr Odera had been the loyal chef for Amins predecessor, President Obote, but then one day when Obote was abroad for a Commonwealth summit, General Amin seized power. What should a chef do in these changeable circumstances? Mr Odera simply cooked dinner as usual. Did I have it ready? Of course I did. The previous coup had taught me that generals are there for coups Can you imagine what would have happened if Amin had spent all day carrying out his coup, arrived at the palace in the evening and found there was no supper waiting for him? Hed have given us hell.

The Polish journalist Witold Szablowski has had the clever idea of tracking down and interviewing chefs who worked for five of the worlds most notorious dictators: Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro and Pol Pot.

I started wondering what the people who cooked at key moments in history might have to say, he writes in his introduction. Which of them liked spicy food, and which preferred mild? Who ate a lot, and who just picked at his food? Who wanted his steak rare, and who liked it well done? And finally, did the food they ate have any effect on their politics?

It turns out that these particular topics are probably the least interesting in the book. Like so many of us, the dictators seem to have plumped for the kind of comfort food they were given as children. Pol Pot liked roast chicken, Castro liked ice cream  he could eat ten scoops or more with his dinner  Saddam liked fish soup, and Albanias Stalinist dictator, Enver Hoxha, had a sweet tooth.

But much more fascinating are the somersaults the chefs had to turn in order to remain in favour with their capricious bosses. For instance, Hoxhas chef feared for his life, and rightly so, since the Albanian dictators two previous chefs had died in mysterious circumstances. But then he realised that his boss had been a mothers boy, and if I replaced his mother, then he couldnt kill me. Accordingly, he managed to persuade Hoxhas sister to give him all their mothers favourite recipes, and his future was assured. We all cheer up if we eat something from childhood, dont we?  Quite often hed sit down at the table feeling agitated and get up in a good mood, joking even. Who knows how many lives I saved that way?

Amin tucks into a roast chicken leg in Uganda, 1978. Like most dictators, Idi Amin had his little whims. He insisted that everyone involved in preparing his food must be circumcised

How To Feed A Dictator offers a beguiling mix of the dark and the comic, combining fancy cuisine with torture and genocide. Its tone is reminiscent of Armando Iannuccis recent movie The Death Of Stalin, in which the absurd and the monstrous, the funny and the horrifying are so entwined as to be indivisible.

Abu Ali became Saddam Husseins chef after catching his eye by baking him a 9ft-high birthday cake recreating ancient Mesopotamia, with the rivers made of marzipan, the animals of fruit and the waterfalls of coconut shavings.

When he was taken on, he was told to sign a confidentiality agreement. It was made clear that if he told anyone anything, he would be hanged.

He was generously remunerated, but Saddams rewards were almost as creepy as his penalties. Once a year he bought everyone on his palace staff a new car. Their old car would mysteriously vanish. On the day the administration took away the keys to our old cars and gave us the keys to the new ones. Nobody asked you about it; you just came to work, and when you left there was a new car parked in the garage.

Fidel Castro enjoying a Chinese meal, 1960. Like so many of us, the dictators seem to have plumped for the kind of comfort food they were given as children

Saddam combined pride in his own culinary expertise with gross incompetence. When he went to inspect his troops, he liked to be photographed cooking for them. Abu Ali would secretly pre-cook the food, leaving Saddam to deliver the finishing touches. Things invariably went wrong as he posed for photographs. Hed talk non-stop while sprinkling a whole kilo of salt into the pot. And then hed serve the burned or oversalted rice to the soldiers. They had to eat it; after all, the president had cooked it for them.

If ever the chef neglects to mention their dictators atrocities, the author judiciously supplies the facts and figures. The only chef who seems to have been blind to her employers failings is Yong Moeun, who cooked homely dishes for Pol Pot. She remembers his beautiful smile and his incredible sense of humour, and fondly remembers the way he dreamed of a just world. If he had a failing, it was that he trusted people too much. It is left to Witold Szablowski to point out that the man she characterises as pure goodness killed two million of his fellow countrymen in the space of four years.
Actor Sushmita Sens brother Rajeev Sen has refuted rumours that his marriage with Charu Asopa has hit a rough patch. He told SpotboyE in an interview that he is laughing off the rumours.

Im just laughing over the news is all I can say, he told the website. Just because I am in Delhi for my work, people are thinking that we have had a fight & are no more together- what a funny world we live in, he added.

A report in Times of India on Saturday mentioned that the two had a fight recently, after which Rajeev moved to Delhi. Even Charu has changed her name on her social media handles, dropping his surname. Charu and Rajeev had serious compatibility issues right from the beginning. Things finally came to a head and Rajeev left for Delhi. The two have not been in touch since then. While Charu has dropped his surname on social media, he has blocked her from all channels of communication, a source told TOI.

Also read: Twinkle Khanna defines love, says it is only about putting the other persons needs ahead of your own

Rajeev and Charu got married in June 2019 in Goa. Sushmita, her daughters Renee and Alisah, boyfriend Rohman Shawl and her parents had all joined in the celebrations.

Rajeev had earlier told Hindustan Times that Sushmita was instrumental in putting the wedding together. She has been working very hard day and night to make things happen, as we dont have much time at all, he had said. June 16 could only happen because of my sister , mom and dad. Its never easy to do things at the last minute. I am very blessed, he had added.

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The death has taken place of the wife of a Garda who was almost killed but suffered life changing injuries after being blown up by the IRA on the Laois Offaly border the 1970s at the height of The Troubles.

Betty Peters, (nee Kennedy) passed away at the Sue Ryder Centre, Portlaoise, June 19 peacefully, surrounded by her loving family.

Betty, who hailed from Moneygall in Co Offaly, was predeceased by her husband Tom and son Dick. She was loving mother to Elma and Breidette (O'Donnell) and cherished grandmother to Ellen, Eva and Luke. Deeply regretted and sadly missed by her loving family, son in law Paul, brothers Phillip and Eamonn, sister Anne Holohan, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

A teacher by profession, the deceased lived or many years as carer to her husband Tom a former Garda Detective in Portlaoise. The Kilkenny native was one of five gardai blown up by an IRA gang in 1976. Garda Malachy Clerkin was killed in the attack.

Det Peters suffered lifelong injuries in the bomb on the Laois Offaly border near Portarlington in Garryhinch. From then until his death in October 2018, Betty remained with Tom helping him recover from, and live his injuries, while they reared a family of three children at their home on the Stradbally Road in Portlaoise. Tom lost his sight and hearing and suffered other injuries.

Betty was with Tom and their family and his surviving colleagues in Templemore in 2017 when the bravery shown by the gardai was finally recognised when they were awarded with the Scott Medal for bravery - the highest honour that can be bestowed on gardai by the Irish State.

Gerry Bohan, Peter Clerkin representing Michael Clerkin, Ben Thornton and Jim Cannon were also awarded medals at the Scott Medal presentation in the Garda College, Templemore on the same day.

The men were called to Garryhinch after Portlaoise Garda Station received a message that the home of then Laois Offaly TD Oliver J Flanagan was about to be attacked by the IRA.

Laois Offaly TD and Minister for Justice and Equality paid tribute.

"It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of my neighbour Betty Peters. Betty was a kind & generous woman who lovingly looked after her husband Tom for 40 years following the injuries he sustained in an IRA bomb attack in Garryhinch.

"Betty remained of positive disposition in the face of much adversity & sorrow. I offer my deepest sympathy to Elma & Breidette," he said.

Laois Offaly Division Garda Chief Superintendent John Scanlon passed on his condolences to Betty's family as did many others including Tom Phelan on behalf of members Garda Siochana Retired Members Association.

Given the exceptional climate and to protect the welfare of everyone who knew her, a private funeral, with immediate family only, will take place, at 12 noon on Monday in SS Peter and Paul's Church, Portlaoise.

It will be streamed on the webcam; http://www.portlaoiseparish.ie/web-cam/

Burial afterwards in SS Peter and Pauls Cemetery, Portlaoise.
The Prime Minsiter's Office (PMO) today said the statements made by PM Narendra Modi during the all-party meet yesterday have been misinterpreted by the opposition. "Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the All-Party Meeting (APM) yesterday," the PMO said.

The statement questioned by the opposition was the PM saying that there were no Chinese troops on India's side of the border. The PMO clarified saying, "Prime Minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces."

The PMO said that the controversy is being created to lower the morale of the army and that the office is sure that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.

The PMO statement clarified the PM's remarks saying, "Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."

The statement also said the PM had specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of the LAC.

According to the PMO, the APM attendees were informed that this time, Chinese forces had come in much larger numbers to the LAC and that the Indian response was commensurate.

The PM had clearly stated that violence arose in Galwan on June 15 because the Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from this action. Though, a statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in India earlier today has completely contradicted this statement by the PMO. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's statement, India's front-line troops crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing.

The PMO also stated that the PM's words "Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of the soil" succinctly summed up the ethos and value of the armed forces.

Also Read: Galwan valley standoff: Well-prepared, suitably deployed to respond, says Air Force chief

Also Read: Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: PM Modi launches scheme to boost livelihood in villages
New Delhi, June 20 : In a first, the Supreme Court has allowed a petition seeking divorce by mutual consent through video conferencing.

Justice V Ramasubramanian said "The marriage solemnized between the parties on May 31, 2001, shall stand dissolved by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. All the proceedings pending before all courts between the parties shall stand closed/ disposed of/quashed in terms of the settlement agreement." The court exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and passed the decree for the dissolution of the marriage. "Under the terms of the settlement, a joint application has been made by the parties in praying for a decree of dissolution of marriage by mutual consent by invoking jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution" noted the court.

The court said that since the entire payment as recorded in the settlement agreement has been paid, the parties have no further or other obligations against each other.

The court observed that under the terms of the settlement, a sum of Rs.57, 50,000 was liable to be paid by the husband to the wife. "The counsel for the respondent (husband) states that the entire amount has been paid. This is also confirmed by the counsel for the petitioner (wife). The petitioner and the respondent are also present through the video conferencing. The petitioner confirmed the receipt of the entire amount", said the court.

The petitioner moved the top court urging it to transfer divorce proceedings pending in the family court in Telangana to the District and Sessions Court in Kolkata. However, the matter was referred to the top court mediation centre, where the parties arrived at an amicable settlement and prayed for termination of the marriage. "The Supreme Court Mediation Centre conducted mediation and the parties have now reached to an amicable settlement", said the court, citing the settlement agreement on November 5, 2019.

The parties, in the 2019 agreement, said by signing this agreement the parties solemnly state and affirm that they have no further claims or demands against each other and all the disputes and differences have been amicably settled by the parties hereto through the process of mediation.
Sydneysiders Joe and Melissa Bagala only planned to be in Africa for a few weeks before travelling to Europe and back home to Australia.

But when the coronavirus pandemic struck in March, it trapped them in Kisangani, the third largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While the couple has passed the time doing humanitarian work, they remain separated from their children who are 13,000 kilometres away in Sydney. Ms Bagala has two sons, five and 10, and Mr Bagala is a father of four.

"Sometimes my son is crying, 'Mummy, mummy, when will you be coming home?'," Ms Bagala said, starting to cry. "And I just can't tell him. We don't know. I'm devastated."
In a classic case of the underlying misogyny revealing itself, former TDP minister Chintakalya Ayyanna Patrudu who held various portfolios during the regime of the previous Chandra Babu Naidu government was seen using highly objectionable language while trying to warn Narsipatnam Municipality Commissioner K.Krishnaveni. Irked by the displacement of his grandfathers portrait in one of the offices, the former minister resorted to such abusive words.

In the video, which caught the eye of social media soon after the speech was delivered by this leader who very evidently needs to work on his mindset concerning women, he says , Just because it is a woman we are respecting her. Had it been a man we wouldve shown what wouldve happened. Even now, if she goes against the word she has given us, we will go to the extent of stripping HER CLOTHES if needed. We will have to go to any extent to save justice and ourselves .

Speaking about the incident, AP Womens Commission chairperson, Vasiredsy Padma questioned the mindset of the leaders backing these statements, she said  What is the point of young leaders coming into the system if the mindset concerning women continues to be the same? Even a young and educated leader like Lokesh is seen supporting this leader after the statements he made. When and how do we plan to change things in this society if elected representatives continue to speak this way about women? .

Also Read: Delhi LG pulls back order on home isolation after Kejriwals opposition

Also Read: No unilateral change to LAC, PM Modi warns China

Post the video going viral, the former minister was booked under the Nirbhaya act by the local police upon receiving a complaint from the victim. Having said that, the bigger question however is, why a party like TDP and a leader like Chandra Babu Naidu who boasts of 4 decades in politics and had claimed to be the Messiah for womens rights apart from introducing many so called women-centric schemes find the need to write to the state DGP supporting a leader like this despite video evidence rather than acting against the leader who still continues to be an integral part of the TDPs establishment.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah lock horns again over India-China border tensions

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The scrutiny that fell on the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in the months after a white officer in 2014 fatally shot an African American teenager revealed a fragmented approach to policing in the region with disparate standards and priorities, according to John Chasnoff.

With more than 80 towns in St. Louis County alone, there are dozens of police chiefs from different backgrounds facing different pressures, leading to very inconsistent policing, said Chasnoff, an activist who works with the St. Louis-based Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression.

I think ever since the Ferguson uprising in 2014  its been recognized that we have a very disjointed law enforcement community in our region, he said.

Reform measures outlined in the Ferguson Commission report  and more recently demanded by protesters coast to coast in the aftermath of a Black mans death while in Minneapolis police custody  have already been adopted by some law enforcement agencies, but not by others. Many of the measures are enshrined in state law in Illinois but havent been adopted in Missouri, outside of state requirements for police officer training.

A recent survey by the Post-Dispatch of regional agencies found a hodgepodge of policies across the area, with some reforms in place for years or in progress elsewhere, and rejected outright by others. Fifty-three law enforcement departments were asked a series of questions including whether they have civilian oversight panels, if de-escalation training is provided and if officers patrol wearing body cameras. About half responded.

Roughly a quarter of the agencies that responded have a civilian board that controls the hiring, firing and promotion of officers and appeals of police discipline. That includes all responding agencies in Illinois, where state law mandates a civilian board in municipalities with a population over 5,000.

But the response to civilian oversight differs greatly elsewhere. Northwest of St. Louis in Lincoln County, Sheriff John Cottle said, Im an elected official, thats about the best oversight you can get.

All responding departments said their officers undergo de-escalation training. Many get that training at least once a year. In Illinois, the state requires an annual one-day use-of-force training. At least three departments have pledged to send all officers to crisis intervention team training aimed to divert people with mental health disorders and addictions from the criminal justice system and instead help them access medical treatment.

All the departments have an internal review procedure for the use of deadly force. Illinois law also mandates a review by state police.

In Fairview Heights, even displaying a stun gun or gun prompts a review. Software called Guardian Tracking flags officers who exceed a certain amount of reviews in a particular time period, a spokesperson said.

Only two agencies, Fairview Heights and St. Charles County police, said they have civilian representation in their reviews of deadly force.

Dont need them

Inconsistencies can also be found when it comes to other law enforcement tactics and procedures.

Illinois has a statewide law that classifies chokeholds as deadly force, whereas Missouri has no such law. However, each Missouri agency that responded to the Post-Dispatch said they dont allow the practice.

No-knock warrants can only be authorized by a judge, the departments told the Post-Dispatch. Most said they seldom come across a situation where one is needed. Smaller departments rely on SWAT teams from their county sheriffs office or the state police in Illinois to handle tactical search warrants.

Meanwhile, half of the Missouri agencies that were surveyed said all officers have body cameras. St. Louis, Clayton and Creve Coeur police are in the process of equipping all officers; St. Charles County, OFallon and Manchester are considering getting them in the near future.

None of the Illinois agencies reported having body cameras, saying state regulations on data storage and redaction made them too costly.

Nineteen agencies said they had dashboard cameras.

Asked whether his officers use body cameras, St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson said, We dont need them because our officers dont have those problems.

Creve Coeur police Chief Glenn Eidman says accreditation of police departments through agencies such as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, or CALEA, is essential as new, modified practices are adopted.

Accreditation establishes a foundation within agencies that focuses on achieving the best outcomes. It provides consistent internal and external review, a third-party validation of an agencys policies and procedures. While it does not prevent all negative outcomes, it does set the course for success, he said in an email.

David Hayes, director of the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, said the standardization of police policy and training across Illinois is vital. In Missouri, Ive seen too many variations of policies, he said.

Illinois also has a centralized database thats managed by a police training board. By law, any police misconduct must be reported, and it becomes a part of the officers permanent record. In the St. Louis area, Hayes said there are 55 to 60 departments, so if you get a bad apple and one department gets rid of them, all of a sudden you might find them hired somewhere else.

Richard Rosenfeld, a University of Missouri-St. Louis professor emeritus in criminology, said the differences in policing are likely the result of the patchwork of cities that make up the St. Louis area, and their differing leadership, size and resources.

Rosenfeld said what the public needs now is for St. Louis County police to assume a leadership role, sharing best practices with other county municipalities and helping implement them. He doesnt envision that as management of the departments, and he said that police should focus on key issues, including use of force, de-escalation training, civilian oversight and police accountability.

A re-envisioning

Jerryl Christmas, an activist and attorney with several clients involved in recent encounters with police, said the inconsistencies are due to the lack of national legislation or mandates covering expectations for police departments and officers. I think that is what is going to be needed, he said.

The Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, lauded state efforts to increase the required hours of training in use of force and de-escalation in Missouri.

Were pleased, of course, that people are working to meet those standards, he said, but added that the the question is really not, Have you checked these boxes? Law enforcement agencies and public officials need to do a strategic re-envisioning of your public safety approach. Few departments have done that around the country, Wilson said.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner said her No. 1 issue is police accountability, calling it crucial for public safety. She called the St. Louis area ground zero for the reform effort and the issues highlighting police violence, but faulted civilian oversight and disciplinary measures for officers. She said some complaints about police dont make it to a civilian oversight board, and lawsuits against police need to be better tracked.

In recent days, other St. Louis officials have called for a registry of officers who have engaged in misconduct.

Gardner, who has been frequently criticized by the police union, said there should be zero tolerance for any kind of misconduct, and strong consequences for officers who are silent about misconduct, going further than those calling just for a duty to intervene when they see questionable behavior.

She also said training of officers for issues like de-escalation needs to be done by outsiders, not by those within a department.

In recent weeks, both St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson have said that their police departments already comply with the 8 Cant Wait police reform campaign.

Organized by Black Lives Matter activists, the campaign seeks to ban chokeholds and shooting at vehicles. It requires officers to exhaust all other options before shooting and intervene to stop colleagues from using excessive force, among other measures.

Chasnoff, with the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, said the focus should be on broader reform, rather than a list of action items.

His group doesnt support body cameras, which Chasnoff called incredibly expensive, something of a fad and a risk to privacy. When it comes to police reforms, were trying to look at things that will move us down that road  rather than put more money in policing.

Chasnoff said he also understood the focus on chokeholds, but said, it just seems like police are killing people with a variety of methods.

If they cant use chokeholds, something else is gonna happen, he said.

The coalition has been advocating for years for divesting from police and re-investing in housing, education and social services to address the root causes of crime, a version of defunding the police.

Chasnoff said data he obtained on SWAT deployments in St. Louis from 2012 to 2018 showed that 97% of the 1,785 deployments were for the execution of so-called high risk search warrants. He said national statistics show that African Americans are more than five times more likely to be affected by a SWAT search warrant raid than whites.

Clayton lawyer Bevis Schock, who represented a St. Louis man whose home was raided by police in 2014, said he obtained a similar spreadsheet of raids and also found that the vast, vast majority were in poor Black neighborhoods.

Schock said police shouldnt use the SWAT team in routine drug cases. He said appeals courts have ruled that there has to be more to justify a no-knock warrant than drugs and guns. Police have to believe that there was a risk that a suspect might use a gun against police. And he said that there was little difference between a no-knock warrant and a raid in which police knock and announce themselves and begin breaking down a door.

Lewis Reed, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, on Thursday proposed a ban on no-knock warrants.

Christmas, the lawyer, said, I think with every movement, you get some change.

Many of those movements, however, have been touched off by the death of a person of color, something Christmas acknowledges.

But thats the only way that we can make a movement, he said. Thats when we have everybodys attention.

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese telco Softbank Corp said on Thursday it led a $19.5 million funding round in startup Splyt, which helps app operators integrate mobility options with other services, as it seeks to build its own super app.

Japanese tech firms have lagged peers such as Tencent Holdings, with its WeChat app, in creating super apps, which offer access to a range of services via a single interface.

SoftBank will take a "significant stake" in Splyt, which has helped integrate ridehailing into apps such as Alibaba Group's Alipay and Grab, backed by SoftBank Group Corp, with the deal focused on using the technology with its own services.

SoftBank is poised to control two top contenders for a local super app, the chat app from Line Corp, which will be brought under the SoftBank umbrella in October after striking a deal with South Korea's Naver Corp, and SoftBank's own payments app PayPay.

The head of SoftBank Corp's global business division, Daichi Nozaki, will sit on the board of Splyt.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey and Fanny Potkin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
- Enzo Manzano, son of Edu Manzano, shared on social media his reaction to the allegation that the Philippine government is trying to silence its critics through different means

- He protested alone outside the United Nations headquarters in New York to raise awareness about the said allegation

- Edus son expressed his sorrow over the alleged oppression that Filipinos are experiencing under President Rodrigo Dutertes administration

- The actors child revealed in another Facebook post that he protested for a second day but in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines this time

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Edu Manzanos son, Enzo Manzano, shared on social media his reaction to the allegation that the Philippine government is trying to silence its critics through different means.

KAMI learned that Enzo protested alone outside the United Nations headquarters in New York to raise awareness about the said allegation.

In his Facebook post, he expressed his sorrow over the alleged oppression that Filipinos are experiencing under President Rodrigo Dutertes administration.

Today, I chose to stand outside the United Nations HQ for 3 hours (I have a recorded live video, on my timeline, showing the second half). It took me three days to decide I was actually going to do this. How did I arrive at this decision? I realized lengthy Facebook posts dont do the trick... ALSO

It only makes me more angry whenever news of our government comes out in the Philippines. The feeling of being useless doesnt help either - whether its because Im in New York or the government keeps coming up with ways to silence us back home.

I was never the type to protest but at this point with all that the Philippine government is doing, its either youre fighting to keep your country alive or not.

Sucks to hear that my fellow Filipinos cant protest back home.. I hope my lone protest can make up for that. At least a little bit, Enzo posted on Facebook.

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In another Facebook post, Enzo revealed that he protested for a second day but in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines this time.

Second day of protesting. This time, it was in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines.

Thank you for all the kind words! I've already mentioned this before and I am grateful for all the support too, but this isn't just for me. I am doing this for each and every one of you. It hurts to be away from our country and to see this happen. Things have dramatically changed since I've left and it's only been 2 1/2 years so far.

I can't stand the thought of what our home is turning into. There are multiple efforts to silence and scare you, but I hope we can make my protests loud enough for the world to see and hear, Enzo wrote.

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KAMI previously reported that Edus son, Luis Manzano, opened up about the controversial anti-terrorism bill.

Edu Manzano is an American-born Filipino actor, comedian, politician, and the television host of game shows such as of game shows The Weakest Link, Pilipinas, Game KNB?, 1 vs. 100 and Asar Talo Lahat Panalo. He has three children  Enzo, Addie, and actor-host Luis Manzano.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 07:19:08|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the fired commander of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will not be reinstated.

"I will not re-assign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command," Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday told reporters at the Pentagon.

Crozier was removed from his post in early April after a letter he wrote pleading for help with a coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the media.

A preliminary probe by the Navy recommended that Crozier be reinstated but Gilday said he has changed his mind after what he called a "much broader, deeper investigation."

"Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made the recommendation to re-instate Captain Crozier," Gilday said. "Moreover, if Captain Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him."

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair," and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweeted.

Crozier, in his letter, warned at that time of dire consequences if the outbreak on the ship was not handled quickly.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors."

Crozier was swiftly fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who himself resigned later after his remarks lashing out at the captain backfired.

Hundreds of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew gathered to applaud and cheer Crozier's name when he left the ship, video on social media showed.

The aircraft carrier has been docked in Guam for two months. More than 1,000 sailors have reportedly been infected with the coronavirus, and one died from it. Enditem
Seven-year-old Trey Elliott, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is going viral for praying with local police officers. Photos of Treys mission were shared by his mother on social media and are warming hearts across the nation.

Treys mom, Brittany, explained that her sons prayer mission started when the little boy learned about the protests taking place in his city in response to the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

Tulsa had a really big peaceful protest on Sunday [May 31], Brittany told The Western Journal.

Sunday night it turned into rioting and businesses being destroyed, busted out windows, things like that in our area, she continued. So, Monday I was telling Trey about it because we drive right through that area.

Brittany and her husband, Billy, explained the difference between protesting and rioting to their 7-year-old son. After learning about the role of law enforcement in the riots, Trey told his mother that he wanted to pray for the officers.

[Its] a lot coming from him, Brittany reflected, because he does not enjoy praying out loud.

Brittany posted the first photo of Trey praying with a police officer on Facebook on June 1. The current state of our city breaks my heart into so many pieces, she wrote, [b]ut this little boy restores it every time.

This boy laid his little hands on officers to show them that we love and support them, Brittany continued. If this picture shows you anything, let it be to pray for those around you.

The proud moms moving photo depicts Trey kneeling with his hand on the shoulder of Officer Donnie Ray Johnson, also bending down. Both have their eyes closed in a shared prayer.

The boys chosen prayer is simple and heartfelt. God, please protect these police officers, and their families, and their city. Amen, according to KJRH.

After Brittanys first photo went viral, the tables turned; all of a sudden, Tulsa Police Department (TPD) officers began actively seeking out the 7-year-old at public events, and even at his own home, in order to pray with him.

TPDs Chief Wendell Franklin, bowled over by Treys heartfelt gesture, took to Twitter on June 4 to comment on the effect that Treys movement was having on the local community.

Trey prayed for our community, police department, and me today, Franklin posted. It was an honor to meet this young man involved in his own mission to bring our community together, he added. He is that mustard seed planted which yields a tree used by all.

According to a Facebook post by Brittany, as of June 16, Trey has prayed with a grand total of 147 police officers and counting. According to KJRH, Treys goal is to pray with every single police officer at the Tulsa police department. The compassionate 7-year-old told the news outlet that any officers wishing to share a prayer are welcome to his block at any point in time.

Social media users who have come across photos of Trey praying with police officers cant be more proud of him. Most of them expressed their gratitude for not just touching the hearts of individuals but families across the state as well with his heartwarming act.

Through his ongoing movement, Brittany told The Western Journal that all he hopes is that other people think to pray for their own officers and their own towns.

In the current scenario, Treys mother urges people to Get outside of your own head, get off social media for a little bit, and if you see that officer at the coffee shop or at the gas station, just stop and ask them, Would you be okay if I prayed over you?

She further reminded people that [I]t probably means a lot more to them than you would even think.

Watch the video:

(Video courtesy of Brittany Elliott)

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Justice V Gopala Gowda By

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in not only an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, but an economic crisis as well. The response of some state governments to the closure of factories and businesses on account of the nationwide lockdown has been to introduce ordinances to dilute the effect of labour laws. The Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020, suspends the operation of all labour laws in the state for a period of three years, with the exception of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and certain provisions relating to the security of the workers under the Factories Act, 1948, and Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1996. It further provides that work hours can extend upto 11-12 hours a day.

Similarly, Madhya Pradesh has brought in the Madhya Pradesh Labour Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. News reports also indicate that other states, including Karnataka and Gujarat, are planning to or are in the process of passing similar ordinances. The moves have received mixed reactions. While large corporations and organisations such as FICCI have welcomed it, trade unions and large sections of civil society have condemned them, for it is essentially the state governments leaving the workers in the lurch by taking away the most basic protections that the law has to offer them.

However, apart from the policy and ethical ramifications, it is crucial to also examine the constitutional ramifications of the promulgation of such ordinances. India is a founding member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Of the eight Core Conventions of the ILO, India has ratified six. These are Forced Labour Convention (No. 29); Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100); Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105); Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111); Minimum Age Convention (No.138); Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182).

While the other two, Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organised Convention (No.87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No.98) have not been ratified by India yet, the public position of the Ministry of Labour and Employment itself is that the ILO conventions serve as a guiding law for labour laws in India, and the government strives to bring domestic labour law at par and in conformity with the high standards set by the ILO conventions. India has also ratified Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976, which enforces the tripartite consultation process between the country, employer and workers that is at the heart of the spirit of the ILO. These ordinances prima facie are in clear violation of the ILO Conventions, which are a globally recognised standard of what domestic labour laws should aspire to be.

Further, these ordinances are also prima facie in contravention of the provisions of the Acts themselves. For instance, the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, have been suspended. The power to suspend the operation of the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, is found in Section 5, which confers power on the state government to exempt any factory or a class of factories from the provisions of the Act. But it is crucial to keep in mind that this power can be exercised only in case of a public emergency. The term public emergency for the purpose of the Factories Act is defined as a grave emergency whereby the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance. COVID-19 may be the most devastating pandemic the modern world has ever seen, but it still does not qualify as a public emergency for the purposes of the Factories Act, 1948, as it stands currently.

It is now a well-settled principle of law that the power conferred on an authority to do something must be exercised in that manner or not at all. Thus, to the extent these ordinances suspend the operation of even one provision of the Factories Act, 1948, vis-a-vis a single factory, they are violative of Section 5 and thus, patently illegal. Another crucial aspect that requires careful consideration is the issue of federalism. In the case of both the UP and MP ordinances, the assent from the President has not been received yet. Labour laws are found at Entry Nos. 22-24 of List III of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Article 254 of the Constitution lays down the scope of the Centre and states to legislate on subjects in the concurrent list.

Article 254(1) provides that when a law enacted by Parliament holds the field, then the law enacted by the state shall be void to the extent it is repugnant to Parliament law. Article 254(2) however, provides an exception to Article 254(1) and provides that the repugnancy can be cured if the assent of the President is received, and that law shall prevail in the state once the President assents to the same. This provision is often employed by state governments to introduce specific provisions for their state on subjects that fall in the concurrent list. In a landmark judgment Kaiser-i-Hind Pvt Ltd v. National Textile Corporation (Maharashtra North) Ltd. [(2002) 8 SCC 182], a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that the giving of assent is not an empty formality or an automatic event necessitated or to be given for the mere asking of a state government.

It further held that: In a federal structure, peculiar to the one adopted by our Constitution, it would become necessary for the President to be apprised of the reason as to why and for what special reason or object and purpose, predominance for the state law over the Central law is sought deviating from the law in force made by Parliament for the entire country, including that part of the state. Thus, deliberation and application of mind are the prerequisites for giving assent to a repugnant state law to hold the field. In terms of Article 213 of the Constitution, the Governor of a state cannot promulgate an ordinance without instructions from the President on a law that requires his assent.

Recently, these provisions also attracted much attention in the context of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and amendments by states to them to dilute key provisions such as social impact assessment. Acquisition of property is also a subject in the concurrent list. Thus, the assent of the President was required before these state amendments could be passed into law. The attempt by state governments to promulgate these ordinances without the assent of the President is thus patently illegal, unconstitutional and a clear disregard for the federal structure, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Justice V Gopala Gowda

Former judge, Supreme Court of India
By Peter G. Verniero

One of Americas principal founders believed the judiciary would be the weakest of the three governmental branches. The president would command the military, Congress would write the laws and control how the federal treasury was spent, but what power would judges have?

Alexander Hamiltons answer came in Federalist Paper No. 78: Judges would have neither Force nor Will, but merely judgment. And one other thing: Courts would have independent authority to interpret statutes and the Constitution.

In a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court displayed that authority this month, and the country is better for it.

Anyone who cares deeply about equal rights for all Americans should embrace the courts decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In that case, the justices ruled, 6-3, that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees from workplace discrimination.

The courts opinion is so straightforward and plainly written, the answer to the specific question presented  whether the statutes prohibition against discrimination because of sex includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or transgender identity  seems an obvious yes.

The decision is a momentous advancement for LGBTQ rights and in that sense, its a landmark ruling. But in another sense, it reflects the unremarkable task of the court offering its reasoned judgment without fear or favor  precisely what the founders had designed.

The courts decision is notable in another way  it was authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch and presumably assigned to him by Chief Justice John Roberts, who also joined the opinion. Both jurists are known as conservatives, and many had predicted that their appointments to the court would lead to a restriction of individual rights.

The Bostock decision proved those predictions to be wrong, at least in that case. To be sure, the labels we place on judges sometimes are accurate predictors of how they will decide cases.

But I have long held the view that we should dispense with such short-hand references, which too often suggest that judges are no different than elected officials from one political party or the other  which is decidedly not the case.

Indeed, Chief Justice Roberts has tried to depoliticize the manner in which we refer to judges. In an unusual public statement released in 2018, he said: We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.

Which brings me to the courts second major ruling, this one written by the chief justice himself. In Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, the court held, by a 5-4 vote, that the current administration improperly rescinded the prior administrations immigration relief program for young people known as DACA.

Like the Bostock decision, the Homeland Security opinion goes directly to the point. One administration is free to rescind the policies of a predecessor administration but only when certain procedural requirements are satisfied. And one of those basic requirements is that agencies must justify their actions with reasons that are not arbitrary or capricious.

In other words, the rule of law governs. Words in a statute govern. An agencys stated rationale for taking action and adherence to regulatory procedure govern.

And when a legislative enactment requires interpretation as in the Bostock case or an executive agency cannot reasonably justify its actions as in the Homeland Security case, the judicial branch is there to discharge its function  sometimes in unanimous fashion and sometimes with principled dissents.

Another lesson: Despite the labels we too often place on judges, they have the capacity to surprise us with their rulings. Which is why, perhaps, we should stop labeling judges altogether, relying instead on their intellect, temperament, integrity and diversity of opinion as hallmarks of their service.

Although both of these rulings are a victory for the rule of law, they arrive at a time when Americans are hardly in a mood to celebrate. We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and too many among us remain victims of hate and racism, with devastating consequences.

Still, amidst the drive for justice and reform, the Supreme Court has reminded us that our constitutional framework retains the capacity to deliver on the promise of equal rights and fundamental fairness, if we allow it to happen.

Peter G. Verniero formerly served as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and state attorney general. He practices law in Newark.

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Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana has been rearrested in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed, according to the US prosecutors.

Rana, 59, was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for the Covid-19.

He was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 following an extradition request by India, where he is a declared fugitive, they said.

Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian told the court that the Indian government, as per the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 1997, has requested the arrest and detention of Rana with a view towards his extradition.

Lulejian said India has informed the United States that Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to commit murder, in violation of Sections 120B and 302, and murder in violation of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Rana has also been charged with conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating and conspiracy to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record.

He made an initial court appearance on June 11.

On Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the US District Court, Central District of California, scheduled his bond hearing for June 30.

His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the federal governments response is due by June 26.

Lulejian said that the offences for which Ranas arrest warrant was issued are covered by Article 2 of the India-US Extradition Treaty.

An arrest warrant was issued against Rana in India by Poonam A Bamba, District and Sessions Judge, Special Court of Indias premier investigation agency National Investigation Agency (NIA), on August 28, 2018.

According to the federal prosecutors, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani, and others located in Pakistan to assist Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Rana was first arrested in Chicago on October 18, 2009. Thereafter he went to trial in the US District court for the Northern District of Illinois where Headley testified for prosecution.

The jury convicted him of one count of Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to LeT.

The jury, however, acquitted Rana of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India.

Harry D Leinenweber, US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Rana to a 168-month prison term.

On May 7 this year, Rana filed a motion for compassionate release in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In his motion, Rana claimed that he has tested positive for the Covid-19, and his precarious medical conditions put him at the extreme risk of life-threatening complications.

Rana also asked the court to reduce his sentence and allow him to return to Canada.

Rana is a Canadian citizen, but he was a residence of Chicago and running a business in the city at the time of his arrest.

His petition was rejected by Rebecca R Pallmeyer, Chief US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on May 18.

He filed a second petition -- Renewed Motion for Compassionate Release - on June 4. Five days later on June 9, Judge Leinenweber granted Ranas motion, reduced his sentence to time served and ordered his immediate release, while leaving intact all other aspects of his criminal conviction.

Rana was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in San Pedro, California.

Given that he is a Canadian citizen, the Department of Homeland Security has filed an immigration detainer for him with the Bureau of Prisons.

He was formally rearrested the very next day on June 10. The Bureau of Prisons is currently holding Rana at that facility pursuant to the immigration detainer.

Luiejian told the court in his submission dated June 10 that a formal request for extradition from the Indian government, supported by the documents specified in the Treaty, will be presented and finalised within the time required under the Treaty.

The 2008 Mumbai attack was one of Indias most horrific terrorist attacks in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive, was hanged to death on November 21, 2012.

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Seeking answers from the government on the India-China faceoff, opposition leaders told the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the all-party meeting on Friday that the Chinese troops must be evacuated from occupying the high ground in Galwan Valley.

They asked if there was an intelligence failure that led to the clash. Some leaders suggested imposing heavy duty on Chinese goods and taking trade and investment measures to counter China.

Alleging that India failed to use all avenues, which resulted in the loss of 20 lives, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked questions about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory and whether the intelligence agencies faile to report any unusual activity there.

In fact, even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis. We in the Congress party believe that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6, the date on which the Corps Commanders meeting took place. Even after the June 6 meeting, efforts should have been made to talk directly, at the political and diplomatic levels, to the leadership of China, she said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said in the last three decades, China has quietly strengthened its position on the nearly 4,000-km LAC and has particularly focused on enlarging and strengthening its presence in Eastern Ladakh.

If we want the PLA to evacuate from Galwan, compulsory measures are required. It would be advisable to strategise using diplomatic channels to diffuse tension on the border and make China see reason, he said.

Samajwadi Partys Ram Gopal Yadav and Bahujan Samaj party chief Mayawati demanded imposing heavy taxes on Chinese goods so that India does not become a dumping ground for these products.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Chinese companies should not be allowed to enter crucial sectors like telecom, railway and aviation in India.

However, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda called for toning down the nationalist rhetoric and cautioned the government against encouraging calls for boycott of Chinese products.

Backing the government, the BJD and the Shiv Sena said the Centre must take some action. India wants peace, but that does not mean that the country is weak, they asserted.

Suggesting the Centre to initiate high-level talks, the CPM said steps be taken, including clear demarcation of the LAC, to maintain peace and tranquility on the border.

After Kargil, the Vajpayee government had appointed the K. Subrahmanyam Committee to examine lapses and suggest measures to modernise the armed forces. The government must think similarly. India gave the world Panchsheel and pursued an independent foreign policy. This must be strictly adhered to, said party general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Fighter jets moved to Leh, Srinagar air bases

Air Chief RKS Bhadauria travelled to Leh on Wednesday after the Defence Minister reviewed the security scenario with him, CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and the other two service chiefs.

The IAF has moved Su-30MKI, Jaguar and Mirage jets and Apache helicopters to key air bases including Leh and Srinagar in last three days.
This essays builds on my previous research on history of malaria epidemics in Sri Lanka, intergenerational support mechanisms for elderly and ongoing research work on identity, infection and fear within the context of CIVID-19 pandemic. This work points to the relevance of ageing within the Sri Lankan population as well as the participation of Sri Lankan migrant workers in overseas destinations in home-based elderly care in understanding and responding to the COVID-19 epidemic in the country.

Ageing in Sri-Lanka

Sri Lanka is a middle-income country with a rapidly ageing population. In 2018, people aged 65 years and older comprised 9.67% of the total population in the country. Sri Lanka has many risk factors for COVID-19 infections. A substantial section of Sri Lankans (an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of the total working population) work overseas. Two of the more popular destinations for Sri Lankan migrant workers are Italy and South Korea, two leading COVID-19 hot spots in the world. On the other hand, a large number of Chinese workers are employed in development projects in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka also relies heavily on tourism, as an expanding sector of the economy. In fact, the very first COVID-19 patient discovered in Sri Lanka on March 11, 2020, was a tourist from China, Later, a tour guide serving a different tourist group became the first Sri Lankan to be identified with the virus locally. A rapidly ageing population is another significant risk factor adding to the potential infection rate in the country, but from the information available so far its potential impact on corona infections has been neutralized. Why this is so, requires further reflection.

COVID-19 in Sri Lanka

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka as of May 25, 2020, was 1141. The total number of deaths attributed to the disease was 9. As a population ratio, COVID-19 morbidity was 0.5 per 100,000 population, a relatively low figure compared to other COVID-affected countries. The mortality rate among COVID-19 patients was 0.79 per 100 patients. In the data published by the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka, gender and age distribution of patients or the deceased is not mentioned, making it not possible to do a thorough analysis of COVID-19 infections in relation to population ageing. However, with a few exceptions, a vast majority of the infected persons appear to be working-age people who were exposed to the disease while working in Sri Lanka or abroad. A good indication of this is that 640 out of 1141 patients diagnosed as of May 25, 2020 (56 per cent) were currently employed in the security forces. Almost 80 per cent of all elderly in Sri Lanka live with their children or in close proximity to their children, usually within a walking distance. This has prevented the rapid spread of the disease to the elderly through elderly homes or elderly communities as reported in some western countries. One could argue, however, that the co-residence with children makes them vulnerable to cross infections from younger generations. This has indeed happened in a few cases reported in mass media, but generally, the rigorous quarantine process and contact tracing followed in Sri Lanka where security forces have worked side by side with public health personal to trace every contact of the infected or those vulnerable for infection such as travellers returning from certain overseas destinations has minimized cross infections from the infected to the home-bound elderly.

Local vs. official responses

One person who died of coronavirus in Sri Lanka was a 72-year old man named Mohamed from a crowded neighbourhood in central Colombo and he was reportedly infected by his son-in-law who had returned from overseas prior to the quarantine process noted above was instituted. Mohamed, who was admitted to Sri Jayawardenepura Hospital with complications due to diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure, was later diagnosed with the coronavirus and transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH). He died on admission to IDH. His body was cremated following the official protocol imposed by health authorities disregarding the religiously sanctioned Islamic practice of burial of Muslim dead bodies. Mandatory home quarantine was imposed on the entire Maradana neighbourhood where he came from and his family and some of the neighbouring families were moved to a quarantine centre outside Colombo in order to monitor their disease status and make sure that they will not infect others. This example illustrates how a young Sri Lankan worker overseas brings home the disease and infects an elderly person with other health complications in his family within an urban low-income setting. It also shows how the official response to the disease has disregarded the cultural diversity and the Islamic custom of burying the dead body in spite of many protests against this practice by Islamic leaders in the country.

Mobility and the pandemic

Finally, it has to be noted that population ageing in other countries had a considerable impact on the onset of the epidemic in Sri Lanka. In the early phase, the epidemic in Sri Lanka was largely triggered by Sri Lankan workers returning from Italy, with caregiving for home-based elderly in Italy being a key occupation among Sri Lankans working in Italy. As of March 27, 2020, the contract tracing carried out by the Epidemiology Unit indicated that 42% of all COVID-19 patients reported in Sri Lanka (102 at that time) were either workers returning from Italy or their local contacts. In this instance, it is very likely the Sri Lankan workers were infected by their care recipients in Italy prior to their return to Sri Lanka where they underwent the mandatory quarantine process. This indicates the multiple ways globalization triggered international labour migration impacted on the rapid transmission of the disease across national borders. This pattern, however, did not apply to Sri Lankan workers returning from South Korea, where migrant workers from Sri Lanka were mostly employed in factories. They reported no COVID-19 infections in spite of South Korea being a COVID-19 hot spot at the global onset of the disease.

Thus even though the population ageing in Sri Lanka itself may have made only a marginal contribution to the pattern of CVID-19 transmission in Sri Lanka, paid elderly care by Sri Lankan workers overseas perhaps played a more significant role in the emerging pattern of infection in Sri Lanka.

Kalinga Tudor Silva, BA (University of Peradeniya); PhD (Monash University) is professor emeritus at University of Peradeniya, where he served the Department of Sociology and Faculty of Arts in various capacities for almost 40 years. He served as executive director of CEPA from 2001 to 2002, Executive Director of ICES from 2007 to 2008, and director research ICES Kandy from 2016 to 2018. He is the author of Decolonization, Development and Disease: A Social History of Malaria in Sri Lanka published in 2014 by Orient Blackswan and a joint author of Checkpoint, Temple, Church and Mosque: a Collaborative Ethnography of War and Peace, published by Pluto Press in 2015.

The Age of COVID-19 is a series being cross-posted at Somatosphere and the Association for Anthropology, Gerontology and the Life Course (AAGE) blog and is edited by Celeste Pang, Cristina Douglas, Janelle Taylor and Narelle Warren.

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The scene of the tragic accident at Lough Keel in Donegal

A father and son who died in a drowning tragedy in Co Donegal were renovating their holiday home.

The men, who have still not been officially named, drowned at Lough Keel on the outskirts of Kilmacrennan on Thursday afternoon.

The father is in his early 50s while his son was 17.

They are understood to have been living in Douglas in the Isle of Man.

The victims, along with a 15-year-old son, had taken a break from renovations at the holiday home at Coolboy on the outskirts of Letterkenny to go fishing.

However, shortly before 3pm, the 17-year-old accidentally fell into the lough and his father jumped in to try and save him.

Both men died and the youngest boy survived.

Irish Water employees working nearby raised the alarm and a massive search and rescue operation involving the Rescue 118 helicopter, Mulroy Coastguard, Gardai and ambulance personnel was then launched.

The body of the younger man was spotted by the Rescue 118 helicopter and recovered not long after the tragedy first happened.

Divers from the Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Unit recovered the remains of the second man after 6pm that evening.

Prayers

It is understood other members of the family, including the dead man's wife, were due to arrive in Donegal.

The remains of both victims are at Letterkenny University Hospital, where post mortems are due to be carried out.

Local county councillor Ian McGarvey said the thoughts and prayers were with the young man who had survived the tragedy and the extended family of the men who had drowned.

"People are numb that two lives have been taken in this manner following such a simple thing like a fishing trip," he said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time.

"Lough Keel is a beautiful part of our county and for this to happen in such a scenic and peaceful place just makes it so wrong on all fronts."

The garda investigation into the tragedy is still ongoing.
The luck and charm of the Irish carries Artemis Fowl, a bulging mouthful of whizz-popping eye candy scooped from the first two books in Wexford author Eoin Colfer's hugely popular fantasy series about a ruthless and callow 12-year-old criminal mastermind.

Directed at a lick by Belfast-born Kenneth Branagh and adapted for the screen by Olivier Award-winning Dublin playwright Conor McPherson and Hamish McColl, this breathlessly paced origin story is a valentine to the island which one character rhapsodises as 'the most magical place on Earth'.

Irish folklore and whimsy are drizzled liberally over every special effect-laden frame.

In one memorable scene choreographed to the bombastic thrum of Patrick Doyle's score, the gleaming hull of a spaceship opens to reveal a glowering Dame Judi Dench clad in green armour as an 802-year-old commander of the fairy police force's reconnaissance division.

'Top o' the mornin'' she growls straight-faced in a thick accent that skips merrily between its intended destination and Somerset.

Her only f-words, spat in fury, are 'four-leaf clover'. The eponymous antihero's cynicism and emotional coldness have been thawed several degrees for his sprightly introduction to the big screen, affording 15-year-old Kilkenny-based actor Ferdia Shaw - grandson of Jaws boat captain Robert Shaw - some warmer interludes in his feature film debut.

The script employs a kleptomaniac giant dwarf as wise-cracking narrator, recounting events as testimony to a faceless MI6 interrogator in a secure holding cell situated in the Thames Estuary.

'Most humans are afraid of gluten. How do you think they'd handle goblins?' chuckles the wild-haired interviewee as he spins his outlandish yarn.

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl II (Shaw) has been raised on stories of fairies, goblins and leprechauns by his father (Colin Farrell), a globe-trotting dealer in priceless antiquities.

When the patriarch is kidnapped, young Artemis learns the truth about his noble bloodline and a darkness that threatens our world.

From his family home on the wave-lashed Irish coast, the resourceful lad launches an ingenious rescue mission accompanied by trusted bodyguard Domovoi Butler (Nonso Anozie) and his plucky 12-year-old niece, Juliet (Tarama Smart).

The ransom is a device called the Aculos, 'a weapon so powerful and mysterious, it can barely be imagined'.

To locate the otherworldly trinket, young Artemis places his trust in rookie elf officer Holly Short (Lara McDonnell) and dwarf Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad), who can tunnel at speed by furiously gobbling dirt and expelling it violently from his back side.

Artemis Fowl confidently combines ancient mysticism and high-tech modernity at a relentlessly brisk pace.

Meaty character development is sacrificed at the altar of slickly orchestrated spectacle, including temporally disrupted set pieces involving a rampaging troll.

Key events and protagonists from Colfer's books have been altered or excised to facilitate a trim running time, neatly setting up future instalments without substantial emotional investment from the audience.
Concert goers went to Britain's first drive-in music concert of the coronavirus lockdown last night where three bands performed to a sell-out crowd.

Guests brought their own alcohol and sat on the roofs of their cars to watch the local bands at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley near Southampton, Hampshire.

Sean McGowan, Me And The Moon, and Bash! performed to between 200 and 300 people in 80 cars.

Revellers took social-distancing measures at the concert, which is to be the first of many drive-in shows across the country during the lockdown.

Concert goers went to Britain's first drive-in music concert of the coronavirus lockdown last night at Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley near Southampton, Hampshire

Guests brought their own alcohol and sat on the roofs of their cars to watch the local bands whil obeying social distancing guidelines

Tom Chance, 31, from Bassett in Southampton, went with his wife Aeysha, 33, and their four-month-old baby, Sofia.

Tom Said: We fancied a night out and have been looking forward to getting out the house, and who knows, this is maybe the future of music venues going forward.

'It's a fantastic idea, with social distancing enforced.

'We do go to gigs and this is Sophia's first one and wasn't quite how we imagined it would work out, but we are here and its great.'

Sean McGowan, Me And The Moon, and Bash! performed to between 200 and 300 people in 80 cars

The concert was organised by SoundLevelEvents in four weeks with the support of Hampshire Constabulary and the local council.

George Rashbrook, of SoundLevel Events, said 'It went really really well tonight, it could not have gone better, everything from the audience to the weather to the music, its been absolutely perfect.

'We had people either in their cars, or just to the left of their cars so everyone was socially distant with their own little safe bubble. I cannot wait for our next one which is here in two weeks on 3rd of July and it will be 40 per car again.

'We have the same capacity of 80 cars and hoping after the success of tonight the council may re-do their risk assessment and allow us a few more, there is certainly the demand for it.'

Concert-goers stayed in their cars or stood to the left of them to ensure social distancing and safety amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic

The concert came after it was announced Dizzee Rascal, Kaiser Chiefs, Sigala and Jack Savoretti will all perform at a series of drive-in concerts this summer.

The programme will visit 12 venues, including Cheltenham Racecourse, Newmarket Racecourse, Leeds East Airport and the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.

Concerts are also planned in cities and towns including London, Liverpool, Bristol and Edinburgh between July and September.

Live Nation promoter Peter Taylor said: 'We look forward to announcing some of the biggest names across UK music and bringing these fantastic artists to a city near you.'
Kate Garraway broke her social media silence on Thursday, as she took time out to send fellow TV presenter Eamonn Holmes a brief but heartwarming message.

The Good Morning Britain co-host, 53, has stepped back from all platforms in recent weeks, as her husband Derek Draper remains critically ill while battling COVID-19.

However, when Eamonn, 60, took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter Rebecca's birthday, the star counted herself among the hundreds of well wishers.

Breaking her silence: Kate Garraway broke her social media silence on Thursday, amid her husband Derek Draper's ongoing COVID-19 battle. Pictured together in 2019

Uploading a snap of himself posing with his offspring, This Morning presenter Eamonn wrote: 'Many Happy Returns Darlin...

'It was a very Special day when Becca my daughter came into the World and every time I'm with her continues to be Special.'

Responding to the post, Kate kept her response short and sweet, adding a string of heart emojis to the comments section.

Kate's husband Derek, 52, has been in a comatose state in intensive care for the past 10 weeks, after contracting novel coronavirus.

Heartwarming: When Eamonn Holmes, 60, took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter Rebecca's birthday, TV star Kate counted herself among the hundreds of well wishers

Former lobbyist Derek is now free of COVID-19, but is suffering from serious residual complications.

Kate broke down in tears as she revealed Derek thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma during his 10-week battle with coronavirus.

The presenter became overcome with emotion during a recent instalment of GMB. as she admitted she 'doesn't know' if Derek can recover from the 'extraordinary damage' COVID-19 has inflicted on his body, and may be in a coma for a year.

Kate said: 'Well there will be tears, I'll try to keep them down, he's still with us, he has fought the most extraordinary battle, the fact that he's still here and holding on.

Brave: During a recent appearance on This Morning, Kate broke down in tears as she revealed critically-ill husband Derek thanked her for 'saving his life' before he slipped into a coma

'I am so grateful that he's still here, and I've got the option of praying while others have lost that.

'He's very, very sick and as time goes on, it's a virus, it's like a computer virus, the doctors manage one but there seems to be a flicker of hope and other things emerge and they're fighting that.

'It has affected him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

She added: 'He is now COVID-free, he has tested negative, the fight with the virus is over but it's wreaked extraordinary damage on his body and we don't know if he can recover from that.'

Kate spoke for the first time about Derek's initial admission to hospital in March, revealing the last thing he said to her before he was put in a medically-induced coma, was 'I love you, you saved my life.'

She said: 'In that first week it looked like he was rallying. But then he was very bad, he couldn't really speak to me, he could shout things to me on speakerphone.

'He was begging me, he said "I can't take this, I feel like I'm suffocating", he said "please let them put me in a coma" and they didn't want to do that. On Sunday they said "we're going to put him in a coma as overnight we think we have to do that."'

'He said: "I love you, I'm sorry I have to leave you, you've saved my life". I think he thought I had asked the doctors to put in him in a coma. He said "being married to you, the children, you saved my life".'

Derek has previously credited Kate for saving him from depression which started during his career as a political advisor and led to a nervous breakdown and a stint in The Priory in the late 1990s.

Kate and Derek have been married for 14 years, with the former lobbyist cheering his wife on for the duration of her stint on I'm A Celebrity last year.

Family first: The star has stepped back from her hosting duties since Derek fell seriously ill

Following her stint on I'm A Celebrity, the couple were planning to renew their vows in the coming months after Kate revealed Derek had proposed for a second time.

Kate went on to say Derek did not have any underlying health conditions and doctors were unable to explain why the virus had affected him in the way it had.

She said: 'He just got it very, very, very badly and we don't know why. When you speak to the doctors, there's so many things they tell you about to help you understand what he's going through.

'There's various markers that tell you how much infection is in his body when it was really raging.

'At one point, he was being transferred to a different hospital, there's an enzyme the liver produces which goes up when you're fighting infection, healthy it would be under 10, if it goes up to 200 then you're really sick.

'When Derek was admitted to the second hospital, he was 1286. He was off the scale with infection. His lungs were solid and nobody thought he'd live. So it's just extraordinary he's still here.

'I'm so proud of him and most of all, the doctors and nurses around him are just incredible. They're incredible with what they've done, with a disease they're learning about every day.'

Speaking about the start of Derek's illness, she said: 'Derek had a painful shoulder for a couple months, and had been taking medication and having scans

'He was due to have a steroid injection, he felt unwell and was home tutoring the kids. I got back and said 'you don't you look right babe, i think it's the painkillers.'

'I just had this weird feeling, asked if he had a cough. He didn't, he said 'I think I've got weird sinusitis.''

Support: She told co-host Ben Shephard, 'Well there will be tears, I'll try to keep them down, he's still with us, he has fought the most extraordinary battle, the fact that he's still here'

'I rang the doctor, I said 'you don't look great, no real feeling that it's COVID, he had none of those symptoms.'

'Around the 29/30 March, I came home came in and said "god you look ill". He said he had a headache, numbness in his right hand, and was struggling to breathe,

'I rang Dr Hilary (Jones) and tried to get through, he talked to Derek. He said put me back on, I think you need to call an ambulance. I said "I can't believe I'm calling an ambulance", I was very scared.'

'He said we need to take him to hospital straightaway, he didn't have a temperature, and I helped him down the stairs.

'He'd never been to hospital before, he never really gets ill and they put a mask on him to breathe.

REVEALED: HOW THE CRUEL LEGACY OF COVID MAY LAST A LIFETIME Covid-19 could leave survivors with debilitating illnesses that last for years, doctors have warned since the outbreak spiralled out of control. One leading medic called it 'this generation's polio' - a disease that killed thousands and left a generation with life-long mobility issues. Patients who spend weeks fighting for life in intensive care can suffer from long-term complications caused by permanent damage to their lungs and liver. Physiotherapists also warn patients can suffer a loss of mobility, if they are stuck on hospital wards for weeks, or endure flashbacks and emotional distress. But even patients who endure symptoms so mild they don't get admitted to hospital are plagued by fatigue, headaches and breathlessness that can linger for weeks. Several recent studies have highlighted proof Covid-19 causes fibrosis - scarring of the lung tissue that makes it harder for the organs to work. A research paper published in a Chinese journal in March said 'pulmonary fibrosis may be one of the major [long-term] complications in Covid-19 patients'. Evidence is also emerging that the virus may affect the brain, causing seizures and stroke, as well as harming the liver, kidneys, heart and blood vessels. A paper in the journal JAMA Cardiology in March reported one in five of 416 Covid-19 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China, had suffered heart damage. The heart problems are thought to occur as a result of the virus triggering a 'cytokine storm', where the immune system overreacts to the infection. Number 10's panel of leading scientists - SAGE - called for studies to investigate the lasting effects of the illness. Advertisement

'He said to the kids: 'You're the best children anyone could ask for, be good for mum, look after her and that was it. He went straight to intensive care.'

Kate said that doctors are navigating a field of uncertainty when it comes to Derek's prognosis, saying: 'They can't say he can't recover, they can't say he will recover. We don't know how long it will take

'Weeks and months, it could be up to a year, I am praying there will be progress before then.'

The star said the stark reality of Derek's illness had only just started to hit her in the last two weeks, crediting her career as a journalist for allowing her to deal with difficult situations in a calm manner.

She said: 'Very early on, I spoke to Piers [Morgan] and he said, 'Right, come on Garraway, you're a journalist this is the story of your life. You're focused on Derek, you've got to get all the information you can.'

Lovely surprise: The GMB host previously revealed the couple were set to renew their wedding vows after Derek popped the question again after she left the I'm A Celebrity jungle

'And that actually really helped because I thought 'I've got a job'. Because we're in free- fall. I've got a job - to fight for Derek, keep life safe for Darcey and Billy and that forced me into that 'Breaking news mode'.

'When something awful happens and you're on air, you need to not think about the emotion of it, you have to think about doing your job. I rode that for weeks and weeks and weeks.'

She added: 'Then two weeks ago, I crashed, because you can't stay like that forever. I have huge hope and massive positivity and I'll never give up on that, because Derek's the core of my life and our lives.

'But at the same time, I have absolute uncertainty, mum, dad sisters, and the doctors don't know because they've never seen this before.

'One doctor said this to me he is the worst affected person he's had to treat that's lived. This is an evil virus.'

Brave: Kate spoke for the first time about Derek's initial admission to hospital in March, revealing the last thing he said to her before he was put in a coma, was 'you saved my life'

'I don't want to scare people, Derek's situation is extremely rare, some of the damage he's got, hes only one of five people they have seen it in.

'I was praying, please don't let him die. We think of COVID as you live, mercifully, or die. More and more people are living but with completely unforeseen consequences.

'I can't thank all of the doctors and nurses who have been involved with this.'

'It is an absolute miracle he's still here. If I could just have one more and he could just make that next step....

Kate was inundated with support from fans who lauded her bravery for speaking openly about Derek's condition on television, with GMB host Susanna Reid, Laura Tobin, Lorraine Kelly and Georgia Toffolo tweeting in support of her.

Struggling: The GMB presenter, 53, has talked about how her children (pictured, Billy with sister Darcey, 14) are struggling while missing their father

Back in April it was revealed that Derek had been hospitalised with COVID-19 while Kate and their children isolated at home after she displayed 'mild symptoms.'

Just days before, the presenter voiced her fears on Good Morning Britain after meeting with Prince Charles before he tested positive for coronavirus.

She spoke about their encounter live on air, revealing that the pair had got 'relatively close' at the Prince's Trust Awards on March 11.

Kate's spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Kate's husband, Derek Draper, has been taken to hospital and is being treated in intensive care with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

'He was admitted on Monday and has since tested positive for the virus.

Hope: She said, 'He is now COVID free, he has tested negative, the fight with the virus is over but it's wreaked extraordinary damage on his body' (pictured December 2019)

'Kate, hasn't been tested, however she has also been displaying mild symptoms, also since Monday, and as a result has been on strict isolation with her children at home.'

Shortly after Kate met Prince Charles on March 11, GMB played footage of the two together.

The presenter pointed out: 'We're relatively close there, as indeed were all the other people that were involved in that.

Kate has kept followers updated throughout Derek's ongoing battle, taking part in the weekly Clap For Carers celebration honouring those on the frontline.

Kate recently revealed that their son Billy, 10, sleeps by his father's empty bed every night.

Heartfelt: Kate shared a video of herself clapping for the NHS on Thursday night where she said her family had an 'extra special reason' to clap for our carers

Billy is usually walked to school by Derek and misses him so much that he has made a fort on the former lobbyist's side of the bed.

Billy and Derek had been building a Lego Death Star from Star Wars and Billy has left it unfinished so the pair can continue when he is out of hospital.

Derek, a psychologist, was hospitalised at the end of March after becoming breathless.

Due to hospital hygiene rules surrounding coronavirus, his family haven't been able to visit him.

The family FaceTime him everyday in the hopes that he will still be able to hear what they're saying.

Although the doting father now doesn't have Covid-19, the illness seriously damaged his major organs.

Updates: Kate has taken to Instagram to update fans during the heartbreaking time

Kate and Derek are also parents to daughter Darcey, 14, who claims she is 'all Draper. There's no Garraway in me'.

Kate said: 'There are times when I can't bear to look around this house. It's full of things he's chosen, he's trapped at the moment, in a line between living and the uncertainty of recovery, and we're trapped with that uncertainty as well.'

Derek was initially taken into hospital without any other coronavirus symptoms, just breathlessness.

However, he then rapidly deteriorated and felt like he was suffocating all the time so doctors put him into a coma.

The couple were introduced to each other by their mutual friend Gloria de Piero, a former GMTV presenter and were married in 2005.

Family: The television star admitted at times she feels paralysed with fear, but vows to stay strong for their two children (pictured with Darcey and Billy last month)

Just before he was put into an induced coma Derek, told Kate on the phone: 'You have saved my life. I don't just mean now, I mean everything. Being married to you, and the children.'

Doctors stopped giving Derek the drugs that put him in the coma three weeks ago but he hasn't yet regained consciousness, although he does occasionally open his eyes.

Kate said she never imagined she would be told her husband may be trapped in a comatose permanently.

The Good Morning Britain host described it as the 'second level of loss', saying even if he doesn't die, if he doesn't wake up she will have lost him anyway.

The mother-of-two went on to explain how the virus has wreaked havoc on Derek's body.

She told how the illness 'attacked everything' before heartbreakingly admitting; 'we don't know if he can recover'.

Marriage: Kate and Derek have been married for 14 years (pictured in 2010 with their son Billy)

While he is able to breathe through a tracheotomy and the hope is everyday he will rely on the breathing support less, an MRI scan revealed he has holes in his heart, is on kidney dialysis, has a damaged liver and pancreas and is now diabetic, which he wasn't before.

Kate said doctors had been trying to pull Derek out of his comatose state for the past three weeks, but he hasn't managed to regain consciousness.

She went on to compare watching his battle to 'like spinning plates', adding that should Derek recover, they are looking at 'months of rehabilitation'.

The television star admitted at times she feels paralysed with fear, but vows to stay strong for their two children.

Further discussing Derek's progress, the star recalled shortly before her birthday on May 4th, Derek opened his eyes for the 'first time', with the presenter hopeful it was the beginning of his recovery.
The government on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis comments at an all-party meeting, called to discuss the situation along the India-China border, have been misinterpreted.

On Friday, PM Modi told an all-party meeting that there has been no intrusion into Indian territory.

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the all-party meeting yesterday. The Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the LAC. In fact, he specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC (unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain), read a statement from the Prime Ministers office (PMO).

After the PM categorically said on Friday that neither has anyone entered Indian territory, nor is anyone present in Indian territory currently, and nor is any Indian post captured, opposition parties had criticised the statement.

Twenty Indian soldiers died in the line of duty in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese troops on Monday.

The Congress party on Saturday said PM Modis concluding statements at the all-party meeting had contradicted the earlier statements made by the Army chief, the defence Minister and the foreign minister. The party asked if no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC, what was the reason for the face-off.

The government, however, rebutted the oppositions criticism and said that the all-party meeting was informed that this time Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate.

As regards transgression at the LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on June 15 arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions, the government said in a statement.

The statement went on to say that the PMs observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertain to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of the Armed Forces. The sacrifice of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment for the attempts of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.

The words of the PM,  those who try to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by the brave sons of soil, succinctly summed up the ethos and values of the Armed Forces, the statement read.

The union government said an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower the morale of the soldiers for defending the borders. What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This government is strongly and resolutely committed to that, it added.

Any unilateral change of the LAC will not be allowed, the government added.

The government further asserted that all parties extended support to the government and the forces.

The predominant sentiment at the meeting was of unequivocal support to the government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda, said the government.

The PM had assured the opposition parties that whether it is deployment, action or counter action Indian forces  be it on land, in the air or in water are doing everything to protect our borders. The infrastructure development in border areas has gained in pace over the past years, he said, adding it has strengthened our patrolling capacity.
Aviation industry workers are facing deep cuts to wages, benefits, and jobs worldwide, and although US workers are temporarily secure through September under the Paycheck Protection Plan, their future can be seen by looking at fate of an increasing amount of their international brothers and sisters at pandemic distressed aviation companies.

Chicago-based United Airlines is cutting the hours of its 2,500 catering workers, members of the Unite Here union, according to reports released Wednesday. Even though United received $4.8 billion from the CARES Act, the company reduced hours for caterers at Newark International Airport in New Jersey by 25 percent in late May, and also cut caterer hours the same amount at United facilities in Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, and Houston. The workers are low-wage earners, and the cuts will force them into dire financial circumstances. Unite Here has been seeking a contract with United, which is one of the only major airlines that doesnt utilize an outside catering contractor.

In a preemptive move, Alaska Airlines announced it was going to cut up to 3,000 of the companys 23,000 workers when the pay support program under the federal CARES act is depleted at the end of September. Alaska is one of the ten largest US airlines. It was founded as McGee Airways in 1932. The airlines operations are focused on the US and Pacific Northwest region, along with destinations across North and Central America. The companys home base is at the Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

Hawaiian Airlines, the tenth largest airline in the US, received $654 million in federal funds in April as part of the bailout of the airline industry. It has meanwhile been given permission to eliminate some of its flights. A report revealed Great Depression-era unemployment levels in Hawaii, which is heavily dependent on tourists, with an estimated 25 percent of jobs there linked to tourism.

Major US airlines including American, Delta, Southwest, and United have all seen severe downturns in the volume of travelers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The conditions in the travel industry are still very unstable, despite some media reports of a rebound. Some of the hype was doused when Delta announced June 5 that it was indefinitely curtailing service to 11 US cities including Erie, Pennsylvania, Flint, Michigan and Peoria, Illinois. In addition, Delta is retiring a number of its planes effective July 8, and ending service to Ottawa, Canada June 21. It expects to reduce its domestic and international schedule by 85 percent and 90 percent respectively in the second quarter of the year.

On Tuesday, some of the major airlines announced stricter enforcement of facemask requirements for passengers, which include banning those that refuse to wear masks from future flights. The Trump administration has failed to issue any national or industry-wide rules mandating the use of facemasks to protect travelers and crew members from COVID-19.

Other measures airlines have taken to raise cash include the selling of their planes to leasing companies, who then lease back the aircraft. Southwest sold 20 planes in May to raise $815 million.

Consumer Reports has received over 3,500 airline customer complaints with Southwest over flight cancellations, where the airline has refused to make a refund, so that the money can be used to bankroll their faltering operations. This has prompted the US Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, spouse of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to write letter to the airlines stating that in certain cases the department could theoretically force the airlines to give refunds. United and Hawaiian were noted to be strictest in not issuing refunds.

American and others have also attempted to sell junk bonds, but inadequate collateral was cited as the reason that Americans bond offer was withdrawn. This forced the airline to put forward a stake in its loyalty program, which is the industrys largest at $31.5 billion, in order to have credit extended through a consortium of banks.

In the first-quarter, American had reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.2 billion, but had received $5.8 billion in payroll support from the US CARES Act in April.

This past May 26, LATAM Airlines, based in Chile, with subsidiaries in the US, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan federal court to reorganize its business. The company had laid off 1,400 workers in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia this past May 15, and was the largest airline in South America with 42,000 employees.

After pulling down $10 billion in 2019 revenue, LATAM suspended operations this Wednesday at its Argentinean subsidiary, placing 1,715 employees on unpaid leave. Management blamed Argentinas travel ban for the indefinite closing of operations there. This Thursday LATAM announced that its Colombian operations temporarily suspended employment contracts.

While the global airline industry was flying with a tail wind of profits in 2019, it had been announced in September that Delta Air Lines had bought 20 percent stake of LATAM shares in a deal valued at $1.9 billion, which was seen as a blow aimed at its US rival American Airlines that enjoys greater access to region. American failed in its attempt to acquire LATAM as both American and Delta sought to expand and solidify their routes and position in Latin America. The complex bankruptcy does not yet involve LATAMs largest section in Brazil, or the Paraguay affiliate.

Colombias Avianca with 20,000 employees, the second largest airline in Latin America, had also filed for bankruptcy protection on May 10 in Manhattan federal court. Last year it was reported that United Airlines turned a 2018 loan of $456 million that was defaulted upon in May 2019 into a majority stake in Avianca. United loaned another $250 million to Avianca in November 2019 to shore up operations.

Irish carrier Aer Lingus workers face deep pay cuts of 70 percent in a plan the company unveiled and that will be put up for a ratification vote by the unions as part of the companys Covid Crisis recovery program. It was the state-owned airline of Ireland until the privatization process began in 2005. International Airlines Group (IAG) now owns the company, which is a product of the merger between British Airways and Iberia of Spain. The privatized British Airways is demanding an up to 60 percent wage cut from workers, or they will face massive layoffs of 12,000 of the 42,000 employees. British Airways is also demanding that the pay of those that remain be cut or streamlined as the company has termed it.

German airline Lufthansa has also announced cuts of some 22,000 workers across all sections of the company, which include Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. They are in talks with their Vereinigung Cockpit, Verdi, and UFO unions, and are asking that they pressure members to accept a cuts agreement by June 22.

Meanwhile, airline ground crews from gate staff to those that are fueling, loading, and unloading the planes face dangerous conditions, while at the same time often receiving minimal pay and benefits.

On the other end of the spectrum the wealthy are increasingly utilizing private airplanes to avoid the hazards of exposure to COVID-19 present on existing commercial aviation flights.
Birthmothers Betrayal (Lifetime at 8) After Tara finds her birth mother Grace on a DNA website, her adoptive mother Amy struggles to protect Tara as Grace shows erratic love for Tara, and toxic hatred toward Amy.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday a UN Human Rights Council vote condemning racism amounted to hypocrisy.

The councils decision to vote yesterday on a resolution focusing on policing and race in the US marks a new low, Pompeo said in a statement.

The council took the vote after a debate prompted by protests in the US triggered by the death at police hands of African American George Floyd.

However, a specific mention of racism and police brutality in the US was removed.

This sparked outrage from rights groups, which accused Washington and its allies of lobbying heavily to revise the text -- a charge to which the US mission in Geneva declined to respond.

The United States, which had complained of being singled out in the initial text, withdrew from the council in 2018 and was not present on Friday.

In his statement Saturday, titled On the Hypocrisy of UN Human Rights Council, Pompeo said discussion in the US about race following the death of Floyd is a sign of our democracys strength and maturity.

If the Council were serious about protecting human rights, there are plenty of legitimate needs for its attention, such as the systemic racial disparities in places like Cuba, China and Iran, he said.

If the Council were honest, it would recognize the strengths of American democracy and urge authoritarian regimes around the world to model American democracy and to hold their nations to the same high standards of accountability and transparency that we Americans apply to ourselves, Pompeo added.
A man riding a stolen motorcycle was killed Thursday in a fiery crash on Tucson's south side, police said.

Donald L. Gibson, 41, died at the scene of the single-vehicle accident on South 13th Avenue near West Dakota Drive, the Tucson Police Department said in a news release Friday.

The news release did not say whether Gibson was wearing a helmet.

Police said officers were flagged down by a bystander around 5 p.m. June 18. They found the motorcycle "fully engulfed in flames," and paramedics were unable to revive the driver.

Witness accounts and roadway evidenced showed Gibson was speeding and lost control of the bike, crashing it into the pavement before flames broke out, police said.

Detectives later learned the motorcycle, a red 2017 Honda CBR1000, had been reported stolen.
Thirty-two hundred auto parts workers in Matamoros, Mexico, employed by Tridonex Cardone, carried out a wildcat strike on Friday morning in response to the deaths of two co-workers, suspected of being caused by COVID-19. The strikers demanded more information and the closing of the facilities until conditions are safe.

Striking workers on June 19 [Credit: Estrada Mendez Pita]

As soon as news broke that Luciano Romero Contreras, a 48-year-old janitor at Plant 52, had passed away the previous day, workers there downed their tools and began discussions at the facility and on social media. Amid deep sadness and indignation, with workers taking to social media to describe Romero as a beautiful person, a great friend and a comrade, suspicions grew that he might have died from COVID-19.

Some who knew him confirmed the death and explained that he had preexisting kidney issues, but the death seemed too sudden. One co-worker noted that Romero had worked during the brief shutdown of the plant in April.

Workers at plant 52 then made calls to those at the other two Tridonex plants, 53 and 60, to join their strike. As of this writing, reports by workers indicate that all three plants stopped entirely for a few hours and that workers at plant 53 had walked out and gone home.

At plant 53, a co-worker named Miguel Angel also died in recent days. According to social media posts, Angel was in his thirties. Workers at all three plants denounced numerous suspected cases of COVID-19 infection of workers, some of whom are being forced to work with symptoms and without getting tested.

Tridonex workers walk out on June 19 [Credit: Rouss Villa]

One former Tridonex worker explained to the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter that Miguel Angel, who was nicknamed Troll, was my co-worker for more than 13 years and he did die from COVID. Many people in that area have gotten sick of COVID. On Monday, many got tested, but, as of today, Friday, most have not received any results.

[Miguel Angel] spent more than two weeks with symptoms and would only get a pill and get sent back to work. What is bad is that many of the workers dealt with him without knowing. This morning, they struck because only the bosses were sent home to rest and they were forgotten about.

Yes, the three plants [stopped], because they are seeing how things are, confirmed Miguel, a parts worker, on social media. They [management] dont care about us, even though they claim to be concerned for our families. Those are lies. They only care enough to treat us like animals. They dont think that we can infect our families, take the virus to other places. Do they really think that checking our temperature once in the morning and the little bit of hand sanitizer [they provide] will protect us?

Workers strike at plant 6

Several workers at plant 53 report that management has offered money to those infected to keep quiet. We are the ones risking our lives, but at the plant we are just a number, said one worker. Another commented, The company will never care about your life. They only care about money and a good standing with their boss, but we care about our families.

Tridonex was one of the many corporations that exploited the vague language used in the March 31 federal order closing nonessential production to continue production throughout the pandemic. On April 1, it issued a notice claiming, The published agreement does not obligate suspending operations.

On April 2, however, a wildcat strike compelled the corporation to shut down and pay 100 percent of workers wages. But management reopened the plants on April 13, less than two weeks later, offering volunteer workers a 20 percent bonus. The federal government gave unequivocal permission for the sector and company to restart operations on June 1, defining it as essential.

Then, on June 15, the company began a gradual return of workers belonging to vulnerable populations, and now workers report that the plants have been operating above full capacity.

A worker wrote during the strike Friday: I was feeling sick yesterday in relation to my diabetes. I went to the infirmary and she gave me an aspirin. She didnt even check me and I simply kept feeling equally sick. Another comment reads: You force us vulnerable people to work here as if there was nothing going on.

Workers in wildcat strike at Tridonex on June 19 [Credit: Yuridia Baeza]

Tridonex, which belongs to the auto parts multinational Cardone Industries based in Philadelphia, has ruthlessly sought to crush all signs of opposition, working in coordination with the trade unions and local, state and federal authorities. After workers joined a wave of wildcat strikes involving tens of thousands across Matamoros between January and April of last year, Tridonex carried out reprisals, firing over 250 of the most militant workers. Workers were constantly harassed and even physically assaulted by union thugs and the Tamaulipas state police.

In these struggles, workers demanded the right to leave the corrupt trade union associated with the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), and a large share has already switched to the National Independent Union for Industry and Service Workers (SNITIS), which claims to be democratic.

Last week, in an effort to terrorize workers, the Tamaulipas state authorities arrested the lawyer and founder of SNITIS, Susana Prieto Terrazas. Prosecutors charged her with inciting riots, citing a protest led by Tridonex workers outside the local labor court in March. During the strike Friday, many workers advanced the demand for Prietos release.

The WSWS has insisted, despite its differences with Prieto, that workers must fight for her release in opposition to the ruling classs attacks on democratic rights, which are ultimately aimed against the working class itself.

However, workers must draw urgent conclusions about the role played by those claiming to be their friends and representatives. Far from organizing a struggle across plants in Matamoros and across maquiladoras in the border region, the SNITIS has insisted that workers place their hopes in the capitalist government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which has unconditionally defended the profit interests of the corporations.

In the days prior to the reopening on June 1, Prieto insisted that the reopening is the law. She wrote on March 28: Tridonex has become essential. It returns on June 1!

When a worker wrote to her, I dont think Tridonex is essential, Prieto washed her hands of the matter, declaring, It is not. It was declared as such on May 15. Complain to the president. As recently as Thursday, SNITIS released a statement directed to Tridonex workers indicating that nothing more can be done than pressuring the Labor Ministry to do its job.

At the same time, Prieto and her supporters have based their struggle for her liberation on appeals to Lopez Obrador and the Labor Ministry, appeals that have fallen on deaf ears.

With cases growing unabated across Mexico, which saw a record 5,662 new cases on Thursday, President Lopez Obrador has called on the population this week to abandon their fears and go out to enjoy the sky, the sun and fresh air.

Such statements demonstrate that his administration has abandoned all efforts to contain the pandemic, while the entire trade union bureaucracyfrom the openly right-wing CTM and the independent trade unionsare working to cover up this basic reality.

On the other hand, over the last year workers at Tridonex and across Matamoros have demonstrated enormous bravery and initiative in the struggle to defend their social and democratic rights. This included the formation of incipient rank-and-file committees to organize the strikes in 2019, as well as appeals to US and Canadian workers for an international struggle against the transnational corporations.

Today, workers must reestablish and consolidate such committeesindependently of all the pro-capitalist trade unions and politiciansand expand their efforts to unite their struggles across borders.
Kanu Sarda By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Delhi government to explain about the utilisation of Rs 60 crore deposited as a fine by the Ansal Brothers in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case, for setting up a trauma centre in Dwarka.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said a fund of around Rs 60 crore was disbursed by the Ansal Brothers in the Uphaar fire tragedy case, and it was meant to set up a trauma centre.

What happened to that? There is already one. If that is not set up then we can see what to do with the funds, noted the bench. The bench observed that the existing trauma centre has served theCOVID-19 patients very well, and quizzed the AAP government counsel why it has not utilised the Rs 60 crore.

The court also came down heavily on the government over filing the affidavit and trying to portray an image that everything is good in the state and said,



The affidavit tries to give an impression to the court that everything in the government hospital in NCT, Delhi is well and all steps are being taken by the government of NCT of Delhi. When the government does not endeavour to know any shortcomings or lapses in its hospitals and patient care, the chances of remedial action and improvement becomes dim. Every organisation, every individual should be more than ready to know about shortcomings, lapses and it is only after knowing ones shortcomings and deficiencies, remedial actions can be taken.
Iraq Doesn't Want Quick Withdrawal of US Troops, US General Claims

Sputnik News

12:54 GMT 19.06.2020

At the beginning of the year the Iraqi parliament voted in favour of a plan that would end the US military presence in the country. The vote came in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in the capital Baghdad. The move received harsh condemnation from the international community.

Iraq doesn't want a quick withdrawal of US troops, said General Kenneth F McKenzie, head of United States Central Command, which oversees US operations in Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The statement was made on 18 June during an online seminar organised by the Aspen Security Forum. General McKenzie said that Baghdad has no appetite for the hasty withdrawal of US forces. "They know that we provide very good support for them during ongoing military operation against Daesh*", McKenzie said.

At the same time, the general reassured that Washington has nothing against reducing its military presence in Iraq. "Yes, I think we will reduce our military presence, we want that. As Iraqi forces start to feel comfortable conducting military operations [against the Daesh militants ] we can start cutting the number of troops. It [the Iraqi army] needs to be good enough to contribute to the stability and security of IraqAnd in my judgment [Iraq] is making huge strides toward there", General McKenzie said adding that he doesn't know how many troops will be withdrawn.

Commenting on a withdrawal of US troops from Syria, the general said he hasn't received any orders from the White House and stressed that the US presence in Syria is a political issue and not a military one. "I don't know when and under what circumstances troops will be withdrawn from there", McKenzie said.

In addition, the general commented on the situation in Afghanistan, where American forces have been fighting against the Taliban since 2001. In February, both sides signed an agreement, which will see Washington withdraw all of its troops from the country within 14 months if the Taliban group upholds the deal. McKenzie said the US has reduced the number of troops to 8,600 as was agreed upon in February.

After completely withdrawing its troops from Iraq in 2011 following the invasion of the country, that saw the demise of Saddam Hussein's government, the US returned to the country in 2014 to help the country drive out the Daesh terrorist group, which seized control of several key cities in Iraq as well as Syria. Calls for the withdrawal of American troops started following the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani during a drone strike in the capital Baghdad. After the incident, the country's parliament voted in favour of a plan that would end the US presence in the country. Both sides have recently held talks on the issue during which Washington agreed to withdraw its forces, but failed to mention a timeline.

*Daesh (aka Islamic state/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

A Sputnik

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To the Editor:

On World Refugee Day 2020, Im thankful for the resettled refugees in my community who, in response to this global health crisis, model in word and deed what it means to care for neighbors, communities, cities and networks of families and friends around the world. At the North Side Learning Center in Syracuse, where I work with new Americans from dozens of countries, refugee-led coronavirus response teams translate public health messages across home languages; distribute food and essential healthcare supplies to hundreds; support transitions to online education, work, and civic life; and join protesters in the streets calling for justice and an end to systemic racism and police brutality.

My friend Hussein Yerow, who moved from one of the worlds largest refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, to Syracuse when he was 19, spends his lockdown days delivering groceries, transporting neighbors to doctors appointments, and helping them navigate the structures of local and national bureaucracies. Another friend, Khadija Mohamed, a first-year Somali-American college student, recently stood before a crowd of over 2,000 Black Lives Matter protesters to tell the black children in her community that they have magic melanin that radiates as they get older; that they are descended from greatness. Kings and queens; that honey rolls off their tongues and rhythm dances at their feet.

These are the leaders I look to in this time of great uncertainty and social churn. This is how to attend to the most vulnerable in our communities in and out of crisis. On this World Refugee Day, I celebrate the resourcefulness, strength and responsiveness of the resettled refugees in my community who show me daily what civic responsibility looks like.

Brice Nordquist

Syracuse

The writer is Associate Professor of Writing & Rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.
Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said that national carrier Air India is a first-class asset for the country, whether leading from the front in evacuating stranded Indians from Chinas Wuhan or successfully carrying out the Vande Bharat Mission.

I have never been as hopeful and confident on Air India, divestment or disinvestment whatever you choose, as I am now. Air India is a first-class asset. Whether it is for evacuation of people from Wuhan or elsewhere, Air India has been at the heart of it, the civil aviation minister said.

Increasing debt and mounting losses has made the national carriers financial position shaky with the government planning to sell its entire stake in Air India Ltd. The government had earlier this year, in January, announced the stake sale in the debt-ridden airline after an attempt to auction a majority stake almost two years ago failed to draw any bids.

ALSO READ| Decision to resume international flights depends on other countries: Aviation Minister

Air India and Air India Express are a great entity. They have lucrative slots and bilateral rights. The average age of the aircraft is eight years which in civil aviation terms means a young fleet, Puri had said earlier.

Air India and Air India Express have nearly 51% share of international traffic from India and their employee cost is significantly lower than other international airlines. However, despite the government infusing aid to the tune of Rs 30,500 crore previously, the cash-strapped airline has been incurring losses.

More recently, the aviation sector has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown imposed by the Centre to curb the spread of the infectious disease. After being suspended for almost two months from the end of March, the government resumed domestic flights from May 25, but placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration. These limits are likely to be in place for a period of three months, the government had announced.

The civil aviation minister said the government is planning to add more flights as part of the Vande Bharat Mission in the 3rd and 4th phase to bring back more Indian nationals possibly stranded abroad. Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal also indicated that in phase 4 of the Vande Bharat Mission from July onwards, the airline will have 650 flights. We are tuning our schedule as per the demand, Bansal said.

The minister on Saturday expressed hope of resuming domestic flights to full capacity by the end of 2020.
The Jharkhand government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centres decision to auction coal blocks for commercial mining, chief minister Hemant Soren said on Saturday.

The chief minister said they had requested the Centre to put the exercise on hold in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, but now they have decided to explore legal options as they did not get any adequate response from the Union government.

Soren told reporters that the state government has moved the apex court as it is a huge policy decision and there was a need to take into confidence the respective state governments.

Mining has always been a contentious issue in the state. After a long time, a new process is being adopted, which will reinstate the system out of which we came out. Even in the existing system, the locals, landowners could not get their rightful entitlements. There are several issues related to land and displacement in the state, Soren said.

Several trade unions are out on the streets against the decision. We had requested the Centre not to take any decision in haste. But since we did not get any response to show that the process put in place is transparent and in the interest of the state, we decided to move SC, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the auction of 41 coal blocks under the new regime, under which private miners would be sharing revenues with the government.

The blocks are located across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra.

Soren said the union government should have got a fair assessment of adverse social and environmental impact conducted in the state before implementing the new policy.

It seems the Centre is doing this in haste. It is difficult to understand as the entire world is under lockdown. The Centre is expecting foreign investment, but there are several issues including curbs on foreign travel now. Currently, the demand is also low as many industries are shut. So, I dont find this process of any help now, Soren added.

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With just a day to the New Patriotic Party parliamentary elections, one of the candidates that the majority of people within the Creative Arts sector look up to winning is the former president of Musicians Union of Ghana, Bice Osei Kuffour popularly known as Obour.

Obour has contributed immensely to the Ghanaian Creative Arts industry both as a musician and former president of MUSIGA.

Even though I believe he is a fine young determined candidate who could help his constituency grow as well as the creative arts also benefiting from him being in parliament, we have lined up a few things we think will block his chances of going to parliament.

Number one on the list is power of incumbent.The incumbent always and mostly have power over the upcoming candidates in most delegate elections.

The number of people contesting the incumbent. In a struggle for change, synergy is very important. It would have been easier if the other aspirants aside the incumbent, joined forces with Obour since he seems stronger than them. Their energies and resources put together would have made overthrowing the incumbent easier whilst they strike an agreement on how to compensate each others political ambitions.

Another issue is the excessive Media on the part of Obour. Though it is good to use the media to campaign for votes, delegate elections have different dynamics and lesser impact on the delegates because it is almost strictly local. Anyone who centers his campaign strength on the media during delegate elections is very likely to fail.

Campaign Promises by Obour campaign promises made by Obour looks unrealistic. He is said to be  making outrageous promises without any clear indications and steps of achieving it.

Last but not the least, incumbents suspicious silence. The incumbent has remained silent most especially in the media even though there have been lots of shades thrown at him from his other opponents. As if to say silence is golden, Hon Kwaku Asante-Boateng is rumored to be working on the grounds and has decided not to engage in media battles.

In all, I wish him well

Mustapha Nii Okai Inusah

[email protected]
The construction output growth for this year in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has been revised to -2.2% (down from -1.4% previously) even as the sector expects further cuts mainly due to the impact from Covid-19 and low oil prices, according to GlobalData, thus reflecting the disruption caused by the spread of Covid-19 and the weaker economic outlook.



The immediate business impact of preventative measures against the coronavirus pandemic has hit the commercial sector hard.



When businesses reopen and restrictions on movement are eased more during the third quarter, demand is only expected to rebound marginally and the recovery in spending will be contingent on confidence picking up, according to GlobalData.



The lockdown is also likely to lead to long-lasting changes in consumer behaviour and shape future investments in the sector, it added.



Yasmine Ghozzi, the economist at GlobalData, said: "Despite oil exporting countries efforts to shore up oil price to slightly compensate for the loss of revenue, the collapse in tourism is likely to reduce GDP by 3 per cent in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia and remittances from oil rich Gulf and Europe."



"The decline in company earnings and government revenue will ensure that planned investments will be curtailed in the coming quarters," she cautioned.



The immediate business impact of preventative measures against Covid-19 has hit the commercial sector hard. When businesses reopen and restrictions on movement are eased more during the third quarter, demand is only expected to rebound marginally and the recovery in spending will be contingent on confidence picking up.



The lockdown is also likely to lead to long-lasting changes in consumer behavior and shape future investments in the sector.



"Providing some scope for further gains in oil prices, Opec + has agreed to cut output by 9.6 million barrels a day from July," remarked Ghozzi.



"Any member that does not comply with 100 per cent of its curbs in May and June will make extra cuts from July to September to compensate. Following the announcement, Brent crude has risen, and is more than doubled the level in late April," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
(Photo : REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson) Seyum Belete, center, holds a "Black Lives Matter" sign during a Juneteenth Freedom March for Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in Texas, two years after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves elsewhere in the United States, in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 19, 2020.

The Department of Homeland Security deployed helicopters, aircraft, and drones in over 15 cities where demonstrators gathered during the Black Lives Matter protests, Customs and Border Protection recently reported.

The deployed aircrafts logged at least 270 hours of surveillance--more than previously reported--which was broadcast live in a Customs and Border Protection control room.

Black Lives Matter marches have unfolded around the US and around the world as people rally for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery's recent deaths, and against institutional racism.

Also Read: Hoaxes and Misleading Posts about the Nationwide George Floyd Protests Spread Online

Did Homeland Securities drones violate BLM demonstrators' privacy rights?

The department's dispatch of unmanned aircraft over last month's protests in Minneapolis sparked a congressional inquiry and widespread accusations that the federal agency violated demonstrators' privacy rights.

However, that was only one piece of a nationwide operation that usually used resources to patrol the US border for smugglers and illegal crossings. Aircraft filmed demonstrations in Dayton, Ohio; New York City; Buffalo and Philadelphia; and sent real-time video footage to control centers run by Air and Marine Operations, a Customs and Border Protection branch.

Border Patrol used Predator drones in Minneapolis--where riots kicked off after unarmed Black man George Floyd died while in Minneapolis police custody--and Del Rio, Texas. The drones had no capacity for facial recognition and were not armed. An ICE agent asked them to do so, according to the Times report.

The revelations came amid a fierce national debate about police tactics. The Times report added the role of federal law enforcement and military forces in controlling or monitoring protests.

The clearing for a presidential photo-op of Lafayette Park demonstrators in Washington is still under scrutiny. The inspector general of the Air Force is investigating this month in Washington and Minneapolis if the military misused a reconnaissance plane to track peaceful demonstrators.

Also Read: Are We Prepared for Drones Being Used for Terrorist Attacks? Researchers Don't Think So!

Drones are used for situational purposes only--CBP

Renewed calls for the demilitarization of police work have come not only from criminal justice advocates but also from former Republican Homeland Security officials, including Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge.

Customs and Border Protection base officials dismissed any suggestion that their aircraft fleet had been misused to either breach privacy rights or to harass demonstrators.

In a statement on May 29, Border Patrol explained the aircraft gave situational awareness, maximized public safety and minimized the threat to personnel and assets.

Around 35 Democrats in Congress asked Border Patrol, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the National Guard Bureau, to permanently cease monitoring peaceful protests. They claimed CBP had been using Predator drones to collect live video protest feeds.

Monitoring these protests infringes the right to protest in the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, which is designed to protect Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures, Congress members said.

The FBI has said it does not monitor First Amendment-protected activity. Instead, it "focused on identifying, investigating, and disrupting individuals who incite violence and engage in criminal activity."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Kangana Ranauts next, Tejas has already evoked a lot of curiosity among people across the country ever since the first look of the much-awaited film was unveiled on social media in February, this year.

 RSVP movies

In the poster, Kangana looks phenomenal against the backdrop of a fighter jet, with her hair tied in a bun, wearing an Air Force pilot's uniform and donning a pair of cool sunglasses.



Kangana Ranaut starrer Tejas has been produced by Ronnie Screwvala under his banner RSVP and marks the directorial debut of Sarvesh Mewara. And here are five interesting things about the film that have us excited for the much-awaited film:

Kanganas awe-inspiring role

Her on-screen characters are as dynamic as her off-screen personality. She comes across as a bold person with raw and unflinching courage to speak out her mind and that truly reflects in her characters on-screen too. She has never been afraid to try out different kinds of roles and Tejas is one such film, where we will see her essaying the role of a fierce Air Force pilot.

For all the brave hearted and strong headed women in Uniform who make sacrifices for our nation day in and day out .

Kangana to play an airforce pilot in her next , titled - TEJAS#KanganaRanaut @RonnieScrewvala #SarveshMewara @nonabains @rsvpmovies #Tejas pic.twitter.com/m4qHNJufAL  Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 17, 2020

Not a sequel to Uri: The Surgical Strike

 RSVP Movies

Speculations were rife that Tejas is the sequel to Vicky Kaushal's blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike. However, producer Ronnie Screwvala recently cleared the air about the film not being a sequel to Uri: The Surgical Strike and he told Mumbai Mirror, We wanted to make a film on the army so Uri happened. Tejas is not a sequel to Uri, because that was a true story and this isnt, but it is on the same lines and on the same scale.



Gripping storyline

Interestingly, the film tries to highlight the fact that both men and women equally contribute to serving the nation with utmost fervour and we should acknowledge both. The Indian Air Force was the first of the country's defence forces to induct women into combat roles in 2016. And Kanganas Tejas takes inspiration from this landmark event. And this is just one of the reasons why it's a must-watch in our books.

Kanganas prep for her role

The nationwide coronavirus lockdown is playing a spoilsport in the films making. Basically, according to reports, Kangana was to begin filming Tejas in July, but the schedule might be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Twitter/@KanganaDaily

In March, her sister and manager Rangoli Chandel said that she was working to shed 20kg of weight which she had put on for her role in Thalaivi, which is the story about the life of J. Jayalalithaa, late politician and film actress who served six terms as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.



Trivia about Tejas

 PTI

Designed by Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Tejas is a fighter plane for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. It is the smallest and lightest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft, as mentioned on the government website of Tejas.



Earlier in one of the media interviews with Firstpost, Kangana had said, Very often the sacrifices made by our brave women in uniform go unnoticed by the nation. Tejas is a film where I have the honour of playing the role of one such Air Force pilot that puts country before self.

I hope we instil a sense of patriotism and pride in the youth of today with this film. I am looking forward to the journey with Sarvesh and Ronnie on this one, she added.

The film was initially scheduled to be released in April 2021. And we are still waiting for more details on the same.
A mannequin found hanging from an overpass in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 20, 2020. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

Apparent Mock Lynching of Police Officer Uncovered in Florida

A dummy dressed in a police uniform was found hanging from an overpass in Florida Saturday morning in whats being described as an apparent mock lynching.

Calling what happened extremely disturbing, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said officials believe the incident was depicting the mock lynching of the mannequin, which was dressed in black pants and a blue shirt with a badge.

Both the tactics and props used were a deliberate attempt to exasperate an anti-police sentiment and drive a divide in our community, Williams said in a statement.

The people who hung the dummy want to undermine efforts to keep Jacksonville safe, the sheriff asserted.

Too many good citizens are working with us to keep our community safe through active partnerships, and frank conversations about the challenges we all face, he continued, adding, This type of act will not be tolerated by our agency or our community, and we will work together to hold those responsible accountable.

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department told The Epoch Times that first responders went to I-95 and 295 near Zoo Parkway on Saturday morning but declined to give more details.

Law enforcement officials said officers received a report of a potential suicide by hanging around 6:20 a.m. When officers arrived, they found it was actually a mannequin dressed in an NYPD uniform with a pig mask.

Detectives were processing the crime scene and processing the mannequin for DNA in an effort to identify persons of interest.

Anyone with information was asked to call the sheriffs office at 904-630-0500 or via email at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
Photo: The Canadian Press Gov. Kevin Stitt, left, arrives at the Cox Business Center in downtown Tulsa, Okla., ahead of a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at the BOK Center on Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Matt Barnard/Tulsa World via AP)

President Donald Trump's campaign says six staff members helping set up for his Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have tested positive for coronavirus.

The campaign's communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said in a statement that quarantine procedures were immediately initiated and no staff member who tested positive would attend the event. He said no one who had immediate contact with those staffers would attend, either.

Murtaugh said campaign staff members are tested for COVID-19 as part of the campaign's safety protocols.

Campaign officials say everyone who is attending the rally will be given temperature checks before they pass through security. They will also be given masks to wear, if they want, and hand sanitizer at the 19,000-seat BOK Center.

The rally was expected to be the largest indoor gathering in the world during the pandemic.

Tulsa has seen cases of COVID-19 spike in the past week, and the local health department director asked that the rally be postponed. But Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said it would be safe. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday denied a request that everyone attending the indoor rally wear a mask, and few in the crowd outside Saturday were wearing them.
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Linkedin Nina Larson (Agence France-Presse) Geneva  Sat, June 20, 2020 15:50 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40660500b6 2 World United-Nations,UN-Human-Rights-Council,Racism,#BlackLivesMatter,George-Floyd Free

The UN's top human rights body on Friday condemned discriminatory police brutality and demanded a report on "systemic racism", but rights groups accused Washington of wielding pressure to strip out any mention of the United States in the resolution.

The UN Human Rights Council's 47 members approved by consensus a revised resolution, which was presented by African countries for an urgent council debate, called following the death of George Floyd in US police custody.

Floyd's killing on May 25, after a white Minneapolis police officer -- since charged with murder -- pressed a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, fuelled a national and global uproar over racism and police brutality.

An initially strongly-worded text proposed earlier this week had called for a high-level international investigation into police violence against people of African descent in the United States.

But it was watered down in recent days, first to remove the call for an international probe, and finally to strip away any mention of the United States.

This sparked outrage from rights groups, which accused Washington and its allies of lobbying heavily to revise the text -- a charge that the US mission in Geneva declined to respond to.

Burkina Faso's ambassador, who presented the resolution on behalf of African states, acknowledged Friday that "numerous concessions" had been made to "guarantee a consensus" on the text.

Read also: At UN forum, Indonesia calls for greater action against racism as issues persist at home

'Excessive force'

The approved resolution calls for UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet to "prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies".

It adds that the report should especially pay attention to "those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and of people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims".

It also calls on Bachelet to examine government responses to "peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists".

The United States, which had complained of being singled out in the initial text, withdrew from the council in 2018 and was not present on Friday.

But a number of its allies took the floor to hail the changes made to the text, stressing that racism was a global issue.

Australia's representative, for instance, celebrated the "acknowledgement that this problem does not belong to any one country. It is a problem around the world".

'Turning its back on victims'

Rights groups, however, slammed the revision.

"By bullying other countries to water down what would have been an historic resolution and exempting itself from international investigation, the United States is yet again turning its back on victims of police violence, and black people," said Jamil Dakwar, head of the American Civil Liberties Union's human rights division.

He said it was "absurd" for the text not to mention the US, "where police kill people, particularly black people, at alarmingly higher rates compared to other developed countries."

Salma El Hosseiny of the International Service for Human Rights said many delegations from Europe and Latin America especially had worked to ensure the US mention was removed from the text, charging that they had helped "subvert the debate into an 'all lives matter' discussion.

Human Rights Watch's Geneva director John Fisher meanwhile insisted that "the efforts of the US to avoid council attention only highlights why such scrutiny is needed, and how far there is still to go to dismantle the pernicious structures of institutionaliZed racism."

He celebrated meanwhile that the resolution "opens the door to bring increased international attention to violations both by the US and other powerful states in future."

The urgent UN debate began Wednesday with an impassioned speech via video link by Floyd's brother Philonise, who said his brother had been "tortured to death" as witnesses begged the officer to stop.

He urged the council to establish an independent international commission of inquiry -- one of the UN's highest-level probes -- as called for in the initial version of the draft resolution.

While there will be no international probe into the situation in the United States, Bachelet has been called upon to present her report on "systemic racism" globally in a year's time.
Saskatchewan's two national parks are preparing for visitors after the federal government announced camping will be allowed in national parks for Canadians who have made site reservations already.

Scott Whiting, a Parks Canada external relations manager, says Grasslands National Park  which lies just north of the Montana border  is looking forward to welcoming campers again.

"We recognize that being out in nature has a lot of important physical and mental health benefits, and going outdoors is a great way to maintain that health and wellness," he said.

"And we know that everybody is eager right now to be able to get outside. And so, to help Canadians gain access to those benefits that come from being outdoors, Grasslands National Park is going to gradually start resuming camping services."

According to Whiting, while camping at Grasslands will only be available as of June 29th, people will be able to make new camping reservations for the national park using the Parks Canada Reservation Service online as of June 23rd.

Exploring nature close to home

Many Saskatchewan residents have had their summer vacation plans scuttled this year due to pandemic-related closures and cancellations. But Parks Canada external relations manager Carla Flaman, who works with Prince Albert National Park, says families can take this opportunity to get to know some of the natural delights in their own province.

"We are delighted to welcome people to Prince Albert National Park," she said. "A number of facilities have already opened in the park, such trail roads, day use areas, beaches and lakes for boating, fishing and non-motorized use. But camping is a big part of that great Canadian family summer experience."

While travel between provinces is permitted, Whiting believes Saskatchewan residents who are staying close to home can safely take advantage of their access to campgrounds close by.

"We're hoping that people will begin to explore those national parks and national historic sites that are in their own backyards, in their own regions," he said. "We are asking people to be cautious and conservative in their use of our places, and to observe travel restrictions and public health guidance. But people are now able to come out and explore these places."

Story continues

Staying healthy in campgrounds

Campers who head out to the national parks as early as next week will see some differences from what they are used to, including more visible instructions on how to stay healthy.

"People will see new signs in campgrounds and common places  reminding them to follow those public health recommendations," said Whiting. "Things like physical distancing, hand-washing protocols  things like that."

Parks Canada Agency

And visitors are reminded to practise physical distancing with wildlife as well as with humans.

"People should always be mindful of their surroundings," said Flaman. "Give wildlife the space it needs  which is about 30 metres, or two bus lengths  and give other people the space they need, too."

Plan for self-sufficiency

While the national parks will be reopening for campers, not all services will be available at this point in time. In particular, shared supplies and facilities that bring campers in close proximity to one another will be limited.

"People coming to camp overnight should be prepared with their own cooking equipment and cleaning supplies," Whiting said. "They should be prepared to be self-sufficient and pack extra hygiene supplies like hand sanitizer and baby wipes."

And while some of the usual amenities will not be available this year, Flaman encouraged visitors to approach their camping experience with a sense of adventure.

"I would encourage everyone to bring their curiosity," she said. "We have numerous trails, lakes and beaches to explore, and lots of very accessible kinds of wilderness opportunities.

As reopening continues, Whiting said the most up-to-date information for campers will be found on each national park's website.
The Congress on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has anyone captured its posts, with Rahul Gandhi accusing Modi of having 'surrendered' Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an all party meeting to discuss the situation along the India-China border via video conferencing in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo

'(The) PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: Why were our soldiers killed? Where were they killed,' he asked on Twitter, tagging the prime minister's remark.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, 'At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured.'

A host of senior Congress leaders have hit out at the prime minister, asking if there is no intrusion what is the fuss about and why flag meetings for de-escalation of borders are being held.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a conversation with his China counterpart conveyed that the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan Valley on "our side of the LAC".

'While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo,' the External Affairs Ministry statement had said.

Former Union minister P Chidambaram said, '(The) PM said there is no foreigner (meaning Chinese) in Indian territory. If this is true, what was the fuss about May 5-6? Why was there a fight between troops on June 16-17? Why did India lose 20 lives?'

'If there was no intrusion or violation of LAC, why was there so much talk about 'disengagement' of troops by both sides?

'Has (the) PM given a clean chit to China? If so, what is there to negotiate with China? Why are the Major Generals negotiating and about what,' he asked on Twitter.

Terming the PM's statement last night as 'baffling, shocking and devastating', senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said, 'It has infuriated the armed forces an every Indian.'

'If there was no incursion then what was it -- an excursion? Geography and history seem to have been changed with these too-clever-by-half lines. Indians deserve the truth,' he said in a tweet.

Party spokesperson Manish Tewari also posed a set of questions after the PM's statement.

'Does LAC run at Finger 8 or Finger 4 in Pangsang Sang Tso Lake? Is Galwan Valley Located on Indian or Chinese side of LAC? Have Chinese not transgressed 02 KM across IB in Naku-La? Were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 100 wounded -- Indian or Chinese side.'

Tewari also asked whether BJP MP Tapir Gao is lying when he says Chinese have occupied vast tracts of land in Arunachal Pradesh.

'If there are no Chinese in Indian Territory or our perception of LAC why flag meetings between two Armies? Indian Soldiers were captured in Indian or Chinese Territory,' he asked.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha said he found the PM's statement 'quiet (sic) strange'.

'If nobody entered our border and none of our posts were occupied then what was the fight for. So many precious lives lost and so many injured. Am both perplexed and concerned. Take parliament into confidence,' he tweeted.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will 'revert' to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of 'lying' to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was 'fast asleep' while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent 'unarmed to martyrdom' in Ladakh.

20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
The BBCs new drama The Salisbury Poisonings concluded over the weekend. A three-part story based on actual events, claiming to tell the story of the alleged poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018.

Its exactly what youd expect. Schlocky tat. Poorly researched, badly written and woefully factually inaccurate.

The Guardian gave it four stars. Because of course they did. Because when youre dealing with government-backed narrative everything that reinforces it must be described as having value. Its one of the hallmarks of propaganda, that no story which supports the propaganda  however ridiculous  can ever be questioned, criticised or disputed.

Theres room for an in-depth review, and indeed Craig Murray has done a fine job deconstructing the series. But here, I just want to focus on everything they dont tell you.

Here are five key facts the BBC simply forgot to mention.

1. Alison McCourt

Alison McCourt and her family were walking in Salisbury town centre when they came upon the Skripals convulsing quietly on a park bench in the early afternoon. They were, supposedly, the first people to discover the pair, and Alison and her family stopped to provide aid. Her daughter Abigail was given a special award.

Theres no reason for the BBC to omit this information.

Except that Alisons full name is Colonel Alison McCourt OBE. And shes the Chief Nursing Officer of the British Army.

Maybe the BBC thought that the Chief Nurse of the British Army strolling past during the (alleged) first-ever use of a military-grade nerve agent was just too unlikely to be believed. Which is fair.

Craig Murray, with his usual dry humour, likens it having James Dyson knock on your door asking for directions just as your vacuum cleaner breaks down. But its actually quite a lot less likely even than that. After all, Dyson vacuum cleaners do exist, and lots of people do own them, but  until March 2018  novichok was entirely hypothetical.

Novichok didnt officially exist in the real world at all, until it popped up just yards away from one of the few people trained to deal with it.

Weird the BBC wouldnt mention it. But it gets weirder.

2. Toxic Dagger

Toxic Dagger was a military training exercise involving the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and 40 Marine Commando Brigade. It trains special forces on how to deal with chemical, biological or neurological weapons.

Toxic Dagger ran from February 20th  March 12th 2018.

Sergei Skripal was poisoned on March 4th 2018.

The DSTL headquarters is in Salisbury.

That Russia should attempt to use a neurological agent to assassinate a former double agent right smack dab in the middle of a neurological weapons training exercise is unlikely. That it should also happen in the same city where the exercise is taking place apparently proved too much for the BBC to handle.

Best to just ignore it.

3. Pablo Miller

Pablo Miller is a former soldier in the Royal Tank Regiment, a diplomat with an OBE, and possibly current MI6 agent. He lives in Salisbury and was Sergei Skripals handler.

Millers name was first mentioned in a report for the Telegraph in the days following the Skripals alleged poisoning, from which Millers name has now been totally removed.

It was later revealed by a Channel 4 reporter on twitter, that the government had issued a D-notice on Sergei Skripals MI6 handler:

About the only decisive public move by the authorities has been to censor MSM via a D Notice last week from fully identifying Mr Skripals MI6 handler living nearby  alex thomson (@alextomo) March 12, 2018

[For our international readers, a D-notice, is an act by which the government directs the media to not mention certain facts which they claim might somehow endanger national security. It is not censorship, theyre quite clear about that.]

Sergei Skripals MI6 handler being his next-door neighbour, and the subject of government gag, orders didnt make it into the BBCs drama either.

And neither did

4. Mark Urban

Which is weird, because Mark Urban is a BBC employee. He is their diplomatic editor, and personally fronted much of the coverage of the Skripal case when it was breaking news. As Craig Murray points out, despite the series regular use of real news footage, and despite it being a BBC production, Mark Urban is never seen once.

Hes not even listed as a consultant despite literally writing the book on the case.

Whats doubly strange about this, of course, is that Mark Urban was in the same Royal Tank Regiment as Pablo Miller. In fact, they joined on the same day, from the same officer training course.

He revealed, months after the event, he had regularly been interviewing Sergei Skripal in the months and weeks before his alleged poisoning. He claimed it was for a book.

The book in question was released in October 2018 under the title The Skripal Files: The Life and Near Death of a Russian Spy. (The Guardian gave that a good review too).

What he would have called it, and indeed what it would have been about, had the poisoning not happened well just have to guess. It would likely have been very dull, and not sold all that well.

5. Sergei Skripal (likely) still worked for MI6

All the talk about Sergei Skripal has been he was a quiet retiree, living out his later years in sleepy Salisbury. Of course, that narrative is somewhat challenged by the facts his MI6 handler is his next-door neighbour, and hes just a handful of miles from the UKs military research laboratories.

Mark Urbans book gives us even more interesting details  such as the fact Skripals house was purchased for him by MI6, and he had a special phone he used to contact his team at UK intelligence.

All of this paints a picture of a man still very much employed, or least kept on the back burner, by British Intelligence.

The Blogmire has an excellent article breaking all this down, including asking the most pertinent of questions:

How conceivable is it that the house purchase by MI6, for one of their double agents, did not have some kind of security measures in place, including CCTV cameras?

Shouldnt there be CCTV footage of the alleged assassins walking right up to the door and spraying/spreading/smearing the nerve agent on the door handle?

Of course, the BBC dont ask this question. They dont mention any of this at all, despite it all being in a book written by their own diplomatic editor.

Clearly, the makers of the program were given a brief: Take all these harsh angular facts, and force them together into some kind of coherence. Obfuscate where you can, invent when you must.

Their job is to spread a digestible story.

As such, they leave out everything that could implicate the British state, or anything which challenges the story on even the most basic rational level.

They dont explain how the most toxic substance in the world only affected 5 people in four months, despite contaminating a hotel room, a restaurant, a pub and at least two trains. They dont explain why, even after one of their officers was taken ill, Salisbury police were guarding the Skripals house without any protective equipment.

They dont mention the ties to Christopher Steele and Orbis Security, or the original reports of fentanyl overdose being redacted after the fact, or that the bottle Charlie Rowley claims to have found was wrapped in cellophane (and therefore never opened). Or any of the other myriad details which render the official version obvious, absolute nonsense.

Well never know exactly who at the BBC decided to omit all these details. But we can make a pretty good guess as to why.
Julia A. Wilson

20.06.2020 LISTEN

When I left my mothers home, and ventured out on my own at age 16, I thought I was all grown up. I may not have known exactly what I would do next, but I knew that I had to leave Tulsa, Okla.

In the 1960s, Tulsa was segregated. Blacks lived on the north side of town, across the railroad tracks. I was among the first blacks to integrate Central High School. That school was belatedly integrated into compliance with the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Decision Brown vs. Board of Education, more than a decade after the law was passed.

One moment in high school stands out as illustrating that integration hardly meant that old prejudices were subsiding. We had been assigned verbal book reports in my English class, and I decided to give mine on Soul on Ice, by Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver. I stood up in front of the class and shortly after I began, my teacher yelled, Stop that! Stop! I looked up at her and said, Im giving my book report.

Pointing at the classroom door, she replied: Not on that book you arent! Youre going to the principals office. She was obviously very upset. So, I closed my book, and walked out the door and headed down the long hallway to the principals office. I was unceremoniously expelled for sharing improper materials with my classmates and teacher.

I was really angry. I believed that Cleavers book was just as appropriate as any other book my white classmates were reading. I also felt that it was unfair and wrong for me to be expelled for choosing to report about a controversial book, especially because school is supposedly all about education and broadening our horizons, right?

I went home and relayed my school-day drama to my mother, a single mom raising six children. She was mild-mannered when it came to racial issues. I later understood that her civil rights timidity was driven by an ingrained fear. And, that fear emanated and lingered from the historic 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. In that riot, white supremacists led by the Ku Klux Klan, destroyed thriving black businesses, which were then known nationally as Americas Black Wall Street. During my early days in Tulsa, I had no knowledge of the prestigious black businesses or that riot, because black history, particularly that detailing positive stories about African Americans who might be viewed as role models, or injustices, werent taught in Tulsa schools, or noted in the local news.

So, of course, my mom was hesitant to stand up for anything that might cause racial friction. She told me to sit down, and let it go; chiding me for selecting the book in the first place. But I couldnt let it go. Instead, I decided to call the news media and hold a press conference on the steps of the school. As a young, burgeoning civil rights activist, I followed my conscience and instincts. I started making phone calls. And, I received a big response.

For the press conference, I wore a leopard Dashiki and a big Angela Davis Afro wig, in protest. As I was standing on the front steps of Central High School with microphones in my face, the school administrators came outside and gave their reason for my dismissal. Then justice was done! I was re-admitted into school right away.

After high school, but still a teenager, I left Tulsa with $135 in my pocket. I bought a one-way ticket to Portland, Ore. I was driven to leave Tulsa in hopes of finding a better, safer place. Was I scared? Yes. But I had moved ahead, knowing deep inside, that I had to be strong. Every day, I told myself that everything would be okay. I reassured myself that I would survive and make something meaningful of my life. That was the beginning of my journey into becoming a journalist and then a global social entrepreneur.

This weekend, memories of the numerous racial wounds my familys ancestors, neighbors and friends experienced in Tulsa are resurfacing. Tulsa is in the news, because the President of the United States is going there during another unjust time in Americas history  when African Americans are still being killed by white police officers  and some are still being lynched; at a time when thousands of Americans of all races are peacefully marching in the streets, demanding police reform and social justice  during the historic COVID-19 pandemic and a suffering economy.

Oddly, Trumps visit coincides not only with the anniversary of Tulsas painful historic riot, but will align with the anniversary of Juneteenth  when African Americans in Texas first learned that they had been freed, years earlier. Trump surely did not plan it this way, but his visit ironically has served to educate many Americans  especially whites  about a shameful moment in U.S. history when Tulsas prominent black businesses were burned to the ground, reportedly by KKK members. When more than 350 black businesspeople were killed and thousands of African American families were forever uprooted and dealt severe economic and  no doubt in many cases  psychological blows.

That riot should have been part of a prominent chapter in U.S. history classes about America's rocky and often violent road toward trying to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation. A chapter about the Jim Crow laws that dominated the South for decades, about the less direct but no less prevalent discrimination in the North. A chapter covering all of the intimidation tactics used to ensure African Americans stayed in their place, and kept subservient to whites.

That chapter wasn't taught in the Tulsa where I was raised. Nor in virtually any high school classroom in America.

I'm hoping that a new day has come. We will no longer be held back. Its a new day for all of us, since many young whites have gone to school with African Americans and now know and value them as friends, and some as family. Most of us understand that within the next decade, whites will be the minority in America. And, that peace, understanding, and racial equality are essential in holding our great country together.

I haven't revisited Tulsa often since I left it, but in talking with my relatives who still live there, it seems to have evolved. The majority of its residents are well-meaning and want fairness for all Americans. But then theres still that unrepentant minority, many of whom I suspect will be out in droves for Trump's rally and to support another agenda. An agenda that divides, instead of unifies. One that thrives on untruths. One that each of us can only hope and pray will not succeed so that we can move forward as one United States of America.

Julia Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Wilson Global Communications USA, a strategic international public affairs and marketing communications consultancy in Washington, D.C. She specializes in cross-cultural communications and relationship-building in education, business, and civic affairs.

www.wilsonglobalcommunications.com.
Geoffrey Berman agrees to leave his job with assurance investigations into presidents allies would not be disturbed.

An extraordinary standoff between Attorney General William Barr and Manhattans top federal prosecutor ended on Saturday when the prosecutor agreed to leave his job with an assurance that investigations by the prosecutors office into the presidents allies would not be disturbed.

US Attorney Geoffrey S Berman announced he would leave his post, ending increasingly nasty exchanges between Barr and Berman.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, had distanced himself from the dispute, telling reporters the decision was all up to the attorney general, even as Barr stated in a letter that he had asked the president to remove Berman.

In a letter to Berman earlier on Saturday, Barr wrote that he was surprised and quite disappointed by Bermans late-night public statement in which he refused to quit his job, saying Berman had made a public spectacle over public service.

I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so, Barr said, adding that the Deputy US Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York, will become the acting United States attorney until a permanent replacement is installed.

The post is considered one of the most prominent for federal prosecutors in the country.

Berman had shown up to work at his office on Saturday, hours after Barr had unexpectedly announced that he was stepping down. Replying to that announcement, Berman had said he had no intention of leaving the post until the Senate confirms his successor.

Potential corruption of the legal process

The imbroglio sets up an extraordinary political and constitutional clash between the Justice Department and one of the nations top districts, which has tried major political cases over the years and is currently investigating Trumps personal lawyer Giulianis international business dealings.

Giuliani served as an unofficial envoy to Ukraine for Trump, and his dealings were at the heart of impeachment proceedings against the president, who was later acquitted.





The move is also set to deepen tensions between the department and congressional Democrats who have accused Barr of politicising the agency and acting more like Trumps personal lawyer than the countrys chief law enforcement officer.

The timing of the decision mystified people familiar with the matter in the Southern District who could point to no clear reason for Bermans removal. His job had always seemed in jeopardy and Berman was never given the sense that it was secure, people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press news agency.

Meanwhile, the White House has announced that Trump is nominating Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer has virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, for the job.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican and Trump ally, said he was unlikely to proceed with Claytons nomination unless New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, gave their consent to the pick.

Schumer has said the bid to remove Berman reeks of potential corruption of the legal process, while Gillibrand said she would not be complicit in helping to fire a prosecutor investigating corruption.

Both lawmakers called for Clayton to withdraw from consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, said before Bermans firing that the committee would invite him to testify this coming week.

Prosecution of Trump associates

The federal prosecutors office in New York has recently prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including presidents former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes.

Berman oversaw the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trumps re-election.

Attention refocused on the office this past week after news organisations obtained copies of former National Security Advisor John Boltons tell-all book, in which he alleges that Trump sought to cut a deal to stop federal prosecutors in New York from investigating whether Halkbank violated US sanctions against Iran in order to free an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey.
Home  Just In  Nepal brings in 23 bodies of migrant workers who died abroad

Kathmandu, June 19

The government of Nepal on Friday brought in bodies of 23 Nepali migrant workers who died in different countries at different times while working recently.

Earlier last month, it was reported that the bodies of 149 Nepalis were stuck in different countries. Of them, 20 from Qatar, two from Kuwait, and one from the United Arab Emirates, informs the Tribhuvan International Airport General Manager Devendra KC.

The bodies have been handed over to the workers kin today itself.

Considering flight restrictions due to the Covid-19 crisis, the government of late has urged the families to agree on burying or burning the bodies in the countries they died. Accordingly, a few have agreed, but most of the families still want the bodies of their relatives back.
Supreme Court blocks Trump from rescinding DACA; DHS sec. calls ruling a 'double standard'

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot proceed with its plans to end a temporary program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

In a 5-4 ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal justices, the nations high court blocked the Trump administration from carrying out a plan it first announced in 2017 to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The DACA program was enacted in 2012 by the Obama administration to allow young immigrants brought to the country as children to apply for a temporary status that protects them from deportation and authorizes them to work in the country.

The program gave the Department of Homeland Security the ability to exercise prosecutorial discretion to defer deportation for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally while they were 18 or younger and have lived in the U.S. since 2007.

The program has allowed over 700,000 people to remain in the country but does not give them lawful status.

Rescinding the DACA program was a promise that Trump made during his 2016 presidential campaign. However, the court ruled that how the administration went about rescinding the program was arbitrary and capricious as well as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

In the majority opinion, Roberts wrote that the ruling does not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. Rather, the decision is rooted in whether the DHS complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.

Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients, the opinion reads. That dual failure raises doubts about whether the agency appreciated the scope of its discretion or exercised that discretion in a reasonable manner. The appropriate recourse is therefore to remand to DHS so that it may consider the problem anew.

The administration argued that the DACA program went above and beyond the authority of the president because it enacted unilaterally.

Two memorandums were issued by successive DHS secretaries in 2017 and 2018. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the explanations offered were insufficient under the APAs arbitrary-and-capricious standard.

In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the DHS under the Obama administration was required to observe the procedures set out in the APA if it wanted to promulgate a legislative rule, and it is undisputed that the DHS did not do so.

It provided no opportunity for interested parties to submit comments regarding the effect that the programs dramatic and very significant change in immigration law would have on various aspects of society, Thomas wrote.

It provided no discussion of economic considerations or national security interests. Nor did it provide any substantial policy justifications for treating young people brought to this country differently from other classes of aliens who have lived in the country without incident for many years. And, it did not invoke any law authorizing DHS to create such a program beyond its inexplicable assertion that DACA was consistent with existing law. Because DHS failed to engage in the statutorily mandated process, DACA never gained status as a legally binding regulation that could impose duties or obligations on third parties.

In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito contends that the high court did not actually resolve the question of DACAs rescission.

Instead, it tells the Department of Homeland Security to go back and try again, Alito wrote. What this means is that the Federal Judiciary, without holding that DACA cannot be rescinded, has prevented that from occurring during an entire Presidential term. Our constitutional system is not supposed to work that way.

Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to voice his displeasure with the ruling. The ruling comes just days after the Supreme Court dealt the administration another blow by ruling that federal civil rights law protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination.

These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives, Trump wrote. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!

Acting Secretary of the Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli called the decision a double standard and outrageous.

Supreme Court says all any President needs is a pen and a phone? Cuccinelli wrote in a tweet. Does anyone think theyd let @realDonaldTrump just make up laws on sticky notes like @BarackObama???

Trumps plan to rescind DACA drew the ire of not only those on the political left but also some evangelical Christian leaders, including those within the National Association of Evangelicals and the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

They argue that immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, most of whom know no other home since they grew up in the U.S., should not be punished for the actions of their parents.

Todays Supreme Court decision gives a much-needed reprieve to the many DACA recipients in our churches and communities who have been stuck in legal limbo waiting for our nation to recognize that America is their rightful home, Rodriguez, who prayed at Trumps inauguration in 2017, said in a statement responding to the ruling.

I celebrate this victory with these young men and women and their families. They are a blessing, not a curse, to our nation.



As evangelical leaders have called for restitution-based immigration reform that provides a pathway for immigrants residing in the United States to be granted legal permanent residency, Rodriguez stressed that the country cant lose sight of whats really not working here.

[T]his was the job of Congress, not the executive or judicial branch, he said. Its time for Congress to do their job and to fix our broken immigration system. Congress must stop passing that responsibility to the other branches of government. Congress could have achieved this on at least three occasions over the last three years and on each occasion they opted for political expediency over justice.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, responded to the ruling in a statement explaining that "Dreamers are not an abstraction."

"They are people created in the image of God, who were brought here as children by their parents. Their entire lives are at stake right now," Moore stressed. "This Supreme Court decision might address an immediate question of administrative law, but it does not, ultimately, protect our vulnerable neighbors."

"There is no sending these people back  in many cases they have no memory at all of the land of their parents' origin," he added. "Those who have lived as good neighbors, contributed so greatly to our country, should be protected from the constant threat of having their lives upended."

Moore and other evangelical leaders affiliated with the Evangelical Immigration Table signed onto a letter sent to Congressional leaders Thursday following the ruling urging them to permanently resolve the situation for Dreamers.

On Twitter, former President Barack Obama praised the courts decision.

Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation, he wrote, before urging followers to vote for his vice president, Joe Biden, for president this November. Today, I'm happy for them, their families, and all of us.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 20 June 2020 - The 2020 Tang Prize in Sinology was awarded to renowned historian Wang Gungwu "for his trailblazing and dissecting insights on the history of the Chinese world order, Chinese overseas, and Chinese migratory experience. As the leading scholar on Sino-Southeast Asian historical relations, he developed a unique approach to understanding China by scrutinizing its long and complex relation with its southern neighbors. His erudition and critical discernment have significantly enriched the explanation of the Chinese people's changing place in the world, traditionally developed from an internalist perspective or in relation to the West."

Born in Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia) in 1930 to Chinese parents, Prof. Wang grew up and received education in British Malaya, and later pursued advanced studies in London, where he got a PhD degree from SOAS, the University of London in 1957. His subsequent academic appointments brought him to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. He was president of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995, a visiting fellow at Oxford's All Souls College, a Rockefeller visiting fellow at the University of London and recipient of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991. Currently, he is university professor at the National University of Singapore.



Spending much of his life immersed in different cultures gives Prof. Wang diverse personae as a scholar. He is an "insider" in the academic tradition of Chinese Confucianism and British elite education, and an "outsider" in the interpretation of China's perception of the world. "What drew me to that subject (Chinese overseas) was what China meant to the world outside, especially to those Chinese who had left the country and settled abroad," so remarked Prof. Wang in his memoir, Home Is Not Here. His original approach to understanding China from the southern perspective is in part a natural choice given his personal experience. This same experience provided him with abundant inspiration in his formative years as he matured into an authoritative voice in the analysis of China's worldview.

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The terms "Chinese overseas" or "Chinese immigrants" refer to words such as hua qiao (Chinese expatriates) commonly seen in Chinese-language newspapers. The word qiao is defined as people who lodge in places or countries other than their ethnic origin. Qiao first appeared in Wei Shu (The Book of Wei) and Jin Shu (The Book of Jin), written during the period of China's Six Dynasties, and referred to sojourning in a foreign land. However, when reality forced Chinese migrants to extend their stay, their sojourn turned into long or even permanent residence, and what changed was their sense of identity. Enlightened by his family and educational background, Prof. Wang knows too well that the development of an identification is more an emotional process than a rational decision. In addition, because one's identity implicates one's psychological state, it can undergo a transformation whenever one's circumstances change. Therefore, there is never a clear-cut answer when it comes to identity. Prof. Wang, taking advantage of his western academic training, is able to look beyond dichotomous concepts. Instead, he explores the concepts by tracing the history of qiao and eventually came up with the idea known as "Chinese overseas."

His many books, written with first-hand life experience and erudition on Southeast Asian history as well as sophisticated analysis of the role of the Chinese in the region past and present, are now classics in the field. Among dozens of pioneering works he has published, there are A Short History of the Nanyang Chinese (1959), The Structure of Power in North China During the Five Dynasties (1963), The Chinese Overseas: From Earthbound China to the Quest for Autonomy (2000), and Renewal: The Chinese State and the New Global History (2013).



Prof. Wang's research is an integration of a variety of histories, including the history of Chinese overseas, of China's relation with the outside world, of Southeast Asia, and of commerce and maritime history. Examining shifting world orders with a sophisticated mind is what puts him in the vanguard of Chinese overseas studies. Prof. Kuo-Tung Chen, research fellow of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, pointed out that Prof. Wang's academic achievements are characterized by his ability to "look at the big picture, reference the present with the past, and put forward his original views," which has allowed him to develop a panoramic view of the history of China and of the Chinese overseas. Together with Prof. Yu Ying-Shih, inaugural Tang Prize laureate in Sinology and academician at Academia Sinica, Prof. Wang is also widely recognized among the top living authorities on Chinese history.

Established by Taiwanese entrepreneur Dr. Samuel Yin, the biannual Tang Prize consists of four categories, namely Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology and Rule of Law, with NT$40 million (approx. US$1.33 million) in cash and a research grant of NT$10 million (approx. US$0.33 million) allocated to each category. It aims to promote the interaction and cooperation between cultural and technological research so as to find a 21st century path to the sustainable development of the world. For more information, please visit the prize's official website at https://www.tang-prize.org/en/first.php

About Tang Prize

Dr. Samuel Yin, chairman of Ruentex Group, founded the Tang Prize in December of 2012 as an extension of the supreme value his family placed on education. Harkening back to the golden age of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, the Tang Prize seeks to be an inspiring force for people working in all corners of the world. For more information on the Tang Prize and its laureates, please visit www.tang-prize.org
CHINLE, Ariz.  A Navajo Nation police officer has died at a Phoenix hospital, becoming the first officer on the tribal police force to die from COVID-19 in the line of duty, according to tribal officials.

Officer Michael Lee, 50, died Friday at Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix, the Navajo Police Department said in a statement.

Police Chief Phillip Francisco said the department was devastated and heartbroken by the death of Lee, whom Francisco called a husband, a father, a son and a protector of his community.

Francisco asked that the public remember Lee for his commitment to his community and extend prayers to his family.

Tribal President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer said in a statement that Lee fought on the front lines to combat coronavirus and we are grateful for his dedication to our community.

Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted that flags at all Arizona government buildings would be lowered to half-staff Saturday from sunrise to sunset.

Lee served 29 years with the tribal department, beginning his law enforcement career as a police recruit with the Navajo Police Academy in October 1990.

He initially worked in the Window Rock area and later in Chinle.

Survivors include Lees wife and children, the department said.

His body was taken in a procession Friday from Phoenix to a mortuary in Gallup, New Mexico.

Nez said information on memorial service details will be forthcoming.

The Navajo Nation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. Tribal officials Friday night reported 62 additional COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths, increasing the total number of cases to 6,894 with a death toll of 330.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

In other developments:

The Navajo Times newspaper has temporarily closed its office after two employees tested positive for COVID-19. CEO/Publisher Tommy Arviso Jr. said in a statement Friday that all staff members at the Window Rock, Arizona, office have been tested and are awaiting their results. Meanwhile, the office will be sanitized by a professional cleaning company and reopen July 6. The staff will work remotely and continue putting the newspaper out online.
The contingent, comprising of 75 personnels of all ranks from the three services, is to participate in the 75th Anniversary of Victory Day march at Red Square in Moscow, tweets army.

A tri-service contingent of the Indian armed forces departed for Moscow on Friday to participate in the military parade at Red Square on June 24 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Russia victory in the World War II.

#IndianArmedForces Tri-Service Contingent comprising of 75 personnel proceeded to #Moscow to participate in the 75th Anniversary of #VictoryDay. The contingent will march at #RedSquare on 24 Jun 2020 & has trained hard braving #COVID challenges, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of Ministry of Defence (Army) said on twitter.

The tri-service contingent will be led by a colonel-rank officer and will comprise 75 personnel of all ranks from the three services, the Army said.

Russia postponed its military parade traditionally held on Moscows Red Square on May 9 for a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Russias TASS news agency.

#VictoryDayCeremony #Russia#IndianArmedForces Tri-Service Contingent comprising of 75 personnel proceeded to #Moscow to participate in the 75th Anniversary of #VictoryDay. The contingent will march at #RedSquare on 24 Jun 2020 & has trained hard braving #COVID challenges. pic.twitter.com/ehflJLwKCn  ADG PI  INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) June 19, 2020

Also read: Armed forces have full freedom to take appropriate action: PM Modi on India China border issue

Also read: Indo-China border clash: The way forward

In a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on May 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the anticipated Victory Parade would be held on Moscows Red Square on June 24.

The head of state explained he had chosen this date because June 24 was the day when in 1945 the legendary historic parade of victors took place, when soldiers, who fought for Moscow and defended Leningrad, who stood their ground for Stalingrad, liberated Europe and stormed Berlin, marched on Red Square.

Putin has also instructed the defence chief to make sure that there werent any risks to the health of the military parades participants.

Also read: Telangana CM KCR announces 5 crore ex-gratia for Galwan martyr Santosh babus family

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Israel is set to have a record number of openly gay MPs after new rules allowing cabinet members to give up their seats came into effect, a media report said.

Six gay MPs from five parties across the political spectrum will serve in the 120-seat Parliament or Knesset as a result, the BBC report said on Friday. Last year, Israel appointed its first openly gay minister.

The country has the most progressive attitude towards LGBTQ people in the Middle East, despite opposition from some conservative sections of society. They are protected by anti-discrimination laws, have adoption and same-sex inheritance rights, and have been allowed to serve in the military since 1993.

A member of a centrist faction, Yorai Lahav-Hertzano, will become the sixth openly gay MP when he is sworn in next week.

He replaces one of five MPs from Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White party, who submitted their resignations on Wednesday under a new law which allows MPs who are also ministers to give up their seats but stay in government.

Last year, Amir Ohana, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, became Israel's first openly gay member of cabinet when he was appointed acting justice minister, said the report. He is currently minister of public security.
The spread of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown across the country has affected all aspects of life, with a marked increase in mental health issues. In fact, many people, especially celebs, have turned to yoga for relief. And if all those celeb pictures, too, havent yet inspired you to take up yoga, todays the day!

Not only is yoga widely practised as a form of workout, it also helps keep stress levels in check. Yoga, meditation and other stress-relieving practices have long been studied as complementary treatments for mental-health problems. It has become popular in recent decades and more so after the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns. Practising yoga can reduce the impact of stress responses, and can be helpful for both anxiety and mild depression. By reducing the degree of perceived stress and anxiety, yoga modulates the bodys stress response systems. This, in turn, reduces physiological arousal by lowering the heart rate, blood pressure, and improving respiration, says Dr Rajeev Rajesh, chief yoga officer at a Bengaluru-based naturopathy institute.

Studies have shown that yoga and mindfulness meditation significantly reduces activity in the brains default mode network, which is responsible for daydreaming and mind-wandering thoughts. This network is responsible for decreased happiness, rumination, and unnecessary worry about the past and the future. Meditation helps you snap out of this network, improving your outlook and mental well-being. It also reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, and pain. Another study found that yoga and mindfulness meditation leads to increased cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which plays an important role in consolidating both short and long term memory. adds Pratap Dash, a senior yoga teacher.

READ: All about International Day of Yoga

When stressed out, we are often advised to take a long, deep breath. This thought originates from the fact that mindful breathing helps tackle stress. Practising breathing exercises regularly helps stimulate the lymphatic system, improves blood flow and calms down the mind, says Dr Pankaj Gupta, professor in mindfulness at a university in Jaipur.

Prakriti Poddar, a mental health expert, recommends, Uttanasana or standing forward-bend pose, Anjaneyasana or the high lunge, Garudasana or the eagle pose, Shavasana or corpse pose, Viparita karani or legs up the wall pose, Natarajasana or the dancer pose, and Virabhadrasana or the warrior pose are beneficial to stay calm and positive.

Start your day with Surya Namaskar. If you feel tired during the day, Sarvangasana (shoulder stand), Ustrasana (camel pose), Bhujangasana (snake pose), Ardha Matsyendrasana (half-fish pose) and Natarajasana are ideal for an energy boost. Pranayamas relieve anxiety and build stamina in the lungs. Inverted yoga poses can help circulate fluid through the lymphatic system and filter out the toxins from your body, suggests Dr Rajesh.

Interact with the author on Twitter @srinidhi_gk

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European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde gestures during a news conference on the outcome of the meeting of the Governing Council, in Frankfurt

By Francesco Guarascio and Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders agreed on Friday that urgent action was needed to haul their coronavirus-hit economies from the deepest recession since World War Two, but made no progress on a massive stimulus plan that has divided them bitterly for weeks.

The 27 avoided a bruising bust-up during a summit by video-conference of around four hours, and agreed to meet in person in mid-July to haggle and get across the line a long-term budget and economic rescue package worth 1.85 trillion euros.

"Leaders unanimously agreed that the severity of this crisis justifies an ambitious common response," Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, told reporters.

Earlier, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde warned the leaders that the European Union's economy was in a "dramatic fall" due to the coronavirus crisis and that the full impact on unemployment rates was yet to come.

Under discussion is the EU's 2021-27 budget of about 1.1 trillion euros, and a proposal by the Commission, the bloc's executive, to borrow 750 billion euros from the market for a new recovery fund that would help revive economies hardest hit by coronavirus, notably Italy and Spain.

With more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, the EU is keen to demonstrate solidarity after months of bickering that has dented public confidence and put the bloc's global standing at risk after its buffeting from Brexit.

A "NOT PARTICULARLY USEFUL" SUMMIT

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez voiced impatience with a negotiation process that officials say could drag into August, calling for an early agreement.

"The more time we waste, the deeper will be the recession," he said on Twitter.

But Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said member states remained "fairly far from each other" and while everyone wanted to do a deal over the summer he was not sure it was possible.

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Fiscally conservative northern countries of the EU and a high-debt "Club Med" group of southerners are divided over the size and terms of the recovery fund, which the Commission has suggested be split into two-thirds grants and one-third loans.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Austria - the "Frugal Four" - say the fund is too large and should be used only as loans, since grants would have to be repaid by all EU taxpayers.

They want the funds to be clearly linked to pandemic recovery and say recipients must commit to economic reform.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for a clear time limit on the recovery fund so it does not become an "an entry into a permanent debt union".

Eastern EU countries say too much money will go to the south and want spending to focus on agriculture and closing development gaps with the richer west. The latter group, in turn, are determined to keep their rebates on contributions to the bloc's joint coffers, which others want to phase out.

One senior EU diplomat said while there was little to show for the summit, at least it was cordial.

"It was not particularly useful," the diplomat said. "On the other hand, it was not very controversial either, and the tone of the debate was OK."

(Reporting by Robert Muller, Andrius Sytas, Kate Abnett, Philip Blenkinsop, Andreas Rinke, Francesco Guarascio, Robin Emmott, Belen Carreno, Jan Strupczewski, Gabriela Baczynska, Writing by John Chalmers, Editing by Giles Elgood)
Streetwise - Workin' Nine to Five

by Frank Dunnigan

October 2014

What was your very first real job in San Francisco?

Not mowing lawns or watching your neighbors kids or delivering the Shopping News, and not the summer you spent scooping ice cream at Shaws on West Portal or dipping frozen bananas into chocolate sauce at Playland or waiting tables at Zims while attending collegebut your very first full-time, pay-the-rent/buy-the-groceries job you had as a young adult? Back in the late 1960s/early 1970s, downtown San Francisco offered a variety of work place choices, even for inexperienced young people who were polite, punctual, and presentably dressed.

For many Baby Boomers, that first real involvement in the labor force might have come in a downtown office, filled with faceless co-workers, all lined up at desks stretching out, row after row into infinity, surrounded by walls of filing cabinets. Perhaps it involved processing payments, answering telephones, typing forms, responding to customer inquiries and complaints, or simply filing endless streams of index cards or paper forms. In the days when computers were still a back-room operation, it might have included researching microfilm reels (updated daily) of the information contained in computer print-outs. The whirring of film back and forth in the readers, along with the constant ringing of telephones, clattering of IBM Selectric typewriters and mechanical adding machines, plus the deafening slams of steel file cabinet drawers were often far louder than the piped-in music that some offices began introducing at the time.

Before the wave of mergers, banks in generalBank of America, Wells Fargo, Crocker, United California, Hibernia, and Security-Pacificwere among San Franciscos biggest businessesand they employed tens of thousands. Bank of Americas need for additional staff to handle Travelers Cheque inquiries during that products peak season neatly corresponded with summer vacation for hundreds of college students each yeara perfect match that often evolved into a banking career. With little prior experience, many of us found that these institutions were willing to take a chance with younger, less experienced employees like ourselves because of the rapid growth of branches and data centers. Coincidentally, just as our generation came of age, computers and easy consumer credit were coming to the forefront of the business world, and most places needed additional staffing to deal with it all.

During most of the last century, San Franciscos retail life revolved around department stores, such as the Emporium, Hales, and J.C. Penney on Market Street. Before online commerce and stores like Costco, Walmart, and Target came onto the scene, a streetcar ride downtown was the way that most of us shopped for everything more durable than groceries. Founded in 1896, the Emporium achieved a solid 99-year run before it finally breathed its last in 1995, employing tens of thousands of San Franciscans over its long life.

For many of us, life in retail was actually very similar to some of the story lines depicted by the 1970s British sitcom Are You Being Served? with a clear social pecking order being played out behind each counter, mostly determined by seniority. Just as in the television program, sales staff sometimes considered themselves superior to merchandise handlers (though in many unionized settings in San Francisco, the merchandise handlers earned a significantly higher hourly rate for their work), and first-line managers often found themselves resolving intramural squabbles among bickering employees. Christmas hires often bore the brunt of the worst hours and assignmentsits your job to straighten out all the hangersand everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the holly and tinsel came down, and life returned to its normal pace.

For decades, retail stores had certain annual rituals, including January and August white sales on linens, plus springtime events (Emporium at Stonestown used to have incubators of chicken eggs, scheduled to begin hatching in the final few days before Easter), back-to-school, and Christmas activities. For youngsters, one of the most important December events in San Francisco involved roof rides and visiting Santa at the downtown Emporiuma must-see for every child of the 1950s and 1960s. It was only after World War II when many stores began to open suburban branches that the whole experience of getting dressed up to go downtown began to diminishthough Emporium wisely duplicated roof rides at their Stonestown store for many years.

Utility companies such as AT&T/PT&T and PG&E were often considered to be bastions of solid employment and secure retirement for generations of my relatives, and these companies offered solid career opportunities to women and minorities long before some other businesses did so. The job of PBX operatorprivate branch exchange switchboardwas a highly marketable skill that could be used virtually anywhere. Likewise, San Francisco was home base to multiple insurance companies such as the Equitable, Royal Globe, Firemans Fund, and others. All of them employed tens of thousands of residents to sell policies, collect payments, respond to customer inquiries, and process claims, offering entry-level positions that regularly lead to steady career progression.

Government workat the federal, state, or local levelhas long been regarded as a smooth career path, with steadily rising wages, excellent benefits, and a predictable retirement income from a stable sourcei.e. the taxpayer. Particularly in San Francisco, with its large numbers of school-age childrenover 25% of the population back in 1960school teachers, librarians, and support staff were constantly in demand and were also well compensated in both salary and benefits.

Even the most humble position, such as gas station attendant, used to exist in abundance, when service stations were lined up, one after another, along West Portal Avenue, Taraval Street, and Geary Boulevard.

Operating a small business used to be very popular in San Francisco, and is currently on the upswing, as the vast majority of todays local businesses employ fewer than 100 people. Just figure out what was needed in a neighborhoodsuch as Herbs Deli, Baronial Bakery, Pintos Barbershop, Tip-Top Shoe Repair, Gillon Lumber, El Sombrero Restaurantand in a short time, you would have a steady clientele returning regularly, sometimes for generations. Its a bit trickier today, as the City of San Franciscos website for small businesses advises that a minimum of FIVE licenses or permits are now required to open something as simple as a sandwich shopeven more if the place plans to offer seating or sell any type of alcoholic beverage. However, new delis, cafes and bakeries are emerging all the time, often combined with an adjacent city parklet along the shopping streets of Clement, Balboa, Irving, Noriega, or Taraval, thus providing the customer with a relaxing place to sit and enjoy the neighborhood experience.

Having graduated from St. Ignatius High School, further education was a given, and virtually all of my 200+ high school classmates were college-bound. Many knew that they were headed for a career in medicine or law, and their choices were pretty straight forward, but a sizeable number of us remained undecided Liberal Arts majors for a long time. Almost without exception, though, those who opted for positions with the San Francisco Police or Fire Departmentswith or without a four-year degreeseem to have achieved economic stability and comfortable retirements long before the rest of us. S.I.s alumni magazine recently noted that fourteen of my classmates from 1970 had spent their careers with the SFFD.

Today, tech skills are highly prized, and are often more important than academic achievements. With recent favorable tax incentives provided by local government, several firms are now beginning to look at moving some of their operations north from Silicon Valley and doing business locally, where many of their employees actually live, thus increasing the variety of local job opportunities.

Most of us wonder what if at some point in our careers, how things might have been different, based on our chosen path. In the mid-1980s, one of my older coworkers at Bank of America philosophized about what he would have done if he had not joined the banks management training program upon his return from World War II in 1946: Shouldve listened to my old man and become a plumber or an electricianwhen your toilets not working or the lights go out, youll pay a pro anything to get that kind of stuff fixed!

Of course, once we all had our perfect 1970s job, there was the issue of finding that first home of our own in San Franciscobut that remains a topic for a future column.

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!
Washington: Facebook and Twitter have removed a video posted by Trump, which was altered to appear as if it had aired on CNN, after receiving a copyright-infringement claim.

"We received a copyright complaint from the rights holder of this video under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and have removed the post," a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Variety on Friday.

A Twitter rep also said the video from Trump's tweet was removed.

A Twitter rep also said the video from Trump's tweet was removed. "Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorised representatives.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Global oil demand may take two to three years to reach levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2020) Global oil demand may take two to three years to reach levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Saturday.

"Of course, [oil demand will bounce back] not this year. We hope that this will happen in 2021. But maybe it will take two or three years," Novak said in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt.

According to the minister, economies will see growth over that period but people will remain cautious of travel, especially air travel, due to COVID-19.

Furthermore, Novak told the newspaper that his ministry has estimated Russia's benchmark Urals Crude oil to average out at $35 over 2020.

"My ministry expects an average of $35 per barrel of Urals Russian oil over the year," Novak was quoted in the interview published on Saturday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is beautiful, smart, and has a heart of gold, so there is no denying the fact that potential partners were likely lining up for a chance to date her. Chances are, she never imagined that she would end up married to the future King of England, and live a life that millions of people are jealous of.

Prince William probably also is well aware of the fact that he could have had just about anyone he wanted. After all, he is strikingly handsome, funny, and intelligent.

It seems like just yesterday that the young prince was heading off to college at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, where he met Kate and his life changed forever. Unlike most people who head off to a new place, Prince William was recognizable to every student on the schools campus, and tons of girls were excited to meet him.

He ultimately fell in love with and married Kate, and the entire world couldnt have been happier. However, so many royal fans cant help but wonder what, exactly, attracted Prince William to Kate?

A royal relationship and a fairy tale marriage

RELATED: Will Kate Middleton Bow to Prince William When He Becomes King?

Dating a prince sounds like a dream come true for anyone, but the reality is, it only happens for very few people. Kate was lucky enough to catch the eye of Prince William, and before she knew it, she was getting a taste of what life in the public eye was like.

Like most couples, the relationship didnt come without its ups and downs. According to Elle, Kate and Prince William broke up on more than one occasion, and things werent always easy.

Kate came from a typical family and had a quiet upbringing, and after entering into a relationship with a member of the royal family, she was constantly hounded by photographers and the news media. It was difficult, but Kate handled all the attention in the best way that she could.

Finally, after many years, the couple announced their engagement, and they married in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April 2011, which was watched by billions of people around the world.

They were friends first

Kings Cup Regatta | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Many people may not know that Prince William and Kate were friends before beginning their romantic relationship. She was actually dating someone else at the time and even admitted in the couples engagement interview that she was shy about meeting the prince.

According to Brides, they spent some time together and eventually moved into an apartment with two other students. Still, for a while, their relationship was nothing more than platonic, and it was some time before William began to see Kate in a completely different light.

What attracted Prince William to Kate Middleton?

It appears that the two of them were such good friends, but eventually something changed. So, what was it that attracted Prince William to Kate all those years ago?

Most It all started when Kate was walking in a charity fashion show wearing a sheer dress that she caught Williams eye, and as we know, he never looked back. Suddenly, the prince began to realize just how attracted he was to Kate, and eventually their relationship blossomed into more.

They have said so many sweet things about each other over the years, and that makes it even more obvious that the two of them are meant to be together. In fact, according to Romper, he was most attracted to her naughty sense of humor, saying that it went perfectly with the dry sense of humor that he has himself. How wonderful that Prince William and Kate can make each other laugh, all the while knowing that they are a perfect match.
Criminal case still pending against black pastor arrested after calling 911 on white trespassers, lawyer says

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A black Virginia pastor who was arrested and charged with brandishing his licensed firearm to scare off five white trespassers who threatened to kill him because he tried to stop them from dumping trash on his land still has a criminal charge pending against him, his lawyer said.

Chris Kowalczuk, the lawyer for Pastor Leon McCray Sr., who leads Lighthouse Church and Marketplace Ministries International, told The Northern Virginia Daily that a criminal case against his client is still pending even though Shenandoah County Sheriff Timothy Carter apologized for the inappropriate charge and promised it would be dismissed on June 12.

The case is still live, its still a pending criminal case, Kowalczuk said. The charge is still a pending criminal charge.

McCray explained in a broadcast on Facebook Live that on June 1, he saw two people trying to dump a refrigerator on his property in Edinburg, when he told them to stop. One person, he said, verbally attacked him and the other one went to get three other people.

I informed these individuals that they were trespassing and that they couldnt dump their refrigerator on my property and I asked them to leave. They became irate and verbally attacked me, he said.

Soon five people, three men and two women, surrounded the preacher and allegedly threatened him.

In his statement to police, he claimed, "One male ran up to me at full speed into my face up against my chest with his nose bumping my nose while threatening to kill me. The other male ran full speed up to me while taking off his shirt and stood up against me from behind. The other 3 individuals surrounded in a group mob position to attack me/kill me following through with their verbal attacks of threats to take my life."

He noted in his Facebook video that they "were threatening my life, telling me that my black life and black lives matter stuff did not sit well in the town, he explained.

Being threatened and being in fear for my life I took and felt compelled to pull my concealed weapon, legal concealed weapon to save my life. And when I did that finally these individuals backed up long enough for me to call 911, he said.

When officers arrived on the scene, it was McCray who was arrested and charged with brandishing his weapon.

In a statement posted on Facebook last Friday, Carter said he spoke with the pastor on June 3, two days after the arrest and realized the police had make a mistake.

Mr. McCray met with me on Wednesday the 3rd of June, and after talking with him about the incident, it was apparent to me that the charge of brandishing was certainly not appropriate. Actually, as I told Mr. McCray, if I were faced with similar circumstances, I would have probably done the same thing, Carter said.

I initiated an immediate review of Mr. McCrays charge  I met twice with the Shenandoah Commonwealths Attorney, and she has reviewed the case, and agreed with the assessment of the brandishing charge, in that she would drop this charge.

Kowalczuk told The Northern Virginia Daily that he contacted the Commonwealths Attorneys Office on Tuesday, requesting the charge be dismissed with prejudice so that it could not be revived later. But he was informed in writing that day that the Commonwealths Attorneys Office intended to file a dismissal of nolle prosequi. This means there would be a discontinuation of the prosecution but it leaves the door open to reopen the case against McCray at a later date.

Kowalczuk is asking the court to completely dismiss the charge against McCray.

The five trespassers involved in the attack on McCray have since been arrested on charges of assault by a mob and hate crime assault. Four of the five were also charged with felony abduction.

Amanda Dawn Salyers, 26, was charged with one count of hate crime-simple assault and one count of simple assault by mob. Four others  Farrah Lee Salyers, 42; Donny Richard Salyers, 43; Dennis James Salyers, 26; and Christopher Kevin Sharp, 57  were each charged on one count of hate crime-simple assault, one count of simple assault by mob and one count of abduction.

All five are being held without bond on hate crime charges. The initial court date is scheduled for July 17.

I have apologized to Mr. McCray, and I appreciate his patience as I have worked through these matters," Carter said. "I do listen to citizen complaints and I take them seriously. I want the people of Shenandoah County to know I and the Sheriffs Office staff appreciate and care about the minority communities, and especially our Black community, in Shenandoah County. Also, I continue to support and recognize the importance of your Constitutional rights, especially your 2nd Amendment right to protect yourself and your family.
The US on Friday criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and described the ruling Chinese Communist Party as a "rogue actor." Launching a scathing attack on the Chinese government, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese Communist Party wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing. "The PLA (People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world's most populous democracy. ...

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Foreigners entering Ukraine should have an insurance policy covering COVID-19 treatment, Ukraine's Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov has said.

"We are talking about a usual voluntary medical insurance policy. It is very important for us that the person who comes to Ukraine, who is not a citizen of Ukraine and not a refugee, must have a policy that covers exactly the COVID-19 treatment," he said at a briefing in Kyiv.

The minister explained that according to the law, the state covers treatment only to citizens of Ukraine or refugees who are in the territory of Ukraine.
The latest coronavirus outbreak at the Tonnies abattoir in Rheda-Wiedenbruck in the Gutersloh district is the largest since the beginning of the pandemic. By Thursday, more than two-thirds of the meatpacking workers there were found to be infected with COVID-19: of 1,050 initial test results, 730 were positive.

This new hotspot at a slaughterhouse demonstrates the brutal conditions in the meatpacking industry under conditions of private, capitalist ownership. Hundreds of workers are on assembly lines where the air is cooled and constantly circulated. They work 10, 12 or even more hours of hard labour until they are exhausted. Unable to maintain the prescribed minimum distance of 1.5 metres, they can neither wash their hands sufficiently nor change their facemasks.

Contract workers receive neither vacation pay nor sick pay and earn so little that they are almost forced to continue working even when they have symptoms.

These are conditions under which the coronavirus can spread like wildfire. And such settings are found not only at industry black sheep, but represent the norm. North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Labour Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) said, We checked the Tonnies slaughterhouse at the end of May with the occupational safety department. At that time, everything was fine at Toennies.

With 6,800 workers and over 20 million slaughtered pigs annually, Tonnies is the largest meat processing plant in Germany and one of the largest meat producers in Europe. But it is by no means the only one facing a mass outbreak of COVID-19. For weeks, hotspots have been accumulating in slaughterhouses, where well over 1,500 workers have been infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus since the end of March.

So far, at least 265 workers at Westfleisch in Coesfeld, 40 in Oer-Erkenschwick and 34 at Boeser Frischfleisch in Schoppingen (Borken) have fallen ill. At Vion in Schleswig-Holstein, at least 110 workers were infected and 412 at Muller-Fleisch in Baden-Wuerttemberg. In other countries, too, and especially in the United States, the pandemic has struck devastatingly among slaughterhouse workers, as the World Socialist Web Site has reported several times.

On Wednesday evening, the district of Gutersloh extended testing to all workers at Tonnies. District Administrator Sven-Georg Adenauer, a grandson of Germanys first post-war Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, asked the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) for administrative assistance with coronavirus testing. The district also ordered the closure of production at Tonnies and, at the same time, had all schools and day-care centres closed again until the summer holidays. These had only ended the lockdown two days earlier, on June 15. Dozens of parents and children protested against the closure in front of the meat factory on Thursday afternoon.

Corporate managers and politicians as well as many journalists are now trying to blame the workers themselves for the recent outbreak. When asked what the outbreak at Tonnies says about the loosening of the pandemic measures, Armin Laschet (CDU), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, replied, That says nothing about it at all, because Romanians and Bulgarians entered the country and that is where the virus comes from. That will happen everywhere.

Gereon Schulze-Althoff, head of the Tonnies pandemic crisis team, also tried to explain the outbreak by the fact that many Eastern European workers went home to their families on the long Corpus Christi weekend. This probably led to a source of infection in our company, said the Tonnies spokesman. District Administrator Adenauer followed suit, claiming that the company was professionally positioned and that probably other workers from outside had joined us.

This is a transparent attempt to take the company out of the line of fire. It follows the playbook of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) by seeking to divert the anger of the population against Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish workers.

However, this attempt failed after only a few hours when a prominent scientist refuted the claims based on an objective analysis. Isabella Eckerle, head of research in the department of infectious diseases at the University of Geneva, explained that a weekend visit could by no means explain such a large number of new infections in such a short time. The incubation period takes much longer, she said. The mass outbreak pointed to an unnoticed superspreading event in the meat factory that has been going on for some time. In close contact, and under unfavourable working and living conditions, a single person or only a few people infected initially can lead to a very high number of secondary infections, explained Eckerle.

On Thursday, several media outlets quoted Freddy Adjan, deputy federal chairman of the Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststatten (NGG, Union of Food and Beverage Workers), with the demand, This sick system must now finally be put to an end. The federal government must implement the already-decided ban on work contracts without compromising the legislative process, because the outbreaks were obviously connected with the catastrophic working and living conditions for the mostly Eastern European contract employees, Adjan told the Funke media group.

It is noticeable that the union leader did not say a word about how the mostly Eastern European contract workers could now be defended, supported, and protected. Not a word about the fact that they had to be reasonably paid and compensated for the loss of work, or that the sick among them were now entitled to the best possible treatment. Not to mention that it is necessary to mobilize German workers in their defence. Instead, Adjan exclusively addressed the governmentwhich has known about and been responsible for the catastrophic conditions for years.

The NGG is pursuing a thoroughly nationalist policy that carefully avoids addressing all workers. In this way, it tries to prevent a united struggle against such exploitative conditions. Neither the NGG nor any other German union has ever attempted to represent the many thousands of low-wage workers who slave away through subcontractors in German industry. There is a works council at Tonnies in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, but it is only responsible for about 500 permanent employees out of a total of 4,000 mainly contract workers.

The business model exploiting contract workers, with four-fifths of the employees being practically unregulated work slaves, is based on regulations and laws which the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, together with the unions, helped to introduce 20 years ago with the Hartz labour and market reforms. They have all actively supported capitalist restoration in Eastern Europe and the expansion of the EU to the East. This has led to the complete impoverishment of the working class there, which has resulted in thousands being forced to accept employment via shady subcontractors for sweatshop jobs in Germany.

The former butchers son Clemens Tonnies can today be found on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world. A multi-billionaire, who achieved his wealth walking over dead bodies, he was helped along in no small part by the unions boundless willingness to collaborate as the industrial police of the capitalist system.
 Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that there will be no curfew in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he is scheduled to hold a campaign rally Saturday evening.

In a tweet, Trump said he has spoken to Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum who told him that "there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow" for rally-goers.

Bynum on Thursday had announced the curfew in an executive order and said it would only affect the area near the BOK Center, where Trump is to speak.

The order said the mayor had received information from law enforcement agencies showing "individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behavior in other States are planning to travel to the City of Tulsa for purpose of causing unrest in and around the rally."

The rally was previously scheduled to take place on Friday, the Juneteenth day that memorializes the end of slavery in the United States.

Trump rescheduled the event, the first of its kind for him in more than three months, to Saturday after public pushback, as Tulsa was home to one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the nation's history, where dozens of African Americas were massacred 99 years ago.

Moreover, demonstrations continued across the United States against police brutality and racism in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody.

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota late last month after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Trump's Tulsa rally will also come amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected about 2.2 million people and taken nearly 120,000 lives in the United States.

Health experts have warned against large-scale gatherings, as some states, including Oklahoma, are seeing a surge in confirmed cases while they are reopening.
"Savills is an outstanding organization, I am excited by this appointment, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Board and my many exceptionally talented colleagues across North America and the globe to deliver for our clients," said Mitchell Rudin. "Savills is very well positioned to capitalize on a broad range of opportunities to grow our platform and continue to diversify and enhance our services. I would also like to thank Mitch for his valuable leadership and partnership over the last 18 months."

Said Mitch Steir, "the global pandemic Covid-19 has forced all of us to pause and reassess our approaches to both business and everyday life. After much reflection, I have concluded that it is time for me to step down from my current position as CEO. Leaving the company I helped build and saying goodbye to my many friends and wonderful colleagues has not been an easy decision. I am extremely proud of how we grew the business from a half a dozen offices into a diversified real estate services group with 35 offices across the US, and which is now an integral part of a global company of over 600 offices. I take tremendous pride in what we've accomplished. It's been so much more than a job; it's been one of the great joys of my life. And of course I'll be cheering for everyone's continued health, happiness and success, and I'm sure that the business will continue to go from strength to strength."

Prior to his role as President of the Company, Mr. Rudin served as CEO of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, where he was instrumental in transitioning Mack-Cali's portfolio from troubled suburban offices to a dynamic mix of office and multi-family properties situated along the New Jersey waterfront and in transit-rich locations. Prior to Mack-Cali, Rudin served as CEO and President of U.S. Commercial Operations at Brookfield Office Properties where he was responsible for overseeing a strategic plan and rebranding effort for Brookfield's 50-million-square-foot portfolio of 80 buildings spread across the country. Before Brookfield, Mr. Rudin spent two decades at CBRE, eventually as CEO and President of CBRE's New York Tri-State Region where he doubled revenue. Mr. Rudin received a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

About Savills Inc.

Savills helps organizations find the right solutions that ensure employee success. Sharply skilled and fiercely dedicated, the firm's integrated teams of consultants and brokers are experts in better real estate. With services in tenant representation, workforce and incentives strategy, workplace strategy and occupant experience, project management, and capital markets, Savills has elevated the potential of workplaces around the corner, and around the world, for 160 years and counting.

For more information, please visit Savills.us and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Union Minister and Former Chief of Staff VK Singh, speaking on India-China border standoff said that most of the Galwan river is in India's control and there should be no doubt in people's mind about this.

In an interview with CNN-News18, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, VK Singh said, "Most of the Galwan River is in our control and there should be no doubt in people's mind. What PM said is absolute truth. Everybody who have a doubt has no clue or don't know about the area."

Singh also said that people saying Indian Army was caught unawares are wrong. He said, "Indian Army was not caught unawares. Chinese did not have good or clear intentions so Indian Army was on high alert in the area."

"People dealing with the situation on the ground are very capable of resolving the situation and I have immense faith in them," Singh said.

Speaking about the incident, Singh said, that there was commotion on both sides. The incident was pre-meditated by the Chinese. Indian Army requested them to vacate the area but their intentions were not correct. The Chinese delayed going back as agreed.

He added that our soldiers asked the Chinese to go back which is when the scuffle took place and led to the casualties.

Singh maintained that fatalities on the Chinese side as per our people are 43.
Funding was announced Friday for a nearly $10-million project to rebuild the James A. Gifford Causeway across Chemong Lake that has been in the works for years.

The James A. Gifford Causeway is the countys busiest stretch of road and the causeway improvement plan is the largest infrastructure project that Peterborough County has undertaken and the largest overall grant funded project in our history, county Warden J. Murray Jones stated.

The federal government will contribute $4,787,500 in infrastructure funding to rebuild the causeway, while the Ontario government will provide $3,191,348.

Peterborough County will provide $1,896,153 in funding.

The project is being funded through the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream of the Investing In Canada infrastructure program.

The project includes rehabilitation of the 1.4-kilometre long causeway and repairs to the Chemong Bridge, plus improvements along a 5.3-kilometre stretch of Yankee Line, also known as County Road 14, north of the causeway in Ennismore.

Drain Bros. Construction began work on the project Nov. 18 with the work expected to take about two years or so.

The work aims to extend the life of the causeway road and the bridge, while improving safety for motorists and pedestrians.

The county also has long-term plans to add roundabouts at each of the causeway for $1.1 million in 2029 and then widen the causeway with two more lanes for $7 million while twinning the Chemong Bridge for $15 million in 2039. None of that work was covered by the funding announced Friday.

County council approved the causeway plan 14 months ago.

Two other local projects are also being funded through the program.

These are shovel ready projects that will get shovels in the ground, providing much needed job creation, helping our municipal partners recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario Infrastructure Minister and Haliburton-Kawartha-Brock MPP Laurie Scott stated.

Investing in infrastructure is essential to the recovery of central and eastern Ontarios economy. These projects build new roads and bridges and drive local economic development in these communities.

Nine kilometres of Centre Line Road in Asphodel-Norwood Township between County Road 45 and Asphodel 3rd Line will be reconstructed and upgrades will be made along another three kilometres of the road.

The work is aimed at improving sightlines at seven intersections along the road.

The federal government is providing $1,152,900 for the project, the Ontario government $640,436 and Asphodel-Norwood Township $128,164.

A section of Paudash Street, along Rice Lake in Hiawatha First Nation, will also be reconstructed under funding to Hiawatha First Nation also announced Friday.

A two-kilometre stretch between Cowe Street and Lakeshore Road will be rebuilt, with 30 culverts added and a multi-use trail, addressing draining issues and road safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

The federal government is providing $3,611,139 for the project, the Ontario government $882,562 and Hiawatha First Nation $321,151.

Rural communities are the backbone of the Canadian economy. By investing in projects like these, we are helping to make them stronger, more competitive and we are contributing to our countrys economic recovery, Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development Minister and Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef stated.

Not only will these vital projects help create well-paying jobs during the construction phase, they will have long-lasting benefits for residents and businesses for years to come.
With border tensions escalating between India and China along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh, IAF chief RKS Bhadauria has said that the forces are deployed and prepared for any contingency.

Speaking at the Combined Passing Out Ceremony in Hyderabad on Saturday, he said, "We are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation we are determined to deliver and will not let the sacrifices of jawans go in vain."

Air Chief Bhadauria had made a quiet trip to forward bases in Ladakh and Kashmir on Wednesday and Thursday to review operational preparedness.

The Air Force has moved its frontline fighters and helicopters to forward bases facing China. Among them are the Sukhoi-30MKI, MIG-29 and Jaguar.

The IAFs two new acquisitions -- the Apache and Chinook helicopters  have also been spotted over the skies of Ladakh.

The Apache is an attack helicopter equipped with Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and rockets. It's often called the tank killer. The Chinooks are heavy-lift choppers that can transport troops and howitzers to high-altitude areas.

Air Chief RKS Bhadauria also spoke about increased air activity on the Chinese side.

"During this period, China deploys a lot of aircraft for training, but this time the deployment has been higher. Whenever we see unusual movement, we deploy our assets to check what is going on. We are aware of the situation, be it at LAC or beyond. Be it their air deployment or their posture, he said.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

While India has activated all its airbases in the northern border all the way from Leh to Hashimara, they are also keeping an eye on eight Chinese airbases and airfields in Tibet.

Group Captain MJ Augustine, who has wide flying experience in Ladakh, says India has an advantage over China when it comes to launching airstrikes.

"In Tibet, other than Hotan, there are no airbases that can launch fighter planes. It is wide open for destruction by surface-to-surface missiles and airstrikes because it is devoid of any blast pens. The nearest support base is 400 km away in Kasghar. "

An aerial view of the Hotan airbase.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will begin detailed interrogation of JP Morgan India board members including a Chinese national to take forward its money laundering probe linked to the alleged diversion of crores of rupees of home buyers who wanted to purchase an abode in Amrapali Group's real estate projects.

What has come as a shot in the arm for the agency is a June 18 order of the Supreme Court directing the multi-national firm JP Morgan to transfer over Rs 140 crore plus interest from its bank accounts, that has been recently attached by the ED, to the escrow account maintained by the UCO bank.

The apex court said that the money would be used for completing the pending projects of the now defunct Amrapali Group.

Officials probing money laundering crimes said this is the first time that the apex court has sought transfer of such funds in its accounts after being satisfied with the provisional attachment order issued by the central agency.

Usually, funds once attached are kept in the bank accounts where they are and the order for attachment is sent to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Adjudicating Authority for approval and subsequent confiscation of assets.

The ED had recently attached, as part of an order issued under the PMLA, more than Rs 187 crore funds of JP Morgan India Pvt Ltd kept in a bank branch in Mumbai.

The apex court, which is monitoring this case, had in December last year directed the ED to take charge of investigation and asked its Lucknow zone Joint Director Rajeshwar Singh to take action against JP Morgan under the anti-money laundering law and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and apprise it on a regular basis.

An ED team led by Singh attends the court hearings too.

The top court had cracked whip on errant builders for breaching the trust of home buyers, ordered cancellation of Amrapali Group's registration under real estate law RERA and ousted it from its prime properties in the national capital region by nixing the land leases in July last year.

Official sources said the investigating agency has now sought all financial documents, agreements, memorandum of understanding and others from J P Morgan India and will begin detailed interrogation and recording of statement of its directors like Gunjan Bahl, Hrushikesh Kar and Chanakya Chakravarty and few others.

A Chinese national, Todd Wong, who was a Director on the board of J P Morgan India Property Mauritius CompanyII will also be summoned for questioning and recording of his statement under the PMLA, official sources said.

They said a chargesheet or prosecution complaint will be filed in "due course" after recording of statements.

Wong was on board of the company between February 5, 2010 to April 25, 2013 and as per an ED affidavit "was inducted as the authorised signatory of its escrow account."

"Debit authority of this account was given to him (Wong) as per decision made in the board of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd. It is significant to note that all the banking vouchers through which funds to the tune of Rs 140 crore were transferred or debited from Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt. Ltd to Mannat Buildcraft P Ltd was signed solely by Todd Wong," the ED investigation has found.

The agency has alleged that Mannat Buildcraft is one of the three shell companies or dummy firms used in this case to launder and "divert" funds obtained as deposits from Amrapali home buyers and these monies were then kept in the bank account of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd.

ED has earlier said its investigation found that the "employees of JP Morgan India Ltd on board of Ms Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd and Ms Amrapali Silicon City P Ltd were not only in complete control of the material decision of the respective companies and securing interests of the funds but they also indulged prima facie in money laundering to divert the home buyers funds to the tune of Rs 187 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II in Mauritius and Ms JP Morgan IPF-I Singapore 2 PTE Ltd in Singapore."

The agency had said the Mauritian company "was an active participant in the conspiracy from the very outset" and that JP Morgan India "played a key role in the remittance of diverted funds of the home buyers to Mauritius and Singapore."

These employees of JP Morgan India P Ltd, it had said, serving on the board of Directors of Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd "got arranged the cash flow in the company through funds arranged from other companies of Amrapali group, diversion of the funds of the home buyers, staged valuation of shares, creation of shell companies with dummy directors and sham transactions to finally get accrued about Rs 140 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II."
THERE is Sarsfield barracks, bridge, rock, house, and even a statue to the man, but if you asked many in Limerick who Patrick Sarsfield was they would look at you blankly.

Now a Limerick author has called for the remains of the first Earl of Lucan to be repatriated to Limerick from Belgium. It comes in the wake of news that archeologists are confident of discovering the remains of Red Hugh ODonnell in Valladollid, Spain.

Denis OShaughnessy said it has created nationwide interest.

ODonnell was one of the last of the great chieftains of the old Irish Gaelic Order and fled to Spain following the disastrous defeat of the combined Irish / Spanish forces in the Battle of Kinsale in 1601. In the process of trying to secure King Philip IIIs backing for a renewed Spanish attempt to renew the conflict, ODonnell died tragically on his way to Valladolid, where he was buried, and where the exhumation is now taking place, said Mr OShaughnessy.

Calls are being made for the repatriation of the Irishmans remains and reinterred in Donegal, the county of his birth, he said.

The remains of another heroic Irishman, General Patrick Sarsfield, also rests in foreign soil. Earl of Lucan, Defender of Limerick, he fought on the Jacobean side in the fateful Williamite conquest and is best remembered as one of the leaders of the herculean but eventually failed defence of Limerick in the sieges of 1690/91. His daring capture and disruption of the Williamite gun train in Ballyneety, Pallasgreen is the stuff of legend, said Mr OShaughnessy.

Leader of the Wild Geese, the defeated Irish army who declared for France, Sarsfield was fatally wounded fighting for the French in the Battle of Landen in 1693 and legend has it that his dying words were Oh, that this were for Ireland. He is buried in the grounds of St Martin's Church in Huy, Belgium, and a plaque on the wall of this church is reputed to mark the approximate location of his grave.

Hopefully, an archaeological dig will be mounted some day in Belgium to recover the remains and identification of this heroic Irishman. If tradition has it right, his remains will be easily identifiable as the General is reputed to have been six foot five inches, a giant of a man in the 17th century when the average male was five foot five.

The remains of outstanding Irishmen who died abroad, i.e. Roger Casement and WB Yeats have been repatriated and buried at home with great honour. Hopefully, Sarsfields remains, if recovered, will someday be repatriated and possibly be reinterred in the grounds of St Marys Cathedral, an area within the city walls that the great General would have thread in his gallant but eventually tragic defence of Limerick, said Mr OShaughnessy.

He is being backed by Larry Creamer, from Knockane, where on August 12, 1690, Sarsfield with the pick of the Irish cavalry succeeded in invading the English camps and destroying the siege train bound for Limerick. The daring feat together with his generosity earned him a special place in Limerick hearts. When the cause of King James was ruined in Ireland, Sarsfield arranged the Treaty of Limerick.

Back in 2013, Mr Creamer said Patrick Sarsfield should be at the centre of The Gathering initiative, describing him as the most iconic historical figure in Limerick county and city.

Mr Creamer has backed Mr OShaughnessys repatriation proposal.

One hundred per cent I would support it. Wouldnt it be a wonderful thing if he was repatriated and buried in Limerick  it would be a huge cultural boost.

Everything is Sarsfield something in Limerick but at the same time you might struggle to find some people who know the history of it. He is to Limerick like Mozart is to Salzburg.

What he was involved in wasnt a local thing or an even Irish one, it was a continental war between King Louis XIV and the House of Orange in Holland, said Mr Creamer, when contacted by the Leader. He is very independent as he describes himself as a Tipperary Knockane man.

If Patrick Sarsfield is repatriated there will be a lot of debate over where he would be buried. In 2016, there was heated debate over proposals to relocate the Patrick Sarsfield memorial at a council meeting.

Former mayor, John Gilligans call to move the statue from Cathedral Place to Johns Square was met with both opposition and support from a number of city councillors. He said that the statue, which was built in 1881, has been hidden from the public for 135 years. He said that when it first came to Limerick, the council was full of unionists and that they didnt want anything to do with it.
Hurricane Chris, the Louisiana rapper best known for his 2007 hit A Bay Bay, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, KTAL/KMSS reports. Records from the Shreveport Police Department, viewed by Pitchfork, show that Chris was arrested on Friday (June 19) on the murder charge and one felony charge of Illegal Possession of Stolen Things. On Sunday (June 21), Chris was released on Bond, according to ABC affiliate KTBS 3. A report from XXL stated that Chris bond was set at $500,000, and that he had to pay an additional $10,000 for the Illegal Possession of Stolen Things charge.

According to the Shreveport Police Department, officers were notified of a possible robbery and shooting at a convenience store around 1 a.m. on Friday morning. When they arrived at the scene, officers say they found a man who had been shot multiple times. The man was taken to a local hospital where he died, according to SPD.

According to KTAL/KMSS, Hurricane Chris was at the scene when officers arrived. The police report states that Hurricane Chris made claims of self-defense after an alleged struggle over his vehicle. Investigators claim that there is video footage that indicates Hurricane Chris did not act in self-defense. In addition, investigators claim that the victim was allegedly attempting to steal a vehicle that did not belong to Chris.

This article was originally published on Friday, June 19 at 2:36 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on June 22 at 5:21 p.m. Eastern.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Boohoo CEO John Lyttle. Photo: Getty

Online retailer Boohoo (BOO.L) faced a backlash from investors yesterday over plans to award bonuses and pay rises to its executives.

A third of shareholders taking part in the ballot voted against the fast-fashion brand's remuneration review, reports The Telegraph.

The company proposed a 1m ($1.2m) payout to chief executive John Lyttle and salary increases of up to 30% to other senior executives. It also included a 50m bonus for Lyttle if the company is worth 6bn by March 2024.

Shares in the retailer jumped 35% this year, making its valuation just 800m below the threshold for Lyttle's bonus.

The company raised 200m last month to fuel its acquisition of high street chains Oasis and Warehouse, which Boohoo bought on Wednesday. These clothing brands will sit alongside its expanding portfolio which includes Coast, Karen Millen, Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Grassroots music venues call for 50m rescue package

Earlier this month independent advisory group ISS recommended shareholders vote against Boohoo's pay policy at the annual meeting on Friday.

ISS claimed there was a lack of explanation for the executive payout or wage rises.

The brand has successfully managed the coronavirus outbreak with shares rising dramatically due to investors anticipating an acceleration in online sales during lockdown.

Boohoo reported sales of 367.8m for the three months to the end of May, an increase of 45% on last year.

"We're not just a UK retailer, we're a global retailer and we really see ourselves growing into something similar like [Zara owner] Inditex Group or H&M Group. That is our ambition-to be a global online player," Lyttle said this week.
South Korean President Accepts Resignation of Unification Minister

Sputnik News

02:12 GMT 19.06.2020(updated 02:48 GMT 19.06.2020)

Earlier, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul offered to step down to take responsibility for the decline in the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang after North Korea blew up a North-South liaison office at Kaesong.

The president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, on Friday accepted the resignation of Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Several days before, Kim offered to step down from his position, saying that he was "sorry for failing to live up to the demands and expectations of our people for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula".

Moon formally approved Kim's resignation at around 10:40 a.m. local time, according to Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok, cited by Yonhap. He did not reveal plans for the appointment of Kim's successor.

The Unification Minister's resignation came after North Korea demolished the North-South liaison office in the border town of Kaesong on 16 June under the pretext of Seoul sending "propaganda leaflets" over the border. The move came three days after Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, threatened to destroy the "useless" channel.

After the move, Pyongyang announced that it would resume military exercises near the area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), intending to re-enter border areas disarmed after a series of inter-Korean agreements. Shortly after the announcement, reports emerged that North Korea had dispatched troops to several empty guard posts in the DMZ.

South Korea expressed "strong regret" over the escalation of tensions, warning Pyongyang that "it will pay a corresponding price" if real military action is taken.

A Sputnik

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The Conservatives have suspended an activist after she tweeted that a Muslim MP born in Bradford should 'go back to Pakistan'.

The party said Theodora Dickinson was being investigated on Friday after targeting Labour shadow minister Naz Shah.

Ms Dickinson responded to a post showing the Bradford West MP discussing her experience of poverty, saying if 'Naz Shah hates this country so much why doesn't she go back to Pakistan?!'

The Muslim Council of Britain, which has long-criticised the Tories' handling of Islamophobia, described the tweet as 'blatant racism'.

The party said Theodora Dickinson (pictured) was being investigated on Friday after targeting Labour shadow minister Naz Shah

Naz Shah MP said being told 'to go back to Pakistan' in 2020 highlights 'the level of racism that still exists in some quarters of society'

The Tories, which have launched an independent inquiry into all forms of prejudice within the party, said Ms Dickinson had been suspended.

Baroness Warsi, a former Conservative Party chair, said the suspension shows the Tories' 'shambolic revolving door system of dealing with racism'.

Ms Shah said: 'Over the last few weeks BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities have been coming to terms with the racism they have faced over the years.

'In 2020 to be told to go back to Pakistan, highlights the level of racism that still exists in some quarters of society.'

Ms Dickinson, who describes herself as a political communications and social media consultant, later apologised.

'I fully recognise how offensive it was, which is why I deleted the tweet almost immediately, though of course this does not excuse posting it in the first place,' she added.

'Theodora Dickinson has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation,' a party spokeswoman said.

Conservative peer Lady Warsi tweeted: 'The Tory suspended this week for saying Muslim MP should go back to Pakistan was someone I raised concerns about over a year ago  I was told then she was suspended.

'This is the @Conservatives shambolic revolving door system of dealing with racism.'

The Tory suspended this week for saying Muslim MP should go back to Pakistan was someone I raised concerns about over a year ago - I was told then she was suspended 

This is the @Conservatives shambolic revolving door system of dealing with racism https://t.co/cT95LIlMJu  Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) June 19, 2020

Muslim Council of Britain secretary general Harun Khan accused Ms Dickinson of having previously shared an Islamophobic conspiracy theory after the Christchurch terrorist attack.

'Now Ms Dickinson tells a Muslim MP 'why doesn't she go back to Pakistan'. Will this latest blatant racism elicit action?' he said.

'The party must reflect and consider why it chooses to ignore widespread concerns about its institutional Islamophobia  if a truly independent inquiry is not enacted with its recommendations implemented, there will be a drip-feed of these stories for a long time to come.'
Generation Z is coming of political age as they join with thousands in protesting the police killing of George Floyd, and much of it is playing out online.

Why it matters: Generations that came before Gen Z went through similar awakenings. However, Gen Z is likely to continue engaging even after the protests end because of the power of smartphones and social media, per Axios Sara Fischer.

Those same platforms also allow this generation to support a movement without setting foot on the streets, by demanding companies "open your purse" in support of Black Lives Matter, retweeting others and more.

Video footage of police action is holding law enforcement accountable.

The big picture: The first Gen Zers, born in 1997, have cast aside their parents means of communication  newspaper, television and radio  for the internet, and theyve been online from an early age. They're abandoning traditional media altogether in favor of the web and consuming their news largely via social media, CNBC reports.

The state of play: Many Gen Zers are flooding the streets with phones in hand to protest racial inequality and upload what they see onto social media, specifically TikTok.

TikTok started largely as a platform for sharing viral dances, but has quickly evolved into a space for political discourse for Americas youth as young people use the tool to share stories, according to Reuters.

Whats happening: Nearly 60% of TikTok users fall into Gen Z. Many are posting raw clips of what they see and experience both out in the world and at home.

Users have posted encounters with law enforcement while protesting  often before traditional media can get stories published or on-air.

Many of Gen Zs cultural leaders  such as 16-year-old Charli DAmelio, who has 60 million followers on TikTok  are using their platforms to talk about the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.

For comparison, CNN's Anderson Cooper is one of the most followed journalists on Twitter, but he only has 10 million followers on the platform. CNN's breaking news account has 58 million followers.



DAmelios video expressing support for the BLM movement has more than 118 million views and 17 million likes.

Gen Zers are providing their own analysis of police brutality against black Americans and sharing raw emotions over Floyds death.

Some are challenging older family members about police brutality and publishing the conversations  highlighting a generational rift, Business Insider notes.

Zoom out: Young Americans have long challenged the status quo and have driven change  often meeting law enforcement in the streets.

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in 1960 to support the civil rights movement peacefully. It played a substantial role in organizing lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides, and was part of famous marches that include Selma-to-Montgomery, Alabama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s March on Washington.

In the late 1960s, many college students protested the ongoing Vietnam War by organizing sit-ins and marches.

Leaders had to rely on word of mouth, pamphlets, posters and songs to get people to support their causes long before the internet existed.

The bottom line: "There is a stubborn resistance to treating young people's political activism as normal, but the truth is that it's neither extraordinary nor exceptional," Jessica Taft, an associate professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, told the University of California. "Children and youth are not on the sidelines. They are protagonists in the fight for their rights and their well being."

Go deeper:
The BJP and its allies cannot but be wary about the potential of its opponents even in Bihar

With Bihar, along with Uttar Pradesh, acting as Prime Minister Narendra Modis gateway to Delhi, the Centre appears to be moving in a purposeful direction to deal with the staggering guest workers crisis which had exposed the BJP governments callousness in dealing with Indias poorest people. But will the steps taken be enough?

The BJP and its allies cannot but be wary about the potential of its opponents even in Bihar -- where they appear somewhat weaker than in Uttar Pradesh -- to pose a serious challenge. The Assembly election is due in Bihar in just a few months.

This factor imparts a specific anxiety to the ruling partys calculations, and it is no surprise that Mr Modi himself is set to launch on Saturday a relief package from the states Khagaria district aimed wholly at wooing the lakhs of guest workers who trudged hundreds of kilometers to reach their village homes in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Nitish Kumar government, in which the BJP is a strong coalition partner and whose unwavering support has made the government possible, is mired in anti-incumbency woes, not least due to its handling of the worker returnees. This has been flagged by none other than Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan, an MP from Bihar whose party is in government both in the state and the Centre.

Questions also arise in respect of the BJP, not just Mr Kumars Janata Dal (United). The killing of soldiers of the Bihar Regiment by the Chinese army within Indias territory in Ladakh has become an emotional issue and can impact the Assembly election.

This is a matter that squarely concerns the Centre and its laxness shown on the frontier with China. As such, the BJP component of the states ruling alliance is under pressure on this front.

The same holds for New Delhis mismanagement of relations with Nepal, which has resulted in Kathmandu swallowing up Indian territories in Uttarakhand and endorsing that change on its map through a constitutional amendment.

The twin crises imposed by China and tiny Nepal which is still seen as a so-called Hindu kingdom by Hindutva groupies in fact have the effect of underlining the ineptness of the Centre. These take the sheen off the PM, a process begun with his mishandling of problems thrown up in the wake of the new coronavirus pandemic.

In the run-up to Bihars Assembly elections, these are extremely serious factors that an incumbent cannot but worry deeply about. But its opponents can easily let it off the hook by remaining disunited, by squabbling as usual over a few seats when it comes to posing a joint electoral challenge to the ruling coalition, and by being unable to project a respected leader who, in the eyes of the people, carries at least as much political weight, as well as social esteem in the widest sense, as the chief minister.

Mr Kumars power-related scruples are flimsy at best, but he has shown himself to be a master of the comeback game through a display of shallow symbolism and wile. His challengers will have to work doubly hard to make their point, to be flexible with likely allies, and to be single-minded about their objective.

The Congress in Bihar is a weaker entity than it has ever been, and yet it has the greatest potential among the states Opposition parties to be a catalyst in the attainment of the sum of these objectives by being a key enabler.

This is a part to which it is eminently suited due to its all-India outlook and its ability, more than absolutely any other party, to cement disparate social constituencies of caste, class or religion.

In the landscape of Bihar politics, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the current RJD vice-president, has long revealed himself to be a leader of substance and great experience, and a man of high ethical standards.

This mathematics professor was also a respected figure in the Manmohan Singh government as minister for rural development. The Opposition parties in Bihar can do no better than to seek out this non-showy person to lead them and to lead the state if there is an opportunity.

It is hard to think of any social group or constituency that will not warm to such an idea, although ambitious individuals may require persuasion. On the Left and the Right, as well as on caste matrices, no matter which way they are laid out, Bihars politics can be a treacherous slush with many unworthy individuals and parties that have the shelf life of a few inglorious seasons.

On the government side, it is the BJP that is the consolidator. The Congress has the potential to play a similar role on the other side. Time will show if it is up to the task.
Kareena Kapoor is at the receiving end of heavy criticism for taking a sly dig at late actor Sushant Singh Rajput during an old interview, which has gone viral on social media.

In the video, Kareena can be seen laughing and advising Sara Ali Khan to not date Sushant. When Kareena was asked about her dating advice that she would like to give to Sara Ali Khan, the Good Newwz actress replied, "Don't date your first hero. I have said it."

For the unversed, Sara made her Bollywood debut with Abhishek Kapoor's Kedarnath alongside Sushant.

The video has caused an online outrage, with many slamming Kareena for "targeting" and "bullying" new comers and outsiders "to no end." Some also pointed out that Kareena had once refused to call Kartik Aaryan, another outsider in Bollywood, "classy" on Koffee With Karan.

One user wrote, "Karan Johar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and the likes should not be the ones talking about mental health at all. Theyre the pioneers of gatekeeping bollywood and high brow gossipers and flaunt their privilege and drag people down for standing up against them."

Another said, "The only actor I hate is #kareenakapoor. She is such a bully that I can't even take it anymore. She has literally been targeting people to no end. Calling new comers massy, commenting on someone's clothes, making faces to downgrade people. She is one mannerless person."

Amrita- Dating Advice for Sara.. Kareena- Don't date your 1st Hero We all knw who was her 1st hero and more than this just look at her reaction which clearly shows how he had been treating in the industry. #SushantSinghRajput #RIPSushant #SushantNoMore pic.twitter.com/mUDDfQ39E2  Rohit Agrawal (@rohit__6428) June 15, 2020

The only actor I hate is #kareenakapoor. She is such a bully that I can't even take it anymore. She has literally been targeting people to no end. Calling new comers massy, commenting on someone's clothes, making faces to downgrade people. She is one mannerless person!!  Manpreet (@Manpree44185792) June 15, 2020

Gossiping is one thing, persistent attack by ganging up for years due to insecurity and complex from. SSR's superior acting is outrageous. These people would've killed so many careers and lives.  Sans Bound (@sansbound5) June 15, 2020

Why not first hero ? He isn't from Mumbai , he isn't nepotism product, he has not any good father in industry that's why ? Bloody nepotism product he deserved better  _  (@siya7781) June 15, 2020

I really loved Kareena Kapoor but now I don't think I can do it anymore. I'll be just neutral. Highly disappointed from her #RIPSushant #SushantSinghRajput  Aysha ( The RD FanClub ) (@ayshahabib11) June 15, 2020

Sushant's death has caused an uproar amongst his fans, with many blaming a section of Bollywood for not treating him and other outsiders at par with other star kids. His death has also brought light to other issues like bullying, power politics amongst others that take place in Bollywood.

A criminal complaint was also filed in a court in Bihar on Wednesday, accusing Bollywood celebrities like Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, Aditya Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali of abetting the suicide of Sushant.
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This first-person article was originally published inBaptist Press.

CHARLOTTE  Saturday (June 20) marks the 25th anniversary of a seminal moment in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention. Messengers to the 1995 SBC Annual Meeting voted overwhelmingly to pass the "Resolution on Racial Reconciliation on the 150th Anniversary of the Southern Baptist Convention."

Every Southern Baptist I know who was privileged to be in Atlanta that day will tell you it was one of the most memorable events in their lives. But how did the Racial Reconciliation resolution come to be? What caused it to resonate at such a deep level with Southern Baptists, black and white?

It is a story worth telling. When I was elected in 1988 as the executive director of the Christian Life Commission (since renamed the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission), I was the first undeniable conservative resurgence leader elected to lead a Southern Baptist entity. And the Christian Life Commission (CLC) was not just any entity. It was a gathering place where socially (and often theologically) liberal Southern Baptists encouraged one another in their social activism including civil rights and integration.

After my election, there was much speculation that with the CLC now becoming an uncompromising advocate for pro-life issues, civil rights issues would be de-emphasized. This media speculation was given a rocket boost by negative remarks about Martin Luther King Jr. made by one of the CLC trustees.

What the public did not know was that the trustee's attack on Dr. King was probably provoked by my having praised Dr. King and his tremendous contributions to our country during interviews and discussions leading up to my election as executive director.

In my interviews with the CLC search committee and in a multi-hour interview with the full board of trustees, I expressed my deep appreciation for the CLC's uncompromising stand on racial equality and integration. I shared with the trustees that as a teenager in the 1960s, it had been very important to me that the CLC was on the right side of the race issue when far too many institutions in Southern Baptist and American life were on the wrong side.

I also expressed my great disappointment that America and Southern Baptists had not made more progress on race since the heady victories of the mid- and late-60s civil rights laws drove a stake through the heart of de jure legalized segregation.

Before the trustees voted to elect me, I told them that I believed the race issue was a right versus wrong issue, not right versus left or conservative versus liberal, and that under my leadership the CLC would champion racial reconciliation.

Immediately upon becoming executive director in October 1988, I began planning a CLC conference on racial reconciliation for January 1989  the first official public event under my administration. One of the first things I did was call Foy Valentine, who had been the CLC's executive director for 27 years (1960-1987) and had taken bold stances on integration and civil rights from the 1950s onward.

I told Dr. Valentine that we were holding a conference on racial reconciliation and I wanted him to be one of the plenary speakers. I said, "Dr. Valentine, my friends will be very upset with me for inviting you, and your friends will be very angry if you accept, but the issue of racial reconciliation is bigger than our friends." I believed it was very important that there be a seamless passing of the baton on the race issue from his administration to mine, and that it would be symbolized by his being a conference speaker.

He accepted the invitation and later informed me that his liberal friends were indeed livid that he had agreed to be a speaker. I assured him a verbal blow torch had been turned on me by some of my conservative friends for inviting him to speak, but the issue was indeed much more important than our friends, liberal or conservative. He agreed. The conference was well attended and succeeded in cementing racial reconciliation as a high priority for the CLC.

I also convened what the CLC called a "consultation," an off-the-record, two-day meeting at the SBC building in Nashville with six black and six white Southern Baptist leaders to foster a frank and honest conversation about racial reconciliation in the SBC. We started with dinner in the evening, followed by an approximately three-hour discussion.

The next morning after breakfast, one of the black pastors opened up the discussion time with this pronouncement: "Dr. Land, you white people are very complicated people. You don't always mean what you say, and you don't always say what you mean. So, we caucused last night, and we've concluded that you mean what you say and so we are going to tell you the truth."

He then said: "You don't realize how badly you have hurt us. We don't mean you personally, but white Christians. It is one thing to be discriminated against by white people. It is something entirely different when you are discriminated against by Christian brothers and sisters."

I believe the real "birth" moment of what became the 1995 Racial Reconciliation Resolution was that consultation in Nashville. I believe the Holy Spirit used that opening statement  "You don't realize how badly you have hurt us"  as the spiritual catalyst to help me understand, and to help others understand as well, that while the SBC had denounced racism from at least the 1960s onward, it had always been in the more impersonal third person, rather than the much more personal first person.

As months went by, it became clearer and clearer to me and to others I spoke with, black and white, that Southern Baptists needed to acknowledge our institutional complicity in having supported or at least acquiesced to racism and segregation. And that we needed to apologize to our African American brothers and sisters for the terrible hurt that support for grievous racism had caused.

I began to talk with an ever-growing group of Southern Baptists, black and white, about the need to pass such a "first-person" resolution, and when and where would be the best place to do it.

In the process we had to deal with those who objected to Southern Baptists' "repenting" for the sin of our ancestors. People would say to me, "We are not Mormons; we can't repent for our ancestors," and that is certainly true.

I cannot repent before God for my direct ancestors who were slave holders any more than I can earn points with God for my direct ancestors who were abolitionists. However, we can, should and must express sorrow for the sins of our forbearers and apologize and seek forgiveness from those who suffered the enduring consequences of their sins.

Many of us felt the time had come as we approached the 1995 SBC Annual Meeting in Atlanta, where we would celebrate the 150th anniversary of our founding. I went to then-SBC President Jim Henry and shared with him that before we celebrated the anniversary, we had some really dirty linen in the closet that we needed to address. He enthusiastically affirmed this and agreed to suspend the Convention's rules and have the resolution reported a day early so we could pass the Racial Reconciliation resolution before we celebrated our 150th birthday.

When you read the resolution, you will see the spirit of repentance, grief and yearning for spiritual reconciliation that energized it. It was graciously received by so many of our African American brothers and sisters. The resolution made a real difference, thank God.

However, I am grieved that we have not made more progress in transforming our Southern Baptist Convention and our nation in dealing with America's "original sin" of racism.

When dealing with racial issues, I always go to the Bible first and then to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the Bible, I see racism condemned from beginning to end. Genesis tells us "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him" (Genesis 1:27) and "Adam called his wife's name Eve: because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20, emphasis added). Consequently, there is only one race  the human race. Scientific research is now confirming what the Bible told us all along  we all come from one common ancestor.

In the New Testament, we are informed that "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 1:34), and "He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26).

And finally, of course, we have the all-encompassing language of the best-known verse in the entire Bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, emphasis added).

When I turn to Dr. King, I find him never wavering from a deep commitment to racial reconciliation. As Dr. King's niece Alveda recently reiterated, "Martin Luther King preached love, not hate; peace, not violence; universal brotherhood, not racism."

Dr. King, in his incandescent 1963 "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (which I believe ought to be required reading before any American high school senior may graduate, right up there with the "Gettysburg Address"), Dr. King reminded Christians that our divine command is to be spiritual thermostats, setting the spiritual temperature of society, not merely thermometers recording its temperature.

Am I disappointed that we have not been more successful in quelling the demons of racism in the last quarter-century? Yes! However, one of the consolations of advancing years is the gift of context provided by time and experience.

Born in the first year (1946) of the "Baby Boom," I am a child of the civil rights era. I saw the death of Jim Crow and segregated drinking fountains and restrooms. I witnessed the enfranchisement of millions of African Americans in the 1964 and 1965 Civil Rights Acts and the 1967 Voting Rights Act. I have witnessed and experienced the highs and lows since then. Consequently, I not only see the gap that remains, but the distance traveled and the progress that has been achieved.

May we all draw inspiration to complete the journey to the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream of a country where all people are "judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character."

If length of years has taught me anything, it has taught me this  the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to complete the journey to the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream for our country.

The salt of the law can change actions, but only the light of the Gospel can change attitudes. The salt of the law can change behaviors, but only the light of the Gospel can change beliefs. The salt of the law can change habits, but only the light of the Gospel can change hearts.

Let us not weary in well doing. May God give us the strength and the wisdom to finish the journey together, arm in arm, redeemed and reconciled heart to heart. Let us be about our Father's business.
By Express News Service

PATNA: The doctors of the surgical gastroenterology department of Bihar's reputed Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) set an example, worth emulative to others in the medical fraternity, on Saturday. They donated blood to raise the stock in the institution.

The initiative motivated their colleagues from other departments to do the same.

A couple of days ago, Dr Manish Mandal, HoD and superintendent of IGIMS, came to know that the stock of blood in the IGIMS had reduced amid the outbreak of Covid-19 from 800 bags to nearly 100 bags.

Dr Mandal, who is also an eminent gastrologist-cum-researcher, had appealed to his colleagues to voluntarily donate blood. Following this, all doctors and staff of IGIMS's surgical gastroenterology department gathered and donated 20 bags of blood.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mandal made a call to the people to donate blood considering it as a God-pleasing humanitarian ritual.

"Serving mankind is the real service to the almighty and that too when the humanity faces threats like Covid-19", Dr. Mandal told an assembly of emotionally surcharged doctors and other health workers at the camp.

"Altogether 20 bags of blood collected and stored in the blood bank to meet the emergency situation", Dr Mandal said.

Impressed over this gesture, director of IGIMS Dr. NR Biswas thanked and lauded the doctors and appealed to all and sundry to donate blood.

The prominent doctors, who donated blood, are Dr. Manish Mandal, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Singh, Dr. Sujeet Kumar Bharti, Dr. Manish Shah, Dr. Saket Kumar, Dr. Amarjeet Kumar Raj, Dr Manish Kumar, Dr. Omprakash, Dr. Nishant Kurian, Dr. Saurabh Singla, and Dr. Venkat Rao.
Amaravati, June 20 : With the coronavirus continuing to spread in Andhra Pradesh, the state government on Saturday announced the cancellation of Class 10 (SSC) examinations scheduled to begin from July 10.

Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh told reporters that students will instead be graded on merit and guidelines in this regard will be issued soon.

Suresh said that the government also decided to cancel Advanced Supplementary exams for Intermediate (Class 11 and 12).

The Minister also announced that all students who failed in intermediate examinations will be promoted to the nex class.

"We have tried our best to conduct the SSC examinations from July 10 and also made changes to the exam pattern to reduce exposure of students to infections. However, with the increase in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed to cancel the examinations," he said.

He pointed out that neighbouring Telangana and Tamil Nadu have also cancelled board examinations due to the pandemic.

More than six lakh students were set to appear in the SSC exams from July 10 to 17.

The examinations were originally scheduled in March/April but postponed twice due to the nationwide lockdown.

Following relaxations in the lockdown, the state government had decided to hold the examinations from July 10 but reduced the number of exams to be held from 11 to 6 to reduce the burden on students.

The Minister said the decision to cancel the examinations was taken keeping in view the best interests of the students and their parents.

There have been demands from students, their parents, various organizations and opposition parties to cancel the exams in view of the COVID-19 situation.

Earlier this month, the Telangana government had cancelled the Class 10 examinations and promoted students to the next class on the basis of internal assessment.
One of the advantages of working at a major mobile operator is the free allocation of airtime and data available to all employees.

Even the CEOs of South African mobile networks dont have to pay for their own smartphone contract.

Vodacoms recent financial results showed that the companys CEO, Shameel Joosub, accrued a pre-tax remuneration of R43,446,398 for the year, R4,800 of which was attributed to a Vodacom mobile phone benefit.

Like Joosub, lower-level employees at many mobile networks also receive attractive phone benefits, and these can be a great perk of working at these companies.

Mobile phone benefits can include contributions towards an employees smartphone purchase, airtime, and data.

Employees may also receive a monthly alotment of data in addition to their other benefits.

To find out more about what mobile phone benefits are available to employees of South Africas largest mobile networks, MyBroadband asked MTN and Vodacom about the free data and airtime they offer to employees.

Both companies said that specific contract information was confidential, but they provided the following overview of employee mobile benefits.

Vodacom

Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said that its employees receive various cellphone benefits, including contributions towards smartphones, airtime, and mobile data depending on their packages.

A Vodacom employee is entitled to select any consumer package available at the time of the selection, Kennedy said.

All employees also receive secondary SIM benefits which can be used for either mobile, data or fibre services.

In addition to this, all Vodacom employees are allocated an additional 10GB of data per month as part of the normal benefits, Kennedy said.

Vodacom cellphone-related benefits are defined per each employee, based on that employees grade, with three possible benefit levels.

Kennedy added that during the COVID-19 national state of disaster, all Vodacom employees have been provided with an additional 10GB of mobile data and 1,000 voice call minutes per month.

The vast majority of Vodacoms employees continue to work from home, which is now the companys default position, Kennedy said.

MTN

MTN executive for corporate affairs Jacqui OSullivan told MyBroadband that all MTN employees receive a monthly allocation of free data and airtime.

That allocation is based on their individual level and tenure, OSullivan said.

Recently, as a consequence of our work from home requirements, all employee data benefits have been doubled and where employees are still requiring more data for work-related use  that is arranged through their line manager.

We also offer discounted handsets to our employees as part of their overall employee benefits and last year we awarded all non-management employees an additional R1,000 voucher to use on a device or package of their choice, she said.

MTN also offers its own employees an exclusive Black Friday promotion the week after the standard Black Friday weekend, allowing them to focus their attention on customers over Black Friday without missing out on deals.

The company did not provide any details regarding the specific amounts of data available to employees.
Although the coronavirus-battered world economy has not yet gotten out of the woods, encouraging signs of the Chinese economy have raised hopes that a broad-based recovery is in the offing.

Industrial rebound has been gaining momentum on the ground. The automobile market, hard hit by the pandemic globally, has seen a fast recovery in post-lockdown China, with sales hitting 2.19 million units in May, up 14.5 percent from the same period last year.

Manufacturers related to the auto industry benefited from this recovery. Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin Group, the French tire manufacturer, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Michelin's three Chinese factories have all resumed production, and Michelin's business performance in China is expected to meet its June projections.

As China's passenger transport and logistics rebounded with the steady resumption of business activities, its oil market is also on a track to recovery.

Jim Burkhard, vice president and head of oil markets at IHS Markit, a London-based global information provider, took "the brisk resumption of Chinese oil demand" as "a welcome signpost for the global economy."

"When you consider that oil demand in China -- the first country impacted by the virus -- had fallen by more than 40 percent in February -- the degree to which it is snapping back offers reason for some optimism about economic and demand recovery trends in other markets such as Europe and North America," he said in an online note.

Wood Mackenzie, a global energy consultancy group, projected that by the third quarter, China's gasoline demand would have surpassed the same period last year by 3 percent to 3.5 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, diesel demand could grow by 1.2 percent to 3.4 million barrels per day over the same period.

By the end of April, all major steel-using industries in China have returned to near-full production levels, and the recovery of steel demand will be more visible in the second half of 2020, driven by construction, especially infrastructure investment, the World Steel Association said.

Foreshadowing a construction boom in China, the country's excavator producers reported robust sales in May, as China's 25 leading excavator makers sold a total of 31,744 excavators, up 68 percent year on year.

From a broader perspective, official data showed China's factory activities continued to pick up in May with the value-added industrial output, a key economic indicator, rising by 4.4 percent year on year.

As the COVID-19 pandemic entails contactless and efficient business models, such as virtual offices, online education and telehealth, digital transformation has become another meaningful prospective to track how economies recover.

Standing at the forefront of digital infrastructure growth, China is expected to lead the digital economy and inject fresh impetus into the global recovery.

China's three major telecom operators -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom -- have planed to build more than 550,000 new 5G base stations this year, bringing the total number across the country to 600,000.

These 5G stations will enable uninterrupted outdoor connectivity in prefecture-level cities across China, and cover key areas in counties and townships, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a government think tank.

Boosted by a solid industrial foundation and evolving commercial products, China's 5G industry is expected to directly create more than 3 million jobs as of 2025, with 5G-induced aggregate information consumption surpassing 8.3 trillion yuan (about 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars), a CAICT report noted.

Lim Jock Hoi, the ASEAN secretary-general, said China is a valuable partner of ASEAN in promoting the development of digital economy in the region, noting that by 2025, ASEAN's digital economy is expected to grow from 1.3 percent of GDP in 2015 to 8.5 percent.

The growing optimism about China's economic recovery has also been backed up by the rising consumption enthusiasm in the domestic market.

During a mid-year online shopping bonanza initiated by Chinese e-commerce giants from June 1 to June 18, sales in JD.com and TMall.com both shattered records. The combined sales in the two popular platforms came close to a whopping 1 trillion yuan. Imported products also saw robust sales.

Noting that China's economy is overall on a good momentum, Zhang Liqing, chief economist of PwC China, said it is important to keep a clear head, as risks of imported cases of COVID-19 infections still loom.

Apart from continued attention to the traditional indicators such as fixed-asset investment, imports and exports when they gauge the health of the Chinese economy, global investors are expected to watch closely government spending and progress in new infrastructure, new urbanization initiatives and major projects, as well as the risks of local government debt, he noted.

"China looks like it could be the biggest engine of global GDP growth in 2020 and maybe 2021," Craig Allen, the president of the U.S.-China Business Council, was quoted Sunday by The Wall Street Journal as saying.




June 20 : Actor Akshay Kumar is proud of having more real-life friends than reel life friends. His real-life heroes are none other than police officers. Akshay deems that because of them he comes to know whats happening on the ground level. The Houseful 4 actor feels like saluting them as through them he gets acquainted with many inspirational stories.

Akshay talking about his upcoming film Sooryavanshi said that, In the film, I am fighting with the terrorist, a virus which is seen. But our police force is fighting with the virus which cannot be seen. And this inspires me a lot. There is absolutely no doubt that Police Commissioner Vishwas is a real hero. And I am the reel hero. I really feel proud that more than reel hero friends I have real hero friends. Like Vishwas, he is my very good friend. What is actually happening on the ground level and on-field I come to know through these friends. I get to know so many inspirational stories from them, that I feel like always saluting them.

I must say because of these real heroes so many lives are saved. People feel safe and sound under their protection. Apart from them, doctors, nurses, BMC workers are also working very hard. We should all respect them also.

Earlier, actor Akshay Kumar donated to the Mumbai Police in another generous gesture after three of the police personnel died due to COVID-19. The official handle of Mumbai Police announced the news of losing three brave warriors to the virus.

Later, the Commissioner of Police, Shri Param Bir Singh, took to Twitter to mention Akshays contribution and how this was going to help in protecting various policemen who are working tirelessly to safeguard people against the virus in the city.
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The World Bank's Executive Board on Tuesday approved US$100 million in funding from the International Development Association (IDA) to help Senegal cope with the socio-economic impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), according to an official statement, obtained by PANA on Friday evening
The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors passed a resolution on Friday, calling on Iran to cooperate fully with it and let the agency access two locations, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tehran, June 20 (IANS) Iran's permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna slammed the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for adopting a resolution against Tehran.

The board "calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the agency and satisfy the agency's requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the agency," according to the text of the resolution submitted by France, Germany and Britain and adopted by a vote of 25 to two with seven abstentions, the IAEA said on its website.

"Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions," Gharibabadi said in a statement.

"Iran categorically deplores this resolution and will take appropriate action in response, the repercussions of which would be upon the sponsors of this resolution," said Gharibabadi.

--IANS

rt/
Seoul, June 20 : North Korea is printing anti-Seoul leaflets in large numbers and preparing to send them across the border to South Korea, Pyongyang's official news agency said in a report on Saturday.

"The enraged people across the country are actively pushing forward with the preparations for launching a large-scale distribution of leaflets to pour the leaflets of punishment upon those in South Korea who are bereft of even elementary morality," said the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report.

The KCNA added that the publishing institutions are printing out the leaflets, saying they will be "indiscriminately slapped on the south Korean authorities who have played on the hope and expectations of all the compatriots placed on the inter-Korean agreement with wicked puns over the past two years", reports Yonhap News Agency.

It added that the leaflets will be launched "as soon as the areas close to the boundary between the north and the south are opened and their entry into the areas is approved according to relevant procedures".

It also released several photos of North Korean workers printing leaflets criticizing the South, including one against President Moon Jae-in.

Sending its own propaganda leaflets to South Korea was one of the retaliatory measures that North Korea has vowed to take in response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets that defectors in the South fly via large balloons into the North.

The North has also pledged to deal with the South as an enemy, cut off cross-border communication lines, redeploy troops to border regions and take other military action.

It even blew up a joint inter-Korean liaison office earlier this week.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 19, 2020 / International Montoro Resources Inc. (TSXV:IMT)(Frankfurt:O4T1), (the "Company"). The Company proposes to proceed with a non brokered private placement (the "Financing") of up to $161,000 with 4.6 million units to be issued at $0.035. Each unit will be comprised of one common share and one transferable share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole warrant will permit the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.05 for two years from closing.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Financing for exploration expenses, outstanding payables, including a portion of management fees payable, and working capital.

While the Company intends to spend the net proceeds from the Financing as stated above, there may be circumstances where, for sound business reasons, funds may be reallocated at the discretion of the Board.

Directors, officers or other insiders of the Company may participate in the Financing. The Company also confirms there is no material fact or material change related to the Company which has not been generally disclosed.

The closing of the Private Placement Financing, including the issuance of the securities are subject to Exchange approval.

About International Montoro Resources Inc.

Int. Montoro Resources Inc. listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for over 25 years, is a Canadian based emerging resource company. The Company is holds extensive property positions in:

Red Lake, Ontario ( Camping Lake - Au potential acquisition)

Elliot Lake, Ontario (Serpent River/Pecors - Ni-Cu-PGE discovery) & (Uranium- REE's)

Quebec (Duhamel - Ni-Cu-Co prospect & Titanium, Vanadium, and Chromium potential)

Prince George, British Columbia (Wicheeda North - Rare Earth Elements prospect)

Uranium City, Saskatchewan (Crackingstone -50% Interest in Uranium discovery)

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Gary Musil"

Gary Musil,

President/CEO and Director

#600 -625 Howe Street

Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2T6

Ph.#604-683-6648; Fax #604-683-1350

Website: www.MontoroResources.com

E-Mail: gmusil@montororesources.com

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: International Montoro Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/594584/Int-Montoro-Resources-Arranges-161000-Private-Placement
Q. Can you still collect unemployment from the company that you employs you  soon to be furloughed  if you are receiving a pension from a previous employer? The contributions to the previous employer pension were made by both the company and the employee.

 Confused

A. Yes, you would be permitted to collect unemployment benefits while are you are receiving a pension from a previous employer  assuming you otherwise qualify.

In order to qualify for unemployment benefits in the state of New Jersey in 2020, you must meet a minimum earnings requirement during the base period, said Marnie Hards, a certified financial planner with Aznar Financial Advisors in Morris Plains.

The regular base year period consists of four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week you file an initial claim, she said.

Per the Department of Labor website: To be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits in 2020, you must have earned at least $200 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base period or you must have earned at least $10,000 in total covered employment during the base year period.

New Jersey provides a benefit calculator that can provide you with an estimate of how much you would receive.

Assuming that you do qualify for unemployment benefits, the amount you receive may be impacted by your pension.

Whether or not the pension amount will be impacted is dependent on who made the contributions towards your pension, Hards said.

In your case, you stated that the contributions were made by both yourself as well as your employer, she said. In your situation, if we assume that you each contributed 50% of the total, your unemployment benefits may be reduced by 50% of your weekly pension benefit. If you had made 100% of the contributions to your pension and your employer had not contributed at all, there would be zero reduction to your unemployment benefits.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
The brutal killing of 20 personnel of the Indian Army, including a colonel-level officer, by Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in the Galwan Valley on the night of June 15 will reverberate across India for a long time to come. Indian security personnel  from the armed forces, paramilitary forces, and the police  have often given their lives in the quest to defend Indias territorial integrity, sovereignty and the Constitution. And as often, their contribution is forgotten.

But Colonel Santosh Babu and the 19 other men killed in the line of duty will stay on in public memory for three reasons. First, this was the first time since 1975 that Indian blood was shed defending the border against China. Two, the nature of the killing was brutal  PLA, in what India has called a pre-meditated attack, violated norms of war. And India and China are not even officially at war. And finally, their killing has highlighted the place of Ladakh in general, and Galwan Valley in particular, as essential to Indias territorial imagination.

This, then, can make June 15  or Ladakh 2020  the moment when, for two generations of Indians, the security threat from China has become tangible and real. It can make it the moment when discussions about the competitive-cooperative relationship with China and how to navigate great power politics will move beyond the rarefied seminar circuits of elite analysts and assume a strong place in public consciousness. And it can make it the moment when China becomes an issue in Indian domestic politics, strongly tied to public opinion, partisan positions, and the idea of nationalism.

The intersection of domestic politics and foreign policy is old. Indeed, a lot of scholarship suggests that foreign policy itself is the extension of domestic politics and is shaped substantially by it.

In Indias case too, this has been true. But barring the 1962 war, and the criticism that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru faced, the most critical foreign policy issue has been Pakistan. This is not surprising. The tragedy of Partition, Pakistans support for Khalistan, the Kashmir question, its sponsorship of terrorism in India which has cost thousands of lives, four wars (1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999), and the manner in which the external enemy (Pakistan) is often used in political discourse to demonise an internal constituency (Indian Muslims) lends the India-Pakistan relationship particular political salience. Indeed, as the saying in South Block goes, the real joint secretary in charge of the Pakistan desk at the ministry of external affairs is the Prime Minister of India. And that is because each decision on Pakistan is a political, not a bureaucratic, one.

The Indian strategic community has long recognised China as a threat. The border dispute and Beijings efforts to change the facts on the ground by its consistent incursions; its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, particularly Tawang; the large trade deficit; Chinas firm support to its all-weather friend, Pakistan, now buttressed by the China-Pakistan economic corridor; its efforts to box in India by encouraging regimes hostile to New Delhi in the neighbourhood; its moves to thwart Indias legitimate ambitions (such as permanent membership of the Security Council or entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group); and its ambitions to establish new style imperialism through the Belt and Road Initiative have all been closely noted and are a part of the institutional memory of the government of India.

But along with this, there is also a recognition of the power asymmetry between the two countries. Indias economy is much weaker; its military and technological capabilities dont match up to China; its State capacity is more limited; and in the maze that is international politics, China is a more significant player and India cannot rely on partnerships and external bandwagoning. Along with it, India  at this stage of its economic development  needs foreign capital and investment, and deepening economic interdependence with China has been seen as a way to both neutralise the competitive elements and aid Indian development.

This measured policy approach worked because China was not an issue that animated public opinion. But it will now face a challenge. This is both because of Chinas aggression (not unique to India  just ask Vietnam, Japan, Australia and others in its neighbourhood) and because in Indian democracy, policies cannot be completely out of sync with popular sentiment.

The killings of June 15 have suddenly woken a large number of citizens to the fact that Pakistan is an important, but perhaps not the most important, security challenge India confronts. The Chinese willingness to assert itself abroad under President Xi Jinping, and the power differential with India, makes it a more serious adversary. The calls for boycotting Chinese goods may be populist and rooted in ignorance of economic realities but they reflect the emerging mood about China, which is going beyond suspicion to a degree of loathing.

The evolution of public opinion is bound to have an impact on political discourse. And that is why even a prime minister such as Narendra Modi  who has proudly worn the badge of nationalism and presented himself as a security hawk  had to face tough questions, not just from critics but also more independent observers, about his claim on Friday night that there is no external presence in Indian territory. The Prime Ministers Office, on Saturday, came up with a clarification. But the response to his initial statement is instructive. Indian public opinion is not in the mood to tolerate even the hint of a territorial concession to China anymore.

This, then, will have an impact on the politics of nationalism in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  by disengaging with Pakistan till it acts on terror and through the surgical and air strikes under its term in office  has projected itself as a staunchly nationalist force. But now, it will have to be accountable for its actions on China too. The well-meaning advice to the Opposition not to politicise the national security issue may go unheeded, for if the ruling dispensation has benefited from weaponising national security for electoral ends, the Opposition will seek to emulate the same. Expect the BJP to talk about Pakistan, and expect the Opposition to counter it with China from now on. Ladakh 2020 has introduced the China factor into Indian politics. Its consequences will be long-lasting.

letters@hindustantimes.com

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Rohan Singh/ YouTube

A man was caught on camera staging a one man All Lives Matter protest outside a coffee shop on Friday over a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their window.

Abraham Avrumy Knofler was filmed by a bystander outside Burly Coffee in the Bed-Stuy neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York City, on Thursday where he can be heard telling a barista that he was offended by the sign and chanting All Lives Matter.

This is the most racist thing out there, I'm not a racist. Mr Knofler says about the poster. This is offensive and I want you to take off this sign.

The footage of the incident, which was first reported by Gothamist, quickly went viral.

So, this was my morning. I just wanted to get some coffee. But this racist a******e decided it's time to educate us and make a protest about how all lives matter, Rohan Singh, the man who recorded the footage, said on Twitter.

From what the barista told me, the man specifically walked up to complain about either the sign and/or the mask policy, Mr Singh told Gothamist.

The barista was already trying to get the man to leave when I arrived. I stepped up and harshly told him to leave as well, but he wouldn't. So then I just started filming.

In the footage, the woman and a number of bystanders continue to ask Mr Knofler to leave.

I don't understand why this is so offensive to you, to see something saying that 'Black Lives Matter,' the store's employee said. "It's not saying that all lives don't matter, it's just saying that Black lives matter because they haven't mattered in this country ever."

The video of the confrontation continues for about 10 minutes. Throughout the argument Mr Knofler is not wearing a face mask, despite another sign on the shop front stipulating that customers wear a face-covering.

Why do I need a mask? he asked repeatedly after the barista tells him to leave and others tell him he should be wearing a mask.

Story continues

The pandemic is a hoax, only sheep like you wear the mask, because you've been told whatever you've been told, but you don't use your head, because you're stupid, he shouts at the crowd in another part of the footage.

While Mr Singh described Mr Knofler as nonviolent he added that it was a horrible situation for the barista who was trapped there."

I feel really bad for her, he said.

Mr Knofler identified himself as the man in the footage in a phone interview with Gothamist and said that he was making a protestall lives matter. "They don't have to take it down, I just wanted to defend all lives matter."

Burly Coffee posted a statement regarding the incident on its Instagram page on Thursday. "We strongly stand with Black Lives Matter and applaud our staff for standing up to the blinding hate that has appeared at our door. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident with this person and our priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our staff," the company said.

"We are overwhelmed by the generous support of our staff via our Venmo Tip Jar. The baristas that experienced this hatred will receive the tips directly. Burly will be making a contribution in support of the community we love and are thankful to be a part of."

Read more

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Ukraine reported no casualties from day-start on Saturday.

Russian occupation forces on Friday eight times violated the ceasefire, employing 120 mm and 82 mm mortars proscribed by the Minsk agreements, as well as grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms, when firing on Ukraine defense positions.

In the area of responsibility of the Pivnich [North] tactical group, just outside Krymsky, the enemy fired grenade launchers of various types and small arms, reads the morning update by the Joint Forces Command.

Ukrainian defenders near Shumy were being mortared for eight minutes. Repeated enemy attacks were reported near the village of Orikhove, where the occupation forces fired proscribed 120 mm mortars, as well as grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms.

Read alsoZelensky's Office announces development of new bill on Donbas with 'Steinmeier formula'

On the approaches to Khutir Vilnyi, Ukrainian defenders were fired upon twice as the enemy employed banned 120 mm and 82 mm mortars. Also, the aggressors fired grenade launchers and heavy machine guns.

In the area of responsibility of the Skhid [East] tactical group the enemy opened fire near Slavne. They used grenade launchers and small arms. During an engineering reconnaissance effort near the village of Novotoshkivske, two Ukrainian troops were injured in a landmine blast. Both were provided first aid and promptly evacuated to a hospital. Their condition is reported as satisfactory.

Ukrainian soldiers returned fire to enemy attacks, coercing the invaders to cease aggressive actions. According to intelligence reports, on June 19, Ukrainian soldiers killed two and wounded at least three enemy troops.

From day-start on Saturday, Russian occupation forces opened fire near Avdiyivka, employing 82 mm mortars, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns. No casualties were reported among Ukrainian troops.
Iran Regrets IAEA Resolution Introduced by E3 Amid Their Lack of Action on JCPOA, Envoy Says

Sputnik News

12:46 GMT 19.06.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran regrets that the resolution, adopted earlier on Friday by the IAEA's Board of Governors, was introduced by three European signatories to the nuclear deal, namely France, Germany and the UK, as they themselves have produced no concrete action to implement their obligations under the agreement, Gharib Abadi said.

"It is also a deep regret that this resolution was presented by the three European States which have not taken any concrete practical step in the implementation of their obligations under the JCPOA. These lacks of willingness or inability to take practical actions in this regard, along with the unilateral, illegal and destructive measures by the US caused the future of the JCPOA to remain gloomy", Iran's Permanent Representative to International Organisations in Vienna Kazem Gharib Abadi said in his address to the IAEA Board of Governors released by the Iranian permanent mission to the agency.

The document called on Tehran to enable International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors' access to two of its nuclear facilities.

"Our advice to the E2+1 States is that if they cannot do something to save the deal, they can at least avoid making the situation more complicated and difficult! Paradoxically, your lack of action was needed here, which it seems that you couldn't even do this", the diplomat added.

The International Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its Board of Governors adopted on Friday the resolution by the EU big three (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) saying that Iran should allow IAEA inspector access to its nuclear facilities, by a 25-2 vote with seven abstentions.

On 15 June, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called on Tehran to provide prompt access to two unspecified nuclear facilities, which the country has denied for four months. The French Foreign Ministry urged Tehran to respond without delay and under any conditions to the IAEA request. In response, Zarif said that the country was constantly working with great transparency with the agency.

In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. The agreement required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. However, on 8 May 2018, the US pulled out of the JCPOA and reinstated harsh sanctions on Tehran.

A Sputnik

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Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) has withdrawn his endorsement of L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in her reelection bid. (Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) has withdrawn his endorsement of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey ahead of a contentious November election, when she will seek a third term in office.

In a tweet Saturday morning, Schiff alluded to recent protests and calls for criminal-justice reform after George Floyds death in Minneapolis police custody.

This is a rare time in our nations history, Schiff wrote. We have a responsibility to make profound changes to end systemic racism & reform criminal justice.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Laceys campaign staff confirmed Saturday that Schiff had let them know he was withdrawing his support. Lacey later issued a statement saying she stands by her record.

As the first African American woman to hold the LA County D.A.s office, I am proud of my record of taking on systemic racism and reforming criminal justice  from bail reform, to reducing juvenile cases by nearly 50%, to increasing our offices focus on mental health treatment instead of incarceration, she said. I am singularly focused on doing the work of the people of L.A. County during this time of crisis.

Lacey is running against former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon, who is part of a nationwide effort to elect progressive prosecutors. Lacey won 48% in a March primary against Gascon and former public defender Rachel Rossi, falling short of the majority she needed to avoid a runoff.

Schiff revoked his endorsement of Lacey just hours before Gascon picked up a nod of approval from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a progressive favorite.

In a tweet, Warren said Gascon has been a national leader in criminal justice reform and a powerful advocate for rethinking our approach to public safety and ending mass incarceration.

Later on Saturday, about 100 protesters gathered outside Laceys Granada Hills home to demand that she charge the Los Angeles police officers who shot and killed Alex Flores and Daniel Hernandez in late 2019 and April 2020, respectively.

Story continues

Body-camera footage from Flores shooting shows he ran toward officers while holding a knife last year. Hernandez was one of several people involved in a car accident in late April, and witnesses told police he was armed with a knife. Body-worn camera footage from the scene shows an officer shoot Hernandez multiple times as he advances toward her, and cell phone footage from the scene appears to show Hernandez was armed.

Prosecutors have not made a decision about either case. Relatives of both men led the protest at Laceys home, calling for her to be voted out in November.

Jackie Lacey doesnt do anything, shouted Hernandezs sister, Marina Vegara. She is funded by the police union.

Lacey has collected endorsements from powerful politicians including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and four of the five members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. But many endorsements came before Lacey faced serious opposition.

Some consultants say nationwide protests against police use of force have made Lacey vulnerable, given that she has repeatedly refused to prosecute police officers involved in controversial shootings during her two terms in office.

L.A.Mayor Eric Garcetti also appeared to walk back his endorsement of Lacey in recent weeks, noting it may be time for a change in the district attorneys office during an interview with the Appeal last week. A spokesman for Garcetti has not responded to a request from The Times to clarify his position on Lacey.
Since the March lows, the midstream sector of the oil and gas industry has recovered most of its losses. While the overall sector is still down for the year, the 19.5% year-to-date loss in the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI) is still better than all other major energy sector benchmarks.

The latest research note from independent energy infrastructure and master limited partnership (MLP) market intelligence data provider Alerian discusses this years roller coaster in the midstream sector. The report notes that from December 31 to the low on March 18, the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZI) decreased 67.4%, slightly more than the 66.6% decline in the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

Since March, several factors have helped drive the midstream recovery. The rebound in oil prices, aided by OPECs agreement to substantially curb oil output and then to extended those cuts was probably the most significant factor.

But Alerian also identified constructive company updates before and during 1Q20 earnings season and resilient distributions from larger names as having likely supported performance. The federal funds rate cut to zero in March was also identified as a potential factor driving investors to seek higher income from the midstream sector.

To position themselves to weather the potentially choppy waters ahead, more than half of the MLPs in the AMZI have cut distributions. This has boosted the coverage ratio of the index constituents from an average of 1.5x in Q4 2019 to 2.6X in Q1 2020.

Thus far major MLPs like Enterprise Products Partners, Energy Transfer LP, Magellan Midstream, and MPLX LP have avoided announcing distribution cuts, but the coverage ratio for all of these names has decreased over the past year.

If the coverage ratios continue to decline, expect to see more distribution cuts, especially for those names where leverage is increasing.

Story continues

Magellan Midstream and Energy Transfer are among those bucking the trend of increasing leverage and hence may find themselves better able to withstand the pressure to cut distributions.

As noted previously, many midstream companies will first try to cope with falling revenues by cutting capital expenditures. Alerian writes that the average percent reduction in 2020 spending from each MLPs initial guidance to current guidance is -24.1%, while the constituents of the AMEI expect to reduce spending by an additional -22.5% over initial guidance for this year.

This quarters financial results will likely be the worst in memory, but investors seem to have already taken those into account. Given the moves the midstream sector has made to shore up its financial metrics in this ongoing crisis, the sector continues to offer a compelling income proposition with less risk than most of the energy sector.

By Robert Rapier

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read this article on OilPrice.com
By Greg Torode

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's plans to impose new national security laws on Hong Kong are raising widespread fears the legislation could lead to profound changes in the former British colony.

As the standing committee of China's parliament, the National People's Congress, discusses the changes over the next two days, here are the most nagging questions:

WILL MAINLAND CHINA'S POWERFUL SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES BE ABLE TO TAKE ENFORCEMENT ACTION IN THE CITY?

The initial resolution of the National People's Congress raises the prospect that officers from such agencies could be based in the city for the first time if needed on national security cases.

It remains unclear how that would work in practice, given the extensive capabilities of Hong Kong's own police force and the protections and freedoms residents enjoy under the mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, that guides the city's relationship with Beijing. The Hong Kong Bar Association noted recently that such personnel should not be entitled to any immunity and have any powers, including of surveillance, beyond those based on Hong Kong laws.

GIVEN HONG KONG'S EXTENSIVE FREEDOMS UNDER THE "ONE COUNTRY/TWO SYSTEMS" MODEL, WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITY WILL BE THE TARGET OF THE NEW LAWS?

The legislation will outline offences and penalties covering secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong say the laws will target only a small number of "troublemakers" who threaten national security, and that the rights and freedoms of ordinary Hong Kong people will be protected.

But critics fear it will effectively stifle freedoms of speech and assembly, and many are waiting for details and definitions to see what kind of actions could lead to prosecution.

The city has strong media, artistic and religious traditions that are protected to a far greater degree than those on the mainland, where Communist Party-led control is strong.

Story continues

Some fear broad, ideologically driven definitions, as the laws are being drafted by party legal experts and not Hong Kong's lawyers.

The references to criminalising foreign interference will also be heavily scrutinised, given Hong Kong's extensive international links across business and politics.

WILL MAINLAND COURTS BE INVOLVED IN PROSECUTING HONG KONG NATIONAL SECURITY CASES?

Hong Kong's proudly independent judiciary and separate common law-based legal system are considered key to its success as a global financial centre. Many across the political, business and diplomatic spectrum are watching for signs of any shift under new laws given recent comments from some pro-Beijing figures that trial-by-jury could be scrapped in national security cases or that foreign judges - a long-standing tradition in Hong Kong - should not be involved.

A mainland official further muddied the waters this week by saying that Beijing must be able to have jurisdiction over the most serious national security cases.

WHAT ELSE ARE PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT?

Any clauses related to the seizure of assets will be closely watched, given Hong Kong's attractiveness to mainland Chinese capital in particular. Fears of asset seizure requests by mainland courts were among earlier concerns about a now-scrapped extradition bill last year. At the height of the debate about the need for laws allowing offenders to be extradited to face trial in mainland courts, a retired mainland security official said Beijing had a list of 300 mainlanders it wanted from Hong Kong.

Some critics fear provisions to retrospectively examine certain offences, which could target people involved in the sometimes violent anti-government protests that rocked the city for much of the last year. A senior mainland official said this week that the laws would not be retroactively applied.

(Reporting By Greg Torode. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
New Delhi, June 20 : Amid increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi government on Saturday issued an order directing hospitals and medical institutions to recall their staff who are on leave to report for duty immediately.

Special Secretary S.M. Ali said that leave of any kind will only be granted under most compelling circumstances.

"All MSs, MDs, Deans and Directors of the hospitals and medical institutions under the Health and Family Welfare Department are advised to issue directions to all the staff working under their control who are on leave of any kind to immediately report for their duties," the order stated.

The directions came in the wake of a spurt in the number coronavirus cases in the national capital and dearth of doctors and medical staff.

Delhi is under immense pressure to improve the health infrastructure as the city government expects coronavirus cases to climb up to 5.5 lakh by July-end.

Currently, the national capital has more than 50,000 cases, third highest cases in the country, while over 2,000 people have succumbed to the dreaded virus so far.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Spend any time around the Santa Fe Plaza and you will see license plates from all corners of the country, such as Florida, Louisiana and Minnesota.

As business restrictions have begun easing due to fewer cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico, tourists have begun trickling into the capital city, albeit at a slower rate than usual.

Multiple business owners in downtown Santa Fe said they have begun seeing an increase in foot traffic over the past couple of weeks.

Its kind of gotten busier in stages, said Joey Maestas, manager of The Original Trading Post. Its a lot of out-of-town tourists. Thats always what our business has been.

City officials have also taken notice of the increase in tourism, especially in the wake of a forecasted $100 million budget deficit next fiscal year, due largely to a drop in gross receipts and lodgers taxes.

Randy Randall, executive director of Tourism Santa Fe, said on some weekends hotels are meeting the 50% capacity limit set by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Weve seen each week a little restoration of the occupancy there, he said. Theyre turning business away.

However, some local residents have raised concerns about the potential risk of out-of-state tourists visiting Santa Fe, especially from states with fewer coronavirus restrictions.

Former city councilor Frank Montano, who runs a tour bus in Santa Fe, said he has noticed many people in the Plaza not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

You cant help but think that those people that are downtown who arent wearing a mask are likely folks that are visiting, he said.

Maestas, himself from Santa Fe, said spikes in the number of cases in nearby states has him worried, noting Arizona as a specific example.

And the daily rate of infections in Santa Fe County has increased slightly in recent weeks, Randall said. He said the city is not currently worried unless the rate continues to grow.

Anne McKinnel and Don Reilly, both wearing masks, recently arrived for a visit from Colorado Springs. They said New Mexicos success in social distancing was part of the reason they decided to visit.

We definitely checked that out before deciding to come here, Reilly said.

Many of those walking around the Plaza Friday were not wearing any kind of face covering, despite orders from Lujan Grisham and the city of Santa Fe requiring people to wear one. McKinnel had taken notice of the lack of masks.

I think if youre a tourist and you come into somebody elses community, you should show them respect by wearing the mask, she said.

Several tourists without a mask declined to be interviewed. One tourist said he had recently arrived in New Mexico from New York City and had just returned from Shiprock, a town in the Navajo Nation hit especially hard by the coronavirus. Nation President Jonathan Nez has asked tourists not to visit Navajo sites in order to reduce the number of infections.

Randall said the city is in the process of placing signs in the downtown area that remind visitors to wear masks.

While he acknowledged the risks of visitors coming from other states, he said tourists supporting local businesses are vital to Santa Fe maintaining its identity.

We just cant stay closed forever, Randall said. To try and stay closed for a year is just insane.

McKinnel said she noticed how eager some business owners in Santa Fe were after having been closed for so long, specifically a pottery shop she visited.

I almost feel bad for the amazing deal they gave us on two absolutely beautiful Indian pots, she said. I couldnt pass it up, but at the same time, the economy is so struggling right now that you want to support them.
CA Unemployment May 2020 View Photo

Sacramento, CA  Californias latest unemployment figures show the rate was much higher than previously thought.

State figures released Friday for the month of May indicate a minimal drop to 16.3 percent as employers added 141,600 jobs. However, the numbers have been revised because the April figure originally reported as 15.5 percent turned out to be 16.4 percent after an adjustment was made to correct a classification error.

The minimal job gain of a tenth-of-a-percent follows an incredible loss in April of 2.4 million jobs, a staggering number that state officials acknowledge as never before seen in Californias history.

Locally, in Calaveras County, the May figures indicate the unemployment rate is at 12 percent (2,390 unemployed out of a workforce reported at 19,970). In Tuolumne County, at 16.5 percent (3,430 workers of a 20,790 workforce), the rate is slightly higher than the state average.

The counties with the highest unemployment are Mono and Imperial, which respectively come in at 28.9 percent and 27.8 percent. Lassen County comes in with the lowest rate at 10 percent. San Francisco County reported 12.6 percent of its workforce as unemployed.

Government Jobs Show Largest Losses

Nine of Californias 11 industry sectors gained jobs in May. Construction posted the largest job gain (+75,000) thanks to strength in specialty trade contractors and ongoing construction projects. Leisure and hospitality (+64,800) had the second-largest job gain due to growth in accommodation and food services. Government (-95,800) had the largest drop with state and local government jobs both experiencing large decreases over the month.

The states percentage of unemployed workers remains far higher than the 12.3 percent rate it hit at the height of the Great Recession a decade ago. California has paid more than $30 billion in unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic, according to the California Employment Development Department. The state has exhausted its account to pay these benefits, forcing it to borrow more than $2 billion from the federal government.

It is even more shocking to compare the states current employment straits to this past February before COVID-19 impacts hit when Californias economic expansion had hit the decade mark during which more than 3.4 million jobs that had been created accounted for 15 percent of the nations job growth. About two-thirds of those gains were wiped out in April and the unemployment rate hit double digits for the first time since the Great Recession.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 38 states saw their unemployment rates decline since April when officials began loosening their stay-at-home orders and businesses began reopening.
For decades, humans have been scanning the skies to find anything that can prove the existence of another life in our galaxy. Countless people have tried to establish evidence with sightings of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) to others trying to break into Area 51, long rumoured to house US government secrets about alien life.

Just recently we heard of study published by The Astrophysical Journal, which says that aliens not only exist but that there is specific number of alien civilisations which is, 36 in our Galaxy alone.

Twitter/@vcatolico

The online journal published metrics and approaches that went into guessing just how many alien societies are capable of interstellar messaging (a group known as Communicating Extraterrestrial Intelligent civilizations, or CETI).

Taking things on the alien life front to the next level, NASA is now funding a group of astronomers to search the Universe for signs of alien civilizations via technosignatures.

Researchers technosignatures identifiable on Earth will also be identifiable in some way outside of the solar system.



Technosignatures relate to signatures of advanced alien technologies similar to, or perhaps more sophisticated than, what we possess, said Avi Loeb, Frank B Baird Junior Professor of Science at Harvard, reports ANI.

Such signatures might include industrial pollution of atmospheres, city lights, photovoltaic cells (solar panels), megastructures, or swarms of satellites.



NASA

Avi Loeb, Professor of Science at Harvard. said, The nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, hosts a habitable planet, Proxima b. The planet is thought to be tidally locked with permanent day and night sides."



The study, Characterising Atmospheric Technosignatures, will initially focus on searching for two particular signatures that may indicate the presence of technological activities on extrasolar planetary bodies: solar panels and pollutants.



My hope is that using this grant, we will quantify new ways to probe signs of alien technological civilizations that are similar to or much more advanced than our own, said Loeb. The fundamental question we are trying to address is: are we alone? But I would add to that: even if we are alone right now, were we alone in the past?



This is the first NASA non-radio technosignature grant ever awarded and represents an exciting new direction for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).





ALL INPUTS ANI
A DUP proposal to name a Craigavon leisure centre in honour of Northern Ireland's centenary is set to meet fierce opposition.

The matter will be brought before Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council on Monday night.

Mark Baxter, the DUP's group leader on the council, is behind the plan, which would see the new facility called the Centenary Leisure Centre.

Opponents branded it a political stunt.

The SDLP said it would be celebrating the "worst thing to happen to Ireland since partition".

Outlining his proposal, Mr Baxter said: "Our country celebrates a great milestone on May 21 next year, our 100th anniversary as a nation within the United Kingdom. Given the current economic situation, we, as a party, discussed a fitting and inexpensive way to mark this significant anniversary, so we will propose that the council officially name the new leisure centre in Craigavon as the 'Centenary Leisure Centre'."

SDLP councillor Joe Nelson, a member of the leisure centre's project board, hit out at the proposal and made it clear he will be "very vocal" in his opposition.

He said: "We knew there would be an effort by the DUP to try and stamp its authority on this centre. The default name from day one has been the South Lake Leisure Centre. This is something that I feel defines accurately the provision of this state-of-the-art facility and the environment in which it is located.

"This proposal by the DUP is nothing more than a political stunt. They want to call it after something that I would describe as the worst thing to happen to Ireland since partition.

"I am someone who respects others' views but I will be very vocal about my opposition to this proposal when it is raised in council. The proposal will be taken by the Catholic/nationalist community as another insult by the DUP group on council as it continues to try to drag us back to the 'Ballygobackwards' days of Craigavon council.

"It is a slap in the face to nationalist people and I would urge the Ulster Unionist Party to stand up and be counted on Monday night."

Alliance group leader Eoin Tennyson said his party favoured retaining the name South Lake Leisure Centre.

He added: "Alliance believes council facilities should be named in a manner which maintains neutrality and reflects locality, so as to be welcoming for everyone across our community.

"The existing name of South Lake Leisure Centre achieves this, recognising local connections without memorialising or political posturing.

"Any change at this late stage would mean further delay to the opening of the centre and additional cost to ratepayers as an equality impact assessment would have to be satisfied, signage replaced at a potential cost of more than 40,000, and planning implications would have to be considered.

"We may even find ourselves in a position where residents are left without leisure provision altogether for an extended period.

"The centenary of Northern Ireland is a significant event in our shared history, and of course it is right that we mark it in a thoughtful, inclusive and informative way.

"Now, more than ever, people want to see their councillors showing leadership, working together and focused on the ongoing pandemic. Engaging in political point-scoring or a faux fight over the name of a leisure centre is merely a distraction from that."

Due to the make-up of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, should the Ulster Unionist Party decided to back this proposal, it will have the majority required to carry.

However, Ulster Unionist councillor Julie Flaherty explained the party has yet to meet over the issue.

"Unfortunately the UUP group have not had the opportunity to meet and discuss this matter," said the Portadown councillor.

"We will do so in anticipation of the council meeting on Monday night."

Sinn Fein was asked for comment.
Warning comes after Taiwan announced plans to help those thinking of fleeing Hong Kong as Beijing draws up security law.

The Chinese government has warned Taiwan against offering protection to rioters from Hong Kong as international criticism grew of Beijings move to impose a controversial security law that bans separatism and foreign interference in Hong Kong.

In a statement late on Friday, Chinas policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office denounced plans by Taipei to help those thinking of fleeing Hong Kong over Beijings tightening grip on the semi-autonomous city.

Providing shelter for and taking onto the island the rioters and elements who bring chaos to Hong Kong will only continue to bring harm to Taiwans people, it said.

The warning came a day after Taiwan, a self-governed island that has already welcomed scores of dissidents from Hong Kong, said it would set up a dedicated office to practically handle humanitarian relief and care for Hong Kong people.

The new office begins operations on the sensitive date of July 1, the day Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997 with the promise of continued, wide-ranging freedoms under Chinas one country, two systems formula.

Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong say those freedoms are increasingly under threat as Chinese legislators draft a national security law banning what it termed secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the global financial hub.





Details of the law are not known, but Beijing and Hong Kong officials say the legislation will only target a small number of troublemakers while leaving rights and freedoms intact.

The legislation followed months of protests in Hong Kong last year, with millions taking to the streets against a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed residents of the city to be extradited to mainland China for trial.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen was one of the first world leaders to express support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong when demonstrations erupted in June last year. Tsais moves have angered China, as Beijing also claims Taiwan as its own, with officials threatening to bring the self-ruled island under Beijings control by force if necessary.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously offered the one country, two systems formula to Taiwan, but Tsai firmly rejected the proposal in a speech on May 20 after being sworn in for her second term in office.

In its Friday statement, the Chinese government said the plots of forces advocating independence for Hong Kong and Taiwan, and those seeking to damage one country, two systems will never succeed.

Separately on Friday, the European Parliament condemned the Hong Kong national security law, with legislators calling on the European Union to take China to the International Court of Justice if it implements the legislation.

The parliament believes that the EU should use its economic leverage to challenge Chinas crackdown on human rights by economic means, said the resolution, which passed with 565 votes in favour to 35 against.

The parliaments resolutions are non-binding but the political signals they provide can steer European governments policy.

You Wenze, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress, Chinas parliament, expressed firm opposition to the EU resolution, which he said seriously distorted the facts and amounted to open interference in Hong Kong affairs, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

The Chinese parliaments top decision-making body had been reviewing a draft of the security legislation for Hong Kong since Thursday. An initial Xinhua report on the Standing Committee meeting said it ended on Saturday morning but made no mention of Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet also expressed concern over Beijings moves on Friday, saying that any laws imposed on Hong Kong must fully comply with Chinas human rights obligations and international treaties protecting civil and political freedoms.

Hours later, Chinas mission to the UN in Geneva said Bachelets remarks were improper and grossly interfered in its sovereignty and internal affairs.
An Academy Road restaurateur is hoping to bypass social distancing rules by installing an air purifier thats been effective in inactivating viruses such as H1N1, bird flu and norovirus.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An Academy Road restaurateur is hoping to bypass social distancing rules by installing an air purifier thats been effective in inactivating viruses such as H1N1, bird flu and norovirus.

Scot McTaggart, owner of Fusion Grill, said he hopes government health officials will consider the Reme Halo air purifier as a viable safety precaution businesses can use to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. RGF Environmental Group makes the purifier. The company claims their products have a 99 per cent inactivation rate of bird flu, H1N1, norovirus, and bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. Kansas State University tested the companys products inactivation rates.

Nobody has tested to see if Reme Halo is effective against COVID-19, but studies should begin soon, a spokesperson from RGF Environmental Group said.

The purifier attaches to air conditioning or heating system air ducts. It produces hydrogen peroxide plasma that goes through the air handler, the duct system and into the room. The plasma makes particles stick together, making them bigger for filters to catch, according to RGF Environmental Groups website.

If Reme Halo proves to be effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, then there should be no need for physical distancing, McTaggart said.

He said he wants his staff and customers to be safe  but physical distancing measures make it hard to keep a restaurant afloat.

"The margins in the restaurant business are small to start with," McTaggart said. "We kind of need our capacity, especially on Friday and Saturday nights."

Fusion Grill opened a patio to accommodate COVID-19 measures. Five of its 12 tables are open inside. Hand sanitizer is abundant and the staff make sure to wipe down tables and chairs often, McTaggart said.

Returning to 100 per cent capacity will be difficult with social distancing measures in place, McTaggart said. He called Plexiglas "expensive" and said his restaurant is too small to hang washable curtains everywhere.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"It would remind me of one of those communal hospital rooms with the curtains drawn across," he said.

McTaggart has had a Reme Halo attached to a portable unit for a month. Hell have one installed permanently in the restaurants HVAC unit next Tuesday. He spent $1,600 on the purifier.

He said the restaurant smells fresher now, but its hard to see the difference.

McTaggart said hes spoken with government affairs officials at Restaurants Canada about the purifiers, but he hasnt spoken with provincial health officials. Some people hes spoken with have been skeptical.

"Its a seeing is believing type thing, a how much is this gonna cost type thing," he said.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca
By Terron Sims

Sims is a former Army Captain and Security Fellow with the Truman National Securioty Project. He lives in Arlington.

Recently, it was announced that Virginia will receive nearly $67 million in emergency education fundingas a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Congress passed March 27. The funding comes from the Governors Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, which allocates nearly $3 billion for governors to use at their discretion to support their states K-12 and higher education needs related to COVID-19. While this critical funding will help expand online learning for students and provide a safety net for colleges and universities, it is imperative that Gov. Northam and Virginias education leaders ensure that these emergency funds also help address the educational achievement gaps that are bound to worsen by the COVID-19 crisis.

COVID-19 caught everyone off guard, from the average citizen to elected officials. Government and civic systems were not, and still are not, in place that allows for our society to function as we are accustomed; thus, the importance of Virginias CARES Act funds to supplement much needed education dollars in the commonwealth. Virginia leaders are primed to take the important steps to address the urgent challenges facing every aspect of our education system, from early childhood education programs to K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. But without intentional action to address Virginias persistent achievement gap, low-income students and students of color may fall further behind.

A 2019 report from the Virginia State Board of Education shows that Virginia is one of seventeen states with regressive school funding. This means that learning institutions in high poverty areas receive less funding than those in wealthier areas. In fact, high poverty areas receive 89 cents for every dollar that wealtheir areas receive.

This goes hand-in-hand with Virginias shortage of high-quality teachers, especially in high poverty jurisdictions. According to the Virginia State Board of Education report, This shortage has reached emergency levels in many high poverty school divisions that do not have the resources to compete with other school divisions. Additionally, black students in Virginia are nearly two times as likely to be assigned an ineffective teacher and if black students were taught by a teacher in the top quartile of effectiveness for four consecutive years, the achievement gap between black and white students in the commonwealth would be eliminated.

When Virginia school systems began to end the physical in-the-classroom aspect of school, school boards and superintendents across the commonwealth truly became aware of the education disparities that exist amongst their student populations, especially when it comes to the ability to institute online learning and teaching. Most students have had to make adjustments to continue their learning this school year, but some of the challenges faced like access to reliable WI-FI, computers and remote learning tools are often more unique to children living in low-income, disinvested communities.

And while dollars are a key part in closing this new education gap, they are not the only variable in the solution. State and local leaders need to partner with business and non-profits and gain their assistance in tackling COVID-like situations. We cannot expect our school systems to tackle these problems alone. They need assistance in purchasing computers and hot spot devices for online learning; purchasing supplies for cleaning and sanitization, supporting professional development for educators, and supporting access to quality instruction for students with disabilities.

As schools continue to experience prolonged closures, children who rely on free or reduced meals at their public schools are at risk of losing a vital source of nutritious food. Being that food resources are finite and not cheap, it is imperative that, though the meals are made available to all, that only those who truly need them attain them. I was dismayed to have witnessed a handful of parents acquiring food in Arlington who I knew did not need it. Though they did not break any rules, their un-neighborly actions caused our schools to not fully serve all of the families that particular day, as was intended.

COVID-19 has shined a light on previously unknown disparities in our education system and has been a powerful reminder of the ongoing problems that we urgently need to address. Our elected and education leaders must lean in on solving these problems and think creatively towards ensuring that our educational institutions are prepared to educate our students amid this current crisis and see us safely through in case another COVID-like situation occurs.

We have been in tough times before and overcame them. And with a focus on supporting all of those in need in our education system, we will overcome this tough time, as well.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies during the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Hearings to examine implementation of Title I of the CARES Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 10, 2020. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Getty Images)

Trump Administration to Release Names of Businesses That Received Large PPP Loans

The Trump administration, in a sharp reversal, is releasing the names of some businesses that received money from a federal government program created to alleviate burdens during virus-fueled lockdowns.

The name of any business that received $150,000 or more from the Paycheck Protection Program will be released, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Treasury said in a joint statement.

Meetings with lawmakers from both parties led to the decision.

I am pleased that we have been able to reach a bipartisan agreement on disclosure which will strike the appropriate balance of providing public transparency, while protecting the payroll and personal income information of small businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

We value transparency and our fiduciary responsibility to ensure American taxpayer funds are used appropriately, added Jovita Carranza, the SBAs administrator.

Business names, addresses, zip codes, business type, demographic data, nonprofit information, jobs supported, loan amount, and North American Industry Classification System codes will be released.

A pedestrian wears his mask while walking past a closed Nickel Diner in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

The Paycheck Protection Program was created in April to help companies pay employees. Many businesses were forced to shut down by governors, who imposed harsh measures to try to stop the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Loans totaling $150,000 or more accounted for nearly 75 percent of the loan dollars approved through the program.

For loans below $150,000, totals will be released, aggregated by zip code, by industry, by business type, and by various demographic categories.

Senate Small Business Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was pushing for transparency regarding loans, said the agreement will help Americans know how effective the program was in protecting the nations small businesses and the workers they employ.

That is the standard by which we must measure the success of the PPP: how many paychecks were protected, he said in a statement.

I also understand the very real concern that many small business owners have with regard to disclosing proprietary information. Todays announcement strikes a balance between those concerns and the need for transparency.

Jovita Carranza, administrator of the Small Business Administration, testifies to the Senate in Washington on June 10, 2020. (Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images)

Mnuchin told Rubios committee last week the Trump administration wouldnt release a list of the businesses that received loans, arguing the names and loan amounts were proprietary information and, in many cases, confidential.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Treasury Department finally gave in to public pressure from Democrats because their position of hiding which businesses have received PPP loans was untenable.

This reversal is a good start and will help us determine if taxpayer money went where Congress intendedto the truly small and unbanked small business, he said in a statement.

According to figures released by the government, some 4.6 million loans have been approved as of June 19.

The approved dollars recently topped $514 billion, with an average loan size of $110,543.

Nearly 3 million loans were for $50,000 or less while around 4,800 were for over $5 million.
Being one of the easiest crops to grow, wheat is the main ingredient in staple dishes and baked goods around the world, like pasta, pizza and bread products. Easy to cultivate in various climates, high in carbohydrates, and with more protein than in corn and rice, wheat is a relatively cheap and easily attainable source of energy. Although other industries have been affected by the virus through cut-backs, wheat production is flourishing. In fact, a record amount of wheat supply is projected for 2020, with the biggest contributors on this list of the largest wheat-producing countries in the world.

1. China

China continues to be the top single country wheat producer in the world, with 135,000,000 metric tonnes of wheat produced this year or 29% of the world's total. Rice is China's top agricultural product and consumed predominantly in the south. However, wheat, being a winter crop, thrives in the northern provinces, where temperatures hit negative double digits, and people prefer to eat noodles. Paleobotanical evidence, which is based on studying plant fossils, suggests that wheat originated around Afghanistan or Central Asia and made its way into China through the northern province of Xinjiang. Archaeological evidence, which includes human factors such as ancient tools used to cultivate wheat, suggests that wheat came to China from either Siberia or Mongolia in Eurasia.

2. India

Indian farmers separating husk and wheat grains from the chopped wheat using a thresher machine. Image credit: Sahil Ghosh/Shutterstock.com

Just like in China, wheat is India's second most produced crop after rice, and dominates staple dishes in the north of the country. More adaptable to weather changes, than rice, wheat is sown in India throughout the fall season and harvested in winter-spring. Producing 103,000,000 metric tonnes of wheat this year, India takes the second place on this list.

3. Russia

Russia gets the third place in the worlds wheat production and the first place as the world's top exporter of wheat, with 77,000 metric tonnes produced and $6.4 billion worth exported in 2019, or nearly 17% of all wheat exports. Although Russia is projected to stay the top wheat exporter for the upcoming year, there has been a steady decrease from previous years, which is likely to continue. In fact, Russia is planning to put limits on its wheat export to protect its food supply, as an effect of COVID-19, and as a precaution after the U.S. made a major wheat sale to China. Back in March, Russia's agricultural ministry proposed to limit its all-grain export to 7-8 million tonnes in three-month period, from April to June. With 2.3 million tonnes of wheat quoted, Russia hit and bypassed this quota by the end of April. Experts say that the world's wheat trade patterns and prices will greatly change, if Russia continues to stockpile its wheat and puts a definitive quota on its wheat export. Countries in the middle-east, especially those still struggling with the pandemic, are stockpiling their own flour, in case Russia goes through with this decision.

4. United States

Image credit: Mc_Cloud/Shutterstock.com

Although corn and soybean dominate US' agriculture over wheat, US ranks fourth in the world's top wheat producers. With Kansas and North Dakota as its top suppliers (https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/leading-wheat-producing-states-in-the-united-states.html), US produced 50,784,000 metric tonnes of wheat this year, short of 1,5 million metric tonnes from last year's supply.

5. France

France leads the EU in wheat production with nearly 40,000,000 metric tonnes produced last year. Supplying 4% of the global total, France is deserving of the fifth place on this list, as a country with a relatively small land surface.

6. Canada

Canada comes in next with 34,000,000 metric tonnes of wheat produced this year. Canada's wheat export earns Canada more money than any other agricultural product, sitting at $5.5 billion, or just over 14% of the world's total. Canadian scientists and manufacturers work together on developing optimal growing methods for the Canadian climate and innovative technologies to produce many varieties of wheat, also making Canada a leading world producer of high-protein milling wheat. The Canadian Grain Commission and researchers stand behind the consistently quality Canadian wheat, giving Canada a reputation of being the breadbasket of the world.

7. Ukraine

Child in Ukrainian national costume with a loaf of bread in his hand. Image credit: Kozub Vasyl/Shutterstock.com

The European breadbasket, Ukraine, with vast fields and a hardworking nation, comes in the sixth place of top wheat producers in the world, having yielded over 29,171,000 metric tonnes last year. Home to thousands of bakeries and coffee shops, comparable to Western Europe, it is no surprise that cereal is its second-highest export. Driving through the country, one will witness endless golden fields, which are even portrayed on Ukraine's blue and yellow flag. Having recently faced conflict and changes in governance, Ukraine is also slowly shifting focus from farming to advanced manufacturing and IT, losing a little over 1,000,000 metric tonnes in wheat production from last year's total.

Others

Although Pakistan currently holds the next spot on this list with 26,100,000 metric tonnes of wheat produced last year and additional 1,800,000 metric tonnes this year, Australia is set to overtake the seventh place with a personal record increase of 8,800,000 metric tonnes in one year. Yielding only 15,200,000 metric tonnes last year, Australia was able to successfully overcome the drought and produce 24,000,000 metric tonnes this year, as a result of its mild climate and vast land, also making wheat it's number one product to export.

As a flexible crop, wheat thrives in various regions and conditions. Not the world pandemic, climatic changes, nor trends, such as the gluten-free fad, which started in the west and is spreading to the bread-loving Europe, have had an impact on the worlds top wheat producers, who are set for the highest wheat production ever.
TORONTO, ON- NOVEMBER 9: NOVEMBER 9 - Thug Kitchen duo Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis dropped by the Star kitchen to make Worth-The-Mess Sloppy Joes. Photo: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images, Contributor / Toronto Star via Getty Images Photo: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images, Contributor / Toronto Star via Getty Images

The Thug cant take the heat and is getting out of the kitchen.

Thug Kitchen, the popular cooking site, podcast, series of books and even a potential restaurant concept  in which delicate vegan recipes aimed largely at a white audience are paired with indelicate instructions written as if by a black hip-hop crew  is undergoing a name and content change, according to Los Angeles-based founders Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis.

Holloway, whos from Houston, and Davis, both white, issued a statement on thugkitchen.com that theyve seen the error of their Julia Child-meets-Ja Rule culinary ways, which some critics deride as digital blackface. Theyve defended their approach in the past  including a 2017 appearance at Austins South by Southwest  but, apparently, the tumult and cultural reexamination of the George Floyd moment has gotten to them.

When we first launched Thug Kitchen in 2012, we wanted our name to signal our brands grit in the otherwise polished and elitist food scene, they write. Over the years, as our critics pointed out the racist connotations of two white people using the word thug, we tried to contextualize it by talking about our backgrounds and our beliefs.

We realize, however, that whatever our original intention, our use of it reflected our privilege and ignored the reality that the word is assigned to black people in an attempt to dehumanize them. Thats (messed) up and not at all what we want to stand for. We apologize. We recognize we need to do better.

They go on to state that the name of the company and website will change, and the titles of previous cookbooks will also be altered. Also, they will reevaluate the content of each book.

These changes are underway but will take a little while longer while we finish the work, they conclude. Were serious about being advocates for change and that starts with us.

Holloway and Davis originally wrote anonymously, and many assumed that Thug Kitchen was penned by a young, black hip-hop head who liked to cook.

As Veg News explains, Many followers believed that the blogs creator was a POC (person of color) and the use of the term thug a racially charged descriptor often used to criminalize POC  was an honest attempt to redefine the race-coded word in order to promote veganism to communities of color. In 2014, before the publication of the blogs first book, Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a (expletive) an interview with Epicurious revealed that Holloway and Davis were two white people living in East Hollywood in Los Angeles.

Take, for example, this edited introduction to their recipe for snap pea and radish rice noodles with peanut pesto: Youre not still (messing) with some mayo-soaked pasta salad, right? Because that (expletive) always gets left in the sun for the wasps. (Expletive) all that. Whip up a bowl of these next level noodles and start spring with SOME (expletive) RESPECT FOR YOURSELF.

Their book titles include Thug Kitchen Party Grub: For Social (expletive): A Cookbook and Thug Kitchen 101: Fast as (Bleep) The podcast is titled Forked Up.

One of TKs harshest critics was black vegan chef Bryant Terry, author of Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes, who, in a piece for CNN, notes he too was intrigued and amused at first. But then came the big reveal.

Certainly, swearing isnt exclusive to African Americans, he says. But many of the sites captions, usually dreamed up by Davis to accompany Holloways striking visuals, rely heavily on phrases from black rap lyrics, stand-up routines and films, which eventually went mainstream.  And thats a problem.

Its no coincidence that Thug Kitchens admirers often imagined the voice of the site to be that of shrill, vulgar and often uproariously funny black men, like actor Samuel L. Jackson or rapper Ghostface Killah, and not that of actor Robert De Niro or Hells Angels founder Sonny Barger, Terry says. The contrast drawn between the consciously progressive dishes shown and the imagined vulgar, ignorant thug only works if the thug is the kind of grimy person of color depicted in the news and in popular media as hustling drugs on a dystopian block, under the colorful glow of various burger stands, bulletproof take-out spots or bodega signs.

When asked, for a 2018 blubrry podcast, why they decided to take the approach they did, Holloway responded, We wanted to be really aggro with, like, the tone because, I mean, we say this all the time, but, like, eating healthy and taking care of yourself and cooking a meal for yourself, we take that (expletive) seriously, and we want to grab the audience and, like, shake the (expletive) out of them and be, like, eat a (expletive) salad, like, Im worried about you.

Michelles from the Bay and Im from Houston, like, these sort of Malibu cookbooks are not reflective of us.

cary.darling@chron.com
NEW US DIVISION TO LEAD THE CHARGE AS AUSTRALIAN COMPANY EMBARKS ON NEW VISION FOR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

Sydney, Australia, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading Australian residential and retail developer Crown Group has announced the companys new Los Angeles division with the appointment of Patrick Caruso as the Head of US Development and Samuel Sunito as a Development Associate. Crown Group is a leading Australian real estate group specializing in mixed use development and investment. The group recently announced its first move into the US market to develop a mixed-use high-rise condominium and hotel tower that will bring a touch of the enviable Aussie lifestyle to LAs burgeoning Downtown district.

Patrick and Samuel have formed a great team as the foundation for our new US development effort, said Crown Group CEO Iwan Sunito. We are very bullish on the LA market, even given the recent economic challenges. With the right team in place, we are confident that our efforts to bring this innovative mixed-use tower will be successful.

As Head of US Development, Caruso leads Crown Groups expansion to the United States, responsible for the origination and delivery of development projects to grow Crown Groups pipeline. A native of Australia, Caruso is ideally suited for the role with an extensive background in development spanning over 15 years. Prior to coming aboard with Crown Group, he was with Dexus Limited, a leading Australian real estate investment trust with $31.8 billion of funds under management. He was responsible for the sourcing and execution of development opportunities, including new deals and acquisitions, as well as re-positioning existing assets to create value. Notable projects included 250,000 square foot, office tower, 105 Phillip Street, Parramatta ($229m) and 160,000 mixed use healthcare tower, North Shore Health Hub, Sydney ($224m). Prior to Dexus, Caruso held positions at Walker Corporation Pty Limited, Australias largest private diversified real estate developer. Notable projects included 2.8m square foot, mixed use office development, Collins Square, Melbourne ($2.5bn) and 350 lot master planned community, Appin Valley Estate, NSW ($100m). He is a graduate of the University of Technology with a Bachelor of Property Economics and Macquarie University with a Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Finance.

Story continues

Samuel Sunito serves as a Development Associate with Crown Group. He previously worked as a Sales Executive for the company, following his graduation from the University of Southern Californias Marshall School of Business where he received a degree in Business Administration. In his role as Development Associate, he provides key support for the groups forthcoming mixed-use condo and hotel planned for Downtown LA.

Crown Group is progressing entitlements with the Los Angeles City Hall for the proposed tower, which is earmarked for the southeast corner of South Hill and 11th streets at the convergence of Downtowns financial, fashion and South Park districts. The striking 43-story tower has an inspirational design by world-renowned Koichi Takada Architects and is destined to redefine the Downtown skyline. It will embody Crown Groups philosophy of melding inspired architecture with a futuristic vision of a new way of living, to become an iconic landmark for the city. The project at 1111 Hill Street is expected to be completed in 2025.

The high-rise of the building will comprise 319 condominiums with an exclusive residents retreat over the top two floors and a facade design that references Californias gigantic ancient redwood trees. A dramatic street canopy will ground the tower and incorporate a breathing green wall, designed to improve the citys air quality and introduce a unique landscaping feature to the Downtown streetscape.

Crown Groups LA office is also in discussions with several lifestyle hotel brands to incorporate a 160-key hotel in the low rise of the building, which is set to become one of the citys most desirable getaways.

Established in Sydney in 1996, Crown Group has built its reputation on delivering iconic luxury developments and today has a $5 billion pipeline spanning five cities and two continents.





ABOUT CROWN GROUP (Australia)

Crown Group Holdings (Crown Group) is a leading Australian property group specialising in property development, property investment and serviced apartments. The company was co-founded by architect Mr. Iwan Sunito and engineer Mr. Paul Sathio with its first project in Sydney in 1996 and its residential (condominium) developments have won more than 30 international awards.

Crown Group has successfully completed major developments in Sydneys best locations including Bondi, Bondi Junction, Parramatta, Ashfield, Epping, Homebush, Newington, Pennant Hills and Rhodes and most recently the 25-storey Arc by Crown Group in Sydney CBD and 2017 Property Council of Australias Annual Property Congress one of the Worlds Best Projects Infinity by Crown Group in Green Square.

Today, Crown Group boasts a portfolio of six major projects under development and in the pipeline. It is currently developing three major projects in the Sydney area: the $500 million five tower precinct Mastery by Crown Group in Waterloo being developed with Mitsubishi Estate Asia; Waterfall by Crown Group in Waterloo; and Eastlakes Live by Crown Group the most exciting new address in the Eastern Suburbs. It also has projects in Brisbane, Melbourne and Los Angeles.

Crown Group launched SKYE Suites in Parramatta in August 2017 and SKYE Suites Sydney in October 2018. It is due to open SKYE Suites Green Square (Sydney) soon.

www.crowngroup.com.au

Attachments

Natasha Granath

Crown Group

+61 410 494 774

natashagranath@crowngroup.com.au


The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will begin detailed interrogation of JP Morgan India board members including a Chinese national to take forward its money laundering probe linked to the alleged diversion of crores of rupees of home buyers who wanted to purchase an abode in Amrapali Group's real estate projects.

What has come as a shot in the arm for the agency is a June 18 order of the Supreme Court directing the multi-national firm JP Morgan to transfer over Rs 140 crore plus interest from its bank accounts, that has been recently attached by the ED, to the escrow account maintained by the UCO bank.

The apex court said that the money would be used for completing the pending projects of the now defunct Amrapali Group.

Officials probing money laundering crimes said this is the first time that the apex court has sought transfer of such funds in its accounts after being satisfied with the provisional attachment order issued by the central agency.

Usually, funds once attached are kept in the bank accounts where they are and the order for attachment is sent to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Adjudicating Authority for approval and subsequent confiscation of assets.

The ED had recently attached, as part of an order issued under the PMLA, more than Rs 187 crore funds of JP Morgan India Pvt Ltd kept in a bank branch in Mumbai.

The apex court, which is monitoring this case, had in December last year directed the ED to take charge of investigation and asked its Lucknow zone Joint Director Rajeshwar Singh to take action against JP Morgan under the anti-money laundering law and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and apprise it on a regular basis.

An ED team led by Singh attends the court hearings too.

The top court had cracked whip on errant builders for breaching the trust of home buyers, ordered cancellation of Amrapali Group's registration under real estate law RERA and ousted it from its prime properties in the national capital region by nixing the land leases in July last year.

Official sources said the investigating agency has now sought all financial documents, agreements, memorandum of understanding and others from JP Morgan India and will begin detailed interrogation and recording of statement of its directors like Gunjan Bahl, Hrushikesh Kar and Chanakya Chakravarty and few others.

A Chinese national, Todd Wong, who was a Director on the board of J P Morgan India Property Mauritius Company II will also be summoned for questioning and recording of his statement under the PMLA, official sources said.

They said a chargesheet or prosecution complaint will be filed in "due course" after recording of statements.

Wong was on board of the company between February 5, 2010 to April 25, 2013 and as per an ED affidavit "was inducted as the authorised signatory of its escrow account."

"Debit authority of this account was given to him (Wong) as per decision made in the board of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd. It is significant to note that all the banking vouchers through which funds to the tune of Rs 140 crore were transferred or debited from Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt. Ltd to Mannat Buildcraft P Ltd was signed solely by Todd Wong," the ED investigation has found.

The agency has alleged that Mannat Buildcraft is one of the three shell companies or dummy firms used in this case to launder and "divert" funds obtained as deposits from Amrapali home buyers and these monies were then kept in the bank account of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd.

ED has earlier said its investigation found that the "employees of JP Morgan India Ltd on board of Ms Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd and Ms Amrapali Silicon City P Ltd were not only in complete control of the material decision of the respective companies and securing interests of the funds but they also indulged prima facie in money laundering to divert the home buyers funds to the tune of Rs 187 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II in Mauritius and Ms JP Morgan IPF-I Singapore 2 PTE Ltd in Singapore."

The agency had said the Mauritian company "was an active participant in the conspiracy from the very outset" and that JP Morgan India "played a key role in the remittance of diverted funds of the home buyers to Mauritius and Singapore."

These employees of JP Morgan India P Ltd, it had said, serving on the board of Directors of Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd "got arranged the cash flow in the company through funds arranged from other companies of Amrapali group, diversion of the funds of the home buyers, staged valuation of shares, creation of shell companies with dummy directors and sham transactions to finally get accrued about Rs 140 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II.
In the midst of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, Randwick Council commissioned workmen to fill in Clovelly Beach with the concrete slabs that today make it one of the more unusual beaches on Sydney's coast.

It's what governments often do in dire economic times: projects big and small to employ labourers and keep supply chains ticking over, with public amenity to show for it at the end.

The concrete platforms at Clovelly are a legacy of the Great Depression. Credit:Cole Bennetts

A fortnight ago Premier Gladys Berejiklian dumped a long-standing plan to refurbish Stadium Australia, commercially known as ANZ Stadium, and put the $810 million into an infrastructure fund for "shovel-ready" projects which were yet to be determined.

That's on top of the massive infrastructure boom already coming down the pipeline, including the Western Sydney Airport metro (shovels to start later this year) and the extra $1.5 billion Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced just last week for infrastructure.
She's set to welcome her first child with wife Kate Brooks in October.

And Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick looked radiant on Friday as she showcased her growing bump in a candid Instagram snap.

The actress, 44, told fans she'd been feeling her unborn child kick for several days as she pulled up her top to show her bare stomach.

Stunning: Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick looked radiant on Friday as she showcased her growing bump in a candid Instagram snap

Michelle - who has played Vanessa Woodfield on Emmerdale since 2012 - looked glowing as she shared a glimpse of her bump.

The star, who is around five months into her pregnancy, pulled up the top of her grey polka dot pyjamas as she gazed lovingly at her growing tummy.

She captioned the post: 'Feeling the kicks.'

Exciting: The actress is expected her first child with wife Kate Brooks in October (pictured after announcing their baby news in April)

In April, the soap star confirmed her pregnancy in a sweet announcement shared on Instagram, in which she debuted her growing bump.

Michelle is due to give birth to her child with her Emmerdale producer wife Kate in October.

Taking to Instagram, Michelle shared a photo of her and Kate posing together with their dog Fred.

The photo was captioned: 'Fred's big brother duties commence in October #babybrooks.'

Soap star: Michelle has played Vanessa Woodfield on the ITV soap Emmerdale since 2012

Gorgeous: During the COVID-19 lockdown Michelle has been passing the time by baking brownies as shown in a recent snap

The soap star and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year.

They tied the knot at Elvis Presley's home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee in September 2019.

Michelle confirmed the pair had wed on Instagram and told fans: 'In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks,' adding the hashtags: '#graceland #chapelinthewoods #memphis #nextstopnashville.'

Happy: The actress and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year

Michelle's marriage to Kate is her second. She previously wed ex-wife Rosie Nicholl in 2015, after two years together.

They later announced they were divorcing in 2017.

At the time, Michelle had addressed her split with Rosie in interviews and admitted the former couple had 'drifted apart.'
TULSA, Okla. - President Donald Trump took the stage Saturday night for his first political rally since the coronavirus outbreak, facing empty seats and an underwhelming crowd as the overflow outdoor area went unused and protesters gathered on downtown streets to denounce the president's handling of the policing and public health crises roiling the country.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly touted figures suggesting as many as 1 million people signed up for the event. But the number of Trump supporters who showed up fell far short of that. The crowd did not fill the 19,000-seat BOK Center venue, with swaths of upper-level seating empty. The outdoor overflow area remained largely empty, and both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled plans for speeches there.

"There's not a million people like they said," said Erin Taylor, 33, as she left the rally site with her parents.

Trump blamed the news media and protesters for the turnout. "I've been watching the fake news for weeks now, and everything is negative - don't go, don't come, don't do anything," he said during his speech.

Reporters on site saw little evidence of attendees being blocked from going to the rally. One group of protesters blocked one of three entrances into the arena for about 15 minutes, but it was after most people had already entered the arena's outer perimeter.

In the hours before and after the rally, there was rage and bitterness on display in the streets of Tulsa, as polarized Americans shouted at each other about race and the coronavirus.

As the sun set, downtown Tulsa was largely closed for business, with blocks of shuttered restaurants, bars and storefronts, many boarded up. Large crowds of protesters marched around the arena as Trump spoke inside, monitored by police.

The tense scene was largely of Trump's own making. The president insisted on forging ahead with his indoor rally despite health authorities' stark warnings about the risks of crowding thousands of people into an arena as novel coronavirus cases spike in the city. Trump brushed aside criticism about inflaming racial wounds by choosing to hold his rally just blocks from the site of a century-old racial massacre and one day removed from an annual holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people.

The result was a day of finger-pointing and bullhorn-taunting, face-to-face screaming matches and boiling tempers under the sweltering Tulsa sun. Hundreds of supporters and critics filled downtown in anticipation of the president's first political rally since the pandemic brought much of public life to a standstill in March.

By the time Trump took the stage Saturday evening, there had been a series of tense verbal confrontations outside but no reports of violence. Civilians carrying military-style rifles and pistols wandered amid the crowds, claiming they wanted to keep people safe, while Tulsa police and National Guard troops restrained and separated opposing sides.

Fears that the rally could accelerate the spread of the virus were underscored when six members of Trump's campaign advance team tested positive. The campaign made that announcement, saying quarantine procedures had gone into effect for the infected staff members and those in "immediate contact" with them.

Upon entering the rally grounds, attendees were handed blue face coverings and directed through a maze of metal fencing, which led to a touchless temperature screening conducted by volunteers in purple smocks.

The elaborate procedure stood in contrast to the chaotic scenes unfolding downtown. Arguments erupted between protesters and the president's supporters at street corners near the arena, where they traded cries of "Black lives matter!" and "All lives matter!"

Tulsa police sought to separate the groups and directed people out of the streets. David Morledge, 36, of Fayetteville, Ark., held a sign reading "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and challenged an officer who ordered him to move to the sidewalk to arrest him. The officer stepped back and moved on.

At least two people were arrested Saturday. Trump's campaign, which was leasing the BOK Center, directed Tulsa police officers to remove Sheila Buck, a Catholic school art teacher who said she had a ticket to the event and had sat down in protest within the barricaded zone. She was wearing a shirt that read "I can't breathe," among the final words uttered by George Floyd as a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck. Buck spent about six hours in jail and said she was handcuffed the entire time.

Phillip Rufkahr of Missouri was arrested about 4:30 p.m. as police worked to clear Fourth Street of protesters in front of an entrance gate. An arrest report stated that Rufkahr was ordered to stop loitering, but he refused even under threat of arrest.

Adding to the fortified atmosphere, about 250 National Guard soldiers were on hand to assist local authorities. Some were armed in response to an elevation of the threat level, said Lt. Col. Geoff Legler, a spokesman for the Guard. Initially, the plan was to equip them only with batons, shields and pepper spray.

The president arrived in Tulsa at a precarious moment for his presidency. Recent polls show him trailing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, nationally and in some critical swing states, suggesting he has suffered politically from his handling of the virus - which has killed at least 117,000 Americans - and his response to roiling demonstrations over racial injustice and police brutality sparked by the Floyd killing last month.

The protests and the pandemic collided with Trump's visit to Tulsa, where the number of new coronavirus cases continues to grow. The county reported 136 new cases Saturday - marking another high for both single-day and average cases - while the state as a whole reported 331 new infections.

Most police officers, National Guard soldiers, food vendors and the vast majority of people in line chose not to wear face coverings. , though Trump-branded masks dotted the crowd. The Confederate flag also appeared - all the more striking because Oklahoma was not a state at the time of the Civil War.

Margene Dunivant and her son Christian Lynch, both of Tulsa, sat on the edge of the crowd, taking in the scene.

"Everybody here is just full-on American and American Dream and hard-working, and just believes in everything America," said Dunivant, 52. "Nowadays, it's like you put on a Trump shirt and you're considered racist, and it's just wrong. We're good people, and we love everybody."

A contrasting view was also on display in Tulsa, where counteractions were planned with such names as "Dump the Trump Rally" and "Rally Against Hate." Antipathy toward the president - and objections to his insistence on gathering thousands of people indoors for a campaign event - fused with the outpouring for Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating freedom for enslaved black people.

"It's irresponsible, to say the least," said Mareo Johnson, a pastor and the founder of Black Lives Matter Tulsa. His group was involved in organizing a Saturday demonstration at John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, less than a mile from the president's rally.

His message to the city's black residents, he said, was: "Stay focused on what Juneteenth represents."

The commemoration had added significance in Tulsa, a city scarred by racist violence in 1921, when a white mob killed an estimated 300 black residents and devastated an area of the city known at the time as "Black Wall Street." The Tulsa Race Massacre unfolded in the Greenwood neighborhood, where the words "Black Lives Matter" were painted in yellow on a road on Friday.

The events - freighted with political and historical meaning - turned the city into a magnet, leaving epidemiologists and public health officials fearful about the possible spread of the virus. Their concern was heightened by the announcement that members of the advance team, who typically work closely with security and contractors, had been infected.

"It's another demonstration that super-spreaders can be alive and well if you don't use prevention measures, which we know work, including masking, distancing and hand hygiene," said Jay Bhatt, a physician in Chicago and former chief medical officer at the American Hospital Association. "One person can be a cause of significant transmission. Looking at six on an advance team, there could be significant spread."

Some of the elected officials present, however, did not make use of those measures. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said he and his wife, Cindy, underwent rapid covid-19 tests to ensure they would not spread the virus as they moved without masks through the crowds. They walked the downtown streets surrounding the stadium and spoke with those in line after delivering doughnuts and juice to volunteers earlier in the day.

Lankford said the state encouraged attendees to get tested at any of the 80 sites around Oklahoma leading up to the event. Those with health issues could follow online, and those who had concerns about being in the enclosed arena could remain outside.

Robin Wilson, 64, said she was not concerned about contracting the virus inside the stadium despite a heart condition two years ago that led to her use of a wheelchair.

"I'm here because I love my president," said Wilson, who used to work in insurance, "and I feel that he's misrepresented by the mainstream media. And I believe that this is history in the making today, and I wanted to be a part of it."

Brian Clothier, 61, found a more eye-catching way to illustrate his view of possible risks from the virus. He wore an adult diaper over his pants, where he placed a sign saying the underwear would "stop the spread," in a reference to the disputed notion that flatulence can be linked to coronavirus transmission.

A half-mile away, protesters decried the president's visit to their city.

Eli Guerrero, a queer indigenous activist, told a small group gathered at the Center of the Universe, a popular downtown landmark, "Trump being here is an affront to my whole entire family and really every facet of my life."

The event was able to proceed after the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid to require the BOK Center to enforce social distancing guidelines spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and endorsed by members of the president's own coronavirus task force. The campaign's response was that it would hand out masks but not require them to be worn.

Originally scheduled for Friday, which was Juneteenth, the rally was postponed by a day following an outcry. The president, after admitting not to have known about the significance of June 19 for many African Americans, claimed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal to have made it "famous."

Trump on Friday threatened protesters preparing to appear in Tulsa, warning on Twitter: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma, please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

A curfew that had been in place on Thursday was rescinded for Friday night after discussions between Trump and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, who has called the president's decision to hold the event in his city a "tremendous honor" while declining to attend it.

Before 3 p.m., a couple of blocks from the rally venue, Black Lives Matters activists and Trump supporters clashed in the middle of Fourth Street, outside the barricades overseen by the National Guard and Tulsa police. Police stepped in to clear the street and separate megaphone-shouting protesters from the Trump supporters who were yelling right back.

William Dunbar, a 33-year-old Tulsa resident, approached the faceoff between Trump supporters and protesters with firearms strapped across his chest and on his hip to express his "First and Second Amendment rights."

The Tulsa native said he was there as a deterrent.

"The last thing I want is to hurt another individual," he said. "I'm a de-escalator."

While Trump supporters and protesters tangled near the BOK Center, Sharon Erby, a 59-year-old native of the historically black neighborhood of Greenwood, sat with friends under a tree across from the Vernon Chapel A.M.E. church, which was set ablaze during the 1921 massacre.

While Greenwood was quiet Saturday, the mood was no less defensive and unaffected by the division in the city. She and her friends spent the day in the church social hall making protest signs about defunding police and investing in public health.

"These are expressions of what people are feeling," Erby said. "This is what was in their hearts."

As Trump supporters gathered inside the arena, another crowd convened at Veterans Park, about a 30 minute walk away. It was a multicultural group of hundreds gathered for The Rally Against Hate to hear civil rights protest veterans, new activists, and musicians, organized by Tykebrean Cheshire, who said she started a nonprofit called Peaceful Rally Tulsa 10 days ago.

"That 8 minutes and 46 seconds changed the whole world. It made people think, why have I not been listening," said Cheshire, 21, who is black and Hispanic, referring to the amount of time George Floyd was pinned on the ground. "Some people thought, that could've been my son. And others thought, that couldn't have been my son. And they were both right."

She says she quit her job at Target and dedicated her adult life to peaceful organizing. The distance from the BOK center was intentional.

"Our biggest thing was to make sure people felt safe tonight," Cheshire said. "Going to the BOK Center didn't feel like a safe option. I wanted to do the old school MLK thing. We're able to connect with each other, and that's the most important thing today.

Some protesters tried to get into the arena, despite the heavy police presence. One of the leaders of the group was Sincere Terry, an 18-year-old prelaw student at the University of Central Oklahoma. Tulsa police told her and several supporters it was up to the private security group contracted by the Trump campaign whether they gained access. Security turned them away a second time after police cleared the area and reopened the gates.

"It's disrespectful for [Trump] to be here right after Juneteenth," said Terry, who had a ticket to the rally. "I'm not surprised by how we were treated. This is America. It's sickening. We're still getting lynched in Houston in 2020 and instead of protecting us, the National Guard is out here in Tulsa. This is being black in America. You get used to it or you don't, but this generation is going to put an end to it."

- - -

Stanley-Becker reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Ziva Branstetter, Kelsy Schlotthauer, Josh Dawsey and Bret J. Schulte in Tulsa contributed to this report.
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. has constantly engaged with its audience to underline the importance of being careful in the current Covid-19 situation. With Fathers Day and International Yoga Day around the corner, Nerolac has launched an engaging contest, #NerolacYogawithDad, as an extension of its latest brand campaign #AajCarefulTohKalColourful. Through the initiative, Nerolac urges citizens to encourage their fathers to kickstart their fitness journey for a healthy and bright future! This is the fourth extension in the campaigns ongoing series.

The initiative encourages participants to post a picture practicing Yoga with their father across social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #NerolacYogaWithDad.The winning entries will feature on Nerolacs social media page.

The contest #NerolacYogawithDad is being promoted across Kansai Nerolacs social media platforms.
Oregon lawmakers are preparing to return to Salem Wednesday for a special session focused on passing police accountability laws and measures to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Late Friday night, leaders in the Democratically controlled Legislature released publicly a list of 13 proposed bills they want to pass next week. Sen. Michael Dembrow made public six additional proposed bills, and a few more were expected by Monday. Gov. Kate Brown announced on June 16 that she would call lawmakers into special session on June 24.

The public can watch hearings on the proposed bills online at 3:30 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, on the Legislatures website. There are also instructions on the website for how to submit testimony on the proposals.

Speaking of public access to government meetings, its among the topics addressed in a broad coronavirus policy bill. The governor in April ordered governments to allow people to listen to or watch public meetings in real time. The proposed bill appears to allow governments to record the meetings, without a deadline to make the recordings public.

Here are the proposals lawmakers will discuss at public hearings on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. The last six were widely distributed by Dembrow on Friday evening but, as of 10 a.m. Saturday, they were not on the Legislatures official website.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 23:42:31|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an employment scheme for the welfare of migrant labourers who had returned home from major cities amid the lockdown imposed to control the COVID-19 since March 25.

Titled "Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan" (Poor Welfare Employment Campaign) worth 50,000 crore Indian Rupees (6.7 billion U.S. dollars), the scheme would benefit the migrant labourers who had returned to their native places in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

A list of 25 works and activities, such as construction of highways, village council buildings, farm ponds, wells, community sanitation centers, rural houses, and plantation works, solid and liquid waste management works, among others, have been targeted to be priority projects to ensure employment for these migrant labourers.

A total of 116 districts across the above mentioned six states have been identified for this scheme.

Addressing the chief ministers of the six states through video-conferencing after launching the scheme, Modi said that skill mapping of the rural migrant labourers is being done to help them work closer to their homes.

According to the prime minister, the campaign focuses on building a durable rural infrastructure and providing modern facilities like internet in the villages. It would also promote self reliance among these migrant labourers which, in turn, would eventually lead to a "Self-Reliant India," Modi said.

Rendered jobless due to the lockdown which brought all manufacturing and trading activities to a grinding halt for around two months beginning March 25, millions of migrant labourers sought to return to their respective native places. Without transport facilities available, a lot of them took their journey home on foot and walked long distances, as much as 2,000 km, from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bemgaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, among others.

The exodus is still going on as the sectors they worked in, mostly small, medium and micro enterprises in the service industry, are still not open or running much below their optimum capacity. Enditem
An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft following a burglary at Adair Jewellers in Ballymena on Saturday.

The man remains in police custody following the incident, which took place shortly after 1pm on Church Street in the town.

Two men entered the jewellers and made off with a quantity of jewellery. They were pursued by several bystanders.

Inspector Reid said: "One male was detained shortly after the incident.

Robbery at Adair jewellery just now.... pic.twitter.com/lkKSv7Zxxo  Eugene Diamond (@EDiamond136) June 20, 2020

"The second male is described as being 60 in height and wearing a red and black jacket, black tracksuit bottoms with white stripes and a white surgical mask covering over his face. He is believed to have made off towards the Broadway Avenue area following the incident.

"Enquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 859 20/06/20."
A man has been charged with murder after his teenage girlfriend's body was found inside a home in the New South Wales Hunter Region.

Police were called to the property on Galway Crescent at Metford, in Maitland, at about 1.30am on Saturday.

They spoke to a 20-year-old man outside the home before finding the body of an 18-year-old woman inside.

The teenager is yet to be formally identified.

A man has been charged with murder after his teenage girlfriend's body was found in Maitland, NSW (stock image)

According to The Newcastle News, police will allege the university student strangled his girlfriend at the home they shared.

The man was arrested and taken to Maitland Police Station, where he was charged with murder.

He has been refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court on Sunday.

A crime scene has been established and inquiries into the incident have begun.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Karnataka Government Decides To Honour Savarkar: A Collaborator of The (...)

The Karnataka government led by a senior RSS whole-timer, B.S. Yediyurappa is going to honour Hindutva icon, VD Savarkar by naming two of the newly built major flyovers in Bangalore and Mangalore after him. There was a huge uproar against this decision of the RSS-BJP government as many pro-Kannada organisations with opposition parties and liberal-secular organizations questioned the logic to ignore so many freedom fighters, social reformers and others from within the state. Since renaming ceremony was taking time the RSS strong arm outfit, Bajrang Dal strung a banner reading Veera Savarkar Melsethuve (flyover) in Kannada on the flyover at Mangalore. They also wrote Bajrang Dal in saffron paint on the divider of the flyover. [1]

It would be a sad day not only for Karnataka but the whole country if a seasoned collaborator of the British rulers and Jinnah led Muslim League is glorified in any way. Lets hear from the horses mouth what Savarkar did as a collaborator of the enemies of India.

Savarkars Hatred for the Tricolour

Savarkar, like the RSS, abhorred every symbol of the Indian peoples united struggle against the British rule. He refused to accept the Tricolour (at that time there used to be a charkha or spinning wheel in the middle of it) as national flag or flag of the freedom struggle. In a statement issued on September 22, 1941 for the benefit of Hindu Mahasabha cadres, he declared,

"So far as the flag question is concerned, the Hindus know no flag representing Hindudom as a whole than the Kundalini Kripanankit Mahasabha flag with the Om and the Swastik the most ancient symbols of the Hindu race and policy coming down from age to age and honoured throughout Hindusthan. It is actually sanctioned and owned by millions on millions of Hindus today from Hardwar to Rameshwaram and flies aloft on every Hindusabha branch office at thousands of centres. Therefore, any place or function where this Pan-Hindu flag is not honoured should be boycotted by the Hindu sanghatanists at any rate...The Charkha-Flag [before the present national flag it used to be the one] in particular may very well represent a Khadi-Bhandar, but the Charkha can never symbolize and represent the spirit of the proud and ancient nation like the Hindus." [2]

What HM and RSS cadres did to the freedom fighters who dared to carry Tricolour would be clear from the following words of a well-known socialist leader N. G. Goray who was witness to an incident in 1938 when the Hindutva cadres tore up the Tricolour and attacked those who were carrying it:

"Who attacked the May Day procession? Who assaulted men like Senapati Bapat and [Gajanan] Kanitkar? Who tore up the national flag? The Hindu Mahasabhaites and the Hedgewar boys did it all...They have been taught to hate the Muslims in general as Public Enemy Number 1, to hate the Congress and its flag..." [3]

It is to be remembered here that the British rulers were persecuting the freedom fighters who publically carried the Tricolour in the same manner.

BACKSTABBING NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE

When Netaji after escaping from India (January 16, 1941) was trying to secure foreign support for the liberation of the country and trying to organise a military attack on the northeast of the country which finally culminated in the formation of Indian National Army, it was Savarkar who offered full military cooperation to the British masters. While addressing 23rd session of Hindu Mahasabha at Bhagalpur in 1941, he said:

"The war which has now reached our shores directly constitutes at once a danger and an opportunity which both render it imperative that the militarization movement musts be intensified and every branch of the Hindu Mahasabha in every town and village must actively engage itself in rousing the Hindu people to join the [British] army, navy, the aerial forces and the different war-craft manufactories. [4]

To what extent Savarkar was willing to help the British would be clear by the following words of his:

"So far as Indias defence is concerned, Hindudom must ally unhesitatingly, in a spirit of responsive co-operation with the war effort of the Indian government [British] in so far as it is consistent with the Hindu interests, by joining the Army, Navy and the Aerial forces in as large a number as possible and by securing an entry into all ordnance, ammunition and war craft factories...Again it must be noted that Japans entry into the war has exposed us directly and immediately to the attack by Britains enemies. Consequently, whether we like it or not, we shall have to defend our own hearth and home against the ravages of the war and this can only be done by intensifying the governments war effort to defend India. Hindu Mahasabhaits must, therefore, rouse Hindus especially in the provinces of Bengal and Assam as effectively as possible to enter the military forces of all arms without losing a single minute. [5]

Savarkar spent the next few years in organizing recruitment camps for the British armed forces which were to slaughter the cadres of INA in different parts of North-East later. The Madura conference of Hindu Mahasabha concluded with the adoption of an immediate programme which stressed to secure entry for as many Hindus recruits as possible into army, navy and the air forces. [6] He also informed them that through the efforts of Hindu Mahasabha alone, one lakh Hindus were recruited in the British armed forces in one year. It is to be noted that during this period RSS continued inviting Savarkar to address the RSS youth gatherings for motivating the latter to recruit into the British armed forces.

SAVARKAR DECLARED INDIA IS NOT ONE NATION

The documents available in the Hindu Mahasabha archives are shocking and make it very clear that Savarkar, like the Muslim League, believed that India is not one nation but consisted of two nations as claimed by Jinnah and the Muslim League. While delivering presidential address to 19th Hindu Mahasabha session at Ahmedabad in 1937, Savarkar declared:

7] As it is, there are two antagonistic nations living side by side in India, several infantile politicians commit the serious mistake in supposing that India is already welded into a harmonious nation, or that it could be welded thus for the mere wish to do so...India cannot be assumed today to be a Unitarian and homogenous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Moslems, in India.7

SAVARKAR JOINJED HANDS WITH THE BRITISH RULERS AND MUSLIM LEAGUE IN SUPPRESSING QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT

He not only kept aloof from the freedom struggle but also helped the British rulers in suppressing any challenge to their interests. During 1942s Quit India Movement when whole country was facing brutal repression of the colonial masters Savarkar declared:

The Hindu Mahasabha holds that the leading principle of all practical politics is the policy of responsive co-operation. And in virtue of it, it believes that all those Hindu Sanghatanists who are working as Councillors, Ministers, Legislators and conducting any municipal or any public bodies with a view to utilize those centers of Government power to safeguard and even promote the legitimate interests of the Hindus without, of course, encroaching on the legitimate interests of others are rendering a highly patriotic service to our Nation. Knowing the limitations under which they work the Mahasabha only expects them to do whatever good they can under the circumstances and if they do not fail to do that much it would thank them for having acquitted themselves well. The limitations are bound to get themselves limited step by step till they get altogether eliminated. The policy of responsive co-operation which covers the whole gamut of patriotic activities from unconditional co-operation right up to active and even armed resistance, will also keep adapting itself to the exigencies of the time, resources at our disposal and dictates of our national interest. [Italics as in the original] [8]

HINDU MAHASABHA LED BY SAVARKAR RAN COALITION GOVERNMENTS WITH JINNAH LED MUSLIM LEAGUE

The Hindu Mahasabha under his sole leadership ran coalition governments with the Muslim League in 1940s. Publicly defending this collusion with the Muslim League, Savarkar in his presidential speech to the 24th session of Hindu Mahasabha at Kanpur in 1942 declared:

In practical politics also the Mahasabha knows that we must advance through reasonable compromises. Witness the fact that only recently in Sind, the Sind-Hindu-Sabha on invitation had taken the responsibility of joining hands with the League itself in running coalition Government. The case of Bengal is well known. Wild Leaguers whom even the Congress with all its submissiveness could not placate grew quite reasonably compromising and socialable as soon as they came in contact with the HM and the Coalition Government, under the premiership of Mr. Fazlul Huq and the able lead of our esteemed Mahasabha leader Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerji, functioned successfully for a year or so to the benefit of both the communities. [9]

SAVARKAR WANTED NEPAL KING TO RULE INDIA IN CASE THE BRITISH DECIDED TO LEAVE INDIA

Savarkar even preached that it was legitimate to have the King of Nepal as Free Hindusthans Future Emperor if the British leave India. His advice to the British rulers was very clear:

"If an academical [sic] probability is at all to be indulged in of all factors that count today, His Majesty the King of Nepal, the scion of the Shisodias[sic], alone has the best chance of winning the Imperial crown of India. Strange as it may seem, the English know it better than we Hindus do...It is not impossible that Nepal may even be called upon to control the destiny of India itself.Even Britain will feel it more graceful that the Sceptre [sic]of Indian Empire, if it ever slips out of her grip, should be handed over to an equal and independent ally of Britain like His Majesty the King of Nepal than to one who is but a vassal and a vanquished potentate of Britain like the Nizam." [Italics as in the original] [10]

Savarkar may be a Veer or brave for the Hindutva camp but the fact is that he wrote more than six mercy petitions and got remission of almost 40 years out of 50 years conviction. If RSS-BJP is so sure of Savarkars patriotic credentials, let them make these writings of Savarkar public so that people of Karnataka and rest of the country can reach an objective conclusion.

Shamsul Islam

Link for Savarkars shameful mercy petitions: https://www.academia.edu/3836921/Texts_of_VEER_Savarkars_Mercy_Petitions_to_the_British_Masters_submitted_on_14-11-1913_and_30-03-1920
Geoffrey Berman, then-acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference in New York on April 23, 2019. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

Trump Fired Federal Prosecutor Who Refused to Step Down, Barr Says

A U.S. attorney who refused to step down from his role after being replaced has been fired by President Donald Trump, according to Attorney General William Barr.

Barr told U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Geoffrey Berman in a letter on Saturday that he had asked the president to fire Berman following Bermans declaration that he had no intention of resigning, against the Trump administrations wishes.

Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service, Barr said in the letter obtained by media outlets. Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so.

The attorney general also said Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Straus will take over the job until a permanent successor is in place.

The Justice Department (DOJ) did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment about the letter.

The letter comes after Berman contradicted Barrs announcement that the attorney would be stepping down after serving 2 1/2 years in his post. The attorney general said in a press release on Friday that Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, who is currently the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to serve as the next prosecutor for the SDNY office.

Following the announcement, Berman released a statement saying that he had learned about his resignation from Barrs announcement and had no intention of leaving his position.

I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption. I cherish every day that I work with the men and women of this Office to pursue justice without fear or favorand intend to ensure that this Offices important cases continue unimpeded, Berman said in a statement on Friday evening.

Barr said in his letter to Berman that he was surprised and disappointed by Bermans statement, adding that he had intended to continue discussions with Berman about the possibility that the U.S. attorney remains in a senior position in the department or administration.

The attorney general also noted that Bermans statement wrongly implies that his continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately.

This is obviously false, Barr wrote. I fully expect that the office will continue to handle all cases in the normal course and pursuant to the Departments applicable standards, policies, and guidance.

Following Bermans statement, several top Democrats weighed in on the situation, accusing the DOJ of interfering in SDNY investigations.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for Clayton to withdraw his name from consideration from the position while urging DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to launch an investigation into the DOJs move to replace Berman. Meanwhile, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his committee is inviting Berman to testify this coming Wednesday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) signaled on Saturday that he would not proceed with the nomination without the approval of Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

As to processing U.S. Attorney nominations, it has always been the policy of the Judiciary Committee to receive blue slips from the home state senators before proceeding to the nomination, Graham said in a statement. As chairman, I have honored that policy and will continue to do so.

A blue slip is a piece of paper from a home-state senator that indicates whether they support a nomination.

Trump told reporters on Saturday shortly after Barrs letter became public that he was not involved in the firing.

Thats [Barrs] department, not my department. But we have a very capable Attorney General. So thats really up to him. Im not involved, Trump said.

Berman responded to Barrs letter in a statement late Saturday, saying that he will leave his post at the SDNY office.

In light of Attorney General Barrs decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately, Berman said.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this Districts U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, but I could leave the District in no better hands than Audreys. She is the smartest, most principled, and effective lawyer with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. And I know that under her leadership, this Offices unparalleled AUSAs, investigators, paralegals, and staff will continue to safeguard the Southern Districts enduring tradition of integrity and independence.

During his time in office, Berman led the prosecution against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, before Epstein committed suicide in jail. He has not brought charges against any of Epsteins associates despite widespread calls to do so.

Berman has also probed several people who were once close to Trump, including Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer, and Rudy Giuliani, the presidents current lawyer.

Zack Stieber contributed to this report.

Article updated with President Donald Trumps comments and Geoffrey Bermans statement on the dismissal.
San Francisco, June 20 : Outdoor apparel brand The North Face has joined the Facebook ad boycott in the wake of its handling of disinformation and hate speech, saying they are pulling all Facebook and Instagram advertising for July.

The North Face announced the decision in reply to a tweet by civil rights groups NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and the Anti-Defamation League known as #StopHateForProfit.

"We're in. We're out @Facebook #StopHateForProfit," The North Face tweeted on Friday.

"The North Face is halting all activity and U.S. paid advertising with Facebook until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform," the company said in a statement.

Outdoor equipment retailer REI also said it will join the boycott, reports CNN.

"For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July", REI tweeted.

Recruiting company Upwork also said it would be joining the Facebook ad boycott campaign.

In a statement to CNN Business, Carolyn Everson, VP Global Business Group Facebook, said that they "deeply respect any brand's decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information".

The social network is facing criticism for its inaction over Trump posts that glorified violence in the aftermath of the death of African-American George Floyd.

Facebook on Friday finally removed a Donald Trump campaign ad featuring a symbol used by Nazis for political dissenters, saying the ad violated its policies.

The ad with an upside-down red triangle symbol was posted under accounts for Trump.

Several former and existing Facebook employees wrote an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, criticizing his inaction over controversial posts from Trump, calling him to start fact-checking world leaders and labelling harmful posts.
The hypocrisy of the Iranian government has been painfully apparent in recent weeks as the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other high-level members of the ruling elite sent messages of solidarity to people of color in the US. They've trumpeted their support for #BlackLivesMatter, hosted an "I Can't Breathe" exhibit, and even proposed to name a street after George Floyd, whose brutal murder ignited the grassroots protests sweeping across America.

Despite these grand gestures, the regime hasn't mentioned how these civic actions parallel recent popular demonstrations in Iran. And their silence makes sense as the treatment of their protesters not only raises flags but enrages human rights activists around the world.

There is no comparison to Iran's history of handling protests. This June, Iranians mark the 11th anniversary of the Green Movement protests in 2009, predating the Arab Spring; this was a mass movement triggered by blatant election tampering by the regime as disaffected young people pushed for political reform. Ultimately the regime responded with massive crackdowns, arresting and killing protesters who sought fair representation. Protester Neda Agha Soltan was killed during the protests. As she bled out through her mouth, her death was captured in videos that went viral, making her an icon or even a martyr for the movement. Neda and her fellow protesters never were honored by her government, and still, no corrective action has been taken to protect protesters. No exhibits, no streets were renamed to honor her memory, and the struggle for fair representation in Iran continues.

Crackdowns of protesters have continued through the past decade, and arguably, since the inception of the Islamic Republic 41 years ago. Last November, the Islamic Republic experienced a wave of unrest, mostly triggered by the sharp rise of oil prices. This time it was driven, not by idealistic students, but by a desperate middle-class who lost their livelihood as the economy collapsed. The regime responded by ordering troops to shoot demonstrators on sight.

According to Amnesty International, the protesters who lost their lives were shot in the head or the chest, illustrating the government's intentional "shoot-to-kill" orders, rather than disabling or dispersing the protesters. Thousands of protesters were arbitrarily arrested and jailed without due-process, risking torture and subsequent exposure to the coronavirus outbreak that plagued the country. In the end, up to 1,000 people were reportedly killed. Among them, Pouya Bakhtiari, a 27-year-old poetry enthusiast who was shot in the head. Once again, not only the Iranian government failed to honor the lives of innocent protesters, it banned the Bakhtiari family from holding any public memorial ceremonies for their son, fearing it could spark fresh protests against the regime.

The regime also continues to promote its self-motivated and inauthentic alliance with minorities in the US. There is no question that residual racism in America must be addressed. However, even as Iranian press outlets trumpet the demands of Black Lives Matter, they are somehow indifferent to similar cries from within their own country; as one could say, Womens Lives Matter, LGBTI Lives Matter, Baha'i Lives Matter, Kurds Lives Matter or Gonabadi Lives Matter, etc.

Since the revolution in 1979, the regime has been notoriously cruel to its ethnic and religious minorities. In June of 2018, the authorities executed 51-year old bus driver, Mohammad Salas, a Gonabadi Dervishan unrecognized religious minority in Iran. Following a bloody crackdown of protesters in Golestan-e-Haftom, Salas was participating in a solidarity protest on behalf of hundreds of arrested protesters. Salas suddenly was arrested and charged with murdering three police officers during the protests. He then was tried without due-process, gave a forced "confession," and later executed and buried in hiding without notice to the family. Many Dervishes remain in Iranian prisons under very harsh conditions.

Iran, arguably, reserves its worst deprivations for the Baha'i faith, the monotheistic religion that began in Iran. Bahai Iranians experience what is known as "cradle-to-grave" persecution, and are deprived of the most basic rights. The month of June commemorates the mass execution of 10 Bahai educators almost four decades ago, among them a 17-year old girl, Mona Mahmoudinejad. She and the nine other women were transferred from their jail cells and hanged, while the others looked on, for the "crime" of teaching their religion. Thirty-seven years after their grisly execution, not only has the regime not ended its systematic discrimination against the Bahais nor erected any memorial in the name of these teachers, it has made numerous attempts at destroying their burial sites.

What the hypocritical rulers in Iran don't tell their citizens is that despite systematic challenges that cost George Floyd his life in the US, by-and-large, American protesters take to the streets, knowing that the police have a duty to protect and honor their right to protest. In American streets, reporters from around the world, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, report on the events in real-time. Social media is widely open and available to protesters who wish to organize and share information, giving life to chants and hashtags, even educating protesters of their rights should they be arrested. As they protest, they demand change, knowing that there's a democratic process that can transform their demands into action. #DefundthePolice movement is already gaining steam across the country as mayors and governors are considering new police reform measures. In other words, in a free society, no matter how flawed, change is possible, and optimism persists.

Even as it tries to understand the forces reshaping America, the calcified, corrupt leadership in Tehran that crushes dissent and murders its own citizens, has only one tool left in its depleted arsenal: hypocrisy.

The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Radio Farda
(CNN Philippines, June 20)  In solidarity with Filipino activists who he said cannot rally against the Philippine government amid the ban on mass gatherings back home, a son of veteran actor Edu Manzano held protests of his own in New York City.

Enzo Manzano said in a Facebook post on Thursday that went viral: Sucks to hear that my fellow Filipinos cant protest back home...I hope my lone protest can make up for that. At least a little bit!

Manzano shared that he chose to stand outside the United Nations headquarters for three hours, a decision which took him three days to make, as he was never the type to protest.

Seeing the news about the Philippine government and realizing that lengthy Facebook posts dont do the trick changed his disposition, Manzano said.

With all that the Philippine government is doing, its either youre fighting to keep your country alive or not, he added.

Accompanying the post, which has garnered over 11,000 Facebook likes and over 3,200 shares, was photos of him holding two signs, one of which read: "Duterte and the Philippine gov't are taking away my people's basic rights!"

Prior to the Facebook post, he recorded himself live, showing the second half of his protest.

The next day, Manzano took to the streets of the populous U.S. city again, this time in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines, to condemn the current administrations alleged attempts at destroying democracy.

Mass gatherings such as demonstrations are banned to prevent COVID-19 transmission. Earlier this month, several people had been arrested for protesting but were later released by local courts.

READ: 16 student protesters released after arrest in Iligan City on Independence Day

READ: Court orders release of Cebu 8 arrested at anti-terrorism bill rally
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 39 COVID-19 infections on Saturday, marking more than 20 new reported cases for three straight days in the capital.

Although the capital fully lifted its business closure request on Friday, Tokyoas number of daily infections have been much higher than other prefectures amid a push by the Tokyo government to aggressively test nightlife workers.

In the past week, Tokyo had multiple days where it reported 20 to 40 infections while neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture has kept its daily number of cases in single digits.

According to local media, 11 of the 39 cases on Saturday are of host club workers in the Shinjuku area.

As of Saturday, the capitalas daily number of new cases stood at 36.1. Keeping the weekly average of daily cases under 20 is one of Tokyoas own criteria for easing business closure and stay-at-home requests.
Huawei building. Photo: Getty

UK officials have written to the countrys mobile operators, asking them to ensure they have plenty of Huawei equipment as they fear US sanctions could disrupt the Chinese companys ability to maintain supplies, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Last month the Prime Ministers official spokesman revealed that the UKs National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had launched a review looking at the impact US sanctions against Huawei could have on the UKs networks.

In a letter, the NCSC has now said: Escalating US action against Huawei may affect its ability to provide updates for products containing US technology.

READ MORE: US attacks 'fealty' of HSBC as it urges UK to ditch Huawei

The letter also said: Ensuring that products and components are kept up-to-date is essential to maintaining the security of networks.

An NCSC spokeswoman told Reuters it has provided operators with a series of precautionary steps we recommend they take while we carefully consider the impact these sanctions have on the UKs networks.

Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang said: Our customers are our number one priority and we are working with them to ensure business continuity. We strongly oppose politically-motivated actions by the US that are designed to damage our business and are not based on evidence, according to Reuters.

UKs top telecom operators BT (BT-A.L) and Vodafone (VOD) declined to comment, Reuters said.

The UK government agreed in January to allow Huaweis equipment to play a limited role in the 5G network, but has since launched another review.

Huawei has repeatedly denied allegations that its equipment could be used to spy on people and governments in the West.

Last month, it said it is committed to bringing better internet connections to all parts of the UK.

In an open letter, the Chinese firm said it was committed as ever to building internet networks quickly, affordably and securely.

Concerns have been previously raised over the companys role in the UKs 5G network because of fears over close ties to the Chinese state.

Story continues

Critics  in particular, the US  have claimed Huaweis equipment could be used to spy on people and governments in the West.

In January, after a government review, it was announced Huawei would be allowed to have a reduced role in Britains 5G infrastructure, but the company was classed as a high-risk vendor, locked out of sensitive parts of the network and told it would be limited to no more than 35% of non-core areas of the network.

READ MORE: Huawei launches open letter to UK amid new review into 5G role
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has extended solidarity message to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in their ongoing Parliamentary Primaries in several constituencies across the country.

A statement issued by Mr Kakra Essamuah, Director of Communications, NDC, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency, described the exercise as a ritual that had become the hallmark of Ghana's democracy since 1992.

"We in the NDC have also undertaken similar exercises, all in our collective effort to cement the anchors of democracy both in our respective parties and the country," the statement said.

"On behalf of the great NDC, its leadership and teeming supporters and sympathizers, I wish the aspiring candidates the best in their endeavours.

"May the best candidates win, and may they, like the NDC, apostles of peace, stability, probity, and accountability in our democracy.

"And may we all as Ghanaians stay true to our democratic path and give an example of peaceful elections and successful transfer of power in 2020."

---GNA
For year 12 students set on humanities degrees next year, news they will be loaded with more than double the debt they expected has been a cruel blow in a year already turned upside down by COVID-19.

Andrew Leap, school captain at South Oakleigh College, has applied for humanities degrees at various universities and said he was now back at "square one" and unsure of his future.

Andrew is now considering studying psychology or teaching to reduce the financial burden he will have to carry long into adulthood if he pursues his current university goals.

South Oakleigh College school captain Andrew Leap was now tossing up his further study options. Credit:Penny Stephens

The subsidy changes announced by minister Dan Tehan last week are intended to encourage students such as Andrew to move away from more nebulous humanities degrees and into "job-relevant" studies.
Video image taken on June 19, 2020 shows a session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

The resolution, in particular, condemned police brutality that led to the deaths of U.S. citizen George Floyd in Minneapolis and other people of African descent.

GENEVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution strongly condemning the continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent.

The resolution, in particular, condemned police brutality that led to the deaths of U.S. citizen George Floyd in Minneapolis and other people of African descent.

The resolution, adopted by consensus without a vote in the 47-member UN body, also deplored the recent incidents of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers against peaceful demonstrators defending the rights of Africans and people of African descent.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed speaks via video teleconference during an urgent debate of the 43rd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 17, 2020. (Bodi Hugger/ACANU/Handout via Xinhua)

The resolution requested the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law, and abuses against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies.

The report will contribute to accountability and redress for victims, said the resolution, calling on all states and relevant stakeholders to cooperate in the preparation of the report.

The resolution also requested the High Commissioner to examine government responses to antiracism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists.

Demonstrators take part in a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the United States, June 13, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Many journalists have reported attacks while doing their job in the U.S., with some estimates going as high as "148 arrests or attacks" in the U.S. between May 26 and June 2.

The resolution came in the wake of U.S. citizen George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The 46-year-old African American man died during an arrest after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Videos from security cameras and made by witnesses later became public. Since then, protests in response to Floyd's death, and more broadly to police violence, spread across the United States and took place in some other countries.
Bankers say overnight CBSL measures after presidents outburst may not be helpful By Tharushi Weerasinghe View(s): View(s):

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) should set up a committee to grant approvals for faster implementation of post-pandemic financial relief, bankers said this week. They said overnight measures taken by the regulator after a tongue-lashing by the President were unlikely to help in this instant.

On Tuesday, the Monetary Board reduced the statutory reserve ratio (SRR) of licensed commercial banks to two percent. The SRR is the amount of money all licensed commercial banks are mandated to hold at the CBSL as a percentage of their deposit book. The regulator said this frees up around Rs 115bn of additional funds for banks to lend out.

But the Ceylon Bank Employees Union (CEBEU) said, if the problem was the slow speed of delivering the Governments post-pandemic relief measures, the answer was to form a dedicated taskforce to grant faster approvals.

In late March the Government announced, among other things, two-month working capital loans at four percent annual interest for struggling businesses. However, those who applied for this refinancing facility via licensed commercial banks complained of sluggish delivery owing to extensive paperwork and difficulties in providing collateral.

Fifty billion rupees was first allocated in March for the purpose of meeting the cost of working capital loans to assist businesses with their immediate financing needs like salaries. It was increased to Rs 100bn in May and to Rs 150bn on Tuesday. But latest CBSL figures show that only Rs 27.5bnor just 18 percent of the final revised totalhas so far been disbursed.

Earlier this week, President Rajapaksa blamed the CBSL for failing to stimulate the economy after COVID-19. He claimed the regulator had ignored his proposal to provide Rs 150bn worth of refinancing to banks by accepting the outstanding due as collateral.

The CBSL quickly dropped the SRR after that meeting but top officials merely reacting to pressure will not improve the situation if continued systemic flaws cause funds to get stuck in administrative pipelines, a CEBEU spokesman said.

The union is present in 18 of the countrys 33 banks with a membership exceeding fifty percent of banking professionals. Its General Secretary Ranjan Senanayake said the State banks agreed with the Presidents sentiments,.

Banks and business are mutually dependent for their own as well as the economys survival, he said.

The CBSL initially did not even release all the funds required to issue the working capital loans, Mr Senanayake said. He said it is being done now. He wasnt certain whether this was in response to President Rajapaksas strictures.

However, the regulator still has to approve the value of each loan once applications are channelled to them by the banks.

Say you apply for a million rupees, whether you get that amount or less is evaluated by the Central Bank, Mr Senanayake said.

Previously, CBSL Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe denied there were delays at the CBSL. The CEBEU countered that approvals and documentation required by the regulator was time-consuming.

One veteran banker said, however, that the banking industry must be allowed independence. Rienzie Wijetilleke, former Managing Director and CEO of Hatton National Bank, acknowledged the sector had a responsibility towards the nation in a time of crisis. But they were treading a fine line between duty to the country and to their depositors.

Fundamental systems had to remain intact to ensure sustainability. Banks were answerable not only to depositors but to shareholders and CBSL.

Nevertheless, more flexibilitywithin a framework of depositor confidencewould be more practical in meeting post-pandemic demands, Mr Wijetilleke said. Banks must be discretionary but have sufficient authority to grant approvals.

While the CBSL Monetary Board is a one-man show, some discerned delegation might be due in crises such as these, he said. Delays in loan distributionsthe publics leading complaintwas owing to prolonged approval periods.

After the 2004 tsunami, bank CEOs and the CBSL held regular crisis meetings, Mr Wijetilleke said. A similar mechanism could result in more timely, coordinated decision-making as well as implementation.

The CBSL has finally taken heed of concerns surrounding voluminous documentation, said an official from the Peoples Bank of Sri Lanka. He did not wish to be named. Instructions to prune down loan qualification criteria were received on Friday.

Client evaluations will now be forwarded to the CBSL as summary sheets. The regulator will assess them and convey the result via email. The respective banks will still hold all the necessary documents and internal processes remain the same.

However, communication between the banks and CBSL is now more convenient and faster, and eligibility requirements for the working capital loan have been broadened to accommodate more businesses.

The reduction of the SRR will allow banks to disburse funds to borrowers over and above the Rs 150bn refinancing facility, Mr Senanayake said. But administrative and logistical changes were imperative in view of the crisis situation.

Either the process should be changed or State banks should have the authority to autonomously approve loans so the money can reach the public sooner, he said.

He also said banks had responsibilities. They had to judge which applicants had genuine difficulties, which were using undue political influence, which had bad track records of attempting to take advantage of a situation, etc.
Delhi University on Saturday started the registration process for admission online to its various undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD courses. Applicants will get a two-week window ending on July 4 to register for the courses. Last year, the applicants got over a three-week window from May 30 to June 22 to register for admissions.

The bulletin of information has been uploaded on the universitys website --- du.ac.in. The registration portal has also been opened.

The universitys Dean (Admissions) Shobha Bagai on Saturday that the admission process this time will be contact-less and completely online. The University had been planning this for quite some time but the Covid-19 pandemic catalyzed the process, she said during an online press conference.

While candidates in previous years could visit the university and colleges to clarify their doubts or follow the admission procedures, this time around everything will be carried out online.

We had a link with CBSE portal to verify marksheets online. This time, we have written to all educational boards across the country to give share the link of the portal where their results will be announced so that colleges can verify the marksheets easily, she said.

In order to make the process easier for students, the university shares a Bulletin of information every year which can be used to address their queries. However, the Open Day events held every year on campus will not be taking place this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing.

We have dedicated helpline desks at the university and college level where students can post in their queries. We will also be conducting webinars guiding students through the process, Bagai said.

The admissions committee, however, is yet to release the tentative schedule for cut-offs or admissions.

Bagai explained that this is due to the uncertainty over CBSE results. Earlier we were told that the CBSE results were likely to come around August 15 after they conducted their pending class 12 exams between July 1 and 15. Since the Supreme Court has asked CBSE to look for other alternatives, there is a possibility that the results might be declared sooner. We will release our tentative schedule by second of third week of July when things are clearer, she said.

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London, June 20 : A review into the 2-metresocial distancing rule in England will conclude "within the coming days", according to the UK's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Dowden told the BBC that the government's review of the rule will be "concluding shortly, within the coming days".

His comments came amid warnings that many businesses will not survive under the current guidance as the government prepares to ease more restrictions on July 4.

Pubs, restaurants and hotels were among those hoping to reopen.

Whitehall sources said the government would update the country on the social distancing rules next week.

It also comes as the coronavirus alert level was downgraded from four to three on Friday.

Under level three, the virus is considered to be "in general circulation" and there could be a "gradual relaxation of restrictions" - whereas in level four transmission was considered to be "high or rising exponentially", reports the BBC.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson commissioned the review on June 14, saying there was "margin for manoeuvre" in the 2-metre social distancing rule as the number of coronavirus cases falls.

But the government has been under pressure from industry leaders and its own MPs to relax the rule, with widespread concerns around the impact it would have on the UK economy.

The other nations of the UK have not announced any plans to change the 2-metre distance.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she is looking at the evidence, and Northern Ireland's Economy Minister Diane Dodds has said she is open to changing it.

A coronavirus adviser to the Welsh government said the risk in reducing the distance "isn't very big".


And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Every year, the United States celebrates Fathers Day on the third Sunday in June. Other countries such as Britain, Canada, India, Ireland, Mexico also celebrate fathers on this Sunday in June.

But some countries choose to celebrate fathers at other times of the year. In Australia, Fathers Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September. In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the holiday falls on the second Sunday in November.

In countries with strong a Roman Catholic tradition -- for example, Italy, Spain, and Portugal -- Fathers Day falls on March 19. That is the main feast day of a religious holiday honoring Saint Joseph. He was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

And China celebrates Father's Day on August 8  the eighth day in the eighth month of the year. Why on that day, you may ask? The word in Chinese for eight is ba and two of them -- ba ba -- is a term for father in Chinese.

Regardless of when or even if your country holds Fathers Day, today we will celebrate fathers around the world with a father-related expression:

Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

The phrase has this meaning: People are often quick to connect themselves to successful events and distance themselves from failed ones.

So you can use this expression when talking about people wanting to be close to success or far away from failure.

Here is an example.

Let us say you are working hard on a risky business project. There is a good chance that it could fail. For that reason, other people do not want to help you. They keep their distance. So, you are forced to work by yourself. Finally, you complete the project, and over time, it becomes a huge success.

So, you decide to throw a celebration party. Now, some of the people who thought it would fail come to your party. They want to be close to you and your successful project. They may say things like, I knew you could do it. or I had a feeling this was a great idea!

You can say to them, Yes, success has many fathers...

You dont even need to say the whole phrase. They should understand the insult.

Several websites claim that the man who first used this phrase was an Italian diplomat named Count Caleazzo Ciano. He was married to a daughter of Benito Mussolini, Italys leader during World War II.

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy popularized this saying. Kennedy used the expression in a speech when he announced the failure of the U.S.-supported Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Perhaps some people wanted to distance themselves from the failed invasion. But Kennedy, as Commander in Chief, could not. He changed a few words, but the meaning is still the same.

Here is part of his 1961 address to the American people.

There's an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan. I've said as much as I feel can be usefully said by me in regard to the events of the past few days. Further statements, detailed discussions, are not to conceal responsibility, because I'm the responsible officer of the government, but merely because I, and that is quite obvious, but merely because I do not believe that such a discussion would benefit us during the present difficult situation.

That was former president John F. Kennedy expanding on the phrase, Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

And that is Words and Their Stories for Fathers Day. Until next time. Im Anna Matteo.

If I could get another chance

Another walk

Another dance with him

I'd play a song that would never ever end

How I'd love love love

To dance with my father again

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Audio Quote of President John F. Kennedy's 1961 Bay of Pigs speech courtesy of New York Public Radio. The song at the end is Luther Vandross singing Dance With My Father.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

feast  n. a special meal with large amounts of food and drink : a large formal dinner

regardless  adv. despite everything

orphan  n. a child whose mother and father are dead

conceal  v. to keep (something) secret

merely  adv. nothing more than : only

obvious  adj. easily discovered, seen, or understood

benefit  n. a good or helpful result or effect
Mithun Chakraborty was worried for his family as the the 'only earning member' during the pandemic
Udhampur:

Army Chief Dalbir Singh on Saturday visited the Northern Command based here to take stock of Indias operational preparedness along the border in the wake of heightened tension in Indo-Pak ties following the surgical strike targeting terror camps across LoC.

Gen Singh arrived at Northern Command headquarters this morning and chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation and operational preparedness in Jammu and Kashmir, including along the Line of Control, a Defence official said.

The surgical strike, seen as a reprisal for Uri terror attack, was planned and executed by the Northern Command.

Singh also personally complimented officers and men who successfully targeted seven terror launch pads located in Leepa, Tattapani, Kel and Bhimbar, the official said. He is scheduled to visit armys Western Command to review operational preparedness.

Sources had said the decision on the surgical strike was taken soon after the attack on the Uri army base on September 18. They said India was ready with contingency plans considering the possibilities that Pakistan may retaliate in the wake of the surgical strike.

It has been estimated that number of casualties was at least 40 on Pakistani side but there was no official confirmation. The Army has also trashed reports in Pakistan about Indian casualties during the operation, saying one member of the special forces received minor injury while returning but it was not due to any enemy or terrorist action.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
J. Alexander Kueng, 26, was released from Hennepin County jail shortly before 7.30pm on Friday

One of the former Minneapolis cops who have been charged in the death of George Floyd has been released from jail after posting bail.

J. Alexander Kueng, 26, was released from Hennepin County jail shortly before 7.30pm on Friday, the StarTribune reports.

He was being held in lieu of $750,000 bail prior to his release.

Kueng is one of the three former Minneapolis police officers had have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter during the incident on May 25.

Kueng and former officer Thomas Lane, 37, were the first to respond to the call that a man - later said to be Floyd - had been trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli.

Kueng and Lane discovered Floyd sitting in a nearby car. They handcuffed him and attempted to put him inside their squad car.

Later, after the arrival of officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, witness video shows Kueng holding onto Floyd's back while he was lying in the street. Kueng then told the other officers that he 'couldn't find' Floyd's pulse.

Kueng's co-defendants (left to right), Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane

Derek Chauvin (left) is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in relation to George Floyd's (right) death, with his bail set at $1.25 million

According to charging documents, Lane (seen far right) - who initially took Floyd into custody - held down the father-of-five's legs, while Kueng held his back and Chauvin kneeled down on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds

Kueng is see at right in a still from the video of George Floyd's May 25 arrest in Minneapolis

Kueng can be seen here (left) with Floyd as he takes Floyd into custody on May 25

Authorities said Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for about two minutes after Kueng's statement.

According to charging documents, Lane - who initially took Floyd into custody - held down the father-of-five's legs, while Kueng held his back and Chauvin knelt down on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

During the arrest, Floyd pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving. He was handcuffed at the time.

In witness video released last week, a man and a woman are heard urging the officers to check Floyd's pulse before more bystanders are heard pleading with the officers to help Floyd.

'You think that's okay? Check his pulse!' a man is heard yelling as Thao argued with a woman nearby.

'The ain't moved yet bro,' the man continued. 'He has not moved not one time!'

The man then asked Thao: 'Youre going to let him kill that man in front of you?'

The woman then yelled: 'Tell me what his pulse is right now!' Another woman is heard asking in the background: 'Did they just f**king kill him?'

As a crowd gathered, others are heard shouting, 'Get off of his neck!' and 'Hes not moving!'

Despite their pleas for help, not once did Thao try to get Chauvin off Floyd's neck.

Instead, he continued to argue with the witnesses, yelling for them to remain on the sidewalk and not come any closer.

A short time later, paramedics arrive and lift Floyd's lifeless body off the pavement and onto a stretcher.

Police bodycam footage has not been made available to the public yet, because it is being investigated by the FBI.

Former police officers have said that the bodycam footage will 'prove' there was a struggle.

During a CNN interview, Lane's attorney, Earl Gray said that 'It wasn't a violent resistance but it wasn't a kind of non-resistance that an individual should do when police officers are arresting him.

He also noted: 'He should get out of his vehicle and follow the orders of the police officers. He didn't do that.'

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Kueng's attorneys said that he had been working on his third shift as a police officer when the incident occurred.

George Floyd (pictured) died on May 25 under then knee of Officer Derek Chauvin

Kueng is now the second officer involved in Floyd's death to be released. Lane was freed on June 10. He also had a $750,000 bond.

Thao remains behind bars, as does Chauvin, who was seen kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes as he lost consciousness and stopped breathing on Memorial Day.

Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested after Floyd's death. He was initially charged with third-degree murder before that charge was upgraded to second-degree murder.

Chauvin's bail was set to $1.25million.

Chauvin, Kueng, Lane and Thao were all fired from the police department following Floyd's death.

Immediately following Floyd's death, Black Lives Matter protests erupted globally.

While the majority of protests remained peaceful, buildings, businesses and police departments have burned after some demonstrations turned violent in major US cities.

Protesters have not only demanded justice for Floyd, but they've called for justice for Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and most recently Rayshard Brooks. Demonstrators have also marched for Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot dead by a white man in Georgia in February.

Floyd was laid to rest June 9 in Houston, Texas.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's high court has found Vital Kamerhe, the president's former chief of staff, guilty of embezzling $48 million in public funds and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Kamerhe, once a future presidential hopeful, is the most senior politician convicted of graft in Congo, where high-level corruption is endemic. He now faces 20 years of hard labour.

The court has established as fact the offence of embezzlement of public funds relating to the amount of $48,831,148, said presiding judge Pierrot Bankenge Mvita wearing a mask and rubber gloves.

Kamerhe denies stealing money earmarked for social housing under President Felix Tshisekedi's flagship 100-day building programme, and has dismissed the accusations as political.

His lawyer, Jean Marie Kabengela Ilunga, called the verdict a violation of human rights and said he would appeal.

Kamerhe, a veteran power broker, appeared at the three-hour outdoor court hearing in a blue and yellow prison jacket and also wore a mask to protect against the new coronavirus.

He backed Tshisekedi in his successful 2018 election campaign in return for Tshisekedi's support the next time around in 2023. Under the ruling, Kamerhe will not be able to run for president for ten years after his punishment.

His arrest on April 8 sent shock waves through the nation.

Last week the justice minister revealed that the former presiding judge, who was originally said to have died of a heart attack last month, was actually brutally murdered.

Transparency groups and the international community had been pressurising Tshisekedi to fulfil his campaign promise of clamping down on corruption, political analysts say.

I sincerely think that this is a positive sign for the fight against corruption, said Florimond Muteba from the Observatory of Public Expenditure, a Congolese transparency group.
- Ghana's ruling political party, NPP, is expected to hold its parliamentary primaries today, June 20, 2020

- There are places and persons of interest to consider during the polls

- The polls which will be conducted by the Electoral Commission will start at 7am and close at 1pm

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The New Patriotic Party (NPP), will today, June 20, 2020, hold parliamentary primaries in 100 out of an expected 168 constituencies across the country.

The primaries is expected to be highly-contested with many individuals vying for a place to represent their constituents in parliament come January 7, 2021.

Political analysts, according to a report sighted on graphic.com.gh, have it that out of the 100 constituencies where delegates would go to the polls, 26 have been considered hotspots.

NPP rally. Source: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Race to Parliament: NPP goes to the polls today to elect their parliamentary candidates

They have been divided into regions with Adansi Asokwa, Asante Akim North, Asante Akim South, Asante Akim Central, Bantama and Manhyia North, in the Ashanti Region considered as hotspots in the area.

Berekum East and Sunyani East, in the Bono Region, have been noted as the places to watch during the much-anticipated contest.

Asikuma Odoben Brakwa is the only one on the list in the Central Region regarded as a place of interest.

Akim Oda, Akwatia, New Juaben South and Nkawkaw, all in the Eastern Region, will get most of the attention during the polls.

READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo is making promises he cannot keep - Mahama jabs

Adentan, Dome Kwabenya, Okaikwei South and Tema West in Greater Accra Region are the places to be considered as highly-contested ones.

Yendi and Nanton in the Northern Region, Navrongo Central in the Upper East and Lawra in the Upper West Region, are expected to catch the eye of election monitors.

The Effia, Ahanta West, Kwesimintsim and Shama in the Western Region are also expected to see some amazing action.

Some of the contests to consider include that of Aviation Minister Mr Joseph Kofi Adda and the Upper East Regional Minister Ms Tangoba Abayage.

Many people would look to see the outcome of the heated contest in Dome-Kwabeya between Ghanas High Commissioner to India, Mike Oquaye Jnr and Sarah Adwoa Safo, Ghana's Deputy Majority Leader.

READ ALSO: Ken Agyapong explains how he made his first million dollars at age 36 in 1996

New Juaben South will see incumbent Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah and Mr Michael Okyere Baafi, the CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority locking horns in contest.

Another place of interest would be Adansi Asokwa where for the first time in 2 decades, K. T. Hammond will be given a tight contest by one Samuel Binfoh.

In Bantama, presidential staffer Francis Asenso-Boakye will face Daniel Okyem Aboagye for the seat.

Other presidential staffers and government appointees would also seek to find their way into parliament come 2021 as they are all involved in the contest.

READ ALSO: NPP to acclaim Akufo-Addo on June 27 for December 2020 elections

The Electoral Commission of Ghana is expected to handle the smooth running of the primaries while the nation's security personnel will take up issues of security to ensure no issue is recorded on the day.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that President Nana Akufo-Addo urged his party to ensure that it comes out of the primaries safe and stronger.

He noted that the primaries is a perfect opportunity to show Ghanaians that it is possible to conduct an electoral process that will guarantee the safety of all even in the midst of the pandemic which has bedeviled the world.

University of Ghana reopens for final year students | #Yencomgh

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Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

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The Associated Press changed its writing style guide Friday to capitalize the b in the term Black when referring to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context, weighing in on a hotly debated issue.

The change conveys an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa, John Daniszewski, APs vice president of standards, said in a blog post Friday. The lowercase black is a color, not a person.

The news organization will also now capitalize Indigenous in reference to original inhabitants of a place.

Daniszewski said the revisions aligned with long-standing identifiers such as Latino, Asian American and Native American. He said the decision followed more than two years of research and debate among AP journalists and outside groups and thinkers. Use of AP style is a staple for most media outlets in the United States, including most of those at Advance Local Media.

Our discussions on style and language consider many points, including the need to be inclusive and respectful in our storytelling and the evolution of language, he wrote. We believe this change serves those ends.

The AP said it expects to make a decision within a month on whether to capitalize the term white. Among the considerations are what that change might mean outside the United States.

An ongoing debate over capitalization of Black accelerated in many U.S. newsrooms in recent weeks as journalists grappled with massive protests and sweeping changes in the aftermath of George Floyds death at the hands of police.

The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and NBC News last week embraced capitalization, and the National Association of Black Journalists urged other news organizations to follow.

The AP Stylebook of usage policies is highly influential in the industry, with many news organizations, government and public relations agencies using it as a guide.

The death of Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck, sparked nationwide protests and lent momentum to a variety of social changes, from police reform and the public removal of Confederate statues and flags to the capitalization of Black.

Its certainly long overdue, said Doris Truong, director of training and diversity at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank. Its something that people who are Black have been calling for for a long time.

Its also a relatively simple step for news organizations dealing anew with many complex issues, such as whether their journalists can be opinionated on social media or march in Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Nearly a century ago, sociologist W.E.B. DuBois waged a letter-writing campaign to get newspapers to capitalize Negro, saying a lowercase n was a sign of disrespect and racism. The New York Times took his advice in 1930, calling it an act of recognition and respect for those whod spent generations in the lower case.

Negro fell out of fashion with the Black Power movement of the 1960s, coming to symbolize subservience. African American was often used, but is not always accurate  some Black people dont trace their lineage to Africa.

One Black communications professional who published an open letter to the AP earlier this week calling for the capitalization said Friday he was pleased that the change happened on Juneteenth, which commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free 155 years ago.

Not having a capital letter has felt disrespectful, said David Lanham, director of communications for the Brooking Institutions Metropolitan Policy Program. There is a shared cultural identity with Black Americans and that goes through our shared experiences. That also goes to the lack of geographic history as a result of slavery.

The Seattle Times and Boston Globe both changed their practices to capitalize Black late last year. The Globe explained that the word has evolved from a description of a persons skin color to signify a race and culture, and deserves the uppercase treatment much the way other ethnic terms do.

Lanham, who spearheaded an internal process to capitalize Black at Brookings last year, said he expects APs shift will lead many other news organizations and other groups to make a similar change.

Knowing how closely their Stylebook is viewed as the Bible for journalism, this is now the big domino to fall, he said.
(Natural News) Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy got down on his knees and shined rapper Lecraes shoes after claiming white Christians should shine strangers shoes to repent for the shame and embarrassment of racism.

(Article by Chris Menahan republished from InformationLiberation.com)

From CNS News, Chick-Fil-A CEO: White People Should Shine Blacks Shoes to Show Sense of Shame, Embarrassment for Racism:

Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy says white people should find black strangers, go up to them, and shine their shoes to show repentance for their sins of racism. He once bought 1,500 shoe brushes for his employees to shine strangers shoes to exhibit their remorse for racism, Cathy said Sunday during a panel discussion at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia. By shining shoes, white Americans can express shame, embarrassment, humility and contrition, Cathy said.

If you want a good laugh, you can watch the embarrassing scene here:

After shining Lecraes shoes, the rapper said while laughing that Cathy should also give him some stock in Chick-Fil-A.

Though people think of Chick-Fil-A as a Christian conservative company, that all changed in 2017 when they donated money to the SPLC and decided to put the pursuit of profit before all else.

The cult of wokeness has replaced Christianity in many peoples minds.

The worship of drug-addicted felons like George Floyd has replaced the worship of Jesus Christ.

Place where George Floyd died is now where baptism takes place and Floyd is now a proclaimed Saint pic.twitter.com/2eX1oAWnpE  Paleo-Economist (@PaleoEconomist) June 17, 2020

Pelosi presents folded flag to George Floyd's brother. I must be wrong. I thought they only did this for service men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice? pic.twitter.com/7CivuC1VBW  Greg (@Im_bonafide) June 14, 2020

This is their god now:

So, constitutional conservatives have now thrown due process under the bus & deify a street criminal who robbed a pregnant woman  holding gun to her stomach  in home invasion. Not a good look @sentedcruz  Appeasing the mob & taking a knee will only hasten America's demise. pic.twitter.com/HzPtl4ElNu  Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) June 8, 2020

Read more at: InformationLiberation.com
Do you remember how Democrats were openly scheming to help nominate Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican primary? Paul Krugman wrote a Labor Day column back in 2015 defending Trump from Jeb Bush and praising his economic platform. Jimmy Carter told the British Parliament the following February that he preferred a President Trump to a President Cruz because Trump would be a pragmatic and non-ideological leader. A Democratic National Committee email released by WikiLeaks later that year revealed that the Clinton campaign and the DNC were colluding to ensure that Trump won the nomination. An attached memorandum outlined how important it was to Democratic leadership that Trump, Ted Cruz, or Ben Carson face Hillary in the general election: "We need to be elevating the Pied Piper candidates so that they are leaders of the pack and tell the press to [take] them seriously." The "press" dutifully complied, running headline after headline in the New York Times and Washington Post and on CNN ("Clinton, Trump trade insults as rhetoric heats up between front-runners," CNN blared in September of 2015!) creating a narrative even before the Iowa caucuses that the election was essentially between Clinton and Trump, and leaving the original Republican frontrunner, Jeb Bush, clamoring for the occasional clap.

They got what they wanted but were horrified to discover that the "Trump Train" could no longer be slowed down or derailed after his nomination. The morning after President-Elect Trump delivered his victory speech, Krugman was predicting economic catastrophe that would last a thousand years, Carter was calling the election illegitimate, and Hillary and the Democrats were concocting a Russian conspiracy theory in an attempt to hide her humiliation (among other things). Talk about backfire!

What was the lesson here? The partisan news media and Democratic Party election-riggers had much less power than they had presumed. Not a single Republican primary voter on the fence between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump listened to Krugman for economic advice. Not a single Tea Party patriot decided between Cruz and Trump based on the wisdom of Carter. Not a single freedom-minded conservative glanced at the New York Times or CNN before joining Team Trump. Most Trump-supporters were looking at each other and saying, "Do they really think we're this dumb?"

That's exactly how the Democrats and the press think of us. They think we can be easily manipulated back and forth according to their divinations and that we never see through their cynical deceptions and political ploys. We knew that Hillary Clinton thought Donald Trump would be easy to beat. We knew that the press was pushing his candidacy. We knew that an onslaught of negative news against Trump would begin as soon as the nomination was his. We wanted Donald Trump anyway.

Everything about the Democrats' and media's 2016 election interference seems to be repeating itself in 2020.

Americans began this year with more optimism about the future than ever recorded. President Trump had helped unleash the economic vitality of the American worker and produced the strongest economy in many decades. He had successfully defended America's military and economic interests abroad without entangling us in another foreign war. The 2020 Trump campaign was gearing up to run on unprecedented peace and prosperity, and the president's trademark rallies across the nation were must-see events with rock concert energy.

With a little help from a Wuhan coronavirus and four months of constant fear-mongering and public incitement, though, the Democrats and the press have thrust a mountain of mass hysteria down the throats of the American people. When we're not "all gonna die" from the plague, we're "all gonna die" from "systemic racism." When we're not hiding under our beds from certain death, we can see fascist "anti-fascists" looting and burning our cities and toppling statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. Through a concerted effort at creating and maximizing chaos wherever we look, the Democrats and the mainstream media have unleashed a "project fear" campaign against ordinary Americans never before seen in the United States on such scale.

Just like in 2016, they are certain that their election interference will result in Democratic Party victories across the board come November. President Trump's greatest asset, his robust economy, is in tatters. His rambunctious rallies have been sidelined. His steady outreach to black Americans and relative national peace have been interrupted by Antifa insurrectionists, assassinations of law enforcement officers, and urban mayhem.

And just like in 2016, they are overestimating their abilities to manipulate the coming election and underestimating how enthusiastically Trump voters will re-elect the president this November. All this economic destruction and misery. All these Democratic governors and mayors punishing churchgoers and simple mom-and-pop businesses, while cheering on the destruction of their constituents' properties and the outrageous violence against Republicans. All the credentialed press trying to make sure the average person suffers like never before, while standing in solidarity with thieves in the night, revolutionaries tearing down monuments and rewriting history, and anarchists high on national devastation. The Democrats and activist media believe they've surely got President Trump right where they want him this time around because they still believe we're too dumb to know what they're doing.

When the Trump campaign announced that its first rally in three months would be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a million people signed up to attend, did it seem as though the Democrats had finally succeeded in choking off the president's support?

The economy will soon rebound. American optimism will rise again. And Trump rallies will return as the hottest tickets in town. The Democrats and the press, however, have no idea what storm awaits them in November. They learned nothing from their machinations in 2016. They know just as little now. All their misery-making and civil incitements today have succeeded only in getting ordinary Americans' blood boiling. And we mean to have payback this November 3.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
Too Hot to Handle's Haley Cureton claims her former castmate Harry Jowsey never 'genuinely loved' Francesca Farago, fours days after the pair's shock spilt.

The 20-year-old college student, who shared a kiss with Farago on Netflix's dating game, also accused the YouTuber of attempting to capitalize on his reality romance to extend his fame.

'I think Harry was with Francesca for publicity 100 percent,' Cureton scornfully told TMZ, while noting she believes he isn't 'capable of loving anyone besides himself.'

Faked it? Too Hot to Handle's Haley Cureton claims her former castmate Harry Jowsey never 'genuinely loved' Francesca Farago, fours days after the pair's shock spilt

She added: 'Everything he does in life is to benefit himself, I don't know if I ever saw it working.'

The blonde bombshell appeared to be still harboring feelings for Farago, as she reiterated her belief that Harry never had 'genuine love for her' from the beginning of the show.

'Me and Francesca are really close and we miss each other, I think her being single now, she's ready to enjoy herself,' Haley said with a smile. 'We are talking about potentially moving in together. In the future.'

Scorned: The 20-year-old college student, who shared a kiss with Farago on the reality dating game, also accused the YouTuber for capitalizing on his relationship to extend his fame

Scorned: The 20-year-old college student, who shared a kiss with Farago on the reality dating game, also accused the YouTuber for capitalizing on his relationship to extend his fame; (pictured on Too Hot to Handle)

Haley's update comes just four days after Francesca's tearful tell-all on YouTube video, which detailed her and Harry's breakup, one month after their engagement.

Harry, who hails from Australia but lives in Los Angeles, first announced the split with Francesca on Instagram on Tuesday.

The pair had been living apart for months due to COVID-19 border closures, and had both cited long-distance as a factor in their decision to separate.

Long distance: The pair had been living apart for months due to COVID-19 border closures, and had both cited long-distance as a factor in their decision to separate

Harry said that the couple simply grew apart.

'Nothing bad happened. I simply fell out of love, I lost that massive spark that I had at the start of the show,' he explained.

'Feelings change, not all relationships work out. If you cant give someone 110 per cent, then there's no point.'

Tears: In Francesca's YouTube tell-all, titled Our Breakup, the brunette tearfully questioned: 'How could you have a wedding ring folder with someone and how could you propose to someone, but youre also saying I cant be with you because of the distance?'

He insisted that he was 'taking responsibility' for leaving Francesca 'heartbroken'.

He addressed Francesca directly and said to the camera: 'If you're watching, I hope you're okay. I'm only a phone call away. I'll always be here for you.'

In Francesca's YouTube tell-all, titled Our Breakup, the brunette tearfully questioned: 'How could you have a wedding ring folder with someone and how could you propose to someone, but youre also saying I cant be with you because of the distance?'

Long distance: The pair had been living apart for months due to COVID-19 border closures, but were scheduled to reunite in LA in a few days' time

She seemed to agree with Harry that the long distance was partly to blame for their split, but said he was the one wanted to breakup.

'He decided to breakup with me because he couldnt do long-distance anymore. I obviously was heartbroken. I did everything I could,' she shared with fans.

'I cannot fake a relationship. I cannot pretend like everything is going to be okay,' the reality TV star added, as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

'This is a s**t situation and only Francesca and myself know the full extent of what's happened,' he said. 'Francesca knows I'm always going to love her and she's always in my heart, in a special place with me'

Harry announced the couple's breakup earlier in the week, again on his Instagram stories.

'This is a s**t situation and only Francesca and myself know the full extent of what's happened,' he said.

Later in the day, he also told fans: 'People seem to think they know exactly why I ended things with Francesca... You dont breakup with someone for no reason Nothing bad has happened Its harmless.'

Hard times: Only last week, Harry told WHO magazine that living in different countries during the pandemic had taken a toll on the pair's relationship

Just last week, Harry told WHO magazine that living in different countries during the pandemic had taken a toll on the pair's relationship.

Harry has been living in LA while Francesca has been at home in Vancouver, Canada.

He said they had spent 'a couple of days' together last month when Francesca was in LA for work related to her bikini brand.

Isn't that sweet?! Harry had proposed to the social media influencer with a ring pop during a Too Hot to Handle reunion special last month

'Apart from that, we haven't really been able to see each other at all,' he added. 'It's been really difficult.'

The couple, who were known for their frisky antics on Too Hot to Handle, became engaged via Zoom during the Netflix reunion episode in May.

Harry proposed with a lollipop ring, but the fashion designer said she expected a proper ring in the coming months.

Ready for a reunion: The announcement came just days after the swimwear designer revealed she was heading to LA for a reunion with her boyfriend

The lovebirds, who briefly split and got back together after filming the racy dating show, had even spoken about having children.

'Francesca and I are better than ever, we took a bit of a break in between but now we are full steam ahead,' Harry told The Mirror.

'I can't wait to start traveling and we can put some babies in her belly!'
This is awful. And I hope it sticks this time because Ive always hated that pinhead looking mf

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i had to google him and then i was like OH MY GOD, HIM??? THAT ISNT SURPRISING

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so many ppl are being exposed as predators and while what they've done/continue to do is vile, I'm also extremely interested in those closest to them who said nothing and never intervened.





At his age the number of victims must be hella huge, but the ppl that knew what type of person he is didn't do shit.





Do any of y'all know men that spoke out/up against an abusive male friend of his that was names as an abusive pos.



I don't. But tbh I don't know many men outside my family



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That comedy store circle is such a small tight group. Im not surprised theyve been covering up for each other. Or that being predatory was like a character requirement to be part of their group. Its a shame, cause ive liked some of them, and i hope they remain unproblematic but seeing all that has come up, I think chances are low that theyre not al least complicit for not speaking up.



Also PLEASEEEEEE someone expose Joe Rogan cause hes like the final boss of this assholes, and you KNOW hes predatory as fuck.

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not to validate cancel culture antis (lmao) but joe rogan is another whose downfall I actively root for and anticipate because of the years Ive had to endure of people acting like hes insightful and anything more than a roided our basement dweller that got lucky

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Joe Rogan laughing in that one video was truly horrifying. As a woman you know on a lot of levels that many men struggle to see you as fully human and at best do not actively care or support you if you are assaulted, but seeing it driven home like that really took the wind out of me.

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This has been making the rounds if you wanted to make a post:





There have been some videos from his podcast floating around on twitter as well.

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My friend is a comedian, she goes to the comedy store a lot. Before this Chris D'Elia stuff came out, we were talking about You and she told me that it's not that far off from who he is.



The circle is really tight and I don't think many are going to speak up, especially given their reaction regarding Louis CK. I hope these assholes lose their jobs, specifically Joe Rogan bc he gives mediocre men even more confidence to act horribly, and like a user said, he is fucking GOOP for straight men.

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I only listened to him once because he was interviewing my favorite author/therapist. He mansplained everything she said and acted like he had a masters in psychology. Hes annoying. I could never listen to him full time



And these dumb retreats he talks about...his wife sounds just as awkward as he is...

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The culture surrounding enabling predatory men is even more prevalent in comedy I feel because a lot of these male comedians are deified and their contributions to the culture are seen as more pertinent than protecting victims and not allowing that behavior to thrive.



and to answer your question I dont really lol because when the whole roy moore shit was going down my dad AND uncle insisted it was the then 14 year olds fault this creep was preying on her. Never mind that the pos was LITERALLY banned from a mall

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Do any of y'all know men that spoke out/up against an abusive male friend of his that was names as an abusive pos.



Im looking for it but i cant remember in which podcast i heard it, But i remember Andrew Santino saying he got into a fight because another comedian was being creepy with a girl and everyone told him he was overreacting because ThEyRe JuSt fLiRTiNg, DoNt bE a DicK aBoUt iT so he just kept his distance, but as much as reporting, i highly doubt any of them has the balls for it.

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I hope shes okay. I respect the hell out of her truthfulness. I was 15 when I was involved with a man who was 23, so I could understand every thought process she wrote about and absolutely understood that moment when you realize that you were preyed on and taken advantage of. Im so terrified of all the people who are going to read this and use her honesty and bravery against her.

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i was thinking the same thing.



so many people are going to try and say she was complicit since she knew what she was getting into but it's on the ADULT to say no in that situation, what the fuck? not treat it as a sexy forbidden love tryst just wtf i hate men goddamn

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also im dumb, i cant find the edit button lmao but i was 16, going on 17 and got with a 31 yr old who was obsessed w/me at the time so i can relate to all the stuff she said as well. the way she wrote it was very powerful and i think properly captured how young women are "supposed" to feel when older men take "interest" in them.

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I agree with this.

So much of what she wrote reminded me of how things started between me and Jian Ghomeshi - how I initiated the emails between us. I was 16 and he was 32. In both of our cases, we're so young and the attention feels nice and validating. Thankfully, Jian and I never slept together. There was just a fuck-ton of grooming.

But we forget that it's upon the adult in that situation to act like an adult and shut that shit down. Decent men, men worth your time and admiration do not groom you and take advantage of a young girl's crush.

These are things I wish I'd known at that age. I probably did deep down. But at that age, you're not equipped to understand and see the big picture. You're just dreaming big and seeing what could be.

The only thing I didn't believe is that Jeff Ross was gorgeous or attractive. He looks like a deformed albino beluga whale.

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Jeff Ross? Being predatory? Color me shocked. Shocked i say!



I cant even begin to imagine the browser history of that ugly looking melting Jabba the hut.

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Andy Samberg calling him a "melting hippo" was the most accurate description

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I think he looks like an old potato. You know that point, right before it starts to sprout, but it's all wrinkly and soft and shit?

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Bring all these pos down.

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Wow him? Its about the least shocking allegation I could have imagined. I hope the victim is doing ok.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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:( i hope she finds justice somehow

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i hope the victims find justice and that they are safe and with a strong legal team.

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fuck all comedians. jesus christ.

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Holy shit @ the receipts and her story



Brave woman. Her dad and Gina Savage FAILED her and made sure that she stayed in harms way, shameful.



Hope Ross gets what he deserves

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His father is a piece of shit too, I hope she has a good support system :(

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Wow my heart goes out to her. So many people failed and abused her from such a young age -- and her father sounds like an absolute piece of TRASH, from the beginning where he's encouraging her to date a 33 year old and to drop out of high school, to her video where she says her father recently ended their relationship because they disagreed about the definition of pedophile (unsurprising considering she says her father himself dated underage girls). Him siding with her abuser is just absolutely vile. I hope she realizes that she is better off without her absolute failure of a father.



Her essay also rly breaks my heart because that is absolutely a common way for young girls feel in the moment (just like really powerful for having an older man interested), and I know the complicated space of having to process that idea that like, you were willing/interested at the time/it made you feel powerful (just speaking about their relationship at the start not the r*pe) but later realizing you were unable to consent/were absolutely taken advantage of.



POWER to her for telling her story. I hope she stays safe and finds justice and peace.



Edited at 2020-06-20 04:15 pm (UTC)

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Can't believe her dad said he was proud of her for dating some dude who was on Letterman.

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looking forward to his fellow comedians cape for this busted ass mr. clean looking dude and exposing themselves as morons. comedy is such a small circle filled with shitty men they feel they have the duty to protect each other and keep their secrets.

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Following Addis Ababa's announcement that it will move forward with filling the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) even if a deal is not reached, Egypt submitted on Friday a letter to the UN Security Council urging it to intervene in the controversial dam issue.

In its letter to the UN Security Council -- a copy of which has been seen by Ahram Online -- Egypt has asked the Security Council to intervene to affirm the importance of the three countries resuming the negotiations with goodwill to reach a fair and balanced solution over the GERD.

Egypt said that Ethiopia going ahead with the filling of the GERD without an agreement would represent an alarming attempt by Ethiopia to establish and exercise unfettered control over the transboundary river.

Egypt's letter came in response to a statement by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew earlier in the same day where he said it was not mandatory to reach an agreement before the filling process begins, confirming that Addis Ababa would commence the filling process in the coming rainy season.

The latest round of talks over the giant $4.8 billion hydropower project, which also involved Sudan, stalled this week after Ethiopia rejected to enter into a binding tripartite legal agreement on its operation.

Egypt requested in its letter to take part in the UN body's meeting that would discuss the matter.

Last month, Egypt sent another letter to the Security Council to inform it about the developments in the years-long diplomatic spat, but had stopped short of demanding an intervention. Both Sudan and Ethiopia sent similar letters to the UN body.

Below are a number of excerpts from the 63-page letter sent by Egypt to the UN Security Council:

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A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday denounced Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority as it attempted to harbor rioters from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

A so-called "assistance" plan recently announced by the DPP authority once again laid bare its political agenda to meddle in Hong Kong affairs and to sabotage the prosperity and stability in the HKSAR, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Harboring the Hong Kong rioters will only bring problems to Taiwan people, said Zhu.

The plot of forces advocating "Taiwan independence" and "Hong Kong independence" to sabotage the "one country, two systems" and to split the nation will never succeed, she said.
As the coronavirus contagion continues to escalate in Brazil, the countrys government has introduced new guidelines for meatpackers on June 19. Amid the growing risk of contracting the fatal COVID-19, the Brazilian government has recommended the people working in such sectors to remain at least a metre away from each other to reduce the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus. However, according to an international media agency, these guidelines have been deemed inadequate by the labour prosecutors.

These guidelines, which were reportedly published after taking suggestions from the prosecutors office, have said that no COVID-19 tests are required for meatpackers. According to reports, a representative from the prosecutors office has said that the Brazilian government has ignored the essential recommendations they made including the maintenance of social distancing of at least 1.5 metres and mass testing if coronavirus. Moreover, they had also raised concerns over the material and quality of facemasks that should be used by workers.

Read - Brazil Tops 1 Million Cases As Coronavirus Spreads Inland

Read - Close Ally Of Brazil's Bolsonaro Leaves Education Ministry

Guidelines not in accordance with CDC

The recommendations by the Brazilian government for meatpackers are not in line with the suggestions put forth by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who said the meatpackers shall be at least two metres apart. This is also not the first time Brazil chose to take a different approach from the US CDC when it comes to responding to the global health crisis. Just after CDC cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients, Brazil said that they will now recommend the use of the anti-malarial drug to not only treat children but also pregnant women for early treatment of COVID-19.

According to media reports, the Brazilian health ministry held a press conference in Brasilia a few hours after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is not advisable to use hydroxychloroquine for the patients infected with the novel coronavirus and cited a latest scientific research. Despite the concerns raised by health professions, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had also said that he has kept a box full of the anti-malarial drug at home for his mother.

Read - Ex-driver For Bolsonaro's Son Arrested In Brazil Probe

Read - A Teens Killing Stirs Black Lives Matter Protests In Brazil

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[June 19, 2020] HONEYWELL LITIGATION UPDATE: Securities Class Action Lawsuit Moves Forward On Behalf of Purchasers of Honeywell International Inc. (HON) between February 9, 2018 through October 19, 2018

ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, announces that the securities class action lawsuit against Honeywell (News - Alert) International Inc. (NYSE: HON) on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Honeywell securities from February 9, 2018 through October 19, 2018, continues forward in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Get Help Honeywell shareholders that purchased or otherwise acquired Honeywell securities in the time period of February 9, 2018 through October 19, 2018 should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/contact or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit



On May 18, 2020, the New Jersey federal judge presiding over the case ruled that the plaintiff-investor leading the suit, represented by Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC, sufficiently alleged that the Company made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose material information regarding its liabilities relating to former subsidiary Bendix Friction Materials' use of asbestos in certain automotive products. On June 10, 2020, a conference was held before the Magistrate Judge to implement a schedule for discovery in the case. The case is Kanefsky v. Honeywell International Inc. et al., 2:18-cv-15536.

About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200619005502/en/

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India is not expecting a war with China on the border issue, but is fully battle-ready if such a situation arises, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria underscored on Saturday.

We are not at war with China, but we fully geared up to meet any contingency arising out the recent conflict on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Bhadauria said, while interacting with reporters after reviewing the combined graduation parade of 123 Indian Air Force cadets at Air Force Academy at Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Replying to a query on his assessment of the situation on the LAC in the wake of his visit to the airbases in Leh and Srinagar in the last two days, the Air Chief Marshal said the army was in full control of the situation at Galwan valley, the site where 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty while fighting the Chinese troops.

The army has already given a statement to this effect. At the same time, our Air Force is also ready to supplement the efforts of the army by deploying additional battalions to meet the contingency, if required, he said.

Asked whether the more fighter aircraft would be moved to Leh and Srinagar in view of his visits, Bhadauria said the IAF has airbases at several strategic locations in the country, not just Leh. We shall assess the situation and go about with our deployments. However, we have stepped up our deployments after the recent conflicts with China post-May, he said.

To another question, he said the Air Force was capable of handling the situation in high altitude regions, but for tactical reasons it cannot disclose where and how the deployments would be made. We shall do and we are doing it as per the requirements, he said.

Asked what message he wants to send to the adversaries, Bhadauria said India did not want to send any message to its adversaries but would always be prepared to defend its territories. Why should I send any message to the adversaries, he said.

The air force chief said the IAF cadets who had graduated on Saturday would be directly reporting to their assigned squadrons and units in view of the current situation so that they would get into action whenever it was required.

Earlier, addressing the newly graduated cadets, Bhadauria said the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers at Galwan valley in Ladakh would not go in vain.

It should be very clear that we are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain, he said.

The forces were well prepared and suitable equipment was in place, he said, adding that the face off at Ladakh was a small snapshot of what the armed forces were required to handle at a short notice.

In spite of unacceptable Chinese actions after agreements reached during military talks and resultant loss of life, all efforts are being made to ensure that the current situation at the LAC is resolved peacefully, he said.

Please join me in paying tribute to Colonel Santosh Babu and his brave men who made the sacrifice while defending the LAC in Galwan Valley. The gallant actions in a highly challenging situation have demonstrated our resolve to protect Indias sovereignty at any cost, Bhadauria said.

The IAF chief conferred the Presidents Commission to 123 graduating trainees, including 19 women cadets, of various branches. The ceremony comprised presentation of Wings and Brevets to the Flight Cadets who successfully completed Flying and Navigation training respectively.

The parade was followed by a brief, but spectacular air show by Pilatus, Kiran Hawk, Chetak helicopters and an aerobatic display by Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) of the IAF.

The graduating IAF cadets, officers and all the dignitaries who attended the ceremony wore face masks and maintained social distance in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The parents of the cadets were also not allowed to view the parade this time because of the pandemic.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed disappointment over the decision by Chinese authorities to foist espionage charges against two Canadians, including a former diplomat, who have been detained in China for over 550 days.

Trudeaus statement was followed by the countrys Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne calling for the immediate release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, asserting they had been arbitrarily detained.

Their arrests have been deemed by analysts as hostage diplomacy undertaken by Beijing, as the moves followed the detention of a senior executive of the Chinese telecom firm Huawei in Vancouver in 2018. That executive, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in December 2018 and is on trial for a case related to fraud that could ultimately lead to her extradition to the United States. She also happens to be the daughter of Huaweis founder.

We will continue to use all of our expertise to return these two Michaels to Canada, Trudeau said in response to a question during his daily media briefing in Ottawa.

Canadas Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was somewhat more outspoken in her reaction, as she said she was very angry at the Chinese action In charging the two with espionage. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are two very great Canadians who are behaving incredibly decent in the difficult circumstances that they have been placed in and absolutely at no fault of their own, she said during a media interaction, according to the outlet Global News.

In a statement, the International Crisis Group, where Kovrig worked as a senior adviser, blasted the Chinese prosecution, stating, This is yet another arbitrary and baseless step in a case that has been arbitrary and baseless from day one.

Canadas Foreign Minister said the cases of Kovrig and Spavor remain a top priority for the Government of Canada. He also expressed concern over how they were since China has denied Canada consular access since January.

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Washington:

The Indian surgical strike inside Pak Occupied Kashmir (PoK) against terrorist planning to sneak into India for terrorist activities was "carefully measured", a top American think-tank said on Friday, adding the onus for escalation lies purely on Pakistan.

"This Indian response was indeed coming. Both as a signal to Pakistan and as reassurance for Indian domestic audiences. Modi could not let the outrage at Uri go unanswered," Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think-tank said.

"The Indian action was carefully measured: striking at terrorist launch pads was meant to signal that India has not lost its freedom to retaliate, but puts the onus of further escalation on Pakistan," Tellis told PTI.

Also Read: (Live Updates on India's surgical strikes in PoK: NSA Ajit Doval arrives at Home Ministry for review security meet chaired by Rajnath)

Responding to a question, Tellis said the US will, counsel restraint, but unless the administration is willing to turn the screws on Pakistan--which is unlikely--India will be guided by its own interests, not American pleas for forbearance.

"I think Pakistan has its hands full right now, it is unlikely to respond to the Indian action militarily, but the larger sub-conventional war against India will continue," Tellis said.

Rick Rossow from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) recalled that the hint of such strikes as a possible tool last year, when the Indian Army initiated an attack against militants in Myanmar.

Also Read: (Pak captures Indian soldier along LoC amid rising tensions following India's surgical strike)

"India has also shown other new tools in its confrontation with Pakistan, such as withdrawing from the upcoming SAARC summit, building stronger ties with other South Asian nations, and using closer security ties with the US as a hook to press for reduced military cooperation with Pakistan," he said.

"This will likely keep Islamabad on its toes, though when employing new tools in such a struggle, clear messaging is key so both sides know the others' intentions. This will guard against unanticipated escalation," Rossow said.

According to him, following a number of recent provocations that India has linked to Pakistan-based militant groups, the government of prime minister Narendra Modi has employed a different set of tools to respond to these incitements.

Also Read: (How was Indian Army's surgical strike carried out in PoK? Here is what happened in those 4-1/2 hours)

"These tools may not be altogether new, but the fact that they have been the focus of India's response to Pakistan's incitements marks a different approach," he said.

Rossow said while the Indian Ministry of Defence has stated it does not plan additional strikes, it is not clear whether the current tensions between India and Pakistan will escalate further.

"There is certainly little expectation that Pakistani militants, under varying degrees of control by Pakistan's military, will be deterred from initiating further attacks. But the costs to Islamabad of supporting terrorism are increasing, and taking different forms than before," Rossow said.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 21:28:08|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, on Saturday voiced strong condemnation of and firm opposition to a so-called European Parliament resolution on NPC's Hong Kong national security legislation.

The European Parliament's move is a blatant interference in China's Hong Kong affairs, said You Wenze, spokesperson for the NPC committee.

You said it is part of China's internal affairs, in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), to take necessary measures to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security.

The legislation for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR only targets acts that severely harm national security and will not restrict the legitimate human rights and freedoms enjoyed in the HKSAR, You said.

You added that China administers the HKSAR in accordance with the Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law, not the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Enditem
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Linkedin Anita Lie (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya, East Java  Sat, June 20, 2020 09:15 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406603a3fa 3 Opinion Education,remote-learning,education-inequality,education-in-Indonesia,COVID-19,pandemic,digital-infrastructure Free

With the start of the new academic year in July just around the corner, educators and policymakers just have to be prepared for the new normal for the 44 plus million students across the country.

In light of the joint ministerial decree by the education minister, religious affairs minister, home minister and health minister announced on June 15, 2020 regarding the school reopening during the pandemic, schooling practices need to be reimagined and reshaped to prevent a possible second outbreak.

Lessons learned during the current school disruption should drive educators to change their perspectives and practices. Reshaping schooling perspectives and practices should deliberate on the why, who, what and how of education.

It is true that the current pandemic and concern over a potential second outbreak have disrupted traditional schooling practices, but the why of creating the new normal should go beyond the current pandemic and delve deeper than fear of illness.

Reimagining anew forms of education may open doors for more equitable quality education for all young Indonesians. Despite all the COVID-19 maladies, the pandemic disruption has brought awareness to new possibilities in reviving our education system and in ushering young Indonesians into the future on a more level playing field.

The impetus for capitalizing on the demographic bonus toward the Indonesia 2045 Vision has collided with the reality of economic and geographical disparities. The current school disruption has amplified education inequities across social economic classes and regions. This prevailing concern can hopefully give rise to renewed initiatives by education stakeholders to transform schooling practices and create equal learning opportunities for all.

First things first, the who of education are entities that need to transform themselves. The learning-from-home mode has abruptly changed the roles of teachers, students and parents. The need for autonomous learning requires that teachers shift to be designers and facilitators of learning instead of the sage on the stage.

Lessons learned from the sudden disappearance of the traditional classroom stage and the isolation of each learner in his or her own space should drive teachers to unlearn old habits and acquire new skills of online learning engagement. Thanks to the pandemic disruption, the online learning execution  no matter how disorderly and inequitable the practices are across the country  has forced teachers to realize that they have to reach out to each student in isolation and examine the effectiveness of their teaching.

Our ongoing research reveals that teachers fear of technology has given way to an emerging sense of obligation to master technology and explore ways to integrate it into their pedagogy in order to maintain their professional duties (Anita Lie et al., 2020). This awakened desire can hopefully snowball into concerted efforts to restore the teaching profession.

By the same token, students need to build up a character of interdependence, discipline and responsibility. Along the same lines, the current learning-from-home practices should gear parents to be a beacon of these character values instead of extended academic tutors for their children.

Education experts and researchers have long lamented that one-size-fits-all curriculum does not work for all learners. Unfortunately, this discourse within scholarly forums does not seep through the classroom walls and fails to influence the what of the education system.

In the name of efficiency and system for the masses, the education enterprise found it impossible to meet such diversified needs of the learners. Small-scale initiatives have emerged to customize learning in the forms of homeschooling, elitist schools and alternative schools. While their success stories should be applauded, scaling up the best practices intended for the privileged few to serve the 44 plus million is a utopian endeavor.

The school disruption has compelled all education stakeholders to accept the fact that what matters is not the completion of the written curriculum coverage but the recognition of students diverse needs and the discovery of possibilities to meet those needs through resources other than the teachers themselves.

The teachers primary task is now to guide students to seek those possibilities. This new normal will hopefully drive education authorities to design a sustainable framework for a needs-based curriculum and provide a repertoire of learning modules. Multiple types of literacy and modalities required to survive and contribute to the 21st century should be included in this curriculum.

With a renewed understanding of the why, who and what of education, the how is a matter of technicality. As Friedrich Nietzsche said: If you understand the why, you can endure any how. The learning-from-home isolation cannot continue forever. Children and youths need physical interaction with their peers as part of their learning processes. After all that teachers and students have gone through during this disruption, the new normal should be blended learning.

Even if there is no postponement of the start of the academic year in the green zones, rotation models of blended learning can be a way to maintain social distancing in school, especially when classrooms are too cramped.

Despite its promises, Clayton Christensen (2008) warns that effective technology integration requires a focus on pedagogy and practice, rather than an emphasis on technology and tools. He found that, although teachers integrated technology into their classrooms, the technology did not necessarily lead to student-centered learning processes.

One caveat in this new normal is that teachers often use technology to perpetuate existing teacher-centered pedagogy rather than using technology to shift themselves and their teaching to student-centered pedagogy.

Therefore, professional development is a continuing need for teachers not only to learn the skills but also to integrate the newly acquired skills into sound pedagogy.

________________

Professor of Education at Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Ltd, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business reengineering services has been recognised amongst India's 50 best companies to work for in 2020 by the Great Place to Work[?] Institute.

Listed amongst the 'Best in Mega Employer' (organizations with more than 50,000 employees), is also one of the five 'Best Companies in Career Management'.

has achieved the 21st rank among India's 100 'Best Companies to Work For 2020: Top 50' by the Great Place to Work[?] Institute.

This was one of the largest workplace study in India, representing the voice of more than 2.1 million employees, over 21 industries.

Tech Mahindra has earned this recognition for creating a great place to work for all the employees and has excelled in the five dimensions of building a High-Trust, High-Performance CultureTM - credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

The awarding organization, Great Place to Work[?] Institute, is the 'Global Authority' for creating, sustaining, and identifying High-Trust, High-Performance CultureTM.

Great Place to Work[?] is considered the 'Gold Standard' in workplace culture assessment and they identify best workplaces solely on the basis of employee feedback and quality of people practices in an organization. No jury or individual can influence the results of the assessment.

CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra on being among India's 50 best companies to work for in 2020

CP Gurnani, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra expressed sincere gratitude, happiness, and pride in the achievement. "This is a collective win of 125,000 plus people, who resolved to become and build a great institution by working in more than 125,000 different ways, towards a common goal. They were led by purpose, powered by technology, and driven by a culture of RiseTM. We are humbled and honored to be counted among India's 50 best companies," he said, as he extended his special thanks to the human resources function.

As a leading digital transformation organization with a global presence, Tech Mahindra is creating memorable and meaningful connected experiences for a world that's connected by purpose, people, and passion.

As a 'company with a purpose', Tech Mahindra remains rooted in the business and social ethos shared by the entire Mahindra Group through the RiseTM tenets - accepting no limits, alternative thinking, and driving positive change, that is instilled in every member of the Mahindra family. The same has been demonstrated through initiatives like - 'Don't be plastic', '3-4-3 for Good' amongst others.

"We, at Tech Mahindra, believe the future of work is 'Human-Centred'. Our focus has been on providing 'meaningful work' and creating an enabling environment where our employees feel trusted, respected, recognized, and empowered. As a mega employer, having a dispersed and large workforce, we leveraged technology to create hyper-personalized experiences and Moments of Truth that embedded 'People Engagement' in our core business strategy, TechMHRNxt," said Harshvendra Soin, Global Chief People Officer, and Marketing Head, Tech Mahindra.

The Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification validates Tech Mahindra's philosophy of providing a workplace culture centered around driving positive change, celebrating each moment, and empowering all associates to RiseTM.

Embarked on an HR transformation journey called TechMHRNxt, Tech Mahindra is focused on empowering its associates by providing them with opportunities of connecting, co-creating, and celebrating at work.

Through a myriad of wellness programs, upskilling options, reward and recognition efforts, progressive policies for diversity, and inclusion, Tech Mahindra is fostering an environment where learning, growth, and innovation is promoted.

Under its latest #lovetobeTechM initiative, the associates are encouraged to share anecdotes, stories, and testimonials on - celebrating good times, surviving the tough times, and preparing for the future - together.

Tech Mahindra under its TechMHRNxt charter focuses on reimagining people's functions for creating a 'Human-Centred workplace' and enhance employee experience by leveraging next-generation technologies along with human interactions.

Associates at Tech Mahindra are digital change makers who are here to disrupt, blaze new trails, and create connected experiences for a connected world.

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Webster Area uses hot-shooting performance to roll past Roncalli

Webster Area used a strong offensive performance, shooting better than 50% from the field to down Aberdeen Roncalli 68-39 on Friday night in Aberdeen.
Tehran, Iran  It has been a year since Iran shot down a US Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

Tensions have escalated since and the two countries came the closest they have in recent years to all-out conflict in January, when the United States assassinated one of Irans most popular leaders  Quds Force commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Iran retaliated by firing missiles on a base used by US soldiers outside Baghdad, injuring dozens of American troops. Both sides took a step back but have continued to engage in hostile rhetoric, while the US recently announced new sanctions against Iranian shipping companies.

But behind the scenes, throughout ongoing tensions, the two countries have continued to cooperate  albeit indirectly  on relief and reconstruction work in Afghanistan.

Chabahar port

US State Department statement After extensive consideration, in November 2018 the administration granted a narrow exception under section 1244 of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (IFCA) to allow a limited number of activities that support the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, a key US national security interest. The exception provided for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan and allowed for the operation of Chabahar port in support of these goals. This narrow exception also allowed for certain activities including Afghanistans imports of refined petroleum products from Iran such as gas, diesel, and liquid petroleum gas and the shipment of non-sanctioned goods, including lifesaving humanitarian assistance, through Chabahar port to Afghanistan. The exception excludes transactions with individuals or entities designated under US counterterrorism or non-proliferation authorities, including Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its officials, agents, and affiliates. The exception provided under section 1244 of IFCA does not apply to other sanctions authorities. Other sanctions authorities may be applicable to entities engaging in certain activities in Chabahar, including (under section 1245 of IFCA) the sale, supply, or transfer, directly or indirectly, to or from Iran of certain materials to be used in connection with the construction sector of Iran.

The Presidents South Asia strategy underscores our ongoing support ofAfghanistans economic growth and development as well as our close partnershipwith India. We seek to build on our close relationships with both Indiaand Afghanistan as we execute a policy of maximum pressure to change theIranian regimes destabilizing policies in the region and beyond.

Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran is a hub of activity and one of the countrys economic lifelines. Located on the southeastern edge of the country, it is the only Iranian entity of its kind that has been spared from American sanctions.

As a result of the exception, Afghanistan is able to import Iranian fuel and Iranian-made goods considered vital for humanitarian assistance, but the port also serves other US interests in the region.

The spokesperson said that the presidents South Asia strategy underscores our ongoing support of Afghanistans economic growth and development as well as our close partnership with India. We seek to build on our close relationships with both India and Afghanistan as we execute a policy of maximum pressure to change the Iranian regimes destabilising policies in the region and beyond.

Chabahar port, with road and rail links through Iran, offers a more secure alternative route to Gwadar port in Pakistan, operated by the Chinese.

It gives India  a key US ally in the region that is assisting with Afghan reconstruction  access to the landlocked, war-torn country. Other than moving goods and equipment bound for Afghanistan, for India, it is also a trade link to lucrative markets in Central Asia and beyond.

So, not only is an Iranian port helping the US rebuild Afghanistan, but it is also helping India act as a counterweight to Chinese and Pakistani influence in the region. Chabahar ports strategic location makes it a kind of political Bermuda triangle, where the normal rules of the USs hostile Iran policy do not seem to apply.

Irans influence in the region is not ignorable, said Mohammad-Hussein Ansarifard, a Tehran-based political analyst.

Iran can influence the whole security apparatus in the region. Irans influence for example in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, even in Yemen, is very, very big and very, I think, essential. [] So, if Iran does not collaborate with Americans [] then the problem in the region would be much more complicated and much more costly for the Americans. [] I think this is a very good reason to let Iran have the Chabahar [port].

During a cabinet session in May, President Hassan Rouhani described the port as a vital part of shaping Irans economic future.

One of our major projects in Sistan-Baluchestan province was reviving and using the port of Chabahar, he said, pledging to continue development work. Sistan-Baluchestan is an important province to our country. It is sensitive in regards to our national security. It is said that Chabahar and Sistan-Baluchestan are the forefront of Irans national security and that is very true.

India is currently the only other major investor in developing the port, but Iranian leaders have repeatedly expressed a desire to involve as many neighbouring countries as possible, to make the port a regional hub. The more countries investing in the port, the more difficult it would be to sanction in the future, according to one university researcher.

Seeing it up-close, Asarifard said, it becomes clear the port is more than just a transit point and has enormous potential.

I think its bilateral trade, not only between Iran and Afghanistan and so on, he said, adding, It would even be a rest port for [ships] coming from Eastern Asia, going to Europe. They can stop in Chabahar for refuelling and for taking up new goods. I think it would be a connection  a very essential connection  between trade in the East and trade in the West.

He also said the port could lead to cooperation between the US and Iran on other regional security problems.

Both now realise that the quarrel between the two countries weakens both of them and both are paying heavily for it, Ansarifard said.

Old wounds

Recent US-Iran prisoner exchanges were seen as a significant step in the same direction.

And even though there are converging interests in Afghanistan  both want stability and to see US troops leave the region  future cooperation will require working past tensions, which in some cases have been simmering for decades.

The old US embassy in Tehran was renamed the den of espionage museum. For decades, it has been occupied by Irans government, its boundary walls a canvas for anti-American artwork. The US flag is flown at half-mast and upside down, the signal for distress.

A security person looks on at oil docks at the Chabahar port [File: Reuters]

It is an ever-present reminder of old wounds and the broken relationship between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran. But despite decades of animosity, and no direct diplomatic representation in each others countries, there have been examples of quiet cooperation.

After 9/11, Iran was instrumental in helping the US fight the Taliban armed group, topple them from power and set up a new government in Kabul.

A 2010 report published by the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point said Iranian influence in Afghanistan is inevitable and Tehran could  in equal measure  help or hinder US forces. Some Iranian experts hope Chabahar port can become a model for more future cooperation.
UK observational series Inside The Childrens Hospital, set at Royal Aberdeen Childrens Hospital, will screen on 10.

The 8 part series is narrated by Scot David Tennant.

The dashing Doctor Whos David Tennant narrates this eight-part series, which explores the lives of the young patients and the amazing staff who care for them, at one of Scotlands busiest and most-advanced childrens hospitals.

Since opening in 2004, the Royal Aberdeen Childrens Hospital has cared for over a million children (and their worried parents) from across the north of Scotland. Inside The Childrens Hospital showcases the dedication, care and camaraderie of the hospital team in the most warm and fuzzy way.

From a mild case of double vision to chemotherapy treatment, the specialists at Royal Aberdeen diagnose mysterious medical conditions both big and small. The trauma team deal with the most pressing emergencies, we will see life-changing surgery, and go behind-the-scenes of the busy laundry and catering teams, to learn that hospital patients are just as fussy with their food!

So whether you need a much needed distraction or your faith in humanity restored, checking out what happens Inside The Childrens Hospital might just do the trick.

Saturday, 11 July at 7.00pm on 10.
Cocoa Beach is packed with Memorial Day weekend beachgoers, May 23, 2020.

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The Florida Department of Health on Friday reported 3,822 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the biggest single-day increase in the state to date.

Experts have warned that the state could be the pandemic's next epicenter as residents continue to take advantage of open beaches and bars.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday that the average age of people infected was "plunging," but added that he wouldn't issue a statewide order requiring masks.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Florida set another record Friday, with the health department reporting 3,822 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the highest number the state has seen in a single day.

The previous record was set on Thursday, when the department said there were 3,207 new cases.

Florida's total is nearing 90,000 infections, according to state data.

The news follows some experts' warnings that the state could become the next epicenter of the pandemic, as residents and visitors continue to enjoy open restaurants, bars, shops, and beaches, many without practicing social distancing or wearing masks.

Related Video: How Long Will Social Distancing Last? Its Complicated.

According to a report released Wednesday by scientists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, "Florida has all the makings of the next large epicenter  the risk there is the worst it has ever been in our projections."

A woman wears a face shield as she wades in the ocean off South Beach on June 10, 2020, in Miami Beach.

Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the continuous increase in cases was a result of expanded testing and surges among farmworkers and nursing-home residents, Fox 13 reported.

But during a press conference Friday, DeSantis said another demographic was emerging: young people.

The median age of confirmed infected people has "plunged" to 37 statewide, he said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. In Orange County, the median age was 29. In Seminole County it was just 26.

Story continues

Kat Layton is one of those young people who tested positive. She's among the group of 16 friends who all became infected after visiting a pub in Jacksonville on June 6. She told CNN's Chris Cuomo she hoped others learn from her mistakes.

"We want to tell people it's really not ready for what we thought it was ready for  it's too soon," she said.

Still, on Friday, DeSantis said he would not issue a statewide order requiring mask-wearing, the Sentinel reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Officers responding to the shooting initially said they had trouble getting to the scene because they were were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims, police said on their blog. Video released later in the day by the Seattle police appears to show officers arriving at the protest zone saying they want to get to the victim and entering as people yell at them that the victim is already gone.
US president says he wants coronavirus testing to slow down as six campaign staff members test positive for COVID-19.

Gathering a smaller than expected crowd, President Donald Trump sought to breathe new life into his re-election campaign with a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, amid anti-racism protests in cities across the country and a still-strong coronavirus pandemic.

Even as the coronavirus death toll in the United States neared 120,000, Trump declared on Saturday night that his response to the pandemic saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

He also suggested that he wants the pace of COVID-19 testing in the US to slow down, blaming it for the rapid rise in the number of confirmed cases. His campaign, however, said the president was speaking in jest.

The US president also tried to explain away the crowd size, blaming it on the media who he said warned people: Dont go, dont come, dont do anything, while insisting that the protesters outside were doing bad things, though the small crowds of pre-rally demonstrators were largely peaceful.

We begin our campaign, Trump thundered. The silent majority is stronger than ever before.

Just moments before Trumps speech, his son, Eric, also addressed the crowd, describing the anti-racism protesters across the US as animals.

Trump has come under fire for his responses to the coronavirus pandemic and to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.

The US president has brushed aside criticism for his decision to hold his first rally since March 2 in Tulsa, the site of one of the countrys bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans about 100 years ago.

He claimed that Democrats were seeking to erase American heritage, a reference to the tearing down of several statues of Confederate slave owners and other figures.

The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our beautiful monuments, tear down our statues, and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control, he said.

Trump arrives on stage to speak at a campaign rally at BOK Center in Tulsa on Saturday [Evan Vucci/AP]

Oklahoma and America need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House! Vice President Mike Pence told cheering supporters ahead of Trumps address at the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena, where many empty seats were visible.

Trump campaign officials had said prior to the event that demand far outstripped the capacity of the venue.

But on Saturday night, the arena was almost half-empty, and the campaign was forced to cancel an outdoor rally after the expected overflow crowd did not show up.

Dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters did gather at rally checkpoints and confronted attendees, but no violence was reported.

Virus spike

Many rally-goers wore red Make America Great Again hats or T-shirts, but very few wore masks, and there was little social distancing, even though coronavirus cases have recently been skyrocketing in Oklahoma.

Hours before the rally, the Trump campaign announced six members of its advance team had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Republican president is trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, in polls ahead of the November election.

Supporters are delighted to see Trump back on the campaign trail, and those wanting to attend far outstripped the number of seats available, Trump campaign officials said.

A supporter wearing a face mask has her temperature checked outside Trumps rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

Masks not obligatory

This was the first of Trumps signature rallies since March 2, when the country went into pandemic lockdown.

The Trump campaign issued an unusual disclaimer telling attendees they assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

Oklahomas case tally reached a new daily high on Wednesday, at 450 infections.

A man lies on the ground outside the venue of Donald Trumps rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma [Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]

Back to business

Trump has emphasised quickly reopening the country, saying there may be embers of the pandemic that can be handled locally.

In an interview with news site Axios on Friday, Trump predicted a wild evening in Oklahoma.

He said the rally is about pushing a message of reopening the country.

We have to get back to business, Trump said. We have to get back to living our lives. Cant do this any longer.

The president has also previously warned protesters that they will face a harsh response in Tulsa.

Rally organisers provided everyone with hand sanitiser, temperature checks and optional masks.

Attendees were required to sign a waiver protecting organisers from any liability in the event COVID-19 spreads at the venue.

Its a personal choice, I wont be wearing a mask, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Friday, adding that she is frequently tested for the virus.

Al Jazeeras Jay Gray, reporting from Tulsa ahead of the rally, said Trumps supporters were very excited to see the president.

When you talk to those supporters, most will tell you that they dont plan to wear face masks, that they are not concerned about the virus.
The Australian Greens have picked Lidia Thorpe as their new senator to replace former federal leader Richard Di Natale, who has retired from politics.

The Gunnai-Kurnai/Gunditjmara woman was named as the new federal Greens senator for Victoria, following a state-wide ballot of its members.

Members pre-selected Ms Thorpe with what the party says was a historic 65 per cent voter turnout.

She won the two-party preferred vote with the backing of 58 per cent of 2342 voters, while another favourite, human rights barrister Julian Burnside had 42 per cent of the vote.
Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Tangdhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir by firing mortar shells towards Indian positions on Friday, Army officials said.

"On 19 June 2020, in the evening hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) along the LoC in Tangdhar sector by firing mortars and other weapons," the officials said.

They said the Indian Army gave a befitting response to the violations. There were no reports of casualties in the incident.
Like everyone over the past few months, I have watched the news, day in day out, with dread. Thousands of Covid-19 cases and thousands of deaths  so many that you almost begin to become numb to the ever-rising numbers.

Weve started thinking of just a few hundred deaths today as a positive thing, which in a way it is. But each death is someones mum or dad, husband, wife, daughter or son.

I look at my own family and thank God it isnt them. Somehow, for the time being, weve remained unscathed. But others I know havent been so fortunate  they have lost partners and parents. Devastating doesnt begin to cover it.

Britain seems to be having one of the worlds worst experiences of Covid-19, despite our lockdown, which in itself is having dire health consequences. Like most people, I have felt helpless and hopeless.

Sign up: Dr Ellie Cannon, who signed up for a trial being run by the University of Oxford, in a mock-up of Lord Kitcheners 'Your Country Needs You' First World War recruitment poster

I cant change the national response. I cant stop people flouting lockdown or social-distancing measures just to have a day at the beach or a trip to the shops. Ive been working and seeing patients  mostly via video calls  throughout the pandemic.

Ive spent my downtime writing for this newspaper, appearing on television news channels, and more recently working with the Government to share information about masks and face-coverings.

I have cooked for sick friends and helped patients who are suffering. I clapped every Thursday to celebrate my NHS colleagues, which was a rare moment that made the heart soar. But still, I felt I wanted to do more to help get us out of this mess.

So I decided to become a tiny part of the way out and volunteered to become a human guinea pig for one of the two coronavirus vaccines being developed in the UK.

The trial I signed up for is being run by the University of Oxford in centres across the country. Like all healthcare workers in my area, I received an email about a month ago asking me to consider participating.

It is open to any volunteers, subject to a few criteria, but it helps if healthcare workers can join because they will be more likely to encounter the virus in the coming months and therefore act as good test subjects for a vaccine.

Imperial College London, which has safety tested its own potential vaccine, is just about to begin human trials and will start enrolling volunteers very soon.

Signing up wasnt a decision I took lightly. Before deciding on anything, I read the trial material carefully. The vaccination is called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and the study is looking for at least 10,000 people across the UK to try it.

Scientists are seen working at Cobra Biologics, where they are working on a potential vaccine for Covid-19 in Keele, Britain, following the outbreak of the disease (file photo)

By the end of May, before I joined, it had already been given to more than 300 people, so I like to think of myself as a second-round guinea pig  the first few hundred are the really brave ones.

Of course, like most people, I was a little apprehensive. Theres always that thought in the back of your mind that an injection of something experimental might have some horrible, unforeseen side effect. But that is really not the case for this vaccination.

Reading about it, I realised it is not so different from the sort of flu vaccinations we give patients every year. It contains an inactive version of the common cold alongside a part of the Covid-19 virus  because it is just a part of the virus it cant actually give someone the illness itself.

Q&A: Are South Asians more at risk, and will the Government track my phone? Q When will the test and trace system be in place? Will the Government be able to track my phone? A An early version of the system has been in place for two weeks. People who test positive for Covid-19 receive a text asking them to log on to the NHS Test And Trace website and provide details of people theyve been in close contact with recently. These contacts receive a call or email from an NHS contact tracer  who tells them to isolate for 14 days from the point they last saw the infected person. The Government will add a smartphone app to speed up the system  but this may not be available until winter. Officials are working with tech giants Apple and Google to create it. A system called Exposure Notification has already been automatically added to Android and Apple phones. It is not a tracker and is switched off until the app is downloaded. Q Whats the difference between the R number and the alert number? A The R number is the rate at which the virus is spread by a single person. Currently, the national average is below one  an infected person is passing it to less than one other person. A rise above one would lead to a second peak. The alert number  which has been reduced from four to three  relates to how prevalent the virus is. The highest it can go is five. The lowered rating means the virus is in general circulation but cases are not rising exponentially. However there are still likely to be local outbreaks of infections. Q I am of South Asian background  am I more at risk of death? A An analysis of 35,000 Covid-19 hospital patients by the University of Edinburgh found people of South Asian heritage are more likely than other ethnicities to die from the illness. Scientists believe this may be partly due to the high rates of type 1 and 2 diabetes in South Asian people. But, confusingly, data by the Office for National Statistics suggests its black people who face the highest risk  because theyre the most likely to become infected. Genetics, occupation, poor housing and living in densely populated areas are all thought to play a role in the increased death rate. Advertisement

The idea behind this vaccination, like so many others, is that the immune system recognises this bit of the virus as a harmful invader.

You dont get ill, but the immune system still responds and develops protective antibodies.

My family were certainly less than keen, and did try to dissuade me. They had the same concerns that I had. But in a way, it was easier for me as I have faith in our scientists and, in particular, the providence of the Oxford group.

I see vaccinations as lifesaving rather than frightening and could understand that, although this is a new vaccination, it is a tried and tested method and not something to be feared. I have also had a lot of vaccinations over the years for travel and work and have not reacted badly to them.

Some colleagues also raised doubts. There had been talk in the scientific community early on over whether a vaccination could actually worsen your chances if you do get Covid. Previous trials with mice into vaccines for MERS  the deadly coronavirus that hit the Middle East in 2013  had ended badly, with the animals suffering worse illness.

But this has not been seen in animals given Oxfords ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, nor in any of the first few hundred human guinea pigs.

My overwhelming feeling, after Id done my research, was to do something proactive and put everyones fears and anxieties about this ongoing pandemic to good use.

I have never joined a medical trial before. But once I had made my decision, it felt almost cathartic. As I logged in to the Oxford trial website, I actually felt a sense of relief  finally, I could join the fightback, rather than simply continuing to fight fires.

To join, you have to be 18 or over, to not have tested positive for Covid-19 and to be in good health and not pregnant. The study will run over 12 months and involves between six and 12 visits to hospital.

The first step was a simple online questionnaire about my age group and a basic medical history. Within two days I was phoned and invited for the first appointment. A doctor and a nurse were present, to explain all the ins and outs of the process, and answer my questions.

During the trial they will give us blood tests to see if weve developed antibodies in response to the vaccine  which would indicate it has worked.

I wanted to know what would happen to my personal information after the trial (its kept confidential), blood samples and DNA  and whether the latter would be used for further research. The answer was yes, but only if I consented.

I then had to have a full health check, including weight, urine testing, blood pressure and a full run-through of my background health, and confirmed I had no plans to get pregnant during the trial period. The final stage of this appointment was to have an antibody test for Covid-19. If youve already had the virus, it would make you ineligible for the trial.

Id not knowingly been ill, but Ive heard stories of people whove tested positive for antibodies despite not recalling a time when theyd had Covid-19 symptoms.

Could I have unknowingly contracted the virus and been an asymptomatic case, as many are said to have?

No, according to my result which arrived a few days later.

So last week I attended the hospital again for my first jab.

This is what is known as a blind trial  half the volunteers are given the real vaccination, while the other half are given a control or comparison drug. In this trial, the control is a widely used meningitis vaccination. Volunteers are not told which one theyre getting  its a simple way to ensure that any potential side effects that emerge are genuinely due to the drug, and not just because you think youre getting a new drug.

I will be told at the end of the year-long trial which one I have been given.

A worker packaging rabies vaccines at a lab at the Yisheng Biopharma company, where researchers are trying to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 on June 9 in Shenyang, China

Having the vaccination felt like any other: a sharp sting in my upper arm when the jab goes in, with a bit of a muscle ache afterwards. I was observed in the clinic room for 15 minutes to see if my arm swelled  it didnt  and then I was free to go.

I have been given a number and contact card in case I dont feel well or am concerned about symptoms or side effects. I took paracetamol for the following 24 hours, as instructed, to prevent any muscle aches, but I really didnt feel any different and havent since.

So now what? For the first two months I have to self-swab my nose and throat every week  just like the swabs taken if you test yourself for Covid-19. These are done at home with a kit and sent back by post.

Over the year I will have three blood tests to see if I have developed antibodies.

And if I develop coronavirus symptoms, I have to isolate and test myself just like anyone else, as well as informing the trial team.

VIRUS FACT Consumption of sugary pop by children has increased four-fold since lockdown began, a small Northumbria University study has found. Advertisement

Since I mentioned the trial on social media, a couple of people have been in touch to say they have been inspired to join, which feels great.

A colleague signed up too, so we compared vaccination stories  in fact, I know quite a few doctors who have joined up.

I dont feel in any way heroic. To me its not so different from being a blood donor  something I have been doing for years.

But it has been a good, practical channel for my own angst and fear.

Like most people in the medical profession, Im deeply concerned about the prospect of a second wave of the virus.

Infection rates continue on a downward trend, but the next month, as people are now mixing far more freely, will be the first acid test.

When the trial is over, there will no doubt be a lot of data-crunching and academic work, and maybe further trials to do before the vaccine is given to a bigger group of people, so it wont be a quick fix.

However, there was cause for hope last week when a cheap anti-inflammatory steroid tablet  dexamethasone, one of the drugs being studied as part of the University of Oxford Recovery trial  was shown to reduce the severity of Covid-19 illness in patients who have been hospitalised by it.

When the trial is over, there will no doubt be a lot of data-crunching and academic work, writes Dr Ellie Cannon (file photo of bottles labelled with a 'Vaccine Covid-19' sticker in illustration)

Headlines calling it a cure or saying it could conquer Covid were well, it just isnt, and the study didnt show that. But it is very promising. And its the first drug, really, to have had this kind of result.

Medical trials are a painstaking process that represent the work of hundreds of scientists and thousands of volunteers.

It has to be done this way, to make sure we are able to offer patients safe treatments, and so we can give those eventually taking the drugs as accurate a picture as possible about what will happen to them.

As Covid-19 retreats in many countries, researchers are now faced with a new problem: a lack of suitable candidates for trials.

Fewer and fewer people have the disease, making testing drug treatments ever harder, and those who have had it, understandably, want to put it all behind them.

My appeal is simple: please, think about taking part in a trial. The risks and downsides are few, and the positives  that you will play a part in our national recovery  huge.

Britain needs you. Its time to do your bit.

If you want to join the Oxford vaccine trial, as I did, visit covid19vaccinetrial.co.uk.
China, with its economic might, has rapidly expanded its manufacturing capacity, and as a result, is able to make electronics that are far more affordable than other those produced in other countries. But does it mean theres nothing at par with these Chinese smartphones? Turns out, there is. While the home-grown Indian brands may not match up yet, there are a handful of brands from Korea, Europe, Taiwan and the United States that can give them a run for their money. These are the best non-Chinese smartphones to buy in India. Although the prices of the products mentioned in the list given below have been updated as of 22nd Jan 2022, the list itself may have changed since it was last published due to the launch of new products in the market since then.

6.3" (1080 x 2340) Screen Size

13 + 5 | 8 MP Camera



3 GB RAM

5000 mAh Battery Full specs Other Samsung Mobile Phones

If you are thinking of buying the Redmi 8A Dual or the Realme Narzo 10A, the Galaxy M20 is is a good alternative. Manufactured by Samsung, a Korean brand, in India, its a little more compact with a 6.3-inch TFT display but FullHD+ resolution, which increases the PPI making the panel appear sharper. The M20 also takes a different route with the camera, which we believe is a little more useful than having a macro lens. The M20 rocks a 13MP primary camera along with a 5MP ultrawide lens. The selfie camera is also larger with an 8MP shooter. The performance is where the phone falters in the face of its Chinese competition. The Exynos 7904 is no match for the Helio G70, but it can get you through the day with casual usage. However, battery life is equally long at 5,000mAh. Going with this, you will end up sacrificing powerful performance but gain in terms of more useful camera options and a sharper display. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.3" (1080 x 2340) Camera : 13 + 5 | 8 MP RAM : 3 GB Battery : 5000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Samsung Exynos 7904 Processor : Octa Available  10,499 Buy Now Available  12,800 Buy Now

6.18" (1080 x 2246) Screen Size

12 + 13 | 20 MP Camera



4 GB RAM

3500 mAh Battery Full specs Other Nokia Mobile Phones

The Nokia 8.1, made by HMD Global, registered in Finland challenge the Chinese stalwarts like the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and the Realme 6 Pro, in almost all segments. It rocks a HDR10-certified 6.18-inch LCD display with fullHD+ resolution. Theres also the Snapdragon 710 SoC along with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. For the camera, Nokia offers Zeiss-certified 12MP primary camera with OIS along with a 13MP telephoto lens. On the front is a 20MP selfie shooter, and all three cameras can be used in tandem via the bothie mode. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.18" (1080 x 2246) Camera : 12 + 13 | 20 MP RAM : 4 GB Battery : 3500 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon 710 Processor : Octa Available  24,990 Buy Now

6.4" (1080 x 2340) Screen Size

68 + 8 + 5 +5 | 32 MP Camera



6 GB RAM

6000 mAh Battery Full specs Other Samsung Mobile Phones

A good alternative to the Chinese brands in the popular mid-range segment is the Samsung Galaxy M31. You get a 6.4-inch AMOLED with FHD+ resolution and Gorilla Glass protection. Its powered by the 10nm Exynos 9611 SoC coupled with 6GB RAM and up to 128GB RAM along with expandable storage. The camera goes toe to toe with the Chinese offerings with a 64MP quad-camera stack at the back, which includes an 8MP ultrawide lens, 5MP macro lens and a 5MP depth sensor. On the front, you get a 32MP selfie camera. The battery life is where the M31 goes well ahead of the competition with a 6,000mAh battery. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.4" (1080 x 2340) Camera : 68 + 8 + 5 +5 | 32 MP RAM : 6 GB Battery : 6000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Exynos 9611 Processor : Octa Available  17,989 Buy Now Out of Stock  17,990 Buy Now Available  18,499 Buy Now

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6.4" (1080 X 2340) Screen Size

48 + 13 | NA Camera



6GB RAM

5000 mAh Battery Full specs Other Asus Mobile Phones

The Asus 6z is made by the Taiwanese brand known for its presence in the PC market. And it's very much a flagship offering, surpassing some of the Chinese offerings. Asus also innovated on the design. The Asus 6z brings a rotating camera module with a dual-camera setup that works as both the front and rear cameras. Inside is the Snapdragon 855 coupled with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage along with a 5000mAh battery. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.4" (1080 X 2340) Camera : 48 + 13 | NA RAM : 6GB Battery : 5000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) Processor : octa Out of Stock  30,999 Buy Now rk

6.59" (1080 x 2340) Screen Size

48 + 13 | 24 MP Camera



8 GB RAM

6000 mAh Battery Read Review Full specs Other Asus Mobile Phones

The ROG Phone II offers pressure-sensitive air triggers which give gamers an unfair advantage while gaming. The phone also offers the most granular customisations in the CPU, letting run everything at peak capacities manually. Theres also a host of alternatives. Pros Handles all games at max settings with ease.

Gives granular control over CPU, GPU and thermals.

Doesn't overheat. Cons Expensive accessories

Too bulky for everyday use

Gaming phone first, smartphone after. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.59" (1080 x 2340) Camera : 48 + 13 | 24 MP RAM : 8 GB Battery : 6000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 Plus (7 nm) Processor : octa Out of Stock  40,999 Buy Now Available  47,990 Buy Now

6.7" (1080 x 2400) Screen Size

12 + 12+ 12 | 32 MP Camera



6 GB RAM

4500 mAh Battery Read Review Full specs Other Samsung Mobile Phones

if its a more popular line of smartphones you are looking at, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite and the S10 Lite are great options to consider. Both these smartphones take cues from the premium Galaxy lineup and bring some of its own like a high-resolution 48MP camera on the S10 Lite, the S-Pen on the Note 10 Lite and a slim form factor with bright and vivid AMOLED displays. Pros S-Pen in this segment is unique and exclusive to the Note10 Lite.

Image capture is consistently good across lenses.

Stable gaming. Cons Uses old hardware.

Captured video files look overprocessed.

No water resistance. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.7" (1080 x 2400) Camera : 12 + 12+ 12 | 32 MP RAM : 6 GB Battery : 4500 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Exynos 9810 Processor : Octa Available  41,999 Buy Now

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4.7" (750 x 1334) Screen Size

12 | 7 MP Camera



4 GB RAM

1821 mAh Battery Read Review Full specs Other Apple Mobile Phones

The high-end segment also offers the budget iPhone that launched this year. The iPhone SE (2020) turned out to be an excellent daily driver, even for power users. Apple has used the same A13 Bionic processor thats there on the flagship iPhone 11 series but kept the design compact as the old iPhone 8. And you get the same lag-free experience thats expected out of an Apple device. The battery life may feel a little less as compared to the Chinese counterparts which can be a bummer though. Pros Performance is top notch.

TouchID is fast and reliable.

Display supports HDR video playback Cons Battery life could be better.

Single rear camera only. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 4.7" (750 x 1334) Camera : 12 | 7 MP RAM : 4 GB Battery : 1821 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Apple A13 Bionic Processor : Hexa-core Price : 42,500 rk

6.1" (828 x 1792) Screen Size

12 + 12 MP | 12 MP Camera



4 GB RAM

3110 mAh Battery Full specs Other Apple Mobile Phones

The iPhone 11 series is popular enough to not require further evangelism. But if we have to enumerate the benefits, you get the smoothest operating system for mobiles. One thats also radically different from Android. The default iPhone 11 now offers two cameras at the back. A 12MP primary wide lens and another 12MP ultrawide lens, and both are the best in their segment for both photos and videos. Theres also a night mode that kicks in automatically when theres low light, and like all things Apple, it just works. The A13 Bionic processor with a Neural Engine and a six-core GPU is also the most powerful processor for mobiles, surpassing even the Snapdragon 865. With such cutting edge features, the price is also on the higher side as compared to the Chinese premium flagships. And its totally worth the extra premium. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.1" (828 x 1792) Camera : 12 + 12 MP | 12 MP RAM : 4 GB Battery : 3110 mAh Operating system : iOS Soc : Apple A13 Bionic (7 nm+) Processor : Hexa-core Out of Stock  49,900 Buy Now Available  49,900 Buy Now Available  53,489 Buy Now

6.2" (1440 x 3200) Screen Size

12 + 64 + 12 | 10 MP Camera



12 GB RAM

4000 mAh Battery Full specs Other Samsung Mobile Phones

The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is yet another example of Non-Chinese dominance. This is one lineup which routinely sets a new benchmark for the Android ecosystem. This time, Samsung is offering high-refresh rate displays, multiple cameras and a far more optimised UI than before. The Galaxy S20 is the most affordable of the three and it offers a QHD+ 120Hz display like the OnePlus 8 Pro, a 64MP triple camera and support for wireless charging. The phone also rocks an in-display fingerprint sensor, fast 25W charging, reverse wireless charging, HDR10+ certification, and IP68 water and dust resistance. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.2" (1440 x 3200) Camera : 12 + 64 + 12 | 10 MP RAM : 12 GB Battery : 4000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 Processor : Octa-core Out of Stock  49,999 Buy Now Out of Stock  70,499 Buy Now rk

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6.7" (1080 x 2340) Screen Size

64 + 12 + 5 + 5 | 32 MP Camera



6 GB RAM

7000 mAh Battery Full specs Other Samsung Mobile Phones

The Samsung Galaxy M51 is the first smartphone to house a massive 7,000mAh battery. That alone should make this lucrative in the budget segment. The smartphone rocks an AMOLED display and sports a 64MP quad camera setup at the back. Samsung is a Korean brand with factories in India to assemble smartphones. It also sources majority of the components from India itself, and plans to set up an export hub in the future under the Government's PLI scheme. SPECIFICATION Screen Size : 6.7" (1080 x 2340) Camera : 64 + 12 + 5 + 5 | 32 MP RAM : 6 GB Battery : 7000 mAh Operating system : Android Soc : Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730 Processor : Octa-core Available  19,999 Buy Now

Team Digit Email Team Digit Follow Us About Me: All of us are better than one of us. Read the detailed BIO to know more about Team Digit Read More about Team Digit

List Of Best Non-Chinese Smartphones To Buy In India (Jan 2022) Best non-Chinese smartphones Seller Price Samsung Galaxy M20 Amazon  10,499 Nokia 8.1 Amazon  24,990 Samsung Galaxy M31 Tatacliq  17,989 Asus 6Z Flipkart  30,999 ROG Phone II Flipkart  40,999 Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite Amazon  41,999 Apple iPhone SE 2020 N/A  42,500 Apple iPhone 11 Amazon  49,900 Samsung Galaxy S20 Tatacliq  49,999 Samsung Galaxy M51 Amazon  19,999

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The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on Friday adopted a resolution strongly condemning the continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent.



The resolution, in particular, condemned police brutality that led to the deaths of U.S. citizen George Floyd in Minneapolis and other people of African descent.

The resolution, adopted by consensus without a vote in the 47-member UN body, also deplored the recent incidents of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers against peaceful demonstrators defending the rights of Africans and people of African descent.

The resolution asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law, and abuses against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies.

The report will contribute to accountability and redress for victims, said the resolution, calling on all states and relevant stakeholders to cooperate in the preparation of the report.

The resolution also requested the High Commissioner to examine government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists.

Many journalists have reported attacks while doing their job in the U.S., with some estimates going as high as "148 arrests or attacks" in the U.S. between May 26 and June 2.

The resolution came in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The 46-year-old African American died during an arrest after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Videos from security cameras and made by witnesses later became public. Since then, protests in response to Floyd's death, and more broadly to police brutality, spread across the United States and took place in some other countries.

URGENT DEBATE

The resolution was adopted after an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests starting Wednesday, which was held at the request of Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group.

Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, president of the UN Human Rights Council for the duration of year 2020, opened the debate by bowing to all the victims and requesting those present to observe a moment of silence.

Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the UN, via video teleconference, said that the debate is a "historic debate," given that Afro-descendants still face poverty and structural racism. "I too, like Martin Luther King Jr, have a dream that my granddaughter Maya will grow up in a world where she will not be judged by the color of her skin but by the strength of her character," she said.

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd had been truly global, and encouraged the Council to heighten its focus on racism and racial discrimination.

E. Tendayi Achiume, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, told the debate via video message that the world is witnessing the largest transnational mobilization against systemic racism in law enforcement sparked by the chilling images of the police killing of George Floyd.

Speakers expressed solidarity with and deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd, noting that systemic and institutionalized racism was a pervasive concern across the globe and the tragic killing of George Floyd brought this pervasiveness sharply into focus, as reflected in demonstrations worldwide. Colonial institutions, as historically employed by Europe in Africa to perpetuate marginalization, social exclusion and economic inequalities, were cited by speakers as root causes.

U.S. RACISM IN SPOTLIGHT

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 47-member body two years ago, but that didn't stop the Council from agreeing unanimously in holding the urgent debate, or from putting racism in the U.S. in the spotlight.

Roaring rage against racism in the U.S. was overwhelming, perhaps most personally and visibly from Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, who sent a video message to the UN body's urgent debate.

"My brother, George Floyd, is one of many Black men and women that have been murdered by police in recent years. The sad truth is that his case is not unique. The way you saw my brother tortured and murdered on camera is the way Black people are treated by police in America," Philonise Floyd said.

"I hope that you will consider establishing an independent commission of inquiry to investigate police killings of Black people in America, and the violence used against peaceful protesters who are reminding the world that Black Lives Matter," he added.

Indeed, African countries had prepared a draft resolution that singled out the United States and attempted to launch intense international scrutiny. The initial draft called for a Commission of Inquiry -- the UN body's most powerful tool to inspect human rights violations -- to look into "systemic racism" and alleged violations of international human rights law and abuses against "Africans and of people of African descent in the United States of America and other parts of the world recently affected by law enforcement agencies."

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Andrew Bremberg resorted to whataboutism in a Thursday statement, saying that "We are not above scrutiny" but "any HRC resolution on this topic that calls out countries by name should be inclusive."

In the end, after pushbacks from the U.S. and its allies, the resolution was heavily watered down.
Massachusetts health officials announced on Friday that another 30 residents have died from coronavirus. The death toll now stands at 7,800.

Officials also confirmed another 228 new cases of COVID-19, including 76 probable cases. Thats based on 9,471 molecular tests and 1,506 antibody tests reported on Friday.

There are at least 106,650 cases of the virus in Massachusetts to date, according to the states Department of Public Health.

Gov. Charlie Baker said on Friday that nearly all Massachusetts hospitals have stopped using surge, adding that the states hospital system is open and ready to serve everyone out there safely.

COVID will continue to be with us until there is a medical breakthrough, but the tremendous progress that weve made proves that these things do work and we can contain the virus, he said.

The latest figures come as Baker announced that on Monday part two of the second phase of the states reopening plan will begin, which includes, among other things, the restart of indoor dining in restaurants. Baker says the state will pay close attention to the data after indoor dining has been in effect for two weeks to see the effect.

Outdoor dining was given the green-light to restart on June 8, which was the official start of Phase 2.

Additionally, Baker said that other close-contact personal services can resume with some restrictions, and office capacity can move from 25% to 50%.

Elsewhere in the U.S., a handful of states are beginning to see a record number of new cases, including Florida. Health experts warn that Florida could become the next COVID-19 epicenter, according to CBS News.

Researchers at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia issued a report detailing new trends in several states, where cases are accelerating.

The most concerning areas for additional widespread community transmission continue to be in Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas and, once again, Florida, researchers wrote. In fact, Florida has all the makings of the next large epicenter  the risk there is the worst it has ever been in our projections.

Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Here are the cases listed by county:

Barnstable County: 1,508

Berkshire County: 585

Bristol County: 8,002

Dukes County: 44

Essex County: 15,778

Franklin County: 357

Hampden County: 6,556

Hampshire County: 941

Middlesex County: 23,464

Nantucket County: 13

Norfolk County: 8,962

Plymouth County: 8,566

Suffolk County: 19,493

Worcester County: 12,085

Unknown location: 296

Related Content:
Barricades erected by the city several days ago divide up the CHOP zone on June 19, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The concrete barriers, wrapped in plywood for painting, were installed to protect the free speech zone while still allowing one lane of traffic to get through.

Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Seattle police on Saturday said they are investigating a shooting in the Capitol Hill neighborhood that left a 19-year-old man dead and another in critical condition.

The shooting occurred in what is known as the CHOP the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Zone  a region of the city with largely no police presence following clashes between police and protestors that led law enforcement to abandon the area.

In a statement, police said they were "met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims," though unofficial medics transported the victims to a local hospital.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another critically injured in the Capitol Hill neighborhood that has turned into a cop-free protest zone in recent weeks.

The police department said in a news release that officers had tried to respond to reports of gunfire around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, but were "met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims." The release said the police department later learned that both victims had been brought to a hospital.

A 19-year-old victim was declared dead at a hospital, and a second man is being treated for life-threatening injuries, Seattle Police said. Authorities have not yet released any information about the surviving victim.

The region where the shooting occurred is known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Zone (CHOP) and was set up after police officers from the local East Precinct retreated from the area on June 8 after days-long clashes protesters ended with protestors throwing objects at police and police tear-gassing protestors. There has been little police presence in the area since officers abandoned the precinct.

The area, also known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), has been largely peaceful in the absence of police, though tensions have sometimes escalated in the nighttime hours," KOMO reported.

Story continues

"Everybody I've talked to feels significantly safer knowing that there aren't there aren't police on the streets," one person living in the CHAZ previously told Insider.

The Seattle Police Department's news release said the shooting victims had been transported to Harborview Medical Center by "CHOP medics," it said. According to KOMO, the victims appear to have been transported from the scene to the hospital in private vehicles by citizens acting as "unofficial medics" in the autonomous zone.

In video tweeted by KOMO reporter Nick Popham, medics associated with CHOP were seen leaving the hospital with "their fists in the air in solidarity."

"Homicide detectives responded and are conducting a thorough investigation, despite the challenges presented by the circumstances," the statement read.

The Seattle Police Department did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module

Read the original article on Insider
The central government's policy think tank NITI Aayog has suggested that the telecom PSU Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) should opt for locally designed, developed and manufactured solution for its 4G network to achieve self-reliance in telecom. The NITI Aayog also advised the state-run telecom operator to redraft its tender to support local models of equipment.

According to reports, a meeting was convened under the leadership of VK Saraswat, member, technology, NITI Aayog on June 5 to discuss the possibility of deploying the 4G network of BSNL via the indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM) products. This meeting was attended by the CMD of BSNL, PK Purwar, several DoT officials and NITI Aayog members. Apart from these government officials, this meeting was attended by heads of local telco firms such as Tech Mahindra, Tejas Networks, C Dot, etc.

If this move is implemented, it could be a nightmare for telecom gear manufacturers, not just from China including ZTE and Huawei but also for Swedish major Ericsson and Finnish telecom giant Nokia as well as South Korean Samsung, as all of them are likely to be kept out of BSNL's upcoming 4G tender. Although Nokia and Ericsson manufacture telecom equipment in India, design and development of the products take place abroad and the intellectual property rights (IPR) rest with the respective countries.

This move comes in line with the recent DoT decision urging telcos like BSNL, MTNL and their subsidiaries to avoid using Chinese equipment on Thursday and mandated that the entities under its purview should buy 'Made in India' manufactured goods as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat, which PM Modi is asking citizens to embrace. Not only BSNL or MTNL, the telecom department is considering measures to bring down the dependence of private telcos on Chinese equipment.

Also read: India-China stand-off: FinMin proposes curbs on Chinese investment in pension funds
Local mayors are urging the Andrews government to isolate tough COVID-19 restrictions at specific outbreak locations rather than locking down an entire local government area, warning this would have an immense impact on businesses.

Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged the possibility of enforcing tighter restrictions for local government areas or suburbs identified as geographical hot spots, in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases.

Premier Daniel Andrews speaking to media. Credit:Getty

Municipalities including Hume, Casey, Darebin and Moreland had Victoria's highest rise in cases since June 1, with the Premier warning residents in these areas could face stay at home orders, routine checks and increased testing.

Local mayors say they will comply with the advice of government and health officials, but are calling for more targeted lockdown measures that focus on specific outbreak areas.
Representative image

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has said that Mumbai will be able to 'breathe easy' by July 15 as the number of fresh COVID-19 cases in the city is expected to reduce to 100-200 a day.

As per a report by The Economic Times, Chahal said, "On June 3, when the restrictions were eased, I was mentally prepared to see cases double. I believed that cases might surge from 1,500 to 2,500 per day. However, despite opening up, we are now seeing fewer cases. In fact, we have not crossed 1,500 in the last few days."

Track this blog for LIVE updates on coronavirus pandemic

Chahal said that in the next 15 days, new cases will come down drastically and by July 15 we will have 100 to 200 cases per day on average.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

"We have prepared a plan and are going in for rapid testing. We have engaged with NGOs, which will provide ambulances. We have told labs to recruit boys and that BMC would pay for them," the BMC Commissioner said, adding that these ambulances would do door-to-door surveillance in these wards.

He also said that India must focus on its health infrastructure.

"We spend 1 percent of GDP on health at the national level and state level, the health sector development was poor. We need to build more public hospitals," Chahal said.
North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border.

Its state media said on Saturday (June 20) that enraged North Koreans are preparing to launch a quote "large-scale distribution of leaflets."

This came as a retaliation after defectors in the South sent anti-Pyongyang propaganda, food and medicine across the border.

On Tuesday (June 16), Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office to show its displeasure against the defectors and South Korea for not stopping them launching leaflets.

It has also threatened military action.

South Korea's unification ministry, which is responsible for inter-Korean dialogue, said on Saturday that North Korea's plan to send leaflets was "extremely regrettable," and urged it to scrap the plan immediately.

A North Korean defector-led group said it had scrapped a plan to send hundreds of plastic bottles stuffed with rice, medicine and face masks to North Korea by throwing them into the sea near the border on Sunday (June 21).

The two Koreas, which are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty, have waged leaflet campaigns for decades.
Biju E Paul By

Express News Service

ALAPPUZHA: Even as the state government has made Covid-negative certificate mandatory for expatriates returning on flights which has kicked up a controversy, experts and passengers say giving the travellers personal protective equipment (PPE) kits is safer to prevent infection. On June 14, Air Arabia transported 162 passengers on a chartered flight from Sharjah and all of them wore PPE kits. The inability to conduct rapid antibody or RT-PCR test in Gulf countries is a hindrance to thousands of expatriates who want to reach the state as early as possible. Binoy E who works in Oman said the sultanate is checking only people who have symptoms of the disease.

Theres no direction to conduct Covid checking as per the wishes of individuals. It is being carried out only as per the directive of registered medical practitioners recognised by the sultanate. Making wearing of PPE kits during travel mandatory is the option to rescue people from Gulf countries, he said. Dr Kurian Oommen, national coordinator of Doctors for Social Justice, an organisation of doctors, said the PPE kit is the effective method to prevent the pandemic spread.

The state and Central governments should allow people to travel wearing PPE kits. Expats in many West Asian countries who want to come back face difficulties because of lack of facilities there to undergo the Covid tests. Some countries charge a huge amount for the tests. In this scenario, the government should allow people to travel wearing PPE kits which is a safe method for preventing the infection, he said.

Kit costs G700-1,000

The use of PPE kits is also less expensive than the tests. A PPE kit costs around 35-50 UAE dirhams, which amounts to `700-`1,000. The passengers who travelled on the Air Arabia flight on June 14 endorse the kit, despite some discomfort. Reghukumar K, one of passengers, said the heat inside the PPE kit is discomforting, but in the AC cabin, it is not a big issue. As many as 162 of us wore the kits for more than eight hours that day, but it did not create any major discomfort. Our company, Elite Group, had supplied the kits, Reghukumar said.

The state government has suggested rapid antibody and TrueNat tests as alternatives to the RT-PCR test for getting Covid-negative certificates, but some of the Gulf countries have not approved these tests. They accept only RT-PCR tests, but they lack facilities to carry out this test on a wider scale. Hence, the state governments new rule for returning expats from Saturday will lead to the cancellation of a large number of scheduled flights in the coming days.
A Dutch couple wearing a face masks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus arrives from Amsterdam to the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens. Greece is officially open to tourists with the first international flights expected into Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki where passengers will not face compulsory COVID-19 tests. Seasonal hotels and museums are also opening across the country. (Image: AP)
Every disaster movie starts with someone ignoring the experts. Scientists point to an impending threat with increasing alarm, but to the public the threat feels abstract, distant. Until it reaches a tipping point and suddenly everything changes.

Almost overnight, COVID-19 exploded from World Health Organization discussion rooms to shatter the global economy and upend our social lives. Its an example of systemic risk, where nature shifts otherwise unseen boundary conditions under which we operate. Assumptions underpinning everyday security are betrayed. COVID breached an invisible line between us and pathogens. Natures back in the drivers seat. Were humbled, no longer in control.

The good news is that humility brought massive changes in behaviour to limit the risk, and unlocked enormous public and private resources to resolve it.

Social distancing buys time. A vaccine puts the boundary back in place. Our collective response is a moral one: we took on staggering costs in the blink of an eye to protect ourselves. A united public sector is arbiter of that moral dimension. It defines the framework by which we act, and only it can provide the foundation upon which the economy recovers.

That unlocks a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: as the global corporate world leans  once again  on the public purse for recovery, we might demand in return a renewed climate capitalism, a sustainable economy built for the 21st century.

Climate risk looks a bit like COVID-19, if you squint. Climate risk is the mother of systemic risks. Were changing the planetary-scale boundary conditions under which civilization evolved: the patterns of weather and water that dictate how we get our food and where we build our cities. Inaction on climate risks our security, civic infrastructure and institutions. The response to climate risk is thus also a moral one: we act to keep ourselves safe. The public sector is director of the show, the private sector its actors.

COVIDs threat feels closer than climate, though  right? Thats why we called a political truce and acted with urgency. We want to protect our aunts, dads and friends  today. And climates still way over the horizon.

Well  did COVID feel so immediate a few months ago? The risk of a pandemic was always there; we just ignored it. And the climate threat feels less distant with each new firestorm, flood or drought. Ask an Australian how up close and personal climate risk feels, or someone whose home burned in Fort McMurray or California. A new generation, led by Greta Thunberg, certainly feels an immediate sense of insecurity.

Theres one crucial difference no amount of squinting can reconcile. Worst case on COVID is we screw up on social distancing but still resurface in a year or so when a vaccine comes along. We can fail on COVID and recover. Failure on climate is forever. Theres no putting planetary boundaries back once they shift to more energetic and dangerous states. Its a one-way trip. Theres no equivalent of social distancing to buy time, marshal resources and plan a counterattack. So we have to invent a vaccine in advance. Thats climate capitalism: a vaccine to anticipate climate risk.

Left and right united under COVID  Trudeau and Ford working together!  because people wont tolerate leadership that cant protect them, whatever their political stripes. You dont have to be a lefty to appreciate a strong public sector today. Neither must you be a Wall Street titan to understand market forces; big corporations and private capital are powerful tools to solve wicked problems  if given focus. We see that with COVID: the private sector scales up needed tech  tests, vaccines, treatments  when co-ordinated and incented by the public sector. Climate capitalism is no different: the private sector can and will act decisively on climate but only when incented and directed by an empowered and united public sector.

But on climate the political divide grows wider. Many on the far left  led by Naomi Klein  blame capitalism itself for climate risk and would have us throw it out.

This is misguided in three ways. First, we cant possibly rebuild energy systems without private capital, innovation and all the complex activity only markets can organize. Greenhouse gases arent DDT; you cant just ban them. Second, radicalizing the politics of climate hinders the work of building the large tent needed for decisive action in a democracy. Third, it sets arbitrary limits on what capitalism can look like. If Kleins target was limited to American-style, free-market fundamentalism, shed have many allies, including me.

On the other side of this cultural divide sit reasonable people, civic and business leaders who understand that climate risk is real but prefer an incremental approach. They fear radical intervention in the economy. Instead, its proposed we nibble around the edges. That too is misguided: a bit like lifting COVIDs social distancing restrictions too soon because you fear short-term pain. The reduction in risk is illusory. Its the long game that matters. Its too late to nibble around the edges; only deep, radical cuts in emissions will do. Incrementalism feeds into Kleins radical narrative: See? Capitalists wont do whats necessary. Lets bring it all down!

Capitalism isnt monolithic. It means different things to different people. For an ordinary person, it might mean owning your own bakery, working for options in a tech start-up or watching your RRSP grow so you can retire in comfort. It can mean Russias anarcho-capitalism, Indonesias crony capitalism or Chinas state capitalism. Sweden is as much a capitalist country, in this view, as America. Theres no preordained role for the public sector. Roosevelts New Deal didnt make the U.S. any less capitalist. Nor is private capital sacred  it moves under a legal framework that citizens endorse. Theres no predetermined moral dimension: its neither good nor bad, but reflects human complexity.

Climate capitalism is a rewiring of the economy using whatever works to put a cork in emissions  whether they come from the left, right or anywhere else. Economic radicalism is not the same thing as political radicalism. We harness as many existing institutions as possible for the sake of expediency. We dont throw out the machinery of capitalism; we replace the fuel.

Twenty years ago, the story would start and end here: price carbon  start low, ratchet it up slowly, keep it revenue-neutral so its not a government cash grab. Sit back and watch the market work its magic. Optimally efficient, its the incrementalists dream! Unfortunately, its too late for that soft landing. If your house is on fire, you dont care if the hose leaks; you just want lots of water. Speed matters more than efficiency.

We need shortcuts, even if theyre less efficient. Here are some ideas.

Has anyone fought an election over efficiency regulations? Car mileage standards or the carbon content of fuel? Sustainable energy professor Mark Jaccard points out that the heavy lifting on emissions reductions thus far, whether in Canada or California, was borne by regulations. Many define an outcome  say, energy use in buildings  without defining how to get there. Jaccard calls them flex-regs. Fast, effective, often under the political radar.

Remember Own the Podium back in the Vancouver Olympics? We picked athletes who competed at an international level and gave them resources to train. Do the same for cleantech. Back companies with demonstrated traction in global markets with loan guarantees for production and project finance. Today, old stuff gets cheap capital, new tech doesnt. Lets flip that around. This isnt the government picking winners; its the government backing winners  a big difference.

Teach young CFOs that energy costs are of strategic importance. Why? Because capital budgets are reserved for core investments: more T-shirt machines for a T-shirt company, bigger holes in the ground if youre a miner. Energy retrofits are stuck begging from operating budgets, which means they need paybacks in a year or so. Most efficiency fruit remains unpicked, across the economy. Yet rare is the CFO who gets more than 15 to 20 per cent on core capital and efficiency pays twice that! No policy required, just fresh thinking.

Fund low-carbon infrastructure with green bonds, with a twist. The government raises cheap capital with a Canada Savings Bond-like instrument. The private sector bids on the right to deploy it. A public mandate incents those private money managers with a single metric: maximize carbon reduction at minimum cost to Joe Public. A green bank, done right, combines the public cost of capital with the private sectors nose for profit.

Finally, use the most powerful institutions we have. We gave up a degree of sovereignty to the World Trade Organization. It has real teeth that impinge upon national governments. Leverage those teeth. The WTO (and World Bank and International Monetary Fund) reflects the priorities of those who negotiated it. If Trump can upend NATO, imagine how an empowered group of national leaders might reform the WTO to level the playing field between countries by forcing climate laggards to bear carbon tariffs.

Nothing can redeem COVID. Its a nasty little thing. But maybe itll help us hear experts on climate risk and reconcile the priority of long-term stability over short-term cost. We might also use the strongest public hand weve had in a long time and write a new climate contract between citizens, our governments and the private sector. If so, well emerge the stronger for COVID, however horrid its impacts.

Tom Rand is a cleantech investor and author of The Case for Climate Capitalism: Economic Solutions for a Planet in Crisis. This story appears in the summer issue of Corporate Knights magazine.

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London, June 20 : Swiss drugmaker Novartis has announced to discontinue Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) clinical trial over acute enrollment challenges that have made completion of the trial infeasible, and not because any safety issues were reported or efficacy conclusions made.

Novartis discontinues HCQ trial over enrollment challenges London, June 20 (IANS) Swiss drugmaker Novartis has announced to discontinue Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) clinical trial over acute enrollment challenges that have made completion of the trial infeasible, and not because any safety issues were reported or efficacy conclusions made.

The Basel-based company said that it will, however, continue the worldwide supply of hydroxychloroquine for clinical trials and upon government requests.

"The recruitment challenge facing our HCQ trial has made it unlikely that the clinical team will be able to collect meaningful data in a reasonable timeframe to determine the effectiveness of HCQ in treating patients with Covid-19," the company said in a statement late on Friday.

"No safety issues have been reported, and there are no conclusions on efficacy from the study," it added.

Novartis will continue to provide supply of HCQ for ongoing investigator-initiated trials (IITs) and upon government requests, as appropriate, where certain conditions are met and the medicine is used in accordance with a nationally endorsed treatment protocol.

"Researchers at Novartis continue to monitor ongoing guidance from health authorities on the further study of HCQ for Covid-19, as well as the decision by the US FDA to stop the emergency use authorization of HCQ for Covid-19 treatment," said the company.

Novartis has donated up to 130 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, including millions in the US.

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week halted the testing of HCQ as a treatment for Covid-19 after new data showed no benefit.
Outbreaks of coronavirus have been reported at two food processing plants and a meat factory within the space of 24 hours, with all three having to be temporarily closed.

Two of the plants are in Wales. By Thursday, there had been 58 confirmed cases among workers at the 2 Sisters chicken factory in Llangefni on Anglesey, and 38 at Rowan Foods in Wrexham. Yesterday it was revealed that up to 150 workers have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Kober Ltd meatpacking factory near Cleckheaton, in the local government district of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It could be even higher with Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman stating, The figure of 150 is less than the one that was leaked to me by a high-level source, but it is still a serious outbreak

Kober Ltd in Cleckheaton [Source: Google Maps]

The plants are major suppliers to the UK food market. The 2 Sisters Food Groups Llangefni plant employs 560 people and is the UKs main supplier of supermarket chicken. It also supplies chicken to KFC. The firm produces about a third of all the poultry products eaten daily in Britain.

Rowan Foods, which employs 1,500 people in Wrexham, supplies food for supermarkets across Britain. It is owned by Oscar Meyer Quality Foods.

The Kober plant, employing more than 500 people, is owned by the Asda supermarket giant and supplies it with bacon rashers and joints.

The outbreaks underscore the criminality of the decision by the Johnson government to enforce a mass return to work, and the lack of basic safety for workers in plants that have been operating throughout the pandemicincluding the three food processing facilities.

On Friday, the UKs joint biosecurity centre reduced the virus threat level from four to three despite the food processing plant outbreaks and significant increases in some areas. The official R value of the virus remains at the dangerously high level of between 0.7 and 0.9. In the last weeks, two of the UK regionsthe North West and South Westreached an R value of 1 or over.

One of the new outbreaks is in Leicester, which has a population of over 329,000. About 25 percent of the total 2,494 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city were reported in the last two weeks.

Well over 1,000 new cases are reported in Britain daily, with hundreds of lives lost each week.

Four meat processing plants have now been hit by COVID-19 outbreaks. While no deaths are reported among employees at 2 Sisters, Rowan Foods and Kober, three workers employed at the Cranswick plant in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, have died.

In a statement Rowan Food owners Oscar Mayer said, Whilst we are seeing a number of cases on site, Public Health Wales support our view that there is no clear evidence to suggest that there is a spread of the virus within the site, we are seeing a reflection on site of the increases in cases within the locality.

How and why an increase in cases locally that is then reflected in the factory does not require action is not explained. But it is clear that companies, in alliance with the authorities, are concealing the extent of the spread of the virus in workplaces and the dangers to the local population.

That there was a coronavirus outbreak in Kirklees was only made public Thursday evening when Health Minister Matt Hancock praised the government for being proactive in its local lockdowns in parts of Leicester and Kirklees. He stated, In fact, I chaired a meeting this morning of our local action committee, which is the formal process through which we make these decisions, working with local leaders, for instance, in Kirklees. And the local director of public health and the council are heavily involved in the response.

Hancock did not name where the outbreak was in Kirklees, but it rapidly became public knowledge after concerned residents discussed the crisis on social media.

The event further exposes the pernicious role of Labour and the trade unions, without whom companies could not operate unsafe workplaces. The main concern of Labour-run Kirklees Council and local Labour MP Tracy Brabin was that Hancock had blown their dirty secret, with the local population alerted as to the dangerous situation.

Brabin complained, My anger is the way we were thrown to the wolves. Her next move was to downplay the fact that a deadly disease was rife in a local food plant declaring, No-one in Kirklees should be concerned. Having spoken to the council theyve acted very swiftly, Im proud of them but Im really frustrated Matt Hancock took it on himself to announce it like that.

Kirklees Council admitted it had kept the Kober outbreak from the public because it doesnt combat the spread of the virus, compromises patient confidentiality and it could discourage businesses and organisations from coming forward in future.

There is presently not even a requirement for corporations to tell their own workforce that there is an outbreak of coronavirus!

That dozens of workers at Kober and the food processing plants were infected is no surprise, given that companies have routinely flaunted basic social distancing rules ever since the March 23 lockdown came into operation. On social media, as far back as two months ago, one local resident pointed out the lack of any enforced social distancing by Kober during shift changes. Posting a photo on Twitter of workers gathered in confined spaces next to a road, he commented, They really just dont get it!!! Kober Ltd/Forza Foods shift change #SocialDistanacing #SocialDistancingNow.

Alan Hair gave voice to the anger of local residents at being kept in the dark. He posted a tweet Thursday reading, So theres a #Covid_19 outbreak in Kirklees but its a secret where. No it isnt, its half a mile from our house at Kober Ltd by Chain Bar, no surprise at all when you see them piling out en-masse at shift changes over the past months. Why were we not informed?

He told the BBC, We are trying to shield some family members and have been for the past 12 weeks and its part and parcel of that that we need to know if there are local issues that could affect us actually taking the virus to people who are at risk. Another replied to Kirklees Council and Brabin, No wonder there was an #outbreak #Kirklees unbelievable!

The trade unions too are up to their necks in concealing the dangers facing workers. Quoted on the BBC Thursday, Paddy McNaught, a regional organiser for the Unite union, admittedwithout giving figuresthat coronavirus cases at the 2 Sisters chicken factory in Anglesey factory had risen significantly in just a few days. He added, In fairness, the company, they have tried to work with us to provide a safe working environment, where social distancingas best as it cantakes place.

Making a mockery of the claims of working to achieve safe working conditions, he admitted that social distancing in the plant had been virtually impossible and there had been the usual concerns from staff about social distancing and face masks.

These developments reinforce the call made by the Socialist Equality Party for the establishment of rank-and-file safety committees in every workplace to protect workers from the spread of the virus. All such unsafe workplaces must be immediately closed until they can be made to operate safely!

Food and meat processing workers internationally face the same terrible conditions. Hundreds of new infections were reported this week in Germany, with the largest outbreak yet recorded among meatpackers at the Tonnies abattoir in Rheda-Wiedenbruck. By Thursday, more than two-thirds of meat packers there were found to be infected. Of 1,050 initial test results, 730 were positive.
A female journalist of Kingdom FM covering the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) primaries in Tema East was on Saturday harassed, threatened and arrested by police officers at one of the polling centres for taking pictures of the voting exercise.

Miss Rebecca Asheley Armarh, the journalist, told the Ghana News Agency that she together with other colleagues were reporting from the Homowo electoral area in Tema Manhean when in the incident happened.

Miss Armarh said she was taking some pictures with her phone when the police officers stationed at the centre confronted her and instructed her to stop taking the photos.

She indicated that even though she showed them her press card which was hanging on her chest, one of the police officers snatched her phone from her and handcuffed her at the back threatening to take her to the police station.

She said it took colleagues to intervene before she was released adding that the police insisted that reporters needed to be granted permission before taking pictures.

The Police harassment spree did not end with Miss Armarh as an Atinka FM reporter nearly lost his camera and dignity.

The overzealous policemen and women in Tema are targeting the media for no apparent reason,

the reporter, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

Meanwhile, the election started at about 07:20 hours at the centre were 77 delegates were expected to vote out of which 74 had cast their votes as at 10:25 hours.

Delegates also observed the COVID-19 protocols of washing hands, and wearing of nose masks.

Two candidates are contesting to be the Parliamentary candidate for Tema East. They are the incumbent Mr Daniel Titus Glover and Mr Ben Ashitey.

---GNA
Security guards are patrolling Stonehenge in a bid to keep revellers away from celebrating the summer solstice.

The monument, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is a firm favourite for watching the sunrise and sunset on what is the longest day of the year.

Traditionally thousands of druids, hippies and party-goers flock to the famous landmark to celebrate the solstice, but this year's event was cancelled by English because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some senior druids, however, have insisted they will still make their way to the site today - despite the sunrise and sunset being streamed online for the first time ever.

A security guard waves away a member of the public attempting to gain access to Stonehenge this morning

English Heritage said that its livestream cameras will capture the best views of Stonghenge that will allow people to 'connect with this spiritual place from the comfort of your own home'

This morning security guards were seen stationed close to Stonehenge in a bid to ward off rule breakers. Wiltshire Police also said that officers would patrol the area to ensure people stayed away.

But senior druid King Arthur Pendragon told The Guardian it was his 'right' to 'be as close as is legally possible' to Stonehenge to watch the solstice - despite a statement published on the English Heritage website urging people not to flout the rules.

Pendragon promised to keep a social distance from anyone he encountered.

The Neolithic site, which dates back to around 3,000 BC, is a pilgrimage destination for many, with tens of thousands arriving each year to mark the summer and winter solstice.

Today the UK is set to enjoy 16 hours and 38 minutes of sunlight, beginning when the sun rose at 04:43 this morning.

Druids - a group of Celtic Pagans - were long believed to have built the monument, however scholars believe the site actually existed long before they did.

Senior druid King Arthur Pendragon said he would not watching the virtual solstice and that it was his 'right' to get as close as 'legally possible' to Stonehenge

A security guard patrols around the closed Stonehenge in March this year. Today marks the first time ever that the historical site's solstice celebrations have been cancelled

When it was announced that solstice celebrations were abandoned, English Heritage said: 'We can't welcome you in person this year because of the measures in place to combat coronavirus  but our live coverage of sunset and sunrise means you won't miss a moment of this special occasion.

'Our cameras will capture the best views of Stonehenge, allowing you to connect with this spiritual place from the comfort of your own home.'

The virtual live stream will start at 21:26 BST for sunset today and again at 04:52 BST on Sunday for the sunrise - going live half hour before each session.

The event will be broadcast around the world on Facebook and saved for people to watch at another time if they don't wake up to catch the sunrise.

Revellers attend last year's summer solstice celebrations at the ancient Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire as they celebrated the longest day in the northern hemisphere

The sun rises between the stones and over crowds at Stonehenge where people gather to celebrate the dawn of the longest day in the UK in 2019

Nichola Tasker, English Heritage's Stonehenge director, said: 'We realise that people are disappointed they can't come to Stonehenge at this special time but hope it will be a really wonderful way for them to still connect with the site.'

This year's solstice would have been the 20th anniversary of its midsummer gathering.

Fifty miles away in Glastonbury, also a place of pilgrimage and spirituality for those celebrating the longest day of the year, some were spouted flouting rules asking people to stay away.

Rule breakers were seen in sleeping bags - clearly breaching social distancing rules - as they claimed the best viewing spots.

People gathered at the top of Somerset's Glastonbury Tor hill to celebrate the summer solstice - despite a town council request asking them to keep away

Groups of people in sleeping bags were seen at the top of the hill, clearly flouting social distancing guidelines

A town council website statement from town clerk Gerard Tucker said: 'If you are a fan of Glastonbury, please respect this special place and our community.

'Our main priority right now is the health and wellbeing of our local communities. We love our visitors and once it is safe we will welcome everyone back to visit.'

But many were this morning seen at the top of Glastonbury Tor hill in Somerset as they stationed themselves for today's solstice.

The hill overlooks the Isle of Avalon, Glastonbury and Somerset and is considered one of Britain's most spiritual sites.

Crowned by the ruins of 15th-century St Michaels church, the tor rises 158m above the Somerset Levels to give panoramic views of Wells, the Bristol Channel, Wiltshire, the Polden Hills and Exmoor.

The group sat picnic blankets on the Glastonbury Tor hill overlooking the Isle of Avalon, Glastonbury and Somerset

While Stonehenge is a neolithic monument that has stood for thousands of years, it was nearly destroyed by visitors 'taking souvenirs' from the stones.

On October 26, 1918, Stonehenge was offered by Cecil and Mary Chubb as a gift for the nation after they bought it at auction for 6,600.

Prior to 1918, the monument was propped up with wooden poles and some of the stones were in danger of collapse.

Increasing numbers of visitors through the late 19th century had led to damage, with people regularly chipping the stones for souvenirs and scratching their names on the monument.

Sea swimmers this morning bathed in waters at Saltburn-by-the-Sea as they watched the sunrise

Although this was largely halted by the introduction of an admission charge and attendant policeman from 1901 onwards, the monument itself was still in a perilous condition.

English Heritages predecessors, The Office of Works, began to care for the monument, restoring many of the fallen stones and undertaking a major survey and programme of excavation.

The stones were put up in about 2500 BC, according to English Heritage, who say they aligned to line up with the movement of the sun.

The idea was that if you stood in the middle of the circle on midsummer's day - the summer solstice - the sun would rise to the left of the Heel stone.

'Archaeological excavations have found a large stone hole to the left of the Heel Stone and it may have held a partner stone, the two stones framing the sunrise,' according to English Heritage.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 00:08:22|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for restraint in Mali after massive protests re-emerged in the African country that is already plagued by terrorism and violence.

The secretary-general is following with concern recent political developments in Mali, said his press office in a statement.

Guterres expressed his full support for the ongoing efforts of the Economic Community of West African States and in particular for its declaration on Friday calling for an inclusive political dialogue, said the statement.

The secretary-general called on all political leaders in Mali to send clear messages to their supporters to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any action likely to fuel tensions. He also stressed the importance of dialogue and encouraged all Malian actors to work inclusively and constructively to preserve the rule of law and respect fundamental rights, it said.

The secretary-general reaffirmed that the United Nations will continue to accompany Malians in their efforts to consolidate peace and democracy, said the statement.

Large numbers of protesters, who first gathered in the Malian capital of Bamako on June 5, took to the streets again on Friday to demand the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita for alleged corruption. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 19:42:21|Editor: huaxia

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File photo of Brett Crozier, the fired commander of nuclear-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo credit: America's Navy)

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair," and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweets.



WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the fired commander of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will not be reinstated.

"I will not re-assign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command," Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday told reporters at the Pentagon.

Crozier was removed from his post in early April after an internal letter he wrote pleading for help with the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the media.

File photo of Brett Crozier, the fired commander of nuclear-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo credit: Navy Times)

DECISION NOT TO REINSTATE

A preliminary probe by the Navy recommended that Crozier be reinstated but Gilday said he has changed his mind after what he called a "much broader, deeper investigation."

"Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made the recommendation to re-instate Captain Crozier," Gilday said. "Moreover, if Captain Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him."

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair," and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweeted.

Crozier, in his letter, warned at that time of dire consequences if the outbreak on the ship was not handled quickly.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors."

Crozier was swiftly fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who himself resigned later after his remarks lashing out at the captain backfired.

Hundreds of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew gathered to applaud and cheer Crozier's name when he left the ship, video on social media showed.

The aircraft carrier had been docked in Guam for two months and more than 1,000 sailors were reported to have infected with the novel coronavirus. One sailor died from it.

The report of the Navy's wider investigation claimed Crozier did not quickly or forcefully enough "execute the best possible and available plan," to protect sailors from the illness.

"When faced with barriers ... Capt. Crozier waited for others to act rather than doing what we expect of our commanding officers -- to take immediate and appropriate action and to drive outcomes," the report stated.

File photo of Brett Crozier, the fired commander of nuclear-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo credit: Stars and Stripes)

MORE PROBES

The Democrat-led House Armed Services Committee will conduct its own investigation into the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, its chairman announced on Friday.

"The severity of the COVID-19 spread on the Roosevelt, coupled with the fact that it was the first major outbreak DoD (Department of Defense) faced, warranted thorough investigation. The findings in the Navy's extended investigation make it clear that the Navy did not respond the way they should have, or as quickly as they should have, to adequately address the outbreak," Chairman Adam Smith said in a statement.

"The Department's civilian leadership portrayed Captain Crozier's decision-making aboard the Roosevelt as the critical weakness in the Navy's response, but the truth is that civilian leadership was also to blame," Smith said.

"In order to better understand the full range of mistakes that were made throughout the entire chain of command, the House Armed Services Committee has launched an investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Roosevelt," he added.

Mac Thornberry, the Republican ranking member of the House panel, said in a statement that it "is clear that there are lessons to be learned and improvements that must be made."

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, tweeted that he will "carefully review the Navy's report, but their verdict now seems to apply a retroactive standard & after-the-fact procedures to justify CAPT Crozier's firing."

"Barring any new evidence, it still seems that CAPT Crozier's removal was retaliation for rightly raising concerns about the safety of his sailors," Blumenthal added. 
New Delhi:

As the tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following Indian Armys surgical strike across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for urgent de-escalation of tensions between the two countries. He has also called for an end to violence in the region.





In a meeting with the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened by the death of two Pakistani soldiers. He also extended condolences to the Government of Pakistan and the family of the deceased.

Conveying his dismay at the cancellation of the SAARC summit, he this could have a good opportunity for dialogue.





UN Secretary General calls for de-escalation of tensions between Pakistan and India; Offers Good Offices & conveys condolences on the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers

In a meeting with the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, the Secretary General said he was saddened by the loss of life of two Pakistani soldiers and he extended condolences to the Government of Pakistan and the family of the deceased.





Briefing him about the escalating situation, Ambassador Lodhi said that India has, by its declarations and actions, created conditions that pose an imminent threat to regional and International peace and security. She also told the Secretary General, that while Indias claim of carrying out a surgical strike across the Line of Control was false, India had by its own admission, committed aggression against Pakistan.





She said, India has provoked this crisis to divert international attention away from the indigenous Kashmiri uprising against Indian occupation. It is therefore essential to address the root cause of this crisis  Indias continuing denial of the right of self determination to the Kashmiri people. In this regard, she asked the Secretary general to play a role in bringing an end to the grave human rights violations committed by Indian security forces in Indian occupied Kashmir.





Responding to the detailed briefing, the Secretary General repeated his offer of extending his good offices to both countries, which Pakistan has always welcomed but India has consistently declined.





He regretted the fact that UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) was unable to fully function due to Indias non-cooperation. The UNs military Mission is only able to operate on the Pakistani controlled side of the LoC as India refuses to accept its functioning on the other side and opposes its expansion.





Nevertheless, Ambassador Lodhi asked the Secretary General to ensure that UNMOGIP is able to report independently about the facts of the situation on the ground to the Security Council.

Ambassador Lodhi told the Secretary General that Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint but would respond forcefully to any acts of aggression and provocation. She added that the responsibility for the escalating crisis rests entirely on India.





The Secretary General also conveyed his dismay at the cancellation of the SAARC summit saying this could have a good opportunity for dialogue.





Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told the UNSG that the international community, and especially the United Nations, should not ignore this grave threat to international peace and security with possibly catastrophic consequences for the entire region. She urged the Secretary General to intervene boldly and unequivocally by calling on India to halt its aggressive actions and provocations, lest these lead to an even more dangerous situation. She said that the SG is duty bound to do so under the UN Charter.





She added that if India did not heed this call, the UNs relevant mechanisms, including the Security Council, must be advised of this imminent threat to international peace and security, as required under the UN Charter.





In a meeting with Pakistans PR to UN Amb Maleeha Lodhi today, UN SG called 4 urgent de-escalation of tensions btwn India and Pakistan  SpokespersonMOFA (@ForeignOfficePk) September 30, 2016
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Marching from near the site of Eric Garners death to Borough Hall in St. George, about 100 protesters celebrated Juneteenth on Friday, and continued the call for black equality in America.

Organizer Rashida Reid said the march and rally were a continuation of the protests that have swept the nation in response to police brutality.

Were just here in partnership and solidarity with whats been going on with the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and people that came before them, especially on Staten Island -- Eric Garner, and even further back when I was younger, Ernest Sayon, Reid, a Mariners Harbor native and current South Beach resident, said.

Sayon died in 1994 during an arrest outside the Park Hill apartment complex.

Black entrepreneurship was a major focus of the rally just down the street from Staten Islands new Black Lives Matter mural on Richmond Terrace, which was closed for the murals painting. The protesters march also briefly blocked off portions of Bay Street.

Reid said she hoped the rally helped people recognize the unique challenges black people face in building their own businesses.

A lot of times we dont even know we have black-owned businesses and we dont support, she said.

The Rev. Alfredo Archibald, of Fellowship Baptist Church in Mariners Harbor, stressed the importance of voting and education, and echoed the calls for justice for the victims of police brutality.

If were going to have a change, it starts now and it starts with us. I dont know about you, but Im tired of marching, Im tired of speaking -- its time to do, he said. They say its a myth about racism. They say its a myth about police brutality, but tell that to Eric Garners family. Tell that to George Floyds family.

Floyd, whose death sparked the recent protests across the country, died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd repeatedly said he couldnt breathe.

Chauvin, and three other officers who did not intervene have since been charged in relation to Floyds death.

Like Floyd, Garner used some of his final words in 2014 to tell officers attempting to take him into custody that he could not breathe. Officer Daniel Pantaleo took Garner to the ground by his neck and continued to apply pressure after he was down.

A grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in relation to Garners death, but the NYPD fired him last year after a departmental trial. A sergeant, who the department docked 20 vacation days last year, was the only other officer punished in the incident.

Reid said the march and rally she helped organize to celebrate Juneteenth were not anti-police, but anti-corrupt-police.

The 155-year-old holiday celebrates the end of slavery, and coincides with the date a Union Army general announced to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas that they were free. That was two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil War.

Non-penal slavery wasnt officially outlawed in the United States until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on Dec. 6, 1865.

Juneteenth means something different to different people. Some people dont even know what it is, Reid said. To me, its almost bittersweet, because were celebrating that we were freed, but the way the world is today -- we still have a lot more to do.
The OnePlus Z is expected to launch on July 10. OnePlus Co-founder, Carl Pei tweeted a suggestion that the phone could start at $229 (Rs 22,779 directly converted). OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau revealed the companys plans to launch affordable smartphones.

OnePlus is expected to launch a new, more affordable smartphone called the OnePlus Z. OnePlus plans to launch the device on July 10. However, the report did note that the date is still tentative, which means that it could still change. But, one thing that has been suggested is the price. Co-founder Carl Pei tweeted a suggestion which was a retweet of an old 2014 post of the OnePlus One. This could mean that the device could start at $299 (Rs 22,779 directly converted). The tweet does not reveal any launch date, but it would seem that the OnePlus Z could cost as much as the OnePlus One.

The specifications of the OnePlus Z were leaked via an online forum called DesiDime. It was reported that a survey was sent out to some PayBack customers, asking if they would be willing to purchase a device from OnePlus at a particular price and specification. It is tipped to pack a 6.55-inch Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is also expected to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. At the back, the phone is said to offer a triple-rear camera design with a 64MP+16MP+2MP configuration. The OnePlus Z may be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 SoC and feature a 4300mAh battery.

Late last month, OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau revealed the companys plans to launch affordable smartphones once again. During an interview with Fast Company, Lau hinted that the new device would be coming to India soon. It was noted that the company initially planned to launch the device alongside the OnePlus 8 series launch. Reports suggest that the launch of the device was postponed to a later date to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak.

In fact, the OnePlus Z could be called Nord by OnePlus. You can read more about that story here.
Police are seen in Toronto, on Thursday, July 12, 2018. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press).

1 Dead in Toronto Shooting; 2 Suspects Seen Fleeing Scene

TORONTOOne man has died after a shooting in Torontos north end, Canadian police said Friday.

Police said there were initially reports of multiple people shot at about 11:40 a.m., but they later learned there was one victim.

Police said passersby tried to help the man who had been shot before paramedics arrived, but he couldnt be saved.

Police said two male suspects were seen fleeing the scene in a sedan.

The investigation is ongoing.

Officers are asking witnesses to come forward.
The company behind the Eskimo Pie brand is vowing to change the name of the ice cream bar.

Reuters reported the brand's name and marketing would change. The announcement comes as several brands are making changes in response to concerns over racism.

"We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory, Elizabell Marquez, a marketing head with the brand's parent company, Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, told news outlets.



"This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values," she said.

The word has been noted for its racist history, even though the treat has been around since the early 1920s.

Other brands have made similar moves recently.

Quaker Oats announced Wednesday that it will retire the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the characters origins are based on a racial stereotype.

Video: Founder of the Jim Crow Museum reflects on Aunt Jemima brand





Other companies said they are reconsidering racial imagery in their branding.

The owner of the Uncle Bens rice says the brand will evolve in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.

Earlier this year, Land OLakes announced that it would no longer use the Native American woman on its packages of butter, cheese and other products.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the most recent developments in Libyan hours after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi hinted at the possibility of a direct intervention by the Egyptian army to restore peace in the war-torn country.

According to an official statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry, Shoukry and Le Drian discussed several regional issues during the phone meeting, mainly the situation in Libya and developments related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

They also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, the statement said.

The phone call came hours after El-Sisi said on Saturday that any direct Egyptian intervention in Libya would have international legitimacy at this point.

The president made the statement in a televised speech while inspecting Egypt's Western Military Zone accompanied by the heads and elders of Libyan tribes, Egyptian Minister of Defence and General Commander of the Armed Forces Mohamed Zaki, Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, as well as leaders of the main branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces.

El-Sisi said that Egypt has called for a comprehensive settlement in Libya that involves the elimination of terrorist militias and has participated in Libya-related international conferences and supported crisis-resolution efforts.

Egypt, along with the UAE and Russia, backs Haftar, who has been fighting the forces of the UN-backed government, which is backed by Turkey.

Earlier this month, El-Sisi announced a peace initiative dubbed the Cairo Declaration to end the civil war in Libya, proposing a ceasefire and an elected leadership council.

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Sreeram Chaulia By

Following the unprecedented physical brawl at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that cost the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) blamed India and claimed that the sovereignty of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours. It was a classic instance of Chinese Communist deceit, backstabbing and propaganda to conceal territorial aggrandisement.

China had previously agreed in military commander-level talks with Indian counterparts that it would disengage from Galwan. For decades before the PLAs ingress into Galwan in May, China had not asserted claims on Galwan. But the gap between what China says one day and what it does on the ground the next day is vast, and is part of its time-tested ploy of keeping adversaries off balance through surprise.

As Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China and legendary war planner, held during the period of Chinese resistance to Japanese colonialism in the 1930s, make the enemy uncertain and then attack him by surprise at one point. While the PLAs military doctrines today are drastically different from those of Maos guerrillas, the strategic culture of Communist China remains the same because the underlying philosophy of historical materialism (belief that the world goes by material power, i.e. economic and military force, rather than ideals or morals) still guides President Xi Jinpings foreign policy.

Chinas playbook is to use brute force in limited form where necessary, establish a fait accompli on the ground or waters with quick military thrusts, and then use historical revisionism to claim more and more territory. As cover for this skullduggery, Chinese officials incessantly promote diplomatic concepts like harmonious world, win-win cooperation, universal love and non-aggression, and a new type of international relations based on jointly upholding the authority and sanctity of international law.

Lurking beneath the verbose shibboleths is a menacing great power that wants to be acknowledged as the greatest, which is inherently expansionist and dissatisfied with the status quo.

What the PLA did in its savage assault with nail-studded rods and stones against an Indian Army party in Galwan was to show Chinas true coloursan uncompromising hegemon that seeks to extract as much land and leverage to pressurise states like India that stand in the way of Chinese domination.

States that are substantially weaker than China or do not resist Chinese supremacy are rewarded with a final resolution of territorial disputes. Communist China has settled border disagreements with 17 countries since its inception in 1949, and in 15 out of these 17, it actually conceded territory. But when it comes to India, Bhutan (viewed by Chinese elites as an Indian proxy), Japan and Southeast Asian countries, China is unwilling to compromise on land or sea borders and is pressing forward fresh claims to apply geopolitical pressure.

Since President Xi took office in 2013, China has flexed its military muscle in disputes with India, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan. When the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte disavowed allegiance to the United States, which Xis China sees as its main opponent, Beijing softened its approach to Manila and offered economic incentives to it. In a reprisal of the ancient notion of Tianxia, China believes it is nominally the ruler of the world, and all the others must accept its superiority and pay tribute to it. Those who dare to deny China its rightful place as the number one power have to face a different China that is fierce and bullying.

The same tradition of cartographic aggression, wherein the PLA ingresses into a contested domain and then presents distorted maps claiming that specific area had belonged to China or fell under Chinas sphere of influence since millennia, is continuing from Mao until Xi. What is new is that Chinas toolbox has expanded. Today, it has accumulated huge financial reserves and deploys them to fulfil Xis Chinese dream of expanded global influence under the umbrella of the $48 trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By means of a cut-throat debt trap strategy, China has found a commercial pathway to gain control over vital waterways, ports and mineral-rich lands.

Yet, the bare-knuckled violence of the PLA in Galwan Valley is a stark reminder that treating China as a purely economic juggernaut that expands in a less threatening way via trade, aid and debt is missing the full picture. There is more than BRI and chequebook diplomacy to Chinas rise. The less civilised side of China, which people outside Asia and the Indo-Pacific often ignore or dismiss as something too remote to bother them, is growing under Xis hardline authoritarian rule.

The policy need of the hour is for the whole world to take off blinkers, recognise China as it really is and push it back on multiple fronts. Liberal formulae of accommodating China, making it a responsible stakeholder or meeting China halfway by conceding it the strategic space it deserves, have for long confused nations. But the time for such dilemmas is past. Xis China is dropping all pretensions and acting in a far cruder and belligerent manner. Chinese force has to be met with proportionate counterforce on a variety of dimensions. The alternative is subjugation.

Sreeram Chaulia

Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs

(schaulia@jgu.edu.in)
Donald Trump has posted a video on Twitter telling the families of those lost to coronavirus that their loved one did not die 'in vain' because the economy is bouncing back.

With the number of U.S. fatalities now at almost 119,000, Trump on Friday night recorded a video thanking Americans for their sacrifices in working to resume normality.

He opened his remarks by noting that the recent jobs and retail sales figures were encouraging.

Donald Trump posted a video on Friday night saying the economy is bouncing back

'As many of you know, our country is coming back very, very strong, economically,' he said.

'The jobs numbers from two weeks ago were record-setting. Record-setting increases.

'We've never had anything like it. Record from day one, nobody has ever beaten it.

'And now retail sales numbers are incredible.'

Trump said that he had 'created a tremendous base' which was easy to build upon when the economy resumed.

Trump thanked the American people, and said the last five months - since the first coronavirus case in the U.S. was detected, in Washington state - had been 'interesting'.

The president said the pandemic had been 'interesting' but lives had not been lost 'in vain'

'It's been an interesting period of time, it's been terrible - so many lives have been lost,' he said.

'We will never forget those incredible people.

'But they will not have died in vain.

'Our country will go on and we're going to be stronger than ever before.'

Trump spoke as coronavirus cases are rising in many states, and experts warn that the pandemic is still a serious threat.

At least 19 states have seen new cases go up in the last two weeks and six states on Tuesday reported record increases.

Florida reported 2,783 new cases. Texas reported 2,622, and Arizona reported a one-day jump of 2,392 new cases.

Oklahoma, Oregon and Nevada also reported their highest single-day spikes in cases yet.

Coronavirus across the United States, as of 5pm on Friday

The latest coronavirus tolls, as of 5pm on Friday

On Saturday, Trump will hold his first rally since March, to officially resume campaigning.

Officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the rally will be held, have voiced concern about the wisdom of gathering 19,000 people together in an indoor arena, and not making them wear face masks.

Bruce Hart, Tulsa's health chief, said the rally risks becoming a 'super spreader' event.

Trump, however, is keen to get America back on its feet as quickly as possible.

He has dismissed criticism as an attempt to silence him.

'The Far Left Fake News Media, which had no Covid problem with the Rioters & Looters destroying Democrat run cities, is trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies,' he tweeted on Monday.

'Wont work!'

Trump tweeted Monday that concern over Tulsa rally was an attempt to shame his supporters

Trump supporters on Friday camped outside the BOK Center in Tulsa, waiting to enter
LIC Housing Finance's consolidated net profit tanked 39.1% to Rs 424.31 crore on 5.1% rise in total income to Rs 4,903.54 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.

Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) dropped 15.9% to Rs 832.93 crore in Q4 March 2020 as against Rs 990.91 crore in Q4 March 2019. Current tax expense jumped 39% to Rs 408.62 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. The Q4 earnings was declared post trading hours yesterday, 19 June 2020.

The board recommended a dividend of Rs 8 per equity share for FY 2019-20.

With respect to Covid-19 pandemic, the company said there remains a high level of uncertainty about the duration and impact of the pandemic both on human life and businesses and the time required for life and business operations to normalise. In view of the aforesaid, it is not possible for the company to assess at this juncture, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the results of company's business and financials in future, as the same will be dependent on future developments, which at present are extremely uncertain.

Shares of LIC Housing Finance rose 0.32% to Rs 284.75 on BSE. The scrip soared 14.42% in the past one month. On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 58.743 on Friday, 19 June 2020. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally, the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30.

The stock was trading between its 50-day moving average (DMA) placed at 259.44 and its 200-day moving average (DMA) placed at 358.49.

LIC Housing Finance is one of the largest housing finance companies in India. As of 31 March 2020, Life Insurance Corporation of India held 40.31% stake in the housing financer.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Ashley A. Smith

EdSource

The University of California Board of Regents announced Monday that they support repealing Proposition 209, which would allow the university to consider race, gender and ethnicity in admissions and hiring.

"It makes little sense to exclude any consideration of race in admissions when the aim of the University's holistic process is to fully understand and evaluate each applicant through multiple dimensions," UC President Janet Napolitano said. "Proposition 209 has forced California public institutions to try to address racial inequality without factoring in race, even where allowed by federal law. The diversity of our university and higher education institutions across California, should - and must - represent the rich diversity of our state."

The regents endorsed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, which would repeal the affirmative action ban approved by voters in 1996. That constitutional amendment was approved by the Assembly last week, in a 60 to 14 vote, and currently is awaiting action in the Senate. If approved there with a two-thirds margin before June 25, it will then be placed on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot. Voters will have the opportunity to decide if affirmative action should once again be used as a tool to increase diversity in universities and other government agencies.

With their vote during a special meeting Monday morning, the regents reversed a position that their predecessors took in 1995 when they approved two resolutions banning affirmative action at the university, a move that was championed by Ward Connerly, a Republican businessman from Sacramento who was also a regent, and backed by then Gov. Pete Wilson. Connerly, who is of mixed race but described himself as black, held libertarian views when it came to affirmative action, which he labeled as "reverse racism." He then led a drive to have a similar ban imposed on all government institutions in the state, including its public schools, in the form of Prop. 209, which was approved with the support of 55 percent of voters.

As the demographics of California have changed, as well as the political make-up of the Legislature, there has been much discussion about whether or how to reverse the affirmative action ban. But as the Black Lives Matter movement has grown along with awareness of police brutality and racial injustice, universities are taking an even closer look at the systemic bias within their own policies.

Despite attempts to increase diversity while keeping admissions "race-neutral," UC's student body does not reflect the state's racial and ethnic diversity because of the ban, the UC regents said in a statement issued after the vote.

The proportion of underrepresented groups, including blacks, Latinos and women, attending the system's nine undergraduate and one graduate universities, averaged 20%, then dropped to 15% in 1998, then slowly increased over the next 20 years, reaching a peak of 37% in 2016, according to the university. However, the percentage of underrepresented students graduating from high school doubled to over 56% in 2016.

The UC system said the ban has also hurt its efforts to diversify faculty ranks.

"UC has generally kept pace with the availability of underrepresented doctorate recipients in most fields," according to a UC report on Prop 209's effects. "However, UC has not kept pace with the availability of women PhDs in several fields, including STEM fields such as life sciences, physical sciences and mathematics."

California State University Chancellor Tim White said he also supports repealing the affirmative action ban, in a letter to the Assembly last week.

"While the CSU takes great pride in the fact that our student body largely reflects the dynamic diversity of our state, we know that we could do more, particularly for African American students, if Prop 209 prohibitions were no longer in place," White said, on behalf of the 23 CSU campuses. "It is critical that we have the ability to target resources and support structures for students to overcome institutionalized and systemic opportunity barriers."

This isn't the first time the Legislature has attempted to repeal Prop 209. The Senate attempted a similar amendment in 2014, but that proposal failed in the Assembly after Asian American advocacy groups said it would leave Asian students at a disadvantage when considering applications from underrepresented minority groups in university admissions.

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that schools can use race as an admission factor in certain circumstances. Still, Prop 209 has prevented California universities from taking race or ethnicity into account in admissions or hiring, even if there is a compelling reason for doing so, according to the UC System.

This article first appeared in EdSource. Please use the following link when sharing: https://edsource.org/2020/in-historic-reversal-university-of-california-regents-endorse-push-to-end-ban-on-affirmative-action/633751

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Dennis Yun, right, recently hosted a Memorial Day barbecue where guests had their temperatures taken and took Covid-19 antibody tests before they were allowed in.

As more locations around the U.S. re-open, people are starting plan social events again.

But for some, these gatherings include new precautions to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19.

In Los Angeles, Jay Prasad and his roommate Dennis Yun, who is a physician, recently hosted a Memorial Day barbecue. Before guests could enter, Yun administered a Covid-19 antibody finger-prick test, then made them wait ten minutes for the results. Antibody tests typically register positive if a person has been exposed to the disease, even if they didn't show symptoms.

Prasad and Yun also used an infrared forehead thermometer to check if any guests had a fever, a common symptom of Covid-19. Although no guests tested positive for antibodies or showed signs of a fever, Prasad said he and his roommates were prepared to turn people away if they had.

"That's just the smart thing to do, and I don't think we know anybody who would've objected to it," Prasad said.

Additionally, Prasad handed out face masks from NxtStop, a direct-to-consumer clothing brand that he invested in. Although the barbecue was a mostly outdoor event, guests were asked to wear the masks while inside.

"We got some sense of return to normalcy," Prasad said. "At least this was a path toward how that might happen."
The military stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops on the Line of Actual Control escalated and led to deadly clashes this week. Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades.

This is the biggest confrontation between the two troops after the 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed in the confrontation.

The continuing talks between the Major Generals of India and China in Galwan Valley in Ladakh, the site of the violent face-off, ended inconclusive on Wednesday.

This confrontation has sent Indians on a warpath, which has mostly been restricted to social media and boycotting of Chinese goods (and food) so far. But ten kids in Uttar Pradesh took it a bit too literally when they set out to avenge the deaths of the army jawans.

In a video that has now gone viral on social media, ten kids from Aligarh were planning to march to the India-China border in order to take revenge when cops stopped them on the highway.

When they were questioned, they said that they wanted to teach China "a lesson" for killing our soldiers. The cops seemed impressed but counselled the kids and sent them home.

You can watch the video here:
Former environment minister Theresa Villiers has been axed from the House of Commons intelligence committee after she defied the Tory whip to allow chlorinated chicken into the UK, it has been claimed.

Ms Villiers, who was due to sit on the powerful committee has been axed by the Prime Minster Boris Johnson over her alleged lack of loyalty to his government.

The former environment secretary was among 18 Conservative MPs who failed to support a government three-line whip on the Agriculture Bill, which seeks to regulate post-Brexit food standards.

Former environment secretary Theresa Villiers, pictured, has been dropped from the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee by Boris Johnson after she voted in favour of an amendment to block the importation of chlorinated chicken to the UK

Tory MPs were ordered not to vote for the amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would uphold animal welfare standards ahead of any trade deal with the United States

The PM had initially backed Ms Villiers for a seat on the powerful committee but initiated a U-turn after the former minister voted against the government's attempt to loosen food standards.

According to The Times, Mr Johnson wants Chris Grayling to chair the committee - which prompted Sir Mike Penning to stand down from the watchdog as he was unwilling to support the controversial former transport secretary.

The Intelligence Committee is currently sitting on a report on Russian interference in British politics and links between Moscow and the Conservative Party.

Ms Villiers voted in favour on an amendment which would have banned chlorinated chicken from the UK in the event of a trade deal with the United States.

Ms Villiers outlined her opposition to the use of chlorine washes when writing earlier this month for the Mail on Sunday.

She wrote: 'Much debate has centred on the UK/EU ban on the import of chlorinated chicken. While the science is disputed, there can be little doubt that chlorine, and other disinfectant washes deployed at the end of production, are used to compensate for poor hygiene during rearing and slaughter.

'Such washes have been banned in the UK since the 1980s, because our approach has been to require higher hygiene standards at all stages of production.

This is a far more effective way to protect human health and also promotes better animal welfare and lower use of antibiotics.'

More than one million Britons have signed a petition promoted by the National Farming Union which would ban the importation of food that would be illegal to produce in the UK>

A wide coalition of organisations from the NFU to conservation groups have warned against allowing imports of food that would be illegal to produce here, with fears that farmers and standards could be undermined by products such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef.

Questioned on the issue by the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) on Thursday, Environment Secretary George Eustice insisted that the Government would protect food and welfare standards in trade deals.

He pointed to the Conservatives' 2019 general election manifesto's commitment on the issue.

And he highlighted a recent letter he wrote with International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in which they sought to reassure MPs that existing standards banning the import of chickens washed in chlorine or anything other than water and beef fed with hormones would remain.

Environment secretary George Eustice claimed the Conservative manifesto for the December 2019 election was clear about 'protecting food standards and animal welfare standards' in any trade deal

Mr Eustice told the EAC: 'Our manifesto commitment is very clear about protecting food standards and animal welfare standards through trade deals and there are well-established mechanisms that would enable us to do that.'

NFU president Minette Batters said: 'The fact that more than one million people have signed a petition urging the Government to put into law rules that prevent food being imported to the UK which is produced in ways that would be illegal here is a clear signal of how passionate the British public feel about this issue.

'It is now clear that it is simply not credible for the Government to continue to just pay lip service to this issue, when there is such public support for action.

'They must now give guarantees to the British people that they have listened to their concerns and will make firm commitments to address them.'

The NFU is calling for an independent trade, food and farming commission which reviews trade policy and makes sure that all food imports are held to the some standards expected of British farmers.

Ms Batters said: 'Trade policy is complicated, but what the public are telling us is quite simple. They care deeply about their food, where it comes from and how it is produced.

'They do not want to see chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef on their supermarket shelves and nor do they want to see food imported which has been produced in lower welfare or environmental systems than is legally allowed in this country.'
The U.S. Supreme Court last week forbade employment discrimination against gay, lesbian or transgender people  something Ohios House tried to do 11 years ago.

True, its hard to believe Ohios usually stick-in-the-mud legislature was proactive on that issue. But not every Statehouse Republican thinks Ohio reached the peak of civilization in, say, 1925. Moreover, Ohios 2009-2010 legislative session was the last in which the two major parties shared General Assembly control: Democrats ran the House, Republicans, the Senate.

Thus, in 2009, during the Ohio House speakership of Greater Cleveland Democrat Armond Budish, now Cuyahoga Countys executive, the House voted 56-39 to forbid discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing or public accommodation. Then-Reps. Dan Stewart, a Columbus Democrat, and Ross McGregor, a Springfield Republican, co-sponsored the bill.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, urges all electoral and political stakeholders in Malawi to play their part in contributing to a peaceful and credible presidential election in Malawi on 23 June 2020.

The Secretary-General said: Malawi's democracy, stability and development hinge upon the credibility of the forthcoming Presidential election. I encourage all stakeholders, including the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), political parties, civil society organisations, the media, religious authorities, traditional leaders, and every citizen, to work together and play their respective roles constructively to ensure that the outcome of this election truly reflects the will of the people. In particular, Malawi's Government and Opposition must demonstrate leadership by honouring their commitment to democracy and respect for the rule of law, enshrined in Malawi's Constitution and reflected in the Commonwealth Charter.

The Secretary-General underscored the Commonwealth Secretariat's commitment to supporting home-grown initiatives in Malawi that can contribute to a peaceful and credible process.

The Secretary-General added: The Secretariat is pleased to have partnered with national institutions to support their contribution to our shared goal of a peaceful, credible and inclusive process, especially at this challenging time when the pandemic has limited our options for direct engagement.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is supporting partner national institutions - the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE), the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and the 50:50 Campaign Management Agency.

The Secretary-General concluded. I wish the people of Malawi well as they look forward to exercising their democratic right to vote on 23 June.
Demolition crew personnel on Thursday discovered the body which is suspected to be a woman who disappeared last year. Jacqueline Terulli's residence in Ocean Township had been under demolition for the past few weeks as the 65-year-old woman had been missing since September 12, 2019, when her home was destroyed by a fire.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Monmouth County had been investigating the disappearance when the body was discovered, said Christopher Swndeman, spokesperson of MCPO. They did not add further details to the case as of Thursday.

According to CrimeOnline, the family's friend, Ronald Teschner, was allegedly arrested in Paterson while driving Terruli's vehicle and found to have possessed some of her guns and jewellery.

After three months, authorities filed 16 charges against Teschner which includes murder, robbery, and several other crimes.

Charred human remains

The unidentified human remains were found in Terulli's basement, Asbury Park Press reports. Witnesses observed police officers along with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office standing outside the victim's Ocean Township residence on Thursday.

The victim was reportedly staying with her mother inside the residence along with Teschner, and her sister, Joanie Kraft, told reporters that the victim and the suspect were close friends, even letting Teschner stay the night in between his rehab stints.

The day before the fire, Kraft said her sister texted her that she was planning on getting rid of Teschner from their home and stating she could not help everybody. Later that night, Terulli called her mother who was at the time in Atlantic City and revealed she would kick Teschner out of their home when morning came.

Also Read: Mentally-Ill Mom 'Triggered' by Neighbor Shoots 4 Children Dead, Including 5-Month-Old Infant



Medical experts identified the body using dental records but have not yet figured out the cause and manner of her death, as reported by NBC New York.

Prosecutors accused 49-year-old Teschner of robbing Terulli's home, murdering the victim, and setting her residence ablaze.

Home set ablaze

Authorities revealed that nail polish was the primary fuel for the fire the Teschner smeared all over Terulli's bedroom. Officials placed Teschner in the Monmouth County Correctional Institute for the time being.

Evidence to support the authorities' claims of Teschner killing Terulli has not been made clear yet. Officials believe, however, that the murder was the result of an attempted robbery gone wrong.

Previously, officials stated that one jailhouse cellmate heard Teschner talking about what he had done and had been boastful of it. The accusations led to confusion in the investigation, and it also claimed the suspect allegedly wrapped the victim's body with a blue tarp and placed it somewhere else.

The woman's disappearance sparked multiple investigations and searches which include Deal Lake. In a court hearing late last year, the victim's mother blasted the suspect as she said "I would say to him, 'Tell me where my daughter is. Please it's been too long now I just want to find her," while holding back her tears.

If Teschner is convicted of murder, he will face life in prison with no chance of being given parole.

Related Article: Burning Body with Bound Hands Found at the Side of a Road

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The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Saturday rolled back its controversial order to mandatorily quarantine even asymptomatic and mild coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases at institutional facilities for five days, in a move that was welcomed by the Delhi government and experts, who said the directive would have overwhelmed the Capitals health care infrastructure.

Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, who heads DDMA, issued the order on Saturday, with experts saying that thousands of additional patients at hospitals would strain the Capitals health infrastructure, result in a shortage of health care workers, militate against people getting tested, and throw Delhis long-term strategy out of gear.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation, Baijal tweeted on Saturday, about 24 hours after ordering the change in the guidelines. The LG, however, said that all Covid-19 patients will have to be referred to Covid Care Centres (CCCs) for assessment of their clinical conditions, severity of illness and presence of co-morbidities.

In another tweet, he said DDMA approved the recommendations of a high-level expert committee for fixing subsidised rates for Covid-19 treatment at private hospitals of Delhi. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said 100% Covid-19 beds in private hospitals will be subsidised up to an upper limit of 60% of the total hospital capacity.

Asymptomatic and mild Covid-19 cases in Delhi are lodged in home isolation after surveillance officers assess the homes of such patients and institute a monitoring mechanism. As of Saturday night, 12,611 Covid-19 patients were in home isolation, according to the official bulletin.

On Saturday morning, Delhis ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that a move to scrap home isolation for all cases would mean that the Capital needed 90,000 Covid-19-designated beds by June 30. The previous prediction was that Delhi needed 15,000 beds by June 30, the AAPs national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said. People in my assembly called me and told me that we will not get tested now. People are that scared From where will we get these (additional) beds? he said, hours before the order was rolled back.

Later in the day, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal opposed Baijals order, asking why a separate rule was being applied for the city, according to people aware of the developments.

A senior government official present at the meeting said the chief minister, through video-conferencing, told the LG that if institutional quarantine was made mandatory for all, there would be chaos in the city and the focus would shift from treating serious Covid-19 patients to finding additional facilities for asymptomatic ones, since they make up a high number.

While a meeting of DDMA could not arrive at a consensus on the fate of the order earlier in the day, another round of discussions in the evening resulted in the home isolation strategy being restored.

At the second meeting, the LG stated that since the government began intensive community-based rapid antigen testing, it was possible that individuals who were positive may have moderate to severe illness, necessitating hospitalisation, which can be missed if they remain under home isolation.

Baijal said that if adequate facility for home isolation is found available with Covid-19 patients, and the people on clinical assessment do not require hospitalisation, then they would also be offered either a stay at CCCs or at paid isolation facilities such as hotels.

Those who are in home isolation should follow home isolation guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and should stay in touch with health care providers so that if their condition deteriorates, they can be moved to the COVID hospitals. The earlier orders would be amended accordingly, the LG office said.

To prevent this from happening, all individuals who are positive will be referred to the Covid Care Centers for assessment of clinical conditions, severity of illness and presence of co-morbidities. Simultaneously, physical assessment will also be done whether adequate facilities for home isolation like minimum two rooms and separate toilet exists so that the family members and neighbors are protected and a cluster of cases does not develop in that locality, a statement by the LGs office said.

After the evening meeting, Sisodia tweeted: The reservations of LG over home isolation were resolved in the SDMA meeting and the home isolation system will continue. We thank LG for this. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, we will not let Delhi people have any inconvenience.

In a statement, the Delhi government said: CM Kejriwal explained the Delhi governments position to the LG and clarified all the doubts which the LG had about home isolation. We are thankful to the LG for amending his earlier order after considering all our points. A private agency was managing the home isolation programme of the Delhi government via tele-consultation in a professional manner. They were taking care of on-boarding the patient followed by their home-isolation training, medical counselling of patient and family and day-to-day tracking of symptoms. An emergency phone number was given to all patients in case of any escalation of symptoms. If the patients symptoms were severe, they were immediately shifted to a hospital. The LG has now asked the health department to make a detailed presentation and submit a concrete proposal to the DDMA on managing the entire process in-house or any other plans for the same before 12pm on Monday. Till then, the service of the said agency has been restored. The DDMA order on Friday discontinued the services of the company hired to manage the home quarantine, Portea Medical, which contacted individuals through phone calls.

According to the governments June 20 bulletin, 6,285 of its 12,208 Covid-19 hospital beds were vacant, and 4,965 beds were available (out of 6,249) in Covid care and health centres.

While issuing the original order, which was called arbitrary by the Delhi government, DDMA said that it feared home isolation without physical contact to monitor the patients may be a reason for the increase in the spread of Covid-19 infections in Delhi. Total infections reached 56,746 on Saturday.

Home quarantine for patients has been approved by the Union government as an effective way to preserve health care infrastructure for future challenges, under certain guidelines.

To be eligible for it, a Covid-19 patient must fulfil seven criteria, according to a Union health ministry circular issued on May 10. One, they should be clinically declared as mild or pre-symptomatic by a treating medical officer; two, they should have requisite facility at home to be self-isolated and for quarantining family contacts; three, a caregiver should be available for 24x7 care and should be in direct contact with a hospital; four, the caregiver and other family contacts should take hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis; five, the patient should download the Aarogya Setu app and keep it active at all times; six, they should monitor their health and regularly inform the status to designated surveillance officers; and seven, give a written undertaking that all these guidelines will be followed.

On June 19, the health ministry reiterated these guidelines while writing to all states asking for their strict adherence and saying that some states were not following them in letter and spirit.

The Delhi governments home isolation management system was launched on May 8. The first 5,000 patients were onboarded in Delhi governments home isolation system on May 26.

According to experts, hospital beds should be kept aside only for serious patients needing specialised care. Most countries in the world recommend home isolation for mild cases. Experts also point to the risks of infections from crowded quarantine facilities.

Experts also said that if all cases were to be admitted to institutional facilities in the Capital, the authorities would have to find additional doctors, nurses and health workers. HT reported on Wednesday that the plan to add 23,800 beds this month for Covid-19 patients will require roughly 2,000 doctors and 3,000 nursing staff.

To add to the shortfall, several health care workers testing positive are going into quarantine on coming in direct contact with Covid-19 patients.

On Friday, the announcement by the central government was criticised as arbitrary by the state government, which pointed out its success in running a home quarantine programme and the challenges that will come with adding thousands of quarantine rooms and finding additional doctors and nurses and health workers to manage these facilities.

Saturdays move was welcomed by residents and experts.

Iqbal Singh Chahal, commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said: A rollback was expected because in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi you need to have solutions that are localised For the middle and upper middle class people, we give them choices of either opting for paid quarantine or observing home isolation. So, a one-size-fits-all rule cannot be enforced on the ground in reality.

Rajiv Kakria, member of the GK-I Residents Welfare Association, said that it was a welcome step. I would still say that instead of mass open quarantine centres, the government must use facilities like hostels, dharamshalas or state guest houses, which have separate rooms and toilets for people to help them keep safe from exposure to severe infection We have also written to the government regarding this, said Kakria, also convener of the Save City Group, a collective of Delhi-NCR RWAs.

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A woman was fatally shot in New Orleans East late Saturday morning.

According to New Orleans police, the killing happened in the 6000 block of Downman Road around 11:29 a.m. Officers arrived at the scene and discovered the woman had been transported to an area hospital by private vehicle.

While en route to the hospital, the driver of the vehicle flagged down a police officer at Franklin Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard to request assistance. EMS arrived on the scene and pronounced the woman dead.

The NOPD is not releasing the name of the victim before notifying her family. No information on a suspect or motive is available.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detective T. Williams at 504-658-5300, or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
Police stand at a metro station near a pro-democracy protest inside the New Town Plaza mall in Sha Tin in Hong Kong

By Yew Lun Tian and Greg Torode

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China will have overarching powers over the enforcement of a new national security law in Hong Kong, according to details released on Saturday that signalled the deepest change to the city's way of life since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The planned law has alarmed foreign governments as well as democracy activists in Hong Kong, who were already concerned that Beijing is eroding the high degree of autonomy granted to the territory when it was handed over from British rule.

According to details released by the official Xinhua news agency, Hong Kong will establish a local national security council to enforce the legislation, headed by the city's leader Carrie Lam and supervised and guided by a new central government commission created by Beijing. A mainland adviser will also sit on the new Hong Kong body.

New local police and prosecution units will be set up to investigate and to enforce the law, backed by mainland security and intelligence officers deployed to Beijing's new commission.

Lam will also have the power to appoint judges to hear cases related to national security, an unprecedented move likely to unnerve some investors, diplomats and business leaders in Hong Kong

Currently senior judges allocate judicial rosters up through Hong Kong's independent judicial system.

"From these initial details, this new law presents unprecedented legal questions that we will have to confront in coming years," Simon Young, a barrister and professor at the University of Hong Kong's law school, told Reuters.

Young said he was troubled by the apparent "broad supremacy" of the new law over current and future Hong Kong laws.

Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong have sought to reassure investors that the law will not erode the city's autonomy, insisting it will target only a minority of "troublemakers" who pose a threat to national security.

Story continues

Xinhua said human rights and freedom of speech and assembly would be protected, echoing previous comments by authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong.

The details were unveiled after a three-day meeting of the top decision-making body of China's parliament. It is unclear when the law will be enacted but political analysts expect it to take effect ahead of Sept. 6 Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong.

Under the new law, no institutions, organisations and individuals in Hong Kong should engage in activity endangering national security, Xinhua said. This was widely expected to raise concerns for some religious, human rights and foreign-backed groups that have long been based in Hong Kong but are not welcome on the Chinese mainland.

China, which sees a growing national security threat from Hong Kong, says the draft law is aimed at tackling separatist activity, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Critics fear it will crush wide-ranging freedoms that are seen as critical to Hong Kong's status as a global financial centre.

ALLEGIANCE

Under the details released on Saturday, any Hong Kong residents running for election or working for the government will have to swear allegiance to the city and its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

No details of penalties for specific crimes were released, however.

China's move to impose the law directly on Hong Kong, bypassing the city's legislature, comes after a year of sometimes violent anti-government and anti-Beijing protests. Mainland and local authorities have blamed "foreign forces" for fomenting the unrest.

At the time of the handover, China promised to allow Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years under what is known as the "one country two systems" formula of governance.

Beijing proposed the new legislation last month, drawing rebukes from Britain, the United States and other countries.

China has repeatedly told foreign governments not to interfere in its internal affairs.

(Reporting By Yew Lun Tian and Greg Torode; Additional reporting by Tom Daly and Se Young Lee; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Toby Chopra and Frances Kerry)
Students pass through Sather Gate of the college campus at the University of California, Berkeley. (David A. Litman/Shutterstock)

Amidst Unsolved Homicide, UC Berkeley to Reduce Role of Police in Campus Safety

The University of California-Berkeley announced Thursday a series of measures to reform its police department, in response to the growing call for the administrators to re-imagine alternative systems of campus safety.

In a statement declaring the changes, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ pledged to work with the UCPD and the community to make the use of police force as restrictive as possible within the school policy and the law, including banning the use of chokeholds.

We acknowledge the harm that can be done by a militarized police force, she said, adding that the tools and equipment currently used by the campus police will be reviewed to make sure that they are sufficient, but not excessive. Some responsibilities currently housed in the police department, such as emergency management and access to buildings, will also be transferred to other campus units.

In addition, the University seeks to move the police department out of the building it currently occupies, in an effort to make the location more student-focused.

We recognize that this area, so close to the front door and heart of the campus, can be made more welcoming, said Christ.

The changes come as police search for information about suspects in the murder of Seth Smith, a 19-year-old UC Berkeley sophomore who was shot and killed Monday night.

Smith was seen lying on a sidewalk by a passer-by, who called the police, according to Berkeleyside. When the emergency responders arrived, they found that Smith had been shot in the head and pronounced him dead at the scene.

How can anyone be shot in front of homes and no one saw or heard anything, Smiths mother, Michelle Rode-Smith, wrote on Twitter. I can not rest until I know why my son Seth was taken from us. He enjoyed walking. Hed always been a night owl kid. He should not have been shot in the back of the head for walking on his street.

Berkeley Police Department, which is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Smiths killer, also faces pressure amid nationwide outcry to defund the police.

Last week, Berkeley City Council members voted unanimously to ban the police usage of tear gas forever, while pepper spray and smoke would be banned during the ongoing pandemic. The latest proposal for consideration by the Council is to transfer about $14 million for non-criminal police duties to a crisis worker pilot program, in order to protect the community from police violence.
The database was launched under a coordinated effort by the Ministry of Industry and Trades Industry Agency and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, with sponsorship from Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks at the database launching ceremony on June 19th (Photo: VNA)



Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the database aims to boost business-to-business connectivity, including between domestic and foreign enterprises.

It will help companies and investors find accurate information swiftly, thus facilitating partnerships and increasing opportunities for cooperation between Vietnamese companies and multilateral companies, he noted.

The system will prove itself even more useful given that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted face-to-face partnership activities, he went on, and will help companies seize the opportunities generated by new-generation free trade agreements Vietnam has signed, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Supporting industries have been a magnet for foreign investment in Vietnam but links in production chains remain slack and local firms are still struggling to match supply and demand.

The Industry Agency has updated the database with information on 500 companies in mechanical engineering, 347 in the auto industry, 750 in the electronics sector, 1,145 in textile and garment production, and 910 in leather and footwear manufacturing.

IFC Country Manager for Vietnam Kyle Kelhofer said the database debuts just as COVID-19 is having a major impact on global value chains.

Enhancements to links between domestic and multilateral companies via the database, along with Vietnams stable and low-risk business climate, which was confirmed by its success in swiftly controlling COVID-19, promise to help assert the country as a key processing and manufacturing hub in the region, he added.

With an annual growth rate of 10.6 percent, processing and manufacturing is the driver of Vietnams entire industrial sector. It attracted 21.6 billion USD in foreign investment in 2019, or 67.8 percent of the total./.
SIPTU want an urgent meeting with management at Aer Lingus after the announcement it plans to lay off 500 staff.

The airline says the job losses are due to Covid-19, which it says is having a catastrophic effect on the aviation industry.

Last night, the Transport Minister Shane Ross urged both the unions and the company to engage in constructive talks.

Neil McGowan, SIPTU's Aviation Sector Organiser says the discussions need to begin immediately.

Mr McGown says: "The company are legally obliged to enter into a 30-day consultation process.

"So we are calling for an immediate engagement. We hope that will happen in the coming days.

"That needs to take the form of union officials and the elected representatives on the ground in the airport."
New Delhi, June 20 : Upping the ante against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital, the Delhi Congress, here on Saturday, accused it of delaying the works of two hospitals that could have added around 2,300 beds and saved many lives.

Delhi Congress chief Chaudhary Anil Kumar visited the Baba Ambedkar Hospital in Dakshin Puri and the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka that are ready but not being used by the Delhi government.

Kumar said the party had written twice to the city government and also raised the issue during the all-party meetings with Lt Governor Anil Baijal and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"Who is going to take the responsibility for Covid-19 deaths in the national capital? Had these 2,300-bed hospitals been ready, the Rs 8-10 lakh package in private hospitals been saved," he said.

Lives of many poor people would have been saved by converting them into Covid care centres, he added He also accused the Arvind Kejriwal government of negligence in using hospitals. "When the government hospitals' buildings are ready, but not being used, it's negligence," he said.

He slammed AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh for praising Shah at the meeting and misleading the people by differing outside.

The national capital on Friday reported the highest single-day spike of 3,137 Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 53,116. Sixty-six deaths took the Covid-19 toll to 2,035.

The city government has been facing flak from the opposition parties for poor handling of the situation.

On Thursday, the Union Home Minister held a Covid-19 review meeting with senior officials. It was also attended by the Delhi Chief Minister.

Shah took stock of the situation and preparedness to contain the pandemic. It was the third meeting between Shah and Kejriwal over the Covid-19 situation since Sunday.
ALBANY - The Clearwater, the environmental flagship sloop, will begin a journey down the Hudson River in an effort to unite and support the river's communities during the pandemic.

It will leave Albany on Monday, June 22, on a two-week voyage to New York City in an initiative called Our River Connects Us.



During to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit organization has adapted its hands-on learning style into a virtual experience to give river residents

an opportunity to experience the historic water from home.



Throughout the Our River Connects Us journey, the Clearwater crew, will host interactive live-streams and videos to document and share the experience across social media platforms. A prominent portion of program will be a recurring segment, Voices of the Valley, with interviews of river workers, activists, environmentalists, musicians and Hudson Valley residents, who will speak to their experiences with the River and the surrounding communities.



Each leg of the journey will include educational components, available for learners of all ages, as Clearwater continues to promote stewardship for the Hudson River.
Beijing Is State-Based Cyber Actor Behind Cyber-Attacks on Australia: Defence Expert

A defence expert believes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is most likely the sophisticated state-based cyber actor Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned, but did not disclose, was instigating cyber-attacks on the Australian government and private organisations.

Michael Shoebridge of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the prime ministers remark that there are not a large number of state-based actors that can engage in this type of activity pointed to the Chinese regime.

Shoebridge told The Epoch Times on June 19: When you look at the culmination of capability and intent, the list narrows to the most likely suspect being the Chinese state.

Chinese soldiers work at computers. The Chinese regimes cyberattacks against the United States have continued despite cyber agreements. (mil.huanqiu.com)

Going down the list of who could possibly be behind the cyberattacks, Shoebridge said: When it comes to Australia, the Russians dont have the intent, they dont have the same deep interests that Beijing has with Australia because of the massive two-way trade relationship and because Australias decisions in our national interest have influenced global debates in ways Beijing doesnt like.

Beijing has instigated a trade dispute with Australia, one that Chinese state-owned media Global Times said is retaliation for the Foreign Minister Marise Paynes call for an inquiry into the origins of the CCP virus outbreak, as well as Australias 5G ban on Huawei.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) with Senator Marise Payne (R) speaks to media in Sydney, Australia on May 13, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Tradecraft of Cyberattacks Indicates State-Based Actor

Shoebridge said it was well known that the Chinese regime engaged in regular, systematic cyberattacks against the Australian government, political parties, and businesses.

Due to the increased level of persistence and intensity of the long-running cyberattacks, Shoebridge believes the prime minister may have judged it strategically necessary and a duty of care to bring it to public attention so that government and non-government organisations can look at their cybersecurity.

In fact, the prime minister told reporters during the press conference that: Regrettably, this activity is not new. Frequency has been increasing.

On the morning of June 19, Scott Morrison, accompanied by Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, read a formal statement in Canberra saying: Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers, and operators of other critical infrastructure were being targeted in a major, coordinated, months-long cyber-attack.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 19, 2020. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image)

Morrison added: We know it is a sophisticated state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting and the tradecraft used.

When questioned on which country was involved, Morrison would not be drawn, saying public attribution required an extremely high threshold before the government would consider such as act.

He said, however: Australia doesnt engage lightly in public attributions, and when and if we choose to do so is always done in the context of what we believe to be in our strategic national interests.

Morrison said the reason he was making the announcement was to raise awareness of these specific risks and encourage organisations to take expert advice and to implement technical defences to thwart this malicious cyber activity.

Shoebridge said it is likely the cyber actors have been working to get credentials and access to the systems of different Australian organisations and are a persistent presence in this area.

Theres no evidence of disruption or disabling of systems, so what theyre seeing is the presence of state actors on systems to get hold of information.

An example of how information advantage could come into play, is it gives a government or business, an advantage over a rival entity during negotiations.

If the counterpart could get access to their internal negotiating positions, their cost structures, details around their business arrangements, that puts them in a powerful negotiating position.

Beijings Unrestricted Warfare on the West

The CCPs cyber capabilities are superior to many other countries due to its scale, according to Shoebridge:

The Chinese scale of cyber activity is larger because theyre wealthier, they have a lot of homegrown technologies they can use, and also its a state-corporate endeavour where state-owned and private corporations can be compelled to work for the state, and that adds to their capability.

Thats partly why the Chinese activity is the larger problem globally, he added.

The CCP has a multi-faceted cyber warfare strategy underpinned by its unrestricted warfare doctrine. The doctrine mandates the CCP to engage its geopolitical rivals (namely the United States and western allies) through a variety of means, outside of traditional warfare.

This can include economic warfare, the influence of politicians, cyber warfare, and disinformation campaigns. The regime avoids direct conflict as it knows the technological superiority of the U.S. military outstrips its own, so it must engage through other means.

In recent years, Beijing has passed a series of laws to tighten its grip over the private sector so it can leverage these facets of society against its rivals.

These include the National Intelligence Law 2017 which compels China-based companies to provide data and information to the state if needed, and the military-civil fusion doctrine, which mandates civilian technologies can be repurposed for military use.

It does highlight the risk that Chinese state-owned or private corporations can be compelled by the Chinese state to cooperate, and compelled not to disclose that cooperation, Shoebridge said.

That gives them access to technologies, applications and capabilities they dont have to build in government, and they can use from their commercial world, he added.

As a result, companies such as Zoom, Huawei, TikTok, Tencent and ZTE have come under increasing scrutiny from western governments in recent months.

Watch Next

Chinas Unrestricted Warfare Could Lead to Collapse in One Year
Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have all begun posing serious diplomatic challenge to Govt of India

Then, Nepal has begun claiming some areas which India considers its part. A new, amended Nepal has been approved by its Parliament. Some of Indian territories such as Kala Pani are shown as as part of Nepal. And Bangladesh, which was once considered to be a shining example of India's diplomacy, is upset with India because of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).Thus, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have all begun posing serious diplomatic challenge to the Government of India. Surely, things have got further complicate following the standoff between India and China.Meanwhile, the Foreign Policy magazine has noticed an interesting twist in the India-China standoff by stating that the Government of India's actions on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by diluting Article 370, reorganizing the state of J&K into two Union territories, has given an opening to China to interfere.According to this interpretation, J&K became an Indian state after the Constituent Assembly of J&K gave gave its own constitution in 1956-57, unambiguously stating that it is an integral part of India as it existed on August 15, 1947. However, on August 5-6, 2019 the Government of India discarded the J&K Constitution, which had made the entire territory of J&K as an integral part of India.This allegedly gave China an open hand to interfere in J&K. According to some experts, this change would embolden China to come to the negotiating table, stating that, since there is no state of J&K, whose constitution has been abolished, there cannot be any territorial definition of the state of J&K either.Things may have got complicate following Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Parliament while moving the resolutions on Article 370, that the entire region of Aksai Chin (Aksai Chin is considered as part of Ladakh by India, but China considers it as part of their autonomous region called Zing Zang province) is also an Indian territory. This is also said to have infuriated the Chinese authorities.In this complex situation, it is more appropriate that, instead of lieutenant generals of both sides talking, Foreign Minister-level dialogue should be initiated, which alone can go a long way in de-escalate the tension.---
When the Italian prosecutor Paolo Giorgio Ferri visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004, he posed for a picture beside an ancient terra cotta mixing bowl so rare and celebrated that it had held pride of place in the Mets Greek and Roman galleries for 32 years.

Four years later, as a result of Mr. Ferris dogged work as an investigator and antiquities hunter with Romes Ministry of Cultural Heritage, that object, known as the Euphronios krater, was back on Italian soil, as were scores of other looted treasures that had been acquired by American museums and collectors since the 1960s.

Mr. Ferri, who had recently retired after 45 years as a judicial magistrate, public prosecutor and legal consultant, died on June 14 at a hospital in Rome. He was 72.

His family said the cause was a heart attack.

Colleagues say his legacy includes dismantling multinational looting and trafficking rings; recovering tens of thousands of Greco-Roman artifacts from secret storehouses; and compelling what is sometimes called the great giveback, a period that began in 2006 and continues to this day, during which American museums have returned at least 120 ill-gotten antiquities valued at more than $1 billion to the Greek and Italian authorities.
Dublin, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Smart Irrigation - Research Markets Potential" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Irrigation has long presented a challenge to farmers who seek to use water efficiently, maintain the mineral content of their soil, and optimize yield. Therefore, it is no surprise that technological solutions have been developed in order to achieve those goals through: sensors for monitoring soil/plant moisture, systems for overseeing irrigation, and remotely operated irrigation systems.

The publisher has conducted a unique study that investigates the market potential for smart irrigation systems. An extensive survey examining the current situation of the smart irrigation market and analyzing the potential customers' awareness of and interest in the latest technological developments.



Respondents

The study is based on a survey conducted among 680 farmers.

The geographical distribution of respondents is as follows: 81% from U.S., 14% from Canada, 1% from the United Kingdom, and 4% from Australia / New Zealand.

Since the majority of respondents are based in the United States, the study will mainly focus on the U.S. agricultural market.

Key Topics Covered



Executive Summary

List of Figures

Respondents, Methodology

Main Conclusions

Introduction

Chapter 1: How Farmers Irrigate Today

Chapter 2: Smart Irrigation - Gauging Farmers' Interest

Chapter 3: Market Potential

Chapter 4: Farmers' Expectations

Chapter 5: Leading Smart Irrigation Systems

Companies Mentioned



AquaSpy

Arable

CropX

Droplet

Hortau

Pycno

Rainpal

Smart Farm

Tevatronic

Tule

WaterBit

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kpdbf1

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




The Vietnamese and Japanese Governments have agreed to gradually ease travel restrictions between the two countries, the official government online newspaper VGP News reported on Friday, citing the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Related measures and procedures regarding the easing will be discussed through diplomatic channels, the ministry said, adding the two governments have worked closely together in prevention and control of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Vietnamese government praised the significant outcomes of Japans efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

Japan lifted the state of emergency in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures on May 25.

The country lifted all coronavirus-related curbs on domestic travel on Friday, with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo calling on people to go sightseeing or attend concerts and other events to help the nations economy bounce back from a pandemic recession, according to Reuters.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, praised the Vietnamese governments success in its COVID-19 response, with no new cases of infection in the community reported in more than two months.

On Thursday, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam was discussing the resumption of commercial flights to and from Japan, South Korea, and China.

Preventive measures will be put in place to curb COVID-19 spread in case of any travel resumption, Hang noted.

Firstly well create favorable conditions for experts and managers from these countries to return to Vietnam for work, she said.

Vietnamese interns and workers will also be able to work in the said countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said the same day Japan would relax entry restrictions for arrivals from Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, according to media reports.

Vietnam has denied entry to all foreigners since March 22.

The Southeast Asian country has ceased commercial flights to and from foreign countries and territories but the government has arranged for charter planes to bring back citizens from abroad.

Arrivals are all required to be placed in quarantine upon entry, as per local regulations.

The number of Vietnamese workers in Japan hit more than 401,000 as of October 2019, according to a report released in January 2020 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The East Earl Township Police Department arrested a Florida man on June 18 involved in a computer repairs scam.

Everette Thibou, 27, of Tampa, Florida, is charged with theft by deception, criminal conspiracy and false identification to police.

According to police, a business in East Earl Township received a package of a large sum of money on June 18. While addressed to the business, the name on the package did not match the business, so employees called police.

Officers arrived and took the cash before Thibou came to pick the package up. Police returned to the business and questioned the man about the package.

Police said Thibou initially provided an alias before telling officers his real name.

Thibou admitted he was a part of a larger organization that scams victims around the country, East Earl police said. Officers said the money was scammed from a victim in California who thought he or she was paying for computer repairs.

Thibou was arraigned in district court where he was unable to post his $750,000 bail. He was transferred to the Lancaster Country Prison.

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It took Eleanor Catton five years to write The Luminaries - and another seven to adapt the novel for the screen. Set in 19th-century New Zealand, the 832-page hit tells the story of a prospector who travels to the West Coast settlement of Hokitika to try to make his fortune on nearby goldfields.

And billed as "an intricately woven, suspenseful tale of love, murder, magic and revenge", the epic adventure mystery - Catton's second text to date - certainly has the trappings of a primetime BBC drama - even if it has been a long time coming.

"As a novelist, I tend to write only one draft, constantly circling back to the beginning and refining as I go," says the New Zealander (34). "Once I reach the end, the book is done, whereas screenwriting couldn't be more different. By the time we started shooting in late 2018, I had written perhaps 200 drafts of the first episode alone and, throughout the shoot, the scripts continued to change.

"So many different kinds of artistry and expertise go into the making of a television series and every frame of the finished product shows the talent and efforts of hundreds of people in hundreds of ways. It's far greater than anything any one person's imagination."

Set at the height of the 1860s Gold Rush, the six-part drama follows defiant young adventurer Anna Wetherell, who has sailed from Britain to New Zealand to begin a new life.

It's there she meets the radiant Emery Staines, an encounter that triggers a strange kind of magic that neither can explain, but which likely has something to do with scheming fortune-teller Lydia Wells. As the duo fall in love, driven together and apart by fateful coincidence, these star-crossed lovers begin to wonder: do we make our fortunes, or do our fortunes make us?

While Casino Royale's Eva Green stars as American fortune parlour manager Wells, Robin Hood's Eve Hewson and former EastEnders' star Himesh Patel take on the parts of the hopeful British arrivals in Wetherell and Staines.

"Anna Wetherell is a mysterious character," muses Hewson (28). "You don't really know anything about her and you never really find out her history, or why she chose to travel to New Zealand. She meets Emery, gets off the ship and then all hell breaks loose."

"And, by the time Emery gets to New Zealand, he's somewhat of an adventurer," Patel (29) adds. "As the story goes on, his optimism and radiance is challenged, but he has a purpose which carries him through and takes him on some really interesting journeys.

"Claire McCarthy, our director, described him to me as having a poet's soul, which is something I've taken and carried with me."

Meanwhile "Lydia is fun to play because she's always game; she's a gambler, she's adventurous, but she's also a survivor," states Parisian actor Green (39), who spent a month perfecting her American accent before shooting began.

"Like many survivors, there are no rules - she feels she's above the law. She can have whatever she desires, no matter the cost, so she's quite naughty and she's completely blinded by greed. She is a baddie."

The trio is joined by an ensemble of talent, including Ewen Leslie as Crosbie Wells, Marton Csokas as Wells's co-conspirator Francis Carve, Erik Thomson, Benedict Hardie, Yoson An and newcomer Richard Te Are.

Corsets, crinoline, elaborate sets: The Luminaries serves its genre well, but it's far from your run-of-the-mill period drama.

"It is a period drama, but with more magic and adventure than you'd expect," Hewson reasons. "It has a touch of Game of Thrones or something in it; it's more heightened than a regular period drama.

"The amazing thing about books is that they can stretch your imagination and bend genres. Eleanor clearly has this vast imagination and didn't hold back in terms of how she wanted to tell the story.

"I think we've honoured that with the series. I wouldn't know how to describe it and put it into a package, because it lives on its own and that's why people will like it. It's not what you're used to seeing; it's got this extra touch of magic."

"We've never seen a period drama about the gold rush in New Zealand, but I think people just want to be swept away by the story; it's the story that really matters," says Green.

"They want to have love in the story and have an adventure. I think if it's a period or not, it has to speak to us - it has to be human."

On that note, just what do they hope audiences will take from it? "I hope that they enjoy it. I hope that they fall in love with the characters, get invested in the story and they want to take the journey with us and that they keep watching," says Hewson.

The Luminaries, BBC One, Sunday, 9pm
Logan Good loves Spider-Man. But his mother, along with a Norfolk police officer and thousands of new friends across the country, think the brave nine-year-old from Simcoe is the real superhero.

When COVID-19 closed Logans school in March, hed already been home for two months, only leaving the house to visit his dad and go for chemotherapy treatment at McMaster Childrens Hospital in Hamilton.

Already separated from his friends and going through a rough time, Logans mother Candice wanted to make her sons ninth birthday last month special. So she reached out to OPP Const. Ed Sanchuk, inviting Norfolks community relations officer to join a birthday parade for Logan, who wants to be a police officer one day.

Sanchuk visited with Logan and delivered some presents from the force. He also tweeted a birthday message to Logan, and the internet responded with thousands of likes, retweets, and messages of encouragement from first responders and well-wishers throughout Canada.

It was really cool. Im really happy that he would be able to come over, Logan said. I would say thank you for all of the love and happy birthday wishes. And I really appreciate it.

For his part, Sanchuk says he was just happy to help put a smile on Logans face.

My main focus with this was to bring some joy to this little boys life and to make him smile, and I think the mission was accomplished, Sanchuk said. It was an honour and a privilege for me to be a part of his special day.

Before his tumours were discovered, Logan had been unusually sluggish, Candice said. Then the family spotted brown patches on his skin. Finally, Logans left eye turned in toward his nose, prompting a visit to the emergency room in January.

They learned that the brown patches are called cafe-au-lait spots, a telltale sign of a condition known as Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Doctors quickly ordered a CT scan and an MRI.

We found out that he has two brain tumours that are caused by NF1. Hes had it his whole life and we didnt know, Candice said.

While not a major cancer risk, the tumours put pressure on Logans brain and optic nerve, which has caused him to lose the vision in his left eye.

He was scheduled for surgery the next day. There is now a tube under his skin that drains excess fluid from his brain to his stomach. The surgeons also took a biopsy of the tumours and, in a separate procedure, installed a port in his chest for chemotherapy.

Every Wednesday, Logan and Candice wake up at 6 a.m. to make the trip to Hamilton for chemo. There can be tears en route, but once Logan gets to the hospital, he finds his courage.

Hes been really brave when he goes for his treatment. He talks with the nurses, Candice said. He never complains about having to go. Still has a cheery disposition. Even though it makes him tired, hes still trying to live his life.

Logan watches videos and plays music on his iPad during chemo.

That distracts me so I dont look at the needle poking into the port, he said.

If the tumours are kept in check, Logans doctors expect him to live a full and long life.

They cant remove (the tumours), so they want to make it so they dont get any bigger, said Candice, whos noticed that her sons hair is thinning.

At home, Logan tries to keep up with his school work when he has the energy. He misses going out for recess with his friends, and his favourite subjects.

Definitely art, he said. I usually colour a lot.

Looking ahead, he says he wants to become a first responder one day.

I want to help all the people. All the homeless people, I give money to them so they can buy a house, he said.

I think that police officers are really cool, added Logan, who like many a youngster thinks police cars and sirens are pretty cool, too.

Sanchuk has been back since to check up on his new friend and drop off some more gifts. On his latest visit, he learned that the tumours in Logans brain were getting smaller.

That was the best news that I think Ive had all year, said Sanchuk, who called Logan an inspiration.

This little boys going through a lot in his life right now, and for him to have a smile on his face, it brought joy to my heart. And being a dad, it choked me up. Hes a valued member of Norfolk County and I hope he becomes a police officer one day.

Logan said he looked forward to growing up big and strong and getting back to doing what he loves.

Definitely going outside more. Helping mom, cleaning up stuff. And exercising, he said.

Sanchuks visit and the unexpected birthday wishes provided a fun moment for the family during an otherwise stressful time, Candice said.

Logan said that was the best day, she said. Its going to be so good for him to have good memories from a time like this.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Ghana Cocoa Board(Cocobod), Mr Joseph Boahene Aidoo has hinted of a conclusive discussion with President Akufo-Addo to increase the price of Cocoa in the coming months this year.

Currently, the government buys one bag of Cocoa beans from farmers at 515.00 Ghana cedis.

The CEO said since the Cocoa sector was the backbone of Ghana's economy which help to ensure the stability of the cedi, Cocobod and the government have taken bold decisions that will inure to the welfare of the 1.2 million Cocoa farmers in Ghana.

Mr Boahen-Aidoo said this during an engagement with Cocoa farmers at separate functions at Nsuaem No.2 and Wassa-Afransie as part of a working visit to Dunkwa-On-Offin and Wassa-Akropong Districts in the Western South Cocoa Region.

Mr Boahene-Aidoo, who is also the Nkosohene (Development Chief) of Nsuaem No.2, said as part of efforts to ensure that Cocoa farmers enjoyed the fruits of their labour, Ghana now fixes and dictates the price of Cocoa for the world, hence the need for farmers to expand their acreage and adopt sound cultural practices on their farms to harvest at least 20 bags per 1 acre.

The CEO of Cocobod told farmers that the government had sourced a-200-million dollar fund from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in South Africa to deal with the swollen shoot disease which was rife in the Wassa-Akropong and Dunkwa Districts by cutting the diseased trees for re-planting through extension officers and employed youth in the area.

Mr Boahene-Aidoo lamented that 60 million seedlings were given to farmers during the Mahama administration but ironically, over 200 million hectares of Cocoa went bad in the Cocoa Regions of Ghana.

It is against this backdrop that Cocobod has embarked upon regular tour and visits to cocoa farms to inspect mass pruning, advise farmers not to patronize unapproved chemicals by Cocobod on their farms, adding that about 30,000 pollinators have been employed to undertake the hand pollination exercise in all the 1.2 million Cocoa farms across the country.

Mr.Boahene Aidoo noted that farmers were not harvesting up to 1,000 pods on their Cocoa trees due to non-compliance with cultural practices.

He announced that the government has earmarked an incentive package for farmers who observed sound cultural practices to increase productivity.

---GNA
By Trend

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of Russia Vladimir Putin discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation, fuel and energy sector, transport, cultural and financial spheres, during a telephone call, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistan Today State News Agency information portal.



During the telephone conversation, the significant role of the Intergovernmental Commission in improving the legal framework of the Turkmen-Russian interaction, strengthening trade and economic relations, developing cooperation in industry, digital technologies, the fuel and energy sector, transport, cultural and financial spheres was noted.



Thus, during the conversation, the president of Turkmenistan expressed its gratitude to Russia for its active work in the format of the Intergovernmental Commission, as well as its co-chair Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexey Overchuk.



The parties expressed confidence for the further development of Turkmen-Russian relations on the basis of friendship and good-neighborliness.



Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov congratulated Vladimir Putin on the celebration of the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, which will be held in Moscow on June 24.



In this regard, the head of Turkmenistan stressed that he will not participate on the celebration of the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, but a Turkmen delegation led by country's defense Minister Begench Gundogdiev will be in attendance.



As the head of state said, Turkmenistan celebrated Victory Day on May 9, in honor of which a military parade, the March of the "Immortal regiment" and a festive salute were held in Ashgabat, which was attended by a Russian delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of defense of Russia, Colonel General Alexander Fomin.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
QUEENSBURY - A Friday morning work accident at town offices on Bay Road sent a construction worker to Albany Medical Center, Warren County Sheriff's Office said.

Chris Olsen, 31, was working on installing a metal light post when the top of the light broke off and fell on him, deputies said. He suffered serious injuries and was flown to Albany Medical Center for treatment.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has fired a direct shot at Adams Oshiomhole, the suspended national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), following the defection of Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

Read Also: Oshiomhole Thanks Judges Who Upheld His Suspension

Saraki in his comment stated that he knew that a day like this would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market hence he never replied when he attacked him verbally.

Saraki said: At this point, it will be odd if I fail to comment on the situation that led to the change of party by Governor Obaseki.

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While I have kept my cool and ignored all the verbal attacks directed at me by the suspended chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, I have always known that a day like this would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market.

The truth is always constant and no matter how far falsehood travels, the truth will catch up with it one day.

Oshiomhole can fool people for a long time but he cannot fool the people all the time. What is happening to him now is a moment of truth.

This same man who was garrulously proclaiming the end of the political career of some other people is now about to meet his Waterloo.

He has continued to use his mouth to divide his party and I believe there is a lesson for all politicians to learn from the fate of the suspended APC chairman.

No autocrat can successfully pretend to be a Democrat. The true character of a man will come out one day, he said.

Saraki further stated all lovers of democracy should be interested in the emergence of a healthy and strong party system and organization which would provide viable platforms for people to aspire and provide quality leadership to the country.
A statue of a Confederate general has been pulled down in Washington DC on "Juneteenth", a holiday dedicated to the end of slavery in the US.

Protesters toppled the 11-foot monument to Albert Pike on Friday evening, before making a bonfire and chanting anti-racist slogans as they watched the statue burn.

Donald Trump lashed out at the demonstrators on Twitter, calling them "a disgrace to our country".

Videos posted to social media showed police were present but did not stop the statue being torn down.

And the president added: "The DC police are not doing their job as they watched a statue be ripped down and burn. These people should be immediately arrested."

Protesters reportedly read out the president's tweet among themselves and cheered.

The statue to Mr Pike, who was a Freemason leader as well as a general, has been controversial. It was paid for by the Freemasons and dedicated in 1901, several decades after the end of the US civil war.

The local legislature said on Friday that they had been trying to get the statue taken down for nearly 30 years.

The DC Council tweeted: Ever since 1992, members of the DC Council have been calling on the federal govt to remove the statue of Confederate Albert Pike (a federal memorial on federal land). We unanimously renewed our call to Congress to remove it in 2017."

This latest incident comes after several statues of historical figures with links to the slave trade were taken down by protesters in recent weeks, including a monument to Edward Colston in Bristol.

The Confederacy was a coalition of southern states who tried to break away from the United States to protect the institution of slavery. This led to the civil war that lasted from 1861-1865, in which as many as one million people may have died.
We have a male only dominated cinema By Susitha Fernando Gayathri Khemadasa says Sri Lankan artistes are talented yet need patience and training View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas first award winning female film music director, Gayathri Khemadasa completed her third film The Newspaper which is ready to be released soon. Gayathri won the Best Music director award in all film festivals-OCIC, Hiru and Derana for her musical score to Thanha Rathi Ranga directed by Nilendra Deshapriya and scripted by Kumara Thirimadura and Sarath Kothalawela. The Newspaper is the debut direction of duo Kumara and Sarath.

Having studied music internationally, including Prague Conservatory and Masaryk University in Czech Republic and being a visiting scholar at Wesleyan University on a Fulbright Professional Scholarship, Gayathri who has now settled here teaches music at Sri Lanka Foundation, Abhinaya academy and works as a visiting lecturer at the Kelaniya University. In the United Stated Gayathri has worked in a number of experimental film documentaries.

The theme song of The Newspaper, which she set music to the words of Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne was sung by Visharadha Nanda Malani. Gayathri talked to the Sunday Times, on her latest work, the film and the theme song which is woven around strong bond between a mother and a son, who are struggling to convince a society that unfairly treated them. The song with its heart rending words sums up the message of the entire film.

It is a mix between a poem and a song. The mother represented in the film is a mother who would sing a poem rather than sing a song. So I thought that the mix was good and I didnt want to change the lyrics and the message of the words was phenomenal. While singing amazing qualities of mothers when you look at a certain point of view this song gave a different perspective for the mothers. The last line of the song Amma Nowei Budhu wenna Nubai Puthe- May you my son, not your mother, achieve Buddhahood is the pinnacle of this powerful song, describes Gayathri.

Reminding us of the apparent division between Maestro Khemadasa and Nanda Malani and Khemadasas refusal to make any song for Nanda Malani after Ammawarune, the every-popular song for the film Yasa Isuru in 1982, Gayathri said it was the most suited voice for the song.

Obviously I was asked if I would like Nanda Malani to sing it and I said why not and her voice perfectly suited the character in the film as well. Its about a mother who suffered in front of injustice immensely. It is not only the injustice of media or governments, it is the injustice and prejudices of whole village. And the whole family has suffered because of that. I think the film itself brings out all these subtleties in us as a society. I felt in this song her voice and lyrics would completely match what we wanted to say, Gayathri explained.

Interestingly Maestro Khemadasa was so close to his mother he composed an opera Mage Kalaye Mawuni or Mother of my Time in tribute to his own mother in 1978. He wanted to perform it in front of his mother but unfortunately his mother died two days prior the opera.

Going back to Ammawarune and Mage Kaalaye Mawuni, Thaththa was extremely attached to his mum. Unfortunately his father passed away when he was very young and the mother had to bring up 13 children and so he had a huge attachment and he wanted to bring this complex relationship that we all have, through his music, she added.

However Gayathri is critical of the duplicitous standards of local cinema industry which is mainly male dominated. I won this award three years ago and even internationally I would say the platform given to female composers could be much better than where it is. When it comes to films it is so predominantly a male dominated industry so whatever you say cannot materialised unless those male directors are as open minded as you are. In this case unfortunately I have to say here they are not, she argued.

Referring to her multiple awards for her musical score for Thanha Rathi Ranga, Gayathri explained the double standards in the cinema industry It was the first time that same person won the same category- music in all the festivals in Sri Lanka. When that happens at least one would think that he or she must be capable but that doesnt happen here unfortunately,

This is not only in the music but even in other categories. When you look at the cast you will see it. But internationally when you look at the cast you will see that they are much more genuine, she said.

However Gayathri is ready to share her music and contribute more to any form of arts in the country. I am ready to work more here and even in different areas other than cinema. Music is such an international and worldly language and you always get different perspectives. With her exposure and experience Gayathri is optimistic and says what artistes here lack are patience and training. I think there is lot of talents here. There are lot of amazing ideas but I feel we need little bit more patience and training

I was asked to play piano on a top of a piano, on the board for six months to get my fingers technically perfect and that is the kind of patience you need. And I cant imagine me telling this to my students. Like that this kind of discipline is needed for arts in Sri Lanka.

In a final note Gayathri was extremely grateful to the debutant directors Kumara and Sarath for their selection to write the musical score. I am grateful to Kumara Thirimadura and Sarath Kothalawala for inviting me to working in this project and they had been really amazing. They gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do. It is being like respectful relationship because sometimes people are very demanding and they dont see your point of view but in this case I am extremely grateful to them. They didnt tell me that they want something like my father. They completely trusted me,.
Auckland, June 20 : A man has been charged with the murder of a New Zealand police officer, who was shot dead during a routine traffic stop, it was reported on Saturday.

The 24-year-old man was arrested on Friday following a manhunt and later charged with offences including murder, the BBC reported.

He is expected in court on Saturday.

The victim, 28-year-old Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt, died earlier on Friday after he was shot in Massey, west Auckland following a routine traffic stop on Reynella Drive, reports The New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Another officer was also shot and a pedestrian was run over by the fleeing driver following the incident.

An investigation was continuing and police have not ruled out charging other people over the incident, said Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.

Police in New Zealand do not normally carry guns, and it is rare for officers to be killed in the line of duty.

According to the police, the last incident was in May 2009, when a senior constable was shot at a house in Napier while carrying out a routine search warrant.
The first thing my friend noticed when he tried a new restaurant Wednesday was a huddle of customers waiting for their orders, their faces uncovered, standing more than a little too close. The staff were wearing masks, technically: The man who took his order had his pulled down around his chin.

It wasnt a white-tablecloth restaurant, but it wasnt McDonalds either: one of those casual-dining spots that charge $9 for a basic burger, iced tea is overpriced, and fries are extra. Total tab for lunch: $16. Plus a tip. Robert isnt ready to actually hang around and consume his meal at a restaurant yet, but he still tips.

Another 16 Charleston area restaurants this week reported at least one staff COVID-19 case Its prudent for local eaters to assume there is at least one coronavirus case at every restaurant, and to plot their dining choices accordingly.

Like a wide variety of businesses that cater to those of us with disposable income, this one is being tested every day by people like Robert who are now making decisions based on how safe they feel.

This one failed the test  my friends first visit will be his last. And in a week when South Carolinas daily COVID-19 infections set four new records and our positive test rate hit its own new high, it offers an important reminder to other businesses.

A lot of people think social distancing, mask-wearing and OCD hand sanitizing are, in the words of the late Sen. Fritz Hollings, a bunch of hooey. But a lot of us watch the daily numbers and realize that our chance of coming into contact with someone who is infected is far higher than it was when Gov. Henry McMaster ordered all restaurants closed, then started ordering many other retail and personal-service businesses closed. So were being highly selective about where we take our business, if we take it anywhere at all.

The same day Robert made his first and last visit to that restaurant, Harvard researchers reported that although spending at lower incomes has largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it remains way down among upper-income Americans.

This is worrisome. As National Public Radio reported, so much of the countrys economy depends on shopping by the top income bracket that the wealthiest 25% of Americans account for fully two-thirds of the total decline in spending since January.

The day before, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that businesses that deliver personal services  which largely are purchased by upper-income consumers  may not recover anytime soon.

In other words, the recession is continuing because people with disposable income arent spending it.

And we arent spending it because we dont think its worth the risk.

We dont feel safe because our governor wont require businesses to follow basic safety guidelines to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. His accelerateSC task force refused to even put serious requirements in its voluntary guidelines for businesses. And too many businesses arent voluntarily doing their part.

I was really excited when Greenville Mayor Knox White told the task force about the Greater Greenville Pledge, which allows businesses to display a logo that shows theyve agreed to do more than the minimum to keep customers safe. So were task force members, who took the idea back home; Columbia quickly launched its own Resilient Columbia Pledge, and the tri-county region followed suit with the One Region Ready pledge.

The local version describes itself as a pledge that organizations can take to show customers, clients, vendors, and employees that they are committed to the health and safety of their communities as they return to business.

But like its Midlands and Upstate counterparts, it doesnt deliver.

To use the logo, a business has to pledge to encourage the use of face masks on site. Even employees only have to be encouraged to wear masks.

The pledge doesnt just pull punches on face masks.

It doesnt even require businesses to adhere to guidelines that arent the new flashpoints in the culture wars: Businesses must adhere to all state and federal COVID-19 public health guidelines, but only where possible. And reduce occupancy to SCDHEC and CDC recommended levels to encourage social distancing  if possible. If possible? That translates into if you feel like it.

Heres what the pledge-writers are missing: People who yell insults at those of us who wear masks wont seek out businesses that sign those pledges; it wouldnt surprise me if some actually avoid businesses that display one of the logos.

And nobody who is trying to avoid germ factories is going to be impressed by the pledges.

So they  we  are going to keep eating at home. And taking stay-cations.

Its not what we want to do. We want to eat at nice restaurants. We want to vacation at ritzy hotels. We want to walk down city streets and pop into locally owned shops and spend money we know will help revive the economy. We want a day at the spa.

But we need business owners to show a real commitment to making us comfortable  by actually reducing occupancy to SCDHEC and CDC recommended levels to encourage social distancing. Period. By adhering to all state and federal COVID-19 public health guidelines. In all cases. Not just when its convenient. Not just encouraging but requiring employees to wear masks. And requiring customers to wear masks unless were eating.

Too bad nobodys promoting a pledge like that.
Ahead of the International Day of Yoga 2020, actor Anushka Sharma has been roped in by the Ministry of AYUSH to promote the practice of Yoga and launch the video blogging contest.

In a video shared by the ministry on Twitter, Anushka Sharma can be seen urging people to join her on June 21 to spread the message of peace and love by performing Yoga.

Yoga is the law and it tells us about how to moderate leading our lives. Yoga does not bind us, it liberates us. So, that we can look upon all the creatures of this world with the feeling of love and peace, the 32-year-old actor said.

So, in order to spread the message of peace and love let us begin by practicing yoga on 21 June International Yoga Day, she added.

Let's all practice yoga for a better and calm tomorrow.



Take part in the #MyLifeMyYoga video blogging contest. And send in your entries now.



Last day to submit is 21st June 2020.#mygovindia #pibindia @AnushkaSharma pic.twitter.com/wMtSxA7AXE  Ministry of AYUSH #MyLifeMyYoga (@moayush) June 19, 2020

The Ministry of AYUSH announced the #MyLifeMyYoga video blogging contest and urged people to send in their entries by June 21.

Lets all practice yoga for a better and calm tomorrow. Take part in the #MyLifeMyYoga video blogging contest. And send in your entries now. Last day to submit is 21st June 2020, tweeted the ministry along with the actors video.

The first International Day of Yoga (IDY) was observed all over the world on June 21, 2015.

The idea of first International Yoga Day was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27, 2014. This year, the International Day of Yoga will be commemorated virtually due to the Covid-19-related restrictions in place and social distancing requirements.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new reality for many of us. It has disrupted lives, created loneliness caused by social distancing as it has also led to increased anxiety caused by economic difficulties, fear of illness and worry about loved ones. This is only natural. This years celebration comes amidst this critical context, UNGA President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said via a virtual message.

International Day of Yoga is held on the Summer Solstice (which falls between June 20-22 every year), which is also the longest day of the year and marks the beginning of summer. This Summer Solstice will coincide with a Ring of Fire eclipse or an annular eclipse.

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Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over a chairpersons' meeting of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, June 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese lawmakers met on Friday during the top legislature's session.

The meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee was presided over by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

The meeting heard reports of deliberations on multiple drafts and bills, including a draft law on administrative discipline for government employees, a draft revision to the Archives Law, and a draft revision to the Law on the People's Armed Police Force.

The meeting decided to submit documents proposed to be voted on to the ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee for review.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
U.S. military officials have characterized the presence of Russian weapons in Libya as a potential threat to NATO.

U.S. Africa Command said in late May that Russia had deployed at least 14 MiG-29 and several Su-24 fighters to Libya to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors, or PMC.

U.S. concerns about the arrival of Russian fighter jets in Libya have been compounded by evidence those planes are being flown by inexperienced pilots, military officials said Thursday, according to Business Insider.

Reuters reported in early May that the UN found up to 1,200 personnel from Russian private military contractor Wagner Group were in Libya to support warlord Khalifa Haftar in his fight against the country's internationally recognized government. Africom said Thursday about 2,000 Wagner Group personnel were estimated to be in Libya.

The aircraft were flown from Russia to Syria, where their Russian markings were painted over, and then to Libya. That violated a UN arms embargo and indicated that Russia was "clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya," U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of Africom, said at the time.

On Thursday, Africom warned of what it said was a lack of skill among the aircraft's pilots.

Russian aircraft being used to support private military companies sponsored by the Russian government. The Spoon Rest is a Russian-made, mobile early warning radar system, designed to provide tactical support to military activities. Photo release June 18, 2020. U.S. Africa Command

"There is concern these Russian aircraft are being flown by inexperienced, non-state PMC mercenaries who will not adhere to international law" and aren't bound by the laws of armed conflict, said U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Bradford Gering, Africom's director of operations. "If this is true and bombing occurs, innocent Libyan lives are at risk."

At a Defense Writers Group event on Thursday, Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, told reporters that the Russian aircraft and their pilots have largely been working on "pilot proficiency."

"Primarily what we've seen then as far as activity is, in essence, what I would quantify as sorties where they're working on their basic flying skills," Harrigian said,

Read alsoJournalist debunks fake report alleging Ukrainian fighters took part in Libya hostilities

Africom said a MiG-29 was photographed operating near the city of Sirte in northern Libya, but Harrigan said the U.S. was unable to confirm Wagner Group's involvement in strikes reported in that area.

Harrigan described the pilots as "guys that may be retired" and "guys that they're finding out there who have flown these types of aircraft."

"Naturally, from a professional airman's perspective, that's going to raise some concern. It ought to raise concern in everybody's mind in terms of what's their ability to put weapons on the appropriate targets," Harrigan added.

"It's a small, constrained environment to operate in, where it takes precision weapons," Harrigan said. "So when you haven't had potentially the opportunity to operate with precision weapons in a manner that's going to require tactics, techniques, and procedures  that are a skill set that we trained significantly to ensure that we put weapons where we need to  that's an area that we have concern."

U.S. military officials have characterized the presence of Russian weapons in Libya as a potential threat to NATO.
WASHINGTON>> President Donald Trump is exaggerating his accomplishments for the military and veterans.

With his relationship with Pentagon leaders under strain, the president bragged to West Point cadets over the weekend that his administration wholly destroyed the Islamic State group. He also asserted in a televised interview that he completely rebuilt a depleted U.S. military.

Neither claim is true. The militant IS group in fact is still a threat, launching attacks in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks as it seeks to take advantage of governments absorbed in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. And a number of new Pentagon weapons programs began years before Trump became president.

His statements came in a week of law-and-order rhetoric mixed with heavy doses of misinformation as he stretched to blame unrest on radical leftists and to put three loaded words  defund the police  in the mouth of a Democratic rival who doesnt support them.

Both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have sought to distance themselves from the president following his warning that he could use active-duty military forces to clamp down on protests spurred by George Floyds death in police custody.

A look at recent claims and the facts:

MILITARY

TRUMP: The savage ISIS caliphate has been 100% destroyed under the Trump administration.  remarks Saturday at West Point graduation ceremony.

THE FACTS: His claim of a 100% defeat is misleading as the Islamic State group still poses a threat.

IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, then lost the last of its land holdings in Syria in March 2019, marking the end of the extremists self-declared caliphate. Still, extremist sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks and are believed to be responsible for targeted killings against local officials and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The recent resurgence of attacks is a sign that the militant group is taking advantage of governments otherwise focused on the pandemic and the ensuing slide into economic chaos. The virus is compounding longtime concerns among security and U.N. experts that the group will stage a comeback.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the U.S. fight against the group was continuing.

___

TRUMP: I have rebuilt our military.  interview aired Friday on Fox News.

THE FACTS: Thats an exaggeration.

Its true that his administration has accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, including a respite from what the U.S. military considered to be crippling spending limits under budget sequestration.

But a number of new Pentagon weapons programs, such as the F-35 fighter jet, were started years before the Trump administration. And it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use.

The Air Forces Minuteman 3 missiles, a key part of the U.S. nuclear force, for instance, have been operating since the early 1970s and the modernization was begun under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade.

___

TRUMP: When we took it over from President Obama and Biden the military was a joke. The military was depleted.  We had no ammunition.  Fox interview.

THE FACTS: The U.S. doesnt go to war without sufficient ammunition. Trump often repeats this claim, typically attributing it to unidentified generals. But its not true no matter how it is said.

At most, budget constraints may have restricted ammunition for certain training exercises at times and held back the development of new forms of firepower. But the military doesnt just run out of bullets.

___

FLOYD PROTESTS

TRUMP: Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?  tweet Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Theres no evidence that Gugino was an ANTIFA provocateur or that he was trying to black out police equipment. And Trump doesnt explain the physics behind his theory that Gugino fell harder than he was pushed.

Trump referred to a report from the One America News Network, which cited an uninformed blog arguing that Gugino was using antifa-like tactics, such as a method of police tracking used by Antifa to monitor the location of police.

Top tech experts called that claim confounding.

It is possible to disrupt police radio  an illegal action often called jamming  but hackers do that by attacking receiving stations, not with handheld devices that target an individual police officers radio, Matt Blaze, a professor of computer science and law at Georgetown University, told The Associated Press.

Any radio system is subject to interference, but it doesnt work by pointing some sort of ray gun and interfering, Blaze said. That just doesnt make any sense.

Gugino was hospitalized in the intensive care unit last weekend after being pushed by police. He was seen bleeding from his head as officers walked away. Friends say hes a retiree and a veteran peace activist  not an antifa provocateur.

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been charged with second-degree assault. The officers, who could face prison sentences of up to seven years if convicted, pleaded not guilty.

Many Republican lawmakers averted their eyes, as is typical with Trumps rawest provocations. But for the wavering Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, it was another thing to consider as she mulls over whether she will support him in the election. Oh lord, she said when shown the tweet. Ugh. She added: Again, why would you fan the flames? Thats all Im going to say.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had more to say: How reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how crude. He implored Trump to show some decency. Show some humanity. Show some fairness. Like Murkowski, he spoke of flames being fueled.

___

TRUMP: Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle.  tweet Wednesday.

THE FACTS: No they havent.

After days of violent confrontations with protesters, Seattle police largely and temporarily withdrew from several city blocks and boarded up a precinct station, leaving protesters to set up a festive scene with speeches, activism, art and music. This was far from taking over a city, and authorities do not consider the protesters to be terrorists.

Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said Thursday that the zone was largely peaceful and peaceful protests are fundamentally American.

As Trump has branded protesters radical-left, bad people engaging in domestic terrorism, he has frequently invoked antifa, an umbrella term for leftist militants bound more by belief than organizational structure. Federal officials have presented scant evidence that such radicals were involved.

Some Democrats initially tried to blame out-of-state far-right infiltrators for unrest before backing down on that claim.

The AP found that the great majority of people arrested in Minneapolis and the District of Columbia in one weekend of protests were local residents and few were affiliated with organized groups.

___

TRUMP: Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to DEFUND THE POLICE.  tweet June 7.

THE FACTS: No, Biden does not join the call of protesters who demanded defund the police after Floyds killing.

I dont support defunding the police, Biden said in a CBS interview last week. But he said he would support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether they meet certain basic standards of decency, honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community, everybody in the community.

Bidens criminal justice agenda, released long before he became the Democrats presumptive presidential nominee, proposes more federal money for training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths and hiring more officers to ensure that departments are racially and ethnically reflective of the populations they serve.

Specifically, he calls for a $300 million infusion into existing federal community policing grant programs.

That adds up to more money for police, not defunding law enforcement.

Biden also wants the federal government to spend more on education, social services and struggling areas of cities and rural America, to address root causes of crime.

___

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR, citing escalating protests outside the White House following George Floyds May 25 death in Minneapolis: The things were so bad the Secret Service recommended the president go down to the bunker.  Fox News on June 8.

THE FACTS: Here Barr is fact checking the president, who claimed a week earlier that he only visited the White House bunker to inspect it, not out of concern for his safety.

I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny little short period of time, and it was much more for an inspection, Trump told Fox News on June 3. They said it would be a good time to go down  take a look because maybe sometime youre going to need it.

News organizations, including the AP, had reported that Secret Service agents rushed Trump on May 29 to a White House bunker, where he spent nearly an hour  not just a tiny little short period of time  as demonstrations outside the executive mansion intensified. The bunker is designed for use in emergencies such as terrorist attacks.

Trump had been unhappy with news coverage revealing that he had been spirited to the bunker, believing that it made him appear weak.

___

VETERANS

TRUMP, on veterans health care: Before I came here, the vets would wait on line.  And for years and years, theyve been trying to get Veterans Choice.  Now, most importantly, we take care of our vets.  Meeting with pastors, law enforcement officers and others in Dallas on Thursday.

THE FACTS: That is the latest iteration of his frequently told false claim to have achieved Veterans Choice when other presidents couldnt. President Barack Obama achieved it. Trump expanded it. The program lets veterans, under certain conditions, get private health care at public expense. It has not eliminated waits for care.

___

CRIME

TRUMP: This year has seen the lowest crime numbers in our Countrys recorded history.  tweet on June 8.

THE FACTS: Not so. First, this years numbers are not compiled. Also, FBI statistics show the violent crime rate was lower in 2014 than in 2018, the most recent year recorded. Also, crime overall was substantially lower in the 1950s and 1960s, grew after that and has been on a downward trend since the 1990s, with variations along the way.

Police departments reported 368.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2018, compared with 361.6 four years earlier.

The murder rate was 5 people per 100,000 in 2018. That rate was lower every year from 2010 to 2015.

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Michelle Bridges has sold her Potts Point apartment for $6.4million.

She previously lived in the Sydney home with her son Axel, four, and former partner Steve 'Commando' Willis.

But after a tough year for the 49-year-old fitness guru, the property has been settled with new owners, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Moving on: Michelle Bridges has settled her $6.4million Potts Point apartment sale... after split from Steve 'Commando' Willis

In February, the publication reported that Michelle had sold the unit in 2019 for about $6million, after purchasing it for $2.9million in 2013.

She had originally bought the three-bedroom home in Sydney's east with ex-husband Bill Moore before their split.

The property was later transferred solely into Michelle's name in 2016. It boasts three bedrooms, two bathrooms and stunning views of Sydney's CBD.

Sold: But after a tough year for the 49-year-old fitness guru, the property has been settled with new owners, according to the Daily Telegraph

She later shared the home with Steve 'Commando' Willis until their bitter split, which made headlines earlier this year.

Michelle and Steve met while filming The Biggest Loser in 2007, at a time when they were both in relationships with other people

They began dating in 2013, after splitting from their respective partners, and welcomed son Axel in December 2015.

Stunning: In February, the publication reported that Michelle had sold the unit in 2019 for about $6million, after purchasing it for $2.9million in 2013

Spacious: The property was later transferred solely into Michelle's name in 2016. It boasts three bedrooms, two bathrooms and stunning views of Sydney's CBD

Michelle and Steve announced their split in January, after parting ways in late 2019.

Following the break-up, Michelle blew 0.086 when she was pulled over in her Range Rover with Axel in the car, at about 11.25am on January 26.

After being charged, she released a statement claiming she was going through a 'very difficult time' following her split from Steve.

The former Biggest Loser star has a second home in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
MHAs midnight order on relaxations not to be implemented for now in Assam

Assam warns against fake news

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Guwahati, June 20: Taking note of the increasing number of news portals, the Assam government on Friday said actions will be taken if any such website is found to be spreading fake and fabricated news to mislead the public.

Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna held a discussion on the rapid increase of news websites in the state with Commissioner and Secretary of Information and Public Relations Department Preetom Saikia and Director Anupam Choudhury.

"It has come to the notice of the government that most of the times, some news web portals have been involved in disseminating fake, false and fabricated news, which have misled the general public," an official statement said.

Fake: Govt has not ordered the restriction of these Chinese apps

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

There is a huge possibility of these fake news having an adverse effect, particularly on the upcoming generation, it added.

"False information and fake news circulated in news web portals and social media may always cause harm to our society. Moreover, it is also observed that social media platforms are being exploited by many for the purpose of vested interest and spreading false and fake news," the statement said.

The chief secretary directed the authorities concerned to keep a strict vigil on such news websites and social media platforms.

"The Chief Secretary also directed to take immediate action under the cybercrime laws against such news web portals and social media users," the statement said.

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Story first published: Saturday, June 20, 2020, 9:54 [IST]
Jaipur, June 20 : Rajashan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday urged the Union government to double the guaranteed employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 200 mandays per family per annum.

Also, the entire cost of material component (including state government share) for works carried under the MGNREGS should be provided by the Centre to maximise benefits of Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan of the Centre at the ground level, he added.

Gehlot demanded this through a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to coincide with the nationwide launch of Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan, a new employment scheme, by the latter on Saturday.

As per the scheme, migrant labourers who returned to their home states due to Covid-19 crisis and subsequent nationwide lockdown would be provided means of livelihood at nearby places. Works related to construction of permanent and productive public properties, including MGNREGS, would be undertaken.

The Chief Minister wrote that providing additional 100 mandays under MGNREGS would benefit 70 lakh rural families in Rajasthan, including families of migrant labourers who have returned here in large numbers.

The Rajasthan government had already started providing MGNREGS job cards and guaranteed employment to such returnees, he added.

Gehlot said over 50 lakh labourers are working at MGNREGS sites in Rajasthan at present and most would complete their 100 mandays in the next few months. "Thus, it is urgently required to raise the limit of guaranteed mandays for the MGNREGS workers," he said.

The Chief Minister also requested Modi to provide 5 kg wheat per person per month and 1 kg 'chana' (gram) per family per month for free for two months to 3,57,258 needy families in Rajasthan.

Modi launched the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan through videoconference, which Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot too joined virtually from the Chief Minister residence.

Rajasthan is among six states where this scheme has been launched. Of all 116 districts where works would be carried out under this scheme, 22 are in Rajasthan.

Any district that received over 25,000 migrants from other states will undertake 25 different works to be completed in 125 days.

Pali, Udaipur, Sirohi, Dungarpur, Banswara, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Jodhpur, Barmer, Bikaner, Nagaur, Sikar, Alwar, Karauli, Bharatpur, Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu, Churu and Jaipur districts have been selected under the Abhiyan.
Jobless for over three months due to the Covid-19 shutdown, it was a bolt from the blue for daily-wage earner S Byju - a resident of Neyyatinkara in Thiruvananthapuram - when his 8-year-old daughter Abina Byju was diagnosed with serious liver ailment. She needed an immediate liver transplant to save her life, doctors said.

As her stomach started bloating, the helpless father started knocking on many doors. His prayers were half-heard when the doctors found that hes a matching donor for his daughter. Byju was now faced with the challenge to arrange Rs 20 lakh for the transplant - that too at a shorter notice. Such a huge amount was tough to arrange especially amid the Covid-19 crisis. But Byjus resolve was strong and he was not ready to give up that easily.

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But there was light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to a crowd-funding platform the smile on the faces of the little one and the proud father is back. I had lost all hopes. Helpless, when I was crying at the hospital, a staff told me about a crowd-funding platform. In fact, I had never heard of it. It was a sheer miracle crowd-funding platform Milaap chipped in and collected Rs 11,81,325 lakh in a few days, he said. The state social security mission also contributed Rs 10 lakh and Aster Medicity Hospital in Kochi, where the operation was performed, also agreed to bear a portion of the bill, he said.

She was in the ICU for 21 days. The operation was held in the first week of May but she has to be in the hospital for three more months. Many others also helped me. Even at the worst time, there is a silver lining, said the father.

More than 600 donors from India and abroad joined the fathers fight to keep his daughter alive in a powerful display of humanity during the pandemic. Crowd-funding agency said the money was collected in less than 10 days and the balance amount, if any, will be deposited in her fathers account. We collected it in less than 10 days. More than 60 percent (Rs 4,87,842 from India and $6526 from abroad) of the contribution came from abroad, said Mubeen Mohamed Ali Khan, a senior corporate communication associate at Milaap.

Young Abina dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up and her father remains a symbol of hope and perseverance. He has two daughters, the elder one named Adna is in class VI.

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Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko said Saturday the country's sovereignty was under threat as police detained around 140 people during protests against his rule ahead of August 9 polls. Lukashenko, who has dismissed the coronavirus epidemic as a hoax, is seeking a sixth term, having brooked no dissent during his nearly three decades in power. Many of his critics have been jailed in recent weeks and on Saturday he said Belarus faced a major risk to its sovereignty and independence. "I never thought there would be people in Belarus who would like to destroy the country," he said as he unveiled a monument in the country's east. "No one will be allowed to betray or destroy what you and me have been building for a quarter of a century." Opposition figures have fought hard to get on the ballot and enjoy robust support from the public, observers say. Bucking expectations, a number of activists collected at least 100,000 signatures from supporters to be eligible to run. Lukashenko's main rival Viktor Babaryko, a 56-year-old former banker, has collected 435,000 signatures, his aides say. "People are tired of Lukashenko," said Vladimir Orlov, a 66-year-old writer. In response to the simmering anger and criticism, Lukashenko has unleashed a crackdown on would-be election rivals and other opposition figures. On Friday evening, people lined the streets in the capital Minsk and other cities for a second day of protests. Valery Tsepkalo, a popular would-be opposition candidate, joined those rallies but police moved in to break them up. As a result, around 140 people -- including 80 in Minsk -- were detained, the Vyasna rights group said. Detentions also took place in Vitebsk, Brest, Mogilev and other cities. - 'Anyone but him' - A number of journalists with foreign media outlets were detained. Some people were released late Friday. The West has expressed concern over the latest detentions, with the UK embassy in Minsk saying "the detention of large numbers of journalists and peaceful protesters" was unacceptable. Although relatively modest, such protests are unusual in Lukashenko's Belarus, analysts say. "Society is polarised," independent analyst Valery Karbalevich told AFP. "People's slogan today is: 'Anyone but him.'" Lukashenko's main election rival Babaryko was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of financial crimes. The next day Lukashenko announced his government had foiled a foreign plot to stage a popular uprising in Belarus. Authorities claim Babaryko is in cahoots with "puppeteers" from Moscow. Despite his arrest, Babaryko's aides on Saturday handed in his registration papers so that he is allowed to run. "If Viktor Babaryko is registred a presidential candidate there is a possibility he might be freed," lawyer Maksim Znak said. "Or maybe not." Babaryko formerly headed Belgazprombank, the Belarus subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom. Around 20 people have been detained in connection with the Belgazprombank case. The general prosecutor's office opened a criminal case into organising or participating in a criminal group, with the penalty for those crimes up to 15 years. The detention of Babaryko came after authorities jailed other critics including prominent opposition politician Mikola Statkevich, who is not allowed to contest the vote, and popular vlogger Sergei Tikhanovsky. Tikhanovsky, 41, has particularly stood out, coining an insult for Lukashenko -- the "cockroach" --- and a catchy new slogan -- "Stop the cockroach." Since then many Lukashenko critics have protested with slipppers in their hands. Some said Lukashenko's refusal to introduce a coronavirus lockdown in Belarus, which has registered nearly 58,000 cases and more than 340 deaths, was an eye-opener. "I have acquaintances who were his fans. They are now refusing to support him," said Valentina Svyatskaya, a 62-year-old pensioner. "The authorities have done nothing to protect people and the coronavirus pandemic has become a catalyst." The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an international election and war monitor, has not recognised any polls in Belarus as free and fair since 1995. Belarus riot police officers detain an opposition supporter at gathering Friday -- the second day of such protests -- for candidates seeking to challenge President Alexander Lukashenko in August polls
By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.

It had looked as though Dutchman Steven Bergwijn's first-half strike would prove enough to revive Tottenham's faltering hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

But United, with Paul Pogba on as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since January because of injury, stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12.

Pogba immediately added some spark to United's play and it was his dribble that forced a clumsy tackle by Eric Dier to concede the penalty that Fernandes fired past Hugo Lloris.

United thought they had another penalty awarded in stoppage time when Fernandes went over under challenge from Dier but VAR rightly reversed the decision to the home side's relief.

Spurs remained in eighth spot on 42 points while United are fifth on 46, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

The usual pre-match music bellowed around the empty 62,000-seater stadium, but after the whistle blew an eerie silence descended -- the new normal in the Premier League since the restart from the stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the lack of atmosphere there was no lack of energy on the field in an often feisty clash.

SUPERB STRIKE

Marcus Rashford, who used the long break to recover from a back injury, almost gave United the lead after 21 minutes when his close-range volley was kept out by Lloris's legs.

It was Tottenham who went ahead though shortly afterwards.

Bergwijn marked his Spurs debut with a superb strike against Manchester City in February and showed again why the club signed him from PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window.

His strike after a surging run was fierce but straight at David de Gea who could only deflect it into the net.

The Spanish keeper did much better soon after when he tipped Son Heung-min's header over the bar.

Story continues

Pogba replaced the ineffective Fred just past the hour and United were immediately more dangerous.

Twice Anthony Martial looked certain to equalise, first when Dier made a sliding interception to block his shot and then when Lloris produced a stunning flying save.

Victory would have launched Spurs back into the hunt for a top-five finish but Dier's rash tackle left them frustrated.

It could have been worse for Jose Mourinho's side. After their VAR let-off United substitute Mason Greenwood went agonisingly close to snatching a winner.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Along with India, Norway, Ireland and Mexico will join the Security Council as the non-permanent members for a two-year term beginning 1 January, 2021. This is the eighth time that India will sit at the council's horseshoe-shaped table.

Beijing: China on Friday gave a lukewarm response to India's election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, saying as a permanent member, it would like to enhance cooperation with all the newly-elected members of the top organ of the UN.

Asked for his response to India's election to the non-permanent seat of the UNSC with an overwhelming majority of 184 votes out of total 192 UN members amidst the current round of India-China military tensions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian did not mention India by name.

"The UNSC is an important organ to uphold International peace and security following the UN charter," Zhao said. "As a permanent member, China would like to enhance cooperation with all parties of the UNSC including the newly elected non-permanent members to jointly fulfil the responsibility given by the UN charter," he said.

While countries such as Germany, Norway and Ukraine congratulated India on its emphatic victory, China has not done so nor did the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman mention India by name.

China has been stonewalling India's efforts to become member of the UN's powerful body for years, pointing to the lack of consensus even though the other four permanent members, the US, the UK, France and Russia have expressed backing for New Delhi's membership.

China has in the past said there were major differences among UN members over UNSC reforms maintaining that a "package solution" should be found to accommodate the interests and concerns of all parties. India, the endorsed candidate from the Asia-Pacific States grouping, garnered 184 votes out of the total 192 polled in the Security Council elections on Wednesday.

Along with India, Norway, Ireland and Mexico will join the Security Council as the non-permanent members for a two-year term beginning 1 January, 2021. This is the eighth time that India will sit at the council's horseshoe-shaped table.

India was previously elected for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.
GNAs foreign minister says meeting would merely deepen the rift between Arab governments on the conflict.

Libyas UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has said it will boycott talks on the conflict in the North African country to be held by Arab League foreign ministers next week.

Foreign minister Mohamed Taher Siala told the blocs executive council on Friday that the planned meeting would merely deepen the rift between Arab governments on the conflict, his ministry said.

The talks, to be held by videoconference because of coronavirus-related concerns, were called for by Egypt, a key supporter of eastern-based renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Siala complained there had been no prior consultation with his government, even though the meeting concerned Libya, and said the virtual format of the meeting was not appropriate for addressing the thorny issues involved.

The GNA has been on the ascendancy since its Turkish-backed forces defeated a year-long offensive by Haftars loyalists against the capital earlier this month and drove them out of western Libya.

Egypt responded with a peace initiative that was welcomed by fellow Haftar supporters the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, but was widely viewed as a bid to buy time for Haftars force to regroup.

The GNA and Turkey both dismissed the initiative and called for continued ceasefire negotiations under the aegis of the United Nations. Washington too called for UN-led ceasefire talks.

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Libya has been mired in chaos since the 2011 uprising that overthrew and later killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The latest escalation has been marked by an uptick in foreign involvement.

Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army controls eastern Libya and much of the south, where some of the main oil fields, the source of most of the North African countrys external revenue, are located.

Oil exports have been frozen for most of this year after eastern-based forces blockaded the ports, including the main ones near Sirte.

Last week, the National Oil Corporation briefly restarted production at two of the main oil fields, but was forced to close them again after a few hours.
Reverend Al Sharpton has delivered a fiery condemnation of Donald Trump in Tulsa on the eve of his rally in the city, telling protesters that they were the ones whose demonstrations would make America great.

The 65-year-old civil rights activist said he had received death threats for being in Oklahoma, but told the crowd they were the ones who would change America for the better.

Donald Trump will hold his own rally in the city on Saturday - his first campaign gathering since the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

Sharpton mocked the president's campaign slogan.

'That's why I'm puzzled by people who go around saying "Make America Great Again," he said.

'I want them to give me the date when America was great for everybody.'

Al Sharpton traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to speak on Juneteenth and preview Trump's rally

The 65-year-old former presidential candidate delivered a fiery rebuke to Donald Trump

Sharpton told the crowd unless Trump comes to Tulsa with policies on combating police brutality, he should not come at all. He mocked the president for organizing it on Juneteenth

He continued, his voice rising to a crescendo: 'We are the ones - the ones that were marching in Selma, the ones that are marching all over - we're the ones that will make America great for everybody, for the first time.

'Greatness is when Blacks and whites and Latinos and Asians and original Americans hit the streets all over this country and march against your tear gas and march against your rubber bullets and march against your military occupation you threaten anyhow.'

Sharpton said before his rally that he had received death threats.

At a hastily called press event about 90 minutes before the event, organizers said Sharpton was 'very concerned' about his safety and that there had been some suggestions that Sharpton's appearance, and perhaps the rest of the festival itself, be canceled.

The rally went ahead as planned, however, with Sharpton introduced by Tiffany Crutcher, whose brother Terence Crutcher was killed by Tulsa police in September 2016 while standing unarmed near his car.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is flanked by the Rev. Robert Turner, left, and Tiffany Crutcher, right, as he makes remarks during a Juneteenth celebration in the Greenwood district of Tulsa

Crowds gathered in Tulsa to hear Sharpton speak, ahead of the president's rally Saturday

'I don't care about threats,' said Sharpton, at one point in his speech.

Sharpton was speaking at Juneteenth celebrations in the Greenwood district of the city - the site of the 1921 massacre of Tulsa's wealthy black residents at the hands of a white mob.

Juneteenth commemorates the date slaves in Texas finally received the news about the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sharpton laughed at Trump for not knowing the significance of the date - Trump had originally intended his rally to be on Juneteenth, but changed it to Saturday amid an outcry.

'The president said he was coming on June 19th. Didn't know it was Juneteenth,' said Sharpton.

Trump supporters camped out Friday in Tulsa ahead of the president's rally on Saturday

A Trump supporter waiting for Saturday's rally, which is expected to draw large crowds

Sharpton said Trump, a native New Yorker, grew up in a city where two-thirds of the population was African American or Latino.

The former presidential candidate said Trump's apparent unawareness of the date was either the result of an 'insensitive and isolated' life or else, he said, 'he's lying.'

Sharpton said Trump was 'too culturally deficient to address this country as its head of state.'

The Baptist minister also challenged Trump's claims of doing more than any other president to help the African American community, saying that many of the things Trump claimed to have accomplished, such as lowered unemployment, were the result of Barack Obama's policies.

'You just rode the wave,' Sharpton said.

Trump supporters have been traveling to the city for days, and many camped out on Friday to be the first in line for the 19,000-capacity Bok Arena.

The rally has sparked concerns about the possible spread of coronavirus, but Trump and his team have pushed ahead.

Sharpton challenged Trump to use his rally Saturday to set out definite policies dealing with racism and police brutality.

'If you come to Tulsa and you cant say something concrete (about these issues), then dont say anything at all.'
The coronavirus has taken a toll on two generations of Stouts, Guy and his son, Ian, but it has been especially hard on the former. A legendary figure in the Texas wine world because of his longtime status as a Master Sommelier  he became the first to work in Texas after he passed the brutally difficult exam in 2005  Guy was furloughed last month from his job overseeing Southern Glazers beverage-education program, and he wont find out before July if hell be asked to come back. These arent great times for distributors, even the gigantic ones like Stouts.

Son Ian, in turn, found himself with nothing to do in his role in hospitality for the Alpha Omega Winery in Napa Valley. At least he was kept on full salary while Californias tasting rooms were closed to guests until last week. But he felt bad for his father.

He a routine type of guy, Ian said. Its been a trying time for him.

Nonetheless, both Stouts cited a hidden blessing from the COVID-19 fallout, which freed up many hours to focus on their own business, Stout Family Wines. Most important, theyve been able to get a website set up for online sales, and bottles have begun flying out the door, so many of them that Guy is asking friends to donate empty wine boxes for him to use for shipping.

Direct-to-consumer sales took on a whole new level of importance with restaurants on lockdown for most of the spring  90 percent of the Stouts sales had been for on-premise consumption  and they needed to get that aspect of the business fine-tuned  or else.

This is no vanity project. One of 12 children, Guy, 66, has made a nice life for himself, but every nickel counts. Although hes proud to have recently released a tiny-production Special Selection Stout Family Cabernet Franc because the pricey barrel of juice was so good it demanded being bottled by itself and not as part of blend, he readily concedes it was an extravagance he shouldnt have signed off on.

We did it because were artists, he said, laughing. But being artists is about to put us in the poorhouse.

If Ian hadnt sold Guy on bringing one of Napas most celebrated and tenured winemakers, Tom Rinaldi, into the mix for sweat equity in lieu of a fat consulting fee, they might already be there.

Ive known Tom for 35-plus years, Guy said. Weve been running buddies, drinking buddies, get-kinda-wild buddies for a long time, back to when he was the man at Duckhorn (Vineyards). But it was Ians idea to make Tom a partner. Ians smart. Hes had a lot of good ideas. I wasnt sure I wanted him to go into the wine business, but Im glad he did.

As a kid, Ian, who turns 29 this summer, found helping in a vineyard Guy owned in Blanco for two decades to be pure misery. Trimming vines in the Texas heat was even less appealing to him than winding up behind a desk in adult life. But he found Napa Valley enticing. In fact, he almost didnt return to Texas Christian University for his senior year after spending a memorable summer as a paid intern/cellar rat at Rombauer, a job Guy had arranged for both him and his older brother, Dylan.

Being in that cellar, Guy said, that was a game-changer for him.

Dylan tried it, too, but chose to pursue a career in finance. Nonetheless, he contributed to the Stout Family Wines cause by coming up with the distinctive label, which serves as a tribute to Stouts giant family. Ian also helped his father see the obvious in using the Stout name, since the business bedrock would be Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa cabs, of course, tend to be big wines.

Stout peres interest in wine was first piqued during his tenure as tuxedo-clad, teenaged waiter at an upscale French restaurant in Dallas in the early 1970s. Dining there to celebrate his 18th birthday, he was given a half-bottle of Pommard by the owner to enjoy with his meal. Its not a reach to call that evening an epiphany. Stout fils, in turn, caught the bug at about the same age on a family trip to Italy.

Today, Ian is bunking at a Rombauer property high above Napa Valley and relishing his dual roles as an Alpha Omega ambassador while also being the boots on the ground for Stout Family Wines. Though father and son wont be together this Fathers Day, theyll surely talk and toast each other from afar. Despite the recent challenges, Ian remains confident he and his dad will make it through the storm, keeping him on track to be able to devote himself full time to the family business within the next couple of years.

Three of the four cabernet sauvignons the Stouts have brought to market since the inaugural vintage in 2011 are currently available in a special Fathers Day package for $200. Guys take on each follows.

2013 ($95)

It offers clove and nutmeg, plus a little clove and green peppercorn, which I thought came from American oak. Nope. It spent about 20 months in French oak (30 percent new).  The merlot, about 6 percent, comes from Coombsville. This inky-black wine is still on lockdown. If you drink now, please decant. I think it needs the air, about an hour to fully open up. Get it out of the bottle and it grows. I call this the genie in the bottle.

2014 ($65)

We went from 450 cases (12 bottles each) with the 2013 to 1,200 for this vintage, our current release. Its rich, round, fruit-forward and juicy with black-fruit characteristics. Its not overly tannic but its got a firmness, too. Theres also some Coombsville merlot in the blend, and a little cab franc from Pritchard Hill. 

2015 ($75)

Im real excited about this one, which well release in October. I think youll see parallels with the 2013. Its more tannic than the 2014. This is the first time weve used petit verdot, which really opened it up. I wasnt happy with where the wine was sitting before we blended that in.

And, asked to riff on Stout Familys newest release, a 2018 sauvignon blanc, he says: Its so tropical and floral. On the palate, its got the grapefruit you expect from sauvignon blanc, but theres really more of a pronounced tangerine/citrus flavor. Its unique, not New Zealand, Sancerre or Bordeaux style. We fermented in 3-year-old chardonnay barrels.

To order, go to stoutwines.com. If you live in the Houston area, pickup arrangements can be made to save on shipping. (On the checkout page, type PICKUP in the promo-code box.)

sportywineguy@outlook.com
The Central Regional Womens Organizer of the NPP, Charlotte Adwoa Antwi has urged her party members to desist from activities during the internal primaries that will disunity the NPP ahead of December polls.



In a goodwill message, she wished all aspirants across the country well and noted that we are, but one family



Read below her message



The New Patriotic Party goes to the polls to elect Parliamentary candidates for the impending 2020 general elections. This is just a necessary culture of Democracy.



I humbly, implore all members of the party to go through this exercise with love for one another. We are, but one family.



I wish all aspirants well. May we all accept the losses and celebrate the victories together.



NPP would definitely be the winner. Thank you and God bless you all.



......................................

Charlotte Adwoa Antwi

Women's Organizer

Central Region

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Facebook and Twitter removed a video posted by President Trump that included a viral clip of two toddlers embracing one another after one of the parents who filmed the encounter last year filed a copyright claim.

Jukin Media, the online company that entered into a licensing agreement with the parent who filmed the original encounter, told DailyMail.com that it had submitted a notice to Twitter demanding that the tech companies remove the clip.

'Yesterday, a doctored version of a video that belongs to one of Jukin Medias video partners was posted to Twitter by President Trump,' a Jukin spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

'Neither the video owner nor Jukin Media gave the President permission to post the video, and after our review, we believe that his unauthorized usage of the content is a clear example of copyright infringement without valid fair use or other defense.

Twitter on Friday removed a doctored clip of a viral video that was posted by President Trump after the owner claimed copyright infringement

'We have submitted a DMCA takedown notice on behalf of the video's creator, and in accordance with Twitter's policy.

'Separately, in no way do we support or condone the manipulated video or the message it conveys.

'We hope and expect Twitter will take swift action to remove the video.'

Jukin did not say if it sent a similar request to Facebook.

A spokesperson for Facebook told CNN: 'We received a copyright complaint from the rights holder of this video under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and have removed the post.'

A rep for Twitter said: 'Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives.'

By the time the video was removed, it generated some 4 million views on Facebook and more than 20 million views on Twitter.

Before removing the doctored video, Twitter marked the clip, which showed a black toddler running from a 'racist' white boy, as 'manipulated media'.

The video had been edited to look like a package from CNN. It showed the black child running in the opposite direction from the white boy with a fake CNN strap which read: 'Breaking news. Terrified toddler runs from racist baby. Racist baby probably a Trump voter.'

The shot cuts away to a black screen with the message 'what actually happened'. It then shows the two boys running towards each other in the street to hug.

The real video, of the two boys - Maxwell and Finnegan - hugging in the street, went viral last year and recently resurfaced in joyful memes about reuniting with friends and family when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

It's unclear who made the edited version Trump tweeted on Thursday night.

President Trump on Thursday shared a doctored video with a CNN chyron that reads: 'Terrified toddler runs from racist baby'. Trump's tweet prompted Twitter to add a disclaimer warning users that it was 'manipulated media.' The disclaimer links to a web page outlining Twitter policies as they relate to selectively edited clips

The second part of the chyron read 'racist baby probably a Trump voter'. It never aired on CNN but the video was edited to make it look like it had

The clip is a selectively edited and spliced version of a viral video from last year showing two two-year-old boys - one black and one white - embracing

Trump tweeted the clip, which showed the actual footage of young Maxwell (above) running with open arms to embrace his friend Finnegan (below) in New York City last fall, as a way of criticizing media coverage of racial tensions in America

The two boys are seen embracing in the clip that the president shared on social media on Thursday

Trump was criticized for making use of a video featuring two young children to promote a political message.

The White House defended Trump's tweet as sarcastic and funny.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was making 'a satirical point that was quite funny' and noted his tweet was specifically targeted at CNN, a TV network the president regularly blasts as fake news.

'The president was making a satirical point that was quite funny if you go and actually watch the video,' she said at her press briefing on Friday.

Twitter marked the tweet as 'manipulated media' just hours after Facebook banned adverts for the president's re-election campaign which they said featured a symbol used by the Nazis.

The true story behind the edited viral video of two two-year-old 'besties' posted by Trump President Trump on Thursday used a deceptively edited video of two toddlers to claim that CNN was distorting coverage of racial tensions in America. But the actual video was first posted last fall. The two little boys who melted hearts in the video are seen racing towards each other with open arms for a big hug. Maxwell and Finnegan became best friends after their parents met in a New York restaurant and have been 'inseparable' ever since. Maxwell and Finnegan became best friends after their parents met in a New York restaurant Now the youngsters are such firm friends that the two families vacation together upstate, Maxwell Hanson's dad Michael Cisneros told DailyMail.com last September. In the adorable clip shared last fall, Maxwell and his friend Finnegan, who are both two years old and separated in age by just a month, can both be seen running towards each other giggling and laughing. Maxwell Hanson was on his way home from daycare in Brooklyn with his dads Alex, 39, and Michael when they bumped into Finnegan and his dad, Dan. Speaking to DailyMail.com Michael, 43, said: 'We really got on with his parents so we started all hanging out and their friendship just blossomed. 'Once they saw each other they immediately started running towards each other, and thats when I pulled out my camera.' The two boys are said to share a love of Disney, watching Moana, Coco and The Lion King together and live just one block away from each other. Michael, who adopted Maxwell as a newborn baby with partner Alex, added: 'His parents and us met just over a year ago and really connected. 'They are always super excited to see each other, even if theyve only been a part. They are partners in crime and when one does something, the other does as well. 'We have a place upstate with a pool, and Finnegan and his parents come stay with us often.' Michael said the boys now share their toys, food and clothes and even 'communicate with each other in ways we dont understand'. He added: 'And whenever they are apart, they each ask for each other. It really is the cutest thing.' Finnegan is described by Michael as the 'more outgoing one', while his son Maxwell 'is a bit shy until he gets to know someone'. But he added: 'They are both super active.' The two boys share a love of Disney and live one block away from each other. 'They communicate with each other in ways we dont understand', Maxwell's dad Michael says Advertisement

CNN reacted angrily to the president's tweet late Thursday and said the president was 'tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children'.

'CNN did cover this story - but exactly as it happened. Just as CNN has reported your positions on race (and your poll numbers).

'We'll continue working with facts and invite you to do the same, rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children. Be better,' a spokesman said.

A Twitter spokesperson told CNN: 'This Tweet has been labeled per our synthetic and manipulated media policy to give people more context.'

Michael Cisneros, who adopted Maxwell who is featured in the video as a newborn, took to Facebook on Thursday to slam Trump.

He wrote: 'He (Trump) will not turn this loving, beautiful video to further his hate agenda.'

Late Wednesday, the DOJ revealed its plans to limit big tech platforms' legal protections from being sued.

On Wednesday the Justice Department unveiled proposals to limit big tech platforms' legal protections from being sued for moderating content - a move which follows Trump's accusations of conservatives being 'censored' by web giants.

The proposals from Attorney General Bill Barr's department would dilute the ability of internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, or Twitter to declare content 'objectionable' and remove or downplay it at will.

Conservatives claim that the platforms have used that protection to censor their views, including those of Trump, in an escalating row over what they say is an attempt to stifle their point of view.

But web giants say the sweeping immunities - which are encapsulated in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 are essential to the existence of the modern internet and deny anti-conservative bias.

The plans are outlined in a document which seeks to amend the act, meaning it is subject to both the House and the Senate taking up the proposals.

The Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to take up a Republican proposal and in the Senate it would need either to be tabled by Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader or forced on to the agenda with 60 votes, neither of which seem likely in an election year.

But pushing for reform is a key part of Trump and his administration's appeal to conservatives and would be used as a campaign pitch to vote for Republicans in House elections too.

Currently Section 230 protects internet platforms from being sued for virtually any content posted on them.

It also allows the platforms to freely remove or moderate content they declare 'objectionable' without any ability for those affected to seek redress.

There are no limits on what Google or others can call 'objectionable,' or requirement to explain in advance what they might define that way, or how.

In recent weeks platforms have used that power to remove posts about coronavirus and protests in the wake of George Floyd's deaths which they say spread false claims or fomented violence and racial division.

The DOJ's proposals would change the law to redefine 'objectionable' far more narrowly as material which is 'unlawful' or 'promotes terrorism.'

The DOJ said in its discussion document that this would end 'a platform's ability to remove content arbitrarily or in ways inconsistent with its terms or service simply by deeming it "objectionable."'

The second part of the change would say that removal or moderation of posts has to be in 'good faith,' meaning that any censorship was 'in accordance with plain and particular terms of service and accompanied by a reasonable explanation.'

Earlier this month, Twitter took down a Trump campaign video featuring images from the George Floyd protests due to a copyright claim.

The president reacted angrily, accusing Twitter of fighting hard for the Radical Left Democrats and waging a one-sided battle which he called illegal.

Trump also referenced Section 230.

Trump made the comments in a Twitter post linking to a news story about the decision by Twitter and Facebook to remove the clip.

Last month, Twitter placed fact-check warnings on two tweets from Trump's own account that called mail-in ballots 'fraudulent' and predicted problems with the November elections.

Under the tweets, there is now a link reading 'Get the facts about mail-in ballots' that guides users to a Twitter 'moments' page with fact checks and news stories about Trump's unsubstantiated claims.

Maxwell's father said the president was using the video to 'further his hate agenda'

It also demoted and placed a stronger warning on a third Trump tweet about Minneapolis protests that read, in part, that 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts.'

Michael D. Cisneros with his son Maxwell

Twitter said that the tweet had violated the platforms rules by glorifying violence.

Trump has long railed about perceived liberal bias among social media companies.

On May 28, Trump signed an executive order seeking to scrap legal protections for social media firms, which he has accused of political bias.

The order could open Twitter, Facebook and Google up to lawsuits by diluting the legal protection which stops them from being liable for posts on their platforms, and which also allows them to moderate content.

Trump's executive order said websites such as Twitter and Facebook 'wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events'.

Twitter said the order was a political move which attacked free speech.

Targets: Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook and Jack Dorsey's Twitter would see their protection from being sued if they censor particular points of view being diluted

Twitter posted a blue exclamation mark alert underneath two of Trump's tweets about potential for fraud with mail-in voting, a move that infuriated the president and led to the administration attempting to crack down on big tech companies

Earlier this month, the president accused Twitter of fighting hard for the Radical Left Democrats and waging a one-sided battle which he called illegal. Trump also referenced 'Section 230' - shorthand for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which protects social media companies from legal liability for content posted by third-party users of their platforms

The video shared by the Trump campaign Twitter account was disabled 'in response to a report by the copyright owner' the message in its place said

Trump initially posted this message to Twitter and Facebook just before 1am on May 29. The tweet was controversial due to the reference of 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts'

Facebook, which was severely criticized by many, including its own employees, for allowing the 'looting-shooting' post to remain unchanged, on Thursday removed political ads from Trump's campaign, saying they violated the company's policy against 'organized hate.'

The 88 ads featured an inverted red triangle, a symbol the Nazi's used to mark political prisoners in concentration camps during World War II, but the Trump campaign said it was simply an 'emoji.'

'We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate,' said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a statement.

'Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group's symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol.'

The Trump campaign said the red triangle was an 'antifa symbol.'

'The inverted red triangle is a symbol used by Antifa, so it was included in an ad about Antifa. We would note that Facebook still has an inverted red triangle emoji in use, which looks exactly the same, so it's curious that they would target only this ad,' Trump campaign director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

It was an unusual move by Facebook, which has tried to keep itself out of the debate on the responsibilities of social media platforms when it comes to disinformation and hate speech.

Trump shared the video on Thursday from a pro-Trump meme-making account that goes by the name CarpeDonktum.

The 88 ads featured an inverted red triangle, a symbol the Nazis used to mark political prisoners in concentration camps during World War II

Last year, the CarpeDonkum account was briefly suspended by Twitter after a video on the account depicted the president massacring a group of journalists and political opponents.

AG Bill Barr's Justice Department has unveiled plans to change the law after Donald Trump claimed conservative viewpoints are being stifled by web giants

The video was shown to a gathering of the president's supporters last October at Trump National Doral Miami.

The video, which was circulated on the internet by Trump supporters, is an edited version of the church massacre scene from the 2014 dark comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, starring Colin Firth.

It shows Trump's head superimposed on Firth's body as he walks into 'the church of fake news,' where the congregants represent major American news outlets like NBC, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, Politico, Vox, Vice News, The Hill, BuzzFeed News, and others.

Trump then goes on a killing rampage, using a gun and spear to shoot and stab the parishioners.
Photo: Getty

Irish airline Aer Lingus (IAG.L) has confirmed it will shed up to 500 jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cuts will see the loss of around 11% of the 4,500 workforce with the axing of up to 120 support area jobs, 100 ground crew, 50 maintenance staff and 230 pilots and cabin crew.

The carrier is also pressing ahead with plans to reduce pay by 70% until August after a possible deal with unions collapsed.

The company informed the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection of the proposed job cuts yesterday.

In a statement, the airline blamed the government for failing to take steps to protect the aviation industry.

"Ireland has failed to take steps that other European member states have taken - they have progressively restored transport services and connectivity in response to a European Commission invitation to do so," said the statement.

Aer Lingus has been flying just 5% of its normal schedule during the coronavirus outbreak and said it had no certainty of when services would be reinstated.

This week Aer Lingus had just eight aircraft operating passenger flights compared to 57 in the same week last year.

The 14-day quarantine for passengers arriving into Ireland and the official advice to avoid non-essential travel have exacerbated the situation in the Republic.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: What leave and flexible working are parents entitled to during the pandemic?

Staff were informed of the redundancies via a video message from chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty.

Outlining the unprecedented scale of the crisis, Moritaty said IATA had forecast the aviation sector will lose over 68bn ($84bn) this year with further losses of 13bn forecast for 2021.

The airline is now starting the required consultation process with trade unions.

In a statement, Forsa, which represents cabin crew, pilots and certain management staff in the company, said it would "enter discussions with the objective of minimising the number of job losses and protecting the incomes of Aer Lingus staff".

Meanwhile union SIPTU called for an urgent meeting with Aer Lingus and asked management to "step back from the planned lay-offs and further pay reductions it announced earlier this week."

READ MORE: Financial inequality: the ethnicity gap in pay, wealth and property
Attorney General Dappula de Livera slammed prison officials for allowing criminal activities to breed within the prisons when he visited the Welikada prison on Friday. Here he is seen with officials on a walkabout of the premises
CHENNAI: Vinod, as a weekend ritual, went to his usual chicken centre near his house to buy meat on Saturday morning. When he reached the centre, he was surprised to see that shop was shut. He stood clueless in front of the shop till he read a notice board hung in front of the shop: The shop is shut till the end of the month as per the order of Greater Chennai Corporation to deal with COVID-19 pandemic.

Disappointed by the sudden disappearance of meat from the market, he says he could have stored enough chicken meat in his refrigerator if he was made aware of the shutdown earlier. "Why the order is issued over night?," he asks in desperation.

Vinod is not an exception, but almost all non-vegetarians in the city have been irked by the decision of authorities to shut all slaughterhouses, meat centres and poultry shops during the current 12-day lockdown period that got underway on Friday, citing overcrowding at these outlets, especially during the weekends.

Adam Basha, who is a meat merchant at Adyar for the last two decades, has still not come to terms with the shutdown order that brought him loss of at least Rs 5,000 to 10,000 a day. "I dont know how to manage the situation as days to come. Government should compensate for the loss we have suffered. The sudden implementation of the order has affected not only the livelihood of my family but also the entire supply chain," he laments.

We used to buy meat directly from the slaughter houses and fish in bulk from traders at Kasimedu harbour. Now supply chain has crashed due to the ban," Zaheerudeen, a restaurant owner in Vepery, points out

Though non-vegetarian eateries that source chicken from poultry farms are able to supply chicken dishes alone, the business has become more difficult since the restaurants have to procure e-passes for the refrigerated trucks of the poultry farms to reach Chennai. The closure of the slaughter houses and mutton stalls has hit Biryani hotels that experience brisk business during weekends.

Muhammad Sahiya, a meat shop owner in Nungambakkom, says due to the ban he has got additional liability of taking care of four employees at his shop. He says his staff members were working at the shop with the daily wage Rs 700. "How can I pay them if I cant run the business? At the end of the day, we all are destined to suffer," he rues.

He also said that he came to know about the order only Thursday night as breaking news on the TV channels. He says he couldnt cancel the order given to meat suppliers from Andhra Pradesh, which has added additional burden on his business.

The ban would really hit us bad since we sell about 250 tonnes of fish every day. Now we are unable to export the catch to neighbouring states due to restriction in transport. Usually, we export 30 percent of the catch. Even vehicles from Chennai are not permitted into other districts of the state and cities like Bengaluru, which is our second market, according to Anthony Raj, member, Kasimedu Fishing Harbour Union.

A survey carried out by the Department of Meat Science and Technology, Madras Veterinary College, on meat and processed meat products in the city has revealed that the monthly average meat purchase for a household is 6.27kg. When it comes to fish consumption, it is 5.83kg per month. Most of the non-vegetarians in the town consume meat twice a week at home and at hotels, regardless of religion. And the average consumption of meat among the consumers in Chennai is well above the national per capita consumption, the survey report says.

The corporation officials say they imposed a ban as they did not want the meat and fish selling shops to emerge as hotspots like Koyambedu. It was police that suggested the closure of shops, say Corporation officials.
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has debunked allegations made by the Cross River State Government that the agency is shipping positive and negative test kits and cartridges into the state.

NCDC, in a statement issued on Saturday, said it was aware of recent statements regarding the countrys COVID-19 testing processes, by the Commissioners of Information and Health in Cross River State.

The Director General, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the statements by the Cross River Commissioners of Information and Health are a misinterpretation of the Federal Ministry of Healths COVID-19 testing strategy and efforts to protect the health of Nigerians from this disease.

We would like to state unequivocally, that there is no plan to transport positive samples from one state to the other.

One of our responsibilities at NCDC is to scale-up the capacity for COVID-19 diagnosis in Nigeria as we respond to this pandemic. Our ability to promptly detect cases and halt the spread of the virus in our communities, is largely dependent on our ability to scale-up access to testing for Nigerians, he said.

Allegations

The Commissioners of Information and Health in Cross River State, Asu Okang and Beta Edu, had, during the week, accused the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health of shipping positive and negative test kits and cartridges to Nigeria Navy Reference Hospital in Calabar, to violate the states COVID-19 free status.

Cross River is the only state in Nigeria that is yet to report any positive case of COVID-19. Nigeria has recorded 19, 147 confirmed cases with 487 deaths in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The accusation by the state was made the same day the lawmaker representing the Obudu State constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Godwin Akwaji, died of fever and other COVID-19 symptoms at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Isolation centre.

Daily Trust reported that Ms Edu, who doubles as chairman of the COVID-19 response team in the state, said the move was unacceptable and suspicious.

She said the government will resist any attempt to inflict on the state a COVID-19 index case through the pretence of conducting training to test cases.

The government also added that it will not allow the training on COVID-19 to hold or for the materials and equipment to enter the state.

They wondered why the federal government and NCDC should use the Navy hospital and not the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital or other open federal facilities for the training.

Mr Okang said the navy should also resist attempts to be used to transmit the virus to the people of the state, stressing that the navy already had a case of land grabbing, which had strained the relationship with the state government.

Defence

However, the NCDC, in its defence, said given its mandate to protect the health of all Nigerians, it is obliged to state the facts.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, NCDC has been leading the expansion of testing capacity for virus in the country.

The agency said it has been expanding testing capacity as part of the national strategy to scale up COVID-19 testing published in March 2020.

We are leveraging GeneXpert equipment currently used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

The use of GeneXpert will significantly scale-up testing for COVID-19 and improve turn-around time for results in the country, it stated.

Nigeria is one of many countries around the world using the GeneXpert system to scale up testing capacity.

According to the statement, the expansion process is in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), and supported by partners at US-CDC, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and others.

NCDC stated that there are 400 sites in Nigeria with GeneXpert equipment for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

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However, we have prioritised the roll-out of GeneXpert in states where there is a high level of community transmission and states with limited or no laboratory capacity for the diagnosis of COVID-19 at the moment.

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These are Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Lagos, Enugu, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Benue, and the FCT. Already, we have worked with NTBLCP and our partners to activate two GeneXpert laboratories in Kaduna and Nasarawa States.

Mr Ihekweazu said the agency plans to roll out the GeneXpert testing sites for COVID-19 in every state in Nigeria.

We remain strongly committed to our mandate to protect the health of Nigerians. We urge the public to remain aware of the risks of COVID-19 and to adhere to the preventive measures advised by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health, he added.
Research conducted by NORSAAC, a Civil Society Organization (CSO) in partnership with some coalition members has revealed that healthcare service providers in public facilities mostly charge illegal fees to serve clients.



The research, which was conducted under the coalition name Peoples Actions Against Corruption (PAAC) found that 97 per cent of patients and 96 per cent of healthcare workers sampled for the study indicated that petty corruption was widespread within the healthcare delivery system and 67 per cent of patients and 62 per cent of healthcare workers agreed that petty corruption is accepted as normal in the delivery of health care.



This was made known, in Tamale, when NORSAAC engaged some officials of the Northern Regional Health Directorate to disseminate the findings of the research and also discuss ways to curb the issue in health institutions.



The research, titled: Petty Corruption in Public Healthcare Delivery, was conducted in 24 health facilities within 13 districts in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions.



It focused on measuring the perception of patients and healthcare providers about petty corrupt practices in public health facilities and investigated the effects of such acts on the delivery of basic quality healthcare services.



Mr Issah Aminu Danaa, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at NORSAAC, who presented the findings, said about 66 per cent of patients sampled had experienced informal payments in health facilities they had visited for healthcare services.



Majority said they paid for services, which were covered by National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), paid before they could secure a hospital bed and made payments for services without being given official receipts for such transactions, he added.



Mr Danaa expressed worry that the situation undermined access to quality basic healthcare delivery to vulnerable groups, especially the poor and needy, pregnant women, Persons with Disability (PWD), and children.



He called on authorities to swiftly adopt measures to help curb the canker.



Health officials in responding to the issue of clients paying for services covered by the NHIS attributed it to high indebtedness of the scheme to service providers.



They also said there were little communication channels through which clients could lay complaints about such acts of illegal charging of fees, and advocated every health facility to develop a strong communication system to help clients report individuals who engaged in the act for actions to be taken against them.



That, he said, would help to combat the canker among healthcare providers, and guarantee clients quality services.

Source: GNA









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The BJP's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh has called for "revenge" against the Trinamool Congress after his party comes to power in the state, stoking a major political controversy.

In a snide reference to Mamata Banerjee's 2011 slogan of 'Bodla Noy, Bodol Chai' (change, not revenge), Ghosh recently shared a poster on his Facebook page that had a picture of him along with a slogan  'Bodlao Hobey, Bodolo Hobey', meaning that there will be change as well as revenge.

The slogan, with which Mamata Banerjee swept the state in the 2011 Assembly election and ousted the CPI(M)-led government, called for change without revenge as people feared that a change in regime after 34 years may lead to widespread political violence.

"The TMC came to power by saying no revenge, but in the last nine years, what they did was only pursuing vendetta politics against the opposition. More than 100 of our party workers were killed in the last few years. When we are voted to power we will take revenge against these anti-socials and corrupt officials, otherwise, people will not forgive us. We believe in paying back in the same coin," Ghosh said justifying his social media post.

Hitting out at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress said that such comments prove the "mentality" of the party.

"Only goons and BJP speak the language of revenge and violence. It's for the people of West Bengal to judge. The TMC doesn't believe in the politics of violence," the party's Secretary-General Partha Chatterjee said.

The BJP's state unit also seemed divided over Ghosh's comments as a section of party leaders feel such remarks would hurt their chances in the 2021 assembly polls.

Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy said violence would never be the path for the party as it believes in the politics of peace and development.

Ghosh has often courted controversy for his sneering comments.
Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 17, was administered with plasma therapy at the Max Hospital in Delhi's Saket on Friday. He is said to be feeling better and his conditon is reported to be stable.

Giving out the information on his health, Jain's office said, "He has no fever now, his health will be monitored at ICU over the next 24 hours."

Jain was earlier admitted at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi, where he had been diagnosed with pneumonia, he was later shifted to Max Hospital.

After reporting high-grade fever, and difficulty in breathing, Jain was admitted to the hospital where he underwent the coronavirus test which came out negative but the next day (June 17) he tested positive for the infection.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have wished him a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, AAP MLAs from Kalkaji and Patel Nagar, Atishi and Rajkumar Anand respectively, also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Elevators at the 25 Lac Trung apartment complex in Hanoi, in which a boy was touched on his genitals by a man in the same complex on June 17, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Truong.

Hanoi police have detained a 65-year-old man who has admitted to touching a young boys genitals in an elevator.

The boys age and identity have not been disclosed as a protective measure.

Duong The Hung is being detained at a police station in Hanois Hai Ba Trung District pending investigation into the incident.

Hung is a resident at the 25 Lac Trung apartment building in Vinh Tuy Ward.

On Wednesday night, a family living in the same complex reported that their son had been touched in his genitals by a man in an apartment elevator.

Police and building managers later identified the culprit as Hung.

Hung, who says he is a post graduate, has admitted to his action.

In a similar case this week in Hanoi, a man was caught by an elevator camera kicking a six-year-old boy in the genitals, before seeming to wave his leg close to the boys face.

The boys parents filed a police complaint after viewing camera footage from their apartment complex in Dai Mo Ward, Bac Tu Liem District.

Police are still working on the second case and there has been no update so far.

Adults engaging in any lewd or lascivious act with people under 16 face jail terms of six months to three years in Vietnam.
For the past few months, there has been growing dissent on imported Chinese products with the public due to the skirmish between the latter's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Indian forces in the easter border near Ladhak. With the recent clash resulting deaths of 20 army men, the tension between the two Asian titans is at an all-time high since the 1962 war.

And the noise has grown shriller with #BoycottChinaProducts on social media platforms. Coincidently, local brand Micromax has sounded battle bugle, hinting of a strong comeback.

For the past several weeks, Micromax was barely active on Twitter and occasionally came online on special days such as Mother's day, Eid-Ul-Fitr, Holi, and also tweeted a message to support PM Modi's call for Vocal for Local call and Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self Reliant India) campaign.

Several fans and people were seen tagging Micromax on Twitter asking for the latest update on whether the company has any plans for a 'Made in India' phone. To everyone's surprise, the official Twitter handle responded confirming the imminent launch of a new phone in the coming days and posted hashtags-- #Micromax #MadeByIndian #MadeForIndian.

The company has revealed that it has a plan to bring a feature-rich phone with a wallet-friendly price-tag.

"A device with premium features, thoroughly modern look and budget-friendly, how does that sound Nani Kishor? Stay tuned. #Micromax #MadeByIndian #MadeForIndian," Micromax India tweeted.

In the early part of the decade, Micromax was a force to reckon in India, but with the advent of Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus, and other Chinese phone-makers in 2014 and later, the local brand just couldn't take the onslaught and it got pushed to the oblivion.

Hi, Hitesh. Glad to see your support for #VocalForLocal

We are working hard internally and soon we will come up with something big. Stay tuned! #Micromax #MadeByIndian #MadeForIndian  Micromax India (@Micromax_Mobile) June 17, 2020

It should be noted that Micromax never went off the business, but barely managed to stay afloat with feature phones and ultra-affordable touch-screen mobiles in tier-2 and tier-3 regions.

Now, Micromax, like the proverbial rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, is set to challenge Chinese phone brands in India.

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cyber security and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.
June 19 is the date on which the last African Americans were informed they were freed from slavery 155 years ago.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in southern states in 1863, but the last enslaved people, located in the southcentral U.S. state of Texas, did not get word of their freedom until 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in the city of Galveston.

The next year, former slaves began celebrating in Galveston what is called Juneteenth, a melding of June and 19th. The celebrations eventually spread to other U.S. states and other countries such as Ghana, South Korea and Israel.

Some U.S. states, including Virginia and New York, have designated Juneteenth as paid holidays for state workers. Some corporations have also given employees the day off.

Groups have scaled back traditional parades and concerts across the U.S. this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, favoring, instead, socially distanced and virtual observances.

Other groups are engaging in peaceful protests, voter registration drives and campaigns to promote black-owned businesses.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a statement Friday Juneteenth is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nations unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness.


The ruling classes worldwide are seizing upon the COVID-19 pandemic to restructure the capitalist economy, slashing hundreds of thousands of jobs, benefits and social conditions. After French President Emmanuel Macron announced a 15 billion aerospace industry bailout, Air France-KLM is preparing to slash thousands of jobs after having received 7 billion in state funding.

Major European corporations deemed to be strategic are being restructured based on the 1.35 trillion in money printed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the 500 billion French state bailout to boost profits by slashing jobs. After tens of thousands of jobs were cut in the auto industry including at Renault and Nissan, it is the airlines turn. British Airways is cutting 12,000 jobs and Ryanair is preparing 3,000 job cuts. Lufthansa wants to cut 22,000 full-time and 4,000 part time jobs. Airbus is to cut over 10,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce.

Wednesday morning, the Air France-KLM board was brought together by president Anne-Marie Couderc and CEO Benjamin Smith. It announced a record loss of 1.8 billion in the first quarter, although in that period, air traffic was seriously impacted only in March.

The daily Liberation reported that Air France-KLM is paying not only for the stupendous collapse of its revenues, because most of its planes are stuck on the ground, but also for the low price of petroleum. It had agreed to buy kerosene in advance at a price which is now well above the market price after the collapse of oil markets due to the pandemic. Now it is sitting unused, leaving a 500 million hole in the corporations bottom line.

The very gradual regrowth of air traffic does not help Air France-KLM: its flights to America, Asia and Africa are the most profitable but they are generating no revenue because the European Unions (EU) Schengen zone borders are closed. The company anticipates massive losses in coming quarters.

It has announced cuts in investment from 3.6 billion to 2.4 billion, including cancelling the purchase of three long-range Airbus jets this year. But the cost-cutting measures will affect jobs the most brutally. According to Liberation, during the corporate board meeting, the two representatives of the French state did not make even the slightest comment when the plans for job cuts were announced.

Smith did not announce any specific figures, but he reportedly plans to slash jobs in administrative services and in Air Frances regional flights. Its regional subsidiary Hop is to see the number and volume of flights cut by half. According to a member of management who spoke anonymously, 6,000 to 10,000 jobs will be cut out of 80,000 total.

Aerospace workers, like autoworkers, are not responsible for the losses in these industries, nor for the pandemic. The hundreds of billions of euros forked over to the banks and big corporations must go to save jobs and boost wages and benefits, through the nationalization of firms under workers control at the European and international level. This requires a political struggle by the working class, aiming to take power, expropriate the financial aristocracy and build the United Socialist States of Europe.

To fight the attacks now being planned, workers need to build their own action committees, independently of the unions and their political allies to organize a political struggle against Macron and the EU.

Workers at Air France-KLM must be warned that the state, Air France and the union bureaucracies are negotiating attacks behind their backs. All are agreed upon the plan to slash jobs. The unions did not try to mobilize workers to take strike action against job cuts, because they are already negotiating them outright with Benjamin Smith and the rest of management. Air France-KLM workers already have a long experience with the treachery of Air France unions.

Already in 2014, Air France workers faced several corporate restructuring plans slashing several thousand jobs and cutting wages, with the complicity of the National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) and the Stalinist General Confederation of Labor (CGT) unions. That year, Air France pilots struck for 14 days against plans to develop a low-cost subsidiary, Transavia. The strike not only cost the company hundreds of millions of euros but staggered the unpopular government of then French President Francois Hollande.

Like Hollandes social-democratic government, the unions feared that this strike, which enjoyed broad popular support, could encourage broader strike action in the working class.

Manuel Valls, the social democratic prime minister, intervened to demand the end of the strike, which the SNPL rapidly did, claiming that it is our duty to preserve the companys future and to bandage its wounds before irreparable damage is done.

In 2018, as French rail workers struck against Macrons rail privatization plan, Air France workers also took strike action alongside students protesting university reform plans. Air France unions ended the strike, however, after Smith was named CEO, to avoid a broader political movement against Macron that would have escaped the unions control. This allowed the unions to isolate striking rail workers from other layers of workers, ensuring passage of the rail privatization and preparing Macrons pension cuts.

Now, amid the pandemic, the unions are preparing another attack on the members they claim to represent. They will try to play different sections of the workforce against each other to divide Air France-KLM workers, as a pilot with a long trade union record told Liberation: Benjamin Smith has ceaselessly told us in French and in English that we are the leaders of the company. The pilots are won over by his rhetoric, especially given that he knows air transport much better than his predecessors at the head of the company.

Despite what this union official claims, pilots will also be impacted by layoffs and will oppose the corporations cost-cutting plans. The defence of their jobs and working conditions requires unifying their struggle with those of other layers of workers in the corporation. Indeed, this declaration signifies in the final analysis that the SNPL will not try to mobilize the pilots, in order to divide and weaken the Air France-KLM workers struggle.

The period since 2018 has seen many social struggles organized independently of the unions, like those of the yellow vests in France or of Portuguese nurses. Now it is essential to organize struggles independently of the unions, in committees of action, to defend jobs and wages internationallythus including workers both at Air France and at the Dutch firm KLMthreatened by social attacks caused by the pandemic.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Jingoism and calls for a boycott of Chinese goods will not help India in dealing with China post the May 15/16 standoff at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in which India lost 20 soldiers, including a commanding officer, said Dr Gunjan Singh, assistant professor, Jindal Law School, OP Jindal Global University and former Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) research fellow on China.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, she said recent skirmishes between India and China on the Line of Actual Control have "changed the fragile balance of this relationship. It has resulted in further strengthening of the already extreme nationalistic feelings on both sides. This has also intensified the anti-China feelings within India and added to the mistrust for China (1962 war)," said the academician.

"New Delhi and Beijing had worked long and hard to reach a fine equilibrium, where both sides had robust economic relations though not-so-warm political interactions. The unresolved border issue always had the potential to sidetrack the economic developments. It is no surprise that there are massive calls for boycotting Chinese goods within India," she added.

The Indians are displaying their anger with China and many have given a call to boycott Chinese goods.

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"This is not a possibility and is only a knee-jerk reaction. The breaking of the TV sets, mobile phones are not going to harm China economically. The Indian government needs a new and nuanced strategy to counter the aggressive neighbour," she said.

Dr Gunjan also felt "the government should have invested its resources in developing and nurturing domestic manufacturing units. It should have pushed for greater innovation and more research."

India bids farewell to its 20 bravehearts who lost their lives in the #IndiaChinaFaceOff. Here is a list of their names, details of hometowns and their stories in brief. pic.twitter.com/SJ45pl0dNy  The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 18, 2020

"The only possible way, in the long term, is that New Delhi develops its domestic capabilities. Innovation and technology are among the major paths to counter the inroads which Chinese companies have made in India. It is the failure of the Indian establishment that most of our manufacturing has vanished or shifted to China," the assistant professor added.

She stressed that India should "start engaging with countries like Japan, South Korea, Vietnam in order to counter the Chinese influence in East and South East Asia. Increasing engagement with Taiwan will also be an important step.

"The most logical option would be to tune the foreign policy in a direction which counters Chinese influence in South Asia as well. Limited military posturing, which can be contained if need be can also be applied," she said.

"We need to change the narrative in the country and move out of the 1962 mindset. There is a need to engage China on an equal footing. Both countries have mutated a lot since then. We lost to China in 1962 and I feel that defeat still haunts us," said the researcher.

"Beijing's massive investments in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan have helped it make inroads in the foreign policy of these countries. This has thus alienated New Delhi in its most natural sphere of influence. India has a lot to gain from regional prosperity. While it would be wrong to say that India can match China 'project by project', New Delhi can use its proximity, historical linkages, benign image to leverage the ongoing anti-China sentiments in the post-COVID era," said Dr Gunjan.

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Woman wears a face mask on a London bus - REUTERS

Many commuters are wearing face masks and coverings incorrectly, putting themselves and others at risk, scientific advisers have warned.

While almost nine in 10 people state that they are following official rules on wearing face coverings on public transport, many are unwittingly flouting guidance on how to use them, according to experts advising the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

Prof Susan Michie, a member of the Sage sub-group on behavioural science, called for a national campaign to "train" the population on how to use masks and other face coverings, akin to the instructions issued by the Government on hand-washing, in March. Dr Ben Killingley, a consultant in infectious diseases, who sits on Sage's environmental working group, said he agreed on the need for a public campaign. Face coverings were likely to "be around for a while" and "we're not as used to them as other countries," he said.

Guidelines on the gov.uk website state: "Do not touch the front of the face covering, or the part of the face covering that has been in contact with your mouth and nose. Once removed, make sure you clean any surfaces the face covering has touched." The guidelines also state that coverings, which include bandanas and those made from t-shirts, should cover the mouth and nose, and be immediately placed into a plastic bag once used.

But Prof Michie warned that many members of the public appeared unaware of the guidelines on how to use face coverings safely. Instead, people appear to often pull their coverings below their nose, and holding the front of the items to remove them, rather than just using the straps or ties behind their head. Experts have warned that the front of used masks could be contaminated, meaning that removing them incorrectly could spread coronavirus to the wearer's fingers and surfaces in their homes or workplaces.

Prof Michie said: "Anytime one goes out and around in parks and down the street this is the sort of thing you see."

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She added: "What you could easily have is two small bags rather like those sort of plastic airplane bags. One is for a clean mask and one is for the dirty mask. And you have your dirty bag, and that gets tipped straight into hot soapy water and washed when you get home.

"But it won't have occured to people to do that. I find it quite frustrating when there are such small things that could be done to help suppress this virus and they're not being done. They are opportunities wasted."

The warnings come as a poll found that 88 per cent of people who took public transport last week say that they wore a mask or face covering in line with government guidance. The survey of 2,000 adults, by Redfield & Wilton Strategies also found that 81 per cent of people supported the decision to make face coverings compulsory on public transport. A majority (51 per cent) said the Government should extend the rule to all confined public spaces, compared to 30 per cent who disagreed.

But Prof Michie said "observational data" was needed to provide empirical evidence on how different people were wearing coverings in different settings, including on public transport and in workplaces, given the extent to which they appeared to be used incorrectly.

She added: "I think the main thing is that where you have a behaviour that requires some kind of skill, and some kind of routine and procedure to make it effective, then usually it's not enough to say do this, ie transmit knowledge, which is what we've had so far, but we also need to have training.

"If it's a question of skills, ie the behaviour surrounding the putting on, off and wearing of then it does require skills training, not just awareness and knowledge generation."

Should the Government launch a national campaign to 'train' the public on how to properly wear a face mask? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: South Asian groups in the US have welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to temporarily protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme that prevents deportation of people who entered the country illegally as children, many of whom are Indians.

The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump's effort to end legal protections for nearly 700,000 young immigrants, a stunning rebuke to him in the midst of his re-election campaign.

Describing this as a major victory, South Asian Americans Leading Together or SAALT said that this is temporary because it still gives the administration an opportunity to terminate the programme again on legal grounds.

"Although it is conditional, today's victory is welcome at a time when the war on Black communities feels endless," said Lakshmi Sridaran, SAALT's executive director.

The DACA programme created by President Barack Obama in 2012 prevents deportation of people who arrived in the US as minors.

The policy was rescinded by President Trump in September but has given the Congress to come out with a policy in six months' time on the fate of nearly 700,000 individuals, many of whom are Indian or South Asian descent.

"It is a reminder that our work is not done, but together we can win. We have to keep demanding solutions that benefit us all - including pushing for a permanent, legislative solution that ensures a path to citizenship for all immigrants, defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the police, and investing in communities, which are pillars of the Movement for Black Lives policy agenda," she said.

SAALT said that the decision means that hundreds of thousands of young people, including over 4,000 South Asian DACA recipients, can continue to live, work, and study in the US without fear of deportation.

"Until the Trump administration responds, people can continue to renew applications for DACA and will soon be able to submit new applications," SAALT said.

In a statement, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) hailed the US Supreme Court decision regarding blocking an attempt by the Trump administration to end legal protections for over 650,000 young immigrants, known as DACA programme.

"Court's decision is being welcomed in the immigrant's community throughout the United States and is seen as a blow to a central campaign promise from Trump and a likely topic for the 2020 presidential election," NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal said.

SAALT joins immigrant justice groups across the country in advocating that Members of Congress pass a permanent solution that helps rather than harms immigrants and communities of colour, SAALT said in a statement.

More than 200,000 DACA essential workers  including 41,700 health care workers  are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the bare minimum, any new legislation, including COVID-19 related stimulus packages, should include reprieve from deportation and extensions of DACA and TPS work permits and protection, the statement said.

In the 5-4 court decision on DACA on Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the government failed to give an adequate justification for ending the federal programme, the NBC News reported.

The administration could again try to shut it down by offering a more detailed explanation for its action, but the White House might not want to end such a popular programme in the heat of a presidential campaign.

The court's decision does not prevent the Trump administration from working to rescind the DACA programme in the future, meaning the fate of the deportation reprieve could be decided by voters in the November general election, The Hill reported.

Moments after the decision came down, Trump lashed out at the court.

The president later tweeted, "These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives," and asked, "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?" He also said recent court decisions showed the need for new justices, adding that he would release a list of potential nominees by September 1.

However, the decision was widely met with praise from various Democratic lawmakers, business leaders, immigrants and advocacy groups, the NBC news reported.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called the ruling a victory that was made possible by the courage and resilience of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who bravely stood up and refused to be ignored," it said.

Biden, vowed, if elected, to "immediately work to make it permanent by sending a bill to Congress on Day One of my administration."

Apple CEO Tim Cook also lauded the decision, tweeting, "We're glad for today's decision and will keep fighting until DACA's protections are permanent."
The Chhattisgarh government will try to provide employment to migrant labourers who have returned from other states due to the lockdown, in state-run power companies depending on their skills, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

In a review meeting held on Friday, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also discussed a proposal on reorganising five power companies into three, the government spokesperson said.

Baghel told officials that migrant workers returning to the state should be given employment as per their skills at power sub-stations or in works related to power line expansion and construction in electricity firms, he said.

If necessary, migrant labourers can be given requisite training to upgrade their skills and put into work on a priority basis, so that they can get employment, the official quoted the CM as saying.

Baghel also held an extensive discussion on the proposal to restructure five power companies into three, the spokesperson said.

The erstwhile Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) was reorganised into five companies for distribution, generation, transmission, trading and holding in 2009.

The CM, meanwhile, expressed resentment over the rebate being given to consumers being not displayed on their power bills.

Various issues including transmission loss, status of under-construction sub-stations, proposed sub-stations, category-wise pending payment of electricity bills to name a few, were also discussed during the meeting, he said.

Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Managing Director Mohammed Qaiser Abdulhaque informed the meeting that due to the lockdown, revenue in the month of April recorded a deficit of Rs 212 crore. It is expected to increase to Rs 1,510 crore by October, he said.

The official also informed that 69 extra high tension sub-stations and transmission lines were installed in the last three years to reduce the transmission loss.

An amount of Rs 6324.62 crore is pending against bills from different categories of consumers, the meeting was told.
Kid Rock's popular Nashville bar has temporarily lost its beer license due to COVID-19 related safety violations.

The Metropolitan Beer Permit Board issued Kid Rock's Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse a five-day suspension after it broke guidelines last weekend by serving customers at the bar, as reported by the Tennesssean on Monday.

According to local COVID-19 guidelines, patrons cannot be seated or served at a public bar during the current second phase of reopening guidelines

Whoops: Kid Rock's popular Nashville bar has temporarily lost its beer license due to COVID-19 related safety violations

Phase three will allow for half-capacity seating at the bar.

'They were in violation of two points of the order that states bar areas must remain closed to the public. No interaction with the public is allowed, and alcohol can only be served at tables and booths,' explained inspector Melvin Brown in an interview with the Tennesssean.

Kid Rock's Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse co-owner Steve Smith stated that he was unhappy with the fine and called the Nashville government 'communist'.

'The Nashville government is, like, communist. They've got us behind a Berlin Wall. We met with Mayor Cooper and the doctors weeks ago and explained how having bar service is safer than table service,' Smith fumed.

Cited: The Metropolitan Beer Permit Board issued Kid Rock's Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse a five-day suspension after it broke guidelines last weekend by serving customers at the bar, as reported by the Tennesssean on Monday

Crazy crowds: Officials were first made aware of the establishment's violations when a photo (not pictured above) depicting 'crammed crowds' began circulating on social media

'They're doing everything they can to put us out of business. The state of Tennessee is already in Phase four and they're talking about holding us in Phase two. It's against our constitutional rights.'

Officials were first made aware of the establishment's violations when a photo depicting 'crammed crowds' began circulating on social media.

The director of the Metro Public Health Department, Dr. Michael Caldwell, paid a visit to 'Kid Rocks on Saturday night after receiving a complaint about the bar on Friday night' and issued the citation on site.

Kid Rock's Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse was one of 13 Nashville businesses cited 'for being out of compliance with coronavirus public health orders.'
The Socialist Equality Party (Australia) will hold an online lecture this Tuesday, June 23, on the role played by the protracted struggle against Pabloite opportunism in the development of the socialist and internationalist perspective advanced by the world Trotskyist movement.

The lecture will review the international political context of the emergence of Pabloism, a national-opportunist tendency within the Fourth International. This included the suppression of revolutionary struggles of the working class by the Stalinist bureaucracies in the wake of World War II and a capitalist boom established on the basis of the rise to global preeminence of American capitalism.

Pabloism, named after its founder Michel Pablo, attacked the fundamental perspective that had been advanced by Leon Trotsky and upon which the Russian Revolution had been carried out. Pablo and his supporters rejected Trotskys characterisation of Stalinism as counter-revolutionary through and through, instead envisaging a process of bureaucratic self-reform.

In practice, this meant the liquidation of the sections of the Fourth International and their entry into the existing mass movements, regardless of whether they were led by Stalinism, social-democratic or openly right-wing forces. This program expressed the rejection by layers of the middle class of bedrock conceptions of Marxism, including the revolutionary role of the working class and the necessity for the construction of an independent revolutionary leadership.

The lecture will outline the significance of the Open Letter issued by James P Cannon in November, 1953. It rallied Trotskyists internationally to a struggle against Pabloite revisionism and established the International Committee of the Fourth International, which today publishes the WSWS.

The lecture will be delivered by Zac Hambides, a member of the SEP (Australia) national committee.

The event, which is part of a series of six weekly lectures, is on the Zoom platform at 7 p.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time), June 23. To participate, download the app or join on a web browser, and click on this link before the lecture begins:

https://zoom.us/j/93133486986
MLive Media Group has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to readers ahead of 2020 elections.

Starting Saturday, June 20, information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races for the Aug. 4 primary election will be available via Vote411.org - the election-information website run by the League of Women Voters. MLive and LWV have partnered in the past to develop a voter guide which offers candidates the opportunity to introduce themselves and explain their policy platforms.

The effort is meant to help readers make an informed decision in an important round of elections. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government.

Its a longstanding tradition of our company to provide essential information about political candidates to the voters of Michigan, said John Hiner, vice president of content for MLive Media Group. We are pleased to continue our voter guide partnership in the 2020 election cycle with the League of Women Voters, which has a great reputation for keeping citizens informed about candidates and their stands on critical issues.

Vote411 was launched in 2006 by the national League of Women Voters as a one-stop-shop for nonpartisan election information and responses to relevant questions for federal and state races and ballot proposals. Candidate information for some local races and proposals is also included. The website is available in Spanish and also assists voters in finding their polling locations, hours and learning about candidate forums.

The VOTE411.org website aligns with the Michigan League of Women Voters mission to advance democracy in Michigan by ensuring every person has the knowledge needed to participate, said Christina Schlitt, president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan. This website is a one-stop-shop for everything voters need to know about upcoming elections, presented in an easy-to-understand, nonpartisan way.

The website has added important resources on how to navigate elections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the election cycle, MLive will publish stories and information on statewide and federal races across the state, as well as on local candidates in the areas of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Bay City, Saginaw and Flint. MLive will also print a voter guide ahead of the November general election in its 8 print publications across the state.
New Delhi, June 20 : The government is going all out to ensure that liquidity concerns of the MSME sector are addressed on priority under its Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).

As of June 18, 2020, public sector banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 40,416 crore under the 100 per cent Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, out of which Rs 21,028.55 crore has already been disbursed.

There has been a big jump in disbursement over the week as the amount was just around Rs 16,000 crore on June 12. Even sanctions have increased rapidly during the period rising up by over Rs 8,000 crore.

In a tweet, the office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: "As of 18 June 2020, #PSBs have sanctioned loans worth Rs 40,416 crore under the 100 per cent Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, out of which Rs 21,028.55 crore has already been disbursed." The ECLGS scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Self-Reliant India Mission package announced by Sitharaman last month.

To ensure that the scheme achieve its objective of providing adequate liquidity to the MSME segment during the current difficult period, the finance ministry has regularly held meetings with the banks.

After PSBs, the government is also prodding the private banks to increase loans under the scheme. As part of this, Sitharaman on Monday chaired a meeting with Private banks and NBFCs to take stock of their preparedness to provide liquidity to the sector.

The Rs 21,000 crore disbursement has been made to a wide spectrum of MSMEs covering 5,81,296 accounts. Country's largest lender State Bank of India has been on the forefront of releasing loans under the scheme while industries in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been the biggest beneficiaries.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 22:07:01|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 286,141 as of Saturday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose from 275,323 on Friday afternoon to 286,141 as of Saturday afternoon.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the death toll from the pandemic also rose from 7,395 on Friday to 7,693 as of Saturday afternoon.

The Africa CDC, which noted that the virus had spread into 54 African countries, said that some 132,412 people who were infected with COVID-19 had recovered across the continent as of the stated period.

Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the African continent, the highly affected African countries include South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, as well as Algeria, it was noted.

When population is taken into consideration, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea, are reporting the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population within the continent, according to the Africa CDC.

The Africa CDC also said that the Southern Africa region is now the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, overtaking the Northern Africa region. Western Africa region is the third-most affected area in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to figures from the Africa CDC, during the past week, some 55,612 new COVID-19 cases have been reported across the continent, which the Africa CDC said has registered a 27 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases compared to what was reported in the previous week.

Five countries account for 63 percent of the new COVID-19 cases reported over the past week that are South Africa with 34 percent, Egypt with 16 percent, Nigeria with 6 percent, Ghana with 4 percent, and Cameroon with 3 percent, it said.

Earlier this week, the Africa CDC revealed that some 43 African countries are under full border closure due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, according to the Africa CDC.

In addition to the 43 countries under full border closure, night-time curfew has been activated across 35 countries in an effort to halt the spread of the infectious virus. Enditem
New Delhi:

An Indian soldier on Thursday strayed across the border with Pakistan amid rising tensions following a surgical strike India said it carried out against terror launchpads.

Interestingly, the report in Dawn News that claimed that eight Indian soldiers were killed was taken off from its website in the night. Earlier, Dawn paper had also reported that an Indian soldier had been captured and was identified as 22-year-old Sepoy Chandu BabuLal Chavan son of Bashan Chavan from Maharashtra.

Indian Army sources, however, said, one soldier from 37 RR with weapon has inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control. Pakistan has been informed by the DGMO on the hotline.

The sources said his crossing over was not related to the surgical strikes. Such inadvertent crossing by Army and civilians are not unusual on either side. They are returned through existing mechanisms, they said.

A source in the Northern Command also indicated that Chohan was an army deserter. The Dawn report said he has been shifted to an undisclosed location.

The report also had said, The dead bodies of the Indian soldiers are still to be recovered by the Indian forces as they lay unattended at the LoC.

Read More | Indian Army's surgical strike across LoC: Highlights, top quotes, 10 big points, reactions, everything you need to know

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi, June 20 : Village, villagers and migrants - the tone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of Rs 50,000 cr Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan Yojna - a rural mega job scheme targeted at returnee migrant workers was loud and clear.

Hailing the role played by villages in successfully containing the spread of coronavirus, the Prime minister acknowledged, "India is a country with more than 6 lakh villages, where more than two-thirds of its population, which is about 80-85 crore people, lives. The rural India has effectively prevented the spread of infection. This population is even more than that of all the countries of Europe."

The scheme which is aimed at the returnee migrant workers is a massive rural public employment scheme which seeks to provide livelihood opportunities to them along with other rural citizens.

Modi, addressing the migrant labourers, remarked, "The country understands your emotions as well as your needs. Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan starting from Khagaria, Bihar is a major tool to fulfil that very need."

Joining the video conference, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "During the lockdown, I interacted through video conference with labourers in different districts after they returned to the state. I realised that they don't want to go elsewhere for work".

The migrant crisis emerged as a political headache for the BJP-JDU combine in the state which will go to polls later this year. This scheme is expected to address much of its socio-economic concerns.

At least 25,000 migrant workers who returned home in the wake of the pandemic will be benefited in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. UP and Bihar took the bulk of the load of the reverse migration.

The scheme that seeks to give means to the migrant workers to earn a living will involve intensified implementation of 25 different types of works which in turn will create rural infrastructure.

PM Modi also mentioned about the investment of Rs 1 lakh cr for building cold storage facilities to preserve agricultural produce. He also urged them to wear masks and maintain basic hygiene while going to work.

The Prime Minister began his address by remembering the sacrifice of our martyrs. "Everyone is proud of Bihar Regiment's valour. Each and every Bihari is very proud of it," he said.

The bulk of the fatalities and injury in the India-China violent clash was from Bihar regiment, which also lost its Commanding Officer Colonel B. Santosh Babu.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Crowds gather outside Holland Village restaurants on first night of Phase 2 reopening. (PHOTO: SG Covidiots/Facebook)

SINGAPORE  British Indian Curry Hut, the restaurant which allowed large crowds to gather outdoors at Holland Village on Friday night (19 June)  the first night of Singapores Phase 2 reopening  has been ordered to close with immediate effect.

All outdoor refreshment areas (ORA) along Lorong Mambong will also be removed. Food-and-beverage outlets along this stretch of Holland Village will have to ensure that their customers dine only within their premises, and are not eating or drinking outside.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post on Saturday that, while the majority of businesses and individuals are cooperating with the measures to resume activities safely after the COVID-19 circuit breaker period, a few are acting very irresponsibly.

They will be taken to task, said Wong, who is also the co-chairman of the multi-ministry taskforce against COVID-19.

He said that authorities were alerted to large crowds gathering in Holland Village on Friday night. Based on their inspections, the crowds were largely gathering outside the British Indian Curry Hut restaurant. Photos of the crowds were circulated in social media.

Enforcement officers have also issued fines to several individuals in the vicinity last night for violating safe distancing rules, he said in the Facebook post. Investigations are ongoing for other possible breaches.

Patrols in popular nightspots

Wong said that enforcement officers will continue their patrols islandwide, especially in popular nightspots, and will take immediate actions against any individuals or business flouting the safe distancing rules.

Individuals who flout the rules will be fined, even if its a first offence, and egregious cases will be charged and prosecuted in court. Those holding work passes risk having their passes revoked.

Likewise, any business operator who is unable to comply with the safe management measures will be ordered to close, and will face possible penalties and charges.

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I call on all business operators to do the right thing. Theres no point rushing to open, only to fall short of the new safe management requirements, Wong said in his Facebook post. You will end up with further closures and disruptions for your business.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Latest infected inmate not linked to previous cases at Changi Prison

COVID-19: Screening of dormitory wastewater effective, more testing to be done

Singapore Pools to resume lottery draws, open retail outlets from 22 June

Congregation activities can resume with 50-person limit at places of worship from 26 June
Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.



Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

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Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 23:26:41|Editor: huaxia

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DOHA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's health ministry on Saturday announced 1,026 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 86,488.

"Some 1,345 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 66,763, while one died, increasing the fatalities to 94," the official Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry.

A total of 317,694 persons in Qatar have undergone lab tests for COVID-19 so far, it added.

China and Qatar have offered mutual help during the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

On Feb. 21, five Qatar Airways cargo freighters flew to China carrying approximately 300 tons of medical supplies donated by the airline. Enditem
A South Jacksonville business owner is thanking her customers after they helped her survive the COVID-19-related shutdown and celebrate her shops 15th anniversary.

Mary Ring, owner of Just Like New resale and consignment shop at 202 E. Greenwood Ave., bought the store in 2005 and didnt change much  except the buildings exterior. The red store is no longer red.

Over the next 14-plus years, Ring ran the store as a one-woman operation, selling used clothing, toys and other items  until the statewide stay-at-home order took effect in mid-March in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

I could not sleep that night, Ring said. So I drove over to the store at 9 p.m. and made 80 bags and tore up the store. I was crying the whole night in the store thinking, Oh, gosh, this isnt how I wanted to end my career.

March brought with it another big moment, the one when Ring realized the stores 15th anniversary was approaching on May 16.

The realization sent Ring into survival mode, posting merchandise photos online and selling curbside for three months until pandemic-related restrictions began to ease.

The response to her curbside effort was so good that it created another problem for Ring  she was running out of merchandise to sell with little way of restocking. A request for donations took care of the problem.

That about killed me because Ive always been the person to help the community for 15 years, Ring said, crediting her customers and their generosity with saving her little business over the course of three months.

One of the perks of her business is that shes met so many wonderful people through it, she said, adding her thanks for their support.
The 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse is going to occur on June 21, 2020, and Australia, like many other countries of the world, will witness this annular Solar Eclipse. During the Solar Eclipse in Australia, 86.31 per cent of the sun will be covered by the moon. It is a known fact that this marvellous celestial phenomenon occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun. Read this article to find out the Solar eclipse time in Australia.

We have a "ring of fire" solar eclipse this weekend on June 21st  those of us in the US can't view it, but it can be viewed in South/East Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.https://t.co/m2SCnTIM57. pic.twitter.com/Y4yDEGok2S  Candie (@candiej__) June 17, 2020

ALSO READ | COVID-19: Chennai-based scientist believes solar eclipse is linked to pandemic

Solar Eclipse time in Australia

The Solar Eclipse in Australia will be visible from the northern part of the country. In the northern Australian city of Darwin, the eclipse will last for 57 minutes. The solar eclipse time here is from 5:33 pm to 6:30 pm. Stargazers and astrophiles will have the best opportunity to witness the Solar Eclipse in Australia from Cape York and Darwin.

ALSO READ | Solar Eclipse 2020 to take place on June 21 and will be visible from parts of north India

Solar Eclipse June 2020

The Annular Solar Eclipse occurs in every one or two years and is named, the Ring of Fire' due to the fiery glow that appears on the edges to the moon. The bright orange ring that is formed around the moon is known as an Annulus. Hence, the eclipse is named as Annular Solar Eclipse.

ALSO READ | June Eclipse Season 2020: Earth to witness Annular Solar Eclipse & another Lunar Eclipse

According to the reports on a science portal, the first place on Earth to witness eclipse will be near the town of Impfondo in the northeastern Republic of the Congo. The solar eclipse time here will be 5:47 a.m. local time, which is just a few minutes after sunrise. The path of the Solar Eclipse will go northeast from Republic of Congo to South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. It will then cross the Red Sea into the Arabian Peninsula. Its trajectory will then include Pakistan, northern India, and southern China before reaching Taiwan. Taiwan will be the last place to witness the solar eclipse of June 2020.

ALSO READ | Solar Eclipse timings: When does the Annular Solar Eclipse start and end?

Dos and Donts during Solar Eclipse in Australia

Here are the Do's and Donts for witnessing the Solar Eclipse in Australia and other countries around the world.

Donts

Dont look directly at the Sun during the eclipse and even otherwise, without wearing proper eye protection.

Dont look at the Sun via sunglasses of any type or with filters made from photographic film.

Dont fit any filter to the telescope without first checking it thoroughly for damage. If you find that it is scuffed, scratched, or has pinholes in it, dont use it at all.

Dos
(Photo : Screenshot from: Ansel Elgort's Instagram Account ) [BREAKING] Ansel Elgort Cancelled? Actor Allegedly Sexual Assault 17-Year-Old Teenager (Photo : Photo by @anthonydan10 on Twitter ) [BREAKING] Ansel Elgort Cancelled? Actor Allegedly Sexual Assault 17-Year-Old Teenager (Photo : Photo by @anthonydan10 on Twitter ) [BREAKING] Ansel Elgort Cancelled? Actor Allegedly Sexual Assault 17-Year-Old Teenager (Photo : Photo by @anthonydan10 on Twitter ) [BREAKING] Ansel Elgort Cancelled? Actor Allegedly Sexual Assault 17-Year-Old Teenager (Photo : Photo by @anthonydan10 on Twitter ) [BREAKING] Ansel Elgort Cancelled? Actor Allegedly Sexual Assault 17-Year-Old Teenager

The Twitterverse mobbed before the weekend as "Baby Driver" actor Ansel Elgort is attacked over an alleged sexual assault issue.

A woman on Twitter posted a story of when she was a 17-year-old teenager, claiming that some man named "Ansel" sexually assaulted her. After this issue, Elgort also now faces "racist" claims. The actor has not yet responded to the issue.





Why is Ansel Elgort trending now on Twitter?

On Friday, June 19, a Twitter user named "gabby," who did not reveal her last name, posted a notepad of her story describing how she was raped and sexually assaulted by a famous actor.

The actor, said to be 26-year-old Ansel Elgort, famous for movies "The Fault in our Stars" and "Divergent" was the main suspect behind the reported sexual assault.

As narrated by "gabby," it was six years ago when the sexual assault happened. She was 17 years old, a minor. At the time, Ansel was 20 years old.

Gabby said that she DMed the actor on Twitter since she was a huge fan. Ansel reportedly gave his personal Snapchat account and that's when their conversation started. This led to meeting in-person which is when the sexual abuse allegedly happened.

However, according to Gabby, she was still a virgin at the time and "was sobbing in pain" when the incident occurred. She mentioned this to Ansel but the actor reportedly said, "we need to break you in."

Ansel even allegedly invited her to "dance friends" who were also minors, to have a threesome with him. Years later, Gabby said that she still felt the abuse from Ansel since the incident. She also did not tell anyone about the abuse since the actor said it was going to ruin his career.

Gabby did not say whether she will file charges against the actor, but she did note that she "can now finally heal" since she already shared her experience to the public.

Ansel Elgort racist?

Aside from the issue of sexual assault, Ansel is also facing "racist" accusations. Newsweek reported on Friday, June 19, that Instagram user @BlackatLaguardia called out a racist and bully named "ansel" from New York City's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School--the same school attended by Ansel Elgort.

The post said that Ansel used the N-word and racial slurs against his classmates and that the school did not do anything to stop this bullying from happening.

"Once I was in class and we were learning about the Niger River. Ansel (Lag's favorite) repeatedly mocked me and said '[expletive] River' multiple times. Nothing was ever done about it," the post read.

Ansel Elgort has yet to comment on any of the issues.

ALSO READ: Spotify Partners with Kim Kardashian West for Podcast on Criminal Justice Reform

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Be responsible and take precautions: DG urges public By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Ruqyyaha Deane & Meleeza Rathnayake Experts assure that discharged patients not infective, as navy cluster abates but returnee cluster remains active View(s): View(s):

An urgent call went out from a top health official seeking the peoples support to closely protect the gains Sri Lanka has made against the new coronavirus.

With lots of countries falling like dominoes under the inexorable onslaught of SARS-CoV-2 which spreads COVID-19 like wildfire, the Director-General (DG) of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe urged people to be conscious of the threat and get mobilized, as Sri Lanka gradually opens up and life returns to the new-normal.

There is no 100% guarantee that we are safe against the virus, so people need to safeguard themselves and stringently follow the preventive health measures of social distancing, hand-hygiene and wearing masks in public places and on public transport. Avoid public gatherings, he said.

Dr. Jasinghes plea came as the navy cluster reduced rapidly this week, with high numbers being diagnosed only among the returnees, with only 85 patients at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). There has been no community transmission in Sri Lanka so far.

From June 15 to 19, the number of positive cases was 57 and included 11 navy personnel and 46 returnees. The total confirmed cases stood at 1,948, with 1,446 recoveries and 11 deaths.

The DG reiterated that people need to be hondatama (thoroughly) alert to ensure that even if the virus was around in the country it would not spread.

For this, each one of us should take all precautions, starting with ourselves, our immediate families, our neighbours, our co-workers and society. If there is any doubt, check the detailed guidelines for each and every scenario on the Health Ministry website, he added.

This was as experts, both here and abroad, allayed the fears of people and told them not to be alarmed over reports that a woman from Kebithigollewa had tested positive for COVID-19 after being treated and discharged from hospital.

Their explanation was simple and evidence-based  after recovery, patients may rarely test positive as they are shedding the dead virus.

The person is not infectious and there is nothing to fear, reiterated NIIDs Consultant Physician Dr. Eranga Narangoda who treated the 36-year-old returnee from Kuwait. She had been discharged after two RT-PCR tests turned negative with the clinical evaluation also confirming that she was free of disease.

After her long journey to Kebithigollewa, she had experienced abdominal pain and begun vomiting and been admitted to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, where the test for COVID-19 had become positive.

She was sent to the NIID once again and we treated her for the vomiting. We tested her again and she was negative. She was not re-infected by COVID-19 and neither was she infective, Dr. Narangoda told the Sunday Times.

Explaining that the RT-PCR test which is a diagnostic one was not that good in monitoring patients, he said that even if there is a small part of the virus RNA while the recovered patient is shedding it, the test could become positive. It was the same with a person who had been admitted to a hospital some time ago, a month after discharge from the NIID. He had suffered a heart attack, not been re-infected by the virus.

Once a recovered COVID-19 patient is discharged, the ideal test would be an antibody test to determine whether the person has developed antibodies. If there are antibodies, then for some time, that person would be immune to the new coronavirus, while also not being infective, said Dr. Narangoda.

How long this kind of immunity would last is still not known as this is a new virus, but testing for antibodies should be done three days after a person turns asymptomatic. That means it would be about 10 days after catching the infection, the Sunday Times learns.

Looking at other viruses, he said that when you get infected, you develop immunity and become positive for antibodies in about seven days. However, with the new coronavirus the antibodies develop in the second week after infection.

The NIID has a machine to test for antibodies and is awaiting the reagents to begin testing, it is learnt.

Clarifying the situation further and also stressing that people should not panic, Consultant Medical Virologist, Dr. Jude Jayamaha, of the Department of Virology, Medical Research Institute, said rarely even after a person has recovered from the new coronavirus, disintegrating particles or genetic material of the virus may be present in the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, which usually get replaced in 30 days.

The fluff of the virus may be found on and off after a few days or weeks of recovery and because the real-time RT-PCR testing is highly sensitive it would even catch these minute amounts. There was a scare in South Korea about 202 people getting re-infected which was dispelled by that countrys National Health Council, he said.

He added that in the case of the new coronavirus, there was no recrudescence (recurrence) like in malaria or re-infection. Very importantly, these people are not infective and cannot pass on the virus to others.

Concern over boat people bringing in the virus

The danger of boatloads of people crossing over to Sri Lanka surreptitiously and setting off the spread of COVID-19, is causing grave concern among many.

We have managed to prevent community transmission but this type of boat-landings could pose a major threat, many sources said.

These fears were sparked by the seizure of a boat off Talaimannar on June 7, with a man and his daughter from a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu, India. The boat had been intercepted by the navy and the two persons had been taken into custody by the Madhu Police.

Investigations had revealed that six more people had arrived in Jaffna. They had been arrested while hiding in the area and along with the other two had been sent into quarantine at the Punanai centre.

When asked, Navy Spokesman Lt. Com. Isuru Suriyabandara said that they had launched special sea operations from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to thwart illegal immigrants from coronavirus-hit countries coming here.

We strengthened operations off the north and north-western coast, where there are many fishing clusters, since they could be used as a cover by smugglers. We were also alert for human and drug smuggling, he said, adding that they were supported by the army, police and coast guard, with the Air Force carrying out reconnaissance flight.

Meanwhile, other reports indicated that the Mannar Police Intelligence Officers detected six more people whose visas had expired but were hiding in Mannar. They were produced before the Mannar courts and investigations are on to ascertain how they came into the country.

The security forces are urging the public in the north to be alert about strangers in their areas.

Across the Palk Straits, the Sunday Times found that as of June 17, there were 354,065 confirmed COVID-19 cases in India, which included 155,227 active cases and 11,903 deaths. This was while there were 2,003 deaths in 24 hours on Wednesday

(June 17).

Many serious issues over sample-taking at the BIA

All those arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, are being tested for COVID-19, with samples being taken there and then despatched to various laboratories to get real-time RT-PCR results.

There are many serious issues about how the samples are taken, not only the safety of those taking the samples but also the returnees, the lack of facilities, the lack of training in sample-taking and the high risk of the spread of COVID-19, a source said.

The samples are taken in the side-corridor that leads out of the arrivals hall of the airport, the Sunday Times learns.

As of June 19, 10,662 have returned to the country from America, United Kingdom, Italy, Ukraine, Istanbul, Russia, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Myanmar, South Korea, China and Australia. Since sample-taking at the BIA was launched in early June, 2,279 samples have been taken of 1,806 passengers and 473 airline crew.

The source who wished to remain anonymous cited the case of a flight which arrived from West Asia with close to 300 passengers this week, with about 20 healthcare workers (about five doctors and nurses, medical laboratory technicians and others) taking these samples.

The passengers are tired, agitated and in a hurry to leave the airport and as such are not very cooperative, said the source, pointing out that they cough and sneeze when and after the nasopharyngeal swab is taken. They grab any tissue that is available and where they dispose of it is not known. They also keep removing their face-masks. This could lead to infection of others throughout. As they are not cooperative and the staff has got only a simple training, the quality of the samples are also questionable and could result in false negatives.

The source lamented that as flights get delayed, the sample-taking staff, who have come from different areas including far away, has to be in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for a long time. They are tired and dehydrated.

We also do not have facilities to change our clothes, into PPE and out of PPE. Some of us walk around here and there in our PPE looking for a place to change and this could be risky as the disease could spread if the PPE is contaminated. Some change in their vehicles, some out in the open in the corridor and others walk around looking for a place to change, the source said, giving the Sunday Times an insight into the not-so-smooth system, even though airport officials have kept touting that everything is under control.

With the airport being the most likely entry-point for a massive wave of COVID-19, once opened as proposed on August 1, many urged the authorities to get their act right.

A disaster waiting to happen, is the belief, with allegations of in-fighting and territorial issues within the airport.

With the entry-points gradually being opened, the BIAs departure terminal visitor hall opened its doors on June 15 (Monday), after nearly three months. A passenger can be accompanied by a maximum of three visitors.

SARS-buster on negatives turning positive, new wave in China and dexamethasone

Patients can remain positive for a long period of time, sometimes longer than a month or even two. Often these patients test negative but then positive again. It is always low levels of the virus, said Prof. Malik Peiris, Professor of Virology at the School of Public Health, Hong Kong University, when asked by the Sunday Times about the Sri Lankan who tested positive after discharge from hospital.

Studies done by others and also us show that 14 days after illness-onset and once the patient has fully recovered from the symptoms, such low-level virus shedding is not highly infectious. In fact, Hong Kong changed its guidelines for the discharge of patients who have recovered from COVID from hospital a few months ago and we do not necessarily need to have negative PCR before patient discharge. I believe the WHO is also likely to make such a change, he said.

With regard to a new wave hitting China, Prof. Peiris said the virus outbreak was caused by a European lineage virus, likely introduced via travel from Europe. But this did not mean that the virus was behaving differently in any way. Any lineage of virus can cause major outbreaks, similar to what happened in Wuhan in January/February.

When asked what a European lineage virus means, he said that there are signatures of mutations that can identify different geographic regions in a broad way to determine the source of the virus. But this did not mean any change in the behaviour of the virus. There is one mutation in the spike protein of the virus which is now being recognised as possibly increasing virus fitness and perhaps transmission.

Dexamethasone

The study on the benefits of dexamethasone shows how important well-designed clinical trials are, says Prof. Peiris, pointing out that dexamethasone and other corticosteroids have been used for a long time in patients with severe life-threatening pneumonia, but they have never been proven to be of benefit. There was some evidence, however, that uncontrolled use early in the disease can do harm.

What this study shows is that dexamethasone is beneficial in patients who are severely ill  those in need of oxygen or are in the ICU, not in mild patients. We did use corticosteroids (a similar drug) during SARS in 2003 and it made a difference in some patients. But then, clinicians started using it earlier and earlier in the illness and this led to possible harm, he says.

Prof. Peiris explains that dexamethasone and other corticosteroids suppress the immune system. So what is being done is to dampen down the cytokine storm that some patients develop which can lead to severe lung damage and death. But if you use it too early, the normal control immune mechanisms may also be impaired. So, it has to be used carefully.

The study on dexamethasone is being conducted in the United Kingdom by the University of Oxford and many hospitals. Corticosteroids usually provide relief for inflamed areas of the body especially in the case of severe allergies, skin problems, asthma or arthritis.
ITHA is the the collective bargaining agent that represents the owners and operators of the horses that race at Arlington. State law requires the two to have an agreement before the state racing board can sign off on a deal that would allow Arlington to open, with a schedule this year of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays July 23 through Sept. 26.
(Natural News) Two weeks ago, Project Veritas published an investigative journalism piece showing the inner workings of Antifa/anarchist paramilitary training at The Base in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

(Article republished from BlackListedNews.com)

Not all the individuals involved were identified, but National Justice can now confirm that the man above is Brooklyn-based Andrew Gittlitz (A.M. Gittlitz), an author and journalist who has been published in the New York Times and Vice and is a leading figure in a communist death cult called the Posadists.

According to multiple sources, Gittlitz and fellow cult members are integral parts of the New York City antifa scene. Gittlitz is the producer of the Antifada podcast (under the name AP Andy) and along with other members of his Posadist group, worked with Jarrod Shanahan to dox and send death threats to numerous Proud Boys and nationalists.

Gittlitz has written for the Trotskyite publishing house Verso Books, which is also deeply involved with underground antifa organizing, as well as articles throughout left-wing publications like The Jacobin, The Baffler, Salon, Vice and pieces in the now defunct Commune Magazine explicitly endorsing antifa political violence.

One especially noteworthy contribution was Gittlitzs op-ed for the New York Timesfor its Red Century celebration of the centennial of the Bolshevik revolution. This served to platform his crackpot apocalyptic UFO centered interpretation of communism.

Gittlitz is also friends with a number of connected people. For example, he is personal friends with the Southern Poverty Law Centers (SPLC) Hannah Gais.

Brighton Beach Nuclear War Cult

According to a source familiar with antifa in New York, Gittlitz belongs to a semi-religious communist group based out of South Brooklyn.

The groups beliefs are inspired by J. Posadas (real name Homero Frasnelli), an Argentinian Trotskyist who believed in acceleration through the use of nuclear bombs to usher in an apocalypse that he theorized would end up ushering communism around the world. Extra terrestrials play a significant role in his and Gittlitzs work.

In Brooklyn, followers of this doctrine are led by a Brighton Beach man named Yevgeny Lerner, who goes by Comrade Communicator and claims to have a special ability to speak to aliens.

Lerner, who has been a central organizer in NYC Antifa for a decade, is believed to be one of the individuals who controls the @NYCAntifa twitter account.

On the beaches of South Brooklyn, Gittlitz and other left-wing extremists take drugs and follow Great Communicator as he professes to make contact with beings from another galaxy.

Gittlitz is a deeply involved true-believer. Last year, he traveled to Cuba to an international communist conference to give a lecture on Posadism and attempt to recruit new members.

Take Them Seriously

Many right-wing people will look at Gittlitz and his beliefs and dismiss him as a mere kook.

While his beliefs may be absurd, his cults obsession with nuclear weapons and active training for political violence are not.

Once again, we find that a promoter of using violence to silence people with different beliefs is neatly entrenched in our institutional media. Almost all of the antifa movers and shakers National Justice has reported on have worked for mainstream media outlets like Vice, as well as respectable socialist ones like The Jacobin.

Many of them have their left-extremist writings referenced in the New York Times in order to try and mainstream them, while Gittlitz was outright commissioned for a piece by them.

Why our elites actively promote mentally disturbed thugs who wish to use nuclear weapons to trigger an apocalypse continues to be an open ended question.

Read more at: BlackListedNews.com
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 20, 2020 06:31 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066035b5f 1 National ASN,Tjahjo-Kumolo,work-from-home Free

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has said he is formulating a strategy to reduce the number of unproductive civil servants amid the current work-from-home policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that many civil servents had been less productive while working from home as they were unable to complete their usual tasks and responsibilities.

We need a strategy to reduce the number of those who are not productive, he said on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

Tjahjo said that unproductive workers placed a heavier burden on their colleagues.

Those who are productive during the work-from-home period are overloaded with work, as they are forced to do the tasks their colleagues fail to deliver, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician added.

Read also: Surabaya court closed after civil servant tests positive for COVID-19, two die unexpectedly

Indonesia, he explained, had an excess of civil servants, but still had a lack of capable staff.

Too many, but not enough. We need a drastic change in the required competencies for future recruitment, Tjahjo added.

He said his ministry would continue to coordinate with the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) to find the right solution. The two institutions, he said, had agreed to reformat the civil service management system around a new-normal policy.

Reform in civil servant numbers and their required competencies would lead to a significant boost in their remuneration, he added. (dpk).
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Steve Dickson, acknowledged on Wednesday that Boeing Co and the U.S. air safety agency both made mistakes on the 737 MAX jet, but rejected senators accusations the FAA was stonewalling probes after two fatal crashes.

Boeings 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people, triggering multiple investigations into how the plane was certified as safe.

In a particularly tense exchange at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on aircraft certification, Senator Ted Cruz accused Dickson of speaking in the passive voice as a way of avoiding responsibility after Dickson told him, Mistakes were made.

So unknown somebodies made unspecified mistakes for which there were no repercussions, Cruz said. What mistakes were made and who made them?

After a pause, Dickson said, The manufacturer made mistakes and the FAA made mistakes in its oversight. Dickson then referred to Boeings development of a flight control system that repeatedly pushed down the jets nose in both crashes as pilots battled to gain control. The full implications of the flight control system were not understood as design changes were made, he said.

One senator at the hearing said the agency was like a dog watching TV when it came to policing Boeings work, and another said the agency was stonewalling the committees investigation into the 737 MAXs development.

Boeings 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people, triggering multiple investigations into how the plane was certified as safe.

In a particularly tense exchange at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on aircraft certification, Senator Ted Cruz accused Dickson of speaking in the passive voice as a way of avoiding responsibility after Dickson told him, Mistakes were made.

Also Watch:

So unknown somebodies made unspecified mistakes for which there were no repercussions, Cruz said. What mistakes were made and who made them?

After a pause, Dickson said, The manufacturer made mistakes and the FAA made mistakes in its oversight. Dickson then referred to Boeings development of a flight control system that repeatedly pushed down the jets nose in both crashes as pilots battled to gain control. The full implications of the flight control system were not understood as design changes were made, he said.

One senator at the hearing said the agency was like a dog watching TV when it came to policing Boeings work, and another said the agency was stonewalling the committees investigation into the 737 MAXs development.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Modi-bin-Tughluq - Narendra Damodardass second term as the (...)

Attempts to draw historical parallels from the past do not always work accurately for understanding present situations that may resemble old events. But the record of six years of rule by Narendra Modi (covering his first term from 2014-19, and the present year) recalls an unsavoury phase of our past history, in a rather peculiar way. Narendra Modi seems to be repeating (and compressing within a brief spell of time), the eccentric policies and inhuman brutalities that marked the regime of a Sultan who preceded him in India some seven hundred years ago.

Muhammad-bin-Tughluq ruled as the Sultan of India from 1325 to 1351. During his reign, he imposed a series of measures - which he propagated as beneficial for his subjects - that were to devastate economy and society in north India for the next few decades. The policies that he initiated in financial matters, domestic territorial reconstruction, and foreign territorial relations - all ended in disasters. Today, Narendra Modi, as the prime minister, seems to have re-incarnated himself as a Sultan of India, and is following in an uncanny way, the same footsteps of Muhammad- bin- Tughlaq.

Tughluq as Modis precursor, or Modi as his successor ?

Historically, both conflate with each other as they have led to the formation of a system which is marked by an authoritarian rule based on a personality cult. To understand the phenomenon, let us take a brief look at some of the momentous decisions taken by Muhammad- bin-Tughluq during his reign, and their disastrous results.

In 1327, Tughluq ordered the shifting of his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (in present day Maharashtra), in a public display to demonstrate his power over the vast Deccan plateau. This led to a massive migration of working people to the new capital. In the course of their tortuous journey by foot over miles, thousands including women and children died. But some eight years later, Tughluq had to reverse his decision. Having failed to suppress the growing rebellions in different parts of India, from his capital in Daulatabad, he was forced to shift the capital back to the safer environs of Delhi, where he thought he could protect himself. He therefore ordered a massive reverse migration from Daulatabad to Delhi in 1335 - again entailing deaths of thousands along the roads.

Forced migration - brought about by official policies - is a phenomenon shared in common by both the regimes of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq and Narendra Modi, although separated by seven hundred years. Tughluqs policy to shift the capital to Deccan to demonstrate his ambition of extending his rule, compelled the labouring poor to migrate to a new capital in search of jobs, and then again after a few years, to migrate back to their homes - when Tughluq decided to shift back to Delhi. We are witnessing today the same phenomenon of migration and reverse-migration of labourers from one place to another, resulting in deaths on roads. The catastrophe has been caused by an irresponsible decision by the present prime minister Narendra Modi, who in a Tughlaqi arbitrary fashion, imposed a lock-down on the country in the name of fighting Coronavirus. This he did without caring to take adequate measures to protect the migrant labourers from the loss of jobs that they faced as a consequence of the sudden closure of small and middle scale manufacturing units, stoppage of construction activities in the informal sector, and ban on operations by pavement vendors and street corner stalls. The much hyped image of the `chai-wala-turned prime minister, has suffered a dent as the present generation of `chai-walas who are deprived of their workplaces in pavements and street corners, feel betrayed by their one-time co-worker.

Monetory policies of Tughluq and Modi

Again in an uncanny coincidence, we find a parallel between a pecuniary decision (relating to currency) made by Tughluq in 1333 , and a decision on similar lines taken by Modi seven hundred years later , when he ordered demonetization of currency. While Tughluqs decision led to a temporary disruption of trade, Modis decision of demonetization has ended up in a long-standing economic crisis.

Tughluq , when reigning from his new-found capital in Daulatabad, conceived the idea of minting and introducing a token copper currency. The coins were to depict Daulatabad as the second capital. But without realizing the long term implications of such a policy, he failed to take the necessary precautions against private minting of copper coins. This resulted in the flooding of the market with spurious coins. Due to confusion over the use of different types of coins, some traditionally made of brass and some copper, their value decreased in markets. Tughluqs coins became as worthless as stones - as described by the modern historian Satish Chandra in his A History of Medieval India. The experimentation by Tughluq disrupted trade and commerce in India. The copper coins had to be withdrawn finally in exchange for gold and silver coins.

Narendra Modis experimentation with demonetization led to a similar disorder in our economy . While thousands of common citizens were left bankrupt without adequate facilities to convert their old currency into the new denomination, Modis cronies in industry and followers in his party, who were cautioned well before, made use of the corrupt banking system to fill their coffers. Modis claim that demonetization would bring back black money turned out to be false, and instead it led to an economic disaster, as exemplified from findings by economists and industrialists from both India and abroad.

Extra-territorial adventures - the China connection

To go back to another adventure of Tughluqs, in 1333 he decided to cross the Himalayas and invade China. This involved the march of his soldiers through the hills of north India - the terrain that constitutes modern Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The local people of the hills put up a stiff resistance against the soldiers whom they regarded as invaders. Unable to fight in the unfamiliar and difficult mountainous terrain, Tughlaqs soldiers perished. (Re: Salma Ahmed Farooqui - `A Comprehensive History of Medieval India, From the Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. 2011).

Although the present circumstances around the conflict with China may be different, and their causes controversial, one finds a peculiar parallel between the consequences of the policies pursued by Tughluq and Narendra Modi in dealing with China. Like Tughluq, Modi has dragged the country into an unnecessary military adventure directed against China. In Tughluqs time, the Indian hill people frustrated his extra-territorial ambitions. Unlike Tughluq, Modi today seems to enjoy public support in his militarist confrontation with China - first over its road building project in Doklam, and now over the dispute around its territorial occupation of parts of Ladakh. But to come down to the ground reality, how long can such sabre-rattling rhetoric to pump pulp patriotism through servile media channels sustain an ill-equipped Indian military ?

Past experiences have shown that such confrontations with China have always proved disastrous for India - starting from Tughluqs misadventure in the fourteenth century to the 1962 war in the twentieth, which led to Indias humiliating defeat. This is not to valorize Chinas superior military might. China is a totalitarian and repressive state run by a national chauvinist party masquerading under the name of the Communist Party of China (the term `Communist having nothing to do with Communism). But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that India, militarily is not capable of taking on China.

Real-politic should have dictated Modi to be cautious in dealing with China. Instead, he messed up by changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir - a decision that not only alienated the Kashmiri people, but also provided China with yet another excuse to fish in the troubled waters of Ladakh of the conflict-ridden territory. Modis combative posture against Chinas building a road in Doklam in 2017, and his claim that he has stopped it, does not carry any weight, as there are reports that suggest that the Chinese are still present there with their road-building equipment. The current confrontation in Ladakh - despite all the chest-thumping by Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and the BJP leaders - is also likely to end up in a status-quo of sorts, with the Chinese soldiers retaining their positions in the territories that they occupy, and withdrawing from some other spots which they may find inconsequential for their current strategic needs.

The recent talks between the Indian and Chinese military top brass to end the stand-off have ended up in the usual exchanges of diplomatic rhetoric about `peaceful solution. They have not led to any change in the ground situation. There is no indication of Chinas rolling back its latest deployment of forces along the LAC. We may see a repetition of the settlement following the 1962 war, when the Chinese troops voluntarily withdrew from some of the Indian territories which they had invaded and occupied (in the north-east), but retained their control over other parts like Aksai Chin.

Tughluq-Modi link - through the pandemic

What is less known is the other connection between the two Sultans - Tughluq and Modi. During 1334-35, a bubonic plague broke out in Bidar, which at that time was ruled by Tughluq. He himself caught the infection, suffered for sometime, but survived. However, his army was depleted by the death of many of his soldiers due to the plague.

Does the present Coronavirus pandemic (which, according to reports, has started infecting even our well-protected soldiers and para-military forces, who form the backbone of Indias security infrastructure) send a warning message to Narendra Modi - reminding him of the political fate of his predecessor, Muhammad-bin-Tughluq ?
President Trump insists we wont be closing the country again, no matter how aggressively the coronavirus reasserts itself. But the country might close itself, without him.

Apple said June 19 its re-closing 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina because of rising coronavirus infection levels. Apple is just one retailer among many, and others may not follow suit. But the surprise announcement was enough to flip stocks from positive to negative, for a net loss of about one percentage point on the news.

Markets are jittery about the pace of reopenings, which are underway in most states as governors and mayors try to get back to business. More than 20 states have rising infection levels, according to an NPR tracking map, with the biggest increases in South Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida and Arizona. Among those, Arizona has the highest per capita infection rate, with some hospitals in the state worried about running short of beds and equipment.

Officials in New York, Houston and a few other cities have warned of new lockdowns if caseloads mount anew, but most areas seem likely to continue reopening and simply fight ad hoc battles with the virus. The wild card is how consumers will react. Go out and shop, virus be damned? Or head back in and wait it out?

Robust retail sales numbers for May show the penchant to spend is there. But a record one-month increase in sales still left economic activity far below pre-virus levels. Meanwhile, Trump and his allies continue to downplay the severity of the virus, and they now claim an increase in testing is the cause of the increasing caseload. The proof against that is the rising hospitalization rate in most of the places where case counts are going up: People wouldnt be checking into the hospital if their only symptom was a positive test for the virus.

This weeks Trump-o-meter reads WEAK, the third-lowest rating, because there are some signs of an economic recovery, but other signs of looming trouble.

Story continues

Source: Yahoo Finance

Trumps campaign rally in Tulsa on June 20 will be a microcosm of reopening tension. Oklahoma has low per capita infection rates, but infection rates in Tulsa have been rising to new highs. The director of the citys health department said recently that such a large gathering is a huge risk factor, today in Tulsa. He called on Trump to postpone the rally.

A month from now, the Tulsa rally could have turned out to be a super-spreader event that sent Tulsa infection rates to even higher or levels, bringing condemnation on Trump. Or, there could be no notable increase in cases from the rally, vindicating Trumps urge to hold it. Trump plans to hold other rallies, in addition to a packed Republican convention in Jacksonville, Fla., in late August. Tulsa will set the stage.

The course of the virus during the next four months, leading to Election Day in November, will most likely be unpredictable and confounding. Oxford Economics sees a two-phase recovery unfolding. Were in the first phase now, with a strong rebound forming as consumption, business spending and perhaps employment recover from dramatic declines. But the second phase will be more of a slog, as mounting bankruptcies take a devastating toll and many families struggle to get back to where they were before the virus hit.

Trump will find victories to celebrate, as some data suggests the kind of rocket ship recoverys hes hoping for. But it will be like ongoing reopening of the country: sporadic, incomplete and maddeningly slow, with occasional reversals. Just when you think things are open again, they may not be.

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available. Click here to get Ricks stories by email.

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German coronavirus outbreak at abattoir infects more than 1000 The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - More than 1,000 employees at German meat processing firm Toennies have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting local health authorities to order all 6,500 employees and their families to go into quarantine.

The localised lockdown is a setback for Germany's reopening strategy. Chancellor Angela Merkel had favoured maintaining lockdown discipline for longer, but eased restrictions following pressure from regional premiers.

Even though its management of the coronavirus crisis has been among the most successful in Europe, Germany has seen repeated outbreaks in slaughterhouses, whose employees are often

migrants living in crowded company-provided accommodation.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, the meat company's proprietor, Clemens Toennies, said the outbreak presented an "existential crisis" for his firm, which has suspended operations as authorities seek to control the outbreak.

"As a company we thought we had done everything right," Toennies said, adding that his firm had struggled to collect the personal data of employees and contractors so that authorities could trace the outbreak.

"As an entrepreneur I can only apologise. We have caused this and are fully responsible for it," Toennies said.

The outbreak may force the German state of North Rhine Westphalia to impose a broader lockdown.

The outbreak near Gutersloh was first reported on Wednesday, when 400 workers tested positive. By Friday, that number had doubled to 803 and it climbed further to 1,029 by Saturday.

On Thursday, China banned meat imports from the plant.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Christina Fincher)
TDT | Manama

The Ministry of Health announced yesterday the deaths of two Bahraini men, aged 57 and 64, from the coronavirus (COVID-19). Their passing brought the virus-related casualty count to 12 in the last four days and 49 overall in the Kingdom. The Health Ministry expressed its condolences to the victims families.

Meanwhile, it was announced early this morning that out of 7,589 COVID-19 tests conducted yesterday, 406 new cases were detected, including 216 expatriate workers, 189 contacts of active cases, and one travel-related. Their detection brought the overall confirmed cases in Bahrain to nearly 20,000 ever since the first cases were registered.

There were also 319 more recoveries from the virus yesterday, the Health Ministry reported. That brought the total number of discharged in Bahrain to 14,185. The total number of current active cases went to 5,727, of which 131 are receiving treatment, with 27 in critical condition.
Cornerstone Television Network's Flagship Program, 'Real Life' Becomes 'Hope Today' This Monday

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Cornerstone Television Network

June 19, 2020

WALL, Penn., June 19, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Monday, June 22, 2020, Cornerstone Television Network -- a faith-based television network -- will officially unveil Hope Today (the makeover of its flagship talk/inspiration program) to begin airing at 9 AM (LIVE), 1 PM & 8 PM/ET, Monday-Thursday. For the past seven years, the program previously known as "Real Life" served the ministry well, reflecting a message of faith and abundant life. And while those priorities remain, Cornerstone Network has transformed and re-named the program to Hope Today to reflect a growing need for hope and inspiration in our culture.

Anchored by Cornerstone TV veterans Tom Hollis and Sydni Goldman, "Hope Today" will provide encouragement and spiritual direction to help viewers in both personal and practical ways. Other friendly faces include Amanda Brougher, Amy Schafer, Anna Frye, J. Anthony Gilbert, and Tom McGough -- adding special interviews.

"Our society has always needed hope, but never more than today. Through Christ, we can provide hope for each day. We are excited for 'Hope Today' because of the timeliness of the message of HOPE coupled with the timelessness of the Gospel," shared Tom Hollis (Chief Operating Officer & Co-host for "Hope Today").

"Our programming is changing to reflect the times that we are living in; Hope Today is an opportunity for us to provide viewers with the spiritual tools they need to navigate through todays challenges, whether it is a pandemic, racial injustice, or any other challenge that we face as a nation and as individuals, says Steve Johnson (President and CEO, Cornerstone Television Network).

Thats why Cornerstone Television is going live at 9 AM/ET Monday-Thursday, with a format that addresses both current events and current issues that viewers are dealing with on a personal level.

Hope Today's Guest Lineup (Week One):

MONDAY, June 22 -- Debra Fileta, licensed professional counselor, challenges viewers to have a psychologically and spiritually healthy approach to relationships.

TUESDAY, June 23 -- Sue Detweiler (author, mother, and co-pastor of Life Bridge Church in Dallas, TX) -- shares what is happening to drug addicts in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and how we can turn the rising tide of drug addiction.

WEDNESDAY, June 24 -- Dr. Steve Green, Publisher & Executive Vice President of Charisma Media Group, will be sharing what is on his heart during this time of pandemic and what he sees God doing in the days ahead.

THURSDAY, June 25 -- Michael Johnson, President of Slavic Gospel Association, will talk about "Christ Over COVID and Global Prayer as the coronavirus ravages Russia and the former Soviet nations.

Ways to Watch "Hope Today" on Cornerstone TV -- at 9 AM, 1 PM & 8 PM/ET

24/7 Online Livestream: www.ctvn.org/watch

Roku Users: Add Cornerstone Network

Local users: Look for Cornerstone Television Network on your cable channel guide.

About Cornerstone Television Network

Cornerstone Television Network is a Christian media ministry based in Wall, PA. Through its national affiliate network and Western Pennsylvania broadcast markets, Cornerstone TV reaches over 6 million households across the U.S. (including the 1.45 million TV households in Pittsburgh-Altoona, PA). The network offers an expansive line up of inspirational, educational, and life-changing programming twenty-four hours a day, for people of all ages.

SOURCE Cornerstone Television Network

CONTACT: Crystal Bynum, 412-607-4716 (cell), cbynum@ctvn.org

Related Links

www.ctvn.org
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned Europeans they are abandoning democracy if they embrace China, in a scathing denunciation of Beijing two days after he held talks on trans-Pacific friction. "There's also no way to straddle these alternatives without abandoning who we are. Democracies dependent on authoritarians are not worthy of the name," Pompeo told a forum in Denmark by videoconference. Pompeo was speaking publicly for the first time since meeting for nearly nine hours Wednesday in Hawaii with a top Chinese official, Yang Jiechi, on the soaring tensions between the United States and China. In his speech, Pompeo indicated that the meeting did little to change his hawkish views on China, which he called a "rogue actor" on the world stage. He renewed calls on Europeans to shun Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which he called the arm of the communist "surveillance state," and said Beijing was "flagrantly attacking sovereignty" through its port investments in Greece and Spain. "We must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn't just at the gates -- it's in every capital," he said. "Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion."
The U.S. Supreme Courts ruling blocking the Trump administrations attempt to dismantle a federal program protecting immigrants brought to the United States as children coincides with the anniversary of a historic ruling on the education for immigrant students.

This week marks the 38th anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared undocumented children are entitled to receive a free public education from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The case has its origins in Tyler, a northeast Texas city, where municipal leaders feared their school system would become overrun with immigrant families and students. In 1977, to curb school enrollment, the school board demanded that undocumented students pay $1,000 per year in tuition because were not legally admitted to the United States.

The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund sued the district, arguing that the policy essentially barred immigrant students from school, because few of their families could afford the fee.

As director of education litigation at MALDEF, attorney Peter Roos filed a motion to block the district from denying enrollment to the children as the Plyler case winded through years of appeals before reaching the Supreme Court.

In a 5-4 decision, the court found that the Tyler schools violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment when it refused to educate children because of their immigration status. The case also struck down a Texas law that denied education funding for undocumented children. The case was decided together with Texas v. Certain Named and Unnamed Alien Children.

Roos talked with Education Week recently about his recollections about Plyler v. Doe and the relevance of the case today. The questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Education Week: When you reflect on the importance of Plyler v. Doe, what comes to mind?

Roos: It serves as the foundation of the nations obligation to provide an education for undocumented students. At the time, I felt pretty much that if I lost the case, that not only would we lose Texas, but that other states with similar xenophobic inclinations or rationale would be inclined to follow a court rule that undocumented students didnt have a right to schooling. There would probably have been a number of states that would have denied it, so millions of kids, I think, have a right to go to school because of Plyler.

Education Week: Are there parallels between Plyler v. Doe and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was the focus of this weeks Supreme Court ruling?

Roos: The DACA definition of children pretty much mirrors the definition of the kids in Plyler. You generally had to be brought here as a child, so thus not have any guilt in crossing the border. You were here as an innocent child. Youve been here for a while and youve had a fair amount of success, so that the factors that led the court to say, Were going to uphold the rights of undocumented kids to go to school, are some of the samein many ways are the sameconditions that are used to define DACA students, but the underlying foundational law is somewhat different. DACA is really a condition to the right to employment.

Education Week: How do you address criticism of the Plyler decision?

Roos: Maybe there is a sense that as long as you have free education, [immigrants] are going to keep on coming because they want to educate their children. The evidence was really very, very clear that while certainly the plaintiffs in these cases wanted to have their kids educated, they were not coming here for education. They came here because of employment opportunities. But even among people who are somewhat skeptical of undocumented immigration, youd have a very hard time saying that their kids shouldnt be provided an education. To have millions of kids on the street not going to school, youd be taking away the foundational elements for success in this country.

Related Reading

Civil Rights Advocates to DeVos: Make it Clear Educators Cant Report Students to ICE

Educators and Advocates Brace for Harsher Stance on Immigration Under Trump

The Supreme Courts Decision in Plyler v. Doe
Roudram Ranam Rudhiram aka RRR is one of the most-awaited films in the Telugu film industry. Directed by Baahubali fame SS Rajamouli, the film stars Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles. RRR is one of the costliest films in the Indian film industry as it is being made on a very big scale.

Talking about the budget of RRR, one thing that comes to everyone's mind is the actors' remuneration for the film. Being the lead actors of RRR, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn must be charging a solid remuneration for the film, but their fees are yet to be revealed. Amidst all, the latest report in a leading portal suggests that Samuthirakani has received a whopping amount, and it will definitely raise everyone's eyebrows.

The report states that SS Rajamouli's RRR, which is being bankrolled by DVV Danayya, features Samuthirakani in a supporting yet important role. He is receiving Rs 2 crore as fees for the film.

Talking about the film's stotry, RRR is set in the pre-Independence era in which Ram Charan and Jr NTR will be playing freedom fighters. Jr NTR is playing the role of Komaram Bheem while Ram Charan is essaying Alluri Sitharama Raju. Alia Bhatt will be seen playing Ram Charan's wife while Olivia Morris will be playing Jr NTR's love interest. Ajay Devgn's role details are not yet revealed. But it is said that the actor has shot his portions in the film.

Also Read : Jr NTR- Ram Charan's RRR Trial Shoot Gets Cancelled Due To Spike In COVID-19 Cases In Hyderabad

RRR makers have already completed shooting for almost the entire film except for one scene, where they require a large number of foreign actors. Due to the lockdown, the shooting was stalled but after the government's allowance for shooting, the makers tried to continue shooting. SS Rajamouli had already arranged for a trial shoot, but it got cancelled due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in Hyderabad.

Also Read : Shriya Saran To Pair Opposite Ajay Devgn In SS Rajamouli's RRR!

RRR is scheduled to be released on January 8, 2021, on the occasion of Sankranti.
In one sign that Mr. Barrs move to oust Mr. Berman may have been hastily arranged, even Mr. Clayton, the man who had been poised to take Mr. Bermans place, appeared to be caught off guard.

Mr. Clayton had sent an email to his staff on Thursday saying that he looked forward to seeing them in person, once work-at-home restrictions that had been put in place because of the coronavirus could be lifted. The email offered no indication that Mr. Clayton was planning to leave the S.E.C., according to a person briefed on it.

Just after midnight on Saturday, Mr. Clayton sent another email to his employees, telling them about his new position. Pending confirmation, he wrote, I will remain fully committed to the work of the commission and the supportive community we have built, according to a copy reviewed by The New York Times.

Mr. Clayton could not be reached for comment.

On Saturday, Representative Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat who heads the House Judiciary Committee, said the committee would investigate the firing of Mr. Berman as part of a larger inquiry into what he said was undue political interference at the Justice Department.

The whole thing smacks of corruption and incompetence, Mr. Nadler said of Mr. Bermans dismissal.

Under Mr. Trump, the Justice Department has long believed that the Southern District was out of control. In no small part that was because the department believed that prosecutors in New York delayed in warning them that they were naming Mr. Trump  as Individual-1  in court documents in the Cohen prosecution.

When Mr. Barr became attorney general, officials in the deputy attorney generals office, which oversees regional prosecutors, asked him to rein in Mr. Berman, who they believed was exacerbating the Southern Districts propensity for autonomy. The office has embraced its nickname the Sovereign District of New York because of its tradition of independence.

One particular point of contention was the question of how Mr. Berman and his staff should investigate Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank that the office indicted last year, according to three people familiar with the investigation.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh advised his police commissioner against a meeting with U.S. Attorney General William Barr, which took place on Thursday without Walshs knowledge, according to the Boston Globe.

Samantha Ormsby, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said that Walsh had advised William Gross against the meeting because of what the attorney general and Trump administration stand for, the Globe reports.

Walsh and Gross had discussed the potential meeting about a week ago, the Globe reports.

Gross issued a statement about the surprise visit Thursday evening, acknowledging that it would stir controversy.

A meeting does not mean I agree with his policies in any way, but I hope he walked away knowing a little more about ours, Gross had said. As Police Commissioner, I often have to put my personal feelings aside. The top law enforcement official in the country requested a meeting with the Boston Police Department and I would rather take the opportunity to educate someone on what we are doing in Boston on how we value and work with the community, and how we support our officers in this work, than close a door.
PHILIPSBURG:--- I was pleasantly surprised and extremely pleased to hear the Honorable Prime Minister declare during the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on June 17, 2020, that her Government is living up to the agreements made by the Marlin-Romeo Government. The PMs exact words were: Government has done everything, and I mean everything, to live up to conditions set on us by previous agreements set by previous governments, we have maintained those agreements.

For the past eight months I have been waiting for the Jacobs Government to chart a new direction for Sint Maarten because the past opposition in Parliament, she was very much the agreements that the Marlin-Romeo Government had reached with the Dutch and the World Bank. Yet to date, the PM still refers to living up to all the agreements made by the former Government which she and her Party at that time considered bad decisions that were aimed at selling Sint Maarten out to the Dutch. I also wonder if the Coalition also supports the PM in her decision to maintain the agreements signed by the former Government?

The Marlin-Romeo Government was branded as the worst Government in Sint Maarten history. The NA/USP/Mercelina/Brownbill opposition in Parliament, led by then MP Jacobs, categorically refused to lend any support to the Marlin-Romeo Government to carry out these agreements. The agreements that needed to be made with the World Bank in order to release funds for the airport were blocked. Laws pertaining to money laundering and anti-terrorism that would keep Sint Maarten from being blacklisted on the international market were stagnated. Conditions set by the Dutch regarding, for example, the reduction of the salary of Members of Parliament were considered by the opposition as allowing the Dutch to interfere in Sint Maartens internal affairs. The Marlin-Romeo Government was also highly accused of not being transparent and of withholding documents and information from Parliament.

Yet shortly after taking office, the Jacobs Government does the same things that it accused the Marlin-Romeo Government of doing. The Prime Minister flies off immediately to Washington to sign the agreement with the World Bank and the Minister of Justice's heads to Antigua to try to avert Sint Maarten from being blacklisted. The Jacobs Government and the NA/USP coalition agrees for the salaries of Members of Parliament and civil servants to be reduced. It is ironic to see that Members of Parliament who were once intensely opposed to the Dutch dictating what their salaries should be, end up themselves presenting a motion to cut their own salaries so that they could comply with the conditions stipulated by the Dutch.

As far as the issue of transparency is concerned, the Jacobs Cabinet collated the very same documents that had already been sent by the Marlin-Romeo Government to Parliament, in two binders and resent them to Parliament. Unfortunately, this transparency was not long-lived as today, Parliamentarians and members of the Coalition publicly complain that the Jacobs Government is no longer transparent.

So why would former Members of Parliament, who are now Ministers themselves, accuse the past Government of accepting the conditions set forth by the Dutch and of signing agreements with the Dutch to sell out Sint Maarten, when they are now doing the exact same things that they were opposing. This causes one to think that it was not that the Marlin-Romeo Government was not doing a good job but rather, it was merely about bringing down the Government in order to usurp the power themselves.

In my opinion, one should not criticize something and then, when given the opportunity to improve it or change it, do the exact same thing. In other words, how can PM Jacobs, vehemently oppose the conditions and agreements of the Marlin-Romeo Government while she was a Member of Parliament but now being Prime Minister she turns around and does everything possible to live up to and maintain the conditions and agreements that were established by the previous government. This tells me that the Marlin-Romeo Government was not that bad after all.

Wycliffe Smith

Leader of the SMCP
Bengaluru, June 20 : Reeling under distress and losses due to rains, floods and landslides over the last two years, the Covid-induced lockdown has been brewing fresh crisis for coffee growers in Karnataka, the land of the aromatic beverage, according to a trade representative, here on Saturday.

"Even as we were grappling with the fallout of floods and landslides on plantations over the last 2 years, the extended Covid lockdown spelt heavy losses for us as it disrupted operations and damaged coffee beans," Karnataka Planters' Association Chairman Shirish Vijayendra told IANS from Chikmagalur, about 240 km northwest of Bengaluru.

As plucking of Arabica and Robusta beans was getting over, the lockdown, enforced on March 25 and extended since then to contain the pandemic, prevented growers from trading, curing and exporting coffee in seed or powder form.

"The suspension of public transport and prevention of vehicular movement during the first two phases of the lockdown till May 3 also prevented growers from harvesting beans and pepper inter-crop, as workers couldn't commute to estates for weeks," Vijayendra recalled.

With migrant workers from neighbouring states, like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, returning to their native places to avoid coronavirus infection, movement of harvested coffee to curing works was affected.

"As work in plantations came to a grinding halt due to lockdown restrictions, growers had no income as beans couldn't be processed for sale or curing and trading for domestic consumption or exports," lamented Vijayendra.

Though many restrictions for the agriculture sector were eased after the 21-day first phase of lockdown, the plantation commodity sectors, like coffee, tea, rubber and spices, didn't benefit as they are considered commercial crops and not exempted from taxes and other central or state levies.

The prolonged lockdown also held up coffee at the farm gate of growers, curing works, traders and at ports. "Though about 70 per cent of coffee is exported, domestic consumption was affected as roasters, retail outlets, cafes and hotels remained shut and beans couldn't be processed or sold," said Vijayendra.

Coffee production declined 50 per cent in 2019-20 and 35 per cent in 2018-19 due to heavy rain, floods and landslides from about 3,00,000 tonnes in the past. Fall in international prices also affected export revenue.

Drought and dry weather for three consecutive years (2015-16 to 2017-18) due to the southwest monsoon's failure had a cascading effect. The steep rise in input cost, wages and social benefits to workers also shot up the production cost.

"We estimate the overall loss to the coffee plantation sector in Karnataka at about Rs 700 crore due to disruption in harvesting, trading and export because of the lockdown and the coronavirus fallout," reiterated Vijayendra.

According to the Association, the loss in harvesting Robusta crop is Rs 131 crore, in Arabica and Robusta gleanings Rs 88 crore, in inventory of beans held by growers Rs 144 crore, in harvesting of pepper Rs 78 crore and exports Rs 250 crore.

Exports were also affected as transportation from plantations to ports was delayed due to lockdown and shortage of labour and vehicles.

"As offices of traders and exporters remained shut and operations at Mangaluru and other ports suspended due to non-availability of labour, our export stocks got stuck for several weeks," said Vijayendra.

As the largest producer of the aromatic beans, Karnataka accounts for about 70 of coffee production in the country, with dozen districts across the central, coastal and southern regions of the state, like Chikmaglur, Kodagu and Hassan, spawning the rich-bio diverse Western Ghats in the Deccan plateau, producing the beans since 500 years.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A letter to Alex Chapman, my youngest son.

Dearest Alex:

As you prepare to travel back home from Minneapolis, I would like to speak my truth.

I, like so many others, was horrified at George Floyds killing. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Floyd family, their circle, the larger Minneapolis community, the country, and now the world. How? Why? And what do we do now?

One of the early lessons I learned from your experiences occurred while you attended Montessori preschool. For your birthday, instead of the kiddos in your class bringing you a gift, you were asked to bring a gift to share with the class. On what was supposed be a day in which you were celebrated, you were asked to give a gift. You chose a book that would stay with the classroom for years to come, for countless other kids to enjoy. I always thought this concept was practical  each student who had a birthday during the school year only brought one gift a year. But it was more than practical; it also taught one of the tenants of generosity - gift giving, to the children, and, as it turns out, the parents too.

I write this letter to you in that same vein. On this Fathers Day weekend, instead of you giving me a gift, I will attempt to share a gift with you.

Alex Chapman, Black Lives Matter! Your Life Matters!

As you left home nearly two weeks ago to join your voice and efforts with others in peaceful protest and the work of cleaning up after the riots, I worried about social unrest, the pandemic and your overall safety in Minneapolis. And to that end you posted the following message, it is our basic human responsibility to be prepared and willing to do what is difficult in order to do what is right.

Wow, what a gift to a dad. Wait, I am supposed to be giving you the gift.

Ive started to speak publicly about our current state of race relations as I see them, and my thoughts range from mad, to frustrated to sad. But mainly my thoughts are with you. Daily, I am deeply disturbed and most days pushed to my emotional limit when I think of all the work that has been done in the area of race relations, and then I think: Is this the best we can hand over to you and your generation? Disappointing.

Note to self: I should have done more.

I am sorry and I apologize to you because I havent done more to hand you and your generation a better, more just, and more respectful world.

For years now we have had the talk- the talk of how you are to conduct yourself when stopped by law enforcement. We even used Uncle Eddies poster book as a guide: once stopped, immediately light your dome light, keep your hands on the steering wheel, cooperate, have and keep your important documents current and convenient, and ask permission to reach into the glove compartment to get them. In essence  be respectful of law enforcement. All I ask of law enforcement for you and others is that they reciprocate in kind with respect.

All the while I knew that you could do everything just the way you were supposed to and that it still may not turn out well for you. I knew and know this because as a 59-year-old Black man from the southside of Chicago, Ive experienced my share of police interactions in which I wondered, "Will this turn out well for me?"

As a young man, I was given the talk by my dad and on more than one occasion still received a DWB  a Driving While Black. More than once, when I was stopped, as I was being searched and disrespected (a topic in its own right, by the way), I wondered, Am I next? As a result, I decided to work hard, keep my nose clean, graduate from college, join the U.S. Marine Corps, get married, have a family, run for office, start a small business, contribute to my community and help improve it. And today, your actions tell me it wasnt enough - because you felt that you had no choice but to go to Minneapolis, march, rally, and now, clean up. In the year 2020, we still have police officers that are issuing DWBs.

I am not surprised at your actions; Ive come to know that this is just who you are. When students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were confronted with a self-described white nationalist, you said that to expel him would be short-sighted. You were more concerned with the whole ideology he represented. Then speaking off-the-cuff, you implored your classmates to not retaliate with hate, not retaliate with violence, but with love and understanding.

Now there you go again, you gift giver.

Okay, now here is my gift to you.

As people ask you how they can be helpful at this time, encourage them to look for and discover ways to B.E.A.M.

B - Bridge cultures

E- Educate themselves and others

A  Advocate as individuals and as a group

M- Model the behavior they want to see in others

This is an acronym co-created by the Mniluzahan Okolakiciyapi Ambassadors - Rapid City Circle of Friends.

It is true that "all" lives matter. I just want to live in a country and society in which your black life is valued enough to be a part of "all."

We can do better!

Alex, I commit to doing more and better and will work with you (and others) to do so. Do you think we can inspire our neighbors in Rapid City to do the same?

Happy Fathers Day to me!

Love, Dad

Malcom Chapman is a father of three, a public speaker, and a former Rapid City City Councilmember.

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The mandatory five-day institutional quarantine order, issued by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, for every Covid-19 case in Delhi was withdrawn on Saturday evening, a day after it blew up into a controversy and demands of rollback from the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Senior ministers of the Delhi government had met lieutenant governor Anil Baijal for the second time on Saturday at 5 pm. The meeting was held after the state government and the L-G failed to agree on the issue during their meeting in the afternoon.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation, Baijal tweeted after the meeting.

The chief ministers office also confirmed the development.

During the day, news agency ANI quoted union minister of state for home affairs G Kishen Reddy saying that he expected a new order by evening.

Delhi L-G might have ordered institutional quarantine for the benefit of those who do not have space in their homes. But I think that he will issue another piece of information by today evening for people who can create an isolated separate room in their homes, Reddy was quoted as saying

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority, headed by Baijal, had said in its earlier order that it fears home isolation without physical contact to monitor the patients may be a reason for the increase in the spread of Covid-19 infections in Delhi.

An official who was part of Saturdays meeting between Baijal and Kejriwal, confirmed that chief minister Kejriwal said that if Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is allowing home-isolation for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases across the country, why were different rules being implemented in Delhi?

The chief minister is learnt to have told the L-G that people would avoid getting tested for the disease fearing they would be sent off to an institutional quarantine facility for five days.

The officials also said that Kejriwal mentioned the shortage of health care staff and the difficulties in getting doctors and nurses at such a short notice for thousands of patients at the quarantine centres.

AAP MLA Raghav Chadha too had opposed the order. He told reporters in the morning, We had estimated that we would need 15,000 beds by June 30. However, following this order, we would need 90,000 beds in Delhi by that time. How are we going to arrange for so many beds?
Public utility regulators rejected on Friday sizable increases in domestic prices of natural gas demanded by Armenias Russian-owned gas distribution network.

The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) only allowed the Gazprom Armenia network to raise its prices set for corporate consumers by an average of 4.5 percent. It said the gas price for households will not go up for now.

The network fully owned by Russias Gazprom requested an 11 percent cumulative rise in its retail tariffs on April 1. It argued that the cost of Russian gas supplied to Armenian consumers has remained unchanged since Gazprom raised its wholesale price for Armenia from $150 to $165 per thousand cubic meters in January 2019. Gazproms Armenian subsidiary has incurred major losses as a result.

Gazprom Armenia offered to slightly cut the gas price for the majority of households, which currently stands at an equivalent of $290 per thousand cubic meters. However, it demanded the scrapping of a 36 percent price discount enjoyed by low-income families.

The PSRC objected to this demand even before formally ruling on the tariff application. It also urged the gas operator to settle for a more modest rise in tariffs set for manufacturing and agricultural firms.

Gazprom Armenias chief executive, Hrant Tadevosian, responded by warning on June 4 that the commission could put continued supplies of Russian gas to the country at risk.

Not surprisingly, Tadevosian criticized the PSRCs decision on Friday, saying that the commission should have raised the average tariff by at least 7.8 percent. But he did not warn of supply disruptions this time around.

Tadevosian indicated instead that his company will have to cut planned expenditures, presumably including capital investments. It pledged earlier to invest 230 billion drams ($474 million) in in the Armenian gas infrastructure over the next 10 years.

Shortly before Gazprom Armenia requested the price hikes, the Armenian government urged the Russian energy giant to cut its wholesale gas price for Armenia. It argued that global energy prices have collapsed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the matter by phone on April 6. They apparently failed to reach an agreement.

Speaking at a May 19 video conference with fellow leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states, Putin rejected Armenias and Belaruss calls for the Russian-led trade bloc to set uniform energy tariffs which would reduce the cost of Russian natural gas imported by them.
A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Faisal Farooq, the principal of Rajdhani Public School, who was earlier charged with hatching a conspiracy to precipitate and aggravate riots in and around his school. The court observed that the CCTV camera footage did not show his presence at the place where the riots had broken out.

Duty Judge Vinod Yadav said that one witness, Roop Singh, stated on March 8 that he had seen Farooq at the spot of the incident. Singh had also claimed to have heard him asking the guard of the school to permit Muslim persons inside the school.

However, later in his statement recorded before the magistrate on March 11, he did not say a word about having seen the accused man at the scene or having heard him say anything to the guard of the school.

The court, while granting bail, said that to cover up the deficiency in the statement of the witness, the Investigating Officer (IO) recorded a supplementary statement by Singh, claiming that he had got scared before the magistrate which is why he could not state the correct facts. The IO had moved an application before the court to get this additional fact added to his statement. However, it was dismissed by the judge, the court noted in its order.

It is clearly apparent that there are contradictions in the various statements of this witness about the applicant, the court said. It also noted that Farooq kept on calling the police to report about damage to his school (Rajdhani Public School) from February 24, but the FIR in his case was not recorded then. It was ultimately recorded on March 5.

I have gone through the statements of PWs Roop Singh, Geeta, Manoj and Ashok Kumar and have also gone through the recorded statement of Prosecution Witness (PW) Roop Singh. Admittedly, the applicant is not seen in any of the CCTV camera footage.

The court also said that Geeta another witness, incidentally the wife of Roop Singh, also did not say a word about having seen the accused man at the spot on the date of the incident. It said that another witness Manoj, who was the guard at the Rajdhani school, has merely stated that Farooq had come to the schools main gate and spoken to some persons outside the school.

From the aforesaid statements, it is prima facie not established that the applicant was present at the spot at the time of the incident. It is an admitted position that several CCTV cameras were lying installed at Rajdhani Public School at various places, the footages whereof have been thoroughly scrutinised by the Investigating Agency but the presence of the applicant therein is not there. If the applicant (Farooq) was not present at the scene of occurrence, then his involvement in the offences cannot be made out, the judge stated in his order.

The court also noted that except a bald allegation, there is no material to substantiate that Farooq had spoken to several people involved with the communal riots.

When the IO was confronted he stated that further investigation on the aspect of terror funding is underway..., the court said.

The court, while stating that the accused man had made a good case for bail, also noted, It is made clear that nothing in this order shall be construed an expression on the merits of evidence to be adduced in the matter.

The police also chargesheeted 18 people in connection to the riots that broke out at the Rajdhani Public School, while naming its principal Faisal Farooq for hatching a conspiracy to precipitate and aggravate riots in and around Rajdhani School. According to the police, it was on his directions that the adjacent and rival convent school, two parking lots run by the other party and the building of one Anil Sweets was systematically destroyed by the mob.

The police said in the charge sheet that the call detail analysis of Farooqs phone suggested that he had links with prominent members of the Popular Front of India, Pinjra Tod group, Jamia Coordination Committee, Hazrat Nizamuddin Markaz and some fundamental Muslim clerics, including those from Deoband, indicating the depth of the conspiracy.

The charge sheet stated that the rioters had camped inside and fired bullets from the terrace of Rajdhani School. They also threw petrol bombs, acid, bricks, stones and other missiles using an improvised large iron catapult, specially installed for the purpose, from the terrace of Rajdhani School. Police had also said that on the day of the riots, many children from Muslim families had left the school early during the half-time recess.

HT contacted the polices crime branch chief, Praveer Ranjan and police spokesperson Mandeep Randhawa, but despite many calls and text message, there was no response.
The White House defended President Donald Trump's tweet of a doctored video he shared on Thursday night of a black toddler running from a 'racist' white boy, which Twitter labeled 'manipulated media,' as sarcastic and funny.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was making 'a satirical point that was quite funny' and noted his tweet was specifically targeted at CNN, a TV network the president regularly blasts as fake news.

'The president was making a satirical point that was quite funny if you go and actually watch the video,' she said at her press briefing on Friday.

'He was making a point about CNN specifically. He was making a point that CNN is regularly taking him out of context,' she noted.

The president regularly labels news content he doesn't like as 'fake news.'

Twitter cracked down on President Trump's account again when it marked the tweet as 'manipulated media'.

The video had been edited to look like a package from CNN. It showed the black child running in the opposite direction from the white boy with a fake CNN strap which read: 'Breaking news. Terrified toddler runs from racist baby. Racist baby probably a Trump voter.'

The shot cuts away to a black screen with the message 'what actually happened'. It then shows the two boys running towards each other in the street to hug.

The real video, of the two boys - Maxwell and Finnegan - hugging in the street, went viral last year and recently resurfaced in joyful memes about reuniting with friends and family when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

It's unclear who made the edited version Trump tweeted on Thursday night.

Scroll down for video

President Trump on Thursday shared a doctored video with a CNN chyron that reads: 'Terrified toddler runs from racist baby'. Trump's tweet prompted Twitter to add a disclaimer warning users that it was 'manipulated media.' The disclaimer links to a web page outlining Twitter policies as they relate to selectively edited clips

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was making 'a satirical point that was quite funny' in her defense of the doctored video he tweeted

The second part of the chyron read 'racist baby probably a Trump voter'. It never aired on CNN but the video was edited to make it look like it had

The clip is a selectively edited and spliced version of a viral video from last year showing two two-year-old boys - one black and one white - embracing

Trump tweeted the clip, which showed the actual footage of young Maxwell (above) running with open arms to embrace his friend Finnegan (below) in New York City last fall, as a way of criticizing media coverage of racial tensions in America

The two boys are seen embracing in the clip that the president shared on social media on Thursday

It comes just hours after Facebook banned adverts for the president's re-election campaign which they said featured a symbol used by the Nazis.

The true story behind the edited viral video of two two-year-old 'besties' posted by Trump as boy's dad President Trump on Thursday used a deceptively edited video of two toddlers to claim that CNN was distorting coverage of racial tensions in America. But the actual video was first posted last fall. The two little boys who melted hearts in the video are seen racing towards each other with open arms for a big hug. Maxwell and Finnegan became best friends after their parents met in a New York restaurant and have been 'inseparable' ever since. Maxwell and Finnegan became best friends after their parents met in a New York restaurant Now the youngsters are such firm friends that the two families vacation together upstate, Maxwell Hanson's dad Michael Cisneros told DailyMail.com last September. In the adorable clip shared last fall, Maxwell and his friend Finnegan, who are both two years old and separated in age by just a month, can both be seen running towards each other giggling and laughing. Maxwell Hanson was on his way home from daycare in Brooklyn with his dads Alex, 39, and Michael when they bumped into Finnegan and his dad, Dan. Speaking to DailyMail.com Michael, 43, said: 'We really got on with his parents so we started all hanging out and their friendship just blossomed. 'Once they saw each other they immediately started running towards each other, and thats when I pulled out my camera.' The two boys are said to share a love of Disney, watching Moana, Coco and The Lion King together and live just one block away from each other. Michael, who adopted Maxwell as a newborn baby with partner Alex, added: 'His parents and us met just over a year ago and really connected. 'They are always super excited to see each other, even if theyve only been a part. They are partners in crime and when one does something, the other does as well. 'We have a place upstate with a pool, and Finnegan and his parents come stay with us often.' Michael said the boys now share their toys, food and clothes and even 'communicate with each other in ways we dont understand'. He added: 'And whenever they are apart, they each ask for each other. It really is the cutest thing.' Finnegan is described by Michael as the 'more outgoing one', while his son Maxwell 'is a bit shy until he gets to know someone'. But he added: 'They are both super active.' The two boys share a love of Disney and live one block away from each other. 'They communicate with each other in ways we dont understand', Maxwell's dad Michael says Advertisement

CNN reacted angrily to the president's tweet and said the president was 'tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children'.

'CNN did cover this story - but exactly as it happened. Just as CNN has reported your positions on race (and your poll numbers).

'We'll continue working with facts and invite you to do the same, rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children. Be better,' a spokesman said.

A Twitter spokesperson told CNN: 'This Tweet has been labeled per our synthetic and manipulated media policy to give people more context.'

Michael Cisneros, who adopted Maxwell who is featured in the video as a newborn, took to Facebook Thursday slamming Trump. He wrote: 'He (Trump) will not turn this loving, beautiful video to further his hate agenda.'

Late Wednesday, the DOJ revealed its plans to limit big tech platforms' legal protections from being sued.

On Wednesday the Justice Department unveiled proposals to limit big tech platforms' legal protections from being sued for moderating content - a move which follows Trump's accusations of conservatives being 'censored' by web giants.

The proposals from Attorney General Bill Barr's department would dilute the ability of internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, or Twitter to declare content 'objectionable' and remove or downplay it at will.

Conservatives claim that the platforms have used that protection to censor their views, including those of Trump, in an escalating row over what they say is an attempt to stifle their point of view.

But web giants say the sweeping immunities - which are encapsulated in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 are essential to the existence of the modern internet and deny anti-conservative bias.

The plans are outlined in a document which seeks to amend the act, meaning it is subject to both the House and the Senate taking up the proposals.

The Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to take up a Republican proposal and in the Senate it would need either to be tabled by Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader or forced on to the agenda with 60 votes, neither of which seem likely in an election year.

But pushing for reform is a key part of Trump and his administration's appeal to conservatives and would be used as a campaign pitch to vote for Republicans in House elections too.

Currently Section 230 protects internet platforms from being sued for virtually any content posted on them.

It also allows the platforms to freely remove or moderate content they declare 'objectionable' without any ability for those affected to seek redress.

There are no limits on what Google or others can call 'objectionable,' or requirement to explain in advance what they might define that way, or how.

In recent weeks platforms have used that power to remove posts about coronavirus and protests in the wake of George Floyd's deaths which they say spread false claims or fomented violence and racial division.

The DOJ's proposals would change the law to redefine 'objectionable' far more narrowly as material which is 'unlawful' or 'promotes terrorism.'

The DOJ said in its discussion document that this would end 'a platform's ability to remove content arbitrarily or in ways inconsistent with its terms or service simply by deeming it "objectionable."'

The second part of the change would say that removal or moderation of posts has to be in 'good faith,' meaning that any censorship was 'in accordance with plain and particular terms of service and accompanied by a reasonable explanation.'

Earlier this month, Twitter took down a Trump campaign video featuring images from the George Floyd protests due to a copyright claim.

The president reacted angrily, accusing Twitter of fighting hard for the Radical Left Democrats and waging a one-sided battle which he called illegal.

Trump also referenced Section 230.

Trump made the comments in a Twitter post linking to a news story about the decision by Twitter and Facebook to remove the clip.

Last month, Twitter placed fact-check warnings on two tweets from Trump's own account that called mail-in ballots 'fraudulent' and predicted problems with the November elections.

Under the tweets, there is now a link reading 'Get the facts about mail-in ballots' that guides users to a Twitter 'moments' page with fact checks and news stories about Trump's unsubstantiated claims.

Maxwell's father said the president was using the video to 'further his hate agenda'

It also demoted and placed a stronger warning on a third Trump tweet about Minneapolis protests that read, in part, that 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts.'

Michael D. Cisneros with his son Maxwell

Twitter said that the tweet had violated the platforms rules by glorifying violence.

Trump has long railed about perceived liberal bias among social media companies.

On May 28, Trump signed an executive order seeking to scrap legal protections for social media firms, which he has accused of political bias.

The order could open Twitter, Facebook and Google up to lawsuits by diluting the legal protection which stops them from being liable for posts on their platforms, and which also allows them to moderate content.

Trump's executive order said websites such as Twitter and Facebook 'wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events'.

Twitter said the order was a political move which attacked free speech.

Targets: Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook and Jack Dorsey's Twitter would see their protection from being sued if they censor particular points of view being diluted

Twitter posted a blue exclamation mark alert underneath two of Trump's tweets about potential for fraud with mail-in voting, a move that infuriated the president and led to the administration attempting to crack down on big tech companies

Earlier this month, the president accused Twitter of fighting hard for the Radical Left Democrats and waging a one-sided battle which he called illegal. Trump also referenced 'Section 230' - shorthand for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which protects social media companies from legal liability for content posted by third-party users of their platforms

The video shared by the Trump campaign Twitter account was disabled 'in response to a report by the copyright owner' the message in its place said

Trump initially posted this message to Twitter and Facebook just before 1am on May 29. The tweet was controversial due to the reference of 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts'

Facebook, which was severely criticized by many, including its own employees, for allowing the 'looting-shooting' post to remain unchanged, on Thursday removed political ads from Trump's campaign, saying they violated the company's policy against 'organized hate.'

The 88 ads featured an inverted red triangle, a symbol the Nazi's used to mark political prisoners in concentration camps during World War II, but the Trump campaign said it was simply an 'emoji.'

'We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate,' said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a statement.

'Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group's symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol.'

The Trump campaign said the red triangle was an 'antifa symbol.'

'The inverted red triangle is a symbol used by Antifa, so it was included in an ad about Antifa. We would note that Facebook still has an inverted red triangle emoji in use, which looks exactly the same, so it's curious that they would target only this ad,' Trump campaign director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

It was an unusual move by Facebook, which has tried to keep itself out of the debate on the responsibilities of social media platforms when it comes to disinformation and hate speech.

Trump shared the video on Thursday from a pro-Trump meme-making account that goes by the name CarpeDonktum.

The 88 ads featured an inverted red triangle, a symbol the Nazis used to mark political prisoners in concentration camps during World War II

Last year, the CarpeDonkum account was briefly suspended by Twitter after a video on the account depicted the president massacring a group of journalists and political opponents.

AG Bill Barr's Justice Department has unveiled plans to change the law after Donald Trump claimed conservative viewpoints are being stifled by web giants

The video was shown to a gathering of the president's supporters last October at Trump National Doral Miami.

The video, which was circulated on the internet by Trump supporters, is an edited version of the church massacre scene from the 2014 dark comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, starring Colin Firth.

It shows Trump's head superimposed on Firth's body as he walks into 'the church of fake news,' where the congregants represent major American news outlets like NBC, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, Politico, Vox, Vice News, The Hill, BuzzFeed News, and others.

Trump then goes on a killing rampage, using a gun and spear to shoot and stab the parishioners.
TULSA, Okla. - U.S. President Donald Trumps supporters faced off with protesters shouting Black Lives Matter" Saturday in Tulsa as the president took the stage for his first campaign rally in months amid public health concerns about the coronavirus and fears that the event could lead to violence in the wake of killings of Black people by police.

Hundreds of demonstrators flooded the citys downtown streets and blocked traffic at times, but police reported just a handful of arrests. Many of the marchers chanted, and some occasionally got into shouting matches with Trump supporters, who outnumbered them and yelled, All lives matter.

Later in the evening, a group of armed men began following the protesters. When the protesters blocked an intersection, a man wearing a Trump shirt got out of a truck and spattered them with pepper spray.

When demonstrators approached a National Guard bus that got separated from its caravan, Tulsa police officers fired pepper balls to push back the crowd, said Tulsa police spokesperson Capt. Richard Meulenberg. Officers soon left the area as it cleared.

The Trump faithful gathered inside the 19,000-seat BOK Center for what was believed to be the largest indoor event in the country since restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus began in March. Many of the presidents supporters werent wearing masks, despite the recommendation of public health officials. Some had been camped near the venue since early in the week.

Turnout at the rally was lower than the campaign predicted, with a large swath of standing room on the stadium floor and empty seats in the balconies. Trump had been scheduled to appear at a rally outside of the stadium within a perimeter of tall metal barriers, but that event was abruptly cancelled.

Trump campaign officials said protesters prevented the presidents supporters from entering the stadium. Three Associated Press journalists reporting in Tulsa for several hours leading up to the presidents speaking did not see protesters block entry to the area where the rally was held.

While Trump spoke onstage, protesters carried a papier-mache representation of him with a pig snout. Some in the multiracial group wore Black Lives Matter shirts, others sported rainbow-coloured armbands, and many covered their mouths and noses with masks. At one point, several people stopped to dance to gospel singer Kirk Franklins song Revolution.

The protesters blocked traffic in at least one intersection. Some Black leaders in Tulsa had said they were worried the visit could lead to violence. It came amid protests over racial injustice and policing across the U.S. and in a city that has a long history of racial tension. Officials had said they expected some 100,000 people downtown.

A woman who was arrested on live television was seen sitting cross-legged on the ground in peaceful protest when officers pulled her away by the arms and later put her in handcuffs. She said her name was Sheila Buck and that she was from Tulsa.

Police said in a news release the officers tried for several minutes to talk Buck into leaving and that she was taken into custody for obstruction after the Trump campaign asked police to remove her from the area.

Buck was wearing a T-shirt that said I Cant Breathe  the dying words of George Floyd, whose death has inspired a global push for racial justice. She said she had a ticket to the Trump rally and was told she was being arrested for trespassing. She said she was not part of any organized group.

Several blocks away from the BOK Center was a festival-like atmosphere, with food vendors serving hotdogs and cold drinks and sidewalks lined with people selling various Trump regalia.

There was also an undercurrent of tension near the entrance to the secured area, where Trump supporters and opponents squared off. Several downtown businesses boarded up their windows as well to avoid any potential damage.

Kieran Mullen, 60, a college professor from Norman, Okla., held a sign that read Black Lives Matter and Dump Trump.

I just thought it was important for people to see there are Oklahomans that have a different point of view, Mullen said of his state, which overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016.

Brian Bernard, 54, a retired information technology worker from Baton Rouge, La., sported a Trump 2020 hat as he took a break from riding his bicycle around downtown. Next to him was a woman selling Trump T-shirts and hats, flying a Keep America Great Again flag. Her shirt said, Impeach this, with an image of Trump extending his middle fingers.

Since the media wont do it, its up to us to show our support, said Bernard, who drove nine hours to Tulsa for his second Trump rally.

Bernard said he wasnt concerned about catching the coronavirus at the event and doesnt believe its anything worse than the flu.

Across the street, armed, uniformed highway patrol troopers milled about a staging area in a bank parking lot with dozens of uniformed National Guard troops.

Tulsa has seen cases of COVID-19 spike in the past week, and the local health department director asked that the rally be postponed. But Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said it would be safe. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday denied a request that everyone attending the indoor rally wear a mask, and few in the crowd outside Saturday were wearing them.

The Trump campaign said six staff members helping prepare for the event tested positive for COVID-19. They were following quarantine procedures and wouldnt attend the rally, said Tim Murtaugh, the campaigns communications director.

Inside the barriers, the campaign was handing out masks and said hand sanitizer also would be distributed and that participants would undergo a temperature check. But there was no requirement that participants use the masks.

Teams of people wearing goggles, masks, gloves and blue gowns were checking the temperatures of those entering the rally area. Those who entered the secured area were given disposable masks, which most people wore as they went through the temperature check. Some took them off after the check.

The rally originally was planned for Friday, but was moved after complaints that it coincided with Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the U.S., and in a city that was the site of a 1921 race-related massacre, when a white mob attacked Black people, leaving as many as 300 people dead.

Stitt joined Vice-President Mike Pence for a meeting Saturday with Black leaders from Tulsas Greenwood District, the area once known as Black Wall Street where the 1921 attack occurred. Stitt initially invited Trump to tour the area, but said, We talked to the African-American community and they said it would not be a good idea, so we asked the president not to do that.
In 2008, a radical change took place at Bayonne Medical Center.

Fearing that the struggling hospital would close for good, the state Department of Health accepted a bid from an unorthodox buyer: Vivek Garipalli, a young investor with a plan to transform the facility into a for-profit hospital.

Garipalli was the first to see the potential for massive profits in Hudson Countys hospitals. Now, 12 years later, that potential has attracted an eclectic cast of businessmen, many with controversial pasts: Avery Eisenreich, Yan Moshe, and BMC Hospital, LLC, a group made up of partners in for-profit surgical center chain Surgicore.

Neither Garipalli, Moshe, or Eisenreich agreed to interviews for this article. While they largely fly under the radar, the group stands to profoundly affect life for many Hudson residents: hospital owners control thousands of jobs, determine what procedures and services are offered, as well as how much it all costs.

For months, the players have wrangled over the future of CarePoint Healths three hospitals. Critics say the battle threatens the stability of Hudson Countys healthcare, and the residents that depend on it.

Once all the chips fall, once they all land, whats going to be in store for this health system? said Debbie White, president of healthcare workers union Health Professionals and Allied Employees. The communities right now are living in a state of uncertainty. They dont even know if their systems are going to be viable.

Vivek Garipalli, center, with co-owners of CarePoint Health Jeffrey Mandler, left, and James Lawler, in 2007, ,Journal file photo

Garipalli was an unlikely candidate to take over Bayonne Medical Center. He had no medical background and had never run a hospital before. The son of doctors from India, Garipalli graduated from Emory University with a degree in business administration. After college, he entered the finance industry, working stints at Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, and the investment firm Blackstone Group, according to online bios. Prior to buying BMC, he founded a sleep disorder clinic, the International Sleep Network.

Under his management, BMC became the most expensive hospital in the country. Garipalli went on to acquire Hoboken University Medical Center in 2011 and Christ Hospital in 2012, adding to his for-profit network CarePoint Health. His gamble paid off: the same year he acquired Christ, Garipalli bought a $11 million Southampton mansion from fashion designer Tory Burch; he tore it down and built a new one on the property. The mansion offers easy access to a helipad for commuting to New York City. Calvin Klein and David Koch are neighbors.

But many in the community criticized Garipallis business practices. A 2019 report by the State Commission of Investigation found that Garipalli and CarePoints co-owners siphoned more than $150 million from the three hospitals into management companies between 2013 and 2016. Unlike nonprofits, CarePoints management is not required to reinvest profits into the company. Instead, while those millions were being funneled out of the hospitals, workers faced layoffs and constant threats of cuts, said White.

They did not invest money back into the systems in terms of upgrading of equipment, in terms of upgrading services and the availability of staff to do those services, she said.

After the report was released, a CarePoint spokeswoman noted that CarePoint had paid $22 million in property taxes and donated $2 million to charity.

In 2011, Garipalli sold the Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center properties. Last year, another key player in the hospital saga bought the properties: Avery Eisenreich.

Eisenreich, who owns the for-profit nursing home chain Alaris Health, was no stranger to Hudson County. Property records place Eisenreichs home address in Midwood, Brooklyn, but state data shows that eight of the 15 Alaris facilities are in Hudson.

Alaris Health owner Avery Eisenreich in 2015.GlobeNewswire photo

Hes also linked to the Kearny-based Eisenreich Family Foundation, which had roughly $52 million in assets in 2018, according to tax records. The foundation generally gives to Jewish cultural and religious organizations, but also donates thousands to Jersey City Medical Center and other organizations.

Eisenreich himself gave roughly $26,000 to New Jersey politicians over the past decade. Recipients have included former Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, as well as former Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Phil Murphy, and the Hudson County Democratic Party.

Little information about Eisenreichs personal life is available online or on social media. But Eisenreich has apparently been active on one platform. Between 2015 and 2016, a TripAdvisor account apparently belonging to Eisenreich posted more than 40 times.

The New Jersey user whose bio identifies himself as Avery Eisenreich, a New Jersey family man with 20 years of experience in all aspects of the provision of healthcare-related services, sheds light on Eisenreichs lavish lifestyle. According to posts, Eisenreich stayed in (and reviewed) five-star hotels like the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem and the Toronto Four Seasons, where rooms go for hundreds of dollars per night. He also weighed in on tourist sites like Stonehenge (worth seeing) and the Musee DOrsay in Paris (impressive collection).

Like Garipalli, Eisenreich has been the subject of controversy. Over the past decade, dozens of lawsuits have been filed over conditions for patients and staff at Alaris Health facilities. Staff members have accused facilities of poor conditions, low pay, and failure to provide health insurance or pay for overtime. In April, two staff members filed whistleblower lawsuits against the Jersey City Hamilton Park facility, claiming that administrators failed to protect patients and staff from COVID-19.

In an emailed statement, Eisenreich spokesman Hank Sheinkopf declined to answer questions about Eisenreich.

It seems to us that spending more time on irrelevant questions that have nothing to do with achieving continued acute care for Hudson County residents is a diversion, Sheinkopf wrote. Lets focus on making sure that taking care of our neighbors in the County  as has always been our goal  happens...

Last year, Garipalli announced he was selling the CarePoint Hospitals. New regulations had cut into the hospitals business model, and the facility had lost $30 million over the span of two years. RWJBarnabas made a bid for Christ and HUMC, and in March, a suitor for Bayonne Medical Center emerged: BMC Hospital, LLC.

BMC Hospital LLC is made up of Wayne Hatami, a physical therapist; Feliks Kogan; Anthony DeGradi; and Gregg Rock, a podiatrist. In March, the group announced that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Bayonne Medical Center. Hatami, Kogan, and DeGradi are partners in for-profit surgery chain Surgicore, which operates nine centers across New York and New Jersey, one of which is in Jersey City. None have ever managed hospitals.

But earlier this month, a rival emerged to challenge BMCs bid: Hudson Regional Hospital.

On June 2, the Secaucus hospital announced that it had reached a deal with Eisenreich to purchase the BMC and HUMC land for $220 million.

The hospitals owner, Yan Moshe, lives in Glen Head, New York, according to New York public records. But he is also active in the Bukharian Jewish community in Rego Park, Queens, where documents show he owns several properties and is listed as the president of a synagogue.

The Bukharian Jewish community traces its roots to the city of Bukhara in modern-day Uzbekistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, many Bukharian Jews fled abroad; thousands ended up in tight-knit communities in Queens.

Moshe also owns two surgery centers in New Jersey, one each in Saddle Brook and Hackensack.

Hudson Regional Hospital owner Yan Moshe, left, and CEO/President Nizar Kifaieh.Frank Wojciechowski photo

In the past two weeks, lawyers for Moshe and BMC Hospital, LLC sent dueling letters to New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, with each entity pointing out litigation the other is involved in.

In his June 7 letter, an attorney for Hudson Regional referenced lawsuits involving Hatami and DeGradi. Over the past three years, several suits filed by Allstate and GEICO named DeGradi as a defendant, alleging that he owned or referred patients to clinics where fraudulent procedures were performed. Hatami is also named as a defendant in one of the suits.

A lawyer for BMC Hospital, LLC, called the suits frivolous and weak, and said insurance companies sometimes used litigation as a negotiating tool.

In an interview, Hatami, the president of BMC Hospital LLC, said the investors planned to make Bayonne proud of being a world class hospital, where nobody has to leave the peninsula and go anywhere.

We have a lot of integrity and weve been successful and weve been careful in the way weve handled our business, he said. And we would do the same if we took this hospital over.

Mayor Jimmy Davis presented Bayonne Medical Center with 15 advanced respirators on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. He also introduced Wayne Hatami, center, and Gregg Rock, two members of the BMC Hospital LLC group which plans to acquire the BMC. The group gifted 1,000 face coverings to the city of Bayonne.Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

An attorney for the group pointed out that Moshe is facing his own allegations of fraud. The Hudson Regional Hospital owner has been named as a defendant in six federal racketeering and insurance fraud lawsuits. For decades, the suits claim, Moshe has been part of sprawling schemes in which he allegedly operated illegal medical clinics in New York and used them to submit fraudulent claims to insurance companies.

His New Jersey businesses have also drawn scrutiny. A class action suit filed last year alleged that poor safety protocols at Moshes Saddle Brook surgery clinic may have exposed thousands of patients to HIV. And a $25 million suit filed by GEICO in February names Moshe, Hudson Regional Hospital, and its president and CEO, Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, as defendants. The suit claims that Moshe transferred patients from other clinics he owned to Hudson Regional, where they allegedly received unnecessary procedures and were billed inflated prices.

In an interview, Kifaieh said that none of the suits had found any wrongdoing or had led to any judgments against Moshe.

Were not dirty players, he said. When insurance companies like GEICO owe you a lot of money, (the) first thing they do is try to settle with you. And when you refuse to settle because you think youre right, theyll sue you.

Kifaieh said Hudson Regional was a savior for Bayonne Medical Center.

We are a proven operator of an acute healthcare facility, he said. I ran the CarePoint health system for seven years. Im very familiar with all of it. And were able to get a deal done with the landlord.

The tide may be turning against for-profit hospitals. After the states investigation into CarePoint, the state passed a law that will require for-profit hospitals to be more transparent about their finances.

But the battle over the hospitals shows that many believe theres money to be made in Hudson County.

White said thats not necessarily a good sign.

If weve seen nothing else in this pandemic, weve seen that these three hospitals need to stay open, White said. It shouldnt register that there are dollar signs attached to running a hospital. A hospital is not a business thats in business to make money. Hospitals are in business to serve the community.
A roaring fire on the outdoor veranda overlooking the bay. Blankets on shoulders. Servers wearing masks.

For those eager to escape the confines of their home and get a taste of normalcy, going out to eat outdoors at the Jersey Shore  especially when its chilly and rainy  means a whole new experience post-coronavirus.
TEHRAN, Iran, June. 20

Trend:

Iranian President Rouhani announced the decisions of the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus to approve having people to wear face masks in public as measure to protect against the COVID-19 spread, Trend reports via IRNA.

"Economic, educational and cultural activities will resume under the control of Ministry of Health," Rouhani said at the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus meeting.

"There's no need to close down everything, but all the health protocols must be implemented," he said.

Rouhani went on to point out the psychological pressure of the virus.

He said that coronavirus isn't vanishing any time soon, so people have to prepare themselves for the 'longer period'.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 202,500 people have been infected 9,507 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 161,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
Winning team: The stars of Normal People, Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, with director Lenny Abrahamson who has said the arts in Ireland need more funding in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis if they are to survive. Photo: Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Hulu

Director Lenny Abrahamson has warned projects like 'Normal People' will be put in jeopardy without continued support of the arts in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Abrahamson, a member of an expert advisory group formed by the Arts Council to advise on how to deal with the impact of the crisis on the arts, said the challenges posed by it will continue into 2021.

The group's report has just been published and highlights a lack of government funding over many administrations.

Dubliner Abrahamson, who won a best director Oscar nomination for 'Room' in 2016, said: "One of the things we say in the report is that the arts, as an area of Irish life, has a pre-existing condition as it has had a history of under-funding from all of the governments for the last number of years.

"That has meant the effects of the epidemic were particularly dangerous because you've got a patient that has weaknesses already.

"Looking starkly at what life would be like if we did lose the arts in a way that we're in danger of, I hope that it may bring about a rethink on the part of the State about how we're funded and at what level.

"We need to strengthen the sector so it can flourish."

Abrahamson, who directed 'Normal People', the television smash hit of the lockdown, with English director Hettie Macdonald, said people had turned to the arts to help them cope mentally.

"What did people do when they were stuck at home?" he said. "They watched things, they listened to things, they read things.

"What is missed as well as going to sporting events are concerts and arts events, those things that are communal and meaningful to people."

'Normal People' broke the RTE Player record with 3.3 million streams, and its finale attracted 319,000 viewers.

Abrahamson stressed the importance of people being able to share an artistic or cultural experience. "It's also the social interactions that people miss; going to see a film or a play or a concert or a gig, going to a gallery. I think we are less likely to take those things for granted having gone through this process."

Other recommendations in the report from the advisory group include more funding for commissioning and developing projects.

The Government has already pledged 100m to support the arts in the wake of the crisis.

And the Arts Council wants to see the new government maintain current wage supports for artists, art workers and organisations until they can return to full capacity.

Working to restore public confidence in attending live events again is another key aim, said Abrahamson.

And a vital part of that is helping to address the physical challenge of adapting spaces such as cinemas and theatres to deal with social distancing measures.

"It's really hard to know how it's going to turn out," said Abrahamson. "There are obviously costs associated with those things; is it more expensive to have 15pc occupancy in a venue than to have nobody there?

"I think there are huge questions around whether it's one metres or two metres and that will change entirely the economics of it as well.

"We have to look at places where greater numbers of people can go and also will they go again or will they remain nervous about it? But I hope we can get back to the cinemas and theatres again."
Princess Eugenie has thanked NHS staff for saving her father-in-law's life after he was in intensive care with coronavirus.

Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank were warned to 'prepare for the worst' when Jack's father George Brooksbank was put on a ventilator for five weeks.

But the 71-year-old recovered from the life-threatening battle with the virus, and Eugenie posted a video on Instagram on Saturday thanking the staff who worked to keep him alive.

She said: 'I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Brompton hospital for what you've done in saving my father-in-law's life.

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank have expressed their utmost gratitude to the NHS after medical staff helped save Jack's elderly father from coronavirus

George Brooksbank,71, recovered from the life-threatening battle with the deadly virus

'George came back home to us the other day, so happy and as the miracle man, as he called himself.

'And from the bottom of my husband and my heart, we just want to thank you for everything you've done on the front line, for risking your lives and those close to you and just making sure we can all be safe and sleep well at night.

'So thank you so much and thank you for giving us all hope, thank you for changing the course of this pandemic in making sure that we're all happy in what we're doing.

'So I wish everyone all the best and thank you so much for everything you do.'

Accompanying the video was a short statement, which read:'The Covid-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for so many and I want to say a HUGE thank you to every frontline worker who have kept us all safe and well, whilst sacrificing so much. 



'In particular, I'd like to send an enormous thank you to all the teams who saved my father in law, George's life during his stays at St Mary's, Chelsea and Royal Brompton Hospital after he contracted the virus.'



It added: 'I can't begin to express the thanks I have to you all for bringing him back to our family, my husband Jack, his brother Tom and his beloved wife Nicola. We are forever grateful.'

The Princess posted an image of her father-in-law returning home via her personal Instagram account, while writing a heartfelt message to thank all those battling against covid-19

Mr Brooksbank, whose son Jack married the Queen's grand-daughter in 2018, fell ill in mid-March after a trip to France and ended up being in hospital for nine weeks, said a spokesman for Eugenie's mother Sarah, Duchess of York.

The retired chartered accountant and company director was on a ventilator for five weeks at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

After a tracheotomy, his condition gradually improved and he was moved to a ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital which specialised in heart and lung conditions in people recovering from Covid-19.

He then underwent a further period of rehabilitation at an institution in Roehampton.

Mr Brooksbank also thanked staff for the 'incredible' treatment he had received.
Episcopal Church holds hearing for bishop who refused to allow gay marriages in diocese

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The Episcopal Church held a hearing in the case of a bishop who refused to allow for the blessing of same-sex marriages in his diocese.

Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany was punished last year with a restriction on his ministerial duties after refusing to allow gay marriages in his diocese.

His case was brought before a Title IV Hearing Panel, which focuses on issues of ecclesiastical discipline whenever a clergyman is accused of misconduct.

Originally scheduled for April 21 before the shutdowns over coronavirus concerns, the hearing was held via Zoom teleconference on June 12 and posted on social media.

The teleconference hearing did not address the theological validity of Loves views, but rather focused on whether the bishops actions violated Episcopal Church law.

Paul Cooney, who represented The Episcopal Church, told the hearing panel that Love was obligated to a new resolution that mandated all dioceses to bless same-sex weddings.

Canon 118 provides that wherever permitted by secular law and the dioceses of The Episcopal Church, opposite sex and same-sex marriage both may be solemnized by Episcopal clergy, explained Cooney.

We contend that the Albany marriage canons limitation of access to holy matrimony to couples who are a man and a woman is in conflict with the standard of access in Canon 118.

The Rev. Chip Strickland, representing Love, said that The Episcopal Church carries the burden of proof and that he believes they have failed to prove any offense by Bishop Love.

Strickland argued that Love was adhering to the doctrines of the denomination, which includes the Book of Common Prayer, where marriage is defined as being between one man and one woman.

The doctrine of the Church as found in the marriage rites, the prefaces in the marriage rites, and the catechism, defines marriage as between a man and a woman, argued Strickland.

Its ironic that Bishop Love is on trial today for failing to conform, when in fact the facts in law will show that hes fully conformed.

It could take weeks for the Title IV panel to reach a decision. If found in the wrong, Love could be suspended or deposed from his position as bishop. An appeal is possible for either party.

In July 2018, The Episcopal Churchs General Convention approved Resolution B012, which allowed same-sex couples to marry in all dioceses, even ones where the bishops objected.

B012 allowed clergy to refuse to officiate gay weddings, but dissenting bishops had to provide a clergy member to perform the same-sex wedding ceremony.

Other impacted dioceses included Dallas; North Dakota; Springfield, Illinois; Tennessee; the U.S. Virgin Islands; the Diocese of Florida; and the Diocese of Central Florida.

In response, Bishop Love sent out a letter in November 2018 stating that same-sex weddings were not going to occur in his diocese despite the General Convention resolution.

"Jesus is calling the Church to follow His example. He is calling the Church to have the courage to speak His Truth in love about homosexual behavior  even though it isn't politically correct," wrote Love.

"Sexual relations between two men or two women was never part of God's plan and is a distortion of His design in creation and as such is to be avoided."

In January of last year, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry officially restricted Loves ministry, preventing him from enforcing his opposition to B012.

Love  is forbidden from participating in any manner in the Churchs disciplinary process in the Diocese of Albany in any matter regarding any member of the clergy that involves the issue of same-sex marriage, stated Curry at the time.

Nor shall he participate in any other matter that has or may have the effect of penalizing in any way any member of the clergy or laity or worshiping congregation of his diocese for their participation in the arrangements for or participation in a same-sex marriage in his diocese or elsewhere.
The ATO has sounded the alarm on the early release of super scheme. Images: Getty

Australians caught attempting to withdraw their super without meeting the eligibility requirements will face fines of $12,600, the tax office has warned.

The federal government announced Australians financially hit by coronavirus would be able to access up to $20,000 of their super over the coming two years.

Treasury estimated 1.5 million Australians would access their super early, but 2 million have already dipped in.

To be eligible, Australian and New Zealand citizens need to have become unemployed, be receiving the JobSeeker payment or other benefit like Youth Allowance or a parenting payment, or have seen their working hours reduced by at least 20 per cent. Sole traders whose turnover fell by 20 per cent or more were also eligible.

Now, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is warning its closely monitoring those who do choose to withdraw the cash but who arent eligible.

In an updated fact sheet on the ATO website, the office said it has seen some examples where Australians are doing the wrong thing.

In some cases, we have stopped applications and prevented super money from being released. In other cases, we review circumstances after an application has been processed to ensure the integrity of the program.

It said its using income tax returns, Single Touch Payroll data, information from super funds and Services Australia data to monitor the financial realities of those claiming the super.

For example, through STP we have real time information as to whether people are employed and how much they are being paid. Our compliance approach is based on ensuring that people have not exploited the measure. Where we have concerns that claims were not genuine we will review them.

Whats the ATO looking for?

The ATO said Australians who ask for the cash but who havent taken a pay cut will be on its watch-list, along with those who are artificially arranging their affairs to meet the eligibility criteria.

Story continues

Additionally, those who make false statements will be scrutinised, as will those who are attempting to withdraw and re-contribute the super for a tax advantage.

If you are unable to demonstrate your eligibility when we ask for evidence, we may revoke the determination that we issued in respect to your application. This means the amount paid to you under Covid-19 early release of super will become assessable income [and]need to be included in your tax return and you will pay tax on the released amount, the ATO said.

Australians who give false or misleading information will also face penalties of more than $12,000 for each offending statement.

The ATO gave the example of a hypothetical worker who received JobKeeper but had no change to their working hours or income. As such, the worker is required to include the $10,000 as assessable income in his tax return and pay tax. However, as this hypothetical worker made an honest mistake, they wont be stung with a penalty.

But another worker who deliberately changes their affairs to appear eligible will need to include the super as taxable income and pay $12,600 in penalties.

Similarly, those who withdraw the super and then re-contribute it to gain a tax advantage will also cop penalties. For example, an ineligible Australian who attempts to withdraw their super and recontribute it to claim a personal super contribution tax deduction will suffer a penalty and the cancellation of the tax benefit.

Industry Super welcomes ATO move

Industry Super Australia has welcomed the crackdown after reports found Australians had been using the money for alcohol, gambling and furniture.

Ineligible applicants undermine the credibility of this emergency scheme and could be holding up payments for those that desperately need money now, Industry Super Australia chief executive Bernie Dean said.

The ATO has a clear warning to those wanting to make a dodgy application  dont - you will be caught, made to pay more tax and fined.

He said Australians need to remember that tapping into super now comes with a huge price tag by retirement, and should be considered a last resort.

We will work with the Prime Minister and the Treasurer on how we can regrow balances after this scheme, because we all pay, through higher taxes, for more people retiring with only the aged pension.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Amazon bans Family Research Council from AmazonSmile program

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Amazon has banned another conservative nonprofit from its AmazonSmile program, which allows customers to choose a charity to receive proceeds from their purchases.

The tech giant's decision to ban the Family Research Council was reportedly based on recommendations from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the program's gatekeeper, which frequently labels conservative and Christian organizations as "hate groups."

"While Amazon customers can use the AmazonSmile program to donate a portion of each purchase to left-leaning organizations like Planned Parenthood, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Center for American Progress (and to be fair, to many right-leaning organizations, too), Amazon has decided to single out a few well-known conservative organizations like FRC and ADF from receiving part of the tens of millions of dollars the program raises each year from customers," Kay Coles James, president of The Heritage Foundation, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Times.

The Scottsdale, Arizona-based Christian legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom was banned in 2018 after SPLC labeled it as a hate group due to its biblical views on sexuality.

"The SPLC itself is a completely discredited organization," James wrote. "It bills itself as being on the front lines in the fight against racial inequality and injustice, yet last year its own staffers accused its leadership of years of racial and gender discrimination and of widespread sexual harassment. Whistleblowers said that the organization had a 'systemic culture of racism and sexism within its workplace.' As a result, its co-founder and president were both forced out."

She added, "The people at the SPLC certainly have a right to disagree with these groups' policy positions; but it's unconscionable that they would label decent people as hateful and consider them on equal footing with neo-Nazis and the Klan."

At "the urging of Amazon's board of directors," shareholders recently defeated a resolution that would have ended the use of the SPLC's defamatory list, James pointed out.

After the ADF was banned from participating in the AmazonSmile program in 2018, its President and CEO Michael Farris sent a letter to Amazon to protest its decision. In the letter, he argued that the company should refrain from using the SPLC to make decisions on what groups can and cannot be eligible for AmazonSmile.

"Although the SPLC did good work many years ago, it has devolved into a far-left propaganda machine that slanders organizations with which it disagrees and destroys the possibility of civil discourse in the process," wrote Farris at the time. "The group has been discredited by investigative journalists and charity watchdogs as a 'direct mail scam' that has seen its leaders amass enormous fortunes. It is no surprise that the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have severed ties with the SPLC."

In 2017, Amazon also banned D. James Kennedy Ministries from participating in the AmazonSmile program after it, too, was labeled as a "hate group" by the SPLC. In response, the Christian ministry filed a defamation lawsuit against Amazon and the SPLC.

Critics of the SPLC have also accused it of inciting violence against conservative individuals and organizations, linking it to the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council and student protests against Charles Murray at Middlebury College in 2018.

After the shooting at FRC's headquarters eight years ago, the assailant, Floyd Lee Corkins II, said he was incited by the SPLC's list of "anti-gay" organizations which included the FRC, and told FBI agents after the attack that he wanted to "make a statement against people [who worked at FRC]."

At the time, the SPLC issued a statement saying, "We have argued consistently that violence is no answer to problems in a democratic society, and we have strongly criticized all those who endorse such violence, whether on the political left or the political right," the SPLC stated in 2012.

Robert Netzly, CEO of Inspire Investing, expressed concerns in an op-ed piece for The Christian Post that Amazon isn't living up to its commitment to viewpoint diversity.

"Amazon has taken great pains to portray themselves as champions of diversity, and have made public statements about their supposed commitment to respecting diverse viewpoints," Netzly asserted. "For example, their website proclaims that 'diversity and inclusion are good for business  and more fundamentally  simply right.'"

Netzly added, "This begs the question, if Amazon is such a believer in diversity, why would its board recommend that shareholders vote against a resolution that would provide 'a full evaluation of viewpoint bias and associated risks to ensure that Amazon is making balanced decisions and that it is acting consistent with its commitment to diversity?'"
At the request of President Donald Trumps campaign staff, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrested a single peaceful protester in a black I Cant Breathe T-shirt who was sitting outside the venue where Trump is expected to hold a rally on Saturday.

Officers could be seen grabbing the protester by her armpits shortly before noon before dragging her off. She was accused of trespassing, though she said that she had a ticket to the rally.

The Tulsa Police Department said that the woman, a Tulsa resident named Sheila Buck, was in a secure area accessible only by ticketholders.

Officers tried to persuade Buck to leave by herself before she was transported to booking for obstruction, the department said in a statement.

Officers at the location, particularly in the Sterile area, will remove individuals only at the direction of Campaign Staff, police said.

The incident was broadcast live by an MSNBC news crew that had set up near the entrance of the citys BOK Center, where Trump supporters were already streaming in.

Ive done nothing. I have tickets to this event, Buck could be heard telling officers at one point.

As police escorted Buck to a cruiser, Buck told reporters she had come to show support for the nationwide protests against police brutality and racism that have gone on for weeks.

"Somebody has to do this."



A peaceful protester is arrested outside the location President Trump's rally will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Nj23OgyOvX  MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 20, 2020

Trump on Friday issued a threat to protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma in an apparent attempt to discourage dissenters. [P]lease understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene! Trump tweeted.

Police across the country  particularly in New York  have come under harsh criticism for using excessive...

Continue reading on HuffPost
A fixer for the rule of law. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Throughout this presidency, there has been a wide gap between President Trumps authoritarian ambitions and his means to carry them out. The sanguine analysis is to dismiss the threat, which indeed can seem ineffectual and even silly. Just in the last day, he threatened violence against peaceful protesters in Tulsa, and is siccing the Department of Justice in a hopeless lawsuit to stop John Boltons book even after it has been widely read.

And yet over the last three years, the gap has asymptotically narrowed through a process of trial and error, as Trump has discovered which officials are unwilling to undermine the rule of law and removed them. The most chillingly effective step in this process has been the tenure of William Barr. The attorney generals combination of panic-fueled commitment to total culture war and experience in implementing the theory of the unified executive (under Republican administrations) has perfectly suited him for the task.

Barr, the perfect bureaucratic authoritarian, has carried out Trumps vision of law enforcement as a sword against his enemies and a shield for his allies. The latest step is a purge of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who is running the Southern District of New York.

Barrs many-faceted steps to Trumpicize the Justice Department have produced different forms of resistance. Robert Mueller sent a politely worded letter objecting to Barrs misleading summary of his report, before slinking off quietly by delivering a somnolent, unwilling testimony before the House and then going silent. Several prosecutors have quit after Barr undermined their cases against Trump cronies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.

Berman appears unwilling to go gently into that good night. He released a shockingly defiant statement not only contradicting Barrs claims he had resigned and promising to stay in his post until duly replaced, but hinting that he was being purged in order to quash ongoing investigations threatening the president. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption, he promised, and intend to ensure that this Offices important cases continue unimpeded.

The SDNY is perhaps the key source of legal risk to Trump and Barr. Not only does the office traditionally operate with unusual independence from Washington, its territory covers Trumps own center of operations.

The Wall Street Journal reports Berman has clashed repeatedly with Barr over his offices investigations into sundry Trumpian misconduct. Barr expressed skepticism over Bermans investigation of hush-money payments Trump made to Stormy Daniels, a campaign-finance investigation of Rudy Giuliani. CNN reported last February that Barr tried to quash a charge pursued by Bermans office against a Turkish bank that had helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions, after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally asked Trump to intervene in the case.

What cases might Berman be pursuing at the moment? News reports have identified two obvious possibilities. The first is an apparent embezzling scheme during Trumps inauguration. The inaugural committee raised twice as much money as any previous such affair, yet failed to account for its massive intake of funds. SDNY has been looking into the overpayments since 2018, some of which were spent at Trumps own properties and thus lined his pockets.

The second, and even more explosive, case involves Rudy Giuiliani, Trumps attorney, occasional medical adviser, and freelance Ukrainian diplomat. Giuliani ran a scheme in Ukraine designed primarily to pressure its government to announce an investigation of Joe Biden. But Giulianis crew, which included two shady businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were also strong-arming Ukrainians for a piece of their lucrative energy market. The Journal reported last November that Giuliani was the target of an SDNY probe. Parnas is cooperating with authorities and reports that Trump personally directed his actions.

What caused Barr to finally eliminate Berman might be one of those cases crossing a critical threshold, or both, or another case that has not been made public. Or possibly the precipitating cause is just the broader danger of an independent prosecutor having jurisdiction over a president with a long history of criminal associations. Berman seems to be now racing to complete whatever work he is engaged in before Barr can quash it. Whether Berman or Barr has the advantage of time depends on how close any cases may be to prosecution. But any new charges brought against Trump beyond these will either be made against a former president Trump, or not at all. The window in which his actions are subject to the law is closing fast.

The rule of law will probably survive another five months in recognizable form. It almost certainly cannot survive another four years beyond that.
The American owner of Cobham is laying the groundwork for a potential break-up of the British defence giant by splitting it into nine separate divisions.

City sources said Advent International, which bought Cobham for 4billion earlier this year, had given each of the new divisions its own strategy and board ahead of a potential sale of the units over the next few years.

Cobham, known for its pioneering air-to-air refuelling system, was previously run as four divisions  Aviation Services, Advanced Electronic Solutions, Communications and Connectivity and Mission Systems.

The restructure comes just a few months after Advent completed its acquisition of Cobham in January.

Break-up fears: Cobham is one of Britain's biggest defence and aerospace businesses

When its takeover bid first emerged last summer, Lady Cobham  the widow of Sir Michael Cobham, who built up the firm over 25 years  warned about a potential break-up.

She told The Mail on Sunday at the time: 'It's an opportune moment for Advent to pounce and the reality is that Advent will break up Cobham and sell off its parts to the highest bidder.

'This may well include air-to-air refuelling, which is a real shocker.'

Lady Cobham argued that the takeover of the firm  which runs training exercises for the Royal Navy  would put the UK's national security at risk and should be stopped by the Government.

The deal was scrutinised by then Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, who gave the green light after Advent agreed to legal undertakings.

These included notifying the Ministry of Defence of plans to sell Cobham or any of its businesses, ensuring Government information continues to be protected and telling the Government if there is a material change to the ability of key suppliers.

Cobham is one of Britain's biggest defence and aerospace businesses, employing about 10,000 staff globally, including almost 1,800 in the UK.

Former Business Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, gave the green light to the Cobham takeover

The company, which was formerly listed on the FTSE 250 index, began 85 years ago as an air-to-air refuelling business founded by Sir Alan Cobham, a pioneer of long-distance flights.

Its refuelling technology remains cutting edge and is used to refuel most of the West's fighter jets while airborne. The company also plays a role in military rehearsals to test the RAF's readiness.

Last month, reports suggested that Advent had sanctioned the sale of Axell Wireless, which supplies distributed antenna systems to major infrastructure projects.

Its customers include the developer of The Shard skyscraper and the underground transport systems in Beijing and Singapore.

Late last week Sky News reported that Axell had been sold to turnaround investor R Capital, which previously invested in Little Chef, the roadside restaurant company.

It is not clear whether the sale has triggered the requirement to inform the MoD as Axell focuses on civilian rather than military products.

Cobham declined to comment.
We are all in this together. When times get tough, Tucsonans come together and help one another. That is what makes this big city with a small-town feel such a great place to live.

This weekly series shares what life is like for your fellow community members while sheltering in place.

When a pandemic gives you lemons ...

In times like these, art is an excellent way to escape or express what we are all feeling.

Through teamwork and unwavering spirit, Eric Underwood and his band were able to overcome all odds and release a survival song during a pandemic. Last Dance is a song that is catchy and yet so current, all generations can enjoy it.

It was March 14, 2020, and Underwood went downtown to enjoy an evening at Playground, a local downtown bar. He didnt know that it would be his last hoorah for months, but the following morning the entire city was under a stay-at-home order. That ended up being the event that inspired this piece of art, regardless of the hurdles in place.

The lyrics of the song mimicked the panic seen in our community.

It puts words and rhythm to chaos in a way that everyone can admire; a song that challenges the human spirit and the will to survive.

There are many different sides to this apocalyptic satire, but at its core is a beautiful love song, Underwood said.

Once the song was written, it was a matter of getting it out there.

Originally the Eric Underwood Band had a show booked at The Boxyard on Historic Fourth Avenue, anxiously awaiting the inevitable postponement notice, the band decided to record their music from their homes. While recording and mixing all their parts separately, they filmed the production to create a Zoom-style music video. This is a trend weve seen by many of our favorite bands lately, so putting it to action in their own way would prove to be a challenge they enthusiastically accepted as a band.
A lawsuit to stop the June 20 rally over concerns that it could increase the spread of Covid-19 in the community was filed this week, the BBC reported.

Washington, June 20 (IANS) Oklahoma's Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump's rally on Saturday in Tulsa, his first since March, can go ahead.

Virus cases are rising in Oklahoma, and local health officials have expressed concerns over hosting the rally.

The Trump campaign says they received over 1m ticket requests for the event.

The queue for the event at the Bank of Oklahoma Center - which seats 19,000 people - began forming earlier this week.

Facing tough re-election prospects in November, the president is hoping to reboot his campaign after a rocky week that has seen news of sinking opinion poll numbers, twin US Supreme Court defeats, two damning tell-all memoirs and a resurgence in coronavirus cases.

The lawsuit to cancel his rally was filed on behalf of local residents and businesses who had argued the venue should mandate social distancing guidelines in accordance with

US public health officials' recommendations, or cancel the event.

But the Supreme Court said that as the state had begun to reopen, the regulations left social distancing decisions up to individual business owners.

In response to safety concerns, the Trump campaign has said they will check attendees' temperatures and offer hand sanitiser and masks.

But people buying tickets for the Tulsa rally online also have to click on a waiver confirming they "voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19" and will not hold the president's campaign responsible for "any illness or injury".

Tulsa's mayor imposed a curfew on Thursday around the venue, declaring a civil emergency, but the president says the city leader has assured him the measure will not apply to the rally itself.

Mayor GT Bynum, a Republican, cited recent "civil unrest" and potential opposition protests as he slapped an exclusion zone on a six-block radius near the arena.

On Friday morning, President Trump, also a Republican, posted a warning on Twitter to demonstrators.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis," the president tweeted.

"It will be a much different scene!"

Tulsa's health department director Dr Bruce Dart told the Tulsa World paper: "I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."

Trump originally planned to hold the rally on Friday, but changed the date after learning it fell on Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of US slavery.

The president told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that a black Secret Service agent had told him the meaning of the anniversary.

--IANS

rt/
Covid-19 data that is being released by the Sikkim government on a daily basis is not only confusing but also full of discrepancies, opposition parties in the Himalayan state have alleged.

Sikkim, a small Himalayan state sharing borders with China, Bhutan and Nepal, reported 70 Covid-19 cases till Friday, out of which 21 patients have been discharged from hospitals, data provided by the state government shows. There have been no fatalities so far.

But, a closer look at the data released over the past few days reveals that there has been some discrepancies.

On June 11, the official data released by the states health department, claimed that at least 6,618 swab samples were tested. However, on June 12 the number of tests done was found to be 5,157.

Bharat Basnet, president of the Pradesh Congress Committee of Sikkim said, There are discrepancies in the Covid-19 data provided by the state. The situation could have improved had the state government called an all-party meeting before putting in place the combat techniques.

Sikkim was the first among the states to ban the entry of outsiders and migrant labourers. International borders with China, Nepal and Bhutan were also sealed. The state, however, witnessed a sharp spike after Sikkimese people returned when the nationwide lockdown was relaxed.

Alleged discrepancies have also surfaced in the number of recoveries. While on June 16, the official data stated that five people had recovered, the number of people discharged from hospitals dropped to four the next day on June 17.

Senior officials of the state government, however, have refuted the charges.

The official data provided on the morning of June 12 on total number of tests carried out did not reflect the number of tests carried out at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri, West Bengal, said Kaden Zangmu, the nodal officer for Covid-19 in Sikkim.

She further said, Since June 12, the format of the health bulletin changed and 1,711 tests which were carried out at the NBMCH were not reflected in the bulletin.

The last sample sent to the NBMCH was on May 28. After that date, all the samples are being tested in the states own lab. So far 8,894 samples including 1,711 sent to the NBMCH have been tested, she said.

The total number of recovered cases on both June 16 and June 17 was 4. The portal where the data is updated is handled by the state home department.

Opposition parties including the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) and Congress said the data made available proved that the government is not serious about the figures.

MK Subba, SDF spokesperson said, There is total confusion in the handling of the Covid-19 crisis and data by the state government. The Sikkim government made a mistake by studying the Covid-19 impact and implemented mitigation measures very late. It has failed to follow the laid down reporting protocol and guidelines of the ICMR.

Pempa Tshering Bhutia, director general cum secretary of the state health and family welfare department said, We have been sending total data including the tests carried out at NBMCH to the Centre on a daily basis.
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany -- A life-sized statue of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was unveiled on June 20 in Gelsenkirchen, a former mining town in western Germany by the radical left-wing Marxist-Leninist Party Of Germany (MLPD).



Several hundred people gathered for the ceremony, with scores of police barricading the busy street corner where the monument to the founder of the Soviet Union was revealed.



The statue was initially set to be installed in time for Lenin's 150th birth anniversary in April, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the event.

The installation of Germany's first large public statue of Lenin outside the former communist East Germany was fiercely opposed by many Germans.



Gelsenkirchen's city council took the Marxists to court in an attempt to stop the action, calling Lenin a "representative of violence, suppression, terror, and immense human suffering."



But the council's case that the statue would "disturb the view" of a nearby historic bank was thrown out and the Marxists were given the green light to erect the monument.

Martin Schulmann, a spokesman for Gelsenkirchen's city council, told RFE/RL in April that "only a very few people around the Marxist Party want [the Lenin monument], no one else."



But after the council's legal defeat, "we have no choice but to accept the court's rulings, since the piece of land where the statue is due to be installed is privately owned [by the MLPD]."



The erection of Lenin's statue comes amid global protests against racism in recent weeks that have witnessed numerous statues of controversial figures toppled or vandalized in the United States, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and elsewhere.

At a press conference before the unveiling, MLPD's leader Gabi Fechtner told RFE/RL that measures have been taken to reinforce the Lenin statue.



"I won't say exactly how but it has been very firmly fastened in place."



The 1.3-ton, cast-iron statue was made in the former Czechoslovakia in 1957 and bought by the MLPD in an online auction for 16,000 euros ($18,000).

As speeches were under way, Russian woman Yekaterina Maldon stood amongst the crowd with an anti-Soviet placard and a vodka bottle filled with red liquid.



Maldon had the bottle pulled from her hand and was hauled away by members of the crowd as she shouted, "Lenin was a mass killer."



A few dozen right-wing demonstrators opposed to the installation of the Soviet leader gathered outside the police barricades, including a small group wearing black jerseys branded with "Defensive West MG."



The group drew chants of "Fascists out!" from the MLPD supporters.

A short distance from the Defensive West group, Marco Graeber, a supporter of Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), Germany's right-wing, anti-immigrant political party, held a sign reading: "Freedom instead of socialism."



Graeber told RFE/RL that he was there to oppose "a monument to a mass murderer," adding that "if there was a statue here to Hitler we would oppose that, too."



Another protestor next to him leaned in to add, "socialism just doesn't work, we can see it everywhere from North Korea to Venezuela. These [Marxist-Leninists] want to bring back the past."

Stefan Engel, the former head of the MLPD, says the organization aims to install a "true version of socialism" in Germany, a political ideology which he told gathered media was "betrayed" after Josef Stalin died and his reign of mass murder and repression was denounced by the Soviet leadership beginning in 1956.



Engel says the party is now planning to erect a statue of Karl Marx to stand next to the controversial Lenin, but gave no timeline for the emplacement.



In 2018, the western German city of Trier unveiled a controversial statue to the communist philosopher to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth.
June 19 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, led by energy stocks as oil prices gained after OPEC producers and allies promised to meet supply cut commitments, while signs of improving fuel demand further bolstered sentiment.

* At 9:40 a.m. ET (13:40 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 124.15 points, or 0.8%, at 15,603.98.

* Iraq and Kazakhstan pledged to comply better with oil cuts during a meeting of an OPEC+ panel on Thursday, sources told Reuters, while fuel demand across Europe showed signs of a gradual recovery after hitting record lows in April.

* The energy sector climbed 2.2% as U.S. crude prices rose 3.5% a barrel, while Brent crude added 2.6%.

* Investors also seemed to shrug off data that showed the nation's retail sales plummeted 26.4% in April, posting a record decline for a second consecutive month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

* The financials sector gained 0.6%. The industrials sector rose 0.3%.

* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.3% as gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,736.2 an ounce.

* On the TSX, 195 issues were higher, while 29 issues declined for a 6.72-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 130.84 million shares traded.

* The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was First Quantum Minerals Ltd, which jumped 7% after Jefferies hiked its target price for the stock, followed by Baytex Energy Corp , which rose 5.4%.

* Pot producer Hexo Corp fell 3.8%, the most on the TSX, followed by Bombardier Inc, down 3.6%.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Zenabis Global Inc, down 37.9%, Bombardier Inc, down 3.6% and Enbridge Inc, up 0.4%.

* The TSX posted 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows.

* Across all Canadian issues there were 13 new 52-week highs and two new lows, with total volume of 159.84 million shares. (Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
OnScene

A man fleeing Constable deputies in Harris County late Friday night ultimately crashed into a railing and then jumped more than 60 feet from an overpass trying to escape, officials said.

The man was apprehended after the fall, Constable Alan Rosens office said in a Tweet. He was injured but responsive.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico would open its primary elections to independent voters  if they agree to register with a political party immediately before casting their ballot  under legislation that won bipartisan support Friday in the state Senate.

The proposal, Senate Bill 4, now heads to the House as lawmakers continue a fast-paced special session dedicated largely to balancing the state budget.

Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, described the proposed election change as a small step toward opening up New Mexicos closed primary system. Only Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians  the states major parties  are currently permitted to vote in primaries.

Sapien won approval Friday for the amendment  which passed on a 37-5 vote  that changes a broader election proposal.

The measure would allow voters who arent affiliated with a political party to register as a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian at a voting location and then cast a ballot.

Under the current system, voters have to change their affiliation at least 28 days before the election.

The proposal wouldnt permit Democrats to switch to Republicans or vice versa.

But independents could register with a party for the primary election. They would remain registered with that party going forward unless they switched back later.

What were doing here is more of a compromise, Sapien said, not a fully open primary system.

Allowing independent voters to participate, he said, would force the major parties to appeal to a broader group of voters, rather than just their traditional base.

Senate Bill 4 now heads to the House. If approved there, it would go to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The action comes during an unusual special session that began Thursday. The Capitol is closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The legislation approved Friday outlines a variety of temporary changes for the 2020 general election in response to the health emergency. It would, for example, permit county clerks to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters.

An earlier version of the bill would have allowed broader voting by mail  without requiring an absentee application  but it was removed before reaching the full Senate for consideration.

The bill approved Friday includes provisions aimed at ensuring voting locations in Native American communities remain open, allowing absentee ballot applications to be sent out earlier than allowed now and requiring a bar code system on ballot envelopes to make it easier to track them.

Those changes would be temporary, but the modified open primary system would be permanent.

Todays overwhelming Senate vote was a win for strengthening our democratic process here in New Mexico, said Heather Ferguson, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a nonpartisan advocacy group for voting rights.

Lawmakers have debated changing New Mexicos closed primary system for years.

Senators on Friday described Sapiens amendment as a breakthrough.

This is something weve been kicking around for a long time, Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, said.

Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said the legislation represented the collaboration of senators on both sides of the aisle.

This bill, I think, is a good balance, Ivey-Soto said.

The final vote on the bill was 40-2, sending it on to the House.

About 22% of the states registered voters are not affiliated with a major party. Democrats make up 46% of the voter rolls, Republicans comprise 31% and Libertarians 1%.
Its been eight years since Aung San Suu Kyis by-election win. Her victory raised hopes that refugees - who had been displaced by seven decades of fighting in southeast Myanmar's Karen state  would be able to return home. But a majority remain without a permanent residence due to civil strife.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

Trend:

Provocative statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan destroy format and essence of the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Assistant to Azerbaijans president, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said.

He made the remark commenting on Pashinyans speech at the Summit of the Eastern Partnership countries held recently in the format of a video conference.

Hajiyev reminded that in October 2019 during the Summit of CIS heads of state in Ashgabat, President Ilham Aliyev exposed the policy of Armenia towards the Armenian Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh.

Pashinyan, hysterically trying to defend Nzhdeh during the summit, put himself in a ridiculous position, he said. Then, in February 2020, at the Munich Security Conference, Pashinyan, after being smashed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev before the eyes of Armenia, world Armenians and the international community, was again discredited.

After that, Pashinyan exposed himself, propagandizing his grandfather, a Nazi criminal, just like Nzhdeh.

"The Armenian prime minister, who did not recover from these blows, faced another defeat during a video conference of the heads of state and government of the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries on June 18, 2020, Hajiyev continued. Trying to respond the fact-based position of President Ilham Aliyev, Pashinyan responded with his speech in Armenian and funny English, which was met with irony and create confusion."

His statements were repeatedly given a restrained, at the same time weighty and decisive response from President Ilham Aliyev. The president, noting that Varoujan Garabedian (diseased leader of Armenian ASALA terrorist organization), who committed a terrorist act at Orly Airport in France [bomb attack in 1983, which killed 8 and wounded nearly 60 people], was extradited to Armenia and announced as hero there, said that Armenia should not talk about issues such as racism and terrorism, Hajiyev noted.

Pashinyan, as the only masked head of state who participated in the videoconference, made a laughing stock of himself. And this demonstrated that his words about coronavirus infection are just populism.

Having confused the streets of Yerevan with international events, the Armenian prime minister again put forward charges against Azerbaijan and came up with a populist speech to justify his failure.

Pashinyan is currently in a stalemate. He basically established revolutionary dictatorship in Armenia. The arrest of opposition representatives, journalists and judges, coercion of silence and blackmail of people who express any dissenting opinion, the death of an opposition representative in prison - widespread practices in the country.

Obviously, his fight against coronavirus is doomed to fail. Embarrassed Pashinyan makes numerous provocative and contradictory statements for domestic audience, Hajiyev said.

With provocative statements, Pashinyan destroys the format and essence of the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that the format of negotiations cannot be changed. There is no such concept as the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, as Pashinyan claims. Nagorno-Karabakh is the historical land of Azerbaijan. As President Ilham Aliyev emphasized at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow in October 2019, "Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan and an exclamation mark."

Azerbaijan will liberate all its lands occupied by Armenia and restore its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. All responsibility for the potential aggravation of the situation lies entirely with Pashinyan, Hajiyev concluded.
FPI from China

According to data from nseinfobase.com of Prime Database, the market value of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) from China surged to Rs 3,257 crore in March 2020 from just Rs 774 crore at the end of Dec 2019.

Media interest

$25 million investment in 17-language Indian news aggregator Dailyhunt by ByteDance

Chinese companies are increasingly showing interest in the media space, mainly in news apps due to limits on foreign ownership of print and television media. The company making the biggest waves is ByteDance, which is behind the most popular news aggregator in China, Jinri Toutiao, as well as the most popular video-sharing app, Douyin. But most stunning has been the success of Douyins English-version, TikTok, which as of 2019, amassed over 300 million users in India. Alibaba-owned UC Browser, widely used in India, has also entered the news aggregation space.

Pharma

Indian pharma is heavily dependent on China as it imports two-thirds of its active pharamaceutical ingredients from China. It is not that India cannot manufacture APIs but Chinese imports are cheaper, one reason why prices of many drugs increased sharply after Chinese supply was halted.

Auto parts

China accounts for nearly 27% of Indias annual auto parts imports valued at $4.8 billion. Indian exports to China in this segment is only about $300 million annually.

Toys

Toy imports in various forms are valued at $1.5 billion. India imports over 85% of its requirement of toys. Almost 85% of the total imports are from China, which has completely shaken the domestic industry.

Mobile

Among the top five best-selling smartphone brands in India, four are Chinese  OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi and Huawei. The combined sales of Chinese phone companies in India crossed $7.2 billion in 2017-2018. Xiaomi alone has over $2 billion in total sales in India, while Vivo generated $1.6 billion in revenue in 2018, doubling from the previous year

In 2019, Xiaomi announced its seventh factory in India in partnership with Flex in Chennai. It has other facilities in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Sri City in Andhra Pradesh and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

Auto

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors (GWM)s announcement of $1 billion investment with Maharashtra government made headlines because of its timing. Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corporation is already operating through its MG Motors brand and recently announced a further US$350 million investment in a second unit

SAIC has announced ambitious plans for cars tailor-made for the Indian market with a $288 million investment to expand an older General Motors plant at Halol, Gujarat, and is considering launching electric SUVs with a US$500 million investment. BYD, another Chinese company, is also making inroads in the electric vehicles segment

Big Chinese investors

Alibaba

Alibaba is among the largest investors in India. It started with a $680 million investment in 2015 for a 40% stake in One97 Communications, the parent company ofPaytm.It also made an additional $177 million investment in 2017 the same company. Also the Paytm app, from its design to its colours, is a mirror image of Alipay, Alibabas widely used payments app in China. In addition, Paytm uses AliCloud, Alibabas cloud computing platform

Alibabas another investment was $500 million in the e-commerce company Snapdeal followed by $146 million in 2017 deal to become the biggest shareholder in BigBasket with a second investment of $50 million in the same company

It also invested $210 million in food delivery app Zomato, and a reported $35 million in the logistics firm Xpressbees

Recently, Alibaba Pictures plunked down US$17.3 million in the online ticketing platform TicketNew

Tencent

Tencent made a string of mega-investments starting with first notable investment of US$400 million in Ola.This was followed by a $700 million investment in the e-commerce platform Flipkart, then Indias most valuable startup, in a deal that made Tencent the biggest Chinese investor in India.

It went on to invest US$175 million into Hike Messenger, a $145 million injection in the healthcare startup Practo, $51.4 million in the education app Byjus. It took part in a $1 billion funding round for Swiggy and in a $115 million funding round for Gaana.

Source: The China Global Investment Tracker, a project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundatio
Students study in a library on the campus of California State UniversityLong Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 19, 2012. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

California Senate Approves Ethnic Studies Requirement for CSU Students

A bill that would require all California State University students to complete an ethnic studies course to graduate overwhelmingly passed the state Senate on June 18.

The bill, Assembly Bill 1460 (AB 1460), passed by a 30 to 5 vote. If the bill becomes law, it would make California the first state in the nation to require students to complete an ethnic studies course in order to graduate, says Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego).

AB 1460 would require each California State University (Cal State) campus to provide courses in ethnic studies beginning in the 20212022 academic year. Students graduating in the 20242025 academic year would be required to complete at least one three-unit course in ethnic studies to get their undergraduate degrees.

We need students to know not only of the contributions of white Americans, but of black, Latino, Asian, and Native Americans, and their contributions to this country, Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood), a co-author of the bill, said during the Senate session.

The bill defines ethnic studies as an interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity with special focus on four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina and Latino Americans.

Bradford said the bill is supported by the Black Caucus, the Asian Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the California Faculty Association, and the California State Students Association, among other groups.

For over 400 years, we have sanitized and whitewashed history, full of lies, omissions, and denials. Now its the time for the truthbecause as we know, the truth will set you free, he said.

Sen. Steven Grazer (D-Orinda) spoke against the bill, calling it political interference that could set a dangerous precedent. He warned against the state making education curriculum decisions that he said should be left up the Cal State board of trustees and administrators.

Sen. Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) also argued against the bill, citing a $20 million implementation cost at a time of financial difficulty.

The Cal State board of trustees is expected to pass its own revised ethnic studies curriculum and requirements by July 1, according to many of the senators who testified at the hearing. The California State University is composed of 23 campuses across the state, and educates 482,000 students each year.

Bradford said some opponents who have reservations about dictating curriculum are many of the same folks who oppose the removing of racist heroes in this country  and changing the names of naval and army bases.

Part of the fight against racism requires us to increase our understanding of one another and our history. If our students do not understand that 400-year history of white supremacy and segregation in this country, how can they understand the moment of now? The legacy of that history is still all around us today, he said.

He added, Its visible in who can buy a house, and where you can buy a house due to restrictive covenants and redlining that once existed. Its visible in whos incarcerated and whos not, because of a legacy of slavery and the 13th Amendment, the war on drugs, and other institutional biases. Its visible in which families have intergenerational wealth, and which ones have one-tenth of that wealth.

Sen. Steven Bradford attends the MedMen Red Jacket Preparation Launch with Brotherhood Crusade in Culver City, Calif., on November 7, 2019. (Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for MedMen)

Institutional racism is evident when Wall Street fraudsters get away with financial crimes, Bradford said, unlike George Floyd, who died for maybe passing a fake $20 bill. He also brought up legislative ignorance of Juneteenth, the June 19 holiday that celebrates the emancipation of slaves following the Civil War.

Too few people know slavery endured for years, and in many ways still endures now, Bradford said. An ethnic studies requirement will help fix that ignorance.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) graduates have a far better grasp of history than other colleges, he said, because HBCUs teach American history, not sanitized history.

The bill now returns to the Assembly, where it began and already passed, for a vote that incorporates any amendments made by the Senate. It is expected to pass again, and move along to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature on the way to becoming law.
Twitter has been important in burnishing President Trumps brand of a brash straight-talking politician, but the social media company has recently begun to flag when Trumps tweets are misleading. Other online platforms like Facebook and Snap are doing the same with a variety of information sources
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 18:24:39|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 64 to reach 17,881, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Saturday.

The number excludes the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 967 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including 13 from the cruise ship.

In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 39 to reach 5,748, including 24 people who had close contact with confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, Osaka Prefecture has recorded 1,806 infections, followed by Kanagawa Prefecture with 1,431 infections, Hokkaido 1,195 cases, Saitama 1,028, Chiba 921, while Fukuoka Prefecture has recorded 838 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures on Saturday.

The health ministry said there are currently a total of 62 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators or in intensive care units.

The ministry also said that in total, 16,735 people, including 658 from the cruise ship, have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved. Enditem
Dozens of GTA residents who gathered at Nathan Phillips Square were among the thousands around the globe yesterday who marched, protested and marked World Refugee Day.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a special statement recognizing the event, saying Canada stands in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who long for what is often taken for granted: a safe place to call home.

This year, our world has changed significantly, said Trudeau. As the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged us into uncertain times, Canada remains committed to its humanitarian tradition, and to an asylum system that is fair and efficient.

We will continue to work closely with international partners to find ways to support people seeking refuge from persecution, violence, and insecurity as we navigate the unprecedented challenges we are facing as a global community during this crisis, Trudeau said.

In Toronto, at Nathan Phillips Square, the peaceful demonstration was co-hosted by 20 groups, including the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Supporters carried signs saying Refugees are the future of Canada.

Toronto Mayor John Tory tweeted out a message of support. Today, I am so proud to live in a city that has opened its doors and hearts to refugees from around the world  and I hope that today we celebrate their many contributions to our city and to the rich cultural diversity of our country.

Among 26 countries that resettled asylum seekers in 2019, Canada took the No. 1. spot. According to the UN Refugee Agency, Canada provided more than 30,000 refugees the chance at a new life, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

We are saluting today the generosity of Canada, and of Canadians, in standing with refugees at a time of growing need, said Rema Jamous Imseis, Canadas representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

This is the collective result of individual Canadians, civil society, local communities and the government working together and actively contributing to the protection of refugees in the world, Jamous Imseis noted. In turn, refugees have contributed significantly to Canadas economic and social fabric.

The agency also highlighted refugees who are also on the front lines fighting this pandemic, saying their efforts have created solidarity that transcends borders.

Trudeau called on Canadians to stand with those fleeing hardship and violence. In addition, Canadians share a moral responsibility to help refugees and forcibly displaced people to find shelter and start new lives

As Canadians, we are proud to open our hearts, homes, and communities to refugees, his statement said.

Nearly 80 million people around the world were reported displaced in 2019 in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sahel region of Africa, Yemen, Syria and Venezuela.

Yemen has been declared the worst humanitarian crisis in the world with over 20 million people in need of assistance and where more than 280,000 refugees are attempting to leave, reports Al Jazeera media.

Osobe Waberi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @OsobeWaberi

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Five minutes earlier and about 13 miles south, a 28-year-old man was shot while driving in the 8700 block of South Halsted Street in the Gresham neighborhood. He was wounded in the left shoulder and taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
Star Tribune/AP

A United Nations (UN) draft resolution calling for an investigation into police brutality against black people in the US and elsewhere only passed after both mention of America and an investigation was dropped.

The resolution ultimately adopted by the UNs Human Rights Council on Friday instead condemned discriminatory and violent policing generally and ordered a report on systemic racism against people of African descent.

The watering down of the resolution came following days of grappling over language after African nations on the 47-member-state forum backed away from their initial push for a commission of inquiry, the councils most intrusive form of scrutiny, focusing more on the US.

Western delegations on the council, including Australia, Germany, Poland the the European Union, said the US should not be singled out.

The mandate also asks the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to examine government responses to peaceful protests, including alleged use of excessive force, and to deliver the findings in a years time.

The aim is to contribute to accountability and redress for victims in the US and beyond, the resolution says.

Iran and Palestine signed on as co-sponsors for the resolution that condemns continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices by law enforcement against Africans and people of African descent in particular which led to the death of George Floyd, it says. Any state can sign on as a resolution co-sponsor at the council.

The council debate on racism and police brutality was called after the police killing in Minnesota last month of George Floyd, which sparked Black Lives Matter protests worldwide.

Mr Floyd, a black man, died after a white officer in Minneapolis pressed a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes as he pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving. His death prompted a wave of outrage.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of Mr Floyd, urged the forum on Wednesday to investigate US police brutality and racial discrimination.

Story continues

Burkina Fasos ambassador, Dieudonne Kere, presented the African resolution on Friday, urging its adoption by consensus.

It is important to show Africa ... the Human Rights Council has heard the plight of African and people of African descent calling for equal treatment and application of equal rights for all, he said.

The Africa group had made numerous concessions in the negotiations with other countries, he added.

Senegals envoy Coly Seck, a former council president, welcomed the consensus, telling the talks: Black Lives Matter.

But Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which led 600 activist groups in calling for the urgent debate, said: It is absurd that the final resolution passed by the United Nations strips mention of the United States, where police kill people, particularly black people, at alarmingly higher rates compared to other developed countries.

The United Nations needs to do its job  not get bullied out of doing it  and hold the United States accountable, he said in a statement.

The Trump administration, which quit the forum two years ago alleging bias against its ally Israel, made no immediate comment. US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Andrew Bremberg, said on Wednesday his country was not above scrutiny as it grappled with racial discrimination but was implementing police reforms after Floyds killing.

Activists said Australia in particular had been active in negotiations to take the spotlight off the US.

This problem does not belong to any one country, it is a problem around the world, said Australian ambassador Sally Mansfield.

Germanys ambassador Michael Ungern-Sternberg said: We are convinced a report with a broader approach and less focus on one specific case would have been more appropriate.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Read more

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There are new details in the deadly police shooting of Cameron Lamb.It was not investigated by an outside agency. The Kansas City Police Department did the investigation themselves, and some say that's a mistake.A Jackson County grand jury indicted Detective Eric DeValkenaere Thursday with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for recklessly causing the death of Lamb, who was shot on Dec.
A recent editorial by the Journal continues the divisive slant that our modern-day fake news so craftily presents.  The figurative comment put forth  was the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat, which has been one used against me from both sides of the aisle. When I made this comment, I was very clear that I meant it in no way, shape or form in the physical sense. I was only speaking in a political sense.

How many times do you hear someone say they want to kill the opposing team in sports? Or that they are going to annihilate an opponent? Again, I meant this in a figurative way, and I will again, as I have already stated a thousand times over, repeat that I meant no physical harm to anyone.

The hypocrisy of the  media has been something Ive experienced ever since Ive been in office. The Albuquerque Journal, as well as every other major media outlet, not too long back was trying to brand me as a thief. The headlines  perpetrated by the Democrats of New Mexico: Otero County Commissioner steals White Sand. (The Journal published Cowboys for Trump group denies illegal sand removal claims Dec. 8.)  As the truth in that story was revealed and evidence was shown, the state Highway Department gave me the sand under the good graces of it and state representatives. There was not an apology from the media nor the Democratic Party. 

The  attacks the Democrats and media have waged have caused great injury to me in my personal life, as well as totally disrupted our county government here in Otero County. As a result of hundreds of death threats  we had to lock our county administration building down. Now the county is faced with purchasing a new security system as a result of this  story. It is absolutely ridiculous and it needs to stop.

In regard to the destructive policy of the Democratic Party, I will stand behind the comment that the policy really does need to die. The party has left those productive Democrats like the John Arthur Smiths and the Mary Kay Papens in the mud. The modern-day Democratic Party represents more and more the hard-line socialist party, infringing on our Second Amendment, having open borders and killing our unborn, the most heinous of all. I truly cant understand how my comments have caused more disgust among the Democrats than killing babies through the ninth month of pregnancy. Its heartbreaking.

When the story of my comment broke, the progressives, assisted by the media, immediately smelled blood. They truly thought this was going to be the  bullet to take me down. The state Republican Party made a lukewarm comment, We wouldnt condone acts of violence, while the young Republicans directly put me on blast. As everyone started running and distancing themselves from me, President Trump came to my defense because he understood what I said. He also understands, all too well, about fake news and weak Republicans. He knows I love my country and that I love my fellow man. But more importantly, he knows that I love God and will stand strong on my convictions.

 I did not get involved in politics to try and position myself for personal gain. The reason I ran for office was because I wanted my county to move forward and prosper. I am tired of our small businesses being taxed and regulated to death. I am sick and tired of our Constitution being infringed upon. And I am sick and tired of a Democratic Party who will allow the murder of thousands of babies every year.

New Mexico, (and) America, will soon see the greatest political shift  ever.  The progressive Democrats will not prevail. Trump will win and the liberal Left will be fooled once again. America will become greater than it has ever been. In the end, Gods grace and mercy will prevail.
In a statement on June 19, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran must immediately comply with the demands of UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and provide full access to international inspectors.

The IAEA Board of Governors on Friday adopted a resolution proposed by the European troika consisting of France, Germany and Britain regarding Iran's nuclear activities and stressed that the international community must be prepared for further action if Iran fails to grant the U.N. nuclear watchdog's inspectors information and access to two nuclear sites.

This was the first critical resolution of IAEA against Iran since 2012.

"Irans denial of access to IAEA inspectors and refusal to cooperate with the IAEAs investigation is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about what Iran is trying to hide. Over the past months, Iran has not only continued its nuclear escalation and extortion, but it has also stonewalled the IAEA," Pompeo said in his statement and added: "These actions are unacceptable and underscore the continued threat posed by Irans nuclear program to international peace and security".

Pompeo further added that Iran has shown no intention of curtailing the ongoing expansion of its nuclear program and for months has refused to provide the answers and access required for the IAEA to conduct its critical verification work.

"Iran must immediately comply with its IAEA safeguards obligations and provide the IAEA nothing short of full cooperation. If Iran fails to cooperate, the international community must be prepared to take further action," the U.S. Secretary of State said in the statement.

The United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018 and reintroduced its sanctions against the country. Currently the U.S. is seeking to prevent an arms embargo against Iran which will be lifted as part of the agreement drawn in 2015 between Iran and the world powers from being lifted in October.

Pompeo said the United States remains committed to "denying Iran any pathway to a nuclear weapon" and will work through the IAEAs Board of Governors to resolve the issues of concern and insisted that Iran is legally obligated to answer the IAEAs questions and provide the required accesses and verifiably demonstrate that it has permanently abandoned all banned nuclear activities.
Patrol cars at the Oakland Police headquarters on Dec. 6, 2012 in Oakland, Calif., on Dec. 6, 2012. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Family of a Victorville Man Found Hanging Said He Died by Suicide

Suspicions of foul play were raised when the bodies of two Black men were found hanging about 50 miles and 10 days apart in California. But the family of one of those men announced Friday that he killed himself.

On behalf of the family of Malcolm Harsch, unfortunately it seems he did take his own life, Najee Ali, a family spokesman told CNN. The Victorville Police Department officials released new video evidence to family members. The family wants to sincerely thank everyone for their support and prayers.

The Department of Justice and the FBI were reviewing Harschs death, who was found on May 31 in Victorville. The proximity of the death to the outbreak of recent protests appeared to be an intimidation tactic, said one protester who called for further investigation.

The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department announced Friday no foul play was involved in Harschs death after detectives obtained surveillance video from a vacant building near where he was found. The evidence from the case, including the surveillance video, was shown to Harschs family members per their request, the department said in a statement.

The forensic pathologist is now waiting for toxicology results before assigning the cause and manner of death, the department said.

Harsch Found in an Encampment

Dispatchers received a call from a woman on May 31 at 7:07 a.m., saying her boyfriend, Harsch, hanged himself, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department. The release said Harsch was found at a homeless encampment.

When Victorville Fire crews arrived, they saw bystanders performing CPR on Harsch, Victorville police spokeswoman Sue Jones said in a statement. Fire personnel then began advanced live support care protocol, but could not revive him after 20 minutes of effort, the statement said.

Investigators did not find any evidence of foul play. An autopsy was conducted on June 12 which also did not find signs of foul play, the release said.

Another Black Man Found Dead 10 Days Later

Early on June 10, fire department personnel responded to the scene of Robert L. Fuller, 24, which was described as an alleged suicide, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said in a statement.

Robert Fuller. (Courtesy of Robert Fuller Family via AP)

Despite Fullers death being consistent with suicide, officials felt it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper, said Los Angeles County Medical Examiner Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas.

Hangings in public, suicides, do occur with some regularity, Lucas said. The signs seemed to point in the direction of suicide, but the cause and manner of death were never officially determined as officials await further investigation and toxicology reports. An autopsy was completed last Friday.

Nothing but the rope, the contents of Fullers pockets and a backpack he was wearing were found on the scene, according to Los Angeles County Homicide Capt. Kent Wegener.

Investigators are researching Fullers medical history, looking for the witness who reported the hanging and searching for contacts in Arizona and Nevada. They will also analyze Fullers cell phone and are looking for neighborhood surveillance video.

Authorities plan to interview Fullers case worker at the Department of Public Social Services as well as anyone who may have had contact with Fuller.

The-CNN-Wire

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday shared the video of an injured soldiers father to hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ceded Indian territory to China in Ladakhs Galwan Valley.

In the video, the father of a soldier who was injured in the cross-LAC clash on June 15 is seen appealing to Gandhi to not politicise the border tensions. Twenty soldiers of the Indian Army, including a Colonel, were killed by Chinese troops in the violent escalation of months-long standoff at the icy peaks.

Gandhis allegation came a day after Modi said at an all-party meeting that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured.

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression." "If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese:1. Why were our soldiers killed?2. Where were they killed? pic.twitter.com/vZFVqtu3fD Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 20, 2020

Hitting back at Gandhi, home minister Amit Shah said the Congress leader should rise above petty politics and tagged a video of a soldiers father asking Gandhi not to indulge in politics.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest, he said.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest. https://t.co/BwT4O0JOvl Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 20, 2020

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
Of the many outraged voices amid the Black Lives Matter protests, few have been more prominent or persistent than The Guardian newspaper.

As statues are torn down and long-established companies take to their corporate knees in apology, the paper and its columnists have been vociferous in calling on Britain and its institutions to acknowledge and atone for their involvement in the vicious business of slavery, and the imperial project that carried on long after it was abolished in 1833, as a recent editorial put it.

When it comes to this countrys historic links to the slave trade, The Guardian has provided unrivalled breadth of coverage, often devoting several pages an edition to the subject.

John Edward Taylor founded The Guardian in 1821 with money made through cotton trade links

Under the heading A shameful period of English history, Fridays paper castigated distinguished finance houses including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, HSBC and Lloyds Bank, insurance market Lloyds of London and the brewer Greene King for having founders and predecessors who made money from slavery, some of whom received substantial compensation when the vile trade was abolished.

A few days earlier, Dr Kojo Koram, a lecturer in law at the University of London, used The Guardians pages to demand that the nation establish a truth and reconciliation commission looking into slavery and the British Empire, in order that we can really think about the type of Britain we want to build today.

Other contributors have gone further, calling for financial reparations or reparative justice for any historical association with slavery, while columnist Nesrine Malik wrote last week that civil disobedience, strikes, riots and boycotts are not the hijacking of process: they are its continuation by other means.

Columnist George Monbiot, meanwhile, took the opportunity to tell readers that the grandfather of Mary Wakefield  the journalist married to Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings  possessed a fortune made from the ownership of slaves, and the massive compensation paid to the owners when the trade was banned.

The Guardian has long taken pride in its history as a friend of the oppressed, even if today it is easily caricatured as a mouthpiece of the London-dominated Left, obsessed with identity politics.

The Manchester Guardian was initially created following the Peterloo Massacre of 1819

The newspaper has a radical history, after all, founded in Manchester in the wake of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, in which up to 20 people were killed when cavalry charged a peaceful crowd gathered to protest for parliamentary reform.

Today, The Guardian is run by the not-for-profit Scott Trust, upholding values that include newspapers having a moral as well as a material existence.

Yet morality is complicated. And, as it continues in its attempt to change the way we think about our island story, the newspaper might like to examine its own complex history, too.

For when The Manchester Guardian was founded in 1821 by cotton merchant John Edward Taylor and his friends, they did so with money inextricably linked to the brutal treatment of enslaved black men and women who had been transported from West Africa to work themselves to death on American plantations.

Taylor was a partner in a firm called Shuttleworth, Taylor & Co, which was listed in the Commercial Directory of 1818 under the section headed Cotton, Twist, and Weft Dealers.

In the modern day, The Guardian has been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter protests

It was not unusual to be involved in the cotton trade in Manchester in the early 19th Century. The same directory listed some 325 businesses involved in all aspects of the industry that made Manchester rich, along with nearby towns such as Bolton, Preston and Blackburn. A light and fast-drying alternative to wool, cotton was comparatively easy to spin in the damp air of Lancashire towns where the threads didnt snap.

Manchester, though, was the undoubted centre of the trade, and in todays money it is thought that the city earned some 1.3 billion per year  profits that helped fuel the rise in associated commerce and industry such as banking and engineering.

As was well known at the time, however, the raw material for this wealth came mostly from plantations in the Americas. Which is to say that the fortunes of Taylor and his fellow Lancashire merchants were acquired on the backs of slaves who picked cotton in the most appalling conditions.

During harvest, the slaves would work for some 18 hours a day, whether they were men, women, or children  some as young as four. To ensure they worked hard, they were regularly whipped  and woe betide any caught trying to escape.

In one horrific punishment known as Derbys Dose, recaptured slaves would be flogged and have salt, lime juice and pepper rubbed into their wounds. Other elements of the punishment are too graphic to be mentioned here.

It was not actually considered a crime to kill a slave until well into the 18th Century.

Taylor himself was a figure of great respectability when, with his friends, he founded and edited what was then called The Manchester Guardian. (It would later drop the word Manchester and relocate to London.)

He belonged to a liberal-minded group of men calling themselves the Little Circle, non-conformists who included Taylors cotton-dealing partner John Shuttleworth, and Joseph Brotherton, a minister and vegetarian, whose own familys fortune derived from owning a cotton mill.

Many of those involved in the early days of The Guardian earned money from cotton mills

Also part of the Little Circle was Thomas Potter, who later became Mayor of Manchester and was knighted in 1840. He too derived much of his wealth from textiles, including cotton.

Then there is the troubling question of Taylors views. Under his aegis, The Guardian was hardly the beacon of liberalism it is today. So far to the Right did Taylors editorial line soon drift that he earned the opprobrium of his fellow Little Circle members.

The Guardian sided with the mill owners rather than the men, women and children toiling in often terrible conditions, and the paper was denounced as the cotton lords Bible by factory reformer Richard Oastler.

The campaigner, who loathed the owners, called upon the little girls and boys who worked in the mills to destroy machinery in self-defence  a stance which enraged Taylor.

There was no doubt that Oastler had a point. Although certainly not as bad as cotton plantations in Americas Southern states, Lancashires cotton mills were brutal. Many workers suffered from bad lungs, caused by a condition then known as spinners phthisis, which was a form of pulmonary tuberculosis caused by cotton dust and fibres. The disease, identified in the 1830s, was even written about by Elizabeth Gaskell, who noted how many mill hands would fall into a waste, coughing and spitting blood, because theyre just poisoned by the fluff.

Shifts were long  13 hours was a normal day  and there was no respite from disease when the workers got back home. Many lived in slums, with open sewers and communal toilets. Cholera was an ever-present danger.

Despite all this, Taylor remained opposed to Oastlers Tory radicalism. In September 1836, his newspaper stated that Mr Oastler has broken the law by publicly recommending and inciting others to commit an unlawful action by destroying the property of a manufacturer.

Taylor was at least consistent. While many in Britain felt a deep unease about the use of child labour in the textile industry, it was the Manchester Guardian that fought to retain it, opposing the Ten Hour Movement, a campaign seeking to reduce working hours. This, in the proprietors view, would have led to the gradual destruction of the cotton industry.

Nor was he much in favour of giving everyone the vote.

Another Guardian editorial argued against universal suffrage, saying that the qualification to vote ought to be low enough to put it fairly within the power of members of the labouring classes by careful, steady and preserving industry to possess themselves of it, yet not so low as to give anything like a preponderating influence to the mere populace.

Taylor passed away in 1844, but The Guardians association with illiberal causes did not die with him. That same year it demanded that striking Lancashire cotton workers should return to work.

Two decades later, The Guardian sided with the slave-owning Southern states, the Confederacy, against Abraham Lincoln and the North in the American Civil War. The paper loathed Lincoln and made no secret of it.

It was an evil day both for America and the world when he was chosen President of the United States, it thundered in 1862.

Even when Lincoln was assassinated three years later, The Guardian could find little or nothing good to say about him, stating that of his rule, we can never speak except as a series of acts abhorrent to every true notion of constitutional right and human liberty.

The Guardian was opposed to former American president Abraham Lincoln's actions

Yet quotations are selective, and risk ignoring the complexity of the issues at the time. While some continue to interpret the attacks on Lincoln  a man often seen as the greatest of all American presidents  as evidence that The Guardian was somehow pro-slavery in the 1860s, the truth is more subtle.

The paper supported the Confederacy not because it favoured slavery but, rather, because it believed the Southern states should be free to determine their own destiny.

The Guardian honestly believed, too, that an independent South would be more likely to abolish slavery than a South still yoked to the Union.

As most fair-minded commentators would agree, the newspapers view of American politics was a product of its time. The past, after all, is a complicated place  and that includes The Guardians links with, and attitudes towards, slavery.

Figures such as Winston Churchill  and indeed John Edward Taylor  are complicated, too, and contradictory. Churchill, in common with many at the time, expressed some views of race that are abhorrent today, but he also helped rid the world of fascist totalitarianism.

Edward Colston, whose statue was defaced then thrown into the River Avon in Bristol, did indeed make a great deal of money from slavery, but his philanthropy has undoubtedly helped  and continues to help  many in the city.

Edward Colston's statue was removed due to his slavery connections but he was philanthropic

And while Taylor and his fellow members of the Little Circle made fortunes from dealing in slave-picked cotton, they founded a great liberal newspaper that has often been an important voice for the less fortunate in our society.

Should, then, The Guardian be added to the burgeoning list of institutions making reparations for their historical links with a truly monstrous trade? After years of multi-million-pound losses  although it recently claimed to have made a small profit  the paper is probably in little position to do so.

Perhaps, instead, the statue topplers and campaigners for a thorough rewriting of our history should heed the words of one leading journalist in 2011.

Referring to The Manchester Guardians coverage of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s, this commentator observed that the leader writer of the day was dealing with immensely difficult issues which are as irresolvable and hard to balance today as they were 150 years ago. He was not to know that later generations would have a different set of priorities.

He was sailing into the darkness. He couldnt foretell the future. And neither, we sometimes need to remind ourselves amid our own certainties, can we.

This was written by Martin Kettle, an associate editor and longstanding columnist for The Guardian, a newspaper with a distinguished past which is about to celebrate its bicentenary.

Today, those who sit in angry judgment on Britains distant past and the people who lived in it, would do well to remember his conclusion.
June 19, 2020

News

By David Vergun , DOD News

Defense.gov

Cybersecurity Expert Discusses DOD's Role in National Security

The Defense Department is involved in its own cybersecurity efforts at every level, and DOD also assists other government agencies, the intelligence community and international partners, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy said.

Thomas C. Wingfield spoke yesterday via remote video at the Defense One Tech Summit.

There are many reasons DOD is helping other government agencies such as the State and Justice departments and the Department of Homeland Security, he said. For example, theft of intellectual property through hacking isn't just an economic problem, because some intellectual property supports defense capabilities, he noted.

Wingfield also said DOD monitors election interference on an enduring basis, working with the FBI and DHS on this issue. "It's not just an annoyance or nuisance, but can undermine faith in our democratic system, so we view this as actual threats," he said.

Besides supporting a whole-of-government approach to cyberdefense, Wingfield said DOD must support the warfighters who depend on cyber for everything from planes, tanks and command and control.

If an adversary's cyberattack results in significant infrastructure destruction or loss of life, that would justify an appropriate, self-defense response, he added.

Adversaries might allow their autonomous systems to cause destruction that violates the moral conventions of warfare, he said. In the future, as autonomous artificial intelligence systems become more widespread among allies and adversaries, the speed of cyber has the potential to dramatically accelerate activities on the battlespace, he said.

Wingfield advises that if humans are not in the loop in decision-making, artificial intelligence systems would have to go through extensive moral and ethical training about what might occur if life or infrastructure is threatened, noting that humans would need to be held accountable for what the autonomous systems do. "We don't want to turn into war criminals," he said.

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The company has triggered Section 189 of South Africas labor relations act for all employees at each of its chrome ore and alloy facilities there. Section 189 is a South African legal requirement representing an intention to retrench staff.

"The decision is a result of the worsening operating environment across the South African ferro-chrome industry, including unsustainable electricity pricing. Despite significant investment to make the operations more competitive, the company has continued to come under substantial operational and financial pressures," Glencore said in a statement on Thursday June 18.





Said one market source: "There is a full evaluation of all assets to decide which make sense in the long term. Glencore is starting from the bottom up and looking at every mine, every furnace and every employee before putting the pieces back together and making the business future-proof."





The operations impacted by the process are the Lydenburg, Wonderkop, Boshoek and Lion smelters.





The Section 189 process will also impact the Helena, Magareng and Thorncliffe chrome mines, situated on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex; and the Waterval and Kroondal chrome mines near Rustenburg on the western limb.





Employees at Kroondal had already been told the mine would not restart despite the easing of lockdown measures in South Africa.





All 895 employees of the Lion smelter were informed by management, in a letter seen by Fastmarkets and dated June 17, that the business was being reviewed.





The company has begun a consultation process with its employees "to discuss the options and alternatives to save the operation or reasons that could lead to possible job losses," according Andre van Zyl, general manager of the Lion smelter.





"It is with a regret that Lion Smelter has the need to announce that we have come to a point where the long-term financial sustainability of our business is under threat," he said.





Staff there will enter a consultation process that should be completed within 60 days.





Glencore's full-scale strategic review of the business began in January, with plans to restructure its Rustenburg ferro-chrome smelter due to deteriorating conditions in the ferro-chrome market and high power costs.





The review has since been widened.





"This has been brought about by a sustained downturn in the chrome market, unsustainable electricity pricing, fixed production and labor costs as well as outdated operational practices," van Zyl said in the letter.





Ferro-chrome prices have struggled to recover from multi-year lows in March 2020 due to weak consumption, poor downstream demand and excess supply, with China ramping up its own production.





Fastmarkets price assessment for ferro-chrome, 50% Cr, import, cif main Chinese ports, was $0.73 per lb on June 12, up $0.06 per lb from a multi-year low in March.





Adverse market conditions have put South Africas entire ferro-chrome market under pressure.





In January 2020, Samancor Chrome - South Africas largest ferro-chrome producer - announced plans for restructuring its mining and smelting operations in response to the "drastic" chrome price decline.




As Rahul Gandhi takes to Twitter to accuse Modi of surrendering to Chinese incursions, the Centre slams claims of Chinese occupation in Galwan.

The Central government on Saturday said that attempts are being made in to give mischievous interpretation to remarks of the Prime Minister at the all-party meeting, countering Congress leader Rahul Gandhis claim that India surrendered to the Chinese aggression.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, after an all-party meeting on Friday about the LAC row with China, said that Chinese troops did not intrude into the Indian territory.

The Central government, in a statement, said that the Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In fact, he specifically emphasized that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC.

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The all-party meeting was also informed that this time, Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate. As regards the transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because the Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions.

The focus of PMs remarks in the all party meet discussions were the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.

Prime Minister paid glowing tributes to the valour and patriotism of our armed forces who repulsed the designs of the Chinese. The Prime Ministers observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.

The words of Prime Minister Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil, succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces. The Prime Minister further emphasised, I want to assure you, that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders.

What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This Government is strongly and resolutely committed to that. Insofar as there is some illegal occupation, the all party meeting was briefed in great detail how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq.km has been yielded under circumstances with which this country is well aware. It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC.

At a time when our brave soldiers are defending our borders, it is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower their morale. However, the predominant sentiment at the All Party Meeting was of unequivocal support to the Government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.

Also read: Jharkhand govt moves SC on Centres move to auction coal blocks

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The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday condemned discriminatory and violent policing after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month and ordered a report on "systemic racism" against people of African descent.

The 47-member-state forum unanimously adopted a resolution brought by African countries. The mandate also asks U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to examine government responses to peaceful protests, including alleged use of excessive force, and deliver findings in a year's time.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of the Black man whose death under the knee of a white officer roused world protests against racial injustice, urged the forum on Wednesday to investigate U.S. police brutality and racial discrimination.

Burkina Faso's Ambassador Dieudonne W. Desire Sougouri presented the African resolution on Friday, urging its adoption by consensus.

"It is important to show Africa...the Human Rights Council has heard the plight of African and people of African descent calling for equal treatment and application of equal rights for all," he said.

The Africa group had made numerous "concessions" in the negotiations with other countries, he added.

Senegal's envoy Coly Seck, a former council president, welcomed the consensus, telling the talks: "Black Lives Matter".

The text was watered down during closed-door negotiations from an initial draft explicitly calling for a U.N. commission of inquiry on racism in the United States and elsewhere.

"It is absurd that the final resolution passed by the United Nations strips mention of the United States, where police kill people, particularly Black people, at alarmingly higher rates compared to other developed countries," said Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which led 600 activist groups in calling for the urgent debate.

"The United Nations needs to do its job  not get bullied out of doing it  and hold the United States accountable," he said in a statement.

The Trump administration, which quit the forum two years ago alleging bias against its ally Israel, made no immediate comment. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva Andrew Bremberg said on Wednesday that his country was "not above scrutiny" as it grappled with racial discrimination but was implementing police reforms after Floyd's killing.

During the debate, Western delegations including Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and the European Union said that the United States should not be singled out.

"This problem does not belong to any one country, it is a problem around the world," said Australian ambassador Sally Mansfield.

Activists said that Australia had been particularly active in negotiations to take the spotlight off the United States.

Germany's ambassador Michael Ungern-Sternberg said: "We are convinced a report with a broader approach and less focus on one specific case would have been more appropriate".
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden is facing growing calls to select a Black woman as his running mate as an acknowledgement of their critical role in the Democratic Party and a response to the nationwide protests against racism and inequality.

The shifting dynamics were clear late Thursday when Amy Klobuchar took herself out of contention for the vice presidency. The Minnesota senator, who is white, told MSNBC that this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has already pledged to select a woman as his vice president to energize the party's base with the prospect of making history.

But following the outrage over the police killing of George Floyd last month, many Democratic strategists say there's growing consensus that the pick should be a Black woman.

Like it or not, I think the question is starting to become, Well, why not a Black woman? said Karen Finney, a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.

Finney, who was one of 200 Black women who signed a letter to Biden encouraging him to select a Black woman for his ticket, warned that the former vice president could face a backlash if he chose a white woman.

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That puts a lot of pressure on Biden. It puts a lot of pressure on who he selects, no question," she said. "The country is recognizing the gravity of this moment, the significance of this moment.

Bidens team has been vetting potential candidates for weeks and has begun whittling down their list of choices. Several of the potential contenders are Black, including California Sen. Kamala Harris, Florida Rep. Val Demings, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obamas national security adviser. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Latina, is also in the mix.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is white, is also leading contender. Another possibility who is white, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said last month that she had opening conversations with Bidens team about potentially serving as vice president. In a Thursday interview, she said, Beyond that, theres just not much new to report.

Antjuan Seawright, a veteran Democratic strategist, said the current moment calls for someone who understands the challenges faced by Black Americans.

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Theres a renewed sense of urgency around the need to have someone who can speak to the experiences of today and advocate for the promises of tomorrow when it comes to populations of constituencies in this country whove been left out for a very long time," he said.

Klobuchars decision was in part a reflection of the fact that her own chances at getting the VP nod diminished after Floyds killing.

She was a prosecutor years ago in the county that includes Minneapolis, and during that period, more than two dozen people  mostly people of color  died during encounters with police. Floyds death last month set off days of protests across the country and criticism that as the countys top prosecutor, Klobuchar didnt charge any of the officers involved in citizen deaths.

Officer Derek Chauvin, who was charged with Floyds murder, was involved in a fatal October 2006 shooting of a man accused of stabbing people and aiming a shotgun at police. Klobuchars successor as prosecutor, Mike Freeman, sent Chauvins case to a grand jury, which was customary practice for the office at the time, and the grand jury in 2008 declined to prosecute. Freeman has said Klobuchar, who won election to the Senate in November 2006 and took office in January 2007, had no involvement in the Chauvin case.

But her decision this week to endorse a woman of color is certain to complicate the pitches of other white contenders.

In conversations with a half-dozen Democrats, none would rule out Warren, whos been actively engaging with Black activists and leaders since exiting the Democratic presidential race and won plaudits from some former skeptics for her outreach. But privately, many acknowledged that her chances have dimmed following Klobuchars remarks.

I think Elizabeth, if she wants the job, has got to make the case for not only why she would be the best vice president of the people hes considering, but why she would be the best person to put on the ticket electorally, said Heidi Heitkamp, a former Democratic senator from North Dakota who served with Warren. If she can make that persuasive argument, you cant rule her out.

ALSO READ | Twitter flags Trump's tweet of doctored 'racist baby' video

Heitkamp said she's long believed Biden should choose a Black woman, in part because of the current political climate, but also because Black women are some of the Democratic Party's most loyal voters. And she suggested Klobuchar's comments Thursday night reflected the views of many of those within the party.

I think it was incredibly generous of her to bow out and to say what I think a lot of us are thinking, which is that the time has come to recognize the contributions and the capabilities of a lot of women who may otherwise get passed over, she said.

The debate among Democrats about Biden's vice presidential pick has divided among competing and sometimes contradictory views within the party about the best path to victory in November.

Those who believe Biden must take into consideration geographic concerns advocate choosing a candidate from a swing state. Those who believe Biden should focus on winning over and turning out young and liberal voters suggest he should choose a progressive. And those who believe demographics are key argue in favor of a woman of color.

Warren was long the favorite of those who felt strongest that Biden needed to win over skeptical progressives. But Seawright argued that Klobuchar's comments helped refocus the conversation.

I think that when Klobuchar and others use intentional commentary like she did, I think it helps push back on some of these conversations being had about geographics, the flavor within the party, progressive versus moderate, etc., he said. When intentional conversations like she had last night come about, it really turns down the noise and really focuses on the lyrics of whats important.
American Fable, Selma, Army of Darkness.

Classic romantic adventures, time tripping horrors and historical civil rights true stories are all up for grabs as TopFilmTip brings you the best films on TV for Friday, 19 June.

Some films may require a Sky subscription.

Outstanding odd-couple romantic adventure as Hepburn Bogart steams up the Congo to battle Germans in charismatic classic The African Queen 5:00pm Sony Movies Action

Numerically challenged chap and big-eyed girl find friend-sex and flash mobs in atypical, quick-quipping comedy Friends With Benefits 9:00pm Comedy Central

Nic Cage and John Travolta try to out-crazy each other in preposterously plotted, fantastically fun John Woo action film Face/Off 9:00pm Sony Movies

Obnoxious immature college girl must solve her repeated murder in character arcing gleeful groundhogging mystery fun Happy Death Day 9:00pm Film4

Arnie suits up as the T-800 for Terminator Genisys - Credit: Paramount Pictures

Sexy time trippers target evil OS in protagonist/antagonist inverting, helicopter-headbutting, sprawling sci-fi Terminator Genisys 9:00pm E4

Badass president Harrison Ford kills terrorist hijackers & saves family single handed in neck snapping, zip-lining fun Air Force One 9:00pm 5 Star

Failed father Tom Cruise and despondent kids flee tenacious tentacled tripods amidst civilian incinerating alien invasion War of the Worlds 10:45pm BBC One

After his familys slaughter, ex FBI man exacts calculated reign of terror on those responsible in explosive actioner The Punisher 10:50pm Sony Movies Action

Bitten, shark-stalked and stranded yards from shore, symbolically broken surfer battles for survival in intense thriller The Shallows 10:50pm Film4

Visionary eloquent orator leads campaign for equality and equity as courageous oppressed march into brutal fist of bigotry Selma 11:20pm BBC Two

Cop Kevin Bacon becomes embroiled in elaborate and twisted web of blackmail and murder in seductive threesome thriller Wild Things 11:30pm 5 Star

To escape bullying brother, naive girl befriends mysterious man in fathers grain silo precipitating clash of innocence and reality in emotionally astute parable American Fable 00:30am Film4

Story continues

Timid, self-harming aspiring actress gives up her dignity for promise of stardom in maggot puking, skull crushing curio Starry Eyes 00:35am Horror Channel

Chainsaw handed deadite destroyer grows evil Ash, gets hailed / sugar in medieval dead, homunculus hoarding, boomsticking fun Army of Darkness 2:20am Film 4

Everything new on streaming in June:

Netflix UK: Junes new releases

NOW TV and Sky Cinema: Junes new releases

Amazon Prime Video UK: June's new releases

Disney+ UK: June's new releases
File image

A Congress councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil has been booked for sedition after an audio clip of his conversation pended up on social media, says a report by Indian Express.

During the phone conversation, councillor Zakir Hussain allegedly made remarks pertaining to the June 15 India-China clash at Galwan Valley, while also allegedly abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hussain, as per the alleged conversation, also says that Chinese soldiers have 'torn apart' the Indian Army.

The report notes that a first information report (FIR) has been lodged against Hussain under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Sources told IE that he has also been booked under section 124-A of the IPC which pertains to charges of sedition.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has already distanced itself from the issue, after having also issued a showcause notice to the councillor.

IGP Ladakh took to Twitter and said, "District Police Kargil lodges case FIR No.34/2020 against a sitting Councillor of LAHDC Kargil for viral audio clip containing incriminating contents, prejudicial to the regional/religious peace and tranquillity, spreading rumours & seditious in nature."



LAHDC Kargil reiterates unflinchimg loyalty of the people of Kargil, condemns the conversational clip of Councilor Zakir Hussain in stromgest possible terms. #NationFirstAlways #ProudToBeIndian #BoycottChina #IndianArmyOurPride pic.twitter.com/nU5H7qofOP

 LAHDC Kargil (@LAHDC_K) June 18, 2020

The LAHDC has condemned the telephonic conversation of the councillor, calling the contents of the same "highly objectionable".
Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund in Shanghai

By Andrea Shalal and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his threat to cut ties with China, a day after his top diplomats held talks with Beijing and his trade representative said he did not consider decoupling the U.S. and Chinese economies a viable option.

The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia described U.S.-China relations as "tense" after their first high-level face-to-face diplomatic talks in months, although he said Beijing did recommit to the first part of a trade deal reached this year and that coming weeks would show if there had been progress.

Trump has made rebalancing the massive U.S. trade deficit with China a top priority, but relations have worsened steadily as his campaign for re-election in November heats up.

"It was not Ambassador Lighthizers fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didnt make myself clear," Trump said in a tweet referring to his trade representative, Robert Lighthizer.

"But the U.S. certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China."

Lighthizer told a House of Representatives committee on Wednesday he did not see that as viable.

"Do I think that you can sit down and decouple the United States economy from the Chinese economy?" he said. "No, I think that was a policy option years ago. I don't think it's a ... reasonable policy option at this point."

His office had no immediate comment on Trump's tweet.

U.S.-China relations have reached their lowest point in years since the coronavirus pandemic that began in China hit the United States hard, and Trump and his administration have repeatedly accused Beijing of not being transparent about the outbreak.

MULTIPLE POINTS OF FRICTION

Among multiple points of friction, the countries are also at odds over China's moves to impose new security legislation on Hong Kong, which have prompted Trump to initiate a process to eliminate special U.S. treatment for the territory.

Story continues

Trump made clear the deterioration in the relationship last month when he said he had no interest in speaking right now to President Xi Jinping, whom he has hailed as a friend, and suggesting he could even cut ties with China.

Lighthizer said he expected to see more supply chains moving to the United States because of tax and regulatory changes, but also noted that the U.S.-China trade deal would result in significant positive changes and increased Chinese purchases of U.S. goods and services.

The Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal calls for China to buy $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services over two years, but skeptics say the pandemic and resulting economic slowdowns will make it difficult for Beijing to reach its targets for this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, for a day of talks in Hawaii on Wednesday, but those appear to have done little to improve the mood.

As the Hawaii meeting began, Trump signed legislation calling for sanctions against those responsible for repression of Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region, prompting Beijing to threaten retaliation.

David Stilwell, the assistant secretary for East Asia, told reporters that China's attitude in the talks could not be described as forthcoming and described relations as "tense."

He said recent Chinese actions, over India, in the South China Sea and over Hong Kong, had not been constructive and that Washington looked forward to seeing China reconsider its plans for security legislation for Hong Kong.

At the same time, Stilwell said China did recommit to following through on the trade agreement and added that efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons were another area of potential cooperation.

"The trade deal  the Chinese have recommitted to that numerous times ... and they insist that they will follow through," Stilwell said. "This is a good acid test to see if they will be cooperative partners."

"Well see in the next week or two, or however long it takes, (if) they begin to live up to their commitments," he said.

China described the Hawaii talks as "constructive," but its Foreign Ministry said Yang told Pompeo that Washington needed to respect Beijing's positions on key issues and halt its interference in matters such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang, while working to repair relations.

Hours after the meeting ended, China said its top parliamentary body would review draft Hong Kong security legislation during a session that began on Thursday.

Earlier, foreign ministers of the G7 countries, including Pompeo, issued a statement calling on China not to follow through with the legislation, which critics call an assault on the territory's democratic freedoms.

(Reporting by Eric Beech, Andrea Shalal, David Brunnstrom and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Audrey Strauss, deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who just in the past year took over the offices investigations into President Trumps business and campaign finances, will now serve as the top prosecutor following the sudden firing of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
When Prince William confirmed that she was dating his college sweetheart Kate Middleton, people were quick to assume that wedding bells would instantly ring for the love birds.

Royal fans got interested with Kate as she is not just marrying into the royal family, but she will also be the future Queen as she was dating the second heir to the British throne.

But instead of giving in to the public and media pressure to seal the deal, Prince William and Kate took their time to get to know each other, enjoyed their time as a couple, and waited years before finally taking their relationship to the next level.

The media followed Will and Kate's love story and even documented a series of split-ups before ending up where they are right now.

In November 2010, during their holiday in Africa and after seven years together, Prince William finally got down on one knee and asked Kate to marry him. He did it with the presence of his late-mom Princess Diana in mind as he proposed to Kate using Diana's former engagement ring.

The engagement news blew up like wildfire because aside from another extravagant royal wedding, the engagement means that the Buckingham Palace have found their future queen.

However, royal experts said that the engagement is not the only event that made the now 38-year-old Duchess secure the queenship.

How Did Kate Middleton Own The Future Queen Role?

Even before the Duke of Cambridge popped the question, royal experts can point one event that made everybody realize that Kate Middleton is "the one." It was when the Prince's then-girlfriend made a surprise appearance at a significant event in his life.

Speaking to the documentary "William & Kate: Too Good To Be True," journalist Rebecca English said that it was a chilly day back in December 2006 when the royal correspondents realized that Kate would soon become the future queen of England.

English said that it was after the Duchess and her family surprised William during his RAF graduation at Sandhurst.

"We hadn't expected Kate and her family to turn up, and myself and a number of photographers and journalists were all standing on a press stand together," English recalled.

"Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, we saw Kate and her mother and father being ushered down to the front of the seating."

The royal expert said that at that moment, she turned into her fellow correspondent and declared, "It's a done deal. This woman is going to be our future Queen."

Royal expert Victoria Arbiter echoed English's statement and revealed that after that surprise appearance, rumors about engagement started to make some noise.

"There was intense pressure on William and Kate, and short of printing the tea towels, everyone had these two walkings down the aisle imminently," Arbiter added.

Going Public

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their relationship public after their university graduation.

Little did they know that the graduation day would be their last moment in a protective bubble of their relationship.

READ MORE: Kate Middleton A Fake! Meghan Markle's Fans Slam Duchess Of Cambridge
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Rudy Barrientos walked into the living room of his Koreatown home Thursday morning and heard his mother crying. He knew instantly that it was DACA-related.

For months now, Rudy and his family have kept a close eye on the news that could decide his future. If the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals program should end, Rudy had a back-up plan. He would work as much as he could and save up for what seemed like his inevitable deportation.

The 31-year-old taquero is one of about 650,000 DACA recipients, many of whom have been keeping a close eye on the Supreme Court's SCOTUSblog, where it was widely expected the court would announce that the Trump administration was within its rights in ending DACA -- the only thing standing between them and removal from the only country they've ever known.

"She was watching the news and she was crying and I knew what it was," Rudy said. "I looked at [the] TV and there it was. They were announcing that the Supreme Court ruled against Trump's decision to stop DACA."

Rudy was stunned to find that his mom's tears were actually tears of joy, because the young immigrants who are known as "DREAMers" had won, for now. But that moment was very brief.

"Right away, I was thinking there's probably gonna be more fight against us from the other side now," he said, "because you know that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So they're not gonna just be okay with it."

He's probably right.

The Trump administration rescinded DACA in 2017. The program, which dates to the Obama era, allows young immigrants who were brought here as kids by their parents and don't have legal status to stay and work in the U.S. legally, on a temporary basis. The lower courts blocked Trump's decision, and kept DACA going. So the administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

Now, the Supreme Court's ruling simply kicks DACA back down to the Department of Homeland Security for review. Although the court said the Trump administration acted in a "capricious and arbitrary" way in how it attempted to end DACA, it left wiggle room for another try. Indeed, Trump said Friday he would renew his fight.

Rudy thinks the battle must now shift to the presidential election and a fight for a legal path toward citizenship at the legislative level.

"I'm gonna continue to shed light on the topic and continue to support the costs in whatever way possible," he said. "I often give out food to organizations and people [involved in the fight for a path to citizenship] because that's what I know how to do. That's how I feel that I make a difference, by providing some nourishment."

AT THE TACO TRUCK

I met Rudy later Thursday morning outside his popular taco truck, Gracias Senor, on Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades. I was excited to spend the day with him. A few days earlier, when he agreed to let me hang out with him on the day of the decision, we both thought it would be a somber day.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous words about the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice echoed in my mind as I sat in my car for a second and watched Rudy and his staff set up. It was just before 11 a.m. and there was already a long line of customers waiting for Gracias Senor to open for business.

Right away I noticed a trend that would continue throughout the day: the clientele was an eclectic mix of men and women of all races and ethnicities. It's the kind of diversity seemingly every major U.S. company has said they are committing to since George Floyd's homicide and weeks of civil unrest. It's L.A.

It's also the kind of thing you may not expect to see in the Palisades, an affluent L.A. neighborhood that's nearly 90% White. I wondered how many of these people knew that Rudy is a DACA recipient, and that a few hours earlier he was standing in his Koreatown living room feeling a combination of shock and relief, watching his mom cry over a Supreme Court ruling that had a major impact on her son's life.

While Rudy was busy dealing with the morning rush, I talked to a customer named Taylor from Santa Monica. She works in a nearby coffee shop and has been coming to Gracias Senor for the past year.

"I usually get asada tacos or a quesadilla," she told me. "I change it up a lot." She said it's the only realistically affordable place to grab lunch that's also "really good" in the area. But she comes back because Rudy is "super nice."

She didn't know Rudy was a DACA recipient and didn't even really understand what DACA meant, but she had read the big news that morning. She seemed happy for Rudy.

I had conversations like that all day. A lot of the Latinos that I spoke with who were ordering from the truck said it was their first time there. Many were construction workers who told me they were remodeling a nearby mansion.

I also talked to a man named Alex who lives nearby. He has been buying tacos from Rudy for the past three years. "The surf and turf burrito is my favorite," Alex told me. He was wearing a mask but I could tell he was smiling.

Then I told him Rudy was DACA and Alex's posture stiffened a little and he looked away for a moment. I asked him if he knew, he said that he didn't. Then I asked him if that mattered, if it changed the taste of the food or his own desire to continue eating. Alex paused and gave me a "huh," an "ah," and a "I mean" before, "not really but ... it's still delicious food."

Alex didn't want to talk about his personal feelings on DACA because it wasn't "really [his] kind of area of expertise." But he did say he'd read about the big Supreme Court news that morning.

Working in the Palisades was intentional for Rudy. He set up Gracias Senor here about four years ago because he wanted to interact with folks who didn't often do so in meaningful ways with immigrants.

"A lot of my customers are probably conservative," Rudy told me in-between a rush of orders.

According to a report in the Palisadian-Post, the Palisades went heavily for Hilary Clinton in 2016, and a little over half its registered voters are Democrats. However, 29% of voters there are registered Republicans, a higher share than L.A. County as a whole, which is 19% registered Republican voters.

DACA has substantial bipartisan support, but it's not universal. A small percentage of even staunchly conservative Republicans remain in favor of ending DACA. A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released earlier this week found that "68% of Republicans, 71% of conservatives and 64% of those who approve of the job Trump is doing" support DACA. "Even 69% of those who voted for Trump in 2016 -- when he vowed to deport Dreamers -- say they should be protected.

I asked Rudy what it was like to serve his delicious Baja California-style tacos to some people who perhaps wouldn't want him there, if they knew his status.

"I've never seen that as a negative," he said. "I see that as an opportunity for me to show them and remind them of the value that we bring."

Rudy said the reasons public opinion is with the DREAMers is because they have been able to show how successful the program is. In the eight years since it began, DACA holders have built rich, full lives. They are lawyers, grocery store clerks, reporters, dental assistants, business owners -- anything really.

Even in this economic recession, 90% of DACA holders have jobs and 29,000 are healthcare professionals, working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NPR.

"You know, it's not hard work to convince someone that already has an inclination towards liking you to [support] your cause," Rudy said. "It's also more gratifying to inspire or help someone gain more knowledge and empathy for someone that they maybe didn't know their story, maybe they didn't understand the full picture."

The rush of customers was growing the entire time I was there. Around 2 p.m., I ordered to-go and had to wait a while for my food. I ran into a group of recent high school graduates. They were Black kids, Brown kids and White kids.

One of the young men was Milo Shama, who with the rest of the boys called himself Rudy's No. 1 fan. He even knew Rudy was DACA because he read about it, and Milo was happy the court upheld the law. "I'm really happy for him," Milo told me.

I asked Milo why he loved Rudy so much. He said: "He's like the most genuine nice guy. He's always treating us, giving us free burritos. He's just a super nice, wholesome person. He works his ass off. He had like three jobs before this. I just have so much respect for him."

Milo's order came up and the boys took off.

Rudy brought my order out. I asked him what he was thinking about now that he'd had a moment to live in this brief victory,

"You know, it's funny," he said. "My mom tries to protect me and she tells me not to expose my [DACA status] because it is dangerous. Despite that, I understand that it's important to fight and it's important to, to not be afraid because if we're all afraid, nothing is ever going to happen and nothing is ever going to change."

Rudy believes change is on the horizon, thanks in part to Black Lives Matter and the "amplification of voices of justice" happening in this moment. Thanks, perhaps, to the impact Rudy has made on young people such as Milo and his friends.

After that, I drove to the nearby coast and snuck my car into a private parking lot. I sat there overlooking the beach while I ate some Gracias Senor fish tacos. Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home to Me played, volume all the way up, and I wondered if the world would ever be as perfect as this song and these tacos.

Maybe for a brief second that morning, for Rudy and some 650,000 other DREAMers, it was.

About the Mis Angeles column: Erick Galindo is chronicling life in Los Angeles for LAist. He took on this role after serving as our immigrant communities reporter. Erick came to us last year from LA Taco, where he was the managing editor of a James Beard award-winning staff.

MORE FROM ERICK GALINDO:
On June 15, a Moscow court sentenced Paul Whelan to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage. Whelan visited Moscow in December 2018 to attend a friends wedding. Russian agents arrested him after he allegedly accepted a thumb drive with classified information. Whelan has citizenship in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the U.K.

Whelan has strenuously disputed his arrest and prosecution as a setup. In a statement released after his sentencing, the U.S. State Department condemned the trial and treatment of Whelan as appalling.

The United States is outraged by the decision of a Russian court today to convict U.S. citizen Paul Whelan after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses, the statement read.

The Russian Foreign Ministrys media office sought to rebut charges that Whelans prosecution was purposely delayed.

As is known, P. (Paul) Whelan himself delayed the familiarization with the court materials for six months, reading them without much haste from September last year to March this year, the office said in a statement.

The ministrys statement is false.

In fact, Whelan and his lawyer had limited access to evidence against him; moreover, it was provided in Russian and not English.

According to Whelans twin brother David, the evidence had to be translated and read to Paul via one of his lawyers, Olga Karlova.

It's six months, but not because Paul took his time, David told Polygraph.info.

It's because the Russian authorities didn't follow the law and provide him with materials (in English), [and] allowed him only periodic visits with his lawyers, in a few hour bursts, to review and translate the evidence. 

Karlova confirmed the process in an interview with Polygraph.info, saying Whelan could only go over evidence while she was present at Moscows Lefortovo Prison to translate.

I was busy also in my other cases, so we usually met twice a week maximum, Karlova said. That was the reason for studying the materials for 6 months. It was very hard to visit Paul at Lefortovo. Too many prisoners and only 8 rooms, so our turn was only once a fortnight.

Karlova also confirmed that evidence in the case was secret, and that it was all in Russian except for documents that were required to be translated. Most of the translation was done orally.

Blaming Whelan for delays was not the only false claim the ministry made it its statement.

It also falsely asserted that Whelan was given the opportunity to speak with family members by phone.

In September 2019, Polygraph.info fact-checked a Russian Foreign Ministry statement denying that Whelan was isolated in prison. We found that authorities at Lefortovo Prison had denied Whelan his right to phone calls with his family.

The ministrys latest statement about Whelan also included a misleading claim about his medical treatment while in detention: During his stay in the prison (Lefortovo), P. Whelan was provided with all the necessary qualified medical care. On May 28, in connection with the deterioration of health due to an exacerbation of an existing disease, he underwent a simple surgical operation, which he had previously refused.

The ministry was referring to hernia surgery that Whelan had scheduled in January 2019 after his planned return from Russia. After his arrest, his lawyers asked that Whelan get a medical exam, but prison authorities claimed they never received the request.

Whelan did get an exam at a Moscow hospital in September 2019 and was told that his hernia was not in an acute stage. Whelan decided to refuse surgery because he didnt trust Russian doctors, one of his lawyers told Polygraph.info.

Whelan, 50, worked as a security consultant for the BorgWarner auto parts supplier and had visited Russia several times since 2006. There was speculation that his arrest was in retaliation for the arrest and guilty plea in the United States of Maria Butina on charges of conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent.

Butina was released and sent home to Russia in October 2019 after serving only five months of an 18-month sentence.

There is now speculation that Russian authorities may be looking to exchange Whelan for one or more Russians held in American custody. They include Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot, who is serving a 20-year sentence for international drug trafficking, and Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker, who is serving 25 years after being convicted of trying to sell antiaircraft missiles and arms to terrorists.

However, unlike in Whelans case, the trials of both of those Russian citizens were public, as was the evidence to convict them. Officially, the Kremlin has denied plans to exchange Whelan.
The Trump administration on Friday moved forward with a rule that rolls back healthcare protections for transgender people, even as the US Supreme Court barred sex discrimination against LGBT individuals on the job.

The rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was published in the Federal Register, the official record of the executive branch, with an effective date of August 18. That will set off a barrage of lawsuits from gay rights and womens groups. It also signals to religious and social conservatives in US President Donald Trumps political base that the administration remains committed to their causes as the president pursues his reelection.

The Trump administration rule would overturn Obama-era sex discrimination protections for transgender people in healthcare.

Strikingly similar to the underlying issues in the job discrimination case before the Supreme Court, the Trump healthcare rule rests on the idea that sex is determined by biology. Trump predecessor Barack Obamas version relied on a broader understanding shaped by a persons inner sense of being male, female, neither, or a combination.

Writing for the majority in this weeks 6-3 decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch said, An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex.

Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what (civil rights law) forbids, wrote Gorsuch, who was nominated to the court by Trump.

These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020

The president thundered back in a tweet: These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives.

In the HHS rule, the departments Office for Civil Rights anticipated a Supreme Court ruling on job discrimination will likely have ramifications for its health discrimination rule.

But healthcare is different, HHS argued. The binary biological character of sex (which is ultimately grounded in genetics) takes on special importance in the health context, administration lawyers wrote. Those implications might not be fully addressed by future [job discrimination] rulings even if courts were to deem the categories of sexual orientation or gender identity to be encompassed by the prohibition on sex discrimination in [civil rights law].

Cornell University constitutional law scholar Michael Dorf says that does not sound like a persuasive argument to him.

I dont think it works very well, said Dorf. In Justice Gorsuchs opinion, hes not saying the word sex is ambiguous. Hes saying that when you do all the reasoning, its clear that sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

A man attends a rally at the Stonewall Inn to support the Supreme Court decision to uphold LBGTQ+ workplace rights in New York, US, June 15, 2020 [Bryan R Smith/Reuters]

Civil rights laws on employment and healthcare may be different in a technical sense, said Dorf, but it seems to be a very short distance to say (the Supreme Court ruling) also applies to sex discrimination in healthcare.

Not so fast, said Gregory Baylor, a lawyer for the religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom.

Biological sex matters in many healthcare settings in a way that it doesnt matter in many employment decisions, Baylor said. He cited the shortcomings of drug trials that use male patients but not women, when there can be differences in how medications affect both genders.

On shaky ground

But gay rights and womens groups say their arguments against the healthcare rule have clearly been strengthened by the Supreme Court.

The decision puts the [HHS] rule on even shakier ground than it ever was, said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a lawyer specialising in healthcare with the LGBTQ civil rights group Lamba Legal.

Michelle Banker, a lawyer for the National Womens Law Center, said the administrations timing raises process questions that could later become important in a court challenge. It was only last week HHS announced it had finalised the rule.

Agencies are required to make reasoned, rational decisions when they make policy, said Banker. The Supreme Court just weighed in and said that the legal interpretation they are relying on is wrong, and they have not grappled with that.

Joseph Fons holding a Pride Flag, standing in front of the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC after the court ruled that a federal law banning workplace discrimination also covers sexual orientation [Tom Brenner/Reuters]

The Obama-era rule was intended to carry out anti-discrimination provisions in former President Barack Obamas signature healthcare law, which included a provision that barred sex discrimination in healthcare. The Trump administration says its predecessor went beyond what Congress authorised in protecting gender identity, as well as biological gender.

Another provision of the Obama rule bars discrimination in healthcare against women on grounds of having or not having abortions. The Trump rule overturns that, as well. Baylor said theres nothing in the Supreme Court decision that would affect the Trump administrations decision.

HHS rejects charges by Trump administration critics that it is opening the way for discrimination.

HHS respects the dignity of every human being, said Roger Severino, head of the departments civil rights office. We vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress.
For decades, criminal justice experts have debated the wisdom of broken windows policing  but no one ever proposed bringing in the FBI to do it.

Until now.

As part of a Justice Department-led drive to crack down on violence growing out of protests spurred by George Floyds killing at the hands of Minneapolis police, the federal government is prosecuting more than 70 people for alleged behavior that runs the gamut from mere vandalism, to inciting looting through Facebook Live posts, to arson, and, in one case, murder.

While some of the cases are unquestionably grave, others seem less so, and have raised questions about whether the federal government is stretching its authority to satisfy President Donald Trumps desire to see a forceful federal intervention in the protests.

Two cases, for instance, involve individuals facing federal felony charges for breaking police car windows, relying on federal statutes not often applied in such instances. In another case, federal authorities charged a man with possession of a Molotov cocktail, arguing that because he had used an imported bottle of Patron Citronge Pineapple Tequila to make the incendiary device, the case fell under the federal governments regulation of foreign commerce.

Critics say the use of federal courts, prosecutors and the FBI to target crimes stemming from the recent protests is largely unnecessary and is at odds with the Constitutions limited role for the federal government and federal law enforcement.

I think most of these crimes, even these sorts of local crimes, even local riots, the Constitution leaves to state jurisdiction, said Ilya Somin, a professor at George Mason Universitys Scalia Law School. State and local authorities are in a better position to handle this, and they appear to be handling it. The violence and looting has in fact been stopped almost everywhere almost entirely through the applications of state and local authorities.

Since the first days of the recent protests, Trump has repeatedly taken to Twitter to call for LAW & ORDER, pushed governors to be more forceful against any unrest and even urged use of deadly force against looters. He also has explicitly endorsed aggressive use of federal statutes.

Story continues

Crossing State lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME! Trump tweeted late last month. Liberal Governors and Mayors must get MUCH tougher or the Federal Government will step in and do what has to be done, and that includes using the unlimited power of our Military.

Somin said he believes federal officials, including Attorney General William Barr, are responding to the political imperative Trump sees to use federal power to quell any disturbances.

Trump and Barr want to trumpet themselves as law and order people, he said. Bringing some people up on federal charges can help with that even if, as in this case, there are people in the state that are capable of prosecuting.

Attorney General William Barr speaks during a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump and law enforcement officials, Monday, June 8, 2020, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

While prosecutors describe the defendants activities ominously, there are early signs that some judges do not see them all that way. In some instances, judges have freed the defendants to await trial at home, over the objections of Justice Department attorneys.

One prominent example of a controversial federal case spurred from an incident on May 31, when protesters rallying against police brutality took to the streets of Mobile, Ala., holding a series of vigils and marches. Most were peaceful, but in the late afternoon a crowd of hundreds of people attempted to march up a ramp onto an interstate highway. Police blocked the on-ramp and a tense standoff followed.

At some point, police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. In the ensuing chaos, a woman with a red bandana around her neck used a bat to break a window of a parked, empty police cruiser and ran off, according to video from a local TV station, WKRG.

The woman, Tia Pugh, 21, was later arrested by Mobile police and charged with inciting a riot and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors under Alabama law. After Pugh was released on bail, the FBI and federal prosecutors stepped in, charging her with an obscure federal felony offense: interfering with a police officer in the course of civil disorder.

The crime was one of several anti-riot provisions included in the Civil Rights Act of 1968, passed in the wake of civil unrest in cities across the U.S. in the mid-1960s.

I consider it a very weak case, Pughs court-appointed lawyer, Gordon Armstrong, said in an interview. This is just a 21-year-old, impressionable, proud, young woman with no criminal record whos never been arrested. She did something dumb. Does she need to have a federal felony follow her around for the rest of her life?

After Pughs arrest on the state charges, she spoke briefly to reporters as she was walked in handcuffs past cameras to a waiting police car.

"Genocide is happening. We're being murdered in the streets for no absolutely no reason and unarmed. We're being disarmed when we arm ourselves, Pugh said.

Why do you think that helps your cause, by breaking a window? a reporter asked.

"This is not the point, Pugh replied, arguing the focus on the window was a distraction.

The Justice Department is also invoking the same rarely used civil disorder statute to prosecute a Washington state man, Aaron Wood, 21, for breaking a police car window during a roving protest in Wilmington, Del., on May 30.

The federal complaint says Wood threw a brick through the back window of an occupied Wilmington police cruiser during an evening of protests and violence that included the looting of a number of stores in the citys downtown area.

Wood was initially arrested by Wilmington police, released because of a computer failure and then rearrested on state charges, the affidavit says.

Peaceful protest does not extend to the lawless destruction of private or public property, U.S. Attorney David Weiss said in a news release. Thankfully, the defendants violent actions did not result in physical harm to the [Wilmington Police Department] officer driving the police car attacked by the defendant. I commend WPDs collaboration with the FBI and their efforts to quickly identify and bring the defendant to justice.

Asked about criticism that federal prosecutors are overreaching in some cases, the Justice Department defended its decisions.

U.S. attorneys are vested with the clear discretion and authority to bring federal charges where they are warranted by facts and the law, a DOJ spokesman said. They are also the chief law enforcement officers in their districts and have worked together with federal, state and local law enforcement to hold those accountable who have exploited a legitimate protest movement to seed chaos and commit crimes.

Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, said in a statement to POLITICO: My office will continue, as it always has, to carefully consider and exercise its discretion and authority to prosecute violations of federal law in support of public safety.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney in Mobile, Richard Moore, declined to comment.

Justice Department guidelines detail a series of factors for federal prosecutors to consider when deciding whether to bring charges in a case that can be or is being prosecuted by local authorities.

When it appears that the federal interest in prosecution is less substantial than the interest of local, state, or foreign authorities, consideration should be given to referring the case to those authorities rather than commencing or recommending a federal prosecution, the DOJ policy says.

Like many other federal laws, the civil disorder statute uses a connection to interstate commerce as a hook for federal jurisdiction. Under the Constitutions Commerce Clause, the federal government has authority to regulate activities that impact either foreign or interstate commerce.

Prosecutors allege the Alabama and Delaware protests impeded interstate commerce in the form of traffic on interstate highways and that the Wilmington unrest also did so through damage to businesses in that city.

However, Pughs attorney Armstrong says that connection is shaky in her case. Protesters never made it onto the highway. Prosecutors say commerce was affected because drivers of trucks bearing hazardous materials were told to divert in case the protesters made it onto the interstate.

At a court hearing last week, Armstrong questioned an FBI agent about whether any trucks actually diverted during the demonstration. The agent had a letter from an Alabama highway official confirming the directive to divert, but no proof anyone was affected.

I spent quite a bit of time on: Is there evidence any truck was diverted? The answer to that is, No, he said. If they cant show commerce was in any way affected, then its no longer a federal matter. Thats the real issue in the case, not whether she broke a window.

At the hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bradley Murray said there was enough evidence to let the case against Pugh proceed, but he said prosecutors would need more to press forward with the case, according to Armstrong. The judge also ordered Pughs release over the objections of prosecutors.

Unlike the demonstrators in Mobile, some of the protesters in Wilmington actually made it onto the interstate, blocking I-95 for about an hour. However, the shattering of the police cruiser window that led to the federal case against Wood took place roughly an hour after the demonstrators left the highway.

Among the prominent lawyers and policymakers who have warned about the federal government using the Commerce Clause to claim expansive power is Barr.

The Framers believed in the principle of subsidiarity  that is, that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest competent authority that was closest to the people, Barr said in February at a conference for religious broadcasters. The Framers conceived that the vast majority of collective decision-making by the people about their affairs would be done at the state and local level.

Barr directly criticized the federal governments reliance on the Commerce Clause, saying it has ballooned far beyond its original understanding.

Despite the warnings from Barr and some legal academics, the Supreme Court has endorsed the federal governments power to intervene in situations with marginal impact on interstate commerce, though it has occasionally ruled that measures go too far.

Other recent cases have taken a different tack as establishing federal jurisdiction: arguing that defendants used the internet to foment illegal activity.

Prosecutors grabbed headlines earlier this month when they arrested CaQuintez Gibson, 26, on a charge of using the internet to incite a riot. Gibson was accused of making a series of Facebook Live posts encouraging looting at a large, indoor shopping mall in Peoria, Ill., as well as at a strip mall and other locations.

Its going up tonight. Long as you all at Northwoods Mall. Its going up. Period. cause I know its more than just me gonna step. Period, Gibson said in one video. We aint with that peaceful s---.

Following Gibsons arrest, U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois John Milhiser, said it was important to put people like Gibson behind bars.

We will use all available resources to identify bad actors and get them off the streets to keep our communities safe, Milhiser said.

However, just five days later, a magistrate judge ordered Gibson released on a fairly lax form of home detention, with permission to work, attend church and other activities. He was ordered to stay off the internet and keep away from any devices with access to the web.

Federal charges can also bring harsher potential sentences.

The rarely invoked charge of using a facility of interstate  commerce to incite a riot carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and fine of as much as $250,000. Most federal defendants get shorter sentences under federal sentencing guidelines.

And a man charged this week with throwing a burning glove under a New York Police Department cruiser, Victor Sanchez-Santa, is facing a five-year mandatory minimum and a total of as much as 20 years in prison if convicted on a federal arson charge. Prosecutors say the matter can be prosecuted in federal court because the NYPD receives federal funds. Others, including two Brooklyn lawyers, face 50-year mandatory minimums if convicted on a slew of federal charges stemming from arson attacks on NYPD cars during recent unrest.

The then-U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, said in a statement Thursday that arson deserves serious prosecution because it involves serious danger.

Arson is  a threat to more than its immediate victim, with the potential to destroy and terrify far beyond the place where a fire is set, Berman said.

Leah Nylen and Betsy Woodruff Swan contributed to this report.
Juneteenth looks very different this year as a new set of organized demonstrations around the Bay Area took shape Friday.

With recent nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, Juneteenth celebrations will continue to focus on the stand against police brutality. And as that effort continues, a number of Bay Area organizations and businesses are showing their support.

In Oakland, a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt Amphitheater will host a fundraising event hosted by Mikaela Greene from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A series of speakers will be at the event and pastries from Reems California will be available too. All donations go towards the Black Lives Matter Movement.

On Saturday, BBQN While Black and Queen Hippy Gipsy will hold an event called, An Unapologetic Juneteenth at Mosswood Park where live music, healing circles and food will be available, free of charge, to all attendees.

Michauxnee Kennan, owner of The Busy Wife, will help the event organizers by preparing meals that can feed up to 1,000 people with the help of volunteer chefs. According to Berkeleyside, Kennans menu will feature dishes reflective of Black culture and will include shrimp etouffee, barbecue chicken, potato salad and grilled vegetables.

ALSO: Juneteenth: A day of joy and pain - and now national action

Jhamel Robinson, the co-founder of BBQN While Black, told Berkeleyside that celebrating Black freedom is necessary, now more than ever.

Juneteenth is a day to truly celebrate our Blackness, and for us to reconnect  even more importantly now  as the world is in shambles, Robinson told Berkeleyside.

We cant wait for permission to celebrate and appreciate unity, Lilli Ayers, owner of Queen Hippy Gipsy, added. The time is now.

Vegan Mob owner, Toriano Gordon, also announced that his employees will get paid time and a half on Juneteenth.

ALSO: Oakland farmers band together to help feed frontline protesters amid demonstrations

Everybody that works here is not African American, is not Black, but I want them to know their importance, so what Im doing this year and years to come is today they will get holiday pay.

Juneteenth observes June 19 as the date when enslaved African Americans in 1856 were informed of their freedom in Galveston, Texas.

Eater also did a roundup of Bay Area businesses that are showing their support and it includes Miss Ollies, La Cocina, and Pinx Catering. Check out Juneteenth events happening around the Bay Area here.

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3
The Central Regional Police Command has arrested 131 for breaching COVID-19 safety protocols.

They were arrested for not wearing nose masks.



Speaking at the launch of a disinfection exercise in basic and senior high schools in the region by waste management company Zoomlion, Regional Police Commander COP Paul Manly Awini said the arrested persons will be processed for court while officers engage stakeholders to ensure all directives are adhered to.



We are very much aware that our role is a humanitarian one in support of the lead agency which is the Ghana Health Service. And so from day one when these protocols were issued by his Excellency, I must say that some people fallen foul of the law as far as observing some of these protocols were concerned. Today, we have arrested 131 persons who breached these protocols, and they are all being processed for court.



A new Executive Instrument (E.I. 164) signed by President Akufo-Addo on June 15, 2020, as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has made it an offence for refusing to wear a face mask in public.



The punishment is a prison sentence of four to 10 years or a fine of GH12,000 to GH60,000 or both.



The E.I. was issued by the President pursuant to the powers granted him under the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012).



Per E.I. 164, which was gazetted on Monday, June 15, the mandatory wearing of face masks shall be in force for three months and shall apply to all parts of Ghana.



The Ghana Police has been mandated to enforce compliance of the E.I.



President Akufo-Addo in his 11th nationwide address to the nation announced that the wearing of face masks has now been made mandatory in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central and Western regions where the number of people contracting the virus has surged.



Ghanaians must remember that the wearing of masks is now mandatory. Leaving our homes without our face masks or face covering on is an offence, the President said in the Sunday address.







Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The United States and Russia on Monday open talks on their last major nuclear agreement -- but for some observers, it may simply be the beginning of the end.

President Donald Trump's administration has insisted, to no avail, that China join the discussions in Vienna on New START, the treaty that caps US and Russian nuclear warheads.

New START expires on February 5 -- presenting an extraordinarily tight deadline to renew a complex deal, let alone negotiate a new treaty involving a third power.

Marshall Billingslea, the US envoy, has ramped up pressure on Beijing, saying that its role will be a factor in determining if the Vienna session is constructive.

China -- whose nuclear arsenal is rapidly expanding but is still far smaller than the US and Russian programs -- has repeatedly declined to take part, amid tensions with the Trump administration on multiple fronts.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research group, said the insistence on including China showed the Trump administration was not serious.

"The only conclusion I can come to is that Marshall Billingslea and the Trump administration do not intend to extend New START and are seeking to display China's disinterest in trilateral arms control talks as a cynical excuse to allow New START to expire," he said.

The Trump administration has already left two treaties with Russia -- on overflights and on intermediate-range nuclear forces.

Low hopes in Moscow

Russia, to be led in Vienna by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, has proposed simply extending New START to allow time to negotiate.

But Moscow's ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said he was "quite pessimistic, as for now I don't see any positive sign."

New START, a Cold War legacy whose latest version was negotiated by president Barack Obama, allows the United States and Russia to deploy no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads each and cut in half the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers.

Russia, whose nuclear arsenal is a key element of power while it is vastly outspent on defense by the United States, says it wants to ensure parity with Washington.

It also wants a broader discussion with Washington on arms control, including on US threats to resume nuclear tests after nearly three decades.

Billingslea said last month that the United States was concerned not only about China but Russia, accusing Moscow of modernizing thousands of "non-strategic" nuclear weapons that fall outside New START.

"They have adopted a highly provocative nuclear doctrine that embraces early escalation and use of nuclear weapons," Billingslea said, calling for any successor treaty to put more Russian arms under monitoring.

Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said that Moscow still believes in New START as a way to ensure controls and transparency.

"It creates the certain level of confidence, however modest, that exists now," he said.

"But it's not as if Russia is going to feel abandoned and go cry if the treaty goes away."

End of Era

The deadlock over New START and the demise of other treaties "suggest that the era of bilateral nuclear arms control agreements between Russia and the USA might be coming to an end," said Shannon Kile of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

According to the institute's latest research, Russia possesses 6,375 nuclear warheads, including those that are not deployed, and the United States has 5,800. China was a distant third with 320 warheads.

US officials, however, say China is undergoing a major expansion and needs to be transparent if it wants to be treated as a major power.

Song Zhongping, a defense analyst in Beijing, said that 2,000 warheads would be an ideal arsenal for China, whose main incentive is to counter the United States.

"China will never participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations between the US and Russia," he said.

"The nuclear disarmament talks proposed by the US are only a trap."

Russia has hit back by proposing the participation of US allies France and Britain, which respectively have 290 and 215 warheads, according to the Stockholm Institute.

Four countries have smaller nuclear arsenals -- India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

One wild card in New START could be the US elections. If Trump loses to Joe Biden, the new president will have just days to act before the treaty expires.
Sharing his own personal experience, Abhay spoke about how he along with co-actor Farhan Akhtar got "demoted" at several award functions for their work in the hit film "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara".

Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) After Ranvir Shorey, actor Abhay Deol has come out to explain how "shamelessly" award shows work in Bollywood.

"'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', released in 2011. Need to chant this title to myself everyday nowadays! Also a great watch when anxious or stressed.

"I would like to mention that almost all the award functions demoted me and Farhan from main leads, and nominated us as 'supporting actors'. Hrithik and Katrina were nominated as 'actors in a leading role'. So by the industry's own logic, this was a film about a man and a woman falling in love, with the man supported by his friends for whatever decisions he takes," Abhay wrote.

Such impartial behaviour eventually led Abhay to boycott the awards.

"There are many covert and overt ways in which people in the industry lobby against you. In this case it was shamelessly overt. I of course boycotted the awards but Farhan was ok with it," he added.

Directed by Zoya Akhtar, "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" revolves around three friends, Arjun (Hrithik), Kabir (Abhay) and Imraan( Farhan), who discover themselves and aspects of their relationship after they go on a road trip to Spain.

"Familyfareawards," Abhay quipped.

Not only this, Abhay recently also called out Bollywood celebrities for not voicing problems in their own country, and coming out to support the enraged Black Lives Matter movement in the US.

--IANS

sim/vnc
BERLIN, June 19 (Reuters) - The German government on Friday declined to comment on possible talks with Lufthansa shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele after a newspaper reported the billionaire has reached out to Berlin in a standoff over a $10 billion rescue package.

A spokesman for the Economy Ministry said: "We can neither confirm, deny nor comment on any talks." (Reporting by Thomas Seythal and Andreas Rinke Editing by Michelle Martin)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined the next phase of South Africas COVID-19 strategy, which will focus on the recovery of the economy.

Speaking during a virtual parliament Q&A session on 18 June, Ramaphosa compared the projected state of the economy after the virus outbreak to a post-war economy.

Given the massive impact that the coronavirus is having on jobs, our immediate priority is creating employment, Ramaphosa said.

I have often said that the post-COVID-19 economic landscape is similar to a post-war landscape.

We have to do the extraordinary. We will do this by embarking on a number of initiatives including expanding public employment, increasing investment in public infrastructure and enabling greater job creation in the private sector, he said.

The government has planned various initiatives which will focus on expanding public employment and improving the state of the economy as the country emerges from the pandemic.

The restructuring of our economy is a moment that we now need to grasp, Ramaphosa said.

The president also acknowledged that corruption remains a major challenge in South Africa, adding that strong anti-corruption mechanisms will need to be put in place to protect the countrys R500 billion stimulus plan.

We want to ensure that the money that has been set aside for COVID-19 relief is responsibly used and is used for what it is intended for.

Lockdown rule changes

This session follows a statement by the president on the evening of 17 June which announced the easing of certain level 3 lockdown restrictions.

Ramaphosa said that following consultation with scientists and provincial governments, the cabinet has decided to ease restrictions on a number of economic activities.

The list of industries which will be allowed to return to operation includes restaurants, hotels, conferences and meetings, and cinemas.

Ramaphosa noted that the opening of these industries would be accommodated under the eased restrictions in line with the restrictions on public gatherings that remain in place.

The government will publish rules detailing the eased restrictions in the near future, he added.

Now read: SABC plans to cut 600 jobs
Brussels, 20 June 2020 (SPS) - Deputies of the European Parliament called Wednesday the Spanish Government, in a letter sent to the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, to speed up the decolonization process in Western Sahara and assume its historical and legal responsibilities towards the Sahrawi people.



The European MPs said in a letter that the recent decision of the Supreme Court which establishes that the fact of being born in Western Sahara before 1975 doesnt give the right to the Spanish nationality of origin, is another denial from Spain towards its legal and historical responsibility and of its occupation for several years of Western Sahara which was its 53rd province and which had representatives in the legislature (Curtis), before being deliberately divided by Madrid and illegally given to Morocco, as part of Madrid agreements of 14 November 1975.



The letter broached the historic decision of the International Court of Justice in 1975 which judged that Morocco doesnt have any sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara, which was reaffirmed by the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in 2002, in a different form, i.e. that Madrids arrangement didnt transfer the sovereignty of Western Sahara and didnt grant to any of the signatories the status of the administering power, a situation that Spain cant transfer unilaterally because it contradicts with the legal and political reality.



The European MPs expressed their strong condemnation of this decision, which reflects the clear political intentions against the Sahrawi people and the decolonization issue of Western Sahara, demanding that the Prime minister takes the responsibility of this phase and takes all the measures to respond to it, starting with the efforts aimed at establishing high-level diplomatic relations with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the granting of the Spanish nationality to the descendants of the former Spanish colony (Western Sahara) (SPS)



062/SPS/APS
PARIS (AP)  Hundreds of people in protested Saturday in Paris against racism and police violence and in memory of Black men who died following encounters with French police or under suspicious circumstances.

The protesters marched to the former home of Lamine Dieng, a 25-year-old Franco-Senegalese man arrested in 2007 who died in a police van. Thousands of other protesters marched Saturday in Paris and cities around France in support of undocumented migrants.

I hope, that this is not just a moment of brief awareness," Dieng's sister Ramata Dieng told The Associated Press. We have dreamed for a long time of seeing this many people mobilizing on this issue.

This cant stop at indignation. Its fine to be indignant but we must move to the next step and the next step is to put implement the tools, have laws voted on so that police are no longer above the law, she said.

The French government agreed earlier this month to pay 145,000 euros ($162,000) to Diengs relatives in a settlement via the European Court of Human Rights, after the family tried for more than a decade to hold police accountable for his death.

Many at Saturdays protest linked it with the case of of George Floyd, an African American man whose death on May 25 in the U.S. city of Minneapolis galvanized protesters around the globe to rally against racism and police brutality.

George Floyd was the hair that broke the camels back in the United States, but its not just George Floyd, demonstrator Lylia Boukerrouche.

In France, though its different, its a similar situation. It was a colonial state, and we see that today police violence occurs against Blacks and Arabs, the descendants of immigrants, Boukerrouche added.

Some demonstrators carried placards bearing the words Justice For Ibo, a reference to Ibrahima Bah, 22, who died in an October motorbike crash in the Paris suburbs of Villiers-le-Bel wile allegedly trying to escape a police check. Bahs family blames the police for his death.

Story continues

The protests Saturday in Paris for Dieng and undocumented migrants were authorized by French authorities, who have been exercising caution over protests in recent weeks as the country emerges from coronavirus restrictions.

Other protests on Saturday in the French capital were banned, including an anti-racism demonstration near the U.S. Embassy by the Black African Defense League, and another protest linked to recent violence involving Chechens in the French city of Dijon. Activists gathered anyway.

Separately, a small group of activists staged a flash protest Saturday outside the French Health Ministry in support of state medical workers, who are demanding higher pay and more hospital staff after Frances once-renowned health care system struggled to cope with the virus crisis following years of cost cuts.

The protesters sprayed red paint on the ministry building, symbolizing blood, and on a mock medal.

___

Philippe Marion in Paris contributed.
KOLKATA: A 20-year-old girl named Priyanka Purkait, was a 3rd-year student of Women Christian College, shot dead by her ex-boyfriend Joyonto Halder on Saturday.

The accused who lived close by fled from the spot after killing the girl. The Kolkata Police, which was hunting for the accused, had arrested him from the Regent Park by tracing his mobile tower location.

Priyanka was staying with her mother, young brother, and two aunts. At the time of the incident, Priyanka was sleeping with her aunt when the accused entered into the house and shot Priyanka on her neck.

The girl was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared her ''brought dead.''

The deceased girl was in a relationship with Jayanta despite knowing that he is married but when she came to know that Jayantas wife is pregnant, she ended her relationship with him. However, this angered the accused and led to the girl's murder.

Joyonto also allegedly threatened Priyanka and her family during the lockdown period that if Priyanka ended the relationship then he will wipe out the whole family.

The accused also snatched Priyankas mobile and took it along with him.

In the year 2019, the girl lost her father Gopal Pukait and since then she was dependent on her two aunts and mother for her living. Priyankas elder sister Pinky and her husband Bijoy used to reside a few meters away from her home and the police suspect that Bijoy had links with the accused.

While Priyankafamily regrets not informing the police earlier, neighbours are questioning how the accused managed to get a weapon and how he fled from the spot easily.
While we may have been separated in a physical sense from our friends and family over the past months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our lives via our digital lives have never been busier, with our devices helping to bring people closer together - often in difficult circumstances - albeit virtually.

From the sheer reality of saying 'hello' to loved ones in hospital or nursing homes using our mobile phones, to having to say goodbye to a person during their funeral via online streaming, some of us have been relying on technology of late to do very difficult things in our lives.

On the other side of the coin, our smartphones, tablets and laptops have also been helping empower us in many ways - from using apps like Zoom for meetings and fitness classes, quiz nights with family and friends and even to host 'virtual' birthday parties with people either close to home or overseas.

And in terms of digital media, let's not forget our ever-growing use of apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger for video calls amongst friends and family.

A good many of us are also scrolling and engaging on our social media platforms more than ever - be that on Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram to name a few. The temptation is also there to engage more on social-media platforms such as Twitter and the business-networking site LinkedIn.

But, in these uncertain times, just how can people switch off from their online life right now - especially when there is the continual pull of being always switched-on to keep up with continual news updates about Covid-19, as well as other news happenings around our county, Ireland and the globe?

Denise Whitmore is a digital marketing expert based in Wexford who runs the agency The Social Media Department. Through her work, Whitmore advises businesses on their content and social media strategies and runs workshops all over Ireland, including in Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford. She is also the founder of The Irish Women in Business Network, as well as being the lead curator of TEDxWexford.

According to Whitmore, two things happen to our brains when we use social media - two chemical reactions.

'We get a surge of dopamine and a surge of oxytocin. Dopamine is the "want" chemical. It causes us to seek more information. It's the reason why click bait is so effective. Then there's oxytocin, which is the cuddle chemical. Believe it or not we actually get the same hormonal spikes from tweeting as we would get on our wedding day!'

She said this is why the pull of social media is so addictive and can be very difficult to give up. However, Whitmore warns that our sleep patterns and mental health have never been more 'vulnerable' than during Covid-19.

'And it's simply because we are browsing and scrolling on social media more than ever.'

Whitmore's advice is for people to select 'screen-free times' during the day.

'Prioritise other activities like playing an instrument, potting a new plant or going for a walk.'

One of her suggestions is to leave your phone in a different room for a few hours.

'It's also a good idea to write a list of the things you need to do online for the day and stick to that list. Once you've completed that list, then you switch off.'

Taking advantage of the summer weather when you have the chance is another way to take our minds off our digital lives, Whitmore explained.

'Sit outside for an hour and read your book. Taking those short breaks from your mobile screen makes a huge difference.'

Whitmore explained that there are also options to turn notifications off for certain platforms during particular hours.

She advises that people take a look at the 'Notifications' settings on your mobile phone.

'There will be an option to go into a "Do Not Disturb" mode. You can then select which hours you want to get notifications and which hours you want off.'

From a work perspective, some people have been in the fortunate position of being able to continue working from home during Covid-19. Many workplaces have been using apps such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to engage with such employees working remotely.

And while working from home offers many advantages, from cutting out the daily commute, to being able to spend more time with your kids, some people might feel pressure to be always available online.

Whitmore's advice for people who are finding it hard to switch off from their working life is to not feel guilty about this.

'Everyone is in the same boat. I have heard so many of my clients saying they are "Zoomed" out of it these days because every interaction is online.

'Whether it's for family, fun or business, we're in front of a screen and it most definitely takes its toll.'

Again, her suggestion is to set time limits.

'Make your list but also don't be afraid to tell co-workers that you are switching off. Set your own limits and stick to them.'

Finally, are there any apps out there that could be 'empowering' for people at this time?

'One of thing things that I have personally noticed during the lockdown is that, before this, I would always complain that I didn't have enough time to do the things I wanted such as exercising or playing guitar or reading my book. However, I've now realised it wasn't the time that I was lacking, it was the motivation,' explained Whitmore.

As a result, she has started to look at how technology can help her make life changes.

'I have now set a goal to walk at least 10,000 steps a day, to play guitar for 20 minutes and to read instead of browsing social media before bed.

'I'm not going to lie. It's tough and I don't always adhere to my own rules, but it's definitely getting better.'

The apps that have helped Whitmore make these 'small' changes are StepsApp, Yousician and Google Calendar.

'I set reminders and alarms for myself with little messages - my favourite being: "If you really wanted to you would". It's actually a magnet on my fridge to stop me snacking!'

Whitmore also has an app on her iWatch that reminds her to take a minute to stop what she is doing and to breathe in and out slowly.

'It's a great little meditation reminder and does wonders for my mental health. It actually reminds me to stand up from my desk if I've been at my computer for too long.

'You can get plug-ins for Google Chrome that do the same thing, reminding you to take a break from your screen. It's so important,' Whitmore affirmed.
Demonstrations held across US against backdrop of protests fuelled by deaths of African Americans at hands of police.

Protesters brought down Confederate statues as anti-racism rallies were held across the United States to mark the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the country.

Demonstrations were held in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington on Friday against a backdrop of weeks of protests fuelled by the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police.

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In a stark illustration of the tensions roiling the nation, President Donald Trump issued a solemn White House statement commemorating Juneteenth, while also threatening protesters on Twitter ahead of his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Juneteenth marks the day  June 19, 1865  when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves that they were free, two months after the Civil War had ended and two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The date is generally celebrated with prayer services and family gatherings, but comes this year amid national soul-searching over Americas legacy of racial injustice.





The US has been gripped by daily Black Lives Matter protests since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Late on Friday, a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike was torn down by demonstrators in the capital and set on fire.

In North Carolina, demonstrators pulled down two statues of Confederate soldiers that were part of a larger obelisk near the state capitol in downtown Raleigh.

Earlier, several thousand demonstrators marched across New Yorks Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, chanting the names of Black men and women killed by police in recent years.

This year the entire country has had a reckoning, said protester Tabatha Bernard, 38, voicing support for growing calls for Juneteenth to be declared a national holiday.

Its up to us to keep this going until we have change.

Protesters in Atlanta, where a police officer was charged with murder this week for shooting a Black man in the back, marched on the Georgia State Capitol.

And protesters just toppled the Albert Pike statue in DC pic.twitter.com/gEzJm0OYjd  Perry Stein (@PerryStein) June 20, 2020

More gathered in Washington outside the Lincoln Memorial and near the White House, while thousands marched in Chicago and danced at festive rallies in South Los Angeles.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Juneteenth reminded Americans that our country is capable of the worst violence and injustice but it also has an incredible capacity to be reborn anew.

In Tulsa, where Trump is set to hold his first campaign rally on Saturday since the coronavirus pandemic began, a Juneteenth celebration was attended by several thousand protesters.

Weve seen more unity and more blacks and whites together in the last three weeks than weve ever seen in a Trump rally, civil rights activist Al Sharpton told a press conference.

Trump had originally scheduled his Tulsa appearance for Juneteenth, but was forced to change it amid a public outcry over his provocative choice of date and location.

The citys Greenwood district was the site of one of the countrys worst racist massacres, in 1921, when as many as 300 Black Americans were killed.

Trump issued a blunt warning to protesters headed to Tulsa.

Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis, he said. It will be a much different scene!

Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum declared a curfew in the city amid fears of violence but Trump later announced it had been lifted for our many supporters attending the rally.
The New York City Council has passed a new bill that will demand oversight of all the surveillance technology and policies used by the New York Police Department.

The bill, called Public Oversight Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, was approved by the City Council in a 44-6 vote, and Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated he would sign it into law.

The POST Act requires the police to disclose all forms of surveillance technology currently in use, list specific policies that limit its use, and submit to an annual audit to verify the police are following their own guidelines.

The New York City Council voted 44-6 to approve the Public Oversight Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, requiring the NYPD to disclose all surveillance technology currently used in the city

The POST Act was first introduced by Councilwoman Vanessa L. Gibson in 2017, according to a CNBC report, and gained renewed support in 2020 after protests against police violence swept across the city following the murder of George Floyd.

'Across this nation theres been a real crying call for more police accountability and transparency and this legislation, to me, is really a foundation,' Gibson said in a statement.

'It means its the beginning, family, and not the end of the NYPD to be honest with the public, with New Yorkers.'

The NYPD currently uses a wide range of surveillance devices and technology, perhaps none more expansive than the Domain Awareness System (DAS), an AI-driven network controlling more than 18,000 security cameras across the city.

The DAS was developed in the years following 9/11 as a counterterrorism tool but it has steadily expanded into other forms of law enforcement.

The NYPD has also developed a facial recognition system - called facial identification section (FIS) - that can access footage collected by the DAS to identify and track individuals.

Vanessa L. Gibson (pictured above) first introduced the POST Act in 2017. 'Across this nation theres been a real crying call for more police accountability and transparency and this legislation, to me, is really a foundation,' Gibson said in a statement

Police in New York also use of stingrays, portable devices that mimic cell phone towers, to log data from phones, something that's been periodically deployed against protestors for years.

Surveillance drones have also been used to track protests and capture footage of criminal suspects.

Legal advocates have worried that the lack of transparency about how and when the police use surveillance has made it difficult to defend their clients, or identify abuses of surveillance, including warrantless phone tracking, which was banned in 2017.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has indicated he will sign the bill into law, while an NYPD spokesperson said the department would oppose the bill because it lacked a provision to protect undercover officers

Legal advocates have worried about the lack of transparency surround police surveillance, which has made it difficult to defend clients in court

'Our ability to represent our clients, overwhelmingly people of color, is hindered by the clandestine use of surveillance against them, their families and their communities,' Legal Aid Society's Jerome Greco told CNBC.

'We cannot wage a zealous fight in court on their behalf if we do not even know there is something to fight over.'

An NYPD spokesperson said that the department will oppose the bill, though it would have been open to supporting it if it included a provision to specifically protect undercover officers.

'The NYPD cannot support a law that seems to be designed to help criminals and terrorists thwart efforts to stop them and endanger brave officers,' the spokesperson said.
Few jewellery collections rival those of the British Royal Family, whose stunning, rare pieces are worn and passed down from generation to generation.

The Queen is rarely seen without her George IV State Diadem, while Princess Dianas gigantic ceylon sapphire engagement ring made a comeback in 2011 when Prince William presented it to a then-Kate Middleton.

But the royal jewellery collection is far larger than the pieces regularly seen on senior members of the Royal Family.

From long lost wedding tiaras through to Princess Dianas mismatched earrings, here are a few wed love to see make a comeback.

The Strathmore Rose Tiara

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This floral tiara was known to be a favourite of the Queen Mothers, however no members of the Royal Family have worn it since the monarchs passing.

The tiara, which dates back to the nineteenth century, features a number of roses that can be detached and clipped on as brooches.

The Queen Mother was photographed in the past wearing it fashionably low over her forehead.

Evening Standard Insider previously spoke with royal jewellery expert Lauren Kiehna of The Court Jeweller, who speculated that Princess Beatrice could potentially choose the Strathmore Rose Tiara on her eventual wedding day.

She said, Beatrice also shares her mother's fascination with the Victorian era, so it's possible that we'll see her in a nineteenth-century tiara. The Queen Mother's Strathmore Rose Tiara would fit the bill perfectly.

The Dagmar Necklace

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This pearl and diamond necklace is one of the more lavish pieces in the royal collection, comprised of 118 pearls and 2000 diamonds.

Originally crafted by Copenhagen court jeweller Julius Dideriksen (according to Pearls Before Poppies by Rachel Trethewey), the necklace was gifted to Princess Alexandra by the then-Prince of Wales in 1853 on their wedding day.

It features a cross pendant based on one originally designed for Queen Dagmar, however royal jewellers Garrard later tweaked the necklace so the cross was detachable.

Royals in recent years have since worn it without the cross.

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Princess Alexandra was known to love pearls and in a royal portrait was seen wearing the necklace, alongside strings of additional pearl necklaces and chokers.

Although the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth have at different points worn the necklace, it has largely fallen out of the public eye.

The Dagmar Necklace

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This pearl and diamond necklace is one of the more lavish pieces in the royal collection and is comprised of 118 pearls and 2000 diamonds. Originally crafted by Copenhagen court jeweller Julius Dideriksen (according to Pearls Before Poppies by Rachel Trethewey), the necklace was gifted to Princess Alexandra by the then-Prince of Wales in 1853 on their wedding day.

It features a cross pendant based on one originally designed for Queen Dagmar, however royal jewellers Garrard later tweaked the necklace so the cross was detachable. Royals in recent years have since gone without the cross.

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Princess Alexandra was known to have a strong love of pearls and in a royal portrait was seen wearing the necklace, alongside strings of additional pearl necklaces and chokers. Although the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth have at different points worn the necklace, it has largely fallen out of the public eye.

The Delhi Durbar Necklace

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This emerald necklace was a favourite of Queen Marys and was crafted in 1921 by Garrard from emeralds gifted to the queens grandmother.

Featuring nine emeralds, it also includes the 8.8 ct Cullinan VII diamond.

It has a complex colonial history, as it was made for Queen Mary to wear to the Delhi Durbar - a ceremony that declared her and her husband King George V the Empress and Emperor of India.

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The Queen has worn it multiple times in the past, sometimes complemented by the Vladimir Tiara and its detachable emerald drops.

One of the last times it was seen worn in public in 1996, however it was exhibited in 2006 alongside a swathe of other emerald jewellery - including the Vladimir tiara and Queen Marys art deco necklace, which was worn by Princess Diana and is sometimes mistaken for the same piece.

Princess Dianas Saudi Sapphire choker

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Not only do we want this necklace to come back into the royal wardrobe, but we also want to see it worn the way Princess Diana did.

Although royals have in the past worn tiaras low on the forehead, Princess Diana made a real fashion statement in the 80s when she put her own spin on it.

Besides wearing Queen Marys art deco necklace (mentioned above) in this fashion, she also wore her Saudi Sapphire Choker in the same way.

When she married Prince Charles, she was gifted a collection of sapphire jewels from the Crown Prince of Arabia to match her iconic engagement ring - which included this sapphire, diamond and blue velvet choker.

While she wore it as a necklace multiple times, it was catapulted into the halls of royal fashion fame when she opted to wear it as a headband to a 1986 state dinner in Tokyo.

It has not been seen since she passed away, but it might be in Prince Harry or Prince Williams possession as she reportedly declared in her will that all her jewellery would pass to her sons.

Princess Margaret's Poltimore Tiara

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Princess Margarets wedding tiara is one of the grandest ever seen on a royal, worn for her wedding to Anthony Armstrong-Jones.

It was unusually purchased for her at auction for 5,500 shortly before her wedding day. The piece was originally made by Garrard for Lady Poltimore in 1870.

She was also pictured wearing it in an iconic portrait shot by her photographer husband, which saw her pose in a bubble bath wearing nothing but the tiara.

The towering piece is much larger than ones youll typically see on Royal Family members (barring Princess Dianas Lovers Knot tiara) and additionally can be converted into brooches or a necklace, which is how Princess Margaret would occasionally wear it to events such as a night at the theatre.

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Featuring a design comprised of scrolls and clusters, the tiara is embedded with numerous old-cut and cushion-shaped diamonds.

Sadly, its very unlikely well ever see this tiara again on a member of the Royal Family. It was controversially sold by Princess Margarets son Lord Snowdon to help settle a 3m inheritance tax bill.

The piece, which was estimated to be sold for $350,000, went for a staggering $1.7 million in 2006 at Christies.

Lord Snowdon said at the time, There were many, many reasons, mostly financial, that persuaded us that that was the correct route because, you know, when people die, taxes need to be paid.

Oriental Circlet Tiara

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Its been over a decade since weve last seen the Oriental Circlet, which was a favoured piece of the Queen Mother. The delicate Garrard tiara - which is said to have been inspired by existing jewellery in the royal collection - was commissioned by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in 1853.

UK Press via Getty Images

Although it was initially set with opals, the stones were later changed to rubies and passed into Queen Elizabeths hands after her mother passed away.

The Queen has only worn it a handful of times and its most recent notable appearance was in 2005, when the Queen wore it paired with diamond and ruby accessories over the course of a trip to Malta.

Princess Dianas Mismatched Ruby and Sapphire Earrings

(Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty) / Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

Ever one to push the style boundaries, Princess Diana switched things up on a 1992 tour to Seoul, South Korea.

The late princess opted for unusually mismatched earrings; one featuring a ruby and pearl while the other featured a blue stone and white pearl, for an avant-garde look.

Its likely that these are a part of the collection she left behind to her sons Prince William and Prince Harry, though they havent been seen since the 90s.

Kate Middletons wedding earrings

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These charming earrings are the amongst least elaborate on the list, but are weighted with meaning.

During her 2011 wedding to Prince WIlliam, Kate debuted a pair of diamond pear drop earrings which featured miniature dangling acorns and oak leaves. It was later discovered that they were designed by Robinson Pelham and gifted to her by her parents, with the oak/acorn referencing the Middletons coat of arms.

The Middleton coat of arms was designed for the family ahead of the royal wedding and according to Harpers Bazaar, the three acorns depicted in it represent Kate and her siblings James and Pippa.

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For the most part, Kate has rarely worn the earrings out in public since her wedding day. She did however wear them for an Easter church service last year.
The Laredo Ethics Commission on Friday voted to dismiss a report filed against Councilman Dr. Marte Martinez, who last summer cast a vote for city employees health insurance provider, for which he is an in-network physician.

However the commission voted for the City Attorneys Office to investigate two other related issues  if the insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield, should have disclosed the conflict of interest with Martinez; and who leaked the report to the media before the commission had received it.

Juan Francisco Kiko Tamez, independent counsel hired by the City of Laredo to investigate this report, told the five commissioners present that it was clear that Martinez had an economic interest in this contract, simply by being in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield. He is also in-network with the other insurance company who was competing for the bid.

The citys ethics code states that no city official or employee shall have a direct or indirect financial interest in any contract, purchase or sale with the city. Any official who willfully violates this rule is subject to forfeit their position with the city. So the key component here was Martinezs will when casting this vote, Tamez said.

Upon reviewing the minutes and a recording of the meeting where council took this vote, Tamez said it was clear that Martinez was genuinely concerned about doing the right thing so that employees would have the best possible health insurance. Fellow councilmembers asked his opinion as a doctor to give input on their decision. If Martinez had willfully violated this conflict of interest rule, he would have been shying away from the discussion, Tamez argued.

READ MORE: Laredo Walmarts confirmed to have past coronavirus cases

I think his heart is in the right place, but I just dont know  I dont think anybody can be expected to know the code inside and out, Tamez said.

He found no evidence that Martinez willfully violated the ethics code, or that he did so with ill will.

However the insurance companies who were bidding for this contract with the city have attorneys, and should have known that Martinez was one of few Laredo pain medicine specialists in-network with them. Tamez noted that Martinez was actually in scrubs during this meeting.

Part of the ethics code pertains to companies or people doing business with the city  they also need to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. In this case, Blue Cross Blue Shield should have done so, Tamez said.

Ethics Commissioner Hector Patino was angered that local media had reported on this complaint, filed in February by Mayor Pete Saenz, Councilman George Altgelt and Councilwoman Nelly Vielma, before the commission had received it. Typically a report to the Ethics Commission is not made public until they vote to take it up as a sworn complaint.

Whoever was the public officials who submitted the ethics violation and then went out to the media, that in itself is a violation. I see their intent to hurt, or make it political, rather than actually determine the intent of someone genuinely caring about people, Patino said. ... When public officials come to this commission to use us for political gain, I have a problem with that.

A couple other commissioners responded here, here.

READ MORE: Student that threatened UISD high school pleads guilty

After meeting with Tamez in executive session, the commission voted to dismiss the complaint against Martinez but instructed him to take additional training on the City of Laredos Code of Ethics.

They also voted for the City Attorneys Office to investigate if Blue Cross Blue Shied violated the ethics code by not disclosing a conflict of interest with Martinez, as he would be part of the body voting for or against their contract.

And they voted for the City Attorneys Office to investigate who was involved in disclosing the ethics report to the media several months ago.

Before the commission went into closed session, Martinez spoke to the group. He said he is an in-network physician with probably about 100 insurance providers. At the June 10, 2019 council meeting where they chose insurance providers, fellow councilmembers sought his expertise on the subject.

I talked about pre-authorizations, who did a better job of coverage, the likelihood of having more physicians in network, and that, I think, is the key, crucial thing here, Martinez said. ... It wasnt until much later that it became a problem. Why? Why did that change? When people were asking me to give my opinion, to months later say that that was a violation?
The lockdown has left its mark on relationships: while singles are resorting to virtual dates, separated couples are hooked to different video apps.

But still others did the unthinkable  got married during the lockdown! For instance, 27-year-old Payal Pandey, business development manager in Dubai, refused to let a virus get in her way. She scaled down her wedding plans and got married in an intimate ceremony in a hotel room with her parents in attendance.

Coronavirus has brought the need to sanitise into our lives. Thus bridal make-up gets a whole other layer.

-Parul Garg, make-up artist

Our families had been planning a big destination wedding at Lonavala since January 2020 and when the coronavirus hit, things started looking hazy. Fortunately, my fiance had returned to India from Australia just before the travel ban came into effect, so our families decided to make it happen! she recounts.

(From left) Bridal make-up artists wear face shields and brushes are sanitised; Payal Pandeys mehendi ceremony took place in a car!

The groom, Vijay Reddy, who works with Australian government, drove to Mumbai from Hyderabad and was ousted by two building managements before he could find a room at a hotel where he married Payal. The newlyweds went to Australia as soon as they could. Payals mehendi ceremony happened in a car in India!

Meanwhile, advertising agency owner Pratik Doshi, 35, also insisted on going ahead with his wedding, which was held at home with most guests attending via Zoom.

Pratik doshi, 35, adman + Priyanka Udasi, 29, banker. There was no mahurat after June, so we saw no point in delaying the wedding -Pratik

There was no mahurat (auspicious day) after June so we saw no point in delaying the wedding, he says. Our

wedding was scheduled for April, so we postponed it for a while, hoping the lockdown would ease. But finally we decided to just marry.

The legal route

Sephra abraham, 26, consultant Yash Joshi, 27. When the registrars office opened we were given only an hour-and-a-half to get to the court before the officer left for the day!-Yash

Part of the difficulty of holding even a small marriage ceremony during the lockdown was the fact that most government offices were closed. This was tough on 25-year-old Sephra Abraham, a consultant, and her then fiance, 26-year-old Yash Joshi. The two of them live and work in separate continents and had decided to marry in India this April  but the lockdown tried their patience.

The registrars office only opened on May 20, and finally Yash and I were legally married, says Sephra. Coordinating our dates of arrival and getting our families together was the main reason why we decided to get married as soon as we got a date.

In the recent Netflix hit Axone, a long-distance wedding is shown with the bride in Delhi and her sister standing in for her with her groom in her hometown

When the registrars office finally opened, Sephra and Yash, who were located in different parts of Mumbai, were given only an hour-and-a-half to get to the court before the senior officer was scheduled to leave for the day.

Meanwhile in New York, Prerna Menon, a mental health clinician, and her partner Sam Ayn Uretsky, married in reverse during the pandemic. They had already been married at New Yorks City Hall in 2019, but were planning a big Jewish-Indian (J-Indian) wedding in 2020. Then the pandemic happened, so they got engaged again instead. We wanted something to celebrate and Sam, my wife, proposed to me wearing a T-shirt that read Will you marry me again? laughs Prerna.

Prerna Menon, 24 + Sam Ayn Uretsky, 27, mental health clinicians. When the pandemic happened, we got engaged again instead -Prerna

Shaadi business

While the lockdown has impacted the wedding business, Neelam Madnani, one of the co-founders of The Vow Weavers by N & N, a wedding planning agency, is hoping for the best. We were working on a wedding scheduled for April but due to the lockdown it had to be postponed because the families didnt want to cut down their guest lists, she says. Luckily the vendors and properties have been very accommodating in terms of refunds and the change of date.

Unfortunately, most wedding planners and others involved in the business of weddings are suffering. Most couples have postponed their weddings, but a lot of them have cancelled outright, either choosing to hold a small ceremony at home or shifting the wedding to another town, says Neelam.

Coronavirus has brought a new discipline into our lives: the need to sanitise. Thus bridal make-up gets a whole other layer, says Parul Garg, a make-up artist.All make-up brushes are sanitised, the artist wears a face shield, the premises are frequently fogged and temperature checks are carried out often.

We have some brides booked for June and are hoping business will pick up from there, but with positive cases rising every day, no one is quite sure how this will play out, says Parul. Our hope is that before the peak season arrives in November, we will have this under control.

From HT Brunch, June 21, 2020

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Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
A police officer who was killed in the line of duty in New Zealand has been identified as Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt.

Constable Hunt, 28, was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Massey, west Auckland, on Friday morning.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with murder. Police are also searching for Natalie Bracken, 30, who they believe was an accessory after the fact to the murder.

Constable Hunt first started working with New Zealand Police as a member of Wing 312 on 30 October 2017.

He spent most of his career working on the frontline at Orewa and Helensville Stations before recently moving to the Waitemata Road Policing Team.

Constable Matthew Dennis Hunt was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Massey, west Auckland, on Friday morning

Pictured: Flowers are placed outside Henderson Police Station in Auckland on Saturday

Constable Hunt's family, who have asked for privacy to 'grieve the sudden loss of our son, brother and friend', released a statement through police.

'Matthew was a person of great integrity,' the statement read.

'His closest friends were like his brothers and sisters and they along with his family are absolutely heartbroken by what has happened.

'He was passionate about sport and his physical fitness and was thrilled to enjoy the recent Blues game at Eden Park with his mates.'

The family said the 28-year-old was raised on the Hibiscus Coast by his mother Diane and with his sister Eleanor and he attended Orewa College.

'It was his life-long dream to be a police officer,' the family said.

Constable Hunt (pictured) first started working with New Zealand Police as a member of Wing 312 on 30 October 2017. He spent most of his career working on the frontline at Orewa and Helensville Stations before recently moving to the Waitemata Road Policing Team

A member of hold a 'police lives matter' sign outside Henderson Police Station on Saturday

Police are also asking for the public's assistance to locate Natalie Bracken (pictured), in connection with the incident

Before joining the New Zealand Police, Constable Hunt completed a BA in Criminology and worked at Auckland Prison as a Case Manager.

He also lived in the UK before he returning to New Zealand to join the police.

Constable Hunt was one of two officers shot during Friday's morning incident. A member of the public was also hit by a car.

The two other victims remain in Auckland Hospital in a stable condition.

The tragedy unfolded during a routine traffic stop.

It is understood the shooter used a long-barreled shotgun they pulled from their car.

A large-scale search was sparked after the gunman fled the scene in the car, forcing local schools into lockdown.

The incident occurred in the Auckland suburb of Massey, 17km west of the city's CBD, on Friday morning

A police officer keeps guard of the area after the shooting in western Auckland (pictured on Friday)

Mourners leave floral tributes for Constable Hunt in Auckland on Saturday morning

'No words exist to ease your loss, your pain and your suffering,' a tribute to the victim's family reads

According to Newshub, the 24-year-old accused shooter showed no emotion while appearing via audio visual link before JP Gerald Rowan.

He has been granted interim-name suppression.

Police are also asking for the public's assistance to locate Ms Bracken, in connection with the incident.

Detective Superintendent Dave Lynch said they do not have information to suggest Ms Bracken is in possession of a firearm but she does have a previous history for a possession of a knife.

She is known to associate with people that have affiliations to a number of gangs, they said.

'If you see her, then please do not approach her but call 111 immediately,' Mr Lynch said.

'Police are asking Ms Bracken to contact Police herself.'

Armed police are seen on Friday morning in Massey (pictured), west of Auckland, where one officer was shot dead and another seriously injured during a traffic stop

Emergency services are seen treating a police officer on Friday morning (pictured)

An officer is seen cordoning off the area of the shooting on Friday morning (pictured) which left one police officer dead

New Zealand Police said they were mourning the loss of one of their own.

'Our police family across New Zealand are mourning the tragic and senseless death of Constable Hunt and our priority remains on supporting his family at this tragic time,' a statement read.

'Along with this, we are also ensuring the welfare of all other police staff who attended the incident as well as the other injured officer and injured member of the public.'

A 'thank you' sign is seen among floral tributes for Constable Hunt on Saturday morning

Police are seen at the scene of the Auckland shooting (pictured) which left one officer dead and another badly injured on Friday morning

Pictured: Floral tributes outside Henderson Police Station after a police officer was fatally shot

Firearm officers are seen patrolling the area on Friday (pictured) where the shooting took place

Armed police are seen standing guard on Friday morning (pictured)

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the death was devastating.

'To lose a police officer is to lose someone working for all of us, but also a family member, someone's loved one and friend.

'My condolences go to them and to their police whanau,' Ms Ardern said, using the Maori word for family.

Paula Bennett, the MP for Auckland's Upper Harbour wrote on Twitter: 'Our local west Auckland police are the best I've ever known.

'A love for their community, a real desire to protect and serve.

'There are no words to express my sincere sadness as they and their families deal with the worst possible event. We are all with you at this time.'

The last police officer to die in the line of duty in New Zealand was back in February 2011 during the Canterbury earthquake when the CTV building collapsed in Christchurch.

An armed police officer is seen holding a gun at the scene on Friday morning (pictured) in western Auckland
South Sudans church leaders say there is an increase in violence which could threaten the countrys fragile peace and gains so far made by the transitional Government of National unity.

English Africa Service  Vatican City

While political parties that form the transitional Government of National unity are respecting the ceasefire, new cases of violence in the country are a source of great concern. This week, the South Sudan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body, said it is worried by the escalation of violence in the country.

We, the Church in South Sudan are deeply saddened by the escalation of violence in nearly all the States of our country. We strongly deplore the increased loss of lives and destruction of properties of populations already impoverished by conflicts in the country. God is watching us and will hold us accountable, said the Church leaders.

They have urged South Sudanese to embrace peace and harmonious co-existence.

An absence of authority in some local governments

It would seem an absence of authority in some local governments is, in a way, driving and contributing to the violence.

Early, this month, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) also noted the upsurge in acts of violence. They blamed most of the violence on inter-communal clashes.

According to UNMISS, the violence is causing immense harm to civilians and risks pulling organised armed groups into conflicts that could unravel the peace agreement.

The UN Special Representative to South Sudan, David Shearer, said while fighting, in South Sudan, had significantly reduced as factions broadly respect the ceasefire, the scope and intensity of the current outbreak of intercommunal violence could threaten the fragile peace.

Much of the lawlessness and seizing of resources by armed groups stems from an absence of authority because political parties have failed to agree on the appointment of governors and local authorities in the 10 states, said David Shearer.

The UN called for compromise among South Sudans political parties so that appointments to positions could be made.

Implementation of provisions to the peace agreeement

South Sudans church leaders equally want politicians in the transitional Government of National Unity to honour the spirit and letter of all agreements and declarations.

We call upon all our political leaders in (the) R-TGoNU and Opposition to be true to the Agreements and Declarations they have signed and ensure their full and timely implementations, said the Church leaders.
CHELSEA, Que. - Grocery store employees who continued to work during the COVID-19 pandemic are "heroes" and should be properly compensated, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (582 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen during a news conference in Chelsea, Que., Friday June 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

CHELSEA, Que. - Grocery store employees who continued to work during the COVID-19 pandemic are "heroes" and should be properly compensated, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday.

Trudeau's remarks came about a week after Canada's three major grocers scrapped so-called pandemic wage premiums for their staff.

"The people who step up in the midst of the most serious times to ensure that Canadians can still put food on the table, that they can get deliveries they need, that shelves are stocked, that Canadian continue to be safe and fed are heroes of this pandemic every bit as much as our front-line health workers and emergency responders," he said at a news conference in Chelsea, Que., after being asked for his reaction to the pay clawback.

Loblaw Companies Ltd., Metro Inc. and Empire Co. announced last week they would stop paying an hourly premium to store workers starting June 13.

Loblaw and Metro both had been paying workers an extra $2 an hour since March 8, while Empire offered a weekly bonus to all employees and a $2 hourly wage bump to those working more than 20 hours a week.

The companies provided various explanations for the decision, which was slammed by two unions that represent the workers.

Loblaw stores settled into a more stable situation, a spokesperson said at the time, adding the company has invested more than $280 million into safety measures and "is no longer benefiting financially from COVID-19."

Metro and Empire noted a similar stability.

Trudeau said that the people who have stepped up to help Canadians, often while risking their health or safety, should continue to be supported and respected.

"That's why we will continue to exhort and expect that people who've stepped up during this time be properly supported and paid for it," he said.

Trudeau's comments come on the heels of the House of Commons Industry Committee voting unanimously on Thursday to summon representatives of Loblaw, Metro and Empire to explain how they came to the decision, within 24 hours of each other, to cut wage premiums for front-line staff.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was also asked about the decision at an Ottawa news conference Friday and whether it would impact if the companies receive future funding or access to programs.

"I hope that one of the things that this pandemic has taught us is that people who do some of the work which is most essential for our actual, our literal survival are among the lowest paid people in our country," she said.

"I'm sure that was frightening for many of them," she said, adding she has told workers at her local grocery stores just how grateful she is for their service.

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"I do think that it behoves all of us, including employers, not to forget that lesson."

Freeland added that the House has heard concerns that government support to Canadians may have provided a disincentive to work.

"I think the fact that grocery stores now feel able to bring the wages back down suggests that there isn't a powerful disincentive to work out there," she said.

A Metro spokesperson declined to comment, while Loblaw and Empire did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trudeau and Freeland's statements.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay a three-day visit to Russia beginning Monday to attend a grand military parade in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in the Second World War.

The defence minister's visit comes in the midst of an escalating border standoff between India and China, particularly after the killing of 20 Indian Army personnel by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.

"Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay a visit to Moscow to attend the victory parade on June 24 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Officials said Singh is going ahead with the visit, notwithstanding the border row with China, due to India's decades-old military ties with Russia.

"I wish a safe journey to Defence Minister of strategic partner India @rajnathsingh who is scheduled to depart to Moscow on Monday to witness the Great Victory Day Military Parade on June 24," Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev tweeted.

The parade was originally scheduled on May 9, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A tri-service 75-member Indian military contingent has already reached Moscow to participate in the parade.

"The visit of the defence minister will strengthen the longstanding special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia," the ministry said.

The Indian marching contingent will be led by a major rank officer of the gallant Sikh Light Infantry Regiment.

The regiment had fought with valour in the Second World War and has distinction of earning four battle honours and two military cross amongst other gallantry awards.

The Indian team will participate in the parade alongside armed forces personnel from at least 11 countries including China.

"The Indian participation in the victory day parade will be a mark of tribute to the great sacrifices made by Russia and other nations in the Second World War in which Indian soldiers also participated and made supreme sacrifice," the ministry said.
Hong Kong: Gov't again condemns strike call

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today again strongly condemned the call by some groups to hold a strike and class boycott as a referendum to oppose the National People's Congress (NPC) decision on the national security law in Hong Kong.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government stressed the legislation to safeguard national security aims to prevent, cease and punish acts and activities by an extremely small minority of people who seriously endanger national security, thereby protecting the vast majority of law-abiding citizens.

This will restore Hong Kong to a safe and stable city after having been hit with violent disruptions in the past year.

The statement said this important initiative aims to ensure the robustness of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong and safeguard the prosperity and stability of our society.

It also emphasised that the national security law will not affect the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents and that judicial independence and the core values of Hong Kong will also be protected.

The Government pointed out that individuals or groups with ulterior motives have recently been using different means to smear the work to enact the national security law, as well as disseminate false and misleading information to deceive the public, attempting to create social instability.

The Basic Law and Hong Kong's legal system do not provide for any referendum mechanism. Conducting any form of so-called referendum will have no constitutional basis or legal effect. Holding a referendum on a strike and class boycott is obviously taking advantage of the public and students for political purposes.

A civil service staff union is openly calling on civil servants to participate in a joint-union operation for holding a so-called referendum on a strike for opposing the legislation of the national security law. This is absolutely unacceptable.

The statement explained that civil servants are responsible for implementing the work concerning the legislation of the national security law under the leadership of the Chief Executive and should not oppose the legislation.

Participating in the so-called referendum on a strike in the name of a civil service staff union will lead outside parties to mistakenly think that they represent the majority of civil servants and that civil servants are acting against the Government, thus seriously tarnishing the well-established reputation of the civil service.

Besides, some organisations have repeatedly initiated through different means including using schools as venues for expressing political demands and the holding of a so-called referendum on a class boycott as an attempt to stop the enactment of the national security law.

The statement pointed out that schools should be a place for building character, enhancing understanding of national identity, nurturing awareness of abiding by the law and providing a happy learning environment.

It added that schools should not involve politics and parents and teachers should discern facts from fallacies and lead by example, working together to bring tranquility back to schools.

The Government reiterated that the Hong Kong SAR Government firmly and resolutely supports and fully co-operates in implementing the work relating to the NPCs decision and the enactment by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress of the national security law to discharge its duty of safeguarding national security.

This story has been published on: 2020-06-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Asia

India: Nagaland health mission workers on strike

Over 1,800 National Health Mission (NHM) employers struck on June 14 in Kohima, the capital of Nagaland state in northeast India. The workers, which include ambulance drivers, laboratory technicians, nurses, dental as well as AYUSH and allopathic doctors, are members of the National Health Mission Employees Association Nagaland (NEAN).

The strikers demanded pay parity and other basic benefits in line with other state health employees of the same rank. The union suspended the strike for 15 days on June 16 and are holding talks with the state government.

Rubber manufacturing workers protest in Rajasthan

Around 200 contract workers from Tokai Imperial Rubber India plant in Neemrana, Rajasthan state, have been protesting to demand wages for the COVID-19 lockdown period. The workers are employed through a third-party agency at the plant.

Workers held a sit-down protest for several days outside the factory, beginning on June 9 after management shut the plant. The state labour department is currently in negotiations with workers and company management to resolve the issue.

Ahmedabad nurses walk out again

Nurses and other health employees contracted by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to work at the Sardar Vallabh Patel (SVP) Hospital went on strike on June 11 to oppose pay cuts. It followed a previous strike on June 8 after their contractor slashed May monthly salaries by between 10 and 20 percent.

The strikers returned to work when the contractor later reversed the decision. The latest walk-out was sparked when the contractor failed to confirm in writing that it would restore their full wages as promised.

Bihar rural health workers hold state-wide demonstrations

Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) workers in Bihar demonstrated across the state on June 15 to demand permanent jobs and improved remuneration. The demonstrations were organised by the All India Scheme Workers' Federation.

ASHAs are the frontline workers who provide a key interface between the community and the public health care system in rural areas. The Bihar government heavily depends on its large ASHA workforce to reach people in remote areas, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

ASHAs have been instructed to screen all households and identify anyone with COVID-19 symptoms. These high-risk workers are only paid 3,000-rupees ($US39) a month.

Tamil Nadu public transport workers protest

Hundreds of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) workers demonstrated in Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts on Monday with multiple demands. At least 50 workers, including drivers, conductors and technicians at state public transport across 22 branches in Coimbatore and Nilgiris demonstrated for an hour, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Their demands include adequate safety measures and allowances while operating buses during the COVID-19 pandemic, proper staff levels at their respective branches to maintain personal distancing, for management to supply more masks and gloves to employees. The protesting workers also complained that in order to receive a decent wage they have to work for longer than the stipulated hours.

Textile workers protest in Coimbatore over pay cuts

About 100 mill workers from the government-owned National Textile Corporation (NTC) occupied the corporations headquarters in Coimbatore on Wednesday to demand full payment of their May salaries. Management has announced that the workers would only receive half their salaries because of the coronavirus lockdown. The office protest followed demonstrations near their work places on June 16.

The National Textile Corporation, which is controlled by the Ministry of Textiles, operates 23 mills throughout India which produced around 55 million kilograms of yarn and 20 million metres of fabric per annum. The company has around 7,800 employees.

Migrant workers in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu demand to be sent home

Around 50 migrant workers demonstrated outside the Tiruppur district collectorate office in Tamil Nadu on Monday night to the state government for them to return their original family homes. The workers are originally from Arunachal Pradesh state, about 3,500 kilometres away in north east India.

The migrant workers, who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 lockdown, have no money and are trapped in cramped accommodation in Tiruppur. Tens of thousands of unemployed migrant workers have been trapped by the lockdown and cannot return to their home states.

Sri Lanka: Hospital workers in Southern province strike over pay cuts

Non-medical workers at the government hospital in Balapitiya in Sri Lankas Southern Province have been on strike since June 11. The attendants, drivers, telephone operators, tailors and other workers are demanding overtime payments pending since April. All government hospitals in the district are withholding overtime payments. The strikers were joined by workers from other government hospitals in Balapitiya and Tissamaharama on Monday.

The hospital workers have been protesting since the end of May after they did not receive their April overtime payments. The workers are only paid 24,500 rupees ($US132) per month and depend on 10,000 rupees per month in overtime in order to buy household necessities and pay loans.

Bangladeshi garment workers demand unpaid wages

More than 500 workers from the KAC Fashionwear garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh demonstrated on Sunday to demand last months pay. They blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway for more than an hour. Factory management claims it has no funds because of falling orders but keeps promising that the outstanding salaries will be paid in coming weeks.

All but 500 of the plants 6,000 workers were laid off, with the promise of being paid a minimum salary, during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Workers said that after paying wages for the month of April, the company took their identity cards pretending they were needed for official documentation. Management, however, has refused to return the cards.

Bangladeshi bidi industry workers protest tax increases

Thousands of workers and factory owners from the bidi (handmade cigarette) industry protested across the country on Sunday against a 28.2 percent tax increase on the industry in the 20202021 national budget.

Protesters formed a human chain at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) headquarters at Segun Bagicha in Dhaka on Monday with five demands, including withdrawal of the tax increase and a minimum remuneration of 100 taka ($US1.2) for every 1,000 cigarettes rolled.

Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation representatives have accused the government of attempting to kill the bidi industry, pointing out that the proposed tax increase on other cigarettes will be only 5.14 percent.

The industry employs over 400,000 people with up to 70 percent of them children under the age of 15 years. They are paid just 50 taka ($US0.59) a day.

Australia

New South Wales aged care nurses in Gloucester protest

Aged care nurses and residents from the Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Gloucester, a rural town north of Sydney, demonstrated outside the facility on June 11. They were opposing the elimination of up to five full-time equivalent nursing jobs when aged care bed licences are transferred to a new facility run by Anglican Care.

A NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNWA) spokesperson told the media that the job cuts would create serious staffing shortfalls including no registered nurse for evening or night shifts at the new facility.

An estimated 172 nursing hours and 142 hours for RNs would be lost per week and Assistants in Nursing (AIN) will be used to cover half the hours lost by higher qualified nurses.
When Barack Obama introduced the DACA program in June 2012, it was meant to be a temporary fix for an immigration problem that Congress had been unable to resolve.

There was also no coincidence in the fact that the plan was rolled out in an election year, just as Obama was gearing up for his general election campaign against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was undeniably good politics.

It helped shore up Obamas support among Latinos, who were frustrated not only by the presidents failure to make headway on immigration reform legislation but also by the high number of deportations carried out by his administration.

With the help of DACA, Obama received 71 percent of the Latino vote, and a surge in Latino turnout helped him carry crucial battleground states such as Colorado and Nevada.

Whatever the motivations behind its creation, DACA, in its own limited, stopgap way, was also good policy. It enabled Dreamers  Latino students brought to this country as children by their parents  to apply for a program that gave them a two-year reprieve from concerns about deportation and the chance to receive a work permit and a drivers license.

Donald Trumps 2017 move to repeal DACA never made a lot of sense, apart from the fact that hes obsessed with Obama and compelled to negate his predecessors legacy.

At times, Trump has talked about wanting to do right by Dreamers and suggested that his only problem with DACA was that he thought the issue needed to be addressed through legislation.

If that was the case, why not allow DACA to stand until you get a long-term legislative solution? Why pull the rug out from under those 700,000 Dreamers who placed their trust in the government when they came out from the shadows and applied for the program?

With a Thursday decision that at least temporarily preserved DACA, the U.S. Supreme Court did not seriously address the substance of the program. The courts 5-4 majority merely found that Trumps Department of Homeland Security had violated the little-known Administrative Procedure Act by acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

The courts objections were procedural and left the door open for Trump to try again, which he already has indicated that he plans to do.

While Trump bashed the courts recent actions (including a decision protecting the rights of LGBTQ workers from employment discrimination) as shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives, some of his political allies believe the court did congressional Republicans a favor with the DACA decision.

This rationale is based on the correct notion that the GOP caucus, staring down an ominous November election, wanted no part of an emergency summer debate on immigration reform, with Dreamers facing deportation.

Nonetheless, if we evaluate the courts DACA decision on purely political terms, the biggest winner has to be Joe Biden.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has struggled to connect with Latino voters.

A Latino Decisions poll released in April found that only 59 percent of registered Latino voters supported Biden. His numbers have inched up since then, but the Latino vote remains a cause for concern, considering the fact that Hillary Clinton fell short against Trump in the 2016 election even with 66 percent Latino support.

The Supreme Court offered Biden the best of all political scenarios. It gave Dreamers a short-term reprieve from deportation but created a scenario in which their fate hinges completely on the 2020 election.

Biden can accurately argue that a Trump victory in November will almost guarantee another attempt to destroy DACA. And after one effort botched by procedural ineptitude, Trumps administration would be better prepared next time.

Trump is so relentlessly focused on holding the loyalty of his ultra-conservative base, he often fails to notice how poorly some of his positions play to the entire electorate.

Any campaign operative with even a hint of expertise could tell him that repealing DACA is a political loser.

A new Pew Research Center poll shows that 74 percent of voters support legal status for Dreamers. A new Politico/Morning Consult poll suggests that Trumps anti-DACA stance hurts him even among Republicans.

According to the poll, 68 percent of Republicans  and 69 percent of those who voted for Trump in 2016  want to protect Dreamers from deportation.

The courts DACA decision painted Trump as the steward of an incompetent administration that fumbled its own regulation.

Trumps reaction to the courts decision casts him as someone eager to boot hundreds of thousands of young people whove done everything right and for whom the United States is the only home they remember.

It all adds up to a political gift for Biden.

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The number of vehicles on roads in Northeast Ohio was down 20% for the week of June 7-13, in comparison to the second week of June last year, thanks to the pandemic.

That may bode well for the regions chances of a spike in coronavirus infections.
Managua (Nicaragua), Jun 20 (AP) The United Nations Human Rights Council condemned what it called serious human rights violations in Nicaragua and urged President Daniel Ortega to cease such tactics Friday.

The council approved the resolution with a vote of 24 to 4 with 19 abstentions at its seat in Geneva, Switzerland. The decision was celebrated by the Nicaraguan opposition.

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The resolution said the council expresses grave concern at the continuing reports of serious human rights violations and abuses since April 2018, and the persisting disproportionate use of force by the police to repress social protests, and acts of violence by armed groups, as well as reports of ongoing unlawful arrests and arbitrary detentions, harassment, and torture and sexual and gender-based violence in detention.

The Nicaraguan opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity says that at least 60 political prisoners remain encarcerated.

Also Read | Singapore: Indian National Jailed for GST Fraud and Money Laundering.

The council also called for the independence of the judiciary and the human rights prosecutor's office and for a plan to investigate reported human rights abuses since 2018.

In April 2018, the government and its supporters violently put down protests against changes to the social security system. The protests quickly expanded to other complaints against the government and were suppressed by police and civilian paramilitaries. At least 328 people died in the violence, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The Nicaraguan government did not immediately respond to the resolution, but the opposition applauded it.

Felix Maradiaga, member of the Blue and White National Unity coalition's political committee, said the resolution marked a step in the right direction. The opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement said the resolution reaffirms the international isolation of the regime, as demonstrated by the fact that no country in the Americas or Europe voted against it. (AP) UN-ABUSE- NICARAGUA UN Human Rights Council condemns abuse in Nicaragua

Managua (Nicaragua), Jun 20 (AP) The United Nations Human Rights Council condemned what it called serious human rights violations in Nicaragua and urged President Daniel Ortega to cease such tactics Friday.

The council approved the resolution with a vote of 24 to 4 with 19 abstentions at its seat in Geneva, Switzerland. The decision was celebrated by the Nicaraguan opposition.

The resolution said the council expresses grave concern at the continuing reports of serious human rights violations and abuses since April 2018, and the persisting disproportionate use of force by the police to repress social protests, and acts of violence by armed groups, as well as reports of ongoing unlawful arrests and arbitrary detentions, harassment, and torture and sexual and gender-based violence in detention.

The Nicaraguan opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity says that at least 60 political prisoners remain encarcerated.

The council also called for the independence of the judiciary and the human rights prosecutor's office and for a plan to investigate reported human rights abuses since 2018.

In April 2018, the government and its supporters violently put down protests against changes to the social security system. The protests quickly expanded to other complaints against the government and were suppressed by police and civilian paramilitaries. At least 328 people died in the violence, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The Nicaraguan government did not immediately respond to the resolution, but the opposition applauded it.

Felix Maradiaga, member of the Blue and White National Unity coalition's political committee, said the resolution marked a step in the right direction. The opposition Sandinista Renovation Movement said the resolution reaffirms the international isolation of the regime, as demonstrated by the fact that no country in the Americas or Europe voted against it. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
After a record-setting year of harmful algal blooms in New Jersey last year that shut down lakes and had a widespread effect on recreation and businesses, scientists are looking toward this summer to see if the states lakes will be facing a similar fate.

Lake Hopatcong, the states largest lake, suffered a rash of toxic algal blooms at some of its beaches, eliminating swimming from six of them from late June until mid-August last year. Officials detected multiple blooms in a number of Salem County bodies of water. Statewide, there was a record high of 39 confirmed blooms since the state started keeping track four years ago.

And as late as January of this year, eight blooms were still persisting, despite the cold weather. Currently, two lakes are affected.

But this year, scientists are cautiously optimistic the lakes will be relatively safe from the toxic algal blooms, according to Dr. Fred S. Lubnow, the director of aquatic resources at Princeton Hydro, an engineering consulting firm.

The toxic algae blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which naturally occur in freshwater. However, when sunlight and hot weather hit the cyanobacteria and there are plenty of nutrients in the water, the bacteria can rapidly increase, creating the blue-green algae blooms.

The bloomswhich can be harmful to people and fatal for dogscan cause a variety of health problems, including rashes, abdominal pain, and flu-like symptoms or more serious health effects, like liver toxicity and neurological effects, officials say.

Last summers early blooms were due to a weather pattern of sunny days, and short, intense rainfall that transported nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen into the lakes. Sunny conditions allowed them to grow.

According to Lubnow, the harmful algal blooms really get going in August, but due to the weather patterns last June, they started much earlier in the summer.

Right now, were not seeing that this year, he told NJ Advance Media. So part of that is due to weather, the other part is the lower amount of nutrients in the water column.

Were in a better position now than we were a year ago, Lubnow added.

There are two active blooms in Mountain Lake in Warren County, where the beach is closed, and Rosedale Lake in Mercer County, a spokesperson for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection confirmed. What remains to be seen is how many more blooms will occur, Larry Hajna, the spokesman, said.

Its kind of hard to predict, Hajna told NJ Advance Media, noting that the main factors for blooms include the nutrients, rainfall, and weather conditions. Thats the recipe. Its the nutrients, the sun, and the heat. Its hard to predict all those things.

Not only did last years blooms curb usual summer activities like swimming and sunbathing, but they also had a detrimental economic impact.

Mount Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis said Lake Hopatcongs shutdown last year crushed businesses in the area, from the marinas to liquor shops and pizza places.

It really hurt all of our businesses that are facing to the general public, he told NJ Advance Media. The most obvious is the marinas. (It was) one of the worst seasons for the marinas ever.

Hes optimistic this summer will be better for the lake, since not only are the lakes nutrient levels below the acceptable threshold, but the weather has also been accommodating with a cold spring these past few months.

Were off to a really good start, he said.

Swimming in state-owned lakes is still off-limits until the DEP fully reopens state parks under Gov. Phil Murphys reopening plans, however a date for that has not been announced. Municipal lakes were allowed to reopen May 22, according to the governors executive order.

When swimming resumes, the state plans to use a new color-coded, tiered health alert index to inform the public on the severity of any toxic blooms, and the related recreational activities suggested for each level.

For example, boating may be allowed when lower levels of harmful algal blooms are detected, even if swimming is not.

We cant predict with certainty when harmful algal blooms will occur, but with this enhanced communication and color-coded alert index, we hope that the appropriate responses to harmful algal blooms will become much more predictable and targeted, said state DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe, which should provide much more certainty as well as flexibility for residents and businesses to make sensible decisions.

Dr. Meiyin Wu, the director of New Jersey Center for Water Science and Technology and biology professor at Montclair State University, cautioned that DEPs monitoring program for harmful algal blooms is reactive, not proactive.

(The state) is not actively going out there, monitoring every single lake in New Jersey. This is a reactive monitoring program, she told NJ Advance Media.

If you think there is an ongoing algal bloom or if you just see the water and its greener than it tends to be, just contact NJ DEP, alert them, she added. Unless somebody contacts NJ DEP and asks them to go out to check, they are not doing it for the lakes in New Jersey, as we have way too many.

Last year, Murphy announced $13.5 million in funding to local communities as part of a new initiative to stop the pollution that feeds the algae. By March of this year, the NJ DEP announced $2.5 million of that funding had been awarded as grants to nine projects, plus another $1 million for a different grant project.

The remaining $10 million is reserved for Clean Water State Revolving Fund money as grant-like funding for projects that improve communities water quality. Government agencies and nonprofits are applying for the funds, and its in the process of being awarded, Hajna said.

However, due to the budget shortfalls as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, an additional $2 million of the DEPs funding for harmful algae initiatives in 2021 were cut, according to the states interim budget report released in late May.

Regardless, Hajna said the state is committed to a comprehensive approach to address the blooms, from monitoring to prevention strategies to major infrastructure upgrades paid through the grants.

Read more of NJ.coms coverage of New Jersey water issues here.

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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Mamoroneck

Standing outside a firehouse here, as 10,000 donated face masks were delivered, Rep. Eliot Engel confronted the questions that had put his 31-year congressional career in jeopardy.

How did the longest serving New York congressman suddenly face complaints of ignoring his district? How did Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal who has never run for office, turn Tuesday's Democratic primary into a battle over who cared more about the north Bronx and southern swath of Westchester County?

"It's a farce," Engel said. "People know I bring millions of dollars home from Washington. I know virtually everybody in the district. If there are three people in a room and I'm invited, I'm there."

Two years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stunned the political establishment and unseated Joseph Crowley, then the fourth-ranked House Democrat, Engel is trying to fend off the same insurgency from the left. The House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman knew it was coming and has welcomed the help, from the endorsements of Hillary Clinton, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top congressional Democrats to Republican donors funding a super PAC that backs him.

"I'm grateful to anyone who supports me," said the 73-year-old Engel.

A victory for Engel would humble his party's growing left wing after its favored candidates came up short in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. A defeat would reveal the limits of a party establishment that, just a few years ago, could keep its incumbents safe with a simple premise: You know them, so why not keep them?

"It's like B.C. and A.D.  before AOC and after AOC," said Ritchie Torres, a liberal state legislator running in the 15th District, which neighbors Engel's. "In the post-AOC world, incumbency is no longer an entitlement, no longer a guarantee of elected office."

The primary race between Engel and Bowman, who is African-American, comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting recession and civic unrest over police brutality  the latter triggering a moment of national reckoning about racial injustice that is forcing voters to take a hard look at candidates.

"We would be remiss not to have leadership of the future to represent this district," said Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a rising party star whose grandfather once held Engel's seat, when she unendorsed the congressman to support Bowman. "When the world changes, you have to be able to update your thinking."

In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez was one of dozens of first-time candidates recruited by Justice Democrats, a group that grew out of the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Most of those candidates lost, but Ocasio-Cortez won and, overnight, became one of the best-known figures in the party.

She had won a low-turnout race with a powerful formula: She was a Latina in an increasingly Latino district and a democratic socialist in a place where white voters leaned far to the left. Crowley had been a good fit for the seat in 1998, and an awkward fit two decades later. A combination of organization, demographics and a compelling personal story pushed Ocasio-Cortez over the top.

"It's time to more seriously contest safe blue Democratic primaries," wrote Sean McElwee, the founder of the liberal think tank Data for Progress, after the midterms were over. "Incumbents like Eliot Engel who represent increasingly diverse districts but hold centrist views on key issues should face real electoral competition."

That became the model, shared by many left-wing groups, to move the Democratic Party in their direction. Engel's district, which starts at the edge of the Bronx and covers much of suburban Westchester County, does not look exactly like the incumbent; less than half of its residents are white, and one in three are black.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in November in a district Clinton won with 75 percent of the vote in 2016.

"We knew a year ago that most voters didn't have strong views one way or another about Eliot Engel and many also felt that he was pretty absent," said Justice Democrats spokesman Waleed Shahid. "We knew we could put together a majority 'Obama coalition' of people of color, young people and older white liberals in this district to win."

That led activists to Bowman, the 44-year-old founder of a middle school that served disadvantaged students. He had not registered as a Democrat until 2018  a fact that Engel would find and use against him  but until the pandemic hit, he campaigned vigorously, combining a Sanders-style agenda of Medicare-for-all and green infrastructure spending with the argument that the district needed fresh leadership.

"The thing about being an educator is that you've got to be a great learner," Bowman said in an interview last week, after greeting voters in Co-Op City, one of the district's most racially diverse neighborhoods. "You've got to hit the ground and listen to people, and that's the way I want to govern."

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Engel has a national profile from his chairmanship and a reputation as someone focused on his district. In 2018, when he faced three challengers  one a deep-pocketed business leader  Engel won more than 70 percent of the vote.

"Not once have we called his office and not gotten assistance," said Jamaal Bailey, a state senator who first met Engel after attending kindergarten with his daughter. "Every time I open my office, I hold a barbecue, and he's there. So the notion that he's not been visible is very odd to me."

Bowman found an opening anyway, pounding Engel over votes that were now toxic for Democrats  against the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, for the war in Iraq. But his breakthrough came last month, deep into the pandemic, when the Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere found Engel in his Washington D.C.-area residence and flustered him by asking why he wasn't in New York.

"I'm in both places," Engel said.

Two weeks later he made a worse gaffe when he was caught on a hot microphone urging the organizer of a news conference in his district to let him speak.

"If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care," Engel said.

Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Bowman a day later; Biaggi did, too.

Last week, Engel criticized the rush of support for Bowman and the idea that the challenger was more closely tied to the district. He challenged "people on high" for trying to skew the race, and compared the attacks against him to McCarthyism, unanswerable smears.

"He comes out of the blue, he decides he's going to run for Congress, and that's his right," Engel said in Mamaroneck. "But nobody knows him, and nobody has seen him. When Amadou Diallo was shot, I was arrested, protesting what the police had done. When Remarley Graham, a young man in my district, was shot by the police, his family asked me to speak at his funeral. So, I'm no Johnny-come-lately on issues of social justice."

Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed by four NYPD officers in 1999.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Friday, June 19, 2020. (AP)

Canberra: Australia is under increasing cyberattack from a sophisticated state-based cyber actor, the Australian prime minister said Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison would not name the state, and he said he made the growing threat public to raise awareness.

Australian organizations are currently being targeted by a sophisticated state-based cyber actor, Morrison told reporters.

This activity is targeting Australian organizations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organizations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure, he added.

Although the threat was constant, the frequency of attacks had increased over many months.

This is the actions of a state-based actor with significant capabilities. There arent too many state-based actors who have those capabilities, Morrison said.

Morrison said he particularly wanted organizations involved in health, critical infrastructure and essential services to bolster technical defences to thwart such malicious attacks.

Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said the governments cyber agency, Australian Cyber Security Center, and the Home Affairs Department had published on Friday a technical advisory on how organizations can detect and mitigate cyber threats.

Morrison would not comment on the inevitable speculation that the cyberattacks were part of Australias increasingly hostile rift with China.

China in recent weeks banned beef exports from Australias largest abattoirs, ended trade in Australian barley with a tariff wall and warned its citizens against visiting Australia.

The measures are widely interpreted as punishment for Australias advocacy of an independent probe into the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Australias foreign minister this week accused China of using the anxiety around the pandemic to undermine Western democracies by spreading disinformation online, prompting China to accuse Australia of disinformation.

Morrison said Australia doesnt engage lightly in public attribution and would not name the country behind the current cyber campaign.

I cant control what speculation others might engage in on this issue, he said.

Morrison said he had discussed the growing cyber security threat with Australias allies and had spoken overnight to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the subject.

Australian investigations to date had not uncovered any large-scale personal data breaches, Morrison said.

Australian cyber security authorities had thwarted many attacks, he said.
HAIL (Housing Association for Integrated Living) has announced a new mental health tenancy sustainment service for the Wicklow Area funded by and in partnership with the HSE and Wicklow County Council.

The new Visiting Support Service will support people with mental health difficulties who are living in Local Authority or private rented accommodation and receiving social housing support, who are at risk of losing their tenancies and entering homelessness and who also require help with their mental health recovery and social integration.

Sandra Fox, Head of Services with HAIL, said: 'People who have an existing mental health difficulty such as schizophrenia, bipolar or depression may need at times some extra support to manage their home and can really benefit from this service. We will work with clients and their community mental health teams on their personal recovery goals and encourage them to better manage their home, to be good neighbours and to live independently.

'This could involve helping people to maintain family connections, socialise or source further education or employment, it could also be support around budgeting, paying their rent and utility bills or managing conflict as a result of stigma. Each case is different.'

HAIL is an Approved Housing Body whose mission is to provide quality housing and individually tailored services to support tenants and clients, primarily those with mental health difficulties, to integrate and live independent lives in the community. The body already operates the visiting service in the greater Dublin area. Visiting support is typically offered on average for around six months and clients are visited in their own homes and support is provided on a one-to-one basis.

Commending the collaborative initiative, Frank Curran, Chief Executive, Wicklow County Council said: 'Wicklow County Council has continued to develop relationships with the specialist Approved Housing Bodies operating in the region and this collaboration has been critical in dealing with the many and complex issues that can arise from tenants suffering from mental health. The Housing Section had the foresight to set up a Mental Health forum in 2018 with representatives from the HSE , Wicklow County Council and HAIL, which has led to the appointment of a Tenancy Support Officer by HAIL, jointly funded by Wicklow County Council and the HSE, for the County.'

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Irene Winters stated: 'The prevention of homelessness is a key focus of Wicklow County Council and is enshrined in the Action Plan for Homelessness. I am delighted to see this initiative launched and look forward to hearing of many positive outcomes.'

The service is now operating in Wicklow between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Call 01 671 8444 or visit www.hail.ie for more information.
Sundays eclipse arrives on the summer solstice, the northern hemispheres longest day of the year.

Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and southern China will witness the most dramatic ring of fire solar eclipse to shadow the Earth in years on Sunday.

Annular eclipses occur when the Moon  passing between Earth and the Sun  is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

They occur every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.

Remarkably, the eclipse on Sunday arrives on the northern hemispheres longest day of the year  the summer solstice  when Earths north pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun.

The ring of fire will first be seen in northeastern Republic of Congo at 5:56am local time (04:56 GMT) just a few minutes after sunrise.

This is the point of maximum duration, with the blackout lasting one minute and 22 seconds.

When is the next solar eclipse in your country? #SolarEclipse pic.twitter.com/n56S07NTde  AJ Labs (@ajlabs) August 20, 2017

Arcing eastward across Asia and Africa, it will reach maximum eclipse  with a perfect solar halo around the Moon  over Uttarakhand, India near the Sino-Indian border at 12:10pm local time (6:40 GMT).

More spectacular, but less long-lived: the exact alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun will be visible for only 38 seconds.

The annular eclipse is visible from about two percent of Earth surface, Florent Delefie, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory, told AFP news agency.

Its a bit like switching from a 500-watt to a 30-watt light bulb, he added. Its a cold light and you dont see as well.

Animals can get spooked  birds will sometimes go back to sleep and cows will return to the barn.

The full eclipse will be visible somewhere on Earth for just under four hours, and one of the last places to see a partially hidden Sun is Taiwan before its path heads out into the Pacific.

The 'ring of fire' solar eclipse of 2020 occurs Sunday. Here's how to watch online. https://t.co/oRAl0ZFxK7 pic.twitter.com/BOnGKULwAZ  SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) June 19, 2020

People hundreds of kilometres on either side of the centreline across 14 countries will also see light drain from the day, but not the ring of fire.

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earths shadow. Lunar eclipses are visible from about half of Earths surface.

There will be a second solar eclipse in 2020 on December 14 over South America. Because the Moon will be a bit closer to Earth, it will block the Suns light entirely.

It will take less than 100 minutes for the path of this eclipse to move across the continent.

Even if the day has darkened, looking at a solar eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.

Sunglasses  which dont filter out UV rays  do not offer any protection, Delefie warned.

The Sun is so bright that even when theres only a tiny portion visible, it is still dangerous for the eyes, he said.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > China moves to impose a law that would criminalize dissent in Hong Kong | (...)

by Wilfred Chan

May 23, 2020

Twenty-three years after the end of colonial rule in Hong Kong, the Chinese government has announced that it is imposing a long-dreaded national security law on the territory, effectively criminalizing dissent. Just as stunning as the content of the law is how it will be passed: Instead of moving through Hong Kongs legislaturewhich is already rigged in favor of the citys unpopular pro-Beijing establishmentthe law will be enacted unilaterally by Chinas top lawmaking body, the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee. Its a declaration of both the laws incontestability and Beijings total authority over Hong Kong and its people.

Something profound has been lost. It is not democracy, because Hong Kong was never democratic. It is not autonomy, because Hong Kong never enjoyed self-determination. It is certainly not the will to resist; as I write this, activists are already planning a full calendar of mass protests, determined to fight until the bitter end.

What is lost is the feeling that Hong Kongs future could be an open question. Chinas apparent answer marks the beginning of a new disorientation.

In the near term, Hong Kongers greatest concern is safety. The law could be approved by next week and enacted by June. Officials close to Beijing suggest the law may be enforced by state security agents, the same group known for disappearing mainland activists without trial. This will have wide-reaching consequences in Hong Kong. The city is not only home to pro-democracy activists (and recently, a burgeoning union movement); it has also long been a refuge for Chinas labor organizers and dissidents and a base for groups fighting to protect migrants, refugees, queer folks, sex workers, and other communities, both in Hong Kong and across the border. The city also headquarters journalists from all over the world, including many from mainland China.

Until recently, all of these people worked relatively freely in Hong Kong. They were able to speak critically of authorities without fearing government reprisal. But if the new law is anything like its mainland counterpart, those days will soon be over. Already, Hong Kongers anticipating increased surveillance have rushed to download VPNs, lock down their social media accounts, and scrub their public profiles of any traces of political opposition.

The danger is not theoretical. In recent weeks, under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic, the Hong Kong Police Force has rounded up and arrested hundreds of pro-democracy protesters, as well as some prominent activists, on charges of everything from disorderly conduct to violating anti-virus measures. Officers have pepper-sprayed reporters who were covering a protest, forcing them to the pavement; one photojournalist said she was choked. This follows nearly a year of protests during which more than 8,000 people, including children as young as 10, are believed to have been arrested. Some protesters later reported they were tortured and sexually assaulted in detention.

It bears repeating that the protest movements central five demands are astonishingly humble. Its participants first mobilized around a single ask: that the local government withdraw an ill-conceived extradition bill that would have exposed Hong Kongers to Chinas opaque legal system. When Hong Kongs Chief Executive Carrie Lam responded with a police crackdown, protesters cohered into a movement: They began to demand an investigation into police violence, that the government stop calling the protests riots (which exposes protesters to rioting charges, punishable by up to 10 years in prison), amnesty for detainees, and the free elections long promised by Beijing.

These demands are hardly radical. Polls show that theyre supported by a decisive majority of Hong Kongers. This undercuts the Chinese Communist Partys dishonest rationale for the new national security law, which is that the protest movement somehow represents separatism or even terrorism. In reality, Hong Kongs present crisis is wholly a creation of the states refusal to engage with the peoples concernsand its decision to, instead, bring violence against them.

It could have turned out very differently. In 1984, when the United Kingdom and China inked the treaty called the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the two countries agreed that Hong Kongs way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years and that the citys residents would eventually elect their own leader. At the time, many of Hong Kongs pro-democracy activists sympathized deeply with the mainland and spoke passionately of bringing liberal-progressive values to Chinaa desire echoed by reformers in Chinas top ranks. In 1984, before the Joint Declaration was signed, a group of Hong Kong University students mailed a letter to Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang to ask whether they could expect a democratic Hong Kong after the handover. His response from May 22, almost exactly 36 years ago: It is a matter of course.

Since then, Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement has been defined by one heartbreak after another. The first was the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square. The episode effectively extinguished the Chinese democracy movement, along with the lives of peaceful demonstrators. This unspeakable act of violence tore open a chasm between authorities in Beijing and Hong Kongs stunned democrats, whose cautious optimism was replaced by intense fear.

The second heartbreak came in 2014, when years of attempts by Hong Kongs democrats to pass a reform package for free elections ended in defeat. As a last-ditch effort to restart the reform process, student activists led a massive, 79-day street occupation around Hong Kongs government headquartersthe Umbrella Movementwhich authorities ultimately cleared by force, without making a single concession. The failure of that movement opened the gates to rapidly accelerating repression. In the years that followed, its leaders were jailed, and opposition-party legislators were ejected from their seats. Small-time booksellers who had published volumes critical of Xi Jinping were abducted at the border and spirited away to prison, where they were forced to record confessions. So when the extradition bill was proposed last year, it was seen as the final straw.

We are experiencing a third heartbreak now. If the path from the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration to the extradition bill was marked with increasingly ominous warnings, the national security law is the point of no return. From here on, Hong Kongers will be no longer be organizing just against the Hong Kong governmentBeijings inept and obsequious proxybut against the CCP itself. And nobody knows exactly how to proceed.

The problem speaks to a moment of global danger. It is no coincidence that Hong Kongs increasing desperation has mirrored Chinas worsening relations with the United States. Since its inception as a colonial trading post, Hong Kongs defining characteristic has been its in-betweenness. Chinas euphemism for Hong Kongs postcolonial statusone country, two systemspoints to its raison detre: to be an interface for capital between China and the West. The territory has never been allowed to derive stability from its own resources or interests but rather from the intersections of multiple others. Hong Kongs place in the world depends on its ability to mediate between external powers. Its existential struggle is likewise a symptom of a larger collapse.

The last time Hong Kong faced a comparable crisis was more than 50 years ago, at the height of the Cold War and the beginning of Chinas Cultural Revolution. In 1966, spilled-over unrest from the mainland sparked with local labor grievances, igniting a violent anti-colonial uprising that pushed the occupying British regime to the brink. Whats happening now is a kind of cruel inversion: The same brutal policing tactics and authoritarian legal frameworks developed by the British to suppress leftist dissent are being recycled by Chinese authorities against pro-democracy Hong Kongers. The CCP constantly casts itself as the answer to Western imperialism. But Chinese state media now argues Hong Kongs new national security law would improve on the frail British security frameworkin other words, that it wants to bolster, not dismantle, the colonial machinery of repression.

Today, Hong Kong is caught within the contradictions of global capitalism. The cosmopolitan, at times even utopianist neoliberalism of the 1990swhen Hong Kong enjoyed its heydayhas unraveled through repeated financial crises. The result is a world that has not so much rejected market ideologies as it has been locked into increasingly bitter, nationalist competition, with powerful states wrestling for control over diminishing returns. The Covid-19 pandemic could have been an opportunity for a shared international response. Instead, it has only exacerbated the fallout, with top officials in the United States and Chinaour global leadershurling conspiracy theories at each other over social media.

The middle ground that Hong Kong occupies is more precarious than ever. Denied agency, increasing numbers of Hong Kongers feel pressure to align with an external powerif not the CCP, then the West. Last fall, some pro-democracy Hong Kongers took the new step of directly lobbying the United States for assistance. US lawmakers eagerly accepted the chance to wield yet another symbolic cudgel against China, signing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law last September. The act purports to safeguard the citys autonomy using a type of suicidal logic: Whereas current US policy treats Hong Kong as an entity separate from China for the purposes of trade and immigration, the act threatens to revoke this policy, should China continue to infringe upon Hong Kongs autonomy. The unspoken assumption is China would not dare hurt its prized conduit to global capital, the goose that lays the golden eggs. With the new Hong Kong national security law, China has called the United States bluff.

Its unclear what Hong Kongers could still accomplish by continuing to lobby the US government, providing ammunition for a conflict in which Hong Kongers would be the first to suffer. But neither is it straightforward for Hong Kongers to align with mainland Chinese, despite their now facing increasingly similar state repression. Intense censorship on the mainland makes it difficult to gauge the level of sympathy for Hong Kong democracy; Chinese activists, artists, writers, and ordinary Internet users have been detained for expressing even mild support for the protests. Moreover, Chinese state media appears determined to continue its false portrayal of Hong Kong democrats as secessionist traitors, if not foreign operativesa storyline designed to whip up domestic nationalist fervor. Even Hong Kongbased labor rights groups, community organizations, and social activists have found it increasingly impossible to work in China, thanks to the central partys intensifying crackdown against NGOs.

To make things worse, some hard-line nativist Hong Kongerswho make up a minority of protestershave harassed and even assaulted mainland Chinese immigrants, tourists, and workers. This all but forecloses the few viable paths forward for solidarity.

An escape route for Hong Kong could have meant an escape route for all of us. Few other places have served as such a dramatic meeting point, where competing desires are held in continuous tension. Hong Kongs defiance of geopolitical binaries made it a rare space for their negotiation. Certainly, Hong Kongs exceptionality has been the key to enriching the generations of colonizers, compradors, financiers, and oligarchs for whom the city was chiefly designed. Hong Kong is also a space contested and shaped by the struggles of migrants and misfits, dreamers and dissidents whoas oppressed people have so often donefound in the intersections of contradictory systems a starting point for rebellions.

The way out was never going to be simple. Liberating Hong Kong from any law or state power, from the totality of these clashing histories, would require undoing colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, and imperialism all at once. This was both Hong Kongs impossible challenge and the source of its emancipatory potential: to not just stand at the midpoint of competing poles but also produce alternative ways of being.

We have briefly glimpsed these new worlds. During the Umbrella Movement, thundering traffic overpasses became tranquil encampments; today, elderly Hong Kongers stand on the front lines to protect younger protesters from police, while students-turned-volunteer medics cleanse strangers eyes of tear gas. This is the spirit that has allowed Hong Kongers to quickly organize themselves despite government inaction during the pandemicto wear masks and to survive. This consciousness often feels like a new, invisible society overlaid on the old. It is an idea that is hard to describe in ways an economist, party official, or American congressperson would find legible. It is also, I believe, the true source of peoples deep love for Hong Kong.

Our lives cannot become permanent political mobilizations. If Hong Kongs future cannot be won on our terms, we can at least complicate its emergence with our stories. Hong Kongers mark the anniversaries of pivotal dates like secret codes: We refer to 8-3-1, 7-1, 6-4, and, now, 5-2-1. Some of these dates represent bitter political tragedies, others moments of euphoric togethernesseach of them a way point toward our shared self-knowledge. Languages like these do not so much circumvent censorship as guard against forgetting. Knowing the CCPs efforts to bury remembrances of similar events in China under the sediment of disinformation, we will need even more imaginative strategies for what lies ahead.

Last fall, while protests still raged in the streets, a Hong Kong Internet user started a Facebook thread asking friends what they would do with their lives if the city became truly free. The postnow deletedwent viral, as protesters glimpsed one another under the masks. Some responses were refreshingly quotidian: I want to open a fishball stand, wrote one person, because I like eating curry fishballs. Many others expressed the desire to become storytellers, archivists, museum curators, librarians, to preserve narratives of resistance: I want to tell children how their brothers and sisters fought for them.

One day, perhaps beyond our lifetimes, these dreams could guide Hong Kongers home.

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Wilfred Chan is a contributing writer for The Nation. Currently based in New York, he covered the Umbrella Movement and its aftermath as a journalist in Hong Kong.

(Courtesy: The Nation The original article in The Nation appeared with following headline The Infinite Heartbreak of Loving Hong Kong )
Former Iranian Judge Sought By Tehran, Linked To 'Torture' Of Journalists Found Dead In Bucharest

By RFE/RL's Romanian Service, RFE/RL's Radio Farda June 19, 2020

BUCHAREST -- A former Iranian judge sought by his homeland to face corruption charges has been found dead in Romania's capital, officials say.

Police in Bucharest said a 52-year-old man on June 19 died after apparently falling from a higher floor of a hotel.

The man was a "foreign national under judicial control" accused of "crimes allegedly committed on the territory of another country," they said in a statement, adding that an investigation into his death was under way.

Official sources confirmed to RFE/RL local media reports saying that the man in question was Gholamreza Mansouri, who fled Iran last year after authorities there alleged he took some 500,000 euros ($560,000) in bribes.

Iran's Interpol chief, Brigadier General Hadi Shirzad, quoted Romanian authorities as telling Iran that Mansouri "had thrown himself out of the window of his hotel," according to Iran's semiofficial INSA news agency.

Romanian police detained Mansouri earlier this month and a court had been expected to rule next month on whether to extradite him.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said the former judge had recently visited the Iranian Embassy in Bucharest and discussed how to return to Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

In a video statement posted online last week, Mansouri denied the charges, saying he left Iran for unspecified medical treatment and that coronavirus travel restrictions prevented him from returning home. He didn't give details about his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, human rights groups and media freedom watchdogs said Mansouri was in Germany, where they said he should be prosecuted for ordering the mass arrest of reporters while serving as a judge in Tehran.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) filed a complaint with Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor, accusing Mansouri of being responsible for the "arrest and torture" of at least 20 journalists in 2013.

And the London-based rights group Justice For Iran called for information that could lead to Mansouri's prosecution in Germany.

Citing the testimony of "a significant number" of journalists, Justice For Iran said that Mansouri was "responsible for issuing arrest warrants against them."

"These journalists were interrogated for months in [Tehran's] Evin prison in solitary confinement and pressured to confess against themselves and others."

RSF later said it had filed a second complaint with Romanian authorities after learning Mansouri had slipped away from Germany.

Mansouri was detained by Romanian police on an Interpol arrest warrant upon arrival in the country on June 12. The ex-judge was later released from custody and placed under judicial control, meaning he was banned from leaving Romania and should regularly report to the authorities.

Romanian authorities have asked Tehran to officially submit an extradition request, as well as details about the charges against Mansouri.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal was set to consider the case on July 10.

Mansouri was among several judges who were accused of corruption during the high-profile trial of a former senior judiciary official that opened in Tehran this month.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/former-iranian-judge- sought-by-tehran-linked-to-torture-of-journalists -found-dead-in-bucharest/30680328.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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The mayor of Leicester has refused to tear down a statue of Mahatma Gandhi despite claims he was a 'facist, racist, sexual predator'.

Sir Peter Soulsby's words come as an online petition, which has gathered more than 6,000 signatures, was set up calling for the statue of the Indian independence leader to be removed.

Academics have suggested Gandhi held racist views and was prejudiced about black people, claiming he accepted white minority power and referred to black Africans as the derogatory term Kaffirs.

A petition on Change.org has called for the removal of a statue to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, which was erected in 2009 following a campaign and fundraising drive

The campaign on Change.org has received more than 6,000 signatures from people seeking Gandhi's removal

The death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, U.S, earlier this month, has sparked an increase in anti-racism protests and campaigning.

As a result of the demonstrations, several statues and monuments have been removed, such as a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, or boarded up to protect them from being vandalised.

The Leicester-based Change.org petition states: 'Gandhi, is a fascist, racist and sexual predator.

'For years he has been idolised and taught in school curriculum. For a lot of people in my community, he has bought inconsolable suffering against my people.

Was Gandhi racist? Man who freed India from colonialism was criticised for his views on black people during his two decades spent in South Africa The controversy surrounding Mahatma Gandhis views on race stem from his time in South Africa, where he lived for more than two decades between 1893 and 1914. In their 2015 book The South African Gandhi: Stretcher-Bearer of Empire, South African academics Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed argued Gandhi viewed racial politics in much the same way as the white colonisers who occupied the country at the time. Gandhi wrote to the Natal parliament saying that a general belief seems to prevail in the Colony that the Indians are a little better, if at all, than savages or the Natives of Africa in 1893. Mahatma Gandhi has been criticised for his views on black Africans while living in South Africa between 1893 and 1914 He referred to black Africans as Kaffirs, a derogatory term in a 1904 letter to a health officer in Johannesburg about an area of the city where Indians and Africans lived together. Gandhi wrote: About the mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians, I must confess I feel most strongly. In 1905, Gandhi wrote that a plague in Durban would persist as long as Indians and Africans were being "herded together indiscriminately at the hospital. Writer Ashwin Desai said: To the extent that he wrote Africans out of history or was keen to join with whites in their subjugation he was a racist. To the extent that he accepted white minority power but was keen to be a junior partner, he was a racist. Thank God he did not succeed in this as we would have been culpable in the horrors of apartheid, he told the BBC. However, Gandhis biographer and grandson Rajmohan Gandhi has defended his grandfather for paving the way for the struggle of black rights. Personally, I am very sad that the statues are being removed because of all the wrong reasons," Tushar Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, told CGTN Digital. I am also not a big fan of cult statues. If removing statues help the cause they seem to be subscribing to, then absolutely remove them. If Bapu [Gandhi] was here, he would have supported these petitions and said please remove my statues. Gandhi has also been accused of being a 'sexual predator', after a 2011 biography by Joseph Lelyveld revealed the darker side of his sex life. Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi And His Struggle With India goes beyond the myth to paint a very different picture of Gandhis private life and makes astonishing claims about his sexuality. It details how even in his 70s he regularly slept with his 17-year-old great niece Manu and and other women but tried to not to become sexually excited. He once told a woman: Despite my best efforts, the organ remained aroused. It was an altogether strange and shameful experience. The biography also details one instance in which he forced Manu to walk through a part of the jungle where sexual assaults had in the past taken place just to fetch a pumice stone for him which he liked to use to clean his feet. She returned with tears in her eyes but Gandhi just cackled and said: If some ruffian had carried you off and you had met your death courageously, my heart would have danced with joy. Advertisement

'As a result, I do not wish to see a statue and praise of that kind of character.'

Leicester's mayor has however quashed the proposal and said he has no intention of removing the statue which was erected following a fundraising effort in the local community in 2009.

Earlier this month residents formed a 'ring of steel' around the statue to stop it from being vandalised or toppled as it was revealed it could be a target.

Local people in Leicester formed 'a ring of steel' around the statue which is on the city's Golden mile on June 13

Among those defending the statue was former Labour MP Keith Vaz, who was involved in efforts to commission the memorial

They were joined by former Leicester MP Keith Vaz who was involved in efforts to commission the memorial.

Sir Peter said: 'There's no prospect at all of us removing it. And I'm not sure we'd have the power to take it down anyway.

'It was a community effort to put it there to celebrate someone who, for all of us, was a very inspirational leader in India who inspired the rest of the world with his creed of non-violence.'

The East Leicester MP Claudia Webbe has described the debate over Gandhi as an unecessary distraction from the Black Lives Matter campaign.

In a letter, Sir Peter wrote to Mr Vaz: 'I am delighted to be able to give you an absolute assurance that there is no prospect whatsoever of the council agreeing at any time to the removal of the statue - and certainly not while I remain mayor.'

The Gandhi statue was funded with donations from local people to celebrating the man who led the campaign against British dominance of people in India during the early 20th century.
Chinese Businessman Alleges He was Framed After Offending Local Police Chief

Li Huaiqing, a businessman from Chongqing who was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power, attended his court hearing in Chongqing on June 10. Li told the judge that hes the victim of persecution directed by Deng Huilin, the former Chongqing deputy mayor and chief of the public security (police) bureau who was recently sacked.

Li was arrested on Jan. 31 by the Chongqing police on charges of involvement with the mafia. He has been detained since.

Li was chairman of the Chongqing Fuhua Pawn Company. He joined the WeChat group called Global Report a few years ago, in which he posted an article critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s history. He later refused to follow police orders to report the chat groups founder.

In January 2019, Li was prosecuted by the First Branch of the Chongqing Procuratorate for false imprisonment, fraud, extortion, and incitement to subvert state power. The latter is an oft-used charge to crack down on dissidents.

Li and his lawyer stated through evidence that the first three counts were frame-up charges by the police and prosecutors office. The seven incriminations listed by prosecutors in the incitement to subversion charge are his comments about corrupt officials on WeChat, five of which came from a personal private chat, and two from a group chat.

Li alleged that the real mastermind behind his case was Sun Lijun, former deputy minister of the Ministry of Public Security.

Lis wife, Bao Yan, told The Epoch Times that Li disclosed in the court hearing that the real reason for his arrest and imprisonment was an incident that took place at a charity event that offended Sun.

At the end of 2017, at a charity event organized by the local foundation Gonghe in Hangzhou city, foundation members talked about corruption within some departments of the Ministry of Public Security. Since some of the members could write to Chinese leader Xi Jinping directly, everyone suggested that they should report the situation to Xi by letter.

At the time, the corrupt department they spoke about was supervised by Sun. After learning that members of the Gonghe Foundation intended to inform Xi about corrupt officials in the Ministry of Public Security, he was furious and ordered an investigation into the organization.

Sun was dismissed in April this year. He is being probed by the Partys anti-corruption watchdog for serious violations of discipline and law. Since Xi came to power in 2012, he has sacked many officialsprimarily his political rivalsunder the anti-corruption campaign.

Sun had some scruples, so private entrepreneurs such as Li became the scapegoats, Li alleged.

Bao Yan quoted her husbands testimony: His original words are, in fact, my case is trivial. Why is it such a big deal? In fact, Deng Huilins instruction came from Sun Lijun.

Deng, then-chief of the Chongqing police bureau, was in charge of a task force created to investigate the people at the Gonghe foundation who wanted to file a complaint with Xi. Deng had close ties with Sun because they had both worked for Meng Jianzhu, Chinas former minister of public security and Politburo member. Meng was a powerful member of the Party faction loyal to former Party leader Jiang Zemin.

Li also said that Deng had personally interrogated him. During the interrogation, Deng revealed an insider story: A Shanghai entrepreneur at the charity event was also arrested, but was released after paying a 200 million yuan (roughly $28 million) fine. That means Li could also be released if he pleaded a fine of 200 million yuan.

Li told Deng that he didnt have that much money because he was only a small business owner. Deng also asked Li to cooperate in a criminal investigation whereby he would fabricate charges against his political opponents in order to take them down, Li alleged.

Li refused the request. Deng was offended and threatened to confiscate all his property and to sentence him to 15 to 20 years imprisonment.

Li said that all his statements are facts, and Deng can go to court to challenge him.

Bao also revealed that Deng was very nervous after Sun was purged in April this year. So he immediately asked the court to start the hearing on Lis case as soon as possible, and planned to close the case in mid-May.

Due to the convening of the plenary sessiona major political meeting where Party elite typically discuss future personnel changes and policiesthe handling of serious cases was postponed. But the court informed Li on the last day of the plenary session that it would open a hearing on Lis case a week later. But Lis lawyers said it would be impossible to communicate with the client and formulate a defense plan in such a short timeframe, and constituted a violation of Lis legal rights.

Then, abruptly, the Party announced that Deng was placed under investigation. Chinas Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, a Communist Party anti-corruption organ, issued a brief statement on June 14, announcing that Deng is suspected of serious violations of law and Party discipline. The vague charge is an oft-used euphemism for corruption.

Despite the news, Bao is concerned about her husband. Although Deng Huilin is down, Li Huaiqing cannot be released immediately, she said.

Although this big tree fell [Deng], its system, including the Chongqing police bureau and prosecutors office, played a very bad role, she said.

To Baos surprise, when Li told his side of the story during the third day of the trial, the presiding judge did not interrupt his testimony. I think its really strange, they actually let him finish talking, Bao said.

Li pleaded not guilty to all four charges.

Bao said she was threatened by local authorities to refrain from speaking to foreign media, or else risk arrest. She said, Im not afraid anyway. I dont care anymore. I just tell the truth.
Illinois municipalities wont fully open their playgrounds until at least Phase 4 of the statewide reopening plan and, even then, it is may not happen.

City and village officials are awaiting state guidelines for Phase 4 of the Reopen Illinois plan before they decide if they will reopen their playgrounds for use.

Jacksonville has discussed opening its playgrounds and the precautions that would have to be taken, but final plans likely will not be made until next week, when Gov. J.B.Pritzker is expected to announce regulations for the next phase, Jacksonville parks superintendent Adam Fletcher said.

If they open them up  if the governor allows playground use  itll be business as usual, Fletcher said. If not, we will have to keep with the guidelines.

South Jacksonville has been discussing opening its splash pad and playgrounds, but both openings would be separate of each other, Mayor Harry Jennings said.

We are looking at the next phase; depending on those stipulations, we may be opening the water pad, Jennings said. We will be discussing it more during our meeting on the 23rd.

While the village board will look at all the state guidelines, it would like to provide a summer activity for children, Jennings said.

With the number of people (allowed in a group) increasing from 10 to 50, we should be OK to open, but we arent sure yet how we would regulate the number of people, Jennings said. If we do open up, (the park is) not gated and theres no admission (fee), so we have to find a way to regulate it. There are no guarantees that we are going to open, but we are going to see what we can do.

If playgrounds are allowed to reopen, Jacksonville officials have discussed safety measures that include cleaning the equipment, but there still would be risks, Fletcher said.

It is out in the elements and they are high-traffic areas, Fletcher said. Weve talked about sanitizing, whether thats wiping it down, using a bleach and water mixtures. Its something we have looked at.

The city would try to sanitize equipment, but, when the playgrounds do reopen, the department would be relying on the public to maintain a proper social distance and use both hand sanitizer and common sense, Fletcher said.

It is a public park and there is always a play-at-your-own-risk policy, he said. If there are large groups on there, use common sense.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly has urged governments in the Sahel to uphold human rights during military operations, in a report on the progress of Frances regional Operation Barkhane before the French senates foreign affairs committee.

Parly said there had been recent military progress in the fight against the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (IS-GS) armed group in the border area between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. This zone had been described as a priority area during the summit of the G5 Sahel grouping of countries in Pau at the start of this year.

Further discussions on progress against armed groups in the Sahel region will take place during a summit in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, expected for the end of June.

Parly was positive about the deployment of the European Takouba force, made up of special forces troops from several European countries under French command, as well as the strengthening of the G5 Sahel force of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

Respect for human rights

The French defence minister called on governments of the G5 group to ensure that their troops respect human rights during military operations amid accusations over executions carried out by soldiers.

Political leaders of the Sahel countries are perfectly aware of whats at stake, Parly told French senators from the foreign affairs committee. They see the gap widening each time atrocities are committed, between the people and the authorities, she added, discussing how they needed to win the hearts and minds of the people in the Sahel during their military operations.

Parly said that international support for operations against jihadist groups in the region could be called into question if rights abuses by G5 Sahel soldiers continue.

Operation Barkhane was launched by the French military in August 2014, taking over from Operation Serval which targeted a jihadist offensive that had overrun northern Mali.

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday took to Twitter his warning to those protesting his planned campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend that they could be treated roughly.

In his Tweet, the President told "protesters, agitators, anarchists, looters or lowlifes" going to Oakland that they will not be treated nicely.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!" tweeted Trump, who has repeatedly spoken harshly of protesters at his rallies.

But the President did not elaborate on what actions he could take against the protesters, who might gather and stand outside the Bank of Oklahoma Center, where Trump's campaign rally will be held.

Trump's Twitter post came following Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum's issuance on Thursday of an executive order that declared "a civil emergency" and enforcing a curfew over parts of the city that was supposed to take in effect before and after the President's rally on June 20.

However, Trump announced on Friday that the curfew will be lifted from Friday night until Saturday night so that his supporters could join the campaign rally.

Another Boost for the Tulsa Rally

According to news reports, the Trump administration also received a go-signal from the Oklahoma Supreme Court in connection with the rally.

The court has also dismissed a complaint filed early this week, to make the wearing of masks and social distancing mandatory for the attendees of the gathering.

In his latest EO, Bynum said he received reports from the "Tulsa Police Department and other law enforcement agencies" that there are individuals from various organized groups, who plan to go to Tulsa to create unrest during the rally.

He said these groups had joined in the violent protests held in other states.

Trump's Threat not Applicable to All Protesters

Meanwhile, Trump's spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Friday did not also elaborate what disciplinary actions Trump was referring to in his Tweet.

She further noted that the vague threat of the President was not applicable to protesters assembling peaceably.

McEnany said Trump was only referring to violent anarchists, protesters, and looters.

Various news outfits have reported Trump as having promoted an "aggressive militaristic approach" to suppress riots and demonstrations nationwide, which sparked from the killing of 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, by the Minneapolis law enforcers last month.

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India and China on June 20 traded accusations that the other had violated their shared de facto border, an area that this week became the site of the deadliest clash in half a century between the two nuclear-armed giants.

A day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements on the June 15 clash, which killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and injured more than 70, his government blamed the Chinese side for seeking to erect structures "just across the Line of Actual Control," as the demarcation is known, and refusing India's request to stop.

India will not allow any unilateral changes to the disputed border, it said in a statement.

India-China Border News LIVE

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused Indian troops of a "deliberate provocation" in the tense Himalayan area.

In a series of tweets, Zhao said the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the line and that Indians had since April unilaterally built roads, bridges and other facilities in the region.

The Indian troops "crossed the Line of Actual Control" and attacked Chinese officers and soldiers who were there for negotiation, triggering "fierce physical conflicts", Zhao said. China has not released any casualty figures for its troops.

Following the all-party meet on June 19, PM Modi said,"Nobody has intruded into our border, neither is anybody there now, nor have our posts been captured."

Troops remain locked in a face-off at several locations along the poorly defined Line of Action Control, despite talks between local commanders to de-escalate.
China, Russia see US 'bullying' as IAEA adopts anti-Iran resolution

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 8:51 AM

China and Russia have rebuked the International Atomic Energy Agency for giving in to US "bullying" as the IAEA's board of governor on Friday passed a resolution critical of Iran for the first time since 2012.

The resolution, submitted by France, Britain and Germany, comes at a time when the United States is working to extend an arms embargo against Iran.

Diplomats attending the Friday meeting in Vienna were cited as saying that the resolution called on Iran to allow access to two former sites mentioned in two IAEA reports.

Iranian officials have said Tehran has responded to all outstanding questions about its nuclear activities and the IAEA has repeatedly confirmed it. The new questions, they say, have been raised based on information fabricated by Israel.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Monday regretted that the IAEA has chosen to ignore Tehran's long history of cooperation, warning that a new resolution "would somehow complicate Iran's cooperation with the agency".

"They are opening a closed case. The basis for their allegations is the information that is claimed to have been obtained through espionage by the Zionist regime and [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," Mousavi said.

China submitted a 5-page statement to the IAEA on Thursday, saying "The root causes of this situation lie in the unilateral and bullying practices of the US."

China's envoy Wang Qun said should the resolution pass, it could sound the death knell for the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world countries.

The Trump administration exited the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, but other signatories vowed to salvage it.

Washington is now working to extend a UN-imposed arms embargo due to expire in October under Tehran's nuclear deal.

The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said this month that since the United States has already withdrawn from the nuclear agreement with Iran, it can't now use its former membership of the pact to try to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.

"The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and now they cannot claim that they are still part of the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue from the JCPOA agreement. They withdraw. It's clear. They withdraw," Borrell said.

European officials, however, have never seriously stood up to the US. They have already failed to take steps to ensure that Tehran benefit from the deal following Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the accord in May 2018.

Making the situation worse, the US-backed resolution drafted by the three European powers calls on Iran to "fully cooperate" with IAEA requests to visit the two sites that the Israeli "information" claims may have hosted low-level atomic work two decades ago.

The resolution comes just after IAEA Director General Mariano Grossi said Monday that the agency "continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement".

"To date, the Agency has not observed any changes to Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments in connection with this particular announcement, or in the level of cooperation by Iran in relation to Agency verification and monitoring activities under the JCPOA," he said.

The agency has closed a dossier addressing "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear energy program.

Russia's Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, also questioned the need for a resolution, saying the recent dispute between Iran and the IAEA should not be overdramatized.

"Deeply disappointed and concerned that #Tehran and the Secretariat are yet to resolve the issue of access to two locations in Iran that are of interest to the Agency," Russian mission in Vienna quoted Ulyanov as saying in a post published on its official Twitter page.

"However, there are no reasons whatsoever to overdramatize the situation," he added.

On Thursday, Iran's permanent representative to Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, Kazem Gharibabadi, said "no country will open its territory to the inspections" only based on continuous allegations provided by its own enemy.

"Possibly you may ask why Iran does not grant access to the two locations automatically. The answer is clear: as a matter of sovereignty, no country opens its territory to the inspections only based on continuous allegations provided by its own enemy, even if it is evident that the result of which will prove those allegations to be false," the Iranian diplomat said.

"I would like to ask the Member States to put themselves in our shoes and see if they are ready simply to engage with the Agency every now and then based on unsubstantiated allegations made by their adversaries?!"

According to the IAEA's 129-page 2019 Safeguards Implementation Report, Iran received the biggest part of the inspections that were carried out worldwide by the atomic organization's inspectors, and the figure stood at 21 percent of the entire visits made to various nuclear sites.

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Bangladeshi mills are unwilling to pay current offer prices for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes and will wait for price decreases before placing any orders, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 18.

US West Coast sellers have had success in selling bulk cargoes at higher prices to South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam in the last week, but will not find business so fruitful in Bangladesh, market participants said.



At the center of this negative sentiment is the mounting Covid-19 crisis in the South Asian country. Bangladesh has recorded 94,481 cases of the virus and 1,262 deaths as of Wednesday June 17, up from just 2,911 cases as of June 3, according to the World Health Organization.



"There is lots of anxiety over a return of lockdown measures in Bangladesh. This is holding mills back from purchases," one South Asian trader said.



Concerns about the virus in Bangladesh and India have also weighed on local steel prices in both countries over the past week, sources said, reducing appetite for high-priced steel scrap. Furthermore, several of Bangladeshs largest steel mills are only running at around 30-40% capacity utilization.



Over the last couple of weeks, there has been no business to Bangladesh. The Chittagong market is very slow, one Bangladesh mill source said.



The virus situation is getting worse, and the local market is not doing well, a second Bangladesh mill source said. It is a very tight market for scrap and mills are confused - we are keeping an eye on the markets.



He added that mills were also waiting to see if the government would inject more cash into the economy - and particularly into the construction sector - to help Bangladesh's economy recover from the virus.



Despite low demand from mills, higher deals for bulk cargoes from the US West Coast into other Asian destinations recorded earlier in the week led to higher expectations of prices from the sell-side into Bangladesh.



Fastmarkets price assessment for bulk cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), deep-sea origin, import, cfr Bangladesh was $285-290 per tonne on June 18, narrowing up by $5 per tonne week on week.



Most mills on the Indian subcontinent are struggling to sell their finished steel as construction activity is dead, a second South Asian trader said.



Containerized shredded prices are coming off, and in my opinion, this is the peak, he added.



After several weeks of quiet on the containerized scrap front, activity picked up in Bangladesh over the last week, with a handful of deals concluded.



An 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap from Australia was sold at $270 per tonne cfr Chittagong over the past week, with Brazil-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) selling at $260 per tonne cfr.



Offers for European Union-origin shredded scrap were heard at $300 cfr Chittagong, while bids were at $280-285 cfr.
Wrexham MS urges local businesses to check they are eligible for Economic Resilience Fund

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jun 20th, 2020

Businesses in Wrexham can now find out if they are eligible to apply for financial support from the next phase of the Welsh Governments Economic Resilience Fund (ERF).

A further 100 million will target microbusinesses, SMEs and large businesses of critical economic importance, which have yet to receive financial assistance from the ERF.

The scheme, which is unique to Wales, has been praised by Wrexhams Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths, who is hoping local businesses take advantage of the support.

The eligibility checker is now available online and is designed to help businesses prepare ahead of the full application process opening towards the end of this month.

News relating to the next phase of the Economic Resilience Fund has coincided with the publication of latest statistics showing more than 680 million has reached businesses across Wales to help them respond to the financial challenge of coronavirus.

More than 56,000 grants have been paid to companies across the retail, leisure and hospitality sector whose property has a rateable value of 51,000 or less. These businesses are also benefiting from rates relief through the 1.4 billion package announced in March.

New applications to that particular business rates scheme will not be accepted after 30 June and Lesley Griffiths MS is urging local businesses to contact Wrexham Council if they have not already done so.

She said: This extraordinary period has seen an unprecedented amount of support provided to businesses in Wrexham and throughout Wales.

The Economic Resilience Fund is unique to Wales and is specifically designed to support businesses, social enterprises and charities that are not eligible for other Welsh Government and UK Government support schemes.

Latest figures suggest close to 200 million has been provided to Welsh businesses so far from this scheme alone and I would encourage Wrexham companies to check online whether theyre eligible for funding.

Whilst the Economic Resilience Fund prepares to relaunch fully at the end of the month, it is worth highlighting once again that the business rates relief scheme will be closing to new applications on 30 June.

If you are eligible and have not already applied, please ensure you contact the Local Authority before this date.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-19 03:54:52|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday asked the international community to tackle the refugee issue within a multilateral framework and address the root causes of refugee flows.

The refugee issue is a global challenge that requires a global response. There is a need for countries to enhance cooperation, strengthen the role of multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations and its refugee agency, the UNHCR, said Yao Shaojun, China's acting deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

There is also a need to work in compliance with relevant international law as well as the Global Compact on Refugees, he told a virtual meeting of the Security Council.

Developing countries host more than 85 percent of refugees around the world, and their burden must be shared and alleviated, said Yao. "We call on the international community, especially those (countries) with the capacity and responsibility, to scale up support and assistance to host countries and communities."

It is also important to eliminate xenophobia, racism and discrimination against refugees, he said.

Yao asked the international community to address the root causes of refugee flows and displacement.

Most of the refugees come from conflict situations that are on the Security Council's agenda, he said. "We must take a holistic approach with broader efforts on peace and development. We need to invest more in conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, poverty eradication and development cooperation. Only in this way can we create the necessary conditions for refugees to return and let them enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life in their home countries." Enditem
President Donald Trump mocked Joe Bidens campaign Friday by posting a picture of a nearly empty hall and stating that the former Vice Presidents rally had zero enthusiasm.

Trump shared a picture on Twitter of the Democratic candidates campaign event in Philadelphia earlier on Friday in which social distancing measures were taken to space out attendees.

Joe Bidens rally. ZERO enthusiasm! he wrote.

Trumps criticism came as crowds gathered - both fans and protesters - ahead of his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will take place Saturday.

His campaign has claimed they are preparing for overflow crowds as they expect for the 19,000-plus seat BOK Center to be filled.

President Trump tore into his rival, Democratic candidate Joe Biden, on Twitter on Thursday sharing this tweet of his socially distanced campaign event and claiming that it was empty because there was 'zero enthusiasm' for the former Vice President's 'rally'

Trump supporters have been lined up and camped out as the arena only holds 19,000 people and the president claimed there were more than one million requested tickets. The president hit out at Joe Biden on Friday claiming there was no enthusiasm for his campaign events

Biden has held only a small number of in-person campaign events in the past few weeks as his campaign says that he is trying to follow advice from public health experts about coronavirus spread.

The Trump camp, however, has said that Biden is using an excuse to avoid making public appearances that could damage his campaign with any missteps.

Biden quickly responded to Trumps tweet Friday, criticizing the president for his response to the coronavirus and calling on him to spend less time on Twitter.

Donald Trumps failure to fight the coronavirus with the same energy and focus that he uses to troll his enemies on Twitter has cost us lives  and is putting hope for an economic recovery at risk, he wrote.

Trump's hit at Biden came after the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a legal challenge trying to stop his Saturday rally.

Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum also rescinded his curfew order so the president's MAGA supporters could camp out Friday night ahead of the big event.

The court ruled the masks and social distancing are not required as Oklahoma's June 1 reopening plan allowed business owners to use discretion on those matters.

The ruling came after a group of local residents and business owners asked for a temporary injunction against the rally, citing fears it could worsen the spread of the coronavirus.

Biden immediately hit back at Trump's tweet with his own on Friday night

Biden has held a limited amount of in-person events in the past few weeks because of the coronavirus. Events he has attended have enforced social distancing such as the one pictured above in Pennsylvania on Wednesday where attendees were separated

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a socially distanced event Wednesday

The court rejected that argument, paving the way for the Trump rally to go forward as scheduled.

Supporters had been lined up and camped out in front of the BOK Center ahead of Saturday night's event, but were going to have to go home under a 10 p.m. curfew instituted by Bynum, the Republican mayor of Tulsa.

They are now free to stay. Bynum rescinded the curfew, saying in a statement it was done at the request of the Secret Service.

'On Thursday, the Secret Service asked the City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Police Department to put in place a curfew for the Federal Exclusion Zone near the BOK Center,' the city said in a statement.

'Today, the Secret Service asked the City to lift the curfew order this weekend. In compliance with this request, the City has rescinded the order.'

Trump said in a tweet the mayor informed him of the decision.

'I just spoke to the highly respected Mayor of Tulsa, G.T. Bynum, who informed me there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow for our many supporters attending the #MAGA Rally. Enjoy yourselves - thank you to Mayor Bynum!,' Trump wrote.

His campaign actually kicked off in Florida last year but this will be the first rally since March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down large gatherings.

President Trump's campaign rally on Saturday is his first since March and he tweeted in praise of the supporters lined up to get inside. His fans can continue to wait overnight on Friday after a 10pm curfew in the city was rescinded by the Republican mayor

Trump got tough on Friday, promising 'agitators' and 'lowlifes' at his Tulsa rally will get harsh treatment as the city declared a 'civil emergency' out of fears of 'extremely violent' protests.

'Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!,' President Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president didn't specify how it would be different and how he knew that would happen but he had criticized officials in New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis for not using the National Guard or other means to quell the Black Lives Matter protests that sprung up in the wake of George Floyd's death. His tweet came on Juneteenth, the date that celebrates the end of slavery.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president didn't mean peaceful protesters but 'violent' ones.

'He was meaning violent protesters, anarchist, looters on the kind of lawlessness that we saw play out before President Trump came in with the National Guard and calm their streets with law and order,' she said at her press briefing on Friday.

Trump himself came under fire after law enforcement officials used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area around the White House of protesters to the president could walk over to St. John's church for a photo-op holding the bible.

And Oklahoma will activate 250 Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers to help provide security during President Trump's rally, a Tulsa TV station reported.

Caroline Elizabeth (L) Devenuto and Johnny Rice argue with each other over loud speakers as people gather outside of the BOK center before Donald Trump's Saturday rally

Workers raise a fence as people gather near an entrance point for Saturday's Trump rally/. The city on Friday rescinded a curfew which will allow supporters to wait outside overnight

Protesters have already gathered outside the rally site. Above, Nicholas Winford (left) debates Trump supporter Randall Thom (right), on Trump's racial policies on Thursday

Mayor Bynum had previously declared a 'civil emergency' in the city, citing the recent civil unrest and the expectation that more than 100,000 people - a combination of Trump supporters and protesters - will swarm the downtown area for the rally.

The mayor had placed a federal exclusion zone for a six-block radius near the BOK center and implemented a 10pm curfew.

The curfew, however, would have made an exception for Saturdays rally, saying it will be implemented when the MAGA event is over.

Supporters have already lined up outside the BOK Center for the event - with some camping out over night - and protesters have also appeared on the scene.

Trump also bragged on Twitter Friday: 'Big crowds and lines already forming in Tulsa. My campaign hasnt started yet. It starts on Saturday night in Oklahoma!'

Trump's rally - his first since March - has been deeply problematic ever since it was announced on June 10.

The original date of Friday, June 19, was switched to Saturday after an uproar about the clash with Juneteenth - the annual celebration marking the end of slavery.

Trump's rally will go ahead as planned after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Friday that it could run as scheduled. Pictured, a Trump supporter lines up ahead of the rally

Teri Bruner waits to sell memorabilia as people gather near an entrance point for Saturday's rally with President Donald Trump in Tulsa. It is the president's first rally since March

Additionally the state of Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa have seen an increase in coronavirus infections since the reopening process began.

Oklahoma is in phase three of its reopening - one of the few states that far along in the process. That was one of the reasons the Trump campaign tapped Tulsa for the rally location.

On Thursday the BOK Center, the 19,000-seat arena where Saturday's rally will be held, sent the Trump campaign a letter asking for a written plan identifying 'the steps the event will institute for health and safety.'

We have requested the Trump campaign, as the event organizer, provide BOK Center with a written plan detailing the steps the event will institute for health and safety, including those related to social distancing, officials said.

The BOK center said its employees will be tested for the coronavirus and provided with personal protective equipment. The arena will be cleaned and disinfected repeatedly throughout the event and 400 hand sanitizer stations will be placed around it.

The Trump campaign has said precautionary measures will be taken, including temperature checks and providing attendees with masks and hand sanitizer. The campaign, however, said they would not require the masks to be worn.

A group of Tulsa attorneys requested a hearing to impose a temporary, emergency injunction stopping the rally this week, but a Tulsa judge denied the effort on Tuesday.

The matter was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court who ruled Friday that attendees are not required to follow CDC guidelines on social distancing and wearing face masks.

Trump supporters sleep around the BOK Center as they wait in line for Saturday's rally

Memorabilia on a barricade that supporters put up for President Donald Trump outside the BOK Center in Tulsa. The president's fans have lined up ahead of the rally

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, seen at the White House with President Trump on Thursday said the state was ready for the rally and 'it's going to be safe'

Oklahoma set a new state record for COVID-19 increases in a single day on Thursday, confirming 450 new infections.

But Governor Kevin Stitt dismissed concerns during an event with President Trump at the White House on Thursday.

'We're 56 days into our reopening plan, and currently we have under 200 people in the hospital across the state of Oklahoma. And we had an uptick in the number of cases, and so the media tries to talk about that. But we knew we were going to have an increase a little bit, because we're 56 days into reopening,' Stitt, a Republican said.

'Oklahoma is ready for your visit. It's going to be safe. And we're really, really excited,' he told the president.

The Trump campaign said it was reviewing the letter from the BOK center, adding 'we take safety seriously, which is why we're doing temperature checks for everyone attending, and providing masks and hand sanitizer.'

The campaign has already asked attendees to acknowledge the risk of exposure to COVID-19 at the rally and agree not to sue the campaign or the venue if they fall ill. Mayor Bynum said the city also has been indemnified from the risk of any lawsuits.

On Wednesday, the city's top health official, Bruce Dart, said he was worried the rally could become a 'super spreader' event and recommended it be postponed.

He warned attendees they face 'an increased risk' of contracting the coronavirus.

'So many people are over COVID but COVID is not over,' Dart said. He also asked people wear masks when out at events on Saturday.

'People coming together without taking precautions is what causes the virus to transmit,' Dart said.

Dart admitted he'd like to see the rally postponed but, since it wasn't going to be, then officials would deal with the fallout.

'I recommended we postpone it until its safer,' he said. 'If we could push it back to when the data tells its safer, that was my personal recommendation, that is what Id personally like to see happen. Its here so lets focus on staying safe while its here.'

Mayor Bynum expressed confidence that the city could handle any illness that resulted from the gathering.

He said local hospitals have plenty of protective equipment on hand and pointed out of the 120 beds dedicated to coronavirus patients, only three were occupied as of Wednesday.

G.T. Bynum, the mayor of Tulsa, lifted a curfew on the city ahead of Saturday's Trump rally

The Oklahoma Department of Health has urged senior citizens and other vulnerable individuals to 'stay home' ahead of the president's rally and watch a livestream of the event instead.

Commissioner Lance Frye said those looking to attend the president's rally 'will face an increased risk of becoming infected with COVID-19.'

The department has tripled its contact tracing team ahead of the rally, and Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when asked if he would attend replied: 'Of course not.'

Even Bynum admitted he wished it was not happening.

'I would love for some other city to have tried this first,' he said at a press conference Wednesday.

'But the president chose this city, and so it falls on us to set that standard moving forward.'

The anger at the date - which takes place on the holiday celebrating the end of slavery - meant that the rally got off to a bad start. Critics pointed to the Trump's administration handling of protests that sprung up around the country in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Tulsa was the site of one of the countrys bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence in 1921. Called the Tulsa Race Massacre, as many as 300 people were killed, more than 10,000 remained homeless, and, according to the Tulsa Race Riot Report of 2001, an estimated $1,470,711 was incurred in damage - equal to about $20 million today.

Trump has show some insensitivity on race relations. He also bragged he made 'Juneteenth very famous' in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He also admitted he learned about it from a black Secret Service agent and was surprised to hear the White House had put out a statement on the holiday last year.

'I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous,' he told the newspaper. 'Its actually an important event, its an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it. Actually, a young African-American Secret Service agent knew what it was. I had political people who had no idea.'

Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, chose the site and the date, The New York Times reported.

Oklahoma also was chosen for its Republican support - Trump carried the state by 36 points in the 2016 election. Additionally Tulsa has a Republican mayor. Most cities in the country are run by Democrats.

Trump supporters camp out near the BOK Center on Thursday, ahead of Saturday's rally

Fans of the president have been arriving at the site of his first campaign rally since March

Lines of people wait for the doors to open on Saturday for the Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma

'Think about it as a celebration,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News, when asked if the date was intentional. 'My rally is a celebration.' Pictured is Tulsa during the 1921 onslaught

Yet Trump and his aides failed to grasp the significance of holding a rally on Juneteenth.

Nor did they appear to realize that Tulsa was the site of one of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence, after a white mob killed attacked the affluent black community in 1921.

'Think about it as a celebration,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News shortly after the rally was announced, when asked if the date was intentional.

'My rally is a celebration.'

About 30 hours later, he changed the date to Saturday.

The error, however, is said to have refocused attention on how few African-American aides work on Trump's campaign or in the White House.

'They're stinging from it, they're reeling from it,' former Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, who was the first black Republican elected to Congress from south of the Mason-Dixon Line since Reconstruction, told The Times.

'Juneteenth was on the schedule before any rally was. People are reeling from it.'
SUNDAY, JUNE 14

Reacting to calls to 'defund' police

After days of national unrest and calls for police reforms, state and local officials began conversations about whether to rethink how law enforcement is funded and overseen.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his office is looking hard at state licensing of law enforcement to increase accountability, but he stopped short of calling for defunding police.

While the vast majority of police want to do the right thing, the governor said during a news conference, there is nevertheless racism that lives within the body of these organizations, of institutions like police departments, and so its very important, in particular, for us to weed that out, for us to demand accountability.

The defunding push has become a focus nationally as a result of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Pritzker said licensing, much like barbers or nurses, is one way to take it into an independent realm and away from a specific local police department and perhaps have a more independent body look at the problems that a police officer has brought to their job.

MONDAY, JUNE 15

Farmers take advantage of fast start

Most Central Illinois farmers finished planting last month and now are hoping the weather will cooperate during the summer growing season.

There is never a perfect season, but I am happy where things are right now, Logan County farmer Bob Lindsey said.

As of a week ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported all but 2% of the corn had been planted in Illinois. At the same point last year, only 65% of the corn had been planted. The five-year average is 92%.

Last year, the state recorded its wettest January through June on record and farmers didnt get into the fields until June. Some even reported planting in July. Last year, after the first week of June, only 46% of the corn had emerged while that total stood at 90% last week. The five-year average is 85%.

But this year was much better.

TUESDAY, JUNE 16

Lincoln gets a new mayor

Tracy Welch is officially the new mayor in Lincoln.

Welch was officially sworn in Monday night, a few moments after the council unanimously approved the nomination to replace Seth Goodman, who resigned June 5. There were no objections to the nomination prior to the vote.

After taking the oath of office, Welch stopped to shake everyones hand in the room before returning to his seat and reconvening the meeting.

Goodman had selected Welch as mayor pro tem and took over following Goodman's announcement. At a work session last week, Welch announced he would be interested in replacing Goodman for the remainder of his term, which expires April 30. Welch had already announced his intentions to run for mayor in the election next spring.

The council will need to fill a replacement for Welchs Ward 1 seat.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17

New rules set for firearms dealers

New permanent regulations that govern licensed firearms dealers in Illinois have finally been approved 18 months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law.

The General Assemblys Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, gave its OK to the rules at a meeting in Springfield.

The Firearms Dealers License Certification Act passed the General Assembly in May 2018, when Republican Bruce Rauner was governor. But knowing he was likely to veto it, lawmakers used a procedural maneuver to hold the bill until Democrat Pritzker took office in January. He signed it on Jan. 17, four days after being inaugurated.

The new law requires anyone with a federal firearms license who operates a retail gun store, which does not include gun shows, to also obtain a state certificate and to comply with regulations adopted by the Illinois State Police.

The Illinois State Rifle Association and several Illinois gun dealers filed suit challenging the laws constitutionality in Sangamon County Circuit Court. That case is still pending.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18

Tower Hill ex-treasurer sentenced

A federal judge sentenced former Tower Hill treasurer Nancy Finley to 21 months in prison for stealing more than $200,000 from the village.

Finley, 54, who lives in Pana, was also ordered to pay restitution totaling more than $261,000 to compensate for what she stole, the total including fees and other costs rung up to investigate and deal with the crime and its aftermath.

Finley made no comment or apology when U.S. District Court Judge Sue E. Myerscough gave her the opportunity to speak. The judge described her crime as appalling and a victim impact statement from Village President Phil Watson said Tower Hills finances had been devastated by Finleys systematic scheme of theft and fraud dating back years.

Watson said Finleys sustained looting of the municipal coffers had starved the tiny village  population 650  of vital funds it needed to repair and maintain its water infrastructure. Now, after years of being deprived of cash Finley stole, the village is facing big bills to rebuild and replace rather than fix neglected equipment.

FRIDAY, JUNE 19

Local lawmakers express frustration

Central Illinois Republican lawmakers expressed frustration about what they see as Gov. J.B. Pritzkers failure to include the Legislature in determining how to reopen Illinois amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking during a McLean County Chamber of Commerce State of the State webinar, lawmakers said the governor has not adequately recognized differences among regions when outlining when and how businesses could reopen. They also expressed concerns over the recently enacted state budget for fiscal 2021 and the impact a graduated income tax could have on the business community and the middle class.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said, I think there was widespread buy-in to the governors order initially," but more recently there has been frustration over his approach.

Pritzker closed schools and issued a stay-at-home order in mid-March. In early May, he unveiled the Restore Illinois plan, which allows the state to reopen in stages. The current phase allows for the return of manufacturing and retail sales, outdoor restaurant dining and social gatherings of no more than 10 people who keep at least 6 feet apart from one another and wear face masks.

State Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton, said the Legislature has not been a partner in the process.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A 65-year-old Covid patient, who went missing from a government hospital in the city, was allegedly found dead in the Cooum on Friday. According to police sources, local residents noticed the body floating a few hundred metres away from the Napier Bridge.

Police and fire personnel rushed to the spot. Personnel wearing protective gear pulled the body out and sent it to a government hospital for autopsy.

Police sources said they checked a complaint filed by Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and concluded that the dead man was the one who went missing on June 15. It is not clear where he was all these days. The man had gone missing just before being shifted to a care centre.
Venezuela to take US sanctions case to International Criminal Court

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 8:09 AM

The Venezuelan government has vowed to take the United States to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to new unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington on the Latin American country.

The administration in Washington introduced sanctions on Thursday that targeted Mexican companies and individuals for allegedly attempting to evade US restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector.

"Washington continues to narrow the circle around Venezuela. They [the United States] believe that we cannot export oil and the Venezuelan people are left without food products, medicines, and petrol," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza wrote on his Twitter page later in the day.

"The UN multipolar system must respond. We will go the International Criminal Court over this case," he added.

Iran, which is also under harsh US sanctions, opened a case at the Hague-based court in 2018, calling on the organization to suspend unilateral economic sanctions imposed by Washington after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 international nuclear deal.

Venezuela descended into political turmoil after opposition figure Juan Guido unilaterally declared himself "interim president" of the country in January last year, and with Washington's assistance and help from a small number of rogue soldiers, later launched a botched putsch against the elected government. There was also an attempt at assassinating the legitimately-elected President Nicolas Maduro with a drone in 2018.

Guaido's self-proclamation and his coup received backing from the US administration.

Washington has imposed several rounds of crippling sanctions against the oil-rich South American country aimed at ousting Maduro and replacing him with Guaido.

The sanctions, which include the illegal confiscation of Venezuelan assets abroad and an economic blockade, have caused enormous suffering for millions of people in the country.

In yet another show of animosity toward the government in Caracas, a group of US-backed mercenaries attempted to intrude into the northern Venezuelan state of La Guaira on speedboats last month, but the country's military foiled the attack, killing eight of the armed men and arresting several others.

One of the two US citizens arrested during the marine incursion said in a public interrogation on Venezuelan state TV that the purpose of the military operation had been to seize an airport in Caracas, kidnap Maduro, and take him to the US.

The contract under which the mercenaries carried out the attack bore Guaido's signature as well as those of other opposition figures.

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WASHINGTON - A federal judge Friday castigated former Trump aide John Bolton for publishing a White House memoir without formal government confirmation that it revealed no classified information but seemed doubtful he could block its imminent publication.

In a 90-minute hearing held by videoconference in Washington, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth grilled the Justice Department over how he could prevent the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies of Bolton's book, which in advance of a Tuesday release has already been distributed around the world and heavily excerpted in the media.

"The Room Where It Happened" recounts Bolton's 19 months as President Donald Trump's top national security official and offers a withering portrait of the president as an "erratic" and "stunningly uninformed" leader. Bolton called Trump incompetent and "unfit for office" in promotional interviews.

"The horse, as we used to say in Texas, seems to be out of the barn," Lamberth said to Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Morrell.

But the judge also blasted Bolton's attorney for not waiting for the government to complete a pre-publication review for classified information before publishing, saying Bolton "didn't get written authority."

"Once he invoked that process, he can't just walk away, and he didn't tell the government he was walking away," Lamberth said.

Lamberth said he would rule swiftly after reviewing sealed government submissions of alleged classified secrets in Bolton's manuscript later Friday. Analysts predicted a split verdict in the legal and political showdown - Bolton may get to release his book but never reap the financial benefits and some publication activity might be barred or delayed.

The government sued Bolton Tuesday, seven days before the planned June 23 publication, targeting any of Bolton's profits from the 592-page book, including a reported $2 million advance.

The government did not sue publisher Simon & Schuster but argued in a potentially precedent-setting step for the court to enjoin Bolton, his publisher and bookstores from distribution.

"Disclosure of the manuscript will damage the national security of the United States," the Justice Department wrote in a 37-page emergency request Wednesday, citing declarations by four of the government's highest-ranking national security officials. The filing included a sealed submission alleging six examples of book passages requiring protection.

Bolton attorney Charles Cooper said in Friday's hearing that Bolton participated in an "exhaustive, meticulous, deeply searching pre-publication process." He was informed April 27 by a career White House official assigned to conduct the review, Ellen Knight, that the final version of the book did not contain classified material, Cooper said.

At that point, Cooper argued, Bolton fulfilled his obligation to the government. But Trump and White House aides withheld a final confirmation letter, "attempting to run out the clock before the [November] election," Bolton said in a declaration. Cooper accused the administration of politicizing and abusing the review process to silence Bolton.

On Friday, Lamberth pressed Morrell on whether President Trump himself was involved in the process of clearing the book for publication and if high-level officials normally intervene in classification reviews.

Morrell said he had not met with Trump and knew of no precedent, but said the case involved "an extraordinary set of facts."

"What you have here is a national security adviser . . . detailing or providing details about ongoing policy matters during the same administration in which he served," Morrell said.

Morrell said Bolton chose to "bail" on the pre-publication process and now must be "creative" to solve "a problem of his own making."

Cooper argued the hearing was mere "theater" for the government because Bolton is "utterly powerless" to stop a book already made public. More than 200,000 copies have already been distributed around the world, Cooper said. He cited "surreal" images Thursday of a CBS News reporter asking a White House spokeswoman about the emergency request with a book in hand.

Bolton's liability turns on a complex legal question - whether the manuscript includes properly classified information that Bolton agreed never to disclose without approval, particularly the most sensitive category of top secret "sensitive compartmentalized information" or TS/SCI.

If the judge agrees, the Justice Department also could seek to prosecute Bolton for publishing the book without authorization.

In government filings, Michael Ellis - a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and the National Security Council's new senior director for intelligence - said passages of the memoir "reasonably could be expected to cause damage, serious damage, or exceptionally grave damage to the United States."

In a separate declaration Wednesday, Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, said a limited portion of the draft manuscript "implicates" TS/SCI. He said "compromise of this information could result in the permanent loss of a valuable [signal intelligence] source and cause irreparable damage to the U.S. [signal intelligence] system."

At the hearing, Morrell acknowledged he could confirm only three of the samples given to the judge were classified before Ellis took over the review. However, Morrell said one of the six samples was TS/SCI.

Cooper called Ellis's review of the book "very troubling," noting the official only received authority to classify information March 1, and was not trained until after he completed reviewing Bolton's book. Cooper added that before Wednesday, "at no point in any of these proceedings lasting over six months did the government even hint there was SCI in this."

Lamberth said he would need a sealed hearing to evaluate the classified claims, and that he would later seek to learn more from Knight.

Even if the book contains properly classified material, Cooper and First Amendment advocates representing U.S. writers, book publishers and news media, including The Washington Post, argued the court cannot prevent the harm the government claims it will suffer by entering a sweeping order barring Simon & Schuster and individual booksellers from sales.

The Supreme Court has never upheld an attempt to stop publication of a work on matters of public importance, First Amendment law specialist Theodore Boutrous Jr. said in a friend-of-the-court brief for PEN America, a nonprofit writers group. He added the government has sought to circumvent that doctrine of so-called prior restraint on free speech and free press by asking the court to order Bolton to stop his publisher.

"The President is employing the apparatus of the federal government to punish his political enemies, thwart freedom of speech and pursue his political interests in an election year," Boutrous wrote.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer who has represented more than two dozen current and former government employees who have sought to publish books, said the likelihood of the government being able to show "irreparable harm" if the injunction is not granted is "literally impossible."

"Nothing in the Government's classified, in camera filing will change that fact," Zaid said. "But absent some cataclysmic event occurring, Bolton is facing loss of millions of dollars."

Changes demanded Tuesday by the White House were "sweeping" and apparently would eliminate passages describing most of Trump's conversations with advisers, foreign leaders and numerous others portraying him in an unflattering light, Bolton said in a court filing.

Among its disclosures already reported, the book states Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 U.S. election, confirms Trump attempted to use military aid to pressure Ukraine on political investigations, and says Trump expressed willingness to halt or obstruct criminal investigations as personal favors to authoritarian foreign leaders.

Trump has responded on Twitter by calling Bolton a "Wacko" and claimed that the former close aide's account is "a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad."
New Delhi:

Pakistan yet again violated ceasefire early on Saturday morning in Pallanwala sector of Akhnoor, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The firing has been going on since 4am, Pakistan resorted to heavy mortar shelling along the border.

Since Indias surgical strike on Thursday, this is the the fourth incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistan. The Indian Army caused significant casualties to terrorists, destroying seven terrorists launchpads across the LoC.

On Thursday also, Pakistan resorted to small arms fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector.

People residing near the border areas have already been evacuated as preventive steps. The four border areas of Punjab, Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat are already on high alert.

More details are awaited on ceasefire violation.

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India logs over 3.17 lakh new Covid cases in last 24 hours; daily positivity rate up at 16.41 per cent

India rebuts Chinas claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, calls it untenable

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, June 20: Rejecting China's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a strong rebuttal and stated that attempts by Beijing to now advance "exaggerated and untenable claims" with regard to Line of Actual Control there are not acceptable.

"The position with regard to the Galwan Valley area has been historically clear. Attempts by the Chinese side to now advance exaggerated and untenable claims with regard to Line of Actual Control (LAC) there are not acceptable. They are not in accordance with China's own position in the past," said MEA Official Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Mischievous interpretation! Govt clarifies on PMs statement during all party meet on China

"Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the LAC in all sectors of the India-China border areas, including in the Galwan Valley. They abide by it scrupulously here, as they do elsewhere. The Indian side has never undertaken any actions across the LAC. In fact, they have been patrolling this area for a long time without any incident. All infrastructure built by the Indian side is naturally on its own side of the LAC."

Earlier, the PMO issued a statement after opposition parties latched onto Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that India did not suffer any intrusion by the Chinese in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

20 Indian soldiers were killed at the valley when a six-week border standoff with China escalated violently on the night of June 15, triggering massive tensions between the two countries.

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Story first published: Saturday, June 20, 2020, 20:11 [IST]
Audio Attachment: Listen to Daniel Okyem Aboagye in an interview with Akosua Ago Aboagye on Peace FM.

Incumbent NPP Member of Parliament for Bantama constituency, Daniel Okyem Aboagye has said the show of affluence and moneycracy played a major role in him losing his seat to the deputy Chief of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye in Saturday's internal contest.



"I was very confident I'd win considering the projects I did . . . we were confident but at the same time, I knew the decision was for the delegates to make . . . I've congratulated Asenso and promised to offer him my cooperation," the defeated Okyem Aboagye said in interview with Peace FM's Akosua Ago Aboagye.



Money role



Daniel Okyem Aboagye who has congratulated the deputy Chief of Staff has accepted his defeat but thinks had it not been the sharing of monies and goodies, the story would have been different.



"To be honest with you, money played part, a lot of goodies, and monies and other things played a big part . . . at the end of the day whether it is money or not he has won . . . I am okay with the outcome," he stated.



Wide margin



The incumbent MP who was beaten with a margin of 334 votes said he expected a close contest but for money.



"I was expecting a margin of about 20, 30 at most for somebody to beat somebody," he said, adding that some of the delegates eventually switched at a bigger price to his disadvantage.



"It played a bigger bigger part . . . of course it is part of the process," he said, while admitting to the fact that money is a part of the electoral process.



Contest results



Francis Asenso-Boakye had 456 of total votes cast and Daniel Okyem Aboagye had 122 according to the Electoral Commission returning officer.



Earlier delegates in the constituency started jubilating after three stronghold centres of the incumbent MP were declared in Asenso-Boakye's favour.



According to them, since Asenso-Boakye won in all the three centres, 'it was a foregone conclusion'.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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This acquisition broadens the offering of Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS) by adding solid oral dosage form capabilities (tablets and capsules) in North America. Until now, PPS' capabilities in solid oral dosage forms were all located in the UK and India. The Sellersville site can also produce liquids, creams, and ointments, further expanding the PPS portfolio. The site also can support product and process development for solid oral dosage and oral liquids, including immediate release, modified release, chewable & sublingual solid oral dosage forms, solutions and suspensions in liquids. The site has received certifications from the FDA and EMA.

"Many of our customers are looking for US-based manufacturing partners to expand and support their pipeline. This acquisition strengthens our ability to partner with them on best-in-class drug products. It enhances our market-leading integrated services offering by adding a solid oral dosage capability in the US. We now offer solid oral drug product development and commercial manufacturing in all our major geographies, addressing a previously unmet customer need and strengthening our ability to work globally with customers to reduce the burden of disease on patients," said Peter DeYoung, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Pharma Solutions

The Sellersville site covers 31.5 acres of land with over 221,000 square feet of manufacturing space, including 195,000 square feet of GMP area. The site features dedicated manufacturing and packaging technologies for solid oral dosage forms, liquids, creams, and ointments; QC and microbiology labs; state-of-the-art preformulation and analytical development infrastructure coupled with a pilot lab for research and development; and a temperature-controlled warehouse. The site currently has the necessary controls to support manufacturing of potent solid oral dosage forms. PPS intends to offer high potency drug manufacturing capabilities at the site, complementing the Company's global strength in highly potent compounds. The site employs a highly knowledgeable and experienced workforce of ~100, with an average of 19 years of service with the site. PPS expects to further grow the site's current strength to support development services as well as any COVID-19 management drug opportunities.

Expanding the PPS service offerings directly supports the Company's philosophy of Patient Centricity. Understanding the needs of patients and building an organization that is dedicated to addressing those needs is the foundation of Patient Centricity. By putting patients first, PPS is aligning its mission with that of its customers, becoming better partners who share a common goal.

About Piramal Pharma Solutions:

Piramal Pharma Solutions is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), offering end-to-end development and manufacturing solutions across the drug life cycle. We serve our clients through a globally integrated network of facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. This enables us to offer a comprehensive range of services including Drug Discovery Solutions, Process & Pharmaceutical Development services, Clinical Trial Supplies, Commercial supply of APIs and Finished dosage forms. We also offer specialized services like development and manufacture of Highly Potent APIs and Antibody Drug Conjugation. Our capability as an integrated service provider & experience with various technologies enables us to serve Innovator and Generic companies worldwide. For more information and updates, please visit: www.piramalpharmasolutions.com | Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn

About Piramal Enterprises Limited:

Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) is one of India's large diversified companies, with presence in Financial Services and Pharmaceuticals. PEL's consolidated revenues were ~US$1.7 billion in FY2020, with ~34% of revenues generated from outside India.

In Financial Services, PEL offers a complete suite of financial products in both wholesale and retail financing across sectors. The Group has long-standing partnerships with leading institutional investors such as CPPIB, APG, Ivanhoe Cambridge (subsidiary of CDPQ) and Bain Capital Credit. PEL also has equity investments in the Shriram Group, a leading financial conglomerate in India.

In Pharma, through end-to-end manufacturing capabilities across 13 global facilities and a large global distribution network to over 100 countries, PEL sells a portfolio of niche differentiated pharma products and provides an entire pool of pharma services (including in the areas of injectable, HPAPI etc.). The Company is also strengthening its presence in the Consumer Product segment in India.

PEL is listed on the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited in India. For more information and updates, please visit: www.piramal.com | Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

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In what he admitted is the most "optimistic reading" of the aviation industry for any country, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said he expects India's domestic sector to reach pre-COVID-19 levels anytime between Diwali and the end of this year.

"We will get to 55 percent of the original summer schedule by mid-July....and then you have four-and-a-half months to Diwali," said the minister, before adding that the sector will reach its 2019-level by the end of this year.

Diwali, this year, falls on November 14.

At present, domestic operations - which resumed on May 25 - are running on one-third of the summer schedule. The Minister reiterated that by the time the domestic flights scale up to 55 percent, international flights will be reopened in some form or the other.

Puri, who was addressing a media briefing in Delhi on June 20, added that by mid-July, the fourth phase of the Vande Bharat Mission repatriation exercise will be on. He hinted that while the Mission itself would have scaled up further in its fourth phase, international operations will also begin.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Underlining his outlook, the Minister said to a media person in a lighter vein, "You want to bet... am not a betting man, and don't have much money either."

In 2019, he pointed out, the Indian aviation industry flew an average of 3.5 lakh passengers a day. Airlines operated about 650 aircraft between them.

In contrast, the aviation industry at present flies about 60,000 passengers a day and much of the fleet remains grounded. Even the one-third quota for flights that the government allows, has not been filled. Since the flights resumed, Puri informed, the highest for a day has been 72,000 passengers.

Puri's optimism though goes against the mood that otherwise prevails in the industry. Earlier this week, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo, said that the country's largest airline expects to operate 70 percent of its pre-COVID-19 flights by the end of 2020. Senior executives from other airlines admit that getting to even 70 percent will be a tough ask.

So what makes Puri so optimistic?

International comparison

The Minister perhaps takes the cue from what's happening in the aviation industry of other countries.

Even at 25 percent of the original schedule, which most of the airlines are now operating, the Indian domestic industry seems to be doing better than most of its international peers.

Puri pointed out that in the US, 28 percent of flights are operational. The number in the UK is 6.9 percent, in Australia about 15 percent,Germany 4.9 percent, and 9 percent in Brazil. Only China seems to have got its domestic pie nearly in place, already opening 80 percent of its pre-COVID-19 flights.

In India, to further push the demand, the Ministry plans to open up more routes and increase frequency of flights on routes that are seeing heavy demand.



"By the time we reach 55 percent, which is about 1.5 lakh to 1.6 lakh passengers a day, we can think of opening up international flights," Puri said.

While opening the skies from May 25, the government had fixed the schedule and a fare band till August 24.

Scaling up Vande Bharat Mission

Puri said that the government plans to further scale up Vande Bharat Mission flights.

The repatriation exercise, which started off with 64 flights bringing back 12,000 Indians in the first phase, has now scaled to 581 flights in its third phase. Till now, 1.09 lakh Indians have come back.

Moreover, Air India will operate 300 additional flights, the Minister said. He added that private airlines have been allotted 750 flights, but didn't specify if these are for just the third phase. The fourth phase will being in July.

While Air India had got near monopoly in the first two phases, private airlines - IndiGo, Vistara and GoAir - have joined the exercise now.

The Minister pointed out that while the private airlines will not have market fares for these flights, he also hinted that these carriers are charging fares that are 'comparable' to those charged by Air India.

Air India divestment

Though divestment of the national carrier has been delayed because of COVID-19, Puri said he wasn't more sure of the process being successful, than he is now.

never been as hopeful or optimistic about Air India

"I havedivestment as I am now," said the Minister. He added the the Vande Bharat exercise has shown that the airline has the required resources - pilots, routes, destinations and fleet -to attract investors.
Mourners take part in a funeral procession for Colonel Santosh Babu, the most senior Indian officer killed in the clashes, in his home town of Suryapet, about 140 kilometres from Hyderabad, on Thursday. Credit:AP

New Delhi: India's prime minister is meeting top opposition leaders as the government tries to lower tensions with China after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash in a Himalayan border region.

India and China accuse each other of instigating the fight in the Galwan Valley, part of the disputed Ladakh region along the Himalayan frontier. It was the deadliest conflict between the sides in 45 years. China has not said whether it suffered any casualties.

Both countries said they were communicating through military and diplomatic channels and stressed the importance of their broader relationship. Experts say the two nations were unlikely to head to war, but that easing tensions quickly will be difficult.

Soldiers brawled with clubs, rocks and their fists in the thin air at 4270 metres (14,000 feet) above sea level, but no shots were fired, Indian officials have said. The soldiers carry firearms but are not allowed to use them under a previous agreement in the border standoff dispute.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has approved Egypts regulation for the resumption of tourism to Egypt and offered the country the Safe Travel Stamp on Saturday.

In a video conference call Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO, told Khaled El-Enany, the Egyptian minister of tourism and antiquities she is "delighted to see major countries and destinations such as Egypt and Slovenia joining the growing list of global destinations adopting our private sector protocols. This not only shows the success of the WTTC Safe Travel Stamp, but also demonstrates its importance to travellers and those who work in the sector.

We thank these destination countries and cities for working with WTTC and this time is the time for cooperation.

"This is a milestone in our bilateral cooperation with the WTTC," El-Enany said.

The WTTC decision reflects Egypt's commitment to the safe resumption of inbound tourism with strict comprehensive hygiene safety measures starting 1 July to its superb, sunny, and healthy beaches, he added.

Egypt is looking forward to welcoming you soon in its resorts in the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates and the Mediterranean coast in Marsa Matrouh governorate, he said.

The WTTC designed the stamp to enable travellers to identify destinations and businesses that adopt its hygiene and safe travel protocols.

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Nashville-based Mark & Sarah Tillman have prefaced their brand new album (due out later this year) with a new single. "Just Jesus" is now available everywhere for streaming and download.

Mark & Sarah's story began back in 2008 when Toronto ministry, Catch the Fire (formerly Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship) caught a vision & planted its first of many churches in Raleigh, NC. Sarah, a Toronto native, was brought up in the revival culture that saw millions of people, from nations all over the globe, come to Toronto and get transformed by the Father heart of God.

A visit to the newly planted Catch the Fire Raleigh is where Sarah would meet Mark in early 2009. Mark, a North Carolina native, was raised amongst the worship culture of North Carolina where so many influential ministries were birthed. Both carrying a heart for creativity and songwriting, the pair were inseparable from the beginning.

Soon after meeting, songs and a relationship would start to unfold. The pair was instrumental in the young adult/college ministry worship of Catch the Fire Raleigh, which transformed to leading, amongst dear friends, the worship vision of the church. Over the past 10 years at Catch the Fire, they have released 2 full-length albums, a handful of singles (live and studio), and traveled with the ministry as well as on their own, leading worship. Now they find themselves, a family of 4, with 2 young children, based in Nashville, TN with hearts burning for a generation more than ever.

Their first full-length album, "In My Bones", was released in 2013. Their second album, "Morning Sun, Rising Tide" was released in 2018 and has garnered over 3 million streams across platforms to date.

Tags : Mark & Sarah Tillman Mark & Sarah Tillman new single Mark & Sarah Tillman just jesus
Imagine being a child. Completely without power. Imagine if Daddy, who's meant to love and keep you safe, does unspeakable things to you sexually - things you don't even have a name for. Then imagine how you might look for help. What to do to get it stopped. Who you could tell. This secret is so appalling you can't possibly hide it.

Could you confide in your mother? She's in his power too. An older brother or sister? They don't have autonomy. But there must be someone you can talk to.

What about a teacher? You're frightened you'll be called a liar - you don't expect anyone to listen to you. After all, you can hardly believe this living nightmare yourself. And your father has threatened you with foster care if you say anything. You might never see your family again.

A police officer? You belong to a community which isn't on good terms with the Garda and you've been taught to steer clear of them.

How about a doctor or nurse? You're with your mother when you see them and she doesn't want the family to be shamed.

It dawns on you there is nowhere to turn - there is no help. You must simply endure. And the horror continues.

For 23 years, James O'Reilly (75) raped his sister and seven daughters, one of whom gave birth to a child who was both daughter and granddaughter to him. Court reports tell of the girls being beaten, starved and forced to live in squalor and poverty.

O'Reilly, who moved his daughters around the country, denied the charges but was jailed this week for 20 years.

He raped his sister when she was 13 and turned his attention to his eldest daughter when she was aged between four and six. At first, it was sexual abuse but he escalated to rape when the little girl was eight. She was violated repeatedly, as were her sisters.

These women can hold their heads high. They are survivors. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, who heard the case, paid tribute to their "courage, dignity, remarkable stoicism" and - a real mark of their exceptional qualities - "an occasional flash of good humour". Their love and support for one another as they gathered on the courtroom steps was a joy to witness.

But standing there, they posed a series of haunting questions which cannot be ignored. They boil down to this: were they left to suffer for so long by State agencies because they were Travellers?

An inquiry is needed to supply answers. What contact did these women have, as children, with representatives of the State, from teachers to social services? Did the victims report it? If so, was an attempt at intervention made?

Did any of the State's agents suspect something was wrong - even if none of the children made a complaint? O'Reilly was able to engage in child abuse for a prolonged period - how was it allowed to continue for so many years? What can we learn from this case and how can supports be improved?

There is much we don't know but we do know this. Racism towards Travellers contributed to the problems experienced by these women in grappling with an appalling ordeal.

If you belong to a community on the margins, you do not turn to the mainstream for help because you don't expect it will be given. If you belong to a group viewed with suspicion by broader society - all of you tarnished when one does anything wrong - you do not ask outsiders to lend a hand.

Your instinct is to protect your excluded community, even when the terror and pain you are experiencing originates from there.

These eight outstanding women have told how difficult it was for them to reveal their suffering. It is natural to want to protect your family's reputation. Going public is hard for all victims - but particularly so when speaking out might be regarded as an act of disloyalty towards both family and community. They had not just the fear of stigmatisation to overcome, but the risk of being ostracised by their own community.

This case, however, is about more than child abuse, nauseating though it is - it's about how Travellers are treated in Irish society.

"We recognise racism outside Ireland but we're in denial about the racism here toward Travellers," National Women's Council of Ireland director Orla O'Connor told the Irish Independent.

"Violence and racism are at the core of this and any new government must have policies to deal with both."

She noted that it wasn't some historic case - the rapes only ended in 2000. What happened cannot be relegated conveniently to the past.

Silence about child abuse, looking away and a reluctance to act have been the norm until relatively recently in Irish life. Child abuse is no more or less prevalent among Travellers than the broader society, but Travellers who are abused face higher hurdles which prevent them from coming forward.

We need to ask ourselves how people in the Traveller community can be supported. Traveller women face discrimination anyway as women, and doubly so as Traveller women. They are more vulnerable because they face social exclusion, and there is a greater likelihood they will experience poverty.

They need more State help, not less - but they and their children face obstacles to accessing these life-changing supports. Discrimination, even just the fear of it, prevents Traveller women from seeking protection from State services.

Some of the more successful initiatives are based within the Traveller community, such as primary healthcare projects. These are particularly important because Travellers are liable to experience health problems and die earlier, compared with their fellow citizens. Infant mortality rates are higher. In the labour market, Travellers are more likely to be unemployed and on low incomes.

In education, there are lower levels of literacy, although improvements have been made in recent times. ESRI research shows just 8pc of Travellers aged 25 to 34 reached Leaving Certificate level, compared with 86pc in the wider community.

The one-size-fits-all model of service provision for the entire Irish population doesn't work for Travellers. Services need to be culturally sensitive if they are to be effective. One solution is dedicated protection strategies aimed at Traveller women and children, in addition to dedicated supports for the Traveller population.

There are some 30,000 Travellers in the State, who were recognised formally as a minority ethnic group in 2017. They speak Cant, their own language, and have their own traditions. Nomadism was an integral element of their culture but most now remain in one place - around three-quarters live in a house.

Sometimes in Irish life there is a view that Travellers are people to tolerate rather than celebrate. Anyone of that persuasion needs to take a closer look at the eight O'Reilly women. These extraordinary individuals are role models - not just for the Traveller community but broader society.
These findings were bleak enough to make one journalist conclude, power causes brain damage. But powerful people are not incapable of empathy and should not be let off the hook from working at it. Like other skills, empathy takes practice, and people practice it when they are motivated to do so. Individuals who are relatively underprivileged realize they need others to succeed, whereas people with power often decide they can go it alone. Consistent with this idea, lower-status individuals pay more attention to faces, people and social cues than those with high status.
A young boy Brady Timinski from New Jersey started a Black Lives Matter petition after seeing a documentary that showed how difficult life was for Bill Russell and other black players in the 1960s. Russell played from 1956 to 1969.

Hello. Would you like to stop racism? Please sign your name in the comments. Please. Thank you, Brady said in the video, holding up a sign that read Black Lives Maders.

Russell saw the petition on Twitter. He quote-tweeted the video, writing, Sign me up Brady! I have great Hope for our future with smart guys like you leading the way. Please join me and sign Bradys petition. #BlackLivesMatter.

Russell also wrote in the tweets comment section, Brady I wanted to make sure you saw I was one of the first to sign your petition. Thank you for doing this it will make a difference your parents should be very proud of you as am I. Keep up the good work. We have a bright future with kids like you taking action. @NBA.

Brady is 7 and in the second grade, USA Today reported.

Bradys mother Jennifer Timinski initially tweeted the video and wrote, After watching a documentary about the Lakers & Celtics rivalry in the 60s and seeing how poorly players like Bill Russell were treated, Brady (on his own) made this petition and is asking for support to stop racism. His goal is 100 signatures.

The video (posted Thursday) had received 62,400 thousand views and 287 comments as of 11:55 a.m. Saturday.

Russell, 86, received the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2011.

Russell recently called President Donald Trump divisive and a coward for his national anthem stance. President Trump has made it known that he remains against athletes kneeling.

You projected your narrative that #TakingAKnee is disrespectful & #UnAmerican it was never about that! Russell tweeted, with a picture of himself kneeling attached. You are divisive & a coward. It takes true courage 2 stand 4 what is right & risk your life in the midst of a #pandemic. #Proud2kneel #BlackLivesMatter.

#Trump you projected your narrative that #TakingAKnee is disrespectful & #UnAmerican it was never about that! You are divisive & a coward. It takes true courage 2 stand 4 what is right & risk your life in the midst of a #pandemic #Proud2kneel #BlackLivesMatter @MSNBC @BostonGlobe https://t.co/nhNITHSrxo pic.twitter.com/h0PuUYVFwu  TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) June 7, 2020

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A federal judge on Saturday denied the Trump administration an emergency temporary restraining order to block the release of former national security advisor John Boltons book, "The Room Where It Happened."

The big picture: Copies of the book already leaked to a number of media outlets and its biggest claims have been widely published, including Bolton's allegation that President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to increase agricultural purchases from the U.S. in order to improve his electoral prospects in farm states.

The White House has claimed that the book contains classified information. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming Bolton breached his non-disclosure agreement by failing to have the book properly reviewed.

Judge Royce Lamberth said the fact that Bolton did not obtain an official endorsement from the White House that the book was free of classified material effectively violated his NDA.

He added that Bolton should have proactively sued instead of moving to publish if he felt the White House had disrupted the classification review process: "I dont really understand why you decided to take that risk."

Bolton's lawyer, Charles Cooper argued during the hearing that the government's case was "theater": "The horse is out of the barn. ... The speech has been spoken. It cant now be unspoke."

What they're saying:

"Defendant Bolton has gambled with the national security of the United States. He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the Court. The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm."

 U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth

Charles Cooper , Bolton's attorney, said: "We respectfully take issue, however, with the Courts preliminary conclusion at this early stage of the case that Ambassador Bolton did not comply fully with his contractual prepublication obligation to the Government, and the case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue."

, Bolton's attorney, said: "We respectfully take issue, however, with the Courts preliminary conclusion at this early stage of the case that Ambassador Bolton did not comply fully with his contractual prepublication obligation to the Government, and the case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue." Trump's press secretary Kayleigh McEnany released a statement saying, "The court rightly chastised Bolton for treating as 'intolerable' a review process for his book that the court believed was 'reasonable...' The Government intends to hold Bolton to the further requirements of his agreements and to ensure that he receives no profits from his shameful decision."

Worth noting: Bolton has come under criticism for declining to testify during Trump's impeachment hearings, despite claiming to know about the president's involvement in a campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Joe Biden.
Former chief of army staff VK Singh, minister of state for road transport and highways in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, says the latest transgression by China across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into Indian territory has created a trust deficit between the two Asian giants, but cautions that war should be the last resort.

Asked what would be an apt response to the Chinese aggression, which led to a violent brawl on June 15 in the Gwalan valley in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Indian soldiers dead, Singh said in an interview: If youre going to tell about the response now, then the response is of no use whatsoever. I am sure the required people have been tasked to think of what can be done, what cannot be done and what all measures have to be taken.

In the melee where there are over 600 people just jostling, scuffling, pushing and hitting each other and in a dark night some people got separated; their people on our side and our people on their side. But in the morning they were exchanged.

Singh added: The first thing that has been given out is to boycott Chinese goods, lets start with this. Lets hurt them economically, other things will follow. War and use of force is the last resort always and every time. When all other means fail then you resort to this. There are many means available.

Singhs comments come in the backdrop of outrage over the June 15 skirmish, in which Chinese troops armed with nail-studded rods and clubs attacked Indian troops. The 20 Indians who died were the first fatalities in a confrontation with Chinese troops in 45 years.

The former army chief said the situation was firmly in control of Indian troops. There are no intrusions. There are transgressions, not intrusions, he said.

On the May confrontation in Pangong Tso, he said:  ... this is not just a yearly feature, but happens in the summer and sometimes in the winter also. These have been happening, the only difference this time is that the transgression has involved a certain amount of stealth in the Pangong Tso area, theyve done things which they have never done earlier.

Singh said subsequent negotiations centred on wherever there have been transgressions such as Patrol Point 14 where they said LAC is not this way but is a different way.

They have been told that we been sitting here on this for decades now, where is the doubt?. Same is true for other regions including Chumar. They try and come to the heights opposite the DBO [Daulat Begh Oldi]. All this is very old, its not something which is new. What is new is as the infrastructure becomes better they try to overawe us by more strength or vehicles.

Singh said the Chinese were not on Indian territory across the LAC, asked about China laying claim to Galwan.

The LAC is an interpretation from a map given in 1959 and Chinese keep advancing some claim or the other. The LAC is not marked on the ground, there is no agreement on it. There is a certain amount of flexibility that exists out there. But there are places where both sides know their own sides and ensure these are protected. Where there is no-mans land, which comes up because of these perceptional differences, is where these patrol face-offs take place, he added.

Asked about Congress president Sonia Gandhis question at the all-party meeting with the PM on Friday if here had been an intelligence failure, Singh said::I am not in a position to respond because intelligence is a domain that is looked after by the RA&W {Research and Analysis Wing}. What I can refute is that it is a military intelligence failure...

Singh said the Chinese aggression across the LAC may be an attempt to deflect attention from other issues.

Why would China try to do things on the border, it is there any reason? In China nothing happens at the local level, it all comes from the top and who is the head of the military commission, {President} Xi Jinping. So this is not like India where broad instructions are there and commanders do their own things. What is it that they want to divert attention from? They are in the firing line of all the countries in the world because of Covid, they are having problems in Hong Kong, they hav problems in the South China Sea, they have trade problems with the United States, everybody is blaming them for everything. It means they want to divert attention from something.

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For the first Time, the masses die in Guinea-Bissau at the end of February. A worker discovered on the edge of a rice field more than 200 dead vulture. He informed the authorities of Bafata, a Region in the centre of the country. Environmentalists from the organization for the conservation and development of wetlands in Guinea-Bissau and the staff of the bird force Bird-Life found in Bafata more carcasses.

Thilo Thielke

Free Rapporteur for Africa, based in Cape town.

F. A. Z. Twitter

There were many: between the 4. 24.March came, the bird's friends on the Remains of 145 dead scavengers. They traveled also in other regions of the country, according to Gabu in the East and on the Bijagos archipelago, an island group in the Atlantic ocean. Almost anywhere you were able to find.

Meanwhile, the Bird-Life staff assume that in Guinea-Bissau, a small West African state with barely two million inhabitants, in the past half year, more than 2000 vultures were poisoned. According to vulture protection organization, The Vulture Conservation Foundation is the largest mass poisoning in the past ten years.

endangered species

It is a torment must have been full of death. Farmers from the area reports, the vultures would have looked for in their death struggle for water, and from their beaks the foam was gone. Some of the dead animals, the heads had been cut off. This suggests that their Remains are used by medical men for witchcraft. Whether they were killed by them, is unclear. Apparently had been scattered in some areas of the country strychnine on dumps, to poison stray dogs.

Almost always it was the dead vultures to endangered hooded vulture. These birds of prey are scientifically called Necrosyrtes monachus and with a body length of 60 to 70 centimeters and relatively small. At the edge of human settlements, they feed on garbage and Carrion, while on the coast also hunt for molluscs and fish.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 06:20
Tim Hoettges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, exits the Manhattan Federal Court in New York

BERLIN (Reuters) - It would be wrong for Germany to impose blanket bans on foreign vendors of telecoms network equipment, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges said on Friday, in an answer to a question about China's Huawei Technologies.

"Excluding one provider would reduce our flexibility. We oppose blanket bans," Hoettges told Deutsche Telekom's annual general meeting.

Deutsche Telekom is relying mainly on Huawei to build the 5G mobile network in Germany, and this week extended coverage to 16 million people, or around 20% of the population. Its other supplier of radio access network gear is Ericsson.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; editing by Thomas Seythal)
Turkish bombardment has killed a Kurdish shepherd in northern Iraq, a local official said on Friday, the first known civilian victim of Ankara's air and ground assault on the region. The official from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Ihsan Chalabi, told AFP the shepherd was killed early Thursday morning when Turkish air strikes hit the Bradost district. On Wednesday, Turkey launched a cross-border operation into the mountainous terrain of northern Iraq where the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has rear bases. Ankara considers the PKK a "terrorist" organisation because of its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. Turkey has sporadically bombed PKK hideouts in northern Iraq but its new operation, dubbed "Claw-Tiger," is a dramatic escalation and has prompted scores of families in the area to flee, according to local activists. Iraq's foreign ministry has summoned Turkish ambassador Fatih Yildiz twice this week, demanding Ankara withdraw its special forces and halt the bombing campaign. But Yildiz has been defiant, telling Iraqi authorities that if Baghdad did not take action against the rebels, Ankara would continue to "fight the PKK wherever it is". Iraq even summoned Iran's envoy in response to cross-border shelling of Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. Iran, which has its own Kurdish minority, has also been fighting Kurdish rebels who use Iraq as a base. There has been no direct comment from Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who is himself a Kurd and is close to top officials in the autonomous Kurdish region, where "Claw-Tiger" is taking place. The regional government considers the PKK a rival group but have been unable to uproot it from its mountain hideouts.
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EXCLUSIVE: Michael Manns passion project Ferrari is in the market on a new set of tyres ahead of an anticipated spring 2021 shoot.

The Greatest Showman and Logan star Hugh Jackman is in discussions to star as Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari and Mann has recently reworked the script, which was originally penned by the late Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job).

More from Deadline

STX is now handling international sales and will directly distribute the film in the UK and Ireland. We understand Amazon is tying up a deal to bolster international with STX and has been integral in the process. CAA Media Finance arranged the financing and is repping domestic.

The big-canvas racing drama instantly becomes one of the hottest projects at the Cannes virtual market. Four-time Oscar-nominee Mann will give a virtual presentation for buyers on Tuesday and the new script is hitting key distributors today.

The film will chart the summer of 1957 when all the forces in Ferraris life  which were often as combustible and volatile as the iconic race cars he built  collided. The now legendary car company he and his wife Laura built was at the time going broke. Their tempestuous marriage had already suffered the death of their son, Dino, and Ferraris other son, 12-year old Piero, the product of a wartime romance, was struggling to find his place in the world.

The entrepreneur rolled the dice for all their futures on one race  1,000 miles across Italy, the brutal and infamous 1957 Mille Miglia. The film will be framed so that during the highly dangerous race, Laura discovers long kept secrets, we see opportunities rise and fade, and drivers, who are like surrogate sons, are pushed beyond the edge.

Story continues

Heat director Mann, who first started discussing the idea of the film with the late Sydney Pollack, told me: The real power of this piece is in the emotionally charged lives of these people in complex, extreme circumstances. In addition, there is the explosive power and lethal beauty of racing. It has a great drama at its core and thats why Ferrari stayed with me.

The movie, which has been a passion of Manns for almost two decades, has an almost Godfather-type feel to it and is rich in local flavour but also universal truths. Mann, who is familiar with the Ferrari family, will build a fleet of replica race cars from the era. We hear that Jackman and Mann have already read through some of the films most potent scenes.

Mann, who was recently an exec producer on Ford vs Ferrari, will produce via his Forward Pass production banner along with a producing team of Birdman producer John Lesher, Lars Sylvest, Thorsten Schumacher, Gareth West, and Niels Juul.

The script is based on Brock Yates book Enzo Ferrari  The Man And The Machine.

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Why 2018 was a year of exits in the banking sector

Ex-RBI governor, Urjit Patel appointed chief of key economic think-tank

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Former RBI governor, Urjit Patel has been appointed as the chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, which is India's premier economic think-tank.

Patel replaced former bureaucrat, Vijay Kelkar, who had chaired the think-tank for nearly six years. He will join on June 22 and would have a four year tenure, NIPFP said in a statement.

China in the midst of a very significant modernisation of its nuclear programme: Think Tank

China claims all of India's Galwan Valley, which was never on their maps since 1962 | Oneindia News

NIPFP is an autonomous body set up jointly by the Ministry of Finance, the erstwhile planning commission and several state governments.

Patel's appointment comes at a crucial time, The Centre may wish to use his experience at a time when it is navigating its policy during these turbulent times in the wake of COVID-19.

It may be recalled that Patel who had been appointed as RBI Governor on September 5, 2016, had cited personal reasons and quit the post on December 10 2018. The RBI and the government had differed on several policy decisions including the surplus transfer of funds to the exchequer. Following his resignation, the Government appointed Shaktikanta Das as the 25th Governor of the RBI on December 12, 2018.
The Hindi television industry was granted permission to resume shooting by the government of Maharashtra, provided the producers, cast and crew adhere to guidelines issued to combat the spread of COVID-19 on sets. Many production houses are currently busy putting their house in order to return to work at the earliest. And now, in an interview with TOI, Sumedh Mudgalkar who plays Lord Krishna on Star Bharats RadhaKrishn opened up about resuming shooting after a three-month-long break.

Sumedh said, After playing the part for almost two years, it had become a part of me; I would slip into the role effortlessly. But, the lockdown resulted in me taking a forced break from the character. When the shoot resumes, it will be demanding initially to be in tune with the part. So, I am all set to invest time and energy to get into the character all over again. For the unversed, the actor was at home with his parents but is now back on his show set in Umbergaon.

On being quizzed about spending time with family, Sumedh revealed, I am my parents only child and obviously, they were worried about me when I was away from them. So, as soon as the lockdown rules were eased off, I drove down to Pune, to be with them. It was like a mini-celebration at home when I reached (laughs!). My mother had cooked my favourite dish  pav bhaji  for me. I hadnt stayed at a stretch for so long with them in the last two years. So, I cut myself away from the virtual and outside world. I spent quality time with my parents, grandmother and my dog. Of course, I left with a heavy heart from home, but I cant wait to get back into the avatar of Lord Krishna for my show.

ALSO READ: Kamya Panjabi Has No Qualms About Resuming Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kis Shoot For THIS Reason
WUHAN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province, once hit hard by COVID-19, will introduce 25 measures to boost consumption and promote economic growth, according to a notice released by the provincial government on Friday.

The measures cover seven aspects, including reducing operating costs for businesses, creating a sound consumption environment, stimulating spending in automobile and home appliances sectors, and encouraging innovation among enterprises, the notice said.

Catering companies will be allowed to set up dining tables outdoors in designated times and areas, and large shopping malls and supermarkets will be permitted to launch promotions temporarily on roadsides.

In the meantime, the province encourages qualified regions to formulate supporting policies for the sales of new Hubei-made cars, introduce incentives to encourage consumers to replace old home appliances and electronics with new products, and provide customers with coupons to stimulate consumption.

In 2019, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Hubei exceeded 2 trillion yuan (about 282 billion U.S. dollars), but the COVID-19 epidemic has taken a heavy toll on the province's consumption, especially in accommodation, catering, tourism, and automobile sales.
The two families met in grief.

One lost their father. One lost their 12-year-old son.

Both buried their loved ones at Marlboro Muslim Memorial Cemetery in Marlboro.

Rabbani Jabbar died on May 17 when his heart stopped during a surgery and he was buried the next day, his family said. He was 81 years old.

On the same day, Sohaila Azhar and Azhar Ibqal buried their son Zayan, who died after suffering complications from a bone marrow transplant, in a plot one space away from Jabbar.

Now both families allege the cemetery has changed the sizes of the graves, and dozens of others, by burying people too close together.

They said they purchased plots that were supposed to be 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.

But, the families allege, when cemetery workers would open a grave next to an existing grave, they infringed on the borders, which in some cases were outlined by fencing or stones placed by families. Workers would bury the next person too close to the existing grave, they said, leaving no room to walk between the graves.

When the grave next to Rabbani Jabbar was opened, his family said, they could see the side of their loved ones coffin.

I could see my husbands box, said Tahira Jabbar, who visits the cemetery every day to pray. They said they would fix it. Now my husbands space is small. Its only 27 or 28 inches. Its supposed to be a 36-inch width. This is disrespect.

Azhar Iqbal (left) bends down at an empty plot and places his hand on the grave of his son, Zayan Ahmed Azhar, who died when he was only 12. Iqbal's wife Sohaila Azhar, and mother of their son, is at right. Tahira Jabbar reads from a prayer book and her son, Ihasan Rabbani, is at far left by his father's grave. The two families say the graves at Marlboro Muslim Memorial Cemetery were desecrated when workers tried to install a stone walkway. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The two families burial spaces were not the only ones affected. Row BB holds about 100 burial spaces, with about 90 of them occupied. The entire row is uneven and the graves have varying widths.

I saw when they were preparing another grave they didnt use any measuring tape. They just measured with their feet, Azhar Ibqal said.

Showing a reporter the cemetery, the families walked carefully so that they would not step on the disturbed graves.

I dont want to stand here and disrespect anyone, said Ihasan Rabbani, the son of Rabbani Jabbar, as he bent over a grave with a measuring tape to support his allegations. Someones feet are probably under here.

Thats the other problem, the families say.

Some of the graves lost their length  which is supposed to be 6 feet  when the cemetery tried to add a stone walkway at the foot of the row of graves, the families said. Workers using shovels and a forklift took as much as two feet or more of dirt away from the base of the graves where a deceased persons legs and feet would be, they said.

According to Islam, this is one of the highest forms of disrespect for Muslims who have passed away to desecrate and dishonor a grave, said Miraj Jabbar, the daughter of Rabbani Jabbar. The graves were desecrated, disrespected, disintegrated and damaged. Families were not notified. No notice was put up.

They also allege workers tried to make it look as if the grave sizes were unchanged after the dirt was removed from the foot of the graves.

They took the mud from the foot of the grave and they were throwing it at the head side so they could shift it and make it look like the grave was the same size, but the body is still under the area where there would be a walkway, Sohaila Azhar said. I was in shock. A forklift cut my sons grave in half.

Some of the graves only measured 4 feet long after the dirt was moved.

Azhar Ibqal points to a grave where the fence is only 4 feet long. The dirt at the foot of the grave has been removed and placed at the head of the grave, he said, to make it look like the footprint of the grave wasn't changed. (Karin Price Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In addition to cutting off the bottom of the graves, the families said, workers moved the stones and fencing that families used as borders for the graves. They were put on top of the burial mounds, they said.

Also, they said, they never received any ownership papers for the plots, nor did they get any written description of the size and location of the graves, or any written information about the cemeterys rules.

The families said they contacted the cemeterys owner, Kahil Mitwally, and the owners son, Amir Mitwally. They promised to change the placement of the path and to return the dirt to where it was before, the families said.

The process started this week, witnessed by a reporter who saw a forklift moving dirt and a worker using a shovel. One could see the dirt was freshly moved because it was a different shade than the dirt on the burial mounds.

But on Tuesday, there were scores of graves that hadnt yet been restored.

Owner Kahil Mitwally said moving dirt from the foot of the graves to create the walkway was a mistake.

In our religion, no one is supposed to step on graves. The walkway was extra to accommodate them at our expense, he said. By mistake the guys who were doing the work, they took one-and-a-half feet from the graves.

He said he doesnt usually have direct contact with families because he sells plots in large batches to mosques and funeral homes, who he said are responsible for distributing the paperwork. He added that the information can be found on the cemeterys website, which he said is currently under development.

Tahira Jabbar grieves over the grave of her husband of 40 years. She says Marlboro Muslim Memorial Cemetery desecrated the grave while workers tried to install a walking path. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Mitwally said the cemetery only gives rules when families ask.

Our rules are we dont touch the grave, he said. It belongs to you.

Asked later to provide the website address, Mitwally said in a text, Its fixed. Ill send you all the info. But no further information was received, and Mitwally didnt respond to a subsequent text requesting a copy of the cemetery regulations.

Mitwally said plot sizes are based on the coffin sizes, which are 2 feet by 6 feet, he said, and we dig 3 by 7 because we leave some room.

He didnt explain why the fence and stone pieces were put on the graves when the dirt was moved, but he said items like these are an ongoing issue at the cemetery.

We tell them all the time no borders or fences. It makes it harder for us to clean. No one listens. Its like more work for us, Mitwally said.

Families can only put a flat marker thats no larger than 18 by 24 inches on the grave, he said.

He said the cemetery will continue to fix the mistake at the site of the disturbed graves.

The families are not satisfied. They said they believe they deserve an apology, for starters, and then they want the cemetery to send an explanation letter to all the families whose loved ones are buried there, noting they believe most families arent aware of what happened because they live out-of-state and dont visit every day.

They should send an apology letter to each and every family, Sohaila Azhar said. Theyre starting to fix this because they know were not going to sit down, were not going to shut up and let it go.

Ihasan Rabbani doesnt want to wait for families to be notified, so he said he will reach out to the funeral homes and mosques that are listed on the temporary headstone markers at the cemetery. He said hes going to ask them to tell the other families what happened.

A photo of Zayan Azhar, who died when he was 12. His parents say Zayan's grave was desecrated when workers at Marlboro Muslim Memorial Park tried to install a walking path.

Both families have filed complaints with the Division of Consumer Affairs, but theyre concerned the Cemetery Board wont take on their cases because the board doesnt usually regulate religious cemeteries. If the board doesnt review the case, though, the complaints would move to the Office of Consumer Protection, the state said.

They also filed two police reports.

This is not right, what they did to the graves, Sohaila Azhar said. These are not only graves. These are our emotions and our feelings.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

NJ Advance Media Research Editor Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
A whistleblower from the Transportation Security Administration has blamed the agency for helping to spread COVID-19 by failing to provide enough protective gear for airport screeners who are in close contact with travelers every day.

Jay Brainard, the top TSA official in Kansas, says the agency didn't train staff for the pandemic and barred supervisors like him from giving screeners stockpiled N95 respirators in March when facial coverings such as surgical masks were hard to buy.

'I have no doubt whatsoever that our people became Typhoid Marys and contributed to the spread of that virus because TSA senior leadership did not make sure [screeners[ were adequately protected,' Brainard told The Associated Press on Friday.

This is the latest in a string of complaints brought against the TSA by its highest-ranking Kansas official, including a complaint in December that airport security measures were being weakened and a claim in 2017 that employees were not being properly tested for colorblindness.

TSA official Jay Brainard (picturd) has blamed the agency for helping to spread COVID-19 by failing to provide enough protective gear for airport screeners who are in close contact with travelers every day

Brainard filed the latest complaint against his own agency with the Office of Special Counsel, which handles whistleblower complaints, earlier this month.

It comes as 706 TSA employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and five have died, plus one screening contractor, according to the TSA website.

The special counsel ordered TSA's parent agency, the Homeland Security Department, to conduct an investigation into the allegations Thursday.

The TSA said in a statement that it has followed guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in deciding protection standards for workers.

Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said that at the start of the virus outbreak, TSA told employees that masks were optional, then made them mandatory at airport checkpoints in the first week of May.

Airport officers are also required to wear nitrile gloves when they screen passengers.

They must change gloves after every pat-down, and travelers can request the use of new gloves at any time, Farbstein said.

Eye protection has remained optional for screeners.

Farbstein added that plastic barriers have been installed at security checkpoints and areas where checked bags are dropped off for screening.

Brainard disputed parts of the TSA statement, saying screeners have not been told to change gloves after every pat-down.

He said new guidelines that took effect last week still have gaps, including no procedure for how to handle travelers who appear to be sick and little or no contact tracing after TSA personnel become sick.

Brainard's complaint and the special counsel's demand for an investigation were earlier reported by the Washington Post and National Public Radio.

A TSA worker checks a passenger before entering a security screening at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida. In the complaint filed this month Brainard said screeners had become 'Typhoid Marys' because supervisors were told to withhold N95 respirators that were in stock at the airport rather than hand them out

The special counsel ordered the Homeland Security Department to conduct an investigation into the allegations

Air travel in the US remained at normal levels until early March despite rising numbers of cases and deaths tied to the coronavirus.

It then plunged by about 95 percent but has since recovered slightly as more states relax stay-at-home orders.

Brainard said he wants TSA to take corrective steps to protect health as air travel recovers.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in March that the agency was prepared for the pandemic, with adequate equipment for screeners.

'Our officers wear gloves as a matter of course anyway... thats the primary means of transmission for the disease,' Pekoske told a Senate hearing.

'We have also authorized our officers in the screening checkpoints, if they would like, to wear a surgical mask. They are permitted to do that, and we provide those masks.'

Lines of passengers at Denver International Airport last year. TSA says on its website that 706 of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and five have died, plus one screening contractor

Brainard said that until April, he and other TSA federal security directors were told to withhold N95 respirators that they had in stock at airports but to allow employees to bring their own masks to work.

'If you remember, you couldn't get masks' because they were sold out, he said. 'To say to these people, 'You can go out and buy your own,' that's unacceptable.'

Brainard has blown the whistle multiple times on the TSA since he joined the agency as an air marshal when it was created after the September 2011 terror attacks.

He has been an outspoken critic of the agency's top leadership, testifying before a congressional committee in 2016 and filing two previous whistleblower complaints.

Brainard filed the virus-related complaint on June 3.

The special counsel declined to comment, but the order directing Homeland Security to investigate the allegations indicates that the independent federal watchdog office believes there is a 'substantial likelihood' of wrongdoing.

Homeland Security could refer the matter to its inspector general, which is the hope of Brainard and his lawyer, Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project in Washington DC.

The department, however, could send the complaint to TSA.

The special counsel will review the findings either way and issue a report to the White House and Congress.
David R. Nickel, according to the FBI, held up a Portland bank for 50 cents.

Mimicking a gun with his fingers and grasping a large stick of wood, he took the change from the confused U.S. Bank teller, according to a criminal complaint. Then he walked across the street to buy a Big Gulp drink at a 7-Eleven store.

When Nickel was arrested nearby, he was still wearing a bracelet from the Unity Center for Behavioral Healths psychiatric emergency department, where he recently had been a patient.

Nickels fall into the criminal justice system shortly after release from psychiatric care, a federal prosecutor argued Friday, showed how the state system failed him.'

Nickel made his first appearance this week in federal court in Portland on a bank robbery charge in the Saturday morning hold-up at the U.S. Bank at 10220 S.E. Washington St. But it was clear the 24-year-old defendant was in a mental health crisis and U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman set over the hearing.

On Friday, the judge held a status conference to learn more about Nickels condition and how he can best get the mental health treatment he needs.

Mary Wallace, the mental health program manager for the Multnomah County Detention Center, described how Nickels condition is deteriorating, noting he hasnt taken his medication since Wednesday and has become increasingly delusional, homicidal and suicidal while being held in one of the jails acute psychiatric units.

A federal prosecutor urged the court to order a competency evaluation, saying no one doubted that Nickel needs treatment.

We believe that provides the best avenue for long-term restorative care and monitoring and supervision for this defendant, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Nyhus said. Its clear the state system has failed him. He was released and finds himself in this setting (again).

But Nickels defense lawyer, Alison Clark, said she was concerned that could unnecessarily delay the treatment Nickel needs right away.

Less than an hour into the conference, the prosecutor announced that his office had agreed to dismiss the case.

County jail officials said they would seek a county mental health directors hold immediately to try to have Nickel transferred as soon as possible back to the Unity Center, where a civil commitment process could then be initiated.

Our hope here is to relieve his suffering and do our best to get him the health care he needs as fast as possible,' Beckerman said.

Available Oregon court records dont show that Nickel has any prior criminal charges. Its also unclear how long he previously stayed at the Unity Center or why he was there. The center is the metro areas psychiatric emergency department.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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Actor Jung Woo-sung has evolved from celebrity to social activist without neglecting his artistic career.

He was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2015 and has paid for his own trips to refugee camps in Nepal, South Sudan and Lebanon while raising awareness of the plight of displaced people.

Jung published an essay on refugees in June last year titled "If You Could See What I've Seen," which has sold some 20,000 copies. The book is set to hit stores in Taiwan on Saturday, which marks World Refugee Day.

"Refugees face major difficulties due to the spread of coronavirus," Jung said. "This is a difficult time for everyone, but I urge everyone to consider their plight too."

Jung has both been lauded for his compassion and criticized for idealism. But the actor says he will continue. "In the past, I think I tried to express my views out of a desire to show off, but now I'm trying to influence the public by becoming a better person myself and setting a good example."

The heartthrob rose to fame with the 1997 movie "Beat" and has starred in many others since then. "I didn't just want to be a star and have been searching for new roles to play to evolve as an actor," Jung said. "Some people might think that I was lost, but for me it was a process of finding out who I am through constant challenges."

And the evolution continues. Now he is directing his first movie, "Guardian," and also stars alongside Kim Nam-gil and Park Sung-woong. "I realized over the last few years that the only way to remain valuable and retain your reputation is through ceaseless self-renewal," he said.
As I stood at Tauranga Airport I wondered what the next week would bring. It was Tuesday, March 17 and we were filming three scenes of a pilot for a new comedy series.

The news of Covid-19 had begun to raise concerns, with 11 confirmed cases in New Zealand, and the health system was gearing up and readying in case of a wider outbreak. People arriving from overseas were being asked to self-isolate.

It was only later that I realised travellers wouldnt be seeing another welcome quite like ours for a while. Our director Anton Steel called Action and two of our main characters flew into each others arms at the baggage carousel. To say what happened next would give away the plot, but there was much stifled laughter as the serious fun of comedy took place.

Our local film crew had taken over the arrivals area and conveyor belt at Tauranga Airport. Outside our taxi and rather eccentric looking taxi driver waited. We had extras scattered through the airport, all in on the action.

We were shooting the pilot for Chloe and The  - an online regional comedy series written by Mount Maunganui writer Alyssa Stringfellow. Alyssa also stars in the series as Chloe, a woman who just cant seem to sort out her chaotic life. She is joined by some well-known faces including Survivor Nicaragua runner up Tom Patterson, and Luci Hare from the television series Mean Mums and Auckward Love.

To bring people and equipment together like this takes a great deal of planning and was done with the help of Film Bay of Plenty. The cast and crew of 47 people was made up of local talent and the pilot was shot over three days with the support of Priority One, Tauranga City Council, Tauranga Airport and the Millenium Hotel, Rotorua.

Three days doesnt sound much, but the pre-production work had been going on for weeks, with locations, permits, casting, rehearsing and many meetings to work out all the required elements of lighting, sound, props, costumes and camera angles.

Id come on as a location scout. My job was to find a cruise ship we could film on, a beach bach near Mount Maunganui or Papamoa, and an office and bathroom. Being a local helps, as I knew who I needed to talk to about getting on board a cruise ship, but also knew there were many necessary details and people to liaise with.

A phone call came in  Sorry but we cant let anyone on board any cruise ships now, because of coronavirus, we just dont know whats going to happen.

I love the challenge of solving an impossible situation. The script required a number of scenes to be filmed aboard; how would we do this? I checked out some of the Mount Maunganui rooftop swimming pools. Could we film against the sky creating an illusion? Google became my friend as I raced through countless photos of hotels in the region.

The producer Paula Jones phoned. Check out Millenium in Rotorua.

I drove over and met Anton there; he was smiling. I quickly saw why. In front of us, inside this top hotel - a bar and swimming pool. Perfect. The management was superb, also making available to us one of their offices and a bathroom to film in.

We filmed there on Monday March 16, meeting all of the hotels newly introduced health and safety measures. I now know that a week later we wouldnt have been able to film there at all; the updates on coronavirus quickly taking the nation to Alert Level 2 on Friday March 20. We had only just scraped in.

Our extras had been recruited mostly from Facebook, as wed put out a call asking for various characters such as a honeymoon couple, a vegan hippy, a cheerleader and a retired cruise ship couple, and they all came dressed for their part.

Some of the extras, at Tauranga Airport.

After driving around Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, Id narrowed down five possibilities for Chloes beach bach. Our top choice - a bright yellow bach in Papamoa - was perfect.

The owner was a delight, allowing us to take out his furniture and bring in our own. Flyers announcing our activity were delivered into letterboxes around the neighbourhood, the sun came out, and finally at the end of a long day, Anton called Thats a wrap!

Coming out of Alert Level 3, every production big or small taking place in NZ will be required to register on the Screensafe website, including small web videos. This will assist the Ministry of Health with contact tracing and WorkSafe with monitoring.

For our production of Chloe and The  , it is the first time a regional series has been proposed for the Bay of Plenty and the production team hope to have the pilot online in June.

Im still amazed that we managed to film the pilot before all filming around NZ would be shut down. My father used to say Wonderful are the workings of the wheelbarrow and I know what he means. Good planning, hard work, lots of luck and we got there.

To follow updates on the series follow @ChloeAndThe on Instagram and Facebook.
Vale will sell 14.9% of its shares in the Indonesian company, owned through the subsidiary Vale Canada Ltd, and Sumitomo will divest its 5.1% stake, leaving the companies with a stake of 44.3% and 15% respectively.

The transaction is expected to close by the end...
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is committed to using diplomacy to resolve a crisis with Ethiopia over its construction of a giant hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday, addressing stalled talks on the issue.

The talks were halted once again on Wednesday, this time only about a fortnight before the expected start-up of the $4 billion (3.2 billion pounds) Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is being built near Ethiopia's border with Sudan and is the centrepiece in its bid to become Africas biggest power exporter.

Cairo said on Friday it had called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to restart the talks.

"When we moved to the Security Council... that was (because) we are always keen to take the diplomatic and political path until its end," Sisi said in a speech at an air force base.

"We need to move strongly towards concluding the negotiations and reach an agreement... and solutions that achieve the interest of all," he said.

Egypt, which is almost entirely dependent on the Nile for its fresh water supplies, is anxious to secure a legally binding deal that would guarantee minimum flows and a mechanism for resolving disputes before the dam starts operating.

The latest talks, which had started on June 9 over video conference, followed a previous round of negotiations in Washington, which ended without agreement in February.

On Saturday, Sisi recalled that in a speech he gave to the Ethiopian parliament five years ago he said that while Egypt respects Ethiopians' need for development they also should respect its needs for "life".

Earlier on Saturday, Sisi ordered his army to be ready to carry out any mission inside or outside the country amid tensions over regional rival Turkey's intervention in neighbouring Libya.

(Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Frances Kerry)
(Natural News) As journalists and government agencies continue to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears increasingly likely that the novel coronavirus was unleashed, inadvertently or not, by a Chinese virology lab in Wuhan, where dangerous gain of function research was being done on bat coronaviruses of the COVID-19 variety.

(Article by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

However, the potential scandal is magnified by the fact that the Chinese were not conducting these dangerous experiments on their own; much of the research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology labs was being advocated, defended, and funded by the leadership of the United States National Institutes of Health and the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination with the World Health Organization and various U.S. universities and institutes.

If it is ultimately proven true that the Wuhan Institute of Virology unleashed the novel coronavirus upon the world, then not only China, but the United States and the global health establishment as well will be implicated in the worst socioeconomic and political crisis of the 21st century, a pandemic that has now taken the lives of over 400,000 people and has wreaked havoc on the global economy.

The circumstantial case against the laboratories operated by the Wuhan Institute of Virology is strong, even if it is not definitive. The researchers at the WIV specialized in bat coronaviruses that are most closely related to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and they admit that they sampled at least one such virus that was identical in 96% of its genome. This relative of the novel coronavirus, RaTG13, is the closest one known to scientists, with the second being a Pangolin coronavirus that is only 91% the same.

Moreover, the theory initially embraced by the Chinese government, that the pandemic arose from the handling of wild animals at a market in Wuhan, has been so thoroughly debunked that it now has been officially discarded by Chinese authorities themselves. This theory was the most viable alternative to the lab origin theory of COVID-19.

Now a new study by Australian researchers has highlighted evidence that the virus developed in human cells, possibly in a laboratory cell culture, before being unleashed upon the world. Confronted with the Australian study, Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, seems to have backtracked in his narrative about the novel coronavirus. In the past he has trumpeted a study that concluded the virus was of natural origin, and is now stating that he cannot rule out the possibility that, whatever its origin, it escaped from a laboratory.

Even the former head of Britains foreign intelligence service MI6 believes that the evidence favors the lab origin theory. Sir Richard Dearlove recently told Britains Telegraph newspaper that I do think that this started as an accident, in a Chinese lab, although he holds that more research is necessary to confirm or discard the theory. It raises the issue, if China ever were to admit responsibility, does it pay reparations? I think it will make every country in the world rethink how it treats its relationship with China and how the international community behaves towards the Chinese leadership, Dearlove told The Telegraphs podcast program Planet Normal.

After exhaustively reviewing the evidence in favor of the Wuhan lab theory, two eminent virologists, Jonathan R. Latham and Allison Wilson, concluded recently that a lab escape is by far the leading hypothesis to explain the origins of Sars-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists approvingly cites Lathamm and Wilsons article, and states that the lab origin theory is a plausible, if unproven, possibility. They add that it is most definitely not a conspiracy theory

The disturbing possibility that a Wuhan virology lab is the source of the outbreak would not only inculpate Chinese researchers, but the global health establishment itself, which cooperated in the research through a collaboration between U.S. health agencies, the communist Chinese government, and the United Nations. The moral leadership in this international research effort was, indisputably, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, led by Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose names are now famous for their leadership in the coronavirus pandemic as well.

Adding to the potential scandal is the futile motive for such dangerous research: an obsessive drive for vaccines and anti-viral treatments to address mass outbreaks of disease, an approach that has been largely discredited over more than 60 years of experience. While vaccines have had relatively little effect on new pandemic forms of influenza, scientists have repeatedly warned against the increasingly hazardous research on viruses that could unleash plagues of the very type they are meant to address.

In the meantime, the United States and most of the nations of the world have remained woefully unprepared for pandemic disease outbreaks. In the U.S., Fauci, Collins, and other top health officials found themselves unable to prevent an epidemic that they had supposedly spent decades preparing for, dithering and bickering for six weeks over developing a test for the novel coronavirus while the disease spread undetected through the American population. In other countries, such as Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, testing and contact tracing on inbound travelers and their contacts was deployed immediately, saving their people and economies from devastating lockdowns.

Following their bungling of the crisis, Fauci and other health leaders essentially dictated the imprisonment of millions of people in their homes and the shutdown of the global economy, in imitation of Communist China, a country with which they have collaborated for decades despite its dismal record of lies and cover-ups regarding disease outbreaks. Until recently, they were encouraging states to continue in a state of confinement and enforced distancing until a vaccine can be produced, a project that could take years. They have also issued a stream of questionable and often contradictory guidelines that may have aggravated the COVID-19 death toll rather than suppressing it.

How did this happen? How was the world thrown into chaos by the poor decisions of a small elite of health officials and global bureaucrats? The story may well begin with Anthony Faucis obsession with vaccines and antiviral treatments, rather than testing and confinement of disease outbreaks. The desire for treatment over prevention led Fauci and Collins to endorse controversial and dangerous gain of function research on viruses, which was, in effect, outsourced to China while it was prohibited in the U.S.A.

Dangerous gain of function studies on animal viruses promoted by Fauci and Collins

Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins have been publicly promoting and defending dangerous gain of function studies on viruses since the first experiments of the kind were announced in 2011. Such studies, which seek to make viruses infectious in new species of mammals and even humans, were being done in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the suspected source of the COVID-19 outbreak that is now sweeping the world  and they were being done in part with funding from the National Institutes of Health, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Fauci has long held that the principal way to respond to epidemics of disease is to produce vaccines and other treatments for the disease. This has led him to push for controversial virus research universally recognized as highly dangerous, even more so than earlier research that has resulted in past outbreaks and even pandemics.

Gain of Function research seeks to take animal viruses from bats, birds, and other non-human virus carriers, and to genetically modify them to alter their mode of functioning, enabling them to become infectious in other animal species, even in humans. Medical researchers have repeatedly expressed alarm regarding such experiments, arguing that they could inadvertently cause new pandemics.

This new field of experimentation was begun in the late 2000s by Ron Fouchier, a researcher at Erasmus University in Holland, in response to outbreaks of another virus, an avian flu virus of the H5N1 variety that could infect people but could not be transmitted from person to person. Fouchier wanted to know if a mutation could enable the H5N1 virus to become transmissible in mammals, so he modified it and attempted to pass it through a Ferret population. He succeeded and announced his results in 2011, and published them in Science in 2012. Another scientist, Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of WisconsinMadison, published similar results the same year in Nature after infecting ferrets with a hybrid virus created in his lab.

The publication of both studies generated alarm and met with serious resistance. Before their publication the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) urged that certain details be removed from the published version of the studies because of the danger they could be used for bioterrorism. However, their advice was ultimately rejected and the papers were published in full.

In reaction to the controversy, Dr. Fauci and his superior, Dr. Collins, came to the defense of the controversial new research in December of 2011, in an opinion piece published by the Washington Post, in which they admitted that the studies had been funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. In the piece, the two gave an impassioned defense of Gain of Function studies. The statements title was frank, and to the point: A flu virus risk worth taking.

Important information and insights can come from generating a potentially dangerous virus in the laboratory, the two wrote, along with Gary Nabel, NIAIDs Vaccine Research Center director.

However, they assured the public that high-security measures would protect them from the danger of outbreaks. The engineered viruses developed in the ferret experiments are maintained in high-security laboratories, they wrote. The scientists, journal editors and funding agencies involved are working together to ensure that access to specific information that could be used to create dangerous pathogens is limited to those with an established and legitimate need to know.

Following the publication of the articles, eminent scientists such as Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiology professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, repeatedly sounded the alarm against the research. In 2014 he organized a large coalition of eminent virology researchers, called the Cambridge Working Group, which published a Statement on the Creation of Potential Pandemic Pathogens expressing their concern that a pandemic could be unleashed from a virology lab, especially given the large number of security breaches that had recently occurred.

Recent incidents involving smallpox, anthrax and bird flu in some of the top US laboratories remind us of the fallibility of even the most secure laboratories, reinforcing the urgent need for a thorough reassessment of biosafety, the group declared. Such incidents have been accelerating and have been occurring on average over twice a week with regulated pathogens in academic and government labs across the country.

Regarding the controversial Gain of Function studies, the group noted that, accident risks with newly created potential pandemic pathogens raise grave new concerns. Laboratory creation of highly transmissible, novel strains of dangerous viruses, especially but not limited to influenza, poses substantially increased risks. An accidental infection in such a setting could trigger outbreaks that would be difficult or impossible to control. Historically, new strains of influenza, once they establish transmission in the human population, have infected a quarter or more of the worlds population within two years.

Lipsitch and the Cambridge Working Groups efforts seemed to meet success: in the same year, 2014, the National Institutes of Health defunded such research and launched a massive reform of procedures after the discovery of long-discarded, uncontrolled vials of deadly pathogens at a Food and Drug Administration lab on its campus that revealed systematic failures of lab security in the U.S.

However, advocates of gain of function research ultimately prevailed when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began to allow funding for such experiments in 2018  a decision that was publicly applauded by Anthony Fauci, whose NIAID began paying for the research at a U.S. facility. The approval, which appears in the document Guiding Funding Decisions about Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens explicitly allowed for the creation of viruses that could cause a pandemic, that is, a potential pandemic pathogen (PPP), even one whose potency has been enhanced artificially, if certain criteria are met.

However, in the interim, the National Institutes of Health already had begun funding coronavirus research at another organization outside of the United States: the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. The institute, which had been receiving money from the U.S. Agency for International Development for years, would now receive part of a $3.7 million grant from the NIH funneled through another organization, the EcoHealth Alliance.

Enter the Wuhan Institute of Virology

The origins of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) go back to 1956, when the Chinese Academy of Sciences founded it as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory. After several name changes, it received its current name in 1977. Its main purpose was the study of disease for the purpose of improving agriculture, and was known for having created a highly-effective insecticide for killing insects using insect viruses.

However, in 2002 a new disease broke out in China: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has been called the most severe socio-political crisis for the Chinese leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. A total of 8,098 people were infected in 29 countries, and 774 died. It was caused, like COVID-19, by a coronavirus, and like COVID-19, the SARS outbreak was initially covered up by the Chinese government, allowing it to spread to a large number of foreign countries. In response to the crisis, the WIVs scope of investigation was expanded for the purpose of researching viral disease in humans.

Given that SARS coronavirus was believed to have originated in bats, researchers at the WIV began to collect and study such viruses from various bat caves in China. They would enter the caves, capture bats, take blood and saliva samples, swab their anuses, and obtain fecal matter and urine that might contain SARS-like coronaviruses.

The research was dangerous from the beginning. Simply collecting and studying coronaviruses can cause new outbreaks if security protocols are not followed to the letter, and this is precisely what happened in a Chinese lab in 2004, where two different outbreaks of SARS were caused by security breaches. The outbreaks occurred despite the fact that the security protocols were rated as an acceptable biosafety level three, but it appears that the rules were not really obeyed at the Beijing facility. Nine individuals were infected, and one died  and again, the Chinese government waited weeks to inform the public. Other, smaller outbreaks were also reportedly caused by labs in Taiwan and Singapore in 2003.

The leading expert at the WIV on bat coronaviruses was Shi Zhengli, an eminent researcher who became known internationally as the bat lady. During the 2000s, Shi led an international team of researchers to sample viruses from thousands of horseshoe bats throughout China, and published their initial findings with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 2007. They finally found bats living in caves in the province of Yunnan in the southeast of China that were infected with human-like coronaviruses, and spent five years swabbing their rear ends and collecting their feces. By the early 2010s, the WIVs research was receiving funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of its now-defunct PREDICT program.

By 2013 the researchers had found a SARS-like coronavirus in the Yunnan caves, and by 2017, they had demonstrated that all of the genetic material to make the original SARS virus was present in those coronaviruses,, and that it was possible to spawn such a virus through the process of genetic exchange. However, the theory that the bats of the Yunnan caves were the source of the original SARS outbreak was a weak one at best, given that the caves were thousands of miles away from the original place of the outbreak, Guangdong province, and local residents had never shown signs of SARS. Nonetheless, it was hailed as a great breakthrough by fellow researchers.

Gain of function research of the kind defended by Fauci and Collins was also going on at the WIV lab. As early as 2015 the lab did an experiment in which it combined a part of the original SARS virus, the spike protein that enabled it to penetrate human cells, and placed it in a wild bat coronavirus to create a hybrid or chimera pathogen that was able to infect human cells as well as the lungs of mice in a way similar to the SARS virus that caused the 2002 outbreak.

The results indicate [that the chimeric viruses] . . . replicate efficiently in primary human airway cells and achieve in vitro titers equivalent to epidemic strains of SARS-CoV, wrote Shi Zhengli and her colleagues in their article for Nature. Additionally, in vivo experiments demonstrate replication of the chimeric virus in mouse lung with notable pathogenesis.

Alarmingly, the researchers also found that their new chimera virus could not be stopped by human antibodies nor the equivalent of a vaccine. Evaluation of available SARS-based immune-therapeutic and prophylactic modalities revealed poor efficacy; both monoclonal antibody and vaccine approaches failed to neutralize and protect from infection with CoVs using the novel spike protein, they wrote.

The results were met with expressions of grave concern by scientists critical of gain of function studies. Simon Wain-Hobson, a virus researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, told Nature magazine that he disapproved of the research, pointing out that the WIV had created a new virus hybrid that grows remarkably well in human cells. If the virus escaped, nobody could predict the trajectory, he told the publication.

Molecular biologist Richard Ebright concurred, and dismissed the usefulness of the research to human medicine. The only impact of this work is the creation, in a lab, of a new, non-natural risk, he told Nature.

Despite the riskiness of the research and despite its own moratorium on funding experiments of this kind in the USA, in 2014 the U.S. National Institutes of Health began giving a total of $600,000 to the WIV through an intermediary organization called the EcoHealth Alliance, as part of a $3.4 million grant for coronavirus research, most of which went to Chinese organizations (some sources, however, report that the total grant was $3.7 million). According to Politico, the NIH was joined in its funding of the WIV by several U.S. universities and the National Wildlife Federation. The WIV was also included in a network of labs recognized by the World Health Organization, and it was upgraded to a biosafety level lab (BSL-4), the highest security rating available, in 2015, the year of the chimera experiment.

The funds coming from the National Institutes of Health were therefore going to an institute that was conducting the very kinds of research that the NIH had temporarily defunded in the United States due to security concerns.. The dangerous research, in effect, had been outsourced to China, a country with comparatively little experience in sophisticated virus research and a long track record of safety breaches.

The journal Nature reported again in 2017 on the controversial research that was being done by the WIV, noting that some scientists outside China worry about pathogens escaping, and the addition of a biological dimension to geopolitical tensions between China and other nations. However, added Nature, Chinese microbiologists are celebrating their entrance to the elite cadre empowered to wrestle with the worlds greatest biological threats.

The Nature article also noted that the concerns about the lab were in part based on the fact that the SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times in the early 2000s.

A second phase of funding by the National Institutes of Health for viral research by the WIV was approved in 2019. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and under pressure from President Trump and others in his administration, the NIH has now canceled all funding to the WIV, to the consternation of gain of function research proponents. The NIH claims that the second phase of funding was not intended to support gain of function research at WIV laboratories.

Sinister behavior by Wuhan lab concern French and Canadian collaborators

In the wake of the SARS pandemic in 2004, the French government had agreed to help China build a BSL-4 laboratory for studying viruses, a lab that would permit the Chinese to carry out the most dangerous sort of viral research.

According to Chinese officials, the main purpose of the lab would be to develop treatments for disease. The Wuhan lab will give his group a chance to study how such viruses cause disease, and to develop treatments based on antibodies and small molecules, said Nature paraphrasing George Gao, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology in Beijing. However, according to some reports, from the beginning some French officials were wary about the project, concerned that the Chinese government would not give them clear information about what had happened to BSL-3 laboratories that France had helped China construct for the SARS pandemic in 2004.

Nonetheless, construction of the new facility finally began in Wuhan in 2010 under the auspices of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The French oversaw the construction, with input from the billionaire bioindustrialist Alain Merieux, although Chinese companies did most of the work. The building was completed in 2015 and began a testing phase, but already a major problem regarding lab security had arisen: due to the questionable competence of the Chinese construction companies, the French organization charged with certifying the lab, Technip, refused to do so.

In 2016, the WIV lab provoked concern among French national security officials when they made a request for more BSL-4 anti-viral suits than they needed, raising suspicions that the extra suits would be diverted to viral research labs run by the military, presumably for biowarfare research. Their request was denied by the French.

The order was much higher than the real needs of the Wuhan lab, an anonymous diplomat knowledgeable about the case told the French publication Challanges, explaining that the excess suits might have been destined for research purposes at a military laboratory. China has long been suspected of having such a place in the north of the country, but we dont have enough evidence, he told the publication.

Moreover, relations began to break down between French health officials and the lab. In 2015, Alain Merieux resigned from the co-chairmanship of the French-Chinese joint committee overseeing the operation, calling the lab a very Chinese tool, and adding, It belongs to them, even if it was developed with technical assistance from France. In the following year, the committee ceased to have meetings altogether, according to Merieux. In 2017, the French health minister Marisol Touraine announced a collaboration in which 50 French researchers would work at the new lab for five years, but it never came to pass. It appears that the Chinese government was no longer sharing information with their former French helpers.

Further concern was raised about the WIV when a Chinese researcher affiliated with the Wuhan lab, Dr. Xiangguo Qiu, as well as her husband Keding Cheng and a number of Xianuggos students from China were escorted out of Canadas National Microbiology Laboratory (NBL) on July 5, 2019, and their security access to the lab was revoked.

The actions were taken as a result of an investigation launched by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the behest of officials at the NBL. Canadian media reported that in the process, Xianuggos computer had been confiscated and her requests to travel to China had begun to be denied. Later, the couple were also removed from their teaching positions at the University of Manitoba. Police told reporters that they were investigating a policy breach at the facility, but would not speak further about the matter.

Subsequent reports in the Canadian press indicated that three months earlier, unnamed scientists at the lab had sent live samples of the highly dangerous Ebola and Henipah viruses to Beijing on an Air Canada flight. Anonymous sources told the Canadian Broadcasting Company that the viruses may have been shipped to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in a way that circumvented the labs operating procedures, and without a document protecting Canadas intellectual property rights, in the words of the CBC. The Public Health Agency of Canada refused to tell the CBC whether or not the shipment had to do with the removal of the two scientists, but claimed that all protocols were followed in the shipments.

In October of 2019, the CBC reported that Xiangguo Qiu had made five different trips to the Wuhan Institute of Virology BSL-4 lab during 2017-18, in one case for training the WIV researchers. Personnel at the Canadian lab had found the trips to be troubling and suspicious.

According to the CBC article, there have always been questions about Qius trips to China  and what information and technology she was sharing with researchers there. An employee of the Canadian lab told the CBC, Its not right that shes a Canadian government employee providing details of top-secret work and know-how to set up a high-containment lab for a foreign nation.

Finally, on January 26th of this year, the labs affiliation with the Chinese military was confirmed when leadership of the operation was given to a major general in Chinas Peoples Liberation Army, Chen Wei, who leads the Institute of Bioengineering at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Australias Daily Telegraph has also revealed recently that a member of the board of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Professor Wu-Chun Cao, is the director of the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, which is a part of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. He holds the rank of colonel in the Peoples Liberation Army.

The governments portrayal of Chen as a heroic fighter against disease has been naively echoed by American mainstream media sources such as Anna Fifield of the Washington Post. However, experts who study the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction say that Chens Institute of Bioengineering is involved in what the Chinese government calls bio-defense, that is, the use of disease agents in warfare  purportedly for defensive purposes.

American diplomats sound alarm about safety at new WIV lab

Despite the touted security precautions taken at the lab, by early 2018 American diplomats in Wuhan were beginning to express grave concerns about the level of safety at the WIVs new BSL-4 lab, which was in a pre-opening testing phase. Following a visit by a diplomatic delegation to the lab in January, embassy officials sent two cables to Washington expressing their concerns about the findings. The text of one of the two cables was recently leaked to the Washington Post.

During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory, one of the cables stated, according to the Post.

The cable was a warning shot, an unnamed U.S. official told the newspaper. They were begging people to pay attention to what was going on.

Strong circumstantial evidence of lab origin first recognized by Chinese researchers

The theory that a lab accident in Wuhan might be the cause of the novel coronavirus outbreak has become increasingly supported by circumstantial evidence. The theory was first brought to the attention of the public by two Chinese scientists, Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao of the South China University of Technology, who published a pre-print of their article in February of this year on ResearchGate before it disappeared without explanation (a web archive version can still be found here).

The pair point out that the two most likely sources of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan are two laboratories that were collecting and conducting experiments on bat coronaviruses at the time of the outbreak, not Wuhans Huanan Seafood Market, which is the source originally named by the Chinese government.

The two scientists note that, although a high percentage of people who had COVID-19 symptoms in Wuhan had visited the Huanan Seafood Market, and a large number of positives were found in samples collected in the market after the outbreak, the market itself was not selling bats, and was more than 1000 miles away from the bat caves where such SARS-like coronaviruses are known to exist. However, the two labs studying the same virus were very close to the seafood market.

The closest of the two labs to the Huanan Seafood Market was the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention (WHCDC), which was about 280 meters away. According to the two scientists, the center was doing collection of pathogens from bats and other animals.

The WHCDC hosted animals in laboratories for research purpose [sic], one of which was specialized in pathogens collection and identification, the authors write. In one of their studies, 155 bats including Rhinolophus affinis were captured in Hubei province, and other 450 bats were captured in Zhejiang province. They also note that the labs collection expert had had to quarantine himself after bats bled and urinated on him, and that the first doctors infected by the novel coronavirus were working in the Union Hospital adjacent to the WHCDC.

However, the authors note, a Wuhan Institute of Virology lab was also fairly close, only 7.5 miles away from the seafood market. Moreover, it was the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was doing research on the very kind of bat coronaviruses that cause COVID-19, which included research involving the creation of virus hybrids that could infect humans. The authors also note that concerns had been raised about the dangers of unleashing a pandemic from the lab.

The Huanan Seafood Market theory is further discredited by a study published in January by the Lancet, which notes that the earliest known case of COVID-19, which arose on December 1 of 2019, had no known link to the market. Recently the Chinese government abandoned the seafood market origin theory altogether, but is now claiming that the pandemic began outside of Wuhan.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
New Delhi:

All attempts are being made to secure the release of an Indian soldier, who inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday.

Singh said the government has taken note of the reports which stated that an Indian soldier is in Pakistans captivity.

All attempts are being made to secure his release, he told reporters here. The Home Minister also said that New Delhi will take up the matter with Islamabad for his early release.

Indian Army sources had said yesterday that one soldier from 37 RR with weapon has inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control. Pakistan has been informed by the DGMO on the hotline.

Also Read: (Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviews security situation along Indo-Pak border)

The sources had said that his crossing over was not related to the surgical strikes. Such inadvertent crossing by Army and civilians are not unusual on either side. They are returned through existing mechanisms, they had said.

The Indian Army had yesterday rejected as false and baseless reports in a section of Pakistani media that eight Indian soldiers were killed and one captured by Pakistani military in retaliatory fire.

Indian Army sources said, As regard (to the) report of killing of eight Indian Army personnel reported in sections of Pakistan media, the report is completely false and baseless.

Also Read: (Pak captures Indian soldier along LoC amid rising tensions following India's surgical strike)

Armys reaction had came after Pakistans Dawn News reported that Pakistani military has claimed that it has killed eight Indian soldiers and captured one while retaliating to Indias firing at the first line of defence at the Line of Control (LoC) at Tatta Pani.

India had carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army inflicting significant casualties on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.

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The NSW government was warned more than six months ago to urgently improve its cyber security in a report that found almost half of its agencies had no recommended strategies in place to prevent attacks.

NSW was on Friday revealed to have been the target of a wave of sophisticated, foreign-actor data breaches, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to warn the nation to brace for further incursions.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian this week announced a $240 million boost to the state's cyber security capabilities but the opposition has called for an inquiry into the government's protections after the Auditor General delivered a damning report card into agencies' defence strategies.

"The NSW Governments failure to invest in cyber security measures has left our digital infrastructure vulnerable  potentially putting critical health and public safety systems at risk," Labor's public service spokeswoman Sophie Cotsis said.
Ola said it has mapped over 350 hospitals across the city into the mobile application. (Photo | PTI)

Chennai: Ride hailing service Ola on Thursday said it has unveiled an emergency service in its application to serve people after the Tamil Nadu government announced the new phase of lockdown which comes into effect from tomorrow.

The service would enable all non-COVID medical trips and also take people to and from the airport or railway stations during the lockdown, a company statement said.

Ola said it has mapped over 350 hospitals across the city into the mobile application and the service would also be available to ferry customers to airports and railway stations vice-versa.

The company said all the driver partners are equipped with hygiene kits and safety equipment among others. ...following the new guidelines issued by Tamil Nadu government, we are launching Ola Emergency services to enable essential mobility for the people of Chennai while following the highest standards of safety and hygiene, company spokesperson Anand Subramanian said.

Ola Emergency cabs would operate with no more than one driver and two passengers. People requiring the service can book a cab by selecting the Ola Emergency category to avail the service.

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will begin detailed interrogation of JP Morgan India board members including a Chinese national to take forward its money laundering probe linked to the alleged diversion of crores of rupees of home buyers who wanted to purchase an abode in Amrapali Group's real estate projects.

What has come as a shot in the arm for the agency is a June 18 order of the Supreme Court directing the multi-national firm JP Morgan to transfer over Rs 140 crore plus interest from its bank accounts, that has been recently attached by the ED, to the escrow account maintained by the UCO bank.

The apex court said that the money would be used for completing the pending projects of the now defunct Amrapali Group.

Officials probing money laundering crimes said this is the first time that the apex court has sought transfer of such funds in its accounts after being satisfied with the provisional attachment order issued by the central agency.

Usually, funds once attached are kept in the bank accounts where they are and the order for attachment is sent to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Adjudicating Authority for approval and subsequent confiscation of assets.

The ED had recently attached, as part of an order issued under the PMLA, more than Rs 187 crore funds of JP Morgan India Pvt Ltd kept in a bank branch in Mumbai.

The apex court, which is monitoring this case, had in December last year directed the ED to take charge of investigation and asked its Lucknow zone Joint Director Rajeshwar Singh to take action against JP Morgan under the anti-money laundering law and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and apprise it on a regular basis.

An ED team led by Singh attends the court hearings too.

The top court had cracked whip on errant builders for breaching the trust of home buyers, ordered cancellation of Amrapali Group's registration under real estate law RERA and ousted it from its prime properties in the national capital region by nixing the land leases in July last year.

Official sources said the investigating agency has now sought all financial documents, agreements, memorandum of understanding and others from J P Morgan India and will begin detailed interrogation and recording of statement of its directors like Gunjan Bahl, Hrushikesh Kar and Chanakya Chakravarty and few others.

A Chinese national, Todd Wong, who was a Director on the board of J P Morgan India Property Mauritius Company- II will also be summoned for questioning and recording of his statement under the PMLA, official sources said.

They said a chargesheet or prosecution complaint will be filed in "due course" after recording of statements.

Wong was on board of the company between February 5, 2010 to April 25, 2013 and as per an ED affidavit "was inducted as the authorised signatory of its escrow account." "Debit authority of this account was given to him (Wong) as per decision made in the board of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd.

It is significant to note that all the banking vouchers through which funds to the tune of Rs 140 crore were transferred or debited from Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt. Ltd to Mannat Buildcraft P Ltd was signed solely by Todd Wong," the ED investigation has found.

The agency has alleged that Mannat Buildcraft is one of the three shell companies or dummy firms used in this case to launder and "divert" funds obtained as deposits from Amrapali home buyers and these monies were then kept in the bank account of Amrapali Zodiac Developers Pvt Ltd.

ED has earlier said its investigation found that the "employees of JP Morgan India Ltd on board of Ms Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd and Ms Amrapali Silicon City P Ltd were not only in complete control of the material decision of the respective companies and securing interests of the funds but they also indulged prima facie in money laundering to divert the home buyers funds to the tune of Rs 187 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II in Mauritius and Ms JP Morgan IPF-I Singapore 2 PTE Ltd in Singapore."

The agency had said the Mauritian company "was an active participant in the conspiracy from the very outset" and that JP Morgan India "played a key role in the remittance of diverted funds of the home buyers to Mauritius and Singapore."

These employees of JP Morgan India P Ltd, it had said, serving on the board of Directors of Amrapali Zodiac Developers P Ltd "got arranged the cash flow in the company through funds arranged from other companies of Amrapali group, diversion of the funds of the home buyers, staged valuation of shares, creation of shell companies with dummy directors and sham transactions to finally get accrued about Rs 140 crore to JP Morgan India Property Mauritius Company-II."
The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said on Saturday that PM Narendra Modis remarks at an all-party meeting the previous day that no intruder was on Indian territory across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and that no Indian military post had been captured were being given a mischievous interpretation.

The PMOs statement was a riposte to a Congress attack that Modi surrendered Indian territory in the face of Chinese aggression across the LAC and that his comments flew in the face of previous claims by defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar.

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the all-party meeting yesterday. The Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the LAC, the statement said.

The PMO said that PM Modi specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of the LAC (unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain).

Because of the improved patrolling, our vigilance has gone up and the military gets to know what is happening on the borders at the right time, Modi said at the all-party meeting, pointing out that Indian soldiers were able to intercept the Chinese forces who earlier had a free run. If you keep on intercepting them, it is obvious that tensions will rise, he said.

The all-party meeting on Friday was called to discuss the situation along the LAC following the brutal June 15 brawl between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh, in which 20 Indian personnel were killed. It was the first time since 1975 that India suffered combat fatalities in a skirmish with Chinese troops. Ten Indian soldiers detained by the Chinese side were later released after intense negotiations through diplomatic and military channels. China has so far not acknowledged any casualties among its troops.

Following the PMOs statements, the Congress party on Saturday termed it a lame attempt to obfuscate the truth. First of all, PMO and the Government need to clearly state their position on the Galwan Valley. Is Galwan Valley not part of Indian territory? Why is Government not coming forward and strongly rebutting the Chinese claim over Galwan Valley? If Chinese troops are present there, does it not amount to intrusion into and occupation of Indian territory? Also, why is the Government silent on intrusions in the Pangong Tso area? the Congress party said in a statement.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: 1.Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed? he tweeted.

The opposition party said that the PMs statement belittled the gravity of the situation on the LAC.The government rebutted the claims and said that the all-party meeting was informed that this time Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response was commensurate.

As regards transgression at the LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on June 15 arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions, the PMO said in the statement.

It also went on to add that the PMs observation that there was no Chinese presence on the Indian side of the LAC pertained to the situation consequent to the bravery of the armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day, it said.

Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil, the Prime Minister said, according to the PMO statement. And these words succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces, the statement said.

The government said an unnecessary controversy was being created to lower the morale of the soldiers for defending the borders. What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This government is strongly and resolutely committed to that, it added.

Any unilateral change of the LAC will not be allowed, the government added.

The government said all parties extended support to the government and the armed forces at Fridays meeting. The predominant sentiment at the meeting was of unequivocal support to the government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda, said the government.

The PM assured opposition parties at the meeting that whether it was deployment, action or counter-action, Indian forces  be it on land, in the air or on the ocean  were doing everything to protect Indias borders.

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Update: U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman has agreed to step down.

WASHINGTON (AP)  The powerful U.S. attorney in Manhattan who has been overseeing investigations of President Donald Trumps allies showed up at his office to work Saturday, defying the attorney general who abruptly acted hours earlier to oust the prosecutor.

"I'm just here to do my job," Geoffrey S. Berman told reporters.

Later Saturday, Attorney General William Barr told the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan that Trump has removed him from the high-profile job. Berman intends to continue to fight his removal.

The administration's push to cast aside Berman has set up an extraordinary political and constitutional clash between the Justice Department and one of the nation's top districts, which has tried major mob and terrorism cases over the years and is investigating Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. "I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position," Berman said in a statement late Friday.

It also is deepening tensions between the department and congressional Democrats who have accused Barr of politicizing the agency and acting more like Trumps personal lawyer than the countrys chief law enforcement officer.

Barr offered no explanation for his action. The White House announced that Trump was nominating Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer has virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, for the job.

The timing of the decision mystified people familiar with the matter in the Southern District who could point to no clear reason for Berman's removal. His job had always seemed in jeopardy and Berman was never given the sense that it was secure, according to these people, who weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke condition of anonmity. His office also took actions on some important cases without first informing Washington. But the various investigations are all still ongoing and no charges seem imminent, they said.

A senior department official said Clayton was planning to leave the administration, wanted to move back to New York and expressed interest in the Southern District position, and Barr thought he would be a good fit, said the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss internal department matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Only days ago, allegations surfaced from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the president sought to interfere in an investigation by Berman's office into the state-owned Turkish bank in an effort to cut deals with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he was unlikely to proceed with Clayton's nomination unless New York's senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, gave their consent to the pick. Schumer already has said the bid to oust Berman "reeks of potential corruption of the legal process."

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said his committee was inviting Berman to testify this coming week. Schumer called for the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate.

Berman's statement said he would stay on the job until a nominee was confirmed by the Senate. He challenged Barr's power to remove, given that Berman was appointed by federal judges, not by the president. Under federal law, a U.S. attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve "until the vacancy is filled."

But the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel argued in a 1979 opinion that the "power to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney rests with the president." It says "the president is responsible for the conduct of a U.S. Attorney's office and therefore must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him."

The Justice official said the department planned to have Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, take over the Manhattan office temporarily, starting on July 3.

Federal prosecutors in New York have overseen numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Trump in recent years. That includes an ongoing investigation into Giuliani's business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes. Cohen was recently released from a federal prison in New York to continue serving his sentence on home confinement over coronavirus concerns.

Berman has overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump's reelection.

Attention refocused on the office this past week after news organizations, including The Associated Press, obtained copies of Bolton's tell-all book. Bolton alleges in the book that Trump sought to cut a deal to stop federal prosecutors in New York from investigating whether Halkbank violated U.S. sanctions against Iran in order to free an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey.

Six weeks after the pastor's release, Bolton writes, Trump told Erdogan on a call that "he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people."

The episode Bolton describes occurred months after Berman assumed the role of U.S. attorney.

A Republican who contributed to the president's election campaign, Berman worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was put in his job by the Trump administration. But as U.S. attorney, he won over some skeptics after he went after Trump allies, and had a direct hand in other investigations that have angered the president.

Berman was appointed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, after Preet Bharara, then U.S. attorney in New York, was fired. Bharara had refused to resign along with dozens of other federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama.

Months later, FBI agents raided Cohen's offices, an act the president decried as a politically motivated witch hunt. Berman withdrew from Cohen's prosecution; it was never explained why.

The following April, in the absence of a formal nomination by Trump, the judges in Manhattan federal court voted to appoint Berman to the position permanently. The White House never said why Trump didn't formally nominate Berman.

Yet the links between the White House and some of Berman's investigations were clear. His office subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee for a wide range of documents as part of an investigation into various potential crimes, including possible illegal contributions from foreigners to inaugural events.

Weeks before the 2018 midterm election, Berman announced insider trading charges against an ardent Trump supporter, Republican Rep. Chris Collins. Collins, who represented western New York, has since pleaded guilty and resigned. He's scheduled to soon report to prison.

Under Berman's tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump. Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nike's reputation and stock price unless the sportswear giant paid him up to $25 million.

This story has been updated to note Attorney General William Barr said President Trump has fired the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.

___

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Zeke Miller and Marcy Gordon in Washington, and Tom Hays and Kevin Hagen in New York contributed to this report.

More from PennLive

President Trump gears up for first major rally with large crowd since pandemic began
It was known as Bus 142 and the Magic Bus, and the rusty green-and-white vehicle had exerted a dangerous and almost talismanic power over hikers for nearly a quarter century  ever since the book Into the Wild immortalized Christopher McCandlesss solitary odyssey and lonely death in the Alaskan outback.

Abandoned on the Stampede Trail near Denali National Park, the bus had become a pilgrimage site. It was revered by travelers around the world who had read the book or seen the movie, Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn in 2007. But it had also become a hazard, luring hikers into forbidding territory.

Two travelers drowned in the Teklanika River while trying to reach the bus, in 2010 and 2019. At least 15 others have had to be rescued while trying to retrace Mr. McCandlesss journey, according to the Alaska National Guard.

On Thursday, state officials finally decided to remove the Into the Wild bus from the Alaskan wild.
An Indian mariner was reported missing on the high seas from a crude oil tanker vessel on its way to a port in South Korea from Singapore, his family said on Saturday.

Sambit Majumder, a middle-aged mariner with experience of over two decades, is a second engineer of a Liberian-flag vessel 'MT Serengeti' and left home in early February. His family living in the southern part of Kolkata was informed of the incident on Thursday by the shipping liner, they said.

According to the briefing by the shipping company, everything was well till Tuesday evening and Majumder had dinner with other members of the crew around 8 pm before retiring to his cabin, the family sources said. But he did not turn up for breakfast on the next morning and crew members could not trace him in his cabin.

"Till now, there is no positive news. We have informed all the government agencies including local police station as per protocol for a thorough investigation into the matter," said a member of Majumder's family. "The probe into the incident will be taken up by appropriate authorities. We suspect there is a crime behind his disappearance."

His family has lodged a complaint with Netaji Nagar Police Station here.

Majumder's wife Jayati expressed disappointment over the way in which the shipping firm officials reacted to the incident.

"We have no clue how Sambit went missing and it is a mystery to us," the mariner's family members said.

According to the shipping liner, Dynacom Tankers Management (DTM), appropriate measures have been taken to trace the missing mariner, and Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres in Hong Kong and the Philippines had been given alerts about the incident.
A white Kansas City police officer was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday for the fatal shooting of a black man who was killed while backing his pickup truck into his garage last year.

Detective Eric DeValkenaere was charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for recklessly causing the death of Cameron Lamb, according to prosecutors in Jackson County, Missouri.

DeValkenaere claims he shot Lamb after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective.

The charges were announced just days after Lamb's family met with President Trump at the White House.

Trump is said to have promised Lamb's mother, Laurie Bey, and stepfather, Aquil Bey, that his Justice Department would look into bringing federal charges against DeValkenaere.

Detective Eric DeValkenaere (left) was charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for recklessly causing the death of Cameron Lamb (right), 26, according to prosecutors in Jackson County, Missouri

Lamb was shot dead on December 3 as he was in his red pickup truck as he backed it into a garage in Kansas City, Missouri

The defendant's reckless behavior began by entering the victims property without consent, without a warrant, knocking over the fence to gain entry into that backyard, and firing his weapon, killing Cameron within seconds of entry, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.

The conscious disregard of a risk, or in this case, a series of risks or assumptions that were dangerous.

In this case, what we believe, though, is that his conduct was reckless.

It was reckless, and it was in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The Kansas City Police Department told KMBC on Thursday that DeValkenaere joined the force in 1999.

At the time, he was assigned to the Investigations Bureau. KCPD said DeValkenaere is currently under suspension.

The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department continues to mourn the loss of life and all suffering surrounding this incident, KCPD said in a statement.

We respect the judicial process, including the grand jurys finding in this matter, as well as all defendant's presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

The grand jury indictment was announced on Thursday by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker

As the case makes its way through court, we will continue to respect the process, and therefore cannot comment further at this time.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas praised the grand jury and prosecutors as well as the FBI for their work on the case.

My heart continues to break for the family of Cameron Lamb, Lucas said.

I believe our justice system in Kansas City took an important step today, showing all are accountable before the law.

On December 3, police were called to an area near the intersection of the East 35th Street and College Avenue in the Oak Park Northwest section of Kansas City.

Police were asked to respond to a disturbance between two vehicles, one of which was a red truck driven by Lamb at a high rate of speed.

A police helicopter tracked one of the vehicles, which pulled behind a home on the 4100 block of College Avenue, according to The Kansas City Star.

According to police, detectives approached a man in the vehicle and the officer was put in a position where he had to discharge his firearm.

Earlier this week, Lamb's mother, Laurie Bey, and stepfather, Aquil Bey (left), met with President Trump, who is said to have promised them that the Justice Department would look into the case

The two detectives - DeValkenaere and Troy Schwalm - approached Lamb from different sides of the house as Lamb sat in his truck.

Court documents indicate that the officers saw Lamb backing the truck into a garage.

At one point, Schwalm said he could see Lambs left hand, and that Lamb was looking at him. At no point did Schwalm see Lamb holding a gun, according to sworn statements.

DeValkenaere told investigators that he saw Lambs right hand on the steering wheel and his left hand sliding down his body.

The detective claimed Lamb reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun, which he aimed at Schwalm.

DeValkenaere then fired his weapon, shooting four bullets into the windshield of the pickup truck.

Two of the bullets fatally wounded Lamb, according to an affidavit.

Investigators at the crime scene said they found a gun on the ground beneath Lambs hand where the truck came to a stop.

The police claim Lambs body was inside the truck and his left arm was hanging out of the open drivers side window.

But medical records say Lamb is right-handed, and he had limited use of his left hand because of an injury he suffered in 2015.

According to court documents, Lamb made a phone call just moments before he was shot.

The call went to voicemail, which was able to record the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

We are living in really troubled times, Peters Baker said.

Emotions are high, and however opportune or unfortunate, when you may view the timing of this particular case in this announcement.

I view this moment as consequential as necessary.

We need to be here. These moments of reform, they're long overdue for us to have real discussions about how to reform the criminal justice systems.

DeValkenaere claims Lamb (seen above) was pointing a gun at another detective

How police prosecutors and the courts must and should reform.

DeValkenaeres lawyers said their client was innocent.

On the date in question, the suspect was involved in a domestic violence situation and then attracted police attention by engaging in a high-speed, dangerous car chase through the residential streets of Kansas City, a statement from his lawyers said.

Police officers followed the suspect to a residence, which according to a witness on-scene, was not the suspects home.

When officers approached the suspect, the suspect raised and pointed a gun toward an officer.

As these facts demonstrate, this is a justified police shooting.

An attorney for the Lamb family said: 'We are pleased at this first step in getting justice for our son, but cannot rest until the man who killed him is behind bars.

'President Trump and the Attorney General personally promised us a federal investigation into criminal charges for this officer and police department when we met with them this week.

'We are anxiously waiting for federal action while the state criminal charges proceed against this officer.'
You are here: China

Senior Chinese lawmakers met on Friday in Beijing during the top legislature's session.



The meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee was presided over by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

The meeting heard reports of deliberations on multiple drafts and bills, including a draft law on administrative discipline for government employees, a draft revision to the Archives Law, and a draft revision to the Law on the People's Armed Police Force.

The meeting decided to submit documents proposed to be voted on to the ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee for review.
With an estimated 4.6 million tonnes of wheat per year, Ethiopia is Africas largest wheat producer. However, domestic demand is estimated at 6.3 million tonnes with rising incomes increasing the demand for wheat over the last decade.

Wheat is mostly grown in the highlands with better rainfall, from which 4 million MT of wheat grain are harvested. Demand for wheat is growing astronomically at 5% per annum, while production is growing at an anaemic rate of 1-2% per annum. Ethiopia currently imports 1.6 million MT of wheat, via the Djibouti Port, some 700 km from Addis Ababa, to meet the shortfall.

The gap in wheat supply is projected to double to 3 million MT in the next five years. Given the need to conserve scarce foreign exchange, gainfully employ its teeming youth, and remove the added cost to food consumers - from road transportation of imported wheat, the government of Ethiopia embarked on a wheat self-sufficiency campaign.

It is against this background that the African Development Bank in 2018, launched the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) as part of its Feed Africa Initiative. TAAT s main objective is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight priority intervention areas.

The programme increases agricultural productivity through the deployment of proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale along selected nine commodity compacts which include wheat.

Led by International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA),the TAAT Wheat Compact is unleashing a wheat revolution in Africa by bridging yield gaps in traditional growing areas through better varieties, soil and water management, and taking heat tolerant and disease-resistant wheat technologies to a new frontier in irrigated environments in the Sahel.

The compact also strengthens production capacity and seed systems, and disseminates improved climate-resilient wheat varieties, while simultaneously introducing innovative production technologies and integrated crop management practices (water-saving technologies) in order to increase Africas agricultural productivity of staple crops.

TAAT's Intervention

The TAAT wheat Compact began to work with the Ethiopian government and seed companies to bulk up seeds of five heat-tolerant varieties released in Ethiopia under the African Development Bank-funded SARD-SC project.

By the end of 2019, the compact had established 20,000 ha of irrigated wheat, 10% of the target, in the low lands of Ethiopia, produced by some 28,000 small holder farmers. The farmers used an existing irrigation scheme used for cotton and other crops that has now been adapted to wheat as a winter season crop.

Through the deployment of excellent heat-tolerant varieties by a strong local team of wheat seed system specialists, agronomists, and breeders, and a strong commitment of government to provide seeds and fertilizer to farmers, the TAAT Wheat Compact was able to record rapid progress in Ethiopia.

Major impact

Through its wheat compact, TAAT has succeeded in opening new frontiers in wheat production in Ethiopia with its scale up of climate-resilient, high yielding varieties in traditional rain-fed highland areas and heat-tolerant, high-yielding wheat varieties to expand wheat production in irrigated lowland areas.

Women and youths were engaged through the establishment of business-centres that promote rural entrepreneurship, and access to credit facilities for inputs (seed, fertilizers, and agro-chemicals) for both smallholder and large-scale farmers was improved.

About 21,000 ha of wheat is now being cultivated under irrigation in three river basins on programs spearheaded by the Government of Ethiopia. Moreover, new partnerships with large-scale cotton farms were established and expectations are for a bumper crop harvest with yields expected to reach 6 tons ha-1.

At an estimated average yield of 4 tons ha-1, a total wheat production of 840,000 tons is expected, which, at the projected conservative price of US$ 250, can save Ethiopia about US$ 210 million.

Convinced by the excellent performance of ICARDAs heat-tolerant wheat varieties in Ethiopias lowland under SARD-SC, the Government of Ethiopia included in its wheat expansion plan, the establishment of 200,000 ha of irrigated wheat fields in the hot and dry (300-400 mm of rainfall a year) Ethiopian lowlands around the Awash river.

The innovation platforms set up by SARD-SC and reinforced by TAAT inspired the Government of Ethiopia to establish a high-level committee among its Agriculture, Finance, Trade and Industry, and Water and Irrigation Ministries, and expanded the wider adoption of new methodologies, significantly improving water resource management.

A unique aspect of TAAT is the use of innovation platforms, which are instrumental in creating networks and partnerships, bringing together committed and newly interested stakeholders including the private sector, at vertical and horizontal level.

Through linkage, information sharing, and debate, innovation platforms promote new technologies, raise the capacity of farmers, and link them to input and output markets at a strategic and operational level, bringing all stakeholders along the value chain together.

Elfnesh Bekele, one of TAAT Wheat Compact's beneficiaries in Awash region is already dreaming of a prosperous future. "We want to be examples to our sons and daughters on the use of modern farming methods to increase yields," she said.

"The increased income from my wheat farm has made it possible for me to put my children in a better school and i hope to buy a tractor someday," Elfnesh added.

According to Martin Fregene, Director, Agriculture and Agro-Industry at the African Development Bank, "the TAAT wheat compact has dramatically ramped up production of certified seed of heat-tolerant wheat varieties and putting these high productivity wheat seeds into the hands of millions of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Sudan and across other countries where the programme is being implemented."

"The African Development Bank believes that this is a real game-changer for Africa; expanded production will relieve the continent of an ever-increasing import bill of nearly USD $10 billion per annum, Martin added.

Scaled up, TAAT offers the whole continent a way out of its spiraling wheat gap. Yet while it clearly proves its potential, challenges remain.

The development of climate and heat tolerant varieties must continue to be funded; mechanisation must be encouraged especially in low-adoption areas; financial support from governments remains crucial; biotic stresses (disease, pests, and weeds) need to be overcome, as well as abiotic stresses (drought, heat and soil salinity/acidity).

Above all, the ICARDA-led TAAT Wheat Compact will continue to encourage a people-centered approach. Further inclusion of women and youths, who in some cases make up 42 percent of the stakeholders, will be stimulated along with that of farmers associations.

This will hand management and ownership of the innovation platforms, and therefore the wheat production gains, to the stakeholders themselves, providing the key incentive to scale up across Africa and beyond.
As the entire world celebrates Father's Day this weekend, a number of small-screen stars from Star Bharat opened up about their special bond their dads while a few others shared pictures fond memories, notes, and pictures.

Manisha Rawat who essays the role of Maa Saraswati in Star Bharats Jag Jaanani Maa Vaishno Devi- Kahani Mata Rani Ki mentioned, Fathers Day is a very special occasion to me. My father and me, have a bond where we do not hide anything from each other, we are like best friends. He is a scientist by profession and despite that, he has never put any pressure on me on choosing my career. As much as I always look forward to this day, unfortunately, this year I will not be able to celebrate this Father's Day with my Dad as he is in Delhi and I am currently in Uttarakhand. But I will make sure to video call him and sing him a song that I specially wrote for this occasion.

Ishita Ganguly who essays the role of Maa Kali in Star Bharats Jag Jaanani Maa Vaishno Devi- Kahani Mata Rani Ki mentioned, I wont be able to celebrate this day with my father as he is in Kolkata. Every year, my brother and I used to plan something special for my father. Because of the lockdown this year I wont be able to meet him. But I am planning on sending him something special. Also I believe that, there should be no specific day to celebrate Father's Day and we can celebrate this every day because they strive day and night to keep our family safe and secured.

Zalak Desai who essays the role of Rukmini in Star Bharats RadhaKrishn mentions "My best daddy-daughter moments include our daily routine back in the day when I was in kindergarten. My dad used to pick me up every afternoon and since his bike's fuel engine would get over heated because of the sun, he would spread his handkerchief on it and then make me sit. I also remember how he always comes to my rescue when mom gets angry with me. I guess that's what all fathers do, protect their family. To celebrate this Fathers Day, I will surprise him by baking a cake and preparing him a good meal. Love you, Daddy!"

Sumedh Mudgalkar who essays the lead role in Star Bharats RadhaKrishn mentions Fathers Day is a very special day to me. My father has been my biggest pillar of support in my life and is one person I look up to for everything. It makes me happy to see my father being proud of me as it is because of his hard work and support that I have reached where I am today. Even though I know its not possible to celebrate this day with him as I am preparing to begin shooting for my show RadhaKrishn in Umbergoan. I will always celebrate him as the best dad in the world. I feel blessed to have him in my life

Kinshuk Vaidya who will soon essay the role of Arjun in RadhaKrishn upcoming new track says My Father is a very humble and simple man. He passed the same traits to me for which I am very thankful to him. When I entered this industry and people started recognizing me, he always guided me and advised me to stay grounded and be humble with everyone. On this Fathers Day, I cant be with him as I am shooting for my show RadhaKrishn but I really want to share a huge shout out and thank him for always being there as a strong pillar in my life.
Iran 'categorically' deplores IAEA resolution, vows 'appropriate action'

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 3:17 PM

Iran has deplored the latest resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying the Islamic Republic would take "appropriate action" where the sponsors of the move would stand responsible for any "repercussions."

"Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations, nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions," Kazem Gharib Abadi, Iran's permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations, said in a statement on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the Board of Governors at the UN's nuclear agency passed the resolution, put forward by Britain, France and Germany  the three European signatories to the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The resolution, the first of its kind since 2012, urges Iran to provide the IAEA inspectors with access to two sites in the country to clarify whether undeclared nuclear activity took place there in the early 2000s.

It "calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the Agency and satisfy the Agency's requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the Agency."

The Islamic Republic rejects any allegations of non-cooperation with the IAEA, insisting that it is prepared to resolve potentially outstanding differences with the IAEA.

Putting on record the Islamic Republic's position on the recent resolution, Gharib Abadi hailed efforts made by some, especially Russia and China, who objected to "this unconstructive path."

"Considering the extensive level of constructive cooperation between Iran and the Agency and simply overlooking this level of cooperation, adoption of this resolution aimed at requesting Iran to cooperate with the Agency is deeply disappointing."

He also expressed deep regret over the three European states' failure to "take any concrete practical step in the implementation of their obligations under the JCPOA," which in addition to "unilateral, illegal and destructive measures by the US caused the future of the nuclear deal to remain gloomy."

He advised the trio to "at least avoid making the situation more complicated and difficult" than being unable to save the JCPOA.

"Paradoxically, your lack of action was needed here, which it seems that you couldn't even do this," Gharib Abadi said.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump took an illegal and unilateral decision to end Washington's participation in the nuclear deal and re-impose the sanctions that the agreement had lifted, in defiance of the fact that the accord has been endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Under Washington's pressure, the three European signatories to the JCPOA have so far failed to fulfill their contractual obligations to protect Tehran's business interests against the sanctions.

The Iranian envoy also warned of a "trap set by the US and Israeli regimes" who had spared no efforts over the past two years to destroy the international accord.

They "used all tools of pressure on the Agency, including through presentation of such baseless allegations, to deflect the ongoing appropriate course of cooperation and divert the attention from their non-compliance with their relevant international obligations, or being stayed out of the most important international instruments on disarmament and arms control," the statement read.

He criticized the IAEA's secretariat and its Board of Governors for turning a blind eye to the nuclear activities of Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime, "who are not even allowing the Agency to do the required inspection."

Gharib Abadi emphasized that Iran has always applied the additional protocol "voluntarily and provisionally due to its political commitment under the JCPOA."

"Iran does also have a solemn advice to the Secretariat of the Agency to: adhere to the limits of your authorities; acknowledge the cooperation between Iran and Agency; carry out your mandate in a professional, independent and impartial manner; do not pave the way for manipulation of issues for those with political agendas through taking positions and reporting hastily; behave in a way not to be blamed for the obliteration of the last bastion of multilateralism in Vienna and the destruction of the JCPOA," he said in conclusion.

The resolution was passed by 25 votes in favor, two against, with seven abstentions: South Africa, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and Niger.

Russia and China, two other permanent members of the UN Security Council and signatories to the JCPOA, voted against.

In a post on his Twitter account, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov called on Iran and the IAEA to settle issues pertaining to the two nuclear sites "without delay."

"We believe that the resolution can be counter productive," he tweeted.

The Chinese diplomatic mission to the IAEA also warned on Twitter that the resolution could have "huge implications" for the future of the JCPOA.

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Rockville, MD, June 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

MacroGenics, Inc. (MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Stephen Eck, M.D., Ph.D. as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development & Chief Medical Officer, effective beginning July 1, 2020.

We are excited to announce the addition of Stephen Eck to the MacroGenics leadership team. Stephen is a hematologist/oncologist who brings to MacroGenics more than 20 years of broad pharmaceutical and biotech industry experience with proven leadership in the development and commercialization of oncology therapeutics, said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. Stephen will be a tremendous asset to our company.

Dr. Eck most recently served as chief medical officer of Immatics US, a company focused on TCR-based immunotherapies, and as president and chief executive officer of Aravive Biologics. Prior to these roles, Dr. Eck was Vice President and Global Head of Oncology Medical Sciences at Astellas Pharma, managing a portfolio of assets which included enzalutamide (Xtandi), erlotinib (Tarceva) and gilteritinib (Xospata). Dr. Eck has also held leadership positions in drug development as Vice President of Translational Medicine and Pharmacogenomics at Eli Lilly and as Head of Clinical Oncology at Pfizer. He began his professional career at Monsanto in cancer target discovery and later joined the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the Anne B. Young Assistant Professor of Cancer Research and the Director of the Cancer Gene Therapy Program. Dr. Eck currently serves as a director for Luminex Corporation and Circulogene, and on the boards of directors for the Personalized Medicine Coalition and the Central Pennsylvania Clinic. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Story continues

Dr. Eck holds a B.A. from Kalamazoo College, an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and an M.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine with Residency and Fellowship training at the University of Michigan.

MacroGenics has a rich pipeline of immuno-oncology programs, said Dr. Eck. I look forward to working together with the MacroGenics team to advance these promising programs and bring new treatment options to patients.

Ezio Bonvini, M.D., Senior Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer, who was overseeing MacroGenics clinical development and related functions on an interim basis will return to serving as the Companys Chief Scientific Officer.

About MacroGenics, Inc.

MacroGenics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The Company generates its pipeline of product candidates primarily from its proprietary suite of next-generation antibody-based technology platforms, which have applicability across broad therapeutic domains. The combination of MacroGenics' technology platforms and protein engineering expertise has allowed the Company to generate promising product candidates and enter into several strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information, please see the Company's website at www.macrogenics.com. MacroGenics, the MacroGenics logo and DART are trademarks or registered trademarks of MacroGenics, Inc.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements about the Company's strategy, future operations, clinical development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, milestone or opt-in payments from the Company's collaborators, the Company's anticipated milestones and future expectations and plans and prospects for the Company and other statements containing the words "subject to", "believe", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "project", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "can", the negatives thereof, variations thereon and similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation and enrollment of future clinical trials, expectations of expanding ongoing clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials, expectations for the timing and steps required in the regulatory review process, expectations for regulatory approvals, the impact of competitive products, our ability to enter into agreements with strategic partners and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of the Company's product candidates, business or economic disruptions due to catastrophes or other events, including natural disasters or public health crises such as the novel coronavirus (referred to as COVID-19), and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views only as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as may be required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Attachment

Anna Krassowska, Ph.D., Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Jim Karrels, Senior Vice President, CFO

1-301-251-5172, info@macrogenics.com
The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a study published on Saturday that about half of the Egyptian families borrow from others to counter the effects of the coronavirus.

Egypt's official statistics agency also said that 17 percent of the Egyptian families rely on charity and about 5.4 percent get the irregular employment grant.

The Egyptian manpower ministry has been disbursing an exceptional three-month grant for irregular workers amounting to EGP 500 each in implementation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives issued in March.

The CAPMAS study that aims to measure the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of Egyptian families added that the majority of Egyptian families are "fully aware" of the symptoms of the respiratory virus.

"The majority of the families (96.3 percent), slightly higher in urban areas than in the countryside, are fully aware of the symptoms of coronavirus. Most families (95.6 percent) reported that fever is among the most important symptoms of the virus, followed by sore throat (76 percent), and diarrhea (35.4 percent)," the study said.

On Friday, Egypt detected 1,774 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total infection tally to 52,211 since the outbreak began in mid-February, the health ministry announced.

About a quarter of individuals reported steady income since the emergence of the virus, while the majority of individuals (73.5 percent) reported that income has decreased, and less than one percent reported increased income, the study added.

Earlier in April, CAPMAS announced that the unemployment rate increased to 9.2 percent from end of March to end of April after it had declined to 7.7 percent in the first quarter of 2020, down from eight percent during the same quarter of 2019. That came as a result of the preventive measures the government has adopted to contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an attempt to curtail the spread of the virus the cabinet has applied a series of preventive measures since March. In addition to imposing a night-time curfew, the cabinet has also suspended air traffic, shuttering schools and universities, closing mosques and churches and banning public gatherings.

Many of these restrictions are now in the process of being revised, as the government calls on the country to coexist with the virus.

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Felicien Kabuga, aged 84, accused of being one of the main financiers of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, was arrested last month in Asnieres-sur-Seine in the Paris suburbs. One of Rwandas wealthiest businessmen at the time of the genocide of the Tutsis, he was often called the genocide financier for having financed and equipped the Interahamwe militias that carried out most of the massacres during the genocide. He also created Radio Mille Collines (Thousand Hills Radio), which broadcast Hutu-extremist ideology, including calls for murder during the genocide.

Victims associations have provided information to French courts on around 30 individuals accused of complicity in genocide but have been stonewalled by the authorities. And so it is not surprising that Kabuga, though supposedly wanted since 1997, was able to peacefully live for decades in France.

He received assistance from his children, whom police monitored in order to find him. He was hiding under an assumed identity with a passport from an African country that investigators refused to identify. They did not say either since when Kabuga had lived in France.

The last time Kabuga had been found with certainty, though he escaped police, was in 2007 in Frankfurt, where he was traveling on a Tanzanian passport. He was with Augustin Ngirabatware, the Rwandan minister of economic planning during the genocide, who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, and who was arrested by German police. According to French investigators, Kabuga used 28 false identities while in hiding. This gives some idea of the networks of assistance that organizers of the Rwandan genocide have across Africa and Europe.

Kabuga will be extradited to be judged by the Mechanism for International Criminal Courts whose prosecutor coordinated the arrest, and who took over pending Rwandan cases previously assigned to the International Criminal Court. Kabuga is to be judged at Arusha, in Tanzania.

It remains to be seen why France suddenly cooperated with the campaign to arrest Kabuga. Its relations with Rwanda have been strained especially since the breaking of diplomatic relations from 2006 to 2009. Since Michel Flesch left the post in 2015, France has had no ambassador to Rwanda, and the embassy in Kigali is led by a lower-ranking charge daffaires, as Rwanda has refused to recognize ambassadors proposed by France. Rwanda for its part sent an experienced ambassador to Paris, Francois-Xavier Ngarambe.

The stakes for French imperialism, which is seeking to consolidate its positions in the region, are vast. Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda regularly wage proxy warfare though militias that are still active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). France and other imperialist powers are concerned by Chinas rising commercial influence in Africa, which has upset French and NATO transnational corporations in what they consider to be their backyard. They use all diplomatic and military means to counter this influence.

A quarter century since this genocide, the French regime is still trying to hide French imperialisms responsibility and the support it granted to the ethnic-Hutu Rwandan regime between April and July 1994 as it carried out the murder of 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority and Hutus favorable to political accords with the Tutsis. France allowed the genocidal forces to flee towards the Congo in Operation Turquoise, as the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) of future President Paul Kagame took control of the country with tacit US backing.

Besides its responsibility for the genocide, France, by permitting Hutu extremists to leave Rwanda and take control of camps with Hutu refugees who fled Rwanda and Burundi towards the Congo, bears devastating responsibility for the 19961997 and 19982003 Congo wars, which claimed millions of lives. It has justifiably been referred to as an African world war. It involved nine African countries and around 30 armed groups, making it the largest inter-state conflict in Africas contemporary history.

After the Stalinist regime dissolved the Soviet Union in 1991, French, British and US imperialism waged brutal struggles for influence in Africa that led to bloody wars and genocide. The social and democratic aspirations of the African population found no progressive representative under conditions where no political parties there defended an internationalist socialist perspective in the working class.

The last stages of events before the Rwandan genocide took place under the presidency of the Socialist Partys (PS) Francois Mitterrand, after the conservatives had won the 1993 legislative elections. The conservative Edouard Balladur was Mitterrands prime minister, while Alain Juppe was foreign minister. Thus Frances entire political establishment is implicated in the decisions that were taken.

Mitterrand, who was backed by the Stalinist French Communist Party and various petty-bourgeois renegades from the Trotskyist movement, was able to impose in Africa, essentially without any opposition on his left, an extraordinarily bloody neo-colonial policy.

Still today, the French political establishment tries to deny its responsibility in the genocide. During the 2019 European elections, Raphael Glucksmann, who was leading a joint list with the PS, said that Mitterrand was responsible for the genocide. About 20 former PS ministers called upon Olivier Faure, the PS national secretary, to object to these comments and defend Frances foreign policy at the time.

This year, shortly before the yearly commemoration of the genocide in Rwanda, the conservatives in the French Senate organized on March 9 a colloquium on the Great Lakes region of Africaa transparent provocation, as they invited speakers known for denying or minimizing the genocide of the Tutsis and dismissing historians who worked to establish Frances responsibility.

Historians face enormous difficulties in accessing French archives on the genocide, as indeed with archives regarding the crimes of French colonialism after the Second World War.

Macron granted in 2019 limited access to archives on Rwanda to a carefully selected team of researchers, the Duclert Commission, leaving out specialists of the Rwandan genocide. Predictably, the preliminary results whitewash French responsibility in these events.

On June 12, after five years of administrative battles, the State Council finally granted definitive early access to the Elysee presidential palaces archives on Rwanda to historian Francois Graner, co-author of the book The French State and the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda. However, many archives, including notably the military archives, are still closed to researchers.
A decision on the resumption of international passenger flights will depend on demand and other countries being open to receiving flights amid the Covid-19 pandemic, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday, and overseas operations to North America where demand is higher may be the first to restart, according to a senior official.

At the same time, Puri was hopeful that domestic flights would reach full capacity by the end of the year.

Any suggestion that international air traffic has opened up in other countries and we are the only ones not to open up needs a reality check. The exact time we resume international flights depends on other countries being open to receive flights, Puri said at a press conference on Saturday.

India has suspended international passenger flights since March 22 in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19.

International flight movement in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, China, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates now varies between 3% and 18% of their earlier flight capacity, Puri said.The minister said that international flight operations depend on airspaces being open and acceptance by destinations.

Many countries decided that they were not going to allow nationals from other countries except their own. We also went with the same position, Puri said.

He added that entry to the US, UK, France, China, UAE and Singapore was conditional. We cannot have normal civil aviation operations under such conditions. We are left with no option but to continue with evacuation and repatriation flights under controlled conditions. We are constantly trying to expand both domestic and Vande Bharat flights {to bring back Indians stranded abroad} and eventually resuming flights to pre-Covid operational capacities, he added.

The minister added that nearly 275,000 stranded Indians have been brought back so far, adding that 109,000 Indians were brought back via Air India alone. During Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the Vande Bharat mission, private domestic airlines have been mandated to operate 750 international flights along with 300 Air India flights that will be added in the coming days, Puri said.

India may resume international flights on routes with relatively higher demand first, other officials said.

Both ends have to be ready and there has to be traffic if international operations are to begin. There is a significant amount of traffic between India and the North American continent. We may think of opening flights on a case-to-case basis, civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said.

Puri said the government was ready to expand the capacity on domestic routes from 33% (at present) to 45% depending on the states.

At present we have allowed only 33% flights to operate. Flights are not operating with full capacity even now. We will open more routes when there is more demand. We are ready to take it to up to even 40-45% capacity, Puri added.

The limits on airfares imposed on domestic flights may also be extended beyond August 24, officials said.

Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjusted beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months, Kharola said.

The Centre capped airfares of domestic flights that resumed from May 25 with fixed lower and upper limits.

Discussing the divestment plans for national carrier Air India, Puri said he was confident about the governments plan of selling all its stake in the airline.

I have never been as hopeful and confident about Air India, divestment or disinvestment whatever you choose, as I am now. Air India is a first-class asset. Whether it is for evacuation of people from Wuhan or elsewhere, Air India has been at the heart of it, the civil aviation minister said.
A sign is seen on a barrier at an entrance to the so-called "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, in Seattle, Wash., on June 10, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Two People Shot, One Fatally, In Seattles Autonomous Zone: Police

One man was killed and another wounded in an overnight shooting Friday in Seattles Capitol Hill protest zone, police said.

Homicide detectives are investigating the shooting, which took place around 2:30 a.m., the Seattle Police Department said late Saturday.

Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims, the department said.

Officers were later informed that the victims, both males, had been transported to Harborview Medical Center by CHOP medics.'

After going to the medical center, officers were told that one of the victims, a 19-year-old male, died. The suspect or suspects are at large and theres no description of them at this time.

The shooting took place at 10th Avenue and East Pine,

A livestream from the areaalternatively known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) and the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP)following the shooting featured an announcement of the victims death to a group of people at the protest camp.

The gentleman that got shot did pass, a woman is heard announcing in the video. For those of you that are unaware, he is gone, he is no longer with us.

In another video, which showed a crowd of people and what appears to be a medic sprinting away from the gathering, a Converge Media reporter is heard saying: We got medics going in different directions here.

The Facebook Page for Black Lives Matter Seattle Original posted the following statement about the shooting: There was a shooting at chop/Chaz tonight. At least 2 gunshots fired. We are still finding out information but At least one person is dead and one is at Harborview Medical center. A black man is dead and white person is in critical condition.

We are sorry for the person killed tonight and hope the other person makes a full recovery, the organization added.

The zone was first occupied on June 8.

Protesters inside have compiled an ever-changing list of demands in a post on Medium, including the abolition of the citys police department and the attached criminal justice apparatus, to reparations for victims of police brutality, among other items.

The zone has prompted President Donald Trump to call on Seattles mayor and Washingtons governor, both of whom are Democrats, to take back the city. Trump has described those who took over the area as domestic terrorists.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
A BELOVED wife, devoted mother and cherished daughter is how talented artist Louisa Donnelly has been described following her untimely passing.

The young mother-of-three from Dromroe, Rhebogue, and formerly of Shannon Banks, Corbally, passed away peacefully at Milford Care Centre on Thursday.

A former student of Limerick School of Art and Design, Louisa worked as an artist, muralist, painter, illustrator and graphic designer. She was based in Montreal, Canada for a time.

Louisa was behind the exhibition at the Milk Market entitled Cruinniu Walls - Bringing Street Art Home. The exhibition featured the blended artistic styles of both Louisa and Ciara McKenna from Dingle. During the unique event, the public were invited to choose their favourite sections of the floor-to-ceiling artwork and street art murals to take away with them.

Fine Gael councillor in Limerick city, Olivia OSullivan, who is also a graduate of Limerick School of Art and Design recalled Louisas friendly and bubbly personality describing how she contributed to the creative life of Limerick.

Four years ago this week we did the first Urban Food Festival in the Milk Market and Louisa did artwork for us for that. It was a hugely successful event and Louisa was there all day preparing the space. She was lovely, just really bubbly and friendly and warm. She did a lot of murals - large scale artwork, a very talented person.

Cllr OSullivan said she was devastated to hear of the young mothers untimely death.

I was devastated to hear of her passing, a mother of three young children. My heart goes out to her family, she said.

Tributes paid to Louisa on the website RIP.ie described her as "a beautiful, loving person".

Louisa is survived by her husband Conor (O Dwyer), children Chloe, Naomi and Eve, parents Peter and Corinne and brothers Alan and Simon. She is sadly missed by her loving mother-in-law Noreen, father-in-law Connie, extended family and a large circle of friends.

Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to Milford Hospice. In line with best practice taken from government advice regarding public gatherings, a private funeral will take place.
(Photo : REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann) The logo of U.S. technology company Apple is seen at a branch office in Basel, Switzerland March 2, 2020.

Apple vowed to continue blocking any updates in the future for the new email service Hey for iOS because the company said the app violated its terms and conditions and should have never been approved in the first place.

Hey is owned by the software company Basecamp. According to a Tech Radar report, Apple will not allow any updates until the app has complied with its policies surrounding in-app purchases. Similarly, Apple will also refuse any Hey updates on its macOS store until all requirements are met.





In a letter sent to Basecamp CEO Jason Fried on June 17, Apple said the Hey app had breached the App Store Guidelines 3.1.1, 3.1.3(a), and 3.1.3(b), which dictate that there are only a few scenarios that an app would allow users to unlock features using non-in-app purchases. None of these apply to Hey.

Hey iOS app, users cannot access the app until they have subscribed through the Basecamp website. Apple demands Basecamp to allow the users to sign up directly via the app, which would qualify Apple for its infamous 30% cut on the subscription fee.

To resolve these violations, Apple urged the company to revise the app allowing subscriptions to purchase within the app or for users to register alternative email accounts with the service. Currently, users are being charged for a year's access to the platform and an email address with @hey.com suffix. It also does not support alternative providers such as Yahoo or Gmail.

After two years of development, Hey was launched this week on the App Store. However, this is an invite-only preview while the app will go live for public use next month. However, the official launch is now clouded with uncertainty.

Apple's investigation over Hey's violations

The App Store management is currently under fire this week, which is partly due to the Hey concerns. Also, Apple faces a major antitrust investigation over the "Apple Tax," which is believed to be anti-competition and squashes smaller developers.

Last year, Spotify filed a complaint that accused Apple of imposing restrictions on rivals that prompted the investigation.

Meanwhile, Apple's move to block Hey updates seems inconsistent in enforcing its guidelines. For instance, those who would like to subscribe to Amazon or Netflix are directed to complete their application through the app.

"Because of the market power that Apple has, it is charging exorbitant rents - highway robbery, basically - bullying people to pay 30 percent or denying access to their market," US House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Rep. David Cicilline said.

"It's crushing small developers who simply can't survive with those kinds of payments. If there were real competition in this marketplace, this wouldn't happen," Cicilline added.

Meanwhile, Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson expressed his dismay over the decision to reject Hey's appeal. In a tweet, Hansson said he was stunned by how Apple vowed to block Hey's updates. He also added that the company dared to completely remove the app from its platform if it could not comply with the requirements.

Wow. I'm literally stunned. Apple just doubled down on their rejection of HEY's ability to provide bug fixes and new features, unless we submit to their outrageous demand of 15-30% of our revenue. Even worse: We're told that unless we comply, they'll REMOVE THE APP.  DHH (@dhh) June 16, 2020

Meanwhile, Fortnite's developer Epic Games and Tinder parent company Match Group offered their support to Basecamp. In contrast, Apple seems no intention of changing its standards despite the increasing resistance over the 'Apple Tax.'

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Victoria's COVID-19 tally is currently at 1817. There have been 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Victoria that have been acquired through unknown transmission and there are currently 110 active cases in Victoria. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the state was on the cusp of a second wave of infections if Victorians did not act now. We are at a point where we have to turn it around or the numbers get beyond us, Professor Sutton said on Saturday. We are indeed at a crossroads. Restrictions are being tightened in Victoria as they are eased everywhere else in Australia.

Mr Andrews said there had been no discussion yet about whether the rising number of cases in Victoria should prompt fresh discussions about travel between states but suggested if NSW, which has an open border with Victoria, did impose travel restrictions on Victorians they would be confined to those from local government areas with high numbers of cases. Mr Andrews blamed the concerning surge in cases on families deliberately flouting the rules, including some Victorians who were visiting family members or going to work even after testing positive to the deadly virus. More than half of the new cases since the end of April had come from family-to-family transmission with some family clusters blowing out to more than a dozen people, he said. "We have even had people who had tested positive and have been told to go home and isolate and instead they have gone to work, instead they have gone and visited loved ones in large numbers, which is completely unacceptable," Mr Andrews said. "We have had many stories, numerous stories of families that have given it to each other, and have then transmitted the virus to other families who in turn have passed it on to a third group. It is pretty clear that behind closed doors when one family comes together in large numbers, they are not practising social distancing."

Criticism, however, is mounting over the department's handling of quarantine hotels housing returned travellers and its role in fuelling the spread. On Saturday, Professor Sutton admitted some of the family clusters were linked to a spate of cases among security guards at quarantine hotels, including the CBD's Stamford Plaza, where lax hygiene has been blamed for a cluster of 10 cases that medical experts expect to spread. A cluster of 16 cases was also found to be connected to the state government's quarantine operation at Carlton's Rydges on Swanston hotel earlier this month. "Some of the staff have returned to their family homes and again, while symptomatically, while infectious, they have had close contacts who have developed illness," Professor Sutton said. Council area Hume reported 17 new cases, Brimbank which had 10 cases, Casey reported 7 and Darebin, Moreland and Cardinia all recorded 6.

Mr Andrews said he had floated the prospect of a lockdown on those suburbs with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and it was an idea being discussed by the national cabinet. Loading If a lockdown was enforced, it could mean residents living in those hotspots may only be allowed to leave home to shop or for essential services such as medical treatment. Such a model could also mean areas in regional Victoria with no COVID-19 cases may be reopened ahead of areas of the state with infections. A work-from-home directive has also been issued for the whole of July.

We cant have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people returning to the tea rooms, to lifts, to enclosed spaces, Mr Andrews said. The Premier said he was concerned some Victorians who were unwell were still going to work because they were unable to get sick leave. The government will set up a hardship fund so those who test positive or have to self-isolate due to close contacts being infected can get a $1500 payment. Of the 25 new cases recorded Saturday, 14 were linked to known outbreaks, six cases were identified through routine testing, one was detected in a returned traveller in hotel quarantine and four cases are under investigation. A pre-existing Keilor Downs household outbreak is now linked to 10 cases. There is one case at Albanvale Primary School in Melbournes north-west, and one at Springside Primary School in Caroline Springs. Camberwell Grammar School was also contacting parents of pupils Saturday night who may have come into contact with a year 7 student who tested positive for coronavirus and attended the school while infectious.

Two aged care homes, Lifeview Willow Wood in Cranbourne and Royal Freemasons Springtime in Sydenham, were also in lockdown after one elderly resident at each facility tested positive to the virus. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. Media heard that half of all cases in June came from family to family transmission. Credit:Penny Stephens Australia and Victoria have suffered a significant reversal in containing the coronavirus as the number of active cases rises to 427 nationwide after months of steady declines. In NSW, just one new case of COVID-19 was diagnosed bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3144. The case is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine. UNSW Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, an infection-control expert and adviser to the World Health Organisations COVID-19 preparedness group, said she had observed a "disturbing trend" in Victoria over the past 14 days.

The state has recorded 70 percent of cases reported nationally, she said. "This is quite concerning," Professor McLaws said. "It doesn't appear to be slowing down." The head of the World Health Organisation warned yesterday that the pandemic is "accelerating" globally and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before  the highest single-day number so far. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East. Indonesia is recording more than 1000 new infections each day and epidemiologists are concerned the number of cases could pass 60,000 by the end of the month.
This time, it was thirsty pigs crammed into a hot transport truck.

But it could have just as easily been whales at Marineland or sled dogs in northern Quebec.

All life was worth fighting for to Regan Russell, say grieving friends and family after the longtime activist died under a truck at a protest outside a Burlington slaughterhouse.

The 65-year-old Hamilton woman was killed after being struck by a transport truck outside Fearmans Pork at Appleby Line and Harvester Road on Friday. Halton police were still investigating Friday evening and no charges had been laid.

But witnesses said Russell had been giving water to pigs inside the trailer of a truck entering the slaughterhouse shortly before she was struck. Video posted by Toronto Pig Save online shows several activists doing the same.

Her life partner of 19 years, Mark Powell, said Friday he does not know how Russell ended up under the truck. But he understands why his tall, beautiful, passionate best friend was willing to risk the race to give water to suffering pigs inside the trucks, which pause briefly before driving into the slaughterhouse.

She died fighting for what she believed in, said Powell, fighting to keep his voice from trembling at his home. Whatever it cost, she would pay ... Sometimes its money. Sometimes, its this.

Russell was a kind, elegant, strong and courageous person who routinely joined the protests outside the slaughterhouse, said Anita Krajnc, the founder of the Animal Save Movement who was charged but later acquitted of mischief related to giving water to pigs in a truck several years ago.

New government legislation will soon make it illegal to interfere with animals in transport or take protests onto farms  a bill that outraged Russell and prompted her last Facebook post labelling the law evil.

Russells passion for social justice was not restricted to pigs, noted Powell. She marched at the latest Black Lives Matter event in Hamilton. She helped rally a crowd of outraged residents to disrupt now-convicted sex assaulter Bill Cosbys 2015 performance in Hamilton.

Friend Donna Caprice described her tall, beautiful friend as fearless and intelligent. She was always willing to go out on a limb, for the animals, for the people she loved.

That may be why Russell was arrested on 11 occasions for various acts of civil disobedience over several decades, said a chuckling Powell, who added his life partner took a covert trip to Quebec just weeks ago to investigate reported abuse in the sled dog industry.

Thats why he sometimes strategically stayed out of the fray. I was the bail money, he said.

Her mother, Pat Russell, said she was sometimes uneasy about  but always proud  of her daughters passion for protest. I mostly worried she would be arrested, admitted the grieving 90-year-old. But animals were her life.

Friends said Russell memorably articulated her social justice motto for everyone to hear in a 2012 documentary about Marineland.

The camera catches up to Russell  later joined by her dad  after they joined anti-zoo protesters storming the fences of the controversial aquatic amusement park.

People say were breaking the law by storming? How do you think women got the right (to vote)? How do you think slavery was abolished? Russell asked rhetorically without breaking stride. People stood up and broke the laws  because theyre stupid laws.

Animal welfare activists planning a vigil for Russell warned the government not to use her death as an excuse to crack down further on protest activity.

Online, commenters exchanged heated arguments about the protest and who was to blame for Russells death.

Powell said he views the death as an accident. We cant let the cause she was fighting for become lost in a fog of outrage, he said. Keep fighting the fight, but dont be angry. Get the word out.
KERI (Kayz) Amoko was out for a drive with four friends Tuesday, on their way to a home in the North End, when the group was stopped by a Winnipeg police cruiser that had been tailing them for several minutes.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KERI (Kayz) Amoko was out for a drive with four friends Tuesday, on their way to a home in the North End, when the group was stopped by a Winnipeg police cruiser that had been tailing them for several minutes.

Officers asked for the drivers licence and registration, and told the group of young Black men there had been reports of a stolen vehicle, said Amoko, 18. When officers confirmed the car had not been stolen, the men were able to leave without incident  but the moment was burned into their minds all day, he said.

"We were shocked, honestly, I was shocked, because we had no reason to be pulled over," Amoko said in an interview Friday. "I was like, Its either were going to get away with nothing happening or its going to go the other way because its a car full of Black people."

The traffic stop was one of two incidents that surfaced on social media in photos and videos this week, depicting Winnipeg Police Service members stopping and questioning groups of Black and Indigenous men, seemingly without cause.

While those involved feel they were profiled based on race, WPS spokesman Const. Rob Carver said rationale for police stops is based "more on age" or because "something says they dont typically belong," than racial identity.

For Amoko, it was an unsettling experience.

"Theres obviously fear in the moment  you feel the fear, thats why I got out the camera," he said. "Its like the camera is some type of protection."

Amoko started recording the interaction when police arrived at the drivers-side window, and posted the clip Thursday to Instagram. He said all five men in the vehicle have been struck by the memory, and want to make others aware racial profiling is a Canadian issue.

In a separate incident Thursday, four Indigenous men were meeting at downtown Millennium Library Park when Winnipeg police officers arrived and began questioning one of them, according to a Facebook post.

It came to a halt when the grand chief of the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs, Arlen Dumas, arrived on scene and explained the mens self-help group meeting to the attending officers.

"It was a little awkward, there was a little bit of tension," Dumas said in an interview Friday. "The officer seemed pretty focused on the one individual... Despite what (the man) was telling him, he kept persisting."

Dumas said the officers told him they were called to the area. Despite there being other people in the park, police did not speak to anyone else before they left, he said. "I think it was quite unnecessary."

At an unrelated news conference Friday, Carver told the Free Press he was unaware of what had led to the traffic stop or the park call, but cautioned inaccurate conclusions could be easy to draw.

"We have no idea the background of the traffic stop, and there might be all sorts of reasons that would negate any comment that this had anything to do with race or the people who were in the car," Carver said, adding the downtown park, by contrast, is often frequented by foot patrol officers who would talk to "anyone" in the vicinity to ensure public safety.

In an email Friday afternoon, Carver confirmed the traffic stop occurred because the vehicle "made a quick turn and circled around the block, appearing to avoid police."

The incidents, however, occurred against the backdrop of sustained pressure on police agencies across North America to address systemic racism within their ranks. Carver argued it wasnt the case.

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"You take two incidents where weve got one group in a car, and a group of Indigenous men at a park, and youre asking me... are they linked to potentially racial profiling? Are we dealing with people based on judgments were making, when, in fact, both might be explained as absolutely regular course of duties?" he said.

"If were going to look at somebody, were going to look at somebody younger. If we stop somebody... were not stopping them because of race, were stopping them because something says they dont typically belong there and were kind of curious."

Carver said he is aware a microscope has been placed on police services across the country, but believes people are "leaping to conclusions that just arent supported" when it comes to racial profiling.

"Its so easy to say we stopped the individual because lets say the guy was Black or Indigenous, and in fact we stopped him because he didnt look like he fit in the neighborhood and hes going in the wrong direction," he said.

When asked whether Winnipeg police statistically perform more traffic and street stops on Black or Indigenous people, Carver said race-based data of that nature was unavailable.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca
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TEHRAN, Iran, June. 20

Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced that schools and universities in the country would re-open on September 5, following a quarantine period related to COVID-19, Trend reports via IRNA.

Schools may need to reopen from August 22nd or 28th, but we will lay the groundwork for September 5th, Rouhani said at the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus meeting.

"Those who are admitted in another city's university can study at their own town's university until further notice," he said.

The Ministry of Education made a decision regarding the schools," he said. Thursday's holidays will also be eliminated.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 202,500 people have been infected 9,507 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 161,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
The electronic industry of Vietnam is heavily dependent on FDI.

Telecommunications equipment manufactured at VNPT Technology. The foreign direct investment into electronics should aim to promote local companies and enable them to engage in the global value chain.  nhandan.com.vn

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into electronics should aim to promote local companies and enable them to engage in the global value chain, industry insiders have said.

Truong Thi Chi Binh, Deputy President of the Viet Nam Association of Supporting Industries, said the FDI wave into Viet Nam had brought significant opportunities for domestic producers to participate in FDI companies supply chains.

However, the fact was that most domestic companies were of small scale and poor capacity and few could meet the requirements of big corporations, Binh said. The production cost of electronic components of Viet Nam was often higher than in China and Thailand.

Binh said a large number of FDI investors came to Viet Nam to enjoy preferential policies in investment attraction and from free trade agreements, adding that the supporting industry in general and the electronics industry in particular struggled to take advantage of opportunities from FDI inflow.

Do Thi Thuy Huong from the Viet Nam Electronic Industries Association said electronic industry development required a huge investment in technology and high-quality labour.

Huong said training programmes at schools and universities were not suitable and remained more theoretical than practical and used mostly outdated machines.

Luu Hai Minh, chairman of Nhat Hai New Technology Joint Stock Company, said firms were still facing difficulties in accessing support policies from the Government. He said companies needed capital to invest in developing new technologies.

The electronic industry of Viet Nam is heavily dependent on FDI.

With an average annual growth rate of 50 per cent in 2010-18, the electronic industrys exports reached US$84 billion in 2018, making Viet Nam the 12th biggest exporters of electronic products in the worth and 3rd in ASEAN. However, the FDI sector accounted for some 95 per cent of the countrys export revenue.

Nguyen Dinh Hung, chairman of EDX Corporation Group, said technology transfer and environmental protection should be important factors in attracting FDI.

According to Binh, the Government should have a new approach in negotiating supply with multinational companies. Detailed plans to develop supporting industries should also be built with incentive policies for investments in technologies, she said.

For the long term, Binh said FDI inflow must promote the development of local producers and enable them to engage in global value chains.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has founded a working group in charge of attracting foreign investment in the context of the global production shift away from China spurred by the trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group will work with multinational and hi-tech corporations and those who lead the value chains for investment co-operation.

However, Viet Nam will be selective in attracting FDI with a focus on big multinational corporations and those with modern and environmentally-friendly technology.

According to the Viet Nam Foreign Investment Agency, FDI in the first five months of this year totalled $13.9 billion, down 17 per cent against the same period last year due to the impacts of the pandemic. Disbursed capital also fell by 8.2 per cent to $6.7 billion.

Viet Nam has so far attracted $376.6 billion in FDI with a disbursement rate of 58 per cent. The processing and manufacturing industry attracted more than 58 per cent of the total FDI into the country.  VNS

Electronic technology will help improve fisheries management in VN While using technology to supervise fishing vessel operations has proven an effective way to manage fisheries in Vietnam, several localities are struggling to use the technology, experts have said.
Pilot programme which could flag signs of the coronavirus by monitoring sewage systems in Wales awarded nearly 500k

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jun 20th, 2020

A pilot programme which could flag early signs of the coronavirus in Welsh communities by monitoring sewage systems, has been awarded almost half a million pounds, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed.

The Welsh Government has awarded the funding to a consortium led by Bangor University, working with Cardiff University, Public Health Wales and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water.

The frequent monitoring of coronavirus levels at waste water treatment plants can offer a signal of the infection rate in the community and provide early sign that coronavirus is present.

They will develop a monitoring programme that can measure the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in human waste is common in almost all confirmed Coronavirus cases.

The pilot programme will be funded for an initial six months, sampling will begin almost immediately in a small number of water treatment plants, rapidly expanding to up to 20 treatment plants that cover approximately 75% of the Welsh population.

Whilst monitoring for Coronavirus the systems established will also be able to determine whether other types of respiratory viruses are also present, which will help public health monitoring.

The World Health Organization is clear there is currently no evidence that coronavirus has been transmitted via sewerage systems.

The Minister for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, said: To halt the spread of the coronavirus we need to measure it within our communities and monitor changes.

This pilot programme will allow us to develop an early warning system to provide signals on the levels of coronavirus infections in the community. This will complement our wider public health programmes, including testing.

The funding provides the opportunity to build upon existing strengths and partnerships that we have in Wales in environmental sciences, disease surveillance and pathogen genomics. Im pleased to be working with partners from across Wales.

Professor Iwan Davies, Bangor University Vice-Chancellor commented: Im delighted that the ground-breaking environmental monitoring work, which combines different areas of expertise at our College of Environmental Science & Engineering, is to contribute to the nations vital work to protect communities against Covid-19 and further outbreaks of coronavirus and other infectious viruses.

Steve Wilson, Welsh Waters Managing Director of Wastewater services, said: We are very pleased to be part of this pilot programme which will play such a crucial role in helping to identify the presence of coronavirus in an area in future.

This will build on the successful partnership we already have with Bangor University on the research they undertook into the presence of traces of the virus in wastewater. This will also build on the strong working relationship we already have with Cardiff University.

Professor Andrew Weightman, Head of the Organisms and Environment Division at Cardiff Universitys School of Biosciences, said: Knowledge of how this virus is spreading in the community is a vital part of preventing the spread, particularly as lockdown measures are eased.

Wastewater monitoring of Sars-CoV-2 provides an alternative approach. Its a simple way for us to determine the level of infection in a large community.

Research suggests people start to shed the virus in faeces up to about two weeks before they get symptoms so this approach can also be used as an early warning system to indicate when levels of the virus are rising in the community.

This will help us predict the potential re-emergence of Covid-19 outbreaks  and ultimately help us protect communities across Wales.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be celebrating the World Refugee Day on June 20 to honour the courage and determination of those who have been forced to abandon their homes and flee persecution and conflict. The UN Refugee Agency is asking people from all walks of life to join the #WithRefugees with a message that everyone can make a difference, and every action counts. Marked by the coronavirus outbreak, this year the celebratory events will mostly take place virtually with millions of people taking part in cooking workshops, slam poetry, synchronized swimming, and concerts.

Read: Syrian Refugees In Lebanon Call On UN To Solve Crisis

Events across the globe

In South Sudan, a group of refugees will take part in a virtual performance of Nuban dance with their hosts in the city of Yei. The 99-story Kingdom Tower, the tallest building in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, will be illuminated in UN Blue to mark #WorldRefugeeDay. Mirys List in Los Angeles is celebrating #WorldRefugeeDay with food! Syrian cooks will be whipping up meals people can order and pick up curbside. The organizations mission is to welcome newly arrived refugees to the community. In New York, live discussion in honor of #WorldRefugeeDay is happening, where UNHCR Director Ruvendrini Menikdiwela is also present.

On #WorldRefugeeDay in #SouthSudan refugees gather with their #SouthSudanese neighbors to dance and sing. #COVID19 has us distancing this year. But you cant quench that celebratory spirit. Enjoy a virtual performance from these Nuban dancers! pic.twitter.com/vO5fcDn7R8  Adan D. Ilmi (@Adan_D_Ilmi) June 20, 2020

Read: LGBT Refugees Find A Haven In Kenya Despite Persecution

In Japan's Rikuzentakata, authorities lit up the citys famed Miracle Pine Tree in UN Blue to honour #WorldRefugeeDay. The tree became a symbol of recovery in the city, which was one of the hardest hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Greece hosted around 1,21,000 refugees and asylum seekers, where swimmers at a club in Thessaloniki spelled out a message of inclusion ahead of #WorldRefugeeDay.

This #WorldRefugeeDay Thessalonikis PAOK Athletic Club forms human banner #EveryActionCounts captured by drone.@AC_PAOK shows how to come together and that every action counts in sports and life! pic.twitter.com/c4yRKnifb5  UNHCR Greece (@UNHCRGreece) June 19, 2020

Read: World Refugee Day Messages In Support Of Refugees All Over The Globe

Read: LGBT Refugees Find A Haven In Kenya Despite Persecution
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 22:01:34|Editor: huaxia

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JUBA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has suspended South Sudan from the continental body after Juba failed to pay its annual contributions amounting to over 9 million U.S. dollars.

South Sudan's mission to Ethiopia wrote to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday informing its government that the east African country was sanctioned after it failed to pay financial contributions for three consecutive years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday confirmed the suspension of South Sudan from the pan African body.

Hakim Edward, deputy Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, said the sanctions do not deprive South Sudan of its AU membership but it only suspends the country from participating in AU meetings.

"We would like to confirm to the public that South Sudan is one of the countries that have been sanctioned by the AU due to lack of yearly financial contributions," Edward said in a statement issued on Friday night.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to assure the public that it is coordinating with the ministry of finance to resolve the matter not only with the AU but with other regional bodies," he added.

South Sudan became the 54th member of the African Union on July 27, 2011. Enditem
New Delhi, June 20 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hit back at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his statement on face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley in Ladakh and advised him to rise above "petty politics".

Putting a video of the father of an injured army man on his Twitter account, Shah said, Gandhi should stand in solidarity with national interest by shunning his politics over the issue at a time when the whole nation is united.

"A brave armyman's father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," Shah tweeted.

Shah's remark came after Rahul Gandhi in a fresh tweet accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering Indian territory to China.

"PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?," Gandhi tweeted.

The video of the father of an injured soldier shows him saying, "Indian Army is a very strong army and has the ability to defeat China and other foreign countries. Rahul Gandhi should not do politics on the issue... My son fought and will continue fighting in the army".

Gandhi had on Friday re-tweeted a video of the father with a comment that cabinet ministers were lying about the violent face-off with Chinese troops on June 15 night in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"It's sad to see senior GOI ministers reduced to lying in order to protect the PM. Don't insult our martyrs with your lies," Gandhi had tweeted then.

The attack on Indian Army personnel by Chinese People's Liberation Army happened on June 15 night and it continued for almost six to seven hours.

On June 16, Indian Army stated that 20 of their men, including officers, were killed in an unprecedented violent clash with PLA troops at Galwan valley. The force also said that the death toll would increase as many soldiers were brutally injured.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday a UN Human Rights Council vote condemning racism amounted to hypocrisy.

Pompeo said the council should focus on what he called systemic racial disparities in member countries such as Cuba and China.

"The council's decision to vote yesterday on a resolution focusing on policing and race in the US marks a new low," Pompeo said in a statement.

The council took the vote Friday after a debate prompted by protests in the US triggered by the death of African American George Floyd. A specific mention of racism and police brutality in the US was removed.
Cowlitz County Undersheriff Darren Ullmann has a blunt message for his law enforcement brethren.

As painful as it might be, and whether they are valid or not, officers need to take an honest look at complaints about police violence and bias.

We have to acknowledge theres an issue, Ullmann said in an interview last week. When people have a perception they are wronged, theres a reason behind that. ... We have to acknowledge at some point along the line, maybe we have something to do with it. Not all law enforcement, but law enforcement in general.

If agencies dont address public concerns, controversial incidents at other departments will drive public and political reaction here and across the state and nation, Ullmann said: A citizens initiative is going to come up, like it has before, or the Legislature is going to create mandates that affect all law enforcement when we had nothing to do with it.

Ullmann was one of a few local law enforcement officers willing to discuss his thoughts and feelings about the national outage and concern over the May 25 death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police. He and deputy Cory Robinson (president of the Sheriffs Deputies and Sergeants guild) and Kalama Police Chief Ralph Herrera shared ideas on what agencies and governments can consider to improve relationships with the public, and what proposals they dont think are realistic.

I think the most frustrating part is for younger officers who havent been doing the job for a long time. Theyre literally riding on that pendulum (of public opinion), Herrera said, experiencing that roller-coaster ride of public support and gratitude ... to essentially being lumped into a law enforcement culture that winds up being vilified.

Reconsidering the workload

If nothing else, officers may be overburdened, because society is asking police to handle too many situations theyre not trained for, or that could be handled better by others, the officers said.

Officers often are asked to respond to mental health crises, civil disputes, substance abuse, homelessness issues and non-criminal matters. Because its expensive to pay specialists for those issues, law enforcement has become the catch-all for many conflicts, Ullmann said.

The profession as a whole has been asked to do a tremendous amount, Herrera said.

Deputies are not counselors, Ullmann said. (Often) we show up (to a mental health call), no ones being hurt or breaking laws, and theres nothing we can do, so we leave. Its gotten better, (and) we have more of a working relationship with emergency mental health (services), but its not enough. ... We should be going in, if requested, to assist, but we should not be the primary response. If a person is in crisis, that has to be dealt with by a professional.

While deputies do receive crisis intervention training, theyre the experts, Robinson said of the local crisis response team. They go to school for six years and get master degrees.

And nuisance issues like noisy neighbors, in an ideal world, shouldnt be the domain of police and deputies either, Ullmann said. Without having to handle civil disputes over property lines or people having a non-violent mental health crisis, we (could) focus on proactive policing, Ullmann said. It can really change how things are happening.

Policing the police

But police do need to be held accountable, and part of that involves making it a part of our DNA to intervene when officers witness illegal or out-of-line behavior from their peers, Herrera said.

If you truly care about having your partners back, there are occasions where you can step in and save them from themselves, Herrera said. These are human beings doing these jobs under tremendous stress.  Id be hard-pressed to see a law enforcement leader that disagrees that if yourre an officer, witnessing something you can clearly identify as out bounds, (that) you shouldnt intervene.

Ullmann said the stresses of the job, include witnessing the dark side of human nature, can cause an an us-versus-them mentality to develop among officers.

The negativity from stressful calls and public vitriol wears on people after a while, he said. You can only keep that pent up so long. So when youre attacked by media (and) politicians ... you get these officers sticking to each-other.  It unfortunately creates an us-versus-them mentality, and thats what our problem is. We work for this community, and we live in this community.

(Look at) what happened in Minnesota, Ullmann added. Nobody stopped (officer Derek Chauvin) from what he was doing (to George Floyd). Why not? Probably for fear of being ridiculed, or for not taking care of your buddy. We have to change that mindset. If somebodys doing something wrong, they have to be called on it and stopped. We have it in our policy.  if you witness an act by a fellow deputy, you have to stop that act.

Public outreach needed

Robinson emphasized that agencies benefit from more public outreach, especially in explaining tactics when force is necessary, and to explain how policing has changed over the years.

Many times we dont really offer that information up publicly, so people are left to make that decision on their own, he said.  Heres why we do things, theres the alternatives we thought about and why they dont work. Then people can see the effort we put in. I dont think people see that process that goes on  so perhaps they dont think its going on, and it creates the perception that were not being self aware.

Perhaps the most critical part of that outreach is explaining how, when, and why police and deputies use force.

What officers did to George Floyd was inexcusable, Herrera said. Floyd died after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes (prosecutors in that case said Thursday their initial timeline of 8 minutes, 46 seconds was off by a minute), and the officer has been charged with murder.

Never in my career, not a single trainer ... or any supervisor Ive ever associated with throughout my 23 years has ever taught or trained me to think that the tactics, techniques and decisions made there are OK, Herrera said.

Ullmann was shocked by what he saw in the video, and called Chavuins ignorance of appropriate use of force appalling. And each of the three, including Robinson, said they regret that the decisions made by the Minneapolis officers have smeared law enforcement nationally.

But the occasional use of force is an inherent part of what we do, Herrera said, as long as its done appropriately and in response to an offenders resistance.

Only 38 calls for service handled by sheriffs deputies in 2019 involved a documented use of force, Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill said, and no complaints of excessive force were received. Its the other thousands of routine calls that Ullmann said get missed in the conversation.

Defunding police?

Protesters and police reform advocates have called for reducing or even outright eliminating police budgets and spending the money on other ways of intervening with mental health, drug-related and other societal issues. The three lawmen are, unsurprisingly, wary of the idea if it doesnt come with a plan.

If were not responding to those calls, can you divert some money? Possibly, Ullmann said. But Id be hesitant until we had a chance to explore all these options. ... You need to develop a smarter way of doing business, and thats going to cost money.

Making big cuts without plans would cripple the sheriffs office and lead to more stressed-out deputies, he said, especially since most costs are personnel related. And training is often the first thing to go when departments cut budgets, Herrera said.

If you subscribe to the idea that weve got work to do, we should be delivering more training, Herrera said. We dont accomplish that slashing budgets. ... (But) every jurisdiction is different. That conversation can be different at Kalama compared to NYPD or LAPD.

In any business, if you want good people, wages should be good, Robinson said. If you lower wages, then people with the skills you want will find jobs (elsewhere.)  Then you just create a situation where you dont have the quality of the people you want, and they dont get the training or equipment they need to do things correctly.

More reforms inevitable

Protesters and politicians have called for a range of reforms following Floyds death: Among them are a ban on chokeholds and no knock warrants and expanded use of officer body cameras.

The local lawmen were receptive to some of those ideas, but they cautioned against broad-brush reforms that dont take in differences among police agencies.

The local officers drew a distinction between chokeholds, which in common parlance refer to blocking a persons airway, and vascular neck restraints, in which blood flow and oxygen to the brain is restrained but the airway is left open. Deputies are trained to use neck restraints, Ullmann said, and he acknowledged that like many tactics, if somebody made a mistake and did it wrong, yes, somebody can die.

Either way, Robinson said hes never used the techniques.

In 14 years of law enforcement, Robinson said hes also never seen a no-knock warrant used locally. Ullmann concurred for his nearly 20-year career and said it would be a very, very rare circumstance that officers here could even get authorization to use one.

None of the three objected to using body cameras themselves, but cost, especially for maintaining and redacting the video, is the main issue.

Do I see it in the future? I do, Ullmann said. I think its going to be one of those unfunded mandates. ... Do I want to wear a camera all day long, not necessarily, but I have nothing to hide. Watch the film, I dont care. I did my job. But not everybody has that mindset.

And there are practical concerns over when officers can turn cameras off, Robinson pointed out, such as while talking to sex crime victims, people anonymously reporting a crime, or even when an officer needs to use the restroom.

Some calls for reform are already underway in Washington State. 2018 ballot initiative I-940 requires independent investigations into uses of deadly force, mandatory de-escalation, implicit bias and mental health training for officers, more community involvement and oversight and a policy that officers have a duty to render first aid. It also replaced the standard of malice with a good faith standard when it comes to criminally charging officers for unlawful uses of deadly force.

Thats why Ullmann said hes wary of broad strokes reform efforts: What happens in New York City, Chicago, or Seattle is very different than what happens in Cowlitz County ... I want to get ahead of it and create our own way through this process.

If communities are going to continue relying on law enforcement, Ullmann said, the job needs to change  for everyones sake.

We have guys that burn out on patrol way sooner than they should. A lot of that comes from that constant, constant negativity. We deal with negativity; thats what our job has become.  If we can look at the culture of policing, maybe we can fix that and find another way of doing business that isnt such a drain.

Herrera, who is white and Hispanic, said he experienced his own share of racism and prejudice growing up in Central Florida. He saw his own father endure it moving through his law enforcement career.

But Herrera said he hasnt experienced racism from his law enforcement coworkers, even though that hasnt made him immune to it outside of work. In Florida, he once had an interaction with an officer from another agency who didnt realize Herrera was an off-duty cop.

I hadnt identified myself as law enforcement, and I was treated disrespectfully, dismissed and cast aside. Once ... I identified who I was, that tone changed. The interaction changed immediately.  I look at those experiences growing up, inside and outside of the profession, as examples of what I dont ever want to see in my officers.

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The Supreme Court on Friday declined stay on the redevelopment of Lutyens Delhis Central Vista for the second time in two months stating that it cannot prevent government authorities from acting as per law.

The bench headed by justice AM Khanwilkar, however, made it clear on Friday that any work done on the project will be subject to the orders passed by the court in future.

The bench clarified this after the Centre, through its second senior-most law officer solicitor general Tushar Mehta, told the top court that it cannot give any assurance that no work on the ground will be done.

The case was adjourned for July 7 after the central government requested additional time to file its response.

The Supreme Court had earlier refused to stay the project when the matter had come up for hearing on April 30.

The Central Vista houses iconic buildings like the Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the North and South Block buildings, which house important ministries, and the India Gate. The government is proposing to redevelop the Central Vista by constructing a new Parliament house, a residential complex that will house the Prime Minister and the Vice President, besides several new office buildings.

The petitioners, advocate Rajeev Suri and retired Lt. Colonel Anuj Srivastava sought a direction from the court that no further work should take place on the ground (construction work) in furtherance of the project even if approvals are granted. The bench declined to grant such relief.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid a surprise visit to Leh and Ladakh for the first time after the clash with China in the region. PM Modi also addressed the soldiers at Ladakh praising their 'fire and fury' and paid tributes to the ones martyred in the Galwan Valley clash. Earlier, India and China agreed to disengage and "strictly abide" by the important consensus reached by their leaders and a series of agreements. Stay tuned for more updates.
Tucker Carlson has taken aim at liberal bias at big tech companies after Twitter flagged one his posts as 'potentially sensitive' and YouTube warned viewers one his videos may be 'inappropriate or offensive to some audiences'.

In a withering monologue on his Fox News program Friday night, the outspoken conservative raged: 'The left's goal is to make dissent invisible and therefore irrelevant. Meanwhile, these same tech companies make it very easy for 12-year-olds to watch hardcore pornography. They have no problem with that at all.'

'But political views they disagree with? No. Gone with the Wind'? Too scary. Tells you everything about what they care about and who they are.'

The drama began last week, when Carlson took to Twitter to share a segment from his program which mocked Seattle's new police-free Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).

Producers on his program had created a satirical tourism advertisement promoting the CHAZ, which stated in part: 'It's the anarchist utopia you never knew you needed!'

The ad then mocked the area's protesters, graffiti and portable toilets, by contrasting chaotic scenes with a soundtrack featuring relaxing holiday music.

'Look at all the things you're missing out on - luxury accommodations and thought-provoking artworks for the intellectual types,' the narrator of the satirical segment continued, as the camera panned over dilapidated tents and crude signs saying 'F**k the police'.

After Carlson posted a satirical clip to Twitter last week, moderators quickly hid it behind a warning which read: 'The following media includes potentially sensitive content'

New tourism ad in from Americas newest neighbor: The Nation of CHAZ pic.twitter.com/2FowsblzPY  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2020

After Carlson posted the satirical clip to Twitter last week, moderators quickly hid it behind a warning which read: 'The following media includes potentially sensitive content'.

Viewers are now forced to click 'view' if they want to watch the clip, rather than have it play automatically.

That enraged Carlson, who sarcastically stated on his program Friday: 'I want to apologize if you found what you just saw, hateful, disgusting, or if you were traumatized by watching it.

In a withering monologue on his Fox News program Friday night , Carlson accused big tech of censorship and liberal bias

'Twitter's very concerned you might be. We posted that fake ad on Twitter. Twitter flagged it as potentially sensitive content' and then they hid it from view.

'What were they saying? They were saying, "Beware, keep your kids from watching this." What's the justification for warning people of that? We have no idea," Carlson said. "Probably that it's edited video. Of course, they never flag a clip from The Onion or The Daily Show [a liberal news program hosted by Trevor Noah]. Obviously, you know why.'

Carlson then referenced the fact that the opening monologue from his June 1 broadcast now comes with a warning for viewers watching it on YouTube.

The 26-minute video, titled 'Our Leaders Dither As Our Cities Burn' has now been flagged as a 'GRAPHIC VIDEO' and potential viewers must sign in to YouTube with an email address to confirm their age before watching it.

'The following content has been identified by the YouTube community, whatever that is, as inappropriate or offensive to some audiences,' Carlson said on his Friday show.

'By offensive, they mean that the left doesn't like it. And that is the new standard. And there's only one response under that standard: Silence the person who disagrees with you.'

Carlson then referenced the fact that the opening monologue from his June 1 broadcast now comes with a warning for viewers watching it on YouTube

'That's why censorship is now everywhere. It's why the tech companies started censoring the president. It's why they're getting more and more aggressive in silencing you,' he continued.

It's not the first time the firebrand broadcaster has hit out at big tech censorship.

Earlier this week, Carlson slammed Google over its threat to demonetize The Federalist, a right-wing news outlet, over reader comments on its stories.

Carlson has frequently complained about big tech on his popular Fox News program

The Federalist was listed in an NBC story written by a journalist who contacted Google in regards to a list of 10 American websites a British think tank had deemed racist.

In the NBC story, a Google spokeswoman was quoted as saying it had 'removed the site's ability to monetize'.

Later, Google said it had never demonetized The Federalist - which is run by Meghan McCain's husband - and that it got in touch to address something in the website's comments section that violated standards.

Now that the comments section has been removed, Google said, the matter was 'addressed'.

President Trump is also a prominent critic of big tech - accusing them of censorship and bias.

Last month, he signed an Executive Order on Thursday 'Preventing Online Censorship' - with the Commander-in-chief accusing social media giants of holding 'anti-conservative bias'.

The Order could open Twitter, Facebook and Google up to lawsuits by diluting the legal protection which stops them from being liable for posts on their platforms, and which also allows them to moderate content.

Trump's Executive Order said websites such as Twitter and Facebook 'wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events'. Twitter said the order was a political move which attacked free speech.
While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. We'll use ROE to examine Inchcape plc (LON:INCH), by way of a worked example.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for Inchcape

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Inchcape is:

25% = UK329m  UK1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every 1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn 0.25 in profit.

Does Inchcape Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Inchcape has a higher ROE than the average (12%) in the Retail Distributors industry.

LSE:INCH Past Revenue and Net Income June 20th 2020

That's what we like to see. Bear in mind, a high ROE doesn't always mean superior financial performance. Especially when a firm uses high levels of debt to finance its debt which may boost its ROE but the high leverage puts the company at risk. To know the 3 risks we have identified for Inchcape visit our risks dashboard for free.

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Story continues

Combining Inchcape's Debt And Its 25% Return On Equity

Inchcape clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.30. There's no doubt the ROE is impressive, but it's worth keeping in mind that the metric could have been lower if the company were to reduce its debt. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.

Summary

Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
A BJP MLA and his wife tested positive for Covid-19 causing a flutter in the BJP state unit and Congress both and also among the assembly staff as the MLA had attended the BJP legislature party meetings on Wednesday and Thursday and cast his vote during the Rajya Sabha polls held at the assembly premises on Friday, according to legislators from Congress and BJP.

The MLA happens to be the second legislator in the state to be infected with Covid-19. Earlier, a Congress MLA tested positive for the virus. He turned up in a personal protective equipment (PPE) kit in the state assembly on Friday afternoon to cast his vote. He, however, had been given the facility of a postal ballot that he didnt go for.

The state Congress has accused the BJP MLA of putting in peril the life of other legislators including chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who chaired the BJP legislature party meetings and also cast his vote in RS polls, state assembly secretariat staff and the selected media people who were allowed to cover the Rajya Sabha polls amid the Covid-19 situation.

State Congress spokesperson Ajay Yadav said, We have learnt that the BJP MLA got samples of his wife and himself tested for coronavirus two days back but still he attended the BJP legislature party meetings, mingled with other MLAs and BJP leaders. He has committed a grave offence by concealing the information about his health and he should be immediately booked for spreading the virus knowingly as was done in several other cases in the state.

The MLA confirmed that he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19. However, he said, they went for the test on Friday only.

When my wife complained about fever we got our samples tested on Friday. Now we are going to be hospitalised, the MLA said over phone.

State BJP spokesperson and MLA Rameshwar Sharma said, I cant comment on whether the MLA knew about his health conditions but we are alert about our health and consulting doctors as to what to do. However, certain MLAs have gone to hospitals too for their test today. Another concern is many MLAs who came from other districts to Bhopal to cast their votes have returned to their homes. If any of these MLAs test positive for coronavirus, his family members too will be prone to contracting the disease and so will the others who are in contact with him.

Congress MLA and former minister PC Sharma said, Certainly we were all almost together in a closed area during the poll. I was the election agent for the party candidate Digvijaya Singh. In that capacity, I met the assembly staff too and received the certificate of election from the returning officer in presence of several others. Even otherwise, we put signatures on papers that might have been touched by the infected MLA too. Some MLAs have gone to the government hospital for their test. We are also consulting doctors.

State assembly principal secretary and returning officer for Rajya Sabha election AP Singh said, We all followed all required safety measures including social distancing norms and the state assembly premises was sanitised on Friday. But its a matter of concern if the MLA removed his face mask to talk to others or some legislators and others might have come close to him. Thats why we are looking at the CCTV footage to find out if the infected MLA had removed his face mask while interacting with other MLAs and to know how many MLAs and assembly staff came in contact with him or stood close to him.

As many as 206 MLAs cast their votes on Friday during the Rajya Sabha polls. They include the Congress MLA who tested positive for coronavirus. He, however, appeared in a PPE kit to cast his vote. The other MLAs include 107 from BJP including chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and five ministers, 91 from Congress, four independent, 2 BSP and 1 SP MLAs. The Rajya Sabha candidates Digvijaya Singh from Congress and Sumer Singh Solanki from BJP were also there.
(Newser)  President Trump was outraised by Joe Biden in May, taking in $74 million for his reelection, but he maintains a sizable advantage in cash on hand over the presumptive Democratic nominee. The pro-Trump effort, which includes fundraising by the Republican National Committee, on Saturday reported its total days after Biden and Democrats said they'd amassed nearly $81 million last month for his White House bid, per the AP. Trump reported having $265 million in the bank at the end of May. Biden and Democrats have yet to disclose their comparable numbers for that period, but the figures were expected to be available later Saturday once the campaign made its official filing with the Federal Election Commission. The total was $103 million in the bank at the end of April.

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Trump's campaign announced this week that it raised $14 million last Sunday, which was the president's birthday. Biden on Monday brought in $6 million at a single event featuring Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a onetime rival for the nomination. He plans a fundraiser Tuesday with former President Barack Obama. Trump's campaign has begun wide-scale general election ads, spending about $24 million on television and digital spots over the past month, but it has come as the president's standing in both public and private surveys has taken a hit.

(Read more Election 2020 stories.)
June 19 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has sold one of his homes in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles for $29 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing public records.

"I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house," Musk had said https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1256239554148724737 in a tweet on May 1.

The buyer is a company tied to Chinese billionaire William Ding, the report https://on.wsj.com/37Hy3pe said. He is the founder and chief executive officer of online gaming firm NetEase Inc.

Musk bought the house for $17 million in 2012 from Mitchell Julis, co-founder of hedge fund Canyon Capital Advisors, according to the report.

Musk still owns other properties in the area, the WSJ report said. (Reporting by Bharath Manjesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
B razil passed a million coronavirus cases on Friday and approached 50,000 deaths, although experts believe these figures are probably several times higher.

The country is the second-worst hit in the world after the US, and reached 1,032,913 confirmed cases on Friday according to the ministry of health. Deaths are at nearly 49,000 and the virus has reached more than 80 per cent of Brazil's towns and cities.

It is feared the spread of the virus may even be speeding up, as new cases reached a daily high of nearly 55,000 on Friday.

But the real figures may be even worse, as a lack of widespread testing may be masking the true extent of the virus.

Medics rescue a patient in critical conditions after being infected by coronavirus in Brazil / Getty Images

Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a professor at Sao Paulo state university, told Reuters: That number of 1 million is much less than the real number of people who have been infected, because there is under-reporting of a magnitude of five to 10 times.

The true number is probably at least three million and could even be as high as ten million people.

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for his handling of the pandemic, with mass protests in recent weeks.

A piece of anti-Bolsonaro graffiti in Brazil / REUTERS

Mr Bolsonaro has claimed the economic impact of social distancing is worse than coronavirus and promoted the use of two drugs that are unproven to work on the virus.

Parts of the country have started to emerge from lockdown in recent weeks, despite the high number of infections and deaths. Public health experts and doctors have warned this could lead to a second wave of the virus.

The country is also facing a worsening economic situation, with the government predicting an economic contraction of nearly five per cent for 2020.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Cleveland chapter of the NAACP participated in the Buckeye neighborhoods Freedom Walk from Benedictine High School through the Buckeye neighborhood to celebrate Juneteenth and protest continued inequalities with Black citizens.

Around 200 participated in the peaceful walk escorted by Cleveland police that ended at the Art and Soul Park. NAACP President Danielle L. Sydnor addressed the walkers celebrating Juneteenth, the emancipation of those who were enslaved in the United States, and emphasized that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done for equality and erasing racism.

Sydnor closed the Freedom Walk address by encouraging participants to support the local Buckeye businesses and arts and crafts in the vendor village as rhythmic beats from a drum circle began to fill the air.

The Annual Juneteenth celebration, led by Buckeye neighborhood residents, was co-sponsored by the NAACP Cleveland chapter, the Buckeye Summer Soul Series and Neighbor Up.
Mumbai Police said on Saturday it has recorded the statements of 14 people who knew late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in order to understand the reason behind his death. Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14.

Bandra Police had recorded a case of accidental death the same day.We have recorded the statements of 14 persons and an inquiry is ongoing, Abhishek Trimukhe, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 9), said.

An officer said recording statements of people close to a person who has died by suicide is established police protocol.

The official added that the department has spoken to Rajputs father, his two sisters, his friend and creative manager Siddharth Pithani, manager Sandeep Sawant, friend and actor Mahesh Shetty, casting director Mukesh Chabbra, business manager Shruti Modi, public relations manager Ankita Tehlani, actor Rhea Chakraborty, a key maker and two house staff.

None of the family members or friends has levelled any allegation, an investigating officer said requesting anonymity said.

Mumbai Police have also written to firms with which the actor had worked with, or had a contract, to understand the terms of the contract.
An 88-year-old Tennessee woman was charged with aggravated assault after she shot a man who she thought was trying to steal from her liquor store.

May Boyce, 88, the owner of Murfreesboro Road Liquor and Wines in Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested after the shooting incident which took place Tuesday at about 8.46pm.

Boyce - who has since been freed on a $10,000 bond - was charged with aggravated assault after she shot Ramon Fisher because she thought he and another man were trying to rob the store.

May Boyce, 88, the owner of Murfreesboro Road Liquor and Wines in Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested after the shooting incident which took place Tuesday at about 8.46pm

Boyce is free on a $10,000 bond after the incident, the Nashville Police Department tweeted

Police said that Boyce told them that Fisher and the other man had entered the store and gone to where the vodka was located, WKRN reported.

She claimed the other man - who was not identified - then approached her counter in a way that suggested that he and Fisher intended to steal from her, so she picked up her gun and placed it next to the register.

She then said that she slowly unwrapped the cloth that she kept the gun in.

Boyce then said that the man asked for brown liquor and that Fisher went to take two bottles, at which point Boyce - believing Fisher was going to steal the liquor - went to the opening in her counter to face off with him.

She said that Fisher lunged at her, leading her to think he was going to push her, and ran off towards the exit.

At that point, Boyce said that she stepped out from behind the counter, told Fisher to stop and pointed the gun at the ground in his direction, pulling the trigger once.

Fisher then apparently fell onto a stack of bottles, yelling that he'd been shot, before the other man helped him out the door.

When interviewed by police, Fisher first said he was drinking and was on cocaine when he went into Boyce's liquor store (pictured), but then changed his story the next day

One of Boyce's customers claimed that her store had been robbed two months ago and that she had been assaulted and injured during that incident

Police said that while they interviewed a medicated Fisher at the hospital after the shooting, he said that he had been drinking and using cocaine.

Fisher then allegedly said he and three friends had gone to Boyce's store, intending to steal liquor, and that while he had been trying to steal the liquor, Boyce shot him in the back.

Police said that the next day, Fisher denied intending to steal the liquor.

Instead, he said that the other man - who Fisher called 'One Eye' - had told him that he was going to pay for the liquor and to take it.

Fisher also claimed that he had been walking, not running, towards the exit when he was shot. After falling, he said that he was carried out of the store and ran until an uninvolved third person picked him up.

The Nashville Police Department tweeted that Fisher is recovering.

A man claiming to be a regular customer of Boyce's defended her, wrote on Facebook that her store was robbed two months prior and that she had been assaulted in the process.

He said that she had been pushed down and has had to wear a wrist brace on a daily basis since then.
Funding to the tune of 500,000 has been announced for community groups nationwide who wish to apply for grant funding under the Department of Justice and Equality Communities Integration Fund.

Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration & Integration, David Stanton TD, today announced the funding for community integration projects to be carried out in 2020.

The Communities Integration Fund will provide grant funding for local community projects that support the integration of migrants. Applications can now be made online to the Funds Administration Unit at the Department of Justice and Equality.

Launching this years call for applications, Minister Stanton said: What happens at the local level is critical to successful integration, and I believe strongly in the power of communities when it comes to bringing about lasting change.

In 2017, I launched the first Communities Integration Fund, which supports local initiatives by migrant and non-migrant groups to promote inclusion and most importantly, allow people to get to know each other. 124 organisations received funding in 2019 and projects are being funded which are explicitly intended to challenge racism at grass roots level.

The 2020 call for applications for this fund is now live, and I would encourage groups around the country who are working to promote inclusion in their locality to contact the Department and make an application.

Last year, every county in Ireland was allocated funding for locally run projects to support the integration of migrants. The projects granted funding are local community based projects, with a maximum grant amount of 5,000 and a minimum grant amount of 1,000 allocated to any single project. 282 applications were received in 2019 with 124 projects successfully granted funding.

The Communities Integration Fund was first established in 2017 to implement the commitment under Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy to support actions by local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.

This call is open to local community based groups carrying out projects or activities under the following themes:

Combating Racism and Xenophobia  A project aimed at preventing racism and xenophobia among local communities.

Intercultural Awareness  A project that brings host communities and migrant communities together to celebrate each others cultures and customs.

Sport & Community Games  A project to facilitate local migrant integration by encouraging migrants to get involved in sport.

Arts  A project to encourage social interaction between migrants and members of their local communities, through arts and crafts, music, dance, theatre and literature. Projects considered may be in the form of visual art, crafts, dance, film, literature, music, opera and theatre; including contemporary art practices such as performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art etc.

Other Community Events  A project to adapt existing community activities or events to make them more inclusive of migrants.

Capacity Building  A project with a social inclusion focus that seeks to help particularly vulnerable groups of migrants overcome specific difficulties (e.g. English conversation classes for young migrant parents not active in the labour market).

Employment  A project offering employment advice and/or opportunities, e.g. through sponsorship by local businesses for training, skills assessment, placements, etc.

Integration Research  A project to identify knowledge gaps and carry out local needs assessments so that local community integration resources can be used to maximum benefit.

Food/Cuisine  A project to promote inter-culturalism and integration through the sharing of different cuisines and cooking methods.

Education  A project focused on the educational needs of migrants through provision of additional supports to help migrant children to maximise the benefit of their school attendance (e.g. homework clubs) and older migrants to develop their language skills and better orient themselves to Irish society.

As this Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications must demonstrate how they will involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed and projects may not be directed solely to any one particular group or nationality.

Project activities must be additional to the usual business of the applicant organisation and should complement but not replace mainstream structures at local level.

Eligible Project Dates

Projects must commence before 31 December 2020 and must be completed no later than 30 June 2021. Projects failing to observe these dates will be deemed ineligible, and funding returned. 2019 projects have been allowed to carry funding forward until 30 June 2021 due to COVID-19.

The application period runs from 9am Friday 19th June (today) until 1pm, Thursday 16th July, 2020.

Applications must be submitted electronically, and Community Groups can access a guidance document and complete an online application form at https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CIF2020.
With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting our economy, Sandoval County is faced with cutting or reducing funding in contracts.

On Thursday evening at the Sandoval County Commission meeting, commissioners approved reduction in funding to the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service by 30 percent for each contract.

The vote passed 3:1 with Jay Block, District 4, voting no, and Kenneth Eichwald, District 5, unable to attend the meeting.

With this 30 percent cut, the extension service will receive $60,979 from the county to help fund education and skills in agriculture, home economics, health and nutrition, and horticulture. This includes funding for 4-H, a youth program teaching skills from agriculture to cooking.

The program participates in the county fair, which has been canceled due to the pandemic. The extension service is unable to provide the same experiences, having canceled many activities through Aug. 8, according to the meeting agenda.

The extension service will also receive $28,592 for the canning center in Jemez Valley, providing nutritional food preservation education, according to the contract with the county.

These cuts hurt across the entire county budget, and you are going to hurt people wherever, but we have already gotten rid of the summer youth employment program; thats gone. We have already gotten rid of the county fair; thats gone. This is a tough pill to swallow here for the extension service, Block said.

Sandoval County spokesman Stephen Montoya said the 30 percent reduction in funding will take effect in August.

In September, commissioners will revisit the funding to see if there is any room in the budget to increase funding to the extension service.

There are a lot of young people in this program, and I hate to see it cut, Block said.

Chairman David Heil, District 4, said last year there was a buffer of $600,000 in the budget; this year there is less than $100,000.

And this is a guesstimate  this isnt a perfect estimate of what we are having to deal with, he said.

Heil said the county is projecting a $3 million reduction in property taxes.

The county will not receive $540,000 in funding from the Healthcare Career Advancement Program, he said.

About $650,000 from the landfill will be going into the reserve fund, not the general, he said.

The combined total of funding not being added to the general fund is about $4.2 million, Heil said.

Now lets talk about our reserves. We have about $6 million in reserves. That is 3/12 of the general fund  that is a requirement by the DFA (state Department of Finance and Administration)  you cant just take the money out of the reserves and move it to the general fund, he said.

To move money from the reserves, it has to be approved by the DFA, Heil said.

I understand that we have been awarded the COPS grant (Community Oriented Policing Services) and it is going to take another $260,000 to provide all the equipment for the cops. That is not in this budget, he said.

Heil said the county is looking for a way to fund the $260,000.

So this is the background we are having this conversation in. Nobody wants to do this with the extension service. But if you dont do it here, you are going to take it from someplace else, he said.

The next Sandoval County Commission meeting will be at 4 p.m. July 9. To submit a public comment, visit sandovalcountynm.gov.
Spain's foreign affairs minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, announced on Saturday that Spain will allow British citizens to enter the country without having to quarantine for two weeks. British travellers will therefore, and as from Sunday, be treated like those arriving from other European countries.

"We are going to allow British visitors to enter Spain like the rest of the citizens of the EU and the Schengen area from June 21 without the need for quarantine," the minister stated in an interview with the BBC. Gonzalez Laya had said a few days ago that Spain was considering quarantine for British travellers, pointing to possible "reciprocity" with the UK's 14-day quarantine requirement.

The minister explained that Spain will require travellers to register* "so that we have a contact and can locate them if they catch coronavirus" and that "we are maintaining contacts with the British authorities to see if they will do the same", hoping that the UK government will be "sensitive to the 250,000 Spaniards living in the UK and wanting to enter the UK without having to quarantine". Of UK visitors who want to travel to Spain without needing to quarantine, Gonzalez Laya added that "we are doing this out of respect for the 400,000 Britons who have their second residence in Spain".

* All foreign travellers arriving in Spain from June 21 will have to fill out a form with location information.
Photo: Getty

Passengers arriving at UK airports could be tested for COVID-19 and have the results within five hours.

Saliva swab tests used by the NHS to screen for the virus are to be tested on 500 passengers a day in the initial stages, reports BBC News.

Companies are planning to trial the scheme to enable travellers to bypass the government's 14-day quarantine if their test is negative.

People will have to pay around 140 ($172.88) for a test booked online before travel, with the trial expected to begin at a major UK airport within weeks.

Passengers would visit an airport clinic after immigration to take a test and self-isolate at home until they received the result. A negative result could be returned within five hours but the plan is for every participant to be notified within 24 hours.

Jason Holt, boss of ground-handling firm Swissport UK, which is one of two companies involved, described the scheme as a "win-win".

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Airbus extends furlough scheme in UK, Spain

"We accept that the quarantine is in place. This will complement it and help put UK aviation back on its feet," he told the BBC.

"If they [the passenger] were COVID-negative we would ask the government to consider them to be free from the quarantine and they would have 13 days plus avoiding the quarantine."

Nurses would carry out the airport swab tests at clinics run by medical firm Collinson, which is yet to confirm government approval.

Once the pilot has been trialled Collinson expects it to be scaled -up so hundreds of thousands of passengers can be tested a day.

Swab tests for passengers are already in place at airports in Hong Kong and Vienna and a trial began at Jersey airport earlier this month.

The government is looking to make an announcement on 29 June confirming a number of "travel corridors" to allow passengers to travel to and from the UK and agreed European countries without the need for quarantine.

Airlines have slammed the UK and Irish government's strict quarantine rules claiming they are exacerbating the crisis within the aviation industry.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Travel quarantine rules to relax for some countries
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has passed the resolution with a thin margin on June 19 that would implement strict penalties against Israel for the settlement activities and accusations of human rights violations including an arms embargo. According to international media reports, the resolution has also called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to come up with a report in 2021 on how Israel can be cornered to adhere to UN resolutions that call for ceasing settlement activity and the withdrawal to lines before 1967. The Geneva-based organisation approved the resolution by 22-8 vote and 17 abstentions in its 43rd online sessions.

#HRC43 Council adopts w 22Y, 8N, 17Abst. res. ensuring accountability & #justice for all violations of intl. law in #OPT, incl. East Jerusalem & calls on all parties to ensure future demonstrations remain #peaceful & to abstain from actions that could endanger lives of civilians. pic.twitter.com/PFnlkQvfPx  HRC SECRETARIAT (@UN_HRC) June 19, 2020

The resolution has called upon all states to promote compliance with international law and all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention...including by ensuring that they do not become involved in internationally unlawful conduct, and to assess the potential that arms could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian or human rights law.

Read - Israel To Appoint Former Ambassador To India As Director General Of Foreign Ministry

Read - Israeli Soldier Gets Community Service After Killing Gazan

'Breach of international law'

The UNHRC approving the resolution on Israel came just days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called Israeli annexations on West Bank amounts to breach of international law. While addressing the British parliament over possibility of imposing sanctions on Israel over its developments on West Bank settlements, Johnson noted that the country has strongly objected and said they believe in a two-state solution. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley. This move has the potential to dismantle any hopes of a Palestinian state.

Johnson said: I believe that what is proposed by Israel would amount to a breach of international law. We have strongly objected. We believe profoundly in a two-state solution and we will continue to make that case.

Read - Jordan's FM Visits Palestinians Amid Israeli Annexation Plan

Read - UAE Official: Israel Annexation May Draw Calls For One State

Inputs: Agencies/ Image: @UN_HRC/Twitter
Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe came to an end with 2019, and we have to commend Marvel Studios for revolutionising the genre of superhero movies and coming up with an entire universe of stories and narratives which comic-book nerds thought was only possible on paper.

Having said that, ever since Iron Man I first came out in 2008, one of the biggest reasons for the success of the franchise has to be the interesting details that the directors hid in plain sight, which can be easter eggs, or hints for future storylines or even simple mistakes that the editors forgot to take care of.

Here are the top five most-paused movie moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

1. Agent Romanoffs Stunt Double (The Avengers - 2012)

Remember how excited you were to watch Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor all together in one film back in 2012? In one of the first few scenes of the movie, you could see Natasha Romanoff tied to a chair, interrogating some bad guys. As soon as Phil Coulson calls, she gets out of the chair by slamming it against one of them after a somersault.

 Marvel Studios

If you pause the movie at the right time, you can clearly see Scarlett Johanssons stunt double, Heidi Moneymakers face in the shot.



2. Captain Americas List (Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a major upgrade from Steve Rogers first film. It has a better story, seemed more realistic, with some crazy action sequences. However, the most paused moment from the movie comes rather early when Rogers meets Falcon while jogging.

Cap takes out a tiny diary in which he writes everything that he missed out on while being frozen in the North Atlantic Ocean. Easter egg finders from all over the world paused at his moment to check out whats written. The list also changed according to where you are watching the film:

3. Doctor Selvigs Research Board (Thor: The Dark World - 2013)

Lokis sceptre did a real number on Dr Erik Selvig during the events of The Avengers and even though he was recovered (relatively) by the end, he wasnt quite right and had to spend some time at a mental institute. Here, he tried to teach everyone about the theories of multi-universe by drawing a massive diagram on a board in Thor: The Dark World.

Taking this as a potential source of information for things to come, fans back then paused to check out everything Selvig wrote on the board and they werent disappointed.

 Marvel Studios

4. Captain America Vs Iron Man (Captain America: Civil War - 2016)

The final movie of the Captain America franchise which, lets face it, was another Avengers movie, Civil War, sure moved away from the story of the comic books but the superhero forces being divided into two halves was spot on.

As the movie nears its end and Cap and Tony are busy kicking each others ass, there is a slow motion scene in which Iron Mans blast cannon is firing against Rogers shield.

 Marvel Studios

This scene was intentionally created and was one of the biggest and most evident easter eggs, paying homage to the book itself.

 Marvel Comics

5. Discovering Wakanda (Iron Man 2 - 2010)

One of the biggest 'pausable' moments in the MCU occurred an entire decade ago, at the end of Iron Man 2, when Nick Fury and Tony discuss how the latter isnt fit to become a part of the Avengers initiative.

In the background, was a map which showed four hotspots on it, all of which meant something major either as easter eggs or future storylines.

 Marvel Studios

The first spot was placed in New Mexico, where they were about to find Thors hammer. Second, was in South America, where Bruce Banner lived at the time. The third spot was in eastern Africa as a foreshadow for Black Panther and Wakanda.



Finally, the fourth spot was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which many believe, was a heads up for Namor, a character Marvel Studios doesnt have the rights to.
U.S. President Donald Trump does not like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and once personally instructed his staff to attack him in television interviews, former White House official John Bolton alleges in his new book.

In his soon-to-be-released memoir, The Room Where It Happened, Bolton recounts the leaders' notorious dustup at the G7 conference in Quebec in 2018.

The tension at the meeting was widely known at the time, given Trump's move to impose broad tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including products from allied countries like Canada.

Bolton, the former White House national security adviser, said the president had negative feelings about the leaders of Canada and France. In his book, he describes the unusual interpersonal dynamics of their meetings.

Leah Millis/Reuters

"Trump didn't really like either Macron or Trudeau," Bolton writes. "But he tolerated them, mockingly crossing swords with them in meetings, kidding on the straight.

"I assume they understood what he was doing, and they responded in kind, playing along because it suited their interests not to be in a permanent tiff with the U.S. president."

Inside that infamous G7 meeting

Bolton offers an insider account of one well-known flareup at the end of that G7 meeting.

The leaders were struggling to hammer out a closing communique at the conference.

At one point, Bolton writes, Trump's then-chief of staff John Kelly called for Bolton to join the prolonged haggling session  where the problems in the meeting were quickly made clear.

Bolton writes the chief of staff walked out as he was walking in, saying, "This is a disaster."

Bolton quickly concurred  he says Trump seemed tired, yet Macron and Trudeau were aggressively pushing the president to accept policy provisions he disagreed with.

PMO via REUTERS

He says he couldn't tell if Trump was playing hardball with them. But he did conclude the president had not prepared for the G7 meeting and didn't understand the issues.

Story continues

Both the White House and Trudeau's office declined to comment on Bolton's book.

Another official present at that G7 meeting told CBC News today that Bolton's account is accurate, although the leaders' meeting itself was quite cordial.

He did agree with Bolton that the U.S. president appeared to have arrived at the summit unaware of the issues.

Iran and climate change

And he said Bolton was correct in his description of deep policy disagreements at the summit  especially on the Iran nuclear deal and climate change. After some compromises, both of those issues made it into the communique in a watered-down form.

The official also said Bolton himself pushed back against the idea of referring to the importance of preserving the rules-based international order in the communique.

Bolton writes that once the communique was drafted, "we were done with the G7, I thought."

That assumption proved to be premature.

The attack order on Trudeau

On a subsequent flight to Asia to meet with the leader of North Korea, Trump erupted in rage when he learned that Trudeau had once again complained about the U.S. tariffs at the closing news conference.

Trump then fired off tweets withdrawing support for the G7 communique  an action Bolton describes as unprecedented.

He said the president woke up Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "throw a fit" about Trudeau's closing press conference.

Bolton said he then spoke with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who was scheduled to appear on Sunday TV talk shows.

"Trump's direction [to Kudlow] was clear: Just go after Trudeau. Don't knock the others. Trudeau's a 'behind your back guy,'" Bolton writes.

He says there was no doubt that Trump wanted Kudlow and fellow White House aide Peter Navarro to attack Trudeau.

Navarro also went on TV and said there was a "special place in hell" for Trudeau because of the way he treated Trump.

Tensions between the Canadian and American leaders have ebbed and flowed in the two years since that notorious meeting.

Leah Millis/Reuters

Eventually, U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were removed on Canada and Mexico. Kudlow, meanwhile, has since told reporters that he and Trudeau shared a friendly moment later in 2018 and patched things up at that year's G20 meeting in Argentina.

Bolton's dig at Chretien over Huawei

Bolton's book also takes a quick dig at former prime minister Jean Chretien. It involves Chretien's suggestion that Canada should free Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, in Canadian custody pending extradition to the U.S.

"Never a friend of the U.S., [Chretien] was arguing that Canada should simply not abide by our extradition treaty," he writes.

"[Vice President Mike] Pence, Pompeo and I all urged Canada to stand firm, stressing we would support them every way we could, including directly raising with China the mistreatment of Canadian citizens."
It was a celebration in the Spears house on Friday.

Jamie Lynn Spears marked her eldest daughter Maddie's 12th birthday and gushed over her in an Instagram post.

'HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY to the sweetest sister, baddest baller,' the 29-year-old wrote. 'And best daughter in the whole wide world.'

Celebrating: Jamie Lynn Spears marked her eldest daughter Maddie's 12th birthday and gushed over her in an Instagram post, on Friday

The former Zoey 101 star shared a slideshow of Maddie blowing out candles on her bright yellow softball style cake.

Maddie seemed to be enjoying a pool day in an adorable flamingo swimsuit as she cuddled up to her little sister Ivey, two.

Jamie Lynn went on to share photos with Maddie over the years.

One showed the then toddler busting a move while her mom kneeled in support behind her.

HBD: 'HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY to the sweetest sister, baddest baller,' the 29-year-old wrote. 'And best daughter in the whole wide world'

Throwback: She shared a throwback that showed the then toddler busting a move while her mom kneeled in support behind her

She shared what appeared to be a paparazzi shot of the two, a few years prior to Maddie's 12th birthday, as they walked down city streets holding hands.

Jamie Lynn welcomed Maddie when she was 17-years-old with then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge.

She has since married Jamie Watson in 2014 and welcomed Ivey in 2018.

Last month, the actress who currently stars in Netflix's Sweet Magnolias, barely contained her emotions as she recounted the terrifying moment Maddie crashed her ATV during an interview with Maria Menounos.

Quick snap: She shared what appeared to be a paparazzi shot of the two, a few years prior to Maddie's 12th birthday, as they walked down city streets holding hands

She delved into the fear that overwhelmed her as she though her daughter might not survive her injuries.

As Jamie Lynn described it, she was supervising her daughter as she drove an ATV.

'My oldest daughter was in a really bad accident,' she said, explaining that she drove the vehicle into the water and severely injured herself, despite her mother taking 'every safety measure that could be taken.'

Worst nightmare: Last month, the actress who currently stars in Netflix's Sweet Magnolias, barely contain her emotions as she recounted the terrifying moment her daughter Maddie crashed her ATV during an interview with Maria Menounos

Once they found Maddie she feared it was already too late.

'We dove in and we were able to rescue her,' she said. 'When we were finally able to get her out of the water ... and the first responders took her from me, we thought she was gone. We thought we lost our daughter.'

'That moment, I felt everything that you can feel, I think, as far as the worst,' she explained.

'There's nothing worse than looking at your child and just feeling that you've failed her. And I didn't want her to think that I couldn't save her.'

Chilling: 'My oldest daughter was in a really bad accident,' she said, explaining that she drove the vehicle into the water and severely injured herself, despite her mother taking 'every safety measure that could be taken'

After a firefighter detected detected Maddie's faint pulse she was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Her daughter's condition was so serious that Jamie Lynn asked that a priest be allowed to come in the room as a 'worst case scenario.'

'He went to put the oil on her and read the rites and she sat up and started kicking, and her hands started grabbing at all the things,' she remembered. 'That was our first sign that she was there.'

That near-death experience was the moment 'everything changed' for the sister of Britney Spears, who felt freed from some of her fears.
A former Iranian judge sought by his country to face corruption charges died on Friday after a fall in a hotel in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the head of the Iranian polices international department said.

The confirmation of Gholamreza Mansouri's death came from Romanian police, said Iran's Interpol chief General Hadi Shirzad, who was quoted by Iran's semi-official INSA news agency.

Shirzad said Romanian authorities told Iran that the 66-year-old Mansouri "had thrown himself out of the window of his hotel in Bucharest.

An investigation by Iran's international police is underway, he said.

Earlier, Romanian police had confirmed only that a man had fallen from a high floor at a Bucharest hotel and was found dead at 2:30 p.m. (1130 GMT). They didn't identify him.

Mansouri, who fled Iran last year after authorities there alleged he took about 500,000 euros (560,000 US dollars) in bribes, was facing an extradition request by Iran and had denied the allegations.

He said last week in a video statement that he left Iran for unspecified medical treatment and that coronavirus travel restrictions prevented him from returning to face the charges.

The spokesman for Irans foreign ministry, Abbas Mousavi, said that his country asked Romanian authorities to send an official report, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Mousavi said the judge had recently visited the Iranian Embassy and discussed how to return to Iran, and because he was wanted by the Iranian judiciary through the international police, he was arrested by Romanian Interpol.

Earlier this week, journalist rights groups and Iranian dissidents urged Romania not to deport Mansouri, saying he should be prosecuted in Europe for ordering the mass arrest of reporters while serving as a judge in Tehran.

The German chapter of Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint with federal prosecutors in Germany last week, urging that Mansouri be investigated on allegations of torture and human rights abuses for ordering the arrest of 20 reporters in Iran in 2013.

German prosecutors confirmed on Wednesday they were looking into the complaint, and Reporters without Borders said it had now filed a second complaint with Romanian authorities after learning Mansouri had slipped away from Germany already.

It was not clear when Mansouri traveled to Romania, but Irans judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaeili, said June 13 that Mansouri had been arrested there and was expected to be returned to Iran in the following days.

According to Romanian authorities, Mansouri had been released from custody but kept under judicial control," during which he was banned from leaving the country and was obliged to present himself to authorities at their request.

Mansouri is best known for ordering the mass arrest of the reporters in 2013 toward the end of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads time in office.

But in 2012, he also banned the reformist Shargh daily newspaper and detained its editor-in-chief over a published cartoon that authorities deemed insulting to those who fought in the Iran-Iraq war.
BLOOMFIELD  On a day marked by rallies and protests calling for tangible changes to create racial equality, Gov. Ned Lamont and Lieutenant Gov. Susan Bysiewicz spent Friday morning listening to community leaders from across the state discuss how to make it all happen.

What, Bysiewicz asked, can the state do both in the short and long term to create change? Its a conversation thats been had at length through the years, as Lamont pointed out.

Weve had these moments before, and you dont want to waste them. You want to make sure that weve learned and we can do better, he said.

At the same moment down the road, Senate Democrats unveiled a broad and ambitious legislative package aimed at addressing racial inequality in health care, housing, policing and more. And just a few hours later, an estimated 3,000 people would gather on the north steps of the state Capitol building in Hartford to call for changes to policing in Connecticut and across the country.

Rev. Cornell Lewis, an activist who lives in Bloomfield and helped organize several protests, stood silently behind them, holding a Black Lives Matter flag. After nearly an hour, he stopped waiting to be called on and spoke into his megaphone with a clear message: Do something.

Kaitlyn Krasselt/Hearst Connecticut Media

We are tired of pious platitudes and rhetoric that reach up to the sky with nothing substantive, he said. Youre lucky that the rallies that occurred in Hartford maintained the rage of the people. If you ignore us here now, I will go back and organize more rallies and then you will have to listen. We want fundamental change in the way things are going on in the state in terms of racial inequality.

His frustration echoed that of people around the world who have cried out for change since the death of George Floyd, who was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis nearly a month ago on May 25.

Theres a lot of protests, theres a lot of talking, said Hartford City Council President Maly Rosado. And I think the community is tired of a lot of talking. For us to do that, we have to have conversations and have a timeline where we can say, we have this in place and we have these timelines.

The fervor was clear at the Capitol rally.

We are done living by the rules of racists, Katharine Morris said as the crowd cheered her on. Look around you. Take it in. This is youth-led. We organized this because we are taking hold of our future.

The crowd grew larger as the speeches continued into the afternoon, occupying nearly all of the green space of Bushnell Park visible from the Capitol steps. They came to demand that police be defunded and abolished, and the money be reinvested in communities across the state so health care, housing, education and social services are available to all.

They came to demand that law enforcement officers be removed from inner-city, under-resourced schools. That mass incarceration be ended. That all racist statues and monuments be destroyed. That wealthy people and corporations are taxed so the state becomes more equitable for all.

In Bloomfield, the panel discussed a number of measures that could be taken to improve racial equality in the state, the most heavily emphasized by all members was the need for independent review boards to evaluate police misconduct. But those boards must have teeth, several people said.

We dont need a board that can make suggestions, said Bloomfield Mayor Suzette DeBeatham-Brown, the only Black woman to currently lead a Connecticut municipality.

State Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, is in his first term as a legislator, after being elected in a special election in February 2019. Hes a longtime member of his local police department and he agreed, calling for a number of police reforms including requiring mandatory reporting for all police interactions with the community and a requirement that all officers wear identification on the outermost layer of their uniforms.

I want to be part of the action and not just part of the talk, Nolan said.

A lot of times people talk the talk. Especially during politics season. Im standing up. I should have done it 10 years ago and I just wasnt able to, he said.

This story includes reporting by Kelan Lyons of The CT Mirror

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
Russian Manufacturer Launches Batch Production of Mi-8AMT Civilian Arctic Helicopter

Sputnik News

07:10 GMT 19.06.2020(updated 07:16 GMT 19.06.2020)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The manufacturing company Russian Helicopters (part of the Rostec Corporation) told Sputnik on Friday it was launching batch production of the Mi-8AMT Arctic helicopter for civilian customers, and that the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant had already manufactured the first aircraft.

"The Arctic version of the Mi-8AMT helicopter has completed the test flight programme and has passed the procedure of acceptance by an independent commission from Rosaviatsiya [Russian Federal Air Transport Agency]. One of the main features of the machine lies in its unique system of heating for transmission units, developed by the Mil and Kamov national centre for helicopter engineering. It enables quick engine ignition at extremely low temperatures even if the helicopter is long stationed outside a parking shelter", Russian Helicopters' press service said.

The helicopter is equipped with a system for cargo compartment thermal protection, special heat-insulating blinds indoors and cockpit doors, and frost-resistant Teflon hoses.

"The new Mi-8AMT will be in demand among a wide range of Russian companies and government agencies implementing projects and carrying out tasks in the Arctic zone. The first machine is ready to be put into operation, we are engaged in negotiations with a number of potential Russian customers", Russian Helicopters Director General Andrey Boginsky said.

The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name "Hip") is one of the most-produced helicopters in the world. Originally designed in the Soviet Union, it is used in various roles, as a transport helicopter an airborne command post, armed gunship, and reconnaissance platform.

A Sputnik

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CAIRO - Egypts president Saturday warned that an attempt by Turkey-backed forces in Libya to attack the strategic city of Sirte would cross a red line and trigger a direct Egyptian military intervention into the conflict.

Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, in televised comments, said Egypt could intervene in neighbouring Libya with the intention of protecting its western border with the oil-rich country, and to bring stability, including establishing conditions for a cease-fire, to Libya.

El-Sissi warned that any attack on Sirte or the inland Jufra air base by forces loyal to the U.N.-supported but weak government in Tripoli would amount to crossing a red line.

Lets stop at this (current) front line and start negotiations to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis, he said.

Calls seeking comment from a spokesman for the Tripoli-based government went unanswered. But Mohammed Ammry Zayed, a member of the presidential council, an advisory body for the U.N.-supported government, said they reject el-Sissis comments as a continuity of the war against Libyas people.

El-Sissi spoke while inspecting Egypts air force and commando units stationed in the Sidi Barrani air base in the countrys western region along the porous desert border with Libya.

He said Egypt is ready to provide arms and training for Libyan tribes to defend their country. He told tribal representatives attending his speech that if Egypt were to intervene, its forces would advance with tribal leaders at the vanguard.

El-Sissis strong comments come after Libyan fighters allied with the Tripoli-based government earlier this month advanced toward Sirte, a move that ignored an Egyptian initiative, backed by the east-Libya camp, to stop fighting and embark on peace talks.

Taking Sirte would open the gate for the Tripoli-allied militias to advance even farther eastward, to potentially seize control of vital oil installations, terminals and oil fields that tribes allied with Hifter shut down earlier this year, cutting off Libyas major source of income.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Eastern-based forces under Hifter launched an offensive to try to take Tripoli in April last year. The chaos has steadily worsened as foreign backers have increasingly intervened, despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year.

Hifters forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli-allied militias are aided by Qatar, Italy and Turkey.

Tripoli-based forces with Turkish support gained the upper hand in the war earlier this month after retaking the capitals airport, all main entrance and exit points to the city and a string of key towns near Tripoli. Turkish air support in the form of armed aerial drones in particular proved vital to turning the tide. Turkey has also sent Syrian militias to fight for the Tripoli government.

The withdrawal of Hifters fighters was painted by his commanders as a tactical measure to give a U.N.-backed peace process a chance.

But Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Hifters forces have lost the chance to engage in a political solution to the conflict because Hifter ignored previous calls for a peaceful solution.

On the contrary, he increased his aggression, Cavusoglu said in a televised news conference.

Hes losing, hes doomed to lose, he added. Its impossible for him to win. He had an opportunity for a political process. He lost that as well.

Turkey, in addition to providing military support, signed a maritime deal in November with the Tripoli-based government that would give Ankara access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean, despite the objections from Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. Turkey has said it will begin exploring for natural resources there within months.

Last weekend, a summit between Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which was to have focused on Libya, was postponed at the last minute.

___

Wilks reported from Ankara, Turkey.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The state Senate approved a proposal late Friday that would require law enforcement officers in New Mexico to wear cameras while on duty.

The legislation, Senate Bill 8, would also direct the state to revoke the law enforcement certification of any officer convicted of unlawful use of physical force.

The proposal passed the Senate on a 31-11 vote and now heads to the House for consideration.

Supporters of the bill said it would add transparency to police work and help respond to the call for police reform after the killing of George Floyd  a Black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Sen. Joseph Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said it isnt just a national problem. He cited local incidents, including the death this year of Antonio Valenzuela, who died after a Las Cruces officer used a vascular neck restraint following a foot chase.

We have a problem, Cervantes said as he outlined the need for transparency in policing. This bill goes in the right direction toward beginning to solve it.

Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, highlighted the killing of Elisha Lucero, a 28-year-old woman shot at least 21 times by Bernalillo County Sheriffs deputies last year. The county settled a subsequent lawsuit for $4 million.

Albuquerque police already have body-worn cameras, though Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales has repeatedly resisted calls to require deputies to wear cameras.

Some senators said they liked the idea of requiring cameras, but worried about the cost. Others raised the prospect of unintended consequences, pointing to a section of the bill dealing with legal penalties for failing to turn on the camera.

Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen, questioned whether it was wise to pass complex legal changes in a special session thats been closed to the public because of the coronavirus. Police officers and sheriffs, he said, should weigh in on the proposal.

One of the consequences of sealing out the public, Baca said, is we sealed out many of our experts.  I think were acting too rapidly.
Joe Rogan is facing backlash after a resurfaced video showed his laughing as fellow comedian Joey 'Coco' Diaz spoke about coercing women into performing oral sex to get stage time.

The disturbing footage was shared to Twitter as part of a larger thread on sexual harassment in the Los Angeles comedy community after actor Chris D'elia was accused of sexual misconduct with underage girls.

'LA comedy scene is full of creeps. Chris D'elia isn't the first and he isn't gonna be the last. LA comics have dirt on each other and that's why they are always afraid to call one another out,' they wrote.

'Joe Rogan knows about most of it and still gives them a huge platform.'

In a 2011 episode of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, the 52-year-old can laughing as Diaz, 57, boasted about using his influence to coerce women.

'You think Im f****** kidding? Yeah, youve got to suck my d*** to get up to the Belly Room,' Diaz said, referring to a popular comedy club in Los Angeles.

'Ill make a call for you. Thats the f****** gateway into Hollywood, everybody knows that.'

A clip from a 2011 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience showed him (center) laughing as comedian Joey 'Coco' Diaz (left) spoke about coercing woman for oral sex

Rogan then asks 'How many girls did you have do that?' to which Diaz replies '20.'

The answer sends Rogan doubling over in laughter and clap his hands.

Diaz continued to say he had 'this little blonde open mic chick' perform oral sex on him before she performed her sets.

'She finally freaked out when she got to Hollywood...She was beautiful and when she left she had dirty f****** nails.'

Diaz added that a year later the woman wrote him a letter alleging that he 'broke her.'

Both Diaz and Rogan cackle as the footage continues to show disturbing revelations.

The podcast's then-co-producer, Brian Redban, remained silent throughout the clip.

Rogan was swiftly lambasted online as the concerning footage was shared more than 11,700 times and amassed 3.4 million views as of Saturday afternoon.

Rogan and Diaz (left to right) received backlash on social media after the disturbing clip was shared to Twitter on Wednesday

Rogan (center) busted out laughing when he asked Diaz (left) 'How many girls did you have do that?' to which Diaz replies '20'

Comedian and scriptwriter Melanie Bracewell said 'this s*** makes me physically sick.'

'Chris D'Elia is not the first awful creep and he won't be the last while we laugh along and pretend this is OK. Women belong in comedy as comedians and fans and don't deserve to be preyed upon,' she wrote on Twitter.

Author Catherynne M. Valente struck out against both men in a tweet where she questioned how much influence Rogan is allowed to wield.

'And Joe Rogan laughs his ass off when the guy says hes done it to at least 20 women. Rogan doesnt have one word to say against this,' she wrote.

'Its hilarious to him. Ha ha you raped so many ladies! And you want to tell me this man should be part of our political discourse.'

Rogan has increasingly come into the public eye over his controversial declarations against wearing face masks and other pandemic guidelines.

Comedian and scriptwriter Melanie Bracewall said the footage made her 'physically sick', as well as suggested Rogan and Diaz were 'creep{s]'

Valente: 'Its hilarious to him. Ha ha you raped so many ladies! And you want to tell me this man should be part of our political discourse'

Author Michelle Belanger said she once worked with Rogan and said the inappropriate comments were '100% believable'

Author Michelle Belanger replied to Valente's tweet '100% believable.'

'I have had the unpleasant experience of working with Rogan. Once, and NEVER again.'

Neither Rogan nor his representatives have commented on the clip, but Diaz appeared to revel in the backlash.

In reply to a tweet defending him, Diaz replied 'Good Morning C***suckers.'

'If they couldn't stop me then now that I'm 57......I really don't give a Frenchman's f***,' Diaz said in another tweet.

He also used the opportunity to share other interview clips, including one titled 'Joey Diaz Sleeps With One-Legged Woman.'

Although Rogan has not publicly responded, Diaz shared several unapologetic tweets on Saturday (pictured)

Diaz also shared footage of a past interview that included a video titled 'Joey Diaz Sleeps With One Legged Woman'

'If that video hurt your feelings watch this c***sniffers.......Joey Diaz Sleeps With One Legged Woman.'

Last month, Rogan made a reported $100million deal with Spotify to give the streaming giant exclusive rights to his podcast.

This makes it one of the largest deals on record for a podcast.

The move will see all 11 years worth of Rogan's shows move to Spotify on September 1 and become exclusive to the streaming giant by the end of 2020.

Rogan's video podcasts will no longer be available on YouTube.

In May, Rogan signed deal with streaming giant Spotify, reportedly worth $100million, to give them the exclusive rights to his long-running podcast series

Rogan, a comedian, TV host and mixed martial arts commentator, reassured his fans the podcast will stay the 'exact same' and that he will continue to have control over the show when the deal kicks in at the end of the year.

'Starting on September 1 the podcast will be available on Spotify as well as all platforms, and then at the end of the year it will move exclusively to Spotify, including the video version,' he wrote on Instagram.

'It will remain FREE, and it will be the exact same show. It's just a licensing deal, so Spotify won't have any creative control over the show. They want me to just continue doing it the way I'm doing it right now.'

He added: 'We will still have clips up on YouTube but full versions of the show will only be on Spotify after the end of the year.

'I'm excited to have the support of the largest audio platform in the world and I hope you folks are there when we make the switch!'

Spotify has not addressed the video clip or the content.
A day after Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal ordered mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for all those, who have tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive, deputy chief minister (Dy CM) Manish Sisodia said on Saturday they are meeting the L-G in the afternoon and would urge him to withdraw the order.

L-G Baijal, who is also the head of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), had on Friday made it mandatory for all those, who are under self-isolation at home, be quarantined at government-run institutional facilities for better monitoring and to prevent the spread of the viral outbreak.

Sisodia, who is also supervising the work of the health department after incumbent minister Satyendar Jain tested Covid-19 positive, said the L-Gs order was against the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and would cause chaos among the panic-stricken public.

Saurabh Bhardwaj, a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the Greater Kailash constituency in south Delhi, also tweeted that the order was impractical and cited a lack of adequate institutional quarantine facilities for all Covid-19 patients.

Another AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar, Raghav Chadha, also opposed the L-Gs move on the ground that the national capital would require at least 90,000 hospital beds by end-June, if the order has to be followed.

However, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government had made arrangements for only 15,000 hospital beds till end-June, he told media persons.

How are we going to arrange so many hospital beds in such a short span of time? he asked.

The L-Gs office is yet to clarify if the new order would be applicable to around 10,000 people, who are already quarantined at home, or only those who test Covid-19 positive from Saturday onwards, or for both the categories.
A top federal prosecutor in Manhattan stepped down from his position Saturday after the Trump administration fired him.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York said in a statement that Attorney General William Barrs decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney led to his decision. He said it would be effective immediately.

Barr had said in his letter that Strauss would take over the top job until a permanent successor is in place.

That was a reversal from Friday, when Barr announced that Craig Carpenito, U.S. attorney for New Jersey, would run the office on an interim basis until Clayton was confirmed.

In a statement released Saturday night, Carpenito noted that Barr had named Strauss by operation of law and called her a talented and tenacious lawyer,

I commend the Attorney General on his decision to have Audrey Strauss serve in this capacity, and I look forward to continuing to do the job that I love leading the great men and women of the District of New Jersey. Carpenito said.

Berman and Barr had been in an increasingly nasty standoff after meeting in Manhattan on Friday. Afterward, the Justice Department announced Berman had resigned. Berman denied it, and he went to work Saturday.

The Trump administration on Saturday fired the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, escalating tensions with the high-profile office that has overseen numerous investigations into President Donald Trumps allies. Attorney General William Barr said Trump personally issued the order; the president denied he was involved.

The extraordinary clash between the White House and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman fueled new accusations of political interference in the Justice Department, particularly given that Bermans office is engaged in an ongoing investigation into Trumps personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

Barr set off a whirlwind chain events on Friday night with a surprise announcement that Berman was resigning.

But hours later, the prosecutor said he would not step down, and his investigations would continue. He arrived at his office Saturday morning, telling reporters: Im just here to do my job.

Hed planning to fight the decision even after Barrs letter, but that possibility was becoming less clear as the day wore on.

The situation was made more complicated by the fact that Berman was never formally nominated for his position by Trump and instead appointed by a federal court. Berman argued that as a result, federal law allows for him to stay on the job until a presidential nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Earlier Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, suggested he would not rubber-stamp a new nominee.

However, it appears Trump is able to circumvent the confirmation requirement by firing Berman and putting his deputy in charge effective immediately.

Barr sent a letter to Berman on Saturday, informing him he was formally fired, hours after he showed up to work, telling reporters, Im just here to do my job.

The administrations push to cast aside Berman set up an extraordinary political and constitutional clash between the Justice Department and one of the nations top districts, which has tried major mob and terrorism cases over the years. It also deepened tensions between the department and congressional Democrats, who have accused Barr of politicizing the agency and acting more like Trumps personal lawyer than the countrys chief law enforcement officer.

Only days ago, allegations surfaced from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the president sought to interfere in an investigation by Bermans office into the state-owned Turkish bank in an effort to cut deals with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In his letter to Berman, Barr said he expected to continue speaking with him about other possible positions within the department and was surprised by the statement he released.

Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service, Barr wrote, adding that the idea that Berman had to continue on the job to safeguard investigations was false.

Your statement also wrongly implies that your continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately, he wrote. This is obviously false.

Although Barr said Trump had removed Berman, the president told reporters: Thats all up to the attorney general. Attorney General Barr is working on that. Thats his department, not my department. Trump added: I wasnt involved.

Barr offered no explanation for his action. The White House announced that Trump was nominating Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, for the job.

People familiar with the matter in the Southern District could point to no clear reason for Berman's removal, though they noted his job had always seemed in jeopardy and Berman was never given the sense that it was secure.

Bermans office also took actions on some important cases without first informing Washington. But the various investigations are ongoing and no charges seem imminent, said the people familiar with the matter, who werent authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A senior department official said Clayton was planning to leave the administration, wanted to move back to New York and expressed interest in the Southern District position, and Barr thought he would be a good fit. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss internal department matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he was unlikely to proceed with Claytons nomination unless New Yorks senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, gave their consent to the pick. Schumer said the bid to oust Berman reeks of potential corruption of the legal process, and Gillibrand said she would not be complicit in helping fire a prosecutor investigating corruption. Both lawmakers called for Clayton to withdraw from consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said his committee was inviting Berman to testify this coming week. Schumer called for the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate.

Bermans statement Friday night said he would stay on the job until a nominee was confirmed by the Senate. He challenged Barrs power to remove, given that Berman was appointed by federal judges, not by the president, and the White House never formally nominated him. Under federal law, a U.S. attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve until the vacancy is filled.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, agreed with Berman.

You cannot fire this U.S. attorney who was appointed by judges, Booker said Saturday on MSNBC. You cannot replace them until the president nominates somebody and they are confirmed by the Senate.

But the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel argued in a 1979 opinion that the power to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney rests with the president. It says, The president is responsible for the conduct of a U.S. Attorneys office and therefore must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him.

Federal prosecutors in New York have overseen numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Trump in recent years. That includes an ongoing investigation into Giulianis business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes. Cohen was recently released from a federal prison to continue serving his sentence on home confinement over coronavirus concerns.

Berman has overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trumps reelection.

A Republican who contributed to the presidents election campaign, Berman worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was tapped as U.S. attorney by the Trump administration. In that role, he won over some skeptics after he went after Trump allies.

Under Bermans tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump. Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nikes reputation and stock price unless the sportswear giant paid him up to $25 million.

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We did whatever it took to help dad out. He loved what he did and boy did it show. We all grew up with it, she said at the time. Theres a lot of great people through the years that have been with my father that were like family. We just treat our clients like theyre part of the family.
Routine traffic law offenders like myself are often struck with the arrival of each new ticket about how a lot of police enforcement is built around the model of force.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Routine traffic law offenders like myself are often struck with the arrival of each new ticket about how a lot of police enforcement is built around the model of force.

The point of issuing a ticket doesnt really seem to be about changing behaviour but rather penalizing an individual for not obeying a rule. Or, if youre truly a cynic, meeting monthly quotas.

Some of those rules, at least, are there for a good cause  to make our roads safer. The question is whether gotcha enforcement is the best way to achieve the stated goal.

I thought of this relatively trivial example of policing-through-penalty as I contemplated the literal head-busting thats going on in the U.S. and, sadly, Canada. Thanks to now ever-present cellphone video, the public is discovering just how widespread the overuse, and abuse, of physical force has become.

Too often, the action is grossly disproportionate to the need.

The appalling shooting deaths of people who were allegedly resisting arrest has elevated this trend into an international crisis of conscience. Why are black people and other minority populations, including Indigenous Canadians, being killed by overaggressive cops when, to a bystanders eye, it appears less brutal methods could be used to subdue them  if indeed they needed to be subdued at all?

The answers are far from simple. For sure, on many of these occasions police are under a great deal of stress, circumstances are evolving quickly, and theyve been trained to use necessary force to ensure the safety of the public, fellow officers and themselves.

Yet we also know, as in the notorious 2013 case of Sammy Yatim in Toronto, that sometimes an officers judgment can be way off.

Yatim, an 18-year-old ethnic Armenian, appeared to be "mentally unstable, and oblivious to others presence" according to witnesses, when he pulled out a switchblade knife on a Toronto street car late one night, terrorizing fellow passengers.

Police were called and Yatim eventually allowed passengers off the car. After a verbal confrontation with police, he was hit by eight shots fired by James Forcillo, a Toronto police officer. While Yatim lay dying on the floor of the streetcar, he was also tasered.

Forcillo was charged and ultimately convicted of attempted murder.

But whats really illustrative is the way his lawyers framed part of the defence: Forcillo testified that he was following standard police procedure. He told the court that he believed Yatim was a threat when he repeatedly ignored his orders to "drop the knife" and instead proceeded to advance towards the officer.

In other words, Yatims death sentence was delivered because he  in an unstable mental state  didnt obey a police officers order.

So if the mission of any good police force is "to serve and protect," then the questions that follow are: To serve whom? And to protect whom from what?

In the Toronto incident, as much as passengers on the street car deserved to be protected from a knife-wielding man, Yatim also needed to be protected from himself. One officer failed disastrously in that mission.

But what do we need police for anyway?

Although its self-evident that an absence of some sort of security force could lead to crime in the streets, its less clear that the militaristic and authority-based approaches found in many police departments are the wisest, most enlightened or even most efficient way to manage public safety.

A recent editorial in the Globe and Mail recalled the nine principles of sound policing , as expressed by Sir Robert Peel, the man credited with creating the first modern police service in London in 1829. All nine are worth reading, but I was struck in particular by the first and third principles. I have italicized some key phrases:

1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.

3. To recognize always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.

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By those measures alone, theres something deeply wrong with the way some police operate, even if the departments they work for have well-stated intentions.

Something is terribly wrong with policing in North America.

And, with declining public respect, citizens are beginning to reject the authority of these organizations to maintain order. Radical solutions are being actively advanced, including the concept of "defunding" (actually realloacting funding) from these increasingly paramilitary groups.

I think this demand for change is healthy. But where do we go from here?

Veteran political commentator Doug Firby is president of Troy Media Digital Solutions and publisher of Troy Media.

 Troy Media
Spains Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told the BBC on Saturday that travelers from the United Kingdom will not need to undergo a two-week coronavirus quarantine when they arrive on Spanish soil, despite the fact that all passengers traveling to the former country are currently required to self-isolate for a 14-day period.

The confirmation came the day before the border will reopen, and after a week of uncertainty that began on Sunday when the Spanish government announced that borders would reopen on June 21 to European Union and Schengen-area countries. Spain locked down its frontiers during the state of alarm that was implemented on March 14 in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

It was at first unclear on Sunday whether UK travelers would be included within this group of countries, given that it officially left the European Union earlier this year. However, a Spanish government source later confirmed that UK citizens would be able to travel to Spain from Sunday, given that the UK is in a Brexit transition period and still enjoys full rights as an EU state.

Just days later, during an interview with the BBCs HARDTalk news show, Gonzalez Laya floated the idea of a reciprocal quarantine for UK travelers, given the restrictions that are still in place in that country for arrivals and that are unlikely to be reviewed until at least the end of the month. But on Saturday she finally confirmed to the British broadcaster that visitors will not have to quarantine, but will be subject to a triple check to look for coronavirus symptoms on arrival at the countrys airports, and will have to register so we know we have a contact point to trace them.

We want to make sure that we welcome visitors, but we want to do this in safety and security for them, as well as for the Spaniards, the BBC reported her as saying. The minister said that the decision had been taken out of respect for the hundreds of thousands of people from the UK who own properties in Spain.

The minister also said that conversations were ongoing with the UK authorities to exempt Spanish arrivals from the two-week isolation rules.
The ribbon cutting ceremony

With these new facilities, Qualcomm Technologies further strengthens its commitment to Vietnam and further enables local enterprises to innovate and deliver "Make in Vietnam" products.

Located in the center of Hanoi, Qualcomm Technologies new office will provide enhanced support to its partners in business and government. It has an expanded capacity that can house an increased number of engineers and developers, which will help address the growing demand for quality products and services.

The new Qualcomm office in Hanoi

The laboratory on the premises will offer state-of-the-art testing capabilities for Qualcomm Technologies local OEM partners, which include VinSmart, BKAV, and Viettel, among others, to develop and produce high-quality devices matching international standards. Qualcomm Technologiess new laboratory system consists of three labs and includes: 1) the RF Lab which supports various development activities including design review and calibrations; 2) the PPT Lab which performs Power, Performance, and Thermal testing to help customers ensure their products sustain the highest level of performance; 3) the Camera Service Lab which offers camera tuning capabilities and basic image quality verification; and 4) the Modem & RF conformance lab which provides pre-cert test for GCF in Europe, and PTCRB in North America catering to local OEMs need when they want to expand to oversea markets.

Shortlisted applicants of the recently-launched Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge, an annual event, will receive business and IPR training and also receive access to this lab for product development, further underscoring Qualcomm Technologies support in nurturing the local innovation ecosystem.

Our new office and Interoperability Testing laboratory will not only offer world-class testing and engineering development services to our local OEMs and partners; it will also be a hub for growing local talent and contributing to the enhancement of Vietnams workforce in preparation for the digital age. The Lab also reflects our continued commitments towards Vietnams ambitions of becoming a regional technology hub, said ST Liew, vice president, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Asia-Pacific Pte., Ltd., and president, Qualcomm Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Nam Thieu, senior director of business development, Qualcomm Vietnam Company Limited and Country Manager for Qualcomm Technologies business in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

Nam Thieu, senior director of business development, Qualcomm Vietnam and country manager for Qualcomm Technologies business in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, also shared, The opening of our new office is the continuation of our growing collaboration with the local tech industry. With the expanded team and facilities, we will be able to explore further opportunities to enable our local OEM partners to innovate and produce Make in Vietnam devices that meet global standards.

Being leaders in wireless technology, Qualcomm companies have worked closely with the Vietnamese mobile ecosystem for many years, having first established an office in Hanoi in 2003 and subsequently in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014. Qualcomm Technologies technology, products, and collaboration with Vietnams mobile network operators and OEMs have long supported the growth of 2G, 3G, 4G, and soon 5G, products and services.

Qualcomm is the worlds leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When the company connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, its foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G, and 5G smartphone. Qualcomm brings the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the Internet of Things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes licensing business QTL and the vast majority of the group's patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc., operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of its engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its QCT semiconductor business.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country is 'hurt and angry' following Monday's border fight with Chinese troops in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Each side blames the other for the violence - the deadliest clash in the disputed Himalayan border region in four decades. The prime minister has warned he's given the Indian army free reign to respond to any new aggression from China.
A mega online poll involving all Network18 digital and social news platforms, conducted to gauge public sentiment on China in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes earlier this week, has shown that at least 70% of Indians are willing to boycott Chinese goods even if it means paying extra.

Meanwhile, 91% of the respondents said they will stop using Chinese apps and social media platforms and also encourage others to do the same.

Anti-China sentiments in the country have been on the upswing after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday night. Protests have erupted in several states, with people and even Union ministers calling for the boycott of China-made good and products.

The poll was conducted across Network18s websites and social media accounts including CNN-News18, News18 India, News18 Languages, CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol and Firstpost. It ran for a 24-hour duration from Friday noon and received about 6,000 responses. Respondents were asked a set of nine questions.

Anti-China sentiment prevailed among the respondents, with 70% of them saying they are willing to boycott Chinese goods even if this means paying extra and 92% of them saying they do not trust China.

While a whopping 97% of the respondents want Indian celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese products, 92% of them believe China poses a bigger threat to India than Pakistan. At least 52% of the respondents said India has no allies and has to fend for itself.

More respondents (19.32%) see Russian President Vladimir Putin as a closer ally to India than US President Donald Trump (18.12%).

While Union minister Ramdas Athwale earlier called for Indians to boycott Chinese food and restaurants serving them, many Indians are still unsure about it, with 43% of the respondents saying they would not consume Chinese food and 31% saying food has nothing to do with it.

This is the second poll conducted by News18 to gauge sentiments on China in 15 days. The results of the first poll were published on June 5.
PM Modi (India Government Press Information Bureau via AP)

Opposition parties on Friday questioned the government on whether there was any intelligence failure that led to the tense situation in Ladakh with China and urged for restoration of the status quo ante on the border. Presidents of various political parties at a virtual meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) asked him to ensure that Chinese troops are "evacuated" from the Galwan valley and all diplomatic channels explored to defuse the tension in eastern Ladakh.

Prime Minister Modi asserted that neither has anyone intruded into Indian territory nor has anyone taken over any post. He said the whole country is hurt and angry at what the Chinese have done.

India wants peace and friendship but its sovereignty is supreme, Modi told the meeting.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke on the stand-off at the meeting.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked the government whether there was any intelligence failure on the situation along the LAC where 20 army personnel were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops, and sought an assurance from the prime minister that the status quo ante would be restored at the border and China will revert to its original position.

Gandhi asked specifics about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory in Ladakh and whether the country's external intelligence agencies reported any unusual activity there. She also asked if the government had not received satellite pictures of the border area and the Military Intelligence did not alert it about the intrusion.

"In the government's considered view, was there a failure of intelligence," she asked.

"The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The entire country would like an assurance that the status quo ante would be restored and China will revert to the original position on the Line of Actual Control," she said.

Gandhi alleged that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6 and the government failed to use all avenues of talks to ease the situation.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda pitched for toning down the "nationalist rhetoric" and cautioned the government against encouraging calls for economic boycott of Chinese products in the backdrop of the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan valley face-off.

Gowda also urged his colleagues in the opposition not to use "intemperate" language. He said the government should not encourage "reactionary" language of economic boycott. "Its implications are deep. We should be guided by pragmatism," Gowda said in a statement.

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar told PM Modi that diplomatic channels should be used to defuse the tension in eastern Ladakh but the Chinese troops must be "evacuated" from the high ground in Galwan valley.

The former defence minister, in a series of tweets, said he underlined the threat to Dubruk-DBO road due to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) occupying adjoining hills, during the all-party meeting convened by Modi on the stand-off with China.

It would be advisable to "strategise using diplomatic channels to defuse the tension and make China see reason," he said.

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said her party stands firmly behind the Union government in this hour of crisis and urged the Centre not to allow Chinese investments in strategically important infrastructure sectors, sources said.

Banerjee said India "should and will" unitedly tide over the crisis, sources in her party said.

"During the meeting, our party supremo urged the Union government not to allow Chinese companies and investments in telecom, railway, aviation and other important infrastructure sectors," a TMC source said.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury asked whether the government will form a panel to look into intelligence failures in the face-off involving China, recalling that a similar committee was formed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to probe lapses during the Kargil war, said a source.

"The government should initiate high level talks with China, so that steps can be taken, including clear demarcation of the LAC, to maintain peace and tranquility on the border," he said in the meeting, according to the source.

CPI General Secretary D Raja suggested that security and foreign policy should be evolved on the basis of national consensus and the government should take all parties into confidence.

"There should be no compromise on territorial integrity of the country," he said, adding that the government should ensure a status quo at the LAC to pre-April positions of both armies. He also asked the government to evolve a neighbourhood policy to tackle growing hostility with Nepal and other neighbouring countries.

BJP chief J P Nadda, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao, JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar, DMK's M K Stalin, YSR Congress Party's YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray were among those who attended the meeting.

Some opposition parties like the RJD, AAP and AIMIM reacted angrily over not being invited to the all-party meeting. RJD MPs staged a protest at Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the Parliament complex.
In a new secret recording of New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, she says she told a former assistant commissioner to turn around and scrap a plan to administer a private coronavirus test for the relatives of a top aide to Gov. Phil Murphy.

The health commissioner said in the recording she informed Christopher Neuwirth not to do that after he questioned whether it was ethical.

But she said the department then handled the request for the test anyway.

Her private discussion appeared to back up some allegations in a whistleblower lawsuit filed earlier this week, in which Neuwirth alleges he was fired because he pushed back on the the request, delivered by Acting State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan, to test the relatives of Murphy chief of staff George Helmy,

At the same time, copies of text messages obtained by NJ Advance Media between Callahan and Neuwirth purportedly show that Callahan was in fact in touch with Neuwirth discussing the tests in late April.

The recording of Persichilli, which was clearly made without her knowledge, was between the commissioner and another unnamed Health Department official. In it, the commissioner refers to a conversation she reportedly had with Helmy, Murphys top aide, regarding Neuwirth shortly after the assistant commissioner was fired.

She said she told Helmy, hes upset because, George, apparently you had asked him to go take swab tests of some relatives of yours. And he was on the Turnpike on a Saturday night... and I got a phone call because he felt it was ethically improper.

She added: And I just want to let you know that I told him to turn around and not do that.

The commissioner said she told Helmy we would handle getting your relatives tested in the morning.

The recording was provided to NJ Advance Media by a department official who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, but whose identity is known by the news organization. It is the latest in a series of secretly recorded conversations that have opened a rare window into some of the thinking at the highest levels of the Health Department as it has responded to the coronavirus crisis in New Jersey.

The new recording was made after Neuwirth had been fired, but before the lawsuit was filed, that source disclosed.

Dan Bryan, a spokesman for Murphy, declined comment, reiterating what he said about the matter earlier in the week: We look forward to a putting forward a vigorous defense against this meritless complaint.

The State Police has declined comment.

The lawsuit filed by Neuwirth claimed he was let go by the state at the height of the pandemic because he had pushed back on a request to test Helmys relatives at the request of Callahan. He claimed the request was unethical and unlawful, incompatible with public policy, a misuse of governmental resources, and a misuse of power.

Helmy himself had been exposed to someone who had been positive for coronavirus and had been tested, but the results had been negative, sources said.

Neuwirth  who served as assistant commissioner for the Division of Public Health, Infrastructure, Laboratories and Emergency Preparedness  said he raised concerns within the department about the ethics of providing scarce specimen collection supplies to people connected to the governor.

Clearly, we cannot say no, or advise them that this test doesnt matter, and its a complete waste of an ACs (assistant commissioners) time to spend literally 6-hours collecting one specimen, Neuwirth wrote in an email sent to the chief of staff of Persichilli as the alleged incident was playing out, the lawsuit said. Im sharing this with you simply for documentation and in case this continues to spiral out of control.

Text messages obtained by NJ Advance Media purportedly show Callahan and Neuwirth were in contact with each other over the testing request on April 24th.

Texts purportedly between State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan and Christopher Neuwirth on a request to test relatives of a top governor's aide.Documents obtained by NJ Advance Media

One text appears to have been forwarded from Helmy, asking that two tests be brought for two of his unnamed relatives.

Another from Callahan asks why no one from the Health Department had addressed the matter.

Im going there myself tmrw, responds Neuwirth. None of my staff was available this weekend.

Why such a request to the department would have been made is unknown. Lines at a public testing location in Bergen County where Helmys relatives lived had by late April begun to subside, and home testing by private companies was available.

Neuwirth was terminated by the Department of Health as assistant commissioner on May 28, amid reports that he had been fired for allegedly failing to disclose a side job.

Those reports claimed he failed to disclose that he was also employed by Margolis Healy and Associates, a safety, security, emergency preparedness firm. Asked about Neuwirths dismissal, the governor said only, Ive got no comment on Chriss situation. But I will say this, that folks are not  its par for the course that youre not supposed to have another source of income, thats just as a general matter.

However, the questions over his firing grew after NJ Advance Media obtained other secretly recorded conversations with Persichilli, who suggested that Neuwirth was actually let go because the administration had become convinced that he was the one leaking confidential information to the press about the states response to the coronavirus.

In the complaint filed in state Superior Court in Mercer County, Neuwirth said his dismissal was not about any outside consulting work, which he claimed had been mischaracterized. And it was not about any leaks to the press, which he denied.

Because I pursued an ethics complaint, I was terminated, Neuwirth said in an interview.

An attorney for Neuwirth said the new recording provides further proof that Mr. Neuwirth is telling the truth and we expect more proof to come out.

The attorney, Christopher Eibeler of Smith Eibeler, said his client had an obligation as a state employee to report unethical conduct and he fulfilled that obligation. As a result of that, he was ostracized, terminated and then defamed for doing the right thing.

Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL
OFFICIATING A marriage ceremony is good, but it is not necessarily doing the work of the ministry or God's work.

Performing a naming ceremony is good, but it is not necessarily doing the work of the ministry either. And burying the dead may be good, but it is also not doing Gods work. These are important, but they are not the work God has commanded His ministers to do.

But bringing the message of truth, reconciliation, righteousness and faith to people to make them believe in Jesus Christ and teach them to be happy doers of Gods Word for them to grow up spiritually to conform to the image of Christ is doing the work of the ministry; it is doing the work God has given His ministers to do (John 6:28-29, Matt 28:19-20, Eph. 4:11-14 etc.).

A successful pastor or Christian is not who people say he is but who God says he is. A pastor is good not because men praise him but because God praises him and says, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.

No true pastor owns the church shepherds.

Every genuine pastor is used to build Christs church. So a pastor should be careful in saying, My church or our church. And a faithful pastor will be careful to hand over the leadership of the church to his child, because the church is not a family property but the personal property of Jesus Christ.

Some people sit somewhere and think that Christian pastors fight among themselves.

Oh, no, true servants of Christ do not fight among themselves. They may disagree on some issues, but they actually fight against the devil and his ministers  false prophets and teachers, enemies of the cross whose misbehaviour damages the reputation of the church.

Should a rich pastor receive offerings from a poor person? Any rich pastor who asks and receives offerings from a poor person for his personal use is greedy and selfish.

Such a pastor does not want the poor to prosper but always wallow in poverty (Proverbs 22:16). Do you want to argue with the Elijah-poor windows story? Well, Elijah asked and received from the poor widow of Zarephath, because Elijah himself was very poor and God had already commanded the woman (1 Kings 17:8-16).

God delights in the prosperity of the poor including poor pastors and also delights in the generosity of the rich including rich pastors. Having money is being rich in the sight of man, but having righteousness, faith, love and all that God wants you to have is being rich in the sight of Christ. A person can be rich in the sight of man, and yet be poor, wretched and pitiable in the sight of God (Rev. 3:17-18).

Jesus Christ will return at a time no one knows. So every believer is required to be ready at all times. A faithful and wise pastor, therefore, prepares himself and the Lords flock placed under his care to be ready for Christs glorious return. Such a pastor will be greatly rewarded. Christ came to the earth from heaven so that believers may also go to heaven from the earth.

Christ Jesus can build His church without you, but if you want Him to build it with you, then you must be prepared to build on the foundation the first apostles laid by His Word and Spirit, because the church is His precious Body. Christ grows in those who become Christ-conscious.

Jesus is the King of kings and King of peace; He has a Kingdom. And His Kingdom has a message which His faithful servants are called to preach and teach about to save people. Interestingly, the message of the Kingdom is a message about the King because the Kingdom and the King are one.

Anyone who claims to be a servant of the King but does not preach and teach about the King, Jesus Christ, is a scam, fraudster, deceiver and antichrist. Pastors are not called for decoration but dedication, not for bullying but building, not for fashion but function, not for gaining but guiding and not for salutation but salvation.

He who accepts to preach and teach the Word of God must also prepare to accept stricter judgement on the Last Day (James 3: 1). A great portion of the Bible was written for overseers, and it must be preached and taught to them boldly. He who preaches or teaches to others must be willing to be preached and taught to.

Thus, a humble pastor often times sits down for other ministers to preach and teach him. A person is a servant of Christ not because he preaches, prophesies or prays in the name of Jesus Christ, but because Christ called, prepared and sent him to serve. And those called by God should prepare for stricter accountability.

Jesus Christ is the truth. The Holy Spirit is truth. And the Word of God is truth. Who then are followers of Christ? Are we also truth? No, we are not truth, but we are commanded to walk in the truth (2 John 1:4). To walk in the truth is to live by the truth. This means Christians must live by the teaching of the Spirit, the teaching of the Word or the teaching of Christ. And when we live by the teaching of Christ, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free from the bondage of sin.

By James Quansah

[email protected]
New Delhi:

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi praises PM Narendra Modi for the long pending strong response to Pakistan by conducting surgical strikes across LoC.

Indian Army on Friday conducted surgical strikes destroying 7 launchpads at PoK. Most of the nations also criticized Pakistan for its inability to neutralize terror camps in its soil.

Rahul said, aI thank PM for taking this action. My party & I stand with him in thisa.

In the aftermath of the strikes. A high alert has also been declared in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Kashmir border areas. India is all prepared to counter any possible retaliatory attack on it by Pakistan.

#WATCH Rahul Gandhi: "I thank PM for taking this action. My party & I stand with him in this" on #SurgicalStrike conducted by Indian army pic.twitter.com/L7kSlg0lEk a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 30, 2016

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Re: Moose hunt not finalized

I must have missed something. When did it become acceptable to kill mothers and babies in B.C.? Word has it that hunters are after cow moose now, as well as moose calves less than 12 months old.

And the B.C. government seems to be nodding its collective head in approval? Silly me. Here Id always figured that mothers protecting their babies were somehow exempt from the huntsmans loose-jointed trigger finger, and that killing innocent youngsters could not possibly fit within the moral compass of anyone possessing a heart.

According to Jennifer Psyllakis (Director of Wildlife and Habitat Branch with the Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development), B.C. is considering limited entry hunting for moose cows and calves because allegedly these animals contribute to the demise of the caribou. Thats because the numbers of wolves in certain regions have been knocked down by hunters, thereby contributing to a larger population of surviving moose.

Now wait a minute. The caribou have seen an alarming decline in numbers because of climate change, hunting and loss of habitat, all factors directly linked to human activities. So, like the rocket scientists we are, we try to mitigate by killing off wolves? Consequently, moose numbers rise, so naturally we slap another bandaid on the proverbial ulcer by opening up more hunting opportunities, this time targeting cow moose and their calves.

But heres another disturbing thought. Maybe scapegoating certain species this way has an ulterior motive  namely, the survival of the practice of hunting. Did I hit a nerve?

Over a year ago, I met with my MLA, Greg Kyllo, in his Salmon Arm office. We discussed the B.C. wolf cull. It was an amicable enough conversation, in spite of the fact that we were on opposite sides of the fence  Mr. Kyllo protective of the caribou (as well as the sport of hunting), and me defending the wolves right to live unmolested. Should I now arrange another visit with my MLA, this time to defend the rights of yet another species of B.C. wildlife? What animal will be next on the chopping block, just to keep the vicious cycle churning and hunters stocking up on ammo? Surely Mr. Kyllo will get sick of seeing me.

Its no secret that some human decisions and behaviours have made a mess of this planet, and maybe its time to acknowledge that we might not be in any position to exercise stewardship over something as vast and unique and wonderful as Nature.

Maybe its time to figure out strategies by which we will inflict no further harm.



Sinikka Crosland, Salmon Arm
Apple and Google have monopoly over app stores for smartphones. The two are often criticised for grabbing a larger share of spoils than they should have been.

Apples annual developer conference WWDC 2020 is just a couple of days away. Just like every year, Apple will woo developers around the world to invest in the App Store. So far, Apples App Store has been a success. In the first quarter of 2020, consumers have spent a record $23.4 billion on apps. That said, not everything is hunky-dory, at least for developers.

Ahead of the first-ever virtual WWDC 2020, Apple is at loggerheads with a relatively unheard email company called Basecamp. The bone of contention between the two sides is Apples controversial App Store tax policy. Basecamp had recently launched an email service called Hey. Unlike other email services, Hey is a paid app, available for $99 a year.

The controversy erupted when Apple stopped Hey from rolling out a new update to the app as it did not allow users to sign up or pay through the iOS app. Instead, it allows users to pay for subscription directly through its website. Since then, there has been a mini-war of words between the two sides.

Interestingly, the spat between Basecamp and Apple comes at a time when the European Union is probing Apples antitrust practices in regard to the App Store. The investigation will focus on App Store policies that make it mandatory for apps to use the in-app purchase system and limiting developers from informing users of alternative purchasing possibilities outside Apples ecosystem. The EU is taking the action after Spotify SA filed a complaint against Apple.

Apples App Store tax

Apple claims developers have earned over $120 billion globally from selling digital goods and services in apps hosted by its App Store.

While the official website portrays Apples flexible image, but it does collect 30% commission on with Apples In-App Purchase system (for free apps).

There are more tiers where Apple makes money by taking a commission from iOS developers. For instance, for paid apps (ones that ask upfront money for download), it levies 30% commission.

If a developer chooses Apples In-App Subscription system, Apple collects a 30% commission for the first year. After the first year, Apple collects a 15% commission.

Growing monopoly

If you think about it, Apple and Google have a monopoly over the app stores. Since their launch in 2008, they have evolved into powerful marketplaces featuring millions of developers around the world. For hosting these applications, Google and Apple began charging a commission which can go up to 30%.

These two companies do get the credit for helping accelerate an app economy. But at the same time, developers have become dependent on these two platforms to scale their apps. This is why developers have often criticised that these two companies are grabbing a bigger share of spoils than they should be.

The revolt

Basecamp is not the first company to revolt against the tax system. Back in August 2018, Netflix Inc. and video game makers Epic Games Inc. and Valve Corp. revolted over the over app store tax. A couple of months later, Netflix barred new iOS users to sign up for the app through the App Store.

Epic Games, the studio behind the popular game Fortnite, also chose to skip the launch of a new game on Google Play Store in order to sidestep the 30% cut. Almost two years after taking the stand, Epic Games gave in and launched Fortnite on Google Play Store.

"Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third-party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store," an Epic Games spokesperson said in a statement.

Another major app to sidestep the official app store is Tinder. The dating platform launched new payment process to allow users to enter their credit card information directly in the app.

Just recently Microsoft President Brad Smith also echoed sentiments to review app stores.

They impose requirements that increasingly say there is only one way to get on to our platform and that is to go through the gate that we ourselves have created, Smith said. In some cases they create a very high price per toll -- in some cases 30% of your revenue has to go to the toll keeper.

Unmoved Apple

Despite the revolt and controversy such as with Basecamp, Apple has hinted at it is not going to reconsider its App Store policy. In fact, it has doubled down on its decision to reject Basecamps Hey app.

Sitting here today, theres not any changes to the rules that we are considering, Apples marketing chief Phil Schiller told Techcrunch. There are many things that they could do to make the app work within the rules that we have. We would love for them to do that.

Apples stricter policy may also be based on the fact the company does make a lot of money from the commission. Amit Daryanani, an analyst at Evercore ISI, in his note wrote that if Apple chose to slash its cut from 30% to 5%, it may lose 11% off the companys earnings per share, reported Bloomberg.

A rare exception Apple has made in the recent times is for Amazon Prime which has been allowed to sell movies and iPhones and iPads without giving a commission.
Van Dyke said McDonald advanced on him and waved the knife as the officer backpedaled, and his colleagues backed the account of the teen as a dangerous aggressor. But the video showed McDonald was moving away from Van Dyke before the officer shot and then continued firing as the teen lay nearly motionless on the street. A Cook County jury convicted Van Dyke of second-degree murder. Three other officers were tried and acquitted of conspiring to justify the shooting. Last year, the Police Board fired four cops in the alleged cover-up.
Hundreds of churches, thousands of Christians protest racism, call for reforms at 'March on Atlanta'

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Thousands of Christians participated in a time of prayer and worship before marching in the streets of Atlanta Friday, where they called for an end to racism and urged lawmakers and law enforcers to ensure laws and policies are equitable for all.

The Juneteenth "March on Atlanta" was organized by the OneRace Movement, a Christian coalition that exists to "displace the spirit of racism and release a movement of racial reconciliation across Atlanta, the Southeast, and the nation."

The event began at around 9 a.m. with a time of worship and a rally at Centennial Olympic Park before participants marched down to the Georgia State Capitol building at around 11:30 a.m. and then back to the park for a closing rally.

OneRace Movement co-founder Garland Hunt, the senior pastor of The Father's House Church, told The Christian Post in an interview after the march that as many as 400 churches participated. He said the weather was "perfect" for the rally even though there had been earlier forecasts of rain.

The march was announced just over two weeks ago when the OneRace Movement held a press conference in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery to launch "The OneRace Statement on Righteousness and Justice: A call to end Racial Violence."

"This particular movement has been happening for the last four years. Two years ago, we had an event at Stone Mountain similar to this. With everything that happened, particularly with the Ahmaud Arbery killing and then of George Floyd, we felt that we had to do something now," Hunt said.

"So we hosted a press conference and hundreds of people showed up. We decided that in two weeks, we would pull off a major march. God was with us. We had people from all over the city. There were 400 churches represented and several hundred pastors here. It's just incredible: black, white, Hispanic, Asian. It's just like Heaven, to be honest with you."

Hunt said they were doing "a lot of praying all day."

"We were just praying that God would take a stronghold on racism. We realize that racism, like the COVID-19, is a virus. But it is also a spirit," he said. "We have to pray against that and pray for God to change the hearts and motivations of people. We are coming against racism, but at the same time we are saying, 'Lord, make us one.'"

Hunt said there was a moment during the march in which they prayed over Atlanta's chief of police.

"We told him that we want to support him even though we don't like bad law enforcement," Hunt said. "But overall, they still need our prayers."

Hunt said that the OneRace Movement believes that the Church should "lead the way" as much of the national attention in the last few weeks has focused around calls for racial justice and police reform.

"We are trying to reconcile ourselves together as one and at the same time, coming against racism and any type of profiling of black people," he said. "All of us are standing together with that."

The march comes a week after Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot in Atlanta during an altercation with two police officers after he resisted arrest and seized one of the officer's tasers and tried to fire it at him and another officer. Lawyers for the Brooks family said the fatal police shooting was unnecessary while others contended that it was well within police protocol and considered "lawful but awful."

Hunt said the movement also advocates for additional training for police officers.

"We are definitely for any kind of training that can be done. Anything that can help [reform] the police department or any kind of racist thinking," he said, "[We are for] whatever kind of accountability that can be had. We are not jumping behind any particular legislation. We need to reform things so that if a person does have subjectivity as it relates to race, that they will be accountable for it and that it will be taken care of and not just looked the other way."

Kalfani Ture, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut who served as an Atlanta police officer, told USA Today that the Atlanta Police Department is highly regarded for its training.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the officer who fatally shot Brooks had taken a nine-hour course on de-escalation alternatives in late April.

Hunt said the movement is simply looking for changes to "any kind of racial wrongs in law enforcement." He said that names of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Arbery were mentioned throughout the rally as examples of people "who lost their lives unnecessarily."

The national rallying cry around the police-involved killings of African Americans comes as data show that police have killed more white people than African Americans. However, African Americans represent a disproportionate number of police-involved killings when factoring that they make up only 13% of the U.S. population, and when crime statistics are excluded.

"We lament about anybody who has been killed unnecessarily, no question about it," Hunt said.

"We certainly care about that. But right now, we are lamenting because we see that there seems to be a percentage of blacks that have been on the back end of that and another life has been lost. What this has done is highlighted that in our nation, we still have racial issues that are still problems. We believe that the Church should make a stand. We are not quiet about our rights and racism and racial justice. At the same time, we are doing everything we can do to be united so the world can see the Church walking together and races coming together in the Church."

Hunt said that in the OneRace Movement, they are building relationships between leaders of different races.

"If we are going to do a movement, it has to be real," he said. "A lot of the relationships of the core people in this movement are people that literally do have relationships. We have preached at the other's churches. We have gone into fellowship with each other. We have prayer meetings at each other's churches. Therefore, we feel like we are family. We are not just coming together because of the cause. We are coming together because of relationships."

"All of us feel the same way," he continued. "The white pastors are just as angry and just as determined to speak out against racism as the black folks are. In fact, it might be even more so. It is a great thing to see that the Church can lead by example. If the pastor leads in reconciliation, then the people will follow."

Hunt believes that God is "bringing to our attention that we still have a lot of work to do."

"The Ahmaud Arberys and what we've seen certainly with George Floyd, it has let us know that we have a lot of work to do," he stressed. "It does motivate us to be more active and public with everything that we do."
The United States Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea will travel to Austria on June 22-23 to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and discuss the mutually agreed topics related to the future of arms control. According to the United States Department of State, Washington has also extended an open invitation to the People's Republic of China to join the discussions over the need for all three countries to pursue arms control. According to reports, China has thus far, rejected the United States' proposal to join the meeting and be part of the deal.

Read: US, Russia To Start Nuclear Arms Control Talks This Month

Media reports suggest that US administration officials insist on bringing China into the new arms control pact because of the growing threat posed by its nuclear arsenal, that the country is currently modernising. Some arms experts also suggest that the move by Trump administration to call for the inclusion of China into the new arms pact is a strategy to kill the START treaty and end restraints on US arms deployment.

Read: Russian Nuclear-capable Bombers Fly Near Alaska

The United States wants all three countries to reach an agreement on future nuclear arms control before the current New START deal between Moscow and Washington expires. The New START deal which is also known as New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed between the United States and the Russian Federation on April 8, 2010, in Prague and after ratification, entered into force on February 5, 2011. The treaty is set to expire in February 2021.

Read: Putin-Trump Call Focuses On Coronavirus, Arms Control, Oil

New START treaty

The New START treaty limits the number of nuclear warheads deployed by both Russia and the United States to 1,550. The treaty also restricts the number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers that can carry nuclear warheads at the time of any potential war. New START replaced the Treaty of Moscow (SORT) that was in force from June 2003 to February 2011. Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT) was set to expire in December 2012.

Read: Mike Pompeo To Russia: Any New Arms Control Talks Must Include China

(Image Credit: AP)
America can be proud of many things: our innovation, generosity and entrepreneurial spirit are unsurpassed. Yet when it comes to our nation understanding one of the greatest gifts ever given to humanitythe Biblewe're moving from dumb to dumber, and it's no laughing matter.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland is getting a Black Lives Matter street mural joining other cities like Washington DC and Akron. But officials with the Cleveland-based Black Lives Matter organization expressed disappointment with Cleveland leaders in a critical Facebook post.

Police closed East 93rd Street from Bessemer Avenue to Heath Avenue starting at 6 a.m. Saturday. The street will remain closed until Sunday, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Artists participating in the murals creation include #RAKE (Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere) and Graffiti HeArt.

Black Lives Matter Cleveland issued a statement on its Facebook page saying a mural without substantive legislation to address systemic issues in the citys black communities is a media stunt.

A mural does not mean that the movement is loved, only that it is popular and that it is a train picking up speed and (the Cleveland City Council) wish to ride rather than walk or be run over. But they refuse to pay the fair, the statement says.

It further goes on to say:

Create and pass comprehensive legislation that promotes police accountability. Invest in our schools with programs that work and a school board thats elected by residents. And as important as the aforementioned and more City Council should install a public comment time for Monday evening city Council meetings.

Stamy Paul, who founded Graffiti HeArt in Cleveland in 2013, is overseeing about 100 artists and community members helping paint the mural. Paul declined to comment on the criticism from Black Lives Matter Cleveland about the mural.

We want to instill positivity and revitalization in the community, she said. Right on the heels of the Washington Black Lives Matter street mural. We reached out (to the city about the mural), but at the same time, nothing was really confirmed.

Ricky Smith, founder of #RAKE and a resident of the Cleveland area, started a movement to paint a mural, Paul said.

We got introduced and he did a major callout because hes got thousands of followers.

Artists and activists in Akron painted a similar mural Thursday near the intersection where 18-year-old NaKia Crawford was shot to death Sunday while running errands with her grandmother.

Read more stories on cleveland.com:

#Voicesof CLE art project pairs artists, businesses to beautify boarded-up parts of downtown Cleveland

12-year-old boy finds active artillery shell in Chagrin River, Willoughby Hills police say

Toddlers march in Juneteenth Black Lives Matter event at Euclid Creek Reservation

Air quality advisory issued for Northeast Ohio

Many Ohio colleges are dropping ACT and SAT requirements for admissions this year due to coronavirus
WHO's top scientist declares that it's a proven fact that hydroxychloroquine, which used to treat malaria, is of no use in stopping fatalities for those in hospital due to coronavirus, according to a report in PTI.

But Dr. Soumya Swaminathan added that the drug still had a role in stopping people from catching coronavirus to begin with.



PTI

The role of the drug

Swaminathan went on to say that there was still a gap in determining whether hydroxychloroquine is the key in prevention or minimizing coronavirus' intensity when it affects a body, while talking to the media.

"We don't know that as yet. And we need to complete those large trials and get the data," she said.

Shutterstock

WHO had announced the suspension of hydroxychloroquine as a drug and was trial testing other options for Covid-19.

These include treatments that have been used for Ebola and AIDS, and they are being persisted with at the moment.

Impact of the virus

Coronavirus originated from Wuhan, China in December 2019. As of now it has killed over 456,000 and nearly 86 lakh are affected. WHO had been accused by USA of taking China's side and not warning the world in time to be prepared for the pandemic.

Shutterstock

President Donald Trump had declared that USA was cutting its funding to the UN health organisation, which was not well received by other world leaders.

Coronavirus has affected every walk of life and has held the world hostage for the better part of 2020.



Disclaimer: While there have been several different types of treatments being given to COVID-19 patients across the world, there isnt any one drug that has worked as a sure-shot treatment yet. Dont self medicate/stock up and always consult your doctor/medical health professional.


This, officials say, can lead to an effective trading bloc against the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump.



As India distances itself from China following the clash in Ladakh between soldiers of the two countries, the Centre is keen to have another go at negotiating the India-US free trade agreement, Business Standard has learnt.

This, officials say, can lead to an effective trading bloc against the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The same officials, in the finance and commerce ministries, say the government is being realistic, and because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the upcoming US presidential election in November, the business end of the negotiations will happen only next year, though work is likely to begin now.

The current situation is that non-alignment is not an option, and the RCEP is out of the question for us. The recent clashes have given us a clear choice on matters of trade and commerce, and that is to go with the US to counter China, a senior government official said, adding that discussion on the matter had begun with the US.

We have been here before, and we will not be seen as desperate. We are going back to the negotiating table in good faith, a second official said.

Late on Thursday, the US hinted it was open to restoring trade benefits under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to India if it got a counterbalancing proposal.

Reinstating GSP benefits has remained a key demand of New Delhi but in February, the US had classified India as a developed economy, ineligible for benefits given to developing countries.

Now, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Trumps point man on trade, has told members of the US Senate Finance Committee that trade talks with India were on.

According to officials, Indias next proposal for trade talks with the US includes a step-by-step reduction in import duties on high-value US agricultural products, a trade margin policy for medical devices, and a promise to continue talks on reducing price restrictions on American tech goods.

Indias proposal will also be predicated on the US pulling back from its tough stance on taxes on digital services imposed by India.

The GSP is Americas oldest preferential trade scheme, which offered Indian exporters tariff-free access to the country until June 2019, when all benefits were suspended.

While India earlier stated it would not pursue GSP benefits further, sources say the position is expected to change.

Indias benefits from GSP tariff exemptions amounted to $260 million in 2018, according to the data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

However, this was only a small portion of Indias exports to the US in the same period, which stood at $51.4 billion.

Officials havent heard much from Lighthizer since he cancelled his visit to India in February as part of Trumps team. Now, they say talks are set to begin soon.

However, they have cautioned that details will need time to straighten out, given the ongoing pandemic, the upcoming presidential election in the US, and the fact that both nations have been at this particular juncture in talks before as well.

The US wants India to slash its tariff rates and further open up its markets to American products. Trade talks have oscillated on these issues over the past two years. The differences had remained too large to bridge despite a push by both leaders.

Sources confirmed that talks had started at a frenzied pace just before the Howdy Modi event in Houston, Texas, in September last year as well as the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad in February.
This World Refugee Day, the situation is bleak.

Almost 80 million people  one in every 97 human beings on the planet  have been displaced by war, violence, persecution and other emergencies, according to the United Nations. Thats almost double what it was a decade ago and the largest number recorded since the UNs refugee agency started collecting data.

The need is greater than ever. Yet, the United States has dramatically cut back on how many refugees it is willing to take in, setting a cap of 18,000 for fiscal year 2020.

This is the lowest ceiling since Congress created the refugee program in 1980 and an abdication of our long-standing role as the most welcoming nation in the world to those fleeing persecution  a position that should go hand-in-hand with our most powerful status.

To add insult to injury, in January, Gov. Greg Abbott made Texas a national outlier when he refused to have any refugees resettled in the state this year. The decision continues to astonish in its callous indifference.

It was with all those thoughts in my head that I came to read an advance copy of The Boy Refugee: A Memoir from a Long-Forgotten War, by Dr. Khawaja Azimuddin, a colon and rectal surgeon here in Houston.

As a child, Azimuddin spent two years in an internment camp in India after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. First, I must confess that I was sadly ignorant of the conflict that gave birth to Bangladesh  and which Bangladeshis call the Liberation War  from what was once East Pakistan. The book was illuminating in that alone.

More importantly, like all good stories it captures a specific place and time while speaking to a larger experience. What happened to Azimuddin almost 50 years ago is not very different from what countless other displaced people and refugees are experiencing today.

Azimuddins family  parents, brother, and sister  who identified as Pakistani were detained as civilian prisoners of war after the Pakistani army was defeated by the combined forces of the Indian army and Bengali fighters. Conditions at the camp were difficult. The family was given an area about six feet by eight feet to live in, barely enough room for them to lay down to sleep. Showering was a luxury, vermin were common and illness spread quickly in the crowded setting.

The mood in the camp was grim, but 8-year-old Azimuddin adapted quickly, playing with friends, obeying the rules and open to appreciating the small kindnesses and acts of generosity  even from his captors  that made up life in detention.

In an interview, Azimuddin told me the experience was bittersweet. It affected him positively, he said, learning that whatever the setback, blame can only do so much, and you must get on with life. But it was different for his parents.

They never talked about it. It was there, but it was kind of hidden, he said. His father eventually rebuilt his life in Pakistan, but to the last day he probably did have in the back of his mind that either he failed life or that life failed him.

In America, where Azimuddin moved to continue his postgraduate studies, he found a compassionate, giving and welcoming people. In Houston, where hes lived since 2005, he thrives in a wonderful place, full of diversity. He dedicates his book to refugees around the world and hopes we can get past all the hostile political rhetoric.

What people need to know is that refugees are good people who have been forced to leave their home, who are displaced out of no fault of their own, he said. To shut our doors to them is really not very American.

Azimuddins book is an important reminder, at a time when borders are being sealed and anti-immigrant feeling stoked for political gain, that there are as many stories of resilience and hope as there are families displaced.

We just need to open our doors and listen.

The Boy Refugee is available today through Amazon and may be ordered through local bookstores. A portion of sales will be donated to the UNHCR and Houstons Amaanah Refugee Services.

Carrasco is an editorial writer and member of Houston Chronicles editorial board. Email him at luis.carrasco@chron.com.
The Chadian government has formally requested Nigeria to connect her country to the national electricity grid.

The Chadian Ambassador, Abakar Saleh Chachaimi, made the request during a visit to the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman.

The Ambassador stressed the historical and economic values of connecting his country to Nigerias electricity as a means of enhancing bilateral relations.

Reacting to the request, the Minister of power said he welcomed the development, adding that the request would be thoroughly evaluated.



The minister also approved the request to host his counterpart from the Republic of Chad for a technical analysis of the request.

He further informed the Chadian delegation that currently, Nigeria has bilateral contracts for supplying electricity to Niger Republic and Benin Republic which have been ongoing for decades.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Washington, June 20 : US President Donald Trump named a replacement for Geoffrey Berman, attorney for the Southern District of New York who oversaw probes into his associates.

Trump intended to nominate Jay Clayton, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, to succeed Berman, according to the White House.

Berman ran the probe that sent Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to prison and is reportedly investigating his current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I appreciate his service to the Department of Justice and our nation, and I wish him well in the future," US Attorney General William Barr said in a statement on Friday night.

In a stunning remark, Berman said he has not resigned and that he has "no intention of resigning." "I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight I was 'stepping down' as US Attorney," Berman said.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption." Besides Cohen and Giuliani, Berman's office also subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee over an investigation into potential illegal contributions from foreigners and charged former Congressman Chris Collins, a Trump ally, with insider trading.

Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Barr of repeatedly interfering "in criminal investigations on Trump's behalf".

"We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday (June 24). We welcome Mr. Berman's testimony and will invite him to testify," Nadler, a Democrat, tweeted.

Clayton is a member of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Financial Stability Board.

He also participates on the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
For states across the country struggling with charges of voter suppression and partisan wrangling over who gets to vote and how, Secretary of State Alex Padilla has a suggestion: Be more like California.

I hope we all learned in high school government classes that democracy works best when as many people as possible participate, Padilla said in an interview. California tries to lead by example.

Over decades, the state has worked to make voting an easier, more user-friendly experience.

 Since the state first allowed no-excuse absentee voting in the late 1970s, the percentage of voters casting ballots by mail has jumped from 5% in the June 1980 presidential primary to 72% in March.

 In most of California, people can vote in person weeks before the election at county offices and some polling places.

 California now allows mail votes to be tallied if they are postmarked by election day and arrive by the following Friday. For the November election, officials will accept ballots that land 17 days after the election.

Then theres voter registration, which has changed dramatically in recent years.

Weve gone from paper to online to automatic to same-day registration, Padilla said. Its not just enough to run elections well. ... We have to ask if were doing everything we can to facilitate participation.

In California, the changes have worked. A record 82% of Californias eligible voters were registered for the March election, up from 69% in 2004.

As a state with more registered voters than the total population of every other state but Texas and Florida, weve taken all the excuses off the table, Padilla said. If we can do it here and make elections inclusive and secure, it can be done anywhere.

But for plenty of other states, Californias election system is no model.

Sixteen states, for example, will issue absentee ballots only to voters with a valid reason for not voting in person, such as illness or travel outside their county. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, since 2010, 25 states have enacted new voting restrictions, including strict voter identification requirements, limits on early voting and rules that make it harder for people to register to vote  and stay registered.

None of those tougher restrictions exists in California.

The rules can be arbitrary, said Ben Hovland, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that serves as a national resource for information about election administration.

In Missouri, where I worked, if youre at the wrong polling place, your ballot doesnt count, he said. If youre at the high school and not the middle school across the street, your ballot for president wont be counted.

While Padilla and other Democrats are quick to call these rules voter suppression, officials in those states argue that strict regulations are needed to prevent election fraud and ensure that only eligible people cast ballots.

Today, I was proud to share our efforts to promote the trusted confidence in the process, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said after a congressional hearing on election and the coronavirus earlier this month, and to prevent the hijacking of the 2020 election cycle from the fraudulent practices of vote-by-mail and ballot harvesting.

That process, legal in California, allows political parties to collect signed and sealed mail ballots and turn them in to election officials.

At that same hearing, Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said election changes proposed by House Democrats, including expanded mail voting and allowing mail ballots postmarked by election day to be counted, risk the integrity of our election process and are, frankly, irresponsible.

Studies have found almost no evidence that mail ballots lead to increased voting fraud.

Californias efforts to boost turnout and attract more eligible voters to the polls have been a target for Republicans, who say Padilla, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats across the country are more concerned about bringing in votes from their supporters than they are about election security.

Democrats are making a mockery of our elections, said Samantha Zager, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. Republicans will not stand by as Democrats try to destroy confidence in our elections.

Padilla has called out GOP lawsuits designed to limit mail voting as unconscionable efforts to slash turnout in November and keep young and nonwhite voters from the polls.

How we administer elections shouldnt be a partisan issue, he said. But its clear that one party wants to make it harder for people to cast ballots.

Theres nothing nonpartisan about Padilla. He was elected secretary of state as a Democrat, served two terms in the state Senate and is chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.

Californias election policies, though, are designed to aid all voters and have proven to be successful and proven to be secure, he said.

Other states  and their voters  will recognize that, Padilla said.

Concern about elections is higher than ever, Padilla said. That will translate to election modernization.

This report has been corrected to reflect the correct name of the chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
He was being interviewed by a Hindi news channel.

New Delhi: Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and former Army chief Gen VK Singh claimed on Saturday that even India had returned Chinese soldiers, who had crossed over to our side during clash in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.

In an interview to a Hindi news channel, the minister said that during the clash some Indian soldiers had crossed over to their side and some Chinese soldiers crossed over to our side. He said that he had seen media reports saying that China has returned our soldiers.

"Similarly, we returned their men (Chinese soldiers) who had come to our side," said Gen Singh. He said if 20 Indian soldiers were killed, more than double the number of Chinese soldiers would have also been killed.

China had released 10 Indian soldiers, including four officers, on Thursday evening who were captured by it during skirmish in Ladakhs Galwan Valley on June 15.

Some 20 Indian soldiers, including 16 Bihars Commanding Officer Colonel Santosh Babu, were killed and 76 others injured during the bloody clash with Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley on Monday night.

The Indian outnumbered soldiers were attacked by Chinese soldiers using sticks with barbed wires, iron rods and stones. The clash started when a party led by Colonel Babu had gone to ask Chinese to remove a tent at the Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan area, which is at a height of 14,000 feet, and within Indian territory.
The World Health Organisation's annual meetings are weighty affairs, attended by thousands of people.

Personal attendance was not really an option this year but the event went ahead anyway, with Covid-19 top of the agenda.

Delegates participated digitally and collaborated on documents using software from AIM-traded Ideagen, an IT firm based in Nottingham.

WHO delegates participated digitally to their annual meeting this year and collaborated on documents using software from AIM-traded Ideagen, an IT firm based in Nottingham

Midas recommended Ideagen in 2014 when the shares were 33p. They have risen more than fivefold since to 1.80, paying annual dividends along the way.

The group specialises in software that helps companies to meet regulations, quality control and compliance.

Most customers take out long-term contracts with Ideagen so around 80 per cent of revenues are recurring, which makes the group more resilient than most, particularly in uncertain times.

There are more than 6,000 customers worldwide, including seven of the UK's top accounting firms and more than three-quarters of the world's leading drug groups.

AstraZeneca is a client, as well as hundreds of hospitals, which use Ideagen software to monitor quality control in radiology departments and laboratories.

The UK is a world leader in this area and interest in Ideagen's toolkit has surged in recent months, with enquiries coming from America and the Middle East in particular.

Group revenues are expected to increase by 21 per cent to 57 million in the year to April 30, 2020, with profits up 18 per cent to 14.5 million.

Ideagen ploughs most of its cash back into the business but chief executive Ben Dorks is committed to paying dividends and 0.3p is forecast for the year just ended.

Midas verdict: Ideagen has grown by leaps and bounds over the past six years and the shares, at 1.80, have proven to be a rewarding investment.

Investors may want to sell a few and bank some profit, but they should retain most of their holdings as this business should continue to grow.
Google is marking World Refugee Day by making it easier for the displaced to get the support they need. Its working with the UNHCR to show authoritative answers in search to questions refugees might have, such as how to qualify for cash assistance and what happens during the refugee status interview. This ideally helps refugees get the support they need as quickly as possible and focus on starting life in a new country.

The answers are initially available in Arabic, English, Farsi and Turkish to help people in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. They represent the countries with the highest volume of refugees per capita, Google said. This wont guarantee a smooth transition for every refugee, but it could save them the trouble of combing through information and might eliminate some anxiety at an already stressful time in their lives.
When Judge Jacqueline Linnane dismissed a 60,000 injury claim by a man who was found to be "lying through his teeth", she said there would be "little point" referring the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

"They have enough to deal with and none of these referrals is ever pursued," she said.

Judge Linnane's comments came in a week when a dedicated subcommittee for insurance reform was dropped from the final programme for government at the last minute.

It's a move that has been deemed another slap in the face for struggling businesses.

"What's the point of all this campaigning when nothing ever changes?" a frustrated business owner said.

Judge Linnane's comments about there being little point referring dodgy cases to gardai or the DPP, as nothing is ever done, also gave off a whiff of frustration.

Unfortunately, efforts to tackle spiralling insurance costs in this country have been met with a brick wall of false promises and vested interests.

In a press release issued recently, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan referenced the "significant progress" being made in the areas of motor insurance and public liability. Truth be told, all the Government has achieved so far is the establishment of a flurry of working groups with different acronyms.

Every week this paper features at least one case study of a business on the verge of closure due to insurance costs.

After the Irish Independent published an investigation exposing how some lawyers and GPs are fuelling a compensation culture at Christmas, the Government said perjury legislation which would see fraudsters facing up to 10 years in jail could be "passed within days".

Under the Perjury Bill, legal and medical professionals will also be indicted if they are found to have knowingly assisted in the bringing of a fraudulent claim.

Six months later, it still hasn't been passed, despite being described as a "priority".

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty has accused the Government of "bowing to the pressure from the insurance industry" and refusing to commence the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act, despite it passing all stages of the Oireachtas six months ago.

The legislation was introduced to shift the balance in favour of consumers by increasing transparency around premiums and claims.

For real change to happen, legislation needs to be introduced, but the Government continues to drag its heels.

Since the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was introduced in 2004 to help tackle extortionate legal costs and reduce the backlog in the courts, those who significantly profit from personal injury business - particularly lawyers and insurers - have fought tooth and nail against further reforms.

Senator Michael McDowell, a senior barrister, was instrumental in the introduction of the injuries board.

He lost his Dail seat three years after its inception. In a previous interview with this reporter, he said: "Sometimes you have to do the right thing, rather than the popular thing.

"I certainly know that in my constituency in 2007 I lost a fair few legal colleagues' votes over it [the establishment of the Injuries Board]."

The injuries board sought to remove the need for solicitors and barristers in the handling of personal injury claims by dealing directly with claimants.

But in 2005, the High Court ruled that the board had to deal with lawyers acting for claimants if asked to do so.

Now, 90pc of claimants who bring a claim to the injuries board do so through a lawyer.

The damning Central Bank report published at Christmas showed average legal costs amount to more than half the amount awarded for injury claims. For smaller awards, under 100,000, legal costs represent 63pc of the compensation paid.

Since then, proposals for a statutory cap on personal injuries payouts have been strongly rejected by groups representing solicitors and barristers.

The public doesn't need more committees or working groups, it needs meaningful action. But if anyone had hoped things would change under the new government, the decision to drop plans for the cabinet subcommittee doesn't bode well.

Once again, the vested interests of insurers and lawyers seem to prevail.
B lack Lives Matter activists called for the resignation of Munira Mirza, who will play a leading role in the forthcoming racial inequality commission.

Ms Mirza, who is Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, has been heavily criticised for describing structural racism as more of a perception than a reality.

Protesters assembled in Trafalgar Square to listen to speeches today after marching from Hyde Park in the capital.

Barriers erected down Whitehall to separate anti-racism demonstrators from far right counter protesters last weekend were still in place, meaning attendees were forced to walk down the river bank to reach the square.

Activist Imarn Ayton stands on top of a car near Parliament Square / Getty Images

The protest was good natured, and there was no sign of any opposing groups.

Speeches were given by different groups from the base of Nelsons Column.

In a rousing speech, organiser Imarn Ayton called for the removal of Ms Mirza, who is playing a major role in setting up the PMs commission on racial disparity.

She said: We are all here today because we know that black lives matter, we are all here today because we know that black is beautiful.

And we are all here today because we know that it is time to burn down institutional racism.

Protesters march through Westminster / Getty Images

She continued: Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission.

We appreciate a response, we like a response but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made.

Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to head up our race inequality commission.

This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism  she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.

While the protest passed peacefully, tensions flared about 15 minutes before the rally in Trafalgar Square was due to end after a man was stopped for allegedly racially abusing a black police officer.

A tight knot of people gathered around the police and the detained man, making it impossible for the police to leave the square with the suspect.

The group only dispersed after several organisers climbed onto railings and pleaded with them to return to the speeches being given in front of the National Gallery.

A police officer said the individual had been arrested in connection with the alleged racial abuse, and for possession of stolen property relating to a bike.
New Delhi, June 20 : The Delhi Government said on Saturday that beds for Covid-19 patients in private hospitals will be subsidised.

"100 per cent Covid beds in private hospitals shall be subsidised up to upper limit of 60 per cent of total hospital capacity," Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a tweet.

Besides this, he also thanked Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for withdrawing his order pertaining to five-day complusory institutional quarantine.

The Lieutenant Governor had on Friday ordered five-day mandatory institutional quarantine for every Covid-19 patient under home isolation.

With the Centre stepping in to aid the Delhi government in its fight against coronavirus, a difference of opinion was brewing between the L-G and the AAP government.

A day later, the L-G withdrew the order and said, "Regarding institutional isolation, only those Covid positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation." Sisodia added that under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, "people will never have any problem." "After putting a halt on home isolation, L-G, in its order yesterday, also stopped the work of the company which was counseling the patients at home. Now this facility will continue till Monday and other options will be then discussed," Sisodia added.

Meanwhile, the national capital recorded a single day spike of over 3,000 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday. Delhi has 53,116 total confirmed cases, out of which 2,035 have succumbed to the deadly disease.
(Natural News) A Chinese manufacturing company has been charged with shipping more than 140,000 defective face masks, marketed as KN95, to the U.S. in the middle of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to federal prosecutors, the Hong Kong-based Crawford Technology Group sold masks to a U.S. distributor claiming that they met the KN95 standard  Chinas equivalent of the N95 standard. However, subsequent testing showed that the face masks only filtered less than 50 percent of small particles during testing  well below the 95 percent filtration requirement for both N95 and KN95 masks.

It is not enough that this pandemic has upended lives around the world and caused countless suffering and hundreds of thousands of deaths, said Jason Molina, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. In the midst of that, we have companies like this that exploited this tragedy for financial gain and in the process put millions of lives at risk.

Chinese face masks supposedly complied with standards  they didnt

Crawford had sold about $150,000 worth of the defective masks to a New Jersey electronics distributor around April. According to prosecutors, the packaging of the masks claimed that they complied with established standards in China and the European Union. In addition, Crawfords website stated that the masks have four layers of protection and that they passed recent Chinese standards for respirators.

The substandard nature of the imported masks was discovered when Customs and Border Protection held them for inspection when they arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 6. Testing conducted on 19 of the masks by the National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH) found that they only filtered out 14.6 to 44.2 percent of small particles.

Crawford now faces charges of making false claims about their face masks filtration standards in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which carries a maximum fine of $200,000.

Substandard masks have been caught before

The Crawford case is just the latest example of Chinese companies taking advantage of the shortage of medical equipment due to the ongoing pandemic.

In May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the approval for more than 60 Chinese companies to import KN95 face masks to the United States. Testing conducted by NIOSH found that, much like those produced by Crawford, the masks produced by these companies failed to pass filtration standards.

Part of the reason these masks made it into the U.S. was that the FDA authorized the import of Chinese-made masks that hadnt been tested to overcome shortages in early April. This decision was made on the condition that the face masks would be tested by independent labs.

Since then, millions of masks have made it into the country.

How much damage did these substandard masks do?

Crawfords substandard face masks, alongside previous cases of substandard masks from other Chinese companies, raises questions of just how many of these substandard masks have made it into the U.S. and been used by healthcare workers, exposing them to harm.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 80,000 healthcare workers have been infected by the coronavirus and over 400 have died. The CDC also acknowledges that their tally is an undercount and some reports have put the number of deaths at around 600. (Related: CDC claims coronavirus killed nearly 400 American healthcare workers.)

An incident in Missouri where thousands of Chinese masks distributed to healthcare workers were recalled for not meeting standards shows that defective masks did make it into general use. With this in mind, it stands to reason that some of the blame for why some healthcare workers caught the coronavirus falls on these defective Chinese masks. It also implies that the FDAs decision to allow untested Chinese masks to enter the country may have put American healthcare workers at higher risk of infection.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

NYPost.com

TheEpochTimes.com 2

CDC.gov

TheGuardian.com
Dublin City Council (DCC) has warned that road users in the capital will face an increasing level of danger unless it secures significant additional funding to maintain the city's road network.

Council management has also expressed concern that the failure to source extra funding could result in an increase in personal injury claims due to the deterioration of roads within the city.

There are significantly more defects and hazards on the city's roads and streets being reported to the local authority than there are repairs being carried out due to funding shortfalls, councillors have been told.

Officials have admitted that around 30pc of problems reported last year had not been repaired or made safe.

A total of 7,085 defects or hazards with the city's roads, streets and footpaths were logged during 2019 but only 5,148 of them were addressed - just over 70pc of the total.

The council's road maintenance section has responsibility for a network of 1,250km of public roads and streets across the city, with funding sourced since 2015 from revenue from the Local Property Tax (LPT).

Dermot Collins, executive manager of the council's roads section, pointed out that funding for the maintenance of the city's road network this year is 5.78m, compared to 7.65m in 2011.

Mr Collins said construction tender prices had increased by around 50pc over the period, which meant that the 7.65m received in 2011 would require expenditure of 11.5m in 2020 to maintain the same level of investment in road maintenance.

Surveys have highlighted in recent years how 11pc of the city's regional road network was in poor repair and required reconstruction, while a further 37pc needed "structural restoration".

Protection

"In order to improve the condition of these roads surveyed and to prevent additional sections of the roads network deteriorating and falling into these categories, Dublin City Council will require significant additional investment over and above what it is currently receiving on an annual basis," said Mr Collins.

Councillors are due to debate the issue at a meeting of the finance committee next week.

In a report for the committee, Mr Collins highlighted the need to provide protection for the growing number of vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

"Continued under-investment in the road and footway network will result in increasing levels of personal injury claims, which form a substantial amount of monies paid out from the road maintenance services budget," said Mr Collins.

Mr Collins said that the annual budget of 12m for the council's road maintenance division would deliver around 14km of resurfaced road this year.

"If investment were to continue at this present level, it would take 100 years to resurface Dublin City Council's road network," he added.

Council management is expected to repeat the call it has made in recent years on elected members to only apply a 10pc reduction on the LPT in order to generate extra funding of around 4m.

However, councillors have consistently voted to apply the maximum 15pc discount since the tax was first introduced in 2013.
Trinidad and Tobago celebrates the abolition of slavery in 1834 with street parades and cultural performances every year on the week of Aug. 1.

In Jamaica, the commemoration is also weeklong affair. The island celebrates Emancipation on Aug. 1 to observe the abolition of slavery in 1834, and the celebrations continue through Aug. 6 in light of Jamaicas independence from the United Kingdom in 1962.

In the United States, emancipation from slavery is celebrated in Black communities on June 19, known as Juneteenth. Yet the date is neither a public holiday nor an occasion thats typically taught in American history classes.

Lawmakers across the country are pushing to change that, seizing the momentum from Black Lives Matter protests and filing legislation that would make June 19 a national holiday. Amilcar Shabazz, a history professor at UMass Amhersts W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, pushed lawmakers to file similar bills in Massachusetts.

We never had that date. Its an important date. Its more important than the Declaration of Independence and breaking away from the colonialism of England because that, if anything, was a partial step toward constructing oneself as a free society, Shabazz said in an interview with MassLive.

The legacy of breaking away from England has been marred by the compromises the founding fathers made over the livelihood of Blacks, Shabazz said. One well-known example is the three-fifths compromise. The delegates of the 1787 Constitutional Convention clashed over whether states could count slaves in their population, effectively securing more members in the House of Representatives for Southern states. Instead, delegates decided each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person.

Several more compromises were forged along the way before the Civil War.

While the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln is part of the grammar school curriculum, the length of time it took to enforce the document isnt always as visible in American history classes.

It was June 19, 1865. Shabazz said African Americans knew the South had lost the war, but slave owners in Texas resisted calls to abolish slavery. Two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., Union Gen. Gordon Granger reached Galveston, Texas, to deliver the news that the war was indeed over and so was slavery.

Protests against the officer-involved deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville have prompted lawmakers to consider a variety of proposals to address racial inequities. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, joined Sens. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat; Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat; and Kamala Harris, a California Democrat in proposing a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, co-sponsored the bill.

In 2007, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the states first Black governor, signed a proclamation to recognize Juneteenth. Under state statute, the state observes Juneteenth on the Sunday closest to June 19.

Its not the same as making June 19 as a state or federal holiday or holding parades in light of the anniversary, Shabazz said.

The whole society has come together now around this day. Make it a federal holiday. Make it meaningful, he said.

Shabazz contacted Sen. Jo Comerford, a Northampton Democrat, calling on her to propose a bill. She reached out to Reps. Bud Williams, Maria Robinson and Mindy Domb, among others, to get legislation filed this week. They filed HD.5141 and SD.2975 on Thursday.

On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a proclamation to recognize Friday, June 19, 2020 as Juneteenth. When asked about the bills during a news conference, he noted that he typically does not comment on pending legislation until he can see the final product, but that he would look forward to working with the Legislature to come up with an approach to this that puts a much finer emphasis and a bigger point on Juneteenth.

For Shabazz and lawmakers, the legislation is not just about getting a date crystalized in the list of legal holidays. The college professor says he often sees young Black people look down, perhaps in shame, when the topic of slavery comes up. He thinks they should grow up learning more about the resilience of African Americans who fought for emancipation, from Nat Turner and the 1831 rebellion to Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad.

If were all united around a free society and being a free society, we should all celebrate it, he said. We should all understand the shame on it was not on the victims of the slave society, but on those who were the beneficiaries and the victimizers.
John Bolton, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland in February.

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Saturday denied a request by the Department of Justice to halt the sale and distribution of a forthcoming memoir by former Trump national security advisor John Bolton.

U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth wrote that the government's request to block distribution of "The Room Where it Happened," a damning memoir of Bolton's White House tenure, would be impossible to enforce because thousands of copies of the book have already been printed and shipped to distributors.

The ruling is a significant blow to the White House, which has taken extraordinary steps in the past week to quash the memoir, set for release on Tuesday and already a bestseller.

In addition to its motion requesting that Lamberth halt sales of the book, which the government filed on Wednesday, the Justice Department has also sued Bolton personally, alleging that he violated nondisclosure agreements he signed with the White House.

"The Room Where it Happened" paints Trump as a "stunningly uninformed," craven and mendacious chief executive, one who repeatedly signaled his willingness to sell out the nation's security interests if it meant advancing his own interests.

Saturday's ruling was far from a total victory for Bolton, however. At several points in his order, Lamberth suggested that Bolton probably did violate his employment contract, and that the government would likely prevail in its lawsuit against Bolton.

"This was Bolton's bet," wrote Lamberth. "If he is right and the book does not contain classified information, he keeps the [profits and the publicity for the book]; but if he is wrong, he stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security. Bolton was wrong."

Bolton's attorney, Charles Cooper, said in a statement, "We welcome today's decision by the Court denying the Government's attempt to suppress Ambassador Bolton's book."

"We respectfully take issue, however, with the Court's preliminary conclusion at this early stage of the case that Ambassador Bolton did not comply fully with his contractual prepublication obligation to the Government," Cooper continued. "The case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue. The full story of these events has yet to be toldbut it will be."

Within minutes of Saturday's ruling, Trump tweeted fresh attacks on Bolton.

"Wow, I finally agree with failed political consultant Steve Schmidt, who called Wacko John Bolton 'a despicable man who failed in his duty to protect America.' Also stated that he should never be allowed to serve in government again. So true!" Trump wrote.

"Plain and simple, John Bolton, who was all washed up until I brought him back and gave him a chance, broke the law by releasing Classified Information (in massive amounts). He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him. This should never to happen again!!!"

The question of whether Bolton's book contains classified information is at the heart of an ongoing legal battle between Bolton and the White House.

And while Lamberth did not directly rule on this question Saturday, he made little effort to hide the fact that he agrees with the government's claim that it does, indeed, contain classified material.

Bolton and his attorneys have flatly denied that there is classified information in the book, and they point to a monthslong prepublication review process Bolton underwent with the National Security Council which resulted in several changes to the book at the NSC's request. Following the edits, the book's primary reviewer wrote in an email to Bolton in late April that the book did not appear to contain any more classified information.

Yet according to the Justice Department, after this first review process was over, a second, unannounced review of the book was initiated, and this second review turned up more classified information that the first review had missed.

But by the time the White House informed Bolton, in June, that the second review had found more classified information, it was too late. Bolton had already instructed his publisher to print the book and distribute it around the world.

In his ruling Saturday, Lamberth repeatedly faulted Bolton for not waiting until he had final, written authorization from the government before telling his publisher to proceed with printing the book.

The judge also said that after personally reviewing the material in Bolton's book that the government claims is classified, Lamberth agreed with the Justice Department: Bolton's memoir discloses classified information.

For the purposes of Saturday's order, however, Lamberth set aside this question of whether there is classified information in the book.

Instead he zeroed in on the issue of whether a last-minute court order blocking the book was an appropriate remedy to prevent this information from becoming public.

And one of the things the government had to prove in order to convince him to issue such an order, Lamberth wrote, was that it would actually work.

With the book already in thousands of bookstores, distributed to reviewers and journalists and purchased by thousands of people online, a court order blocking it would not succeed in keeping the classified material under wraps, wrote the judge.

Below is a photo of "The Room Where it Happened," taken at the White House earlier this week. Many journalists there received advance copies of the memoir from the publisher.
The United Kingdom decided to abandon its centralised Covid-19 contact-tracing mobile application, officials announced late on Thursday, saying that they will instead adopt a system developed by Apple and Google that experts say comes with stricter privacy safeguards.

The abandoned app had a centralised architecture: contact data was meant to be transmitted to be processed by a back-end team, and included a self-reporting feature similar to Indias Aarogya Setu.

These features were in contrast to the decentralised architecture used by several other nations, as well as the tool developed by Google and Apple. Before UK, Germany and Australia abandoned their apps to switch to a more decentralised mechanism that experts have said is more secure.

As it stands, our app wont work because Apple wont change their system, but it can measure distance. And their app cant measure distance well enough, to a standard we are satisfied with, UKs health secretary Matt Hancock said at the daily news conference in London. So weve agreed to join forces with Google and Apple, to bring the best bits of both systems together, he added, according to Reuters.

Hancocks decision to partly blame Apple stems from the American companys design of the iPhones software. Centralised apps do not work properly on these phones since the device needs to be unlocked and the app actively used by a user.

In recent testing in UK, developers realised iPhones pushed the app to the background and as a result only 4% of other iPhones it came into contact with were detected. The problem does not occur in Android devices.

In India, officials have said that close to 96% of users of Aarogya Setu are on Android devices. However, iPhone use is not insignificant  data from market analysis firms showed between 1.6-2 million of these were shipped for sales to India in 2017 and 2018.
Minneapolis councillor Alondra Cano speaks at a rally after two weeks' protest over the death of George Floyd and wider problems of police violence: AP

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser  whose city streets just blocks from the White House had been painted with massive yellow block letters reading "defund the police"  told CNN on 8 June that those words don't necessarily mean what some might assume.

"I think a lot of people have different meanings for what they mean when they say 'defund the police', and as I've listened and read, most people are saying they want reform," she said, "and they want good policing."

Her remarks were echoed by pundits and lawmakers across the US as millions of people continue to protest police brutality and the killings of black Americans by police while repeating the mantra to shift the nation's priorities when it comes to public safety. Meanwhile, the phrase has been weaponised by Donald Trump as a campaign cudgel against his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who has nothing to do with the abolition movement.

But police and prison abolitionists who have carried the phrase through decades of organising  against police violence, mass incarceration and their disproportionate and deadly impacts among communities of colour  say "defund the police" means exactly what it says.

Abolitionists are challenging lawmakers and communities to make policing and prisons obsolete.

"Defund the police means defund the police," says Critical Resistance member Kamau Walton. "One of the things to be wary and sharp about is the co-opting and mixed messaging in this moment. A lot of people are trying to say there's a difference between police reform, defunding the police and abolition. And the call to defund the police is abolitionist. It's a step towards abolition. It is not a separate, moderate or watered-down thing."

Critical Resistance, a national abolitionist organisation co-founded by revolutionary scholars Angela Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, has sought the dismantling of a "prison-industrial complex", one in which for-profit prisons rely on government support for their expansion, justified by swollen prison populations, despite outside reforms to reduce America's world-leading incarceration rates.

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Gilmore has argued that prisons and police have served as a "catch-all" response to address social and moral failures that would be better served by richer investments in social services that can prevent conditions that enable crime in the first place.

Instead of cities spending a lion's share of their budgets on their police departments, abolitionists argue that money should support affordable housing, healthcare, child care, mental health treatment and other services.

A 2017 report from the Centre for Popular Democracy, Black Youth Project 100 and Law for Black Lives found that several major cities have "stripped funds from mental health services, housing subsidies, youth programs, and food benefits programs, while pouring money into police forces, military grade weapons, high-tech surveillance, jails, and prisons".

The United States is the world's incarceration capital, housing a quarter of the world's prisoners in a nation that represents only 5 per cent of the global population.

It also disproportionately jails black people  African Americans make up 13 per cent of the US but more than 40 per cent of prison populations.

Abolitionists also seek to end the prison system's legacy of racism, from its roots in plantation-era America to its echoes in mass incarceration today.

Following the ending of enslavement at the end of the US Civil War, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery except for those convicted of a crime, allowing the adoption of "black codes" in economically devastated southern states at the end of the war to impose harsh penalties against newly freed black Americans for minor crimes, ensuring their continued "free" labour in prison.

"Convict leasing" would go on to provide labour for massive private infrastructure, while legalised segregation and Jim Crow-era terror criminalised black Americans.

Organisers argue that the system can't be "repaired" or "reformed" because it is doing what it set out to do; efforts to "reform" merely entrench law enforcement's role in policing and imprisoning communities.

Abolition is "absolutely getting rid of the systems and tools that support oppression, punishment and marginalisation of people," Walton says. "That means getting rid of policing, getting rid of imprisonment, [and] dismantling surveillance and court systems that are used to inflict harm, trauma and violence on marginalised people. And it also means changing what we prioritise and how we define safety, and it means building up institutions, systems, tools and resources that actually keep our folks safe."

Abolitionists argue it's not enough to "reform" these institutions but to divest from them entirely, with city budgets directing millions of dollars earmarked for law enforcement into other community services, not as a one-time emergency fix but as a long-term solution to repair and transform the conditions that create violence.

"Abolition is about being more forward-thinking and preventative and not only just responding to harm and violence but also investing in our communities and caring for each other so we prevent a lot of that violence from happening in the first place," Walton says. "When communities are stable, healthy and thriving, we know there's a lot less harm and violence."

Following unrest and protests over the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, groups across the US began adopting an abolitionist framework, gaining broader support and traction across organisations in public health, housing and other areas, as well as direct action campaigns like bailout funds and community efforts to stop local jail expansions.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and global protests against police violence, abolitionists have counted some victories across the US, paved not just by the growing demonstrations but by the groundwork from community groups in prior decades.

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously supported a resolution to determine a community-supported replacement for the city's police force. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also announced his intention to strip $250 million from the city's police department budget, which tops $1.8 billion, and redirect funds into youth programs, healthcare and other areas.

New York City police commissioner Dermot Shea also dissolved a plainclothes unit that has been criticised for pitting police against communities it serves.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, following the police killing of Rayshard Brooks, also ordered her city's police department to "immediately adopt" deescalation policies, including holding officers accountable for their "duty to intervene" against another officer's use of deadly force.

Both chambers of Congress, meanwhile, are eyeing extensive policing reform packages, while self-described "law-and-order" president Donald Trump issued a set of policing guidelines, including funds for training and a ban on chokeholds  "except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law".

Following New York's passage of a massive legislative package with sweeping reforms, Governor Andrew Cuomo told protesters: "You won."

But abolitionists argue that incremental efforts ultimately do nothing to stop police violence and merely reinforce the institutions they have sought to disband, pointing to a history of investigations about police misconduct that all led to similar outcomes, while police killings and abuse persisted.

gettyimages-1248266122.jpg

Abolitionists painted a massive 'defund the police' message in Washington DC. (Getty Images)

Critical Resistance started its 8 To Abolition campaign as a counter to 8 Can't Wait, which was roundly criticised by abolitionist groups for its incrementalist approach to preventing police brutality.

The 8 Can't Wait platform calls for a ban on chokeholds, although these were already banned by the NYPD for more than two decades when Eric Garner was killed.

It also would require officers to warn people before they shoot them, which is already required in a majority of police departments, and would require officers to "exhaust all alternatives" before shooting. But officers have often cited perceived threats to their life in deadly encounters, which meet the legal threshold for use of deadly force.

A "duty to intervene"  also invoked by Mayor Bottoms  was in place in Minneapolis as three other officers looked on while Derek Chauvin placed his knee into the neck of Mr Floyd for nearly nine minutes.

In The New York Times, organiser Mariama Kaba argues that commissions, studies and the "best practices" that emerge from police abuse investigations from as early as 1894 only "served as a kind of counterinsurgent function each time police violence led to protests."

There were calls for reform following the 1967 uprisings in cities across the US and as a response to the police beating of Rodney King in 1991 as well as to the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in 2014.

While Barack Obama's President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing led to bias training and use-of-force recommendations and community listening sessions after the Ferguson protests, a task force member noted in the report that "policing as we know it must be abolished before it can be transformed."

"The philosophy undergirding these reforms is that more rules will mean less violence," Kabe writes. "Why on earth would we think the same reforms would work now? We need to change our demands. The surest way of reducing police violence is to reduce the power of the police, by cutting budgets and the number of officers."

That urgency is underscored by the coronavirus pandemic, Walton says, as millions of recently unemployed Americans navigate rent, healthcare and other needs without a safety net.

"When people are put in situations where they're not able to live in the homes they've been in, where they're not able to get access to running water in the midst of a pandemic, that puts them with a lot less options," Walton says. "We are not prioritising folks being able to shelter in place during a pandemic, and we don't have any services that balance that out, but we aren't willing to protect people and keep them safe."

But Princeton University sociologist Patrick Sharkey, who is sympathetic to the abolitionist movement, argues that while communities should have a greater role in reducing harm in their communities, "those who argue that the police have no role in maintaining safe streets are arguing against lots of strong evidence."

"One of the most robust, most uncomfortable findings in criminology is that putting more officers on the street leads to less violent crime," he writes in The Washington Post. "Considered alongside the brutal response to protests over the past few weeks, this evidence forces us to hold two incongruent ideas: Police are effective at reducing violence, the most damaging feature of urban inequality. And yet one can argue that law enforcement is an authoritarian institution that historically has inflicted violence on black people and continues to do so today."

Abolition argues for restorative justice, or repairing relationships that existed in communities, as well as transformative justice, which shapes communities to prevent future harm.

"There is this effort to want to believe that there is someone else who is going to keep us safe, and if we give them the tools that they need they will finally do it right, but that's not the case," Walton says. "We are the ones who keep us safe, and we're the ones who deserve to be invested in."

Rather than public safety spearheaded by police, abolitionists call for the communities themselves to take the lead. Neighbours can learn to deescalate incidents, respond to mental health issues and hold one another accountable for their communities. Most conflicts could be disrupted through mediation, or defused by social workers or mental health workers and other care providers.

But the calls to abolish police and prisons don't ignore the inevitability of violence. Instead, abolitionists argue that police don't actually stop violence from happening, and that a better administration of justice should come from communities holding people accountable. Addressing the conditions that lead to people committing violence would prevent it from happening in the first place, they argue, while prisons don't inherently repair the health or harms that lead to a person's imprisonment, including their mental health, addiction or abuse.

The National Crime Victimisation Survey found that roughly half of all sexual assaults, robberies and aggravated assaults go unreported. For every 1,000 people who commit sexual assault, roughly 995 do not spend any time in prison, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the nation's largest organisation against sexual violence.

As for court systems, abolition would dramatically reduce the number of people in pretrial detention  people held in jails before they're convicted of a crime. The number of people in US jails before they've been convicted swelled by 433 per cent from the 1970s to 2015, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.

A 2018 report from the National Institutes of Health determined that a "combined investment in a public health, community-based approach to violence prevention and a criminal justice approach focused on deterrence can achieve more to reduce population-level rates of urban violence than either can in isolation."

The Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective, for example, shifted from thinking about transformative justice within "communities" to "pods", which are "made up of the people that you would call on if violence, harm or abuse happened to you", had witnessed, or wanted accountability for.

"Why can't we be the ones taking care of each other, instead of police, who tend to escalate and further traumatise people when that doesn't need to happen?" Walton argues. "Why not invest in people who are going to see you as a neighbour, a cousin, a friend, a loved one, that they care for and want to take care of? That's the idea behind the solutions we want to see, that they need to be based in communities that see people as people, people connected to them and that they're accountable to."

Read more

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Trump rolls back Obama police reforms, then says Obama made no reforms

Democrats and Republicans move ahead with separate police reform bills

Trump's executive order on police reform is 'inadequate, Schumer says

New York lawmakers to pass sweeping police reform measures
From secret surf and sparkling spas to the history of hotels, Neil Simpson reveals how to explore the world from home.

Desperate to return to the hot days and long, lazy nights of a classic Italian summer? Then take a look at the little-known 2013 documentary Bella Vita.

It follows Californian surfer Chris del Moro as he returns to his Italian roots after decades living in America.

Californian surfer Chris del Moro returns to his Italian roots in Bella Vita. Pictured are surfers in the Ligurian Sea

Watch it and youll be transported to beautiful Italian coastline in a 90-minute love letter to la dolce vita and secret surf spots.

And dont be put off if surfings not your thing, because glorious scenes of Italian cooking, wine-making and alfresco eating feature just as much as the waves.

Closer to home, you can find more sparkling water at the UKs best spas. The Best of British feature in The 12 Spas We Cant Wait To Revisit list at goodspaguide.co.uk.

The researchers  using a bubble rating to rank the places  give descriptions and photographs of British gems, such as five-bubble Lucknam Park in Wiltshire, with its 500-acre grounds, sunset yoga and sparkling outdoor pool. Hotel-lovers, meanwhile, can immerse themselves in their histories in two tell-all books.

The Hotel On Place Vendome: Life, Death And Betrayal At The Hotel Ritz In Paris runs through 100 years of history with a focus on the Second World War, when guests such as Coco Chanel were led to a fur-carpeted bomb shelter at night.

Relaxing in the spa at Lucknam Park hotel

Alternatively, get Hollywood gossip in The Castle On Sunset, which reveals what guests get up to at the celebrity magnet Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

If you fancy writing your own history of travel, turn to Stanfords, Londons oldest (and newly reopened) travel bookshop.

The gifts and stationery section at stanfords.co.uk has dozens of notebooks and journals with evocative covers. It even has waterproof notebooks, in case you plan to write in the spa.

Other travel bargains are popping up as our high streets return to life. If you want new luggage for a post-lockdown trip, take advice from cabin crew: theyre big fans of British brand Tripp.

Debenhams has knocked at least 50 per cent off prices on Tripps super-tough, four-wheel Escape and Absolute Lite cases.

You can jazz them up (and spot them more easily at baggage reclaim) with new banana-coloured luggage straps and name tags.
India's largest smartphone seller Xiaomi is "more Indian" than any other smartphone brand, company's India head Manu Kumar Jain said on Saturday amid growing chorus for boycotting Chinese goods in the country.

Stressing that the company's mobile phone R&D centre and product team is in India, the Xiaomi India Managing Director also pointed out that it employs 50,000 people in the country.

Other reasons he cited in a tweet to substantiate his claim that Xiaomi is more Indian than anyone else included the assertions that most of its phones and TVs are "Made in India", the entire leadership team is Indian and that the company pays its taxes in India.

We are more Indian than anyone else.



 R&D center/product team is in India

 Our phones & TVs are #MadeInIndia

 Entire leadership team is Indian

 Employ 50,000 people in India

 Pay taxes in India; invest back in India#Xiaomi  #India  #ProudIndian #MakeInIndia https://t.co/6SxFawYoHM  Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) June 20, 2020

The tweet drew mixed reactions from Twitter users. While some agreed with the reasoning of Jain, some others pointed out that the parent company continues to be Chinese.

"Sir Xaomi name itself is Chinese (sic)," said Twitter user Deepak (@deepaknrn) whose bio in the social media account simply reads "A Proud Indian."

"Where does the Final profit go???," asked Twitter user Siddharth Sharma (@Siddhar97465501).

Some others argued that the so-called "Made in India" Xiaomi products are actually "assembled in India".

However, some users supported XIaomi. "I love Xiaomi. Waiting for new smartphone launch," replied one user on Jain's tweet.

The Xiaomi India MD also shared a link to his interview to news channel CNBC-TV18 where he said that the company invests back in India.

He argued that even American smartphone companies selling their products source components from China and the same is true about Indian smartphone brands.

While admitting that there is currently an anti-China sentiment on social media, he said that it has not impacted Xiaomi's business in the country.

Earlier, Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth who is also very active on social media said that Realme is an Indian startup.

In his latest episode of Ask Madhav' series on YouTube, he said: "I can proudly say Realme is an Indian startup, which is now a global MNC (multinational corporation)".

Amid border tensions with China and a growing chorus for boycotting Chinese goods, top Indian executives of some of the most popular phone brands have found themselves in hot water every time they tweet to promote their upcoming or existing products.
Joe Biden is somebody who very much came up in the politics of the last 40 to 50 years, and I think what were seeing right now in the streets of this country and in the rejection of establishment politics is a rejection of the status quo, said Evan Weber, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, a group of youthful climate activists.
Dear Editor,

Every day brings stark news of how the coronavirus pandemic has worsened hunger in New York state.

Because we know hunger will remain a challenge throughout the economic downturn, we need to redouble our efforts to enroll people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). New Yorks Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) provides free, confidential services to help people learn about and apply for SNAP benefits.

Thanks to NOEP, Hudson Valley Community Services has been able to provide SNAP application assistance to 400 individuals and 625 households each year so they can afford the food they need. NOEP is a critical front-line response for low income families, seniors, disabled and veterans who are food insecure and need help applying for benefits.

Since the start of the pandemic, requests for NOEP assistance have increased dramatically. With state budget cuts looming, funding for NOEP services is at risk and our community may lose these critical services.

The state has rightfully invested millions of dollars in food banks to meet the immediate needs of New Yorkers who need food now. However, SNAP benefits will provide long-term relief to struggling families. NOEP services help people apply for SNAP and the states investment in NOEP is needed now, more than ever. NOEP services across the state, including in the Mid-Hudson Valley, are at risk and are currently scheduled to end in June.

We are asking that concerned citizens reach out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo now to help save these imperiled services.

Jay Dewey,

Kingston, N.Y.
The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation has advised all expectant spouses or marriage partners to agree ongoing through a compatibility medical test with their partners before marriage. The disease is passed on from parents to their children.

According to the Foundation, "a simple blood test would inform you of your status - as to whether you have the sickle cell trait or not".

In a statement issued in Accra Friday 19th June 2020 and signed by its Executive Director, Dr. Otiko Afisah Djaba revealed that sickle cell disease can lead to disability such as blindness.

The statement said although sickle cell is one of the worlds foremost genetic diseases, it has been relegated to the background.

It noted that 19th June is celebrated as the World Sickle Cell Day every year since 2008, with the aim of raising awareness and advocating for people suffering from sickle cell disease.

It is genetic and not contagious. According to researchers in the health sector, approximately 2% of Ghanaian newborn babies are affected annually. The disease stops oxygen from moving freely around the body thus causing pain.

The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation noted that people suffering from sickle cell disease are at risk of complications such as stroke, anaemia, chest pains, blindness, bone damage, priapism (a persistent painful erection of the penis), swelling in the hands and feet and severe pain.

It said that the only possible cure for the disease is bone marrow transplant. "No child can wait, so we urge scientists to enhance the search for a universal cure". The Foundation called people to ignite the community spirit to maximize quality of life for people with sickle cell disease.

The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation takes this opportunity to celebrate people living with sickle cell disease, parents who are doing everything possible for their children with sickle cell to survive, care givers and the Sickle Cell Society for 40 years work.
There is relative peace in the Sunyani East Constituency, as delegates of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) ballot nationwide to elect parliamentary candidates for Election 2020.

So far, the elections, being conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC) were going on smoothly, during a visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to a number of polling stations.

The contest is between Mr. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Chairman of the Ghana Bar Association and a former Deputy Regional Secretary of the NPP and Mr. Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the incumbent MP who has been in parliament since January 2009.

Though the GNA gathered five delegates were expected to cast their ballots at a polling station in the constituency, as at 0630 hours, some of them had arrived to vote.

Voting however, started at exactly 0700 hours without hitches and is expected to end by 1300 hours.

Mr. Charles Nyarko, the Polling Officer (PO) at Ahenboboano Electoral Area in the Sunyani central business district (CBD) said 10 out of 25 delegates voted as at 0720 hours.

That electoral area is made of four polling stations which were combined as one polling station.

In the same vein, the Atoase Electoral Area, also in the CBD had five polling stations but were converted to one.

Mr. Charles Asante, the PO said about 45 delegates were expected to cast their ballots at that area.

There was security presence at all the polling stations.

---GNA
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2020) Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas signed an agreement admitting Estonia to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) as an associate member en route to acquiring full membership in two to five years, the country's government said in a statement on Friday.

"Today, on behalf of the Republic of Estonia, Prime Minister Juri Ratas signed the agreement with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), thereby making Estonia an associate member of the prestigious research organization," the statement read.

According to Ratas, as quoted in the statement, membership in the organization will open new opportunities for Estonian scientists and companies, particularly with regard to access to CERN's procurement and technology as well as regular exchange of lecturers and students and in-service training for science teachers.

"Estonia can share its experience in building a digital ecosystem, for example, but also in the field of data system interoperability and cyber security," Ratas was quoted as saying.

CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti signed the agreement on the organization's behalf. This was for the first time in its 66-year history that an agreement like that was signed in a virtual ceremony. The agreement will take effect once the Estonian authorities formally inform CERN that all necessary approval processes have been finalized.

Estonia applied for CERN membership in September 2018. According to the government's statement, the country will have a chance to acquire full membership in two to five years.

CERN, currently comprising 22 full members, is most well known for its flagship project of the Large Hadron Collider.
Staggered lunches and break times will help maintain social distancing according to the Government guidance

Q. How will schools cope with social distancing when pupils return?

A. The current social distancing guidance of two metres must be followed between all adults within the education sector but a distance of one metre is appropriate between children and young people (year 10 and younger).

Children in Year 11 and above will be expected to maintain social distancing, as will all adults in the education workforce.

The authorities recognise not all schools will be able to achieve this objective immediately, and that 'blended learning' may have to be used, with 50% in-school teaching contact time for all children, with the balance being delivered by remote learning.

Q. How will schools deal with the 'school run' when lots of pupils arrive all at one time?

A. When they reopen, schools have been asked to use staggered arrival and leaving times, with marked drop-off areas, and to ask parents to remain on or outside the school grounds, where possible. Schools should actively discourage parents from entering the school buildings. The Department of Education says schools should consider stopping children from bringing anything from home, or taking shared resources home.

Read More

Q. How will meals and break-times be managed?

A. It may not always be possible to accommodate pupils in canteens and a reduced service may be likely, the Department of Education says.

This may require pupils to eat at their desk, or at alternative locations such as outside, using disposable containers, packaging and cutlery, which will be supplied.

Staggered lunches and break times will help maintain social distancing according to the Government guidance.

Q. How will health and hygiene issues be handled?

A. Schools will set up additional facilities and supplies for hand washing, sanitisers, disposal of tissues, cleaning and disinfection of equipment, one-way circulation systems and signage.

Staff and children will be discouraged from touching their face, or putting hands or fingers into their mouths

Pupils should be shown how to cough into their elbow if they don't have a tissue or paper towel.

If they have a paper towel they should be shown how to cough into it - and then dispose of it safely into the nearest bin.

Q. What is happening with GCSEs, A-level examinations and the Transfer Tests?

A. For GCSEs and A-levels, calculated grades will be issued. The grades will be based on a combination of information provided by schools and colleges and statistical information.

There will be an appeals process for pupils dissatisfied with the grade they are awarded.

Tests set by the Association for Quality Education (AQE), and the Post-Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC) are used by many grammar schools to select their intake of new pupils.

Eleven Catholic grammar schools - which use the PPTC test - have said that they will not be using it to admit pupils in 2021.

However, none of the 34 grammar schools which use the AQE test have said they will suspend its use. AQE tests will take place on November 21 and 28 and December 12.
Nepal appeals for peaceful solution to Indo-China border conflict

Kathmandu, Jun 20 (UNI) Nepal on Saturday reacted to the ongoing India-China border conflict, saying that both countries should resolve their differences through peaceful means.

"In the context of recent developments in the Galwan valley area between our friendly neighbours India and China, Nepal is confident that our friendly neighbours India & China will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional & world peace and stability", the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

It also said Nepal maintains that disputes between the countries should be resolved through peaceful means and it has always stood firmly for regional and world peace.
Six staff members of President Donald Trumps campaign who were working to help set up his Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tested positive for COVID-19. Trumps campaign made the announcement Saturday, providing a stark reminder of the risks of holding a huge rally indoors in the middle of a global pandemic in a city where coronavirus cases have been on the rise. Tim Murtaugh, the campaigns communications director, issued a statement declaring that quarantine procedures were put in place and none of the staff members who tested positive nor anyone who had direct contact with them would attend the Tulsa rally.

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Trump was told about the campaign staffers who were infected and was reportedly angry the news had been made public. The rally, which is thought to be the largest indoor gathering in the world during the pandemic, marks the first time that Trump will hold a rally in more than three months. Attendees were all handed blue face coverings but no one was enforcing the wearing of masks. Some people who received the masks immediately threw them out and reports from the scene note few rallygoers were wearing masks as they entered the arena. Hours before the start of the event there was already a crowd tightly packed near the stage and few were wearing face coverings. Everyone who entered the rally also had to undergo a temperature screening before going inside. Anyone who failed the temperature check was reportedly placed in a cooling room to get a second test in case they got a high reading due to the hot weather. If they failed the second test they were then denied entry to the rally.

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Ahead of the rally, protesters faced off with Trump supporters in streets near the arena. There were around 250 National Guard soldiers assisting local law enforcement. As of late afternoon, only one arrest had been reported. The Trump campaign called on the Tulsa Police to arrest a woman, who was wearing an I cant breathe shirt and wouldnt willingly leave the secure area for the event, claiming she had a ticket to the rally. After several minutes requesting her to leave she continued to refuse to cooperate and was escorted out of the area and transported to booking for obstruction, Tulsa Police spokeswoman Jeanne Pierce said.
Eligible countries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can better manage debt relief from international lenders, using the Commonwealth Secretariats specialized software.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund had called for the suspension of loan repayments owed by the poorest countries of the world, to help them manage the severe impact of the pandemic. In response, G20 members agreed to suspend debt servicing temporarily for 77 eligible countries, including 30 from the Commonwealth.

To help these countries take advantage of the moratorium, the Commonwealth Secretariat has issued guidelines on how to use its state-of-the-art debt management system, not only to maximize the benefits of the debt relief but also to generate manageable payment schedules.

Adviser and Head of the Secretariats Debt Management Unit, Pamella McLaren explained: Commonwealth Meridian is a web-based tool that is already being used by a number of member countries to proactively manage their debt.

The new guidelines will make it easier for eligible countries to navigate the debt relief instruments being offered by the G20 and multilateral bodies in response to COVID-19, understand the different options for restructuring debt, and apply debt relief measures in a way that ensures long-term debt sustainability.

Launched last year, Commonwealth Meridian is currently in use by central banks and government agencies across the Commonwealth to monitor transactions and conduct in-depth debt analysis for informed decisions.

The Secretariats new guidelines show how to use Commonwealth Meridian (or its predecessor software CS-DRMS) to identify the ideal debt relief instruments available for a particular country, and whether to apply for those. It also demonstrates how to use Commonwealth Meridian to record, manage, and report all actions taken to reorganize a countrys debt, in a way that supports long-term debt sustainability.

To find out more about our Debt Programme and the Commonwealth Meridian system, please visit https://thecommonwealth.org/public-debt-management-programme
Markus Braun, CEO of Wirecard. (Peter Kneffel/Picture Alliance via Getty)

Wirecard (WDI.DE) chief executive Markus Braun has stepped down, the German company said in a statement this afternoon.

Brauns resignation comes after it was revealed this week that the company cannot account for 1.9bn (1.7bn, $2.1bn) in cash missing from its accounts.

The news prompted its stock price to plunge by over 60% on the DAX on Thursday (18 June), and to collapse again on Friday by almost half, chopping around 10bn off its value in less than two days. The stock recovered slightly on news of Brauns resignation.

Braun is the second head to roll at the troubled German company this week: on Thursday chief operating officer Jan Marsalek was temporarily suspended.

James Freis, who was already teed up to start as head of Wirecards new Integrity, Legal, and Compliance department will now take over as interims boss of the company.

Wirecard said on Thursday that its auditor EY had refused to sign off its accounts for 2019, as it could not confirm the existence of 1.9bn in cash balances on trust accounts.

"At present it cannot be ruled out that Wirecard has become the aggrieved party in a case of fraud of considerable proportions," the company chief executive Markus Braun said in a video statement released on Friday.

EY said more audits were required after two Asian banks that have been managing the companys escrow were unable to locate accounts with about 1.9bn in funds.

It is currently unclear why the two banks have stated to the auditor that the confirmations are spurious. The trustee has announced to Wirecard AG that he will clarify the facts of the matter with the two banks managing the trust accounts at short notice, Braun said.

The company, which joined the German blue-chip DAX in 2018, said that the delay could mean billions in loans may need to be called in immediately.
An Australian state is set to reimpose household restrictions from Monday after recording double-digit increases in Covid-19 cases for a fourth consecutive day.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said household gatherings will be restricted to five guests and outdoor gatherings to 10 people until midnight on July 12.

Mr Andrews said Victoria recorded 25 new cases on Saturday, the biggest daily increase in two months.

The planned easing of restrictions for cafes, restaurants and pubs, from a maximum of 20 guests to a maximum of 50, will be deferred for three weeks.

(PA Graphics)

Businesses that are set to open for the first time on Monday, including gyms and cinemas, will be allowed to do so but with a maximum of 20 people.

More than half of the new cases in Victoria have come from family-to-family transmission, Mr Andrews said, adding: Im frustrated by it. Im disappointed by it.

He said the numbers remained low but the state authorities are acting quickly and early to get back on top of it.

He flagged the prospect of coronavirus hotspots being forced back into stay-at-home lockdown if local outbreaks become serious.

Victoria state has accounted for 19 of Australias 102 deaths from Covid-19, and almost 1,800 of the countrys 7,411 confirmed infections, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The move came as Chinas capital recorded a further drop in coronavirus cases amid tightened containment measures while Brazil surpassed more than 1 million confirmed infections, second only to the United States.

Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing on Saturday, along with five others elsewhere in China. There are no new deaths and 308 people remain hospitalised for treatment.

South Korea recorded 67 new cases, the largest 24-hour increase in about three weeks. Most of them come from the densely populated Seoul area, where about half of the countrys 51 million people reside.

Visitors wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus sit on benches while maintaining social distancing at a park in Seoul (Lee Jin-man/AP)

The head of the World Health Organisation said on Friday the pandemic is accelerating and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day before  the highest single-day number so far.

Story continues

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.

Brazils Health Ministry said the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 from the previous day. President Jair Bolsonaro still downplays the risks of the virus after nearly 50,000 deaths in three months. He says the impact of social isolation on Brazils economy can be more deadly.

The coronavirus has infected more than 8.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 454,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. The actual number is thought to be much higher because many cases are asymptomatic or go untested.

South Africa and Ethiopia say they are recommending the limited use of the commonly available drug dexamethasone for all Covid-19 patients on ventilators or supplementary oxygen.

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said this breakthrough is excellent news for us and we are especially fortunate that it came as we are preparing for our upcoming surge in cases. South Africa has about 30% of the virus cases on the African continent, or more than 87,000.

French authorities are keeping a close eye on signs of an accelerating spread of the coronavirus in Normandy, a region that has until now been spared the worst of the outbreak that has hit Paris and the east of France particularly hard.
The Kazakhstan management of worlds famous Swedish H&M clothing brand decided to deliver aid to people of the country suffered from the pandemic COVID-19. Saby charity fund which is founded by Aselle Tasmagambetova and Kenes Rakishev is one of the charities who will dispense 8000 H&M brand clothes to those in need. Recipients to get womens, kids and mens clothing.

Saby charity fund, as well as Medical University of Semey city, Dara charity fund, The Centre for supporting children in distress, SOS Children villages, Orphanage #1 and #2, SOS of house of youth, Ayala charity fund, Centre for special social service #2 will subsequently give the clothing away to the needy.

Saed el-Ashkar, Swedish multinational clothing-retail H&M company director of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus brands told about the initiative of the Kazakhstan branch. Aselle Tasmagambetova stated that it is a true metrics for the successful company to help others.

We are excited that such world-class brand trusts charity funds, like ours, to succeed in the making the event possible  Aselle Tasmagambetova told the press.

Aselle Tasmagambetova charity fund, underlined that her organization is working to help those in need to overcome the COVID-19 and economic downturn caused by it.

We are glad to join the big-scale H&M campaign in Kazakhstan and deliver people the quality clothing they need, told Aselle Tasmagambetova, the president of Saby fund.

Saby fund is the oldest fully private charity of Kazakhstan. It was founded in 2002 be Aselle Tasmagambetova and Kenes Rakishev. It is actively helping people in need, maintain large educational, social and environmental programs. It has joined the fight with COVID-19 since the first day of epidemic.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware that coronavirus has taken the world hostage for the better part of 2020. The disease has claimed the lives of over 462,000 people and almost 88 lakh are affected.

But the ones really putting their lives on the line are those in the health department. Who protects those who protect us? Doctors and nurses have to protect themselves.



ANI

According to a recent study, over 1200 doctors and nurses have tested positive in major Delhi hospitals since March. The figures have been collated by United Nurses Association, as per a report in News18. Sri Ganga Ram Hospital's authorities said that over 300 of their health care workers had tested positive.

ANI

For doctors, nursing officers and other health workers with high risk exposure, the quarantine period shall be initially for one week only, said the Health Ministry's advisory.



Several doctors in Delhi have had to be admitted to hospital due to coronavirus fears as have nurses and in some cases these fears have come true. Not that they can help it, their work literally puts them in harm's way.

Sadly this is not just the case in Delhi alone. Health care workers all over the country and everywhere else in the world are at risk. Many have tested positive, some have even succumbed to it. It has not stopped them from doing their duty though, and that is what makes it all the more special.

ANI

Coronavirus has affected our way of life and we have to find out how to live with it, because it is not going away anytime soon. Till then, the fight goes on.
I must say at this stage that the refusal by criminal Courts either through the learned Magistrate or through their office staff to accep...
Pope Francis adresses doctors and nurses from the coronavirus-ravaged Lombardy region, at the Vatican, Saturday, June 20, 2020. Francis told the delegation on Saturday that their example of professional competence and compassion would help Italy forge a new future of solidarity. The northern region of Lombardy, Italy's financial and industrial capital, was the hardest-hit region in the onetime European epicenter of the pandemic. (Vatican News via AP)

Authorities in China appeared to be winning their battle against an outbreak of coronavirus in Beijing on Saturday, but in parts of the Americas the pandemic raged unabated. Brazil surpassed 1 million confirmed infections, second only to the United States.

Europe, in contrast, continued to emerge warily from lockdown, with hard-hit Britain considering easing social distancing rules to make it easier for restaurants, pubs and schools to reopen. In Italy, once the pandemic's European epicenter, Pope Francis told medics that their heroic efforts during the outbreak would help the country forge a future of hope and solidarity.

The head of the World Health Organization warned Friday that the pandemic is "accelerating" and that more than 150,000 cases were reported the day beforethe highest single-day number so far.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.

The new coronavirus has infected more than 8.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 454,000, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual number is thought to be much higher because many cases are asymptomatic or go untested.

The global battle against COVID-19 is a patchwork of successes and setbacks at this point in the pandemic, quantified by the trajectory of the coronavirus in different countries.

A girl wearing a face mask walks with a bottle of drinking water and a food packet that she received from a food distribution site in Mumbai, India, Saturday, June 20, 2020. India is the fourth hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world after the U.S., Russia and Brazil. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In China, where the virus was first identified and where authorities hoped it had been vanquished, Beijing recorded a further drop in cases amid tightened containment measures. Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing along with five others elsewhere in China. There were no new deaths and 308 people remained hospitalized for treatment.

South Korea, which has won global praise for its handling of the coronavirus, recorded 67 new cases, the largest 24-hour increase in about three weeks. Most of them come from the densely populated Seoul area, where about half of the country's 51 million people reside. Many cases have been linked to exposure in nightlife outlets.

Brazil's Health Ministry said the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 from the previous day. President Jair Bolsonaro still downplays the risks of the virus after nearly 50,000 fatalities in three months, saying the impact of social isolation on Brazil's economy could be more deadly.

Members of the "Tempero de Criola" band perform amid the new coronavirus pandemic at the Turano favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 19, 2020. A group of musicians playing Samba offered a small concert to the residents of Turano favela, most of whom remain quarantined to curb the spread of COVID-19. Residents could watch the performance from their windows, balconies or via internet. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

South Africa continues to loosen lockdown measures under economic pressure, despite reporting nearly 4,000 more COVID-19 cases on Saturday. Casinos, beauty salons and sit-down restaurant service are among the latest permitted activities as the country eases one of the world's strictest lockdowns. South Africa has about 30% of the virus cases on the African continent, or more than 87,000.

South Africa and Ethiopia both said they are recommending the limited use of the commonly available steroid dexamethasone for all COVID-19 patients on ventilators or supplementary oxygen. In a British trial, the drug was shown to significantly improve survival chances for the most seriously ill.

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said "this breakthrough is excellent news for us and we are especially fortunate that it came as we are preparing for our upcoming surge" in cases.

Animal rights activists protest in front of the Toennies meatpacking plant and slaughterhouse in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. Hundreds of new coronavirus cases are linked to the large meatpacking plant, officials ordered the closure of the slaughterhouse, as well as isolation and tests for everyone else who had worked at the Toennies siteputting about 7,000 people under quarantiner. (Friso Gentsch/dpa via AP)

Britain lowered its coronavirus threat level one notch, becoming the latest country to claim it's getting a national outbreak under control.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it would announce next week whether it will ease social distancing rules that say people should remain 2 meters (6 feet) apart. Business groups are lobbying for the distance to be cut to 1 meter (3 feet) to make it easier to restart the U.K.'s economy.

While many stores in Britain have reopened, pubs, hotels and restaurants won't be allowed to resume serving customers until July 4 at the soonest. Proposals to allow them to reopen safely include pubs having people order pints using phone apps rather than going to the bar.

The U.K. has Europe's highest and the world's third-highest official death toll from the pandemic, with more than 42,500 virus-related fatalities reported as of Saturday.

A young girl wearing a protective face shield enjoys a swing ride as physical distancing markings are seen on the seats during the first day of the reopening of Dunia Fantasi Amusement Park after weeks of closure due to the large-scale restrictions imposed to help curb the new coronavirus outbreak, at Ancol Dream Park in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Italy, which for a time this spring had the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, continued receiving confirmation that the worst had receded.

Pope Francis welcomed doctors and nurses from the Lombardy region, Italy's financial and industrial capital and the center of its outbreak, to the Vatican on Saturday to thank them for their work and sacrifice.

Francis said Lombardy's medics "gave witness to God's proximity to those who suffer" and became literal "angels," helping the sick recover or accompanying them to their deaths when family members were prevented from visiting.

The northern region counted half of Italy's 34,500 COVID-19 deaths.

Meanwhile, Germany reported the country's highest daily increase in virus cases in a month after managing to contain its outbreak better than comparable large European nations.

A doctor checks the temperature of a man during a free medical camp in Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums in Mumbai, India, Saturday, June 20, 2020. India is the fourth hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world after the U.S., Russia and Brazil. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Residents watch members of "Tempero de Criola" perform in the Turano favela amid the new coronavirus pandemic, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 19, 2020. A group of musicians playing Samba offered a small concert to the residents of Turano favela, most of whom remain quarantined to curb the spread of COVID-19. Residents could watch the performance from their windows, balconies or via internet. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Visitors wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus walk at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 20, 2020. The military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat was postponed from May 9 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and is now set to take place on June 24. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A resident watches the "Tempero de Criola" perform in the Turano favela amid the new coronavirus pandemic, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 19, 2020. A group of musicians playing Samba offered a small concert to the residents of Turano favela, most of whom remain quarantined to curb the spread of COVID-19. Residents could watch the performance from their windows, balconies or via internet. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A protester uses a hand sanitizer as he lies on the ground demanding better handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, June 20, 2020. Hundreds participated demanding increased testing and protesting alleged corruption by government officials while purchasing equipment and testing kits. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A protesters lies on the ground demanding better handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, June 20, 2020. Hundreds participated demanding increased testing and protesting alleged corruption by government officials while purchasing equipment and testing kits. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

People take photos as self-propelled artillery vehicles Msta-S travel during a rehearsal for a military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 20, 2020. The military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat was postponed from May 9 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and is now set to take place on June 24.(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Street vendors who came out to sell their products, ignoring lockdown measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, returned to their workspaces after being evicted by police in La Victoria district, in Lima, Peru, Friday, June 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A woman holds on to the shirt of a chid using a net to look for fish as they wear masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus along a canal in Beijing on Saturday, June 20, 2020. China's capital recorded a further drop in coronavirus cases amid tightened containment measures. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Many areas of Europe are dealing with new localized outbreaks, with some of the largest centered around meat-processing plants. German officials said Saturday that the number of workers infected at a slaughterhouse in the northwest of the country had risen to 1,029 but there was no evidence of "significant" spread beyond the workforce into the community.

French authorities were keeping a close eye on signs of an accelerating spread of the coronavirus in Normandy, a region that's until now been spared the worst of the outbreak that has hit Paris and the east of France particularly hard.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

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Syracuse, N.Y. -- A 33-year-old Syracuse man pleaded guilty Friday to distributing heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, according to federal prosecutors.

Isidro De Los Santos also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, possession with the intent to distribute and the distribution of a number of drugs, according to a statement by the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York.

De Los Santos admitted to working with Anthony Moreno on Syracuses Near West Side to distribute the drugs, federal officials said. He admitted that he and Moreno sold drugs six times between December 2018 and January 2019 during an undercover sting, according to prosecutors.

On Jan. 31, 2019, the DEA, ATF and Syracuse police carried out a federal search warrant at De Los Santos house and found 743 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl in two packages, prosecutors said. They also found 13 ounces of cocaine at Morenos house during the execution of a search warrant on the same day, according to prosecutors.

Moreno also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, federal officials said.

De Los Santos could be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in federal prison and up to life in prison. He could also be fined up to $10 million.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
On May 30, 1921, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Okla., was a thriving Black community: a rarity in an era of lynchings, segregation and a rapidly growing Ku Klux Klan.

By sunrise on June 2, Greenwood lay in ruins: burned to the ground by a mob of white people, aided and abetted by the National Guard, in one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history. The death toll may have been as high as 300, with hundreds more injured and an estimated 8,000 or more left homeless.

Local officials, seeing a public-relations nightmare, expressed contrition and said they would rebuild the community. Instead, they destroyed documentation and spent the next 50 years pretending nothing had happened. Those who were there went silent, generations of children grew up oblivious, and anyone who dared raise the subject was told in no uncertain terms: We dont speak of that here.
Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, initially said he had no intention of resigning, contrary to an announcement from Atty. Gen. William Barr. (Associated Press)

The announcement late Friday from Atty. Gen. William Barr seemed unequivocal. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, would resign. The prosecutor had long been in the administrations sights, having directed investigations into President Trumps inner circle and guided the successful prosecution of Trumps personal attorney Michael Cohen.

But soon after the resignation was announced, Berman issued a statement of his own. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, Berman said.

Today, Barr announced that Trump, at the attorney general's request, had fired Berman, and that Berman's top deputy, Audrey Strauss, will be the interim head of the Southern District of New York until a permanent successor is in place. Berman then agreed to step aside, citing Barr's "decision to respect the normal operation of the law" by replacing him with Strauss, a respected career prosecutor.

Berman's agreement to leave without a fight might appear to be the end of the short, high-stakes battle between a powerful prosecutor and his even more powerful boss, but it isnt. Bermans departure does not fully accomplish what Barr and Trump wanted: asserting control over ongoing investigations by the Manhattan U.S. attorney. To fully accomplish that, they will need a pliable U.S. attorney in Berman's stead. Strauss is unlikely to fill that role.

The goal of reining in the Manhattan office couldn't be accomplished simply by ousting Berman because of the unique way in which he was appointed. After his nomination, he was not confirmed by the Senate, but rather appointed by the judges of the district where he served. That placed him in a slightly different legal position, and he might have been able to successfully argue in court that the U.S. Code allowed him to stay until a successor was confirmed for the job.

Because Strauss was not appointed in the same way, she is covered by a different code section. That strengthens Barr's legal position should he decide to oust Strauss and install the person he has said he wants in the job, Jay Clayton, who serves as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Story continues

But whatever enhanced legal authority Barr may have with Berman out, his practical options may have narrowed. Thats because any move to oust Strauss now will be seen as a blatant effort to shut down investigations involving Trump.

Barr and Trump have shown themselves more than willing to ignore disapproval of their actions, but the president is facing what could be a tough reelection campaign, and he risks damaging himself politically.

And as a practical matter, the administration could run into serious headwinds trying to get a successor to Berman confirmed. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he will respect the normal process for such confirmations, which allows senators from the state in which an appointment is made to bottle up a U.S. attorney nomination. Its a safe bet that New York Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, will not permit a nomination to proceed.

Barr and Trump thus have a choice between two unattractive options. They can leave Strauss in office and permit ongoing investigations to proceed unimpeded, or they can move to oust her and prompt a certain firestorm.

If they take the latter course, Strauss would have the strategic option of trying to resist through legal action, a route Berman would likely have taken had Strauss not been appointed. A court would undoubtedly understand the broader stakes at issue in any such dispute.

The most important factor Strauss would have on her side if she took that route would be time. It would be a gorgeous reversal of the dynamic that Trump has so frequently exploited by running to court with lousy arguments that nevertheless buy him the time he needs on the political front.

As long as Strauss remains in charge, the investigations are likely to be vigorously pursued. And each day the office continues its digging, the president will be tying himself in angry knots.

@harrylitman
SV Krishna Chaitanya By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Protecting catchment areas surrounding Vedanthangal bird sanctuary is a very important factor towards conserving the rich heritage, say wildlife experts. Senior ornithologist and former director of Bombay Natural History Society, Asad Rahmani, along with Prerna Singh Bindra, former member of National Board for Wildlife, and Ritesh Kumar, Director of Wetlands International South Asia, in a joint statement stressed the importance of preserving the biodiversity of the area.

The trees in Vedanthangal tank provide a nesting and roosting place for over 30,000 birds each year, they said, adding that the mosaic of waterbodies and agricultural fields in the surrounding area served as feeding grounds for them. Concerns were raised after TNIE reported on the proposal by the Tamil Nadu forest department to denotify the outer 2 kms of the bird sanctuary. The application by the department was pending before the National Board for Wildlife.

Bindra said she was puzzled as to how the State Wildlife Board had recommended the proposal through circular agenda, rather than discussing it in a regular meeting. Denotifying a major chunk of a sanctuary is a big decision. The forest department should not worry about hurdles for commercial growth in the area. The departments primary responsibility should be to protect the sanctuary, she said.

On groundwater pollution by certain industries, Ritesh Kumar said that effluents from a pharma unit could cause irreversible damage. He highlighted the States commitment to implement the provisions of the Wetlands Rules of 2017, which insists on conserving wetlands and its zone of influence. Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman alleged that, if permitted, the move would remove over 50 square kilometres from the protection of the sanctuary.

M Yuvan of Madras Naturalists Society, who recently co-ordinated a Twitter campaign against the move, called for an inquiry into the departments irregularities in the administration of the sanctuary. After the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the forest department, in a press release, claimed that the ongoing exercise was in compliance with the Government of India guidelines requiring states to demarcate all protected areas into Core, Buffer and Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZ).

Accordingly, 5 km of land around the sanctuary has been categorised as Core (0-1 km), buffer (1-3 km) and eco-sensitive zone (3-5 km). This makes it clear that the 5 km circumference will continue to be a birds administration region without any reduction, the release stated. However, activists say the departments claim was untenable as ESZs cannot be demarcated inside a sanctuary.
The proximate cause of China's belligerence is the completion of the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) Road, completed by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in April 2019 after nineteen years of work.

Seventy two hours after 20 Indian soldiers perished inflicting casualties on the Chinese Army, Indian Army completed the construction of a bridge in the same area, which would give better access to the points close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This is an addition to a spree of engineering and infrastructure building in the border regions, which has been a key factor in increased Chinese hostility over the recent years.

The proximate cause of Chinese belligerence is the completion of the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) Road, completed by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in April 2019 after nineteen years of work. This road connects Leh in Ladakh to DBO, the furthest airstrip near the LAC. In 2008, the Indian Air Force landed an AN-32 to reactivate this airstrip at the base of the Karakoram Pass. The area is now accessible by road from Leh.

One of the earliest decisions of the government, taken in July 2014, was to provide a general approval to divert forest land within 100 kilometres (kms) of LAC for road widening and construction. These roads were to be constructed in four states  Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim on the eastern front and Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on the western side.

Soon after the Doka La face-off with China in September 2017, the government extended this general clearance for all army infrastructure construction and not just roads. This infrastructure included outposts on the border, fencing, parking lots, floodlights among other constructions. Previously such projects needed specific clearances from Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, leading to long approval cycles.

The strategic view taken by the government has meant that about 4,700 kilometres of border roads have been constructed or expanded along China border in the last six years, a 32 percent increase over the previous six years. Similarly, about 14,450 metres of bridges have been completed in these six years in the border areas, an increase of 98 percent over the previous six years. Road surfacing works which progressed at an average of 170 kilometres per year from 2008 to 2017 have averaged 380 kilometres per year in the last three years.

The doctrinaire view taken by the environment ministers Jayanthi Natarajan and Jairam Ramesh before 2014 is well documented, not just for border roads, but infrastructure projects in general. The concerned ministry was also under then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself in the early years of his term. The Modi government has taken a more strategic view of how to make border areas much more accessible.

Another policy change which has occurred in the recent years is delegation of powers to the Director General (DG) of the BRO. In 2017, the DG, BRO was given the financial powers to spend up to Rs 100 crore for procurement of high quality construction equipment, including locally made as well as imported machinery. The BRO was also given the powers to engage large construction firms for turnkey projects. Even within the BRO, the Chief Engineer as well as Additional DG were given extra financial delegation powers to speed up stuck projects.

Several civil infrastructure projects, which can be feeder projects for the use of armed forced if required, have also been expedited in the border states.

The 45-kilometre Sivok-Rangpo rail link to connect West Bengal and Sikkim with a single broad gauge line. The project was inaugurated in 2009 by then Vice President Hamid Ansari and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. The work on this project, which will have a tunnel coverage of more than 80 percent with the longest tunnel measuring more than 5 kilometres, only started in 2018. It is now slated to be completed in 2023.

Indian Railways is also currently constructing the worlds highest railway bridge over the Chenab river. This 1.3 kilometre bridge located in the Reasi district will help connect the Kashmir Valley with the mainland via the Banihal  Udhampur rail line. The construction of the bridge started in 2004 but was halted a few years later. The current construction started in 2017 and is expected to be complete by December 2021.

In April 2017, Modi inaugurated the 9.28 kilometre long Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Chenani-Nashri tunnel, making winter connectivity with Jammu and Srinagar possible. The project started in 2011 and took six years to complete. Similarly, the Zoji-la tunnel and the Z-Morh tunnel, which will connect Srinagar to Ladakh round the year, had been expedited in 2017. Due to the contractor going bankrupt, both projects have been rebid. The fresh contract for the Z-Morh tunnel was awarded in January 2020 and the expected completion now is end-2023.

On the eastern front too, the Bogibeel Bridge inaugurated by Modi in December 2018, provides an important link between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh across the Brahmaputra. Assams Dibrugarh is linked to Dhemaji near the Arunachal border through this 4.9 kilometre bridge. It is a rail and road bridge, making movement of people as well as equipment easier to the border areas.

The Char Dham Mahamarg in Uttarakhand, which plans to link the holy sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri was also launched in December 2016. The project will promote religious tourism, but also provides an important connectivity option to the border areas in Uttarakhand.

As it appears, these projects are in the Chinese crosshairs. India has been more assertive about its territorial integrity and the importance of enabling infrastructure is not lost on China.

On Indias part, the India-China Border Roads (ICBR) project needs to be completed as soon as possible. Of the original 73 roads planned in 1999, half have been completed, with a lot of push coming between 2014 and 2018 via various government decisions and interventions. Roads like DSDBO are plugging long-known infrastructure gaps.

The author is a public policy analyst based in Pune.
Spains state of alert, which limits the movement of citizens to help contain the virus, will end at midnight.

Spains prime minister has urged caution as limits on movement within the country are lifted.

Pakistan reported 153 fatalities in a new daily record for coronavirus deaths as infections in the South Asian nation continued to rise.

Brazil has passed one million coronavirus cases and approached 50,000 deaths, making it second only to the United States in both infections and deaths.

German biopharmaceutical company CureVac has started a clinical trial for a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

More than 458,000 people have died as a result of the new coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. At least 8.6 million people have been confirmed to have the coronavirus around the world and more than 4.2 million have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

Saturday, June 20

23:09 GMT  German slaughterhouse workers test positive of COVID-19

An official in northwest Germany says the number of workers infected in a coronavirus outbreak at a slaughterhouse in Germany has risen to 1,029 from 803 reported a day earlier but there is no evidence of a significant spread into the community, according to AP news agency.

The regional government has issued a quarantine order for all 6,500 workers and managers at the Toennies firms meat processing facility in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck and for their family members.

German news agency dpa quoted regional official Sven-Georg Adenauer as saying Saturday, We have no significant introduction of coronavirus into the general population.

More than 3,000 workers have been tested thus far. Testing continued on Saturday at the facility with the support of police and 25 military personnel, DPA reported.

20:40 GMT  Palestinian Authority closes two West Bank cities after virus spike

The Palestinian Authority has said it was temporarily closing the cities of Hebron and Nablus in the occupied West Bank to contain the spread of coronavirus after a sharp rise in infections.

The government decided to close the governorate of Hebron to prevent anyone from entering or exiting, with the exception of the transport of merchandise, Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said.

He told a news conference that Hebron would be closed for five days and Nablus for 48 hours.

Hebron saw 48 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total to 258, while authorities have reported 23 cases in Nablus. Authorities have reported a total of 687 cases in the West Bank, including two deaths so far.

A health worker watches as Palestinian laborers head to work in Israel through a checkpoint amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

20:00 GMT  French deaths rise by 19 to 29,633

The number of deaths in France from COVID-19 has risen by 19, bringing the total to 29,633, the health ministry has said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 641 to 160,093. Frances coronavirus death toll is the fifth-highest in the world

19:20 GMT  South Africa hits daily case record of nearly 5,000

South Africa has announced nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases for a new daily record.

The country has recorded a total of 92,000 confirmed cases as of Saturday, which is about 30 percent of all cases across the African continent. More than half of South Africas cases are in Western Cape province and centered on the city of Cape Town.

But more than one-fifth are in Gauteng province, home to the economic hub of Johannesburg and to the South African capital of Pretoria.

Even as cases rise, President Cyril Ramaphosa this week announced a further loosening of what once was one of the worlds strictest lockdowns.

A student is screened in Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa [Mike Hutchings/Reuters]

18:40 GMT  Chile reports more than 7,000 deaths under new counting method

Chile has nearly doubled its coronavirus death toll to more than 7,000 under a new tallying method that includes probable fatalities from COVID-19.

The toll thus increased by 3,069, Rafael Araos of the heath ministry said as he revealed officially for the first time the new government counting methodology.

The revelation of this tallying method last week by CIPER, an investigative news organization, prompted the resignation of health minister Jaime Manalich.

Until now the death toll from confirmed coronavirus cases in the South American country was 4,075.

18:00 GMT  Portugal probes party that may have spread virus

Portuguese prosecutors have said they have launched an investigation into a birthday party attended by scores of people which could have led to many new coronavirus infections.

Prosecutors in the southern Faro region said they were probing a late-night June 7 party gathering scores of people in the town of Lagos, which took place despite a ban on gatherings of more than 20.

There have been a little over 1,500 COVID-19 deaths in Portugal and 38,841 cases out of a population of some 10 million.The party could be the origin of an outbreak of COVID-19 infections, they said.

Local media cited health officials as saying that the party could have caused about 100 new coronavirus cases.





17:20 GMT  Spain to allow Britons to visit from Sunday without quarantine

Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya has said that Spain would open its doors to British tourists from Sunday without the need for them to spend two weeks in quarantine because of the coronavirus.

We will allow British visitors to enter Spain just like the rest of the European Union or Schengen from 21 June freely and without the need for the quarantine, she told BBC News.

She said Spain is still discussing with UK authorities whether they will offer the same conditions for Spanish visitors to the UK

16:40 GMT  Italy reports 49 new deaths, 262 new cases

Italy has reported 49 deaths from COVID-19 , compared with 47 a day earlier, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases rose to 262 from 251 on Friday.

The countrys death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 34,610, the agency said, the worlds fourth-highest after the United States, Brazil and Britain.

The number of confirmed cases amounts to 238,275, the eighth-highest global tally. The agency said a recalculation in the regional count meant two fewer cases were reported in previous days.





16:00 GMT  Montenegro calls polls for August despite virus return

Montenegro has scheduled a parliamentary election for August despite a return of the coronavirus two weeks after it had declared the end of the epidemic.

Montenegro declared itself virus-free on June 2 but two weeks later registered a few dozen new infections, with authorities blaming citizens attending a football match in neighbouring Serbia.

President Milo Djukanovic scheduled the election for August 30 in the Adriatic country of 620,000 people that became independent in 2006 following a split with Serbia.

So far the country has registered a total of 355 coronavirus cases, including nine deaths.

15:20 GMT  Spain PM urges caution as state lifts remaining restrictions

Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on the population to continue to take care on Saturday, the last day of the state of alert imposed to contain the coronavirus.

The virus can return, and we could face a second wave of infections, Sanchez said in a televised speech.We all need to follow health and hygiene regulations closely.

Spain, one of the countries worst affected by the pandemic, introduced a strict lockdown in mid-March to contain the virus, which has led to 28,000 deaths. From midnight the lockdown is to be lifted.

The first visitors walk at Alhambra Palace that has reopened in Granada, Spain [File: Miguel Angel Molina/EPA]

14:40 GMT  Hong Kong records fifth death

A 78-year-old woman has died in Hong Kong from coronavirus, taking the death toll from COVID-19 in the city to five, with 1,129 cases.

Hong Kong has eased social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus with the latest rules now banning gatherings of 50 people or more. The semi-autonomous region has largely avoided the outbreak of infections in mainland China at the beginning of the pandemic.

The total number of cases in Hong Kong since late January now stands at 1,324 [AP]

14:00 GMT  UK confirmed death toll rises by 128 to 42,589

The death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom has risen by 128 to 42,589, health officials said on Saturday

Meanwhile, confirmed cases in the UK rose by 1,295, bringing the country total to date 303,110.

13:20 GMT  Saudi Arabia to lift national curfew, resume economic activities as of Sunday

Saudi Arabia will lift a nationwide curfew and resume all economic and commercial activities as of Sunday morning, state news agency SPA has quoted a source in the interior ministry as saying

The curfew will be lifted as of 6 AM on Sunday, while Umra, international flights, entry to kingdom across land borders and social gatherings to more than 50 people remain suspended, the statement said.

Hello, this is Joseph Stepansky in Doha taking over from my colleague Usaid Siddiqui.

12:30 GMT  Qatar reports 1,026 coronavirus cases

At least 1,026 people have contracted coronavirus in Qatar in the last 24 hours, the countrys public health ministry said, taking the total to 86,488.

One person died from the virus, the ministry added, taking the death toll to 94.

11:50 GMT  Pope holds first post-lockdown audience, hails Italy healthcare workers

Pope Francis held his first audience for a group of people since Italy lifted its coronavirus lockdown, granting it to health workers from the Italian region most affected by the pandemic.

You were one of the supporting pillars of the entire country, he told doctors and nurses from the Lombardy region gathered in the Vaticans frescoed Clementine Hall, which had not been used for months because of the crisis.

To those of you here and to your colleagues all across Italy go my esteem and my sincere thanks, and I know very well I am interpreting everyones sentiments, he said.

Pope Francis has resumed public Masses but with only about 50 people allowed [FILE  Reuters]

Italy returned to relative normality on June 3 when Italians were allowed to move between regions again. But rules such as social distancing in public and wearing masks are still in effect.

Nearly 35,000 people in Italy have died of coronavirus, the fourth highest number in the world after the United States, Brazil and Britain.

10:35 GMT  French stadiums to allow football fans in from July 11  government

Stadiums in France will re-open to fans on July 11 as the country continues to lift measures imposed to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, the government said.

A maximum of 5,000 fans, however, will be allowed in the arenas  a restriction that could be eased later in the summer with the new season due to start on the weekend of August 22.

The French Cup and League Cup finals could now be played with spectators and fans will also be able to watch their teams play pre-season friendlies.





09:55 GMT  US Embassy in Kabul battling COVID-19 infections

The US State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital and the staff who are affected include diplomats, contractors and locally employed staff.

The State Department did not say how many were affected. An official at the embassy in Kabul, who could not be identified because of not being authorized to talk to the media, said as many as 20 people were infected, the majority of whom are Nepalese Gurkhas, who provide embassy security.

The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the US State department said.

The infected staff are in isolation in the embassy while the remainder on the compound are being tested, said the embassy official, who also said the embassy staff have been told they can expect tighter isolation orders.

09:20 GMT  Kyrgyzstan tightens coronavirus restrictions after increase in new cases

Kyrgyzstan has shut down public transport in the capital Bishkek and the routes between all of its provinces until Monday, Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said.

The move came as the number of new coronavirus cases in the Central Asian nation rose by 192.

We must ensure the countrys full readiness for a worsening of the epidemiological situation, Boronov said. We see daily growth in new COVID-19 cases.

The former Soviet republic of 6.5 million people, which now has 2,981 reported cases of the virus, ended a state of emergency accompanied by curfews and lockdowns in May.

08:55 GMT  Indonesia reports 1,226 new coronavirus infections, 56 deaths  ministry

Indonesia reported 1,226 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases in the South East Asian nation to 45,029.

Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said there were 56 more deaths reported, with total fatalities now at 2,429, the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.

Firefighters wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at the National Monument area to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia [Antara Foto/Wahyu Putro/Reuters]

08:35 GMT  UK to conclude Englands 2-metre COVID-19 rule review soon -minister

Britains government will announce in the coming days whether it will reduce its two-metre social distancing rule for England, a minister said.

Many employers, especially in the hospitality and leisure sectors, have said the rule that people must remain two metres apart will stop them from getting back to speed as the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.

We have committed to reviewing the two-metre to one-metre rule and we will be concluding on that shortly, culture minister Oliver Dowden told BBC radio late on Friday.

Within the coming days we will get the outcome, he added.

08:15 GMT  Russia reports just under 8,000 new coronavirus cases

Russia reported 7,889 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its nationwide case tally to 576,952 since the crisis began.

The national coronavirus response centre said 161 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 8,002.

Russia has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe [Sergei Chirikov/EPA]

07:50 GMT  Limited lockdown begins in Turkey to help curb COVID-19 spread

A limited nationwide lockdown started in Turkey, in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus during high school entry exams for 1.6 million students, state news agency

Anadolu reported.

The curfew in all the countrys 81 cities is in effect from 9 am to 3 pm (0600 to 1200 GMT) to avoid crowds during entrance and exit of the exam.

Anadolu shared footage of students wearing masks and queuing to enter the exam centres under security measures. The students, some of them accompanied by parents, were provided with extra masks and

disinfectant. Security personnel wore protective face shields

07:30 GMT  India registers highest single-day rise in cases

India recorded its highest single-day jump in coronavirus cases with 14,516, bringing the tally to 395,048, according to health officials.

The death toll rose to 12,948 with 375 fatalities in a day. India registered over 10,000 cases for the ninth day in a row.





07:10 GMT  Aussie rules game postponed after player fails COVID-19 test

The Australian Football League has postponed a game between Essendon and Melbourne because a player who recently returned from Ireland has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Australian rules AFL competition was into the second weekend of matches after restarting in the wake of the shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic.

AFL chief exectuive Gillon McLachlan says Essendon player Conor McKenna tested positive but remained asymptomatic.

06:30 GMT  Australian Victoria state reimposes restrictions

Australias Victoria state is set to reimpose household restrictions from Monday after recording double-digit increases in COVID-19 cases for a fourth consecutive day.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews says household gatherings will be restricted to five guests and outdoor gatherings to 10 people until midnight July 12.

Andrews said Victoria recorded 25 new cases on Saturday, the biggest daily increase in two months.

06:10 GMT  Guatemala replaces health minister mid-pandemic

Guatemala replaced its health minister Friday amid the rising pace of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the Central American country.

President Alejandro Giammattei pushed out Health Minister Hugo Monroy and named Amelia Flores, a former vice minister of health in an earlier administration, as his replacement.

Monroy, who had held the position since January, had been harshly criticized for his management of the pandemic. Federal lawmakers called him in multiple times for questioning and complained that the Health Ministry was spending too little of its budget during the pandemic.

Guatemala has over 12,500 coronavirus cases to date [Johan Ordonez/AFP]

05:50 GMT  Navy upholds firing of carrier captain in virus outbreak

The two senior commanders on a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier didnt do enough, soon enough, to stem the outbreak, the top U.S. Navy officer said Friday, a stunning reversal that upheld the firing of the ships captain who had pleaded for faster action to protect the crew.

Capt. Brett E. Crozier and Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, commander of the carrier strike group, made serious errors in judgment as they tried to work through an outbreak that sidelined the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam for 10 weeks, said Admiral Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations.

The Crozier decision was a surprise since Gilday had recommended that the captain be restored to his command less than two months ago after an initial inquiry.

The pandemic set off a dramatic series of events that led to Croziers dismissal, the abrupt resignation of the acting Navy secretary who fired him and the push for a broader review of the Pacific fleets top commanders and how they handled the virus outbreak.

05:30 GMT  Pakistan to resume international flights

Pakistan resumed international flight operations in the country, after months of a suspension imposed to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

The government is pleased to authorize international flight operations to and from Pakistan from all international airports from June 20, Abdul Satttar Khokhar, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement late Friday.

The permissions may be subject to restrictions from time to time based on the evolving Covid-19 scenario and implementation of health protocols.

Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui taking over from my colleague Zaheen Rasheed in Male.

Ill now be handing over this blog to my colleagues in Doha.

Heres a quick summary of the latest developments: Costa Rica and Mexico are delaying reopening of their economies amid a rise in infections, while a court in the US has rejected a bid to make face masks mandatory at President Donald Trumps upcoming campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Chinas capital, Beijing, reported a further drop in locally transmitted cases but Pakistan registered a new daily record for deaths.

04:58 GMT  Pakistan reports highest daily death toll

Pakistan has reported 153 fatalities in a new daily record for COVID-19 deaths as infections across the country continued to spiral.

The total death toll now stands at 3,382. Hospitals are filling up and in many cities across the country and COVID-19 patients are being turned away as new infections pushed the overall number of confirmed cases to 171,665.

In a country of 220 million people, Pakistan has fewer than 3,000 ICU beds  among the worlds lowest number. Ventilators are being distributed to some of the worst-hit areas and the government has sealed more than 800 residential and business areas where clusters of infections have surfaced.

Yet despite urging from medical professionals and the WHO, Pakistan has refused to impose strict lockdowns.





04:31 GMT  US rejects Chinese airlines request for additional flights

Washington rejected a request by four Chinese airlines for additional weekly flights between the two countries, but said the decision was not meant to escalate tensions over travel restrictions in the midst of the new coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the US Department of Transportation said the decision was made to maintain the parity in scheduled passenger services between the two countries, adding it was willing to review the decision if Chinese aviation authorities adjusted their policies affecting US carriers.

Earlier this week, the US and China said they would each allow four weekly flights between the two countries.





04:21 GMT  US to release Hezbollah financier

The US will release convicted Hezbollah financier Kassim Tajideen three years into his five-year sentence due to his poor health and risks of COVID-19 infection from prison, according to court documents.

On May 28 Washington Federal District Court Judge Reggie Walton granted Tajideens emergency request for compassionate release, which said his age and serious health conditions leave him particularly vulnerable as the coronavirus spread through the US prison system.

Tajideen, 64, could be back in Lebanon within weeks.

According to a June 11 court filing by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he was released from the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland after a two-week coronavirus quarantine and moved to a county detention centre while awaiting departure.

At this time, a charter flight to Lebanon has been scheduled for July 2020 and Mr Tajideen is on the manifest, ICE said in a court filing.

04:11 GMT  South Korea logs biggest daily rise in three weeks

South Korea reported its largest 24-hour increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in about three weeks amid an uptick in imported cases.

Officials said the 67 additional cases raise the countrys total to 12,373, with 280 deaths.The new figure is the largest daily increase since South Korea reported 79 cases on May 28.

Officials say 31 of the new cases came from outside the country and the other 36 were locally transmitted.

South Korea is seeking to contain a spike in fresh virus transmissions since early May when it eased social distancing rules. The new cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a big e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

A man sanitises his hands before entering a theatre for Phantom of the Opera in Seoul, South Korea on June 18, 2020 [Daewoung Kim/ Reuters]

03:38 GMT  Novartis halts malaria drug trial amid participant shortfall

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is halting its trial of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) against COVID-19 after struggling to find participants, it said on Friday, as data emerged from other studies raising doubts about the drugs efficacy.

Novartiss trial began in April and sought to test the drug in 440 hospitalised patients. But the project only managed to recruit a handful.

The recruitment challenge facing our hydroxychloroquine trial has made it unlikely that the clinical team will be able to collect meaningful data in a reasonable time frame to determine the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating patients with COVID-19, Novartis said in a statement.

02:53 GMT  Beijing reports further drop in new cases

Chinas capital recorded a further drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases as tightened measures to contain the spread remain in place.

Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing, along with five others elsewhere in the country. No new deaths were reported and 308 people remain hospitalised for treatment for COVID-19.

One of the Beijing cases is a nurse at a hospital in the suburban Changping district. The Peking University International Hospital where she worked is now under tightened restrictions, along with residential communities in the surrounding area.

A total of 205 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Beijing since the outbreak began last week, with at least two of them critically ill and 11 others in serious condition.

A volunteer from the Blue Sky Rescue team, in a protective suit, disinfects the Nangong comprehensive market following a new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing, China, on June 18, 2020 [Carlos Garica Rawlins/ Reuters]

02:19 GMT  Pandemic could worsen Haitis already alarming humanitarian situation

Helen La Lime, the United Nations Special Representative for Haiti, said the coronavirus pandemic is worsening the countrys already alarming humanitarian situation, something that could see an increasing number of citizens flee the island to seek a better life abroad.

And unless more help was offered to tackle Haitis economic recession, a primarily domestic problem could transform into a regional issue, she warned during a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday.

She added: A vicious circle of mistrust, recrimination and ultimately violence, is once again starting to define the dynamics of Haitian politics at a time when the entire society should be unified in its response to the pandemic.

Haiti has a population of 11 million people and has so far recorded 4,900 coronavirus cases and 84 deaths.

01:57 GMT  Mexico City delays reopening as cases continue to surge

Authorities in Mexico City delayed a planned reopening of the economy as new confirmed cases and deaths reported nationwide continued at near-record levels.

Claudia Sheinbaum, mayor of the 11 million strong city, said hospital occupancy and case numbers had not decreased to the point where reopening malls and street markets would be possible. About 70 percent of the citys hospital beds are occupied.

Mexicos Health Department reported 5,030 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 647 more deaths, both numbers down just slightly from Thursday. Total cases now stand at 170,485, with 20,394 fatalities.

A musician plays his instrument during the burial of two people, who died of COVID-19 at the San Isidro Municipal cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico, on June 19, 2020 [Henry Romero/ Reuters]

Musicians play their instruments during a protest demanding financial support in Mexico City on June 19, 2020 [Eduardo Verdugo/ AP]

01:35 GMT  US court rejects bid for mandatory masks at Trump rally

Oklahomas Supreme Court rejected an effort to require everyone attending US President Donald Trumps rally in Tulsa this weekend to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing to guard against spreading the coronavirus.

In a concurring opinion, two justices said the local residents asking for precautions at Trumps rally  the USs largest indoor gathering in months  could not establish their legal right to the relief they sought.

The petition was filed by two people described as having compromised immune systems and at particular risk from COVID-19.

The ruling came as Oklahoma reported its second-biggest increase in new infections on Friday, logging 359 cases of COVID-19 and one death. That brings the states total caseload to 9,706 and number of deaths to 367.

01:10 GMT  Costa Rica halts reopening

Costa Rica is halting the reopening of its economy after registering on Friday a record 119 new coronavirus infections  a figure that brings the countrys total number of confirmed cases to 2,508.

These are not numbers to think that nothing is wrong and that we can continue with the reopening, Health Minister Daniel Salas told reporters.

Stores and shopping malls, beaches, churches and other activities will have to wait until we have a sustained decrease in cases, he said, adding that the countrys national soccer league is also suspended until further notice.

At least 12 people have died from COVID-19 in Costa Rica.

A woman is given chayotes at a distribution point for fruits and vegetables donated by domestic producers unable to export due to the coronavirus disease, in San Jose, Costa Rica on April 13, 2020 [File: Juan Carlos Ulate/ Reuters]

00:23 GMT  Brazil surpasses one million coronavirus cases

Brazil passed one million coronavirus cases and approached 50,000 deaths in a new nadir for the worlds second-worst-hit country.

The countrys health ministry reported 1,032,913 confirmed cases on Friday, with 1,206 new deaths that took the total official death toll to 48,954.

Friday also saw a new record daily number of cases, with 54,771 infections, a jump the health ministry said was largely due to instability in its reporting system, which meant some states were reporting figures from multiple days.

Brazil is likely to surpass 50,000 deaths on Saturday, although weekend reporting can be lower.

Read more here.





00:16 GMT  Zimbabwe health minister arrested over coronavirus supplies scandal

Zimbabwes health minister Obadiah Moyo was arrested on Friday for alleged corruption related to the supply of medical materials to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the countrys anti-graft agency said.

He was being held at a Harare police station and is likely to appear in court on Saturday.

I can confirm that the minister of health and child welfare has been arrested and is being detained at Rhodesville police station, John Makamure, spokesman for the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, told the AFP news agency.

Its to do with the procurement of COVID-19 materials, he added.

The government did not immediately comment on the arrest, which came a day after the countrys main opposition condemned alleged corruption following suspicions about a two-million-dollar payment to a medical company contracted to provide anti-coronavirus equipment.

Harare has come under fire for granting two-month-old company Drax Consult SAGL a contract to supply $20m worth of drugs, personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits.

The deal was allegedly signed without the consent of Zimbabwes procurement registration authority.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.

You can find all the key developments from yesterday, June 19, here.
The mass protests against police violence across Canada triggered by the brutal murder of George Floyd have been further fuelled by a steady stream of reports exposing the ruthless use of force by Canadian cops.

Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi, two indigenous people, were shot and killed by police in New Brunswick within eight days earlier this month. On June 4, an officer fired on Moore, 26, while allegedly carrying out a wellness check on the mother of one, who suffered from mental health problems. On Friday, June 12, Levi, a 48-year-old father of three, died after being gunned down at a barbecue after police were called.

Protests triggered by these outrages compelled New Brunswicks right-wing government to abandon a proposal to extend sweeping emergency powers to the police. The legislation, justified on the pretext of the need to clarify police powers as the economy reopens, would have permitted officers to stop citizens and request identification for no reason, and allow the government to suspend provincial laws behind closed doors.

Thousands participated in protests against police brutality across the country again last weekend, including large demonstrations in the Greater Toronto Area. Several hundred people marched peacefully through downtown Toronto, while groups of demonstrators blocked roads in Vancouver. One week earlier, tens of thousands of overwhelmingly young people participated in major protests across the country, including rallies of at least 10,000 in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

While the killing of Floyd and the brutality of the police in the US and Canada served as the catalyst for the protests, they reflect much broader discontent with the current social order. Deepening social inequality, mass unemployment and poverty, which have all been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the ruling elites focus on protecting the wealth of the super-rich, have driven many protesters onto the streets. As one participant in a rally in Kitchener, Ontario, told the WSWS earlier this month, This COVID thing is horrible. All my friends are out of work too. Im totally pissed at all this racism, and Im totally pissed at being unemployed. Im totally pissed about everything, if you want to know the truth.

Under such explosive social and political conditions, powerful forces within the ruling elite are consciously intervening to divert the protests along reactionary racialist lines. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, and the corporate-controlled media are determined to ensure that the protests are confined into manageable channels and that they do not develop into a direct challenge to the capitalist profit system, which is the root cause of police brutality and racism.

In comments to a press conference late last week, Trudeau sought to blame the entire Canadian population for police violence, which he said arose out of systemic racism. It is recognizing that the systems we have built over the past generations have not always treated people of racialized backgrounds, of Indigenous backgrounds fairly through the very construction of the systems that exist, he claimed.

Singh, for his part, put the epidemic of police brutality down to systemic racism at all levels and called for really clear policy changes to do something about it. Matthew Green, a black businessman elected for the NDP for the first time in last years federal election, accused the entire population of suffering from racial amnesia  as it relates to disproportionate impact of militarized policing on racialized communities.

The political establishments insistence that racism is the dominant issue in police violence is a desperate attempt to quarantine the mass protest movement from connecting the struggle against the police with opposition to the social crisis produced by capitalism. Racism undoubtedly thrives and is cultivated within the police, judiciary, and prison system, which are institutions tasked with defending the interests of Canadian capitalism. Black people in Toronto are 20 times more likely to be shot dead by the police than the rest of the population, according to the Ontario Commission for Human Rights. Indigenous people make up more than 30 percent of Canadas prison population, even though they compose just five percent of the total population.

However, these institutions of the capitalist state are not representative of the entire population, and certainly not of the working class, which faces ruthless oppression and exploitation on a daily basis irrespective of race or ethnicity. The function of the police is to enforce this bourgeois legality, i.e., to defend private property and profit-making at the expense of the working class. Anyone who gets in the way of this will be targeted for police brutality, as the locked-out workers at the Federated Cooperatives Ltd. oil refinery in Regina know all too well. There, in February, the police, egged on by the right-wing provincial government, forcibly broke up peaceful picket lines to allow the employer to continue shipping oil to its customers as it sought to starve workers into accepting ruthless concessions.

Presenting the issue of police violence as a racial rather than a class question suits the political and business elite because it diverts attention away from the central responsibility borne by capitalism for all forms of state-backed violence and oppression.

This reality was starkly revealed by an article in the Globe and Mail last week detailing how sections of corporate Canada are enthusiastically embracing racialist politics. Over the past two weeks, many of Canadas largest companies have made statements condemning racism after a wave of protests against police violence in the United States and Canada, gushed the mouthpiece of Torontos financial elite. A new organization called the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism, which was launched on Wednesday, aims to ensure corporations follow through on their statements and take active steps to support Black employees and the Black community more broadly. The groups co-chairs include notables such as Victor Dodig, chief executive officer of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., and Rola Dagher, CEO of Cisco Systems Canada.

Bluntly laying out the class strategy of an important section of the bourgeoisie, which aims to coopt the protests against police violence to consolidate the ongoing exploitation of working people for capitalist private profit, the Globe wrote of the newly-established Council, Its first move is getting CEOs of other major Canadian corporations to sign a pledge that says their organizations will help combat systemic racism. The council is holding a virtual event on July 20, where executives will be asked to outline what their organizations are doing to support the Black community and to promote Black employees to leadership positions.

While Canadas corporate boardrooms, with the support of Trudeau and Singh, are full of enthusiasm over the chance to deploy racialist politics to cultivate a new layer of capitalist exploiters, this strategy has manifestly failed to produce any improvements for the vast majority of black and indigenous people. In fact, their conditions of life, like those of all workers, have gotten steadily worse over recent years.

In 2015, Trudeau presented with great fanfare a racially diverse, gender-balanced progressive cabinet, with the first-ever indigenous justice minister and Sikh defence minister. Yet after almost five years of Liberal Party rule, rates of imprisonment among the Native population are up, and Canada has intensified its close collaboration with the Trump administrations witchhunting of immigrants and refugees. Trudeaus diverse government has been used as a progressive cover to enforce right-wing, anti-worker policies, such as the hiking of military spending by over 70 percent, and the further integration of Canada and its military into US intrigues and aggression around the world.

As the ruling elite prepares to deepen its assault on the working class, above all to pay for the $650 billion bailout handed to the banks and financial markets during the coronavirus crisis, the Liberals and NDP hope that the promotion of racialist politics can continue to provide them with a progressive cover. Recent months have seen these two parties, in close collaboration with the trade unions, place workers on rations in the form of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and cooperate in preparing the way for the premature reopening of the economy.

The NDP and its union allies have worked tirelessly to suppress protests among health care staff and other sections of workers over dangerous working conditions and the lack of personal protective equipment. One of the most notorious cases of this came when the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) opposed any job action by meatpacking workers on the grounds it would not be legal, even though there had been close to 1,000 coronavirus infections and three deaths related to an outbreak at the Cargill meat packing plant in High River, Alberta.

Workers and young people seeking to put an end to police brutality must decisively reject the racialist narrative being promoted by the political establishment. Instead, their struggles must be guided by the understanding that police violence is an expression of the irreconcilability of class interests under capitalism. Putting an end to it is bound up with the working class constituting itself as the conscious leadership of a revolutionary struggle to put an end to capitalism, expropriate the oligarchy, and establish democratic control over the means of production under a workers government.
The PMO on Saturday called as "mischievous interpretation" the criticism over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at an all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting on Friday was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.

"The prime minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces," it said.

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the PM @narendramodi at All-Party Meeting yesterdayPM was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control(1/n)https://t.co/N3tyLtry6X PIB India (@PIB_India) June 20, 2020

The Congress as well as a number of strategic affairs experts raised questions over Modi's remarks asking where did the Indian soldiers die if there was no transgression by the Chinese military in Galwan Valley. They also wondered whether Modi gave a clean chit to China over the standoff.

"The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day," the PMO said.

"The words of the prime minister 'those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil', succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces," it said.

The PMO said Modi assured that India's armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect the country's borders.

"Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the prime minister at the all-party meeting on Friday," it said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Congress asked the government to clarify its position on China's claim on the entire Galwan Valley.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Modi's remark had practically left everyone "baffled and bewildered".

Chidambaram said even after the PM's statement on Friday, China had blamed India for the clashes and had re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley.

"What is the government's answer to this claim? Now that China is claiming the entire Galwan Valley, will Government of India reject this claim Let Government of India answer to China's claim today and not wait till tomorrow," he added.

On the BJP drawing a parallel between India's China policy in 1962 and now, the Congress leader said, "We must focus on the present and not talk about the past."

A day after India trashed the Chinese Army's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the LAC, China's foreign ministry on Friday claimed that the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.

India has already dismissed China's claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, saying such "exaggerated" and "untenable" claims are contrary to the understanding reached during a high-level military dialogue on June 6.
These, to us, are a thing of the past. Our focus is now on ensuring that the project gets off the ground as planned and that we meet the six-month target set for us. We do not want to plan on saying what if we fail because we have aimed for success of this project.
Attorney General William Barr speaks about an initiative to prevent online child sexual exploitation, at the Justice Department in Washington on March 5, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Barr Meets With Boston and New York Police Officials

Attorney General William Barr traveled to Boston and New York City on Thursday and Friday to visit with law enforcement leaders and members of each citys police departments.

In Boston on Thursday, Barr met with Commissioner William Gross and members of his team. In New York City on Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a readout that Barr met with Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker and other senior NYPD officials.

The aim of Barrs visits, the DOJ stated, was to show the Trump administrations strong support for law enforcement and discuss issues that include police relations with the community, officer training, and use of force.

In both meetings, the attorney general expressed his deep appreciation for, and importance of, the service and work of their departments and discussed policing issues that have been at the forefront of national conversation and debate, the department stated.

DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec shared a photo of Barr and Gross on Thursday, noting in the caption that Commissioner Gross told us it was the first time a U.S. attorney general had visited Boston PD.

Today, Attorney General Barr met w/ @BPDPCGross and his outstanding @bostonpolice team. Commissioner Gross told us it was the first time a U.S. Attorney General had visited Boston PD. Thank you, Comm. Gross, for your wonderful hospitality and invaluable insight and advice. pic.twitter.com/xOob3OiMyM  Kerri Kupec DOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) June 18, 2020

Gross told CBS that the topics the two covered in their talks included race relations, police reform, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu criticized Gross for taking the meeting with Barr, writing in a tweet: Racism Is A Public Health Crisisaka dont welcome the person who dismisses systemic racism & creates/enforces racist policies through abuses of power!!! This is a disgrace to our city & a breach of trust to our communities.

Gross defended his meeting with Barr, saying he took the opportunity to discuss issues of relevance to the black community.

I wanted to have this discussion as a commissioner that made it this far in the community that raised me. So thats what I did today. Shame on anyone that has me cornered by guilt by association because I had a discussion, he said at a press conference.

Wus reference to Barrs dismissal of systemic racism may have been in reference to comments the attorney general made on June 7, when he appeared on Face the Nation to talk about protests in the wake of the police custody death of George Floyd.

In the interview, Barr acknowledged the persistence of racist attitudes in society at large but rejected the notion that Americas institutions were systemically racist.

I think theres racism in the United States still but I dont think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist, Barr said. I think we have to recognize that for most of our history, our institutions were explicitly racist. They denied equal rights to African Americans, first under slavery, then under Jim Crow, he added.

Further, Barr said its undeniable that progress is being made in regards to reforming the nations institutions, adding, We have a generation of police leaders in this country, many of whom are now African American, in our major cities, who are firmly committed to equal justice and to fair policing.

Expressing understanding for the distrust of the African American community given the history in this country, Barr noted that the administration would be expanding its efforts to further reform law enforcement.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order on policing, which included measures to incentivize enhanced police training regarding deescalation techniques and imposed tougher restrictions for the use of chokeholds as a restraining technique used to incapacitate non-compliant suspects.
An unidentified pedestrian passes the vandalized home belonging to Joel Freedman at 21st and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, PA on April 6, 2020. Freedman is the owner of Hahnemann University Hospital. Read more

Many observers  from former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney  saw a simple reason for the closure last summer of Hahnemann University Hospital: greed.

That line of thinking goes like this: Joel Freedman, the California businessman who in early 2018 bought Hahnemann and St. Christophers Hospital for Children from Tenet Healthcare Corp. for $170 million, intended from day one to close Hahnemann and make money off the real estate.

But the actions he took before Freedman announced the closure of Hahnemann on June 26, 2019, do not support that view. Far from rapidly shutting the place and shopping its real estate, Freedman repeated steps to try to raise the money to save the facility, as others involved in the case confirmed. Ultimately, he couldnt rescue a declining business locked in the low end of a brutal hospital market.

One big problem was the mix of physicians at Hahnemann, which included some in private practice, others employed by the Drexel University College of Medicine, and some who worked directly for Hahnemann. That lack of alignment made it almost impossible to set a strategy. That problem was coupled with a heavy reliance on Medicaid, which put Hahnemann in the difficult position of being a for-profit hospital serving the underserved without city or state sponsorship, Richard Hamilton, chair of Drexels Department of Emergency Medicine, wrote in an analysis of the Hahnemann failure.

There is no better formula for disaster than to work harder and harder to deliver optimum health care while losing more money in the process, Hamilton concluded in the journal Academic Medicine.

 READ MORE: The loss of Hahnemann resonates a year later as COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter protests roil Philadelphia

In Philadelphia, only Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia and Temple University Hospital in 2018 had a larger percentage of their patients on Medicaid, which pays below cost for the care of thousands of low-income Philadelphia residents. That makes it extraordinarily difficult for those hospitals to stay in business.

Freedman, an investment banker by trade with no expertise in running hospitals, believed he had a formula for doing what Tenet, a national, well-respected hospital operator, had failed to do for 14 years in a row  at least break even at Hahnemann.

One of the keys was to convince doctors to do a better job documenting the condition of patients and the care they were provided. That would have brought in more revenue from insurers. Freedman also sought more state aid. This was an approach that Freedman says had previously helped him rescue other hospitals in California.

But he ran into financial trouble almost from the start in Philadelphia. He blamed Tenet for misrepresenting the hospitals financial condition and for ongoing problems with services that Tenet was supposed to provide. Tenet and Freedman have sued each other over those allegations in Delaware Superior Court. Tenet has sought a dismissal, but COVID-19 has stalled the case.

The business was literally dead on arrival. It wasnt just the burn rate, said Freedman, referring to the amount of cash that Hahnemann was losing every month. The number of patients coming to the hospital was also declining, he said.

By May 2018, it was clear that Hahnemann wouldnt make it without government help, Freedman said.

 READ MORE: Hahnemann University Hospital closed after many years of losses

Hahnemann officials met on mid-2018, with state officials and asked for a loan, according to a timeline provided last summer by the spokesman for the governors office. State Medicaid officials said legal reasons barred a loan, but the state allowed Freedmans company to delay certain payments to the state.

I think there was an awful lot of uncertainty about whether Hahnemann would survive, Freedman said last month. Honestly, I dont know that the state wanted to throw good money after bad.

Financial conditions at Hahnemann only worsened, and more efforts to raise money followed.

In September, Freedman borrowed $15 million from MidCap Financial, which had already helped finance his purchase of the hospitals, to sustain operations. In December and January, Freedman was working on a $170 million refinancing with Credit Suisse, but that fell apart when Hahnemanns finances took another sharp dive.

Freedmans next move, starting in late February 2019, was to see whether he could sell Hahnemann and St. Chris to Drexel University, which had used Hahnemann as the main teaching facility for its medical school. The price was $100,000 and included some of the Hahnemann real estate. But the offer also included liabilities estimated at $300 million, according to Drexel. Freedman thought that Drexel, as a nonprofit, might have better luck wrangling help from Harrisburg.

Drexel, which later bought St. Chris out of bankruptcy in a partnership with Tower Health, ended those talks in late May 2019, declaring, we do not believe that [Hahnemann] has any financial value, according to court records.

The last talks about additional state aid were held on June 11. Fifteen days later, Freedman said Hahnemann would close. Bankruptcy followed a few days later.
The long-awaited final exam of BA part III of Patna University (PU) will be held on July 21. The university had deferred all the exams following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state.

The exam was scheduled to be held on March 13 across six centres, but it was put off later, holding the fate of around 3,000 students in a balance.

PUs examination controller RK Mandal said that elaborate arrangements were being made for peaceful and fair conduct of the examination, for which the students were waiting anxiously for the past three months.

The examination will be conducted at Patna Womens College, Magadh Mahila College, Patna College, Patna Science College, BN College and Vanijya Mahavidyalaya of the PU. Additional exam halls would be engaged to conduct the examination in conformity to the social distancing norms.

NK Jha, dean of students welfare, said that the principals of various constituent colleges have been urged to provide list of total capacity for accommodating students. College premises would be sanitised before exam and students would have to wear mask, Jha said.

Talking about the status of copy evaluation of exams held prior to suspension of academic activities owing Covid-19 outbreak, Jha said that result of B.com is expected to be declared in 10 days.

He said, Of the three traditional UG courses, examination of commerce stream was duly completed as per previous schedule. Evaluation of copies has been completed and results are expected in 10 days. Besides, copy evaluation of those exams of Arts stream which were held earlier is also almost complete. Practical exams of science stream are yet to be conducted by respective colleges.

We are trying to complete pending exams and release results of final year students at the earliest so that they can apply in PG courses, added Jha.

PU is likely to conduct rest pending exams of traditional, vocational and diploma courses in July-end and August.

However, Patna University Students Union is not satisfied with the decision. Nishant Kumar, vice-president of PUSU, said, Students are not ready for exam as they are under mental stress and one-month study leave is not sufficient to prepare for exams. Besides, students residing in hostels have returned to their native places. Gathering of students from different corners would risk health of students. Wed sit on a hunger strike seeking postponement of part III examination and promotion of part I and part II students without examination.
Assistant Chief Anthony Trevino, who briefly led the San Antonio Police Department in 2015, retired Friday after 27 years on the force, according to two sources close to Trevino.

Most recently, Trevino oversaw the Operations Support Bureau, a department with 11 investigative units, including homicide, narcotics, covert operations, family violence and sexual assault.

For some time, the sources said, Trevino and Police Chief William McManus have not seen eye-to-eye.

Trevino, 50, served as interim chief of police from January through October 2015, after McManus accepted a job with CPS Energy to manage the utilitys security operations  only to return in a surprise move 10 months later.

While at the helm, Trevino helped oversee the implementation of the police departments body-worn camera program.

He also implemented a number of community outreach programs, including Coffee with the Cops, changed how the department handled family violence calls, and created a women in policing symposium.

Trevino, who was one of four candidates being considered for the top job, had the strong support of the community and the departments rank-and-file officers. At one point, around 50 activists gathered on the steps of City Hall, calling on then-City Manager Sheryl Sculley to name Trevino the permanent chief.

After McManus return, Trevino resumed his role as chief of staff.

A spokesperson for SAPD did not respond to an email Friday evening seeking comment on Trevinos departure.

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton
On Sunday June 21, at 12am, the whole of Spain will enter what the government has classed the new normality. After three months, the sixth and final extension to the state of alarm will come to an end. The emergency situation was implemented by the government in the middle of March in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus, and, among other things, confined Spaniards to their homes and prevented them from moving freely around the country, or leaving Spanish borders.

Now that the epidemic is under control in Spain, the country is moving to a new phase of deescalation. But it will not be a situation completely free of restrictions. The regions will be taking control of much of the management of the crisis from now on, and each government will be able to establish its own measures. Madrid, the Basque Country, Cantabria, Aragon, Extremadura, Murcia and Catalonia have already announced that they are working on legislation that will limit the capacity of establishments and avoid new outbreaks.

Not all of the countrys 17 regions are entering the new normality in the same circumstances. Galicia was the first territory to begin the stage on Monday. On Friday it was joined by the Basque Country and Cantabria  citizens can already move between these two regions  as well as Catalonia. The rest of the country is in Phase 3, apart from Madrid and four provinces in Castilla y Leon (Segovia, Soria, Avila and Salamanca), which are still in Phase 2. All of them will enter the new normality on June 21.

What does the new normality consist of? In this new stage, which begins on Sunday, mobility restrictions imposed by the state of alarm will end but hygiene and safe-distancing measures will remain. The government has approved a Royal Decree that sets out the obligatory use of masks when a safe inter-personal distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained, with fines of up to 100 if this is not observed. The rules also establish constant coordination between residences and the health system, the adoption of prevention and hygiene measures in the workplace  the organization of work stations and shifts to avoid large groups of people  and health controls in airports.

How long will the new normality last? The measures in this new phase will be in place until the pandemic is considered to be over, either thanks to the appearance of an effective treatment or a vaccine. The regulations set out by the Royal Decree can be complemented with the rules established by each region.

What are the restrictions that can be set out by the regions? Before the arrival of the new normality, a number of regions announced the creation of legislation to regulate this stage. These measures are mostly aimed at regulating capacity in establishments, as well as events of all kinds, whether they are inside or outside. Madrid, for example, has already announced that nightclubs will remain closed until July 5. Local fiestas can also be suspended  Aragon has taken the decision to do so until September 30.

Can people travel between regions from Sunday? Yes. The biggest change that will arrive on Sunday with the new normality is an end to mobility restrictions in Spanish territory and the chance to take journeys to other regions without need for justification. Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts, called for prudence on Friday. We need to take care, he said. This new normality requires us to be conscious of the risks. Journeys should not be made if they are unnecessary, but this is now a case of individual responsibility.

When can people travel to other European countries? Mobility restrictions within the European Union and Schengen area countries also come to an end on Sunday. The EU had called on countries to reopen on June 15, but the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced that the country would wait until June 21. There is one exception: the border with Portugal will not reopen until July 1. For the United Kingdom, the Spanish government is considering implementing a quarantine as a reciprocal measure, given that travelers arriving in that country must self-isolate for two weeks. The British government is considering revising this measure, but not before June 29. The Spanish foreign minister is also holding conversations with the French government to manage the difference in dates for reopening the border, given that the neighboring country is planning to open its borders on June 22.

And what about the rest of the world? The Spanish prime minister said on Sunday that borders with the rest of the world will begin to open on July 1 on a gradual basis. For this to happen, there are a number of requirements: an epidemiological situation that is similar to or better than that of EU member states; certain health conditions in the origin, journey and destination; and reciprocal acceptance of travelers from the EU.

Will there be more lockdowns? If there are localized outbreaks of the coronavirus, as was the case at the start of the crisis in the Catalan municipality of Igualada and a hotel in the Canary Islands, specific lockdowns will be possible. These quarantines will be implemented under a 1986 public health law, which can restrict rights for health reasons, but always on an individual basis and always in very specific and limited outbreaks, such as in a municipality. Lockdowns cannot be implemented on a regional or state level using this law  to do so would require a new state of alarm. If we have to use it again, of course, we will use it again, said Health Minister Salvador Illa last Friday about the emergency measures.

English version by Simon Hunter.
A patient is brought to the emergency department at the Verdun Hospital in Montreal on May 14, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)

COVID-19 Has Made the Ban on Private Health Insurance Even More Unconscionable

Commentary

More than 70,000 surgeries were cancelled in Ontario to accommodate a surge of COVID-19 patients who never materialized. As of May, an estimated 30 to 35 Ontarians had died from missed cardiac surgeries as a result of the delayed procedures.

With 60,000 MRIs and 62,000 CT scans cancelled in Ontario, doctors worry that some cancer diagnoses could come too late. Ontario has begun resuming procedures, but it could take years to catch up.

In British Columbia, the government says it will take 17 to 24 months to catch up on the 30,000 surgeries it postponed. There were already 63,000 people waiting.

The fact that it could take years for sick Canadians get these surgeries done should make us angry. Canada is exceptionally bad at treating people within safe amounts of time. Clearing the hospitals for COVID-19 has made a bad wait-times problem worse.

If Canadians dig into why our system forces people to wait so long, they may start to see the ugly truth: governments use bans on private insurance and market pricing in order to monopolize caresomething no other Western country does. The result is pain, suffering, and death. This is unconscionable and unconstitutional.

Politicians like this monopoly because it allows them to ration care, which keeps costs down. They use bogeyman rhetoric to scare the public into thinking that allowing private payment for care would lead to a U.S.-style system with the rich getting fixed and the poor left sick or bankrupt.

But the United States is an outlier. Countries in Asia, Europe, and Oceania offer high-quality universal health coverage without banning private insurance. In Germany, roughly 10 percent of people have extra private insurance. Its true that those who pay more get seen more quickly, but the public system used by 90 percent of Germans also sees people significantly quicker than they would be seen in Canada. A 2016 Commonwealth Fund study that looked at wait times in 11 wealthy countries found that Canada had the highest proportion of patients18.2 percentwaiting more than four months for surgery. The percentage waiting that long in Germany? Zero.

Allowing private payment means more overall health care dollars to go around. In Canada, we spent US$4,974 per capita on health care in 2018. Germans spent US$5,986 per capita. Many sick Canadians with extra cash would happily spend their money on private insurance which could buy them quality of life and stave off death, but all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador effectively ban private health insurance for care that governments consider medically necessary. That includes things like hip replacements and CT scans but not medication, dentistry, or coverage for wheelchairs.

Allowing those who can afford private insurance to buy it wouldnt harm other people; in fact, each person who chose private care would be taking pressure off the public system. Public wait lists would shrink.

Canadas rationed resources could explain why, as German hospitals postponed only elective procedures like hip replacements in March, Canadian hospitals frantically cancelled pressing surgeries. Germany has that kind of flexibility, with six acute care hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants, compared two in Canada.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Day of Vancouvers private Cambie Clinic has been fighting these monopolies for more than a decade. With the support of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, hes suing the B.C. government, arguing that restricting private payments interferes with the most fundamental rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: life, liberty, and security of the person.

In the case Carter v. Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the criminal ban on medical assistance in death, in part because our right to liberty means the government cannot interfere with fundamentally important and personal medical decision-making. What could be more fundamental than the decision to have a life-saving surgery or scan?

In R v. Morgentaler, which struck down Canadas limits on abortions, the Supreme Court found that security of the person is infringed when the state interferes with bodily integrity or imposes serious psychological stress. This was reiterated in Chaoulli v. Quebec, the 2005 case that struck down Quebecs laws banning private health insurance. The court found that the right to life itself is infringed whenever the state impose(s) death or an increased risk of death on a person, either directly or indirectly. Thats exactly what happens when governments create deadly wait lists.

Dr. Days challenge to these laws could be decided any day. Whichever way it goes, Canadians should demand that their governments remove the roadblocks to a private payment for care. Now more than ever, it could prevent suffering and save lives.

Josh Dehaas is a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and a summer intern at the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a charity dedicated to defending constitutional rights and freedoms. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDehaas.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
By PTI

LOS ANGELES: Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana has been rearrested in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed, according to the US prosecutors.

Rana, 59, a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for the COVID-19.

Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian told the court that the Indian government, as per the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 1997, has requested the arrest and detention of Rana with a view towards his extradition.

He was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 following the extradition request by India, where he is a declared fugitive.

Lulejian said India has informed the United States that Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to commit murder, in violation of Sections 120B and 302, and murder in violation of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He has also been charged with conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating and conspiracy to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record.

He made an initial court appearance on June 11.

On Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the US District Court, Central District of California, scheduled his bond hearing for June 30.

His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the federal government's response is due by June 26.

Lulejian said that the offences for which Rana's arrest warrant was issued are covered by Article 2 of the India-US Extradition Treaty.

He tested positive for the COVID-19 upon his arrival to the Metropolitan Detention Center.

He is currently in quarantine.

He will be available to appear by video or telephone for a bond hearing on June 30.

An arrest warrant was issued against Rana in India by Poonam A Bamba, District and Sessions Judge, Special Court of India's premier investigation agency National Investigation Agency (NIA), on August 28, 2018.

According to the federal prosecutors, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with his childhood friend Headley, also known as "Daood Gilani, and others located in Pakistan to assist Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Pakistani-American LeT terrorist Headley was involved in plotting the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.

Headley, who has been made an approver in the case, is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the attack.

According to the US prosecutors, Rana was first arrested in Chicago on October 18, 2009.

Thereafter he went to trial in the US District court for the Northern District of Illinois where Headley testified for prosecution.

The jury convicted him of one count of Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to LeT.

The jury, however, acquitted Rana of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India.

Harry D Leinenweber, US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Rana to a 168-month prison term.

On May 7 this year, Rana filed a motion for compassionate release in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In his motion, Rana claimed that he has tested positive for the COVID-19, and his precarious medical conditions put him at the extreme risk of life-threatening complications.

Rana also asked the court to reduce his sentence and allow him to return to Canada.

Rana is a Canadian citizen, but he was a residence of Chicago and running a business in the city at the time of his arrest.

His petition was rejected by Rebecca R Pallmeyer, Chief US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on May 18.

He filed a second petition -- Renewed Motion for Compassionate Release -- on June 4.

Five days later on June 9, Judge Leinenweber granted Rana's motion, reduced his sentence to time served and ordered his immediate release, while leaving intact all other aspects of his criminal conviction.

Rana was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in San Pedro, California.

Given that he is a Canadian citizen, the Department of Homeland Security has filed an immigration detainer for him with the Bureau of Prisons.

He was formally rearrested the very next day on June 10.

The Bureau of Prisons is currently holding Rana at that facility pursuant to the immigration detainer.

Luiejian told the court in his submission dated June 10 that a formal request for extradition from the Indian government, supported by the documents specified in the Treaty, will be presented and finalised within the time required under the Treaty.

The 2008 Mumbai attack was one of India's most horrific terrorist attacks in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem.

Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive, was hanged to death on November 21, 2012.
HAMDEN  Mayor Curt B. Leng announced Saturday he will veto the municipal budget approved by the Legislative Council, saying that he wished to blend the best parts of his and their proposals.

The Legislative Council approved a $248,928,679 budget for the community June 5, according to a letter sent to Leng by Town Clerk Kim Renta. It set the tax rate at 51.98 mills, while Lengs proposal would prompt a rate of 51.86 mills.

Leng said that the councils budget represented a strategy that reduces services, while charging you more for less, which is not a recipe that leads to a better, stronger Hamden.

The most salient factors in his decision, Leng said, were the reduction in tax rate, planned cuts to the Hamden Police Department and Hamden Public School budgets and the elimination of bulk curbside trash pick-up.

The councils proposal eliminated 13 police officer positions, most of them vacant, and cut $1.36 million from the districts budget, according to the New Haven Independent.

Council members have disputed Lengs revenue projections for the community in the last two budget cycles.

My action is not intended to be adversarial. I know that we can build a consensus budget, containing the best of both worlds and resulting in the best outcome for our neighbors, Leng said in a release. If this Veto is sustained, I will work with our Council and submit a budget amendment for their deliberation and action. We can achieve much of the good work contained within the Council budget, without taking away so much our residents count on.

Under the Hamden Town Charter, the Legislative Council can override the Mayors veto by a two-thirds majority. The budget passed by an 8 to 3 margin with two abstentions, according to Rentas letter. The council has 15 members.

Lengs message to the council about the veto is available for public consideration at Hamden.com.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 19:09:34|Editor: huaxia

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Tourists watch dancing performance at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

URUMQI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The public and officials of various ethnicities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have denounced and expressed firm opposition to the signing of the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" by the United States.

Multiple terrorist activities in the past caused a lot of casualties in Xinjiang, and the region took a series of measures against terrorism and extremism. This is in line with both China's laws, and the international community's common wish to fight terrorism, according to members of the public and the officials.

Xinjiang has not seen a single terrorist attack for more than three years, which has optimally guaranteed the rights of subsistence and development of 25 million people of various ethnicities in the region, they said.

"Some U.S. politicians should stop their churlish words and actions, and stop doing things that hurt the feelings of the people in Xinjiang," said Abuduxvker Rehamdulla, vice president of the China Islamic Association and imam of Baida Mosque in Urumqi, the regional capital.

Facts have proven that Xinjiang's fight against terrorism and extremism is an act of justice, supported by people of various ethnicities in the region, and it guarantees people's safety and happiness, Rehamdulla said.

Xinjiang has resolutely tightened prevention measures, and launched strict crackdowns on terrorist forces in accordance with the law. It has protected, to the maximum, the basic human rights of the general public of Xinjiang from the harm of terrorism and extremism, said Iijan Anaghit, deputy head of the united front work department of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"These U.S. politicians cared about the so-called 'human rights' with ulterior motives and signed the so-called bill," said Anaghit. "This is obviously an act of supporting the 'three evil forces' and chanting for violent terrorists."

Many people in Xinjiang said that the so-called suppression of ethnic groups and violation of religious freedom confused right and wrong and is an act of deliberate smearing.

A customer visits a store in the "Dove Lane" in the old town Tuancheng of Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 26, 2020.(Xinhua/Sadat)



Yimiarhasan Mahmut has been an editor at Xinjiang's Tianshan magazine for 22 years. He said that the magazine has many columns that present the literature works of ethnic writers in their ethnic languages.

"The cultures of ethnic groups have always received protection and have prospered," he said. "Where on earth is the so-called suppression of minority groups?"

Abdurehim Islam, with the Bagang Mosque in Urumqi, said that in recent years, the government has provided funds for every mosque to be equipped with air conditioners, television sets and floor heating systems, in addition to adding libraries and shower rooms, which have all protected the legal, religious activities of religious believers.

"I think this bill is a distortion of truth and an obvious attempt to throw mud at the Chinese government," Islam said. "It aims to hurt the bond between the CPC, the government, and the people."

It is an undisputed fact that various ethnic groups in Xinjiang are equal, and religious groups co-exist in harmony, said the members of the public. In fact, it is in the United States where white supremacy has risen, they said. In May, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death led to large-scale protests.

"Some U.S. politicians ignore their domestic racism, try to distort the truth, and interfere in the internal affairs of China," said Sulayman Islam, an associate professor with the School of Economics of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics. "They play the 'Xinjiang card' to try to contain China's development."

People of various ethnicities in Xinjiang will resolutely safeguard national unity, ethnic solidarity, and social stability, and any attempt by the United States is doomed to fail, Sulayman Islam said. 
As Hungary's coronavirus-hit economy shrinks and unemployment soars, thousands of Hungarians are seeking to join the army, attracted by job stability and a government scheme that fast-tracks recruits toward a military career. Military service is also one of the Hungarian government's weapons to keep a lid on joblessness. "Since the crisis began the number of applicants has risen by 100 percent," Major Tamas Durgo, head of military recruitment, told AFP at an army office in Budapest. "We have loosened the admission procedure, that doesn't mean it's easier to get in now, just faster," said Durgo in front of an advertisement for military careers. After a simplified medical test, applicants can sign up for six months of paid training after which they can either return to civilian life or -- if they make the grade -- embark on a career path in the army. Apart from traditional military careers, the army also has jobs for engineers and IT experts, drivers and catering staff, said Durgo. And besides defending the country's borders, or taking part in foreign missions, soldiers also help out during emergencies like floods and epidemics, he said. Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long underlined the importance of beefing up the military. His government has been hiking spending on the previously underfunded military since well before the pandemic, with the proportion of GDP spent on defence rising from 0.95 percent in 2013 to 1.21 percent in 2019. The army has had a high profile in the coronavirus crisis, for example being dispatched to look after hospitals. Orban has emphasised patriotic education in schools while the Hungarian army has expanded a cadet programme and unveiled plans this month to operate up to 10 new military high schools by 2030. - 'Work-based society' - With unemployment rocketing due to the coronavirus crisis, officials say many are jumping at the chance of a stable job that the army offers. "Already 2,500 have applied, with 900 starting basic training," said Szilard Nemeth, a government defence official, last week. The latest data put Hungarian unemployment rising to around four percent in April, but analysts say the number may be almost double that given suddenly jobless entrepreneurs and freelancers have yet to register as unemployed. An OECD forecast earlier this month said the Hungarian economy, which grew by 4.9 percent in 2019, could contract by eight percent this year, and by 10 percent if hit by a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Everyone who loses their job due to the coronavirus outbreak will have another one in three months," Orban has pledged. Since coming to power in 2010 he has strived to build a "work-based society" based on "providing work, not aid". Monthly unemployment payments are a paltry 200-350 euros ($225-400), depending on previous salary, and are stopped after three months. - Strict routine - Now donning military fatigues is one of three routes back from virus-related unemployment promoted in the government's recovery plan, alongside public works schemes and jobs in state companies. At an army training field near the city of Gyor, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Budapest, Nandor Major, a boot camp leader, said that only some recruits have joined because of the virus. "Many had already thought about being a soldier one day, so the crisis just gave them a push to take the step," he told AFP. After completing a combat simulation drill with a dozen other rookies, Peter Kamondai told AFP that getting used to army life was a challenge. "There is a strict daily routine here, but the physical side is the most difficult bit," he said. Kamondai, 27, had started a medical massage business just before the crisis but said the lockdown gave him "no chance" to get it off the ground. "My priority now is getting a stable income provided by the state, especially as my wife is having a baby soon," he said. Another new recruit, former mechanic Tibor Tokei, told AFP he applied as he felt a "little lost in life" rather than because of virus-related worries. "Actually I worked in different places month to month, so I wanted something steady," said the 22-year-old. On the attack against joblessness - Hungary hopes military service can help get people off unemployment Recruitment has doubled, officials say All in a day's work: new recruits are put though their paces in training exercises New recruits benefit from a six-month training course, after which they can return to civilian life if it doesn't suit them
The Telangana government will give Rs 5 crore to the family of 39-year old Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu and Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the 19 other soldiers who were killed in the high altitude border clash with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley

Hyderabad: The country should send a message to the security forces guarding the borders that it stood with them, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Friday as he announced compensation for the families of 20 soldiers killed in the Indo-China face-off in Ladakh.

The Telangana government will give Rs 5 crore to the family of 39-year old Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu and Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the 19 other soldiers who were killed in the high altitude border clash with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday night, he said.

The Centre and other state governments should also come forward to support the families of the soldiers, Rao told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the virtual all-party meet on the border face-off, an official release said.

"The country should support the soldiers who are defending it at the borders. We should support the families of soldiers who were killed, thereby we should instill confidence in the (minds of) soldiers and their families. We should send a message to all Defence Forces that the country is with them," Rao said.

Besides monetary compensation, the wife of the Colonel, who belonged to Telangana, will be given a Group-1 job in the government along with a house plot, the release quoted the Chief Minister as saying.

The Rs 10 lakh relief to the 19 families will be given through the Defence Minister, Rao added.

Though there were financial constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic, all governments should minimise their other expenditures and extend support for the welfare of the brave soldiers.

Colonel Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, had led the soldiers during the fierce clash with Chinese troops in the first such incident involving fatalities after a gap of 45 years, signalling a massive escalation in the five-week border stand-off in the sensitive region.
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Linkedin (Kyodo News) Singapore  Sat, June 20, 2020 11:19 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406603f67e 2 SE Asia Singapore,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

People in Singapore began dining out, and retail shops reopened for business Friday as the country continued to ease restrictive measures that had been imposed under a semi-lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus more than two months ago.

However, precautionary measures are still being implemented, including the use of a "safe entry" app that records a person's identity, takes their temperature and logs the time they entered a shop or a building. The app is meant to allow for easier contact tracing in the case of infection.

"Safe distancing ambassadors," guides who advise the public on distancing requirements, were also seen at large malls.

The government decided to move to phase two of reopening, which sees the resumption of most activities after the number of COVID-19 infections showed signs of receding in recent weeks.

Small-group social gatherings of up to five people are allowed, while homes can also receive up to five visitors at any one time.

However, activities that involve large gatherings such as conferences, exhibitions, concerts, bars, nightclubs, karaoke outlets, cinemas, libraries and museums, as well as religious congregations, will remain banned for the time being.

The second phase is expected to last for months under Singapore's three-phase plan for reopening its economy.

The reopening came as a relief to many residents. Chua Boon Ann, 68, who is now retired, said he was just glad to be able to meet three of his close friends for breakfast at an open-air coffee shop near his home as they had done every day for years before the lockdown.

"We are very happy to meet our friends for breakfast again, like before. It was very tough (during the lockdown). I felt so bored at home," Chua said.

Read also: Indonesia tails Singapore in COVID-19 cases with another 1,000 plus added in one day

Around Singapore's financial and business district, the first day of the reopening was somewhat subdued. Restaurants were not crowded, and some retail shops remain closed.

The government is still asking companies to allow workers to telecommute, partly to avoid congesting Singapore's public transport system.

One gift shop at a commuter train station that reopened on Friday said business was poor, only about 20 percent of that before the virus broke out.

However, malls in the residential areas attracted big crowds, with people seen waiting in long lines to get into budget stores.

Singapore has one of the largest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, with 41,473 as of Thursday, but the death toll is one of the lowest in the world at 26.
Chandigarh: All is fair in love and war but judges of the Punjab and Haryana high court beg to differ.

In the past week, two judges have expressed concern over the rise in the number of love marriages falling apart these days and the high court being burdened by such cases that can otherwise be dealt by subordinate judiciary.

While granting bail to a youngster from Yamunanagar who faces kidnap charges and offence of exploitation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the bench of justice Arun Monga even cited the example of the 70s Bollywood hit, Bobby, starring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, to drive home its point.

The judge observed that runaway couples are falling out even before falling in love. Adolescents take a liking for each other, resulting in affection beyond social limits. Next starts their scheming for a fairytale dreamland. But real life is different from reel. When the happy ending is not the script, the same intimacy and affection turns into hostility, he said.

DEMEANING CHILDLIKE WORK

His observations come close on the heels of another high court judge, justice RN Raina, suggesting an alternative mechanism be evolved to hear petitions of runaway couples seeking protection.

He termed the task of hearing pleas for protection to such couples as the most demeaning childlike work high court judges have been entrusted with. This work should be given to the subordinate judiciary, the judge suggested.

Even during the Covid-19 lockdown, the high court took up between 30 and 40 such petitions. Lawyers admit that the number of such petitions goes beyond 100 on normal days.

Justice Monga said that daily, the court hears bail petitions by youngsters on their so-called love turning sour with allegations of rape or on the other hand while still in their wedding gear, couples seek protection for fear of being hounded by hostile family members.

PARENTAL PRESSURE

The court granted bail to the Yamunanagar youngster as it prime facie appeared to be a case of teenaged love not meeting the approval of the 17-year-old girls parents. The case was registered on the complaint of the girls parents.

The youngster told the court that they were in love and the fact is established from the statement he gave to a judicial officer that the girl had willingly married him. The girl declined to undergo medico-legal examination, stating no wrong was committed and whatever happened was with her consent. The government counsel said the claims are as per the probe records.

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New Delhi, June 21 : India has changed the Rules of Engagement (RoE) across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after a barbaric attack was carried out by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops on Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, killing 20 Indian soldiers.

In the violent clash that took place on the night of June 15, China took 10 Indian Army men, including officers, into custody and released them after three days.

Sources said that Indian soldiers did not use weapons when the PLA troops attacked them. They were not allowed to do so as per the orders from their seniors and the confidence building measures pacts with China.

As per the new Rules of Engagement, commanders deployed at LAC can give soldiers "complete freedom of action" to handle situations at the tactical level. The commanders can now use firearms and have full authority to respond to extraordinary situations using all resources at their disposal.

Earlier, these were not part of the Rules of Engagements across the LAC.

In a statement issued during an all-party meet on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India would respond firmly to any attempt to transgress the LAC.

"In fact, he specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violation of LAC ('unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain')," a statement issued by the PMO stated.

The words of Prime Minister -- "those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil" -- succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of the armed forces.

Modi further emphasised, "I want to assure you that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders." Many people questioned why soldiers did not use firearms or why they went unarmed. To this, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that Indian Army troops, who were attacked and suffered fatal casualties on Monday night, were carrying weapons, however, they did not fire.

He said, "All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving the post. Those in Galwan on June 15 did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 an2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs." Sources said Indian Army troopers were outnumbered by 1:5 ratio when they came under attack from the PLA soldiers at patrolling point 14 in along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

PLA troopers "savagely attacked" Indian Army personnel, according to sources in the government with knowledge of the details of the June 15 clash.

"The numbers were stacked up against the Indian Army troopers. Yet, the Indian side decided to fight the PLA troopers. The Indian soldiers were outnumbered 1:5 by the Chinese troopers," the sources said.

China is also said to have used thermal imaging drones to trace the Indian Army soldiers scattered on the treacherous terrain before brutally attacking them.

"It was the deadliest attack carried on Indian Army personnel by the Chinese military personnel in our memory," the government sources said.

"We were outnumbered," admitted an Indian Army officer, talking about the clash that reportedly went on for six to seven hours.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seems to have landed himself in trouble on Saturday for questioning PM Modis remarks at the all-party meeting on India China border issue. It all started with Rahuls tweet in which he commented that PM Modi has surrendered the Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

He questioned that if the land was Chinese, then why were Indian soldiers killed and where were they killed. Senior Congress Leader P Chidambaram added fuel to the fire with his press conference in which he stated that PM Modis comments at the all-party meeting have left everyone bewildered. He pointed out that his statement contradicts the earlier statements made by Army Chief, Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister.

Soon after, Home Minister Amit Shah shot back to Gandhis questions by sharing a video of an army mans father. Asking Rahul Gandhi to rise above petty politics, Amit Shah said that he should rather stand in solidarity with national interest.

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese:

1. Why were our soldiers killed?

2. Where were they killed? pic.twitter.com/vZFVqtu3fD  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 20, 2020

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest. https://t.co/BwT4O0JOvl  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 20, 2020

Also read: Efforts underway to resolve LAC tensions peacefully: IAF Chief

Also read: There was no intelligence failure in Galwan Valley, says Rajnath Singh

BJP President JP Nadda also slammed the Congress leader for bringing down the morale of Indian soldiers at Galwan Valley. In his address at the Rajasthan Jam Samvad rally, Nadda said that Congress leaders are bringing down the morale of the soldiers deployed at Galwan valley with their tweets. They are asking them why did they go unarmed. All of this exposes their limited knowledge.

#WATCH When we are fighting in #Galwan, a leader is damaging the morale of forces with his tweets and showing his limited intellect Let alone respecting PM Modi, you didn't even respect your own PM and tore a copy of his ordinance: BJP president, JP Nadda pic.twitter.com/B6dltWRvep  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

As the controversy escalated, an official statement was issued by GOI provide clarity on the matter. The statement reads that attempts are being made to give a mischievous interpretation to PM Modis remarks. Whereas, PM Modi was clear that India would firmly respond to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In response to questions raised on Galwan violence, the GOI responded that the violence broke out in in response to Chinas aim to erect structures across LAC, which they refused to desist. The focus on PM Modis remarks was based on his observation that there was no presence of Chinese forces on the Indian side.

Government of India statement on yesterdays All-Party meeting. pic.twitter.com/VeRHRptPdR  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

Also read: Armed forces have full freedom to take appropriate action: PM Modi on India China border issue

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During a routine vehicle check, 24 dead cows were recovered from a truck on Kanpur-Prayagraj national highway on Saturday, police said.

Local police officers were conducting a checking of vehicles on the bypass near Naua Taal area and stopped a truck but its driver and cleaner fled the spot, SHO City Kotwali Ravindra Srivastav said.

When police searched the truck, 24 dead cows and one live one were found inside it, Srivastava said, adding that an FIR has been lodged on the basis of the registration number of the truck.

The SHO suspected that the cows were being smuggled from some village in Kanpur and being taken to Prayagraj. He said that the culprits would be nabbed soon. The carcasses have been sent for a post-mortem, he added.
Outside intervention from the government is needed if Wexford secondary school students are ever to have the option of attending a university in their locality.

Speaking following the announcement that Cork and Tralee ITs are merging into the Munster Technological University, Senator Malcolm Byrne said the management of Carlow IT and Waterford IT have failed - over the past decade - to deliver a university of the south east, despite being provided with a 3.2m budget to do so.

Sen Byrne, who up until recently held the role of Head of Communications with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) said having a university in a region automatically leads to an economic boost, making it more attractive to international companies, while also providing education opportunity for students in counties like Wexford.

Sen Byrne said: 'Co Wexford traditionally had among the lowest participation rates in third level of any county but we are now at average participation rates with just over 60 per cent of school leavers going on to higher education, and that doesn't include students who go into PLC courses and training programmes. The issue has really been that this is the only region in the country that doesn't have a university which has long been regarded as essential for economic growth.'

Sen Byrne said Irish universities are not only competing against one another, but also internationally, in what is a growing sector, generating millions for higher level institutes.

'A plan was designed to facilitate a university for the south east. There was a process that would have provided for the ITs to come together and become a university.'

To meet the required standard and be awarded the title of a technological university, both technical colleges would have to prove to an international panel of inspectors that the quality of research and that their teaching are up to international standards.

'This process started eight years ago. Yes it's complex and it takes time, but Dublin Technological University came into being two years ago when the former DIT merged with Tallaght and Blanchardstown colleges. Cork and Tralee came together but Waterford and Carlow haven't managed to. I don't accept that they couldn't have when Cork and Tralee ITs had arguably more obstacles to overcome, as did the Dublin university.'

Sen Byrne said when former HEA chairman Michael Kelly was appointed to progress the merger in 2015 he encountered 'all sorts of difficulties'.

Ultimately it was agreed a Technological University of the South East could be opened for 2018. 'There is cross party support for this. I asked a parliamentary question about this in the Dail in December. There has been 3.2m provide for the process and it has greased the wheel to help this process to happen. I am not interested in apportioning blame, I just want Waterford and Carlow to come together as this is more important to the region than a university; it's about economic development of a region that has been one of the regions that has not grown as quickly as other regions.'

He said: 'Clearly there has been a lack of cooperation between the two and there has been a failure of leadership in the institutions. The management and staff need to get their act together to ensure that we have an application. To date Waterford and Carlow haven't even made an application for a university of the south east.'

Sen Byrne said multi-campus universities are common across the world, adding that he can't see any reason why the Waterford Carlow university can't work, with branches in Wexford and other counties in the region.

'Waterford and Carlow are both good institutions that have the potential to be an excellent university that not only serves the region but can develop specialities at national and international level. This needs to happen. The government and the HEA have made the process as clear as possible. Money has been allocated to allow this to happen. It's about getting the institutions and banging their heads together.'

He said: 'Waterford and Carlow are not capable of working together. To be able to do it then we are going to have at look at other options. I will be asking the new minister for education to look at it as some form of external international is needed. To not even have an application after eight years is crazy!'

Frank O'Regan, Chair of the Ireland South East Development Office and the Regional Enterprise Plan, said: 'The creation of an industry engaged, ambitious and proactive multi-campus Technological University of international standing, that is adequately funded, remains the key component of the infrastructure required to drive sustainable regional economic and social development in the south east region. This is now even more important given the potential impact of COVID-19.'
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is to visit Moscow next week on a three day visit to participate in a ceremony to mark the 75th World War II Victory Day parade on 24 June, a statement from the defence ministry said on Saturday.

Singh was scheduled to leave on 22 June but he will now leave a day earlier, an official familiar with the ministers programme said.

It comes in the middle of rising tensions with China, a country Russia has grown close to since 2014 after Moscow was sanctioned by Western countries for the annexation of Crimea. Last week, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in border flare up with China in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

In 2018, prime minister Narendra Modi held an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi to bring bilateral ties back on a sound footing against the backdrop of visits by key Pakistani leaders to Russia and Russian and Pakistani troops holding their first ever military exercises given that Pakistan was seen as close to the US and India seen as closer to the erstwhile Soviet Union during the Cold War years.

The visit of the defence minister will strengthen the longstanding special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia," the ministry said.

Singh will be meeting top Russian leaders and those of other countries but there is no meeting scheduled with Chinese delegates who will be in Moscow at the same time for the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the official said.

Singh will be accompanied by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and and a senior officer from each of the three wings of the armed forces.

India had earlier said it will send a contingent of 75 personnel from its three armed services to participate in Russia's 75th World War II Victory Day parade.

"On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War, there will be a military parade in Moscow to honour the heroism and sacrifices made by the Russian and other friendly people," the defence ministry had said in its press release.

"The participation in the parade will be a mark of tribute and solidarity with the people of Russia at a time when they remember their heroes of the Great Patriotic War," it added.

Indias contingent will be one among 11 participating in the parade and will be led by a major rank officer of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment. The regiment had fought with valour in the Second World War and has distinction of earning four battle honours and two military cross amongst other gallantry awards, a separate statement from the Defence ministry said.

Singhs visit to Russia was first confirmed on Saturday by Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev who in a Twitter post said: I wish a safe journey to Defence Minister of strategic partner India @rajnathsingh who is scheduled to depart to Moscow on Monday to witness the Great Victory Day Military Parade on June 24."

Singhs visit also comes days after a news report that said India was looking at fast tracking the purchase of 21 Mig 29s and 18 Su30 MKI aircraft from Russia. These plans were originally announced by former Air Chief Marshall Birender Singh Dhanoa in 2018 and then reiterated by current Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria last year. According to news agency ANI, the proposals worth 5,000- 6,000 crores was expected to be cleared by the defence ministry soon.

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Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian sent to US jail for his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been arrested after being freed from prison to face extradition to India.

Rana, 59, a known close associate of David Coleman Headley - one of the main conspirators behind the attacks on Indias financial hub that killed 166 people - was serving a 14-year sentence in a Los Angeles federal prison when he was granted an early release last week because of poor health and being infected by the coronavirus.

However, he never got out of prison as he was arrested to face extradition to India, US prosecutors told the Associated Press. Indian officials said they had learnt Rana was rearrested on June 10.

Officials familiar with developments said a US attorney informed the district judge in Los Angeles about Indias standing request on Ranas extradition who is wanted in India for terror charges.

Also read: Arms-laden Pak drone shot down by BSF along International Border in J&Ks Kathua

A senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer, who didnt want to be named, said Its a positive development after over 11 years. This means his extradition hearings will now take place.

Former home secretary GK Pillai, who played a key role in the investigation of the Mumbai attacks and coordinated with the US, said there was a pending Indian extradition request for Rana.

There is a standing Indian extradition request for Rana and that will still be applicable, he told HT.

An NIA team that visited the US in late 2018 was informed by the department of justice (DoJ) that it was convinced with Indias charges against Rana.

Indias had requested Ranas extradition on charges of forgery and criminal breach of trust as he used his firm for making documents that were used by Headley during his surveillance missions in Mumbai. These charges were accepted by US prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and they are inclined to honour Indias request.

Rana, a former Pakistan Army physician-turned-businessman, had been convicted by a court in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba for the Mumbai attacks, and for backing a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that printed caricatures of Prophet Mohammed in 2005. Headley was linked to both incidents and was convicted during the same trial.

At the time, US reports had said American prosecutors had failed to prove that Rana directly supported the attacks in Mumbai and he was cleared of this more serious charge by the jury at the trial in Chicago.

Ranas legal team had claimed he had been misled by Headley, who was Ranas friend from high school. Rana had been accused of allowing Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law firm in Mumbai to act as a front for Headleys surveillance activities in Indias financial hub ahead of the devastating attacks that also injured hundreds.

He was also accused of allowing Headley to pose as a representative of the same firm when he went to Denmark for surveillance ahead of the planned attack.

At the time, US prosecutors had said Rana knew Headley had trained with the LeT and that Headley had shared information with Rana of his surveillance activities in Mumbai and of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where LeT members later killed dozens of people.

Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison but cant be extradited to India under a plea deal. Indian investigators have been allowed to question him.

Pakistani authorities had arrested seven men, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for the Mumbai attacks though their trial in an anti-terrorism court never made any headway. Lakhvi was subsequently released on bail and his current whereabouts arent known.
Kim Kardashian's cosmetics line KKW Beauty is being sued by brand development company Seed Beauty over the alleged jeopardization of their 'trade secrets.'

In a series of documents obtained by TMZ on Friday, Seed Beauty asked a judge for 'an injunction blocking KKW Beauty from revealing its trade secrets and business practices' to cosmetics giant Coty.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Kardashian's representatives for comment.

Lawsuit: Kim Kardashian's cosmetics line KKW Beauty is being sued by brand development company Seed Beauty over the alleged jeopardization of their 'trade secrets' if the line is 'bought out'

Preventative: In a series of documents obtained by TMZ on Friday, Seed Beauty asked the judge for 'an injunction blocking KKW Beauty from revealing its trade secrets and business practices' to cosmetics giant Coty; Kardashian pictured in 2019

Seed Beauty claimed that they endured a similar threat in 2016 with Kylie Jenner's 'old parent company King Kylie,' which was, eventually, bought out by Coty in 2019.

Coty entered into a 'long-term strategic partnership' with Kylie Cosmetics that awarded them a 51% stake in the company and cost them $600million, according to Forbes.

At the time of the Coty deal, Seed Beauty had allegedly 'warned Kylie not to disclose trade secrets' but were not given any concrete reassurance as to the safety of their personalized business model by Kylie or her team.

Dejavu: Seed Beauty claimed that they endured a similar threat in 2016 with Kylie Jenner's 'old parent company King Kylie,' which was, eventually, bought out by Coty in 2019

Coty is behind big name brands, such as Covergirl, Sally Hansen, and Gucci fragrance.

Seed Beauty claimed that if Coty does eventually acquire KKW Beauty, their 'precious intel' will be put at an even greater risk of being revealed.

Seed Beauty also noted in their legal documents that they began working with Kardashian's brand 'about a year' after they began their partnership with Kylie Cosmetics.

No reassurance: At the time of the Coty deal, Seed Beauty had allegedly 'warned Kylie not to disclose trade secrets' but were not given any concrete reassurance as to the safety of their personalized business model by Kylie or her team

Great risk: So, Seed Beauty claims that if Coty does eventually acquire KKW Beauty, their 'precious intel' will be put at greater risk

According to the official website for Seed Beauty, they describe themselves as being the 'premier destination for acceleration & scaling in the beauty industry.'

They are built on having a 'unique combination of insight and foresight into the beauty landscape.'

Seed Beauty also represents a slew of independent makeup brands, including Colourpop, Fourth Ray Beauty, and YouTuber Tati Westbrook's beauty brand Tati Beauty.
New Zealand is one of Vietnams most important trade partners. Bilateral economic ties have seen outstanding progress, he said on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the relations, since the two established their comprehensive partnership in 2009 and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement was signed in 2010.

He cited data from Statistics New Zealand that two-way trade reached NZD2.04 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 13%.

New Zealand has implemented a range of activities to support Vietnam in fields which it has strengths, such as agriculture, e-government, education, and natural disaster prevention, the ambassador added.

The seventh meeting of the Vietnam-New Zealand joint committee on economic and trade cooperation is slated for this year, which is an important mechanism for the two sides to seek measures to further promote the partnership in fields of potential such as trade, aviation services, tourism, and education and training.

People-to-people and cultural exchanges, the ambassador said, are also priorities in bilateral relations.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to pay an official visit to Vietnam and attend the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit in central Da Nang city this year.

The two countries are expected to issue a joint statement during the visit on elevating bilateral relations to a strategic partnership with a new action plan, Thong said.

Based on the bilateral friendship and mutual trust, the two countries have been closely coordinating at multilateral forums such as the UN, the APEC Forum, and the WTO, as well as in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he noted.

As New Zealand will be the APEC Chair in 2021, Vietnam is committed to strengthening coordination with the country to ensure success, the diplomat affirmed.
Rajesh Abraham By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Confusion and uncertainty continue to dog the Kerala governments move to make Covid-19 negative certificates mandatory for those returning to the state from abroad. The date of implementation was postponed from Saturday to June 25, but officials of airline companies and expatriate organisations have described the move as impractical and made without realising the ground situation in the Gulf countries.

Were guided by the Ministry of Civil Aviations protocol on the evacuation of expatriates. We cant have one separate rule for the passengers boarding the flights to Kerala and another for those bound for other states, said an Air India Express spokesperson. Itll be even more difficult to implement a separate set of rules in an airport in a foreign country.

The state government on Wednesday told the High Court that it decided to insist on the pre-flight test after 1.22 out of every 100 persons who returned from foreign countries had tested positive. As many as 66,703 expatriates have returned to the state till Friday. On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a petition questioning the state governments order demanding Covid negative certificates from travelling NRIs.

Thomas Varghese, who runs an interior designing firm in the UAE, said people are returning to Kerala not out of fear of coronavirus, but due to economic slowdown and job loss. If the government is insisting on a negative certificate, its not only foolish but also impractical. First of all, here the testing will be done only for symptomatic persons at a government facility. For others, it takes about 400-500 dirhams. Its not easy, he said.

There is confusion in the West Asian countries

It takes two-three days to even get an appointment in a clinic for Covid testing and another two-three days to get the results. Hundreds of people here are desperate to reach their homes in Kerala after losing their jobs and with no money to pay the rent. The Kerala Government is acting cruel by insisting on Covid-nagative certificates, he said.

Officials said there is also confusion in the West Asian countries, where the implementation of rules may vary. For instance, in Qatar, the passengers will be allowed to board only if they are Covid negative.The mobile app Ehteraz, which is mandatory for citizens and residents there, will indicate if the passenger is infected or not (red for positive and green for negative). Only those with a green signal will be allowed to travel, said K V Martin, who returned from Qatar recently and is quarantining at his home in Nedumbassery. In countries like Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, only thermal screening is done and expatriates returning from these countries will find it tough if the new rule is implemented.

Shabeer Kizhur, chief coordinator, KMCC Help Desk in Dubai, said he was told that there would not be any problem for those returning to Kerala from the UAE as the rapid test is done on all passengers before boarding the flights from the Dubai airport.I think there are no issues with those returning from the Dubai airport, he said.

Chansen Alexander, who returned from the UAE last Sunday via a FlyDubai chartered flight, said rapid tests are done at the airport and the results are available within 10-20 minutes. By insisting on a Covid-negative certificate, the Kerala government has complicated matters. What if the passenger contracts the virus after the tests? he asked.The Air India Express spokesman said the national carrier is yet to get any intimation from the Central government or the Ministry of Civil Aviation on different sets of rules for passengers to Kerala.

Give PPE kits to travelling expatriates, say experts

Alappuzha: Experts and passengers say giving the travellers PPE kits is safer than demanding Covid-negative certificate to prevent infection. On June 14, Air Arabia transported 162 passengers on a chartered flight from Sharjah and all of them wore PPE kits.

Second cop tests positive

Kochi: A day after an officer with the Kalamasseary police station was hospitalised for Covid-19 treatment, another civil police officer with the station tested positive.
Rejection: Leo Varadkar says there will be no reviews but the new government will last until 2025 if the programme is agreed

Leo Varadkar has shot down Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin's demand for a renegotiation of the programme for government before he returns as Taoiseach in December 2022.

At a Green Party convention, Ms Martin said there should be a review of the deal before Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin hands over the top job to Fine Gael leader Mr Varadkar then.

However, Mr Varadkar said there was no such stipulation in the deal.

"There is no such clause and people entering into this arrangement should do so with their eyes open with regards to that and in good faith," he said.

However, he said, the new government will last to 2025 if the deal is passed by the membership of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party next week.

Ms Martin had insisted the programme for government should be reviewed every two months and renegotiated when the Taoiseach's Office is rotated to Mr Varadkar.

Despite voting against going into government negotiations with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, Ms Martin announced this week that she will vote in favour of the deal she brokered with the two parties.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael leaders are fighting to ensure their members back the deal as fears grow over their agreement with the Greens.

With less than a week to go before all three parties vote on the deal, serious concerns are being raised in the Civil War parties over the impact of Green policies on major infrastructure projects.

In Kerry, councillors turned on Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly over plans to scrap the Shannon Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal project.

During a three-hour meeting, Mr Kelly, a former GAA president, was called a "disgrace" and accused of "turning his back on north Kerry" for accepting a government deal which will lead to the development being abandoned.

However, Mr Kelly said his record showed that he had fought for the project to be continued.

He also insisted that he has received commitment from Mr Varadkar that a Kerry jobs taskforce will be established within three months of a government being formed. Mr Kelly said he would not discuss the details of the meeting but added: "I am still in touch with the Taoiseach and the pipeline developers on this issue.

"A lot of work is being done to ensure we achieve the best outcome for Kerry."

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail TD Eamon O Cuiv has written to party members in his native Galway warning them that the government deal could signal the end of the party. In his letter to supporters, Mr O Cuiv said: "It is my regret that, if we enter this coalition, we will hasten the demise of our party and once again create a political system with two large parties but Fianna Fail will not be one of them."

He said "consistent" polling figures showing Fianna Fail on 14pc, meaning the party is facing a "perilous" situation.

"There were, and are, alternatives to this arrangement, however, these alternatives were not explored and as a result the Irish people are being presented with and artificially diluted 'take it or leave it' choice between the coalition, another election, or a 'constitutional crisis'," he added.

The comments came as the eight Independent TDs in the Regional Group declined an invitation from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael & the Green Party to a briefing on the programme for government.

In a statement, they said there is "no merit discussing a document which has no status pending a vote of the three parties next week".

"As the ratification process is still under way within the parties there is little point in discussing a document that cannot be added to, subtracted from or changed," they added.
IAG is is expected to launch an emergency fundraising over the next few weeks

The owner of British Airways could be looking to raise up to 1.5billion of fresh cash, investors say.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) is expected to launch an emergency fundraising  possibly by tapping investors via a rights issue  over the next few weeks.

Talk of a potential capital raising follows reports IAG is working with heavyweight advisers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a plan to shore up its financial position.

IAG burns through millions of pounds of cash a week but has effectively had most of its fleet grounded during the Covid-19 crisis and is likely to see a huge fall in passengers under the 14-day quarantine rules for people entering the UK.

Analysts initially thought IAG, which also controls Iberia and Aer Lingus, had sufficient cash reserves to keep going for at least two months after the crisis began in March but would run into difficulty after that.

The potential capital raising comes as British Airways attempts to carry out a complex restructuring  including axeing 12,000 employees  so that it can survive.

Any fundraising would likely need the approval of IAGs largest shareholder, Qatar Airways.

The Gulf-based airline has been building its stake in IAG at a significant premium to the companys current share price over the past few years.

On Friday, IAG shares rose 2.5p to close at 271.5p.

IAG declined to comment.
The human rights lawyer gives first interview since finishing his sentence in April. He spent four years in jail for "subversion against the state". After being beaten for hours, the prison authorities forced him to sign an affidavit declaring his guilt. Wang: "Police, investigating magistrates and judges have distorted the law."

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies)  Tortured in prison to extract a confession. This is the story of human rights attorney Wang Quanzhang, shared with the Japanese Kyodo news agency yesterday in the first press interview after serving his sentence in April.

Wang spent more than four years in prison for "subversion against the state". After serving his term in a Shandong prison, the activist was only allowed to reach his family in Beijing on April 27, after two weeks of quarantine for the coronavirus and a further seven-day detention.

He was arrested in 2015 in a security operation called "709" (since it began on July 9 of that year), which also targeted 300 other colleagues - including some Protestant and Catholic Christians. Many of them were tried and then sentenced; several have "confessed" their faults on video; others emerged from prison physically and psychologically shattered, due to torture.

Wang rose to the fore for defending not only Falun Gong faithful, but also political activists (including members of the New Citizens Movement), underground Christian communities and peasants who were victims of expropriations deemed illegal.

Wang reports that two police officers in prison guarded him 24 hours a day. To break down his resistance, they forced him to stand with his hands up for 15 hours straight. When, exhausted, he would drop his arms, his jailers shouted "traitor!".

After being slapped in the face for hours, beaten and kicked, the 44-year-old activist was forced to sign a sworn statement in which he "confessed" that he had attempted to overthrow the government thanks to funds received from abroad.

During the first trial against him, which took place behind closed doors, the activist was thrown to the ground by the guards for asking the judges what they meant by "government of the country founded on the law".

The Chinese Criminal Procedure Code explicitly prohibits the use of torture to extract confessions. When Wang then tried to appeal the four-year sentence, a bailiff threatened him with an extension of the sentence to eight years.

My cases prove that (China's judicial procedure) is sloppy. It is public safety police, prosecutors and court authorities that disrupt law," Wang concluded. Last month, he announced that he wanted to appeal his sentence.
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Linkedin (The Nation/Asia News Network)  Sat, June 20, 2020 17:31 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066055996 2 News Khao-San-Road,Bangkok,Thailand,tourism,travel,destination Free

Khao San Road is set to reopen in August after a clean-up and renovation during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Finishing touches are being put to renovation work in the tourist hub, said Bangkok deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul on Thursday.

"We also tasked the Phra Nakhon District Office and Drainage and Sewerage Dept with cleaning out pipes to prevent flooding in the area," he said.

Read also: A new Buddha statue rises above Bangkok

Local authorities are currently selecting vendors for Khao San Road in preparation for the return of foreign tourists once the flight ban is lifted.

"We expect to open Khao San Road by August this year," said Sakoltee.

He added that Khao Sans Kraisi Road was also set for renovation, with a design and contractor currently being sought.

"In the next phase, we will renovate Rambuttri and Tani Roads to beautify the Banglamphu area," he added. "On roads not frequented by vendors, we will plant more trees to offer shady spots for tourists."

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This article appeared on The Nation newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Young people have been warned that Covid-19 can affect people of any age by the doctor leading the fight against the pandemic in Ireland.

Dr Tony Holohan issued the appeal after new figures about the incidence were published on Saturday by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that a total of 2 people with Covid-19 have died.

There have now been a total of 1,715* COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Friday 19 June the HPSC was notified of 22 confirmed new cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 25,374** confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said nearly half the new cases were detected among young people.

Of the 22 confirmed cases we are reporting to you today, 9 of these were diagnosed in people under the age of 35. It is important for us all to remember that COVID-19 is a disease that can affect everyone, of any age or background. No one should feel that this is a disease that does not affect them.

This virus is highly infectious and, as a result, the return of widespread community transmission remains a very real risk. To protect us all, especially our oldest and most vulnerable, personal preventative behaviours such as good and frequent hand washing, social distancing and respiratory etiquette remain as crucial as they were at the outset of this crisis, he said.

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19.

*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 1 death. The figure of 1,715 deaths reflects this.

**Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 16 cases. The figure of 25,368 cases reflects this.
A first-year male student majoring in biotechnology at a Hanoi-based university was caught this month selling a type of psilocybin mushroom, or magic mushroom, which he had grown at home.

Nguyen Tran Tuan Phuong, 19, who lives in Dong Da District in the capital city, is being held in custody for drug trafficking, according to Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Vien, director of the anti-drug police department at the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

Phuong is a freshman in biotechnology and food technology at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology. He was an outstanding student a famous high school in the Vietnamese capital city.

The man was caught selling over 26.4 grams of a type of magic mushroom, a polyphyletic group of fungi that contain psilocybin and psilocin, police said Thursday.

These substances, which cause severe hallucinations when consumed, are on the list of prohibited and illegal drugs in Vietnam, according to a government decree issued in 2018.

A preliminary investigation found that Phuong suffered considerable stress in 2018, so he resorted to using a type of magic mushroom to alleviate his stress.

He also came up with the idea of cultivating his own mushrooms for use and sale. Phuong then searched for documents in English on the Internet to learn how to grow the mushrooms at home.

In May this year, he harvested around 300 grams of fresh magic mushrooms, dried them up to obtain roughly 30 grams of dried shrooms, before offering the drug for sale on a social networking site.

It was not until June 7 that investigators in Cau Giay District in Hanoi caught him red-handed selling the amount of magic mushroom.

Magic mushroom which the Vietnamese college freshman Nguyen Tran Tuan Phuong intends to sell in Hanoi on June 7, 2020 in a photo provided by police.

Serious health problems

Senior Colonel Vien noted this is the first time the magic mushroom has been discovered being traded in Hanoi. It first emerged in the northern port city of Hai Phong in 2018.

Apart from severe hallucinations, the mushroom also causes users to suffer other side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.

As people use this mushroom, it will have an impact on their nervous system, causing a state of excitement, agitation, and even hallucination that an enemy was in front of them, threatening them with a knife. This has led to many serious criminal cases, he said.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, director of the Poison Control Center at the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the center has provided emergency treatment to many drug overdose patients, including those who are high school students.

Narcotics can have serious health consequences. Although drug poisoning occurs in young people, it causes severe heart muscle damage, acute heart failure and myocardial infarction which are similar to the health conditions of an elderly person, the doctor said.

Narcotics also attack the nervous system, so drug users are subject to dementia, stimulation, drowsiness, confusion, paranoia and hallucinations.

Their behaviors may put themselves and other people around them in danger, he said.

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- Amazon said it is looking for 3 000 prospective employees in South Africa

- You only need matric and a stable internet connection to qualify

- The jobs are work-from-home and come with benefits including medical aid

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Amazon reported that it has created 3 000 new virtual customer service jobs in South Africa this year and is hiring.

In a statement on Thursday, 18 June, the company said that these roles will range from customer service associates to technical experts who will work virtually and provide 24/7 support to Amazon customers in North America and Europe.

BusinessTeach reported that the addition of 3 000 permanent and seasonal full-time positions will bring the total permanent workforce in South Africa to 7 000.

READ ALSO: Julius Malema challenges the young people of SA to take Ramaphosa on

Andrew Raichlin, the Director of Amazon Customer Service in South Africa, said:

"We are thrilled with the talent in South Africa and we are excited to add 3 000 skilled jobs this year in customer service and to help keep people working during this unprecedented time."

Raichlin added that the new jobs reflect Amazon's continued commitment to South Africa's economic development.

The Covid-19 pandemic has elevated the transition to digital work, with organisations like Zoom seeing a 33% rise in share in May and another 16% in June.

Minister of Trade, Industry & Competition Ebrahim Patel said:

"Government has focused part of our incentive programme on the industry and with our talent, strong ICT infrastructure and digital capabilities, we aim to secure thousands more jobs like these in years to come."

According to The Guardian, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has grown his vast fortune by $24 billion so far during the pandemic.

Amazon said candidates who wish to apply need to meet the following criteria:

 Completed Matric/Grade 12/NQF Level 4 qualification or higher

 Excellent command of English

 Be a South African citizen

 Internet connection with 10Mbps (this will be checked)

Amazon added that employees will be offered a comprehensive benefits package starting on day one, including employer contributions toward medical aid and provident fund, group life cover, employee wellness programmes and a monthly stipend for a dedicated internet line.

You can apply at https://www.amazon.jobs/en/

Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!

Source: Briefly News
On June 13, Turkish social media was rocked by a crude threat from a pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) account. The target was Selahattin Demirtas and his wife, Basak Demirtas. Demirtas, the former chair of Turkeys pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), has been imprisoned since Nov. 2016 along with his co-chair Figen Yuksekdag.

Vedat Muti tweeted that Demirtas has been in prison while his wife is free," saying, "She must be hot by now, one should extinguish her fire.

Muti has been arrested, said Mahsuni Karaman, attorney of the Demirtas family. The complaints against him included intimidation, slander, incitement and sexual threats, Karaman explained.

Mutis Twitter account was suspended. Screen shots provide ample information about his status as an AK troll, as certain pro-AKP social media users are called. These accounts often display flattering images of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and most of their followers are others like them.

A hashtag meaning We stand with Basak Demirtas" trended and political figures spoke in solidarity with the Demirtas family, condemning the tweet. Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul denounced the tweet as well.

Female politicians and journalists who are critical of the government are frequently subjected to sexual objectification, rape threats and slurs from such accounts. It's credited as one of the reasons the number of women in politics is dwindling in Turkey.

One of the strongest voices against the offensive words has been that of Meral Aksener, leader of ultra-nationalist IYI or Good Party. In a searing speech at the parliament, Aksener said bluntly, This corruption will continue until the people who govern over us take a clear stance against it. So I am calling the government and especially President Erdogan to make their point of view known.

Aksener asked that dirty hands be kept off women and said these sorts of explicit sexual threats owe to the indifference of the government.

Such sexual comments about lonely women can have grave consequences. If a woman is singled out as lonely, meaning without a husband  divorced, widowed or simply home alone  she becomes a social anomaly. A patriarchal society dictates a womans place is with a man, and "lonely" women are the pariahs. Not virgins but still of childbearing age, they are associated with promiscuity and their sexuality must be controlled. This perception forces women to remarry as soon as possible, even into levirate marriages, where widows are compelled to marry their dead husbands brothers.

This sort of entitlement can lead to rape and even murder. Systemic rape often goes unreported as women suffer in silence. In the notorious case of Nevin Yildirim, for example, she quietly suffered rape for three years while her husband was working out of town for long periods of time. She got pregnant by her rapist and the town exploded in gossip. Yildirim murdered the rapist to defend her honor and was sentenced to life in prison.

The states patriarchal Islamist ideology has made womens bodies vulnerable. In its logic, women are the property of men. Each political conflict is seen as a battle. When the battle is over, the winner can have the loot, including the women and girls. For example, after the July 15 attempted coup, pro-AKP social media posts claimed that the wives of putschists are our trophies. During the referendum of 2017, an employee of Istanbul Municipality posted on social media that it was war, and when those who oppose the presidential system lose the referendum, we can have their daughters and wives.

Suleyman Demirtas, younger sibling of Selahattin, told Al-Monitor, These sorts of threats are made to further polarize society and keep women locked in the house and obedient to men at all times. The HDP champions womens struggle for equality, and it is not a gift or a blessing from the men. Kurdish women and women who are working in HDPs ranks have earned it all by themselves. If women are obedient and subservient to men, this helps the establishment to limit competition and turn women into servants of men at all levels.

It should be noted that although the HDP is a pro-Kurdish party, the movement embraces all ethnicities.

Gulistan Kocyigit, an HDP parliamentarian from Mus province, told Al-Monitor how meticulously the HDP and Kurdish movement have worked over the years to create an equal representation and a support network among female political activists.

Our establishment has been designed around trust, Kocyigit said. That encourages more women to participate in the political process. That is precisely what the AKP aims to block. These types of attacks signal to women, Politics is not for you. They know and fear that women acting on their own free will are able to destroy the patriarchal system and mindset."

Kocyigit provided several examples of how Kurdish women who may have been housewives only a few years back are now at the forefront of the political process. Kocyigit also explained that although Kurdish women are specifically targeted, they are not the only ones that the larger system wants to control. Even a white scarf my colleague [Remziye Tosun of Diyarbakir] wears to the parliament has been made an issue with the patriarchal political system, said Kocyigit. Tosun is not a part of the political elite and she is not rich, but she made it to the parliament as a part of HDP, Kocyigit emphasized.

Huda Kaya, a HDP parliamentarian from Istanbul, told Al-Monitor, "The words against Demirtas reflect the government's perspective on women. I have also been targeted with slurs and threats. In the last weeks, the threats have intensified from calling for making us into concubines to other offensive words I will not repeat. These minds rely on the AKP's power. They know there will be no consequences, no punishment for their acts or words."

The Turkish state is a party to the European Councils Istanbul Convention, which aims to minimize violence against women. But in practice, this convention is not in effect," Eren Keskin, a prominent attorney and vice president of the Turkish Human Rights Association, told Al-Monitor. "All sorts of violence against women is political. And this is the perspective with which I approach the violence against Demirtas.

Within hours of Keskins interview with Al-Monitor, unknown perpetrators broke into her house to threaten her.
Minister for health, Osagie Ehanire has appealed to resident doctors in the country to end their strike saying the federal government is aware of their plights.

He added that President Muhammadu Buhari is the most sincere and serious government the country has ever had and as such would fulfil all his promises.

He made this known during a programme on Channels Television on Friday.

He said, we have made it clear to them that this government is the most sincere and serious government this country has ever had. His word is his bond.

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Read Also: Your Excuses Will No Longer Be Tolerated, Buhari To Service Chiefs

This government has a record of being sympathetic to people, of meeting its obligations and keeping to its promises.

This government does things differently. This is a government that says its word and keeps to its words. We would not do anything to hurt you. We work in your interest.

We are going through a very difficult time with other countries and this is quite clearly not the time to add more to our problems by deciding to go on strike.

I am worried that we are probably the first and only country where doctors have decided to go on strike.

Resident doctors embarked on a nationwide strike on Monday after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum they issued to the federal government.

A meeting between the federal government and members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) ended in a deadlock on Tuesday.

Ehanire had threatened that doctors absent from duty would lose their jobs and he asked for the opening of attendance registers in health institutions across the country.
French English Dutch

Press release

Brussels, June 12th, 2020

Michael Trabbia, currently CEO of Orange Belgium, promoted to Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at the Orange Group as from September 1st, 2020

Stephane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange Group, has decided to appoint Michael Trabbia, current CEO of Orange Belgium, to the position of Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange Group as from September 1st, 2020.

With his engineering education and a rich career of 20 years in the public and private telecom environment, Michael Trabbia showed an excellent understanding of the Belgian telecom sector, its regulatory and technological environment. At Orange Belgium, he was particularly recognized for his leadership qualities, his strong strategic expertise and stakeholder relations.

Therefore Stephane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orange Group, decided to nominate Michael Trabbia as Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, within Orange Groups Executive Committee.

The Orange Belgium Board of Directors will select his successor as new CEO of Orange Belgium by the end of June.

Ramon Fernandez, Delegate Chief Executive Officer of the Orange Group: In the name of the Orange Group, I want to warmly thank Michael for his decisive action at the head of Orange Belgium. Under his leading, Orange Belgium reached new major steps, thanks notably to its Bold challenger strategy. I applaud Michael for his promotion and look forward to seeing him join the Executive Committee of the Group.

Johan Deschuyffeleer, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Orange Belgium, reacts: The Board and I would like to congratulate Michael for this new role in the Executive Committee of the Orange Group. We would like to warmly thank Michael for his many contributions, efforts and commitment over the past 4 years.

As a strong leader he created value for every stakeholder inside and outside the company: from the 1,500 employees to the millions of Orange customers and the various shareholders worldwide. Michael pursued growth on all levels: operationally, financially as well as commercially. He created the fundaments for a future proof company, in a balanced and a sustainable way, thanks to the roll-out of an ambitious and bold transformation plan that made Orange Belgium more digital, caring and efficient.

Under his leadership Orange Belgium is more than ever ready for the future. We wish Michael all the best in his new adventure.

After his nomination, Michael Trabbia stated:  I am particularly proud of the work done by our teams in Belgium and what we have achieved together during the past 4 years.

We successfully positioned Orange Belgium as the customer-centric bold challenger of the Belgian market. Starting from a mobile-only position in a duopoly broadband market, we managed to build a strong convergent position and customer base with our convergent Love offers. On the mobile side, we were the first to launch an unlimited data offer in Belgium back in 2018; and recently we were again the first to launch mobile discounts for families with our GO offers.

We also reached significant strategic achievements such as the RAN-sharing deal with Proximus, the MVNO deal with De Persgroep, the acquisition of BKM, the cable regulation improvement, the preparation of the networks of the future; and our Bold Inside transformation plan.

I really want to warmly thank Orange Belgiums teams and Executive committee for their relentless commitment and the quality of their work, which were absolutely key in achieving these successes. I also want to sincerely thank the members of the Board for their trust and their support. As a result, Orange Belgium managed to steadily increase its value market share and is now recognized as a strong operator of growth.

As from September, I will have the great honor to lead Orange Groups technology and innovation teams, next to Stephane Richard, Orange Chairman and CEO. I look forward enthusiastically to what we are going to achieve together.

Michael Trabbia joined Orange in January 2011 and became Group Senior Vice-President for Corporate Public Affairs. He then moved to the team of the Chairman and CEO of Orange as Chief of staff and Secretary of the Groups Executive Committee in July 2014. He joined Orange Belgium in September 2016 as CEO.

Born in 1976, Michael Trabbia is a graduate of Ecole polytechnique and Telecom ParisTech and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Industrial Economics. He is married and father of 2 children.

About Orange Belgium

Orange Belgium is a leading telecommunications operator on the Belgian market with over 3 million customers; Orange is also active in Luxembourg through its subsidiary Orange Communications Luxembourg.

As a convergent actor, we provide mobile telecommunications services, internet and TV to private clients as well as innovative mobile and fixed-line services to businesses. Our high-performance mobile network supports 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ technology and is the subject of ongoing investment.

Orange Belgium is a subsidiary of the Orange Group, one of the leading European and African operators for mobile telephony and internet access, as well as one of the world leaders in telecommunications services for enterprises.

Orange Belgium is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange (OBEL).



More information on: corporate.orange.be, www.orange.be or follow us on Twitter: @pressOrangeBe.

Press contact

Younes Al Bouchouari  younes.albouchouari@orange.com - +32 477 69 87 73

Annelore Marynissen  Annelore.marynissen@orange.com - +32 479 016 058

press@orange.be

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Travellers from the UK will not have to quarantine on arrival in Spain from Sunday, Spanish officials have now said.

The Spanish foreign minister said British visitors would be welcomed to Spain from Sunday without the need for quarantine after landing there, as the nation reopens its borders to EU visitors.

The news comes as Ryanair announced it will restart flights to Spain today, less than two weeks earlier than its original July 1 date.

Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya has confirmed British visitors can enter Spain from Sunday without the need to quarantine

Ryanair announced it will resume flights to Spain earlier than the original date of July 1

A flight headed for Alicante, Spain, will depart from East Midlands this afternoon followed by another from Manchester which will land in Tenerife.

Speaking about welcoming Britons back to Spain, Arancha Gonzalez Laya told BBC News: 'We will allow British visitors to enter Spain just like the rest of the European Union as from June 21, freely and without the need for a quarantine.

'We're discussing with the UK authorities to see if they would do the same on their side, we nevertheless are doing this out of respect for the 400,000 British citizens that have a second residence in Spain and are dying to benefit from their homes in our country.

London City Airport will reopen this weekend after being closed for nearly three months London City Airport reopens on Sunday after being closed to commercial flights for nearly three months. The airport has introduced a series of new safety and hygiene measures, including enhanced cleaning, limiting terminal access to those with a ticket and mandatory face coverings. Its first flight following the restart will be operated by Loganair on behalf of BA CityFlyer from the Isle of Man and is due to land shortly after 6pm. Initial routes will mainly be restricted to those within the UK and Ireland, with services to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin expected to return next month. New routes to Teesside and Dundee will be launched on July 6 while flights to sunshine destinations such as Ibiza, Florence, Malaga and Palma are likely to resume in the coming weeks. London City's runway was closed to commercial and private flights on March 25 due to the collapse in demand and travel restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The airport has been available to Government agencies and the military during the crisis. Advertisement

'We do hope they (the UK Government) will be sensitive to the 250,000 Spaniards that are also living in the UK and would like to enter the UK without a quarantine.'

Yesterday, the Spanish airport authority said holidaymakers coming into Spain from Sunday will have to pass three health checks and there was no mention of any enforced quarantine for Brits.

The first control will be a document that the traveller must fill in with information on their location during their trip and whether or not they have had coronavirus.

The second and third will involve having their temperature taken at the arrival airport and a visual inspection. If the passenger fails one of the three checks, he or she will be seen by a doctor.

But without the Government setting up a so-called air corridor with Spain, anyone returning from a trip there would still have to quarantine for 14 days.

It is understood the UK's quarantine restrictions will be reviewed on 29 June.

The topic of air bridges is now the hot topic of conversation, as thousands of Brits hope to get in some form of a summer holiday following months of lockdown.

Britain's 'air bridges' plan is set to involve less than ten countries, giving tourists the ability to travel between them and the UK this summer with no mandatory 14-day quarantine.

A total of 12 countries - including Greece, Spain, Portugal and France - are being considered with officials examining both the risk of travellers bringing Covid-19 back and the popularity of the destination.

At the moment, any traveller arriving in the UK - whether from Britain or a tourist - must quarantine for 14 days and provide their phone number and an address for self-isolation.

The 'air bridge' rules would come into play on July 4 and will likely be announced on June 29.

But it will only go ahead if the chief medical officer provides advice on each nation and the Foreign Office lifts its non-essential travel ban to the countries in question.

Across Europe, Greece has already introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for arrivals from countries deemed high-risk, such as the UK.

Anyone landing from these countries must also quarantine on arrival.

The UK's 'air bridges' plan is set to involve less than ten countries, giving tourists the ability to travel between this summer with no mandatory 14-day quarantine. Pictured: Gatwick Airport

However, these tough measures only apply to those arriving from 'higher risk' airports.

Those considered 'lower risk' include Bristol, Southend and Edinburgh and arrivals from these are only be subject to random testing.

Any plans depend on reducing the risk of a second wave meaning quarantine could stay in place for the next few months.
The Trump administration is warning law enforcement and public safety officials that a far-right extremist movement known as boogaloo may be setting its sights on the nations capital.

On Monday, the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC), a fusion center for Washington, D.C. that provides support to federal national security and law enforcement agencies, warned in an intelligence assessment that the District is likely an attractive target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology due to the significant presence of US law enforcement entities, and the wide range of First Amendment-Protected events hosted here.

The assessment, dated June 15 and obtained by Politico, reported that recent events indicate violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology likely reside in the National Capital Region, and others may be willing to travel far distances to incite civil unrest or conduct violence encouraged in online forums associated with the movement.

A senior DHS official forwarded the assessment to security stakeholders on Friday, noting that while it identifies Washington D.C. as an attractive target, the boogaloo ideology is not restricted to a specific region and those who wish to cause division are routinely using peaceful protests as means of cover. Heading into a weekend of more planned protests, we believe this information to be useful to all of our membership.

Separately on Friday, DHS published its own intelligence note assessing that domestic terrorists advocating for the boogaloo very likely will take advantage of any regional or national situation involving heightened fear and tensions to promote their violent extremist ideology and call supporters to action.

The note, dated June 19 and obtained by Politico, aims to provides information regarding some domestic terrorists exploitation of heightened tensions during recent First Amendment-protected activities in order to threaten or incite violence to start the boogalooa colloquial term referring to a coming civil war or the fall of civilization.

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Participants in the boogaloo movement generally identify as anarchist, pro-Second Amendment members of citizen-militias who are preparing for a second Civil War or American revolution, extremism experts say. Several boogaloo adherents have been charged in recent weeks for acts ranging from felony murder to terrorism, and police last month seized military-style assault rifles from so-called boogaloo bois in Denver.

The DHS note says boogaloo tactics likely will be repeated in future similar incidents wherein domestic terrorists attempt to shut down or endanger government operations, judging from domestic terrorists continued calls for attacks.

And the NTIC assessment is the first known government confirmation that suspected violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology may reside in D.C. and have an abundance of potential targets.

These individuals may target law enforcement as violent adherents have in other parts of the country, and motivated adherents have an increased number of targets given the concentration of law enforcement agencies in the region, the memo reads.

It cites planning documents shared by boogaloo adherents online, including military manuals, CIA handbooks, and revolutionary literature which provides instructions on bomb-making. And it says that other documents shared by the boogaloos refer to national guard depots, police stations and factories that produce munitions as very solid targets.

The assessment is striking given the public emphasis President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr have placed on alleged violence carried out by adherents of the left-wing ideology antifa, while refusing to specifically identify and denounce the far-right groups like boogaloo that have been have been charged in recent weeks for acts ranging from felony murder to terrorism.

Its ANTIFA and the Radical Left, Trump tweeted on May 30. Dont lay the blame on others! Barr similarly homed in on the anti-fascist protest movement the following day, in a statement presented from the Department of Justice in D.C.: The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.

To date, no federal charges have been filed against individuals linked to antifaviolent acts at Black Lives Matter protests, including setting police cars on fire, have been attributed to individuals with no clear political or ideological affiliation, according to charging documents.

But right-wing extremists, militia groups and vigilantes have become more activated, with more than half a dozen separate violent incidents across the country in the last month alonemost within the last week.

Law enforcement and government officials, moreover, are increasingly in the crosshairs. A Santa Cruz county police officer and a federal officer in Oakland were murdered, allegedly by a boogaloo adherent, earlier this month, and boogaloo members in Californias Bay Area have reportedly been plotting to kidnap elected leaders children.

Experts on far-right violence and extremism say the president and attorney generals rhetoric is political, and that the real threat has been laid out in the federal charges filed in the last month and the federal alerts, such as from NTIC and DHS, being sent to law enforcement warning of far-right violence.

But some argue that the unwillingness to name and shame these far-right groups publicly and from the top is not harmless, either.

It puts a target on the backs of law-enforcement -- whether federal, state or local -- because these individuals, with the power they have at the podium, are not speaking out about who is really carrying out these abhorrent acts of violence, said Jason Blazakis, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a nonprofit that studies emerging threats.

A DOJ spokesperson pointed to Barrs comments about the extremists being a witches brew of violent actors and groups.

But singling out antifa is similarly dangerous and foolish, said J.J. McNab, an expert on violent political extremism and a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. There is nothing to back it up. I dont think that if they called out these right-wing groups itd make much of a difference, but now anyone who wears black [at these protests] has a target on their back, McNab said, referring to antifa sympathizers tendency to wear all black. Its irresponsible and frustrating.

Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas have experienced incidents in the last week involving armed, right-wing vigilante individuals and militias seeking either to protect Confederate statues or attack Black Lives Matter protesters.

On Sunday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner warned vigilante groups who claimed to be protecting a Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia that using bats or hatchets or anything else for an illegal purpose is a criminal act. The FBI arrested an El Paso man on Wednesday who, armed with an AR-15 style rifle, allegedly threatened to take out at least 200 [N******].

A man was shot in Albuquerque on Tuesday as tensions rose between protesters there and the New Mexico Civil Guard, a self-described civilian militia, though the Guard has claimed the shooter was not one of their own. And a group of about 80 Black Lives Matter protesters in Bethel, Ohioorganized by resident Alicia Gee, who called on people to join her to tell whoever will listen that no matter the color of your skin you are loved, you deserve everything you can possible dream of, and you matterwere overwhelmed this week by 700 armed counter protesters, including motorcycle gangs and Second Amendment proponents.

There is a clear link between far-right groups and gun culture that doesn't really exist in the culture of individuals who identify with the antifa movement, Blazakis noted. Thats a key distinguishing feature. There is a potential shared narrative between boogaloo and antifa, given the anti-government bent. But the way they project the threat is different.

DHS alerts sent to law enforcement in recent weeks and obtained by Politico similarly make no mention of antifa--instead, they warn of threats posed by militia extremists, white supremacists, and anarchist extremists, which is how the right-wing boogaloo movement is characterized by extremism experts. And an officer safety bulletin disseminated to law enforcement from ATF Baltimore and the Baltimore police department earlier this month, obtained by Politico, warns explicitly of social media postings by boogaloo members threatening violence against federal and local law enforcement officials.

In alignment with their second amendment views, members of this movement are likely to possess multiple types of weapons, the bulletin reads. Use caution if coming in contact with any individual(s) whom may identify with the boogaloo movement.

Brian Levin, executive director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, said the centers research shows there have been 27 homicides connected to far-right extremists in the U.S. since 2019, with none connected to the far-left since at least 2016. White supremacists, he added, continue to pose the most ascendent and prominent threat, Levin said.

Other think tanks have compiled similar data. The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report on Wednesday that found that right-wing extremists perpetrated two thirds of the attacks and plots in the United States in 2019 and over 90 percent between January 1 and May 8, 2020, defining such extremists as white supremacists, anti-government extremists, and incels.

DHS, FBI, and state and local law enforcement have done a good job tracking these groups on the ground, said McNab, despite political rhetoric from the top that suggests a concentration of resources toward battling antifa.

We continue to worry about international terrorism by groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, but now the threat from lone actors already here in the U.S. and inspired by those groups, the homegrown violent extremists, that threat is even more acute, FBI Director Chris Wray testified in February. At the same time, we are particularly focused on domestic terrorism, especially racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.

But the changing organizational nature and rapid spread of far-right extremism, which is bolstered by conspiracy theories and stressors during an already volatile election year, can make it difficult for police to interdict.

The politicization of national security threats is retrograde and hurting our response, Levin said. Were not seeing this level of violence now from the left because these extremist movements respond to inertia from the mainstream. The hard right hangs on Trumps every word. And even in ambiguity, they see support.


The Telangana government on Saturday issued fresh guidelines tightening the restrictions in government workplaces as the coronavirus situation turns grimmer in the state.

According to a circular issued by chief secretary Somesh Kumar, the state secretariat and all the other state-level government offices will function with reduced manpower who would be attending duties on a staggered basis.

While 50 per cent of the office subordinates, data entry operators and other Class-IV employees will attend duty on every alternate week basis, only 50 per cent of clerical staff and their superiors, including assistant section officers and section officers, will come to their respective offices on an alternate day basis.

However, the officers having separate chambers allotted to them will continue to attend duty on a regular basis. All the employees, right from Class IV employees to section officers, who are not on duty on a particular day, must remain in the headquarters and should be available to return to the office on a short notice, the circular said.

Any officer or staff having vulnerabilities like pregnancy or comorbidities have been advised to stay at home duly taking appropriate leave including casual leave, earned leave, half-pay leave based on medical certification. They should remain available in the headquarters and attend to any urgent duties in case of emergency.

Further, no visitors will be permitted into the government offices without the authorisation of the official concerned and also on prior appointment. Regular disinfection of the office premises and vehicles, will be taken up.

All infection prevention protocols like regular hand washing, sanitisation, wearing masks and other guidelines should be strictly followed. Not more than three persons in addition to the lift operator should be allowed in the lift.

While all the officers have been advised to refrain from using air conditioners and ensure adequate ventilation in their respective rooms, the drivers have been instructed not to gather in the parking and instead, sit in the respective offices.

The orders which will come into effect commencing from Monday, will remain in force up to July 4, the circular said.

Telangana reported 499 positive cases for Covid-19 in 24 hours ending Friday night, which is the single largest surge in the cases in a day. The overall number of positive cases reported mounted to 6,526, of which 3,352 patients recovered till date.

There were also three fatalities that took the deaths due to coronavirus in the State to 198.

The state capital of Hyderabad continues to pose an alarming situation with 329 cases in a single day on Friday. The neighbouring district of Rangareddy too had an escalation in the positive cases with 129 samples testing positive for Covid-19.

Apart from common people, several bureaucrats and police officers have also contracted the virus. On Friday, as many as three IPS officers in Hyderabad Police Commissionerate tested positive for Covid-19. Besides, 18 police personnel in the special branch wing of the state police also tested positive.

An IAS officer from GHMC tested positive and is under isolation. The official was not attending duties for the last few days following symptoms and underwent testing which came positive, a GHMC official said.

On Saturday, the gunman of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA T Raja Singh tested positive, forcing the lawmaker to go into self-quarantine. Similarly, the driver of TRS MLA Bajireddy Goverdhan also turned out to be positive for Corona after the MLA and his wife also tested positive.
Chief Foanyi Nkemayang Paul Facebook

The media in Cameroon is in mourning following the death of The Publisher of The Star Newspaper, Chief Foanyi Nkemayang Paul around 11:30 p.m. Thursday June 18, 2020.

According to family sources, the Vice President of the Commonwealth Journalists Association, CJA, for Africa died at the Presbyterian Health Centre in Down Beach Limbe following a diabetic coma.

The Publisher/Managing Editor of The SUN Newspaper quotes Chief Nkemayangs wife as saying that Chief Nkemayang was rushed to hospital in the evening of Wednesday June 17.

Wasso, based on his conversion with the wife of the diseased, said upon arrival at the hospital, Chief Nkemayangs vital signs were checked, revealing that his blood sugar level was above 500, apparently why he went into a diabetic coma and would give up the next day.

Chief Foanyi Nkemayang Paul

Born on March 8, 1959, Chief Foanyi Nkemayang Paul, affectionately referred to as Chief Nkemayang was a hardworking journalist who leaned on the Lord and the law.

He founded The Star Newspaper in January 1991. The Knight of the National Order of Valour was pioneer President of the Commonwealth Journalists Association, CJA Cameroon cumulatively as Vice President of CJA Africa.

As one of the pillars of journalism in Anglophone Cameroon, Chief Nkemayang was founding member of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ where he would later serve as president. He was pioneer member of the National Communication Council. He was technical adviser of the Cameroon Anglophone Newspaper Publishers' Association, CANPA as well as a traditional dignitary in his native Lebialem. Among his many traditional titles, he was crowned Osari Maribu in Manyu.

Chief Nkemayang as a journalist had no fewer than eight detentions without trial. He was never prosecuted, but was always persecuted. Chief Nkemayang's courage and readiness to continue doing his work in truth won him several distinctions at home and abroad.

Chief Nkemayang believed that: A good journalist must be somebody who is courageous, one who speaks the truth without blinking, and one who writes without blemish. So, this is how I have, over 30 years, practiced the profession of Journalism.

Indeed, Chief Nkemayang dedicated his over three-decade journalism career fighting for a better society, improved working conditions for journalists and the abolition of obnoxious and archaic media laws. Nkemayangs last freedom fight was in Buea where he first appeared in court to seek justice for journalist Samuel Wazizi days before government said he had died in military custody. Chief Nkemayang later led protesting journalists to the office of the South West Governor to demand that the corpse of Wazizi be handed to his family and justice be served.

Chief Nkemayang is survived by his wife, and four children.
Some time after President Xi Jinping landed in Ahmedabad on 17 September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broached the intrusion by Chinese troops in Ladakhs Chumar. He asked President Xi to call off the Peoples Liberation Army soldiers or he would have to assume that the intrusion was with his knowledge. PM Modi broached the subject again the next day, this time in Delhi. There had been no change in the ground situation in Chumar, a remote corner of the dry desert plateau of the western Himalayas. President Xi said he was sad that tensions between the armies had cast a shadow on his visit. The PLA backed down after President Xi wrapped up his India visit and reached Beijing.

The Doklam stand-off happened three years later, when Indian soldiers stopped the Chinese from building a road into the Doklam bowl. This would have allowed the Chinese military to move vehicles in South Doklam towards the Jampheri ridge that overlooks the Siliguri corridor.

Quite like the Chumar, the Doklam stand-off had been initiated by local commanders and was escalated to top military commanders. It ended eventually 73 days later after PM Modi flagged it to President Xi. Both leaders agreed that the standoff was not in the interests of the two nations, setting up the ground for thawing of the freeze in the relationship that led to the withdrawal from both sides.

And this, by all accounts is how the Ladakh stand-off is so different from the ones in the past. There is one common denominator in Doklam and Ladakh stand-offs though. General Zhao Zongqi, the PLAs Western Theater Commands big boss.

Gen Zhao Zongqi, Commander of Western Theatre Command, met then Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh in December 2016

Our understanding is that the Ladakh standoff was driven from the top, unlike the previous two stand-offs, a senior government official familiar with the developments told Hindustan Times. For one, because the stand-off was preceded by violent scuffles in two military districts before the bloody face-off on June 15.

The General behind Doklam and Ladakh General Zhao Zongqi is the PLAs Western Theater Commander Gen Zhao, who has cultivated the reputation of being ruthless, joined the military when he was 15 and has consistently been moved up the ladder The veteran of several wars has served 20 years in the Tibet Military District and is familiar with the Line of Actual Control under this district that includes the trijunction Bhutan-India-Tibet where the Doklam standoff took place. Gen Zhao, who was stationed as commander of the 52nd Mountain Infantry Brigade, in 1992, focused on strengthening Tibetan border posts. By the time he was out of the Tibet Military Region in 2003, he had moved up as a Major General. The 2016 restructuring of the PLA brought the entire Indian border under one command and not two as before.

The first was a violent clash on May 5-6 between Indian and Chinese patrols on the northern bank of Ladakhs Pangong Tso. Scores of soldiers - from the Indian side and PLAs Xinjiang military district - were injured in the skirmish involving 250 men.

A few days later, a second clash took place on May 9 when heated confrontation between Indian and PLA soldiers from the Tibet military district in north Sikkims Naku La area again led to violence. Four Indian and seven Chinese soldiers were injured during the face-off involving 150 soldiers.

The third, on June 15, was the bloodiest and led to the first casualties along the LAC in 45 years.

It is only at the level of the top commander that PLA soldiers under different military districts - the Tibet and Xinjiang military districts - would have responded with such striking similarity, an official said, referring to the skirmishes between soldiers in Sikkim and Ladakh in May.

Both military districts report to Gen Zhao, who is believed to be directing much of the action along with the Line of Actual Control. Officials, however, indicate that it was unlikely that Gen Zhao, who is not part of the Central Military Commission but has President Xis ears, would be acting on his own.

This would explain, a diplomat said, why the Chinese army appeared to be taking steps to prolong the stand-off even after foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to implement the understanding reached between top army officers on June 6 on de-escalation of troops from both sides. Or why the June 15 violent scrap still took place.

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A 34-year-old Delhi Police constable allegedly shot himself dead with his service gun on Friday night in the police building in South Delhi where he was posted, senior police officers said. The incident took place around 10.30pm in one of the barracks within the police station premises. The other police personnel present in the building rushed him to a nearby hospital but he was declared dead on arrival. The police did not recover a suicide note from the spot, the police said.

Senior police officers said the reason behind the constables death was not known yet. His colleagues said the constable had take leave following his nephews death and had joined duties on Friday.

All the protocols related to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak have been followed while handling the constables body and handing it over to his family members for cremation, deputy commissioner of police (south-west) Devender Arya said.
FamilyTime Crisis and Counseling Center announced its new leader on June 17.

Christina Allen, now Chief Executive Officer of FamilyTime Crisis and Counseling Center, has worked in the field of sexual assault prevention and education for over 20 years. She started her work while attending the University of Texas, where she would later receive her law degree as well. Previously, Allen has served as Director of Community Engagement and Executive Director of the Education Foundation for Spring ISD, Vice-President of Development for Prevent Blindness Texas and Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Houston Area Womens Center, according to the announcement from FamilyTime.

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Allen hopes to be an inspirational leader for FamilyTime and motivate the staff to be creative, take initiative and think outside of the box. She has goals of becoming more well known in the community and being recognized at an even greater capacity as a community resource.

I expect the organization to continue to be a valued resource in not just the community of Humble but even to go beyond that since we do serve individuals outside of just the area of Humble proper, Allen said. I also expect to see us really become more of a strategic partner and a thought leader, not only when it comes to domestic violence and sexual assault but looking holistically at how people become empowered to improve their lives and have a better experience and become more self-sufficient so that they can really enjoy the best life possible for them.

The non-profit offers crisis and counseling intervention services to those in need. FamilyTime also manages The Door, a domestic violence shelter in the Humble area that was flooded during Tropical Storm Imelda. Now faced with a global pandemic, Allen hopes to lead the organizations toward learning how to approach their work differently to continue serving those in need as domestic violence cases are increasing due to the novel coronavirus prevention measure of staying home. While every non-profit and individual is facing challenges due to COVID-19, Allen said with every challenge, there comes opportunity as she remains optimistically realistic in her new role.

As the non-profit adapts to the new normal of the coronavirus, counseling has predominately gone to telehealth and the shelter remained open to those in need, although space was limited due to prevention measures. They have been operating with a skeleton staff, Susan Meinholz, president of the FamilyTime Board of Directors, said.

Wherever we are in the lifespan of this COVID-19 pandemic, we already know based on the data and the research that quarantining is going to result in an increase in instances of domestic violence, Allen said. Were starting to see some of it now but that trend will only continue, likely through the end of the calendar year and even beyond, so we need to be prepared for that but we also need to take this opportunity to think about how we do things differently.

JUNETEENTH: 'Black Towns Matter': Houston celebrates and observes Juneteenth

Allen said she hopes to be able to work in creative ways to educate children while they are young to break the cycle of violence, recognize warning signs and teach them how to develop healthy behavioral patterns. Humble ISD, with a rapidly growing student population, presents an opportunity to shape the future of the Lake Houston area, she said.

I mean, it just really gives me goosebumps to think about in 10 years, in 15 years, what that is going to do to the entire landscape when it comes to talking about this issue and what it looks like in this community, Allen said.

Meinholz said they went through a detailed process to choose Allen out of about 30 applications to the position. The Texas Council on Family Violence provided a consultant who interviewed 12 applicants by phone, narrowed it down to six with a second interview by video call, and recommended three for the board to consider.

The board provided employees a survey asking what they were looking for in a candidate for this position, with most stating compassion as an important trait, which was used in the decision making process. After interviewing two candidates in person, the board unanimously chose Allen for the position.

She has a really strong leadership background in the non-profit world, including in the domestic violence field, Meinholz said.

Allen follows the previous executive director, Judy Cox, who was with the non-profit for over 30 years. Sue Grawl will now serve as the Chief Financial Officer and Laurie Carol, who was the interim director, will serve as Chief Administrative Officer. Meinholz said this format of leadership is a popular trend in non-profits now.

The demand for our services continues to increase, so we want to grow with that demand, Meinholz said. With our plans to build a new shelter and serve more clients, we think that Christina has the qualities that can help us, take us to the new level.

For more information or to access services, visit www.familytimeccc.org or call 281-446-2615.

savannah.mehrtens@chron.com
Several U.S. hospitals in states with fresh surges of COVID-19 cases have started treating their sickest patients with dexamethasone rather than await confirmation of preliminary results of a study by British researchers, who said the inexpensive steroid saves lives.

The move illustrates how the pandemic is changing the way hospitals work, at least regarding COVID-19 patients.

Traditionally, doctors wait for detailed data to be published in a peer-reviewed journal - or for guidelines from medical societies - before embracing a new treatment, so they can better gauge the risks against the drug's benefits. The urgency of the coronavirus pandemic and lack of other treatments have altered those calculations.

Dexamethasone is the first drug shown to lower the risk of death in severely ill COVID-19 patients in what researchers running the trial hailed as a "major breakthrough."

The Oxford University researchers said in a news release that dexamethasone reduced death rates by around a third among COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical breathing assistance or oxygen. Britain's health ministry has already approved its use in the state-run health service.

"It almost feels unethical not to use the drug," said Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Florida's (UF) medical school.

UF's Gainesville hospital updated its COVID-19 treatment guidelines as of Tuesday to include using dexamethasone. It previously used the extremely cheap generic medicine sparingly for those patients.

Cherabuddi noted that his hospital - and many others - similarly started treating COVID-19 patients with Gilead Science's antiviral drug remdesivir based on data from a news release.

That drug, which unlike dexamethasone was not yet approved by regulators for any other conditions, shortened hospital recovery times in a clinical trial. It did not have an effect on mortality.

Several hospital systems, including New York's Northwell Health and the University of Washington (UW), had not been using steroids on COVID-19 patients as standard care - physicians had been prescribing it on a case-by-case basis. There was some concern it could lead to worse outcomes because it suppresses the immune system.

"For us, the case numbers are low and so there is not much pressure to do something new," said UW's Dr. Mark Wurfel, who is eager to see the final data. Places like Florida and Oklahoma, where COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising, are under more pressure, he said.

"The urgency of having hundreds, maybe thousands of very sick COVID patients in hospitals and ICUs changes the calculus. Many lives could be saved if the trial results are real," Wurfel added.

AdventHealth, which has nearly 50 hospitals in nine states, has been using dexamethasone for COVID-19 patients on ventilators with success since early April, said Dr. Eduardo Oliveira, executive medical director for critical care for AdventHealth's central Florida region.

At its eight hospitals in the Orlando area, Oliveira said the mortality rate for patients requiring ventilators was about 26%, "lower than almost every other reported mortality in the literature right now."

He noted it was difficult to know whether that success was due to the use of steroids.

After reviewing the British study release and trial protocols, Advent expanded its dexamethasone use to also include patients receiving supportive oxygen but not on ventilators.

Dr. Brent Brown, medical director of the University of Oklahoma's intensive care unit, said his hospital added the steroid to its treatment guidelines for patients in the ICU this week. Oklahoma is one of several U.S. states with rapidly rising coronavirus cases.

"We changed our practice completely. It was kind of an about-face," he said. "But we're delighted to have something that looks so promising."
The vaccinations were by appointment and there were 1,000 available for each day of the clinic. Just more than 1,500 appointments had been filled by Friday and some appointment times were still available.
Many Indian students are cancelling their plans of pursuing higher education in China amid rising border tensions between India and China. Students are now looking at alternative opportunities in the Middle East, Africa or other countries in Asia, while some will wait for the tensions to die down before coming to a decision, reports The Economic Times.

According to the report, around 23,000 Indian students were studying in China before the COVID-19 outbreak. Most students were pursuing medicine or management degrees. Indians are the fourth-largest group of foreign students in China. The COVID-19 outbreak had already delayed plans of many Indian students wanting to study in China.

Students have already started to cancel their plans, or are considering the option, according to education startups Collegedekho, Collegify, ADMITAS and Yocket. These startups help students find colleges outside India.

Some students have also cited Hong Kong protests of last year as another reason for cancelling plans, especially those who had been admitted to institutes in Hong Kong.

According to the same report, there were 492,185 international students from 196 countries pursuing higher education in China in the year 2018.

Meanwhile, on June 15, as many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed and 76 others got injured after a violent clash with the Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in Ladakh on June 15-16. At least 10 more Indian soldiers were taken as captives by the Chinese military, though they were released three days later.

Also Read: Galwan valley standoff: Well-prepared, suitably deployed to respond, says Air Force chief

Also Read: Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: PM Modi launches scheme to boost livelihood in villages
District court filings in North Dakota fell more than 6% from 2018 to 2019. The judicial district encompassing Burleigh and Morton counties remained the busiest in the state.

The East Central Judicial District, home to the state's biggest city of Fargo, had the most civil filings and juvenile cases of 2019. But the South Central Judicial District, comprising Burleigh, Morton and seven other counties, had the most total filings, criminal filings and jury trials of North Dakota's eight judicial districts last year, according to the 2019 North Dakota Courts Annual Report.

For years, South Central has logged the most civil, criminal and total case filings of the eight districts, according to data from previous annual reports. The trends mostly continued in 2019, but with decreased numbers from 2018 and personnel needs persisting amid expected budget difficulties in 2021.

The districts caseload fell almost 3% from 2018 to 2019, to 29,032 filings. Criminal filings fell about 1%, civil filings fell more than 10% and juvenile cases fell by almost 22% in the district. Jury trials went from 56 in 2018 to 58 in 2019.

Several factors appear to account for South Central's workload.

South Central District Presiding Judge Bruce Romanick said East Central is largely fed by Fargo-area cases within its three-county spread, while South Central contains the Bismarck-Mandan area, the bustling U.S. Highway 83 corridor and the "fairly busy" counties of Morton, Mercer and McLean.

"Its when we put all ours together that we match Cass County," Romanick said.

State Court Administrator Sally Holewa attributed South Central's caseload to encompassing the seat of government, where businesses tend to locate. Businesses can generate disputes over contracts, services and other matters. The area's growing population also accounts for more cases, such as family and child issues and neighbor disputes, Holewa said.

Case types remained fairly steady in 2019, Romanick said. He attributed the larger East Central civil caseload to asbestos lawsuits rising in Cass County. The larger population in the east also probably drove more divorces and civil suits there, he added.

South Central jury trials and criminal filings were little changed from 2018. Few cases ever go to trial. The ones that do likely involve a mandatory sentence or substantial penalty, Romanick said.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a dam of trials due to North Dakota's Supreme Court suspending jury trials in mid-March, eventually to July 1. Jury trials will resume next month after the high court likely adopts a new jury selection plan.

Romanick said court officials are revamping courtrooms to accommodate social distancing. He said there is a "substantial clog" of trials, and he hopes jurors are comfortable with coming in.

Meanwhile, 2020 filings appear to be on pace with 2019, despite the pandemic and restrictions it rendered, he said.

Juvenile cases in 2019 totaled 348, down more than one-fifth from 2018's 445 cases, which Romanick said could be attributed to programs meant to keep children out of court.

The decrease largely related to a 15% drop in deprivations, or cases of child neglect and abuse, said Carrie Hjellming, director of juvenile court for a state unit of 17 counties that encompasses the South Central Judicial District. But delinquent and unruly referrals to court were up from 2018, she added.

She also credited juvenile programs for the 2019 decrease, noting the Dual Status Youth Initiative, which launched in early 2019 as a program to reduce referrals to juvenile court of children and families also involved in the child welfare system.

Hjellming said juvenile court referrals ebb and flow each month for a variety of factors, such as fewer monitors of behavior due to no school in summer. The pandemic "is new for all of us," she said.

South Central's weighted caseload over the years was evidence for the 2019 Legislature to add a 10th judge and a new court reporter to the district. Gov. Doug Burgum in August appointed Judge Pamela Nesvig. Romanick said her addition to the bench has "really been beneficial."

But judge and clerk needs persist, Holewa said. The latest weighted caseload study identified a need of about five judges and 17 clerks statewide, broken down into 0.5 judges in South Central and five clerks total in Burleigh and Morton counties, she said.

In beginning to plan its budget request to the 2021 Legislature, the judicial branch's top priority is "being able to sustain a court system" amid economic conditions rendered by the pandemic, Holewa said. And this is after the 2017 Legislature cut 10% of court staff, or about 35 people. Most of the court budget is salaries.

"We are bare bones right now on what we do," she said. Courts may call in retired judges to handle a "heavy scheduling" of jury trials dammed from the pandemic, she added. Those judges are paid from the Supreme Court's salaries and wages line.

Romanick doubts there will be a request for another new judge next year. Clerk needs might be more of a priority, he added.

"Were hoping to hang on to what weve got to do the job," he said.

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First of two columns

I have artwork signed by Count Hans von Huebner. The paintings are on plywood and were in the home of my grandmother, which had been the home of her parents on Avenue B between Broadway and the Pearl Brewery. My recollection from childhood is that the paintings were found when my parents cleaned out the house on Avenue B in the early- to mid-1960s. My older sister remembered that the artist was a friend of my grandmother and her second husband and that they had bought the paintings from the artist. Whatever you can find out about the artist, Id be grateful to know. Ive wondered if the signature was a sort of nom de plume.

 Barbara Boucher

Half of that distinctive signature seems to have been the artists real name. He was just plain Hans Huebner on legal documents, except perhaps for a ships log, where a 23-year-old Johannes Huebner booked passage (steerage, the lower-deck economy class) for an April 27, 1895, voyage from Hamburg, Germany, to New York. Hans is a nickname for Johannes, like Johnny or Jack for John; Johannes year of birth, 1872, is the same later given by Hans, who also claims 1895 as the year of his arrival in the United States.

According to Hans on his World War I draft card, he was born Oct. 25, 1872, in Stettin (now Szczecin), Pomerania, a city with a primarily German population that has belonged to Denmark, Sweden, Germany and now Poland.

Given this reshuffling, the artist sometimes identified as Austrian but more often said he was a native of Germany.

At some point, probably in the 1930s, he added the von to his surname  a nobiliary particle that signals nobility or landholding. There was a Count Joseph Alexander Huebner (1811-1892), a Viennese diplomat from humble beginnings who changed his name from Hafenbredl, but there doesnt appear to be any connection with Hans the painter in his family tree.

Nor is he known to be related to San Antonios pioneer Huebner family, according to Linda Persyn, past president of the Leon Valley Historical Society, which restored and preserves the Huebner-Onion Homestead.

Its a hard-to-prove article of faith in the artists biography that he learned to paint from various masters in Munich, after which he opened his own studio in Berlin. Apparently setting his sights on greater success in the New World, he immigrated to New York, where his personal and professional life began anew.

Huebner married German-born Ilse in 1896, and their son Winfield William Huebner was born in 1898 in New York. By the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, the family lived in Byesville, Ohio, where Hans was a glass decorator. Among their neighbors were glass workers, a glass blower and a glass cutter; they probably all worked at the Byesville Glass and Lamp Co., which manufactured lamps, globes, shades and electrical wares and decorated opal, flint and colored glass.

According to Glass & Pottery World, vol. 13 (probably published in 1904), The main production line of the company was its large and elegant line of lamps (with) distinctively good lines in etched, colored and decorated oil, gas and electric glassware. One design in etched work (could it have been Huebners?) was almost as handsome a thing in its elegant simplicity as was ever conceived.

Unfortunately, the Byesville company went bankrupt in 1904, and the Huebners had to move  back to New York, where they lived in Brooklyn, and Hans became a self-employed designer working out of their rented home.

He and Ilse were still married but not together when he filled out his draft card, Sept. 12, 1918. He listed her as his nearest relative at 1111 Madison Ave., N.Y., while he was living in Follansbee, W.Va., working as a designer and manager for the Jefferson Glass Co.

The draft card also gives a glimpse of Huebners physical presence: black hair, brown eyes, medium height and still of slender build at age 45.

His new employer had moved from Steubenville, Ohio, in 1908, so Huebner might have gotten his job at this glassworks on a tip from a former Byesville co-worker. Jefferson made a lot of illuminating product for automobile manufacturers and the U.S. military, according to a 1923 History of West Virginia, Old and New, but it also made more decorative high-grade electric lights (and) table lamps.

Somewhere in this period, the artist shows himself to be a real piece of work.

Still employed as an art glass decorator for Jefferson Glass, now back in Steubenville, Huebner  still no von  was arrested Oct. 12, 1920, and charged with bigamy. His first (probably only) wife, Ilse, had filed a complaint that he was claiming to be married to Clara Waldren, age 25, from Wheeling, W.Va., who had died Sept. 21, 1920, as a result of an illegal operation.

He was set free about a week later because there was no proof he had actually gone through the trouble of taking out a marriage license and participating in a ceremony with Waldren, although she was represented as Huebners loved wife in her Steubenville Herald Star obituary, published the day of her death in the prime of youthful womanhood.

Next week: Texas success, from the Alamo to the Governors Mansion

historycolumn@yahoo.com | Twitter: @sahistorycolumn | Facebook: SanAntoniohistorycolumn
Shortly after I arrived at the Dadaab Refugee Camp in the summer of 2011, amidst the worst

famine in 60 years, I heard a story of a woman who had started out on her journey to the camp

with two small, starving children. Shed walked for days in the heat, without food or water,

facing the constant threat of violence. And along the way, her children got sicker and sicker.

Eventually, they couldnt walk. Dehydrated and weak, the mother could only carry one. There,

on the dusty road, she was forced to leave one of them behind to save the other.

All these years later, it is still difficult to tell her story. Its hard not to see the faces of my

children in that nightmare. Its impossible to forget her.

As Second Lady, and in my work after as well, I have traveled to refugee camps around the

world. From Kenya to Jordan to Greece to Ethiopia to the Matamoros Tent Camp on the U.S.

border, I have seen the truth of Warsan Shires poetry, that no one leaves home unless home

is the mouth of a shark.

This World Refugee Day, we remember that the United States has always been a beacon of

hope for those escaping violence or persecution. Its a fact that brings us pride. In fact,

three-quarters of Americans say it is important to take in refugees. Yet, that is not reflected by

our current policies. This administration has slashed refugee admissions by 80 percent, and

President Trumps recent proposed rules would effectively eliminate protections for those

seeking asylum in the United States.

Right now, 80 million people have been forcibly displaced--one percent of humanity. Four in ten of

those are children--scarred by trauma, battling hunger, traveling through dangerous terrain.

That is the choice so many parents face: watch their children become victims of war, or gamble

that survival might be found on the other side of hundreds of miles of treacherous road or the

terror of the sea.

How we treat those with nowhere else to turn tells the world what kind of a nation we are.

However, this isnt only a moral responsibility. When we welcome those yearning to breathe

free, we are rewarded with neighbors who make our communities stronger.

As a community college teacher, I teach students who have survived unthinkable violence. One

young woman I teach is the sole survivor of her family. Though they have seen the worst of our

world, they come to class with optimism and hope. They bring thoughtful perspectives,

innovative minds, and tireless perseverance. They work hard and ask for nothing in return but

the chance to carve out a good life for themselves and give back to the country that took them

in.

Its for all these reasons that my husband, Joe, is so committed to changing our course. As

president, Joe will increase the number of refugees we welcome into this country, setting the

annual global refugee target to 125,000 -- a number that we must grow over time to meet our

values and global responsibility, as well as the unprecedented global need. He will restore

asylum protections and make sure no child is taken from their family as they have been on our

border. And he will reaffirm Americas longstanding commitment to providing life-saving

assistance to refugees around the world while supporting the nations that host them.

Our world is faced with a humanitarian crisis bigger and more heart-wrenching than we can

imagine, and it can be hard not to want to look away, to go numb.

After all, what can we do?

As Second Lady, I had the chance to meet the principal of an all-girl elementary school outside

Amman, Jordan. Jordan is hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees right now, and her

small school was overwhelmed by girls looking for an education. She simply didnt have desks

for them all and had begun to turn them away.

One day a mother came to her with tears in her eyes. She spoke of their familys escape from

Syria, of how much they had risked so their daughter would be allowed to learn. The mother

begged the principal to take just one more student, and she didnt have the heart to say no.

Instead, she said: Send your daughter to school with a chair  any chair you can find  and she

can enroll. She told that to the next desperate mother who came to her as well. With an array

of beat-up old chairs and the help of those mothers serving as teachers assistants, she was able

to enroll 65 new refugee students.

What can we do?

We can find a chair. We can recognize that all children deserve safety. We can welcome people

into our communities. We can elect leaders like my husband, who understand that refugees

make us stronger, not weaker.

We can do something , and this November, we will.

Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden served as Second Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is married to Joe Biden, the 47th Vice President of the United States, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee for the 2020 election.
A post mortem is expected after the body of a man in his 50s was recovered from a river in Co Waterford today.

The man's body was recovered from the river in Ballyduff this morning.

Gardai said in a statement: "A search operation was conducted with assistance by Fermoy Search & Rescue and the discovery was made at approximately 7.30am."

The body of the man has been taken to University Hospital Waterford where a post-mortem will take place.

Gardai in Lismore are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the death of the man.

They added that inquiries are ongoing.
NDB strives to help exporters and entrepreneurs with new product By Quintus Perera View(s): View(s):

NDB has introduced NDB Jayagamu Sri Lanka for exporters and investors to encourage and support emerging exporters, prospective entrepreneurs and inventors of Sri Lanka, through which both financial and non-financial services will be offered to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurs, exporters and innovators.

To boost the economy and raise the standards of all Sri Lankan in post COVID-19, the world requires the contribution of every Sri Lankan and this initiative by the National Development Bank (NDB) Jayagamu Sri Lanka stands as the banks commitment towards the development of Sri Lanka as well as developing the countrys exporters and innovators.

This was stated by Eshana De Silva, Chairman, NDB when the Jayagamu Sri Lanka was launched last week at the banks auditorium in the midst of a large gathering of supporters for this programme.

The main feature of this programme would be to offer advisory services in finding export markets through the Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC), Chamber of Commerce, Daraz and Code 360.com, to facilitate exporters while arranging links between prospective clients and local bodies to obtain services at discounted prices.

They would also create an e-learning platform with their tie-up with Bizeconomics to offer training on cash flow management, financial management etc for SME clients using British-qualified advisors.

The country is also learning a lesson from COVID-19 that the country cannot build the future on old foundations as the future belongs to the leaders in thinking of tomorrows innovators and entrepreneurs, said Dimantha Seneviratne, Director/Group CEO, NDB and indicated that the bank recognises the potential for transformation in the countrys exporters, entrepreneurs and investors because the key to Sri Lankas economic resurgence lies with them.

Furthermore, he said NDB has worked tirelessly towards improving social resilience; working with women entrepreneurs, driving financial inclusivity, enabling SMEs expand their horizons through e-commerce.

He said that the country should target moving sourcing out of China, as supply chain disruptions brought about by the global impact of the COVID-19 which presents a window of opportunities for countries to enhance their export markets for those companies who want to set up in places other than China. Jayagamu Sri Lanka aims to assist Sri Lankan entrepreneurs capture these opportunities, he asserted.

He said that financial assistance for exporters in Sri Lanka will come in the form of working capital finance to meet the funding requirements of exporters along with facilities such as pre-and post-export finance.

Other trade related facilities such as bank guarantee, letters of credit revolving STLS etc and with forex facilities, Islamic banking facilities etc, capital expenditure financing will also be offered along with benefits such as concessionary lending rates, fund based on higher LTV on immovable/movable security, funding on acceptable personal guarantees or SLECIC guarantees etc.
GOOD JOB

My auto shop in Ridley just called and said my car did not need any work on the air conditioner. He did not want to take my money for something I did not need, and no charge for looking at it. Very honest people.

SATISFIED CUSTOMER

LET IT RING

To Call for Change: There is no law that says you must answer your own phone when it rings. Ive been informed that most of these intrusive calls originate in Eastern Europe or South East Asia and are able to reach you thru a familiar and local caller I D. I asked my carrier who informed me that they cant do any thing about them. What I do is hook my home phone up to an answer machine. By doing this, Ive learned that nine out of ten are either solicitors or robots. Most are programed to disconnect but some leave a message. If its a real and important call, they will leave a message for you.

RIDDLEWOOD KEN

OPEN YOUR EYES

So our liar-in-chief says that Boltons new book contains highly classified secrets but  it is packed full of lies. Ill give you weak-brained Trumpers out there a minute to process all that. John Bolton was our national security adviser and is well aware of the vetting process the books material would have to go through before it gets published. But the book will only confirm what the majority of Americans already know. We have a small weak man with big mouth who will put Americans at risk with COVID-19 on the rise so he can cheat his way into a second term. How does he do this? He simply walks away from any problem, pretend it doesnt exist but then blames everyone else for it when he is forced to admit there is a problem. That is called a vacuum of leadership. If he gets re-elected, we will only have ourselves to blame as he pushes this country further into Third World status.

READ THE BOOK

WASTE OF TIME

I cant believe i wasted an hour watching Channel 6 pat themselves on the back. They completely forgot about the two great parades for the Flyers who won the Stanley Cup two years in a row. I probably will not watch Channel 6 again and I urge all Flyer fans To join me.

RALLY ON

All this anxiety over President Trump having his re-election rally in Tulsa as the virus continues to spike? Why? In this case, I am going to put on my Republican hat. Its Tulsa, right? What are the chances that the  people who will attend that rally will come over here afterwards to Delaware County and infect people here? Very slim, at most. If it wont affect me and those I care about, why should I care, says my Republican alter-ego. So please, I hope the rally attracts many tens of thousands of  people. I hope Trump wades into the crowd, and shakes hands and kisses his idolators. I know what I just said is not very nice, but keep in mind that I am wearing my Republican hat here. And how is what I just said any worse than just about all of the divisive tripe this piece of garbage in the White House has said since he took office? Along with the garbage his most avid supporters continue to say and post?

JB

GOODBYE COLUMBUS

Christopher Columbus was not a good person. He made slaves of the indigenous people that he found and decimated their population. He sent those slaves back to Spain as proof that his could bring the queen all the slaves she needed. He was a profiteer and like all profiteers, he had no regard for those he hurt and killed, no regard for human life except how much money he could make off of it. As an Italian-American I was appalled to learn of Columbus true history, something Ive known about since I was 10 years old. As a second generation Italian-American, I was again appalled that the city put that statue up. Once again, we see an homage to a slave trader. And once again Ms. Flowers rides in on her white horse of indignation and spouts out the right-wing talking points that helped get her fired from the Inquirer. Listen up Christine, youre wrong. Stop playing the whataboutism game that youre playing

PHILLY GIRL
Lariba Z. Abudu has defeated the Deputy Agric Minister who doubles as the member of parliament for Sagre Bambangi , in the Walewale NPP primaries to represent the party in the Walewale constituency.



Lariba Z. Abudu obtained 275 to beat Sagre Bambangi who pulled 96 votes.



Other aspirants namely Zakaria Yidana got 23, Seth Boyoyo , 43, Ishak Ibrahim 24 and Alutia Suzana 161 votes.



The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority(NDA), thanked delegates for believing in her and assured that she will work tirelessly to ensure that NPP seat is retained.



She indicated that she would work with the other candidates for victory for the party come December 7 general elections.

Source: Daily Guide









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Bengaluru-Police personal felectitate by flower pettals for the police constable who recovered from corona virus at victoria hospital in Bengaluru on wednesday. Photo Satish.B

Bengaluru: Fear gripped the Bengaluru police as nine cops have tested corona positive in the line of duty in the last 24 hours. All of them had been deputed to containment zones in the city. They have now been quarantined and the authorities are now tracing their primary and secondary contacts.

Five of these policemen were from the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) unit.

The Sampangiram Nagar police station has been sealed off as a constable attached to the station tested positive for the virus after coming down with fever. The whole station has been sanitized and 14 of his primary contacts are being quarantined.

Three other cops attached to the City Market traffic police station, one ASI and two constables have also tested positive.

Meanwhile, personnel of the Hennur police station led by senior officers lined up at the Victoria hospital to welcome a colleague who was discharged after being infected.

The constable was hospitalized on June 11. As soon as he stepped out of the hospital, he was garlanded and policemen on either side showered flowers as he walked out.
Washington, June 20 : Involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Canadian businessman and former Pakistan army doctor, Tahawwur Hussain Rana has been re-arrested by the US in Los Angeles on request of the Indian authorities. Rana(59) linked to Pakistan's spy agency ISI, was recently released from jail when he was found suffering from COVID-19 infection. On June 10, Rana, a co-accused with another ISI operative David Coleman Headley, was picked up by the police in LA, re-arrested and sent to jail.

Assistant US Attorney John J. Lulejian revealed to the court that the Indian government, as per the Extradition Treaty signed between the US and India in 1997, requested for the re-arrest of Tahawwur Rana, involved in the Mumbai attacks in 2008, in which more than 166 people were killed by a Pakistan based terror outfit. The Assistant US Attorney also said that India has informed that Tahawwur Rana is being prosecuted for a number of offences, including the conspiracy to execute a sensational murder.

Earlier in 2018, a National Investigation Agency(NIA) team from India was in the US to seek the extradition of Rana, who co-conspired with Headley to help in the execution of the Mumbai attacks a decade ago, in which 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba held the city hostage for three days as they killed more than 166 people and seriously injured 100 others.

Rana was convicted in the US in 2013 and ordered to serve a 14-year prison term. According to his record in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, the terrorist was serving his sentence at San Pedro, California. Tahawwur Rana was due for his release in 2021, after serving nine years in prison.

Meanwhile on Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the District Court, California, scheduled his hearing for June 30. His attorney has been asked to submit his plea by June 22 and the US government's response is due by June 26. Assistant US Attorney Lulejian said that the offences for which Rana's arrest warrant was issued were covered by the Extradition Treaty.

As per dossier of the Indian agencies Tahawwur Rana was born in Chichawatni in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Rana attained his medical degree from the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, a military residential college in Pakistan. In this college, he met Headley, who became a major ISI operative. A physician by profession, Rana served as a captain general duty practitioner in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps. Rana and his wife, who is also a physician, immigrated to Canada in 1997, and obtained Canadian citizenship in June 2001. The couple lived primarily in Chicago and owns several businesses including an immigration service agency.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: On the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an all-party meeting to discuss the bilateral tension at Galwan Valley along the India-China border, former prime minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda said the meeting will be fruitful only if Opposition leaders are given detailed, truthful information about the ground situation.

In a detailed six-point statement, Gowda stressed the need to tone down nationalist rhetoric to ensure that matters are not escalated. This is not the time for a language of provocation and revenge. Media outlets spreading fake information and cheap rhetoric endanger the lives of our soldiers and diplomatic staff. Social media retribution is of particular concern. By this, I do not mean that critical mainstream opinions, analysis and reporting should be stopped, Gowda said in his statement.

Appealing to the opposition to not use intemperate language at a time when cooperation is important, Deve Gowda said domestic politics and national security interests cannot be equated. He, however, stressed that it doesnt mean that the government should not be questioned.

Dont politicise Armed Forces, Gowda tells Centre

Gowda, a seasoned politician, said the government should quell anxiety among citizens that we are surrounded by hostile nations and that it is important to keep the nation informed. Underplaying certain developments and overstating certain information may be a bad strategy in the long run, he noted.Criticising the continuous attempts to politicise the Armed Forces, Gowda termed it dangerous and stressed on the need to keep it a professional force that will advise the government of the day fearlessly and correctly.

He demanded an inquiry into the deaths of soldiers in Galwan Valley to understand what exactly transpired. The government should not encourage reactionary language of economic boycott. Its implications are deep. Here, we should be guided by pragmatism, Gowda said, referring to political leaders calling for a boycott of Chinese-made products.
Volunteers from a Dallas-based nonprofit carry an empty coffin past a new Black Lives Matter sign painted on Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Okla., for Juneteenth. The mens' leader, Bruce Carter, said they were sending a message with the coffin: "We should all receive justice." (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

On a day that marked the emancipation of slaves, in a time of racial pain and widening pandemic, crowds descended in the Greenwood District to celebrate Juneteenth and lay to rest past injustices even as new ones gathered across a troubled and divided nation.

Juneteenth has been remembered here for generations, recalling not just the freeing of enslaved ancestors in Texas in 1865, but also Greenwoods resurrection after a 1921 massacre by white mobs and National Guard troops that killed hundreds and razed what was known as "Black Wall Street."

Thats part of the story visitors learned Friday walking past brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk to commemorate businesses ravaged in the massacre. We were Oklahomans before there was an Oklahoma, said Reuben Gant, 68, who served on the commission that built the neighborhood's John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, named after a Black Oklahoma historian.

Gant has led tours of small groups wearing masks during the pandemic. But these days are different, etched with deepening anxiety over race and politics in the aftermath of the death last month of George Floyd and fears that Saturday's rally in Tulsa by President Trump and thousands of his supporters will turn violent.

The park was full of visitors Friday, even as rain fell early in the day. A white mother wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt brought her children to examine educational plaques on the parks Healing Walkway surrounding the 25-foot bronze Tower of Reconciliation sculpture. A Black mother read the plaques to her 2-year-old son.

When the Old West was new, you found us everywhere, one of the plaques said. Out of grit and hard work, brick and mortar, we built our own piece of the American Dream. We called it Greenwood.

Teshayla Bell, 23, a Tulsa native, said she brought her son Jaylon Tarbell to the park to celebrate Juneteenth  a celebration of the day enslaved Black people in Texas received word of emancipation in 1865  for the first time, just to be closer to my history.

Story continues

Teshayla Bell, 23, a Tulsa, Okla., native, said she brought her 2 year-old son Jaylon Tarbell to John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park to celebrate Juneteenth for the first time, "just to be closer to my history." (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

It was in Greenwood that white lynch mobs descended 99 years ago, angered by rumors that a young Black man had stumbled into a white female elevator operator. Attackers were deputized and given weapons, even using planes to drop makeshift bombs. More than a thousand homes were destroyed. Officials only reported that three dozen Black residents were killed, but researchers are still investigating mass graves they suspect hold the remains of hundreds.

This year, the citys annual Juneteenth festival was politically charged. The Rev. Al Sharpton was in town and scheduled to address the crowd. Organizers painted Greenwood Avenue with a bright yellow message: Black Lives Matter. Vendors brought T-shirts listing now-iconic names of unarmed Black people who died at the hands of police: Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Terence Crutcher, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Businesses and a local church hired added security, concerned they might be targeted by those arriving for Trumps first campaign rally Saturday. Many in the crowd wore masks and socially distanced, concerned about COVID-19. Such scenes were a testament to America and its disturbing past and restive present, a nation caught between civil rights chants, "Make America Great Again" hats and a virus that has killed about 120,000.

Juneteenth is so important because its a culture we didnt learn about in our textbooks, said Nathaniel Monk, 37, of Tulsa who attended with his family despite concerns about the coronavirus and potential attacks. The fact that everyones out here braving it shows how important it is. People are tired enough to brave the storms.

Monk and his wife were distributing free water and snacks and asking people to sign a unity pledge. Krista Monk, 35, an epidemiologist, said she was afraid to attend this year because of the medical risks  virus infections have surged in recent days in Oklahoma  and also because of recent police brutality.

I came to show my kids its important; we need to make a change, she said as her two daughters played nearby after getting their faces painted.

Shcarry Chatmon, a Tulsa native, brought her boyfriend Asher Riley to tour Greenwood for the first time after he moved to the area from Philadelphia a month ago. They walked past the Black Wall Street mural, pausing to examine a small memorial to Floyd. Both wore Black Lives Matter masks.

Its brilliant to see everyone here, standing up for whats right and our Blackness, said Riley, 30, who works at a local restaurant.

Chatmon, 32, a physician, said the crowd was more diverse than ever, but the atmosphere also felt more charged. Im hoping everyone behaves tomorrow at the Trump rally, she said. We have had such a history of violence against us.

Shcarry Chatmon, 32, a Tulsa, Okla., native, brought her boyfriend Asher Riley, 30, to tour the city's historically Black Greenwood District on Juneteenth. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

Some Greenwood groups sought a court injunction to stop the rally due to public health risks, but their request was rejected Friday by a judge and on appeal by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Trump won all of Oklahoma's 77 counties in the 2016 election.

Several Trump counter-protests were planned Saturday, but it wasnt clear how city officials and police planned to respond. Late Thursday, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican Trump supporter, imposed a 10 p.m. curfew around the arena where the president was scheduled to appear.

But on Friday, Trump tweeted that he had spoken with Bynum and that the curfew would not apply to those attending his rally. There will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow for our many supporters attending the #MAGA Rally. Enjoy yourselves - thank you to Mayor Bynum! Trump wrote.

Soon after, Bynum said he had imposed the curfew at the request of the Tulsa police chief and the Secret Service, which on Friday asked that the curfew be lifted.

We were told the curfew is no longer necessary so I am rescinding it, Bynum said in a statement. Tulsa police were working with the Secret Service to create a zone to keep the area "clear of individuals that are only present to break the law and disrupt the rights of people assembling peacefully."

The vice chair of Tulsa's City Council, Vanessa Hall-Harper, was upset to see the mayor back down on the curfew, which she said might prevent street clashes between rally attendees and protesters.

"I've been deeply concerned about this from the very beginning," Hall-Harper, whose husband is a police officer and president of the city's Black Officers Coalition.

Trump's comments came a day after he tweeted that, "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

Im a little puzzled when I hear people walking around talking about Make America Great Again, Sharpton told a crowd of several hundred people Friday. It wasnt great for slaves and Jim Crow, fighting for the right to vote.

Sharpton, who said he had received threats before coming to Tulsa, called on the president to stop condemning protesters and instead, Look over here in Greenwood tonight: This is what makes America great.

Sharpton was introduced by Tiffany Crutcher, 40, of Tulsa whose twin brother Terence Crutcher was fatally shot in 2016 by a white police officer who was later acquitted and is still working in law enforcement. Our hurt is serving a purpose, Crutcher told those gathered.

Chatmon and Riley live near downtown. They hadnt decided Friday whether to attend protests, stay home or somewhere else.

I just want to be safe, Chatmon said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation on the occasion of International Yoga Day on Sunday (June 21). PM Modi was earlier scheduled to visit Leh for Yoga Day and address the nation from but the plans were altered in light of COVID-19 situation in the country.

The PM will now be delivering a speech from the national capital.

According to official sources, PM Modi will speak about the importance of Yoga Day. He is also expected to practice a few Yoga poses on live TV. The live telecast of the Prime Ministers ''Address to the Nation'' will begin at 6:40 AM, however, the event will begin at 6:15 AM on Sunday.

His address and the event will be broadcast on DD National, DD News, All India Radio, besides social media handles of PM Narendra Modi.

Last year, PM Modi was the chief guest at a mega event on the occasion of the International Yoga Day. The event was held in Ranchi.

Meanwhile, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel has expressed hope that nearly 10 million people will join him in performing Surya Namaskar on this year's International Day of Yoga on Sunday.

With the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic looming large, International Day of Yoga will be celebrated on digital media platforms sans mass gatherings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message would be the main highlight of the occasion.

Yoga Day will go digital for the first time since June 21, 2015, when it began to be celebrated annually across the world, coinciding with the Summer Solstice each year.

This year's theme is 'Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family' and people will be able to join the celebrations virtually at 6 am on June 21.

I will perform Surya Namaskar at Purana Qila and I urge everybody to join me in performing Surya Namaskar from their homes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the gift of Yoga Day to the world and we should practice Yoga in our daily life, Patel said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Culture.

The minister also posted a video message on social media and urged all to share their Surya Namaskar videos with #10MillionSuryaNamaskar & #NamasteYoga hashtags on social media platforms so that it can become a public movement and creates health awareness among fellow citizens.

I hope that around 10 million people will join him in performing Surya Namaskar on International Yoga Day 2020, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 15:50:41|Editor: huaxia

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Wei Xuxi hands out boxed milk to students at Shuanggui Primary School in Ertang Town of Wuxuan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 19, 2020. Wei Xuxi, a 57-year-old teacher of Ertang Town in Wuxuan County, has spent over 30 years teaching in the countryside after graduating from high school in 1985. There are 32 students in two grades in Shuanggui Primary School, a small-scale school where Wei works. Instead of dilapidated buildings, or broken tables and chairs, multimedia and many other advanced teaching equipment make the school far from poor and facilitate Wei's teaching. "Schooling in rural areas improved a lot through poverty relief efforts," said Wei. "Education can change the fate of these students. For the sake of the children, I am willing to devote my life to my role." (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)
TROY  They say Donnovan Clayton was killed by a stray bullet, but stray seems too gentle, too passive, a word for it.

The bullet that killed Donnovan didn't innocently wander. Somebody, for some reason, pulled a trigger and fired that bullet. It traveled in a straight line and ended the teenager's future.

A stray lock of hair may have fallen out of place, but there is no place on a city street for a bullet. Once it was loose, there was no way to put the bullet back or avoid the tragedy to come. What was done was done.

And so Donnovan Clayton became another victim of the violence on our streets, another symbol of our indifference to the neighborhoods of despair and the people within them. Donnovan Clayton died because he was walking down the street. Donnovan Clayton died for no reason at all.

The wrong place at the wrong time.

The wrong place was a sidewalk on Sixth Avenue in Troy, not far from the Troy Bike Rescue in the North Central neighborhood, where Donnovan lived. The wrong time was at about 10:45 p.m. on June 5, a Friday night.

Donnovan was walking home when the bullet was fired. Police think the bullet, the stray bullet, was intended for somebody else, fired from one car toward the occupants of another.

An officer found Donnovan lying on the sidewalk near the intersection with Swift Street. Police performed CPR and tried to revive him, but couldn't. Donnovan died a short time after at Samaritan Hospital.

"Truly, an innocent victim that was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Deputy Police Chief Dan DeWolf.

Here's what was lost, according to Jasmine Baldwin, Donnovan's older sister: An 18-year-old who was the primary caretaker for his sick mother. A teenager who was preparing to graduate from Troy High School, even though he struggled with math. A young man who seemed interested in becoming a social worker.

Donnovan was the spoiled and adored baby of the family, the youngest of his siblings. Donnovan could ease the world's problems with his smile.

"That smile," Baldwin said. "Oh, his smile lit up a room."

Remember what life was like when you were 18? How the possibilities felt endless, daunting and exhilarating? When you didn't yet know what your story would be but you were anxious to find out? That's where Donnovan was when the bullet arrived.

Like every teen at the beginning of adulthood, he was still figuring things out, Baldwin said. But she had just recently learned he had a girlfriend, the first she'd known about. He was looking forward to graduating, she said, and starting his next chapter.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

"There is nothing more precious in this world than a life," said Baldwin, 28, who lives in Michigan. "He was on his way to doing big things."

Maybe, if not for that bullet, Donnovan would have had children of his own some day. Maybe he would have had a job he loved or a job that was just a job. Maybe, if not for that bullet, Donnovan would have grown gray and died surrounded by loving children and grandchildren. Maybe his life would have been full and long.

The wrong place at the wrong time.

Already, this has been a summer of terrifying violence in our cities. As I write this on Friday, Albany has just endured a 24-hour period in which 13 people were shot, killing one. The city has had a three-fold increase in shootings, the police chief says. Earlier this month, even a 10-year-old was struck by a bullet, another stray.

God knows what this weekend, and the next, and the next, may bring. How many more people will find themselves in the wrong place when violence erupts? How many innocents will be outside, in the warm summer air, when someone pulls a trigger and makes it the wrong time?

Back in Troy, police are also dealing with a spike in violence as they search for Donnovan's killer. Meanwhile, former Mayor Harry Tutunjian has raised more than $8,600 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. On Thursday evening, a vigil was held at Riverfront Park to mark Donnovan's killing.

Baldwin was there with a few other family members gripped by grief. She rose to tell the crowd what was wonderful about Donnovan. She told her audience how much her small family, and the world, had lost. Later, as a church group sang, she stood in her flowered blue dress and cried while holding her phone.

The last time Baldwin visited, Donnovan got his hands on that phone and took a bunch of goofy selfies. Now, they're reminders of what that stray bullet stole.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
When Joe Biden sewed up the Democratic nomination in April, the liberal rebellion in the party went quiet as its leaders rallied behind Biden with remarkable speed, fearing discord would damage his chances against President Donald Trump.

But now, as Biden has built a lead over Trump in the polls and the nation confronts a once-in-a-generation upheaval, liberals are responding with a renewed attempt to push the party left. They are making forceful demands of Biden and increasingly embracing leftist candidates down the ballot, awakening the prospect of divisions that party leaders thought they had squelched.

A group of mostly white liberal activists, for example, is aggressively pushing for Biden to choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as his running mate, challenging a call by African American leaders for Biden to choose a black woman. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., took herself out of the running in recent days amid criticism from many activists of her record as a prosecutor.

Liberals have grown increasingly vocal in pressing Biden to take a harder line against law enforcement, frustrated that he and other Democratic leaders have flatly rejected calls to "defund the police."

And a big test comes Tuesday. Socialist stars such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have endorsed left-leaning hopefuls in Democratic congressional primaries - including contests this week in New York and Kentucky - against candidates backed by party leaders.

"I think the progressive left is just trying to figure out wherever we can get a toehold," Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview.

The Democatic splits have grown more complicated in recent weeks, rooted in debates over race, ideology and class. Activists are pushing party leaders to do more to seize a moment that's seen historic demands for reform and a pandemic that has devastated poor and nonwhite communities. Leftists who never warmed to Biden but laid low after his victory are finding new channels for their energy.

"There are a lot of problems, and there is an urgent need for change," said Rebecca Katz, a liberal strategist and adviser to Jamaal Bowman, who is challenging longtime Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. "What you're seeing is there are not enough people in power - enough Democrats in power - who are fighting for that change."

Still, it's unclear how effective the push will be, given the divisions in the liberal movement and the few solid wins under its belt. The movement itself is complex and sometimes fractured; many white liberals who focus on economic issues, for example, do not always see eye-to-eye with the black activists leading the current street protests.

Biden has taken a nuanced approach to the left. He heaps praised on liberal leaders and causes, and has moved in their direction on such issues as health care by lowering the age for Medicare eligibility. But he has steadfastly refused to adopt more provocative ideas - including Medicare-for-all and defunding the police - that could prove a harder sell in the general election.

At a fundraiser Friday, Biden echoed the language of liberal activists, saying the country is at "one of those inflection points" where "fundamental systemic change" is possible. He compared the moment to the time of Bull Connor, the Birmingham, Ala., official who unleashed violence against the Freedom Riders in the 1960s.

Since 2016, Democrats have desperately feared a repeat of that year's bitter split between backers of Sanders and Hillary Clinton, which many believe helped Trump win. The left's renewed willingness to publicly take on Biden suggests a relaxation of those anxieties.

Many activists say their goal is to turn this moment's historic energy into influence in the run-up to the election - and beyond, should Democrats win the White House and the Senate. That's given new life to a movement that was dispirited after the once-promising presidential campaigns of Sanders and Warren faded.

"There were a few weeks there where we were kind of going through reflection and diagnosis," said Bill Neidhardt, who helped lead the Sanders campaign's operations in Iowa and Virginia. "The important part was to come out of that with either a really clear plan or a fresh sense of energy. And I do think that has happened."

But channeling the energy of the movement has been a challenge for liberals in recent years, due in part to internal splintering. Many supporters of Warren and Sanders retain icy relations after a bruising primary. As some activists are criticizing Biden, other liberal leaders such as Sanders are still giving him positive marks. And the protesters now seizing the country's attention do not fit neatly into preexisting liberal groups.

That's making it tougher to do things like topple centrist Democratic incumbents, said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster who worked for Barack Obama. "The hard progressive left, or hard liberal left, has not shown the ability to be as organized as we've seen the hard conservative right at taking out Republicans in primaries," Belcher said.

The divisions were evident recently in the competition to be Biden's running mate. More than 100 activists, leaders and celebrities from the left, most of them white, signed a letter urging Biden to pick Warren. It came as many black leaders were pressuring Biden to choose an African American, saying to do otherwise in the current moment would be an affront to a long-persecuted community.

The liberals' letter contended, among other things, that Biden was already strong with voters of color and needed an ambassador to Sanders backers who have not yet warmed to him.

Laurence Tribe, a prominent law professor at Harvard who signed the letter, told The Washington Post that while he is sensitive to the push for a black woman to join the ticket, "I think African Americans above all would be the first to say they are more interested in results than cosmetics."

Several African American Democrats said they found the remark offensive. "That statement was very callous," said Nina Turner, who was a national co-chair on the Sanders campaign. Belcher said he found the letter "so condescending" and that Tribe's remark "set a lot of people off."

Hours after his comments were published, Tribe said he was sorry. "I apologize for my choice of words," Tribe tweeted. He added in a subsequent tweet, "I've never doubted that racial identity is a significant variable in American governance. It should count heavily in favor of previously excluded groups as part of a person's full record of background, skills, and values. I'm FOR Warren, not ANTI-excellent others."

White and black liberals are more united in pressuring Biden to embrace a more sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system. More than 50 liberal groups signed a letter to Biden recently criticizing his response to the protest movement and panning his promise to add $300 million for community policing programs.

Angela Rye, a civil rights leader and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that advocating those funds "when people are calling for resources to be divested from police departments is not just tone deaf, it's irresponsible." Rye also took issue with Biden's plan for black America, titled "Lift Every Voice," saying the blueprint is full of "platitudes."

Lenard Larry McKelvey, who goes by the name Charlamagne tha God as co-host of "The Breakfast Club," a radio show popular with black audiences, said early this month that the Lift Every Voice plan was "weak on atonement." McKelvey said Biden must go further than calling for a study on reparations. He also called on Biden to embrace legalizing rather decriminalizing marijuana.

After interviewing Biden last month, McKelvey said he was left with the impression the candidate did not even recognize the name of his own proposal.

More broadly, the turmoil of recent weeks - a surge of activism not seen since the 1960s - has revived the sense among some on the left that Biden is too wedded to the past to grasp the moment's potential.

"Joe Biden is somebody who very much came up in the politics of the last 40 to 50 years, and I think what we're seeing right now in the streets of this country and in the rejection of establishment politics is a rejection of the status quo," said Evan Weber, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, a group of youthful climate activists.

A Biden campaign official said the team is listening to activists, and that all factions of the party are unified by a strong desire to defeat Trump.

"We understand the sentiment of what some activists are saying," said Symone Sanders, a senior Biden adviser. "We hear, we share their anger, we hear their pain. And I think we all have the same goals, frankly, in terms of stopping this horrible violence and undoing systemic racism."

Biden has adapted in some ways to a landscape that has shifted dramatically since he sewed up the nomination. He delivered a speech in Philadelphia that received widespread praise in the party, embracing a ban on police chokeholds and calling for a national use of force standard. He has also begun sketching out a more transformational agenda to address public health, economic and racial problems.

"This is not a man who won the Democratic nomination and then asked the progressive movement to bend the knee to him," said Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, who is black and voted for Sanders in 2016. "This is a person who made an active decision to govern in coalition with the entirety of the Democratic coalition, and that includes the progressive movement that is calling for big, bold change."

Beyond the presidential race, Democrats face an array of heated congressional primaries, including a high-profile race in New York's 16th Congressional District on Tuesday where Bowman, a former middle school principal, is trying to unseat Engel, a committee chairman and three-decade House member.

Bowman, who is black, recently won the support of Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Warren. Engel, who is white, is supported by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

The challenger has accused Engel of being absent from the district during the pandemic and has voiced support for calls to defund the police.

Engel recently drew criticism after he repeatedly asked to speak at a Bronx news conference on racial justice, then said, apparently not realizing the microphone was live, "If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."

In a recent debate, Engel called himself "one of the real pains in the neck" to President Trump, stressing his participation in the president's impeachment.

A Senate primary in Kentucky, for the right to face Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has also caught the attention of the left. Charles Booker, an African American state representative who has raised his profile amid the protests, is seeking an upset over Amy McGrath, a white former fighter pilot favored by many Democratic leaders.

Like the New York race, the contest pits Schumer, who backs McGrath, against Sanders, Warren and Ocasio-Cortez, who are supporting Booker. Booker has long been the underdog, but rising anger over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, who Booker has said was a family friend, has increasingly become a point of focus in the race.

"Only a movement can beat Mitch McConnell," Booker tweeted Saturday. He added, "We were so invisible to him, he never saw us coming."

- - -

The Washington Post's David Weigel in the Bronx contributed to this report.
The extradition of Pakistan-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, recently rearrested in the US for his alleged involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, will throw more light on the activities of the ISI, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Saturday.

Rana was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 based on an extradition request by India, which had declared him a

fugitive. Talking to PTI, Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 case, said that Rana has been charged with larger criminal conspiracy for carrying out terror activities in India.

"Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, during his deposition before a court here via video link, had

accepted that Rana knew the entire criminal conspiracy of 26/11 Mumbai attacks," Nikam said.

"Headley had also admitted that Rana used to finance him," he added. According to Nikam, Headley had then made "sensitive evelations" involving the terrorist activities of Lashkar-e Taiba (LET) and their links with ISI.

"The extradition of Rana will throw more light on the ISI activities," he added. Rana, 59, was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for COVID-19. However, he was rearrested in Los Angeles 10 days back. A special court here had issued arrest warrant against Rana on August 28, 2018.

According to the federal prosecutors in the US, between 2006 and November 2008, Rana conspired with Headley,

his childhood friend, and others located in Pakistan to assist LeT and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-designated terrorist organisations, to plan and carry out the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The 2008 Mumbai attack was one of India's most horrific terrorist attacks in which 166 people, including six

Americans, were killed and over 300 injured as 10 heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan created mayhem.
Representative image

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, on Friday set out guidelines for elementary and high school students to return to classrooms in the fall.

The majority of Canadian schools closed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic. Most provinces have said in-person classes will not return this school year and are working on screening and social distancing guidelines for next term.

Here's what Canada's provinces are doing:

ONTARIO

Canada's most populous province has asked its school boards to prepare for three scenarios based on the state of the pandemic in September, including the ability to adapt to different formats on short notice.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Boards should have a plan prepared by early August, at which point the government will consult with medical experts on the most appropriate course of action.

QUEBEC

Many elementary schools in Quebec reopened in May, though schools in the hard-hit Montreal region have remained closed.

The province said on Tuesday that when all elementary and younger high school students return in the fall, they will be divided into "bubbles" and no longer switch classes.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

British Columbia partially reopened some schools in late March, offering in-school education for the young children of essential workers. The province on June 1 reopened to all students, with elementary classes limited to 50 percent capacity, and older students attending one day per week.

ALBERTA

Alberta will not resume any in-person learning this school year and the province is working on its plan for reopening schools in the fall, looking at different scenarios.

SASKATCHEWAN

Saskatchewan said this week that when schools open in September there will be increased sanitation measures, protocols for bringing in items from home, and minimized contact among students and staff.

MANITOBA

In Manitoba, schools reopened in a limited capacity on June 1, with individual students and small groups invited back for in-person learning and assessments.

ATLANTIC PROVINCES

Schools in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador will remain closed until the new school year. Some schools in Prince Edward Island have reopened for students who need additional classroom support.
Influential COVID-19 model raises forecasts to over 200,000 deaths in U.S. by Oct. 1

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:51, June 19, 2020

According to the model, cumulative COVID-19 deaths in the United States could reach 201,129 by Oct. 1, with a range of 171,551 to 269,395.

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- An influential COVID-19 model produced by the University of Washington has raised its projections, forecasting more than 200,000 Americans could die of COVID-19 by Oct. 1.

The revised forecast from the university's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) marks an increase of 30,000 deaths since last week's projection.

According to the model, cumulative COVID-19 deaths in the United States could reach 201,129 by Oct. 1, with a range of 171,551 to 269,395.

The number of daily deaths is expected to rise again in September after reaching a plateau in June.

The institute also projected an increase in the number of hospital beds and ventilators that will be needed starting in September.

"We're now able to look ahead and see where states need to begin planning for a second wave of COVID-19," said IHME Director Christopher Murray Thursday.

"We hope to see our model proven wrong by the swift actions governments and individuals take to reduce transmission," he said.

"If the U.S. is unable to check the growth in September, we could be facing worsening trends in October, November, and the following months if the pandemic, as we expect, follows pneumonia seasonality," Murray said.

More than 2.18 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the Untied States as of Thursday evening, with over 118,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As many states plan to reopen educational facilities and further ease currently implemented restrictions on business operations and gatherings, spikes in new cases and hospitalizations have emerged.

On Tuesday, nine states -- Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas -- had reported either new single-day highs or set a record for seven-day new case averages.

Experts said further improving health and safety measures will be crucial to reducing the risk of widespread resurgence.

"There are blueprints that will allow businesses and schools to open safely. If they follow these blueprints it will be possible to operate safely," Robert Schooley, a professor of medicine with the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, told Xinhua.

He warned that in some places in the country, where public health measures are not taken seriously, the population will be at a "significantly increased risk" for a resurgence of the disease.

"The priorities need to be helping the public understand that the virus is real, the outbreak is real, the deaths are real... and that we do know what works to control SARS-CoV-2," Schooley said.

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Spanish authorities said on Friday they seized 3.8 metric tons of cocaine in just over a month at the port of Valencia, as drug smugglers presumed police would be off-guard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cocaine was found in six containers which had arrived from Latin America.

Police arrested 11 people, including eight Spaniards, two Dutch and one person from Ivory Coast.

Some port workers are also suspected of involvement in the scheme.

The investigations began in April after a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Agency and Homeland Security Investigations, Spanish police said in a statement.

The drug was concealed in various ways, including inside bags of sugar, barrels of pineapple pulp, and among Californian walnuts.

According to the statement, amid an increase in maritime traffic arriving in Valencia, traffickers presumed that "supervision and investigative activities by Spanish authorities would be diminished" due to a state of emergency and national lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
A constable, posted in Communist Party of India (Maoist)-hit Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh, allegedly shot his wife dead and then died by suicide on Friday night.

The constable was posted at Manpur police station in the district.

Constable Mukesh Manhar (30) had an argument with his wife, which reportedly led him to open fire on her with his service rifle. He shot himself and died by suicide after his wife expired, said Jitendra Shukla, superintendent of police (SP) Rajnanadgaon.

Manhar was a resident of Janjgir-Champa district and was posted in Manpur a few months ago, the SP said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem investigation and a further investigation is on, the SP added.

Chhattisgarh has reported at least 50 suicidal deaths of security personnel, including both police and paramilitary forces, over the past two years. The seven districts Maoist-hit Bastar division has recorded 18 of those suicidal deaths.

In February, the state government disclosed the figures, which showed 22 and 26 personnel had died by suicide in 2018 and 2019, respectively. While two jawans had died by suicide till February.

The state government has recently launched the Spandan Campaign in its bid to lessen incidents of suicides and fratricides among the stressed law enforcement employees, especially those deployed in the Maoist-hit Bastar region.

The primary reasons behind suicide among the states police personnel are depression, difficulty in getting their leaves sanctioned, and homesickness. Our records show that over 50% of these suicides occurred due to personal or family reasons, illness (11%), work-related dispute (8%), and other reasons (13%), said an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

Last December, six Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel died at their camp in Narayanpur district because of fratricidal killings.

While a similar incident claimed two Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans lives at their camp in Mingahcal village of Bijapur district on June 19, 2019.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritesh Mishra State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years. ...view detail
MONTREALA major forest fire in Quebecs Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region continued to spread Saturday, with authorities sealing off roads and urging anyone in the sparsely populated area to leave.

Melanie Morin, a spokesperson for the agency that oversees forest fire prevention in the province, said the area covered by the aggressive blaze stood at 58,489 hectares  nearly double the size compared to Friday.

The biggest concern with this fire, as usually is with out-of-control fires, is the weather, Morin said Saturday. This fire started Tuesday and has consistently grown day after day despite our suppression efforts.

Her organization has made several targeted strikes to protect strategic points like bridges, certain outfitters and the Peribonka IV hydroelectric station.

Morin said they are patrolling the area, doing strategic attacks and have set up a sprinkler system near the installation.

Maxence Huard-Lefebvre, a spokesperson for the provincially-owned utility, said theres a one-kilometre buffer of untouched forest between the fire and the station.

Huard-Lefebvre said they are monitoring the situation closely, but there is no concern for any community being impacted by a power outage.

Peribonka is dormant as a preventative measure, but its one of more than 60 stations that are linked as part of an interconnected network.

The fierce Lac-St-Jean fire is one of at least 12 current blazes in Quebec  but the only one considered out of control.

The fire started north of Dolbeau-Mistassini, in an area known as Chutes-des-Passes, first heading east for a few days before winds shifted the fire south towards Peribonka.

About 100 employees of the forest fire agency, known as SOPFEU, and 49 forest firefighters are battling the blaze with a call for reinforcements from across the province.

Planes and helicopters are being used to combat the blaze, with temperatures expected to feel like 40 C in the area, further complicating the work of firefighters on the ground.

The area in the northern boreal forest has a large number of fishing camps, shacks and chalets.

Its too early to say what damage has been done as fires sometime miss pockets of area.

There are many chalets in the area and the two affected regional county municipalities, Maria-Chapdelaine and the Fjord-du-Saguenay, have been scrambling since the start of this fire to reach the owners of these chalets, said Josee Poitras, another SOPFEU spokesperson.

There are chalets that have burned down. Fortunately, there are no casualties and no one has been trapped by the fire.

Quebecs Department of Forestry and Lands has closed the area.

Premier Francois Legault said he was concerned about the situation in both regions and said the priority was to keep citizens out of harms way.

Our priority: the safety of Quebecers in nearby areas, Legault tweeted Friday night.

Environment Canada meteorologist Alain Roberge said that warm, dry weather was likely to persist. Despite rain in the forecast for Saturday, it may not be enough to help firefighters in the area.

The worst part is that when the first showers arrive, they are often accompanied by thunderstorms, Roberge said. So even if the rain is there, lightning storms can create new fires.

The fires are creating heavy smog in some parts of the province.

A fire in a bog near Rivere-Ouelle, in the Lower St-Lawrence region, forced the evacuation of nearby homes after winds created a smoky haze.

Municipal firefighters responded along with SOPFEU teams to that fire, covering about 15 hectares.

The provincial agency reports 435 fires this year  double the annual average on this date over the past decade.

Lightning strikes are considered the source of only three blazes  the vast majority have been caused by people.

An open fire ban was renewed in several Quebec regions on Friday.

Read more about:
A ranking member on Parliaments Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Inusah Fuseini, has said the President arrogated to himself legislative functions in the new Executive Instrument that makes the wearing of face masks mandatory.



According to Mr Fuseini, E.I. 164 breaches the law because a section of the Instrument assumes the law-making function of Parliament.



The President has no right to penalise. That is the long-standing principle of law, he told Accra-based Citi FM.



The E.I. was signed by President Nana Akufo-Addo on June 15, 2020, to make it mandatory for every Ghanaian to wear face masks in public.



Penalty for the not wearing a face mask could land an offender a jail term or they may be compelled to pay a fine.



A person who fails to comply with the restrictions imposed under the Executive Instrument issued under subsection 1 of Section 2 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 1,000 penalty unit (Gh12,000) and not more than 5,000 penalty units (Gh 60,000) or to a term of imprisonment not less than four years and not more than 10 years or to both, a section of the law reads.

Source: ghanaweb









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[June 19, 2020] RA MEDICAL INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Ra Medical Systems, Inc. - RMED

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Ra Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: RMED). On March 14, 2019, the Company disclosed 4Q2018 revenue significantly below projections due to sales personnel staffing issues and certain production limitations, assuring investors that the issues had been resolved. Then, on August 12, 2019, the Company disclosed inconsistencies in its manufacturing process, an increasing number of product calibration failures, and an internal investigation by its Audit Committee. On September 27, 2019, Ra disclosed that it had initiated a "voluntary recall" of its DABRA catheters "due to a change in product labeling" to reflect a "two-month expiration, replacing its previous twelve-month shelf life expiration." Then, on October 31, 2019, the Company disclosed a wide range of problems found by its investigation including frequent product calibration failures and even occasional overheating, posing risks to patients; that the product failures were the true cause of its negative financial performance rather than production limitations; improper marketing of its DABRA catheter for use in unapproved medical procedures; failure to properly document payments to physicians; and, the receipt of a Civil Investigatie Demand by the U.S. Justice Department regarding whether it fraudulently obtained marketing clearance for DABRA or made improper kick-back payments to healthcare providers. On November 29, 2019, the Company disclosed that the DOJ inquiry had escalated to an open criminal investigation.



The Company has been sued in a securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information, violating federal securities laws, which remains ongoing. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Ra Medical's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Ra Medical's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.

If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Ra Medical shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-rmed/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200619005500/en/

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(CNN)  Outside of Earth, intriguing ocean worlds in our solar system are of interest to astronomers as potential hubs of life.

New estimates and calculations suggest that there are even more Earth-like planets and ocean worlds in our galaxy than previously known, according to new research published this week.

So far, Earth is unique in its ability to host life in the universe. But future NASA missions have been targeted to visit ocean worlds like Jupiter's moon Europa, to see if life may exist in its subsurface ocean beneath an icy crust.

What if our solar system isn't the only hub for these types of planets? Astronomers have discovered more than 4,000 exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system, in recent years. And some of them are similar in size to Earth.

Discovering planets that both resemble Earth and our solar system's ocean worlds across our Milky Way galaxy could make them targets for future telescopes, like NASA's James Webb Space Telescope that is scheduled to launch in 2021. The telescope may be able to characterize these exoplanets and peer through their atmospheres.

More than Earth

To be considered Earth-like, a planet must be similar in size to our planet, orbit a sun-like star called a G-type star and be a rocky or terrestrial planet. And, naturally, it needs to orbit in the habitable zone of its star. This is the distance where the planet is just the right temperature, not too hot or too cold, to host liquid water, and potentially life, on its surface.

But some of these unique characteristics also make them harder to find in the search for exoplanets because they're small and distant from their stars.

However, astronomers at the University of British Columbia have discovered that there may be as many as 6 billion Earth-like planets across our galaxy. That means that there could be one Earth-like planet for every five sun-like stars in the galaxy.

The study published this week in The Astronomical Journal.

"Our Milky Way has as many as 400 billion stars, with seven per cent of them being G-type," said astronomer Jaymie Matthews, study author and a professor at the University of British Columbia's department of physics and astronomy, in a statement. "That means less than six billion stars may have Earth-like planets in our Galaxy."

Previously, it was believed that there could be as few as 0.02 potentially habitable Earth-like planets for every sun-like star, or as many as more than one around each sun-like star.

Because it's easy to miss Earth-like planets in data captured by planet-hunting telescopes, University of British Columbia researcher Michelle Kunimoto used a different technique to search for them, including data from NASA's Kepler planet-hunting mission, which ended in 2018.

Her calculations establish a new limit of 0.18 Earth-like planets for every G-type star.

"Estimating how common different kinds of planets are around different stars can provide important constraints on planet formation and evolution theories, and help optimize future missions dedicated to finding exoplanets," she said.

Ocean worlds in the Milky Way

Ocean worlds like Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus intrigue scientists with their subsurface oceans, even though they're beneath icy shells and don't have atmospheres.

"Plumes of water erupt from Europa and Enceladus, so we can tell that these bodies have subsurface oceans beneath their ice shells, and they have energy that drives the plumes, which are two requirements for life as we know it," said Lynnae Quick, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in a statement.

"So if we're thinking about these places as being possibly habitable, maybe bigger versions of them in other planetary systems are habitable too."

Quick and other researchers used a mathematical analysis of 53 exoplanets in our galaxy, including those in the TRAPPIST-1 system about 39 light-years away, to determine if any of them could be ocean worlds, hypothetically. They also wanted to determine the level of geological activity that may be possible on these planets, like the plumes on Europa and Enceldaus, which telescopes may be able to detect in the future.

The exoplanets were similar in size to Earth, although some of them could have as much as eight times the mass of our planet. Even at that size, the planets could still be solid rather than gaseous and have liquid water on or below the surface.

The researchers were surprised to find that 14 of the exoplanets could be ocean worlds and many of them could be similar to Europa and Enceladus with oceans beneath ice shells. And they may even be more energetic in their activity than the moons in our solar system.

The study published this week in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Of the 14 identified in the study, Quick's team determined that exoplanets TRAPPIST-1 e, f, g and h could be ocean worlds. Previously, other researchers have suggested a similar notion and this study agrees with those findings. In this study, the authors arrived at this idea by regarding the potential surface temperature of each planet.

"If we see that a planet's density is lower than Earth's, that's an indication that there might be more water there and not as much rock and iron," Quick said. And if the planet's temperature allows for liquid water, you've got an ocean world. But if a planet's surface temperature is less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), where water is frozen, then we have an icy ocean world, and the densities for those planets are even lower."

For now, scientists only have certain information about these exoplanets, like their size, mass and distance to their host stars. But identifying intriguing worlds for future study can help determine targets for upcoming missions like the Webb telescope. Webb will be able to search for chemical signatures in the atmospheres of planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, which has seven Earth-size planets.

Other upcoming missions in our solar system could also shed light on ocean worlds. NASA's Europa Clipper mission will investigate what's above and below the icy surface of Europa and NASA's Dragonfly mission will fly a rover-size drone on Saturn's moon Titan, which has both an atmosphere and bodies of water on its surface. Quick is a team member for both missions.

"Forthcoming missions will give us a chance to see whether ocean moons in our solar system could support life," Quick said. "If we find chemical signatures of life, we can try to look for similar signs at interstellar distances."

This story was first published on CNN.com Earth-like planets and ocean worlds could be common in our galaxy, studies say
About 2,000 additional troops of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) may be sent to forward locations along the Sino-Indian border to strengthen vigil amid the standoff between the Indian Army and Chinese troops in Ladakh.

The ITBP personnel, currently engaged in different duties in various parts of the country, is being requisitioned in view of the prevailing situation in Ladakh.

About 20 additional companies (2,000 troops) are likely to the deployed in different locations of the Sino-Indian border, a senior government official said. The ITBP guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control between India and China, along with the Indian Army.

ITBP personnel are deployed around 180 border guarding posts --from Karakoram pass to Jachep La -- located in Union Territory of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and and Arunachal Pradesh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel were killed in a clash with Chinese troops on June 15 in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, raising tension in the relations between India and China.
Confusion has hit the ranks of the New Patriotic Party on whether or not the partys primaries scheduled for Saturday, June 20 will move forward as planned.

Salt 95.9 FM earlier gathered that an injunction had been secured by some 145 constituency delegates whose names were removed from the partys constituency delegates album.

The 145 members of the party who earlier in the week sent caution to the party to restore their names before the elections on Saturday said they did not know why their names had been removed by the constituency executives.

The statement by the 145 candidates read:

The list of 145 delegates in 61 polling stations, mostly from Agogo, whose names have been unlawfully and fraudulently deleted from the original photo album of the Asante Akim North Constituency, have successfully filed a suit and injunction against using the tampered and manipulated photo album for the primaries tomorrow. The Party and EC have both been duly served all processes from the court.

In an entirely opposite statement signed by the NPPs Asante Akim North Secretary, Williams Aboagye Boateng, the party stated that the elections will move forward as planned to call on party supporters to debunk reports of an injunction.

We would like to inform delegates and all and sundry that our impending parliamentary primaries is happening live tomorrow without any shred of inequivocation. The leadership has prepared grounds very well and measures have been put in place to ensure your safety to be able to exercise your franchise.

We also encourage you to remain calm and refute all allegations of an injunction and move in your numbers to cast your ballot tomorrow  The Statement from the party read

Confusion at National Level

Director of Elections for the party, Evans Nimako in an exclusive interview with Salt FMs Prof Sam indicated the elections in the constituency will not come off following the injunction.

However, in a separate interview with the second vice-chairman of the party, Fredrick F. Antoh, he emphasized that Evans Nimako did not have any power to call off any election in the constituency.

According to him, the elections will happen as scheduled. He added any decision taken by the party contrary to that will be communicated through the General Secretary.

Background

145 delegates in the Asante-Akim North Constituency have expressed concern over the removal of their names from the New Patriotic Partys (NPP) delegates album for the constituency.

The group of concerned polling station executives(delegates) in the constituency at a press briefing today disclosed they had not received any reasons for which party executives had taken the decision to expunge their names from the delegates album.

According to them, they were elected in 2018 to be in office for four years and are mandated to take part in elections of party executives and parliamentary candidates.

The NPP is scheduled to hold its primaries to select outstanding MP aspirants for the party in the 2020 general election on June 20. The removal of the 145 polling station executives means they cannot take part in the exercise to select who leads the party in the constituency.

The group stated that their names have been removed from the delegate's album and replaced by people who are not known in their respective polling stations describing the action by the constituency executives as illegal.

---SaltfmOnline
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 12:46:12|Editor: huaxia

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HAVANA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez on Friday highlighted the importance of international cooperation and solidarity amid global efforts to address the coronavirus outbreak.

"We live in a time of solidarity and of understanding health as a human right, a leading principle of our country's response to the health emergency," the minister said.

"Besides the challenge of preserving human life under pandemic conditions, there is a need to reactivate the economies of our nations," he said.

The remarks were made during a high-level virtual meeting convened by the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) at the request of the Barbadian government.

Rodriguez said that unilateral coercive measures taken by the United States against Venezuela and Nicaragua have hindered their access to medical supplies and medicines.

Cuba has sent medical teams and experts to 16 ACS member states to help contain the spread of the pandemic in neighboring Latin American and Caribbean nations.

First founded in 1994, the ACS aims to promote trade links, commerce as well as cooperation in strategic areas such as climate change, natural disasters, tourism, and sustainable development. Enditem
Photo credit: Tina Barney

From Town & Country

Early one Saturday morning this coming fall in New York, Ill head out to the farmers market to buy the best tomatoes I can find. Ill add parsley to my basket, and some kirbies. At home Ill cut these into tiny pieces, mince the parsley, and throw in a dash of pepper to create a typical Middle Eastern salad. Then Ill sprinkle salt and olive oil and squeeze lemon juice over it and let it sit while I boil eggs and warm some Syrian bread and make my own tahini. Finally Ill cook some fava beans to create foul mudammas, the national dish of Egypt.



This is how I plan to celebrate what I hope will be a return to normal this fall. Foul mudammas takes me back to my childhood in Alexandria in the 1960s, to years when I would have been perfectly happy to have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The smell itself is so recognizable that memories instantly flood in, stirring not nostalgia but hunger and the promise of total bliss. With that dish I come home, time stops, and things couldnt be better with the world.

Foul is the only dish from Egypt I share with my three sons, who are now in their late twenties. They may not understand which memories of Alexandria foul summons up or why it is with foul that Ill want to finally see them after many months spent apart. We had foul on so many Saturdays before the virus, and before that my mother used to cook it for us. What matters is the ritual.



A ritual is not simply the recreation of an event, it is the repetition of that recreation. It is the doing something over and over again that I celebrate, and not just the fava beans. Repetition is what gives religious rituals their luminous power, and it is through repetition, daily, weekly, or yearly, that so many rituals claim to comfort and inspire us and help us transcend our temporary status on earth.



There are private rituals. Every February I like to reread Katherine Mansfields Bliss, a short story set in London that I read at 15 when living in Rome. I read it now to recapture all the times I read it to recapture the memory of my years in Rome. Or this: Whenever I hear that Eric Rohmers Claires Knee is playing, I do my utmost to see it, which is my way of commemorating not just the first time I saw it, years ago, but all the subsequent times, each now layered like growth rings in the trunk of time.

Story continues

Once ritualized, a small event acquires an incandescence and a timeless eloquence. There was a time when I would go jogging and my seven-year-old son would follow on his bicycle.

We would stop at a specific elevated spot on Riverside Drive to observe the Hudson River through the foliage. Now, 20 years later, when we happen to walk on Riverside, we always stop there. We say nothing. But we both know.

The ritual that has punctuated our family summers most has been traveling to Tuscany. The house was different each year, but the ritual was the same: arrival in Florence by train, then the drive to a place we had seen only in pictures and hoped wouldnt disappointwhich no house ever did. A ritual is our attempt to not only own time but to beat it. We take a small, incidental something and, by virtue of reenacting it, allow it to amplify our life and give it the magnitude, resonance, and meaning life so often seems to lack.

Rituals, however, arent born out of thin air, and their sources are not always idyllic. I have some ugly memories of my life in Egypt. My parents certainly were never able to forget, or overcome, what they suffered there as Jews in the 1950sfrom late night calls from the police to our final expulsion, in 1965. And yet here I am, cooking foul mudammas as though Ive made my peace with Egypt.

My memories of Italy are hardly rosier. After leaving Egypt, we landed in Naples as refugees. Coming back to Italy now is in many ways a vindication. I want to prove that Ive overcome the trauma of my first years there. Its the vindication that I have ritualized. A ritual may be our way of erasing the reason we repeat certain events. Repetition, as Freud knew so well, shields us from our phantoms.

But rituals are fragile, which is why we go about them with a touch of veneration and fear theyll fail. The foul mudammas could turn out inedible; the rental in Italy may be found wanting; Claires Knee may lose its enchantment. But this doesnt matter. We go through the motions just the same. Rituals are our way of finding what is holy in our muddled, transient, fractured existences; they give us the illusion of a solid foothold in that huge, unmanageable thing called time, called life.

My mothers foul was always ready when you asked. Ritual meals were her shorthand for love and for something that would outlast her passage through life. I too now know that one day in years to come each member of my family will return to Italy, if for no other reason, perhaps, than to celebrate our previous visits and, by so doing, extend my presence in their lives and pass it on to their own children, just as I have done with my mother.

If life is a jumble of chaotic events, rituals allow us to find patterns where none exist, and behind these patterns a sense of order, a logic, something almost approaching an intention in the universe that gives our rituals its blessingwhich is why we dont want to violate them or ignore them. We become spiritual without a speck of religion in our hearts. We find spirits in small things and splendor in the grass. We begin to hope that by cooking beans, or rereading a story, or biking near the Hudson with a loved one, we may finagle our way into the scheme of things and forget that we have absolutely no say in whatever time decides.

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Vietnams energy sector has seen strong development recently (Photo: VNA)

Rapid economic development as seen a surge in demand for energy, posing great challenges when the primary sources like coal, oil and gas are exhausted.

Speaking at the Vietnam Energy Forum 2020 held in Hanoi on June 18, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said energy has an extremely important position and a big impact to global sustainable development.

Vietnams energy sector has seen strong development, basically meeting with demand for production and peoples lives as well as contributing to the national defence and security, he said.

Demand in the past decade increased by 14.6 percent. Electricity alone saw an average growth rate of 9.5 percent.

It is expected that the power demand would still have growth rate of 8.5 to 9.5 percent in the next five years. With the high demand, the electricity capacity should reach 13,000-14,000 MW per year. However, the current capacity was 6,000 MW, causing a need of a further 5,000-7,000 MW annually.

This has been a challenging task for the sector, Vuong said.

The Power Development Master Plan VII has been revised since 2016 but is still delayed. In the context, the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) have adjustments to make to accelerate the development of clean energy such as solar and wind with high potential.

The Government has promulgated policies and mechanism to further promote clean energy development.

Solar and wind power have seen strong breakthroughs. Solar energy now has a capacity of more than 5,000MW and wind power of 1,000MW. It is expected the capacity of wind power would add 3,000-5,000 MW in one or two years.

Sharing the ideas, Hoang Tien Dung, Director of the ministrys Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority said despite strong advances, large scale renewable energy development has been limited. This was because power energy has not been synchronised with the development speed of renewable energy sources. There are not enough backup sources and storage system to integrate renewable energy on a large scale.

Dung said: In addition, the renewable energy development policy has not been applied for a long time. There is no mechanism to attract investment capital for renewable energy development through bidding and there is no overall study on the development of offshore wind power projects in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Bui Quang Tuan, head of Vietnam Economic Institute said facing trends in implementing green growth, ensuring environmental requirements, quality of life, a number of leading countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Germany and China also aims to achieve 30 percent of renewable energy by 2030. Vietnam has striven to reach 20 percent of renewable energy in ten years time. This is a big development step in the Power Development Master Plan VII.

Currently, there is a race in using renewable energies, he said.

This is an objective trend, which has pressures from developing countries which are facing green growth, environmental protection and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

Experts said the participation of the private sector could create markets and bring higher competition. To attract the private sector, it is necessary to be equal in treatment. Private participation more deeply in the energy sector would not only ensure the nation's energy security, but also creates a transparent environment for the economys sustainability.

Dung said Government should focus on policies, transmission infrastructure and dispatching of electricity system operation.

Tuan meanwhile suggested creating policies to liberalise the renewable energy market to attract non-governmental investment, especially FDI firms.

Vo Quang Lam, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said renewable energy has seen large development and focus on some localities, affecting to the release capacity as well as the dispatching and operating the electricity system. In particular, the country has lacked technical standards for rooftop solar power.

Lam said currently, some countries have strongly developed rooftop solar power. Taking the lead is Australia with 14,000 MW and Germany with 7,000 MW of rooftop solar power.

EVN is cooperating with GIZ to study and set up a technical system for rooftop solar power and submit it to the MoIT and the Ministry of Science and Technology for approval, he said.
Retail investors have piled into the stock market with growing bets on hard-hit travel businesses including Qantas, Flight Centre, Webjet and cruise operator Carnival, amid a boom in online share trading during the lockdown.

New figures from National Australia Bank's trading platform show "mum and dad" investors have attempted to "buy the dip" in recent months in contrast to the conventional wisdom that small investors get spooked in a crash and sell their holdings at the wrong time.

Nabtrade's data also showed that in May, the likes of BHP, CSL and Telstra were not in the top 10 most traded stocks, with investors preferring Webjet and Flight Centre. Qantas consistently appeared in the top 10 during the pandemic despite the serious challenges it faces, while major banks remained the most popular stocks overall.

Retail investors have bought up shares in businesses like Carnival Cruises which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:AP

Separate data from Investment Trends also shows more than half of investors believe the sharemarket has bottomed, despite the economy facing the deepest economic shock since the Great Depression.
A RECENT Bank of Ghana report on the real sector of Ghanas economy says employment conditions as measured by the total number of SSNIT pension contributors (both public and private sector) declined in the first quarter of this year, compared to a similar period in 2019.



It said the total number of contributors declined to 874,899 (down by 37.6% year-on-year) in March 2020 compared with 1,401,952 for a similar period in 2019.



Total private sector workers contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) went up by 9.8 per cent in year-on-year terms to GH180.73 million in March 2020 from GH164.60 million collected during the corresponding period in 2019.



In comparison with February 2020, it said private sector workers contribution declined by 25.6 per cent. However, for the first quarter of 2020, the contribution grew by 24.8 per cent to GH610.81 million relative to GH489.43 million recorded in the same period in 2019.



Manufacturing



The report continued that activities in the manufacturing subsector, measured by trends in the collection of direct taxes and private sector workers contributions to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1), recorded mixed performance during March 2020.



Total direct taxes collected decreased by 46.5 per cent (year-on-year) to GH1,087.24 million in March 2020, relative to GH2,031.79 million recorded in a similar period in 2019. Cumulatively, total direct taxes collected for the first quarter of 2020 declined by 4.9 per cent to GH4,113.91 million, from GH4,325.59 million for the same period in 2019. In terms of relative contributions of the various sub-tax categories, Income tax (P.A.Y.E and self-employed) accounted for 53.7 per cent, Corporate tax (40%) and other tax sources (6.3%).



Consumer Spending



It also stated that consumer spending, proxied by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, recorded mixed performance in March 2020, compared to the corresponding period in 2019, adding that domestic VAT collections declined by 19.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis to GH319.81 million from GH398.10 million.



On a month-on-month basis, Domestic VAT dipped by 27.1 per cent in March 2020 from GH438.60 million in the preceding month. The observed decline in domestic VAT collections was partly due to decreased consumer demand during the review period.



However, cumulatively, total domestic VAT for the first quarter of 2020 marginally went up by 4.5 per cent to GH1,182.25 million compared with GH1,131.40 million for the corresponding period of last year. Retail sales, on the other hand, increased by 53.7 per cent (year-on-year) to GH93.55 million in March 2020, up from the GH60.88 million recorded in the same period in 2019. Compared to February 2020, retail sales grew by 30.3 per cent. Cumulatively, for the first quarter of 2020, retail sales went up by 39.9 per cent to GH236.85 million from GH169.34 million for the same period in 2019, it stated.



The report said the relative improvement in retail sales was largely due to the widespread panic buying just before implementation of the Covid-19 partial lockdown on March 30, 2020.

Source: daily guide









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Guatemala replaced its health minister Friday amid the rising pace of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the Central American country.

President Alejandro Giammattei pushed out Health Minister Hugo Monroy and named Amelia Flores, a former vice minister of health in an earlier administration, as his replacement.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Monroy, who had held the position since January, had been harshly criticized for his management of the pandemic. Federal lawmakers called him in multiple times for questioning and complained that the Health Ministry was spending too little of its budget during the pandemic.

During his tenure, doctors from the public health system protested that they werent being paid. Images of hospitals overwhelmed by the sick have increasingly painted a grim picture of the situation in Guatemala.

Guatemala has reported more than 11,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 449 deaths.

President Alejandro Giammattei has been under growing pressure from the business sector to loosen restrictions. Earlier attempts to reactivate the economy were followed by a surge in infections, prompting Giammattei to clamp down again.

Flores is a doctor who served in the administration of President Oscar Berger from 2004 to 2008.
In mid-April, the COVID-19 pandemic moved from being something happening out there to something deeply personal.

On April 9 we learned there was a COVID-19 outbreak at the nursing home where my grandmother, Louise Hope, lived. When my father broke the news, a knot formed in my stomach. At 89, and suffering from Alzheimers, I knew she was exactly the sort of person most at risk from this wretched pandemic.

A few days later we received the word she had contracted the disease and was isolated in her room. Then word reached that she had lost consciousness. Before the end of the weekend, she had passed away.

Alzheimers is such a terrible condition, because it strips the memories that form the basis of who we are. As horrible as it sounds, sometimes I would look at my grandmother sitting there in the home, with a blank look on her face, the intelligence and wit she was known for dimmed from her eyes, and think for a moment it will be a good thing for her to pass. To be freed from the prison her mind had become.

But when it actually happened, my emotions were totally different. It was a difficult thing to accept. Especially when you know that in her final hours, your father and aunts are not able to be at the side of the woman who raised them. When there is this massive gap in the grieving process when you cant come together as family, when the closure that comes from ritual and faith expressed in a funeral is taken away.

The truth is, despite the many privileges she had in life, my grandmother passed away when she was highly vulnerable. As Bob Marley said, Once a man and twice a child (perhaps updated now to Once an adult). There are few more true adages.

This is the human condition: no matter how healthy we are, we all will face times in our lives where we cant just pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, when we need the community to survive. Coronavirus is forcing us to face this reality. Forcing us to remember our welfare state was built on the idea that were all in it together, that we contribute when we can to the collective, so that when we cant contribute, the collective will support us.

We are rediscovering why these values are so important. I hope we can go further and recognize their relevance beyond a viral outbreak to so many other social issues we face.

For me these are values I learned from my grandmother. She was a caring, strong and intelligent woman, a university graduate who spent her professional career as an educator. She was also a lifelong member of the United Church of Canada and a proud, card-carrying member of the NDP. These institutions shaped her understanding of the caring, inclusive society Canada should strive to be. Her values also came from the communities she lived in.

During my childhood she and my grandfather lived on the family farm outside of Stouffville, Ont., backdrop to many of my dearest memories. They both were active volunteers and supporters of good work in this community. But she was actually born and raised in Weston, back when it was not a neighbourhood, but a small close-knit town at the edge of the big city. She loved Weston, sharing stories of skating on the school grounds, random cows that still walked into the road and the adventure of riding a wood-fire-heated streetcar all the way downtown to shop at Hudsons Bay.

I was very close to my grandma. She invested her time and love in all her grandchildren in many ways, one of the main ones through creating opportunities for us. Grandma curated activities to help build me into the man I am today. From trips to the local library to visiting her sister in California, from going to see Les Miserables or attending a speech by Stephen Lewis. She passed on her values through how she lived her life.

Values of inclusion were best reflected in how she and my grandfather embraced my mother and her family. If they had initial worries when they learned my father was engaged to a Black woman from the Caribbean, my mom certainly never saw it. Growing up, the fact I had an extended family of white and Black members who had all formed deep bonds of affection for each other seemed normal, not something unusual.

Discussions about race and discrimination were not uncommon in my grandparents home, and welcoming folks was a family tradition. I have many memories of sharing Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving meals with special guests from all over the world.

I know how blessed I am. Blessed to have even known a grandparent, let alone to have had one who had the financial means and opportunity to give me so much of their time, who was such a good role model. And I know her values about a just, inclusive society were not universally shared by all Canadians of her generation.

Im reminded of a cold night when I was walking home as a U of T student by Bloor and Bathurst. I passed an older white lady who reminded me of my grandmother. I think we made eye contact for the briefest of moments and due to the resemblance, I involuntarily smiled. The lady responded by swearing and calling me a racial slur.

The truth is, there is no such thing as a unified set of Canadian values. In every age there is a struggle of ideas around who we are as a nation and what we find important. But as I reflect on my grandmothers life and legacy, I am most grateful for her connecting me to the values she fought for. It always felt good to feel I was continuing a family tradition of working toward social justice. Her values represent the best of Canadas past, but also can be a foundation for our future.

The one positive of this COVID-19 crisis is that we collectively have rediscovered the value of supporting the vulnerable, which was increasingly drowned out by the chorus of individualism and hyper-materialism in our modern world.

Whether for self-interest in stopping the outbreak, or deep empathy for the suffering of others, collectively it seems that in Canada we have come to understand that stopping the virus means we need to focus on the vulnerable. Whether its buying hotels to house the homeless, or sending the military to support long-term-care homes, we are now willing to do things we would never have imagined before.

Yet a true focus on the vulnerable is ethically and pragmatically relevant to far more than our response to COVID-19. Supporting vulnerable youth early, with mentorship, with access to role models, with programs teaching them skills to regulate their negative emotions, is by far the best way we can prevent them from later being caught up in a life of crime and violence. And its far more cost-effective than having to engage with them later through policing and incarceration.

Same for homelessness. It is much easier to support those in danger of experiencing homelessness to stay housed, or invest in getting those who are experiencing homeless straight into homes, than backfilling with a highly expensive shelter system. Its so much more effective to focus investments around the social determinants of health for those who are vulnerable to health disparities, like diabetes prevention programs, than to treat them later in hospital emergency rooms.

If the vulnerable were truly the focus of our time and investment, we would have far greater impact than our current approach of Band-Aid solutions and downstream interventions.

But most people would say, dont we already do that?

Maybe in our rhetoric. But the fact is we went years in this city chronically underfunding our strategies to support vulnerable youth while allocating over a billion dollars a year for policing. And we had one of the worlds biggest housing booms, but didnt demand some of that investment go to creating affordable housing through policies like inclusionary zoning (where a percentage of every building must be affordable).

Follow the money, they say. And our investments, our collective attention, have not matched up with our values.

With COVID-19, most of us understand we must support the vulnerable because ultimately, as one community living in this city, we are all in danger wherever there is an outbreak. But inequality and oppression are also a danger to us all. They poison our politics, stifle the potential of so many and collectively weaken our ability as a society to withstand future shocks.

Yet we dont prioritize the vulnerable. Many times were cut off from their suffering, so we can pretend the need isnt there, just as many of us allowed ourselves to wilfully ignore the plight of so many of our elders in long-term care. Or we stigmatize the vulnerable, saying theyre responsible for their situation, so why should they get a piece of our hard-earned tax dollars?

But the question now is collectively how we move forward. When COVID-19 ends will we say these were temporary values of a crisis, values we cant afford in normal times? Or can we nurture and expand these values the crisis helped us rediscover? To realize the vulnerable are not those people over there, its you, its me, its our children, its our grandparents.

To understand that, we need new ways of living that put a focus on those who need it. Before Alzheimers fully took hold, my own grandmother spent many years slipping into the disease relatively isolated in her apartment. Weve created a society where loneliness and isolation are realities for so many of our elderly. Were all just too busy, were all too caught up in making it in the economy.

But maybe COVID-19 is a moment we realize this needs to change, to move to models of care that integrate the elderly more into the fabric of our daily lives. We could do this if we really wanted to. And the reality is not everyone needs to be an activist or dedicate their lives to ending inequality to make these types of shifts happen.

As my grandmother showed, in how we treat others, in how we carry ourselves, in the values we pass on to the next generation, we can all do our part to build a post-COVID world that is a little more just, a little more caring and a lot more human.

Kofi Hope is a senior policy adviser at the Wellesley Institute and a Rhodes scholar.
In a rare move, a regional bank based in China's north-western Xinjiang region has slashed its dividend by 20 per cent, bowing to pressure by the banking regulator for the nation's banks to sacrifice their earnings to prop up their customers.

Xinjiang Kashi Rural Commercial Bank Company, the first rural commercial bank listed on an over-the-counter market, has trimmed its 2019 annual dividend to 0.8 yuan on June 18, from 1 yuan per 10 shares, according to the bank's filing to the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ).

"The bank received a telephone notification from the Kashi bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission," the bank said, referring to the oasis city in Xinjiang that is also known as Kashgar. "According to the guidance, and in accordance with the principle of fewer dividends for more retention, the bank is required to distribute a cash dividend of 0.8 yuan (including tax) for equity distribution for every 10 shares of all shareholders."

As a result, the bank slashed its dividend payout approved on May 22 shareholders' meeting from 50.7 million yuan (US$7.15 million) to 40.56 million and delayed the payout from June 15 to June 30, according to its filings.

The National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), known as the New Third Board, is the third national equity trading venue after Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The move follows the call last week by the Chinese government for the nation's banks to sacrifice as much as 1.5 trillion yuan in profits this year to finance cheap loans, cut fees, defer loan repayments and grant more unsecured loans to help small businesses survive the worst economic downturn in four decades, caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The profits to be sacrificed would be equivalent to roughly 75 per cent of the entire net profit of the commercial banking industry in 2019, based on the data from China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC). China's US$41 trillion banking system earned profits of about 2 trillion yuan in aggregate in 2019.

Story continues

China is not the sole country to apply pressure on banks. HSBC, the century-old bank that traces its root to Hong Kong and Shanghai during British colonial days, bowed to the UK banking regulator's pressure in April to axe dividend payments. HSBC, one of three lenders alongside Standard Chartered authorised to issue currency in Hong Kong, had been set to pay its final interim dividend of US$0.21 a share on April 14, but will now not make that payment.

HSBC's suspension of dividends was matched by Standard Chartered bank, and four others based in the UK. Minority shareholders in Hong Kong railed at the decisions with complaints to Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) about the banks' decisions.

The UK was urging banks to preserve their capital, tracing the footsteps of European regulators who ordered lenders to suspend dividends and buy-backs in light of the pandemic's effects on economies on the continent.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Putting a video of the father of an injured army man on his Twitter account, Shah said, Gandhi should stand in solidarity with national interest by shunning his politics over the issue at a time when the whole nation is united.

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hit back at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his statement on face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley in Ladakh and advised him to rise above "petty politics".

"A brave armyman's father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," Shah tweeted.

Shah's remark came after Rahul Gandhi in a fresh tweet accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering Indian territory to China.

"PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?," Gandhi tweeted.

The video of the father of an injured soldier shows him saying, "Indian Army is a very strong army and has the ability to defeat China and other foreign countries. Rahul Gandhi should not do politics on the issue... My son fought and will continue fighting in the army".

Gandhi had on Friday re-tweeted a video of the father with a comment that cabinet ministers were lying about the violent face-off with Chinese troops on June 15 night in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"It's sad to see senior GOI ministers reduced to lying in order to protect the PM. Don't insult our martyrs with your lies," Gandhi had tweeted then.

The attack on Indian Army personnel by Chinese People's Liberation Army happened on June 15 night and it continued for almost six to seven hours.

On June 16, Indian Army stated that 20 of their men, including officers, were killed in an unprecedented violent clash with PLA troops at Galwan valley. The force also said that the death toll would increase as many soldiers were brutally injured.

--IANS

rak/skp/
2020 Hyundai Palisade Review By Larry Nutson

2020 Hyundai Palisade

Good looks; good value

By Larry Nutson

Executive Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

I was looking forward to more time behind the wheel of Hyundais all-new 3-row midsize SUV, the Palisade.

My previous time with the Palisade was on the invite from Hyundai along with other members of the Midwest Automotive Media Association to spend a day driving Illinois' highways to Starved Rock State Park, a scenic wilderness area located in LaSalle County about 100 miles southwest of Chicago.

This time around I would have the Palisade at my disposal for a week. Within that time my wife and I would be making one of our periodic weekend road trips to visit family in southeast Michigan.

The Palisade is the new Hyundai flagship. It will seat up to eight, has a powerful V6, can tow a bunch, and is surprisingly luxurious for the price.

From a design perspective the Palisade is boldly styled with a large cascading front grille and crocodile eye headlights. Its profile with the large C-pillar creates a strong image. LED lighting front and rear mark the overall refined look.

The cabin has a very upscale look and feel with quality materials and surface finishes throughout. Overall theres a very serene and airy sense that abounds with quilted Nappa leather seats, ambient lighting, Harmon Kardon premium audio system, and a surround-view monitor.

Rear cargo space is plentiful at 18 cu.ft. to near 86 cu.ft. with all seats folded. Plus, you can tow up to 5,000 lbs. with a tow package being standard equipped.

The Palisade is available in three trims each with front- or all-wheel drive. Seating is for seven or eight. Prices start at $31,550 for the SE trim with front-wheel drive. Above that theres an SEL for $33,500 and a range-topping Limited at $44,700. Add $1,700 for all-wheel drive (AWD) on any of the three.

For our road trip we would be driving the Limited AWD with a bottom line price of $47,605, including the $1,045 freight and handling charge.

Naturally a road trip provides the perfect opportunity to monitor fuel consumption. EPA test-cycle ratings for the Palisade with AWD are 21 mpg combined with 19 city mpg and 24 highway mpg. The 291-horsepower 3.8-L V6 is coupled to an eight-speed automatic. The Palisades V6 is designed to seamlessly switch between Otto cycle and Atkinson cycle operation to deliver the best power and the best economy possible for driving conditions.

For our road trip across I94 from our Chicago home to Oakland County, Michigan and return we averaged between 23 and 25 mpg. Traffic on I94 moves quickly and is often pushing beyond the 70 mph posted speed limit. I was quite pleased with the Palisade basically matching the EPA highway rating driving at those highway speeds.

The V6 delivers plenty of performance and the automatic is crisp-shifting. The HTRAC AWD system has different selectable drive modes that optimize performance based on driving conditions.

I very much like the interior of the Palisade. The floating center console provides space below for a purse or small umbrella. I really liked the push-button shift-by-wire gear selector. Cupholders in the center console fold to make space for other objects when needed. The second row seats slide with the touch of one button for easy third row access. Power-folding third row seats are an option. A driver talk in-car intercom broadcasts the drivers voice through the rear speakers making for easier talking to the children. Theres seven USB outlets and a Qi wireless charging pad.

A Blind View Monitor on the Limited displays whats in the right or left blind spot when the turn signal is activated. Its great for checking for bicyclists. Safe Exit Assist detects vehicles approaching from the rear alerting the driver with an audible warning and a pop-up in the cluster. Rear doors remain locked for passenger safety.

The 2020 Hyundai Palisade has been awarded a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) when equipped with optional LED headlights. Advanced Driver Assist Safety (ADAS) features are offered including forward collision assist with pedestrian detection as standard on all trims.

More information and details on the 2020 Hyundai Palisade can be found at www.hyundai.com.

Its no secret that the Hyundai Palisade shares its architecture and powertrain with the Kia Telluride. The Telluride is also a very good new entry in the midsize SUV segment.

From my view its important that I like the exterior design and appearance of a vehicle but I give higher priority to the interior. After all, thats where Ill be spending my time. It needs to look good and function well to make my driving task enjoyable and comfortable.

This is where the Palisade gets my vote over the Telluride. I like the interior for all the reasons I mentioned previously in this review. Sitting in the drivers seat is very much a pleasant and relaxing experience.

But the choice is up to you. Different drivers have different priorities as well as likes and dislikes.

The good news for all new vehicle shoppers is: there are no bad cars today!

 2019 Larry Nutson, Chicago Car Guy
The Justice Department has moved to oust a US official in Manhattan overseeing key prosecutions of President Donald Trumps allies and an investigation of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

But Geoffrey Berman said he was refusing to leave his post and his ongoing investigations would continue.

I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, Mr Berman said. His statement came hours after Attorney General William Barr said Mr Berman was stepping down from his position.

The stand-off set off an extraordinary clash between the Justice Department and one of the nations top districts, which has tried major mob and terror cases over the years.

Attorney General William Barr has been accused of politicising the Justice Department (Evan Vucci/AP)

It is also likely to deepen tensions between the Justice Department and congressional Democrats who have accused Mr Barr of politicising the agency and acting more like Mr Trumps personal lawyer than the nations chief law enforcement officer.

The move to oust Mr Berman also comes days after allegations surfaced from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the President sought to interfere in a Southern District of New York investigation into the state-owned Turkish bank in an effort to cut deals with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Barr offered no explanation for why he was pushing out Mr Berman in the statement he issued late on Friday.

The White House quickly announced that Mr Trump was nominating the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to the job, a lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor.

Hours later, Mr Berman issued his own statement saying he had learned that he was being pushed out through a press release.

He vowed to stay on the job until a Trump nominee is confirmed by the Senate, challenging Mr Barrs power to remove him from office because he was appointed to the job by federal judges, not by the president.

Geoffrey Berman has been investigating Trump allies (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Under federal law, a US attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve until the vacancy is filled.

Story continues

A senior Justice Department official said the department was pressing forward with its plans and will have Craig Carpenito, the US attorney in New Jersey, take over the office temporarily, starting on July 3.

Democrats have repeatedly accused Mr Trumps Justice Department of political interference, and those concerns have also been pervasive among some rank and file officials in the agency. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said his committee was inviting Mr Berman to testify next week.

Federal prosecutors in New York have overseen numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Mr Trump in recent years.

That includes an ongoing investigation into Mr Giulianis business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the probe.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Mr Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes.

Mr Berman has also overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Mr Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a 325,000 dollar donation to a group supporting Mr Trumps re-election.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed its gubernatorial primary election in Edo state for the second time in 24 hours. ...





The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed its gubernatorial primary election in Edo state for the second time in 24 hours.





On Thursday, the party had announced that the exercise initially scheduled for June 19 had been moved to June 23.





But in a statement on Friday, Kola Ologbondiyan, the partys spokesman, said the primary election has now been shifted to June 25.





The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has granted waiver to Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki to contest the Edo governorship election primary, the statement read.

The action of the NWC is pursuant to Section 29(2)(b) of the PDP constitution and in exercise of the powers of the National Executive Committee under Section (50)(3)(b) of the PDP constitution.





The NWC in exercise of the above powers has ratified the application for waiver by the ward, local government and state executives of the party in Edo State and accordingly grants waiver to His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki to enable him contest the gubernatorial primary of the PDP.





Also the NWC has further shifted the Edo State Governorship Primary from an earlier slated date of Tuesday, June 23 to a new date of Thursday, June 25, 2020. The shift is again predicated on exigencies of party activities.





The announcement was made hours after Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, was granted waiver to contest the primary.





Obaseki, who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had defected to the PDP, following his disqualification from the APC governorship race.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates of Trobu Constituency has endorsed Mr Moses Anim, the incumbent Member of Parliament by popular acclamation to contest the upcoming 2020 general election.

Mr Anim, who stood unopposed would be contesting the election for the third time. He won the 2012 election and was re-elected in 2016 to remain in Parliament.

Mr Albert Attuquaye Bruce, the NPP Chairman for Trobu in an interview with the Ghana News Agency expressed gratitude to the delegates for the love they have shown for the party and the sitting MP by the endorsement.

He urged members of the party to unite and work hard for the NPP to retain power in the 2020 election so that everyone would have the opportunity to serve, adding that; the MP's position is not the only place for one to render services.

Let us reconcile after this, live in peace and to support President Nana Akufo-Addo to deliver his good policies to move the nation forward for the betterment of all, he said.

---GNA
Mike Pence: Screengrab / Action News

Mike Pence has repeatedly declined to say black lives matter during an interview on US television.

The American vice-president described the death of George Floyd  an unarmed black man who died while being arrested in Minneapolis  as a tragedy and said police reform would follow.

But he refused to say black lives matter, instead saying all lives matter.

Black lives matter, as a phrase, has gained widespread use in recent years as a way to draw attention to deadly encounters between Americans of colour and the police.

Advocates suggest that to say all lives matter as an alternative is to downplay the institutional racism which many see as explicit in western society.

But critics often argue that Black Lives Matter, as an organised network, is a Marxist movement with a wider worldview beyond the establishment of institutional equality that some feel uncomfortable supporting.

When asked to say the words during an interview on Philadelphia-based show Action News, Mr Pence remained steadfast in not doing so.

People are saying, of course, all lives matter, pushed host Brian Taff. But to say the words is an acknowledgement that black lives also matter at a time in this country when it appears that theres a segment of our society that doesnt agree. So why will you not say those words?

Mr Pence replied: Well, I dont accept the fact that theres a segment of American society that disagrees, in the preciousness and importance of every human life.

And its one of the reasons why, as we advance important reforms in law enforcement, as we look for ways to strengthen and improve our public safety in our cities, that were not going to stop there.

He continued by touting the fall of black unemployment rates in the US pre-coronavirus and the development of economic opportunity zones as proof that Donald Trumps administration is reducing discrimination across the country.

Read more

What happened when Black Lives Matter came to a notorious KKK town
Kenya was elected to the United Nations Security Council seat earlier this week after defeating Djibouti. However, as per reports, the first round voting in the General Assembly had failed to choose between the two candidates.

According to the international media reports, Kenya got 129 votes against Djibouti's 62 on Thursday's election for the 15 member council's Africa seat. The first-round vote was reportedly held a day before and both the countries failed to receive the required two-thirds majority of 128 votes.

READ: India Will Be UN Security Council President For August, 2021

READ: India Sets Wheels In Motion; Says Will Intensify Engagement For UN Security Council Reform

My warmest congratulations to #Kenya on its election as non-permanent member of the @UN Security Council for the Africa Region. The @_AfricanUnion looks forward to Kenyas leadership and contribution to the A3 African Group in defending African positions during their tenure.  Moussa Faki Mahamat (@AUC_MoussaFaki) June 18, 2020

Kenya to replace South Africa at UNSC

According to the reports, Kenya will now be joining Norway, Ireland, India and Mexico in the UNSC as non-permanent members for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2021 after the Wednesday election. Kenya will replace South Africa at the Security Council.

India elected unopposed

India was elected as a non-permanent member to the United Nations Security Council for the eighth-time after voting concluded at the UN headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, June 17. India was the only country from the Asia-Pacific Group and won the election unopposed.

India has been actively pursuing a permanent membership in the UN Security Council for years and has received support from four of the five permanent members. Barring China, the other permanent members of the Security Council have backed India to join as a permanent member, including two successive US governments.

The UN General Assembly annually elects five non-permanent members (out of 10 in total) for a two-year term. The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis -- five for African and Asian States; one for Eastern European States; two for Latin American and Caribbean States; and two for Western European and other States.

READ: Ethiopia Rejects UNSC Involvement In Dam Dispute

READ: Calls For Abolishing Veto Power To P5 Members Of UNSC "irresponsible": Putin

Image: @jumuiya/Twitter
DECATUR  The line of traffic coming to the Civic Center from all sides was enormous.

Decatur police stationed at all the corners directed the traffic and kept the line moving but even so, it was a long wait on Saturday to pick up the food boxes being distributed by the United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois.

During this pandemic, we have all of us partnered together to make sure we're addressing needs in the community, said Debbie Bogle, executive director of United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois. People that aren't normally the ones who go to the food pantries, we're trying to reach them to let them know that it's OK to use services right now.

United Way had plenty of volunteers to help hand out the boxes, which included a box of proteins, one of produce, one of non-perishable items and milk. People had to come in cars, not on foot, partly because there were too many boxes and they were too heavy to transport them home otherwise. Each vehicle could request a maximum of two, so that one driver could pick up food for two families.

Each vehicle also received information on where to get other help, such as assistance with rent and utilities.

We want to make sure they know where to go to find the services when they've never had to navigate this before, Bogle said. We're really trying to provide all of that, and everybody's getting census information because we know how important the census is to our community. We want to make sure that they fill out the census.

The food was donated by Central Illinois Foodbank, enough for 500 families, and Tate & Lyle also contributed additional food for the boxes. The effort on Saturday was a partnership among United Way, The Community Foundation of Macon County, Neuhoff Media, Crossing Healthcare, the city of Decatur, Tate & Lyle and Central Illinois Foodbank.

Volunteers kept track of how many boxes were handed out and how many were left so that when the food ran out, nobody would be sitting in line waiting only to be told it was all gone, Bogle said. There was enough food available to serve 500 families.

She was not surprised by the huge turnout, but seeing so many families in need did make her choke up.

Regular volunteer Bryan Hedenberg has been working with United Way for several years, he said. When he looked for somewhere to give his time and energy, United Way seemed the best choice.

I really appreciate what this place does, and I need to volunteer somewhere, he said. I didn't expect quite this many cars.

Bogle did, she said, and planned carefully to make the process as smooth as it could be.

We planned, and hoped the community would come out if they needed food, and they did, she said.

_____________________________________________________________

PHOTOS: Judy Mason Thanksgiving Basket Project

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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RTHK: US prosecutor who probed Trump allies refuses to go

A US prosecutor who investigated allies of President Donald Trump was fighting for his job on Saturday after refusing to quit despite the attorney general issuing a press release announcing his resignation.

Geoffrey Berman has overseen the prosecution of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and probed advisor Rudy Giuliani's efforts to discredit the president's political opponents since he was appointed to head the powerful Southern District of New York attorney's office in 2018.

The impasse marks the latest controversy in what Democrats in Washington have characterised as the politicisation of the Justice Department under Attorney General Bill Barr.

Barr announced Berman's resignation late on Friday and said Trump would nominate Securities and Exchange Commission chief Jay Clayton as his replacement.

"I thank Geoffrey Berman, who is stepping down after two-and-a-half years of service as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York," Barr said.

But Berman said he first learned of his apparent departure from Barr's press release.

"I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning," Berman wrote.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without interruption."

Federal prosecutors under Berman's charge in New York have pursued cases against tycoon sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell last year.

Berman also investigated two associates of Giuliani accused of campaign finance violations and helping dig up dirt on Trump's election challenger Joe Biden as part of the Ukraine scandal over which Trump was impeached.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Justice Department's inspector general to launch an investigation into "blatantly corrupt DOJ interference" and called for Clayton to withdraw from consideration.

"He can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin," the New York senator said.

Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he was not surprised by the move, and accused Barr of repeatedly interfering in "criminal investigations on Trump's behalf."

"We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday," Nadler tweeted. "We welcome Mr Berman's testimony and will invite him to testify."

The Trump administration has in recent months fired or demoted inspectors general for the Pentagon, the intelligence community and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a senior health official who questioned Trump's promotion of unproven drug therapies for Covid-19.

State Department inspector general Steve Linick was removed last month after running a misconduct probe into Washington's top diplomat and steadfast Trump ally Mike Pompeo.

Berman's predecessor in the attorney's office, Preet Bharara, was sacked after he refused Trump's demand for his resignation.

"Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?" Bharara tweeted.

While US attorneys are usually nominated by the president, Berman was appointed by the federal court in his district, according to the Washington Post.

This has led some observers to believe that only the court has the power to remove him until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, the newspaper reported.

Top Republican Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have the task of confirming Clayton, said in a statement he had not been informed of the move.

The South Carolina senator, in a statement likely to be seen as pushback against an administration of which he has been a staunch ally, highlighted a procedural maneouvre that could allow Democrats to try to thwart Clayton. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-06-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
But several were removed at the order of North Carolina's Democratic governor, who said he was trying to avoid violent clashes or injuries from toppling the heavy monuments erected by white supremacists that he said do not belong in places like the state Capitol grounds that are for all people.
Naomi Campbell says she has missed out on magazine covers because of her skin colour.

The supermodel, 50, has been outspoken about racism in the fashion world, admitting it makes her 'f***ing furious'.

She told The Times: 'It makes me f***ing furious. Last year I was refused entry to a hotel in the south of France because of my skin colour. It's rude. It's wrong.

Speaking out: Supermodel Naomi Campbell says racism is still prevalent within the fashion industry

'And there are still certain countries where I don't appear on the cover of magazines for that same reason.'

The beauty went on to praise Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the US edition of Vogue magazine, for 'fighting the powers-that-be' to get her on the cover.

She said: 'Actually I think Anna Wintour has been very brave recently. She has admitted the fashion industry is too wasteful. And she also told me she had to fight with the powers-that-be to get me on the cover of US Vogue first time round, for which I am grateful.'

Shocking: The star revealed there are some countries where she does not appear on the cover of magazines

The star has been prompted into speaking out following protests around the world in response to the death of George Floyd.

It comes after she revealed she cried over her 'grey face' on a 1988 cover of Italian Vogue after the make-up artist admitted he had no foundation to suit her because they 'didn't know she was black'.

The supermodel said she had longed to be the face of the magazine 'so much', but the results of the photoshoot reduced her to tears.

Making changes: Naomi praised Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief in Vogue, for fighting the 'powers-that-be'

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour this week, Naomi told how she was thrilled to be asked to be the cover star of the June 1988 issue early in her career.

But upon arriving at the studio, she claims she was told by the make-up artist: 'Oh, we didn't know you were black.'

'He said he didn't have the foundation for me,' Naomi recalled. 'He had to mix some colours that he had of foundations to make up his own colour, and that consisted of a lot of grey.

Shocking: Naomi recently revealed she cried over her 'grey face' on a 1988 cover of Italian Vogue (pictured), after the make-up artist admitted he had no foundation to suit her because they 'didn't know she was black'

'When that cover came out, I just cried. I wanted so much to be on the cover of this publication... it was Italian Vogue actually. But I didn't want to be grey.'

Naomi has previously discussed this particular shoot in a Guardian article, in which she admitted from then onwards she always took her own foundation to photoshoots.

During the radio interview, the model went on to highlight how black women have been mistreated in the fashion industry.

She said a lot of people at the beginning of her career tried to 'put her in a maid's outfit' and claims her hair was continually styled in dreadlocks.

Disappointment: Naomi said she had longed to be the face of the magazine 'so much', but the results of the photoshoot reduced her to tears

Naomi added that she was stereotyped as a result of her race and often treated as a 'gimmick'.

'In general in the fashion industry, we have not had the seat at the table that we deserved,' she added.

'It's not equality and that's what has to happen in our business.'

She told how she was labelled 'difficult' when she pointed out the discrimination she experienced while on a job, but admitted she 'likes' the challenges she went through.

'They didn't squash me, they didn't silence me,' she said defiantly.
Three months after the province declared a state of emergency to confront the coronavirus pandemic, a strong majority of Manitobans support the Pallister governments efforts to keep them healthy  but fewer are impressed with how it is steering the economy.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three months after the province declared a state of emergency to confront the coronavirus pandemic, a strong majority of Manitobans support the Pallister governments efforts to keep them healthy  but fewer are impressed with how it is steering the economy.

More than three-quarters of Manitobans, or 77 per cent, strongly or somewhat approve of what the government has been doing to protect the health of citizens during the pandemic.

Only 11 per cent strongly disapprove of the measures that have been taken, according to a Winnipeg Free Press-Probe Research poll asking 1,000 Manitoba adults their opinion on the provinces response to COVID-19.

However, those numbers change when asked how the Pallister government is addressing the economic fallout of the weeks-long shutdown of non-essential services and the phased-in approach to restarting the economy.

While, overall, 61 per cent approve of efforts to address economic fallout, the number drops to 52 per cent in Winnipeg (while 74 per cent of those outside the capital are pleased with them).

Among supporters of the three main political parties, only 33 per cent of NDP and 51 per cent of Liberal supporters approved the provinces economic efforts, compared to 89 per cent of Tory supporters.

NDP Opposition Leader Wab Kinew said hes not surprised the governments numbers on handling the economic fallout are so low in Winnipeg.

"(Premier Brian Pallisters) failure to help the private sector and his drive to cut the public sector is hard for our economy, and you are seeing a lot of folks recognize that," Kinew said Friday.

"The economic number tells me a lot of people think there is a real problem with their handling of the economy, and we havent even seen the worst of it yet. The (Manitoba) Hydro workers wont be laid off until the end of the year," he said.

"Even if the province tried to turn things around now, it will just be seen as trying to do damage control."

Scott MacKay, president of Probe Research, said he believes one reason the health question poll numbers are so high is because Manitobans trust the team of chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin and Lanette Siragusa, chief nursing officer for Shared Health. The pair have been updating Manitobans for months on COVID-19 issues, and for weeks gave daily news conferences.

"I think most people really like these two figures and trust them, and I think when they think of the provincial governments direction they think of them," MacKay said.

"Seventy-seven per cent is such a large number  we dont usually see support like that."

MacKay said while 61 per cent is usually also seen as a high number, only 23 per cent of respondents said they "strongly approve" of the governments handling of the economic fallout.

"Less than one-in-four Manitobans are enthusiastic about how (Pallister) is handling this," he said.

"And he does seem to be out of touch with the rest of Canada with government support to boost with government stimulus. He is just single-minded as a fiscal conservative. I think it is against his nature to spend money, even during a crisis."

Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, said hes also not surprised about the economic polling numbers.

"How our government is addressing the economy is out of step with every province and every government across the country," Rebeck said. "Instead of putting in money to help, they are looking at cuts and layoffs... They will prolong our recession."

Rebeck said the government should be investing in jobs and putting more money into the economy.

"Businesses are suffering," he said. "Having less people with money to spend doesnt help.

"It has been a bizarre approach. Every other government gave direct support to workers except for Manitoba."

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Chuck Davidson, president and chief executive officer of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said hes not surprised by the survey response to how the government has handled the economic fallout.

"The rural areas havent had many COVID cases, so the economy was not as negatively impacted as in the city," Davidson said. "But in Winnipeg, the retail and hospitality sectors were more impacted. Businesses closed for three months or longer here, and they want government to move quicker to help them."

While the majority of Manitobans appear to believe the government has done a good job of keeping them safe, "Nurses know more can be done to protect patients and health-care workers," said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union.

"We must continue to push government to improve workplace health and safety measures, and enhance capacity in the system ahead of the next COVID-19 wave. The fact is, the cuts and consolidation that were implemented before the pandemic hit reduced our health systems ability to respond to this crisis effectively."

The poll, taken through a random and representative sampling of 1,000 Manitoba adults between June 2 and 11, has a plus or minus 3.1 per cent margin of error.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
The attorney generals interventions in high-profile cases involving the onetime Trump advisers Roger J. Stone Jr. and Michael T. Flynn have prompted accusations from current and former law enforcement officials that Mr. Barr has politicized the department.

Mr. Bermans office has taken an aggressive approach in a number of cases that have vexed the Trump administration, from the prosecution and guilty plea obtained from Mr. Cohen to a broader investigation, growing out of that inquiry, which focused on Mr. Trumps private company and others close to him.

Over the last year, Mr. Bermans office brought indictments against two close associates of the presidents current lawyer, Mr. Giuliani, and began an investigation into Mr. Giuliani himself, focusing on whether his efforts to dig up dirt in Ukraine on the presidents political rivals violated laws on lobbying for foreign entities.

Mr. Bermans office also conducted an investigation into Mr. Trumps inaugural committee, subpoenaing financial and other records as part of a broad inquiry into possible illegal contributions from foreigners.

A lawyer for Mr. Giuliani, Robert J. Costello, said he had received no advance notice of Mr. Barrs effort to oust Mr. Berman. Mr. Costello said Mr. Giuliani had no role in the matter.

We certainly dont know anything about it, Mr. Costello said. This comes as a surprise to us.

Mr. Barr also announced that on his recommendation, Mr. Trump had appointed Craig Carpenito, the current U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to serve as acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan while the Senate considers Mr. Claytons nomination. Mr. Barr said Mr. Carpenitos appointment would be effective July 3.

Mr. Barrs move to dismiss Mr. Berman came just days after Mr. Trumps former national security adviser, John Bolton, alleged in a new book that Mr. Trump sought to interfere in an investigation by Mr. Bermans office into a Turkish bank, in a bid to cut deals with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
(Natural News) Some of the poorest urban areas of the country have been especially hard hit by the rioting and looting that have been taking place lately  supposedly in the name of protesting against racism  and now the very people who movements like Black Lives Matter claim to care about so much are left without a way to feed themselves in some cases.

In a video taken in an undisclosed location, a woman can be seen walking through a neighborhood grocery store left in tatters seeking milk for her kids. She said, Every grocery store looks like this in her area, with empty shelves and debris strewn all over the floor.

I came into this store to buy something because Im not a thief. People who already couldnt feed their kids, now they really cant feed their kids.

As she looked at the damage, she said, This is what were fighting for were so black and proud that we aint never going to be honest and be real about whats really going on.

Chicago and Minneapolis neighborhoods becoming food deserts

Writing for PJ Media, journalist Megan Fox said that the neighborhoods in the areas outside of Chicago where she grew up are devastated. She wrote that a friend who lives on the South Side of Chicago has to drive into Indiana just to get groceries because every store even remotely close to her has been destroyed. Of course, many people arent lucky enough to have a car, so poor people are being especially hard hit.

Talking about the South Side food desert, resident William Wright told CBS 2: Its not what you do. Its how you do it. What did we accomplish, aside from take our property value down and embarrass ourselves?

One area activist, William Calloway, pointed out that the situation could only get worse if there isnt a solution soon. He said: If you have people that are hungry, that are quite angry already, that could escalate to something more disastrous.

Several Minneapolis neighborhoods are also becoming food deserts after looting closed several stores there. In the Longfellow area, many small markets, along with a Target, Cub and two Aldi locations, were all damaged by rioting, leaving people with nowhere to buy groceries, essentials like diapers, or household goods. Not everyone has a car or cab fare, and many people no longer have a place to buy affordable food within walking distance.

The same is true of other types of businesses. In the six-mile Lake Street commercial corridor in South Minneapolis, there are no longer pharmacies or gas stations, and locals say their communities became food deserts overnight as businesses were burned and looted. Low-income families in the area are also hurting from the loss of check-cashing businesses.

Without police, it will only get worse

If you dont support Black Lives Matters, people consider you a racist. Yet where has this group and its tactics  and those who have run in the door they opened, like antifa  left many black families? Why should anyone support the groups responsible for hurting black Americans, taking food off their store shelves and leaving them with no way to feed their families?

And if we get rid of the police, its scary to think about what comes next when you have neighborhoods full of angry, hungry people with no money, no hope and no one to hold them accountable for their actions. Is this really the America that all the woke people want to live in?

Sources for this article include:

TruePundit.com

StarTribune.com
TDT | Manama

Their efforts are nothing less than heroic. In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, as people stayed stunned under lockdowns, they were busy tooling up and ramping up to produce thousands of face masks. Known in Bahrain as productive families, they produced invaluable efforts to help medical workers and first responders on the front lines.

According to Labour and Social Development Minister, Jameel bin Mohammed Ali-Humaidan, productive families and volunteers in Bahrain have so far produced more than 100,000 masks. The venture became an instant success, thanks to the help of the government who took up the responsibility to assure raw materials and safe locations for volunteers to work.

The effort was support by the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) and Batelco. In the first phase of the project, productive families and graduates trained at social centres were instrumental in producing more than 40,000 masks.

The face masks which meet the standards set by the Ministry of Health are distributed to citizens and residents free of charge, the minister said paying tribute to Bahraini citizens for rallying to contribute to the national efforts to combat the pandemic.

He said the government is ensuring a continuous supply of raw materials as well as continuing to take measures to ensure a healthy workplace. The minister also commended the role of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF), Batelco and other official and non-governmental institutions for supporting the community partnership initiative.

Humaidan said work is also underway to meet the growing demand for masks after the health authorities made it mandatory to wear face masks in public places and at work sites. He pointed out that several private institutions had agreed with the ministry to meet the increased requirement for face masks and distribute to citizens and residents free of charge.

The ongoing effort, the Minister said, is not strange to Bahraini citizens who had always come forward in times of great need. What they are doing now is nothing less than heroic. An effort we all will want to remember long after this is all over.
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Payment options. The majority of car insurance companies offer the option of paying in an annual lump sum or paying half of the annual amount every six months. However, the most common option chosen by drivers is to pay the insurance bill monthly since it tends to make budgeting more realistic. Paying on a monthly basis can be more expensive in the long run as most insurers offer a discount to drivers who pay the insurance bills annually.

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Zimbabwe's health minister was Saturday charged with corruption related to the irregular awarding of a big contract to a new Dubai-based company for coronavirus testing and protective kits. Obadiah Moyo, 66, was arrested Friday night following investigations brought by the country's anti-graft commission, which accused him of criminal abuse of office in connection with the multi-million-dollar contract. A magistrate court required him to pay bail of just ZW$50,000 ($2,000). In all Moyo faces three charges of abuse of office, two of which date back to last year for the supply of general medical equipment to public hospitals. He was not asked to enter a plea but ordered to return to court on July 31. In the latest case, he is accused of trying to coerce the treasury to pay for 15,000 coronavirus test kits that were being held at the airport. Upon inspection, the finance ministry found there were only 3,700 kits by Drax International, a company that had failed to pass minimum government procurement standards. "The accused acted contrary to or inconsistent with his fiduciary duty," said magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi. "The accused's actions showed favour to Drax," he added. Harare has come under fire for granting Drax Consult SAGL, a medical company created just two months ago, a contract to supply personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits. The deal was allegedly signed without the legal consent of Zimbabwe's procurement registration authority. In March, authorities in Hungary -- where Drax Consult SAGL is registered -- flagged a suspicious $2 million deposit into the company's accounts, drawing anger from the opposition Zimbabwe party Movement for Democratic Change. On Thursday the MDC condemned alleged state corruption following suspicions over a $2-million-dollar payment to a company for anti-coronavirus equipment. Last week, the government ordered that all contracts for medicines and other items from Drax be cancelled, according to the state-run Herald newspaper. The independent online Zimbabwe Mail reported that when suspicious payments in Hungary were flagged to Interpol, the company opened a new branch in Dubai, from where it sent a new invoice of almost $1.0 million. That was "to be paid into an account in the African tax haven of Mauritius," the report said. Mutevedzi barred Moyo from interfering with witnesses, who include senior permanent secretaries from the health and finance ministries. The landlocked southern African country has recorded nearly 500 virus cases, including four deaths. Zimbabwe has recorded nearly 500 coronavirus cases and just four deaths
The year was 1976, figure skater Dorothy Hamill was dominating the Winter Olympics, and in suburban Reading my mother was giving her unwilling daughter an approximation of Hamills short pageboy bob.

I always wanted long, curly hair, because the little girl who lived next door told me that angels had hair like that.

But what I had was fine and mousy. My mother had rightly decided that limp, brown hair needs all the help it can get from its cut, and a lifetime of being bobbed began.

I never really experimented with anything else, except for in my early 20s when I challenged myself not to have a haircut until Id finished my PhD thesis. The end of four years of drudgery was marked by the wonderful sound of snipping scissors.

I was too young to appreciate it, but my bob has a history as the hairstyle of the emancipated woman

I was too young to appreciate it, but my bob has a history as the hairstyle of the emancipated woman.

Popularised by the flappers of the 1920s, its the cut of liberation. With their knock-kneed dances and louche lifestyles, the flappers adopted the bob for the freedom it gave them from the tyranny of combing, curling and dressing long locks.

However, Ive been surprised to hear that the bob is the lockdown haircut of choice. Its been hailed as the low-maintenance way to get through the period when the salons are closed.

Its supposed to be the most hygienic hairstyle too. A bob means less time in the hairdressers chair and does not require a blow-dry (research suggests Covid-19 could be spread in salons by the blasting of hairdryers).

Im a bit dubious, because the gentle kink in my own hair always looks best blown sleekly out  though I admit I havent bothered with the hairdryer for weeks.

My mother had rightly decided that limp, brown hair needs all the help it can get from its cut, and a lifetime of being bobbed began. Lucy is pictured (right) at university

Im lucky enough to have had the same dream hairdresser for many years. Ange watches my TV programmes, and often says something like: I saw you on the box last night and I think the backs not quite working. Im going to do it different. Fortuitously, a few days before lockdown I went to see Ange for what seemed like a drastically short cut. She said it would last longer. She was right: 13 weeks later it still has some shape.

However, I think Im going to be the second client through the door of the salon when it reopens, and thats only because someone else was even quicker off the mark than me when bookings reopened.

Though no ones ever asked me to change my hair, many people over the years have tried to wean me off my hair-clip, which I wear partly in homage to my spiritual sisters the flappers, partly for practicality.

When I was asked to front a series for BBC Two, I was told I should look more grown up and authoritative. I was marched to a destination salon in Londons Mayfair, and sent home with a new, fluffier, fringier bob. At home, I secretly wept. I hated it.

As my fringe grew out, I convinced the TV bosses that any authority I might have lay in my historical knowledge rather than a hair-clip.

You might say Im stuck in a hair rut but everything comes back into fashion if you wait long enough. My bob and I are going to make the most of being in vogue.

A wave, a lob or a blunt - the expert's guide to which style would suit you best

By Mark Hayes, International Creative Director for Vidal Sassoon

Any woman taking her long-awaited salon seat in the coming weeks will, doubtless, feel relief that her hair is finally about to get some professional attention again.

Hairdressers have been told to put lengthy blow-dries on hold. With strict hygiene regulations in force when salons re-open, the industry concedes blow-dries are unsafe for stylists and clients alike.

Low-maintenance, shorter hair that flatters the features and grows out attractively if regular appointments prove hard to secure seem the way forward.

In other words, a bob  that iconic cut that Vidal Sassoon made his own. Chic, glamorous, yet easy to look after at home, its the perfect Covid-era hairstyle.

Vidal, my mentor, revived the look from the 1920s and made it an emblem for the Sixties when he gave Mary Quant the cut. Since then, it has become the worlds most imitated haircut.

It takes up to an hour to perform this haircut  but a lifetime to master it. A steady hand is an absolute must.

The great thing about the bob is that it can be of varied length and severity, meaning theres a version of it to suit a variety of face shapes and features.

This guide might help you decide which one would work best for you.

THE CLASSIC VIDAL SASSOON

You need a highly skilled stylist for this unforgiving cut  too high at the back and youll look like someone hit you from behind with a shovel. Pictured: Mary Quant

The original, short geometric bob, synonymous with Sassoon and Mary Quant, above, is short in the back and longer in the front.

You need a highly skilled stylist for this unforgiving cut  too high at the back and youll look like someone hit you from behind with a shovel; too low and it will make your head look overly round.

Similarly, taken too high at the front it will destroy your facial proportions. And, of course, there is no room for mistakes in the sharp line, which must be perfectly straight.

WAVY

Clients often bemoan a natural wave in their hair  but sometimes it can work as a blessing. Pictured: Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford's model daughter

Cindy Crawfords model daughter, Kaia Gerbers wavy bob is just gorgeous.

Clients often bemoan a natural wave in their hair  but sometimes it can work as a blessing, with a straight line and no fringe adding movement and creating a beautifully romantic look.

It will also encourage the hair to thatch out, giving a lovely triangular shape, which I particularly like.

BLUNT

Actress Naomie Harris's strong jaw means she can wear it at chin length but it looks good, too, just clearing her shoulders

If you have grown out a style during lockdown, you are likely to have the length a strong, blunt bob needs to look really good.

Actress Naomie Harris, above, carries this bob beautifully. Her strong jaw means she can wear it at chin length but it looks good, too, just clearing her shoulders.

Cut short into the neck, it can take on a boyish quality, which works well with refined features. If you have a square face, it will look great on you.

LAYERED

This can be swept to one side or the other, cut high on the cheekbones or left longer like curtains that sit evenly on either side of the face. Pictured: Natalie Portman

You want them in the length, not on top, so you look more like actress Natalie Portman and presenter Jenni Falconer (pictured) and less like Rod Stewart

This seems to be the go-to bob for every celebrity at some point in their career.

Its no wonder when its so easy to wear and somehow manages to flatter every facial shape, balancing all feature types.

Theres a softness to it that allows versatility with the fringe. This can be swept to one side or the other, cut high on the cheekbones or left longer like curtains that sit evenly on either side of the face. It is also the easiest style to maintain. The layering means you can wash, comb through and leave to dry naturally; any wave in your hair will make the cut appear more personal to you.

Its important that your stylist gets those layers right. You want them in the length, not on top, so you look more like actress Natalie Portman, above, and presenter Jenni Falconer, right, and less like Rod Stewart.

WITH A FRINGE

This is the most difficult bob to wear because of the way it forms a square and symmetrical frame around the face. Pictured: Noomi Rapace

This is the most difficult bob to wear because of the way it forms a square and symmetrical frame around the face. This will make even the softest features appear stronger  great if you want to stand out; not so much if youre wary of magnifying any imperfections such as a big nose or heavy jaw.

It looks stunning on Noomi Rapace, above, the Swedish actress in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Before going for the fringed bob, ask yourself, Do I want to camouflage my features or have them stand out? If its the latter, go for it.

LOB (long bob)

This is the easiest cut to perform and an entry-level style for someone not ready to commit to a more dramatic look. Pictured: Fearne Cotton

A bob needs to clear the shoulders to be able to own the name, and the long bob just about does that. Presenter Fearne Cotton, above, is a good example.

This is the easiest cut to perform and an entry-level style for someone not ready to commit to a more dramatic look.

The only problem is that this bob grows out super-fast and, once it hits your shoulders, it will start to flick up and stick out and become something else. With salon appointments so hard to get, a shorter, sharper cut will hold its shape as it grows.
PM Dion Ngute commissions Tasong & Njong Twitter

Paul Njukang Tasong, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development in charge of Planning will begin a 12-day mission to the North West and South West Regions Monday, June 22.

He will be leading an Awareness and Sensitization Mission in his capacity as National Coordinator of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions.

Under the High instructions of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions (PPRD-NW/SW) hereby announces that he is embarking on an Awareness and Sensitization Campaign from Monday June 22 to Friday July 3, 2020, Tasong said in a press release.

Although hostilities are yet to end between state forces battling armed separatists in the area, Tasong says the Campaign, which is aimed at reaching out to the beneficiaries of the reconstruction and development of both conflict-hit regions will afford his team an opportunity to expound on the reconstruction activities envisaged.

For 12 days, they will outline the processes and mechanisms for the implementation of the Plan as well as define the methods of organization and support for the various beneficiaries and ensure ownership of the Plan by the said beneficiaries.

It is expected that from Monday June 22 to Friday July 3, 2020, Paul Tasong and his team will hold meetings with beneficiary populations of governments reconstruction and development plan, as well as engage with other actors in the field.

Paul Tasong and Donatus Njong were, in April, respectively installed National Coordinator and Deputy National Coordinator of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions, PPRD-NW/SW.

The duo are expected to ensure the rehabilitation of about 350 schools, 115 health centers, 40 bridges, 400 power points, 500 KM of Low tension power points, 600KM of rural roads, 45 markets, 12000 houses, 25000hectares of farm land, livestock lost by grazers, reestablishment of close to 3000 personal documents lost.

Corporate demands by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers led to protests in November 2016. The street demonstrations later morphed into ongoing running gun battles between state forces and armed separatist fighters in the predominantly English-speaking regions, leading to untold destruction of human lives, their habitats and livelihoods.
The family of a black man, 38, found hanging from a tree in California have said he died of suicide and not a lynching, after they were shown 'video evidence' of the lead-up to his death.

Malcolm Harsch was found dead near a library in Victorville on May 31, just 10 days before the body of another black man, 24-year-old Robert Fuller, was found in suspiciously similar circumstances about 45 miles away in another California town.

The families of both victims cast doubts on the manner of their deaths, at a time of widespread civil unrest following the Memorial Day 'murder' of black man George Floyd at the hands of a white cop in Minneapolis.

This comes as six people of color have died in a string of recent hangings across America.

Harsch's heartbroken relatives have now said they believe he took his own life after seeing surveillance footage from a vacant building near where his body was discovered which appears to rule out foul play.

Malcolm Harsch was found hanging from a tree near a library in Victorville on May 31

'On behalf of the family of Malcolm Harsch unfortunately it seems he did take his own life,' Najee Ali, a community activist and spokesman for Harsch's family, said in a statement Friday.

'The Victorville Police Department officials released new video evidence to family members.'

Ali said detectives had also met with Harsch's family and handed over evidence per their request.

The official cause and manner of his death will be confirmed once toxicology results are returned.

Harsch, who was homeless, was found dead at around 7a.m. on May 31 in the desert city of Victorville in San Bernardino County east of Palmdale.

Emergency responders had been called out to a homeless encampment by Harsch's girlfriend who said she had been with him earlier that morning but that they had parted ways when she returned to her tent, officials said Monday.

The woman was then alerted by others in the encampment that he had been found hanging from a tree and had been cut down.

People in the encampment performed CPR on him until emergency responders arrived and took over, before he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The family of Harsch, 38, (pictured) have said he died of suicide and not a lynching, after they were shown 'video evidence' of the lead-up to his death

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department had said that an autopsy was conducted and foul play was not suspected in Harsch's death, but they were investigating what happened.

Harsch's family previously said they were skeptical about his death and voiced concerns it would be prematurely 'labeled as a suicide.'

In a statement to Victor Valley News , they said Harsch had spoken with his children about seeing them soon and didn't seem depressed.





'There are many ways to die, but considering the current racial tension, a Black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesn't sit well with us right now.

'We want justice, not comfortable excuses,' they wrote.

Questions mounted after the bodies of black men Harsch and Fuller were both found hanging from trees just 10 days and about 45 miles apart in the same state.

The two families demanded independent investigations be launched into their deaths and the FBI announced it would examine both cases.

Fuller was found dead hanging from a tree outside Palmdale City Hall on June 10.

His death was initially ruled a suicide, but his family has insisted he was not suicidal and say his death was 'a lynching'.

Robert Fuller, 24, was found hanging from a tree on June 10 - 10 days after Harsch's body was found in suspiciously similar circumstances about 45 miles away. Authorities are now conducting a full investigation into his death

A demonstrator carries a sign reading: 'Robert Fuller 4Ever' during an All Black Lives Matter march organized by black members of the LGBTQ community, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Sunday

The case has garnered nationwide attention and more than 1,000 people turned out for a protest and memorial last weekend, held around the tree where his body was found.

Fuller's family now faces a double tragedy after his half-brother was shot dead by cops exactly a week after the 24-year-old's death.

Terron Jammal Boone, 31, died after opening fire on deputies in Rosamund, north of Los Angeles, on Wednesday, when he was about to be arrested for allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend hostage.

Suspicions are building after six people of color have been found dead in a spate of hangings across the country since May 27, amid bubbling racial tensions.

One woman, four men - including Fuller and Harsch - and a teenage boy have been found dead in separate incidents in Portland, Oregon, Southern California, Houston and New York City.

Most recently, a black 17-year-old boy was found hanging outside an elementary school in Houston Wednesday morning.

This came just two days after a Hispanic man was found hanging in the city outside a store.

On June 9, 27-year-old Dominique Alexander was found hanging from a tree at Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan, New York City.

And over in Portland homeless black woman Otis 'Titi' Gulley, 31, was found hanging from a tree in Rocky Butte Park on May 27.

Fears are mounting that at least some of the deaths could be the result of foul play.

The FBI also launched an investigation this week after a fake body was found hanging from a noose near Lake Merritt in Oakland and nooses were found hanging from trees around the park.
Glcom.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 18 Jul 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the glcom homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the glcom homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the glcom homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the glcom homepage on Twitter + the total number of glcom followers (if glcom has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the glcom homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if glcom has a Facebook fan page).

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE Welcome New Client DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS welcome,



CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

The language of glcom.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0)

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for glcom.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

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Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Bbs.net527.cn scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 11 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the bbs.net527 homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if bbs.net527 has a Facebook fan page). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the bbs.net527 homepage on Twitter + the total number of bbs.net527 followers (if bbs.net527 has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the bbs.net527 homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the bbs.net527 homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the bbs.net527 homepage on StumbleUpon.

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PAGE TITLE ||Linux||ccna|ccnp|ccie|ccsp|ccda|voip|PIX|ASA|| - Powered by Discuz! DESCRIPTION cisco,Linux,,ccna,ccnp,ccie,ccsp,ccda,voip,PIX,ASA,, KEYWORDS cisco, Linux, , ccna, ccnp, ccie, ccsp, ccda, voip, PIX, ASA, ,  OTHER KEYWORDS cisco, rotmap, vmware, user200, cisco, it, mpls vpn



The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE SERVER Microsoft-IIS/6.0 (ASP.NET,PHP/5.2.14) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003

Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. The language of bbs.net527.cn as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for bbs.net527.cn by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

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A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The URL of the found Facebook page.

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After Arresting Presidential Challenger, Belarus's Lukashenka Says 'Revolution' Thwarted

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service June 19, 2020

MINSK -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka claims to have thwarted an attempt to foment revolution in the Eastern European country, a day after his government ordered the arrest of a popular, would-be presidential candidate, prompting thousands to take to the streets to protest what they see as increased harassment of opposition leaders.

Speaking at a government meeting on June 19, Lukashenka said that forces "in the East and West" were trying to destabilize Belarus but that their "masks have been torn off" and the "puppets and puppet masters abroad" identified.

His comments come a day after Viktar Babaryka, who headed the Russian-owned Belgazprombank for 20 years, was detained on suspicion of financial crimes, as well as his son who heads his presidential election campaign.

Belarusian authorities on June 15 took control of the bank and arrested more than a dozen top executives on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Babaryka, 56, has said the actions taken against Belgazprombank were part of an intimidation campaign conducted on "political orders."

On June 19, the European Union called on Belarus to immediately release Babaryka and his son from detention and to guarantee full respect of the rule of law.

"Any investigation must be impartial and without political pressure," EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano said in a statement.

The crackdown on Babaryka and Belgazprombank  which is nearly 100 percent owned by Russian natural gas giant Gazprom and its affiliate Gazprombank -- comes as Lukashenka faces what experts say is one of the biggest challenges ever to his rule, which stretches back to 1994.

Belarus, with a population of some 9.5 million, has one of Europe's highest infection rates for the coronavirus, which Lukashenka dismissed as a "mass psychosis" and ignored calls by the World Health Organization and others to institute any social-distancing measures.

The World Bank predicts the Belarusian economy will contract 4 percent this year as a result of the pandemic, while some informal, online polls put Lukashenka's public support at just 3 percent.

In the election on August 9, Lukashenka will be seeking a sixth term in office. No election, either for president or parliament, during his rule has been deemed free and fair by Western governments and institutions.

Babaryka has risen in popularity as the vote nears, and his election campaign says it has collected nearly 435,000 signatures -- more than four times the required 100,000 minimum to get on the ballot -- to support his bid to get on the ballot by a June 19 deadline.

The Belarusian Central Election Commission cleared 15 would-be candidates to collect signatures to get on the ballot, while rejecting others, including potential candidates like popular vlogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski and opposition politician Mikalay Statkevich, who challenged the authoritarian leader in 2010 and was imprisoned for protests that followed that disputed vote.

After the arrests of Babaryka and his son, thousands of people turned out in Minsk in what was dubbed a picket of solidarity, forming at one point a human chain that stretched across the Belarusian capital's center.

The Committee for State Control (KDK) said on June 18 that Babaryka was arrested for allegedly attempting to influence witness testimony and illegally withdrawing large amounts of cash from bank accounts, among other things.

KDK head Ivan Tertel said that almost 20 employees of Belgazprombank had been arrested, adding that many of the suspects "confessed" that they had illegally transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to Latvia via a scheme organized by Babaryka.

Babaryka's election campaign staff said lawyers for the two men were not allowed to be present during the questioning, and that Babaryka's home in Minsk was searched by law enforcement officers.

In recent weeks, opposition rallies and gatherings in support of would-be candidates have attracted thousands of people across Belarus as the authoritarian Lukashenka seeks a sixth term.

Several opposition activists, politicians, and bloggers were sentenced to up to 15 days in jail this week for taking part in what authorities called "unsanctioned rallies."

In his statement, Stano demanded that Belarus "refrain from any restrictions of the rights of potential candidates, avoid any detentions of peaceful protesters, and immediately release all arbitrarily detained activists."

"No potential candidate should be prevented from fulfilling the registration procedure due to politically motivated restrictive measures," he added.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/after-arresting-top- presidential-challenger-belarus-s-lukashenka-says- revolution-thwarted/30679884.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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The BCCI on Friday said it will review Indian Premier League's sponsorship deals, including the one with Chinese mobile manufacturing company Vivo, in a meeting next week after 20 Indian soldiers were killed during a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.

The meeting of the IPL Governing Council will review the yearly Rs 440 crore title sponsorship deal with Vivo among others. "Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of our brave jawans, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL's various sponsorship deals," the official IPL handle tweeted late on Friday night.

Apart from Vivo, PayTm is also one of the sponsors. The company has Chinese firm Alibaba as one of its investors. Alibaba has 37.15 percent stake in PayTM, which is one of BCCI's premier sponsors.

Track this blog for LIVE updates on India-China border tension

Tencent, one of the biggest video game companies in the world, has a minor stake -- 5.27 percent -- in Swiggy and a majority stake in Dream 11. All these companies are among Board's list of sponsors. Apart from that, BCCI's national team shirt sponsors BYJUs pay Rs 1079 crore for five years since last year. Tencent has a stake in BYJUS. It is understood that discussion will be on whether to invoke the exit clause or honour Vivo's contract till 2022.

"PayTM and BYJUS are related to the Indian team. First priority is IPL sponsorships -- Vivo, Dream 11 and Swiggy which have Chinese investments. Can't say the same about PayTM and BYJUS but you never know it can also come up for discussion," an IPL governing council member said.

The BCCI decision to review the deal comes a day after BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told PTI that money from Chinese sponsorship is helping Indian economy but they would always put country first if the situation demands.

Anti-China sentiments are running high in India following the border clash between the two countries at Galwan valley earlier this week.

A colonel was among the 20 Army personnel killed in the face-off on Monday night, the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La. At that time, India lost around 80 soldiers, while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed in the confrontation.
A statue of a First Nations teenager known as Australia's first teacher of the Gadigal language could be erected in Sydney under a campaign spearheaded by City of Sydney councillor Kerryn Phelps.

Cr Phelps' motion instructs council officers to commission an artwork commemorating Patyegarang, a 15-year-old Gadigal woman who taught her language to the First Fleet naval officer Lieutenant William Dawes.

The Captain Cook statue in Hyde Park was defaced last week. Credit:Edwina Pickles

"Dawes recorded their conversations and his notebooks are the only known first-hand accounts of the Gadigal language," the notice of motion said.

The proposal is backed by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, whose chief executive Nathan Moran said a statue of Patyegarang would provide "much needed balance" to existing monuments of mainly non-Aboriginals and men of the British colony.
A new study now demonstrates what was always indicated through scattered findings earlier many more Indians and other South Asians have died of coronavirus in Britain.

This pattern of disproportionately high South Asian deaths has been reported by CNN-News18 since the early days of the pandemic in Britain -- from March of this year.

A new study by the University of Edinburgh has established that and also pointed to the cause always suspected to be behind this pattern  the very much higher-than-average incidence of diabetes among South Asians.

The findings emerged through a study of 35,000 individuals in hospital in the UK with coronavirus.

We found that there is a 20 per cent increase in risk of death in those who have South Asian heritage, Prof Ewen Harrison from the University of Edinburgh that conducted the study told CNN-News18 in an interview.

The two groups look very different, the South Asian versus the white group, said Prof Harrison.

South Asians are more likely to be young, and more likely to have diseases such as lung disease, obesity, or dementia. But what was more striking was that they were more likely to have diabetes. Four out of 10 South Asian people in hospital with coronavirus had diabetes.

The age difference in deaths among Indians and other South Asians was dramatic. There is a difference of 12 years on average between South Asians and the white population, which is quite a large difference, Prof Harrison said. The average age of death was 60 among South Asians compared to 72 in the white group.

The study throws up higher risks also among the elderly South Asians relative to the white population of Britain. Our study does show that the very elderly South Asian people are at greater risk than white people among those above 80 years of age, said Prof Harrison.

Age and obesity have already been known to be major risk factors. Both white people and South Asians are at risk through obesity and being older, but diabetes was the one clear factor we identified which differentiated the white and South Asian group, said the professor said.

We think that a fifth of the increased risk of death in the South Asians is due to diabetes.

The increased susceptibility of Indians and other South Asians to diabetes has been well known and clearly established by a number of studies in Britain over several years.

The extra detail this study has brought is that even after getting into hospital when things might be considered to be more equal, South Asian folks are at higher risk of death, said Prof Harrison.

With more than 42,000 coronavirus deaths now officially recorded in Britain  or more than 50,000 going by other official records that list COVID-19 as a factor in the death certificate  and the high number of South Asian deaths indicated by this study, the number of Indian deaths in Britain is inevitably high.

Indians make up for highest number of South Asians in Britain. The study does not break down national origins with the South Asian group. But there would be other factors to consider, said Prof Harrison.

Communities are varied in terms of socio-economic deprivation, and occupations, and there may be differences between those of Indian heritage and those of other heritage, but we did not have information in the current study to be able to look at that in detail.

What is now without doubt is that Indians, certainly in Britain, are clearly at risk both of getting coronavirus, but potentially the greater risk, having got coronavirus, of having severe disease or dying from the disease, the professor said.

Diabetes is a condition that affects lots of organs, the heart, kidneys and liver. Anyone becoming significantly unwell who also has diabetes is at increased risk of complications or death from that condition.

The findings have wide-ranging implications both for treatment and prevention.

Ethnicity and pre-existing conditions such as diabetes need to be taken into account when individuals are judging how they should try and live their lives through these very difficult times for everybody, Prof Harrison said.

However, he added, contracting the virus or dying from it are far from unavoidable consequences for diabetics. There is certainly no binary conclusion that should be drawn from our study on diabetes or ethnicity, he said.

But what is clear that both ethnicity and diabetes must now be taken into account when the other risks are being added up.
A 43-year-old man suffered wounds to the lower backside and got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition. The other two victims, both 34, suffered wounds to the foot and neck. One of them was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, while the other man was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park in good condition, police said.
Amid objections by the Kejriwal government to his order for mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for COVID-19 patients, Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday said it would be required for only those who do not need hospitalisation and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation.

The order of five-day mandatory institutional quarantine was opposed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Deputy Manish Sisodia in a meeting of Delhi State Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Saturday.

The Lt Governor after the meeting said in a tweet, "Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation."

In another tweet, he said the DDMA approved recommendations of a high-level expert committee for fixing subsidised rates for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals of Delhi.

Sisodia said after the meeting that the LG's reservations over home isolation were resolved in the SDMA meeting and the home quarantine system will continue.

"The reservations of LG over home isolation were resolved in the SDMA meeting and the home isolation system will continue. We thank LG for this. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, we will not let Delhi people have any inconvenience," he tweeted.

Earlier, opposing the Lt Governor's order issued on Friday for mandatory five-day institutional quarantine, Sisodia had said, "Every day, more than 3,000 patients are coming for COVID-19 treatment. According to the figures by the Health Department, by June 30, we will have one lakh patients, by July 15, we will have 1.25 lakh patients, and by July 31, we will have almost 5.25 lakh patients. This will be the scenario if we continue with the home isolation system."

Sisodia said the meeting also decided that 100 per cent COVID beds in private hospitals will be subsidised up to an upper limit of 60 per cent of total hospital capacity.

"The Central government committee had recommended reducing rates of 60 per cent COVID beds in private hospitals, so less number of beds were available at lower rates. Now, 100 per cent beds will be available at lower rates," he said in another tweet.
Nigerias Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday said the nation runs a large and expensive government.

Mr Osinbajo explained that there is need for a national debate on issues surrounding the size and cost of governance on Nigeria.

According to the Punch, Mr Osinbajo said this at a webinar organised by the Emmanuel Chapel on Friday.

The webinar, themed, Economic stability beyond COVID-19, was put together to look into Nigerias economic roadmaps amid covid-19 disruptions.

Reacting to a question thrown up by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and immediate past Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, Mr Osinbajo noted that something drastic needs to be done to the size of government to attain efficiency.

Conundrum

According to the Vice president, the major conundrum surrounding issues around cost of governance in Nigeria lies in the fact that the reform is in the hand of those who benefit from the existing structure.

There is no question that we are dealing with large and expensive government, but as you know, given the current constitutional structure, those who would have to vote to reduce (the size of) government, especially to become part-time legislators, are the very legislators themselves, Mr Osinbajo was quoted to have said.

So, you can imagine that we may not get very much traction if they are asked to vote themselves, as it were, out of their current relatively decent circumstances.

So, I think there is a need for a national debate on this question and there is a need for us to ensure that we are not wasting the kind of resources that we ought to use for development on overheads. At the moment, our overheads are almost 70 per cent of revenues, so there is no question at all that we must reduce the size of government.

According to him, the problem was a major driving factor for the governments decision to revisit the Steve Oronsaye report on public service reforms.

He said: Part of what you would see in the Economic Sustainability Plan also and several of the other initiatives is trying to go, to some extent, to what was recommended in the (Steve) Oransaye Report, to collapse a few of the agencies to become a bit more efficient and make government much more efficient with whatever it has.

Sanusis take

In his own intervention, Mr Sanusi raised concerns on why the government must institute reforms to address the issues.

He said: The greater Atlanta (in the United States) has a Gross Domestic Product that is higher than that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Atlanta is not the richest city in the United States.

I dont want to be disrespectful, but the annual sales of Tesla exceeds the budget size of our country, so should we not begin to cut our coat according to our cloth; should we not begin to look at all these costs and the constitution itself; maybe turn the legislators to part-time lawmakers, have a unicameral legislature instead of bicameral, have the local governments run by employees of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs?

We just need to think out of the box to reduce structural cost and make government sustainable over the long term.
Twitter has slapped another label on a tweet by US President Donald Trump, this time warning that a video he shared was doctored and escalating the social media companys crackdown on one of its most widely followed users.

After Trump tweeted the video late on Thursday, Twitter took the rare step of adding a warning that it was manipulated media and linked to a page that said multiple journalists confirmed the clip was edited to make it look like a CNN broadcast. The video remains visible in Trumps timeline.

The original 39-second video, which went viral on social media in September 2019, showed a Black toddler and a white toddler running towards each other and hugging. It led to headlines, like one on the CNN website last year  These two toddlers are showing us what real-life besties look like.

The clip shared by Trump begins with the last nine seconds of the footage of the boys running set to ominous music, with a fake misspelled CNN caption reading, Terrified todler runs from racist baby. At one point the banner reads: Racist baby probably a Trump voter.

Then it cuts to other footage from the original video of the boys excitedly running to each other and hugging, which formed the basis of the original CNN story, before showing the message, America is not the problem. Fake news is.

By Friday, the tweeted video had more than 14.8 million views and 180,000 retweets.

Additional context

We may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context, Twitter says in an explanation of its policies posted on its website.

The father of the Black toddler, Michael Cisneros, posted the video on Facebook urging others to share.

PLEASE!!! SHARE THIS!!!! EVERYONE!!!! HE WILL NOT TURN THIS LOVING, BEAUTIFUL VIDEO TO FURTHER HIS HATE AGENDA, he wrote.

The mother of the white toddler, Erica Russo McKenna also commented on Facebook: Utterly shocked. Trump posted this on his Twitter. For all you Trump supporters, I hope that his use of their beautiful video in this way disgusts you. It should.

Trump lashed out at Twitter last month after it added fact-check warnings to two of his tweets on mail-in voting, and promised to add new regulations to rein in social media companies.

The social media company also labelled a Trump tweet about Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis as glorifying violence.

The president, who has battled Twitter and other tech companies over alleged censorship of conservative voices on social media platforms, said in late May he would propose legislation to potentially scrap or weaken the law shielding internet companies, in an extraordinary attempt to regulate outlets where he has been criticised.

In March, Twitter used the manipulated media warning to mark a video of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden shared by Trump.
Varying immune response to COVID-19: JPura and Oxford universities in joint study By Kumudini Hettiarachchi View(s): View(s):

Vital research for the betterment of humankind is what has been strengthening the bonds between two centres half-a-world between them.

On cue in keeping with the urgent needs of these troubled times and as a natural progression of the 12-year bond, these respected institutions are now looking closely to find out how the scourge of COVID-19 affects people.

These institutions are the Sri Jayewardenepura Universitys Centre for Dengue Research headed by Prof. Neelika Malavige and Oxford Universitys MRC Human Immunology Unit, headed by Prof. Graham Ogg, at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.

Before delving into what this immune response study would entail, Prof. Malavige says that immunity is the state of resistance of a person to an invading pathogen and its harmful effects. The immune response tries to prevent the development of infection and attempts to counteract, neutralize and clear the pathogen.

The imagery she creates is simple  it is very similar to a battle or invasion and how soldiers of a country would get mobilized to ward off the threat from the invaders.

The two centres will look at how different people respond to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19.

Prof. Malavige says: When infected with the new coronavirus, some get mild illness and recover in a week. They have mild body aches and a slight sore throat and cough. However, some others develop severe pneumonia and complications in the second week.

Why? It is much more than to do with the virus. It is also to do with the immune response by each person to the virus. Actually if there is a detrimental immune response, there would be severe disease. As such, disease severity is not directly related to the virus but to an undesirable immune response.

They have a hypothesis that the immune response (whether mild or severe) of a person to the new coronavirus may depend on previous exposure and illness of that person to other coronaviruses which are known to cause the common cold and upper respiratory tract infections.

Previous exposure and infections could be a factor which may be influencing the bodys reaction to the new coronavirus, of which we know so little about. When studying the mortality figures from this virus we find that in Sri Lanka it is less than 1%, whereas in Europe and the United States of America, the case fatality rate varies between 3-9%.This is why the immune response which seems to vary needs to be studied, she says.

Understanding the immune response to the virus in a country-specific setting is crucial not only when attempting to find medications but also a vaccination against the virus, reiterates Prof. Malavige, with Prof. Ogg elaborating that by comparing immune responses from two different populations with exposure to different kinds of pathogens, we hope to get a clearer answer about how background immunity influences COVID-19 disease.

In the study, blood samples from the general population as well as current and recovered COVID-19 patients in the two countries would be analysed to see how T cells (a kind of white blood cell that is crucial for adapting the bodys immune response to specific pathogens), as well as antibodies (a blood protein manufactured by the body to attack specific pathogens) work in different people.

They will compare immune markers in blood samples to get an understanding how existing immunity to different viruses (including other coronaviruses) might influence the immune response to a COVID-19 infection.

This kind of existing immunity may play a protective role or it may worsen disease severity  we just dont know yet, said Prof. Ogg. By comparing immune responses from two different populations with exposure to different kinds of pathogens, we hope to get a clearer answer to this question.

The two centres which have been engaged in strong dengue research will now expand their focus to cover the immune response not only of those who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 but also those who have had no such exposure.

Prof. Malavige looks at the recent past and says that Prof. Ogg, who is a Visiting Researcher at the Sri Jayewardenepura University was in Sri Lanka in February to plan this study and left just before the closure of the airport. Prof. Malavige, meanwhile, is a Visiting Researcher at Oxford University.

The immune response study has followed the essential protocols of obtaining approval from the Ethics Review Committee of the Sri Jayewardenepura University and is partnering with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) which has treated a majority of COVID-19 patients. The British High Commission in Sri Lanka has extended Rs. 10.5 million in funding for the study.

The Sri Lankan specimens would not be sent out of the country but studied here because we have developed our laboratory and have state-of-the-art facilities to handle complex studies, said Prof. Malavige, adding that the specimens from British patients would be studied over at Oxford.

She adds that they will have to work fast and produce some results by February next year.

Important antibody & sero-surveillance studies An antibody study and a sero-surveillance study have been initiated by the Centre for Dengue Research. Explaining the backdrop, Director of Operations and Clinical Services, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara says that 95% of the 4,000 diagnostic RT-PCR tests required by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) were carried out by them, starting with the first case of the Bandaranayake Mawatha cluster. We responded promptly and gave the reports within 6-8 hours, enabling the CMC to trace and quarantine all close contacts, thus effectively controlling the infections and stopping their spread in Colombo city, he said, paying tribute to Regional Epidemiologist Dr. Dinuka Guruge who was a pillar of strength in sending good samples, well-labelled and transported in keeping with all the guidelines. Now Dr. Jeewandara and his team have undertaken a study on the development of antibodies in blood samples being sent by the CMC. This study on around 2,000 samples of close contacts would cover the quality and quantity of antibodies. Such data would be good in deciding on a suitable vaccine when one is developed and be helpful when making clinical decisions. We would also be able to find out whether antibody detection is linked to the person having immunity against the virus thereafter. Even though ideally it should, since this is a new virus it has not been established so far, said Dr. Jeewandara, adding that the units RT-PCR testing accuracy would also be confirmed if what they have identified as positive brings forth an antibody positive result. Sero-surveillance on navy cluster The sero-surveillance study would cover all personnel who have been confirmed as having COVID-19 till the period ending May 30 in the navy cluster. This five-million-rupee study launched on June 1, is funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) under its Unity Studies for sero-surveillance in an outbreak among a specific group.The aim is to understand unknowns such as transmission pattern, severity, clinical features and risk factors for infection. Technical support including test kits are being provided under the collaboration with WHO Headquarters and Regional and Local Offices. We are working closely with WHOs National Professional Officer for Non-Communicable Diseases & Health Systems here, Dr. Nalika Gunawardena, added Dr. Jeewandara.
Singapore on Saturday recorded 218 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the tally to 41,833, majority of them foreign workers, a day after the city-state allowed reopening of malls, restaurants and other non-essential businesses after over two months.

Of the 218 new cases, two are community cases, both work pass holders, and the remaining are work permit holders living in foreign worker dormitories, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its preliminary daily update.

On Friday, shops and food and beverage outlets across Singapore welcomed customers as the Phase two of the post-circuit breaker reopening began.

Early in the day,there was not much rush of people as the shoppers were cautiously returning to the shops. However, as the day progressed, long queues at the entrances of malls and some shops were seen.

Many restaurants were also filled, with diners eager to have a meal outside their homes for the first time in more than two months, reported Channel News Asia.

On Friday evening, steady crowds were seen at some of the popular F&B outlets.

However, diners have been asked to be in groups of no more than five people and tables have to be spaced 1 metre apart.

Playgrounds and beaches also reopened, while libraries, museums, barbecue pits and camping sites will remain closed at the start of Phase II and progressively open later.

Singapore's circuit breaker -- a period with enhanced safe distancing measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 -- formally ended on June 1 and the country is gradually restarting its economy in three phases over the next several months.

Under Phase I of reopening, businesses that operate in settings with lower transmission risks were allowed to resume with safe distancing guidelines.

Meanwhile, two of the 212 confirmed cases in hospital are critical while 7,918 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19, said the Health Ministry.

Twenty-six people have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

About 33,500 patients have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities. On Friday, 747 COVID-19 patients were discharged.
China Charges Canada's 'Two Michaels' With Espionage

2020-06-19 -- Authorities in China said on Friday they have indicted two Canadian nationals -- Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor -- on spying charges, after arresting them in the days following the arrest of Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.

Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, a businessman, have been held on suspicion of "spying" since Canada arrested a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on Dec. 1, 2018 pending a U.S. extradition request.

They stand accused of "stealing and illegally offering state secrets abroad," and are being held at an unknown location under "residential surveillance at a designated location."

Neither has been allowed access to a lawyer; only visits from consular staff, which have been suspended since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

China has repeatedly called for Meng's release, and has warned Canada that it could face consequences for aiding the United States in her case.

The espionage charges are deemed "particularly serious" by state prosecutors, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing in Beijing on Friday.

The announcement means Kovrig, 50, and Spavor, 44, could face sentences of anything between 10 years and life imprisonment.

"The facts are clear and the evidence is solid and sufficient. He should be held accountable for criminal responsibility under the above mentioned charge," Zhao said of Kovrig, before making the same statement about Spavor.

The announcement also paves the way for the men's trials, more than a year after their initial detention.

Canada 'disappointed' by indictments

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is "disappointed" in the indictments, and vowed to work with the Chinese government to bring the "two Michaels" home.

"In the case of the two Michaels, I can say that we are using a wide range of public and private measures to ensure that everything is being done to get these Michaels home," Trudeau told reporters.

"We do expect both Michaels will come back," he said, declining to answer a question about whether the men were effectively hostages.

The International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organization that focuses on conflict resolution for which Kovrig was working at the time of his detention has previously said the accusations against him are "vague and unsubstantiated."

Wu Qiang, a former politics lecturer at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University, said the charges against the two men are clearly a form of retaliation for Meng's arrest.

"I do believe that this is a form of political retaliation, and that China's judicial system is politically manipulated," Wu said. "[Here], companies, government, and the judiciary are all one and the same thing."

"The final conviction and sentencing will also be the result of political considerations," he said. "[Their fate] is largely dependent on how the Meng Wanzhou extradition case fares in the Canadian courts, and [later] in the U.S."

A Chinese lawyer who asked to remain anonymous said a "particularly serious" espionage charge could even incur the death penalty.

"Such cases are very rare in China's criminal justice system," he said, adding that the trials would likely be held behind closed doors.

Huawei's Meng may still be extradited

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, lost a legal bid to avoid extradition to the United States to face bank fraud charges last month, dashing hopes for an end to her house arrest in Vancouver.

She recently raised a new argument in a Canadian court in a bid to fight extradition,

Hong Kong-based democracy campaigner Joshua Wong said the indictments showed that foreign nationals aren't exempt from the threat of detention under national security laws, a version of which will soon be imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

"Under China's wolf-warrior diplomacy, China is posing the same level of threat to all foreign workers and investors in #HK in the pretext of #NationalSecurity," Wong wrote via his Twitter account.

The U.S. wants to extradite Meng to face charges of bank fraud linked to the breach of sanctions against Iran. Meng has also filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government, alleging procedural errors by officers who arrested her.

Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright  1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content June not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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DNA from a rape linked to Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner was destroyed on the orders of Portuguese prosecutors.

Irish rape victim Hazel Behan waived her right to anonymity last week to say she believed a masked man who targeted her in her Algarve apartment could have been the German sex offender.

She went public about the horrific 2004 attack after discovering Bruecker had been convicted late last year of the September 2005 rape of an American in Praia da Luz where Madeleine vanished in May 2007.

Mother-of-two Ms Behan said the Met Police had told her they were taking her case very seriously and would be contacting Portuguese counterparts after taking a statement.

But today it emerged the DNA evidence collected from the crime scene was destroyed around two months before Madeleine's disappearance, meaning the chance of making any solid link between the two cases if the same offender was responsible could now prove impossible.

Irish rape victim Hazel Behan (pictured) waived her right to anonymity last week to say she believed a masked man who targeted her in her Algarve apartment could have been the German sex offender

Christian Brueckner (picutred left) left Portugal after Madeline McCann (pictured right) disappeared on May 3, 2007

The extraordinary decision was laid bare in court papers relating to Ms Behan's rape in Praia da Rocha a half-hour drive east of Praia da Luz.

It followed the March 2007 mothballing of the court probe to try to catch the beast who raped the former holiday rep in a sustained five-hour attack after threatening her with a machete.

The decision to shelve the investigation was linked to the fact identifying possible suspects was complicated by the fact the rape occurred during Euro 2004 when more people were in the area and it appeared to be a 'one-off' attack.

The case files state the victim described her rapist as an English speaker who could be 'German, Belgian or Dutch.'

Ms Behan's underwear was among clothes passed on to a lab for expert analysis along with a broken nail.

The documents make it clear DNA was obtained but no match. They do not specify the exact nature of the material recovered.

Ms Behan was working as a holiday rep and was living in the resort town of Praia da Rocha, which is around 20 miles away from Praia da Luz - where Madeleine was abducted in 2007

Confirming the destruction of the DNA evidence, they say: 'On March 15 2007 when the judge decides to archive the investigation, the Public Ministry decide any biological material should be destroyed.

They add: 'As they are in a bad condition it is improbable that if this re-investigation was reopened the material could be subjected to counterproof analysis.'

The astonishing DNA decision emerged just days after the former head of Portugal's National Forensic Medicine Institute said the evidence collected from the McCanns' holiday apartment could still prove valuable in unlocking the 13-year mystery.

Christian Brueckner, pictured with a friend in 2011, was adopted as a baby after being given up by his birth mother and began abusing children as a teenager

Duarte Nuno Vieira, President President of Portugal's National Forensic Medicine Institute when the youngster vanished, said all the samples taken were kept under lock and key at a lab in the northern city of Coimbra and could be used for re-testing with today's modern technology whenever needed.

He told Portuguese broadcaster CMTV: 'The samples are still being kept in optimum conditions and despite the fact 13 years have gone by, it's still possible today to repeat tests.'

Recent unconfirmed Portuguese reports claimed convicted rapist Brueckner had been ruled out as a suspect in the Hazel Behan case but gave no indication why.

Dubliner Ms Behan, who has now returned to Ireland, also told the Guardian in an interview last week she recalled a distinctive mark on the top of Bruecker's right thigh which could have been a birthmark or a tattoo.

The German is said to have birthmarks on his upper right thigh.

Telling how she was woken at 1am by the sound of someone calling her name who then removed her clothes with scissors and gagged her with cloth, she said: 'My mind was blown when I read how he had attacked a woman in 2005, both the tactics and the methods he used, the tools he had with him, how well he had planned it out.

'I puked, to be honest with you, as reading about it took me right back to my experience.'

The new gaffe by Portuguese authorities comes on the back of revelations yesterday that Brueckner admitted to an Algarve judge after he was caught for stealing diesel in April 2006 that he had a teenage sex conviction.

The 43-year-old German admitted his sordid past in his initial court quiz following his detention, court papers from the time show.

The revelation put Portuguese police under the spotlight over their initial failure to link Brueckner to the Maddie inquiry.

The information that showed he was a sex offender and not just a petty thief was a matter of public record in Portugal.

The German molested a six-year-old girl in a playground in his home town of Wurzburg, Bavaria, in 1994 when he was just 17.

Brueckner left his homeland for the Algarve after serving part of a two-year youth sentence for the crime.

Earlier this month Portuguese police chief Carlos Farinha tried to pass the blame for Brueckner slipping through the net 13 years ago by revealing his name was among hundreds passed on to Scotland Yard Grange detectives investigating Maddie's disappearance in 2011.

He insisted Scotland Yard detectives had never asked the PJ to take a closer look at him.

Brueckner only came back on the police radar in 2017, after confessing to a bar room pal in Germany on the 10th anniversary of Maddie's disappearance that he knew what had happened to her.
Dubai Police said they have cracked the case with regard to the blaze that broke out at the Expo 2020 Dubai under-construction site last month.



Following days of investigation, the forensic experts and criminologists at Dubai Police's General Department of Criminal Investigation (CID) reached the conclusion that the main cause for the fire was the ongoing welding work, which led to a rise in the temperature of the tube to more than 350 degrees Celsius, which caused it to ignite.



The Dubai Police team conducted 12 scientific experiments and re-enacted the incident of fire to determine the cause of the spark.



They also found out that the worker and an engineer of the company operating at the site had hidden certain facts to evade responsibility.



A deeper probe revealed that the worker stopped work when he faced a technical fault. He then re-stored the equipment in the dedicated room without observing the safety requirements.



After five minutes he noticed an evacuation of all workers in progress from the site due to a fire. He immediately left the site and informed the engineer about what had happened during the welding and his negligence of safety measures.



The engineer told him to keep quiet and to not tell anyone else and as there were no witnesses there was no need to involve the company.



Dubai Police team, on further scrutiny, found that messages had been circulated among workers telling them to deny their presence at the site on the day of the fire.



When confronted with the facts, the worker and engineer admitted to concealing the truth.



Lauding the investigators for solving the case, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, said the team had taken great efforts and used professional methods to determine the real factors behind the incident.



Major General Al Marri praised the re-enactment of the fire done with high professionalism and accuracy as another feather in the Dubai Police's cap.



"The investigators harnessed advanced technology and Artificial Intelligence during the investigations to establish the cause of the fire," he added.



Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Director-General of the Expo 2020 Dubai Office, lauded the efforts and professionalism by the Dubai Police criminal investigation teams.



''No doubt, the dedication of the Dubai Police personnel to maintain security and safety at the Expo Dubai site remains a key factor in our success," said the minister.



"We realise that the responsibility laid on their shoulders is great. Given Dubai Police's competencies and capabilities, we are all confident we are in safe hands in our journey to the expo and during the event," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
British actor Ian Holm, best known for his role as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy passed away at the age of 88, reported Guardian on Friday. The late actor is also known for his performance in 1981 film, Chariots of Fire, which also landed him an Oscar nomination, as well as won him a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) as a Supporting Actor.

According to reports, Ian Holm died from a Parkinson's related illness. The paper also shared a statement released by his agent, "It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning at the age of 88. He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer. Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely."

Bilbo Baggins Was A Beloved Character In LOTR Series Holm, born in 1931 in Essex, reportedly began his career on stage while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later gained international exposure after being cast as android Ash in the 1979 film, Alien. He appeared as Bilbo Baggins in two of The Lord of the Rings films and had also reprised the role for the prequel series, The Hobbit. Tolkien Society Paid Tribute On Twitter Fans of the actor and The Lord Of The Rings series were shocked to hear about his demise. Many fans took to social media to pay tribute and express their grief. The official Tolkien Society's Twitter account also paid tribute to the late actor and wrote, "Today in #Tolkien's Middle-earth: Third Age 3021, Frodo and Bilbo arrive at the Grey Havens, and sail west with Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel. Gandalf says: "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil." And we do all, indeed, weep. Image credit: @AlanLee11225760" Fans On Twitter Said Goodbye To Bilbo Baggins Here are some of the fan tribute that will surely get you teary-eyed.

RIP Ian Holmes, you both awakened my love for fantasy and scared the absolute shit out of child me in that one scene. You did Bilbo proud   pix  (@Atvrvxia) June 19, 2020

on another note, im sad to find out that sir ian holmes passed away. anyone that knows me knows how important lord of the rings is in my life.



rest easy, sir ian.  pic.twitter.com/7wpSyewJ9N  mallory  (@macklemalloryOW) June 19, 2020

RIP Sir Ian Holmes.



It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.  Megan - BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!!! (@stormsmaycome) June 19, 2020

Idk who Ian Holmes is but RIP to ya boy Bilbo Baggins.....

There and back again  Greased Lightning (@CadillacPharaoh) June 19, 2020

Chris Trousdale, Actor And Ex-Member Of Dream Street Dies Of Coronavirus At Age 34

Will Smith To Play A Slave In Period Drama Emancipation Based On A True Story
One thing we could say about the analysts on Carnival Corporation Plc ( NYSE:CCL ) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the latest downgrade, the 15 analysts covering Carnival Corporation provided consensus estimates of US$7.3b revenue in 2020, which would reflect a substantial 65% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Following this downgrade, earnings are now expected to tip over into loss-making territory, with the analysts forecasting losses of US$8.91 per share in 2020. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$10b and losses of US$4.36 per share in 2020. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, with the analysts making a serious cut to their revenue forecasts while also expecting losses per share to increase.

View our latest analysis for Carnival Corporation

NYSE:CCL Past and Future Earnings June 20th 2020

The consensus price target fell 11% to US$17.11, implicitly signalling that lower earnings per share are a leading indicator for Carnival Corporation's valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Carnival Corporation at US$30.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$5.00. As you can see the range of estimates is wide, with the lowest valuation coming in at less than half the most bullish estimate, suggesting there are some strongly diverging views on how analysts think this business will perform. As a result it might not be possible to derive much meaning from the consensus price target, which is after all just an average of this wide range of estimates.

Story continues

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast revenue decline of 65%, a significant reduction from annual growth of 6.4% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 17% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that Carnival Corporation's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note from this downgrade is that the consensus increased its forecast losses this year, suggesting all may not be well at Carnival Corporation. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. With a serious cut to this year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of Carnival Corporation.

Worse, Carnival Corporation is labouring under a substantial debt burden, which - if today's forecasts prove accurate - the forecast downgrade could potentially exacerbate. See why we're concerned about Carnival Corporation's balance sheet by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

You can also see our analysis of Carnival Corporation's Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com .



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Here's a look at some of the strangest news stories from the past week.
By PTI

MHOW: A medical team was attacked on Saturday afternoon in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh when it arrived to collect samples of the family of a COVID-19 victim, police said.

The incident took place in Jafrabad village in Indore's Mhow tehsil and probe was underway after the medical team filed a complaint, said Manpur police station in charge Hitendra Rathore.

Medical team in charge Prabha Kharve in her complaint said a resident of Ayodhya ward of the village had died on Friday and his report returned positive for coronavirus on Saturday.

When the team reached the village for contact tracing and collection of samples for testing, a man arrived and abused them and threw stones along with some others, the complaint stated.

"We want strict action in this matter or else it will be tough for us to work during the outbreak," Kharve said.
The Congress party on Saturday said that it supports the Central government and the defence forces but also demands answers to a host of questions on the recent violent face-off between India and China in Ladakh that killed 20 Indian Army soldiers.

Will the prime minister clarify how does he plan to ensure that their sacrifice does not go in vain? Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said during a press briefing on Saturday.

We therefore seek answers to the questions with a view to re-double our commitment and present a picture of unity and solidarity. We ask these questions while reiterating our total support to the Government of India and Indias defence forces. The defence of the nation and its territorial integrity are dear to the heart of every Indian, he said.

Between May 5 and June 6, what was the issue on which local Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts? What was the subject matter of the negotiations between the Corps Commanders of the two countries on June 6?: @PChidambaram_IN #ModiSurrendersToChina  Congress (@INCIndia) June 20, 2020

Also read: Not just Indias Galwan, China has a long list of territorial disputes

Sujrewala also said that the party raises the question on whose land were the 20 soldiers killed.

China claims they never entered our territory. PM Modi claims China never entered our territory. 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley. Will PM Modi clarify why they were martyred? On whose land were they martyred? Sujrewala said.

The Congress spokesperson said that China has blamed India for the clashes and has re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley. What is the governments answer to this claim? Will the Government of India reject this, he added.

If no Chinese troops are in Indian territory, why did Foreign Minister Mr Jaishankars statement and other statements of MEA demand the "restoration of status quo ante"?: @PChidambaram_IN #ModiSurrendersToChina  Congress (@INCIndia) June 20, 2020

Between May 5 and June 6, what was the issue on which local Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts? What was the subject matter of the negotiations between the Corps Commanders of the two countries on June 6? the senior Congress leader said.

Earlier this week, the Congress described the death of Indian soldiers in a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh as shocking, unbelievable and unacceptable.

Even after the PMs statement yesterday, China has blamed India for the clashes and has re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley. What is the governments answer to this claim? Will the Government of India reject this claim?: @PChidambaram_IN #ModiSurrendersToChina  Congress (@INCIndia) June 20, 2020

Shocking, Unbelievable & Unacceptable! Will the Raksha Mantri confirm? Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had tweeted.

Twenty Indian Army soldier, including the commanding officer of the 16th Bihar Regiment, were killed by Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

At an all-party meeting called to discuss the India-China border situation, PM Modi said that neither has anyone entered our territory, nor is anyone still there, nor is any of our posts under anyones capture.
Prices in pubs, hairdressers and cafes are set to rise if strict social distancing controls remain in place, as operators struggle to cope with increased costs and reduced capacity.

An accelerated roadmap for reopening Ireland means hairdressers, beauticians, cinemas and gyms will be back in business from June 29.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the details last night in order to give businesses more than a week to prepare.

But industry leaders have warned that while they may offer short-term deals to tempt back customers, they will struggle to keep prices down across a range of services.

Hairdressers admitted that the price of a cut or dye was likely to rise by 5 as salons offset extra costs.

Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) official Michael ODonovan said publicans would hold drinks prices to March levels. But, going forward, everything will be kept under review because we dont know what the future holds.

The tourism industry and services sector begins to reopen from June 29 after a three-month shut-down with a campaign to promote 'staycations' and domestic spending.

Danielle Kennedy, president of the Irish Hairdressers Federation, said most hairdressers would be imposing a 'PPE' or 'extra time' service charge of around 5 in order to offset the additional costs salons were facing in order to reopen safely.

"We know salons will have to have to up prices - but ever so slightly," she told the Irish Independent.

Expand Close Caution: Lisa Eccles, vice-president of the Irish Hairdressers Federation Photo: MAXWELLS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Caution: Lisa Eccles, vice-president of the Irish Hairdressers Federation Photo: MAXWELLS

The increased charges would reflect the additional financial burden placed on salon owners who will have to fork out for personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitisers and other safety measures.

They would also have to spread out appointments to accommodate fewer clients at one time, to comply with social distancing guidelines, she said.

Mr O'Donovan of the VFI said publicans would seek to hold drinks prices steady.

"All publicans are committed to offering value for money to their customers and there will be no increase in drinks prices," he said. "But, going forward, everything will be kept under review because we just don't know what the future holds. It is a challenging time for everyone.

"Publicans will be dealing with reduced capacity and increased costs. Even with a one-metre social distancing requirement, most pubs are looking at a maximum capacity of just 65pc of what it was in early March.

"Publicans also face having extra costs from setting up new booking systems."

Additional costs will be generated by cleaning, hygiene and staff training requirements.

Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) official and Trigon Hotels director Aaron Mansworth said offering value for money represented the best hope of accelerating recovery from the pandemic lockdown.

Expand Close Aaron Mansworth in The Metropole Hotel, Cork. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision / Facebook

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Whatsapp Aaron Mansworth in The Metropole Hotel, Cork. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

"Value will be critical - if people think they are getting good value for their hard-earned euro, then they will spend them," he said.

Mr Mansworth said most hoteliers were planning on offering pre-Covid prices as well as special break packages.

He acknowledged that a few hoteliers had not followed suit and had increased prices for dates in July and August.

But he stressed that the overwhelming majority of hotels were desperate to secure bookings for domestic 'staycations' and had great value on offer.

Mr Mansworth acknowledged that hotels, like pubs and restaurants, would be hit by higher costs and capacity issues.

"The problem is that if you book your hotel to capacity, will your breakfast room, your restaurant and your bar be able to handle that number of guests and still comply?"

Further costs will be incurred from cleaning demands - with Covid-19 requiring deeper cleaning of hotel facilities there will be a knock-on effect on cleaning staff and related costs.

Read More

Restaurants also face higher costs. Leading chef consultant Richy Virahsawmy warned that operating margins will prove so challenging that many outlets may not survive or will simply opt to remain closed until 2021.

Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) president Adrian Cummins warned the Government that without extensive financial support, the industry "faces falling off a cliff".

Expand Close Restaurant Association of Ireland chief Adrian Cummins said halving the physical distancing rule would be a "game changer" for the industry. Picture: Mark Condren / Facebook

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Whatsapp Restaurant Association of Ireland chief Adrian Cummins said halving the physical distancing rule would be a "game changer" for the industry. Picture: Mark Condren

"In order for our recovery to happen we need financial support. The 10,000 Restart Grant is just not going to cut it - real financial measures are needed," he said.

Barista and cafe owner Rob Horgan said price hikes in the medium term may prove unavoidable.

"How do you square the circle? You have reduced capacity and higher costs? Of course it is going to impact on prices over time.

"Some cafes will be forced to operate at just one-third of their capacity so they may face a situation of either significantly increasing prices or just closing down. Something has to give," he said.
Rallying: A man parades along the street in Tulsa carrying a flag with the image of Donald Trump on it. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg

John Bolton has been branded a "traitor" by Donald Trump's most senior diplomat as the backlash against the ex-US national security adviser's tell-all book escalated.

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, who is accused of mocking Mr Trump behind his back by Mr Bolton, tweeted: "I've not read the book, but from the excerpts I've seen published, John Bolton is spreading a number of lies, fully spun half-truths, and outright falsehoods.

"It is both sad and dangerous that John Bolton's final public role is that of a traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with its people."

Mr Pompeo went on to add that America's allies know Mr Trump is a "force for good in the world".

The "traitor" line appeared to be a reference to the Trump administration's claim that Mr Bolton's new book contains classified information and that the text is yet to be signed off from a vetting process by the US government.

Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, added his voice to the criticism, saying: "John Bolton has put self-promotion ahead of the truth and the interests of the country."

The rebuttals follow Mr Trump's own heated reaction to the book, which led him to dub Mr Bolton a "wacko", "dope" and "sick puppy" in recent days.

But they are not just out to defend Mr Trump.

Mr Pompeo is under pressure after he was quoted making negative remarks about Mr Trump in Mr Bolton's book, which is not yet published but has been leaked extensively.

Mr Pompeo, a Trump loyalist, allegedly passed a note to Mr Bolton during North Korea talks saying the US president was "so full of s***".

In the book, seen by US newspapers, Mr Pompeo is also quoted as saying that Mr Trump's denuclearisation strategy with North Korea has "zero probability of success".

Mr Mnuchin, who has held the treasury post throughout the Trump presidency, is also singled out for criticism by Mr Bolton, accused of blocking "tough measures" on countries like China.

The 592-page book, called 'The Room Where It Happened', is an account of Mr Bolton's time as Mr Trump's national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019. It is due to be released on Tuesday.

Mr Bolton's lawyers have called the US Department of Justice's attempts to stop the book's release through the courts as "surreal", noting that reporters already had copies and were holding them up in footage out on news channels.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump's focus appeared to be turning to the rally he plans to hold in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tonight.

Parts of Tulsa have been put under a curfew for the night amid fears of clashes between pro-Trump and anti-Trump factions. The president tweeted: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Mr Trump's campaign, said he was referring to agitators, not peaceful protesters.

"The president supports peaceful protests and people who are exercising their First Amendment rights," Mr Lotter told MSNBC. "If we see what we've seen in other cities with rioting, looting, setting buildings on fire and physical violence, then that's going to be something that's going to be met by police."

The rally is Mr Trump's first major re-election event in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and comes amid weeks of civil unrest over the treatment of African-Americans and growing protests over racism and policing.

With more than 100,000 people expected in the area of the rally tonight, the Tulsa mayor has declared a curfew for several downtown city blocks around the venue.

The order came into effect on Thursday night and will not end until 6am tomorrow.

Mr Trump's campaign also released a video claiming that Joe Biden, his rival in November's election, once received an "endorsement" from the terrorist Osama bin Laden.

The allegation was based on a plot against Barack Obama which Bin Laden said would put his "totally unprepared" vice-president at the time, Mr Biden, into power.
India will serve a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from January 2021. This will be the nations eighth time at UNSC.

Other than the Permanent 5 (P-5), UNSC has 10 elected members, five from Asia and Africa, two each from Latin America and Western Europe & Others (WEOG) and one from East Europe. Five of these elected members retire every year.

There are five regional groups at UNSC, representing Asia, Africa, Latin America and in a hark-back to the Cold War, Eastern Europe, apart from WEOG that includes the United States (US), Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

Most regional groups, other than WEOG, usually endorse their candidates ahead of the election. This time, we were the candidate for the Asian seat and obtained 182 out of 193 votes in the UN General Assembly. From WEOG, Norway and Ireland knocked out Canada for the groups two seats.

While the election is hotly contested, the election process is fascinating. The ballot is a blank sheet. You are supposed to know who is running, and write in the name of the country of your choice on the ballot. Of course, you can vote for your own country.

India last served on the UNSC during 2011-12. The team was led by ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, now minister in the Narendra Modi government (full disclosure: He is also a cousin). I was his deputy. Then, too, we were the only candidate from Asia and obtained a record 187 votes from 192 members. We had previously been on UNSC in 1991-1992 and were seeking to return after a gap of 19 years and a bruising defeat at the hands of Japan in 1996. Indias effort was to marshal the maximum number of votes.

The widely publicised story after the election was of the Pakistani ambassador, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, having shown around his ballot apparently marked in favour of India. There were others who took photos on their phones and showed them to us, signalling their support.

We missed five votes. Obviously, some were political. But strange things also happen. One African country received a vote on the Asian slate. Unbelievable, but the Ambassador wrote his own countrys name on the ballot, thinking that he had signed his support for India. Then, too, Canada was bested in the WEOG by Portugal and a late-entrant Germany.

A diplomat from a small country told me that while he was awaiting instruction on his two votes, he was sure one would be Germany; after all, his president rode in a Mercedes.

Elected members head Security Council committees. The P-5 refer to these as goodies. For us, obtaining the Chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) was important. Strangely, the British opposed this saying that we were invested in the matter. But, playing the diplomatic game in New York, Delhi and London, India prevailed. During Indias chairmanship, we established the concept of zero tolerance for terrorism. Counter-terrorism will rightly be a focus for India during our forthcoming term on UNSC.

With multilateralism under pressure, particularly as a result of Covid-19, UNSC, too, has its challenge set. Indias term on UNSC will also coincide with India hosting Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and G-20 summits. India should use the opportunity to push its case on Security Council reform to open up the horseshoe table that seats the UNSC.

Manjeev S Puri is a former ambassador and former deputy permanent representative of India to the United Nations

The views expressed are personal
Concerts and music festivals as we know them have been put on the backburner due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but one of the summers highly anticipated festivals is bringing the atmosphere to your home this weekend.

Body & Soul, which was due to take place at Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath from June 19 to 21 with Roisin Murphy and Metronomy among the headliners, are teaming up with The Isolation Station Radio to bring you #SolsticeSessions Saturday on June 20th.

They plan to crack open the Body & Soul vault and journey through some of their favourite artists and DJs from the past 10 years. From 3pm-2am on June 20th, make the #SolsticeSessions your audio backdrop for your Body&Soul at home by visiting bit.ly/SolsticeSessions

After the wilds of Saturday nights solstice celebrations, Sundays #SoulSessions will highlight the softer side of Body & Soul by offering the perfect wind-down for your weekend from 10am-1pm. Tune into ritual, aerial performance, live music, yoga, spoken word with you & yours all broadcast across the Body&Soul Facebook page.

Be sure to tag @bodyandsoulirl and #SolsticeSessions with pictures of your DIY festival where they are also offering downloadable and printable wristband and posters for that authentic feel.

The festival will also be giving away scores of tickets to Body & Soul 2021 for Best Camp, Best Installation, Best Drink and Best Family Camp.

Full lineup details will be posted on their social media channels.
State-owned Bank of Baroda has closed its fully-owned subsidiary in Ghana and the license has been surrendered to the regulator there.

In December 2018, the bank had informed about sale of business (closure of overseas subsidiary) in Ghana.

"We further advise in the matter that Bank of Baroda (Ghana) Ltd has surrendered its banking license to the host country regulator at Ghana viz. Bank of Ghana and the Registrar of the Company, Ghana vide letter dated 11th June 2020, has informed that...the name of Bank of Baroda (Ghana) Ltd has been struck off from the register of companies and the said company is dissolved," Bank of Baroda said in a regulatory filing on Saturday.

Moreover, notice has been submitted to the Ghana Publishing Corporation for publishing the same in the next Gazette, it said.

The closure of overseas bank branches is part of government's plan to rationalise and streamline operations under the reforms agenda for the banking sector approved in 2017 under the then finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Under the PSB Manthan programme, the aim is to rationalise overseas operations for cost efficiencies and synergies in foreign markets, based on competitive strength and viability.

It also adopts to a differentiated banking strategy to leverage bank's competitive advantage, which may include branch network rationalisation for a strong regional connect.
She just wanted cigarettes.

But when Mary Yancey, an African American woman, tried to enter a drugstore at 13th and Market streets in Harrisburg 51 years ago Sunday, she was denied service after being told the store was closed.

She objected, police were summoned, and she was arrested. Two days later, on June 23, 1969, she picketed the drugstore and a crowd gathered. City police arrived with riot gear and shotguns.

Riots erupted, spreading throughout Allison Hill and uptown for two days.

During the uprising, white police Officer Raymond S. Kertulis shot and killed a black John Harris High School student, Charles A. Scott. Kertulis was later cleared by a coroners jury.

The revolt was the culmination of years of racial inequality.

After holding hearings on the riots, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission issued a report saying the city had a history of denying equal opportunity in housing, employment, education and services to blacks.

Further, the commission found that police escalated tensions.

Letters to the editor published in The (Harrisburg) Evening News in the weeks after the riots showed a community divided over the role of the police and the claims of blacks  echoes of today.

Defending police

Several letters expressed solidarity with the police officers, who, the writers believed, were facing unfair criticism.

One letter writer, Enola resident Helen B. Helsey, wondered what the rioters were trying to prove by burning buildings and businesses, and she took umbrage at the use of the word pigs to describe police.

Too little is said about the basic integrity and compassion of these men, she claimed.

MORE: Racial tensions in Harrisburg turned violent in 1969

MORE: Harrisburg history marked by moments of racial unrest

MORE: Yorks 1969 race riots: What caused them and what has changed since then

Arnold Garborough of Harrisburg wrote that police were receiving condemnation no matter what they did in the Communist-inspired racial riots raging in America. The officer who killed Scott was trying to protect the lives and property of American citizens and should not be tried in the shooting, Garborough wrote.

Michael T. Swan, a black man who said he witnessed the uprising, praised the police for their restraint. In fact, perhaps they showed too much restraint, he wrote: If officers didnt have to worry so much about public opinion, they could have quelled the disorder in a few hours. Swan apologized to those whose property and businesses were destroyed.

Decrying racism in Harrisburg

Other letter writers pointed to racism and police overreaction as the root of Harrisburgs  and Americas  civil uprisings.

Blacks receive too much blame for causing trouble, wrote Mrs. John R. Nolte of Harrisburg. She reported seeing a car full of young white men throwing a firecracker at a pedestrian.

I for one believe we had better wake up and start training our young people to love instead of hate, she declared.

In a letter indicting white Harrisburgs self-satisfaction, B. Penrose Hoover observed that racial violence forced whites to gather in the harvest of hate they had cultivated for 400 years.

It seems that Harrisburg has its special agony: a history of popular complacency, in which the problem was either constantly misread or ignored, Hoover wrote. In his view, white Americans decried physical violence caused by blacks but ignored the mental, economic, social and spiritual violence that blacks suffered at the hands of whites.

Nineteen-year-old William F. Nagel decried the use of fear to promote law and order.

Fear will never bring trust, respect, or equality. Harrisburg, and America, must take imaginative steps to bring people together, Nagel wrote.

Harry Holland, president of the Harrisburg Uptown Civic Association, criticized Mayor Albert Straub for failing to mention Scott among the citys casualties during a City Council meeting. Instead, the mayor listed property that was destroyed and jobs that were lost because of the riots.

Property can be insured, but there is no insurance in this crazy, mixed up world that replaces a human being, Holland wrote.

Debate over sensitivity training

A debate arose over the value of sensitivity training for police arose after Straub promised that officers would receive 40 hours of it.

Opponents feared sensitivity training would brainwash police and demolish a persons individuality.

For example, Harold M. Wells wrote that the process of baring ones soul before a group eats away the very foundations of individual resistance to indoctrination and outside control. Such group criticism is used for this purpose in every Communist country.

Other opponents of sensitivity training claimed it was unfair to police. An anonymous police officer wrote that sensitivity should work both ways: I fail to realize the importance of police officers receiving additional sensitivity training when the black people are responsible for hurling abusive remarks at policemen.

Supporters of sensitivity training said opponents misunderstood what the instruction entailed.

Keith A. Dittenhafer wrote that 10 weeks of sensitivity training had not shattered his sense of self.

If anything, my self-concept has been strengthened and made more realistic by enabling me to see myself, not only through my own preconceptions, but also through the eyes of others, he wrote.

Albert L. Schartner, who also had undergone sensitivity training, echoed Dittenhafer. Self-understanding is a main goal, Schartner wrote.

Sensitivity training would not challenge Harrisburg police officers individuality or their ability to do their jobs, but it would help them to become more aware of themselves and their community, the letter writers stated.

Arguments reverberate

Arguments on The Evening News editorial pages more than 50 years ago echo those made today amid the protests for racial justice in the wake of George Floyds death.

As the anniversary of Harrisburgs race riots approaches Tuesday, its worth asking whether central Pennsylvanias history of popular complacency regarding race, as Hoover wrote in his letter, will finally change.

Joe McClure is a news editor for PennLive/The Patriot-News. Email him at jmcclure@advancelocal.com, and follow him on Twitter: @jmcclure59. This article was adapted from his masters thesis at Penn State Harrisburg.

More from Joe McClure:

 MLK's assassination helped bring Harrisburg's race problems to the surface

 Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 took deadly toll on central Pennsylvania

 Polio vaccines drew overwhelming interest in central Pennsylvania

 Feared typhoid epidemics sparked major health changes in Harrisburg and Pennsylvania

 Movies sparked racial division, immorality concerns in central Pennsylvania a century ago

 Telling fortunes or acting evil, the nomadic Roma fascinated central Pa. a century ago
Today marks 100 days since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on Mar 11. The U.S. stock market was badly beaten down during the crisis, entering the bear market in late March. However, it then rebounded strongly with the S&P 500 gaining about 40% from the lows.



A booming technology sector, an unprecedented stimulus from the central bank and the government, and hopes of a potential coronavirus vaccine were the biggest catalysts in driving the stocks higher. Additionally, the latest bouts of data indicate that the economy has been recovering faster-than-expected from the COVID-19 pandemic.



This is especially true as U.S. retail sales jumped 17.7% in May as consumers began spending and states gradually reopened their economies. Also, industrial production rose 1.4% with the resumption of operations. The United States added 2.5 million jobs in May  the largest monthly gain since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data series in 1939. Additionally, homebuilder confidence posted a record jump in June while consumer sentiment climbed the most in June since 2016.



Further, the Feds latest move to provide liquidity in the markets and the Trump administrations $1 trillion infrastructure spending package added to the strength. The central bank announced that it would begin purchasing individual corporate bonds as part of its emergency lending program to inject liquidity into the virus-stricken economy. However, the stock market is currently witnessing volatility given renewed fears of COVID-19 infections.



While every sector of the market has rallied, information technology and consumer discretionary has been the clear winner during the pandemic. Below, we have highlighted some stocks from the S&P 500 index that soared more than 40% in the 100 days of the pandemic. These stocks have a solid Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), suggesting their continued outperformance even in the wake of second wave of deadly virus infections. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Fortinet Inc. FTNT  Up 49.3%



This company is a provider of network security appliances and Unified Threat Management (UTM) network security solutions to enterprises, service providers and government entities worldwide. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of 14 cents over the past 90 days for this year with an estimated growth of 13.8%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and Growth Score of B.



West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. WST  Up 47.2%



This company manufactures and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the United States, Germany, Ireland, France, Other European countries and internationally. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of 9 cents over the past 90 days for this year with estimated growth of 11.4%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and Growth Score of A.



Tractor Supply Company TSCO  Up 43.5%



This is the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of 53 cents over the past 90 days for this year and has an estimated growth of 19%. Tractor Supply has a Zacks Rank #2 and Momentum Score of B.



MarketAxess Holdings Inc. MKTX  Up 42.5%



This leading multi-dealer trading platform offers institutional investors access to global liquidity in products like U.S. high-grade corporate bonds, emerging markets and high-yield bonds, European bonds, U.S. agency bonds, credit derivatives and other fixed-income securities. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of 96 cents over the past 90 days for this year with an estimated growth of 31.1%. MarketAxess has a Zacks Rank #1 and Growth Score of B.



NVIDIA Corporation NVDA  Up 41.5%



It is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU. The stock saw positive earnings estimate revision of 25 cents over the past 90 days for fiscal year (ending Jan 21) and has estimated growth of 36.4%. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2.



5 Stocks to Soar Past the Pandemic:



In addition to the companies you learned about above, we invite you to learn about 5 cutting-edge stocks that could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for stay at home technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of the decade.



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By PTI

BEIJING: A Chinese university has threatened to take action against an Indian student for allegedly posting offensive comments against the Chinese people on social media, the official media here reported on Saturday.

The Indian national surnamed Kadukkasseri is a student at the Jiangsu University (JSU) in east China's Jiangsu Province.

His offensive posts have gone viral on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, the Global Times reported.

"The university will punish Kadukkasseri for his wrongdoing according to its regulations on overseas students after further investigation," the report quoted an official from the JSU surnamed Wu as saying.

ALSO READ | LAC standoff: Boycott of China products a tall order, trade unlikely to be hurt

The Indian student has since apologised, the report said.

The comments come in wake of heightened tensions between the two nuclear giants as 20 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel, lost their lives in a face-off at Ladakh's Galwan valley.

China's claim of sovereignty over the region has caused tensions resulted in people demanding boycott of Chinese products, among other reactions.

Meanwhile, Beijing as a counter-reaction to trade tensions, made 98 per cent of products coming in from Bangladesh duty-free from July 1.

(With Online Desk and ENS inputs)
At the request of Donald Trump's campaign, police arrested an Oklahoma demonstrator on live television moments after she was seen praying outside the president's rally, though she said she had a ticket to attend.

Sheila Buck, who was wearing an "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt to memorialise black Americans killed by police, was accused of "trespassing" by Tulsa officers who dragged her away from the city's BOK Centre on Saturday.

Ms Buck was placed into a police cruiser and booked with "obstruction", according to police, though she wasn't impeding any foot traffic or blocking any access to the area.

"They're arresting me," she told several news crews following her arrest from the centre. "They're putting cuffs on me. I've done nothing. I have tickets to this thing."

Asked why she was demonstrating, she said: "Because of this."

Earlier on Saturday, she was seen quietly walking alongside lines of people waiting to enter the centre before kneeling in prayer hours before the president was set to arrive.

On Friday, the president issued a threat to protesters outside his rally: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

The campaign asked police to "remove" Ms Buck, who was booked for obstruction, according to the Tulsa Police Department.

"This morning at 11.30am Tulsa Police were requested by Trump campaign staff to remove an individual from the secure area of the rally," police said in a statement. "Tulsa Police spoke to the arrestee, Ms Buck, for several minutes trying to convince her to leave on her own accord. After several minutes requesting her to leave she continued to refuse to cooperate and was escorted out of the area and transported to booking for obstruction."

Police said that Ms Buck "had passed through the metal detector area to the most secure area of the event accessible only to ticket holders. Whether she had a ticket or not for the event is not a contributing factor for the Tulsa Police in making the arrest. Officers at the location, particularly in the 'Sterile' area, will remove individuals only at the direction of campaign staff."

She was "in an area that is considered a private event area and the event organiser ... can have people removed at their discretion," according to police.
The executive council of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) recently convened its 45th meeting in the form of teleconference in Geneva.

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The meeting reviewed GICHD projects in 2019 that targeted nearly 50 countries, and introduced some initiatives of online training on issues regarding the settlement of consequences of unexploded ordnance (UXOs) left over from wartime.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organisations in Geneva, thanked GICHD President Barbara Hearings and the council members for their consensus to elect her to the council membership.

She said the GICHD has played an active role in mine clearing, especially in managing information, putting forth standards, enhancing national capacity and mitigating risks caused by war-left UXOs to the community.

The ambassador expressed her delight at the outcomes of activities and projects of the GICHD in 2019, including two cooperation projects with Vietnamese competent agencies, especially the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC).

As one of the countries severely affected by war-left UXOs, Vietnam attaches importance to efforts to deal with their consequences through intensifying the national legal system, and cooperation with international organisations and partners in this regard, including the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC) and the GICHD.

Mai pledged to work together with the council members to promote collaboration between Vietnamese agencies and the GICHD in the time ahead, focusing on implementing the existing projects and seeking new ones.

Established in 1998, the GICHD aims to support international efforts in mitigating risks of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance left over from wartime to the community./.VNA
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has issued an order mandating that businesses in the county must require customers wear masks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The order goes into effect Monday, June 22.

Employees and customers over the age of 10 must wear a mask or face covering, stay 6 feet apart from other customers and staff, and cannot enter a business if they are feeling ill.

"Every business has a 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' policy," Hidalgo said. "The idea is to see this as a 'no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service' policy."

HOUSTON CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: What you need to know

Businesses not complying with the order will receive a $1,000 fine per violation. Individuals cannot be fined.

No fines will be issued for five days once the order goes into effect. The order will expire at the end of June.

Exemptions to the order include while eating or drinking something provided by the business, when in a business that requires security surveillance (like banks), when exercising outdoors, while pumping gas or when a mask would pose a greater mental or physical health risk.

Harris County has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day.

Hidalgo said there is space in hospitals and the death rate is still low in Houston, but encouraged the community to remain vigilant.

"To be clear, just because there is a bed for you now, does not mean we want you there," Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo first issued a mask order in April that carried a fine up to $1,000 for violators, but Gov. Greg Abbott prohibited cities and counties from punishing residents not wearing masks soon after. He endorsed Bexar County's mask order earlier this week, as it applies to businesses rather than individuals.

"Government cannot require individuals to wear masks, Abbott said. However, pursuant to my plan, local governments can require stores and businesses to require masks.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'It's guaranteed' this coronavirus won't be the last to infect humans, expert says

Mayor Sylvester Turner expressed his support for the order and encouraged businesses and customers to follow it.

"The virus, every single day, is reminding us that it is still here," Turner said. "And if you treat it like it's not here, the numbers are going to speak for themselves."
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: JP Park in Mathikere is not only set to become Bengalurus first Heritage Biodiversity Park, it will also be a part of Peoples Biodiversity Register (PBR), a database of flora and fauna in the city being prepared by BBMP along with Karnataka Biodiversity Board (KBB). At a meeting with the KBB chairman held here on Friday, BBMP was tasked with creating a database of flora and fauna of the city. Citizens, NGOs, experts and those who have sound knowledge of the citys biodiversity must also be documented in the PBR along with their findings.

H S Ranganathaswamy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, BBMP Forest Cell, who participated in the meeting said, We suggested JP Park so that we can protect the citys lung space. As part of the PBR, we have been asked to identify more such spaces within three months, he said, adding that the final decision to declare JP Park as a heritage park will be taken after a field visit at the end of this month.

Ananth Hegde Ashisara, chairman of KBB, who chaired the meeting, told TNIE that according to the Karnataka Biodiversity Act, PBR of every zilla, taluk and municipality should be completed. Under this, native plants, birds, insects, animals, water bodies, wetlands, urban wildlife species, hillocks, trees and plant species will be registered. So far, 3,000 PBRs of gram panchayats have been prepared and 6,000 panchayat committees have been formed. There is no set timeline yet, but it is about time we start identifying these places, he added.

The committee in Bengaluru comprises the Mayor as chairman, BBMP Commissioner as secretary, and members include those from NGOs and professors of Bengaluru University. The KBB further instructed BBMP to ensure that at least 5% of the budget is kept aside to increase the citys green cover. They said that while taking up developmental work under the Smart City project, importance should be given to green belt conservation.
If the Church had stood up against slavery, we may not be here, SBC pastor says

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The Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee held a one-hour conversation on race in America with black church leaders Wednesday to listen and learn, and discuss the Church's response to racial inequalities that are still affecting communities today.

Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd, who is white, convened the online video conference with five black SBC pastors from different regions of the country to have a biblical conversation about race in America and the implications it's having on the churches of our Southern Baptist Convention and our Great Commission work that we are doing together.

About 25 years after the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. apologized for its support for slavery during its founding, Floyd said that today, about 23% of SBC churches are non-Anglo churches, with 4,000 of the denominations 47,500 churches being African American churches.

As we are growing in racial diversity as a convention of churches, it is important that we listen to one another and to learn from each other, Floyd said. We are walking through some very difficult times in American life as racial tension and strife continue to rise to levels of great concern for each of us. I believe that the church of Jesus Christ must answer this moment in American history and this is why we are having this conversation together today.

K. Marshall Williams, the senior pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church of Philadelphia, suggested during the conversation that America might not be in the situation it's in today when it comes to racial issues had the Church done more to speak out against racism and slavery.

Linked up with what we are dealing with today, I agree with Tony Evans. If the Church would have stood up for righteousness and justice rather than oppression and slavery back in the day, we may not be here, Williams, who has served at his church for over 30 years, said.

I think it is imperative on the Church today, especially cooperatively and all of us of all ethnicities, especially our brethren of the lightest hue, to be able to speak to their concentric circle of contact, their sphere of influence, where laws are made that are deliberately contributing to institutional and systemic racism.

Williams added that what the U.S. is facing today in its push forward for racial equality is spiritual warfare.





Unless hearts change, nothing will change in America, he said. In other words, we are wrestling not against flesh and blood. We got to commit ourselves to persistent, passionate prayer, fasting in prayer. Then, plan and then process and implement that to which God tells us to do, that we might be an ocular demonstration, a depiction or illustration of what a kingdom citizen looks like.

Williams stressed that the world is waiting for us to come together."

If the truth be told, this is just a dress rehearsal for when we get around to the crown, he said.

I think God may be stripping us. I dont know about you, I believe this is a stripping time for me, a pruning time for me, a time of in the refiner's fire, that God would really see what He has as far as the Church of the Lord of Jesus Christ.

Willie McLaurin, the vice president of Great Commission relations and mobilization of the SBC Executive Committee, said that he feels part of the responsibility is to plot a path forward for future generations.

I think we have to answer the question, Are we going to be a thermometer or are we going to be a thermostat? McLaurin said. I think for so long, we have been comfortable being a thermometer. But a thermostat controls the waves and controls the moves and controls the temperature.

He stressed that one of the things that needs to happen is that the SBC needs to develop a leadership pipeline.

We have got brothers and sisters who are more than qualified to serve our convention, McLaurin stressed. We have got to develop a pipeline with those folk and we have to have them available so that when positions and opportunities present themselves, we got a list of folk that all weve got to do is recommend them and follow that process and support them when we get them in those roles and positions. That is the first step for us.

Kevin Smith, the executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, agreed that their needs to be a leadership pipeline. However, he went a step further to stress that their needs to be a greater emphasis on discipling lay members of the church to be effective disciples of Christ in their spheres of influence and communities. He called it one of the vicious leadership issues the denomination is facing.

On the one hand, we need pipelines in regards to people who have not had opportunities to engage in pipelines before, he added. But the greater deficit in Southern Baptist witness is the salt-light influence of the brothers and sisters in our pews who are able to be Nehemiahs, Deborahs and Esthers and Priscillas out in their communities, out in the economy, people who are entrepreneurs, people that have hiring power.

We are the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., Smith added. So at some point, we can influence whether a righteous or just person is elected as a local district attorney or whether a political crony is elected as local district attorney. A whole lot of issues that involve those kinds of things. We need to examine the breadth of our leadership pipeline as regards to people in vocational ministry, missionaries and pastors. But we more so need to examine the breadth, or even the lack of, the existence of discipling our members that they might be salt and light influences in the communities in which they live.

Smith warned that there is a sense that much of this stems from the pulpit because pastors have not been challenging members in prophetic ways to be followers of Jesus Christ.

The pipeline that is hurting us as in regards to race in America, in regards to a lot of things in America  materialism, greed, consumerism  is discipling members in such a way that when they go out into the community that they are different than other people, he said.

Charlie Dates, the senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, said the conversation on race in America is tiring.

It is not simply tiring because of the events of recent weeks, he said. Its tiring because it has been a 401-year struggle for African American people in this country. It is one that is tethered and underpinned by a kind of theological imperialism. Part of my preaching, quite frankly, is the deconstruction of a theology that is insufficient to address today.

Dates said that he understands preaching to be the steering wheel and the accelerator.

I dont see the movement progressing aside from preachers being at the front of the movement. If persons who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not at the front lines of strategy and demonstration, then the world will simply be blowing hot air in trying to breathe change, Dates said.

We need those who are filled with the spirit of God, not to abdicate our role and authority, but also not to marginalize people who are already on the borders. To lock arms with people who may not even understand the Gospel as we do but can demonstrate the Gospel in power and in witness in leading them in peaceful protests.

Rolland Slade, the senior pastor of Meridian Baptist Church of El Cajon, California, was elected as the first-ever African American chairman of the SBC Executive Committee on Tuesday.

During the conversation, Slade said that his election sends a good message to the denomination.

It says that if you do work, God will not only reward you, you will have the support of all of the folks who you are working with, Slade said. I believe that my election yesterday said that. It was a unanimous vote by all of the executive committee. The message that I have received since then, everyone has said, We are with you, 100%. We love your spirit and we love your attitude. We want to work with you and Dr. Floyd to further the convention. I feel 100% supported.
A 38-year-old officer with the Richmond International Airport Police Department was arrested and charged with trespassing after he was taken into custody at a building overlooking the Lee monument Saturday morning.

Riley OShaughnessey, of Richmond, was armed with a handgun, but police said there will not be any weapons charge as the gun was being carried lawfully.

In a news release, police said officers were called around 6:30 a.m. to investigate someone spotted on the roof of an unoccupied building overlooking the Lee statue on Monument Avenue. At 7:47 a.m., officers were preparing to enter the building when OShaughnessey was spotted outside and taken into custody, the release said.

Just before 8 a.m., the Richmond Police Department on Twitter warned people to avoid the area. Please avoid the area around the Lee Monument. RPD officers are currently dealing with an armed individual in the 1800 block of Monument Avenue. For your safety please stay away, the tweet stated.

At 8:39 a.m., RPD tweeted that no shots had been fired and the building at 1805 Monument Ave. was secure. A couple of hours later, RPD tweeted the situation was resolved and one individual is in custody.
JERSEYVILLE  Jersey Hometown plans to reopen Friday, June 26.

In January, the restaurant at 309 N. State St., opened for business bringing barbeque to Jerseyville. When Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his stay-at-home order in March, the restaurant was forced to close after being open a mere two months.

Co-owner Debbie Wedding said the pandemic has been stressful. Because of how the restaurant prepares its food, Wedding said she was unable to do curbside service for the restaurant.

During the closure, Weddings daughter and Hometown employee Hannah Marshall, utilized the down time at the business.

Our gift shop will open alongside the restaurant, Marshall said.

Jersey Hometown also is planning to offer an expanded menu, including pork steak and ribs. Marshall said the pork steak will be featured on Friday.

This time has been stressful, but weve been keeping busy, Wedding said.

The restaurants interior has the look of a barn. Wedding said most of the materials used to decorate it came from recycled structures in Dow and Delhi. The walls are decorated with pictures from a local photographer.

Most of the restaurant decor  black tables, black chairs and dishes  was obtained from other restaurants in the area, such as The 518 in Jerseyville and Elijah Ps Burgers And Brews. Most of the kitchen was from White Spot.

Its how to do a restaurant on a budget, Wedding said in Feburary. Were trying to use a lot of local materials.

The new hours for Jersey Hometown are Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The business is closed Sunday and Monday.
The lettering of the payment service provider Wirecard can be seen on a laptop screen

German payments firm Wirecard said late on Friday it had hired U.S. investment bank Houlihan Lokey to develop a new financing strategy as Moody's slashed the company's rating to junk following the disappearance of 1.9 billion euros ($2.3 billion).

The scandal-hit company is desperately seeking to reassure investors after its search for the missing cash hit a dead end in the Philippines, prompting ratings agencies to react. The company's CEO quit on Friday.

"The downgrade of Wirecard's ratings and review for further downgrade reflect the accounting irregularities and related implications on the company's liquidity and financial profile following its failure to publish the already postponed audited consolidated accounts for 2019," Moody's said late on Friday.

The company's postponement of the audited statements could trigger high and immediate refinancing needs, according to analysts who cover the company, prompting Wirecard to announce late on Friday that it had hired Houlihan Lokey to overhaul its financing strategy.

Neil Campling, an analyst at Mirabaud, said on Saturday "there is no update yet about either the missing 1.9 billion euros (1.7 billion pounds) or the results of the discussions with the lending banks concerning credit lines.

"The deadline for audited results was June 19, yesterday, otherwise 2 billion euros of loans could be terminated."

Dutch shareholder group VEB said on Friday it would seek compensation from the German firm's accountants EY.
For investors feeling perplexed by the stock markets roller coaster ride in 2020, youre not alone. Following up a week that saw volatility make a comeback, stocks popped for the third session in a row on June 16, surging on a historic gain in retail sales and progress on a possible COVID-19 treatment. Rumors that the Trump administration is preparing a $1 trillion infrastructure bill also helped fuel the charge forward. That said, the rally came as investors brushed off reports of a cluster of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and China.

Against this backdrop, finding investing inspiration can seem like a formidable task. The analysts from investment firm Needham, however, argue that even in such a confused financial environment, there are still compelling plays. Recently publishing its list of Conviction Buys, the firm, which scores a top ten spot on TipRanks ranking of Top Performing Research Firms, highlights several names it believes are set to outperform the broader market.

To get the rest of the Streets take, we ran three of Needhams picks through TipRanks database. As it happens, the broader analyst community is also on board, with each ticker earning a Strong Buy consensus rating. Not to mention substantial upside potential is also on the table.

Revance Therapeutics (RVNC)

First up we have Revance Therapeutics, which is a biotech company that is primarily focused on aesthetic and therapeutic products, including its investigational neuromodulator asset, DaxibotulinumtoxinA for injection. After announcing a new partnership, Needham thinks the healthcare names future is bright.

Representing the firm, analyst Serge Belanger cites its collaboration with Mylan as a key component of his bullish thesis. He reminds investors that the two companies first entered into a license agreement to develop a Botox biosimilar back in February 2018. This deal saw RVNC receive $25 million upfront, which was part of up to $100 million in regulatory and development milestones, with it eligible for up to $225 million in sales milestones and sales royalties.

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Now, Mylan has decided to move forward with the collaboration, with it set to pay RVNC $30 million in cash as part of the opt-in decision. Mylan's opt-in decision, along with the $30 million payment, is a vote of confidence for the development plan and market opportunity of the Botox biosimilar program. The collaboration allows RVNC to focus on the upcoming product launches (Daxi and Teoxane fillers) and the continued development of Daxi, while MYL takes on an increasing role to move the Botox biosimilar program forward, Belanger explained.

As per the terms of the extended agreement, RVNC will be responsible for non-clinical development activities, clinical development for North America, the manufacturing and clinical supply of the drug, while Mylan will take on all ex-U.S. development and all commercialization activities. Approval, which could come via the 351(k) regulatory pathway, would provide a biosimilar Botox product with access to the $3.6 billion Botox global market that includes all 13 FDA-approved Botox indications. It should be noted that this product wouldnt compete with Daxi, which will most likely create a stand-alone long-acting premium neuromodulator market segment separate from current short-acting products, in Belangers opinion.

The analyst added, This is another successful milestone in a catalyst-rich 2020 for RVNC. These catalysts include the launch of the Teoxane filler in Q3 2020, readout of the Phase 3 Daxi trial in cervical dystonia and the November 25 PDUFA for Daxi (glabellar lines).

In line with his bullish take, Belanger reiterated a Buy call and $36 price target. Should the target be met, a twelve-month gain of 58% could be in store. (To watch Belangers track record, click here)

Do other analysts agree with Bellanger? As it turns out, most do. 5 Buy ratings and a single Hold add up to a Strong Buy analyst consensus. At $28.20, the average price target indicates 23% upside potential. (See Revance stock analysis on TipRanks)

G1 Therapeutics (GTHX)

With a team that brings a deep understanding of the biology of cancer and extensive drug discovery, development and commercialization experience to the table, G1 Therapeutics wants to develop therapies for patients battling cancer. As the company has been able to progress on schedule despite COVID-19, Needham has been thoroughly impressed.

5-star analyst Chad Messer tells clients that GTHX is still expected to file a trilaciclib (trila) NDA in Q2 2020 and an MAA in Q4 2020 for myelopreservation in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This means that a PDUFA date would be handed out in Q3 2020. The analyst points out that the asset has already been given Breakthrough status by the FDA thanks to its ability to preserve the bone marrow of patients receiving marrow toxic chemotherapy.

Expounding on this, Messer said, The filing timing is unaffected by the COVID pandemic and the company has all the required data. G1 intends to market trila in the U.S. for SCLC by itself and seek an ex-U.S. partner while expanding the treatment into other tumor types and in combination with other chemotherapeutics.

Additionally, its Phase 3 program in CRC is moving right on track, and GTHX announced that trila would be included in the I-SPY trial for breast cancer, which should kick off this quarter.

If that wasnt enough, the monotherapy arm of the Phase 1/2 study evaluating rintodestrant is fully enrolled. The ~40 patient combination expansion cohort (rintodestrant + palbociclib) will use the same sites and is expected to begin enrollment this quarter... Updated data from the monotherapy portion of the trial is expected Q3 2020, Messer commented.

With its $242 million cash runway set to support the companys operations into Q4 2021, the deal is sealed for Messer. As a result, he left a Buy rating and $74 price target on the stock. This target suggests shares could soar 252% in the next year. (To watch Messers track record, click here)

All in all, other analysts are on the same page. 3 Buys and no Holds or Sells add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. Based on the $59.67 average price target, the upside potential comes in at 175%. (See GTHX stock analysis on TipRanks)

NeoGenomics (NEO)

As a cancer diagnostics and pharma services company, NeoGenomics offers diagnostic, prognostic and predictive testing services to oncologists, pathologists, pharmaceutical companies and academic centers. With it recently entering into a new strategic collaboration, Needham argues that NEOs long-term growth narrative is strong.

On May 26, NEO revealed that it would be partnering with Inivata to commercialize the InVisionFirst-Lung liquid biopsy test for treatment selection among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients within the U.S. The product is a blood-based, next-generation sequencing (NGS) test thats focused in NSCLC and performed on Inivata's patented liquid biopsy platform, InVision.

Covering the stock for Needham, five-star analyst Stephen Unger points out that InVisionFirst-Lung has been given a final Medicare coverage decision, effective April 8, 2020, with the contract rate expected to land at $3,500 per test. Looking at the terms of the agreement, NEO will invest $25 million that will be paid in two installments of $12.5 million, with NEO also getting a seat on Inivata's board of directors. This equity investment puts NEOs stake in Inivata at just under 20%.

Along with the commercial rights, NEO and Inivata will collaborate to advance the InVision liquid biopsy platform (i.e., Inivata's RaDaR assay for residual disease and recurrence monitoring) with pharmaceutical services customers.

Weighing in on this development, Unger noted, We view the collaboration as a clear strategic positive for NEO, demonstrating the unique value of the company's commercial scale and national presence, which encompasses all aspects of cancer diagnostic testing. The InVisionFirst-Lung liquid biopsy test is complementary to NEO's NeoTYPE Cancer Profiles (NGS tests for solid tumors) and NeoLAB Heme (NGS liquid biopsy plasma-based tests for hematologic diseases).

As the companies are also expected to split the profits from tests performed evenly, Unger decided to stay with the bulls. To this end, he maintained a Buy rating and $33 price target. This target conveys his confidence in NEOs ability to surge 16% in the next year. (To watch Ungers track record, click here)

Like Unger, other analysts also take a bullish approach. NEOs Strong Buy consensus rating breaks down into 3 Buys and zero Holds or Sells. Given the $33.67 average price target, the upside potential lands just above Ungers forecast at 19%. (See NeoGenomics stock-price forecast on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for healhcare stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
Days after the resumption of exports to Bangladesh through various land ports in West Bengal, traders in the neighbouring country have urged the Indian authorities to allow their shipments to enter India, officials said.

With reopening of the Ghojadanga land port in North 24 Parganas district on Saturday, all major checkpoints have been unlocked for exports to Bangladesh, but imports from the neighbouring country are yet to resume, they said.

The Benapole Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents'' Association in Bangladesh has submitted a representation to the Bangoan SDO in India, seeking a meeting with the authorities to resume "their exports that have not been permitted", the officials said.

The Bangladeshi traders have assured the Indian authorities that they will follow all the health safety protocols in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

"There should be mutual faith. If we believe India, then we also expect a reciprocating effect in our case. So India should take steps to begin imports and allow our export to commence as trade and eco-system are suffering due to low volume," the letter to the SDO said.

Raw jute is an important commodity that is imported from Bangladesh.

A notification by the customs department of the neighbouring country said Bangladesh can export to India between 6 am and 6 pm and drivers of trucks should have protective gears.

According to it, drivers will not be allowed to get down from the vehicles at the Indian unloading sites.

After the resumption of exports earlier this month, the delivery of consignments via Petrapole land port, the largest facility on the Indo-Bangla border, has reached a healthy level with 250 trucks per day crossing over to Bangladesh, officials said.

Exports to the neighbouring country through other land ports in West Bengal such as Mahadipur in Malda, Changrabandha in Cooch Behar, Fulbari in Jalpaiguri, Hilli in South Dinajpur have been picking up. they added.
At least 50 houses were destroyed at Badariya area, Mobile Police Barrack, Bayan-Kara and parts of Gesse III in Birnin Kebbi following rainstorm on Friday.

A cross-section of the victims interviewed by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the scene on Saturday expressed shock over the incident.

They, however, said it would be difficult now, to ascertain the losses and number of houses affected.

Isyaku Mohammed, a resident of the area, estimated that over 50 houses might have been affected by the rainstorm.

One might not be wrong to say over 50 houses have been destroyed in different parts of the state capital.

We accepted what happened as the will of God Almighty, who does what He wants at the time He wants, without questioning from anybody, Mohammed said.

He, however, appealed to the state government to come to the aid of the victims to cushion the effect of the disaster.

On his part, Isaac Musa, one of the victims said the rainstorm started in the late evening, destroying a number of houses not only here in Badariya but in other places too.

He called on the government, Non-Governmental Organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to assist them to enable them to resettle down.

In a swift reaction to the menace, Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi paid a visit to the affected communities and sympathised with them over the incident.

A statement by Abubakar Muazu-Dakingari, Chief Press Secretary, Government House and made available to NAN in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday, said the governor visited the scene on Friday evening.

According to him, the governor made an on-the-spot visit to the area to assess the damages to property at Badariya.

READ ALSO :

Mr Bagudu promised that the government would assist the victims with relief materials.

He said that an assessment of the affected houses would be made to quantify the extent of damages.

Mr Bagudu advised the victims to regard the incident as an act of God and prayed to Allah to provide them with succour.

NAN reports that several buildings and electric poles were destroyed by the windstorm at Badariya, thereby plunging the communities into darkness.

The rainstorm is believed to be unprecedented since the beginning of this year. (NAN)
T he activist brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been charged with two coronavirus offences during anti-lockdown demonstrations in Hyde Park.

Piers Corbyn was detained by police on May 16 after a crowd of people gathered in central London to oppose government efforts to combat the Covid-19 virus.

He used a megaphone at Speakers Corner to denounce the lockdown as a pack of lies to brainwash you and keep you in order, and was arrested again at a second demonstration in the park two weeks later.

Corbyn, 73, has now been charged with two breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, which handed police powers to enforce the lockdown.

He faces separate hearings at Westminster magistrates court in July and August over the allegations.

In the first demonstration, Corbyn  an avowed climate change denier  is accused of flouting the rules by allegedly being among around 50 people who gathered in Hyde Park.

He addressed the crowd that day by stating vaccination is not necessary, and repeated a conspiracy theory linking the 5G network to coronavirus.

5G towers will be installed everywhere, he said. 5G enhances anyone whos got illness from Covid, so they work together.

The criminal charge against Corbyn reads: On May 16 at Speakers Coroner, without reasonable excuse during the emergency period other than as permitted by the regulations, you participated in a gathering in a public place of more than two people.

He was one of 19 people arrested on the day, while a further ten were handed fines under the coronavirus regulations, the Met Police said.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said at the time it was disappointing that a protest had taken place, adding that officers took a measured approach and tried to engage the group to disperse.

They clearly had no intention of doing so and so it did result in 19 people being arrested, and a further ten being issued with a fixed penalty notice.

In the second incident, on May 30, Corbyn again used a megaphone to address a crowd which were holding placards attacking the fake narrative of lockdown.

He was pictured being led away in handcuffs, as officers made a handful of arrests for alleged breaches of the regulations and handed out more fines.

The lockdown regulations were introduced at the end of March to enforce government restrictions on movement, public gatherings, and social distancing.

Cressida Dick, the Met Police Commissioner, made it clear she only wanted her officers to use the powers as a last resort, saying: "My approach in this service is one of entirely trying to encourage people, to engage with people and to have conversations. We are adopting a very collaborative approach with the public."

Police forces have faced criticism over their use of the new laws, after it emerged that the Coronavirus Act 2020  intended to be applied only to infectious people  had been wrongly used to prosecute people when there was no evidence they might have contracted the virus.

A CPS review has identified at least 51 prosecutions that should not have been brought, as well as other mistakes in the use of the new laws.

Corbyn, who faces two charges under Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, has not yet entered any pleas. His cases are currently listed to be heard on July 24 and August 20.

Twelve others were arrested and charged under the Health Protection Act for allegedly taking part in the anti-lockdown protests of May 16.

All are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court.

 Jeffery Wyatt, 56, of Milton Keynes, is due in court on July 10.

 Dimitri Pensin, 34, of Pinner, north-west London, and Alexander Heaton, 37, of Bow, east London, are due in court on August 12.

 Princess Rose Morgan, 56, of Lambeth, south London, is due in court on August 13.

 Philip Hartley, 37, of Doncaster, Yorkshire; Fiona Hine, 35, of Wandsworth, south-west London; Jackub Andrzej, 27, of Ealing, west London; and Jaime Stewart, of Wood Green, north London, are all due in court on August 18.

 Ian Jackson, 66, of Wandsworth, south-west London, is due in court on August 19.

 Donnalee Andrews, 55, of Northampton; and Aleksandrs Rimicans, of Islington, north London, are all due in court on August 20.
Ms Ellis' book will explore how the experience of being female and a politician in Australia marks people, but also how women who have been there believe their time and contribution was worthwhile. Gabrielle Williams was the latest woman on the political stage to experience gendered abuse. Credit:Penny Stephens She hopes the stories that high-profile women have shared will "shine a light on what women are exposed to and how women are treated in the Federal Parliament" but also "tell the other side of the story ... to encourage more women to put their hands up, and to give advice along the way". Ms Ellis fears young women are being turned away from entering politics due to what they see happening to female politicians. Such factors as a focus on women's looks, maternal and marital status, their sexuality (or speculation about it) and "weaponised gossip" are tailor-made to affect their standing. The phenomenon is so pervasive that only one (former) politician refused to speak on the record for the book.

"Focus on physical appearance is much greater for women, focus on their private lives, issues around motherhood ... slut-shaming, personal attacks, rumours and gossip [are] used to undermine women in a way men don't have to face to the same extent in Parliament," Ms Ellis said. Former Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja supports Ms Ellis' observations. "For most of my parliamentary life, certainly before and during my leadership, barely a day went by without a sexist reference or jibe. Certainly my appearance seemed to be fair game ... it was perpetual," she told The Sunday Age and Sun Herald. Former Democrat Natasha Stott Despoja is also speaking out about gender-based treatment of political women. Credit:Ben Searcy "I sometimes called it out and I often blocked it out. It was meant to be debilitating and offensive. "It occurred in the media, in the chamber and elsewhere. It was perpetuated by men, but also by women who felt their political future was safeguarded by condoning this behaviour, or because they didnt want to become targets themselves.

"I will never forget a meeting with a female party colleague, when she said: 'You know what they call you?', referring to her close friends who were journalists: the Whore, the Media Whore'. I think her use of that word rattled me more so than anything else  even waking up to a bullet on my doorstop," said Ms Stott Despoja, now chair of Our Watch, which was established to prevent violence against women and children. Loading Former Labor MP Emma Husar is the only person who told Ms Ellis that she would not be involved in political life again. She told The Sunday Age that attacks on women's reputations using sexual innuendo, such as what she and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young had experienced, were "dehumanising and humiliating". Tanja Kovac, consulting CEO of Gen Vic, Victoria's peak body for gender equity and prevention of violence against women, said sexism towards Australian women politicians exists in "pandemic proportions". "Not a day goes by when this isn't impacting on women at some level of their political engagement," she said. "Clearly across all political parties we see in Australia a significant issue around a culture that is often unsafe and unhealthy for women.

"The high-water mark was when within the same few weeks [in 2018]; Sarah Hanson-Young was catcalled and verbally abused, the activities were going on around Julia Banks ... and Kelly O'Dwyer, who had been attempting to make some inroads into gender equality in the coalition was also struggling," said Ms Kovac. She said it was "really clear to me this was a significant issue and going to have an impact on getting more women to participate in politics and have an impact." Loading As Julia Gillard's anniversary is celebrated with a webinar interview by Labor MP Tanya Plibersek today, Kate Ellis wonders if things could have turned out differently had more attention been paid to lower-level sexism before it was deployed so heavily against her. "I've been pondering why, when we're in Parliament, we don't speak about those issues generally ... One is because our job is to speak about the community, and not ourselves. Two, because that's not normally the kind of attention people want to have.
OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine Henrik Villadsen welcomes the approval of the mine action draft law in the first reading and is ready to further assist in developing the necessary legal framework for the clearance of conflict-affected lands.

Humanitarian demining needs a systemic approach to make sure that efforts of all agencies are coordinated and resources are used with maximum effect to diminish risks to civilians from explosive objects. This week the Ukrainian parliament made a move to change the legislation to enable practical implementation of framework 2019 Mine Action Law. The draft law 2618 [was] adopted in the first reading, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine posted on Facebook.

As noted, the draft law proposes to establish Mine Action Center with existing facilities of the Ministry of Defense and Humanitarian Demining Centre under the State Emergency Service. Their work will be coordinated by a special interagency body.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator provided expert advice in the process of elaboration of these changes, and introduced stakeholders to international experience in this sphere. Realistic approach to build the system on existing capacities is embodied in the proposed changes, the Co-ordinator is ready to support further efforts in improving the legal framework and provide assistance in elaboration of the necessary sub-laws and regulations needed for safe and comprehensive clearance of lands, affected by the conflict, the statement reads.

On June 16, the Verkhovna Rada passed the draft law No. 2618 on simplifying the work of all mine action operators to reduce the number of injuries and deaths of civilians in eastern Ukraine due to the mining of large areas by Russian mercenaries.

ol
The Bundeswehr has expanded its use of the work of the slaughterhouse operation Tonnies in Rheda-Wiedenbuck. "We have still got 40 more soldiers to add to that," said German army spokesman Uwe Kort on Saturday. "There are 20 of them to help in the documentation and 20 help to contact people tracking." The forces were with ten vehicles of the Bundeswehr on the way and would share leave with medical staff and employees of the circle Gutersloh accommodation and people test. According to Kort, the soldiers speak Eastern European languages to be able to with the workers to communicate.

on Friday, a total of 25 soldiers in Rheda had arrived-Wiedenbruck. Speaker Uwe Kort does not exclude the possibility that more soldiers could be requested.

The district of Gutersloh had asked the German army to help in a series of test on Corona infection in the slaughterhouse. On Wednesday it became known, that it came Infected among the employees of the largest German battle operation of Tonnies in Rheda-Wiedenbruck, Germany, to a burst with a variety of Corona. Already in may it had come in on a slaughter of Western meat in the district of Coesfeld to a Corona outbreak.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 10:19
The Canadian economy is in better shape than it looks.

Thats contrary to the gloomy expectations of many Canadians and expert forecasters. For instance, 62 per cent of respondents to the latest Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index said they expect the economy to weaken even further in the next six months.

Actually, Canadian economic conditions are improving, not weakening.

Its commonly said, and with good reason, that Canada wont return to pre-pandemic economic normality for at least one and a half years.

But considering the economic double-whammy suffered by Canadians  a COVID-19-triggered economic shutdown and a collapse in global oil demand  Canada is recovering sooner than we had reason to expect.

Heres where we stand, and where were headed:

Employment and household income

Canada created 290,000 new jobs last month, one of the strongest one-month job gains on record. And hours worked, which were severely cut as the pandemic got underway, jumped 6.3 per cent, which is a historically large gain in a single month.

And by early this month, the number of Canadians receiving the $500 weekly payment from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) had already dropped by 1.2 million from a peak of eight million.

The May jobless rate rose to 13.7 per cent from Aprils 13 per cent. But thats because the workforce expanded with Canadians returning to the job market in search of work  itself a sign of confidence in a strengthening economy.

Bear in mind that the strong May jobs growth was achieved at a time when the Canadian economy had only started to gradually reopen. Indeed, jurisdictions such as Toronto, the countrys biggest workplace, are still in stage one of the lockdown.

The upside on job restoration is tremendous, as Canadas major cities reopen over the next few months. COVID-19 struck hardest in cities, where about 80 per cent of Canadians live. Thats where lockdowns have done their greatest economic damage while saving tens of thousands of lives.

The main reason job creation promises to continue strong is the federal income supports for individuals and businesses that date from the beginning of the pandemic. They have kept workers and employers in sufficiently good shape to get the economy moving again quickly, as soon as it is safe to do so.

That is a crucial point. There is pressure at home and abroad for governments to withdraw the emergency income supports.

But it is wildly premature to do so. Thats why the Trudeau government extended the CERB program this week. Its why other major economies, from China to the U.K., are extending income-support programs or rolling out new ones.

And even when the time comes to wind them down, Fiscal stimulus programs should be on standby, ready to be deployed or increased in order to combat another shutdown if required by a second wave of the novel coronavirus, Kristina Hooper, global market strategist at Invesco Canada, said last week.

Green shoots

The Bloomberg Nanos confidence index referred to above reported this week that for the seventh straight week Canadians expressed increased confidence in an economic recovery. While almost two-thirds of those polled still believe the economy will weaken over the next six months, thats down from 80 per cent who were pessimistic four weeks earlier.

And while Canadians still worry about the big picture, they feel quite confident about their own individual prospects. For instance, 64.2 per cent of survey respondents said they felt secure in their jobs, which is where that number stood just before the pandemic.

Canadian household debt levels were at record highs long before the pandemic struck. But Equifax Canada, the countrys biggest credit reporting firm, said this week that Canadian consumer debt balances, excluding mortgages, fell in the first quarter of 2020, the first drop in more than a decade.

And consumer insolvencies plunged to their lowest level in 13 years.

Traditional Canadian financial prudence has reasserted itself during the pandemic. And bolstering that caution are the above-mentioned federal income supports. They have helped dissuade Canadians from turning to debt to get through the crisis.

The so-called debt bomb

Ottawa will post unprecedented deficits this year in fighting COVID-19. By May, the projected 2020 deficit was $250 billion. That is pushing our debt-to-GDP ratio to about 100 per cent.

It has been necessary to spend those funds. But how do we pay off that debt?

Actually, we dont have to.

Deficit spending during the Second World War pushed the debt-to-GDP ratio well above 100 per cent. And for the next three decades, the feds continued to run annual deficits, all of them added to the national debt.

Yet, by the mid-1970s, the debt-to-GDP ratio was down to about 20 per cent. Decades of postwar economic expansion saw the economy eclipse the size of the debt.

After plunging in 2020, Canadian GDP is expected to soar next year, by about 6 per cent, the Conference Board of Canadas latest estimate. GDP growth should continue strong thereafter.

In the meantime, Ottawa is financing its debt at rock-bottom rates.

Early in the pandemic, the Bank of Canada (BoC) drastically cut its key lending rate to the current 0.5 per cent.

The BoC also began buying government debt, and is able to buy much more. That practice, called quantitative easing (QE), was pioneered in the U.S. during the Great Recession. It helped America recover much faster from the recession than Europe.

Canada, safe harbour for foreign investors

In April, international investors bought $54 billion worth of Canadian federal and corporate debt, Statistics Canada reported this week. Thats a record one-month purchase.

And its in addition to $39 billion in Canadian debt bought by non-residents in this years first quarter.

The strong inflows into Canadian debt markets reveal that, even during the height of the crisis in this country, Canada was seen as an attractive place to park funds, Katherine Judge and Royce Mendes, economists at CIBC Capital Markets, wrote in a client note.

Obviously, were not out of the woods. About 6.8 million Canadians continue to rely on CERB payments. Household debt levels have declined, but at 177 per cent of disposable (after tax) income, they remain worrisome.

And were in for a multi-speed economic recovery. Some sectors will be back to normal relatively soon, including online retailers, tech, manufacturing and construction. Others will struggle longer, including tourism, aviation, oil and gas, and restaurants and hotels.

And we need continued vigilance against the virus. No sooner had New Zealand declared itself COVID-19-free than it had a mini-outbreak this week of three new coronavirus cases.

This is one stubborn virus.

So be well, and keep social distancing.
OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says a rule in the House of Commons that the Speaker must be informed when a member of Parliament is arrested is not being followed and should be addressed.

This comes after MP Marwan Tabbara, who was re-elected as a Liberal for Kitchener South-Hespeler, was arrested April 10 in and charged with assault, break and enter and harassment.

News of the charges against him didnt come out until June 5, at which point Tabbara issued a statement saying he would be taking a step back from the Liberal caucus.

Police in Guelph, Ont., say they didnt inform the public about the charges against because they didnt believe he posed a significant risk to the public.

Trudeau has said his office wasnt informed of the charges until that day, and he said Friday he remains disappointed Tabbara did not tell the Liberal party or the House of Commons sooner.

He says the House of Commons rule that requires the Speaker be officially notified in the case of an MP arrest has not been followed or enforced much.

I think theres perhaps a reflection that that is something that we can look into, Trudeau said during a Friday in Chelsea, Que., just north of Ottawa.

It is certainly disappointing as a party leader that the individual in question never chose to inform the party of which he was a part of these charges and Ill let the police and the prosecutors in this case speak for themselves, he said.

Tabbaras case received a routine presumptive adjournment in a virtual court proceeding in Guelph, Ont. Friday with a new court date set for Aug. 28.

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Nam Y. Huh | AP

Hundreds of people participated in upbeat and celebratory marches through downtown Chicago on Friday, part of events citywide to mark Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.

People gathering before one morning march danced to music played by a small marching band before hundreds marched into the citys downtown Loop. Participants kept up the festive atmosphere, chanting and singing along the route that wrapped up near City Hall.
New Delhi, June 20 : Ladakh stand-off was in the mind of Prime Minister Narendra Modi even while he was launching a mega employment scheme for rural workers, on Saturday.

"Everyone is proud of Bihar Regiment's valour. Each and every Bihari is very proud of it," he said as he launched a employment scheme from which Bihar would be a key beneficiary. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also joined the event through video conferencing.

The bulk of the fatalities and injury in the India-China violent clash was from Bihar regiment, which also lost its Commanding Officer Colonel B. Santosh Babu.

The scheme worth Rs 50,000 crore is aimed at the returnee migrant workers and is a massive rural public employment scheme which seeks to provide livelihood opportunities.

Joining the video conference, Nitish Kumar said, "During the lockdown, I interacted through video conference with labourers in different districts after they returned to the state. I realised that they don't want to go elsewhere for work".

The migrant crisis emerged as a political headache for the BJP-JDU combine in the state which will go to polls later this year. This scheme is expected to address much of its socio-economic concerns.

At least 25,000 migrant workers who reached back home in the wake of the pandemic will be benefited in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. UP and Bihar took the bulk of the load of the reverse migration.

The scheme that seeks to give means to these migrant workers to earn a living will involve intensified implementation of 25 different types of works which in turn will create rural infrastructure.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened unspecified action against any protesters at his weekend re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a warning that his campaign said was not directed at peaceful demonstrators.

"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Trump's campaign, said Trump was referring to agitators and not peaceful protesters.

"The president supports peaceful protests and people who are exercising their First Amendment rights," Lotter told MSNBC in an interview following the tweet. "If we see what we've seen in other cities with rioting, looting, setting buildings on fire and physical violence, then that's going to be something that's going to be met by police."

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a briefing that earlier destructive protests were unacceptable while peaceful demonstrators would be allowed: "What he was meaning are violent protesters, anarchists, looters - the kind of lawlessness we saw before."

The rally is Trump's first major re-election event following the novel coronavirus pandemic that shuttered much of the country and comes amid weeks of civil unrest over the treatment of African Americans and growing protests over racism and policing.

With more than 100,000 people expected in the area of the rally on Saturday, Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum on Friday rescinded a curfew he had ordered for several downtown city blocks around the venue.

"Today, the Secret Service asked the City to lift the curfew order this weekend. In compliance with this request, the City has rescinded the order," the city of Tulsa said in a press release quoted by CBS News.

Trump thanked Bynum in a tweet for canceling the curfew.

The Republican president faced backlash over a tweet during protests after the recent death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, an African American man, that said "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." The phrase evoked a white segregationist who was Miami mayor in the 1960s, though Trump later said he was unaware of its origins.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a veteran civil rights activist set to address a Juneteenth event in Tulsa later on Friday, called Trump's tweet "disrespectful," especially following the recent deaths of Floyd and another African American man, Rayshard Brooks, in Atlanta.

"To have a threat like that you're provoking an incident, and you're provoking an interaction that is unnecessary," Sharpton told MSNBC.
(EDITORS NOTE: Check out our two special graduation sections that will appear in the Staten Island Advance on June 21 and June 28. The sections will contain letters from Island celebrities wishing the graduates well, senior profiles, feature stories and lots of photos like the ones seen below. Parents and grandparents wanting to take out an ad for that special graduate are asked to call 917-525-9362. Ads are only available for the June 28th section.)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Amy Slaven has warm memories of walking across the stage and receiving her diploma from Moore Catholic High School in 1994.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary on Saturday asserted that "the cow, Ganga and Gita' are the identity of India and it is because of these three entities that the country became a world leader.

He also accused the previous governments of not making any efforts to stop cow slaughter in the state.

"The cow, Ganga and Gita are the identity of India. It is because of them that India became a vishwa guru (world leader)," Chaudhary, who is the state's dairy development, animal husbandry and fisheries minister, told PTI.

"When there were no buffaloes in our country, there were only cows. Even doctors say that after mother's milk, it is the milk of an Indian cow which is the best for a newborn baby," he added.

On the need for a stringent law to protect cows and prevent their slaughter, Chaudhary, while referring to draft of the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Cow Slaughter Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 said, "There were a large number of cases of cow slaughter during the tenure of previous governments.

But they did little to curb the crime." "Earlier, it was a bailable offence and barely within a couple of days, the accused persons could get bail," he said.

The minister, however, stressed that the ordinance was not targeted towards any particular religion.

"This step of the UP government cannot be linked to any particular religion.

This is a matter of cow protection, belief and health. I had once seen 30 cows loaded in a truck and by the time they were rescued, three had died.

Cow slaughter is a heinous crime. We had to bring this ordinance, so that cow slaughter comes to an end," he said.

On June 9, the Uttar Pradesh government approved the draft ordinance, providing a maximum rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh to protect cows and prevent their slaughter.

For the first offence, a person can be given a rigorous punishment of one to seven years with a fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.

For the second offence, the person can be awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, the state government said.

The state cabinet had cleared the draft of the ordinance at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The ordinance aims at making the existing law (Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955) more robust and effective and to completely stop the incidents pertaining to cow slaughter, the UP government statement had said.

In case of the illegal transportation of cows and other bovines, the driver, operator and the owner of the vehicle shall be charged under the new Act, unless proven that the transportation was done without the owner's knowledge by someone else for committing the crime.

The Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955 was implemented in the state on January 6, 1956.

The Act was amended in 1958, 1961, 1979 and 2002. The rules were amended in 1964 and 1979.

"However, certain loopholes continued to remain due to which the Act could not be effectively implemented as per the public sentiment and complaints of illegal cow slaughter and transportation of cattle were received," the statement said.

"In the 1955 Act, there is a provision of maximum seven years of punishment in incidents of cow slaughter. People getting bail in such incidents were also increasing. Incidents of people involving in the incident after getting bail from the court were coming to the fore," it said.

"Keeping these reasons in mind, and respecting the public sentiment, it became necessary that the Act be strengthened, and made more robust and effective," it added.
No new COVID-19 cases reported on June 20

Vietnam confirmed no fresh COVID-19 cases as of 6:00 pm on June 20, marking 65 straight days without community transmission in the country, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnam confirmed no fresh COVID-19 cases as of 6:00 pm on June 20, marking 65 straight days without community transmission in the country, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Of the 349 cases recorded in Vietnam so far, 209 were imported and quarantined upon arrival.

Some 10,500 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients and came from pandemic-hit areas are under medical monitoring or quarantine.

On the day, a patient was discharged from the general hospital of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. After this move, the 37-year-old man will undergo quarantine for 14 days.

Up to 327 patients or 93.7 percent of the total cases have recovered, including 49 foreign nationals. The remaining foreign patient  a British pilot  is being treated at Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City.

Among the active patients, two have tested negative for the coronavirus once while four negative at least twice.

Vietnam clear of COVID-19 community infections for 65 straight days

Vietnam had been clear of community infections for 65 straight days, with no fresh COVID-19 cases reported on June 20 morning, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The national tally stays at 349, including 209 imported cases that were quarantined upon arrival.

A total of 10,500 people in close contact with infected people or returning from pandemic-hit countries are under medical monitoring or quarantine, including 162 at hospitals, 9,387 at State-designated facilities, and 952 at home.

Up to 326 patients have recovered, accounting for 93.4 percent of the total cases while the remaining 23 are being treated at provincial and central hospitals and in stable health condition.

Among the active patients, four have tested negative for the coronavirus at least twice.

Vietnam records seven more imported cases on June 19

Vietnam recorded seven more COVID-19 cases, all imported, bringing the total to 349 as of 6pm on June 19.

According to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, all the new patients returned from Europe on flight VN2 on June 6.

Immediately after landing in Vietnam, they were put into quarantine at a college in Hanoi. Tests on June 18 showed the seven were positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

All of them are being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No. 2 in Dong Anh, Hanoi.

As many as 326 out of total 349 cases have been given the all-clear, accounting for 93.4 percent, and there is no fatality. Among the remaining 23 patients, four tested positive at least twice.

Vietnam has gone through 64 consecutive days without local transmission.

At present, 6,176 people who had close contact with patients or returned from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine. Of whom, 89 are in hospitals, 5,734 in other facilities and 353 at home and place of residence.

Thai Health Minister volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine test

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has volunteered to be the first person to be injected with an experimental Thai-made COVID-19 vaccine, according to Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.

The Bangkok Post quoted Saksayam as saying that Anutin informed him at a recent meeting of the Centre for COIVD-19 Situation Administration that the development of a Covid-19 vaccine by Thai researchers is making tremendous progress.

Monkeys have already received the trial vaccine and in the next step, it will be injected into humans. Anutin was the first volunteer, Saksayam said.

When Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked in the meeting for volunteers, Anutin proposed himself as the first in Thailand to receive the jab, he added.

Thai National Vaccine Institute Director Nakorn Premsri last month said an mRNA-type of vaccine developed by Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine had been tested in monkeys from May 23.

Nearly 310 Vietnamese citizens return home from Angola

A Vietnam Airlines flight has brought 309 Vietnamese citizens home from Angola thanks to joint efforts by Vietnamese and Canadian agencies.

Passengers on the flight included children, the elderly, sick people, pregnant women, workers with expired visas and contracts.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Angola sent officers to the airport to assist citizens in making check-in procedures and solve arising issues.

Immediately after the flight landed in Van Don, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, all passengers and crew members were given health check and quarantined in line with regulations.

Earlier, the flight brought face masks and protective gear as gifts of the Vietnamese government to Angola.

Following instructions of the Prime Minister, Vietnamese agencies will continue to coordinate with representative agencies abroad to arrange more flights to take Vietnamese citizens back home based on citizens wish and domestic quarantine capacity.

Tropical diseases hospital receives two drug parcels to fight COVID-19

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi received the drugs Amizon and Cycloferon from the Ukrainian-based Farmak JSC and the Russian-based Polysan Scientific & Technological Pharmaceutical Company at a ceremony on June 19 to cure COVID-19-related symptoms.

The ceremony was attended by Counsellor Sergey Tanakov and Trade Counsellor Vyacheslav Kharinov from the Russian Embassy in Vietnam.

According to hospital director Pham Ngoc Thach, on March 21 the Health Ministry issued Decision No 1276/QD-BYT permitting the receipt of 30,000 Amizon tablets valued at 17,460 USD from Farmak

On March 27, the ministry then issued Decision No 1414/QD-BTY approving the hospitals acquisition of 50,600 Cycloferon tablets and 5,115 Cycloferon ampules which cost some 26,900 USD from Polysan.

Thach said the hospital has used the two drugs in the past to treat measles and influenza.

They help boost the immune system and so are suitable for treating COVID-19, he added.



Amizon is for treating and preventing influenza and respiratory viral infections and is recognised as a safe and effective medicine by doctors in 11 countries.

Cycloferon, meanwhile, is a universal antiviral preparation with direct anti-viral, immune-correcting, and anti-inflammatory activity. It reinforces the bodys non-specific resistance to viral and bacterial infections. The drug is being used by the Commonwealth of Independent States in COVID-19 prevention and control.
Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses

LOS ANGELES, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises The GEO Group, Inc. ("GEO Group" or the "Company") (NYSE: GEO ) investors that the firm has initiated an investigation into possible securities fraud, and may file a class action on behalf of investors.



Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy , by phone 310-692-8883 or email : lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case via www.portnoylaw.com . The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.

The investigation focuses on whether The GEO Group misled investors concerning its regulatory and litigation risk in connection with the company's alleged lack of COVID-19 prevention measures.

On June 17, 2020, The Intercept published an article entitled "GEO Group's Blundering Response to the Pandemic Helped Spread Coronavirus in Halfway Houses." The article reported details of a significant COVID-19 outbreak at the Grossman Center, a halfway house in Leavenworth, Kansas operated by GEO Group-which "was for weeks the hardest hit federal halfway house in the country" in terms of confirmed cases of COVID-19. Citing interviews with residents of the Grossman Center, The Intercept characterized GEO Group's response as "blundering" and reported, "that the virus spread not in spite of the facility's efforts to contain it, but because of it." According to the article, the Grossman Center continued to keep its residents in overcrowded conditions without enforcing personal protective measures even as COVID-19 diagnoses at the facility increased.

On this news, GEO Group's stock price fell $1.03 per share, or 7.8%, to close at $12.17 per share on June 17, 2020.

Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information.

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Religious and civic groups held a Juneteenth candlelight vigil Friday evening in Allentown, in remembrance of George Floyd, the Black man whose death in police custody in Minnesota set off nationwide protests, including several in the Lehigh Valley.

Fridays ceremony in the square at Seventh and Hamilton streets was led by the Muslim empowerment group Emgage and a host of other organizations.

By holding the vigil on June 19, it coincided with Juneteenth 2020, a holiday in several states that celebrates Black culture.

The name refers to June 19, 1865, two months after the end of the Civil War, when Union soldiers reached Galveston, Texas, and informed the last slaves that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect two years earlier.

Pennsylvania declared Juneteenth a state holiday in 2019, joining an increasing number of states, cities and workplaces finding ways to mark the occasion.

SEE MORE: 165 Black-owned businesses in the Lehigh Valley

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Dear Reader,

In the 1940s, just after the Second World War, Mao Zedong was under a lot of pressure from both the US and Russia to talk to the Nationalists, against whom the Chinese Communists were waging a civil war. Mao thereupon held several rounds of talks, but it was just a delaying tactic. He described his strategy as Da, da, tan tan or Fight fight, talk talk, the idea being to buy time, deter aggressive action by the enemy, influence third parties, throw his opponents off-guard and, when the time was ripe, to strike hard militarily. Fight fight, talk talk seems to be what is going on at present between China and India at the Line of Actual Control.

Its also the strategy adopted by the Chinese vis-a-vis the US, with reports that China plans to accelerate purchases of US farm goods in order to comply with the phase 1 trade deal. An aggressive China now believes its time has come. But does it make sense for India to boycott Chinese goods? Perhaps it doesnt, but we should be aware of the kind of regime we are up againstreports this week said China's police are collecting blood samples from men and boys across the country to build a genetic map of its 700 million males, a powerful new surveillance tool for the dictatorship.

The markets brushed off the fracas at the border, preferring instead to look at the impending recovery. There are some straws in the wind which suggest a swift recovery and some that dont. To help you keep track of how much growth is being reclaimed, we have started a recovery tracker, with several high-frequency economic indicators, which will be updated regularly. We also have a monsoon watch, to enable you to track its progress in order to gauge the impact on rural demand.

The best firms have treated the pandemic as an opportunity, the classic example being Reliance Industries, up 6.5 percent on Friday after it announced that it had achieved its goal of zero net debt nine months ahead of schedule. We have been on the lookout for such companies with strong balance sheets that can ride out the pandemic.

The theme of the current crisis resulting in many firms now being available at attractive valuations making them good long-term bets continued to play out. We looked at a stock that would be a nice play on the Make in India policy. We had some dividend yield picks too. That said, there were other stocks that still have a bumpy road ahead and we would only advise to buy on dips. For traders, we brought you an expert view on how to trade todays volatile markets with minimal risk.

Indias financial system has been fragile for a long time and the concern is that the lockdown will lead to a plethora of bad loans. We analysed during the week the banks that matter the most to the financial system and the thorny issue of bank ownership. Gold loans have been shining during the current crisis and we looked at a bank investors could bet on, partly because its advances book has plenty of gold loans.

Liquidity continues to drive global markets. Banks scrambled to borrow Euro 1.3 trillion under a European Central Bank refinancing scheme that would lend them money over three years at -1 percent. In other words, the central bank is paying banks to borrow and lend. To gauge how abundant liquidity is in the US, all we have to do is look at US money supply (M2) which has a year-on-year growth rate of 23.1 percent, almost 10 percentage points above the highest level recorded before the pandemic. Contrast India, where M3 growth is at 12.4 percent, compared to 10.1 percent at the same time last year.

Concern about the disconnect between the economy and the markets has been voiced by several experts and the latest to join them is Mohamed A El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, who said hes not just worried about zombie companies, which cannot meet their interest payments, but also zombie markets. Zombie markets, he says, are markets that are completely mispriced and distorted.

That is also an underlying worry many market participants have, which is why Bank of America calls the current rebound in equities a "fragile, neurotic and nowhere near dangerously bullish rally".

Cheers,

Manas Chakravarty
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 21:34:47|Editor: huaxia

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KUWAIT CITY, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait Telecommunication Company Ooredoo will offer an array of smart solutions to companies in the country in preparation for the gradual return to normal life, the company said on Saturday.

Abdulaziz Al-Babtain, chief business officer at the company, said in a press statement that the smart solutions include walking through thermal detectors, sanitizer gates equipped with thermal detectors and facial recognition, contactless attendance systems and social distancing solutions.

He revealed the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for facial recognition, contactless attendance and social distancing measures to optimize safety and COVID-19 prevention.

"Line crossing analytics will place virtual lines between employees to keep them within their own working area and will track compliance with health guidelines which also include wearing face masks," he said.

"The world has changed since the onset of COVID-19, and we must adapt to the 'new normal'. It is our duty to protect the nation by ensuring the availability of smart solutions to control the spread of COVID-19," Al-Babtain said.

Kuwait decided on Thursday to ease the restrictions next week which were imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 18)  Five members of a rebel group were killed in a clash with government troops on Thursday.

A statement from the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army said the encounter between members of the 11th Infantry Battalion together with PNP Regional Mobile Battalion and the New People's Army happened around 12:45 am in Sitio Talingtingin in Mabinay, Negros Oriental.

"The encounter happened after the government forces received a report from the barangay officials and concerned residents about the presence of a wanted personality who was with the group of armed men, occupying two houses at Sitio Talingting," said the statement.

Bearing a warrant issued by Judge Rosario Cariaga of Bais, Negros Oriental, the troops were on their way to the area when they were fired upon, causing them to retaliate.

The exchange of fire lasted about 30 minutes, and resulted in the death of five NPA members. No casualties on the government side were reported.

Also seized were several firearms, as well as an improvised explosive device and documents "with high intelligence value."

LtCol Ramir J. Redosendo, commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Battalion commended the residents of the area for reporting the presence of armed men and urged the people of the provice to continue reportting such incidents to prevent "terroristic activities."

"Likewise, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those killed communist-terrorists. Taking up arms against the government and the Filipino people will never address and resolve conflict and issues, Redosendo added.

Stringer Roy Bustillos contributed to this report.
HALIFAXTwo apartment building fires in the Maritimes have displaced nearly 60 tenants.

As many as 50 people were forced out of an 18-unit apartment building in Kentville, N.S., just after 4 p.m. Friday.

Chief Brian Desloges of the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department said the building located on Harlten Court was extensively damaged and is currently uninhabitable.

They (tenants) are not going to return  that building will have to have major reconstruction before anybody is allowed to move back in, Desloges said in an interview Saturday.

He said the displaced tenants were being assisted with food and lodging by the Canadian Red Cross.

No one was injured in the blaze that also caused significant smoke and water damage to the building. Firefighters briefly cleared an adjacent building containing 18 apartments as a safety precaution, but later allowed those tenants to return.

Desloges said the provincial fire marshal was on the scene Saturday trying to determine the exact cause of the fire.

He said it has been determined that the fire began on a second-floor balcony and spread to a balcony on the third floor before quickly reaching the attic area of the building. Both balconies had propane barbecues, Desloges confirmed.

He said firefighters were able to knock down the flames within 30 minutes, but not before the loss of nearly 40 per cent of the buildings roof.

Earlier Friday, seven people, including four university students, were forced to flee a fire that damaged a two-storey rooming house in downtown Fredericton.

The Red Cross said no one was injured in the fire on Beaverbrook Street, which was reported around 4:30 a.m.

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Image: Humans of Bombay/ Facebook

Even as the world battles COVID-19 not to mention the agony of being holed up in a house or quarantined, Rajeev Poddar, a Kolkata-based teacher featured in a Humans of Bombay post has shown the way how to lead a life staying inside a house, as he has done for the past 40 years.

"When I was 9, I woke up one night with a fever. Mom gave me pills and put me back to sleep, but the next morning when I tried to get out of bed, I fell! Thinking I was weak, she picked me up. But I told her, 'Mummy, I feel like I don't have legs.' She panicked, pinched and moved them, but I felt nothing. We rushed to the hospital where the doctor declared I was paralysed, Poddar told Humans of Bombay in an interview.

It was only at the age of 14 that he managed to somewhat come to terms with his life. He told HOB that since he was unable to move a limb other than his hands or sit for more than 30 minutes, attending school was out of the question. He would resort to reading his friends' textbooks.



"For a long time, I felt lost and helpless. But when we moved houses, I found my life's purpose. I was 23 at the time, and known as 'quite the intellectual'. So one afternoon, when my neighbor's tuition teacher didn't come, they asked me, 'Bhaiya, can you teach us math?'," he said.



He took this up as a challenge, added some humor to make the lessons fun for his students, and eventually saw his batches grow larger.





However, true to his passion, he never charged a penny from his students. To make a living and earn money, he traded stocks.



He believes that while teaching such huge batches would have driven some crazy, for him, his students kept him sane.



However, due to deteriorating health, Poddar has had to slow it down a notch and reduce the batches. Now he creates short awareness videos on Youtube on a variety of topics.



Rajeev Poddar was only 9 years old when he and his family found out that he was paralysed.
Because he wanted to make Germany something right and it was early in the morning. But then everything changed. If you are asking yourself, why is it with the digitalisation in this country is so difficult, why schools, police or rescue services do not have proper equipment, why the Internet is so lame, cast the view to a Detail that reflects, however, the major problems almost perfectly: more than 20 years Ago launched parallel to the Opening of the telephone market, the 0700 number, the "number for life".

Michael Spehr

editor in the Department "technology and Motor".

F. A. Z. Facebook Twitter

You should be with this prefix under his personal phone number even after moving away, a number for eternity. You could even specify where incoming calls should be on the ground, at home, in the office, on the landline or on the mobile phone. This was a charming idea, because in the emerging mobile phone you could take with you at the time, their number will be so little as in the fixed network.

But the bill was made without the bureaucracy: For the area code 0700 a "number has been introduced in alley", the allocation of a telephone number by the Federal network Agency was expensive and time-consuming, and to treat instead of 0700 as a normal landline number, called a policy, telecoms companies and the Federal network Agency is a complicated System that was expensive, opaque, error-prone, and thus a Flop from the start. You had to host his own 0700 against a monthly remuneration in the case of a provider, i.e., host let. Calls to this number were more expensive than landline calls, even if you ended up on the landline phone, and they were from abroad, rather. Who indicated its 0700 on the own site, was prosecuted by the best attorneys, because the 0700 look almost like a free call number with the prefix 0800. The was misleading.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 09:19
Curious just how far your dollar goes in Nob Hill?

According to Walk Score, this San Francisco neighborhood has excellent walkability, has some bike infrastructure and boasts excellent transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Nob Hill is currently hovering around $2,700.

So, what might you expect to find with a budget of $2,500/month? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1455 Leavenworth St.

Listed at $2,450/month, this 648-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is located at 1455 Leavenworth St.

The building has on-site laundry. Pets are not permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

California and Leavenworth streets

Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment situated at California and Leavenworth streets. It's also listed for $2,450/month.

Look for hardwood flooring and central heating in the apartment. Good news for cat lovers: Kitties are allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

1348 Sacramento St.

Last, check out this studio apartment that's located at 1348 Sacramento St. It's also listed for $2,495/month.

In the residence, the listing promises granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a dishwasher and a walk-in closet. Attention, cat owners: Your kitty is welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Additionally, if youre in the real estate business learn how to do local real estate advertising in your ZIP codes.

Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
As the number cases of Covid-19 rises to 65,329 in Mumbai, data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shows that since the beginning of the lockdown, more than 1,000 Covid-positive cases in the city are untraceable. Tracking patients and their close contacts are critical to curbing the spread of Covid-19.

These patients arent dead or admitted to hospitals or Covid-19 care centres. We arent aware of their whereabouts. Ward-wise, we have around 1,000 such missing patients, said a senior BMC official.

Civic officials have also received complaints that ward officials hide discrepancies in the list of recovered patients.

Every day, we get an update from ward officials. Some Covid-positive patients havent been tracked for over 30 days, said the official. BMC is already facing criticism for anomalies in fatality cases in Mumbai.

Officials said many patients, fearing stigma, provide BMC with wrong addresses. Outstation patients often share phone numbers of their local guardian or contact. The issue of tracking patients becomes more challenging when the patients live in slums.

According to BMC, of the missing patients, 60% are from slum pockets in the city. It is extremely challenging to track patients in slums without accurate addresses. Even after taking help from locals, we cant track all the patients, said the official.

Previously, BMC had constituted a group of teachers who were given the task of contacting family members of patients. This group found that most of the phone numbers they had were incorrect.

Now the corporation has sought help from Mumbai Police to trace these cases and their contacts.

We are trying to pull out the correct address from Aadhaar or voter ID cards of patients through their names. This has helped us reach a large number of patients. We are also tracking their GPS coordinates to find their movement and location, said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC.

Health activists emphasised the importance of giving correct information to the authorities.

Due to stigma, many patients provide wrong addresses. This exposes others around them to the infection, which further expands the chain of the virus, said Dr Ravikant Singh.
Turkey on Saturday said Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya need to withdraw from the strategic city of Sirte for a ceasefire agreement to be reached and accused France of "jeopardising" NATO security by backing him. Ankara's support for the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has turned the tide in the conflict in Libya which has been mired in fighting between rival groups since a 2011 uprising toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Haftar, a former Kadhafi army commander who is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, has been battling to take the capital Tripoli since last year. Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidential spokesman, said that Turkey supports the GNA position that Sirte and Al-Jufra should be evacuated by Haftar's LNA forces for a "sustainable ceasefire." "It should be a sustainable ceasefire, meaning that the other side, the LNA (Libyan National Army), should not be in a position to launch another attack on the legitimate Libyan government any time it wants," Kalin told AFP in an interview in Istanbul. Kalin said a ceasefire in Libya would be possible if everybody went back to their positions in 2015, referring to a political agreement reached that year in Morocco. That would mean Haftar withdrawing from Sirte and Al-Jufra. "This is the position of the GNA and we support it because right now the Haftar forces are using these strategic locations as their launching pad," he said. Turkish-backed GNA forces, which regained control of the whole of northwest Libya early this month, remain hampered in their advance toward Sirte, a coastal city and a gateway to major oil fields in the east. The hometown of Kadhafi, Sirte, located 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, was a stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) group, before being taken over in 2016 by the GNA. It fell last January into the hands of Haftar's camp. Turkey has forged strong ties with GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, sending drones and air defence systems that helped him repel Haftar's recent offensive. A high-level Turkish delegation including Kalin, the foreign minister and intelligence chief visited Tripoli on Wednesday. - 'Jeopardising NATO security'- Kalin also accused France of "jeopardising" NATO's security by supporting Haftar. "In Libya we are supporting the legitimate government and the French government is supporting an illegitimate warlord and jeopardising NATO security, Mediterranean security, North African security and Libya's political stability," Kalin said. "Given all this they still blame us, they still criticise us ... We are working with the legitimate actors here. It is France that is intervening in all of those areas, working with the wrong actors, supporting illegitimate players and then turning and accusing us." Tensions have increased between Turkey and France, which has long been suspected of favouring Haftar until his recent battlefield setbacks. NATO has launched an official investigation into a naval incident in the Mediterranean between the alliance members after France denounced an "extremely aggressive" act by Turkish frigates against a French navy vessel. Paris has complained that one of its ships was subjected to radar targeting by Turkish frigates while trying to inspect a cargo vessel believed to be carrying arms to Libya. But Ankara dismissed the allegations as "groundless". "France for us is an important NATO ally. It is an important country in Europe. We don't want to have any tensions with France or any other country," Kalin said. - 'Unreliable'- Eastern based Haftar -- a 76-year-old former Kadhafi loyalist turned defector who spent years living in the United States -- has been backed by powers including Russia, the UAE and Egypt with aircraft, weapons and mercenaries. Turkey sees no role for Haftar in Libya's future. "He has been unreliable from the very beginning. He has spoiled every single ceasefire agreement, every attempt at de-escalation and the GNA will not support any talks that will involve Haftar. This is what we are gathering from their analysis and we support that," Kalin said. Kalin accused the UAE of "financing this war" in Libya and called "foolish" its attempts to attack Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their role in the Arab-Muslim world. On Egypt, Kalin said Ankara understands Cairo's "legitimate" security concerns over the Egyptian-Libyan border but supporting Haftar is a "wrong policy". "They should support the GNA, they should support a Libyan-led political process." Asked about Turkey's future in Libya, Kalin said: "We will be there as long as we are requested by the Libyan government to be there."
The Verkhovna Rada has extended until January 1, 2021 the law on amendments to laws relating to the provision of treatment caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

A total of 311 MPs voted for relevant bill No. 3636.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the law expired on July 1, 2020, but the MPs, due to the threat of growth in the number of people with COVID-19, amended Section II of the final provisions and extended it until January 1, 2021.

The law on amending certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the provision of treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dated March 30, 2020, in particular, provides for the use, with the consent of the patient, of new methods of prophylaxis, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and medicines that are on examination in the prescribed manner, but not yet approved for use, as well as unregistered drugs. In particular, the law allows the use in Ukraine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 of unregistered medicines recommended by the official body of the United States, the member countries of the European Union, Great Britain, the Swiss Confederation, Japan, Australia, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the State of Israel for the treatment of coronavirus disease COVID-19 in the respective
Inclusive hiring almost always requires companies to start by getting the basics right, according to a leading specialist. (Getty)

Bias in recruitment processes is not just about racism or misogyny, but can be caused by something as simple as an outdated job description, according to a leading recruitment specialist.

Bias, I think, is associated with a much more macro concern around bigger issues that we might have  out-and-out racism or misogyny  but it often really comes down to whether or not you would prefer to hire somebody from Boston College because thats where you went, said Felicity Hassan, the US managing director of Audeliss, an executive search firm.

Inclusive hiring almost always requires companies to start by getting the basics right, Hassan said on Thursday, during a webinar for hiring managers and recruiters co-organised by Audeliss and diversity and inclusion membership organisation INvolve.

Hassan, who started her executive search career in London over 15 years ago, said that removing biases from job descriptions was a crucial starting point.

The webinar was held in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, which has galvanised the drive to confront racism and and how it permeates all aspects of life.

Read more: The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Future Leader Role Models 2020

You really need to think about whether or not you have a job description that is really focused on the best candidate for the job. Developing a brief that attracts the broadest range of candidates is what youre looking for, she said.

Hassan noted that job description often tend to use casual terminology that is often more likely to attract male candidates, such as referring to potential applicants as rockstars in their given field.

Others might list essential skills for a role that are not actually required to excel in the job itself, such as project management experience. Recruiters should carefully decide what skills are simply preferable, rather than essential, for a candidate to have.

Sometimes, Hassan said, outdated items from job descriptions  which are often heedlessly copy and pasted  can discourage qualified candidates from applying for a role.

Story continues

Its really important to be thoughtful about whats nice to have and whats absolutely essential, she said.

Read more:

This, alone, is obviously not enough, Hassan warned. Just because a company has amended its job description and decided that it wants a diverse pool of applicants does not mean it suddenly will receive them, she said.

You have to change your inputs if you want different outputs, Hassan said. If you have historically not procured a diverse range of candidates for a search, that wont change just because you decided that you want diverse candidates.

You have to be proactive in the way in which you engage your audience. So you have to commit to a range of passive and active sourcing [of candidates].

This involves thinking about a recruiters network and reach out to wider communities, Hassan said.
Frankfurt, Germany

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the decision by the U.N.'s top human rights body to commission a report on policing and race amid international protests spurred by George Floyd's death "marks a new low" and confirmed the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Human Rights Council in 2018.

The council agreed Friday in Geneva to commission a U.N. report on systemic racism and discrimination against Black people while stopping short of ordering a more intensive investigation singling out the U.S. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died last month after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for nesrly 9 minutes.

In response, Pompeo on Saturday described the Human Rights Council as "a haven for dictators and the democracies that indulge them."

"If the Council were serious about protecting human rights, there are plenty of legitimate needs for its attention, such as the systemic racial disparities in places like Cuba, China, and Iran," Pompeo said in a statement Saturday.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Floyd's relatives, families of other victims of U.S. police violence and hundreds of advocacy groups urged the Human Rights Council to take up the issue.

The consensus resolution approved Friday followed days of grappling over language after African nations backed away from their initial push for a commission of inquirythat would focus more on the U.S. Instead, the resolution mentions historic racism in the U.S. but only calls for a more generic report to be written by the U.N. human rights chief's office and outside experts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 15:02:56|Editor: huaxia

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BISHKEK, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan's health ministry reported on Saturday 192 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 2,981.

Nurbolot Usenbaev, the country's deputy health minister, told a news briefing that three patients died in the country in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of fatalities to 35.

Meanwhile, 20 patients have been discharged from hospitals over the past day. In all, 1,981 have fully recovered from the infection, he added.

Currently, 498 people remained hospitalized, and five patients are in intensive care.

In total, 1,471 people who have had contact with infected patients are in community isolation facilities and another 12,205 people are in home quarantine under the supervision of doctors.

Usenbaev also said that recently, the number of patients with coronavirus infection has been growing.

The epidemiological situation is becoming more tense and if people do not fulfill all the sanitary and epidemiological requirements, the situation may even worsen, the deputy minister said. Enditem
Nevadas congressional Democrats on Friday sent a letter to Gov. Steve Sisolak, Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro urging them to remove the statue of Sen. Pat McCarran in the U.S. Capitol.

While Senator McCarran fought for workers rights and sponsored legislation that helped shape the modern air travel industry, his dark legacy of virulent racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia have no place representing Nevada, especially in the United States Capitol, the letter, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen and Rep. Steven Horsford, said.

In addition to removing the statue, the members of the delegation also said they support local efforts to rename McCarran International Airport.

Both are local issues. Each state gets two statues in the U.S. Capitol building. Nevada is represented by McCarran and Native-American rights defender Sarah Winnemucca. The legislature would have to pass a measure to remove the statue.

The letter is similar to one sent in 2017 by the states House Democrats, including Reps. Dina Titus and Rosen who served in the House at the time. During the 2017 legislative session, former state Sen. Tick Segerblom introduced a bill to remove the statue but the measure never advanced.

The letter comes as the protest against police brutality and racism have raged in cities around the nation triggered by the death in May of George Floyd, an African-American who died while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.

It also comes after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the removal of 11 Confederate statues from the Capitols National Statuary Hall Collection.

On Friday, she had four portraits removed from the Capitol of former speakers who served in the Confederacy.

Our states statues in the United States Capitol should embody Nevadas values as a compassionate, diverse, and welcoming state, the letter said. A monument to a man who advocated bigotry is an affront to those ideals.

As our country grapples with its history of systemic racism and at a time of rising anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world, removing the McCarran statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection would demonstrate to the nation that Nevada does not tolerate hate or bigotry, the letter continued. It is far overdue to retire the McCarran statue and choose a better suited individual to represent us in our nations capital.

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A dad who was fatally stabbed in the chest during a domestic dispute in front of his teenage daughter was planning to leave and move in with his mother.

Adam Coble, 40, died after he was stabbed in the chest in his North Richmond home, in north-west Sydney, in January last year.

Police have been investigating claims Coble was killed after he was stabbed by his mother-in-law when he attacked her during a family dispute, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The grandmother, who is aged in her 60s, suffered critical stab wounds to her neck and Mr Coble's wife Robyn was injured with cuts to her arms and hands.

Adam Coble (left, pictured with wife Robyn) died at a North Richmond home, in north-west Sydney, with a stab wound to his chest in January 2019

Robyn hugs her teenage daughter after Adam Coble was fatally stabbed in north-west Sydney

Robyn reportedly told police her mother was stabbed by Mr Cobble before the mother-in-law delivered the fatal puncture.

No charges have been laid over Mr Coble's death and it not suggested Robyn or her mother are responsible.

Mr Coble's mother Anne Skeed said she was on the phone with her son and granddaughter at the time of his death.

'Adam was leaving to come and live with me on January 22, but (died) on January 14,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

Ms Skeed has asked the NSW Coroner for her son's death to be investigated again.

She questions why authorities have not pursued an investigation into the couple's history of domestic violence and an alleged money dispute.

Police have been investigating claims Coble was killed by his mother-in-law after he attacked her during a family dispute. Adam and Robyn Coble are pictured

Ann Lambino, the registrar of the NSW Coroner's Court, told Ms Skeed via a letter that Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee had reviewed her requests.

'As a result, the Coroner requested that the investigating police make a number of further enquiries to address the matters that you raised,' the letter said.

'The Coroner now proposes to hold an inquest into Adam's death.'

The letter also explained that when a Coroner determines a person died of homicide, it 'does not suggest that any criminal offence has been committed'.
Within 24 hours, the health offices have reported in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) 601 new infections with the Coronavirus. On the previous day, the number had located with 770 cases, noticeably higher than on previous days. The increase in case numbers is mainly due to major outbreaks in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Berlin, it was said by the RKI.

Due to an outbreak in a meat processing operation of the East Westphalian Gutersloh district exceeds the Federal government and the lander agreed threshold of 50 Corona infections within a week per 100,000 inhabitants currently clear. The SPD politician Karl Lauterbach called for a Lockdown. Until Saturday, the number of acquired new infections rose to well over 1000. For many employees of the battle company, Tonnies Tests were still pending. All of the approximately 6500 Tonnies-employees at the location in Rheda-Wiedenbruck had to with all household members in quarantine. "We have no significant entry of coronavirus cases in the General population," said the district administrator of the Kreis Gutersloh, Sven-Georg Adenauer.

The reproduction number, in short the R-value, according to the RKI estimates with data 19.6., 0.00 at 1.06 (previous day: 0,86). This means that an Infected person infects an average of a little more than other people. The R-value in each case forms the infection from happening about a week and a half before. Since the middle of may, the RKI is also a so-called Seven-days-R. It refers to a longer period of time and is therefore subject to less current fluctuations. According to the RKI estimates of this value increased with data 19.6., 0.00, 1.17 (previous day: 1,0). He shows that the Infection occurred from 8 to 16 days.

the estimated reproduction numbers (R-value and 7-day R-value) slightly above 1, show that the number of new cases don't go back at the moment and was from the RKI. This would be related to the local clusters. "Because the case numbers in Germany to a low level, influence these outbreaks, the value of the reproduction number of relatively strong." A General increase was used to derive so far.

keep Track of all the important developments from Germany and the world in the Liveblog of the F. A. Z.

in Total have been infected since the beginning of the Corona-crisis 189.135 people in Germany demonstrated that Sars-CoV-2, as the RKI reported on Saturday morning (data 20.6., 0: 00). 8883 confirmed with the Virus infected people have died thus, in Germany. Three Covid-19-deaths in under 20 Year olds have been sent. The deceased were between 3 and 18 years of age and had pre-existing conditions. About 174.400 people have survived the infection, according to the RKI estimates.

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 14:19
Captain Jonny Greenall, who owns Balearic Helicopters, paid tribute to Spains front-line COVID-19 medical staff this week by taking Majorcan nurse Lucia Sesma to the skies as a gesture of thanks to the countrys medics and also to celebrate her birthday.

Lucia has been back home in Majorca on a short visit after having spent the past three months on the front-line in Spains first 100 percent COVID hospital in ground zero of the pandemic in Madrid - she returns to COVID duty this week.

Pilot Jonny took Lucia for a flight from Son Bonet, towards the Tramuntana, passing Puigpunyent, down to Peguera, along the coast to Port Vell, in along the hillside over Naburguesa and Son Vida, over Palma and back.

An experience Lucia will never forget and will share with all her colleagues.
Like most recent local sports, Rapid City BMX has had to overcome a little bump in the road with the COVID-19 pandemic.

No pun intended.

Although the organization overcome a little slowdown because of the virus, it is thriving again and will be busy this weekend with a pair of state qualifier races at the BMX Track in Robbinsdale.

Racers from several regional states competed Friday night in the Warnicke Double, and will then race today in a State Race Triple and Gold Cup Qualifier on Sunday.

"It has been different. We have been working hard with the City on social distancing to make sure our riders and our families are all safe," said Rapid City BMX board member Carly Wilson said. "There has definitely been modifications, but we've kicked off and had a good start.

"We're averaging a good rider count, we have kids racing from 18-month old Striders, all of the way up to adults, so grandma and grandpa can come out and race with the grand kids. It's pretty fun."

There are two state qualifier competitions in South Dakota  here and in Aberdeen. All a racer has to do to qualify for the state in compete in these type of races.

But there is plenty to compete for, as they also race for district rankings. Friday night's competition are double-point races, and today's races are not only a state qualifier but triple points. Sunday's action is triple points and also Gold Cup points where the riders can qualify for the Gold Cup, a separate competition that regionally is in Mankato, Minn., in mid September.

The state races are in Aberdeen over Labor Day Weekend.

This weekend's races are not only for local racers. Rapid BMX officials expect around 200 competitors from not only South Dakota, but from Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota.

The competition divides riders into age and expert levels. They are split by age groups, such as 9-year-old Novice (beginners), 9-year-old Intermediate and 9-year-old Expert.

"We tried to keep them grouped together," Wilson said.

Rapid City BMX has had five races so far this season, and race on Monday and Wednesday nights. They look to go through October depending on the weather.

"Families can come out and try it for $1 to see if they like it and go from there," Wilson said.

While there is plenty of novice racing, there is also some high-caliber action. Registered this weekend is the world's No. 1 12-year-old, Cole Frederick, who hails from New Ulm, Minn.

"It is going to be really fun for our local kids to see him have that to push them and work hard," Wilson said.

Rapid City BMX is all volunteer oriented. Wilson said they have been lucky to have some grants and sponsorship that has allowed them to continue to improve on the facility and do things that can make it a nationally-ranked top track.

"That is our big goal, to bring in a national race, to bring that caliber of competition to Rapid City for our kids," she said. "We think we're getting closer. We're hoping maybe next year."

It is the third year of this track, located next to the fire station on Fairmont Boulevard, just south of the old track.

"It was a huge upgrade for our kids," she said.

Wilson added that it their goal is to just keep kids active.

"Being outside this is a great chance for people who have been cooped up with COVID to get out and be safe and socially distanced and still get some activity and competition," she said. "t's been a real positive for the community to get going again."

Action begins today at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.

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A marine zoo in the United Kingdom forced to close amidst the pandemic admits that its staff may need to destroy hundreds of animals if they cannot be appropriately rehomed.

Living Coasts zoo in the town of Torquay in Devon, southwest England, closed its doors to visitors permanently, citing huge financial losses since the nations lockdown measures were implemented. The facility is home to hundreds of marine animals including African penguins, macaroni penguins, South American fur seals, and numerous species of sea birds.

Wild Planet Trust, the zoos governing body, explained in a Q&A segment on the Living Coasts website that staff may have to consider euthanasia if suitable shelters cannot be found for the animals rendered homeless by the sites permanent closure.

(Illustration  Megan Baldeshwiler/Shutterstock)

In the unlikely event that we cannot find housing that suits their needs, we may need to the make the difficult decision to euthanise, the Trust explained. As things stand, we do not anticipate that this is a likely scenario.

The Torquay site opened in 2003 with a focus on the conservation and protection of marine species. Today, the facility is in need of substantial maintenance, which the trust admits is no longer within its financial capabilities. The next stage is to find homes for the animals, said officials, once movement restrictions have been lifted.

In a statement of assurance to the public, the trust claimed that Living Coasts is confident that good new homes for the animals will be found, but that it remains unclear how long this process will take.

Our priority is the welfare of our animals, they reiterated.

The Torquay site was originally designed to mimic the natural habitats of its many inhabitants and includes a penguin beach, a tropical mangrove swamp, and underwater viewing stations for human visitors.

Living Coasts is part of a worldwide network of zoos and aquariums and we will be looking for homes for animals within them, the trust explained. Most of the animals kept at Living Coasts are marine species that will need specialist facilities. Such places do exist and we already work closely with them.

Responding to whether the site could simply release its marine animals into the wild, the trust explained that it may be possible to release some locally occurring species, subject to veterinary approval and in accordance with IUCN Reintroduction Specialist Group guidelines.

For most livestock bred, born, and hatched at Living Coasts, they stated, release would not be an option as the animals would not be able to cope with life in the wild.

Living Coastss animal residents are not the only ones affected by the zoos sudden closure.

According to the Daily Mail, the Torquay sites 44 staffers are likely to lose their jobs. Two additional wildlife attractions run by the same authority, Paignton Zoo and Newquay Zoo, are also at risk of having to close their doors for good.

In a June 2020 parliamentary debate, Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell voiced concern that many wildlife establishments in the United Kingdom could face permanent closure due to significant financial losses, reports the Mirror. The reality is we are going to see some of these organizations close permanently if the government doesnt rethink the extra support they need at this time, he warned.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
On June 19, Mayor Greg Fischer announced that Louisville Metro Police is moving to fire Brett Hankison. He was one of the three police officers who fired weapons at the apartment of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020, under a no-knock warrant. The incident killed Taylor.

Officer finally fired months after the shooting

Hankison is accused by Robert Schroeder, the department's interim chief, of blindly firing 10 rounds into Breonna Taylor's apartment. Schroeder wrote a letter to Hankison on June 19 and stated that he finds his conduct a shock to the conscience. He also laid out Hankison's charges against him and said that he is alarmed and stunned that Hankison used deadly force.

Hankison is accused of violating the policies of the department regarding the use of deadly force. Schroeder said he received the investigation into Taylor's case on June 16 and he stated that Hankison has a history of using deadly force because he was disciplined for it in 2019.

Aside from the letter, a pre-termination hearing will happen around next week, and Hankison and his attorney, Atty. David Leightty will respond to the allegation. Schroeder will issue a final decision and Hankison can appeal to the Police Merit Board within 10 days. The board will consider if the decision was justified if it is not then it can levy its own punishment.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove, the two other officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment, are still on administrative reassignment.

Hankison was also accused of sexual assault by several women on social media. The allegations are all similar, saying that he offered intoxicated women a ride home from bars before sexually assaulting them. Hankison's attorney did not respond to the allegations.

Also Read: Protesters in Washington D.C Sued the Trump Administration After Being Tear-Gassed for Photo-Op

Atty. Sam Aguiar, the attorney who represents Breonna Taylor's family, said that it is about time that Hankison gets fired. According to Atty. Aguiar, Hankison could not be located after the shooting incident. He also said that witnesses heard the officer yell "reload" and fired more into Taylor's apartment.

Breonna Taylor's murder

The 26-year-old victim, Breonna Taylor, was shot eight times and died in her hallway after three officers fired their weapons in her apartment, they were aiming for Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.

In Walker's defense, he said he only fired one shot because he thought they were intruders who just barged in their apartment. Walker's shot hit Mattingly in the leg. The officers did not knock nor announce their presence, the no-knock warrant was signed by Judge Mary Shaw and it was for a drug investigation. Unfortunately, the police officers got the wrong apartment.

According to the police officers, they knocked on Taylor's door and they announced their presence, but Taylor's neighbors and the attorneys said it was not what happened. Police officer Joshua Jaynes, the one who sought the no-knock warrant, has been reassigned while his investigation is still ongoing.

The three officers who were at the scene and fired their weapons are being investigated by the state attorney general and the FBI, but neither has announced any criminal charges.

The Louisville FBI officials were at Taylor's apartment on June 19 to do a search warrant as part of their investigation and to look for fresh evidence.

Taylor's death is one of the many cases that the Black Lives Matter movement is fighting for. The protests, that is still ongoing, is calling for the end of systemic racism and police brutality in the United States.

Related Article: Supreme Court Blocks Trump from Ending 'Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals'

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Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Rise above petty politics: Amit Shah hits back after Rahul Gandhis Ladakh remark

Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday tweeted a video of the father of an Indian Army soldier, who was injured in the violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakhs Galwan Valley, to criticise Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against the government. Read more

Arms-laden Pak drone shot down by BSF along International Border in J&Ks Kathua

The Border Security Force shot down a Pakistani drone along the International Border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, the officials said. Read more

People wont get tested out of fear: AAP MLA Raghav Chadha on 5 day institutional Covid-19 quarantine order

Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha on Saturday reacted to the five-day institutional quarantine order issued by Delhi Lieutenant-General Anil Baijal and said that many people will not get tested fearing being whisked away to quarantine centres. Read more

Greta Thunberg has hope for climate, despite leaders inaction

Preparing for her appearance before the U.N. General Assembly last fall, Greta Thunberg found herself constantly interrupted by world leaders, including U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had formed a queue to speak to her and take selfies. Read more

WhatsApp glitch that hid Last seen, Online status fixed: Heres what happened

Last night popular messaging app WhatsApp suffered a glitch. Users were unable to see the last seen and online status that you usually get to see when you are chatting with someone. This status can be spotted right below the contact name on top of the chat window. Read more

The way Sachin attacked Akhtar, Akram and me was amazing: Waqar Younis picks Tendulkars best innings

Sachin Tendulkar was the batsman who redefined batting in one-day internationals. His ability to pace his innings according to conditions, bowling attacks and game situation remained unmatched throughout the 1990s. Read more

International Yoga Day 2020: What is meditation, its various forms and how it helps alleviate stress

Yoga has become an increasingly popular form of exercise in the past few years and people are turning to it more to lose weight, improve flexibility, blood flow and mobility and to also to attain mental peace. Read more



Passengers practice social distancing at CSMT railway station in Mumbai, Central Railways tweets video of new norm

After almost two months of lockdown, Unlock 1.0 came into force. With the relaxation, Mumbai, like all the other places in India, is slowly getting back on its feet. Limited local train services have also resumed but only for the essential workers and they need to follow several precautionary measures while travelling, including social distancing. Read more
The handwoven Afghan carpets are beautiful examples of persistent human industry in the face of obstacles that sometimes can seem overwhelming.

They are small miracles of an indomitable creative spirit, but they are something else, too: an expression of justice and solidarity.

A Kabul-based project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and run by Charleston resident Rob Leahy, is helping to empower the women who weave these intricate rugs, providing them a bigger share of the income and opportunities to gain access to education and business development training.

Two years ago, Leahy established Impact Carpet Associates after securing $9.4 million from USAID for a three-year project. In Afghanistan, he set up the Kabul Carpet Export Center. Its been tough going. Afghanistans patriarchal theocracy does not allow women much freedom, and the coronavirus pandemic has caused disruptions.

This is something Ive worked on for a long time, Leahy said. I was happy to see it had begun to make a difference before the world came to a halt.

Leahy is an experienced carpet appraiser and broker who operates Fine Rugs of Charleston on Meeting Street. He has been traveling to Afghanistan since 2007 when, at the invitation of the U.S. government, he helped to assess whether the countrys traditional rug-making practices could become a sustainable business that leverages existing resources, labor and infrastructure.

In 2017, Leahy answered a Request for Information issued by USAID, which led to a contract.

Carpet weaving is Afghanistans second biggest legal export business, after agriculture (pistachios, dried fruits, etc.). The concept of the USAID project, Leahy said, is to make the Afghan manufacturers aware of the needs of the customers (mostly in Europe and the U.S.) and to help them develop the procedures to satisfy (those needs) so they could establish long-term relationships.

Afghan carpet production has long been outsourced to Pakistan, taking much of the income with it. Leahy and his team wanted to encourage domestic production and build equity in a fragile Afghan economy.

The hope is they will make rugs not war, he said. It sounds trite, but its as simple as that.

A family affair

Afghan rugs have a unique geometrical look, Leahy said. They are made of lustrous sheeps wool woven onto a cotton support structure and colored using vegetable dyes. A medium-quality 8-by-10-foot rug has around 20,000 knots tied by hand. A fine-quality rug of the same size can have around 50,000 knots.

It can take as long as a year to make a large fine-quality carpet, which will sell for about $5,000 in the U.S.

Rug making often is a family affair. The men gather materials and prepare the loom; the women weave.

Najlla Habibyar is the Kabul-based project manager working with 65 companies registered as partners to build capacity, secure access to international markets and create long-term financial viability.

Because the project generated income, it is likely to persist even after USAID funding ceases, Habibyar said.

The three-year project goal is to generate more than 70,000 square meters of carpet in partnership with nearly 35,000 weavers. Scaling up is a realistic pursuit, she said.

The number of people involved in the carpet industry is huge, with huge potential of increasing that number, she said. Its a critical part of Afghanistans economic growth strategy. Its something that all those people can do in their houses.

Demand is high, and growing, but most Afghan carpets have gone to Pakistan for processing and distribution, and that has eaten into the revenue potential for the carpet makers, Habibyar said. So she and her colleagues are working hard to establish supply chains and distribution solutions in-country.

Currently, the government subsidizes freight costs at 80 percent. But as soon as that subsidy is gone, the price of carpets will go up, she said. Thats why its important to solidify supply-chain partnerships.

One of the companies Habibyars Kabul Carpet Export Center (KCC) works with is the Istanbul-based Khal Mohammadi Rugs. Asad Khall is sales manager. He connects KCC with retailers and wholesalers, traveling between Turkey and Afghanistan every few months, and he works with weavers and providers of the raw materials needed to make the carpets.

Typical income for a weaver can reach about $100 per month, which in Afghanistan goes pretty far. The average yearly per capita income is about $410.

Khall said the work generally is good for Afghan families.

In one family there might be two or three weavers, and they work at home, take care of their families, he said. When they have time, they sit at the loom.

Making a difference

Jennet Robinson Alterman spent time in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. Not much has changed there since then, she said. The Taliban rule and women are subjugated. It was her experience in Afghanistan that touched a social justice nerve and transformed her into an advocate for womens rights, she said.

Alterman first met Leahy around 2010, when Connie Duckworths Arzu Studio Hope arranged to show Afghan rugs in Charleston. Arzu Studio Hope was the predecessor to Leahys Impact Carpet Associates. It provided women a safe place to weave rugs, and secured the cooperation of their husbands by paying for health care and schooling, according to Alterman.

Now its Leahy and his team who are forming a coalition of weavers and, by cutting out the middle man, ensuring they receive a bigger share of the profit.

Fine Rugs of Charleston, 1523 Meeting St., will host a pop-up carpet sale June 26-July 6. Around 800 rugs will be available for purchase, from small doormat and hallway rugs to large 12-by-15-foot throw rugs. Prices range from $50 to $4,000. All of the proceeds will go back to Afghanistan, according to Leahy.

Buyers might not realize the impact they are making, Alterman said.

When they purchase (a rug), theyre making a huge difference for at least one family in Afghanistan, she said.
Age doesnt matter, the work does, declared Sinead Gleeson who won the Dalkey Book Festivals Emerging Writer Award  and 10,000  tonight for her assured collection of essays, Constellations.

The Novel of the Year, with a prize of 20,000, was won by Christine Dwyer Hickey for The Narrow Land, her luminous reimagining of the life of Edward and Josephine Hopper. It crowned a brilliant few days for Hickey who last week won the prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and a cheque for 25,000.

Dalkey is normally thronged this weekend with writers and readers. Conceived a decade ago by Sian Smyth and her husband, economist David McWilliams, in response to recessionary times, the Dalkey Book Festival became an unmissable stop on the literary circuit.

The pandemic put paid to this years plans. However, with remarkable prescience, in early March Sian launched the Dalkey Literary Awards. In collaboration with Zurich Insurance, aimed exclusively at Irish writers and with a total prize fund of 30,000, these awards have, for the time being, replaced the festival and last night the winners were announced in an online ceremony.

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Not a bad weeks work, she said, adding: You have to sell an awful lot of books to get that sort of money. I think theyre very good to go ahead with the awards, they could have easily put it on the long finger.

For Sinead Gleeson, the money will give her that most precious of gifts  time. Ive had a couple of essays to write and Ive been finding that quite difficult. I find Im distracted more easily, being home with the kids, its been tricky.

But once Ive finished these essays and two reviews, because of Dalkey, I can take a break and write. Im 20,000 words into a novel.

She was also delighted to be on such a lovely shortlist; her fellow nominees included Nicole Flattery, Lucy Sweeney Byrne, Ronan Hession, Adrian Duncan and Eleanor Fitzsimons.

Theres not a lot of places for non-fiction to get noticed so Dalkey are to be applauded, she commented, adding everyone is obsessed with the new young thing, so its great for mid-career authors to be recognised. Its a good lesson that emerging doesnt mean young.

Video of the Day

Writer Caoilinn Hughes, who along with broadcaster Rick OShea and poet Gary Jermyn judged the Emerging Writer, praised Constellations as a highly distinctive, beautifully-executed essay collection that exposes the body as a site of infinite conflict through generosity of detail and contemplation, Gleeson darkens the page with hard-earned experience and insight. In that darkness, she makes so much glimmer  from the life-saving scalpel to thousands of strangers eyes in a night-time field, moving to the same music.

And it will be music to book lovers ears that the best little festival in the world as Salman Rushdie once described it, will be back in full swing in June 2021.
What do you do when an unexpected pandemic and lockdown shutter your business? You adapt, evolve and, sometimes, have a stroke of good fortune. Like these two women did.

SHIVANI AGARWAL

The founder of Scraft Products added new products to her portfolio

Everything had been going great for Delhi-based businesswoman Shivani Agarwal. Her factory in Sonipat, Haryana, was operating to full capacity making tissue papers, toilet and kitchen rolls, besides aluminum foil for food packaging. Expecting her first child this year, the 35-year-old was in expansion mode both personally and professionally.

Shivani Agarwal.

Then coronavirus began to make news headlines with increasing frequency and Shivani knew shed have to do something about it before it was too late. Remarkably, she managed to change direction, continue production, and save her employees' jobs even as the lockdown ravaged the rest of the Indian economy.

The founder of Scraft Products had set up her factory in 2009 after completing her MBA from Mumbai. Things had never been easy for her despite her businessman fathers support: As a young woman, I was never taken seriously by others at home or even in the business; theyd ask to speak to someone senior before striking a deal, she narrates.

Yet she managed to build up her business, expanding her product range, and touched `Rs 50 crore turnover last year. Then COVID hit. Everything was in shams, she recalls, of how orders for her usual range fell to record lows in March, and she considered shutting down until the end of the lockdown.

But something triggered Shivani to give it one more shot. A wholesale supplier to Walmart, Shivani had enrolled herself in their Vriddhi programme launched late last year to prepare small businesses and MSMEs to participate in the domestic and global supply chains. With their mentorship, she quickly developed hand sanitisers and disinfectants wipes as per COVID product specifications, and luckily had her samples ready just one day before the nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Modi.

I was already communicating with people via video conferencing due to pregnancy, so the sales and management process continued the same way post-lockdown, says Shivani with some relief. With tissue paper, hand sanitisers and disinfectant wipes all classified as essential goods by the government, her factory did not have to shut for even a day, and none of her 150 employees lost their jobs. They were simply trained and moved to new departments. Scraft offers products in six basic categories, priced from Rs 15 to Rs 500 per item.

Supply-chain disruptions and procurement of raw materials and work passes were some of the initial hurdles and they continue to exist. However, the thought that I am able to support in the supply of essentials during a crisis and provide livelihoods to my workers didnt let me give up, she says.

Corporate and retail orders began to flow in as India geared up to face the pandemic. Most state governments have made hand sanitisers compulsory in offices, banks, and other workplaces, and so these items have been flying off shelves. Among the first to match global specifications, Shivani is now looking at supplying worldwide.

COVID is here for the long-run and this is the new way of life, she says of the need for hand sanitisers and disinfectants. Well continue doing these products now, in addition to our existing portfolio. If things go steady, we will be able to maintain our per-month revenue despite the lockdown and its challenges, she smiles.

BABITA GUPTA

The textile manufacturer began producing face masks in wholesale

Bursting with optimism and spirit, Babita Gupta has the ability to see the silver lining in any situation, even a pandemic. Crises give us opportunities for evolution and growth. Earlier, we were all on auto-pilot. Now we are in the drivers seat, says the 46-year-old textile manufacturer and mother of two.

Babita Gupta.

Her 13-year-old company Sarangi Creations, based in Sonipat, had been supplying home furnishings, fabric and textiles to domestic and international markets until the COVID crisis hit. Looking for ways to keep the business running, and noticing the growing demand for face masks, she resumed operations at her factory, except this time, they began making cotton face masks instead of their usual ware. She secured her first wholesale order of 80,000 masks recently.

Born into a traditional Baniya family in Delhi, Babita, who is a graduate from Hindu College in Delhi University, was a homemaker for the first few years after marriage. In an effort to help her domestic helper who faced violence at home, she asked her businessman husband Narender  who was partner in his familys textile business  to give the girl some odd jobs that could be done at home.

From one to 20, I soon had all these domestic helpers sitting in my balcony cutting threads from finished cushion covers and pouches, she says with her characteristic effervescence. Thats when Babita decided to do more, and joined a Walmart programme for women entrepreneurs in 2015-16. It gave her the idea and confidence to run her own venture.

But her family was not as supportive. So Babita took matters in her own hands, sold off her jewellery, took a loan with her home as collateral, and set up a factory. Fortunately for her, Narender left his family business too, and joined her in her venture. Hiring between 30 to 60 people depending on the order size, she innovated, got her cotton fabric tested and certified according to global requirements, and began exporting.

When the pandemic hit, buyers called to cancel orders, and Babita found herself in a soup. But if everything is being destroyed, it means a new building will come up. There is an opportunity here too, she philosophised. Since she already had reams of tested cotton in stock, she decided to make masks instead of her usual products. Reaching out to Walmarts group of 150-200 MSMEs in the Sonipat-Panipat area, she managed to quickly source a large supply of elastic bands at short notice despite the lockdown. And the factory was in production again.

Her reusable cotton masks were quickly lapped up, and she also began getting inquiries for disposable bedsheets and washable PPEs for hospitals and workplaces. Her new range of medical gowns and coveralls are awaiting approval from Defence Research and Development Organisation. There are also plans to export coordinated printed cotton masks to markets like Italy and the UK, where these are very popular. Once people get bored of plain masks, they will want something more fashionable, she predicts.

Having received very valuable support from Walmart during this period, Babita became one of the mentors of their Vriddhi programme, and guides others like herself on business operations. She is a powerhouse of inspiration: I get excited when I face obstacles, I welcome challenges, she says with her unrelenting enthusiasm. I am determined to make this a win-win situation.
Former national security advisor to the White House John Bolton has praised prime minister Scott Morrison for banning Huawei in Australia over security concerns, and said America could have followed suit much sooner.

Mr Morrison announced the Chinese telco giant would not be allowed to install 5G mobile in Australia in August 2018 - another setback for Huawei after it was barred from installing the National Broadband Network in 2012.

All US companies have only prohibited from collaborating with Huawei since May 16, 2019 - despite overwhelming concerns from experts worldwide that the telco giant could have posed a national security risk.

Mr Bolton, who left the White House in September, is set to release his explosive memoir 'The Room Where It Happened' where he shares the same sentiment, Australian Financial Review reported.

He labelled Mr Morrison's stance on the matter a 'clear-eyed approach' and added the pair viewed the company in 'pretty much the way I did.'

Former national security advisor to the White House John Bolton has praised prime minister Scott Morrison for banning Huawei in Australia over security concerns, and said America could have followed suit much sooner

Mr Morrison announced the Chinese telco giant would not be allowed to install 5G mobile in Australia in August 2018 - another setback for Huawei after it was barred from installing the National Broadband Network in 2012

'The most important goal for Chinese 'companies' like Huawei and ZTE is to infiltrate telecommunications and information-technology systems, notably 5G, and subject them to Chinese control (though both companies, of course, dispute the US characterisation of their activities).'

Experts have previously expressed mistrust towards Huawei over fears the Chinese Communist Party could use the telco giant for espionage.

'There's risk of Huawei being used to enable either espionage or sabotage,' Australian Strategic Policy Institute's senior analyst on international cyber policy Tom Uren told Daily Mail Australia in the past.

Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei was a member of the People's Liberation Army before founding his technology company in 1987.

His ties to the Chinese Communist Party have made foreign governments nervous.

'The Chinese Communist Party has great control over enterprises,' Mr Uren said.

'They prioritise their own security over anything else.

'Mostly it's the way China operates writ large.'

Experts have previously expressed mistrust towards Huawei over fears the Chinese Communist Party could use the telco giant for espionage

He said Huawei, if allowed to install the 5G network, could have been directed by the Chinese government to spy on Australian government agencies and cabinet ministers.

'They have basically a great ability to reach into that network and do stuff,' he said.

Only on Friday, Mr Morrison announced Australia was under cyber attack from a malicious 'state-actor' with banks, transport networks, electricity grids and the military all under threat.

Although the perpetrator of the cyber invasion has not been named, Mr Morrison said a 'sophisticated state-based actor' was behind ongoing attacks which have hit Australian universities, hospitals, industry and governments.
In June 2020, social media users shared posts that U.S. President Donald Trump had said he won't leave the office at the end of his elected term. His statement had prompted a lot of people to ask if he really said it or if it was just a rumor.

Will Trump leave the office?

The posts were based on a speech that President Trump gave back in December 2019 at the Israeli-American Council National Summit, during remarks about his administration's decision to move the U.S embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The move had earned him backlash from both the United States Senate and the public. In Trump's speech, he addressed his campaign donor and friend, billionaire businessman, Sheldon Adelson, and he said that the new U.S embassy building would be made with "Jerusalem stone".

Trump had derided his critics, who at that time, expressed their worry that he would not leave the office willingly if his term ends. Trump said at the summit that they are going to spend $2 billion on the U.S Embassy so that it can be built in Jerusalem.

But he pointed out that he wants to drive the media crazy and he knows that they are worried that he won't leave. He said that he knows his supporters say "four more years" which is a reference to the number of years that he will still be president if he wins the reelection this November 2020.

Trump then joked that it should not be 4 years but 12 more years. Trump also added that if he does not build the U.S Embassy now, it is never going to get built because America might vote another Obama or "Crooked Hillary" after his term.

Joe Biden Democratic Presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, also expressed his fear that Trump might not willingly give up his seat at the White House if he does not get re-elected his November.

Also Read: Trump Lashes Out on Bolton Who Called Him a Liar, And a "Washed-up Guy"

During his interview with Trevor Noah on "The Daily Show", Biden said that he is convinced that the military would need to escort Trump just so he would give up the office if he does not win the election. He also said that he already considered what would happen if Trump refuses to accept his defeat.

Biden also pointed out that Trump has a history of spreading false conspiracy theories, from saying that Obama is not born in the United States to lies about mail-in voting that he said could lead to widespread voter fraud. Biden said Trump will do anything to steal this election.

The truth

Even though President Trump jokes about it, there is no instance of him seriously stating that he wouldn't leave office if his term comes to an end. In fact, he told Fox News that he will leave the office to do other things if he does not get re-elected.

But though he has joked about it more than once, we've found no instances of Trump seriously stating he wouldn't leave the office.

In June 2020, he told Fox News he will leave the office to "go on, do other things" if not re-elected. This means that the post about Trump not wanting to leave the White House at the end of his term is false.

Related Article: Supreme Court Blocks Trump from Ending 'Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals'

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As a 16-year-old in 1968, I found it hard to balance hating the Vietnam War and wanting racial justice with being part of a family, baked in patriotism, taught to revere uniforms. As Bill Clinton wrote in that infamous 1969 letter, the cool kids were all about loathing the military; I was making pocket change by ironing my brothers Coast Guard uniforms, being careful to make sure the creases were sharp.

I never told classmates about my fathers long stretch as a police detective. I just talked about his second career, after retirement, as a special assistant to a senator and congressman.

When it was time for the father-daughter lunch at Immaculata, I didnt sign up. As an Irish immigrant with little formal education, my father had worked terribly hard to afford that fancy girls school. But I didnt tell him about the lunch. I dont know if it was the cop thing or because he was older and didnt seem that into raising a teenager. (The day I was born, the other cops at roll call teased him about becoming a new father at 61.)

As it turned out, one of my dads closest friends was the speaker at the lunch and called him to find out why he wasnt there. My dad, hurt, asked my mom why I didnt want to take him.

And that is something Im ashamed of.

In the wake of 9/11, I was relieved that people were able to see the heroic side of police officers and firefighters. Celebrities began inviting firefighters to their lobby Christmas parties in tony Upper West Side apartment buildings. But by the next year, that fad was over.
Lawmakers in the General Assembly are reviewing potential legislation that would allow election officials to begin counting mail-in ballots before 7 a.m. on Election Day, a provision that advocates say will be crucial in getting timely election results in November.

While voting-by-mail election reforms have faced political pushback from Republicans in some parts of the country, some Republican leaders in the state have embraced the need for election reform after seeing delayed results from the June 2 primary.

Voting-by-mail has become somewhat of a partisan topic for some lawmakers, with many Republicans, including President Trump, claiming that a vote-by-mail system would encourage voter fraud.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law on Thursday (HB2502) requiring the Pennsylvania Department of State to publish a report on the June 2 primary. The goal is to help identify what changes need to be made before the general election in November.

Thanks to historic election reform last year, voters were able to embrace new mail-in voting and use new voting machines. Now we must prepare for the presidential election and the huge turnout that is expected in November. This report will help to pinpoint ways to make our election process better, Wolf said in a statement.

The June primary was the first statewide election where voters could submit their ballots by mail without having to explain why they couldnt vote in person. Wolf signed the bipartisan legislation in October 2019; the bill had strong bipartisan support.

While primary elections typically do not see high turnout, people voted by mail-in and absentee ballots 17 times more during this years primary than people voting by absentee ballots in the 2016 presidential election, according to the state department. With the coronavirus pandemic, many welcomed the chance to cast ballots without going to the polls.

Amid COVID-19, more than 1.8 million Pennsylvanians applied for mail-in ballots to vote in the June 2 primary, and final results were still being counted in the days after polls closed.

The current election code doesnt allow election officials to begin counting ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar called for the need to work with the General Assembly on implementing early canvassing on June 2 as delayed results were rolling in.

Wanda Murren, a spokeswoman for the state deparment, wrote in an email to PennLive that her office has always been supportive of early canvassing, and they hope to work with the Legislature to enable this provision for the general election.

In a Tuesday interview with Fox News, former Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican, called on the need for election officials to begin early counting of mail-in and absentee ballots so that we can have election results the night of November 3.

In regards to Trumps pushback on a mail-in system, Ridge said he finds it counter-intuitive to discourage voting by mail when that could increase Republican turnout for Trump and other incumbent congressmen.

First of all I would say to the president  you have the bully pulpit, youre the incumbent President of the United States,  you have a massive war chest, you have millions of people who follow you electronically, youve got a strong national party  why not maximize all the assets you have to get this huge turnout? Ridge said in the interview.

In a statement from Chuck Erdman, chief of staff to State Government Committee Chairman Sen. John DiSanto, he said while the Legislature waits for the report from the Department of State, the committee staff has been working with county election officials and other stakeholders on a broad range of election issues.

Based upon initial conversations, I expect mail-in ballot deadline changes, pre-canvassing activities and voter list management will be key topics for us to consider. To the extent there is consensus on any changes needed, we will look to move them in either existing or new legislation in enough time for them to be implemented prior to the general election, Erdman wrote in an email to PennLive.

Chairman of the House State Government Committee, Garth Everett, R-Lycoming County, wrote in an email to PennLive that he hopes to speak with Boockvar in the next week.

We are in the process of collecting input from election directors and House members on how things went in the primary and starting to draft some legislation, Everett said in an email.

Nonpartisan voter protection groups, like Common Cause, expressed concern over what primary day glitches could look like during the general election. Along with election officials getting swamped with mail-in ballots, consolidated polling places created confusion for voters trying to find their precinct, and crowded precincts were exacerbated by a shortage of polling workers and social-distancing guidelines.

Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia County, said it would be ideal for early canvassing to begin a couple of weeks before Election Day so that election officials can build a list of who has already voted by mail-in ballots.

Its actually a more secure process if we empower commissioners to do the things they do best, but allow them to do it much earlier, Solomon said.

Solomon, a member of the House State Government Committee, said there are cosponsorship memos circulating and that it is his understanding that the committee will take up issues relating to early canvassing.

I cant understand why [counting ballots] is a Republican issue or Democratic issue, its just good for democracy, Solomon said. Its knowing the mechanics of Election Day, to ensure that the democratic process works.

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The Delhi Police on Friday filed 12 charge sheets against foreigners who had gathered at the Nizamuddin Markazwhich was one of the first Covid-19 hot spots in the national capitaltaking the total number of charge sheets (comprising nearly 50,000 pages) filed against foreigners to 59.

The dozen charge sheets on Friday were filed against 41 foreigners who belong to 12 different countries. In all, so far, 956 foreigners belonging to 36 different countriesmainly Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysiahave been charged by the police till date.

A statement issued by the police on Friday said that none of these foreigners have been arrested so far and they are staying at various places in Delhi that have been approved by the High Court. The court has fixed June 25 and July 9 and 16 for further proceedings in the case, the police statement read.

The crime branch registered the FIR against the foreigners on March 31 after the station house officer of the Nizamuddin police station filed a complaint alleging violations of various government orders and directions by the management of the Markaz.

The FIR was registered under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code which include the stringent sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy.

The people named in the FIR include Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad and six other top officials of the religious sect on March 31 for defying a series of government directives, which curbed religious and large gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the national capital.

A religious congregation was held inside the Markaz in March, which had a gathering of around 3000 persons, including many from several countries.

Saad is yet to be questioned by the police.

More than 2,300 people, including foreigners, were evacuated from the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in March-end and lodged in quarantine facilities in Delhi by the authorities. In April, the religious sects headquarters was then the single largest hot spot across the city.

The police said that all the foreign nationals have been charged with offences such as violation of visa rules, government guidelines and regulations regarding the Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act, the prohibitory orders and disobeying quarantine rules.

The government has already cancelled the visas and blacklisted those who had visited India on a tourist visa and had illegally participated in the religious congregation at the Markaz, the police added.

The first lot of 47 charge sheets against the foreigners were filed over three days between May 26 and 28.

Advocate Fuzail Ayyubi, who is representing the Tablighi Jamaat, said that while at this stage, its not prudent to comment on the merits of the charge sheet, nevertheless all legal options and recourses as available under the law are being considered.

The same shall be availed as and when such an occasion arises. As far as foreigners are concerned its quite strange that they are being chargesheeted now since they have been coming here for this purpose on the strength of the same visa for years, Ayyubi said.

As per the law, there is no prohibition against any foreigner visiting any mosque in our country as such, he added.
The global Black Lives Matter movement can only succeed if it goes beyond moments of outrage and insists on real change.

Once again, we are grieving the senseless killing of an African American man at the hands of the state. Only this time, because the events causing his death were captured on video and broadcast on social media, George Floyd has ruptured the silence surrounding racism, not only in the United States, but also in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia.

There is a long history of Black people being killed at the hands of the state in every part of the world. But until recently, oceans and borders between us had prevented our interconnected struggles from meeting. Social media changed this. Even the often-passive African Union came out strongly against the killing of George Floyd, and issued a statement calling on the US to intensify their efforts to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.

This was an unusual turn of events, and perhaps a testament to the global impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. But could there be more to it?

Watching the global community stand up for the Black Lives Matter movement from South Africa, where in April, Collins Khoza was killed by security forces in front of his family and Robyn Montsumi was found hanging in a police cell, gives me a sense of dread and detachment.

The world did not stand up for Khoza and Montsumi. There was no palpable outrage for them. No government or international body issued a single statement demanding accountability for their deaths.

If the African Union  and the rest of the global community  is only grieving with America, who is grieving with us?

The power of social media as an outlet to organise and build transnational movements for social and political change is undeniable. However, there is still more work to do to build real, effective transnational solidarity.

We rushed to globalise the Black Lives Matter with what I can only describe as a lack of foresight to harness the momentum generated by the movement into legislative and permanent cultural change in our own countries. This could be a consequence of many around the world seeing support for Black Lives Matter as an act of charity or goodwill towards African Americans specifically, instead of an admission of a global cultural reality. The same military tanks that pose a threat to Black bodies in America, however, are policing protesters in Coyah, Guinea, as we speak.

Perhaps another obstacle to transnational solidarity is the fact that while the fusion of social media and social justice has become more prevalent, we still heavily rely on Western media to deem what issue, tragedy or calamity is worthy of social outrage.

Speaking at a youth symposium at Johns Hopkins University, activist DeRay Mckesson said, People of colour are always facing issues of erasure, and erasure operates in two ways  the story is either never told, or it is told by everyone but us. Too often, transnational efforts to affect change fail because stories outside the US are rarely told on a global scale.

Another dilemma presents itself in the form of corporations and brands co-opting the cause for profit. In an article for The Conversation, Bree Hurst, insists that by expressing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement or similar sentiments, brands like Nike and Netflix are somehow showing leadership, writing, Its easy to dismiss these statements as low-cost tokenism or politically correct wokism when in fact, brands are taking up political corporate social responsibility.

This cannot be true. In fact, the easy thing to do here is to praise white-owned establishments for acknowledging that indeed Black lives matter and throwing chump change to Black organisations. What they do is less about dismantling systemic racism and more of a ploy to appease a quick-to-forget public; it is performative.

If we are moving towards change, reform and justice, white-owned establishments need to be held to a higher standard than posting on Instagram. Substantive change begins where decisions are made, in boardrooms, where often the only thing of colour is a pen.

A global movement for social justice can only succeed if it goes beyond moments when white supremacy uncovers itself in the form of state-sponsored brutality on Black bodies in the US, and gets transported to our computer screens through social media.

We need to demand the same response from governments, corporations and international bodies when queer Black women are murdered in Brazil, like Marielle Franco, when sex workers die in police custody in South Africa, like Robyn Montsumi, and when Black trans people are killed in the US, like Kiki Fantroy.

The only alternative to a lack of global substantive change, is the continuous treatment of systemic racism as isolated events that sometimes happen in the US. If we do not truly coordinate, we will be back here again, with another global outcry and our protests of solidarity will be rendered meaningless over time.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
SAGINAW, MI  Saginaw was the first city in Michigan to celebrate Juneteenth years ago. Organizers brought back the celebration this year to educate the community and celebrate a monumental time in history for Black people.

Kim Roundtree picked Friday, June 19, to rummage through her mothers old belongings retrieved from the former Juneteenth Cultural Center and Museum in Saginaw.

Lula Briggs Galloway, Roundtrees mother and former director of the center, was passionate about educating the Black community about Juneteenth. Galloway died 12 years ago, but the education and memories she instilled remains.

Juneteenth Cultural Center and Museum, located at 1315 N. 5th Street in Saginaw.Bob Johnson

Juneteenth commemorates the week in June 1865 that Major Gen. Gordon Granger led the Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas, declaring the war was over and the enslaved could go free.

While President Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation officially freed slaves more than two years earlier, it was the surrender of General Lee in April 1865 and Grangers arrival with the troops that created a force strong enough to overcome Texas resistance to the executive order to free slaves.

The culmination of Grangers trip led to his June 19 reading of the proclamation, coined as Juneteenth  the day the freed slaves and their families recounted memories, reassured each other of a newly-promised future and gathered in prayer.

Galloway hosted the states first Juneteenth parade and festival in the 1990s. Later in 2003, she established the now-closed cultural center, according to Roundtree and MLive reports.

Juneteenth Parade in Saginaw.

Today, organizers and longtime friends Kenyona Tillman and Santria Casey were inspired to bring back the celebration to Saginaw.

The celebration held at Transforming Life Church Ministries, 523 Hayden St., featured activities for children, several vendors, spoken word, artwork for sale, a mime performance and praise dance. Attendees also had the opportunity to fill out the U.S. Census and register to vote.

In addition to the program, the attendees participated in a Say Their Name ceremony where they read names of the Black men and women who have lost their lives to racial injustice. A painful and lengthy list, organizers attested.

Casey and Tillman said they were inspired to organize the event to uplift and educate the community at such a bleak time.

Were getting tired of losing our lives, said Casey. Were getting tired of seeing it constantly being on the news. Every time we turn on the TV - another African American man killed by the hands of the officer or an African American woman killed by the hands of an officer.

Casey said seeing incidents where Black people are being harmed or killed hurts and breaks down the community.

Tillman said she hopes the celebration will bring more awareness to the holiday and bring the community together.

Laura Brown, first lady of Transforming Life Church Ministries, said the celebration being held on church grounds was keeping the holiday authentic because the first celebrations were held on church grounds.

Organizers Tillman and Casey are planning to continue to host an event to celebrate Juneteenth for years to come.

Roundtree found notes left for her daughter, messages penned for her, books and materials her mother left at the center. Over a decade after her mothers death, Roundtree finally went through those things on a day that meant so much to her mother and other Black people.

She recounted what the festivals were like when her mother hosted them.

The celebrations were rooted in education, said Roundtree.

Black soldiers, special food dishes and African dancing would also be a part of the event, she said.

When asked about what her mother would say about the resurgence of celebrating the holiday, she noted her mother would be happy, but would acknowledge its more than just a day, its a lifestyle.

Related news:

Preserver of Saginaws black history dies in California

Black Businesses Matter billboards in Saginaw to feature over 100 businesses
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Glenmark first pharma firm to get approval for an oral drug to treat COVID-19 patients in India

Priced at Rs 3,500 for 34 tablets, the dosage is 200 mg X 9 tablets on day one and 200 mg X 4 tablets a day for 14 days

Global trials show the efficacy of over 80-88%; Japan, Bangladesh and UAE already use the drug for COVID-19 treatment

Strides Pharma, Brinton Pharmaceuticals, Lasa Supergenerics and Optimus Pharma among firms readying its launch

API and formulation developed by Glenmark's in-house R&D unit

Drug major Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has become the first Indian company to commercially launch an antiviral drug - Favipiravir with brand name FabiFlu - for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. The company received marketing and manufacturing approval from the Indian drug regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and launched the product in the Indian market today.

Priced at Rs 3,500 for a pack of 34 tablets (Rs 103 per tablet), the dosage is 200 mg X 9 tablets on the day one and 200 mg X 4 tablets a day for 14 days of the treatment. Glenmark did a clinical trial among 90 mild and 60 moderate COVID-19 patients across 11 sites in India. The drug is claimed to have an efficacy of over 80% in the treatment of COVID-19 mild to moderate patients.

Sources said Delhi-based Brinton Pharmaceuticals, Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma, Mumbai-based Lasa Supergenerics, Hyderabad-based Optimus Pharma are some of the other Indian firms that have applied for approval and are readying its launch in India.

Glenmark had developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu through in-house R&D. The DCGI allowed fast track trials with Phase III in limited patients. The approval process is also under Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA).

India has nearly 4 lakh COVID-19 patients now, with nearly 13,000 deaths and fatality rate of 3.28%. On 20th June, 14,516 new cases were reported in India.

"The approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before and putting tremendous pressure on our healthcare system. FabiFlu will reduce this pressure. Glenmark will work with the government and medical community to make it quickly accessible to patients across the country," said Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

The drug acts by getting into cells and inhibit the activity of viral replication to reduce the viral load. A high rate of viral replication can be controlled with early use of antiviral drugs. In later stages, viral replication slows down and the body's violent immune response drives disease to complications and organ failure, said the company sources.

Glenmark is also undertaking a study combining two anti-viral drugs, Favipiravir (an approved drug for novel flu pandemics) with Umifenovir (an approved drug for Influenza) in COVID-19 patients.

Favipiravir, sold under the brand name Avigan by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and approved in Japan since 2014 in treating influenza, is already being used commercially in the therapeutic management of COVID-19 in Bangladesh and UAE.

It is under approval process in Egypt and Jordan and is a part of the treatment protocol in Russia, Japan and Saudi Arabia. About 18 global clinical trials in 3,000 subjects are going on including in India, USA, Canada, Italy, China, France, UK and other countries.

The drug has been approved for compassionate use on 2,050 COVID-19 patients in Japan. It's also approved for novel or re-emerging pandemic influenza virus infection in the country. A 760 patient trial of Favipiravir is also undergoing in Canada. A couple of studies in China had also shown promising results. A Russian study among 390 patients had shown 80 per cent plus success rate and a trial among 2,141 patients in Japan showed above 88 per cent success rate.

READ: Glenmark drug gets DCGI nod; claims 88% mild to moderate COVID-19 patients recovered during trials
President Donald Trump dismissed Manhattan's chief federal prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman, on Saturday after the prosecutor who had launched a series of criminal inquires targeting the president's allies initially refused to resign, Attorney General William Barr said in a letter to Berman.

Late Saturday, Berman said he would not challenge the decision and would leave immediately.

Barr said Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss would serve as acting chief of the office until a permanent successor could be seated.

Trump appeared to distance himself from the attorney general's statement, saying the decision to remove Berman was Barr's to make.

"I'm not involved," Trump told reporters before departing for a campaign rally in Oklahoma.

Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney in Manhattan, in April 2019 during a news conference.

The action comes after an extraordinary confrontation late Friday night in which Barr first announced that Berman would be "stepping down," only to have the prosecutor fire back that he had no intention of resigning his post.

But Saturday, Barr wrote to Berman: "Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so."

The clash thrust the Justice Department into fresh turmoil, raising new questions about its independence from a White House that has sought to remove members of the administration it has cast as disloyal.

Barr and Berman discussed his tenure earlier Friday while the attorney general was in New York meeting with New York Police Department officials, a person with knowledge of the matter said Saturday. At that time, Berman was offered other positions in the administration, including chief of the Justice Department's Civil Division in Washington. The source, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said Berman believed that the conversation was only the start of a longer conversation about possible personnel changes.

"Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service," Barr said in the letter, referring to the prosecutor's refusal to capitulate.

Story continues

"Your statement also wrongly implies that your continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately," Barr wrote.

"This is obviously false. I fully expect that the office will continue to handle all cases in the normal course and pursuant to the Departments applicable standards, policies, and guidance. Going forward, if any actions or decisions are taken that office supervisors conclude are improper interference with a case, that information should be provided immediately to Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justices Inspector General."

Barr said he was asking Horowitz to review any claims of improper interference.

For his part, Berman said hours later that he would leave the office he has held for more than two years without a challenge, adding that his departure would be "effective immediately."

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this districts U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, but I could leave the district in no better hands than Audreys," Berman said. "She is the smartest, most principled, and effective lawyer with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. And I know that under her leadership, this office's unparalleled (assistant prosecutors), investigators, paralegals, and staff will continue to safeguard the Southern Districts enduring tradition of integrity and independence."

Until Berman's statement was issued, it wasn't immediately clear whether Barr's letter would represent the final word on Berman's tenure and whether the prosecutor would challenge the action, as he was not nominated by a president or confirmed by the Senate. And with Trump now distancing himself from Barr, it also wasn't clear who had directed the prosecutor's removal.

Berman was appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2018 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions after a purge of federal prosecutors in the early days of the Trump administration.

When the interim term of 120 days lapsed without a formal nomination by the president, the judges in the New York district exercised their authority to make Bermans appointment official, at least until another candidate is nominated and confirmed.

Since Friday night, Berman had leaned heavily on that judicial authority to maintain control over the Justice Departments most prestigious office outside of Washington, D.C.

I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position to which I was appointed by the judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Berman said after Barr abruptly announced that the prosecutor was stepping down."

I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate," he said.

The crucial Justice Department office has prosecuted Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen and is heading an investigation of the president's lawyer and close adviser Rudy Giuliani.

The Giuliani inquiry has focused in part on the former New York mayor's work with business associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who helped Giuliani seek damaging information in Ukraine about the family of Joe Biden, the former U.S. vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee for president in the 2020 election.

This week, Trump national security adviser John Bolton revealed in a book that the president once sought to interfere in a federal investigation of a Turkish bank to pacify Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The inquiry also has been headed by Bermans office.

More: Judge clears way for John Bolton to publish his book, rejecting Trump administration effort to block it

A Justice Department opinion, although written more than 40 years ago, addresses the lines of authority in such unusual cases. It concludes that the president  not the attorney general or a consortium of judges  has the power to remove a U.S. attorney who holds the position by judicial appointment.

In such cases, the opinion states, "the power of removal may be even more important to the president than the power of appointment.

"Indeed, it is the power to remove, and not the power to appoint, which gives rise to the power to control," the memorandum states. The document raised potential conflicts of interest if judges were authorized to remove prosecutors.

"Due process problems could arise if a court, through the exercise of its removal power, (was) enabled to control the manner in which a prosecutor performs his official duties. We therefore are of the opinion that the power to remove a court-appointed U.S. Attorney rests with the president," the memo states.

In his letter to Berman on Saturday, the attorney general also asserted that the president had unquestioned authority to remove a judicially appointed U.S. attorney

"Indeed, the courts appointment power has been upheld only because the Executive retains the authority to supervise and remove the officer," Barr wrote.

Some legal analysts, however, disagreed, saying that provisions of the law allowing for the judicial appointments of U.S. attorneys should control.

"Berman is the Acting U.S. Attorney by dint of a 'judicial' appointment," University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck tweeted Saturday. "Theres a pretty good argument that, per the plain language of (the law) he gets to keep serving in that post until the 'vacancy' is filled through Senate confirmation of a permanent successor."

Attorney General William Barr on June 8, 2020.

David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, believed Berman's initial interpretation was "correct."

"The Department of Justice opinion is simply that  an opinion," Weinstein said, adding that the document is not binding. He said Trump lost his control over Berman when he failed to nominate a candidate during Berman's interim tenure.

"This all falls back on the president because of his failure to act," Weinstein said, adding that a resolution may be up to the courts.

The urgency of Barr's Friday night action also was not immediately clear. Equally unexpected was the accompanying announcement that Trump intended to nominate Jay Clayton, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, who has no experience as a federal prosecutor.

Instead, Barr hailed Clayton's "management experience and expertise in financial regulation."

A person familiar with Clayton's selection said the former SEC chairman had expressed an interest in the prosecutor's job, as he planned to leave the administration and his position in Washington.

Until Clayton's nomination is considered by the Senate, the attorney general said Friday night that the president was appointing New Jersey's chief federal prosecutor, Craig Carpenito, to take Berman's place, beginning July 3. On Saturday, Barr walked that announcement back, saying that Berman's top deputy, Strauss, would take charge as acting U.S. attorney until a replacement was seated.

Rather than argue that Berman was being removed for cause, the attorney general lavished praise on the prosecutor, saying he performed with "tenacity and savvy."

"The attorney general, himself, acknowledged that there was no reason for his removal," Weinstein said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Geoffrey Berman: Trump fires US attorney in Manhattan, Barr says
The Trump presidency and the danger of Christian moralism

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21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? 23 And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Matthew 7:21-23

One of the most subtle and therefore dangerous temptations in the Christian life is to judge for oneself who God has chosen to be a vehicle for His truth or His goodness. Or even to judge who God has chosen not just as a vehicle for His truth or goodness, but who God has chosen to be one of His own. For the two are not always the same. Passages in Scripture, known to all, seem to present us with a paradox that does not allow for an easy answer to these questions. For example, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that there are many who think they are Gods servants in this life based on their good works, but who God knows are not, and who consequently will be cast from His eternal presence. Further along in Matthews gospel we find the parable of the weeds, where Jesus explains to His disciples that only at the end of days will it be revealed who was of God, and who of the evil one (see Matt 13:24-30). In this parable the implication is clear, the disciples, nor by extension their successors, are not in a position to know who is a true follower of Christ and who is not. That knowledge is reserved for the divine Mind only. It may very well turn out we find ourselves quite surprised (pleasantly I imagine) about who we bump into in the Almightys new creation.



However, on the other side of this attempt to discern spiritual good from evil, Christ does tell us there are some things we can know about people and their relationship to God. In Mark 9:38-41 Jesus tells the disciples that anyone who is not against Jesus is for Him, and that anyone who does mighty works in His name cannot afterward speak evil of [Him]. So people who are not against Him, but maybe are not yet fully on board with Him, could yet be His in some way (a few very thoughtful atheist and agnostics who defend Christianity come to my mind right away).



Also, in a passage highly favored by Christians skeptical of our current president, Jesus tells us straightforwardly that a tree is known by its fruit, see Matthew 7:15-20. Passages like these seem to give us some criteria by which we can judge the moral and spiritual character of others. If people cast out demons in Jesus name, then maybe they are or soon will come to be His. If there is the fruit of good works in the life of a professed believer, then maybe they are also truly His. If the moral character of someone seems rotten, however, then maybe we can rightly criticize them, or at least distance ourselves from these bad apples, even if we can not with certainty know the status of their salvation.

However, that this task of spiritual discernment will be an easy one, is never said to be the case. After all, what is good fruit and what is bad fruit may not always be clear. And, as is often the case, our own sin will inevitably prevent us from discerning correctly this moral and spiritual fruit of which Jesus speaks. This is why Jesus also gives us another command, one often taken too literally by the Christian antinomian: judge not, lest you be judged yourself. So, the hard question of can we know who belongs to Jesus? is only partially answered for us. Ultimately we cannot know, but in the meantime we seem to be called to try and discern the best we can, and that based on the fruit of someones labors, which will potentially show their moral character, and maybe give us a glimpse of their spiritual estate.



Spiritual & Moral Judgment in Our Popular Culture



Today it is fashionable to judge people based solely on their public persona. A persona we receive through the various and manifold filters of social media. Very few of us have in fact any personal connection to the people whose moral and spiritual status we claim to know, and in knowing, claim to be able to properly judge. We receive minuscule amounts of data about all kinds of people: athletes, movie stars, epidemiologists, and yes, presidents, and are quick to ascertain not just their beliefs about God, but also their moral and spiritual standing before Him. We fool ourselves in thinking we know them, perhaps even know them better than they themselves, or their close companions.



With regard to spiritual discernment, while in some cases it is clear that a person just is not a believer in Jesus (or not yet), and therefore needs to receive the Gospel, in other cases it is obscure. These cases, which would apply to men and women who profess Christ and perhaps even lead some part of His Church, demand, therefore, that much more discernment, that much more prayer, and that much more careful and reflective thought before an adjudication is made about whether or not to trust them. However, in an era of internet to actually take the time for this kind of discernment has become an increasingly rare practice. We have moved quickly in our judgments of others spiritual estate, before hardly enough evidence has been collected or prayers offered. As such we have devolved into a church of satan, where satan is understood as what his Hebrew name means: the accuser.



But then there is also the broader cultural problem of moral discernment. This, on the one hand is categorically easier than spiritual discernment, since it relates only to the moral fruit of a persons life, and has nothing necessarily to do with ones spiritual status before their Creator. However, confusion can arise when Christians, who are interested in both the spiritual and the moral, begin to conflate the two, expecting that for any given Christian, there you will find a very moral person. This is a common error to all of us, and one rooted in a deep theological enigma: the fact of salvation vs. the reality of sanctification. However, it is not just that Christians can have expectations too high when it comes to the process of moral cleansing and perfection in this life. Rather, it is also the case that we have seen too many examples of Christians who on the outside have appeared to be quite moral indeed, only later to be revealed as something entirely different. It is in this sense that Christians must exercise caution and wisdom when trying to discern fruit. For moral rottenness does not necessarily translate into spiritual rottenness, as moral excellence, or the appearance of it, does not necessarily translate into spiritual purity.

Who God Chooses is Not Who You Would Choose



It simply is not the case that every good person will simply look or act like a Mother Theresa. This would be simplistic and reductionist discernment. It would also be foolish and naive. In the end there will be many who display all forms of moral failure, yet whose heart and will is more aligned with Gods heart and will than those whose outward personality seems pure and untainted. For every Mother Theresa there may be an Oskar Schindler, just as for every Mary there is a David.

Appearances, and even good works of a tremendous kind and variety, simply will not be sufficient for us to know with any certainty the heart of another. This tragic reality became very real for many fans of the late Catholic missionary, Jean Vanier, whose life looked about as close to that of Mother Theresa, or John Paul II, or Jesus, as one could imagine. Yet this founder of Larche, a ministry dedicated to the most vulnerable among us, was simply not what he seemed to be. Now many have had to backtrack and distance themselves from someone whose inner life was deeply disturbing and whose covert actions may have been more damaging to the witness of the Gospel than even all of his good works combined. While it is difficult to come to a final conclusion about such things, what is not difficult is to know that the entire legacy of Vanier and his ministry is now tainted, and that with a very dark tint indeed.

This lesson should hopefully act as a catalyst therefore to those who are perhaps too eager to criticize the outward character that is Donald Trump. A man who we know has been a great womanizer, a foul-mouthed and lavish philanderer, a crude jokester, and, although evidence is quite scant, even potentially a racial bigot. This is not to say that one cannot reasonably distance himself from the president, and certainly it is not to say that one cannot criticize what is rightly criticizable. But, it is to say that one should tread very lightly, especially as a follower of Christ, about judging too precisely who God might decide to select to be His vehicle for truth and goodness. Beware of being a Christian moralist, like those Pharisees whose superiority was known

only to themselves, but not to the Lord of Glory, who is also the Lord of Mercy. In the end God will choose Who He chooses, and it is not always the most palatable character to our sensibilities. In fact, it is often those who are most difficult to accept that God will have act on His behalf. The converse of course is to be careful of those whose character does seem quite palatable to us, but who God does not know because their hearts are far from Him.
Rumors circulate in social media about Nokia working on mid-range devices powered by Snapdragon 690 after HMD Global's Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas tweeted on Friday, June 19, to a congratulate Qualcomm after it launched the chipset.

Nokia is known to offer smartphones at each price level. With the new development, it will be one of the first to bring affordable 5G smartphones, as reported by TechRadar.

Congratulations @cristianoamon and the awesome team at @Qualcomm for the launch of #Snapdragon 690 Mobile Platform! We are excited to bring our Nokia Phones vision of a truly global, future proof 5G experience at an even more affordable price with this transformational platform! pic.twitter.com/yctqfE13sY  Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) June 17, 2020

Sarvikas also talked about how it will help Nokia make 5G more affordable. Qualcomm also confirmed that Nokia will be one of the first companies they are working with to market the new 5G chipset.

Since the Nokia 8.3 5G that carries Snapdragon 700 series chipset was recently launched, rumors say the upcoming device will be part of the Nokia 7 line. Sarvikas also implied in his replies that the device will have a high refresh rate display, which no Nokia phone currently offers.

The recent refresh of Nokia 7.2 has added weight to this rumor. How about Nokia 7.3? Perhaps. After all, Qualcomm revealed that Snapdragon 690-powered smartphones may have a price tag of between $300 and $500, which is indeed in the range for the Nokia 7 series.

Meanwhile, aside from its expected launch date later this year, there are no other details shared about the device.

What's about the Snapdragon 690?

The Snapdragon 690 is the first in the 600 processor series with 5G capabilities because of its new X51 RF modem. While it does not suit carriers with mmWave technology, it supports global bands, NSA, and SA on the sub-6 spectrum.

The Snapdragon 690 also carries an 8nm octa-core design with two big Kryo 560 cores clocked at up to 2GHz that ensures performance and six little ARM Cortex-A55 cores for great efficiency. The CPU is said to perform 20% better than its Snapdragon 675 predecessor.

Other hardware specifications of the chipset include support for cameras with a resolution of 192MP or 32MP with multi-frame noise reduction and zero shutter lag. On the video side, this processor is packed with Full HD recording at 120fz and QHD at 60fps and supported for HDR10+ as well as Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+.

Who is making affordable 5G phones?

Qualcomm said it has already inked a partnership with at least six telecom manufacturers to use the Snapdragon 690 chipset, but they are still working with more possible partners. This could mean a wide range of affordable 5G phones to arrive over the next 12 to 18 months, so more people could access the 5G technology. TechRadar has also listed the confirmed manufacturers that will use the Snapdragon 690 chipset.

HMD Global (Nokia Phones)

LG

Motorola

Sharp

TCL

Wingtech (makes phones for Xiaomi, Huawei, Meizu, and Lenovo) There are currently over 60 mobile operators worldwide that offer 5G connectivity in over 30 countries. In North America and Europe, major cities have been the first to gain 5G while it is gradually being offered to wider areas. Meanwhile, Qualcomm says that it is expecting to launch the first Snapdragon 690-enabled smartphones in the second half of 2020.

Were proud to announce the #Snapdragon 690 #5G Mobile Platform, the first of our 6-series platforms to deliver 5G. With incredible features and next-gen connectivity, we're unlocking 5G for everyone. pic.twitter.com/1SeDiN2jJX  Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) June 17, 2020

Read also: First Pictures Of Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Revealed

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An important announcement to all the prospective medical students View(s):

From Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Armenia

Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) is the Soviet Unions first medical university, the largest and most prestigious medical university in Armenia and is located in the capital Yerevan. Here are few interesting facts about YSMU:

YSMU was established in 1920 making it the oldest university in Armenia.

Recognized by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), World Health Organization (WHO), Australian Medical Council (AMC), General Medical Council (GMC) and Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

31,000 medical graduates up to date.

Clinical Training in 11 teaching hospitals.

8,000 students in 6 faculties.

Teaching and Research activities are organized in leading clinical bases and research centers in Yerevan.

University has about 1,100 lecturers out of which, 171 are well qualified Doctors of Sciences, 504 are Candidates of Sciences, 7 Academicians; who perform scientific and pedagogical work at the university.

At present YSMU hosts approximately 2500 International Students (41% of all the foreign students in Armenia) from various countries.

YSMU is the first university to provide training for ERPM/ACT 16 (SRI LANKA), AMC (AUSTRALIA), PLAB (UK) to help the international students to obtain medical registration around the globe.

This most prestigious Armenian Medical Education Institution Yerevan State Medical University after M.Heratsi (YSMU) Armenia, hereby would like to announce to all future and prospective students in Sri Lanka that there is only one official representative; Dr. Prasad who can legitimately recruit students to Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia from Sri Lanka.

Any other agents or organizations are not authorized to use the name, logo or any other marketing material of Yerevan State Medical University, to advertise or to recruit students from Sri-Lanka.

Yerevan State Medical University strictly cannot be responsible for any incorrect information provided by unauthorized agents/individuals.

Please note that immediate legal action will be taken against any agent or organization that may fraudulently attempt to advertise or recruit students without authorization.

To apply for the September 2020 Intake, please contact Dr. Prasad, the sole representative of Yerevan State Medical University after M. Heratsi, Armenia.

CALL +94 777 077 998

The Address of YSMU representative office in Sri Lanka:

No. 111 , Maya Avenue, Colombo  06.

FIND US!

Website: www.ancmedicalplacements.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ancmedicalplacements /

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anc_medical_placements/

Twitter: ANC_FC_Medical
Its a posture that has been seen over and over again in recent weeks as streets across the country have filled with people protesting police brutality and other racial inequities. The push to Defund the Police, which has grown from those protests, may seem a distant fight from the effort to Abolish ICE, which immigrant rights groups have demanded, but many of the activists who are on the front lines right now, pushing for change, see the two as connected. They see them as two cries in the same battle.
WATCH: Mayor Garcetti Announces Major Steps to Promote Racial Equity in Los Angeles

Prepares City to implement affirmative action, names L.A.s first-ever Chief Equity Officer, and signs an executive directive to study and advance racial justice and inclusion in every City department

Mayor Eric Garcetti today called for affirmative action in City government and signed an executive directive to study and promote racial equity in City departments. To help lead, coordinate, and drive these efforts, he also named Deputy Mayor Brenda Shockley as L.A.s first-ever Chief Equity Officer.

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Anticipating the possible repeal of California Proposition 209 in November, Mayor Garcettis executive directive asks each City department to immediately create contingency plans for affirmative action programs across all functions, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training and procurement policies.

Additionally, Mayor Garcetti proposed a City Charter Amendment on a future ballot to implement affirmative action in City contracting should Proposition 209 be repealed. If passed by city voters, the ballot measure would amend the City Charter language that currently limits the Citys ability to give preferences in awarding contracts.

Our city is hungry for change, and we must knit racial justice and affirmative action into the fabric of our policies, our institutions, and our society, said Mayor Garcetti. With the possible repeal of Proposition 209, we will begin preparing now for affirmative action in City government to open the doors of opportunity to African Americans and anyone too often left out and left behind in our economy. But no matter what happens at the ballot box, my executive directive ensures our City leadership looks at every issue through a lens of racial justice, acts to end structural racism, and brings more Black Angelenos and people of color into the halls of government.

Affirmative action in the City would be permitted if state voters repeal Proposition 209, a measure that outlawed the practice across California. On June 10, 2020, the California State Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 5 (ACA-5) to begin the process of repealing this measure. If ACA-5 is passed by the State Senate as well, it will be placed on the November general election ballot, giving Californians the opportunity to repeal Proposition 209 by a majority vote.

Enacted in 1996, Prop 209 effectively banned affirmative action in California by adding a provision to the State Constitution stating that the State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

Joined by many Black City commissioners for the announcement, Mayor Garcetti is calling in his executive directive for each City department and office to appoint racial equity officers, develop a Racial Equity Action Plan to review pertinent departmental functions, and identify efforts to promote racial equity in our local government.

The directive creates a City of Los Angeles Racial Equity Task Force, including representatives from every department, to provide feedback on these efforts, identify additional goals, and form working groups to help advance diversity in public service.

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Through the Mayors executive directive, the City will also undertake a study of racial disparities in City hiring, promotion, and contracting to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of these inequities and inform the Citys ability to set policy priorities.

Finally, Mayor Garcetti announced the appointment of Brenda Shockley as L.A.s Chief Equity Officer. Even as she continues in her role as Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity, Brenda will helm the Citys work to bring the Racial Equity Action Plans to life, coordinate with different departments, lift up the efforts of the new Civil and Human Rights Commission, and ensure equity remains a key prism for our programs and policies.

Shockley brings decades of experience to this role, including more than 20 years of service as President of Community Build, which she helped found to revitalize South L.A. in response to the civil unrest of 1992. As the Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity, shes led the Garcetti Administrations initiatives around the minimum wage, free community college, reentry, housing, and a host of key issues.

I am honored to serve as the Citys first Chief Equity Officer, and I welcome the opportunity to continue to fight for racial equity and against injustice, said Deputy Mayor Shockley. I am proud to work for an administration that recognizes it must start at City Hall if Los Angeles is to become a model of racial fairness.

With the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and more igniting demonstrations for racial justice throughout Los Angeles and across the country, Mayor Garcetti is determined to turn this moment of righteous outrage into a movement for real reform.

That effort begins with todays urgent steps to inject equity into City government and policies, alongside recent measures to update police tactics and invest $250 million in public funds toward social services, youth development, health, housing, and healing for Black Angelenos and communities of color, including cuts to the LAPD budget. And it builds on the Mayors longstanding dedication to strengthening gender equity and opening the doors of opportunity to women, veterans, people of color, and all Angelenos.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez, shown at a news conference in 2017, is pushing for cuts of up to $150 million at the LAPD. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

If the Los Angeles City Council wants to cut $150 million from the Police Department, it should scale back hiring, top city analysts said in a report released Friday.

Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso and City Administrative Officer Richard Llewellyn said the effort to cut back spending at the LAPD would leave the department with 9,757 officers by the end of June 2021. Doing so would mark a major shift in policy for the city leaders who had long pushed to get  and keep  the department at or above 10,000 officers.

The report said the proposed rollback in police spending would also mean reducing LAPD overtime spending in the coming year. If the department does not change the way it operates, the analysts said, that could mean more "overtime banking," with officers working overtime but not receiving compensation for those hours until later years.

Making such cuts would allow the city to reduce LAPD spending and redirect the savings into other services without resorting to layoffs, the report said. Other suggested cuts include reducing spending on technology, replacement vehicles and expense accounts.

Cutting spending at the LAPD has been a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and an array of other grass-roots groups and labor unions, who say money should be shifted from policing to other local needs. Activists have argued that many duties now handled by police officers could be shouldered more effectively by other workers.

Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents coastal neighborhoods from Westchester to Pacific Palisades, has already come out in favor of putting a halt to hiring, which would gradually decrease the size of the force as officers retire and resign. Such a move should last at least until the city's financial crisis is over, Bonin said last week.

"We are already forcing a hiring freeze on other departments," he said in a statement. "We cannot keep cutting core city services while growing the department that is the largest segment of the budget."

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Craig Lally, president of the union that represents rank-and-file officers at the LAPD, immediately denounced the proposal as "irresponsible," saying council members "need to explain to the public how fewer officers, longer emergency response times, and exploding costs are in the best interest of Angelenos."

The proposal "will lead to longer response times to emergencies, eliminate dozens of daily patrol areas across the city and increase the citys unfunded liability for overtime by over $50,000,000," he said in a statement.

The proposed cuts also troubled Councilman Joe Buscaino, who argued that "real police reform" would come from expanding a community policing program, not slashing overtime.

"Instead of nickel-and-diming public safety to address under-investment into communities of color, we should put on the ballot a serious proposal to raise billions, said Buscaino, whose district covers Watts and San Pedro.

Black Lives Matter-L.A. and other groups have been pressing council members to back the People's Budget, an alternative spending plan for City Hall that would reduce funding for the LAPD by around 90%  a much deeper cut than the $150 million that city leaders have suggested.

Under the activists' proposal, savings would be redirected into housing, healthcare and other public services, such as mental health counselors and gang intervention specialists.

Cutting "$150 million looks big, until you realize it still leaves the LAPD with 51% of the citys unrestricted revenues," BLM-LA co-founder Melina Abdullah said earlier this month. "City Council and Mayor Garcetti need to know that were fighting for truly transformative change here and wont be bought off with just this minimal amount of money."

Activists presented the People's Budget to five of the council's 15 members on Monday during a two-hour meeting at City Hall. Councilwoman Nury Martinez, who has proposed cutting the LAPD by up to $150 million, praised the ideas put forward by activists, saying: This is exactly how you reimagine neighborhoods.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League has targeted Martinez over her proposed cuts, sending mailers to voters in her San Fernando Valley district warning that the reductions would cause police to respond more slowly to emergencies. The mailer says, "Tell Nury Martinez to stop playing politics with people's lives!"

The dynamics around public safety spending have shifted rapidly over the last two months.

In April, Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed a 7% boost to the LAPD  an increase fueled in large part by new raises and bonuses for officers  and cuts of 10% to many other city employees. Although activists sharply criticized that approach, they did not gain momentum until massive citywide protests broke out over police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Garcetti changed course, joining Martinez in her call for cuts of up to $150 million. Such a cut could eliminate the previously planned budget increase for the police department, which Chief Michel Moore said would probably result in staffing reductions.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 13:56:10|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States attempts to smear China in order to slow down its development by creating a bill on China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a Kenyan expert has said.

Referring to the so-called "Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" as "simply nonsense," Peter Kagwanja, founding president and chief executive of Kenya's Africa Policy Institute, a pan-African think tank, said Washington is using "the new human rights campaign" to attack China.

The West has always been using human rights as the "sharpest arrow" to attack its rivals, as China has made spectacular success in containing COVID-19 and earned applause from the international community, Kagwanja told Xinhua in an interview Friday.

The United States self-proclaimed as the world's human rights champion, however, it turned a blind eye to the serious racial discrimination and human rights abuse within its border, such as the recent killing of African Americans that sparked worldwide protests, he said.

In response to the U.S. interference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday in a statement that the Chinese government and people expressed strong indignation at and firm opposition to the signing of the so-called act by the United States.

It deliberately denigrated the human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang, viciously attacked the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy, blatantly violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region also issued a statement Thursday, saying the U.S. act wantonly slandered and groundlessly criticized the human rights situation in Xinjiang as well as its counter-terrorism and deradicalization efforts.

Kagwanja said contrary to the U.S. claims, China emphasized respect for equality of all nations, cultures and civilizations while tackling issues related to counter-terrorism.

"China has also been steadfast in supporting counter-terrorism measures within multilateralism, especially within the context of the United Nations," he added. Enditem
Offering protection to rioters from Hong Kong would only "harm" Taiwan and interfere in peoples affairs, Chinas communist government said. Earlier this week, Taiwan announced its plans to set up a dedicated office for those who are trying to flee Hong Kong, especially after China proposed national security legislation.

Taipei said that the new office would begin its operations on July 1. The date marks Hong Kongs Establishment Day when the special administrative region was returned to China from the British Rule in 1997 on the promise of increased freedom under Chinas 'one country, two systems'.

According to reports, the official opening on July 1 will offer assistance to Hong Kong professionals seeking to move to Taiwan, including for school, employment, investment, entrepreneurship and immigration, according to a statement by the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan, which handles the islands relations with Beijing. However, in a statement released later on June 19, Chinas policy-making Taiwan affairs office said that the plan by "Democratic Progressive Party" authority was a political plot to meddle in Hong Kong an affair and destroy its prosperity and peace.

"Providing shelter for and taking onto the island the rioters and elements who bring chaos to Hong Kong will only continue to bring harm to Taiwan's people," it said.

In addition, the Chinese office also said that the "plots of forces" that advocate both Hong Kong ad Taiwans independence seek damages for Chinas 'One Nation, Two Systems' policy adding that they plot to split the Chinese nation would never be successful.

Read: Taiwan Unveils Plan To Help Hong Kongers Looking To Leave

Read: Taiwan's President Assures Hong Kong Of 'necessary Support' As Protests Worsen

Tsai Ing-wen offers help

Fresh Protests in Hong Kong emerged after China proposed the controversial national security legislation. While Beijing says the legislation is aimed at curbing subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong, Critics are of the opinion that the law will erode freedoms promised to the former British colony and may be used to curb dissent. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in May called for a plan to help Hong Kongers after Chinas ceremonial parliament decided to enact the national security law in the semi-autonomous city.

Read: Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen Offers Support For Hong Kong Pro-democracy Activists

Read: Police Make More Arrests During Hong Kong Protest

(Image credits: AP)
THE newly elected cathaoirleach of the Newcastle West Municipal District used his maiden speech to encourage people to come out and support our local shops as businesses open up following the lockdown.

Councillor Francis Foley, FF, was speaking at the first physical meeting of the district since the lockdown. He was proposed by party colleague Cllr Michael Collins and seconded by Cllr Liam Galvin, FG, who, like Cllr Foley, lives in Abbeyfeale.

Its important that we get these people back trading again, said Cllr Foley, after donning the sterilized chains of office.

I also feel that businesses at this stage should be getting an injection of State funding to help them recover. I spoke to a business person last night who is just back after the lockdown. They are nervous. They are frightened. And they need a bit of help so a little bit of funding to get them up and trading again is very, very important.

Cllr Foley said that the Abbeyfeale Traffic Management Plan is something he would like to see happen within the next 12 months, and a public toilet for Abbeyfeale.

He said an issue which is very important for both Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale is a distributor road.

We have made a start on that, money has been allocated towards it, its progressing and I think its important for both towns that we get a route as soon as possible.

He said The Greenway is an exciting project that has developed into something great for the Newcastle West and Rathkeale areas.

Cllr Foley thanked outgoing cathaoirleach Cllr Jerome Scanlan for the work he has done over the last 12 months.

Cllr Michael Collins who was elected leas-cathaoirleach said: I hope to support Cllr Foley as best I can.

Cllr Foley is very experienced. He has been around since 2004. He is very dependable. He is fair and he is honest, he said.

The pair came forward for a photograph. An elbow nudge was suggested instead of the traditional handshake.

Tributes were also paid by both councillors and council staff to Cllr Scanlan for his work and dedication during the past year.

Cllr Scanlan thanked the officials for their help over the past 12 months and particularly over the past three months which he called very challenging, restrictive times.

He thanked all the councillors for their cooperation over the year.

Gordon Daly, director of community development paid tribute to Cllr Scanlan for all his work, courtesy and encouragement over the past year.
Passengers at the Noi Bai international airport (Photo: VNA)

Related measures and procedures will be discussed via diplomatic channels.

The ministry said the two governments have worked closely together in COVID-19 prevention and control.

The Vietnamese Government praised the significant outcomes of Japanese efforts to curb the spread of the disease. On May 25, Japan lifted its state of emergency.

The Japanese Government, meanwhile, spoke highly of the Vietnamese Governments success in COVID-19 prevention and control, in particular it reporting no new community infections for the last two months.

Both governments have a shared view on the importance of bolstering their extensive strategic partnership in all fields. Such cooperation should be strengthened in a way that ensures effective COVID-19 prevention and control, so as not to cause the virus to spread and to fully comply with regulations in each country.
Some 211 stranded Ghanaians have returned home from Lebanon.



However, one arrived dead. The Ghanaians were those stranded in Lebanon due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.



They arrived on Friday at the Kotoka International Airport.



The victim is said to have passed on in Lebanon.



The evacuees are going through routine checks and will later be transported to an isolation centre to be quarantined for two weeks.



So far 1,080 Ghanaians have been assisted by the Ghanaian Government to return.



About 224 returned from UK on Wednesday June 17.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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All of Melbourne's 31 local government areas have been declared COVID-19 hotspots for Queenslanders, meaning anyone who travels to the city must self-quarantine for 14 days on their return to Queensland.

On Sunday morning Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young updated the list of hotspots, adding all of Melbourne's local government areas and another five council areas bordering that city.

The update comes as Queensland forges ahead with the easing of restrictions.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles announced on Sunday morning that stadiums would be allowed to have up to 10,000 spectators for football matches from next weekend.
ST. IGNACE, MI  The Canadian company Enbridge this week notified the state of Michigan of further significant damage to the Line 5 pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac, which the company has since shut down.

The damage was found Thursday, June 18, on an anchor support on the dual pipeline, according to a statement provided to MLive by Enbridge. A spokesperson for the company said the damage only affected the anchor and not the pipeline itself. There have not been any leaks, according to the company.

The damaged support lies 150 feet away from spots on the pipeline where protective coating had worn away and bare metal was exposed, which was discovered May 26, according to a news release issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office Friday.

One close call with Line 5 is one too many, which is why I am calling on Enbridge to proceed with the utmost caution and care, Whitmer said in the prepared statement.

In a letter to Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, Whitmer on Friday requested for the company to turn over all relevant information about this most recent damage and provide affirmative evidence that establishes the integrity of the pipeline.

The announcement from the governors office came the same day the company was fined $6.7 million by federal regulators over pipeline safety issues in its Lakehead Pipeline System, which runs across northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

RELATED: EPA fines Enbridge $6.7M over pipeline safety issues across Minnesota and Wisconsin

Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy provided MLive with the following statement: As part of Enbridges seasonal maintenance work on Line 5 in the Straits we have discovered a screw anchor support that has shifted from its original position. The support, installed in 2018, is on the east leg of the pipeline. We immediately shut down the Line as a precaution and are inspecting the area with divers and the entire pipeline with remotely operated vehicles. We were transparent in notifying the State of Michigan and our federal regulator PHMSA on Thursday, the same day we discovered the damage to the screw anchor support assembly.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement Friday, saying was deeply troubled by the most recent discovery of damage to the Line 5 pipeline.

Yet again, Enbridge has confirmed what we already know  Line 5 is a clear and present danger to our Great Lakes and to the millions of Michiganders who rely on those lakes for recreation, business and tourism, Nessel wrote in the statement.

Both Whitmer and Nessel campaigned on shutting down Line 5. The two government officials this year lost a legal battle with Enbridge over the future of its Line 5 pipeline.

The Michigan Court of Appeals last week upheld the companys legal victory against Whitmer and Nessel in the state Court of Claims from last October, which found that a controversial 2018 law allowing construction of a new Enbridge oil pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac is constitutional.

RELATED: Enbridge Line 5 tunnel law upheld by Michigan Court of Appeals

After Thursdays anchor damage was disclosed by Enbridge, environmental groups across the state chimed in, calling for an end to the Line 5 pipeline.

How many more shoes have to drop until we stop putting the Great Lakes, our drinking water, our economy and our way of life at risk? asked Mike Shriberg, Great Lakes Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation, in a statement released Friday.

This latest violation should lead the governor to follow through on her promise to revoke Enbridges easement to operate in the Straits of Mackinac.

Leaders of the citizens group, Oil and Water Dont Mix, said in a news release that the pipeline had no business operating in the Great Lakes.

No talking points from Enbridge about the safety of Line 5 can overcome the facts, wrote Sean McBreaty, Oil and Water Dont Mix coalition coordinator. The fact is that Line 5 is a dangerous threat to the Great Lakes, which provides drinking water to 40 million Americans and Canadians. Gov. Whitmer needs to take strong action to eliminate this threat.

More on MLive:

Enbridge finds protective coating on Line 5 pipeline worn away, leaving metal exposed

Michigan seeks more information about Line 5 tunnel alternatives

Michigan requests Enbridge Line 5 documents going back to 1953
The Canadian of Pak descent was convicted in 2011, now will face criminal charges in India.

A Pakistan born Canadian imprisoned for helping terrorist groups, has been arrested in Los Angeles to face murder charges in India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which over 160 people were killed, US prosecutors said on Friday.

According to The Washington Post, the Chicago based businessman Tahawwur Rana, was convicted of a crime related to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, although US prosecutors had failed to prove a terrorism charge that connected him directly to the rampage during his 2011 trial.

The Pakistan-born Canadian was serving a 14-year sentence at a Los Angeles federal prison before he was granted an early release last week because of poor health and about of coronavirus. However, he was not able to get out of prison before being arrested to face extradition to India, prosecutors were quoted as saying.

Also read: Policy option to completely decouple from China open: Donald Trump

Also read: Nepal president gives nod to controversial bill on new map

Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in 2005.

He was accused of allowing David Coleman Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.

Rana has been charged with murder and murder conspiracy in India, according to court documents, he had however been cleared of the more serious charge of providing support for the attacks in Mumbai.

Ranas lawyer said at trial that he had been duped by his high school buddy, Headley, an admitted terrorist who plotted the Mumbai attacks. The defence called Headley, the governments chief witness who testified to avoid the death penalty, a habitual liar and manipulator, according to the article.

Mumbai had come to a standstill on November 26, 2008 ago when 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who entered the city via sea route from Pakistan carried out a series of coordinated shooting and bombings that injured over 300 and claimed the lives of 166 people in Indias financial capital.

The attacks took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Cama Hospital, Nariman House business and residential complex, Leopold Cafe, Taj Hotel and Tower and the Oberoi-Trident Hotel.

Also read: Tri-service contingent to take part in military parade in Moscow on June 24

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- The app named Tsconnect is able to detect one's location movement

- It backs up ones travel history and notifies via pop up message when one enters areas classified as COVID-19 hotspots

- The three roommates chose to remain in their hostel cubicle after government ordered closure of schools

- With the Andoid app, one is able to establish one's contacts in case they get infected

- They spent at least KSh 90,000 to come up with the app they say would be helpful to government, if the latter chose to use it

Tracing COVID-19 patients contacts has been among key measures put in place to contain the spread of the virus worldwide.

This exercise however, is not a walk in the park and consumes significant time and resources.

READ ALSO: Jubilee, ODM to field joint presidential candidate against William Ruto

John Mumo, Francis Kinyoru and Brian Mutiso during an interview. The three have developed an app to assist in contact tracing. Photo: Ben Kerich?TUKO.co.ke

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Washing babies with milk, other ways Maragolis used to nurse premature newborns

As COVID-19 positive cases continue to rise in Kenya having hit the 4,000 mark, three students of Laikipia University have decided to embrace technology and used their skills to develop a mobile application that could make contact tracing more easier.

Brian Mutiso, John Mumo and Francis Kinyoru , all fourth year students at Laikipia University have developed the app named Tsconnet COVID-19 which they say is a key resource in tracing individuals that may have had contact with patients.

The three who share a room and live in Laikipia decided to remain around the school when government announced closure of all learning institutions.

"The pandemic seems to have given us an opportunity to put to practice what we had learnt in class besides sensitising the community on how to counter spread of the virus," Mumo said.

Two months ago, the three students developed a website giving statistics of coronavirus from all countries in the world. Photo: Ben Kerich/TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Aden Duale's woes deepen as Jubilee Party convenes meeting to discuss his fate

Two months ago, the three students developed a website giving statistics of coronavirus from all countries in the world.

They named the website Tsconnect.

From the website one can easily get a breakdown of cases even in counties detailing the number of cases, deaths and recoveries of coronavirus patients.

Kinyoru said the move to develop the application was as a result of the need to sensitise communities on COVID-19 and help the community remain safe from the virus.

The students also wanted to put to practice what they had learned in school to develop applications that would make their communities better, and this time an app to help combat COVID-19 was timely.

The computer science students said any person with a smartphone can have the application installed in their devices.

"The app is designed in a way that it warns ones to be extra careful when approaching areas marked as the virus hotspots. This areas are identified basing on statistics from government and other healthcare stakeholders," Mutiso explained.

Mutiso said the app updates itself automatically and cautions one to avoid copious interactions.

While he moved from one place to another a message popped up on his phone, a drastic change in location has been detected, stay safe, warned the message.

He noted that using the application it becomes easy to tell who the user came into contact with.

Safety, they said, is guaranteed as the information cannot be shared to other people. Photo: Ben Kerich/TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

Through a pop- up message people who have installed the application will be informed of their movement to areas considered COVID-19 hotspots. In case of an infection, the app can easily help locate individuals one got into contact with, said Mumo.

Information from the application however, can only be accessed based on ones willingness.

They said their current challenge was obtaining consent from people who share their contacts.

In terms of security of contacts, the three geeks said they encode the data to ensure no third party can access it.

With the application which they said will be available on Google Play stores, the students said it will be easy to trace people who might have come into contact with COVID-19 patients.

Travel history is also stored by the application.

Users of the application have to install it and register their details to start using it.

"One has to own an android mobile phone and have a registered phone line to efficiently use the application. Once installed, the application is able to automatically detect one's location and keeps updating in case of a change. On entering COVID-19 hotspot zones, one gets a message informing them to be more careful," Mutiso added.

The three said they have spent close to KSh 90, 000 to develop the application.

Kinyoru on his part said the information in the application is could be made available to the government if they accepted it.

Story By: Ben Kerich, TUKO Correspondent, Nakuru County.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened an all party meeting over the India-China face-off issue, BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday slammed the Congress, in particular its former president Rahul Gandhi, for damaging the morale of Armed forces with his tweets and limited intellect.

Gandhi, who has been critical of Modi governments handling on Galwan Valley skirmish, on Saturday tweeted that the PM had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression" by his statement at the all-party meet on Friday.

Slamming the Congress leader, without naming him, Nadda, who was addressing the party leaders and workers in Rajasthan through a virtual rally, said the type of language he uses shows the sanskaar(upbringing) of a family, which definitely are not of bhartiya parivesh(Indian environment), apparently hinting at Congress interim president Sonia Gandhis origin.

Nadda also criticised the Congress stand at the all-party meeting, claiming that when all other political parties in one voice backed the Prime Minister, the Congress was asking what happened, how it happened, where it happened.

Former BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah also asked the Congress leader to rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest. He tweeted a video clip of the father of an Indian Army soldier, who was injured during the violent face-off with the Chinese Army at the Galwan Valley, in which 20 Army personnel were martyred.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," he tweeted.

Addressing the BJP workers in Rajasthan through the virtual rally, Nadda said "When we are fighting in Galwan, a leader is damaging the morale of forces with his tweets. He is showing his limited intellect. (He is asking) why have our forces gone unarmed. Don''t you know international treaties? And they didn''t go unarmed. Why are you exposing your limited intellect."

Objecting to Gandhis choice of words, including against the PM, Nadda said, "Let alone respecting PM Modi, you didnt even respect your own PM and tore a copy of his ordinance," referring to an incident in 2013 when Gandhi labelled the then ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification as "complete nonsense" and tore up its copy in public.

Later, addressing a similar rally in Telangana, Nadda said that history shows that whenever the country faced difficult times, the BJP stood by the then governments but now the opposition party is raising questions on everything and trying to damage the morale of the country and the Armed forces.
The California Legislature, facing a $54.3 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year beginning July 1, has chosen to increase spending in expectation of a federal bailout.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) on May 7 shocked California's Democrat leadership, which holds veto-proof control of state finances, that despite federal disaster funding of $26.625 billion from the CARES Act and a $10-billion loan to pay for unemployment claims, the state faced an $85-billion deficit over the next 14 months.

As a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown, California has suffered a huge economic decline with unemployment rising to 15.5 percent and tax revenue plunging. The impact is so severe that the County of Los Angeles is forecasting sales tax collection for the current year ending on June 30 will decline by $2 billion, or 34 percent.

The state's Department of Finance has been predicting a sharp economic recovery as the pandemic recedes. But with the June 17 reported surge of 4,165 new coronavirus cases, mostly in urban areas, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide executive order requiring that face masks be worn in all public places.

According to the state controller's cash report through May 30, California has suffered a $21-billion shortfall in tax receipts versus spending for the first 11 months of the current budget year. The state had already borrowed $15 billion to continue spending.

With California's constitution requiring the enactment of a balanced budget before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year, Gov. Newsom proposed a 10-percent across-the-board slash in program spending and all state worker salaries to the state Legislature.

Despite the mushrooming financial crisis, the Legislature just passed a budget that cuts spending by $402 million for universities but then raises state spending by $400 million for counties, $350 million for homeless services, and $65 million for higher Earned Income Tax Credits for low-income workers.

The legislature claims that the budget is balanced based on the expectation that Congress will pass House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposed $3 trillion federal bailout to fund the entire $85-billion deficit and allow another $1.7 billion in social spending.

If the federal bailout fails to materialize by October 1, the Legislature's budget would have a trigger that would rely mostly on funding deferrals, including a $9-billion delay for K12 public schools and a $2.4-billion delay for state employee pension contributions.

Moody's Credit Ratings Agency's update highlights that the economic magnitude COVID-19 impact on the solvency for state and local governments will hinge on their economic diversity, revenue mix, and the willingness to quickly make spending cuts.

Moody's stated that all 389 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States saw a year-over-year drop in April and May jobs and sales tax collection. Monthly sales and income taxes are expected to fall by up to 40 percent through mid-2020 before a slow recovery. Given the up to one-year delay before income and property tax payments are due, Moody's expects the worst financial difficulty for state and local finances will not begin hitting until the first half of 2021.

Gov. Newsom has the power to sign or veto whatever budget the Legislature sends him. But with less than two weeks before the constitutional deadline and the number of California coronavirus cases on the rise, delays in cutting spending are increasing the risk of the State of California suffering a financial disaster.
A Marriott flag hangs at the entrance of the New York Marriott Downtown hotel in Manhattan, New York

By Sarah Marsh

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Trump administration has ordered Marriott International <MAR.O> to wind down hotel operations in Communist-run Cuba, a company spokeswoman told Reuters, extinguishing what had been a symbol of the U.S.-Cuban detente.

Starwood Hotels, now owned by Marriott, four years ago became the first U.S. hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution amid the normalization of relations pursued by former President Barack Obama.

But the administration of President Donald Trump has unraveled that detente, tightening the decades-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and saying it wants to pressure the island into democratic reform and to stop supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The approach could help Trump bolster support in the large Cuban-American community in Florida, a state considered vital to his re-election chances in November.

A company spokeswoman said the U.S. Treasury Department had ordered the company to wind down its operation of the Four Points Sheraton in Havana by Aug. 31. It would also not be allowed to open other hotels it had been preparing to run.

A U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson said it could not comment on specific licensing matters, but that the administration aimed to prevent Cuba's military from using revenue from tourism to "oppress its own people",

The Four Points Sheraton in Havana, like swaths of the tourism sector and economy at large, is controlled by the commercial arm of the Cuban military.

"In 2017, Trump promised he would not disrupt existing contracts U.S. businesses had with Cuba," wrote William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University in Washington, on Twitter. "Promise made, promise broken."

The news comes two days after the U.S. State Department expanded its list of Cuban entities with which Americans are banned from doing business to include the military-owned financial corporation that handles U.S. remittances to Cuba.

U.S. sanctions have further crippled an economy already struggling with a decline in aid from leftist ally Venezuela and the end of hard-currency generating Cuban medical missions in Brazil and elsewhere.

Story continues

Philip Peters who runs the FocusCuba business consultancy and has advised Marriott, said no good had come from a lifetime of U.S. sanctions that separated the U.S. and Cuban peoples, harmed Cubas economy, and limited American influence in Cuba.

"Marriott .. will hopefully return to do business in Cuba, along with others, to encourage American travel and to help Cuba prosper and integrate into the global economy," he said.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Havana; Additional Reporting by Marc Frank in Havana and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, David Gregorio and Tom Brown)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Amid growing tensions between India and China, the finance ministry has proposed putting restrictions on pension fund investments from any of India's bordering countries.

Foreign investment in pension funds regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is capped at 49 per cent under the automatic route.

According to a draft notification circulated for comments on Friday, "A government approval would be required for the investing entity or individual from any of the bordering countries including China. The relevant provisions of FDI policy issued from time to time would apply in all such cases."

Any foreign investment from these countries will be subject to approval from the government. The restriction would be applicable from the date of notification by the Government of India.

Stakeholders can submit their comments on the draft within 30 days, it added. The changes have been proposed in accordance with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) guidelines issued in April.

Currently, government permission is mandatory only for investments coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The development comes at a time when Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in a standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation between the two sides in over five decades.

The situation has stirred anti-China sentiments in the country, with protestors and traders' bodies calling for boycott of Chinese products.
Faridabad: Faridabad police has arrested three accused including a girl who reportedly hacked the WhatsApp chat of over 100 girls and blackmailed them to make their personal information public if they don't deposit money in the provided bank accounts.

One of the accused who is just a 12th pass has victimized more than 100 girls from areas like Palwal, Faridabad, Gurugram and Delhi.

Sattar Khan, who worked as a promoter at Airtel, provided accused with SIM cards using fake Aadhar ids.

The accused Manish and Pooja with the help of Sattar Khan then used to call from the fake numbers and blackmailed girls demanding money.

Notably, several girls who feared of their personal chats getting leaked had deposited money in the given accounts.

The cybercrime branch of Faridabad started the investigation after a girl had complained that someone is demanding money by threatening to make her WhatsApp chats viral.

The accused on questioning by the police told that they befriended the boys of a school or college and then somehow managed to get the mobile numbers of the girls from them.

The accused even revealed that they also used to target the mobile contacts saved in the victims' phones.


More than 280,000 refugees are living in Yemen, but many say they no longer feel welcome and are leaving.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to rising tension between Yemenis and the nearly 400,000 refugees and migrants living there, hoping to cross into wealthier countries nearby.

Many Africans say they cannot find work and want to return home.

Al Jazeeras Victoria Gatenby reports.
A few weeks into rehearsals with amateur actors for a production of The Plough and the Stars, Abbey Theatre director Caitriona McLaughlin declared: "It's a nightmare."

That remark came at the very end of the first instalment of O'Casey in the Estate (RTE1) and was intended as a cliffhanger, though somehow you had the distinct sense that when next week's final episode reaches its conclusion, everything will be all right on the night. Such is the nature of inspirational community-based documentaries.

The community here comprised the residents of Dublin's East Wall and the film's narrating host was actor Liam Cunningham, who was born and grew up in the area, as did Sean O'Casey, who gave voice to the hitherto unregarded locals in his three early and most enduring masterpieces: The Shadow of a Gunman (1923), Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926), the last of which led to riots.

The outrage was caused by O'Casey's blunt depiction of working-class realities, some of which remain today, especially poverty and unemployment, exacerbated in the 1980s by the influx of drugs and today by what Cunningham called a "Berlin Wall of gentrification" - the huge apartment blocks aimed at middle-class buyers and looming over the modest little terraced houses that have survived since O'Casey's time. "We'll never see the sun again," one man lamented.

It was mainly from these old terraced streets that McLaughlin assembled her wannabe actors, and the viewer got to know them as they auditioned for various roles in the production, which was destined for a night on the Abbey stage.

That presumably will feature in the concluding episode, and there was enough in this week's outing to make you wish to see how they all fare.

It was certainly more engaging than Making a Museum: The Story of MoLI (RTE1), a dutiful and needlessly dull account of how Newman House on St Stephen's Green in Dublin was transformed into the splendid repository for Irish literature that opened its doors a few months back and is scheduled to reopen to the public on July 20.

This had the feel of a corporate video, with due acknowledgment given to the project's relevant academics, administrators, architects, builders and benefactors, but the only writers mentioned were James Joyce and Maeve Binchy, and with more screen time granted to the latter than the former. So who and what else is there? We never found out.

Prodigal Son (RTE2) is a new American crime drama in which brilliant but troubled police profiler Malcolm (Tom Payne) arrives at murder scenes and discovers the killer's identity within the space of an hour.

That's not all, though. Did I mention that the reason he's troubled is because his father Martin is a serial killer who is serving a life term in prison after young Malcolm came across the body of one of his victims in the family cellar?

Video of the Day

You couldn't make it up, but someone called Chris Fedak just did and the result is a 20-episode series in which traumatised Malcolm reluctantly enlists Martin's help in solving current crimes, with a standalone mystery solved in each episode.

It's all a bit Hannibal Lecter, but it's fun in a trashy kind of way and is greatly enlivened by the presence of Michael Sheen, clearly having a ball as mad Martin, just as he did when playing the outrageously flamboyant lawyer in The Good Fight. Lou Diamond Phillips, more than 30 years on from his stint with Don Johnson in Miami Vice, also makes an impact as the senior cop.

The Salisbury Bombings (BBC1), which ran over three nights, was a more sober and realistic affair, being based on the 2018 attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were found poisoned on a park bench in the English city.

In this dramatised series, though, the main focus of attention was on addicted single mother Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring), who died from the lethal poison, policeman Nick Bailey (Rafe Spall), who nearly died, and director of Wiltshire public health Tracy Daszkiewicz (Anne-Marie Duff).

In this time of Covid-19, the drama made for eerie watching from the outset. Indeed, when Bailey first entered the Skripal's suburban house and started rubbing his face and eyes, you felt like screaming: "Stop doing that!"

I'm not sure if it merited three hour-long instalments - surely two would have sufficed - but it was tense and absorbing and excellently played by its three leads.

BBC presenter Samira Ahmed was in the news a couple of months back when she won a settlement case about equal pay after arguing that she got 440 per show while Jeremy Vine got 3,000 for a similar programme.

Now she's fronting Art of Persia (BBC4), having been given what she called the "rare opportunity" to do so by the Iranian government. She was certainly an impressive guide in this week's first episode, where she introduced viewers to aspects of Persian culture with which most people would be unfamiliar.

This culture, she noted, "was once the envy of the ancient world" but the middle-eastern country had been looted "by brutal conquerors greedy for her lands and treasures".

Anne Cassin fronted a good Nationwide (RTE1) about the Covid crisis, with an arresting account of Kerry farmer Mike Herlihy's coronavirus ordeal, and absorbing interviews with nurses in Waterford and Kilkenny.

Meanwhile, Channel 4 weighed in with its own take on the situation. It was called Sex in Lockdown: Keep Shagging and Carry On, and that's all you really need to know.
Volunteers from the Blue Sky Rescue team disinfect the Nangong Comprehensive Market in Beijing - Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

China has released the genetic sequence of the coronavirus believed to have caused Beijing's new outbreak, saying it could be linked to strains that originated in Europe.

Data released by government researchers suggest the virus is an older version than the one currently infecting Europe, giving credence to the idea that it had been lurking for a while  possibly as early as May  before erupting in a wholesale food market in Beijing last week.

Many traces of the virus were found at Xinfadi market, which "indicates it has been around for some time", said Zhang Yong, an assistant director at China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, adding: "If it had only been present in the city for a short time, there may not have been so many positive samples found."

Outside experts, however, have pushed back on China's claims.

Genetic virus data that allows for comparing the number of mutations is not enough "to confidently assign a geographic origin to the lineage. They could have originated from essentially anywhere", Francois Balloux, the director of the UCL Genetics Institute, wrote online.

At best, he said, "proper analysis may allow for some 'educated guesses' for a plausible geographic source".

China is experiencing the worst resurgence of coronavirus since February, with more cases being discovered in Beijing daily. The capital reported 25 new cases on Friday, increasing the total to 183 over the last week, ending a nearly two-month streak of zero cases.

The flare-up underscores the challenges facing governments to balance between lifting lockdowns and curbing coronavirus, even in a country that has instituted strict containment measures including installing cameras and sensors at people's doors to monitor their movements.

Authorities are still tracing the origin of the outbreak, which came as a surprise. For weeks before, China had clocked almost no local transmissions, with all new illnesses coming via citizens returning from abroad.

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Chinese officials originally indicated that foreign fish was to blame after finding traces of coronavirus on a cutting board used by a vendor of imported salmon.

It was a convenient line politically, as Beijing has sought to defend itself against global calls for an investigation into its cover-up of the pandemic in the early stage by claiming "foreign forces" such as the US military had brought the virus into China.

While the government later stepped back on the claim that imported salmon was to blame for the latest outbreak, the damage was already done. Cuts of salmon had been pulled off grocery shelves, and many Chinese, concerned about consuming the fish, stopped visiting restaurants serving salmon dishes.

Authorities found that the seafood and meat sections of Xinfadi market were seriously contaminated with the virus, and have yet to rule out the possibility that it remained on food packaging.

"The virus may have remained on imported frozen foods, not mutating due to the cold environment throughout the whole storage and transportation process from overseas to China," said Mr Zhang.

Low temperatures and high humidity could have contributed to the spread at the wholesale market, heavily used by buyers, vendors and suppliers.

Beijing remains on partial lockdown, with residents from areas with high numbers of infections banned from leaving the city. A number of outbound travel links have been cancelled, while entire housing compounds have been sealed as authorities raced to contain the outbreak.

Local officials have also engaged in house calls, visiting people to check their travel and contact history in aggressive efforts to round up all those who may have been exposed for mass testing and quarantine.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump was outraised by Joe Biden in May, taking in $74 million for his reelection, but he maintains a sizable advantage in cash on hand over the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The pro-Trump effort, which includes fundraising by the Republican National Committee, on Saturday reported its total days after Biden and Democrats said they had amassed nearly $81 million last month for his White House bid.

Trump reported having $265 million in the bank at the end of May. Biden, for his part, reported having just over $82 million at the same point.

Trumps campaign announced this week that it raised $14 million last Sunday, which was the presidents birthday.

Biden on Monday brought in $6 million at a single event featuring Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a onetime rival for the nomination. He plans a fundraiser Tuesday with former President Barack Obama.

Trumps campaign has begun wide-scale general election ads, spending about $24 million on television and digital spots over the past month, but it has come as the presidents standing in both public and private surveys has taken a hit.
The Trump administration's ongoing efforts to oust the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman have set off a firestorm in Washington, with Democrats accusing President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr of possible "obstruction of justice" by meddling in an office known to be conducting ongoing investigations of potential interest to Trump.

MORE: Trump fires US Attorney for Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman, but he has 'no intention of resigning'

In his exclusive interview during a one-hour special airing Sunday, 9 p.m. ET with ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz prior to the stunning series of events Friday night, former national security adviser John Bolton discussed an episode from his forthcoming memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," in which he said President Trump previously floated the idea of intervening in the Southern District related to its investigation of a state-owned Turkish bank.

Watch Martha Raddatz's interview with John Bolton in a one-hour special at 9 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 21 on ABC News.

In the interview, Bolton said of the December 2018 exchange, "it did feel like obstruction of justice to me."

PHOTO: ABC's Martha Raddatz will have the first exclusive interview with John Bolton, former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, on his new book, 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,' airing June 21, 2020 at 9pm ET on ABC. (ABC News)

SDNY prosecutors had been investigating the Turkish bank Halkbank for allegedly evading U.S. sanctions against Iran, a topic which Bolton said Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised with Trump by handing him a memo at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires in December 2018.

Bolton alleged there were a number of conversations between the president and Erdogan of Turkey on the subject of Halkbank.

"What Erdogan wanted was basically a settlement that would take the pressure off Halkbank," Bolton said in his interview last week with Raddatz. "And the president said to Erdogan at one point, 'Look, those prosecutors in New York are Obama people. Wait till I get my people in and then we'll take care of this.'"

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Bolton added, "And I thought to myself -- and I'm a Department of Justice alumnus myself. "I've never heard any president say anything like that. Ever." Bolton also served as United States Assistant Attorney General for President Ronald Reagan in his career.

MORE: Bolton book can be released, but conduct 'raises grave national security concerns'

SDNY, with backing from Attorney General Barr, returned an indictment against Halkbank in October of last year. The prosecution of Halkbank remains ongoing, though in February a U.S. appeals court agreed to a request from the bank to pause the case and proceedings have been stuck largely in limbo amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The company has denied wrongdoing while resisting efforts by prosecutors to testify in a U.S. court.

Bolton in the interview acknowledged that the prosecution has continued despite the president's alleged conversation with Erdogan, but added that he found the episode "disturbing" as an example of the president's belief he could intervene in the justice system under the influence of a foreign leader.

"I don't think I know enough about all the circumstances, but I tell ya, it did feel like obstruction of justice to me," Bolton said. "The president has enormous power in the law enforcement area. The executive power is vested in the president."

"This idea that you give Erdogan and his family, who use Halkbank like a slush fund -- in exchange for, what, some hope down the road of some other kind of treatment for Trump or the country -- was very troubling."

Geoffrey Berman was appointed acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York by Trump's then Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions in January 2018 but has overseen the investigations of several Trump associates including Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen.

The Justice Department previously accused Bolton of "grossly" mischaracterizing a conversation he said he had with Barr, where he said Barr expressed concerns about Trump's alleged efforts to intervene in criminal cases, including the Halkbank case.

"There was no discussion of 'personal favors' or 'undue influence' on investigations, nor did Attorney General Barr state that the President's conversations with foreign leaders were improper," DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec said. "If this is truly what Mr. Bolton has written, then it seems he is attributing to Attorney General Barr his own current views -- views with which Attorney General Barr does not agree."

Bolton suggests possible 'obstruction' by Trump in SDNY Turkey investigation originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
As I drive, walk, or run around Havertown these days Im struck by the increase in Republican political banners on the same lawn as messages of support for the various folks who are keeping us going during an international pandemic, as well as green lights and T-shirts supporting young people in the township whore battling cancer.

The side-by-side comparison disturbs me: On the one hand you behold our generosity, while on the other hand you behold our support of those would only seek to divide America between themselves and those whom they see as takers. The messages (and messengers) are horribly confused. They say: We care about those whore closest to us, but we wont care about those who live in other towns, in Philadelphia, or those across the country who might be battling either a deadly disease or simple ill health. We need more than this.

We deserve better than this, and there is only one political party which is standing in the way of improving our system of health care in America. This is about the shortsighted idea that its okay to show your support for a childs individual battle with illness, while also supporting a political party and politicians  President Trump, Mrs. Pruett, among others  who tried to take away the health care of 15 million Americans in July 2017.

A president and a political party who have made access to Medicaid more difficult. A president and a political party who have sought to withhold desperately needed medical supplies in the middle of an international pandemic from certain American locales because the president simply doesnt like them. And we put up with this.

We need more than green lights, hope, and thanks for heroes: We need a shared belief in the public good, and we need leaders who will fight for that ideal. Yes, this is about extending healthcare and health insurance to every American, but its also about a moral obligation to care about and for each other. There is only one political party that  through words and policies -declines to fight for the common good. Their message: Were not all in this together.

If you want to go get a haircut and public health officials say you shouldnt, its okay to endanger others in order to get what you want. Only care about yourselves and those who look and think like you. You shouldnt have to pay for other kids health care, theyll say. And moreover, these corporations and fabulously wealthy individuals over here shouldnt pay for our healthcare either, because, of course, they have special privileges.

Gofundme pages for healthcare costs have ballooned in recent years, while health care premiums continue to rise, and one political party does all they can to strip money away from Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. No parent in America should have to turn to crowd-funding because they cant pay medical bills and their mortgage or rent, along with feeding their family. And we put up with this.

If we want everyone in America not to have to choose between keeping their home and getting the chemotherapy that might save their life, we need to rethink how we fund and offer healthcare in this country. Buying health insurance is expensive, but not having health insurance is far more so  both morally and economically  and it costs all of us, not simply individuals.

Will an expansion of healthcare and health insurance have to be paid for? Of course. If we want social services, if we want to care for all of society, then we have to pay for it. But it shouldnt be us, the majority of Americans, who pays disproportionately for it.

There are plenty of American individuals and corporations whove made a killing in the past 20 years, while the rest of our wages have stagnated or failed to keep up with the growing cost of merely living. Its not as if the wealth of Exxon or the Koch family appeared out of thin air: it was built on the backs of American workers. Workers who built roads and laid water pipes, who pour us coffee or bag our groceries, who draw up our wills or help us navigate the legal system. These corporations and super wealthy individuals should pay into the system, too. And they should pay the greater share.

We deserve that. All of us deserve better than our current system of healthcare, as well as our current national leadership. We can change those things. All of us deserve more than just green lights and HOPE printed in sidewalk chalk by our neighbors kids. We deserve and desperately need to care about and for each other. Half-measures and tribalism arent enough now. We shouldnt put up with this. Whats more, we dont have to.

Joe Forsyth is a resident of Havertown.
There have been articles and letters published by the Albuquerque Journal sharing opinions about the (landmark education funding) lawsuit and the states motion to dismiss. We want to share the plaintiffs perspective.

In October of last year, before the legislative session and well before the new reality of COVID-19, we filed a motion on behalf of plaintiff families in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit explaining how the courts order wasnt being met and asking the court to compel the state to develop and implement a plan to provide basic educational sufficiency for all public school students.

Over a year and a half after the courts ruling and two legislative sessions later, virtually nothing has changed for students and families at the heart of the case: low-income families, students with disabilities, English-language learners and Native American students, who collectively make up roughly 80% of the New Mexico student population. The state continues its piecemeal approach to fixing education, with no definitive, measurable plan. Now, with schools closed and students and teachers shifted to online learning environments, the inequities in opportunity for students across New Mexico are even more exposed.

Put simply, the state has not fulfilled its duty to comply with the New Mexico Constitution. In its own motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the state admits our public education system still does not provide a sufficient and uniform education for all students. The motion suggests we should all simply trust state government, legislators and the governor to fix the school system, which is exactly what hasnt worked in the last several decades.

Public education in New Mexico is a big ship to turn and, while nobody was expecting all the problems to be addressed and fixed overnight, the state asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit at this point, with virtually no progress made toward a comprehensive overhaul of the school system, is disrespectful to the families involved in the lawsuit and the tens of thousands of students across the state whose constitutional rights to a fair and equitable education continue to be violated.

Now, in the (midst) of a special legislative session wherein lawmakers may have to make tough choices of where to cut education funding, students and families in New Mexico will continue to lose out.

The sentiment from some lawmakers and the Governors Office that the lawsuit has served its part in making education a priority, so it is no longer necessary, undermines the importance of this landmark case and the role of the judicial branch in protecting our citizens. As is evident from the last legislative session, education is still not the priority it needs to be.

Our public school system still doesnt have basic education infrastructure to provide equitable access to technology and reliable internet, still lacks culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional materials, thousands of English language learners still lack certified teachers, extended learning and summer school still isnt available for all students who need them, more than 25,000 3- and 4-year-olds still dont have access to quality Pre-K, and the state still fails to fund or implement the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act (1973), the Indian Education Act (2003) and the Hispanic Education Act (2010).

Until every student in New Mexico has the opportunity to be successful in school, any action on behalf of the state to dismiss the lawsuit or otherwise undermine the directives from the court is inappropriate and shameful.

The crisis of COVID-19 has only exposed the ongoing crisis that has long-existed with our public education system. This month a judge will hear both our motions saying the state hasnt yet done what it needs to do to meet minimum sufficiency, and the states saying it should be trusted to fix education, regardless of making virtually no progress. Despite campaign promises and lip service, politics continue to fail our students. The court is absolutely essential to protecting our students constitutional right to education, especially now.
World Refugee Day is being observed Saturday with the aim of raising awareness of refugees throughout the world. In Italy, a special prayer vigil was held in Rome this week titled Dying of Hope, in memory of the thousands who lose their lives at sea, on their journeys in search of a better life in Europe.

Inside the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, many gathered to pray in memory of those who have drowned in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa and for those who continue to do so. Africans and Italians maintained social distancing inside the church as they prayed together.

The Secretary General of the Italian Bishops Conference, Monsignor Stefano Russo, addressed the congregation.

Monsignor Russo said, We are with numerous friends who crossed the Mediterranean or arrived by land. Many among you have painfully lost friends and family members.

The vigil was held in observance of World Refugee Day. Monsignor Russo called for the many foreigners, the new Europeans to be allowed to emerge from their invisible conditions.

He turned his thoughts to those forced into overcrowded refugee camps, who see no way out, to the Rohingya, to the camp of Moira in Lesbos, to the many who reach Tapachula, on the border with Mexico, to Syrians, in Lebanese camps. He called all these places of pain where even more than in the past there is a lack of food, clothes, tents and medical assistance.

The lockdown, he added, makes living conditions even worse with social distancing impossible and men, women and children with no access to water to wash and terrified of dying from coronavirus.

Marco Impagliazzo is a member of the Catholic Community of Sant Egidio who organized the vigil. He said it is essential that everyone, Africans and Europeans, deal with the pandemic on the African continent together.

Impagliazzo said that if this does not happen, there will be other long waves of migrant arrivals and the virus must help us understand that we must all row in the same direction.

More than 40,000 migrants are believed to have died in efforts to reach Europe via land or sea crossings since 1990.
At least seven universities used their institutions portal to violate the admission process in the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said.

The board said the seven institutions were warehousing candidates into institutions portals.

Warehousing means when the candidates name is not on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) but the institution still goes ahead to admit them through its web portal.

The institutions include Adekunle Ajasin University, University of Nigeria, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, University of Ibadan, Air Force Institute of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, and Nigeria Police Academy.

CAPS

The board which is a regulatory body has mandated that all admission process should be done on the CAPS.

CAPS is a platform created to ensure quality control, transparency, and credibility of the admission process.

CAPS is expected to make provision for a market place in the JAMB portal where institutions can go and request for students in Nigeria who scored above their cut off points.

The system is such that institutions can only admit those who meet their cut off points. If a candidate fails to meet the cut-off mark that student would certainly be denied admission irrespective of the candidates connection.

In JAMBs 2020 policy meeting document seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the board said appropriate caution was given to the institutions to desist from such illegitimate actions.

Any such act will henceforth be visited with appropriate sanctions and the board shall continue to protect the rights of all candidates to be given their due irrespective of their social status, the board said.

According to the regulatory agency, these tricks which are meant to usurp the rights of the candidates are improper and should be discontinued.

All institutions employing such tricks are putting into jeopardy the future of the illegitimately favoured and less qualified candidates as the board will not condone or regularised such admissions, the board said.

Violations

Adekunle Ajasin University

The document cited an example of Adamolekun Bernice who applied to study Law with 280 marks to the University of Benin but was later offered Law at Adekunle Ajasin University.

A candidate not available at all in CAPS under AAUA but now offered admission and acceptance fee paid before the protest and cannot be properly admitted into AAUA, the board said.

University of Nigeria

The document also showed that the University of Nigeria has a quota of 200 to admit students to study Medicine.

After admitting 106 on CAPS, the University of Nigeria released an additional 448 names on the universitys portal whereas there are 342 qualified unadmitted on CAPS, the board said.

Also for Law, JAMB said the university violated the admission process.

The quota for Law is 250. The university admitted 125 on CAPS. The university then released another 240 on their portal, the board said

Moshood Abiola Polytechnic

The board said the institution did not admit a single candidate on CAPS.

MAPOLY admitted over 10,795 and went on to receive acceptance fee from 5,950 candidates not yet proposed to JAMB. MAPOLY also claimed its quota is 12,587, the board said.

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University of Ibadan

The board said a candidate, Sanni Abdul Rahman, who applied to the University of Ibadan got Economics on CAPS but changed to Adult Education on the university portal.

The regulatory body also complained that another candidate who applied for human nutrition and scored 242 in UTME, 72 in Post-UTME with an aggregate score of 66.25 was transferred to study agricultural extension.

University then admitted people below her into Human Nutrition, JAMB said.

Airforce Institute of Technology

The board also said a candidate, Musa Ishaq, who applied for Cybersecurity was moved to Physics on the school portal.

He innocently changed his programme to Physics whereas he is qualified for Cybersecurity, JAMB said.

Ahmadu Bello University

The board said a candidate, Thomas Goodness Shekwobyalo, who scored 302 and was qualified to study Medicine claimed: to be persuaded to change to Anatomy on the university portal.

The board, however, said the university refuted the claim.

Nigeria Police Academy

The board said the Nigeria Police Academy changed the programme of candidates through the academy portal without the consent of the candidates.

The board also said the institution admitted candidates who were already admitted genuinely into other institutions through CAPS and could not upload them on CAPS again.

The board also published litigation letters against University of Nigeria, Police Academy, and the University of Abuja

Every year, millions of students seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions write JAMB-conducted tests.

The candidates complete four subjects, with the English Language compulsory for all applicants.

The remaining three subjects depend on the courses respective candidates apply to study. Scores for the four subjects are marked to 400 aggregate.

The score will determine if the candidate is qualified to get admission into a university of choice.
Arms laden drone from Pakistan shot down by BSF

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: An arms laden drone from Pakistan was shot down by the Border Security Force on Indian territory.

The Pakistan drone was flying inside Indian territory in Rathua area in Hiranagar around 5.10 am when a BSF patrol shot it down. Inspector General, BSF, Jammu Frontier N S Jamwal said, " the BSF has shot down a drone from Pakistan near Kathya and recovered among others M4 US-made semi-automatic rifle, 60 rounds in it, two magazines and seven M67 grenades."

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

Chinese state media says new chopper drone may be deployed along India border

He said that Pakistan has adopted a similar modus operandi and it is a big development that took place, he also said. The six copter drone weighed around 17.5 kilograms and the consignment weighed around 5 to 6 kilograms.

Surely it was an attempt to deliver arms and ammunition to someone here on this side. Who was he, remains a matter of investigation. The delivery was for some Ali Bhai as the payload was carrying his name, he also said.
The Sinn Fein spokesperson on mental health, Cork East TD Pat Buckley, has slammed the agreed Programme for Government document, describing it as "a list of platitudes and rhetoric with very little substance".

Deputy Buckley was scathing in his assessment of the agreement, saying the exclusion of Sinn Fein from the Government-formation process by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael was "an attempt to deny change to protect the status-quo and to continue with the same politics that have so badly failed workers and families".

"The reality is that a government led by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael - no matter who they are propped up by - does not represent the change that people voted for and will not deliver for workers and families," said Deputy Buckley.

"Their record in government together over the past four years shows us exactly what they will do if this Programme for Government is endorsed by the parties involved. What we need is a break from the past, not a repeat of it," he added.

Deputy Buckley said this meant rebuilding the economy in a fair and sustainable way, providing affordable housing, delivering universal healthcare, making sure workers can retire at the age of 65, investing in our forgotten regions and delivering the type of real change required to tackle the climate emergency.

Deputy Buckley said he was particularly disappointed the document did not properly address the issue of mental health care, a sector he insisted had been in need of "serious focus and investment for many years".

"The Vision for Change strategy, now 14 years old, is far from implemented. A refresh of this plan is now in the hands of the negotiating parties, but they have failed to show any detail of how major gaps in services will be addressed," he said.

"Fianna Fail made a lot of noise about mental health in recent years, but the evidence of their seriousness on the issue is lacking from these vague aspirations that make up the mental health section of the programme. We know both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have a record of failure on mental health. The Green Party seemed to have added little to the discussion."

Deputy Buckley said there was no commitment to a multi-annual funding plan, with a significant investment boost, staffing figures, improving access to services and no mention of a 24/7 community mental healthcare service.
The Secretary of Adamawa Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mr Anthony Elishama, has been suspended for three months over alleged mismanagement of N1.35 million.

The association also directed the suspended scribe to refund the amount during his suspension.

Elishama was further asked to return all official properties, including vehicle and documents, to the secretariat.

Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza said that Elishamas suspension followed the unanimous decision adopted during the state executive meeting of the association held on Thursday.



Mr Anthony Elishama suspension is as a result of mismanaging of funds belonging to the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to the tune of N1.350 million (one million three hundred and fifty thousand naira).

The state executive of Christians Association of Nigeria expressed disappointment by the secretarys action, Mamza explained.

The Bishop noted that the present leadership of CAN in the state had zero tolerance to any type of financial indiscipline.

He said that the secretarys suspension would take effect from June 20, 2020, pending the state executive committee final decision on the issue.

The suspended Secretary must refund the money to CAN within the period of his suspension.

He should also immediately summit all the Associations documents and properties, including the official car at his possession, to CAN Secretariat administration, the statement read.

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A New Zealand TV host has lashed out at a viewer who suggested she cover up after she bared her shoulders on live TV.

Hilary Barry, 50, who hosts current affairs show Seven Sharp, wore an off-the-shoulder peach toned top on the program on Thursday.

That raised the ire of a viewer, Geoff, who posted on the show's Facebook page: 'Please encourage Hilary to dress properly. Exposed shoulders are for the young'.

A look: New Zealand TV host Hilary Barry, 50, lashed out at a viewer who suggested she cover up after she wore an off-the-shoulder top on current affairs show Seven Sharp on Thursday. Pictured with co-host Jeremy Wells

Hilary shared a screenshot of the comment to her Instagram page, along with a biting comment.

She wrote: 'Some classic age shaming from Geoff. Just for the record, I'll wear what I like, when I like.'

The TV star further underlined her point with a second Instagram post, this time sharing a photo in which she posed in a swimsuit.

Her outfit raised the ire of one viewer, Geoff, who posted on the show's Facebook page: 'Please encourage Hilary to dress properly. Exposed shoulders are for the young'

The TV star hit back with an Instagram post, sharing a photo in which she posed in swimsuit along with the caption: 'This is for every Geoff who ever told a woman what to wear or what part of her body to cover up. We will not be told. Not now. Not ever'

Looking fantastic in the off-the-shoulder swimmers, Hilary defiantly told the viewer in a caption that she will not be told what to wear.

She wrote: 'This is for every Geoff who ever told a woman what to wear or what part of her body to cover up. We will not be told. Not now. Not ever'.

Her fans were immensely supportive, with one person commenting under the photo: 'You. Are. A. Queen.'

In another Instagram post Hilary wrote: 'Some classic age shaming from Geoff. Just for the record, I'll wear what I like, when I like'

Another chimed in: 'Well said Hilary. You look amazing!' while someone agreed: 'Put them in their place... You Queen'.

One fan declared: 'You are an inspiration to all' while another commented: 'You are the best! Then, now and always'.

It's not the first time Hilary has hit back at a viewer who complained about her bare shoulders - in January, another person said her look was not for 'old women' and claimed she looked like a 'street worker'.

Complaints: It's not the first time Hilary has hit back at a viewer who complained about her bare shoulders - in January, another person said her look was not for 'old women'

Hilary wrote in response in an Instagram post: 'I'm not offended to be called a street worker. I'm not offended to be called old.

'What I do take exception to is being told to act and dress my age. I am a 50 year old woman who will continue to wear exactly what I like, when I like and wherever I like.

'Enough with the age-shaming. I'm embracing life. I'm pro-ageing not anti-ageing' she concluded.
SK: Doyen of the corporate world passes away View(s):

S.K. Wickramasinghe, popularly known as SK and one of Sri Lankas most accomplished and respected figures in the Sri Lankan business community, passed away last week.

Mr. Wickramasinghe had nearly 50 years of experience in the corporate field and had chaired some of Sri Lankas largest institutions, involved in almost every sector of the countrys economy such as banking, finance, agriculture, chemical, airline, investment banking, IT, manufacturing, tobacco, property development, consumer durables, plantation management, tourism and hospitality, and insurance.

The highlight of his distinguished career in the corporate world was serving as chairman of ICI Sri Lanka, part of a global chemical giant, which was later to be known in Sri Lanka as CIC, for nearly 30 years. He joined the company in the early 1950s, rapidly rising up the ladder to become its chairman.

According to his long-time friend, Sohli Captain, another giant in the business world, what Mr. Wickramasinghe enjoyed most was giving advice and encouraging young Sri Lankans on their future in the business world.

He was an absolutely selfless person and a great human being just like the late D. S. Jayasundera, chairman of Hayleys who was in the same mould, he recalled.

Samantha Ranatunga, a former Managing Director at CIC, said he made a great contribution to the business world particularly during the shift from British-led norms and values to the Sri Lankanisation of business.

He was chairman of many companies including Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc, National Development Bank Plc, Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc and Sri Lankan Airlines, and a director in many others.

From 1995-1999 he served as Sri Lankas High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Mr. Wickramasinghe has also been a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), on the Board of Governors of Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) and of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) of the University of

Sri Jayewardenepura. He was also a Trustee of the Employers Federation

of Ceylon.

He was the eldest son of Sri Lankas revered author Martin Wickramasinghe and son-in-law of famed newspaper editor H.A.J. Hulugalle, being married to the latters daughter, Damayantha who predeceased him in 2011.

In recent years, he spent a lot of time as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Martin Wickramasinghe Trust. He was also chairman of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Foundation.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, UK will soon announce if the two-metre-rule for social distancing will be reduced or not. After the British government decided to lower the coronavirus alert level from 4 to 3, it will now review the latest guidelines for the citizens. Many employers, especially in the hospitality sector, have voiced concerns over the rule for people to stay at least two metres away from each other has created a barrier to the speech of their work. However, Britains culture minister Oliver Dowden has recently said in a radio interview that the government is set to conclude the review of the rule. He reportedly also said that within the coming days we will get the outcome.

This came after British Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the government will urgently review the newly-introduced rule of maintaining a distance of two-metre to curb the further spread of novel coronavirus. As the UK is gradually lifting restrictions to boost the economy which has to recover from a 25 per cent collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunak said in an interview with media outlet last week said that Britain will take a fresh look at the rule because the two-metre social distancing rule might pose some difficulties for employers to resume work at the usual speed.

Read - UK PM Says 'more Work Needs To Be Done' To Eradicate Racism Amid BLM Protests

Read - UK PM Boris Johnson Says Brexit Deal Is Possible By End Of July

UK lowers COVID alert level

As the coronavirus cases continue to plunge in the UK, the chief medical officers in Britain have decreased the COVID-19 alert from level 4 to 3 on June 19. Amid the coronavirus contagion, the alert level from transmission is high or rising exponentially to epidemic is in general circulation. According to reports, the Joint Biosecurity Centre had recommended the lowering of the emergency level to level 3 because the chief medical officers in the UK have noted the steady decrease in coronavirus infections in all four nations.

However, the medical officials of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have also informed that lowering of COVID-19 alert does not imply that pandemic is over. But it means that the novel coronavirus, which had originated in China in December 2019, is still in general circulation and outbreaks can occur in local communities.

This morning the UK COVID-19 alert level was lowered from Level 4 to Level 3.



It is critical that you continue to wash your hands and keep a safe distance from others.



Read the latest NHS advice:

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Last year, Police Chief William McManus explained to an arbitrator why he had decided to fire an officer who was heard on a body camera repeatedly calling a handcuffed prisoner the n-word.

How can you have an officer working in the community that is as diversified as here with African-Americans as part of the population, after the public sees that hes out here calling people the n-word, the (expletive) n-word, to quote? McManus said. That is the most inappropriate language I have ever heard used during an arrest, especially to a minority.

Until then, the police chiefs decision wasnt controversial. A review board made up of civilians and sworn officers had unanimously recommended the firing of officer Tim Garcia for his conduct that morning in July 2018 while arresting a black man accused of criminal trespassing at the Shops at Rivercenter.

But the arbitrator  Thomas Cipolla, an Austin lawyer selected in part by the San Antonio Police Officers Association to decide Garcias fate on appeal  disagreed.

MICHELLE MONDO /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Despite Garcias continued barrage of racially charged words, the officer likely just was off that day and said some awful things he should not have said and is now sorry for them, Cipolla wrote. I do not think there is convincing evidence to conclude that (Garcia) is a racist. One diatribe does not automatically denote a racist.

With that, Cipolla overruled the judgment of McManus and the review board, unilaterally reducing Garcias punishment to a 10-month suspension. The officer now is back on patrol.

The reversal was the most recent in a string of local appeals in which officers fired for serious misconduct were returned to the Police Department by third-party arbitrators, a process tilted in the officers favor and enabled by state law and a collective bargaining agreement between the union and the city.

Under state law, officers have the right to appeal to a qualified neutral arbitrator. It offers no limits to an arbitrators authority to re-evaluate disciplinary decisions.

In the past decade, arbitrators have returned 10 fired officers to the force, reversing McManus judgment in about 14 percent of 71 terminations, city records show.

Two of the officers, including Garcia, won their jobs back despite internal investigations that found allegations of racist behavior.

In that same period, arbitrators upheld 13 terminations. Under the threat of arbitration, McManus himself allowed 20 officers to return to the force after he fired them  another 28 percent of terminations.

As protesters continue demanding an end to systemic racism and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd while in the hands of Minneapolis officers, some reforms have begun to take hold.

Among them, the Texas agency that regulates police has agreed to require every officer in the state to complete implicit bias training. And in San Antonio, police no longer are permitted to shoot projectiles such as wooden or rubber bullets unless McManus directly approves such use of force.

But new rules are rendered toothless when officers who break them are shielded from accountability by state law and union contracts, said Stephen Rushin, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago who specializes in police accountability.

Policy changes can only do so much if youre unable to regularly and rigorously enforce them, Rushin said.

Last year, Rushin published an article that considered police union contracts from 656 agencies across the country. He found the final word on how officers are punished frequently rests with outside arbitrators who are given expansive authority to serve as the true adjudicators of internal discipline in many police departments.

Nearly half of all the union contracts analyzed by Rushin  including the one held by police in San Antonio  allow officers to appeal to an arbitrator; give the union some power in selecting the arbitrator; allow the arbitrator to override previous decisions; and make the arbitrators decision final and binding.

The union contract in San Antonio goes even further, barring the police chief from punishing officers for any misconduct that occurred more than six months earlier, or invoking any discipline handed down more than two years before any new allegations.

Under these circumstances, Rushin said, police chiefs effectively are reduced to prosecutors arguing a case to a third party who might agree with the allegations yet disagree with the severity of a punishment.

McManus said that in San Antonio, arbitrators have rarely  if ever  challenged the findings of internal investigations.

If theres a fact issue, prove me wrong and Ill concede and bring the person back, McManus said. But I cant remember any fact issues that have caused somebody to be returned to duty.

He added, When I fire somebody, they need to stay fired.

TOM REEL /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Mike Helle, president of the police union, defended the use of arbitrators as a check on McManus, who he said tries to rule as if hes a monarch.

A case in point, Helle said, was McManus failed attempt to fire Garcia for using the n-word.

Garcia said, Look, I shouldnt have said it, it was a lapse in my moment, Helle said. And if anybody knows a lapse in a moment when they lose their composure, our mayor (Ron Nirenberg) said the exact same offensivelike cuss word when he used the word G-D (goddamn) when he was on TV in front of the entire crowd and audience, right?

Speaking to a crowd protesting police violence outside the Bexar County Courthouse this month, Nirenberg said, Hold me accountable.  Im the mayor of this goddamn city and were going to make change together.

Asked whether he really believes the word used by Nirenberg is as offensive as the n-word, Helle said: For me, yes, it is. Why dont you go ask one of our pastors or anybody that thats their faith?

During Garcias hearing before the arbitrator, a supervisor also downplayed the officers use of the n-word, calling it bantering between Garcia and the prisoner.

It wasnt the first time a San Antonio police officers career has survived allegations of racism.

/

Racial slurs

By the time Lt. Lee Rakun retired in February, he had been fired no fewer than seven times and otherwise suspended 10 times by four police chiefs over a span of decades  and weathered all attempts to jettison him from the department, thanks in large part to his right to arbitration.

In 2005, then-Sgt. Rakun told another Anglo sergeant that he was not the right skin color for the shift, an internal affairs investigation found. That earned Rakun a 20-day suspension, later reduced to three days.

By 2012, Rakun had survived four firings in connection with a variety of offenses, including allegations of domestic violence, and ascended to the rank of lieutenant when he once again faced allegations of racist behavior.

That year, Rakun and a group of friends hired a limousine to take them to nightclubs around the city. Shortly before midnight, they arrived at Silo, an upscale restaurant and bar, and Rakun tried to enter with a bottle of Bacardi rum.

A Bexar County deputy constable who was working security that night stopped the off-duty officer, who protested that he was SAPD. Eventually, Rakun returned to the limo to leave the bottle.

That (expletive) Mexican wouldnt let me in, Rakun said, according to the testimony of the limo driver.

Rakun again tried to enter the bar, and the deputy once again stopped him  this time because Rakun appeared to be drunk. That allegedly caused the lieutenant to unleash a torrent of racial slurs on the deputy, including wetback, spic and beaner, according to the deputys testimony.

Rakun later denied to investigators that he used those words. McManus fired him anyway, in part because he believed Rakun was lying.

An arbitrator wasnt particularly troubled by either of these allegations  the racial slurs or the lying.

I want to make clear that this finding should not be interpreted to suggest that Lt. Rakun is racist, wrote William McKee, a resident of Denton. The evidence shows that (Rakun) was somewhat intoxicated and that he was angry. It seems equally or more likely that Lt. Rakun chose his words to be hurtful to their target rather than to voice his personal feelings about Mexicans or Hispanics in general.

McKee also explained that he doesnt necessarily consider it lying to deny something thats true.

Many arbitrators, including myself, are reluctant to sustain a charge of untruthfulness based solely on the fact that an appellant denied the charges and put a city and department to its proof, he wrote. I recognize the citys position that officers are required to be truthful at all times, but I am also aware that there is a distinction between making an affirmative misrepresentation  and simply declining to admit the wrongdoing of which the officer is accused.

McKee reduced Rakuns discipline to a 45-day suspension  an outcome that surprised Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. At the time, Salazar was an SAPD sergeant in internal affairs and lead investigator on Rakuns case.

If you cant show enough restraint to not hurl those kind of insults at somebody, then my opinion, you have no business serving as a peace officer, Salazar said in an interview.

This month, Salazar had another chance to put this philosophy into practice.

On June 3, police arrested then-sheriffs Deputy Luis Lopez on charges of firing a weapon and resisting arrest. While Lopez was being booked, he resigned from the Sheriffs Office. According to Salazar, the former deputy also spat racial slurs, including the n-word, at an African-American detention sergeant.

Two days later, Tanner Barnes, an attorney with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, sent Salazar a letter disputing the validity of Lopezs resignation due to his intoxication.

Such resignation may not be legal due to the intoxication of Deputy Lopez on this night, Barnes wrote.

Like San Antonio police officers, Bexar County sheriffs deputies have a right to appeal to an arbitrator, whose decisions on punishments may override Salazars.

Salazar wrote back that the deputys resignation will stand.

Mr. Lopez was recorded on body camera video hurling racial slurs at a detention sergeant for the city of San Antonio who happens to be African-American, the sheriff told the attorney. He was observed and recorded referring to the sergeant as That Black Lives Matter Sergeant and the N-Word.

In our line of work, intoxication is not a defense, Salazar added in the letter, nor will I allow a former employee to use it as an excuse to justify his illegal actions and racist behavior.

Im going to end you!

San Antonio Police Department /

Arbitrators who return fired San Antonio police officers to the force rarely dispute the allegations leveled by internal investigators, records show.

There was no disputing of facts when McManus fired Detective Emanuel Keith last year for threatening to kill his estranged girlfriend in a slew of text messages and voicemails.

Im going to end you! he texted.

Keith admitted to sending the messages, called chilling and calculated by an arbitrator from Dallas. Nonetheless, William Hartsfield reduced Keiths firing to a 90-day suspension.

Hartsfield based his decision on the outcome of a separate case involving McManus former driver, officer Jose Zuniga.

Three years earlier, Zuniga had performed a choke on a woman, police records show, resulting in a 90-day suspension. Hartsfield wrote that he returned Keith to the force because his firing was not consistent with Zunigas discipline.

In an interview, McManus said the facts were different in Zunigas case. The woman, he said, had broken into Zunigas house.

Every case is judged on its own merit, McManus said.

There also was no disputing of facts when McManus fired officer Matthew Luckhurst in 2016 for placing dog feces between two slices of bread and placing it close to a homeless man.

Luckhurst admitted to doing so. Nonetheless, an arbitrator reduced the firing to a five-day suspension because McManus had not punished Luckhurst within six months of the incident as required by the union contract.

Luckhurst was not returned to the force, however. He was battling another termination for allegedly smearing a brown substance with the consistency of tapioca on a toilet seat in the womens locker room of the downtown bike patrol station.

/

And there was no disputing of facts when McManus fired officer Matthew Belver in 2016 for removing a prisoners handcuffs and challenging him to a fight.

Im going to beat your ass, Belver told the prisoner in an exchange captured on a dash camera. Are you ready? Lets go. Run.  Do something.

The prisoner declined to fight the officer.

Defending Belvers firing in arbitration, the city noted a similar incident had occurred in 2009.

That year, Belver arrested someone for DWI who suffered facial injuries requiring medical attention. The prisoner later swore in an affidavit that Belver had taken off his handcuffs, challenged him to a fight and then punched him in the face when he declined.

McManus fired Belver for that incident but later agreed to reinstate him if he completed additional training. When McManus tried to invoke the 2009 incident to justify Belvers 2016 firing, the arbitrator, a resident of Bellaire, rejected it as inadmissible due to the unions contract with the city.

The arbitrator reduced Belvers discipline to a 45-day suspension, citing the officers promise to avoid any similar conduct in the future.

Belver is back on patrol, but a partner always must accompany him.

One possible reform

In an introduction to his study on police union contracts, Rushin of Loyola University Chicago described Belvers case.

Stories like this should worry police reform advocates, he wrote. The story from San Antonio is hardly unique.

Rushin noted an alternative used in other cities, such as Grand Rapids, Mich. There, officers may appeal to an arbitrator. But the authority of the third party is limited only to a determination of the facts.

If the facts support the violation, then the arbitrator may not modify the discipline.

That could be a remedy for a huge chunk of the problems that were dealing with, Rushin said. We do want the appeals process to capture sloppy investigations. You want to capture clear factual mistakes on the part of the investigators.

What I think police chiefs are more frustrated by, he added, is when they feel their personal judgment is replaced by someone who doesnt know their departments, has no stake in the community and doesnt understand what the decision means for the community.

McManus echoed that concern.

Thats my point with arbitration, he said. Arbitrators come in and they dont have to worry about community reaction or community sentiment about this. I do. Law enforcement does. They dont care about that. It doesnt concern them. They dont look at the entire picture.

In the case of Luckhurst, Cipolla  the same arbitrator from Austin who reinstated Garcia after that officer used the n-word  saw a bigger picture.

As it turned out, the brown substance that Luckhurst smeared on the toilet in the womens locker room came from a boba tea smoothie. Luckhurst admitted he had done this because he had seen a white board with a note requesting the bathroom be kept clean, as well as posters of Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Ryan Gosling in the womens locker room.

He thought the posters were making fun of us, meaning the males, by saying they werent as muscular or as good looking as the actors, police records say. Luckhurst admitted he purposefully left the mess specifically for female officers.

McManus called Luckhursts actions one of the most disgusting, vile, repulsive things that anybody has ever done.

For once, Cipolla agreed.

I reject the argument that (Luckhursts) actions were a prank or horseplay rather than what they really were  blatantly offensive, revolting, disgusting and demeaning, he wrote. Lacking a compelling argument to the contrary, I feel constrained not to intrude upon the police chiefs right to discipline his work force for cause.

Luckhursts termination was upheld.

Staff Writers Josh Fechter and Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.
Not one more Indigenous family should experience the pain of a loved one dying in custody, a protest outside a Brisbane prison has heard.

"We don't want another death in custody," Kylie Hill told the Seven Network outside the Brisbane Correctional Centre in Wacol on Saturday.

About 50 people turned out at Wacol to protest against black deaths in custody. Credit:Nine News/Shannon Marshall-McCormack

"We don't need to go through this, no family needs to go through this.

"It's painful."
Strong, virtuous fathers are the foundations of tightly-knit families. While countless households across the world are blessed to thrive with this protective fatherly love, lets not forget the dads who are being persecuted in communist China, either for their faith or for defending human rights.

Here are some of these soul-stirring life stories, which will forever be enlisted in the darkest chapters of human history.

I Have Witnessed Much of the Dark Side of China

For the past 22 years, Amy Minghui Yu has been robbed of the warmth of a family setting after her parents were arrested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for practicing Falun Gong, an ancient self-cultivation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

The atheistic communist regime has been violently persecuting the spiritual practice of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) since July 1999. The brutal CCP-led campaign of persecution that ensued 22 years ago has left numerous practitioners arrested, detained, and subjected to pitiless torture to the point of their organs being harvested for economic profit.

And Amys family was just one of these countless shattered households.

Amy Yu posed for a photo with her postcard at The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition in York, London, in June 2013. (Minghui.org)

My family has been shattered I have witnessed much of the dark side of China, Amy told The Epoch Times in a previous interview.

Amys father, Zonghai Yu, a painter at the Mudanjiang City Library, was first arrested in 1999 and illegally sentenced to a year of forced labor. After his release, he was arrested again in 2001 for hanging banners proclaiming Falun Dafa is good! This time, Amys dad was sentenced to 15 years without a proper trial and no legal representation; he suffered unimaginable torture, which left him crippled and with a permanent tear duct laceration.

When I visited him, his leg had been broken, Amy said in 2013 while recalling a prison visit. My dad told me that his chest was beaten seriously by electric batons, and he finds it hard to breathe. In the past, he had a very healthy heart, but now he has a serious heart problem. His head was hit by something heavy, and now he often feels dizzy.

Photo of Amy Yus father, Yu Zonghai, taken by a family member during a prison visit. (Courtesy of Amy Yu)

Worried about her dads health, Amy decided to campaign for his release after she arrived in the United Kingdom to study fashion design at a university in Cambridge. She also created pre-addressed postcards that show her fathers photo, taken by a family member during a prison visit, and distributed them to people, asking for the postcards to be sent to Mudanjiang Prison where her father was held.

Amys father was released in 2016; her mother, Wang Meihong, who was unlawfully sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2003, was released two years earlier.

My Father Believes This Is Gods Message, and I Believe My Father

It has been more than 1,400 days since the persecuted human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng went missing on Aug. 12, 2017. Gao has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A devoted Christian, Gao had been repeatedly arrested and jailed since 2006 for representing members of persecuted minority groups such as Christian family churches and Falun Gong practitioners. When in prison, Gao was subjected to brutal torture by the police, such as being shocked with electric batons, having his teeth knocked loose, and even having toothpicks stabbed into his genitals.

Geng He, the wife of missing Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, participates in a press conference held by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) to discuss Chinese human rights records on the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintaos White House arrival on Jan. 18, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images)

His wife, Geng He, and his two children, who had faced constant harassment from the police, escaped to the United States in 2009 with the help of underground faith groups. Residing in a free country this past decade, Gaos family has never stopped speaking out and worrying about his whereabouts.

His daughter, Grace Geng, believes that her dads book, the Chinese title of which translates to Year 2017: Stand Up China, has an unwavering message for the worldthat the Chinese Communist Party will soon collapse.

My father believes this is Gods message, and I believe my father, Grace said during the launch ceremony of the book in Hong Kong on June 16, 2016.

Grace Geng, Gao Zhishengs daughter, holds a copy of Gaos new book at the book-launch ceremony in Hong Kong on June 16, 2016. (Stone Poon/The Epoch Times)

Grace recently tweeted a reunion video of another Chinese human rights lawyer, Wang Quanzhang, and his family. Wang was freed after serving a 4 1/2-year sentence on charges of subverting state power.

In the tweet, Grace wrote that she hopes for the day when her mother can have her husband by her side and her younger brother can have his father give him suggestions when making life decisions, and for herself to have a family that wont be separated.

I Have Been Trying to Do Anything That Could Possibly Help My Father

On Feb. 2, 2013, Jewher Ilham was supposed to accompany her father, Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur economics professor, to Indiana University for a month, as he had been invited as a visiting scholar. However, she ended up taking a flight alone from Beijing to America when the Chinese authorities restricted her dad from leaving the country.

That fateful day at the airport became the last time she had seen her dad.

Jewhers dad was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of inciting separatisma charge that she said was unfounded.

Jewher Ilham, daughter of Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur economics professor, holds a portrait of her father during the award ceremony for his 2019 European Parliaments Sakharov human rights prize at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec. 18, 2019. (Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images)

He had never mentioned a word about separating the country, Jewher told China Uncensored.

Since 2017, three years after the sentence, Jewher had been increasingly worrying about her dadthis was the year when the world came to know about the Xinjiang re-education and internment camps; her family in China had lost contact with her father that same year.

To seek her fathers release, the young daughter then embarked on a path to advocate for him.

I have been trying to do anything that could possibly help my father and my community. I dont know if its helping, I dont know if anything would help. I just dont want to regret, she said.

Jewher had also met the then-President Donald Trump at the White House in July 2019, together with other survivors of religious persecution, and spoke at the UN General Assembly. In December 2019, she accepted the 2019 Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament on her fathers behalf for the defense of human rights.

I Worry Every Day Whether or Not I Will Ever See Him Again

Paul Li migrated to Canada with his mother when he was 13 years old; his father, Xiaobao Li, who is nearly 65 years old now, used to be a county mayor and a successful businessman in China.

Paul went back to China in 2009 aspiring to see his father, who was at that time unlawfully imprisoned for eight years from 2005 to 2012 for writing articles to speak out against the persecution of Falun Gong. However, Pauls precious little time of living with his father didnt last long.

A mere two years after the release, his dad was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to eight years for refusing to give up his faith. Paul had hired two lawyers in China to defend his father, but he said his father did not receive a fair trial. Since the arrest, Paul has been trying to secure his fathers release by speaking at rallies and press conferences.

My fathers lawyer was certain that the verdict was already made before the trial, and this was simply a show trial, Paul said in a previous interview.

During the trial, Pauls dad said: Even if you give me a death sentence, I am determined in my faith and to clarify the truth of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioner Paul Li holds a photo of his father, Xiaobo Li, at a press conference in Ottawa on Aug. 26, 2016. (Pam McLennan/The Epoch Times)

Paul told Minghui.org in 2019 that his father is still imprisoned in the Longquanyi Detention Center, and due to the persecution and torture, he lost sight in his left eye.

His moral courage is an inspiration to me, but I worry every day whether or not I will ever see him again, said Li, who now lives in Toronto.

I Dream One Day We Can Be Together Again

A young Chinese refugee, Eric Jia had a happy family, which became nonexistent the day his dad was arrested; he was only 3 years old at that time.

Erics father, Ye Jia, was also arrested for practicing Falun Gong. Like his father, Erics close relatives, including his grandmother and aunties, had also been arrested several times for the same reason and had been subjected to different forms of torture while imprisoned.

For instance, in April 2013, when Erics father was detained under an eight-year sentence, guards tortured him by pouring pungent liquid into his nose while hanging him upside down; the guards refused to allow him to seek treatment when he vomited blood months later, Minghui.org reported.

Eric Jia with his mother, Li Liu, at a rally in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia, on July 20, 2015. (He Wei/The Epoch Times)

Erics father was last arrested in September 2017 and released three months later in December after Australian Greens Senator for Victoria Janet Rice sent a letter to the mayor of Xian, China, in November 2017, urging him to release Ye Jia immediately and unconditionally.

Erics story mirrors that of many other overseas Falun Gong practitioners whose families are still being persecuted by the CCP in mainland China. Eric fled to Australia with his mother in 2012 and has been raising awareness of the persecution.

There is nothing wrong to have faith in Falun Dafa. The CCP used all kinds of means to make us give up our beliefs, Eric said to a crowd that had gathered at Martin Place in Sydney in 2018 to commemorate the lives lost at the hands of the CCP.

I dream one day that they can be free and we can be together again.

No Hope for Reunion

While many families are waiting anxiously for the day they can reunite with their fathers, for countless others, this reunion day would never arrive.

For instance, 20-year-old Xu Xinyang has lost her dad in the brutal persecution.

In my memory, most of my childhood was spent in fear and horror, said Xu Xinyang at a forum on Dec. 4, 2018, on Capitol Hill to highlight the deteriorating human rights situation in China.

Xinyangs parents, both Falun Gong practitioners, were arrested by the Chinese regime for printing materials to expose the persecution of their faith. Her father was sentenced to eight years in prison when her mother was pregnant with her; he passed away 13 days after he was released. Due to the brutality of the persecution, Xinyang never saw her dad until she was 8 years old, she told the audience at the forum.

He wanted to hold me, but I was scared and hid behind my mom. I refused to let him hold me because I never had a chance to know him, she said. This became my lifelong regret.

Even after her father was persecuted to death, Xinyang and her mother were not spared. The police even arrested her school principal and some of her teachers, all of whom were Falun Gong practitioners. Xinyang was wanted by the police. Fortunately, Xinyang managed to flee to Thailand with her mother when she was 12 and arrived in the United States in 2017.
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday held his first audience for a group of people since Italy lifted its coronavirus lockdown, granting it to health workers from the Italian region most affected by the pandemic.

"You were one of the supporting pillars of the entire country," he told doctors and nurses from the Lombardy region gathered in the Vatican's frescoed Clementine Hall, which had not been used for months because of the crisis.

"To those of you here and to your colleagues all across Italy go my esteem and my sincere thanks, and I know very well I am interpreting everyone's sentiments," he said.

He thanked the health workers, who wore masks, for being "angels," including by lending their cell phones to dying patients so they could say their final goodbyes to their loved ones.

Italy returned to relative normality on June 3 when Italians were allowed to move between regions again. But rules such as social distancing in public and wearing masks are still in effect.

Nearly 35,000 people in Italy have died of coronavirus, the fourth highest number in the world after the United States, Brazil and Britain.

Nearly 170 of them were doctors and the pope paid special tribute to them in his address on Saturday.

At the end the meeting, the pope joked about what he called "the liturgy of the greeting" explaining that they would take a group picture but he would "be obedient to the rules" and greet them from a distance as he passed down the aisle.

Francis' weekly general audience is still being held without the public and streamed over the internet, although he has resumed giving his Sunday message from his window since St. Peter's Square was reopened last month.

He has resumed public Masses but with only about 50 people allowed.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Christina Fincher)
Camper fire claims the life of two people in Marshall County
Secrets, spies and hidden trials this week Q&A asks, how do we balance national security with your right to know?

Closed courtrooms, police raids on journalists, whistle blowers facing prison terms for sharing sensitive information. Is Australia becoming a secret state? Who should decide what we can and cant know?

Lawyer Bernard Collaery is facing jail for revealing national secrets relating to the bugging of East Timors cabinet room to gain an advantage in oil and gas negotiations. A man known only as Witness J was jailed in the ACT for 15 months for unspecified offences after a secret trial  a case even the ACT Government knew nothing about. And News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst had her home raided by AFP officers and was threatened with charges after revealing a spy agencys plans to step up domestic spying against Australians.

Joining Hamish on the panel live:

Dennis Richardson, Former Director-General of ASIO

Nick Xenophon, Lawyer and former Senator

Annika Smethurst, News Corp journalist and AFP raid victim

Clinton Fernandes, National security analyst

Jacinta Carroll, Counter-terrorism expert

9:35pm Monday on ABC.
A Jersey City police officer on the force for less than a year has been charged with drunken driving after he dragged traffic cones through a Hoboken construction zone Thursday, police said.

Hugh McDonnell, 36, of Jersey City, was cited for DWI and operating a motor vehicle on a closed public roadway, Lt. Danilo Cabrera said. According to electronic payroll records, McDonnell joined the Jersey City Police Department on July 1, 2019.

Hoboken Sgt. Steven Kranz was working a traffic detail at Sixth and Jefferson streets at 11:36 a.m. when McDonnell drove through a closed street, dragging cones with him before he was ordered to stop the vehicle.

After speaking with McDonnell, Kranz believed he was intoxicated and administered a field sobriety test. McDonnell failed the test and was placed under arrest for DWI, Cabrera said.

McDonnell also provided breath samples, which showed that his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit, Cabrera said. McDonnell was released to a responsible party.

His current status with the police department was not immediately available.
New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal talks to press during his visit to riot-affected areas in northeast Delhi, on Feb 28, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, June 20 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday rolled back the order on five-day institutional quarantine in the national capital.

The Lieutenant Governor had on Friday ordered five-day mandatory institutional quarantine for every Covid-19 patient under home isolation.

A day later, he withdrew the order and said, "Regarding institutional isolation, only those Covid positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation." The development came after Delhi government opposed the order, asserting that institutional quarantine will make people evade testing which will further increase the spread of the infection.

At the Delhi Disaster Management Authority meeting on Friday, the city government also raked up the issue of shortage of healthcare staff at the quarantine centers to oppose the L-G's order.

Meanwhile, the national capital recorded a single day spike of over 3,000 fresh coronavirus cases on Friday. Delhi has 53,116 total confirmed cases, out of which 2,035 have succumbed to the deadly disease.
Two rival vaccines being developed by competing British universities could end up being used together to provide lasting immunity to coronavirus, according to one of the experts leading the charge.

Oxford Universitys vaccine was first out of the blocks and is already being tested on at least 1,000 people across the UK, while Imperial Colleges jab only started human trials last week.

But Professor Robin Shattock, who is masterminding the Imperial project, said that although the two vaccines were being seen as rivals, ultimately they could well be used together because the way they work differs.

While the Oxford vaccine was ahead in the race to protect against Covid-19, he said it could be limited by an inability to be used on the same person time and time again.

Professor Robin Shattock (left) believed it would be possible to use the Imperial jab to bolster an individuals immunity multiple times

However, Prof Shattock believed it would be possible to use the Imperial jab to bolster an individuals immunity multiple times.

Scientists around the world increasingly think booster jabs will be needed to maintain protection against the virus that causes Covid-19, as initial immunity provided by a vaccine may well fade over time.

Last Tuesday Pascal Soriot  chief executive of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which has partnered with Oxford to produce a billion doses of the jab  fuelled those fears when he said he was confident the jab would provide immunity for about a year.

Natural immunity to other coronaviruses, which cause common colds, is thought to last from several months to a couple of years.

Scientists around the world increasingly think booster jabs will be needed to maintain protection against the virus that causes Covid-19

The potential flaw with the Oxford vaccine is that it uses a harmless virus as a microscopic Trojan horse to smuggle in tiny fragments of Covid-19 coronavirus RNA  the bugs genetic blueprint.

The recipients immune system learns to identify this RNA as foreign, and so creates antibodies to protect against it. But experts fear that if a person is subjected to multiple doses of this jab, their body might mistakenly develop an immune response to the Trojan horse virus itself  called an adenovirus  thus rendering it useless. As the Imperial vaccine does not use a virus as the means of smuggling in RNA, it should avoid this problem, said Prof Shattock.

Speaking in a webinar organised by the Royal Society of Medicine, Prof Shattock said the Oxford vaccine was very good to be able to give an initial immune response, but it has its limitations in that the ability to reboost immunity may be less good than other approaches.

By contrast, he said: The approach that we are developing allows you to re-boost multiple times. He continued: We are often pitted against each other, or seen to be in a race against each other, but actually we are collaborating very closely together, exchanging material, and the two approaches may well be able to be used together, in a prime, boost approach.'
BROOKFIELD  The Brookfield Democratic Town Committee spoke out Saturday against a letter reportedly received by some town residents ahead of Saturdays Black Lives Matter rally.

The letter, as shared by the committee on Twitter, describes members of the Black Lives Matter movement using racist language, attacks supporters as loud-mouthed phonies, and advocates for greater public focus on crimes by people of color, among other statements.

Town Democrats decried the letter, which they said had been received by some residents, in their tweet.

This is not who we are. Stand up and speak out. We can no longer be silent about racism, said committee members.

A Say Their Names rally was planned for Saturday, the first Black Lives Matter event in town. Those in attendance were required to wear masks. Snacks, water and masks were provided.

Police Chief Jay Purcell said, to his understanding, there is one letter written to one person and shared on social media.

The person receiving the letter sent it to us, for informational purposes, via one of our social media accounts. No formal complaint has been made, Purcell said in an email Saturday afternoon.

DTC Chairwoman Laura Orban said in a statement the DTC was disgusted by the letter, but unfortunately not surprised.

Brookfield is a largely segregated town and Connecticut is a segregated state, Orban said. Fairfield County is the worst in the country for wealth disparity. None of that happened by accident. Its systemic racism. The questions is, now that we all see it, what are we going to do?

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
At least 9 Taliban militants were killed and three others wounded in retaliation to an attack on the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the Taqi area of the Baraki Barak district in the central Logar province late last night, the military said in a Saturday statement

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2020) At least 9 Taliban militants were killed and three others wounded in retaliation to an attack on the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the Taqi area of the Baraki Barak district in the central Logar province late last night, the military said in a Saturday statement.

No civilians or national security forces were harmed in the clash, the statement added.

In a separate incident, Mohammad Zahir Torbai, the deputy chief of the 4th Border Brigade, and Mohammad Jan Khpalwak, deputy commander of the 3rd Battalion in the province of Helmand, were killed along with three of their soldiers in a clash with Taliban militants in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province last night, a military source in Helmand told Sputnik.

Also last night, the Taliban militants attacked two security checkpoints in the first district of the central Takhar province. A senior Taliban leader, Qari Saadat, along with three other militants, was killed. Another two were wounded. On the law enforcement side, one local policeman was killed and another was injured in the clash, Takhar Police press office said in a statement.
The hearse with the body of Detective Garda Colm Horkan arrives in Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon on Friday evening.

The President of Ireland will hold a memorial service for a murdered Garda to coincide with a state funeral in his hometown.

Detective Garda Colm Horkan, 49, was shot dead on Wednesday night in the town of Castlerea in Co Roscommon.

The Garda is making arrangements to ensure the officer is afforded formal state honours within the current coronavirus limitations on the size of public gatherings.

Expand Close Detective Garda Colm Horkan (Garda/PA) PA / Facebook

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As part of the plans, Garda colleagues across the country will observe one minutes silence at 12 noon as the service get under way at St James church in Mr Horkans home town of Charlestown, Co Mayo.

On Saturday, it was announced that President Michael D Higgins will lead a memorial service on the grounds of his residence at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublins Phoenix Park.

The national flag will be flown at half-mast at the Aras on Sunday as a mark of respect and the President will observe one minutes silence at the Peace Bell in the grounds.

Sergeant Sinead Riley, Sergeant-in-Charge at Aras an Uachtarain, will ring the Peace Bell at the start and end of the memorial ceremony.

Stephen Silver, 43, from Aughaward, Foxford in Co Mayo was remanded in custody on Friday night charged with the gardas murder.

Expand Close Stephen Silver arrives at Castlerea District Court on Friday night (Michael McCormack/PA) PA / Facebook

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Also on Friday, hundreds of people gathered in Mayo and Roscommon to pay their respects to Mr Horkan.

There were emotional scenes in Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon as the hearse carrying the remains of Mr Horkan made its way through the town towards his home in Charlestown.

The cortege was flanked by gardai on motorcycles, while people lined the streets where Mr Horkan had worked for several years.

Floral tributes were left outside Ballaghaderreen garda station.

There were similar scenes late on Friday night in Charlestown as hundreds of people lines the streets as the hearse passed by.
Italian researchers have found traces of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in sewage wastewater that indicates that the virus may have been in circulation since December 2019. This controversial discovery shows that even before the first case was reported in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, the virus had already arrived in northern Italy.

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Creative rendition of SARS-COV-2 virus particles. Note: not to scale. Credit: NIAID

The COVID-19 pandemic and Italy

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a worldwide pandemic of massive proportions and, in recent times, has been one of the most significant public health challenges. Almost all countries have been affected by the pandemic, which has now affected at least 8.8 million individuals and killed 462,000 persons around the world as of today.

The virus typically results in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which requires hospitalization and often ventilation and critical care. Italy to date has recorded 238,275 cases, and the infection has resulted in 34,610 deaths in the country to date. The countries healthcare system has been completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases with a severe shortage of ICU units and ventilators for COVID-19 as well as other patients.

The first local case reported in Italy (an infected case with no travel history to a country where there is an outbreak) was recorded in the town of Codogno in the Lombardy region. Lombardy was marked as a red zone or containment zone on the 21st of February. Nine other towns in Lombardy and neighboring Veneto reported cases, after which the country had to be locked down early in March.

Codogno, Milano, Italy - 03/09/2020 - Volunteers working in the red zone. Image Credit RomboStudio / Shutterstock

What was this study about?

Italian researchers from the Italian National Institute of Health or the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS) collected forty samples of sewage water from wastewater treatment plants located in northern Italy between October 2019 and February 2020.

What was found?

A report was released this week on the findings of this analysis of sewage water from various water treatment plants. From the samples obtained in Milan and Turin on the 18th of December 2019, the team found the presence of the SARS CoV-2.

The team said that samples of the virus were found in sewage water samples from Bologna, Milan, and Turin in January and February 2020. The sewage samples were taken in October and November 2019, however, had tested negative for the virus.

Giuseppina La Rosa, co-leader of the study and expert in environmental wastewater at the Italian National Institute of Health said in a statement, This research may help us understand the beginning of virus circulation in Italy. She is the spokeswoman for the institute and said that the results of the study would be published in a journal next week.

Implications and future directions

This study is the first that shows the presence of the virus even before it appeared in the news, and even before the first case was identified in China. This could mean that the spread of the virus had started earlier than thought until now. Researchers called these results of strategic importance.

Scientists from the Netherlands, France, Australia have also conducted similar studies and detected traces of the virus. This could help trace the original spread of the virus, feel researchers. Researchers on this team also feel that detecting the virus before it was declared a pandemic in March 2020 could help trace the spread of the virus.

For example, a study published in May 2020 by French researchers showed that there was a case of COVID-19 in France on the 27th of December 2019, nearly a month before the nation had reported the first case. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported from Spain in late February, early March. A recent study revealed traces of the virus in sewage water in the country in mid-January in Barcelona.

Noel McCarthy, from Warwick Medical School, Britain, said that this study and its results are reliable evidence of cases of COVID-19 being present there at that time. He added that this shows the presence of the virus even before it began to spread rapidly. Professor of epidemiology and data processing Rowland Kao, Edinburgh University, Scotland, said that this shows that the disease may be in circulation earlier than thought. He added, (This finding) does not on its own, however, tell us if that early detection was the source of the vast epidemic in Italy, or if that was due to a later introduction into the country.

Study author La Rosa added that these results do not automatically imply that the main transmission chains that led to the development of the epidemic in our country originated from these very first cases. The team of researchers now plan on a pilot study starting July to see the presence of the virus in wastewater in the tourist resorts. Lucia Bonadonna, director of the department of environment and health, said that the ISS has proposed to the Italian health ministry a countrywide study to monitor the presence of the virus in wastewater.

This finding comes off the back of other shocking research out of Ecuador that found the SARS-CoV-2 virus in river water, creating a significant transmission risk in developing countries with inadequate sanitation facilities.
There are several outstanding books about the lives of black Americans in the first part of the 20th century, but few have the scope and lyrical passion of Isabel Wilkersons The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americas Great Migration. A former New York Times journalist, Wilkerson masterfully recounts the exodus of millions from the Deep South in search of a better life, an epochal shift that established todays complex interplay of race, class and justice.

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The story of the civil rights movement is long, sweeping, and often told, but in recent years scholars have begun to look beyond the conventional wisdom. Thats precisely what Danielle McGuire does with At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape and Resistance: She shifts the focus from men like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to women like Rosa Parks, whose work as an investigator for the NAACP in the 1940s  long before her role in the Montgomery bus boycott  shed sunlight on the near-systematic sexual assault by white men against black women.

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These days, many people are reaching for copies of Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow to better understand how the promise of the civil rights era gave way to the age of mass incarceration. Alongside it, they should read Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America, by James Forman Jr. Where Alexanders tone is righteous, Formans is ironic. He shows how black voters and politicians have consistently supported tough-on-crime legislation  a reasonable response, except that it fails to account for the persistence of structural racism and unequal justice.

How, Forman asks, have black Americans become not just the victims of mass incarceration, but often the agents facilitating it? It is an uncomfortable argument, but an important one  just like so many of the debates around race today.
How's this for a disgusting evasion of responsibility?

Fox News reports:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday again defended his administration's now-scrapped nursing home policy that critics say contributed to thousands of coronavirus deaths, slamming the controversy as "a shiny object" and "pure politics." Cuomo's comments came during an interview on New York's WAMC-AM on Thursday. He was asked about the criticism and whether he acknowledged the policy was "on the wrong track." "No," the Democratic governor responded. "The nursing home is an unfortunate situation on two levels. Number 1, people in nursing homes died. The nursing home [controversy] is pure politics, the Republicans in Congress, they think there's a vulnerability." He added: "The nursing home thing it's just all politics." Cuomo went on to say the criticism is just a way to deflect criticism from the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He added: "We had the worse case in the United States because the federal government had no idea what was going on. Where was the CDC? And where was the NIH? And where was everybody?"

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called the mass COVID-19 deaths in New York's nursing homes "the nursing home thing" and "a shiny object" being played with for political purposes by his opponents instead of the raw, rank, killing scandal that caused more than 10,000 people to lose their lives in nursing homes. These patients were not just unprotected, but explicitly put in harm's way on his orders.

It doesn't take a genius to know that in an era when nursing home patients were being blocked off from visits by their loved ones to protect them from potential coronavirus exposure, that putting live, COVID-19-positive patients right there in their closed living quarters where no one could get out was a death sentence to thousands  who ended up dying terrified and alone. That was done at his order on March 25 on "non-discrimination" grounds, even as President Trump sent a hospital ship to New York harbor fully ready to take care of them.

Every last claim he makes about this fiasco is refuted by facts. Cuomo insisted that those nursing homes take those patients; he threatened to pull their certifications if they didn't; he forbade them from testing those incoming COVID-19 patients; and the hospitals sent the patients in, complete with boxes full of body bags for the inevitable deaths to follow. Phone calls to the Cuomo's office begging for a change of course went unanswered. And until the proof of that order got out, Cuomo was denying the whole thing and blaming "greedy" nursing homes for taking the COVID patients. Now he's claiming, falsely, that he was following the CDC, which he claims, was somehow absent, even though the rest of us could get it on our television sets every night.

Today, Cuomo says he wouldn't place his own mother in a nursing home. With his brand of leadership in the state, no one should.

Four other governors also ordered nursing homes to seed themselves with COVID-19 patients  California's Gavin Newsom, Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania's Tom Wolf, and New Jersey's Phil Murphy. And as a result, most nursing home deaths, often by very large percentages, made up the bulk of the COVID-19 deaths. What do these places have in common? That's right: they are all one-party blue states with no political competition. That's worth noting  that's worth talking about  because somehow, none of these catastrophes happened in red states.

Why did these so-called put-people-first leftist governors do this? Two things spring to mind on first pass: greed for federal dollars, which would come of every COVID-19 death, higher than for other causes  which is why most anything was characterized as a COVID death  and getting rid of old people, whose health costs were expensive, at a time of strapped state budgets as the tax base fled and bureaucrats were hired, along with big dreams of greenie spending boondoggles.

Both reasons say a lot about blue-state rule for hurling old people to the throes of death by disease  and why such deaths never occurred in red states, where elderly people were viewed as human beings instead of sinkhole costs and federal dollar opportunities.

A third reason was likely to Get Trump. With the media in their tree, it's easy to spread a narrative that it's all Trump's fault from this sort of fiasco. Their mess, his blame, doing their part to oust a hated president up for re-election.

It certainly would explain the irrational lockdowns that were put in place by blue-state Democratic governors, all of it selective, all of it intended to kill the economy, which of course was Trump's trump card. Keep the economy bad, and watch them vote for Democrats was the logic.

All of the deep blue governors opted to kill their economies this way, and they did it with little carveout for their favorites. Gov. Murphy of New Jersey made selective choices about which tulip farms could be viewed. Gov. Newsom of California made decisions to economically punish conservative areas to keep them in lockdown over beach activity, the least likely place for anyone to catch COVID-19 due to the high wind exposure. Some counties were punished, and some were not, even though they were all crowding the beaches. It's just funny that the redder counties were punished most. Whitmer too made grotesque decisions to squeeze her own state's economy - a one-size fits all lockdown model for the whole state even though the bulk of the problem was in deep blue Detroit.

"Can I buy you a hot dog," she asked, when a distraught unemployed worker told her to please free the economy. Let them eat hot dogs.

The economy remained locked down and too bad about the unemployed. There also was her husband's a bid to jump the queue on opening up, calling to get boat docking service ahead of the others in order to enjoy the water while everyone else was still waiting to get work.

This was far from the only crisis of Democrat governance, it got worse with the George Floyd riots, where these governors continued with the economic ruin theme by letting mobs run wild, looting and destroying small businesses' livelihoods, undercutting and even demonizing the cops (deep blue Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti declared his city's cops "killers"). Deep blue cities are now seeing police walkouts and sickouts as cops continue to get demonized and calls go out, endorsed by these officials, to "'defund the police.' (except for the cops who do my security.)

The country is indeed in a crisis, and it need never have happened. It's entirely the doing of blue state governors and mayors, and its ultimate aim is to Get Trump. We now see what these people are made of with this crisis. Democrats rule like this, and the crisis now seen is a Democrat crisis. Their decisions, their show. This is all theirs, blame as they President Trump.

Every last one of them should be exposed, hectored, and eventually thrown out by voters.

Image credit: CJH1452000 via Wikimedia Commons.
The United States Internal Revenue Service says it purchased access to a marketing database that offers location data for millions of US cellphones, so the IRS can identify and track persons suspected of tax-related crimes.

The unsuccessful effort illustrates how marketing data, and locatin data, are used by law enforcement to track and I.D. individual people suspected of criminal activity.

Reports Byron Tau at the Wall Street Journal:

The IRS Criminal Investigation unit, or IRS CI, had a subscription to access the data in 2017 and 2018, and the way it used the data was revealed last week in a briefing by IRS CI officials to Sen. Ron Wyden's (D., Ore.) office. The briefing was described to The Wall Street Journal by an aide to the senator. IRS CI officials told Mr. Wyden's office that their lawyers had given verbal approval for the use of the database, which is sold by a Virginia-based government contractor called Venntel Inc. Venntel obtains anonymized location data from the marketing industry and resells it to governments. IRS CI added that it let its Venntel subscription lapse after it failed to locate any targets of interest during the year it paid for the service, according to Mr. Wyden's aide. Justin Cole, a spokesman for IRS CI, said it entered into a "limited contract with Venntel to test their services against the law enforcement requirements of our agency." IRS CI pursues the most serious and flagrant violations of tax law, and it said it used the Venntel database in "significant money-laundering, cyber, drug and organized-crime cases."

Senator Ron Wyden responded:

The government should be a prosecutor of shady data brokers, not a customer. The IRS wasted taxpayer money and failed to catch tax cheats, all while abusing Americans' privacy. The government needs to stop taking shortcuts over Americans' 4th amendment rights. https://t.co/tIv4SguCbc  Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) June 19, 2020

And some Fourth Amendment constitutional questions.

The 4th Amendment limiting government's ability for unreasonable search & seizure is under constant assault. The latest is the IRS who now uses commercial data from our cellphones to track without warrants. @LPNational @alllibertynews @TheLibRepublic https://t.co/GEUWcisu9G  Jim Cantrell (@jamesncantrell) June 19, 2020

Read more:

IRS Used Cellphone Location Data to Try to Find Suspects
(ANSA) - Rome, May 25 - The Civil Protection Department said Monday that 32,877 people have died after contracting the coronavirus in Italy, up 92 on Sunday, with 34 new deaths in Lombardy. Sunday's daily rise in the death toll was 50 with Lombardy, the Italian region worst-hit by the emergency, reporting no new deaths. The department reported 300 new COVID-19 cases, with almost half of that rise coming in Lombardy. The national rise in the total number of cases was 531 on Sunday.

Four regions - Umbria, Calabria, Molise and Basilicata -and the autonomous province of Bolzano have registered no new cases in the last 24 hours. It said 141,981 people have now recovered from the coronavirus here, up 1,502. Sunday's rise was 1,639.

The department said 55,300 people are currently infected with the coronavirus in Italy, 1,294 down. Sunday's fall was 1,158. It said the total number of cases in Italy, including the currently positive, the deceased and the recovered, is now 230,158.

There are 541 coronavirus patients in intensive care in Italy, 12 down on Sunday.


The Archbishop of Lima Carlos Castillo swings a censer over several of the more than 4 thousand portraits of COVID-19 victims

When Peru introduced one of Latin America's strictest lockdowns, national police brigadier David Rodriguez was sent to the streets of Lima to enforce the new guidelines.

Just one month later the 55 year-old was struggling to breathe in the police clinic, pleading desperately on social media to be moved to an intensive care unit and for more oxygen. He died shortly after.

Theyre the ones sent out to protect others from the virus and they end up infected themselves, his daughter Krystell Rodriguez told The Telegraph.

According to the countrys interior minister, nearly 10,000 police officers have contracted Covid-19 on duty in the country and 170 have died.

The numbers not only present a grim picture of Peru's futile fight against Covid-19, but also the tragedy at the heart of the surging crisis in Latin America, the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

A woman prepares to breathe steam from medicinal herbs during a healing ceremony at the Cantagallo community

A large informal labour force coupled with weak healthcare and welfare systems make boilerplate lockdowns highly ineffective. Despite locking down early and hard when only a few cases had been confirmed, Peru now has the highest death rate in the region.

The country of 32 million people, where an estimated 70 per cent work in informal jobs with little or no safety net, on Thursday overtook Italy in total cases.

While initial measures appeared bold and swift on the surface, there were missing parts behind the scenes, according to Valerie Paz-Soldan, a social scientist studying infectious diseases at Tulane Universitys offices in Lima. They really took a one size fits all approach, she said.

When the quarantine left hundreds of thousands jobless and homeless in cities, health officials complained that their return to their families in rural areas could spread the virus. With no other options many returned anyway, and on foot since the authorities had shut down transport. Some carried their children for hundreds of kilometers.

Story continues

When authorities issued emergency money, they didnt consider the crowds that would form at banks to cash checks since well over half of the population doesnt have a bank account for electronic deposits.

A street vendor violating lockdown sits next to riot police after being evicted from La Victoria district in Lima - Rodrigo Abd/AP

In a country where by some estimates only a quarter of the population owns a refrigerator and most buy their food daily, markets still bustle. In one market in Lima, 132 out of 200 vendors who were tested came back positive for the virus, according to local reports.

To tell the whole population to stay put, its easy if youre in the middle class or higher class. I have a refrigerator, I can work at home, but its hard to impose that on a population thats mostly informal, Paz-Soldan said.

The virus has hit the country hardest in some of its most remote areas, such as the Amazonian department of Loreto. There, bodies have started filling up local morgues, doctors and nurses protest due to lack of personal protective equipment, and price gouging means a days worth of oxygen can cost $3,000. The countrys minimum wage is only $280 per month.

A man carrying a pick walks at the Cantagallo community, where some 300 families of the Shipibo Conibo ethnic group inhabit, in Lima - ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP

Peruvian president Martin Vizcarra has offered the presidential plane to shuttle supplies from Lima to Inquitos, the departments capital and the largest city in the world only accessible by river and air.

This is what has always happened here, the people who are on the outside looking in, the indigenous people, those are who end up being the hardest hit, community leader Miguel Hilario-Manenima, who lives in the bordering department of Ucayali, told The Telegraph.

Hilario-Manenimas 80 year-old uncle died from the virus after being turned away by two local hospitals.

The president may have taken a different approach than Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil or Donald Trump, but the health system in Peru was already bad, with few ventilators, and not enough oxygen, Ciro Maguina told The Telegraph. Maguina forms part of a commission of experts formed by the Peruvian government.

According to the most recent World Bank figures available, Peru spends a smaller percentage of its GDP on public health than almost all other South American countries.

On the streets of the capital of Lima, police officers still patrol the streets, attempting to enforce the strict lockdown measures which have been extended through June 30. Many who have already heard the stories of their colleagues suffering through the virus have bought their own protective equipment.

The state-his employer-didnt take care of my father as they tried to take care of everybody else, Krystell Rodriguez said.
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Linkedin Lena Ciric (The Jakarta Post) The Conversation  Sat, June 20, 2020 14:06 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066045e4b 3 Health social-distance,The-Conversation,cara-penyebaran-virus-corona,COVID-19,social-distancing Free

What constitutes a safe distance when it comes to the spread of COVID-19? The answer depends on where you live.

China, Denmark and France recommend social distancing of one meter; Australia, Germany and Italy recommend 1.5 meters, and the US recommends six feet, or 1.8 meters. The UK, meanwhile, is reconsidering its relatively large two-meter distancing rule, but has attracted criticism from top scientists for doing so.

The truth is, we dont yet know how far is far enough when it comes to coronavirus. A recent study found the virus in air as far as four metres away from infected patients in a COVID-19 ward. But another study, touted by the WHO, concluded that the risk of transmission becomes significantly lower with a distance of one meter or more from an infected person, reducing further with increased distance.

Why such a range of safe distances? Thats because social distancing is a complex problem with many variable influencing factors. Here are four of the most important ones.

Respiratory droplets

When we breathe, talk, cough and sneeze, thousands of droplets are expelled from our mouth and nose. The size of these droplets varies  some may be millimeters in size and some might be many thousands of times smaller. The larger droplets, which carry more virus particles, settle more quickly due to gravity. The smaller droplets, carrying fewer particles, can remain suspended in the air for hours.

The number and size of droplets vary depending on the activity. A cough produces more droplets overall and a greater proportion of them are larger. Breathing produces fewer droplets overall and they are generally smaller. The speed with which the droplets leave your mouth and nose also influences how far they travel  sneeze droplets will travel furthest.

Viral load

Viral load refers to the number of copies of the virus in a sample (for example, in the droplets that leave our mouth and nose). We know the number of virus copies in the respiratory samples of COVID-19 patients can vary from a few thousand to hundreds of billions per milliliter.

The viral load varies from one person to another, but also depends on what stage of the illness the patient is at. We also know that people without symptoms can shed the virus.

Knowing the viral load in respiratory droplets allows us to calculate how many virus particles people may be exposed to and whether this might be enough for them to become infected.

Infectious dose

The infectious dose is the number of copies of the virus that your body needs to be exposed to in order to develop an infection. When it comes to calculating a safe distance, the closer you are to an infected person, the more likely you are to be exposed to the infectious dose by breathing in virus-laden droplets.

The infectious dose for influenza strains varies from thousands to millions of copies. We do not yet know this number for SARS-CoV-2.

In time, further research on how the virus behaves in humans and other animals, and comparisons to other viruses will help to hone this number. In any case, we can be certain that the infectious dose will vary between different people.

The environment

Whether we are indoors or outdoors, in school, at work, on public transport or in the supermarket, the flow of air, ventilation, temperature and humidity will influence what happens to respiratory droplets.

Air currents will blow droplets around in various directions. Good ventilation will dilute the number of droplets in the air. Temperature and humidity will affect the rate at which water evaporates from droplets. All this will affect our understanding of how much distance to keep in different types of space.

Complex scenarios

With these four elements, we can begin to put together what makes a safe distance.

Lets start with this scenario: three people are in a room that is not ventilated. One of them is infected and two are not. One of the healthy people is standing closer to the infected person  for example, 80 centimeters away  and one is further away, say two meters.

The infected person coughs, producing a cloud of droplets. The larger droplets carrying more virus particles settle more quickly due to gravity. The smaller droplets carrying less virus travel further. So the person standing closer to the infected patient is at higher risk of being exposed to infectious droplets than the one standing further away.

Of course, the above scenario is overly simple. People move around. An open window may blow air in a particular direction. The infected person may cough repeatedly during a period of time. An air conditioner might recirculate air around a room. Room temperature and humidity may result in drying leading to smaller particles carrying higher concentrations of virus. Exposure to many smaller droplets over a longer period of time may be equivalent to exposure to a few larger ones in a short period.

There is an infinite number of scenarios and having one rule that applies to them all is impossible.

This means that different countries rules are, ultimately, best guesses made on the basis of some of the factors described above. They cannot apply in all contexts.

It is very unlikely that you would be exposed to infectious droplets outdoors because of rapid air flow and dilution, but enclosed crowded indoor spaces are much more of a risk. We all need to do our bit to stop the spread of coronavirus, so keep your distance, preferably as far as you can.

***

Lena Ciric is Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering, UCL.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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I want to start my career in Medicine as soon as possible, If so, how exactly to achieve it.

I cant waste 2 years training for A-Levels, how do I register right after O/Levels?

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A rare meeting of minds between Indias Left and Right on a point of economics should alarm those who belong to neither. The two sides are tossing out similar  and similarly absurd  ideas.

Before they make Prime Minister Narendra Modis government do something silly and harmful (such as the overnight ban on 86% of currency notes in 2016), both camps should acquaint themselves with rudiments of Modern Monetary Theory.

It postulates that inflation  and not debts or deficits  is the only real constraint on what a modern government not yoked to the gold standard can afford. Even for those who arent MMT cheerleaders, its basic contention is worth remembering: A money-printing sovereign that issues debt in its own currency cant run out of funds the same way as a household or a firm.

Pro-labor academics, activists and social workers who think its morally justified to expropriate private property to support Indias pandemic-flattened economy should know that such extreme measures are unwarranted. The proposal from the fiscally conservative, pro-business side to use peoples gold as collateral to raise emergency public resources is also indefensible.

An extended lockdown, still-rising infections and an underwhelming fiscal response are causing the nation of 1.3 billion people to lurch toward self-defeating economic nationalism. In other ways, too, the crisis of lives and livelihoods is clouding rational thought. An otherwise well-meaning memorandum by a group of economists and trade unionists asked the government to treat all cash, property, bonds and real estate held by Indian citizens or in the country as national resources during the Covid-19 crisis. Amid trenchant criticism, the idea was quickly dropped.

But an equally bizarre proposal from the other end of the political spectrum, more closely aligned with the Modi government, is far from dead. An article in the Business Standard last month said that to print money to revive the economy, authorities are contemplating using gold held by citizens or a part of the official $500 billion in foreign-exchange reserves. When Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the chief economist at the State Bank of India, the countrys largest lender, sought to deflate the trial balloon this week in an op-ed, it became clear that the idea was gaining traction.

Indians own 25,000 tons of gold, roughly one-eighth of the metal ever mined. Households usually keep gold in the form of jewelry, not bars, and can pledge it against loans. Why would they sell family heirlooms and wedding gifts to the central bank to watch them melt in a government furnace? The idea of using foreign reserves as collateral is more perplexing. Those are already the Reserve Bank of Indias assets, matched by liabilities  money  on the other side of its balance sheet. To create more rupees via this route, the RBI will have to buy more dollars from banks and give them newly minted currency.

The only point of all this rigmarole is to refrain from issuing government debt and save Indias credit rating, hovering one misstep away from junk. However, investors arent naive. Swapping peoples gold for cash that buys them a few warm meals and a month or two of rent isnt going to make bondholders optimistic about a revival of growth. And if, say, $100 billion of reserves are somehow sequestered to raise more funds, theyll be unavailable to settle foreigners claims. This could be problematic, given Indias history of current-account shortfalls.

Why not drop the subterfuge, openly run large government deficits, and monetize them? Untimely fiscal prudence would cause the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio to jump to 83% in the fiscal year through March 2021, from an estimated 70.9% in fiscal 2020, Bloomberg Economics Abhishek Gupta projected last month. This week, he slashed his growth estimate to a 10.6% drop, from 4.5% previously, and raised his forecast of debt-to-GDP to 91%.

The more this extra debt gets parked with the RBI, the less the pressure on the bond market to finance it. Public borrowing doesnt cause a crunch when theres little private credit demand. Difficulties arise because in a developing country, peoples expectations of future inflation arent anchored to a central bank target. Labor and capital dont always move efficiently to where theyll be productive. Also, while advanced nations can withstand large swings in exchange rates, emerging economies rightly worry about a dollar shortage. Since investors know all this, they want to leave before others do.

If the central bank boldly supports fiscal expansion, the 250 basis point excess yield investors are demanding for preferring 10-year Indian government bonds to three-month Treasury bills  triple the spread from a year ago  could decline. Lower long-term borrowing costs could even encourage issues of perpetual sovereign debt, an option SBI economists are recommending.

Incomes and consumption are cratering, but as long as the states power to tax them isnt durably impaired, it doesnt require collateral to borrow. Even if they dont buy the whole MMT package, skeptics can safely take this one lesson home. Much better than plotting to beg, borrow or steal private property or double dip into foreign reserves.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Pompeo Says If China Wants to Rise, It Should Do So Based on 'Western Rules Set'

Sputnik News

17:32 GMT 19.06.2020

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that if China wants to rise, it should do so based on a Western set of rules.

"I hope - because my objective isn't bad things for the Chinese people - I hope that the Chinese Communist party will begin to recognise that if they want to rise, if they want to continue to build out to their nation that they need to do so on a western rules set, a rules set that honours the rule of law and honours freedom and respect for sovereignty", Pompeo said.

The Secretary of State said Beijing has singled out and threatened to single out countries not just in Europe, but also in the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia and pull them closer to China.

"What I have begun to see is over my two-and-a-half years as a Secretary of State is the world awakening to this threat", Pompeo said, adding that the threat is talked about privately by various countries.

Pompeo noted that the United States is doing its best in each case to provide the type of assistance that makes the most sense.

"We need to raise this to another level, to where countries are prepared and in position to respond to these things in a public way. When we do that the Chinese Communist Party will be more isolated", Pompeo said.

Earlier on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that Trump's potential policy option to completely decouple from China was unrealistic in the context of globalisation and would not solve the problems the United States faces.

On 18 June, US President Donald Trump said the United States has maintained the policy option of a complete decoupling from China. The comment came a day after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in congressional testimony that he does not believe decoupling the two economies was an option at this point.



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After 13 dashes for two-year-old fillies were contested on Friday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Saturday session offered 11 dashes for the boys on a gorgeous summer morning with returning qualifiers showing the most speed among the sessions.

Vino Louie was a 1:59.3 winner one week ago under less than ideal conditions, and the rookie pacer showed that this week's setting was more to his liking. Driver Scott Young pointed Vino Louie to the top in his qualifier, reaching the opening quarter in :29.4. The duo carved out sensible middle fractions of :58.4 and 1:27.2 before accelerating through a :27.1 final panel to trip the timer in 1:54.3. Vino Louie was nearly five lengths better than Perfectboy Hanover (Doug McNair) with Beach Blogger third.

Vino Louie (Sportswriter - Wilma Hall) was a $30,000 London Selected Yearling Sale purchase of trainer Clare Bradshaw, who co-owns with Brian Jamieson of Simcoe, Ont.

Magnum Moon didn't get a chance to show what he's truly made of last week after suffering interference during his qualifier, but the son of Shadow Play had smoother sailing this week and impressed with his effort. Driver Jody Jamieson positioned Magnum Moon on top through a tepid :30.1 opening panel, then allowed Dietrich Seelster (Sylvain Filion) to loop to the lead from the pocket and carve out splits of :59.2 and 1:27.2. In the stretch, Jamieson right-lined Magnum Moon from the pocket and the colt responded to brush by and win by two lengths in 1:55.4. Dietrich Seelster held second while Great Somewhere (McNair) closed for third.

A $27,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase, Magnum Moon is trained by Jim Wellwood, who co-owns with Jeff Wellwood of Toronto, Ont. and BC Reichheld Stables of Caledonia, Ont.

To view the full results from the Saturday qualifying session, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Baby Races).
DR Congo's top court has intervened in an unprecedented corruption case involving a key ally of the president, less than a day before a lower court was due to issue a verdict, legal sources said Friday.

A court in Kinshasa is scheduled on Saturday to issue its ruling in the fast-moving trial of Vital Kamerhe, 61, a veteran powerbroker in national politics who is also President Felix Tshisekedi's chief of staff.

Prosecutors are seeking 20-year terms against Kamerhe and 78-year-old Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih, accused of siphoning off more than $50 million in a case deemed a litmus test of Tshisekedi's anti-corruption drive.

But legal sources on Friday said that the country's Constitutional Court had asked the lower court to hand over the judicial dossier "immediately."

According to the letter, signed by the Constitutional Court's chief clerk and seen by AFP, the dossier is being sought under "exception of unconstitutionality".

This is a term under the Napoleonic judicial system by which a defendant can seek to have a case suspended or annulled if judicial technicalities violate the constitution.

Neither the lower court nor Kamerhe's lawyer was able to say whether the scheduled verdict would be affected by the intervention.

Kamerhe's defence lawyers had notably raised "exception of unconstitutionality" in the trial's last pre-verdict session, on June 11.

The trial began on May 11, just over a month after Kamerhe was arrested.

It has no precedent in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, both in terms of political impact and public visibility.

Proceedings have been televised live from a court set up in Kinshasa's central prison, and the two key defendants, along with a presidential official who is the third accused, appeared in prison outfits.

In one of the twists in the case, the judge who presided over the first two sessions of the trial, Raphael Yanyi, was found dead on May 27.

Police declared the case of death was cardiac arrest. But on June 16 the justice ministry said he had been murdered, after an autopsy determined he had died from a brain haemorrhage caused by "blows" to the head.

Yanyi's family have contested the autopsy report and say he was poisoned.

Kamerhe emerged from DR Congo's civil wars in the early 2000s to become a key figure in national politics.

He was a confidant of former president Joseph Kabila, who appointed him speaker of parliament.

After coming under fire for dissenting over a policy issue, he set up his own political party and tried unsuccessfully to bid for the presidency in elections in 2011.

When presidential elections loomed in December 2018, Kamerhe and Tshisekedi struck a mutual-support deal that helped Tshisekedi to win.

After taking office, Tshisekedi appointed Kamerhe as chief of staff.

Kamerhe's supporters say the trial is a plot to prevent him from securing the presidency in the next elections in 2023 -- the quid pro quo in the 2018 deal.
A woman has been charged with murder after the body of a festival-loving Kiwi was found in bushland earlier this week.

Zane Meyer, 26, was last seen on May 11 before police found his body at Lysterfield, in east Melbourne, on Wednesday.

On Friday, 37-year-old Nicole Anthea Anderson was arrested and charged with his murder, according to the Herald Sun.

She appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on the same day where police alleged she had killed Mr Meyer between May 11 and May 13 in Oakleigh, 20 km west of where his body was found.

Zane Meyer's body was found in bushland at Lysterfield, just east of suburban Melbourne, on Wednesday

Police said Mr Meyer and Anderson were familiar with each other.

The court heard it was not the first time Anderson had been placed in custody.

After police put out a plea for Mr Meyer's whereabouts earlier this week, his friend Lexy Brady described him as an incredibly kind person.

'He didn't have a mean bone in him  and I know people probably say that, but in all the years I never saw him be horrible to anyone,' she said.

On Friday, 37-year-old Nicole Anthea Anderson was arrested and charged his murder. Pictured is Mr Meyer and his mother Andrea Vale

Police said Mr Meyer and Anderson were familiar with each other and the court heard it was not the first time she had been in custody

Ms Brady said Mr Meyer loved the outdoors and music festivals who also went by the name Ranbow Tree.

'He had knowledge about things I couldn't even dream of. He was so smart, just like his mum and dad,' she said.

'There was a sense of adventure in everything he did.'

Ms Brady said the passionate snowboarder usually worked in the Victorian and New Zealand snow fields during the winter.
The Kardashian-Jenner family, having secured their spotlight thanks to Keeping Up With the Kardashians, is so famous that people in their inner circle become famous by association.

Weve seen virtual nobodies (at least in Hollywood) become celebrities overnight after starting a relationship or a friendship with one of the family members.

This certainly seems to be what happened with Scott Disick who, after catching Kourtney Kardashians eye at a party in Mexico one night, found himself a household name only a couple of years later.

Although some Keeping Up With The Kardashians viewers are loyal to Disick, some fans have just had enough of him and have even accused him of taking advantage of the ultra-famous family.

Disick wasnt famous before Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Scott Disick | Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images for Sugarfactory American Brassiere in Rosemont Chicago

Some digging into Disicks past has revealed that he certainly wasnt hurting for money before he and Kourtney Kardashian crossed paths.

His family apparently comes from big money, and he had led a very privileged life which allowed for him to even be invited to the party at a mansion in Mexico where he and Kardashian met.

However, famous he certainly was not. He was an ordinary rich kid before Kardashian pulled him up from the ranks and he began to be featured in her familys hit reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Watching Kardashian and Disicks relationship go through its dramatic ups and downs was surely one of the aspects of the show that most grabbed viewers attention. So many years later, Disick is now a household name and an important part of the series, although he and Kardashian have split. Largely because of the opportunities that KUWTK has granted him, Disick is reported to be worth an appalling $20 million.

Some fans hate Disick and think hes taking advantage of the family

RELATED: KUWTK: Could a Scott Disick and Khloe Kardashian Fling Save the Show?

Understandably, some fans dislike Disick and have even accused him of taking advantage of the Kardashian-Jenner family for his own fame and fortune.

In a recent Reddit discussion, a poster didnt mince words: He seems like he accidentally stumbled upon someone rich, and took advantage of them and their family, they wrote. The allegation doesnt sound too off-the-mark, considering Disicks rise to fame.

The poster didnt stop there, adding to the list of things they couldnt stand about Disick: Plus the whole cheating, drug/alcohol problems and that he dates no older than 21 year olds, immaturity, etc.

Many fans agreed. Yeah, Im not a Scott fan. A lot of people are though and are always rooting for him and Kourt to get back together. In my opinion he has always acted like a selfish brat, someone wrote, adding a dig at Disicks romantic relationship with 21-year-old Sofia Richie (theyre currently on a break): The Sofia thing was absolutely f***** up like him or not.

Some fans came to Disicks defense

However, the entire world is not full of Disick haters. Surprisingly, many fans came to his defense. They granted that he has flaws, but that at the end of the day, hes a good guy.

I cant help but like Scott, I think hes very funny and has been part of some of my favourite moments in the show. He does have his issues and I am not a fan of a lot of his behaviour earlier in the show but I also feel for him and get some of the reasons behind his behaviour, someone said, showing some empathy.

Another Disick fan added: I actually find him quite likable. Hes clearly an obnoxious rich-boy who has never had to work a day in his life. But aside from that I find his wild antics quite entertaining!

As for Disick taking advantage of the family, one person came back with an absolute rebuttal: I am absolutely sure that he didnt latch onto Kourtney because of her money and social relevance, sorry but thats ridic, they declared.
My favourite George W Bush joke is about the time when Bush and few other leaders take a break from a global summit in Paris and retreat to the cafeteria to have a quick snack.

Some order sandwiches and some stick to little cakes but when it is Bushs turn, he looks straight at the waitress and says, Ill have a quickie.

The waitress looks shocked and the other leaders are nonplussed. Only Tony Blair who knows that Bush is not much of a globalist understands whats going on.

Its pronounced quiche, George, he tells him.

I have been thinking of quiches (though not so much of Bush) as I have been compiling my monthly round up of things to eat at home during the lockdown. Last month I wrote about an outstanding quiche from Sahil Mehta and this month, I have been delighted by the quiches made by Yummies, a home bakery operation run out of Maharani Bagh by two very gifted sisters, Lalita and Geetika.

Their specialties are said to be their New York style cheesecake and a wonderful apple crumble. The quiche was also very nice but my favourite were the patties.

The patties from Yummies, a home bakery run by sisters Lalita and Geetika (right), are a delight

You dont actually get great patties anywhere in India these days because a) most people dont know how to make a tasty filling or are able to work out the right proportion of dough to filling and b) it is really tough to get a pastry that is flaky and yet firm. I certainly have never found anyone who makes them as well as Yummies.

A class act.

Beyond Designs Bistro is a relatively new restaurant on MG Road on the outskirts of Delhi. It serves casual Oriental food with a stylish bistro type presentation. Unfortunately with the lockdown in effect the restaurant has not had the opportunity to show off its skills.

So, like all sensible restaurateurs, they have switched to home delivery for the duration of the lockdown. Not only will they deliver full meals but they are also sending out DIY kits where you can finish the food at home. And of course, they sanitise their kitchen every morning, follow the most stringent hygiene SOPs etc.

Beyond Designs Bistro offers Oriental cuisine bistro-style and home delivers meals as well as DIY kits. Its noodles (right) are very good.

People who dont want to order in and find it tiring to cook food from scratch can try frozen meals

I ordered a full meal and was quite taken with the way in which the restaurant merges East Asian flavours with healthy/trendy foods. There was a spicy quinoa bowl and the menu includes a Turkish immunity-building bowl (which I did not try) and various healthy options like a curried cauliflower bowl and a roasted pumpkin glory bowl.

Of the dishes I did eat, the Thai fish was delicate and outstanding and there was also what looked like an Asian chicken roulade. The noodles were very good and all of it came with excellent sauces.

There is something for everyone including a paneer gassi and pasta made to your taste. They delivered (all the way from MG Road) to South Extension on the dot so I guess you can order the food no matter where you live.

Many journalists will remember Nicole Juneja from her days in PR. For the last three years, she has worked with her mother in the food space with a venture called MOOD. Before the lockdown, Mood would organise pop-ups and special experiences. But in the present situation, they have had to switch to doing delivery.

The food is all home-cooked by Kusuma Juneja who (if I remember correctly) is a Nepali from Darjeeling district. So the food she makes is not typically Nepali (and Nepal boasts of many great cuisines) but captures the flavours of Darjeeling with its mix of people and lack of ethnic exclusivity. You will find Bhutanese and Tibetan and Lepcha flavours.

In normal times, Kusuma and Nicole would host dinners at their home in Delhis Vasant Vihar but these days it is all delivery. It is worth trying because even if you were to go to Darjeeling you wont get this kind of food at local restaurants.

Some of you may recall that I have been writing about cloud kitchens and virtual brands long before the lockdown. A cloud kitchen is one that is not attached to a restaurant but makes restaurant-quality food. As nobody actually visits it, the kitchen can be located in any low-rent area. (Restaurant kitchens on the other hand have to be attached to restaurants in relatively expensive areas.) A good cloud kitchen runs on a delivery model and so the food can be one third the price of restaurant food  no air conditioning, no server salaries, no decor, and none of the other expenses that restaurants incur.

The one advantage restaurants have over cloud kitchens is branding. Most restaurants have spent years creating their brands. If you order from say Mamagoto you can be sure of getting the sort of high quality food that the brand is associated with.

So cloud kitchen operations have been working to create their own brands. I wrote several weeks ago about Biryani by Kilo. And a fortnight ago, I profiled Cross Border Kitchens, which runs many successful brands, all of them dedicated to making their food in different sections of the same cloud kitchen.

I have always maintained that this model represents a real threat to the restaurant sector though many restaurateurs used to dismiss my view. Well, the lockdown has changed everything. While cloud kitchen sales are down (contrary to the impression you may get, there is no real post-lockdown boom in delivery  sales are actually down from the pre-lockdown phase), their existence has made it much more difficult for restaurants to enter this space. Cloud kitchen food is as good as restaurant food and it is cheaper.

One of the early pioneers of the food business (and later of cloud kitchens) in Gujarat is Karan Tanna. Though he has got all the usual awards that magazines give to people under 30 who show promise, he is not yet as well-known as Indias top restaurateurs are. I reckon that will change.

Though his CV sounds impressive (he even had a stint at McKinsey) he is a small town boy from Veraval in Gujarat. His family was, he says, progressive by the standards of Veraval (his father ran a textile business and his mother ran a beauty salon) but they moved to Ahmedabad largely because his father thought there would be more educational opportunities for Karan.

Karan started young, partnering with the owners of a successful bakery business and then linking up with a fast food chain dedicated to the dabeli (the Kutchi ancestor of vada-pav) before deciding that cloud kitchens were the future.

His company Ghost Kitchens has a mixture of franchised brands (from abroad) and local creations. Many of his operations are in what used to be called B and C class centres, which is where the growth for the F&B industry will come from in this decade.

Karan Tanna (right), a pioneer of the food business in Gujarat, combines Western concepts like New York Waffles and Dinges with others called Biryani Hazir Ho

He manages to combine Western concepts such as New York Waffles and Dinges (no, I dont know what a dinge is, either) and Starboy Pizza and Shakes with others called Biryani Hazir Ho, Badmash Biryani (great name!) and Arey O Sambhar.

There are more launches planned including the tastefully named Indian-Chinese chain Ching Chong.

Its people like Karan who, I suspect, will hold the key to the future of the F&B industry in India because they go beyond set notions of how things work and, coming from small towns themselves, understand the India that lives outside the big cities. In any case, he is also planning a more upmarket operation, along with some of Indias better known chefs.

And finally, heres a little tip for people who dont want to order in for whatever reason but find it too tiring to cook food from scratch every day. You can do what I do: try some of the new frozen meals that have hit the market.

I know ITC Foods because of the high quality of its frozen prawns (which I wrote about a couple of years ago) and their version of Dal Bukhara, which tastes like the real thing once you empty a pint of dairy products into it.

What I did not realise is that they have introduced a new range of chicken and vegetarian frozen foods. Some of them work best as cocktail snacks: there are crispy chicken nuggets, little falafels and (my favourite) vada-pav pops. But there are also things you can eat at meal times. They have chicken fingers (like fish fingers), which will be devoured by kids and fried chicken strips which are aimed at a similar market.

The one I eat the most of is the one that sounds the worst. Chicken Burger Patties are usually made by breading a chicken keema patty. You are supposed to put it in a bun and pretend its a burger. Thats not something I am prepared to do.

However, I have taken to having the patties on their own at dinner (two patties is usually enough) with a little lemon sprayed on them. Okay, it is not quite Chicken Milanese. But for a dish that takes only a few minutes, it comes pretty damn close!

And finally: if you have a product or a delivery service you want me to try, do get in touch!

From HT Brunch, June 21, 2020

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State Finance Commissioner Butch Eley called the $39.5 billion budget passed by the Legislature on Friday prudent and fiscally responsible. The budget is about $1 billion less than the spending plan prior to the coronavirus pandemic slashed revenues.

He said, After deliberate negotiations, the Legislature passed a fiscally responsible spending plan centered around Gov. Bill Lees proposal earlier this month. It outlines a prudent framework and provides the governor with additional tools to manage an uncertain fiscal landscape in the next year. I am very proud to have worked with the Legislature on this budget and greatly appreciate their commitment to financial stability and stalwart support of sound business management.

"Even in the midst of unprecedented revenue challenges due to the effort to contain COVID-19, we share with Legislators the commitment to fully funding the Basic Education Program (BEP), our obligations to debt service as well as maintaining our portion of state employee insurance premiums and the state pension.

"The work is far from complete. The state must match its spending with revenues and that will mean greater efficiencies and innovative solutions in how we serve Tennesseans. Were committed to good stewardship of tax revenues as well as maintaining citizen services while improving how we deliver them.
The term 'Civil War politics' is much overused and long outdated. The reality is that much of what traumatised this country almost a century ago has faded into a past that recedes further and further with each generation.

The Ballyseedy memorial outside Tralee - a remembrance of one of the worst Civil War atrocities - like other such places may still whisper its secrets.

The cold-blooded blowing to pieces of eight Irishmen by their kinfolk cannot but have an echo.

And so Micheal Martin may feel the hand of history on his shoulder when he takes over as Taoiseach. But it will have a light touch. His real concern will be the survival of the Fianna Fail-Fine Gael amalgam in the Leinster House maelstrom.

The destiny of the new government will depend on how it copes with challenges in housing and health, while battling unemployment and Covid. All the while, the spectre of a growing national debt may thwart some of its best laid plans.

The reality is that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in government has been a long time coming.

It wasn't overwhelming principle over Civil War politics that kept them apart for so long. Rather it was self-interest, and the belief they could make it into power, without reliance on the other.

Sometimes this meant accepting opposition - viewed as short-term pain - for long-term gain.

But the general election showed the traditional numbers game is no more. Sinn Fein's rise removed some tried and tested options.

Labour, the traditional coalition partner for one or other of the Big Two, can no longer make the cut and play its part.

Once Fianna Fail lost its capacity to swing an overall majority, it was faced with a stark choice: share power, sometimes with unlikely bedfellows, or embrace perpetual opposition.

The latter was obviously not an option. And so, following the general election, it became a matter of needs must.

Fine Gael, traditionally playing second fiddle to Fianna Fail in number of seats won, is well used to hustling with whoever is available to try to get into power. But here too an old-style hook-up with Labour no longer does the business.

And so in this new landscape historical adversaries pooled their destiny. It is, of course, a symbolic end to an that old Civil War divide.

But if the truth be told, there has been little to separate Fianna Fail and Fine Gael since the 1960s.

Back then, men with Yeatsian 'vivid faces', born of blood and death four decades earlier, were still part of the melting pot. But they were getting old; there were new challenges for different times.

A new-look Fianna Fail came on the scene. Cliched as the image may be, Charles Haughey and other mohair-suited ministers courted a more affluent class long redolent of Fine Gael.

Around the same time, Fine Gael with its 'Just Society' strategy sought to ditch its image of being less than concerned for the down-at-heel.

From then on it was, as some cynics would put it, a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee come election time. Despite the turbulent events that spawned them, both parties embraced broad-based social democracy.

They tweaked things here and there in the search for votes. But there was hardly a 'sliver of difference' between them. That's when Civil War politics ended.

The much talked-about realignment - between broadly right-of-centre and left-of-centre parties as per the European norm - has arrived in Ireland. Going forward, the more left-wing the opposition will be in the new Dail, the more it will bond the big twosome of old together.

The main challenge for the new order will come down to personality conflicts. There are fierce rivalries in many constituencies, where the local Fianna Fail and Fine Gael TDs have been going at one another hammer and tongs for years.

Meanwhile, families affected by the fighting and the fervour between pro- and anti-Treaty forces in 1922 and 1923 may carry an obligation not to forget.

The agony of those tormented times live longer for some rather than others. But for the many, the present and its challenges swamps the past and its memories.

So let Ballyseedy - and what it represents - remain steadfast to its own truth. But Civil War politics is no more.
Photo: Contributed Erin O'Toole

Conservative leadership candidate Erin O'Toole's campaign says it has filed a formal complaint with police seeking an investigation of his rival Peter MacKay's organization.

In a release late Friday, O'Toole's campaign says the complaint involves the theft of confidential campaign and strategy data.

It says the O'Toole campaign's systems were hacked earlier this week.

It names MacKay campaign organizer Jamie Lall.

In a brief tweet, Lall said not a single word of the allegation is true.

The O'Toole release says details have been shared with RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and Toronto police.

"We call on Peter MacKay and his team to immediately return and delete any stolen data or video's currently in possession of staff and volunteers," the O'Toole campaign said in a release.

"We further insist on swift co-operation from Mr. MacKay and his campaign with the RCMP, OPP, and Toronto Police Service and the immediate termination of all involved in this potentially criminal action from their campaign."

The allegations come after MacKay, O'Toole and fellow candidates Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan squared off in two leadership debates this week.

The debates will likely be the final face-off between all four candidates before the ballots are sent out to party members early next month.
Yves here. Perhaps readers will disagree with me, but I have some problems with the notion that bankruptcy will come to the rescue of many small businesses. First, if Covid-19 has made a business model unworkable, a bankruptcy stay wont solve that. Even if the operation were to emerge from bankruptcy with its liabilities wiped out, it would just drive itself back into the ditch (unless a vaccine or effective treatments emerge and are widely distributed very soon). Second, companies need cash to keep operating. Perhaps I am out of date, but I have not heard of much/any debtor-in-possession financing being available to little enterprises. A longer bankruptcy process requires more cash to get through it. Third, credit to businesses, ranging from credit cards to SBA loans, require personal guarantees; the only exception is secured lending (such mortgaging real estate owned by the business or equipment finance). So many small business owners will be reluctant to declare bankruptcy until it is absolutely unavoidable because it will trigger a personal bankruptcy as well.

Finally, Im a bit puzzled about the call for a longer bankruptcy process. My understanding is state and Federal courts are already operating on slower timetables due to backlogs created by lockdowns. And with bankruptcy courts seeing the early edge of a tsunami of bankruptcy filings, I doubt theyll be processing cases quickly either.

Having said that, I do know someone who declared a small business bankruptcy in the dot-bomb era. His firm was due to get a $2 million contract with United signed on September 12, 2001. He failed to downsize rapidly enough due to poor cash flow forecasting. And while his business did survive, it went from 27 employees to six, although he has rebuilt somewhat from there.

By Brook Gotberg, Associate Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Columbia and Paige Marta Skiba, Economist, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University. Originally published at The Conversation

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown forced nearly a thirdof all small businesses in the United States to close. Some have shut down for good  one estimate puts the percentage at almost 2%, or over 100,000 so far.

Those that remain and are gradually opening up must navigate a host of restrictions, including limits on customers, who themselves may be reluctant to get a haircut, dine out or engage in other activities that put them near others. Even in parts of the country that havent yet experienced a lot of COVID-19 cases, businesses have reopened to significantly smaller crowds, imperiling their survival.

What these businesses need most right now is time  breathing space that temporarily freezes expenses while letting them continue to operate and figure out a plan to keep going. In many cases, that means declaring bankruptcy.

While bankruptcy is often associated with going out of business, its also meant to help viable companies develop a path back to profitability. The problem is bankruptcy law doesnt provide enough time to do this in the middle of a pandemic. Ongoing health concerns will likely subdue economic activity for who knows how long, even as bills and other costs pile up.

As bankruptcy scholars, we believe theres a way to fix this.

Job Creators

Small businesses  specifically, those with fewer than 20 employees, like your local restaurant, nail salon and pet sitter  make up roughly 90% of all private companies and account for nearly two-thirds of all new jobs created in the U.S.

The temporary or permanent closures of so many contributed considerably to the historic levels of unemployment experienced in April and May.

To save small businesses and the millions they employ, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program, which can lend as much as US$659 billion. But businesses must use most of the proceeds for payroll. Companies still have to pay rent, utilities, insurance premiums and a host of other ongoing costs. While some have been able to defer these expenses, they cant do so forever. Businesses will eventually be forced to deal with unpaid, unmet obligations.

Some businesses may have enough savings to ride out the pandemic or can access fresh capital from owners  who often wipe out their personal savings, including retirement funds, in the process. But for so many others, the crush of past-due expenses will threaten their ability to continue to operate, even if the business model is sound overall.

Bankruptcy to the Rescue

While bankruptcy usually serves as an organized way to close down permanently, it can also be used to hold off creditors while a company restructures its debts and continues operations under Chapter 11. Upon filing, an automatic stay on collection efforts goes into effect, which prevents eviction, foreclosure or repossession of inventory and equipment while the business comes up with a plan.

For many businesses struggling in the aftermath of COVID-19, however, the issue is not a backlog of debt but simply a lack of immediate revenue to make short-term obligations, especially rent and payroll. And theres really no knowing how long revenue will remain below normal, with concerns that infection rates are soaring in parts of the country that are opening up.

Until recently, very few small businesses were able to reorganize successfully under Chapter 11, opting instead to find alternative solutions under state law or to simply go out of business altogether. Last year, Congress made it a little easier for companies with less than $2.7 million in debt to navigate bankruptcy successfully, by reducing the regulatory burdens and offering more support.

But, even after lawmakers increased the debt ceiling to $7.5 million as part of their coronavirus response, small businesses still dont have what they need most right now: time.

In bankruptcy cases, debtors are required to adhere to extremely strict time frames, many of which are accelerated for small businesses. Upon filing, debtors are required to meet with the court quickly to present a proposed plan for how they expect to be profitable going forward. Debtors have 90 days to come up with a plan, under which they can repay most creditors slowly  over the next three to five years.

Theres an important exception, however, for rent payments. If debtors wish to retain their leases, they need to pay timely rent going forward immediately after filing  and have to repay all past-due rent in full as soon as their plan is confirmed. In other words, while theres some wiggle room with other past-due bills, such as wages, utilities and even taxes, theres a hard deadline with rent, which for many is the largest expense of all.

These time frames and special rules regarding rent were drafted with a normal, functioning economy in mind, and did not take into account the disruption caused by a global pandemic.

Respite Needed

A recent proposal delivered to Congress by a group of bankruptcy scholars  including us  recommended giving small businesses affected by the global pandemic extra time during the bankruptcy process.

The proposed changes would freeze bill collection as normal, but also freeze court proceedings for the next six months  a desperately needed respite after which the long-term effects of the pandemic may be better understood.

This recommendation would encourage landlords to negotiate with debtors by providing debtors with court-mandated breathing room to escape the otherwise inflexible provisions surrounding rent.

It is our hope that this would afford such businesses the time and space they need to remain the backbone of the U.S. economy.
Hungary allows foreigners to enter 30-km zone for 24 hours without quarantine, as well as for transit travel  Border Service

Hungary has resumed the passage of passenger buses across the border, according to the State Border Service of Ukraine.

Hungarian citizens are allowed to enter without having to go through quarantine. Citizens of Ukraine are allowed into the country without quarantine if they enter a 30-kilometer zone for a period of not more than 24 hours or for transit travel.

"Citizens of Ukraine who enter the 30-kilometer zone are not sent to quarantine. Such persons are not required to provide additional supporting documents to enter, but they must leave the territory of Hungary within 24 hours," the report says.

Entry into the territory of Hungary for the purpose of transit travel is carried out round-the-clock if citizens have a document of permanent residence, residence permit, long-stay visa or other document confirming the right to a long stay in the country of destination issued by the official body of this country. In addition, entrants must agree to be tested for COVID-19 and not have signs of an acute respiratory illness.
The former commissioner of Education in Jigawa state, Haruna Wakili, is dead.

Mr Wakili, a professor, died on Saturday, June 20, at the National Hospital, Abuja, after a protracted illness.

The cause of his death was not disclosed.

Mr Wakili hails from Hadejia Local Government Area in Jigawa State and served as a commissioner under the administration of former governor Sule Lamido.

Mr Lamido, in a Facebook post, described late Mr Wakili, as a true symbol of loyalty, hardworking and commitment.

He prayed for God to forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannatul Firdaus.

Mr Wakili, as former commissioner of education in Jigawa, championed the establishment of the state university at Kafin Hausa.

The late professor was also the former Director-General, Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Mambayya House, affiliated to Bayero University, Kano.

Mr Wakilis death joins the series of deaths of many professors at Bayero University.

He was the serving Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, Bayero University, Kano, before his death on Saturday.

String of deaths

The first professor to die in this sequence was Aliyu Dikko of Bayero University Kano, who died on Saturday, April 25.

Before his demise, Mr Dikko, a professor of physiology, was a lecturer at the Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano. He was also a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the same institution.

He was involved in the opening of three faculties of Medicine/Basic Medical Sciences in Bayero University, Kaduna State University and Yusuf Maitama Sule University.

READ ALSO:

Another professor who died on the same day is Ibrahim Ayagi. A renowned professor of economics, Mr Ayagi attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, 1963 -70 and proceeded to University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the USA from 1970  74.

As Kano State Commissioner of Education in the 1970s, Mr Ayagi had set up Kanos celebrated Twin Science Secondary Schools at Dawakin Kudu and Dawakin Tofa.

Also, On April 26, Balarabe Maikaba, of the Department of Mass Communication, BUK, died after an illness.

Mr Maikaba, a professor, was the former head of Mass Communication Department, BUK, and a visiting lecturer to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and Kaduna State University (KASU).

On the same day, Sabo Kurawa of the Department of Sociology passed on, after a protracted illness.

The academic held positions of deputy vice-chancellor, administration and subsequently deputy vice-chancellor, academics at the Bayero University.

On Monday, April 27, Uba Adamu, a retired academic with Kano State Polytechnic, died as a result of age-related complications at the age of 85.

Mr Adamu was survived by two wives, 17 children and 54 grandchildren. His eldest son, Abdalla Adamu, the current Vice-Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

Also, on Monday, April 27, Ghali Umar, another lecturer, died.

The late Umar was a former head of department and a senior lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Kano University of Science and Technology.

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US automakers Ford and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) report they will resume full production at all their North American plants on Monday, ahead of their previously announced schedule despite continued concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

FCA said the second shift at its Belvidere, Illinois assembly plant, which produces the Jeep Cherokee, is set to return on Monday. It was the last FCA plant to return to pre-pandemic levels of operation.

Meanwhile, Ford will return third shifts at assembly plants in Chicago, Dearborn Michigan and Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck in Louisville. The plants build SUVs as well as bestselling F-Series pickup trucks.

General Motors has confirmed that it will resume full North American production by the end of June.

The auto companies are still keeping a tight lid on the number of COVID-19 infections among plant employees even as infections have been reported at plants of all the major automakers.

There have been cases at Ford plants in Chicago, Dearborn, and Kansas City, Missouri. There have also been reports of cases at General Motors plants in Arlington, Texas; Wentzville, Missouri; Kansas City, Kansas and Spring Hill, Tennessee as well as Fiat Chrysler plants in Toledo, Ohio and the Detroit area. At least 4 workers have tested positive at electric carmaker Tesla, which operates a giant factory in Fremont, California.

Auto factories in the South operated by Japanese and German automakers have seen a rise in cases as the novel coronavirus surges in the area after the premature reopening of local economies.

Toyota has reported 40 cases at its US facilities, including its huge Georgetown, Kentucky facility. Volkswagen has reported 12 cases at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant since restarting production last month as COVID-19-related hospitalizations have surged in the state. Nissan has confirmed three cases at its Canton, Mississippi plant. Mississippi has the second fastest growth of new coronavirus cases of any US state.

On Thursday German carmaker BMW reported 14 cases at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The plant employs 11,000 workers and builds a wide range of SUVs, most of which are exported to overseas markets, including China. The same day that BMW reported the outbreak at its Spartanburg plants South Carolina saw a record number of new COVID-19 cases, 987, and four deaths. The state was one of the first to remove lockdown restrictions.

BMW claimed that all the new COVID-19 infections were unrelated and that the individuals have been quarantined and their work areas cleaned. Production at the plant continued without interruption.

A worker at the Spartanburg plant wrote on Facebook, No one's checking temps on night shift. We're all required to wear masks; we can be walked out if we fail to do so. And we have been hearing rumors about the 4-14 infected (as the stories changed) that tested positive and were sent home for the last two weeks+/-.

I do believe the bathrooms are disinfected between shifts, and there are signs everywhere reminding us to distance and wash our hands and wear our masks. I don't think they care at all, but they've done a good job covering their bases when they are asked what did you do about Corona?

Another wrote, We got three confirmed cases where Im working and we [are] not getting hazard pay or nothing, but we have to work or have no job, this is not right at all.

They care nothing about their employees, a third worker noted. The safety NOR the wellbeing. I reported a positive [case] exposure last Wednesday to MY BOSS and on the 7th day, got in touch with HR and was told he never even made a case or reported it.

All the major carmakers have expressed their determination to continue production without interruption even as COVID-19 cases surge in many areas of the US. In their effort to prevent disruption, car companies are attempting to cover up coronavirus infections at their factories and provide as little information as possible. This reckless attitude thwarts the possibility of contacting and quarantining workers who may have been exposed to the infection.

Workers continue to express anger at the policy of cover-up, which places workers lives in danger. A worker at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant posted on her Facebook page, Today after work I was told by a friend that 2 people have tested positive for coronavirus. Isn't it illegal for them not to inform us? Aren't they supposed to tell us?

A worker at the FCA transmission operations in Kokomo, Indiana wrote to the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter about conditions at the factory. At the Tipton transmission plant in Indiana it is a joke. There are people dropping left and right every night in all the Kokomo plants, and the Tipton plant is off the charts. They are threatening to fire us workers if we go to medical. The worker reported that cleaning in the plants was atrocious, nobody wants to admit we should not be inside these plants.

A worker at the GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri told the Autoworker Newsletter, The talk is a member of management got tested, worked the full day and didn't tell anyone. Tested positive. They say he was working at the front door handing out masks...35 workers demanded to be tested immediately...

Behind the homicidal focus of the auto companies on production are financial pressures, including the massive growth of corporate debt. According to a report Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal As of June 16, car manufacturers and their suppliers had raised $21.7 billion in extra long-term debt as a result of the Covid shutdowns ... The Journal noted that the additional debt brought their total debt load to $1.1 trillion. That was 3.4 times total auto company earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. At the end of last year the ratio stood at 3.0.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit auto companies were facing lower returns on investment as they faced the added cost of research and development of electric and autonomous vehicles. Further compounding the pressure on auto companies have been stagnant or declining sales in their major markets; the US, Europe and China.

These debts must eventually be paid, and that can only come through the intensified exploitation of the working class. To carry this out they are determined to suppress all opposition to the ramp up of production, which is being carried out with the full support of the United Auto Workers.

This raises urgently the need for workers to take the defense of health and safety into their own hands by building rank and file safety committees, democratically chosen by workers themselves, in every work location. This is connected with the fight to end the subordination of production to the demands of Wall Street through the nationalization of auto and other basic industry under the democratic ownership and control of the working class.
Warning: This report contains graphic images of injuries inflicted by police.

In the wake of George Floyds death in police custody, Americans have rallied against police brutality in nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country. In many cases, they have been met with police equipped with body armor, wielding shields, and carrying so-called less lethal weapons.

These weapons are designed to travel more slowly than bullets, with blunt tips meant to cause pain but not intended to penetrate the body. They still can cause serious injury and death.

At least 56 protesters have suffered serious head injuries, including blindness, based on news reports, interviews with victims and witnesses, and a list compiled by Scott Reynhout, a Los Angeles researcher. A study published in 2017 in the medical journal BMJ Open found that 3% of people hit by projectiles worldwide died. Fifteen percent of the 1,984 people studied were permanently injured.

A joint investigation by USA TODAY and Kaiser Health News found that some officers appear to have violated their own rules when they fired less-lethal projectiles at protesters who were for the most part peacefully assembled.

Here are some of the most common projectiles fired at protesters by police:

What are pepper-spray balls?

With a range of up to 30 feet, pepper-spray balls are made of plastic that breaks on impact to release a chemical irritant intended to stun or incapacitate somebody. Sometimes, they contain marking paint for identifying a suspect or a particular area. Pepper-spray balls are typically the same caliber as recreational paintballs.

They are typically deployed with paintball-style guns powered by compressed air.

Pepper-ball gun in use

A St. Paul police officer armed with a less-lethal paintball-style weapon faces off with a protester in front of the Target store near the intersection of University Avenue West and Hamline Avenue North Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn.

A police officer carries a pepper-spray ball gun Sunday, May 31, 2020, in downtown Louisville.

What is pepper spray?

Pepper spray is a lachrymatory agent, which means it stimulates the eyes to produce tears.

The main active ingredient in pepper spray is an oil known as oleoresin capsicum, the same agent that provides heat in chili peppers, according to Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician in New York City.

Story continues

Pepper spray is typically dispersed as an aerosol or as small particles in a liquid spray, according to the National Capital Poison Center. Pepper sprays and mists can travel 8 to 12 feet, according to Sabre, a popular brand of pepper spray. Gel sprays can travel 20% farther.

Pepper spray being used by police

What pepper spray can do to people

A woman is helped after being hit with pepper spray after curfew on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in Minneapolis.

What are bean bag rounds?

A bean bag round is a small fabric sack filled with No. 9 lead shot and fired by a shotgun. It is designed to expand in flight and cause trauma to the body, including muscle spasms, without penetrating the skin.

These rounds are intended to be fired at large muscle groups on a dangerous person. The head and neck areas should be avoided to prevent killing them.

Bean bag rounds in use

What bean bags can do to people

A video frame shows Leslie Furcron, 59, bleeding on the ground with a bean bag round lodged in her forehead after police fired on a crowd at a protest in La Mesa, California.

What are sponge grenades?

Sponge grenades, or sponge rounds, are designed to stop violent aggressors without killing them. They are also used for crowd control. These projectiles are designed to cause blunt trauma and pain that temporarily disables the person.

They are supposed to be fired at the legs or lower torso, and police are trained to avoid the head, neck and groin. Firing the projectiles from a distance decreases their force and accuracy and increases the risk of shooting people in the face or hitting bystanders. Firing too closely increases the risk of serious injury.

Sponge rounds in use

A sponge round is fired over a protester by police hidden by a cloud of tear gas, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in Minneapolis.

What sponge rounds can do to people

Megan Matthews, 22, in the hospital after she was hit in the eye with a sponge-tipped projectile fired by police at a May 29 protest in Denver.

What is tear gas?

Tear gas isnt technically a gas, says Glatter, the ER physician. Its a powder that is heated and mixed with a liquid or solvent and released from canisters as an aerosol.

There are different types of tear gas. The two commonly used by law enforcement are 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) and chloroacetophenone (CN).

Glatter said tear gas should be considered a nerve agent because it doesnt just irritate cells, but also activates specific pain receptors leading to intense, burning pain in all affected areas. It can cause pain and burning in the eyes, mucous membranes, throat, lungs, and skin.

Along with pain and tear production, tear gas also causes exaggerated muscle cramping in the eyes and sensitivity to light that leads to eye closure, Glatter said.

Tear gas in use

State patrol fire smoke and tear gas as they advance on protestors outside the fifth police precinct in Minneapolis Saturday, May 30, 2020.

What tear gas can do to people

A protester is assisted with a solution to help neutralize the effects of tear gas fired by police outside the Minneapolis 5th Police Precinct, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Footage of these weapons in use by police

Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, Steve Myers/USA TODAY; Hannah Norman, Jay Hancock/KHN

Source: USA TODAY/KHN Research; defense-technology.com; okcrich.com; officer.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Less lethal' can still maim and kill: A visual guide to weapons police use on protesters
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression. In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
The shoe of dependency is firmly on the other foot. The former colony will come to the table with a stronger bargaining position than the former empire. Britain was our seventh-largest trading partner in 2018-19, and is likely to have dropped to eighth behind India before any agreement is signed.

"Think of the potential that we have," he said. "I want a world in which we send you Marmite, you send us Vegemite. We send you Penguins, and you send us, with reduced tariffs, these wonderful Arnott's Tim Tams."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is certainly not the first leader to try to distil the complexities of global trade with a kitchen table soundbite. But there was a neediness to his formula which betrayed how little Britain's economy matters to us now.

History took an inevitable turn to farce this week when Britain, freshly divorced from Europe, began negotiating a free trade deal with Australia with a promise to buy more Vegemite and Tim Tams.

What the British side may not have worked out yet is that we have a trade deficit with them  $3.5 billion in a two-way trade of $30.4 billion. Any reduction in barriers between the two countries will likely boost Australian exports into Britain, not the other way around. Our tariff wall was demolished decades ago; it is theirs that is the problem in the relationship.

Where history repeats as farce is in what drove Johnson and his government to come begging for a trade deal at its own expense. Britain can't stand its neighbours, and is reaching out to its kin on the other side of the globe to prove to its own people that it still has clout. In this respect, Britain has reverted to Australia's self-defeating posture a century ago.

Britain looks down on Europe, and its people in the same way that Australia once viewed Asia and its people. Times have changed, of course, and Brexit is not as overtly racist as the White Australia Policy. But an equivalent anxiety underwrote Brexit: the fear that Europeans would take British jobs, and erase a proud people's distinctive national identity.

Illustration: Simon Letch Credit:

It should be remembered that the British government didn't share our obsession with racial purity in 1901  its interest back then was in the free movement of people and goods throughout the empire. Joseph Chamberlain, the secretary of the colonies in London, had pre-empted the White Australia debate with a warning that he would veto any legislation that explicitly banned migration from Asia. The compromise that was reached between London and Canberra allowed Australia to achieve the same end through the backdoor of the language test.
New Delhi, June 20 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday sharpened his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression, a day after the Prime Minister asserted that Chinese troops did not intrude into Indian territory.

At least 20 Indian soldiers, including an officer, were killed in an unprecedented violent clash with Chinese PLA troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15.

The 50-year-old leader tweeted two questions for the government, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" The remarks came a day after prime Minister Modi categorically stated in the all-party meeting on the Chinese intrusion in the Galwan Valley and the killing of Indian soldiers that "no Indian post or territory is occupied by anyone." The Prime Minister had emphasized that all necessary steps for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure will continue to be taken at a fast pace.

PM had also reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend the borders and said that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.

Rahul Gandhi has been attacking the PM Modi-led government since the incident took place earlier this week.

On Friday, he said that the Government was fast asleep and is in denial of the problem whose price was paid by our martyred Jawans.

A day before that, he raised questions about the soldiers being sent unarmed to face the Chinese on the LAC.

"By killing the unarmed soldiers of India, China has committed a big mistake. I want to ask who sent them unarmed towards the danger and why, who is responsible?" Rahul Gandhi said in a video message.

He also questioned PM Modi's silence on the killing of the Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley on Wednesday. "Why is the Prime Minister silent? Why is he hiding? Enough is enough. We need to know what has happened. How dare China kill our soldiers? How dare they take our land?" Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who also participated in the all-party meet on Friday, contended that "valuable time had been lost" and asked what the government was doing next.

"We have some specific questions, for the Government: On which date did the Chinese troops intrude into our territory in Ladakh? When did the government find out about the Chinese transgressions into our territory? Was it on May 5, as reported, or earlier?" she had asked.
The late Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Shweta Singh Kirti has deleted her social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram. Shweta's profiles were visible to all till Thursday when she posted about returning to their hometown Patna from Mumbai and immersing the late actors' ashes.

However, on Friday, not a single post or photo is visible on Shweta's profile anymore. Nothing apart from her name was visible on the profile.

Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging in his Mumbai residence on Sunday morning. Sushant's US-based sister Shweta arrived in India earlier this week after the actor's demise.

A few days ago, Shweta had shared a handwritten note written to her by her brother. She also shared an open letter addressed to her brother and deleted the post later.

Read: Sushant Singh Rajput's Sister Bids Him Adieu With Heartfelt Note: You'll Always Be Loved

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has started probing Sushant Singh Rajput's death. Police has started recording statements of the actor's staff, family, friends and industry colleagues.

Many netizens have been speculating if Shweta was instructed by the police to lock her Facebook profile.

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Because I love God and my neighbor, I will always try to be respectful and civil in my speech. At the same time, society will not tell me what words I must and must not say. Sorry, but I'm not playing that very dangerous game. I urge you not to play that game either.

For years, in order to have dialogue with people with different perspectives, as well as to interact with the younger generation, I have freely chosen to use words like gay or lesbian rather than only saying homosexual. At the same time, I have had no illusions. I knew I would be just as hated, just as vilified, just as judged by those whose agenda I rejected.

But thats not what we were told. We were told that we needed to show sensitivity. That it was imperative that we used the proper terminology. That we must go out of our way to not offend with our words. This is the enlightened way.

But because we resisted the radical agenda of LGBTQ+ activists, we were branded bigots and homophobes and haters and transphobes, just the same. Our careful communication did not win us brownie points in the end.

Let that serve as an example today. Quoting the right phrases will not get you a free pass. Avoiding the wrong words will not exempt you from attack. Do not be deceived.

If you do not conform completely to the latest demands of the crowd, you will be reviled, excommunicated, and cancelled. You have been forewarned.

When it comes to homosexual issues, I still use terms like gay or lesbian to interact with those who would otherwise not hear me. And I choose to use the latest version of LGBTQ+ to illustrate the point I and others have made for years. There is no end in sight. There will always be another term. Another orientation. Another identity. This is what happens when you deviate from male and female He created them.

But if I was forced to use the latest, acceptable terminology or else, I would politely refuse. No one has the right to dictate the words that you and I use.

Today, we must say black lives matter to prove our orthodoxy. Perhaps tomorrow we will have to pay reparations?

Personally, since some of my black Christian colleagues have conveyed to me what black lives matter means to them, Im happy to affirm my solidarity, using those very words. (For more on this, see here.) With absolute freedom and without any sense of coercion, I want the world to know that I truly believe that black lives matter to God and to humanity. I say that from the heart.

But I have no illusions here either. To the woke crowd, my words are nothing more than virtue signaling. I will not win them with my words.

And if demands were put on me to say the words or post the logo to prove my opposition to racism, my answer would be no. You will not dictate what I say or do not say.

Not only so, but if I want to shout out, Black lives matter, beginning in the womb, I will do that too. (For our viral meme, see here.) And you better believe I will always explain why I do not stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.

I do not bow the knee to the crowd. Neither should you.

Of course, I would never dream of using derogatory terms or racial epithets. Those are not part of my vocabulary, nor do they enter my thoughts.

At the same time, I categorically reject todays cancel culture that will crucify a young adult for an ugly tweet he posted when he was 15. How contrite must he be before he has paid his dues? How many apologies must he offer? What acts must he perform to prove that he is duly penitent? This too is a counsel of despair.

In November, 2016, shortly before his sudden rise to fame, I interviewed Prof. Jordan Peterson on my radio show. I didnt know a lot about him, only that he had taken a courageous stand on his college campus, refusing to go along with transgender terminology. No one was going to force him on what to say.

But as we spoke by phone that day, I was in for quite a surprise. He was not a meek, hurting Christian, wounded by the attacks of his own university. Instead, he was fiery and bold, conveying anything but a victim mentality. Rather, as someone who had studied Communism for years, he saw where enforced speech led. He would not bow down to a destructive authoritarian system.

Barely 8 months later, in June 2017, Canada passed a national law, making it illegal to misgender someone. And how far would this law go? As expressed by Brenda Cossman, a law professor at Petersons University of Toronto, Would it cover a situation where an individual repeatedly, consistently refuses to use a persons chosen pronoun? It might.

In fact, according to a 2014 policy in Ontario, Gender-based harassment can involve: (5) Refusing to refer to a person by their self-identified name and proper personal pronoun.

Thats why Cossman thought that failure to use someones preferred pronoun could make you into a lawbreaker, even though the federal law didnt mention pronouns. The precedent had already been set.

This enforced language code is now part of the Canadian Human Rights Act, added to a section of the Criminal Code that targets hate speech  defined as advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred  where it joins other identifiable groups.

So, refusing to call a biological male by his new female name, or choosing not to refer to him as her, is now in the same category as advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred. This is why we resist.

If you choose to use a particular pronoun or name when interacting with someone, especially at your first meeting, that is certainly your prerogative. But when you are told you must, at that point you must refuse.

The dictating of our speech today will certainly lead to the dictating of our behavior tomorrow.

I urge you to stand your ground.
Firefighters and gardai are at the scene of a car on fire at Carrickmines Retail Park in Dublin which has also affected a nearby gas main.

Three fire engines are currently dealing with the blaze.
ROSCOMMON, MI  A single-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 in northern Michigan has resulted in the death of a Roseville woman.

The crash occurred the morning of Friday, June 19, on northbound I-75 between mile markers 238 and 239 in Roscommon County, just south of the Roscommon exit.

Michigan State Police troopers responded to the crash site and found the vehicle had contained two people. The passenger, 24-year-old Ekaterina Carter, was killed in the crash.

The driver, a 32-year-old woman who also lives in Roseville, was seriously injured. She was flown to a Traverse City hospital to undergo surgery to address her injuries, troopers report.

Initial investigation suggests the vehicle went off the road and the driver tried correcting. She ended up overcorrecting, causing the vehicle to overturn multiple times.

Both women were ejected during the wreck. Troopers believe intoxicants and speed were contributing factors.
- In 1983 on June 19, Corporal Halidu Giwa who was in the Ghana Army, led a group of rebels to try taking down the then rulership of JJ Rawlings

- The coup was fierce but not successful as JJ's men were able to stop the Halidu-led group of rebels

- Halidu Giwa survived and subsequently became the Vice President of the Bank of New York

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Exactly 37 years ago, on June 19, 1983, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings' rulership was highly threatened by Corporal Halidu Giwa who nearly overthrew Rawlings.

Corporal Halidu Giwa deployed his group to take down the then government of the Provisional National Defense Council but this was unsuccessful although they came very close.

In many cases, when a coup fails, the leader's life is also terminated but in the cases of Halidu Giwa, it is reported that he survived and subsequently became the Vice President of the Bank of New York.

READ ALSO: Young lady flaunts her 'beauty with brains' in viral photos after graduating with PhD

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It is also indicated that many lives were lost on that fateful day when Halidu and his squad wanted to take Rawlings' rulership by surprise.

Of the many casualties that day was Boakye Agyarko who was shot and left at the 37 Military Hospital until he gave up the ghost.

Lance Corporal Carlos Halidu Giwa was in the Ghana Army and he led the military coup d'etat with Sergeant Abdul Malik.

READ ALSO: Couple married for 82 years say secret to happy marriage is communication

YEN.com.gh also reported that AY Poyoo, a rising Ghanaian rapper, humorist and musician has gone viral in Zimbabwe, South Africa and other African countries as a recent song he released on YouTube has already gotten over 300,000 views and still increasing.

A post sighted by YEN.com.gh on the verified Twitter account of Ameyaw Debrah shows the extent of Poyoo's trend in the African country, Zimbabwe, which may be just one of many countries the Ghanaian rapper is making waves in.

In the post, there was a conversation between Ameyaw Debrah and a journalist from Zimbabwe who was urgently looking for a way to reach AY Poyoo in order to tap into his trend in the African country.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

The impact of COVID-19 on trotro business in Ghana | #Yencomgh

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
By Trend

As many as 2,322 people have been infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours in Iran, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Trend reports citing the ministry.

According to Sadat Lari, 115 more people have died from the coronavirus over the past day.

Sadat Lari added that the condition of 2,842 people is critical.

Sadat Lari said that the situation is more dangerous in Iran's, Khuzestan, Razavi Khorasan, East Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, West Azerbaijan, Golestan, and Kurdistan provinces.

So far, more than 1.39 million tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 202,500 people have been infected 9,507 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 161,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
UK retail spending recovered strongly for May, but remained well below early 2020 levels while online sales continued to increase. Initial Sterling gains again faded quickly.

Retail sales rebound strongly in May

UK retail sales recovered strongly in May with a record monthly increase of 12.0% following the record slide of 18.0% for April and well above consensus forecasts of a 5.7% gain. Underlying sales increased 10.2% for the month after a 15.0% slump the previous month.

Despite the monthly surge, headline sales were still 13.1% lower on the year from 22.7% previously.

Image: UK retail sales

There was a strong rebound in non-food store sales led by a 42% gain for household sales as shops were allowed to re-open.

In the three months to May, sales fell overall by 12.8%, in comparison with the previous three. Drops in sales were seen across all types of shops except for food and non-store retailing, which includes hardware and DIY stores.

Further increase for June, long-term stresses will continue

Non-essential shops in England opened from the middle of June which will provide a further notable boost to sales for the month.

Non-essential stores in wales will also open on June 22nd which will provide a small contribution, but there will be no re-opening in Scotland until June 29th and sales there will have only a marginal impact.

According to Pantheon Macroeconomics; Mays recovery in retail sales should not be interpreted as a sign that the economy is embarking on a healthy V-shaped recovery from Covid-19. Retail sales account for only a third of households overall spending. Naturally, spending on goods will recover faster than on services, which usually require human contact and remain largely unavailable. Indeed, households likely have reallocated some of the money usually spent on services to buy goods during the pandemic.

These additional sales will tend to fade as restrictions gradually ease.

Lynda Petherick, head of retail for Accenture UK and Ireland, said: "Given the wholesale shifts in consumer behaviour these last few months, it would be optimistic to assume shopping habits will return to normal in the immediate future.

Pantheon added; The winding up of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme likely will lead to a net reduction in households incomes, as some of the 9 million workers who have befitted from the scheme will be fired, while others will only be brought back part-time.

The growth in average earnings will be weak given the impact of furloughed workers and confidence remains fragile. The latest consumer confidence data recorded only a small improvement for the first half of June.

Overall, pantheon expects household spending to be 5% below the pre-covid peak by the end of 2020 unless there are measures to boost spending.

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics commented; The industry remains in survival mode. Our research showed 8 in 10 retailers are considering making redundancies while half are considering store closures in a range of cost-saving measures.

As the Government begins to withdraw support for businesses and households, the true cost of the pandemic will begin to emerge.

Capital Economics Paul Dales was optimistic on for the second-quarter outlook following the retail data, but with longer-term concerns:

Overall, these data are an encouraging sign that the economy is rebounding faster than we had expected and suggest that, although GDP has already fallen by 25pc, the contraction in activity in Q2 as a whole wont be as bad as our 23pc q/q forecast. Even so, the worst is yet to come for the labour market and the public finances.

There will be further pressure on Chancellor Sunak to introduce a temporary cut in VAT to help boost sales and the wider economy.

Internet sales continue to increase

The proportion spent online increased to a record high in May 2020 at 33.4% compared with 30.8% for April 2020.

Image: UK internet sales

Lynda Petherick added; "As the proportion of shoppers buying online continues to soar, the individual retailers who best recover in this new environment will be those who can quickly adapt to accelerating trends, such as the shift to ecommerce and the digitalisation of both 'in-store' and online experiences."

There should be an easing of internet sales as shops re-open and markets will be monitoring longer-term trends. If online sales continue to increase, there will be further pressure on traditional bricks and mortar retailers.

Sterling pushed higher after the stronger than expected data but, as was the case after Thursdays Bank of England policy decision, gains faded quickly. GBP/USD retreated from highs above 1.2450 to near 1.2400 with EUR/GBP at 0.9030 after holding above 0.9000.

Image: GBP/USD exchange rate chart
Thomas Roussels free thinking and creativity, like his ability to break away from the beaten path, could not but endear him to the Richard Mille brand, founded in 2001 with a determination to shatter the existing codes of Haute Horlogerie while promoting craftsmanship and extreme technicity. The uncompromising standards and inventiveness of Richard Mille watches echo the rigour and imagination required for composing orchestral music, notes Thomas Roussel. But beyond this, we share the same notion of communicating passion and emotion, and the same desire to carve out new creative pathways.

Thomas Roussel  Richard Mille

Their respective defences of a profoundly contemporary art form, unshackled and uncompromising, create a natural bond between Thomas Roussel and Richard Mille. They have in common a passion for contemporary art and artistic professions whose ceaseless invention is always anchored in great precision. Thomas Roussels entry into the Richard Mille family is fully in keeping with the brands commitment to contemporary creationfrom its acquisition of the Editions Cercle dArt, founded with the support of Pablo Picasso, to its partnerships with Frieze, the leading contemporary art fair and with the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

About Thomas Roussel

When Thomas Roussel learned to read and write music at three years old, before he could begin to decipher a book, could he have foreseen the singular destiny that would send him on a journey through the worlds of both classical music and electronica, one that would see him compose scores for feature films and orchestrate some of musics largest events from New York to Beijing? With his solid foundation of conservatory training, starting at five years of age at the piano, six for the violin, he seemed predestined for a glorious classical career. But the young man was just as passionate about electronic music. After classes in composition and orchestration, he would hasten to listen to the greatest DJs of the day. Already, as a teenager, he had met Daft Punk and Laurent Garnier. Such was the beginning of what would become a long story.

Thomas Roussel  Richard Mille

When Thomas continued his studies in Paris, under the prestigious composer Guillaume Connesson, he sustained a parallel collaboration with the Techno music pioneer Jeff Mills. His final exam for Connesson proved a formative experience: a composition for symphony orchestra produced in just twelve hours whilst locked in a room without a single instrument. He emerged victorious from this final challenge, with the congratulations of the jury. An experience he capitalises on today, it allowed him to write and orchestrate in just eight days the score he conducted with 80 musicians on the Seine River to celebrate Paris candidacy as host for the 2024 Olympic Games. Prior to that, he composed for film, and undertook any number of projects with other musicians, such is the passionate fervour of the man. His talents as a conductor, musician and composer soon attracted the great fashion houses, who invited him to imagine the music for their shows. From the Grand Palais all the way to China, Thomas Roussel has reinvented the codes of his genre and participated in ever more original and spectacular performances. Under his baton, orchestras have played all in a row in Paris, in a circle in Guangzhou, and even suspended in the air at a memorable fashion show from the beginning of this year.



For more than fifteen years, Thomas Roussel has remained faithful to both his true loves, classical music and electronic music, unrepentantly departing from the beaten path to navigate between two worlds that know all too little of each other. For a 2018 performance with dozens of musicians at Le Grand Rex in Paris, he re-orchestrated titles from the Ed Banger electronic music catalogue for the labels 15th anniversary. Yet his music can by no means be reduced to a mere hybridisation of two genres. Indeed, its full scope was already on display with the release of his first album, The Future Comes Before, in 2017. Under the name Prequell, the musician reveals himself to be a fantastic pop composer.

Thomas Roussel composes using orchestras, grand string ensembles and percussion sections, but also, obviously, synthesisers and machines. Always and throughout, his music remains utterly singular, transcending the boundaries of style. His compositions are like comets sweeping through galaxies, warlike or peaceful, ferocious or serene. Each one is crafted of pure emotion. His is a tangible and generous approach, one the musician shares with Richard Mille and which should soon give rise to collaborative projects.
He further added that AP SSC 2020 exams which were originally scheduled to be conducted in March/April, had been postponed twice due to lockdown enforced by the state and the Centre to restrict the spread of novel Coronavirus.

The government of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, 20 June, has announced its decision to cancel Andhra Pradesh Secondary School Certificate AP SSC, or Class 10, examination 2020. The decision to cancel the examination was announced by Andhra Pradesh education minister Adimulapu Suresh at a press conference in Vijayawada.

According to a report by The Times of India, all AP SSC students will be promoted without appearing for the examination.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy suggested us not to conduct examinations and promote all students to next class," the education minister said.

A report by Hindustan Times mentioned Adimulapu Suresh saying that the decision to cancel the examination was taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state and keeping in view the health of students.

He further added that AP SSC 2020 exams which were originally scheduled to be conducted in March/April, had been postponed twice due to lockdown enforced by the state and the Centre to restrict the spread of novel Coronavirus.

We shall soon decide on the guidelines to allot grades to the passed SSC students, based on their performance in the periodical assessment tests, Suresh said.

Around 6.3 lakh students were supposed to take the AP Board Class 10 examinations 2020 which were to be held from 10 July. The state government has decided to conduct six papers instead of 11.

The Hindustan Times report also said that the state education minister has even informed that the advanced supplementary examinations for Intermediate first and second year which were to be held in July were also being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The students, who could not pass the previous two successive Intermediate examinations in the past, will be deemed to have been passed, he said.
Celebrity Gogglebox left fans in hysterics on Friday night, as Ruth Langsford and Denise Van Outen enjoyed some very raunchy conversations with their loved ones.

The TV presenter, 60, amused viewers after she made a candid remark to husband Eamonn Holmes, also 60, while watching a documentary about sex in lockdown that detailed how couples would use everyday items in the bedroom.

Discussing her youth, Ruth admitted: 'My gran had the old style spin dryer that moved round quite quickly, you had to sit on it to keep it still and it was quite fun.'

Hilarious: Celebrity Gogglebox viewers went wild as Ruth Langsford made a very raunchy remark about sitting on a tumble dryer to husband Eamonn Holmes during Friday's show

Eamonn looked shocked as he turned to his wife, asking if her grandmother had told her she'd used the dryer in the raunchy way she was hinting at.

'We sat on it together,' Ruth said as she smiled at Eamonn who simply said 'Oh God.'

Denise, meanwhile, was sat by her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall when she ate popcorn from a bowl in his lap and joked: 'It makes a change to pick something up from that area that'll fill me up.'

Unable to contain their giggles after her innuendo, Eddie claimed she should reach down into the bottom of the bowl before she later told him to 'lick his own balls' if he wanted to act like a dog.

Viewers went wild for the pair's remarks, and took to Twitter to share how funny they found their raunchy conversations were.

One fan wrote: 'Ruth!!! Omg I screamed!!!! Get your dryer life [sic]'

While another joked: 'Absolutely love #Celebritygogglebox @Eamonnholmes and Ruth are brilliant....I'll never look at her the same way after her spin washer story.'

Talking about Denise's comments, another said: 'Ohhh Denise and her other half having a little sexy chat flirt there [sic]'

Another viewer claimed Denise had 'the best lines' during the episode as they declared the reality show the 'best on telly.'

In hysterics: Viewers went wild for the pair's remarks, and took to Twitter to share how funny they found their raunchy conversations were

It wasn't just Ruth and Denise who made some rather raunchy comments during the show, as Martin Kemp complemented Queen Elizabeth II to the shock of son Roman.

Watching a news reel about the Queen's recent birthday, which showed her in her youth, Martin said: 'When she was younger she was fit, she looked a lot like my mum.'

Roman was quick to point out how that sounded, as he joked: 'you've made it weird now, think about what you said.'

Taking a second to think about his comment, Martin then laughed as he admitted it had been 'a bit weird'.
A divisive new monument to Soviet leader Lenin was unveiled in Germany on Saturday, in the middle of a global row over the controversial background of historical figures immortalised as statues. More than 30 years after the post-World War II communist experiment on German soil ended, the tiny Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) installed Lenin's likeness in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. A few hundred gathered for the ceremony, marked by fluttering red flags and the smell of grilled sausages. "Criticism of capitalism and the search for social alternatives is everywhere. We're criticising that there's no public discussion of socialism as an alternative," MLPD chair Gabi Fechtner said. The MLPD says it is the first such statue ever to be erected on the territory of the former West Germany, decades after the eastern German Democratic Republic communist state collapsed along with its deadly Berlin Wall and Stasi secret police. "The time for monuments to racists, anti-Semites, fascists, anti-communists and other relics of the past has clearly passed," said Fechtner in an earlier statement. "Lenin was an ahead-of-his-time thinker of world-historical importance, an early fighter for freedom and democracy." Not everyone in Gelsenkirchen, a centre of the former industrial and mining powerhouse Ruhr region, has welcomed the over two-metre (6.5 feet) likeness, produced in former Czechoslovakia in 1957. "Lenin stands for violence, repression, terrorism and horrific human suffering," representatives from mainstream parties on the district council in Gelsenkirchen-West said in a resolution passed in early March. The council "will not tolerate such an anti-democratic symbol in its district," it added, urging "all legal means" be used to block its installation. But later in March the upper state court in Muenster rejected an attempt to stop the statue that it argued would impact a historic building on the same site. The MLPD trumpeted interest from as far away as Russia, but urged guests to maintain social distancing and wear nose and mouth coverings against coronavirus infection. - Paint-splattered Bismarck - The worldwide Black Lives Matter movement following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25 has found some echo in Germany. Unknown people splattered red paint on a statue of Otto von Bismarck in Hamburg's Altona district this week. The "Iron Chancellor" behind Germany's unification in 1871 is also known for hosting the Berlin Conference of 1884, which became a byword for the carving up of Africa between European colonial powers. Berlin itself has been a hub of activism against commemorations in public space of colonialists, with much ire directed at street names honouring 19th-Century figures in the so-called "African Quarter". But political decisions to rename roads named after figures like Adolf Luederitz, a merchant who played a key role in colonising Namibia, or Carl Peters, a colonialist behind German expansion in eastern Africa, have met with resistance from locals. In decades of experience addressing the country's Nazi and communist pasts, "things have always been done properly, it all seems very German" with official applications to local authorities and orderly dismantling of monuments, said Urte Evert, head of Berlin's Spandau Citadel museum where many old statues are on display. "We haven't made so much progress with colonialism, something the USA, Britain and France too have been confronting for much longer," Evert added. While the United States, Britain and Belgium have seen statues of Christopher Columbus, slave trader Edward Colston and King Leopold II, brutal ruler of the Congo, attacked or removed, in Germany, only a handful of monuments have been splattered by paint. A statue of Vladimir Lenin (pictured addressing supporters in October 1918 in Moscow) is to be unveiled for the first time on territory of the former West Germany, decades after the Berlin Wall was torn down
The United Way of North Central Iowa has awarded the second round of funding to help local nonprofits struggling with the COVID-19 crisis. Nearly $25,000 will be allocated to nonprofits in the north Iowa region.

Twelve organizations, chosen by a committee of United Way, public health, emergency management and nonprofit representatives, were awarded money from the United Ways COVID-19 Disaster Relief emergency funds:

Food Bank of Iowa, $3,000.00 for emergency food assistance

Charlie Brown Preschool & Child Care, $3,000.00 summer activities for children

Lake Mills Community Preschool and Daycare, $1,000.00 for increased sanitation needs

Mosaic in Northern Iowa, $3,446.00 for increased sanitation needs

Greater Iowa Youth For Christ, $500.00 for increased sanitation needs

Kossuth County Child Assistance Resource Education Team, $750.00 for client assistance in Kossuth County

43 North Iowa- $2,500.00 for increased sanitation needs

YSS Francis Lauer- $2,000.00 for increased sanitation needs

North Iowa Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program-$1,000 for technology to provide remote visits with children in need of assistance.

One Vision-$3,999 for increased sanitation needs

Crisis Intervention Service, $1,500 for client assistance and technology for remote work.

Habitat for Humanity of North Central Iowa, $1,500 for increased sanitation needs

All of the money will stay in the community, and the United Way is working with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to build the capacity of the fund. To donate, please visit www.unitedwaynci.org/covid-19-disaster-relief-funds.

United Way of North Central Iowa is a nonprofit charity that works to improve the daily lives and future opportunities of North Iowa residents.

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Gold prices remained stable at Rs 47,450 per 10 gram, while silver went up to Rs 48,050 from Rs 47,550 per kilogram on Saturday, according to the Good Returns. The prices of gold jewellery vary across India, which is the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges. In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold is holding steady at Rs 46,250 per 10 gram, while in Chennai it is Rs 45,570.

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With its long standing opposition to immigration (both illegal rs gold immigration and current levels of legal immigration), National Review has found common ground with the far right. Like many conservative media outlets, it has flirted with the "great replacement" theory espoused by the El Paso gunman. A National Review article in January warned: "The native born are having fewer children, leading to a fear that new entrants into American society will replace the existing culture rather than assimilate into it." This is, sadly, a return to the roots of a magazine that defended Jim Crow in the 1950s (and even the early 1960s) and South Africa's apartheid regime until its dissolution in 1994. Nowadays the magazine often defends Trump from (well founded) charges of racism.

Who has gone to a big convention knows, you walking a lot of miles as it is, she said. to have a little break people mover, anything like that be greatly beneficial. The idea of a people moving walkway was discussed in early planning phases of the convention center expansion and new stadium but was scrapped due to cost concerns.

I found My Plate the most manageable way to stay accountable on my weight. And because the database has such detail and so many of the foods I eat regularly (such as almost every food Trader Joes and Costco sell), it makes tracking super easy, even on days when my plan for meals changes. Since June 4, I tracked every day I had access to a computer, and have only gone over my calorie goal three times, and two of them were by less than 100 calories. I lost weight. So clearly it does good. The one time I went farther over? I wasn even up to level of calorie intake. I call that a good thing.

Dao Manh Tien rushed as fast as he could to the St. Joseph Cathedral even the prayer As the bells resounded in his ears, he realized that he done it again. It was the second time that he hurried to the cathedral, forgetting that he no longer had his job. For 22 long years, it had been Tien job to ring the cathedral bells every day, and it was a task he done to perfection with great devotion. It has been two months since he retired, but his heart still thumps every time he hears the bells ring. Tien lives in a house on Ly Quoc Su street, just a few meters from the cathedral. He had been the Hanoi St. Joseph Cathedral for so long that the habit kicks in, every now and then. "I started to ring the bells in 1996, when I was 49 years old. I have worked here with three archbishops, four priests and a parish priest," said Tien, who used to be a worker in construction materials supply [Read more.] about Last bell ringer for Hanoi cathedral harkens to their call

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala., June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Cynthia Warrick, President of Stillman College  one of the oldest historically black college or university (HBCU) in the nation  released the following public statement to commemorate the Juneteenth Holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans held under the Confederacy in the United States.



The mission of Stillman College is based on the truth that there is no limit to what can be accomplished when opportunity is not withheld from any in our society. The provision of the opportunity of education and self determination to African Americans at the end of Reconstruction was met by White society with extreme measures of either economic disenfranchisement or violence. With limited resources, Stillman College has produced courageous men and women who have fought for justice in times of extreme challenge. From William Sheppard, who brought the Gospel and the Light of Justice to the Congo in Africa, to those of our campus who offered shelter and community for Autherine Lucy and Vivian Malone when they integrated the University of Alabama, to those Stillman students who joined to march from First African Baptist Church only to be targeted for violence by police and private citizens, Stillman College has served its mission to promote equal opportunity, equal justice, and equal access for all in our society. We continue to participate in the conversations about equal justice and human flourishing in our community.

Now, coming again to the celebration of Juneteenth, we witness the contradiction of these values among those sworn to protect us. Indeed, we are horrified by the excessive and lethal violence perpetrated by police officers upon the persons of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, GA, of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, and less recently upon Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY. These victims illustrate that this state violence is no respecter of gender or location. The common aspect of their lives is that all were Black Americans, all had loving families who are now devastated, and all were victims of senseless police violence. We can add the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by a retired law enforcement officer, his son, and an accomplice in February near Brunswick, GA. These brutal events remind us that there are racial realities that are just as deadly today as they were nearly one hundred years ago in Tulsa, OK. We lament that the original sin of America has not been resolved. Violence and death resulting from systemic racial prejudice continue to destroy the lives of Black Americans.

The Stillman community strives to be light casting out this darkness. We resist the threat of despair by proclaiming in word and deed that equal opportunity and equal justice are undeniably sacred. They are sacred not only because of the founding language of equality in the Constitution of the United States, but also because of the sacrifice of African American men and women throughout the history of this nation who have been its unsung heroes. They have moved from property to personhood in our founding documents, but not yet in our hearts, in all of our laws, or in our deepest consciousness as a nation. As an educational community focused on opportunity for the underserved, Stillman grieves when injustice and violence continue to be perpetrated upon black and brown Americans.

We continue to work toward that moment when all people will be known by their character and not their color, but until that moment, we continue to stand as a gateway to opportunity for those who seek it, and we continue to advocate for those who are the victims of the continuing injustices in our society.

As a concrete part of that work and an expression of our continued commitment to the goals of equal access and opportunity, we are very pleased to announce the establishment of a new scholarship program in the name of George Floyd. It will benefit students at the College who intend to study Criminal Justice in order to become the voice of the next generation of those who will continue to advocate for equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Any who wish to join us by contributing to and supporting this important work may do so at https://stillman.edu/give/.

About Stillman College

Founded in 1875, Stillman College is a liberal arts institution with a historical and formal affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is committed to fostering academic excellence, to providing opportunities for diverse populations, and to maintaining a strong tradition of preparing students for leadership and service by fostering experiential learning and community engagement designed to equip and empower Stillmans students and its constituents.

For more information, please visit http://www.stillman.edu
Daniel Allen (10/03/1984) from Sunderland, was charged with violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday 15 June.

James Miekle (19/08/1981) of no fixed address, was charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency service worker. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 15 June 2020.

Hasan Khan (11/01/1999) from Hertfordshire, was charged with possession of a Class B drug. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 13 July 2020.

Ferirai Mzila (16/03/1996) of no fixed address, was charged with assaulting an emergency service worker. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 15 June 2020.

Liam Hanley (16/05/1991) from Walsall was charged with possession of a Class A drug, He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 10 July 2020.

Andrew Banks (13/04/1992) of no fixed address, was charged was outranging public decency. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday 15 June.

Matthew Cardwell (21/01/1989) from Barking was charged with criminal damage, he will appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 10 July.

6 June

Christopher Scott, 28, from Southwark, was charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency service worker. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 8 June 2020.

Orson Shandilya, 23, from Harlesden, was charged with causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress and possession of a class A drug. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 3 July 2020.

1 June

Brendon Cummins, 18, of no fixed address, was charged with assaulting an emergency service worker. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 30 June 2020.

30 May

Piers Corbyn, 73, from Southwark, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 24 July 2020.

16 May

Phillip Hartley, 37, from Doncaster, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18 August 2020.

Jeffery Wyatt, 56, from Beachampton, Milton Keynes, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 10 July 2020.

Fiona Hine, 35, from Wandsworth, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. She is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18 August 2020.

Jackub Andrzej, 27, from Ealing, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18 August 2020.

Dimitri Pensin, 34, from Pinner, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 12 August 2020.

Piers Corbyn, 73, from Southwark, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 20 August 2020.

Aleksandrs Rimicans, 27, from Islington, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 20 August 2020.

Alexander Heaton, 37, from Tower Hamlets, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 12 August 2020.

Jaime Stewart, 44, from Wood Green, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18 August 2020.

Princess Rose Morgan, 56, from Lambeth, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. She is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 13 August 2020.

Ian Jackson, 66, from Wandsworth, was charged with offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 19 August 2020.
The clash on the night of June 15 is instructive in many ways. But mostly, it is likely to become a case study in China. The PLA and their masters have largely had a free run over the decades. They have successfully employed psychological warfare with its supporting attributes like media campaigns and selective legal interpretations to inch beyond their periphery.

Most countries have avoided standing up to the Chinese and have given in to their territorial aggression and diplomatic double speak. The strategy worked like a charm, duly aided and supported by an enviable war chest created by the fastest growing economy in the world.

Over the years, the success of a proven formula should have led to the creation of a satisfied power. This has been evident in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South China Sea, Tibet, South Mongolia and the list just goes on. Instead, it has given rise to arrogance and over confidence.

This has undoubtedly permeated down the rank and file of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). However, even as the PLA basked in the sparkle of their military toys, they perhaps forgot the lessons that emerge from the conflictual experiences of the Indian Army. It will be relevant to relate two such case studies, the first against their friends across the Line of Control (LoC).

This action was a part of Operation Faulad in 1965 in the Poonch Sector. Termed as the Battle of Raja Rani, it is an account of 2 SIKH, its gallant soldiers and foremost their Commanding Officer, Lt Col NN Khanna.

Tasked at short notice to capture the Raja post, the battalion undertook a long and arduous approach march in the mountains and launched a multidirectional attack against the Pakistanis. A simultaneous assault was being undertaken by 3 DOGRA against its adjacent post called Rani.

A fierce battle ensued despite the day-lighted troops of 2 SIKH fighting against all odds. With the attack having been stalled, the CO Col Khanna rallied his men and personally led a second assault. Having captured the first few bunkers, he fell to enemy machine gun fire. This did not break the resolve of the troops. Instead, it fired them to charge on relentlessly.

The Raja post was captured with heavy casualties on both sides. What seemed to be impossible had been achieved. With victory at their feet, a soldier rightly summed up the battle when he said, Raja litta, Raja ditta (We won Raja, we sacrificed a Raja).

In yet another incident, though this time from the 17th century, Chhatrapati Shivajis army achieved a stupendous feat. Shivaji had planned to recapture a number of forts held by the Mughals. Among these, one of the most outstanding and difficult to attack was Sinhagarh, near Pune, not very far from the National Defence Academy.

The Maratha Army came up with an ingenious plan to climb the fort walls, which were a major impediment in capturing it. Tanaji Malusare, the general leading the army, planned to scale the walls with the help of tamed monitor lizards called Ghorpads.

In the ensuing battle, Tanaji was killed in action. However, the passing away of the general did not deter the troops, who fought on relentlessly to defeat the Mughal forces. After the victory Chhatrapati Shivaji is said to have remarked, Gad aala, pan Sinha gela (the fort has been won but we lost the lion). The fort is suitably named Sinhagarh.

In many ways, the incident of June 15 and the actions of 16 BIHAR follow in the illustrious footsteps of their predecessors. It is heartening to find that the death of a leader did not dampen the morale of soldiers and the actions of the battalion were resolute despite the constraints imposed.

Quite to the contrary, death galvanised them to fight a numerically superior force with equipment better suited for the nature of clash that took place. The limited inputs from the scene of action suggests that the Biharis have done themselves, their Paltan, the Indian Army, and the country proud.

The incident on June 15 has yet again proved that the morale and ability to deliver against all odds at the level of an Infantry Battalion, remains as effective as ever. The fact that the CO, Col Santosh Babu, and his small confirmatory party were out-numbered is undoubted. It is also clear that they were physically assaulted in the most despicable way. However, this did not deter the soldiers to fight for the honour of their CO and the Paltan. Neither did it dissuade their brothers in arms from the battalion to fight despite all odds of terrain and evidently a disadvantageous position.

There are some incidents that tend to create an impact well beyond the narrow geographical confines of the hills and valleys that they take place in. At times, tactical actions can have a strategic impact and a strategic import. What defines such incidents is its context and imagery.

In the past, it seemed that the Chinese had mastered the art of a fine balancing act. They did just enough to push their strategic objectives, but never as much to trigger a response. However, the series of events that led to this standoff and the blatant display of barbaric behaviour suggests that PLAs arrogance got the better of its judgement.

The incidents at Galwan will become a watershed in Indias relations with China in the foreseeable future. The caution, care and sensitivity that governed Indias actions will and should get diluted. Decisions, both bilateral and multilateral that were set aside should be back on the table. China has proved beyond doubt that strength begets strength. And one-sided respect and caution is unlikely to be reciprocated by Beijing.

The achievements at Nathu La in 1967 are often lost sight of in the shadow of the 1962 Indo-China war. Before events and the fast turning pages of history make this incident a small speck on our timeline, let us name the ridge overlooking Galwan Valley the Santosh Ridge. It is only appropriate to immortalise the sacrifice of Col Babu and his men, who will continue to inspire not only the men of 16 BIHAR but also the entire Nation, in the collective effort to guard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
A British novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient who has been hospitalized for over three months in Ho Chi Minh City, at one point being entirely reliant on life support, might be well enough to board a flight home soon, the hospital where he is treated has proposed.

The 43-year-old man from Scotland is now breathing room air without supplemental oxygen for most of the time and has been eager to go home, according to the latest update by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Saturday morning.

According to its treatment sub-committee, the patient has been off the ventilator for the seventh consecutive day.

He has completely weaned off oxygen support during the day and only needed it at night.

The Briton is fully conscious and capable of coherent verbal communication.

His full recovery is only a matter of time, the committee said.

Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, where the Briton is treated, said that the man has been able to stand while holding on to support bars during physical therapy exercises.

A recent CT scan showed that 85 percent of his lungs have recovered.

Doctors have completely cut the patient off intravenous feeding as he can now eat normally.

The patient has expressed his eagerness to return to his home in Scotland for a rest before returning work.

A medical consultation meeting is scheduled for next week to review the patients conditions before he can be released from the hospital.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray Hospital, said the patient might be well enough for a hospital discharge, which will also help the man avoid risks of hospital-acquired infections due to his weak immune system and lung damages.

The Scotsman can fly business-class and be accompanied by a health worker, Thus suggested.

The cost of his repatriation can be paid for by his insurance company, his employer, or donations from benefactors, the director added.

The 43-year-old man, who was identified as Vietnams patient No. 91 of COVID-19 following his diagnosis in mid-March, is a Vietnam Airlines pilot.

He took the job at the Vietnamese national flag carrier in December last year.

He was initially admitted to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and transferred to Cho Ray on May 22 after having been cleared of the virus.

On May 8, it was announced that only ten percent of his lungs were functional and that a lung transplant might be his only viable path toward recovery.

However, he has made a remarkable recovery over the past weeks, with doctors now saying he will soon be well enough to be discharged without the need for a lung transplant.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported on Saturday morning that the national tally of COVID-19 stood at 349.

Among them, 326 patients have made a recovery while only 23 remained in treatment, including four having tested negative twice.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has promised to investigate allegations of racial profiling of Native American mothers at Lovelace Womens Hospital in Albuquerque.

The allegations were first reported by New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica. According to the article, hospital clinicians said they were instructed to conduct additional COVID-19 screenings for pregnant women who appeared to be Native American.

On June 13, Lujan Grisham referenced the article on social media.

These are significant, awful allegations and, if true, a disgusting and unforgivable violation of patient rights, the governor wrote. The state of New Mexico is investigating whether this constitutes a CMS violation and will unequivocally hold this hospital accountable.

CMS is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement provided to the Journal Friday, Lovelace said the hospitals screening practices of pregnant women had been misconstrued and inaccurately reported in the article.

We adopted clinical guidelines to protect our patients, staff and community from COVID-19 during this pandemic and complied with the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance, hospital spokesperson Whitney Marquez wrote in the statement.

All patients, visitors and staff entering our facility are screened for COVID-19 based on exposure, symptoms of COVID-19, and communities that are determined by the Governors Office and the NMDOH to be at increased risk, such as nursing home patients, dialysis patients and hard-hit geographical areas. Marquez added that the hospitals staff is committed to the healing and wellbeing of every patient regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or physical condition.

In the article, Clinicians said they were told to designate pregnant women as a person under investigation for COVID-19 and test them for the virus if the patients ZIP code was on a hospital-maintained list of pueblos and tribes. This was done even if the patient had no symptoms and did not live in a COVID-19 hotspot.

The practice may have resulted in several Native American mothers being separated from their newborn babies while awaiting test results, New Mexico In Depth reported. Clinicians told the news organization non-Native American patients did not undergo additional screening.

Malia Luarkie, birth and breastfeeding advocate at Indigenous Women Rising, said the hospitals practice could harm child development by depriving the baby and mother of skin-to-skin contact.

Family separation causes severe and long-lasting harm  being Indigenous and living on or near a reservation is not probable cause to persecute a birth parent and their child, Luarkie said in a statement from the organization.

Tewa Women United issued a statement encouraging leaders to call out such practices that destroy trust, erode our human rights and violate our Tribal and body sovereignty.

Angel Charley, director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, said in a statement that the allegations raise concerns about Native women not having fully-informed consent about their health care during birth.

State Auditor Brian Colon said he supports the governors call for an investigation into the very troubling and harmful allegations of patient discrimination against pregnant Native American women at one of Albuquerques most prominent womens hospitals.

I am truly appalled by these offensive and egregious allegations, Colon said in a statement issued to the Journal.  I will continue to monitor the situation and evaluate the Office of the State Auditors level of involvement, which may be driven by the multi-agency response to the initial demand for answers, among other considerations.
A week ago, Jessica Miller-Marez received a troubling phone call from her husband, 37-year-old Jesse Marez, who is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County.

Something strange was happening at San Quentin, Jesse told her. A large number of prisoners had recently arrived on buses from somewhere in Southern California and had been placed in cells on the upper tiers of Jesses housing area  a unit known as Badger.

Soon afterward, Jesse told his wife, the prison started to perform coronavirus tests on the men in Badger.

At first he didnt know why, but then he overheard corrections officers saying that the men in the upper tiers  the recent arrivals  had come from a prison in Chino with a major outbreak of coronavirus.

Then he started to worry.

They keep on doing tests, and every week, somebody comes up (positive): COVID, COVID, COVID, Marez told The Chronicle on Thursday.

The doors of the cells in Badger are made of bars, not solid materials, allowing vapor and droplets to mingle in the air and fall from the upper tiers to the lower ones, where Marez was celled along with about 200 other prisoners who were not from Chino. We breathe the same air, he said. We use the same showers. For some reason, prison leaders had mingled the men from the virus-swamped facility in Chino with previously healthy and uninfected members of the San Quentin population.

It was just a big old mix-up, Marez said.

Since then, he said, he has tested positive for the coronavirus, putting his life in danger as conditions at San Quentin deteriorate and the number of coronavirus infections rises exponentially  an outbreak that was both preventable and self-inflicted.

Now 159 prisoners have tested positive for the virus  a figure that has increased tenfold in the last two weeks, according to the states web tracker. In addition, more than 30 San Quentin employees have recently been infected.

These numbers are likely to climb as the virus races through the aging, overcrowded structure.

Interviews with inmates and staffers give a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the confusion and chaos that erupted behind bars as prison executives tried to keep a lid on a disaster of their own making.

In late May, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation decided to transfer 121 incarcerated men from the Chino prison to San Quentin. At the time, officials in Sacramento said this was done to prevent the prisoners from falling victim to the Chino outbreak.

But many of the men werent tested for the coronavirus for up to a month before the state put them on buses.

Andrew Aguilar, 36, has been a corrections officer at San Quentin for a little more than a year. He said that until the infected Chino prisoners were brought into San Quentin, prison staff and inmates had successfully worked together to disinfect the facility and keep the virus out. But once these new inmates came, officers and inmates started to get worried, Aguilar said.

Part of his job was escorting the Chino prisoners, and he couldnt understand why they had been mixed with other prisoners in the Badger unit. One day, Aguilar said, he went to Badger to bring an elderly Hispanic man to the medical clinic.

I was speaking to him in Spanish and asked him how he felt, Aguilar said. He stated not too well and that he was from Chino.

Aguilar realized that other men from Chino were probably sick, too.

Then, on Sunday, Aguilar spiked a fever. He started to cough and vomit, and his body ached. The symptoms worsened over the next several days; he tested positive for the virus. On Thursday night, his wife saw that he was having trouble breathing and took him to the emergency room at a hospital in Sonoma County where he is now a COVID-19 patient.

His 57-year-old mother, Abby Aguilar, said she is scared for her son and angry at the state for risking his health.

Who in their right mind would send infected inmates without testing them to a state prison, San Quentin, where there were no cases? she said. I cant believe it.

Next to the Badger section where the Chino prisoners were initially housed, there is a housing unit called Donner, with 200 to 250 cells. No men from Chino were placed in Donner. But a number of prisoners in Donner now appear to be getting sick.

Before the prisoner transfer, We had everything under control, said Marcel Carey, 30, a San Quentin prisoner in the Donner unit, during a phone call Thursday. As soon as (the Chino men) got here, there was an outbreak. Now everybody over here has the symptoms. ... Its just spreading like crazy.

Parts of Donner and Badger serve as intake centers for new prisoners coming into the system. Carey says he has been stuck in the intake area of Donner since December and is eligible for parole next summer. If not for the pandemic, he says, he would have already been sent home on time served. Now hes stuck in limbo.

This outbreak is crazy, said Marlon Slaffey, 42, another incarcerated man in Donner. He said he is sick, with a cough and chills, and many other men in his unit are also showing symptoms of COVID-19: Theyre throwing up. Cant even hold glasses of water down. Diarrhea. People cant breathe. Theyre calling man down every 20 or 30 minutes.

Added Slaffey, Everybody was clean until the Chino bus(es) came.

According to an internal memo sent by the prisons acting warden this week, the Donner section and another housing unit, Alpine, have been placed under medical quarantine. And on Saturday, a prisoner tested positive in San Quentins North Block, which holds about 750 inmates, and North Block was placed under quarantine as well.

The design of the prison makes it hard for staff to manage the growing outbreak. Most of San Quentins cells have old-fashioned bars instead of solid doors that create a barrier against droplets. So when prisoners test positive for the virus, they are sent to an area of the prison often used for punishment  the Adjustment Center  because the cells there have solid doors.

Maura Bailey, a 35-year-old Sacramento woman, said her husband, Robert, is incarcerated at San Quentin, serving a short sentence for a low-level drug offense. He tested positive for the virus after the Chino prisoners arrived and was transferred to an isolation cell in the Adjustment Center, along with other infected prisoners.

He basically said hes in The Hole. Hes in solitary confinement, Maura Bailey told The Chronicle. She said he is suffering from high blood pressure and joint pain, and aside from a once-daily check of his vital signs by prison staff, he doesnt have access to proper medical care.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Are they going to just be left  I hate to say it  to die in there? she said. Thats how it really feels sometimes.

All of the Chino prisoners have now been moved to the Adjustment Center as well.

Prison officials declined to answer detailed questions about the outbreak and provided inaccurate statements to lawmakers and to The Chronicle.

Initially, the Corrections Department said that the Chino prisoners had been tested prior to arriving at San Quentin and that they were not exposed to the general population.

The false statements are a serious problem, said Assemblyman Marc Levine, who represents Marin County and has long raised alarms about the prison systems vulnerability to the pandemic. We need accurate information.

This week, Dana Simas, a state Corrections Department spokeswoman, said that San Quentin is isolating prisoners who test positive for COVID-19. She did not respond directly to several questions sent Thursday, including questions about the Chino inmates being mixed with the San Quentin inmates and the virus jumping from one group to the other.

In an emailed statement Friday, Simas said that extra public health staff have been dispatched to San Quentin. Medical providers, she said, are working diligently to provide testing and assessments to the incarcerated population within the institution in order to make immediate housing and health care decisions for prisoners who test positive or develop COVID-19 symptoms.

In a federal court filing Thursday, state attorneys representing Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed the outbreak on the prison systems provider of medical care, California Correctional Health Care Services.

Newsoms attorneys wrote that on May 23 Health Care Services gave prison leaders a list of 691 men at the Chino prison who were especially vulnerable to COVID-19 and had tested negative for the virus. Health Care Services directed prison officials to transfer the listed inmates out of Chino, according to Newsoms filing.

A Health Care Services spokesperson did not provide direct answers to questions about the claims in Newsoms filing, but said that decisions about the transfer were made jointly with the Corrections Department.

Legislators and advocates for prisoners say that the situation at San Quentin was fully preventable  the result of poor planning and errors by prison officials that have endangered prisoners and staff.

For the past three months, attorneys for prisoners and justice reform activists have argued that the California prison system is overmatched by the virus and cant possibly get control of spreading outbreaks unless it releases tens of thousands of prisoners to relieve overcrowding  a step that prison officials and Newsom have resisted, even while allowing some categories of prisoners to be released a few months early.

In April and May, Levine pushed state prison leaders to plan for a surge of infections at San Quentin that could overwhelm local hospitals. In a May 26 letter to Levine, Californias top prison official, Corrections Department Secretary Ralph Diaz, explained that the department was taking a centralized approach, monitoring the pandemic from Sacramento.

Loved ones of San Quentin prisoners and employees say they are struggling to understand how the state could have been so reckless.

Im really frustrated and scared for my husband, Jessica Miller-Marez told The Chronicle. Just because hes an inmate doesnt mean he has to die from COVID-19. He shouldnt have even been exposed in the first place.

Abby Aguilar, the mother of the sick corrections officer, said that state officials are trying to cover up their mistakes.

Her sons illness, she said, was caused by somebodys negligence  somebody who works in these offices, high and nice and plush and air-conditioned. They dont care about the frontline workers.

Jason Fagone and Megan Cassidy are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jason.fagone@sfchronicle.com, Megan.Cassidy@fchronicle.com Twitter: @jfagone, @meganrcassidy
The last of three large shipments of medical supplies landed in Yemen on Friday, organisers of the cargo flights said, following an initiative to boost the war-devastated country's health care system as it battles the coronavirus.

The shipments represent a different path to humanitarian relief in Yemen as the U.N. faces a drastic shortage of funds for its operations, even with the virus surging across the Arab world's poorest country.

The Hayel Saeed Anam Foundation, the charity arm of the Yemeni-owned conglomerate by the same name which produces cooking oil and other foodstuffs, helped create the International Initiative on COVID-19 in Yemen.

The partnership brings together U.N. agencies with a host of companies.

It's an unusual effort to bring crisis-stricken Yemen back from the brink of further disaster, as the virus overwhelms Yemen's hospitals.

The number of people dying from COVID-19 has dramatically spiked nationwide.

Testing remains limited, with the country conducting just 31 tests per 1 million people, among the world's lowest scores, according to the International Rescue Committee.

Friday's air delivery is expected to increase Yemen's ability to perform coronavirus tests by some 50,000 people per week.

But organizers say the delivery is a small but urgently needed step for a health system in disarray.

Friday's batch followed two earlier shipments from the joint initiative, on Wednesday and Thursday, that each had more than 14 tons of items, including ventilators, coronavirus test kits and personal protective equipment.
Its rare that someone calls 211 looking for one resource, said 211 Executive director Sarah Kile.

Because of last months flooding and the looming effect of the coronavirus, Kile said calls seeking housing and utility help have spiked. Utility help makes up about 30% of calls in the region. This can be for gas, heat, electricity and water.

Callers are asked to apply for state emergency relief if they havent already. 211 can assist callers with filling out the application and answer questions. If a person cant get emergency relief, 211 does what they do best  connecting callers to resources.

This can be local organizations, nonprofits, churches or specialty programs at utility companies.

Theres always an option if state emergency relief falls through, Kile said.

Dozens of resources fall under the housing umbrella at 211. While the category is broad, each person who reaches out to 211 will be guided toward specific resources that fit their individual needs.

Callers can ask for help with mortgage and rent or seek emergency shelter for various crisis situations. Displaced families affected by the flooding are urged to call 211 to learn about local programs.

A person facing homelessness or unstable housing are often referred to Midlands Open Door. Midlands Open-door triples as a crisis shelter, soup kitchen and clothing ministry while also offering case management and mental health counseling.

Most of our referrals come from friends and family members but also from 211. Were thankful that they point people to us, said Executive Director Renee Pettinger. Open door has both a shelter for men and a shelter for women and children. Then we also have an outreach team where if someone is unstably housed, we can assist them as well.

In anticipation of Stay-Home, Stay-Safe orders being lifted, Midlands Open Door collaborated with other local organizations and ministries to help those who are facing eviction.

Pettinger said the referral process at 211 is simplified. Instead of being recommended dozens of organizations and ministries, callers will be directed to either Midlands Open Door, Home to Stay Housing Assistance Center, Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation, or the Salvation Army.

Its been really neat to see the community come together, Pettinger said. Right now, were looking at a total of around $60,000 (in eviction relief funds) that weve been able to pull together through the (Midland Area) Community Foundation and United Way.

To get connected to 211 Northeast Michigan, dial 2-1-1, text your zip code to 211, or visit https://www.211nemichigan.org/ to chat with someone online or browse local resources.

Editor's note: This article is the fifth installment of a weekly, local impact campaign the Daily News is launching in partnership with 211 Northeast Michigan to raise awareness and provide continuing education about this vital service.
Navy-Coast Guard Team: Four Interdictions in Four Days

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200619-09

Release Date: 6/19/2020 2:08:00 PM

From U.S. Fourth Fleet/U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Public Affairs

CARIBBEAN SEA (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) and the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) teams disrupted a combined 112 bales of suspected contraband worth over $79.6 million May 24-27.

While on routine patrol May 24 and 26, Lassen, along with embarked helicopters assigned to the "Proud Warriors" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 72.2, made two separate interdictions.

Lassen was able to intercept the vessels with coordination of the ship's embarked LEDET and Lassen small boats. The embarked helicopters onboard were instrumental in ensuring the compliance of the go fast vessels (GFV) until the small boat teams arrived to achieve positive control of the vessels.

"It has been an absolute pleasure serving onboard USS Lassen," said Lt. Kevin Painten, Officer in Charge, USCG LEDET 403. "The crew is unmatched in professional expertise and combined with the LEDET and HSM-60 Airborne Use of Force (AUF) capability."

"Lassen is making a large impact in the SOUTHCOM AOR," Painten continued. "This most recent interdiction is just one of the many examples of how Lassen and the embarked LEDET are combating transnational organized crime."

Additionally, May 24 and 27 Detroit made two separate interdictions:

A U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), assigned to the "Tridents" of Patrol Squadron VP 26, spotted an additional GFV, Detroit was vectored for a long range intercept. Upon intercept, Detroit employed one of its embarked helicopters, assigned to the "Sea Knights" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSC) 22, to provide over watch and ensure compliance while the embarked LEDET on Detroit small boats achieved positive control of the GFV.

Lassen and Detroit recovered 70 bales of suspected cocaine totaling an estimated 2,009 kilograms, worth over an estimated value of about $76 million.

Additionally, Lassen recovered 42 bales of suspected marijuana totaling an estimated 2,086 pounds, worth over an estimated value of approximately $3.6 million.

"I could not be more proud of the Sea Devils onboard Lassen. Lassen continues to excel day-in, day-out," said Cmdr. Judson Mallory Lassen's Commanding Officer. "This most recent success is a testament to my crew's dedication, focus, and self-sufficiency, supported by their seamless integration with our Air Detachment and the embarked USCG LEDET."

USS Lassen and USS Detroit are deployed to the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations conducting U.S Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South's enhanced counter drug operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives.

Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region.

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Five more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Mohali on Saturday, taking the Covid-19 count to 213 in the district.

The patients include a 57-year-old man of Chanalo in Kurali who had returned from Delhi, a 53-year-old man of Lalru who had come in direct contact of a positive patient, two women aged 25 and 18 of Baltana who were contacts of a Bapu Dham Coloney resident and a 54-year-old woman of Kharar who had come in direct contact of a positive patient.

Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said most cases were either contacts of positive persons or had returned from other cities. All of them have been admitted to the Gian Sagar Hospital in Banur but are responding well to treatment.

Currently, there are 213 positive patients in the district, of which 72 are active. While 138 people have recovered, three people have succumbed to the disease.
A 21-year old woman has allegedly died by suicide as she was unable to bear the news of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's unfortunate passing, as confirmed by the police.

It is being reported that this woman was a school teacher and fell into depression after watching videos of Sushant Singh Rajput repeatedly when she came to know the actor had died.

Agencies

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, this woman is a resident of Vishakapatnam and her parents found her immensely disturbed after learning about Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

Harbour division assistant police commissioner T Mohan Rao told Mirror, " The woman kept watching videos of the actor and got into depression. When all were at home, she went into the bedroom at the pretense of using the bathroom and bolted from inside. Later, she was found hanging from the ceiling."

Agencies

It is also being reported that another teenager from Port Blair has also died by suicide on 17th June 2020. This was another fan of Sushant Singh Rajput who couldn't bear with the loss.

According to a report in Times of India, the police officials have not received any suicide note from the home. However, they have found a diary of the teen where it was mentioned a lot about Sushant Singh Rajput before taking the drastic step. Even the family has confirmed that their child was suffering from depression.

Agencies

These reports are disturbing and we all must come together to create safe spaces where people can speak whatever is on their minds without any fear of judgment. Taking your own life is never the answer or solution.

(If you or someone you know are suffering from depression, experiencing suicidal thoughts, or just need someone to talk to, remember that help is just a phone call away. Reach out to the following helplines in India. BMC mental health helpline: 022-24131212 (available 24X7), Vandrevala Foundation: 186-02662345/180-02333330 (24x7) or AASRA: 91-9820466726 (available 24X7).)
One in six homeowners have been forced to take mortgage holidays because they have been unable to keep up their monthly repayments during lockdown.

Nearly two million mortgage payment holidays have been taken by borrowers in the past three months, according to banking lobby group UK Finance.

An average of 755 has been deferred by 1.9million borrowers each month, up from 1.8million last month.

Banks have been required to offer payment breaks to customers who are struggling financially because of coronavirus since the nationwide lockdown began in March.

One in six homeowners have been forced to take mortgage holidays because they have been unable to keep up their monthly repayments during lockdown, according to banking lobby group UK Finance

Originally intended to offer homeowners a three-month break from repayments, the Government scheme was extended a further three months in late May.

Eric Leenders, of UK Finance, told The Telegraph: 'Lenders understand that many households will continue to see their finances squeezed as the pandemic continues, and we are working hard to ensure everyone gets the support suited to their needs.

'The industry has a clear plan to help homeowners get through these tough times.

'While it is best for customers to restart their payments if they can, where this is not possible lenders are keen to help, whatever a customer's financial situation.'

People who have contracted the virus or have seen their income fall because of its economic impact are eligible for a mortgage break.

Many who initially applied in March are coming to the end of their three-month break and banks are encouraging customers to resume payments if possible.

But borrowers in the most financial difficulty can extend their repayment break for a further three months.

There is also a deadline of October 31 for applying for an initial repayment break.

UK Finance also said banks have offered 962,000 credit card payment deferrals and 689,000 breaks to personal loan customers during the pandemic.
Sudhir Srinivasan By

Express News Service

The one person to truly emerge unscathed from Penguin is the one whose character suffers the most within it: Keerthy Suresh. I bought her anguish, her frustration, her tears, and around the time the film begins, the melancholia on her face almost successfully masks that this is a film thats set to hurtle downhill soon.

Theres no hint of this in the beginning though. I particularly enjoyed how the titles begin rolling, right after Keerthy Sureshs character, Rhythm, encounters a flashback episode of her trauma. RhythmRitu as her husband calls heris a vulnerable, pregnant woman, the kind such thrillers usually have at their centre. Her pregnancy is primarily a tool to cause you discomfortlike when she falls down, or howls in agony, or in an enjoyably disturbing scene, when she sleeps with her pregnant belly exposed, as a child with a glass shard takes aim. Rhythm wouldnt enjoy this commentary of mine, because as she sees herself, Im just pregnant, not brain-damaged.

ALSO READ | 'Penguin' has been one of the most exciting projects Ive worked on: Keerthy Suresh

This though feels simply like a cursory empowerment line, in a film that quite simply cannot seem to make up its mind on whether Rhythm is a daredevil or a frightened victim. One minute, shes hiding in mortal fear, barely able to come face to face with the person whos caused her years of misery. The other minute, shes putting herselfand her kidin harms way, showing, for instance, little urgency in getting out of a killers lair. This lair, meanwhile, is so decorated by blood splatter that I imagined the killer walking around with a bucket of blood, carefully making sure to cover every corner of the wall with blood drops.

Its a film whose fleeting intrigue never truly builds into something bigger. Perhaps composer Santhosh Narayanan spotted this and realised the consequent futility of attempting to build on the shallow horror in the material. Perhaps thats why in scenes featuring a mother bawling over a lost baby, his music remains curiously detached and blithelike it were simply killing time by itself. The title, Penguin, is apparently because penguins are supposed to be fiercely protective mothers, but some of Rhythms behavior is frustrating to behold. Shes a woman who puts herselfand her child, againin harms way, but who lacks the survival instinct to pick up one of about two dozen weapons placed strategically near her. Penguin, as I said, cannot seem to make up its mind on whether Rhythm is a clever, brave mother, or a scared, witless idiot.

The story attempts to sketch the trauma of a mother. Its also about a lost child whos trying to fit in. Its a whodunit too, and as with such stories, the writing looks to sow suspicion about the many characters in it. These stretches fail to be compelling though, and part of the reason is the mediocre performances from almost everyone except Keerthy. I liked the theoryof a woman who separates from an abusive partner, after the loss of their child, of how she later goes on to be in union with another man and is now having her child. Its progressive in a way few of our films can claim to be. But in execution, you barely feel the complexity of these relationships.

The idea of casting fairly anonymous actors is to mask the identity of the perpetrator, unlike in some films where the popularity of a certain supporting actor means that you are already convinced of their importance to the storylike, say, Jayaram in Saroja. The supporting characters in Penguin, however, feel like cardboard cutouts, who walk in and out like automatons regurgitating pre-programmed lines that barely seem to cause any emotion in them.

The dialogues dont help either. Cinematographer Kharthik Palani can attempt to create as much atmosphere as he wants with all the haziness of a hillstation, and the occasional burst of colour, but if characters sit around and exchange bad dialogue without emotion, no slo-mo aerial shot of a hillstation is going to help. Take the scene where Rhythm is toying with the idea of killing herself, and her friends try to talk her out of it. One of the friends observes that everyone has problems. She goes on to share that shes been childless for years. The other talks about how her boyfriend dumped her and moved on with another woman. Upon hearing these selfish women drone on about their own problemsor most likely because of itRhythm breaks down into tears. I felt for her. Her situation is bad enough without their friends having to make it all about themselves.

The killer in this film, as you must have seen from the promo videos, wears a Chaplin mask, a suit, and carries around an umbrella. The killer talks about needing a different identity, but why this Chaplin mask, you never understand. Or perhaps the character is inspired by the Batman villain, Penguin, who too is possessed with evil intent and walks around in a suit, carrying a weaponised umbrella? Talking of Batman villains, towards the end, theres another evil character who seems inspired by the Riddler, who believes more in offering puzzles than answers.

It serves only to create frustration in you, not gratification. Yes, this film has nothing to do with Batman, but given how swiftly the film sinks from its decent beginnings, such fanciful comparisons are all that keep you going. If you will bear with me, theres one another Batman ideawhen Rhythm climbs out of a dungeon, and stands surrounded by thousands of bees. I almost expected her to open her eyes, spread her arms, fight her fear, and turn into Bee Woman. Now, that probably may have been a more interesting film.

Film: Penguin

Cast: Keerthy Suresh, Lingaa, Madhampatty Rangaraj

Director: Eashvar Karthic

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on the new coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, at the WHO headquaters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 2, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Restrictions Ease Further Across Australia, While Worries Grow Abroad

Australia continues to ease restrictions that were put in place to stem the spread of the CCP virus at a steady pace, but there are concerns about an escalation of the spread of the virus overseas.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes the world is in a new and dangerous place.

Many people are understandably fed up being at home, but the virus is still spreading fast, he warned on Friday, a day after 150,000 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, were confirmed globallya record daily number.

There have been 8.5 million infections around the world with a known combined death toll of 450,000.

Meanwhile, the Australian toll remains at 102, with confirmed virus cases since the initial outbreak topping 7400 on Friday.

Related Coverage Second BLM Protester Among 12 New COVID-19 Cases

However, there are some hotspots, with Victoria reporting 13 new cases on Friday. Its the third day in a row the state has recorded double-digit infections.

That hasnt stopped Victoria from going ahead with the easing of restrictions that will lift the number of people allowed to gather outdoors or visit cafes, restaurants, cinemas, and stadiums to 50 people from Monday.

Canberrans are now able to join together in larger gatherings over the weekend, with restrictions lifted to allow cinemas and indoor play centres to reopen and gatherings of up to 100 people.

Related Coverage Overseas Travel Not Likely to Resume for Australians Until 2021

In NSW, Thredbo will open its ski slopes on Monday and Perisher from Wednesday.

South Australia announced on Friday it was throwing open its borders to people coming from Queensland, after lifting restrictions on visitors from Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory earlier in the week.

NSW and Victorian residents are expected to be allowed to travel to SA from July 20.

Queensland is expected to reopen its borders on July 10 and the NT will follow suit on July 17.

Colin Brinsden and Katina Curtis
One person was killed and another seriously injured when their boat struck a railroad bridge on Cayuga Lake near the village of Cayuga on Friday afternoon.

Christopher Wade, 50, of Middletown, was pronounced dead at Auburn Community Hospital, according to a press release from the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office.

Jamar Lindo, 28, of Middletown, was airlifted to University Hospital in Syracuse where he was in serious condition as of early Friday night.

According to the release, at approximately 1:52 p.m., the Cayuga County 911 Center took a call reporting there was someone who had fallen off a boat somewhere in the north end of Cayuga Lake. Police, fire, and ambulance units were immediately dispatched.

Wade and Lindo were boating on Cayuga Lake in a 19-foot aluminum Tracker Bass fishing boat which was registered to Wade. The pair had been boating for most of the day and at some point struck a railroad bridge causing extensive damage to the boat. Wade was ejected from the boat and later pulled from the water by rescue personnel. Lindo was found by rescue personnel on the boat with apparent serious injuries.

Wade was transported to Auburn Community Hospital by ground ambulance where he was pronounced dead. It is unclear who was operating the vessel at the time of the accident or exactly when the accident occurred.

Anyone with information regarding this incident or who may have been on Cayuga Lake and could help to reconstruct a timeline of events is asked to contact Det. Joshua Blanchard at 315-253-3902. Tips can also be left at www.cayugasheriff.com and can be done so anonymously.

Assisting the Cayuga County Sheriffs Office with this incident were the following: Cayuga County E911 Center, New York State Police, New York State Park Police, Cayuga Fire Department, Union Springs Fire Department, Aurelius Fire Department, AMR Ambulance, Cayuga Ambulance, Lifenet Helicopter.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 04:27:12|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it is expected to deploy emergency financing for 70 countries by Friday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ripple across the globe.

IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said at a virtual press briefing Thursday that "tomorrow we expect that number to be 70, so 70 countries supported by the IMF with emergency financing roughly about 25 billion dollars."

"This emergency financing is very fast-disbursing, countries receive the money within days, it does not carry traditional IMF conditionality," Rice told reporters. "It is money to be spent on paying for things like nurses' and doctors' salaries, and equipment, and medical equipment to deal with the crisis."

For the Asia and Pacific region, seven countries have received emergency financing totaling about 1.5 billion dollars, Rice said.

And in Sub-Saharan Africa, 28 countries have received emergency financing totaling almost 10 billion dollars, Rice said, noting that the figure is much higher than the IMF's average yearly lending of 1 billion dollars to the region.

Over 100 countries have asked the IMF for emergency financing amid the pandemic, and the multilateral lender said earlier this year that it had doubled access to its emergency facilities to meet the expected demand.

In mid-April, the IMF projected in its World Economic Outlook that the global economy was on track to contract by 3 percent in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, calling it the "worst recession" since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in May that the multilateral lender would "very likely" further cut global growth forecasts, as incoming data from many countries was worse than the IMF's "already pessimistic projections." The updated forecasts will be released next week. Enditem
Aer Lingus blamed the 14-day quarantine rule for worsening the "catastrophic" Covid-19 crisis for the aviation industry as it announced 500 job losses.

Staff were told yesterday the redundancies will affect workers across the IAG-owned business.

They include roles in in-flight services, ground operations, maintenance, engineering and head office.

The airline has informed Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty that job losses are anticipated among the workforce of 4,500.

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Aer Lingus said in a statement the crisis was having a catastrophic effect on the aviation industry.

It said it was currently operating less than 5pc of its normal schedule and had no certainty regarding the restoration of services or future demand for travel once services resumed.

"The situation is exacerbated in Ireland by the 14-day quarantine requirement for arriving passengers and travel advisories, which advise against all non-essential travel," it said.

"Ireland has failed to take steps that other European member states have taken - they have progressively restored transport services and connectivity in response to a European Commission invitation to do so".

Blow

It said it had to reduce the size of the airline in response to the crisis.

"Aer Lingus has informed the minister that headcount reductions of up to 500 employees across the business are anticipated," it said.

It added it was beginning consultations with unions.

Forsa said it would engage with management regarding the proposed job losses.

The union, which represents cabin crew, pilots and some management staff, said it aimed to minimise the number of job losses and income cuts.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson was unable to comment on the terms of the redundancy payments.

"Those details are to be discussed with employee representatives," he said.

Labour deputy for Fingal Duncan Smith said the job cuts were a hammer blow for workers and their families and showed a disregard of workers' rights.

Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said the job losses were deeply saddening and urged all sides to engage in good faith.

"The industrial relations machinery of the State stands ready to assist all parties in an effort to reach a suitable agreement," he said.
Srinagar, June 20 : A gunfight started on Saturday between the security forces and several militants holed up in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police sources said.

A team of police, Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Lakadpora Pudsoo village after information about the presence of militants there.

"As the security forces closed in on the hiding militants, the latter fired shots, triggering an encounter that is going on," the sources said.

Reports said two to three militants are hiding in the village.

So far, 22 militants have been killed in Shopian district in five encounters this month.
David Butow / Corbis via Getty Images

Tesla told its workers Friday that they could take Juneteenth off to observe the day that celebrates the end of slavery.

The news came too late for some employees, who had already started their shifts at the automakers facilities.
Western states back Kabul's refusal to free dangerous Taliban prisoners: Report

Iran Press TV

Friday, 19 June 2020 2:41 PM

Western countries back the Afghan government's refusal of a demand by the Taliban militant group to release those of its members who have been imprisoned for involvement in violent attacks as a condition to start intra-Afghan dialog, a report says.

The prisoner swap is part of a deal between the Taliban and the United States, which was signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, on February 29, and under which the militant group agreed to halt attacks on international forces in return for the US military's phased withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Afghan government, which was not a signatory to the US-Taliban accord, was required to release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners. The militants, for their part, were obliged to free 1,000 government captives.

While the Afghan government has been releasing Taliban prisoners, it has balked at releasing some of the members tied to deadly attacks.

A Reuters report on Thursday cited European diplomats as saying anonymously that European countries backed that refusal.

"There are some dangerous Taliban fighters named in the list, and releasing them is literally crossing a red line," a senior European diplomat told Reuters. "Some NATO members find it extremely uncomfortable to support the release of Taliban prisoners who were behind large-scale suicide attacks on minority groups and on expats."

Kabul has already released around 3,000 prisoners under the agreement. The Taliban has also freed hundreds of captives.

According to the sources, some prisoners accused of involvement in large-scale attacks  such as the 2017 truck bombing near Germany's Embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 150 people  are among those that the militant group wants released.

The Taliban has threatened to scrap the deal with the US if the members that it wants are not released.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Thursday denied that dangerous militants were on the group's list, insisting that all 5,000 be released so talks could start.

"There are no such people... these are just excuses to create barriers against the peace process," he said.

One Afghan security source and one diplomatic source also told Reuters that the United States, too, had expressed reservations about releasing some of the group's members that NATO and the Afghan government were reluctant to set free.

A US State Department spokesperson said the US wanted peace talks to start as soon as possible.

"The United States continues to be encouraged by the great progress on prisoners release by both sides. We support additional releases by both sides to get the issue off the table," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

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Voting by delegates of the governing New Patriotic Party to elect candidates for the coming December general election generally went on peacefully across the various polling centres in the Ashanti Region.



At the Manhyia North constituency, considered to be one of the hotspots, the atmosphere in all the polling centres visited by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) was relaxed.



The 560 delegates showed political maturity  conducted themselves well.



The contest for the parliamentary ticket was a straight battle between Mr. Collins Owusu Amankwaa, the incumbent, and Mr. Kwabena Konadu.



The story was not any different in the Ejisu constituency where 750 delegates voted in 140 polling centres to decide who would be leading the party in the area to the December parliamentary election.



The incumbent MP, Mr. Kwabena Owusu Aduomi faced a challenge from two others  Mr. John Kumah and Madam Abena Pokua.



The acrimony that characterized the campaign of the contestants was completely absent on the voting day.



Things were the same in the Offinso South  everything was calm and smooth. This was the very place where some aggrieved party activists mounted series of protests and invoked curses on party executives for disqualifying their preferred candidates.



Six hundred and ninety (690) candidates decided the fate of the three contestants  Mr. Ben Abdallah Banda, the incumbent, Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku and Desmond Chris Appiah.

Source: GNA









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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a rural jobs scheme from the Khagaria district of Bihar, which would go to the polls later this year. It is our endeavour to give work closer to the workers homes. Earlier, you were using your talent to provide dynamism and energy to cities.

Now you will be able to use this talent to take your villages forward, Modi said after launching the scheme through videoconferencing. The PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana aims to provide employment to about 6.7 million of the 10 million migrants who had returned to ...
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Attorney General William Barr announced late Friday evening that he had nominated a Trump appointee to replace the Manhattan U.S. Attorney who had investigated and convicted some of President Donald Trumps closest associates. It was a shocking announcement even to the prosecutor he intended to replace, Geoffrey Berman.

I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was stepping down as United States Attorney, Berman said in a statement. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate.

That came about an hour after Barrs surprise announcement at 10 p.m. on Friday that Jay Clayton, appointed by Trump as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017, would be nominated as Bermans replacement as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Trump Thought Hed Picked His Perfect U.S. Attorney in Geoffrey Berman. He Was Very Wrong.

The move stunned officials and trial attorneys inside Main Justice, as the Departments Washington, D.C. headquarters is known. Two individuals in the Departments Civil Division confirmed to The Daily Beast that Berman had been offered and declined the chance to run the division, where assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt had abruptly announced his departure this week, but declined. Barr reportedly then asked for Bermans resignation and, when Berman didnt offer it, the attorney general simply announced it.

One other official said the news of Bermans apparent ouster came as a shock, as did the decision to nominate Clayton, who has no prosecutorial experience.

On Saturday afternoon, Barr attempted to end the dramabut appeared to add to the confusion. Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, Barr wrote to Berman, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so.

Story continues

Trump, however, declined to confirm that. Speaking to reporters on Saturday afternoon, he said he was not involved in the decision to fire or retain Berman. The White House refused to answer any questions on the subject.

For nearly half of his time in office, Trump has groused about SDNY personnel and the need for a house-cleaning, including sometimes by specifically calling out Berman by name. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told The Daily Beast that they were present at a dinner with the president last year when Trump briefly discussed Berman, calling him corrupt.

However, securities law professor J.W. Verret, who briefly advised the Trump pre-transition team in 2016, called Clayton a stand up guy who would probably decline to take the job after Bermans statement. I suspect he was sandbagged by the administration, he tweeted. He will take his hat right out of the ring after this.

Hours before, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) called on Clayton to withdraw his name from consideration and, separately, Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsay Graham said that he would follow the blue slip tradition that would give New Yorks Senators, Schumer and fellow Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, an effective veto over Clayton or any other nominee Trump might name to replace Berman.

Berman was initially named interim SDNY U.S. Attorney by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018. After the 120 days allowed for that appointment ran out, without Trump sending Bermans nomination to the Senate for their advice and consent, a panel of federal district court judges wrote a court order, still in effect, naming Berman to the rolein a term that expires only when the Senate has given its consent to the presidents nominee. Bermans statement Friday night pointedly notes this, suggesting that Barr and Trump may not have the authority to remove him given the separation of powers issues doing so would raise.

Just before midnight on Friday, House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler, one of the architects of Trumps impeachment case, wrote that America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on Trumps behalf. We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday. We welcome Mr. Bermans testimony and will invite him to testify.

A Democratic aide said late Saturday morning that there had been no further update from Nadler. Barr, the aide said, has not given any indication that hes willing to testify though he had previously said he would pre-pandemic. Two other aides said that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told Nadler not to subpoena Barr to testify.

Berman was appointed in 2018 after his predecessor, Preet Bharara, an Obama appointee, was fired by Trump after refusing to step down. Bhararas No. 2, Joon Kim, then served as the acting U.S. Attorneythe usual protocol to maintain continuity in ongoing cases.

Trump to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara: You're Fired

Notably, Barr said Friday that he would be moving New Jerseys U.S. Attorney to New York to replace Berman in an acting role and run the office often nicknamed the Sovereign District for its independence and sweeping authority given how much of the nations financial life flows through Manhattan. Barr then reversed himself on Saturday, saying the Deputy United States Attorney would fill the role in the interim.

This is highly irregular, former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich noted on Twitter. Why the rush to get Geoff Berman out the door and cause disarray in three different offices at once?

Former White House counsel and Watergate whistleblower John Dean said the move reeks of putting the fix in to protect Trump, Giuliani and the wider Trump orbit.

Berman was appointed more than a year after Bharara had been fired. Under Berman, the SDNY carried out numerous investigations and prosecutions that impinged on Trumpworldincluding the indictment of the presidents personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, though Berman recused himself from that case.

Bharara took umbrage on Friday to Barrs attempt to boot Berman, asking: Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?

While Berman was initially viewed with some suspicion as a Trump donor and former partner of Rudy Giulianis at the firm of Greenberg Traurig, he won over many skeptics inside and outside the office after he took the job and began pursuing presidential allies.

Geoff has exceeded everybodys expectations, Hadassa Waxman, a Democrat who worked under Bharara, told the Associated Press last year. From Day One, he went in there and said, This is going to be the Southern District. Theres not going to be any change. Im going to lead the office with the same integrity, commitment to fairness.

SDNY filed charges against financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein before his jailhouse death, and fired shots across the bow at the United Kingdoms Prince Andrew for his alleged involvement with the accused sex trafficker.

In February 2019, Bermans prosecutors subpoenaed the Trump inaugural committee, seeking information on everything from vendors to donorsincluding a contributor named Imaad Zuberi, who was eventually charged with obstructing the SDNY probe.

In its investigation of hush money paid by Trumps campaign to cover up the presidents extramarital affairs with Stormy Daniels and other women, the SDNY secured a conviction of Cohen on charges of tax evasion, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and campaign finance violations. He was sentenced to three years in prison but later released as a result of preventative measures against the new coronavirus.

The case against Cohen produced a non-prosecution agreement against American Media, Inc., parent company of the National Enquirer, which made the payments on behalf of Cohen to suppress the stories, a practice known as catch and kill. Berman later looked into Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos claim that AMI tried to blackmail Bezos about his extramarital affair.

Other Trump World associates found themselves in the sights of Bermans office. SDNY brought charges against Natalya Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who shopped dirt on Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign, in a tangentially related case. Berman also indicted Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who were accused of pumping foreign money into efforts to support Trumpa probe that also led prosecutors to scrutinize Giulianis finances.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton claims in his forthcoming book, The Room Where It Happened, that Trump told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the SDNY investigation into Turkish bank Halkbank would disappear once all the Obama people were replaced by his people.

In October, the SDNY charged Halkbank with six counts including fraud and money-laundering for an alleged multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran.

That case emerged out of the offices successful prosecution for sanctions-busting of Reza Zarrab, a dual citizen of Turkey and Iran with close ties to Erdogan. Zarrab hired Giuliani, himself a former U.S. Attorney for the SDNY, and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, both political allies of Trump, for his legal team.

The pair didnt contribute to his legal defense, but instead met secretly in Istanbul with Erdogan to try and work out what another of Zarrabs lawyers later described in court as an extra-judicial diplomatic solution involving a prisoner exchange between the two countries.

That deal never came through, and Zarrabwho was charged on the watch of Bharara and convicted when Kim led the SDNYeventually cooperated with the office in its successful case against Halkbanks Mehmet Hakan Atilla, which in turn led to the case against the bank the SDNY is pursuing now under Bermans watch.

Bermans statement implies that there was a connection between the attempt to push him out and the delay or interruption of SDNY investigations. Congress needs to subpoena Berman to testify and get to the bottom of this, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti told The Daily Beast.

Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

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Record.

Valentina, la mujer que dio a luz a 69 ninos y es la mujer con mas hijos de la historia
Other states and cities that took steps to reopen earlier are seeing increases, including Tulsa where health department officials said two large indoor gatherings recently contributed to a spike in new cases. They declined to name the events or say how big they were, but Tulsa has seen the largest increase in cases in Oklahoma in recent days. Several bordering states, including Arkansas, have also seen spikes in community spread of the virus in recent weeks.
Foreign women marrying Nepal nationals can attain citizenship only after 7 yrs

Kathmandu, Jun 20 (UNI) Nepal on Saturday forwarded the Citizenship Amendment Bill and decided to allow the naturalised citizenship to foreign women married to Nepal nationals, only after seven years.

The decision was taken by the country's ruling party at Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's official residence as the State Affairs Committee (SAC) has not been able to forge consensus on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, despite holding discussions for long.

The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP)'s today's decision was completely against the main opposition Nepali Congress, which wanted the foreign women to immediately attain citizenship, after getting married to a Nepal national.
The UN's top human rights body on Friday condemned discriminatory police brutality and demanded a report on "systemic racism", but rights groups accused Washington of wielding pressure to strip out any mention of the United States in the resolution. The UN Human Rights Council's 47 members approved by consensus a revised resolution, which was presented by African countries for an urgent council debate, called following the death of George Floyd in US police custody. Floyd's killing on May 25, after a white Minneapolis police officer -- since charged with murder -- pressed a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, fuelled a national and global uproar over racism and police brutality. An initially strongly-worded text proposed earlier this week had called for a high-level international investigation into police violence against people of African descent in the United States. But it was watered down in recent days, first to remove the call for an international probe, and finally to strip away any mention of the United States. This sparked outrage from rights groups, which accused Washington and its allies of lobbying heavily to revise the text -- a charge that the US mission in Geneva declined to respond to. Burkina Faso's ambassador, who presented the resolution on behalf of African states, acknowledged Friday that "numerous concessions" had been made to "guarantee a consensus" on the text. - 'Excessive force' - The approved resolution calls for UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet to "prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies". It adds that the report should especially pay attention to "those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and of people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims". It also calls on Bachelet to examine government responses to "peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists". The United States, which had complained of being singled out in the initial text, withdrew from the council in 2018 and was not present on Friday. But a number of its allies took the floor to hail the changes made to the text, stressing that racism was a global issue. Australia's representative, for instance, celebrated the "acknowledgement that this problem does not belong to any one country. It is a problem around the world". - 'Turning its back on victims' - Rights groups, however, slammed the revision. "By bullying other countries to water down what would have been an historic resolution and exempting itself from international investigation, the United States is yet again turning its back on victims of police violence, and black people," said Jamil Dakwar, head of the American Civil Liberties Union's human rights division. He said it was "absurd" for the text not to mention the US, "where police kill people, particularly black people, at alarmingly higher rates compared to other developed countries." Salma El Hosseiny of the International Service for Human Rights said many delegations from Europe and Latin America especially had worked to ensure the US mention was removed from the text, charging that they had helped "subvert the debate into an 'all lives matter' discussion. Human Rights Watch's Geneva director John Fisher meanwhile insisted that "the efforts of the US to avoid council attention only highlights why such scrutiny is needed, and how far there is still to go to dismantle the pernicious structures of institutionalised racism." He celebrated meanwhile that the resolution "opens the door to bring increased international attention to violations both by the US and other powerful states in future." The urgent UN debate began Wednesday with an impassioned speech via video link by Floyd's brother Philonise, who said his brother had been "tortured to death" as witnesses begged the officer to stop. He urged the council to establish an independent international commission of inquiry -- one of the UN's highest-level probes -- as called for in the initial version of the draft resolution. While there will be no international probe into the situation in the United States, Bachelet has been called upon to present her report on "systemic racism" globally in a year's time.
The first bill Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, introduced in the State Capitol would have forced Fort Bragg, named for a Confederate general, to find another name. He took a lot of heat in that Mendocino County town for legislation that ultimately was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015.

At the time they thought it was a crazy idea, Glazer said Wednesday.

But the question of whether a town with no meaningful connection with Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general who enslaved 105 human beings on his Louisiana plantation before commanding the rebel army in Tennessee during the Civil War, is back in a big way with the national reckoning on race that followed the horrific killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Monuments to the Confederacy across the South are being defaced and toppled. Paintings and statues of southerners on the wrong side of this nations history are being targeted for removal from the U.S. Capitol. Ten Army bases bearing the names of rebel generals are being considered for rebranding.

The coastal town of 7,300, where just over 1% of residents are African American, might seem an unlikely outpost in this intensifying national debate about shredding lingering tributes to the Confederacy. Yet on Monday, the Fort Bragg City Council is scheduled to hold what is expected to be a spirited public hearing that could lead to a November ballot measure.

Im happy that theyre reconsidering it, Glazer said, adding that a community vote was a better path forward than a state diktat.

So what should be the guiding principle in this decision?

In my view, its all about context. What was the original rationale for a place name, artwork or monument commemorating a Confederate leader or the Lost Cause? Is there a mitigating context that makes it defensible against the likelihood that it would be offensive or even threatening to some people?

In Fort Bragg, it is the absence of local context that strengthens the case for renaming. The naming decision was made in 1857 by Horatio Gates Gibson, a lieutenant at the Presidio, in establishing a military post to enforce order on the nearby Mendocino Indian Reservation. Bragg had been Gibsons former commanding officer. Bragg proved to be a lousy rebel general, known for wantonly shooting his own soldiers and losing battles, and ultimately resigning his post halfway through the Civil War. A 2016 biography of Bragg was subtitled: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy.

Your town deserves better, Fort Bragg.

The Confederate memorials across the South, by contrast, are not there by happenstance.

I think a lot about when most of the memorials and monuments were created ... as part of a resurgence of white supremacy, said Candice Harrison, director of African American Studies at the University of San Francisco.

Indeed, a study of Confederate statues and monuments by the Southern Poverty Law Center found two distinct periods of monument expansion that coincided with rising racial tensions: the early 1900s, as Jim Crow laws were being enacted to deprive African American rights; and the 1950s and 1960s, as the Civil Rights movement came to the fore.

They were, in effect, intimidating symbols of white control.

I recall being struck and appalled by the massive scale and the pervasiveness of statues along Monument Avenue in my first visit to Richmond, Va., capital of the Confederacy, in the 1980s. It wasnt until August 2017, after the notorious white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that pressure to remove the monuments started getting serious. The monument to Confederacy President Jefferson Davis was toppled during a recent protest after the Floyd killing, and the governor has ordered the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, which has been a target of anti-racism graffiti and artwork while the issue is being held up in court.

Similar scenes of defacing and toppling confederate monuments have been popping up throughout the South in recent weeks, reminiscent of the targeting of icons to oppressive dictators after a revolution. The lawful road to removal is daunting: There are more than 700 such monuments in the former Confederacy, and at least seven states have passed laws making it tougher to get rid of them.

Yet its long overdue.

USFs Harrison had an interesting observation: Where are the monuments to the bravery of the honorable freedom fighters of the South during slavery? She recalled a trip to the Caribbean and seeing a memorial to an enslaved black female rebel, pregnant, breaking from chains. She has never seen anything comparable in the United States.

Im an educator through and through, Harrison said. I always think about what it actually would be like to walk around and not have to see all these confederate memorials, but to see memorials of black folks holding guns, breaking their own chains.

As for the 10 Army bases named after Confederate generals, President Trump has said he would not even consider it, tweeting that American heroes have been trained and deployed on these hallowed grounds and history will not be tampered with. But history cannot be ignored. These Confederate generals went to battle with American heroes in defense of the indefensible  the enslavement of Americans.

Congress should force Trumps hand by passing legislation to rename the bases.

One of the arguments against the movement to change names and remove monuments to figures of dishonor is: Where will it end? Does this necessarily lead to the attack on all things Washington and Jefferson because of their slaveholder past? No, again, context is everything. Their human failings are part of history, but so is their noble work as founding fathers of the republic.

Context was also one of the reasons our editorial board supported the preservation of the murals at San Franciscos George Washington High portraying the first president with slaves. The 1,600-square-foot Life of Washington mural was progressive artist Victor Arnautoffs 1930s reminder of the racism that has pervaded American history. Unlike the Confederate memorials, it wasnt about airbrushing history or pushing white supremacy. It was about confronting and condemning the reality of it. The murals deserve to stay.

Another argument against change, one that is now arising in Fort Bragg, is the cost of rebranding.

Sen. Glazer has a cheap-and-easy solution.

Get rid of one g, he suggested, perhaps with tongue only partly in cheek.

Fort Brag. It has a ring to it.

John Diaz is The Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 03:04:14|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian foreign minister announced on Friday that the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had adopted a resolution presented by Palestine that calls for accountability for any assault on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The resolution, presented by the mission of Palestine to the council, won the votes of 22 member states of the UNHRC, while eight voted against it, and 17 abstained, said Riyad al-Maliki in a press statement.

He hailed the supporters for the resolution for their commitment to "accountability for severe violations of international law, especially in Palestine."

Al-Maliki accused Israel of "increasing assaults" on the Palestinians' rights "amid its U.S.-backed plan to annex portions of the West Bank lands, which is a clear violation of the international law."

According to official Palestinian news agency WAFA, the resolution "calls on all states to ... ensure that they do not become involved in internationally unlawful conduct, and to assess the potential that arms could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international human rights law." Enditem
Wait, is Trump some sort of ignoramus?

And on it goes: One knockout revelation after another, ultimately revealing very little. If by now you havent concluded that Donald Trump is erratic, irrational, foolish, and stunningly uninformed  among the epithets Bolton applies to the president  this book isnt likely to convince you.

But the larger question looming over Boltons book isnt about its subject. Its about its author  and everyone else who joined the administration without illusions, participated in it without defiance, and exited it without shame. How do people like Bolton, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson or (when he eventually departs) Pompeo justify their witting, willing service to this witless, wicked president?

In a superb essay in The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum draws on the inspiration of Czeslaw Miloszs The Captive Mind to address the question. There is the relief, and pleasure, of political conformity. There is the allure of power, or proximity to it. There is a profit motive. There is a kind of savior complex, in which officials like the Anonymous New York Times Op-Ed writer from 2018 claim to form part of a secret resistance within the upper reaches of government.

All true. And all eminently applicable to Bolton. But theres an additional factor at work, described by Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism. How do demagogues get away with their nonstop lying  even with those who at some level understand they are being lied to? Arendt observed a curiously varying mixture of gullibility and cynicism with which each member, depending upon his rank and standing in the movement, is expected to react to the changing lying statements of the leaders and the central unchanging ideological fiction of the movement.

A similar mix seems to explain Boltons behavior.

It took cynicism to work for a president whose character he disdained and whose worldview he opposed. It took gullibility to think he could blunt or influence either. It took cynicism to observe the president commit multiple potentially impeachable offenses and then sit out impeachment on the pathetic excuse that Democrats were going about it the wrong way and that his testimony would have made no meaningful difference. It took gullibility to assume his book would have any effect on Trumps re-election prospects now. It took cynicism to reap profits thanks to a president he betrayed and a nation he let down. It took gullibility to imagine hed be applauded as a courageous truth-teller when his motives are so nakedly vindictive and mercenary.
The war of words between the opposition and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the border standoff with China in the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh escalated on Saturday with former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah soon hit back at Gandhi, advising him to rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest at a time when the whole nation is united.

Gandhis remarks came a day after the Prime Minister stated that no intruder remained in Indias territory nor had any of its posts been captured.

PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: 1.Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed? he tweeted.

Gandhi also tagged the Prime Ministers remarks, made at Fridays all-party meeting called to discuss the situation at the India-China border following violent clashes between troops of the two countries on June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

It was the first time since 1975 that India suffered combat fatalities in a skirmish with Chinese troops. Ten Indian soldiers detained by the Chinese side during the violent brawl of June 15 were later released after intense negotiations through diplomatic and military channels. China has so far not acknowledged any casualties among its troops.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hit back at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his statement on face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley in Ladakh and advised him to rise above petty politics.

Putting a video of the father of an injured army man on his Twitter account, Shah said, Gandhi should stand in solidarity with national interest by shunning his politics over the issue at a time when the whole nation is united.

A brave armymans father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest, Shah tweeted.

Later in the day, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram asked the government to clarify its position on Chinas claim on the entire Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

The Prime Ministers remark that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh had practically left everyone baffled and bewildered, he said.

Addressing a virtual news conference, Chidambaram said the Prime Ministers remarks contradicted the earlier statements of army chief General MM Naravane, defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar.

He said even after the Prime Ministers statement on Friday, China had blamed India for the June 15 clashes and had re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley.

What is the governments answer to this claim? Now that China is claiming the entire Galwan Valley, will the government of India reject this claim? If it does not reject the Chinese claim today, it can have terrible consequences, the Congress leader said.

Let the government of India answer Chinas claim today and not wait till tomorrow, he added.

A day after India rejected the Chinese armys claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinas foreign ministry on Friday claimed that the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the LAC.

Asked whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government was drawing a parallel between Indias China policy in 1962, the year the neighbours fought a war over the border dispute, and now, Chidambaram said, We must focus on the present and not talk about the past.

Chidambaram also reiterated Congress president Sonia Gandhis statement at the all-party meeting, insisting that the party stood by Indias defence forces and was prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle-ready.

He said if the Prime Ministers statement reflects the correct position, the Congress would like to ask the government a few questions.

If no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC and are in Indian territory, what was the face-off on May 5-6, 2020? Between May 5 and June 6, what was the issue on which local Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts {about} ? What was the subject matter of the negotiations between the Corps Commanders of the two countries on June 6? asked Chidambaram.

We would also like to ask, if no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured? he further asked.

Chidambaram also said, If no Chinese troops are in Indian territory, why did the foreign ministers statement and other statements of MEA demand the restoration of status quo ante? What was the meaning of status quo ante? What was the meaning of the disengagement that the government said was underway?

If no Chinese forces were inside Indian territory in Ladakh, why did 20 soldiers have to sacrifice their lives, he asked.

When the Prime Minister said a few days ago that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain, what did he have in mind? asked the Congress leader.

Why and where did the soldiers sacrifice their lives, and how will the government ensure that the sacrifice will not be in vain? he asked.

Chidambaram said the defence of the nation and its territorial integrity were dear to the heart of every Indian. We, therefore, seek answers to the questions with a view to re-double our commitment and present a picture of unity and solidarity, he added.

On the call to boycott Chinese products, Chidambaram said that will not hurt Chinas economy as Chinese trade with India was only a fraction of its world trade.

We must become self-reliant as much as possible but we cant decouple with the rest of the world. India must continue to be part of the global supply chain and not boycott Chinese goods. What part of Chinese trade with India is Chinas world trade? Its a fraction, he said.

BJP chief JP Nadda also hit out at the Congress, alleging that its leaders were demoralising the Indian army.

When we are fighting in Galwan, a leader is damaging the morale of forces with his tweets. He is showing his limited intellect, he said, addressing a virtual rally in Rajasthan.

(He is asking) why have our forces gone unarmed. Dont you know international treaties? And they didnt go unarmed. Why are you exposing your limited intellect? Nadda asked.

He said Indias defence forces were capable of protecting its borders everywhere -- ocean, land or sky.

Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said while the nation stands with the government the people must be told the truth about the Galwan Valley clash.

The nation stands with the govt against Chinese incursions. But was the incident in which our soldiers were martyred an incursion? If not then why did MEA ask for status quo ante? Is the Galwan Valley Indian or not? We do not need clarifications. We need the truth, he tweeted.

In a tweet in Hindi earlier in the day, Yadav said, Confused by Prime Minister jis statement on India-China LAC, people are asking if China had not intruded into our territory then under what circumstances did our soldiers die? Is China being given a clean chit?
A very popular member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary celebrated a milestone birthday - COVID-19 style - on June 13.

Sr. Teresa Connolly celebrated her 100th birthday in Aras Mhuire. In fact ,she had a two-day celebration, including meeting the Sisters of the Motherhouse who gathered outside the nursing home as Teresa arrived in her wheelchair looking lovely.

Everyone joined in an enthusiastic rendering of 'Happy Birthday' followed by 'Oh for she's a jolly good Sister/fellow' to wish her well. Because of the Coronavirus, the Sisters in Aras Mhuire and the Motherhouse have not met physically for 12 weeks, so this was special. Unfortunately her family cannot be with her because of the virus, but the festivities will continue.

Brought up in Castlerea, County Roscommon, her MMM journey began in 1941 when the Congregation was just four years old and she herself was 21. Her long and interesting life brought her from the West to the East Coast of the continent of Africa and from Ireland to the United States beginning with an assignment to Nigeria in 1949.

At the request of Monsignor McGettrick SPS (later Bishop) in Ogoja, Teresa, together with two other Sisters were sent to pioneer a more holistic approach to the care of patients suffering from Hansen's disease (formerly known as Leprosy). The doctor in charge of this project was Irish-born Dr.Joseph Barnes and at the time Hansen's was one of the most debilitating diseases.

Dr. Barnes died in 2017 at the age of 102 and it was fitting that Teresa who met him all those years ago was able to attend his funeral in Ballyboden, Dublin. When the Augustinian Parish Priest at the Mass realised who she was he paid a moving tribute to her and invited her and the three MMMs present to bless the coffin and lead the cortege from the Church at the end of the Liturgy.

After Nigeria, Teresa was assigned to the United States and often accompanied MMM foundress Mother Mary Martin in her travels. She worked on Vocation Promotion, Mission Awareness and fundraising in that huge country telling the story of MMM and its dream of contributing to a wounded world in need of healing.

She was an excellent secretary and administrator and back in Ireland she held the post of Secretary General, working closely with Mother Mary and being part of the development of the Congregation. It was not a '9 - 5' job but a case of being ready at any time for any eventuality that arose and Teresa loved it. It was at this time in 1952 that a huge fire destroyed the Novitiate but thankfully no one was killed. Teresa still remembers the goodness of the people and the Religious of Drogheda offering hospitality and general support during that horrific time.

Over the years Teresa put her administrative skills to good use in Our Lady of Lourdes (I.M.T.H.) Hospital, Drogheda; in Nairobi, Kenya; Silvertown in London and in Dublin. Now she is experiencing a more leisurely life and is a resident since 2012 of Aras Mhuire, the MMM Nursing Home, enjoying the wonderful care showered on her by a dedicated staff. She has more time to pray and her dream is still to contribute to the healing of our troubled world especially at this time of the Coronavirus and the uncertainty it brings to all our lives.
COLOMBO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has thanked China's government and people for the valuable medical aid sent to Sri Lanka in recent months as the island country fought the COVID-19 pandemic which killed 11 people and infected over 1,800.

Following talks between President Rajapaksa and charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy Hu Wei on Thursday, President Rajapaksa told Xinhua that China was a good friend of Sri Lanka and he appreciated the large number of medical equipment donated by the Chinese government and people.

"I also appreciate the assistance on the economic side provided by China," President Rajapaksa said.

During the discussions, Hu handed over the list of supplies donated by China over the past three months to President Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan president thanked China for its unstinting support during the past difficult weeks as Sri Lanka battled with the pandemic.

President Rajapaksa reiterated in a statement on his official Twitter account that China and Sri Lanka had shown immense cooperation in supporting each other during the pandemic and will continue to foster relations.

During the talks, a range of other issues were also discussed by the two parties with the main focus being on how best to boost the Colombo Port City Project and to promote the Sri Lankan tea, renowned as the world's best, in China. Topics also included Chinese investments in manufacturing in Sri Lanka and improving financial cooperation between the two countries.
A day after posting an emotional message in remembrance of her brother, actor Sushant Singh Rajputs sister, Shweta Singh Kirti has deleted her social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram. Shweta had been sharing posts about her brother on Facebook, as recently as Wednesday.

In her last post, Shweta had shared a handwritten note from Sushant, and had written, Mera baby, mera Babu mera Bachcha is not physically present with us anymore and it is ok... I know u were in a lot of pain and I know u were a fighter and u were bravely fighting it. Sorry mera Sona... sorry for all the pain u had to go through...if I could I would hav taken all ur pain and given all my happiness to u.

She had added, Your twinkling eyes taught the world how to dream, ur innocent smile revealed the true purity of ur heart. you will always be loved mera Baby and so so much more....Whereever ur mera baby stay happy....stay fulfilled and know that everyone loved, loves u and will always love you unconditionally.

In an earlier post, she had written about telling her son that his uncle is no more. Sushant died by suicide on Sunday, at the age of 34. He was reportedly suffering from depression. Shed written, When I told Nirvanh the news that Mamu is no more, he said But he is alive in your heart 3 times. When a 5 yr old can say something like that... think how strong we should all be.... Stay Strong everyone.... especially the fans of Sushant... please understand he lives in our hearts and he will always keep doing so....Please dont do anything that can hurt his soul....Stay Strong!

The US-based Shweta had also spoken about trying to fly to India to be with her family at this difficult time. I need to fly to India ASAP.... not able to get any flight tickets... if anyone can help... please let me know, shed written. Later, she added, By everyones help.... tickets to India are confirmed. I am flying on 16th, will reach Mumbai via Delhi. Worried about 7 Day quarantine period... is there a way it can be waived off? I need to get to my family soon.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajputs US-based sister reveals what her son said when she told him Mamu is no more

Sushant was cremated at Mumbais Vile Parle crematorium on Monday, and the service was attended by the likes of Shraddha Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Abhishek Kapoor and others. The actor was known for his acclaimed performances in films such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya, Kai Po Che, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, among others.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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These rounds created a substantial danger of death and serious injury to Breonna Taylor and the three occupants of the apartment next to Ms. Taylors, Schroeder said in the letter. He said Hankison fired into a patio door and a window that were covered with material, preventing him from seeing if there was a threat or innocent bystanders on the other side. Some rounds traveled into the apartment next door.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 10:58:09|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday voiced concern over the situation in Haiti and asked the Haitian government to break the country's political deadlock through negotiations.

Political deadlock and polarization in Haiti continue, and attempts to forge a negotiated agreement and push for constitutional reform are not successful, said Yao Shaojun, China's acting deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

State institutions are paralyzed and the security situation worsens with the increase of violent activities, while the economic outlook deteriorates and poses challenges to the humanitarian situation and people's livelihood, he told a virtual meeting of the Security Council. "China is concerned over the whole situation."

China calls on the Haitian authorities to commit to solving differences through negotiations and to create conditions for a negotiated agreement. It urges the Haitian government to strengthen the rule of law, ensure the security of its people, and improve its ability of self-development to deliver basic services, said Yao.

All parties in Haiti should put people first, try hard to respond to the people's wishes and regain their confidence. All political actors should take advantage of the opportunities for cooperation arising from pandemic response to build trust and work together to address the root causes of Haiti's political and institutional instability, he said.

The international community, in particular those actors who have important influence in Haiti, should strengthen economic, humanitarian, and technical support to Haiti and help the country achieve stability, improve people's livelihood, and implement the 2030 Agenda, he said.

The Security Council on Friday heard a briefing by Helen La Lime, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Haiti and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti. Enditem
Santoshi, wife Col. Santosh Babu, pays homage to her husband who was among 20 Indian soldiers killed during a clash with Chinese troops on Monday, June 15. (PTI)

Hyderabad: The Telangana government announced on Friday that it would give Rs 5 crore as ex gratia payment to the family of Col B. Santosh Babu who was killed in a skirmish with Chinese soldiers in Galwan valley last Monday. The families of 19 other Indian soldiers will be given Rs 10 lakh each.

Chief minister Chandrashekar Rao announced these decisions during the all-party meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi via video conference on Friday.

Chandrashekar Rao also said the government will provide a residential plot and a Group-1 job to the Colonels wife Santoshi.

The chief minister said he would visit Col Santosh's family and personally hand over the cheque. Cheques to the families of the other 19 soldiers would be handed over through the defence ministry.

The entire country should stand by the Army personnel guarding the country at the borders putting their lives at risk. We must display the symbol of unity and send a strong signal that the nation is with them and their families. Our actions will instil confidence in the armed forces and their families, Chandrashekar Rao said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Hundreds of children and parents participated in a rally to Gracie Mansion in Manhattan on Saturday morning.

Protestors began the march at 96th Street and 5th Avenue, making their way to Carl Schurz park, which sits across from the mayors official residence.

The group demands that Mayor Bill de Blasio move funding from the NYPD to the Department of Education (DOE). Funding would provide more resources for arts, culturally responsive curriculum, and justice- and healing-centered programs in city schools.

The protest was organized by an ad hoc coalition of families and educators, and endorsed by organizations such as NYCORE, Teachers Unite, Parent Action Committee, MORE Caucus of the UFT, Black Lives Matter in Schools, and many others.

March organizers wanted to create a safe-space for young children. They drew inspiration from the Birmingham Childrens Crusade of 1963, a plan that involved youth and used non-violent tactics to provoke Birmingham, Al. leaders to desegregate.
Mr Evans Nimako, the Director of Elections, New Patriotic Party (NPP), has urged the Party's National Officers overseeing the ongoing parliamentary primaries to ensure that no qualified delegate is disenfranchised.



He said the Party's electoral register for the conduct of the polls was generated at the constituency level and therefore, if there were some challenges - some people not being able to find their names in the register, those on the grounds should be able to address that.



Mr. Nimako, who was speaking to the media in Accra, said polling station executives were part of the list of delegates and therefore, they should not be disqualified from voting.



He said the security forces were on the ground to deal with those who want to cause trouble during the election.



The polls being supervised by the Electoral Commission (EC) started at 0700 hours and will end at 1300 hours.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Juneteenth memorializes June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over and they were free. The holiday, which has been observed by black Americans for 155 years, is recognized in some capacity in 47 states, including Illinois, but is not a national holiday. Its also not an official state holiday in Illinois, but Gov. J.B Pritzker on Friday said he would work with the General Assembly to make it so.
The Importance of Being Ernest View(s):

Fr. Poruthota played a major role in promoting cinema among young artistes

Farewell Fr. Poruthota

Rev. Fr. Ernest Poruthota, the last in the lineage of Christian religious leaders like Rev. Fr. Jacome Gonsalves, Rev. Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, Bishop Edmond Peiris who revived Christianity in Sri Lanka and lead the much needed inculturation blending with Sri Lankan tradition and culture, passed away on June 15. He was 88.

While his contribution to the Catholic church, Sinhala language and literature is immense, the role he played in the formation of young filmmakers and writers was enormous.

Fr. Poruthota, as we fondly called him guided a large number of young aspiring filmmakers in early 1970s and 80s giving them an exposure to the world cinema and thereby teaching them how to create our own cinema.

A great lover of cinema even at an early age of his priestly life in the seminary, Fr. Poruthota authored a book titled Chitrapata Gena (About Cinema) in 1965. He was also a founder member of the Film Critics and Journalists Association (FOAC), which was formed in 1968.

Hailing from the western coastal village of Marawila, Fr. Poruthota entered the priestly mission in February 1957 and he was appointed as an assistant parish priest at St. Lucias Cathedral in Kotahena. Thereafter he served as parish priest in Dehiyagatha (Ja-Ela), Moratuwa, Pamunugama, Kelaniya, Dehiwala, Kalamulla, Kotte, Wattala and finally at St. Anthonys Church in Kirimetiyagara at Kadawatha.

Starting a journalistic career at the National Seminary Ampitiya he contributed to the Gnanartha Pradeepaya, the Catholic Messenger and other national newspapers. He was also a social activist and he had a broad vision on the society and the labour movement.

He penned Wurthiya Samithi Viplavaya (Revolution in the Trade Unionism) as early as 1958. Later he was also the chaplain of the Young Christian Workers Movement.

In 1964 he authored a book Gihiya (Layman) on the dignity, vocation and apostolate of the Lay Catholic. In 1961 he wrote another book titled Kithunu Peraliya (Changes in the Catholic Church) describing how the 16 Doctrines of 2nd Vatican Council influenced the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

Fr. Poruthota as the founder director of OCIC, the Sri Lanka branch of the International Catholic Organization for Cinema now known as SIGNIS, played a major role in Sri Lankan cinema to introduce many filmmakers to the industry. They are being recognized and rewarded for their talents through SIGNIS Salutation held every year. He formed OCIC in 1970 and in addition to OCIC awards he also started the cinema and television diploma course to educate and encourage young film artistes. Holding the post of director of the Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisuals from 1972 to 1982 Fr. Poruthota contributed immensely to promote cinema specially among the younger generation. Behind many filmmakers and film artistes in todays Sri Lankan cinema was Fr. Earnest Poruthota and the OCIC which was under him.

In 2004 he compiled the book Lanka Rupavahini 25 Wasara or 25 years of Lanka television covering the silver jubilee of Sri Lankas television history which started in 1979.

Fr. Poruthota who is a writer, cinema critic and lover of cinema has always stood against censorship on cinema and had been outspoken whenever it was necessary. He expressed his strong objections whenever and wherever it was necessary to speak for justice and defend the truth. When there was a dispute over the film Kristhu Charithaya directed by Sunil Ariyaratne and produced by Aleric Lionel Fernando, Fr. Poruthota stood by the film.

After 55 long years of service, Fr. Poruthota retired from the parish work but, continued to serve cinema and art with his writing. An outstanding personality and a national figure in Sri Lanka due to his immense contribution towards Catholic Literature and the Sri Lanka Media, among the Catholics he is admired as a priest with progressive and radical ideas.

Most outstanding quality of Fr. Poruthota was he could move with anyone. He trusted the younger generation and encouraged them to take challenges and think differently. He had an encouraging word and a supportive smile whenever someone came with a problem or obstacle.

Thank you Fr. Ernest Poruthota for the strength you gave and vision you inculcated specially to love our culture, tradition, language and the country. Farewell until we meet again.

(Susitha Fernando)
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Netflix is negotiating a deal to acquire global rights to Aaron Sorkins The Trial of the Chicago 7 from Cross Creek Pictures, Variety has learned.

The film follows the Chicago Seven, a group of seven activists who were charged by the federal government with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges stemming from anti-Vietnam War protests that broke out during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Intended as peaceful protests, they instead devolved into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale, and their trial was one of the most notorious in history. Its a hot-button story, one that is sure to resonate in a presidential election year and at a time when protests over racial injustice are breaking out across the country. Cross Creek financed and produced the film.

More from Variety

The Trial of the Chicago 7 has a starry cast that includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Frank Langella, William Hurt, Michael Keaton and Mark Rylance. Sorkin, best known for penning the scripts to The Social Network and A Few Good Men and creating The West Wing, directed and wrote the film. He previously helmed Mollys Game, the story of the woman behind an underground poker empire. Jessica Chastain starred and Sorkin picked up an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. He previously won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for The Social Network.

The purchase would add another awards contender to Netflixs slate. The streaming service already has several Oscar hopefuls set to release in the coming months, including David Finchers Mank, Ramin Bahranis White Tiger, Ron Howards Hillbilly Elegy, and George C. Wolfes Ma Raineys Black Bottom. It has already debuted Spike Lees Da 5 Bloods to critical acclaim. Paramount Pictures originally planned to release the movie in limited release on September 25, 2020, before going wide on October 16, 2020. The hope is that The Trial of the Chicago 7 will still be able to come out in 2020 ahead of the presidential election in November.

Story continues

CAA is negotiating the pact with Netflix and unwinding the foreign rights to the film, which were pre-sold. Its possible the deal will fall apart if that fails to materialize as Netflix likes to control global rights to movies. A spokesperson for CAA did not respond to requests for comment, and spokespeople for Netflix, Cross Creek, and Paramount declined to comment.

Marc Platt, Stuart Besser, Matt Jackson and Tyler Thompson produced the film. Laurie MacDonald, Walter Parkes, Marc Butan, Anthony Katagas, James Rodenhouse, Nia Vazirani, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Maurice Fadida and Shivani Rawat served as executive producers.

Best of Variety

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Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the NDP, speaks in Vancouver during a campaign stop in 2019: DON MACKINNON/AFP via Getty Images

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has backed the politician who was kicked out of the countrys parliament on Wednesday for calling a member of another party racist.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), had to leave the House of Commons after trying to pass a motion acknowledging the existence of systemic racism in Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Mr Singh had called Alain Therrien, a member of the Bloc Quebecois party, racist after he refused to support the motion, which also called for a review into the polices use of force.

As his language constituted a breach of parliamentary protocol, the speaker ejected Mr Singh from parliament for the rest of the day.

The prime minister told reporters on Thursday: "It is important that we recognise when the only racialised leader in the House of Commons makes a statement like that, that it comes from a place that yes, will make people uncomfortable, but needs to be dealt with as we move forward as a country.

Mr Singh, who became the first minority leader of a national political party in Canada, later posted a video on Twitter explaining his actions.

The NDP leader cited some examples of systemic racism in Canada in recent months, including the treatment of indigenous chief Allan Adam, who was beaten up by an RCMP officer in March over an expired license plate.

He accused the Canadian government of not confronting systemic racism and police violence, following the global protests that were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

People have asked what happened in the House today.



Here are my thoughts. pic.twitter.com/VV8hX5Tq0u  Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 18, 2020

Referring to Mr Therriens objection to his motion, he added: "I'll be honest, I got angry. But I'm sad now. Because why can't we act? Why can't we do something to save people's lives? We can do something, and why would someone say no to that?"

The Bloc Quebecois party tweeted on Wednesday asking Mr Singh to apologise for his comments, which it said were damaging to Mr Therriens reputation.

It also said that racism was a major issue in Canada, before adding that it had objected to Mr Singhs motion on the grounds that the House of Commons public safety committee was already looking into systemic racism in the police.
Attendees at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Unpacked event test out the company's new devices in in San Francisco

HANOI (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics is planning to shift much of its display production from China to Ho Chi Minh City this year, Vietnamese state media reported on Friday, although the South Korean tech giant said those reports were untrue.

The newspaper Tuoi Tre reported the relocation of Samsung's display production from China citing an announcement on the website of Samsung Vietnam, but the parent company in Seoul said the reports were "groundless".

Samsung did not elaborate.

Several other Vietnamese online media outlets had reported the shift from China but by Friday evening those stories could no longer be viewed.

Samsung is the single largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investments totalling $17 billion.

Samsung has display production operations in Vietnam among its six factories and two research and development centres.

The reports come as more companies look to diversify supply chains beyond China, after widespread disruption globally when the novel coronavirus first struck there.

Tuoi Tre said the screens would be produced in the Samsung Electronics Complex in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business hub.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; additional reporting by Heekyong Yang in Seoul; editing by Martin Petty and Jason Neely)
TDT | Manama

Enlisting Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in COVID-19 fight has helped Bahrain save precious time and combat the pandemic in a better way, said a top iGA official. The advanced technologies helped Kingdom easing the burden on medical staff and allowed them to focus on active cases that require treatment and thorough observation.

Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, said this during a webinar on the Future Vision of Digital Government Through the Lens of COVID-19 organised by Saudi Arabias eGovernment Programme YESSER and the World Bank.

Bahrains BeAware app, Al Qaed said, played a vital role in monitoring COVID-19 cases using Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. 758,000 downloads The app recorded more than 758,000 downloads and 401,000 registrations by citizens and residents, he revealed.

BeAware enabled drivethrough test bookings for individuals completing home self-isolation periods, online access to test results, latest local and global COVID-19 updates as well as measures and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.

Digital government experts from KSA, UAE, UK, Finland, and Australia, as well as speakers from the World Bank Group, World Bank, and the United Nations, were present during the webinar held on the role of modern technology in combatting the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Cloud-first policy Bahrains Cloud-first policy, the chief executive said, assisted the nation greatly in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, as around 61 per cent of the services offered here were already in the cloud computing system. This helped the Kingdom in reducing costs, improving efficiency, and offering unlimited capacity.

Remote working in 45 govt entities Al Qaed said the Kingdom also implemented the remote working protocol in nearly 45 government entities to offer most of their services online. The process allowed 6,500 employees secure access to the Government Data Network (GDN) via remote SSL VPN.

This was in addition to offering technical support with the use of the Microsoft Teams platform, which allowed many employees to telecommute. Video conferring technologies, including that of Zoom, and Cisco application, were made use in high-level ministerial meetings, the iGA CE told the conference.

Al Qaed also provided an overview of Bahrains remote learning experience and the progress made in transferring the Ministry of Educations portal (EDUNET) to the cloud. 60pc govt services digitised iGA, he said, has digitised 60 pc of government services via the National Portal, bahrain. bh before the global pandemic.

some of the processes were substituted with its digital alternative at a later time, with Comprehensive ID and population registration service being one amongst them. The goal now is to create a centralised infrastructure for government services, with a focus on cybersecurity- one of the pillars of its IT system, he told the conference.
Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has weighed in on the raging controversy around nepotism in Bollywood. Anubhav shared a tweet on Saturday about how Bollywood operates miles above religion and caste, which should not be ignored.

He said that there are as many nepotistic failures in the film industry as there are outsider successes. Whatever be the internal politics of Bollywood, like the basic idea of this country, it rises miles above religion and caste. Dont let that be corrupted please. We have as many examples of nepotistic failures as we do of outsider successes, he wrote in his tweet.

Whatever be the internal politics of Bollywood, like the basic idea of this country, it rises miles above religion and caste. Don't let that be corrupted please. We have as many examples of nepotistic failures as we do of 'outsider' successes.  Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) June 20, 2020

The conversation around nepotism was reignited after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput on Sunday. He died by suicide at age 34 and was suffering from depression. Irate fans are blaming film studios, powerful filmmakers and actors who are born to influential film families, of excluding outsiders. Everyone from Karan Johar to Alia Bhatt are facing the wrath of social media, as calls to boycott their films grow louder every day.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was troubled while shooting Kedarnath, felt all the love was going to Sara Ali Khan, says Abhishek Kapoor

Actor Kangana Ranaut has been sharing videos every other day on Sushants death, calling it a planned murder by the movie mafia who shunned Sushant in his career. If you see some of his last posts, you will find that he is clearly begging people to watch his movies, indicating that he will be ostracised from the industry because he did not have a godfather, she said in a video. In his last interviews, he is clearly asking why is the industry not accepting him. He felt like a leftover. Do you feel that this does not hold importance in this incident (his demise)? she asked.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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Carlos Carson was crossing the parking lot of the low-budget motel in Tulsa, Okla., where he'd stayed the night when a shower of pepper spray hit him in the face, seemingly out of nowhere.

Overnight, the 36-year-old's car had been vandalized, and he'd exchanged words over the damage with the motel's manager and later its armed private security guard, a man named Christopher Straight. Carson was in the process of booking another night on June 6.

But as Carson walked outside the motel, a cup of coffee in his hand, Straight instigated what police would later call an unprovoked attack, one that places the role of armed security guards - especially those with a checkered past in law enforcement - in the middle of the nation's current conversation over police reform.

Surveillance footage obtained by The Washington Post shows Straight, who is white, fire a thick stream of pepper spray at Carson, who is black, from inside his pickup truck. Carson then throws his coffee at Straight and charges at him. Seconds later, Straight pulls a gun and shoots Carson in the head. The father of three, recently working to get back on his feet after time in prison and struggles with mental health, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Tulsa Police Department took Straight in for questioning and arrested him on a complaint of first-degree manslaughter the same day. Tulsa County prosecutors filed first-degree manslaughter charges June 10 against Straight, who did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Straight told detectives he was using the pepper spray to "deter" Carson from being aggressive so he could detain him for trespassing. But in the arrest affidavit, authorities said Straight's behavior appeared unprovoked.

"You don't get to pick a fight and then claim self-defense," Lt. Brandon Watkins, who leads the Tulsa Police Department's homicide unit, said in an interview with The Post.

But for Carson's family, including a brother who is in law enforcement himself, the shooting was the inevitable result of a system in Oklahoma that empowered Straight to use lethal force as an armed security guard despite allegations of misconduct stretching back to his years as a detention sergeant with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

The private security industry across the country grants guards similar authority to that of law enforcement officers, but offers little oversight. In some states, including Oklahoma, armed guards are not mandated to report use of force unless it involves a firearm, are not scrutinized for their past work in law enforcement and are allowed to remain on the job after being charged with serious crimes.

"Law enforcement does have a tendency to kick the can down the road," said Ananias Carson, Carlos' older brother and a veteran Tulsa police officer.

Before Straight became a private security guard, he spent 16 years working at the Tulsa County Jail, where he faced multiple accusations of misconduct including racial discrimination, was the subject of four internal affairs investigations and was facing a demotion when he retired early in 2018, according to federal lawsuits against Straight and his personnel file from the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

After he retired from law enforcement, Straight began working as an armed security guard, records show. He was fired from one private security company and investigated by the Tulsa Police Department while working for another for allegedly spraying a woman with pepper spray - just weeks before he attacked Carson. Records indicate the woman was black and that the attack was also unprovoked.

"It was going to happen. We just didn't know when," Ananias Carson said. "And unfortunately, it was my brother."

The killing of Carlos Carson comes amid a national reckoning over the deaths of black men and women at the hands of law enforcement and as President Donald Trump heads to Tulsa for a rally initially scheduled on Juneteenth, a commemoration of the day enslaved African Americans in Texas learned they were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation.

Trump's campaign rescheduled the event after an outcry over the symbolism: Tulsa was the site of one of the most consequential acts of racial violence in the nation's history, the 1921 attack by a white mob on what was then one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States.

Even with the new date, some Tulsa residents have said that the rally will inflame racial tensions as the country grapples with its past and pushes for reform.

As Americans press for overhauls of police departments across the country, the discussion has largely left out the lightly regulated private security guard industry that employs more than a million people in the United States - nearly double the number of police officers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Our society is expecting more of people in security, and so they need to be trained in order to provide their services to those expectations," said Robert McCrie, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has studied the private security industry. "The stakes run a gamut from inappropriate behavior to lethality. Somewhere in the middle is use of excessive force. More to the lighter side is the use of inappropriate language. So there are these vast array of offenses that an improperly selected trained and supervised security officer might participate in."

Armed guards are governed by a patchwork of regulations, with 14 states having no requirements at all, according to a 2017 study in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.

In Oklahoma, armed security guard licenses are issued by the state's Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. More than 5,000 people in the state currently hold armed security guard licenses, according to CLEET. Straight obtained his in 2018.

Preston Draper, the general counsel at CLEET, said he was not able to answer specific questions about Straight's application process to become an armed security guard. But broadly speaking, Draper said those who seek a license in Oklahoma are required to undergo a criminal background check and receive training. Those with previous law enforcement experience are eligible for exemption from the training.

Nothing in state statute authorizes CLEET to include in its background check process a search for internal affairs investigations or civil lawsuits against a former member of law enforcement, Draper said.

In criminal cases involving private security, it can be difficult to know what an applicant's background is and whether someone gave them "a can of pepper spray and gun and just said, 'Go for it,'" Watkins said.

"They don't get a lot of training, they don't get a lot of backup, and unfortunately, a security guard probably should just keep his place safe and call police to do anything," he said. "He shouldn't be doing any kind of force."

The results can be tragic. In one Tulsa case closely covered by local media, a security guard named Ricky Stone shot 15-year-old Monroe "Trey" Bird III after approaching him in the parking lot of a Tulsa apartment complex. Bird was paralyzed and died months later due to complications of the shooting, according to The Frontier, an Oklahoma investigative news site.

When armed security guards in Oklahoma discharge a firearm, they are required by state statute to report the incident to CLEET. But the statute does not include explicit language about chemical weapons such as pepper spray, Draper said.

And CLEET is only explicitly notified about a guard's misconduct once he or she is convicted of a crime - meaning Straight, who was released on $50,000 bond, could continue to work as an armed security guard up until his trial.

Straight waived his Miranda rights in the aftermath of the shooting and spoke openly with Tulsa police officers about what happened between him and Carson, according to the affidavit. He said "that Carson did not actually make an aggressive move towards him to provoke him," according to the arrest affidavit, arguing that he used the pepper spray to "deter him from being aggressive." His plan was to detain him for trespassing.

Straight had been warned in the past after pepper spraying people without reason, Watkins said. Officers who responded to the shooting said that they had previously "tried to explain to him, 'you just can't spray someone,'" he added.

On May 22, Watkins said, officers issued Straight a criminal citation alleging misdemeanor assault after he pepper sprayed a woman and she called police. But she decided against signing the citation and it was voided on the spot, Watkins said.

Part of the problem, Watkins said, is that Straight's targets often seemed to be homeless or vulnerable and unwilling to cooperate with police or appear in court.

"You would assume that Mr. Straight would have learned his lesson the first time he's written a citation for spraying somebody," he said. "But unfortunately, that just didn't happen the whole way around."

Straight's career in law enforcement began at the Tulsa County Jail in the early 2000s, records show. At the time, the jail was privately managed by Corrections Corporation of America, which employed Straight.

When the sheriff's office resumed jail operations in 2005, Straight was kept on as a detention corporal. Just two months later, he was briefly placed on administrative leave with pay for an internal affairs investigation of unspecified origin, records show. Straight was demoted to detention officer.

Over the next 13 years, Straight was promoted to the rank of sergeant while also facing three additional internal affairs investigations. He was placed on administrative leave with pay during an investigation "for violations of the TCSO Policy and Procedures." He was later suspended for five days without pay and mandated to undergo supervisory training after his "behavior as an officer . . . compromised the professionalism of the Sheriff's Office," according to records.

In his final years with the Sheriff's office, Straight was accused in three civil lawsuits and in a sworn deposition of mistreating inmates and discriminating against a black coworker.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Godwin Ehiremen, a former guard, alleged in a 2015 deposition that when a Nigerian inmate was deported, Straight, his supervisor, questioned whether Ehiremen was also in the country illegally. Ehireman said in the deposition he is of Nigerian descent.

"We might have to check you out with this man to see if you have a green card 'cause we don't know what you're doing here," Ehiremen recalled Straight saying. "If you don't have a green card and you've been here for so long, you might not even have one, so I'm going to pressure to see that."

In federal court complaints filed without the help of attorneys between 2017 and 2018, three inmates alleged that Straight mistreated them while on duty. One claimed Straight took away his commissary items, while another said he wrongly accused him of stealing another inmate's phone calls, which resulted in him being placed in segregation and then assaulted by two other inmates. The third man claimed Straight failed to protect him from being assaulted by another inmate.

All three cases were dismissed by the court, according to federal court records - a common outcome in lawsuits filed by incarcerated people representing themselves.

In 2018, a fourth and final disciplinary hearing determined Straight would be demoted from sergeant to detention officer.

Instead, Straight wrote to the sheriff that he preferred to resign and request early retirement.

"I have really tried to set a good example for the troops and to go above and beyond in boosting moral on my shift," Straight wrote in his resignation letter, "but it has become an uphill battle this last year to where I seem to stay on the chopping block for one thing or another and have been placed in a no win situation with the administration running the jail."

Around the same time, Straight began working as a private security guard at Gold Star Security and Investigations.

Vice President Mark Shelton said he was not aware of Straight's personnel record when Gold Star hired him around June 2018. His resume seemed promising: He'd worked in the jail for years, was licensed as an armed security guard and had good references.

In hindsight, Shelton said of Straight's disciplinary issues at the sheriff's office, "I would have loved to have known that." Straight worked for Gold Star for a little over a year in a low-stakes assignment that involved sitting behind a desk and "pushing a button to let employees in," Shelton said.

But by November of 2019, Straight was on his way out over what Shelton, citing employment laws, would describe only as "labor relations-type stuff" and "kind of a lot of negativity." He added that Straight was talking about starting his own private security company and trying to bring other Gold Star employees along with him, causing additional tension.

Straight eventually landed a new job with Response Protection LLC, a private security company formed in November 2019 and registered to a home in Sapulpa, Okla. Attempts to reach representatives with the business, which was licensed by CLEET, were unsuccessful.

Straight often made Facebook posts seeking guards for the company, at one point saying a guard was needed "for a graveyard shift in a pretty rough area."

As protesters took to the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Straight on June 5 posted an image saying, "How about all lives matter. Not black lives, not white lives. Get over yourself no one's life is more important than the next. Put your race card away and grow up." In the caption, he wrote, "For real."

His encounter with Carson came the next day.

Watching the surveillance footage of the shooting, Watkins said, all of the detectives "kind of had the same reaction: this was manslaughter." Straight had assaulted Carson with the pepper spray "right off the bat and for no provocation."

And maybe Carson shouldn't have attacked Straight in response, Watkins said. But Straight never should have pepper sprayed him.

Carson's family has been left to mourn the father of three, remembered as a jokester who liked to fish and kept close to family. He struggled to find steady work after serving stints in prison on charges including possession of a controlled substance, false personation and burglary. And in recent months, his family had been helping him seek mental health treatment.

After the shock of his death, Ananias Carson said, the family wants to see something change.

"From the family standpoint, they just don't want it to be in vain," Carson said, "just like he just got killed for nothing."
The failure of a section of the public to wear face masks as part of measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 may increase the risk of infection among the populace.



Mr Muntaka Chasant, the Chief Executive Officer of ATCMask, said: Mask wearing in public is mandatory, and no longer a choice. It is in the interest of the public to understand that covering the mouth and nose will protect loved ones and others from the virus either in the pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic stages.



In an interview with the Ghana News Agency he said some people placed the mask below the nose, with many having to consistently touch to fix it properly on the nose or pull it down when talking.



From what we know so far, this behaviour increases the chance of infection.



Mr Chasant urged the public to use metallic nose clips that came with masks and always make sure people pinched it to form a seal around the nose, which would make it firm to avoid touching and pulling.



If your mask doesnt have a metallic nose clip like happens in many of the home-made cloth masks, use a medical paper tape to form a tight seal around your nose to prevent the mask from having to pull down. That should work in most cases and have the mask remain in the same position.



He appealed to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to provide masks to the vulnerable in society to help curb the spread of the disease.



Mr Chasant, who is also an Environmentalist, said it was imperative for the various regional security councils to support the police to strictly enforce the mask wearing and social distancing directive especially at the markets, banks and in vehicles.



He urged the media to intensify their campaign on COVID-19 and the need to mandatorily wear masks as directed by the President to curtail the spread of the disease in the country, pursuant to sections 169 and 170 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851).



To avoid contamination, infection or transmission of the virus through the use of the masks, he entreated members of the public to clean their hands with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser before wearing the mask.



Mr Chasant appealed to government to put in place legal options to enforce personal preventive etiquette as part of measures to halt the spread of Covid-19, and said any such move would ensure that people adhered strictly to the personal preventive protocol, which include the wearing of face masks.

Source: daily guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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KOLKATA : E-commerce giant Amazon and Alibaba-backed BigBasket have got approval to deliver liquor in West Bengal, according to a document.

Online grocery platform BigBasket said this will be the company's first foray into the country's liquor delivery segment. The clearance also signals Amazon's entry into the space, likely for the first in India.

State-owned West Bengal State Beverages Corporation Ltd (BevCo) invited the two companies to sign the agreements for empanelment for home delivery after finding them eligible, as per a notice dated June 19.

BevCo, the sole wholesaler of liquor in West Bengal, also invited two Kolkata-based companies -- Senrysa Technologies Pvt Ltd and Golden Goenka Commerce Pvt Ltd for the signing of agreements.

Asked when BigBasket would start operations, its CEO Hari Menon told PTI, "I cannot confirm now how soon we will start, but yes it will be the first for the company."

Amazon did not comment on the approval.

Food ordering platforms Zomato and Swiggy have already started delivering alcohol in West Bengal with Kolkata and Siliguri after getting the required approvals, followed by the signing of agreements.

Retailer Spencer's and HipBar have also joined the fray as the government allowed home delivery of alcohol to reduce footfall at stores amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Another eight lesser-known companies, who expressed interest in alcohol delivery, have been asked by BevCo to demonstrate the capabilities of their platforms in executing online orders.

Jharkhand was the first state in the country to allow home delivery of liquor by online platforms.

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What I'm listening to: Gospel music. Linda and I are going to go into the studio to make a gospel record. Paul Kelly sent us a whole stack of gospel songs, he's got this massive collection, so I've been listening to all of those. We've been listening to a lot of Mahalia Jackson because she's the queen of gospel. Mahalia could sing with such emotion. You listen to the old stuff and you can hear them hollering and they really believe. We grew up in a religious family; we went to church every Sunday. Tongans are great gospel singers, but their own version. They sing hymns; their choir is incredibly powerful. It lifts you up to another place, it's like "woah, where did that come from" when those voices get together.

What I'm watching: A lot of Hannah Gadsby, because I think she's fantastic. I just watched Douglas, I've seen Nanette, I've been watching all her interviews on YouTube. I like her honesty. I like that she's got an opinion and a point of view and she just puts it out there. And it's like if you like it, you like it, if you don't, so what, who cares? Her honesty is refreshing. I think people want to hear that; they're sick of people sugar-coating stuff.

And my 15-year-old niece, she'll go listen to this, she's always playing stuff. She loves Lizzo, she loves Baker Boy. We're so lucky that we have someone like that, otherwise we'd just be a couple of old gals listening to the same stuff all the time. Lizzo is very cool. The latest thing she's posted online is about body image, telling off all the trolls that have been shaming her body. I think good on her for being outspoken.

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What I'm reading: I've just started Jack Charles' Born-again Blakfella. It's a book I've had sitting on my bedside. It's been around the family. Dad read it first, then Mum read it, then Linda read it, then our manager read it and finally it has come to me. I've only just begun and I'm already in tears. It's all about his life. He was stolen, he was a criminal, he went to prison, he had quite a life, but he's an amazing actor and speaker and activist. I'm really looking forward to getting into it.

My new iso hobby is: Riding my bike. I hadn't ridden a bike since I rode my Malvern Star in the '70s, no kidding. I love to swim and all the pools were shut. I've got a bit of a bad knee, so I thought what am I going to do? My husband found a bike on the side of the road that had been abandoned and he's really handy, so he did it up for me and I've been riding every day. I understand why people love it so much because it's great fun.

We kept in touch with fans during lockdown via social media: As soon as the government announced that we weren't allowed to go anywhere, all our gigs were cancelled. So we said we'll do a Sunday sing-song at 11 o'clock every Sunday [on Facebook and Instagram]. We did that for 10 weeks and people seemed to like it, they tuned in. We had a special guest each week, we had Paul Kelly, we had Diesel. They would record their parts at home, then we'd put them on our laptop and sing along.
A deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Francis Asenso-Boakye has been declared the winner of the NPP Parliamentary Primaries held in the Bantama constituency, Ashanti region after results showed that he claimed over 70% of the total votes.

Polls had earlier predicted his victory considering his experience in the party and several development interventions he has initiated within the constituency.

He defeated the incumbent, Hon. Daniel Okyem Aboagye who had come under heavy criticisms from a section of the delegates in the constituency for making some unsubstantiated allegations of votes buying against his opponent.

With ballots from all voting centers counted, Mr. Asenso-Boakye who was highly tipped to be victorious garnered 456 votes compared with 122 for Hon. Okyem Aboagye. The Electoral Commission said the election process was generally peaceful despite initial reports of controversies concerning the album.

Francis Asenso-Boakye is a former student activist of the NPP who played an instrumental role in the formation of the tertiary students wing of the party, the Tertiary Students Confederacy of the NPP (TESCON), and served as its Founding President while pursuing undergraduate studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Soon after he graduated from KNUST, Francis Asenso-Boakye worked at the Ghana Investment Promotion Center for his national service and later as planning officer for the Ghana Free Zones Board.

He is a product of the Michigan State University, Michigan, USA, where he read Master of Public Policy and Administration as a Rotary Scholar. He also holds a Certificate in Public Sector Management from Tulane University, Louisiana, USA.

While pursuing further studies in the United States, he continued his service to the party in several capacities including Youth Organizer for the NPP-North America branch.

After his studies in the USA, Francis worked for Delta Acquisition and Development, a real estate company in Delaware.

On his return to Ghana, Francis worked for the then-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as Political Assistant, a position he has held on until today.

His ambition to represent the Bantama constituency in Parliament dates as far as 2008 when he first filed to contest in the Parliamentary primaries, but was pressed upon to rescind the decision by Hon. Cecilia Dapaah, which he considered. In the 2012 primaries, he contested against the then incumbent constituency chairman but suffered a narrow defeat.

Following the landslide victory of the NPP in the 2016 presidential elections, Francis Asenso-Boakye was appointed to the position of deputy Chief of Staff and Political Assistant to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a position he serves honorably and diligently.

He is married with three kids.
A statue of Junipero Serra in San Gabriel, Calif., in a file photograph. Statues of Serra, Union General Ulysses S. Grant, and Francis Scott Key were pulled down in San Francisco, Calif., on June 19, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Vandals Topple Statues of Francis Scott Key, Ulysses S. Grant

Vandals in California took down statues of Francis Scott Key, who penned the national anthem, and Ulysses S. Grant, the famed general who helped win the Civil War.

The group, roving in San Francisco Friday night, also toppled a statue of Junipero Serra, a Roman Catholic priest.

Video footage captured on the ground showed the vandals using a strong cord to pull down the Serra statue in Golden Gate Park. People recently started pushing for the statue to be removed, claiming Serra was involved in a genocide against Native Americans.

The Hispanic Council said Saturday that officials witnessed with sadness the tearing down of Serra, describing him as the first Hispanic saint in the country.

He served the native community, evangelizing the local populations and providing them with jobs, education and food, in the missions he founded in California, the council said. The attack on Serra lacks historical rigor, it added.

People stand on a concrete pedestal where a statue of Christopher Columbus once stood at the foot of Coit Tower in San Francisco, Calif., on June 18, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Vandals then tore down a statue of Francis Scott Key, who penned a poem that became the National Anthem. One video taken at the scene shows a group of people, all dressed in black, cheering as a cord is used to pull the statue down.

Another statue taken down from the area was one of Grant, a key figure in U.S. history.

Grant helped win a slew of battles against the during the Civil War and forced Confederate General Robert E. Lee to surrender in 1865. Grant went on to serve as the nations 18th president and, according to the White House, worked to remove the last vestiges of slavery.

Grant, accused by some activists of being a slave owner, received one slave from marriage but freed him about a year later.

Police officers were seen in the background while statues were being removed but did not appear to try to stop the activists.

General Ulysses S. Grant in an undated photograph. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The San Francisco Police Department said in an emailed statement that officers responded to the area around 8:15 p.m. after receiving a report of an unplanned protest.

Officers arrived and observed several hundred people vandalizing structures and statues. Officers requested additional resources from neighboring district stations. As emergency backup arrived the crowd turned on police and began throwing objects at the officers, it said.

At approximately 9:30 PM the group began to disperse in several directions. No arrests were made and no injuries were reported.

Mayor London Breeds office and the National Park Service didnt respond to requests for comment.

The statues destruction came after city officials removed a statue of Christopher Columbus, an explorer credited by some with discovering America, from its pedestal at Coit Tower on Thursday.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated where and when Francis Scott was when he wrote a poem that became the National Anthem. He was on a ship during the War of 1812. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The government has issued a request for proposal (RFP), for selecting advisors to steer

partial disinvestment of its equity shareholding in state-run insurance company Life Insurance Corporation through an initial public offer (IPO), thus formally initiating the sell-off process.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) under the finance ministry, has issued a RFP, for pre-transaction advisors for the same.

As per DIPAM, the role be required to advise the government and LIC on optimal capital structure, face value and bonus ratio to prepare three year overallconsolidated financial statement, deciding on modality and timing of the IPO, to assist in compliance with Sebi and Irdais listing regulations and to advise government on the necessary amendments needed to the LIC Act.

The RFP seeks to engage up to two pre-IPO transaction advisors from reputed professional consulting firms/ investment bankers/ merchant bankers/ financial institutions/ banks, independently (not in consortium) for facilitating or assisting Dipam in the preparatory processes leading to the IPO of LIC.

According to the RFP, the prospective advisor can seek clarification online till June 29.

There will be a pre-bid meeting on June 30, and the bid can be submitted till July 13. LIC was established in 1956 through an Act of Parliament. Currently, the government holds 95 per cent stake in LIC and the Finance Minister had announced to partially divest its stake in the insurance major. Listing of LIC would

require amending the LIC Act and will change many structure in the company especially how it handles its surplus. The company shares five per cent surplus with government.
Tanaiste is a strange job. Two short sentences in the Constitution covering it effectively say this person occasionally gets to be "boss when the boss is out".

Yet there have been times when the job of deputy prime minister was central and held by many big names from our history. It's been all down to the politics of time and place, which have helped forge a role for the Tanaiste.

In practice, the job existed from the State's foundation in 1922 with holders of the title "vice-president of the executive council" also playing a big role in volatile times.

It was given the title 'Tanaiste' and more formal standing by Eamon de Valera in the 1937 Constitution.

In quieter times 'Tanaiste' was an honorary title for a senior figure in the ruling party who would occasionally and briefly get to take the national wheel. The name derives from a Gaelic term in the clan succession system.

So, let's rate those Tanaisti in Ireland's history.

1. Dick Spring (1982-1987, 1993-1994, 1994-1997)

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Showed his political mettle as Labour leader and Tanaiste to three Taoisigh, Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael, Albert Reynolds of Fianna Fail, and Fine Gael's John Bruton heading a three-party rainbow coalition. Ireland changed on his watch with the introduction of divorce, contraception laws and the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

He played a strong role in Northern Ireland dialogue and EU affairs, mitigated welfare cuts in tougher times, and was in governments which ultimately led to prosperity.

2. Kevin O'Higgins (executive council vice-president 1922-1927)

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A controversial Cumann na nGaedheal figure murdered by IRA dissidents in 1927. He backed the summary execution of 77 anti-Treaty IRA leaders - including the best man at his own wedding. That brutal move helped end the misery of the Civil War.

He also gave Ireland an unarmed and civilian police force when an armed militia could have been justified.

Deputising for WT Cosgrave, who was ill in 1924, he faced down an army mutiny.

His own death-bed call for reconciliation had great national resonance.

3. Sean Lemass (1945-1948, 1951-1954, 1957-1959)

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His stellar record as Taoiseach is acknowledged. He was one of the few Fianna Fail figures of his generation whose service as Tanaiste was not just honorary. He stood in for an increasingly ailing De Valera and experienced the frustrations of responsibility without power and suffered the in-fighting of an aging Fianna Fail old guard.

He was adept at managing difficult relations with a very powerful Catholic Church and steering an ailing economy.

4. Ray MacSharry (1982)

Remembered as the tough Finance Minister who tried in vain to implement spending cuts during his nine-month stint as deputy to Fianna Fail leader Charlie Haughey. He was not Tanaiste when he began to put his plans into force in 1987/1988.

His hard-line approach put the Irish economy back on track. Later served with distinction as a reforming EU farm commissioner.

5. Mary Harney (1997-2006)

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A founding member of the Progressive Democrats after an acrimonious departure from Fianna Fail, she and her party had a huge impact on Irish politics over its 25-year existence.

She served for almost 10 years as deputy to Bertie Ahern, shaping a socially progressive and economically conservative government orientation. The first of four women to hold the post.

6. Brendan Corish (1973-1977)

As Labour leader he served as deputy to Fine Gael's Liam Cosgrave in a cohesive coalition which ended 16 years of Fianna Fail rule. Social plans were hit by the economic woes of the oil crisis. Surprised to be ousted in 1977 by Fianna Fail election landslide.

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7. Ernest Blythe (1927-1932)

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The 1916 activist is among the most vilified figures in modern Irish history. An Ulster Presbyterian, he was an enthusiastic Gaelic scholar and promoter.

Remembered as the finance minister who cut a shilling off the pension in 1924, giving Fianna Fail decades of political manna from heaven. The compelling economics of that decision are long forgotten.

Took over from O'Higgins in 1927 and supported continued tough law and order stances.

8. Eamon Gilmore (2011-2014)

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Was the most successful Labour leader in the party's history when appointed Tanaiste in March 2011.

He stood his ground with draconian economic policies framed by the previous Fianna Fail-Green Party coalition in 2010. The supervising EU-ECB-IMF Troika left Ireland in December 2013 as a result. Undone by unwise election rhetoric in February 2011 and the rank disloyalty of some colleagues.

Forced to resign after terrible local elections in May 2014.

9. William Norton (1949-1951 and 1954-1957)

First Labour Tanaiste and the first social welfare minister. As Tanaiste in the first inter-party government, he suspended his party leadership to devote himself to resolving disputes among 13 ministers from five political parties.

Increased pensions and other welfare rates and also saw the establishment of the Industrial Development Authority in 1949.

10. Simon Coveney (2017 to present)

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Appointed Tanaiste in late 2017 after Frances Fitzgerald was unfairly ousted from government.

He had earlier been appointed Fine Gael deputy leader after losing the leadership race to Leo Varadkar.

He played a successful role in Brexit negotiations and later in Northern Ireland talks which eventually led to the restoration of power-sharing.

11. Frances Fitzgerald (May 2016 to November 2017)

After a long and distinguished career, she was appointed Tanaiste by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.

Ironically, the appointment made her a bigger political target when she was forced out of office over an arcane controversy in late 2017.

12. Brian Lenihan (1987-1990)

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A very important modernising politician in Fianna Fail across five decades.

His term as Tanaiste is now remembered for his sacking by his old comrade Haughey amid huge controversy during the 1990 presidential election.

13. Brian Cowen (June 2007-May 2008)

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By now his brief period as Tanaiste, after the 2007 Fianna Fail election win and his own appointment to succeed Ahern, is seen through the prism of an impending economic crash.

14. George Colley (1977-1981)

His period as Tanaiste was one of disappointment at losing the Fianna Fail leadership to Haughey and considerable personal and party rancour.

15. Mary Coughlan (2008-2011)

Proved to be a very unwise appointment by Cowen in a time of great difficulty nationally and within Fianna Fail. Often embattled and beleaguered, she was unable to give him the support he needed.

16. Michael McDowell (September 2006-June 2007)

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The Progressive Democrat founding member has made a diverse and valuable contribution to Irish public life. But his period as leader of the now defunct party, and as Tanaiste, was fraught and ended badly.

17. Joan Burton (July 2014-May 2016)

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Took over the Labour leadership and Tanaiste's office from Gilmore after serious local election reverses.

Restored some cabinet cohesion by the abolition of the economic management council and did some important welfare reforms.

Singularly failed to revive her party's fortunes.

18. Michael O'Leary (June 1981-February 1982)

Remembered as the Labour leader who left his party and joined Fine Gael.

In charge of government inaction during atrocious snow and ice in early 1982.

A political life of unfulfilled promise.

19. Frank Aiken (1965-1969)

As Tanaiste and external affairs minister he devoted his main energies to the United Nations, spending months on end in New York. Neglected Europe and the North as a result.

Those who served in an "honorary role" as Tanaiste were Fianna Fail grandees Sean T O Ceallaigh (1937-1945), Sean McEntee (1959-1965), Erskine Childers (1969-1973) and John Wilson (1990-1992). Bertie Ahern, a future Fianna Fail Taoiseach, served briefly in late 1994, as did Peter Barry of Fine Gael in early 1987.
(Photo : Alexandr Bormotin / Unsplash) The rising cases of the pandemic have brought Apple to shut down its stores in various more states.

The rising coronavirus cases in several states have promoted Apple to shut down its Apple Stores in Arizona, South Carolina, Florida, and North Carolina on Friday, June 19, CNN reported.

According to the tech company, 11 Apple Stores will be close after the continued rise of COVID-19 cases in the United States. A spokesperson from the company announced the temporary closing of the stores in the aforementioned areas.

According to the company, "Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible."

Rise in coronavirus cases lead to closed Apple Stores

Apple's stocks dropped on June 19 after the announcement was made to close the Apple Stores. The company advised customers who currently have products for repair in their stores to retrieve their devices during the weekend. The stores were initially closed last March but were only recently reopened.

COVID-19 cases in the United States have now reached more than 2.26 million. The number is expected to rise to 3 million in the next few weeks. The death toll is at 121,000 while 704,000 patients have recovered.

During the Apple Stores' reopening in March, safety measures were added including temperature checks, mandatory masks, and curbside pickup in particular areas. The services were also by appointment.

The company said earlier in this week that it would reopen stores in the city of New York, and they were aiming to open more than 200 stores in the U.S. by the end of the week. However, that plan may change due to the latest coronavirus numbers.

In Florida, the Apple Store included in the closures are Coconut Point and Waterside Shops; South Park and Northlake Mall in North Carolina; Haywood Mall in South Carolina; Chandler Fashion Center, Scottsdale Fashion Square, Arrowhead, SanTan Village, Scottsdale Quarter, and La Encantada in Arizona.





Updates from Apple

In other news, Apple is currently facing pressure on how it runs the app store prior to the global developers' conference which begins next Monday, June 23, the BBC reported.

In a recent Tech Times report, the company has rejected the Facebook Gaming app because of discrepancies with adhering to their guidelines.

The company has been criticized for having "hostile policies" in its fee structure, and this is different from their two EU competition probes announced within this week. Apple has also encountered criticism from politicians and other major tech companies regarding its different guidelines.

The developers' conference is a regular event hosted by the company where new product details and features are discussed. Software developers working on Apple platforms usually participate.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Health Minister Robin Swann is to bring proposals to the Executive on staff pay.

Ministers will "fully review" the payments to make sure there are no negative impacts on any future health budget.

On Thursday, Pat Cullen from the Royal College of Nursing warned the health service was months away from crisis and that strike action could resume within days.

A key concern was staff not being reimbursed for pay they lost while striking earlier this year, despite 1.64m being given to the Department of Health in May.

A department spokesperson said: "The minister will be tabling a paper shortly that requests the Executive to fully review the implications of the proposal before payments are made."

They added: "There is a need for absolute certainty that there will be no negative impact - now or in the future - for the health and social care budget if these payments are made."

Ms Cullen also warned of a potential exodus of nurses in September, with many unable to meet the extra cost of childcare when schools return on a phased basis, and said there could be no further delay in introducing safe staffing legislation.

Patricia McKeown from the Unison trade union said that securing safe staffing and proper pay levels were still a long way off.

"Those are our priorities. We gave very clear evidence to the health committee a week ago, about how staff have played an incredible role in the response to the Covid crisis in the risks they took in order to protect the safety of patients, residents and clients," she said.

"In the acute sector but also in the social care sector, we've made our position very clear to the minister and the department that we expect direct engagement with trade union staff in any future developments and reorganisation of the health service."
Donald Trump and Mike Pence have scrapped plans to address an outdoor rally at the president's campaign event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following reports of low attendance and a thinner-than-expected crowd inside the arena.

The campaign was set to address an "overflow" crowd that has since dwindled. On Friday, campaign director Brad Parscale touted an outdoor stage that was being built for the president.

"This will be the 1st time that POTUS speaks to BOTH crowds in person - inside & outside," he said on Twitter. "If you come to the rally and don't get into the BOK Center before it's full, you can still see the President in person!"

In a campaign statement, however, spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said "protesters interfered with supporters, even blocking access to metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally."

"Radical protesters, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the president's supporters," he claimed.

One woman who was peacefully protesting while sitting on the ground outside the arena was arrested, after the campaign asked the Tulsa Police Department to remove her from the area.

Tulsa officials had anticipated 100,000 people in its downtown for the rally. The BOK Centre has a capacity of roughly 19,000 people. Roughly 400,000 people live in Tulsa, and the state's population is around 4 million people.

On 15 June, the president claimed that nearly 1 million had requested tickets to the rally.

Reports from outside and inside the rally in the hours before the president was set to appear, typically carnival-like events with crowds lined up for hours waiting to enter, show the area had yet to reach capacity.

Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Show all 16 1 /16 Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A Trump supporter sits in the upper rows of the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally. There were reports of far lower numbers attending than the president's team had predicted Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Donald Trump points to his shoe at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma during a lengthy explanation of why he walked so carefully on a ramp at West Point military academy a week earlier Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A police officer gestures during a Black Lives Matter event near the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally by Donald Trump AP Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Trump supporters take their seats in the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally by the president. Many people in the crowd were choosing not to wear face masks despite medical recommendations during the coronavirus pandemic AP Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Merchandise vendors wearing face masks at the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a Donald Trump rally Getty Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Trump supporter Scott Hilliard, left, argues with Black Lives Matter protester Eugene Smith near the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally by the president AP Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A Trump supporter and a Black Lives Matter protester face off in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally by Donald Trump AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A protester shouts at Donald Trump supporters outside a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma REUTERS Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Eric Trump, Donald Trump's second son, in the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of a campaign rally AP Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A woman wearing a T-shirt with the message 'I Can't Breathe' is arrested after refusing to leave the area outside the rally, which she said she had a ticket for AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A woman speaks to police officers during a protest against racial injustice outside a Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma REUTERS Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Brad Parscale, Donald Trump's campaign manager, in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of the president's first rally in three months Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A protester against racial injustice is arrested outside a Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma REUTERS Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma A Trump supporter wearing a Make America Great Again cap speaking outside a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma REUTERS Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Trump supporters wait to enter a rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Donald Trump supporters and opponents clash outside the BOK Centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma ahead of an election rally by the president AP

The campaign had initially planned to hold the rally  his first since 2 March and his first during the coronavirus pandemic  on 19 June, or Juneteenth, but moved the date to the following day after waves of backlash for using a day recognising African American emancipation from slavery as a backdrop for his return to rallies that have provoked white nationalism.

Tulsa also recently recognised the 99th anniversary of the nation's largest racist massacre, in which white mobs killed dozens of African American residents.

Masks were handed out to attendees, though wearing them was not enforced and most attendees ignored guidelines to do so.
The Democratic Republic of the Congos high court has found a top presidential aide guilty of embezzling public funds and sentenced him to 20 years in jail.

Vital Kamerhe, President Felix Tshisekedis 61-year-old chief of staff, was found guilty of diverting public funds worth 48.8m dollars along with his co-accused, Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih, 79, the court said on Saturday.

From everything we have heard, the court has established as fact the offence of embezzlement of public funds relating to the amount of $48,831,148, said presiding judge Pierrot Bankenge Mvita wearing a mask and rubber gloves.

The veteran power broker appeared at the three-hour outdoor court hearing in a blue and yellow prison jacket and also wore a mask to protect against the new coronavirus.

High-profile case

Kamerhe is the most senior politician to face corruption charges in DRC, where high-level corruption is endemic.

He denies stealing money earmarked for social housing under Tshisekedis flagship 100-day building programme.

Kamerhe backed President Tshisekedi in his successful 2018 election campaign in return for Tshisekedis support the next time around in 2023.

His arrest on April 8 sent shock waves through the countrys governing coalition and the nation.

Kamerhes supporters say the case is politically motivated, aimed at blocking his chances of challenging Tshisekedi at the next election in 2023.

Earlier in the month, the justice minister revealed that the former presiding judge, who was originally said to have died of a heart attack last month, was actually murdered.
Johannesburg  There have been so many attempts to deface the statue of Paul Kruger in South Africa's capital city of Pretoria that it's been fenced off. "Killer" has been sprayed on its base and, recently, someone tried to scrawl "We can't breathe" across it.

Ironically, Kruger fought one oppressive regime, British colonialism, only to usher in another in the form of a white racist government. The fury being leveled at symbols of oppression around the world is not new on this continent.

Protesters topple George Washington statue in Oregon

Africa has been pulling down statues for years, but experts tell CBS News that act alone isn't enough to correct historical wrongs.

Students at South Africa's University of Cape Town celebrated when the statue of Cecil John Rhodes met an ignominious end five years ago. A crane was brought in to remove the statue from its base. It now lies abandoned, covered by a tarp at a local army base.

South Africa's University of Cape Town Removes Statue of Cecil Rhodes

Students cheer as the Cecil Rhodes statue is being removed from the University of Cape Town on April 9, 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. Charlie Shoemaker/Getty

Cape Town students had long demanded the removal, insisting it was offensive to glorify a racist colonizer. Constitutional lawyer Lwando Xaso believes it was a cathartic moment for the whole country when the statue finally came down.

"I think statues represent so many ideas that are wrapped up in the physical object itself, and that by toppling them, you are saying that those ideas that they represent no longer have a place in society," she said.

South Africa isn't the only African nation that has sought to wipe out a shameful past by removing hated symbols of bygone eras.

Another statue of Rhodes was toppled in Zimbabwe in 1980 after that country became independent. Before independence, the country itself was named after the white British colonizer: What had been Rhodesia became Zimbabe.

Story continues

In Kenya, a statue of Britain's Queen Victoria was knocked down and left headless five years ago, and decades ago a statue of colonial ruler King Leopold II of Belgium was pulled down in the Congo after its independence in 1960.

But for many, including Xaso, removing monuments doesn't go far enough.

"I'm a proponent for taking down statues if it leads to some kind of material change, if the conditions of people's lives, socioeconomic rights, are fulfilled. Otherwise, to me, it's meaningless," she told CBS News.

Renowned African academic and philosopher Professor Achille Mbembe agrees.

"We haven't, in Africa, thought seriously about the ways in which we want to reconstruct our public sphere in the aftermath of colonial oppression," he said. "We have hardly started that discussion."

In Cape Town, the dismantling of the Rhodes statue morphed into a far bigger campaign known as the Fees Must Fall movement, which sparked protests across South Africa.

Students wanted college to be free and accessible to all, and demanded the curriculum be decolonized.

"The debate over statues is always a debate about more than statues," Mbembe told CBS News. "The transformation of the curriculum so that it reflects who we are, where we come from, where we are struggling and where we want to go. In the case of the ongoing debates in the U.S., in the U.K. and Germany, in France and elsewhere the key issues are, of course, those of racial justice."

Re-examining historical injustice can result in its symbols being replaced with something new. It's an opportunity to re-imagine what kind of values a society upholds, suggested Xaso.

"I think for me, if I took the Cecil John Rhodes statue, I'd want to melt some parts of it, create an interesting feature out of it," she said, "something that tells a bigger story than just of Cecil John Rhodes, but maybe tells the story of what Rhodes represents."

Mbembe said Africans  and people around the world  need to "decolonize our minds" and ask how we can both overcome systemic racism and share the world in a way that makes it more sustainable for all.

SAFRICA-PROTEST-STUDENTS-RACISM

People visit the defaced statue of Paul Kruger in Church Square, Pretoria on April 6, 2015. STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty

"They come together neatly in the context of the murder of George Floyd and the coronavirus, which attacks a respiratory system. Have you in mind the last words of many of those victims? 'I can't breathe.' So how do we make a world where we all have a universal right to breathe?"

That, Mbembe said, "is the key issue that is at stake in the current debate on statues."

In Pretoria, Paul Kruger's statue may well disappear in the future, but the wounds of racism and colonialism run deep. That's why so many in this country say not only should statues be toppled and new more inclusive symbols built, but reconstruction must also include real socioeconomic change.

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WUHAN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Ndjike Pierre Paulin, a Cameroonian national, carefully sanitized every floor of the accommodation area of international students in Hubei University of Technology, carrying a blue container filled with 20 liters of disinfectant on his back.

In recent days, the disinfection work has been reduced for Ndjike, who is a student coordinator of the university, from once a day between January and April to twice a week, as the COVID-19 epidemic waned in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.

"Earlier, I had to refill the container at least five times to disinfect all seven buildings, each of which is four or six stories tall. And, it took me more than two hours every day," Ndjike said, recalling the time when the outbreak was at its peak.

When Wuhan enforced a lockdown on Jan. 23, most of the university's staff were on their Spring Festival vacation and were unable to return due to the entry restrictions. Ndjike and two of his Chinese colleagues, who were among the few staying on the campus, took the initiative to guard the international students against the virus.

"I never thought about leaving. The university has done a lot to help me, so I should stay back and help them," said the 30-year-old Cameroonian, who has been studying and working in the university for four years.

During the lockdown, Ndjike used to get up at 7 a.m. to carry out disinfection and to check on every student to ensure they are safe. The arduous daily chores wouldn't allow Ndjike to rest until midnight. Sometimes he would also try and help relieve the mounting anxiety among quarantined students through chats.

"I saw the solidarity between Chinese and foreigners in Wuhan. Everyone wants to do something for society. And all the people are disciplined," said Ndjike.

Huang Yongjun, vice dean of the university's School of International Education, said after several rounds of evacuations due to the outbreak, 277 of their 1,035 international students stayed back on the campus, 95 percent of whom are from Africa. None of them was infected.

Many African students volunteered to alleviate the severe manpower shortage on the campus.

Since January, Osei Ebenezer Yaw from Ghana has taken on responsibilities like delivering groceries and topping-up electricity cards for other students.

"It is impressive that Wuhan was locked down very quickly. And soon after that, free masks, food and water were provided to us," observed the 21-year-old who is pursuing his bachelor's in international economics and trade.

Students believe a first-hand experience could help the world better understand what transpired in the virus-ravaged city.

"I used to know 'lockdown' just as a word and I never thought I would experience it practically in my life," said Henok Neguse Negash, an Eritrean Ph.D. student at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. He had to shelter his winter vacation plan of visiting other Chinese cities due to the lockdown.

"The initial three to four days were difficult. But the university kept us informed and created online shopping platforms. Besides, doctors were available online to assist us. I then got used to the new normal of living behind closed doors," recalled Negash.

Confined to his apartment, Negash used to unwind by strumming his guitar, doing exercises, chatting with friends, and writing diary entries. Negash, along with some of his other foreign friends, chronicled the unfolding events since the beginning of the virus outbreak, in the form of a group diary.

"Some of us traveled abroad and are unable to return to Wuhan, some are living away from their spouse for months, and some were stranded at home. We candidly recorded our experiences," he said.

Negash is also working on another book based on his own diary, in which he penned down stories that touched him.

"I remember the night when Wuhan people waved flashlights from their phones and shouted 'Wuhan Jiayou' (Wuhan stay strong) from their windows. I cried. The solidarity was remarkable," he said.

"It is also touching to see that after China controlled the outbreak, it started to help other countries. Masks and protective suits were sent from China to Africa, Europe, America and so on, which helped a lot," said Negash.

He hopes to wrap up the two diaries by the end of summer.

"The city is getting back to normal. The time has come for Wuhan to smile again, and I cannot wait to eat my favorite hot-dry noodles."
Employees at high-end establishments are in a similar situation. Sean Johnson, the head bartender at the Michelin-starred restaurant Gabriel Kreuther, and Blake Walker, the head bartender at Amor y Amargo in the East Village, were both laid off at the outset of the pandemic. So they opened a business called Day and Night Cocktails, also run under the table through Instagram, as a sort of insurance policy against an increasingly fragile hospitality landscape.

Nobody knows what its going to look like on the other side of this thing, Mr. Johnson said. Were already hearing about bars closing left and right, he added, calling the proposal to reopen establishments at 25 percent capacity a death sentence that would take down any New York establishment in a matter of months.

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Walker are testing a business built around Scaffas  undiluted cocktails served at room temperature  which they deliver on foot around their respective neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick.

Mr. Johnson acknowledges that the drinks are effectively upscale nutcrackers, geared toward a high-income clientele (they run $20 for 4 ounces; for the time being, he said, all profits are being donated to Bushwick Mutual Aid, which helps residents affected by Covid, and the Movement for Black Lives).

As for the restaurants and bars serving sidewalk drinkers, the State Liquor Authority specifies that its recent to-go-drink provision intends to assist businesses impacted by the current state of emergency. Across the boroughs, bars have embraced the concept, relying on the newly legal to-go cocktails to generate revenue while theyre unable to seat guests in their space.

Some places are even selling drinks in the squat plastic bottles that nutcrackers are typically served in. Williamsburgs Rocka Rolla now offers a bottled Banana Hammock made of rum, pineapple juice and coconut milk; and in a special Nutcrackers section of Sweet Chick Williamsburgs menu, there is a gin-based cocktail called Purple Drank.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.'

'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.'

'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.'

'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) who commanded the Uri Brigade, the Baramulla Division and the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps.

IMAGE: Indian Army trucks move along a highway leading to Ladakh at Gagangeer in Kashmir's Ganderbal district, June 17, 2020. Photograph: Imran Nissar/ANI Photo

It was bound to happen sooner than later at the LAC.

The PLA was not acting overly aggressive for nothing. It was clearly conveying a strategic message which primarily harped on 'Don't mess with us, keep to your limits'.

That is the message which will probably continue to be played out in the remaining part of the campaigning season and beyond.

While many are focusing on the tragic turn of events and the nuances of what really transpired on June 15/16 I wish to turn to the bigger picture and the near future. But that takes away nothing from the valour of Colonel Santosh Babu and the valiant men of 16 Bihar along with many others.

They clearly demonstrated their prowess and espirit de corps in one of the most awkward situations ever faced by our soldiers in any operational environment.

The first question -- why did this happen? At the tactical level we continue to remain an ethical nation given to dependence on trust.

When confronted with devious adversaries who have no intent to execute on ground what they agree on paper we appear to continue trusting them.

China has demonstrated to the world time and again its propensity to disrespect a rule -based order and that translates down to the tactical level too.

While negotiations for de-escalation continue at the major general level India can no longer stay unprepared for a worst case contingency.

Unprecedented levels of induction of troops into the Himalayan region is not necessarily a precursor to war, but simply precautionary steps since mobilisation to this border is most challenging.

There is no guarantee that awkward situations are not going to develop in the near future with China clearly hell bent to execute a new strategy for the post COVID-19 world order.

What is China actually seeking? Three prime factors are at play.

First is Xi Jinping's personal ambition of placing China at a position of unquestionable pre-eminence in his lifetime, much faster than professed by the 19th congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

The COVID-19 situation and its international effect is viewed as an opportunity to initiate such steps. Thus, all previous bonhomie and cooperation can rest while the new intent is pursued.

Second is a deep psychological image deficit produced by the Doklam incident which left China with a perception of being bested by the Indian Army.

It probably perceived a major threat to its desired pre-eminence in leaving such a psychological impact on the world and its own people.

That supposedly compromised image had to be retrieved by a suitable mix of limited military coercion and subtle strategic messaging.

Third, military coercion was perceived best executed through demonstration at the tactical level to place the PLA at a position of advantage should hostilities ever break out.

Obviously the Darbuk-Daulat Beg Oldi road does not fit into its new scheme of things and that realisation came late since the road has been under construction for over 10 years.

IMAGE: Border Security Force personnel stand guard at a checkpoint along the highway leading to Ladakh at Gagangeer in Kashmir's Ganderbal district, June 17, 2020. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

The Pakistan angle is not out of place here. The voluble new Indian narrative on Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir has upped Pakistan's concern and that of China.

Left as it is, the entire emerging situation would have facilitated growing Indian strategic confidence and dwindling Sino-Pak ability to counter it.

The decision to construct the Daimer Basha dam in Gilgit Baltistan appears to be a result of this concern.

The sudden Chinese upsurge of focus on Ladakh also appears to be the early stages of attempting to set the situation for greater Sino-Pak collusion to seek fresh and less fragile avenues for Belt and Road Initiative projects in the region currently limited by the terrain in the existing areas under their control.

Under glare and in sights will be Daulat Beg Oldi, Siachen and the Shyok Valley which form part of the middle tract of Ladakh in the Karakoram zone. Writings in the Pakistan media appear to point in such a direction.

IMAGE: An Indian Air Force flighter jet seen flying over the Ladakh theatre.

So how must India react?

We have already mobilised essential reserves all along the northern borders and the Indian Air Force too. This caters to any triggers which may emanate from the tense situation.

The terminal benefits of a border war can hardly be perceived because a favourable situation for India cannot remain at that without general war becoming a cascading offshoot.

Pragmatism dictates that in a situation of such intense economic downturn discretion rather than sentiment should be the policy.

It should clearly point towards a review of our overall preparedness and allocation of resources for a stronger military capability.

An emerging India cannot be perceived internationally as a State devoid of modern military capability, notwithstanding advances made in infrastructure and capability in the last few years.

IMAGE: A BSF checkpoint along the highway leading to Ladakh. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.

The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.

Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive in all resources although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.

However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives. The terrain on our side is a disadvantage with winter stocking being a major challenge.

In 1999 we were forced into adopting such a posture in Kargil post hostilities, but that was yet less remote than areas of Eastern Ladakh and the Karakoram tract.

Talks between military commanders on both sides can help in reducing such deployment.

Continuous engagement in such talks at an appropriate level will also help in framing fresh rules of engagement in face-offs in the future.

Two steps necessary on an immediate basis must be taken.

First, hot lines must be laid across the LAC for immediate consultation at the level of brigade commanders;

Second, there should be no attempt at un-notified flag meetings.

Each such meeting must have sanction at the Director General of Military Operations level of both nations and be constantly supervised lest rogue elements of the PLA hijack the proceedings.

Our officers and men must examine all contingencies for the future.

IMAGE: Indian soldiers in Ladakh.

Does diplomacy have a role?

The fact that the Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has decided to attend the foreign ministers meet of the Russia-India-China forum on June 23, 2020 is a pointer towards India retaining all options while approaching the situation which has emerged.

This has been India's traditional approach and clearly steps towards greater international understanding and support will always pay dividends.

The economic domain is emerging as one area where India can demonstrate its will in not extending cooperation with China, but serious studies need to be done to ascertain the advantages or otherwise that accrue to us.

Given the COVID-19-related economic downturn in India we need to be pragmatic in this sphere too.

Lastly, if the Indian Army's War College and Training Command are not doing crash examination and analysis of the procedures and drills on the LAC, then it is sacrilege. By now study teams should have reached Leh and constant study of the PLA's new operational strategy and ways to counter them must be undertaken on priority.

The sheer remoteness of the areas of the standoff prevents the free flow of necessary information and realistic assessment becomes a challenge.

We have enough examples of the PLA's intense vulnerability demonstrated at the Ussuri river in 1969 against the Soviet army and the rout of 1979 at the hands of Vietnam.

A whole new approach to dealing at the tactical level is not just necessity, but mandatory.

This must end by once again recognising the sacrifice of the 20 bravehearts and scores of seriously injured soldiers. It pricks the conscience when one thinks of such courageous warriors who are battling great odds to keep the nation safe and secure.

Only a very small percentage of people in India can even imagine how remote these battlefields are, the terribly rugged terrain and the kind of privations our soldiers have to undergo.

Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) is now associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation and Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Production: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
Kmart has attracted legions of fans with its on-trend products and low prices for everything from marble tables to heated rugs and $69 air fryers.

Entire social media groups are dedicated to mums revamping their homes with brand new furnishings or super-organised Kmart inspired kitchens.

The chain's more-for-less popularity saw its sales jump 7.6 per cent in the second half of last year, even as its sister company Target hit dire straits.

But there's one reason why Kmart is able to sell a whole coffee machine for $89 - all the products its fans rave about are made in China.

So reliant on cheap Chinese labour is Kmart that entire aisles across its stores are empty until at least July after coronavirus ripped through Asia

Shelves are completely bare in many parts of its stores like this one in Parramatta in western Sydney

So reliant on cheap Chinese labour is Kmart that entire aisles across its stores are empty until at least July after coronavirus ripped through Asia.

Queensland University of Technology consumer expert and researcher Gary Mortimer said the stores were reliant on cheap overseas manufacturing.

Poll Would you pay more for Australian made products? Yes, Australia first No, just want best price Would you pay more for Australian made products? Yes, Australia first 510 votes

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'Australian discount department stores are heavily reliant on overseas production, whether that comes out of India, China, Pakistan or Bangladesh,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton said it shouldn't be the country's 'destiny' to buy everything from China.

'We are in this position today because of deliberate choices made by our governments. It's certainly possible to recalibrate and we should,' he said.

'Australians can and should be making more things  preferably things that we want to hang onto instead of ending up in landfill.'

Kmart said it worked with suppliers across the globe, 'to develop and source the best quality, style and priced products that our customers love'.

Air fryers and pie makers

Kmart's incredibly popular line of air fryers, costing between $49 for a 1.5L version and $129 for the 3-in-1 version, are used to cook just about anything.

Customers were up in arms when they sold out around the country earlier this month, with many models still gone from shelves today.

Kmart's incredibly popular line of air fryers, costing between $49 for a 1.5L version , are used to cook just about anything

The 3-in-1 version costs $129 and was the only model available on shelves this week

The same is true for Kmart's sandwich and waffle makers, microwaves, ovens, and electric frying pans (pictured)

This 3L deep fryer cooks hot chips in your home and only costs $29. It's made in China

A home cook shocked social media after opting to use hot chips as a sandwich filling and cooked the lunchtime snack in the $29 pie maker

The reason for the dire shortage is the entire range is made in China, as clearly labelled on the side of the boxes they come in.

The same is true for Kmart's sandwich makers, microwaves, ovens, electric frying pans, and $29 double hot plate.

Kmart's legendary $29 pie maker is another smashing success, used to make an astonishing variety of lunch box treats - and even barbeque sausages.

For the same price you can scoop up a sausage roll maker that ex-MasterChef host Matt Preston has used to make apple pies and mac-n-cheese fingers.

'I lashed out on a sausage roll maker... I call it $29 well spent,' he captioned a photo of it being put to use.

'I couldn't be prouder... making apple pies in the sausage roll maker with puff was pretty good but when my daughter suggested using up the filo in the freezer with the last of the filling, we were on to a winner!'

Just a day earlier, Preston used his pie maker to whip up spanakopita, a Greek spinach and feta cheese pie.

Both of these appliances are made in China and now barely available in store thanks to their popularity and supply problems thanks to coronavirus.

Kmart's legendary $29 pie maker is another smashing success, used to make an astonishing variety of lunch box treats

For the same price you can scoop up a sausage roll maker that ex-MasterChef host Matt Preston swears by

Preston used his $29 Kmart sausage roll maker to make 'Mac-n-Cheese Fingers'

'So I lashed out on a sausage roll maker... I call it $29 well spent,' he captioned a photo of it being put to use

Bargain blenders

On shelves opposite are a dazzling array of blenders and food processors for as little as $50 - all of which are made in China.

One particularly popular model, a $49 digital 1.5L blender, scored high marks from a Choice test that gave it a better grade than a $2,200 competitor.

'Look, it's no Vitamix in the status department, but this $49 blender held its own in the kitchen, receiving a more-than-respectable 90 per cent performance score,' the consumer watchdog said.

Consumer review website Canstar Blue also weighed in on the digital blender.

'The digital blender packs a lot in for the price, and has features that other brands have on their blenders for much more money,' the experts said.

Choice included the blender in a roundup of bargain Kmart products that provide great value for money.

A Kmart $49 digital 1.5L blender, scored high marks from a Choice test that gave it a better grade than a $2,200 competitor

This juicer is elaborate and high performing, and costs just $59 because it is made in China

This blender, aiming to compete with extremely popular alternatives, is just $59 thanks to being made offshore in China

$89 Coffee maker better than $949 one

They included an $89 espresso coffee machine that was recommended for any family that wanted a tasty on a budget.

'In our tests, it outperformed a $949 coffee machine on flavour and pumped out consistently hot coffees. And it'll pretty up your kitchen bench, too: it looks the business,' Choice declared.

A $49 carry-on suitcase measuring 45.5cm was rated better than a $500 competitor, and a $55 electric blanket also received a 'red hot' rating.

The review also listed Kmart's range of vacuum cleaners, costing $50 to $100, which were given scathing reviews but are nonetheless widely sold.

All these outrageously popular, and in many cases high-performing, products are made in China, as seen on their packaging.

Kmart has a $89 espresso coffee machine that outperformed a $949 coffee machine in a review by Choice - it's made in China

The review also listed Kmart's range of vacuum cleaners, costing $50 to $100 and made in China, which were given scathing reviews but are nonetheless widely sold

Kit out kitchens for $13

Elsewhere in the kitchen, Choice also raved about Kmart's 24cm frying pans that now cost just $13 - alongside similarly cheap other sizes.

The group found it delivered better performance, ease of use, and durability than other popular brands costing hundreds of dollars.

'It's a lightweight, well-balanced pan that's easy to clean,' kitchen expert Chantelle Dart said.

'Even though it's only $16, it's comparable with other brands that are significantly more expensive.'

The pan survived 10,000 scrubs with a scourer and the only downside was its thin base making it get too hot when used for long periods.

All Kmart's kitchen pots and pans are made in China.

Another recent sensation was a $35 heated throw rug, far cheaper than the $150 versions sold elsewhere.

Customers said the rug was so good it saved them $500 on heating costs, and was widely sold out at the beginning of winter.

Like all of Kmart's electric blankets, the heated throw rug is made in China.

Choice also raved about Kmart's 24cm frying pans that now cost just $13 - alongside similarly cheap other sizes

All Kmart's pots and pans, along with almost all its other kitchen gear, are made in China

Kmart is now selling heated throw rugs for only $35 (pictured) which is a lot cheaper compared to other brands who sell similar products between $50 and $150

Like all of Kmart's electric blankets, the heated throw rug - seen here on the shelf - is made in China

Hack Queen's made in China decor

Social media is littered with lists of must-have Kmart products and stories of elaborate home redecoration done for next to nothing - all with stuff made in China.

'Kmart hack queen' Samantha this month shared her must-have Kmart buys of 2020 - including a marble coffee table and a $4 glass canister.

Samantha said her favourite product at the moment is the $49 rattan floor lamp.

'I love this lamp because it's so versatile. You can place it in the bedroom or living space - it suits a contemporary and natural scheme,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Her other top picks include the marble range - $49 coffee table and $35 side table.

'Marble tables are great, solid pieces of furniture with heavy marble. I actually don't understand how something is made with such good quality but is still well priced,' she said.

Samantha said she's loving her 'stylish' set of two black round coffee tables, which costs $39 for the larger size and $29 for the smaller version.

Her list of 10 must-have items she used in a spectacular home redecoration are all made in China, which is how she was able to pull it off for such a low price.

'Hack queen' must-have Kmart buys 1. Rattan floor lamp - $49 2. Faux flowers - $3 to $8 3. Large tall glass vase - $12 4. Furniture pieces - including the $35 half moon table and the $39 entertainment unit 5. Hanging plant in pot - $9 6. Hammered Triple Wick Fragrant Candle - $15 7. Mable table - $35 8. Set of two round oak table - $49 9. Black coffee table - large $39, and small $29 10. Glass canister - large $5.50, small $4 and a set of two mini $4 Advertisement

'Kmart hack queen' Samantha recommended this $35 Kmart side table. It's made in China

Kmart's range of affordable furniture wouldn't look out of place in Ikea, but is a fraction of the price - because it's made in China (as seen on the box)

Homes transformed for next to nothing

Similarly, Erana Rosa, 39, transformed the space under her stairs into a cubby house for her daughter for just $250.

Her design included a toy kitchen for $89, beanbag for $43, and dinosaur lights for $8 from Kmart - all of which are made in China.

'I think she was in shock when she first opened the door and wasn't sure what to say or do but she loved the dinosaur lights and has been cooking up a storm in the kitchen,' she said of the Kmart products.

Another woman shared her dressing room makeover by her fiance, complete with a Hollywood mirror, marble worktop and a chandelier.

The bride-to-be shared images of the luxury space to Facebook which houses her extensive Louboutin shoe collection, makeup, bags and jewellery.

Erana Rosa, 39, transformed the space under her stairs into a cubby house for her daughter for just $250

Her design included a toy kitchen for $89, which is sold out due to problems sourcing from China during coronavirus - this is a different deluxe model still available

Another woman shared her dressing room makeover by her fiance, complete with a Hollywood mirror, marble worktop and a chandelier

The grey velvet bench ($45) is a stoop to hold her candles, artworks and frames, with most things on top of it printed at the Kmart store. It is made in China

These fake flowers, similar to the ones used in the dressing room, costs just $5 and are made in China

Kmart provided a grey velvet bench ($45) as a stoop to hold her candles, cosmetics holders, vases and fake flowers, along with the $8 curtain string lights behind the makeup station - all made in China.

Other popular Kmart products that are made in China include a $99 air purifier that took off during the summer's bushfires, a $49 three-piece luggage set, and a set of knives with a block for just $7.

Camping and recreation gear and kids toys are also overwhelmingly Chinese made including the store's entire fishing rod and tent ranges.

Most of the plastic toys are sourced from China, though Hot Wheels cars are made in Thailand and Lego is still made in Denmark where it was invented.

Even products you would expect to be made in Australia are from China, like a eucalyptus mint fragrance diffuser.

Even products you would expect to be made in Australia are from China, like a eucalyptus mint fragrance diffuser

Most of the plastic toys Kmart has available are sourced from China - like everything on this shelf

Just $10 for this whole box of kids toys - because it's made in China

Other popular Kmart products that are made in China include a $99 air purifier that took off during the summer's bushfires

How Kmart keeps prices low - buying from China

Kmart said it was committed to preserving and nurture its relationships with suppliers and partners.

'This includes working alongside these suppliers and partners that operate across the globe, to develop and source the best quality, style and priced products that our customers love,' it said.

'During these unique times, together we have been able to navigate and move through this period with positive outcomes that have allowed us to continue to pass on the best products at the best price to customers.'

Kmart claimed the empty shelves were the result of it scaling back orders under the incorrect assumption that Australians would buy less, not that its supply was interrupted.

'During the early stages of Covid-19 and the uncertainty of the coming months, we reduced the number of product orders,' it said.

'The team have worked hard to bring product forward and encourage customers to be patient as stock levels will start to come back in the next few weeks and all product availabilities to normalise by July 2020.'

This set of knives, complete with a storage block, costs just $7 - it is made in China

Some a wide variety of fake pot plants and flowers, all made of plastic, that arrive from China

Camping and recreation gear and kids toys are also overwhelmingly Chinese made including the store's entire fishing rod and tent ranges

Most toys are also imported from China, but Lego is still made in Denmark where it was invented

Retail director John Gualtieri also blamed changes to manufacturing overseas for the slow return of products to the retailers shelves.

'Some of the countries where we manufacture our physical products were also put into lockdown at this time, putting production of some of our goods on hold for a period of time,' he said.

Commsec chief economist Craig James told 9 News the shortage is a byproduct of Australia's dependency on foreign imports.

'Australia is one of the most dependent countries in the world on China. Something like 38 per cent of exports go to China and something like a third of our imports come from China,' he said.

The supply chain fell into disarray as workers went into lockdown, worsened by the run on goods with Australian restaurants closed during the pandemic.

Kmart Australia says it expects stock levels to 'normalise' by the end of July

A YouGov poll found about 80 per cent of Australians thought Australian materials should be used for infrastructure projects - even if they cost more.

'Let's break the addiction to cheap Chinese imported product. It's a stupid false economy. Australian-made building materials are not only top quality, they're globally competitive,' Mr Walton said.

'COVID-19 has shown that when push comes to shove, we need to be able to produce the things we need, when we need them.'

This could be extended to consumer products available at Kmart as well.
By Express News Service

ANGUL: A 40-year-old man was trampled to death by two elephants in Bantala forest range here on Friday. He was identified as Sudam Pradhan of Bargonia village. Another man who was near the spot was also chased by the jumbos but escaped narrowly.

Sources said that Sudam had gone to the forest to collect mangoes.With this, the number of lives lost in elephant attack in the range in the last two months rose to four. On Wednesday night, a resident of Handappa died after being attacked by a jumbo.

The victim, Basant Naik (35), was going to Baghuapote village for some work when he encountered a herd of elephant in the nearby forest. He was attacked by an elephant and sustained serious injuries. He later succumbed in Angul hospital.

In May, Dusmanta Behera (31) of Talagarh and Pramila Biswal (40) of Kantamegha village were killed by elephants when they had gone inside the forest to graze goats and collect mangoes respectively.

The frequent attacks by pachyderms triggered resentment among local villagers who demanded immediate steps to chase away the herd creating havoc in the area. "Panic has spread among villagers as the elephant herd has taken four lives in the area. The Forest department should drive away the herd as soon as possible," said Pabitra Pradhan, a local.

However, Forest officials said elephants did not enter any human habitations and all the mishaps took place inside forests. Angul DFO V Kartik said despite repeated warnings, villagers continue to venture into the forest.

Man trampled to death

SAMBALPUR: A 47-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Nua Barangamal village within Jujumura police limits here on Thursday night. The body of the victim, Indrajit Sandha, was spotted by villagers on Friday morning.

Sources said Indrajit was returning to his village from nearby Kulsar on a bicycle when the elephant attacked him killing him on the spot. On being informed, Forest officials rushed to the spot. Indrajits body was handed over to his family after autopsy.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- On Tuesday morning, cars and pedestrians lined up for free Covid-19 tests in south Minneapolis, six blocks from where George Floyd was killed last month. As protests flared after his death, Minnesota's Department of Health had set up the testing site and encouraged demonstrators to visit in hopes of stemming a potential new outbreak. Long lines at this center and three others in the Twin Cities suggest that, far from being complacent about the risks of taking to the streets in a pandemic, the protesters were all too aware of them.Fortunately, expectations of a spike in cases haven't been borne out  at least not yet. The health department has in fact reported diminishing numbers of new infections since the protests started, as well as data showing that self-identified protesters have lower positive rates than others. It seems to be a widespread phenomenon: State and local governments across the U.S., from Sacramento to coastal Virginia, have reported lower-than-expected infection rates following the demonstrations, though few have data as robust as Minnesota's.To understand what might account for this encouraging trend, and what it might portend for future lockdowns, I talked to Kris Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division at the Minnesota Department of Health. Ehresmann, an epidemiologist, oversees the state's efforts on issues ranging from HIV to foodborne illnesses to  most recently  the coronavirus. As more and more demonstrators took to the streets, she said, many people were asking if Covid cases could spike.And we said, Yeah, absolutely, Ehresmann told me over the phone. "You've got situations in which you have large groups of people coming together, and likely not socially distanced."She wasn't alone in this concern. In early June, as the protests spread outward from Minneapolis, plenty of prominent public-health professionals, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, cautioned that they might lead to increased infections. There were good reasons to worry. Research has shown that the fast growth in coronavirus cases earlier this year was driven partly by mass gatherings such as sporting events.In Minnesota, where daily case counts had seemed to be on the decline, the incentive to do something was strong. For starters, the health department provided face masks to community organizations that could distribute them to protesters. It also publicly called for those taking part to be tested for Covid within a week of demonstrating, and coordinated the establishment of free testing sites in areas close to where protests occurred.As the data accumulated, officials saw some surprising results. According to numbers that Ehresmann shared with me, of the 3,200 people who have presented themselves for testing at community sites through Sunday, the positive rate was 1.8%. An additional 8,500 people got tested at clinics that opened specifically for attendees of mass gatherings. Their positive rate was 1%. By comparison, the rolling seven-day rate for the overall state population was 3.5%, with care facilities, prisons, homeless shelters and tightly packed workplaces showing much higher rates.That doesn't mean that there weren't protest-related infections. Obviously, we have seen some cases, Ehresmann reminded me several times. But the good news is that we have not seen the level of cases that we could have. As to what accounts for the low rate so far, she isn't sure. It could be that people were more mindful or cautious about things, and that the outdoors made a difference. She paused briefly. That we're just plain lucky? All of these things.That so many protesters have presented themselves for testing certainly suggests that many may have exercised caution during the demonstrations. Likewise, the widespread availability of masks on the scene  which many were clearly wearing in footage of the events  didn't hurt. But thats no reason for overconfidence.For now, Ehresmann is remaining vigilant. She's keen to compare Minnesotas data to what other states are gathering. Over the next few months, she expects that the results will inform public-health guidance on re-openings, mass gatherings and (perhaps) future lockdowns. In time, officials should be able to act less on the basis of necessary precaution and more on the basis of data-informed science.Until then, authorities should continue to respect the constitutional rights of protesters while remaining vigilant about the risks. Police and first responders should wear masks, encourage protestors to maintain social-distancing measures by opening streets and other public areas to allow for spacing, and continue to sponsor mass testing of those who take to the streets. Protesters, in turn, should ensure that masks, hand sanitizer and distancing are as routine as placards. When possible, especially in vulnerable communities, they should also consider alternative methods of making themselves heard, including through car protests.These measures won't totally eliminate the risk of Covid, but they will help ensure that communities remain healthy as the protesters work to make them more just.

Story continues

(Corrects spelling of Ehresmann in fourth paragraph.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and "Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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Does it feel like the coronavirus pandemic has pushed all your retirement plans by the wayside? If you recently lost your job or had a reduction in income, you're probably not thinking about your long-term future and retirement plans right now. Instead, you're focused on surviving from one day to the next.

But when you get back on your feet again, don't panic or start thinking that all is lost when it comes to retirement planning. You can get things moving in the right direction again. While there are no easy answers or quick fixes in these uncertain times, here are 12 ways you can shore up your retirement plan and get it back on track.

SEE ALSO: 13 Reasons You Will Regret an RV in Retirement

Make Catch-Up Contributions If You Can

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Thanks to the demise of traditional pension plans, most people are responsible for accumulating the bulk of their own retirement savings. One way to optimize your savings is to make catch-up contributions in addition to your regular 401(k) or IRA contributions. Basically, if you're age 50 or older, you can contribute more than younger people to your retirement accounts so that you can "catch-up" on retirement savings before you reach retirement age.

For 2020, 401(k) contributions are limited to $19,500 for most people, but if you're 50 and older, you can make an additional catch-up contribution of $6,500 this year. That means older savers can contribute up to $26,000 in a 401(k) plan in 2020.

With an IRA, the maximum amount you can contribute for 2020 is $6,000 if you're younger than age 50. However, people age 50 and older can add an extra $1,000 per year as a catch-up contribution, bringing the maximum IRA contribution to $7,000.

Maximizing your retirement contributions with catch-up contributions will help grow your nest egg consistently and let your funds get the most from compounding returns.

Story continues

Put Your Stimulus Check in an IRA

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The federal government is sending out stimulus checks to most Americans (although not everyone will get one). Depending on your income, your check could be for as much as $1,200, plus and extra $500 for each child under 17 years old. Once you receive your payment, investing the money in an IRA is a smart move if you have your basic needs covered. If you haven't already maxed out your IRAs for 2019, it isn't too late to put more money in for 2019. The IRS extended the 2019 contribution deadline from April 15 to July 15, 2020. If you already fully funded your IRAs for 2019, you have until April 15, 2021, to put money into them for 2020.

Your IRA contributions might be tax-deductible, too. If you and your spouse, if married, don't have a 401(k) or other retirement plan at work, you can deduct the full amount of contributions to a traditional IRA. If you do have a retirement plan at work, you still might be able to deduct some or all your contribution. Singles with modified adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less and joint filers with income of up to $104,000 can deduct their full contribution for the 2020 tax year. Deductions decrease and phase out completely once income reaches $75,000 for singles and $124,000 for joint filers. Just remember that you generally must have earned income to contribute to an IRA, and your stimulus check alone won't cut it because it isn't considered earned income.

If you're already retired, also don't forget that you can now keep contributing to an IRA as you grow older. Before this year, contributions to a traditional IRA were not allowed by anyone age 70 and older. However, that restriction was lifted by the SECURE Act, which was enacted in December 2019.

SEE ALSO: How a Second Stimulus Check Could Differ from Your First One

Consider a Roth Conversion

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Now might be a good time to convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. With a traditional IRA, you pay tax when you withdraw funds from the account in retirement. With a Roth IRA, you pay tax now, but withdrawals in retirement are tax free. So, it's a pay me now or pay me later situation.

If you do convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you pay tax on the transferred funds in the year of conversion. However, doing it in 2020 might be a good move in the long run if you can handle the additional tax this year.

First, tax rates are relatively low right now. And, depending on the November elections and how the government decides to pay for all the recent coronavirus relief measures, rates very well may go up after 2020. If your income is lower this year, you might be in a lower tax bracket for that reason, too. So, if you wait, a conversion could cost more in taxes next year or further down the road.

The sagging stock market also makes it a good time to do a Roth conversion. You tax bill will be lower since the value of your converted investments will be lower. Once funds are shifted into a Roth IRA, they will continue to grow in the new account, and you can take tax-free distributions from the account when you retire.

SEE ALSO: Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year

Pay Off 401(k) Loans As Soon As Possible

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If you have a 401(k) loan, pay it off as soon as possible. Otherwise, you're putting your short-term needs ahead of your long-term goals. The purpose of a 401(k) is to save for your retirement, and if you borrow from this account, it may lead to your retirement being inadequately funded. Also, the money you borrow is no longer being invested, so you'll miss out on any potential growth for the duration of your loan.

In addition, most plans require that a 401(k) loan be repaid within 60 to 90 days if you leave your job. This can keep you tied to your job, forcing you to pass on better opportunities that may come your way. If you're unable or unwilling to pay within the time allotted in your plan, the full amount will be treated like a distribution, subject to income tax and a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if you're under 59 years old. Also keep in mind that many employers won't allow you to contribute to your 401(k) plan until the loan is paid off.

You'll also lose the tax advantage of a 401(k) plan because, when you repay the loan, you'll be paying it back with money that has already been taxed. You'll also pay taxes when the money is eventually withdrawn from the account, so you'll end up paying taxes on that money twice.

So, rather than borrow from your 401(k) at the first sign of trouble, work on saving at least three to six months' worth of living expenses in a no-fee, high-yield savings account for unexpected situations that may arise. This will give you the cushion you need and keep your retirement money safely invested in your 401(k) plan.

SEE ALSO: 5 Strategies to Help You Hold on to More of Your Money in Retirement

Get a New Job

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Gone are the days when it was common to stay with one company for your entire career. So, don't be afraid to move on for a better opportunity - particularly if you can get a higher salary or better benefits. Since you're responsible for most of your retirement savings these days, a bump in salary or a good 401(k) plan can jump start your retirement planning, too.

If you're lucky enough to still be employed during this pandemic, make sure that that you continue networking like you need a job to keep your career on track. Take the time to keep in touch with industry peers, friends, and colleagues. If you make it a point to invest your time in these types of activities, it will make finding a new opportunity much easier when you need it. It will also cut down on the time you will spend searching for a job.

If you're unemployed or had your work hours reduced, this might be a good time to consider starting that new business you've always dreamed about but never found the time for because of your full-time work commitments. At the very least, get out and explore the new field you're interested in and see if it's feasible now.

If you have the resources, also think about getting the education you need to move on or grow in your career. Opportunities for remote learning abound, so start looking for classes you can take to improve yourself. Consider it a career "reboot" and get started on it as soon as possible.

Explore a Side Gig

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If you're employed and have extra time and energy, look for a side hustle to boost your income. If you can manage it along with your full-time job, this will let you get your retirement planning back on track because you can funnel that extra cash into your retirement savings accounts. This type of temporary employment has been a growing phenomenon over the past few years as companies look for more flexibility in how they fill positions and workers seek greater control over when and where they work.

Workers age 55 and older are especially enthusiastic about the beauty of a side hustle, according to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They're attracted by the opportunity to make a few more bucks through part-time remote work. Because of their experience, older workers are often in a better position to work for themselves, too.

There are many ways to make money on the side. For some suggestions, see (38 Ways to Earn Extra Cash With a Cool Side Hustle.

SEE ALSO: Making It in the Gig Economy

Work Longer Than You Planned

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If you're still employed during the pandemic, but you're close to retirement, consider staying on the job for a few more years. This will make a huge difference in your retirement savings because you can continue making contributions to your retirement funds and hold off tapping into them. You'll also be able to delay taking Social Security right away, which means you'll earn a bigger benefit when you do start receiving benefits (see below). And you'll have fewer years of retirement to fund.

If you don't want to work full-time in your golden years, taking on a part-time job in retirement can help as well. There are a number of high-paying part-time jobs that are perfect for seniors with a career's worth of experience. Think bookkeeper, career coach, consultant, instructor, web developer, copy editor, and the like.

SEE ALSO: Great Jobs for Retirees

Maintain Your Health Insurance

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If you lose your job, it's important that you continue to maintain your health insurance. You don't want to be in a situation where you're forced to divert funds earmarked for retirement savings to pay off medical bills. You don't want to dip into existing retirement accounts to cover medical costs, either. Fortunately, if you're without health insurance benefits due to a job loss, there are some things you can do.

One option is to join your spouse's health plan if you can. The loss of your job is considered a "qualifying life event" that allows your spouse to add you to his or her health plan outside the regular enrollment period.

If that option isn't viable, consider buying into your former employer's health insurance plan for a period of time. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) lets you buy this coverage for up to 18 months as long as you pay for it, which can be expensive.

You can also get insurance through the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act and operated by the states, the federal government, or a state-federal partnership. Make sure you compare the various "Obamacare" plans because they have varying costs and coverage levels.

Keep in mind that the marketplaces are typically open only during specific open enrollment periods with a qualifying event such as a marriage, move, or job loss. But some states have recently expanded the enrollment period to help uninsured residents get coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Make sure you check the marketplace for the state where you live.

Stick with Stocks

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Believe it or not, now is the perfect time to invest in the stock market for retirement savings if you have a little disposal income. One tip is to consider investing in a target-date fund. These investment vehicles automatically adjust the risk level based on your age - more risk and growth potential when you're young; less risk and more security as you get closer to retirement age.

Long-term investors should also consider dollar-cost averaging. With this strategy, you invest in a stock or fund in regular, equal portions over time. This allows you to buy more shares in a company when they're cheaper, and fewer shares when they're more expensive. In the end, you may get a lower average cost basis when compared to investing the same amount of money at once.

Also, make sure your asset allocation or mix of stocks and bonds is right. Diversify your overall portfolio, too. Ensuring diversification will make sure you remain on track for retirement despite the ups and downs of the stock market. As part of your diversification strategy, look to invest in companies right now that can actually survive (or maybe even do better) in a recession. Also look for defensive dividend stocks that aren't overly sensitive to market volatility.

SEE ALSO: 15 Great Retirement Stocks to Buy at Reasonable Prices

Review Your Social Security Strategy

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Social Security will undoubtedly be a major part of your retirement plan. Unlike the stock market, that part of your income won't go down and will be adjusted for inflation yearly. That's why it's important to consider when you'll start collecting benefits.

You can start taking Social Security at age 62 if you think you need it, but your benefits will be permanently reduced by up to 30%. Full retirement age is at 66 if you were born between 1943 and 1954. It gradually increases to 67 for people born between 1955 and 1960 - and then stays at 67 for everyone born after 1960. If you can afford it, however, think about waiting until age 70 to claim benefits because they will increase 8% per year if you wait to take them.

Married couples have something else to consider - survivor benefits. If the higher-earning spouse dies first, the surviving spouse will be able to take over the deceased spouse's benefits. So, if the higher-earning spouse delays taking benefits, the surviving spouse will get a larger monthly benefit.

SEE ALSO: 16 Retirement Mistakes You Will Regret Forever

Trim Your Expenses

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To free up more money for retirement savings, try to reduce any expenses that you can, even if they're small because it all adds up. Some ideas include eating out less often, cutting your cable bill, or replacing your car less frequently. If you work in a city where you can get by with public transportation, consider selling your car and getting rid of associated expenses (like insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.) to help pad your retirement accounts.

If you need to make bigger cuts, consider downsizing to a condo or moving from a high-tax state to a tax-friendly state such as Florida, Georgia, or Arizona. If you're able to work remotely for your employer, take advantage of that flexibility by moving to a lower-cost state. Remote work is a trend that will likely gain momentum long after the pandemic ceases, according to a recent Brookings Institution report.

Taking these types of steps now could mean that you'll be able to save even more in your retirement accounts for later down the road when you really need the money.

SEE ALSO: 70 Valuable Things You Can Get for Free

Hire a Financial Adviser to Help You Stay the Course

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Everyone can use a little extra financial guidance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's difficult enough investing when the economy is humming along, but it's even harder in unprecedented times like these. A financial adviser can help you stay level-headed and focused on your long-term retirement goals. A financial adviser can also help you develop a more holistic plan that will encourage you to look at the "big picture."

Look for an adviser with credentials, such as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which is the most common type of certification for financial advisers. To earn the CFP designation, an adviser must take several courses, pass a two-day exam, and complete three years of work experience. They also have to complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years. Other types of certifications include Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Master of Sciences in Financial Services (MSFS), and Registered Financial Consultants (RFC). If you see these designations, you at least know the adviser has a certain level of skill and knowledge.

Before selecting a financial adviser, also make sure you understand how he or she will be paid. There's no standard fee system among financial planners. Some work only for fees, while others work on commissions - and many get paid through a combination of fees and commissions. Unless you're dealing with a fee-only adviser, expect to get suggestions that you purchase an investment or insurance product that the planner sells. That's fine ... if the product is right for your financial situation. But if it isn't, don't feel you have to follow the adviser's particular recommendation on that product. The adviser's overall assistance will still help you see the big picture.

SEE ALSO: How to Find a Financial Planner You Trust

EDITOR'S PICKS



Copyright 2020 The Kiplinger Washington Editors
Anushka Sharma has given a shoutout to the team of her upcoming film, Bulbbul. The actor is co-producer of the horror film that is lined for release on Netflix this month.

Anushka took to Instagram to share a few stills from the film and wrote, Shoutout to the guys behind the scenes and the ones in it, for bringing Bulbbul to life. #Bulbbul premieres June 24, only on @Netflix_In. The first still shows a child actor decked up as a Bengali bride and sitting in her new bedroom post her marriage to Rahul Boses character. The other still shows her having a conversation with her groom.

A still from Bullbul.

Rahul Bose (right) in a still from Bulbbul.

There is also a still of a chudail which has been mentioned in the trailer. Its the visual of a young girl with long curly hair, standing in a forest as sunlight falls on her through the trees. Another is a still of actor Paoli Dam, in a traditional Bengali sari, lying on the bed with a worried look on her face. The shadow of the objects in her bedroom fall on her face.

The chudail mentioned in the Bulbbul trailer.

Paoli Dam in a still from Bulbbul.

Just five days ahead of its release, Netflix on Friday released a intriguing trailer of Bulbbul on Friday. As the trailer of the horror film begins, two children are seen in a hand-carriage while one of them narrates a story of a demon-woman to the other one. The child is seen giving a brief description of the demon-woman and the trailer is seen featuring visuals complementing the description.

Also read: Bulbbul trailer: Anushka Sharmas Netflix original is a scary affair, watch

As the trailer proceeds further, it revolves around social evils like child marriage. A child bride can be seen growing up into a woman ruling the household. The rest of the trailer is woven in mystery, supernatural events, and an edgy narrative.

The Indian Netflix original features several actors like Tripti Dimri and Avinash Tiwary in pivotal roles. Helmed by Anvita Dutt, the film has been bankrolled by Anushka Sharmas production house, Clean Slate Films.

(With ANI inputs)

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 14:55:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Although the coronavirus-battered world economy has not yet gotten out of the woods, encouraging signs of the Chinese economy have raised hopes that a broad-based recovery is in the offing.

Industrial rebound has been gaining momentum on the ground. The automobile market, hard hit by the pandemic globally, has seen a fast recovery in post-lockdown China, with sales hitting 2.19 million units in May, up 14.5 percent from the same period last year.

Manufacturers related to the auto industry benefited from this recovery. Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin Group, the French tire manufacturer, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Michelin's three Chinese factories have all resumed production, and Michelin's business performance in China is expected to meet its June projections.

As China's passenger transport and logistics rebounded with the steady resumption of business activities, its oil market is also on a track to recovery.

Jim Burkhard, vice president and head of oil markets at IHS Markit, a London-based global information provider, took "the brisk resumption of Chinese oil demand" as "a welcome signpost for the global economy."

"When you consider that oil demand in China -- the first country impacted by the virus -- had fallen by more than 40 percent in February -- the degree to which it is snapping back offers reason for some optimism about economic and demand recovery trends in other markets such as Europe and North America," he said in an online note.

Wood Mackenzie, a global energy consultancy group, projected that by the third quarter, China's gasoline demand would have surpassed the same period last year by 3 percent to 3.5 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, diesel demand could grow by 1.2 percent to 3.4 million barrels per day over the same period.

By the end of April, all major steel-using industries in China have returned to near-full production levels, and the recovery of steel demand will be more visible in the second half of 2020, driven by construction, especially infrastructure investment, the World Steel Association said.

Foreshadowing a construction boom in China, the country's excavator producers reported robust sales in May, as China's 25 leading excavator makers sold a total of 31,744 excavators, up 68 percent year on year.

From a broader perspective, official data showed China's factory activities continued to pick up in May with the value-added industrial output, a key economic indicator, rising by 4.4 percent year on year.

As the COVID-19 pandemic entails contactless and efficient business models, such as virtual offices, online education and telehealth, digital transformation has become another meaningful prospective to track how economies recover.

Standing at the forefront of digital infrastructure growth, China is expected to lead the digital economy and inject fresh impetus into the global recovery.

China's three major telecom operators -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom -- have planed to build more than 550,000 new 5G base stations this year, bringing the total number across the country to 600,000.

These 5G stations will enable uninterrupted outdoor connectivity in prefecture-level cities across China, and cover key areas in counties and townships, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a government think tank.

Boosted by a solid industrial foundation and evolving commercial products, China's 5G industry is expected to directly create more than 3 million jobs as of 2025, with 5G-induced aggregate information consumption surpassing 8.3 trillion yuan (about 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars), a CAICT report noted.

Lim Jock Hoi, the ASEAN secretary-general, said China is a valuable partner of ASEAN in promoting the development of digital economy in the region, noting that by 2025, ASEAN's digital economy is expected to grow from 1.3 percent of GDP in 2015 to 8.5 percent.

The growing optimism about China's economic recovery has also been backed up by the rising consumption enthusiasm in the domestic market.

During a mid-year online shopping bonanza initiated by Chinese e-commerce giants from June 1 to June 18, sales in JD.com and TMall.com both shattered records. The combined sales in the two popular platforms came close to a whopping 1 trillion yuan. Imported products also saw robust sales.

Noting that China's economy is overall on a good momentum, Zhang Liqing, chief economist of PwC China, said it is important to keep a clear head, as risks of imported cases of COVID-19 infections still loom.

Apart from continued attention to the traditional indicators such as fixed-asset investment, imports and exports when they gauge the health of the Chinese economy, global investors are expected to watch closely government spending and progress in new infrastructure, new urbanization initiatives and major projects, as well as the risks of local government debt, he noted.

"China looks like it could be the biggest engine of global GDP growth in 2020 and maybe 2021," Craig Allen, the president of the U.S.-China Business Council, was quoted Sunday by The Wall Street Journal as saying. Enditem
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" Air bridge" agreements which would see Brits travel to and from several countries while sidestepping coronavirus quarantine restrictions could be in place in two weeks' time, according to reports.

Officials are weighing a list of about a dozen countries - including Portugal, Spain, France and Greece - for potential bilateral agreements which would allow people to journey overseas from July 4 without facing a two-week quarantine on arrival, or return, The Telegraph reported.

The considerations are taking place ahead of an expected announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 29 that agreements have been reached with a "small number" of countries with low levels of coronavirus, according to the paper.

The potential travel corridors are only expected to be given the green light to come into effect on the advice of the chief medical officer, and if the Foreign Office agrees to lift its ban on non-essential travel.

According to the Telegraph, the Government is also considering brokering "air bridge" deals with Australia, Gibraltar, Bermuda, Montserrat and the Falkland Islands.

Travellers arriving in the UK currently face 14 days of isolation under new mandatory quarantine rules rolled out in a bid to curtail the spread of Covid-19 - with fines threatened for anyone who does not comply.

All passengers  bar a handful of exemptions  must fill out an online locator form giving their contact and travel details, as well as the address of where they will isolate.

Grant Shapps: Government 'actively working on air bridges' to allow travel abroad

Moves are meanwhile now afoot to make coronavirus swab tests, as used by the NHS, available to passengers arriving at UK airports to screen for the coronavirus.

Companies planning a trial of the scheme hope a negative result will allow people early release from the Government's 14-day quarantine regime.

People will have to pay around 140 for a test booked online before travel, the BBC reported on Saturday, with a trial expected to begin at a major UK airport in a fortnight's time.

Under the proposed scheme - which could see testing carried out on up to 500 people a day - passengers would visit an airport clinic after clearing immigration checks to take a test.

After testing, the person would be required to self-isolate until they received the result.

A negative result could take as little as five hours, but the aim will be to notify every participant in the scheme of their test result within 24 hours.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: Quarantine measures will be relaxed soon

The consideration of potential changes to existing travel restrictions comes after a reduction in the UK's coronavirus alert level on Friday.

The downgrading  recommended by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC)  means transmission of coronavirus is no longer considered to be high or rising exponentially.

Commenting on the move, Portugals ambassador to the UK has said the nation wants to welcome British tourists again now the alert level has been reduced.

Manuel Lobo Antunes told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: There was very good news for you, for us, for Europe that the alert system has come from four to three and that means a significant improvement in the control of the pandemic here in the UK.

We think that the situation is under control and we would be happy to receive, as before, as many British as possible.

His comments came after a Spanish foreign ministry source confirmed on Friday that the London is in talks with Madrid about a deal that would allow both countries not to quarantine travellers.

Spain is willing to be open to the United Kingdom, we are in talks with them about their quarantine. We are in a position to open without a quarantine, the source told Reuters.

Spain will open its borders to tourists from most European countries on Sunday.
New Delhi, June 20 : The Delhi government on Saturday said that it could not reach a consensus on Lt. Governor Anil Baijal's decision of five-day compulsory institutional quarantine for COVID-19 patients in the city.

With the Centre stepping in to aid the Delhi government in its fight against the coronavirus, a difference of opinions seems to be brewing between the two.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "In the meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority, the issue of five-day compulsory institutional quarantine and rate of beds in private hospital was raked up. A consensus could be reached on both. Now, the meeting will again be held at 5 p.m." Sisodia said that the Central government has recommended to make only 24 per cent beds cheaper in private hospitals, while Delhi government is adamant on making at least 60 per cent beds cheap.

A high-powered panel set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recommended fixing the cost of a COVID-19 isolation beds in the private hospitals.

The price range is Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 and an ICU bed with a ventilator at Rs 15,000-Rs 18,000 per day, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, in the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the institutional quarantine will make people evade testing, which will further increase the spread of infection.

He also said there is already a shortage of healthcare staff, how will it be possible to arrange doctors and nurses for thousands of patients at quarantine centers.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Minister of TEATT Ludmila de Weever stated that the Country is ready to receive travelers from Europe and North America as of July 1st, which coincides with our celebration of Emancipation Day. The community is encouraged to continue adhering to the proper social distancing and health and safety protocols as well as the established guidelines for businesses in order to maintain a COVID-19 free Sint Maarten.





Minister de Weever released the Travel Entry Requirements to all stakeholders that outline the safety and health protocols, testing requirements and health screening procedures, among others for visitors arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport. Sint Maarten is open to passengers from Saba, Sint Eustatius, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba, Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. For these countries, passengers should ensure that they have been consecutively present there for 21 days prior to the date of departure. No quarantine will be required upon arrival to Sint Maarten.





As of June 22nd, Sint Maarten will be open to St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and the British Virgin Islands. The 21 day minimum stay will apply to passengers from these islands. No quarantine will be required.





The Ministry understands the urgent need for increased economic activity on the island but we intend to re-open in a safe and responsible manner for our residents and visitors, said Minister de Weever.





The Ministry of TEATT is committed to keeping the public informed of the developments surrounding the re-opening of our borders. Minister de Weever continues to meet with the relevant stakeholders in the interim.




Police in Greater Manchester are taking 'serious action' to deter more illegal raves after making two arrests.

A dedicated operation has been set up by the force after a 20-year-old man died of a suspected drug overdose, an 18-year-old woman was raped and three men were stabbed at two events last Saturday attended by more than 6,000 people.

On Friday, police raided a house in Salford and arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and criminal damage in relation to a rave in Carrington, Trafford.

Police arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and criminal damage after an illegal lockdown rave in Carrington, Trafford (pictured)

While on Saturday, a 22-year-old man was held on suspicion of criminal damage and public nuisance at the second rave at Daisy Nook Country Park in Oldham.

Police said the latest arrest came from intelligence gathered by its dedicated operation.

Assistant chief constable Nick Bailey said: 'I want to start by saying that following last weekend's raves at Carrington and Daisy Nook we are taking serious action to deter a repeat of these events and are proactively working alongside our partners to gather intelligence and put a stop to this type of illegal activity to protect our communities.

'We have a suspect in custody and our detectives remain committed to thoroughly investigating these illegal raves to identify and pursue anyone involved in the organisation of them as well as anyone who was involved in the serious incidents that occurred.

'I would like to thank the public for their support so far in helping us to gather the intelligence which has led to this second arrest.

'Please do continue to contact us with any information you may have about last weekend's raves or any planned for the future via our website or 101.'

Greater Manchester Police treated a man who was stabbed at last weekend's illegal rave in Carrington

Cheshire Police said they are aware of intelligence suggesting raves are planned this weekend in the Macclesfield Forest and Hale/Speke areas.

Superintendent Jo Marshall-Bell said: 'I would urge anyone who is planning to attend an illegal rave to think twice.

'We have a dedicated policing operation in place and increased police presence across the county throughout the weekend.

'Our teams will be patrolling key locations and they will act on any intelligence they receive regarding any possible events.

'We will continue to use common sense and discretion to determine what is reasonable, with officers engaging, explaining, encouraging and, only as a last resort, enforcing.

'However, where illegal gatherings or raves do take place proportionate action will be taken, which may include arrest or even prosecution.

'Any music equipment will also be seized.'

Shocking pictures showed the aftermath of an illegal 'Quarantine Rave' at Oldham beauty spot Daisy Nook Country Park

An 18-year-old man from Thornton, Lancashire, arrested in connection with a planned rave on Friday night has been released under investigation.

Blackpool Police tweeted: 'The planned illegal rave in Fylde last night didn't go ahead - however our response showed the approach we will take to any such events.

'Info about a similar one being planned? Tell 101.'

Police in Staffordshire said officers had to break up a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Lichfield last weekend.

The force said they are aware of plans for further 'utterly unacceptable' illegal raves and will have a heavy police presence patrolling 'potential hotspot areas'.

They warned anyone attending could be arrested if they fail to comply with a direction to leave, while organisers will be 'dealt with robustly and may be prosecuted'.
The Editors' Guild of India on Friday described as an 'overreaction' the filing of an FIR in Uttar Pradesh against a journalist over a report on the impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown on a village

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India on Friday described as an "overreaction" the filing of an FIR in Uttar Pradesh against a journalist over a report on the impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown on a village and asserted that it will "seriously undermine" freedom of the media.

In a statement, the Guild said the use of criminal provisions of the law against journalists has now become an unhealthy and despicable trend that has no place in any vibrant democracy. It needs to be resisted as well as eliminated, it said.

The Guild said it is deeply concerned over the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) at Varanasi's Ramnagar police station against Scroll Executive Editor Supriya Sharma and its Chief Editor over a report published from Varanasi's Domari village.

"The FIR was filed on 13 June under Sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as also under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act)," the Guild said.

This followed a complaint by Mala Devi, who was quoted by Supriya Sharma in her report, published on Scroll.in on 8 June, it said.

The Guild also noted the reported statement from Scroll.in, saying it stood by the article in question.

The Scroll.in statement also clarified that it had interviewed Mala Devi in Domari village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on 5 June, 2020 and that her statements had been reported accurately in the article titled, "In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown," it said.

In view of the categorical statement from Scroll.in, the Guild said it is of the view that the use of the various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act are an "overreaction" and will seriously undermine freedom of the media.

The Guild said it respects all laws of the land as also the right of Mala Devi to defend herself against any acts of injustice.

"But it also finds the flagrant misuse of such laws unjustifiable and reprehensible. Worse, the increasing frequency of such misuse of laws by the authorities is tantamount to shooting the messenger and destroying a key pillar of India''s democracy," it said.
We still dont know what the final three stores are, but I believe its going to be a big impact for the community to fill that location, Gaseor said. That Kmart was a very successful location. I think whatever comes in here is going to drive more stores.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 16:49:58|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A total of 256 Mongolian nationals returned home from Europe on a chartered flight from Frankfurt to Mongolia's capital here on Saturday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The repatriated consisted of pregnant women, the elderly, children, disabled and sick people, students and those with financial and other problems, the country's State Emergency Commission (SEC) said, adding that they will be isolated at designated facilities for 21 days.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Mongolia has evacuated more than 10,000 nationals on chartered flights from different parts of the world, according to the SEC.

As of Saturday, Mongolia has confirmed 204 COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported.

No local transmissions or deaths have been reported in Mongolia so far. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 04:32:47|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 202,000 on Saturday, while Turkey's tally surpassed 186,000.

Iran, which has re-emerged as the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East region, reported 2,322 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 202,584.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 9,507 people in Iran, up by 115 in the past 24 hours. A total of 161,384 coronavirus patients have recovered, while 2,842 are still in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Turkey reported 1,248 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the country to 186,493, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose to 4,927 after 22 more fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said, adding the total recoveries rose to 158,828.

Over 1.5 million secondary school students across Turkey took a high school entrance exam on Saturday amid a nationwide partial lockdown against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the recommendation of the Health Ministry's Scientific Committee, Turkish authorities earlier announced a partial curfew in 81 provinces from 9 a.m. (0600GMT) to 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) over the concerns of the spread of coronavirus due to the crowd.

Saudi Arabia's cases continued the surging trend to 154,233 after 3,941 new infections were added.

The kingdom also reported 46 new deaths and 3,153 more recoveries, taking the death toll to 1,230 and the total recoveries to 98,917.

Qatar's health ministry on Saturday announced 1,026 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 86,488.

Egypt's coronavirus cases soared to 53,758 after 1,547 daily infections were added.

The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 89 more deaths and 399 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 2,106 and the total recoveries to 14,327.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced 388 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 44,533.

And 758 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 31,754, according to the ministry.

Kuwait on Saturday reported 467 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 39,145 and the death toll to 319, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 8,100 patients are receiving treatment in Kuwait, including 180 in ICU, according to the statement.

The Iraqi health ministry on Saturday recorded 1,870 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 29,222.

The ministry also reported 88 deaths during the day, the highest single-day rise so far, as the total number of deaths jumped to 1,013, while 13,211 patients have recovered.

Ryadh Abdul-Amir, head of Iraq's Public Health Department, said in a statement that the ministry is working on a plan to increase the capacity of testing to detect more infected cases.

In Israel, 294 new COVID-19 cases were registered, raising the tally of coronavirus infections to 20,633.

The deaths from the virus in Israel increased by one to 305, while the recoveries rose to 15,659.

Algeria's confirmed infections reached 11,631 after 127 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, while the death toll hit 837 and the recoveries reached 8,324.

Morocco witnessed 226 new cases, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 9,839, which included 213 fatalities and 8,223 recoveries.

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Saturday by 26 cases to 1,536 while the death toll remained unchanged at 32.

The Lebanese health ministry has conducted PCR tests for Palestinian refugees in Mieh Mieh camp and Syrian refugees in different camps all over the country.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 922, after three new cases were added.

The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 328 and the death toll climbed to 254.

Palestine recorded 108 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number in the Palestinian territories to 979, including five deaths and 594 recoveries. Enditem
A popular Brixton community food shop has been spared eviction after a long campaign against a property development company controlled an American millionaire DJ.

Nour Cash and Carry in Brixton market was handed an eviction notice in January by new landlords Hondo Enterprises and was set to leave its premises in late July - with the business' future uncertain.

The developers, run by well-known DJ Taylor McWilliams, said that the shop's unit was needed for a new electricity substation to power the market.

But after a long community campaign protesting the eviction, Nour and Hondo reached an agreement on Friday that the shop will be given new premises of roughly the same in the market - and will only have to move when the new unit is ready. The unit will also cost roughly the same to run.

"This means security, it means knowing that the products that we need and want will still be here," a spokesperson for campaigners Save Nour told the Evening Standard.

Customers with the owners of Nour Cash and Carry / Brixton Blog

Brixton is home to people from a range of diverse backgrounds, and Nour sells ingredients that are often hard to find in larger supermarket chains.

The spokesperson added: "I think if the eviction had gone through lots of people would have felt far less at home in Brixton so its just a sign that if we come together we can have a say over what our community looks like.

The campaign to stop the eviction began a few weeks ago, and gathered support from several well-known figures, including baker and food writer, Ruby Tandoh, grime artist Wiley and comedian Nish Kumar.

Campaigners raised more than 20,000 to help raise awareness further and told the Standard that they would use the money to "challenge the gentrification in the area."

The spokesperson went on: "Hondo still owns the whole market. We are talking to other traders and trying to build support networks, and we definitely commit to being there if other businesses are pushed out."

Hondo bought the market for around 37 million in 2018. The developers said in a statement that they have a "positive relationship" with all the market traders. They added that they offered a three-month rent holiday to all traders during the lockdown and originally offered Nour a new unit "on favourable terms".
Vinamilk has carried out product introduction and trade promotion activities in Russia since 2015. (Photo: NDO)



EAEU is a common market of the 5 countries of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and an economic region with good growth. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD1.9 trillion and a population of 183 million (in 2018), the EAEU, established in 2015, is an area with great development potential.



With thorough preparations and great production potential of 13 modern factories and 12 high-tech dairy farms of international standards, Vinamilk has passed the surveys and met the rigorous standards of EAEU countries to become the first dairy enterprise in Vietnam licensed to export dairy products to the 5 countries of this union.

Many years ago, the enterprise began to have first access to the Russian and Kazakhstan markets by introducing soft drink products derived from tropical fruits, which are Vinamilk's strengths.

Modern production lines at Vinamilk's factories (Photo: NDO)

The EAEU market is considered to be in great demand for Vietnam's key commodities, including agricultural products. Moreover, the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, which came into effect in late 2016, has opened up great trade opportunities between countries. According to statistics, in 2018, Vietnam - EAEU import-export turnover reached USD4.9 billion. In the first nine months of 2019, this figure reached USD3.7 billion and the two sides are striving to obtain two-way trade turnover of USD10 billion in 2020.

Therefore, Vinamilks access to the EAEU market is expected to open doors for Vietnamese milk to penetrate this great potential market.

According to Mr. Mai Hoai Anh, Executive Director of International Business, Vinamilk has more than 20 years of experience in exporting its products to 53 countries and territories, and it will use its key products to efficiently exploit the EAEU market.

In 2019, Vinamilk's direct export revenue reached VND5.175 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, contributing to the total revenue of VND56.318 trillion. In the first quarter of 2020, due to COVID-19, Vinamilk's net export earned VND1.081 trillion, up 7.5% compared to the same period last year and contributed to the total revenue of VND14.153 trillion.

Vinamilk's booth at GULFOOD DUBAI fair 2020 where it successfully signed the contract worth USD20 million in export to the Middle East. (Photo: NDO)

This result comes from Vinamilks efforts in taking export opportunities from potential markets. Specifically, in early 2020, Vinamilk signed a milk export contract worth USD20 million to the Middle East. Then, during social distancing, it successfully exported the first batch of condensed milk to China and many other countries. Recently, Vinamilk's seed milk and milk tea products have been officially launched in the Republic of Korea.

Amidst the bad influence of COVID-19 on the domestic economy as well as the world economy, Vinamilk was rated by Forbes Vietnam among the top 50 Vietnam best listed companies 2020 for the 8th consecutive year. Currently, Vinamilk is also the only Vietnamese company in the top 50 largest dairy companies in the world in terms of revenue and is very close to the top 30./.
Qatar Airways will not take any new planes ordered from Boeing or Airbus in 2020 or 2021, chief executive Akbar al-Baker said on Wednesday, adding there would be a knock-on effect to future deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qatar Airways has ordered tens of billions of dollars of aircraft from the worlds two biggest planemakers. But after a plunge in demand for air travel, it says it has no room for new aircraft and will instead shrink its fleet of around 200 jets.

Quite a lot of (deliveries) will be deferred. We have already notified both Boeing and Airbus that we will not be taking any aeroplanes this year or next year, al-Baker said in an interview on Britains Sky News.

All the other aircraft that we have on order that were supposed to be delivered to us within the next two or three years, will now be pushed back to as long as nearly eight to 10 years.

Al-Baker repeated a warning to the planemakers that a refusal to comply with the airlines request could jeopardise future business between them.

If they dont oblige to our requirements, (then) we will have to review our long term business relationships with them, he said, adding the airline no longer needed the 30 firm orders for Boeings 737 MAX it had placed.

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We have already informed Boeing that we will have to replace them with some other type of aeroplanes ... we will not require anymore of the 737 MAXs.

Al-Baker also said Qatar Airways would continue to support British Airways owner IAG after increasing its stake in the airlines group in February.

It is a strategic investment. We will continue to be an investor in IAG, he said. If it is necessary, yes, we will inject equity into IAG.
A glamorous teenager who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend has been identified.

Jordan Brodie Miller, 20, is accused of killing his girlfriend Emerald Wardle, 18, at his parents home in Maitland, a NSW town on Saturday morning.

He was arrested at 1.30am and has been charged with murder.

Emerald Wardle, 18, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Jordan Brodie Miller, 20, at his parent's home

Ms Wardle (pictured left) was living with Miller and his parents in Maitland NSW

According to the Daily Telegraph, the pair had not been dating long but it is understood both Miller and Ms Wardle lived at the property.

Police arrived at the property about 1.30am where they allegedly saw Miller standing outside and unarmed.

An altercation allegedly ensued between Miller and police before he was arrested.

Following his arrest, police entered the home where they found Ms Wardle's dead body.

Homicide detectives are investigating Ms Wardle's horrific death and believe she may have been strangled.

The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Miller was taken to Maitland Police Station where he was charged with Ms Wardle's murder.

Ms Wardle was found dead at Miller's parent's house (pictured) in Maitland, NSW

Police found Ms Wardle's (pictured left) dead body inside the Maitland home

He was refused bail and is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court on Sunday.

Ms Wardle is the 32nd Australian woman tragically lost to murder or manslaughter in 2020.

Her friends took to social media expressing their heartache upon hearing the news of her horrific death.

'You didnt deserve this baby girl, your life had only just started and it was taken by a monster. I treasure you, I treasure our memories and Ill forever love you Emmy,' one person wrote.

'RIP sweetie you didnt deserve this at all no matter what,' another commented.

'Im devastated she was a lovely girl and she would wave and say hi. She is one house from me in a very small loving quiet neighbourhood we are all shocked and very sad rip beautiful girl,' someone else wrote.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
Vera Lynn, who has died at the age of 103, was widely known as the Forces Sweetheart for inspiring and giving hope to British soldiers during the Second World War.

Her death-defying tour of Burma earned her huge adoration, and is a time of her life she wrote about extensively in her memoir, Keep Smiling Through: My Wartime Burma Story.

In Burma, Allied troops endured over three years of brutal battle, often in extreme terrain during monsoon season, and under threat of disease. Led by Britains Indian Army, soldiers eventually reoccupied Burma in 1945.

To mark her 100th birthday in 2017, Lynn wrote about the three months between March and June 1944 that she spent travelling to and within Burma, singing to soldiers who were fighting to stop the Japanese advance on India.

She was just 27 at the time and set out from the Dorset coast with her pianist, Len Edwards, and a small piano, travelling 5,000 miles across the world in dangerous wartime conditions.

I had never travelled at all apart from one touring visit to Holland, she recalled. And I had certainly never been in an aeroplane. But I wanted to make a difference.

Some of the soldiers Lynn sang to had not seen their families for five years, and their extraordinary reaction to her singing has been revealed in letters written by Burma veterans themselves.

Lance Corporal Lindsay, who heard Lynn sing in Burma, said: We went mad. Never have I yelled, bellowed, hollered or clapped so much before  we gave her an ovation, all right. She couldnt sing for 10 minutes and she cried, too. Broken hand or not, I made it clap  I saw blokes crying with joy at seeing our own Vera.

Frederick Weedman, meanwhile, wrote: The men of the 4th Brigade were divided in their opinion of her voice  but not after that hot, steamy evening in 1944 in the Burmese jungle, when we stood in our hundreds and watched a tall, fair-haired girl walk on to a makeshift stage and stand by an old piano

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She sang until her make-up was running in dark furrows down her cheeks, until her dress was wet with sweat, until her voice had become a croak. She was the only star we ever saw in the jungle.

Vera Lynn with British servicemen in Burma, 1942 (Rex) (Rex Features)

On the way to Burma, Lynn sang to 3,500 men in a marquee in Cairo during a sandstorm. The wind was letting in great blasts of sand through the base and sides, she wrote. It got everywhere  in my ears, nose and throat  and I struggled even to see my audience, let alone make myself heard. But the boys seemed thrilled.

Everywhere she stopped on her tour, Lynn insisted on visiting wounded soldiers in hospital. Sometimes she sang at their bedsides.

Talking to the boys, giving them the chance to ask me questions and simply being there for them was just as important as the actual singing, if not more so, she wrote.

Because I had travelled around so much in Britain, from Sunderland to Brighton and from Cardiff to Crewe, Id ask where someone was from and try to tell them about something I had seen in their home town. I let them know that things were all right  that we were holding our heads up and carrying on as usual.

Recalling how emotional some of the soldiers were, she added: There were often tears, occasionally during the concerts, but more when I was alone with them.

Lynn co-wrote the book with her daughter Virginia (Century)

They saw me as a link with home and that aroused a lot of emotions  joy at being reminded of that connection, and sorrow because home seemed so far away.

It was impossible for me to be impassive. I saw the happiness, hope and sadness move across their faces, and I felt those emotions, too.

While Lynn was in Burma, the military situation was highly volatile, with many enemies present in the area. One soldier was quoted in newspapers at the time as saying: Vera Lynn was very brave because there were pockets of Japanese all around us.

Lynn arrived back in Britain on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The skies over Europe were full of planes and I think it must have been something of a miracle we were allowed to fly in on that most crucial of days, she wrote.

I never really got over that period in my life. The journey to Burma is etched in my brain, full of all sorts of intense memories.

I met some of the brave men who were fighting that forgotten war again at various reunions after the war and felt connected to them. I wasnt just someone going to sing a few songs  I felt I was one of them. I still do.
SPRINGFIELD  A $500,000 donation made by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to the Urban League of Springfield will be used to support the Black community through scholarships and upgrades to Camp Atwater.

Henry M. Thomas III, president of the Urban League of Springfield, said the funding is an investment in the community.

The donation came unsolicited, it was not a request, he said. They contacted us and said they wanted to invest in organizations that are uplifting the community and improving equity and reducing racial tensions.

Thomas said he hopes the donation will serve as an example of how corporations and nonprofit organizations can collaborate.

(MassMutual has) always had a great sense of corporate social responsibility and we admire that, he said. If more companies weigh in and ask the simple questions  What can I do to help improve the circumstance of chronic inequities that negatively impact livelihood?  MassMutual is demonstrating what can be done. In return we get a stronger and more vibrant community because you have corporations and nonprofits working together to make it happen.

Roger Crandall, chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual, said the company selected the Urban League of Springfield for its investments in education and economic development in the Black community.

At MassMutual, we are deeply committed to supporting efforts that establish greater equality, fight injustice, and dismantle systemic racism  and an important part of that is supporting the organizations that have been doing this critical work for a long time, he said in a statement. We hope our contribution makes a meaningful impact toward these ongoing efforts, and we encourage others in the business community to follow suit and support ways to bring sustainable, lasting change that will build a better world for all.

12 Urban League of Springfield opens its new Digital Learning Lab

Springfield City Councilor Tracye Whitfield said she hopes to see some of the funding focused on higher education and economic development.

I hope it goes towards helping young Black youth get into college, whether its a four-year institution or one of the great community colleges in the region, she said. I hope it can go to economic empowerment and development to promote Black-owned businesses. We have a lot of sole proprietors, but we need corporations to employ folks and help the community reestablish itself.

Thomas said some money will be put toward scholarships for Black youth.

We already provide about $40,000 a year in scholarships to students going onto college, but now we will be able to put more towards that goal, he said.

Whitfield would also like to see improvements to Camp Atwater, an overnight camp for Black youth run by the Urban League in North Brookfield.

Thomas said the camp, which is in its 99th year, will have to hold virtual sessions this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he hopes the camp will be up and running with improvements next summer for its centennial celebration.

This investment will help us restore this historic institution. It is the oldest African-American owned and operated summer youth residential camp in the country. Its on the national register of historic places with over 80 acres, he said. This donation will help us leverage partnerships with other benevolent members of the community to help us with some of the capital improvements that we desire to do.

Thomas said he hopes investments like the one made by MassMutual will help promote adequate access to health and wellness services, wealth building and a level playing field for all.

Springfield health and human services commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris said the Black community in Springfield is disproportionately represented in every health status index including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

One is obesity. Particularly around our children, we are seeing across the city and the commonwealth that children are gaining weight and becoming obese at disproportionate numbers, she said.

Caulton-Harris said the solutions include prevention and intervention.

Prevention is to make sure individuals are exercising and taking advantage of the ability to get outside, she said. The other thing is making sure Black individuals are going to their primary care physicians to get the appropriate diagnosis.

Thomas said Camp Atwater provides many opportunities for children to participate in outdoor activities, from fishing and canoeing to hiking and other daily exercise activities. The camp also focuses on promoting personal development.

There are great opportunities to work on the physical and the personal. We want the kids to leave with a sense of who they are and to know their story, he said.

Thomas said MassMutuals donation is a representation of its investment in the empowerment of the Black community.

I believe in E to the third power, which stands for equity plus excellence equals empowerment, he said. Equity is not a guarantee that you will get the prize, its a guarantee that you will get an equitable chance to get the prize, whether its competing for a job or for another opportunity. Without equity and excellence, you dont get empowerment.

He said a lack of empowerment is what leads a lack of engagement and participation in community events.

When you dont have empowerment you dont take calculated risks to improve your condition, he said. You dont show up for meetings at school for your children or at the school committee meetings for the budget. You dont participate in the electoral process, which is a reason why Springfield has such a low voter turnout among registered voters, because they dont feel they have the power to make change. And that is the work we do every day at the Urban League, enable people to become empowered so that they can make a change in their lives and their communities.

Related Content:
T en people have been charged with offences in connection with Black Lives Matter protests and far-right counter rallies in London over the past three weekends, the Metropolitan Police has announced.

The Met has also released images of a further 35 suspects they want to speak to in connection with violence at the demonstrations, which have taken place despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and seen attacks on police horses and missiles thrown at officers.

One man, Andrew Banks, has already been jailed for urinating next to the memorial of PC Keith Palmer, who died in the 2017 Westminster Bridge terror attack.

Mr Banks, 28, was handed a 14-day immediate jail term on Monday after admitting one count of outraging public decency after coming to London to defend statues.

Wanted: Suspects sought over violent disorder at London protests 1 /48 Wanted: Suspects sought over violent disorder at London protests Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot told him the offence had caused public revulsion.

On the same day two other protesters were remanded into custody after admitting assaults on police officers.

Daniel Allan, from Sunderland, admitted one count of violent disorder for kicking a police officer in the back.

The court heard Mr Allan, 36, had travelled from his home as groups of right-wing protesters sought to protect statues around Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.

Previously, South African backpacker James Meikle admitted two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker for charging at police lines separating protesters in Soho.

Mr Meikle, 38, had decided to spend his last day in London marching in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, but found himself remanded into custody until his sentencing on July 14.

On the same day Ferirai Mzila, 24, appeared in court charged with assaulting an emergency service worker during the protests of June 13.

Three further protesters have been charged in connection with last weekends demonstrations. They are:

 Hasan Khan, 21, who has been charged with possession of a class B drug and will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 13.

 Liam Hanley, 29, who has been charged with possession of a class A drug and is due at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 10.

 Matthew Cardwell, who has been charged with criminal damage and will also appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 10.

So far, just two people have been charged for their role in the Black Lives Matter protests of June 6. They are:

 Christopher Scott, 28, who has denied two counts of assaulting an emergency worker after allegedly stubbing a cigarette out on the body-worn camera of one police officer, and kicking out at another.

 Orson Shandilya, 23, who has been charged with harassment and possession of a class A drug and will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 3.

And the Met said Brendon Cummins, 18, of no fixed address, will appear at the same court on June 30 charged with assaulting an emergency service worker in relation to a protest on June 1.

The force gave no further details of the circumstances, although a Black Lives Matter protest took place in Brixton that day.

On Monday, Home Secretary Priti Patel called for swift justice as she told the Commons at least 100 officers had been injured, as well as three horses and a police dog, while 280 arrests had been made.

She said on Monday the Government was considering all options for those involved including implementing the proposed Desecration of War Memorials Bill.

The Home Secretary and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland also said they were considering fast-tracking cases for violent protesters to deliver justice within 24 hours, although did not give further details.

The Met's charging of ten suspects meanwhile came as police prepare to deal with a fourth consecutive weekend of Black Lives Matter protests in cities across the UK since the death of George Floyd in the United States last month.

Police are expecting crowds in London as well as cities including Glasgow and Birmingham this weekend.

Forces have urged demonstrators to socially distance amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and warned protesters against using any violence.

Met Commander Alex Murray said: We remain in a health pandemic, and once again would encourage people to comply with the regulations of not gathering in groups larger than six people, this is to keep you, your family and friends safe.

"We value democracy and the right for people to have a voice, but would ask people to do so in another way, and not come to London to demonstrate."

Mr Murray added: "Officers will be making arrests if there is violence.

We would encourage those planning to attend, to use your influence and spread the message that criminal activity and violence will undermine the messages you are wanting people to hear and must be avoided."
On This Day The Day Myanmars First Prime Minister Met Winston Churchill

: U Nu shakes hand with Sir Winston Churchill.

Yangon  On this day in 1955, former British prime minister Winston Churchill and the first prime minister of independent Myanmar (then Burma), U Nu, met in London. U Nu was already six years into his premiership and was on a tour of England, Israel, Japan, the USA and Yugoslavia.

The meeting took place at the request of U Nu on his arrival in England. Shaking hands with the leader of the former British colony, 80-year-old Churchill, who had retired from his second period as prime minister in April 1955, said: Let us bury our old animosities.

Yes! We must, Sir Winston, was U Nus eager reply.

Churchills father, Lord Randolph Churchill, who served as the secretary of state for India, was a key figure behind Britains Burmese expansion. Churchill wanted to preserve the colony during his first tenure as prime minister from 1941 to 1945.

After Churchills Conservative Party lost the 1945 general election, the colony gained its independence.

In his autobiography, Saturdays Son, U Nu wrote about his meeting with Churchill: By that time Sir Winston had slowed down considerably. He walked with some difficulty and his gait, as he descended the stairs, was awkward and unsteady. Sir Winston was also hard of hearing, which compelled U Nu to shout his words. As they sat at a table, there was a bottle of liquor on it. A single glass reposed beside, Sir Winston asked, Wheres the glass for U Nu?.

The secretary told him U Nu did not drink. Half an hour later, the host and guest appeared outside the house to be photographed.

You may also like these stories:

The Day the Poet who Introduced the West to Buddhism was Born

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When the Daughter of Myanmars Last King Died
A 56-year-old policeman from the intelligence wing of the Mumbai Police died of Covid-19 on Saturday, taking the toll in the city police force to 32.

The head constable posted in the special branch-1 was undergoing treatment at Bombay Hospital, where he succumbed to the disease around 7am on Saturday.

Sunil Kolhe, additional commissioner of police (special branch-1), said the constable had been staying at home as he was exempted from duty in view of this age.

On June 3 he tested positive and was admitted to Bombay Hospital the next day. He had undergone a bypass surgery in the past and was also diabetic, said Kolhe.

The deceased was living with his mother, wife, two sons and a daughter in police colony, Crawford Market. It is not clear how he contracted the virus. His close contacts have been home quarantined.

So far, 2,395 policemen from the city police force have tested positive for Covid-19, of whom 1,667 have recovered completely while the rest are undergoing treatment at various hospitals and Covid care centres.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra state police reported 140 new cases and two deaths among its personnel in the last 48 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the force to 3,960 and death toll to 47.

Six crime branch cops test positive

Six police personnel attached with the unit 9 of the Mumbai Polices crime branch tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday evening. They were tested after a 40-year-old constable tested positive on June 17, following which 11 police personnel including senior inspector Mahesh Desai were home quarantined.

On June 18, tests were conducted on an assistant police inspector (API) and five constables and their reports on June 19 revealed that they are positive. The API is admitted in Saifee Hospital in Charni Road while the five constables are admitted in Lilavati Hospital in Bandra.

Police station in-charge infected

Senior inspector of a police station in eastern region police has tested positive for Covid-19. Shashi Meena, DCP, zone 6, confirmed the development and said, He was not well since a week and was on medical leave.

The officer decided to go for testing on June 18 after showing symptoms such as fever and cough. After his report stated he was positive, he was admitted to SevenHills Hospital in Andheri (East).

Around a week ago, five thieves arrested by officers of police station had tested positive. Following this, around nine staffers were home quarantined and a sub-inspector tested positive.

Use video conferencing apps cautiously: Cyber police

State cyber police on Saturday alerted netizens of some malware on internet which is targetting people by disguising as a video conferencing app named Zoom. A statement released by the special inspector general (Cyber police) stated cyber criminals through the fake Zoom app are targeting those who are using this app for office meetings while working from home. The malware or the fake app can record the meeting details, capture vital information and can also take remote access/control of your device/computer systems. It is recommended that the users must download the app from authentic and credible platforms, the statement read.

(With inputs from Suraj Ojha)
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, June 19, 2020, Member of Parliament Claudius Buncamper sent a letter to the Minister of TEATT, (Tourism, Economic Affairs, Telecommunications, and Transportation) Ludmila de Weever, and the minister of VSA (Public Health, Labor and Social Affairs) Richard Panneflek, requesting clarification on information obtained regarding salaries of the workers at the Towers of Mullet Bay. MP Buncamper mentioned in his letters to the ministers that the information obtained concerns, among other matters, the salaries of the workers of the Towers at Mullet Bay which had been cut by 50% since March 2020 and claims by a particular timeshare owner that part of the maintenance fees is used for ensuring the property, while no insurance pay-outs were made after the property was damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017.

The MP also queried whether the company had requested financial payroll assistance through the SRRP plan and if this request was granted. He further inquired about the policy applied by the management of the Towers at Mullet Bay to decrease the workers salary by 50%. After the passing of the two hurricanes in 2017 the workers were paid their full salaries up to February 2020, the MP noted and wondered So, what is the reason for the sudden change in March 2020?

Base on the contents of a letter sent to one of the local newspapers by a timeshare owner, the MP questioned the minister of TEATT on the legality of the Towers at Mullet Bay operating as a hotel in addition to a timeshare property.

MP Buncamper said that he will await the ministers response before addressing other similar matters that also have his attention.

Minister of VSA

Mr. Richard J.J. Panneflek

Government Administration Building

Soualiga Boulevard #1

St. Maarten

Ref: Questions regarding the Towers at Mullet Bay

Philipsburg June 19th, 2020

Honorable Minister Panneflek,

I have received information through the employees working at The Towers at Mullet Bay, a timeshare owner and other reliable sources, that the workers at The Towers at Mullet Bay are being paid 50% of their salaries since March 2020. The property was damaged by Hurricane Irma and Maria in September 2017. Since then, up to February 2020, the workers were paid their full salaries.

1. Has the Towers at Mullet Bay applied for financial salary assistance through the SRRP plan? If so, was their request granted?

2. Based on which existing law or policy has the management of the Towers of Mullet Bay been able to decide to decrease the workers salaries to 50% from March 2020?

3. Was special permission granted by the government to allow such or is the Towers in gross violation of the labor laws on the island?

4. Isnt the Towers obligated to pay the full salary of the employees unless mutually agreed upon? Must a signed document be the underlying document for such?

5. Whats the government planning on doing in such cases when these types of abuse is encountered?

6. Did the Towers apply for dismissal of any employees? If yes how many?



Respectfully,

___________________

Claudius A. Buncamper

Member of Parliament

Faction Leader, United St. Maarten Party

Minister of Tourism, Economy, Aviation, Traffic & Telecommunication

Ms. Ludmilla de Weever

Government Administration Building

Soualiga Boulevard #1

St. Maarten

Ref: Matters at the Towers of Mullet Bay

Philipsburg June 19th, 2020

Honorable Minister De Weever,

A timeshare owner of the Towers in her letter dated June 15th, 2020 addressed to The Editor, the timeshare owner mentioned that part of the maintenance fee that each owner pays goes towards insurance of the property. Yet, no insurance pay-outs were made after the hurricanes in 2017 and the property remains unavailable to the timeshare owners. The author alluded that the timeshare owners have received information that property is being used as a hotel and questions the legal grounds for this.

1. If, according to the timeshare holders letter, the property is indeed operating as a hotel, is this legally allowed based on their operating license?

2. Whats the position of the government seeing the timeshare owner is basically stating that they are being lied to and basically cheated out of their investment they made in the Towers as a timeshare owner?

3. Has the towers ever applied for a rebuilding permit seeing the claim that they are still seemingly rebuilding the property?

4. Is government going to guard another Mullet Bay saga with the timeshare owners and the property developer/owner?



Respectfully,

___________________

Claudius A. Buncamper

Member of Parliament

Faction Leader, United St. Maarten Party




Haiti - Security : Assassination of Me Fritz Gerald Cerisier, Substitute for the Government Commissioner





Friday at Carrefour around 2:30 pm, unidentified armed individuals shot and killed Me. Fritz Gerald Cerisier Substitute for the Government Commissioner near the Court of First Instance (TPI) of Port-au-Prince, while he was trying to flee to driving his car, a red Suzuki Vitara, chased by his murderers. The crime was committed near the annex of the national archives at Bel-Air. Fritz Gerald Cerisier was killed at close range by at least 2 large caliber bullets, one in the head and the other in the neck.



Reacting in a note to this murder Me Jean Morin, President of the National Association of Haitian Magistrates (ANAMAH) says he is dismayed by this assassination.



"ANAMAH is shocked by this situation of violence and insecurity which is eating away at the country and which continues to claim victims within the Haitian judiciary.



The National Association of Haitian Magistrates (ANAMAH) urges the Government Commissioner to instruct the judicial police without delay to launch an investigation in order to find and bring before the court those who committed this crime.



Me Cerisier was known as a professional of great caliber in the judiciary and for his tolerant nature.



While offering all the deepest condolences to the parents of magistrate Ceriseir and to his fellow magistrates, particularly those of the public prosecutor's office in Port-au-Prince, ANAMAH invites all the magistrates of the republic to be cautious and to show solidarity."



PI/ HL/ HaitiLibre


















New Delhi:

One more soldier, who was critically injured in the terror attack on Armys Uri base 12 days ago, today died of his wounds, taking the total number of army personnel killed in the strike to 19.

Naik Raj Kishore Singh was undergoing treatment at Armys Research and Referral Hospital here. He succumbed to his injuries, defence sources said. Singh was a resident of Piprati village in Ara tehsil in Bhojpur district of Bihar.

The Uri Army base was attacked by heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists on September 18 in which 18 soldiers were killed. India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, seen as a reprisal for the Uri attack.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
International Yoga Day 2020 is just round the corner and we all might be looking forward to performing some of the best poses to mark the occasion. While it is absolutely rejuvenating to try some of the yoga poses for humans, do you know that animals also share a special bond with yoga?

Most of the yoga poses are named after animals, owing to their bodys flexibility and their ability to perform different tasks.

However, apart from giving some of their names to the yoga postures, a few animals also love to perform some yoga poses every now and then.

If you dont believe us, heres a look at some of the furry companies you can have by your side this International Yoga Day:

Cat Yoga

For their flexible body and quick responses, felines are considered as one of the best yoga partners you are looking for. You can perform asanas like downward-facing dog, child pose, and mountain pose with them.

Dog Yoga

Dogs are also amazing when it comes to performing yoga. Interestingly, yoga classes with dogs are popularly known as doga.

Goat Yoga

Joining the list is goat yoga, which is performed in the presence of goats. This form of yoga is in vogue these days as it helps in stress therapy.

Bunny yoga

Though, yoga with rabbits sounds a bit much but in reality there is such a thing called bunny yoga classes. So if you have a bunny at home then what are you waiting for? Pull out yoga mats and be a part of the celebration.

As of now, the bunny yoga classes are only conducted in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Seal yoga: While we will not advise you to go on a beach and look for a seal to give you a company, it is inspiring to watch over seals doing yoga with ease and flexibility.
S Kumaresan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Politicians in Tamil Nadu are generally infamous for seeking personal publicity even in times of crisis. Actor Rajinikanth is not yet a full-fledged politician. But that did not stop his fans from putting the actor's photo and promotional message in the masks they are distributing to the poor.

The fan club functionaries said they are distributing the masks for free as their contribution in the fight against COVID-19. But Rajinikanth's photo and his political message is what dominates the attention when one looks at these masks. The text in Tamil reads 'Arasial Maatram Aatchi Maatram, Ippothu Illaiyel Eppothum Illai'. This loosely translates to 'Political & regime change, never if not now.'

A senior functionary in the Tiruchy district unit of the actor's fan club Rajini Makkal Mandram told The New Indian Express, "Earlier, we were spreading our leader's message through pamphlets and wall posters. But due to the lockdown, we had to stop those. So in the relief materials we are distributing to the poor, we thought we will publicise our leader and his message."

The fans seem to have missed a nuance in their zeal to promote their leader. Unlike the posters and pamphlets, a mask sits on the face of a human. And the fans seem to have not spared a thought on how fair it is to publicise their leader in this way.

Members of the Rajini Makkal Mandram have in recent weeks distributed such masks to economically disadvantaged sections in about 12 districts in the state. Some of them are sanitary workers who are on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Another Tiruchy district unit functionary, 'Royal' Raju, takes pride in saying, "It is the Tiruchy district unit that first started distributing such masks. On seeing us, other district units have also started now. We have received much appreciation from the public since everyone likes our leader."

A few of the fan club members said they are yet to begin distributing these masks in Chennai and they are planning to start it in a few days. However, the headquarters of the fan club should be aware of activities of the district units. As per the internal protocol, the fan club members have to take photos and send emails on a daily basis on all work they do under the banner of Rajinikanth's fan club.

T Koodalarasan, a veteran journalist and political observer, said, "This amounts to extracting political mileage even during a crisis. If they want to serve the society, they should do it without any kind of publicity on the materials they distribute."

He says Rajinikanth's fans have learnt from the Dravidian parties on how to use every opportunity to extract political mileage. "They seem to be following the Dravidian parties. But if Rajinikanth is really serious about bringing a change, he should make his fans aware that they should not behave like this during a crisis of this scale," he said.

A youth wing functionary of the fan club, however, said, "All others are distributing things like rice etc. But we are giving masks which are important in fighting the coronavirus. And we are doing it with the money from our pockets. Please see the brighter side."
WASHINGTON : A top US federal prosecutor whose office has been investigating President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, on Friday refused to step down after the administration abruptly said it was replacing him.

The dramatic standoff marks the latest in series of unusual actions by Attorney General William Barr that critics say are meant to benefit Trump politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.

It also comes as Trump seeks to purge officials perceived as not fully supporting him. In recent weeks he has fired a series of agency watchdogs, including one who played a key role in Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

Barr, in a surprise late-night announcement, said the US Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, was stepping down and that he would nominate Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to take Berman's spot.

Berman, who leads a powerful office known for prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases, Wall Street financial crimes and government corruption, said he first learned of the move from Barr's press release and would not go quietly.

"I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning my position," Berman said in a statement. "I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

A Justice Department official, asked about Berman's refusal to leave the post until a successor is confirmed, told Reuters the timeline remains the same" as Barr laid out in announcing the replacement.

Since being appointed in January 2018, Berman has not shied from taking on figures in Trump's orbit. His office oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, indicted two Giuliani associates and launched a probe into Giuliani in connection with his efforts to dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries in Ukraine.

Prosecutors have not accused Giuliani of wrongdoing.

Berman's abrupt attempted dismissal came as the Justice Department asks a federal court to block publication of a book by former National Security Adviser John Bolton, whose claims include an allegation Trump tried to interfere with a probe overseen by Berman's office.

"This late Friday night dismissal reeks of potential corruption of the legal process," Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the US Senate, wrote on Twitter. "What is angering President Trump? A previous action by this US Attorney or one that is ongoing?"

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, also a Democrat, said he intends to invite Berman to testify.

Berman replaced Preet Bharara, who was himself fired as US Attorney in early 2017 soon after Trump became president. Bharara, an outspoken critic of the president, said the timing of the push to replace his successor was strange.

"Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?" Bharara wrote on Twitter, referring to the upcoming US presidential election in November.

While the Senate considers Clayton's nomination, Trump has appointed Craig Carpenito, the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, as the acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Barr said in his statement.

But it was not clear whether Barr can force Berman out.

Berman was never confirmed by the Senate, the usual process for appointing US Attorneys, and was instead appointed by the judges of the district in accordance with a US law that says he can serve until the vacancy is filled.

Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said the vacancy needs to be filled by someone who is Senate-confirmed or chosen by a judge. Carpenito, Vladeck wrote on Twitter, is neither of those. But Vladeck also cited a conflicting law that gives the president the authority to remove US Attorneys.

Before Clayton joined the SEC, he was a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions at Sullivan & Cromwell. He is seen as a bipartisan consensus-builder during his time leading the SEC.

The Justice Department official said Clayton, who had been planning to leave the administration and return to New York, "expressed interest" in the US Attorney role in New York, and Barr "thought it was a good idea."

Barr's announcement comes less than a week before Nadler's committee is set to hold a hearing where Justice Department officials are set to testify about political interference at the department.

Earlier this year, Barr intervened to scale back the sentencing recommendation for longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, prompting all four career prosecutors to withdraw from the case in protest.

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Great River Energys recent announcement that it intends to close Coal Creek generating station is, unquestionably, a blow to North Dakota. As someone who knows many of the people who work at the plant and the associated coal mine, I also find a personal sadness with the situation.

GREs announcement has spurred much discussion about the future of electricity generation in North Dakota. Judging from some comments in the media and actions by some local governments, there is an emerging, but incorrect narrative: Coal Creek is closing because of wind generation; renewables are only built because of government subsidies; and if there were no wind turbines in North Dakota, the future Coal Creek would be secure.

Portraying wind generation as the sole, or even main reason for closing Coal Creek is an oversimplification of a complex set of factors that impact our changing electricity grid. Singling out wind generation for blame, ignores the significant impact of low natural gas prices, against which coal more directly competes.

The hydraulic fracturing that takes place in North Dakota and elsewhere is having a greater impact on interstate electricity markets than wind, and statistics bear this out. Consider that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which operates the 15-state electricity market in which GRE participates, reports that during last summer, generation from coal accounted for 39.9% of all energy in its footprint, down from 50.1% two years prior; gas was 30.6%, up from 22.2%; and nuclear held nearly steady at 16.1%. As for wind generation, it was only 5.9% of all generation.

The blame wind mantra also suffers from a lack of appreciation for the variety of reasons utilities make the decisions they do. Utilities have different needs based on circumstance and location, and no two are in the same position. They operate in different states with different regulatory, legal and business demands placed on them. It is unsurprising then, that individual utility companies will come to different conclusions about the right energy resource mix for their customers.

The implication of this anti-wind sentiment percolating in certain circles is that it sends a harmful message: if GRE abandons Coal Creek, then North Dakota is closed for wind investment. It is a rejection of the all-of-the-above energy strategy that has made North Dakota such a success story the last two decades. The effect of this will be unfortunate. Private property rights will be harmed because landowners who want to financially benefit from having wind turbines on their land cant have them. North Dakota schools and governments would be deprived of millions in tax revenue that could be spent meeting needs or reducing other taxes. Direct and secondary jobs from the wind industry would be diminished. Enacting anti-wind policies to protest the closure of a coal plant wont save coal jobs, but it will ensure North Dakota loses out on other opportunities.

The important takeaway is that North Dakota produces much more electricity than it uses, so the states energy sector is going to be heavily dependent on what is happening in the broader multi-state regions in which the electricity business is conducted. Whatever policies are enacted in North Dakota are not going to stop other states from permitting wind, solar and natural gas facilities, so anti-wind policies in North Dakota are unlikely to aid any individual coal facility. They would however, ensure renewable energy developers invest their money elsewhere.

None of us know exactly how the electricity grid will roll-out in succeeding years, or what energy research breakthroughs await. The goal of state policy makers should be creating an excellent legal, tax and regulatory climate for all, so that North Dakota is a great place to invest, whatever the future holds.

Tony Clark was a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner from 2001-2012 and a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2012-2016.

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The fatal shooting of a 25-year-old Missouri woman by a deputy during a traffic stop parked a protest and left her family and friends with questions.

Hannah Fizer was killed at about 10 p.m. on June 13 in Sedalia, a city of 21,700 about 90 miles southeast of Kansas City, by a Pettis County sheriff's deputy conducting a traffic stop, said a statement by the Missouri Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shooting.

Fizer was stopped after she ran a red light while speeding and then kept going when the deputy tried to pull her over, according to highway patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe.

During the stop, she "was not compliant" and "allegedly threatened the deputy by stating she was armed and going to shoot him," the highway patrol statement said.

Demonstrators gather in Sedalia, Mo., after Hannah Fizer was shot by police. (KOMU)

"The incident escalated and the deputy discharged his weapon, striking the suspect," the statement said, adding that officers administered first aid, but Fizer was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deputy, a 13-year veteran of the department whose name hasn't been released, was not injured and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings, according to Sheriff Kevin Bond. The department has not had any previous complaints against the officer, he said.

Fizer was on her way to work at a convenience story, her family members said, and was the only person in the vehicle when the shooting happened.

Her stepmother, Lori Fizer, said she has never known Hannah Fizer to carry a gun.

On Tuesday, investigators who searched the car driven by Hannah Fizer the night she was fatally shot did not find a weapon, said Sgt. Andy Bell of the state highway patrol.

Bell said there was no available dashboard camera or body camera footage of the shooting.

Hannah Fizers father, John Fizer, said Monday that his daughter never carried a gun and he doesnt believe she became belligerent with the officer. He said he couldnt imagine what could have occurred to lead the deputy to shoot his daughter and questioned why the deputy didnt use a stun gun instead.

Story continues

Linda Grande, a family friend who has known Hannah Fizer since she was 5, told NBC affiliate KOMU in Columbia, Missouri that she needs proof to believe what authorities are saying happened.

"Just to come out and say that 'oh, I have a gun and I'm going to shoot you,' that's not Hannah," Grande said. "Show some proof that the only last resort was to do what he did, to shoot her. Why did he feel so threatened by a 140-pound little girl who was on her way to work?"

Demonstrators gathered in Sedalia on Thursday to support the family in their efforts to seek answers from law enforcement and demand justice for Hannah Fizer.

"My cousin has been shot dead by an officer, people that taxpayers pay for them to do their jobs. They're supposed to be properly trained," Dean Fizer, a cousin who was at the protest, told KOMU.

"She was genuine, she was pure, she was a free spirit," Dean Fizer said of his deceased cousin. "She was nice, caring; she wasn't about confrontation."

Hannah Fizer's funeral was set for Saturday, two days after Bond issued an open letter to the public, urging community residents to think rationally and not just with emotion. He wrote that deputies home addresses are being circulated online and that one deputy and his child have been threatened.

In the letter, Bond described Hannah Fizer's death as tragic but said the onslaught of shock, commercial media coverage, social media outcry, and raw emotion is beginning to devolve into a dangerous situation for our community.

The highway patrol said that while the investigation into Fizer's death is a priority, it could be weeks before enough information is compiled to send to a district attorney, who will determine if anyone will be charged, the Kansas City Star reported.

The sheriff said his department used to have body cameras.

"However, we had technical difficulties with that and funding has not allowed us to provide them for the deputies," he told KOMU.
Principals, academics and parents are concerned about the impact of new university fees on already-stressed year 12 students who have chosen HSC subjects based on degrees that have suddenly become more expensive.

The changes come on top of a difficult year for the 2020 graduating class, which has already had its final year heavily impacted by COVID-19 and faced weeks of remote learning and alterations to many HSC assessments.

Viveca Tang is a year 12 student at Pymble Ladies College, and she is worried about the fee hike for law degrees, which puts her university plan in flux. Credit:Steven Siewert

Under tertiary reforms proposed by the federal government last week, student fees for some subjects will be cheaper but the cost of others will soar, with law, business and humanities subjects the hardest hit.

The student contribution for political science will grow from $6804 to $14,500 a year, while students will pay an extra $7696 a year for communications. Other courses, such as nursing, engineering and maths, will be cheaper.
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A man in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam has worked hard over the past decade to create a network of farmers with enough power to protect their own profits against large supermarket chains.

Over the past decade, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, chairman the of Duc Trong District Farmers Association, has gained popularity in his district thanks to his work in developing a support network for 500 local potato growers to collaborate in order to ease overproduction and improve the quality and value of their crops.

Duc Trong District, approximately 30 kilometers from the provincial capital city of Da Lat, boasts the regions largest potato farming hub.

But the success of the districts farmers has not stopped them from encountering the same issue plaguing farmers throughout Vietnams rural localities: overproduction.

Since at least 2010, growers throughout Lam Dongs agricultural districts have been dumping massive amounts of potatoes between October and April in order to prepare their land for planting other crops.

Despite the relatively high value of potatoes in the local market, the costs of a proper harvest far outweigh the profits.

Supermarket chains have wholesale commitments and minimum quality benchmarks in place, Tuan explained.

Despite slumps in market prices, stores are still required to sell produce at specific rates. This means that overproduction hurts farmers profits without affecting supermarket profits. The farmers bear all the risk, he said.

With the districts annual growing area spanning more than 20,000 hectares, a mere ten percent of the total yields of over 650,000 metric tons are guaranteed by contracts.

The remaining crops are optioned through deals made orally and backed by little more than a handshake.

The situation means traders are consistently able to buy low and sell high while farmers are left exposed to heavy losses once overproduction causes prices to collapse.

In his efforts to protect farmers, Tuan drafted an in-depth report detailing the situation and began work on an initiative that would create a network for the areas farmers and standardize their production process in order to minimize overproduction and keep prices steady.

Giving power to the farmers

Tuans work, though overall a success, comes with a long list of setbacks.

When he first began enlisting farmers into the network, he was bombarded with negativity from opponents.

The most common critique was that prices in the network remained low despite the power they hoped working as a collective would entail.

Still, the majority of farmers were appreciative of attempts to stabilize profits against fluctuating market prices.

Farmers remained the most overlooked group in the supply chain despite having the most critical role. If thousands of farmers team up and form a thorough production plan, they can certainly secure a strong foothold in the market, Tuan said.

Nguyen Manh Dat, a farmer from the districts Phu Hoi Ward, admitted that he and other local farmers were anxious when Tuan first pitched them his plan but were quickly convinced when 40 households sold out their entire crop the following year.

Part of his success was working with farmers to market their products to potato chip producers and food processors.

In 2015, around 50 households in the area landed a contract with a large Korean food maker through the districts Farmer Association.

Within a year, the initial 20 hectares of potato crops included in the original contract swelled to 50 hectares and, five years later, over 500 farming households now participate in the program.

According to potato processors in Vietnam, the current factory capacity is operating at just 40 percent and they need to reach out to other countries to meet their needs. This means our farmers can produce more and still not worry about overproduction, Tuan shared.

Farmers who take part in Nguyen Ngoc Tuans potato networking program to supply for processing plants are happy with their produce in Lam Dong Province in Vietnams Central Highlands. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre

New varieties, new hopes

According to Tuan, the Atlantic potatoes, a staple in Lam Dong Province, are highly prone to phytophthora blight, a plant disease that damages the root, crown, and fruit in about 30 percent of potato crops.

The damage is taking a toll on the farmers profits. Without a solution, the farmers will continue to sustain heavy losses and the network will give way, he stressed.

In 2017, Tuan suggested to the Korean food maker that a phytophthora blight-resistant variety of potato be used in their production process.

Four months later, the province began producing Doobak potatoes. Not only are Doobak resistant to the disease, but they also produce 28 metric tons of potatoes per hectare, an increase of eight metric tons compared to Atlantic potatoes.

The key to our success is sustaining farmer trust and ensuring long term benefits to farmers, Tuan said, adding that fertilizer producers now allow farmers to pay for the purchases later, which helps cut costs.

Despite tremendous success in matching farmers with buyers, Tuan has never grown a potato for fear that owning his own farm might affect farmer profits.

He shared his plans to engage farmers from the KHo and Chu Ru minorities groups residing in the locality and neighboring district of Don Duong in another networking program to farm organic rice and vegetables on a 200-hectare plot, adding that hes received a wholesale offer from a business which would also build a pre-processing plant in the production zone.

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UC San Francisco released a full analysis Thursday of data from its large-scale coronavirus testing effort in the Mission District. and it affirmed earlier, initial results: The novel coronavirus disproportionately affected "low-income Latinx people who were unable to work from home."

"We find that recent infections in late April were concentrated almost exclusively among low-income Latinx people working frontline jobs, whereas infections earlier in the pandemic affected people more equally across the ethnic and economic spectrum, Dr. Diane Havlir, the study lead and head of UCSF's HIV/AIDS division, said in a statement.

UCSF, in conjunction with local community groups, offered free, voluntary COVID-19 testing to every resident in a 16-block area running from Cesar Chavez to 23rd Street and South Van Ness to Harrison Street from April 25 to 28. A little over half of the residents living in the area, the second-most dense in the city, were tested.

The final results of the study  which was released as a preprint ahead of peer review due to its relevance to public safety  confirmed much of the initial results. Up to 3,953 people were tested in the Mission District, of which 40% are Latinx; 41% white; 9% Asian/Pacific Islander; and 2% Black. According to the final results, of the 2.1% who tested positive for the coronavirus, 95% are Latinx. In the initial released results, it was found that 90% of those who tested positive said they were unable to work from home.

Among those who tested positive were service industry workers, such as delivery drivers or cashiers, and construction workers, Wired Magazine reported. Risk factors for those who tested positive for COVID-19 during the study included the "inability to shelter in place and maintain income, frontline service work, unemployment, and household income of less than $50,000 per year," UCSF stated.

The newly released figures also included newfound antibody test results revealing that 6.1% of census tract residents had previously been infected at some time since the start of the pandemic. The antibody test results showed a racial breakdown closer to the actual numbers for the neighborhood, resulting in 67% Latinx, 16% white, and 17% other ethnicities found with antibodies.

The absence of other ethnicities testing positive during the three-day COVID-19 testing push underscored the shelter-in-place order's success in helping to keep coronavirus from spreading, but only for those who could afford to stay (or work from) home, Wired pointed out.

"Although San Franciscos early shelter-in-place order surely prevented the overwhelming numbers of hospitalizations and deaths that were seen in other parts of the country, the disproportionate effects on communities of color are similar to those we see elsewhere," Jon Jacobo, a leader of the Latino Task Force for Covid-19 and co-author on the study, said in a statement.

To learn more about how testing was conducted in the Mission District, head over to Wired Magazine. The preprint version of the study can be found here.

SFGATE digital editor Amy Graff contributed to this report.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Dianne de Guzman is a Digital Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com
The annual and semester exams for 2019-20 academic session of Uttar Pradesh universities and their affiliated colleges will be conducted after June 30, 2020, informed state higher education department officials.

UP Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari has ordered the institutions concerned to ensure necessary arrangements for conducting 2019-20 exams in higher education institutes as well as BEd joint entrance exam-2020, officials informed.

In a missive dated June 19, the chief secretary has asked all vice-chancellors of the state universities, director (higher education) as well as all divisional commissioners and district magistrates besides all regional higher education officials to ensure necessary arrangements for these exams, they added.

In the missive, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times, Tiwari has ordered that the BEd-2020 joint entrance exam be conducted on any Sunday in July and no state or private university in Uttar Pradesh should conduct any of its exams on this particular day.

To ensure the successful conduct of exams, institutions must arrange for adequate sanitisation of examination centres and alcohol-based hand sanitiser for students be made available on all days at entrances of exam halls so that they can disinfect their hands before entering the venue, Tiwari has added.

Infrared thermometers should be used to measure the temperature of teachers, staff and students while entering the examination centres on all days and use of facemasks, face covers also should be ensured, he further ordered.

The orders make clear that the count of exam centres can be hiked by the institutions to ensure that norms of social distancing are properly maintained and centres are ensured in all districts wherever possible to lessen the need of travel by students and candidates.

For BEd joint entrance exam-2020, the chief secretary has asked that possibility of having centres in other states as per need should also be explored.

Educational institutes in Uttar Pradesh are currently closed for students due to the lockdown enforced to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Prof Sangita Srivastava, vice-chancellor, prof Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) university, Prayagraj said that in wake of the order, a meeting of the varsity examination committee has been convened on June 26 where all issues including possible changes in question papers to facilitate the evaluation of answer copies in these times would be discussed.

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US officials have exempt Nigel Farage from the countrys travel ban under the national interest clause, as Donald Trump prepares to hold his first major campaign rally since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the Foreign Office still advising all British nationals against all but essential international travel, the Brexit Party leader posted a photograph of himself on Saturday with the caption: In the USA, only twenty four hours from Tulsa.

The image  featuring Mr Farage with sunglasses and his thumbs up  fanned speculation he could attend the presidents rally on Saturday evening in the Oklahoma city.

Mr Farage, who left his regular LBC show earlier this month, last appeared at a rally with Mr Trump in 2016, when the then-Republican nominee was campaigning for the US presidency against Hillary Clinton.

Questions were initially raised over how Mr Farage had gained entry to the US despite the countrys strict ban on individuals travelling from the UK under the presidential proclamation signed in March to curb the spread of Covid-19.

But in a statement sent to The Independent, the US Department for Homeland Security said: On June 19, Mr Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdoms Brexit Party, was denied boarding while attempting to fly from the United Kingdom to the United States.

The initial denial of boarding was made pursuant to a March 14 presidential proclamation that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, suspends the entry into the United States of certain foreign nationals who recently have been present in the United Kingdom.

After conducting a thorough review of the relevant facts and circumstances, DHS determined Mr Farages travel to be permissible under section 2 (a)(xi) of the presidential proclamation: any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the secretary of state, the secretary of homeland security, or their designees authorising Mr Farage to board his flight.

Since the 16 March, the US Customs and Border Protection agency has suspended access for most individuals, other than United States citizens and lawful permanent residents, who have been physically present within the United Kingdom, excluding overseas territories outside of Europe, or the Republic of Ireland within 14 days of travel to the United States.

During the same month, the Foreign Office also imposed unprecedented travel advice against all but essential travel for UK nationals across the world.

Recommended Nigel Farage condemned for Channel boat trip to report on migrants

In regards to the US, the departments advice adds: The USA has put measures in place to limit the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). As of 16 March, it will not be possible for many British nationals to enter the USA if they have been in the UK, Ireland, Schengen zone, Iran or China within the previous 14 days.

Under the UKs new quarantine policy, any person arriving in Britain has to self-isolate for a 14-day period in an effort to prevent the transmission rate of coronavirus rising in the country.

In response to Mr Farages post, the former Conservative cabinet minister David Gauke said: Suddenly, the UKs quarantine policy makes some sense.

The Independent has contacted Mr Farage for comment.
Following the continuous spike and upward swing in the numbers of people afflicted with the COVID-19 ailment in Nigeria despite the existence of both the Federal Ministry of Health with two full cabinet level appointees; the Presidential task Force on Covid-19 (PTF) headed by the chief scribe of the central government and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a clarion call has gone to President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the ministers of health and to reconstitute both the so-called Presidential task Force on Covid-19 and the Nigerian Centre for Disease (NCDC) to bring in much more competent professionals to drive the process of bringing down the infection rates; ramp up testing capacity of the Country and to begin the comprehensive overhaul of the tertiary health infrastructures across the six geopolitical Zones of Nigeria.

The Rights group said Countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia amongst others that have structures for combating the spread of the CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IN their nations have recorded tremendous milestones in bringing down the curves and in ramping up the testing capacitities of the Countries in addition to the giantstrides made in the fields of scientific research on possible cure and development of functional vaccines to combat the respiratory problems caused by COVID-19 but in Nigeria the bodies set up to drive the process of combating COVID-19 AILMENT are more interested in spreading fear, panic and alarm and have done nothing to improve and scale up the capacities of the Federal and state governments to battle the scourge of COVID-19. "The clear majority of Nigerians have lost hope and faith on these PTF/NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigerians are doubting their sincerity of purpose. Were they appointed to solve the problem of COVID-19 or were they enlisted to spread fear and tensions? In Nigeria even the MADAGASCAR'S ORGANICS DOBATED TO NIGERIA HAVE DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TRACE.

In a media Statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf after an emergency board of Trustees' parley in Maitama District of the nation's capital of Abuja, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) a prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group said that by their own admissions, the ministers of health, the Presidential task Force on Covid-19 (PTF) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have spectacularly failed to discharges their operational mandates despite the fact that the nation had had to go cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund to collect a COVID-19 LOAN package of the princely sum of $3.5 billion USD and has raised over N20 billion internally from donors and corporate bodies and therefore the most logical thing to do is to sack these non performing Nigerians so as to bring in much more dedicated, competent and honest Professionals who would work and would not just be transactional and are only focused on ramping up the false alarm rates of reeling out unverifiable figures to frighten the populace and to collect more money from the public treasury.

"HURIWA just like Nigerians is embarrassed to keep reading from the Federal Ministry of Health which says unabashedly that the increasing number of coronavirus infections in the country should be a warning that the fatality rate could rise. Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, gave the warning at the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in the country on Thursday in Abuja".

Only on June 11th the Federal Government had also raised alarm over rising cases of COVID-19 with spike in the number of confirmed cases, where number of recorded cases jumped to 663 on Tuesday just as Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said Nigeria witnessed a spike in number of confirmed cases when the number of recorded cases jumped to 663 on June 9 and this number is a source of concern to the PTF.

" HURIWA is shocked that the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 had on June 8th raised alarm that state governments and Nigerians were not cooperating with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on testing for COVID-19. Speaking at the investigative hearing organised by the committee yesterday, the Director-General of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekwazu, decried the refusal of Nigerians to show up for testing and sought the assistance of members of the House to educate Nigerians on the need to submit themselves for testing. He said: It is unfortunate that state governments are not cooperating with us on the issue of testing. Many Nigerians are also not coming forward to be tested. We are pleading with lawmakers to help the PTF talk to people in the grassroots to come forward for testing.

HURIWA is shocked that these appointees of government who should combat the spread of the CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IN NIGERIA are the same persons spreading ignorance and fear and are busy stating that nobody knew how long the pandemic would last just as Dr Ihekweazu said the pandemic was currently at community transmission level just as he lamented that Nigeria had so far carried out about 100,000 test, even though it has the capacity to carry out over 200,000 test per day at the moment.

HURIWA which condemned these failed officials for not achieving success but only spread pandemonium, also recalled that On his part, chairman of the PTF and Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said coronavirus was still a very dangerous disease which was spreading fast and killing people.

In the considered position of the Rights group, since the Presidential task Force on Covid-19 put in place by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with all the powers is still complaining that law enforcement agencies are not enforcing the inter-state travel restrictions and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control set up by national law lacks the necessary mechanisms to win the trust of all the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja to carry out a unified approach towards combating COVID-19, the best step is to dissolve these failed entities and appoint fresh hands who will not play politics with the mandates of their offices but would use law based measures to check the widening spread of the CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IN NIGERIA.
FILE PHOTO: Employee works during a technical visit of Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi at the Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA in the city of Lapa

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian government on Friday published new guidelines for meatpackers after a spike of COVID-19 cases at food plants, including keeping workers at least one meter apart, but labor prosecutors criticized the steps as inadequate.

No testing is required under the ministry of agriculture's new rules, which were issued after consultations with the labor prosecutor's office.

A prosecutors' representative said the guidelines ignored key recommendations made by the office that specified minimum distancing of 1.5 meters between workers in common areas of the plant, as well as mass testing.

The prosecutors' recommendations also addressed the quality of face masks required for use, physical distancing and testing protocols.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that meatpacking workers be spaced at least six feet (two meters) apart.

In addition to distancing employees, Brazil's ministry of agriculture said companies should also monitor those with coronavirus symptoms and immediately remove for 14 days anyone suspected of having been infected. They should also track any workers who came in contact with affected employees, it said.

The ministry said if the one-meter distance cannot be implemented, workers at the plants must wear surgical masks in addition to personal protective equipment, and impermeable partitions must be installed between employees.

The ministry said it incorporated certain of the labor prosecutor's recommendations, made in a document dated June 2 and seen by Reuters.

As for the CDC's 2-meter distancing, the ministry said the CDC's guidelines are "compatible with the reality of U.S. meatplants."

Many meatpacking plants in Brazil and the United States have had to close due to coronavirus outbreaks.

As of Friday, almost 24% of all COVID-19 cases in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state were workers in the local meat industry, according to labor prosecutors and state health data.

Brazil is on track to surpass 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, with total deaths fast approaching 50,000.

(Reporting by Ana Mano and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
The father of three children who died in a tragic fire at their home in Scotland has written a heartfelt tribute on Facebook.

Alex Gibson discovered his upper-cottage flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire, was on fire when he returned from a local garage last night, The Daily Record reported.

Mr Gibson posted on Facebook saying: 'May u rest in peace little angels.'

Fiona Gibson, 12, Alexander James Gibson, eight, and Philip Gibson, five, have died in hospital and their mother is in critical condition after a fire at a flat in Scotland

Alex Gibson (left) posted on Facebook to say goodbye to his three children (pictured) who all died following a fire at their upper-cottage flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire, last night

The children's mother Julie Daley, 39, (right) is believed to be the woman taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital last night where she remains in critical condition

The siblings died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow shortly after they were admitted to Hospital. Pictured: A fire engine at the scene

A close-up photo shows the windows of the upper-cottage flat which have melted under the heat of the blaze which tore through the property

His children Fiona Gibson, 12, Alexander James Gibson, eight, and Philip Gibson, five, were rushed to hospital after their home caught blaze but died shortly after.

A woman believed to be their mother Julie Daley, 39, was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where she remains in critical condition.

The siblings - who neighbours saw happily playing on a bouncy castle just days before tragedy struck - died shortly after they were admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

A witness to the blaze, who rushed to help, told local media: 'I don't know how to describe it, it was a raging fire, it was moving so quickly.'

Cuddly toys and flowers were left outside the house today in tribute to the children who died

Members of the public are seen laying a bunch of flowers by the police cordon after three children were killed by a fire in the property in Paisley, Renfrewshire

Among the floral tributes was a bunch from Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP Gavin Newlands who left a card saying: 'We are all so sorry for your heartbreaking loss. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with you all'

Forensic investigators enter the property in Paisley, Renfrewshire, today which was gutted by a fire last night

The children were rushed to hospital after the upper-cottage flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire, caught ablaze. Pictured: A fire engine at the scene

A woman believed to be their mother Julie Daley, 39, was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where she remains in critical condition. Pictured: Police and firefighters at the scene

He added: 'One of the kids came out first and then an adult female. It was absolutely horrible. It's such a tragedy.'

Emergency services are believed to have received the call about the fatal blaze at around 9pm last night, The Sun reports.

Police officers and firefighters were both at the scene. The blaze was put out by this morning.

Today, people have been leaving stuff animals and flowers outside the property which was gutted by flames.

Among the flowers left at the scene were some from Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, who wrote on a card: 'We are all so sorry for your heartbreaking loss.

Emergency services were seen at the upper-cottage flat in Paisley last night, covering both sides of the road as they tried to deal with the blaze

Fiona, 12, Alexander James, eight, and Philip, five, all died in hospital shortly after arriving from the tragic blaze in their flat last night

The siblings (pictured) died shortly after they were admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow

'Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.'

A police spokesperson said: 'An investigation is underway to establish the exact circumstances of this incident.'

Police ask that anyone with information contact them on 101 quoting incident number 3669 and the date June 19, 2020.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue spokesperson added last night: 'We were alerted at 9pm on Friday 19 June to reports of a dwelling fire in Paisley.

'Operations control mobilised 6 appliances to the town's Renfrew road where firefighters were met by a well developed fire within a first floor property.

'Firefighters remain on the scene working to extinguish the fire.'

Leading the tributes on social media to the three children who died was First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon who tweeted: 'No words are enough. It's just heartbreaking. My thoughts are with all who loved these poor children. Fiona, Alexander and Philip - may you rest in peace.'

Paisley-based football club St Mirren FC also tweeted their condolences, saying: 'St Mirren Football Club is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of three children in a house fire in Paisley last night. Our sincerest condolences go out to all affected by this tragic incident.'
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has registered his displeasure with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for vouching for some parliamentary aspirants to go unopposed during the party's primaries.



The NPP Primaries comes off this Saturday, June 20, 2020 with over 100,000 delegates ready to cast their votes to elect parliamentary candidates who will contest the parliamentary elections on December 7, on the ticket of the party.



Three hundred and eight (308) aspirants will contest the primaries and 47 out of the number are female aspirants.



Twelve from the 47 female aspirants are to go unopposed while the remaining 35 will be in fierce competition with their male contenders.



Aside the female aspirants going unopposed, there are other constituencies where the sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) have no one to oppose them.



To Kwesi Pratt, this partisan trend where political parties refuse to let some sitting MPs or other parliamentary aspirants be contested is a threat to Ghana's democracy.



According to him, all eligible persons who nurse political ambitions to go into the house of legislature should be given equal opportunities to contest the parliamentary primaries and compete in the parliamentary general elections.



''Everybody went to Parliament for the first time and was voted for to go second, third and some even have gone fourth. Do you know what the person coming is bringing on board?'', he questioned.



Mr. Pratt further asked if the long-serving MPs will remain in Parliament for a lifetime.



''Will the Methuselahs in Parliament stay there forever?'' he quizzed.



Kwesi Pratt made his submissions on Peace FM's '.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In India, a punishing three-month-long lockdown may be coming to an end, but a relentless increase in coronavirus cases is crushing the health care system of the world's second-largest country.

Outside New Delhi's Lok Nayak hospital, Shubhneet Sethi was checking in on his mother and told a CBC News producer he's appalled by the poor treatment she's received in a COVID-19 ward that he says is overwhelmed by the number of patients, with staff unable to help.

"We are witnessing death. We are witnessing the dire situation of the hospital. It doesn't look good," said the 30-year-old financial analyst.

Generic drug supply could be at risk

"Our worst fears are coming true," agreed Madhukar Pai, Canada Research Chair in Translational Epidemiology and Global Health at McGill University in Montreal, who follows public health in India.

"We were all worried about what happens when the epidemic starts hitting low-income countries, and it's happening now."

Murali Krishnan/CBC

India had been selectively easing lockdown restrictions in certain parts of the country since May and entered the next stage of its phased reopening on June 8, with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and places of worship being allowed to reopen while movie theatres, bars, gyms international flights and some metro rail travel remain suspended.

Pai says the virus's impact on the country and the instability it's creating in some key industries should be especially worrying given the nation's pivotal role in supplying a lot of the world's pharmaceuticals.

Prices of some drugs have already risen. Supplies of raw ingredients from China have been interrupted as have the transportation networks that deliver them.

While the largest drug companies are European- and American-owned, they rely heavily on production facilities in India, which supply roughly 20 per cent (by volume) of the world's exports of generic drugs.

"What happens if India stops manufacturing pharmaceuticals?" said Pai. "The entire world's supply chain is going to get hit. There is no way the rest of the rich world can get on with normal business as usual.

Story continues

"We are already worried about that with TB and HIV medicines and malaria medicines."

Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Deaths in rural areas can go undocumented

India has seen the number of confirmed cases rise from a little over 42,000 at the start of May to more than 380,000 today, and reported a record 13,500 new COVID-19 cases Friday, with more than 300 deaths in a 24-hour period.

That makes it the country with the fourth-highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world, behind only the U.S., Brazil and Russia.

But those who study public health in the nation of 1.4 billion people say those figures are likely only capturing a modest percentage of all COVID-19 infections.

"The bad news is that we don't know what's happening in the rural areas of India," said University of Toronto epidemiologist Prabhat Jai.

Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

He says migrant workers who work in the country's large urban areas can return to their rural villages, infect others in their family who then die and are buried without ever being issued a formal death certificate.

Jai was a prominent researcher on the Million Deaths Study, which tracked 14 million Indians over 16 years to better understand the causes of mortality in the country. He says, in an average year, about seven out of 10 deaths in India occur outside the big cities.

In the case of COVID, however, the lion's share of cases are occurring in the urban areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Ahmadabad, which have seen a substantial spike in infections in the past two weeks. Chennai was put under a new lockdown until June 30 after fresh outbreaks in the southern city and surrounding districts this week.

Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Higher incidence of pre-existing conditions

More than 12,500 people in India have died from the virus to date, but Jais says if there is any good news in India's COVID experience it's that its death rate, which Indian health officials say is doubling every 18 days, is rising more slowly than in the worst-affected parts of Europe and the United States, where deaths doubled every five days at the height of the pandemic.

India has a younger population than those regions, but at the same time, Jai says, it also has a higher incidence of heart disease, malnutrition and other conditions that can make people more vulnerable to COVID-19.

"So, it's a bit of a mystery why the death rate is lower [in India], but that's of little comfort because the deaths continue to increase," he said.

"And unlike in Europe or Canada, where deaths have peaked and are coming down, in India, [in the regions] where it's measured, deaths are continuing to increase."

Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

Hospital horror stories

Indian media have given prominent coverage to hospital horror stories, such as the case of a 82-year-old Mumbai woman who died as she tried to reach a bathroom cubicle. Her body was reportedly not found for more than a week.

In another case, a 68-year-old-man died after six hospitals denied him admission.

Murali Krishnan/CBC

Sethi, whose 54-year-old mother was admitted to a Delhi hospital last week with COVID-19 symptoms, said he and his sister had to make a mad dash across the fiercely congested city to tend to her after hospital staff were nowhere to be found when her oxygen ran low.

Sethi said she called him at 4 a.m., gasping for breath.

"I waited outside the emergency room [to talk to a doctor], but they kept turning me away."

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, told a news conference this week that the city of close to 30 million people will need 150,000 beds by the end of July if its hospitals are to also treat COVID-19 patients from other regions. The current capacity is just 9,000 beds  earmarked for COVID-19 patients by the government.

Earlier this week, the government announced it would convert several hundred old train cars, as well as banquet halls, hotels and other venues, into COVID wards.

REUTERS

'The government has failed'

At the Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi's largest crematorium, anguished families placed the bodies of dead relatives on top of wood pyres or next to large electric furnaces.

"They have taken my father. My father is gone," wailed Tarun Bushan after watching a team of workers clad in blue hazmat suits place the white shroud containing his father's body near the opening of one of the facility's large ovens.

"The government has failed; the infrastructure has failed; everything is failed," Bushan told CBC producer Murali Krishnan.

Three ovens, along with dozens of wood pyres, now burn well into the evening handling between 30 and 35 COVID victims a day.

WATCH | New Delhi's largest crematorium struggles to keep up with the rising number of COVID-19 deaths (video contains images of cremation and transport of covered bodies):

Three other facilities in the city are also disposing of the pandemic's dead.

The spike in cases  and heavy strain on the hospital system  comes just days after India lifted its wide-ranging and strictly enforced lockdown.

India appeared to react relatively early  and decisively  to the pandemic by cutting off international travel in March and imposing a lockdown on all but essential services on March 24.

But in doing so, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came under harsh criticism for displacing millions of migrant workers and day labourers who suddenly found themselves out of work and far from their homes. That led to huge crowds and chaos at transportation hubs as they tried to make their way back to their villages and may have contributed to the spread of the virus.

Amit Dave/Reuters

'Lockdown fatigue'

McGill's Madhukar Pai says while India's lockdown no doubt slowed the "explosive" spread of the virus through the vast country, it came at a heavy economic cost.

"You need a certain amount of privilege to survive [a lockdown]. You need a house; you need an income; you need basic necessities of life. But in many low-income countries, there is no such thing."

He says with the nation now suffering from "lockdown fatigue," the only way forward is to test people who show symptoms and to then isolate them and their contacts.

India has ramped up of testing in the last two months but is still testing at a far lower rate than many Western nations. It is testing at a rate of about 4,700 tests per million people, according to Our World in Data, a site run by Oxford University and Global Change Data Lab. That compares to about 148,000 per million in Denmark, 80,000 per million in Italy and 60,000 per million in Canada  although testing rates in India vary widely by state from around 1,000 to 27,000 per million, an analysis of state data done by the Indian news site The Wire found.

Pai's prognosis for India in the weeks ahead is poor.

"There is no way, especially with the lockdown's lifting. Epidemiologically, I cannot see how the trend will start going down."
Andrea Muffin Hudson arrived at the Durham County jail holding a large, beige purse weighed down with $100,000 in crisp $20 bills.

While some marked Juneteenth protesting in the street, watching online programs, or attending other events, Hudson and her colleagues celebrated the end of slavery by freeing nearly 30 men from jail to spend Fathers Day with their family.

Today is Juneteenth,  Hudson said. We are buying back peoples freedom.

Early Friday morning Hudson, director of the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham, went to the bank to withdraw the cash.

Wearing all black and a Juneteenth T-shirt, she then walked up to the front desk of the jail with a deputy, who asked her how many people she was going to bail out.

I am going to try to get out 27, she said. We have to get them free.

Hudson was just getting men out this time but asked how many women were in the jail.

Twelve, the deputy said.

Lord, I have to figure out how much their bond is, she said, saying she would get them out next.

Since 2018, at least 100 bailed out

The bail fund started in December 2017, initially lobbying for bonds to be unsecured. It has since helped get $2 million in bonds unsecured, meaning people dont have to pay anything to be released, just sign a promise to appear in court.

With the help of more established social justice groups, the fund started bailing out people in July 2018. It has paid bail for at least 100 people, including 22 since March, Hudson said.

Since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyds neck for more than eight minutes, donations to the fund have jumped.

The $100,000 that built up in the bank allowed the organization to increase its standard bail out from up to $2,000 to $5,000.

And instead of monthly, Hudson is now bailing out people weekly.

A lot of people know things need to change, Hudson said. They dont have the ability to go out to front lines ... I guess this is their way of saying I can help in some way, and I feel like I can do something to end mass incarceration and pretrial detention.

Story continues

Groups have lobbied for years for reform or end cash bail, but the coronavirus and killings by police have given an urgency to reforming systems that disproportionately affect people of color. In April, eight detention officers at the Durham County jail tested positive for the virus and one died. None of people incarcerated at the jail have tested positive, according to an N.C. Department of Health and Human Services report.

North Carolina law says judges and magistrates must confine people before their trials only if they pose a danger, threaten to flee or might destroy evidence.

Yet statewide, two-thirds of people arrested for misdemeanors in 2017 got a secured bond from a judge or magistrate  meaning they had to pay, put up collateral or hire a bail bondsman to go free before trial, The News & Observer reported.

Advocates for bail reform say the system penalizes the poor and people of color and can cost people their jobs, houses and children. Supporters of bail say the system helps keep the community safe.

Until people are found guilty, Hudson said, their freedom should not depend on their ability to pay for it.

I cant imagine someone having to be in that cell all day every day because they cant afford their ransom, she said.

E. Evans, the Durham county chief magistrate, counts a stack of 20 dollar bills from the $100,000 in cash brought in by AndrZa OMuffinO Hudson, director of the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham, to free 27 men as a celebration of Juneteenth and in time for them to spend FatherOs Day at home while they await their trials, on Friday Jun. 19, 2020, at the Durham County Detention Facility, in Durham, N.C. Nineteen men were freed before the magistrate ran out of receipts around 6pm so Hudson plans to return the following day to complete the rest.

And on Juneteenth

At 10:25 a.m., Hudson walked into the small magistrates room and piled stacks of $20 bills on the metal table before the magistrates window.

You brought all that for me? asked E. Evans, the countys chief magistrate.

I sure did, Hudson said.

Evans asked how much.

A hundred, Hudson said.

Dollars? Evans asked.

A hundred thousand, Hudson said.

What in the world,  Evans said.

Hudson explained she wanted to pay the bail of nearly 30 men she had on her list.

In her 30 plus years, Evans had never taken this much cash and called the moment historic. Hudson noted that she and Evans, two Black women, were counting thousands of dollars to pay for mens freedom.

And on Juneteenth, Evans said.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865  2 1/2 years after after President Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation  when Union troops occupied Galveston, Texas, and told the enslaved people there that they were free.

Evans said a little prayer that she didnt mess up the money counting.





Hudson counted out piles of $1,000 and slid the money through a metal box. Evans counted it again.

Evans spent most of the day counting money, carefully sliding new bills that had a tendency to stick.

I will plead guilty to anything

Hudson knows the toll that time in jail can take on a life.

In 2013, she spent two months in jail on charges she said she was innocent of but had pleaded guilty to get back to her two children, then 17 and 7.

I told my attorney I will plead guilty to anything if it means I can go home to my children, Hudson said.

Hudson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, but a handful of other dismissed charges remained part of her public record. She lost her housing voucher and home, her ability to get work, her self-esteem and her dignity, she said.

She and her children were homeless for nearly two years, staying with friends and relatives.

The family found a home after after Hudsons older daughter got a job and was able to secure an apartment.

At a clinic that provided free legal services to remove criminal charges, Hudson met social justice advocates who helped her fight for change.

It made me start to tell my story and my truth, my lived experience of how I overcame this system, and now how I am trying to dismantle this system, she said.

Decreasing population

Durham County officials have been taking steps to reduce the jail population by reducing bonds and increasing pre-trial release options.

From 2007 to 2018, the average annual jail population at the Durham County Detention Center fell from 629 to 498.

District Attorney Satana Deberry and her staff have been working since she took office in January 2019 to further reduce the population by releasing people accused of nonviolent crimes. Those efforts were stepped among the pandemic.

From February to mid-June, the average daily jail population dropped from 393 to 262. On Friday, it was down to 248.

Around 6 p.m. Friday, the magistrates office ran out of required receipts, so Hudson was only able to bail out 16 men, spending about $60,000 on bail amounts as high as $10,000.

She planned to take the leftover cash to Charlotte, where another Fathers Day bail out was scheduled Saturday with the bail fund and Emancipate NC. On Friday, former Panthers player Thomas Davis pledged $100,000 to the Charlotte effort.

Then Hudson planned to come back to Durham and bail a few more people out, if needed, she said. The list she started with ended up shorter than expected because some of the 27 people on it were already gone.

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Walking out the jail

The men started to walk outside the jail around 3:30 p.m., carrying their belongings in clear plastic bags.

Volunteers greeted them with gift bags filled with masks, toiletries and $25 gift cards and wished them a Happy Fathers Day.

Under a tent, Kendrick Chief Mangum, filled to-go boxes with a hamburger, collard greens and macaroni and cheese.

Russell McGill, 45, said he was sitting in his cell when a guard told him to pack up his stuff, that he had been bailed out.

I said Stop, this aint for real, said McGill, a father of three who had been in jail 10 days.

Tariq Sanyika, 41, of Durham, had been in jail since January 7.

The father of four, ages 13 to 24, said he had reached out to Hudson but didnt know he would be bailed out Friday.

As a correction officer hurried Sanyika out, he had to stop to say a short prayer of thanks and then said goodbye to everyone in his pod.

He was eager to see his family. His oldest sons birthday is Saturday. His sister just had a baby he hadnt yet seen. And he knows his mother, who doesnt know he was released, will have a Fathers Day dinner.

I am going to the house because she is working from home, he said. She is going to be shocked.

Randy Melvin, 44, walked out with an orthopedic-type boot on his right leg.

He hobbled on a single, aluminum crutch. He was hit by a car 28 days ago, he said.

He isnt a father, and he is homeless. Now, he said, Ill go anywhere. Ill sleep anywhere.

Melvin said his bail was below $1,000.

If it would have been $50, I still wouldnt been able to pick it up, he said.

Melvin said he would like to try to get into a halfway house.

My wife divorced me five years ago. I have been drinking ever since then. My mama and grandma died on the same day. So I have been dealing with a lot of tragedies lately, he said. But I am still here.

Mark Ellis raises a fist to the air after leaving the Durham County Detention Center with 26 other men who were bailed out by AndrZa OMuffinO Hudson, director of the NC Community Bail Fund of Durham, with $100,000 in cash as a celebration of Juneteenth and in time for them to spend FatherOs Day at home while they await their trials, on Friday Jun. 19, 2020, at the Durham County Detention Facility, in Durham, N.C. Nineteen men were freed before the magistrate ran out of receipts around 6pm so Hudson plans to return the following day to complete the rest.

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Washington, June 20 : US President Donald Trump said that there will be no curfew in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he's scheduled to hold a campaign rally Saturday evening, his first since March.

In a tweet on Friday, Trump said he spoke to Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum who told him that "there will be no curfew tonight or tomorrow" for rally-goers, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bynum announced the curfew in an executive order on Thursday and said that it would only affect the area near the BOK Center, where Trump is to speak.

The order said the Mayor has received information from law enforcement agencies that showed "individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behaviour in other States are planning to travel to the City of Tulsa for purpose of causing unrest in and around the rally".

The rally was previously scheduled to take place on Friday, the Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the US.

Trump rescheduled the event, the first of its kind for him in more than three months, for Saturday after strong pushback, as Tulsa was home to one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the nation's history, where dozens of African-Americans were massacred 99 years ago.

Moreover, demonstrations continued across the US against police brutality and racism in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody.

Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African-American man, died on May 25 during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Trump's Tulsa rally will be held amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 2.2 million people and taken nearly 120,000 lives in the US.

Health experts have warned against large-scale gatherings, as some states, including Oklahoma, are seeing a surge in confirmed cases, while they are reopening.

Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, has said that he wouldn't personally attend rallies.

"I'm in a high risk category. Personally, I would not. Of course not," Fauci told an interview with Daily Beast earlier this week, adding that when it came to Trump's rallies "outside is better than inside, no crowd is better than crowd" and "crowd is better than big crowd".

Attendees of the Tulsa rally will receive temperature checks, hand sanitizer, and masks before entering the BOK Center, which can hold 19,000 people, according to Trump's re-election campaign.

A campaign spokesman added that masks will be optional.

They have also been asked to sign a waiver releasing the Trump campaign from responsibility for possible exposure to the coronavirus.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Friday that she and some other White House officials will attend the rally but she won't wear a mask.

"It's a personal choice. I won't be wearing a mask. I can't speak for my colleagues," she told reporters during a press briefing.

"I'm tested regularly. I feel that it's safe for me not to be wearing a mask." According to a new Fox News poll released on Friday, 59 per cent of the respondents said it's a bad idea for presidential candidates to hold large political events and rallies, while 23 per cent said doing so is a good idea. Another 16 per cent said it depends.

Currently, 84 pe rcent still said they are at least somewhat concerned about the spread of coronavirus in the US. That includes 54 per cent who said they feel very concerned.
Warwickshire Search and Rescue (WarkSAR) has received a 1,000 donation from NFU Mutual to purchase specialist clothing equipment for their volunteers.

WarkSAR is a lowland rescue team, part of a much bigger family of 36 teams across the UK and all its members are unpaid volunteers aged 18 to 80 years old.

They are available to respond to callouts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year and WarkSAR also has a search dog team and a specialist kayak team.

Each search technician volunteering with the charity requires a complete set of waterproof outdoor wear suitable for all weather conditions and situations. The from NFU Mutual money will be divided between four of the charitys newly qualified Search Technicians once they have completed their year of intensive training.

Ian Malins, team chair of WarkSAR, said: This welcome donation makes a huge difference to us. It will enable WarkSAR to fully kit out four trainee Search Technicians once they have completed their training, providing the team with more personnel on the ground during searches for vulnerable missing people in Warwickshire and the surrounding areas.

Beth Pritchard, corporate social responsibility consultant at NFU Mutual, added: The pandemic has been a difficult time for charities, forcing them to postpone many of their usual fundraising activities. WarkSAR make a wonderful difference to our community and we hope that this donation will help them to continue their vital operations.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) on Friday said no mobile network operator or telecommunication company has breached any personal data or privacy of customers in compliance with the requirements of law.



A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency by the NCA said the attention of the Authority had been drawn to some misleading media reportage regarding the breach of privacy of consumer information.



The NCA said in March, 2020, it requested passive mobile positioning data logs from mobile network operators for undertaking historical and current analysis of persons potentially infected with COVID-19 for contact tracing purposes in accordance with the establishment of Emergency Communications Systems Instrument, 2020 (E.I. 63).



It noted that the Instrument required network operators or service providers to cooperate with the NCA Common Platform to provide information to state agencies in the case of an emergency including a public health emergency.



All MNOs i.e. AirtelTigo, Glo, MTN and Vodafone, complied with the request for information, which was subsequently processed and forwarded to the Ghana Health Service for contact tracing purposes, the statement said.



There was no objection by any Party in respect of COVID-19 contact tracing data request until an application for injunction order was filed.



The NCA was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 524, in December 1996, but has been repealed and replaced by the NCA Act, 2008 (Act 769).



The Authority is the statutory body mandated to license and regulate electronic communication activities and services in the country.

Source: GNA









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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) London  Sat, June 20, 2020 17:02 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40660534a6 2 People Greta-Thunberg,Racism,#BlackLivesMatter Free

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said Saturday the Black Lives Matter protests showed society had reached a "tipping point" at which injustices are finally addressed.

"It feels like we have passed some kind of social tipping point where people are starting to realize that we cannot keep looking away from these things," the 17-year-old said in an interview with the BBC

"We cannot keep sweeping these things under the carpet, these injustices."

Thunberg's interview aired as global capitals braced for another weekend of anti-racism protests in the wake of the death at the hands of a white policeman of the unarmed African American George Floyd.

British protesters have toppled the statue of a 17th century slave trader and the Church of England and the Bank of England have expressed remorse for profiting from the sale of Africans to the Americas.

A statue of a southern general who defended slavery during the US Civil War was thrown down and set on fire by protesters in the Washington on Friday.

Thunberg said "people are starting to find their voice, to sort of understand that they can actually have an impact".

She also described being stunned by the depth of US poverty she discovered while traveling with her father in an electric car they borrowed from the former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"It was very shocking to hear people talk about that they can't afford to put food on the table," she said.

More protests were scheduled for Saturday in London and the Scottish capital Edinburgh.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Fidan Babayeva  Trend:

The main topic of current discussion between Azerbaijani and Indian entrepreneurs within bilateral cooperation is the creation of a digital platform, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Ilhama Abdullayeva told Trend.

She said that a plan is being developed to create a digital platform on which the agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, consulting, IT and other services within cooperation between Indian and Azerbaijani companies can be listed.

"The creation of a digital platform will play an important role in the activities of entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan and India. During the COVID-19 pandemic, business contacts with Indian partners are conducted online," noted the spokesperson.

Abdullaeva added that the issue of organizing business missions and exhibitions during the post-pandemic is also being discussed.

She emphasized that Azerbaijan and India have great potential for cooperation in many areas, and in particular, in the fields of tourism, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, services, consulting, and IT, adding that the countries need to develop a roadmap for cooperation in the post-pandemic period.

The National Confederation of Organizations of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan was established in Baku on March 5, 1999. It unites over 1,000 business entities, including 35 associations and socio-economic unions.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva
Version 5.0 of the Bootstrap framework for building mobile-first websites has moved to an alpha release stage, with the toolkit no longer dependent on the jQuery JavaScript library.

Removing the dependency on jQuery was enabled by advancements in front-end development tools and browser support. As a result, projects built on Bootstrap 5 will be significantly lighter on file sizes and page loading.

Builders of Bootstrap pledge to build tools that are more future-friendly, focusing on the promise of CSS variables, faster JavaScript, fewer dependencies, and better APIs. The builders warn, though, that breaking changes will continue to happen until the release of the first Bootstrap 5 beta. Unveiled on June 16, the Bootstrap 5 alpha is available at v5.getbootsrap.com.

Specific capabilities of Bootstrap 5.0 include:

The bulk of the Button plug-in for an HTML and CSS-only approach to toggle states has been dropped. Toggle buttons now are powered by checkboxes. Also, radio buttons are more reliable.

Custom CSS properties now are being used, enabled by dropping support for Microsofts legacy Internet Explorer browser. The project is looking to enable the superpowers of Sass and CSS custom properties for more flexibility.

Documentation has been improved, with more explanation, less ambiguity, and more support for extending the framework. A new Customize section is featured.

The color palette has been expanded for app look and feel.

Documentation and components for forms have been overhauled.

A new utilities API is featured, with a language and syntax in Sass to create utilities on the fly.

An enhanced grid system is featured, with a new grid tier, the addition of vertical spacing classes, and replacement of .gutter classes with .gx * utilities.

Another alpha release is anticipated for the next three to four weeks, with a couple more likely to follow. Future plans for Bootstrap call for RTL (right to left) and offcanvas capabilities. A forked version of the Bootstrap modal illustrates an offcanvas menu. The intent is to have an offcanvas wrapper to place sidebar content such as navigation controls or a shopping cart. Other evaluations are being made such as increased usage of CSS properties and embedding SVGs in HTML instead of CSS.
(Photo : Peter Oslanec on Unsplash) Asymptomatic Patients Have Weaker Immune Response to Coronavirus: Babies Can Survive the Infection More? (Photo : Engin Akyurt on Unsplash) Asymptomatic Patients Have Weaker Immune Response to Coronavirus: Babies Can Survive the Infection More?

As studies on COVID-19 continue, new research shows that babies or infants tend to have milder illnesses compared to adults. According to Fox News' latest report, a new study reveals that infants under three months old who tested positive for COVID-19 mostly show only a few respiratory symptoms, including fever. They also tend to do well against the infection.

The study showed that 50% of the 18 infants involved, who were admitted to a hospital's general inpatient service, were not required to have intensive care, oxygen, or even respiratory support.

"While there is limited data on infants with COVID-19 from the United States, our findings suggest that these babies mostly have mild illness and may not be at higher risk of severe disease as initially reported from China," said Leena B. Mithal, a pediatric infectious diseases expert from Lurie Children's Hospital. Mithal is also the lead author of the new study.

"Most of the infants in our study had a fever, which suggests that for young infants being evaluated because of fever, COVID-19 may be an important cause, particularly in a region with widespread community activity," added Mithal. However, she clarified that it is still important to observe and study the bacterial infection found in young infants who still have a fever.

Asymptomatic patients have a weaker immune response to coronavirus

Gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and poor feeding, were found in six out of nine infants who were admitted to the hospital. The researchers said that upper respiratory tract symptoms of congestion and cough preceded the onset of GI symptoms. High viral loads were also found in the babies' nasal specimens despite having a mild clinical illness.

Meanwhile, another study claimed that asymptomatic patients have a weaker immune response against the coronavirus. According to another report of Fox News, the results of a study from China were published on the pre-print website medRxiv. However, the article has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Three hospitals in Wuhan, China, the origin of COVID-19 pandemic, examined blood samples of 1,470 coronavirus patients. Scientists conducted tests to determine if the patients have antibodies for the disease. 3,832 health care providers, who were not positive for the coronavirus infection, were also assessed.

3. Over half of patients who were classified as asymptomatic based on the lack of any experienced symptoms showed abnormalities based on lung CT scans, indicating possible damage even in these patients. pic.twitter.com/rGpFzIu5AB  Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) June 18, 2020

The study discovered that virus-specific antibodies against the coronavirus were found in 89% of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients, compared to 1% of non-COVID patients and 4% of healthcare workers.

"These data suggest that asymptomatic individuals had a weaker immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Ai-Long Huang, the study's lead author from Chongqing Medical University.

The scientists claimed that 21 days after the symptoms appeared, 10% of the coronavirus patients in the study lost their antibodies.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
International Yoga Day, which is celebrated annually on 21 June aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga

Practicing yoga is not only good for health and flexibility of human body, but is said to be relaxing for the mind as well. One of the major benefits of yoga that practitioners swear by is linked to the easing of stress and promoting relaxation.

There are multiple studies which point towards the fact that regular practice of yoga decreases the secretion of cortisol, which is the primary stress hormone.

According to a report in CNET, yoga is beneficial for relaxation and stress mainly for two reasons. The stretching of the body during yoga helps relieve physical tension, making people feel less mentally or emotionally tense. Secondly, yoga allows for one to connect to their breathing and learning how to breathe deeper and in sync with movement, which leads to a calmer state of mind.

Also, in a University of South Australia study that saw one hundred and thirty-one volunteers being subjected to mild to moderate levels of stress, study authors found that Yoga was found to be as effective in reducing stress, anxiety and improving health status. Researchers also found that yoga was more effective than relaxation in improving mental health.

The results of the study were published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

According to a report in Harvard Health Publishing, a study done at the University of Utah saw 12 yoga practitioners, 14 people with fibromyalgia and 16 healthy volunteers being subjected to painful thumbnail pressure. Study authors found that yoga practitioners had the highest pain tolerance and lowest pain-related brain activity during the MRI. According to the report, yoga is a low-risk, high-yield approach to the improvement of overall health.

International Yoga Day, which is celebrated annually on 21 June aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. The proposal was first introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the General Assembly. The theme for International Yoga Day 2020 is 'Yoga for Health - Yoga at Home.
Lourdes Torrey was only a few weeks into her first year at the University of Missouri in 2018 when she heard a white student in the dorm room next to hers use the N-word. She reported it through official channels, she said, but never got so much as an apology  and the white student continued to say the word.

Torrey enrolled at the university fully aware that the student body president had been called the same epithet in 2015; she hoped things had changed. But, she said, the demands made by students back then have mostly gone unmet.

So when the university chancellor eventually released a public statement condemning the murder of George Floyd, after being repeatedly called out on social media for remaining silent, Torrey saw it as performative.

Lourdes Torrey, a rising junior at the University of Missouri, said she doesnt expect any improvements in the racial climate on her campus in the fall.

I felt like it was very disingenuous, said the 20-year-old rising junior. We had a list of things we wanted the school to do. I dont think theyve done anything from that list.

In the aftermath of Floyds brutal Memorial Day death when a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeled on his neck for around eight minutes, university administrators across the country have released statements condemning racism. But many Black students say the statements are empty rhetoric; what they want is action.

They say white students still go unpunished for racial taunts and insults. They say that, despite endless commissions and study groups, the monuments of Confederate and pro-segregation leaders remain lodged on their campuses. After countless demonstrations and despite numerous pledges, the numbers of Black faculty members stay stagnant and Black student enrollments havent increased.

A University of Missouri spokesperson said that since 2015 it had increased faculty diversity and raised graduation rates among underrepresented minorities.

Defund police in schools? How the movement got momentum after George Floyd's death

The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rebecca Blank, released a statement that read, in part, To our Black and Brown students, staff and faculty, I want to say unambiguously: You belong here, you are important to this campus, your lives matter and I am committed to your safety.

Story continues

It didnt sit well with many members of the universitys Black Student Union.

I feel like its completely lip service, with no actions and no specific next steps, said Nalah McWhorter, president of the Black Student Union at Wisconsins flagship campus, where in 2018 just 2% of students were Black. These statements are just like the exact statements theyve put out after past incidents; its to relieve the weight off of them and just shut everybody up.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison spokesperson said that Black student enrollment had increased to 3% last year, and that the university is working to recruit and retain a more diverse student body and faculty and implement reforms within the campus police force.

Many Black students at North Carolina State University were angered by a statement put out by Chancellor Randy Woodson, which made no mention of police brutality. That campus has been hit many times in the past several years by racist graffiti and flyers as well as the use of the N-word, all of which went unpunished by the administration, students said. In the first week of June alone, three social media posts with racial slurs by two current students and one incoming student were made public.

Brandon Lewis, a masters student at North Carolina State, says administrators sometimes hold town meeting after racist incidents, but there are rarely consequences.

Weve had town halls and meetings, but no actual consequences for the students who committed racist acts, said Brandon Lewis, a masters degree student in atmospheric science at N.C. State.

The university has a hashtag it uses on social media, #ThinkAndDo, he noted with a chuckle.

There were a lot of sighs and eye rolls, said Lewis, who never had a Black professor when he was an undergraduate at the university. They do a lot of thinking and reflecting, but not a lot of doing.

After public criticism of Woodsons statement, the chancellor put out a second statement, announcing that the university would require all students and staff to complete diversity and inclusion learning modules.

First Amendment controversy: A North Carolina professor who sparked outrage with his tweets still has his job for this reason.

A coalition of Black student organizations is demanding reforms to the campus police, including student input on police budgets, a public database of racial bias incidents and officers use of excessive force and the cutting of ties with the Raleigh Police Department. In response, the N.C. State police issued a statement calling for an end of police violence against Black people and pledged to set up a town hall to discuss student concerns.

They think theyre going to pacify the movement, but I dont think current students will allow it, said Elikem Dodor, who will be a junior at N.C. State in the fall and is the editor-in-chief of Nubian Message, a campus newspaper that highlights the voices of Black and other marginalized students.

Protest messages are painted on the downtown Athens Confederate War Memorial after the main protest ended in downtown Athens, Ga. on May 31, 2020. The protest was organized to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, sparking demonstrations and riots around the country.

On May 31, during a peaceful demonstration against police brutality in downtown Athens, Georgia, protesters were tear-gassed when they walked to the University of Georgia Arch. President Jere Morehead released a statement that mentioned neither racism nor police brutality. After swift criticism, he released a more pointed statement, via email, but some students felt it was too little too late.

You do these small things to make people satisfied and shut up for a little bit, but its never really true action, said Kaela Yamini, who graduated from the University of Georgia in May.

Many students want the university to act on long-standing demands to change the names of buildings honoring unrepentant segregationists, such as Richard Russell. They have repeatedly asked the administration to hire more Black faculty members and increase the number of Black students on campus. In a state where almost one-third of residents are Black, in 2018, only 8% of students at the flagship university were Black and only 3% were Black men.

Some students say that the content of the presidents statement is, in certain ways, beside the point.

I dont condemn them for their statements, but I do condemn them for not taking action, said Alex English, the president of the University of Georgia NAACP chapter. Its bigger than police brutality, its about systemic racism. Its about the fact that we are thought of and treated as less than.

Alex English, president of the NAACP chapter at the University of Georgia, says the problems on campus come from systemic racism, which often goes unaddressed.

A spokesperson said the University of Georgia had devoted resources to increasing the diversity of the student population and supporting Black students on campus.

Students at a flagship university on the other side of the country  the University of California at Berkeley  also want their president to go beyond words and gestures.

People dont have faith in the rhetoric, said Nicole Anyanwu, a rising senior who is the student government vice president for academic affairs.

The percentage of Black students at Berkeley has plummeted since the state prohibited affirmative action in 1996  it stood at 2% in 2018 (the last year for which federal data is available).

Berkeley students argue that millions of dollars are allocated to the university police, while resources that would help recruit and retain Black students are lacking.

On Thursday, the university announced it would ban its police officers from using chokeholds, relocate the police department out of a building at the center of campus and use mental health professionals to respond to relevant emergencies.

Why do we have to spend so much time fighting for these things when we should be focusing on our education? said Anyanwu, who is a pre-med major.

'It will not happen again': School sorry for allowing Boston police to use restrooms during protest

And at elite colleges in the Northeast, which often pride themselves on their progressive policies, many students say they, too, are sick of words without deeds.

Some students criticized Boston College president William Leahy for sending campus police to an off-campus protest against police brutality the same day he issued a statement that read, in part, I particularly ask how we at Boston College, members of an academic and faith community, can and should respond to the killing of George Floyd.

If youre sending B.C. police to a peaceful protest, theres a conflict with the statement, said Tonie Chase, who is a rising senior at Boston College, where 4% of the students were Black in 2018. It feels like a slap in the face.

Tonie Chase, a rising senior at Boston College, said the colleges decision to send campus police to an off-campus rally was a slap in the face."

A Boston College spokesperson said they sent the police officers as part of a cooperation agreement with the city of Boston and noted that the college had launched a forum on racial justice to address inequality on the campus.

Students from Harvard University, which also sent campus police to the rally in Franklin Park, spoke out against the decision and demanded that the university abolish the campus police force. In February, several groups called for the resignation of Harvards chief of police after The Harvard Crimson published an investigation that found patterns of racism and sexism within the police force.

The University of Mississippi, commonly known as Ole Miss, has a long, well-documented history of racism. That includes an incident last summer in which three white students took a photo of themselves posing with guns next to a bullet-riddled sign commemorating the place where Emmett Tills body was dumped in 1955 after he was brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman.

So when Chancellor Glenn Boyce put out a statement on May 31 that read, in part, We all recognize that this University has a difficult history with these issues that oftentimes places us at the forefront of complex and emotional discussions, many Black students were angered, but not surprised, at his delicate choice of words.

This is stuff that we have all heard before, said Leah Davis, who graduated from Ole Miss in May and for two years was the student governments director of inclusion and cross-cultural engagement.

Leah Davis, who graduated from the University of Mississippi in May, said This is all stuff weve heard before, referring to statements from the campus administration.

Ole Miss did not respond to requests for comment.

There have already been several incidents this spring of incoming students using racist epithets on social media. These students are already causing harm before theyve even taken their first class, but the university says its hands are tied, she said.

She says students in residence halls who report being called the N-word never find out whether disciplinary action has been taken. Enrollment of Black students dropped to 12% in 2018, from 16% in 2010, in a state where half of public high school graduates are Black.

I would like to be optimistic, but Ive seen time and time again where they make these statements and say these things, and they dont actually take action, said Davis. Are you giving the African American Studies Department more money? Are you hiring more Black faculty and staff? Are you giving African American students more scholarships and more equity? Because if not, these are all just empty words.

This story about racism on college campuses was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Floyd: College students seek action on racism not 'lip service'
As calls grow across the nation to defund police departments, the rational translation of that is to deploy resources so sworn officers only go where they are truly needed.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kellers administration is proposing something along those lines in its new Community Safety Department. It would redirect calls that range from abandoned cars to kids who wont listen to their parents to the new department  made up of social workers, transit officers, security officers and others  rather than police.

And that would leave sworn officers to handle crime, dangerous situations and public safety emergencies  the stuff they trained for in the academy.

Its the same efficiency rationale the administration used last year when it launched a pilot program to send security personnel, rather than police or, even more expensive, fully manned fire trucks, to welfare checks of homeless and/or intoxicated individuals. While those calls do have the potential to turn violent, they account for 17,000 calls for service and cost taxpayers more than $1 million a year, with fewer than 1% requiring medical intervention.

So it makes sense that as the city carefully monitors that pilot project with an eye toward expansion, it looks at other calls for service that really should not involve an armed academy-trained law enforcement professional.

Keller and Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair say such calls include hundreds of reports of abandoned cars or frustrated parents saying their teen is struggling with addiction or their younger child wont listen. It makes sense to dispatch teams of nuisance abatement officers for the former and social workers for the latter to best address residents needs. Rather than expect our sworn officers to be code enforcers and counselors along with being cops, why not take folks already employed by the city for those specific jobs and use them to their full potential? And if it works, add to their ranks?

Kellers proposal has the potential to more efficiently deploy city resources with a softer touch. It promises to improve the delivery of social services to those who need them and take pressure off APD, which investigated more than 80 homicides in the city last year, solving about half of them. The city also suffers from high rates of violent and property crime, and those cases merit more investigative resources as well.

But the proposal also leaves a lot of questions on the table  ones that should be addressed before moving forward.

The city can start by getting data on several months worth of calls  determine which would have been handled by the new team and which by APD. Would it truly have saved resources? Are the savings sufficient to create a new department without increasing the city budget as promised? How necessary is it to create an entirely new department rather than simply reorganize? Those questions should be answered before moving forward.

And the idea this department would handle behavioral health calls  or domestic violence or the many others that can be a powder keg disguised as a family disagreement  is one that needs to be thought through very, very carefully.

Sending a social worker to a welfare check on someone with a warrant for felony assault, as the administration suggested this week, is concerning. Officials cited the April case involving Valente Acosta-Bustillos as being an example of one social workers would respond to in a non-threatening manner, which it is hoped would have led to a better ending. As it was, police showed up, Acosta-Bustillos wielded a shovel at officers and was fatally shot. What would have been the result had he wielded the shovel at an unprotected social worker?

Nair acknowledges such mental health calls would be the longest poles in the tent. And theres no question 911 operators will have more on their plates as they are tasked with quickly assessing whether police, firefighters, social workers, evidence specialists, code enforcers, etc. are needed on a particular call.

But the idea of reorganizing to send the right people to the right situation is promising. Does it warrant a new department? We look forward to hearing the details and preliminary results.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said that boycotting Chinese products will not hurt China's economy as the neighbouring country's trade with India is only a fraction of its trade globally. He added, "We must become self-reliant as much as possible but we can't decouple with the rest of the world. India must continue to be part of the global supply chain and not boycott Chinese goods. What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction."

Adding, veteran Congress party leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark on the Galwan valley conflict with China had left everyone baffled and bewildered. PM Modi, after an all party meet on the issue of ongoing border tensions with China, had said neither has anyone captured any Indian military post nor has anyone intruded into the nation's territory.

Chidambaram said, "At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister made his concluding remarks. These remarks have left practically everyone baffled and bewildered. The PM said no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh."

The Congress leader said that Modi's statement had contradicted the Chief of Army Staff, Foreign Minister and Defence Minister's earlier statement. Chidambaram asked, "If the Prime Minister's statement reflects the correct position, we would like to ask the government a few questions. If no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC and are in Indian territory, what was the face-off on May 5-6?"

He added, "We would also like to ask that if no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured?"

Chidambaram also added that once PM Modi makes a statement that there are no Chinese troops on Indian territory, he has to define Indian territory too.

The former union minister said, "The Chinese claim has been consistent with what they have been claiming for the last few weeks, it is the Indian position as articulated by the Prime Minister that has come as a total shock. That is why we have asked pointed questions, now that China is claiming the entire Galwan valley, do you reject this claim or not,"

He urged the Modi government to reject the Chinese claim today itself and added if the Indian Government doesn't reject the claim of Chinese today, it could have "terrible consequences."

With inputs from ANI

Also Read: Galwan valley standoff: Well-prepared, suitably deployed to respond, says Air Force chief

Also Read: Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: PM Modi launches scheme to boost livelihood in villages
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mutt Lunker

Long before Baba Ramdev made Yoga mainstream, Yogacharya Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar had propagated the practice of yoga and the meaning of the yoga sutras.

One of the earliest students of the father of modern yoga  Tirumalai, BKS Iyengar founded his style of teaching called Iyengar Yoga. Today, there are 256 Iyengar Yogashrayas (Iyengar yoga centres) in India.

Iyengar Yoga teaches how the eight aspects of astanga yoga are integrated. It is distinctive for the emphasis given to precision and alignment in all postures; the use of self-designed props to help the practitioner achieve perfect postures; and the aspect of sequencing asanas in groups.

He also shared his philosophy through various books such as Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Light on Life.

For his part in popularising yoga in India and around the world, the government in 1991 awarded Iyengar the Padma Shri. He was then awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014. In 2004, he also featured on Times magazines list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In his honour, San Fransico declared October 5 as BKS Iyengar Day. In June 2011, the Beijing branch of the China Post presented him with a commemorative stamp. At the time 50,000 Chinese across 57 cities were students of Iyengar yoga.

Iyengar also had the distinction of being among the personalities to feature on Google Doodle in India, North America, Europe, Russia and Indonesia, on his birthday in 2015.

Journey into yoga

Born to school teacher Krishnamachar on December 14, 1918, Iyengar was introduced to yoga at the age of 16 by his Guru and later brother-in-law Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Capitalising on his knowledge of English, Krishnamacharya sent him to Pune at age 18 to teach and preach.

He married Ramamani in 1943 and had six children with her  five daughters and a son. Two of his children  Geeta and Prashant  still teach Iyengar Yoga.

Over the years, Iyengar taught many illustrious students from freedom fighters to industrialists and nation builders. In fact, it was a fortuitous meeting with violin maestro Yehudi Menuhin in 1952 that introduced Iyengar to the western world. One of them was the Queen of Belgium.

Indias first President Dr Rajendra Prasad was among one of Iyengars admirers, who included former Indonesian Vice President Mohammad Hatta and Pope Paul VI, novelist Aldous Huxley, film maker Mira Nair, Sachin Tendulkar and Kareena Kapoor.

Enduring legacy

Iyengar laid the foundation of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune on January 26, 1973. Named after his wife, it was inaugurated two years later on January 19, 1975. It was during this time that his children Geeta and Prashant started teaching yoga alongside their father. Starting with a large batch of students, Iyengar laid emphasis on precision and alignment.

He officially retired from teaching in 1984 but continued to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga. His dedication to the art was well known and interviews quoted Iyengar saying that, even at the age of 90, he continued to practise asanas for three hours and pranayamas for an hour daily. For his 80th birthday in 1998, Iyengar taught 800 students in Pune for a week, then in 2000, he conducted a special course for senior Iyengar Yoga teachers from 40 countries.

Iyengar's yoga philosophy was first published in Light on Yoga (1966), which has since been translated into 18 languages. He has since penned 14 books in all.

Apart from the RIMYI in Pune, the Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT) is a public charitable trust whose prime objective is propagating and research on Iyengar Yoga. The LOYRT runs the Iyengar Yogashraya in Mumbai.

Other institutions include Youth's Offerings to Guruji (YOG), formed in 1996 with the objective of raising funds to propagate Iyengar Yoga; the Bellur Krishnamachar & Seshamma Smaraka Niddhi Trust (BKSSNT), and the Bellur Krishnamachar & Seshamma Smaraka Niddhi Trust (BKSSNT), which were formed to serve the village Bellur.

On August 20, 2014, Iyengar died at the age of 95 in Pune. He was cremated on the same day at Vaikunth Crematorium near his home. Despite his death, his legacy has lived on as has his belief: Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions.
Washington (AFP) - A US judge refused Saturday to block the release of a tell-all book in which President Donald Trump's former national security advisor describes him as corrupt and incompetent.

With the book already shipped to stores for sale next week, Judge Royce Lambert wrote that John Bolton appeared to have failed to get written White House agreement that his memoir contained nothing classified.

"While Bolton's unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy," the judge wrote.

The judge said a review of passages that the government contends contain classified material has persuaded him that Bolton "likely jeopardized national security through publication."

The book, entitled "The Room Where it Happened," has been widely shipped to bookstores for publication Tuesday and many of its most damning allegations against Trump have been reported in the media.

It is Bolton's portrait of 17 months up close with Trump, until he was ousted in September.

The picture -- which Trump characterizes as "fiction" -- is ugly.

According to Bolton, a lifelong Republican who stands firmly on the right of the party, Trump is not "fit for office."

He describes Trump "pleading" with Chinese President Xi Jinping during trade negotiations to boost his chances of re-election this November by buying more US farm products to help Trump win votes in agricultural states.
Details added: first version posted on 19:20 on June 19

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

Trend:

The activity of a number of spheres will be restricted in connection with strict quarantine in Azerbaijans Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja cities, Lankaran, Yevlakh, Masalli, Jalilabad and Absheron districts from 00:00 June 21 through 06:00 July 5, Trend reports referring to a resolution of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers.

In accordance with the decree, the activity of the following spheres is allowed during the tough quarantine regime:

1. health and social services:

1.1. research and laboratory services;

1.2. hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities;

1.3. veterinary services;

1.4. production of medical equipment, medicines and medical devices;

1.5. social services;

1.6. services for the care of people with physical, mental and other disorders, as well as those in need of special care.

2. Infrastructure:

2.1. utilities (water and sewage, gas, heating, electricity distribution);

2.2. production and supply of electricity;

2.3. land reclamation and water management;

2.4. telecommunications and communication services.

3. Transport and logistics:

3.1. cargo transportation by planes, ships, trains and vehicles;

3.2. services related to the railway, shipping, ports and roads;

3.3. logistic services;

3.4. public transport and taxi services.

4. Main types of production:

4.1. defense industry production;

4.2. production of oil equipment and installations;

4.3. manufacturing of food products and their raw materials, procurement, supply, storage and wholesale of food products;

4.4. manufacturing of daily care and hygiene products;

4.5. chemical production;

4.6. collection, production and processing of agricultural products, including the activities of farms;

4.7. agriculture, irrigation, plant protection and harvesting;

4.8. production, processing, storage and sale of oil and gas;

4.9. oil and gas transportation by pipelines;

4.10. activity in the field of metallurgy;

4.11. production and repair of construction and household equipment;

4.12. engineering and design services;

4.13. construction and repair of roads, buildings and structures for civil and industrial purposes;

4.14. production of packaging products;

4.15. manufacturing of stone, metal and wood products;

4.16. furniture production and repair;

4.17. slaughter of cattle.

5. Retail and wholesale:

5.1. food sales points;

5.2. drugstores;

5.3. filling stations;

5.4. zoo shops, including pet food sale points;

5.5. points of sale of building materials and household supplies;

5.6. online sales.

6. Domestic services:

6.1. collection and disposal of household waste;

6.2. dry cleaning;

6.3. cleaning of residential buildings, with the exception of apartments;

6.4. car repair;

6.5. car wash points;

6.6. animal shelters.

7. Media outlets

8. Financial organizations:

8.1. banks and non-bank credit organizations, pawnshops;

8.2. investment companies, stock exchanges;

8.3. safety organizations;

8.4. organizations providing payment and clearing services.

9. Special types of services:

9.1. delivery service;

9.2. translation services;

9.3. post services;

9.4. disinfection services.

10. Advocacy.
Not everyone who lives in or visits the South Carolina Lowcountry has pluff mud in their veins. They don't know the ebb and flow of the tides, the marshes and the creatures that make those places home. That's something Charleston entrepreneur Tia Clark continually reminds herself as she grows her award-winning "Casual Crabbing With Tia" business.

"We live here. Seeing a crab or shrimp is nothing to us," said Clark, who teaches people from near and far how to catch crabs, how to throw a cast net and how to catch bait and cast a rod in hopes of landing a fish from Lowcountry waters.

"When I get them to throw a cast net and they catch a shrimp, they look at me and ask 'what's that?' I tell them that it's a shrimp, and the usual response is that they love to eat shrimp and have been eating them all their lives. I have to remind myself that they live in landlocked places and don't know about blue crabs or shrimp. To them it comes frozen in a box. It's a way of life we take for granted."

Clark appears well on her way to her goal of setting up a business where she "can be old and gray-haired and still crabbing. I love this business."

The 40-year-old Charleston native said she didn't begin crabbing until late 2016, although an uncle told Clark he had photos of her crabbing when she was a child.

Clark worked in the food and beverage industry for nearly 20 years, pulling late hours tending and managing a bar. During a period when she was trying to overcome health challenges and quit smoking, she was advised to become more active. A cousin told her that he knew just the thing: "Go crabbing with me."

"I was at a family wedding and ran into some family I hadn't seen in a while and they're telling me how great I look," said Clark, who has lost more than 100 pounds over the last few years. "I went crabbing with him the next day and I went every day after that. I was hooked. It was like there was a chemical imbalance and everything was lining up in my brain. Crabbing was changing my life."

When she would get off work, Clark headed home and napped for a few hours, then grabbed a cast net and headed to the water in time to see the sun rise. She said she would crab for four or five hours, go home, take a shower, and go to work. Clark often made posts on her Facebook page about her experiences, not always about crabbing, but about the sunrises, the clouds and other things that caught her attention.

Those posts caught the attention of her Facebook followers, with many of them asking her to take them crabbing. She was reluctant for a long time, thinking it might ruin her newfound passion.

"I'm having so much fun crabbing, the most fun I've had in my entire life. If I bring people in and add them to this, it's going to be ruined. That's why I said no for so long," she said.

"Then one of my dear friends, Peter Pierce who is the general manager of SNOB downtown, said his brothers were coming to town and asked me to take them crabbing. It turned out to be a much better experience and actually enhanced it for me."

About the same time, her friend and fishing buddy Robbie Mottinger created a Facebook page for "Casual Crabbing With Tia." Clark soon began to take people on crabbing experiences. Her business was being built through social media posts and a website (casualcrabbingwithtia.com) that tells her story and where potential customers can find out about her availability.

Clark and her friend Art Perry have filmed several Youtube videos about crabbing. A big breakthrough came when Clark became affiliated with Airbnb Experiences, which promotes adventures for visitors to its worldwide locations. Clark said she's had customers from as far away as Alaska and Antarctica, but locals also seek her services.

Clark said she received a message from Airbnb asking her to come to San Francisco a couple of years ago. She told her wife Katie Killham about the request and Katie insisted on accepting the invitation. In San Francisco she found herself alongside three other Airbnb Experience hosts from Japan, Italy and South Africa explaining how they had built their businesses. Casual Crabbing With Tia was recognized as one of the top Airbnb Experiences in the world.

When customers book Clark  $75 per person for a 2 to 3-hour outing  they get an immersion into some of the favorite Lowcountry outdoor activities. Customers, if they are 16 or older, must purchase a South Carolina saltwater fishing license. Clark provides all the gear.

"I teach them an 'in your face' crab class. I have some crabs there for demos. I teach them about the sex of crabs, the proper ways to hold them and then I go through all the gear and show them the way we're going to be crabbing.

"We crab at least two different ways, sometimes three. There's the technique called hand-lining or necking where you have a piece of chicken on the end of a string and you slowly have to walk the crab up without them knowing you're there, and then you have your partner scoop it up in a net. We also use drop baskets where you have the bait in the bottom of a basket and then pull the crabs up. And there's the commercial crab trap."

Clark also teaches participants how to use a cast net and will take bait caught in the cast net and put it out on a rod and reel in hopes of landing a fish. She also teaches customers how to clean and cook crabs.

"It's my goal and duty to give them this real Lowcountry experience," she said. "I try to set them up for success all the way through."

America's Boating Club classes

America's Boating Club Charleston is offering two classes next month.

The first is a free boater education course (ages 12-18) on July 11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Roper Berkeley Medical Facility located at 730 Stony Landing Road in Moncks Corner.

The class is limited to 15 participants, who will earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card required for motor boat operators under 16 years of age. Pizza lunch will be provided.

The club is also conducting a safe boating class for all ages on July 18 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Successful participants earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card. The cost is $25 for adults with youngsters 12-18 free. Bring a bag lunch.

For information or to register for either class, contact Billy Lynes at lynes@tds.net or 843-312-2876.
Kurt Volker about 20th of June: People Cant Forget That - GeorgianJournal
A mathematics professor at a college in Oakland, California, has been placed on leave after asking a Vietnamese student to 'anglicize' her name.

Matthew Hubbard took issue with the given name of one of his freshman students, Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen.

In a series of emails sent on Wednesday, on her second day in class, he told Phuc that her name was offensive.

'Could you Anglicize your name,' he wrote. 'Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English.'

Matthew Hubbard, a math professor at Laney College in Oakland, has been suspended

Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, pictured speaking on ABC, was asked by Hubbard to change her name

Phuc, who had been nicknamed May while at high school, was proud of her birth name and was looking forward to using it at college, she later told ABC.

She responded to her teacher that she did not want to change it just to please him, and said she would respond by filing a Title IX complaint if he did not drop his objections.

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: 'No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.'

Hubbard did not relent.

Hubbard emailed Phuc to ask her to change her name. She replied immediately saying no

'Your name in English sounds like F*** Boy,' he wrote back.

'If I lived in Vietnam and my name in your language sounded like Eat A D***, I would change it to avoid embarrassment both on my part and on the part of the people who had to say it.

'I understand you are offended, but you need to understand your name is an offensive sound in my language.'

Phuc, whose email correspondence was photographed and shared on Twitter by a friend, said she had no idea what the term 'Anglicize' meant.

'I never heard that before,' she told ABC.

'At that moment I was surprised, so I Googled the meaning - I didn't know what it meant so I called my best friend to ask him what does that mean?

'I was shook because growing up, they were problems with how to pronounce my name, but they would ask me how to pronounce my name.'

Hubbard did not relent when Phuc said that she did not want to 'Anglicize' her birth name

She said that Hubbard should have made an effort with his students.

Laney College's 17,722 pupils are 26 per cent Asian - the largest ethnic background of all students.

Latinx students make up 25 per cent of the pupils, and African Americans 20 per cent.

White students comprise 15 per cent of the student body.

'He's being an ignorant person and not trying to learn my name,' said Phuc.

Laney College on Thursday issued a statement saying that Hubbard had been placed on leave.

Laney College in Oakland, California, has suspended Hubbard pending an investigation

The college acknowledged allegations of 'racist and xenophobic messages from a faulty member' who is now on 'administrative leave.'

Dr Tammeil Gilkerson, president of the college, wrote: 'We have been firm and outspoken about our mission to educate, support and inspire students to excel in an inclusive and diverse learning environment rooted in social justice.

'We want our students to feel safe and know that we honor their backgrounds, their experiences and everything that makes them unique.

'They are everything that is beautiful about our college.'

Gilkerson said the college was investigating, but was troubled by the reports.

'On the surface this incident is obviously disturbing and comes after decades of discussing and working to combat structural racism, xenophobia, and violence in both the Black and Asian Pacific Islander community,' she said.

'While our mission has been bold and unrelenting, we also recognize that our college and its community is a reflection of broader society and we must actively fight ignorance with education.

'We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or oppression of any kind.'
Demand for flights is picking up. While the airline industry is still struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, there have been reports of packed flights, filled primarily with vacation travelers defying warnings from public health experts. This development has been met by complicated feelings from those working in the industry: More flights means better job security but also greater potential for exposure in the airports and staffing the planes.

Slate spoke to a 34-year-old flight attendant with one of the Big Three airlines (American, Delta, and United). He spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for his employment. His answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Slate: How has the pandemic affected your job?

Flight attendant: [The work itself] has become tremendously boring. For flights under 4 hours, we are not doing food service. Im only doing cocktails or soft drinks on request. Theres a lot of me sitting in my jump seat. Currently, Im about halfway through the fifth John Carter book. There are plenty of folks who are just loving it because they just go to work and collect a paycheck. But I really enjoy interacting with people.

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I actually am now working nicer trips. Thats kind of neat. I am very junior in a seniority-based industry. From that point of view, Ive had a big jump in my seniority because of all the folks who have taken the paid leaves or the unpaid leaves or retired as a result of the virus.

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What do flights look like right now?

First class is usually empty. Its a much lower percentage of business travelers. In the main cabin, Im seeing a lot of families. Summer travel is starting to pick up. I had a trip to Orlando the other day and it was loaded down with families and kids. I think a lot of it is weve parked over half of our fleet. So you have fewer people but also fewer planes.

But youre starting to get vacation travelers who are just willing to risk it. My flight home from San Jose a few days ago had one paying passenger in business class. And in a main cabin that holds 144 people, I think we had 120.

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What are the passengers like?

People have gotten nicer. Now I get more thanks for coming to work. And everybodys doing as we asked. Its been remarkable, to be honest. We had a mechanical delay coming out of somewhere the other day and there was not one bad word. [Another time] we were delayed five hours and not one person said anything rude.

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What are the airports like?

At the moment, DallasFort Worth is the busiest airport in the country. So all of my flights in and out of Dallas are full. I mean, I think legally right now we can only do 85 percent capacity. But were going out full, everywhere. One of the agents told me that people were getting clever. When certain states were requiring people from New York City or New Orleans to self-quarantine, a lot of folks were transitioning through Phoenix or Dallas on separate tickets so they could not look like they were coming from those cities.

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But I was in San Jose, and they just blocked off half the airport because nobodys flying in and out of there. Which was kind of spooky. It was the same thing in Austin, or Baltimore. It was just a ghost town.

What precautions are they taking?

You know the folks who will push you to your next gate if youre incapable of walking on your own? They have been transitionedthey wear T-shirts now that says strike team on them. And they go around with a bottle of bleach and wipe stuff down.

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At each gate, depending on the airport, youll see tape on the floor. And the agents, as theyre boarding, will say, Were going to pause and let everybody settle, and then were going to do the next group, rather than have everybody lining up. As far as I can tell everybodys wearing a mask.

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How does it compare with earlier in the pandemic?

We were down 85 percent, maybe 90 percent, in terms of passenger numbers in April. We are up to 55 percent booked for July. When you go to DFW Airport, it looks like a normal day because of the way theyre routing flights.

I was on reserve last month, and I did not fly for the entire month because there were so few flights. But the last four days of May, I flew all four days, and every single one of my flights was full. So the end of May was when it started to tick back up. Well see what happens a month from now [if] people are getting sick again.

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Are there any things youre worried about?

The biggest problem is Im probably going to lose my job in October for at least a few months because the Big Three all took government aid grants or loans. [Editors note: The terms of a $25 billion federal aid package prohibit airlines from laying off employees until the end of September.] Anybody with less than about eight years of seniority is looking at their future wondering whats going on. At my airline, almost every single one of us has a degree. So most of us have something to fall back on. I know for sure Im getting a furlough. Im not even going to lose any sleep over it. The last time I was furloughed from a previous job, I worked construction for a little whileI may go back to doing that. I used to be a firefighterI could go back to fire and chemical safety. Or, heck, I may just try and ride it out on unemployment for four months and see if I can come back.

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How have you felt about your own safety?

Personally, Im not terribly concerned. I know thats a very arrogant and selfish way to put it. But from what Ive seen, especially in the past few weeks, the crews on the ground at the airports are genuinely cleaning the bejesus out of the cabins. And those of us who work in the galleys as attendants, were cleaning as well. So Im just gonna roll with it.

Do you want more people to fly right now?

Yes, but only insofar as people are taking the precautions that they should be taking. I flew the other day with this crotchety old man who refused to wear masks. That guy kind of bothered me. So if youre going to fly, thats OK, just please wash your hands and cover your mouth.

For more of Slates news coverage, listen to Slate Money.
Hyderabad: Testing on 50,000 people, announced by the government, has started on a massive scale in Hyderabad and other Telangana districts but there are not enough people to collect samples and follow up on contact tracing.

Around 1,200 samples are being collected daily at Osmania General Hospital (OGH) but there is only one technician on duty to do the tests. At private hospitals, people queue up early in the morning to have their samples taken but it can be late afternoon by the time they are attended to.

Yet, in every constituency, the local municipal corporator and MLA are urging people to get tested. While there are enough testing kits, the manpower to carry out the tests is lacking. Delayed results cause a chain reaction: those who are carriers of the coronavirus go about normally and spread the infection to their primary contacts.

Mohan Babu (name changed) had fever for 10 days but his X-ray did not show any congestion of the lungs or any lesions. It was suspected to be a normal viral fever. When medication did not work, a CT scan was advised and the typical ground-glass appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was noted. A test at a private hospital confirmed he had COVID-19. He is now being treated in hospital but for 10 days before his test came back positive, Babu went to office despite his fever.

Government officials then traced his contacts and they numbered 2,000. His immediate family and friends have been isolated but others who came in contact with Babu are not yet aware of his positive status. Some of they may have been infected but won't be alert to that possibility until some symptoms emerge.

A senior health official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said such cases are becoming difficult to handle because there are a very limited number of officials available to trace the contacts. Most of them have been exposed and have developed symptoms themselves. They have been asked to self-quarantine. Follow-up is on telephone with those whose numbers are available. Those whom they are not aware of are best left to themselves.

Officials say many people now want to be tested but not all of them have symptoms. Those who have mild symptoms are trying to manage at home. They do not want to get exposed to infections in hospital. A health worker in a private hospital said there is a shortage of healthcare workers at all levels, as duties are on a rotational basis, meaning a certain amount of days on and a certain amount of days off. Despite personal protection equipment, many health workers have tested positive and are in quarantine or home treatment.

Delay in getting the results is leading to delay in treatment, with patients developing severe pneumonia and complications. Gandhi Hospital only admits patients after their COVID-19 test results are provided and due to this some patients are arriving with severe symptoms. By the time the treatment regime is initiated, patients are collapsing. According to sources in Gandhi Hospital, in the last 15 days deaths have occurred in patients who had arrived two or three days ago. This is due to the delay in testing and then in getting the results.

This gap is being seen as the reason for the increasing number of deaths in Telangana. Of the 500 patients in Gandhi Hospital, 20 are on ventilator support and 60 on oxygen therapy, 230 have mild symptoms and 190 are under observation.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed is establishing a fund of more than $1 million to be used for loans for the city's African American-owned businesses affected by COVID-19, she announced Friday.

Loans used for the new African American Small Business Revolving Loan Fund will be supported by a $1.5 million investment from the city's COVID-19 response and recovery fund Give2SF.

The zero-interest loans of up to $50,000 will provide access to capital and financial help for black-owned businesses and African American entrepreneurs who've experienced sudden loss revenue and other disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Breed's office said.

"For generations, black-owned businesses have been marginalized and discriminated against all too often having difficulty securing the financing they need to open and operate," Breed said in a statement.

"In the wake of COVID-19, businesses all over San Francisco are struggling to survive, and black-owned businesses in particular have been especially hard hit. This new loan fund is a step in the right direction to right past wrongs and help San Francisco businesses stabilize and thrive," she said.

Police Chief Dave Bertini surprised the Menlo Park City Council during a meeting Thursday night to address concerns about local police by unexpectedly announcing that the city needed a "fresh start" and he would step down at the end of July.

The chief's stunner followed a community meeting and council session to get public input and discuss police practices.

"The only thing I can really say is I hear you. All police officers are hurting right now based on actions that happened a thousand miles away from us," Bertini told the council during the teleconferenced meeting.

"I'm sorry to say I will be announcing my retirement," the chief said, adding "It's obvious to me that I've lost the trust of the city council ... hopefully (my retirement) will give this organization a fresh start."

Following the chief's announcement, Mayor Cecilia Taylor said "This is the first I've heard of this" and called for a short recess.

When members returned, Taylor said "emotions were raw" over the issue, adding "I respect the chief and if the chief believes that a fresh start is necessary, I believe him." The council then adjourned the meeting and went into closed session on the grounds that it needed to discuss an urgent personnel matter.

Outdoor museums, outdoor restaurant dining, limited religious and cultural services, indoor and outdoor retail (including malls), and outdoor fitness classes are allowed to reopen in Alameda County as of Friday, officials said.

The revised order issued Thursday by the county health officer is based on a stable level of novel coronavirus hospitalizations over the past two weeks and a rate of positive tests that has dropped to 3.5 percent.

"Further relaxation of the shelter-in-place orders is possible thanks to efforts to limit the spread of COVID19 by Alameda County's residents and continued expansion of our case and contact investigation resources" said Dr. Erica Pan, county health officer. "With an increasing number of opportunities for consumers and workers to interact with each other, it's more important than ever to wear a face covering whenever you leave home, maintain at least six feet of distance from people outside of your household, practice good hand hygiene, and stay home if you have any symptoms of COVID-19."

Still ordered to remain closed are offices (unless specified); dine-in restaurants; bars, brewpubs, breweries, pubs, tasting rooms; personal care services including hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, massage parlors, aestheticians and cosmetology, ear piercing salons, and tattoo parlors; movie theaters; gyms and fitness studios; indoor museums; zoos; theme parks; gaming facilities; professional sports; community centers; nightclubs and concert venues; outdoor and indoor pools.

An investigation of several months stemming from notifications sent by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the arrests of three Novato men for possession of child pornography, police said Friday.

Oscar Argueta Osorio, 18; Curtis Scott, 54; and Curtis McCutcheon, 59 were arrested following three separate investigations after the department was notified of instances where possible child pornography images or videos were being uploaded online.

Detectives acting on the notifications obtained search warrants that led to locations where files were uploaded and information on possible suspects.

Novato police detectives and officers executed search warrants June 18 in the 800 block of McClay Road, the 900 block of George St. and the 400 block of Entrada Drive in Novato.

They seized electronic devices as evidence and found evidence of child pornography at each address.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Friday criticized San Francisco Superior Court for ending its policy of zero-bail amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, per a ruling last week the California Judicial Council.

Last week, the council voted to end the zero-bail policy statewide and allow for individual counties to determine whether to continue with the policy. Counties like Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara have moved to continue the policy despite the council's decision.

The policy sets bail at zero for people accused of low-level offenses in order to keep jail populations to a minimum.

According to Boudin, the superior court's decision to end the policy has the potential to put inmates at risk of getting COVID-19.

"We are disappointed with the Judicial Council and the San Francisco courts for moving away from an effective public health policy despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of people released on zero bail did not re-offend, and many were never even charged with a crime," Boudin said in a statement. "With the revocation of the zero-bail policy, many people will sit in jail even before seeing a judge -- putting them and everyone around them at risk."

Three people were arrested Friday after protesters in a Juneteenth Black Lives Matter "March Across the Carquinez Bridge" that originated in Vallejo shut down motor traffic in westbound lanes of the Alfred Zampa Bridge.

About 55 protesters entered the pedestrian walkway of the Zampa Bridge about 1:30 p.m. and some went over the concrete barrier and onto the traffic shoulder about 10 minutes later and then into vehicle lanes, halting traffic, according to the Golden Gate Division of the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP said it intermittently opened one lane to relieve the traffic backup before clearing the lanes about 3 p.m.

"One CHP officer was assaulted by a protestor and the protestor was later arrested," officials said in a social media post. "The CHP officer sustained minor injuries."

Those arrested were Princess Hodges, 20, of Benicia; Jeremy Christian Smith-Batha, 27, of Sacramento; and Michael Joshua Alonso, 22, of Vallejo.

Bishop Bob Jackson and Acts Full Gospel Church are partnering with the myCovidMD program to offer a free drive-through novel coronavirus antibody testing site from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the church, 1034 66th Ave. in Oakland.

Free testing is intended to reach uninsured and underserved community members in Oakland.

Online registration for testing is available at bit.ly/drivethrutesting.

Saturday will be mostly cloudy in the morning before becoming partly cloudy. Highs will be in the upper 50s to the lower 70s. Southwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph.

Saturday night will partly cloudy before becoming mostly cloudy. Lows will be in the mid 50s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph.

Sunday will be mostly cloudy in the morning before becoming sunny. It will be breezy. Highs will be in the upper 50s to the lower 70s. Southwest winds will be 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
By Diego Ore

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government's financial crime department has frozen the bank accounts of companies and people blacklisted by the United States under accusations of having evaded the sanction regime imposed on Venezuela, its chief said on Friday.

Santiago Nieto, chief of Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit, did not elaborate on details, but told Reuters that bank accounts of "all those listed" by the U.S Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control were frozen.

Washington on Thursday blacklisted Mexico-based Libre Abordo and related firm Schlager Business Group, accusing them of helping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration evade sanctions, in the first formal action by the U.S. Treasury against Mexican firms involved in trading Venezuelan oil.

The United States also imposed sanctions on four firms linked to Mexicans Joaquin Leal Jimenez, Veronica Esparza and Olga Zepeda, which it accused of having cooperated with Libre Abordo, Schlager and businessman Alex Saab, arrested last week in Cape Verde, to evade sanctions.

"Saab and Leal, working with Mexico-based Libre Abordo and Schlager Business Group, brokered the re-sale of over 30 million barrels of crude oil on behalf of (Venezuela's state-run) PDVSA," the Treasury said on Thursday.

Nieto said the accounts of Zepeda were among those that were frozen.

Leal, Esparza and Zepeda could not immediately be reached for comment.

Libre Abordo told Reuters on Friday it was working on its legal defense before the United States and Mexico. "We are convinced that this action will contribute to ratifying the legality of all our operations."

Libre Abordo and Schlager began receiving Venezuelan oil for resale in Asian markets in 2019 after signing an oil-for-food pact with Maduro's government framed as a humanitarian provision.

While the companies supplied about 500 water trucks to Venezuela, 210,000 tons of corn originally included in the pact were not delivered, Libre Abordo said, adding that very low oil prices modified a schedule agreed by the parties.

Libre Abordo announced bankruptcy in May after losing $90 million amid what it called "excessive" U.S. pressure. The trade with Venezuela got suspended.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; writing by Marianna Parraga; editing by Leslie Adler)
Cowboys for Trump, a controversial grassroots group supporting the president, has moved its fight with the New Mexico secretary of state to federal court, alleging she violated their civil rights by mandating that they register as a political action committee and disclose their donors.

The dispute began last fall when Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver determined the group should be considered a political committee and in February fined the group $7,800 for not filing expenditure reports with her office.

A bill passed by the Legislature in 2019 required that organizations such as Cowboys for Trump be considered political committees, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for New Mexico Thursday.

The group has undertaken cross-country horseback rides in support of the president, as well as rallies at the Roundhouse to protest abortion rights bills and border-related issues. More recently, a video surfaced of its founder, Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner, saying the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat during a rally in Truth or Consequences.

Colin Hunter, an attorney representing Cowboys for Trump, said the group does not support individual candidates and doesnt get involved in state politics, so should not be considered a political action committee.

(Secretary of State Toulouse Oliver) selectively picked out a group with whom she vehemently disagrees and used her offices enforcement power to try to shut them up, stifle their speech, Hunter said.

In the lawsuit, plaintiffs Cowboys for Trump Inc., Karyn Griffin and Couy Griffin argue that Toulouse Oliver is violating their rights under the First and 14th Amendments.

The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs are worried that if they have to disclose donors and the information is posted on the internet, their supporters will face substantial personal and economic repercussions.

Across the country, individual and corporate donors to political candidates and issue causes are being subject to boycotts, harassment, protests, career damage and even death threats for publicly engaging in the public square, the lawsuit states. Plaintiffs fear that their donors may also encounter similar reprisals from activists if their donations are made public.

Toulouse Olivers office said it had not yet received the lawsuit and couldnt comment on the allegations, other than to say that we determined that Cowboys for Trump meets the statutory definition of a political committee under New Mexico law and, as such, is obligated to file campaign finance reports, and that the arbitration process that Cowboys for Trump agreed to should proceed.

Toulouse Olivers spokesman said Cowboys for Trump had asked to reschedule arbitration and a new date has not been set.
A top US federal prosecutor whose office has been investigating President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, refused to step down after the administration abruptly said late on Friday it was replacing him.

The standoff marks the latest in a series of unusual actions by Attorney General William Barr that critics say are meant to benefit Trump politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.

It also comes as Trump seeks to purge officials perceived as not fully supporting him. In recent weeks he has fired a series of agency watchdogs, including one who played a key role in Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

Barr, in a surprise late-night announcement, said the US Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, was stepping down and that Trump would nominate Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to take Berman's spot.

Berman, who leads a powerful office known for prosecuting terrorism cases, Wall Street financial crimes and government corruption, said he first learned of the move from Barr's press release and would not go quietly.

"I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning my position," Berman said in a statement. "I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

A Justice Department official, asked about Berman's refusal to leave until a successor is confirmed, told Reuters the "timeline remains the same" as Barr laid out in announcing the replacement.

The move seemed to surprise the chairman of the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, who said on Saturday he had not been contacted by the administration.

In a statement, Graham said Clayton's nomination would still be required to go through the usual practice of getting approvals from his home-state senators, in this case Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

"As chairman, I have honored that policy and will continue to do so," Graham said.

That approval looked unlikely to be forthcoming, with Schumer, the Senate's Democratic leader, saying in a statement Clayton should withdraw his name from consideration, "and save his own reputation from overnight ruin."

A spokesman for Gillibrand did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, also a Democrat, said he intends to invite Berman to testify.

Since being appointed in January 2018, Berman has not shied from taking on figures in Trump's orbit. His office oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, indicted two Giuliani associates and launched a probe into Giuliani in connection with his efforts to dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries in Ukraine.

Prosecutors have not accused Giuliani of wrongdoing.

TIMING QUESTIONED

The move against Berman came as the Justice Department asked a federal court to block publication of a book by former National Security Adviser John Bolton, whose claims include an allegation Trump tried to interfere with a probe overseen by Berman's office. On Saturday, a U.S. judge denied the administration's request to block publication.

Berman replaced Preet Bharara, who was himself fired as U.S. Attorney in early 2017 soon after Trump became president. Bharara, an outspoken critic of the president, said the timing of the push to replace his successor was strange.

"Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?" Bharara wrote on Twitter, referring to the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.

Meanwhile, Trump has appointed Craig Carpenito, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Barr said in his statement.

It was not clear whether Barr can force Berman out.

Berman was never confirmed by the Senate, the usual process for appointing U.S. Attorneys, and was instead appointed by the judges of the district in accordance with a U.S. law that says he can serve until the vacancy is filled.

Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said the vacancy needs to be filled by someone who is Senate-confirmed or chosen by a judge. Carpenito, Vladeck wrote on Twitter, is neither of those. But Vladeck also cited a conflicting law that gives the president the authority to remove U.S. Attorneys.

Before Clayton joined the SEC, he was a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions at Sullivan & Cromwell. He has been seen as a bipartisan consensus-builder at the SEC.

The Justice Department official said Clayton, who had been planning to leave the administration and return to New York, "expressed interest" in the U.S. Attorney role in New York, and Barr "thought it was a good idea."

Barr's announcement comes less than a week before Nadler's committee is set to hold a hearing where Justice Department officials are set to testify about political interference at the department.

Earlier this year, Barr intervened to scale back the sentencing recommendation for longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, prompting all four career prosecutors to withdraw from the case in protest.
- John Mmbijiwe was Rift Valley's Provincial Police Officer (PPO) when he was charged with abuse of office in a case that involved Jashua Waiganjo, a purported police imposter

- He was acquitted of the charges in May 2020 and the Police Service Commission subsequently confirmed lifting of his interdiction that had lasted for 7 years

- In the latest letter dated June 19, the commission re-designated Mmbijiwes rank and will now be of the rank of Assistant Inspector General with effect from October 1, 2014

Former Rift Valley Police boss John Mmbijiwe charged with abuse of office has got a reason to smile once again.

A month after he was acquitted of the abuse of office charges, the former Provincial Police Officer interdiction has now been lifted.

READ ALSO: Police officers scuttle planned William Ruto's meeting at Malava MP Malulu Injendi's home

Ex-Rift Valley police boss John M'mbijiwe who was interdicted over abuse of office. Photo: The Star.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru aita mkutano wa wabunge wa Jubilee Jumatatu

The Kenya Police Service Commission in a letter seen by Tuko.co.ke and dated June 19, 2020, confirmed the lifting of the interdiction that had lasted for seven years.

Mmbijiwe has since confirmed receiving the letter lifting his interdiction as from January 7, 2013.

The further re-designated Mmbijiwes rank and will now be of the rank of Assistant Inspector General with effect from October 1, 2014.

The Commission re-designate your rank from Deputy Commissioner of Police to the rank of Assistant Inspector General with effect from October 1, 2014, being the date all officers holding the rank were re-designated, stated the letter.

READ ALSO: Aden Duale's woes deepen as Jubilee Party convenes meeting to discuss his fate

From Left: Joshua Waiganjo, John M'mbijiwe and Remi Ngugi. Photo: The Standard.

Source: UGC

For over seven years, Mmbijiwe together with Joshua Waiganjo and former Anti-Stock Theft Commandant Remi Ngugi walked in and out of court trying to clear their names of the charges levelled against them.

While Mmbijiwe and Ngugi faced abuse of office charges Waiganjo faced impersonation charges.

They were all acquitted in May 2020. Ngugi, however, never lived to see justice administered as he passed in 2019.

Mombasa Principal Magistrate Joe Omido in a ruling delivered on May 8, said the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the case against the three.

Omido in the ruling delivered via zoom video link said there was no sufficient proof that the three were guilty of the charges.

After the ruling, Mmbijiwe and Waiganjo jovially marched out of a Nakuru court where they were following the proceedings from and were warmly received by their family embers and friends.

Story by Ben Kerich - TUKO.co.ke correspondent

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Tuko news.

Fighting spirit husbands, Spirit wives and breaking soul ties with Pastor T | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Navy Will Not Reinstate Captain Fired for Raising COVID-19 Concern

The U.S. Navy will not be reinstating Capt. Brett Crozier as the USS Theodore Roosevelts commanding officer after he was relieved for breaching protocol when asking Navy officials to pull crew off the ship amid an outbreak of the CCP virus that occurred in late March.

Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations and the Navys top officer, announced the decision following an in-depth command investigation by Adm. Robert Burke into circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, that struck personnel aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Gilday had in April recommended that Crozier be reinstated after a preliminary investigation. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper did not sign off on Gildays recommendation and instead sought a deeper investigation.

The command investigation (pdf) found that Crozier failed to effectively curb the CCP virus outbreak or properly communicate the escalating situation to senior commanders.

Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made that recommendation to reinstate Capt. Crozier. Moreover, if Capt. Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him, Gilday told a Pentagon news conference.

Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, on the ships flight deck in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Dec. 19, 2019. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Huynh/Handout via Reuters)

Gilday also announced on Friday that Croziers boss at the time, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, the carrier strike group commander, will have his promotion for a second star be delayed pending further examination.

The investigation noted that the ships slow response to the virus was not Croziers fault alone and that Baker also failed to take decisive actions to address the problem. Both Crozier and Baker fell well short of expectations, Gilday told reporters, referring to the investigation.

Gilday said Friday that in several instances he believes Crozier put the crews comfort ahead of its safety. He said the commanders were slow to move the sailors off the ship and released sailors from quarantine in one area of the ship too quickly.

In a letter dated Friday, June 19 (pdf), Gilday noted that Crozier would not be eligible for another command position either at sea or ashore and would be reassigned. The letter also noted that Croziers deep experience and strong history of performance should be positively considered in future assignments to key Navy positions.

The Pentagon in a statement to The Epoch Times said that Esper believes that Burkes investigation has been thorough and fair, and he supports the Navys decisions based on their findings.

We are proud of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt and am glad that they are back at sea in the western Pacific projecting American power, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman added.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, said Friday that the panel is launching its own investigation to better understand the situation.

Vietnam Port Visit

More than 1,000 sailors eventually became infected and one sailor died from the outbreak.

The investigation concluded that the likely source of the infection was from a port visit in Vietnam in March, a country the U.S. government considered low-risk at the time.

On March 8, the Vietnamese government notified CSG-9 that sailors may have been exposed to COVID-19 during a stay at the Vanda Hotel in Da Nang, because two British citizens who had been guests of that hotel had tested positive for COVID-19, reads the report.

Crozier in late March sent a letter to U.S. Navy officials asking them to pull most of the crew off the ship, adding that adopting proper isolation measures aboard was impossible. The letter leaked to the media the following day, on March 31.

We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die, Crozier said in the memo, in which he implied that sailors would die unless the crew was taken off and the ship disinfected.

The Navy later announced that they had already been taking measures to evacuate the carrierand that Crozier had been fired.

Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly announced on April 2 that Crozier would be removed from command of the vessel. Modly said that the letter, which was sent via non-secure unclassified email outside of the chain of command, had raised alarm bells unnecessarily, and created the impression that the Navy was not responding to his questions.

Modly later resigned on April 7, after he apologized for any pain that may have been caused by a speech he made following the firing of Crozier. Modly was replaced by Army Undersecretary James McPherson.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt ultimately spent weeks in port in Guam, where crew members rotated ashore for quarantine.

The carrier returned to operations at sea with a reduced crew on June 4, following about two weeks of training at sea.

Sailors have continued to fly back to the ship from Guam after they have completed two weeks of quarantine or recovered from the virus.

Allen Zhong, Simon Veazey, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Eleven Allies launch Multinational Initiative on Pilot Training

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

19 Jun. 2020

Eleven NATO Defence Ministers launched on Friday (19 June 2020) an initiative to create a network of training facilities for pilots across the European continent. The Ministers of Defence of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Turkey signed a Letter of Intent confirming the establishment of the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative, in order join forces for the training of fighter jet, helicopter, fixed wing and drone pilots.

Several smaller European Allies have annual pilot training requirements at a scale that does not justify the establishment or continuation of national flight centres. The multinational NATO Flight Training Europe initiative will address the requirements of these nations.

The signature of the corresponding Letter of Intent was added virtually from the capitals of participating nations, just after the conclusion of the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers this week. Under this agreement, the eleven Allies will investigate options for setting up a European network of training facilities for air-crews, benefiting as much as possible from already existing training structures.

"This multinational cooperation will increase European training facilities and enable air-crews to train closer to home. As such, it serves as an excellent example of transatlantic burden sharing", highlighted the Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.

The initiative will provide for cost savings and increased interoperability among participating Allies and will benefit the overall readiness of NATO air forces.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 05:09:37|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Serraj on Saturday wrapped up a one-day visit to Algeria.

The prime minister held talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the developments of the crisis-stricken Libya.

The visit was part of intensive and continuous efforts made by Algeria to "resume dialogue between the Libyan brothers," the Algerian presidency said in a statement.

The statement stressed that the visit aimed at reaching a political solution to the Libyan crisis based on respecting the will of the Libyan people and ensuring their territorial integrity and national sovereignty away from foreign military interventions.

Libya has been hit by a civil war since the killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two major rivals with armed forces, namely the GNA based in the capital Tripoli and the eastern-based Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar. Enditem
Representative image

A Pakistani drone was shot down by the Border Security Force along the International Border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said. The drone was spotted hovering in the skies by a BSF party on patrol duty in the vicinity of Border Out Post Pansar around 5.10 am, the officials said.

They said the BSF personnel fired about nine rounds and shot down the flying object 250 metres inside Indian territory.

Senior BSF and police officers have rushed to the spot and further investigation is on.

Meanwhile, the officials said Pakistani rangers fired a few rounds on Babiya post in Hiranagar sector around 8.50 am. There was no retaliation by the BSF guarding the IB, they said, adding the situation is being monitored closely.
PM holds All Party Meeting to discuss situation in India-China border areas

India PIB

Prime Minister's Office

20 of our brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in Ladakh but also taught a lesson to those who dared to look towards our motherland: PM

Neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured: PM

India wants peace and friendship, but upholding sovereignty is foremost: PM

Armed forces have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps: PM

Govt has given primacy to development of border area infrastructure to make our borders more secure: PM

All necessary steps for national security and construction of infrastructure will continue at a fast pace: PM

Leaders of political parties express commitment to stand united with the government and repose faith in the leadership of PM

Posted On: 19 JUN 2020 9:03PM by PIB Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today held an All Party Meeting via video conferencing to discuss the situation in India-China border areas. Presidents of various political parties participated in the meeting.

Valour of the Armed Forces

Prime Minister underscored that today all of us stand united with the soldiers defending our borders and repose full faith in their courage and bravery. He added that through the All Party Meeting, he wants to assure the families of the martyrs that the entire country stands with them.

At the outset, Prime Minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured. He said that twenty of our brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice for the nation in Ladakh but also taught a lesson to those who had dared to look towards our motherland. The nation will forever remember their valour and sacrifice.

Prime Minister said that the entire country is hurt and angry at the steps taken by China at LAC. He assured the leaders that our armed forces are leaving no stone unturned to protect the country. Be it deployment, action or counter action, through land, sea or air, our forces are taking the necessary steps to protect the country. He emphasized that the country today has such capability that no one can even dare look towards an inch of our land. He said that today, Indian forces are capable of moving together across sectors. While on the one hand, the army has been given freedom to take necessary steps, India has also conveyed its position clearly to China through diplomatic means.

Ramping up border infrastructure

Prime Minister underscored that India wants peace and friendship, but upholding sovereignty is foremost. He highlighted that the government has given primacy to development of border area infrastructure to make our borders more secure. Provision has also been made for fighter planes, modern helicopters, missile defence systems and other such needs of our forces. Through the recently developed infrastructure, patrolling capacity at LAC has also increased, he said, adding that through this, we are better informed about the developments at LAC and consequently are able to monitor and respond better. The movement of those which used to take place without any disruption earlier is now checked by our jawans, which at times leads to build up of tension. He noted that through better infrastructure, supply of material and essentials to jawans in the difficult terrain has become comparatively easier.

Prime Minister emphasized the commitment of the government to welfare of the nation and its citizens and said that be it in trade, connectivity or counter-terrorism, the government has always stood up to outside pressure. He assured that all steps necessary for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure, will continue to be taken at a fast pace. He reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend our borders and that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.

Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh said that the nation will never forget the sacrifice of the martyrs. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar gave an overview of agreements between India and China on border management, informed about the directions given by the Prime Minister in 2014 to give highest priority to development of infrastructure in border areas in the regions identified and approved by the Cabinet in 1999, and also shared details of recent developments.

Leaders of political parties speak

The leaders of the political parties hailed the bravery displayed by the armed forces in Ladakh. They reposed faith in the leadership of the Prime Minister in this hour of need and expressed commitment to stand united with the government. They also shared their thoughts and ideas on dealing with the situation.

Ms Mamata Bannerjee said that her party stands strongly in solidarity with the government. Shri Nitish Kumar said that there should be no difference amongst the leaders and parties should not allow any disunity which can be exploited by other nations. Shri Chirag Paswan said that the country feels safe under the leadership of the Prime Minister. Shri Uddhav Thackeray lauded the Prime Minister and said that the entire country is one and with the Prime Minister.

Ms Sonia Gandhi said that the leaders are still in the dark about the details and questioned the government about intelligence reports and other related matters. Shri Sharad Pawar stressed that issues of whether soldiers carried arms or not are decided by international agreements and the parties need to respect sensitivities involved in such matters. Shri Conrad Sangma said that the Prime Minister has been working on infrastructure in the Northeast and that must go on. Ms Mayawati said that this is not the time for politics and she firmly stands with the Prime Minister on whatever decisions he takes. Shri MK Stalin welcomed the recent statement by the Prime Minister on the issue.

Prime Minister thanked the leaders for sharing their views and participating in the meeting.

*******

VRRK/SH

(Release ID: 1632743)

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While experts and scientists are ramping up effort to arrive at the potential Covid-19 vaccine, a vast body of research exists and focusses on the other aspects of the contagious disease and how it is affecting the world.

Experts have now come to conclude that Covid-19 is posing a greater threat to the male population as opposed to females. More men are getting infected by the disease as opposed to women.

Experts also believe that the biological differences between the two sexes should be taken into consideration for developing treatments and vaccines for Covid-19.

Also read: Ramp up Covid-19 testing in containment zones, hospitals - ICMR to states

Around the world, on every continent, were observing that men are significantly more likely to be hospitalized with severe Covid-19, and men are also significantly more likely to die from Covid-19. Some studies are showing the risks are twofold for men. Women are contracting the virus at same rates as men, but they are more likely to recover, noted a research entry by Johns Hopkins University, which also calls for a deeper investigation.

The research points to the fact that women typically have a more rapid and robust immune response to viruses than men which may be one factor contributing to female-biased protection against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

There are data from early outbreaks in Wuhan, China, for example, that show women clear the virus more quickly than men, the piece reads.

Also read: Glenmark launches Covid-19 drug after DCGI nod

Differences in sexes also affect immunity. We have data for other viruses illustrating that sex differences in immunity are caused by genetic as well as hormonal differences between women and men, it stated.

Another recently conducted study says that as of May 20, 2020, males shared a higher burden (66 per cent) of Covid-19 infections than females (34 per cent) but the infection is more or less evenly distributed in under-five as well as elderly age groups.

Males are at a greater disadvantage than females, they said, adding that it is unclear whether males experience a higher risk of mortality throughout the age-spectrum, or if there are sex-related differences in survival risk.

While males have a higher overall burden (66 per cent) of Covid-19 infections than females, the infection is evenly distributed in the under-five age group and, to some extent, even among the elderly age groups (particularly 70+ years), the scientists wrote in the study which was published in the Journal of Global Health Science.

Coronavirus has infected over 8 million people across the globe while over 4.6 people have lost their lives to the deadly contagion.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

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michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Todays Senate primary in Kentucky has been transformed by the outcry over police brutality. Jonathan Martin, on what the election can tell us about the future of Democratic politics. Its Tuesday, June 23. Jonathan, tell me about todays Senate race in Kentucky.

jonathan martin

Well, this is the Democratic primary to take on Senator Mitch McConnell, who, of course, is the majority leader of the Senate. And, for a long time, it seemed like his Democratic opponent was going to be Amy McGrath 

archived recording (amy mcgrath) Im Amy McGrath, and I love our country. I spent 20 years as a U.S. Marine, flew 89 combat missions bombing Al Queda and the Taliban.

jonathan martin

 who came to some fame nationally in her 2018 House race on the basis of her resume.

archived recording (amy mcgrath) I was the first woman marine to fly in an F18 in combat, and I got to land on aircraft carriers.

jonathan martin

She was a Marine pilot, and entered the House race talking a lot about her military experience 

archived recording (amy mcgrath) This is my new mission  to take on a Congress full of career politicians who treat the people of Kentucky like theyre disposable.

jonathan martin

 and almost immediately gained this national profile.

archived recording (amy mcgrath) Some are telling me a Democrat cant win that battle in Kentucky, that we cant take back our country for my kids and yours. Well see about that.

jonathan martin

But she was not a terribly good candidate, it turns out.

archived recording This is a disappointment to Democrats. It comes from state to Kentucky. Amy McGrath, the former Marine combat pilot, defeated by the four-term incumbent, Andy Barr.

jonathan martin

She was running in a pretty difficult seat for a Democrat.

archived recording But this is a district that Trump won by 15 points. Her opponent, Andy Barr, looks like will get that fourth term.

jonathan martin

And she lost what was otherwise a great year for Democrats. But Chuck Schumer, who runs the Senate Democratic caucus, and effectively runs recruitment of Senate Democratic candidates, figured that she had one very important asset that could help him in 2020. She raised a lot of money and built a large list of national donors in 2018.

michael barbaro

Hm. And so, as this Senate  not House race  gets underway this year, Im guessing Chuck Schumer decides to look to Amy McGrath once again.

jonathan martin

Exactly. Because the idea was not necessarily to beat Mitch McConnell, but to at least keep the race competitive, keep McConnell pinned down in Kentucky, keep him focused on raising money for his own re-election, and perhaps siphon some national G.O.P. money that would otherwise go to different states, and have it go to Kentucky. So that was Schumers thinking.

archived recording (chuck schumer) Look, Amy McGrath is our candidate. Shes a strong candidate.

jonathan martin

And he looked at McGrath and saw her money potential, saw the sort of breadth of her national donor list, and said 

archived recording (chuck schumer) Shes giving McConnell a run for his money. The Republican super PAC put $10 million dollars into Kentucky. Shes doing very well.

jonathan martin

 this is who I want to be our nominee against McConnell. And Im going to make sure that she does not have any kind of a consequential primary to speak of.

michael barbaro

So he wants to clear a path for her to become the nominee.

jonathan martin

Right. Schumer wants to clear the field. He wants McGrath to be their candidate. He doesnt want to deal with drama in the primary. He just wants to have her raising money, putting up enormous numbers to spook McConnell, and divert McConnells attention back to his own home state and his own re-election. So it does seem like, for some time, that McGrath is not going to have a terribly competitive primary. And so while McGrath seems to be full steam ahead towards the general election, with not much of a primary to speak of, she is banking money at an extraordinary rate. She has raised over $40 million, which is more money than a lot of Senate candidates raise in an entire campaign, let alone a primary.

michael barbaro

Yeah. Thats a lot of money. So as far as everybody is concerned, especially back in Washington, Amy McGrath is on a glide path to the nomination.

jonathan martin

Exactly right. And then something happens.

[music]

archived recording We turn now to a deadly police-involved shooting in Louisville. The victim was an E.M.T. Her family claims she was executed by police, as officers served a search warrant in the middle of the night.

jonathan martin

On March 13, shortly after midnight, Louisville police officers used a battering ram to enter the apartment of Breonna Taylor, who was a 26-year-old African-American emergency room tech, and shot her eight times while she was in bed in her own apartment.

archived recording 1 So they just went into her apartment looking for a suspect, whom we now understand was already in police custody. This is not unique to Louisville. archived recording 2 We need answers. We need answers, because this should have never happened.

jonathan martin

And this killing of Miss Taylor by Louisville police sparked an outcry in the state 

archived recording We have right to live while black!

jonathan martin

 that is then amplified, sadly, by the killing in late May of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

archived recording 1 (CHANTING) George Floyd! archived recording 2 Say his name! archived recording 3 George Floyd! archived recording 4 Say her name! archived recording 5 Breonna Taylor! archived recording 6 Say her name! archived recording 7 Breonna Taylor! archived recording 8 Say her name! archived recording 9 Breonna Taylor!

michael barbaro

And how does that begin to impact this Senate race?

jonathan martin

The activism in the aftermath of the killing of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd is extremely intense in Kentucky, and especially in Louisville. The demonstrations are nightly. There are clashes with police. And there is a candidate who is running from Louisville. Hes an African-American, and his candidacy is now starting to get more attention.

archived recording (charles booker) [APPLAUSE] I stand before you as your brother, as your cousin, as your neighbor, as your fellow good troublemaker. My name is Charles Booker. [CHEERING]

jonathan martin

35-year-old state representative named Charles Booker.

archived recording (charles booker) Im state representative for the 43rd District, which we are standing in. And if you are not from the 43rd District, I represent you anyway. [CHEERING]

jonathan martin

So he represents what he likes to say is the poorest zip code in all of Kentucky.

archived recording (charles booker) No one pays attention to my neighborhood. In the West end of Louisville, with roughly 75,000 people, we have just a couple of grocery stores, a handful of dollar stores, because they prey on us.

jonathan martin

He is from the West End of Louisville, black neighborhood.

archived recording (charles booker) And if you need to use public transportation to get to the hospital, it can take you a couple of hours. Jobs have left.

jonathan martin

And he is someone who is running as a progressive, and had been running as a progressive 

archived recording (charles booker) Our platform is about ending structural inequity, and ending generational poverty.

jonathan martin

 talking about issues like the Green New Deal, like single-payer health care, but hadnt gotten a lot of attention in large part because he hadnt raised much money. And McGrath had raised so much cash.

michael barbaro

Right.

jonathan martin

But after the killing of Taylor and then Floyd 

archived recording (charles booker) We are crying out for Brianna Taylor, and were crying out for ourselves.

jonathan martin

 once these demonstrations get going, there is now suddenly more attention to Booker. Because he is a state lawmaker who is in these protests.

archived recording (charles booker) When Breonna died, when she was killed  archived recording (protestor) Murdered! archived recording (charles booker)  a part of us was killed, as well. archived recording (protestor) Yes!

jonathan martin

He is getting tear gassed in the streets of Louisville. And he is seeing this up front. He is experiencing this himself, day in, day out in his hometown. He is effectively a Black Lives Matter candidate.

archived recording (charles booker) But if you look like me, if you look like him, if you look like him, if you look like her, you may be seen as a deadly weapon before being seen as a human being. archived recording Yes! archived recording (charles booker) It aint right, and its hurting all of us.

michael barbaro

And so what happens to Bookers candidacy as these protests intensify in Louisville, and all over the country?

jonathan martin

Well, the two largest papers in the state, The Courier-Journal in Louisville and Lexington Herald-Leader, taking note of this fraught moment of racial politics, endorse Booker and state that hes the best candidate for these times. So that helps to give him traction. And then, in addition to getting that key local support, hes getting the attention from national progressive leaders. Bernie Sanders offers his endorsement. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez gets behind his candidacy. And thats putting him on the sort of national progressive radar screen, if you will.

michael barbaro

So Jonathan, as Booker is, from everything youre describing, catching fire, what is the partys anointed candidate, Amy McGrath, doing in response?

jonathan martin

Well, she is talking about these demonstrations and about the killing of George Floyd a little bit more, in recognition that she cant take the primary for granted. But Amy McGrath is not a natural politician. This was part of her struggle in 2018. And it does not go perfectly when she tries to engage these issues. In fact, in a debate shes asked the question about 

archived recording Have you been on the ground in Louisville with the protesters the last three days or in Lexington or elsewhere, Miss McGrath?

jonathan martin

 have you been to any of the protests. And she answers pretty awkwardly.

archived recording (amy mcgrath) I have not. archived recording And, why? archived recording (amy mcgrath) Well, Ive been with my family and Ive had some family things going on this past weekend. But Ive been following the news and making sure that  you know, I think  were in the middle of a pandemic.

[music]

michael barbaro

So suddenly, Amy McGraths politics of moderation and her distance from these protests are seeming quite out of sync with the moment.

jonathan martin

Right. And, more to the point, Booker is very much tapping into the moment. This is suddenly a competitive primary. Amy McGrath has had to spend an enormous amount of money on ads in the last couple of weeks to sustain her advantage  money that I think she and national Democrats thought that they would use against McConnell. And Booker has made this more of a competitive race going into the primary Tuesday.

michael barbaro

And so what is Bookers surge here? What does that mean for Democratic Party leaders back in Washington, who bet so heavily on Amy McGrath?

jonathan martin

So Booker illustrates that the intensity, the activism that were seeing on the streets of America in the last few weeks, is now at the door front of the Democratic Party. And Democrats are eager to harness this energy and activism, especially when it comes to organizing against President Trump and Republicans this fall. But when it comes to their own races, their own primaries, their own party, its more complicated. So this does also represent a challenge to Democratic leaders.

[music]

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Jonathan, how is it a challenge for Democratic Party leaders to have a candidate like Booker doing really well? Because on the surface it seems like a hotly contested Democratic primary that raises lots of attention, raises lots of money, that thats a good thing for the party.

jonathan martin

Well, it creates a challenge, because Chuck Schumer has gotten used to being able to dictate primaries in the Senate races basically every two years. But its not just about Schumer. This is about the Democratic Partys leadership being able to keep its grip on who the nominees are going to be, where the money is going to go. And this is a real challenge to that power, that grip on the party.

michael barbaro

And why does that grip matter if it may be out of sync with what Democratic primary voters want?

jonathan martin

Well, because leaders like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi believe that to keep or gain majorities they have to appeal to a broad cross-section of voters, and that that means nominating some candidates who are more moderate depending upon the state or the district that theyre running in.

michael barbaro

And Booker does not fit that mold.

jonathan martin

Exactly. Leaders like Schumer are skeptical that a candidate of Bookers liberal politics could win the race in a place like Kentucky, where Trump won by 30 points four years ago. But I think to get closer to the bone here, if Schumer is not able to control the outcomes of these Democratic primaries, and hes got people in his caucus, potentially, who are not loyal to him, who won despite his intervention, then thats going to create vote counting headaches for him. And looking at the map right now, his majority is probably going to be, if there is one, a seat or two. Its not going to be that extensive. So every vote counts. So hes thinking about, who am I going to have in my caucus? Whos going to be reliable? Whos going to be less so? And so thats where this matters.

michael barbaro

This reminds me a little bit of what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dealt with, with the election of the squad, among whom is Alexander Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, progressive Democrats who tugged the entire body at times to the left in ways that House leadership wasnt perhaps ready for.

jonathan martin

But its even more delicate in the case of Schumer because of math, because the Senate is going to be so closely divided next year. And if Democrats have a majority, itll be a narrow one. Think about it. Pelosi in the House  she won 40 seats in 2018. They had a pretty robust majority. So you could lose a handful of progressives, like the squad, and basically cater to your more moderate Democrats, because those are the ones that had numbers. This is just a more sort of delicate situation because the Senate is on a knifes edge.

michael barbaro

Jonathan, were talking about this race in Kentucky as if it is very high stakes for Chuck Schumer. But how much does this race, in particular, really matter?

jonathan martin

So this less about eventually beating McConnell, which is going to be a tall order in Kentucky, then it is about whats happening in the Democratic Party. And its not just in Kentucky. Also on Tuesday, there is a competitive primary featuring Eliot Engel, whos the long-serving chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whos facing a primary from an African-American, Jamaal Bowman. In Virginia, a fairly conservative district, there is also an African-American running in that primary. So what Im really interested in watching these primaries unfold is can progressives gather strength, organize and sort of overcome the establishment candidates in some of these races? But also, is 2020 going to be for black candidates what 2018 was for a lot of women, which is sort of capturing the energy of the moment? And I think thats going to be one of the most fascinating things to watch on Tuesday, is can black candidates like Jamaal Bowman in New York, like Booker in Kentucky  can they build these multi-racial coalitions, capitalizing on this extraordinary moment of race in America?

michael barbaro

Jonathan, it would seem counterproductive, not to mention perhaps hypocritical, for the Democratic leadership to stand in the way of such a change within their party, that you described. I mean, the party said it welcomed all these progressive women in 2018. And wouldnt it want to welcome and celebrate African-American progressive candidates in this coming election cycle?

jonathan martin

Well, heres the catch. A lot of the women in 2018  the Democrats embraced  were more moderate. You know, the squad got the attention. But a lot of the women who ran and won in 2018, who were not as well known, are much more centrist in their political orientation. I think the difference here is twofold. First of all, I think there is concern that some of their politics are too progressive for their states or districts. And I think in the case of Engel, of Congressman Engel, its just a matter of protecting incumbents. Thats a longstanding rule in both parties, that they support incumbents. So Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo feel obliged to support a longtime ally, somebody whos up for re-election.

michael barbaro

Right. They dont want to lose loyal votes, longtime allies. That all makes sense for the leadership, in theory. But isnt the greater risk for Democratic leaders, on a really practical level, that they are missing this moment? They are not getting behind candidates. And they risk losing touch with this very powerful constituency that seems to be ascendant within the party.

jonathan martin

Right! The left would say, this is what the moment is, and this is about the country now needs and demands. Given the virus, given issues of racial injustice, given the economic collapse, the moment cries out for real substantive sweeping policy changes in America, and that if you dont abide that, if you dont recognize that, then youre out of touch as a Democratic leader. And I think this conversation  this tension between the left and the center in the Democratic party, I think, is really going to come to the fore.

michael barbaro

And in that version of this, Jonathan, what becomes of some of these Democratic leaders who we started this conversation focusing on, like a Senator Schumer?

jonathan martin

Well, they have to adapt to the moment. And if they dont, then theyre going to pay a political price in their own party. And they risk losing control of their own partys nominating process, because they would further feed this energy on the left, and risk having their own colleagues lose primaries. And, yes, even perhaps in Schumers case, they would risk their own seats.

[music]

You know, Ive spent a lot of time talking to candidates. And they often try to hedge or they often try to trim their answers to reflect the states that theyre running in. But that was not the case when I talked to Booker.

jonathan martin Amy McGrath, your opponent, your primary opponent  do you think that she would lose to McConnell in the fall? charles booker Of course.

jonathan martin

He was very straightforward about the fact that he believes the moderate approach, trying to not be seen as too ideological, was a loser in Kentucky.

charles booker Its the same playbook that loses every time. And its this political B.S. that says, the only way you can beat them is just raise a whole lot of money. jonathan martin Right. charles booker Flood the airwaves. Dont talk about real issues. Dont talk about poverty. Just play the political game and youll peel off some conservative voters. That never works.

jonathan martin

He said weve tried that before. He said, weve seen that playbook used time and time again. And people are not going to fall for that bullshit again.

charles booker These arent issues that Im choosing out of political expediency. This is out of survival. We need the Green New Deal, because we need a cleaner environment. We need sustainable jobs. We need more investment in infrastructure.

jonathan martin

They want somebody whos going to be true to themselves, who is not going to try to sort of hammer or hedge. And he didnt mince any words.

jonathan martin But, Charles, what are you going to save the day after the primary when Schumer calls you on the phone says, if you want the money, you want our help, you got to ease off on some of that stuff? charles booker Well, were beating the status quo in the primary, and so I think that conversation will go a little bit different.

michael barbaro

Jonathan, thank you very much.

jonathan martin

Thank you.

[music]

michael barbaro

Polls in Kentucky opened at 6:00 a.m. today. Thousands of Democrats cast mail-in ballots, some of them weeks ago, before the race had tightened. Long lines are expected for those who plan to vote in person. A single polling place has been designated for Louisville, Bookers hometown, and a city of 600,000. Well be right back.

[music]

Heres what else you need to know today. On Monday, President Trump signed a sweeping executive order that bars many foreign workers from receiving visas through the end of the year, preventing those workers from filling more than half a million jobs. The White House said that the restriction on several different kinds of work visas would protect U.S. jobs in the midst of an economic crisis. But the move is opposed by many businesses, from tech firms to manufacturers, who say that it will hamper their ability to fill key jobs that Americans cant or wont do. And 

archived recording (tedros adhanom ghebreyesus) Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. It seems that almost every day we reach a new and grim record. Yesterday, more than 183,000 new cases of Covid were reported to W.H.O., easily the most in a single day so far.

michael barbaro

 in a press conference on Monday, the World Health Organization warned that global infections from the coronavirus keep reaching record highs, fueled by the rise of cases in India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, which has become the second country after the U.S. to report more than 50,000 deaths from the virus.

archived recording (tedros adhanom ghebreyesus) Some countries that have successfully suppressed transmission are now seeing an upswing in cases as they reopen their societies and economies.

michael barbaro

The United States now accounts for 20 percent of total new infections worldwide. Two states have reported more than 100,000 cases each over the past 14 days, Florida and Texas, where the governor, Greg Abbott, called the data, quote, unacceptable 

archived recording (greg abbott) I know that some people feel that wearing a mask is inconvenient or that it is like an infringement of freedom. But I also know that wearing a mask will help us to keep Texas open.

michael barbaro

 and urged residents to maintain precautions to avoid another lockdown.

archived recording (greg abbott) Because not taking action to slow the spread will cause Covid to spread even worse, risking peoples lives and ultimately leading to the closure of more businesses.

[music]

michael barbaro
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By Ann Mcgregor, PhD

This is not the best of times for the head of the Nigerias anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu following a damning assessment of his leadership and the Commission by Peer Review Mechanism of development partners in Anti Corruption, Money Laundering and Cyber Crimes containment strategy chain.

Selective, discriminatory and often inconclusive investigations have stalled and frustrated foreign partners.

The FBI and US treasury officials are irked by some EFCC officials including Magu, who subvert Cyber Crimes investigations and frustrate diligent prosecution of offenders, often, accused of tipping suspect in advance.

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US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo last week in a press statement said $ 6 million and Nigerian advance fee fraud gang has been busted by the FBI.

This is coming on the heel of a joint operation by FBI and the Interpol in arrest of Raymond Abbas known as Hushpuppy a UAE based Nigerian.

We refuse to bring in the EFCC, because they will scuttle our painstaking efforts, said one of the investigators.

The arrest last week of Hushpuppy in Dubai by FBI, Dubai Police and Interpol was conducted without the knowledge of Nigerians EFCC.

There is desperate attempt by the EFCC to ride on the success vehicle of FBI and Interpol feat.

They foot drag and are largely not too keen on big success.

Another gang of Nigerian fraudsters arrested in Turkey on October 26, 2018 in a simultaneous sting operations conducted by Turkish Police Cyber Crimes department led to the arrest of Emmanuel Aneke (alias Otunba Cash) at a luxury hotel.

Similarly a Senior Treasury official said lately Magu has been on Public Relations campaign in the UK and aggressive media foray on his success at the Commission.

Sadly, the entire operational breakthrough recorded in the smashing of wire and computer fraud gangsters were recorded without an iota of input from the EFCC.

The FBI, Interpol and more than a dozen US law enforcement agencies have launched operation wire-wire since 23rd August 2019, when fraudsters tried to steal more than $ 40million dollars in one of the biggest online scam cases in US history.

Prosecutors say, they use online romance scams, schemes targeting elderly people and business emails compromise (BEC). Separately, the FBI also indicted for computer and wire fraud Obinwanne Okeke, the head of Invictus Group.

He was accused of defrauding a subsidiary of Caterpillar Firm the sum of $ 11millon and was arrested in Alexandria, Virginia in the airport as he was preparing to return to Nigeria.

He has already pleaded guilty to two count charge of wire and computer fraud, before a senior United States District Judge Rebecca Smith.

Okeke has explained how through an internet scams, legitimate companies are compromised to facilitate an illegal transfer of funds to both domestic and offshore accounts.

 If the plea guilty is accepted the Judge will adjudicate guilt and will determine and impose a sentence.

Magistrate Judge Robert Krask on 18th June, 2020 at Norfolk Court room 1 certified the guilty plea to clear the path for Mr Okekes sentencing on 22nd October 2020.

The charges of wire and computer fraud carry a maximum penalty of 10 and 20 years jail respectively.

This case is part of our ongoing efforts to protect Americans and to bring to justice those who prey upon hard earned American citizen savings and businesses, US Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.

On September 10, 2019 two hundred and eighty one people were arrested in a coordinated International Enforcement Operation targeting hundreds of individuals and business email compromise schemes.

Other sore point is the belief among development partners of Mr Magus insincerity.

Look at the case of Mr Bayo Ojo, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, who received and admitted collecting over $ 10 million in his role in the Malabu oil deal.

Ojo had an agreement with Etete to be paid $50million dollars for legal services which includes finding buyers for the infamous OPL 245.

Ojo told Italian Court he only received $50 million dollars for the services he allegedly provided between 2009 and 2011.

Some Italian and US investigators believes Magu in particular has surreptitiously not been helpful and likely not provide the necessary cooperation for prosecution of many cases critical to the success of the fight against graft and cyber crimes in the country.

They have made their position known to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNDOC) among other law enforcement and donor agencies.

It shows clearly institutional incapacity and as one EU cyber official bluntly put it.

He may be part of the problem that is why some of us perhaps rate him lowly.



Mcgregor is an expert in global security and intelligence.

Source: https://newsplusviews.news/?p=3525
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council's inter-agency task force has released guidelines for COVID-19 containment on a regular basis in low-risk areas during the summer months.

The guidelines list regular protection requirements, including appropriate social distancing, ventilation, disinfection, proper use of air conditioners, and improved public health awareness, according to a circular posted on the website of the National Health Commission (NHC) along with the guidelines.

Specific guidance is offered for key sites such as markets, hotels, restaurants, libraries, museums, parks and theaters, and for different types of organizations and people of various professions.

The guidelines came as "the COVID-19 risk in most parts of China is now at a low level and calibrated protection guidance is needed by people to proceed with the resumption of work and production during the summer," said Wang Bin, an NHC official, at a press conference Friday.

Further guidance has been offered to people on wearing masks in low-risk areas.

For example, Wang said, people need to wear masks in places with a relatively enclosed space, such as movie theaters, internet cafes, and transportation vehicles.

"Workers at public venues, hospital visitors, and people who are at high risk of exposure to the virus due to their professions need to wear masks," she said.

In other places, the guidelines recommend that people do not need to wear masks if they can maintain a distance of more than one meter from other people, she added.
Before the fall

As the Northern Hemisphere enters summer this weekend, many experts are already looking ahead. Our colleague Donald G. McNeil Jr. told The Daily this week that hes very worried about the fall for several reasons.

His biggest concern: As cold weather returns, people will spend more time indoors, where we know the virus spreads more easily. So the possibility for transmission is really high, Donald said.

He cited a study by Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, who looked at eight influenza epidemics since the mid-1700s. In each case the virus faded only to come back in a much more lethal wave.

The 1918 flu pandemic did the same thing, Donald explained.

The disease mostly disappeared from the United States, gone overseas and hit the troops in the trenches in Europe, he said. And then in the fall and winter, it came roaring back and a third of the deaths took place in a little tiny period between September and December 1918. So Im very worried that something like that could happen this fall and winter and that were not mentally prepared for it.
Across all the educational institutions in Nigeria, two-thirds of about two million Nigerian candidates who applied for tertiary education in 2019 were not admitted, according to the JAMB.

Data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board shows that this is not because they did not pass, but because there is not enough room for all of them.

While about two million students applied for the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examinations and Direct Entry, the countrys institutions had a target of 600,000, but they ended up admitting 612,557 as of June.

The admission data released by JAMB shows that the nations universities admitted a total of 444,947 students; polytechnics and monotechnics, 96,423; colleges of education 69,810; and innovation enterprise institutions, 1,377.

Meanwhile, of the two million students who applied, a little above 1.7 million scored 140 and above, the cutoff.

Meeting the cutoff is not enough for admission as students are required to have at least five O Level credits, which must include mathematics and English in some cases.

Data from JAMB also say that of those who made the cutoff, about 1.2 million had five O Level credits, including mathematics and English, but half of them were admitted.

Considering the estimate by statistics bureau, NBS that Nigerias population is about 207 million, about 60 per cent of whom are 24 or younger, this is nowhere enough.

Thus, due to the paucity of space in these institutions, some Nigerians often opt for a foreign education.

But in a country where the minimum monthly wage is only 30,000 (about $80), and about four in ten people earn less than 377 daily ($0.97), such a choice is a huge luxury.

No. of students admitted to Nigerian institutions 2008-2019

No. of students admitted to Nigerian institutions 2008-2019

Space not only reason

But JAMB says the absence of space is not the only contributory factor to missing out on admission into Nigerian institutions.

The examination board says, apart from over-subscription of some programmes, wrong O Level subject combination, low screening (POST UTME) score, UTME-combination deficiency, non-acceptance of admission offer, duplication of application, absence from Post- UTME screening, mismatch of catchment institutions and no O Level trial are other likely reasons candidates are not offered admission.

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Nonetheless, the cycle has subsisted for years.

Data from NBS and JAMB shows that between 2010 and 2015, of the 10 million applicants that sought entry into Nigerian tertiary institutions, only 26 per cent gained entry. That is about one in every four in those years.
Luxembourg wants to prevent with comprehensive Tests of the entire population, a second Corona-shaft. The inhabitants and workers had been divided into small groups, whose members are alternately and regularly tested: "If there are new infections, then we know exactly where it happened, and chains can break," said the Director of the Luxembourg Institute of health, Ulf Nehrbass, the German press Agency. Currently 17 test stations up to 20,000 Tests are possible per day.

Luxembourg was the first European country that Tests on Covid-19 to offer such a comprehensive way, said Nehrbass. Currently, ten per cent of over 600,000 inhabitants plus the 300,000 commuters were "tested". For the tests from the beginning of may until the end of July around 30 million euros will be provided. "It would be good if the Tests go well then," said Nehrbass, who is also the speaker of the Covid-19-Task Force in Luxembourg. The second wave is expected in the autumn. "And we should be ready."

people with many contacts at work every two weeks

In the test procedure ("Large-Scale Testing tested") is the focus initially on people who have a lot of contacts - so in the hospitality industry, the police, nurses and Doctors. "Since we know that there is a very high risk for Contracting the disease and also contagious." All of the people there would be tested every two weeks. However, because in each of the test groups almost every day someone else is going to be tested, have to happen constantly a good Overview of the current Infection, said Nehrbass.

This "virtual test cell", each of which could include two, five, or ten people, are like a "close-knit network, which is designed on the sector and on the population". It was after the end of the lock downs are important: "So the social life can start again, thus a higher feeling of security, even de facto, there is a higher level of security." And: The "mesh size" of the network could be varied to happen in the case of a new Infection. "We want to do everything to prevent a second Lockdown."

The Tests are all voluntary. The population could be, for example, explains why not all members of a family were invited at once: the son should come in the next week, the mother - and so on. "That's over long periods of time. Because it is also, of course, makes little sense, to test one family at a time, said Nehrbass by the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Now you but take note: The participation in the test to take strong.

cross-border commuters from Germany, France and Belgium received their invitations by Post, said Nehrbass, who grew up in Kanzem on the Saar. With a Code you could enter to go to a test station, a throat swab, and within 48 hours you will have your result. The costs in the case of a Lockdown is to be estimated per Luxembourg and month 3,000 euros. A Test is 30 euros. "Economically this is quite reasonable."

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 06:20
(Photo : Kon Karampelas on Unsplash) TikTok Explains How Its Algorithm is Different From Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube: Here's How "For You" Works (Photo : Pixabay) TikTok Explains How Its Algorithm is Different From Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube: Here's How "For You" Works

TikTok's recommendation system, "For You," was recently explained by the social media platform. According to Techcrunch's latest report, when a user opens the short-form video app, they are met with a stream of popular videos tailored to their interests.

However, the content you're seeing may be different from the ones that your friend or other people see when they use the app. Since the videos provided are based on how the users personalized their app, TikTok named the mainstream content "For You."

However, it is still unknown how the recommendation system works on the social media platform. Tiktok explained on its own website how its algorithm works, detailing the factors involved, as well as how they are weighted for each individual user.

According to TikTok's report, filter bubbles or feeds where users are presented with a homogeneous stream of videos are not created by the system.

Just like many recommendation systems, the "For You" feed is also powered by user input. In TikTok's case, to help the users determine their interests, the system takes into account the videos they've liked or shared, the accounts they follow, the comments they post, and also the content they create.

How is TikTok's algorithm different from Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Just like users' language preference, device type, and country setting, TikTok also uses the device and account settings to tailor content for each individual user. However, compared to other recommendation systems, TikTok said that these factors receive a lower weight in the recommendation system since they're focused on making sure the system's performance is optimized.

TikTok explained that the social media platform's understanding of what a user likes is also refined by other signals such as the time spent by a user watching a video which indicates their interests. The recommendation system will also affect the video's information such as sounds, hashtags, and captions associated with the user's preferred content.

The social media platform will also provide the user's "For You" feed with content that may be different from their interests. This feature is used to add diversity by allowing users to encounter new creators and new content categories, giving them new ideas and perspectives.

It could be argued that other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube haven't totally addressed the issue in content recommendation diversity. The algorithms of these big social media platforms highlight more of the same sort of content the users previously liked, keeping them in their own echo chambers.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey announced his breakup from Francesca Farago on Tuesday.

But on Thursday, the reality television star appeared to be in high spirits as he spent the day out with friends.

The 22-year-old donned a casual ensemble as he enjoyed a coffee with two pals in Los Angeles.

No signs of heartbreak: Too Hot To Handle star Harry Jowsey (pictured) appeared to be in high spirits as he enjoyed a day out with friends in Los Angeles on Thursday, after splitting from his girlfriend Francesca Farago

Harry looked stylish in black shorts, a white T-shirt and a black jumper, which he placed over his shoulder.

He accessorised his ensemble with a pair of white sneakers, long white socks and a silver watch.

The 22-year-old was all smiles as he walked on the footpath alongside his friends and held a cold coffee beverage in his hand.

Style: Harry looked stylish in black shorts, a white T-shirt and a black jumper, which he carried over his shoulder

Harry's outing comes after the Australian native revealed details of his breakup with Francesca.

On Tuesday, he posted on his Instagram Story, before uploading an emotional YouTube video titled 'I broke up with her.'

The announcement came just days after the swimwear designer revealed she was heading to LA for a reunion with her boyfriend.

Harry has been living in Los Angeles while Francesca has been at home in Vancouver, Canada.

The lengthy video posted on Thursday, gave fans more details of what happened, saying that he wanted to 'take ownership' of the split.

'I saw Francesca and I remember holding her... and I could feel how much she still loved me and I just didn't have that feeling anymore,' Harry says in the video.

It's over: Harry's outing comes after the Australian native clued fans in on his breakup with Francesca (pictured) on his Instagram Story before uploading an emotional YouTube video titled 'I broke up with her'

'But I didn't want to go because I knew what we had was super, super rare,' he added.

Harry finished the video on a high note, praising Francesca saying: 'She's a wonderful person, she's so gorgeous and everyone's right. She's well and truly out of my league. She's a superstar and I'm so proud of her.'

The video was posted after Francesca disclosed in a YouTube video that Harry had been the one to end the relationship on Wednesday.

In Francesca's YouTube tell-all, titled 'Our Breakup', the brunette tearfully questioned: 'How could you have a wedding ring folder with someone and how could you propose to someone, but you're also saying I can't be with you because of the distance?'

'I just didn't have that feeling anymore': The lengthy video gave fans more details of what happened, saying that he wanted to 'take ownership' of the split

She seemed to agree with Harry that the long distance was partly to blame for their split, but said he was the one wanted to breakup.

'He decided to breakup with me because he couldnt do long-distance anymore. I obviously was heartbroken. I did everything I could,' she shared with fans.

'I cannot fake a relationship. I cannot pretend like everything is going to be okay,' the reality TV star added, as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

The couple, who were known for their frisky antics on Netflix's Too Hot to Handle, had became engaged via Zoom during the Netflix reunion episode in May.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned Europeans they are abandoning democracy if they embrace China, in a scathing denunciation of Beijing two days after he held talks on trans-Pacific friction.

"There's also no way to straddle these alternatives without abandoning who we are. Democracies dependent on authoritarians are not worthy of the name," Pompeo told a forum in Denmark by videoconference.

Pompeo was speaking publicly for the first time since meeting for nearly nine hours Wednesday in Hawaii with a top Chinese official, Yang Jiechi, on the soaring tensions between the United States and China.

In his speech, Pompeo indicated that the meeting did little to change his hawkish views on China, which he called a "rogue actor" on the world stage.

He renewed calls on Europeans to shun Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which he called the arm of the communist "surveillance state," and said Beijing was "flagrantly attacking sovereignty" through its port investments in Greece and Spain.

"We must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn't just at the gates -- it's in every capital," he said.

"Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion."
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has announced the launch of antiviral drug Favipiravir for the treatment of 'mild to moderate COVID-19 patients' after receiving manufacturing and marketing approval from India's drug regulator.

In a statement, the company said Favipiravir was backed by strong clinical evidence showing encouraging results in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. "The antiviral offers broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with clinical improvement noted across age groups 20 to 90 years. Favipiravir can be used in COVID-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID 19 symptoms," the company said.

As per the company, it offers a rapid reduction in viral load in four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement. The company said Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.

According to the company, it's the first pharmaceutical firm in India to receive the approval for conducting phase three clinical trial on mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. "The approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before, putting tremendous pressure on our healthcare system. We hope the availability of an effective treatment such as Favipiravir considerably help assuage this pressure," Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said.

Glenn said Favipiravir was orally administered, and so it served as a more convenient treatment option over other "intravenously administered medications". Glenmark will work closely with the government and medical community to make Favipiravir accessible to patients across the country, Glenn said.

Favipiravir was approved in Japan in 2014 for the treatment of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections. The drug will be available as a prescription-based medication for Rs 103 per tablet, with the recommended dose being 1,800 mg twice on day 1, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14. Last month, Glenmark had also announced that it was conducting another clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two antivirals Favipiravir and Umifenovir as combination therapy in moderate hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients in India.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A reputed high-level mobster from Staten Island, who is serving a lengthy sentence, has asked a federal judge to spring him from prison early, citing concerns over contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) behind bars.

Daniel (Dirty Danny) Mongelli, 54, is being treated for prostate cancer and fears the coronavirus could prove fatal to him given his age, significant medical conditions and weakened immune system due to radiation treatment, his lawyer Gerard M. Marrone wrote to the court.

Mongelli, a reputed acting captain in the Bonanno crime family at the time of his arrest, is serving a 24-year sentence for a racketeering conviction and his role in luring fellow mobster Louis Tuzzio to his death in Brooklyn in 1990.

Mongelli, a former Annadale resident, also suffers from severe hypertension and cholesterol issues, wrote Marrone.

Mongelli has three years remaining on his sentence to be followed by five years of supervised released. He has asked to serve the remainder of his sentence under home detention.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors oppose Mongellis request for compassionate release.

They contend Mongellis condition, while serious, doesnt rise to the level of a terminal illness.

In addition, he has not shown his medical condition substantially diminishes his ability to provide self-care in prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Selden wrote in opposition papers.

Furthermore, there are no coronavirus cases among the inmates in the unit where Mongelli is housed at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix Low in New Jersey, prosecutors said.

Mongelli has not demonstrated extraordinary and compelling reasons justifying his early release from prison, Selden wrote.

During a remote conference on Friday, District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis reserved decision.

The judge said he needs more information, specifically, to find out whether the prison staff is shared between Mongellis unit and the separate unit where inmates with the coronavirus are isolated.

Garaufis asked Selden to provide a statement from the federal Bureau of Prisons clarifying that issue.

Mongelli was arrested in January 2003.

Fourteen months later, in March 2004, he pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to a racketeering charge.

Mongelli admitted that, from January 1988 to November 2002, he collected sports-betting proceeds for the mob in Brooklyn and Staten Island, the Advance previously reported.

He also said he engaged in loansharking and used implied threats of violence to compel payments.

In addition, he admitted to his role in Tuzzios murder in January 1990.

Marrone said Mongelli has been a model prisoner and would reside with his family in Tottenville if released.

He would comply with home confinement, house arrest, and electronic monitoring, wrote Marrone. He would only leave for doctor visits and any conditions imposed by the court.

Prosecutors, however, contend Mongelli would be a safety threat if let out.

The offenses of conviction are extremely serious  and contrary to the defendants argument that he poses no danger to others or the community  emblematic of the danger he poses to the community at any age because he wields power over others in the crime family who stand ready to commit acts of violence at his direction, wrote Selden.

Moreover, inmates convicted of certain offenses, including those of violence, are not eligible for home confinement, maintain prosecutors.

Some of Tuzzios family members listened in to Fridays remote conference.

Garaufis assured them he is aware of and sensitive to their concerns about Mongellis request for early release.

The judge said he planned to make a decision soon but did not specify when.
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Thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters flooded into London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday after marching from Hyde Park and posing in front of Sir Winston Churchill's statue outside Parliament.

As people began to mass in the capital earlier in the day, police formed a defensive ring around the statue, which was earlier boarded up after the plinth was defaced during a rally two weeks ago.

When demonstrators flooded the square, it appeared that police slipped away - leaving protesters standing triumphant in front of Sir Winston's statue with their clenched fists in the air.

Hundreds of people had first gathered in Hyde Park to listen to rousing speeches by Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists. One activist, Imarn Ayton, a 29-year-old actress, said demonstrators wanted 'equality' and 'to be treated fairly.'

After then marching via Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square, protesters massed together and wielded banners, placards and flags as others gave speeches from Nelson's Column.

In stark contrast to last weekend's ugly clashes between BLM demonstrators and thugs who pelted police with bottles, barriers and fireworks, Saturday's demonstrations were largely good-natured.

Up to 14 police vans were on hand, with Scotland Yard earlier warning previous protests have been marred by a 'small minority intent on violence' after more than 100 officers were assaulted in recent weeks.

Demonstrations have erupted across the UK since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis in the U.S. after a white police officer knelt on his neck for just under nine minutes.

Thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters flooded into London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday after marching from Hyde Park and posing in front of Sir Winston Churchill's statue outside Parliament

As people began to mass in the capital earlier in the day, police formed a defensive ring around the statue, which was earlier boarded up after the plinth was defaced during a rally two weeks ago

When demonstrators flooded the square, it appeared that police slipped away - leaving protesters standing triumphant in front of Sir Winston's statue with their clenched fists in the air

Later in the afternoon, large crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square, with protesters wielding banners and posters and some making speeches from the foot of Nelson's Column

Protesters at first assembled at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park to listen to activists call for the removal of Munira Mirza, Boris Johnson's policy chief, as head of the new race inequality commission.

The crowd then marched through the capital to Parliament Square. One of the chants they prepared at a two-hour rally in the park beforehand was 'Munira Mirza must go'.

Ms Mirza is Boris Johnson's policy chief and the newly appointed head of the Government's race inequality commission. She has been criticised for calling structural racism 'more of a perception than a reality'.

Standing before a crowd of around 600, Imarn Ayton thundered: 'We are all here today because we know that black lives matter, we are all here today because we know that black is beautiful.

'And we are all here today because we know that it is time to burn down institutional racism.'

She continued: 'Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission. We appreciate a response, we like a response but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made.

Hundreds of people flouted social distancing rules by gathering in Trafalgar Square to listen to speeches from Black Lives Matter Protesters

Protesters held homemade signs aloft as they stood in Trafalgar Square. One read, 'neutrality is brutality' followed by 'BLM' while another read, 'this is a movement not a moment'

This woman wore a mask as she held a placard which read, 'Why is it so dangerous being black?'

The protests were reportedly 'good natured'. Many stood or sat on Nelson's Column as hundreds gathered in Trafalgar Square

Police have warned the public to keep clear of nation-wide mass gatherings after last weekend's protests turned violent and disorderly in Parliament Square and around Nelson's Column in Trafalgar

Officers are guarding Sir Winston's statue, which was boarded up last week after the plinth was defaced during a rally, ahead of protests between BLM activists and counter-protesters

An estimated 600 people have gathered in Hyde Park this afternoon to listen to rousing speeches, before marching through London city centre and demonstrating at Parliament Square

Black Lives Matter protesters standing triumphant in front of Sir Winston Churchill's statue in Parliament Square today

Workers arrived to Parliament Square on Wednesday to remove the metal box surrounding the statue of Sir Winston Churchill

People march to Parliament in central London during a protest organised by BLM today, following the killing of George Floyd

Demonstrators hold placards in front of the Buckingham Palace during a BLM protest following the death of George Floyd

A man holds an effigy depicting Donald Trump's head during a BLM protest in London, following the death of George Floyd

Motorcyclists raise their fists in support of a BLM protest in London today, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

'Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to head up our race inequality commission. This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism - she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.'

Ayton said: '(Munira Mirza) does not believe in what we believe in, she's not in line with what we believe in. So let me tell you right now, so here to make sure that everyone knows this today.'

She led the crowd in chanting 'Munira Mirza must go' and 'institutional racism is a reality not a perception'.

Ayton also called for the implementation of the recommendations made by David Lammy's review into outcomes for black and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system.

She interrupted the crowd when they broke into chants of 'Boris Johnson is a racist'.

'You cannot cuss a man who is listening - it's a waste of your voice to say 'f*** Boris', find another way to inspire,' she said, adding: 'You cannot cuss a man when you are asking him to help you.'

The actress and activist also said: 'I have been here every day, I am the person that leads 20,000 people every protest.

'Everyone else seems to be in contact with me, except for Boris, so I would like a conversation.'

Ayton said BLM demonstrators would continue to protest until the government met their demands.

'It's that simple. We protest or you listen,' she said. 'We want equality - to be treated fairly - that is all that we ask for, and for justice for those who have been harmed.'

People march in central London after attending a BLM rally in Hyde Park, London, following the death of George Floyd

People march in central London after attending a BLM rally in Hyde Park, London, following the death of George Floyd

Demonstrators hold placards and a banner as they march during a BLM protest, following the death of George Floyd

Activists, some wearing face coverings or face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19, beat drums as they march to Parliament Square during a BLM protest which began in Hyde Park, central London

A man, wearing a protective mask against the spread of coronavirus, holds a banner during a march, organised by Black Lives Matter, to Parliament in central London today, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd

Metropolitan Police Commander Alex Murray said: 'Whilst the vast majority of people who have attended demonstrations over the past few weeks were not violent, there have a small minority intent on violence against our officers and others, and this is completely unacceptable and we are working hard to bring offenders to justice.

'Officers will be making arrests if there is violence.

'We would encourage those planning to attend to use your influence and spread the message that criminal activity and violence will undermine the messages you are wanting people to hear and must be avoided.

'We have a post-investigation team who will gather all the available evidence and bring those identified to justice.'

Though police have formed a small defensive field around Sir Winston's statue, they did not plans to position large numbers of officers around them to protect statues today.

Commander Murray said: 'We won't have pre-prepared cordons around statues, but we will act on intelligence and information and if we hear something like that is planned then we would act as the public would expect us to. The police have never asked for those statues to be protected.

Activists, some wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 and keeping a social distance from others, hold placards, including one activist taking a knee, as they attend a BLM protest in Hyde Park, central London today

Demonstrators have also been assembling at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and in Vauxhall. There is a heavy police presence at Hyde Park, with 14 police vans lined up along the road by Marble Arch

Protesters attend a Black Lives Matters protest in Hyde Park, London before marching through town to Parliament today

Demonstrators raise their fists as they attend a Black Lives Matter protest among hundreds in Hyde Park, London today

'That's a matter for the local authority. Our focus is on reducing violence and protecting the public, protecting citizens. But we will also investigate if criminal damage takes place.

'So we will prevent violence and we'll also try to prevent criminal damage.'

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, decided to board up Sir Winston's statue on June 12 after it was daubed with graffiti accusing him of being a 'racist' during a rally in the square.

The statue was 'freed' ahead of Emmanuel Macron's visit to the UK this week, as the French President and Boris Johnson commemorated the 80th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's call to resist the Nazis.

Boarding around statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have also been brought down.

Following Mr Khan's decision to board up the monument dedicated to Sir Winston, the PM called it 'absurd and wrong' to have to cover the statue of a 'national hero' to protect it from attack.

People, wearing protective masks, take part in a protest organised by Black Lives Matter, in Hyde Park, London today

People at a BLM rally in Hyde Park, London today. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis

Activists, some wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 and keeping a social distance from others, hold placards, including one activist taking a knee, as they attend a BLM protest in Hyde Park, central London today

Mr Johnson said: 'What makes me sad about what's happening today is that you've got a situation in which the statue of Winston Churchill, who is a national hero, has had to be boarded up for fear of violent attack.

'That to me is both absurd and wrong.'

Last weekend, a mob of Right-wing goons pelted police with bottles, barriers and fireworks in Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square.

About 1,000 protesters ignored a 5pm curfew and stayed by Nelson's Column where troublemakers on both sides sparked skirmishes with police.

BLM protesters gathered in Hyde Park, before 300 headed to Waterloo station after 5pm and chased men they said were members of the English Defence League (EDL).

There, at least 15 people were injured, including six officers, and six people were taken to hospital.

The decision to board up the Churchill statue was slammed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, who accused Sadiq Khan of caving into mob rule.

She said: 'We should free Churchill, a hero of our nation, who fought against fascism and racism in this country and Europe.'

'He has given us the freedom to live our lives the way we do today.'

Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, said covering up his statue in Parliament Square was a national humiliation. And Boris Johnson said it was 'absurd and shameful' that the monument required protection.

Mr Khan defended his decision, insisting that 'prevention is better than the cure'. His allies said Mr Johnson oversaw the boarding-up of Parliament Square statues three times as mayor.
Janardhan Pattajoshi Mohapatra, the hereditary chief servitor of Lord Jagannatha of the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the recall of the top courts June 18 order which had barred the holding of the annual Hindu festival of Rath Yatra this year in view of the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mohapatra submitted that the Rath Yatra is an unbroken tradition and an essential practice of the Jagannatha temple, which the temple administrators should mandatorily observe in all circumstances.

Any interruption in the observance of this mandatory religious practice affects the very sanctity of the temple and all its future rituals, as well as the faith of millions of devotees across the world who understand and revere the significance of the Rath Yatra, the application stated.

Mohapatra, therefore, suggested that instead of imposing a blanket ban on the Rath Yatra, and the festival and rituals associated with it, they could hold the festival without public participation by imposing a curfew in the city of Puri and closing its borders.

If a curfew is imposed on the day of Rath Yatra and the Rathas are pulled with the help of earth movers, the entire journey of Lord Jagannatha from the Shri Jagannath Temple to Gundicha mandir of around 2.8 km can be completed in less than one hour. An absolute bar on the performance of such an essential ritual is not necessary to protect public health, the application filed through advocate Suvidutt Sundaram stated.

The Rath Yatra is a festival associated with Lord Jagannatha. It was scheduled to commence this year on June 23. The festival lasts for 10 to 12 days and involves a procession of chariots containing the statues of the deity Lord Jagannatha, his brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra.

The Supreme Court had ordered a stay on the festival and all activities associated with it this year stating that allowing the same would lead to a congregation of more than 10 lakh devotees in violation of social distancing norms which could compromise public health and safety.

This order was passed in a petition filed by an NGO, Odisha Vikas Parishad which had moved the top court pointing out the public health risk involved if the annual event took place.

The NGO referred to the Tablighi Jamaat incident, a Muslim religious congregation held in mid-March in Nizamuddin, New Delhi, which resulted in a spurt of Covid-189 cases across the country after people from various parts of India and even foreign countries attended the event.

Of about 4,400 Covid-19 positive cases in India as on April 7, nearly one-third were related to the religious gathering at the Markaz, Delhi. Thus, in order to avoid any similar instances of outbreak of Covid-19 cases, a religious gathering in the nature of Rath Yatra festival ought to be avoided, the petition had read.

Regarding the danger presented by such a large gathering of people for the Rath Yatra, we consider it appropriate in the interests of public health and safety of citizens who are devotees to restrain the respondents (state and district authorities and managing committee of Jagannatha temple) from holding the Rath Yatra this year, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde had ordered.

The court had also directed that no such Rath Yatra should be allowed in any other part of Odisha.

Mohapatra pointed out that the Rath Yatra has been conducted in all circumstances, including during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.

The Rath Yatra is an essential, mandatory, integral and indispensable religious practice which has scriptural sanction. Non-conduct of the Rath Yatra has consequences not only for the sanctity of the temple but also for the society in general, his application read.

He, therefore, suggested that the state government may announce that the Rath Yatra will be conducted with absolutely nil participation from the public and strict penal consequences will follow if any attempt is made to enter Puri during the Rath Yatra.

Arrangements for the live broadcast of the Rath Yatra may be allowed like every year to enable crores of devotees across the world, including the residents of Puri, to have darshan of the three Deities, the plea read.
Global warming caused by volcanic eruptions triggered a mass extinction event that wiped out around 85% of all marine species on Earth, scientists have claimed.

Scientists previously thought that the Late Ordovician extinction, which happened nearly 450 million years ago, was linked to toxic metals and radiation released from a distant galaxy, as well as global cooling.

But now experts claim volcanoes could have been responsible.

Professor David Bond from the University of Hull and Dr Stephen Grasby from the Geological Survey of Canada say that global warming - linked to many of history's other mass extinctions - is a more likely explanation for what was planet's first mass extinction.

A model of a Cincinnatian seafloor during the Late Ordovician period shows a nautiloid eating an Isotelus trilobite

It is believed that, at the time the extinction happened, volcanoes and earthquakes were a common occurrence because the Earth's tectonic plates constantly shifted.

The scientists heated Ordovician rocks collected from a small stream in southern Scotland and found that they released large amounts of mercury, molybdenum, and uranium.

They say these are telltale signs that widespread volcanic eruptions took place during that period.

The eruptions are believed to have released enough carbon dioxide to heat up the planet and contribute to global warming.

This then removed oxygen from oceans, they said, resulting in a huge extinction of marine life.

Professor Bond explained the situation by using an analogy of a bottle of cola.

A dioarma from the Late Ordovician era shows a nautiloid among algae, crinous and other marine life

He told the New York Times: 'If it's been in the fridge, it stays nice and fizzy because the gas in that carbon dioxide stays in the liquid.

'But if you leave it on a sunny table outside and it gets really warm, then that gas quickly dissociates out of that liquid and you end up with a flat Coke.'

Previous theories about the Late Ordovician extinction have focused on widespread glaciation towards the end of the period.

Experts said this could have caused shallow seas to disappear, impacting on the species that lived there and disrupting the food chain.

But some scientists have discounted this explanation due to evidence showing the extinction was an abrupt event, while glacial events often span millions of years.

The new research, published in the Geology journal, does not discount glaciation at the time but suggests the cooler climate was then impacted by global warming events triggered by volcanic eruptions.

Dr Grasby said: 'The Ordovician one has always been a little bit of an oddball.'
Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on Saturday afternoon that the Legislatures failure to pass a bill was an embarrassment for the state. He blamed Republicans for creating what he said was an arbitrary deadline and said he was shocked that lawmakers had adjourned without an agreement.

Im really, really worried the message this sends to all those tens of thousands of protesters who were on the streets, all those families and all those people across Minnesota and across the country that expected this one was going to be different, Mr. Walz said.

Some lawmakers said they hoped the governor would call them back again next week or later in the summer to take up the issues, but activists worried that the window to change the laws was closing as the 2020 election approaches.

The breakdown finally came just after 6 a.m. on Saturday, when the Senates Republican majority voted to adjourn and the Democrat-led House followed. That came after hours of huddled strategy sessions and standoffish meetings in the Capitol as small groups of protesters gathered outside.

While many hearings and negotiations have unfolded virtually because of the coronavirus, State Representative Carlos Mariani, a Democrat, said he sat down with Republicans on Friday afternoon to discuss a compromise.

Mr. Mariani said he told them that his fellow Democrats would not vote for any package that did not address structural changes to policing. The Republicans across the table said they had not yet had time to read every piece of the policing bill that the Democrat-controlled House passed early on Friday morning, he said.

Take an hour, take a week, take a month to read it, Mr. Mariani said. Were waiting, and the pressures building.
COVID-19 Related Deaths Reach 3,000; L.A. County Officials Looking for Safest Way to Reopen.

Friday June 19, also Angeles public officials shared the latest news surrounding the COVID-19 virus. This week the focus was pulled in many directions, all levels of government are looking for ways to answer the call for police reform due to the overwhelming response to George Floyds Death. Although that has been the current case within elected office, the threat of coronavirus is still present. L.A. County officials look for the safest ways to gain economic recovery. As of June 18, many different sectors were approved to be open, including nail salons and tattoo shops. The L.A County Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer shared the last eat statistics surrounding COVID-19.

Los Angeles County Officials continue to emphasize the importance of taking precautionary steps towards opening the economy. As of June 18, Nail salons, spas, tattoo shops, casinos, bars, and wineries are now approved to reopen. Within nail salons, staff must wear a face covering, respirator, or face shield in certain cases. Simultaneous services, such as receiving a manicure and pedicure will not be permitted, and reservations will be required. Additionally, Faith-based and protest organizations that hold outdoor events will no longer have a maximum limit. Public officials are being guided the state Resiliency Roadmap, L.A. has reached the Phase 3 Benchmark.

The last COVID-19 case count was given publicly on Friday, June 19, by Dr.Ferrer. latest numbers surrounding coronavirus reflected 38 additional deaths, 31 of these individuals were between the ages of 65 and over, 26 of them with underlining health conditions. Seven people who died were between the ages of 41-65, six victims had preexisting health concerns. This brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 3,063.

The relationship between COVID-19 infection and ethnicity were provided. The racial background collected from 2,779 fatal cases shown 11% were African American, 17% were Asian, slightly less than 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 42% were LatinX, 29% were white, and 1% identified as a different race or ethnicity. 14% of all positive cases were hospitalized at some point. Fatal cases within congregational settings such as assistant living represent 52% of overall COVID-19 deaths. 93% of those who died due to COVID-19 had preexisting health concerns.

Ferrer disclosed on Friday, there were 1,414 new COVID-19 reports. In summary, there is a total amount of 79,609 coronavirus cases in the Los Angeles region. 2,888 incidents were reported in the city of Long Beach and 1,099 cases in the city of Pasadena. Amid the unsheltered, there were 548 positive cases, 222 victims were temporarily housed in a shelter and have been properly isolated.

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Amid the general updates, Chairwoman of the L.A. Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barger shed light to this historic day,  I would like to acknowledge that today is Juneteenth, we continue to look at this meaningful day in our nations history and look to our future as a county as a county and as a nation, with a commitment to unity and equality

Dr. Ferrer stated, This is in fact the day that we honor the strength and resilience of all who fought for and continue to fight to end of anti-black racism. This is has been a year of devastation for many African Americans and also a year of resistance and strength in standing against racism and violence.
Washington/New Delhi, June 20 : The US called the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a "rogue actor" and held it responsible for the violent face-off along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were killed and dozens injured earlier this week.

Slamming China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has "escalated border tensions" in India, the world's most popular - populous democracy.

"But the CCP isn't just a rogue actor in its own neighbourhood," he said, adding that if it was, the US might think differently about it.

"It impacts us all." Warning that it was no longer enough to listen to what the CCP is saying, Pompeo, who was speaking at Virtual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, said that "we can see their actions".

The Secretary of State said that it is important to acknowledge a set of facts about "who and what we're dealing with, and all across the world it was becoming more apparent each and every day".

Pointing out that the CCP militarizes the South China Sea and illegally claims more territory there and threatens vital sea lanes, Pompeo mentioned other examples of the Party's rogue behaviour.

"Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, what they're doing in India, what they've done in the economic zones along the Philippines and Malaysia and Indonesia and Vietnam, the coercion on Australia - when they had the audacity to demand that there would be an investigation of how this virus got from Wuhan to Milan, how this virus got from Wuhan to Tehran, how this virus got from Wuhan to Oklahoma City, and to Belgium and to Spain, and decimating the global economy." The CCP, he said, lied about the coronavirus, and then let it spread to the rest of the world while pressuring the World Health Organization (WHO) to assist in a coverup campaign - a failure of transparency that continues even today.

"Now hundreds of thousands of people have died and the global economy is decimated. Even now, months into the pandemic, we don't have access to a live virus, we don't have access to facilities, and information about patients in December in Wuhan remains unavailable," Pompeo said.

The Secretary of State said the CCP decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, violating a UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens - one of just many international treaties that it has violated.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale, not seen since World War II, Pompeo said.

Accusing the CCP of pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns to undermine democratic governments, he said it was driving a wedge between the US and Europe, and is saddling developing nations with debt and dependency.

The CCP strongarms nations to do business with Huawei, an arm of the CCP's surveillance state and it's flagrantly attacking European sovereignty by buying up ports and critical infrastructure, Piraeus to Valencia, he said.

"We must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn't just at the gates; it's in every capital, it's in every borough, it's in every province. Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion." Europe, he said, faces a China challenge, just as the US does, and as - just as our South American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian allies do too.

"There's fear in Europe that the US wants you to choose between us and China. But that's simply not the case. It's the CCP that's forcing this choice. The choice isn't between the US; it's between freedom and tyranny," the Secretary of the State said.

"The party wants you to throw away the progress we in the free world have made, through NATO and other institutions - both formal and informal institutions - and adopt a new set of rules and norms to accommodate them within Beijing. I don't believe that there's a uniquely 'European' or 'American' way to face this choice. There's also no way to straddle these alternatives without abandoning who we are. Democracies that are dependent on authoritarians are not worthy of their name," he added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday directed all hospitals and medical institutions under it to recall their staff that is on leave to report back for COVID -19 duty immediately.

In its order, the Delhi government said that leave of any kind to be granted only under most compelling circumstances.

The order comes at a time when there has been an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases in Delhi.

The order signed by Special Secretary SM Ali said that leave of any kind will only be granted under most compelling circumstances.

"All MSs, MDs, Deans and Directors of the hospitals and medical institutions under the Health and Family Welfare Department are advised to issue directions to all the staff working under their control who are on leave of any kind to immediately report for their duties," the order stated.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government also said that it could not reach a consensus on Lt. Governor Anil Baijal`s decision of five-day compulsory institutional quarantine for COVID-19 patients in the city.

With the Centre stepping in to aid the Delhi government in its fight against the coronavirus, a difference of opinions seems to be brewing between the two.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "In the meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority, the issue of five-day compulsory institutional quarantine and rate of beds in private hospitals was raked up. A consensus could be reached on both. Now, the meeting will again be held at 5 p.m."

Sisodia said that the Central government has recommended making only 24 per cent beds cheaper in private hospitals, while the Delhi government is adamant on making at least 60 per cent beds cheap.

A high-powered panel set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recommended fixing the cost of COVID-19 isolation beds in the private hospitals.

The price range is Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 and an ICU bed with a ventilator at Rs 15,000-Rs 18,000 per day, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, in the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the institutional quarantine will make people evade testing, which will further increase the spread of infection.

He also said there is already a shortage of healthcare staff, how will it be possible to arrange doctors and nurses for thousands of patients at quarantine centers.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has appealed to people to boycott Chinese products to hit China economically.

He was talking to media persons in Rewa, 536 kilometres north east of Bhopal, on Friday evening after attending the funeral procession of Naik Deepak Singh, one of the 20 soldiers killed in a clash Chinese troops in Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

In a video clip that has gone viral on social media Chouhan said, We should boycott Chinese products. Our Army too will give a befitting reply to China but we will also break it economically. Thats why my humble request is to all the people of the state is to be filled with patriotic feelings as has been said by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to adopt swadeshi, give preference to local products and boycott Chinese products. India will give a befitting reply to China.

There have been calls for boycott of Chinese products from other parts of the country as well following the Galwan clash. China, one of Indias largest trading partners, has a massive balance of trade advantage.

Earlier, Friday afternoon, Chouhan went to Farenda village, about 35 kilometres from Rewa district headquarters where he paid tributes to the fallen soldier.

Ahead of the funeral, the chief minister had announced in Bhopal an ex-gratia payment of Rs one crore to the family of Deepak Singh.

The state and the entire country are proud of the supreme sacrifice made by Deepak Singh. The state government will give a samman nidhi of Rs 1 core, a pucca house or a plot and a government job to a member of the family.
The National Institutes of Health said Saturday that it had stopped two clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that President Trump promoted to treat and prevent the coronavirus, one because the drug was unlikely to be effective and the other because not enough patients signed up to participate.

The agency halted a trial that had aimed to enroll more than 500 patients after an independent oversight board determined that the drug did not appear to benefit hospitalized patients. The same day, the N.I.H. said it had closed another trial  of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin  because only about 20 patients had enrolled in the planned study of 2,000 people.

The two trials the N.I.H. shut down represent the latest evidence that hydroxychloroquine has not lived up to its early promise of fighting the coronavirus.

The N.I.H. said Saturday that an independent oversight board that monitors safety met late Friday to discuss the 500-patient trial and determined that while there was no harm, the study drug was very unlikely to be beneficial to hospitalized patients with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it was revoking emergency authorization of two malaria drugs to treat COVID-19, saying that they are unlikely to be effective.

The drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, were heavily promoted by President Donald Trump after a handful of small, poorly controlled studies suggested that they could work in treating the disease. Trump said he took hydroxychloroquine after he had been exposed to two people who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The agency said that after reviewing some data, it had determined that the drugs, particularly hydroxychloroquine, did not demonstrate potential benefits that outweighed their risks. Earlier this spring, the FDA had also issued a warning that the drugs could cause dangerous heart arrhythmias in COVID patients.

In March, the FDA authorized stockpiles of the drugs, which had been donated by pharmaceutical companies, to be used in hospitals to treat patients with the virus. But in a letter Monday revoking the authorization, the agency said that further studies have shown that the two drugs were unlikely to be effective in stopping the virus, and that national treatment guidelines dont recommend using them outside of clinical trials.

According to the letter, written by Denise M. Hinton, the FDAs chief scientist, the request to revoke the authorization came from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the unit of the Department of Health and Human Services that had initially asked for the authorization.

In April, the head of that unit, Dr. Rick Bright, said he was removed from his post after he pushed for rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine, even as Trump and his allies were enthusiastically promoting the drug.

The use of hydroxychloroquine spiked after Trump continuously praised its potential, calling it a possible game changer and saying, What the hell do you have to lose? His repeated promotions during daily briefings at the White House prompted runs on pharmacies, threatening supplies for the drugs, which are also taken by people with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

But interest in hydroxychloroquine has waned in recent weeks as further studies showed that the drug did not appear to be effective in treating or preventing COVID-19. Earlier this month, a study of 821 people who had been exposed to patients infected with the virus showed that the drug did not prevent infection.

In May, an article in the Lancet about another study concluded that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine did not help patients and may have harmed them  but that study was later retracted after the authors could not verify the database of medical records on which the article was based.

Several trials of hydroxychloroquine are still underway, including additional studies of whether it can be used to prevent coronavirus infection. The World Health Organization resumed a study of the drug after briefly halting it in the wake of the Lancet article. And it is still being embraced elsewhere, including in Brazil, which is battling an explosive outbreak.

Members of Congress have questioned increases in the FDAs granting of emergency use authorizations during the pandemic for certain drugs as potential treatments. They have also questioned authorizations for antibody and diagnostic tests whose data had not been thoroughly vetted before approval, and for certain types of masks and other devices. Some Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for pressuring the agency into issuing too many emergency approvals.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
HOUSTON, June 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PINES and GOLDENZWEIG Law Firm as El Caballero Defensor works with the Hispanic community always on their mind and are committed to always contributing their grain of sand for the community. With the idea of using our legal defense services to represent and defend Spanish-speaking Hispanic victims, we have launched our brand new website www.AyudaEnAccidentes.com. Through this new website, we strive to inform the Hispanic community about our services and reinforce our commitment to them.

Attorneys Erick Pines and Stephen Goldenzweig have been representing victims for more than 20 years and have an extensive list of successful cases where the rights of victims resulting from accidents have been respected and their due compensations have been granted

The Hispanic community is, has been, and will continue to be very important to the whole El Caballero Defensor team. Since being established, El Caballero Defensor has defended the rights of countless Hispanic victims who have suffered anywhere from automobile collisions to fatal accidents. We have successfully represented hundreds of Hispanic victims and obtained for them the compensation they deserve.

We know the Hispanic community is growing in Texas and in the United States overall. This growth is the reason why El Caballero Defensor wishes to and has started implementing the Spanish language in its communication platforms. It is important for us to build a bond and grow together as a community.

Our website has been designed with the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community in our minds. The website includes a lot of important information for anyone who has suffered an accident. Information such as informative videos created by our own team and frequently asked questions and answers can be found in our new website. We also included information directly related to El Caballero Defensor such as the origins of our firm, our firm members, summaries of our areas of expertise, and questions answered by experts. Asides from our new website, you can also see these changes implemented on our Facebook page under the name of "El Caballero Defensor".

Pines & Goldenzweig Launch Their New Spanish Website

"AyudaEnAccidentes.com"

Pines & Goldenzweig, PLLC is a full-service personal injury and accident law firm based in Houston, TX who is here to help you. Contact El Caballero Defensor by calling 713-489-4410 or 713-766-0000 for Spanish assistance. We at El Caballero Defensor have over 20 years of experience helping victims like you have their voices heard and their rights protected.

Call us to schedule your free consultation or go to www.AyudaEnAccidentes.com for additional information.

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(Photo : Greg Bulla / Unsplash) Facebook is now in hot water over its issues with managing information in the platform.

The North Face, the renowned apparel brand offering outdoor products, is now the biggest brand to boycott Facebook ads. According to a report on CNN, the brand is now the biggest company to commit boycotting the social media platform due to its mishandling of hate speech and inaccurate information. This decision may prompt other brands to do the same.

North Face: 'We're in'

The North Face's decision to boycott these Facebook ads is due to the campaign from civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP in the campaign #StopHateForProfit, which started on Wednesday, June 17. They called out advertisers to suspend their publicity on Facebook this July.

The outdoor brand tweeted, "We're in. We're out @Facebook #StopHateForProfit."

The North Face's commitment targeted Facebook and Instagram. However, it will continue to promote organic content on its Instagram account.

A spokesperson for The North Face's parent company, VF Corp, Craig Hodges, stated that there are more brands in their jurisdiction that are considering to follow the decision of the outdoor product provider. The brands under their management include Dickies, Timberland, Vans, and Smartwool. VF Corp reportedly spent $756 million on advertising as of March 31.

The statement pointed said, "The North Face is halting all activity and U.S. paid advertising with Facebook until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform."





What Facebook says

Carolyn Everson, Facebook's vice president for the global business group, issued a statement saying, "We deeply respect any brand's decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good."

For several weeks, the executive team of Facebook suffered backlash over how it has been handling offensive posts on the platform such as U.S. President Donald Trump's "inflammatory rhetoric."

Their inaction toward the online posts of President Trump, including one related to the Geoge Floyd killing which expressed "looting" would lead to "shooting." There were several reactions on the post, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has kept mum on the issue.

The Black Lives Matters protests have continued in the U.S. and in other major cities in the world. However, several other brands have already participated in the conversation. These include McDonald's, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola. Even ad agencies such as 360i revealed that it is joining the "Facebook ad boycott," the report added.

The #StopHateForProfit website said, "Let's send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence." For more of the latest news on technology, follow Tech Times on social media.

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The Week In Russia: Trials, Tunnels, And An Ominous Homage To Orwell

By Steve Gutterman June 19, 2020

The consecration of a colossal cathedral for the successor of the Soviet Army. A school surveillance-camera system called Orwell. Spray-equipped tunnels set up at the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin's main residence to protect him from the coronavirus. And a regional leader whose denial of a plot to murder a journalist seems to double as a threat.

Plus, trials in Moscow and Pskov deepen concerns about the government's use of the courts as a tool to achieve its political and economic aims, and the Russian state stands accused of killing a perceived enemy in a Berlin park last summer.

All this  and more  as Russia readies for a vote meant to put the people's stamp of approval on constitutional changes allowing Putin to seek 12 more years as president after his current term runs out in 2024.

Polls show Putin's support among those very people has waned over the past few years and the past few months, since the advent of the coronavirus  which continues to infect thousands of people in Russia every day following the lifting of lockdowns that government critics say were imposed too late.

Tunnel Vision

And now, an almost comically apt symbolic measurement of Putin's distance from the people has emerged -- in the form of "disinfection tunnels" set up in the Kremlin and at Putin's residence at Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow, to protect the man who could potentially remain president until 2036, the year he turns 84.

Visitors walk through the rectangular gates and are sprayed with disinfectant from nozzles in the sides and above.

"When it comes to the head of the state, additional precautionary measures are justified," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov  who himself was hospitalized with COVID-19 and released in late May, said of the tunnels. He told the AP they were installed when the coronavirus, which also infected Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and others in government, was in "full swing" in Russia.

In another additional precautionary measure, World War II veterans who are to sit near Putin to watch the rescheduled Red Square military parade marking 75 years since Nazi Germany's defeat are reportedly being kept in isolation ahead of the June 24 event.

Nearly 80 veterans were brought to a health resort outside Moscow for a 14-day stay ahead of the delayed Victory Day parade, Bloomberg reported, citing two unnamed officials with knowledge of the preparations.

Oh, (Big) Brother

Younger Russians, meanwhile, may be subjected to more long-term monitoring in a development not directly related to the coronavirus. Some Russian schools  and possibly almost all of them, eventually  are being equipped with surveillance cameras linked to a system that is called Orwell, after the British novelist who wrote the book  several books, actually, including 1984  on totalitarian states.

The mist-spraying coronavirus tunnels and Orwell security cameras made for some wry remarks and mocking memes on social media.

But they were probably eclipsed by the response to the consecration on June 14 of the huge cathedral that has been built at Patriot Park outside Moscow, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in attendance.

Putin was absent and had tamped down criticism ahead of time by saying, according to Peskov, that it was premature to honor his performance as head of state by depicting his face in a mosaic along with Shoigu, among others.

But there was plenty to catch the eye, and several observers drew comparisons to the film The Death Of Stalin, a British black comedy about Soviet generals, bureaucrats, and high-level toadies jockeying for power following the demise of the dictator.

One commentator said it seemed like "some kind of extremely dark parody," while opposition politician Aleksei Navalny described it as "pure gold: Members of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) since 1975 posing not only as combat generals but also as believers. A delight."

Putin, with more than 20 years in power as president or prime minister, has mixed symbols from tsarist times and the Soviet era in a persistent bid to bolster his own image and incite patriotism. And the church ceremony seemed to serve as a reminder that, within a few weeks, the Russian Constitution is all but certain to mention God for the first time.

That's one of a slew of amendments  on social and economic issues, mainly -- that are overshadowed by the wording permitting Putin to run for reelection in 2024 and 2030.

Even as that prospect looms, one development this past week appeared to underscore the limits of Putin's control  at least when it comes to Ramzan Kadyrov, the former rebel fighter he has relied on to rule the Chechnya region, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency, for about 15 years.

Rights activists say that Kadyrov rules through repressive measures and has created an environment of impunity for security forces in the region. They claim Kadyrov is responsible for abuses of political opponents that include kidnappings and forced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings -- some of them carried out abroad  and that Putin turns a blind eye to the regional leader's conduct.

A Killing In Berlin

The Kremlin certainly seemed unconcerned by the ominous wording Kadyrov chose to use when denying accusations that he was behind an alleged plot to kill Giorgi Gabunia, a Georgian journalist who insulted Putin on air in July 2019.

"Believe me, if someone is acting on my orders, he will carry them out, and if a mission is to be accomplished quietly, nobody...would learn about it," Kadyrov, who has called himself Putin's foot soldier and vowed at the time to "punish" Gabunia, wrote on Telegram. He added that the journalist should "go down on his knees and ask for forgiveness.... Otherwise, he will, I repeat, remain my enemy."

Peskov called the allegations against Kadyrov "absurd." Putin has not commented on the matter.

Kadyrov's remarks came two days before prosecutors in Germany announced they have filed murder charges against a Russian national accused of killing a Georgian man of Chechen ethnicity in Berlin in August 2019, and accused the Russian state of ordering the slaying.

The victim has been identified in media reports as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who had fought alongside separatists in Chechnya 20 years ago. There was no indication of a direct link to Kadyrov, but the German prosecutors' claim echoed accusations of Russian state involvement in attacks on perceived enemies abroad, such as the radioactive polonium-210 poisoning of Aleksandr Litvinenko in 2006 and the nerve-agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018, both in Britain.

The assertion that the Russian state was behind a slaying in the heart of Europe in broad daylight has added to concerns in the West about Russia's conduct beyond its borders, from violence to alleged meddling in elections.

Two trials inside Russia, meanwhile, have elicited criticism of the government's treatment of its own citizens and compounded claims that it uses fabricated or exaggerated criminal cases against foreigners as a geopolitical tool, essentially holding the accused hostage and employing them as bargaining chips in potential prisoner swaps or to seek other concessions from countries ranging from Ukraine to the United States.

On June 15, a Moscow court convicted American Paul Whelan of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison after a trial denounced by the U.S. ambassador as a "mockery of justice."

Swap Meat?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Russia's treatment of Whelan "appalling" and said the United States is "outraged" by the conviction that came "after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses." He said the trial was unfair and demanded the immediate release of Whelan, who said he was innocent and was set up by Russian authorities.

Two days after the verdict was pronounced, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that Russian and U.S. officials were negotiating a possible swap of Whelan for two Russians serving lengthy sentences in U.S. prisons  Viktor Bout, an arms dealer nicknamed the Merchant of Death, and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the United States.

The Interfax report cited an unnamed official and could not be verified, but it added to indications that Moscow would like to negotiate a deal leading to the release of Bout and Yaroshenko.

Meanwhile, at a trial hearing in the northwestern city of Pskov on June 16, journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Russian Service, rejected charges that she had "justified terrorism" by publishing an online commentary that linked a suicide bombing with Russia's political climate as her trial resumed proceedings.

Human Rights Watch called Prokopyeva's prosecution a "violation of freedom of expression" that "sends yet another chilling message that in Russia, raising uncomfortable questions can have severe repercussions -- a lesson the authorities have been giving the media for years."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-week-in- russia-trials-tunnels-and-an-ominous- homage-to-orwell/30679481.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Brazils protracted political crisis entered uncharted territory Thursday with the early morning arrest of Fabricio Queiroz, a key political ally of fascist President Jair Bolsonaro. Queiroz may hold key evidence in relation to Bolsonaros involvement with organized crime in Rio de Janeiro and even the death squad execution of the city councilor for the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), Marielle Franco, in 2018. The arrest came just days after the arrest of organizers of the so-called 300 of Brazil fascist group of Bolsonaro supporters and dozens of raids and financial investigations against Bolsonaro allies, including Congress members.

Bolsonaro during flag ceremony [Credit: Marcos Correa/PR]

Queiroz was arrested in a country house belonging to Bolsonaros lawyer, Frederick Wassef, after a year and a half of refusal to testify in a corruption inquiry involving Bolsonaros eldest son, Flavio, a Senator for the state of Rio de Janeiro. His arrest was ordered by Rio state prosecutors. Along with his wife, Marcia Aguiar, who was not found and is considered a fugitive, he was believed to be actively working to conceal evidence in the investigation.

Queiroz is considered a central piece in multiple investigations involving Bolsonaro and his sons Flavio, Eduardoa House member for the state of Sao Pauloand Carlosa Rio city councilor. A retired member of the military police, he is known to be a friend of Bolsonaro since 1984, and worked as a fixer for the Bolsonaro clan during the entire period of the presidents 28 years as a House backbencher.

His testimony was initially sought in late 2018 as federal and Rio state law enforcement uncovered unusual banking operations in the accounts of Flavio, then a Rio state parliament member. Unusual cash payments by Flavio were the target of routine operations by the federal Financial Activities Council (Coaf), a banking oversight body. The immediate understanding by law enforcement authorities was that Flavio had been involved in a common scheme found in the 27 state parliaments and the more than 5,000 city councils throughout the country, in which elected officials keep part of the official salaries paid to their aides. Queiroz was from early on considered the manager of the scheme within Flavios office.

The investigations into Flavio and Queiroz just before Bolsonaros inauguration on January 1, 2019, cast a shadow of corruption over the fascist demagogue, who had sought to make his electoral campaign a referendum on the corrupt political establishment led by the Workers Party (PT) for the better part of the previous 16 years, until the 2016 impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

Just after the initial deposition requests by Rio prosecutors, Queiroz was admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. Discharged from hospital in early 2019, he was never seen again until Thursdays arrest.

The investigation into the salary kickbacks found that among Flavios aides suspected of taking part in the schemes managed by Queiroz were relatives of Adriano da Nobrega, the alleged crime boss of Ronnie Lessa, who is charged with murdering Franco. Nobrega was then brutally murdered by police in early 2020 at a hideout in the state of Bahia, in what is widely believed to be a rubout operation carried out with the participation or at least knowledge of Bolsonaro. Initial evidence found in material seized with Queiroz Thursday points to his communications with Nobrega.

Nobrega was understood to be the head of the so-called Crime Office criminal organization, one of Rio de Janeiros militias. The militias are comprised of retired and active duty police officers and soldiers, and have a direct connection to the political death squads of the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

Since the fall of the dictatorship, the militias established themselves as vigilante groups in impoverished, working class areas of Rio de Janeiros metro region, in particular to the west and north of the city. Initially under the pretext of fighting petty crime and drug dealing, they established control of public utilities over vast swaths of the region, monopolizing access to gas, electricity, gambling and even construction through intimidation and executions. Later, they came to expel drug dealers in order not to ban, but to monopolize, the sale of cocaine, marijuana and other substances. It is now estimated that no less than 2 million of the 18 million inhabitants of the state of Rio live in areas partially or fully controlled by militias.

Bolsonaro, a former Army captain discharged for planning a barracks bombing and justifying a new military coup in the late 1980s, has regularly praised the militias as substituting for weak justice by the state. In 2005, the Rio state parliament bestowed on Nobrega its highest honor, the Tiradentes Medal honoring what is considered Brazils first independence martyr, at the request of Flavio Bolsonaro. Defense of the militias has been a far-right trope for decades. However, direct involvement of the Bolsonaro family with their fascist and criminal operations had not been found until the investigation into Flavio Bolsonaros banking irregularities.

The arrest of Queiroz now threatens Bolsonaro amid multiple offensives by his bourgeois political opponents, who are fearful that his criminal neglect of the COVID-19 pandemic and his mobilization of the far right against Congress, the Supreme Court and social opposition will provoke an explosive mass working class reaction. These forces are also frustrated by the dead-end of his full alignment with US imperialism and the Trump administration, which has caused geopolitical setbacks with the European Union and Brazils main commercial partner, China.

While Brazilian presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office for any crimes committed before their inauguration, there is wide expectation that the arrest of Queiroz may uncover evidence of Bolsonaros continued involvement with the militias. This would possibly include Nobregas police execution, or substantiate the charges made by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, upon his resignation, that Bolsonaro sought to interfere in the Rio offices of the Federal Police (PF) in order to stall investigations that would implicate himself or his sons. The investigations may also shift a decisive layer of the ruling class toward support for Bolsonaros impeachment.

As grave as the accusations against Bolsonaro are, what emerges from the latest developments in Brazil is a desperate attempt by growing layers of the bourgeois establishmentfirst and foremost the PT, which leads the congressional oppositionto divert mass working class anger against Bolsonaro into safe channels, avoiding a mass uprising against rotting Brazilian capitalism. Or, in the infamous words of the open letter for Bolsonaros resignation penned by opposition leaders of the PT and PSOL, their goal is to remove Bolsonaro in the least costly way for Brazils capitalist ruling class.

The arrest of Queiroz crowned yet another frenzied week in the capital of Brasilia, which began with dozens of raids against Bolsonaros far-right 300 of Brazil supporters, and the arrest of its leaders.

The 300 of Brazil group had set up a camp in front of the Supreme Court (SFT) with the stated goal of Ukrainizing Brazil, that is, gathering middle class support for a violent fascist putsch in Brazil such as the one sponsored by imperialist powers in 2014 in Ukraine. Their aim was to back Bolsonaro in shutting down Congress and the Supreme Court and wiping out social opposition. The same group had been gathering for months in front of Army headquarters in multiple cities to call out troops in support of Bolsonaro. Having attracted virtually no support outside of its organizers, such demonstrations did provoke immense opposition from youth in mass rallies initially in protest against the murder of George Floyd, but which quickly brought out a larger opposition against the government and the far-right.

They also led to both the STF and the Attorney Generals office opening investigations into the financing of the fascist rallies, now implicating 10 House members, one Senator, multiple businessmen and also threatening to reach Bolsonaro himself, who has until today claimed he had only attended the demonstrations and had no role in their organization.

The evidence collected by both inquiries is being shared with two other inquiries initiated by the Electoral court, at the request of the pseudo-left PSOL, on the spread of fake news by Bolsonaro supporters during the 2018 presidential campaign, which PSOL claims should lead to the annulment of the election results.

What all of these investigations have in common is the portrayal of the massive crisis gripping Brazilian capitalism, leading to the election of a known figure of the far-right underworld, as lightning from a blue sky. The governments criminal policies are presented as unrelated to the political establishment, being the product of either the actions of a few wealthy figures who bought the election or of the Rio police gangs.

Major newspapers are calling for the Army to dissociate itself from Bolsonaro and accept his impeachment, while the Supreme Court is using the dictatorship-era National Security Law to prosecute the fascists for subversion. Most importantly, however, the PT-led opposition has presented articles of impeachment against Bolsonaro charging him with threatening the internal security of the Brazilian capitalist statethat is, of fomenting mass opposition.

What has been demonstrated by the experience of the last two years of similar charges presented by the US Democrats against Trumpusing alleged collusion with Russia as the threatis that the removal of Bolsonaro on such grounds is far from assured. Moreover, its byproduct has been the emergence of the armed forces in the US as the arbiters of the political situation, with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden indicating that they will decide the fate of the 2020 election by removing Trumpor notif he doesnt recognize the election results.

If anything, the same process is even further advanced in Brazil, leading Bolsonaros Government Secretaryakin to a chief-of-staffthe active duty Army Gen. Luiz Eduardo Ramos to warn that, while the Army isnt thinking of a coup, the opposition should not push it (esticar a corda). Bolsonaro himself added three days later, on June 15, that the fake news investigations were starting to push it (comecar a esticar a corda).

Most decisively, it has led to the emergence of a pseudo-legal interpretation of a specific article of the Brazilian Constitutionarticle 142which states that any power may call out the armedfForces to maintain order. Leading scholars such as Ives Gandra da Silva Martins and the Attorney General Augusto Aras have claimed this article means that the armed forces should moderate, that is, choose a side, in clashes between the branches of government, possibly disobeying the Supreme Court on the orders of the Executive. The debate led incoming STF president Luiz Fux to declare the court to be the only interpreter of the Constitution. This was followed by Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva, also an active-duty general, signing a press release together with Bolsonaro and the vice president, Gen. Hamilton Mourao, stating that the armed forces dont follow absurd orders, a clear reference to the investigations against the president and his followers that Bolsonaro claims are absurd.

Whatever the political outcome of Queirozs arrest, it is clear that only the independent intervention of the working class, free from the political straitjacket imposed by the PT and PSOL, can stop the buildup of fascist forces and a police state in Brazil.
Depending on where an individual is starting their company, the rules vary, and need to be followed, adhering with the state or country. In Kenya, for instance, there are rules about the way a company is registered.

How do you register a company in Kenya?

When registering a company, it is ideal that it is done by a citizen of Kenya since the application needs their identification cards. However, foreigners planning on starting a company in Kenya

can do so using their Foreigner Certificate number instead. Additionally, at least one director should be Kenyan to access eCitizen and submit certain forms which cannot be done by people

who are not citizens of Kenya.

The company registration process begins by applying for an e citizen account online. This website is used by most since it assists with Government interactions. Some of the information

asked for when completing this registration process are Kenyan ID number (found on all government-issued identification documents), name, and working email address.

When registering a company, the type of service it will provide should be mentioned when submitting the business applications. Some of the company types are:

* Sole proprietorship

* Registered companies (public or private)

* Partnership

* Limited liability partnership

* A branch office of a foreign-registered company

* Business societies

Additionally, the applicant will have to select a name for their company and make a payment to register it. The other requirements for running a company, like the MOU and the AOA, have to be filed.

In some instances, this is handled with some legal assistance, but that depends on the directors. Furthermore, all the directors details have to be mentioned on the forms, including their addresses.

After all the documents have been submitted, the website generates an e-business certificate, which sometimes takes a couple of hours. The certificate can be printed out through the e-Portal itself.

What does the VAT registration process look like?

Much like all companies, some rules and regulations have to be met, such as the tax requirements. VAT registrations are not mandatory, but after a company crosses a certain limit, it has to pay VAT.

Value Added Tax is charged on the supply of taxable goods or services made or provided in Kenya and coming into the country.

There are online portals to register for VAT, and these can be used by people, without having to go to an office. Since these arent individual taxes, the people going through them have to select the Non-individual version of the form.

Additionally, they will have to fill out an online form with the details of their taxation and their company.

The following details have to be provided:

* Basic information

* Obligation

* Details of Director and Associates

* Agent details

Furthermore, the following documents will have to be submitted as well.

* Proof of identity

* Proof of physical and postal address, with contact numbers

* PIN of business proprietors

* Business licenses

* Tax Agent PIN

After providing all this information, the tax will be processed, and the applicant will be told the amount to be paid.
Rove McManus has returned to work as a voice actor on a children's series this week.

The TV host shared an Instagram image on Thursday, showing him in a recording booth, voicing King Tubby on the 7TWO animated series, Kitty Is Not a Cat.

The 46-year-old explained in the caption: 'Thank goodness recording animation voices is pretty self-isolating at the best of times. Good to be back for series three'.

Hard at work: Rove McManus (pictured) has returned to work as a voice actor on a children's series this week. The TV host shared an Instagram image on Thursday, showing him in a recording booth, voicing King Tubby on the 7TWO animated series, Kitty Is Not a Cat

The one-time last night show host has in recent years suffered a string of failed comeback gigs.

Recently, the former A-lister revealed he will front a two-hour live life drawing TV special on SBS, set to air in July.

Speaking to SBS, Rove said that his fine arts degree from college will come in handy for hosting the program.

New gig: Recently, the former A-lister revealed he will front a two-hour live life drawing TV special on SBS, set to air in July

Flashback: In 2015, he joined reality star Sam Frost for the ill-fated 2Day FM breakfast show, Sam & Rove

The new gig comes after a string of flops for the media personality in recent years.

In 2015, he joined reality star Sam Frost for the ill-fated 2Day FM breakfast show, Sam & Rove.

The radio show was savaged by critics and failed to attract listeners, and was eventually canned after a year and a half.

Flop: The 46-year-old's variety show Saturday Night Rove was canned after two episodes

Didn't last: Rove hosted the low-rated trivia program Show Me The Movie on Channel 10 for two seasons

He went back into television after that, hosting the low-rated trivia program Show Me The Movie on Channel 10 for two seasons.

When that was cancelled, he hosted the variety show Saturday Night Rove on 10. It was axed after just two episodes.

Rove was one of the most popular TV personalities in Australia in the 2000s thanks to his late night show, Rove Live.
By Trend

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced that schools and universities in the country would re-open on September 5, following a quarantine period related to COVID-19, Trend reports via IRNA.

Schools may need to reopen from August 22nd or 28th, but we will lay the groundwork for September 5th, Rouhani said at the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus meeting.

"Those who are admitted in another city's university can study at their own town's university until further notice," he said.

The Ministry of Education made a decision regarding the schools," he said. Thursday's holidays will also be eliminated.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 202,500 people have been infected 9,507 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 161,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.

The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.

The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A new collaboration with close to $10 million of funding from the federally funded Protein Industries Canada (PIC) supercluster will further bolster the growing plant-based protein industry in Manitoba.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new collaboration with close to $10 million of funding from the federally funded Protein Industries Canada (PIC) supercluster will further bolster the growing plant-based protein industry in Manitoba.

Saskatchewan-based PIC will provide $9.6 million in funding which will be matched by industry, including Roquette and Prairie Fava to study various elements of plant-based protein extraction.

The French company, Roquette, is in the final stages of construction of a $400-million pea protein plant in Portage la Prairie. Prairie Fava, a much smaller family-owned operation in Glenboro, Man. is one of the few fava bean processing operations in the country.

Among other things, the funding will go towards gaining a better understanding of doing plant-based protein extraction in cold weather and investigating the effectiveness of pea-fava protein blends.

The multi-year project will involve new research into breeding, agronomics, finished product testing and human clinical trials. It is expected that the project consortium will include at least 11 Canadian academic and research institutions and two additional smaller companies.

This is the sixth project funded by PIC, which was awarded $153 million in funding from the federal government two years ago as one of Canadas five innovation superclusters.

Last year, PIC announced a similar-sized project featuring Merit Functional Foods, a company building a pea and canola protein plant in the Centreport area.

The pea portion of the research in this project will include studies evaluating pea varieties in Western Canada and their suitability for Roquettes new plant and research on processing to improve the functional properties of the pea protein isolates.

The fava portion of the research is largely focused on optimizing the dehulling and processing of fava beans by Prairie Fava, increasing their efficiency and reducing their costs of production. The partnership will also focus on the development of end-products and pea-fava ingredient blends.

The collaboration opportunities between Roquette and Prairie Fava is likely to involve testing the properties and relative functionality of blends of pea and fava bean proteins.

Dominique Baumann, Roquettes managing director in Canada, said that the market for pea protein has been developed over several years. The demand for pea protein as ingredients in all sorts of foods is only just now gaining momentum, which was the motivation for the company to build the plant in Portage la Prairie, the largest pea protein manufacturing operation in the world. Earlier this year, Roquette signed a long-term supply agreement with Beyond Meat, the food processing company that is doing a lot to increase consumer demand for foods with plant-based protein.

"We see this (fava protein) as an emerging protein," Baumann said. "Its still in its infancy but pea protein was in its infancy 15 years ago. It takes a lot of time to develop."

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Hailey Jefferies, co-founder and CEO of Prairie Fava, said the involvement in this project will allow her company to expand its processing facility that includes splitting fava beans and milling fava flour.

She said since the company started in 2017 there has been increasing demand.

"We are seeing a huge increase in demand from the snack food market for fava flour and in the bakery market," she said. "Fava is very high in protein and has a neutral flavour."

Bill Greuel, the CEO of PIC, said projects like this will help create a stronger, more robust agri-food processing industry in Canada.

"The development of the plant protein ecosystem is a good reflection of how our supercluster is supposed to work including support for academic research to accelerate innovation," he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
In a filing with the exchanges on Friday, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said that it has just received the manufacturing and marketing approval from India's drug regulator to launch the oral antiviral drug Favipiravir (FabiFlu) for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients in the country.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The drug regulator has approved Favipiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients in India.

This approval has been granted based on evaluation of data and in consultation with the Subject Expert Committee, as part of the accelerated approval process, considering the emergency situation and unmet medical needs of the Covid-19 outbreak, Glenmark said.

"It is for restricted emergency use in India. Restricted use entails responsible medication use where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation," the company said.

Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company in India to be given approval by the drug regulator to conduct Phase 3 clinical trial of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for Covid-19 patients. Patients from over 10 leading government and private hospitals were enrolled for the study.

Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.

Glenmark has successfully developed the API and the formulations for the product through its inhouse R&D team.

Favipiravir has demonstrated activity against influenza viruses and has been approved in Japan for the treatment of novel influenza virus infections. The molecule if commercialised, will be marketed under the brand name FabiFlu in India.

--IANS

san/arm
EDWARDSVILLE  A judge has denied a request from a local business group to temporarily stop Gov. J.B. Pritzker from enforcing state-mandated pandemic rules.

Circuit Judge Christopher Threlkeld has ruled the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce is unlikely to succeed in its ultimate goal of obtaining an injunction against Pritzkers order. To justify a temporary restraining order, the chamber had to demonstrate it was raising a fair question that may allow a final favorable ruling.

The court finds that the plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on its statutory interpretation, Threlkeld wrote.

The judge also ruled that the chamber has not identified any of its members who have a protectable right or interest at stake. The chambers pleadings make only conclusions and no allegation of fact, he wrote in his order.

It is clear that the chamber has not plead any facts to identify a single member who is being irreparably harmed, Threlkeld wrote.

In May, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court claiming Pritzker does not have the authority to close down businesses because the governor issued the state order under a section of law that refers to a disaster.

The suit refers to orders Pritzker issued in response to the pandemic in an effort to prevent people from coming into close contact. Pritzker has referred to the pandemic as a public health emergency, the suit states.

The chamber argued the governors disaster declaration could only be in effect for 30 days and he did not have the power to extend the declaration by issuing subsequent declarations.

Threlkeld disagreed. He noted governors have often issued disaster orders for more than 30 days in cases in which the disaster continues. He cited flooding and the H1N1 virus as examples.

In public statements, the chamber has said the governor has seriously harmed local businesses, which make up its membership.

After more than two months of many businesses being shut down, a soaring unemployment rate, and economic devastation, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce decided to take this action on behalf of our small businesses, said Desiree Bennyhoff, president and CEO of the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce when the suit was filed by Thomas Devore of Greenville who has filed similar suits on behalf of other plaintiffs.

The court is aware of the economic devastation in Illinois and Madison County as a result of the governors executive orders and is not saying that the governors authority to exercise his emergency powers is without restraint, the judge wrote.

As the act outlines, he must identify an occurrence to support each proclamation, and if the occurrence is not-existent, then those affected can petition for redress, the judge concluded.

Elsewhere in his order, Threlkeld stated Pritzker has cited dozens of findings of fact in his orders.

The plaintiff here has not challenged the factual basis for the governors proclamations, wrote Threlkeld, a Republican who was appointed as resident circuit judge by Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier. Pritzker is a Democrat.
WASHINGTON  Vice President Mike Pence twice refused to say that black lives matter during an interview on a Philadelphia television station on Friday, insisting instead that all lives matter in a very real sense.

Mr. Pence also claimed during the interview with 6ABC Action News that Americans had cherished the idea that everyone is created equal from the founding of this nation, an assertion that ignores the institution of slavery during the first 100 years of the countrys history.

The vice presidents comments came on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in America. And he refused to specifically say that black lives matter at a time when the country is convulsing in outrage about racial injustice at the hands of the police following George Floyds death in Minneapolis last month.

President Trump has been under fire for weeks for his response to protests in cities across the nation in the wake of Mr. Floyds death. His tweets calling for aggressive action by the police to quell violence have angered activists. And earlier this month, his administration ordered the police to clear protesters from streets near the White House before Mr. Trump held a photo op at a church.
The judge who approved a landmark class action settlement in 2017 involving Remington's most popular bolt-action rifle is refusing to reopen the case despite complaints that some guns are continuing to malfunction even after they have been repaired.

The case involves Remington's iconic Model 700 rifle, which CNBC has been investigating since 2010. Lawsuits have alleged the company covered up a design flaw that allows the guns to fire without the trigger being pulled, leading to dozens of deaths and hundreds of serious injuries.

Remington has always maintained that the guns are safe and free of defects. But the company agreed in the class action settlement, reached in 2014, to replace the triggers on millions of guns, free of charge, to put an end to the litigation.

As the deadline to file a claim under the settlement approached in April, CNBC reported that several customers had complained to the company that retrofitted guns were continuing to malfunction. That prompted two Remington customers who had objected to the original settlement to go back to court and ask the judge to hold a hearing based on CNBC's reporting.

But in a three-page ruling late Friday, U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith in Kansas City, Missouri, declined.

"If an individual has a claim related to the replacement trigger mechanism, this lawsuit is not the proper avenue for such a claim," Smith wrote.

Remington had argued against reopening the case, saying that the replacement trigger mechanism known as the XMark Pro (XMP) is safe.

"The Court already has addressed the efficacy of the XMP trigger mechanism, and (CNBC)'s article provides no reason to revisit those findings," wrote Remington attorney Amy Crouch.
The not-for-profit group that represents greenhouse vegetable growers across Ontario announced on Friday a partnership with Essex County leaders intended to create a plan that would protect the region's agri-food workers from COVID-19.

According to an Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) media release, the plan will be designed to maintain and enhance existing protections, promote access to increased testing, as well as identify risks on an ongoing basis, among other points.

"Now more than ever it is critical our leaders work together so we, as a region, can address this complicated issue," said Gary McNamara, Tecumseh mayor and warden of Essex County, in the same Friday media release. "As we roll out wide-scale testing, we need to be ready to respond with isolation facilities and financial, medical and mental health supports for all agri-food employees."

"This only happens if we work together."

The OGVG's announcement comes one day after federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu used a private meeting with Windsor-Essex to describe COVID-19 effects on the agricultural sector a crisis.

On Friday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) announced that 17 of the region's 19 new COVID-19 cases were in workers in the agri-farm sector.

More than 360 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among workers in the agri-farm workers to date. Almost 200 of those cases have been resolved.

This only happens if we work together - Gary McNamara, Tecumseh Mayor and Warden of Essex County

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has been a proponent of mandatory testing among Essex County agriculture workers, even calling for "stronger intervention" from the province when it comes to testing migrant workers.

Despite calls for mandatory testing, earlier this week Ontario Premier Doug Ford has clarified in public statements that no one can be forced to get tested for COVID-19 without consent.

Dr. Wajid Ahmed, WECHU's medical officer of health, has said that mandatory COVID-19 testing has "never occurred in Canada."
June 20 : Actress Kangana Ranaut lashes out at media for bullying Sushant Singh Rajput who committed suicide on June 14 at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai. She cited a statement by the father of Sushant wherein he revealed that the late actor was under severe stress, prior to his death.

Kangana Ranaut took to her social media profile and dropped yet another dope video slamming the Bollywood Mafia and systematic bullying.

She captioned it, Emotional, psychological, and mental lynching on an individual happens openly and we all are all guilty of watching it silently. Is blaming the system enough? Will there ever be change? Are we going to see a monumental shift in the narrative on how outsiders are treated?

In the video, Kangana starts the video by quoting director Abhishek Kapoor who dubbed the tragic incident as systematic dismantling of a fragile mind. Kapoor had worked with Sushant Singh Rajput in the 2018 move Kedarnath. The actress also quoted the late actors long -term partner Ankita Lokhande who stated that the suicide of Sushant was triggered by social humiliation.

Kangana Ranaut also stated that the movie mafia not only banned Sushant from his movies but also inflicted hard on his psyche. Blind items are written to spread fake news but no legal action can be taken as your name is not mentioned. But the description (is obvious). If they have to write (a blind item) on me, then, they will describe me as an actress will curly hair, recipient of national awards, psychotic, and native of Manali without mentioning my name, she emphasised.

She highlighted news reports that sought to tarnish the image of Sushant Singh Rajput. She mentioned articles and names of the portals which ran stories claiming that Sushant is a narcissistic, that he looks like a Truck driver; he assaulted a director or even raping his co-actor.

Earlier, the actress said that Sushant had expressed his grief, in several interviews, over not being accepted as a part of the film industry. She added that he was treated as a leftover by the same lobby that was shedding crocodile tears after his tragic death.

Kangana also pointed out the lack of integrity and professional ethics amongst some journalists. She lambasted tabloid writers who have vilified Sushant Singh Rajput with adjectives such as psychotic, neurotic, and addict.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery
TULSA, Okla. - President Donald Trump took the stage Saturday night for his first political rally since the coronavirus outbreak, facing empty seats and an underwhelming crowd as the overflow outdoor area went unused and protesters gathered on downtown streets to denounce the president's handling of the policing and public health crises roiling the country.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly touted figures suggesting as many as 1 million people signed up for the event. But the number of Trump supporters who showed up fell far short of that. The crowd did not fill the 19,000-seat BOK Center venue, with swaths of upper-level seating empty. The outdoor overflow area remained largely empty, and both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled plans for speeches there.

"There's not a million people like they said," said Erin Taylor, 33, as she left the rally site with her parents.

Trump blamed the news media and protesters for the turnout. "I've been watching the fake news for weeks now, and everything is negative - don't go, don't come, don't do anything," he said during his speech.

Reporters on site saw little evidence of attendees being blocked from going to the rally. One group of protesters blocked one of three entrances into the arena for about 15 minutes, but it was after most people had already entered the arena's outer perimeter.

In the hours before and after the rally, there was rage and bitterness on display in the streets of Tulsa, as polarized Americans shouted at each other about race and the coronavirus.

As the sun set, downtown Tulsa was largely closed for business, with blocks of shuttered restaurants, bars and storefronts, many boarded up. Large crowds of protesters marched around the arena as Trump spoke inside, monitored by police.

The tense scene was largely of Trump's own making. The president insisted on forging ahead with his indoor rally despite health authorities' stark warnings about the risks of crowding thousands of people into an arena as novel coronavirus cases spike in the city. Trump brushed aside criticism about inflaming racial wounds by choosing to hold his rally just blocks from the site of a century-old racial massacre and one day removed from an annual holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people.

The result was a day of finger-pointing and bullhorn-taunting, face-to-face screaming matches and boiling tempers under the sweltering Tulsa sun. Hundreds of supporters and critics filled downtown in anticipation of the president's first political rally since the pandemic brought much of public life to a standstill in March.

By the time Trump took the stage Saturday evening, there had been a series of tense verbal confrontations outside but no reports of violence. Civilians carrying military-style rifles and pistols wandered amid the crowds, claiming they wanted to keep people safe, while Tulsa police and National Guard troops restrained and separated opposing sides.

Fears that the rally could accelerate the spread of the virus were underscored when six members of Trump's campaign advance team tested positive. The campaign made that announcement, saying quarantine procedures had gone into effect for the infected staff members and those in "immediate contact" with them.

Upon entering the rally grounds, attendees were handed blue face coverings and directed through a maze of metal fencing, which led to a touchless temperature screening conducted by volunteers in purple smocks.

The elaborate procedure stood in contrast to the chaotic scenes unfolding downtown. Arguments erupted between protesters and the president's supporters at street corners near the arena, where they traded cries of "Black lives matter!" and "All lives matter!"

Tulsa police sought to separate the groups and directed people out of the streets. David Morledge, 36, of Fayetteville, Ark., held a sign reading "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and challenged an officer who ordered him to move to the sidewalk to arrest him. The officer stepped back and moved on.

At least two people were arrested Saturday. Trump's campaign, which was leasing the BOK Center, directed Tulsa police officers to remove Sheila Buck, a Catholic school art teacher who said she had a ticket to the event and had sat down in protest within the barricaded zone. She was wearing a shirt that read "I can't breathe," among the final words uttered by George Floyd as a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck. Buck spent about six hours in jail and said she was handcuffed the entire time.

Phillip Rufkahr of Missouri was arrested about 4:30 p.m. as police worked to clear Fourth Street of protesters in front of an entrance gate. An arrest report stated that Rufkahr was ordered to stop loitering, but he refused even under threat of arrest.

Adding to the fortified atmosphere, about 250 National Guard soldiers were on hand to assist local authorities. Some were armed in response to an elevation of the threat level, said Lt. Col. Geoff Legler, a spokesman for the Guard. Initially, the plan was to equip them only with batons, shields and pepper spray.

The president arrived in Tulsa at a precarious moment for his presidency. Recent polls show him trailing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, nationally and in some critical swing states, suggesting he has suffered politically from his handling of the virus - which has killed at least 117,000 Americans - and his response to roiling demonstrations over racial injustice and police brutality sparked by the Floyd killing last month.

The protests and the pandemic collided with Trump's visit to Tulsa, where the number of new coronavirus cases continues to grow. The county reported 136 new cases Saturday - marking another high for both single-day and average cases - while the state as a whole reported 331 new infections.

Most police officers, National Guard soldiers, food vendors and the vast majority of people in line chose not to wear face coverings. , though Trump-branded masks dotted the crowd. The Confederate flag also appeared - all the more striking because Oklahoma was not a state at the time of the Civil War.

Margene Dunivant and her son Christian Lynch, both of Tulsa, sat on the edge of the crowd, taking in the scene.

"Everybody here is just full-on American and American Dream and hard-working, and just believes in everything America," said Dunivant, 52. "Nowadays, it's like you put on a Trump shirt and you're considered racist, and it's just wrong. We're good people, and we love everybody."

A contrasting view was also on display in Tulsa, where counteractions were planned with such names as "Dump the Trump Rally" and "Rally Against Hate." Antipathy toward the president - and objections to his insistence on gathering thousands of people indoors for a campaign event - fused with the outpouring for Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating freedom for enslaved black people.

"It's irresponsible, to say the least," said Mareo Johnson, a pastor and the founder of Black Lives Matter Tulsa. His group was involved in organizing a Saturday demonstration at John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, less than a mile from the president's rally.

His message to the city's black residents, he said, was: "Stay focused on what Juneteenth represents."

The commemoration had added significance in Tulsa, a city scarred by racist violence in 1921, when a white mob killed an estimated 300 black residents and devastated an area of the city known at the time as "Black Wall Street." The Tulsa Race Massacre unfolded in the Greenwood neighborhood, where the words "Black Lives Matter" were painted in yellow on a road on Friday.

The events - freighted with political and historical meaning - turned the city into a magnet, leaving epidemiologists and public health officials fearful about the possible spread of the virus. Their concern was heightened by the announcement that members of the advance team, who typically work closely with security and contractors, had been infected.

"It's another demonstration that super-spreaders can be alive and well if you don't use prevention measures, which we know work, including masking, distancing and hand hygiene," said Jay Bhatt, a physician in Chicago and former chief medical officer at the American Hospital Association. "One person can be a cause of significant transmission. Looking at six on an advance team, there could be significant spread."

Some of the elected officials present, however, did not make use of those measures. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said he and his wife, Cindy, underwent rapid covid-19 tests to ensure they would not spread the virus as they moved without masks through the crowds. They walked the downtown streets surrounding the stadium and spoke with those in line after delivering doughnuts and juice to volunteers earlier in the day.

Lankford said the state encouraged attendees to get tested at any of the 80 sites around Oklahoma leading up to the event. Those with health issues could follow online, and those who had concerns about being in the enclosed arena could remain outside.

Robin Wilson, 64, said she was not concerned about contracting the virus inside the stadium despite a heart condition two years ago that led to her use of a wheelchair.

"I'm here because I love my president," said Wilson, who used to work in insurance, "and I feel that he's misrepresented by the mainstream media. And I believe that this is history in the making today, and I wanted to be a part of it."

Brian Clothier, 61, found a more eye-catching way to illustrate his view of possible risks from the virus. He wore an adult diaper over his pants, where he placed a sign saying the underwear would "stop the spread," in a reference to the disputed notion that flatulence can be linked to coronavirus transmission.

A half-mile away, protesters decried the president's visit to their city.

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Eli Guerrero, a queer indigenous activist, told a small group gathered at the Center of the Universe, a popular downtown landmark, "Trump being here is an affront to my whole entire family and really every facet of my life."

The event was able to proceed after the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid to require the BOK Center to enforce social distancing guidelines spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and endorsed by members of the president's own coronavirus task force. The campaign's response was that it would hand out masks but not require them to be worn.

Originally scheduled for Friday, which was Juneteenth, the rally was postponed by a day following an outcry. The president, after admitting not to have known about the significance of June 19 for many African Americans, claimed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal to have made it "famous."

Trump on Friday threatened protesters preparing to appear in Tulsa, warning on Twitter: "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma, please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"

A curfew that had been in place on Thursday was rescinded for Friday night after discussions between Trump and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, who has called the president's decision to hold the event in his city a "tremendous honor" while declining to attend it.

Before 3 p.m., a couple of blocks from the rally venue, Black Lives Matters activists and Trump supporters clashed in the middle of Fourth Street, outside the barricades overseen by the National Guard and Tulsa police. Police stepped in to clear the street and separate megaphone-shouting protesters from the Trump supporters who were yelling right back.

William Dunbar, a 33-year-old Tulsa resident, approached the faceoff between Trump supporters and protesters with firearms strapped across his chest and on his hip to express his "First and Second Amendment rights."

The Tulsa native said he was there as a deterrent.

"The last thing I want is to hurt another individual," he said. "I'm a de-escalator."

While Trump supporters and protesters tangled near the BOK Center, Sharon Erby, a 59-year-old native of the historically black neighborhood of Greenwood, sat with friends under a tree across from the Vernon Chapel A.M.E. church, which was set ablaze during the 1921 massacre.

While Greenwood was quiet Saturday, the mood was no less defensive and unaffected by the division in the city. She and her friends spent the day in the church social hall making protest signs about defunding police and investing in public health.

"These are expressions of what people are feeling," Erby said. "This is what was in their hearts."

As Trump supporters gathered inside the arena, another crowd convened at Veterans Park, about a 30 minute walk away. It was a multicultural group of hundreds gathered for The Rally Against Hate to hear civil rights protest veterans, new activists, and musicians, organized by Tykebrean Cheshire, who said she started a nonprofit called Peaceful Rally Tulsa 10 days ago.

"That 8 minutes and 46 seconds changed the whole world. It made people think, why have I not been listening," said Cheshire, 21, who is black and Hispanic, referring to the amount of time George Floyd was pinned on the ground. "Some people thought, that could've been my son. And others thought, that couldn't have been my son. And they were both right."

She says she quit her job at Target and dedicated her adult life to peaceful organizing. The distance from the BOK center was intentional.

"Our biggest thing was to make sure people felt safe tonight," Cheshire said. "Going to the BOK Center didn't feel like a safe option. I wanted to do the old school MLK thing. We're able to connect with each other, and that's the most important thing today.

Some protesters tried to get into the arena, despite the heavy police presence. One of the leaders of the group was Sincere Terry, an 18-year-old prelaw student at the University of Central Oklahoma. Tulsa police told her and several supporters it was up to the private security group contracted by the Trump campaign whether they gained access. Security turned them away a second time after police cleared the area and reopened the gates.

"It's disrespectful for [Trump] to be here right after Juneteenth," said Terry, who had a ticket to the rally. "I'm not surprised by how we were treated. This is America. It's sickening. We're still getting lynched in Houston in 2020 and instead of protecting us, the National Guard is out here in Tulsa. This is being black in America. You get used to it or you don't, but this generation is going to put an end to it."

- - -

Stanley-Becker reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Ziva Branstetter, Kelsy Schlotthauer, Josh Dawsey and Bret J. Schulte in Tulsa contributed to this report.
What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

___________

Jean Luc Wittner was too young to remember when he ate his first crepe. Growing up in France, school was closed on Wednesday, which Wittner designated as crepe day.

He flipped his first crepe before his age reached double digits. Soon, he and his brothers -- Wittner the middle child -- launched competitions to discover who could flip the best crepe, which evolved into which brother could get theirs to stick to the ceiling.

Decades later, Wittner had earned a degree in business marketing, but felt a desire to chase his dream within the food industry. He moved to the United States in 2011 searching for an entry point.

Theres a lot of products, Wittner said. You have the burritos, pizza, but all that was taken. I was like Im French, I should do something French. And theres one product. Suddenly it became obvious to me: its crepes!

On Friday, Wittner walked through the building that housed Weintraubs Jewish Delicatessen for 99 years pointing out the final steps left before he can open Suzette Creperie & Cafe on Water Street in Worcester.

It makes us very humble, but it also creates responsibility, Wittner said.

Suzuette Creperie & Cafe is set to open in Worcester's Canal District. Chef Jean Luc Wittner is hopeful it can open to the public in the coming weeks.

While ushering in the new, Wittner and his wife Evelyn Darling, tried to keep some of Weintraubs history intact.

Exposed brick runs down along the right side of the creperie. They removed the dropped ceiling to expose ceiling tiles. A crepe will be named after the Weintraub family. The iconic neon sign will remain in one piece and be transported to the Worcester Public Market.

The space wont lack French flair, though. French tile leads patrons to the front counter. The blue counter is meant to transport visitors across the Atlantic Ocean. Atop the counter, visitors can watch Wittner make crepes. Beyond the food served, the music will create a French atmosphere.

Its a nice mix of French and American ambiance, Wittner said.

Prior to finding a home on Water Street, Wittner and Darling spent two years searching for space in Boston. As entrepreneurs new to the restaurant scene, many of the properties would have busted their budget.

Then Darling, who attended Clark University, heard about the Pawtucket Red Sox moving to Worcester. The couple toured the Canal District and within two weeks found a spot for their restaurant as well as a new home as they moved to New Englands second-largest city.

What was really incredible in the first weeks and months was we had that feeling that Worcester is really into the next step for its future and is small-business friendly, Wittner said.

Suzuette Creperie & Cafe is set to open in Worcester's Canal District. Chef Jean Luc Wittner is hopeful it can open to the public in the coming weeks.

They locked into the location in early 2019 to write the next chapter in the history of the iconic building.

They are hopeful to open Suzette Creperie & Cafe by the end of July, but are hesitant to announce any date due to construction setbacks they already experienced.

The coronavirus pandemic also affected their original timeline.

During that time excitement within the Canal District has only grown. In February, on International Crepe Day, the phones within the restaurant rang off the hook with Worcesterites looking to quench their crepe craving.

The phone often continues to ring with eager future customers.

People are eager, Darling said. Theyre ready for crepes in Worcester.

When Suzette Creperie & Cafe opens, Wittner described his sweet and savory specialties as meals not necessarily snacks.

Some will be available in to-go cone-like containers to allow for customers to enjoy a crepe and the Canal District simultaneously.

The excitement of opening isnt without its nervous nights. The coronavirus pandemic delayed opening and the not-yet-open restaurant wasnt eligible for federal loans.

Last week, construction delays especially ate at Wittner and Darling.

Then they received an email from a member of the Weintraub family.

Even on the darkest days, their new home and new city found ways of lifting them.

It almost made me cry, Wittner said. It was like, We are so proud of what you did. And we are honored that its you. All these great nice words. I was like Wow. Thats just what I needed today.

MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Queen has spoken of her great pride in the contribution the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and its members are making to champion trade and rebuild communities.

The head of states personal message of support for UK businesses was sent to the BCC in the week many non-essential shops reopened as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, BCCs president, welcomed the Queens message and said it would be a huge morale boost to business communities during the pandemic.

The Queen said in her message: As many organisations around the country are reopening, I send my warmest best wishes and support to business communities throughout the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and across the world.

At a time of great difficulty for many, it is heart-warming to see the civic response and generosity of so many businesses, small and large, to the challenges posed, whether supporting the health sector or vulnerable communities.

As patron of the British Chambers of Commerce, it gives me great pride to see the contribution you and your members are making to help firms, champion trade and rebuild communities.

I wish all businesses every success in their endeavours in the weeks and months ahead.

Businesses have faced unprecedented financial difficulties during the Covid-19 outbreak, with many having to close their premises or seen customers and clients disappear during the lockdown.

With restrictions beginning to ease many are hoping trade will return but issues are likely to remain for the coming months.

Baroness McGregor-Smith said in response to the Queens words: The Queens personal message of support will be a huge morale boost to our business communities at this complex and sensitive time.

We are grateful that Her Majesty has recognised the crucial role Chambers of Commerce play supporting businesses and communities through the pandemic, and as we restart, rebuild and renew the economy.

PA
Laos has appointed a new managing director of the state-owned Electricite du Laos power company, replacing the former director amid rising anger in the country over high rates for electricity in spite of growing levels of unemployment because of business closings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Power prices have become a sensitive issue in Laos, where people who were already poor before the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the economy now chafe at high rates in a country building billion-dollar hydropower dams on its major rivers to sell electricity to richer neighboring countries.

Chanthabon Souk Aloun, a former director of the Planning and Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, was named to his new post on June 13, an official at Electricite du Laos confirmed to RFA this week, calling the appointment routine.

The leadership has changed because the former director reached retirement age in 2018, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the Ministry asked him to stay on for another two years, as the power company was being restructured.

The change took place at a time when the company was being criticized for charging high prices for power usage, though, the official said, adding, And this has created a mistaken impressionthat the change in directors was a response by the state to company mismanagement.

A resident of the capital Vientiane meanwhile voiced optimism over the leadership change, but said much will depend on how the new director carries out his responsibilities.

For better or worse, it will all depend on him. If he works for the country and the people, things will be better. On the other hand, if he just works for himself and his cronies, everything will be the same as before, he said.

In 2019 Laos ranked 130 out of 180 nations in the annual Corruption Perceptions Index of the graft watchdog Transparency International.

Call to lower prices

Many in Laos have been calling on the government in recent weeks to lower prices for electricity as the country enters its warmest months, with some saying their power costs have doubled and are still continuing to rise.



We want the government to lower the price of power. Its too high, another resident of Vientiane said, speaking to RFA on June 19. We cant pay our bills because our salaries are too low.

Every household has seen higher power bills, another Vientiane resident said. I used to pay 800,000 kip [U.S. $89] a month, but now I pay almost double, and I dont know why.

I dont know how they calculate the rates. Everybody is complaining. My household uses no more power than before. I would like to see lower rates because Im not working right now, he said.

Some Lao householders meanwhile suspect fraud in the higher rates they have been charged.

Power company employees in the past have recorded incorrect or inflated amounts of power used by customers, Khen Thepvongsahead of the power operations department in Vientianeadmitted in an interview with the Lao Pattana newspaper on May 19

Electricite du Laos now has strict measures in place to deal with wrongdoing, though, with a reduction in pay resulting from a first occurrence, followed by termination of employment on a second offense, Khen Thepvongsa said.

New pricing policy promised

Lao residents this week cautiously welcomed news of a restructuring of pricing policy over the next five years to reduce fees over the next five years for those using 151 to 461 kilowatt hours per month, with the exact rate of reduction to be determined by the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Ill be happy if they can reduce our monthly electricity fees, a villager in Vientiane provinces Van Vieng district told RFA on June 19.

Last month, my bill was over one million kip [U.S. $110.91], and it was about 8,000 to 9,000 kip the month before that. I dont know what it will be this month, he said.

A restaurant owner in Kham Mouane provinces Tha Khek district meanwhile voiced skepticism over the promised change, asking what the government will do to keep its word.

Can they really do that? he asked. We still dont know the truth.

My electric bills are more expensive than before, even though my restaurant has been closed and Im staying at home, he said. I used to ask the authorities about this, but they had no answers for me.

Reached for comment, an official at the communications department of Electricite du Laos declined to provide a date by which the new pricing policy will take effect, saying only that the matter is still under study.



Reported and translated by Max Avary and Sidney Khotpanya for RFAs Lao Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Sex and the City is one of the most iconic television shows of all time. For years, fans followed the exploits of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, along with their friends, boyfriends, and relatives. The show was HBOs most lucrative property for a long time, and even after the series ended its run, two full-length movies were released that helped to satisfy fans appetites for more Sex and the City content. These days, series star Sarah Jessica Parker is still best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw  although, as she admitted in 2013, there were definite drawbacks to being on such a fashion-forward show.

Sarah Jessica Parker | James Devaney/Getty Images

How did Sarah Jessica Parker become famous?

Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Ohio in 1965, according to IMDb. Raised in a large, rambunctious family, Parkers passion for creativity was sparked early. Her mother took Parker and her siblings to various cultural events, including plays and movies, and allowed her children to pursue any career path that spoke to them. Therefore, Parker still looks back on her childhood as a fun, happy time, even if the family occasionally struggled financially.

Parker began studying ballet and dance when she was a young child and started to pursue a career on the stage. In 1982, she began appearing on television when she was cast in the series Square Pegs. The role earned Parker some visibility, and all throughout the early nineties, Parker worked in movies and television, often in smaller, supporting roles. In 1993, Parker appeared in the cult classic film Hocus Pocus, earning acclaim for her comedic timing. Following Hocus Pocus, Parker became a star in Hollywood.

Sarah Jessica Parker is best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw

RELATED: Sex and the City Creator Believes the Series Finale Betrayed the Show

By 1998, Sarah Jessica Parker was a veteran of stage and screen, a Hollywood presence who had earned acclaim for her beauty and versatility. That same year, Parker was cast as the series lead in Sex and the City, based on the book by Candace Bushnell. The show was unlike anything else on television at the time, and the open dialogue about women and their sex lives opened the door for a lot of conversations.

As for Parkers work on the show, not only did she receive great reviews for her acting, but it quickly became the part that she would be associated with for the rest of her life. Many fans still confuse the character of Carrie Bradshaw with Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker appeared on the show until it went off the air in 2003, and has reprised her role in two major feature films. All throughout the years she has starred as Carrie Bradshaw, Parker has continued to work in other mediums, and has remained a viable, vital presence in the film industry.

Did Carrie Bradshaw ruin Sarah Jessica Parker?

Although theres no doubt that the character of Carrie Bradshaw has brought Sarah Jessica Parker major fame and fortune, the star has had unique challenges due to portraying such an iconic character. As she revealed in 2013, according to E!, appearing on-screen in the very best designer couture week after week led to a serious obsession with fancy footwear.

Parker admitted that after many years of running in high heels, she began to develop problems in her feet. I wore beautiful shoes, some better made than others, and I never complained. I went to a podiatrist, and he said to me, Your foot does things it shouldnt do. This bone here You created it. It is out of place.' These days, Parker tries to accommodate her feet by wearing shoes that a bit more comfortable  but she will likely never give up her obsession with beautiful footwear.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 01:09:42|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Amid further containment of COVID-19, China is powering ahead in bringing business and life back on track. The following are the latest facts and figures of the week:

-- The 127th China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as Canton Fair, kicked off online Monday, a first for the decades-old trade fair, in south China's Guangdong Province.

This year's online fair, which will last for 10 days, has attracted around 25,000 enterprises in 16 categories with 1.8 million products.

-- More than 2,000 types of cultural products have hit online stores in a shopping festival aiming to promote the intangible cultural heritage products of central China's Hubei Province.

The shopping festival, launched in the provincial capital Wuhan, features intangible cultural heritage products in 201 online shops on multiple e-commerce websites. The festival will run through the end of this month.

-- A freight train on Tuesday left Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, heading for Kiev, Ukraine.

The train, carrying 43 containers of cargo weighing 800 tonnes, is the first direct China-Europe freight train between central China and Ukraine.

-- The Alataw Pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw a rising number of inbound and outbound China-Europe freight trains in the first five months.

A total of 1,664 China-Europe freight trains passed through the Alataw Pass, a major rail port in Xinjiang, during the period, up 39.5 percent year on year, said the Alataw Pass Customs.

-- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com posted strong sales growth in a mid-year shopping festival that ended on Thursday, grossing a record 269.2 billion yuan (about 38 billion U.S. dollars) in online orders.

The company's annual 18-day promotion has been the first major online shopping bonanza in China since the COVID-19 epidemic began in January. The company realized a 33.6-percent year-on-year growth in "618" festival sales, compared with the previous record of 201.5 billion yuan set in 2019. Enditem
Unprecedented world food shortages, hunger, starvation and deaths amidst corona pandemic View(s):

The World is facing unprecedented food shortages and a hunger crisis. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), more than 260 million people will face starvation and about 18 million people are estimated to die of starvation and illnesses related to food shortages. Most of these deaths would be in Africa and South Asia.

Warning

Arif Husain, chief economist at the United Nations World Food Programme warns that the coronavirus pandemic and its punitive economic effects are about to set off the next global hunger crisis.

He points out that In the last four years, conflicts, climate change and economic instability raised the number of people suffering acute hunger  when the absence of food endangers peoples livelihoods and, in some cases, their lives  from 80 million to 135 million people.

The current pandemic Ariff says could drive 130 million more people into that state by December and more than a quarter billion people are likely to be acutely hungry in 2020. The UN Security Council considers it a threat to international peace and security.

Starvation

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that more than 260 million people will face starvation.

This is double the number who faced starvation last year. David Beasley, the WFP director warns that: In a worst-case scenario, we could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries. Tony Blair has described it as worst than the corona virus epidemic.

Death toll

While hunger is widespread and endemic in many developing counties and millions die of hunger related causes each year, this years death toll is likely to be unparalleled. The impending global food shortage could threaten the food security of less developed nations, especially poor people around the world.

In a normal year about 9 million people are estimated to die of starvation and illnesses related to food shortages. This number is expected to climb two-fold this year. Most deaths would be in Africa and South Asia.

Causes

The underlying causes for this global food crisis are a reduction in world food production, restrictions on food exports, rising food prices, increased shipping costs and depressed incomes of people. These would reduce the supply, availability and accessibility to food of people in many developing countries.

Food production

Global food production and export surpluses are expected to decrease this year and next owing to reduced food production due to the COVID-19s disruption of food supply chains and shortages of labour in many countries. In India, farmers have been asked by the Indian Council of Agriculture to postpone cultivation owing to the pandemic. Migrant labour is not returning to the agricultural areas. Many countries face shortages fertiliser and agro chemicals.

Export restrictions

Some countries have imposed restrictions on food exports. Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have banned export of rice to ensure their own food security. Other countries may follow, if they perceive their food availability is barely adequate for their own consumption or that exports would increase prices in the country.

Transportation

Shortages in global food production could be aggravated by difficulties in shipping from exporting countries to food deficit regions. Difficulties in transportation would affect the availability of food in food deficit countries. Furthermore, high costs in shipping would reduce importing countries facing severe financial difficulties to purchase food.

High prices

Shortages in food production, supply and availability would increase international food prices. Increased food import prices would reduce the import capacity of food importing countries with lower export earnings, reduced remittances from abroad and decreased tourist earnings to purchase food.

Food availability

The international food situation will have serious implications for the food security of many countries, mostly in Africa and South Asia. The food security of poor countries and poor people are threatened. Sri Lankas food security too may be weakened due to decreased food supplies, higher costs of transportation, financial difficulties, higher costs of food. Lower incomes due to unemployment and lesser remittances from abroad will create severe hardships for poor people in Sri Lanka as in other developing countries.

Low Incomes

Large scale unemployment owing to work stoppages have eroded incomes of large numbers of people. Oil prices have collapsed, tourism is drying up, and remittances of foreign workers to their families on which many people depend for survival, are expected to decline sharply. The precipitous fall of remittances and earnings from tourism has also weakened the external finances of many countries and reduced their capacity to import food.

Massive task

Averting the imminent global hunger, starvation and deaths is a massive task. It has been rendered more difficult owing to the global focus being on the containment of the pandemic and the resuscitation of national economies. Financial resources are consequently restricted and inadequate to purchase and ship food to the starving regions.

Food aid

The World Food Programme of the United Nations (WPR) is at present air lifting food on a large scale. What is needed is a much larger funding of their efforts. Other charitable organisations like OXFAM have to redouble their efforts.

An international appeal

People around the world have to be sensitised to the impending global disaster so that there is a substantial collection of funds from individuals, financial and business corporates, religious and concerned charities and individuals. Unfortunately the impending calamity has not received adequate attention in a coronavirus preoccupied world. This is in contrast to the worlds attention when the Tsunami struck a number of countries in 2004 and the world responded magnanimously. A similar global response is needed soon.

Summing up

The impending global food shortage could threaten the food security of less developed nations and especially poor people around the world. About 18 million persons are estimated to die of hunger or hunger-related diseases this year owing to the disruption of food production and supply chains due to COVID-19.

Food production is likely to decrease due to shortages of labour, fertiliser and agro chemicals. Difficulties in transportation would affect the availability of food in food deficit countries, The shortages in food production supply and availability would increase international food prices. In this global context, food deficit countries food availability would be threatened.

Final word

The world cannot be complacent about food security of a large number of poor people in the world who are facing starvation and death. Can we avert this global hunger crisis and massive death toll?
Dublin, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Von Willebrand Disease Market and Competitive Landscape - 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



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Story continues

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The Delhi government on Saturday ordered state-run hospitals in the capital to cancel leaves of all staff members and recall them to boost the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

All MSs/MDs/Dean/Directors of the hospitals/medical institutions under Health and Family Welfare Department are hereby advised to issue directions to all the staff working under their control who are on leave of any kind to immediately report for their duties in their concerned hospitals/medical institutions without fail. Leave of any kind to staff may be granted only under most compelling circumstances, the Delhi governments special secretary of health department, S M Ali said in the order.

The national capital where the Covid-19 tally has gone past 53,000 has been battling a massive surge in the rate of infections in recent weeks.

The order comes a day after Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal ordered five-day institutional quarantine for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients before they are sent for home quarantine

On Saturday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal raised concerns over the LGs order saying there will be chaos if home isolation of Covid-19 patients ends and every asymptomatic patient is sent to institutional quarantine.

Earlier this month, the government estimated Delhi could have over 5.5 lakh cases of Covid-19 by the end of July.
JOHANNESBURG, June 19 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling party African National Congress (ANC) on Friday welcomed the extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 as progressive, saying it reinforced international solidarity and multilateralism.

"The breadth and depth of the Summit in terms of the broad of high level participation, and areas of cooperation that were discussed, turned out to be truly unique and progressive," said ANC in a statement.

"That is an indication that the serious challenges of the coronavirus pandemic lead us into an era of renewed and deepened international cooperation and multilateralism that bodes well not only for China-Africa relations, but indeed for international solidarity and cooperation throughout the world."

ANC welcomed China's demonstrated and extraordinary cooperation with, and support for African in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, as concrete steps to deliver on the commitment that China made to Africa at the FACOC Beijing summit, with regards to its longstanding friendship with Africa.

"We applaud China's commitment to work with the global community to give greater support to those African countries that are hardest hit by the coronavirus, and are under heavy financial stress, by such means as further extending the period of debt suspension, " read the statement.

ANC said it appreciated decisive steps that Chinese government took, "together with China's calls on the international community, especially developed countries and international financial institutions, to take concrete measures to ease the debt burden of African countries."

ANC commended China for containing the COVID-19 and its timely sharing the information with WHO in an open, transparent and responsible manner, which bought precious time for the rest of the world.

"This Summit charts the way forward to explore with global partners trilateral of multilateral cooperation in Africa in a way that is active, open and inclusive, and based on respect for African countries' wishes. We are confident that this is indeed the only way forward to facilitate an early victory against COVID-19 pandemic, and for the faster development of Africa," it said.
In Iran, No Space On Cyberspace For Dissenting Voices As Tehran Takes 'Orwellian Approach' To Muffle Critics

By Golnaz Esfandiari June 19, 2020

Iran has intensified its efforts to silence dissenting voices on cyberspace, where many Iranians discuss issues deemed by the Islamic establishment as sensitive.

The new round of state pressure comes several months after security forces brutally suppressed dissent in the streets of dozens of cities, killing hundreds of people.

In recent days, several journalists, activists, artists, and others with large social-media followings have been told to remove some of their posts and issue public corrections or apologies.

Criticism of harsh prison sentences for eight environmentalists convicted of espionage last year, as well as of the January downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane that killed all 176 people on board and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) delayed admission of guilt, are some of the main issues that have prompted action by security officials.

It seems that this is a new way to make people repent; before they did it on [state] television, now they're expanding it to social media."

The pressure appears to be aimed at promoting a state narrative to a highly skeptical public that has been angered by the jailing of those environmentalists and by what is seen as a lack of accountability for the disastrous shooting down of the plane, which led to street protests.

The powerful IRGC took responsibility three days after the crash while blaming it on "human error" amid heightened tensions with the United States over the assassination of IRGC senior commander Qasem Soleimani.

Iran said several people have been arrested and that an investigation was launched. Yet no senior IRGC official has resigned over the tragedy, which killed dozens of Iranians.

"[Authorities] are taking an Orwellian approach to ensure that only their official explanation of the events exists in this space," says Tara Sepehrifar, Human Rights Watch researcher on Iran.

"The reality is that the skepticism in the authorities' narrative is rooted in their conduct in a particular lack of accountability and this only further delegitimizes their position in the eyes of their skeptic audience," she told RFE/RL.

At least one lawyer and three journalists have taken to Twitter in recent days to announce that they respect the court's decision to jail the environmentalists, with one apologizing for past retweets that were critical of the verdict.

A journalist in Tehran who did not want to be named told RFE/RL that security officials reportedly called media staff and others and told them to remove online posts that they said were against national security -- or face arrest.

"It seems that this is a new way to make people repent; before they did it on [state] television, now they're expanding it to social media," the journalist said, referring to confessions by critics aired on state television that, according to former detainees, are extracted under duress.

The assault is believed to be led by the intelligence branch of the IRGC, which arrested eight members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation -- including Iranian-American Morad Tahbaz -- in early 2018 on spying charges.

Many have questioned the imprisonment in late January 2018 of the environmentalists, including the director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Kavous Seyed Emami, a well-respected Iranian-Canadian university professor. Seyed Emami died in detention days later under unclear circumstances.

Authorities said he committed suicide, but that claim was questioned by his friends and relatives.

The head of Iran's Environment Department, Isa Kalantari, said in 2018 that a panel had concluded that there was no evidence the environmentalists were spies.

Yet those who have spoken against their imprisonment appear to have been pressured to publicly recant their criticism, including well-respected journalist Mojgan Jamshidi, who covers environmental issues.

"If, after the issuing of the court's ruling in 2019, I had a tweet or retweet that created the impression of disrespect, I am issuing a correction that I respect the court's decision," Jamshidi said on Twitter earlier this week.

Her tweet was retweeted by another journalist, Zeinab Rahimi, who added that "silence is full of unspoken words."

Several artists have also suggested that Tehran is tightening its grip on social media, including the highly popular Instagram, which is the only unfiltered platform in the Islamic republic.

Actress Parastoo Salehi said on Instagram on June 8 that she had been summoned by police and was later released on bail for attending a protest over the IRGC's downing of the passenger plane, as well as her social-media posts.

"I still can't believe that raising criticism, to protest, and making demands is a crime," she wrote on Instagram to her 1.8 million followers, adding that from now on she will remain silent "out of respect for my mother's white hair."

Actor Arzhang Amirfazli said on Instagram on June 6 that "regulations in state television and society are gradually being applied to cyberspace."

"Because I'm worried about you, I'm forced to close the comment option under the posts," Amirfazli added in a post to his 1.1 million followers.

Additionally, at least two volleyball players on the Iranian national team have removed angry posts from Instagram about the downing of the Ukrainian airliner without offering any explanation.

One had accused authorities of "incompetence."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/in-iran -no-space-on-cyberspace-for-dissenting- voices-as-tehran-takes-orwellian- approach-to-muffle-critics/30680295.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Gyor (Hungary) (AFP) - As Hungary's coronavirus-hit economy shrinks and unemployment soars, thousands of Hungarians are seeking to join the army, attracted by job stability and a government scheme that fast-tracks recruits toward a military career.

Military service is also one of the Hungarian government's weapons to keep a lid on joblessness.

"Since the crisis began the number of applicants has risen by 100 percent," Major Tamas Durgo, head of military recruitment, told AFP at an army office in Budapest.

"We have loosened the admission procedure, that doesn't mean it's easier to get in now, just faster," said Durgo in front of an advertisement for military careers.

After a simplified medical test, applicants can sign up for six months of paid training after which they can either return to civilian life or -- if they make the grade -- embark on a career path in the army.

Apart from traditional military careers, the army also has jobs for engineers and IT experts, drivers and catering staff, said Durgo.

And besides defending the country's borders, or taking part in foreign missions, soldiers also help out during emergencies like floods and epidemics, he said.

Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long underlined the importance of beefing up the military.

His government has been hiking spending on the previously underfunded military since well before the pandemic, with the proportion of GDP spent on defence rising from 0.95 percent in 2013 to 1.21 percent in 2019.

The army has had a high profile in the coronavirus crisis, for example being dispatched to look after hospitals.

Orban has emphasised patriotic education in schools while the Hungarian army has expanded a cadet programme and unveiled plans this month to operate up to 10 new military high schools by 2030.

- 'Work-based society' -

With unemployment rocketing due to the coronavirus crisis, officials say many are jumping at the chance of a stable job that the army offers.

Story continues

"Already 2,500 have applied, with 900 starting basic training," said Szilard Nemeth, a government defence official, last week.

The latest data put Hungarian unemployment rising to around four percent in April, but analysts say the number may be almost double that given suddenly jobless entrepreneurs and freelancers have yet to register as unemployed.

An OECD forecast earlier this month said the Hungarian economy, which grew by 4.9 percent in 2019, could contract by eight percent this year, and by 10 percent if hit by a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Everyone who loses their job due to the coronavirus outbreak will have another one in three months," Orban has pledged.

Since coming to power in 2010 he has strived to build a "work-based society" based on "providing work, not aid".

Monthly unemployment payments are a paltry 200-350 euros ($225-400), depending on previous salary, and are stopped after three months.

- Strict routine -

Now donning military fatigues is one of three routes back from virus-related unemployment promoted in the government's recovery plan, alongside public works schemes and jobs in state companies.

At an army training field near the city of Gyor, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Budapest, Nandor Major, a boot camp leader, said that only some recruits have joined because of the virus.

"Many had already thought about being a soldier one day, so the crisis just gave them a push to take the step," he told AFP.

After completing a combat simulation drill with a dozen other rookies, Peter Kamondai told AFP that getting used to army life was a challenge.

"There is a strict daily routine here, but the physical side is the most difficult bit," he said.

Kamondai, 27, had started a medical massage business just before the crisis but said the lockdown gave him "no chance" to get it off the ground.

"My priority now is getting a stable income provided by the state, especially as my wife is having a baby soon," he said.

Another new recruit, former mechanic Tibor Tokei, told AFP he applied as he felt a "little lost in life" rather than because of virus-related worries.

"Actually I worked in different places month to month, so I wanted something steady," said the 22-year-old.
One of the possible pretexts for imposing new sanctions Merkel called Russian hackers' 2015 cyber-attack that targeted Bundestag, as well as computers in her own office.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany reserves the right to impose more sanctions on Russia over the Berlin killing of a Chechen asylum-seeker Zeliman Khangoshvili.

On Thursday, German prosecutors accused Russia of murdering a Chechen man in Berlin, which further escalated the already strained relations between the two states, according to Deutsche Welle.

She said new sanctions had earlier been discussed by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and now "we have to wait until the investigation is over", DW reports.

Speaking at a video conference following the virtual meeting of EU leaders, Merkel criticized Russia for not taking sufficient steps to implement the 2015 Minsk agreement, aimed at ending the war in eastern Ukraine.

Read alsoEU further extends economic sanctions against Russia

Speaking of Russia sanctions in general, Merkel said Berlin "is oriented toward certain grounds, one of which is the Ukraine conflict".

Another possible pretext for imposing new sanctions she called Russian hackers' 2015 cyber-attack that targeted Bundestag, as well as computers in her own office, and offices of parliamentarians in the Bundestag.

Merkel said talks are underway with EU leaders in this regard.

As reported earlier, EU leaders have agreed to extend for another six months diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia, initially imposed over the illegal annexation of Crimea and later expanded due to Russia's failure to fully implement Minsk agreements.
In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are out there doing business battle on a daily basis. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Who are you and what is your business?

We are Elena Solle, Hazel Solle and Carlton Solle, the founders of G95, Inc. Our gear has built-in filtration technology to help protect you from bacteria, viruses, air pollution, allergens, smoke, PM 2.5 and other airborne particles that can be hazardous to your health.

What was your "aha moment"?

I got sick while on a trip to China several years ago. The doctor I saw said I had either caught something while on the plane or gotten sick from the air pollution. I asked what I could do to protect myself in the future and suggested wearing one of those white masks. My first response was, "One of the masks that make you look like you are sick?" When I got home I spoke with my wife about what happened. She told me how when she was growing up in Costa Rica, she used to play with two hand-me-down dolls and because fabric was scarce, she would make scarfs for the dolls. From that discussion, our first product was born: the Bioscarf.

Related: Real Entrepreneurs: Need a Mental Break? The 'Meet Cute' Podcast Delivers Rom-Com Escape in 15-Minute Burst

What does the word entrepreneur mean to you?

For us as a family, it's who we are and who we have always been. For the past 20+ years, one of us or all of us have been starting businesses and or pursuing ideas and inventions. It runs through our veins and is really what keeps us going.

Related: Real Entrepreneurs: Have a Great Product? Don't Be Afraid to Dismantle It to Build a Better One.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?

The most difficult part of coming up with an idea or concept is that you need to share it to evaluate it and to flesh it out. At the same time, the most dangerous thing when you are an entrepreneur is other people. Some might throw you off course, others might see what you have created and want to try to work their way into it. Others will want to try and crush your idea because they didnt think of it and others will simply be a time suck which can also send you off course. The trick of the entrepreneurial journey to get to realize your vision and not getting steered off course or losing your drive. You need to stay true to your vision and what you feel in your gut.

Related: Real Entrepreneurs: How to Launch Your Product Without Sinking Your Savings

What trait do you depend on most when making decisions and why is that useful for you?

Its all about persistence and moving forward. You always hear about young single entrepreneurs who lived out of someone's garage eating top ramen and then they made it big. So what about when you have a family? When you have rent to pay and school and all the rest of the responsibilities that come with being a bit older? That garage top-ramen thing doesnt really cut it. So the pressures and sacrifices are much larger and much more extreme and they are not only affecting you but also your whole family. How far are you willing to go? For us, it's been about persistence, everyone sacrificing for the bigger picture  and sometimes that has come at pretty extreme costs. But you get through them and learn from them.

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation?

There are two quotes that sit above my desk: The best way to predict the future is to create it. And Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.

Related:

How a Doctor's Visit Resulted in This Family's Big Idea: The Bioscarf

How This AI Company Is Working to Transform Space Exploration in an Age of Global Pandemic

What Do You Have to Do to Launch Your Own Clothing Line? Whatever It Takes.



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine tell the OSCE how the Kremlin fights abroad using private military companies.

Over the last years Russia has brought this practice to a new level, demonstrating that they can carry out offensive missions and actually build a backbone of an occupation army.

With the purpose to find the most effective combination of tools to achieve its aggressive goals, Russia tries to combine traditional military and special means with correlated activities of PMCs, mercenaries, local collaborationist forces and other paramilitary groups, such as kazaki [Cossacks]. All of these units are integrated in joint communication and intelligence space and operates under the straight direction of Russian military command under the general military concept. The modern Russian military theory defines such approach as the integrated force grouping.

Kremlin will continue to apply this highly effective hybrid approach to use forces in further military conflicts and in regions that considered as zone of Russias national interests. Thereby, Russia able to use such integrated force grouping against other sovereign states, even European nations.

The so-called Wagner Private Military Company is the most large-scale example of Russia's enacting of such armed units, it is the non-staff military unit of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, is completely under the control of Russia's top military and political command.

These and other statements were made for the first time at the site of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which includes 57 countries from Europe, Central Asia and North America.

Thus, the issue of regulating the activities of private military companies (PMCs) has been raised within the OSCE before. However, for the first time, the international community was informed professionally and in detail about the Kremlin's destructive and hybrid use of PMSs for hostilities abroad.

This happened on Wednesday, June 17, during the online meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation which is currently chaired by Ukraine. The main speaker was Vadym Skibitsky, the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, who gave a comprehensive presentation on the PMCs and their role in modern military conflicts. Mykola Bezrodnov, a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine, delivered a separate report on behalf of the Ukrainian delegation to the OSCE, making a special focus on the so-called Wagner Private Military Company as the brightest example of the use of such formations by Russia. WAGNER PMC IS NON-STAFF UNIT OF RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES Mykola Bezrodnov, Security Service of Ukraine: -The hybrid aggression waged by the Russian Federation on worlds democratic countries, in particular against Ukraine, includes military operations in addition to informational, political and economic activities. Along with this, Russian leadership publicly denies the presence of aggressor-country military units on the territory of other states. Prepared in advance "cover legends" are used for the information space: military personnel "on vacation", "lost", "volunteers", "private military company" upon the exposure of such armed units. The so-called Wagner Private Military Company is the most large-scale example of Russia's enacting of such armed units, it is the non-staff military unit of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, is completely under the control of Russia's top military and political command. The main difference between those armed formations enacted by the Russian Federation and true private military companies (Blackwater) is that such a company does not officially exist (not in a register of legal entities, neither in the Russian Federation, nor in any other country). Moreover, the organizational and staffing structure of Wagner Private Military Company fully corresponds to that in GRU regular units (structure of the forward tactical group - 6 companies, reinforced by tank platoons, artillery, mortars, MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System), anti-aircraft defense, snipers, EW (Electronic Warfare) etc). Military transport aircraft and vessels of the RF Navy are used for logistics purposes.

Since the end of May 2014, the so-called "Wagner group" in the status of a non-staff unit of the RF GRU began its activities in Ukraine (the downing of the IL-76 aircraft, Ukraine Air Forces, assault of the "Luhansk" airport, participation in the hostilities near Debaltseve, Sanzharivka, Utkine). At the same time, the SSU revealed that many RF citizens, who were members of Wagner Private Military Company since May 2014, entered the Autonomous Republic of Crimea through the Kavkaz-Kerch ferry in February 2014. The Private Military Company Wagner after completing tasks on the territory of Ukraine in August 2015, was withdrawn from Ukrainian territory and in the amount of 1,350 people was transferred to Syria in support of the dictatorial regime of Assad. Subsequently, the permanent contingent of Wagner Private Military Company was increased to almost 3 thousand people. After the field operations were reduced in Syria, part of Wagner Private Military Company units (from 1 up to 4 companies, depending on the needs of a particular period of time) were transferred to support African countries regimes of Kremlins geopolitical interest (Sudan, CAR), Libya and others). The regular rotations of personnel from Syria to African countries are performed, in particular, by the "223rd Flight Detachment" of the Russian Defense Ministry. At the same time, the foreign passports were issued to personnel for cover purposes. By the way, the foreign passports issued to the Wagner staff, as well as to the GRU officers "Petrov" and "Boshirov", who carried out the terrorist attack in Salisbury, differs only in the last figures in the number. Structures belonging to Yevhen Prigozhin are used to covertly finance Wagner Private Military Company directly from the Russian state budget. His official companies receive multibillion-dollar government profits from the RF Defense Ministry. Proceeds are used to financially support "Wagner Group" units. PMC AS MOSCOWS INSTRUMENT OF MILITARY INFLUENCE ABROAD

Vadym Skibitsky, Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine: - Using private military companies in modern world indicates the necessity for regulation of this matter at international level. We became the eyewitnesses of active participation of private military companies in countering international piracy and participation in conflict areas  in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and other hot spots of the world. Unfortunately, Ukraine has its own experience related to PMCs. It is related to using military formations by Russia during occupation of Crimean peninsula and armed aggression in the East of Ukraine. In many countries the legislation of private military companies is incomplete. At the same time, some countries establish private military companies without any legal basis at all. First of all it is about our geopolitical adversary  Russian Federation. Despite certain illegal status of PMCs in Russia, such companies are de-facto existing and effectively acting for interests of the Kremlin, in particular  against Ukraine. Some of these formations disguise themselves as public organizations or military-patriotic clubs.

Up until recently private military companies had been considered as non-government contractors providing professional consulting, assisting and security services. Yet, Moscow is using PMCs as an instrument for providing plausibly deniable, economically and politically sustainable military influence abroad. Over the last years Russia has brought this practice to a new level, demonstrating that they can carry out offensive missions and actually build a backbone of an occupation army. SLAVONIC CORPS AS PROTOTYPE OF WAGNER PMC

Russias entrance into private military operations came with the deployment of the Slavonic Corps company to Syria. Hong Kong-registered private military company Slavonic Corps was created in 2013 as the affiliated branch of another Russian PMC, Moran Security Group. The goal of creation was determined by agreement with the Syrian government which included protecting Assad regime assets such as oil and gas facilities. As far as leaders of Moran Security Group were seeking to avoid sanctions and reputational losses for interacting with Assad, Slavonic corpse was established as a proxy-force and, at the same time, a pilot project to test the ground. Slavonic Corps became Russias first and, in many ways, rather experimental new type private military company, concerned with tasks typically performed by armies, such as frontal attacks and combat operationsin contrast with Western PMCs, which are mainly assigned auxiliary or training roles. Despite first unsuccessful experience of using private military companies, Russia learnt its lessons and used the case of Slavonic corps for further creation of more effective non-government military formation  PMC Wagner. OCCUPATION OF CRIMEA, WAGNER, E.N.O.T. AND OTHERS During seizing Crimea by force in 2014 Russian private military companies were in their forming state and couldnt be a cover for so-called self-defense of Crimea, kazaki [Cossacks] and other pro-Russian radical groups and formations. At the same time, they were acting together with special operations forces and airborne troops subunits of Russian armed forces, under one concept and one command. The Russian armed aggression at the east of Ukraine showed the effectiveness and importance of the PMCs. During the first stage, their main task was stirring and further destabilizing the situation, provoking its escalation from political confrontation to a phase of direct violence and hostilities.

The number of the men in PMCs grew with the increasing of tasks. Since May, 2014 PMC Wagner increased from 250 to 1500 men within several months at the east of Ukraine. It took part in terrorist and sabotage activity against the Ukrainian Armed Forces. There are confirmed facts of PMC Wagner participation in the battle for Luhansk airport (April-September, 2014), Sanzharivka (January, 2015) and Vergulivka (February, 2015). 250 PMC Wagner members took part in combat actions near Debaltseve from January 14, 2015 till February 20, 2015. There are also other Russian PMCs, which were present at the east of Ukraine. PMC MAR, that is registered in Sankt-Peterburg, took part in various logistical/auxiliary support operations primarily, cargo delivery including munitions and military equipment.

Other Russian PMC E.N.O.T. Corp conducted both combat actions and non-combat operations. The last ones are armed support of the Russian so-called humanitarian convoys (14 missions). Also E.N.O.T. Corp took part in combat actions near Chornukhyne (Luhansk region) and Debaltseve (Donetsk region). Moscow uses PMCs for recruiting, training and equipping mercenaries, increasing its hybrid expansion in Ukraine and all over the world. PMCs fighters are trained at Molkino military firing range (near KRASNODAR city)  conventional training area for Russian 10th special operations brigade and PMC Wagner. Russian PMCs usually recruits fighters in Russia and from ex-Soviet states. Many mercenaries were recruited from temporary occupied territories of Ukraine  Donbas area and Crimea.
New Delhi: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation assuring Indias resolve to protect its territory in Ladakh, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the face-off incident at the Galwan Valley calling it to be a "step-by-step account of the incident".

The statement, attributed to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, claimed that the disputed area is located towards the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and accused the Indian troops of 'unilaterally' building roads, bridges and other facilities at the spot.

"For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region. Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations," the statement read.

"By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China`s territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas," read the statement.

To ease the tension, China and India established a dialogue through military and diplomatic channels, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

"In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did. On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation. The Indian side promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground," the statement said.

Terming the June 15 incident as shocking, the statement accused Indian troops of provocating the situation and violently attacking the Chinese officers and soldiers.

The Chinese foreign ministry called for a second commander-level meeting as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground and to "immediately stop all provocative actions so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again".

It hoped that both India and China manage the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.

"The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far," the statement said.

Meanwhile, PM Modi said that the Indian Army has been given adequate power to take appropriate action on the border, adding that "today we possess the capability that no one can eye even one inch of our land."

"India's armed forces have the capability to move into multiple sectors at one go," he said. He also thanked all the political parties for their positive support at this hour.

The Prime Minister had called for an all-party meeting via video conferencing to discuss the situation in India-China border areas.
ADULT FICTION

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez: Alvarezs poignant return to adult fiction raises powerful questions about the care people owe themselves and others. Antonia Vega is reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Sam, who suffered an aneurysm on the day theyd planned to celebrate her retirement. As an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Antonia is determined to embrace American values of self-preservation and independence, and she keeps a running dialogue in her head with Sam about the U.S. and D.R.s conflicting values (We live in America, she reminds the disapproving Sam in her head, where you put your oxygen mask on first). This outlook is challenged after she finds an undocumented and pregnant teenage girl from Mexico hiding in her garage and Antonias charismatic but unstable older sister Izzy disappears.

ADULT NONFICTION

The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African-Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt by Jill Watts: Watts, a professor of history at California State University, San Marcos, delivers a unique and enlightening portrait of the informal group of black federal employees who sought to advance African-American interests during the New Deal. Led by Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman College and a friend of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the Black Cabinet included housing expert Robert C. Weaver, attorney William H. Hastie and Robert Vann, editor of the Pittsburgh Courier and a leading advocate for shifting black votes from Republicans to Democrats. Watts details the groups political quarrels and its efforts to integrate the federal workplace, end race-based wage differentials and rally support for anti-lynching legislation, among other objectives.

DVD

I See You: When a 12-year-old boy goes missing, lead investigator Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) struggles to balance the pressure of the investigation and troubles with his wife, Jackie (Helen Hunt). Facing a recent affair, great strain is put on the family and it slowly gnaws away at Jackies grip on reality. After a malicious presence manifests itself in their home and puts their son, Connor, in mortal danger, the cold, hard truth about evil in the Harper household finally is uncovered.

CHILDRENS EASY READER

I Love My Dinosaur by Giles Andreae: Summer Reading is all about dinosaurs this week. Living with a dinosaur is the best of fun, especially because no one seems to mind when things get a little out of control.

JUVENILE FICTION

Tyrannosaurs Wrecks by Stuart Gibbs: Teddy was all set for a campout at his friend Sages family ranch  but then Sage gets terrible news: The skull of a rare dinosaur that was being excavated on his property has mysteriously vanished overnight in the middle of a rainstorm, even though it weighed 500 pounds. Not a single footprint has been left behind. Since the dinosaur was top secret, the police dont believe anyone outside the dig could have stolen it.

Did you know?

The library has two computers still available for public access. You may come in or call to sign up for a time to use one. There is a one-hour time limit. The keyboard, mouse and seating are disinfected between each usage.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration couldnt dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protecting undocumented immigrants, 21-year-old Fatima Rahman felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

The Case Western Reserve University senior has been protected by DACA since she was 15. And shes been waiting for the Supreme Court decision since President Donald Trumps attempt to end the program in 2017 led to legal challenges.

DACA protects about 700,000 undocumented immigrants like Rahman.

This decision has been such an increasing, looming anxiety, she said in an interview Thursday. It literally determines everything. It determines the future. It determines the future people like you. Its a really scary thing.

Rahman was brought to the United States by her mother from Honduras when she was a baby. Her mother fled the Central American country because of violence, and Rahman grew up in Atlanta and New Orleans.

She is on track to graduate next spring with a dual degree: a bachelors in international studies and a masters in non-profit management. She hopes to work for a nonprofit supporting immigrants and refugees when she graduates, and eventually go to law school to study immigration law.

But the Trump administrations attempt to dismantle DACA created uncertainty about her future.

She received a wave of text messages from friends Thursday after the decision came down, and started looking at the headlines.

She started crying.

You spent all this time just constantly waiting for this day and it comes, she said.

She also felt relieved, but also anxious, sad and angry. She said its taken too long for people like her to be recognized in the United States. Even with this protection, she frustrated shes still not equal to her peers here.

She sees the Supreme Court decision as a first step toward addressing the larger immigration issues the country faces. She believes much more work to be done to give undocumented people the ability to live in this country legally. She believes there needs to be more scrutiny on the treatment of immigrants at the Southern border.

What this decision has made me feel really hopeful that change is going to happen, but we have so much work to do, she said.
Police have launched a criminal investigation after a six-month-old baby died in hospital.

Queensland Ambulance Service found Beau Frank Bradshaw unresponsive at an east Mackay home, in Queensland, on June 2.

The child was rushed to Mackay Base Hospital and transferred to Townsville Hospital before he passed away two days later.

An investigation taskforce has been established, including local detectives, intelligence officers, and specialist police from State Crime Command's Child Trauma Unit.

Detective Acting Inspector Mick Searle said police were treating the death of the infant as suspicious following an investigation.

Queensland Ambulance Service found Beau Frank Bradshaw (pictured) unresponsive at an East Mackay home on June 2

The child was rushed to Mackay Base Hospital and transferred to Townsville Hospital before he passed away two days later

'The investigation we are conducting now is a criminal investigation,' detective acting inspector Mick Searle said.

'If there is anyone in the community who has information in regards to this matter to contact police as soon as they can.'

Detective acting inspector Mick Searle urged anyone who was in the vicinity of Illawong Beach between 9.30am and 11am on June 2 to come forward.

'We do have information that baby Beau was at the beach at the time and was quite well,' he said.

Detective acting inspector Mick Searle said an ambulance was called to the family home at 2pm later in the afternoon.

It marks the latest incident in a series of child deaths to rock the Sunshine State in the last few weeks, including a four-year-old girl who was living with Down syndrome and two brothers with autism who were found living in a locked room.

Four-year-old Willow Dunn, who lived with Down syndrome, was found dead in her cot at her home in Cannon Hill on May 23. Her decomposing body was malnourished and had been partially eaten by rats.

Her father Mark James Dunn, 43, and stepmother Shannon Leigh White, 43, have both been charged with her murder.

Since their arrests, the home appears to have been abandoned.

Four-year-old Willow Dunn, who lived with Down syndrome, was found dead in her cot at her home in Cannon Hill on May 23. Her decomposing body was malnourished and had been partially eaten by rats

Willow Dunn's father, Mark James Dunn (right), 43, has been charged with murder

Two brothers living with autism, aged 17 and 19, were discovered starving and naked in a house in Stafford in Brisbane's north on May 27, after their father was found dead in the next room

Two brothers living with autism, aged 17 and 19, were discovered starving and naked in a house in Stafford in Brisbane's north on May 27, after their father was found dead in the next room.

Pictured wearing only nappies, the teens are now receiving specialist care in hospital after being found severely malnourished.

The teenage boys, who are understood to be non-verbal, were only found after police discovered their 49-year-old father's dead body.

One of the boys, who has autism, is seen sitting on a mattress in a nappy in 2018 (pictured) in a photo taken by a concerned neighbour

The boys were locked in this room (pictured) in the rented home when they were found by police after their father's death

The Courier-Mail reported the boys were known to the Department of Child Safety (DOCS) officers, but the investigation had been closed.

There were visits to the property but it was allegedly determined there were no threat to the boys.

The teenager's living conditions were described as 'sordid and gravely distressing' by a neighbour.

'I tried to reach out to police and the Department of Child Safety, but nothing was ever done,' she told The Courier-Mail.

'They wouldn't be wearing clothes, only just loaded diapers if they were lucky.'
Four civilians, including a woman, were injured along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri of Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district when Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts on Saturday, officials said.

Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in Rampur sector by firing mortars and other weapons. Four civilians have been injured, a spokesperson of the Indian Army said.

Befitting response is being given, the spokesperson added.

Abdul Qayoom, the senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Baramulla, said among the injured are a 60-year-old man and a 20-year-old man from Nambla village in the district.

They have been shifted to hospital, Qayoom added.

Nambla is the last big village on the LoC.

This is the second incident of ceasefire violation in north Kashmir since Friday.

On Friday evening, the Indian Army had said Pakistani troops had violated the ceasefire violation that was responded effectively.
The folks at Black Lives Matter are really worried about black deaths. Not most black deaths, not even very many black deaths, mind you, but only that tiny fraction of a percent of blacks who have died at the hands of (presumably) white cops. Those are the only deaths that boil the blood of the folks at Black Lives Matter and spark the riotous mobs that loot and burn our Democrat-run cities.

Why Democrat cities? Because in 2015, Black Lives Matter activists tested Democrats resolve and found none. At a Netroots Nation Conference in Phoenix on July 18, presidential candidate Martin OMalley uttered the unforgiveable words: Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter. Shouted off the stage, he was heard by a Guardian reporter muttering to himself: Black lives matter, black lives matter, black lives matter. At a Bernie Sanders event in Seattle on August 8, activists took over the stage. Sanders waved goodbye and rescheduled the event. From that point forward, the moral authority of Black Lives Matter would remain unchallenged by any Democrat politician.

Black lives matter sounds good, but it provides cover for a lot of bad behavior. Its like the tuxedo that enables a thug to work his way into your party. If youre a Democrat mayor and you notice the well-dressed thug robbing your guests, you might say "Here, take my watch and go away and I won't call the cops." Hell happily take your watch, but he'll also grab your rings and your billfold, and then hell demand "Where's the safe?" and youll tell him and give him the combination too, right after he breaks your Ming Dynasty vase and tears up your Picasso. Finally, he'll set fire to your house, because he despises you for your presumption in thinking that you could negotiate how much loot he should take.

There's nothing you can say or do anymore. You applauded him when he burned Ferguson and Baltimore, and you made excuses for him when he screamed: "What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want them? Now!" He owns you and you know it. You cant criticize him. Best to take a knee and mutter vague homilies about racial injustice.

Your buddies in the newspapers and television can't help you either. They championed the thugs every step of the way. All they can do now is report that your home is "mostly standing" and that your thug was mostly peaceable.

What do these people want? The rioter wants to have fun, which to him means stealing as much cool stuff as he can and destroying whatever he wants. Probably hes a bit amazed at the topsy-turvy world hes created. The people he used to fear -- the cops -- now fear him. He can see it in their eyes. And when the cops take a knee, he sees surrender. For him, these are the best of times. He knows this can't last forever, but he also knows that whenever it does end, he'll own lots more stuff and probably be immune from prosecution.

The leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement want political power. Theyve already acquired quite a lot of it thanks to their violent groupies, but power is addictive and they may want even more. Right now, their knee is on the Democrat throat. They can do whatever they want.

For their nominal political pals in the Democrat party, these are the worst of times. Theyve got a tiger by the tail, and they know it. Their political survival depends upon getting an overwhelming majority of the black vote, and if that majority should shrink to 85 percent or so, theyre politically dead. Black Lives Matter, or revulsion to it, could make that happen.

Black Lives Matter brings in a lot of money for the Democrats. Corporations are donating millions of dollars to the cause (just as they paid tribute to Jessie Jacksons Rainbow Coalition years ago) and BLM sends much of it to the leftwing political action committee ActBlue. Democrats love the cash and so are loath to say a discouraging word about the mayhem.

But if the riots continue and bleed into November, Democrats will probably lose anyway. They surely wish that Black Lives Matter would just quiet things down, but they mustnt say so. For now, all they can do is wear a happy face and some Kente cloth and talk about police reforms.

What Democrats really need is somebody whos tougher than the rioters and who has the resolve to stop them. But he's running against them in November.
By Online Desk

The PMO called the flak from Opposition on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that no one entered the Indian territory or captured any military post during the Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh, at the all-party meeting (APM) on Friday, "mischievous interpretation".

In a statement released on Saturday to provide clarification, it said that the PM discussed at the APM on Friday the events of June 15 at Galwan valley which led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel but remained

In the clarification released by the PMO, PM Modi observed that there was no Chinese presence on "our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as consequences of the bravery of our armed forces."

It was also made clear that "India would respond firmly to attempts to transgress the LAC," and ensured that unlike in the past, Indian forces now will decisively country any violations of the LAC, "unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain."

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, were among others who criticized the PM's claim that no outsider was inside the Indian territory in Ladakh.

ALSO READ | PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression: Rahul on Galwan clashes

Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked questions about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory and whether the intelligence agencies failed to report any unusual activity there.

Chidambaram on Saturday said after the PM's statement, China had blamed India for the clashes and had reasserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley.

"What is the government's answer to this claim? Now that China is claiming the entire Galwan Valley, will Government of India reject this claim," he had asked.

The response from the PMO said the sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment "foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day".

As for the change in LAC, it said, "the government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC." and that "what is Indian territory is clear from the map of India."

The general sentiment at the APM was, although, the unequivocal support to the government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Portuguese prosecutors said Saturday they had launched an investigation into a birthday party attended by scores of people which could have led to many new coronavirus infections.

Prosecutors in the southern Faro region said they were probing a late-night June 7 party "gathering scores of people" in the town of Lagos, which took place despite a ban on gatherings of more than 20.

There have been a little over 1,500 COVID-19 deaths in Portugal and 38,841 cases out of a population of some 10 million.

The party "could be the origin of an outbreak of COVID-19 infections", they said.

Local media cited health officials as saying that the party could have caused about 100 new coronavirus cases.

"Those who think they can resume a normal life are gravely mistaken," Health Minister Marta Temido said on Friday.

Most of the cases have surfaced in the capital Lisbon and surrounding areas.

According to an AFP tally, on Thursday Portugal had the highest daily rate of infections in the European Union after Sweden in terms of population.

"We are finding it hard to break the transmission chains," Temido said.

There has been an outcry in Portugal over quarantine measures or coronavirus tests imposed on nationals travelling to other countries in the EU's visa-free Schengen zone.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Durgapur: An incident of road cave in has been reported from Andal town in Durgapur at West Bengal.

One woman has been killed and as many as five houses collapsed in the incident.

Police and fire brigade officials have arrived at the spot.

Search and rescue operations are underway.

(This is developing news, more details are awaited)
A tentative agreement was announced Thursday in the bitter six-and-a-half month lockout of 750 Saskatchewan oil refinery workers at the Federated Cooperatives Limited (FCL)-owned Regina complex. The miserable, concessions-laden proposal has been recommended for acceptance by Unifor, the union that organizes most refinery workers in Canada.

Although the fine details of the agreement will not be made public until workers vote on the contract on Monday, it is clear that the agreement approved by Unifor is a sellout that will meet all of managements sweeping concession demands.

For many weeks, Unifor has made no secret of the fact that it has capitulated to every one of the cuts to pensions, jobs and work rules ruthlessly demanded by the company. Local union President Kevin Bittman told reporters as much earlier this month, saying, Right now weve actually offered the company everything that theyve asked for, and the only thing that we request is that they dont fire 100 people. What we had going into this bargaining is pretty much toast.

FCL sought to victimize those workers taking the most active part in picketing over the life of the dispute. However, the union, as is standard in back-to-work agreements, was unable even to gain amnesty for these workers. Such is the nature of their abject surrender that they simply were holding out for a halt to FCLs plans for immediate firings, so that the matter could be first sent to a grievance procedure.

What exactly has been toasted in the tentative deal? The union has surrendered well over $20 million per year in pension givebacks. It has been estimated that retiring workers will face losses in pension earnings of up to $20,000 per year. The defined benefits pension program has been decimated, forcing workers to pay as much as 10 percent of their earnings into a scheme that was previously fully financed by the company. An FCL-supported Savings Program is to be gutted. Scores, if not hundreds, of jobs are on the chopping block. Worker control over their own safety is to be compromised with new work rules and the pace of work intensified in a highly dangerous and volatile industry.

Notably, neither Bittman nor national Unifor President Jerry Dias in statements Thursday felt able to name a single item that had been successfully defended in the proposed settlement. Doing his best to put lipstick on a swill-smeared pig of a contract, Bittman was only able to meekly thank the membership for their brave and determined battle against the company. For his part, Dias stated, In this fight, we showed that Canadas workers are united and will fight to defend good jobs, even when governments and police services choose to side with the rich.

The locked-out workers fought bravely against FCL, as shown by their determined maintenance of picket lines in the freezing cold for months in the face of vicious state-backed repression. However, they were misled and betrayed from the very beginning by Unifor. The union insisted that the dispute must be confined to collective bargaining channels, but it was always a political fight.

The company enjoyed the strong backing of the right-wing Moe government, which helped FCL establish an army of hundreds of scabs to ensure its business could keep operating unhindered throughout the lockout. It also received crucial support from the capitalist courts, which banned all but the most token picketing by workers and imposed huge fines for alleged breaches of pro-company injunctions. Egged on by the right-wing government, the police also intervened to dismantle picket lines, arrest workers and union leaders, and intimidate picketers.

The company also engaged the services of the notorious AFIMAC security agency and aligned itself with ultraright and neo-Nazi forces in the self-proclaimed Yellow Vest and United We Roll movements, who broke through solidarity pickets for the locked-out workers set up in Alberta.

FCL proceeded so aggressively because it knew what to expect from Unifor following the last contract bargained four years ago. In that deal, Unifor opened the door for the current attack on pensions by agreeing to a two-tier system that forces all new hires onto an inferior defined-contributions scheme.

In the runup to the December 5 lockout, Unifor conceded a scheme whereby the union would assist the company in seeking ways to move veteran workers from their defined-benefits program to the defined-contributions plan. Then in January, it sent a letter to the company agreeing to its demand that the union withdraw preconditions prohibiting negotiating reductions in the defined-benefits program. But this was not enough for FCL.

It then demanded that the union lift a 10-day blockade of the refinery before any talks could begin. Dias agreed. In the ensuing aborted one-day negotiation with FCL, the union offered to contribute six percent of worker earnings to a new pension scheme. Such was the nature of the capitulation that lead negotiator Scott Doherty admitted that he feared he and Bittman would be beaten up by the membership for the drastic concession offer. In the end, FCL declined, and exploited the temporary lifting of the blockade to ship out millions of litres of fuel to its hard-pressed network.

By mid-February, the union leadership was reduced to begging the Moe government for binding arbitration to end the lockout, a proposal that the viciously anti-worker government steadfastly refused to adopt. In March, FCL cynically used the impact of the coronavirus to escalate its concession demands once again.

This record of betrayal and capitulation underscores that workers cannot achieve any of their demands under Unifors leadership. To take forward their struggle for decent pensions and secure jobs, workers must reject the rotten concessions deal accepted by Unifor. But this must be connected with a political and organizational break from Unifor through the establishment of rank-and-file action committees to take control of the struggle into their own hands.

The sweeping concessions demanded by FCL are being replicated in workplaces across the country, in the United States, and globally as the ruling elites seize on the coronavirus pandemic to ratchet up the exploitation of the working class. A key task of these committees must therefore be the broadening of the struggle for decent wages, pensions, and secure jobs into a counteroffensive by the working class across Canada and internationally to break the grip of the financial oligarchy over social life and place the needs of society as a whole ahead of corporate profit. Above all, this requires the waging of a political struggle against the right-wing Moe government and its counterparts at the provincial and federal levels to place political power in the hands of the working class.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-21 04:06:15|Editor: huaxia

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Shoppers queue outside Primark store in Oxford Street as it reopens in London, Britain on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

-- UK COVID-19 deaths rise to 42,589 as another 128 patients die;

-- Coronavirus spreads to another mink farm in Denmark as dog found infected;

-- Italy records 262 new COVID-19 infections.

BRUSSELS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

LONDON -- Another 128 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Friday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 42,589, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

As of Saturday morning, 303,110 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 1,295, according to the department.

Passengers are seen at Berlin Central Train Station in Berlin, capital of Germany, June 15, 2020. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)

COPENHAGEN -- A dog in Denmark was found contracting COVID-19 as the authorities detected COVID-19 in two North Jutland mink herds in one week, said the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food on Saturday in a press release.



The dog belongs to the owner of a North Jutland farm where COVID-19 has recently been found in two minks among samples from 46 minks there.

"The farm owner and the dog must avoid close contact with other animals and people outside the household and pay attention to good hygiene," said Mogens Jensen, Minister for Food, Fisheries and Equal Opportunities, in the press release.

Earlier on Thursday, a herd of 11,000 minks in a farm in North Jutland, the west of Denmark, was culled as a precautionary measure after some were identified as infected with COVID-19.

A cyclist crosses the border from Italy to Menton, southern France, on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Serge Haouzi/Xinhua)

ROME -- The number of new infections from the novel coronavirus in Italy was 262, up from 251 reported on Friday but down from Thursday's 333, Italy's Civil Protection Department said on Saturday.

The total active infections decreased to 21,212 over the past 24 hours.

A total of 182,453 patients have recovered, up by 546 people compared to Friday. Forty-nine patients have lost their lives, bringing the overall death toll to 34,610.

The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities and recoveries rose to 238,275 over the past 24 hours, against a total of 238,011 cases on Friday, the Civil Protection Department said.





People practice yoga on a beach during the COVID-19 pandemic in Barcelona, Spain, on June 19, 2020. (City Hall of Barcelona/Handout via Xinhua)

MADRID -- The Spanish Ministry of Health on Saturday confirmed seven new deaths, bringing the country's death toll to 28,322. Meanwhile, 134 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed, taking the tally to 245,938.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the country in a televised speech on the eve of lifting its State of Alarm that "Now it's time for recovery."

Spain will enter on Sunday what Sanchez calls the "new normality", with visitor arrivals from the European Union countries and Schengen regions no longer required to undergo two-week quarantine, while travel between Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities is resumed.




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Did you know Sushant Singh Rajput had three companies including one in name of Rhea Chakraborty!



Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who rose to become a formidable presence on the big screen, was found dead on on June 14. The Kedarnath actor was found hanging at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. The actor was battling depression for the last six months.



Sushant Singh Rajput, a National Physics Olympiad winner, is being hailed for his keen interest in space, physics and stars. Beyond films, Sushant had followed his passion for technology and fulfilled his dreams by turning entrepreneur to set up three companies. The 34-year-old actor had reportedly launched a company in 2018 that explored augmented and virtual reality and artificial intelligence among other things.



Read More...


House Resolution 277, Discourage local police defunding: Passed 79 to 29 in the House

To discourage local units of government from defunding or abolishing their local police departments.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, N

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

Senate Resolution 125, Denounce decision to put coronavirus patients in nursing homes: Passed 23 to 14 in the Senate

To resolve that the Michigan Senate denounces the Governors policy placing COVID-19 positive residents with uninfected residents in nursing homes.

31 Sen. Kevin Daley, R - Attica, Y

32 Sen. Kenneth Horn, R - Frankenmuth, Y

36 Sen. Jim Stamas, R - Midland, Y

House Resolution 276, Oppose decision to put coronavirus cases in nursing homes: Passed 71 to 33 in the House

To resolve that the Michigan House opposes the Governors policy placing COVID-19 positive residents with uninfected residents in nursing homes.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, N

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 4389, Mandate fire department PFAS reporting and more: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate

To require fire departments that use fire-fighting foam containing chemicals called PFAS to report details of each use to the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) within 48 hours. Also, to require the agency to establish a free collection program for firefighting foams containing the chemicals, and then properly dispose of them.

31 Sen. Kevin Daley, R - Attica, Y

32 Sen. Kenneth Horn, R - Frankenmuth, Y

36 Sen. Jim Stamas, R - Midland, Y

Senate Bill 942, Allow bars and restaurant to serve alcohol in commons area: Passed 37 to 1 in the Senate

To allow on-premises licensees (restaurants with liquor licenses and bars that serve food) to serve alcohol in a "commons area" within a social district designated by a local government that is shared by and abuts the premises of at least two other on-premises licensees, and allow local governments to authorize this.

31 Sen. Kevin Daley, R - Attica, Y

32 Sen. Kenneth Horn, R - Frankenmuth, Y

36 Sen. Jim Stamas, R - Midland, Y

House Bill 5811, Let liquor licensees that sell food also sell drinks to go: Passed 104 to 1 in the House

To allow on-premises licensees (restaurants with liquor licenses and bars that serve food) to sell alcoholic drinks by the glass for pickup. See also Senate Bill 942.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City,Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 5482, Require suicide hotline number on student IDs: Passed 106 to 0 in the House

To require schools that provide identification cards to students in grades six to 12 to include on the cards a suicide prevention hotline telephone number. Also, to encourage schools to publish and post information regarding suicide, depression, anxiety and prevention services on their websites, and in principal and counselor offices.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

House Bill 5843, Appropriate $6 million for Midland county flood relief: Passed 107 to 1 in the House

To appropriate $6 million for Midland county flood relief.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

Senate Bill 690, Appropriate federal coronavirus relief money: Passed 108 to 0 in the House

To allocate $880.1 million in federal coronavirus epidemic relief grants. Highlights include $125 million more for licensed child care providers in social welfare and school programs; $120 million to cover a $2 raise for certain direct care social welfare workers; $25 million in low income water bill subsidies and $60 million in rent subsidies; $29.1 million to beef-up the staff and tools used to process unemployment benefit claims; and $100 million for subsidies for some small businesses. The Senate also voted unanimously to concur with the House changes and send the bill to the governor.

95 Rep. Vanessa Guerra, D - Bridgeport Township, Y

96 Rep. Brian Elder, D - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Isabella County, Y

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Visit www.MichiganVotes.org.
Washington, June 20 : The US Navy announced that it will not reinstate the fired commander of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

"I will not re-assign Captain Brett Crozier as the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, nor will he be eligible for future command," Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.

Crozier was removed from his post in early April after a letter he wrote pleading for help with a coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the media, reports Xinhua news agency.

A preliminary probe by the Navy recommended that Crozier be reinstated but Gilday said he has changed his mind after what he called a "much broader, deeper investigation".

"Had I known then what I know today, I would have not made the recommendation to re-instate Captain Crozier," Gilday said.

"Moreover, if Captain Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him." Secretary of Defense Mark Esper "believes the investigation to be thorough, fair", and supports the Navy's decisions based on the findings, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman tweeted.

Crozier, in his letter, warned at that time of dire consequences if the outbreak on the ship was not handled quickly.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote.

"If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors." Crozier was swiftly fired by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who himself resigned later after his remarks lashing out at the captain backfired.

Hundreds of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew gathered to applaud and cheer Crozier's name when he left the ship, video on social media showed.

The aircraft carrier has been docked in Guam for two months.

More than 1,000 sailors have reportedly been infected with the coronavirus, and one died from it.
Two years ago, Adem Bunkeddeko and Suraj Patel were part of a crop of young New York Democrats who tried to ride the wave of insurgency that formed after President Trumps election to victory over longtime House incumbents.

The best-known of the group, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, became the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress after she upset Representative Joseph Crowley, the No. 4 Democrat in the House at the time.

Mr. Bunkeddeko and Mr. Patel could not replicate Ms. Ocasio-Cortezs stunning victory, but their performances suggested they might be heard from again.
A Toronto man has been charged with second-degree murder after a fatal shooting in Scarborough in early May, police said in a statement.

On May 2 at around 10:45 p.m., officers responded to a call in the Tower Drive and Brian Avenue area, near Warden and Lawrence, and found a man in front of a house with a gunshot wound.

The victim, identified as 23-year-old Daniel Boima, was rushed to hospital and later died. Boima was Torontos 25th homicide victim of the year.

On Friday, Toronto police said they had executed three search warrants in Scarborough and Oshawa and arrested 20-year-old Joshua Johnson of Toronto. Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Police said they were still looking for another suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or contact www.222tips.com.

Osobe Waberi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @OsobeWaberi
Breaking the silence and ambiguity around the India-China clashes in the Galwan valley of Ladakh, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has finally issued a statement, claiming it to be a "step-by-step account" of the incident. The statement attributed to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian was put up on the Chinese Embassy in India's website hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the all-party meet, which took place yesterday.

In the statement, Lijian said the Galwan Valley area in eastern Ladakh is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western section of the Indo-China border, thus reiterating China's unverified claim to this area.

Lijian further said that Chinese troops have been patrolling and monitoring the region for many years. Things changed in April this year when Indian border troops started to build roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in Galwan Valley.

Lijian went even further to allege, "By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management."

Lijian also gave a detailed account of the incident that took place on June 15, saying: "Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties."

The statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson completely contradicts the one issued by the Indian Army and the Ministry of External affairs. Even PM Modi had said yesterday, "Neither has anyone entered our territory nor have any of our posts been occupied". A violent face-off between Indian troops and personnel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Galwan Valley resulted in 20 Indian soldiers getting killed in the line of duty. Though China has kept the number of casualties on its side a secret, multiple reports suggest somewhere between 35 and 45 Chinese were killed during the fierce unarmed fight.

Also Read: Galwan valley standoff: Well-prepared, suitably deployed to respond, says Air Force chief

Also Read: Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: PM Modi launches scheme to boost livelihood in villages
President Trump's alleged former mistress Stormy Daniels claims 'child predator' tried to snatch her young daughter from their Texas home - and she says cops refused to help her.

Daniels, 41, made the sensational allegations on Twitter Friday, without disclosing specific details as to when the attempted abduction took place. However, it appears she reported the incident to police on Thursday.

'Hey...did you know a current passport is not considered 'valid ID' and the police won't even let you report an attempted kidnapping without a drivers license? Me either,' she posted.

The porn star then added: 'I went to the police station and they wouldn't even let me speak to a detective. A f**king child predator has my address and tried to take my kid.'

Daniels was referring to her only child - nine-year-old Caden - whom she shares with her porn actor ex-husband, Glendon Crain.

President Trump's alleged former mistress Stormy Daniels claims 'child predator' tried to snatch her young daughter from their Texas home - and she says cops refused to help her

In her stream of tweets, Daniels went on to explain that her driver's license had expired and she was unable to renew it at the DMV due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She says she instead presented police with her passport as a form of identification, but was still unable to see a detective.

The adult actress alleged the police officer at the station treated her poorly when she could not produce the required ID.

'When I pointed out [how much effort it takes to get a passport], he [the officer] turned into a huge d**k and made someone else show his id on my behalf. I was f**king floored,' she raged.

'They were immensely unhelpful and 24 hours later NO UPDATE,' Daniels blasted in a separate tweet Friday, seeming to suggest she reported the incident on Thursday.

Daniels doesn't believe she was specifically targeted because of her star status.

'This person is not aware that I am the mother and has messaged other children,' she stated.

Daniels shared a stream of tweets about the alleged incident on Twitter Friday afternoon

Daniels did not name the law enforcement station where she went to report her daughter's alleged abduction.

Her last listed address is in Forney, Texas. DailyMail.com has reached out to Daniels for comment.

It seems Daniels is currently no fan of law enforcement, having previously hit out at 'Trump-loving' cops in a separate tweet posted earlier this month.

On June 5, the star responded to a critic who claimed she should stop talking about claims Trump and his surrogates paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she claims to have had with the then-businessman in 2006.

'You realize this is about crooked Trump loving cops falsely arresting me and abusing their power. They hurt several sex workers and POC,' she wrote.

It seems Daniels is currently no fan of law enforcement, having previously hit out at 'Trump-loving' cops in a separate tweet posted earlier this month

On June 5, the star responded to a critic who claimed she should stop talking about claims Trump and his surrogates paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she claims to have had with the then-businessman in 2006

Daniels has largely faded from the limelight in recent months, but made news when she hit out at her disgraced former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, back in February.

Avenatti was convicted for trying to extort Nike for up to $25 million.

The lawyer is also accused of stealing $300,000 from Daniels and faces 20 years if convicted.

'Sadly, it appears what Michael Avenatti did to me was just the tip of an iceberg of deceit,' Daniels stated at the time of his conviction in February.

'I am not surprised his dishonesty has been revealed on a grand scale.'
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Could your weekend playlist use a little more seasoning? Rolling Stone Latin selects some of the best new music releases from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Keep track of the latest in Latin via our playlist on Spotify.

Arca, Mequetrefe

La Dona Arca spins critical gender theory in her latest track  then adds a little bounce for the club. Her head-spinning new song Mequetrefe, the Spanish equivalent of a do-nothing in her native Venezuela, encapsulates both tensions of sound and gender. According to the artist, the song invokes the tenderness behind expressing who you are without shame, and the confidence and bravery it requires, because expression of gender-nonconforming self-states in a public space can often result in static within your environment. The song features in her upcoming album, KiCk i, which comes out June 26th on XL Recordings.

More from Rolling Stone

Camila Moreno feat. Guaynaa, Esta Electricidad (Es Real)

Chilean folk-pop artist Camila Moreno and Puerto Rican rapper Guaynaa make a strange but pleasurable alchemy in their joint electro hip-hop song, Esta Electricidad (Es Real). Well take 12 more of these tracks, please.

Black Eyed Peas feat. Maluma, Feel the Beat

After reliving the Nineties in their 2019 chart-topper with J Balvin, Ritmo, the American dance-pop crew Black Eyed Peas dial it back to 1985 in Feel the Beat, their fizzy reggaeton-pop rework of the classic Lisa Lisa song. Colombian heartthrob Maluma is just one of many Latin superstars featured in the groups new English-Spanish-language fusion album, aptly-titled Translation, released on Friday.

Story continues

Play-N-Skillz, Daddy Yankee, Zion and Lennox, Besame

With the help of Puerto Rican reggaeton dons Daddy Yankee and Zion & Lennox, the Grammy-winning hip-hop producers Play-N-Skillz lay down all the right ingredients for a perfect summer jam. Un besito, dos besitos, tres besitos, recommend the MCs for a magical time.

Jesse y Joy, Love (Es Nuestro Idioma)

This week the Grammy-winning brother-sister duo Jesse and Joy speak out in support of the LGBTQ community with their pop-cumbia single, Love (Es Nuestro Idioma), which translates to Love (Is Our Language). The song, off their new album Aire, is part of a campaign to globally ban conversion therapy. Sexual orientation is not something that can or must be cured, state Jesse and Joy (in Spanish). Conversion therapy subjects people to various acts of torture such as: deprivation of liberty, electroshocks, corrective rapes and exorcisms, among many other forms of violence.

Brytiago feat. Rauw Alejandro, Cositas

Puerto Rican R&B stars Brytiago and Rauw Alejandro detail some of their most salacious fantasies in their come-hither trap collab, Cositas. Purrs Brytiago, Si quieres nos vemos ahorita/Pasame el numero pa apuntar/Y hacemos to lo que me imagine.

See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts.



Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
COVID-19 has exposed the full extent of human vulnerability. Recent UNDP estimates show that the Human Development Index  a combined measure of the worlds education, health, and living standards  is on course to decline this year for the first time since measurement began in 1990. Developing countries and those in crisis will suffer the most, along with the already vulnerable all over the world  particularly the 79.5 million women, children, and men who have been forced from their homes. During 2019, an estimated 11.0 million people were newly displaced, renewing the highest number of forced displacements on record of the previous year. No effort should be spared to protect them.

On this World Refugee Day, we stand in solidarity with refugees and the communities that host them around the globe. We renew our commitment to do our part, as one of the lead development agencies in the UN family, to deploy the full extent of our capacities and expertise on the ground, working hand in hand with our partners to support relief and recovery efforts.

UNDP recognizes the moral imperative of addressing the needs and vulnerabilities of those forcibly displaced, especially women and children, while supporting countries to recover from the pandemic. As the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, none of us is safe until everyone is safe. We commend the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for outlining with clarity how the Global Compact on Refugees applies in the international response and for highlighting the critical importance of partnerships in our collective responses. We remain fully engaged in implementing the commitments we have made at the Global Refugee Forum last December.

In our role as the designated technical lead within the UN System on socio-economic recovery from COVID-19, we are promoting integrated, whole of government and whole of society responses. We are working with UNHCR, for example, to ensure that socio-economic data and analysis on refugees feed into socio-economic impact assessments. We have also stressed the importance of including these communities in assessments and recovery plans, and we are striving to deploy innovative solutions jointly with our partners. In Turkey, for example, we are harnessing digital technology to minimize the impact on the livelihoods of both refugees and host communities, especially among youth. In Ethiopia, we are working with UNHCR in supporting the police, local authorities, and refugee/host communities to counter stigma and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Recently, UNDP has joined Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the World Bank, and other international partners in a global call to action to keep remittances flowing in these times of crisis.

UNDP has laid out its forward-looking vision for building back better from COVID-19, working closely with national and international partners. Our ambition is to push beyond a simple recovery  we want to usher in the transformations that can put the world back on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which are the best investment we can make to build a more sustainable and peaceful future. Inclusion, solidarity, and global cooperation must be the principles upon which we base our actions.

More than ever, we believe this is the opportunity for humanitarian and development partners to join forces to reach the furthest behind first not only to meet their urgent humanitarian needs, but to reduce risk and vulnerability, and build long-term resilience. As the global campaign for this World Refugee Day says, every action counts.
'Have you met anyone who said "I will not boycott Chinese products"?'

IMAGE: A Youth Congress protest against China in Kolkata. Photograph: Ashok Bhaumik/PTI Photo

The Swadeshi Jaagran Manch has been relentlessly fighting a battle against Chinese products flooding the Indian market.

The SJM has now asked asll Indians to boycott Chinese products as a tribute to the 20 Indian Army soldiers who were murdered by China's People's Liberation Army on Monday night.

"Just because we are a democracy it does not mean that we can't hit them back when they hit us," Professor Ashwani Mahajan, the SJM's co-convenor, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier. The first of a two-part interview:

You have asked people to boycott Chinese products as a tribute to the slain soldiers. Should you be mixing business with what is happening at the border?

Business and war cannot go side by side. That is a simple principle.

We have been asking for a boycott of Chinese goods because you have to do it when a country is aggressive on your borders, when a country is aligning with your enemies by helping international terrorists and building infrastructure on your land against your wishes. I mean the China Pakistan Economic Corridor in PoK.

There is one more reason now, and that is economics.

In 2001, when China became a member of the WTO (World Trade Organisation), exports to China was $1 billion and the trade deficit with China was $0.2 billion.

Because of the obsession of past governments and because of China's status as the most favoured nation after joining WTO, Chinese products kept getting dumped in India.

Our governments did not heed the rising unemployment because of that.

They kept saying we want to increase manufacturing from 17% to 18% to 25% of GDP, and only such a change can create jobs.

The rhetoric continued, but they did not pay any attention to the real problem which was, China was dumping goods.

By 2017-2018, the trade deficit with China rose to $53 billion. Now, it is $48.6 billion and for that you can pat my back!

We at the SJM have been doing awareness programmes all over India and even sensitising the government.

The government has now imposed anti-dumping duties on 140 items.

This shows our call worked. This also shows we have the capacity to produce goods for our market.

When imports came down, our production increased.

You have asked people to boycott Chinese products. What about those Chinese companies that have manufacturing units in India, especially mobile phones, where the employees are Indians?

The quantum of employment they generate is much less than the quantum of unemployment they generate by dumping goods in the Indian market.

Because of the dumping of cheap Chinese goods, Indian manufacturing has suffered, and many Indians lost their jobs.

Moreover, those who have come here are doing so to save tax and are not doing any value addition here; just 5%.

They were importing 95% of the components to India and only 5% is made here.

That is why we say: 'Don't come and Make in India; let us make in India.'

Our slogan is Made by India and not Make in India.

You have urged the government not to allow Chinese firms to participate in tenders. When it is an open tender, how can you ban some companies from participating in it?

When they can continue with their autocracy, why not?

Do you know Indian firms are not allowed in the telecom or infrastructure sector in China?

But India is a democracy.

Just because we are a democracy it does not mean that we can't hit them back when they hit us.

There is always a reciprocity clause and we have been invoking the clause in telecom and some other areas, but minimally.

Now it is time to completely boycott the Chinese because of the way they treat us.

Why are you saying we should treat them nicely? It is true we have been treating them nicely, welcoming their investments, welcoming their leaders, welcoming their goods. Yes, we have been welcoming everything.

See, what they are doing on the border.

Are you trying to strike an emotional chord with people when you ask them to boycott Chinese products as a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives?

Had it been an emotional appeal, it would have started only yesterday. Our efforts started several years ago.

We have just added one more reason to the list of reasons we have been giving. This will give a greater appeal to people at a time like this.

When we first started opposing China, around 30% to 40% of people were with us. They accepted our appeal and were sensitised about everything that China was doing and how they were impacting our economy.

After the coronavirus pandemic, 90% of the people were with us.

Now, with this action of China on our border, 100% of the people are with us.

Have you met anyone who said 'I will not boycott Chinese products'?

People of India have become more swadeshi than the Swadeshi Jaagran Manch! Now, people are telling us, 'Do this, do that, don't allow this, don't allow that...'

What has happened on our borders is very unfortunate. But that is a tactic of China to deflect the real issues.

There is anti-China sentiment all over the world. India is trying to use the situation by inviting businesses based in China to set up their business in India.

Do you think China is peeved with this and business is the real reason behind what is happening on the border?

China is in the habit of doing it.

This time, I think China has gone crazy about what is happening on the economic front.

They thought they were a manufacturing hub and wanted to be an infrastructure giant by capturing the land of different countries.

They are creating infrastructure in many African countries, in Sri Lanka, in Pakistan, in Malaysia and putting them in their clutches.

They were conquering country after country this way, and suddenly they find country after country opposing them and criticising them.

They are facing the backlash of not only people all around the world, but governments too.

Many governments were asking their companies to relocate from China.

Many companies have written to India that they want to shift their base to India.
BERLIN  Last October, with the Balkans unsettled and the old tethers of American diplomacy coming apart, the Trump administration dispatched a new envoy to try to solve one of Europes longest-running territorial disputes: the two-decade standoff between Serbia and Kosovo.

The move was unconventional. The State Department already had a special envoy to the region, and President Trumps new emissary, Richard Grenell, was also ambassador to Germany, where his brash style and embrace of right-wing figures broke with diplomatic norms.

Before long, Mr. Grenell offended and alienated European diplomats who had worked hard on Kosovo for years. They accused him of ignoring their own, more evolved peace initiatives, of undermining democracy in Kosovo and of turning a blind eye to budding authoritarianism in Serbia, a Russian ally.

Im doubtful that in this way you can really resolve a situation like Kosovo, the way its being tried by Grenell, said Wolfgang Petritsch, a former European Union envoy to Kosovo.
NEW YORK, June 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Colony Capital, Inc. (Colony or the Company) (NYSE: CLNY) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California, and docketed under 20-cv-04673, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Colony securities between August 9, 2019, and May 7, 2020, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.



If you are a shareholder who purchased Colony securities during the class period, you have until July 27, 2020 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Colony is a leading global investment management firm with assets under management of $55 billion. The Company manages capital on behalf of its stockholders, as well as institutional and retail investors in private funds, and traded and non-traded real estate investment trusts.

On August 9, 2019, Colony announced that it would sell its multi-billion-dollar industrial portfolio and, potentially, its related management platform.

On September 30, 2019, Colony announced that Blackstone (NYSE: BX) would acquire Colony Industrial, the industrial real estate assets and affiliated industrial operating platform of the Company, for $5.9 billion.

On November 7, 2019, Colony Credit Real Estate (NYSE: CLNC) announced that third party valuation experts assisted the [c]ompany in a robust strategic reassessment of [its] entire asset base, that, [d]uring this process [the company] identified and separated a Legacy, Non-Strategic Portfolio and made meaningful changes to the original business plans, and that [g]oing forward, [the company] plan[s] to report the operations and dispositions from [its] Core Portfolio and the Legacy, Non-Strategic Portfolio separately.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operational, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Colonys sale of its industrial real estate portfolio and the bifurcation of Colony Credit Real Estates portfolio were foreseeably likely to negatively impact Colonys financial and operating results; (ii) certain of Colonys remaining portfolio companies carried unsustainable levels of debt secured by hotels and healthcare-related properties and were thus at significant risk of default; and (iii) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On November 8, 2019, Colony announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2019. Among other results, the Company reported a GAAP net loss of $555 million, or $1.15 per share, which notably included reductions of goodwill, real estate and provision for loan losses totaling $540.3 million . . . of which $387.0 million was attributable to the reduction of goodwill primarily as a result of the pending sale of the Companys industrial investment management business and related real estate portfolio, and the decrease in management fees from Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. resulting from impairments related to its portfolio bifurcation.

On this news, Colonys stock price fell $0.48 per share, or 8.76%, to close at $5.00 per share on November 8, 2019.

Then, on May 8, 2020, Colony issued a press release announcing its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2020. In the press release, Colony reported that its portfolio companies had defaulted on $3.2 billion of debt secured by hotels and healthcare-related properties and that Colony had received a notice of acceleration covering $780 million of the defaulted debt.

On this news, Colonys stock price fell $0.08 per share, or 3.81%, to close at $2.02 per share on May 8, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
Crystal Trang Luong, wearing gloves, a face shield and mask, bought the salon in Fullerton only five months before the coronavirus caused her to shut down. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

As soon as the salon doors opened, customers with ragged, discolored nails streamed in Friday, heading for the socially distanced chairs.

But first, Christina Dinh stepped up to take their temperatures. Inside the narrow, spotless Captivate Nail & Spa, she asked them to sign a form affirming the risks of a COVID-19 outbreak and that they did not show symptoms  agreeing to release the Fullerton shop from legal claim in case of infection. Then she directed each person to wash her hands.

Behind Dinh, her mother, owner Crystal Trang Luong, scrubbed the magenta-flecked toes of a junior accountant who said she was grateful to have "presentable feet," just in time to ease into leather summer sandals.

Friday unfolded as a reopening for nail salons, nearly 100 days after the businesses shut down, eventually getting the go-ahead from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Many resumed operations with face shields, foot shields, table shields and all manner of set-up, training and safeguards now required to keep manicurists and clients as protected as possible under guidelines from the state and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Melissa Alatorre, left, gets her temperature checked by Christine Dinh and signs a release before getting her nails done. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

"Whatever they require is what we do. I'm not thinking so much about cost  though, yes, there's three months of back rent waiting to be paid and not having the income to cover it," Luong, 48, said. "I'm thinking mainly about safety. If we can't offer it, how will we all survive?"

Just five months after Luong bought the salon, scrimping to save and borrowing money from her sister-in-law, the surge of the novel coronavirus forced her to shut down on March 17. Stuck at home, she obsessively followed the news, searching for clues for when her industry could reopen.

She said it saddened her to hear that community spread of the virus originated from a nail salon, as Newsom announced in May. By June, his staff had said that was a mistake, promising to help push for reopening as part of Phase 3, when state officials allowed personal services and its employees to return to work. Friday was the day for gyms, massage therapists and nail salons, with California home to 11,000 such salons, 80% owned by Vietnamese Americans.

Story continues

"You know, I'm ecstatic" salons are back. "I can't wait to tell my mom," said Joanne Bockian, 70, who's been coming to Captivate once a month. She made an appointment to surprise her mother who turns 96 in July, who "gets such a treat out of our mani-pedis," said the San Gabriel Valley resident who visits her parent in Fullerton weekly.

"They're very good at pampering here and they have nice touches, talking softly and helping her to put her shoes back on," said Bockian, choosing a slot when it's not as crowded to prioritize the health of the elderly.

Manicurist David Ngo, wearing gloves, works on the nails of a client on the first day of reopening at Captivate Nail & Spa in Fullerton. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

As Dinh sanitized a spa chair, a woman munching on an apple appeared, asking for an impromptu manicure. She did not need to wear a mask or sign any forms, she said, because she "works for the government and they don't require us to do that, either."

"I'm so sorry, Miss, we cannot provide you service," Dinh, 22, responded. The stranger left, returning five minutes later, huffing behind a mask. The phone kept ringing, clients were constantly booking.

"You interact with all types of personalities," said Dinh, Luong's eldest child, a nursing student. Growing up, she watched her mom accept short-term jobs doing nails in Arizona and North Carolina to support the family. Her machinist dad recently signed up for shifts every day to bring in income as an essential worker.

Her mother and father came from Vietnam's central highlands of Da Lat, and after immigrating to the U.S. in their 20s, they discovered they were neighbors in Orange County. Luong's family was sharing a bar of soap for personal grooming, her daughter recalled, "until my dad introduced them to shampoo and conditioner. They didn't even know what that was," Dinh said. "And now, she's running her own business."

Sergio Martinez, an Auto Zone sales manager, and his wife, Diana, are regular customers. They, too, alluded to the dedication of the nail techs and the comforting air of the salon, saying, "We are welcomed sincerely, like family."

"We need to give higher tips, all that time they were out of work," said Martinez, 34, of Anaheim. As he settled back for his favorite treatment, a $26 deluxe pedicure complete with callous removal, sea salt treatment and massage, he noted: "It's not the same when you have to clean your own toes. They get right in there."

Kathy Ong, the employee working with his feet and a five-year nails veteran, said she "counted the days to return to the salon because staying at home means staying in an economic bind. You have few choices."

A new study released by the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, partnering with the UCLA Labor Center, revealed that among more than 700 salon employees and owners surveyed during COVID-19, only 6% of owners were able to keep their workers on payroll. More than 90% of workers applied for unemployment benefits, and almost half needed support, including translation, to complete their applications.

Diana Martinez gets her nails done, she's a loyal customer who stops by every three week. The Anaheim resident said she "felt awful" for employees for "being out of work for so long. I'm so happy to see them." (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Brittney Robertson, lounging on a spa chair as Ong now turned to scrape her cuticles, sympathized with the workers' plight. "Society is suffering, which is why doing your nails is a welcomed break," she said, flexing her left leg, graced with an Alice in Wonderland tattoo. She and Dinh stayed connected as she awaited salon services.

"We were constantly messaging over their Instagram: 'How many more days?' " said the Kaiser nursing assistant, 29, recalling their exchanges. "Once you're established with ... people, you don't want to go anywhere else."
And maybe its not as inclusive as it should be because people of color never even heard about the option. Ive lived in Naperville for 30-plus years and I dont recall ever hearing that I could have my face included in the mural. Maybe it was advertised within certain groups that minorities arent as tied in to. Im not saying they were intentionally excluding people, but they just included people in their circle till they had the right amount of money.
With the coronavirus pandemic tightening its grip on the world and economies grinding to a standstill, the race is on to find a vaccine. But while that could take up to 18 months, existing drugs are being fast-tracked to see if they can be effective in treating people with the disease and helping save lives.

With about 14 percent of COVID-19 patients needing to be hospitalised for respiratory problems, effective treatments are desperately needed.

In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a large global trial, called Solidarity, to find out whether any existing drugs can treat infections caused by COVID-19. Something on this scale has not been done before. The trial involves looking at scientific data from several countries, thousands of patients and hundreds of hospitals.

The idea is, instead of coming up with new drugs from scratch (which can take years), to see if drugs that are known to help with other conditions might also be effective in treating those with COVID-19.

Researchers are looking at certain drugs in particular, including lopinavir-ritonavir (also called Kaletra), used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). Other researchers have meanwhile trialled the steroid dexamethasone, which has yielded some promising results.

Dexamethasone

A recent announcement by a research team at Oxford University, England allowed for a glimmer of hope in what can only be described as a dark few months.

The drug dexamethasone had been trialled on around 2,000 patients who required hospital treatment as a result of COVID-19. The drug was shown to significantly reduce the number of deaths among those seriously ill with the coronavirus, so much so that the results have been fast-tracked and shared with the wider medical profession so other countries can benefit from these positive findings.

Dexamethasone is a steroid-based medication. It has long been used in the treatment of common conditions such as croup in children, asthma exacerbations, rheumatoid arthritis and for some conditions that cause brain swelling.

Part of the way it works is by suppressing the immune system. What we do know about patients that suffer the worst complications of COVID-19, such as breathing difficulties, is that their own immune system over- responds to the virus, so as well as attacking infected cells it also attacks healthy cells such as those found in the lungs.

Dexamethasone helps prevent this over-reaction so that only infected cells are targeted by the immune system.

The study showed that the drug reduced the number of deaths in coronavirus patients requiring a ventilator by one-third, and for those requiring oxygen, the number of deaths was reduced by one-fifth.

As the drug has been used for so long to treat other conditions, it is no longer on patent, which means no single pharmaceutical company has the right to it. As a result, it is relatively cheap to use and poorer countries, where the virus is having devastating effects, can also access it.

This is good news, but it is important to say that this does not prevent people from getting the virus and nobody should be buying or taking dexamethasone without medical supervision.

Kaletra is a combination antiviral drug that is usually used to treat patients with HIV [File: Reuters]

Kaletra

The WHO continues to look at other drugs that may help those suffering from moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19. One of those being tested is a combination of antiviral drugs usually used to treat people with HIV.

The drugs, lopinavir-ritonavir are known under the brand name Kaletra and have been used in the treatment of HIV since 2000 in the United States. Kaletra cannot cure HIV, but it does slow down the rate at which the virus multiplies, reducing viral numbers, or viral load, in the body as well as the risk of it progressing to AIDS.

HIV has enzymes inside it called proteases, which is something the virus needs in order to reproduce. Both ritonavir and lopinavir are protease inhibitors, meaning they help slow down the reproduction of the virus. Lopinavir does this by blocking the enzyme, while ritonavir stops the liver from breaking down lopinavir so that it stays in the body for longer, thereby working for longer.

As well as being used to treat HIV, Kaletra has also been trialled as a potential treatment for another type of coronavirus  Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In 2015, a Chinese study looked at the drugs ability to treat MERS in monkeys, with promising results. Although more work is needed, it showed significantly improved survival rates in monkeys infected with the MERS virus who were treated with Kaletra compared with those who were not.

This prompted researchers in Wuhan, China to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug on people with COVID-19. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 199 patients who were in hospital with COVID-19. It treated 99 of them with Kaletra while 100 were given standard care. The results were not encouraging; they concluded that in hospitalised adult patients with severe COVID-19, there was no benefit from lopinavir-ritonavir treatment.

Clearly, we cannot draw any significant large-scale conclusions from one study, which is why the WHO is looking into this further and on a much larger scale. Another arm of the WHO study is looking at Kaletra being given alongside a molecule known as interferon-beta, which is sometimes used to treat multiple sclerosis and has been shown to regulate inflammation in the body. It was also used alongside HIV drugs to treat monkeys with MERS and showed some promising results.

It will have to be used very carefully in COVID-19 cases, as too little inflammation can result in a weakened immune response to the infection, while too much may lead to an over-response and cause further complications.

It is still early days and recruiting thousands of patients in different countries is a challenge in itself. But robust research on a large scale will be the only way to find a safe and effective treatment for this virus while we wait for an effective vaccine to be produced.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 17:53:21|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, June 20 (Xinhua) -- With 546 new COVID-19 positive cases reported over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, the number of cases in the country has risen to 28,424, said a statement of Public Health Ministry released here Saturday.

According to the statement, 21 patients have died over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 569 since February.

In addition, 230 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8,292 in the country. Enditem
Judge Denies Trump Administrations Bid to Immediately Block Bolton Book

A federal court judge has denied the Trump administrations request to immediately block the publication of a book by former national security adviser John Bolton.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth denied the Justice Departments emergency request for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction on June 20, saying that the government hadnt demonstrated that an injunction is an appropriate remedy. The order allows Bolton to proceed in the dissemination of his book titled The Room Where It Happened.

The book, which is scheduled to be released on June 23, recounts Boltons 17-month stint working as a top adviser to President Donald Trump in the White House. It includes allegations about Trump and his presidency, which have since been refuted by the president, the White House, and several top administration officials.

Despite rejecting the government request, Lamberth expressed concerns that Bolton had gambled with the national security of the United States by abandoning a prepublication review process for his book, which, according to the government, still contains classified information.

He has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability. But these facts do not control the motion before the Court. The government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm. Its motion is accordingly DENIED, Lamberth wrote in his order (pdf).

The judge said that he had reviewed the classified information submitted by the government and was persuaded that Bolton will likely jeopardize national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations, when he rushed the publication of his book.

He said Bolton now stands to lose his profits from the book deal, exposes himself to criminal liability, and imperils national security.

The judge said that while Bolton may have improperly rushed the publication process, he also believes an injunction is unlikely to prevent irreparable harm to the government given that the book had already been disseminated widely.

The books publisher, Simon & Schuster, told the court that over 200,000 copies of the book have been shipped domestically and thousands of copies of the book have been delivered to booksellers around the globe. Meanwhile, copies of the book have also been distributed to media outlets.

With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globemany in newsroomsthe damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo, he said.

Boltons lawyer Charles Cooper told The Epoch Times in a statement that he welcomes the courts decision to allow his clients book to proceed.

We welcome todays decision by the Court denying the Governments attempt to suppress Ambassador Boltons book, Cooper said. We respectfully take issue, however, with the Courts preliminary conclusion at this early stage of the case that Ambassador Bolton did not comply fully with his contractual prepublication obligation to the Government, and the case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue. The full story of these events has yet to be toldbut it will be.

Meanwhile, Trump characterized Lamberths ruling as a BIG COURT WIN against Bolton in a Twitter post on June 20 responding to the decision. The president agreed with the judge, saying that there was nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping the books dissemination, since it had already been given out and leaked to many people and the media.

BUT, strong & powerful statements & rulings on MONEY & on BREAKING CLASSIFICATION were made. Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him! Trump wrote in his post.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement that the White House intends to hold Bolton to the further requirements of his agreements and to ensure that he receives no profits from his shameful decision to place his desire for money and attention ahead of his obligations to protect national security.

The Justice Department didnt immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.

The Trump administration sued Bolton on June 16, alleging that the book contains significant quantities of classified information and asking the judge to order Bolton to abide by his government contract and complete the classification review. The government also filed an emergency motion on June 17 asking the court to order Bolton to delay the release of the book and take all necessary steps to recover the copies that have already been disseminated.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday flayed the Congress and other opposition parties for raising various questions on the India-China face offs at Gulwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh, which, he said, would only "lower the morale of the Indian armed forces."

He also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for using negative language and baseless logic on the Galwan Valley issue. Gandhi had raised questions on whether "unarmed soldiers" had to fight the Chinese Army and alleged that the prime minister had surrendered Indian territory to the Chinese aggression.

Nadda was addressing a virtual rally here on the completion of one year in office by the BJP government, which is in its second term. He said the BJP has always stood with the government of of the day, even when the party was in the opposition. He cited instances of the Bangladesh liberation wars in 1962, 1965 and 1971 to bolster his view. But, the Congress, on the other hand, had convened the Rajya Sabha session over the Kargil issue and raised all types of questions, the BJP leader said without naming the party.

"Even during the face-off between India and Chinese troops in Ladakh, the opposition is only lowering the morale of the country and armed forces by raising varied questions despite the Prime Ministers assertions on the matter and that the Army is competent in putting up a fight," he said.

At such a time, our people, our opposition people are only lowering the morale of the country and along with the country, the morale of the armed forces by raising varied questions.I condemn this, he said.

Observing that international organisations like the UN and WHO have praised Modi's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and also for announcing the economic package, Nadda, without naming Rahul Gandhi, alleged he only played politics by asking why the lockdown was imposed and later why it was lifted. In fact, Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states had urged the Prime Minister to continue the lockdown, he said.

" PM Modi knows the road map for the development of India...You take care of what the roadmap of the Congress should be, which you dont know," the BJP chief said.

Referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's comments as to why petrol price was increased, he claimed that Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan have also increased. Nadda also highlighted the achievements of the NDA government, including 'effective handling' of the COVID-19 situation and removal of Article 370 , among others. He hit out at the TRS government over the low rate of COVID-19 tests and corruption.
MINSK -- Police in Belarus have detained more than 100 people at opposition rallies in the capital, Minsk, and elsewhere after President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced his government had thwarted a "revolution" amid a widening crackdown on opposition leaders and activists, including the arrest of a potential presidential challenger.



People were urged to turn out on June 19, the last day to sign ballot petitions for those seeking to run in the Belarusian presidential election on August 9, when Lukashenka, 65, will be seeking a sixth term in office.



Lukashenka, in power since 1994, is facing what experts say is his biggest challenge yet as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus after the president ignored calls to institute any social-distancing measures or restrictions.



In Minsk, several hundred people lined the streets on June 19 before police moved in to make arrests in the early evening, detaining not only opposition supporters but members of the media.

RFE/RL reporter Alyaksandra Dynko and her cameraman, Andrey Rabchyk, were detained while reporting live from the event.



Acting RFE/RL President Daisy Sindelar said the journalists' detentions represent "direct attacks on the independent press and the rights of Belarus citizens to be informed about important developments in their country."

There were also reports that Internet access had been disrupted for several hours in Minsk on June 19.



Elsewhere, police threatened protesters in the city of Mahilau with force, while in Homel demonstrators were told their gathering was illegal, according to local media.



According to the Belarusian rights NGO Vyasna (Spring), some 140 people were detained by police across Belarus on June 19.



Meanwhile, Lukashenka announced on June 20 that this government would raise pensions, although he did not disclose by how much.



"This isnt populism for the sake of some election. I would never do that," the Belarusian leader was quoted as saying.



On June 19, Lukashenka claimed to have thwarted an attempt to foment revolution in the Eastern European country, which he has ruled with an iron fist for more than a quarter of a century.



Lukashenka told a government meeting that forces "in the East and West" were trying to destabilize Belarus but that their "masks have been torn off" and the "puppets and puppet masters abroad" identified.



His comments came a day after thousands of people took to Independence Boulevard in Minsk in what was dubbed a picket of solidarity after Viktar Babaryka, who headed the Russian-owned Belgazprombank for 20 years, was detained on suspicion of financial crimes, as well as his son who heads his presidential election campaign.

Belarusian authorities on June 15 took control of the bank and arrested more than a dozen top executives on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.



Babaryka, 56, has said the actions taken against Belgazprombank were part of an intimidation campaign conducted on political orders.



On June 19, the European Union called on Belarus to immediately release Babaryka and his son from detention and to guarantee full respect of the rule of law.



"Any investigation must be impartial and without political pressure," EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano said in a statement.



In a post on Twitter, the U.S. Embassy in Minsk urged Lukashenka's government to "uphold its international commitments to respect fundamental freedoms."



The crackdown on Babaryka and Belgazprombank -- which is nearly 100 percent owned by Russian natural gas giant Gazprom and its affiliate Gazprombank-- comes as Lukashenka faces what experts say is one of the biggest challenges ever to his rule, which stretches back to 1994.



Belarus, with a population of some 9.5 million, has one of Europes highest infection rates for the coronavirus, which Lukashenka dismissed as a "mass psychosis" and ignored calls by the World Health Organization and others to institute any social-distancing measures.



The World Bank predicts that the Belarusian economy will contract by 4 percent this year as a result of the pandemic, while some informal, online polls put Lukashenka's public support at just 3 percent.



Lukashenka on June 4 named 46-year-old Raman Halouchanka, who previously oversaw military industries, as prime minister. The appointment came a day after Lukashenka, who had been promising a government shake-up ahead of the election, dismissed Syarhey Rumas along with his government.



Lukashenka said that "we need to clench our teeth" and to show more discipline in order to repair the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic and "save what we have built."

In the election on August 9, Lukashenka, will be seeking a sixth term in office. No election either for president or parliament during his rule has been deemed free and fair by Western governments and institutions.



Babaryka has risen in popularity as the vote nears, and his election campaign says it has collected nearly 435,000 signatures -- more than four times the required 100,000 minimum to get on the ballot -- to support his bid to get on the ballot by a June 19 deadline.



The Belarusian Central Election Commission cleared 15 would-be candidates to collect signatures to get on the ballot, while rejecting others, including potential candidates like popular vlogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski and opposition politician Mikalay Statkevich, who challenged the authoritarian leader in 2010 and was imprisoned for protests that followed that disputed vote.



Both Tsikhanouski and Statkevich are now in jail, with Tsikhanouski facing a possible three-year prison term for organizing pro-democracy rallies.



The Committee for State Control (KDK) said on June 18 that Babaryka was arrested for allegedly attempting to influence witness testimony and illegally withdrawing large amounts of cash from bank accounts, among other things.

KDK head Ivan Tertel said that almost 20 employees of Belgazprombank had been arrested, adding that many of the suspects "confessed" that they had illegally transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to Latvia via a scheme organized by Babaryka.



Babaryka's election campaign staff said lawyers for the two men were not allowed to be present during the questioning, and that Babaryka's home in Minsk was searched by law enforcement officers.



In recent weeks, opposition rallies and gatherings in support of would-be candidates have attracted thousands of people across Belarus.



Several opposition activists, politicians, and bloggers were sentenced to up to 15 days in jail this week for taking part in what authorities called "unsanctioned rallies."



In his statement, Stano demanded that Belarus "refrain from any restrictions of the rights of potential candidates, avoid any detentions of peaceful protesters, and immediately release all arbitrarily detained activists."



"No potential candidate should be prevented from fulfilling the registration procedure due to politically motivated restrictive measures," he added.
The government of India on Saturday issued a clarification to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement denying Chinese intruders on the Indian side of LAC, stating that his statement "pertained to the situation following bravery of armed forces", referring to the deaths of 20 soldiers in the Galwan Valley skirmish with China.

The focus of the PM's remarks at all-party meeting was the events at Galwan that led to loss of lives of 20 soldiers, the government statement said, adding that any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control would be dealt very firmly.

Government of India statement on yesterdays All-Party meeting. pic.twitter.com/VeRHRptPdR  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

"The words of the PM that those who tried to transgress were taught befitting lesson by our brave sons succinctly summed up ethos of armed forces," the government clarified.

Further, the government hailed the Indian Army, saying that the sacrifices of soldiers foiled the attempt of Chinese side to erect structures and "cleared attempted transgression in Galwan on June 15".

The clarification comes just hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi charged Modi with surrendering Indian territory to China.

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression." "If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The government statement also noted that "unnecessary controversy" was being created and "mischievous interpretations" were being assigned to PM's remarks, hinting at the criticism coming from the Opposition quarters.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jains condition has improved after receiving plasma therapy for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Friday night at Max hospital, Saket.

The ministers fever has subsided and he is off oxygen support, according to hospital sources. He is currently stable and is being monitored by a team of critical care specialists in the hospitals intensive care unit, according to sources.

Convalescent plasma therapy uses a component of the blood called plasma, which is rich in virus-fighting antibodies, from someone who has recovered from the infection, to boost an infected persons immunity.

The therapy is currently provided only under a multi-centric a clinical trial that is being spearheaded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). In Delhi, seven hospitals are enrolled for the trial, including Max Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Jain, 55, had tested positive for the infection on Wednesday, after testing negative a day before that. He had been admitted to the Delhi-government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur on Monday night with a high-grade fever and low oxygen saturation. He had attended an all-party meeting held by the Union home minister Amit Shah the same day.

At the hospital, he had been on intermittent oxygen to manage the symptoms. He had developed pneumonia, a known complication of Covid-19. The minister, who has no comorbidities, started getting breathless and giddy on Friday morning.

The infection usually causes severe symptoms in older people and those with comorbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney or heart disease. His CT scan on Friday afternoon showed that the pneumonia patch in his lungs had increased. He was moved to the intensive care unit of the hospital in the morning.

As his symptoms worsened, the minister was shifted to Max hospital, Saket. Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday had tweeted, Praying for the speedy recovery of Shri Satyendra Jain, Health Minister of Delhi who is battling with COVID-19 infection.

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A day after expressing his condolences on the death of 20 Indian soldiers in violent clashes with Chinese at Galwan Valley, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday launched a scathing attack on China accusing it of displaying "rogue" attitude in its neighbourhood, and for "pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns."

Pompeo made these remarks during an online conference on democracy held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"The PLA (People`s Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world`s most populous democracy. It's militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes," Pompeo was quoted as saying by ANI.

The secretary said that the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, which was in violation of an UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens. This is one of many international treaties broken by the Chinese regime.

The US and China have been at odds over several issues including trade, China's alleged misappropriate handling of the coronavirus outbreak, breaking human rights of Chinese Muslims, the status of Hong Kong and increasing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

China has also become a key issue in the US 2020 presidential campaign.
 Flash

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent surpassed 267,519 as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC in its latest situation update said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Africa rose from 259,036 on Wednesday afternoon to 267,519 as of Thursday afternoon.

The continental disease control and prevention agency also disclosed that the death toll from the pandemic also rose from 6,999 on Wednesday to 7,197 as of Thursday afternoon.

The Africa CDC, which noted that the virus had spread into 54 African countries, said that some 122,661 people who were infected with COVID-19 had recovered across the continent as of the stated period.

Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the African continent, the highly affected African countries include South Africa with 80,412 confirmed cases, Egypt with 49,219 confirmed cases, Nigeria with 17,735 confirmed cases, Ghana with 12,590 confirmed cases, and Algeria with 11,268 confirmed cases, it was noted.

When population is taken into consideration, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea, are reporting the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population within the continent, according to the Africa CDC.

The Africa CDC also said that the Southern Africa region is now the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, overtaking the Northern Africa region. Western Africa region is the third-most affected area in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to figures from the Africa CDC, during the past week, some 55,612 new COVID-19 cases have been reported across the continent, which the Africa CDC said has registered a 27 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases compared to what was reported in the previous week.

Five countries account for 63 percent of the new COVID-19 cases reported over the past week that are South Africa with 34 percent, Egypt with 16 percent, Nigeria with 6 percent, Ghana with 4 percent, and Cameroon with 3 percent, it was noted.

Early this week, the Africa CDC revealed that some 43 African countries are under full border closure due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, according to the Africa CDC.

In addition to the 43 countries under full border closure, night-time curfew has been activated across 35 countries in an effort to halt the spread of the infectious virus, it was noted.

The Africa CDC also noted that 54 African countries are practicing limited public gathering, some 38 countries have exercised country-wide closure of educational institutions, while limited prison and hospital visits has been also ordered across 20 countries.

Some seven countries have imposed international air traffic closures, while two countries have imposed travel restrictions to and from specific countries, and two others have also activated entry/exit restrictions, according to the Africa CDC.


ACCA partners with Wisdom Business Academy View(s):

ACCA, having registered in Sri Lanka since 2002, has had an exponential growth rate of its students year on year, over the last 18 years.

With a further recent spike in demand for the qualification, ACCA Sri Lanka is gearing themselves for an even larger market share , where an important part of this venture is in expanding their portfolio of quality tuition providers to deliver the qualification in keeping with ACCAs global standards.

Nilusha Ranasinghe, Head of ACCA Sri Lanka and Maldives, stated that ACCA is a fully-fledged finance and accounting qualification which is not sector driven. The strength lies in its members and global network that is well recognized by both the industry and employers. The qualification gives a complete overview of finance management, covering strategic business reporting, taxation, financial management and reporting, audit and assurance, performance management, risk, ethics, corporate governance, analysis and digitization. Suited to any employment sector with a strong global footprint, ACCA has been focusing on strengthening their proposition in being accessible to students across the country to gain the qualification and to support conversion to membership.

The current tuition providers have high pass rates which are above global average pass rates as well as producing many national and global prize winners. Nilusha said These results are not only due to the commitment of the relevant institutes but also due to the stringent standards ACCA deems them to maintain, in having the right environment, systems and processes to monitor student performance, a lecturer team consisting of professionally qualified personnel with proven years of experience , as well as the ability to deliver high pass rates each year.ACCA will be partnering with such high caliber institutes to expand reach within Sri Lanka this year.

In keeping with this mission, ACCA partnered with Wisdom Institute for International Studies, a subsidiary of Wisdom Business Academy, who is a well reputed professional education institute in Sri Lanka. Further, Wisdom Business Academy is affiliated with renowned highly ranked UK and Australian Universities such as the Robert Gordon University and the University of South Australia.

Speaking of the partnership Nilusha added, With Wisdoms history of delivering superior level academic and professional qualifications with their current partnerships mentioned above and having produced many country and world prize winners and their supportive culture which empowers students to deliver world class performances, we are confident they are the type of learning provider well suited to meet and keep up with the high-quality standards expected from our learning providers and to maintain our brand vision of being a forward-thinking professional body.

Endorsing these comments Mr. Chinthaka Wijayaratne, Group General Manager of Wisdom Business Academy affirmed, Today, businesses are demanding more than they ever before. Employers are searching to recruit professionals who could help drive profitable businesses forward in highly volatile markets.

We believe that the ACCA qualification is constantly evolving to include a mix of real-world focus and theory in every element, so that the next generation of finance professionals will be prepared to handle challenges successfully in their workplace as well as the market at large. Wisdom, over the past 18 years has built a reputation for developing and delivering tailored professional education programs in close collaborations with partners to ensure they are relevant to the future needs of organizations.

In doing this Wisdom has introduced latest cutting-edge online learning solutions to students which results in a high level of convenience and learning satisfaction.

We are confident that this partnership with ACCA will be an important step towards broadening our ambition of being a foremost learning provider in professional education.

ACCA and Wisdom Business Academy, hope to utilize their partnership to take forward their mutual vision of supporting Sri Lankan students in their learning journey and work together to produce talent that is a first choice with employers both locally and globally.
Malcolm Harsch, 38. (Harmonie Harsch)

Malcolm Harsch, the Black man found hanging from a tree near a library in Victorville, died from an apparent suicide, according to family.

In a statement released Friday, the family said Harsch took his own life.

Najee Ali, a community activist and spokesman for Harsch's family, said in the statement that police showed the family "video evidence."

As the investigation into the May 31 death of Harsch continued, detectives obtained surveillance video from a vacant building near where his body was discovered. The video confirmed the absence of foul play, authorities said.

Detectives also met with Harsch's family members. The evidence from the case, including the surveillance video, was shown to the relatives per their request. Although there remains no sign of foul play, the forensic pathologist is waiting for toxicology results before assigning the cause and manner of death.

"The family wants to sincerely thank everyone for their support and prayers," Ali wrote.

Malcolm Harsch's sister, Harmonie, said on her Facebook account that her brother was a loving person.

"He was caring. Respectable. Talented. Loved his music. He was a son, a brother, a dad, a grandfather, a friend and he love every single person like his family," she said.

Harsch, who was homeless, was found hanging from a tree on the morning of May 31 near the citys library.

The Victorville Fire Department responded around 7 a.m., officials said.

On Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department offered more details, saying deputies were called to a homeless encampment regarding Harsch.

The caller said she and [her] boyfriend, later identified as Malcolm Harsch, had been together during the morning, but she had since returned to her tent for a short period of time. She was alerted by others in the encampment that Mr. Harsch was found hanging from a tree and cut down. People in the encampment were performing CPR, attempting to revive Mr. Harsch, the statement said.

Story continues

Upon arrival, deputies immediately took over and continued CPR. Emergency medical personnel arrived on scene a short time later, and despite additional lifesaving efforts, pronounced Mr. Harsch deceased, officials added.

An autopsy was conducted, and officials said they saw no signs of foul play. But Harsch's family and others were skeptical and demanded an independent investigation.

In a statement sent to the Victor Valley News, Harschs family members in Ohio said they found it hard to accept that his death was a suicide. They said Harsch had recent conversations with his children about seeing them soon and that to those who knew him, he didnt seem depressed.

The explanation of suicide does not seem plausible, the family wrote. There are many ways to die, but considering the current racial tension, a Black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesnt sit well with us right now.

We want justice, not comfortable excuses, they wrote.

After continued questions and protests over the recent death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall, the FBI said it would examine both cases.

The Harsch family said they plan to fly his body back home to Ohio.








A GROUP of women says Zimbabweans must push for the striking down of Section 124 of the National Constitution, which provides for the election of women into Parliament through the quota system.





The position comes in the wake of ongoing public hearings on Constitution Amendment Bill Number 2. The Bill contains 27 amendments to the current Constitution of Zimbabwe.





Clause 11 of the Bill proposes to extend the provision for the proportional representation party-list of 60 women Members of Parliament by an extra two Parliaments (from two to four Parliaments).





Womens Coalition of Zimbabwe head of politics and decision-making, Ms Siphathisiwe Moyo, said the country should seek to create equal opportunities for men and women rather than holding onto the quota system.





We have Sections 17, 66 and 80. All these sections speak of gender equality, she said.





The Constitution is still fairly new, seven years and we are yet to implement some of the available provisions. Why dont we work with what we have? Maybe later we can look at changes.





Section 17 compels the State to promote the full participation of women in all spheres of society based on equality with men. On the other hand, Section 66 emphasises the freedoms enjoyed by every Zimbabwean including women while provisions within section 80 spell out the rights of women.




Foreign workers are examined and make health declarations before entering a quarantine facility (Photo: VNA)

The national tally stays at 349, including 209 imported cases that were quarantined upon arrival.

A total of 10,500 people in close contact with infected people or returning from pandemic-hit countries are under medical monitoring or quarantine, including 162 at hospitals, 9,387 at State-designated facilities, and 952 at home.

Up to 326 patients have recovered, accounting for 93.4 percent of the total cases while the remaining 23 are being treated at provincial and central hospitals and in stable health condition.

Among the active patients, four have tested negative for the coronavirus at least twice.
Vito Maggiolo, a fire department spokesman, said three separate groups of people had been fishing and picnicking on three different rocks just south of Chain Bridge on the Virginia side of the river. The District has jurisdiction of the river from both banks.
San Francisco, June 20 : After reopening some locations, Apple is now planning to temporarily close some retail stores in four US states in view of growing cases of Covid-19, the media reported.

A total of about 11 stores will be shut down as a result of the new safety drive -- six stores in Arizona, two in North Carolina, one in South Carolina, and another two in Florida, TechCrunch reported on Friday.

"Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas," Apple was quoted as saying in a statement.

Earlier in a letter to customers, Apple's Senior Vice president of Retail and People, Deirdre O'Brien, explained the company's approach to reopening its stores.

"Our commitment is to only move forward with a reopening once we're confident we can safely return to serving customers from our stores. We look at every available piece of data -- including local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials," he said.

"These are not decisions we rush into -- and a store opening in no way means that we won't take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant." Since the US economy started reopening, some states have seen a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Haryana Police on Friday arrested a former Delhi Police cop who has been allegedly involved in around two dozen criminal cases. According to the police, the accused is identified as Aslup who has been wanted by the police in Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gujarat, Udaipur, and Odisha in several criminal cases. He is a resident of Shikarpur village in Nuh.

Reportedly, the accused carried a bounty of Rs 50,000 and has been arrested on the charges of organised ATM loot, attempt to murder and hurt.

Read: Martyr's wife donates 1,000 protective kits to Haryana Police

About the arrest

As per official sources, during a police patrol, a Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) team received a tip from an informer about the whereabouts of the accused former Delhi cop. The police party swung into action and carried out a raid, following which the Haryana police arrested him near KMP Road on the Delhi-Alwar Highway. According to a Haryana Police spokesperson, "A case under the relevant sections of IPC was registered against the accused, the matter is being investigated thoroughly and further probe is underway."

Read: Man stabbed to death in Delhi following quarrel over car parking, 2 arrested

Another incident

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Friday arrested a businessman in Kolkata in connection with an alleged Rs 40 crore IGST refund fraud. According to reports, the accused had been exporting inferior quality chewing tobacco at highly inflated prices to Thailand, Singapore, and Dubai. Acting on a tip-off, the DRI seized three consignments of 9,000 kg of chewing tobacco.

Read: DRI arrests Kolkata businessman for Rs 40 crore IGST fraud

Read: Haryana police arrests 'Candy Baba' from Faridabad for duping several people

(With Agency Inputs)
(CNN)  President Donald Trump on Saturday denied involvement in firing Geoffrey Berman, the powerful prosecutor atop the Manhattan US Attorney's office, shortly after Trump's attorney general sent Berman a letter saying the President had done so.

Attorney General William Barr told Berman, whose office has led prosecutions and investigations of Trump's allies, that Trump had agreed to remove him after he refused Barr's effort a day prior to oust him.

"Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service," Barr wrote in his letter to Berman. "Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so."

Speaking to reporters shortly after Barr's letter was made public, however, Trump said, "That's his department, not my department." He added: "I'm not involved."

Berman said in a statement several hours later that he would exit his post. "In light of Attorney General Barr's decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately," he said.

Berman's firing caps a remarkable 24 hours that encompassed a power struggle over the leadership of the most prominent prosecutors' office outside Washington, one that has prosecuted one of Trump's lawyers, is investigating another and has probed the activities of the President himself.

During a meeting in New York on Friday, Barr had asked Berman to resign, but Berman refused, CNN reported, and hours later Barr issued a statement saying Berman had "stepped down." Two hours later, around 11 p.m. ET on Friday, Berman said he had learned of his purported exit from a press release.

"I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate," Berman said.

On Saturday morning, with news cameras staked outside his lower Manhattan office, Berman entered the building, telling reporters, "I issued a statement last night, I have nothing to add to that this morning. I'm just here to do my job."

Barr's letter Saturday noted that "by operation of law," Berman's current deputy, Strauss, will become Acting US Attorney, "and I anticipate that she will serve in that capacity until a permanent successor is in place." On Friday evening, Barr said he intends to nominate as Berman's permanent successor Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has never been a prosecutor.

Barr also announced in his letter to Berman that the DOJ's inspector general would provide oversight of the Manhattan US Attorney's office, a step that is likely to cause New York federal prosecutors, who famously prize their independence, to balk.

"Going forward, if any actions or decisions are taken that office supervisors conclude are improper interference with a case, that information should be provided immediately to Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice's Inspector General, whom I am authorizing to review any such claim," Barr wrote.

Barr's effort to push out one of the most powerful prosecutors in the country had begun to run into headwinds Saturday, with Republicans signaling little appetite to fight to confirm a new US attorney amid Democratic accusations that the move was an effort to shield Trump's associates from federal investigation.

Republicans on Capitol Hill were blindsided by the late Friday night effort by Barr to seek the ouster of Berman and showed little willingness to confirm a new nominee without Democratic support  meaning there is a real possibility that Clayton's nomination could languish.

The fast-moving developments seemed to catch by surprise Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump's and Barr's, who said Saturday he had not been told about the effort to fire Berman.

And in a significant announcement Saturday, Graham said he would honor tradition to let home-state senators sign off on a replacement for Berman's post, meaning that Democrats essentially have veto power over a replacement to a position considered the most powerful US attorney job in the country.

Meanwhile, it's not clear if Clayton was aware prior to Barr's announcement Friday that Berman wasn't willingly exiting his post.

Clayton was recently approached about the top prosecutor's job in Manhattan and was told that Berman was planning to step down, a person familiar with Clayton's plans told CNN. Clayton didn't know Berman had no plans to leave, this person said.

Clayton and Barr, who have known each other for years, discussed the possibility that Clayton could take the job.

That appears to contradict a Justice Department official's claim, previously reported by CNN, that Clayton initiated the conversation. The person familiar with the matter said Saturday that Clayton wasn't happy to become part of the standoff between Barr and Berman, and had been a willing participant in the job discussions for the Manhattan post based on his belief that Berman was exiting on his own accord.

Clayton didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story from CNN.com has been updated with additional developments.
Vice President Mike Pence says the United States is well positioned to handle the "second wave" of coronavirus infections. This is nonsense - not least because much of the U.S. has not yet confronted the first wave.

The surge of infections that marked the early pandemic in the Northeast has been delayed elsewhere by some combination of early action (as is plausibly the case in much of California) or because those places are more sparsely populated, more car-dependent and less reliant on public transportation or, bluntly, just luckier. Many places haven't seen a super-spreading event - yet. We epidemiologists do expect places like New York City, where introductions of the virus and contact rates are both high, to be especially vulnerable early on. Elsewhere, though, cases have built at a slower pace. That may also partly be due to human reactions to the situation in the Northeast, or simply to different contacts occurring at different rates in different places with different climates. All in all, not terribly surprising.

But sadly, the arithmetic of infection is such that we do expect the pandemic to find its way to most places eventually - and certainly to those places that are not guarding against it. And when it gets there, it will do what it's done elsewhere and transmit as much as it can, whatever the consequences for us.

The federal government seems, astonishingly, to have given up the fight. Even after over 116,000 deaths, there is nothing to see here, apparently. A few months back, we despaired at the failures in testing, in messaging, in action while Americans sickened and died. In the spring, the federal pandemic response was akin to bringing a rubber chicken to a gunfight. The attempt to defend against the greatest threat to public health in a century was limp, grudging and delayed. Now it is barely existent. They've taken their rubber chicken to play elsewhere.

The lessons left lying unlearned are staggering; citizens are being hit with bills for coronavirus testing, when testing is a pure and simple public good for everyone. (It is not, as President Donald Trump seems to believe, a "double edged sword" that "makes us look bad.") If you take a test and it's positive, then you should isolate and preserve others from the long consequences of the transmission chains you might kick off. If it is negative, you should be confident carrying on in your life - responsibly distanced, of course, in case the test result was wrong or in case you get infected later. But if the test is free, there's no downside to getting it.

If this sounds like free testing could get expensive, please look at the cost of not testing. We paid that cost all spring. Look at the reviled shutdowns; they are the consequence of letting unknown amounts of infection build among your people until the only thing you can do to save lives is to call a halt to everything. In some places, even then, people keep dying for months because it happened too late. In others, cases don't climb and deaths remain low, because infection rates were lower when the intervention was made. Somehow both examples become evidence for skeptics to argue that shutdowns don't work, when it is plain that denying the virus opportunities for transmission is our best option.

Inaction presents a risk to the economy, and the sooner people accept that, the better. Shutdowns are less likely to be necessary again, and they'll be shorter when they are, if milder steps are adopted early on. If masks significantly reduce transmission, and it looks like they do, then large parts of society could get closer to normal, really soon. It might seem a restriction on your freedom to wear a mask, but it's a far smaller restriction than a shutdown - and in any case, your freedom to choose not to wear a mask conflicts with the freedom of others not to be infected by you. Imagine if the president were to don a mask today, signaling to the whole country that they should follow suit, and the economy came roaring back without a corresponding tidal wave into the ICUs. This is surely a better option for everyone. A slowed economy is better than an utterly halted one.

None of this should be political, and yet somehow it is. The hyperpartisan nature of American society has taken a virus and fashioned from it a new battleground for the culture wars. I should not be surprised at the way the pandemic has become politicized, and yet I am. It suggests that I was somehow less cynical than I had thought I was, and I thought I was pretty darned cynical.

The politics may have been exacerbated by some of the epidemiology of the early pandemic, which has seen the risk of infection and death track closely with socioeconomic status and race. Exactly how much of these vulnerabilities are down to the existing systemic racism in American society isn't clear, but it surely contributes. We expect vulnerable people to put themselves at risk of severe illness or death while the more fortunate pretend the pandemic does not apply to them. Yet we are early on in the pandemic; there's a long way to go, and middle-class folks likely don't live in communities with much immunity.

While the rest of the country can perhaps make up a story in which disease happens in New York, because of whatever excuse confirms their prior beliefs, it's harder to pretend it won't be a problem if you look at the range of places the virus has done its deadly work. Wuhan, China (now a relative success story!), Iran, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and New York. In May, Sweden was posting the highest per capita mortality rates (which have since declined), but now Brazil is surging.

But if your community has not experienced infection so far and it's doing nothing to stop it, please ask yourself, do you feel lucky? Rich people living in the right place can imagine the pandemic is a problem for other people - but only for now.

The sad thing is that the virus doesn't care about any of this. The virus will carry on infecting, transmitting, devastating organs and futures here and killing there, all without malice. Viruses don't do malice; that's a human trait. Humans are, furthermore, capable of a degree of incompetence which is functionally indistinguishable from malice.

In one of the essays he wrote before he found fame with "1984" and "Animal Farm," George Orwell declared that "to see what is in front of your nose requires a constant struggle." There's a pandemic under our nose. It's not going anywhere.

- - -

Hanage is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Phuket spas inspected for COVID-19 compliance

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) is inspecting spas across the island and issuing certificates to those that have been proved compliant with the health requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19health

By The Phuket News

Saturday 20 June 2020, 12:10PM

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

Phuket health officials are inspecting spas across the island to ensure they are complying with the COVID-19 health guidelines. Photo: PPHO

So far the results have been impressive, PPHO Deputy Chief Somsuk Sumparnprapeep told The Phuket News.

At last report a total of 266 spas in Phuket had registered through a web portal set up at https://spa.hss.moph.go.th/Self/ to inspected and approved by the Ministry of Public Health to attest that they comply with the regulations to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Of those, 225 had been inspected and approved, and a further 25 are awaiting inspection. However, 41 spas in Phuket failed their inspections.

We found good feedback and impressive results from spa businesses. Most of them are ready to provide services to people. They have prepared their places and trained their staff well. They are safe to provide services, Mr Somsuk said.

But I expect more spas to follow the new normal. Phuket has about 600 places that provide spa services, according to PPHO records, he added.

The spas that failed to pass inspection were ordered to cease providing the specific services affected until Phuket health officers could return and confirm that the spa was fully compliant, Mr Somsuk explained.

All spas we inspected enforced social distancing very well, such as customers not being allowed any services taking longer than two hours, and the massage rooms had been organised to maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters between clients with a barrier set up to separate them, Mr Somsuk said.

The full checklist is comprehensive, Mr Somsuk noted. (See full checklist here, in Thai only.)

For example, all areas where customers touch must be cleaned every time, and staff and customers must wear a face mask at all times, he said.

The full checklist also provides guidelines for specific people in the spa to follow, from the receptionist to the spa therapist providing the service.

Phuket health officers will continue their inspections every week, Mr Somsuk added.

For spas that have yet to register for inspection, Mr Somsuk noted that the registration website had been experiencing technical problems for the past few days.

They [the Department of Health Services Support] are aware of the problem and are working on it right now. We dont know when the website will be up and running again, but in the meantime spa operators can just come to our office and register, he said.
The nearly three-month-long lockdown has been a challenge of sorts for everyone  some have taken up social media #challenges, some have challenged themselves to be better in general and then, of course, there are some who have challenged themselves to finally complete that long pending project. For this 31-year-old author and poet Sriram Devatha, it was the opportunity to challenge himself to complete his book of short stories about Indians across the globe. Aptly titled Indogene, the book is very much a literary tour of a pre-Corona world that takes you to countries like Egypt, Korea and Uganda, to discover the journey of Indians who settled there generations ago.



Narrating the origin of the idea for this book, Sriram says, "The inspiration behind writing this book was my love for Geography from my school days and my interest in travelling. Though I have not visited all these countries, my time in London for my higher education exposed me to different cultures and people. There, I not only learnt about the global perspective of how Indians are perceived but also the story behind citizens of other countries with Indian origin. I was supposed to complete the book last year and release it before the lockdown but routine work kept me busy."

Indogene has ten chapters and each one of them is unique  each will take you back to colonial times and explain why many Indians fled from the country to settle in different parts of the world. One such chapter is Suriname's Surname. "I once met a Dutch woman who told me that she has Indian roots. Today, the smallest country in South America, Suriname was once apparently a Dutch colony. When India's trade industry was under the control of the East India Company, some natives of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were sent to Suriname for work. This woman's grandparents were among them. After Suriname gained independence from the Dutch, many of these Indians moved to the Netherlands and settled there," explains Sriram.





Similarly, in another chapter titled Riches to Rags, Sriram writes about some of the Gujarati migrants who settled in Uganda and owned the biggest businesses. The author mentions in his chapter the special census that the Ugandan government undertook to identify the number of Asians residing there and then, policies were changed to provide employment and business opportunities to the Ugandans. This not only slowed the economic growth but also led Indians to move out of Uganda. Interesting right?

While most of these stories are true, Sriram has added his own style of fiction to make them more interesting for the reader. Explaining the cliched views people have about India, he says, "Most people in other countries believe that India is only Rajasthan and Kerala. Their views are limited to the Taj Mahal and Bollywood. The most common thing that everybody knew about India was Mahatma Gandhi and yoga. These were some of the usual cliches but no one believes that we are still snake charmers."



Like every writer, Sriram had his own challenges and writer's block was one of them. Sriram takes a deep breath before he explains, "There were days when I had writer's block and I would not be happy with the ending that I'd written. I would attempt to rework the ending and when I was still not happy, I would read books. And I think that this is what most writers do when they're stuck," he says, adding, "It is necessary for budding writers to do their research and have that discipline to read books and learn new words. One must expand their vocabulary so that they are prepared to write better." Currently, Sriram is working on two different books  a crime thriller and a political thriller. He hopes to complete them both soon.
TikTok has plenty of semi-porn. Seriously.

It is hard for the more than 300 million Indian users of the popular short video format app to miss its sexually suggestive content. Worryingly, several of these videos are made by adolescents and teenagers and could be potentially feeding a paedophiles fantasy.

In several countries, TikTok is acting on these concerns after facing heat from lawmakers. In the US for example, TikTok has landed in a soup for its failure to take down videos made by children under the age of 13. The Dutch Data Protection Authority in May joined other European agencies in enquiring about how TikTok handles childrens data.

The company has said it is introducing new measures to protect young people on the app from content that is crass, explicit, disturbing and voyeuristic. But in India, its largest market, they are yet to take root. Sexually explicit content is easily accessible by simply browsing the app.

Also Read: Here are some of the popular Chinese apps on Android and iOS in India

Safety Issues

Though there are no studies centred on India, digital safety app maker Qustodio said in a recent report that children aged four to 15 in the US, UK and Spain, now spend almost as much time on TikTok as they do on Youtube at an average of 80 minutes and 85 minutes a day. TikTok also drove growth in kids social app use by 100 percent in 2019 and 200 percent in 2020, the report found.

TikTok did not comment for this article.

Tiktok is hardly the only platform to have such disturbing content, but it is particularly popular among children and teenagers, who produce and consume such content habitually.

Nitish Chandan, who works with Cyber Peace Foundation, a cybersecurity think tank, said during his interaction with school children, it was obvious that there are two platforms that were popular  Tiktok and PUBG. These kids could be as young as 10.

It is a trend that happens in every generation. So during my time, it was Orkut, then Facebook. For these kids, it is Tiktok and PUBG, he said.

This should not surprise because of the easy-to-use features of TikTok, a Chinese app owned by internet giant ByteDance.

Also Read: ByteDance to set up second corporate entity in India soon: Report

Users can easily create short videos set to music and can deliver dialogues, lip-sync, dance or act using in-built visual effects. A live-streaming feature allows users to send virtual gifts to the video makers they follow, which can be purchased with real money.

Users need not log in to watch these videos and the videos are mostly curated depending on the region and are updated according to the users watch history, likes and viewing preferences.

Janice Verghese, an advocate who also works with Cyber Peace Foundation, said the Tiktok is easier to use than YouTube or Facebook. Also, once you sign up there is no discrimination between kids and adults in terms of content you see.

Booming Growth In India

Little wonder that Tiktok grew like the launch of a rocket in a short span. The app has been downloaded 323 million times  about 40 percent of the global aggregate  and it has nearly 120 million daily active users.

Verghese said when the audience increases on a platform, the tendency to cross boundaries increase as well. These kids in rural parts of India have never had their chance to be popular and Tiktok has given them that opportunity. Soon they are exposed to more threats and prone to be influenced and inclined to engage in creating content that may be inappropriate, she said.

Adolescents require parental consent to upload the videos they produce. But going by the easy availability of such videos, that looks unlikely.

What do Indias laws say?

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how soon the particular content gets taken down, said Verghese.

That is easier said than done because of the nature of Indian laws.

Also Read: How easy is it to boycott Chinese goods? Take a look yourself

It s not easy to remove content even if it is unsettling if it does not fall under textbook prohibited content. The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of IT Act, which placed restrictions on online speech.

This means that users can flag inappropriate content and it is up to Tiktok to remove them based on its community guidelines. But in the event when videos are not removed, Tiktok is not liable for punitive action. The onus falls on the government agencies or courts (district/high courts) to decide if a particular content violates law and should be removed from public view and pass an order to do so.

India also does not have a separate law to protect children against online exploitation like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) in the US. Unlike the European Union, India also lacks a privacy law that can protect childrens data.

Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner, J Sagar and Associates, said, This would mean that there is no mechanism other than to file a report directly with the social media platform, flagging the content or to file a police report, in which case such platforms would will have to extend cooperation to catch the perpetrator.

With no data protection and privacy law in place, the app can collect childrens data and use it for targeted advertising without any restriction, according to him.

Currently, there are two provisions available under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Section 67B of the IT Act, where offenders could be imprisoned for up to five years and fined up to Rs 10 lakh.

Unfortunately, the conviction rate under this section is abysmal, said Pavan Duggal, senior advocate specialising in cyber law.

In case of intermediaries such as Tiktok, they are held liable only when the CSAM content was not taken out after being flagged. In addition, Section 79 (1) of the IT Act grants them conditional immunity where they are only required to act (for deletion of content) upon receiving the court order or a notification from the appropriate government or agency as per the Supreme Court verdict in the Shreya Singhal case.

This makes intermediaries mute spectators. So there is a need to revise legal stance on intermediaries. For these (laws) have outlived their utility and intermediaries should have to be made to comply with the law, said Duggal.

Tiktok cannot be held liable for hosting such content because Section 79 (1) of the IT Act lacks bite.

Grey Areas

Siddharth Pillai, who works with the Aarambh, a non-governmental organisation that works on childrens privacy and protection online, said, There are lot of grey areas. While nudity and textbook pornography content and images are removed faster, others fall in the grey area and more often than not hardly any action is taken.

Tiktok has separate community guidelines on nudity and sexual exploitation involving minors. Under this, content that shows private parts and those depicting activities around sexual exploitation and activity will not be allowed. The rules also say content that depicts erotic dances or those that contain sexual or erotic language involving minors will not be allowed.

However, privacy experts pointed out that plenty of content slips past the controls because lakhs of videos are generated and uploaded on TikTok every day. The artificial intelligence and machine learning-based filters, an expert pointed out, look at searches, maybe to some extent skin exposure in images. But other forms of content, particularly pornographic, could be easily accessed.

Tiktok recently launched family pairing, a feature that allows parents to control the content a teenager consumes. But the problem is the app is not popular, rather not familiar among parents, especially in rural areas.

Verghese of Cyber Peace Foundation explained that given that majority of the population is from rural India, there is lack of awareness about the consequences these content could have. This also makes exercising parental controls a challenge in India.

A 2013 judgement by the Delhi High Court restricted children below 13 years to open an account in social media sites such as Facebook. Tiktok too does not allow kids below 13 years to sign up.

But again, it is impossible to physically verify the age of users, which explains the abundant presence of adolescents in the platform. India has no dedicated law that restricts internet freedom of children below 13 years.
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Linkedin (Reuters)  Sat, June 20, 2020 12:58 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066042b26 2 World John-Bolton,Donald-Trump,memoir Free

The Trump administration is heading to court on Friday afternoon to urge a federal judge to block the publication of former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir.

US District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington will consider the government's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop the memoir's release, because it contained classified information and publication could threaten national security.

Several excerpts have already been released from the book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir," which is scheduled for release on Tuesday.

The book has drawn attention for its withering portrayal of Trump, including alleged improprieties far more extensive than the accusations underlying the president's impeachment trial, where he was acquitted in February.

Bolton is a foreign policy hawk who was ousted last September after 17 months as national security adviser.

He accused Trump in the memoir of exhibiting "fundamentally unacceptable behavior" that eroded the legitimacy of the presidency, and being driven by his own political interests.

Bolton said Trump, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 3, once explicitly sought Chinese President Xi Jinping's help to win a second term.

Trump tweeted on Thursday that the book was "a compilation of lies and made up stories," which could undermine the argument that publication could pose a threat.

The government supported its argument with filings from several senior intelligence officials who said publishing would damage national security.

Simon & Schuster, Bolton's publisher, has rejected the government's accusations, and lawyers for Bolton said more than 200,000 copies of the book have already been distributed.

Bolton's lawyers also called an injunction an illegal prior restraint, citing the Supreme Court's 1971 rejection of the Nixon administration's bid to stop publication of the Pentagon Papers, which detailed US military involvement in Vietnam.
To you my readers I ask: have you ever reflected on the concept of Child Poverty?

Do you know that Children have their complete sets of human rights just like what obtains for all members of the Human family but with additional binding safeguards?

Well, the concept of Child Poverty is germane to the overall conversations around the thematic review of what strategies should be implemented to actualize sustainable development goals adopted as a framework of governance by member states of the United Nations organisation.

Sustainable development goals(SDGs) as discussed by those who should know, are a global agenda adopted by Countries in 2015, with a vision of ending poverty, protecting the Planet and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The goals and targets are universal meaning they apply to all Countries around the World, not just poor Countries.

The seventeen goals of sustainable development are no poverty; zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructures; reducing inequality; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action.

Other Sustanable development goals are; life below water; life on land; peace justice and strong institutions; and partnership for the goals.

The United Nations hopes that working together, the member nation's should achieve all these noble ideas by 2030.

But as a philosopher stated once that "Ideas rule the World " and as another original thinker stated that "there's no Army stronger than an idea whose time has come", this is the appropriate time for us to pause and ask the relevant questions on why Nigerian political elites can not be compelled by all means to become responsible and evolve practical ways of playing responsible politics that will deliver good governance and half and possibly eradicate the high incidence of Child Poverty such as malnutrition, hunger, insecurity and political instability.

Have we ever paused to ask ourselves the basic question why Nigeria is the only Country in the World whereby CHILD SLAVERY STILL HAPPENS?

Nigeria still witness the crime of auctioning of new born babies by groups of traffickers and the institutional checks for accountability and enforcement of the laws against human trafficking is still being administered like a Child's play.

The sad abd cruel reality is that the agency for the combating of trafficking in human persons known as NAPTIP is not sufficiently robust enough to combat this widening spectre of Child trafficking around the Country.

This writer believes that only a nation with irresponsible politicians will look away whilst the most vulnerable members of her key population are wantonly abused and mistreated. Mind you, the Primary duty of government is "the security and welfare of the citizens" as provided for in section 14(2) (B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended section.

Why does Nigerian government not take serious the issue of Child Survival Strategy described as GOBIFEEETH or Good nutrition/growth monitoring; ORT- Oral rehydration therapy; Breast Feeding; Immunisation against major infections and diseases; Female education; Food Supplementation, family planning; Essential Drugs Provisions; Environmental protection and adequate sensitization; Treatments of common ailments and injuries and Health Education?

Why is there no commission under the Presidency for CHILD PROTECTION AND ENDING OF CHILD POVERTY?

We will return to ask these relevant questions but permit me to go further to show why the government needs to end Child Poverty because any nation that allows her Children to wallow in unmitigated poverty is a nation destined for doom.

Useful nations like the United Kingdom amongst others like Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Japan; Australia amongst few others have institutional mechanisms in place that are strong enough to combat Child Poverty. In those nations no child is left alone.. In Great Britain Children are adequately cared for by the state.

We will see what has just happened in Great Britain in this area but first there is this good news of the end of Polio in Nigeria which is one great effort by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that must be applauded.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Nigeria free of wild polio, following the completion of documentation for the free status.

The UN health agency disclosed this on its regional office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, official twitter account @WHOAFRO.

Today, Nigerias complete documentation for Wild Polio virus free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC).

It is a historic day for Nigeria, Africa and the Global Polio Programme, WHO said.

Meanwhile, Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in a tweet at @drfaisalshuaib described the documentation as historical.

Amazing moment in history to have had our polio-eradication documentation accepted by (ARCC); the Nigeria team led by NPHCDA and partners demonstrated evidence of our polio-free status.

Nigeria achieving a Wild Polio Virus-free status today, is significant on multiple fronts.

I look back at the incredible leadership that has brought us here.

Apart from President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the two most important people who have made it possible due to their financial and technological contributions have been Mr Aliko Dangote and Mr Bill Gates.

Thanks for this unquantifiable gift to Nigeria, he said.

However, can we ask ourselves the hard question of why we rely so much on outsiders to solve our internal mess whereas we claim to be an independent nation.

The reason is that political rulers in Nigeria have collectively looted and carted away over $500 Billion from the nation's oil wealth in about four decades, so says the United Nations On Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

Irresponsible Nigeria politicians steal the wealth of the nation thereby forcing millions of Nigerians into poverty.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari said there are about 100 million people in Nigeria whilst the National Bureau of Statistics says there are 80 million absolutely poor Nigerians making it 40% of the total populations of Nigerians who are too poor to feed their children well enough to grow in good health and escape the trappings of poverty. The cruel fact is that less than 1% of Nigerians control over 95% of the Commonwealth of Nigerians by hook or crook. Other Countries allow institutions to be strong enough to make sure that few people do not corner illicitly the wealth of their respective entities. A Nation like Norway has even built Sovereign wealth fund that will take care of 100 next generations of their people. But the Sovereign wealth fund of less than $5billion built up by successive governments of Yaradua and Jonathan have been looted by the current administration and the state governors and the nation has less than $1billion left.

We will go to the United Kingdom to learn one lesson from what the politicians are doing to tackle child poverty in Great Britain.

The story goes that UK unveils 1 billion schools catch-up plan after lockdown

as reported by AFP on 19th June 2020 @ 12:51 pm.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said English schools would receive 1 billion ($1.2 billion) in funding to help pupils catch up after missing months of classes due to the coronavirus.

The announcement came as health minister Matt Hancock said the government had lowered the countrys coronavirus alert level, after a recommendation by scientific advisers.

The move from Level 4, where transmission is high or rising, to Level 3, where the epidemic is in general circulation, was a big moment for the country, he said.

The government is grappling for positive news after facing sustained criticism over a broken pledge to have all primary school children in England return before the summer break.

It is also struggling to get all pupils back for the new academic year in September if social distancing rules requiring people to keep two metres (6.5 feet) apart remain in force.

The new money includes 650 million for state-run primary and secondary schools to lift educational outcomes, and 350 million to help tutor the most disadvantaged youngsters.

Headteachers will be able to decide how to spend the 650 million.

But the government said it expects it to be spent on evidence-based interventions, in particular small group tuition.

Concern has risen about the impact of school closures on children, particularly those with no computer or internet access.

This 1 billion catch-up package will help head teachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school, Johnson said.

The reporter observed what they called Regional variations.

According to the report: British schools have been closed to most pupils since late March, when the country headed into lockdown as the virus peaked.

Some primary school year groups and older students preparing for exams were able to come back to school in England earlier this month.

But the government backtracked on the remainder, after concern from teaching unions about staff shortages, and restrictions on space due to social distancing rules.

Johnson is under growing pressure to relax the rules to one metre to make it easier for schools and hospitality businesses to restart.

Scientists said there had been a steady and continuing decrease in COVID-19 cases, indicating transmission was no longer considered high or rising exponentially.

Hancock said the downgrade in the alert level was a sign the country was getting back on its feet, after more than 42,000 deaths from over 300,000 positive cases.

But there are regional variations about easing restrictions across the UK.

Scotlands schools are not scheduled to return until the new term starts in early August. Pupils in Wales are due to come back later this month before the summer break.

In Northern Ireland, most pupils are set for a return in late August after the devolved government agreed to cut the social distancing measure to one metre for pupils in school.

I am determined to do everything I can to get all children back in school from September, and we will bring forward plans on how this will happen as soon as possible, Johnson said.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the government also hopes to allow providers running holiday clubs and activities for children over the summer to open if the science allows.

Guidance will be provided to the sector on how to implement the protective measures necessary to open safely, and to parents on how to minimise the spread of the virus if they choose to attend, he added.

We have now seen just one thing amongst many that the British Political system is doing responsibly to address the issue of Child Poverty as one of the larger issues around the necessary conversations on child survival Strategy. In most European nations fathers who father Children and leave them with their Mothers are made to pay for Child care.

In Nigeria, many single Mums suffer alone to take care of their babies and many abandon these toddlers to cruel fate on the streets. In the North there are over 10 million out of school children wandering about on the streets. The Goodluck Jonathan's administration spent billions to construct and commission Almajirai schools but in 2015 when Jonathan lost re-election bid to the current administration these schools are abandoned and these less privileged poor children abandoned to beg in the streets have fallen deeper into child poverty.

Can we have the National Assembly and the State Assemblies in Nigeria work to ensure the Child Rights Act passed in Abuja since 2003 are domesticated in their States so Children's services and Rights are legally enforced as a matter of governmental obligation?

Can we have the Wife of the President and the Wives of governors roll out sustainable programmes to advance and institutionalize the combating of Child's poverty related issues? Can we have a reinvigorated NAPTIP that will be adequately funded and staffed to work to stamp out Babies' factories and child slavery in Nigeria?

This is the time for action and not empty rhetorics. Generations unborn will not forgive our failings to tackle and stamp out these man made poverty related afflictions affecting millions of Children born to less privileged Citizens. Child Poverty is a Crime against humanity and should be so treated by all and sundry.

Emmanuel Onwubiko is the intellectual head of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs @ www.thenigerianinsidernews.com ; www.huriwanigeria.com , [email protected]
A Chicago businessman who spent more than 10 years in prison for supporting terrorist groups has been arrested in Los Angeles to face charges in India for attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed more than 160 people, US prosecutors said Friday.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, was convicted of a crime related to the Mumbai killings that are sometimes called India's 9/11, though US prosecutors had failed to prove a terrorism charge that connected him directly to the three-day rampage during his 2011 trial.

Rana, 59, was serving a 14-year sentence when he was granted early release from a Los Angeles federal prison last week because of poor health and a bout of coronavirus, prosecutors said. He was arrested two days later and remains in custody in LA because he faces extradition to India on murder conspiracy charges, prosecutors said.

Rana was convicted in Chicago of providing support for the Pakistani terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the India attack, and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The cartoons angered many Muslims because pictures of the prophet are prohibited in Islam.

Jurors cleared Rana of a more serious charge of providing support to the 10 men who carried out the attacks in Mumbai, India's largest city, that killed 166, injured nearly 240 and caused $1.5 billion in damage.

Rana's lawyer said he had been duped by his high school buddy, David Coleman Headley, an admitted terrorist who plotted the Mumbai attacks and the government's chief witness who testified to avoid the death penalty. The defence called Headley a habitual liar and manipulator.

Rana was accused of allowing Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.

Prosecutors said Rana knew Headley had trained as a terrorist. Headley shared information of the scouting missions he conducted in Mumbai and of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where gunmen later slaughtered dozens of people.

Headley, who was born in the US to a Pakistani father and American mother, said his hatred of India dated to his childhood when his school was bombed by Indian military planes during a war between the countries in 1971.

Months after the Mumbai attacks, Headley, who did not take part in the attacks, told Rana he was even with the Indians now, according to a court document. Rana said they deserved it.

Headley, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. As part of his plea deal, he can't be extradited to India.

The only surviving terrorist in the Mumbai attacks was sentenced to death in India and hanged.

An request for comment to a public defender was not immediately returned.
The Delhi government said on Saturday that beds for Covid-19 patients at private hospitals will be subsidised, with treatment charges being reduced by 60-67%. The new rates, to be charged by all private hospitals with immediate effect, will be applicable to all Covid-19 beds at a private hospitals for up to 60% of its total capacity.

100% COVID beds shall be subsidised up to an upper limit of 60% of total hospital capacity, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), chaired by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, cleared the move.

The rates now have been capped between Rs 8,000 (non-NABH accredited hospitals) and Rs 10,000 (NABH accredited hospitals including entry level facilities) a day for an isolation bed, Rs 13,000-15,000 a day for a bed at an intensive care unit (ICU), and Rs 15,000-18,000 a day for an ICU bed with ventilator. Until this order was issued on Saturday evening, the fee for an isolation bed in Delhi was Rs 24,000-25,000 a day. For an ICU bed, it was Rs 34,000-43,000 a day, while an ICU bed with ventilator was Rs 44,000-54,000 a day.

A senior government official said the cap of up to 60% of the total beds in private hospitals means that hospitals such as Moolchand, Fortis, etc., which have been declared as 100% Covid-19 hospitals will also have to offer the new subsidised rates to 60% of the beds. A second senior government official said that the health department is also going to issue an order making it mandatory for all private hospitals in Delhi to reserve 40% of their beds for Covid-19.

The decision was taken at a meeting of DDMA on Saturday. Like the decision on the five-day mandatory institutional quarantine for all Covid-19 positive cases, this, too, was a point of disagreement between the L-G and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal during the DDMA meetings held on Saturday. Kejriwal is the vice-chairperson of the DDMA.

The Covid treatment rates were recommended by an expert panel headed by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul.

The rates approved by the committee would be applicable to all Covid beds up to the upper limit of 60% of the total bed capacity of the private hospitals. The L-G also directed that the hospitals would follow the National Guidelines on admission of COVID-19 patients The L-G directed that best quality of clinical care should be provided to all patients. He advised that the health department should ensure adherence to quality of care by the hospitals/Laboratories as per standards. An efficient system for feedback and grievance redressal should be put in place by the Health Department to strictly ensure implementation of the recommendations of the High Level Expert Committee, the LG office said in a statement.

Representatives of private hospitals said they have been under stress to maintain staff and infrastructure in view of the increased demand for beds due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While we fully support the need for transparency of pricing, hospitals are incurring considerably increased expenses on both non-Covid and Covid patient care. It is important to ensure there is no compromise in the quality of care or the safety of health care professionals, Fortis hospital said in a statement.

Another representative of a private hospital, asking not to be named, said: The hospital now has to invest for at least double the staff. Earlier, if there were 200 nursing staff needed, now we need at least double that because they have to undergo quarantine after duty. Plus, when you ask someone to risk their lives they want a higher salary. How are the hospitals supposed to remain viable if the government imposes such price caps?

An order issued by the health department later on Saturday evening read that the rates recommended for private hospitals beds would be inclusive of all charges. The package rates will include bed, food, and other amenities, monitoring, nursing care, doctors visits/consultations, investigations including imaging, treatment as per national protocol for Covid care and standard care for co-morbidities, oxygen, blood transfusion and so on.

Since many of the Covid patients have conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, etc, the charges for medical care of such co-morbidities will be a part of the package. This would include short-term haemodialysis as a part of acute care during the current admissions, the order stated.

The rates, the order stated, would not cover experimental therapies (ramdesivir, for example). The charges will not include the cost of Covid-19 diagnostic test(s) as well as IL-6 levels. The proposed charges wil apply to paediatric patients as well. For pregnant women, cost for delivery (normal/c-section) and care of new born would be charged by the hospital extra as per prevailing PMJAY rates of relevant packages, the order further read.

The Delhi government in a statement said the Central government Committee had recommended the rates, but it was limited to 60% of the beds reserved for Covid patients in private hospitals.

As the Delhi government has asked private hospitals to reserve 40% of their beds for Covid patients as of now, this capping would have meant that only 24% of beds would have been price capped. CM Kejriwal put forward his views on this and strongly presented a case to price cap all the beds reserved for Covid in private hospitals. After deliberations, it was unanimously decided to price cap all the reserved beds for Covid patients which will benefit the common man and leave no scope for arbitrary overcharging, the government said.

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Four U.S. Democratic senators announced Friday that they will introduce legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

The bill, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, will be introduced by Senators Kamala Harris of California, Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Juneteenth, observed on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which announced that, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, "all slaves are free".

"On Juneteenth, we remember the millions who suffered, died, and survived the crushing reality of slavery in America," Harris said in a statement. "Without question, it should be recognized with the respect of a federal holiday."

Currently, Juneteenth is recognized by 46 states and Washington, D.C. as an official state holiday or observance.

This year's Juneteenth comes amid nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racism triggered by the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, late last month after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

More than 20 rallies, marches and events were scheduled for Friday in Washington, D.C., with hundreds more in over 40 states, according to the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of U.S. groups representing the interests of black communities.
Matt Preston is eager for fans to him and his friends, Gary Mehigan and Manu Feildel, on Channel Seven's upcoming new show, Plate of Origin.

Speaking about the cooking series, he told The Daily Edition on Friday: 'It's a lot of fun, and it's a joyous celebration of the best food in Australia, and I think that's exactly what people want to see.'

The food critic, 58, who was a judge on Channel 10 MasterChef for 11 years, explained that the program is a celebration of home cooking at its best.

Perfect for TV: Former MasterChef judge Matt Preston (pictured) said this week that his new show Plate of Origin is 'exactly what people want to see'

The show will put people from different cultural backgrounds from across Australia in cook-offs against each other, to show off their cuisines.

Matt will co-judge alongside his friends Gary and Manu - who he has know for more than a decade each.

'We're old mates, and to actually finally be on the same network on the same show together and mess around together and share our combined love of food is brilliant,' he said.

Together at last: 'To actually finally be on the same network on the same show together and mess around together and share our combined love of food is brilliant,' he said. Gary is pictured left and Manu, centre

'There are moments where I start glazing over and Gary and Manu get very 'chef-y' and technical,' he added.

Last year, he walked away from Channel 10's MasterChef with Gary and George Calombaris after contract negotiations fell through.

This week, Matt revealed that he has not watched a single episode of the series since he leaving.

End of an era: Last year, he walked away from Channel 10's MasterChef with Gary and George Calombaris (right) after contract negotiations fell through

On Wednesday, Nova's Fitzy & Wippa asked if he had seen the new season with new judges Jock Zonfrillo, Andy Allen and Melissa Leong, and Matt replied: 'No I haven't.'

Matt went on to explain he still had many friends who worked on the Channel 10 program, so he wanted it to continue to do well.

'MasterChef employs 120 people down in Melbourne. It's really important that those people have a job,' he said.

Plate of Origin is coming soon on Channel Seven.
The United States and Russia on Monday open talks on their last major nuclear agreement -- but for some observers, it may simply be the beginning of the end.

President Donald Trump's administration has insisted, to no avail, that China join the discussions in Vienna on New START, the treaty that caps US and Russian nuclear warheads.

New START expires on February 5 -- presenting an extraordinarily tight deadline to renew a complex deal, let alone negotiate a new treaty involving a third power.

Marshall Billingslea, the US envoy, has ramped up pressure on Beijing, saying that its role will be a factor in determining if the Vienna session is constructive.

China -- whose nuclear arsenal is rapidly expanding but is still far smaller than the US and Russian programs -- has repeatedly declined to take part, amid tensions with the Trump administration on multiple fronts.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research group, said the insistence on including China showed the Trump administration was not serious.

Military vehicles carry HHQ-9B surface-to-air missiles in an October 2019 parade in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China -- the US wants Beijing to join a trilateral arms control deal with Moscow /  AFP/File

"The only conclusion I can come to is that Marshall Billingslea and the Trump administration do not intend to extend New START and are seeking to display China's disinterest in trilateral arms control talks as a cynical excuse to allow New START to expire," he said.

The Trump administration has already left two treaties with Russia -- on overflights and on intermediate-range nuclear forces.

- Low hopes in Moscow -

Russia, to be led in Vienna by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, has proposed simply extending New START to allow time to negotiate.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, seen here at a news conference in August 2019, is leading arms talks with the United States /  AFP/File

But Moscow's ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said he was "quite pessimistic, as for now I don't see any positive sign."

New START, a Cold War legacy whose latest version was negotiated by president Barack Obama, allows the United States and Russia to deploy no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads each and cut in half the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers.

Russia, whose nuclear arsenal is a key element of power while it is vastly outspent on defense by the United States, says it wants to ensure parity with Washington.

It also wants a broader discussion with Washington on arms control, including on US threats to resume nuclear tests after nearly three decades.

Billingslea said last month that the United States was concerned not only about China but Russia, accusing Moscow of modernizing thousands of "non-strategic" nuclear weapons that fall outside New START.

"They have adopted a highly provocative nuclear doctrine that embraces early escalation and use of nuclear weapons," Billingslea said, calling for any successor treaty to put more Russian arms under monitoring.

Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said that Moscow still believes in New START as a way to ensure controls and transparency.

"It creates the certain level of confidence, however modest, that exists now," he said.

"But it's not as if Russia is going to feel abandoned and go cry if the treaty goes away."

- End of era -

Marshall Billingslea, seen here in March 2019, is the US envoy on arms talks /  GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

The deadlock over New START and the demise of other treaties "suggest that the era of bilateral nuclear arms control agreements between Russia and the USA might be coming to an end," said Shannon Kile of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

According to the institute's latest research, Russia possesses 6,375 nuclear warheads, including those that are not deployed, and the United States has 5,800. China was a distant third with 320 warheads.

US officials, however, say China is undergoing a major expansion and needs to be transparent if it wants to be treated as a major power.

Song Zhongping, a defense analyst in Beijing, said that 2,000 warheads would be an ideal arsenal for China, whose main incentive is to counter the United States.

"China will never participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations between the US and Russia," he said.

"The nuclear disarmament talks proposed by the US are only a trap."

Russia has hit back by proposing the participation of US allies France and Britain, which respectively have 290 and 215 warheads, according to the Stockholm Institute.

Four countries have smaller nuclear arsenals -- India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

One wild card in New START could be the US elections. If Trump loses to Joe Biden, the new president will have just days to act before the treaty expires.

burs-sct/sst
In the run-up to his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma Saturday evening, President Donald Trump is focusing his energies on issuing threats against counter-protesters and incitements to fascistic elements and police officers to crack down on the ongoing demonstrations against police violence.

On Friday morning, Trump tweeted: Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!

Later he added, Big crowds and lines already forming in Tulsa. My campaign hasn't started yet. It starts on Saturday night in Oklahoma!

In a further incendiary tweet, he declared that in response to Thursdays Supreme Court ruling vacating his executive order ending the DACA program, which protects some 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation, he would issue a new order that complies with requirements laid down by the court. We will be submitting enhanced papers shortly, he wrote.

Trump is intent on further inflaming an already tense situation in Tulsa and across the country. The Republican mayor of the city of 400,000 has warned that he expects 100,000 people to flood into the city, including Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters. On Thursday night he declared a civil emergency and imposed a 10 PM curfew in the downtown area surrounding the BOK Center, the indoor venue for the rally, which holds 19,000 people.

Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart has appealed to Trump to postpone the rally, saying, A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both the city and the state have reported record or near-record new infections over the past week, the result of ending all restrictions on social activity to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday, the state Supreme Court rejected a bid to halt the rally on the basis of health concerns, after which the mayor, at Trumps request, lifted the curfew so as to allow Trump supporters to continue lining up in front of the BOK Center.

The very holding of the rally in the midst of a pandemic that is spiraling out of control and mass protests across the country in response to the police murder of George Floyd is an immense political provocation. Its provocative character is compounded by the site and timing of the event.

Saturday coincides with the weekend commemoration of Juneteeth, marking the June 19, 1865 announcement of the end of slavery in Texas by Union troops. Tulsa is the site of the most deadly racial attack on blacks in American history, the Tulsa Massacre, which began on May 31, 1921 and killed up to 300 African Americans.

The rally has two deeply reactionary and interrelated purposes. Trumps first campaign event in three months, since the outbreak of the pandemic, is meant to underscore the finality of the economic reopening and back-to-work drive being carried out by all levels of government and by both big business parties, despite the catastrophic effect it will have on the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of workers forced to work under unsafe conditions.

Second, it is part of a deliberate effort to stoke up violent clashes so as to create a pretext for declaring martial law, mobilizing the military against anti-police brutality protesters and establishing a de facto presidential dictatorship. As the World Socialist Web Site has warned, Trumps decision to put off calling in active-duty troops against demonstrators in Washington DC on June 1, after having proclaimed himself the president of law and order, did not signify the abandonment of the White House conspiracy to overthrow the US Constitution.

Trump was forced to back down at that point because of opposition from the military brass, which itself was motivated not by any commitment to democratic rights, but rather by the belief that such a move was premature and would likely provoke a social explosion that could not be controlled. Congress, the Democratic Party and the corporate media said virtually nothing about the planned coup detat.

Trump, the military and the ruling elite as a whole fear that the mass multi-racial protests against police violence are only the prelude to a far broader and far more clearly defined working class movement in response to the indifference of the government and the corporations to workers lives and their use of the pandemic to step up the attack on jobs, wages and living standards.

Trump and his co-conspirators, including sections of the military, are preparing to impose authoritarian rule in order to violently preempt or suppress a movement of the working class that threatens the capitalist system.

The Trump administration is in deep crisis, beset not only by mounting social opposition, geo-political tensions and economic recession, but also by conflicts within the ruling class and an erosion of confidence in Trumps ability to manage the malignant contradictions of American capitalism. Recent days have seen two US Supreme Court rulings, on LGBT rights and DACA, in conflict with administration policy, and the mass publicity given to the tell-all book by Trumps former national security adviser John Bolton. Trumps response is to strike out all the more recklessly and appeal to the most reactionary forces.

To this end, the White House and the Trump reelection campaign are systematically seeking to incite far-right and fascistic forces. On Thursday, Facebook removed 88 ads paid for by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the Team Trump campaign that prominently featured a symbol used by the Nazis to classify left-wing political prisoners during World War II.

The ads, which targeted all 50 states and were posted on Wednesday, inveighed against protesters, linking them to antifa, anarchists and looters. They displayed a large red inverted triangle, the symbol used by the Nazis to identify communists and other left prisoners held in concentration camps. They warned that Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.

In a statement issued Thursday, Facebook announced, We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate. A spokesman for the Trump campaign defended the ads, stating falsely that the red triangle is a common Antifa symbol.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum issued a statement on Twitter in which it noted that the red triangle was the most common category of prisoners registered at the German Nazi #Auschwitz camp. Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers University and author of a book about antifa, said, This is a symbol that represented the extermination of leftists. It is a death threat against leftists. Theres no way around what that means historically.

There is no evidence that people associated with the loosely organized anti-fascist groups known as antifa played any role in the scattered acts of violence carried out in the course of the weeks of mainly peaceful demonstrations against police violence and racism.

However, there are increasing incidences of pro-Trump, far-right militia groups showing up at protests, particularly in more rural towns, and threatening or attacking demonstrators. These are the same forces Trump incited to demonstrate, arms in hand, in March and April to demand the ending of lockdown orders.

In recent days, a member of the so-called New Mexico Civil Guard shot and injured a protester in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In Bethel, Ohio, a village of 2,800 people, 700 right-wing counter-protesters showed up to threaten and intimidate a much smaller group of anti-police violence demonstrators.

Seventy armed men mobilized against a protest in Enterprise, Oregon. In Omak, Washington, a town with less than 5,000 residents, armed militia appeared when 400 demonstrators marched in a park. Some of the armed men positioned themselves on nearby roofs. In Boise, Idaho, an 18-year-old fired his weapon into the ground during a protest outside the capitol.

Ahead of Trumps rally in Tulsa, a Facebook group for Oklahoma Patriots is warning that antifa plans to bus in crisis actors.
New Delhi:

India conducted hugely successful surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), killing 38 terrorists and 2 Pakistani soldiers on Wednesday night.

The strikes were carried out on terrorist launchpads in POK, located nearly 2-3 Km across Line of Control (LOC). India has been suffering from terrorist violence since decades and was severely rattled after the Uri attacks which witnessed martyrdom of 18 Indian soldiers. The attacks had aroused huge anger in the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that the Uri attackers will not go unpunished at any cost.

Also Read: (Live updates on India's surgical strike in PoK: NSA Ajit Doval arrives at MHA for review security meet chaired by Rajnath)

These surgical strikes are India's answer to Pakistan's interference in Jammu and Kashmir and its support of terror groups which aspire to destabilize our country. Presently, Indian army is preparing itself against retaliation from Pakistan army and terror groups based on Pak soil.The Pakistani media, however has denied that surgical strikes took place inside POK and has instead termed the strikes as regular border skirmish and firing by Indian armed forces.

Also Read: (How Pakistani media covered news of Indian Army's surgical strike in PoK)

On the other hand, the Indian media has supported its army to the utmost extent. Lets have a look at how our newspapers have reported the news:

The Times of India The Times of India has praised Indian army to the hilt and has said that as Pakistan crossed the limits of our patience, India crossed the LOC as a befitting reply. Further, it has aslo said that our intelligence agencies are bracing for retaliation from Pakistan's end. The Hindu One of the leading newspapers in the country, The Hindu has reported that Indian army is fully prepared to take on terror groups located on the other side of the border while lauding the surgical strikes. It has also reported that India made succesful strikes on terror launchpads in the POK, thus rattling the Pakistan establishment. Navbharat Times Navbharat Times reported that Indian army took revenge for the Uri attacks through surgical strikes. Further, it gave complete credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership skills while praising the armed forces to the utmost extent. Hindustan Times Hindustan Times has also heaped praises on Indian army while reporting the succesful strikes against the terror hubs in POK. It went a step ahead while stating that Indian army exacted revenge for the brutal Uri attacks. Further, it also claimed that Delhi and other border towns were on high alert against retaliation by Pak army and terrorist groups. The Economic Times The Economic Times also supported the army action and reported that India has drawn a firm line and will not tolerate the dastardly acts of terror groups any more. The paper also claimed that India reserves the right to strike against infiltration and attacks planned on its soil. Noida Times Noida Times has praised the excellent strategy of the government and army while claiming that after the surgical strikes there was high alert in India.



Overall, all the Indian newspapers displayed a true patriotic zeal and firmly stood behind the Indian armed forces and the country's establishment.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Trauma in Afghanistan, turmoil in the Gulf and tension in Hong Kong - security crises have not stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, some powers are accused of using the COVID-19 distraction to their own advantage.

"Anyone who wants to get on with things without the West noticing will be exploiting this opportunity," said Lord Ricketts of Shortland, a former UK national security adviser.

Here are some of the crises that have been going on during the pandemic:

Afghanistan

The United States signed a peace deal with arch-foe the Taliban in February just as coronavirus was infecting the world.

It should have been a historic moment for Afghanistan after almost two decades of war.

But the ink had barely dried before attacks on US-backed Afghan forces ramped up again.

The problems are political as well. A contested presidential election delayed attempts to begin crucial talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban.

Hopes for a breakthrough remain low but US forces are still reducing in numbers.

Expect violence in Afghanistan to do the opposite.

Iran

Before coronavirus, a conflict between Iran and the United States threatened to be the defining crisis of 2020.

The relationship has been hostile since President Donald Trump tore up a nuclear deal with Tehran two years earlier. But the standoff nearly triggered a regional war after an Iranian-backed militia targeted US-led coalition forces in Iraq.

The US responded by killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January. Cue an outpouring of grief, rage and then an Iranian missile strike against US troops.

No soldier was killed. Instead Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet as its air defences braced for a US counter-attack.

That never came but a new flashpoint remains likely.

Hong Kong and the South China Sea

Another part of the world to watch is China.

There is mounting friction with the United Kingdom over Hong Kong. London accuses Beijing of imposing a new security law that undermines the freedoms enjoyed by residents in the former British territory. China disagrees.

Story continues

Regional disagreements are mounting too, including Taiwan and the ownership of islands in the South China Sea; and - most recently - between China and next door India .

Twenty Indian soldiers died and 76 were injured when they clashed with Chinese troops in the disputed Himalayan border region in June.

It was the worst violence between the two nuclear powers in more than four decades.

:: Listen to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Spreaker

Coronavirus is of course a crisis for everyone.

But world leaders ignore these other major challenges at their peril.
Trump intended to nominate Jay Clayton, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, to succeed Berman, according to the White House.

Washington, June 20 (IANS) US President Donald Trump named a replacement for Geoffrey Berman, attorney for the Southern District of New York who oversaw probes into his associates.

Berman ran the probe that sent Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to prison and is reportedly investigating his current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I appreciate his service to the Department of Justice and our nation, and I wish him well in the future," US Attorney General William Barr said in a statement on Friday night.

In a stunning remark, Berman said he has not resigned and that he has "no intention of resigning."

"I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight I was 'stepping down' as US Attorney," Berman said.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

Besides Cohen and Giuliani, Berman's office also subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee over an investigation into potential illegal contributions from foreigners and charged former Congressman Chris Collins, a Trump ally, with insider trading.

Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Barr of repeatedly interfering "in criminal investigations on Trump's behalf".

"We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday (June 24). We welcome Mr. Berman's testimony and will invite him to testify," Nadler, a Democrat, tweeted.

Clayton is a member of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Financial Stability Board.

He also participates on the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

--IANS

ksk/
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwandan newspapers this week gave wide coverage to ongoing efforts to ease COVID-19 lockdown measures especially with a recent announcement by one German biomedical institute which declared Rwanda as no longer a Covid-19 risk area
The father of the two young Ohio sisters who died after the brick pillar their hammock was tied to collapsed and fell on them Sunday night says he doesn't blame anyone for their deaths.

Scout Scaravilli, 14, and Chasey Scaravilli, 12, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, were at their home, lying in a hammock tied between a tree and a brick pillar, on June 14 at about 7.45pm, when the pillar suddenly collapsed.

The two girls were then buried beneath the pillar rubble.

Police and fire crews arrived at their home to free them from the debris and they were taken to the hospital, where they later died from their injuries.

Sisters Scout Scaravilli, 14 (pictured), and Chasey Scaravilli, 12, died Sunday night during a 'freak accident' when the brick pillar their hammock was tied to collapsed onto them

Scout and Chasey (pictured) were rushed to the hospital where they died from their injuries

Speaking with WKYC, the girls' father, JJ Scaravilli said, 'I don't blame anybody, I don't blame myself, I don't blame those girls.'

He said of the pillar, 'I looked at it 100 times. I never thought a brick pillar would come down like that - it was never in my mind.'

At the time of the incident, JJ said that he was in the backyard napping when the pillar collapsed 'in an instant.'

'Accidents happen. They were a gift and they're needed someplace else now,' JJ said, noting that they're in his heart and in heaven.

JJ Scaravilli, the girls' father, said that he looked at the brick pillar '100 times' and never would have thought that it could have tumbled down the way it did

JJ said the sisters loved playing the backyard together and that they were inseparable.

He noted that as their dad, he 'always thought they were the most beautiful creatures and they are definitely beautiful. But their real beauty is and was on the inside and it still is on the inside.'

The Scaravilli family has now planted two trees in the place where the hammock had been.

Scout, a rising ninth grader, and Chasey, a rising seventh grader, were students at Cleveland's The Hathaway Brown School, which released a statement about their passing, Cleveland.com reported.

'The entire HB community is saddened by the loss of the Scaravilli sisters; they will be greatly missed by so many friends, classmates, and teachers. Our thoughts and prayers are dedicated to their family,' Hathaway Brown Head of School Fran Bisselle said in the statement.

Scout (left in 2017), a rising ninth grader, was an athlete, while Chasey (right in 2018), a rising seventh grader, was known for her artistic abilities

JJ said that Scout (left) and Chasey (right) were inseparable and loved playing in the backyard

The sisters, Scout (right) and Chasey (left), are pictured together when they were younger

The school Scout (left) and Chasey (right) attended have started a memorial fund in their honor

Chasey was known at the school for her artistic abilities and sense of humor, while Scout was an athlete and devoted big sister.

Of the two girls, the school's Director of Middle School, Sharon Baker, told Fox 8 that, 'You couldn't be around them without smiling or laughing. They brought such joy into every room they entered.'

On Wednesday, the school announced that it had created a memorial fund to honor the sisters.

Bisselle said that the fund would be a 'lasting tribute to these remarkable girls' and that 'their warm hearts and vibrant spirits will be cherished by family and friends and its fitting that their legacy includes a continuation of their deep appreciation of sisterhood.'

On the school's memorial fund contribution page, the girls' mother, Heidi Scaravilli, described Scout as being selfless an a 'nurturing "second mother,"' while she called Chasey a 'quick-witted "firecracker."'

Police are investigating the incident, which is being called a 'freak accident.'

The sisters leave behind their parents and two younger twin sisters who will begin the fifth grade at Hathaway Brown - where other generations of the Scaravilli family have been students - in the fall.
Hundreds gathered at the Manitoba legislature Friday night to say her name in unison, over, and over again: Eishia Hudson.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hundreds gathered at the Manitoba legislature Friday night to say her name in unison, over, and over again: Eishia Hudson.

They listened to prayers and ceremonial songs sung in her memory. They watched fancy shawl, jingle and traditional performers dance in her memory. And they chanted to call for justice, in her memory and the memory of all the other Indigenous people who have been killed by police in recent months.

Among those in the crowd was Navaeh Asham, who called Eishia both her best friend and an amazing, outgoing young woman who "made friends with everyone."

Eishia, 16, was shot by Winnipeg police on April 8, after officers chased down a group of teenagers driving a stolen SUV after a reported liquor store robbery in the south end of the city. She was the first of three Indigenous people who were killed by police in incidents that took place over a 10 day period in mid-April.

Asham, 15, said her friend was a teenager who made a mistake.

JESSE BOILY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS William Hudson (left) father to Eishia Hudson, and Eishia's grandfather Melvin Moar speak at a rally to honour Hudson at the legislature Friday.

"She didnt deserve to die," she said.

Nearly every speaker who took the microphone at Fridays peaceful rally echoed those sentiments, often citing their own mistakes as youth  including Melvin Moar, Eishias grandfather. "I miss her every day, so much," Moar told the crowd in an emotional speech that closed the two-hour-long gathering. "I wish I had a couple minutes with him, the one who shot my granddaughter. You know what Id do? Nothing."

The Hudson family and community members organized the rally Friday to both commemorate Eishias life and demand real change to address systemic racism in policing.

Eishia Hudson was shot by police April 8.

During his speech, Jerry Daniels, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization, called on the crowd to be part of the change in the culture created by colonialism and hold every system accountable, from Child and Family Services to Manitoba Justice.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew, and Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan also gave impassioned speeches.

"You dont get many moments. This, is the moment. And we need to stand together, as Indigenous and Black people and we need to work together to fight for justice because our liberation is tied with each other," Gazan said.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

JESSE BOILY / WINNIPEG FREE PRE Jessica Noel, left, and Chloe Greenwalt showed up to support the rally for Eishia Hudson outside the Manitoba legislature building on Friday. Hudson, 16, was fatally shot by police in April. (Jesse Boily/Winnipeg Free Press)

Morgan Manitopyes, 40, came to hear the speakers Friday and show his support, two weeks after he attended the Justice 4 Black Lives protest on the same grounds. The June 5 event drew almost 15,000 people to stand up against anti-Black racism and police violence. A Sioux man, Manitopyes said the mobilization among Black and Indigenous people in the city gives him hope  but he questions if momentum will fade.

"People are showing up for support, yeah, but for how long? Is this going to be happening in two months from now, three months from now? Thats what I would like to see," Manitopyes said, adding its unacceptable that he has come to consider being stopped by police on his daily runs around Osborne Village as normal. "They always ask me where Im running to," he said.

As attendees chanted and listened, members of Indigenous-led community organizations, including the Bear Clan, Mama Bear Clan and Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin, handed out disposable masks and water bottles.

In an interview before the rally, Gazan told the Free Press its exactly these kinds of organizations that need to be funded. "People need to understand what defunding the police is; its not not supporting safety and security; its about investing in front-line organizations and people that are actually qualified to do the job," she said.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

JESSE BOILY / WINNIPEG FREE PRE Protesters gathered on the grounds of Manitoba's legislature in memory of Eishia Hudson on Friday. Hudson, 16, was fatally shot by police in April. (Jesse Boily/Winnipeg Free Press) Reporter: Maggie
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Saturday said it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

The Mumbai-based drug firm had on Friday received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

FabiFlu is the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication for the treatment of COVID-19, the company said in a statement.

"This approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before, putting a tremendous pressure on our healthcare system," Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and Managing Director Glenn Saldanha said.

The company hopes that the availability of an effective treatment such as FabiFlu will considerably help assuage this pressure, and offer patients in India a much needed and timely therapy option, he added.

FabiFlu has demonstrated an encouraging response in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients during clinical trials, Saldanha said.

Moreover, it is orally administered, and so it serves as a more convenient treatment option over other intravenously administered medications, he noted.

"Glenmark will work closely with the government and medical community to make FabiFlu quickly accessible to patients across the country," Saldanha said.

The drug will be available as a prescription-based medication for Rs 103/tablet, with recommended dose being 1,800 mg twice on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14.

Favipiravir can be used for coronavirus patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement, the drug maker added.

Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases, it said.

The drug firm had successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu through its in-house R&D team.

It had then filed the product for clinical trial with country's drug regulator DCGI and became the first pharmaceutical company in India to receive approval for conducting phase 3 clinical trial on mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.

Favipiravir has been approved in Japan since 2014 for the treatment of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections.

Last month, Glenmark also announced that it is conducting another clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two antivirals Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a combination therapy in moderate hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients in India.

India on Saturday saw another record spike of 14,516 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, pushing the tally to 3,95,048, while the death toll rose to 12,948 with 375 new fatalities, according to Union Health Ministry data.
courtesy Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

The 2020 State of Higher Education panel discussion hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerces Education Division annually is set to go virtual this year. Officials say a panel discussion will be held via a Zoom Webinar on Friday, June 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be led by experts and local officials from area universities and community colleges including Madeline Burillo of Houston Community College, Randall Wooten of Texas State Technical College, Betty McCrohan of Wharton County Junior College and Jay Neal from the University of Houston who will discuss the future of education in our rapidly changing times, according to a Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce media release. The webinar is free to attend. Online registration is required. For more information, visit www.fortbendchamber.com

Related: Houston Community College announces plans for next year
Former Chief of Army Staff VK Singh on Saturday said that most of the Galwan river in the eastern Ladakh valley is in India's control and that people on the ground are capable of resolving the situation, which has broken out after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) earlier this week.

"Most of the Galwan river is in our control. There should be no doubt in people's mind," he told CNN-News18's Marya Shakil in an exclusive interview. "People dealing on ground are very capable of resolving the situation, I have immense faith in them. We are capable of dealing with all threats we are facing. The LAC (Line of Actual Control) has got the border treaty peace agreement."

The Union Minister of State in the Narendra Modi cabinet said there should be no doubt regarding the PM's statement on the LAC. The PMO earlier described as "mischievous interpretation" the criticism over Modi's remarks at Friday's all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the Galwan Valley clash.

In a statement on Saturday, the PMO said the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 military personnel. "The prime minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces," it said.

Singh said only the opposition has raised doubts regarding Modi's statement. "What the PM said is the absolute truth. Everybody who has a doubt has no clue, they don't know about the area," he said.

On the number of Chinese soldiers killed in the clashes, Singh said, "The fatalities on the Chinese side, as told by our people, is 43. We should believe our people on the Chinese casualties numbers."

A senior government official familiar with the debriefing of survivors at hospitals in Leh earlier said that furious hand-to-hand fighting had raged across the Galwan river valley for over eight hours on Monday night as PLA assault teams armed with iron rods as well as batons wrapped in barbed wire hunted down and slaughtered troops of the 16 Bihar Regiment.

Singh reiterated that the Indian Army was not caught unaware and was on high alert. There were no bamboo sticks," he said, in response to reports saying the Chinese attacked the Indian soldiers with bamboo clubs wrapped in nails and wires. "In a face-off, people do carry certain things."

Singh said the Chinese did not have good intentions and that the Indian army had requested them to vacate the area under contention. "It was premeditated action by the Chinese, where they delayed going back as agreed. When our soldiers asked them to go back, a scuffle took place," he added.

Singh said military option is the last resort for a nation. "Border talks with China have been going on for a long time," he said. "It's not a simple subject...many things keep coming up every time. We need to be alert about the kind of deceit we saw this time."
Bamako, Mali (PANA)  The security forces here Friday prevented representatives of the 5 June Movement from getting access to Koulouba, the presidential palace, to hand over a letter to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) calling on him to resign
An abandoned bus in the forests of Alaska, United States of America that became monumental after the book and movie titled, "Into The Wild", was removed as a public safety measure recently.

The reason cited by state officials for the removal of this bus is keeping the safety and security of tourists who visit Alaskan forests in search of this bus.

The exact location of the bus is an area where there is no mobile network and experiences unpredictable weather and sometimes swollen rivers. Tourists who trek to reach this bus have either died or had to be rescued. Christopher McCandless, the subject of the book and movie, died of starvation there in 1992.

Earlier this year, five Italian tourists had to be rescued and prior to that, a woman tourist from Belarus was found dead while searching this bus.

Reuters

We encourage people to enjoy Alaskas wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination, h owever, this is an abandoned and deteriorating vehicle that was requiring dangerous and costly rescue efforts. More importantly, it was costing some visitors to their lives," said The Alaska natural resources commissioner, Corri Feige.

Reuters

This invariably was a good decision by the state because tourist attractions are pointless if tourists can't reach the attraction alive.
Hyderabad, June 21 : The Telangana State Secretariat and other state-level government offices will function with 50 per cent of their workforce, it was announced on Saturday as part of the new guidelines to contain the spread of Covid-19 in government offices.

The employees in the state administrative headquarters and other state-level offices will attend the duties on an alternate day basis. The new curbs will come into effect from Monday and will continue till July 4.

The move came in the wake of Covid-19 cases at the Secretariat and other offices during the last few days and a surge in the number of cases across the state.

"In view of the sporadic cases of Covid-19 being reported in the Secretariat and other offices, the guidelines are issued for implementation by all the departments," said an internal circular.

Half of the office subordinates, data entry operators and other Class 4 employees will have to attend duty on every alternate week basis while 50 per cent of the clerical staff/circulating officers have been directed to attend duty on alternate days.

Officers having separate chambers allotted to them have to attend duties regularly.

Any officer or staff having vulnerabilities like pregnancy or comorbidities can stay at home duly, taking appropriate leaves like casual leave, earned leave or half pay leave based on medical certificate.

According to the guidelines, drivers should not assemble at the parking lots, but should sit in their respective offices. This curb was imposed as many drivers are contracting the virus.

The government has also banned the use of air conditioners in the offices as a precautionary measure. All officers have been advised to refrain from using ACs in their respective rooms and ensure adequate ventilation.

The entry of visitors has also been restricted. No visitors will be permitted to enter the office unless there is authorisation by the officer concerned and on prior appointment.

Maximum of three persons in addition to the lift operator will be allowed in the elevator at a time.

The government also directed that regular disinfection of the office premises and vehicles should be ensured.

The employees have been directed to ensure compliance with physical distancing norms at all times, including lunch breaks. They were asked to bring lunch from home and avoid sitting together during lunch hours.

All the infection prevention protocols like regular handwashing/sanitisation, wearing of masks etc. should be strictly adhered to by the staff.

The new curbs will apply only in the offices within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. The offices dealing with essential services are exempted from the restrictions.

Greater Hyderabad is the worst affected among the 33 districts in the state. The move came a day after the state witnessed the steepest single-day in Covid-19 cases on Friday.

As many as 499 people tested positive for the virus, taking the state's tally to 6,526. Greater Hyderabad alone accounted for 329 of the fresh cases.
Thomas has apologised and demonstrated his capacity to change, Madhok says - and that's where people should focus. "Outright cancelling people is not necessarily helpful, particularly if they are wanting to grow. But I think it's really important that there is some sort of level of accountability where people are making themselves available for feedback and not being too precious about it." The old clip of Thomas was unearthed after he suggested on Twitter that we should rename Coon cheese, given it's also a derogatory term for Aboriginal Australians. Depending on who you talk to, the pile-on either demonstrated Thomas' hypocrisy or the left's capacity to turn on itself, or both. "We keep getting sidetracked by these types of things and no one's doing anything about deaths in custody," says fellow comedian Rhys Nicholson, who describes himself as "definitely on the left but not as left as I thought I was". "It's a tale as old as time," he says. "We see someone trying to do the right thing but getting it wrong and we try and cancel them. And we also see someone doing something very wrong and we cancel them with the same kind of whipping." "There's a sweet spot before cancel culture": comedian Rhys Nicholson. Credit:Simon Schluter

Like Madhok, Nicholson argues "there's a sweet spot before cancel culture which is not cancelling them but [saying] everyone has to be held up to account". Just as left-wing activists can appreciate the limits of their approach, conservatives concede some things should be erased from history. For example, Canavan says Western Australia's King Leopold Ranges, named after the Belgian slave trader, should clearly be given a new title, as should places such as Black Gin Creek in his state of Queensland. "If a name is clearly derogatory and formulated with what would appear to be some degree of mal-intent, that should be removed," he says. But symbols of Australia's own colonisation are different; they have become lightning rods in the culture wars. Last week in Sydney, Greens staffer Xiaoran Shi and her friend Charmaine Morrison-Mills were charged with vandalising a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park. They are accused of spray-painting "no pride in genocide" and "sovereignty never ceded" on the monument. Shi, 28, has a long history of activism. As one of the editors of Sydney University's student paper Honi Soit, Shi helped produce a famous 2013 cover featuring 18 vaginas with their labia censored. Her boss, Greens upper house member David Shoebridge, is standing by her  which earned him a parliamentary censure motion supported by the government, Labor and One Nation. NSW Police guard a statue of Captain James Cook during a Black Lives Matter protest. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

On Thursday night, a 51-year-old man was arrested and charged after officers found him allegedly trying to tape a sign to the same statue. Madhok says she would like to see many of Australia's statues replaced because she does not want to glorify anyone complicit in genocide. But "it's not something that I would spend significant time and money and resourcing campaigning on ... if it were to change, I think that would be great." Madhok and Canavan draw the line in very different places, but they speak to the same point: you have to pick your battles, based not just on what is the most important but what you can win. "I think having debates about cheese or about beer can sometimes distract from the issues at hand," says Madhok. "Black Lives Matter movements are not calling for name changes or things like that."

Loading Canavan puts it somewhat more starkly. "The people that genuinely want to fix things up are being done a great disservice by the overreach into much more mundane examples," he says. Adults don't want to be lectured on what they should approve or condemn, Canavan says. "Cancel culture infantilises people ... I think it's out of control and it's not widely supported. If we're going to allow hard core porn on the internet I think we can allow Gone With the Wind." Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australia's first female Muslim senator, begs to differ. She says it's good for people to reflect on how deficits in arts and culture, such as a lack of diversity, can harm the community. She does not believe there are people too small, or too irrelevant, to be cancelled. "The arbiters of what matters and what doesn't matter are the people who have been targeted," Faruqi says. "People who are not affected at all by racism or marginalisation really cannot be the ones who decide who gets a platform and who doesn't."
In a tribute to four soldiers from Punjab who laid down their lives in Ladakhs Galwan valley recently, the education department has decided to name government schools in their native villages after them.

An order in this regard has been sent to district education officers of the respective districts. Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh, Naib Subedar Satnam Singh, Sepoy Gurtej Singh, and Sepoy Gurbinder Singh were among the 20 soldiers killed Galwan valley.

As per the order, the name of primary school at Seel village will now be Shaheed Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh Government Primary School; middle school at Bhojraj village in Gurdaspur will be Shaheed Naib Subedar Satnam Singh Government School and middle school of Berowal Dogra Mansa will now be Shaheed Gurtej Singh Government Middle School. The name of high school at Tolawal village in Sangrur has been renamed as Shaheed Sepoy Gurbinder Singh High School.

Amarjeet Singh, district education officer, primary education, said, It is good decision of education department to name schools after the soldiers. The department had sought details of the schools on Friday.
Members of Antifa march as the movement gathers for a "Demand Free Speech" rally in Washington, on July 6, 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds//AFP/Getty Images)

UN Shares Antifa Flag on Social Media Account, Condemns US Labeling of Group

The United Nations has defended far-left extremist group Antifa and other similar organizations, telling the United States that its experts were profoundly concerned over U.S. Attorney General William Barrs characterization of Antifa members as domestic terrorists.

The United Nations Office in Geneva on Friday shared an image of Antifas flag on its official Twitter account, saying that its experts express profound concern over a recent statement by the U.S. Attorney-General describing #Antifa and other anti-fascist activists as domestic terrorists.

The office further went on to say such a description undermines the rights of Antifa and other anti-fascists groups members to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly in the United States.

The statement from the UN follows Barrs remarks about Antifa and other extremist organizations alleged involvement in the violent rioting observed during the recent George Floyd protests. The death of Floyd, a black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police, prompted nationwide protests calling for changes in policing practices.

Federal authorities, including Barr, have attributed the violent activity to extremist organizations such as Antifa. The attorney general previously said in a statement on May 31 that the alleged violence carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.

Previously, he said that the DOJ has evidence that Antifa and other similar groups instigated the violent activity, and he said that federal authorities are conducting comprehensive investigations into certain individuals with ties to the extremist group.

We have some investigations underway and very focused investigations on certain individuals that relate to Antifa, Barr said during an interview with Fox News on June 8. But in the  initial phase of identifying people and arresting them, they were arrested for crimes that dont require us to identify a particular group or dont necessitate that.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced on May 31 that his administration would designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.

One of the UN experts who expressed concern was Fionnuala Ni Aolain, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. Ni Aolain expressed regret over the U.S. response to the protests in a separate statement.

International human rights law protects the right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, Ni Aolain said. It is regrettable that the United States has chosen to respond to the protests in a manner that undermines these fundamental rights.

She added that the loose use of terrorism rhetoric undermines legitimate protests and dampens freedom of expression in the United States, which has been a hallmark of U.S. constitutional values, and a beacon far beyond its shores.

The origins of the group Antifa can be traced back to Germanys anti-fascist movement, which was part of the Soviet Unions front operations to incite a communist revolution in the European country. In the United States, the group claims that its members are fighting fascism, but rarely do they confront actual fascists. Instead, their members, who are made up of communists, socialists, and other hard-left radicals, label parties and individuals who dont align with their ideology as fascists to justify their use of violence against them.

The group has frequently made headlines for its violent attacks on opposing groups, particularly Trump supporters, whom they have branded as fascists.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - North Korea is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border, denouncing North Korean defectors and South Korea, its state media said on Saturday, the latest retaliation for leaflets from the South as bilateral tensions rise.

Enraged North Korean people across the country "are actively pushing forward with the preparations for launching a large-scale distribution of leaflets," which are piled as high as a mountain, said state news agency KCNA.

"Every action should be met with proper reaction and only when one experiences it oneself, one can feel how offending it is," KCNA said.

North Korea has blamed North Korean defectors for launching leaflets across the border and threatened military action. On Tuesday, Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office to show its displeasure against the defectors and South Korea for not stopping them launching leaflets.]

A North Korean defector-led group said on Friday it had scrapped a plan to send hundreds of plastic bottles stuffed with rice, medicine and face masks to North Korea by throwing them into the sea near the border on Sunday.

The two Koreas, which are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty, have waged leaflet campaigns for decades.

South Korea's military used to launch anti-North flyers across the demilitarized zone, but the program ended in 2010.

Several defector-led groups have regularly sent back flyers, together with food, $1 bills, mini radios and USB sticks containing South Korean dramas and news, usually by balloon over the border or in bottles by river.

Pyongyang has used balloons to send its anti-South leaflets. South Koreans previously were rewarded with stationery if they reported leaflets from the North. (Reporting By Jane Chung; Editing by William Mallard)
Supporters of President Donald Trump were filling streets Saturday around the Tulsa stadium where the president will hold his first rally in months, ready to welcome him back to the campaign trail despite warnings from health officials about the coronavirus.

The crowd  most without masks and dressed in Trump hats and T-shirts  were hoping to be among the first inside the more than 19,000-seat BOK Center for what is expected to be the biggest indoor event the country has seen since restrictions to prevent the COVID-19 virus began in March. Trump also will speak at an outdoor event to be held inside a perimeter of tall metal barriers that were put up around the BOK Center. Some of the attendees have been camped near the venue since early in the week.

Protesters flooded downtown streets on Saturday, blocking traffic in at least intersection. Some Black leaders in Tulsa have said they're worried the visit could lead to violence. It's happening amid protests over racial injustice and policing across the U.S. and in a city that has a long history of racial tension. Officials said they expected some 100,000 people in Tulsa's downtown.

Renee Lamoreaux, a retiree and Trump supporter from Tulsa, said Friday that police officers had briefed ralliers, saying the event would basically be in a big cage, and the rest of the world would be outside. She said she felt reassured.

Tulsa has seen cases of COVID-19 spike in the past week, and the local health department director asked that the rally be postponed. But Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said it would be safe. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday denied a request that everyone attending the indoor rally wear a mask, and few in the crowd outside Saturday were wearing them.

The Trump campaign said six staff members helping prepare for the event tested positive for COVID-19. They were following quarantine procedures and wouldnt attend the rally, said Tim Murtaugh, the campaigns communications director.

Inside the barriers, the campaign was handing out masks and said hand sanitizer also would be distributed and that participants would undergo a temperature check. But there was no requirement that participants use the masks.

Teams of people wearing goggles, masks, gloves and blue gowns were checking the temperatures of those entering the the rally area. The Trump campaign had pledged to conduct temperature checks as people enter and to offer masks. As people gathered early in the day, few wore masks. Those who entered the secured area were given disposable masks, which most people wore as they went through the temperature check. Some took them off after the check.

The rally originally was planned for Friday, but was moved after complaints that it coincided with Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the U.S., and in a city that was the site of a 1921 race-related massacre, when a white mob attacked Blacks, leaving as many as 300 people dead.

Stitt said he will join Vice President Mike Pence for a meeting Saturday with Black leaders from Tulsas Greenwood District, the area where the 1921 attack occurred. Stitt initially invited Trump to tour the area, but said, We talked to the African American community and they said it would not be a good idea, so we asked the president not to do that.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had marked a one-day high of over 150,000 confirmed cases on Thursday. According to the New York Times database, that figure totaled 166,099 cases. A separate tracking database maintained by Worldometer found that the total was even higher on Friday with 181,000 newly confirmed cases.

Since May 2, the seven-day average for total daily cases of COVID-19 throughout the world has been rising steadily, from approximately 81,000 to a high of 136,956 yesterday, a 70 percent increase. The seven-day global average in daily case fatalities reached its ebb on May 26, with 4,079 deaths, and has since been slowly climbing to 4,649. The one-day global death toll rose to over 5,000 yesterday.

By all accounts, despite the massive lockdowns that impacted billions of people and brought the global capitalist economy to near-collapse, the policy decision to open the markets, throw caution to the wind and resume all commerce and social activities as if the pandemic had been conquered and become a mere historical reference point is sheer madness. While the scientific reality of the epidemic cannot be circumnavigated or ignored, the demands for profits insulate the markets and ruling elites in every country from sage counsel.

Workers from a Servpro disaster recovery team wearing protective suits and respirators enter the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., to begin cleaning and disinfecting the facility [Credit: AP Photo/Ted S. Warren]

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported at the regular press briefing Friday: The world is in a new and dangerous phase. Many people are understandably fed up with being home. Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies, but the virus is still spreading fast. It is still deadly, and most people are susceptible.

More than 81 countries, including India, Chile, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh, have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks, while less than half of the worlds nations have reported declining figures.

According to Worldometers COVID-19 tracker, as of this writing, there are over 8.75 million cases of COVID-19. There have also been close to 462,000 deaths reported, which by every account is an underestimation of the true magnitude of the fatalities. Brazil accounted for the lions share of new cases Friday with a horrific 55,209 infections confirmed in just one day, the highest one-day total to date. It also joined the United States in surpassing over 1 million total cases. Brazil marked 1,221 new deaths, the highest for any country on June 19, pushing its official death toll to more than 49,000.

President Trump and his administration have much in common with the likes of Jair Bolsonaro, the fascist president of Brazil, in their utter disregard for the public safety and the health consequences of the coronavirus infection.

However, the dismissive attitude of Trump, who personifies the diktats of the financial oligarchs, is of a more sinister and calculated character. In a recent interview with Gray Televisions Jacqueline Policastro, Trump was asked about the concerning rise in new cases across 22 states, including Oklahoma, where he is planning to hold a massive rally today. He said, If you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. Its dying out. By the way, were doing very well in vaccines and therapeutics. I think theres going to be some big announcements on that in the not-too-distant future. But no, were not concerned.

Vice President Mike Pence wrote in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal this week: Lost in the coverage is the fact that today less than 6 percent of Americans tested each week are found to have the virus The truth is that weve made great progress over the past four months, and its a testament to the leadership of President Trump.

The real figures behind these bald assertions paint a far different picture. The meaning of these statements, however, is simple: There will be no further lockdowns or other measures in response to the resurgence of the outbreak.

South Carolina has seen new cases climb from an average of fewer than 200 cases a day at the end of May to a peak of 1,083 cases on Friday. Some of this rise is being attributed to recent tourism, specifically in the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach. In mid-May, Governor Henry McMaster allowed hotels to resume taking reservations and permitted restaurants to open. On June 1, there were 22 new cases in Horry County, where Myrtle Beach is located. By June 17, the number of newly infected grew to 120, occurring in conjunction with the Memorial Day weekend three weeks before. There are presently 660 hospital beds occupied by patients infected with the coronavirus in the state.

Florida beat its record two days running, with 3,822 new cases on Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard. That states Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, sought to deflect criticism by suggesting that more testing had taken place and that infections were occurring among younger, healthier people. He then pointed to clusters of overwhelmingly Hispanic day workers as the main factor for the rising numbers.

Some of these guys go to work in a school bus, and they are all just packed there like sardines, going across Palm Beach County or some of these other places, and there are all these opportunities to have transmission, he said. However, Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried challenged the governors assertions by pointing out that most of the farmworkers had left several weeks ago after the harvest had ended.

Texas reported 3,516 new cases on Thursday, a more than 10 percent increase over the day before, followed by another 4,497 infections on Friday. Despite the claim that these increases are due solely to more testing, public health experts have noted that the percentage of tests coming back positive is also rising, indicating a growing outbreak that is out of control.

The greater Houston area has seen close to 26,000 cases, with a caseload of 1.2 times higher than the week before. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued an order that will go into effect on June 22 requiring all businesses to mandate the wearing of masks. The idea is to see this is a no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service policy, Hidalgo told local media.

On Friday, Arizona saw a big jump in cases from a record-setting 2,519 cases on Thursday to 3,246 new cases, a more than 25 percent increase. Despite pressure from medical communities that are seeing dwindling resources in the form of ICU beds, Republican Governor Doug Ducey has stopped short of issuing statewide mask mandates, preferring to allow cities and counties to enforce such policies, which amounts to a form of criminal negligence.

As of Thursday, 85 percent of the southwestern states inpatient beds were occupied. The number of hospital beds used for COVID-19 patients rose from 1,667 on Wednesday to 1,832 in 24 hours.

In an interview on Wednesday with the Wall Street Journal, President Trump declared, I personally think testing is overrated, even though I created the greatest testing machine in history, only to add, speaking of the increase in confirmed cases, in many ways, it makes us look bad.

Such a dismissive sentiment is countered by that of Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard Global Health Institute, who recently told CNN, We may be done with the pandemic, but the pandemic is not done with us.

Not only did the Trump administration delay taking immediate action to combat the pandemic, costing massive needless deaths, but by all accounts the premature reopening of the country demanded by Trump will lead to an acceleration in such deaths and inundation of the shell-shocked health care infrastructure again.

To provide a quantitative sense of the magnitude of this malign neglect, a recent study that compared the United States response to the pandemic to that of other countries such as South Korea, Australia, Germany and Singapore, found that 70 to 99 percent of Americans who died from the virus might have been saved.

In an opinion piece in Stat News, researchers Isaac and James Sebenius noted: Due to exponential viral spread, our delay in action was devastating. In the wake of the US response, 117,858 Americans died in the four months following the first 15 confirmed cases. After an equivalent period scaling up the German population of 83.7 million to Americas 331 million, a US-sized Germany would have suffered 35,049 COVID-19 deaths.

The study notes that the US response in the first 14 days from the date of the fifteenth confirmed case lagged behind the mentioned countries by miles. It estimates that 99 percent of the 120,000 COVID-19 deaths might have been prevented had the US handled the outbreak as effectively as these other countries.
In a significant development in the business domain in the country, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has entered the list of top ten richest persons in the world, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire list. Mukesh Ambani's net worth increased by over 12 times from USD 5.3 billion to USD 64.6 billion (Rs 4.9 lakh crore).

Ambani, who owns 42% of Reliance, has benefited from a number of investments into the companys digital unit, Jio Platforms Ltd., that Reliance said has made it net-debt free ahead of a March 2021 target.

Ten firms including Facebook Inc., General Atlantic, Silver Lake Partners and KKR & Co. have poured a total USD 15.2 billion into Jio, pending regulatory clearances. Saudi Arabia-based Public Investment Fund (PIF) was the latest to invest, according to a statement from Jio on Thursday. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is said to invest Rs 11,367 crore for 2.32 per cent stake in the company.

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"RIL has raised over Rs 1,68,818 crore in just 58 days through investments by global tech investors (Rs 1,15,693.95 crore) and rights issue (Rs 53,124.20 crore)," the company said in a statement.

The deals have helped Ambani, Asia's richest man, make his flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. net debt-free ahead of his March 2021 deadline. Jio, Reliance's wireless unit, last year became India's biggest telecom operator by subscribers and plans to use its roughly 400 million customers as the cornerstone of e-commerce and digital business.

Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires rankings track the daily ups and downs in the fortunes of the worlds richest people. The value of individuals public holdings is updated every five minutes when respective stock markets are open. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops the list with a net worth of USD 160.4 billion followed by Bill Gates with USD 109.9 billion and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is fourth with USD 86.9 billion. Ambani is a notch above Google's co-founder Larry Page with his net worth at USD 64.5 billion.

Ambani's net worth rose to USD 64.6 billion after RIL's stock price hit an all-time high of Rs 1,738.95 a share on Friday. This occurred after he announced that RIL is now a net debt-free company. As on Friday end of the day, RIL became the first Indian company to be valued at USD 150 billion or Rs 11.52 lakh crore.

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The curator of parliament's art collection said the presentation of their artworks is being 'reevaluated', as many statues and paintings have a 'racist history' and were bought with wealth from the slave trade.

The Palace of Westminster lobbies, which are open to the public, are lined with artwork featuring 18th and 19th Century politicians, many of whom were connected to the slave trade.

Melissa Hamnett, the head of heritage collections and curator of works of art, said officials are looking at the presentation of the collection in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hamnett told The Guardian that parliamentarians were looking at how to present the UK's involvement in exploitation throughout the collection.

The Palace of Westminster (pictured, the Central Lobby) is lined with statues and artwork featuring 18th and 19th Century politicians, many of whom were connected to the slave trade

Former prime minister and founder of the modern police force Sir Robert Peel profited from slavery. Paintings of him are featured in Westminster Abbey (pictured) and in the Palace of Westminster

She said: 'The British empire is part of our story and we have to recognise that many of our collections have a racist history. Let's be honest about that colonial and imperial past and also look at the slave-owning wealth that endowed some of the artefacts.'

She added that the decision to remove some of the artwork would be considered on a 'case by case basis' by politicians on the Speaker's advisory committee on works of art.

This comes after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled into the River Avon in Bristol during a BLM protest.

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees confirmed the bust will be fished out of the river and put on display in a museum, alongside placards from recent protests to educate about the fight for racial equality.

The Melville Monument in Edinburgh, erected in honour of Henry Dundas, will not be removed but could have a new plaque dedicating the statue to those enslaved as a result of his actions. There was 'nothing about slavery' on the original plaque.

Other statues portraying former colonial leaders have also become the topic of debate, with Oxford's Oriel college voting to take down a statue of Cecil Rhodes.

Melissa Hamnett (pictured), the head of heritage collections and curator of works of art, said the Palace of Westminster is looking at the presentation of its art collection in light of the Black Lives Matter movement

Decision to remove some of the artwork (pictured, the Corridors of Power) will be considered on a 'case by case basis' by politicians on the Speaker's advisory committee on works of art

As part of the collection's ongoing work to improve its diversity, parliamentary authorities will also commissioning more artworks featuring black, Asian and minority ethnic and female MPs.

This has been a key element of its strategy since 2016, both in terms of the people pictured and the artists themselves.

Works from the '209 Women' project' and a drawing of Bernie Grant MP are two recent examples of the collection celebrating the diversity of those who contribute to Parliament.

University College London researchers revealed some 18th and 19th century politicians had links to slavery several years ago, proving that 469 MPs had profited and been compensated for their connection to the slave trade.

Former prime minister and founder of the modern police force Sir Robert Peel profited from slavery and is still heavily featured in Westminster.

William Gladstone, who is also portrayed in the palace's artwork, relied on income from his father John Gladstone, who was one of the largest slave owners in the British West Indies.

A painting of William Beckford, who was one of the 50 MPs to represent slave plantations, hangs in a members-only room in Westminster.

A painting of William Beckford (pictured), who was one of the 50 MPs to represent slave plantations, hangs in a members-only room in Westminster

Parliamentary authorities are looking at commissioning more artworks featuring black, Asian and minority ethnic and female MPs as part of their ongoing work to improve the diversity of the collection (pictured, Theresa May walks through the Palace of Westminster central lobby)

There has been an increase in the number of artworks featuring BAME politicians, including the former shadow secretary Diane Abbot, but many of these hang in Portcullis House, across the road from the Palace of Westminster.

On the parliamentary estate, only two of the 300 statues in the collection are of BAME individuals.

A bust of Learie Constantine, the first black peer, is currently on loan from another collection at Westminster.

Also featured is a recently commissioned bust of 18th century writer, abolitionist and former slave Olaudah Equiano.

Hamnett said parliament should tell and explain the monoracial truth of that period in the collection as 'we can't change history'.

Hywel Williams, the Plaid Cymru chair of the committee, said: 'The dilemma we have is a collection which is full of people with skeletons in the cupboard. But you don't defeat the past by removing its symbols - you use them for future referenced.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 18:57:06|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese foreign ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday expressed strong disapproval of and firm opposition against the interferences in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs by external forces in a statement.

The statement came in response to some unwarranted comments about Hong Kong made by some Western politicians, senior officials of international organizations and the European Parliament.

A spokesperson of the commissioner's office condemned such remarks in the statement, pointing out that safeguarding national security is the first and foremost factor of national sovereignty. No country would ever leave acts endangering national security on its territory unchecked, or allow loopholes in its national security mechanism and legislation to remain open.

Hong Kong is a special and local administrative region of China. As Hong Kong is unable to resolve on its own challenges jeopardizing national security and the majority of its residents' wellbeing, it is only just and legitimate and in line with the Constitution for the central authorities to legislate on national security for the HKSAR at the state level, the spokesperson stressed.

The spokesperson said that those who point fingers at China's affairs under the pretext of human rights and the rule of law have only exposed their arrogance and prejudice in interfering with other countries' internal affairs.

While proclaiming themselves as champions of human rights, the politicians have falsely pit the protection of human rights against the protection of national security, said the spokesperson.

Those politicians frequently cite the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, but ignore that the ICCPR mentions at least seven times that human rights, including freedoms of expression, assembly and association, can be subject to restrictions for the protection of national security, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson emphasized that the national security legislation for the HKSAR targets a small handful of criminal acts and activities endangering national security, while the safety and legitimate rights and freedoms of the majority of Hong Kong residents will be protected, so that they can enjoy the freedom from fear caused by violence, freedom to use Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway and visit shopping malls without worries, and freedom to speak the truth in public without being lynched by rioters.

While paying lip service to the rule of law, the politicians have shown no regard for the principle of non-interference, a principle of international law and a basic norm governing international relations, said the spokesperson.

"They (the politicians) frequently cite the Sino-British Joint Declaration, but ignore the fact that the document is essentially about China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and arrangements for the transitional period," said the spokesperson.

"No single word or clause in the document grants any country or international organization the right to meddle with Hong Kong affairs. The basic policies concerning Hong Kong in the document were unilaterally stated by China, have been embodied in the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and will continue to be upheld," said the spokesperson.

Emphasizing that at the core of "one country, two systems" is the mission to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, the spokesperson said "one country" is the prerequisite for and foundation of "two systems," while "two systems" derive from and are subordinate to "one country." Should the "one country" principle be undermined, "two systems" would be out of the question.

"No one shall ever underestimate the strong will and firm resolve of China to establish and improve a legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security," the spokesperson said. Enditem
New Delhi, June 20 : After training his guns at Rahul Gandhi for his "choice of words" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda on Saturday targetted Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, saying the opposition was "questioning" the Indian armed forces at "such a delicate time".

"It has been our party's history that we have always stood by the national leaders in times of crisis. But our Opposition, at such a delicate time, is questioning our forces and are trying to weaken the morale of the nation," alleged the BJP President while addressing a virtual rally for party cadres of Telangana.

During the all-party meeting on the India-China standoff on Friday, Sonia Gandhi had questioned the Modi government about "intelligence failure", saying, "In fact, even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis." Nadda also attacked Sonia Gandhi for Congress' sharp offensive against the Modi government for steep fuel price hike.

"Sonia Gandhi questioned the hike in petrol prices. Does she not know that it has been hiked in Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra also? Don't her CMs listen to her," Nadda said.

Nadda also raised the cause of Muslim women by mentioning the Triple Talaq Act.

"Nine crore Muslim women were still under the shackles of Triple Talaq. Working on SC's direction and backed by the will power of Prime Minister Modi, we managed to free all Muslim women from the atrocity of Triple Talaq," the BJP President said.

He added that Islamic countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and others did not have the practice of Triple Talaq, while India continued with it.

Nadda also hailed the Prime Minister's role during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, saying Modi was the first leader who called and initiated the G20 Summit to fight coronavirus.

"The whole world, be it UN, World Bank or WHO, praised Modi," Nadda said.

He also referred to the various initiatives, including PM-KISAN Yojna, 'Aatmanirbhar' package, among others, which have been introduced to help different sections of the society.
Janardhan Pattajoshi Mohapatra, who is the hereditary chief servitor of Lord Jagannatha of the Jagannatha Temple at Puri, Odisha, moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking recall of the top courts June 18 order which had barred holding of the annual Hindu festival of Rath Yatra this year in view of the threat posed by Covid-19 pandemic.

Mohapatra submitted that the Rath Yatra has an unbroken tradition and is an essential practice of the Jagannatha temple which the temple administrators should mandatorily observe under all circumstance.

Any interruption in the observance of this mandatory religious practice affects the very sanctity of the temple and all its future rituals as well as the faith of millions of devotees across the world who understand and revere the significance of the Rath Yatra, the application stated.

Also read: Puri Shankaracharya, priests want SC to review stay on Rath Yatra

Mohapatra, therefore, suggested that instead of imposing a blanket ban on the Rath Yatra and the festival and rituals associated with it, the festival can be held without public participation by imposing a curfew in Puri and closing the city borders.

If a curfew is imposed on the day of Rath Yatra and the Rathas are pulled with the help of earthmovers, the entire journey of Lord Jagannatha - from the Shri Jagannath Temple to Gundicha mandir - of around 2.8 kilometres can be completed in less than one hour. An absolute bar on the performance of such an essential ritual is not necessary to protect public health, the application filed through advocate Suvidutt Sundaram stated.

The Rath Yatra is a festival associated with Lord Jagannatha. It was scheduled to commence this year on June 23. The festival lasts for 10 to 12 days and involves a procession of chariots containing the deity Lord Jagannatha, his brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra.

The Supreme Court had ordered a stay on the festival and all activities associated with it this year stating that allowing the same would lead to a congregation of more than 10 lakh devotees in violation of social distancing norms which could compromise public health and safety amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This order was passed in a petition filed by an NGO, Odisha Vikas Parishad, which had moved the top court pointing out the public health risk involved if the annual event is allowed to take place.

The NGO referred to the Tablighi Jamaat incident - a religious congregation held in mid-March at the Nizamuddin area in Delhi - which led to a spurt in Covid-19 cases across the country after people from the Muslim community from all across the country and even from abroad had attended the event.

Of about 4,400 Covid-19 positive cases in India as on April 7, nearly one third were related to the religious gathering at the Markaz, Delhi. Thus, in order to avoid any similar instances of outbreak of Covid-19 cases, a religious gathering in the nature of Rath Yatra festival ought to be avoided, the petition had stated.

Having regard to the danger presented by such a large gathering of people for the Rath Yatra, we consider it appropriate in the interests of public health and safety of citizens who are devotees to restrain the respondents (state and district authorities and the managing committee of Jagannatha temple) from holding the Rath Yatra this year, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde had ordered.

The court had also directed that no such Rath Yatra should be allowed in any other part of Odisha.

Mohapatra pointed out that the Rath Yatra has been conducted under all circumstances since time immemorial including during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.

The Rath Yatra is an essential, mandatory, integral and indispensable religious practice which has scriptural sanction. Non-conduct of the Rath Yatra has consequences not only for the sanctity of the temple but also for the society in general, his application said.

He, therefore, suggested that the state government may make an announcement that the Rath Yatra will be conducted with absolutely no participation from the public and strict penal consequences will follow if any attempt is made to enter Puri during the Rath Yatra.

Arrangements for live-broadcasting of the Rath Yatra may be allowed like every year to enable crores of devotees across the world, including the residents of Puri, to have Darshan of the three deities, the plea said.
Calls for the removal of a bronze bench statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Charlottetown have reignited a local discussion on the role of monuments in commemorating people and events  how they shape our perception of the past and influence how we move forward into the future.

The statue, located at the entrance to Victoria Row, was at the centre of a city council meeting earlier this week, where councillors met, in part, to discuss public demands for its removal. That discussion was deferred to a later meeting. Similar calls to action have been made across the country and the U.S. about other statues and monuments following a reignited conversation surrounding cultural racism in Canada.

Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, is widely recognized as the architect of residential schools, which eventually separated more than 150,000 Indigenous children from their families across Canada. These church-run, government-funded schools were developed to prepare Indigenous children for white society.

The cost of assimilation was devastating, leaving thousands of Indigenous children physically, sexually and emotionally abused. The repercussions left by residential schools are still deeply felt across Canada. The last one was closed in 1996.

Library and Archives Canada/PA-042133

"There's no doubt that often there are parts of history that do get missed in our monuments and our statues that we see in the world," said Matthew McRae, acting director of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.

"It's important to remember, because a monument itself isn't history, a monument is an attempt to remember a particular, I guess, part of history and often a part of history in a particular way. And sometimes that history is widely agreed upon by everyone  and sometimes it might be in dispute."

'A real shift'

For his PhD in history at Western University, McRae studied commemoration in Canada, with a focus on veterans of the Louis Riel resistance and how they've been remembered.

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"I looked at how soldiers on both sides were commemorated or not commemorated," McRae said.

Since it's very difficult to idealize people, some people have suggested we could focus more on commemorating events and places and other things that don't have that same baggage attached.  Matthew McRae, P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation

"And what you did see of course is, for many years, Canadian soldiers who fought against Louis Riel and the Metis  you saw  they were the ones who got statues, they were the ones who were remembered, who published memoirs."

However, McRae said Canadian society's view of the rebellions and its veterans has shifted over time.

"At the start it was very much, 'We defeated the evil Louis Riel and prevented this  rebellion from taking over the country.' Now, you know, Louis Riel is often seen as another Father of Confederation and the Metis are generally seen as having been unjustly attacked by the Canadian state," he said.

"As a result of that there's been a real shift in who the heroes are and a real shift in who gets commemorated."

Library and Archives Canada

McRae said it speaks to how memory and perception shifts over time and highlights how history and the act of commemorating people and events from the past is limited to our viewpoint from the present.

"What often happens is that we'll commemorate a person, with a statue or with a plaque and kind of present them as an ideal. And then someone will say, 'Oh, but they did x or y, which wasn't an ideal,'" McRae said.

"There have been suggestions, since it's very difficult to idealize people, some people have suggested we could focus more on commemorating events and places and other things that don't have that same baggage attached."

'Only tell part of the story'

More often then not, monuments fail to show how complex historical people and moments are, said Omeasoo Wahpasiw, an assistant professor of Indigenous history at UPEI and a Cree member of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour United for Strength, Home and Relationships or BIPOC USHR.

Who is the audience and what are the multiple stories that we want to share and how is that affecting people walking by it every day?  Omeasoo Wahpasiw, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies at UPEI

"They only tell part of the story  and they signify only one story that took place at that particular location," she said.

"So they serve to remember things, but also erase other events that might have taken place, particularly Indigenous history."

For Wahpasiw, the discussion shouldn't be so much about dismantling monuments and statues but more about offering historical context.

"If we just took John A. Macdonald down and just pretended he never happened then we can't, as they say, learn from our mistakes," she said.

Wahpasiw, who is originally from Saskatoon, said it's also important to have monuments in unexpected places. She recalls a statue recognizing murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) located at the entrance of the city's police headquarters.

Dan Zakreski/CBC

"Our brains just accept what's sort of around us, so if we put certain things around us that remind us of important things we need to know, including monuments like that MMIWG monument, then those are the things that are on our minds as we go to work, as we go shopping," she said.

Wahpasiw also suggested that when individuals, groups or even society as a whole look to commemorate people or events, they need to think about who it's intended for and who benefits from it.

"Who is the audience and what are the multiple stories that we want to share and how is that affecting people walking by it every day?"

Place names tell a story

She also suggested there are alternate ways to commemorate  like place names  that don't necessitate physical structures like statues.

Place names look to restore traditional names, offer further historical context and reflect Indigenous culture in places that have taken on names established by European settlers.

Submitted by Sweet Moon Photography

For example in 2016, Manitoba approved 117 Indigenous place names. One of them was the new name, Weenipagamiksaguygun for Lake Winnipeg, the traditional Anishinabe name used by the Poplar River First Nation. And in 2017, Nunavut approved 625 new names in Inuktitut, in the Cape Dorset area.

A recent example on P.E.I. is an initiative led by L'nuey, an Island community organization with a mandate to preserve, protect and implement the rights of the Island's Mi'kmaq people. The project has developed new heritage signage for nine Island communities in a language that may be unfamiliar to many Islanders: Mi'kmaq. The place names were collected over the course of a two-year project in the early 2000s.

"Place names are similar to monuments, in representing and creating the environment that we're living in and how we're understanding and relating to our world," Wahpasiw said.

"Using Indigenous place names in Canada not only makes it more Indigenous but more Canadian, because otherwise we're just reflecting a history that doesn't really represent who Canadians are.

"A place name is really how we tell people where we are from."

Jessica Doria-Brown/CBC

History, and commemorating it in new and different ways, will continue to be a powerful opportunity to tell human stories and a way to understand the world, said McRae.

"That can be anything from a story about an amazing fossil that tells us all about a time millions of years ago, to a story like The Bog, that talks about a community that we can't physically see anymore," he said.

"You can't see it but you can learn that story."

More from CBC P.E.I.
AUSTIN, TX  Travis County Commissioners Court members at their meeting next week are scheduled to discuss a proposal from electric carmaker Tesla Inc. to build a manufacturing plant in the region's Eastern Crescent.

Details emerged this week of Tesla's interest to build the plant  a "Gigafactory" in its corporate nomenclature  on 2,100 acres straddling the State Highway 130 toll road. The plant would encompass between 4 million and 5 million square feet of space, according to an application submitted to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts  a copy of which was obtained by Patch.

The company is seeking financial inducements such as tax abatement from county officials to build the plant in the focused area, which is within the Del Valle ISD taxing jurisdiction. Company officials have conveyed the plant's construction would create some 5,000 jobs with an average salary of $47,147.

Del Valle ISD on May 26 approved accepting a Chapter 313 application for certain property tax incentives, accepting a $150,000 application fee from the carmaker as outlined in the comtroller's office filing.



As shown on the Travis County Commissioners Court website, discussion on the project dubbed the "Colorado River Project, LLC" is the 18th agenda item for the upcoming meeting scheduled Tuesday, June 23. Residents wishing to watch the discussion remotely can click here.

Screenshot of Travis County Commissioners Court agenda showing an entry for discussion on the Tesla plant scheduled on June 23.

The deal in the making has generated much buzz across the Austin area given Tesla's high profile. The upcoming commissioner's meeting will mark the first time the matter is formally discussed by a government body after the emergence of the Tesla-filed application at the state comptroller's office.

And yet, the matter is already generating controversy even in those nascent stages of development. Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy joined others in penning a strongly worded letter to the commissioners on Friday morning ahead of their meeting, essentially calling for them to "...slow down and review the ramifications of public subsidies for a new Tesla plant," official wrote in the correspondence, a copy of which was provided to Patch.

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Labor union officials framed their letter against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic to buttress their urging of caution. A pair of representatives provided statements apart from the correspondence to commissioners:

"You have to look strongly at the track record of a company and their commitment not just to public dollars, but to the community investment and actual return on jobs created, United Auto Workers Vice President Cindy Estrada said in a prepared statement. Tesla has a track record of collecting public subsidies from several states but not delivering on their promises. That is why it is important this time for Tesla to commit to community assurances for Travis County before getting subsidies. Things like paid sick leave are important not just to workers but the community as COVID-19 has shown.

Added United Auto Workers Region 8 Director Mitchell Smith: Its a buyer beware situation. If you look at the track record you have to wonder if this taxpayer money will result in the promised jobs. It is important to slow down at a time when governments are struggling with the budget effects of COVID-19 and make sure we have strong assurances to the community that these jobs will be good paying quality jobs, that there will be safety in the plant, and that there is a guaranteed community benefit.

The letter from union representatives reads:

"This week you have the difficult decision of discussing public monies in support of promised jobs. The UAW and organized labor have a long proud history in Texas working in tandem with employers where solid jobs are created and families and communities are supported through government investment and loans.

"But in the case of Elon Musk opening a new Tesla Cybertruck Gigafactory in Travis County it is important to look at the track record of the company involved. As such we have attached two documents for your review:

A Fact Sheet on Tesla Inc.s history with other government entities on public subsidies and deliverables in exchange for the subsidies.

A Community Assurance proposal that we believe will best protect and guide the citizens of Travis County should this investment be made.

"We believe in jobs and job development. But we also believe in the protection of taxpayer investment in those quality good-paying jobs. We appreciate your attention to this matter."

The letter is signed by Estrada and Smith along with Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO; Jason Lopez, president of the Austin Central Labor Council; and Carol Guthrie, business manager, AFSCME Local 1624.

Labor union officials provided Patch with their "Tesla Fact Sheet" on Tesla, ticking off a list of perceived inequities between what the company has offered in other locations versus the benefits to the various municipalities.

"Tesla has relied heavily on taxpayer subsidies while falling short on delivering on its commitments," officials wrote. "The company has repeatedly benefited from generous taxpayer support; Nevada, New York, California and the federal government have supported Tesla with billions in financial incentives. Yet states have paid a price for their generosity."

The officials also decry the use of financial inducements to lure business construction, citing a recent Bloomberg Businessweek analysis by economists questioning the notion of municipalities reaping broad economic growth as a result of granting tax breaks to prospecting firms.

For added measure, labor union officials categorized such tax inducements as nothing more than a "handout," in this case to billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, reported to have a personal net worth of $36 billion.

"We all welcome the creation of safe, well-paying jobs in our communities," officials wrote. "But there is no need for a billionaire entrepreneur to reach into the pockets of taxpayers. This is especially critical right now as state and local government treasuries have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic."

They called for Travis County Commissioners to be transparent in their dealings with the company: "Public officials discussions with Tesla should be open and transparent, and not shrouded in secrecy. Its taxpayer dollars  and the health of our state  that are at stake."

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch
As the world marks refugee day on Saturday, Syrian refugees in Lebanon have called on the United Nations to find a solution for the Syrian crisis and to send them back to their country.

In the town of Bar Elias near the Syrian border in East Lebanon, refugees in Al-Hindi camp are living in dire conditions and lacking food supplies.

The camp hosts 450 Syrian refugees from Homs, Damascus and Quneitra provinces who live in 68 tents.

Speaking to the Associated Press on Friday ahead of World Refugee Day, Khaled Shehada, a 68-year Syrian refugee from Homs province said people in the camp were living below the poverty line.

He pleaded with the United Nations to send him back to his country.

He said: "We have been here for ten years, it is becoming too long. With the current expensive life conditions here (in Lebanon) people are now below zero (poverty line)."

The influx of Syrian refuges to the small Middle Eastern neighbouring country Lebanon has weakened the vulnerable state and negatively impacted its economy and infrastructure.

Lebanon has suffered in recent years from a lack of economic growth, high unemployment and a drop in hard currency inflows from abroad.

But the financial crisis erupted after nationwide protests over widespread corruption and decades of mismanagement by the ruling political class engulfed the country in October last year.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' spokesperson in Lebanon, Lisa Abou Khaled called on the international community and donor countries to keep supporting Lebanon and the refugees.

Lebanon, a country with 5 million inhabitants, has absorbed more that 1.5 million Syrians since the start of the Syrian crisis nine years ago.
Vietnamese citizens in Angola wait for procedure to be handled before getting on the plane to return home (Source: VOV)



Passengers on the flight included children, the elderly, sick people, pregnant women, workers with expired visas and contracts.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Angola sent officers to the airport to assist citizens in making check-in procedures and solve arising issues.

Immediately after the flight landed in Van Don, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, all passengers and crew members were given health check and quarantined in line with regulations.

Earlier, the flight brought face masks and protective gear as gifts of the Vietnamese government to Angola.

Following instructions of the Prime Minister, Vietnamese agencies will continue to coordinate with representative agencies abroad to arrange more flights to take Vietnamese citizens back home based on citizens wish and domestic quarantine capacity./.
Justice Department proposes rolling back content protections for big tech companies

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The U.S. Department of Justice released a report on Wednesday recommending that Congress pass a law rolling back a longstanding legal protection for big tech companies regarding content control.

The DOJ report critically examins Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which gives immunity to tech companies from civil liability regarding content added or removed to their online platforms.

This immunity, according to the DOJ, has left online platforms both immune for a wide array of illicit activity on their services and free to moderate content with little transparency or accountability.

Reform is important now more than ever, states the report. We must ensure that the internet is both an open and safe space for our society.

Rather than eliminate the section, the DOJ recommended a measured yet significant recalibration of Section 230 immunity which would clarify and restore the original objective of the statute and give clearer guidance to platforms and courts.

Among the recommendations, the DOJ report advises deleting the phrase otherwise objectionable to Section 230s list of content that platforms can censor with immunity.

The vagueness of the term otherwise objectionable risks giving every platform a free pass for removing any and all speech that it dislikes, without any potential for recourse by the user, the DOJ report continues.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order denouncing selective censorship by social media websites, saying it was harming our national discourse.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events; to censor, delete, or disappear information; and to control what people see or do not see, read the order.

Tens of thousands of Americans have reported, among other troubling behaviors, online platforms flagging content as inappropriate, even though it does not violate any stated terms of service; making unannounced and unexplained changes to company policies that have the effect of disfavoring certain viewpoints; and deleting content and entire accounts with no warning, no rationale, and no recourse.

For years, conservative groups and individuals have charged that Facebook, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube have been unfairly targeting them for censorship, temporary suspensions, demonetization, and other punishments.

For their part, social media platforms have responded that these incidents tended to be mistakes in their programs and often have sought to remedy the situation.

During a Senate hearing last year, Neil Potts, public policy director at Facebook, denied that there was an overt political bias at the social media company, but admitted that an unconscious bias likely exists at Facebook.

There is the room for unconscious bias that we do not recognize, he said, adding that at the San Francisco headquarters of Facebook we would probably have more liberals or people who identify as Democrats than we do as Republicans.

At the same hearing, Carlos Monje, director of public policy at Twitter, denied that an anti-conservative bias exists at the company and said some politically progressive users had expressed similar complaints.

We honored the ideas that were part of the Honest Ads Act and agree with the idea that political advertising should be more transparent, Monje said at the time.

In the process of setting that up, a number of accounts got caught up in that. It included three current Democratic candidates for president and a major national pro-choice group.

In February, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against the conservative group PragerU in its lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

The panel unanimously concluded that YouTube could censor conservative content if it wanted to because as a private forum, the video-sharing site was not bound by the First Amendment.

Despite YouTubes ubiquity and its role as a public facing platform, it remains a private forum, not a public forum subject to judicial scrutiny under the First Amendment, concluded the court.

PragerU runs headfirst into two insurmountable barriersthe First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent. Just last year, the Court held that merely hosting speech by others is not a traditional, exclusive public function and does not alone transform private entities into state actors subject to First Amendment constraints.
The new Ford F-150 is expected to include an airline-style sleeper seat that will recline all the way back when it is finally revealed on June 25.

Ford Motor Co will next week showcase the next generation of its brawny F-150 pickup truck that will offer the new sleeper-seat feature as well as over-the-air wireless software updates.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker is counting on the 2021 14th generation of the machine to help pay off coronavirus-related debts.

Ford is not taking big risks with the exterior look of the new truck given its sales dominance, instead focusing on improving the interior, according to those who have seen it.

Ford has so far only released this black and white image of the 2021 F-150 which is due to be officially revealed on Thursday. It is rumored the vehicle will feature a sleeper seat

A current Ford-150 coming off the assembly line on May 18. The automaker has ramped back up production following eight weeks of shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic

One prominent feature will be the lay-flat passenger seat like those seen in first-class cabins on some planes, said a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified.

'You can basically live in the truck,' the person said.

According to Fox, it is not clear if the seat can be used while the vehicle is in motion, due to safety requirements, but could be used for sleeping while parked or for overnight camping.

The latest model of the truck also plays catch-up with competitors Tesla Inc and General Motors Co, who moved faster on over-the-air software upgrades and high-speed in-vehicle data networks.

The over-the-air software eradicates the needs for the vehicles to be brought to a dealership to update key modules controlling the vehicle as it can now be done with wireless technology.

It is expected to bring the technology squarely into the mainstream.

'It's really about technology and productivity,' Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said at a Deutsche Bank conference on June 10, according to Reuters.

Ford's nicer interior, including a larger display screen, follows a similar move by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV with its new Ram truck, which received enthusiastic reviews for its stylish interior and optional 12-inch display screen.

'Ram taught everybody a little bit of a lesson,' said Rhett Ricart, owner of Ricart Ford in Columbus, Ohio.

'The old 5-inch screen for your navigation and radio controls is gone. They're all going to be 10-, 12-, 15-inch screens. That was started by Tesla.'

The new truck's connectivity also will help Ford boost sales to commercial customers, and reduce warranty costs, Farley told investors.

The new F-150, part of the best-selling vehicle line in the United States for the past 40 years, accounts for $50 billion in annual revenue and a significant share of Ford's annual profit.

According to Detroit News, Ford sold nearly 900,000 F-Series trucks last year compared to 633,694 sales of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram pickup and 575,600 sales of General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Silverado.

The new truck, expected to launch later this year, is a critical plank in Farley's plan to slash $5 billion in warranty costs, speed Ford's push into vehicle connectivity and add the automaker's already-strong position in the North American commercial vehicle market.

Ford has borrowed more than $20 billion to ride out the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic.

Profit from the new F-150 will be key to paying that money back.

Ford is hoping that profit from the new F-150 will help to pay back the $20 billion the company borrowed to ride out the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured is the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where the F-150 14th generation will be produced

Ford is scheduled to publicly show for the first time the new F-150 online on June 25 but released a preview Friday as a teaser.

The computer-generated image only showed the darkened profile of the new F-150's front end and no other features were visible except for LEDs.

A disclaimer with the image noted that the representation is of a pre-production model.

The F-Series truck has been around since 1948, while the F-150 debuted in 1975.

Sales of the current version have remained strong despite its age, and the new model could help Ford hold or even build its position in the segment, said Sandy Munro, chief executive of Michigan-based consulting firm Munro & Associates.

'If they add the same stuff as what Ram did and if they can add more stuff like Tesla's doing, there'll be a gigantic gap between Ford, and Ram and Chevy,' he said.

The key for Ford will be to avoid the kinds of costly production problems that hobbled the launch of the new Explorer SUV last year.

Ford acknowledged it erred in trying to launch the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator simultaneously while breaking in a new assembly line at its 95-year-old plant in Chicago.

Farley has been visiting the plants in Dearborn, Michigan, and Kansas City, Missouri, that will build the new F-150.

Despite delays related to the virus, he said the launch is in 'really good shape.'

On Friday, Ford revealed that it would be back to full production capacity in Detroit, two weeks earlier than previously scheduled.

It also announced that it is delaying its first glimpse of the new Ford Bronco to July 13, pushing it back four days from the original plan of July 9.

It came after the company was slammed by Nicole Brown Simpson's sister over plans to release it on OJ Simpson's 73rd birthday - 26 years after it became famous as his getaway car amid his double murder charges.
(Newser)  An Oakland professor is on administrative leave after urging a student to "anglicize" her namewhich he said "sounds like an insult in English." Matthew Hubbard, who teaches math at Laney College, told the Vietnamese student by email to change her name, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "Could you Anglicize your name," he wrote her, per a Twitter post. "Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English." But the student, Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, wrote back that his "request ... feels discriminatory and I will move forward with filing a complaint with the Title IX Office if you can not refer to me by my given birth name."

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Yet Hubbard doubled down, writing that if he lived in Vietnam and had a similar name, he "would change it to avoid embarrassment both on my part and on the part of the people who had to say it. I understand you are offended, but you need to understand your name is an offensive sound in my language. I repeat my request." After the email chain went viral, Laney College said Thursday that Hubbard was put on leave pending an investigation. Hubbard hasn't spoken to the media, but Phuc tells ABC7 that she was looking forward to using her real name in college after going by the nickname "May" for years. "He's being an ignorant person and not trying to learn my name," she says, adding that "it means happiness, blessing." (Read more names stories.)


Rebel Wilson hates that men get very "intimidated" by her.

The 'Pitch Perfect' star has insisted she is the "nicest, most down-to-earth person" and finds it frustrating that men won't date her because they feel "uncomfortable" with her as she is a comedian.

She said: "I feel like I'm the nicest, most down-to-earth person. But you can see it in their eyes, they get very intimidated. And I don't know why. Do they think I'm gonna make a joke about them at the BAFTAs or something? I don't know."I think the psychology behind it is that comedy is power. If you've got the ability to make people laugh, you have an inherent sense of power with that. And sometimes men feel uncomfortable with women having that. But of course, women have always been funny and talented. Maybe that's scary."

And the 40-year-old actress says funny men are "never interested" in her, something which she finds really bizarre.

Speaking to the independent.co.uk, she added: "I've come across a weird thing romantically. I've often been interested in funny men, but funny men are never interested, romantically, in funny women. Never."And I don't quite understand, because people always say they value a sense of humour in a person, but yet when a woman is funny."

Meanwhile, Rebel previously insisted she is "still single".

She said: "I'm not on it [the dating site] though because I would clearly get bombarded, yet I'm still single. I try to help people date better in America because people do crazy stuff over there ... Tips like not ghosting people, not just sending eggplant emoji ... More common sense but you'd be surprised!"
New Delhi, Jun 19 (UNI) Soon after attending the All Party meeting convened by the Government on the India-China standoff in Galwan valley on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that all party meeting has an unequivocal message that India is one, when it comes to national security.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, he posted, 'All parties are proud of our armed forces, their velour and have full faith in them to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity.'

The UNION Minister also said that the all party meeting on Friday evening was enriched by the views of various esteemed leaders.

'It was a manifestation of PM@narendramodis commitment to take all political stakeholders along, when it comes to key matters involving Indias strategic interest,' Mr Shah said in another tweet.

In an all party meeting, the Prime Minister denied that Chinese intrusion across the Line of Actual Control.

'Neither has anyone entered our border, nor any of our posts has been in possession of anyone else,' Mr Modi said.



UNI AKS RJ 2312
Fundamentally, the fundraising indeed warrants for rerating in the stock as unlocking of value by listing Jio and Reliance Retail will create wealth for its shareholders from a 3 to 5-year perspective, Umesh Mehta, Head of Research, Samco Securities, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand.

Q) We are back above 10,000 levels, but the market is facing some resistance above 10200 levels. What led to the rally on D-Street in the week gone by despite negative news related to COVID, Fitch rating, and the India-China border dispute?

A) Despite the negative news, Indian bourses witnessed momentum mainly because of Reliance Industries which is among the top 3 constituents by weight in Nifty50.

The huge amount of investments by foreign players in Jio platforms led to the big move which kept markets afloat despite other tensions.

Additionally, short-covering moves by institutional investors in the frontline index heavyweights also led to the rise contrary to general sentiment.

Q) What are the important levels which investors should watch out for in the coming week which is also an expiry week?

A) The Nifty faces strong resistance at 10,500 levels which forms 61.8% retracement of the entire fall. The range of 10000 to 10500 is very crucial for the markets in the near term as a sudden movement in either direction could give Indian bourses a new direction. However, next weeks expiry is likely to be below 10500.

Q) The big news of Friday was RIL which has become debt-free and proposes to list Jio and Retail business in the next 5 years. What are your view and do you think it warrants for a rerating of the stock?

A) Fundamentally, the fundraising indeed warrants for rerating in the stock as unlocking of value by listing Reliance JIO and Retail will create wealth for its shareholders from a 3 to 5-year perspective.

However, the current 94% rally in the past 3 months is unsustainable as the human mind can easily extrapolate but markets act differently all the time.

Investors think stock prices will move in a straight line but realistically it has its own ups and downs. And, a realistic growth path for RIL although is higher in the long term but in the short, to medium term, it will largely underperform and disappoint investors who invest at higher levels.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

Q) Small & midcaps outperform benchmark indices in the week gone by. Is it the valuation which is fueling optimism in the small & midcaps space?

A) Yes, the past 2-3 years of underperformance have indeed made valuations of small and midcap companies attractive.

Low hanging fruits are being lapped up and thats the rally we are currently seeing although if markets continue to move higher, we will witness further steam in the form of higher returns rather than alpha generation.

But, for ultra-long term investment, it is better to stick to large caps because those will certainly survive the new normal post-Covid-19.

Q) What is your call on the telecom space post the SC AGR hearing? Banking and financial stocks saw a big boost on Thursday. What are your views?

A) As far as telecom is concerned, the liability due to AGR is given and has to be paid. Although the payment schedule may differ due to the Supreme Court intervention.

Therefore, such decisions may create short term ripples but long-term fundamentals will only get better if companies are able to quickly improve their ARPUs which will be a key driver for the stocks to move higher.

Currently, this space has overreacted and valuations are rich which keeps little room for upside in the near term.

Regarding banks and financials, eventually, the RBI will be able to put forth its point in the interest of all stakeholders, and the Supreme Court is expected to take a rational view. Let us see how it unfolds.

Q) I would require a view on three stocks  Dixon Technologies, GMM Pfaudler and Adani Green. These stocks have been hitting fresh 52-week highs almost on a daily basis. What is driving the rally in these pockets?

A) All the 3 stocks are witnessing movement due to fundamentals. Dixon Technologies consumer ancillary business is attracting huge contracts from global companies for the Make In India drive that the Government is propagating. Scalable manufacturing is causing its stock price to move higher.

GMM Pfaudler is also experiencing run-up in price because it is a major supplier in the pharmaceutical and chemicals space with a budding order book.

Adani Green on the other hand bagged the worlds largest solar bid for building a 8000MW PV power plant along with a domestic plant of 2000MW. The humongous order is a big positive for the Company.

Q) We are living in a scary world where suicides have become common. In the financial world, we have seen a recent one that a 20-year-old Robinhood trader commits suicide after app shows $730,000 negative balance. Anything special if you are doing to make trading more safe, and avoid instances like these here in India?

A) The latest breed of tech-driven brokers, especially discount brokers, have solid risk management policies in place which certainly protect investors interest and restricts their losses to the extent of their capital.

However, in general, we have seen during economic downturns, bear markets, and pessimism, suicides and deaths of not only traders but in general, numbers are higher.

Because the ultimate outcome of downturns is sadness, disappointment, and unhappiness which causes humans to take such extreme steps.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
 Flash

Caravanning is becoming a trendy and safe alternative to traditional holiday plans in Turkey amid the current uncertain tourism season during the coronavirus pandemic.



A Caravan Park project was prepared in the Black Sea province of Trabzon for enthusiasts of caravans to establish such parks at highlands in the area and on the beaches for holiday makers who prefer to stay away from crowds for the concerns of the ongoing health crisis.

The project, supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, is expected to expand to 34 provinces across the country in two years, said the project manager Ali Kaan, adding the understanding of tourism has changed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

"There are about 6 million caravans in Europe. Our country cannot even reach 1 percent of it. We want to realize the project within two years and promote Turkey as a caravan tourism option for the European tourists," Kaan noted, according to local reports.

Sait Aksoy, a retiree from over 25 years of hard work in the Turkish public service, got himself a caravan several years ago after realizing that he did not want to confine himself in an apartment in a big city.

"I bought myself a motor caravan and I moved around quite a bit in the country. Now I am very happy with my choice. My friends are calling to ask me about my experience and where they can hire a caravan for holidays in Turkey," he told Xinhua on the phone.

According to Aksoy, there are many caravan parks in Turkey, especially in provinces on the coast of the Aegean sea and the Mediterranean, where Turkey's most popular holiday resorts are located.

"I recommend this form of tourism, especially during this pandemic. People need something different," he noted, calling on authorities to invest more in this alternative form of tourism and construct more parking lots.

Turkey is gradually resuming air and road travels with the rest of the world after a nearly three-month lockdown, as the country is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 5,000 people and infected over 180,000 in the country.

However, new infections have worryingly jumped in the last week amid doctors' warning of a second wave of infections, causing concerns among tourism professionals.

Because of the outbreak, domestic and foreign tourists are mostly hesitant to go on holidays this year, making it very difficult for Turkey's economy, as tourism is a vital sector of the Turkish economy, accounting for some 10 percent of the country's GDP.

"COVID-19 has increased the demand for caravan tourism instantly," Leyla Ozdag, president of Turkey's Caravan Tourism Federation, told semi-official Anadolu Agency, calling on the government to improve standards of the infrastructures to develop camping and caravan tourism.

Turkey had many camping spots in the 1990s, especially along beaches in the country's southern province of Antalya, but they have given way to hotels over time, she noted.




First revealed by the Bavarian automaker late last year, 2020 2 Series Gran Coupe now serves as the brand's smallest and most affordable four-door in the Philippines and is aimed squarely against the Mercedes-Benz CLA . Now underpinned by the brand's new UKL platform, the 2 Series has gone from rear-wheel-drive to front-wheel-drive and gets a stylish makeover inside and out.

BMW's newest four-door has arrived in the Philippines. SMC Asia Car Distributors Corporation, the official distributor of BMW in the country, has just revealed 2020 2 Series Gran Coupe, marking the company's first-ever digital vehicle launch in the country.

Starting with its exterior design, the all-new 2 Series features a similar look akin to the 1 Series revealed last February. A huge kidney front grille, eye-catching LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, along with a sporty front bumper give the four-door its unmistakable look.

If the front fascia bears a resemblance to the smaller 1 Series, the rear of the 2 Series Gran Coupe borrows some styling cues from the 8 Series thanks to its L-shaped LED taillights and sculpted rear bumper. Further giving the 2 Series Gran Coupe's sportier looks are the 17-inch double-spoke alloy wheels, and high-gloss shadowline trim on the windows.

In terms of size, the 2 Series Gran Coupe measures 4526mm long, 1800mm wide, 1420mm tall, and has a 2670mm wheelbase.

Those familiar with the 1 Series' interior will find the amenities on the 2 Series familiar and inviting. From its leather-wrapped, three-spoke steering wheel, power-adjustable front sport seats with memory function for the driver, velour floor mats, LED interior ambient lighting, and Sensatec leather upholstery, the 2 Series Gran Coupe delivers a sporting flair for its occupants.

On the technology front, it comes with dual-zone automatic climate control, 8.8-inch touchscreen with iDrive, automated parking assist for parallel or perpendicular parking, front and rear parking sensors, reverse camera, and the optional Comfort Access which can automatically open the tailgate with a wave of the foot below the rear bumper.

Need to carry plenty of goods on the 2 Series? It has 430 liters of luggage space (40-liters more than the previous Coupe) which can be extended further by folding down the 40:20:40 split rear seats at the back.

Under the hood, the 2 Series Gran Coupe only comes with one engine option, the 218i. It's a 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder engine that makes 140 PS along with 220 Nm of torque. Power is then sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe retails for PhP 2,990,000 and is available in the following colors: Alpine White, Black Sapphire, Melbourne Red, and Mineral Gray. As with all new BMWs, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is covered by a 200,000 km/5-year warranty.
Jelena Subotic, Yellow Star, Red Star. Holocaust Remembrance after Communism, Cornell University Press 2019.

All over the world, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the drive by the bourgeoisie toward authoritarian forms of rule and far-right policies. Under these conditions, the struggle against the resurgence of fascism that the ICFI has taken up in the past six years is assuming ever greater political significance.

Yellow Star, Red Star

A new book by political scientist Jelena Subotic (Georgia State University) examines the relation between the criminalization of communism in Croatia, Serbia and Lithuania and the legitimization of fascism after the fall of the Stalinist regimes in 1989. Though fatally flawed by its equation of Stalinism with communism, and the authors reluctance to discuss the social character of the restoration of capitalism, the book provides valuable material that demonstrates the close relationship between capitalist counterrevolution and the rise of fascist forces.

Subotic focuses her account on developments in the former Yugoslavia and Lithuania, which was formerly part of the Soviet Union. In both the former Yugoslavia and the Eastern Europe, the Nazis were able to mobilize and count on the support of local fascist forces above all in their war on the Soviet Union and the communist partisan movement, as well as their persecution of Jews, Roma and other minorities. In Croatia and Serbia, the establishment of nation states on the basis of the restoration of capitalism and the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, was accompanied by a systematic promotion of the very fascist forces that had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

The Nazis invaded Yugoslavia on April 1, 1941, a few months before the beginning of the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union, on June 22, 1941. In Serbia, the nationalist Chetnik army (Yugoslav Army), though formally aligned with the Allies until 1943, began collaborating with the Wehrmacht already in the fall of 1941. It played a critical role in the fight against the partisan movement against the fascist occupation, and helped run the Semlin camp, where thousands of Jews were murdered in gas vans. Serbia thus became the second country in Europe, after Estonia, to be declared judenfrei and free of gypsies by August 1942. Less than 5,000 Serbian Jews survived the war.

Chetniks killing a partisan during World War II

The collaborating Serbian government of Milan Nedic endorsed the genocide of the Jewish population. In 1942, Nedic stated: Owing to the occupier, we have freed ourselves of Jews, and it is now up to us to rid ourselves of other immoral elements standing in the way of Serbias spiritual and national unity. (quoted pp. 523)

After 1989, the Serbian state criminalized the communist resistance movement against the Nazis and the Chetniks while rehabilitating Nedic. History textbooks now describe the Chetniks as national patriots and an antifascist movement from the right.

In Croatia, the promotion of the fascist Ustasa has assumed even more staggering dimensions. The Ustasa movement set up the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in 1941 and established an expansive camp system which included 26 concentration and death camps. Among these was the Sisak camp, the only camp for unaccompanied children in Europe during World War II, where an estimated 1,600 children died. The most notorious Ustasa-run camp was Jasenovac, also called the Auschwitz of the Balkans.

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Ustasa regime murdered between 77,000 and 99,000 people at Jasenovac, among them between 45,000 and 52,000 Serbs, up to 20,000 Jews, 20,000 Roma and up to 12,000 political and religious opponents of the NDH. The Ustasa and the Nazis were defeated by the partisan movement that was headed by Tito.

Almost immediately after the break-up of Yugoslavia, the newly created Croatian state moved toward criminalizing the partisan movement against the Ustasa. Streets, schools and public buildings were renamed almost overnight to carry the names of famous Croatian figures of the NDH, instead of those of famous partisans and communist leaders. Monuments for Jewish victims and the partisan movement were destroyed and vandalized. This included a bombing attack on the monument at Jadovno in 1991. History textbooks in schools are openly glorifying the Ustasa.

Subotic acknowledges that the accession of these states to the EU served above all to further these practices and provided the basis for their expansion. In particular, she draws attention to the equation of the crimes of communism and fascism in the 2008 EU Prague Declaration, which catered to and encouraged far-right tendencies.

Ustasha members robbing inmates of Jasenovace of their belongings upon their arrival

In southeastern Europe, the Jasenovac death camp has been at the center of this revisionism. In a state-backed campaign, Jasenovac has been depicted as a camp which was entirely harmless under the Ustasa but then allegedly turned into a death factory under Tito. The former Croatian prime minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic, himself a former member of the pro-Ustasa Croatian Pure Party of Rights, has denied that it was a death camp and called the partisan antifascist victory in WWII the biggest loss in Croatias history. (137)

Similar developments occurred in Lithuania, which had earlier formed part of the Soviet Union. During World War II, 95 percent of the Lithuanian Jewish community were murdered, the highest rate in all of Europe. This was not least of all due to the mass participation of Lithuanian nationalists and fascists who were virulently anti-Semitic. For them, the Nazi occupation was a welcome opportunity to murder both the Jewish population and fight against the threat of social revolution. In a pre-war manifesto, the Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF) stated that by restoring the new Lithuania, [the LAF] is determined to carry out an immediate and fundamental purging of the Lithuanian nation and its land of Jews, parasites and monsters. (quoted p. 155)

Much like the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B) in Ukraine, the LAF began massacres of the Jews before the German Wehrmacht arrived. Later, many of its units were reorganized by the Germans into police battalions which were tasked with the extermination of Lithuanian Jews. SS Einsatzgruppen, which perpetrated mass shootings of Jews and communists, also worked with the Lithuanian Security Police. At the Ponary forest, at least 72,000 Jews were murdered. Already in December 1941, the commander of the Einsatzkommando 3, Karl Jager, reported that, the objective of clearing Lithuania of Jews was virtually completed thanks to the cooperation of the Lithuanian Partisans and Civil Authority. (158)

Immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the new Lithuanian ruling class that had emerged from the Stalinist bureaucracy made the rehabilitation and glorification of these forces a priority of state policy. One of the very first actions of the new parliament consisted in rehabilitating Lithuanians convicted of collaborating with the Nazis by the Soviets. Jonas Noreika, who had signed deportation orders for Jews, was declared a national hero. The Lithuanian government championed the double genocide narrative, which justifies Lithuanian collaboration in the Holocaust as an understandable response to the alleged genocide perpetrated against Lithuanians by communist Jews in 194041.

This anti-Semitic trope of Judeo-Communism, which was also central to Nazi ideology, is now dominating official commemorations of the war in Lithuania. The Lithuanian government has also initiated several trials against survivors of the Holocaust who joined the Soviet partisan movement. In 2007, the Lithuanian state prosecutor initiated an investigation against the famous historian of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, Yitzhak Arad, for war crimes that he allegedly perpetrated as a member of the Soviet partisans against Lithuanian nationalist troops. Leading Lithuanian newspapers slandered him as an NKVD storm trooper. Similar proceedings were initiated against Rachel Margolis and Fania Brantsovskaya, who had likewise fled the Nazi genocide by joining the Soviet partisans.

Jewish partisans in Lithuania

The material that Subotic provides is a damning indictment of the outcome of the restoration of capitalism after 19891991 and the state of European politics more generally. However, she herself clearly does not want this conclusion to be drawn and avoids, throughout the entire book, even using terms like capitalism and imperialism.

There is no attempt at any coherent reckoning with the social and political character of both the Stalinist regimes and the restoration of capitalism in 19891991. Although Subotic correctly emphasizes the right-wing implications of the criminalization of communism, she herself makes no distinction between Stalinism and communism. This renders her vulnerable to the very right-wing narratives that she takes issue with as they, too, rest above all upon the false equation of Stalinism and communism. Indeed, her discussion of Lithuania includes multiple formulations that can hardly be described other than apologetic. Thus, she writes that the double genocide narrative was for Lithuanians the only way to make sense of their twentieth-century experience. This both relativizes and obscures what has taken place.

What happened in the USSR and the deformed workers states in Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia in the late 1980s and early 1990s was not, as Subotic suggests, a flawed development toward democracy, but rather the completion of the Stalinist counterrevolution against October 1917. Historical revisionism and the rehabilitation of the fascist traditions of the Eastern European bourgeoisie have been an intrinsic component of this process.

The restoration of capitalism had its origins in the nationalist betrayal of the October revolution on the basis of socialism in one country, a direct repudiation of the internationalist and Marxist program of world socialist revolution that had formed the basis of 1917. In the inter-war period, the Stalinist betrayals of the workers movement and promotion of national opportunism had devastating consequences for the socialist revolution in Europe, facilitating the rise of Hitler to power and the outbreak of the Second World War.

In the 1930s, the Great Terror under Stalin saw the most far-reaching mass murder of revolutionaries and socialists that history has ever seen. Among its victims were thousands of Soviet Trotskyists, almost the entire leadership and cadre of the Bolshevik Party of October 1917, as well as much of the leadership and rank-and-file of the Communist parties of Yugoslavia, Poland, Lithuania and other countries in Eastern Europe. Leon Trotsky, the leader of the Marxist opposition to Stalinism and founder of the Fourth International, was assassinated in 1940. These crimes created enormous confusion within the international working class and played a central role in beheading the working class in the revolutionary struggles of the mid-1940s.

The Red Army and the partisans in Yugoslavia were able to drive out the Nazis and local fascists by 194344 not because of the Stalinist regime, but in spite of it. Mass struggles of the working class in opposition to fascism and capitalism erupted starting in 1942, with mass factory occupations taking place in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. All of Greece was engulfed in a bitter civil war. However, the lack of a revolutionary leadership allowed the Stalinists to stifle these movements, creating the conditions for the re-stabilization of capitalism on a world scale.

The Stalinist bureaucracy moved to nationalize private property in Eastern Europe only by 19471948, facing enormous pressure from imperialism. However, its main priority remained the strangling of an independent revolutionary mass movement of the working class against capitalism that would also threaten a political revolution against the bureaucracys rule in the USSR by the Soviet working class. The regimes that were set up on this basis were deformed workers states. In Yugoslavia, Titos Communist Party, which had come to power as a result of a mass social revolutionary movement, established a deformed workers state. Like the bureaucracy in the USSR and Eastern Europe, it remained dedicated to the program of socialism in one country while trying to balance between the Soviet bureaucracy and imperialism.

By the late 1980s, these regimes were facing collapse, and the bureaucracies, fearing a political revolution from the working class, moved toward fully integrating themselves into the world capitalist system. As Trotsky had predicted in his Revolution Betrayed, this process entailed the transformation of the bureaucracies into a new ruling class and the destruction of all social conquests that had been bound up with the 1917 revolution. Politically and ideologically, the restoration involved a return of the bourgeoisies in South Eastern and Eastern Europe to their historical traditions of extreme nationalism and fascism, and a close collaboration with imperialism.

Yugoslavia was a particularly stark example of this process. In its drive toward restoration, the bureaucracy systematically promoted ethnic nationalism and appealed to imperialism. The result was a decade of ethnic massacres, civil wars, and NATO bombings that cost the lives of tens of thousands of people. It is in on this historical and social basis that the falsification of history and promotion of fascist ideology became central to the politics of these new bourgeois states.

None of this is mentioned in the book. Moreover, Subotic leaves out the massive involvement of the German state and bourgeoisie in this process of the rehabilitation of fascism and historical revisionism. However, German right-wing intellectuals and politicians have anticipated, encouraged and then used the far-right developments in Eastern Europe to further the rehabilitation of Nazism.

It was the German historian Ernst Nolte, who in the 1980s, before 19891991, advanced the argument that the crimes of the Nazis were a legitimate response to the processes of violence of the Russian revolution. Noltes argument that Auschwitz was nothing but a response to the violence allegedly unleashed by the Russian Revolution was but a variation of the fascist argument, analyzed at length by Subotic, that Nazism and fascism more broadly were legitimate and necessary responses to communism.

Although Noltes falsifications were rejected by historians at the time, the destruction of the GDR and reunification of Germany in 1990 provided a major impetus for the return of German militarism. The break-up of Yugoslavia provided the pretext for the first German military intervention since the end of World War II, first in Croatia and then in Kosovo. In 1998, the well-known German writer Martin Walser declared in a widely publicized speech that there should be an end to using Auschwitz as a moral cudgel against Germany and opposed the erection of a Holocaust monument in Berlin. Shortly thereafter, a major exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht during World War in the late 1990s was shut down. In 2000, Nolte was awarded the Adenauer Price of the Deutschland-Stiftung (Germany Foundation), which had close ties to the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The Prague Declaration of 2008, which called for Europe-wide condemnation of, and education about, the crimes of communism was a major step toward officially legitimizing the views of Nolte. Subotic mentions it as a legitimization of the far-right policies of the governments in Lithuania, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. However, she does not discuss its contents or the fact that its co-initiator was the former head of the Stasi Records Agency Joachim Gauck who would soon thereafter become the president of Germany and play a major role in the resurgence of German militarism.

The Declaration called for a recognition that many crimes committed in the name of Communism should be assessed as crimes against humanity serving as a warning for future generations, in the same way Nazi crimes were assessed by the Nuremberg Tribunal, and proposed adjustment and overhaul of European history textbooks so that children could learn and be warned about Communism and its crimes in the same way as they have been taught to assess the Nazi crimes. Statements of support for this declaration were issued by Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France, the former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and the then US national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Since 2014, the German bourgeoisie has ever more aggressively pursued a policy of remilitarization. This has gone hand in hand with systematic historical revisionism of the crimes of the Nazi regime. At the Munich Security Conference in January 2014, Joachim Gauck declared that there had to be an end to German military restraint. Just a few weeks later, a pro-Western government was installed in Kiev through a fascist-led coup that was supported by both Germany and the US. At the same time, the right-wing extremist professor Jorg Baberowski from Berlins Humboldt University declared in Der Spiegel that Nolte had been done an injustice, that he had been historically right, and that Hitler was not vicious.

Former German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right) with Arsenyi Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian prime minister and member of the Ukrainian neo-fascist Svoboda party, in 2014

These developments have been accompanied by a combination of complicity, silence and complacency by academics in the US and Germany, moods and tendencies to which Subotic ultimately adapts. There is no other way to explain why Subotic avoids acknowledging the extent to which the same far-right historical revisionism she criticizes in Eastern Europe have been legitimized and accepted in American and German academia. At several points in her book, she favorably quotes the American Professor Timothy Snyder (Yale University), who was one of the most prominent academic supporters of the 2014 coup in Ukraine. His book Bloodlands (2010) resurrected and legitimized the very narrative equating communism and fascism that Subotic criticizes in Croatia or Lithuaniaa fact that can hardly have been lost on her.

Thus, although Yellow Star, Red Star provides valuable material on the resurgence of fascist forces, those interested in truly understanding and fighting these developments will have to turn to studying the extensive record of the ICFIs struggle against the Stalinist counterrevolution and historical revisionism.

Read Christoph Vandreier, Why Are They Back, Historical Falsification, Political Conspiracy, and the Return of Fascism in Germany, available from Mehring Books.
Actor Kirti Kulhari, who is currently basking in the success of the second season of Four More Shots Please! has an interesting line-up of projects.

While she is waiting for the shoots to resume, she took to social media and shared a picture of herself dubbing for an upcoming film Shadistan (tentatively titled), directed by Raj Singh Chaudhary.

The Pink actress will be seen essaying the role of a musician in the said film. I am never this happy about dubbing, but I actually felt happy about when I was called to dub. The fact that the project is quite close to completion and its going to be out soon, says the actress.

Swara Bhasker is also embracing the new normal and recently dubbed for her upcoming shows keeping the safety and hygiene measures her priority.

Im dubbing for two shows. One is called Flesh for Eros Now. The other show which I just wrapped shooting for before lockdown awaits an official announcement. The actress who travelled to Delhi with her pets a few weeks ago is using a studio in the capital to wrap her work.

Since Im in Delhi at the moment with my family, I am dubbing in a studio near my house. The directors and sound designers of the show are in Mumbai monitoring the dubbing online and remotely, she says.

The actress says, she took all the precautionary measures while dubbing.

I am very careful about not contracting the virus not just for myself but also because I dont want my parents to get it. I work in a very controlled environment and dont touch anything in the studio. I carry my own coffee and water. I keep my mask and gloves on till everything is sanitised and I have to start dubbing. The headphones I use are new, personal and only I touch them, she says adding that even the recording room is sanitised before every session.

Even Tiger Shroff decided to get to the dubbing studio on Wednesday. The actor seems to have gotten into the mood for work now, especially with his fans demanding more and more action from him.

Tiger has to begin work on both Heropanti 2 as well as Rambo once lockdown opens. Both these films will start pre-production once the bound scripts are ready.
The government of Chad Republic has made a formal request to the federal government to to connect the country to the Nigerian electricity grid.



Chadian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abakar Saleh Chachaimi made the request during a visit to the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman in Abuja.



While the ambassador stressed the historical and economic value of connecting Chad to Nigerias electricity grid, the Minister of Power on his own part said it would help in enhancing the long existing relations between the two countries.



Mamman who approved the request to host his counterpart from the Republic of Chad for a technical analysis of the request, said Nigeria would evaluate it within the various projects under the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme (TREP) for possible integration.



The Minister said;



I, therefore, direct the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) whose representatives are part of this meeting, to come up with a business case and implementation modalities. Based on that, we will write to the Presidency to secure all the necessary approvals."



Mamman disclosed that under the framework of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) objective of promoting power exchange among ECOWAS member states, the Republics of Benin, Burkina-Faso, Niger and Nigeria are building an 875 kilometre 330 kilovolt power transmission line, the North Core Transmission line.



Mamman also informed the Chadian delegation that currently, Nigeria has bilateral contracts for supplying electricity to Niger Republic and Benin Republic which has been ongoing for decades.





Source: LIB









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The plan is tentative and meant only to explain how schools might function, Superintendent Eric Williams wrote in a message to families Thursday. And it is conditional: It will take effect only if Northern Virginia enters Phase 3 of Gov. Ralph Northams reopening process  which allows for gatherings of up to 250 people and reopens child-care services  by the time school is supposed to start. Virginia is in Phase 2 but could move into Phase 3 this month.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Export of grain and legumes from Turkey to the US grew by 6.4 percent from January through May 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, having made up $149.5 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend .

In May 2020, Turkeys export of grain and legumes to the US decreased by 23.7 percent compared to the same month of 2019 and amounted to $25 million.

Turkeys export of grains and legumes to international markets from January through May 2020 increased by 0.1 percent compared to the same period of 2019, having made up $2.9 billion.

This amount accounted for 4.7 percent of the countrys total export for the reporting period.

In May this year, Turkey exported grains and legumes worth $500.2 million to world markets, which is 15.3 percent less compared to the same month of 2019 (5 percent of the country's total export).

During the last 12 months (from May 2019 through May 2020), Turkey exported the grain and legumes in the amount of nearly $6.8 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
IAEA Resolution Criticizes Iran For Denying Access To UN Inspectors

Radio Farda June 19, 2020

For the first time since 2012, the board of governors of the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution critical of Iran on Friday, June 19.

The resolution submitted to the board by the United Kingdom, France and Germany, calls on Tehran to provide IAEA inspectors access to two sites in Iran in order to verify possible traces of unauthorized and undeclared nuclear material and nuclear activity.

The suspicion dates back to Iran's nuclear activities in the early 2000s. Observers in Iran and abroad have been maintaining since then that during the talks with European powers in 2003 and 2004, the Iranian delegation revealed that Tehran had a military nuclear program but it abandoned it in 2003.

During the past year, while Iran continued reducing its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it has also been blocking access to these sites, both located in the southern outskirts of Tehran.

Following the resolution passed on Friday, Iran's representative to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, characterized the resolution as "non-constructive" and said in a statement in Vienna, that "Iran will show appropriate reaction to the resolution at the right time."

This was exactly the same words used in threats made by Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during previous days.

Gharibabadi added that the IAEA and its resolution "ignored Iran's cooperation with the agency," adding that such a resolution was "disappointing and regrettable."

"It is regrettable that this resolution has been issued by countries that either own or host nuclear weapons," said Gharibabadi, adding that the June 19 resolution was "the outcome of a US-Israeli initiative to exert pressure on Iran."

According to an AFP report on Friday, "Even though the sites in question are not thought to be directly relevant to Iran's current nuclear programme, the agency says it needs to know if activities going back almost two decades have been properly declared and all materials accounted for."

Nonetheless, the IAEA says it still has the access it needs to inspect Iran's other declared nuclear facilities, based on the deal between Iran and world powers reached in 2015.

The significance of the timing of the resolution is that it has been issued at a time Iran is believed to be in breach of the deal in retaliation for the United States pull-out from the JCPOA in May 2018.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, France and Germany who have been trying to help Iran cope with aftermaths of the U.S. pull-out and the ensuing economic sanctions against Tehran, are expected to define their strategy following the new development and the looming events in October as the United States has been pursuing to prevent the implementation of part of the 2015 deal by extending the arms embargo against Tehran beyond October 2015 when a UN arms embargo is due to expire after five years.

Iran accepted the embargo as well as other conditions in 2015 in return for lifting the sanctions that had crippled the country's economy.

The United states has given a draft resolution to the member states of the UN Security Council and has threatened that if the draft resolution is not ratified, Washington will use the snap-back mechanism in the JCPOA to return all the old sanctions against Iran.

In the meantime, as Iran has stopped fulfilling most of its obligations under the JCPOA, and the move could effectively end the deal, a European diplomat told Reuters that the foreign ministers of the three European partners to the JCPOA, "are meeting to see what Europe can do to end these violations by the Iranians, while keeping the deal, but also to discuss how to avoid a snapback in New York."

Meanwhile, Russia's representative to the IAEA, Mikhael Ulyanov tweetd that Russia and China had voted against the resolution, but added, "While stressing the need for Tehran and IAEA to settle this problem without delay, we believe that the resolution can be counter productive."

Ulyanov called the resolution "non-constructive" but said it is up to Iran and the IAEA to solve this problem immediately. Despite its supportive appearance, the comment means that Russia wants Iran to give access to IAEA inspectors to the two sites in question.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has quoted its sources at the IAEA as saying that the resolution which was also supported by the United States was passed with 25 votes in favour, 2 votes against while 7 delegates abstained.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iaea- resolution-criticizes-iran-for-denying-access -to-un-inspectors/30679899.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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She's been enjoying a rare break away from Albert Square as she isolates with her family amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And Maisie Smith posed for stunning snaps with styling tips from her 'inner 10 year old,' which she shared to Instagram on Friday.

The soap star, 18, also chose to get in on a SHOCKING new TikTok trend, which saw her pretending to engage in an extremely violent fight with American influencer @iheartmemphis.

Gorgeous: Maisie Smith, 18, posed for stunning snaps with styling tips from her 'inner 10 year old,' which she shared to Instagram on Friday

Maisie looked sensational on the gorgeous photographs of herself with beads in her blonde wavy tresses, and glowing make-up enhancing her natural beauty.

The actress wore a mini mouse necklace and a pink striped cami, and captioned the shots: 'Accessorised by my inner 10 year old.'

While sharing the pretty photos of herself to the grid, Maisie also uploaded a video of herself trying out a bizarre new TikTok trend to her stories.

The trend began when verified TikToker @iheartmemphis posted a video of himself and asked his followers to '#duetwithme,' urging them to upload a response video on the platform.

What!? The soap star also chose to get in on a SHOCKING new TikTok trend, which saw her pretending to engage in an extremely violent fight with influencer @iheartmemphis

Stunning: Maisie looked sensational on the gorgeous photographs of herself with beads in her blonde wavy tresses, and glowing make-up enhancing her natural beauty

Maisie shared her 'duet' video with the social media star to her TikTok (where she has over 1.5m followers) and her Instagram (where she has over 600k followers).

In the clip of herself acting while the song 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira plays, Maisie can be seen pretending to punch her fellow TikToker.

Retaliating, he mimics popping a gun and shooting her and she fakes being shot, displaying her impressive actings skills in the process.

Bizzare! While sharing the pretty photos of herself to the grid, Maisie also uploaded a video of herself trying out a bizarre new TikTok trend to her stories

Viral! The trend began when verified TikToker @iheartmemphis posted a video of himself and asked his followers to '#duetwithme,' urging them to upload a response video on the platform

Aggressive! In the clip of herself acting while the song 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira plays, Maisie can be seen pretending to punch her fellow TikToker

The pair then pretend to extremely aggressively hit and punch each other back and fourth until the video cuts out.

Maisie captioned her TikTok upload of the duet: 'This better pop coz I got whiplash from dis duet with @iheartmemphis.'

MailOnline has contacted Maisie Smith's representatives and EastEnders for comment.

Violent! Retaliating, he mimics popping a gun and shooting her and she fakes being shot, before the pair pretend to hit and punch each other back and fourth until the video cuts out

Maisie captioned her TikTok upload of the duet: 'This better pop coz I got whiplash from dis duet with @iheartmemphis.'

Maisie continued to entertain her fans with a light-hearted TikTok video uploaded on Wednesday.

The actress enlisted her mother Julia and sister Scarlett to join her to perform a perfectly choreographed routine to Don't Need Love by 220 Kid & Gracey.

Maisie paraded her pins in fluorescent pink velour shorts and matching tracksuit top that slipped playfully off her shoulder.

Playful: Maisie continued to entertain her fans with a light-hearted TikTok video uploaded on Wednesday

Her lookalike team wore co-ordinated white and red ensembles before the trio smashed the energetic routine with their fast-paced moves.

And fans were quick to remark just how similar the stars looked including one who wrote: 'Your mum really pressed copy and paste twice.'

Another user commented: 'You all look so alike.'

And a third added: 'Since when has there been a clone filter?'

Sizzling: Maisie paraded her pins in fluorescent pink velour shorts and matching tracksuit top that slipped playfully off her shoulder

Trio: The Eastenders star enlisted her mother Julia and sister Scarlett to join her to perform a perfectly choreographed routine to Don't Need Love by 220 Kid & Gracey

Beautiful: And fans were quick to remark just how similar the stars looked including one who wrote: 'Your mum really pressed copy and paste twice'

Maisie is currently quarantined at home with her family at home since the UK went into lockdown.

The thespian, who joined EastEnders as Tiffany aged seven, recently shared a beautiful self-penned song with her social media followers.

Maisie opened up about her battle with body dysmorphia in the lyrics, admitting she remembers 'wishing she was thinner' from a young age.

Talented: Her lookalike team wore co-ordinated white and red ensembles before the trio smashed the energetic routine with their fast-paced moves

She said that she has been feeling 'anxious' and 'trapped in her thoughts' while in isolation she penned the song in a bid to 'heal her mind'.

The song began: 'When I was little I would look in the mirror, holding in my stomach wishing that I was thinner.

Suggesting it is something she struggles with, Maisie added: 'Guess I had a case of body dysmorphia - and I still haven't shaken it off.'
SEBEWAING  In place of the Grand Parade, the Michigan Sugar Company hosted its own mini-parade though Sebewaing on Saturday morning. The parade featured Sebewaing firefighters, police, EMS and the newly crowned 2020 Michigan Sugar Queen and attendants.

The queen and her court handed out 500 two-pound bags of sugar to those in attendance.
The Chronicle began covering the coronavirus crisis before the first cases were reported in the Bay Area and a pandemic was declared. We reorganized the newsroom to dedicate nearly every resource to stories focusing on the health and economic disasters. Every day we have published live updates to reflect the most critical local, national and global updates on COVID-19, and this news is free of charge in an effort to keep our community safe and informed.

 Read the previous batch of updates from June 16-17.

 Read the previous batch of updates from June 20-21.

 See the full timeline.

Updates from Friday, June 19:

8:10 p.m. Marin County health officer explains social bubbles: Quaran-team, Covid-crew, and pandemic pod are a few terms used to describe a form of socializing that is now permitted in Marin County. Dr. Matt Willis, the countys health officer, said the county's new health order permits members of a household to join with members of other households to create a social bubble of up to 12 people. They can freely socialize, but only in outdoor settings. Kids can be in two groups if they attend childcare or day camp. We know people are already getting together  the social bubbles concept offers some guardrails for how to do this right, Willis said.

8 p.m. Cases in Marin County climb: County public health officials reported 23 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the countys case total to 837 cases. Fifty-six people are currently hospitalized, and 18 people have died from COVID-19 in the county, public health officials said.

5:10 p.m. State grants Marin County variance to advance into next phase of reopening: The California Department of Public Health approved an attestation report from Marin County, which gives the county formal permission to move into the next phase of reopening. Earlier this week, county health officer Dr. Matt Willis said that once the state granted the countys variance, the county plans to reopen indoor dining, hair salons and barbershops, gyms and fitness studios, hotels, camping and K-12 schools starting on June 29.

4:05 p.m. Priest at Dixon parish tests positive after hosting Mass, Communion: The Diocese of Sacramento announced Thursday that a priest at St. Peters Parish in Dixon tested positive for the coronavirus after participating in public Mass and Communion services throughout last week. Diocese officials said they learned that safety protocols were not followed during Mass at the parish. In particular, we are told the priest and deacons did not wear face masks during Communion, as is required for the safety of parishioners, Diocese officials said. We are deeply concerned by this news and extremely disappointed that some of the required precautions appear not to have been followed. There will be no public Masses at the parish under further notice, Diocese officials said.

3:18 p.m. California now has second-most cases in the country: California surpassed New Jersey as the state with the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the country with a total of 169,552 infections as of Friday afternoon. Read the story here.

2:45 p.m. Florida records nearly 4,000 new cases in one day: Florida confirmed 3,822 additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday, setting another single-day record, the Miami Herald reported. The state now has a total of 89,748 confirmed cases. The state health deparment also reported another 43 deaths, bringing fatalities to 3,104 so far.

2:39 p.m. Cuomo says NY did the impossible: Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrapped up a string of more than 100 nationally viewed daily briefings, that were alternately informative, grave, jocular and combative, by declaring Friday that New York has done the impossible in taming the coronavirus. He said an average of 25 people per day were dying this week. The number hospitalized with COVID-19 was 1,284, down from more than 18,000 at the peak of the outbreak.

2:17 p.m. Emergency humanitarian aid could end: A global emergency delivery service that has kept tons of humanitarian aid flowing despite coronavirus travel restrictions could shut down next month if funding cant be found to keep it running, the World Food Program warned Friday. The shortfall comes just as demand for this service is reaching its peak, WFP said.

1:40 p.m. WHO says latest China surge came from Europe: The emergencies chief of the World Health Organization confirmed Friday that genetic sequences from Beijings recent coronavirus outbreak show that it appears the virus was exported from Europe. Dr. Michael Ryan said that with strains and virus moving around the world, the new information does not mean that specific virus originated in Europe.

1:38 p.m. Santa Clara County continues double-digit increases: Santa Clara County reported 40 new cases of the coronavirus, for a total of 3,398 so far. The county confirmed no additional COVID-19 deaths Friday, leaving its fatality tally at 152.

1:33 p.m. SF relief fund to help black-owned businesses: San Francisco is creating a coronavirus relief fund for black-owned businesses and black entrepreneurs amid ongoing protests for racial justice. The fund will start with a $1.5 million investment from Give2SF, the citys existing coronavirus relief fund. The zero-interest loans of up to $50,000 will include flexible repayment terms and loan forgiveness options. Read the story here.

1:14 p.m. Stocks drop after morning rally: The Dow closed the day down more than 200 points, after opening up more than 300 points. Coronavirus fears weighed on the market, including a recent spike in cases in Florida.

1:09 p.m. Cases in Oklahoma skyrocket: Oklahomas new cases of the coronavirus have continued to skyrocket as the state reported its second-biggest daily increase on the eve of President Trumps huge indoor campaign rally. At least 359 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Friday, a day after Thursdays report of a state-record 450 new cases, the State Department of Health website indicates.

12:58 p.m. Oklahoma court clears path for Trump rally: The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for President Trumps indoor campaign rally to proceed Saturday in Tulsa. The court rejected an appeal of a lawsuit attempting to block the rally health officials feared could worsen the spread of coronavirus. The suit was filed on behalf of residents, business owners and a community center demanding the rally be canceled if it did not adhere to social distancing guidelines.

12:29 p.m. State closely watches Contra Costa County hospitalizations: California briefly added, then removed, Contra Costa County from the list of 11 counties state health officials are monitoring for signs of irregular levels of coronavirus spread. Contra Costa was flagged for a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations, but then met the state threshold of a three-day average of hospitalization growth rate below 10%. The county has moved faster than neighboring counties in reopening, and has seen cases rise 114% since the start of statewide reopening May 18.

12:20 p.m. One of the 49ers is infected: A 49ers player who was working out with a large group of teammates this week in Nashville, Tenn., has tested positive for the coronavirus, NFL Network reported Friday. The other players were tested Friday morning and are awaiting results. At least 15 skill-position players reportedly were at practices in Nashville.

12:07 Officials confirm Crozier is fired: U.S. naval officials confirmed Friday that they would not reinstate Capt. Brett Crozier to his post commanding the nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt following an investigation into what led the Santa Rosa native to pen a controversial memo raising alarms about the ships coronavirus outbreak. The 50-year-old Crozier has recovered from a coronavirus infection himself .

11:35 a.m. Aircraft carrier chief will not be reinstated: The Navy has decided to uphold the firing of USS Theodore Roosevelt Capt. Brett Crozier, who was removed after raising alarms about a coronavirus outbreak on his ship, according to news accounts Friday. The decision marks a stunning reversal of an earlier recommendation by leaders that he be reinstated.

11:11 a.m. White House press secretary says its safe for her not to wear a mask: Amid outcry from many health experts that President Trumps large indoor rally in Tulsa on Saturday is a recipe for spreading the coronavirus, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she wont be wearing a mask. I feel that its safe for me to not be wearing a mask, she told reporters Friday. She said earlier that masks will be given to attendees but they wont be required to wear them.

10:43 a.m. State to see $2.3 billion travel industry hit: California may miss out on more than $2.3 billion in travel revenue during the two months from mid-May to mid-July, according to the state tourism bureau. Projections indicate the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place mandates that are staunching the flow of travel could cost the state 613,000 tourism industry jobs. Read the story here.

10:25 a.m. AMC chain, in reversal, requires masks at the movies: AMC, in a rapid turnaround following its stunning announcement that moviegoers wouldnt have to wear face coverings, now says everyone must wear a mask in its theaters when they reopen July 15. The decision was based on an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks, company president Adam Aron said Friday in a statement. We think it is absolutely crucial that we listen to our guests. ... As we reopen theatres, we now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks.

10:10 a.m. Contra Costa County added to state watchlist: California has added Contra Costa County to the list that health officials are monitoring, as the county quickens its reopening amid continued high coronavirus infection numbers. The countys cases have increased 114% since the start of statewide reopening May 18. The county reported 36 new cases Thursday, along with 5 deaths, for a total so far of 55 dead and 2,111 infected. The state health department will work with the county to provide resources and help manage the surge.

9:05 a.m. One in 6 Californians is unemployed: New numbers show the states unemployment rate is 16.3%. California added a modest number of jobs in May following the loss of more than 2 million jobs in April as the coronavirus-related business closures continued to take a stunning toll. Read the story here.

8:41 a.m. Newsom signs mail-in ballot bill: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday requiring the state to mail every active registered voter a ballot this November, amid concerns of health risks and disrupted voting during the coronavirus pandemic. The Assembly approved the bill earlier Thursday and Newsoms sign-off cements it into law. According to the bill, in-person voting will still be available.

8:26 a.m. Listen to COVID-19 suvivors: Chronicle reporters Peter Hartlaub and Annie Vainshtein interviewed eight coronavirus survivors who shared their often-harrowing experiences. One survivor said its almost like theres this monster inside of you. On the Fifth & Mission podcast, Hartlaub and Vainshtein talk about their reporting for the story and play excerpts from those interviews. Plus: Coronavirus survivor Rafael Arias, profiled by Matthias Gafni in The Chronicle, reads an excerpt from the diary he kept while he was ill. Click here to listen.

8:05 a.m. How to socialize during the outbreak: Fathers Day barbecues, Fourth of July picnics, family reunions in Tahoe and Stinson Beach weekends with friends are surely starting to make it onto social calendars. But heres the hard truth: The coronavirus doesnt care if people are tired of sheltering in place. Learn how to do it the smart way in this story by Erin Allday.

8:00 a.m. Its almost like theres this monster inside of you: Those who have battled the coronavirus say they arent certain theyve defeated it, but know their lives will never be the same. Here are the stories of eight Bay Area survivors.

7:30 a.m. Five Oakland libraries to start pickup service: Oakland's public libraries remain closed but five branches on Friday will start offering sidewalk pickup service for books, DVDs and CDs that are reserved online at oaklandlibrary.org. Pickups will be available at the Main Library as well as the Rockridge, West Oakland, 81st Avenue and Cesar Chavez branches. WiFi will be available outside the libraries.

7:18 a.m. AMC theaters wont require masks: AMC wont require patrons to wear masks when it reopens movie theaters nationwide July 15, according to health guidelines published Thursday on the companys website. We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy, CEO Adam Aron said in a Thursday interview with Variety, when asked about mask policies. The theater chain will reduce theater capacity and require employees to wear masks, among other measures.

6:39 a.m. Stocks rise on trade progress: The Dow rose nearly 300 points on a report that the U.S. and China were moving forward with a trade deal that includes purchases of American farm products. The countries had been trading barbs about their pandemic response, raising fears of renewed trade tensions.

6:31 a.m. CA Lottery likely to lose millions due to shortage of Scratchers tickets: The pandemics reach has affected nearly every walk of life, including the California Lotterys Scratchers  games in which players rub foil-covered tickets with the edge of a coin to instantly reveal whether theyve won. A ticket distribution slowdown prompted by social distancing laws has resulted in a three- to four-week delay in fulfilling orders, officials said. The state lottery website lists 57 different Scratchers games, which account for about 76% of the lotterys $7 billion in annual revenue. Read the full story by Michael Cabanatuan.

6:14 a.m. Worldwide cases surpass 8.5 million, deaths top 450,000: The total number of people infected by the coronavirus reached 8,514,522 as of Friday morning, while the death toll now stands at 454,522, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Updates from Thursday, June 18:

11:55 p.m. New cases steady in Beijing: A day after a health official declared an outbreak of the coronavirus in Beijing under control, the city reported 25 new cases on Friday, up just four from the previous day, according to the AP. Travel to and from Chinas capital city was restricted and classes were suspended after the outbreak, which was reportedly tied to a wholesale market.

10:39 p.m. Santa Clara County to answer community questions on COVID-19: County public health officials will answer questions posed by residents and business owners regarding the coronavirus during a live-streamed Q&A session on Facebook at 10 a.m. on Friday.

8:30 p.m. New Sonoma County health order aligns with state, allows more reopening: Nail salons, bars, movie theaters, gyms, hotels, zoos, libraries, campgrounds and more can reopen Friday under a new Sonoma County health order. The order is in line with the states reopening roadmap. Businesses must follow state industry-specific guidance before resuming operations, and people must wear face coverings and practice social distancing to reduce coronavirus transmission.

7:48 p.m. Gyms, movie theaters, personal care services to open Friday in Napa County: A slew of new businesses, including fitness centers, movie theaters, nail salons, massage therapy and tattoo parlors are allowed to reopen Friday in Napa County, officials said. This step aligns with the states reopening plans.

7:40 p.m. Too soon to reopen Disneyland, workers say: According to the Los Angeles Times, a dozen unions representing thousands of Disneyland workers wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom expressing safety concerns over the parks scheduled July 17 reopening. Disney has said it will reopen Disneyland and Disneys California Adventure next month after a four-month shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. The unions letter states reopening should be pushed back because there are numerous questions about safety which Disney has not yet answered, the Times reported.

6:43 p.m. JetBlue adding domestic routes at SFO: JetBlue announced Thursday it is adding 30 domestic routes between July and October, including several serving San Francisco. JetBlue will fly its Mint service between Newark (EWR) and San Francisco (SFO) up to twice daily starting July 23 and between Orlando (MCO) and SFO up to once daily starting Oct. 1, according to a news release. Seating for new routes will go on sale starting Friday. JetBlue said the new routes are aimed at markets where leisure and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel is showing some signs of strength.

6:11 p.m. Marin County reports 18 cases: Public health officials in Marin County reported 18 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the countys case total to 814 cases. The county has reported a 3.7% positive rate overall among people tested for the virus with a 3.9% positive rate among tests conducted from June 5-11, according to its website.

5:31 p.m. New cases in Solano County: Officials in Solano County reported 19 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the countys case total to 811 cases. This comes a day after the county reported 105 cases on Wednesday, which officials said reflected a one-time reporting of preliminary positive cases. Solano County had 147 active cases and 13 patients hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon, according to the countys website.

5:07 p.m. State mask rule 100% the right move, Schwarzenegger says: Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated his support on Twitter Thursday of Californias new rule requiring people to wear masks outside the home when they cannot distance from others to guard against spread of the coronavirus. Schwarzenegger said, This is 100% the right move. This will help us beat this terrible virus. The science is unanimous  if we all wear masks, we slow down the spread and can reopen safely. Its not a political issue. Anyone making it a political issue is an absolute moron who cant read.

4:47 p.m. Additional death at Chino prison: Another inmate has died due to the coronavirus at the California Institution for Men in Chino (San Bernardino County), according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Chino prison has recorded 16 deaths among inmates, accounting for most of the 18 total inmate deaths in the state prison system. The prison has 495 people in custody with active cases of the virus, corrections officials said.

4:21 p.m. Some customers complain of UPS delays in Oakland: As delivery volumes spike and the load on drivers grows, a major UPS Oakland distribution hub has seen significant delays, some customers and a union representative say. One customer told The Chronicle that his packages kept going out out delivery, but then returned to Oakland every night for 12 days.

4:14 p.m. California Senate kills bill to ban commercial evictions: The California bill would have banned commercial evictions and allowed some retail tenants to break their leases during the coronavirus crisis has died in the state Senate. One of its main sponsors was Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. The Chronicles Roland Li has the story.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

4:12 p.m. Marin County reports more cases: Health officials reported 18 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday in Marin County, bringing the countys case total to 814 cases. Seven COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized. Eighteen people have died and 569 people have recovered in total, county officials said.

4 p.m. Alameda County to allow retail, outdoor dining, other services to reopen Friday: Outdoor restaurant dining, indoor and outdoor retail, outdoor fitness classes and religious and cultural services of up to 100 people will be allowed to resume Friday in Alameda County with safety measures in place under an amended health order, the county announced. Outdoor dining will be limited to six people per table from the same household or social bubble, and stores will be limited to 50% of capacity, according to a county release. Religious gatherings are limited to 100 people or 25% of building capacity, but limits of 25 people outdoors and 12 people indoors are strongly recommended, county officials said. Health officer Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement that the updated order is possible thanks to efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 by Alameda Countys residents and continued expansion of our case and contact investigation resources.

3:50 p.m. Two more deaths, additional cases among California health care workers: Two more state health care workers have died from COVID-19 and 226 more have tested positive for the coronavirus, state health officials reported on Thursday. There are now 12,685 cases and 78 deaths among California health care workers.

3:45 p.m. More than 40 people moved to hotel rooms from SFs Tenderloin: At least 40 people experiencing homelessness moved into hotel rooms on Thursday that were provided by the city for vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Supervisor Matt Haney wrote on Twitter. Some people were older than 60 years of age or had medical conditions, making them at higher risk for developing serious COVID-19 symptoms if infected. This is good, for the folks going in, and the neighborhood. Its what weve been fighting for, Haney said.

3:36 p.m. State hospitalizations highest since April: California counties reported 3,439 confirmed COVID-19 patients in hospitals on Wednesday, the states highest single-day total since April 28, when there were 3,497, according to state data reviewed by The Chronicle. The number rose 10.6% over two weeks from 3,109 on June 3. The state reported 1,119 confirmed COVID-19 intensive care patients Wednesday, its highest total since May 6 (1,125).

3:35 p.m. UCSF releases finding from study of Mission District residents: UCSF released the final results from the mass testing of nearly 4,000 people in a Mission District neighborhood on Thursday, revealing a high proportion of previous infections among low-income, essential Latino workers. Read the story here.

3:30 p.m. Santa Clara County cases rise: Public health officials in Santa Clara County reported one additional death and 79 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday. County officials have reported 3,363 total cases and 152 deaths. The total represents a 2.97% positive rate out of more than 113,000 people tested for the virus, according to the countys website.

3:15 p.m. Guidelines released for Marin County schools: Officials with Marin Public Health and Marin County Office of Education issued guidelines Thursday to help facilitate a smooth transition for students returning to in-classroom instruction for the 2020-2021 school year. The guidelines  which apply to all Marin County public, private, independent and parochial TK-12 schools  requires all students and staff from pre-K through 12th grade to wear face coverings while in the classroom and on campus unless there is a medical or behavioral contraindication. Marin County health officer Dr. Matt Willis said, Classrooms will look different than they did last year, referring to a concept of stable classroom cohorts. The cohorts will follow the same schedule for school arrivals, classes, lunch and recess to, help prevent mixing of classroom cohorts. Read the full list of guidelines here.

2:52 p.m. San Francisco tops 3,000 cases: The number of coronavirus cases in San Francisco reached 3,020 as of Monday, according to the most recent update from public health officials. There have been 47 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

2:23 p.m. Five more deaths in Contra Costa County, making it eleven this week: Five additional people have died from COVID-19 in Contra Costa County, health officials reported Thursday, marking eleven deaths this week and bringing the total to 55 fatalities since the pandemic began. The increase ties with Monday for the highest number of deaths reported in the county in a single day. Officials also confirmed 36 new cases of coronavirus for a total of 2,111.

2:16 p.m. Alameda County cases continue to climb: One more person has died from COVID-19 in Alameda County, officials reported on Thursday, while 72 new cases of the coronavirus were also confirmed. There are now 4,638 cases and 117 deaths in the county.

2:08 p.m. Antibodies may not last long, per new study: A study published Thursday in Nature Medicine shows that antibodies may only last three to four months in people infected with the coronavirus, the New York Times reported. While that does not necessarily mean people can be infected a second time, it warns against thinking that recovered people have total immunity. The results are based on a study of 74 people in China. It also shows people with no symptoms develop fewer antibodies than symptomatic patients.

2 p.m. Four new cases in Napa County: Health officials reported four new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday in Napa County, bringing the total to 206 cases with 80 of them considered active. Four people have died and 122 people have recovered.

1:57 p.m. Bay Area hospitalizations drop to lowest point since March: The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the nine-county Bay Area fell to 228 on Wednesday, according to a Chronicle analysis of the latest state data. Hospitalizations in Alameda County, whose numbers are higher than elsewhere in the Bay Area, dropped from 95 on Tuesday to 90 on Wednesday. For more data, see The Chronicles coronavirus tracker.

1:35 p.m. Kids and teenagers appear to be less likely to get the coronavirus and get sick than adults: A study recently published in Nature found that those under 20 are half as susceptible to infection as those that age or older, and only one in five between the ages of 10 and 19 show symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the figure of coronavirus-infected kids younger than 18 at more than 90,000, or around 4% of those with the disease. See our detailed FAQ on the coronavirus and children for more.

1:24 p.m. SF Ballet announces 2021 season with the coronavirus in mind: World premieres by choreographers Cathy Marston, Mark Morris, Danielle Rowe and Myles Thatcher  as well as a return engagement for George Balanchines A Midsummer Nights Dream, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic after a single performance in March  are among the highlights of the San Francisco Ballets 2021 season. Read the story here.

1:19 p.m. Jack Dorsey gives $1.6 million to post-pandemic SF street relief: Twitter CEO Jack Dorseys Start Small philanthropic fund awarded $1.6 million to San Francisco community support group Code Tenderloin, according to a Monday press release from that group. The grant will sustain the nonprofits Calming the Corner street pop-up, which offers food, medical supplies, and other resources to Tenderloin residents in need. In April, Dorsey pledged to donate $1 billion to coronavirus relief through Start Small.

1:09 p.m. Stocks mixed on jobs report: The Dow fell but stayed above 26,000, while the Nasdaq managed its fifth straight gain, showing the continued strength of tech stocks in the face of the pandemic.

1:03 p.m. American Airlines removes passenger for not wearing a mask: American Airlines removed conservative TV personality and activist Brandon Straka from a flight Wednesday for refusing to wear a mask, CNN reported. The incident occurred on the second day after the airline began enforcing a new face covering policy. Last week, American and several other major airlines announced that all passengers must wear masks or face coverings or risk being removed and banned from future flights.

12:12 p.m. Californians must wear masks outside home under new state order: People must immediately begin wearing masks outside the home when they cannot safely distance from other people to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state health officials ordered Thursday, a day after reporting the largest number of new cases in a single day. The Chronicles Alexei Koseff reports.

11:14 a.m. SF Symphony cancels all remaining 2020 performances over ongoing coronavirus concerns: The San Francisco Symphony has canceled its entire fall season, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to decimate the performing arts landscape for 2020 in the Bay Area and nationwide. Perhaps most painfully, it will have a heavy impact on plans for Esa-Pekka Salonens first season as the orchestras music director. Read the story here.

11:11 a.m. Bill to send a mail ballot to every active California voter goes to Newsom: California is likely to take the unprecedented step of mailing a ballot to every active registered voter this fall after lawmakers approved a bill Thursday intended to protect the November election against potential disruption by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chronicles Alexei Koseff has the story.

10:26 a.m. Navajo Nation reinstates lockdown: The Navajo Nation will reinstate a weekend lockdown period after a surge of cases in the tribal area, public health officials announced Tuesday. The surrounding state of Arizona reported a record 2,500 new cases Thursday  nearly twice the previous single-day spike  but has continued its plans to reopen. To date, the Navajo Nation has had a higher infection rate than any individual state. The 57-hour lockdowns will last from Friday night to Monday morning for two consecutive weekends.

8:52 a.m. Coronavirus testing is overrated, Trump says: President Trump said he thinks that coronavirus testing is overrated and that increased testing also increased the number of known cases in the country, which in many ways, it makes us look bad. Trump made the remarks in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Thursday morning. I personally think testing is overrated, even though I created the greatest testing machine in history, Trump said.

8:29 a.m. Outbreak under control, Chinese officials say: A public health expert in China said a coronavirus outbreak in Beijing is under control and the number of new cases will decrease soon, the Associated Press reports. Wu Zunyou, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reportedly said at a news conference that an outbreak linked to the citys largest wholesale food market was larger than expected but such outbreaks are inevitable.

6:33 a.m. Stocks fall on jobless claims, virus case rise: The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.7% at the start of trading Thursday, responding to new jobless claims that did not decline as much as some had hoped while spikes in new coronavirus cases were seen in several states.

5:49 a.m. Joblessness continues at historically high rates: Unemployment claims remained above 1.5 million last week, as the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic rolled on.
Reddy lauded the PM for using his diplomatic skills in making India a key international player, said that victories on the external front proved PM's prowess.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has extended full support to Narendra Modis Government in navigating through the crisis arising out of the faceoff at Galwan Valley and expressed his confidence that the Centre will get the intended results.

Speaking in the video conference in the All Party Meeting with the Prime Minister here on Friday, the Chief Minister said that India has become an economic and diplomatic power house with the Prime Minister extensively visiting nations across the globe using his diplomatic skills and vision and the nation has taken a huge leap forward.

The progress has attracted the envy of some nations that are trying to destabilise us but we have emerged victorious time and again and this time, I am sure you will find a solution to this predicament using your wisdom, international diplomatic relation and I, as President of YSRCP and as Chief Minister, will stand by you in these testing times, he said.

Also read: Armed forces have full freedom to take appropriate action: PM Modi on India China border issue

Also read: Indo-China border clash: The way forward

Lauding the diplomatic prowess of the Prime Minister, he said,  we have seen your success in Pulwama attack issue followed by declaring Massod Azhar as a terrorist and a victory in the Kulbushan Rais case and more recently the unprecedented success in securing a seat in United Nations Security Council by bagging 184 of the 192 votes.

In todays nuclear era, wars are not fought by military alone but are also fought by international clout, trade diplomacy and international pressure and sanctions.

The entry into missile technology control regime, the Wassnar Arrangement, Australia group are a few achievements earned by the outstanding diplomatic statesmanship of our Prime Minister, he said adding that his Party will stand by any decision taken by the Centre suitable to the present situation.

In the beginning of his speech, the Chief Minister has expressed his deepest anguish over the Galwan valley incident on June 15 in which 20 soldiers have shown their exemplary courage in defending the integrity and sovereignty of the country and said,  I, on behalf of my State, salute the supreme exercise and my heart goes out to share the grief of the bereaved family members.

Also read: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain put on oxygen support, to receive plasma therapy for Covid-19

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Amid objections by the Arvind Kejriwal government to his order for mandatory five-day institutional isolation for COVID-19 patients, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday said it would be required for only those who do not need hospitalisation and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation.

The order of five-day mandatory institutional isolation was opposed by Chief Minister Kejriwal and his Deputy Manish Sisodia in a meeting of Delhi State Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Saturday.

Sisodia said the meeting also decided that a maximum of 60% beds of private hospitals will be used for COVID-19 patients and of those, 100% coronavirus beds will be subsidised.

Baijal after the meeting said in a tweet, "Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID-positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation."

In another tweet, he said the DDMA approved recommendations of a high-level expert committee for fixing subsidised rates for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals of Delhi.

Regarding institutional isolation, only those COVID positive cases which do not require hospitalisation on clinical assessment & do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation. LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) June 20, 2020

Sisodia said after the meeting that Baijal's reservations over home isolation were resolved at the SDMA meeting and the home quarantine system will continue.

"The reservations of LG over home isolation were resolved in the SDMA meeting and the home isolation system will continue. We thank LG for this. Under the leadership of our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, we will not let Delhi people have any inconvenience," he tweeted.

As DDMA head, Baijal on Friday issued orders changing the quarantine protocol for coronavirus-positive patients in the city. Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the order came after Home Minister Amit Shah told Delhi government officers at a review meeting that one way to control the surging coronavirus cases numbers is to end home isolation since it was not being implemented properly.

AAP MLA Atishi, who has tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently asymptomatic, said, "The Centre's decision of making five-day institutional quarantine compulsory for COVID-19 patients in Delhi is wrong. I am a coronavirus patient and recovering at home. Due to this five-day institutional quarantine, people will now refrain from getting tested."

At the DDMA meeting, Kejriwal said the ICMR has permitted home isolation for asymptomatic and mild symptom Covid-19 patients in the whole country, then why a separate rule was employed in case of Delhi.

Baijal's decision has also been challenged in the Delhi High Court, with petitioner Nancy Roy arguing that the order will discourage people from revealing their coronavirus-positive status and increase the risk of further spread of the infection in the national capital. The petition could be taken up for hearing next week.
Minneapolis

Minnesota legislative leaders traded barbs Saturday after a special session collapsed with no deal on revamping policing following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a session that one group called "a train wreck."

The two sides may be back at it in another special session next month.

The Republican-controlled Senate adjourned just after 6 a.m. Saturday, after GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, repeatedly said that Friday was his deadline for adjournment, and that lawmakers should focus on proposals both parties would support.

"I'm frustrated this morning because I thought we were actually going to do some things together," Gazelka said before adjourning. He blamed "behind the scenes arm-twisting" from Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for ending "any hope of working together right now."

"We're not walking away from Minnesota here, but I think we could all benefit from a breather," Gazelka said, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.

Minority Democrats criticized the move.

"I'm deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans ended the special session before our job was done," Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent tweeted. "We should stay and finish the work of the people of Minnesota."

The Democratic-controlled House early Friday passed an extensive package of police accountability measures wrapped into one bill. It included elements of more modest policing bills that the Republican-controlled Senate passed earlier in the week, but with some additions that Republicans did not like.

Early Saturday, Democratic leaders backed away from some of their demands, including having the state attorney general prosecute all police-involved deaths and restoring voting rights for felons. But they insisted that Republican senators needed to support other major pieces, including banning "warrior-style" training for police, allowing cities to impose residency requirements on officers and creating a state community-led public safety office.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

The special session was necessary for Walz to extend emergency powers to manage the coronavirus, but Floyd's May 25 death after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes put the main focus on proposals to change policing in the state. But the two parties proved far apart on how wide-ranging those changes would be.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman said majority Democrats in the Minnesota House are "ready and willing to continue working to find agreement" with Senate Republicans and Walz.

"This moment in history calls upon us to deliver transformative policy to further racial justice. There is nothing more pressing than the need to change law and policy so that it values and protects the lives of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in Minnesota," Hortman said.

The parties remained divided on the main unfinished business of the 2020 regular session, a public construction borrowing package known as a bonding bill, which could have included money for rebuilding neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul where businesses were damaged and destroyed in the unrest that followed Floyd's killing. Other unresolved issues included a potential tax break that could have benefited businesses seeking to rebuild, and how to allocate federal coronavirus relief money to local governments from the $2.1 billion that the state received.
Borno State Government has tageted N10 billion internally generated revenue for the year 2021 following increase in its internally generated revenue of N6.6 billion in the first quarter of the year 2020 which exceed it's budgeted Target of N4.6 billion.

He revealed that the ministry has reviewed 2020 budget and came out with COVID-19 budget of about N7 billion and 30% of the 2020 budget while establsihing website and other centers on state finance and revenue generation among others.

The State Commissikner of Finance, Budget and Planning, Alhaji Adamu Lawan Zau Fanjumba disclosed this yeaterday during an inter-ministerial press briefing held on Friday at the multipurpose hall of the Government House Maiduguri.

He added that the State Ministry of Finance has already introduced Treasury Single Account (TSA) and establsihed fiscal management account systems for all other funds such as Trustfunds, MDAs towards ensuring transparency and accountability in the state financial systems including salaries and allowances accounts, pension accounts and gratuities which have been paid to the workers and retirees accordingly.

According to him, verifications were conducted in the pension accounts and workers gratuities on the directive of the governor including salary account where some discrepancies were discovered and rectified while payments were also made to workers and retirees worth billions of naira.

He also revealed that the govenror has approved the purchase of new 25 official vehicles to the state executive council members from the Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria (PAN), Kaduna worth hundreds of millions of naira which will soon be delivered .

The commissioner further explained that the 2020 budget performance in the first quarter stood at about 42% due to the COVID-19 pandemuc that paralyzed socio economic activities in the state, country and the world at large

He also said that the reason for the increase in the internal revenue of the state despite the COVID-19 pandemic was as a result of the accumulated federal PAYE to the state worth about N2.8 billion which only about 25% was paid and remitted to the state Treasury

Zau Fanjumba noted that the ministry was saddled with the responsibility of preparing budgets, monitoring and supervising capital expenditures and budget implementation among others as well as revenue generation, four operational departments were created to ease work such as Finance Office, Accountant General's Office, Budget and Planning Office and Board of Internal Revenue.

He said the ministry has maintained consistency in payments of salaries and allowances including leave grants and pensions while 155 vehicles have been purchased to argument the fleet of Government House vehicles in the last one year.

The commissioner added that 255 workers were paid gratuity worth N1.5 billion, 240 retirees N463 million and payment of another 546 pensioners had commenced since May 2020 while the ministry adopted computerization of payments of all ministries and departments alongside monitoring expenditures and budget implementation, virements and supplementary budgets preparations.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 20, 2020 13:14 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40660444c2 1 National Novel-acid-attack,novel-baswedan,KPK,anti-corruption,North-Jakarta-District-Court,judges,Corruption-Eradication-Comission,antigraft-body Free

Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Busyro Muqoddas expressed support for the judges at the North Jakarta District Court to free the alleged attackers of graft buster Novel Baswedan in order to give room for a new investigation.

Hopefully the panel of judges will acquit [the defendants] so a new investigation can be carried out, he said in a virtual discussion on Novels case held by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) on Friday.

Busyro said the new inquisition would hopefully reveal the real culprits and masterminds behind the case. He cited the murder case of a journalist of Yogyakarta local daily newspaper Bernas during the New Order era.

Read also: Jokowi hopes for 'fair' verdict in Novel Baswedan's acid attack trial: State Palace

The journalist, Fuad Muhammad Syariffudin, was killed in August 1996 shortly after writing a story on several graft practices committed by the Bantul administration in the province.

Dwi Sumaji, the sole suspect arrested by the police, allegedly was forced to admit his involvement in the murder. He was later freed of all charges by the Bantul District Court in 1997 due to a lack of evidence.

The real culprit will not be revealed unless the judges free the defendants with their conscience, Busyro, who led the antigraft agency from 2011 to 2015, said.

If I were the judge, I would use my judge reasoning in addition to my legal reasoning and intuition, he continued.

If the judge were to acquit the defendants of all charges, Busyro suggested that President Joko Jokowi Widodo form an independent fact-finding team to reopen the new investigation instead of handing it over to the police again.

State prosecutors had previously demanded a one-year prison sentence against the defendants, police personnel Chief Brig. Ronny Bugis and Brig. Rahmat Kadir Mahulette. The defendants allegedly attacked Novel with sulfuric acid, resulting in serious damage to Novels eyes.

The light sentence demands had sparked public outcry questioning the prosecutors arguments that the defendants accidentally threw the acid into Novels face in April 2017.

Read also: Baffled by light sentences sought for Novel Baswedan's attackers, netizens turn to humor

Activists and members of the public also raised suspicions that the two policemen were merely scapegoated, with the mastermind still at large.

Novel had tweeted through his Twitter account, @nazaqistha, that the defendants should be released rather than making things up, expressing his disbelief that the accused were the real culprits.

Saya jg tdk yakin kedua org itu pelakunya.

Ketika sy tanya penyidik dan jaksanya mrk tdk ada yg bisa jelaskan kaitan pelaku dgn bukti

Ketika sy tanya saksi2 yg melihat pelaku dibilang bukan itu pelakunya. Apalagi dalangnya ?

Sdh dibebaskan saja drpd mengada2. https://t.co/IQ2IabfYPE  novel baswedan (@nazaqistsha) June 15, 2020

Other former KPK leaders and Novels legal team members had urged the KPK to act upon the light sentence sought against the defendants, arguing that the attack on Novel was an attack on the national corruption eradication agenda as well.
Army Brig. Gen. Gene D. Meredith, son of Colleen Leyer of Racine, was promoted to his present rank May 20 at Camp Casey, Seoul, South Korea. Meredith is currently deputy commanding general (Maneuver), 2nd Infantry Division (Combined), Eighth Army, Republic of Korea. His next assignment will be the deputy commanding general, 3rd United Kingdom Division, Bulford, United Kingdom.

Meredith graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1989 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. After completion of the Field Artillery Advanced Officers Course, he was assigned to he 319th Airborne FA Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

Following attendance at the Command and General Staff College, Meredith was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy. From there, he moved to Germany and served with the 1st Armored Division.

Merediths next assignment was to Special Operations Command Europe as the FSO, ground branch operations officer deployed to AF, and the Secretary Joint Staff. He then returned to Fort Bragg where he commanded 1-321st Airborne FA Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, to include a deployment to Afghanistan. He followed BN CMD with attendance at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Upon graduation, he moved to Fort Sill, Okla., where he served as the chief of field artillery concepts and commanded the 428th Field Artillery Brigade. After Brigade Command, Meredith first returned to Korea, where he served at the chief of the Commanders Initiatives Group United States Forces Korea. Then he returned to Europe, where he served as the executive assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and EUCOM commander.

Meredith had several combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been operationally deployed/stationed overseas multiple times.

Merediths U.S. decorations and badges include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist Badge and Ranger Tab.

Meredith, a 1982 Park High School graduate, received a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Arkansas, a master of arts in human resource from Webster University and a master of science in strategic studies from Air University. He is married to the former Mrs. Sam-Hyang Hong of Chun-Chon, South Korea.

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On Tuesday, June 16, the Democratic mayor of Richmond, Virginia, Levar Stoney, announced Richmond Police Department Chief William Smith had resigned willingly from his position. The RPD had been involved in numerous attacks on protestors demonstrating against police brutality and racism in the three weeks leading up to the announcement.

Smith, a 23-year veteran of the RPD who was less than one year into his role as police chief, had drawn scrutiny for the actions of the Richmond police against demonstrators in the days preceding his resignation. As early as June 1, Smiths police fired tear gas, unprovoked, against demonstrators. The day before, Smith had made gestures of support for the protests. At least 400 people have been arrested while protesting in Richmond over the past weeks.

Events began to escalate quickly last weekend. On Saturday night, police officers in an SUV hit multiple people on Monument Avenue as protests continued late into the night. RPD claimed the protesters had trapped the vehicle with bicycles and their own bodies. The police even went so far as to blame protesters hit by the SUV for allowing themselves to be in the way as it attempted to leave.

The following night, protesters rallied outside the Richmond Police Headquarters to demand answers to the incident involving the SUV. In response, the police attacked the crowd with fogs of pepper spray. Andrew Ringle, a journalist who writes for the Virginia Commonwealth University newspaper the Commonwealth Times, was present on Sunday night and filmed the police clashing with protesters.

Ringle recalled to local news station WRIC-TV, Some officers were getting in arguments with protesters that were speaking directly to them. Occasionally other officers would come up and pull one officer away from protesters to sort of de-escalate the situation. The turning point was when police used pepper spray on protesters. Thats when things started getting really tense.

Smith attempted to paint the weekend protests as a violent mob that devolved into rioting and violence that lasted through the night and into the early morning hours, adding that the protesters went far beyond what is considered to be lawful First Amendment activity. Smiths statement is absurd considering Richmond City Council Members Stephanie Lynch and Michael Jones, both Democrats, were present at the weekend demonstrations. Lynch was even hit by the pepper spray cloud on Sunday evening.

The final straw in Smiths tenure as chief appears to have come Monday night just hours before his ousting, when media present at protests outside the police headquarters captured more images and video of Richmond police, dressed in full riot gear, firing tear gas and smoke canisters into the crowd and also hitting protesters with rubber bullets. Both Lynch and Jones tweeted that the situation on the ground was becoming untenable.

At Tuesdays press conference, Stoney said, The past two weeks have been the most challenging period of my mayorcy, frankly one of the most challenging periods of my life.

Presenting himself as someone caught purportedly between two opposed and yet equally just forces in societythe masses of demonstrators demanding an end to police violence and racism, on the one hand, and the forces of law and order on the otherStoney said he had requested Smiths resignation that very morning in order to help the city take a new approach to public safety.

The mayor thanked Smith, who did not attend the press conference, for being a career police officer and a good man. Stoney named United States Marine veteran and Richmond SWAT team member Maj. William Jody Blackwell, another 23-year department veteran, as the interim chief.

Interim Chief Blackwell is willing and able to focus on the necessary public safety reforms. He will lead our healing and trust-building within our community, Stoney said.

In a statement of his own, Blackwell stood resolutely with his law enforcement colleagues, saying, I have some of the greatest men and women employed by the Richmond Police Department and they stand judged by people who refuse to even sit down and talk to us civilly. We as a community need to step up and take our city back because too many sit in silence. Im afraid. However, my love for this city and my love for these men and women, it will not cause me a challenge as far as reacting. And were going to get this city back.

The media could not help but notice that at the same time as Stoney was invoking this language of trust-building and reform, RPD was building a large barricade around its headquarters.

Stoney claimed the police department has to wall itself off from the community in order to defend itself against a small contingent of violent rioters. Stoney deferred to the old standby defense of blaming outside agitators who do not care about the black men and women who the cause was originally about. The peaceful protesters, local politicians and journalists hit by his police departments tear gas and rubber bullets seemed to have escaped Stoneys memory.

The Washington Post promoted the changing of the guard in Richmond as a progressive move towards peaceful police-community relations. For its part, the Post reported on Smiths resignation as a result of the public-relations challenges he faced as police chief. In an article this week, the Post wrote, Smith, who is white, had struggled to project a consistent tone to the citys African American community during the recent protests.

The ousting of Smith in Richmond comes amid a number of forced departures from police departments around the country. On June 13, less than 24 hours after an Atlanta cop shot Rayshard Brooks in the back as he ran from a Wendys parking lot, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned from her position. The outrage over Brooks death has added fuel to the global protests against police brutality.

Similarly, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, Democratic County Executive Angela Alsobrooks on Thursday accepted the resignation of PGPD Police Chief Hank Stawinski. Stawinskis department had been the subject of a 94-page federal court document alleging systemic mistreatment of minority police officers and intimidation of whistleblowers in the department. Prince Georges County, while largely working class, is the wealthiest African American-majority county in the United States according to census statistics.

Top-level changes at police departments around the country are bound to continue as public opinion increasingly turns against police departments deploying repressive measures against peaceful protesters. Reshuffling leadership with the promise of reforms, however, is a dead end that will not reduce police attacks on the working class nor alter the fundamental role in society the police play as the armed guards of capitalist property and inequality.
Briefing With Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, U.S. Ambassador to UNVIE Jackie Wolcott, and Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Dr. Christopher A. Ford On IAEA Actions to Hold Iran Accountable

Special Briefing

Brian H. Hook, Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State

Jackie Wolcott, Representative and Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency

Dr. Christopher Ashley Ford, Assistant Secretary

Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation

Via Teleconference

June 19, 2020



MR BROWN: Hi, good morning, everyone. I'm joined this morning for an on-the-record briefing by Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford, and the U.S. Representative to the IAEA, Ambassador Jackie Wolcott. They want to speak to you today about recent destabilizing and irresponsible actions by Iran on the nuclear front, and developments in Vienna at the IAEA to hold Iran accountable for its  for the obligations it has made to the international community. It's incumbent upon all of us to make sure that the integrity of the international safeguards system is protected and preserved.

Our three briefers will start with some opening remarks and then we'll have time for your questions. Remember the contents of this briefing are embargoed until the end of the call. We'll start with Brian Hook. Go ahead.

MR HOOK: Thank you. The news today out of Vienna at the IAEA is significant and it raises serious concerns about Iran's nuclear program and its lack of transparency. The IAEA announced that for nearly a year, Iran has refused to answer the IAEA's questions about multiple locations in Iran related to its past nuclear program.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Zarif tweeted that Iran has nothing to hide. If only that were true. In fact, it seems that Iran does have something to hide. This explains why, for almost a year, it has refused to answer the IAEA's questions and is now denying inspectors access to potentially sensitive nuclear sites. If Iran really has nothing to hide, then it should have no problem granting full access to IAEA inspectors.

This all comes down to Iran upholding its commitments under international law. Iran is legally obligated to permit the IAEA to access sites it deems necessary to inspect. This commitment arises from Iran's obligations under the nonproliferation treaty and its safeguards agreements. Iran has a choice: It can answer the IAEA's questions and comply with the legitimate requests for access, let inspectors travel freely, and be transparent about its activity, or Iran can take its current path of stonewalling and deception. This, however, will only increase Iran's diplomatic isolation. All NPT signatories, all of them including Iran, have an obligation to uphold their commitments under the NPT. There are no exceptions.

We are pleased that the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution today making clear that Iran must answer the IAEA's questions and provide full access and cooperation. I want to especially thank our European partners, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for the leadership role they played in getting this resolution passed.

Russia and China tried to shield Iran from scrutiny. As nuclear powers, China and Russia have special responsibilities not to support nations who play cat and mouse with the IAEA. Their votes were irresponsible, and the international community deserves better behavior. As nearly all nations will attest, the IAEA has handled this issue with skill and competence. The United States continues to have full faith and confidence in the professionalism and independence of the IAEA.

President Trump is committed to ensuring that the Iranian regime never develops a nuclear weapon. The United States will continue to work with countries around the world to hold Iran to its international nonproliferation commitments. I think it's worth reminding everyone that just last month, Iran's supreme leader invoked Hitler's "final solution." Iran regularly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. A regime like this which endorses genocide should never be allowed to obtain the means to do so. The United States will never let that happen.

And I'll turn it over to my colleague, Dr. Ford, and then to Ambassador Wolcott to update you on her team's excellent efforts in Vienna over the last week. Chris.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Thanks, Brian. Let me start, for my part, with congratulating the IAEA secretariat and the director general for the continuing professionalism and integrity of the work that they have been doing. This is a very challenging job dealing with some very challenging interlocutors, and they've been doing a fantastic, fantastic job of it. But let me also congratulate  especially today  congratulate the Board of Governors on the important statement that it has made with the passage of this resolution. It's hard to overstate what an important juncture this is, but let me also here, for those of you listening, emphasize what this isn't.

For the last few years, most nonproliferation-related debate concerning Iran has revolved back and forth and around and around about the merits and demerits of the JCPOA nuclear deal. But this is not that question. What has happened here is that while everyone was staring at the JCPOA, new safeguards problems have arisen in a very different lane. What we have here for the first time since  well, since the JCPOA was agreed, is the emergence of evidence of potential undeclared nuclear material and/or activities being potentially hidden in Iran. That's the first time these issues have arisen in quite a while, and it is the first time ever by any country anywhere that a government has rejected and refused to comply with its obligations under the IAEA's Additional Protocol. Those two facts together are rather a game changer.

What this means is that whatever disagreement there may still be about the JCPOA  and I don't doubt that there are some  the whole world has an interest in coming together now to protect the integrity of the global system of IAEA safeguards that everybody has relied upon to detect or prevent the diversion of nuclear material to weapons purposes for generations in countries all around the world. In other words, this is not just about Iran, as important as that is; it is also about the integrity of the entire system of safeguards upon which we all rely.

As the director general of the IAEA made clear in his June 5 report, it has now been four months during which Iran has been denying access to two locations at which the IAEA believes that there may be undeclared nuclear material or activity. At one of those sites since July of last year, the agency has also reported that activity that looks like sanitization has been occurring. What this means of course is that while the IAEA[1] has been improperly denying access, and striking a blow at the integrity of the Additional Protocol in the global safeguard system, it may also have been using that delay to hide evidence. What we do know from IAEA reporting is that it has now been over a year in which the Iranians have refused to resolve the IAEA's questions about possible undeclared nuclear material or activity shown by site sampling evidence at another location. And none of these locations were, of course, declared to the IAEA by Iran.

So this is why it's hard to overstate the significance. We have evidence of possible material or activity potentially still being hidden at Iran at multiple locations, and Iran is denied access for the first time ever under the Additional Protocol. So that's why congratulations are in order to the board for a clear and necessary statement. It's great that the board has spoken to associate itself with the director general's serious concerns about this, and it's essential and at a great step forward for the board to have insisted, as it has, that Iran live up to its obligations by providing full cooperation without any further delay. Thank you. Jackie.

AMBASSADOR WOLCOTT: Thanks, Chris. Good morning, everyone, from Vienna. Today, as has been mentioned, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Iran to cooperate without further delay regarding possible undeclared nuclear material and activities. As we explained to the board today, we welcome the adoption of this resolution, which we affirmed the fundamental importance of Iran fully implementing its safeguards obligations without further delay. In the resolution adopted today, the board made clear why this was a necessary step at this time, echoing the director general's serious concern regarding Iran's denial of access and refusal to substantively engage to address the agency's questions about possible undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran today.

The board's resolution demonstrates the seriousness with which it views Iran's dubious distinction as the first state ever to prompt a report to this board that it is denying complementary access under the Additional Protocol. The resolution has also made clear the board's expectation about next steps, calling on Iran to fully cooperate with the agency and set aside the agency's request without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the agency. We hope Iran will take a clear warning from this resolution. It must immediately uphold its safeguards obligations.

This is no longer business as usual. This matter has entered a new phase, and the board has made clear Iran must comply. We hope they will. In addition, I would just like to reiterate what Special Representative Hook said regarding the IAEA and as well as Chris. We have full faith in the IAEA and its highly skilled and professional inspectors to carry out their critical verification and monitoring responsibilities in Iran. The board today made clear it shares this confidence in support. We're committed to working through the IAEA Board of Governors to provide the agency the support it needs to resolve these very serious matters. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

MR BROWN: Great. Looks like our first question is from Robin Wright.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) transparency, can you detail for us the undeclared materials and activities? And secondly, if they don't comply, what happens specifically next?

MR BROWN: Ford, you want to handle this?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Sure. Well, I mean, I'm in no position here on this call to say more than what the IAEA secretariat has reported. I guess the  what you've asked is exactly the right question: What in fact are the undeclared materials and the activities that Iran is hiding? That's very much what the International Atomic Energy Agency wants to know, and why it has asked questions of Iran and requested access to locations to find out those answers. That's what the world is waiting to find out, and it's on the basis of the answers to those questions that we will all be able to determine how seriously to take this. How  it's up to Iran what it  what it does here. The longer that the Iranians refuse access and make it look as if they're hiding something significant, the more reason there will be to assume that it must be something significant. If there really is nothing to conceal here, they need to come clean and make that very clear. We are becoming very concerned by their continued intransigence and by their willingness to throw aside their legal obligations under IAEA safeguards in order to conceal whatever it may be.

So I wish I knew the answer to your question about what there is, but that's exactly the issue, and that's why we all need to support the IAEA and ensure that Iran gives the only acceptable correct answer to requests for information and access. And that, of course, is to say yes.

MR HOOK: Jackie (inaudible) like to add?

AMBASSADOR WOLCOTT: If I could just  I'm sorry, I was just going to add that it might be useful to the press on the line to know that the reports of the director general from the March board meeting and then from this board meeting have been made public now at our request. And those should be available online, and they detail the concerns the director general gave in pretty stark terms and fairly detailed. Of course, there are confidentiality considerations, so it doesn't go into site names and so forth, but it's pretty clear what the problems are.

MR BROWN: Okay. A reminder if you want to get into the queue for questions, dial 1 and 0. Our next question comes from Said Arikat.

QUESTION: Yes, thank you, Cale. My question is to Ambassador Hook, just to follow up on what Robin just asked. So you're not  you don't know exactly the material that is  Iran could be hiding? And my second question is: What incentive, or should there be incentive for Iran to comply? Thank you, sir.

MR HOOK: Well, the first question I think Chris and Jackie just answered. On the second, let me ask Chris to explain what I think shouldn't require explaining: Why Iran needs to comply with its obligations that it signed up for.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Sure. I mean, there are actually three sort of interrelated instruments that are in play here. The most fundamental one is, of course, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Iran has been a member of for a long time, although clearly was in violation of for quite some time some years ago, both for its safeguard violations and for its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

At the moment, the issues in play are Article 3 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires that all states party to the treaty have safeguard arrangements with the IAEA. It's long been understood that if you are in violation of your safeguards agreement, then you're not living up to your NPT obligations under Article 3. The second instrument in play is Iran's Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement itself, which is a legally binding instrument that it agreed with the IAEA. And the third is the Additional Protocol to the IAEA, which is a package of IAEA inspection authorities that have become a de facto standard for global safeguards over the last 20 years. The Iranians agreed to sign up to the Additional Protocol and to apply it under the JCPOA, but having done so it is now in addition to those other two instruments a freestanding obligation of the Iranians.

So there are three things in play here, and if Iran has indeed been concealing undeclared material or activity, and if it is  and if it continues to refuse to do what those instruments require it to do in terms of cooperating with the IAEA, then we have a threefold compliance problem.

MR BROWN: Great. For our next question we'll go to David Sanger.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) much for doing this. Can we talk a little bit more about what kind of threat this may actually pose? I mean, one of the advantages you got out of the 2015 deal, even if it wasn't your favorite, is that the Iranians ship 97 percent of their existing fuel stockpiles to Russia. So the breakout time that they would have, even if it's reduced in recent months and in recent times  and I'd be interested to know if you have a rough sense of what that is, Chris, at this point, or if there's an unclassified assessment of that. It would be quite a while before they had  it would be months at least before they had enough for one weapon. And as we've all discussed before, one weapon doesn't do you much good.

So that affects what the urgency of sorting this out is, because you're not going to be able to stand up and say they are  have enough material now to build a weapon for some time. Can you take this topic up a little bit? I have one follow-up when you're done with that.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Sure, I mean, although you're  to some degree you're asking JCPOA-type questions rather than safeguards questions, which is actually, as I was emphasizing before, those are different  slightly rather different questions. My understanding of where the Iranians are right now, according to IAEA reporting, is that they now have something on the order of nearly 1,600 kilograms of enriched uranium stockpiled at about up to maybe four and a half percent  most of it up to four and a half percent degree of enrichment. I don't know off the top of my head what that comes out to in terms of potential bombs' worth of material were it to be enriched further and then turned into a weapon, but 

QUESTION: I think less than one, Chris, wouldn't it?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: I know enough of my own abilities not to try to do math on the fly in front of other people, but 

QUESTION: Okay. (Laughter.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD:  this is a noble thing. But the key point for this  from the safeguards perspective here is the sort of slightly different question of well, what else might there be. And the whole point of the Additional Protocol is to allow the IAEA to hopefully verify the absence of undeclared material and activities. The problem in this case is that the IAEA has actual evidence of potential undeclared material and activity at at least three sites here, and that's why it's so essential that we all support the agency in it doing its job and trying to answer those questions, because what Iran might have to add to its capabilities either in terms of potential material or in terms of  who knows what they may still be hiding from their old weapons program.

We know that they stored away a giant cache of weaponization-related legacy information  perhaps saving it for a rainy day  which the Israelis rather brilliantly have made available to the world, but I don't know what else there might be still hidden away someplace, since the Iranians have demonstrated that they are very interested in hiding capabilities to preserve options for later. That's the point of actually using the Additional Protocol authorities and getting access to sites and having questions answered. So we would love to find out exactly what the Iranians are hiding, or ideally to find out that they aren't hiding anything, but you can't answer those questions without the Iranians complying with their legal obligations.

QUESTION: Okay, and my follow-up to that was in 

MR BROWN: Sorry. Sorry, David. We've got a bunch of other people in the queue.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR BROWN: Joel Gehrke.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for doing this. I wondered  the safeguard agreements issue is distinct from the JCPOA portfolio to some degree, but I wonder: Do you see these lines intersecting? Is this  is there more unanimity on the safeguards issue or consensus on the safeguards issue that might affect the question over the arms embargo resolution later this year? And what's your plan to convince Russia not to  not to veto a resolution or abstain from a resolution related to the arms embargo?

MR HOOK: Chris, you want to do the first part?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Sure. I mean, on the safeguards question, I think one of the most significant  there are  it has its own significance substantively in terms of what Iran might or might not still be hiding, of course, as I've just said. But I think in a sort  in the larger politics of the question, the safeguards issue is I think very significant because it illustrates the degree to which  because this is a separate question from the JCPOA, we now have an opportunity to either stand together or not stand together in insisting that the rule of law be followed here, that Iran live up to its safeguards obligations, that the institutions, the international organizations that the world has built in order to handle these problems are able in fact to do their job and get our support when people try to stand in the way of them doing the job. That's the sort of challenge that we face right now, and this resolution in an important step forward in that.

And I guess the follow-on question then is to what degree are Russia and China willing to publicly admit that they are not in the business of supporting those kinds of values. This is not about whether we agree or disagree about the JCPOA, and in fact the remaining participants in the JCPOA now seem to be publicly at loggerheads with each other, with Moscow and Beijing having emerged as  in public, in the open, quite self-admittedly as protectors and enablers of Iranian safeguards violations and facilitators, therefore, of proliferation threats. I really wish that were not the case, but since it clearly is the case, we absolutely should acknowledge it as such, and all of us should come together to frankly try to shame them into doing the right thing.

MR HOOK: I think, Joel, on the arms embargo question, where the United States and Russia have shared interests, we should find a way to advance those interests together. Russia and the United States, and China for that matter, have a shared interest in a more peaceful and stable Middle East. And no one can argue that Iran's inability to be at peace with its neighbors merits the sale of conventional weapons to Iran. Iran is still  it still leads the world in supporting terrorism, and the last thing the Middle East needs is more weapons in the hands of the Iranian regime. And I think it's in Russia's interest to extend the arms embargo. One of the preambular paragraphs in the Iran nuclear deal states that the deal will contribute to regional peace and stability. Iran has not upheld its end of the bargain.

MR BROWN: Great. For our next question, let's go to Candice Divano.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you for this. My question is: There has been calls for opponents of JCPOA for bringing back the snapback sanctions on Iran. Does this lack of cooperation based on safeguards from Iran  is it grounds for that? And what administration thinks about this? Thank you.

MR HOOK: Our focus  this is Brian Hook  our focus is extending the arms embargo. That is our preferred diplomatic path, and we will be  we have drafted a resolution that we hope will win the support of the UN Security Council. I think the opinion piece that I wrote in The Wall Street Journal some weeks ago says what needs to be said on the subject of snapback.

MR BROWN: Great. I think we have time for one or two more. Can we go to the line of Nick Wadhams?

QUESTION: Hi, thanks very much. You mentioned Russia and China, but could you talk a little bit about your other partners, particularly the E3? Obviously they voted with you, but do you feel that they appreciate the urgency of the matter at hand as much as the U.S. does? Thanks.

MR HOOK: I think with Jackie on the ground working with her E3 colleagues, she's probably in the best position to answer your question.

AMBASSADOR WOLCOTT: Sure, Brian, thank you, and thanks for the question. This resolution that was passed today was actually tabled by the E3, which I think is fairly  actually very significant. They obviously saw the threat from the safeguards noncompliance or they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking this step, including extensive consultations with all members of the Board of Governors to get support for the resolution, and of course we supported it. So I think they clearly have taken a step that has  it's not a JCPOA step. It's a  strictly looking at safeguards challenges and knowing that we have a responsibility in the Board of Governors to protect that regime. And this really goes beyond Iran. If Iran can pick and choose what they're going to comply with, then that really threatens the entire safeguards regime worldwide.

MR HOOK: Okay. Next question, let's go to Humeyra Pamuk.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you. There were some pretty important nuclear countries who abstained from the resolution like India, Pakistan. I wonder what you make of that. Is that, you think, evidence that there is a limit to how far you can push this?

And my second question is like a follow-up to some colleagues. Iran basically says the IAEA has no valid reason to inspect these sites. If basically  if they don't grant access, what are you or what can you do about it? Thank you.

MR HOOK: Maybe have Jackie take the first question and Chris take the second.

AMBASSADOR WOLCOTT: Yes, thank you. The resolution got overwhelming majority support today from the 35 members. There were some abstentions. This board is used to working by consensus as much as possible, but I will say in the past there have been 12 resolutions passed in the Board of Governors on Iran. Six of them have been consensus and six have been voted, so I don't think this is out of the ordinary that we would have a  one, have a vote, and two, that there would be some that were perhaps not comfortable yet since this is moving along, this is evolving in a way in the board that hasn't happened in some years, really. So I  once it passed today, now it's our board's resolution and I think it was a very strong vote.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: And for my part, you asked about the reasons for the requests by the IAEA to have access to these facilities. It's not our  well, I mean, it's neither ours nor Iran's responsibility or it's not open to us to assess or second-guess what the professionals in the IAEA safeguards staff think that they need to do in order to complete their mission. The agency, as detailed in the reports by the director general, has provided Iran with detailed information that shows  demonstrates the basis for these access requests. It's not up to Iran. Iran has no right to pick and choose which reasons or which evidence it's willing to allow the agency to move on. If host governments could do that, there would be no safeguards system. It would just be a  everything would be entirely voluntary and people could hide whatever they wished. The whole point of these being legal obligations is that when the professionals at the IAEA secretariat and their inspections staff decide that something needs to be investigated, then it needs to be investigated, and anyone who has bounded themselves to this system is obliged to comply with those requests. And that's Iran's situation right now.

So we have great trust and faith in the integrity of the professionalism of the IAEA safeguards staff. They have done a fantastic job on these issues for a very long time. There is every sign they continue to do that and they deserve our full support, and what they don't deserve is to be second-guessed by Iranians who very clearly seem to be hiding things.

MR BROWN: Thanks. I think we're a little bit past a half hour on this call, so thank you to our briefers for their participation today, and thank you to everyone who joined the call. This concludes the call and the embargo on the contents is lifted.

MR HOOK: Thanks.

AMBASSADOR WOLCOTT: Thank you.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORD: Thanks, everyone.

[1] Iran

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Troubling spikes in coronavirus infection rates were reported on Friday in several US states, mainly in the South and West, a day before President Donald Trump was due to preside over an Oklahoma campaign rally that will be Americas largest indoor gathering in months. Wall Street jitters over a resurgence in Covid-19 cases as states moved to reopen long-stifled commerce and ease social-distancing measures helped drive down major US stock indexes, reversing earlier gains. Experts say expanded diagnostic testing accounts for some, but not all, of the growth in cases - ...
Maharashtra Police has reported 140 new Covid-19 cases and one death among its personnel in the last 48 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the force to 3,960, according to a statement released by the Maharashtra Police on Saturday.

At least, 2,925 police personnel have recovered so far from the disease in Maharashtra.

The Covid-19 infection has claimed yet another life of a policeman in Mumbai, taking the total number of police personnel dying due to the coronavirus infection across the state to 46, Mumbai Police PRO Pranay Ashok said on Saturday.

ALSO READ| 4 Mumbai Police personnel succumb to Covid-19, 1,233 cops recover and join work

The policeman was admitted at the King Edward Memorial Hospital of Mumbai and was under treatment for the last 10 days.

Out of the total 2,349 Mumbai Police staff found coronavirus positive in the city, 31 have died due to the deadly infection so far.

A week earlier, four Mumbai Police personnel, who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, succumbed to the disease, according to a statement from the Mumbai Police. The four policemen were infected in the line of duty.

Maharashtra on Friday registered 3,827 new Covid-19 cases, its highest single-day spike so far, taking its coronavirus tally to 1,24,331, the state health department said.

The state also witnessed 142 deaths from the infectious disease while the death toll mounted to 5,893.

Capital city Mumbais coronavirus count touched 64,139 as 1,264 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.

Mumbais death toll touched 3,425 with as many as 114 people succumbing to the deadly pathogen.

Seventeen new Covid-19 positive cases were reported on Friday in Mumbais Dharavi area, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the slums to 2,151, data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Mozett Petway, president of the Spotsylvania NAACP and a local pastor, summed up much of what others said.

He said he came to the meeting with a heavy heart because he is worried about the younger African American generation and how they will be treated by police. Petway said a local clergy coalition has formed to help deal with what is happening.

He talked about how the African American community sees law enforcement, calling it the tool used to limit us ... restrict us. What the community wants is dignity and respect, he said.

Like others, he praised Harris, but said the county needs to work with the community in establishing guidelines.

Those guidelines include establishing a citizen review committee to work with the county and Sheriffs Office. The list calls for a duty to intervene if police see a fellow officer acting out to line, such as in the Floyd case. The list also calls for a protocol for use of force, bans on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and outside investigations for incidents such as shootings.
Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched an employment scheme for migrant workers, saying that during lockdown the talent from cities returned to villages and it will now give a boost to development in rural areas.

Narendra ModiLaunching the 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', Modi said there are some people who might not appreciate efforts of villagers in the fight against coronavirus but he applauds them for their efforts. The way villages have fought coronavirus has taught a big lesson to the cities, he added.

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Underlining that migrant workers were always in Centre's thoughts during the lockdown, the prime minister said it is an endeavour of his government that workers get jobs near their home and help in development of villages.

Narendra Modi

Talking about infrastructure development of villages with the help of this scheme, Modi said that for the first time Internet was being used more in villages than in cities and now work to increase the speed of Internet was being undertaken.

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The 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan' was launched by Modi via video conference in the presence of chief ministers of five states Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and a minister of Odisha.
Cameron Malcolmson had a book of evidence served on him

A young man has been sent for trial accused of attempting to unlawfully seize a car near his home.

Cameron Malcolmson (21) had a book of evidence served on him at Dublin District Court.

Judge Bryan Smyth sent him forward for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Mr Malcolmson, of Seagull House, Rutland Avenue, Crumlin, is charged with attempting to seize a vehicle at Rutland Avenue.

A garda said he charged the accused before the court and handed him a copy of the charge sheet.

Mr Malcolmson made no reply after caution, the officer said.

An existing charge was withdrawn by the prosecution and struck out.

The DPP directed trial on indictment and was consenting to the case being sent forward to the present sittings of the circuit court, a state solicitor said.

Objection

The book of evidence was ready and served on the accused.

The garda said there was no objection to bail being granted on the new charge and he was not seeking any conditions.

The judge granted bail in Mr Malcolmson's own bond of 250, with no cash lodgement required.

He also granted free legal aid following an application by defence solicitor Michael French to also cover a barrister.

He ordered the prosecution to furnish the defence with copies of the accused's garda interview video.

Judge Smyth gave Mr Malcolmson the formal warning that he must provide any alibi details to the prosecution within 14 days.

He was remanded on bail to appear again next month.

No further details of the charge were disclosed, and the accused has not yet entered a plea.
The Nestle logo is pictured on the door of the supermarket of Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Pierre Albouy/Reuters)

Eskimo Pies to Replace Derogatory Name Amid Protests

The company that owns the Eskimo Pies brand said its dropping the name because its disrespectful.

We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory, Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing for Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, said in a statement.

This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values, she added.

Dreyers Grand is part of Froneri, one of the worlds largest ice cream companies. It is owned by Nestle and PAI Partners.

According to A History of Ice Cream Making, Eskimo Pies was created by an Iowa man whose father was a dairyman. The product was intended to be a cross between an ice cream sandwich and a chocolate bar.

Christopher Nelson, the man, later teamed up with Russell Stover and patented the product.

A bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup sits on a counter in White Plains, N.Y., on June 17, 2020. (Donald King/AP Photo)

Recent Black Lives Matter protests prompted a number of companies to alter or consider changing brands that have been alleged by some to be racist or insensitive.

Quaker Foods said its renaming Aunt Jemima and removing the image of the black woman who was the face of the brand.

We recognize Aunt Jemimas origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough, Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer for Quaker Foods North America, said in the announcement.

B&G Foods was reviewing the Cream of Wheat brand, the company said, adding: We are committed to evaluating our packaging and will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.

Mrs. Butterworths, Darlie, and Uncle Bens brands are also being reviewed, the companies that own the brands said.
Representative Image: Wikimedia Commons

Locals in Rajasthan's Jalore district were bewildered when a round, meteorite-like object fell from the sky. People in the area heard a loud sound as the 2.7-kg object hit the ground, which reportedly left a foot-deep hole there.

Station house officer (SHO) of Sanchore police station Arvind Purohit told news agency PTI that they received information about a sparkling object that fell from the sky near Gayatri College.

The object reportedly had metallic properties of Germanium, Platinium, Nickel and Iron, as revealed by a test in a private lab located at a jeweller's shop in Sanchore.

A factual report has been submitted to the district collector and the object will be handed over to the Geological Survey of India for examination. Meanwhile, the geology department of the Jai Narayan Vyas University in Jodhpur has also expressed interest in studying the object.

"I have requested the Jalore administration to provide us an opportunity to conduct a study on it," the head of the university's Geology department Suresh Chandra Mathur told PTI.
A US judge refused Saturday to block the release of a tell-all book in which President Donald Trump's former national security advisor describes him as corrupt and incompetent. With John Bolton's book already widely shipped to stores for sale next week, Judge Royce Lamberth wrote that it is too late for a restraining order sought by the Trump administration to halt the process. The DC district court judge said Bolton appeared to have failed to obtain written White House agreement that his memoir contained nothing classified. "While Bolton's unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy," the judge wrote. He said a review of passages that the government contends contain classified material had persuaded him that Bolton "likely jeopardized national security through publication." Despite failing in the attempt to have the book halted, Trump quickly took to Twitter to hail a "big court win" against Bolton. "Obviously, with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping it...BUT, strong & powerful statements & rulings on MONEY & on BREAKING CLASSIFICATION were made." "Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay." Bolton's attorney, Charles Cooper, welcomed the judge's ruling but disputed the finding that his client did not fully comply with his vetting obligation. "The case will now proceed to development of the full record on that issue. The full story of these events has yet to be told -- but it will be," Cooper said in a statement. The book, entitled "The Room Where It Happened," was widely shipped ahead of its Tuesday release date and many of its more damning allegations against Trump have already been reported in the media. It is Bolton's portrait of 17 months up close with Trump, until he was fired in September, although Trump characterizes the work as "fiction." Bolton, a lifelong Republican who stands firmly on the right of the party, contends that Trump is not "fit for office." He describes Trump "pleading" with Chinese President Xi Jinping during trade negotiations to boost the US president's chances of re-election in November by buying more products from US farm states. Bolton also reports that Trump, a real estate tycoon who never held office before winning the White House, thought Finland was part of Russia. - 'Ukraine-like transgressions' - Bolton, moreover, backs up the allegations at the center of Trump's impeachment last year that he pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt to weaken his expected Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden. Trump also committed other "Ukraine-like transgressions" in his wielding of foreign policy for personal gain, Bolton alleges. In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, Bolton told ABC News Trump had committed what "did feel like obstruction of justice to me" in his dealings with Turkey. Trump was said to be receptive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who brought up the criminal charges against one of his country's largest banks over violating US sanctions on Iran. Trump told Erdogan that "he would take care of things," explaining that New York prosecutors handling the case were appointed by former president Barack Obama and could be replaced, Bolton writes in his book. The sensationally blunt appraisal from someone who had such high-level access has rocked the White House, with the president already mired in criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and racial tensions. A White House statement said Bolton had "likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement." It added that "the government intends to ... ensure that he receives no profits from his shameful decision to place his desire for money and attention ahead of national security." The backlash over the book from Trump loyalists and the president himself has been savage. Trump has called Bolton "a sick puppy," a "boring fool" and a "washed-up guy." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branded Bolton a traitor. "John Bolton is spreading a number of lies, fully-spun half-truths and outright falsehoods," Pompeo said in a statement. Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton (L) says President Donald Trump is not "fit for office" Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has branded Bolton a traitor
Both Mr. Schumer and Ms. Gillibrand said Mr. Clayton should drop out of contention and said not doing so was akin to allowing the administration to muzzle an independent prosecutor.

Jay Clayton can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the U.S. Attorney for SDNY, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin, Mr. Schumer said on Twitter.

It is unclear whether Mr. Clayton was aware of the controversy that his nomination was going to elicit. Those that know Mr. Clayton said they found it hard to believe that he would have agreed to be nominated had he known Mr. Berman was not planning to step down. Mr. Berman said on Friday night that he only learned that he was stepping down from a Justice Department news release. Mr. Clayton and Mr. Berman know each other professionally and have established a good working relationship, according to people familiar with the matter.

While Mr. Clayton has golfed with Mr. Trump, he is not viewed as a political acolyte or someone who courts controversy in the way the president seems to relish. He did not contribute to the presidents 2016 campaign but has given money to candidates of both parties over the years. Mr. Clayton is not a registered Republican or Democrat.

His tenure at the S.E.C. has been fairly muted and Mr. Clayton has not played a high-profile role within the administration. But public scrutiny of Mr. Clayton is likely to increase with his nomination, particularly if he intends to see it through.

Mr. Clayton will surely find himself under considerable pressure from his professional circle not to become a pawn in what will likely be a serious fight, said Daniel C. Richman, a former federal prosecutor and Columbia Law School professor.

Rebecca Roiphe, a New York Law School professor of ethics, put it more simply: I think he should withdraw his name, she said. The process has become politicized and the public would have little faith in him at this point, especially because he doesnt have the traditional experience and profile of most people who have had the job in the past.
Quintin Adkins, 22, was arrested in Florida on Thursday and charged with with one count of written threats to kill

A Florida man was arrested Thursday for allegedly posting videos to Snapchat and Instagram in which he threatened to shoot up a Black Lives Matter protest.

Quintin Adkins, 22, was taken into custody in Nokomis in connection with the posts in which he allegedly brandished assault rifles while saying he would love to 'shoot all over them, every f*****g one of them'.

'Who wants to go to a Black Lives Matter f*****g riot and shoot s**t up, huh?' he said in one video, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The sheriff's office probable cause affidavit states that Adkins was also seen in some of the videos driving while loading a handgun and pointing it at other vehicles.

Police claim Adkins posted at least seven clips in which he engaged in obscene rants about how he wished to shoot and kill Black Lives Matter protesters.

In one clip, Adkins allegedly said he would 'love to go to a f*****g Black Lives Matter f*****g riot and shoot all over them, every f*****g one of them, let them bleed out and watch them f*****g bleed as I sit there f*****g drinking my f*****g 'rona...'

Quintin Adkins, 22, allegedly posted at least seven videos to Instagram and Snapchat in which he engaged in obscene rants about how he wanted to shoot up a Black Lives Matter protest

Adkins' Instagram account also posts a threat to the Black Lives Matter Movement

In other videos he loaded an AK-47 and pointed it out of his front windshield as well as firing a handgun at the ground from the back patio of a house.

In yet another post, Adkins allegedly pointed a gun at a cat and told it 'I can blow your head' before pouring water over the animal.

The investigation began June 11 after police received an 'anonymous tip' from an 'old friend' about the videos.

'On the 18th we received information and observed a post that showed the suspect was making a threat while holding a firearm that he was going to conduct a mass shooting at a Black Lives Rally either a protest or a demonstration,' Lt. Adam Kaskey told Suncoast News Network.

Adkins was charged with one count of written threats to kill but Lt. Kaskey warned that more charges could be coming as the investigation into the posts continues.

'We're still actively investigating,' Lt. Kaskey said. 'We felt there was a need to act immediately and swiftly so that's what we did.'

Sarasota County Sheriff's office explained in a statement that they were able to proceed with the arrest due to a clause that had been amended following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

The Florida State Statute 836.10 Written Threats to Kill was first amended in 2010 to encompass electronic threats to kill and amended again in 2018 following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Police were first alerted to Adkins' videos in early June and an investigation began June 11

In the videos, Adkins in allegedly seen loading guns and taking aim at other vehicles

'It is thanks to the added language that detectives were able to pursue charges in this investigation,' the Sheriff's Office said in a release on Friday.

'Added the fact that if someone makes a threat of a mass killing,' Lt. Kaskey said. 'We have an ability to enforce that and go ahead and make an arrest for that.'

'The safety of all the citizens of Sarasota County Is paramount for the Sheriff's Office, and when someone makes a threat toward any member of our community than we have to act on that and acting on that was made capable by this law,' he continued.

Adkins was booked into the Sarasota County Correctional Facility where he remains without bond.

Authorities said Adkins had at least seven handguns, two AR-15 rifles and an AK-47 rifle.

In his Instagram profile, Adkins includes threats for the Black Lives Matter movement.

'When they come for your guns, Make sure to send the ammo first FCK BLM,' he wrote.

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Adkins was the respondent of a domestic violence dispute with a family member in 2017.
A model of natural communism: Michael Faherty and two women that Haddon met on Inis Meain. Faherty refused to be measured, and the women would not even tell us their names, Haddon wrote

In 1893, the Daily Irish Independent began publishing a column called 'Rambles in the Natural History Museum'. The innocent-sounding title belied its content.

The author was Alfred Cort Haddon, a Cambridge-trained zoologist who had become the spokesman for a group of radicals who believed that anthropologists were obliged to confront institutional racism and genocide. At a time when the Black Lives Matter movement has brought colonial legacies into focus, his message still resonates.

Haddon believed that humankind is united by "common impulses and sympathies". In two public lectures at the Royal Dublin Society in February 1890, he presented his findings from an 1888 trip to the islands of the Torres Strait, between Australia and Papua New Guinea. These included several shots of native bodies stripped of the shapeless dresses provided by missionaries. Haddon used these images to illustrate male initiation ceremonies and courtship, pointing out that women were free to choose their own partners. An advanced thinker on sex and gender, he enjoyed shocking prudish people as way of making them think about differences between people in a new way.

His audience would have had little exposure to the inhabitants of overseas colonies - and anything they did see tended to be brutally racist. For example, in 1886, Dan Lowrey's Music Hall in Dublin (now the Olympia) hosted a "human zoo", an exhibition of members of the San people of the Kalahari. A newspaper advertisement described it as the "sixth appearance in Ireland of  the African Earthmen, the very lowest form of the human race".

Expand Close Different approach: Alfred Cort Haddon. Photo from the Wellcome Library, London / Facebook

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'Savage' societies

The idea of a human zoo would have appalled Haddon. He made a lot of friends in the Torres Strait and when he returned to London, he wrote several articles about the islanders and the degradation they suffered at the hands of British colonists. This caught the attention of a group of scientists, writers and artists who believed that the new sciences of anthropology and sociology provided a way to address problems created by rapid industrialisation in Britain.

Haddon decided to become an anthropologist and entered a network of fringe movements that were interested in socialism but stopped short of advocating revolution. They took a gradualist approach influenced by the idea that societies, like animals, evolve.

To Haddon, so-called 'savage' societies represented models of good practice in social organisation. He and his group were influenced by Pyotr Kropotkin, a Russian. Kropotkin spent time living in small communities in Siberia and became convinced that co-operation rather than competition was the key to survival in such a harsh environment. He disagreed with Thomas Henry Huxley, the British biologist known as 'Darwin's bulldog', that physical force was the only guarantee of success in the struggle for existence.

Kropotkin's influence became even more apparent when Haddon switched his attention to the Aran Islands in the summer of 1890. He called them "the most remarkable islands I have as yet come across anywhere", believing he had discovered the sort of community that the reformists dreamed of. In a slideshow presented on his return to Dublin, he depicted the islanders as a model of natural communism.

The presentation began with an acknowledgment to the recurring threat of famine in the islands. This brought him into conflict with the British authorities. One senior figure had criticised the islanders' expectation of relief whenever the fishing failed or their crops were blighted. Without real work, the official seemed to suggest, the islanders became agents of their own demise.

Haddon had witnessed the effect of that sort of thinking in the Torres Strait and this seems to have prompted him to write an uncompromising critique of British imperialism. He argued that differences in tradition, language and religion made friction inevitable in the colonies, but the undisguised racism and ruthless exploitation that went on was difficult to comprehend for anyone who had not been to the colonies. He referred to the near-total extermination of aboriginal Tasmanians in the early 1800s as "legalised murder" and declared that the British wiped out the inhabitants in countries that they had annexed, whether by accident or design, fast or slow.

His manuscript was rejected by several magazines, so he sent it to Huxley, who suppressed it on the grounds that it would be unacceptable to the British government. Given that Haddon had been appointed assistant curator of the Natural History Museum on Huxley's recommendation, this could be read as a warning. Haddon backed off and resorted to allegory when it came to writing a serialised guide to the museum for the Daily Irish Independent - a precursor to this newspaper.

At first glance, he seemed to toe the party line. He set out the evolutionists' stall in his first article. "There is no biologist who has frankly faced the facts of life who can honestly deny that evolution has operated and is still in force," he wrote. He made it clear, though, that his idea of evolution was different to Huxley's.

The difference between old-school and modern zoologists, he said, "may be expressed in two words - they looked for differences, we look for resemblances". Haddon is using a coded version of Kropotkin's belief that scientists dealing with colonised peoples should dispel racism by emphasising the unity of humankind.

Having set the scene, Haddon took readers on a subversive tour of the museum. He began at a cabinet containing the skeletons of a human and human-like apes. This case was worthy of special study, he wrote, because it illustrated "those facts of animal life and structures which teach us the history of races". Haddon was engaging his readers in a then divisive debate: whether race represented variation within a single species or, as racist biologists argued, different species that could be classified on a scale ranging from aborigines to Anglo-Saxons. Haddon did not press the point. Race was a sensitive issue in Ireland in 1893, where the capacity of supposedly emotionally chaotic Celts to govern themselves was a theme in racially charged debates over home rule. Haddon was aware of this.

Switching to a cabinet containing a rook, hooded crow and magpie, he explained the system of classifying animals. He drew the reader into a coded discussion of variation, meaning differences in size and colour in a single species. Variation led to survival of the fittest, used by some as an evolutionary justification for a "dog eat dog" political economy. Haddon, though, questioned others' emphasis on force in what Huxley termed the "struggle for existence". He argued that intuition, intelligence, moral qualities, nurture and co-operation between 'animals' contributed as much to survival.

Haddon resumed his overt attacks on British imperialism in a speech in Ipswich in 1895, taking the lead in a carefully planned insurgency by reformist elements within anthropology. That movement has been overlooked in histories of colonialism in Ireland.

His defence of the victims of imperialism resonates with contemporary calls for solidarity with the San in the Kalahari, the Awa in the Amazon and other people who are threatened by land-grabs and genocide in 2020. Celia Xakriaba called out President Jair Bolsonaro's treatment of Brazil's indigenous peoples in a video posted by Tribal Voice, an online campaign against racial violence and genocide.

"We are," Xakriaba says, "living in a moment of legislated genocide," echoing Haddon's call for an end to legalised murder. In this context, his campaigning was a precursor of the anti-racism campaigns of today.

Ciaran Walsh is a freelance curator and anthropologist
Hyderabad, June 20 : Indian Air Force chief R.K.S Bhadauria on Saturday said that the Indian armed forces are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency.

He said the security scenario in the region mandates that 'our armed forces remain prepared and vigilant all the time'.

The IAF chief was speaking at the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad.

He also said that the developments at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh are a small snapshot of what 'we are required to handle at short notice'.

"In spite of unacceptable Chinese action after agreements reached after military talks and resultant loss of lives, all efforts are underway to ensure that the current situation at LAC is resolved peacefully but it should be very clear that we are well prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency," he said.

"I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of braves of Galwan go in vain," the Air Chief Marshal added.

He paid tributes to Colonel Santosh Babu and his brave men who made supreme sacrifice while defending the LAC at the Galway Valley. "The gallant actions in highly challenging situation have demonstrated our resolve to protect the sovereignty of our country at any cost." Addressing the flight cadets of various branches of IAF, Bhadauria said IAF was revolutionizing the way 'we train and build operational capability'.

"We will fight future wars in a networked and highly automated environment with employment of cutting-edge technologies and use of modern platforms, weapons systems and sensors most of which will be built indigenously," he said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
It's very much a tale of two TDs as far as the two Fianna Fail Deputies in Cork North West is concerned.

Aindrias Moynihan from Cuil Aodha is no relation to Michael Moynihan from Kiskeam - and the two don't appear to be on the same page politically as far as it relates to the Programme For Government, for which the support of rank and file Fianna Fail party members is being sought at present in time for next week's vote in the Dail, a vote which could see Micheal Martin become the latest if not the last Fianna Fail Taoiseach.

While Michael Moynihan, who served as Chief Whip for the party in the last Dail, is wholeheartedly in favour of the document following its endorsement by the Parliamentary Party on Monday night, his party and constituency colleague remains on the fence.

In a statement received by The Corkman yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, Aindrias Moynihan TD said: "The proposed programme for Government is an extensive document which I will be discussing tonight and in the coming days with members.

"I'm very conscious of the wide range and strongly held views of members, and we will be discussing how to proceed in the coming days ahead of the vote."

His party and constituency running mate, Michael Moynihan, has made it very clear he will be promoting the proposed Programme for Government strongly among party members.

But he will also be keen to hear and discuss the points and concerns of those who have doubts over the deal, which would see Fianna Fail join with their traditional political foes, Fine Gael, in a coalition also involving the Green Party.

"There have been weeks of exhaustive negotiations with long hours each day and this was produced, which our Parliamentary Party has approved.

"I will be promoting it to whoever wants to hear my opinion, and I will also be listening to the views of members."

According to Deputy Moynihan, there are lots of provisions in the Programme which will benefit villages in rural Ireland, particularly provisions which provide for support for those working from home.

"That is in the document and is highly important to attract younger people to live and work in rural areas," he said.

"During the past few months, we've seen the qualities of rural life."

The emphasis now had to be on delivery: "We have to deliver on expectations," he said.

He dismissed criticism of the document by Green Party activist Saoirse McHugh, who described the Programme for Government as 'full of management speak' and 'fudge'.

"I can only see what's in front of me - there's a lot in it for the farming community," he said.

"There's a huge intent to deliver on this project.

"There will be enormous challenges ahead, no doubt."

Up to 50 councillors in Cork, Kerry and other counties have said they would be opposing the deal and have banded together under the banner of 'Fairer Future' to oppose going into government with the other two parties.

Three Cork councillors have been publicly associated with the campaign: Cllrs Sean O'Donovan, Deirdre Kelly and Joe Carroll have signalled their opposition to the proposed deal.

"We have a hugely democratic process in the party and we will have a healthy debate," said Deputy Moynihan.

"The parliamentary party had a long discussion and we agreed to back it."
Women's Union Officials and members gather at a meeting against South Korea and North Korean defectors, outside Sinchon Museum, in North Korea, in this picture supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 10, 2020.

North Korea has blown up a showcase inter-Korean meeting hall and pressed citizens to join staged venting rallies to show its fury at what it views as traitors who have fled to South Korea, after small groups of them launched balloons carrying leaflets denouncing leader Kim Jong Un.

Not all North Koreans are on board with the angry state campaign, which featured Kims sister Kim Yo Jong calling the leaflet-launchers human scum and mongrel dogs. Some in the North in fact envy families with members in the South because they send cash remittances back home, sources in the country said.

Even though the party is organizing a series of mass rallies to denounce the defectors, the people are envious of the defectors families, a resident of North Hamgyong province, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFAs Korean Service recently.

Residents are being made to shout out slogans to condemn the defectors, but after the rally is over it sure is hard to find anyone saying bad things about defectors on their own, the source said.

This is because the families around us [with a member who] defected are living well despite the difficulties of the national economy, the source added.

Most of those who send balloons to the North are called defectors in both Koreas, who remain in a formal state of war long after the Cold War ended elsewhere.

But rights groups draw a distinction between defectors, who fled the North as government or military officials, and refugees -- ordinary citizens who escaped poverty or hunger in the regions poorest country.

North Koreas belligerent turn this month is seen by Pyongyang watchers as calculated to extract diplomatic or economic concessions from Seoul and Washington in a well-established pattern of crisis escalation.

Smuggling cash through China

However the international reaction plays out, inside the country, the governments break with a longstanding policy of ignoring or playing down discussion of exiles in the South is making more ordinary North Koreans think about them.

The more the party strengthens class-consciousness education against defectors and denounces them, the more that residents show the exact opposite reaction, another source, a resident of Ryanggang province who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA.

They continue to hold rallies against defectors, so there is a growing interest in the freedom enjoyed by the defectors who have settled in South Korea, the second source said.

The exiles send money to their relatives in the North through intermediaries in China, who take a cut for arranging the smuggling of cash, usually Chinese yuan or U.S. dollars, across the porous Sino-North Korean border.

North Korean refugees in South Korea face social discrimination and many struggle economically as they are less competitive in South Koreas cutthroat job market. But 62 percent of them sent money to friends and relatives in the North in 2018, according to a survey by a rights group.

The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, which interviewed 414 North Koreans in the South, found most forwarded $500-2,000 a year  significant sums where an official salary is worth about $5 a month.

According to South Koreas Ministry of Unification, 32,000 North Koreans have settled in South Korea since 1998, including 1,047 last year.

The North Hamgyong source said that residents are complaining about having to attend rallies denouncing defectors.

The people gripe about fatigue and they are discontent with the authorities ongoing rallies.

They are critical of the authorities for focusing only on promoting the greatness of the Highest Dignity and creating a crisis against South Korea without solving the food problem that has befallen many residents at this difficult time, the source said. The Highest Dignity is an honorific term for Kim Jong Un.

Higher mountains down South

Skyrocketing food prices followed the closing of the border with China during the COVID-19 epidemic, while U.S. and U.N. sanctions aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs have dealt a blow to the countrys emerging market economy, sapping the income of many.

The lack of access to affordable food is making the residents ask what the government has done for them, according to the source.

More and more people are asking what plan the Highest Dignity has, if he is truly the Highest Dignity, the source said.

Residents are really envious of defectors families, because they help their families [in the North] survive the U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus crisis, the source added.

The Ryanggang source said that rumors of the wealth of refugees families have long circulated in the province, which borders China.

They have a saying here that The Mt. Halla range is better than Mt. Paektus, the source said, referring to the tallest mountains in South and North Korea.

Though North Koreas Mt. Paektu is a sacred site in Korean culture and taller than South Koreas Mt. Halla, saying that the Halla range is better implies that those with a connection in the South are economically better off. South Koreas economy is about 50 times the size of the Norths.

Young men and women used to avoid defectors families as spouses, but these days, they are becoming as popular as most senior officials families, the second source said.

The party condemns defectors as human scum and national traitors, but the residents realize that defectors in the South enjoy political and economic freedom, said the second source.

People say that we should instead denounce the officials who threaten and exploit the people and the Central Committee [of the Korean Workers Party,] which is neglecting the situation.

Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
M illie Bobby Brown is set to take part in a discussion which aims to encourage teenagers to imagine what the world could be like after the coronavirus pandemic.

The Stranger Things star, 16, will join Sofia Carson for the Worlds Largest Lesson Live event.

The pair will discuss topics including education, health and the future, as well as how school closures have forced people to rethink the value of education.

United Nations deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed and Unicef executive director Henrietta Fore will also take part in the discussion.

Ms Fore said: Children are the hidden victims of Covid-19.

Sofia Carson will also take part in the discussion / AFP/Getty Images

The pandemic has left millions of children out of school, disrupted their access to health services, pushed their families further into poverty, and affected their physical and emotional wellbeing.

With so many young lives upended, it is crucial that we meet childrens increasing needs and give them a voice as we respond to the pandemic, help families recover from it, and reimagine the world without it.

The 35-minute show, titled Worlds Largest Lesson, will take place on Tuesday and is being livestreamed online.

With reporting by Press Association
The purchase would add another awards contender to Netflix's slate. The streaming service already has several Oscar hopefuls set to release in the coming months, including David Fincher's "Mank," Ramin Bahrani's "White Tiger," Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy," and George C. Wolfe's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." It has already debuted Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods" to critical acclaim. Paramount originally planned to release the movie in limited release on September 25, 2020, before going wide on October 16, 2020. The hope is that "The Trial of the Chicago 7" will still be able to come out in 2020 ahead of the presidential election in November.
House members are separated by glass partitions due to the coronavirus pandemic during a House session Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Amid nationwide unrest and a global pandemic that wrecked the state budget, Tennessee lawmakers advanced one of the strictest abortion bans in the country as most Tennesseans were asleep Friday and largely unaware the GOP-dominant General Assembly had taken up the controversial proposal.

The bill's passage shocked Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates who had been assured for weeks that the anti-abortion measure would not be considered in the Senate.

Just hours after lawmakers adjourned Friday, an emergency lawsuit had already been filed seeking to block the implementation of the measure.

Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights  the plaintiffs in the case  declared that Tennessee was the first state to pass an abortion ban since the coronavirus outbreak hit the United States.

Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill in the coming days, according to his office.

Republicans were able to squeeze the anti-abortion measure through as last-minute negotiations stalled between the House and Senate on Thursday. Senate leaders had initially promised earlier this month only to consider coronavirus- or budget-related proposals, but eventually conceded to consider a handful of others in order to finalize a new spending plan for fiscal year 2020-21.

People are going to wake up tomorrow and we will have passed a bill that we said we werent going to take up, Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville had argued in opposition early Friday.

Under the bill, abortions would be banned once a fetal heartbeat is detected  about six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know theyre pregnant. Similar legislation has been enacted in other states, such as Mississippi and Georgia, but has been blocked by legal challenges.

Those court cases are expected to take years to snake their way through the legal system.

Supporters of the bills want to bring these types of lawsuits to an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of ending the constitutional right to abortion protected under the 1973 Roe v. Wade landmark ruling.

Story continues

Also tucked in Tennessee's 38-page bill is a requirement that women seeking an abortion undergo an ultrasound and have the doctor describe and display the image to her.

Additionally, doctors must inform women that drug-induced abortions may be halted halfway. Medical groups say the claim isnt backed up by science and there is little information about the reversal procedures safety.

Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville said that women's reproductive rights were being used "like a bargaining chip to get the budget passed.

Lee, a Republican, had encouraged the Senate to take up his proposal while talking to reporters earlier Thursday.

I believe that life is precious. Every human being is created in the image of God and protecting those lives is important to me. This legislation is an effort to do that, he said.

Meanwhile, bleary-eyed after spending hours hashing out spending plan details, lawmakers eventually passed a $39.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2020-21.

A key win for the Senate was the elimination of the states Hall income tax on stocks and bonds.

The Tennessee Legislature began phasing out the states Hall tax in 2016, with its total elimination beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The current Hall tax rate is 1% on dividends from stock.

State lawmakers made sure to funnel $210 million to the states cities and counties to help with COVID-19 related budget deficits. There are no restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Lawmakers entered their election-year legislative session in January, only to leave town in March for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. They returned to work about three weeks ago.

After George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked nationwide protests and unrest, Tennessee Republicans stirred more outrage locally by spiking a resolution this week for Ashanti Nikole Posey, a Black teen shot and killed this year. Police officers had said the 17-year-old was killed after she and a friend made a small marijuana sale, though the sale has never been proven.

Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth helped block the joint resolution after he told the chamber he could not support the legislation due to the circumstances surrounding Poseys death.

However, by Thursday night, Senate members passed their own version honoring Posey that did not require approval from the House.

During the final moments of session, the two chambers were unable to pass legislation that would have provided broad protections for businesses, schools and nursing homes against COVID-19-related lawsuits.

Lee's office has said the governor is considering calling the General Assembly back to the Capitol for a special session to address legislation that failed to pass. Lawmakers were under the presumption they wouldn't meet again until January.
G reta Thunberg has urged governments around the world to deal with climate change with the same urgency that they have shown in responding to coronavirus.

The teenage environmentalist said that the world seems to have gone past "some kind of social tipping point" in the global efforts to control the spread of the virus.

She told a Swedish radio station in a programme shared with the BBC: "People are starting to realise that we cannot keep looking away from these things, we cannot keep sweeping these injustices under the carpet."

Ms Thunberg, who founded the Schools Strike for Climate movement, believes the pandemic has demonstrated how authorities should act on climate change.

Greta Thunberg / AFP via Getty Images

She said: It shows that in a crisis, you act, and you act with necessary force... Suddenly people in power are saying they will do whatever it takes since you cannot put a price on human life.

Ms Thunberg, 17, said she hoped that coronavirus would also encourage people to think more about the deaths caused by climate change.

She also criticised businesses for their use of terms like "sustainable", net-zero and environmentally friendly, saying they have become meaningless.

And the climate activist hit out at what she called attempts by governments around the world to mask carbon footprints by being selective about the processes included in the total figure.

Some countries leave out emissions from ships and aircraft, as well as the emissions from goods produced in factories abroad.

It is "extremely likely" Ms Thunberg has had coronavirus, she said in late March.
The film, based on Sushant Singh Rajput's life and career, will be directed by Shamik Maulik and produced by Vijay Shekhar Gupta.

A few days after actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death, the news of a film inspired by his life and career has surfaced. The movie titled Suicide Or Murder?  A star was lost is now in the making.

The film will be directed by Shamik Maulik and produced by Vijay Shekhar Gupta. Speaking with Indian Express, Gupta said that Sushants death shocked everyone, but it is not new. He added that many actors come to chase their dreams in the film industry, but they dont get work because of which some die by suicide.

Gupta confirmed that the film is not Rajput's biopic, but is inspired by his life and work. "We are writing the script. It will be based on thorough research of the stars life, and we will be talking to a lot of other actors who are considered outsiders in the industry," he added.

He informed that star kids will not be roped in for the movie and they will be working with a rising star. The shooting of the film is expected to commence in a few months.

The Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! star, who was 34, died by suicide at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. In the wake of his untimely death, many have blamed a section of Bollywood for not treating him and other outsiders at par with other star kids.

A lawyer in Bihar on 17 June filed a criminal complaint against eight people, including Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, Aditya Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali for allegedly abetting the suicide of Sushant.

](Also read  Sushant Singh Rajput passes away: An 'outsider twice over' who found a unique place for himself in Bollywood)

(Also read  Sushant Singh Rajput, a hardworking actor unfazed by stardom, made all the right noises with his silences)

(Also read  Sushant Singh Rajput passes away: The unspoken hierarchies in Bollywood and what it means to be an 'outsider')

*

A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669
A top aide to DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi was handed 20 years hard labour for corruption on Saturday in a case that has tested the government's anti-graft credentials.

Vital Kamerhe, 61, who served as the president's chief of staff, was convicted of diverting more than $50 million of public funds, the court in Kinshasa said.

Much of the money was earmarked for building 1,500 social housing units under a programme announced by Tshisekedi after his inauguration in January 2019.

The case marks the first time that a figure considered untouchable in Congolese political life -- Kamerhe was also a key ally of former president Joseph Kabila -- has been tried and convicted for corruption.

Campaign group Unis welcomed "a jolt for the rule of law" but said "other key players" including a commercial bank had not been brought to justice.

"Some key players in the mechanisms for misappropriation appear to have been spared. It is difficult to understand," said Floribert Anzulini of the citizens' movement Filimbi, also citing a bank at the heart of the case.

'Under attack'

Kamerhe's lawyers said they would appeal as forced labour is banned under the country's constitution.

His sentence included other penalties including disqualification from holding public office for 10 years.

Kamerhe's co-accused, Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih, 79, was also convicted and given 20 years hard labour.

"It is not me under attack, it is the president of the republic," Kamerhe said to the prosecutor on Saturday, who reproached him for his "tendency to hide behind the head of state".

Kamerhe insisted throughout the trial that he had never entered a private contract with Samih.

He claimed that nothing was done "without the knowledge" of Tshisekedi, adding that he was not in office when the contract at the centre of the allegations was signed in 2018.

Judge's death

The televised trial, held in the courtyard of the capital's main jail, came during a campaign for the "renewal" of the justice system to help root out entrenched corruption.

The trial faced twists and turns right up until the last minute -- the Constitutional Court intervening on Friday on a legal technicality that threatened to delay the case.

That came weeks after the sudden death of the presiding judge last month.

Police declared he died from cardiac arrest but the justice ministry later said he had been murdered.

Former ministers, the current governor of the central bank and several government officials testified about their share of responsibility in the disbursement of funds and the role played by Kamerhe.

Presidential ambitions

Once a pillar of Kabila's rule, Kamerhe initially stood in the 2018 presidential poll but bowed out to team up with Tshisekedi, who took office in January 2019 in the first ever peaceful transfer of power in the country.

Kamerhe's supporters have said the trial was a plot to prevent him from securing the presidency in the next election in 2023 -- the quid pro quo in the 2018 deal.

Supporters in his home province of South Kivu took to the streets after the sentencing on Saturday.

Other senior officials and a businessman are also on trial for alleged embezzlement of public funds related to the same social-housing scheme, with a verdict expected on June 23.
Clackamas County leaders have asked Gov. Kate Brown to reconsider her decision to lump their county with Multnomah and Washington counties when easing restrictions on businesses and residents.

The governor this week approved Multnomah Countys bid to enter Phase 1, which kicked in Friday. That allows bar and restaurants to resume limited seated service, gyms and personal service businesses like salons and barbershops to reopen and and gatherings to grow to as many as 25 people. Multnomah was the last county to receive that approval.

Clackamas County, however, has already been in Phase 1 for three weeks, which means it was eligible to apply to enter Phase 2 this week. Last week, the county said it was holding off on that application to ensure it had a handle on its recent surge in cases and allow time to train the 30 new contact tracers hired the week of June 8.

But the governors decision this week to treat the three metro are counties as one unit for reopening decisions put that on hold for at least three more weeks.

Clackamas commissioners held their regular business meeting Thursday and voted 3 to 2 to submit their Phase 2 application anyway, saying they were ready to move forward now.

In its latest update to its public health indicators dashboard, the Oregon Health Authority said Clackamas was failing to meet two of the requirements to move into Phase 2. They include a 46% increase in cases in the last seven days, versus the state criteria of no more than 5%, and the countys tracing of 90% of new cases in the last week within 24 hours, versus the state criteria of 95%.

The county sent a letter to the governor Thursday signed by County Chair Jim Bernard, who voted against the move. It said her decision was disappointing news to residents working hard to prepare for Phase 2. Clackamas County has the third highest population in the state, but unlike Washington and Multnomah counties, has not received any of the $1.6 billion in federal coronavirus recovery aid received by the state.

In the letter to Brown, Clackamas officials said Marion and Hood River counties border Clackamas and are mutually traveled by residents. Those two counties have been allowed to enter Phase 2. The letter laid out the public health measures the county is taking and said the recent increases in cases had been anticipated.

Clackamas County stands ready to move into Phase II at your approval, they said.

Commissioner Paul Savas said in an interview Friday that he wasnt stuck on reopening on a specific date , but the governors decision bothered him.

If were moving the goal posts and locking the three of us together to qualify, thats a big change, he said, adding that it was unfair to businesses that have been prepping to move forward.

Washington County, meanwhile, entered Phase 1 on June 1, so the governors decision could delay its application to move into the next phase by more than two weeks. But board Chair Kathryn Harrington released a statement on behalf of all the countys commissioners Wednesday saying they supported the reopening linkage.

We respect the governors decision to link Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties into one regional territory when it comes to moving into Phase 2 together, it said. In fact, weve long had a regional approach to this pandemic and other aspects of our public health services It is important to remember that this virus knows no jurisdictional boundaries.

- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-221-8505; @tedsickinger

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Google has now made it easier than ever for users to deregister their phone number from its RCS chat if they experience RCS-based text messaging errors. Summarily, the company has rolled out a brand new form for users to fill out to deregister their number directly. The easy-to-use form only houses two fields for users to enter information into and was spotted on Googles support page for Messages.

How does the new process work?

Using the new process to deregister a phone number from the Google RCS chat service is easy. In fact, there are only two fields in the form. And, as noted above, its found on the same Messages support page that delves into the above-mentioned method in greater detail. Its actually embedded directly into the page, found at the URL https://messages.google.com/disable-chat.

Once on the page, users will need to scroll down and enter their phone number, assuming they still have the same number. Otherwise, all bets are off and the underlying problem may not even be related to RCS at all. After entering their phone number, Google will send the user a message with a 6-digit verification code. Entering the code, of course, deregisters the entered number from RCS.

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If that cant be accomplished via the form, an error message will be returned with an explanation of the problem. Users cant deregister if it was never registered to begin with, for instance. Or if the phone number is registered to a carriers RCS services instead of Googles.

So why would somebody want to deregister from RCS chat?

There is any number of reasons this tool will prove useful but the most obvious is effectively a category of errors. Sometimes, when switching from one device to another RCS chat stops working properly. Especially when switching away from the Android platform or to a new carrier but also just from one phone to another.

The latter two cases will arguably be the most common. And they present themselves in a multitude of ways.

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Messages may just not be sending if users are having RCS errors, for example. Or, in at least some cases, users may be missing messages because theyre still appearing on an old device. In other cases, a mix of the two problems can occur or messages may just not be received.

RCS, meant to replace SMS messaging, allows for a much more chat-like experience and is still comparatively new. So nobody should be too surprised if there are some issues to be worked out. But, prior to this, users needed access to their old device to disable RCS chat on that device.

Thats because, before this turning off RCS chat in Messages has been an on-device process that requires users to flip a toggle in the apps settings.

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The alternative is to wait for the device, presumably factory reset or removed from the Google account manually through account management settings  under Devices  to effectively fall off of the account. But that can take up to eight days and thats a long period to hold off while text messages arent working properly.
Unmanned aircraft and drugs seized by CNB on 17 June. (PHOTO: Central Narcotics Bureau/Facebook)

SINGAPORE  Police have arrested four Singaporeans in connection to a case of suspected drug trafficking using an unmanned aircraft.

The Singapore Police Force and Central Narcotics Bureau have seized a total of about 389 grams of Ice (methamphetamine), eight grams of heroin, 195 Ecstasy tablets and two Erimin-5 tablets, after they arrested three men and one woman, aged between 24 and 40.

The drugs were estimated to be worth at least $44,000, said CNB in a media release on Saturday (20 June).

Unmanned aircraft with bag attached

On Wednesday at about 5.45pm, police detected unusual unmanned aircraft activity in the vicinity of Kranji Reservoir Park. Officers from Woodlands Police Division observed an unmanned aircraft, with a bag attached to it, hovering in the air at the park.

Police subsequently found and arrested two men, aged 29 and 34, who were believed to be the operators of the said unmanned aircraft. The unmanned aircraft and a black bag were retrieved.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the bag contained substances suspected to be controlled drugs  about 278 grams of Ice.

During a subsequent search by CNB officers of one of the mens car, which was parked in the vicinity of the park, an assortment of controlled drugs  about 35 grams of Ice, eight grams of heroin and 195 Ecstasy tablets  were also found.

The two men were suspected to have operated the unmanned aircraft from Singapore to import drugs from Malaysia. Flight data retrieved from one of the suspects phone showed that the unmanned aircraft had flown from Kranji to Johor Bahru and back again to Kranji that day.

The duo have since been charged on Friday with trafficking Class A controlled drugs.

Follow-up operation nabs two

In a follow-up operation conducted by CNB on Thursday, another man and woman were arrested in connection with the two men earlier arrested at Kranji Reservoir Park.

The 24-year-old woman, a suspected drug abuser, was arrested in the vicinity of a private housing estate at Marne Road. The 40-year-old man, a suspected drug trafficker, was arrested shortly after, in a unit within the private housing estate.

Story continues

Forced entry was effected as the man refused to heed the lawful orders of the CNB officers to open the door. A total of about 76 grams of Ice, a small amount of heroin, two Erimin-5 tablets and cash amounting to $13,230, were found within the unit.

The total amount of 389g of Ice that had been seized in these operations is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 220 abusers for a week. Investigations are ongoing.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Latest infected inmate not linked to previous cases at Changi Prison

COVID-19: Screening of dormitory wastewater effective, more testing to be done

Singapore Pools to resume lottery draws, open retail outlets from 22 June

Congregation activities can resume with 50-person limit at places of worship from 26 June
New Delhi: India has completed construction of a strategically important bridge over the Galwan river in eastern Ladakh, notwithstanding strong opposition to it by the Chinese military, government sources said on Friday.

The construction of the bridge was one of the reasons behind the aggressive behaviour by China's People's Liberation Army in the region that triggered the six-week standoff between the two sides.

The 60-metre bridge is around four kilometres east of the confluence of Shyok and Galwan rivers, and links the narrow mountainous region to the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road.

The sources said the bridge will facilitate quicker movement of Indian troops in the area that is not very far from the site of the violent clashes in Galwan on Monday evening.

"The bridge will definitely improve movement of Indian troops in the region. We completed construction of the bridge despite the military standoff and Chinese army's strong protest," said a senior military official on condition of anonymity.

The Galwan Valley was the site of the violent clash between the two militaries on Monday evening in which a Colonel and 19 other Indian Army personnel were killed. The People's Liberation Army has not yet talked about the number of casualties it suffered during the cross border clash, the worst in 45 years.

The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Galwan.

Military sources said the two sides are holding another round of military talks on Friday.

In a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called the clashes a "premeditated" action by Chinese PLA.

India has already trashed the Chinese army's claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, saying such "exaggerated" and "untenable" claims are contrary to the understanding reached during a high-level military dialogue on June 6.

The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when the two sides clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso.

The situation in the area deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.

Prior to the clashes, both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
According to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, all the new patients returned from Europe on flight VN2 on June 6.

Immediately after landing in Vietnam, they were put into quarantine at a college in Hanoi. Tests on June 18 showed the seven were positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

All of them are being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No. 2 in Dong Anh, Hanoi.

As many as 326 out of total 349 cases have been given the all-clear, accounting for 93.4 percent, and there is no fatality. Among the remaining 23 patients, four tested positive at least twice.

Vietnam has gone through 64 consecutive days without local transmission.

At present, 6,176 people who had close contact with patients or returned from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine. Of whom, 89 are in hospitals, 5,734 in other facilities and 353 at home and place of residence.
Even if nursing homes could obtain that many masks  which Vetter highly doubts  they would not be able to afford them.

Vetter said she has talked to other nursing home administrators who agree with her, and, as a board member of LeadingAge Iowa, a statewide membership organization of nonprofit providers of aging services, she has heard similar comments.

And so, licensed nursing homes, their residents and families are stuck in the limbo of the lockdown.

"The perception is that everybody has everything they need (in regard to PPE) and the truth is that long-term care does not," she said.

She is hoping that in the coming days nursing homes  and families of nursing home residents  can convince state health officials to compromise. Perhaps the state could allow a different type of mask that could be reused, for example.

At present, Ridgecrest staff is doing what it can to keep residents engaged; there are one-on-one visits, hallway visits and video chats and phone calls with family, "but that's just not the same," she said.

"This is hard; this is hard stuff."
This is the second and final part of the article that explains why MTN Ghana has become a monster sending shivers down the spine of all industry stakeholders, why people think previous governments should have probably curtailed their growth years ago but stopped short of doing so, why this government felt the need to do it now, and whether indeed this government did it for ignoble reasons  blackmail.

MNP

So, as explained in part one, the entrance of other telcos like Westel/Zain/Airtel failed to impact negatively on Spacefon/Areeba/MTN. Then Glo was also allowed in and they sounded like a threatening animal on arrival, but they had and still have nothing on MTN. But prior to Glo, mobile number portability (MNP) came in and the public mantra was MTN was about to go down. Indeed, the Vodafone Ghana CEO at the time, same Kyle Whitehill stated publicly that his MNP strategy was to go after MTN customers.

He was very direct and open about it. I dont know what he did practically to implement that strategy, but that was what he said. Recently, it was alleged that MTN, at some point, sent messages to Vodafone customers inviting them to join MTN. It is not clear how that is possible and whether that is true, but one would imagine that if you threaten to go after someones customers, you only get what is coming to you.

Today the MNP platform is very quiet because the regulator is not churning out any information on the trends, probably because some telcos are not comfortable with that information going public. Or maybe because the regulator itself feels the platform is not being used the way they envisaged. But reliable sources tell this writer that MTN is a net winner on that front as well. It was the same with Mobile Money Interoperability. When the custodian of the platform, Ghana InterBank Payments and Settlements System (GhIPSS) shared some traffic figures with journalists once, some telcos became uncomfortable because they were net losers and MTN was the obvious winner. The telcos actually asked GhIPSS not to send anymore data to journalists. Funny industry  every player wants their journalists to have access to certain information, but be denied access to other information.

Interoperability

Speaking of interoperability; when it first started, customers of Vodafone and AirtelTigo could easily send money to each other but the customers of the two could not send money to the MTN platform. The reason was allegedly because the two telcos implemented the architecture design provided by GhIPSS to the letter, but MTN had a different design and that created problems. As of today, that problem is no more there, but there was some silent suspicion that MTN did that deliberately because of its gargantuan size on the mobile money front  94 per cent. That is practically a monopoly. Even without the others, MTN can run its own mobile money platform comfortably and profitably. That is the kind of independence that scares every stakeholder. It clearly shows MTN is fast approaching the point, if not already there, where it would not need anyone to survive, but everyone needs it.

So was it because of the obvious market share numbers, the failure of new entrants to break MTN, the failure of MNP to do the job and the complaints on the interoperability platform that finally drove this government to now do what should have been done long ago?

Blackmail?

But for the ongoing court case where a witness for Vodafone reportedly admitted to giving customers private data to the government, one would have been stack with the four reasons above as justification for government doing the necessary. However, in African politics, things are usually done based on more stuff than what meets the eye.

Government used a private company, Kelni GVG to establish a common monitoring platform to police the industry players, ignoring suggestions by the players to bring them together under NCA to establish that platform. A major concern was customer privacy, but government promised that will not be affected in any way. But now there is a case in court, where Vodafone has admitted to giving customers private information to government through the private company managing the monitoring platform.

So how does that concern MTN and what has that got to do with naming MTN SMP? MTN was said to have refused to give out customers private information to Kelni GVG and by its huge size, denying Kelni GVG of that data makes nonsense of whatever analysis they want to do with that data. So to pay MTN back, government decided to activate the anti-competition laws which begins with naming MTN the SMP. That was the allegation.

NCA debunks

Apparently, all this seem to be just hot air. The NCA has issued a statement and explained that government indeed collected some customer information from ALL THE TELCOS, not just Vodafone, but the information collected was just passive mobile positioning logs purely for location purposes, to assist in the COVID-19 contact tracing. The regulator said that data never contained any private information of customers. It also explained that following a court injunction against the collection of such information, the telcos have since stopped giving that data to the NCA, pending the court ruling on June 23, 2020.

Well, what the NCA said is what the NCA said. But a Vodafone representative also said in court that the information they gave to government, whether for COVID-19 contact tracing or whatever purpose, was private customer information. So it is the word of NCA against that of the witness in court. All of that will be determined on June 23, 2020.

But why would anyone suggest that the Minister is using SMP policies to blackmail MTN for failing to give private customer data to Kelni GVG? The answer is not far-fetched. When the Minister gave the directive to telcos to remove expiry dates from data bundles and quit charging CST upfront, she used a subtle quality of service threat to whip them into line and push her policy through. On that occasion, the Ministers statement subtly read that government would also be closely monitoring the quality of service of the telcos to ensure they met the standards. It is not a secret that when it comes to quality of service, the telcos themselves know it not a battle they would ever win on any day. Government always has a way of approaching the issue to give the telcos a bad name. A simple radio or TV discussion for people to phone in and speak of their experiences, will give each of the telcos hell and the regulator will just descend on them. So the Minister has proven she will pull any strings to get the telcos to fall in line. That might be why anyone would suggest that after several governments had overlooked MTNs SMP status, this Minister just went for it without blinking.

Resilience

But lets stop for one minute and consider the effect of the various policy interventions on the growth of MTN. Throwing in more telcos was supposed to curtail the growth of anyone of the telcos beyond a certain level; but it did not affect MTN because they understood the market and found a way around it. MNP also came in and people started screaming, this is it, MTN is going down, but it never happened. Now here we are with SMP. Well, if the other telcos, and even the regulator had half the understanding of the market the way MTN has proven to have, they would know that MTN can always get around this just like it did the others.

The story

Let me conclude with this story. When former MTN Ghana Boss, Eben Asante finished his assignment in Ghana, the Chamber of Telecoms held a farewell party for him. At that party, the new Chairperson of the Chamber, then Vodafone CEO, Yolanda Cuba made fun of Eben, saying that he had been using Blackberry phone and that was archaic. She then asked the rest of us in the audience to help her stop Eben using Blackberry. We all had a good laugh. But when Eben mounted the podium, he gave Yolanda a befitting and thought-provoking response. He said that it would be better for Yolanda to seek the INSIGHT behind his continuous usage of Blackberry rather than condemning it outrightly as archaic. He then explained that Blackberry was the only phone that allowed access to some Apps in places like China and other countries where there are restrictions. So it was lack of insight that made Yolanda laugh off his Blackberry. Eben then said "you the young ones need to be humble and learn from those who were here before you came." Now that was not funny!

Let me repeat that I am not against naming a telco SMP when all the factors point to that. But just naming an SMP and implementing anti-trust and anti-competitive measures at the regulator level is not a panacea for the smaller telcos to become big. They need to do the hard work. They need to learn the INSIGHTS from MTN and do the things that will attract and keep customers. They must know that, in a competitive market, state policy does not, and will not determine which network satisfies the consumer. The consumer decides where they want to belong, depending on what they are getting in terms of their total experience on the network. Stakeholder engagement and how it is done is also key to their progress. You can't excite high-end customers and give the rest crumbs and expect state policy to make you profitable.

By the way, the best NCA can do for the smaller telcos is to sell the LTE (4G) spectrum to them at a cheaper cost than they sold to MTN. The regulator must put their money where their mouth is. Going after MTN without government making that one important sacrifice would result in COS 90 degrees.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday lashed out at state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran for his comments against on Health Minister KK Shailaja. Vijayan said the outrage against Shailaja is stemming from a particular mindset and it is anti-women.

Is this how you see women? It's unfortunate that the Congress president has fallen to this level to believe that words like this would bring applause from supporters or grab headlines," the chief minister said.

Stating that Shailaja was only trying earn the title Covid Queen, Ramachandran has said the health minister was taking credit for handling the coronavirus crisis, but has done nothing for the diaspora.

"She first by just playing a 'guest role' when Nipah struck Kozhikode, earned the title 'Nipah princess' and now she is trying to earn the title of 'Covid Queen', when our diaspora is waiting endlessly to return to their home town. This Left Front government has cheated the diaspora, when they badly needed the support of the state government," he said during a sit-in at Thiruvananthapuram.

On Saturday, members of the women's wing of the CPI-M took out a march to the residence of Ramachandran in Kozhikode district demanding an apology for his remark.

Vijayan said the opposition is trying to see if it can derail the virus prevention measures of the government by singling out and launching an attack on the health minister.

"I have only one thing to say. Don't play politics with the lives of the people. The lives of the people are important," CM said.

Also joining the issue was the Sajesh, husband of Lini, a nurse who was in the forefront of helping Nipah victims at Kozhikode in 2018, but succumbed to the disease.

Sajesh said Shailaja is like a family member to them and was always with the grieving family and even now calls them on Lini's death anniversary. He said when Nipah struck Kozhikode, Ramachandran was a Lok Sabha member from Vadakara but he never even called or did anything.

Soon after, Congress workers marched to Sajeshs office and pointed out that Ramachandran was very much active in the fight against Nipah and he even spoke to Sajesh.

On Saturday, Ramachandran said he stands by what he said and the entire credit for fighting the Nipah virus should be given to the hard-working health professionals in Kozhikode.

Vijayan said the efforts of the Congress to witch-hunt the family members of Sister Lini would be thwarted.

Congress workers took out a protest march against the hospital where the Sister Lini's husband, Sajesh, works. Sister Lini is Kerala's own. The state had seen Sister Lini's life sacrifice with tears. She is a testimony of our fight against Nipah. Everyone in Kerala considers her family as their own," Vijayan said, adding Ramachandran is bringing shame to Kerala by his remarks.

He said that had the government paid heed to the advice of Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on mitigation strategy, the situation would have turned worse.

"In the Assembly, when the issue was discussed, what was opposition leader's stand? He said we should shift our strategy from 100 per cent containment to mitigation. Had we followed his advice, what would have happened?"

Regarding Fridays protest by Congress leaders outside the state secretariat, Vijayan said there was no social distancing.

Vijayan said, "Take for example, Fridays protest of Opposition leader. The rush of people to get into one camera frame. Should that be done during these times? You all should be an example for others. What is the message you are giving? Should the message be that people should not follow social distancing during such times."

Chennithala, Ramachandran and several other Congress functionaries staged a sit-in outside the secretariat to protest against the state government's insistence on a COVID-negative report from expatriates before being allowed to return to Kerala.
GROTON, Conn. - Sailors and workers at Connecticuts Navy submarine base may relish a new step in relaxing coronavirus shutdowns: Starting Tuesday, local restaurants can deliver to the base again.

The Navy announced the change Saturday.

Connecticuts measures to control the virus and current conditions both on and off the base allow for the welcome return of these services, base commander Capt. Todd D. Moore said in a release.

Restaurants and local food delivery services havent had access to the base in Groton since March 27. Institutional-scale food deliveries to the commissary and other on-base food options continued, and a food truck and Subway sandwich shop on the base stayed open.

Workers and sailors also can pick up take-out food from restaurants and bring it back to the base, officially called Naval Submarine Base New London.

The virus has been blamed for 4,251 deaths in Connecticut as of Saturday, an increase of 13 from Friday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced. Hospitalizations continue to decline.

___

AMUSEMENT PARK REOPENS

Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury reopened Saturday, with restrictions in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.

George Frantzis, co-owner of the park, told News 12 that most rides are open but that the parks arcade is closed and indoor dining isnt allowed, though outdoor dining is allowed. Park visitors are required to wear a mask when entering.

A station that dumps gallons of water on children in the parks water park has been turned off to prevent large groups from gathering in close quarters, Frantzis said.

Lake Compounce in Bristol is scheduled to reopen on July 1 for season pass-holders and July 6 for the general public.

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GOODBYE, COLUMBUS (AVENUE)

New Yorkers are trading the Empire State for the Nutmeg State, according to data from the U.S. Postal Service.

Heart Connecticut Media reported that nearly 10,000 New York City residents have requested an address change to Connecticut since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

During the same period in 2019, about 1,200 such requests were made.

More than 200,000 New York City residents have been sickened by COVID-19 and more than 17,000 have died.

Many of the New York transplants have relocated to lower Fairfield County, which is within easy commuting distance to the city. Nearly 5,000 address changes from New York occurred between March and early June this year in the county, compared to 765 during the same period in 2019, according to the postal service data.
Millions of Indians could be targeted by fake emails, social media posts or texts messages related to Covid-19 in order to steal their credentials or compromise their computers, Indias official cybersecurity agency Cert-IN said in an advisory uploaded on Friday, citing a report from independent researchers who said the attack is being planned by North Korea-based cyber criminals.

The alert is the latest in a series of warnings from cybersecurity firms across the world about hackers exploiting interest in the coronavirus disease pandemic to lure people into clicking on fake login pages or downloading malicious files that could create a backdoor in their computers.

The phishing campaign is expected to impersonate government agencies, departments and trade associations tasked to oversee the disbursement of the government fiscal aid, the advisory by Cert-IN (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) said, citing a report by Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Cyfirma.

Such campaigns usually have a financial motive since access to a persons email account or their computers in entirety could allow the cybercriminals to break into peoples bank accounts.

The potential for damage is immeasurable, Cyfirmas CEO Kumar Ritesh said in response to questions over email. When PII (personally identifiable information) is stolen, impersonation will take place where hackers can use your identity to commit all sort of crimes, or infiltrate corporate systems. For this particular phishing campaign, hackers are looking personal details / PAN no / communication address / health conditions, he added.

According to Cyfirmas report, the attack is yet to begin and could involve two million email addresses that the cyber actor  identified as the well-known Lazarus group -- seem to have. The hackers, in particular, plan to capitalise on announcements of financial aid to lure vulnerable individuals and companies into falling for the phishing attacks, it said.

Some of the other emails may pretend to be from authorities and offer people to sign-up for free Covid-19 testing.

As of time of reporting (18 Jun), we have not seen the phishing or impersonated sites defined in the email templates. But our research shows the hackers were planning to set that up in the next 24 hours, the report said.

It was unclear how the email addresses of the Indian targets were compromised. But it is fairly easy to scrape and steal email address from social media and other platforms. Compromised email addresses can also be found on sale in dark web marketplaces, Ritesh said.

The campaign was also planning to target people in US, UK, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, it added.

The analysis carried purported screenshots of some of the phishing emails, which showed the text appeared to be signed by government officials. The mails could be sent through spoofed addresses  one of the addresses it could be from is ncov@gov.in  and could include links or files that can deliver malicious code.

In recent months, agencies have warned of hacking attempts involving Covid-19  with one notable instance being fake Aarogya Setu applications that were being spread. These fake apps could allow a victims device to be turned into a spying tool, giving access to phone data, camera and the microphone.

Some of these attacks involve state-based actors, and cyber threat analysts have highlighted the risks Indian citizens face due to inadequate data protection safeguards. Knowing the work of state actors who are well-funded and highly resourceful, we cannot rule out further cyber activities that could arise from the phishing campaign, said Ritesh.

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The Ogun State government has inaugurated a nine-man committee for criminal justice monitoring in order to ensure that persons awaiting trial are, as far as possible, not detained in prison for a length of time beyond that which is proscribed in section 308, Section 117 (6)(d) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

The Chief Judge, Mosunmola Dipeolu, made the announcement while speaking during the inaugural meeting of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC), which held at Judiciary Complex, Kobape Abeokuta.

She said that with the inauguration of the committee, the administration of justice is expected to be well pronounced and meaningful.

Mrs Dipeolu said that Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) was enacted in May 2015, and was meant to bring the Federal Courts up to date in the administration of criminal justice.

She added that the state followed by enacting its ACJL on the third day of April, 2018, saying that the State Judiciary and indeed, all concerned parties in the administration of criminal justice has been making use of the Law, in the determination of criminal cases across the state.

Mrs Dipeoplu said the aim of the committee was to ensure the effective and efficient application of the ACJL, noting that the innovations in the ACJL were laudable and welcome.

The Chief Judge, however, said that there are so many hindrances against the efficient and effective application of the law, imploring the Governor, Dapo Abiodun to provide the facilities needed for the full application of the law in its entirety as it would definitely enhance the administration of criminal justice.

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She urged every member of the Committee to see their inauguration as a call to duty and a call to serve the citizens of the State and dear country by further enhancing and strengthening the administration of criminal justice of the State.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Akingbolahan Adeniran, in the same manner, said it was imperative to inaugurate the committee, in order to fasten and quicken the administration of justice in the state, noting that the pattern of the existing era of justice would be the thing of past with the inauguration of the committee.

He said that Section 389(2) of the ACJL provides that the Attorney-General, shall, within 90 days of the receipt of the Police case file, issue and serve his Legal Advice indicating whether or not there was a prima facie case against the Defendant for which he can be prosecuted.

Mr Adeniran further stated that Section 396(1) of the ACJL provides that where an information has been filed in the Court, the Chief Judge shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the information filed was assigned to a Court for trial within 15 working days from the date of its filling.

Those Inaugurated as members of the Committee, including; the Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, as the Chairman; the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Akingbolahan Adeniran as Co-chairman; the Hon. Judge of the State, Justice Ayokunle Rotimi-Balogun, and the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Abrimson.

Others are the Comptroller of Prison, Victor Benson; the Chairman, Sagamu branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, Felix Adetoro; the Director of Public Prosecution Department, Ministry of Justice, Segun Olaotan; the Director of Citizens Right Department, Ministry of Justice, Bamidele Adebayo; and the Chairperson, International Federation of Women Lawyer (FIDA), Kemi Osisanya.
How many of us still live or work in the same village, town, city, region, state, or country where we were born? Migration is a fact of life. We are a people on the move. We are being pushed and pulled in many different directions. We move because circumstances in one location push us or circumstances in our target destinations to pull us or a combination of both.

With our feet, cars, trains, ships, airplanes, and other modes of transportation, we explore, we seek adventure, and we seek new challenges and opportunities. We move for convenience and we move out of necessity as well as reasons in-between.

This article focuses on the migration of Abraham and his descendants to and from Egypt. An African country provided food, shelter, livelihood, and refuge for people whom God has blessed. And if you are a Christian, this is your story, too, because if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29 NIV).

Gods special relationship with the people of Israel, starting with Abraham, is a story of migration. God told Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his fathers household and go to the land that He would show him (Genesis chapter 12). Abraham obeyed God and left Haran with his wife and some members of his household to Canaan, the Promised Land. Thereafter, a severe famine hit the land so Abraham and his household left for Egypt to live there for a while. It is not clear how long Abraham lived in Egypt, but by the time he left, he had acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. (Genesis 12: 16 NIV).

The major migration to Egypt occurred after Abrahams great-grandson Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Miraculously, Joseph became governor in Egypt, perhaps next in rank to Pharaoh. Again, famine hit the land of Canaan where Abrahams grandson Jacob and his family lived. Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt so he sent ten of his sons to go there and buy grain. They met Joseph in Egypt, but he did not reveal himself to them. They bought some grains and returned home.

However, the famine was still severe, so they went to Egypt a second time and Joseph revealed himself to them. Joseph invited the whole family to Egypt. Jacob and his direct descendants numbering about seventy, migrated to Egypt. On the way, in Beersheba, God spoke to Jacob in a vision and told him not to be afraid to go down to Egypt; that He would go there with him; that He would make him into a great nation; and that He would bring him back to Canaan (Genesis chapters 42-47). They remained in Egypt for about 430 years, a portion of which was spent in slavery. By the time they were freed and started their migration back to the Promised Land, they numbered about six hundred thousand men, besides women and children (Exodus 12:31-42).

Just as Gods relationship with Abraham started with migration, so too did the story of Jesus start with migration. You may recall that Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, Josephs hometown, because of a census decree by the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus that all persons in the Roman Empire needed to go home to be counted. It was there that Jesus was born (Luke chapter 2).

When King Herod wanted to kill baby Jesus, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. (Matthew 2:13). They did that, and Jesus and his parents became refugees in Egypt. After Herod died, an angel told them to go to the land of Israel and they went to live in the town of Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).

Imagine if Egypt had the type of immigration laws that some countries have today. How would Joseph and Mary have convinced the Egyptian authorities about what an angel of the God they did not know told them in a dream? What evidence could they have produced to prove that baby Jesus was in danger of being killed by King Herod? Who knows what would have happened if the Savior of the world and his parents had been refused entry into Egypt? In the same way, who knows what happens to those who are refused entry at various countries borders and ports seeking refuge, asylum, and economic opportunities? And who will stand in solidarity with Lady Liberty in New York as she lifts high the welcome lamp and join Emma Lazarus in saying, Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free? (Lazarus, E. (1883). Statue of Liberty [Inscription]. New York).

The reasons for the migrations to Egypt were to escape death by starvation due to the famine, and death by the order of the king. Escaping famine in search of food could be likened today to escaping from ones country or place with severe economic hardships and no jobs, to another country or place with greener pastures, economic prosperity, and more job opportunities. For example, Abrahams acquisition of wealth in Egypt mentioned above may have contributed to his riches back in Canaan. Many people migrate in order to acquire resources from the new place to be used as foundation for business and livelihood back home.

Migration of people continues around the world. If we look deeper into our own history, we may find that our ancestors came from places other than where we currently live or where the family currently claims as home. Ask your grandparents; you may be surprised.

When a person migrates, the hospitality of the people of the new location may determine whether that person stays or leaves. A welcome and hospitable reception may make the stay longer and enjoyable. A hostile reception may make the person miserable and cut the stay short.

Over and over again, those who showed hostility towards migrants, immigrants, foreigners aliens, and strangers under the guise of upholding the law, found themselves not only on the wrong side of history, but may also find themselves on the wrong side of God. God required the Israelites to treat aliens and foreigners living on their lands fairly as they did natives, and to love them as themselves because they were once aliens in Egypt (See Leviticus 19:33-34; Exodus 23:9).

For these and other reasons, we should treat all migrants, strangers, aliens, foreigners, and immigrants with love, kindness, compassion, respect, and dignity. If you live in a community where there are migrants, strangers, foreigners, or people who are not indigenes of the community or country, do not take undue advantage of them or harass them.

One day, there will be judgment. The kudos will go not to those who discriminated against, harassed or called immigration officers to deport migrants, strangers, aliens or foreigners in the name of obeying the law or for personal reasons, but to the likes of Pharaohs daughter who risked her life, obeyed a higher law, and rescued baby Moses from the Nile River and raised her as her own son (See Exodus chapter 2). And the kudos will go not to those (and their supporters) who ripped off or separated babies and little children from their parents at the borders in the name of enforcing immigration law, but to the likes of the Egyptian midwives who risked their lives, obeyed a higher law, and hid Hebrew baby boys instead of killing them during childbirth as ordered by Pharaoh (Exodus chapter 1).

In the end, what we would like to hear from Jesus is, well done, good and faithful servant! (Matthew 25:21 NIV). We would like to hear from Jesus that we gave food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited prisoners (Matthew 25: 31-46). Lets do so, and lets remember that the stranger who walked and talked with the two disciples along the Road to Emmaus was Jesus himself (Luke 24:13-35).

Finally, lets remember that Christians are a migrating group. This world is our temporary home; we are on a journey to our ultimate home in heaven. Wherever we migrate to on this long journey, lets keep the faith and worship the one and only true God who revealed Himself to the world through His only begotten Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesu Christ. Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us and come back and take us home. (John14:2-3) That would be the biggest and final migration.

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.
New Orleans health officials have identified clusters of new coronavirus infections traced back to a graduation party and a large gathering at a bar outside Orleans Parish, the city announced late Friday.

City officials did not immediately respond to questions about how many infections were tied to the two events, when the gatherings occurred, the location of the party or the name of the bar.

Coronavirus outbreak at Tigerland bars; if you visited one, state says to self-quarantine State health officials have confirmed a coronavirus outbreak connected to multiple Tigerland bars, with at least 100 guests and staff testing 

The announcement came on the same day that the state Department of Health confirmed that at least 100 patrons and staff members at multiple bars in the Tigerland area of Baton Rouge tested positive for the coronavirus this week. The department did not name the bars, but JL's Place, Reggie's, Fred's and The Chimes have all temporarily closed after their employees tested positive for the virus.

It is not clear whether that outbreak is tied to the cluster reported by the city.

City officials repeated calls asking residents to stay away from "large, uncontrolled" gatherings which pose "the highest risk of transmission" and can "fuel a rapid rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths."

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Anyone who has attended a gathering where social distancing was not observed and masks or other protective equipment were not worn should quarantine for 14 days and get tested, according to the city's health department.

10 graphics that show 'alarming' rises in coronavirus in parts of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged Louisiana residents to do a real gut check about whether they are taking enough personal precautions to lessen t

In New Orleans, weve made such great progress because so many of our residents have been patient, compliant, and understanding, Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said. We must continue that good work as long as COVID remains a threat. We might be over COVID, but COVID is not over by a long shot.

The newly identified clusters also come as Louisiana has seen what officials described as an alarming rise in cases statewide. That rise comes about two weeks after the state moved into Phase 2 of its reopening.
New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan on Saturday through video conferencing.



"Today is a historic day, a scheme for the welfare and for the livelihood of the poor has been started. It is dedicated to the workers, to the youths and women living in villages. The majority of these include those who have returned to their villages during the lockdown, they want to develop their village through their efforts and skill," Modi said at the launch of the event.

"The country understands both your feelings and your requirements. The program being started through Khagaria today is a medium to meet your requirements. It will be run in 116 villages in six states," he added.

The Prime Minister in his speech credited workers for giving him the idea of starting this scheme.

The launch of the event was attended by Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and CM Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot.

Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba, Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Jharkhand, along with Chairman, Railway Board, among others, also attended the launch event.

The Prime Minister also held a conversation with officials and workers from Khagaria, Bihar, through video conferencing, during the event.

Beginning his address the Prime Minister said that every Bihari is proud of the valour shown by the personnel of 16 Bihar regiment in the violent face-off with Chinese troops which took place on June 15-16 in Ladakh.

"The country is proud of the sacrifice made by our braves in Ladakh. Today when I am speaking to people of Bihar, I will say the valour was of Bihar Regiment, every Bihari is proud of it. I pay tributes to the braves who laid down their lives for the nation," Modi said in his address.

This Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan with a duration of 125 days, will work in mission mode and involve focused implementation of 25 categories of works or activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee workers in 6 states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha.

Public works undertaken under this campaign will have a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore with the objective to provide livelihood opportunity to workers who have returned to their native places and other affected people residing in villages.

It also seeks to build public infrastructure in rural areas and offer jobs based on an individual's skill to them. (ANI)


Having had the opportunity to analyse the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries on Cash 91.1FM's Morning Show "Me Man Yi Nti" on Friday, 19th June 2020, I took the chance to announce, without fear of contradiction, seventeen (17) candidates I regard as possible winning candidates in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries slated to be held Saturday, 20th June 2020. The conclusion made in the seventeen (17) constituencies is devoid of personal interest and affiliation.

Below are persons tipped for possible victory with their respective constituency;

1. Adansi-Asokwa Constituency - Samuel Binfoh. Having imposed himself on the people of Adansi-Asokwa Constituency as a member of parliament, it is ultimately time to pack bag and baggage. Hon. Kwabena Tahir Hammond faces a looming danger of losing his seat to the former president of all Ghanaian students, both home and abroad, Mr. Samuel Binfoh. Even the odds favor the victory of the former NUGS President as he unseats the Adansi-Asokwa "Mugabe" who since 2001 has been an unopposed candidate in the constituency primaries.

2. Afigya Kwabre North - Hon. Marfo Nana Amaniampong. Having been introduced to the people of Afigya Kwabre North by Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, Hon. Nana Marfo is tipped for another unprecedented victory in the upcoming parliamentary primaries. As far as NPP in the Afigya Kwabre North constituency is concerned, Hon. Albert Kan Dapaah holds the higher stakes and is the ultimate decider of who occupies the seat of parliament in that constituency. Hon. Nana Marfo shall remain the member of parliament until Kan Dapaah 'forbids' him to contesting the seat in future.

3. Asante Akim Central - Hon. Kwame Anyimadu Antwi. Until Yaw Kwakye joined Hon. Anyimadu's campaign, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah was ahead in the race. However, victory shall be retained for Hon. Anyimadu Antwi. Notwithstanding, the Accra Digital Centre boss, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah is likely to make the incumbent Hon. Kwame Anyimadu Antwi and his former Presiding Member ally Yaw Kwakye bow in shame. It is a contest to behold.

4. Asante Akim South - Hon. Kwaku Asante-Boateng. However, Bice Osei Kuffuor could turn fortunes around if his MUSIGA friends storm the Constituency on the voting day. It is worth noting that the COVID-19 stories surrounding former MUSIGA President Obuor has stained his going to parliament. It is ruined his ambition more than anyone could have imagined and in the mean time, a fall should not be considered as a betrayal of the love of the people. There is always a chance to bounce back stronger. Bice Osei Kuffuor (Obuor) is a candidate to watch out for in the upcoming parliamentary primaries though he cannot capture power from the incumbent.

5. Asante Akim North - Hon. Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi. However, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang could turn fortunes around if the over 140 delegates expunged from the electoral register are restored. Until then, chaos could mar the Asante Akim North elections yet with Hon. Andy Appiah Kubi retaining the seat.

6. Bantama Constituency - Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye. To the people of Bantama, "he who pelts another with pebbles ask for rocks in return". Incumbent Hon. Daniel Okyem Aboagye has bitten more than he can chew and the arrow of victory faces negative to his direction. Hon. Kokofu has been the true game changer in this race. Deputy Chief of Staff shall be crowned victorious. Sadly, the constituency is setting a precedence which history will regret ever endorsing as they seek to pay back Hon. Okyem Aboagye in his own coin by way of unseating him just a term in office as MP. If he is unseated, Chief Asenso Boakye could likely be unseated same way after equally serving just a term in office as MP. Such a precedence could therefore be a bad one for such a politically vibrant Constituency. In 2024, with such an occurrence, the National Democratic Congress could likely capture the Bantama Constituency from the NPP owing to the unstable internal position of the party's parliamentary primaries in that constituency.

7. Effiduase-Asokore Constituency - Kwame Adom-Appiah. Through his regular media encounters as a party communicator, he's gained so much familiarity with the people. Media endorsements gained thus far has propelled him above the incumbent MP, Hon. Nana Ayew Afriyie. On Saturday, 20th June, 2020, Kwame Adom-Appiah shall be declared victorious in the Effiduase-Asokore Constituency.

8. Ejisu Constituency - John Ampontuah Kumah. Having been flopped in his first attempt, the CEO of the National Entrepreneurship & Innovative Plan (NEIP) comes back much stronger to capture the Ejisu Constituency seat from incumbent Hon. Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi.

9. Juaben Constituency - Hon. Ama Pomaa Boateng retains the seat after Owusu Akyaw was disqualified. Hon. Pomaa seem not to have a keen contest without Owusu Akyaw.

10. *Kumawu Constituency - Hon. Robert Kwame Ahomka-Lindsay.* Not a marginal win because his contenders and the incumbent are equally stronger. His victory shall come as a good anticipated one.

11. Mampong Constituency - Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong. Hon. Francis Addai-Nimo, despite seen by many of the delegates as a father in the constituency, his victory is not possible. He is also seen as indecisive, not know I exactly what he wants and wants to do in politics, if seen as a career.

12. Manhyia North - Hon. Collins Owusu Amankwah. His kind rapport with the people of Manhyia North has far elevated him above his opponent, Akwasi Konadu, who the people of the constituency see as their future member of parliament but definitely not for Election 2020 and 2024.

13. Nhyiaeso Constituency - Hon. Kennedy Kwasi Kankam shall retain the seat. The MASLOC Boss and opponent in this race, Stephen Amoah is seen by the Nhyiaeso people as a fine product yet do not agree that he could be the best choice MP for their constituency ahead of election 2020).

14. Offinso South - Desmond Chris Appiah seizes the seat from Hon. Ben Abdallah Banda. The people of Offinso South Constituency feel that it is time for them to have a true son of Offinsoman to represent them in parliament. No matter how grateful they are to their incumbent MP, they still believe he has to be wished a farewell.

15. Oforikrom Constituency - Hon. Emmanuel Marfo

16. Old Tafo Pankrono Constituency - Lord Inusah Lansah. His victory shall be solely premised on the Kennedy Agyapong factor. Without that support, however, he's bound to lose woefully to Prince Odeneho Oppong. The other candidates cannot make the victory mark except that Vincent Ekow Assafuah Junior shall decide who becomes victorious.

On the same show (Me Man Yi Nti) on Cash 91.1FM, I added that the issues surrounding the Subin Constituency are far complicated than we see it to be. However, I concluded that no matter the outcome of the conflict resolution, the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hon. Eugene Boakye Antwi is far in the distance with the victory. He will be one of the members of parliament to say goodbye to the national assembly.
Yet another massive surge of 3,630 new cases  the highest yet  took Delhis Covid-19 tally to 56,746 on Saturday.

According to the Delhi health department, 77 casualties in the day took the death toll to 2,112.

The national capital now has 23,340 active cases while 31,294 patients have been cured or discharged including 7,725 on Saturday.

A total of 17,533 tests were carried out on Saturday. So far, 3,51,909 tests have been carried out in Delhi with the rate of testing now at 18,521 people per million of population.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal withdrew his controversial order of mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for every Covid-19 case in the capital after stiff opposition from the AAP government which maintained that the mandatory institutional quarantine will seriously harm the city as its facilities will not be able to take the burden of the rising number of cases

As Covid-19 cases soared, the Delhi government directed all hospitals and medical institutions under it to recall their employees, who are currently on leave, and report for duty immediately. Leave of any kind would only be granted under most compelling circumstances.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Singh who is in an intensive care unit in a private hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, was administered plasma therapy on Saturday.
Britain, France, and Germany Oppose US Effort to Re-Impose Sanctions Against Iran

Sputnik News

15:38 GMT 19.06.2020(updated 17:24 GMT 19.06.2020)

The statement comes following discussions between the European signatories to the deal on the future of the JCPOA agreement amid heightened tensions with the United States, which withdrew from the accord in 2018.

The UK, France, and Germany are opposed to US attempts to re-impose all UN sanctions against Iran as it would have adverse effects on the United Nations Security Council, the joint statement said. "We would not support such a decision, which would be incompatible with our current efforts to preserve the JCPOA", the foreign ministers of the three countries said in a joint statement following their talks in Berlin. The policy of maximum pressure on Tehran will not help resolve differences with Iran, they said in the joint statement.

The development comes amid heightened tensions between the remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal and the Trump administration, which withdrew the US from the accord in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran's oil exports, its principal source of revenue.

Last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US withdrawal from the accord was the root cause of the crisis, while Russia said that the Trump administration's politically motivated campaign against Iran should be condemned by the international community and called Washington's attempts to determine the future of the JCPOA agreement after leaving it "ridiculous and irresponsible".

Moscow's statement was echoed by the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who said that the White House can't use its former membership in the deal to try to impose an embargo on the Islamic Republic.

The lifting of the UN arms embargo on Iran was one of the key provisions of the nuclear deal, which was signed by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and Tehran in 2015. Under the agreement, the restrictions imposed on Iran should be lifted five years after the deal comes into effect, meaning that the embargo will expire in November, weeks before the US presidential election.

Iran warned that it would leave the nuclear deal and quit the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if UN sanctions are re-imposed.

In May, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged to "exercise all diplomatic options" to extend the UN ban, while US Special Representative for Iran Bill Hook threatened to issue an automatic snapback of the embargo.

Experts say the development might not only torpedo the JCPOA agreement, which took years to negotiate, but also threatens the future of the United Nations Security Council.

"We are not going to get another sanctions resolution at the UN Security Council for a generation, if ever. If you're never going to get compliance from other states, it will be a choose-your-own-adventureand nobody will do it", said Richard Nephew, who was the lead sanctions expert on the US negotiating team with Iran during the Obama administration.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 following years of tensions with the Islamic Republic over claims that it was trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran denied all the accusations and insisted that its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes. Under the accord Iran, agreed to curb its nuclear programme and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit plants in return for the lifting of economic sanctions and the arms embargo.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump harshly criticised the accord signed by the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama, calling it the worst deal ever negotiated. In May of 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the accord, accusing Tehran of violating the deal, despite the fact that the IAEA said that the Islamic Republic was complying with the agreement. Other signatories to the deal  Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia  strongly condemned Trump's decision.

A Sputnik

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Mumbai, June 20 : The Maharashtra government will discuss with the Central government the extradition process of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was linked with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters, Deshmukh said that another accused, David Coleman Headley, had in his statement recorded with the investigators revealed that he was working as an 'agent' of Rana in the 26/11 terror attacks.

"Now, we shall discuss the matter with senior police officers in Maharashtra as well as the Centre regarding Rana's extradition formalities," the minister added.

Canadian businessman and former Pakistan army doctor, Rana was re-arrested in Los Angeles on the request of the Indian authorities. Rana was recently released from jail after he was found to be suffering from Covid-19. On June 10, Rana was picked up by the police in LA, re-arrested and sent to jail.

Said to be linked with Pakistan's ISI, the arrest was made at India's request as per the 1997 Extradition Treaty between India and USA, US officials said.

Rana was earlier convicted by a US court in 2013 which had awarded him a 14-year jail term, and he was serving the sentence at the San Pedro prison in California.

He was scheduled to be released next year after serving nine years in jail, but now after his re-arrest, a US District Judge in California has fixed his case for hearing on June 30.

Among other things, Rana -- born in Chichawatni in Punjab region of Pakistan -- acquired his medical degree from the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, a military college in that country.

It was during his college days that he met Headley, who later became a major ISI operative, and Rana served as a doctor with Pakistan Army Medical Corps.

He and his wife migrated to Canada in 1997 and later became citizens of that country in 2001, and were later living in Chicago.

Headley, 60, a Pakistani-born US citizen, and accused of plotting the Mumbai terror strikes, is currently serving a 35-year jail term in a US jail since 2013.
Agra, June 20 : There has been an alarming rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the four districts of Agra division, as around two dozen fresh infections were reported in the last 24 hours, health officials said on Saturday.

According to the officials, Agra recorded eight new COVID-19 cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The total tally now stands at 1,124. Of this 914 have been discharged after recovery.

The number of active cases in the city now stands at 137. A 65-year-old patient suffering from respiratory disorder succumbed to the coronavirus on Friday.

In Mainpuri district, 15 fresh cases were reported. Over the past three days 44 cases have been added. Mathura, on the other hand, recorded 11 fresh cases with one death of an elderly woman, while Firozabad had eight new cases taking the district' s tally to an alarming 447.

Health officials in Agra have decided to screen all hotspots to identify people with respiratory problems. This vulnerable group of seniors will remain in the focus in coming days, as part of the redrawn strategy.

Preliminary assessment indicates that a majority of COVID-19 cases have been of those who suffer from respiratory disorders.

The Agra health administration claims it has set a record in surveying families in the last three months. More than 19 lakh people have been part of the exercise conducted by 3,628 teams.

The Nodal officer, State Energy Secretary, camping in Agra, M Devraj, has asked senior doctors to regularly meet patients and monitor their progress. Though the state government has fixed rates of sample tests, private laboratories in the city were reluctant to test COVID-19 samples. The recovery rate in the city stands at 81.02 per cent.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A unique telescope, the eROSITA X-ray Telescope, hunts for galaxies and recently completed its half-year mission. Astronomers shared captivating images of supernovas and blackholes; part of an entire map with more than one million cosmic beings.

The eROSITA X-ray Telescope has been gathering data for only about half a year, yet was able to make discoveries twice as much as other X-ray telescopes have gathered in the last 60 years. The spectacular map includes detailed imaging of the Milky Way's hot gas, nebulas, black holes, binary stars, and other cosmic objects within the universe. It is four times the depth of previous space maps.

German and Russian astronomers worked together to begin the telescope's mission last year. 'We built eROSITA to transform the way we see the X-ray sky, and to unravel the mysteries of cosmology and black holes,' said Peter Predehl, the principal investigator of the X-ray telescope at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany (MPE).

'This all-sky image completely changes the way we look at the energetic universe,' Predehl said in a recent press release. The images are unique because eROSITA traced the thermal energy of the sky. Galaxies appear in clusters, looking like bright, vivid halos because of concentrations of dark matter which confine hot gases.

Almost 80% of the image consists of supermassive black holes, our active galactic nuclei, which consume dark space material in the middle of galaxies. As the one million space objects emit X-rays, known as X-ray sources, the team had to sort through about 165 gigabytes of data from the telescope's seven cameras to put together

the map.

Rare Phenomena

Within the Milky Way, eROSITA captured ancient white dwarves, supernova remnants, stars with hot, active coronae, neighboring galaxies like the Magellanic Clouds. Mara Salvato, the lead scientist at MPE said that they all eagerly await eROSITA'S complete, all-sky map. Previously, telescopes have measured the sky at other wavelengths and the new X-ray images can match those discoveries. Predehl describes the stunning images as a 'wealth of detail.'

More surveys are needed for X-ray sources to be identified so that astronomers can understand their nature better. Rare phenomena were also captured: stars swallowed by black holes, merging neutron stars, and thermal readings from compact objects, which eROSITA picked up as 'unexpected bursts of X-rays.' 'We need to alert ground-based telescopes immediately to understand what's producing them,' said Salvato.

Read Also: There Might Be 'Ocean World' Planets Within the Milky Way, Planetary Scientist Claims

Future Surveys

Russian Scientist Rashid Sunyaev said that their second survey will soon begin until the end of the year. The team plans to create seven similar maps within the next 3.5 years. 'Their combined sensitivity will be a factor of five better and will be used by astrophysicists and cosmologists for decades,' said Sunyaev.

Kirpal Nandra, head of the high-energy astrophysics group at MPE said that the work eROSITA has accomplished just revolutionized X-ray astronomy. The team is anticipating much more in the near future.

'This combination of sky area and depth is transformational. We are already sampling a cosmological volume of the hot universe much larger than has been possible before. Over the next few years, we'll be able to probe even further, out to where the first giant cosmic structures and supermassive black holes were forming.'

Read Also: Hubble Space Telescope Captures Mesmerizing Images of the Butterfly & Jewel Bug Nebulas
Berkshire Food Project Executive Director Kim McMann hands Eric Williams food for the weekend on Friday. The food project had sent out a call for volunteers that was quickly filled. McMann and her volunteers set up a table in the parish hall for people to safely file through for their food. Pickup had been outside in the small parking lot until the state began lifting indoor restrictions. Precooked chicks waiting to be claimed. Meals also includes vegetables and fruits. PreviousNext

Volunteers Rally to Support Berkshire Food Project in Challenging Times



The Berkshire Food Project, housed in First Congregational Church, normally feeds nearly 100 people lunch weekdays. The COVID-19 crisis has it preparing meals and food for pickup for twice the numbers three days a week. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  When the Berkshire Food Project recently needed a little help to shore up its volunteer pool, the answer from the community was loud and clear.

"This is the most incredible community to do this kind of work in ever," Executive Director Kim McMann said on Tuesday. "Every day we are astounded by the support we have in this community. It's amazing when people think of us and how much they support us.

"It's been overwhelming but so typical of this community."

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been pretty overwhelming for vulnerable populations like those served by the Berkshire Food Project. The non-profit is serving twice as many meals per day than it did before the public health crisis produced an economic crisis.

"We are so far beyond our capacity right now," McMann said. "I remember in January I told our board we're at capacity and can't do everything safely if we do any more meals. We're now double that.

"But we're not serving everything hot."

Instead, the project, which used to seat up to 88 people at a time in its dining room has shifted to an entirely to-go model of prepackaged meals.

Those meals are distributed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the project's headquarters at the First Congregational Church. Recipients get two meals each day, so the project is actually producing one more meal per week per recipient than it did when it served lunch five days a week in its dining room.

McMann said that even as the state begins to open up and allow indoor table service, it won't make sense for the project to serve meals hot meals on site in a socially-distant manner.

"In the beginning [of the pandemic], we were down to three people per table instead of eight per table, and it wasn't working," she said. "And now we're doing twice as many meals.  Quite honestly, say the governor said you can open at 50 percent capacity, then we'd have to be open four times as long for what we're serving right now."

And there always is a chance that the commonwealth could change the rules for kitchens like the Berkshire Food Project after it does start allowing some table service. McMann said she would rather stay with the to-go model as long as necessary than have to switch back and forth if there is a spike in COVID-19 cases; it's in the best interest of recipients to have a predictable way to get a nutritious meal.

"We're the stable thing in their life," she said. "They can count on us to be stable, to be here. We don't want to make a bunch of changes -- have the dining room open one week and then go back to takeout the next week."

Of course, going to a takeout model has added some new expenses, principally containers that the Berkshire Food Project never has had to use before.

"We even are spending money on computer ink and labels because every takeout container has to be labeled," she pointed out.

Then, of course, there is the added cost of food with which to create those additional meals each day. In addition to needing more volume of food, one of the project's traditional sources, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, has had problems keeping its shelves stocked, McMann said.

So far, the project has been able to pay its bills thanks to the support of its non-profit partners.

"We've been fortunate because we've gotten some grants," McMann said. "The Berkshire Taconic Foundation, Berkshire United Way, Northern Berkshire United Way and Williamstown Community Chest set up their COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund almost right away.

"We're spending more money, but so far we've got it to spend. [The grants] will get us through the summer."

The Berkshire Food Project's volunteer labor force took a hit because some of the volunteers have been reluctant to put themselves in a group setting during the pandemic, and those who remained on board have been working harder than ever to keep up with the increased demand.

On Monday, an appeal from the chair of the Berkshire Food Project's board of directors began circulating on Facebook. By Tuesday morning, McMann's email inbox was filled with potential volunteers.

"[Jim Mahon] is on the faculty at Williams," she said. "He posted it on a Williams chat board, and it spread like crazy. There's a meditation group, and someone sent it to all their members. There's another group that plays cards, and they circulated it. And it spread from our Facebook page as well."

Taking a break from cooking the meals that will go out on Wednesday, McMann said not only are the project's immediate volunteer needs covered but also that she is building up a list of people to tap if the need arises again.

"We have filled pretty much all of the slots at this point," she said. "I spent three and a half hours this morning responding to all the people volunteering."
Egypt appeals for UN Security Council help on Ethiopias Nile dam after latest round of talks ended without a deal.

Egypt has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to restart talks on the $4.6bn hydroelectric dam being built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile near the border with Sudan.

The move on Friday came as tensions run high after multiple rounds of talks over the years between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan failed to produce a deal for the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Addis Ababa has declared plans to start filling the dam next month, regardless of whether a deal was reached.

Cairo appealed to the UN Security Council to intervene to emphasize the importance that three countries  continue negotiations in good faith, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Arab Republic of Egypt took this decision in light of the stalled negotiations that took place recently on the Renaissance Dam as a result of Ethiopian stances that are not positive, the statement said.





The latest round of talks, which had started on June 9 through video conference, followed a previous round of negotiations in Washington, which ended without agreement in February. No date has been set for the stalled talks to resume.

The years-long dispute pits Ethiopias desire to become a major power exporter and development engine against Egypts concern that the dam will significantly curtail its water supply if filled too quickly.

Egypt, which is almost entirely dependent on the Nile for its fresh-water supplies, sees the dam as a potentially existential threat. It is anxious to secure a legally binding deal that would guarantee minimum flows and a mechanism for resolving disputes before the dam starts operating.

Sudan has long been caught between the competing interests.

In Ethiopia, the arrival of the rainy season is bringing more water to the Blue Nile, the main branch of the Nile, and Addis Ababa sees that as an ideal time to begin filling the dams reservoir next month.

For us, it is not mandatory to reach an agreement before starting filling the dam, hence, we will commence the filling process in the coming rainy season, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told The Associated Press news agency on Friday.

We are working hard to reach a deal, but still we will go ahead with our schedule whatever the outcome is. If we have to wait for others blessing, then the dam may remain idle for years, which we wont allow to happen, he said.

Gedu rejected the idea that the issue should be taken to the UN Security Council, and would not say whether his country would use military action to defend the dam and its operations.





Both Egypt and Ethiopia have hinted at a willingness to take military steps to protect their interests, and experts fear a breakdown in talks could lead to conflict.

This dam should have been a reason for cooperation and regional integration, not a cause for controversies and warmongering, said Gedu. Egyptians are exaggerating their propaganda on the dam issue and playing a political gamble. Some of them seem as if they are longing for a war to break out.

The United States tried to broker a deal earlier this year, but Ethiopia did not attend the signing meeting and accused Donald Trumps administration of siding with Egypt.

The latest talks saw officials from the US, European Union and South Africa, the current chairman of the African Union, attending as observers.

Sudans Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told reporters after talks ended on Wednesday that the three counties irrigation leaders have agreed on 90 percent or 95 percent of the technical issues but the dispute over the legal points in the deal remains dissolved.

The Sudanese minister said his country and Egypt rejected Ethiopias attempts to include articles on water sharing and old Nile treaties in the dam deal.

Egypt has received the lions share of the Niles waters under decades-old agreements dating back to the British colonial era. Eighty-five percent of the Niles waters originate in Ethiopia from the Blue Nile.

Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies based at the National Defense University, told Al Jazeera Egypts decision to seek UN Security Council help was part of a strategy to gain more concessions from Ethiopia.

I think what Egypt is trying to do is raise the stakes and keep the pressure on Ethiopia in an attempt to try and exact as string a deal as it can from Ethiopia, he said.

All sides have a lot of pride and identity in this project. The Nile river is central to Egypts existence and its identity and its economy, he continued, adding: And Ethiopia has spent $4.6bn of its own resources to build this dam and its seen as a point of national pride, where it is going to be able to generate power for itself and for the entire region as a means of lifting the country out of poverty. Theyve gone through a very long process of raising funds from everyday citizens, and so, they have a lot invested in seeing this through.
The Centre on Saturday proposed to issue guidelines for facilitating movement of passengers and good vehicles with neighbouring countries and amend existing motor vehicle rules.

A draft notification of the new guidelines was issued Saturday by the ministry of road transport and highways inviting suggestions from all, including the general public. Hindustan Times has reviewed a copy of the draft.

The proposed rules will be called the Central Motor Vehicles (Regulation of Bus Service between India and Neighbouring countries of India (Movement of Vehicles Carrying Goods and Passengers) Rules, 2020.

According to the draft rules, the transport department, government of any states of India (as mentioned in MoU) will be responsible for the conduct of the bus service and will perform various other duties assigned to them.

It will be the duty of state police to provide security to the bus service. A DIG rank police office shall be assigned such responsibilities. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) will be the nodal intelligence agency coordinating the intelligence related issues for smooth conduct of bus service.

The bus service will be running for as many days (as mentioned in MoU) and frequency will be reviewed by the state transport department. The bus service shall follow the designated routes as mentioned in MoU and the state transport department will decide the halting place for the buses. The state transport department will take care of formalities like provisioning of tickets, debugging of bus, roadworthiness of the bus, frisking/checking of passengers, handling of luggage, etc, before departure from the designated place. The various agencies shall perform responsibilities assigned to them at ICP (integrated check post) of India, the draft rules state.

The proposed rules also say that the drivers shall carry a regular permit for transport vehicle valid for one year and renewable upto a maximum period of five years on a yearly basis. In addition to the registration number assigned to a transport vehicle operating under the agreement by the competent authority, the following particulars shall be painted in English and in official language of the respective country [each letter being not less than two inches (five centimeters) high and two inches (five centimeters) wide, legibly painted on a plain plate or plates affixed to the vehicles], including i) Place of India - Place of India Neighbouring Country - Place of India (on front side and back side of such transport vehicle in a conspicuous place) and the name of the operator of the bus service (on both the sides of such transport vehicle).

This ministry said it had been receiving requests from various government departments and states regarding supporting rules required under the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for the facilitation of movement of vehicles carrying goods and passengers between Indian states and other neighbouring countries from time to time.

To be clear, India presently does not have central guidelines for facilitating movement with neighbouring countries. According to a ministry official, these will be the first standard guidelines to streamline movement with neighbouring countries.

The ministry has at present notified rules for the facilitation of bus service between Amritsar and Lahore (2006), between New Delhi and Lahore (2000), between Calcutta and Dhaka (2000) and Amritsar and Nankana Sahib (2006).

All such regulations have been finalised to facilitate operations under MOUs which have been signed between India and other neighbouring countries. In 2018, India also notified rules regarding movement of Bangladesh registered LPG trucks in Indian territory for supply of bulk LPG to the LPG Bottling Plant at Bishalgarh in Tripura.
Religious freedom group urges Trump to immediately enforce sanctions on Chinese officials

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the Trump administration to immediately enforce sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for the detention and persecution of more than a million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang autonomous region in western China.

More than a million ethnic Turkish Muslims have been detained in camps in Xinjiang by Chinas communist government, as estimated by the U.N. and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which was passed by Congress nearly unanimously last month, and seeks to safeguard the rights of this religious minority group.

For the past several years, China has been continuously arresting Uyghur people and placing them in re-education camps, the U.S.-based China Aid said in a statement released Thursday. Chinese authorities claimed these camps provide vocational training for Uyghur people. However, camp survivors reported being starved, tortured, forced to study pro-government propaganda, and made to do extensive labor with little to no pay.

The USCIRF said Thursday that it wants the president to immediately enforce sanctions listed in the bill that he signed into law on Wednesday.

For 20 years, USCIRF has loudly sounded the alarm on the actions of the Chinese Communist Party to target millions of Uyghur and other Muslims, the panel said in a statement on Wednesday. USCIRF has condemned the concentration camps where Uyghurs and other Muslims are being held as an unjustified mockery of international human rights standards, and along with the actions of the Chinese Communist Party against Uyghurs, as crimes against humanity and cultural genocide.

USCIRF urges the Administration to enforce the Act and issue immediate and targeted sanctions against Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghurs, it added.

The administration must take meaningful action now to condemn Chinas crimes against humanity, modern slavery, and cultural genocide.

In a signing statement on Wednesday, the president said that some of the provisions for sanctions in the bill could limit his constitutional authority to engage in diplomacy as president so he would treat them as advisory and not mandatory.

The Act holds accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities in China, Trump said.

The Chinese government has continually denied that it has unjustly imprisoned Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. However, documents called The China Cables that were leaked last year to news outlets revealed the ideological motivations and structure behind such detention centers.

The documents were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a consortium that has worked with 17 media partners, including the BBC and The Guardian. Included in the leak was a nine-page memo reportedly sent out to officials operating the camps by then deputy-secretary of Xinjiangs Communist Party, Zhu Hailun, in 2017.

The BBC reported that the memo said detention centers in Xinjiang should be run as high-security prisons with strict punishments and no escapes. The memo also ordered detention center officials to increase discipline and punishment of behavioral violations, make remedial Mandarin studies a top priority and promote repentance and confession.

According to The Guardian, the memo also revealed that inmates at the camps were made to serve at least one year but could be detained indefinitely.

The Chinese government has also continued its campaign against Christianity during the countrys coronavirus outbreak by destroying crosses and demolishing a church while people were on lockdown.

More than 60 million Christians live in China, at least half of whom worship in unregistered, or illegal underground churches.

China is ranked as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors USAs World Watch List.
A woman was allegedly raped by her date before he forced her into a boot and chased her across wetlands when she escaped.

Police say the woman, in her 30s, was sexually assaulted in Adelaide's southern suburbs on Friday night by a 37-year-old man who was known to her.

She was then bundled into the boot of a red Ford Laser and driven north on the Salisbury Highway.

A woman, in her 30s, was allegedly raped by a 37-year-old armed man in Adelaide's south on Friday night before he bundled her into the boot of his red Ford laser (pictured)

Detective Chief Inspector Billy Thompson said the 37-year-old man pulled over near Dry Creek wetlands after he noticed the woman struggling in the boot.

The woman then managed to escape around 8.15pm and was chased through the wetlands.

Police said the man, who was believed to be dating the woman, was carrying a handgun and fired several shots as she ran away.

The woman ran to safety at a nearby On The Run petrol station and called Triple Zero from her mobile phone.

Chief Inspector Thompson said: 'We located her reasonably quickly after the initial call but she was quite disorientated from what she's told us.'

'She would have been very afraid last night ... to be in the middle of nowhere in the dark, not knowing where you are, trying to seek help, would have been very frightening for her.'

He said the woman was treated in hospital on Friday night for injuries 'consistent with assault' and released shortly after.

Police say the man pulled over near Dry Creek on the Salisbury Highway (pictured) where the woman escaped and was chased through the wetlands as the man fired several shots

Chief Inspector Thompson said detectives believed the pair were dating but are still investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the attack.

'We do not believe that the couple were in a domestic relationship but they have been known to each other,' he said.

Detectives also believe the man was driving towards his home in north Adelaide.

'The man is from the Craigmore suburb, so we act on the belief that he was returning to the Craigmore area, potentially,' Chief Inspector Thompson explained.

Police surrounded the wetlands near the Salisbury Highway and searched for the 37-year old man with the help of Special Tasks and Rescue officers and Polair.

The man was found hiding in the bushes and was charged with unlawful detention and rape.

He was refused bail and is expected to appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Monday.

SES crews and police returned to the wetlands on Saturday morning to search for the missing gun.
20.06.2020 LISTEN

One of Ghana's most celebrated Reggae Icons, the Kuchoko Legend, Blakk Rasta, has released his latest single 'MALLAM TONGA'.

Mallam Tonga is South African QCOM style music fused with Ghanaian Highlife and Reggae. It is a fastpaced banger that will keep the dance actively hot.

It talks about the age-old debate regarding sex before marriage. Mallam Tonga is talking about a man who is a sex-addict.

The interesting aspect of the song is that this is the first time Blakk Rasta is singing in the Pidgin language.

According to Blakk Rasta, Tonga means several different things around the world. It is a country in Oceania and also a language in some African countries.

"In Ghana, it is a hood slang for sex or pussy. Mallam Tonga is a man who overly likes tonga. the video talks about marriage before sex when the brides have Mallam Tonga for the first time."

He said If his #Langalanga is monstrous, then there is trouble in the bedroom.

Follow and download MALLAM TONGA Audiomac link here

https://t.co/Xi1PJmJtLM
President Trump plans to hold an indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., and that has scientists concerned about the risk for spreading COVID-19. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Tulsa, Okla., is about to host an event that scientists call a natural experiment. It may offer important clues about one of the COVID-19 pandemics most perplexing features: The undetected spread of the novel coronavirus by people who do not appear to be sick.

At least 20,000 admirers of President Trump are expected to converge on the city's Bank of Oklahoma Center, where they will be packed closely together for several hours. Once indoors, they will sing, whoop and shout  all recognized as highly efficient means of propelling the coronavirus into the air, where it can be drawn in by people nearby.

Health experts are confident that the potentially deadly pathogen will jump from infected people who show no outward signs of illness to others who entered the arena virus-free.

If recent trends in Oklahoma hold steady, 2.1% of those who become sick enough to be diagnosed with COVID-19 will die. And 41% of Oklahomans are at risk of becoming critically ill if infected by virtue of their age or underlying health conditions.

Bruce Dart, Tulsa County's top health official, has expressed concern about "our ability to protect anyone who attends a large indoor event." The Trump campaign said every attendee will be offered hand sanitizer and a mask, but neither will be required.

Though the infection events in Tulsa will be unseen, they will take place in full view of a national audience. But only with time, testing and assiduous contact tracing will researchers be able discern the dynamics of the virus spread and tally its ultimate toll.

Expelled in the respiratory droplets of an infected person, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has firmly established itself in and around Tulsa. In Tulsa County, daily confirmed infections have spiked since late May, reaching 130 per day in a community of about 650,000. Close to 15% of confirmed patients end up in the hospital, and 65 people there have died of COVID-19 so far.

Still, between Friday and Sunday of this weekend, tens of thousands of people will leave their homes and make their way to a variety of mass gatherings.

Story continues

Some of those attending the presidents rally Saturday night are sure to wear face coverings, which can impede both the projection of respiratory droplets and their inhalation by nearby people. But many will be disinclined to don such protection. Indeed, the events headliner has long derided the wearing of face masks. (On Thursday, Trump asserted that some have adopted the practice to express their disapproval of him.)

Attendees will have to line up for hours and submit to temperature checks as they enter, in a bid to bar those with active infections. Plenty will still be missed: somewhere between 25% and 50% of those infected have neither a fever nor any other notable symptoms. Yet several studies have shown that many can and do infect others.

Rhetoric to the contrary, the coronavirus does not appear to recognize political leanings. So thousands of others in Tulsa will become guinea pigs as well as they gather at events to protest Trump, oppose racism and commemorate Juneteenth, the anniversary of enslaved Texans learning of their emancipation.

These subjects in the city's natural experiment also will pack themselves together within the range of respiratory droplets spread. But they will largely gather outdoors, where virus-packed droplets fall from the air more quickly and thus spread less efficiently.

Though their ages and ethnicities will range widely, they will probably trend younger and more heavily African American and Latino than the crowd that turns out for Trump. Experts predict that many, but not all, will wear masks at the urging of public health officials.

Once reconstructed and analyzed by researchers, the events of this weekend and the consequences beyond could help them unlock some secrets about an epidemic that has caused nearly 120,000 deaths in the United States and 458,000 across the world.

Asymptomatic spread has emerged as one of the pandemics most surprising and perplexing challenges. Emerging patterns of spread have defied the expectations of epidemiologists, who now wonder whether the COVID-19 outbreak will be a historic first: a pandemic driven by spreaders who have no idea they are sick.

In January, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said viral spread by people without symptoms has historically never been the driver of outbreaks.

That was then, this is now, he said recently.

In fact, if you look at the data and percentage of people who arent symptomatic  anywhere from 25% to 50%  it is likely that they are playing a role, and maybe a significant role, in transmission, Fauci said.

Multiple studies point to the likelihood of contagion from people who are infected but either do not get sick or have not yet developed symptoms.

A Chinese study published in the journal Nature found that people infected with coronavirus are probably shedding it for close to 2 days before their first signs of illness appear, the scientists found. The contagion of an infected person reaches its peak roughly 18 hours before fever, body ache or coughing begin, they found.

Another Chinese study published in the Journal of Infection tracked a single 22-year-old male who returned from Wuhan to Anhui province early in the pandemic. He passed the virus to eight others in the two days before he noticed the first signs of his own illness: itchy eyes and fever.

Other studies have hinted at the prospect that asymptomatic transmission is substantial. When the Theodore Roosevelt pulled into Guam for an emergency medical stop and all personnel aboard the aircraft carrier were tested, roughly 1,000 of 4,800 were found to have been infected. Far fewer were reported to have been sick, suggesting the virus was readily passed among people with few or no symptoms.

The researchers planning to study the dynamics of viral transmission in Tulsa have not yet come forward with a plan, said William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard. Uneven access to tests  either to diagnose infection or detect a past infection  will make it hard for any team to get a reliable fix on the subject, he said.

Getting a better grip on asymptomatic transmission will take very intensive contact tracing of a population that is both limited and contained, Fauci said. He suggested that close surveillance and testing of people in nursing homes, prisons and aboard ships like the Roosevelt could help epidemiologists understand how much "silent spreaders" are responsible for surges in the pandemic.

One such research project from Rutgers University will track 500 healthcare workers who are regularly exposed to the coronavirus, along with 540 of their household members. All of them will be questioned and tested regularly for several months. Their transmission rates and trends will be compared with a group of non-healthcare workers.

Another study launched in April could help clarify how much the kind of talking, shouting and cheering that occurs at rallies and protests is contributing to coronavirus spread, and how much a mask can help squelch such spread.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health will have 60 subjects with likely or confirmed infections but no symptoms participate in a speaking exercise with and without a mask. The droplets they produce will be collected and analyzed, and participants will be tracked to see whether and when they develop symptoms.




Incumbent Member of Parliament for Okaikwei South in the Greater Accra Region, Ahmed Arthur has lost his third term parliamentary bid to a new person.

He was defeated by Dakoa Newman during the New Patriotic Partys parliamentary primaries held today, June 20, 2020.

Dakoa Newman polled 440 votes, while the incumbent MP had 327 votes.

Nana Fredua Agyeman Ofori-Atta who also contested in the primary managed with 27 votes.

Certified result

Who is Dakoa Newman

Dakoa Newman who is currently a polling station women organizer in the Okaikoi South constituency pledged to provide jobs for the teeming youth in the constituency.

She is an old student of Wesley Girls Senior High School, Cape Coast and holds a Political Science Degree from the University of Ghana, Legon as well as a Master's Degree in Programme and Project management from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

Dakoa Newman also holds professional certificates in project management and also risk management from the Project Management Institute, USA.

---citinewsroom
Last week I finished "The Mirror and the Light," the final volume in Hilary Mantel's acclaimed trilogy of historical novels about the rise and (spoiler alert) fall of Thomas Cromwell, the commoner who became Henry VIII's key adviser and fixer. It took me three months.

While I must admit that portions of the book are a slog  as any punk on Instagram will tell you, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves are a lot less captivating than Anne Boleyn, whose divorce-by-sword kicks off the final volume  the duration of my time hauling the 757-page novel around isn't primarily Mantel's fault. I've been slightly distracted, what with all the global pandemic and economic duress and nationwide racial reckonings and running a newsroom from my attic and whatnot. By the time I crawled into bed each night, my ability to keep the names of Henry's courtiers straight was gone.

For book lovers, getting stuck like this can bring on dark thoughts. Three months is a quarter of a year; life expectancy statistics suggest I have about 24 years to go before reaching my actuarial expiration date. If all I had ahead were reading experiences as extended as this one, I've only got about 100 books left.

Which is just one of the many reasons I'm not going to be reading John Bolton's new memoir.

To be sure, based on the abundant coverage of its contents, the 577 pages of "The Room Where It Happened" contain an important account of the inner working of the Trump administration, which in many particulars resembles Mantel's portrait of life in the court of Henry Tudor  another plus-sized leader whose relations with his top counselors were as mutable as London weather in March. (In fairness, our president has only been married half as often as Henry, and hasn't beheaded even one of his exes.)

Bolton describes Trump attempting to bend various instruments of executive power to serve his personal political gain to an extent that makes Richard Nixon look like Gerald Ford in comparison. The president is quoted advocating for the execution of reporters; he tacitly approves of China's most totalitarian tactics; and he assures dictator bros such as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the U.S. Justice Department will lay off prosecutions that threaten their graft schemes. The same agency on Saturday lost the initial round in its almost certainly futile rearguard action to block the book's release.

So why am I telling you to read about it but not read the thing itself? First of all, the critics say it's badly written. While that's not surprising for a tell-all that was composed at speed, "The Room Where It Happened" is "bloated with self-importance" and "toggles between two discordant registers: exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged," according to Jennifer Szalai in The New York Times.

But beyond aesthetic concerns, there are moral ones: It's very difficult to read the book without giving money to Bolton, who reportedly got a $2 million advance from Simon & Schuster. Even borrowing "The Room Where It Happened" from a library would contribute to the need to buy multiple physical or digital copies to meet demand.

Bolton refused to appear last fall before the House impeachment hearings, claiming at the time that he was barred from doing so by the White House's order to keep his mouth shut about Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch an investigation of the company that employed Hunter Biden. Congressional Democrats chose not to press a legal case on the question, fearing a protracted court battle. But after the articles of impeachment were delivered to the U.S. Senate, Bolton said he'd talk if subpoenaed  an easy offer to make when it was clear the chamber's GOP planned to continue its see/hear/speak-no-evil oversight policy.

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Bolton is, however, allowing the book to be published despite the White House's pointed refusal to provide him with the final notice that its contents have been cleared of security concerns, thus providing the questionable basis for DOJ's current legal action against the author. It appears, therefore, that the greatest factor in deciding which of the administration's pretextual coverup schemes Bolton will go along with depends on whether or not it's going to fatten his wallet.

Numerous other witnesses placed their careers on the line when they decided to testify before the House inquiry. I'd be far more likely to buy a book penned by Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch or Bolton's onetime National Security Council aide Alexander Vindman, whose promotion to colonel is now seen as imperiled due to White House interference in normal military protocols.

Yovanovitch and Vindman are both immigrants, stories that were prominently discussed in their testimony. They appeared before the House, they said, because they had sworn an oath to protect the nation from enemies foreign and domestic. They showed up, in other words, because they love their country.

The circumstance under which Bolton is belatedly speaking his truth suggests he is, in the immortal words of Frank Zappa, only in it for the money. There's a word for people who do things for cash that should generally only be done out of love, but using it to describe Bolton would be deeply unfair to sex workers.

cseiler@timesunion.com  518-454-5619
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has blamed China for escalating tensions along the border with India and called it a rogue actor in the neighborhood and indicated he may have raised the dispute and other such flashpoints in his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi earlier in the week.

The PLA has escalated border tensions  we see it today in India, the worlds most popular  populous democracy., Pompeo said referring to the Peoples Liberation Army, the Chinese military. And we watch as it militarizes the South China Sea and illegally claims more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes, a promise they broke again

But the CCP isnt just a rogue actor in its own neighborhood, he added, referring this time to the Chinese Communist Party by its initials. If it was, we might think differently about it. It impacts us all. 

The top US diplomat was participating in a virtual conference of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday.

Pompeo went on to say, in response to a question about his meeting with Yang, What I spent a good deal of my time speaking with Yang Jiechi about was the fundamental idea that were just watching actions. Its no longer enough to listen to what the Chinese Communist Party is saying. We can see their actions. I ticked through a few of them: Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, what theyre doing in India, what theyve done in the economic zones along the Philippines and Malaysia and Indonesia and Vietnam, the coercion on Australia  when they had the audacity to demand that there would be an investigation of how this virus got from Wuhan to Milan, how this virus got from Wuhan to Tehran, how this virus got from Wuhan to Oklahoma City, and to Belgium and to Spain, and decimating the global economy.

The readout issued of the meeting by the state department had did not have such granular details. But, again, it was not explicit from Pompeos remarks at the virtual conference if he did indeed bring up the India-China border clashes specifically or in a general way, covering all of Chinas aggressive actions.

Tensions between the United States and China have escalated significantly after the Covid-19 outbreak,. The Trump administration has sought to tie to China accusing it of not alerting the rest of the world on time and then by providing incorrect and misleading information about it. Pompeo calls it the Wuhan virus, after the city where it started. And President Donald Trump had called the Chinese Virus, plague and gift from China.

There is very little patience for China in the United States, which made very clear its support for India in the ongoing border dispute with India form the early days. In May, Alice Wells, the former top diplomat for South and Central Asia had said the border flareups were reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. We continue to see provocations and disturbing behavior by China that raises questions about how China wants to use its rising power.

President Trump had offered to mediate subsequently, late May, but was turned down by both India and China.

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Thousands of people are still trying to get through to the state Labor Department to fix problems with their unemployment claims.

But unsavory characters have popped up, promising to help and even impersonating Labor Department employees.

Appearing in a public comment on an unemployment Facebook page, a man calling himself Chris said he worked for the state and could help workers get their claims issues resolved.

And hes asking for money.

NJ Advance Media learned about the scam when a reader, who well call John to protect his privacy, asked for help in notifying the Labor Department about the scam.

He is claiming to work for unemployment, John said. Please stop him before he can scam more people than he already has.

John lost his job before the coronavirus pandemic and saw benefits stop on May 9, he said.

Once they started giving out the extra $600, I received about three payments of those, then my claim stopped working, John said.

So when he saw Chris posted his phone number  which has a 619 area code  and claimed to work for the Labor Department, John decided to text him.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The scam unfolded pretty quickly, the text messages show.

Chris said he worked for the unemployment fund and asked if John had received any payments and whether he was receiving regular unemployment or the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

Then Chris asked for his full name, address, date of birth, his gender, his email address and unemployment claim number.

Next, Chris said John would receive a six-digit confirmation code.

The approval manager is going to send it to you, Chris said. Then you send it to me. Am going to use it to create your confirmation code.

That got Johns guard up.

When he received the code, he realized it was generated to reset Johns Facebook password. He was further suspicious, but he was also desperate to get his benefits. It wasnt enough to end the scam.

Chris then asked if John was getting benefits by direct deposit or debit card. John said he had a debit card. (Imagine if John had handed over his bank account information?)

Congratulation your money have been send just get me $100 of steam or Ebay gift card and the $100 we be automatically deposit back on your card, Chris said, as his grammar and punctuation declined. And am going to snap and show you your money been payed then you going to get the money on your card in less than 19 hours

John said he didnt have any money, but if Chris could fix things, he would send the $100.

Then Chris asked for a Walmart gift card and the messages got more urgent, using words like immediately and you have to and get it right now.

John knew hed been had.

PROTECT YOURSELF

After being contacted by a reporter, one of the administrators of the Facebook page posted a message on the page:Please note that we will never ask you for your personal information to help you in exchange for a $100 gift card. Report any suspicious activity!

This isnt the fault of the administrators, though. Its easy for a scammer to create a fake social media account and pretend to be just about anyone.

No legitimate Department of Labor employee is going to ask you for money to approve your claim.

Gift card payments are almost impossible to track, so if someone tells you to buy a gift card  for pretty much anything  you should be suspicious.

If someone tells you urgent actions are needed, or tries to rush you while making a decision that involves money, its another warning sign.

Beware of emails or text messages that tell you to click a link. It could take you to an impostor website that asks for your personal information.

Also, never provide your personal information over the telephone or to any website unless you know its legit.

The Department of Labor website warns consumers to be vigilant about scams and fraud.

It notes a scheme in which scammers offer to help you with unemployment claims, including asking for your personal information.

The scammers may ask you to provide payment, or your credit card information, in assisting you in filing or qualifying for your unemployment benefits, it said. You do not need to pay anyone to file or qualify for your benefits.

If you think youre the victim of a fraud, you can report it to the attorney generals anti-fraud task force.

And if you realize youve given your information to the wrong person, consider putting a freeze on your credit report so no one can open accounts using your personal information.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
Stacey Solomon has paid tribute to her beloved partner and 'amazing father' Joe Swash ahead of Father's Day following his own family tragedy.

The Loose Women panellist, 30, was full of praise for her other half, 38, as she shared a picture of him playing with their son Rex, 12 months, on her Instagram page.

In the touching post, Stacey said nothing brings her more joy that seeing Joe interact with their boys - after his own father died when he was young.

Emotional: Stacey Solomon paid tribute to her partner Joe Swash on Saturday for being an 'amazing father'

Stacey had shared a selection of other people's sweet Father's Day posts on her Stories, before also adding her own tribute to her boyfriend.

She wrote: 'Had to repost Hoe's one didn't I'.

'...seriously though knowing how much of his own father he missed out on, losing him at such a young age...

'Nothing brings me more joy than seeing him being an amazing father to all of our boys. We are so lucky to have you.'

Proud: The Loose Women panellist said it brings her joy watching Joe and Rex bond despite her partner's short relationship with his father

Alongside the heartfelt caption was a snap of Joe and Rex laughing together.

Joe was just 12-years-old when his father Ricky died from the undiagnosed heart condition Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.

In October last year, Stacey revealed her boyfriend Joe was hit hard by the trauma of his father's death after welcoming their son Rex.

She candidly shared her partner's struggle with grief during the hit ITV chat show on Friday.

Grief: Stacey previously revealed that her boyfriend Joe Swash was hit hard by the trauma of his father's death after welcoming their son Rex (pictured together last October)

Stacey revealed that her presenter beau was heartbroken by the fact he would never be able to introduce Rex to his father - a London taxi cab driver who died suddenly in 1994.

The media personality said: 'It is a trauma and I am always surprised that people are surprised that you grieve forever.

'Joe lost his dad when he was 11 and it has had a fundamental impact on his life, especially when huge life events happen - even if they're really positive.

Trauma: Stacey candidly shared her partner's struggle with grief on Loose Women last year

'When we had Rex, it was a trauma. At the same time as being the most wonderful thing in the world.'

Joe is also father to 13-year-old Harry, who he shares with ex Emma Sophocleous, but his late father not being able to enjoy the birth of a child 'impacts him' Stacey revealed.

Despite being 'resilient' and an 'incredible person' the former EastEnders actor is constantly dealing with the death of a parent, she added.

Stacey and Joe started dating in 2016 and moved in together at the end of 2018 before having their first baby together in May last year.

The former X Factor star also has children Zachary, 12, with her ex Dean Cox, and Leighton, eight, with her ex Aaron Barham.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article243604527.html

Through a process called gut and amend, lawmakers replaced a previous COVID-19 rental-assistance bill with the legislations current language. The original measure was scheduled for a vote in Senate Appropriations for Thursday, but because it was changed, has been sent back to the Rules Committee for approval.

The agreement would allow the tenant to defer rent during the coronavirus emergency without fear of being evicted. If the renter declines to make a deal, the landlord would have to secure a signature-verified document proving he or she attempted negotiations with the tenant.

The state would then assume the financial burden, and allow renters 10 years beginning in 2024 to pay back unpaid rent accumulated during COVID-19. Tenants could make payments incrementally or, if they cant afford the installments, could receive loan forgiveness.
New Delhi, June 20 : The Kisan Congress on Saturday staged a peaceful candle light protest in the national capital over the killing of 20 Indian soldiers by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops in Ladakh's Galwan valley. Over 50 Kisan Congress workers along with National Vice President Surender Solanki arrived at India Gate to pay tribute to the martyred soldiers.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Solanki said, "It is unfortunate that yesterday the Prime Minister said that there was no violation on borders. This is an insult to the martyrdom of our brave soldiers." He said that earlier there was a question that our Army Generals are fully empowered to smash the enemy. "Why were they sent unarmed?" he questioned adding that the Chinese media was showing Modi's Friday's statement and saying Galwan valley is ours.

Solanki said, " This is a huge tragedy and the Congress will continue to question it. Galwan Valley is an integral part of India." He said that neither soldier nor farmer are safe in the country today.

"The largest number of soldiers are the sons of poor farmers, when the family is feeding 130 crore people, then their son is keeping the country's borders safe," the Kisan Congress leader said.

His remarks came a day after Modi categorically stated in the all-party meeting on the Chinese intrusion in the Galwan Valley and the killing of Indian soldiers that "no Indian post or territory is occupied by anyone." The Prime Minister had emphasized that all necessary steps for national security and construction of necessary infrastructure will continue to be taken at a fast pace. Modi had also reassured the leaders about the capability of the armed forces to defend the borders and said that they have been given a free hand to take all necessary steps.
COVID-19 lessons from Vietnams success By Jayampathy Jayasinghe View(s): View(s):

Lockdowns with vigorous testing methods helped Vietnam to stay afloat. One of the effective measures that Vietnam adopted in stopping the spread of COVID-19 virus early in the country was to lock down the country and stop all flights arriving in the country from early March this year.

Vietnam has just 323 cases of COVID-19 cases since January and all have recovered and no deaths have been reported since then, said Dr. Sarah Bales of Hanoi School of Public Health speaking on a recent webinar dialogue on the topic of COVID-19 Asian Recovery sponsored by the United Nations Sri Lanka.

She said when COVID-19 cases spread from Wuhan China that formed a cluster of the virus in Vietnam, the police enforced a lockdown and prevented the spread of the disease. The government took strict measures when they found out that two nurses travelling about in the country who had no contact with COVID-19 patients were infected with the virus. The government also found that there were clusters of COVID-19 virus spreading among the communities. This was quite puzzling as the government had no idea of the origins of COVID-19 virus. What they did was to start contact tracing and testing of people and social distancing that prevented the virus from spreading in the country. That helped to quell the virus.

However by mid-April some of the restrictions placed on the community were lifted and by mid -May all restrictions were lifted. Following this move many schools and Karaoke bars were opened. It was a quick response and was very effective. What was the underlying reasons and how did Vietnam succeed? She said Vietnam was prepared technically and logistically following the outbreak of SARS on earlier occasions. Vietnam has many research laboratories and research centres to cope with viruses. These organisations were mobilized during the COVID-19 pandemic to trace the virus by conducting several tests. Social distancing, wearing of masks have helped Vietnam to stay afloat, she added.

Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that Sri Lanka took steps to bring back most Sri Lankans living in foreign countries.

According to data, around 40,000 Sri Lankans are found to be living overseas. We found that 643 arrivals in Sri Lanka had the COVID-19 virus. We moved them into institutionalised quarantine to avert the spread of the virus in the community. Our initial response was to prevent the virus from entering the country but ultimately the virus came into the country. But the timely action taken by the government prevented a catastrophic situation, he said adding that around 30 hospitals in the country treat COVID-19 patients.

Drawing comparisons with Vietnam, Dr. Jasinghe said that they had the expertise to deal with viruses owing to an outbreak of diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in earlier years.

Answering a question from the panel, Dr. Jasinghe said that it was prudent for health authorities to target vulnerable people for PCR testing. We did not want to conduct liberal testing like in other countries but testing was based on targeted testing. Research on the COVID-19 virus is also being conducted in collaboration with Ayurvedic, a traditional indigenous practice, he added.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > LETTER TO THE READERS - COVID 19 Lockdown Edition No.13

Letter to Readers Mainstream, 20 June 2020 - Lockdown Edition no 13.

Once again blood has been spilt in the High Himalayas, thanks to Chinas activities stemming from its expansionist designs against the Indian republic. This happened on the night of June 15th / 16th in the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh. It resulted in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers including the commanding officer of the patrol party. This was the culmination of the policy pursued by Beijing after the Chinese aggression of India in 1962 (disregarding the 1993 Sino-Indian Bilateral Agreement for Maintaining Peace and Tranquillity on the Border).

As a consequence of the violent face-off between Chinese and Indian soldiers in Ladakh peace and calm have been shattered at 4,200 meters above the sea level. And the geopolitical context gives this incident an ominous dimension. At the same time there seems to be no intention of either side losing face. This is the backdrop in which the all party meeting of 19 June was convened by the Prime Minister of India to apprise the opposition leaders of whatever had taken place in recently on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China border. Prime Minister Modi made his statement at the all-party meeting in which he said: Na koi wahan hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai aur nahi koi ghusa hua hai, na hi hamari koi post kisi dusre ke kabze mein hain (No one has intruded and nor is anyone intruding, nor has any post been captured by someone). He said this in his closing remarks that were carried on television. His official Tweet in Hindi  see https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1274003446195040256 The statement by the Prime Minister contradicts the official Press releases of Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of June 16 and June 17

The MEA release of 16 June soon after the Galwan incident says: violent face-off . . . happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there (https://mea.gov.in/response-to-queries.htm?dtl/32761/official+spokespersons+response+to+media+queries+on+the+situation+in+the+western+sector+of+the+indiachina+border)

The MEA release of 17 June after a telephone call between Indias Foreign Minister and Chinese Foreign Ministry Offcials says:

[External Affairs Minister] EAM conveyed the protest of the Government of India in the strongest terms on the violent face-off in Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020. He recalled that at the meeting of senior Military Commanders held on 6th June, an agreement was reached on de-escalation and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Ground commanders were meeting regularly to implement this consensus throughout the last week. While there was some progress, the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC. While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo. (https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/32765/phone+call+between+external+affairs+minister+dr+s+jaishankar+and+foreign+minister+of+china+he+mr+wang+yi)

The trigger for the confrontation between Chinese and Indian soldiers on the Himalayan ridges, which took place on the night of June 15 to June 16, remains unknown. There is a wider contextual backdrop here  (1) Donald Trumps strategy of containment of China and an attempt to openly involve India in this strategy; (2) pinning the blame on China for the Covid-19 pandemic by suggesting that the Virus is Chinese as done by the Presidents of Brazil and the US; (3) In the post-August 2019 period top elected officials in India started calling for a military take over the territories of Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Aksai Chin Region under Chinese administration; (4) also a move by the Indian Government in wake of Covid19 economic slowdown to exclude Chinese firms from foreign direct investment in India; (5) some analysts say that this could be part of moves by China to draw attention away from the crisis on its domestic front, growing labour unrest inside China and a long wave of protests in Hong Kong.

This face-off in Ladakh is the umpteenth in a long series, but it is the first time that there are soldiers killed after decades: the clash in Ladakh has left some twenty dead and over 100 injured on the Indian side and we dont know the figures on the Chinese side. Unconfirmed reports say several hundred troops were involved in a bloody brawl without the use of firearms  apparently due to a protocol in force between the two countries precisely to avoid an uncontrolled escalation, suggests a very high degree of violence. The confrontation happened in the Galwan River valley (around which Chinese troops had captured an Indian defence post in 1962). Unconfirmed reports suggest that there was already a very violent incident on May 5 wherein many Indian officers and soldiers were badly injured and hospitalised.

The status quo that governed this disputed section of the Line of Actual Control between China and India in this area stands altered. Chinese troops seemingly now occupy an area earlier patrolled by the Indians  estimated at approximately 60 square kilometres in the Galwan valey. The Chinese have taken over key tactical positions overlooking a strategically important road under construction by India along the Indo-China border, close to Aksai Chin, under Chinese control that India claims.

After the confrontation between Chinese and Indian soldiers in the Himalayas on June 15 and 16, activists from the organizations of the Hindu Far-right Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) including some elected officials in the Government have been calling for a boycott of goods from China. Any such call for a boycott is misplaced, represents a xenophobic instinct and is out of place in the globalised world we live in. Such a boycott will hurt Indian consumers and business interests more than Chinese interests. However, what is more, worrying is the retired Generals sitting in TV studios who are calling out for war. We must alert all democrats and Indian citizens at large to steer clear from any moves towards war. Peaceful negotiations are the need of the hour to avoid any escalation. War is very dirty business and our society must be made aware that it will have to pay a heavy price, not the warmongers.

The Prime Ministers statement at the all party meeting has caused alarm and left people wondering: Why all the fuss if nothing happened? Why the military to military dialogue of June 6, Why talk military disengagement, if there were no incidents? What was the cause of violence if no incident happened; How did the 20 soldiers die if the Chinese never came into Indian Territory? Did the Indians stray into Chinese Territory? Were the claims by the former top commander of the Indian Army Lt. Gen Panag of the Chinese intrusion into Indian territory hogwash? (https://youtu.be/tU8nvAEl26c). Why did the former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon consider the Prime Ministers statement ill-considered and inaccurate that concedes territory and the gains of aggression. (The Wire, 20 June https://thewire.in/security/modis-no-intrusion-by-china-claim-contradicts-indias-stand-raises-multiple-questions)

What is pretty amazing is that soon after PM Modis tweet and clip on TV saying no one has intruded into Indian territory, the TV clip with remarks in Hindi was translated by the Chinese TV and broadcast to millions. Official Chinese communications have been very swift. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has given a counter account  a blow by blow account of what happened. And the Chinese Embassy in Delhi has issued a statement.

In a very unusual development on 20 June the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) issued a clarification on what the Prime Minster said the day before - the fact that PMO is having to clarify the Prime Ministers statements speaks volumes about our official communication skills  See Prime Ministers Office Statement on All Party Meeting of 19th June 2020 by PIB Delhi - 20 JUN 2020 1:40 PM (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PMO=3&PRID=1632856)

A prominent defence journalist whose Op-Ed just appeared in The New York Times is suggesting that India seems to have ceded territory to the Chinese and doesnt want to lose face. And therefore the PM saying nothing has happened, move on. This is a cover-up job. The Congress party leader and Indias former Deputy Foreign Minister Shashi Tharoor has said that China has "de-facto annexed disputed territory" and that "the restoration of the status quo ante (the previously existing state of affairs) is now impossible unless the Chinese withdraw," (See https://www.thequint.com/news/india/congress-leader-shashi-tharoor-on-india-china-clash-tensions-pm-modi-statement-ladakh-galwan-valley) It must also be noted that current President of the Congress Party Sonia Gandhi had stated that the people are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crises she asked several questions in this regard and eventually queried: Did our External Intelligence Agencies not report any unusual activity, Did Military Intelligence not alert the Government?  In the Governments considered view Was there a failure of Intelligence?.

Leaders of all Opposition political parties must call on the Government to reveal the truth on what happened in Ladakh and vociferously demand so in the days ahead. The world is watching with keen interest  Indias Defence Minister is attending the Russia China India interaction in the coming days. Let us see what comes of that. Only one point needs to be highlighted: satellite images have shown Chinese troops being amassed on their side of the LAC before the latest SinoIndian clash.

o o

FIRs have been filed by the police in Uttar Pradesh against Supriya Sharma an acclaimed Indian journalist, a recipient of the coveted Chameli Devi Award for journalism and the editor of the online newsportal scroll.in for doing a story on a poor family that lived through a situation of near starvation during the lockdown period in Varanasi  which is the Parliamentary constituency of the Prime Minister. The charges brought against the journalist are under the draconian SC/ST act under which no bail is allowed. This is very clear yet another move to intimidate journalists who write stories on the poor. We must remember that the poor and the underprivileged are the majority in our country, it is the duty of the media to provide coverage to issues to do with the poor. The media in India ought to stand in solidarity and reprint the story in question as an act of defiance. We hope the readers and citizens will stand with us.

Civil society activists continue to face the ire of the Uttar Pradesh Govrnment of Yogi Adiyanath. Many were taken under house arrest in Lucknow in the third week of December, 2019 when nation wide protests against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens were on, yet they were charged with instigating violence and had to spend a month in jail. Even before they could be proved guilty by a court of law, all accused have been served notices for recovery of damage to public and private property caused due to violent incidents in parts of UP. We are astonished to hear that many respected socially committed citizens of Lucknow that include a prominent human rights lawyer, Advocate Mohd. Shohaib, a very senior Retired Police Officer Mr S.R. Darpuri and several others have has been served notice by the UP govt. to pay a sum of Rs 64 lakhs or face seizure of property within a week. This is a matter of serious concern.

June 20, The Editor
WASHINGTON  Sen. Kamala Harris has been in demand lately. The coronavirus pandemic, protests over police brutality and the vice presidential nomination contest have made the California Democrat a ubiquitous presence in the media.

The attention is a reflection of her political skill and the moments need for strong voices of black women. Its also a reminder of the loneliness of her voice  as the only black woman in the Senate  on the national stage.

Harris has been asked about her race so many times over her years in politics that she has developed several pat answers. Sometimes she responds with a line her mother told her: Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last. She often says being a first is nothing new for her, and that has been true virtually every step of her career as a San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general before her 2016 election to the Senate.

When she announced her presidential candidacy in January 2019 at her alma mater, Howard University, one of the nations most prominent historically black universities, a reporter noted she was both an African American and Indian American woman  Indeed! she replied  and asked how she would describe herself.

How do I describe myself? I describe myself as a proud American, thats how I describe myself, she said.

Harris keeps her responses affable, not letting on if the questions bother her. But the constant focus on her race is a reflection of the challenge she faces as one of the first women of color to break a political glass ceiling.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

While a position of leadership means a platform to share ones perspective and shape policy, it also brings a burden of expectations about how to do so.

She definitely is carrying a lot right now. Black people everywhere are, said Angela Rye, a strategist and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus.

She said Harris has to be a leading voice on something so tragic as the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in her home by Louisville, Ky., police. Harris is co-authoring Democrats police reform legislation. On top of that, she is being vetted as a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

And with all of that is having to prove to a community she has been a part of all her life that she is black enough, that she is radical enough, that she is for the people enough, and that she is reformer enough. Its a lot, Rye said.

Welcome to leadership as a black person. And I think fortunately for Kamala, its not new. I think she can handle the pressure, but, God, is it a lot of pressure right now.

Harris was prepared from a young age to know that society would label her as black, despite her multiethnic background as the daughter of an Indian immigrant mother and Jamaican immigrant father.

My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters, Harris wrote in her book about her upbringing in Berkeley. She knew that her adopted homeland would see (her sister) Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women.

She has been vocal about the complexities of her background. The arguable high point of her campaign for president was when she confronted Biden on a debate stage for comments he had made about working with segregationists in the 1970s in the Senate, in which she cited her own experience with desegregation busing in grade school.

But the campaign ultimately failed to build on that momentum, even after she overhauled her staff and strategy. Some of her supporters blame her collapse before the first votes were cast at least in part on the difficulties of running for office as a woman of color.

Tiffany Cross, a political commentator and author of a forthcoming book about black voters, says that in hindsight, she second-guesses her decision to assess Harris campaign as critically as she did those of her opponents.

Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call

I dont know if that was necessarily fair, because she was starting from a different place, Cross said. I was treating her the same as everyone else, where what it took for her to get there and what it took for Pete (Buttigieg) to get there were two different journeys.

She said the opening of Harris campaign, including its kickoff in Oakland before an estimated 20,000 people, set an impossible bar for her to match going forward. When she ebbed in polling, the critical news stories came.

Some people can take a hit piece and live to tell about it. With Sen. Harris, its more difficult because the donor class is largely white and male, the media is largely white and male, Cross said. She was a flawed candidate, which made her no different from anyone else in the field and no different from the 45 men who were elected president so far. But somehow they were able to cross the bar and she wasnt.

The end of Harris campaign in early December, however, didnt end her time in the spotlight. Eight days later, she returned to the Senate for a high-profile hearing and one of the rounds of questioning in which she draws on her experience as a former prosecutor.

If there was any doubt that she was ready to face the public again, those close to her say, it was erased by taking one look at her jacket.

The normally dark-suited Harris returned that day wearing a bright-pink blazer paired with a black turtleneck. It was an unusually attention-grabbing look for her, and one that her inner circle took to mean only one thing: She had no intention of fading away. As one aide put it, I remember thinking, whoever this poor witness is is gonna get eviscerated.

Harris has in fact embraced the attention since then, using it to promote issues that are priorities for her. Her work in the Senate has always included an emphasis on disadvantaged communities and race. She took the lead on a bill to make lynching a federal crime even before Floyds killing set off a national movement to reform policing, and she has been an advocate for immigrants.

But since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, followed by the outpouring of protests over racial profiling and police brutality, Harris role as an advocate for less-represented communities has grown. That happened as Biden clinched the Democratic nomination and promised to pick a woman as his running mate, and as calls grew among Democrats for him to select a woman of color.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Its an instance where doing her day job well has the added benefit of helping her audition for the vice president role. But it also raises the pressure on Harris to live up to expectations of her that are beyond her control  including, Rye and other black women say, whether she is representing her blackness well enough.

While it is wonderful to have this platform, you absolutely are constantly being watched, and there is a lot of pressure, said Ashanti Gholar, president of Emerge, a group that recruits Democratic women to run for office. As a black woman, we also have to constantly remind people that black women arent a monolith  we do think differently.

Critics like to pit black women against each other as a way to undermine them, Gholar added. People who are always trying to find flaws in black women, one of the tactics is to find black women with a different opinion.

Since the pandemic began, Harris has emphasized the disparities in the way coronavirus affects different demographics, especially communities of color.

I've been sounding the alarm on this for weeks now, because it was predictable, she told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast in April. People who werent doing well before do even worse in a moment of crisis. And so when we talk about the disparities that exist in this country based on race, they are long-standing, they are real, and they are magnified in a crisis.

Harris introduced legislation that would boost the governments ability to quickly help hard-hit communities, offer direct payments to Americans and expand in-person and by-mail voting options. She also pushed for a task force to examine the inequalities in the pandemic and a resolution condemning anti-Asian American discrimination that has arisen around it.

Then came Floyds death May 25 and the outpouring of protests of police brutality and racism that followed. Democrats in the Senate tapped Harris and the only other black senator in the party, New Jerseys Cory Booker, to lead their efforts on police reform legislation.

In both cases, she has tried to leverage her star power to call attention to the issues of inequality, including in outlets with predominantly white audiences and those catering to people of color.

While Harris has made clear the work is important to her, it has also taken a toll personally.

Harris bill making lynching a federal crime, for example, has been held up by an objection to wording by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul. His attempt to amend the bill forced Harris and Booker to come to the Senate floor to object and delay its passage, on the day of Floyds memorial service.

Andrew Harnik / Associated Press

It is painful to be standing here right now, especially when people of all races are marching in the streets of America outraged by the hate and the violence and the murder that has been fueled by racism during the span of this countrys life, Harris said of the floor debate.

While Harris often discusses the difficulties of being a woman of color, its rarely to complain. In a recent New York Times interview, she said she was really sick of having to describe her own experiences with racism to convince others it exists. Harris declined to be interviewed for this article.

When black women speak on our experiences, were also giving you access to our pain and our hurt, Gholar said.

Imagine being the only black woman in the Senate arguing to get an anti-lynching bill passed and having a white colleague try to shout you down and say we dont need this, Gholar said. You experience this hate as a black woman in America, you know the history of lynching against black people in this country, and yet you still have someone up here telling you youre wrong.

Still, Rye said, Harris knows what being in politics entailed, and would have turned away long ago if she wasnt up to it.

If Kamala was not interested in doing that, she would have never run. Any time. She would have never run, Rye said. Kamala could have gone into the private sector and made a lot of money and thats not what she chose. She chose public service.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
Here is the upcoming City Council agenda for Tuesday:

I. Call to Order by Chairman Henderson.



II. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Oglesby).



III. Special Presentation.



IV. Minute Approval.



Order of Business for City Council



V. Ordinances  Final Reading:



FINANCE



a. An ordinance, hereinafter also known as "the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Operations

Budget", providing revenue for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, and ending

June 30, 2021; appropriating same to the payment of expenses of the municipal

government; fixing the rate of taxation on all taxable property in the city, and the time

taxes and privileges are due, how they shall be paid, when they shall become

delinquent; providing for interest and penalty on delinquent taxes and privileges;

amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 2, Section 2-267, relative to paid

leave for active-duty training and to amend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter

31, Sections 31-36, 31-37, 31-41, and 31-43, Sections 31-322 and 31-354.

(Alternate Version)



b.

An ordinance appropriating, authorizing or allocating funds to the CapitalImprovements Budget for the Fiscal Year 2020-2021. (Alternate Version)PLANNINGc. 2020-0063 The Reserve at Mountain Pass, LP (Amend Conditions). An ordinance toamend Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 38, Zoning Ordinance, so as to amendConditions #2, 3, and 5 of Ordinance No. 13187, for property located at 4905 CentralAvenue, more particularly described herein. (District 7) (Recommended forapproval by Planning and Staff) (Alternate Version)VI. Ordinances  First Reading:FINANCEa. An ordinance to amend Ordinance No. 13473, hereinafter also known as "the FiscalYear 2019-2020 Operations Budget", providing revenue for the fiscal year beginningJuly 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020; appropriating same to the payment ofexpenses of the municipal government; fixing the rate of taxation on all taxableproperty in the City, and the time taxes and privileges are due, how they shall be paid,when they shall become delinquent; providing for interest and penalty on delinquenttaxes and privileges; amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 2, Section2-267, relative to paid leave for active-duty training and to amend Chattanooga CityCode, Part II, Chapter 31, Sections 31-36, 31-37, 31-41, and 31-43, Sections 31-322and 31-354.VII. Resolutions:COUNCIL OFFICEa. A resolution recognizing the City of Chattanooga as being essential and in support offair and direct federal emergency support to reopen and rebuild local Americaneconomies. (Sponsored by Councilwoman Coonrod and Councilman Byrd)FINANCEb. A resolution adopting a five-year Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years2021-2025, subject to future revision; a copy of which is attached hereto and made apart hereof by reference. (Revised) (Added with permission of ChairmanHenderson and Councilwoman Berz)c. A resolution expressing the intent of the City of Chattanooga to issue bonds in theaggregate amount not to exceed Eleven Million Dollars ($11,000,000) of the City ofChattanooga, Tennessee for the purpose of paying all or a portion of the costs of thefollowing: 3rd / 4th Street, Alton Park Connector, Field Lighting, Greenway FarmConference Center Replacement, Lake Resort Drive, Law Enforcement TrainingCenter, Library Children's Area Roof Replacement, Midtown Pathway, Power ToProtect: A Resilient Public Safety Microgrid Project, In Partnership With EPB,Sidewalks, Station 15 Replacement, YFD Center Improvements and YFD East LakeRenovation. (Revised) (Added with permission of Chairman Henderson andCouncilwoman Berz)d. A resolution authorizing the Interim Treasurer to execute a contract, in substantiallythe form attached, with Fidelity Information Services (FIS) LLC, to provide merchantcard services for the City of Chattanooga for one (1) year beginning July 1, 2020,plus four (4) one year extensions, for an amount not to exceed $50,000.00.INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYe. A resolution authorizing the Chief Information Officer for the Department ofInformation Technology to extend the existing blanket agreement (PO# 554187) withBG Staffing, Inc. related to contracted labor for twelve (12) additional months,beginning May 29, 2020 and ending May 28, 2021, the first (1st) renewal of two (2)optional renewals, for an amount not to exceed $1.1 million each.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksf. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toexecute a contract with Orange Grove Center, Inc. for the agreement to manage andoperate the recycling collection centers and refuse collection centers for Fiscal Years2021 through 2025, for an amount not to exceed $3,626,316.18.VIII. Purchases.IX. Other Business.X. Committee Reports.XI. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council.XII. Adjournment.TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020CITY COUNCIL AGENDA6:00 PM1. Call to Order by Chairman Henderson.2. Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation (Councilman Byrd).3. Special Presentation.4. Minute Approval.Order of Business for City Council5. Ordinances - Final Reading:FINANCEa. An ordinance to amend Ordinance No. 13473, hereinafter also known as "the FiscalYear 2019-2020 Operations Budget", providing revenue for the fiscal year beginningJuly 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020; appropriating same to the payment ofexpenses of the municipal government; fixing the rate of taxation on all taxableproperty in the City, and the time taxes and privileges are due, how they shall be paid,when they shall become delinquent; providing for interest and penalty on delinquenttaxes and privileges; amending Chattanooga City Code, Part II, Chapter 2, Section2-267, relative to paid leave for active-duty training and to amend Chattanooga CityCode, Part II, Chapter 31, Sections 31-36, 31-37, 31-41, and 31-43, Sections 31-322and 31-354.6. Ordinances - First Reading: (None)7. Resolutions:FINANCEa. A resolution authorizing the Interim Treasurer to execute a contract withE-Government Solutions for the implementation and maintenance of a city widemunicipal property tax billing and collection software system for three (3) yearsbeginning July 1, 2020, plus two (2) one year extensions, for an amount not to exceed$63,800.00.HUMAN RESOURCESb. A resolution authorizing the Human Resources Department to apply for, and ifawarded, to accept the FY2021 State and Local Government Financial WellnessGrants Program for a one (1) year, non-renewable initiative to begin on September14, 2020 through September 30, 2021, for up to $100,000.00.PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATIONPublic Worksc. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toaward Contract No. W-20-011-201 JDH Company, Inc. of Chattanooga, TN,Replacement Roofing System for multiple buildings at MBWWTP, in the amount of$311,848.00, plus a contingency amount of $32,000.00, for an amount not to exceed$343,848.00. (District 1)d. A resolution authorizing the approval of Change Order No. 1 for Tri-State RoofingContractors, LLC of Chattanooga, TN, relative to Contract No. M-18-002-201, theReplacement Roofing System for the Bessie Smith Center, for an increased amount of$96,294.50, for a revised contract amount of $395,839.30, plus a contingency amountof $30,000.00, for an amount not to exceed $425,839.30. (District 8)e. A resolution authorizing the Administrator for the Department of Public Works toaward Contract No. E-20-010-201 to __________________________ of________________________, Disaster Recovery Management Services Contract, fora contract amount of $____________________.8. Purchases.9. Other Business.10. Committee Reports.11. Recognition of Persons Wishing to Address the Council.12. Adjournment.
A man who filmed himself coughing and sneezing on shoppers at a supermarket has been jailed for driving offences.

Raymond Gary Coombs, 39, was sentenced at Christchurch District Court to 16 months prison and fined NZD $750 (383) on Tuesday.this week.

In April, he went to Fresh Choice supermarket in Barrington, Christchurch, New Zealand, and filmed himself deliberately coughing and sneezing in the direction of other customers.

He apologised and walked away with a smirk on his face.



Concerned shoppers stop by and stare at him as Coombs carries on performing the sick prank on other people.

Just a few days earlier on March 31, Coombs uploaded a video to Facebook saying he had been infected with Covid-19.

Coombs was arrested on April 5, the day after his stunt, for offensive behaviour and was tested for the virus and the results were negative.

Judge Raoul Neave on Tuesday called Coombs behaviour an ill-considered prank and his actions had earned him significant notoriety.

Your behaviour was dangerous, selfish and stupid. It is the kind of nuisance behaviour that has plagued your career, Judge Neave added.

Coombs was also called an idiot by prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

He was convicted of drunk driving after he was caught in August last year, with a blood-alcohol level of 239mg/100ml  a reading described by Judge Neave as an astronomical level.

Coombs was later charged with a string of other offences including careless driving and refusing to provide a blood sample.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and apologised outside the court, saying: I should have thought through, I didnt think it through enough.

There is nothing else I can say but apologise to everybody and assure you all it will not happen again.

Coombs was also disqualified from driving for 28 days after which he will be able to apply for a zero-alcohol licence.

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The United Nations Special Representative for Haiti said Friday the coronavirus pandemic has worsened the humanitarian and economic situation in the country.

During a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council, Helen La Lime said Haiti had been plunged into recession and would see an increasing number of citizens flee the island to seek a better life abroad, unless more help was offered.

She said that if the precarious economic situation in Haiti was not addressed soon, ''a primarily domestic problem could transform into a regional issue.''

La Lime expressed regret at local opposition to the establishment of coronavirus treatment clinics on Haiti.

She said it was "a manifestation of the lingering climate of denial, stigma and discrimination that exists in the country."

"A vicious circle of mistrust, recrimination, and ultimately violence, is once again starting to define the dynamics of Haitian politics at a time when the entire society should be unified in its response to the pandemic," she added.

Haiti has a population of 11 million people and has so far recorded 4,900 coronavirus cases and 84 deaths.
Light rail project: Govt. shifts track from JICA to unnamed entity View(s):

Following the decision by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to suspend its financial support for a 220 kilovolt underground cable project from Kerawalapitiya to the Colombo port, a new controversy has arisen over the Governments intention to abandon Japanese funding for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in favour of a public-private partnership (PPP) with a yet-unnamed entity.

Government Ministers and officials publicly said this week that Sri Lanka would not proceed with JICA funding for the LRT project from Pettah to Malabe and that a PPP was on the cards. Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena was among those who declared that the project

was off.

We are not going ahead with that, Co-Cabinet Spokesman Ramesh Pathirana also told the Sunday Times. When it was pointed out that the loan agreement with JICA was already signed, he said it was only the consultancy component that was initialled.

No contracts were awarded, he said. As for the consultancy agreement, thats water under the bridge.

But JICA said, as far as it knew, the LRT has so far been implemented steadily in accordance with the relevant loan agreement. The agency hopes that the project continues to be implemented based on the bilateral agreements.

The project was formulated through extensive studies conducted by international and local consultants spanning several years based on the official request from the Government of Sri Lanka, said a response from the agency to questions from the Sunday Times. JICA has made every effort to formulate the project and loan terms and conditions to maximise benefit to the people of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed that JICA recently wrote to the Ministry of Finance saying it has suspended funding for a new transmission line until the clarification of several policy mattersincluding Sri Lankas current debt situation and the new Governments financial policy.

The Sunday Times reported exclusively last week that the Governments request for JICA backing for a 220 kilovolt underground cable from Kerawalapitiya to the Colombo Port was turned down.

While seeking funding, Sri Lanka also asked Japan for a moratorium on its debt and reported that it could not proceed with the LRT for the next five years because the Government did not have borrowing space.
The police chief in Louisville, Kentucky said on Friday he intended to fire one of three officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed in a burst of gunfire when drug investigators mistakenly entered her home.

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was killed on March 13 after the officers entered her apartment bearing a "no-knock" arrest warrant that targeted the wrong house.

In a letter to Detective Brett Hankison posted on Twitter, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Robert Schroeder said he intended to fire the officer for what he called "extreme" violations of standard operating procedures when Hankison used deadly force upon entering the apartment.

"Your actions displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life when you wantonly and blindly fired ten (10) rounds into the apartment of Breonna Taylor," Schroeder wrote. "I find your conduct a shock to the conscience."

The River City Fraternal Order of Police, which represents LMPD officers, did not reply to a request for comment.

Hankison, who was hired by the department in 2003, had previously been disciplined in January 2019 for reckless conduct that injured an innocent person, Schroeder's letter said.

It said Hankison would have the opportunity, with counsel or a union representative, to provide "additional information or mitigating factors" before his termination was finalized.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Taylor's family, called the police chief's letter "damning," and said on Twitter that he wanted to see the other officers fired and criminally charged.

Taylor's death, along with the May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd and other police killings of Black people, has become a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and has sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.

Hours after the March 13 raid, Louisville police Lieutenant Ted Eiden told reporters the officers had knocked on the door before forcing entry and were shot at by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. One officer was struck in the leg and all three returned fire, hitting Taylor at least eight times, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Walker was charged with attempted murder and assault, but last month state prosecutors dropped the charges, the Courier-Journal reported.
New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Advising against boycott of Chinese goods, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday stressed that India needs to become self-reliant as much as possible but without decoupling from the rest of the world.

"We should not bring up issues like boycott (of Chinese products0 when we are discussing very grave matters like the defence of India," the Congress leader told the media through videoconference here.
Six members of Donald Trump's campaign team setting up for his Tulsa rally have tested positive for COVID-19, as the president plows ahead with the event despite fears it will spark a fresh outbreak of the virus.

Trump's campaign confirmed Saturday that six campaign advance team members had tested positive for the deadly virus ahead of the controversial rally in Oklahoma.

The individuals were immediately quarantined and any team members who came into contact with them will also be absent from the event, officials said.

'Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented,' said Tim Murtaugh, Campaign Communications Director.

'No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today's rally or near attendees and elected officials.'

Six members of Donald Trump's campaign team setting up for his Tulsa rally have tested positive for COVID-19, as the president plows ahead with event despite concerns it will spark a fresh outbreak

Murtaugh said all campaign staff members are tested for COVID-19 as part of safety protocols.

Trump is scheduled to rally with thousands of supporters in Tulsa in an effort to reinvigorate his re-election campaign Saturday night.

This marks his first campaign rally since the coronavirus lockdowns and comes a week after the RNC resumed in-person campaign activities in some states, knocking on more than 260,000 doors.

Concerns have been building over the safety of Trump's Tulsa rally, ever since the president insisted it would go ahead as planned despite coronavirus cases still rising across America.

Oklahoma is one of the states that has seen a surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases and the city of Tulsa itself has also recorded a sudden spike in cases in the past week.

Trump supporters gather to attend his campaign rally Saturday. The staff members were immediately quarantined and any team members who came into contact with them will also be absent from the event, officials said

A Trump supporter poses next to a cardboard cutout of the president ahead of Saturday's rally. Concerns have been building over the safety of Trump's Tulsa rally, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republicans and dismissed a legal challenge brought by locals trying to stop it going ahead, amid fears it could worsen the spread of the virus

Health department officials in the city have already warned that two large indoor gatherings recently triggered a spike in new cases in the area.

A legal challenge was brought by locals trying to stop it going ahead and the local health department director urged for the rally to be postponed, amid fears it could worsen the spread of the virus in the city.

But Republican Governor Kevin Stitt brushed off concerns saying it would be safe and the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republicans to dismiss the legal challenge in a court ruling Friday.

Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum also rescinded his curfew order so supporters could camp out Friday night ahead of the big event.

Campaign officials insisted safety precautions have been put in place to limit the risk of an outbreak.

All attendees will be given temperature checks before they pass through security, hand sanitizer will be available and masks will be handed out to wear.

However, under Friday's court ruling, masks and social distancing are not required of attendees - but are only if they wish to do so - as Oklahoma's June 1 reopening plan allowed business owners to use discretion on those matters.

Supporters of Trump gather to attend a campaign rally at the BOK Center Saturday in Tulsa

The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma is bracing for a raucous rally after President Donald Trump promised a 'wild evening'

Very few among the thousands of people gathered outside the stadium during the day Saturday were seen wearing face masks.

When asked whether people attending the rally should wear masks, as is recommended by the CDC, Trump said Friday his supporters can 'do what they want'.

'I recommend people do what they want,' Trump, who has repeatedly refused to wear a mask, told Axios.

He also insisted he would not be wearing a mask at the event.

'I don't feel that I'm in danger. I've met a lot, a lot of people, and so far here I sit,' he said.

'You know, there was a time when people thought it was worse wearing a mask. I let people make up their own decision.'

The president has promised a 'wild evening' for his supporters at what will be his first rally in three months.

His campaign said it expects the 19,000-plus seat BOK Center to be filled, making it the biggest indoor event the country has seen since the pandemic shuttered events back in March.



Joe Biden has held a limited amount of in-person events in the past few weeks because of the coronavirus. Events he has attended have enforced social distancing such as the one pictured above in Pennsylvania on Wednesday where attendees were separated

While Trump has dismissed safety concerns to push on with his campaign trail, Democrat rival Joe Biden has taken a different approach to his campaign, committing to social distancing measures and coronavirus precautions as cases continue to mount across the country.

He has held only a small number of in-person campaign events in the past few weeks as his campaign says he is trying to follow the advice from public health experts.

On Friday, Trump took a swipe at his opponent's social distanced event in Pennsylvania Wednesday posting a picture of a nearly empty hall on Twitter and stating that the former Vice President's 'rally' had 'zero enthusiasm'.

Biden responded criticizing the president for his response to the coronavirus and calling on him to spend less time on Twitter.
The committee has recommended Rs 8,000-10,000, Rs 13,000-15,000, and Rs 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation beds, and ICUs with or without ventilator, respectively, to all hospitals.

Currently, hospitals are charging Rs 24,000-25,000, Rs 34,000-43,000 & Rs 44,000-54,000 (excluding PPE cost).

Ruchika Chitravanshi and Sohini Das report.

Photograph: PTI Photo

A NITI Aayog committee, set up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has recommended capping the rates charged by private hospitals in Delhi for isolation beds, and intensive care units with or without ventilator support to 'provide relief to the common man' as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

The ministry in a tweet said: 'Committee has recommended Rs 8,000-10,000, Rs 13,000-15,000, and Rs 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation beds, and ICUs with or without ventilator, respectively, to all hospitals as compared to the current charges of Rs 24,000-25,000, Rs 34,000-43,000 & Rs 44,000-54,000 (excluding PPE cost).'

'FICCI members accept the decision on cost of COVID-19 treatment in Delhi, though it may not be financially sustainable. Private medical facilities will ensure that they contribute to the best of their abilities and that all facilities required for COVID-19 treatment are made available to the government,' Alok Roy, chair-FICCI Health Services Committee, and chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals.

The Supreme Court on Friday said: 'We impress upon Delhi government to be more vigilant in knowing about the lapses in functioning of the hospitals and patients care and take immediate and remedial steps to redeem the miseries of patients.'

On April 30, the SC had sought response from the government on a plea filed by advocate Sachin Jain, alleging that private hospitals were 'commercially exploiting' patients in this hour of crisis.

The SC recently also pulled up the state governments for mismanagement of the pandemic calling the situation deplorable and horrific.

The Home Ministry said sample testing had also been doubled in Delhi after Shahs intervention.

'27,263 testing samples were collected in Delhi from June 15-17 against the daily collection of 4,000-4,500 earlier,' a ministry spokesperson said.

"The government may not be aware of the expenses in the private sector. There has to be a realistic estimate on what costs the institutions bear, be it on PPEs or isolation facilities, or quarantining and rotating their staff," H S Chhabra, medical director of Indian Spinal Injuries Center, said.

"A collaborative approach, wherein stakeholders work together to enhance the capability of the health care system is critical...It is essential that the private health care sector in Delhi as well as other states which are ready to support the government 'survives to serve'," said Preetha Reddy, vice-chairperson, Apollo Hospitals, and also president of Nathealth, a hospitals and diagnostics sector industry body.

Chhabra said while elective surgeries have almost stopped, the fixed expenses remain.

"How will private hospitals survive as their turnovers have reduced? Some countries have support packages for hospitals. India does not have any such package. We need to consider the fact that institutions need to survive, and if they collapse, it defeats the whole purpose," he said.

Sources said hospitals have seen revenues topple 60-80 per cent due to decline in patient footfall.

"Many small hospitals and nursing homes in tier II & III cities have become almost non-operational," Roy said.
Comparisons of the United States and Nazi Germany have a long pedigree, from the fascist New Deal in the 1930s to Bush-Hitler after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

More recently, Anne Applebaum, a columnist for the Washington Post, claimed in The Atlantic that, in their apocalyptic thinking, Attorney General William Barr and other members of the Trump Administration are really contemporary equivalents of the Nazi collaborators in charge of Vichy France, the puppet regime the Nazis established during World War II that assisted in the Holocaust and some of whose leaders were later executed as traitors.

Now, revived by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the comparison is again in the public domain.

But any analogy or comparison between the Nazi and American systems is invalid. It is invalid because the factual basis for it does not exist.

This is certainly true for the Floyd killing itself. By no rational standard of comparison can the actions of the Minneapolis police officers be characterized, as it recently was by a university professor, Aram Ayalon, as reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Nor can the indignation these same actions induced in Rep. Eric Swallwell, D-Calif., justify his subsequent description of Richard Grenell, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany in the Trump Administration, as Goebbels with a Twitter account.

Nazi police who killed Jews and others considered genetically inferior in Nazi ideology were never indicted, tried, and convicted in a court of law. To the Nazis, the whole notion of the rule of law, in which the government and the people exist in a mutual and moral relationship, based on shared rights and obligations, was ridiculous.

From 1933 to 1945 the legal basis for what the Nazis did in every aspect of domestic governance was the so-called Enabling Act, giving Hitler carte blanche to rule unconstrained by laws or any existing institution. The United States, with its Constitution, its Bill of Rights, its separation of powers, and its federalism, is entirely different.

Citizenship in Nazi Germany did not entail any allegiance to a government or a system of laws. In the Fuhrer State the Nazis established, peoples primary allegiance was not to Germany as a nation, or even to the German government. Rather, it was to the Fuhrer, the absolute leader, who was Hitler himself.

Moreover, in Nazi Germany there was a national police. Nothing comparable to it exists in the United States. Shortly after the Nazis came to power in 1933, local and regional police forces were absorbed into the newly established Geheime Staatspolizei (or Secret State Police, known colloquially by the acronym Gestapo), which in turn was subordinated to the Schutzstaffel (Honor Guard of the Leader or for short, the SS), the sole loyalty of which was to Hitler.

In that way the SS was not bound by laws of any kind, and oral directives from Hitler were sufficient to sanction the so-called Einsatzgruppen, special units of the SS that accompanied the German army into the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, killing Jews at will.

This supra-legal national police force was also responsible for rounding up homosexuals, Gypsies, and others deemed racially inferior, who were either shot or incarcerated in camps until their liberation in 1945. And it was the SS that was responsible for ensuring that the millions of Soviet soldiers who were captured offered no resistance to their enslavement in labor camps, where fully two-thirds of them were worked to death.

The SS was so omnipresent a force in German society that typewriters manufactured while it existed had a special key that, with one press of a finger, produced two ss on the typed page.

One searches America today in vain for any comparable institution.

Though there have been peaceful marches in the United States protesting government policy since the nations founding more than two centuries ago, there were none in Nazi Germany. And the only instances in Nazi Germany of mass looting and arson were encouraged by the government, which not only did nothing to stop them; on occasion it joined in the mayhem. The best-known example is Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) on Nov. 9-10, 1938, in which elements of what remained of the SA  the organization of brawlers and criminals Hitler used before becoming German Chancellor in January 1933  assisted ordinary people in destroying literally thousands of Jewish businesses and killing hundreds of Jews.

If the same had been the case for the rioting of recent vintage in the United States  if the Trump Administration for some reason had encouraged it, sanctioned it, and participated in it  comparisons with Nazi Germany would be appropriate. But in reality, such comparisons are absurd. Antifa is not an arm or an agency of the FBI or the Department of Justice.

In sum, any analogy between American and Nazi law enforcement, and more broadly between the United States and Nazi Germany, is not only false. It is an unconscionable libel and a moral obscenity.

Jay Bergman is professor of history at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, and serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Scholars.
Malian protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Bamako to renew their demands for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign. Urged by opposition parties and an influential imam critic, they accuse their leader of mishandling the many crises plaguing the Sahel country.

For a second consecutive Friday, large crowds gathered at Independence square in the capital Bamako to call on President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to step down.

They chanted "IBK, get out", using the acronym by which the president is popularly known, repeating the principal slogan that has rang out in the streets since the beginning of the protests on 5 June.

Demonstrators have responded to the call of the country's newly resurgent opposition, composed of religious leaders and civil society figures under the banner "Movement of 5 June  Rally of Patriotic Forces" or M5-RPF.

Muslim cleric Mahmoud Dicko has risen as their de facto leader and has seen his influence grow amid the social unrest.

People power

"The president has not listened to the people. But this time, he will understand," Dicko had earlier told reporters, vowing that "this Fridays rally will be one of the most important".

Unlike the last rally, the protest movement this time sent a delegation to the president's office to fetch his letter of resignation. They were blocked by security forces and came back empty-handed.

In a statement on Friday evening, the movement warned that "the people will exercise their right to civil disobedience."

We will be non-violent. But we will fight to the satisfaction of our demand," concluded imam Dicko.

Who is Mahmoud Dicko?

Recognisable by his white hat and Islamic dress, the 66-year-old is a well-known figure in Malian politics.

Originally a close ally of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who appointed him as the head of the High Islamic Council, Dicko's rise in the ranks was aided by his conservative views mixed with a modern approach to Islam. He refuses for instance to impose the sharia law in Mali.

Story continues

"Since 2012, Mahmoud Dicko has never hidden his regular contact with rebel and Salafi armed groups and is reported to have helped the president negotiate with them, although the government denies this," explains Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute for European Perspective and Security Studies in Paris.

"His form of political Islam was an effective tool in countering their narrative," he told RFI.

But after seven years of Keita's leadership, Dicko and his supporters want accountability.

Keita's silence

"You have a president who was elected with a programme and it's been a complete failure. There is now insecurity inside Bamako," explains Dupuy, referring to Mali's Islamist insurgency which was initially limited to the north.

"Social problems have not been dealt with nor has corruption," Dupuy says, with the economy stagnating, public services faltering and a widespread perception of bad governance.

March's long-delayed parliamentary poll was meant to be a step towards resolving the crisis, but it ended up mired in allegations of electoral fraud and led to calls from the opposition for parliament to be dissolved.

"Many people are saying, 'How can you run parliament when the main opposition leader is missing?'" Dupuy says, recalling the abduction of Soumaila Cisse days before the election.

After months of silence, Keita announced this week that Cisse was alive.

Talks

In recent days, the 75-year-old has also made several concessions, such as raising the salaries of public teachers after a long-running pay dispute. He also pledged to form a new unity government to try and mute criticism.

On Thursday, mediators from the West African regional bloc Ecowas arrived in Bamako to try to find a way out of the crisis, meeting with all of Mali's political actors, including IBK and Dicko.

"Mali is currently facing a political and social crisis," said Geoffey Onyeama, the foreign minister of Niger, currently holding the Ecowas presidency.

"President Mahamadou Issoufou has asked us to come to try and mediate, to prevent the crisis from spreading to the sub-region," he told Niger's state radio.

Spillover effect

A border attack on a military post in Cote d'Ivoire last week, highlighted that the insecurity threat has already spread beyond Mali and the other G5 countries including Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania.

The attack was a reminder of the daunting task posed to French military, national armies, and one of the UN's largest peacekeeping forces in stemming the violence, despite recent gains and the formation of a major coalition.

The incident has also sharpened opposition to foreign intervention, which Mali's powerful imam Mahmoud Dicko has made his battle cry.

"He has used the withdrawal of French and international troops as a tool to promote a new anti-imperial position," offers Dupuy, a tool that has proved popular among some segments of the Malian population who accuse the president of being too close to France.

Survival

But that could now could change, according to Dupuy, who says IBK is not indispensable: "A huge part of the population, various political actors and some in the military are questioning his capacity to be a leader inside and outside the country."

This is a concern for France, which has some 5,200 troops stationed in Mali and other G5 countries as part of its Barkhane operation.

President Emmanuel Macron is due to travel to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on 30 June to take stock of the progress made in fighting jihadist groups in the Sahel.

However, for Dupuy, Mali's domestic crisis is unlikely to top his schedule.

"France's focus right now is Burkina Faso, which risks becoming a new Mali," comments Dupuy, pointing to the rising attacks against civilians, which killed 1,500 people in 2019.

Paris is monitoring the situation in Ouagadougou closely ahead of polls there in November Dupuy says. Neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is also holding elections this year, which is of equal concern to France, more so than Bamako.

"Burkina Faso is experiencing the same problems that Mali went through in 2012," continues Dupuy, "No more state, a gap between the north and south and the risk of power shifting into the wrong hands. That is the priority for France," he said.
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Returning with an Annecys Work in Progress presentation two years after pitching as a project in MIFA Pitches Animation du Monde, Len And The Song Of The Wales has been garnering attention since 2014 after winning its first grant from the Colombia Film Fund.

Its no wonder, given the milestone that the ambitious film represents for Colombian animation, a sector of the industry which during recent years has slowly yet steadily grown and now finds itself capable of demonstrating its artists technical prowess in an attempt to showcase Latin American narratives with high-end animation.

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Distributed by Spains Latido Films, the film tells the story of Len, a 9-year-old girl from the Mapui tribe (a fictional matriarchy of the people who return to the breath of the water) who dreams of being Kashami (spiritual leader) and singing underwater with humpback whales to guide her people, although the circumstances of her birth hide secrets that make her unsuitable for the role.

Sudden storms hit the village, interrupting the ritual encounter with the Whales. In the jungle, Len encounters a mysterious jaguar man who entrusts her with an almost impossible task: convincing her tribe to leave the coast to survive. This sees Len and Kaka, her best friend, face her asthma, fears and doubts of her own as well as those of her elders. Nature will initiate her as the Green Hummingbird and put Kaka face to face against the jaguar to conjoin the tribes of Mount Njungaia, liberate their people, and learn the mysteries of their origin.

Variety interviewed directors Manuel Alejandro Victoria and Joan Manuel Millan Torres.

Could you talk briefly about the state of Colombian animation?

Story continues

Victoria: The potential for Colombian animation was never realized due to low number of trained animators for films and the high costs of production. So, out of fear, there has been little investment. And of course, with no animation schools there can be no industry. I think the task ahead is not only to make high-end animation in a country where there are no schools but to create workshops and start managing them between ourselves, because if there are no people you have to start training them.

Looking at other countries for guidance also begs the question of the aesthetic references regarding the still young Latin American animation.

Victoria: In France, the U.S. and Japan, they have clear domestic references, but here in Latin America we must look to what is happening elsewhere. So to some extent theres a multicultural world of the imagination that marks us as filmmakers and that has taken us to a certain middle ground. We like the dynamism of the U.S. laws of animation and how their characters come to life, but also the way of editing and framing of Japan with such visual economy. And you also have Frances poetic way of observing landscape.

Millan: I think we will find our place. What transcends borders in Latin American is the will to tell stories about cultural heroes. Len shares some narratives with other animation movies telling the story of a native kid that belongs to an ancestral culture living close to nature who pushes to come back to the philosophical roots of their ancestors. This intersects with a political need, an urgency of a continent that is so deeply influenced by the fantastic narratives of our ancestors. There is so much fantasy in our own narratives that theres a need for animation to portray it.

Its clear that beyond a production limitation, Colombian cinema struggles with distribution and exhibition. How do you see your role as creators in this loop between industry and audience?

Victoria: I think you build the country and the people that you want to become by what you show them on the screens. You can see in Japanese animation an emphasis on their customs. Their daily lives become a point of reference. Globalization has allowed us to see each other and allowed us to share our thoughts and concerns and we want movies that connect. Drug trafficking exists, but we dont identify with it: Its a sort of boogeyman that is always there. How do you show new dynamics in which daily life and prosperity dont revolve around drug trafficking? You show other realities. That is our responsibility.

A theme of the film is an ongoing need to take responsibility for our origins, a reconciliation with our past, rebuilding our sense of belonging. Could you expand?

Millan: Lens story manages to coincide with a broader narrative in our country. Its the story of a tribe with origins in the mountains. It borders on and resonates with a structural denial that we, as most Colombians, have had about having two or three ancestors who were peasants from the mountains. That denial comes from a hidden pain, a traumatic damage to the social tissue. Our story involved long research: Time spent with shamans, speaking Yaje, chewing coca, conversations with the Mamos in the mountains asking their permission to use cultural elements in our film. We reinterpret several Kogui elements for to understand their universe and relationship with the sea as well as the dynamics of a good life for the Nasa of Cauca, and the cosmography of the Desana from Vaupes and the Inga of the Putumayo. Our fictional tribe, Mapui, does not belong to any one tribe, but allows us to say what our grandparents, the wise men, passed down. That includes messages of universal love, collective work, dialog and individual responsibility which are not only represented in the film, but ideals we strive to carry out in our industrial processes.

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Thanks to the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF), graduates Danica Proulx and Dagan Aymont will publicly celebrate their educational successes despite institutions cancelling events due to COVID-19.

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This article was published 20/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Thanks to the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF), graduates Danica Proulx and Dagan Aymont will publicly celebrate their educational successes despite institutions cancelling events due to COVID-19.

Proulx and Aymont, along with 22 other Metis graduates in southwestern Manitoba and 248 across the province, will be celebrated at events in all of the federations seven regions.

Thanks to the Manitoba Metis Federation, Dagan Aymont will make his mother proud June 23 when she sees her youngest child celebrate a milestone in his life with his first graduation ceremony. (Submitted)

Organized by the federations Louis Riel Institute and its department of Metis Employment and Training, the celebrations have taken two months to organize.

"We probably have 10 employees working both full- and part-time to make this initiative a success," said Sharon Parenteau, executive director of the Louis Riel Institute.

Parenteau said co-ordinating the events across the province has been challenging. The team used three methods to connect with students  through their employment counsellors, post-secondary institutions and the federations local governing structure.

"Once we established the attendees, we determined the best location to hold each grad. We have co-ordinated a photographer and drone operator to photograph and videotape the regional events."

The federation focused solely on post-secondary graduates.

"Firstly, we are encouraging the Grade 12s to further their schooling. The MMF now has post-secondary funding opportunities that we never had before," Parenteau said.

"Our biggest worry regarding the Grade 12s was leaving some out and having hurt feelings. It was left up to each region to decide whether or not to include them."

ABOVE RIGHT: Danica Proulx will celebrate her graduation from Assiniboine Community College this month thanks to the Manitoba Metis Federation. BELOW RIGHT: Thanks to the Manitoba Metis Federation, Dagan Aymont will make his mother proud June 23 when she sees her youngest child celebrate a milestone in his life with his first graduation ceremony. (Submitted)

The federation has no way of tracking Grade 12 graduates.

"The public school system uses an Aboriginal Identity Declaration and does not provide the information to the MMF, as the Metis government, to confirm citizenship," said federation spokesperson Marci Riel.

Two celebrations will be held in the southwest region  one in Brandon and one in Portage la Prairie.

The Brandon ceremony will take place Friday at the Keystone Centres UCT Pavilion and the Portage la Prairie ceremony will take place Tuesday at the Herman Prior Activity Centre.

"We have 24 post-secondary students who will be attending the event closest to their homes," said vice president for the region Leah LaPlante.

Proulx, a graduate of the practical nursing program at Assiniboine Community College, hadnt attended her high school graduation and she was excited about this one.

"I wasnt horribly upset about it," she said. "I still felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I got my diploma in the mail. It still felt good to be done, to finish that program."

Nevertheless, shes grateful the federation is recognizing graduates.

"Its very special," she said.

Proulx, a recently declared Metis citizen, said the federation, who sponsored the final year of her two-year diploma, has been supportive and kind.

When Red River Colleges Portage Campus cancelled its graduation ceremony due to COVID-19, Dagan Aymont felt completely heartbroken.

"Ive never graduated from anything before," he said.

Graduating with a health care aide certificate marks the culmination of a complete turnaround in his life, one his mother, Kelly Human, and others who know him, are proud of. Seven years ago, he got clean.

"Just to kind of give a brief idea of how excited she is, I came from a history of drug and alcohol abuse and really living on the edge of life, I guess you could say," said Aymont, who had not graduated from Grade 12.

Both graduates are already employed in their fields, with Proulx working in a care home and Aymont working in rehabilitation at a hospital.

LaPlante, who is overseeing the celebrations in Brandon and Portage la Prairie, said the "usual speakers" will say a few words. The graduates will enjoy Metis music and a nice lunch, with one guest.

Proulx said if her dad is free, hell be her plus one. Aymont is planning on bringing his mom.

"They will be getting some gifts but that is a secret until their big day," said LaPlante.

"The event is the MMFs way of showing our pride in these students who have worked so hard to accomplish their goal."

Each graduate will receive $300 to stage COVID-safe celebrations with family and friends.

"The $300 was a response to the limitations of COVID-19. Since we could not hold the usual grad dinner, each student could then use their $300 to order food for a family event," said Parenteau.

 mletourneau@brandonsun.com

 Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.
Celebrity PSA Demands Justice for Breonna Taylor

Celebrities including Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, and Gabrielle Union promoted actionable ways to demand justice for Breonna Taylor in a new video that spotlights Taylor's mother.

Leave it to Beyonce to commemorate this year's Juneteenth with a surprise song in honor of the holiday. On Friday (June 19), the celebration of the end of slavery in United States, the pop star dropped new music, titled "Black Parade," along with an initiative supporting black-owned businesses by the same name.

On Instagram, Bey announced the single's release and captioned her post: "Happy Juneteenth Weekend! I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power."

She added that proceeds from the song will benefit black-owned small businesses  ranging from fashion to home and living  which are included in an online directory on her website. "Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right, she wrote under the Black Parade Route section of her page.

RELATED: Beyonce Urges 2020 Graduates to Continue to Be the "Voice for the Voiceless" in Moving Commencement Speech

Lyrics from "Black Parade" pay tribute to the songstress's home state of Texas, where the last enslaved black people were freed by Union soldiers in Galveston. "I'm going back to the South, where my roots ain't watered down / Growin', growin' like a Baobab tree / Of life on fertile ground, ancestors put me on game," she sings at the beginning of the track.

The song also references the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and racism, which Beyonce has been vocal about her support for in recent weeks. In addition to condemning the "senseless killing" of George Floyd, she has demanded justice for Breonna Taylor in a powerful letter addressed to Kentucky's Attorney General, Daniel Cameron.




A woman who tested positive to Covid-19 died on Friday in Gweru, bringing the number of deaths due to the disease in the country to five.





The death, which is the first in the Midlands Province comes nearly two months after the country reported a fatality from the disease. The last person to die of Covid-19, before the latest case, was an 82-year-old woman from Mashonaland West province, mother to ex-minister Sylvester Nguni who died on 22 April. The latest death was reported by the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs, Cde Larry Mavima yesterday while addressing a Zanu-PF meeting in Gokwe.





Cde Mavima said he received a call from Midlands provincial medical director Dr Reginald Mhene on Friday night notifying him of the death.





It is with a heavy heart that I announce the death of a woman from Gweru who is said to have been Covid-19 positive. Dr Mhene called me last night (Friday) giving me the update. He told me that tests done on the woman after her death showed that she was Covid-19 positive.





This brings to five the number of Covid-19 related deaths in the country and the first in the province, said Minister Mavima who is also the chairperson of the Midlands Provincial Covid-19 Taskforce.





Cde Mavima said from statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, it was evident that local transmission of Covid-19 was on the increase. He said it was therefore prudent for people to follow the lockdown rules and regulations such as maintaining social distance and wearing face masks so that the virus is contained.





Cde Mavima said Zanu-PF was taking the virus seriously as evidenced by the outreach programmes to the districts they were undertaking.





This virus is there and it kills. The First Lady started going round the country conscientising people about Covid-19 and we are following after her footsteps. But the truth of the matter is that we need to follow the rules and regulations of the lockdown. They were put in place for a reason to protect us but we find people flouting lockdown rules and regulations to the detriment of other peoples health, he said.

Cde Mavima said law enforcement agencies would not hesitate to bring people to book for flouting Covid-19 rules and regulations.





We have a situation where we have people harbouring relatives and friends who ran away from quarantine centres. It is wrong and unsafe. People who come from quarantine centres must have certificates to that effect. Without one, people must report them to the police, he said.





The latest developments come as the country continues to see a spike in the number of people testing positive to Covid-19. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, as of Friday the country recorded 16 new cases to take the total to 479. The ministry noted that of the new cases, five were returnees from South Africa and 11 were local transmissions. Although Bulawayo did not record new cases on Friday, it experienced a huge jump of 32 new cases on Thursday last week.





Meanwhile, the Government said it has only managed to account for 30 returnees of the 171 who escaped from various quarantine centres.





Addressing a Midlands Provincial Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Covid-19 in Gweru on Thursday, Vice-President Kembo Mohadi said the Government was concerned with the behaviour of some of the returnees who are absconding quarantine centres while some are vandalising schools property at various centres.





We have received complaints from quarantine centres, some of the returnees are disorderly. They also abscond quarantine. We now have 171 that have absconded and of those only 30 have been accounted for. The challenge is when they abscond, they go and mingle with other people in the community and if they will infect others if they have the virus. This will become very difficult for us, he said.





VP Mohadi said more than 2 600 Zimbabweans in South Africa have registered with the embassy to return back home as they fail to cope with the coronavirus-induced lockdown.




Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 18:17:09|Editor: huaxia

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URUMQI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The public and officials of various ethnicities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have denounced and expressed firm opposition to the signing of the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" by the United States.

Multiple terrorist activities in the past caused a lot of casualties in Xinjiang, and the region took a series of measures against terrorism and extremism. This is in line with both China's laws, and the international community's common wish to fight terrorism, according to members of the public and the officials.

Xinjiang has not seen a single terrorist attack for more than three years, which has optimally guaranteed the rights of subsistence and development of 25 million people of various ethnicities in the region, they said.

"Some U.S. politicians should stop their churlish words and actions, and stop doing things that hurt the feelings of the people in Xinjiang," said Abuduxvker Rehamdulla, vice president of the China Islamic Association and imam of Baida Mosque in Urumqi, the regional capital.

Facts have proven that Xinjiang's fight against terrorism and extremism is an act of justice, supported by people of various ethnicities in the region, and it guarantees people's safety and happiness, Rehamdulla said.

Xinjiang has resolutely tightened prevention measures, and launched strict crackdowns on terrorist forces in accordance with the law. It has protected, to the maximum, the basic human rights of the general public of Xinjiang from the harm of terrorism and extremism, said Iijan Anaghit, deputy head of the united front work department of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"These U.S. politicians cared about the so-called 'human rights' with ulterior motives and signed the so-called bill," said Anaghit. "This is obviously an act of supporting the 'three evil forces' and chanting for violent terrorists."

Many people in Xinjiang said that the so-called suppression of ethnic groups and violation of religious freedom confused right and wrong and is an act of deliberate smearing.

Yimiarhasan Mahmut has been an editor at Xinjiang's Tianshan magazine for 22 years. He said that the magazine has many columns that present the literature works of ethnic writers in their ethnic languages.

"The cultures of ethnic groups have always received protection and have prospered," he said. "Where on earth is the so-called suppression of minority groups?"

Abdurehim Islam, with the Bagang Mosque in Urumqi, said that in recent years, the government has provided funds for every mosque to be equipped with air conditioners, television sets and floor heating systems, in addition to adding libraries and shower rooms, which have all protected the legal, religious activities of religious believers.

"I think this bill is a distortion of truth and an obvious attempt to throw mud at the Chinese government," Islam said. "It aims to hurt the bond between the CPC, the government, and the people."

It is an undisputed fact that various ethnic groups in Xinjiang are equal, and religious groups co-exist in harmony, said the members of the public. In fact, it is in the United States where white supremacy has risen, they said. In May, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death led to large-scale protests.

"Some U.S. politicians ignore their domestic racism, try to distort the truth, and interfere in the internal affairs of China," said Sulayman Islam, an associate professor with the School of Economics of Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics. "They play the 'Xinjiang card' to try to contain China's development."

People of various ethnicities in Xinjiang will resolutely safeguard national unity, ethnic solidarity, and social stability, and any attempt by the United States is doomed to fail, Sulayman Islam said. Enditem
Newsfrom Japan

Hanoi, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Over 400 Japanese business people are expected to visit Vietnam between Thursday and June 27, as Japan and Vietnam move to relax their mutual coronavirus travel restrictions, according to informed sources.

The move comes after the Japanese and Vietnamese governments announced an agreement on Friday that the two countries will ease border control measures they introduced against each other to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in stages and resume mutual visits by a limited range of people including visitors for business.

The visits will mark the first entry by Japanese business people into Vietnam after the agreement.

According to the sources, Vietnam Airlines will fly chartered planes for three days from Thursday between Narita International Airport near Tokyo and Van Don airport in northern Vietnam, transporting a total of over 400 Japanese business people, mainly expatriates.

On arrival, the business people will take coronavirus tests and other required steps and be quarantined for 14 days at hotels.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Farmers who dumped milk during the coronavirus outbreak are set to 'lose out' from the government's dairy hardship fund as applications now open.

The fund opened for applications on Thursday (18 June) for farmers in England and Wales impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Producers are able to apply up to 10,000 to cover 70% of their losses across April and May incurred as a result of a drop in price

The deadline for the fund's applications is 14 August. Farmers will be able to apply for a single payment from the fund, which will be paid out from 6 July.

It follows a reduced demand for milk with the closure of restaurants, bars, and cafes in recent months as a result of the coronavirus.

But dairy industry groups have raised concerns over the lack of information from the government regarding the fund's eligibility criteria.

The government has chosen to calculate eligibility by using milk price pence per litre drop only, instead of lost income.

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) chairman Peter Alvis said the fund did not go 'far enough' to support those dairy producers who were in serious need of financial help.

He said: "Those farmers who had to dump milk still don't appear to be covered by the funds, neither do farmers who process their own milk or those in the non-bovine sector.

We do not understand how farmers will demonstrate milk volumes dumped as this will not appear on milk statements and therefore, the volume loss cant be evidenced in this way.

There is also industry disappointment over the fund's exclusion of the non-bovine sector, despite the government's 'awareness' of the sector's fragility.

"Due to the small size of the sector we hope the government can find a small sum of money to support them as without it, these farms will struggle to survive, Mr Alvis said.

There are fears over the fragile state of the non-bovine milk sector, which could face 'collapse' without support.

NFU Cymru has urged farmers who may be affected by the fund's 'narrow' eligibility criteria to still submit their applications,.

The union said this would ensure the Welsh government was aware of the extent of the problem and the numbers involved.

We still have concerns about the scope of this scheme and the way Welsh government have chosen to calculate eligibility," said Abi Reader, NFU Cymru dairy board chairman.

"The effect of this is that many dairy farmers who reduced production directly due to the Covid-19 crisis could now lose out on much needed support."

It comes as the RABDF dairy losses survey show that up to the middle of May, over 17m litres of milk had received a reduced value.

Milk production reduction amounted to almost 3 million litres and milk not collected 1.15 million litres.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 19) - Former National Task Force on COVID-19 special adviser Dr. Tony Leachon said on Friday he has no plans of leading the Department of Health as claimed by a lawmaker.

Wala po akong hangad sa posisyon na yan, kahit I-offer sa akin, hindi ko tatanggapin ang Secretary of Health position, Leachon told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: Im not aiming for that position, even if it would be offered to me, I will not accept the position of being a Secretary of Health.]

This was his response to the statement of former Health secretary now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin that he is taking advantage of the controversy for personal gain.

Garin told the health expert to shut up and avoid getting pity and sympathy from people, citing how Leachon is vocal on social media instead of putting his words into actions.

Leachon said he did not expect his posts to go viral.

Hindi ako naghahabol sa social media para maka-ask ng supporters. Ito po ay pumatok na lang sa Internet, hindi ko naman po hinahangad ito, he said.

[Translation: I dont have any plans of gaining attention from social media and have supporters. My posts just became a hit in the Internet and I did not expect that.]

Despite comments from his former colleague in the medial profession, Leachon said he does not want to quarrel with anyone.
In a provocative statement fraught with global geo-strategic implications, a senior US diplomat has framed the China-India border standoffwhich erupted last Monday night in a violent clash that left dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers deadas a Chinese invasion and part of a pattern of Chinese aggression.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell told a press briefing Thursday evening that the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) had invaded the contested area between India and China.

In May, as border tensions between Beijing and New Delhi rose, Washington visibly intruded into the dispute with denunciations of Chinese aggression. However, prior to Thursday, its public response to Mondays clash, and the subsequent large-scale deployments of Indian and Chinese military forces to their border region, had been guarded.

Now, however, the US is proclaiming its support for India, action that it knows and calculates will encourage New Delhi to take a hardline stance and aggravate China. Moreover, it is doing so under conditions where the Indian media is reporting there is growing pressure within Indian government and military circles for some form of military retaliation against China.

Whatever reservations the Trump administration may have had about stoking a conflict between the worlds two most populous countries and rival nuclear powers are now clearly being cast aside.

Stilwell, a retired US Air Force general, was responding to a question from a journalist from the right-wing Washington Examiner who suggested the Indo-Chinese border clash was one in a series of Chinese aggressions in South and East Asia. Were obviously watching the India-China border dispute very closely. The PLA invaded this contested area deeper and longer, with more people, than ever before historically, Stilwell declared.

Again, Stilwell continued, whether that was a negotiating tactic or ajust a punch in the nose to demonstrate their superiority, I dont know.

The entire exchange was premised on the false anti-China narrative that Washington has promoted with increasing vehemence over the past decade. The US routinely depicts China as an aggressor disrupting international order and the rule of law, when in reality it is US imperialism that is mounting a relentless and ever-escalating diplomatic, economic, and military-strategic offensive against Beijing, aimed at thwarting its rise.

In 2011, the Obama administration launched Americas anti-China pivot to Asia, which included plans, now realized, to shift the majority of US military assets to the Asia Pacific. Trump, while eschewing that term, has dramatically intensified the US campaign against Beijing.

The Pentagon has formally designated China a strategic competitor in a new era of great power conflict, and Washington has launched a campaign to cripple China economically, by seeking to block its emergence as a competitor in high-tech industries and now by pressing for US companies to decouple from China.

The surge in tensions on the Sino-Indian border is directly tied to the US offensive against China.

First and foremost, Indias venal ruling class, seduced by US offers of strategic favours and investment, has leashed itself to Washingtons anti-China war drive. Narendra Modi and his ultra-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government have transformed India into a frontline state in the US offensive against China. They have thrown open Indias air and naval bases to US warplanes and warships, parroted the American line on the South China Sea dispute, and developed a web of bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral military-security ties with the US and its principal, Indo-Pacific allies, Japan and Australia.

Second, and flowing from the first, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is meant to counteract US plans to strangle China economically by dominating Indian Ocean and South China Sea chokepoints, passes through Chinas Aksai Chin regionborder territory that India claims is rightfully its.

The significance of Stilwells remarks is underscored by his rankhe is the most senior US diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific region. Also he was speaking at a briefing on the outcome of six-hours of talks held between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Party Politburo member charged with overseeing foreign affairs.

The US has said little about the talks held in Honolulu Wednesday, and Stilwell, who participated in them, was far from forthcoming in Thursdays press briefing. However, what he did say made clear that the US used the talks as an occasion to make a series of provocative demands upon which, Beijing was told, the future of Sino-American relations, including commercial ties, will depend.

Stilwell indicated that the US had sought to berate China over the COVID-19 pandemic, demanding China disclose all they know about how this pandemic began.

This is part of a campaign spearheaded by President Trump to deflect blame for the horrific loss of life caused by COVID-19 in the US from the negligent response of his administration and the ruling elite as a whole. It is also aimed at legitimizing further aggression against China.

Other issues on which Stilwell insisted the US needed to see action from Beijing included the South China Sea dispute, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Uyghurs. The latter two questions reference Washingtons attempts to use the authoritarian actions of the Chinese state to provide the US with a bogus human rights cover for the pursuit of its own predatory interests.

Of course, none of the reporters at the briefing pointed to the absurdity of Washington declaiming against Chinese repression in the aftermath of the massive state attack on the US protests over the police murder of George Floyd and Trumps attempt to order the military into the streets and establish a military dictatorship. Nor did they breathe a word about Washingtons support for authoritarian and dictatorial regimes around the world.

In a statement that spoke to the tense character of the exchanges at Wednesdays talks Stilwell said, The president is not pulling punches anymore. He is basically doing what he has to do to protect US interests, starting off with obviously the trade deal. Where Sino-US relations were headed, Stilwell said, he could not say.

Stilwell did claim there are two possible issues where Beijing and Washington might be able to work together. Not surprisingly this proved to be a barbed proposal. Washington wants Chinas help in pressuring North Korea, a close ally, to bend to US demands. It is also pushing China to join proposed nuclear talks with Russia, something that Beijing has refused to do, arguing that its nuclear arsenal is only a tiny fraction of the other two powers.

Within this context, the US decision to publicly side with Indiawhich it did not do in 2017 when Indian and Chinese troops faced off against each other on a ridge claimed by both China and Bhutanand, moreover, to tie it to the South China Sea dispute is inflammatory and reckless.

Washington has made the connection between the Indo-China border dispute and the US strategic confrontation with Beijing explicit. This ensures that it will become still more intractable and explosive, for any outcome, whether in the form of further military clashes and war or an attempted de-escalation, will be judged for its impact on the US-China confrontation as a whole.

Furthermore, the US intervention will and is meant to embolden the most hawkish elements in Indias ruling elite. The Modi government and its Hindu supremacist allies, aided and abetted by a craven opposition, are whipping up anti-Chinese chauvinism and bellicose nationalism.

The BJPs ruinous, ill-prepared COVID-19 lockdown has produced twin social disastersan economic collapse that has cost more than a hundred million impoverished workers their jobs, and a pandemic that is now growing exponentially. Under these conditions, it is seizing on the conflict with China as a means of deflecting social anger and promoting reaction.

Underscoring that Washington is now publicly shifting behind India and inciting its confrontation with China, Secretary of State Pompeo and the US ambassador to India have now extended their condolences to India for the 20 of its soldiers killed in Mondays clash. Their bravery and courage will not be forgotten, Ambassador Kenneth Juster tweeted.

In an ominous sign of the dangers that the US is stoking, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell meanwhile told the Senate Thursday: For the sake of grabbing territory, the PLA appears to have instigated the most violent clash between China and India since those nations went to war in 1962. Thousands died or were wounded in that war fought when neither country had a nuclear weapon.
This wasn't the first attempt on the woman's life, NGO chief says.

Valentyna Buchok, a former captive of Russian occupation forces, who had been released in a prisoner swap effort in late 2019, was injured in a booby trap blast in her own backyard in a village near the town of Kostiantyivka, Donetsk region.

The police were called on scene of the incident at 8:00 on Saturday, June 18. Criminal proceeding into attempted murder was launched immediately, the interior ministry reported.

Volodymyr Shcherbachenko, head of the East Ukrainian Center for Public Initiatives non-profit, wrote on Facebook that "Valentyna has been openly and fearlessly testifying about the crimes of the so-called 'DPR'."

Read alsoUkrainian military return fire to enemy attacks in Donbas, killing two, woundi inavng three occupiers

This is not the first attempt on the woman's life, he claimed, adding that police failed to properly investigate previous attacks.

According to updated reports, the woman sustained injuries to her face and limbs.

As UNIAN reported earlier, a Donetsk-based electrician Valentyna Buchok was released during a prisoner exchange on the eve of the New Year.

The invaders had initially sentenced her to 17 years in prison for "espionage".
The president thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and all those who helped citizens be released and brought back to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has commended the return on Friday, June 19, of 14 Ukrainian sailors, crew of the Ruta tanker, who had been arrested on smuggling charges.

The sailors had spent more than three years in Libyan jail, the Office of the President reported.

"A special flight carrying 14 citizens of Ukraine, members of the crew of the Ruta tanker, who returned home after more than 3 years of imprisonment in Libya, landed at Boryspil International Airport," the report reads. "President Volodymyr Zelensky commended the arrival of fellow citizens in their homeland."

"Our task is to return Ukrainian citizens. I am very glad that after almost three and a half years behind bars in Libya, 14 members of the crew of the Ruta tanker returned home. I am happy for them, for their families," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Read alsoFourteen Ukrainian sailors freed in Libya after three-year imprisonment

The president thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and all those who helped citizens be released and brought back to Ukraine.

In April 2017, Ukrainian sailors were detained in Libya on charges of involvement in the smuggling of petroleum products. Due to the complicated political and security situation in this country, Libyan courts had long been dragging with consideration of their case.

Coordinated efforts by Ukraine government agencies brought results in negotiations with the Libyan authorities, leading to the release of Ukrainian crew.
Hyderabad: A senior Congress leader Ramachandra Reddy was allegedly abducted and murdered by his relative Pratap Reddy and his (P Reddy's) driver over a land dispute.

As per information provided by the police, both the accused are absconding and a case has been registered against them.

"The Deceased Ramchandra Reddy and Accused Pratap Reddy, both are relatives, they have land dispute from some time now, regarding that the deceased and accused both were sitting in a car in Shadnagar and arguing with each other," said Shadnagar DCP while speaking to ANI over the phone.

He added that from there accused Pratap Reddy's driver had come and they took the deceased to an abandoned venture in Kothuru, both killed Ramchandra Reddy and left from there.

"Both are absconding. Presently a kidnapping case has been registered," he said.

An investigation is underway.
A young woman athlete has accused some Indian Army personnel of allegedly harassing her and her family after she took on the drug mafia in her hometown of Sopore in north Kashmirs Baramulla district. However, army and police officials have refuted the allegations.

Nighat Bashir, a national level karate player from Seelu Sopore, said that since the day she raised a voice against the drug mafia in Sopore, she has been facing a lot of problems.

When I heard that my brother is getting involved in drugs, I raised a voice against the drug mafia which also led to the arrest of one person. After that, the racket was busted by police in Sopore. But following the arrests, the army raided the area and assaulted my cousins saying they were looking for my father, she alleged.

The alleged incident had happened on the night of June 16.

She alleged that an army major entered her home and harassed her brother-in-law because of his long beard. When I raised a voice, the major threatened me saying that he will pump all his bullets into my body, she said.

They ransacked our home and broke the almirahs. What mistake did I commit by raising a voice against drug peddlers? They told me they had orders to cordon off my home, she alleged.

I want answers for why I was threatened. Is this the treatment one gets for representing India? When athletes are treated as such, what would be the fate of commoners, she asked.

She had also shared a video of her ransacked home and belongings on the social media.

On Saturday, she alleged that she was again harassed by army personnel at Tappar Pattan when she was taking her brother to a hospital in Srinagar.

They harassed us and the officer concerned told me that whosoever goes against the Indian Army, would face the same fate. They have managed to restrict my accounts and I am not able to post anything, she said.

She complained of not feeling safe. I appeal to the administration to provide protection to me and my family. We are facing trauma, and nobody is inquiring the matter. We want justice, she demanded.

The army has denied the allegations. No army personnel is involved in ransacking or damaging any civilian property. These allegations are baseless, said army spokesperson Rajesh Kalia.

Sopore senior superintendent of police Javaid Iqbal said an FIR was registered against a drug addict Man Palla and six others on the complaint of Nighat Bashirs family after her brother had sold a mobile phone to Palla in lieu of drugs.

He said Nighats claims on social media that her cousins were beaten by the army and her house was cordoned off because she had raised a voice against drug peddlers were not true.

The searches were of general nature in Seelu and it was a joint operation by the army and police. Her home didnt come under the search area, but one of her cousins did. Also, her cousin has refuted her claims in a video saying that he was not beaten, he said.

Her allegations against an army major are also not true, Iqbal said. It seems she has some vested interest, the SSP alleged.
In Harlem, the noise lasts until 1 a.m., and ranges from the pops of firecrackers to the booms of louder rockets. An officer who answered the phone at the 32nd Precinct station house on Wednesday night said that the police were being inundated with complaints.

Its as bad as anything I can remember, said Adrian Benepe, a former city parks commissioner who lives on the Upper West Side.

The police have had their hands full with major issues  demonstrations, looting and Covid  and they just dont have the time to respond to quality-of-life issues like this, Mr. Benepe said.

As of Thursday, the Police Department said it had made 26 seizures of fireworks and eight arrests and had issued 22 fireworks-related summonses so far this year. There have also been 5,947 firework-related 911 calls, compared with 1,590 for the same period in 2019.

The department would not comment on the current enforcement of fireworks laws.

While they are illegal to buy, sell or ignite in New York, fireworks are an entrenched tradition of the citys streets, especially in working-class neighborhoods. They are generally sold from duffel bags or car trunks and set off in the days before July 4.

But this year, the unauthorized displays began at least a month earlier than usual, as other warm-weather get-togethers were halted by social-distancing rules.
The Left parties on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the clarification issued by the PMO on his comments that no one entered Indian territory, demanding that he "make up his mind" before speaking and stop being "ambivalent" on serious issues.

The PMO on Saturday described as "mischievous interpretation" the criticism over Modi's remarks at an all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting on Friday was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.

"Mr Modi should first make up his mind and then speak unless his attempt was to mislead all the political parties and weaken our position in diplomatic talks. What else did the PM say in the all-party meeting last evening which he did not mean? Can we trust anything that was said on an issue of such strategic importance if he changes his statements so quickly? Sacrifices of our soldiers should not be reduced to vote-bank politics, Mr Modi," tweeted CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Both the CPI(M) and the CPI said the clarification raised more questions than it answered and sought to know how such serious issues can be spoken of in such vague terms by the leader of the nation.

CPI general secretary D Raja said, "I just want to ask the PM how can he be so ambivalent on such a sensitive issue that clarification needs to be issued by his office? Yesterday, he said one thing at the all-party meeting and now issues a clarification which they claim is the correct version. It was a high-level meeting. How could he have been not clear at such a meeting? Which one should we believe? This only leads to further questioning."

On Friday, the Congress as well as a number of strategic affairs experts raised questions over Modi's remarks asking if there was no transgression by the Chinese military in Galwan Valley then where did Indian soldiers die. They also wondered whether Modi gave a clean chit to China over the standoff.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-19 22:42:31|Editor: huaxia

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Staff unload donations from the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation at the Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, March 28, 2020. (Photo by Eddy Peters/Xinhua)

An African expert on public health said that China's gesture of solidarity shown in the COVID-19 fight "will further strengthen the existing cooperation relations between China and Africa."

BISSAU, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China's support and aid is important to and much appreciated by Africa in the continent's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, former Director-General of the West African Health Organization Placido Cardoso has said.

China's assistance to Africa "is very important and essential in different strategies to fight against the virus," the expert on international health said in an interview with Xinhua.

Cardoso, who is currently a member of the High Commission of fighting against COVID-19 in the country, said since COVID-19 broke out, China has been providing support and aid to Guinea-Bissau, which is "special and much appreciated" by the country.

People queue up for food and supplies provided by charity groups in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

He also noted that "China's experience in dealing with this health crisis is extraordinary, and Guinea-Bissau needs it."

According to a United Nations report in late May, Guinea-Bissau has the second most vulnerable health system in Africa, and the report warns that the country's health system risks collapsing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Guinea-Bissau's health system is failing due to lack of investment in the sector, so the country is left without quality health infrastructure, without necessary medical equipment and lack of qualified medical personnel," the report said.

On Thursday, a second donation of medical supplies from the Chinese government to Guinea-Bissau arrived at Bissau's Osvaldo Vieira International Airport.

A Chinese doctor talks with a local medical worker at a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, June 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Ma Yichong)

Cardoso also stressed that China's gesture of solidarity shown in the COVID-19 fight "will further strengthen the existing cooperation relations between China and Africa."

"I think all countries should follow this gesture of solidarity from China and its people," said the expert, while hailing China's rapid support to the African continent.

The Chinese government, Chinese companies in Africa, and Chinese foundations of Jack Ma and Alibaba have made several donations of medical supplies and equipment to help African countries cope with the virus, he added.

"China has shown once again that its relations with Africa are excellent," said Cardoso. "This gesture of solidarity strengthens the trust and friendship between our peoples." 
If home isolation of Covid-19 patients ends in Delhi, there will be chaos, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during a meeting with disaster management authority officials on Saturday. The meeting was called upon to discuss Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijals latest directive which makes 5-day institutional quarantine mandatory for all Covid-19 patients.

Currently, there are more than 10,000 people under home isolation and there are only 6,000 beds at quarantine centres, where will we accommodate all the people? the chief minister said during the meeting.

Kejriwal also said that the move will shift the entire focus from moderate and serious patients of Covid-19 to those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

Chief Minister said if home isolation ends in Delhi there will be chaos. Currently, there are more than 10,000 people under home isolation and there are only 6,000 beds at quarantine centres, where will we accommodate all the people?: Manish Sisodia, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister https://t.co/oiTCnul7Yr  ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2020

This is a time when our main focus should be on increasing the recovery rate and keep fatalities at a bare minimum. Should our primary focus be on the serious patients or the asymptomatic or mild persons who actually need no medical treatment as such? Kejriwal reportedly asked the L-G in the meeting.

Kejriwal also said that move will lead to people avoid getting tested for Covid-19 owing to the fear of being whisked away to quarantine centres.

Why are there different rules for Delhi when the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is allowing home-isolation for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases across the country? the CM reasoned.

The L-Gs order on Friday added that after the five-day institutional quarantine, asymptomatic Covid-19 patients will be sent for home quarantine.

Five days institutional quarantine of each case under home-quarantine is to be made mandatory and, thereafter, (they) will be sent for home-isolation, except in cases where symptoms require further hospitalization, Baijal said in his order.
With the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic looming large, International Day of Yoga on Sunday will be celebrated on digital media platforms sans mass gatherings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message would be the highlight of the occasion.

Yoga Day will go digital for the first time since June 21, 2015, when it began to be celebrated annually across the world, coinciding with the Summer Solstice each year.

This year's theme is 'Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family' and people will be able to join the celebrations virtually at 7 am on June 21.

The Indian missions abroad are trying to reach out to the people through digital media as well as through the network of institutions which support yoga, officials said.

The Ministry of AYUSH had planned to hold a grand event in Leh, but cancelled it due to the pandemic.

On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga', months after Modi had proposed the idea.

A message from Prime Minister Modi will be the highlight of the International Day of Yoga which will be observed on electronic and digital platforms on June 21, the AYUSH ministry said on Thursday.

'Due to the current global health emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the focus this year is less on such celebrations and more on people performing Yoga at their respective homes with participation of the entire family,' the ministry said.

The prime minister's remarks will be televised at 6.30 am, a statement by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) said.

As has been the practice in International Day of Yoga (IDY) observation, the PM's message will be followed by a live demonstration of a 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) by a team from Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga.

The CYP drill has been designed keeping in mind people of different age groups and of varied walks of life, the ministry had said in its statement.

'Yoga is found to be especially relevant in the pandemic situation, since its practice leads to both physical and mental wellbeing, and increases the individual's ability to fight diseases,' it said.

Modi on Thursday had urged people, in a video message, to observe the day from the confines of their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This year, the event will highlight the utility of yoga for individuals, to develop immunity to combat the global pandemic and strengthen the community in managing some of the significant aspects of this crisis," Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, president, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) had said earlier this month.

The ministry and ICCR, through the 'My Life - My Yoga' video blogging competition which was launched by the prime minister on May 31, has sought to raise awareness about yoga and inspire people to prepare for and become active participants in the observation of IDY 2020.

The contest has two legs -- the first one consisting of an international video blogging contest wherein the winners will be picked within a country. This will be followed by global prize winners who will be selected from different countries.

To enter the contest, participants were required to upload a three-minute video of three yogic practices ('kriya', 'asana', 'pranayama', 'bandha' or 'mudra'), including a short video message/description on how the said yogic practices influenced their lives.

The videos could be uploaded on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the contest hashtag #MyLifeMyYogaINDIA and appropriate category hashtag.

Entries could be submitted by participants under three categories-- youth (male and female aged under 18), adults (male and female above 18 years) and yoga professionals (male and female), Kotecha said.

This made it a total of six categories in all. For India contestants, prizes worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 will be given for first, second and third positions within each of the categories.

The Indian missions abroad will give away prizes in each country.

At the global level, cash prizes worth $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 along with a trophy and certificate will be given to those ranking first, second and third, respectively.

The blogging contest which has started on various digital platforms such as MyGov.gov.in will end on Sunday. The jury will then later collectively decide and announce the names of the winners.

Yoga programmes are organaised across the globe by Indian missions every year, but this year will be different. Several missions are organising digital events to mark the occasion.

Thousands of yoga enthusiasts in Texas and adjoining US states are all set to roll out their mats to bend and twist their bodies in complex postures from the safety of their homes with acclaimed yoga guru Baba Ramdev on livestream to mark the International Day of Yoga on Sunday.
According to a recent study, over 1200 doctors and nurses have tested positive in major Delhi hospitals since March. The figures have been collated by United Nurses Association, as per a report in News18. Sri Ganga Ram Hospital's authorities said that over 300 of their health care workers had tested positive. Read more.



covid-19

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Pandemic Entering 'New And Dangerous Phase': WHO

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Reuters

Brazil Tops 1 Million Cases As Coronavirus Spreads Rapidly In Country

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Noida Metro To Have 'She-Man' Station For Transgenders

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How Cruel Can We Be? Six-Month-Old Puppy Allegedly Killed By Man Who Hit Its Head With Iron Rod

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Fossil Of Elephant Ranging Between 5 To 8 Million Years Found In UP's Saharanpur

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ANI




By PTI

MUMBAI: City-based budget airline GoAir on Friday operated its maiden flight from Kuwait to Jaipur under the central government's Vande Bharat Mission with 180 passengers.

GoAir flight G8 7098, which took off at 1040 hours (local time) from Kuwait and landed at Jaipur with 180 passengers aboard, operated with all the precautionary measures and guidelines laid down by the governments of the countries and other stakeholders, the airline said in a release.

"Today (Friday) was a day that had special feelings across our cockpit crew, cabin crew, airport staff and the various teams involved in making the Vande Bharat flight happen and as we flew back our stranded citizens and reunited them with their families," a GoAir spokesperson said.

GoAir is thankful to the governments of India and Kuwait besides to the governments of Rajasthan and Gujarat for allowing the airline to operate this special flight at this crucial time, with safe return of Indian citizens, he added.
Hong Kong education officials have rejected accusations they are directing funds towards mainland-funded publishers via their recommended books for a new reading programme, despite an opposition lawmaker finding more than 70 per cent of the suggested titles were linked to a state-owned publishing conglomerate.

The Education Bureau hit back at the claims on Friday night, saying the bureau always recommended books based on professional considerations, not the publishers.

There is no question of giving preferential treatment to a particular bookstore or books from a certain publisher, a bureau spokesman said in a press release.

News reports have previously said Sino United Publishing, which lawmaker said was connected to more than 70 per cent of the summer reading programmes titles, is controlled by Beijings Liaison Office in Hong Kong (pictured). Photo: Bloomberg

The response came after education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen raised concerns over the bureaus newly launched Summer Reading Programme-Gift Book Pilot Scheme, which is offering free books to about 600,000 primary and secondary students ahead of summer holiday to nurture good reading habits.

Under the scheme, which has an expected price tag of about HK$60 million (US$7.7 million), each student will be given one book. Schools are to pick books for their students from the bureaus designated lists.

After examining the lists, Ip found that more than 500 titles, over 70 per cent, came from outlets linked to the citys largest publishing group, Sino United Publishing (SUP), which is reportedly state-owned and controlled by Beijings Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

Ip Kin-yuen, an education sector lawmaker, said more than 70 per cent of recommended titles for the summer reading programme can be linked to a Beijing publishing group. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Ip noted only about 8 per cent of the books were from publishers in Taiwan and questioned the standards and reasoning used to create the bureaus lists.

Even putting aside political factors and only looking at it from the commercial procurement perspective, its still impossible to have the Education Bureau asking schools to buy books from a designated single organisation, he said. When a student reading scheme is suspected to involve a transfer of benefits in its handling, its not acceptable.

Story continues

Ip said schools have long been allowed to buy books in a flexible manner, and urged the bureau to let schools secure books for the scheme in the same manner.

He added that the recommended reading included only Chinese-language books, saying it totally neglected the need of local students who could not read Chinese.

Without naming Ip, the bureau criticised what it called a politicians attempt to politicise and demonise the promotion of reading with a standpoint of China/Taiwan.

[The politician] distort the facts to smear the Education Bureau with totally unfounded accusations of a transfer of benefits. The Education Bureau expresses utmost regret and condemns the move, the spokesman said.

He argued that book procurement takes time and the printing of books as well as the logistics of having them delivered were difficult to arrange.

To enable students to receive printed books before the summer holiday and enjoy leisure reading during the holiday, a pragmatic approach was adopted to include only local Chinese-language books, he said.

He added that book publishers had different market shares and focused on different themes, making it understandable some would feature more books in the programme than others.

The acceptance of a gift cannot be forced. As [the bureau] explained to the representatives of school councils, schools can choose not to join the pilot scheme, he added.

Rebel City: Hong Kongs Year of Water and Fire is a new book of essays that chronicles the political confrontation that has gripped the city since June 2019. Edited by the South China Morning Post's Zuraidah Ibrahim and Jeffie Lam, the book draws on work from the Post's newsrooms across Hong Kong, Beijing, Washington and Singapore, with unmatched insights into all sides of the conflict. Buy directly from SCMP today and get a 15% discount (regular price HKD$198). It is available at major bookshops worldwide or online through Amazon, Kobo, Google Books, and eBooks.com.

This article Education Bureau fires back at accusation summer reading programme favours books from Beijing-linked publishers first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) is seeking more volunteer mentors as it continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk.

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Pandemic drove Norfolk church community online New figures show that across the height of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020, churches across the Diocese of Norwich saw their in-person congregations halve but they retained 94% of their worshippers with the help of online and church-at-home services. Read more

Why we need the water of life Regular columnist James Knight explains why water is so important in our lives, especially the spiritual variety. Read more

Norwich church needs Outreach Weekend Cafe Manager St Stephens Church is seeking an Outreach Weekend Cafe Manager to become part of its successful and dynamic Cafe team, serving the community and city. Read more

Trustee treasurer role at King's Lynn foodbank Kings Lynn Foodbank are urgently seeking a new Trustee Treasurer to work with a fun, friendly, team who are all passionate about combating food poverty in Kings Lynn. Read more

Christian pregnancy charity gets Yarmouth hub TimeNorfolk, the Christian pregnancy loss charity, has opened a space dedicated to counselling for bereaved parents in Great Yarmouth. Read more

Family days at Norwich Cathedral The schools and families learning department at Norwich Cathedral are holding two sessions  morning and afternoon for a Family Activity Day at the Cathedral on Wednesday February 16. Read more

Churches prepare Queen's Platinum Jubilee plans Churches, Christian charities and youth organisations are working together to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the four-day Bank Holiday from June 2-5 and a new website has been created to celebrate the Queen's 70 years of faith and service. Read more

Eckling Grange cares for the elderly Despite some bad press, there are some Care Homes where 'Care' really does mean 'what it says on the tin', and a star example of this is the Norfolk Christian residential care home, Eckling Grange, at Dereham. Read more

New Commission to look at use of Norfolk churches A new Church Buildings Commission has been launched with the purpose of looking at the church buildings across Norfolk and Waveney in terms of their use and sustainability. Read more

Norfolk link to teaching opportunity with TCKs A Norfolk couple working in Asia have been helped by teachers of Third Culture Kids, and a programme is now inviting more people to get involved with it. Read more

Norfolk charity seeks mentors for prison leavers Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate Mentor support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk. Read more

Prayer and Worship week for Sheringham church Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham has launched a Prayer and Worship week as they seek Gods guidance for 2022 Read more

South Norfolk church schools are set to merge The Diocese of Norwich St Benets Multi Academy Trust has been given the green light to amalgamate Harleston CE Primary Academy and Archbishop Sancroft High School into one All Through School. Read more

Norwich conference looks at how to tackle spiritual abuse Following a series of revelations about high-profile Christian leaders, a group of Norfolk churches is organising a conference to look at spiritual abuse and godly leadership. Read more

Revelation vacancy for Centre Manager The Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe is seeking to appoint a Centre Manager. Read more

Gardening morning at N Norfolk Christian centre The Pleasaunce Holiday Centre in Overstrand is holding a work-party morning on Saturday February 5 and would like as many people as possible to join in to help get the gardens ship-shape. Read more
Gulabo Sitabo, featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana, directed by Shoojit Sircar has created quite a stir online since its release on Amazon Prime. Expectedly, the memes from the films are also flooding the Internet. Nagpur Police has now taken the opportunity of the films popularity to share a hilarious meme to drive home an important message. Their tweet has left people impressed, including the shows director.

You may be lured for riches like Haveli and jaydaad, but the moment youre asked for your OTP, just say wrote the department and shared this meme:

You may be lured for riches like Haveli and jaydaad, but the moment you're asked for your OTP, just say : pic.twitter.com/CULciDMVnE  Nagpur City Police (@NagpurPolice) June 20, 2020

Praising their creativity and agreeing with the message Sircar tweeted:

Sircars expression is now being echoed by many. While some couldnt stop commenting on how creatively the department put forth this essential message, others praised the relentless work the cops are doing for the citizens of the country.

Kudos to team Nagpur Police. You really are the #Begum when it comes to awareness campaigns, wrote a Twitter user with a reference to an important character from Gulabo Sitabo.

What do you have in breakfast? Nagpur Police: Innovative sense of humour, joked another. Salute to police for all your work, expressed a third.

What do you think of Nagpur Polices tweet?

Also Read | Nagpur Police tweets what tarri poha means to them. Chances are youll relate to it
More than 140,000 Mail on Sunday readers have demanded that the Government block any attempt to remove the statue of Sir Winston Churchill from outside the Houses of Parliament.

The extraordinary show of support comes after this newspaper urged Boris Johnson to make a public pledge that the monument would never be moved, after it was attacked by protesters.

The statue, which had been daubed with graffiti branding Churchill a 'racist', was boarded up with metal sheeting last week amid fears that it would be a target during demonstrations.

More than 140,000 Mail on Sunday readers have now signed a petition urging the Prime Minister to publicly guarantee that the Winston Churchill monument (pictured) will never be taken down

Petitions by Left-wing activists demanding its removal have received thousands of signatures online and there is also a petition targeting a Churchill mural in Croydon, South London. The Prime Minister condemned the move as 'absurd' and 'shameful.'

And within 24 hours of our petition being launched last week, Mr Johnson promised to fight with 'every breath in his body' against its removal.

As of last night, an astonishing 135,431 readers had signed our online petition demanding the statue remain.

In addition, 8,427 letters of support from readers were hand-delivered to the gates of Downing Street by The Mail on Sunday.

A protective covering surrounds the Winston Churchill statue at Parliament Square on June 12

Among the readers who put pen to paper was Zbigniew Szpakowski, a 71-year-old who was among the first generation of Poles brought up in the UK after the war.

He wrote that his parents 'always felt indebted and grateful for the British people, led by Churchill, in going to war on behalf of the Polish nation when it was invaded by the Nazis.'

Churchill, who twice led the nation as Prime Minister, is considered a national hero and consistently tops polls to name the greatest-ever Briton.

His Grade II listed bronze monument was installed in 1973 at the north-east corner of Parliament Square.

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Mischievous interpretation! Govt clarifies on PMs statement during all party meet on China

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, June 20: Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the All-Party Meeting (APM) that was held on Friday, an official statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In fact, he specifically emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC.

'No one entered Indian territory, no posts taken: PM at all-party meet on Ladakh clash

The APM was also informed that this time, Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate. As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions.

The focus of the PM's remarks in the APM discussions were the events of 15 June at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel. Prime Minister paid glowing tributes to the valour and patriotism of our armed forces who repulsed the designs of the Chinese there. The Prime Minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day, the statement also read.

The Prime Minister said, "those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil", succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces. The Prime Minister further emphasised, "I want to assure you, that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders".

Pakistan drone shot down in Kathua, was carrying weapons into the Kashmir Valley | Oneindia News

What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This Government is strongly and resolutely committed to that. Insofar as there is some illegal occupation, the APM was briefed in great detail how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq.km has been yielded under circumstances with which this country is well aware. It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC.

India ups ante, signals to China it is ready for escalation

At a time when our brave soldiers are defending our borders, it is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower their morale. However, the predominant sentiment at the All Party Meeting was of unequivocal support to the Government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.
Washington, June 20 : Thousands of people took to the streets of Chicago and New York City, to mark Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the US.

At Grant Park in downtown Chicago, a number of government officials, including Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Senator Tammy Duckworth, led a march on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The marchers chanted the names of black men and women killed by police officers across the US, and said "too many".

In Daley Plaza, thousands of people chanted and sang songs.

In New York City, thousands of people on Friday rallied at landmarks such as City Hall, Times Square and Brooklyn Bridge before marching along major avenues.

Holding placards and pictures of George Floyd, whose tragic death sparked nationwide protests nearly a month ago, protesters kept chanting slogans calling for justice and equality while marching on.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that he would make Juneteenth a holiday in the city in 2021.

"Black history is American history. Proud to announce that beginning next year, Juneteenth will be an official city and school holiday," the Mayor tweeted.

He also announced the establishment of the new Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission to understand the effects of structural and institutional racism in New York City.

The Commission will create a historical record of racial discrimination, with an emphasis on housing, criminal justice, environmental racism and public health, according to the Mayor.

De Blasio also announced the locations for street murals in all five boroughs to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement, including sections of Manhattan's Center Street and Brooklyn's Joralemon Street.

Earlier this week, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees. He said he would advance legislation to make it an official state holiday next year.

Juneteenth commemorates the day of June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which announced that, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, "all slaves are free".

Currently, Juneteenth is recognized by 46 states and Washington, D.C. as an official state holiday or observance.
An Orangeburg man is serving prison time after admitting he shot at a man 12 times.

Last month, Guyron Tyquan Garner, 23, of 947 Mill Street, pleaded guilty to forgery and first-degree assault and battery.

The two charges are unrelated.

Circuit Judge Ed Dickson sentenced him to 10 years in prison. After he serves seven years, the remainder of the sentence will be suspended to five years of probation.

Dickson gave Garner credit for having already served 371 days at the Orangeburg County Detention Center and sentenced him to time served for the forgery charge.

The assault and battery charge stems from an April 25, 2019 dispute Garner had with a 60-year-old man. The man wasnt injured.

Investigators originally charged Garner with attempted murder.

In other recent guilty pleas:

 Charlene A. Johnson, 36, of 2400 Waites Drive, Columbia, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of a controlled substance.

Dickson sentenced her to time served.

 Joseph Dean Dyches, 38, of 1102 Hodson Drive, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense trafficking in methamphetamine or cocaine base, 10 grams or more but less than 28 grams.

Dickson sentenced him to 42 months in prison.

 Tony Lamonte Antley Jr., 30, of 208 Kim Street, Lot 72, Cordova, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of a controlled substance.

Dickson sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended to 18 months of probation.

 Kristina McMillion, 33, of 180 Whaley Street, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-offense possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine or cocaine base.

Dickson sentenced her to six months in prison and gave her credit for having already spent 87 days in jail.

 De Lonzo Shawntrell Felder, 28, of 520 B Buckley Street, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic violence.

Dickson sentenced him to time served.

He also ordered Felder to complete a batterers treatment program within the next nine months or be found in contempt.

 Royce Albert Carson, 65, of 223 Poppy Road, Cope, pleaded guilty to first-offense driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of less than .10.

Dickson sentenced him to time served.

 Kimberly Dawn Jennings, 45, of 108 Cherry Grove Lane, Cross, pleaded guilty to first-offense driving under the influence, with a blood alcohol concentration of less than .10.

Dickson sentenced her to time served.

Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD.

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President Donald Trump is now seeking to take credit for making Juneteenth "very famous" after he rescheduled his first rally since the start of the pandemic in order to avoid criticism. Juneteenth is a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Credit for Juneteenth

President Trump told The Wall Street Journal that before he brought it up, nobody had ever heard of it. He said that he did something good and made Juneteenth very famous.

President Trump said that Juneteenth is an important event and an important time, but nobody had ever heard of it. Trump was supposed to hold his rally on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

But the date and place immediately earned him backlash from the public because June 19 is supposed to be a holiday to celebrate the end of slavery, and Tulsa, Oklahoma is where the massacre of hundreds of African Americans happened in 1921.

Due to the events, Trump has pushed back his rally to June 20, but it will still be in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Juneteenth is the oldest regular holiday in the United States that celebrates the end of slavery.

It also commemorates June 19, 1865, which was the day that Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told a group of saves that the Civil War has finally ended and that they had been freed.

The event took place two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the holiday has always been celebrated by the African American community, it has gotten more spotlight this year as the Black Lives Matter protest is still ongoing and growing.

The protest started after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of the Minneapolis Police force.

Also Read: Trump Lashes Out on Bolton Who Called Him a Liar, And a "Washed-up Guy"

The protest is calling for the end of systemic racism and police brutality in the country. Because of the ongoing movement, major companies have now made Juneteenth a paid holiday, and state and federal legislators have brought more attention to it too.

There are forty-seven states and the District of Columbia that marked June 19 as a state holiday or observance, but it still is not a federal holiday.

Acknowledging Juneteenth

President Trump is known to have very few African American advisers in the White House, and according to his Cabinet, the president asked the people around him if they have heard of Juneteenth. It turns out that none of them knows about the holiday.

However, the president also asked an aide during his interview if she had heard of the holiday, in which the aide replied that the White House had issued a statement last year regarding Juneteenth. Trump was surprised and did not know that the White House had commemorated the day last year.

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that it was a black Secret Service agent who told him about Juneteenth. Critics of the president saw his Juneteenth rally as a racist play but he claimed that he did not schedule the rally on the holiday on purpose and that it was all coincidence.

Related Article: Supreme Court Blocks Trump from Ending 'Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals'

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'Welltel, which employs more than 70 people, is headed by chief executive and co-founder Ross Murray.' (stock image)

Welltel, a Dublin-based telephony, network and connectivity solutions provider, has received an additional 2.3m (2.5m) in backing from AIM-listed finance firm Duke Royalty.

The money will be used by Welltel to help bankroll the acquisition of Irish firm Globalnet Solutions, which trades as Novi.

Duke Royalty said that Novi has been operating profitably for many years, "with a strong corporate customer base with fast-growing levels of contracted, recurring revenue".

With offices in Dublin, Kildare and Cork, Novi is a managed IT services and security company. It made a profit of 110,000 in its 2018 financial year. Its clients include Flynn Construction, Yahoo, Intel and UCD.

The latest investment by Duke Royalty brings to 10.5m (11.6m) the total invested by the UK vehicle in Welltel. The British firm will be entitled to distributions of approximately 1.4m a year beginning in July, representing a proforma cash yield of 13.2pc on Duke's total invested capital in the Irish telephony firm.

Duke Royalty has now invested in Welltel four times since 2017, helping to support the Irish firm's acquisition strategy.

"Welltel has grown to be one of the largest technology service providers in Ireland, with over 3,000 enterprise clients," it noted.

Neil Johnson, the chief executive of Duke Royalty, said the investment firm has developed a strong relationship with Welltel's executive team.

"Our ability to grow in step with Welltel, as it continues to pursue sensibly priced, strategic M&A alongside organic growth, is a highly attractive feature of our funding, whilst the company's recurring, contracted and diversified earnings base serves as a great fit for our royalty model," he said.

Welltel, which employs more than 70 people, is headed by chief executive and co-founder Ross Murray.

Its shareholders include tech veteran Maurice Healy, who now heads software group Glantus.

Other backers are John Quinn - the co-founder of careers website Jobbio - and John Ryan, who was involved in Mr Healy's former Calyx technology services firm and remains heavily involved in the tech scene.

Novi is owned by George O'Dowd. He worked in infrastructure project management at chip giant Intel before founding Novi in 1999.
An armed California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officer escorts a condemned inmate at San Quentin State Prison's death row in San Quentin, Calif., on Aug. 15, 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California Measure to Restore Voting Rights to Parolees Advances

A proposal that would ask California voters in November whether prison parolees should be allowed to vote was approved by a key Senate committee on June 18.

ACA 6 (Assembly Constitutional Amendment 6) seeks to amend Californias constitution to restore the rights of parolees to vote upon their release from state or federal prison.

An elector disqualified from voting while serving a state or federal prison term  shall have their right to vote restored upon the completion of their prison term, the amendment states.

The measure, approved by the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee on a 4-1 vote, advances to the Senate Appropriations Committee. If it passes there, the bill moves to the full Senate for a vote.

This measure is not about us, but the people of California having the right to vote on this proposal, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), author of the bill, told the committee.

In order to get on the November ballot, an amendment to the state constitution must be approved by both the Senate and Assembly by a two-thirds majority. With the governors OK, a majority of California voters would be given a vote on whether to change the state constitution.

McCarty said the bill is a priority of the California Legislative Black Caucus and would essentially right a wrong here in California.

The U.S., as we know, is the envy in the world as far as democracy and voting. However, our road to democracy hasnt always been that easy. From racially based poll taxes to excluding women, weve had to fight for voting justice for over 100 years, McCarty said.

Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) opposes the bill, arguing that preventing parolees from voting is not about prejudice, punishment, or denying a right, but about justice.

Historically, part of justice has required a forfeiture of voting, because of the severity of the impact of crime on society and on individuals, Nielsen said.

Im going to speak for those who are not here todaythe victims of crime, he said, adding that victims of violent crimes and home burglaries are often traumatized for life.

People will say, Oh, no, no, you dont get a life sentence for burglary.  No, you dont, but the victim does, Nielsen said.

McCarty called the current voting measures relics of the Jim Crow system, looking to exclude people from voting in California.

In the late 1800s, the state constitution restricted citizens who were insane, mentally deficient, or convicts from voting. California relaxed some of these restrictions in 1974, but didnt go far enough, he said.

Frankly, that was a big progressive step at the time, but they restricted all individuals on parole from voting. And essentially, this [ACA 6] attempts to right that wrong, he said.

Parole isnt defined as punishment under the law, McCarty said, but is considered a way of integrating Californias estimated 50,000 former convicts back into society.

Restricting voting rights is a form of punishment and goes in the wrong direction, he said.

Neilsen argued that the state has already relaxed the parole systemfrom supervised to conditional parole in most casesand shouldnt reward criminals by rapidly restoring their rights to vote.

Simply having served your time in custody does not mean you have served your time. That does not happen until you are officially discharged from parole, Nielsen said.

Im not surprised there are not legions of victims calling in in opposition, because victims of crime are so demoralized now, so cut out of the justice system, so suffering under the injustice, theyve given up, he said.

Colorado, Nevada, and New Jersey are among other states that have recently reinstated voting rights to felons unless they are still incarcerated.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the League of Women Voters of California, and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), among other groups, support the bill; the watchdog group Election Integrity Project California (EIPCa) opposes it.

The bill passed an Assembly floor vote in September 2019.
Preparing for her appearance before the U.N. General Assembly last fall, Greta Thunberg found herself constantly interrupted by world leaders, including U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had formed a queue to speak to her and take selfies.

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, waits in line but doesnt quite make it before its time for the event to start, Thunberg recalls.

Such surreal memories for a teenager form the opening to a 75-minute monologue broadcast on Swedish public radio Saturday that soon shifts to the serious matter of climate change thats at the heart of Thunbergs work.

The 17-year-old has become a global figurehead of the youth climate movement since she started her one-woman protests outside the Swedish parliament in 2018.

Thunbergs blunt words to presidents and prime ministers, peppered with scientific facts about the need to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions, have won her praise and awards, but also the occasionalpushback and even death threats.

To Thunbergs disappointment, her message doesnt seem to be getting through even to those leaders who applaud her work.

The message is certainly stark: Thunberg cites a U.N. report that estimates the world can only keep emitting the current amount of carbon dioxide for the next seven-and-a-half years. Any longer and it becomes impossible to meet the Paris climate accords ambitious goal of keeping global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) this century.

Most governments refuse to accept the idea that the world has only a fixed carbon budget left, because it implies that a sudden shift away from fossil fuel will need to happen in just a few years.

Do you remember the London Olympics? Gangnam Style or the first Hunger Games movie? Thunberg asks her audience on Swedish radio station P1. Those things all happened about seven or eight years ago. Thats the amount of time were talking about.

Her months-long journey from Sweden to Americas West Coast and back  by train, sailboat and an electric car loaned by Arnold Schwarzenegger  highlighted the impact that global warming is already having, from melting glaciers to fiercer forest fire seasons, Thunberg said.

It also opened her eyes to economic and social disparities affecting in particular Indigenous, Black and minority communities, voices she has sought to amplify in the climate debate.

The climate and sustainability crisis is not a fair crisis, Thunberg says. The ones wholl be hit hardest from its consequences are often the ones who have done the least to cause the problem in the first place. 

Her frustration extends to journalists who want to know about the real Greta but interrupt her when she talks about the science of climate change.

People want something simple and concrete, and they want me to be naive, angry, childish, and emotional, Thunberg says. That is the story that sells and creates the most clicks.

Thunberg blasts governments and businesses that use what she calls creative accounting to makes their emissions look lower than they are and apply the word green to industries that are not.

The emperors are naked. Every single one, she says. It turns out our whole society is just one big nudist party.

Some critics have accused Thunberg of being a doom-monger. But she insists that her message is one of hope, not despair.

There are signs of change, of awakening, she says. Just take the Me Too movement, Black Lives Matter or the school strike movement (for climate action) for instance, she says, adding that the world has passed a social tipping point where it becomes impossible to look away.

The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic may provide a necessary wake-up call, she suggests.

The corona tragedy of course has no long term positive effects on the climate, apart from one thing only: namely the insight into how you should perceive and treat an emergency. Because during the corona crisis we suddenly act with necessary force.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on June 20 that the nation lost some ground in the battle against coronavirus after the recent surge in cases. During a televised address, Erdogan emphasised on the importance of hygiene and social distancing measures to protect lives and help the economy rebound in the second half of the year.

The numbers in recent days show that we have lost our position in the fight against the epidemic, said the President, adding that focus on masks and social distancing will help remove the pandemic from governments agenda.

Turkey has reported over 185,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus with more than 4,905 death related to the highly contagious disease. Earlier this month, the government lifted the stay-home orders and restrictions on intercity travel but rise in daily cases triggered fear of another wave of COVID-19. On June 18, face masks were made compulsory in public places as residents crowded the streets, malls, and vacation spots.

'Major threat'

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned of a "new and dangerous phase" of the pandemic. During a media briefing on June 19, the WHO Director-General said that the pandemic still poses a major threat even countries are eager to open up their societies and economies.

But the virus is still spreading fast, its still deadly & most people are still susceptible," said the top WHO official.

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's Cases Soar To 3,95,048; Recovery Rate Improves To 54.13%

According to the latest report, over 8.8 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with more than 463,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe. The United States, Brazil, and Russia are the worst-hit countries while India reporting a sharp rise in the coronavirus cases.

On June 18, more than 150,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported globally, the highest single-day number so far. Tedros said that nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East. He called on all countries and all people to exercise extreme vigilance and continue maintaining distance from others.

Read: US Reports 31,905 New Coronavirus Cases And 691 Deaths In 24 Hours

(Image: AP)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harrys lives have changed quite drastically over the course of 2020. They started out the year with their permanent residence being in the U.K. and as senior members of the royal family. They have since moved twice and stepped down from their jobs in the royal family.

On top of that, the two have been forced to self-isolate like the rest of the world during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While life has changed for almost everyone, things have changed in Prince Harry and Meghans relationship as well.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | Karwai Tang/WireImage

2020 brings major changes for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The first and biggest change for the Sussexes was their departure from their positions as working royals.

As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments, Buckingham Palaces official statement regarding the departure read.

They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties. With the queens blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations.

The two also ceased using their HRH titles but promised to continue to uphold the values of the queen.

After stepping down, the two returned to Canada where they had been spending time over the holidays. They enjoyed a quiet life there and tried to stay out of the spotlight. After leaving Canada, the family moved to LA, where they currently reside.

They have been living in one of Tyler Perrys homes and are using his security team while they look for a permanent residence in LA.

RELATED: Meghan Markle Holds Nothing Back in Speech Addressing George Floyds Murder

How isolation changed Prince Harry and Meghan Markles relationship

Things came screeching to a halt around the world during the coronavirus pandemic. Meghan and Harry, who were new to LA as the pandemic started closing down the United States, had to stay in their home. Meghan couldnt even see her friends and family whom she had just moved closer to.

Its a bit ironic because one of the things that was making Meghan unhappy about living in the UK was that she felt isolated and she missed her friends, a source told Express.

Outlets reported that Meghan felt alone in the royal family. But even in her new life in America, she was cut off from those around her.

But now shes back in the US, which is what she wanted, but is isolated and cant see her friends.

Meghan was, however, able to spend time with her mother Doria Ragland, on Mothers Day.

Isolation also apparently has strengthened her and Harrys bond.

RELATED: Meghan Markle Is Completely Embarrassed by Jessica Mulroneys White Privilege Scandal, Source Reveals

Their relationship is stronger than ever, the source said, mentioning how its been good for them to get away from all of their distractions and commitments.

Coming off of such a tense time moving out of the U.K. and walking away from everything Harry had ever known, isolation was the perfect chance for the couple to spend time with one another and focus on each other and their baby.
The Central Regional Police Command has arrested 131 persons for failing to wear face masks.

Speaking at the launch of a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion in basic and senior high schools on Friday, June 19, 2020 the Central Regional Police Commander, COP Paul Manly Awini said the arrested persons will be processed for court, while officers engage stakeholders to ensure all directives are adhered to.



We are very much aware that our role is a humanitarian one in support of the lead agency which is the Ghana Health Service. And so from day one when these protocols were issued by his Excellency, I must say that some people have fallen foul of the law as far as observing some of these protocols were concerned. Today, we have arrested 131 persons who breached these protocols, and they are all being processed for court, he said.



New Executive Instrument (E.I. 164)



A new Executive Instrument (E.I. 164) signed by President Akufo-Addo on June 15, 2020, as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease provides that people who fail to wear face masks in public would be committing an offence that carries a prison sentence of four to 10 years or a fine of GH12,000 to GH60,000, or both.



The new E.I. makes it mandatory for people to wear face masks, face shields or any other face covering that covers his or her nose and mouth completely when the person is in public or leaving or returning to his place of abode.



Paragraph 4 (1) of the E.I. 164 states that the police have the authority to make random checks to ensure enforcement compliance.



According to paragraph 4(2) of E.I. 164, any person who fails to comply with the mandatory wearing of face masks shall be punished in accordance with Section 6 of Act 1012.



Per Section 6 of Act 1012, a person who fails to comply with the restrictions imposed under the Executive Instrument issued under subsection 1 of Section 2, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 1,000 penalty units (Gh12,000) and not more than 5,000 penalty units (Gh60,000) or to a term of imprisonment not less than four years and not more than 10 years or to both.





Source: Daily Graphic









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New Delhi, June 21 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia of taking credit of the work done by the Modi government regarding COVID-19 in the national capital.

BJP state president Aadesh Kumar Gupta during Delhi Jansamvad Conference on Saturday said the measures taken after the intervention of the central government, the fear about the pandemic has reduced among the people of Delhi. Now, on the initiative of Modi government, the people of Delhi are going to get the testing facility, rapid antigen testing at low rates for which Delhi Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are taking credit.

He said, "Ever since the Modi government has taken decisions like lowering the testing rate or price capping of private hospitals to protect the people of Delhi from corona infection, the fear of corona among the people of Delhi has reduced." While the BJP is serving the people of Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party is busy in making baseless statements. It is really sad to know that while the nation is busy fighting a decisive battle against corona, the Kejriwal government is busy in politics.
KITCHENER  A new kind of settlement for the homeless falls between the regulatory cracks, but organizers hope they can convince the city and region that it fills a need and makes sense to create an exception during exceptional times.

The Better Tent City is a collection of small cabins on an industrial site on Ardelt Place in Kitchener for people who cant or wont access the formal shelter system, and is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ron Doyle, who owns the site.

About 20 people who used to live in tents are living in one-room cabins that have windows, a lock on the door, and access to a kitchen, shower and a laundry room.

The Kitchener settlement fills a need, argues Jeff Willmer, who retired as the top bureaucrat at the City of Kitchener in 2017.

More than 20 municipalities and community groups, from Hamilton, St. Thomas, Brantford, and even as far away as Duncan, B.C., have asked for more details about the project.

That need is clear in the comments from residents, Willmer says. When Im here, I feel like a person, one told him. Everywhere else I go, they make me feel like a problem.

Organizers hope the project would set up for two or three years on the land of a willing owner, ideally near downtown Kitchener, close to social services, on vacant land slated for development. Once the land is ready to be developed, the settlement would move to another willing site.

The settlement is modelled on one in San Jose, Calif., which has a tiny house community on city land that provides supports, enabling homeless people to transition to permanent housing.

The hope is to stay at Ardelt at least until next spring, so that people have safer, warmer shelter than the nylon tents many of them have relied on in past winters, said Willmer.

Proponents have been in regular talks with the city and the Region of Waterloo, trying to overcome zoning and other regulatory hurdles. The city and the region are not yet willing to take the plunge, Willmer said. They havent taken steps to shut us down, but on the other hand, theyre still assessing what exactly are we in terms of land use.

The cabins were designed to be movable and to be no larger than 10 square metres, because any structure that small, without plumbing or electricity, doesnt need a building permit, Willmer said.

He believes a solution will be found. San Jose figured their way around this, Willmer said. In a crisis, youve got to do things differently.

Anything that gets people out of the elements and sleeping rough is a very positive first step, said Chris McEvoy, manager of homelessness prevention at the Region of Waterloo.

But its not clear how the initiative fits in with the overall regional housing policy, he said, until bylaw and zoning issues are sorted out. The region has to be able to assure the province and federal government that emergency shelters meet all sorts of regulations, and the ultimate oversight of the settlement still needs to be worked out, he said.

Kitchener is monitoring the situation and co-ordinating on high-priority life safety considerations such as smoke detectors to ensure the safety of occupants, said city spokesperson Shawn Falcao.

The conversations have been open and productive, Falcao said, adding that Kitchener recognizes that this is serving an immediate need during the pandemic.

The city, region and the project organizers must collaborate on a longer-term solution, Falcao said. The City of Kitchener will do its part, he said, adding that its affordable housing strategy is due later this year.

Community response has been positive, with more than $45,000 in cash donations, as well as donations of food and other items. The site does not need household items, clothing or furniture. Donations of toiletries, food and cash are welcome. Contact abtc@waterlooregion.org.

Another site on King Street East near Borden Avenue had earlier been considered for the settlement, but is no longer under consideration, Willmer said.
Model turned actor Kim Woo Bin is the new cover model for Esquire's July 2020 edition, where he also talked more about his appearance.

In the interview, Kim Woo Bin revealed what he has been busy with and what he thinks makes him charming. The actor started discussing his willingness to showcase good and presentable projects for his fans and followers. He shared that for him, to be able to present great works, he makes sure to talk a lot with the show's producers as well as co-actors.

Kim Woo Bin also disclosed that he has been filming for his upcoming movie, "Alien," lately. When asked if he had any particular preparations for this film, the actor stated that there was nothing in particular.

"It is my job to be faithful to the work. I try to think as much as possible on the line that I can do, talk a lot with the director to make a good performance, and talk with actors on set," he shared.

"It's been a while since I can greet my fans through this project. That alone makes me feel grateful and is exciting to me. It's fun to go filming these days," he added.

Then, the interviewer asked him what's his secret to gaining a high score hits every time he stars in a movie, the actor responded that it's just pure luck and that one cannot actually determine whether the movie is good or not by just basing it on the number of people watching it.

Kim Woo Bin shared his thoughts regarding his amazing charms as an actor.

"Perhaps, it's because I look a little unique? There are plenty of handsome and beautiful people, but I think I look a little unique. I also think that's why directors liked me since I was young," the actor shared.

The complete interview of Kim Woo Bin will soon be available in the Esquire magazine July issue.

Born as Kim Hyun Joong on July 16, 1989, Kim Woo Bin started his career as a runway model. Eventually, he made his acting debut through the television drama "White Christmas." Then, the actor gained public attention when he starred in "A Gentleman's Dignity" (2012) and had a career breakthrough with "School 2013" (2012-2013) and "The Heirs" (2013).

Kim Woo Bin was also tagged as an honorary ambassador for his alma mater, Jeonju University, in 2013. In the same year, he was chosen as the public relations ambassador for the 2013 Suwon Information Science Festival and ambassador for the "Good Downloader Campaign" that was organized by the Korean Film Council and Film Federation Against Piracy.

Kim Woo Bin's closest friend in the showbiz is his fellow model-actor and "School 2013" co-star Lee Jong Suk. They have known each other for a long time since they both started as models. Kim Woo Bin is currently in a relationship with model-actress Shin Min Ah, and they have been together since 2015.

The actor was diagnosed with Nasopharyngeal cancer on May 24, 2017, and his agency, Sidus HQ, announced that the actor started his drug and radiation treatment and would take a hiatus from all his projects and activities. Fortunately, on December 29, Kim Woo Bin released a letter, announcing that he has successfully completed his treatment plan.
Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage

What better way to get people excited about Juneteenth than a big, splashy musical? How about two musicals? Great, Kenya Barris and Pharrell Williams thought so, too. According to Deadline, the Black-ish and BlackAF creator is working with the musician on a Juneteenth-inspired musical feature, and the pair is reportedly in talks with Netflix to bring the film to the streaming platform.

The movie is reportedly distinct from the Juneteenth stage musical the duo has been working on since 2018, though it will presumably also celebrate the June 19, 1865 emancipation of people still enslaved in the United States, two years and a half after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1963.

The acknowledgement and celebration of Juneteenth as an American and possibly international holiday is something that I would put in the life goals column for me, Barris, whose 2017 Juneteenth-themed episode of Black-ish re-aired this year in honor of the holiday, said about the stage musical back in 2018. Slavery is Americas recessive gene and its time we all dealt with it and what better way to have an audience swallow this dose of medicine than with amazing music and raw, honest, jaw dropping comedy?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-19 23:49:26|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" is an attempt by the United States to infringe on China's sovereignty and cannot be considered otherwise than an unacceptable interference in China's internal affairs, a Russian scholar said Friday.

"The United States sees China as its main geopolitical competitor and has long and consistently pursued a policy of containing China," Andrei Manoilo, a professor of political science at Moscow State University, said in an interview with Xinhua.

Washington is exhausting every means, from economic restrictions and sanctions to outright interference in China's internal affairs, like what it has done in the violent events in Hong Kong and Tibet, as well as the signing of the so-called act, Manoilo said.

Terrorist organizations operating in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have links with international terrorist network structures, and sometimes are branches or cells of international terrorist organizations, representing a serious threat to the national security, Manoilo said.

In recent years, he recalled, China has made considerable progress in preventing terrorist and extremist crimes and stabilizing the situation, with terrorist attacks in Xinjiang virtually ceasing.

"But this does not suit certain forces in the United States, which are trying to reheat ethnic and religious conflicts and destabilize the situation under the pretext of protecting the rights of the Uygur ethnic group," Manoilo said.

While China is effectively fighting terrorism and extremism, the United States is trying to smear these anti-terrorism and preventive measures as massive violations of human rights, he concluded.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Chinese government and people express strong indignation at and firm opposition to the signing of the so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020" by the United States.

This so-called act deliberately denigrated the human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang, viciously attacked the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy, blatantly violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, the ministry said. Enditem
I am Q.

Ive been posing as a mild-mannered newspaper columnist, but Im really the high-level U.S. government official previously known only by my code letter. Im the one who has been working with President Donald Trump to counter the Deep State coup that threatens all patriotic Americans. You  my QAnon followers  have wondered about my true identity. Well, there it is.

Or is it? We must always question our own realities. Satanic pedophiles, cannibals, Democrats and other dark forces against America lurk everywhere.

I first appeared on conservative internet sites a few years ago. I explained that I was a Deep State double agent, using my Q-level government security clearance to help Trump root out the enemies of America. I began dropping clues to you, my fellow Trump loyalists, to reveal the plots against our nation.

As you know, we call these clues breadcrumbs. You, the QAnon faithful, gather up these crumbs to piece together the whole story. So we call you the bakers  combining my clue-crumbs to bake a Loaf of Truth.

(Of course, thats not actually how baking works: You start with the loaf first, and then you can get crumbs. You dont combine crumbs to make a loaf.)

(Or do you?)

It was I who showed you how Trump pretended to collude with Russia in 2016, so special counsel Robert Mueller could pretend to investigate Trump, as cover for actually helping Trump expose Deep State corruption. This is among the real, actual, not-making-this-up founding theories of our QAnon movement. When Trump lashes out at Mueller, as he sometimes still does, hes really just continuing to protect Muellers cover.

Or is he?

Without us, who wouldve exposed the child-sex-ritual-sacrifice ring that Hillary Clinton and others were running out of a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor? Pizzagate was publicized online by early elements of what would become QAnon, and thank goodness! It was some of you, my followers  who are by definition also Trumps followers  who prompted a man named Edgar Maddison Welch to storm into the pizza parlor with an AR-15-style rifle in December 2016 and shoot the place up to free the children.

As it turns out, all that this loyal patriot found in the pizza parlor was  pizza. The mainstream media, being the corrupt Deep State tool that it is, acted like this wasnt suspicious. But I ask you: If you were a child-sex-ritual-sacrifice ring, trying to pass yourself off as an innocent pizza parlor, what would you make sure to have lying around?

Pizza, thats what. I rest my case.

Sure, the FBI has tagged QAnon as a potential domestic terrorist threat. But Trump is with us. We know this because (again, not making this up) Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet, and Trump has publicly mentioned the number 17. You really think thats a coincidence?

Thats why Trump supporters display Q signs and T-shirts at Trump rallies. Trump himself has retweeted the postings of QAnon followers more than 100 times.

Isnt it comforting to know that the leader of the free world has embraced a movement that believes John F. Kennedy Jr., faked his own death and is living in Pittsburgh under the name Vincent Fusca? Or that Hillary Clinton has been secretly executed by lethal injection for crimes against America? (Her emails!) Or that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is actually a CIA asset? Which explains why hes always so cooperative with Washington.

Weve had some celebrity members of our QAnon family: Alex Jones, the radio host and Trump promoter who once bravely exposed a U.S. government child-slave colony on Mars. And that model of mental stability, Roseanne Barr, who has fervently if vaguely tweet-credited Trump for freeing so many children held in bondage. (That should more than make up for the ones he caged at the southern border, right?)

And now, we will likely soon have an actual member of Congress.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene finished strongly in this months U.S. House primary in Georgia and is expected to ultimately win the seat. She will be Congress first out-and-out QAnon  a totally stable patriot who has posted stuff about how Trump will take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out.

Top House Republicans are so proud of this that theyre speechless. As in, they wont comment on it.

But this is the reason Ive come out of the shadows: to congratulate the Republican Party. Thanks to their mute fealty to Trumps base, Congress will soon be a safe haven for those of us who know that Salvadoran gang members killed Democratic staffer Seth Rich at the direction of the party, that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the granddaughter of Hitler, and that pretty much every mass shooting that ever happens is faked. Good job, GOP!

Disclaimer: Of course, Im not really Q. Thats just a device to illustrate the insanity of this movement. Its purely satirical.

Or is it? ...

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Washington: Donald Trump has told thousands of cheering supporters he had asked US officials to slow down testing for the novel coronavirus, calling it a "double-edged sword" that led to more cases being discovered.

The US President ignored health warnings to go through with his first rally in 110 days - one of the largest indoor gatherings in the world during the outbreak. It was meant to restart his re-election effort less than five months before the President faces voters again.

Trump told supporters at the event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where many were not wearing face masks, that the US had tested 25 million people, far more than other countries.

President Donald Trump at the campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit:AP

"When you do testing to that extent, you're gonna find more people you're gonna find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down, please," he said.
The emeritus leaders of the holy city say the pandemic "diverted attention" from questions of justice and peace to "life and death". But the problems of the past remain unsolved. Fears for the future of Palestinian Christians forced to flee abroad. The path to coexistence in international law and resolutions.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The Covid-19 pandemic has "diverted attention" from the issues of "justice and peace" to the problems of "life and death" and "we too share this global affliction" and "we ask God for mercy ".

However, "we are worried about the old evils that afflict our land", including the centenaries old dispute "between two peoples in one land", write three emeritus leaders of the Churches of Jerusalem in an appeal sent to AsiaNews.

They do not hide their fears "for suffering and injustice" and appeal to world leaders to "act to help" the reconciliation process.

In a joint letter, the emeritus patriarch of Jerusalem Michael Sabbah, the Anglican bishop emeritus Riah Abu El Assal and the Lutheran emeritus bishop Munib A. Younan recall the appeals recently launched by the current heads of the Churches of the holy city. They ask for answers "to our univocal appeal from the Holy Land" so that "holiness, by applying international law and recognizing the basic rights of all its citizens" will be restored as a whole.

The new executive, the result of an agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz, aims to move ahead with the annexation of territories and the regularization of the colonies.

The Supreme Court rejected the project which was branded as "21st century Apartheid" by UN experts. It worries the Christian leaders of the Holy Land, who speak of "serious and catastrophic" politics, with the approval of the USA in the context of the controversial "Agreement of the century".

The fear of Christian leaders is directed "towards the future of Palestinian Christians" who do not see "hope of justice on the horizon" and are subject to constant "pressure" to flee abroad. This is why it is "time to act" to "extinguish the destructive fires raging in the Holy Land. And it is well known that "only a just peace will put end to hatred, to oppression, and the suffering of so many in the land made holy by God".

For emeritus leaders, the holy city "is the key to this peace", not only between Israelis and Palestinians but also among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Today it is not "a city of peace, but of struggles and conflicts". It must become the place of "reconciliation, justice and equality" because a peace here will be transformed "into peace for the whole world". Israel, they continue, must "ease tension and comply with United Nations resolutions", because "occupation and colonization of Palestine is the root cause of the on-going conflict. ".

The solution to the long-standing controversy has "already been identified many years ago" and is contained in the "numerous UN resolutions". The majority of nations "already recognize both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine: our invocation is simple - conclude Christian leaders - apply what is recognized" internationally and "help Israel to have its security and Palestine their independence ", so that both" can live side by side in peace, justice, equality and democracy. No more hatred, no more death, only justice, equality, life.
Addis Ababa, 19 June 2020 (ECA)- Africa is about to roll out a groundbreaking mobile-based public communications platform to provide more than 600 million users across the continent with the latest public health advice. The Africa Communications Information Platform will also furnish national and regional COVID task forces with user-generated survey data and actionable health and economic insights.

By improving national data and statistics, ACIP will enable authorities to better analyze pandemic related problems and implement appropriate responses. The platform will also allow COVID-taskforces to deploy health and economic resources to mitigate the pandemics impact.

The Platform will be launched at an online event hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on June 23 at 1400 EAT (East Africa Time/GMT+3) ( https://un.interpret.world/loginlink?token=S-UNECA-ACIP-meet ).

Robust and easy to use, the platform uses a mixture of text and voice-operated menus. The free to use service was developed by the UN Economic Commission for Africa -in collaboration with 4 major mobile network operators and a data integrator. The platform harnesses mobile narrowband channels using a combination of text (USSD) and voice interactions (IVR). On the broadband side, the platform uses public data from digital channels, including online and social media. By using mobile narrowband and broadband, the platform can reach 3G/smartphone users and mobile subscribers with earlier generation 2G handsets, also known as feature phones.

The rollout of Phase One starting June 23 2020, will cover mobile users across more than 23 countries, representing more than 80% of Africas total mobile subscribers. Users will be able to access locally relevant health advisories and medical advice including a symptom checker. Anonymized user inputs- including survey responses- will be fed to an Artificial Intelligence driven system. This integrator will build data dashboards and actionable insights for national and regional level policy makers. These may include identification of emerging virus hotspots and shifts in public sentiment (via survey data and social listening). The integrator can also provide smart alerts for anomalies detected by the AI. It should be stressed that all information is for use at the national authority level- national COVID task forces, ministries of health and finance. Furthermore, national authorities retain control over data provided by their own users and decide what information is made available to their national users.

This is the first time a mobile USSD platform has been interactively paired with big data AI to yield insights which neither alone could achieve.

Under Phase Two in a few months time, the service will encompass an additional 20 percent of African mobile users- and expand to include economic and humanitarian focused communication. National authorities will be able to conduct community level messaging for social welfare, e.g. facilitate cash distribution (including e-payments); send targeted information on local food distribution or clean water provision. When data reveals emerging virus hotspots, authorities could direct medical resources to the affected areas and alert local inhabitants to their availability.

ACIP partners

ACIP represents an impressive mixture of high and low tech to take practical advantage of the richness of data generated by users of even simple 2G phones. The ECA along with Africa CDC and other partners are coordinating the overall platform and developed it to improve the health and economic responses to the pandemic across member states. MTN is the ECAs technical partner and built the mobile platform templates and operating protocols. These have been shared with the additional network partners: Orange, Airtel and Vodafone. Each African country will maintain full ownership and access to its national data access to it. ECA will use aggregated data to facilitate regional or continental level analysis and insights into best practices. The ACIP will allow policymakers to share insights and harness data to inform decision making at a regional and national level for the ultimate benefit of local populations.

Launch event and media contacts:

This is an online live event hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

on June 23, 1400 EAT (East Africa Time/GMT+3),

Register here to participate: https://un.interpret.world/loginlink?token=S-UNECA-ACIP-meet
Fugitive Iran Judge Found Dead In Romania

Radio Farda June 19, 2020

Fugitive former Iranian judge, Gholamreza Mansouri, was found dead in the Romanian capital Bucharest in suspicious circumstances.

RFE/RL's correspondent in Romania says that Mansouri fell out of a window. It is not clear whether he jumped out or was pushed into his death.

Based on official reports, Duke Hotel receptionist in Bucharest informed the Romanian police that the body of a resident from one of the upper floors had been found at 2:30 pm local time on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

Judge Gholamreza Mansouri was not initially named in the police report, and merely referred to as a 52-year-old individual under legal custody.

Later, our correspondent in Bucharest cited the Romanian Police spokesman as confirming that the deceased was Gholamreza Mansouri. He was already dead by the time the ambulance arrived. Police say he fell from the sixth floor.

The spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry Abbas Mousavi in Tehran confirmed Mansouri's death and said his country is waiting for Romania to officially convey the exact reason for the deadly incident.

Detectives from the Romanian homicide department have initiated an investigation to decide the nature of the deadly incident, our reporter says, adding they are trying to find whether it was a murder (pushed out of the window), a suicidal act, or an accident.

The fugitive judge is accused of receiving half a million euros (about $560,000) bribe in the Islamic Republic of Iran. During a recent court hearing about widespread financial corruption in the country's Judiciary it was revealed that Judge Mansouri had fled Iran.

The news about his presence in Europe earlier this month prompted Iranian human rights activists and Amnesty International to demand his arrest for persecuting journalists in Iran.

Later, it was revealed that the fugitive judge was in Bucharest, Romania. Reacting to the revelation the Islamic Republic said that Judge Mansouri was under Interpol detention at Tehran's request. "He will soon be extradited to Iran," the Islamic republic Judiciary claimed at the time.

Nonetheless, a Romanian court on June 12 postponed the extradition of Mansouri, demanding Tehran present documents and evidence against the accused. He was released from custody and was under police watch.

Meanwhile, Romanian media had reported that Mansouri protested his arrest by the local police and claimed that he was a permanent resident of Turkey, where he owns a residence.

"If extradited to Iran, my life would be in danger," Mansouri told local media.

Moreover, a complaint against Mansouri was also lodged in Germany by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for his role in human rights violations, including the mass arrest of journalists in 2013.

Gholamreza Mansouri, who was previously the investigator of Branch 9 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office and the head of the prosecutor's office, was also involved in the seizure of some newspapers in Iran and the arrest of a group of journalists in 2012.

Reporting by Adelina Radulescu of RFE/RL Romanian Service

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/breaking -news-fugitive-iran-judge-found- dead-in-romania/30680116.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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A leader of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters in London demanded a meeting with Boris Johnson on Saturday and said the prime minister had to drop his choice of a political adviser to lead a new commission looking into racial inequality.

I have been here every day, I am the person that leads 20,000 people every protest, Imarn Ayton, an actress, told Reuters as hundreds of BLM demonstrators gathered in Londons Hyde Park before their latest march.

Everyone else seems to be in contact with me, except for Boris, so I would like a conversation.

Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in British cities since the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis last month.

Ms Ayton said BLM demonstrators would continue to protest until the government met their demands.

Its that simple. We protest or you listen, she said. We want equality  to be treated fairly  that is all that we ask for, and for justice for those who have been harmed.

Ms Ayton said Mr Johnsons choice as chair of the governments new commission on inequality, Munira Mirza, a Downing Street adviser, did not represent the BLM movement and did not believe that Britain had a problem with institutional racism.

Munira Mirza must go. She is someone who does not believe in institutional racism, which is exactly why we marched the last two weeks  to abolish institutional racism, she said.

Mr Johnson should act immediately on the recommendations of previous enquiries in Britain into racial inequality, Ms Ayton said, adding that he had at least heard the voice of the protesters.

I will never know whats in his heart. What I do know is he has responded. So what I want to do is keep that conversation going, she said.

Mr Johnsons Downing Street office did not immediately comment on Ms Aytons demands.

Reuters
The nation of millions that held them back may now be listening.

Public Enemy has been rapping for four decades about systemic racism and police brutality, issues at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement that has grown across the United States in the weeks since George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody. Even if many protesters weren't yet born when "Fight the Power" entered the national consciousness with the release of director Spike Lee's movie, "Do the Right Thing," on June 30, 1989, the echoes from the song still reverberate.

Before these diverse mass protests, a previous generation heard Public Enemy, and contemporaries such as N.W.A. and Ice-T, rap about Black life in America's cities. Their words reached all the way to stereos in white suburbia and opened at least some people's ears in the process.

"At the stage and age that myself and Flavor Flav and the crew are at, I enjoy this period so much of being in my lane and seeing so many of the younger voices step up," group leader Chuck D, 59, told NBC News this week. "When someone is 60 years old, you ask them for advice, you dont ask them for leadership."

Many of those younger voices he referred to seem to know the lyrics to "Fight the Power" by heart. The song title is a fixture both on signs at the demonstrations and Spotify playlists of protest music making the rounds.

"Protest movements, particularly ones that are sustained over a long period of time look for anthems," said Mark Anthony Neal, chairman of the Department of African & African American Studies at Duke University.

"So, it's not surprising that for this generation, even going back to some of the early Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson in 2014, that one of the things that has resonated for them were some of the anti-police, pro-black, hip-hop songs from the late '80s and early '90s," said Neal. "Everybody knew 'Fight the Power,' everybody knew (N.W.A.'s) 'F--k the Police.'"

Story continues

Public Enemy, which includes hypeman Flavor Flav and turntablist DJ Lord, fights on. On Friday, the group dropped a new single and video, "State of the Union (STFU)," which skewers President Donald Trump. The video features the infamous footage of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, a chain of events that Chuck D says is an extension of the tone set by the White House.

"The administration of the last four years have been specialists in weapons of mass distraction, whippings of mass distraction," said Chuck D. "They whip up this hyperbole and swirl it up and people get caught up in this, that, or whatever. The murder of George Floyd was the tipping point."

Image: Demonstrators block the entrance to the Holland Tunnel during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in New York (Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)

That footage seems eerily familiar to viewers who remember well the climax of "Do the Right Thing."

The police chokehold that kills Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) in the movie  the resulting fallout from the young Black man's loudly playing Public Enemy no less on his boombox at the local white-owned pizzeria  may have been fictional, but Lee was inspired by the similar real-life death of New York graffiti artist Michael Stewart in 1983.

"I will say that if you see 'Do the Right Thing,' its hard not to think of Eric Garner and George Floyd," said Lee. "(It's timeless) and thats a goddamn shame."

During filming, actor Nunn carried a silent portable stereo, with Lee planning on subbing in the music in post-production  once he had the right song.

"I wanted an anthem," recalled Lee. "Growing up in New York, theres always one song that, no matter what, is the song of the summer. Coming out of someones brownstone or bodega or a boom box, there's always one song.

"I knew the movie was coming out in the Summer of '89, so I wanted the song that Radio Raheem was playing to be the song of the summer," he said. He approached Public Enemy, already established by then as the provocateurs of the rap genre.

"Well, it was the second 'Fight the Power,' bro," said Chuck D, referring to the 1975 Isley Brothers tune of the same name that jarred him when he first heard it as a 15-year-old. "Once I figured that out, it was something we felt we could build on. It was something that resonated in my headbecause it was the first record I heard with a curse word."

His version of "Fight the Power" used snippets of speeches by leaders of the civil rights movement, samples of James Brown's music and a seismic beat to reinforce the power behind rhymes attacking racial disparities in America. The track sounds like a call to arms; it's not an accident that Lee staged a protest march with hundreds of extras when he directed the music video for the song rather, than opting for more traditional concert footage.

Longtime music journalist Cheo Hodari Coker said that for many young Black males of that era, himself included, the songs on Public Enemy's albums led to an expansion of racial consciousness.

"You get to the '80s and it was almost like in this progressive way, everybody tried to forget what happened during the civil rights movement," said Coker, who recently was the showrunner on Marvel's "Luke Cage" series.

"Public Enemy, they sent to you to the bookstore just as easily as they sent you to the dance floor. Having knowledge of one's blackness was as now important as being cool," he said.

Simultaneously, though, the music was also reaching far beyond its initial intended audience  to white record buyers. Public Enemy would go on to record a popular new version of their song, "Bring the Noise," with the heavy metal band Anthrax. Many of those fans also flocked to the multiplex to see cinematic depictions of the very issues that were being rapped about, courtesy of films such as "Do the Right Thing" and John Singleton's 1991 drama, "Boyz N the Hood."

Spike Lee and Danny Aiello on the set of

"It was the combination of hip hop and Black cinema," said Coker. "The fact that you could, from the safety of suburbia, have all these visual and audio experiences began to influence the way that people see that world.

"Who is to say it doesn't have an impact? Who's to say they can't come to understand things that the previous generation could never understand?" he said.

Just how many were actually listening to the lyrics is hard to quantify. Members of Rage Against the Machine lashed out at then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in 2012 when he listed the protest metal band as his favorite group. Guitarist Tom Morello said the Republican politician was part of the very political machine they were raging against.

Neal said that by the time Barack Obama ran for the presidency in 2008, there was enough of a change in understanding that the idea of a Black president "was something that wasn't unfamiliar" to whites who had been listening to this music for almost 20 years.

"I think what we're seeing now in many ways is kind of the children of that generation who were first listening to all those anthems of Black resistance," said Neal of the current protesters.

Lee set out to commission the song of the summer of 1989; the result proved more timeless. "Fight the Power" was named No. 1 on Time Out magazine's list of "Top 100 Songs that Changed the World," bolstered in part by its use by rebels against the Slobodan Milosevics Serbian regime in 1991.

"I dont know if 'Fight the Power' got past number 10 on any chart ever, I dont know if 'Fight the Power' sold more than any other rap record' its not even in the top 100 of records ever sold," said Chuck D.

"But it is the most important rap record of all time," he said.
Sterling Higgins, a 37-year-old Black man from Tennessee, died in March 2019 while being held in the Obion County Jail. Now, attorneys for his family are seeking justice as calls for changes to policing ripple across the United States in the wake of George Floyds death.

An amended civil rights complaint, filed Friday with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Eastern Division at Jackson on behalf of Higgins estate, claims that he died from trauma while being restrained by jail officers who choked him and stood on his chest. The family is asking for a trial by jury and $10 million in damages.

The official cause of death was "excited delirium due to a methamphetamine overdose," according to an autopsy report, but the family's complaint alleges that the excessive force used in restraining Higgins led to his death.

Sterling Higgins was a good man, who deserved fair and humane treatment, said Jennifer Jenkins, the administrator of Higgins estate and mother of one of his daughters. He left behind two young children, who will now grow up without a father. He was treated as if his life didnt matter. We want the truth to be known. We want accountability. We want justice for Sterling Higgins.

Sterling Higgins, 37, died in March 2019 while being detained in Obion County Jail in Tennessee (Family photo)

The new filing points out that the grand jury in the case were never shown videos of the incident based on a decision by Obion County's district attorney general. The grand jury declined last year to indict any of the jailers or law enforcement officers involved in the case.

Imagine if a district attorney had empaneled a grand jury in the wake of George Floyds death  for the purpose of determining whether to file criminal charges, Erik Heipt, the attorney who filed the complaint on Friday, said. Imagine if he withheld the video weve all seen and only presented the officers version of events. And imagine if no charges were filed because of this. Videos matter. They dont lie. Not showing the grand jury the videos in this case was a grave miscarriage of justice.

Story continues

The complaint names Union City, Obion County, three jail officers and a Union City police officer as defendants. The Obion County Sheriffs Department did not return a request for comment about the complaint. The Union City Police Department declined to comment.

Higgins  a father to two young daughters and a factory worker who enjoyed performing rap music at local clubs  was being held on criminal trespass charges after a 911 call from a market stating that he had entered a storage locker area and refused to leave, according to the complaint.

Related: Banning neck restraints does not address the structural problems in the police department and does not address the cultural problem that we have about devaluing black folks, a Minneapolis activist said.

Higgins had called 911 from the same market earlier claiming that someone was following him and trying to kill him, and a 911 dispatcher said he seemed disoriented, according to the complaint.

Mr. Higginss demeanor throughout the course of the conversation suggested that he suffered from an existing mental disability, the complaint states. Among other things, his speech patterns were jumbled, his thought process was tangential, he was sometimes nonsensical, he displayed signs of paranoia, and he was otherwise acting in such a way that it would have been clear to any reasonable police officer that he was mentally impaired.

Officers at the scene suggested that Higgins might need to go to a hospital and the encounter ended with Higgins agreeing to leave the market, the complaint said. He wound up coming back into the store and refused to leave, which is what led to his arrest.

Higgins was then taken to the Obion County Jail but was clearly in need of medical and/or mental health professionals, according to the complaint.

Sterling Higgins and his family. (Family photo)

The situation turned physical after Higgins grabbed a jail officer by the hair, claiming the officer was trying to harm him. Thats when several officers tried to restrain Higgins, according to the complaint.

Two officers took Higgins down to the ground on his back with his hands handcuffed behind him, the complaint said. In videos, one officer is seen with his hands around Higgins throat, according to the complaint, and other officers put shackles on his legs and ankles. Later another officer is seen on video appearing to stand directly on top of Higgins.

The complaint says that no officer intervened, and according to Heipt, the officer held onto Higgins neck for about 2 minutes after he lost consciousness.

Related: The atmosphere at the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone," where hundreds have gathered, has been part protest, part commune.

Higgins was placed in a restraint chair as foam came from his mouth, and was then wheeled into a cell and left alone, the complaint says. Officers came into the room and checked Higgins for a pulse, and emergency services arrived at the jail 10 minutes later, the complaint states.

It was another senseless, avoidable death of a young Black man in America. Like all the others, the life of Sterling Higgins mattered, and it was taken from him for no legitimate reason," Heipt said.

Obion County's District Attorney General Tommy Thomas told NBC News affiliate WPSD Local 6 that he declined to show videos of the incident to the grand jury becausehe didnt believe they showed "any negligent conduct on behalf of the officers," and that he thought testimony from an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation would be enough.

Thomas later told NBC News that he encouraged the family to pursue a civil case when he was unable to secure criminal charges.

Sterling Higgins. (Family photo)

I met with the family many times and advised that they seek civil counsel, Thomas said. There very well could be civil damages, and then they did, and this lawsuit came out of that. I dont oppose it, but thats not in my jurisdiction.

Thomas said he was aware Higgins had young children and he hoped that they would receive damages in their fathers death.

However, Thomas said that, as a district attorney for 30 years and a lawyer for longer, he was confident that the defendants will have a different take than the plaintiff.

Obviously, Mr. Higgins died in custody, but I feel confident they will deny some of the allegations, too. Itll just have to play out. Either the case will be settled or it will go to trial sometime in the future, Thomas said. But as far as Im concerned, my involvement is over.

Related: Ten current and former Google employees pointed to rising complaints from some black employees about how the company has responded to the ongoing protests.

Excited delirium syndrome, as cited in the autopsy report, has raised continued controversy regarding the cause and manner of death of some highly agitated persons held in police custody, according to research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The research states that the diagnosis typically comes when medical examiners have difficulty in identifying an anatomic cause of death, but stimulants are involved.

Attorneys for Higgins estate believe excited delirium is not what caused Higgins death, that it was more likely asphyxia, suffocation, and/or strangulation. The autopsy report also showed there was trauma to Higgins neck and a hemorrhage of the left omohyoid muscle, deep in the neck. There was also bleeding in the white part of the eye, which can sometimes be present in cases of asphyxiation.

Thomas said that for him to prosecute the case as a homicide, the autopsy and pathologist would have had to conclude that Higgins was killed, and they didn't.

"The autopsy, the pathologist determined the gentleman died from methamphetamine toxicity and a very high level of methamphetamine in his system," Thomas said.

"Now, if it had come back that he died of strangulation, then I would have had a homicide case. But he's the one who ingested the methamphetamine at such a high level."
A nearly 30-acre undeveloped strip of land off Maybank Highway is being eyed for 146 new townhomes on James Island, but neighbors aren't too happy about it.

The property sits behind The Pour House and between Woodland Shores and Stefan drives and stretches from Maybank Highway to Riverland Drive.

Owner Venn James Island LLC, an affiliate of a real estate development firm in Winston-Salem, N.C., bought the 29-acre tract in 2014 for $1.3 million, according to Charleston County land records.

The new subdivision is called Riverland Oaks. The land owner is registered to Andrew Dreyfuss, a partner in Piedmont Metro Development and Venn Capital, according to his LinkedIn page. He could not be reached for comment.

The property is in the city of Charleston and the zoning allows six units per acre. Plans call for the development to be single-family attached townhomes.

The Woodland Shores Neighborhood is asking residents to sign a petition against approving the proposed development.

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"Our current storm water problems need to be addressed and mitigated before a new development is built on land currently used as storm water containment for Woodland Shores Road homes," according to a Facebook post. "The developer's engineer is relying on gravity for storm water runoff and cannot guarantee storm water mitigation will be improved by drainage ponds they are planning to install.

"The current intersection of Woodland Shores Road/Paw Paw, and Woodland Shores/Maybank cannot handle more traffic congestion (sic) at an already unsafe intersection," according to the neighborhood group's post.

New apartments

Plans are moving forward for a 205-unit multifamily development on Clements Ferry Road near Daniel Island.

Hawthorne of Daniel Island Apartments LLC of Greensboro, N.C., plans to build the project on about 12 acres at 2800 Clements Ferry Road, just south of Interstate 526.

The company bought the property in 2018 for $2.6 million, when it first submitted plans for the five-story development in Berkeley County and the city of Charleston.
Princess Eugenie has thanked NHS staff for saving her father-in-laws life after he was in intensive care with coronavirus.

Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank were warned to prepare for the worst when Jacks father George Brooksbank was put on a ventilator for five weeks.

But the 71-year-old recovered from the life-threatening battle with the virus, and Eugenie posted a video on Instagram on Saturday thanking the staff who worked to keep him alive.

She said: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Brompton hospital for what youve done in saving my father-in-laws life.

George came back home to us the other day, so happy and as the miracle man, as he called himself.

And from the bottom of my husband and my heart, we just want to thank you for everything youve done on the front line, for risking your lives and those close to you and just making sure we can all be safe and sleep well at night.

So thank you so much and thank you for giving us all hope, thank you for changing the course of this pandemic in making sure that were all happy in what were doing.

So I wish everyone all the best and thank you so much for everything you do.

Accompanying the video was a short statement, which read:The Covid-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for so many and I want to say a HUGE thank you to every frontline worker who have kept us all safe and well, whilst sacrificing so much. 



In particular, Id like to send an enormous thank you to all the teams who saved my father in law, Georges life during his stays at St Marys, Chelsea and Royal Brompton Hospital after he contracted the virus.



It added: I cant begin to express the thanks I have to you all for bringing him back to our family, my husband Jack, his brother Tom and his beloved wife Nicola. We are forever grateful.

Mr Brooksbank, whose son Jack married the Queens grand-daughter in 2018, fell ill in mid-March after a trip to France and ended up being in hospital for nine weeks, said a spokesman for Eugenies mother Sarah, Duchess of York.

Expand Close George Brooksbank thanked NHS staff for saving his life after he was left battling the coronavirus in intensive care (Steve Parsons/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp George Brooksbank thanked NHS staff for saving his life after he was left battling the coronavirus in intensive care (Steve Parsons/PA)

The retired chartered accountant and company director was on a ventilator for five weeks at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

After a tracheotomy, his condition gradually improved and he was moved to a ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital which specialised in heart and lung conditions in people recovering from Covid-19.

He then underwent a further period of rehabilitation at an institution in Roehampton.

Mr Brooksbank also thanked staff for the incredible treatment he had received.
20.06.2020 LISTEN

IN the oral literature of the Akan people, no animal is endowed, or cloaked with, as much fearsomeness as the leopard.

Known as seb, etwie oraboa fufuo, this predator was deadly to our ancestors because it could come close to human settlements and hide along the paths people took to go to their farms. Then it would strike without notice.

It could climb trees and hide in their foliage. And descend from the tops of the tallest trees with the speed and striking agility of a hunting falcon.

On the ground, it had the manoeuvrability agility of the domestic cat. Yet its jaws and the teeth they encased were as powerful as those of the mighty lion.

The Akyem people, in particular, were so frightened of the leopard that they gave their own King, the person they reverenced the most, the symbolic title of Etwie.

Indeed, some of the most enchanting words that describe graceful, stealthy movements were ascribed to the Etwie. In drum language and apae lyrics, our ancestors apostrophised the leopard as a mighty creation, with the awe-inspiring name of Kurotwiamansa: (The creature that can empty whole nations of their populace!)

Kurotwiamansa nam seseaa ase ma seseaa ase woso biribiribiri,

Nabforo!

[Even when Kurotwiamansa merely walks under the thicket, it rumbles and rustles: biribiribiribiri. So what would happen, if Kurotwiamansa were to climb into the thicket itself?]

Another lyric says almost the same thing but with a different connotation:

Kurotwiamansa nam haban ase

Rewe sika nhwiren!

[Kurotwiamansa is gliding along under the thicket,

Chewing on a flower made of pure gold!]

Well, that's enough incantation of Kurotwiamansa as a legend of an animal. But why am I drawing such a fearsome animal to your attention today?

The point is that when I look at Covid-19, it reminds me of the horrendous power the leopard used to wield over our people. Covid-19, like the leopard, is sneaky and no respecter of persons!

It got Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of one of the most technologically-advanced states in the world, Germany. It also got Boris Johnson, prime minister of Great Britain, once the ruler of an empire on which the sun never set!

And for good measure, it got the Ghana Minister of Health, who has bravely been leading us in the battle against the pandemic and laying down the rules for doing so! What audacity hasn't Covid-19 demonstrated for everyone to see?

Well, what can one say about this horrendous beast of an entity?

Nothing much, I am afraid. Except this: PREVENTION IS THE ONLY MEDICINE IT FEARS! FOR PREVENTION CAN CURB IT!

What do I mean? If you look at the countries that have managed, most successfully, to control the disease, you will find that they were all adherents of the preventive measures methodology that can be employed to defeat Covid-19.

New Zealand is probably the most successful nation in preventing Covid-19. Of course, it was assisted, of course, by its natural environment, being an island (but then, isn't Britain too an island?)

You can glean the methodology New Zealand used, from this official report:

QUOTE: Media release 19 June 2020

There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today. Yesterday our laboratories completed 6,273 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 327,460. [New Zealand's population is 5 million, which means that almost 10% of the population had been tested.).

The official report comments that This is a high number of tests, that represent a mix of testing in the community, but also testing at our managed isolation and quarantine facilities, and following up people who may have had contact with our recent confirmed cases.....

The report adds that a as a result of these tests, Another two significant clusters have closed today  those associated with [a] wedding, .and a rest home. There is one remaining significant cluster that is still open... Managed isolation or quarantine, is the key part of our border security, with the ROUTINE TESTING we have since added [constituting] an additional measure to strengthen the border.....

No one is now allowed to leave managed isolation, for any reason, without [first] returning a negative test for COVID-19.... On June 16, exemptions from managed isolation on compassionate grounds were suspended. UNQUOTE

Now, let us look at another very successful country, Taiwan:

QUOTE: The first confirmed imported case in Taiwan was reported on January 21, 2020,. [This] was an individual residing in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. As of April 11, 2020, a total of 385 cases have been confirmed in Taiwan, with 6 mortalities reported.

There has so far been no evidence of community infection in Taiwan.[The reason is that] after the SARS outbreak in 2003, Taiwan has been routinely screening for fever on all inbound international transportation. at ports of entry, and conducting quarantine assessments on the travel history of fever individuals. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic. which first originated from Wuhan, China, the Taiwan Central Epidemics Command Centre (CECC) has been constantly strengthening international epidemic surveillance, as well as border control measures.

To minimize the risk of any community outbreaks, passengers presenting with fever at international... ports of entry are required to clarify any travel history and undergo comprehensive health assessment to evaluate the need for on-the-spot, compulsory transfer to hospital. UNQUOTE

What are the preventive measureswe in Ghana need to strengthen urgently? As our schools reopen, we ought to train more TESTING PERSONNEL and provide them with adequate numbers of test kits, so that if Covid-19 attacks any individual in a school, the infection can be very quickly detected and isolation measures put in place. We certainly don't need a swarm of Covid-19 infected schools!

I emphasise that thetesting is of particular importance, because even adults in Ghana are not keen on ALWAYS observing the disciplineof wearing face masks (for example) or washing hands with sanitisers frequently. As for observing social distance, it's a joke with most of us. Just go to any work-place or building site, be unobtrusive and and watch how the workers behave. We must never forget that ONE SINGLE WORKER at the Pioneer Fish Processing Factory at Tema was able to infect nearly 600 colleagues with Covid-19.

So it can be taken for granted that children and young adults will also fail to implement the measures, maybe (if we are to be charitable) out ofsheer forgetfulness.

Meanwhile, I offer my best ayikoo[congratulations] to all Ghanaians who have been helping, in various unsung but heroic ways, to curb the proclivities of the predator, Covid-19 [Kurotwiamansa].

I also congratulate our Minister of Health on his speedy recovery. Important persons in the community must learn from his case that it pays to level with the public all the time, rather than try to hide facts from them!

Sure, Covid-19 has hung itself around our necks (like the deadly Kurotwiamansa) and is waiting to pounce to empty our nation of its people..

But the Almighty has equipped us with superior brains to fight back. Even if we need to reintroduce the knock-down at any point, let us be brainy enough not to fear to do so! We should tell Covid-19 that iron exists that can cut through other iron! [Translation of Ewe proverb]
Skeletal remains found near Fort Hood based on an anonymous tip were identified by a relative as one of two soldiers who went missing from the base in the past year.

The mother of Pvt. Gregory Wedel-Morales confirmed to Houston ABC station KTRK that the body found Friday morning in Killeen, Texas, was her son.

Wedel-Morales was last seen on Aug. 19, 2019, driving in a Kia Rio that was later recovered by authorities.

MORE: Frantic search for missing Fort Hood soldier

His disappearance came less than a year before Pfc. Vanessa Guillen went missing April 22.

Guillen, 20, was last seen in the parking lot of her Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters at the military base and has not been heard from since.

"Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day. She was last seen in the parking lot wearing a black t-shirt and purple fitness-type pants," officials said in a Facebook post on June 15.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and The League of United Latin American Citizens are offering a reward of up to $50,000 -- $25,000 each -- for credible information leading to Guillen's whereabouts.

PHOTO: Army Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, 20, has been missing from her unit since April 22, 2020, according to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. (US Army)

Guillen's family and their attorney, Natalie Khawam, said that there were allegations of sexual harassment happening on the base.

"There were a few incidents where she had told her colleagues, her friends, her family about being sexually harassed but she was afraid to report it," Khawam told KTRK.

Military officials disputed the allegations made by Guillen's supporters and said that her disappearance is not believed to be tied to Wedel-Morales' case.

PHOTO: Fort Hood Army Base in Fort Hood, Texas, near Killeen, Texas. (Jack Plunkett/AP, File)

"At this point, investigators have no credible information or report that Vanessa Guillen was sexually assaulted," officials said.

"We are completely committed to finding Vanessa and aggressively going after every single piece of credible information and every lead in this investigation," said Chris Grey, a spokesman for Army Criminal Investigation Division. "We will not stop until we find Vanessa."

Story continues

Guillen's disappearance caught the attention of actress Salma Hayek, who has made at least two Instagram posts to bring attention to the case.

Over 150 people have been interviewed and multiple law enforcement agencies like the FBI are involved with the investigation, officials said.

Guillen is described as being of Hispanic descent, 5-foot-2, 126 pounds and with black hair and brown eyes.

MORE: Search for missing young army soldier in Fort Hood intensifies

Anyone with information related to Guillen's case can submit anonymous tips at the Army's Criminal Investigation Command.

The Killeen Police Department is seeking tips related to the skeletal remains and are asking the public to call Crime Stoppers at 254-526-TIPS (8477) or go online at www.bellcountycrimestoppers.com.

Skeletal remains found near Fort Hood military base identified originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
the mayor of The Belgian city of Bruges, Dirk De fauw, has been injured in a knife attack at the neck. The Christian Democrat was taken to the hospital, a suspect has been arrested, reported the news Agency Belga.

in Spite of the injury on the neck of De fauw and the rescue service itself can call. His Chauffeur drove him to the hospital. According to the Prosecutor, De fauw was operated on after the attack on Saturday in the hospital, the 62-Year-old is said to be in a "stable condition".

The Prosecutor's office for attempted murder. The alleged attacker was arrested.

According to press reports, the attack occurred on Saturday morning near the office of the mayor, who also works as a lawyer. The attacker was a current or former client De fauws with mental health problems, reported the newspaper "Het Laatste Nieuws".

Updated Date: 20 June 2020, 12:21
Like many Nigerian undergraduates, 22-year-old Tunde Kore is facing the challenge of unexpectedly switching to online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 300-level student of the Lagos State University said online classes are not meant for the poor, especially those in public universities. Mr Kore said he has not attended up to five classes since it started in April.

The lecturers are the ones organising the online classes via messaging apps. I dont have a browsing phone, and there is no fixed time for the classes. Most of us are not aware of the online because notice time is very short. Once you enter Whatsapp or Telegram group, you will just see assignments from lecturers, he said.

From struggling to understand assignments to network connectivity problems, Mr Kore recounts the challenges of online learning. He said his department has finally suspended online classes.

Not too rosy

The coronavirus outbreak has kept schools around the world shut. In Nigeria, authorities closed schools since March 19.

To help students continue with their learning, many schools, from elementary to tertiary, have resorted to online teaching, using platforms such as Whatsapp, Telegram, Google class, and Chrome LMS.

In Nigeria, while this transition has been largely smooth for some private universities and polytechnics, the government owned/public schools ones are grappling to have a hold on the innovation.

A student from the College of Management and Social Science at Fountain University Osogbo, Temitope Adeyemo, said online classes are not for Nigerian students, especially the average students.

We make use of Chrome (LMS) and Google Class for our online classes. Our lecturers can monitor us when they use Chrome LMS, they can see the number of students who log in and out, so students are always serious when we are using chrome LMS, but the lecturers cannot monitor what we do on Google class, so most people do other things by the side and classes are from Tuesday to Friday, she said.

She said the lecturers are trying their best to make students understand, but it cannot be like physical interaction where we can express ourselves.

Ms Adeyemo said her school would have used Zoom, but it is very expensive. The data consumption will be too much. Imagine using one Gigabyte of data for a week just for video classes.

She said there is no motivation in online classes.

Also, a student of Criminology and Psychology from Lancaster University UK, Esther Ayonrinde, said there is a difference being on campus and attending classes online. While we are on campus, we have access to Wi-Fi, Library and the lecturers will say things in a very clear way.

There are some books you have access to in the library while on campus, but now you have to buy some of the books online, even with your data, she said.

Mr Kore from LASU also lamented that he spends between N1,000 and N2,500 per week to attend the classes, and also get some assignments done.

The Lagos State University (LASU)

However, most of the students in the public institutions who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said access to the internet, good gadgets will continue to be a challenge for online classes, except the government intervenes.

Nigeria is not ready for online lectures or classes because most of the students in public schools are not from rich homes, they said.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that students in public and private universities lack free-flow conversations, debates, and discussions during online classes. Technological difficulties and distractions remain challenges of online classes in Nigeria.

Data subscribers

According to the National Communications Commission (NCC), data subscribers in Nigeria rose to 138.3 million in April 2020 from 128.4 million in January 2020. The increase may be connected to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Despite the increase, some students across public institutions are left out due to low broadband penetration, data cost, and expensive gadgets.

In the context of internet access, broadband is used to mean any high-speed internet access that is always on and faster than dial-up access over traditional analogue services.

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NCC Building, Abuja

In January, NCC announced that $732 million will be released over four years to improve Nigerias broadband penetration.

The commission said the allocation will be used to obtain an additional 30,000 kilometres of fibre that will be spread up the internet across the 774 local governments in the country.

By 2024, when the project is expected to be complete, the total length of fibre across the nation will be 71,000 kilometres. This is projected to increase Nigerias broadband penetration from 38 per cent to 65 per cent.

From the introduction of the internet to Nigeria in 1991 through limited e-mail services to this recent development, broadband in Nigeria has endured a daunting journey.

Parents speak

Most parents who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES said the online classes are sapping a lot of data.

Mrs Kore, who is a tailor, said the cost of data or a new phone is expensive for a family struggling to feed.

I have two children in the universities, and I am still struggling to feed them, then you want me to be buying data again, that is not fair, I tell you. Sales have dropped significantly since the lockdown started and survival is not a joke thing, she said.

Like Mrs Kore, some other parents, who have their wards in public institutions, said the education sector is not ready for transitioning to online classes.

But Mr Isaac Ayinla said the high data consumption is not limited to students in the tertiary institution. Apart from settling the ones in the higher institutions for data, we spent a lot of money to buy data ourselves. I spent over N20,000 on data monthly.

Lecturers react

Lecturers in public universities, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, pleaded anonymity for fear of victimization which may lead to loss of their jobs, said the online classes were organised out of their free will.

We are not supposed to speak with the media but the online classes were organised to keep the students engaged, we are not getting paid, they said simultaneously.

Also, a lecturer from Covenant University said online learning is mandatory for private universities as students use the platform to interact with lecturers and submit assignments.

But the vice-chancellor of Oyo State Technical University, Ayo Salami, said the institution had the facilities to teach online before the outbreak of the virus.

It was very easy for us to activate the online classes because one-on-one teaching became impossible. We encouraged our lecturers to move online so they can continue with their instructions because we really have the learning management system and we have all the hardware and we also subscribe to the software, he said.

According to him, the only challenge we had was the connectivity with respect to different locations of our students because all the students are home and there are some places where you have the issue of connectivity so we had to discuss with our students online to look for a good place for connectivity where the network is stable.

Unequal fingers

The national secretary of Education Rights Campaign, Ibukun Omole, said embracing online classes might mean destroying the already mediocre quality of education obtainable in Nigerian schools. He said it will deny a good percentage of the population who do not have access to the internet and electricity, access to education.

He said the underfunding of public education by the government has made it impossible to give the necessary training to lecturers to make them ready to take online classes.

So, to provide online classes and ensure no students are left behind because of inability to afford data, poor connection, and irregular power supply, the government will need to take control of the Power and Telecom sectors, he said.

Also, a public analyst, Gbolahan Olojede, said some of the curricula were not cut out for virtual classes.

I think the problem is with the fact that fingers are not equal. We cannot assume that all Nigerian students live in Lagos or cities. Some of them their parents live where there is no data, and it is even difficult to (get) mobile signals, he said.

Similarly, an ICT expert, Randy Aboh, said the easiest way is for every school to develop its management system where the students can record and also download.

By doing so, he said data consumption will be minimal, compared to Zoom or Skype meetings.

Not all universities are equipped

The spokesperson of the National Universities Commission, Ibrahim Yakassai, said a lot of federal universities are not equipped to conduct online learning.

National Universities Commission

He said some institutions may be doing some interactions via WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram, but that is not online learning. Online learning has its style and it takes a lot of expertise to set up the materials.

Mr Yakassai said the way forward is that when the universities resume, they will do what they are supposed and start the lectures again.

A call has gone to all higher institutions in Nigeria to explore the possibility of online learning and look at what they require to start online learning in case something like this again. Even if the universities have the capacity for online learning, most of the students dont have smartphones. The issue is not only about the universities but a national issue, of course, smart universities will explore possibilities, he said.
The Mumbai crime branchs unit 6 recovered 49.15 lakh cash and seized gutka and tobacco products worth 5.53 lakh in a raid, on Saturday morning.

The police arrested an accused, Rakesh Rajkumar Gupta, 28, a wholesaler supplier of gutka and tobacco products in Mankhurd and Govandi area for more than five years. Police said Gupta has six cases against him for selling banned gutka, said crime branch officer.

Gutka is banned in Maharashtra, but the accused brought the products from Gujarat and sold them here at a higher price. The demand for the product was higher in Maharashtra during the lockdown. Gupta confessed that he kept the cash in the godown and wanted to send it to his native place, said Akbar Pathan, deputy commissioner of police, crime branch.

The consignment was brought in the truck that had a letter of carrying essential products, said crime branch officer.

The officers acted on a tip-off and laid a trap with FDA officials in Gandhinagar area, Mankhurd and conducted a search in Guptas godown. Gupta produced in court on Saturday and was sent to judicial custody. Police are investigating the main supplier.
Jammu, June 20 : After five civilians were injured in Pakistan shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Kashmir, Pakistan again violated ceasefire on in J&Ks Rajouri district on Saturday.

Colonel Devender Anand, Defence Ministry spokesman, said Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation at around 6.45 p.m. in Nowshera sector in Rajouri district.

"They used heavy shelling with mortars and firing with small arms. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," the spokesman said.

Earlier on Saturday, five civilians were injured in indiscriminate Pakistan shelling in Nambla village in Uri sector. Two residential houses were damaged while some cattle also perished in the shelling.
European Union leaders have failed to strike a quick deal on an unprecedented stimulus package to promote economic recovery in the face of the coronavirus crisis, with members states still divided over its final amount and terms.

Member states agreed during a four-hour video summit that there was a need for a quick response on reaching a deal this summer, but divergences remain on the proposed 750 billion euro bailout, destined mainly for worst-hit nations like Italy and Spain, and how it will be disbursed.

Officials and diplomats expect a deal could come in July, but probably only after face to face meetings.

"It is essential to take a decision as soon as possible," EU Council President Charles Michel said, announcing plans to call an in-person summit mid-July.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU's executive arm, said she hopes a deal can be secured before the EU closes for an August summer holiday.

The 27 national heads of state began their video conference at 0800 GMT on Friday to discuss recovery for the bloc that has lost over 100,000 lives to Covid-19 and faces an unprecedented economic downturn.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, estimated in May a contraction of 7.4 percent in gross domestic product in 2020.

Collective responsibility

Our ultimate goal is to reach a deal as soon as possible. There is still quite some way to go towards an agreement, so we will need to work hard in the coming days and weeks, European council chairman Charles Michel said.

"We have a collective responsibility to deliver."

"It's a crisis without precedent that has had an enormous impact  economic, social and also on the viability of the EU," said a senior EU diplomat.

"To show that Europe protects, we cannot take any longer on this, as delays will only make things more difficult and more expensive."

However, member states disagree on the type of bailouts being proposed and the conditions they come with.

Story continues

Larger EU countries such as Italy and France are calling for grants without too many conditions, while others want only conditional loans.

Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, the so-called "frugal four", believe the proposed recovery fund is too big and allocation of the money is not sufficiently linked to the pandemic.

Eastern EU countries say too much money will go to the south and want to maintain an earlier spending focus on agriculture and closing development gaps with the richer west.

Wealthy net payers to EU coffers, including the frugal four and Germany, want to retain past rebates on their contributions that others want scrapped and there is no agreement on how to eventually repay the Commission borrowing.

There have been suggestions, particularly from France, to tax tech giants as a way to increase revenues and repay for some of the new debt, but this has also divided nations and put the US on its guard.

France 24 correspondent, Dave Keating says the spectre of a Brexit deadline is also looming over the talks, putting bloc members under pressure.

The UK has said there will be no extension to the transition period, leaving only a few months left to draw up a free trade deal.

(with wires)
President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to shed his toga of aloofness from the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress by calli...





President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to shed his toga of aloofness from the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress by calling an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee.





Making the call on Saturday was Mr Yekini Nabena, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party.





Nabena urged Buhari to call for the emergency meeting to address the leadership crisis.









The Partys National Working Committee (NWC), has been divided into factions, each claiming leadership of the party.





The crisis followed the Appeal Court ruling affirming the suspension of Mr Adams Oshiomhole as the partys National Chairman.





The initial suspension was made by a High Court in Abuja on 4 March.





Nabena urged the President to convene NEC emergency meeting to deliberate on consolidating the APCs control of Edo and Ondo States ahead of the forthcoming governorship elections in the states.





At least four people are laying claim to the chairmanship of the APC following the court-ordered suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.





All manner of Court cases and orders are flying around contesting party decisions and National Working Committees position.





Factions are festering at the national level and many states. The APC is clearly at a tipping point.





The several court cases and orders over the national leadership of the party has put the party in a standstill and is a legal threat to forthcoming elections in Edo and Ondo States.





President Muhammadu Buhari is the leader of the party and it has become imperative for him to convene an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee.





This is to find solutions to the crisis and chart a way forward





The several court cases and orders over the national leadership of the party has put the party in a standstill and is a legal threat to forthcoming elections in Edo and Ondo States.





President Muhammadu Buhari is the leader of the party and it has become imperative for him to convene an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee.





This is to find solutions to the crisis and chart a way forward, Nabena said.
Ethiopian foreign minister Gedu Andargachew on Friday rejected Egypt's call for a dispute over a giant dam on the River Nile to be referred to the United Nations security council.

The $4.6 billion project, on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, would create the most powerful hydroelectric dam in Africa.

Ethiopia sees it as a lifeline to help millions of its people escape from poverty.

But Egypt regards it as a potentially existential threat, fearing the project could significantly reduce its access to water unless there's an agreement on the period over which the dam is filled.

Egypt's foreign ministry issued a statement Friday saying Cairo wants the Security Council to intervene to help the parties reach a "fair and balanced solution" and to prevent Ethiopia from acting unilaterally.

But Andargachew dismissed the call, suggesting it was tantamount to inviting the UN to interfere in Ethiopia's sovereign affairs.

"The issue with the dam can be solved right here instead of taking it to the UN Security Council," he told The AP.

"We believe this is not the mandate of the Security Council."

The United States earlier this year tried to broker a deal, but Ethiopia did not attend the signing meeting and accused the Trump administration of siding with Egypt.

Egypt has traditionally received the lion's share of the Nile's waters under agreements dating back to the British colonial era, although 85% of it originates in Ethiopia.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
Give Gov. Greg Abbott credit for keeping us entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governors executive orders on the subject have puzzled observers and local officials more than once since the novel coronavirus was officially identified in Texas in March. And this week, he suggested that was his intent.

We cracked the code, the Da Vinci code, and figured out a way to get this done! Bexar County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez dryly remarked Friday morning.

The revelation comes courtesy of longtime Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring business owners to mandate that their employees and customers wear masks.

That might seem to be at odd with Abbotts own orders on the subject. In April, after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued an order requiring individuals to wear face coverings in most contexts while out of their homes or face possible fines, the Republican governor issued an order that basically sawed the legs out from under the county strategy for containing the virus spread.

Individuals are encouraged to wear appropriate face coverings, but no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face covering, he wrote then.

On Tuesday, nine mayors, including Houstons Sylvester Turner, asked Abbott to revisit that order in light of the fact that COVID cases have been surging across Texas as the state continues to move through its phased re-opening.

At a press conference Wednesday, Wolff acknowledged he was going out on a bit a limb.

The action that I'm taking today may be pushing the legal bounds a little bit, but our attorneys believe we can defend this order in court," said Wolff, wearing a green bandanna tied loosely around his neck.

Yet Abbotts office quickly confirmed that Bexar County wont be hit with a lawsuit. And the governor himself, in an interview with a Waco news station, explained why not.

There has been a plan in place all along, Abbott told KWTX.

All that was needed (was) for local officials to actually read the plan that was issued by the state of Texas, said Abbott, referring to county judges and city mayors who in many cases are Democrats.

This is a strange statement. It sounds as if the governor of Texas is deriding local officials across the state for failing to more swiftly to solve some kind of riddle he had presented them with, in order to keep the communities they lead safe. Surely he couldnt mean that?

Fortunately, Abbott elaborated.

They finally read what we had written, said Abbott, and what they now realize they are capable of doing is that we want to make sure individual liberty is not infringed upon by government, and hence government cannot require individuals to wear masks. However, pursuant to my plan, local governments can require stores and businesses to require masks.

Well, alright then.

The governors announcement elicited exasperation  and bemusement.

Some right-wing activists decried Abbott for what they saw as a concession to the left, which will yield to the trampling of freedoms across Texas. Now that Bexar County has authorized a de facto mask mandate, with the governors blessing, other jurisdictions will follow suit. Hidalgo on Friday announced a new mask order for Harris County, modeled after Wolffs: although the county wont try to require individuals to wear masks, it will require businesses to require them.

Many, though, were mostly frustrated by Abbotts apparent flip-flop on the subject of masks, as well as his too-clever-by-half explanation of it.

Journalist Chris Hooks at Texas Monthly observed, A Gordian knot is a complicated problem with a simple solution. A Greggian knot is a simple problem made hopelessly complicated by the governors own desire to be removed from the consequences of his own actions.

Abbotts about-face followed his blaming of younger Texans for the recent spike in coronavirus cases: Theyre not wearing face masks, theyre not sanitizing their hands, theyre not maintaining the safe distancing practices, he told a Lubbock TV station.

Abbotts strategy isnt without its own political risk, according to Emily Farris, a political scientist at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

In an interview, she noted that Abbotts overall job-approval rating remains high, and polls find Texans giving him good marks for his handling of the pandemic. That being said, Republicans and Democrats have been pushing for more clarity from his office. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, for example, was among the mayors who earlier this week asked the governor to grant them the authority to impose mask orders in their cities.

When we're looking to elected officials, and they keep pushing off decisions or making decisions that aren't very clear, that runs the risks of losing appeal, Farris said.

The stakes are high enough, Rodriguez explained, that Bexar County leaders felt compelled to act. Although San Antonio had some success in flattening the curve during the spring, the region saw a rise in cases beginning around Memorial Day weekend.

When things started re-opening, people were acting like we were going back to pre-COVID days right out of the gate, Rodriguez said. I think for us (requiring) the face covering was kind of the low-hanging fruit, the least we can do.

Its just crazy how its being interpreted by some people. The reality is theres science behind this. The face coverings make a significant difference, Rodriguez said.

And now, thanks to Wolffs leadership, local leaders across Texas are free to act to protect people from a virus that as of Friday had claimed 2,182 lives in Texas. Lets not forget about them.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Washington DC, US (PANA)  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a disbursement of US$148 million under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help Guinea address urgent balance of payments and fiscal financing needs stemming from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures
PORTLAND, Maine - Homebound travellers desperate to venture out for the first time since the pandemic are confronting a vacation landscape this summer that may require coronavirus tests for the family and even quarantines.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/6/2020 (581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In this Wednesday, June 10, 2020, photo, a draft of a coronavirus pandemic compliance form is held by Cod Cove Inn owner Ted Hugger in Edgecomb, Maine. The form is part of the "Keep Maine Healthy" plan the state is proposing, requiring out-of-state visitors to verify they are free of the virus. Residents of New Hampshire and Vermont are exempt. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

PORTLAND, Maine - Homebound travellers desperate to venture out for the first time since the pandemic are confronting a vacation landscape this summer that may require coronavirus tests for the family and even quarantines.

States from Maine to Hawaii are trying to strike a balance between containing the new coronavirus and encouraging out-of-state visitors to spend their cash on hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

The measures have gotten a thumbs-down from many in the tourism industry, who fear visitors will choose to wait things out until they can hit the beach without worrying about violating a state-imposed quarantine or searching for a testing site.

During a pandemic, discretion is the better part of valour, said Pauline Frommer, editorial director for Frommers.com and Frommers travel guidebooks.

"I think its important to look at what our safe options are. You dont want to die because you went on vacation, she said.

Some states like Hawaii have settled on quarantines. Maine, Alaska and Vermont have some version of a testing alternative.

In Vacationland, as Maine dubs itself, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills thought she was doing the tourism industry a favour by providing an alternative to the 14-day quarantine. Visitors can skip the quarantine altogether if they can show theyve tested negative for the virus within 72 hours before arrival.

Some innkeepers and restaurateurs complain the measure falls short of what is needed to attract tourists and salvage their summer season.

We dont think visitors are going to jump through hoops like that. Theyll just choose another destination, said Steve Hewins from HospitalityMaine, the states tourism trade group.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige extended the states mandatory two-week quarantine for all arriving travellers, even as the state scrambles to produce a screening process that could allow some travellers to return.

In Florida, which has recently seen a spike in cases, visitors from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are required to quarantine. New York, meanwhile, is considering requiring Florida visitors to quarantine.

Travellers to Alaska who are tested upon arrival are allowed to avoid further quarantine if they test negative. But theyre encouraged to limit their activities until they obtain a second negative test result.

In Vermont, visitors can cut short the two-week quarantine if they get a test after a week that comes back negative.

There is pent-up demand, people are wanting to come to the state, so anything to help travellers plan and reduce their burden is a good thing, said Tim Piper, president of the Vermont Inn and Bed and Breakfast Association.

New Hampshire, meanwhile, is requiring out-of-staters to attest to having quarantined at home for 14 days before staying at a hotel or other lodging property. That idea was adopted after the state rejected the idea of forcing visitors to quarantine.

Safety concerns are real in Maine, the state with the nations oldest population, a segment thats vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Maine, which touts its lobster, lighthouses and rocky shore as attractions, depends heavily on tourism. Its population of 1.3 million swells with 37 million visitors during a typical year.

Visitors can avoid a quarantine by being tested before they arrive, or they can reduce the quarantines duration by being tested after arrival. But the state is encouraging visitors to test before arrival, and know before you go. Vermont and New Hamsphire residents are exempted from the rules.

Maine innkeepers say the tests are burdensome because theyre potentially costly  and not readily available.

At the Cod Cove Inn, owner Ted Hugger questions whether out-of-staters will pony up for the tests, which cost $150 if paid out of pocket. He also questioned whether tests will keep people safe since those 18 and under and travelling with adults are exempt.

It just doesnt make sense, he said. Its not a viable option.

Jeremiah Hawkins, 72, of New York, said the changes may make him rethink his August visit to the Maine coast. He said its not easy to get tests, especially within a 72-hour window before arrival.

Its draconian, said the retired film executive. Why do I want to go there if no one wants me?

Hewins, of HospitalityMaine, winces at the idea of a teenage hotel desk clerk being put in the awkward position of turning away families with reservations whove driven hours to vacation in the state.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

He prefers the approach in neighbouring New Hampshire, which has something closer to an honour system for visitors.

Mills, the governor, said quarantines and tests are necessary to prevent an even greater calamity as the coronavirus remains a threat.

More than 2,800 people have tested positive and more than 100 people have died from COVID-19 in Maine. Those are modest numbers compared to hard-hit states but Maine's rural hospitals could be overwhelmed if millions of visitors arrived without any safety provisions, the governor said.

I can think of nothing more devastating than an outbreak or resurgence of this deadly untreatable virus during the height of tourism season, she said.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Caleb Jones in Honolulu; Bobby Caina Calvan in Tallahassee, Florida; Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vermont; and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 20, 2020 14:58 581 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406604b04e 1 World COVID-19,coronavirus,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,refugees,world-refugee-day,outbreak Free

Human rights activists have lambasted the government for its lack of attention given to refugees as a vulnerable group during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Roswita Kristy of the Jesuit Refugee Service Indonesia said refugees taking shelter in Indonesia were not included in the governments COVID-19 response program.

The government has provided barely any access to information regarding the outbreak for refugees, who instead rely on nongovernmental organizations (NGO) to translate information about the disease into their languages.

With community-based collaboration, the refugees can actually help and contribute to the fight against COVID-19, Roswita said on Friday in a discussion commemorating this years World Refugee Day, which falls every June 20.

Other speakers in the discussion said the government should follow the global trend of inclusion and issue better regulations to protect the refugees' rights.

Read also: Rohingya refugees rejected everywhere as countries grapple with COVID-19 concerns

Indonesias current regulation regarding refugees, a 2016 presidential decree on the treatment of refugees from overseas, only stipulates administrative aspects rather than protections for refugees rights.

[Fortunately] Indonesians have been pioneering the act of inclusion. For example, people saving Rohingya refugees in Aceh in 2015 were not government officials, but fishermen who prioritized their sense of humanity, said Rizka Argadianti of SUAKA, an organization focused on the protection of refugees rights.

Somalian refugee Nimo Ali, also a speaker in the discussion, said refuges had not been neglecting the local community during the outbreak. Ali and her platform, Sisterhood, have been active in distributing staple food packages in her neighborhood during the outbreak.

We never forget our Indonesian neighbors who also experience hunger like us, she said. Sharing is caring. We show them respect and feeling after they give us peace and protection.

According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were at least 13,623 refugees registered in Indonesia as of January. (aly)
The Iranian Navy announced in a statement on Thursday, June 18, 2020, that it has successfully test-launched short-range and long-range naval cruise missiles during military exercises in the Southern waters of the country.

The Iranian Navy announced in a statement on Thursday, June 18, 2020, that it has successfully test-launched short-range and long-range naval cruise missiles during military exercises in the Southern waters of the country.

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Iranian Navy test-fires new anti-ship cruise missile (Picture source Iranian video footage print screen)

During military wargames dubbed as the brave martyrs of Ramadan in the North of the Indian Ocean and Sea of Oman on Thursday, the Navy test-fired short-range and long-range naval cruise missiles, the statement said. It added that coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles, with different ranges, were simultaneously fired from the coastline and Navy vessels and hit the target with high precision.



The long-range naval cruise missiles hit the targets at a distance of 280 kilometers. According to the Iranian defense industry, the range of the new home-made missiles may be extended. At the same time, different types of coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles with short and long ranges were fired simultaneously from the coastal launchers and the deck of naval vessels.

Iran has developed a full range of Naval missiles including the Noor, a family of long-range anti-ship cruise missiles manufactured by the Iranian including the Noor family, Qader, Kowsar, Ghadir, Nasr-e Basir and the Zafar.

According to Iranian military sources, the Noor was developed in four variants. The latest version has a maximum firing range of 170 km and was upgraded with new electronic systems. The Noor missile is a reverse-engineered Chinese C-802 anti-ship missile.

The Qader was developed from the Noor missile by the Iranian defense industry. It was designed to be used as an anti-ship missile. The missile, which was unveiled in August 2011, has a range of 300 km and is described by Iranian officials as "the most powerful and precise missile of the Islamic Republic of Irans Navy.

The Kowsar is a medium-range, land-based anti-ship missile made by Iran. It has a warhead of 29 kg with time-delayed semi-armor-piercing high-explosive. The missile has a maximum firing range of 20 km.

The Ghadir missile is an Iranian-made anti-ship cruise missile with a range of 330 km. The missile is capable of being employed both from shore and from ships afloat. The missile was unveiled in Tehran in 2014.

The Nasr-e Basir is an Iranian-made Smart Low-observable anti-ship cruise missile unveiled on 24 August 2014 in a defense exhibition in Tehran. It has an operational range of 35 km.

The Zafar is a local-made short-range anti-ship cruise missile. It has been designed to be carried inside a launch canister installed on a variety of light vessels and high-speed missile crafts. The Zafar missile's design is optimized to make it very difficult to detect by hostile forces and jam using electronic warfare techniques. It is an active radar guided-missile equipped with a torpedo warhead capable of destroying small and medium displacement ships with high precision.
Last week former prime minister Tony Abbott, recently awarded Australia's highest civilian honour in part for his contribution to Indigenous affairs, told The Sun-Herald: "The higher Indigenous incarceration rate is a function of the higher Indigenous offending rate." He went on to say there was no evidence that courts were more likely to send Aboriginal people to jail. What the comments neglected, however, was the strong body of evidence about how Indigenous people are policed and treated in court. Two weeks ago, Guardian Australia reported on data from the NSW crime statistics agency that showed police pursued 82.55 per cent of Indigenous people caught with small amounts of cannabis through the court system, compared to 52.29 per cent of non-Indigenous people. 'It's not from a lack of leadership from our mob; we've done the hard work.' Indigenous lawyer and activist Teela Reid The data also showed police were four times more likely to let non-Indigenous people off with a caution. Professor Thalia Anthony, an expert in Indigenous people and the law at the University of Technology Sydney, says numerous studies have shown that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Police use charges and arrests as opposed to diversion more for First Nations people," she says. "The propensity for courts to deny bail at greater rates for First Nations people than non-First Nations people also shows that Indigenous people have a disadvantage before the courts."

Reid, a practising defence lawyer, has seen racism first-hand. A judicial officer once mistook her for the defendant, and a client sitting in a jail cell told her they didn't want an Aboriginal lawyer. Her solution, outlined in the Herald this month, is the Walama Court, which she describes as a hybrid of the Drug Court and the Youth Koori Court. It would give offenders who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by the District Court the opportunity to "tell their story" to elders before sentencing. The sentencing options are the same, including jail, but the aim is to return Aboriginal people to their communities to reconnect with their cultural identity, rather than sit in a cell. It's not a "soft option", Reid says, but puts "an even a higher onus" on an offender to turn their life around. Anthony has backed the Walama Court, saying it would help remedy biases in pre-sentencing processes that are "more likely to draw adverse conclusions for Aboriginal people". Whether it's the courts or the corridors of Canberra, Reid's emphasis is on the need for structural change. The Voice to Parliament would create a new structure to represent the interests of First Nations people, and senior Indigenous leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma are now working with the government to co-design the institution.

But Reid says there is "momentum growing" for more. She is among the many activists who believe a referendum to enshrine the Voice in the constitution should be a prerequisite, not a possible add-on. She is dismissive of compromise and unafraid of failure. "There is always someone saying, 'What if a referendum fails?'" Reid says. "I'm like, 'Mate, what if it wins?' The only reason it will fail is if politicians set it up to fail. It's not from a lack of leadership from our mob; we've done the hard work." "I think 'now or never' is a little bit too absolutist": Dean Parkin, director of From the Heart. Credit:Brian Cassey She is critical of the Indigenous leaders who have bought into the co-design process. "The elites who have made a career out of selling our mob short need a dose of reality. We're not copping the compromise that generation stood for. Ever." Parkin, the From the Heart leader, is more circumspect but agrees that leaders need to shift their thinking. Constitutional enshrinement is "non-negotiable component", he says. He also believes a symbolic proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in the constitution, as the government plans, has "no chance" of succeeding.

"We need to sharpen the minds of those leading these process that there's no option: symbolism will fail," Parkin says. He also points out Scott Morrison left the door open to enshrining the Voice in the constitution in his Closing the Gap speech in February. Parkin says the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests have put a fresh focus on fairness and structural inequality: it is top of mind. The official unemployment rate eclipsed 7 per cent last week, but as Parkin points out, for Indigenous Australians, "we haven't seen unemployment dip below 16 per cent in the last 14 years". The inequality explains the poorer health outcomes and the higher incarceration rates, he says. "We are not an innately criminal people ... I think every fair-minded Australian would agree with that." Loading The question now is whether this unique moment in history will translate into sustained support  demand, even  among other Australians for the sort of structural change Parkin and Reid want, and how ambitious the movement should be in pursuing that goal.
While everyone is focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump is nefariously enacting various policies that will have a devastating effect on the US and the world for years to come. His administration has already rolled back 66 critical environmental safeguards and has another 34 in the works. Other policies will result in unnecessary loss of life.

Toxic air pollution will be the result of his actions. Oil and gas companies are no longer required to report methane emissions. Auto efficiency standards that would have required vehicles to average 54 miles per gallon by 2025 are revoked, as are auto emissions standards. Water pollution regulations for fracking on federal and Indian lands have been rescinded; as are those preventing coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams and waterways. His wildlife policies will result in habitat destruction for many species. The drilling ban for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been revoked, as has the ban of hunting predatory animals there. Also, he has loosened the offshore drilling safety regulations, as well as those for hazardous chemicals sites.
Americans' satisfaction with their life has taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic -- but their anticipation of their future life remains intact. How can people use life challenges as opportunities for personal progress? Gallup Senior Scientist and Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, Arthur C. Brooks, joins the podcast to discuss maintaining happiness during a pandemic.
Manoj Bajpayee In A New Avatar

The one-minute-45 seconds-long trailer starts with a bully (played by Santosh Juvekar) warning the other members of the society that Maharashtra only belongs to Marathi people, and no one else can celebrate Maharashtrian festivals in Mumbai. He then asks Bhonsle to show support but he refuses to stand with him. The second half of the trailer shows Bhonsle's female friend getting raped and he asks the same bully if he committed the crime. The video ends with the bully confessing with a chilling yes.

Bhonsle Also Stars Santosh Juvekar And Abhishek Banerjee

Apart from Manoj Bajpayee and Santosh Juvekar, the trailer also shows glimpses of Paatal Lok actor Abhishek Banerjee, who will be seen playing one of the people from Bihar settled in Mumbai for work.

Bhonsle Will Finally Release After 2 Year Delay

The official synopsis reads, "In tumultuous Mumbai, at a time when scheming Maharashtrian politicians use violence to rid the state of North-Indian migrants, a terminally-ill lone wolf Maharashtrian cop Bhonsle retired against his will, finds himself forging an unlikely companionship with a 23-year-old North-Indian girl and her little brother, while the raging conflict destroying the world around them reaches his doorstep, giving him one last battle worth fighting for, but it might just be too late."
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar speaks on prescription drug prices during the 2018 National Academy of Medicine Annual Meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington on Oct. 15, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

HHS to Award $107 Million to Build Health Workforce in Rural Communities

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it will give $107.2 million to 310 recipients to build the health workforce in rural and underserved communities across 45 states and territories.

Supporting a strong health workforce is essential to improving health in rural and underserved communities, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement on Thursday.

Azar said the CCP virus pandemic highlighted stark disparities in health care.

As part of the Trump Administrations work to address health disparities, these grants provide support for the training of healthcare workers in rural and underserved communities, he said.

The HHS said the funding aims to improve the quality, distribution, and diversity of health professionals across the country by providing economic and professional support to physicians, faculty, dentists, nurses, and students of health care.

Access to a robust and high-quality health care workforce is essential for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases in underserved areas, said Tom Engels, the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) administrator.

The funding supports six health care programs including the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, scholarships for disadvantaged students, Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships, and Primary Care Training and Enhancement Program.

The program will improve access to oral health care services for all individuals, especially low-income and underserved populations, said Engels.

The largest portion of the funding, $47.8 million, will go to the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program which aims to provide scholarships to students with financial needs through 86 awards to health professional schools and programs.

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program will get $26.7 million and will work with the objective of expanding nursing faculty across the country.

Loans are provided to nursing students who receive up to 85% loan cancellation in exchange for full-time post-graduate employment as nurse faculty, HHS noted about the program.

The Primary Care Training and Enhancement: Residency Training in Primary Care (PCTE-RTPC) Program will receive $8.8 million to address the physician shortage by increasing the number of residency graduates practicing in areas where there is a deficiency of primary care providers.

The funding also supports the Postdoctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry program with $13 million. It aims to provide funding to postdoctoral dental residency training programs in rural communities.

The program will improve access to oral health care services for all individuals, especially low-income and underserved populations, said HHS.
Imperial Valley News Center

Notice of Additional Screening Measures Mexicali Officials are Instituting

Mexicali, Mexico - Today, the County of Imperial was notified that the City Government of Mexicali, Baja California issued additional restrictions and protective screening measures to reduce the mobility and protect the health of the population. These additional restrictions will be administered to southbound traffic as individuals are entering Mexicali at the ports of entry.

At these locations, Mexican officials are screening for the requirements below:

Mandatory face masks (or face covering).

COVID-19 related symptoms (temperature screening).

No more than two persons per vehicle.

Essential travel  visits to Mexicali must be essential under the terms of the sanitary measures.

No alcoholic beverages, unless these are accredited or permitted to be transported.

Mexican authorities will verify that those individuals subject to revision provide an address or Mexican nationality proof. An invitation may be offered to remain at their homes or penalties may be imposed from $3,475 to $17,376 Mexican pesos or up to 36 hours arrest in case of resistance.
Photo: The Canadian Press A de-commissioned pumpjack is shown at a well head on an oil and gas installation near Cremona, Alta., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. The number of orphan wells in British Columbia has more than doubled thanks to the failure of one oil and gas company. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The number of orphan wells in British Columbia has more than doubled thanks to the failure of one oil and gas company.

The BC Oil and Gas Commission says it has designated 401 wells and three facilities formerly owned by Calgary-based Ranch Energy Corp. as orphans, which means there is no owner willing or able to restore those sites.

It says it has booked a liability of about $53 million as a result, offset by $13.7 million in security that will be transferred to the industry-funded Orphan Site Reclamation Fund.

"The addition of the 404 Ranch sites means the commission is now responsible for 770 orphan sites in B.C.  though 56 sites are substantially restored  which is less than three per cent of all oil and gas wells in B.C.," the provincial agency said in a news release.

"The rest are in the care and control of viable companies. We will continue working with landowners impacted by the Ranch decision."

Ranch slipped into receivership in July 2018. Last Friday, the Court of Queens Bench of Alberta approved a transaction under which 414 oil and gas sites owned by Ranch were sold to Erikson National Energy Inc.

The commission says it will carry out site clean-up and restoration on the remaining Ranch assets through the orphan reclamation fund.

It says it has already permanently plugged (abandoned) 11 wells and partially drained a storage pond to ensure public safety during the Ranch Energy legal proceedings.

B.C.'s list of orphan wells, most located in the northeastern part of the province, is dwarfed by Alberta's, which contains about 3,000 orphan wells slated for reclamation and abandonment and another 3,000 oil and gas sites for reclamation only.

In April, the federal government announced a $1.7-billion program to help Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. clean up inactive wells, as well as orphan wells.

B.C. received $120 million, of which the orphan well fund was to receive $15 million. It hopes to clean up 2,000 of its 7,000 dormant wells over two years.

The B.C. orphan program is budgeted to spend more than $27 million on cleanup activities during the current fiscal year, the commission said.
Tribal vigilantes in southeast Afghanistan have burned down the houses of four families whose male members they accused of killing seven members of a rival family. The incident on June 16 came two days after the killings, which local police said involved a land dispute.
SBC elects Pastor Rolland Slade as first black chair of its executive committee

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Rolland Slade, the 62-year-old senior pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon, California, called his historic election as the first black chair of the Southern Baptist Conventions executive committee on Tuesday, Gods plan.

"I don't think there was ever a plan for me to be in this position," Slade told Baptist Press. "I think it's what God has done.  I believe God loves diversity; He created us and we are all diverse. I think for us to not embrace it is saying that, 'We've got a better idea than You [God].'"

Slades election to lead the executive committee comes just eight years after the 175 year old former pro-slavery denomination elected Fred Luter Jr. as the denominations first black president. His nomination for the post was unopposed and he was unanimously elected by ballot vote, BP said.

"Rolland is certainly deserving of this historical honor not just because of the color of his skin but because of his knowledge, skills, and leadership as a member of the Executive Committee through the years," Luter told BP of Slades election. "I am proud of Rolland and proud of the men and women of this committee for making this such a historic moment in the Southern Baptist Convention. To God be the glory for the things He has done!"

Mike Stone, the outgoing chair who called for the ballot vote to mark the historic moment, said Slades election at a time when the U.S. is grappling with major civil unrest over racial inequality and instances of police brutality is Gods providence.

"I think we all realize by what is going on in this country as well as in our convention, this timing is in many ways the providence of our Lord," Stone, who leads the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, said.

The SBCs President J.D. Greear called Slade's election an "exciting day for our convention."

"Rolland Slade's election demonstrates we are moving in the right direction," Greear, said. "During my two years as SBC president, I have worked alongside Rolland and seen his leadership and character to lead this body at this time.

Greear recently endorsed the black lives matter movement as a Gospel issue to members of the world's largest Baptist denomination in the wake of ongoing protests over multiple officer-involved killings, including the death of George Floyd on May 25 at the hands Minneapolis police officers.

We realize that especially in a moment like this one, we need our brothers and sisters of color. We need the wisdom of leadership that God has written in their community. We know that many in our country, particularly our brothers and sisters of color, right now are hurting, Greear said while noting how the SBC had evolved from its racist past to become one of the most ethnically diverse religious groups in the United States.

A lot of people dont know that, but nearly 20% of all Southern Baptist churches are majority non-white and the North America Mission Board tells us that more than 60% of new churches planted recently have been planted and led by people of color, Greear said.

Marshal Ausberry, SBC first vice president who is also president of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Fairfax Station, Virginia, told BP that Slade's election shows how far the denomination has come.

"His election shows the positive transformation that is occurring in the Convention," Ausberry said. "When you think of the founding of the SBC in 1845, largely over the issue concerning the ownership of enslaved persons by missionaries, to the election of Rolland Slade in the 175th year, this is a seminal moment for the Convention and all Southern Baptists."
China's CDC experts investigate Xinfadi market three times, announce groundbreaking virus tracing discovery

Global Times

By Zhao Yusha Source:Global Times Published: 2020/6/19 10:44:24

An initial epidemiological survey shows the coronavirus strain detected at the Xinfadi market in Beijing came from Europe, yet it has existed longer than the current coronavirus strain circulating in Europe, Chinese virologists inferred. They say it is possible that the virus did not mutate during transport as it has been sealed in frozen food, stored in cold and damp conditions.

Since the second outbreak flared up at Xinfadi, virologists have visited the now closed market three times to investigate - on June 14, 15 and 17 - and announced a groundbreaking discovery.

More than 200 samples from the underground seafood market were initially collected, including a salmon throat swab, and many of the samples tested positive for the virus. The second investigation saw virologists collect samples from two kilometers away from the market, with many results also coming back positive. The third investigation targeted the water system specifically, including water in which fish were kept. Those samples are currently undergoing testing.

"So many positive samples signal this place is severely contaminated by the virus," Wu Guizhen, Party secretary of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the journal of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Liu Jun, a researcher from the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention who also participated in virus sourcing work in Wuhan, said there are now certain speculations as to how the virus came to Beijing. Seafood products may have caused the latest outbreak after they were transported to the market via cold chain. Another possibility is that an infected individual entered the market then spread the virus to others.

Liu said they had made wild guess where the virus may have landed, and first tested chopping boards and counters, which are easily contaminated.

They then began to speculate which areas may be infected if it was a virus carrier who brought the coronavirus to the market, said Liu. They took samples from walls, refrigerator surfaces, fish tanks and other surfaces.

Sample collection is a vital step in virus tracing, said Liu, noting that different positive samples may lead to different conclusions. For example, if the virus is found in sealed frozen food, it would prove the virus was transported to the market via cold chain; if the frozen food was opened, that may lead to another conclusion, said Liu.

Cold, damp environment favorable for virus

Liu, who traveled to Wuhan's controversial wet market more than 20 times and Xinfadi three times, said the cold and damp environment in wet markets is ideal for the virus to survive and multiply.

The coronavirus is particularly cold-resistant, and can survive for months at -4 C and 20 years at -20 C, which explains why the virus has been found several times in seafood markets, and can be transported across borders, Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan said on Friday.

If an individual infected with COVID-19 sneezes, droplets may fall on the ground and contaminate other areas, said Liu.

But we cannot jump to the conclusion that the wet market was the origin of the virus just because an outbreak took place there, said Liu.

He said Beijing's outbreak gives us the opportunity to re-examine our previous speculation that the virus originated from wildlife, because unlike Wuhan's wet market, the possibility of wildlife causing Beijing's latest outbreak is slim.

This reminds us that it is possible an infected individual or object contaminated with the virus entered the wet market, and the market only gave it an environment to multiply, said Liu.

"There are many possibilities, but the chance of the virus coming from wildlife [in Beijing] is very small," said Liu.

Virus in Beijing's Xinfadi from Europe, but older: China CDC

The novel coronavirus found in Beijing's recent outbreak at Xinfadi market has come from Europe, but it is older than Europe's most recent virus, said Chinese health officials.

Although the coronavirus found in Beijing's Xinfadi market has come from Europe, it differs with their current outbreak, as it is older than the current European coronavirus, according to preliminary research results, said Zhang Yong, assistant director of National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The large amounts of samples found in Xinfadi wholesale market indicate that the virus has been around for some time. If it had only just arrived in the city for a short period of time, there may not have been so many positive samples found; however, we need more data before making an informed decision about its origin," Zhang said.

Genomic epidemiology is the one of the main methods used to determine the lifespan of the virus. "We need to first sequence the whole genome, before putting all the different viruses together to see which virus has more mutations; that is, those with more mutations normally suggest an updated virus, whereas those with less mutations closer to the original virus, and they are much older, circulating for a longer period of time compared to recently discovered viruses," Liu said, adding that some calculation also needs to be completed using mathematical models.

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Tuesday that the Beijing's recent outbreak probably did not occur in late May or early June, but it probably started spreading a month earlier.

"In this specific outbreak, many asymptomatic or mild cases were detected, and that is why the environment has such a large amount of recorded samples," said Gao.

In fact, the novel coronavirus will spread more easily in dark, humid, and polluted environments, which may catch some residents unexpected. If locals at the wholesale markets had been infected, it would have likely been exposed to many people very quickly, Gao added.

In regard to the virus' first transmission into the country, there are several possibilities being discussed. "For example, the virus may have remained in imported frozen foods, and did not mutate due to frozen environment throughout the entire storage and transportation period, from overseas all the way to China," Zhang said.

It is also possible that the virus may have been lurking in dark, humid environments, which have not been properly disinfected and sterilized, before it was then exposed to local residents, causing its slow evolution. "In the end, what we see is that this virus is closer to the old European virus," Zhang said.

Epidemiological investigation and big data may find connections between cases, but it may also fail to determine which individuals have been spreading the virus. "We hope that through laboratory tests and genome sequence analysis, that we can learn the transmission routes," Zhang said.

The Institute is taking the lead in establishing a nationwide virus monitoring and tracing system based on the entire viral genome, so as to deal with the current problems surrounded with virus traceability, which is a matter deeply related to national security, Zhang said.

Chinese scientists are working day and night to find out exactly how did the virus from Europe arrive at Beijing's Xinfadi market.

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Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

US Attorney General Barr announced in a late-night statement that the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman was resigning.

Shortly after the announcement, Berman released his own statement saying he had not resigned and had "no intention" of stepping down.

"Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption," Berman said. "I cherish every day that I work with the men and women of this Office to pursue justice without fear or favor  and intend to ensure that this Office's important cases continue unimpeded."

The SDNY is conducting or has conducted multiple investigations into Trump associates and other interests linked to the president.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In a surprising Friday night standoff, US Attorney General William Barr is at odds with US Attorney of the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman.

Barr announced in a late-night statement that Berman was resigning and that President Donald Trump intended to appoint Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in his place. In the interim, beginning on July 3, US Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito would fill in.

Shortly after the announcement, Berman released his own statement saying he had not resigned and had "no intention" of stepping down, calling into question whether or not Barr has the authority to fire him or if that rests with the president.

"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate," Berman said. "Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption. I cherish every day that I work with the men and women of this Office to pursue justice without fear or favor  and intend to ensure that this Office's important cases continue unimpeded."

Among other cases, the SDNY is conducting or has conducted multiple investigations into Trump associates and other interests linked to the president. Here they are:

Story continues

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, is being investigated over his business dealings in Ukraine and whether he failed to register as a foreign agent.

The SDNY charged two of Giuliani's associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who helped him with matters in Ukraine, with campaign finance violations.

It was reported last year that the Manhattan US attorney's office was among several federal entities investigating Deutsche Bank, which has long-running business ties to the Trump family and Trump Organization.

Berman's office successfully prosecuted Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime former lawyer, who implicated Trump ("Individual-1") in several crimes including campaign finance violations and tax fraud.

The Manhattan US attorney's office subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee as part of an investigation into potential criminal conduct including accepting illegal foreign contributions at inaugural events.

The SDNY charged then-Republican Rep. Chris Collins, a staunch Trump supporter, with insider trading in late 2018. Collins has since resigned.

The SDNY prosecuted the Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank. Turkey spent millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress, and the State Department to ask the Justice Department not to investigate the bank. Former national security adviser John Bolton claimed in his upcoming book that Trump assured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would intervene to stop the SDNY's Halkbank investigation. CNN also reported in February that Barr "personally spearheaded" an effort last year to shield Halkbank from prosecution and negotiate a settlement with the bank that would have allowed it to avoid being indicted. The SDNY ultimately charged Halkbank in federal court for its alleged participation in a multi-billion dollar Iranian effort to sidestep sanctions.



Barr's statement and Berman's retort raised eyebrows, especially among Democrats. The House Judiciary Committee invited Berman to testify next week, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said: "This late Friday night dismissal reeks of potential corruption of the legal process. What is angering President Trump? A previous action by this US Attorney or one that is ongoing?"

Barr in his press release thanked Berman: "With tenacity and savvy, Geoff has done an excellent job leading one of our nation's most significant U.S. Attorney's Offices, achieving many successes on consequential civil and criminal matters."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Bombay high court (HC) on Saturday directed the state and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to implement the Supreme Court (SC) order to hand over Covid-positive reports directly to patients. The court, while hearing the plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Vinod Mishra from Malad, was informed by BMC that the petition was not maintainable and should have been a public interest litigation (PIL).

The court, however, said that in light of the Apex Court order, it would not interfere, and issued the said directions.

The division bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice Nitin Borkar, while hearing the petition filed by Mishra, challenging a circular issued by BMC on June 13 regarding the revised test reports rule, was informed by advocates Amogh Singh and Jeet Gandhi that SC on Friday had directed the state government to give the reports directly to the patients.

In light of their grievance being addressed, they sought the petition to be disposed of.

Senior counsel for the BMC, however, challenged the maintainability of the petition, stating that the issue was of general public well-being and should have been filed as a PIL. He further submitted a reply by BMC authorities that was not accepted by the bench as it was not an affirmed copy.

In light of the above and the fact that the Apex Court had already issued an order, the high court directed the state and civic authorities to implement the Supreme Court order and disposed of the petition.
Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys Host Las Vegas Bottled Water Collection Site It is our hope that by hosting a bottled water donation site more individuals and businesses will be encouraged to participate and donate water to help ensure hydration and cooling stations are adequately supplied throughout the summer. Kevin Rowe, Esq.

Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys announce their firm will host a bottled water collection site in Las Vegas at their 4795 South Durango Drive office until excessive heat warnings give way to cooler temperatures. In order to maintain social distancing, all donated bottled water may be left at the firms back door from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The life-saving water will be delivered to organizations that serve vulnerable homeless populations across the Las Vegas Valley.

According to the Southern Nevada Health District, heat-related deaths typically occur between May and September with July consistently ranking as the deadliest of the summer months. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited that heat-related deaths in Nevada rose almost fivefold from 29 in 2014 to 139 in 2017. Temporary cooling stations have already been set up this year foreshadowing hotter months on the horizon.

Staying hydrated during scorching summer months is not an easy task for members of the homeless population. This becomes even more challenging when temperatures rise into triple digits. It is our hope that by hosting a bottled water donation site more individuals and businesses will be encouraged to participate and donate water to help ensure hydration and cooling stations are adequately supplied throughout the summer. Together we can do more to help those in need, said attorney Kevin Rowe.

Please contact Guy Williams with any questions about the Lerner and Rowe drop off location in Las Vegas by calling 702-858-9941, or via email at gwilliams@lernerandrowe.com.

More About Lerner and Rowe

Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys is a powerhouse law firm in representing personal injury clients. Attorneys Glen Lerner and Kevin Rowe have grown their law firm into one of the largest personal injury firms in the country, with over 50 attorneys and nearly 400 support employees located in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, and Tennessee. The law firms continuous exalted levels of success can be attributed to the high levels of respect and dignity shown to victims and family members hurt in an accident.

For those injured outside one of the previously listed states, Lerner and Rowe has an established network of attorneys across the country, ready to help. The firm takes pride in nourishing these relationships as they know a personal injury attorney can make all the difference in obtaining fair compensation for the pain and suffering inflicted upon the victims of tortious conduct.

For more information about Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys in Las Vegas, please call 702-877-1500. To connect with the law firm socially, follow Lerner and Rowe on Twitter and Instagram, or become a fan of its Facebook page. Also, visit lernerandrowegivesback.com to learn more about the many other community services that the lawyers and legal support team of Lerner and Rowe actively support.
Congratulations are in order for Bette Midlers daughter, Sophie Von Haselberg!

The 33-year-old actress got married amid the coronavirus pandemic and shared a celebratory photo of her big day on Instagram. In the candid photo, the Irrational Man star smiles with cake smeared on her face by her groom.

"In the midst of COVID, a piece of $h!t president, and the power and poignancy of the Black Lives Matter movement, I got married!" Von Haselberg captioned the sweet moment from her private celebration. "Because honestly, WHY NOT. Its great to have cake smeared on your face by someone you love! And hot DAMN do I love this man!"

Midler spoke to the Manila Bulletin this week about her daughters quarantine wedding, describing the small ceremony and sharing behind the scenes stories of the special day.

It was a pandemic wedding, a very small wedding, and her husband, her new husband, hasnt had a haircut in three months," she said. So she looked online on how to cut hair and she gave him a pretty good haircut. I mean, that is the world we are living in now.

Sophie Von Haselberg and Bette Midler (Bruce Glikas / FilmMagic)

After being married for 36 years to Sophie's dad, Martin von Haselberg, the 74-year-old actress is happy to be a mother-in-law and quarantined with her daughter and new son-in-law.

"Its kind of cute, very sweet, and very nice to be a mother-in-law," Midler explained. "All four of us are together during this lockdown for the past three months and we havent had any serious disagreements and its lovely.

"The First Wives Club" star shared her hopes for her daughters future as a married woman and thinks Von Haselberg will have a great time with her marriage.

She laughs incessantly, she sings, she dances, Midler explained. They both do and they are very joyful together. So it gives me a lot of happiness, tremendous happiness. And I think the best thing to do if you are a mother-in-law is to back off and let them have their lives and realize that you are not living their life and you dont have all the answers and its up to them to find their own life and the answers.
Cash is withering on the vine at an alarming rate. It is yet another victim of economic lockdown, to go with a shopping mall full of familiar retail brands and a multitude of businesses small and big. All very depressing.

Yet, as we report here, there are some individuals in positions of power who are mounting the equivalent of Custer's Last Stand to protect cash from the country's fast march towards a digital payment world  one occupied by contactless transactions and mobile phone payment wallets and all part of the rapid 'digitalisation' of our lives.

Leading from the front, cash flag waving in the wind, is Natalie Ceeney who in recent years has done more than anyone else to highlight the importance of cash in an inclusive society.

Fighting to protect cash: Natalie Ceeney last year published a key report into access for cash

It was Ceeney who last year published a key report into access for cash. It concluded that some eight million adults would struggle to cope in a cashless society  many of them elderly or financially challenged.

She called for cash to be preserved and the Government responded by promising new legislation to protect it.

Although the legislation (understandably) has yet to materialise, Ceeney battles on.

As chair of a project called the 'Cash pilot programme', she has just given the green light for a series of trials to take place across the country  supported by the wider banking industry.

The idea is to test new and old ways of keeping cash on the high street  for example, through the setting up of a shared bank branch; introducing a free-to-use cash machine into a community currently without one; or a facility allowing local businesses to bank cash takings without having to travel miles.

If any of them prove transformative, they will be rolled out on a national scale, backed if necessary by supportive legislation.

While the timing of the pilots is not ideal what with social distancing remaining a concern, let's hope that Ceeney's Last Stand helps keep cash on the high street.

A positive thought on digitalisation

A final (positive) thought on 'digitalisation'. I find it quite extraordinary that the combined market value of US tech giants Amazon and Apple now exceeds that of the entire UK stock market  a fact relayed to me last week by Nick Train of investment house Lindsell Train, one of the country's most successful fund managers.

The combined market value of Amazon & Apple exceeds that of the entire UK stock market

Although some investment commentators believe that the valuations put on these two companies  and for that matter placed on many US tech companies  are unsustainable, Train doesn't agree.

He believes their continued stock market success is a reflection of both the growing digitalisation of businesses and increased consumer demand for digital goods and services (for the record, the 7.8billion Lindsell Train Global Equity fund that Train runs does not invest in the two stocks).

'Thinking about the winners, as well as the obvious losers from this year's terrible events, helps explain why stock markets have begun to recover, even when the outlook for the real economy still looks horrible,' says Train.

'Stock markets look into the future and it is evident that the future prospects for companies that can successfully harness the power of the internet have actually improved over the last four months.'

Train believes the continued rise of Amazon and Apple should be viewed positively by investors.

'What the success of these US companies shows,' he says, 'is that today there is a possibility of creating corporate wealth more quickly and on a greater scale than ever before  provided you have a product or service that is relevant to the third decade of the 21st Century and beyond.'

His conclusion? 'The UK has a great record of innovation and entrepreneurship and our stock market is home to some great companies. This is indeed a terrible time, but it remains likely that the 2020s will be a roaring decade for enterprise and consumers. I hope so  for the sake of our children.'

Encouraging words in a world where positivity remains in short supply.
Fire destroyed Mill Number Two at the former Strathmore paper complex on the banks of the Westfield River Friday night in a massive blaze that saw over 100 firefighters at the scene at one time and pulled in departments from around the region.

Firefighters were called to the scene at about 8:30 p.m. to find heavy flame and smoke coming from the west end of the building.

Even 12 hours after the initial alarm, flames and heavy smoke rose from the central portion of the building as pumper trucks continued to pour water on the fire debris.

Mutual aid from departments as far away as the New York border sent tank trucks to aid local firefighters after hydrants connected to the Russell system ran dry after about two hours of work.

Fire departments set up a bucket brigade of sorts, sending tankers from the fire scene in the Woronoco section of Russell to Westfield to fill up then return across the narrow, one-lane Bailey Bridge over the Westfield River. Tankers filled two 2,000-gallon portable, rubberized canvas tanks from which pumper trucks drew water to fight the fire.

Bailey Bridge made it impossible to bring heavy ladder trucks across the river to the fire scene due to weight limitations, forcing smaller pumper trucks to handle the fire fighting load.

A second bridge across the river has been closed to traffic for a number of years.

Russell Fire Chief Niles LaValley said first responders found heavy flames coming from a part of the building where rolls of paper, left from when the plant was operational, were stored and became fuel for the fire. The plant shut down about 20 years ago.

Also at the scene were a number of environmental agencies and engineering firms. The state Department of Environmental Protection, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Fire Marshals Hazardous Materials Response unit all sent personnel. A vehicle and personnel from a commercial environmental engineering firm were also at the scene.

Firefighters at the scene said departments associated with the Hampshire and Berkshire Counties Fire Task Forces sent trucks to aid Russell firefighters. Units from as far away as Egremont on the New York border and Ware in northeastern Hampshire County as well as Hampden County departments responded. LaValley said at some points more than 125 firefighters were working the fire.

The building was purchased last year by a Pittsfield developer. Jacob Trudeau bought the 233,00 square-foot complex on 34 acres for $15,000 at a tax auction in May 2019.

He told reporters at the time he had no definitive plans for the complex.

I really dont have any 100% set plans, he said in a follow-up interview in July 2019. I really just want to get it cleaned out. The real goal is just to get it clean, get the outside clean and get it in better shape.

Select Board members said the auction was held because they didnt want to live with the liability and the risk of having the mill owned by the town.

LaValley said the building had operational electrical service.
Bohra leaders visit suddenly shrouded in secrecy By Tharushi Weerasinghe View(s): View(s):

The Bohra chief expected to retreat to the luxurious Anasa Wellness Resort in Bandarawela to escape the ravages of COVID-19 in Mumbai, India

The entourage was to arrive today on a chartered aircraft, but officials now say date of arrival uncertain

PHIs say they have received no official instructions to carry out inspections or any precautionary measures

With its cosy chalets, gourmet cooking and helipad, the Anasa Wellness Resort in Bandarawela is an exercise in luxury.

This high profile destination snuggled into the salubrious hills will be the address of His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the head of the Dawoodi Bohras, till it is determined that the COVID-19 pandemic in Mumbai, India, has subsided enough for him to return.

The Bohra chief and his entourage are expected to arrive via chartered aircraft to escape the ravages of the disease in India. His permanent residence is Saifee Mahal in Mumbais upmarket Malabar Hills. That building was sealed owing to the discovery of COVID-19 patients.

However, Dr Syedna and his immediate family have been camping in Khandala, a hill station in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra in India, since the lockdown began in that State. They were due to arrive in Sri Lanka on June 21 but the visit is suddenly being afforded a level of secrecy that wasnt accorded before.

The timing for the arrival is uncertain, Admiral (Rtd) Prof Jayanath Colombage, Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations, said this week. He had earlier told media he expected them to arrive at least around the 21st of June.

This week, Admiral Colombage reiterated that Head of State status would be granted when His Holiness and his entourage do come. He also assured that strict health protocols will be followed.

The hotel complex usually used by the Bohra community in Bandarawela is the Anasa Wellness Resort, local authorities there confirmed. His Holiness arrived at the retreat on a previous location via helicopter. A spring that waters adjoining paddy fields runs through the property which is shield by a 20-foot high perimeter wall.

The development is owned by a well-known local Bohra businessman. There are plans to build 40 chalets there. Nineteen have already been completed. A community spokesman refused to confirm or deny the upcoming visit.

There are two estates in Bandarawela belonging to members of the Dawoodi Bohra community. They are within five kilometres of each other. Anasa Wellness, which is built on a 25 acre property, also functions as a Bohra training institute. The other site is a wallapatta plantation called K-Life and is five acres in extent.

Prof. Colombage said the visitors will each undergo a PCR test in Mumbai. It is only once they are cleared that they will be allowed to enter Sri Lanka. The group will be taken directly to Bandarawela with their retreat being converted to a quarantine centre. They will spend 14 days in mandatory self-isolation. Around 40 to 45 people are expected.

The arrival is now shrouded in so much secrecy that local Public Health Inspectors say they have received no official instructions to carry out inspections or precautionary measures. They also stated that most hotels in Ella have not been given permission yet to function.

A call to Anasa Wellness requesting a booking from June 21 onwards yielded the person at the other end saying that they were not operational yet and also that they have VIP guests arriving shortly.
Six members of an advance team who were organising Donald Trumps rally in Tulsa this weekend have tested positive for Covid-19.

The staff members had been in the city ahead of Saturdays event, which is expected to draw tens of thousands despite warnings from public health officials against large public gatherings. It comes as Tulsa is already witnessing spike in the number infections.

Per safety protocols, campaign staff are tested for Covid-19 before events. Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented, said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign.

No COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today's rally or near attendees and elected officials, he added.

Mr Murtaugh said all rally attendees would be given temperature checks before going security.

Mr Trump's decision to hold a mass rally inside a 19,000-seat arena inside Tulsa, Oklahoma, has drawn criticism at a time when cases of the coronavirus are spiking in Oklahoma, and Tulsa specifically.

The number of new cases in Tulsa reached a high of 120 Wednesday, up from 35 in the previous month. The state of Oklahoma more generally is also seeing a rise in cases.

"Let me be clear: Anyone trying to attend a large-scale gathering will face an increased risk of becoming infected with COVID-19," Bruce Dart, executive director of the Tulsa Health Department, said Wednesday. "I know so many people are over COVID, but COVID is not over. It's transmitting very efficiently in our community."

Recommended Graph shows coronavirus is persisting in US but subsiding elsewhere

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, called the president's rally an "ego trip" that would "endanger" people's health in an interview with CNN.

For the President to have this ego trip that he wants to take to Tulsa ... for the vice president of the United States to go visiting places without a mask, is a bad example to the public," she said.

More than 120,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the US, and more than 2 million people infected. While the number of confirmed cases nationwide appeared to have plateaued, outbreaks in the south and west of the country have threatened to undo much of the progress made through lockdowns.
A locum doctor who hit out at politicians for failing to adequately fund the health service was found guilty of dishonestly claiming pay from the Southern Trust, it can be revealed.

Dr Fiachra McLaughlin launched an extraordinary attack, branding a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as criminal.

He also said the fact healthcare workers were relying upon public donations of PPE was shocking and unbelievable.

The outburst came two months after a tribunal hearing found Dr McLaughlin guilty of invoicing the Southern Trust for work he never did.

A Medical Practitioners Service Tribunal (MPST) panel examined the case against Dr McLaughlin on March 16 and 17  two days before Northern Ireland announced its first Covid-19 death.

The panel found he had submitted retrospective claims, through the HSC Locum website, for payment for work at Craigavon Area Hospital which he had not undertaken.

It found that his actions were dishonest.

According to the MPST website, the Tribunal found that Dr McLaughlins communications with Ms A and Ms B of Southern Health and Social Care Trust in relation to work at the hospital, were untrue and dishonest.

It has emerged that Dr McLaughlin, who studied medicine at Leicester University and graduated in 2014, criticised the provision of PPE by Stormont and Westminster in a social media post on May 19.

He said: We have to support our nursing staff and medical staff with adequate personal peotection and not rely on charity donations like the the [sic] Tory government have. made us do.

My brave and beautiful wife goes to work every day with next to no personal protective equipment from stormount [sic] which again is criminal and got very little help from the Tory government  and I think that is shocking and unbelievable.

#supportdoctorsandnurses not by clapping like the Tory government came up with. Pay them adequately for the incredible work nurses and doctors do and risks they take daily and provide them all with adequate PPE so we can care for our patients who we would do anything for and remain our number one priority. #Supportdoctorsandnurses.

Dr McLaughlin ended his post by asking his followers to donate to Pieta House, a charity which offers support to people experiencing mental ill health and people bereaved by suicide.

His Facebook page also includes a post supporting the healthcare strike that took place in December 2019 and January of this year.

Thousands of NHS workers took to the picket line to fight for better pay and conditions, and safer staffing levels.

Dr McLaughlin is registered with the General Medical Council without a licence to practise.

However, he is currently registered with the Medical Council Ireland and is due to complete GP training in the Republic.

The MPST panel is due to sit again next week to determine whether Dr McLaughlins fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct.

It is not known whether the money paid to Dr McLaughlin was ever recouped.

A PSNI spokesman said police did not receive a report from the Southern Trust about the allegations. A spokesman from the trust said he could not comment on individuals.
The streets of San Francisco have a curious history. While many are named to honor leaders, presidents, cities and trees, some gain their names from outlaws and even sex workers. Gough Street is named after a hard-working milkman and Point Lobos at Ocean Beach was so named when Spanish explorers thought the sound of barking of sea lions nearby sounded like wolves.

But over the years, hundreds of the city's street names have been changed. Often these changes are procedural administrative moves  new freeways make old alleys defunct, streets are widened to boulevards to carry more traffic  while some streets are renamed to remember poets, artists and other cultural figures who left an indelible mark on the city.

Other name changes are more controversial, and come after years of political protest against the dubious histories of their namesakes. Before getting "canceled" involved a slew of outrage on Twitter and ripped up movie deals, outed problematic figures of the past would be deplatformed by having street signs in their name removed from the alleys and avenues that had previously honored them.

ALSO: The lost waterways of San Francisco

And some streets in San Francisco never even got a name in the first place, often to the frustration of residents trying to call an Uber or get food delivered. Despite neighbors' attempts to get the dead-end alley between Upper Market Street and Corbett Avenue renamed "John's Way" last year, the residential stretch remains nameless, although residents did put up their own sign.

Here are the stories behind some of the more consequential street name changes in San Francisco.

Justin Herman Plaza becomes Embarcadero Plaza

In 2017, after a fight that lasted decades, M. Justin Herman's name was finally removed from the plaza at the eastern end of Market Street in San Francisco.

In the '60s, Herman was head of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. Under his tenure, large areas of the city were redeveloped, forcing thousands of residents, many of them poor and non-white, to leave their homes and businesses. In redeveloping the Western Addition, 10,000 people were displaced and more than 60 city blocks cleared. Herman's agency also aggressively acquired land in Chinatown and the Tenderloin, forcing poor residents from their neighborhoods.

In 1965, novelist Thomas Fleming described Herman as the "arch-villain in the black depopulation of the city."

Army Street becomes Cesar Chavez Street



The east-west street that stretches from the Bayview neighborhood to Noe Valley was renamed in 1995 in honor of American labor leader and Latino American civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez. The decision at the time to change the street's name created a fight that echoes in today's debate over the naming of statues, military bases and roads. The LA Times reported at the time:

San Francisco prides itself on its tolerance and diversity, but this years decision by the Board of Supervisors to change the name of Army Street to Cesar Chavez Street has turned surprisingly divisive. Longtime residents of mostly white Noe Valley -- up in arms over the change -- have placed an initiative on the citys Nov. 7 ballot that would erase Chavezs name from street signs along the three-mile roadway.

"People just want to hold on to something, observed Rick Stewart, a 27-year-old technology writer who moved to Cesar Chavez Street this summer. A lot of white people here feel like they dont have much they can hold on to -- even if its just the name Army Street.

Robert Alexander / Getty Images

Adler Alley becomes Jack Kerouac Alley

Jack Kerouac Alley, formerly Adler Alley, is a small street that connects Grant Avenue in Chinatown to Columbus Avenue in North Beach. The alley is named after the famed Beat Generation writer who used to frequent the City Lights bookstore next door, and Vesuvio, the bar adjacent to the alley.

Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who founded City Lights in 1953, successfully suggested the name change in 1988 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The alley is now known for its engraved Western and Chinese writing by writers and poets such as John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou and Kerouac himself. Ferlinghetti would also later be honored, with the nearby street Price Row becoming "Via Ferlinghetti" in 1994.

Morton Street becomes Maiden Lane

Union Square's high-end shopping street, Maiden Lane, was once a hub of late 19th century prostitution in San Francisco. It was named Morton Street at the time. The renaming to "Maiden Lane" was not, however, in honor of its red-light history, but an effort to mirror the aesthetic of other Maiden Lanes in London and New York.

Dupont Street becomes Grant Avenue

One of the oldest streets in San Francisco's Chinatown district that links Downtown to North Beach was once named Dupont Street after a Navy admiral from the USS Portsmouth. Dupont Street became the location for various opium dens and brothels when the revelry and vice of the city's Barbary Coast was at its height.

When the city was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake, Dupont Street was given a new name, Grant Avenue, after President Ulysses S. Grant. The street is still written and said in Chinese as "Dupont Gai."

Monroe Street becomes Dashiell Hammett Place

In 1988, San Francisco supervisors were persuaded to rename 12 short streets after famous local writers and artists. The street they chose to rename in honor of Dashiell Hammett, the celebrated author of hard-boiled detective fiction, was one on which the writer had actually lived, at 20 Monroe St..

The Bush Street end of Monroe is about 100 yards from the end of Burritt Alley. Hammett placed Miles Archer's murder at this location in opening of his iconic 1930 page-turner, "The Maltese Falcon."

The one-block stretch that joins Pine and Bush streets is so steep, it was paved in concrete rather than asphalt, as it was thought that the tar might run before it had a chance to set properly.

Phelan Avenue becomes Frida Kahlo Way

In 2018, this street at San Francisco's City College Balboa Park location was renamed Frida Kahlo Way, honoring the iconic Mexican painter.

The street was formerly named after James Phelan, an Irish immigrant who earned his fortune in the city during the Gold Rush. Phelan's son, James D. Phelan, was mayor of San Francisco from 1897 to 1902. During that time, Phelan supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. After leaving the Senate in 1921, he remained active in anti-immigrant movements and ran a campaign to "Keep California White."

Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings
When the United States signed a bill on China's Xinjiang into law, the mask of the so-called "democracy" and "human rights defender" slipped, and Washington's face showing hegemony and human rights violations emerged.

The so-called "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020," based on hearsay, fabrication, and distorted reporting, maligns the hard-won anti-terrorism and anti-extremism achievements in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the condition of human rights there. The act blatantly violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, and is a gross interference in China's internal affairs.

Anyone who respects the facts can see that through efforts including establishing vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang and fighting terrorism and extremism in accordance with law, the frequent incidents of terrorist activities have been effectively curbed and people's rights to life, health and development safeguarded.

The region will eliminate absolute poverty this year along with the rest of the country. Since 2014, more than 470,000 new urban jobs have been added annually, with a registered urban unemployment rate below 4.5 percent. People's health has been guaranteed during the COVID-19 epidemic, with no confirmed cases reported for more than four months. Normal religious activities have been protected in accordance with the law. People enjoy the right to use their ethnic languages and inherit their cultures.

Xinjiang is in its best period of development, with people of different ethnic groups and religious beliefs living together as equals, enjoying unity and harmony, and leading a peaceful and stable life.

The Chinese government is fully justified in making all-out efforts to eradicate the root causes of extremism, violent terrorism and separatism to make sure the time when people lived in the shadow of fear, poverty and death will never come back.

The enactment of the U.S. bill, however, backs terrorist and extremist forces. The real intention of the act is to sow discord among the ethnic groups in China, harm Xinjiang's prosperity and stability, and contain China's development. It is a stain on conscience and justice.

Using Xinjiang-related issues as a tool to pursue selfish gains at the expense of other countries' peace and development interests, the self-proclaimed "human rights defender" has become a stumbling block in the way of the cause of international human rights.

Ironically, on the day the bill was signed, the United Nations Human Right Council began an urgent debate on the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protesters, in the follow-up to the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

More than half a century has passed when Martin Luther King Jr expressed his dream, but African-Americans are all still struggling to breathe. A wave of massive protests has surged in the United States.

Besides its long-existing and deep-rooted racism and inequalities, the United States has seen a widening income gap, rising unemployment, and more than 110,000 innocent lives lost in the COVID-19 outbreak because of the administration's inadequate response.

At a time when the United States should really focus on addressing its own human rights problems, the enactment of the bill on Xinjiang only reveals how irresponsible, hypocritical and finger-pointing politicians could put human rights in peril.

Nothing more than a piece of paper full of lies, Cold-War mentality and political prejudice, the act belongs in a garbage dump.
NEWTOWN  The 10 Sandy Hook families suing Remington in a wrongful death lawsuit are used to the spotlight.

The families court fight against the nations oldest gunmaker over the 2012 shooting of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School dates to 2014, when wounds were still raw over the crime.

Last week, the families won the latest fight over the right to question Remington executives under oath about internal corporate affairs.

But Remington came right back and filed a request with the court to throw out the families lawsuit, arguing they have shown no evidence that Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza saw Remington advertisements for the AR-15-style rifle used in the crime or that the ads were the contributing factor in the mass shooting.

(The families) remaining claim is focused narrowly on the specific content of any advertisement for the rifle that was seen by Lanza and whether any such advertisement in fact caused him to commit his horrific criminal acts, reads Remingtons latest argument in state Superior Court. (The families) fail to identify any advertisements at all and, importantly, fail to plead the essential factual allegations that (1) Lanza saw an offending advertisement and (2) but for seeing the advertisement, he would not have planned and carried out his crimes.

As the two sides prepare for trial in 2021, here is a timeline of the highly visible case:

December 2012  A 20-year-old named Adam Lanza takes his mothers AR-15-style rifle from an unlocked closet, shoots his way into a locked Sandy Hook School, and kills 20 first-graders and six educators. President Barack Obama would later call that day the most difficult of his eight years in office.

December 2014  The families of nine people killed in the Sandy Hook shooting and a teacher who was shot during the crime file a wrongful death lawsuit against Remington, the maker of the rifle used in the slaying. Observers call the lawsuit a longshot, because a 2005 federal law protects the gun industry from most liability when firearms are misused.

March 2016  The families lawsuit is among the defining issues in the Democratic presidential primary between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sanders said he supports the 2005 federal law that shields the gun industry. Clinton, who voted against the law as a senator, said it should be repealed.

October 2016  State Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis throws out the lawsuit against Remington brought by the 10 Sandy Hook families. The families appeal to state Supreme Court.

March 2018  Remington files to reorganize its finances under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in part due to bad debt Remington took on when investors left the company after the 2012 shooting. In 2012, Remington had net sales of close to $1 billion.

March 2019  The Connecticut Supreme Court overrules part of the 2016 state Superior Court decision that threw out the Sandy Hook families lawsuit against Remington. Remington appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

November 2019 - The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Remingtons appeal of the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling. The U.S. Supreme Courts refusal to hear the case sends the case back to the lower court, which schedules a trial for 2021.

February 2020  The 10 families streamline their case into a single claim: That Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing the AR-15-style rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting to civilians for criminal purposes, and that the marketing motivated Lanza to commit his crimes

May 2020  A fight by the families to grill Remington executives about its internal affairs takes center stage in state Superior Court in Waterbury.

June 15, 2020  Bellis sides with the 10 Sandy Hook families and denies Remingtons motion to protect its executives from discovery questions Remington considers invasive and improper.

June 17, 2020  Remington files a motion asking Bellis to throw out the Sandy Hook families lawsuit, because it fails to show that Lanza saw the gunmakers advertising or that if Lanza did see Remingtons advertisements, that the ads were the cause of the gunmans rampage.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
This weekend in Tulsa, the president held his first campaign rally since March, after the coronavirus pandemic suspended the campaign trail. So we begin, Oklahoma we begin. Thank you, Oklahoma! It was also the weekend of Juneteenth. For many black Americans, Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in this country. This was a moment that resulted in scenes like this. You are a sellout! Black people die [inaudible] [shouting] The timing of the presidents rally, on the weekend of Juneteenth, also comes at a time where there have been weeks of nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. Hands up! Dont shoot! It is particularly poignant in the South, and in Tulsa, because of the history of racial oppression here. Rather than a president that showed deference to the racial history of this city or to try to further the efforts of racial reconciliation, we saw him upend them. About the first grade, we came to Tulsa. We moved to Tulsa. So, I kind of grew up on Greenwood. When I entered college and took black history, and my professor, he said, Do you all know about the race massacre? And we were all like, No. We had a riot here? You know. And he was just like, OK, so everybody sit down and listen to this story. In the early 1900s, the Greenwood area of Tulsa was a thriving black neighborhood. African-Americans, two generations out of slavery, pursued and exhibited black excellence. We had our own banks and hospitals and theaters and restaurants. But that success didnt sit well with the white community. And in 1921, after a black man was accused of disrespecting a white woman, things escalated. A white mob burned and looted Black Wall Street. The violence lasted roughly 16 hours. They shot. They looted. They bombed. They threw bodies in the river. They threw them in mass graves. When the dust settled, some 100 to 300 people were killed. At least 1,250 homes were destroyed in the black community. Schools, churches and business were destroyed as well. Total devastation, like a war zone. What happened here was a momentous tragic event. That was the worst horrific story that I ever heard in my life. This church, we were building in 1921, our sanctuary  they destroyed that. And our basement miraculously survived. The damage on this pillar comes from when concrete burned. In this room, also we have soil collections from the different sites where people were killed. After years of ignoring the massacre, many in Tulsa want to make it front and center of the communitys conversation. They set up this bipartisan commission to do a number of initiatives to bring forward the issue of racial reconciliation and commemorate the centennial anniversary of the massacre. And some institutions have apologized. Im sorry that the police department did not protect its citizens during the tragic days of 1921. The hard part has been what to do next. We demand reparations in honor of all those Americans that were killed! We demand reparations now! Saying Im sorry is not repentance. You know, saying Im sorry just recognizes what you did is wrong. Repentance is turning away from what you did that makes you sorry. Before you can even get to atonement, we have to have a society that admits that white supremacy is wrong. Weve got to have a society that admits that black lives matter. The president has tried to present himself as a unifying figure, as someone who can bring the country together, particularly in times of these dual crises: the coronavirus pandemic and the national unrest around race and racial inequality. But this weekend shows his challenges on that front and the inability of this administration to, frankly, get out of its own way. Juneteenth is, for many black Americans, a celebration of the emancipation of slavery. The president initially announced a rally on Juneteenth. When you talk to people, they say there was a moment of disbelief that the president was coming to Tulsa. My first reaction was, How disrespectful. I felt like it was a slap in the face. And after pleas, even from Republican senators in the state, he moved the rally to the next day. Beep beep. Beep beep. Its important to me because its history, its freedom. Girl, youre looking good. Its good to see you, long time. Its education. You want to make America great again? You have to make Black Wall Street great again. And its important this year because people get to see that, hey, theyre still fighting for a cause, but theyre celebrating our freedom. To come on the weekend of Juneteenth shows that he has still not that much respect for our sacred day. Ultimately, the presidents rally wasnt as big as his campaign had hoped. But the significance of this weekend is seen in scenes like this. I see you back there shaking your head. Yes, sir, black lives matter. And one of the takeaways around this moment, around race in this country, has been the shifting public opinion about questions of systemic racism and persistent inequality. No justice! No peace! No justice! No peace! That lack of acknowledgement puts him at odds with even some members of his own party. The presidents strategy on race and on other issues has just narrowed his path to re-election. He has not shown a willingness to try to expand his base, leaving him fairly reliant on a similar group of voters that got him elected in 2016 to do so again in 2020.
Geoffrey Berman refuses to step down after the US Department of Justice abruptly moved to dismiss him.

The United States Department of Justice moved abruptly on Friday to fire Geoffrey Berman, the attorney in Manhattan overseeing key prosecutions of President Donald Trumps allies and an investigation of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

But Berman said he was refusing to leave his post and his ongoing investigations would continue.

I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning my position, Berman said in a statement.

His statement came hours Attorney General Bill Barr said Berman was stepping down from his position and that Trump intends to nominate Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to replace him.

The standoff set off an extraordinary clash between the Justice Department and one of the nations top districts, which has tried major mob and terrorism cases over the years.

It is also likely to deepen tensions between the Justice Department and congressional Democrats who have pointedly accused Barr of politicising the agency and acting more like Trumps personal lawyer than the nations chief law enforcement officer.





Barr did not explain the move in the statement he issued late on Friday.

Hours later, Berman issued his own statement saying he had learned that he was being pushed out through media reports. He vowed to stay on the job until a Trump nominee is confirmed by the Senate. The investigations he oversees will continue, he added.

The Associated Press news agency, citing people familiar with the matter, said federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Giulianis business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent.

The office has also prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes.

Berman has also overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who were associates of Giuliani and tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation.

The men were charged in October with federal campaign finance violations, including hiding the origin of a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trumps re-election.

A Republican who contributed to the presidents election campaign, Berman worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was put in his job by the Trump administration. But as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, he won over some sceptics after he went after Trump allies.

Berman was appointed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, months after Preet Bharara was fired after refusing to resign along with dozens of other federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama.





Three months later, FBI agents raided Cohens offices, an act the president decried as a politically motivated witch hunt.

The following April, in the absence of a formal nomination by Trump, the judges in Manhattan federal court voted to appoint Berman to the position permanently.

He has taken a direct hand in other investigations that have angered Trump.

His office subpoenaed Trumps inaugural committee for a wide range of documents as part of an investigation into various potential crimes, including possible illegal contributions from foreigners to inaugural events.

And weeks before the 2018 midterm election, Berman announced insider trading charges against an ardent Trump supporter, Republican Representative Chris Collins, who represented western New York. Collins has since resigned.

Under Bermans tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump.

Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nikes reputation and stock price unless the sportswear giant paid him up to $25m.

Bharara, the former attorney in Manhattan, said the timing and manner of the move to replace Berman were strange.

Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election? Bharara wrote on Twitter.
Tens of thousands of people rallied in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday to demand the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, heeding the call of the country's newly resurgent opposition.

The 75-year-old president is under pressure over failures to contain a jihadist insurgency that emerged in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to the fragile centre of the West African state.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

But the sclerotic pace of political reforms, a flagging economy and a widely shared perception of government corruption have also fed anti-Keita sentiment.

On Friday, an imam led tens of thousands of protesters in a prayer in a central city square.

Protesters sang the national anthem. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP)

Protesters then sang the national anthem and blew vuvuzela horns, with many toting placards bearing anti-government slogans.

The demonstration follows a similar rally on June 5 organised by a newly-formed coalition of opposition groups.

That coalition has since adopted the name, "Movement of June 5 -- Rally of Patriotic Forces."

Uniting religious leaders and civil society figures, the coalition is channelling deep-seated frustration about the slow pace of progress and continuing bloodshed.

At its head is Mahmoud Dicko, an imam and Islamic hardliner whose political star is rising in the war-torn country.

The June 5 movement organised Friday's protest, despite Keita's pledge on Tuesday to form a new unity government that would include opposition figures.

'He will understand'

Keita was elected president of the poor Sahel nation of some 19 million people in 2013, and won a second five-year term in 2018.

Women wearing veils gather for protest. By MICHELE CATTANI (AFP)

He has been pushed to make several concessions in recent days in response to mounting criticism, like raising the salaries of public teachers on Tuesday after a long-running pay dispute.

The president also extended an olive branch to the political opposition on Tuesday, proposing to form a unity government.

But his efforts to appease opponents appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Dicko had earlier told reporters in Bamako that Friday's protest would go ahead come what may.

"He hasn't learned his lesson, he doesn't listen to people," he had said. "But this time he will understand".

Mamadou Diakite, a 42-year-old teacher at Friday's protest, told AFP that Keita had to step down.

"We are here for the final victory, there is no negotiation possible," he said.

The sharpening political divide in Mali is worrying the country's neighbours.

A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc met Mali's prime minister as well as opposition figures in Bamako on Thursday and Friday, in a bid to defuse tensions.
A barista at a popular cafe has claimed he was sacked from his job because he is black.

Ayo Lana, who came to Australia from the UK, said he was working at the XS Espresso Cafe in Bondi, Sydney on Thursday when the manager told him he was fired.

In a video uploaded to his Instagram, Mr Lana claims the manager said the locals were 'a bit racist' and preferred to be served by the other barista 'who's a white guy.'

Mr Lana's video went viral with hundreds showing their support for the sacked barista, prompting the cafe to apologise.

Ayo Lana (pictured), who came to Australia from the UK, said he was working at the XS Espresso Cafe in Bondi, Sydney on Thursday when the manager told him he was fired

Mr Lana said the manager pulled him to the side and initially claimed the cafe had received 'complaints' about his coffee before admitting it was really about his race.

'I'm like oh that's very surprising because I've only had good things... I've only got compliments about it,' Mr Lana said in his video.

'Then he goes, well you know how Bondi, the locals, they're a bit racist.

'So I'm like oh so then that's the real reason.

'He's like yeah they like their coffee made by the people that are there already, by the barista that's already there, who's a white guy.

Mr Lana said that was 'a bit of a shame,' which the manager responded with the locals of Bondi 'like their coffee a certain way.'

In a video uploaded to his Instagram, Mr Lana said the manager believed the locals were 'a bit racist' and said he had to be let go because they preferred to be served by someone 'who's a white guy'

Mr Lana said that was 'a bit of a shame,' which the manager responded with the locals of Bondi 'like their coffee a certain way'

After Mr Lana released the video, he was contacted by the cafe who apologised for the incident.

The cafe said they will continue to be in discussion with him 'regarding corrective action we will be taking.'

XS Espresso Cafe released a statement on their Facebook page which was accompanied by a picture with text that read: 'As a brand, we stand in solidarity against systemic racism.'

'We were deeply saddened to learn of an incident that took place at our Bondi location yesterday,' the statement said.

'When we were made aware of the incident, our foremost concern was towards the gentleman who had been mistreated by a manager at our Bondi location.

'We are terribly remorseful for the treatment he received.'

After Mr Lana released the video, he was contacted by the cafe's founder who apologised for the incident

XS Espresso Cafe released a statement on their Facebook page which was accompanied by a picture with text that read: 'As a brand, we stand in solidarity against systemic racism'

The cafe said it was an 'isolated incident' and racist behaviour has never been welcomed at any of their establishments.

'We in no way tolerate racism of any form and will do all in our power to ensure we learn from this incident and to never allow it to exist amongst our brand's culture.'

They said the cafe will re-educate their staff on anti-discrimination and will revise their policies to ensure the discrimination would never happen again.

'The individual who was involved will experience appropriate consequences and their fate at the company is yet to be determined,' the company said.

'We want to apologise for what occurred yesterday; To Ayo especially, to those who have experienced racism and to anyone who has messaged us with concerns.'

The cafe said they 'hold ourselves accountable' and are determined to create an inclusive and safe environment for all of their staff and customers.

'The individual who was involved will experience appropriate consequences and their fate at the company is yet to be determined,' the company said

Mr Lana posted on his Instagram after the company's apology and thanked everyone who helped him share his story

Mr Lana thanked everyone who helped him share his story after the company apologised.

'I wish I could be angry but for some reason, I can't find that switch to be able to turn it on,' he said.

He said he was 'shocked' to see how far his video had gone.

'I'm moving on and I'm happy to put a pin in it, to move on and to not waste any more time on this situation,' he said.

'I am surprisingly not sad or angry, but more so pleased and proud of the response shown, that gives me faith in the world in these current times.'



Daily Mail Australia has made several attempts to contact XS Espresso Cafe in Bondi by phone and email but have yet to receive a response.
By IANS

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has capped the COVID-19 testing charge at Rs 2,200 for private labs, against the fee of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,500 which were earlier charged.

The decision was taken by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a meeting held late on Friday night to review measures taken to fight COVID-19 in the state.

In the two-hour meeting, Gehlot further announced that the maximum charge per bed shall be Rs 2,000 while the bed with ventilator will cost Rs 4,000.



ALSO READ | Suspected Covid-19 patient dies after kin unplug ventilator to turn on cooler in Rajasthan

Gehlot also made it clear that the government will not tolerate any exploitation through overcharging patients.

The Chief Minister further ordered the health department officials to ensure that private hospitals do not charge exorbitantly.

"You should initiate action against those flouting norms under various sections of law including that of Epidemic Ordinance in case of violation," Gehlot ordered the officials present in the meeting.

"Although the lockdown has ended, the corona crisis continues to loom large over us. Hence, everyone should remain careful and wear masks while going out and maintain social distancing," the CM said.
Sophie Ellis glassed her boyfriend in a pub (Picture: SWNS)

A mum who glassed her boyfriend in a pub and severed his earlobe has been spared jail.

Sophie Ellis, 29, twice smashed a pint glass over the head of Jamie Marshman while he stood at a crowded bar in the Saracen's Head pub in The Tything, Worcester, on October 26 last year.

The mother-of-one, from Warndon Villages, Worcester, was given a suspended sentence at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday.

CCTV footage of the attack was played in court which showed men trying to drag Ellis away from Mr Marshman after he was hit with the glass.

She admitted Section 20 wounding (without intent) but denied the more serious charge of Section 18 wounding (with intent) following the attack.

Mr Marshman is in a relationship with the defendant and had not supported the prosecution.

Read more: School apologises after children are told to plan own funeral as homework

General view of Worcester Crown Court (Picture: Getty)

Antonie Muller, prosecuting, said the couple had a disagreement in the pub at around 7pm effectively about him not paying her enough attention.

Later at the bar, she stuck him twice with the victim's own half-full pint glass.

Mr Muller said: "She lost her self-control. She slapped him in the face and tried to headbutt him.

"The glass broke on his head. He was left with various cuts to his head including a partially severed earlobe.

The victim received four stitches in his ear at the hospital while Ellis made full admissions in the police interview.

"She said she was ashamed of what she had done," Mr Muller told the court.

Ellis had no previous convictions before the assault and had shown remorse, the court was told.

Read more: Primary school closes after three staff members test positive for COVID-19

Jason Patel, defending, asked his client to be given full credit for her early guilty plea.

The judge read out part of a letter from Mr Marshman, who said police and the Crown Prosecution Service had not taken the time or effort to see or consider a bigger picture.

He branded their actions despicable before going on to say he intends to make a complaint.

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However, the judge also read out Mr Marshman's original witness statement in which the victim said: There was no reason for Sophie to glass me.

I'm in full support of police action for this relationship is now over. I do not wish for Sophie to contact me any longer. I always thought she had a psycho streak."

Read more: Mum catches paedophile after he sends vile message to her 13-year-old daughter

Mr Marshman, who said he had drunk 13 pints of beer, initially described what happened to him as completely uncalled for.

Judge Burbidge sentenced Ellis to 16 months in prison suspended for one year and ordered her to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

The judge also ordered her to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been under pressure over the two-metre rule (Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street/Crown Copyright/PA)

The two-metre social distancing rule in England looks likely to be relaxed after Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the Prime Ministers review will make an enormous difference to businesses.

Boris Johnson is expected to make an announcement next week on pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels  with their reopening in England an ambition from July 4 to start reviving the economy.

He is under pressure from leaders of the hospitality sector and his own MPs to lessen the two-metre rule, which aims to slow the spread of Covid-19 but places major constraints on businesses.

The result of the PMs review is expected this week but the Chancellor strongly signalled it will allow the Government to ease the measure in England.

The outcome of that review will be announced this week. Obviously thats something that will make an enormous difference I think to many businesses who are keen to see a change, he told reporters during a visit to shops in North Yorkshire.

Obviously we need to go through that review but Im very understanding of the calls for action on that, particularly for our hospitality industry, for our pubs, for our restaurants, (they) are keen to see if theres some change that can be made there.

With the coroanvirus alert level having been reduced from four to three on Friday, plans to allow the hospitality sector to reopen were beginning to emerge.

Im still saying two metres is safer than one but in my opinion it is now a reasonable political decision to relax these rules. Prof Calum Semple

Guidance drawn up by the sector and ministers is understood to encourage pub goers to order drinks using phone apps instead of going to the bar, while current legislation was said to include the powers for patrols.

The Times said it had been leaked the guidance and reported:

 Limits on the number of punters allowed into pubs, where tables would be spaced out and glasses would be collected from tables, while bar tops and door handles would be cleaned at least hourly.

 Restaurants would be required to place strict limits on the number of diners and would be encouraged to stagger reservations.

 Hotel room service would see staff leave trays outside guests doors and if they fall ill the customer would be asked to self-isolate in their room, which would be cordoned off for 72 hours after their recovery.

 Gyms and swimming pools would require receptionists use clickers to count numbers going in and booking systems would be put in place to prevent overcrowding.

The UK Hospitality trade body said draft guidance allowed a degree of flexibility over menus being discarded after every use and for cutlery only to be brought out with food.

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Chief executive Kate Nicholls told BBC Radio 4s Today programme the idea was for individual businesses to draw up their own plans to keep their team and guests safe.

As the guidelines cover from a burger van in a park right the way through to the Fat Duck in Bray you need to have something that takes account of everything in between rather than a one-size-fits-all, she added.

It was stressed that decisions on further easing were yet to be made, but the PM has said the lowering of the alert level from four to three allows ministers to start making some progress on social-distancing measures.

And he promised new guidance for the hospitality sector and businesses very shortly.

One expert informing the Governments response to the pandemic as part of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) said he had revised his opposition to reducing the two-metre rule now transmission is low.

The University of Liverpools Professor Calum Semple told Today: Im still saying two metres is safer than one but in my opinion it is now a reasonable political decision to relax these rules.

He said he could envisage going down to one metre with various caveats and other precautions in order to reopen society.

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In other developments:

 Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed hugely positive progress in the coronavirus fight after Northern Ireland announced there had been no new confirmed cases for the first time since the lockdown was imposed.

 The Government is expected to make an announcement on the next phase of its coronavirus border controls next week after imposing a 14-day quarantine on all new entrants.

 Spain said it would freely welcome Britons without the need to quarantine there from Sunday, in a call for the UK to reciprocate and form a so-called air bridge.

The downgrading of the alert level by the UKs chief medical officers, including Professor Chris Whitty, means transmission of coronavirus is no longer considered to be high or rising exponentially.

Localised outbreaks of Covid-19 are still likely to occur, the advisers warned, and the virus remains in general circulation.

Government scientific advisers have said they would be comfortable with a reduced distance if risk-mitigating measures were taken, such as people sitting side by side and wearing face coverings.

Plans to further ease the lockdown emerged as the Department of Health and Social Care announced an extra 128 deaths of people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

The total number of deaths involving coronavirus in the UK is thought to have passed 53,000.

In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford was planning to end its five-mile restriction on travel next month and allow holidaymakers to return a week later.

And in Northern Ireland, most pupils are set for a return to education in the autumn after ministers agreed to cut the social distancing measure to one metre.
Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian sent to a US jail for his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been arrested after being freed from prison in order to face extradition to India.

Rana, 59, a close associate of David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators behind the attacks on Indias financial hub that killed 166 people, was serving a 14-year sentence in a Los Angeles federal prison when he was granted early release last week because of poor health and being infected by the coronavirus.

However, he never left the prison as he was arrested to face extradition to India, US prosecutors told The Associated Press. Indian officials said they learnt Rana was rearrested on June 10.

Officials familiar with developments said a US attorney informed the district judge in Los Angeles about Indias standing request for the extradition of Rana, wanted in India for terror charges. A senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer, who didnt want to be named, said: Its a positive development after over 11 years. This means his extradition hearings will now take place.

Former home secretary GK Pillai, who played a key role in the investigation of the Mumbai attacks and coordinated with the US, said there was a pending Indian extradition request for Rana.

There is a standing Indian extradition request for Rana and that will still be applicable, he told HT. A person in the government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US authorities acted as there was a request for Ranas preliminary arrest. The person noted that arrest signalled the start of the extradition process.

An NIA team that visited the US in late 2018 was informed by the department of justice it was convinced by Indias charges against Rana. Earlier, the double jeopardy clause in US law, according to which a person cant be punished twice for the same crime, was hindering efforts to extradite Rana, but NIA made a fresh request in 2016 .

India levelled the charges of forgery and criminal breach of trust as Rana used his firm for making documents for Headley during his surveillance missions in Mumbai.

These charges were accepted by US prosecutors and the FBI, and they are inclined to honour Indias request. FBI arrested Rana on October 18, 2009 for providing material support for the conspiracy to commit terrorist acts outside the US.

The former Pakistan Army physician-turned-businessman, was convicted in 2011 for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba for the Mumbai attacks, and for backing a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that printed caricatures of Prophet Mohammed in 2005. Headley was convicted during the same trial.

At the time, US reports had said American prosecutors had failed to prove Rana supported the Mumbai attacks and he was cleared of this more serious charge by the jury at the trial. His legal team claimed he had been misled by Headley, who was a friend from school. Rana had been accused of allowing Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law firm in Mumbai to act as a front for his surveillance activities in Mumbai ahead of the attacks that also injured hundreds. He was accused of allowing Headley to pose as a representative of the same firm when he went to Denmark for surveillance ahead of the planned attack.

At the time, US prosecutors had said Rana knew Headley had trained with the LeT and that Headley had shared information of his surveillance activities in Mumbai and of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where LeT members later killed dozens of people.

Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison but cant be extradited to India under a plea deal.

Pakistani authorities had arrested seven men, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, for the Mumbai attacks though their trial in an anti-terrorism court never made headway.

Lakhvi was released on bail and his current whereabouts arent known.

In Mumbai, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said,Ranas role had come to the fore during Headleys testimony after the latter admitted that he was working as an agent for him. We are discussing the developments at top level and the government will take a decision about Ranas extradition. We will speak to the Centre in this respect, Deshmukh said.
The Nigerian government said it has set up plans to establish 142 agro-processing centres across the country, with one centre in each senatorial district of the six geo-political zones.

The government said the development will help revolutionise the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, alongside the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Sab Nanono, said this in Abuja on June 3 while briefing journalists on the implementation of the program titled The Green Imperative program, a Nigeria-Brazil bilateral agriculture development program.

An Agro-Processing Center is a manufacturing place where all the facilities required for pre-treatment, processing, drying, packaging, storage and marketing (optional) are available in a successive manner for the raw materials and intermediate products derived from the agricultural sector.

The Green Imperative Program, which was launched by the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, in January 2019, emanated from the More Food International Program of the Brazilian government, with the aim to strengthen the productive capacity of smallholder farmers through provision of tractors.

As reported by the Minister of Information, the programme, worth US$1.2 billion, is expected to be implemented over a period of 5-10 years with funding coming in from different international groups.

The programme, worth US$1.2 billion, is to be implemented over a period of 5- 10 years with funding from the Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES) and Deutsche Bank with insurance provided by Brazillian Guarantees and Fund Managements Agency (ABGF) and the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Export Credit (ICIEC) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and coordinated by Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), the minister said.

The agricultural sector plays a strategic role in the process of economic development of a country, serving as the main source of food, income and employment to their rural populations. But the Nigerian government prefers crude oil to be the nations major economic driving force since its discovery in the early 1950s.

Recently, the government lost so much in the oil sector due to the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the whole world, creating more concerns for economic diversification.

Farmers, had, in the past, suffered post-harvest loss due to inadequate agro-processing centres in the country, impacting negative effects on the farm produce.

Early this year, the African Development Bank (AFDB), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) promised to spend $300,000 million dollars to develop Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZS) across the country.

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This is aimed at boosting food security, reducing food imports and enabling food producers, processors and distributors to operate within one vicinity.

With the federal governments plan of establishing agro-processing centres across the country, Nigeria will be able to address the issues of post-harvest loss that has been a major challenge to many farmers. The project can add up with SAPZs program from AFDB to revolutionise the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

Apart from the establishment of agro-processing centres, the information minister said The Green Imperative program will help to create more jobs alongside a sustainable supply chain of raw materials.

The program will create about 5 million jobs and inject over US$10 billion into the economy within 10 years and impact over 35 million persons nutritionally and economically, the minister said.

It will create a sustainable supply chain of agricultural raw materials for our large manufacturing companies to source locally, thereby saving billions of US dollars in food-related forex, and train about 100,000 extension workers within three years, he added.
At least 76 Indian soldiers remain injured after the clash between the two superpowers in Galwan Valley - Tauseef Mustafa/AFP

Ten Indian soldiers captured by China in Ladakh on Monday evening have been released, as evidence grows Beijing meticulously planned the ambush.

The Indian Army has said no further troops are being held prisoner but 76 Indian soldiers remain injured, after Chinese troops attacked Indian forces with brutal weapons including nail-embedded rods.

Indian intelligence agencies flagged the unusual movement of Chinese soldiers to bases on the Tibetan side of the Line of Actual Control, which separates the two superpowers, as early as February.

Yet, Indian troops were slow to reinforce after the Himalayan spring snow due to the coronavirus and members of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the LAC and annexed 60 square kilometres of Indian territory at four locations - Pangong Tso Lake, Galwan River and Valley, Hot Springs and Demchok.

Former leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, tweeted today that it was crystal clear that the government was fast asleep.

The Indian Army has officially declared that 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes but on condition of anonymity, sources told the Telegraph this figure was 23, as three bodies were unidentifiable due to the injuries inflicted by the Chinese weapons.

The Deccan Chronicle quoted intelligence sources today, saying the actual number of fatalities on the Indian side is as high as 40, as bodies fell in the Galwan River or are buried in deep snow on the mountainside.

Indian Army sources shared a photo of a nail-studded rod used by Chinese troops

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Beijing was not privy to any Indian prisoners: "As far as I know China has not detained any Indian personnel," said Zhao Lijian.

Official Indian sources say China suffered 35 casualties during the clash, quoting U.S intelligence material, a development Beijing said it also wasnt aware of.

In the days leading up to Mondays clash, satellite footage obtained by Earth-imaging company Planet Labs shows China brought in machinery, cut grooves into the mountainside and may have damned the Galwan River to change its flow.

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A senior Indian government official told the Hindu newspaper that the PLA meticulously planned the ambush on an Indian patrol, which had set off to ascertain whether Chinese troops had withdrawn from the Galwan Valley, as per an agreement between senior army officers from the two nations.

The source said China was able to release freezing water at a high speed having blocked small rivulets, which made the Indian soldiers lose their balance.

The armed Chinese troops then charged and many Indian soldiers were either beaten to death or fell into the Galwan River below.

It was pre-planned by China and Indian forces will give a befitting reply, cautioned Indian Union Minister, Shripad Naik.

Bilateral talks are continuing today and both sides have expressed a desire to reach a peaceful resolution but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under increasing pressure from some MPs to respond with force.
Prasanta majumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Manipurs titular king Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba felt he finally got power that will help him to serve his people.

I have been the titular king of Manipur for 25 years but I had no power. Now that I have become an MP by Gods grace, I feel it will help me greatly to serve my people. I always wanted to do something for them, Sanajaoba told The New Indian Express in an interview on Saturday.

On a day that saw a high voltage drama surrounding Rajya Sabha election to the states lone seat on Friday, Sanajaoba (48) of the BJP edged past T Mangi Babu of the Congress by four votes.

The Kingdom of Manipur or Kangleipak Kingdom was a princely state that was merged with the Indian Union in 1949. From 1949 to 1971, the royal family received a privy purse of Rs 3 lakh per annum. Subsequently, the system was abolished.

All these 25 years that I have been the titular king, I couldnt do any remarkable work for my people. So, when the BJP had approached me with a ticket for the Rajya Sabha election, I couldnt reject the offer, Sanajaoba said.

He said as it was a new field that he was in, it would be early for him to assert what exactly he was going to do for the people.

The law dropout had contested the election braving protests from civil society organisations which felt the king was stooping very low for an ordinary position. They wanted him to abdicate the throne. He on Saturday defended his decision.

Kingship is customary and I inherited it. People were divided on the issue of my contesting the election. Some wanted me to represent Manipur in the Rajya Sabha and go there with the Maharaja title. They wanted that I retain kingship. Some were opposed to my candidature. I feel very proud of my history and forefathers. We had a long history. Ours was one of the oldest kingdoms of South East Asia. I wont abdicate the throne, the titular king said.

His 20-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter are students. The son studies in Delhi. King Bodhchandra Singh, the last Manipuri king, was his grandfather.

We follow dual faith. We have our indigenous religion Sanamahism. It is a very old religion that was also practised by my forefathers. We also follow Hinduism. Most people in Manipur follow these two religions, Sanajaoba said.

Asked how he would like to be addressed by the fellow MPs, he said, It is up to them but I will be happy if I am addressed as Maharaja. Maharaja is my birthright.
WATERLOO REGION  Could a permanent shift to working from home dull Waterloo Regions innovative edge?

Its a question tech observers and experts are beginning to ponder as major companies such as Shopify and Twitter have announced they will allow employees to work from home on a permanent basis even after the pandemic eases.

Innovation itself is a very social process, and it relies on this interaction, said Tara Vinodrai, an associate professor at the University of Toronto who studies the creative and cultural economy of cities. Not the curated or intentional, but the unexpected and unintentional.

Vinodrai spent more than 11 years as a researcher at the University of Waterloo, much of it spent studying the local tech sector, before joining U of T last year.

Seemingly innocuous encounters throughout the day  chats near the coffee machine, corporate lunches, and video games or ping-pong matches  are critical to help spur new ways of thinking about problems, listening to different opinions and perspectives, or just reliving stress, she said.

These encounters happened every day in offices and workspaces across Waterloo Region leading up to the COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March, but are now in doubt post-pandemic. Tech companies were among the first to give employees the option of working from home before the official shutdown, and they may be among the last to allow workers back into their offices.

Shopify, which has two offices and hundreds of employees in Waterloo, has already announced offices will remain closed until at least 2021 and the company will adopt a digital by default approach to work.

Google has also said most of its employees will work from home for the rest of the year, but CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview last month he doesnt expect the company to move entirely remote.

Humans are social creatures, and Vinodrai is doubtful those relationships can be fully replicated in a virtual setting.

These are small and not seemingly important relationships, but they matter, she said. A region like Kitchener-Waterloo that has been viewed favourably as a hot spot of innovation over a long period of time could be undermined if this is not thought through carefully.

Her concerns are supported by early research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology throughout the pandemic.

According to an article written by MIT professor Carlo Ratti, an analysis of communication networks for students, professors, and administrators found that interactions are narrowing, with people exchanging more messages within a smaller pool of contacts. In short, existing strong ties are deepening, while weak ties falter.

Our connections with immediate friends or colleagues may survive the shift to working from home, but connections with others outside of that immediate bubble  baristas, transit passengers, or even other coworkers  could weaken.

Perhaps in the future, it will be possible to mimic physical serendipity and form weak ties online. But, for now, online platforms appear ill-equipped to do so, Ratti wrote.

Shopify declined an interview request for this story, but a day after the companys May 21 digital by default announcement, local tech experts were discussing the possible long-term implications online.

Dan Herman  the former head of strategy at Innovation Canada and co-founder of Waterloos economic policy think tank Digital Entrepreneurship and Economic Performance Centre  tweeted he was curious to see if digital meetings or periodic in-person gatherings can adequately build the social cohesion and collisions that many think are so important for long-run innovation.

That same day, Steven Woods, senior engineering director at Google in Waterloo Region, also said on Twitter there needs to be an awareness that isolation has psychological costs, that teams are complicated to build and maintain, and that home situations vary widely.

Numbers released by Statistics Canada earlier this month also showed those who are most capable of working from home are already among the wealthiest and best-educated in the country.

Others in this region arent convinced the move away from the traditional office setting will spell the end of this regions innovative streak.

Ian McDonald, chief customer officer at Communitech, predicts many companies will adopt a hybrid approach where workers could be encouraged to work from home but that some office space will still be available for occasional meetings or gatherings.

McDonald said technology can help fill many of the social gaps missing from in-person meetings and may actually enhance or improve the creative process  digital perks like instant polls that eliminate the need to post sticky notes to whiteboards during brainstorming sessions, or augmented reality that can make it feel like youre all in the same room.

I think people are surprised by how much is capable today, he said. Theres lots of great collaborative technology.

He admits much of it will cease being impromptu or unplanned, but we believe we can engineer it intentionally.

At Velocity, the University of Waterloo technology incubator for early-stage startups, executive director Adrien Cote also predicts companies will adopt a hybrid model and that technology will aid in networking people not only across the region, but around the world as well.

The shift to virtual has ramped up opportunities to accelerate the creative process, he said. You wont stop people from being innovative. Founders and their employees will find ways to get things done.

The incubator shut down in March due to the provincial order to close all non-essential businesses, but reopened soon after to help 11 of its current 68 companies work on products or services related to COVID-19.

Many of this regions tech companies are a result of students spending weeks, months or even years together building projects and developing ideas while studying at university or college. The shift to online learning this summer and fall doesnt concern Cote.

Campus will reopen. These students will find each other, and were working to make that happen, he said.

In April, Velocity received about 150 applications for its next intake of companies. About 60 were interviewed, and 10 were accepted. Those numbers have helped buoy Cotes confidence.

The entrepreneurial energy has not gone away, he said.
Ian Holm, a virtuosic British actor celebrated for his performances in plays by Shakespeare and Harold Pinter and in movies from Sidney Lumets Night Falls on Manhattan to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, died Friday in London. He was 88.

Isabella Riggs, an employee of his agents, Markham, Froggatt & Irwin, confirmed that he died in a hospital. She said the cause was an illness related to Parkinsons disease.

A character actor who eventually played leading roles, Holm had a kind of magical malleability, with a range that went from the sweet-tempered to the psychotic. In the theater, he ran the gamut of Shakespeare, from the high-spirited Prince Hal to the tormented King Lear, and he left his imprint on two roles in Pinters The Homecoming: the sleek, entrepreneurial Lenny and his autocratic father, Max.

In films, Holm incarnated characters of diverse geographic origin and nature, including a tough New York cop in Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), a big-city negligence lawyer in Atom Egoyans The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and a bohemian genius manque in the title role in Stanley Tuccis Joe Goulds Secret (2000).

Exploring the world of fantasy, he was a malfunctioning robot in Ridley Scotts Alien (1979) and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Return of the King (2003), from Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Jacksons subsequent Hobbit films.

Explaining his ability to immerse himself in such disparate characters, Holm said simply, Im a chameleon. The transformation was emotional as well as physical, as he discovered new depths of compassion even in the most unlikely characters.

In 1993, overcoming a serious case of stage fright, he returned to the theater after an absence of more than 15 years to star in Pinters Moonlight. Four years later, he set himself the monumental challenge of King Lear at the National Theater in London. It brought him the Laurence Olivier Award as best actor. Playing Lear, he said, was like climbing Everest with no oxygen.

He is survived by Sophie de Stempel, his fourth wife; five children; and eight grandchildren, Riggs, of his agency, said.

Holm was knighted in 1998.

Mel Gussow is a New York Times writer.
Due to the coronavirus crisis, North American movie theaters are closed. But long before the theaters halted screenings, Quebecs major distributors announced they would not make available to filmgoers in the province director Roman Polanskis Jaccuse (An Officer and a Spy), whether out of fear of reprisals from the #MeToo campaign or because they accepted the latters anti-democratic arguments.

Jaccuse

It should be noted that despite the efforts of the Macron government and #MeToos feminists to intimidate audiences and have Jaccuse banned, the film was extremely popular in Franceby the end of February 1.5 million people had viewed it in that country.

Polanskis film is a truthful and poignant reconstruction of the Dreyfus Affair that shook French society between 1894 and 1906. The case concerned a French army captain of Jewish origin, Alfred Dreyfus, who was falsely accused of espionage and imprisoned.

The film recounts the principled struggle waged over several years by Colonel Georges Picquart, the famous novelist Emile Zola and the political left to obtain Dreyfus exoneration and freedom.

Those fighting for truth confronted right-wing, nationalist, anti-Semitic and anti-socialist forcesthe French army, the church, the bourgeois political parties and Charles Maurras fascistic LAction francaise, which would later become a pillar of the pro-Nazi Vichy government of Philippe Petain. (Maurras LAction francaise was also the inspiration for the founding in 1917 of the Quebec journal of the same name, later renamed LAction nationale, which was edited in the 1920s by the Quebec ultra-nationalist and virulent anti-Semite Lionel Groulx.)

Jean Dujardin and Louis Garrel in Jaccuse

As the WSWS argued in its November 2019 review of the film, The history of the Dreyfus Affair is of enormous importance today. After French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Petain as a great soldier last year while launching police repression of social protests, and as forces in the French Ministry of Culture try to re-publish the works of Maurras, it is clearer than ever that it does not solely belong to the past. Polanskis film on this victory of truth against nationalism and militarism is a significant contribution that deserves a wide audience.

An article in the Quebec daily newspaper Le Devoir, published at the end of February under the headline Director Roman Polanski, persona non grata in Quebec, shows the kind of anti-democratic conceptions that have penetrated the world of cinema and the arts.

Encouraged by large sections of the ruling elite, including the Democratic Party in the United States and Justin Trudeaus Canadian federal government, the #MeToo campaign has served to undermine fundamental democratic principles, such as the presumption of innocence and due process. Under conditions of a growing international working class movement against capitalism, #MeToo is also being used by sections of the ruling establishment to divert attention from the vast social inequality. Like other forms of identity politics, the sexual witch-hunting involves as well the drive by sections of the upper middle class to claim a greater share of wealth and privilege (see also: One year of the #MeToo movement).

Quebec has had its own #MeToo wave in which prominent personalities in the artistic world have had their careers and reputations instantly destroyed by uncorroborated allegations. In 2016, two individuals alleged that film director Claude Jutra (Mon oncle Antoine, 1971), a leading figure in Quebec cinema who died in 1986, had sexually abused them. In blatant violation of the presumption of innocence (all the more necessary since the main accused was no longer able to defend himself), the Quebec film awards gala that bore his name was immediately renamed, as were several streets and parks.

Jean Dujardin in Jaccuse

In regard to Jaccuse, Le Devoir approvingly quoted Louis Dussault, president of K-Films America, who asserted: Its a great film, which should be shown in schools  but the problem is the author. He added: Were not just in business, were also in culture  The #MeToo movement is part of that. We saw the film, we weighed the pros and cons, and we thought theres no social acceptability for it.

Roger Frappier, producer of many films including The Decline of the American Empire and Seducing Doctor Lewis, asserted that you cant separate the man from the artistic work. With #MeToo, he continued, with the on-going awareness of sexual harassment or assault, one has to take into account the broader context surrounding a film.

Antoine Zeind, director of A-Z Films, added: Everybody knows that he [Polanski] has been guilty since the 1970s. But he won Oscars, he got a Cesar nomination and he had access to a huge budget to shoot Jaccuse. In theory, if youre guilty [of a crime], you dont make a movie, you get a sentence, youre in jail. You pay your debt.

It is possible these individuals do not really believe what they are saying and simply prefer to follow the wave. But their refusal to distribute Polanskis film has profoundly reactionary (and cowardly) implications. What they are essentially doing is echoing the slanderous slogan of #MeToo demonstrators, Polanski rapist, cinemas guilty, viewers complicit, which can be used to censor anything.

Unsurprisingly, Le Devoir repeats in its article the false allegation that Polanski fled from justice in the US. What really happened is that Polanski had reached an agreement with the prosecution in Los Angeles, with the consent of the victim Samantha Geimer (Gailey at the time), and pled guilty to a single count of unlawful sex with a minor. As a result, he was evaluated by psychiatrists who found him not to be a Mentally Disordered Sex Offender and recommended a sentence of probation. Polanski only left the US in response to the actions of the presiding judge, who threatened to repudiate the plea agreement with the clear intent of putting him behind bars for many years.

Here is what Polanski recently said about this: It was my lawyer who told me that, under pressure from the media, the judge had gone back on his word and decided to detain me under what the Americans call indeterminate sentence. And thats when I returned to France. Later, the prosecutor himself said that, under such circumstances, he understood that I had left  What I am saying here are facts, but nobody ever says that!

Roman Polanski during filming of Jaccuse

Geimer, who has always shown much more humanity than the servile and vindictive media and the feminists of #MeToo, acknowledged that the deal made with Polanski at the time was satisfactory and that she understood he had to flee under the circumstances.

As in France, the viewing public in Quebec is largely in favour of the film being shown. The thirty or so comments under the article in Le Devoir all opposed the reactionary argument that one could not separate the work from the author and demanded that Quebec distributors reconsider their decision. Many compared the censorship exercised by the #MeToo campaign and Quebec distributors to the censorship exercised by the Catholic Church during the era of Quebec history from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s known as the Great Darkness, when the Catholic clergy exercised stifling control over culture, education and social mores and the ultraconservative government of Maurice Duplessis promoted reaction and used state violence to suppress an increasingly militant working class.

It is worth citing a few of those comments. Celine Babin writes: I think that refusing to distribute the film Jaccuse in Quebec constitutes a form of censorship. Should we avoid looking at Gauguins paintings? Should we stop reading Baudelaire and Louis-Ferdinand Celine? Roman Polanski is an excellent filmmaker. His film The Pianist is a masterpiece. This kind of media condemnation is extremely dangerous. Let the public decide and dont condemn artists before they are judged. Justice exists to prevent this kind of abuse. Gilles Delisle adds: Its a great loss for all moviegoers, as well as for all those who have followed this historical episode, since the time of Zolas writings on the subject.

There were also a few dissenting voices in the film community. Armand Lafond, who runs the film distribution company Axia Films, and Mario Fortin, owner of several movie theaters in Montreal specializing in repertory films, have said that Jaccuse should be made available to the general public.

As the WSWS pointed out when Jaccuse was released in France: This is a film that should and must be seen by people around the world, especially amid a new resurgence of neo-fascistic parties and officials across Europe and internationallyfrom the fascistic rantings of the American president to the attempts in the German media to revise the history of Nazism in order to revive German militarism.

We encourage our readers who live in a country where Jaccuse is being censored to get it on DVD.

The author also recommends:

Roman Polanskis masterpiece on the Dreyfus Affair

[November 19, 2019]

#MeToo launches fascistic attack on Polanskis film Jaccuse

[November 23, 2019]

One year of the #MeToo movement

[October 19, 2018]
Strolling together in this exclusive picture, theyre the couple whose alleged affair was part of probe into death of a private detective. Now, as a new TV series re-examines the case, a Mail dossier lays bare the twists and turns.

On March 10, 1987, estate agent Margaret Harrison had a very busy social diary. First, she attended a lunch party near her office in the company of a burly private investigator called Jonathan Rees. Then, in the early evening, she shared a tete-a-tete bottle of plonk at a local wine bar with another private eye called Daniel Morgan.

This romantic rivalry was more than a little awkward. Rees and Morgan were business partners at a local firm called Southern Investigations. Both were married with children to women other than the petite and good looking  and also married  Mrs Harrison.

Their alleged menage-a-trois would not survive the night.

At 9.40pm, Daniel Morgan would be found dead in a pool of blood in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, South London. He had the fatal weapon  an axe  still embedded in his skull. A roll of banknotes  1,000  remained undisturbed in one of his pockets.

Jonathan Rees soon emerged as a prime suspect.

This put Mrs Harrison in a rather tricky spot. Her extra-marital activities were suddenly of interest to a police murder investigation. But it was an investigation which would prove to be puzzlingly ineffectual.

In fact, after 33 years and five separate criminal inquiries  at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of 30 million  no one has been convicted of playing any kind of role in Morgans grisly assassination.

Together: Jonathan Rees and Morgans former lover Margaret Harrison in 2014

His killing has been described as the most investigated unsolved murder in the history of the Metropolitan Police. It is also perhaps the most shaming.

Six years ago, we published an investigation into allegations of corruption in the Mets detective force in South-East London.

Our series of pieces linked  through the involvement of overlapping personnel and their underworld contacts  the failed first investigation into the Morgan death with the similarly fruitless first investigation into the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in nearby Eltham, six years later.

Others have since followed a similar trail. This week saw the broadcast of the first episode of a new Channel 4 drama-documentary examining the Morgan case, called Murder In The Car Park.

Meanwhile, the report of an independent panel into the police handling of the Morgan case over the years is nearing publication.

The Mail understands that a significant number of former police officers are set to receive letters from the panel warning them that they will be criticised in its report.

Morgans family, and, in particular, his brother Alastair, have campaigned for justice for more than three decades. They believe Daniel was killed because he was about to expose corrupt CID officers.

The victim: Daniel Morgan, a private detective, was found dead in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in his head

Other motives have been aired. Morgan had made a number of enemies in his job, which sometimes involved bailiff work.

But there was another angle.

As we shall see, both Channel 4 and previously unpublished material from our own police corruption investigation in 2014 uncovered a startling twist.

Today  aided by a transcript of the inquest into the private eyes death, police statements and documents from previous inquiries and an exclusive photograph of two of the main characters  we can tell the story of the suburban love triangle which was a backdrop to one of Britains most notorious murder investigations. And how one of those relationships prospers to this day.

At Daniel Morgans inquest in April 1988, the coroner heard a series of sensational allegations; of plots to kill, faked robberies and the dubious relationship between the local CID and Jonathan Rees.

Morgan and Rees had founded Southern Investigations private detective agency in 1984. Welshman Morgan was the son of a colonial army officer, while Rees was a blunt Yorkshireman. Both had strong personalities and, by the time of the murder, the partnership was under strain.

One alleged bone of contention  which it must be stressed has been strenuously denied by Rees  was Margaret Harrison.

She was the manager of Furmstons estate agency across the road from Southern Investigations, on Thornton Heath High Street in South London.

In 1985, a local law firm threw a Christmas party to which important clients were invited. Among them were Margaret Harrison and Daniel Morgan.

Harrison was then the mother of two teenagers, and had been married for 18 years to a chauffeur working for British Gas. At the party she was introduced to Morgan, then 36.

Exactly what happened next, and when, remains a matter of dispute. What is clear  and seems to have been common knowledge in their circle  was that Morgan and Mrs Harrison began an affair.

Morgan was quite indiscreet. His brother Alastair recalled to the Mail how uncomfortable he felt when, in a pub exactly one month before Daniel was killed, his brother pointed to Mrs Harrison and said: Thats my girlfriend.

A police detective sergeant called Alec Leighton would also give a witness statement to one of the murder investigations, in which he said two weeks before the murder he had attended a lunch at a restaurant, with Morgan and Harrison both also present.

I recall having a conversation with Daniel Morgan, said the policeman. He indicated Margaret Harrison and said he was having an affair with her.

In short, it was not a closely-guarded secret on Morgans part. Margaret Harrison was a good deal more circumspect, not least when she gave evidence at Morgans inquest.

In fact, her answers were so vague and evasive that the famously flamboyant coroner Sir Montague Levine twice stopped cross-examinations to ask her if she had been got at . . . with regard to what you should say at court. Mrs Harrison denied she had been.

Tension: Daniel Morgan's fellow private eye Jonathan Rees (pictured). Rees emerged as a prime suspect after Morgan was killed

She told the inquest that having met Morgan, they had enjoyed no more than a fairly friendly relationship for the first couple of weeks and then it fizzled out.

The phrase fairly friendly was what she preferred to use as an euphemism for sex.

In other words, by her own account, she and Morgan were lovers for only a short time after the 1985 Christmas party. She said they only once met in the evening, and never covertly. At lunches, they would almost always be in the company of other people.

This was not well received. Mrs Harrison suffered what the coroner suggested were incredible memory lapses. She also appeared to play down the frequency of her contact with Morgan.

Asked why Morgan would describe her as his girlfriend in February 1987  two years after they met  Mrs Harrison replied: I cannot answer for Daniel Morgan.

So what of her contact with Jonathan Rees? He was married to a divorcee called Sharon, with whom he had two children. Sharon Rees had two brothers called Garry and Glenn Vian, described in a later Crown Prosecution Service document which we have seen, as part of the criminal fraternity.

The Vian brothers were employed by Rees at Southern Investigations as security guards, alongside moonlighting officers from Catford CID, including one Detective Sergeant Sid Fillery.

In her witness statement read to the inquest, Margaret Harrison had claimed: [Rees] has rung me at home about three or four times. We have never had a sexual relationship but, when I have been in his company, I got the impression he was chatting me up. Giving evidence at the inquest, Mrs Harrison maintained that position. She admitted that Daniel Morgan told her that after their meeting at a wine bar early on the night he was killed, he was going to rendezvous with Rees (at the Golden Lion pub outside which he would be later found dead).

Crime scene: The car park outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, South London, where Morgan died in a pool of blood

Your relationship with Jon Rees was perhaps a little more complex than it was with Danny? asked the coroner.

No, said Mrs Harrison.

Did you go out with Jon Rees?

He used to be in some of the groups whenever we went round to the pub and luncheon clubs, she said .

Are you telling me you never went out with Jon Rees on his own? pursued the coroner.

Not at that time, no, said Mrs Harrison.

I did not say at that time, at any time, persisted the coroner.

No, not on my own, insisted the witness.

In her witness statement, Mrs Harrison had claimed she was frightened of my family and his [Reess] family finding out.

Finding out what? she was asked at the inquest. But she could not recall. Nor could she remember where or when she had last met Rees prior to the inquest.

The coroner asked her one last question: Do you know of any antipathy that existed between both of them [Rees and Morgan] because of your having a relationship with both of them?

Daniel Morgan was found with an axe still embedded in his skull. A roll of banknotes  1,000  remained undisturbed in one of his pockets

No, replied Mrs Harrison.

Rees denied murdering Morgan. And, like Mrs Harrison, there was much he could not recall.

Cross-examined by the Morgan familys barrister, Rees said: There wasnt any relationship with Margaret Harrison. I would not like to discuss that further.

But he was then asked to explain the 64 calls made from his car phone to Mrs Harrisons office over a period of months.

Rees claimed that Daniel Morgan sometimes used his car phone, and that he couldnt recall having made phone calls to Mrs Harrisons home, as she admitted he had.

Asked if he knew Morgan was having an affair with Mrs Harrison, he replied: I did not know for a fact.

How often did you see Margaret Harrison at the time? the barrister asked.

Occasionally.

The coroner interjected, asking the Morgan familys barrister: Are you suggesting that they were both annoyed with each other because they were seeing the same woman?

Pictured: A stock photo of The Golden Lion Pub in Sydenham, south London, where Daniel Morgan was found dead with an axe in his head

That was the suggestion, replied the barrister.

Rees was then asked to explain why he had given Mrs Harrison as much as 800 for her daughter to attend a secretarial course. He said it was for the benefit of the Southern Investigations typing pool.

He said that he now saw Mrs Harrison only very occasionally. His evidence was undermined by David Bray, who also worked at Southern Investigations. Bray was asked whether he thought Rees and Margaret Harrison were having a relationship. Possibly just after, or around about the time of Daniels death, he replied.

Another employee recalled seeing Jonathan Rees with a hotel room key. Rees admitted to everyone present that he had been at the hotel earlier in the day with Margaret Harrison and that he hoped to attend there again with her that evening, the court heard.

Rees wife Sharon was so upset by these accounts of her husbands alleged infidelity that she failed to appear to give evidence.

At the end of the inquest  which focused on a number of issues other than the love triangle  the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing. And yet police were no nearer catching the killer.

The initial police murder investigation team which, extraordinarily, had included Reess close friend and part-time employee, DS Fillery, got nowhere.

Fillery had even taken Reess statement of evidence in which the private eye claimed that Morgan had confided in him about the number of extra-marital relationships he had engaged in.

Three weeks after the killing, Rees, Fillery, Rees brothers-in-law Garry and Glenn Vian, and two other CID officers were arrested on suspicion of murder, but all were later released without charge.

In the summer of 1988, Hampshire police were called in to reinvestigate. We understand Margaret Harrison admitted to their murder team that she had been having an affair with Rees  but it started only after Morgans death.

The detectives felt she might have been reluctant to admit simultaneous affairs. Rees and Harrison were observed by investigating officers kissing and cuddling in her car.

Detective Sergeant Alec Leighton, a long time friend of Rees, also gave a fresh statement in which he recalled discussing Morgans claim he was having an affair with Mrs Harrison.

Rees had allegedly replied: Hes not the only one. Leighton said that he assumed Rees meant he had also been seeing (her).

Rees was arrested again and charged with murder in February 1989, but the charge was soon dropped for lack of evidence.

Alec Leighton and Jonathan Rees were still talking about Margaret Harrison a decade later.

In 1999, a police surveillance bug planted in the Southern Investigation offices recorded a discussion between them about Maggie, and how Hampshire police had pursued the love triangle angle.

Further criminal inquiries were equally unproductive.

The most recent saw Rees, the Vian brothers and another man arrested and charged for the murder of Daniel Morgan, in April 2008. Fillery was also arrested for perverting the course of justice.

The case collapsed in 2011 before the facts could be put before a jury, after an extensive legal argument about evidence gathering and the failure to disclose all of the relevant police documents to the defence. Not guilty verdicts were formally entered against the defendants.

That is not to say all the actors in this drama have prospered unscathed these past four decades.

Thanks to the bugged office, the police uncovered a plot by Jonathan Rees to frame a clients wife as a drug dealer. He was jailed for seven years in 2000.

Sid Fillery, who retired from the Met on the grounds of ill health and almost immediately became Reess partner at Southern Investigations, was subsequently convicted of child porn offences. And Alec Leighton was suspended on suspicion of corruption over another matter, and left the police before disciplinary action took place. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Garry Vian, Reess brother-in-law and a Southern Investigations security guard, was jailed for 14 years in 2005 for drugs smuggling.

And Margaret Harrison? In 2014, the Mail found her and Rees were living together in a property they co-own in a gated community in the Surrey stockbroker belt.

Records suggested that they had been co-habiting since Rees emerged from prison ten years before. They live there to this day.

When approached by the Mail in 2014, Mrs Harrison said: Youre wasting your time. Im never going to talk. Not in a million years.

Mr Reess solicitor said his client and Mrs Harrison had tried to assist the police and had offered the Daniel Morgan Independent Inquiry Panel their assistance.

In a statement to the Mail, he said: Mr Rees has always denied any involvement in this murder and has been acquitted.

They both lost a friend when Mr Morgan was killed, and Mr Rees lost a valued business partner. The original murder investigation has already been the subject of independent examination by Hampshire Police, who described it as pathetic but unaffected in any way by police misconduct.

Mr Rees and Mrs Harrison, now 65 and 61, declined to comment further yesterday.

But they did co-operate with the new Channel 4 series about the murder. It might have something to do with the 155,000 damages that Rees received last July from the Metropolitan Police after he sued the force for malicious prosecution. A high court judge ruled a similar sum be awarded to Glenn Vian. Garry Vian was awarded 104,000.

Rees, Fillery and Glenn Vian have all given interviews for the Murder In The Car Park series, in which they continue to protest their innocence. Margaret Harrison also speaks, albeit in silhouette.

She blamed her erratic performance as a witness at the inquest on sheer fear, fear from my husband finding out . . . I thought it would destroy my family, so I went blank.

Rees told Channel 4 it was only a year or two years later (after the murder) that we got together . . . but certainly at the time it was nothing to do with her at all.

His argument was at odds with the most explosive allegation made in Murder In The Car Park.

Former Met constable Dean Vian, nephew of Garry and Glenn, tearfully told the programme makers that his mother had told him who killed Morgan and why. My mum told me that Glenn had killed him and he was paid by Jonathan Rees to do that, he said on camera.

Asked what motive his mother had given, a tearful Dean Vian said: Jonathan Rees and Daniel Morgan had a falling out because they were both with the same woman, or seeing the same woman.

Glenn Vian vehemently denied he had murdered Morgan in the pub car park.

He told the documentary: If in theory . . . you wanted to kill Danny Morgan, why go somewhere else you dont know or are not familiar with, you dont know whos there?

Danny Morgans car was in his garage, 20 seconds from where I live. All I had to do was wait for him, do him [sic] and leave him in there, if I had a grievance against Danny. [I] wasnt there, didnt do it.

Meanwhile, Alastair Morgan told the programme he absolutely didnt believe the love triangle had anything to do with the murder.

The quest for justice for the Morgan family continues.
Nagpur civic chief Tukaram Mundhe on Saturday walked out of a general meeting of the municipal corporation after a Congress corporator made an objectionable statement centred around his name.

A no-confidence motion brought against Mundhe by another Congress corporator was also rejected by the mayor.

Nagpur Municipal Corporation is ruled by the BJP.

During the meeting, Congress corporator Harish Gwalbanshi raised questions over Mundhe allowing the setting up of a COVID care centre in his ward on a plot reserved for some other work.

While opposing the move, Gwalbanshi said Mundhe behaved like an autocrat who did not listen to people or elected representatives and it was unsuitable that he shares his name with a revered saint.

Mundhe objected to the statement and left the meeting, and refused to return even after mayor Sandip Joshi asked him to.

After Shiv Sena corporators Mangla Gawre and Nitin Sathavne raised objections to the way Mundhe was functioning as civic chief, Congress corporator Sanjay Mahakalkar wanted to table a no-confidence motion which was rejected by Joshi who then adjourned the civic house till Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Congress corporator Bunty Shelke stood outside the civic body with a banner in support of Mundhe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has questioned whether he can trust US President Donald Trump amid Black Lives Matter protests.

US and Russian envoys are due to talk about 'mutually agreed topics related to the future of arms control' in Austria next week.

Putin needs to understand 'agreements with his political counterpart can be trusted', the Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday.

It comes amid protests that saw widespread looting and violence across the US over the last month.

The National Guard were drafted in to many states earlier this month to try to put a stop to Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

US and Russian envoys are due to talk about 'mutually agreed topics related to the future of arms control' in Austria next week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has revealed Russian President Vladimir Putin has questioned whether Donald Trump (pictured) can be trusted

There is a growing unpredictability in steps by Washington and this is worrying world capitals, he added.

'And it is important for President Putin to understand that he has a vis-a-vis (Trump) who can responsibly engage in a dialogue with him on how to amend this situation,' Peskov said.

It comes after Trump got tough on Friday, promising 'agitators' and 'lowlifes' at his Tulsa rally will get harsh treatment as the city declared a 'civil emergency' out of fears of 'extremely violent' protests.

'Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!,' President Trump wrote on Twitter.

Putin needs to understand 'agreements with his political counterpart can be trusted', the Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Saturday

People march through the streets during a Juneteenth event organized by the One Race Movement on Friday

The president didn't specify how it would be different and how he knew that would happen but he had criticized officials in New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis for not using the National Guard or other means to quell the Black Lives Matter protests that sprung up in the wake of George Floyd's death.

His tweet came on Juneteenth, the date that celebrates the end of slavery.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president didn't mean peaceful protesters but 'violent' ones.

'He was meaning violent protesters, anarchist, looters on the kind of lawlessness that we saw play out before President Trump came in with the National Guard and calm their streets with law and order,' she said at her press briefing on Friday.

Trump himself came under fire after law enforcement officials used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area around the White House of protesters to the president could walk over to St. John's church for a photo-op holding the bible.

And Oklahoma will activate 250 Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers to help provide security during President Trump's rally, a Tulsa TV station reported.

It comes after Tulsa's mayor declared a 'civil emergency' ahead of Donald Trump's campaign rally on Saturday, citing fears the protests of the president could turn 'extremely violent'

Protesters have already gathered outside the rally site. Above, Nicholas Winford (left) debates Trump supporter Randall Thom (right), on Trump's racial policies

The president's vow came as Tulsa's mayor declared a 'civil emergency.'

Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, cited recent 'civil unrest' and the expectation that more than 100,000 people - a combination of Trump supporters and protesters - will swarm the downtown area as the reason for his 'civil emergency' declaration.

It's the latest hurdle for Trump as he attempts to return to the campaign trail. Additionally, the operators of the BOK Center asked the campaign for a 'written plan' on how they will deal with the threat of the coronavirus. And the Oklahoma Supreme Court will rule on Friday whether attendees must wear masks.

The mayor's order places a federal exclusion zone for a six-block radius near the BOK center and includes a curfew.

'I have received information from the Tulsa Police Department and other law enforcement agencies that shows that individuals from organized groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behavior in other States are planning to travel to the city of Tulsa for purposes of causing unrest in and around the rally,' Bynum wrote in the executive order.

These groups in other states have engaged in extremely violent and destructive behavior, including arson and malicious injury to both public and private property, he noted.

The order includes a 10 pm curfew that went into effect on Thursday but makes an exception for Saturdays rally, saying it will be implemented when the MAGA event is over.

The curfew forbids people from loitering in the six-block area around the arena and bans Molotov cocktails along with other combustible, flammable or explosive liquids.

Supporters had already lined up outside the BOK Center for the event on Friday - with some camping out over night - and protesters also appeared on the scene.

Trump tweeted: 'Big crowds and lines already forming in Tulsa. My campaign hasnt started yet. It starts on Saturday night in Oklahoma!'

Trump's rally - his first since March - has been deeply problematic ever since it was announced on June 10.

The original date of Friday, June 19, was switched to Saturday after an uproar about the clash with Juneteenth - the annual celebration marking the end of slavery.

Additionally the Oklahoma Supreme Court will ruled on Friday as to whether attendees to the rally would have to wear masks

The mayor's executive order also establishes a 10 pm curfew

Additionally the state of Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa have seen an increase in coronavirus infections since the reopening process began. Oklahoma is in phase three of its reopening - one of the few states that far along in the process. That was one of the reasons the Trump campaign tapped Tulsa for the rally location.

On Thursday the BOK Center, the 19,000-seat arena where Saturday's rally will be held, sent the Trump campaign a letter asking for a written plan identifying 'the steps the event will institute for health and safety.'

We have requested the Trump campaign, as the event organizer, provide BOK Center with a written plan detailing the steps the event will institute for health and safety, including those related to social distancing, officials said.

The BOK center said its employees will be tested for the coronavirus and provided with personal protective equipment. The arena will be cleaned and disinfected repeatedly throughout the event and 400 hand sanitizer stations will be placed around it.

The Trump campaign has said precautionary measures will be taken, including temperature checks and providing attendees with masks and hand sanitizer. The campaign, however, said they would not require the masks to be worn.

The BOK center is encouraging masks to be worn and, on Friday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court will rule on the issue.

A group of Tulsa attorneys requested a hearing to impose a temporary, emergency injunction stopping the rally this week, but a Tulsa judge denied the effort on Tuesday.

The matter was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled on Friday that attendees do not have to follow CDC guidelines on social distancing and wearing face masks.

Trump supporters sleep around the BOK Center as they waited in line for Saturday's rally

President Trump's campaign rally on Saturday is his first since March and he tweeted in praise of the supporters lined up to get inside

Trump supporters have been lined up and camped out as the arena only holds 19,000 people and the president claimed more than one million requested tickets

Memorabilia on a barricade that supporters put up for President Donald Trump outside the BOK Center in Tulsa

The area around the BOK Center in Tulsa is subject to a curfew which forbids 'loitering' and Molotov cocktails

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, seen at the White House with President Trump on Thursday said the state was ready for the rally and 'it's going to be safe'

Oklahoma set a new state record for COVID-19 increases in a single day on Thursday, confirming 450 new infections.

But Governor Kevin Stitt dismissed concerns during an event with President Trump at the White House on Thursday.

'We're 56 days into our reopening plan, and currently we have under 200 people in the hospital across the state of Oklahoma. And we had an uptick in the number of cases, and so the media tries to talk about that. But we knew we were going to have an increase a little bit, because we're 56 days into reopening,' Stitt, a Republican said.

'Oklahoma is ready for your visit. It's going to be safe. And we're really, really excited,' he told the president.

The Trump campaign said it was reviewing the letter from the BOK center, adding 'we take safety seriously, which is why we're doing temperature checks for everyone attending, and providing masks and hand sanitizer.'

The campaign has already asked attendees to acknowledge the risk of exposure to COVID-19 at the rally and agree not to sue the campaign or the venue if they fall ill. Mayor Bynum said the city also has been indemnified from the risk of any lawsuits.

On Wednesday, the city's top health official, Bruce Dart, said he was worried the rally could become a 'super spreader' event and recommended it be postponed.

He warned attendees they face 'an increased risk' of contracting the coronavirus.

'So many people are over COVID but COVID is not over,' Dart said. He also asked people wear masks when out at events on Saturday.

'People coming together without taking precautions is what causes the virus to transmit,' Dart said.

Dart admitted he'd like to see the rally postponed but, since it wasn't going to be, then officials would deal with the fallout.

'I recommended we postpone it until its safer,' he said. 'If we could push it back to when the data tells its safer, that was my personal recommendation, that is what Id personally like to see happen. Its here so lets focus on staying safe while its here.'

Mayor Bynum expressed confidence that the city could handle any illness that resulted from the gathering.

He said local hospitals have plenty of protective equipment on hand and pointed out of the 120 beds dedicated to coronavirus patients, only three were occupied as of Wednesday.

Coronavirus cases across the U.S. on June 18. Texas, Florida and California are of concern

G.T. Bynum, the mayor of Tulsa, issued an executive order declaring a 'civil emergency'

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of June 18. More than 2.1m people are known to be infected

The Oklahoma Department of Health has urged senior citizens and other vulnerable individuals to 'stay home' ahead of the president's rally and watch a livestream of the event instead.

Commissioner Lance Frye said those looking to attend the president's rally 'will face an increased risk of becoming infected with COVID-19.'

The department has tripled its contact tracing team ahead of the rally, and Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when asked if he would attend replied: 'Of course not.'

Even Bynum admitted he wished it was not happening.

'I would love for some other city to have tried this first,' he said at a press conference Wednesday.

'But the president chose this city, and so it falls on us to set that standard moving forward.'

The anger at the date - which takes place on the holiday celebrating the end of slavery - meant that the rally got off to a bad start. Critics pointed to the Trump's administration handling of protests that sprung up around the country in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Tulsa was the site of one of the countrys bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence in 1921. Called the Tulsa Race Massacre, as many as 300 people were killed, more than 10,000 remained homeless, and, according to the Tulsa Race Riot Report of 2001, an estimated $1,470,711 was incurred in damage - equal to about $20 million today.

Trump has show some insensitivity on race relations. He also bragged he made 'Juneteenth very famous' in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He also admitted he learned about it from a black Secret Service agent and was surprised to hear the White House had put out a statement on the holiday last year.

'I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous,' he told the newspaper. 'Its actually an important event, its an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it. Actually, a young African-American Secret Service agent knew what it was. I had political people who had no idea.'

Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, chose the site and the date, The New York Times reported.

Oklahoma also was chosen for its Republican support - Trump carried the state by 36 points in the 2016 election. Additionally Tulsa has a Republican mayor. Most cities in the country are run by Democrats.

Yet Trump and his aides failed to grasp the significance of holding a rally on Juneteenth.

Nor did they appear to realize that Tulsa was the site of one of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence, after a white mob killed attacked the affluent black community in 1921.

Trump supporters camp out near the BOK Center on Thursday, ahead of Saturday's rally

Fans of the president have been arriving at the site of his first campaign rally since March

Lines of people wait for the doors to open on Saturday for the Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma

'Think about it as a celebration,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News, when asked if the date was intentional. 'My rally is a celebration.' Pictured is Tulsa during the 1921 onslaught

Trump announced that he was changing the date of his Tulsa rally, scheduled for Juneteenth

The rally in Oklahoma will now be held on Saturday, instead of the Friday night as planned

'Think about it as a celebration,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News shortly after the rally was announced, when asked if the date was intentional.

'My rally is a celebration.'

About 30 hours later, he changed the date to Saturday.

The error, however, is said to have refocused attention on how few African-American aides work on Trump's campaign or in the White House.

'They're stinging from it, they're reeling from it,' former Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, who was the first black Republican elected to Congress from south of the Mason-Dixon Line since Reconstruction, told The Times.

'Juneteenth was on the schedule before any rally was. People are reeling from it.'
(Newser)  Soon after protests over the killing of George Floyd started sweeping the nation, Colin Kaepernick set up the Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative, via his charity, to coordinate "with top defense lawyers and civil rights lawyers nationwide to provide legal resources for those in need." Now, per the Star Tribune, that fund has donated a "substantial sum" to attorneys in Minnesota and elsewhere in the US to help cover the legal costs for protesters who otherwise may have trouble paying. Although the fund's website doesn't say how much money has been raised, Ben Meiselas, a Los Angeles attorney who's been repping Kaepernick, says it has been "a significant undertaking with some of the top legal professionals," per the AP.

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"When there is an injustice within our community, it is our legal right to address it, by any means necessary," the fund's site reads. The Star Tribune notes that in Minneapolis and St. Paul alone, 100 or so people were charged with violating an emergency curfew imposed by Gov. Tim Walz. Those with pending charges face up to 90 days behind bars or fines of up to $1,000. "I'm so unbelievably grateful and really excited that there is an organization that does that and that people don't have to be afraid to go out and protest injustice," one woman arrested for demonstrating in Hennepin County tells the paper. (Read more Colin Kaepernick stories.)
Wellington: A 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged in New Zealand for murdering a police officer, and police said on Saturday they are hunting for a woman on charges of aiding the man.

The police officer, named on Saturday as 28-year-old Matthew Hunt, was the first policeman killed in the line of duty in at least a decade in New Zealand, where gun crime remains relatively rare.

He and another officer were shot during a routine traffic stop in a suburb of Auckland.

The charged man, who cannot be named due to suppression orders, is due to appear in court on Saturday.
Its an old story: fighting the next war with the last wars battle plan, as if prior success guarantees future victory. So here was President Trump after the Supreme Court gave him another thumping on Thursday, vowing to release a new list of Conservative Supreme Court Justice nominees in September  i.e., around the back stretch galloping toward the Election Day finish line.

The president reasons: Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before (Second Amendment, Right to Life, Religious Liberty, etc.). Lest we miss the characteristically Trumpian subtlety, he adds, VOTE 2020!

If you needed a laugh to get you through just-another-day-at-the-Apocalypse, our Conservative president then proceeded to post no fewer than 21 tweets describing the combined hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure spending he plans to shovel out to states he hopes to win in November.

By the way, with Trump in the White House and the McConnell-led Republican Senate having slyly buried periodic public debates over the debt limit, the nation is now over $26 trillion in the red. If youre keeping score, thats an increase of over $6 trillion since January 20, 2017. Obama spending was unprecedented, but Trump is on pace to exceed it. And dont tell me about the unforeseen coronavirus crisis; debt was already accumulating mountainously before the lockdown, and the president keeps saying more infrastructure spending is imperative  it may be the only thing he and congressional Democrats can agree on.

The point being that the president is not a conservative, in the sense either of political ideology or temperament. He has some conservative sensibilities and has mastered some right-wing tropes. But hes not a conservative thinker wedded to a conservative policy agenda. Thats hardly a revelation. Hes not wired to think in those terms. Hes not a progressive, either.

What is he, then? Does it matter? After all, hes president not because of what he is but what he isnt  which is Hillary Clinton. Thats fine, but Republicans and conservatives whove been supportive of Trump should not delude themselves that things have changed, that the president has evolved into a conservative because wed like him to be one, or because he occasionally proclaims himself one.

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The euphemism has always been that the president is transactional. Of course, that only makes sense as the simulacrum of fixed principles if there is something identifiable that the transactions are designed to advance. In the presidents case, that would be Donald J. Trump. That is not an original observation, either.

What conservatives and Republicans often gloss over, since it is not very flattering, is that we are transactional, too.

Dont get me wrong. I am not singing from the Never-Trump hymnal. I am not accusing my fellow conservatives and Republicans of whoring themselves, of checking their principles at the door and making loyalty to the president their compass. Quite the opposite. The trick in this uneasy alliance has always been to maintain our principles while convincing the president to come around. Not because he necessarily agrees, since his agreements are fleeting. He has to be convinced that its in his interest to come around.

Which brings us to this business of fighting the last war.

When Donald Trump was a presidential candidate, his impulse  and, as weve seen, there is no seven-second delay between an impulse and its verbalizing  was to assert that his sister would be a phenomenal nominee should a Supreme Court vacancy open up. Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, the presidents older sister who has since retired from the Third Circuit federal appeals court, was a dogmatic supporter of abortion. Trumps suggestion thus caused consternation on the right, particularly among legal scholars and social conservatives. He realized a retraction was in order, tout de suite.

The incident turned out to be significant. Trump was not necessarily persuaded by the virtues of originalism and limited government (though we can always hope). He did, however, grasp the power of the issue, its galvanizing effect on the voters he was wooing.

When Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly passed away in February 2016, the candidate realized that the campaign had shifted. It would no longer feature the usual vaporous debate over Supreme Court nominees. Now, the election might well turn on the concrete question of whether a Republican or Hillary Clinton should be the one to fill the pending vacancy. Indeed, the vacancy in its suddenness pushed to the front of voters minds the advanced ages of many remaining justices, and the likelihood that the next president would have more than one vacancy to fill.

Donald Trump was fast on his feet. He sized up the esteem in which Republicans hold the Federalist Society, as well as the consternation among his base supporters that a President Hillary Clinton would replace the iconic Scalia with a progressive activist. Trump saw that it was demonstrably in his interest to become the champion of conservative judges in the Scalia mold. He was deft enough to see that leaning on the Federalist Society for this purpose would not only signal the right nomination instincts but also earn him some credibility with skeptics who saw Trump as a New York limousine liberal.

It worked. To his detriment, though, the president has never allowed himself to acknowledge how narrow  I think, how miraculous  his victory was. Hence, the babble about the Electoral College landslide. More to the point, the president now seems not to see how unique were the conditions of the 2016 battleground. Replication of that battles plan is not a path to 2020 success.

Lets put aside that there is no vacancy on the table, no sense of urgency to preserve the Scalia legacy. In just the last few days, the Supreme Court has demonstrated, yet again, that stacking the tribunal with ostensibly conservative lawyers does not assure conservative results.

Once again, Chief Justice Roberts joined the four-justice liberal bloc to preserve a signal Obama policy achievement. Last time it was Obamacare, this time its DACA. Though sold to the Right as a rock-ribbed conservative, Roberts essentially held that a new president may not reverse the last presidents illegal acts in the same peremptory manner in which those acts were imposed. Or, if you prefer, even if Obama himself conceded that he had no authority to issue a decree, Roberts will treat the decree as legitimate law. I wouldnt bet the ranch that the chief justice would be as solicitous if Trump were to start issuing similar policy memos that usurp legislative power, but just imagine what a Biden administration could make of the new dispensation.

What about the presidents responsive tweets, quoted at the top? With due respect, the rights to armed self-defense, life, and religious exercise are not at stake because of a failure to nominate and confirm reliable conservative jurists. They are at stake because Republicans cling to the fantasy that the Supreme Court is our highest legal institution. In reality, it is a super-legislature: It is the last word on vital policy matters that should be decided democratically; and its members are life-tenured  politically unaccountable even as they do politics rather than law.

Democrats get this.

The liberal justices typically vote as a bloc. Like good legislators, what they care about is the result. They are all brilliant lawyers, so once they decide what progressive policy result should be achieved, they transmogrify as needed into originalists, textualists, procedural sticklers, organic constitutionalists, sweet-mystery-of-life liberty fetishists  you name it, they can play it.

Likewise, Chuck Schumer and the other Senate Democrats demand to know how every nominee would rule on Roe v. Wade, on guns, on health care, on boys in the girls bathroom, on the environment, on the due-process entitlements of migrants, jihadists, and sundry anti-American transgressives, etc. All prospective justices bob and weave, but Democrats are unapologetically relentless in grilling Republican nominees. None of this GOP pablum about how it would just be so wrong to probe how a jurist might grapple with an issue that might come before the Court  because we must respect the integrity and independence of the judicial process. Democrats say, How are you going to vote? Thats what we need to know. Republican nominees must ritually incant that Roe is settled law because, um, stare decisis; Democratic nominees must simply show up for work on the first Monday in October.

It will not do for one side to honor jurisprudential protocols and fret over the Courts reputation, while the other side remorselessly pursues its Change! agenda. While President Trump is neither a political philosopher nor a juridical theorist, he is often more perceptive than egg-heads and swamp denizens when it comes to that kind of brute power dynamic.

This is not about the legal acumen of the nominees; it is about the political nature of the institution. Somebody on the Republican side better figure that out. If we think the 2016 playbook is going to win the 2020 game, Joe Biden will make it to the Oval Office without ever having to leave his basement.

More from National Review
Burned bricks and a fragment of a church basement are about all that remains of an historically Black district.

In the real world, 74-year-old Donald Shaw is walking on the empty, parched grass slope by Tulsas noisy crosstown expressway. He is on the other side of the citys historical white-Black dividing line from where President Donald Trump will hold a rally on Saturday with his overwhelmingly white supporters.

But Shaw can conjure stories and images of so much more  the once-thriving Black community that stood on this same ground, destroyed nearly a century ago by white violence and ensuing decades of repression.

Just imagine, in your mind, all these homes, Shaw said one morning earlier this week, remembering the Black-built, Black-owned houses and churches that covered dozens of blocks where he is walking, the site of Tulsas 1921 race massacre. Just picture that.

Hotels, movie theatre, roller rink, said Shaw, a retired man who spends his mornings sitting in the shade of an engraved stone memorial to the Home Style Cafe, AS Newkirk photography studio, and literally hundreds of other African American-owned bakeries, barbershops, lawyers offices and businesses razed in the massacre.

The aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre, during which mobs of white residents attacked Black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US, June 1921 [Bettmann Archive/Getty Images]

Burned bricks and a fragment of a church basement are about all that survive today of the more than 30-block historically Black district. On May 31 and June 1 in 1921, white residents and civil society leaders looted and burned Tulsas Black Greenwood district to the ground, and used planes to drop projectiles on it.

The attackers killed up to 300 Black Tulsans, and forced survivors for a time to internment camps overseen by National Guard members.

It's been 99 years since the U.S. witnessed one of its most horrific acts of racial violence. Here's what happened during the Tulsa race massacre at Black Wall Street: pic.twitter.com/ArwHoPM4Mq  AJ+ (@ajplus) June 1, 2020

Historians said the trouble began after a Tulsa newspaper drummed up a furore over a Black man who allegedly stepped on a white girls foot. When Black Tulsans showed up with guns to prevent the mans lynching, white Tulsa responded with overwhelming force. A grand jury investigation at the time concluded, without evidence, that unidentified agitators had given Tulsas African Americans both their firearms and what was described as their mistaken belief in equal rights, social equality and their ability to demand the same.

A group of people looking at smoke in the distance coming from damaged properties following the Tulsa Race Massacre [Oklahoma Historical Society/Getty Images]

Everything they had downtown, Shaw said of the white-owned business district where Trump will rally, we had here.

Trumps choice to resume his giant rallies in Oklahoma, a loyal Republican state, and in Tulsa, an oil centre, has brought a surge of national interest in the Greenwood district once called Tulsas Negro Wall Street. His rally at the 19,000-seat BOK Center will be Trumps first since the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the US by late March.

Trumps initial plan to hold the rally on Friday  Juneteenth, the anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the US  also sparked interest in the turbulent racial legacy here, although he later pushed back the rally date to Saturday. So has a string of nationwide street protests over police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

Despite the Oklahoma heat, visitors of all races drive up to the site of the destroyed Black community. They take photos of themselves in front of the inscribed memorials to what is now called Black Wall Street. They raise a defiant fist in the air for other photos in front of a mural to Black Wall Street painted on the side of the overpass.

Tulsa race riot survivor George Monroe, now 82 years old, examines the monument dedicated Saturday, June 1, 1996, as part of the 75th-anniversary commemoration ceremonies in Tulsa, Oklahoma [File: Michael Wyke/AP Photo]

For Shawn-Du Stackhouse, a barber from the Washington, DC area and one of those visiting the Tulsa massacre memorials, the proof that mobile phone videos provide of killings of African Americans today somehow make the killings of the past, like Tulsas, more real as well.

For Black Americans, the mobile phone videos show what they have already known, Stackhouse said. It gives more confidence to speak up about all the killings, past and present, he said.

A group of National Guard Troops, carrying rifles with bayonets attached, escort unarmed African American men to the detention centre at Convention Hall, after the Tulsa Race Massacre, Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 1921 [Oklahoma Historical Society/Getty Images]

The Tulsa rampage was part of a surge of white attacks on Black communities  from Washington, DC to Chicago to the Pacific Northwest  at the time, said Scott Ellsworth, a historian who has worked for decades to bring the Tulsa massacre to light. The Ku Klux Klan was surging, as well, putting many of its members in public office and other influential positions.

In 1915, President, Woodrow Wilson gave a White House screening and praise to The Birth of a Nation, a tremendously influential and viciously racist film.

Spike Lee talks with us about using scenes of Gone with the Wind and The Birth of a Nation in #BlacKkKlansman and how movies impact how we view history. Past and present. https://t.co/BLU7mO9xs7  Den of Geek News! (@DenofGeekUS) August 13, 2018

Today, opponents say Trumps statements and actions embolden white supremacist sentiment in the country. That includes Trumps opposition to renaming military bases named after Confederate Civil War figures, and his emphasis on a tough law and order response to recent protests. Trump has denied any racism, and said his administration has been beneficial to African Americans.

Asked Monday about any concerns that Trumps rally may fan racial tensions in Tulsa, Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman David McLain said, I would like to invite all nationalities into the Republican Party  We are a party of great opportunity for anybody, race, creed or colour.

Tulsas Republican mayor, GT Bynum, has formed a commission for marking the 100th anniversary of the massacre next year. Although expressing doubts about calls for reparations to Tulsas African Americans, Bynum has supported the search for unmarked burials of victims of the massacre.

An African American man with a camera looking at the skeletons of iron beds which rise above the ashes of a burned-out block after the Tulsa Race Massacre, Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 1921 [Oklahoma Historical Society/Getty Images]

Next month, experts plan painstaking examination and excavations of an existing Tulsa cemetery to look for such unmarked graves, said Ellsworth, who teaches African American history at the University of Michigan.

In the early 20th century, people called the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma Black Wall Street, because the district was lined with black-owned shops, restaurants, two newspapers and a grand hotel. https://t.co/KWXo9uiOS6 pic.twitter.com/wyoI6ZtQ14  60 Minutes (@60Minutes) June 14, 2020

After generations of determined public silence on the massacre  long referred to by white Tulsans dismissively as a race riot  Black and white Tulsans increasingly are trying to tell the story of Black Wall Street, including its fiery, deadly end.

Teaching about the massacre is being added to state and city school standards, so that when schools start again this year, third-graders (usually age eight or nine) will learn about it. Even preschoolers in some districts are being told about Black Wall Street  not about how it ended, but what it was, said Danielle Neves, deputy chief of academics for Tulsa public schools.

Four-year-olds can understand that people like them once owned movie theatres and hotels and  had a thriving community, Neves said.
Wrexham Glyndwr University to host its third Virtual Experience Event for prospective students

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jun 20th, 2020

A popular Virtual Experience event at Wrexham Glyndwr University will be expanded even further this month.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring and the restrictions that have been brought in to protect public health guidelines, the university has moved its regular Open Days and Open Evenings online.

Events have been held for undergraduate, postgraduate, part time and professional students over the past few months.

The next Virtual Experience for the university will take place on Wednesday, June 24.

Marketing and Digital Communities Manager Antonia Jones added: This will be our third Virtual Experience Event  weve seen keen interest from potential students from both the UK and internationally in the experiences on offer.

These online experiences allow our prospective students to get a taste of what it is like studying with us at Glyndwr  without even leaving their house  and are a great way to find out more about the university.

They include a dedicated area on our website bringing together a host digital content  so whether you want to read more about a particular subject, take part in a taster session or online Q and A, or even take a virtual campus tours, theres something there for you.

The latest Virtual Experience event falls during Adult Learners Week  and the team at Glyndwr have worked with organisers the Learning and Work Institute and the Welsh Government to share details of whats going on with adults considering a return to learning across Wales.

Wrexham Glyndwr University Widening Access Coordinator Amber Percy said: When we heard that the Learning and Work Institute were looking for events for the week which were provided online, we knew we could offer something special thanks to the work Antonia and her team have done.

Were looking forward to welcoming Adult Learners from across Wales and beyond to our wider Virtual Experience Event.

As a university, we strive to be as inclusive as possible and believe in the power of education to help all in our local communities  and were delighted to be working with our Adult Learners Week partners to help mark the week online in a new, fresh way!

Antonia added: As with a face-to-face Open Day, our Virtual Events offer a chance to discuss what its like studying at Glyndwr with our current students  who include learners of all ages. They are able to tell students first-hand just what to expect when you begin a course at Glyndwr.

Finally, theres also a chance to chat with the teams here at Glyndwr who are there to help students with any questions they may have  whether thats about the wide range of courses and degrees we offer, about whats needed to get onto our courses  or about how we can help with finances and support.

The Virtual Experience event runs  online  between 3pm and 6pm on Wednesday, June 24.

To find out more about what will be on offer, to take a look at some of the blogs, tours, and videos already available, or to book your space, visit the universitys website.
A lottery of French citizens chosen to debate and respond to the climate challenges facing society have begun voting on ambitious proposals to hand to the government  in a move that could send France to its first referendum in 15 years.

The Citizens Climate Convention (CCC), made up of 150 people aged between 16 and 80 chosen at random, is tasked with reducing carbon emissions while respecting social justice.

Voting on issues relating to housing, travel, food, production and work, etc, will continue over the weekend, before a final report  complete with advice on how to finance the measures  is delivered on Sunday.

Among the ideas that seek to profoundly change French society are reducing working hours, drastically limiting the sale of new vehicles, obliging homeowners to ensure their properties are energy efficient, regulating advertising and forcing companies to fund the country's ecological transition.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the proposals, developed over the past nine months, will be presented without a filter either to the people in the form of a referendum, or to parliament.

'Participatory democracy'

In an initiative that's been hailed an unprecedented national exercise in participatory democracy, Macron last September gave the CCC the task of defining climate measures that would allow a reduction of at least 40 percent of emissions by 2030in the spirit of social justice.

FranceInfo reported that a third of the measures have been drafted in the form of a law or regulation, ready to be implemented, while the remainder are moreover declarations of intention.

Four proposals to amend or revive the constitution are on the table to ensure the fight against climate change and the goal of preserving diversity is cemented as an objective of the republic".

They include stronger legal recourse for damage done to the environment, as well as the possible creation of the post of "environmental defender.

First referendum since 2005?

In January, Macron told the CCC it could make recommendations on any legislative proposals it felt should go before the French people. "I think we should call for a referendum on some measures because this will enable us to share our concerns with the country, he said.

The last time the French were called to a referendum was in 2005, when they decisively rejected a constitution for Europe. Since then, no head of state has risked soliciting the will of the people.

Voting by the CCC for its seventh and penultimate session can be followed live on online, with successful proposals to be posted to the the convention's website on Sunday evening.

The CCC was originally meant to submit its proposals in April, but its work was disrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic.
Getty

This article was published originally by PassBlue, a partner of The Daily Beast, which provides independent coverage of the United Nations. It was written by Fiona Shukri.

United Nations health agencies already struggling with a surging COVID-19 pandemic must now face the possibility the United States will abdicate its leading role fighting poliojust as the world gets tantalizingly close to eradicating it for good.

The U.S., polio-free since 1979, has historically made combating the infectious disease its top funding priority at the World Health Organization, investing more than $158 million in voluntary contributions over the last two years alone. The effort has broad public support dating to the 1950s, when Jonas Salk, with the help of the March of Dimes charity, created the first polio vaccine.

Older Americans still have horrific memories of polio sufferers in iron lungs, notes Dr. Hamid Jafari, director of the WHOs polio eradication program in the eastern Mediterranean region, and the U.S. has an emotional investment in polio eradication.

A boy suffering from polio being treated with a 'iron lung' in hospital., 1955. Three Lions/Getty

After Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus in 2016, Pakistan and Afghanistan became the globes only countries with recorded wild polio cases, with 12 and 49 cases, respectively. (Wild polio is different from the rare, more easily controlled circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, of which there are 134 known cases worldwide. Communitywide vaccinations prevent the spread of both types of polio.)

But despite the success of polio vaccination efforts, the WHO is warning that failure to eradicate it from these last remaining areas could produce a resurgence worldwide, with as many as 200,000 new cases annually over 10 years. A mutated strain of poliovirus has been reported in more than 30 countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic slowing or stopping vaccination campaigns has been particularly dire for polio eradicationaround 85,000 Congolese children have not received that vaccine.

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President Trumps withdrawal from the WHO on May 29 now threatens these polio-control efforts already complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Polio vaccination campaigns have been put on hold, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a media briefing during World Immunization Week in April. Poor countries are reporting shortages of vaccines due to border closures to contain the spread of COVID-19and children, while at relatively low risk for severe illness and death from the novel coronavirus, remain at high risk for life-threatening infectious diseases like measles and polio, Ghebreyesus said.

Efforts to control polio overlap with other public health campaigns, including the containment of COVID-19. As of June 15, Afghanistan had 25,527 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 476 deaths, though numbers are certainly much higher given the countrys limited health services. (The countrys population is approximately 35 million.)

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo recommended in April that funding for seven countries continue despite Trumps actions against the WHO: Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and Turkey. Pompeo argued that the UN agency is critical in those countries to fight COVID-19 and polio.

A March 27 State Department fact sheet, titled The United States Is Leading the Humanitarian and Health Assistance Response to COVID-19, says the U.S. has redirected $10 million in resources to support the UNs emergency response to COVID-19 through the WHO. This support will include surveillance, lab improvements, case management, infection prevention and control, community engagement, and technical assistance to Government of Afghanistan.

The State Department, however, did not provide comment to PassBlues requests on the status of Pompeos recommendation or on the commitment of the U.S. to ending polio.

Meanwhile, volunteers with the polio program in Afghanistan encourage hand-washing; staff members in the field check for and report potential cases of COVID-19; and program staffers strive to improve health workers ability to respond to the coronavirus.

UNICEF is using its Immunization Communication Network to disseminate information on personal hygiene, and the WHOs Afghanistan polio team is coordinating with the government to combat COVID-19.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, Dr. Jafari of the WHO told PassBlue that the agency remains committed to polio observation even as vaccination efforts are curtailed to protect both Afghan populations and international health care workers from the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Jafari noted that the pandemic has increased the agencys mandate, and this will increase its budget needs. We cant go back just with polio vaccine in these communities that have been devastated by COVID-19.

Dr. Jafari expressed concern for the populations that are most vulnerable to both COVID and polio, including refugees and displaced people from places like Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, where the UN is trying to maintain polio observation. He also said that UN staff are running toward danger as they do their jobs. There is a human component to what we are discussing, he said. We need to recognize the morale issues.

"Leona Baumgartner, the first female health commissioner of NYC, listening to a briefing from Polio doctors in New York City, New York, 1957" Peter Stackpole/Getty

Dr. Jafari declined to speculate about how the U.S. withdrawal of money would affect the agencys polio work. Calling the U.S. an important partner for WHO and the overall health sector in Afghanistan, he said the agency is fortunate to have many other international and national health sector partners in Afghanistan.

(Earlier this month, numerous world leaders, led by Boris Johnson of Britain, pledged an additional $8.8 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to help immunize 300 million more children in the worlds poorest countries against polio, measles and diphtheria by the end of 2025.)

Work on wiping out polio is primarily funded through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership whose core partners include the WHO, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi. Weve come too far to let this program fail, Dr. Jafari said.

Jafari, a former principal deputy director at the CDCs Center for Global Health in Atlanta, said the Global Polio Eradication Initiative relies on the CDC primarily for lab virology and on the WHO for strategy, monitoring and evaluation.

PassBlue spoke with Mohammed Mohammedi, a polio vaccine expert, during his recent trip to Lashkar Gar, in Afghanistans Taliban-heavy Helmand Province. Based in Kabul, he is UNICEFs section chief for polio eradication and traveled to the unstable region to help prevent the spread of both COVID-19 and polio through education and distribution of basics like soap.

It would be a great shame, Mohammedi , if with billions of dollars invested and great success achieved, the fight against polio was lost because the job could not be finished in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Polio is the easiest disease to get rid of, Mohammedi said in a WhatsApp chat. Anybody can give a vaccine to any child. Its drops in the mouth. It doesnt require any qualifications. The vaccine is very stable and its very cheap.

Arguing that decreased funding could force the programs at country level to really assess who is needed and who is not, Mohammedi said political commitment was more important than money.

If we get serious, we can eradicate polio from Afghanistan in one year, he said. There are only two people who can decide this. One is Gates and the other is Trump. And Trump will never do it.

The Gates Foundation has made eradicating polio a top priority. But Bill Gates himself has said that polio is not likely to be eradicated without the WHO.

The post The Collateral Damage in Trumps War on the WHO: Ending Polio for Good appeared first on PassBlue.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE:E4U) (EnWave, or the "Company"), today provides a corporate update on its recent corporate activities, operations and market evolution.

Cannabis Installation Update

EnWave has successfully installed a 60kW Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) processing line for its licensed partner, The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TGOD) in Ancaster, Ontario. The Company is working through the final stages of training TGOD personnel on the commercial use of EnWaves machinery for the dehydration of cannabis and expects to begin accruing royalties henceforth. The installation and training were delayed due to the impacts of COVID-19, but with improving conditions, EnWave was able to send qualified personnel within Canada to complete this installation and training.

The Company is also in the final stages of fabricating two 120kW REV machines for Aurora Cannabis Inc. (Aurora). In early 2020, Aurora contracted EnWave to make several upgrades to its two REV machines in order to satisfy revised requirements, which subsequently elongated the manufacturing timeline, but resulted in additional payments to the Company.

EnWave has also offered to complete remote 10kW REV machine installations to Cann Group in Australia and Helius Therapeutics in New Zealand, both current royalty partners. The Company hopes to confirm these installations in the near term.

REVTM Technology Business Development Update

The Company has continued to advance its sales and business development plan despite many of the headwinds presented by the global economic downturn propagated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges caused by COVID-19, the Company secured three new technology evaluation agreements with machine rentals through the last three months. There are several existing EnWave royalty partners that have 10kW machines installed under license that are evaluating the scale-up to larger REVTM machines, and the Company anticipates securing new purchase contracts for repeat and large-scale REVTM machines as the global economy begins to recover and international travel restrictions are lightened.

Story continues

NutraDried Update

NutraDried has expanded its product offering of better-for-you, all-natural cheese snacks with the launch of a new white cheddar with black pepper flavour. The new flavour is currently being sold online and the Company plans to expand to retail distribution in the coming months.

NutraDried has also taken steps to leverage its manufacturing capabilities to produce shelf-stable cheese snacks for private label and ingredient opportunities. The Company has already secured several distribution opportunities for bulk shelf-stable cheese products and is pursuing a wide number of additional contract manufacturing opportunities for this new product offering. The contract manufacturing revenues will complement NutraDrieds branded snack offerings to drive volume and create operating leverage with the objective of enhancing gross margin in that business unit.

Grant of Equity Incentive Instruments

The Company has granted an aggregate of 500,000 incentive stock options pursuant to the Companys Stock Option Plan (the Plan) to certain directors and officers of the Company (the Incentive Options). The Incentive Options are exercisable at a price of $1.25 per share and are exercisable for a term of five years expiring on June 17, 2025. The Incentive Options have been structured with performance-based vesting conditions in accordance with the Plan, and will vest upon the later of a) eighteen months from the date of grant; or b) when the Companys share price on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) achieves a volume weighted average price (VWAP) for twenty consecutive trading days of $1.50 or greater. The Incentive Options are subject to approval by the TSXV.

The Company has granted an aggregate of 260,000 restricted share rights pursuant to the Companys Restricted Share Rights Plan to certain directors and officers of the Company (the RSRs). The RSRs will vest three years from the date of award for each independent director, and will vest three years from the date of award and subject to the Companys share price on the TSXV achieving a VWAP for twenty consecutive trading days of $1.50 or greater for the senior management of the Company. If the VWAP vesting performance condition is not met within the three-year life of the instrument, then no common shares of the Company will be issued in respect of the RSRs. The RSRs are subject to approval by the TSXV.

The Companys Board of Directors consulted with a third-party executive compensation specialist to conduct a benchmarking study as part of the evaluation and approval process for the equity incentive instruments. The resulting performance-based vesting conditions implemented were designed to create proper alignment between management incentives and creating shareholder value.

About EnWave

EnWave Corporation, a Canadian advanced technology company, has developed Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV)  an innovative, proprietary method for the precise dehydration of organic materials. EnWave has further developed patented methods for uniformly drying and decontaminating cannabis through the use of REV technology, shortening the time from harvest to marketable cannabis products.

REV technologys commercial viability has been demonstrated and is growing rapidly across several market verticals in the food, and pharmaceutical sectors, including legal cannabis. EnWaves strategy is to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with innovative, disruptive companies in multiple verticals for the use of REV technology. The company has signed over thirty royalty-bearing licenses to date. In addition to these licenses, EnWave established a Limited Liability Corporation, NutraDried Food Company, LLC, to manufacture, market and sell all-natural dairy snack products in the United States, including the Moon Cheese brand.

EnWave has introduced REV as a disruptive dehydration platform in the food and cannabis sectors: faster and cheaper than freeze drying, with better end product quality than air drying or spray drying. EnWave currently offers two distinct commercial REV platforms:

nutraREV which is a drum-based system that dehydrates organic materials quickly and at low-cost, while maintaining high levels of nutrition, taste, texture and colour; and, quantaREV which is a tray-based system used for continuous, high-volume low-temperature drying.

EnWave is also active in the pharmaceutical industry through a joint development agreement with GEA Lyophil, a leader in GMP drying machinery.



More information about EnWave is available at www.enwave.net .

EnWave Corporation



Mr. Brent Charleton, CFA

President and CEO

For further information:

Brent Charleton, CFA , President and CEO at +1 (778) 378-9616

E-mail: bcharleton@enwave.net

Dan Henriques, CA, CPA, Chief Financial Officer at +1 (604) 835-5212

E-mail: dhenriques@enwave.net



Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management's expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures, and the expected synergies following the closing are forward-looking statements. All third party claims referred to in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate. All third party references to market information in this release are not guaranteed to be accurate as the Company did not conduct the original primary research. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Japanese Defence Ministry reported sighting an unidentified submarine around Amami Islands in the island nation's contiguous zone on Saturday, June 20. As per reports, the ministry added that on the evening of June 18, Japenese Maritime Self-Defence Force identified a submarine northeast of the Amami Islands. It also added that the same submarine was spotted to the west of Yokoate-jima island on the outskirts of the contiguous zone.

Japan's Defence Minister Taro Kono, as per reports, has instructed the ministry to make every possible effort to collect information about the submarine.

 #JAPAN  A suspected submarine has illegally infiltrated into Japan's territorial waters (EEZ) between June 18 & June 20, NE of Amami Oshima, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (#JMSDF) said. #SouthChinaSea #Navy #OSINT https://t.co/mDLTa8HyBr pic.twitter.com/Di4X7efBaP  ISCResearch (@ISCResearch) June 20, 2020

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Patrol ships rushed

"On the afternoon of June 18, the JMSDF escort ships and patrol aircraft confirmed that the submarine was submarine westward in the water area (within the connection area) northeast of Amami Oshima. After that, on the morning of the 20th, we confirmed that the submarine was proceeding westward in the waters (outside the connected waters) west of Yokotojima," said the Japanese Defence Ministry, as quoted by ANI.

The ministry added that a Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft, a Lockheed P-3 anti-submarine, maritime surveillance plane and three patrol ships were immediately rushed to the spot.

(With ANI Inputs; Image Credits - Pixabay)

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Trump virus?

Eats your spine. Kills brain cells. Blinds you to facts.

The diner counter seats were now 6 feet apart with clear partitions between the customers. Four booths replaced 10. The parking lot was now Carlos new Dining Al Fresco patio: four tables under a tent. That investment cost me my last nickel. If we dont make bank, the Arroyo Cafe is gone. Like a tumbleweed in the wind.

Carlos clung to hope like a man holding fast to a tree branch in a 100-year flash flood. Rosa, Elena, Molina and Zeke sensed Carlos desperation. They looked at him like jackrabbits caught in the headlights of a floored semi. Carlos pointed to the cleaning supplies. The health inspector is going to be on us like sweat on a snowbird. We have to make this work even as hundreds of Arizonans are getting sick every day and hundreds are dying.

Carlos paused. Thinking of his father he wiped a tear. I built this cafe. Its all I have and Im desperate to keep it alive while seeing to it that not a single one of you catches this damned virus.
In just this past week, Texas hospitals have experienced a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, climbing to a record number of 3,148 on Friday, according to Texas Health and Human Services.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has grown to 103,305 in Texas. Harris County now leads the state with 18,552 cases.

As the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have climbed, Houston hospital ICUs have seen an increased influx in patients. According to Houston Methodist Hospital's ICU lead, Dr. Faisal Masul, ICU admissions have shot up in the last week.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Judge Hidalgo to issue new mask order

"In the the last 5 days, ICU admissions have risen 30 or 40 percent," Masud said. "We are very, very full. Initially, the uptick has been more than regular."

Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital has also seen a marked increase in their ICU admissions, according to Dr. James McCarthy.

"Volumes have definitely been increasing," McCarthy said. "We have vigilantly tried to increase capacity."

Masud said Houston Methodist's plan of action is to meet the need within the Houston community.

"Our strategy is that we going to be adding more beds," he said.

Masud said the influx of ICU patients is concerning.

"This has to stop. This is not good," Masud said. "After Memorial Day, this is what has happened. Everything depends upon people complying with these mask orders and businesses actually enforcing the orders."

COVID-19 CASES RISE: Amusement parks, carnivals reopen in Texas as COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases rise

Masud reiterated that Houstonians must stay vigilant and avoid a false sense of security.

"We did such a good job as a city and a state early on," Masud said. "Now we have a lot to do. To lose all this ground, its disturbing."

The message he wants to send to Texans is simple.

"Stop thinking only about yourself. Think of everyone else around you," Masud said. "Please put your mask on. It's a big deal. Please keep your social distancing. If nothing changes, the choice will be out of our hands. Help us help you."
Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, Juneteenth has become far more meaningful, more poignant and powerful this year, even as the coronavirus pandemic has limited its full celebration.

Someday San Antonians will more joyously mark June 19, 1865, when Texas heard of slaverys end. Texas represented the farthest reach of the Confederacy, where slavery was enshrined in the states very beginnings.

Juneteenth, a national celebration of U.S. African American emancipation, inspired renewed Black Lives Matter marches in cities throughout the United States on Friday.

San Antonio scholar Karla Broadus at the University of Texas at San Antonio has been behind yet another way to keep celebrating  establishing a class on the Black Lives Matter movement within UTSAs Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Broadus says the course will be studied in historical context, before 2013, when three African American women  Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, all lesbian activists  founded #BlackLivesMatter.

While they were moved by the acquittal of the man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, the UTSA course will bring the movement to the present, when the videotaped killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police galvanized global protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

Ronald Cortes/Contributor

The class also will look at the broadening of the Black Lives Matter movements demands for social justice, criminal justice reform and an end to white supremacy and the glorification of its landmarks to the accurate telling of U.S. history.

Broadus said the class will cover the movements widening appeal to people of all colors, ages, sexual orientation, religions and political persuasions. The movement has more recently permeated the corporate world and business communities.

Black Lives Matter: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality isnt the first UTSA course on the movement. But Broadus says it will be taught to fully reflect on the impact Barack Obamas presidency had on todays activism.

She firmly believes theyre connected. Because he led everybody. Thats why we see some of everybody marching.

On several levels, Broadus said, todays marches remind her of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, which drew people from all walks of life, too.

This is what Black Lives Matter is all about, the restoration of inter-generational thoughts and ideas, she said.

The director of UTSAs African American Studies Program said the class will include the role of women in the movement and the links between black and brown communities.

Broadus also has been at work on UTSAs summer workshops for high school teachers who want to teach African American Studies in the fall.

Workshops will be online from 10 a.m. to noon July 14 and 1 to 3 p.m. July 28. Teachers will learn how to meet Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills criteria.

Ronald Cortes/Contributor

The Judson and San Antonio independent school districts have shown interest in the teachers workshop. Broadus hopes other districts follow.

The Texas State Board of Education approved African American Studies earlier this year, showing little opposition. It came after several years of intense struggle over Mexican American Studies.

UTSAs Mexican American Studies Program will have its own teachers academy online on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It will help secondary teachers mount Mexican American history, fine arts or literature classes and meet TEKS benchmarks.

Already, 80 teachers from across the state are registered said Lilliana Saldana, director of UTSAs Mexican American Studies Program.

Such ethnic studies classes arent intended solely for students of color. All Texans need a better understanding of the states history as it relates to Native American history, Mexican and Spanish history and the states Confederate and slaveholding past.

At UTSAs virtual Juneteenth program Friday, historic documents were read aloud, including one about a slave sale.

Speakers planned to talk about the park land African Americans had to buy for those events, the inspirational people chosen to speak and the storytellers, always the storytellers.

Such efforts created wide appreciation for Juneteenth, the day the people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.

This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.

Those opening lines of the news delivered to Texas in 1865 continues to astound and inspire.

eayala@express-news.net
Earths first major mass extinction could have been triggered by climate change caused by volcanic eruptions, according to a new study.

Scientists have previously believed the Late Ordovician event some 450 million years ago was linked to the end of an ice age, resulting in rising sea levels and plummeting oxygen levels in the oceans.

Around 85 per cent of all marine-based species died out  at a time when most of our present day continents formed a single land mass, Pangaea.

However new research suggests volcanic eruptions released enough carbon dioxide to heat up the planet and deoxygenate the oceans, resulting in the asphyxiation of the species that lived there.

Professor David Bond from the University of Hull, one of the lead researchers, compared the process to the fizziness of a bottle of cola.

If its been in the fridge, it stays nice and fizzy because the gas in that carbon dioxide stays in the liquid, he told the New York Times.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

But if you leave it on a sunny table outside and it gets really warm, then that gas quickly dissociates out of that liquid and you end up with a flat coke.

Professor Bond and Dr Stephen Grasby from the Geological Survey of Canada found that when Ordovician rocks collected from a small stream in southern Scotland were heated, they released large amounts of mercury  a sign volcanic eruptions took place during that period.

The rocks also emitted molybdenum and uranium, suggesting the oceans were starved of oxygen at the same time.

The new research, published in the journal Geology, does not discount glaciation at the time but suggests the cooler climate was then impacted by global warming events triggered by volcanic eruptions.

It follows a study published earlier this year which found the Late Ordovician mass extinction was linked to a severe lack of oxygen in the oceans lasting more than three million years.

The most famous mass extinction is the Cretaceous-Paleogene event that wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Brandon Straka, #Walkaway founder, outside U.S. Bank Arena ahead of a "Keep America Great" rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Aug. 1, 2019. (Lei Chen/NTD)

American Airlines Bans Conservative Activist Who Refused to Wear Mask

DALLASAmerican Airlines has banned a man who was kicked off a plane for refusing to wear a face covering, among the first such incidents since airlines promised this week to step up enforcement of their mask rules.

A spokesman for American said on June 18 that the airline decided to ban the man after reviewing the incident, which occurred Wednesday at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport.

According to the airline, conservative activist Brandon Straka ignored requests by crew members to wear a mask while the plane with 122 passengers prepared to leave for Dallas-Fort Worth. He was ordered off the 172-seat plane and put on a later flight.

Brandon Straka, the founder of the Walk Away movement. (Brandon Straka)

American said Straka will be banned until the airline drops its requirement that passengers and crew members wear face coverings to limit the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

We are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our customers and team members, which is why we strengthened enforcement of our policy for required face coverings on board, said airline spokesman Ross Feinstein. We expect customers who choose to fly with us to comply with these policies, and if necessary, we will deny future travel for customers who refuse to do so.

Straka recorded an exchange with a flight attendant on the plane. In another video that he posted on Twitter after being banished to the gate area, he said there is no law requiring passengers to wear a mask.

That is trueit is only a policy by the airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration has declined requests by airlines and their labor unions to make masks mandatory.

Travelers wear masks as they wait at the American Airlines ticket counter at OHare International Airport in Chicago, Ill., on June 16, 2020. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)

American and other leading U.S. airlines announced the mask rules last month. This week, they vowed to step up enforcement after several instances in which people complained about other passengers not covering their faces.

Most of the airlines make exceptions for young children, for passengers while they are eating or drinking, and for those with some medical conditions.

By David Koenig
The family of a University of Alberta student killed aboard Flight PS752 gathered on Friday to remember a life cut short, while calling on the Canadian government to ensure Iran is held accountable for downing the jetliner.

Amir Hossein Saeedinia would have turned 26 on Friday. Instead of a celebration, his family held a small remembrance at Hawrelak Park with a close-knit group of about 30 friends and supporters.

Leila Latifi said she feels a responsibility to ensure justice for her son and all 176 victims aboard the Ukranian International Airlines flight. It's a responsibility that forced her to flee Iran and seek refugee status in Canada after she says the regime pressured her not to speak publicly about its handling of the investigation.

"It is important for me because it's a matter beyond losing my own son. It's an opportunity to remind the governments, to remind the authorities and those in power that we are seeking justice," she said in Farsi through a translator.

"His absence is such a loss and is such an empty space in our hearts that we cannot go back to the days before losing him."

Saeedinia and his girlfriend Nasim Rahmanifar were flying back to Edmonton on Jan. 8 after spending the winter break in Iran. The young couple were mechanical engineering postgraduate students at the University of Alberta.

Minutes after taking off from Tehran, Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by two Iranian surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people onboard, including 55 Canadians citizens and 30 permanent residents. More than half of the passengers were travelling to Canada.

The tragedy resonated deeply with the Edmonton-Iranian community, who had connections to more than a dozen victims, including 10 University of Alberta faculty and staff. More than five months later and the victims' loved ones are still left with more questions than answers.

'We demand the government follow up'

Story continues

As Latifi spoke about her son, pictures of other local victims were arranged on a table beside her surrounded by flowers and candles.

"I have promised myself to shout my son's name and remind myself over and over again to never forget," Latifi said. "We demand the government follow up on this."

Latifi's calls for justice join the chorus of families who recently launched the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims. The group has accused Iran of covering up facts in the case and wants to see the regime held accountable before the International Court of Justice.

"Iran must be prosecuted in the International Court of Justice for the tragic crime that they have done, for the many unanswered questions," said Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society.

Craig Ryan/CBC

Iran initially denied responsibility but later admitted the military had shot down the jetliner. Iran has since been accused of stonewalling the investigation with Canadian officials still pushing the government to release the all-important flight recorders. Iran has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for stalling the delivery of the so-called black boxes.

Akbari and Latifi fear Iran is using these flight recorders as leverage in an effort to push the Canadian government to resume diplomatic relations, severed since 2012.

"Iran must be isolated because by extending the relationship, the government is going to find ways to ... extend their rule," Latifi said.

Latifi broke down in tears as her son's professors recounted memories of Saeedinia, remembered as an upstanding ambassador for the University of Alberta.

"He'll be missed. I think about him often. I think about him when I'm with my son," said professor James Hogan. "Amir Hossein was so excited to come to Canada. He was so excited to come to the university."

Ebrahim Noroozi/Associated Press

Latifi says adjusting to life in Canada while she grieves her son's death has been made easier by the Iranian Heritage Society's support, which is helping her secure refugee status. Volunteers helped organize Friday's remembrance and check on the family regularly.

"I am assured that the appearance of such nice people in our life is just because of my son's loving and kind way," she said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.  Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday that Louisville Metro Police is initiating termination of officer Brett Hankison, one of three officers to fire weapons at Breonna Taylor's apartment, which resulted in her death.

Taylor, 26, was shot by officers at her apartment on March 13 as they entered to serve a no-knock warrant. Her boyfriend thought officers were intruders and fired a shot as they entered. Taylor was shot eight times in the ensuing gunfire from officers.

Hankison is accused by the department's interim chief, Robert Schroeder, of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment, creating a substantial danger of death and serious injury.

"I find your conduct a shock to the conscience," Schroeder wrote in a Friday letter to Hankison laying out the charges against him. "I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion."

"The result of your action seriously impedes the Department's goal of providing the citizens of our city with the most professional law enforcement agency possible. I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Metro Police Department," he added. "Your conduct demands your termination."

Specifically, Hankison is accused of violating departmental policies on adherence to rules and regulations and use of deadly force. Schroeder, who wrote that he received the department's Public Integrity Unit investigation into the case on Tuesday evening, notes Hankison was previously disciplined for reckless conduct in early 2019.

The pretermination letter Schroeder sent Friday will be followed up with a pretermination hearing, expected to take place in the next week, where Hankison and his legal representation, attorney David Leightty, will respond to the allegations.

Schroeder will then issue a final decision, which Hankison can appeal to the Police Merit Board within 10 days. That board will consider if the chief's decision was justified. If it determines it was not justified, it can levy its own punishment.

Story continues

The other two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment  Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove  have been placed on administrative reassignment.

Fact check: 7 widely shared inaccuracies in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor

Related: Officer in Breonna Taylor shooting accused of sexual assault

Louisville Metro Police Det. Brett Hankison

Fischer, in a Friday news conference announcing the move, declined further comment.

"Unfortunately, due to a provision in state law that I would very much like to see changed, both the chief and I are precluded from talking about what brought us to this moment or even the timing of this decision," Fischer said.

According to state law, "no public statements shall be made concerning the alleged violation" by local government officials "until final disposition of the charges."

Hankison in recent weeks also has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in viral social media posts. The allegations are similar, saying that he offered intoxicated women a ride home from bars before sexually assaulting them.

Attorneys representing Hankison in a civil lawsuit and the LMPD investigation looking into his conduct did not immediately respond to Courier Journal requests for comment on Friday.

Ryan Nichols, the president of the River City Fraternal Order of Police chapter representing Louisville Metro Police officers, declined to comment at this time.

Sam Aguiar, a Louisville-based attorney for Taylor's family, said Friday about Hankison's firing: "It's about damn time."

"Maybe, finally, the mayor realized that sometimes you just need to do what the best thing is for the city, and since day one, the best thing to do for the city (has been) to take this dirty cop off the payroll and off the streets," Aguiar said.

In Schroeder's letter, he writes that Hankison blindly fired shots without "supporting facts" that the deadly force was directed at someone who posed an immediate threat.

"In fact, the ten (10) rounds you fired were into a patio door and window which were covered with material that completely prevented you from verifying any person as an immediate threat or more importantly any innocent persons present," he adds.

Some of the bullets, Schroeder writes, traveled into Taylor's neighbor's apartment, "endangering" three people.

In a court filing last week, Aguiar alleged that Hankison "could not be located" after the shooting took place.

Aguiar said that "following the initial flurry of gunshots, witnesses state that an officer (presumably Hankison) yelled 'reload' and then proceeded to fire more into Breonnas home."

Photos of Taylor's apartment provided by Aguiar show the sliding glass patio door boarded up from the outside. But inside, shards of glass can be seen on the apartment's carpeted floor, and bullet holes riddle the curtains.

Taylor, 26, was shot at least eight times and died in her hallway after officers returned gunfire from Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Walker has said he fired one shot as police entered, hitting Mattingly in the leg, because he thought they were intruders.

Police were at Taylor's apartment on a no-knock warrant signed by Circuit Judge Mary Shaw in connection with a narcotics investigation. Department officials have said officers knocked and announced their presence, but attorneys and neighbors disagree.

A fourth officer, Joshua Jaynes, who sought the no-knock warrant, has also been reassigned pending investigation.

The three officers who fired their weapons were under internal investigation by Louisville Metro Police's Public Integrity Unit. That investigation has been shared with the FBI and state attorney general, who are expected to conduct additional investigations.

Neither the FBI nor the Kentucky attorney general have announced any criminal charges.

Louisville FBI officials were at Taylor's apartment on Friday morning executing a search warrant as part of their independent investigation and taking a "fresh look" at the evidence.

Spokesman Tim Beam said the FBI will investigate "all aspects" of Taylor's death, including interviewing witnesses who have and haven't already spoken to Louisville Metro Police. Officials will also examine all physical evidence and video evidence to better understand what transpired, he said.

The FBI's Civil Rights Division, based in Washington, D.C., is working with the Louisville Field Office on the case.

The division can bring charges under civil rights statutes, including deprivation of rights, which makes it a crime for anyone acting on behalf of the law to deprive someone of constitutional rights.

If convicted, the individual could face life in prison or a death sentence.

Aguiar said Friday, "if this wasn't wanton (endangerment) and attempted murder, then I don't know what the hell would be.

"We expect and demand these charges," he said.

For months, protesters have been calling for the three officers to be fired and charged in Taylor's death. The protests intensified last month after death of George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man who died after a white officer pinned his neck to the ground with his knee in Minneapolis.

Breonna Taylor

Last week, Louisville banned no-knock search warrants with an ordinance called Breonna's Law. No-knock warrants do not mean that police don't announce their presence, but rather that they identify themselves as police only after gaining entrance.

Contributing: Tessa Duvall. Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com.

More on the Breonna Taylor shooting

FBI interviewing witnesses, taking a 'fresh' look at evidence

Minute by minute: What happened the night police fatally shot Breonna Taylor

Kentucky Attorney General won't put timetable on Breonna Taylor investigation

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor shooting: Louisville police fire officer Brett Hankison
The announcement from the ministry stated that the specifics of the next measures and procedures will be discussed via diplomatic channels.

Both governments have cooperated closely in the prevention and control of COVID-19 and Vietnam highly praised the important results that Japan has achieved in preventing the spread of the epidemic, the document said.

On May 25, Japan announced a lifting of the country's state of emergency. The Government of Japan also highly appreciated the Government of Vietnam for its success in preventing and fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and for the fact that there have been no new cases of infection in the community for more than two months.

The two sides shared a common understanding of the importance of continuing to strengthen the extensive strategic partnership between the two countries in all fields, in the context of ensuring the requirements in the fight against COVID-19 in full compliance with the relevant regulations on prevention and control of COVID-19 in each country.
When I was a child I noticed that my father would smile, nod, and speak to every Black person we passed in public.

At first I believed this was an indication of his popularity (dont get me wrong, my pops is one cool cat), but he later explained that he made it a habit to speak to Black people because he felt each deserved a dignified personal acknowledgment here in Canada.

I didnt fully understand the power of recognition until, like every member of my five-generation-Canadian Black family, I faced systemic, subtle, and flagrant racism on my own journey. Ive since found myself searching for knowing eyes of understanding, this shared acknowledgment became my first step toward achieving justice.

The thought of reform of our institutions can seem intimidating until we remember that we hold the power to transform them and have the moral imperative to do so when they fail to reach equitable outcomes.

It has been promising seeing a proactive and multi-partisan federal Black caucus activating around these issues. Unfortunately, many of our leaders are not on the same page about the urgency of this work. Some are stalling it, while others are weaponizing their ignorance and centring their own feelings. This is a disservice to the long fought movements working for change.

Last year, the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was released. It was met with an uproar over the language it included that superseded the energy to do anything about it. Canadians argued passionately over when genocide ended and racism began in our history, but stopped short of translating that conviction into action on the recommendations provided.

Thus is our great Canadian cycle: debate the language until everyone is too exhausted to act.

Call it whatever you want, but do something.

Undoubtedly this work will continue to hit nerves and solicit backlash from people unwilling to humble themselves and learn or get out of the way of progress. As we peel back this series of bandages covering societal wounds that never properly healed, it is, of course, painful. But sharing in that pain is what allyship is, so its important to get comfortable with that discomfort.

Dont be bamboozled by those who didnt show up prepared and begin making up definitions on the spot to justify their own unwillingness to act.

As we transform our institutions to suit the changing needs of our society, we must apply racial and gender equity lenses at each turn and be thoughtful of the unique impacts our public and private institutions have long had on the lives of Black and Indigenous people and women especially.

The pile-on of fresh challenges mixed with grief in the context of COVID-19 has been heavy. Especially for those fighting on multiple important fronts for health equity, migrant worker protections, food security, reforms to our child welfare systems, education system transformation, and revolutionary thinking around justice and policing systems.

This is a daunting task, and my friend Toks Weah reminds me that its made possible when each one of us takes responsibility toward making your corner of Canada a hostile environment to anti-Black racism.

Protect instead of penalizing whistleblowers during this global airing of grievances. Understand the multiplicity of current and historical experiences of Black people living in Canada. Identify and rectify racial and gender pay gaps and reinforce leadership pipelines. Listen widely. Track racial data. Prioritize mental health supports. Step forward with fewer surface-driven performances of solidarity and dig out the roots that will lead to justice within the institutions you participate in shaping.

Canadians have been gaslighting, dismissing, and assassinating the character of those fighting against anti-Black racism for centuries; forcing them to silence and diminish themselves to maintain the comfort of others. Early champions in the fight against institutional anti-Black racism have watched their own livelihoods dissolve as a reward for their efforts.

Anti-Black racism is a problem that permeates every one of our systems. It shouldnt be a revolutionary act to support a redirection of priorities that centres the wellness of all Canadians.

Acknowledgment is the minimum. We must stay focused on the ultimate goal, which is justice.

We, too, shape Canada.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-20 04:12:11|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign ministry on Friday condemned the anti-Iran resolution of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "unconstructive."

In a statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi dismissed "the political and non-technical resolution" of the IAEA, noting Iran has had the highest level of cooperation with the IAEA.

The issuance of the resolution is a "completely unconstructive and disappointing move," said Mousavi.

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors passed a resolution on Friday, calling on Iran to cooperate fully with it and let the agency access two locations.

The board "calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the agency and satisfy the agency's requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the agency," according to the text of the resolution submitted by France, Germany and Britain and adopted by a vote of 25 to two with seven abstentions, the IAEA said on its website.

Mousavi said the resolution by the IAEA under the pressure of some countries, including the United States, is aimed at creating a new crisis for cooperation between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog.

He urged members of the IAEA board of governors to be "vigilant against the U.S. and Israel's attempts to reopen the old issues that had been proven baseless."

Mousavi also rebuked the three European countries of Britain, France and Germany for introducing the resolution.

Earlier in the day, Iran's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna slammed the IAEA for adopting a resolution against Tehran.

"Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions," Kazem Gharibabadi said in a statement.

"Iran categorically deplores this resolution and will take appropriate action in response, the repercussions of which would be upon the sponsors of this resolution," Gharibabadi added. Enditem
Across the planet LNG prices in May-June 2020 have dropped to unprecedentedly low levels  landed seaborne prices still remain below $2 per MMBtu, compelling rivals of LNG to counteract the trend. In the vanguard of those affected is the Russian pipeline gas monopoly Gazprom which expects its exports to drop from the peak of 199-200 BCm per year attained in the last 2 years to some 167 BCm in 2020. Pipeline gas supplies to Europe seems somewhat paralyzed currently with little to no availability of ramping up exports despite producers curbing natural gas production concurrently to oil. With this in mind, Gazprom is looking to beat its competitors on their own field, having no liquefaction facility that could realistically target European customers.

In the first days of June 2020, the Greek industrial holding Mytilineos announced that it had concluded a long-term contract with Gazproms commercial arm, Gazprom Export, to import Russian natural gas. The news in and of itself should not be considered as anything surprising  Mytilineos had several short-term contracts with the Russian firm in the past couple of years and imported 0.6 BCm in 2019. Were one to examine the details of the deal though, it gets much more interesting  the tenor of the deal is for 10 years until 2030, i.e. even longer than the main import contract with Russia, the one state-owned DEPA has until 2026. Under DEPAs contract Greece has imported an average of 2.5 BCm per year from Gazprom, via the Soviet-era TransBalkan pipeline.

Graph 1. Russian Pipeline Gas Exports to Greece (in billion cubic meters).



Source: Gazprom.

Neither of the parties provided additional information on the long-term contract, yet an increasingly manifest trend in Greeces energy provision provides a seemingly fitting explanation as to why would the Russian gas giant act now. The thing is that this March-April 2020 LNG imports to Greece surpassed pipeline deliveries, a traditional domain of Gazprom. Landed LNG prices to Greece have started off this year at $3.5 per MMbtu, oscillated around the $2.5 per MMbtu mark in March-April and then took a plunge below $2 per MMbtu in the last days of April, remaining there ever since. Were it not for the increase of US LNG exports to Greece, this might not even trigger a response from Russia  Revithoussa has traditionally relied on a combination of Qatari, Algerian, Nigerian and Norwegian LNG deliveries.

Story continues

As indicated above, the onset of continuous US LNG deliveries to Greece bears a much harsher reputational blow to Russian energy interests than Qatari or Algerian supplies. This year has already seen 13 LNG cargo arrivals to Revithoussa, a manifold increase over the 2019 end result of 3 cargoes in total. Coming from a fairly extended list of LNG hubs (Sabine Pass, Cameron LNG, Cove Point), US LNG calls into question Kremlins claim that the American shale gale would not be able to supplant Russian deliveries  it turns out it can, albeit at highly adverse market conditions. Thus, instead of the initial question whether US LNG can reach Southern Europe, the issue to follow through lies with American producers ability to withstand such low gas prices for a long-term period.

Graph 2. Greeces LNG imports in 2017-2020 (in million tons LNG).



Source: Thomson Reuters.

The winter of 2019/2020 has seen the most intensive LNG import dynamics in Greeces history  instead of the usual 2-3 cargoes per month, the Revithoussa LNG terminal has received 5-6 per month. Purportedly this is only the beginning of a forthcoming Greek LNG ramp-up as neighboring countries in the South Balkan region turn towards LNG supplies, the bidirectional conduits and relevant infrastructure is already in place. The 2019 utilization rate of the 7 BCm per year Revithoussa LNG plant stood at a rather meagre 40%, however this years statistics will be significantly better unless the LNG market takes an unforeseen twist  the Q1 2020 utilization rate already climbed to 63%, rendering LNG the main source of natural gas imports.

Related: The Oil & Gas Sector Could Already Be In Terminal Decline

The Revithoussa LNG terminal, the only existing LNG plant in the Balkans as of today, lies 45km to the west of Athens and serves predominantly the needs of the capital area. Concurrently to Revithoussas increasing intake, Greece might see the launch of another LNG import facility, this time serving the countrys north, in the form of the 5.5 BCm per year Alexandroupolis FSRU. The development of a second LNG plant coincides with Greece and Bulgaria finishing the IGB interconnector, assumed to go onstream in 2021 to allow for the cross-border movements of TANAP-supplied Azerbaijani gas  the same route would be used for Alexandroupolis volumes (Bulgarias Bulgartransgaz already took a 20% stake in the project company and Romanias Romgaz seeks to do the same).

The Mytilineos deal in and of itself will not witness any major breakthrough in the upcoming years  the metallurgy and energy-focused portfolio of the Greek company necessitated some 0.6 BCm in 2019, around 12-13% of the countrys annual gas consumption. Yet it is a testament to renewed Russian interest to the Greek market, a harbinger of things to come  be they in the form of advantageous price formulas for pipeline deliveries or even straight LNG supplies sourced from reliable sources. Hence, the struggle for Russias share not to decrease in the Mediterranean will encompass Turkey, the hotspot of vying so far, Greece and most probably Italy, too, as all of them have seen increased levels of LNG imports in general and US supplies in particular.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read this article on OilPrice.com
Some who know Mr. Trump believe that much of the electorate has grown tired of his fate-tempting gambits, even as they expect the 2020 race to tighten eventually against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee who holds a solid lead in most polls.

This was sexy and exciting in 2015, 2016, said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump adviser who worked for him early in his first run. But for people that have known Donald Trump for a long time like me, I was always worried that he wouldnt wear well. And hes at that place now, I think, where hes not wearing well.

Mr. Trump seems disinclined to trust anyone elses judgment on this score, a hesitation born of experience. His life is, if nothing else, a testament to the power of irrepressible salesmanship and taking chances  or at least appearing to take chances  that the risk-averse might discourage.

Throughout his business career, Mr. Trump embraced the label of risk-taker while often eliding the reality of who was assuming much of the risk, spinning failures as successes in the popular imagination.

Gwenda Blair, a biographer of the Trump family, recalled the lessons the president learned from Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer who mentored him. The school of Roy Cohn was: You can get away with almost anything, she said, that there is in fact not very much risk if you come into the world wealthy, insulated and have enormous political and financial clout when youre in diapers.

As his stature grew, Ms. Blair said, Mr. Trump aimed to make himself big enough that he would push the risk off on everyone else, on all the lenders and banks all the way down to the lowest tradesman and subcontractor who didnt get paid.

For Mr. Trump, the psychological upsides were clear. In some kind of mental jujitsu way, he always wins, she said. So, personally, risk isnt an issue.
How's that for date night?

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Dave Franco and Alison Brie attended the drive-in premiere of The Rental, which marks Franco's directorial debut, at the Vineland theater outside of Los Angeles on Thursday.

The thriller stars his wife Brie, Sheila Vand, Dan Stevens and Jeremy Allen White as a pair of couples whose weekend retreat at a gorgeous rental home on the Oregon coast takes a sinister turn when they realize their host may be spying on them, as seen in the trailer, above.

Per Variety, the event was attended by with 650 cars (containing an estimated 1,300 patrons) paying $55 per car.

After the premiere, a live Q&A was projected on the screen, with Franco and Brie Zoom-ing in from their car. Vand also Zoom-ed in from her own vehicle nearby, per the outlet, while Stevens and White participated more remotely.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Franco, who directed and co-wrote the film with Joe Swanberg, told Variety the parking lot premiere was "definitely surreal."

"But in the end, it truly did feel unique and special," he said. "Where standard premieres are a bit more formal, with everyone dressed in suits and fancy dresses, I just don't think that would've been the right vibe for this film."

"I love how casual the night was, and it didn't feel like there was a spotlight on me or the cast," he added. "It felt more like a communal experience where everyone was just excited to get out of their homes and let loose with a group of fellow movie lovers. It was perfect."

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Franco, 35, and Brie, 37, last worked together in The Disaster Artist in 2017, which was also the first time Franco worked with brother James Franco, 42.

The Rental will be released on demand, in drive-in theaters and in select indoor theaters on July 24.
A bus abandoned in the Alaskan wilderness and made famous by the book and film Into The Wild has been removed for public safety after tourists repeatedly had to be rescued while trying to reach it, the states National Guard said.

A US Army helicopter airlifted the 1940s-era vehicle from its spot west of the Teklanika River on Thursday.

The bus was made famous by 24-year-old adventurer Chris McCandless, who lived in it during the summer of 1992 and died of starvation after 114 days in the wilderness.

His story was told by author Jon Krakauer in the 1996 book Into The Wild, which was adapted into a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, starring Emile Hirsch as McCandless.

Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless in Into The Wild. (Paramount Vantage)

The National Guard said the bus was a public safety issue because it was luring fans of McCandless to venture out into the dangerous Alaskan wild.

Read more: Sean Penn admits hes hard to work with

There were 15 bus-related search and rescue operations by the state between 2009 and 2017, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Two travellers died after drowning while on their way to the vehicle in separate incidents in 2010 and 2019, officials said.

This March 21, 2006, file photo, shows the abandoned bus where Christopher McCandless starved to death in 1992 on Stampede Road near Healy, Alaska. (AP Photo/Jillian Rogers, File )

As recently as February, Alaska State Troopers rescued five Italian hikers, one of whom suffered severe frostbite.

Locals had called for authorities to reduce or eliminate the danger caused by the bus, the National Guard said.

In this photo released by the Alaska National Guard, Alaska Army National Guard soldiers use a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to removed an abandoned bus, popularized by the book and movie "Into the Wild," out of its location in the Alaska backcountry Thursday, June 18, 2020, as part of a training mission. Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige, in a release, said the bus will be kept in a secure location while her department weighs various options for what to do with it. (Sgt. Seth LaCount/Alaska National Guard via AP)

Corri A Feige, commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources, said: We encourage people to enjoy Alaskas wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination.

However, this is an abandoned and deteriorating vehicle that was requiring dangerous and costly rescue efforts, but more importantly, was costing some visitors their lives. Im glad we found a safe, respectful and economical solution to this situation.

The poster for Into The Wild featuring Emile Hirsch sat atop the bus. (Paramount Vantage)

The bus was removed by a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The aircrew also ensured the safe transportation of a suitcase that holds sentimental value to the McCandless family, the National Guard said.

Mr Feige said the bus will be stored at a secure site while the Department of Natural Resources considers a permanent place for it.